Ahmadinejad: World forces must annihilate Israel

This piece appears in Jerusalem post.

I am a supporter of Israel, but not the unjust policies of Israeli government. The policies are dangerous to security (not defense) of Israel and tarnish the character of Jewish nation.  I have written over 25 pieces on the topic, please visit www.IsraelpalestineDialogue.com

As peace makers, we should listen carefully. The biggest mistake the hard liners among the right wing Muslims, Jews, Christians and Hindus make is simple; they don't listen.

They jump to conclusions and mess up the world. This is what Ahmadinejad said in the same paper and they had the gall to mis-write the heading, "Anyone who loves freedom and justice must strive for the annihilation of the Zionist regime in order to pave the way for world justice and freedom.”|

Criticizing Zionism is not criticizing Israel, Judaism or Jews.  It is downright stupid to call “annihilate Israel” when it was “regime change”.  I do hope the prominent Jews condemn this non-sense.

Nearly half of Israel wants Netanyahu regime gone, it is not annihilation of Israel or Jews, and it is the regime! The same dudes have the ability to distinguish between Republican and Democrat regimes in America.  The late Prime Minister Menachem Begin wanted a regime change when Carter was the President, as Americans we did not look that as Anti-American.

Not all Israelis are enamored with Netanyahu, there are Jewish organizations against the regime, indeed, and there are Rabbis against Zionism.

We should not spread falsities; it is not good for Israel, Jews, Iranians, Americans, Palestinians or any one.

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on the topics of Pluralism, Coexistence, politics, interfaith, Islam and cohesive societies. He is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

Does Romney give a flip about Israel?

Peace hinges on hopes for the Palestinians and security for the Israelis, anything short of justice will not produce sustainable peace. If Jews and Palestinians can take the position that we cannot have peace when others around us don't, and work on first removing bias and stereotyping from their own minds, the conflicts will fade and solutions will emerge.

What has Romney got to lose? 

He will say anything to get elected, including, “as a President I will declare war on Iran on day one in my office and bombard them to smithereens.” When they hear elimination of their perceived enemy, men like Adelson and their likes will write big checks, they are good business men, the know the money will recycle back to them via Aid to Israel, if Romney gets elected. Who are the losers? It is the Average Israeli, Iranian, Palestinian, you and I who will pay the price.

I have always taken a stand for the Jews and their security, not at the cost of Justice to the Palestinians, like some of my fellow Republican do, instead stand for what is right and uphold the human rights.

I wonder if men like Netanyahu, Bill Crystal, Adleson and their likes existed before and if they did, were their attitudes responsible for uprooting Jews in Spain, Germany and other places?  These men are short-sighted and their actions are directly responsible for building up Antisemitism around the world. All of us should  stand up against  Anti-Semitism, Apartheid, racism, Islamophobia, Gayphobia and other evils of the society. 

There is a shameful amount of Anti-Semitism brewing, because Jews are perceived as taking advantages of others like illegally grabbing the lands from Palestinians. However, it is not Jews, who are wrong, it is a few right wingers among them. Indeed, they are causing damage to Jews in decades to come.

They know what is wrong; the violations of international laws, building settlements, throwing people out of their homes and building their own homes  by vacating and murdering the rightful owners of the land.  Whether God exists or not, the people around the world know it is wrong and someone has to pay for it someday'; it will be the ordinary, innocent Jews, as they have paid many times before, and It is time to say enough is enough.

Men like Romney, Gingrich, Santorum and others will say anything to get elected and tap in the Jewish money, the cheap men will compete in licking Netanyahu's boots. It is so embarrassing to read our nominees licking the prime minister's boots. Each one is eager to give away more  (that’s what support means) than the other.

Men like Romney, Gingrich, Santorum and others will say anything to get elected and tap in the Jewish money, the cheap men will compete in licking Netanyahu's boots. It is so embarrassing to read our nominees licking the prime minister's boots. Each one is eager to give away more  (that’s what support means) than the other.

Romney blames Obama for spending money on the health of Americans, whereas he is willing to spend the money on war and destruction. Who will pay for it stupid?

We cannot afford another war and Romney is either duping the Israelis or does not give a flip about what happens to American economy.

The Israelis need to wake up from these fakes who are ruining their future. Netanyahu can bully around and kill many more Palestinians or Iranians, but the blood of the people will have a price; protracted insecurity to Jews living in Israel. I don't think the Right wing Jews see that, they are determined to teach a lesson without worrying about the consequences. 

