Shimon Peres: Finally A Winner?

Turkish PM leaves stage during debate with Peres over Gaza
Jan. 29, 2009
Associated Press , THE JERUSALEM POST

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stalked off the stage at the World Economic Forum red-faced after verbally sparring with President Shimon Peres over the fighting in Gaza.

Erdogan was flustered after he tried to speak as the scheduled session was ending at the forum in Davos, Switzerland, asking the moderator, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, to let him speak once more.

"Only a minute," Ignatius replied.

Erdogan said that "I remember two former prime ministers in your country who said they felt very happy when they were able to enter Palestine on tanks," he said in Turkish.

"I find it very sad that people applaud what you said. There have been many people killed. And I think that it is very wrong and it is not humanitarian," he said.

Ignatius said "We can't start the debate again. We just don't have time."

Erdogan said "Please let me finish." Ignatius responded "We really do need to get people to dinner."

The Turkish premier then said, "Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. I don't think I will come back to Davos after this."

The confrontation saw Peres and Ergodan raise their voice shouting - highly unusual at the elite gathering of corporate and world leaders, which is usually marked by learned consensus seeking and polite dialogue.

The packed audience at the Ergodan and Peres session, which included US President Barack Obama's close adviser Valerie Jarrett, appeared stunned.

Afterward, forum founder Klaus Schwab huddled with Erdogan in a corner of the Congress Center. A press conference with both men was scheduled for 8:30 p.m.

"I have know Shimon Peres for many years and I also know Erdogan. I have never seen Shimon Peres so passionate as he was today. I think he felt Israel was being attacked by so many in the international community. He felt isolated," said former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik said.

"I was very sad that Ergodan left. This was an expression of how difficult this situation is."

Amr Moussa, the former Egyptian foreign minister who now leads the Arab League, said Ergodan's action was understandable. "Mr. Ergodan said what he wanted to say and then he left. That's all. He was right." Of Israel, he said, "They don't listen."
This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1233050211059&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull
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ASDL response:
Shimon Peres-on the way to תשובה? I thought that when Katsav left in disgrace that the office of President would go from loser to a bigger loser. However, Peres has shocked the world by defending Israel in a fairly dark time.
Both Sharon and Rabin left this world with a bad name. Both were military men who eventually uprooted their life's work. Peres however was known for years as the perennial loser. Maybe he will be different-a civilian who couldn't get the vote but who stood up to bat in the worst of times.

Achinoam Nini (אחינועם ניני)-Yemitie Jew Goes Against The Grain To Criticize Hamas

