US Presidents and Israel

15 Things American Presidents Had to Say About Israel & The Jews

Posted on 3/28/2014 by Eliyokim Cohen

Here are 15 Things American Presidents Had to Say About Israel & The Jews

John Adams

“I will insist that the Hebrews have done more to civilize man than any other nation.”
2. Abraham Lincoln

President Abraham Lincoln said that restoring the Jews to their “natural” home in Palestine was “a noble dream and one shared by many Americans.” The President also said his chiropodist was a Jew who: “has so many times ‘put me upon my feet’ that I would have no objection to giving his countrymen ‘a leg up.’”

Warren G. Harding

“It is impossible for one who has studied at all the services of the Hebrew people to avoid the faith that they will one day be restored to their historic national home and there enter on a new and yet greater phase of their contribution to the advance of humanity.”

Calvin Coolidge

“The Jewish faith is predominantly the faith of liberty.”

Herbert Hoover

“I wish to express the hope that the ideal of the establishment of the National Jewish Home in Palestine, as embodied in that Declaration, will continue to prosper for the good of all the people inhabiting the Holy Land….I have watched with genuine admiration the steady and unmistakable Progress made in the rehabilitation of Palestine which, desolate for centuries, is now renewing its youth and vitality through the enthusiasm, hard work and self-sacrifice of the Jewish pioneers who toil there in a spirit of peace and social justice. It is very gratifying to note that many American Jews, Zionists as well as non-Zionists, have rendered such splendid service to this cause which merits the sympathy and moral encouragement of everyone.”

Harry Truman

“I had faith in Israel before it was established, I have faith in it now. I believe it has a glorious future before it – not just another sovereign nation, but as an embodiment of the great ideals of our civilization.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower

“The teaching of their ancient belief is filled with truth for the present day. Its profound sense of justice, nation to nation, man to man, is an essential part of every religious and social order. The health of our society depends upon a deep and abiding respect for the basic commandments of the God of Israel.”

8. John F. Kennedy

“Israel was not created in order to disappear- Israel will endure and flourish. It is the child of hope and home of the brave. It can neither be broken by adversity nor demoralized by success. It carries the shield of democracy and it honors the sword of freedom.”

Lyndon B. Johnnson

“Our society is illuminated by the spiritual insights of the Hebrew prophets. America and Israel have a common love of human freedom and they have a common faith in a democratic way of life.”

Richard Nixon

“Americans admire a people who can scratch a desert and produce a garden. The Israelis have shown qualities that Americans identify with: guts, patriotism, idealism, a passion for freedom. I have seen it. I know. I believe that.”

Red Heifer found just in time for Parashat Hukkat

Red Heifer Found in America

Thursday, June 26, 2014 |  Tsvi Sadan  

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Finding a red heifer is like finding a needle in a hay stack. But early this week some overly industrious Jew managed to do just that in the United States of America.

This finding is all the more intriguing considering that on the coming Sabbath (Shabbat) Jews will read in the synagogues the Torah portion that begins with one of the mysterious commandment of the Red Heifer: “Tell the Israelites to procure for you a red heifer that is free from every blemish and defect and on which no yoke has ever been laid…” (Num. 19:2ff).

The Red Heifer is an extremely rare creature. According to Jewish tradition, during the two thousand years from the time this commandment was given until the destruction of the Second Temple in the first century AD, only nine red cows that met the biblical criteria were ever found.

For a cow to be a Red Heifer it has to be without blemish, one that was never put to work and completely reddish. Jewish law requires keeping the young cow under strict care until it reaches three years old. During this time, leaning on the cow, riding it even once or even putting a piece of cloth on its back disqualifies it from becoming a Red Heifer.

Strict rules also apply to its color. Two single hairs of a color other than red automatically disqualify it from becoming a Red Heifer. A Red Heifer candidate that that was discovered in 2000 was disqualified after two black hairs were found on it.

Likewise, a cow that meets all other criteria, but is older than four is disqualified. The present calf has a long way until, if at all, it will become a real Red Heifer.

In biblical times, the Red Heifer was to be completely burnt by a priest outside the Temple. Interestingly enough, the Red Heifer was burnt on the Mount of Olives, where the Dominus Flevit [The Lord Cried] Church is located today.

After being burnt, the Red Heifer’s ashes were mixed with water called the “water of remission,” which was used to purify people, especially those defiled by touching dead animals. This most serious form of defilement required Jews to undergo a ceremonial cleansing with the ash of a Red Heifer before they could again enter the Temple courtyards. In other words, without the Red Heifer, Jewish worship on the Temple Mount is not possible.

The discovery of a red calf that could potentially become a Red Heifer excites many Jews who believe that Moses prepared the first Red Heifer and Messiah will prepare the last one.

The possibility of finding a real Red Heifer prompted the Temple Institute to make the logistic preparations needed for bringing the American calf to Israel and to train priests that will perform this sacred and rare sacrificial ceremony.

At least in theory, this calf could help Jews sufficiently purify themselves to engage in real Temple activities. For now, however, believers will have to chew their nails for at least two and a half years before it will be known whether or not this import is the Red Heifer.

