IGNORANCE AND WISDOM

The height of ignorance is not knowing what you don't know. Knowing what you don't know is the first step on the path to wisdom.

THE RULE OF LAW

The rule of law is like virginity, … the first time you give it up, it can’t be gotten back.

WHAT DOES "I'M JEWISH" MEAN?

Being Jewish is more than Judaism, more than the religion. Being Jewish is a also a culture filled with its rich traditions. But truly being Jewish is more than the culture and the religion … being Jewish is the heritage. If someone practices the religion, but doesn't cherish, preserve, and defend the heritage, then they have to relinquish their membership to The Tribe, and tear up their MOT card. If someone engages in the BWC (bread, wine, and candle) traditions (and let's throw in the potato latke part too), but not cherish, preserve, and defend the heritage, then they too have to tear up  their MOT card. I know …those who don’t cherish, protect, and preserve the heritage will ask why I have the right to decide whether they get to keep their MOT card. And in the finest Jewish tradition, I answer that question with this question: Why do you want an MOT card anyway?

HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE IN MY DNA

I can't do it! No matter how hard I try, I just can't grasp the true fear and horror of those who were systematically dehumanized and exterminated by the German Government, the Nazi party, other European Governments, and the German and European citizenry. From as far back as I can remember I, have watched the gripping footage of the liberation of the death camps, again and again. I have seen the movies ... Schindler's List, Sophie's Choice, It's A Beautiful Life, The Pianist and many, many others. I have read innumerable accounts describing the systematic manner in which the German Government worked to dismantle rights to livelihood, culture, possessions, and even self-respect... the Nuremburg Laws, Kristallnacht and many others.

iI have spent countless hours at the Dachau death camp in Germany, in the Holocaust Museum in DC, and at the Holocaust Memorial in Miami Beach hopelessly trying to comprehend the gradual hour-by-hour, day-by-day realization of the inevitability of the German genocidal plan felt by just one parent, one husband.

But I can't. I can't even adequately imagine the slightest shred of hopelessness and helplessness that even so much as one of the 6 millions Jews, and an equal number on non-Jews, felt each waking minute of the day, as the "noose" tightened around them and everyone they loved was herded into rail cars, into death camps, and, sooner or later, into gas chambers.

In my visits to Germany and other European countries, I couldn’t stop myself from looking at the faces and wondering whether those faces in front of me… not in some movie or documentary …. truly felt remorse for what had been done. After all, didn’t their relatives possibly have some complicity? Aren’t they the ones still arguing against fair compensation for the remaining Holocaust survivors in their last few years on Earth? Aren’t they involved in the government legal system and the insurance industry denying the beneficiaries of death camp and firing squad victims their claims on the policies’ death benefits? AREN’T THEY THE ONES WHO HARBOR ILL WILL FOR THE CITIZENS OF ISRAEL AND QUIETLY SMILE WHEN ISRAEL IS ATTACKED IN THE UNITED NATIONS ONE RESOLUTION AFTER ANOTHER?

So many yet unanswered questions. Were the houses or apartments in Europe that I walked past once occupied by a Holocaust victim’s family? Who occupies them now and how did they get possession? Exactly who took the Holocaust victims’ property, money, jewelry, paintings, and other possessions? Who are these despicable people… are they alive today or did they pass their ill-gotten gains on to their families without those family members knowing the Jewish blood that provided them these possessions?

Worst of all, I can’t decide what to “never forget” and what to let go of, because we surely can’t move forward while clinging to suspicions and assumptions. But where is the proportionality? You know … PROPORTIONALITY… that demand from the world on Israel each time Israel defends itself from attacks by Palestinian terrorists? Where is the proportionality for the Holocaust victims… Jews and non-Jews… for their misery?

For far too many people, the Holocaust is just a fading chapter in a history book and, with time, will lose its significance like the terrorism of the KKK and lynchings. We cannot and must never allow it. It is not enough for our children and theirs and future generations of Jews and non-Jews to merely know that the Holocaust happened. They must understand the Holocaust in the most personal terms possible, so that the feelings are imbedded in their DNA. And from that sense of connection, they will see to it that no other people will be treated so inhumanely. I feel inadequate to the task, but I have an obligation to continue the pursuit of connecting to just one victim, not compulsively, but out of respect for all of the victims.