Dear Palestinian brothers,
It is with a heavy heart I write to you today. Gaza is burning. The border with Israel is under fire. Children on both sides of the fence are terrified, traumatized for life, wounded in body and soul. Life!! Life is lost. Blood flows! Pain and tears and anguish abound.
How familiar it all is, my brothers? How well we know these images, this fear clutching our throats, hope slipping away from our hearts?
A new year has begun. I am sitting here near my computer in the dark night, in my home by the sea. This sea that is ours, our Mediterranean sea, our culture, we the people of wandering, we the homeless, the homesick, we the fighters ,the builders, the survivors, our dreams like waves and tide, pulled by the moon and stars to eternity.
Since that fateful day in 1994 when Rabin was murdered a few feet from me, since that awful moment, I have dedicated much of my public life to singing and speaking for peace.
I have seen the peace process rise and fall and rise like the breast of a woman breathing in the night. I have seen opportunities missed, so many missed, so many chances, so much ignorance and stubbornness and bullheadedness, so much beauty trampled under the heavy boot of pride.
I have sung and I have spoken, I have argued and I have embraced, I have been moved to tears so many times, I have made the most unlikely friends….friends I would give my right arm for, friends I would run across the border under fire to protect.
And today, today I say this; we have one joint enemy, one awful joint enemy and we must all work together to eradicate it! That enemy is fanaticism my friends. That enemy is extremism in all its ugly reincarnations and manifestations.
That enemy is all men who put “god” above life, who claim “god” as their sword and shield, who claim “god” is on THEIR side. Jews, Muslims, Christians, all share this black streak. All have fallen to this destructive, horrible fanaticism at some point in their histories and the results have been devastating.
I have often spoken out against fanaticism in my country, for I find it repulsive and unbearable. In government, in settlements, in synagogues, I am passionately against it. I have risked my career and my wellbeing for this belief.
Now I see the ugly head of fanaticism, I see it large and horrid, I see its black eyes and spine-chilling smile, I see blood on its hands and I know one of its many names :Hamas.
You know this too, my brothers. You know this ugly monster. You know it is raping your women and raping the minds of your children. You know it is educating to hatred and death.
You know it is chauvinistic and violent, greedy and selfish, it feeds on your blood and screams out Allah’s name on vain, it hides like a thief, uses the innocent as human shields, uses your mosques as arsenals, lies and cheats, uses YOU, tortures you, holds you hostage!!
I know this is true my brothers!! I know YOU know the truth!! And I know you cannot say it for fear of life so I will say it for you!! I fear nothing!!
I am privileged to live in a democracy where women are not objects but presidents, where a singer can say and do as she pleases! I know you do not have this privilege (yet…but you will, inshallah, you will…)
I know you are SICK of being held hostage by this demon, this ugly beast, not in Gaza, not in Iran or Iraq or Afghanistan, not anywhere!!! You are a people destined to flourish in peace! Your majestic history is overflowing with creativity, literature science and music, endless contributions to humanity, not crippling, torturing fanaticism, yelling Jihad and Shahid!
I see you sometimes, out in the streets, demonstrating with the monsters, yelling ‘death to the Jews, death to Israel!! But I don’t believe you! I know where your heart is! It is just where mine is, with my children, with the earth, with the heavens, with music, with HOPE!! You want nothing of this but you have no choice! I see through your veil of fear my brothers, through your burka! I embrace your hopes for they are mine!
My country has made many many mistakes over the years, I have watched it miss so many opportunities, and as a citizen of this country I am the first to admit it and criticize its foolery. I demonstrate, I vote, I speak out, I sing loud and clear.
But, now, today, I know that deep in your hearts YOU WISH for the demise of this beast called Hamas who has terrorized and murdered you, who has turned Gaza into a trash heap of poverty, disease and misery. Who in the name of “allah” has sacrificed you on the bloody alter of pride and greed.
My brothers, I cry for you. I cry for us too, yes, I cry for my fellow countrymen suffering the bombs in the south and north and everywhere, I cry for the kidnapped soldiers and the murdered ones, for their bereft families, for the innocence lost forever, but I cry especially painfully for you for I know your suffering, I feel you, I feel you!!
I can only wish for you that Israel will do the job we all know needs to be done, and finally RID YOU of this cancer, this virus, this monster called fanaticism, today, called Hamas. And that these killers will find what little compassion may still exist in their hearts and STOP using you and your children as human shields for their cowardice and crimes.
And then… then, maybe, Inshallah, we will again have an opportunity… we will again pick up our broken bodies and souls and walk slowly towards each other, reach out a tired hand, look into eyes filled with tears and with a choked voice say: “Shalom. Salam. Enough. Enough my brother ….
you want some coffee? Here, sit for a while…let’s talk….we know the words, we know the songs, we know the road….
Shalom……
Salam……
With a broken heart still yearning to love,
Your friend,
Noa