The law of karma works very well, they will get away with murders today, but will pay for it in terms of insecurity. Their attitudes is screw the ordinary Israelis and Americans, they will have their reserve funds and security, why should they bother about the ordinary.

Instead of spending every one's time, money and energy in destroying Iran, if they can spend the same on developing good relations with others, hostilities will mitigate. There is a Chinese saying, if you want to take the enemy out for good, make friends with them, on the other hand, if you overpower them today, you will not sleep well worried sick about your own vulnerability. That is how the law of karma works.

The few hawks do not want to make peace with Iran or the Palestinians, which means they will have to stop the aggressive theft of the Palestinian land, and stop the settlements as alluded by Dani Dayan and stop milking America.

In the past, the tyrant missionaries got away massacring the native tribes, the Hitlers,  Ferdinands, Saddams, Asads and those crooks got away too. Are the Israeli hawks thinking of doing the same to the Palestinians? Is the world going to sit by and do nothing? Indeed they did nothing to stop the Holocaust till the tail end of it. Are we going to pass the problems to over next generation?

If Israelis and Palestinians can demand accountability from their leaders measurable by peace and security for both the peoples, then a lasting sustainable peace is possible. The problem in not Jews or the Palestinians, it is the right wing hawks on both sides.

A personal note: As a Republican, I am leaning towards Obama again, Romney seems to be an opportunist and not good for America, Israel, Palestine or any one. He is not a man of his own conscience, there was another one like him who played to someone else's tunes. Obama has blundered, but he will not ruin America with another war. 

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on the topics of Pluralism, Coexistence, politics, interfaith, Islam and cohesive societies. He is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

HERE IS A NOTE FROM J-STREET

Dear Mike,
It was quite the weekend for American politics and Israel.


On Friday, Israeli settler leader Dani Dayan brought his vision of Israel’s future to America’s editorial pages, proclaiming that “the international community [should relinquish] its vain attempts to attain the unattainable two-state solution,” and acknowledge that Israeli “presence in all of Judea and Samaria – not just in the so-called settlement blocs – is an irreversible fact.”
Then, over the weekend, Israel had a visitor of its own – Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, pledging allegiance to the politics of Sheldon Adelson and the policies of Benjamin Netanyahu.


For the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement, these two events crystallized the deeply troubling point we’ve reached. In Israel, the settlers are declaring victory, proclaiming the two-state solution dead and with it any hope for Israel to be the democratic homeland of the Jewish people. 
Here in the US, the political forces backing Mitt Romney, from Sheldon Adelson to the Republican Jewish Coalition and Bill Kristol’s Emergency Committee for Israel, are claiming victory as well. 


Cynically using Israel as a political wedge, they’re trying to shave a couple of points from President Obama’s support in the Jewish community this election by jettisoning decades of bipartisanship on issues such as Jerusalem and shamelessly beating the drums for another war in the Middle East.


This weekend afforded a glimpse of what failure looks like: what Israel looks like when the most extreme settlers win and what American politics looks like when Jewish political opinion is defined by the most hawkish in our community.


J Street can’t accept a future for Israel defined by Dani Dayan or for American Jewish politics defined by Sheldon Adelson.


The majority of Jewish Americans don’t share either their vision or their politics. So our task is clear: organize, fight back and win.


At our 2012 national conference this past Spring, under the banner of “Making History,” we spoke of how history is defined by the choices people make at critical crossroads.


Israel’s choice is clear. After 45 years of controlling the territories, it either follows the path to Dani Dayan’s future of unending settlement over the Green Line or it seizes a last opportunity to reach a two-state solution to its conflict with the Palestinian people. 


Our choice in the States is clear as well. We either follow the path of Sheldon Adelson and what we’ve begun to call the One-State Caucus (the Congressional chorus endorsing the vision of Dayan and the settlers), or we stand up for the values and principles on which Israel was founded and from which the US-Israel relationship draws its strength.


Our challenge in the remaining months of this campaign is to make clear to America’s politicians and our community’s leaders just where the majority of Jews and Israel’s supporters in this country stand.


Dayan’s op-ed triggered a wave of responses from J Street supporters. We’ll be sharing the best of these in the coming days with you and with the broader community.


But we need to do far more than respond passionately to one op-ed. 


Have you signed up yet to be part of our 2012 Future of Pro-Israel Campaign? Are you part of an FPI Action Team, ready to campaign in your community for our vision of what it means to be pro-Israel?