A great primer on Zionism and Israel excerpted from article by Rabbi Yitz Greenberg

A great primer on Zionism and Israel excerpted from article by Rabbi Yitz Greenberg "
1. The land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was formed. Here they wrote most of the Bible. Here Judaism grew into its own right and gave birth to Christianity as well. The Jewish state was destroyed when the land was militarily conquered by the Roman Empire; subsequently most of the Jews were exiled. Yet Jews never stop living in Israel. The Romans were succeeded by Byzantine, then Islamic, later Ottomanic conquerors who ruled over the land, while persecuting the Jews who lived there. Yet the entire Jewish people, wherever it lived, never broke its daily spiritual connection to the land or stopped its yearning and prayers to go back.

2. Zionism is the national liberation movement of the Jewish people. Zionism grew out of millennia-old Jewish culture, memory, and prayers. It became a political movement, functioning alongside numerous other national liberation movements – including Arab, Asian and European hitherto suppressed national minorities. Most of them won their nationhood, as did Israel, in the 20th century. The Zionist cause developed particular resonance due to the growth of anti-Semitism in modern Europe. The urgency of immediate sovereignty was confirmed by the unprecedentedly brutal, total annihilation of the Jewish people attempted in the Holocaust. This genocide in the making was essentially unchecked by the Allies and desperately needed haven for the Jews was widely refused. To now deny only this people its right to exist as a nation is blatantly discriminatory. It is recrudescent anti-Semitism, cosmetically covered up by the claim that it is ‘only’ anti-Zionism.

3. The Arab population of Palestine has every right to want to live in their own state. The United Nations recognized that the only resolution that could do justice to the needs of the two peoples in the Holy Land was to partition the land. The Jewish population accepted this humane compromise solution (while promising “complete equality of social and political rights to all …inhabitants, irrespective of religion, race or sex.” [Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel]) The Arab nations and the Palestinians did not accept. The armies of six nations invaded Israel in 1948, proclaiming their intention to destroy the state and/or drive the Jewish inhabitants into the sea. Israel barely survived and lost 1% of its total Jewish population in the war. The net result was a Naqba (catastrophe) for the Palestinians – but it was self inflicted.

During 1948 – 1967 when the West Bank was under Arab control, a Palestinian state was not established. Nor was the Jewish state recognized. Arab leadership determined to keep the Palestinians everywhere as refugees, segregated in refugee camps. They were not allowed to relocate or to become citizens in the Arab countries where they were. This was a cruel policy, designed to use the refugees has an inflammatory factor to prevent making peace. In a burst of ethnic cleansing, the Arab states overwhelmingly expelled their Jewish populations (This is sanitized in Zionism Unsettled as “escape [by Jews] from the actual violent blowback or fear of blowback… as the region became inflamed at the perceived injustice of the enforced partition of Palestine…”). Most of the Jewish refugees came to Israel where they were given full citizenship and enabled to make new, dignified lives for themselves. Starting with the handicap of being immigrants, they have risen to be the largest sector of Israel’s population and are represented or leaders in every area of society.

5. In 1967, the Arab nations, unreconciled to Israel’s existence, went to war against the state, starting with expelling United Nations peacekeeping troops and blockading Israel’s shipping lifelines. Again, leaders such as Abdul Gamal Nasser of Egypt and Ahmed Shukairy of the nascent PLO announced that the goal was to wipe out the Jews and their state. Israel won the war of self-defense which is how it came to occupy the West Bank and Gaza. Israel offered to return the territories in exchange for a negotiated peace.. The Arab nations replied: no negotiations, no recognition, no peace.

6. Since 1970, the Palestinians have taken charge of their own destiny. Unfortunately, they have used terrorism in Israel and against Jews abroad as a central policy. There have been negotiations on and off. In 1993, Israel recognized the Palestinians. Israel’s Prime Ministers since then, including Benjamin Netanyahu today, have affirmed the principle of two states for two peoples. They insisted only on a secure peace for Israel. The Palestinians have never given up the terrorism tactic. Hamas, the group which governs Gaza, proclaims, as its unchanged goal, the destruction of the state of Israel.

7. The vast majority of the procedures which disturb the Palestinians and supply the basis for the criticism and delegitimation of Israel – checkpoints, some separate roads on the West Bank, the separation barrier – constitute security protections to prevent terrorism and block the unrelenting infiltration attempts to assault life inside Israel. The separation barrier was built after a flood of terrorist attacks killed hundreds of Israelis and threatened to make life unlivable in the country. In fact, terrorist attacks dropped over 90% after its construction. This was a remarkable life saving tactic; the purpose was to avoid attacking the terrorists in their home base amidst the citizen population which sustains them, in order to prevent civilian casualties. Zionism Unsettled inverts this truth and alleges that the Israelis practice apartheid and segregation. Yet all these practices would be removed were the Palestinians to genuinely embark on a policy of nonviolence. Again, their suffering is real – but self inflicted.

8. The Israeli settlements on the West Bank are supported by many Jews as a return to biblical lands. Many – perhaps most -Jews are critical of this enterprise. But the settlements are not a permanent obstacle to peace settlement. In the most recent peace offer by an Israeli government, Israel asked to keep 6% of the West Bank land on which more than 80% of the settlers live. In return, Israel would give an equivalent area of land from within the present borders of Israel to the Palestinian state – as well as evacuate all the other settlements. The only reason that this offer has not been implemented is that the majority of Israelis – including the majority which would halt settlements or would give them up – does not believe that the Palestinians are ready to give a secure peace to Israel.