Taming Korach response:
I have seen the peace process rise and fall and rise like the breast of a woman breathing in the night
Taming Korach: Oh my! This is like the secular version of Song Of Songs. Are these lyrics from one of her songs?
I have often spoken out against fanaticism in my country,
Taming Korach: This is the Yeminite Jew having been forced to kiss up to secular Ashkenazi culture. This is raped Mizrachi Jew of the secular Zionist era. A mouthpiece for her Torah-hating puppeteers in Tel-Aviv.
I see you sometimes, out in the streets, demonstrating with the monsters, yelling ‘death to the Jews, death to Israel!!
Taming Korach: Is she addressing Richard Silverstein in this sentence?
I would give my right arm for,…
Taming Korach: Unfortunately some Israelis literally have given their limbs.
That enemy is extremism in all its ugly reincarnations and manifestations.
Taming Korach: Very nice-the Rambam says that evil is defined as extremism. Please teach the Arabs this as well.
That enemy is all men who put “god” above life,
Taming Korach: Actually, in Judaism, one is supposed to give one’s life not to transgress the prohibition of murder, inappropriate sexual activity, and idolatry. You are wrong. In Judaism G-d is above all else.
I cry for us too, yes, I cry for my fellow countrymen suffering the bombs in the south and north and everywhere, I cry for the kidnapped soldiers and the murdered ones, for their bereft families, for the innocence lost forever, but I cry especially painfully for you for I know your suffering, I feel you, I feel you!!
Taming Korach: You go, girl! Lil Richard and Barnacle: take notes from a real Jewess.
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Silverstein chimes in:
The level of sheer condescension and cultural superiority represented by this statement is mind-boggling. It shows that even those who speak out of heart-felt passion and concern can sometimes make fools of themselves.
Taming Korach: Sounds like he’s describing himself-the King of Self-Congradulation. How about a check-up from the neck-up before you go after others?
Passion must be informed by judgment and analysis.
Taming Korach: Yeah Rich-how about actually learning your own religion, first? Judgement and analysis from a career fund-raiser-oh yeah!
I would not vote for Hamas if I were a Palestinian.
Taming Korach: I bet Hamas would vote for you, Rich! I bet they love you-their honorary spokesman!
Is this the ultimate chutzpah or what?
Taming Korach: How about going after your “fellow Jews” in wartime? Huh?
Noa and Awad were scheduled to perform together at a Tel Aviv concert to benefit Gaza civilians but Israeli Arab and Jewish intellectuals excoriated Noa for her diatribe and she withdrew from the concert
Taming Korach: Ah-the thought police have spoken. The “intellectuals?” Yeah mean the Ashka-Gestapo?
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Later, Lil Richard points out that Nini published a follow-up:

about a week ago i posted a letter to my palestinian brothers everywhere.
in my original letter, i was very harsh in my words regarding Hamas. I was pointing a finger at them clearly, this came from my gut, from the deepest, most hurting place in my heart. The reason i did that, is that the horrible stories i have heard about Hamas from my Palestinian friends who used to live in Gaza (and escaped, barely, from death by Hamas), plus the videos on youtube of hamas using children as a human shield, or throwing fatach personnel blindfolded and cuffed from the roof of a building, plus endless testimonies from Palestinians…
All of this lead me to a very harsh reaction, praying the Palestinian people would finally be released from the clutches of this horror. I have not changed my mind about atrocities, cruelty and killing, but i know that pointing fingers at names and symbols is not the solution.
…I am willing to change my mind at any moment about anyone who is willing to stand up for co-existence, freedom and mutual respect and recognition. I am willing to apologize to anyone who feels unjustly offended. I can even push aside past atrocities…
…When we in Israel sum up the evidence including the rhetoric, the 8 years of rockets, the Iran and Hezbollah threats we react in proportion to a nightmare, not just to this or that incident. I believe the same thing is true for the subjective feeling of the Palestinians and the whole Muslim world. Therefore it is their responsibility to communicate through dialog their fears to us, Israelis, so that we can take it upon ourselves to melt this iceberg of suspicion just as we want them to reassure us of their peaceful and positive intensions and melt down our fears too.
My opinion is and was always the same: i am against violence in all it forms. I am against fanaticism in all its forms. I am against finger pointing and blaming as there is no end to it and i am totally against a unilateral black and white approach to anything. I think we all have the responsibility to look the truth in the face: we all brought this catastrophe upon ourselves and now it is our responsibility to do what we can to change it! That means…exchanging negative, violent rhetoric…with a rhetoric of peace, acceptance, dialogue and joint recognition (like the Geneva initiative which i totally support). This is our only hope.
The decision i made together with Mira Awad to go to the Eurovision contest with a message of peace is part of this theory: build, give a personal example of dialogue and co-existence, not the opposite

Silverstein comments after listing her second letter:
This is better.
Taming Korach: Talk about a condescending ass of a control freak! As if we need your approval, lil rich?