Ron Dolinsky

LET'S GIVE "JEWISH LEADERS" A BREAK

In tense times like these, many of us activists lament that the so-called “Jewish leaders” repeatedly fail to switch from advocacy to activism at a time when their position publicly could make a meaningful difference for Israel and for all Jews. The truth is that it is unfair to criticize them for not taking a leadership position on the fight with Hagel.

Despite the media’s (liberal and conservative) need to have their “go to” Jewish “leaders” when covering an event or an issue, we owe it to these individuals to relieve them of a responsibility that is not theirs. They are not leaders of any Jews other than their own members, donors, or congregants who have expressly granted them the right to speak on their behalf. They are merely officials of a non-profit organization. Nothing more. We need to make sure that the world is made aware of the difference… with crystal clarity.

This not to pick a fight with them or to denigrate or destroy them. This is an act of mercy to remove them from unwarranted harsh criticism. In other times when Jewish communities were isolated, heads of Jewish organizations, media, and institutions were traditionally viewed as the leaders of their enclaves, so-called Jewish communities. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not so much. Many think it made little sense then, and it makes even less sense now in an Internet world where every Jew has an equal voice.

Reading Denise Tamir’s article* describing some American Jewish “leaders” ignoring Peter Bergson’s pleas to lobby the US Government on behalf of European Jews being slaughtered is sickening. And that we still have some who are willing unwilling to protest against the nomination of Chuck Hegel for Secretary of Defense is beyond disappointing. But, WE CAN DO THIS OURSELVES, yes we can!

Final comment, for those who are interested, Rabbi Steven Wise was singled out by Tamir as one who strongly opposed Bergson and failed European Jews. As you may know, I like to compare large scale events to a Rubik’s cube. When you think you have the complete picture, keep turning the cube AND the individual cublets on each side. You’ll be amazed at what you will find! I strongly recommend the more complete and balanced version from the US Holocaust Museum, Rabbi Stephen Wise
www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007309 .

Here is the concluding paragraph from that version to stimulate your interest:

Wise's role as the leading American Jewish leader during the 1933–1945 period made him a natural target for criticism. He was unable to change congressional opposition to the 1924 Immigration Act. He could not change British policy in Palestine. Ultimately, he could not persuade the Roosevelt administration or Great Britain to build rescue missions to save Jews into their strategy to win the war. There is no doubt, however, that Stephen Wise was a pivotal religious, Zionist, civic, and civil rights figure, and one of the most important Jewish leaders of the twentieth century

It's all about the Arab-Israeli Conflict, stupid!

One might conclude that all of the reporting and analysis from media, pundits, Jewish Organizations, and Hagel and his “explainers/defenders” has as many different faces as all of the sidelets on all of the cubelets on a Rubik’s cube. But they all share a common core misconception. All of these people buy into/promote the false narrative of a “Palestinian-Israeli Conflict”  with Israel as Goliath and “Palestinians” as David. It is and ALWAYS has been an Arab-Israeli Conflict. That Israel has been a miracle of agriculture, science, self defense, and democracy doesn’t alter the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Israel is David., and the giant Goliath has grown like Jack’s bean stalk.

It is, and ALWAYS has been, about genocidal anti-Semitism. That some Israeli’s …citizens, government representatives, and IDF officers … buy into the PIC fable doesn’t make it so. And all of the liquefied dinosaurs under the Earth’s surface don’t either. Here’s the test question. If all Jews left Israel, would 15 million Jews who so far have survived several thousand years of genocidal anti-Semitism be then free from genocidal anti-Semites? Here’s another … If the “Palestinians” had every speck of Israel’s land, would the Islamists and Islamist terrorists put an end to their march from one believer to 1.5 billion believers to convert all non-believers? Those who continue to be distracted by the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict will never solve the Arab-Israeli Conflict., and in the end will have blood on their hands.

Guest Post From "grass roots" to British power.

Dear Mr Burt,

I am writing to you in your capacity as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Minister for the Middle East, North Africa, North America and South Asia. I hope this email finds you well.