9. Far from being an apartheid racist state, Israel remains the only democracy in the Middle East. Its Arab population enjoys the highest standard of democracy, education, health and religious freedom in the entire area. Like all democracies, Israel is imperfect. Its Arab population lags the Jewish population in many areas – but it is catching up, aided by government investment and affirmative action. Furthermore, as Justice William Brennan said decades ago, Israel is the only country in the world (including the United States) in which, despite being under siege for 60 years, civil liberties for all – including minorities – have been expanded throughout the period.

This also explains another essential statistic, totally omitted in Zionism Unsettled. Israel is the only country in the Middle East whose Christian population has swelled, doubled more than once, in the past six decades. In all the Arab neighboring countries – including the Palestinian Authority – Christian populations are shrinking significantly, due to restrictions on religious expression (or outright persecution). These hostile conditions are frequently driven by aggressively Islamicizing governments or groups

The only state in danger of becoming ethnically cleansed in Palestine/Israel is the Palestinian Authority’s projected state. President Mahmoud Abbas has already declared that there is no room for any Jews in the future Palestinian state. And Christians on the West Bank, in such places as Bethlehem, are drawing their own conclusions and leaving. Again, Zionism Unsettled bears false witness by blaming Israel for the phenomenon of Christian flight.

10. Israel is not faultless and one may criticize or totally disagree with any of its policies. Contrary to the lies in Zionism Unsettled, there is a robust debate on Israel/Palestinian issues inside Israel and in the American Jewish community. The critics of Israel are neither silenced nor suffering. Nor are we asking Presbyterians to silence their consciences or stop criticism of Israel. We are asking that they stop abetting intended destruction.

The ultimate injustice in Zionism Unsettled is that by disseminating this extremist, one-sided narrative, it encourages the worst tendencies among the Palestinians. Thus it undermines the chances of peace with a resulting dignity and sovereignty for Palestinians. By covering up the existence of profound, long-term, legitimate roots for Jews in the land of Israel, by demonizing Zionism and implying that the Jewish state is illegitimate and so evil that it is unworthy of existence, it encourages Palestinians and others who are unreconciled to Jewish sovereignty in an area once ruled by Islam. The Palestinians would have long ago given up ideas of revenge. Their radicals would have given up on a policy of eliminating Israel, if their allies had not given them hope that the elimination narrative could be sanitized and then adopted by Christians of goodwill and by the nations of the world..."




Read more: To our Presbyterian brothers and sisters | Irving Greenberg | Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/to-our-presbyterian-brothers-and-sisters/#ixzz35spdwDQl
Follow us: @timesofisrael on Twitter | timesofisrael on Facebook

Netanyahu Slams “Disgraceful” Presbyterian Divestment

By Lea Speyer June 23, 2014 , 12:12 pm

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“Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment.” (Proverbs 12:19)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend the Jewish Media Summit in Jerusalem. , June 22, 2014. (Photo: FLASH90)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the decision of the US Presbyterian Church to divest from three companies that provide supplies to the IDF and residents of Judea and Samaria.
Dubbing the recent vote “disgraceful,” Netanyahu told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “most Americans understand that Israel is a beacon of civilization and moderation.”
The prime minister explained that while majority of the Middle East was “riveted by religious hatred, by savagery of unimaginable proportions,” Israel is “the one democracy that upholds basic human rights, that guards the rights of all minorities, that protects Christians.”
Netanyahu challenged Presbyterians to “fly to the Middle East, come and see Israel for the embattled democracy that it is, and then take a bus tour, go to Libya, go to Syria, go to Iraq, and see the difference.”
“I would give them two pieces of advice – one is make sure it’s an armor-plated bus, and second, don’t say that you’re a Christian.”
Speaking at an international gathering of Jewish journalists on Sunday, Netanyahu openly wondered why Israel has been singled out by the Presbyterian church.
“When the Middle East is fragmented in this horrible war, this savage, savage war between militant Shiites and militant Sunnis…the only place where you have freedom, tolerance, protection of minorities, protection of gays, protection of Christians and all other faiths, is Israel.”
Presbyterian Church USA voted on Friday at its annual general assembly to divest from Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions in support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.
According to a statement released by the church, Caterpillar provides Israel with bulldozers “used in the destruction of Palestinian homes.”
Hewlett-Packard “provides electronic systems at checkpoints, logistics and communications systems to support the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip, and has business relationships with illegal settlements in the West Bank.”
Motorola Solutions “provides military communications and surveillance systems in the illegal Israeli settlements.”
Dr. Yoaz Hendel, Chairman of The Institute for Zionist Strategies, told Breaking Israel News that Presbyterian USA is “operating on False assumptions.”
“The church voted based on a small part of anti-Semitism and a large part of false information. I want members of the church to come to Israel to see what a strong, democratic, liberal state looks like. Israel is not perfect but to have a biased reality that Israel is evil and everyone else is good – those people do not understand what is really happening in Israel,” he said.
“If people boycott Israel because they think they are going to save and change the world, then they are not in the right place of mind,” Hendel stated. “If one checks and understands what is happening in Israel – the education system, the peace vision, the fact that Israel is based on democratic values – if one understands what is the basic essence of Israel, they would never support any type of BDS against Israel.”

Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/17021/netanyahu-slams-disgraceful-presbyterian-divestment/#7qtEFklWpItdhGgA.99

Vicious betrayal

World Jewish Digest: The ostensibly 'liberal' Presbyterian church viciously betrayed the American Jewish community on Friday, voting to join the racist BDS movement by divesting from several companies that do business in Israel.

The church's general assembly passed the decision by seven votes, justifying its decision through claiming that it was against the occupation of the West Bank, not Israel.

But the companies involved, Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard, and Motorola, are huge corporations that do a great deal of business in Israel itself, as well as many other countries.

Jewish organizations struck back, with the ADL calling the move "out of step with the views of the majority of Presbyterians in the pews at the community level." While director Abraham Foxman said,

Over the past ten years, PCUSA leaders have fomented an atmosphere of open hostility to Israel within the church, promoted a one-sided presentation of the complex realities of the Middle East, and permitted the presentation of a grossly distorted image of the views of the Jewish community.

The AJC explicitly cited the racist nature of the BDS movement, calling the move "celebrated by those who believe they are one step closer to a Jew-free Middle East."

The Presbyterian vote

Presbyterian vote to boycott is just old fashioned anti-Semitism. We’ve seen it 1000X.

"why would Presbyterians vote to advocate boycotting the ONE country in the Middle East where Arabs, Muslims, Christians, Jews, gays, women live in freedom and live without fear, and weekly invent things to improve the world, and advocate instead for a new Arab/Muslim corrupt, tyrannical, fanatical, hate filled, anti-gay, anti-women, anti-democratic, anti-Christian, anti-Jewish, genocidal advocating country, unless they are just an old fashioned anti-Semite?" They are. Never forget the PLO to liberate Israel was created in 1964 when Jordan controlled the West Bank and Egypt Gaza. Never forget in 1947 the Arabs voted against a Palestinian state in the UN. It could now be 66 years old. Never forget that everyday Palestinians schools teach young children to hate Jews and want to kill them. Never forget Abbas made a unity gov. with Hamas, which states in wants to kill Jews everywhere..,.

can't recall who wrote this
Who is responsible for Palestinian refugees?

“There is no doubt that there is real suffering among the Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank (which is actually ancient Judea and Samaria). The question is who, precisely, is most responsible for their suffering?

Certainly, Israel is far from blameless in its treatment of the Palestinians, and it helps no one when we overlook or whitewash Israel’s failings, as some Christian Zionists are prone to do.

But is Israel primarily responsible for the difficult living conditions faced by the Palestinians today? Absolutely not. The blame lays squarely at the feet of the Palestinian leadership.

Consider that in 1936, Haj Amin Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, later a collaborator with Hitler and the father of many of today’s radical Islamic movements, had this to say about living in peace with the neighboring Jews: “There is no place in Palestine for two races. The Jews left Palestine 2,000 year ago, let them go to other parts of the world, where there are wide vacant places.”

In contrast, in 1937, David Ben Gurion, later to be Israel’s first Prime Minister, said, “We do not wish and do not need to expel Arabs and take their place. All our aspiration is built on the assumption – proven throughout all our activity in the Land of Israel – that there is enough room in the country for ourselves and the Arabs.”

Ten years later, when the U.N. had proposed separate states for the Jews and the Arabs, Golda Meir said, “We are happy and ready for what lies ahead. Our hands are extended in peace to our neighbors. Both States can live in peace with one another and cooperate for the welfare of their inhabitants.”

And Ben Gurion invited the Arabs living in what would be the new state of Israel to remain among them as partners (which many of them did, and they have grown from 200,000 then to 1.6 million today): “If the Arab citizen will feel at home in our state . . . if the state will help him in a truthful and dedicated way to reach the economic, social, and cultural level of the Jewish community, then Arab distrust will accordingly subside and a bridge will be built to a Semitic, Jewish-Arab alliance.”

In stark contrast, Azzam Pasha, Secretary of the Arab League, would have none of it, calling instead for an all-out war against Israel: “It will be a war of annihilation. It will be a momentous massacre in history that will be talked about like the massacres of the Mongols or the Crusades.”

And so, the five surrounding Arab nations attacked Israel and were defeated in a war that was costly and difficult for everyone, resulting in about 800,000 Jewish refugees who fled from the neighboring Muslim countries and about 600,000 Arab refugees who fled from the war on Israel.

What happened to those refugees? Most of the Jewish refugees were absorbed by the fledgling State of Israel; the Arab refugees were not absorbed by their neighboring countries.

Why? Because they were used as human pawns against Israel, to the point that in 1959, the Arab League passed Resolution 1457: “The Arab countries will not grant citizenship to applicants of Palestinian origin in order to prevent their assimilation into the host countries.”

That’s why, until this very day, there are hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in refugee camps in countries like Lebanon and Syria, never integrated into the larger population or absorbed as citizens with full rights.

How dare the anti-Zionists blame Israel for this atrocious treatment of the Palestinians. The fault lies with their own leaders who have betrayed them in their hatred of Israel. (This is why historian Efraim Karsh entitled his very important book Palestine Betrayed, where much more relevant information can be found.)

As recently as 2004, Hisham Youssef, spokesman for the 22-nation Arab League, stated that, “Palestinians live in very bad conditions. That official policy is meant to preserve their Palestinian identity. If every Palestinian who sought refuge in a certain country was integrated and accommodated into that country, there won’t be any reason for them to return to Palestine.”