U.S. "Conservative Movement" Brainwashing Of Sefardic Israelis Backfiring

'Sociological differences explain division in Conservative Jewry'
Jan. 24, 2009
Matthew Wagner
THE JERUSALEM POST

Disagreement between the Israeli and American wings of Conservative Judaism over same-sex commitment ceremonies, the ordination of homosexual rabbis and other halachic issues reflects, in part, deep sociological differences between the two countries, Rabbi David Golinkin, president of the capital's Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, said on Thursday.

"I'd say there is no comparison whatsoever between there [the US] and here," Golinkin said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post. "It is like night and day. Israeli society is much more conservative on this issue [homosexuality] and many others. And if you speak to Israeli rabbinical students, almost all are opposed to any changes vis-à-vis homosexuality.

"Most are sabras and many are Sephardi, and I can assure you that they are not interested in changing policy. If we changed the policy they would not be studying in our rabbinical institute," he said.

Golinkin added, however, that the differences in approach between the international and American branches of Conservative Judaism regarding homosexuality could not be explained solely on the basis of a sociological analysis.

"It is true that one should take sociology into consideration when making a halachic decision. But there is a biblical prohibition [against homosexual intercourse] and we don't see any way of changing it."

Golinkin made the comments in the wake of a decision by the Conservative Movement's Los Angeles-based rabbinical seminary to discontinue it residency program with Schechter.

Two weeks ago the Ziegler School of Rabbinical Studies announced to staff and board members of the North American Conservative Movement's United Synagogue that beginning this fall its third-year students will not spend their Israel year at Schechter.

Instead, the students will study at the Conservative Yeshiva, a coeducation institute for Diaspora Jews housed at the Fuchsberg Center of the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism in Jerusalem.

The yeshiva is not directly affiliated with the Israeli Masorti (Conservative) Movement. Rather, it belongs to the Conservative Movement's North American synagogue umbrella.

Ziegler did not specify the reason for its decision.

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, Ziegler's dean, said in a statement, "The Ziegler School and the Conservative Yeshiva share a common pedagogical philosophy- integrating academic rigor, emotional engagement and spiritual yearning."

The move was seen as another step in the growing theological rift between the American and international wings of Conservative Judaism.

In 2006, the Jewish Theological Institute in New York and Ziegler in Los Angeles changed their policies to admit openly gay and lesbian students following a decision by the Conservative Movement's Jewish law authorities.

In contrast, Jerusalem-based Schechter, which trains rabbis for Israel and Europe, and the Seminario Rabinico Latinoamericano, located in Buenos Aires, declined to change their policies.

Some Israeli insiders claimed that Schechter's conservative approach was also creating a schism within Israel.

A senior member of the Masorti Movement who is Israeli said this week that the halachic position taken on homosexuality by Golinkin, who was born and raised in Arlington, Virginia, and made aliya in 1972, and Rabbi Einat Ramon, the first Israeli-born woman rabbi and the dean of Schechter's rabbinical school, was alienating Schechter from the vast majority of the Masorti Movement's members.

"Israelis are very open to homosexuality," the source said.

"Very few countries are so accepting of homosexuality. In the IDF, 'out' gay soldiers are given total equality. In the Foreign Ministry, gay couples are sent to represent Israel in embassies around the world.

"And there are 'out' homosexuals like [singer] Ivri Lider and Leon [Schneiderovsky of Big Brother], who appear on prime time TV.

"Golinkin is taking a sociological gamble that left-wing modern Orthodoxy will join forces with right-wing Conservative Judaism. But if you step outside Jerusalem and go to places like Kiryat Bialik [near Haifa] or Omer [near Beersheba] 80% of our members are nowhere near halachic adherence. Most are ambivalent about their Jewish identity."