Have you signed up for our Rapid Response Network where you’ll get will the tools to stand up to the smears, lies and misrepresentations that are running rampant in 2012 American politics?


Are you a member of J Street – providing financial support to political candidates willing to stand up to the One-State Caucus and for a smart American policy in the Middle East grounded in our best interests and our values?


Remember what failure looks like: a world in which settlers like Dani Dayan define what Israel is and where Sheldon Adelson and his allies define what it means to be pro-Israel in American politics.


Is this the future that we want for us and for Israel? Is this what we want for our children and grandchildren?


We are in a fight for the heart and soul of our community. 


And we need you with us on the front lines in the months ahead.
Thank you for all that you do,
Jeremy Ben-Ami

Myth of Zionist control on the US

Whether it is a myth, truth or propaganda, the idea that Zionists control the United States exists. Bulldozing or cursing it won’t go away, but finding a lasting solution will.

I am for Jews and Palestinians, and I am for Israel and Palestine, it’s not an irreconcilable thought, it has been floating since the creation of Israel. If we follow all the rules and resolutions, it will result in it.

A majority of Jews, Palestinian Muslims and Palestinian Christians want to move on, while a few like to continue with the status quo, obviously there is benefit in it for this tiny weeny number of people to continue the conflict. They are either control freaks or they mint money through American generosity which is recycled to our senators and congress persons, everyone makes the money while the average American loses it, and average Israeli lives in continued fear.

A few among the rightwing Jews, Christians, Muslims and Hindus, do not give a crap about Judaism/ Israel, Christianity, Islam or Hinduism respectively. Their only interest is how to enrich themselves and control others. There's sadism in there.

These handfuls of men are really screwing up ordinary Jews and Israel by faking to protect them. None of their actions and talk will bring security to Jews or Justice to the Palestinians, it has not happened in 64 years.

The law of Karma works this way; you frighten someone around you, they may be frightened to obedience, but deep in their hearts there is resentment, and deep in your heart there is fear that they might get you in a vulnerable moment. Neither of you can live in peace and security. Everything balances out itself, that is the law of nature.

I am keeping up with this conflict, the mother of all conflicts in the world, if we can find a resolution to this, the bottom of conflicts will fall and a peaceful world will emerge.

You must read this article to fully understand the situation, http://israel-palestine-dialogue.blogspot.com/2009/09/solutions-for-israel-and-palestine.html, it prevents you from falling into the trap of prejudice.

The United States and Arabs together have messed up the situation, when there was a conflict between the Jews and Palestinians, instead of getting them to talk, we supported one or the other, armed them to fight and kill each other, and caused them to dig in their heels and deepen the chasm. Who are the losers? Of course it is the Jews and the Palestinians!

The senators and congress persons were paid off to approve the funding and supplies to Israel on a continual basis, as opposed to preventing an aggression on Israel. Right now, these few men get their funds and pay a percentage towards these corrupt representatives. It’s a scheme to make money and certainly they benefit.

Peace means, no more monies to these rascals.

The Jews and Palestinians, and above all, the Americans need to wake up to this. We the people, the people of America, Israel and Palestinians are the losers, we are not funding Israel, but funding a few men, who in turn control us.

These few men have isolated America and Israel, in the name of protecting Israel. Much of the resentment they are breeding around the world morphs into anti-Semitism, we are goddamned alone in the community of nations. Even in the United States, the latent Anti-Semitism is caused by what people see; injustice to the Palestinians and the war trumpeting, illegal settlements and human rights violations.

When the world condemns settlements, we veto it, when the world wants to stop bombing Gaza, we remain silent, look at our record in the United Nations we have always gone against the world… we have gotten away with it because we are a powerful nation and bully or pay others to obedience. We have not done the investigation as to who is benefiting from the funding to Israel – is it serving its purpose?

The Senators and congresspersons can be bought off, but the informed public remains resentful and it is not good.

The best policy is to be just, and when you follow justice and the rule of law, you cannot go wrong. Your (individual or nation) safety hinges on justice to the people around you. When you take advantage of the weak, the equation goes off balance, you continue to live in the fear of your vulnerable moment, and they will continue to wait for the moment to get even or humiliate you in any fashion they can. The more injustice you do to others, the more vulnerable you become.