Do these leaders really care about their suffering brothers and sisters, or is their opposition to Israel, fueled by the theology of radical Islam, more important to them?

In 2012, the Palestinian Mufti, one of the senior Islamic leaders, repeated a well-known Muslim Hadith (authoritative tradition): “The Hour [of Resurrection] will not come until you fight the Jews. The Jew will hide behind stones or trees. Then the stones or trees will call: ‘Oh Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’”

More recently, in a recent program on Hamas’ Al-Aqsa TV, Hamas cleric and parliamentary member Yunis Al-Astal cited the Quran in guiding Muslims to “massacre” the Jews. (See Palwatch.org for more details.)

With statements like this, which are seconded by many Palestinian leaders, does Israel really have a peace partner among the Palestinian leadership?

As journalist Caroline Glick wrote, “Nearly every day a Palestinian leader announces that the Palestinians will not make peace with Israel under any circumstances. These statements are part of the public record, and all are published to great approval in the Arabic media. Palestinian children regularly appear on PA-controlled television children’s programs, calling for the annihilation of Israel and demonizing Jews as subhuman. Summer camps are named after terrorists.”

And as Israel has released thousands of Palestinian prisoners as a gesture of peace, even though many of these prisoners have the blood of Israeli men, women, and children on their hands, they are hailed as heroes when they return home. This is a terribly painful slap in Israel’s face, and yet another stumblingblock to peace.

As for the billions of dollars of support that pours into Hamas and the Palestinian Authority from America and Europe, only a small portion of it finds its ways into the hands of the people, instead being used to pad the bank accounts of the leaders and to further their war on Israel.

But let us not forget where the ultimate blame lies for the suffering of the Palestinian people: It lies at the feet of their leadership, and shifting the blame to Israel will do these suffering Palestinians no good at all.”

demented New York Times

WJD- Sivan 20, 5774
	How low can the New York Times go? Far lower than you could have possibly imagined. Following the lead of President Barack Obama, who recently failed to break off relations with the Palestinian government after it included Hamas, a terror group sworn to Israel's destruction, into its ranks, the New York Times Tuesday published a story that explored the suffering inflicted on Palestinians after Hamas members abducted three Israeli teens. You heard right. The Times looked only at how Palestinians were suffering due to the "siege" on Hebron as the Israeli army conducts house to house searches to look for the high school kids cruelly snatched from the road. Here's a sample: There were no trucks to drive because of a one-day strike in solidarity with hunger-striking Palestinians in Israeli prisons that shuttered nearly all of Hebron’s stores and industry. Worse, with Israeli troops limiting entry and exit as part of a crackdown after last week’s kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers, the Jabers were worried that Monday’s wedding party for Kayed’s 17-year-old daughter would be ruined. Don't you feel terrible for Kayed's daughter? Isn't it a shame she can't get married? And it's all Israel's fault! How dare they insist that the Palestinians return their abducted youth! How dare they search house to house because no Palestinian will possibly help them find the three boys! The gall. But wait, there's more: But many here and elsewhere in the Palestinian territories questioned whether the abduction even happened. Leaders referred to the “alleged kidnapping” in some of their official statements, and social networks were filled with conspiracy theories of how Jewish settlers staged the event or the Israeli government was using it as a pretext to oust Hamas from the West Bank and thwart the Palestine Liberation Organization’s recent reconciliation with Hamas. This is sort of like saying that Waco leader David Koresh claimed he was the messiah -- so it must be true! The Palestinians said it, after all, so Israel must be guilty of staging the entire kidnapping just to gain political points. posted by rabbi Jonathan Gionsburg

Why a Palestinian nation will be just another jihadist nation

John Hinderocker, Powerline

In my view, the Iraq war was fought, in part, to answer a critical series of questions. The first was, are Arabs capable of self-government? A further question was, will helping Arab countries to build modern, normal, self-governing societies be enough to destroy the appeal of radical Islam for young Arabs? The effort, in my opinion, had to be made, and Iraq was the logical, if not the only, place to begin. At this point, however, it is hard to be optimistic about the results of that effort. Arab culture is deeply dysfunctional. Expansionist, homicidal Islam is the most potent ideology in the region. Viewing events in Egypt, in Syria and now in Iraq, it is hard to optimistic about the future of any part of the Arab world

Clinton Accuses Israel of Being Occupying Force

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Clinton Accuses Israel of Being Occupying Force

Author: Adam Kredo

New book takes aim at Israel, angers pro-Israel community.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accuses Israel of being an occupying force in her new memoir Hard Choices and claims that the Jewish state denies “dignity and self determination” to Palestinians in the West Bank.

Clinton recalls being surprised by what she termed “life under occupation for the Palestinians,” according to the book.

Pro-Israel officials and insiders on Capitol Hill have called Clinton’s comments tone deaf and said that her claim that Israel is an occupying force reveals a bias against the Jewish state.

“When we left the city and visited Jericho, in the West Bank, I got my first glimpse of life under occupation for Palestinians, who were denied the dignity and self-determination that Americans take for granted,” Clinton writes.

Clinton’s comments demonstrate that she supports the Obama administration’s efforts to pressure and marginalize Israel, which current Secretary of State John Kerry recently accused of becoming an “apartheid state,” said one senior GOP Senate aide, who worked with Clinton when she was at the State Department.

