Hate should have no place in this world. It turns us against one another and forces unnecessary destruction of property and life.
This past Sunday was the first anniversary of the shooting in Buffalo. It is a remembrance that no one wanted or needed. But because we allow racism to persist and refuse to enact reasonable gun control laws, 10 people lost their lives.
Instead of getting on my soapbox, I’m going to let the experts do the talking.
A question for NAKBA (catastrophe) promoters: Why don’t you ever talk about the 165,000 Palestinian Arabs who chose not to flee in 1948, but rather, to remain in #Israel-becoming full citizens? Learn more: https://t.co/S3OBJ7HsEq
At the end of the day, the only way to end racism and prejudice is to face the truth and see one another as human beings. Until then, we will continue to destroy one another over superficialities.
We all know that war and death go hand in hand. The question that unfortunately too often avoided is who is killed. Is it the soldier on the battlefield or the civilian who is trying to live as normally as possible?
Last Friday, Rabbi Leo Dee lost two of his daughters, Maia (20) and Rina (15) in a terrorist attack in Israel. His wife Lucy initially survived the attack but later died in the hospital. As a human being and a fellow Jew, my heart breaks for Rabbi Dee and his family. It’s one thing to destroy a military facility. It is another thing entirely to kill innocent civilians (the Palestinians usually MO). I ask you to close your eyes and just listen to a heartbroken husband and father whose family is forever changed.
The conflict was the subject of one of the segments on The Brian Lehrer Show. My beef with the conversation (as one of the listeners pointed out) is that the blame was mostly put on Israel. It was only later on that the Palestinian leadership was called out for their part in this decades-long war.
In a related news headline, the IDF was again accused of purposefully going after worshippers at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem last week. As usual, the finger-pointing was in one direction while the truth was buried.
If you are on Twitter, I ask that you create or share an existing tweet with the hashtag#DeesDays. Let Rabbi Leo know that he is not alone as he moves on without his wife and his daughters.
On March 31st, WNYC‘s On the Media discussed the 70+-year-old war with her Arab neighbors and the political issues swirling around Benjamin Netanyahu. You can listen and draw your own opinion.
However, I ask that you have an open before making a decision. What I will say is that this war is more about prejudice and antisemitism than anything else.
P.S. As we all know, today is Easter Sunday. Israel is the only country in that region in which Christians (and people of all faiths) can openly and freely practice whatever they believe.
Among the many virtues of democracy is the ability to openly criticize those in power without fear of persecution or death.
Recently Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the decision to do a mass overhaul of the country’s judicial system. In response, millions took to the streets to protest the move and the concern that the right is taking control of the government. Yesterday, it was a segment on WNYC‘s The Brian Lehrer Show.
This is democracy in action. This is the voice of the average citizen who disapproves of the actions of those in power and speaks loudly. Unlike other nations (cough, Iran, cough) in which protesters are jailed, tortured, and killed, there is no such action from the military.
The only thing that I disagree with was the reporter’s statements about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict (which is another topic for another time).
If I was advising Bibi, I would tell him to think long and hard about continuing on the path he is on. If he values his position and the voters who (again) put him in power, he would not listen to a minority whose beliefs differ from the rest of the population.
P.S. The video below speaks for itself in regard to the lies that the Palestinians tell themselves and the rest of the world.
Many of the Jews protesting Netanyahu in London were calling for peace with Palestinians.
Meanwhile, the anti-Zionists protesting Netanyahu were calling for Israel's destruction. pic.twitter.com/rCAPyH1ZTw
— Israel Advocacy Movement (@israel_advocacy) March 28, 2023
This was in response to Ilhan Omar potentially being removed from her committees by the Republican leadership in January. Now granted, this is a partisan proposal that is deeply problematic, but Goldberg’s comments are also problematic.
Both Hamas and the Taliban (as anyone with a brain would recognize), are known terrorist groups. If the only way to create their ideal world is to destroy and kill, so be it. The Hamas Charter goes so far as to say it in black and white.
“Which calls for the destruction of the State of Israel, and would not become a purely political movement, but quite the opposite, it would continue its policy of “resistance”.
The conflict with Israeli is religious and political: The Palestinian problem is a religious-political Muslim problem and the conflict with Israel is between Muslims and the Jewish “infidels.”
Goldberg seems to be an intelligent and capable woman. She would have lasted this long in Hollywood without a brain. But in making this comment, she has proven herself to be ignorant.
One of the newest films to be released on Netflix is Farha. It is supposed to dramatize the event known as “Nakba“. This is the lie that in 1948, Israel murdered and forced out hundreds of thousands of Arab Palestinians.
In any war, there is violence, there is death, and there is destruction. It is the nature of the beast. Nakba never happened. It was a story concocted to make the Israelis appear the Goliath to the Palestinian‘s David. The problem is that this fiction has continued to enable anti-semitism and has killed multiple generations on both sides.