The Israeli public needs to demand that their leaders need to show progress they make in peace, and not get away by blaming the others, and on the other hand, the Palestinians public needs to demand the exact same from their leaders. Israel will continue to live in fears, as long as it pursues the current policies. The ordinary Jews need to demand a regime change. The Israeli problem is their leaders and not the Palestinians, and the Palestinian problem is same; their leaders and not the Palestinian people.

Peace hinges on hope and justice for the Palestinians and security for the Israelis, anything short of justice will not produce sustainable peace" - If Jews and Palestinians can take the position that we cannot have peace when others around us don't and work on first removing bias and stereotyping from their own minds, conflicts will fade and solutions emerge.

The following video is in circulation, instead of banning it, or ordering off you tube, we all need to find lasting solutions, when we do this, this will be a meaningless video. By the way, both sides do their propaganda.

Zionist control on the U.S.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-qekYT93FU

REFERENCES:
Presbyterians will possibly be divesting in Israel, long before more will join.
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/301/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=11042

.. . . . . . . . . .

 MikeGhouse is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a professional speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, Israel, peace and justice. Mike is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News and regularly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. The blog www.TheGhousediary.com is updated daily.

TIMELINE: Remembering Yitzhak Shamir

TIMELINE: Remembering Yitzhak Shamir TIMELINE: Remembering Yitzhak Shamir By JTA Staff · July 1, 2012 http://blogs.jta.org/thearchiveblog/article/2012/07/01/3099591/remembering-yitzhak-shamir Yitzhak Shamir, the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, passed away June 30, 2012 at the age of 96. Below is a brief biographical timeline featuring relevant articles from JTA Jewish Daily Bulletin reports, pieced together from items mentioned in various obituaries: Oct. 22, 1915: Born Icchak Jaziernicki in Ruzinov, Poland. (alternate sp. Yezternitsky) 1935: Yezternitsky leaves Warsaw, where he was studying law, to move to Palestine. Continues study at Hebrew University. (In November 1935, reports of agitation emerged from Warsaw University. 1937: Yezternitsky joins Irgun Tzvai Leumi. 1942: Avraham Stern, leader of Stern gang, is assassinated by British. Yezternitsky becomes one of a triumverate to fill the leadership void in the group. July 1946: Following the bombing of the King David Hotel, Yezternitsky is arrested by British during mass searches for Stern Gang and Irgun members and identified as one of 35 'extremely important' members of said groups. Menachem Begin was identified by the British as a prime target in these raids. 1955: Shamir Joins Mossad. 1961-1964: Involved in Operation Damocles, targeting German scientists engineering rockets for Egypt. 1970: Joins Herut Party, led by Begin 1973: Elected to 8th Knesset, sworn in in January. 1975: Elected Chairman of the Herut Executive, becomes party's number two man. June 1975: Shamir present when Israel releases 20 convicted terrorists in exchange for the bodies of two Stern gang members. The two were hanged on March 23, 1945 for the murder of Lord Moyne, British Resident Minister in the Middle East 1977: Elected Speaker of the Knesset. 1979: Moshe Dayan resigns from the Cabinet; Shamir replaces him as Foreign Minister. 1980: Uzi Benziman profiles Shamir for JTA. A month later, Shamir is sworn in as Foreign Minister. 1981: Foreign Minister Shamir warns that U.S. weapons sales to Saudi Arabia could ‘cloud’ U.S.-Israel relations December 1981: Shamir says Egypt has no basis for complaining about the Golan Law April 1982: Following murder of an Israeli diplomat in Paris, Shamir warns, "we will use our force to crush these terrorist organizations, their leaders, their centers and their bases everywhere our long arm reaches. We will hit them without mercy because we have decided to live." February 1983: Following Lebanon War, Kahan Commission report is released, saying Shamir "erred in not taking any measures" to help prevent the massacres at Sabra and Shatila. 1983: Gil Sedan profiles Shamir for JTA. 1983: Begin resigns as PM; Shamir assumes premiership. 1983: Shortly after the swearing in of his cabinet, Shamir is thrust into national economic crisis, implements austerity measures December 1983: On 40th anniversary of Irgun's declaration of rebellion, PM Shamir says that peace on Israel's borders would be assured by a renewal of the old underground fighting spirit. January 1984: Shamir meeting with Israeli-Arabs is first of its kind held by a Likud leader. September 1984: As part of PM Shimon Peres's new coalition government deal, Shamir is tapped for role of premier in second half of government's tenure. September 1985: Shamir denounces AJCongress mission to Cairo and Amman, Bronfman mission to Moscow April 1986: Addressing Irgun veterans, Foreign Minister Shamir declares Hebron a "liberated" Jewish city that "will never be given back." March 1988: Shamir warns American Jewish leaders on a mission to Israel that criticism by diaspora Jewish organizations of Israeli policies "does much more harm than any...violent demonstrations in Gaza and elsewhere." June 1988: With guarded optimism towards the U.S.S.R.'s diplomatic overtures offering to restore diplomatic relations with Israel for the first time since 1967, Shamir meets with Soviet Foreign Minister. September 1988: A former Stern Gang member confesses to 1948 assassination of Swedish U.N. mediator Count Folke Bernadotte but says Shamir was not one of the four men involved. Sweden demands a renewed apology, but Israel refuses. November 1988: PM Shamir butts heads with American Jewish leaders, refuses to take 'Who is a Jew' question off the national agenda. 1991: After a warm send-off to the Reagan administration in 1989, Shamir has a harder time warming up to President Bush and Secretary of State James Baker leading up to his first official visit. The Gulf War marks the first time in history that a foreign military (the U.S.) would land on Israeli soil to partake in its defense, putting Shamir on the defensive. Shamir's policy of restraint in the face of Iraqi SCUD missiles is welcomed by the U.S., but angrily rejected by others in Israel, including Ariel Sharon. June 1991: One month after Operation Solomon, Jewish Agency chairman Simcha Dinitz discloses that PM Shamir decided to leave 3,000 Falash Mura converts behind in Addis Ababa. June 1992: After Labor party upsets Likud in Israel's elections, Shamir steps down, announcing, ""I am at the end of the road." 1998: Shamir and Peres call on lawmakers to repeal a law that created a direct election of prime minister separate from the Knesset. July 29, 2011: Shamir's wife, Shulamit, dies at age 88. June 30, 2012: Shamir dies at age 96, after living with Alzheimer's disease for six years.