“What we see here is the true Hillary Clinton, no longer muzzling herself for fear of reelection in New York or Senate confirmation fights—the woman who embraced Suha Arafat after smiling through anti-Semitic tirades,” said the former senior GOP Senate aide who for years battled Clinton’s State Department.

The source referred to a 1999 incident in which Clinton sat by smiling as the wife of former terrorist leader Yasser Arafat went on an anti-Israel tirade.

“This should put every American on notice that Hillary Clinton plans to continue Barack Obama’s failed Middle East policy that coddles terrorists and castigates democratic allies,” said the former official. “Clinton knows she lost to Obama in 2008 because she was outflanked by the left—she won’t make that mistake twice and she knows how much the left hates Israel.”

Clinton goes on to take aim at the Netanyahu government for not returning land to the Palestinians that she claims has been “occupied by Israel since 1967.”

Clinton is referring to territory seized by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War, in which Egypt, Jordan, and Syria attacked Israel from every side in a bid to destroy the Jewish state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Clinton claims, is not serious about the peace process.

This claim has been echoed by senior State Department officials, several of whom have sought to blame Israel for the recent failure of peace talks.

“Netanyahu has been deeply skeptical of the Oslo framework of trading land for peace and a two-state solution that would give the Palestinians a country of their won in territory occupied by Israel since 1967,” Clinton writes.

One senior pro-Israel official who reviewed Clinton’s comments dubbed them as “troubling.”

“The quotes, which gives insight into Clinton’s thinking, are troubling,” the official told the Washington Free Beacon. “Most Americans, when they first experience the tiny distance separating average Israelis from enemies pledged to their destruction, immediately think of the difficult security situation that our allies have to negotiate. Not Clinton though.”

Clinton has come under fire from a pro-Israel group for not publicly condemning Kerry’s apartheid remarks about Israel, which were criticized by many Democrats.

About the Author

Adam Kredo is a senior writer for the Washington Free Beacon. His email address is kredo@freebeacon.com.

POSTED BY rABBI jONATHAN gINSBURG

Call your Senator to sign the letter

Deadline: COB Tuesday, June 10th
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rcharles@aipac.org Urge Senators to Sign the Cardin-Collins Letter on Palestinian Aid

Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) are circulating a bipartisan letter addressed to President Obama in the wake of the recent formation of a Palestinian Authority government backed by Hamas. The Palestinian unity government represents a serious setback to peace efforts. The letter urges the President to impress on President Abbas the need to cease any alliance with Hamas and return to the negotiating table with Israel. It also makes clear that U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority should only be provided when "we have confidence that this new government is in full compliance with restrictions contained in current law."


"I am calling the Senator to urge him/ her to sign the Cardin-Collins letter to the President. The letter outlines how a Hamas backed unity government deeply undermines the cause of peace and calls for a review of aid to the Palestinian Authority."

Background

The formation of a Palestinian Authority unity government backed by Hamas is a disturbing setback for peace. Rather than pursue a peace agreement with his willing Israeli partner, PA President Mahmoud Abbas chose to align with an Islamist terrorist organization that seeks Israel’s destruction and continues to perpetrate terror attacks against Israel. Aid should be suspended to the PA while a thorough review should be conducted of continued U.S. assistance to ensure that U.S. law, which prohibits funds to a Palestinian government in which Hamas participates or has undue influence, is completely followed and implemented.

Talking Points

The United States must ensure that any aid to the unity government remains consistent with existing U.S. law, which stipulates that no funds can be provided to a Palestinian government in which Hamas participates or has undue influence.

Hamas’ role in the unity government is not merely symbolic. Hamas leaders approved of the ministerial slate and now intend to help determine government policy, including the pathway forward to elections.

The new government allows Hamas to participate in the PA even though the Islamist group has not accepted the Quartet’s demands to renounce violence, recognize Israel’s right to
exist, and accept previous agreements.

The United States has consistently declared Hamas a terrorist organization and rejected any attempts to engage Hamas prior to its acceptance of the three criteria. President Clinton first designated Hamas a terrorist organization in 1997, and this policy has been fully supported and strengthened by subsequent U.S. administrations