Every time I read or see something about this, I get sick to my stomach. When I was very young, I was told the story about the ripple in the bond. As it got bigger, it spread. The same could be said for anti-semitism.
The only way to counter this hate is with love and acceptance. But first, we have to be willing to see one another as human beings.
Jerusalem is a beautiful city. Both ancient and modern, it is home to the world’s three great faiths. Walking through her streets is to walk through history and in the footsteps of the generations that have come before us.
It is also a site of murder, hate, and destruction. Earlier this week, two explosions shook the town. By the time to smoke cleared, eighteen people were injured and one person was killed. Â Aryeh Shechopek was fifteen and had dual citizenship in both Israel and Canada.
This boy, who had his entire future ahead of him, was only killed because he is a Jew living in Israel. Nothing more and nothing less.
What I don’t get is why the Palestinian leadership continues to think (and brainwash their citizens) that violence is the answer. It is obviously not. We are here to stay. This is our ancestral homeland, just as it is the ancestral homeland of the Arabs and the Christians.
What I want for the region (and for the rest of the world, as pie in the sky as it seems) is peace. No one, especially a child, should die because of who they are or where they live.
I am going to end this post with a quote from Golda Meir. It is as timely now as it was during her era.
If the Arabs put down their guns there would be no more fighting. If the Israelis put down theirs there would be no more Israel.”
In an ideal world, college (and higher education in general) is an opportunity to spread our wings and see the world beyond what we think it is. But we don’t live in an ideal world. We live in the real world, which is far more complicated.
A couple weeks ago, a controversy erupted at UC Berkeley in California. Back in August, nine student groups adopted by-laws in which they agree to not invite speakers who “hold views in support of Zionism, the apartheid state of Israel, and the occupation of Palestine.” In other words, the campus has certain sections that are judenrein.
First of all, Palestine is not occupied. Second of all, Israel is not an apartheid state. Third of all, they boiled the complex issue of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict into the idea that all Jews support Israel and subjugate Palestinian neighbors. None of this is true.
Recently Noa Tishby visited the campus and tried to get an understanding of what was going on. The video below speaks for itself.
I wish that we would see each other as human beings first and then see us via whatever labels we use to identify ourselves. But we don’t. We rush to judgment and make a generic statement about who they are. My fear in all of this is that the students are our future leaders. Who knows where the poison they spread today will take us tomorrow.
Antisemitism is the oldest version of hate in human history. For thousands of years and in many parts of the world, we have been hated, forced out of our homes, persecuted, and murdered.
“No President has done more for Israel than I have,” Trump wrote before saying it was somewhat surprising that “our wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the U.S.”
Aside from his usual braggadocio, the disturbing aspect of what he says speaks to one of the basic tenets of antisemitism. Jews in America (or in any country that is part of the diaspora) are not 100% loyal to the nation in which they live. The culprit is, as usual, Israel. It is curious (though it should not be to anyone with a working brain), why other Americans whose families came from other parts of the world are not accused of the same lie?
Speaking of Israel, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong stated that until the two-state solution is resolved, her country’s embassy will remain in Tel Aviv. They also refuse to recognize that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital city.
I would like to make the following proposal: until her government deals honestly and openly with their colonial past, how about we recommend that their capital city be changed? Instead of Canberra, how about we recognize Melbourne or Sydney as the main seat of the government? How would they feel?
It is morally reprehensible that Israel is told what she can and cannot do, but she cannot turn around and do the same thing. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
Just another week of antisemitism. What else is new?
An attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy/hostile targets.
It is an aspect of war that is unfortunately unavoidable.
After months of investigation, the IDF announced that it was very likely that friendly fire caused the death of journalist of Shireen Abu Akleh.
Two things are apparent to me from this announcement.
The first is that as usual, Israel is figuratively being the bigger person. Their leadership and maturity prove that they are willing to do the work to create lasting peace and coexistence. The second is that the Palestinians, on the other hand, are so committed to the lies that they are spreading, that they will use anyone and anything to support their “truth“.
As usual, the only victims are the innocent people whose lives have been turned upside down at best, or at worst are maimed and/or killed because one side refuses to work with the other.
It took half a century for the Olympic committee to publicly recognize and remember those who were killed during the games. During this year’s games in Tokyo, a moment of silence commemorated those whose lives were taken.
The German government, led by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, apologized for the inaction that led to the slaughter.
“In the name of the Federal Republic of Germany, I ask for forgiveness for insufficient protection of the athletes” German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
While I appreciate the apology and the memorial to the victims, it’s not enough. What we need to do is to educate ourselves about the lies of antisemitism and shut down those who would make stories about the Jews and Israel for personal/political aims.
Writergurlny 
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