Hateful rhetoric against Palestinians- Rabbi Yosef

Hold your guns, there will be pieces on " Hateful rhetoric against Jews" as well. These articles are to acknowledge the existence of rhetoric that does not build bridges. My goal at this blog is to understand all issues and bad mouthing done by both sides and find solutions. -  Mike Ghouse

Rabbi has said God should strike the Palestinians and their leader with a plague

http://blogs.reuters.com/gbu/2010/08/30/rabbis-remarks/

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – An influential Israeli rabbi has said God should strike the Palestinians and their leader with a plague, calling for their death in a fiery sermon before Middle East peace talks set to begin next week.

Abbas, Palestinians should die: Israeli rabbi


“Abu Mazen and all these evil people should perish from this earth,” Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, spiritual head of the religious Shas party in Israel’s government, said in a sermon late on Saturday, using Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s popular name.


You report on offensive comments by an Israeli rabbi, but Arab imams say much worse every day. Additionally Arab media, schoolbooks etc. Are loaded with Nazi-like rhetoric.


Why do you refuse to report on Arab incitement? This is extremely unfair and a manifestation of bias.  


The comments were news in part because they were not typical. Yosef is the spiritual leader of a key partner in Israel’s governing coalition, which was a compelling reason to do the story.


The timing – just before peace talks are to begin – provided more reason to write about the remarks, which were also given prominence by the Israeli media.


We have reported in the past, for example, on Hamas clerics who have made anti-Jewish remarks and even Hamas children’s TV shows that portrayed Jews as bloodthirsty killers: GBU Editor

A Shas campaign poster depicting the party’s spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef is posted on a public bus in Jerusalem in a 2006 file photo. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis

A Tipping Point for Israel

http://israel-palestine-dialogue.blogspot.com/2012/05/tipping-point-for-israel.html

Until the Israeli majority speaks up, the leadership of Israel will continue to pursue policies that will make Israelis less and less secure, and until American public takes the stand that Israel needs to end the conflict and make peace with the Palestinians, the bad governance will continue. It is neither good for Israel, America or the Palestinians. 


If Israel makes peace, then the $4billion aid to Israel will stop, and that will drain the pockets of the men who have made a business of the conflict. The $4 billion in a vicious circle... it funds the congressman and the Senators and the Presidential candidates, who will make sure the funding remains in place or increased.  Do these men really care about Israel?  Do they care about Justice to the Palestinians and security to Israel? Their interest is their pockets and I hope they realize that the draining cannot continue.