The Jewish Festival

Beverly and I staffed the Protect our Heritage table at the Chicago Jewish Festival, held every other year. I wanted to share a few observations and experiences. 1. Organizations can get table space. Liberals dole out spaces evidently, because when you first walk in you see my Congressman's table,(Illinois 10 Schneider)  (big liberal whom i hope loses in November) to my last congressman (Dold) whose table was tucked way in back by us, and by the table of the Republican Jewish coalition and the Republican governor candidate in illinois. (By the way Illinois is one of worst run states in USA, and 50% of citizens want to leave. thanks you Democrats). 2. There were also extreme left wing Israel related groups, at least had more prominent placement than us. I went over to investigate and heard total lies and nonsense from the anti israel Jewish antisemites staffing that table, about "Israel's supposed brutal occupation, apartheid etc.) I am a former national debate champion but arguing with insane lunatics whose minds are made up, is pointless. 3. Went back to our table and most people came by were fine. We had a picture poster of politicians the POH PAC donated money to, some Dems and some Republicans. It was pretty funny that some people came by and said "I'd never donate because you gave to that facist, and another said "Id never donate because you gave to that left wing radical." 4. POH is a ONE issue PAC. "Are you for Israel or not". one lady cam e by and started arguing with Beverly about how wrong it is to be a one issue group. Turns out she said she'd never vote for someone who wanted to limit a women's right to kill fetuses, no matter what else. 5. The best fun i had was arguing with an old liberal who told me the only reason i opposed Obama was the color of his skin. i told he was the racist for saying that and there are dozens of black politicians  I know 'd prefer over any Democrat, and Obama especially any day. He  also told me that Jews had to be liberals. I told him that many liberal Jews have as their religion liberalism, not Judaism. Jews who actually know something about Judaism and live Jewishly, tend to be way more politically conservative. From Pew study a few months ago. "Politically, Orthodox Jews are far more conservative than other Jews. For example, 57% of Orthodox Jews describe themselves as Republicans or say they lean toward the Republican Party, while 36% are Democrats or lean Democratic. Among Jews as a whole, the balance tilts strongly in the other direction: 70% of Jews overall are Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party, while just 22% are Republican or lean Republican."
6. One guy tried arguing the taliban terrorists released were likely not terrorists at all, another guy told me "how dare you impugn the integrity of a US soldier (Bergdahl). when we got on that subject. He backed off when i asked how dare he impugn the integrity of the soidiers and commanding officer of Bergdahl who are increasingly proving the guy at best was a deserter and probably a traitor.   There were several other pro israel groups represented, as well as much music, many other organizations, lots of kosher food, etc. 7. Not sure how much good we did for Israel today but,,as rabbi Tarfon taught 2000 years ago, it is not up to us to complete the task, but neither are we free to desist from it." http://www.pocet.org/

Hillary and israel

Hillary Clinton's Anti-Israel History

An article appearing in the Jewish Daily Forward announced the formation of "Jewish Americans Ready For Hillary!" A truth those progressive Jews for Hillary ignore, with the possible exception of the time from her first campaign New York’s Senate seat in 2000 to her resignation from the Senate to become Secretary of State in January 2009, except for the time she needed New York’s Jewish voting bloc, Hillary Clinton has never been pro-Israel.

On their website, "Jewish Americans Ready For Hillary!" claim, "Throughout her career, Hillary Clinton has fought for the issues that matter most to Jewish Americans."

Of one issue that "matters most to Jewish Americans," Hillary Clinton is most certainly not a supporter that is the health and security of the Jewish State of Israel.

Even before her marriage to Bill, Hillary Clinton was opposing Israel and promoting the forces of terrorism.  In his book American Evita on page 49, Christopher Anderson writes.

At a time when elements of the American Left embraced the Palestinian cause and condemned Israel, Hillary was telling friends that she was "sympathetic" to the terrorist organization and admired its flamboyant leader, Yasser Arafat. When Arafat made his famous appearance before the UN General Assembly in November 1974 wearing his revolutionary uniform and his holster on his hip, Bill "was outraged like everybody else," said a Yale Law School classmate. But not Hillary, who tried to convince Bill that Arafat was a "freedom fighter" trying to free his people from their Israeli "oppressors."

On page 50 the author relates an experience that Hillary and and her future husband had during a trip to Arkansas in 1973.

It was during this trip to his home state that Bill took Hillary to meet a politically well-connected friend. When they drove up to the house, Bill and Hillary noticed that a menorah-the seven branched Hebrew candelabrum (not to be confused with the more common and subtler mezuzah)-has been affixed to the front door.

"My daddy was half Jewish," explained Bill's friend. "One day when he came to visit , my daddy placed the menorah on my door because he wanted me to be proud that we were part Jewish. And I wasn't about to say no to my daddy."

To his astonishment, as soon as Hillary saw the menorah, she refused to get out of the car. "Bill walked up to me and said that she was hot and tired, but later he explained the real reason." According to the friend and another eyewitness, Bill said, "I'm sorry, but Hillary's really tight with the people in the PLO in New York. They're friends of hers, and she just doesn't feel right about the menorah."

Hillary's attitude did not change when she became first lady. In May 1998 Ms Clinton became the first member of any presidential administration ever to call for a Palestinian State. She told a youth conference on Middle East peace in Switzerland, that she supports the eventual creation of an independent Palestinian state. Her spokesperson, Marsha Berry told reporters: "These remarks are her own personal view."

In November 1999, while on a purported State visit to the Middle East, she publicly appeared with Yasser Arafat's wife Suha. Mrs. Arafat made a slanderous fa allegation:

"Our [Palestinian] people have been submitted to the daily and intensive use of poisonous gas by the Israeli forces, which has led to an increase in cancer cases among women and children." Suha also accused Israel of contaminating much of the water sources used by Palestinians with "chemical materials" and poisoning Palestinian women and children with toxic gases."

Mrs. Clinton sat by silently listening to a real-time translation, and the terrorist's wife hug and a kiss when she finished speaking.

Later, many hours after the event, and only after a media furor put her on the spot for what many view as a bit more than a mere political "boo boo Mrs. Clinton called on all sides to refrain from "inflammatory rhetoric and baseless accusations," including Israel, whose leaders made no such accusations.

Glossing over this repugnant affair, Hillary Clinton has yet to specifically contradict and denounce the monstrous lies uttered by Yasser Arafat's wife in her presence. Only years later did she make feeble attempt at an excuse, the translator screwed up.