I watch with increasing alarm at the worrying situation in Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood is a far right organisation which preaches hatred for Jews, minorities and the west. Its thugs control the streets in Cairo. It suppresses dissent by intimidating journalists and academics. It was instrumental in rushing elections following the ousting of Mubarak to ensure that no opposition could be organised in time. It promised that it would not take part in the presidential elections and then did exactly the opposite. Now it is consolidating its power and forcing a constitution on the Egyptian public which will take the country back to the dark ages and keep the Islamist, anti-western, homophobic, intolerant Muslim Brotherhood in power for decades.

Why did the British government not speak out against this when we had the chance? Why does no-one in the British government speak for those Egyptians who do NOT hate the west, who do NOT reject our culture and values of decency and human rights?

Why does the British government continuously pursue a failed policy of backing one dictator in the hope of disempowering another worse dictator? We back Morsi in the hope of undermining the Ayatollah's influence. We back Abbas in the hope of undermining Hamas's influence. None of these tyrants are worthy of Britain's support. We seem to be operating under some sort of delusion that supporting these people will turn them into moderates and friends to the west. There is not a shred of evidence that this has ever worked or ever will work, and yet we continue to do it.

Only one political entity in the region is worthy of our full, consistent support and that is the democratic, liberal, inclusive and tolerant State of Israel. Which brings me to my next point. Why then does the British government continuously undermine, humiliate and betray our only true ally and friend in the Middle East?

When Mahmoud Abbas stood in front of the world and the Unite Nations last week he used his entire speech to defame, degrade and slander Jews, Israel and the Israeli Defence Forces. It was an absolute travesty. He gave an account of a torturous, lamentable version of history, which pointed the finger at Jews as the aggressors and Arabs as the victims, which is a complete reversal of the truth. Never before have I seen such a disgraceful, deliberate, cynical and calculated distortion of the truth.

Why did the British Ambassador to the United Nations not challenge any of this? Why did he not use the opportunity to tell the truth, not only correct Abbas's offensive distortions but also to make clear that the PLO has obligations for peace which it consistently fails to meet? They continue to promote hatred of Jews, they continue to support violence against Jews in word if not in deed (notice their public support for Hamas during the previous conflict with that despicable organisation and Fatah claiming responsibility for the Tel Aviv bus bombing). Not a word of any of this was spoken. Shame on us!

Why did we abstain from a resolution that made no mention whatsoever of Israel's security requirements, which made no mention of the PLO's obligations under the Oslo treaty, and which revised and misrepresented previous binding resolutions and agreements such as UNSCR 242 and the San Remo declaration? Why did we allow the PLO a victory over the west and the USA with impunity? Why did we allow our closest international partners to be humiliated and isolated? Have we no honour?

Finally, there is the issue of settlements and the Israeli government's decision to develop the area of Jerusalem referred to as "E1". I understand that the British government disagrees with this decision, and that we live in a democracy. My own view is that land for peace should and must be a two-way street. If the PLO refuses to make peace (I hope you can see that it is them who have been refusing to return to negotiations for the last four years, not Israel) then why on Earth should Israel continue to refrain from allowing private developments on Israeli land just because the PLO lays claim to it? If they want the land then why won't they negotiate for it? I see no logical reason why Israeli Jews, Christians, Druze and Muslims should suffer housing shortages when there are large swathes of prime real-estate left empty.
But all that aside, why was the British government's disapproval not expressed using private diplomatic channels, as is the norm with friends and allies? Why did we instead choose to publicly humiliate and shame our ally at such a time when Israelis already feel threatened and let down by the world? The Foreign Office's "tweet" said that they "deplore" the decision. This is the kind of language that should reserved for tyrants and terrorists, not democratic allies.

There was a time, Mr Burt, when I believed that Britain stood firmly on the side of people who share our values of freedom and democracy, and we opposed regimes who crushed those freedoms. I am afraid that as time goes on, I am no longer able to convince myself that this is the case. I am a proud and patriotic Briton. If I no longer have faith in Britain to do what is right, how can our allies around the world trust us?

Yours sincerely,
Matt Pryor