Mike Ghouse committed to building cohesive societies.
www.MikeGhouse.net 

A Tipping Point for Israel

by Philip Giraldi, May 10, 2012

A tipping point is where physical momentum, inclined in one direction, reverses its course, stabilizes, and then begins to move the opposite way. Those of us who have been arguing for a sane United States foreign policy in the Middle East have well understood that the odds on shifting the prevailing narrative have been heavily against us thanks to the overwhelming resources possessed by a powerful domestic lobby. 


Ten years ago in America, it was impossible to place even a letter in a mainstream newspaper or magazine that was in any way critical of Israel. Apart from Pat Buchanan, no one on television provided a critique of Israel and its policies. In the U.S. media, Israel was ever the beleaguered little democracy surrounded by savage Arabs.


But then, all of a sudden, the conspiracy of silence began to break down. It began with the revisionist history of the antecedents of the Iraq War as that conflict continued to drag on. Many began attributing Washington’s initiation of the fighting, at least in part, to Israeli interests. Philip Zelikow, chief counsel for the 9/11 Commission Report, famously noted in March 2004 that the war was “to protect Israel,” surely an exaggeration but containing more than a kernel of truth. Many also began to observe that the agitation for a new war with Iran was following the same pattern, with supporters of Israel leading the charge.


In 2006, former President Jimmy Carter published Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. It provoked considerable outrage and highly publicized resignations from the board of the Carter Foundation together with charges that Carter was supporting Palestinian terrorism. But the big breakthrough came with the publication of Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer’s The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy in the following year. It became a New York Times best-seller, and it suddenly became acceptable to talk about Israel without the usual bromides. For the first time, people in America were taking notice of the power of the Israel lobby and the inherent downside for U.S. national interests.


Driven by the prospect of unending warfare in an attempt to remake the Muslim world by force, letters and op-eds critical of Israel and its policies began to appear in the mainstream media. There weren’t a lot, mind you, and they were always “balanced” by more numerous contrary commentaries, but there were enough to demonstrate that a shift was taking place. Mainstream Jewish organizations, always vigilant in defense of what they have perceived as Israel’s interest, resorted increasingly to discrediting critics by calling them “anti-Semites.” Indeed, they succeeded in equating any criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism and even managed to pass legislation in Canada and several European nations that made any criticism of Israel ipso facto a hate crime.


Some American Jews have always been bothered by the dark side of Israel’s story, beginning with the Nakba expulsion of the Palestinians from their homes and including the more recent settlement policy, “security” wall, and the denial of civil and human rights to the Arabs living in Israel and the occupied territories. They were convinced, correctly, that Israel had no intention to permit the creation of a viable Palestinian state. Many began to protest, though their voices were at first confined to the alternative media and they had to work through many progressive groups that were advancing a much broader peace agenda in response to George W. Bush’s horrific “global war on terror.”


But now we Americans have finally reached our tipping point. Recently Peter Beinart, a Zionist and defender of Israel for many years, released The Crisis of Zionism, which explains how Israel has become an armed camp dedicated to repressing and even expelling its Palestinian helots. As a liberal Jew, he rejects the militant values that drive the Israel of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has even gone so far as to support an economic boycott of Israel, similar to the pressure that was put on South African apartheid. The book has predictably provoked a firestorm of criticism from the pro-Israel establishment, but Beinart is not alone. Tom Friedman and Paul Krugman of The New York Times, both Jewish and both longtime friends of Israel, have voiced the same concerns, namely that Israel no longer represents the liberal and humanistic values that they themselves cherish. It has been noted in passing that young American Jews increasingly do not view Israel in positive terms, a sign, if one was needed, that the older generation that believes Israel is always right, no matter what it does, is passing into history.


And it does not end there. Even the mainstream media is now, perhaps reluctantly, on board. On April 22, 60 Minutes, the most watched television news and commentary program in the United States, aired a segment on Israeli persecution of Christians. The program was a real shock for the many fundamentalist Christians who have viewed Israel through rose-tinted glasses. Many evangelicals have promoted the myth that Israel is actually a protector of Christians, which it most emphatically is not; it seeks instead to marginalize them and force them to emigrate, as the 60 Minutes program demonstrated. Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren, who tried to kill the story and called it a “hatchet job,” was interviewed as part of it. His performance was alternately smug and angry, and it is widely regarded as a public relations disaster. He even said that mainstream Christian churches are “known for their anti-Semitism.”