Before her tenure in the State Departing, Bill and Hillary Clinton made mega dollars from their extensive involvement with Dubai. Besides being a leader in the movement to boycott Israel, Dubai is the "Hong Kong" of the Arab world. And a major commerce and shipping point for the "business-side" of terrorism. Bill and Hilary are major friends of Dubai, to the point where the Clinton Foundation have established Dubai Study departments in universities in the US and London. They worked hard at granting legitimacy to this Jew-hating, terrorist supporting nation.

While she was running for President in 2007, San Francisco Examiner columnist P.J. Corkery, wrote that Clinton made $10 million a year from Yucaipa a Dubai firm. Ron Berkle, the owner of Yucaipa companies was a major fund-raiser for Bill and Hillary.

The Clintons also had a connection to the worlds biggest exporter of terrorism, Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Royal Family donated $10,000,000 to the Clinton Library.

According to a 1993 New York Times article, Prince Turki bin Feisal was a college classmate of Bill’s at Georgetown University and (at the time of the article’s writing) was the head of the Saudi Arabian intelligence service. While he was still governor of Arkansas, it looks like Bill Clinton cashed in on that relationship, “work[ing] hard to secure a multimillion-dollar Saudi donation to a Middle Eastern studies program at the University of Arkansas.” Due to the intervention of the Gulf War, the first installment of $3.5 million didn’t arrive until 1992, with another $20 million arriving after Bill Clinton’s first inauguration.

During her Senate years Ms. Clinton became a vocal supporter of Israel because she needed the Jewish vote.

One of her first actions after leaving the Senate to become Secretary of State was to ignore a previous deal with Israel and call for the end of the construction of new homes in existing settlement neighborhoods. Five years later her call for the end of building is till is haunting Israeli/Palestinian peace talks.

As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton first demanded the "settlement" freeze in 2009 and was quickly backed up by Obama. What she perceived as a minor concession (a "settlement" freeze including no new housing units in existing communities) was for Israel a grave sacrifice. For all intents and purposes Clinton was telling Israeli parents their married children could no longer live in their neighborhoods

This was a major error by the Clinton State Department and it was compounded by their inclusion of Jerusalem in the mix and the constant public berating of the Jewish State by Clinton and Obama.

Clinton's demand for a building freeze in existing settlement communities broke a US/Israel agreement made during the Bush administration. Ms Clinton said there was never an agreement between Israel and the US about natural expansion of existing settlements. But Elliot Abrams who negotiated the agreement for the United States said Clinton’s contention is simply not true.

Immediately the Palestinians seized upon the Hillary-created settlement issue. Seeing an opportunity to avoid talking, they used the administration's demands, to make a "settlement" freeze a precondition to further talks even though there were negotiations and construction going on simultaneously before Hilary Clinton became Secretary of State.

In August 2009 Prime Minister Netanyahu announced a ten-month "settlement" freeze. It was approved by the cabinet and implemented on November 25, 2009 and was to run till September 25, 2010. Despite pressure from the United States, the Palestinians refused to join any talks the first 9+ months of the freeze; they did not come to the negotiation table till September 2010, three weeks before the freeze ended.

As the end of the construction halt approached, the US began to negotiate with the Israel to extend the freeze. Based on their experience with Clinton denying the deal negotiated by Elliot Abrams during the Bush Administration, Israel demanded that any proposal be presented in writing, as any oral deal with Clinton and the Obama administration was worth the paper on which is was printed on.

The written offer never came; the Secretary of State wasn’t negotiating in good faith. Instead Ms Clinton was playing "Bait and Switch." As Israel waited for a letter clarifying America's guarantees in exchange for a proposed building ban for Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria, a diplomatic source finally came forward saying that no such letter is on its way.  The United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton misled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.The source, a senior diplomat with inside knowledge of Netanyahu's recent meetings in Washington, said Clinton made commitments when talking to Netanyahu, but later slipped out of them by claiming that she had not been speaking on behalf of U.S. President Obama – who, she said in the end, did not give his approval.

In 2011 speaking at the at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the liberal Brookings Institute, Clinton expressed concern for Israel's social climate in the wake of limitations the regarding female singing in the IDF and gender segregation on public transportation. Both were accommodations made to the Orthodox communities in Israel

She referred to the decision of some IDF soldiers to leave an event where female soldiers were singing; she said it reminded her of the situation in Iran. It did? Wow! In Iran the women would have been lashed or executed. In Israel they sang, but the people who felt it was against their religious beliefs walked out. Most senior officers in the IDF supported the women's right to sing. 

Clinton also poke of her shock that some Jerusalem buses had assigned separate seating areas for women. "It's reminiscent of Rosa Parks," she said, taking the typical progressive position that faith should not matter outside a place of worship. Clinton's statement was part of the continued attempt by the Obama administration/Clinton State Department to de-legitimize the Israeli democracy and destroy one of the reasons for American support of Israel, the fact it is the only democracy in the Middle East.

Now Hillary Clinton is running for President. She will campaign on the basis that she is a friend of Israel, just as Barack Obama did in 2008. The truth is as Secretary of State; she was the architect of the policy of the most anti-Israel president since the rebirth of Israel in 1948. It was a policy which reflected views she has held her entire life, with the exception of the nine year period where she ran for and held the office of U.S. Senator from New York State.