Benjamin Netanyahu’s office supported Oren’s contention that the broadcast was a “threat to Israel.” It was Netanyahu’s second venture into public relations in a short time, having previously denounced German Nobel Prize–winning author Gunter Grass. Netanyahu banned Grass from traveling to Israel and said that his writings had “hurt Israel profoundly.” Netanyahu was responding to Grass’s rather mild declaration in a poem that the Jewish state’s nuclear program is a threat to an “already fragile world peace.”


Netanyahu knows that the tide is running against him and everything he represents, particularly as the criticism from former senior officials in his own country continues to mount, but he is too obdurate to do what must be done. One of Israel’s darkest secrets is the extent to which young, educated Jews are fleeing the country for greener pastures, most notably the United States. By some guesstimates, one third of university-educated second- and third-generation Israeli Jews have left the country. 


They are leaving behind the recent Russian immigrants, many of whom are not actually religiously or ethnically Jewish, and the Islamophobic racists who constitute the core of the hard right in Israel. Israel publishes no statistics on the brain drain, which has intensified the country’s demographic problem and lessened its competitiveness.


So we have reached the point where the proverbial cat is out of the bag. Everyone, with the possible exception of the U.S. Congress, has become aware that there is something terribly wrong with Israel. In Israel itself, where there is often ferocious debate over the country’s policies, it is time for a reckoning. Does Israel want to become a normal state with correct relationships with its neighbors, including an independent Palestine, or does it want to continue down the road that it is pursuing, which is folly and will lead to ruin? The choice is ultimately Israel’s, but, for the first time, Americans are actually beginning to talk and write freely and openly about the problem.

A dark Easter for Palestinian Christians

A dark Easter for Palestinian Christians

There is so much to know and so much to attend.  However, we tend to attend to issues that are shared by friends. The following two pieces have compelled me to respond.

As humans, we are instinctively inclined to take sides and give strength to one of the two positions in a given situation. We do that because standing for a friend, a fellow you know, even the family members sounds like the right thing to do.

It is not.

The right thing to do is to find lasting solutions and not emotional solutions for the moment.   

That is what the United States and Arab Nations have done in messing up the security for Israel and justice for the Palestinians. Both of us have recklessly and unconditionally supported the conflict and positions of each side, rather than focusing on getting the parties to sit down and find lasting solutions. They would have done it, had we, the Americans and the Arabs not beefed up their positions.

In the two notes below, I see the same pattern and I chose to remain not taking sides. As  a peace maker that would be wronging the Israelis and the Palestinian Christians.

Until the myths (to the other) and facts (to the other) are cleared up, where both sides agree to the "agreed facts" Ill-will continues.  We cannot deny the issues, and neither should be brush them aside – they will be nagging eternally.

This is where you and I can serve as guidance to create a balance in a society based on agreed facts by all sides, and the American Administration should stay out of it, peace comes from understanding and not influencing, enforcing, bribing or appeasing. No nation or individual will live in comfort, when injustice remains in currency.

It is in Israel's interest to have a public forum with open invitations to discuss this including the writer of the article below. They must avoid temptations to bring “their” folks to the conversation, bring the ones who see the issues. Truth is the only thing that triumphs; it will restore the trust in the society and removes on more battle off the field.

What is your take?

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Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, Israel, peace and justice. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, commentator on national radio network, writes weekly at Dallas Morning News and bi monthly at Huffington post, and other periodicals. His daily blog is www.TheGhousediary.com

From a friend:

False information that drives wedges between people should be exposed. I hope you pass the word along. Hope this finds you and your family well. We are blessed by a 3 week visit from our son from Tel Aviv.

Earlier last week the article below appeared in the Washington Post. It claims that Israel unduly restricts Christian travel to Jerusalem. Ambassador Oren has written a passionate response (also below) in which he declares that this is nothing short of libel against the Jewish State. I believe Amb Oren’s response includes information worth knowing. Although the Washington Post is not widely read in Dallas, this still may be a topic of conversation among our friends in the Christian community.

A dark Easter for Palestinian Christians

By Richard Stearns| Religion News Service, Published: April 4

Each year during Holy week, Christians around the world anticipate what come call the “Old Faithful” of miracles.

At the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — built over the traditional site that encompasses Jesus’ tomb and the place of his crucifixion — the archbishop enters the tomb after being inspected by Jewish authorities to ensure he has no means of lighting a fire. After saying prayers and worshiping the risen Christ, the candles miraculously alight.

The ceremony has been performed for centuries; records of the event reach back to the ninth century. Across more than a millennium of Muslim, European, or Jewish rule, the purported miracle has been an inspiration to thousands of pilgrims who flock to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to spread the fire into the rest of Jerusalem.

Once it is brought out of the tomb, the light is spread from person to person, candle by candle, and out into the world. It is a beautiful sight as worshipers from different Christian traditions line the darkened streets holding candles and spreading the light of Jesus Christ. The ceremony reflects the peaceful spread of Jesus’ message from one person to another. Called “Holy Fire Saturday,” this event also prefigures the Easter celebration the following day in which Christians celebrate Jesus’ triumph over death itself.

While Christians mark Christmas as the “silent night” in which God himself took on human flesh, on Easter we proclaim, “Christ the Lord is risen today,” in the words of the old hymn. It’s a miracle not of light, but of life defeating death.

But for the past several years in Jerusalem, the mood on Holy Saturday and the rest of Holy Week has not been one of rejoicing and triumph but instead one of trial and tribulation.

Because of travel restrictions in past years, the vast majority of Christians living in the West Bank have been stopped at checkpoints and prevented from attending one of the most important religious services of the year. Israeli authorities require permits for entering Jerusalem. Local Christians estimate that only 2,000 — 3,000 permits are provided, despite the overwhelming desire among the 50,000 Palestinian Christians to travel from the West Bank and Gaza for the Easter week celebrations in Jerusalem.

Those who make it across checkpoints and into Israel are still barricaded by numerous walls and other security obstructions. As a result, even many who have permits are unable to make it to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In 2010, a Palestinian colleague of mine at World Vision, who had warm memories as a child of the Holy Fire service, was able to return to the Holy Sepulchre. She described the scene for those able to gain entrance to the church: “The crowd, striving to stay joyful, could still feel the change of what Easter had now become and the dark cloud of checkpoints, police forces, and denial of entry that had obscured the joy of this holiday.”

While the ancient Christian communities around Jerusalem await the miracle of the Holy Fire this week, I pray for another miracle — one that would give full religious freedom to the Christians in the West Bank and Gaza. Holy Week has long been a time of pilgrimage to Jerusalem; Christians have worshiped there since the birth of the church, and these sites are a core aspect of the devotion of Palestinian believers.

The restrictions on travel for worship are not only in force during Holy Week, but also for routine Sunday services, weddings, funerals, and baptisms throughout the year. Certainly, Israel can take care of its own security concerns while accommodating peaceful Palestinian Christian worship.

In a recent letter by 80 Palestinian Christian leaders, including the Greek Orthodox archbishop of Jerusalem, Palestinian Christians spoke out against the lack of religious freedom inside Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. They complained of being forced to endure an “assault on our natural and basic right to worship.”

Along with the rest of the world’s Christians, I celebrate a God who brings light from darkness and life from death. And I pray for another miracle this Holy Fire Saturday, one that would remove all restrictions on the freedom to worship for the Christians of the Holy Land.

(Richard Stearns is the U.S. president of World Vision, a global Christian humanitarian agency.)

A response from Ambassador Michael Oren

By Michael Oren| Religion News Service, Published: April 5

Following is a statement from Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren in response to a guest commentary by Richard Stearns, the U.S. president of the Christian humanitarian group World Vision, that appeared in Religion News Service on Wednesday (April 4):

“The claims made in a recent article by Richard Stearns (”A dark Easter for Palestinian Christians”) are completely without foundation and are libelous to the State of Israel.

“Israel has provided more than 20,000 permits this year for Palestinian Christians to enter Jerusalem for the Good Friday and Easter holidays. Five-hundred similar permits have also been issued to the remaining Christians of Gaza, though the area is under the control of the terrorist organization Hamas.

“With the exception of the very few individuals who have raised security concerns, and not withstanding the measures we must take to protect our citizens, any Christian from the West Bank can reach Jerusalem on Good Friday and Easter. All allegations to the contrary are flagrantly untrue and represent a reckless attempt to defame the Jewish State.

“Israel, the only Middle Eastern country with a growing and thriving Christian population, remains committed to maintaining its superb relations with Christian communities worldwide. Though we face serious and continuing defense challenges, we uphold the principle of free access to the Holy Places to all religions. On this year, as in all previous years, we wish Christians throughout the world a joyous holiday.”

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