Golinkin rejected the claim that his halachic approach was influenced by his interest in attracting left-leaning modern Orthodoxy to the Masorti movement.

"My goal when deciding Halacha is not to attract X or Y. I take a halachic position because that is the proper decision to make, not because I want to attract modern Orthodox Jews. There is a great deal of affinity between left-wing Orthodox and more traditional Conservative Jews. But that has nothing to do with determining our policy."

Golinkin said that of about 550 master's students at Schechter between 20% and 25% were modern Orthodox.

"Will that mean that some will continue to the rabbinical school? Could be."

He also denied that Schechter was losing touch with the Masorti Movement's members.

"Rabbi Ramon maintains contact with numerous Masorti communities throughout the year. She has visited about 15 communities, usually spending an entire Shabbat. She found people very receptive to things we are doing," he said.

Golinkin said that homosexuality would not even be an issue in Israel if not for America.

"In my 22 years at Schechter I can think of only one example of a homosexual who applied to the rabbinical school. It is a non-issue."

However, Rabbi Andrew Sacks, director of the Masorti Movement's Rabbinical Assembly, said he knew of at least three people, two openly gay and a third who was not 'out,' who wanted to apply but did not because they knew that they would not be accepted.

"If you know you are not welcome you are not going to apply. So there is no way for Rabbi Golinkin to know how many people never even bothered to apply.

"I think that if someone reads the position papers that hold that homosexuality is sinful, that halachically it cannot be justified, that gays cannot be full participants in Jewish life, that their relations cannot be blessed with a Jewish ceremony, that no homosexual is halachically worthy of being ordained, than it follows that it would be difficult for people to study to be a rabbi, to get married in same-sex ceremonies, to go to couples' events.

"The environment created by Schechter's approach keeps Jews secretive and in the closet," Sacks said.
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ASDL Response:

"I'd say there is no comparison whatsoever between there [the US] and here,"
ASDL: No-you don't say! Anglo-Ashkenazi discovers Torah Judaism?

"Most are sabras and many are Sephardi, and I can assure you that they are not interested in changing policy."
ASDL: Yes-that's the last remnant of Judaism from 4,000 years that hasn't been smashed by Rabbi Brenda. I am sure you are working on it-that is why you bring in Sefardic Jews into your programs (pogroms), in order to Westernize them and annihilate their Jewish spirits-kind of like giving radiation to someone who is healthy-it destroys their bone marrow and renders them incapable of fighting off disease (the השכלה).

"when making a halachic decision."
ASDL: This is really the moment of truth. The hijacking of the Torah by hooligans pretending to be Rabbanim. Even Christians, Muslims, and "reform" Jews will admit that what they advocate is not Torah Judaism, yet the "conservative movement" has somehow outsmarted everyone. Deciding "Jewish law" for a new generation of Jews who will be even more confused about their religion than the generation before it. It is the height of insolence for these religious misleaders to "poskin," or decide the interpretation of Jewish law for other Jews, let alone millions of Jews.

But if you step outside Jerusalem and go to places like Kiryat Bialik [near Haifa] or Omer [near Beersheba] 80% of our members are nowhere near halachic adherence.
ASDL: If these Jews are so dedicated, why not don't they drop their affiliation with a heretical organization like "the masorti movement." Why not just come clean? Why not just Torah Judaism?

"The environment created by Schechter's approach keeps Jews secretive and in the closet," Sacks said.
ASDL: Mr. Sacks, do you actually mean Judaism? Because Schechter leans towards Torah Judaism, you have a problem with it? Why not admit you are a heretic? Apparently character is not something that is required to be a head of the "conservative movement."

Henry Siegman's Lies About Israel

special thanks to Richard Silverstein for exposing one of his own:
Response
ASDL:

Here is another ethnic Ashkenazi who hates his own religion, and keeps on going!

"Hamas undertook to stop firing rockets into Israel"
ASDL: You don't mention that they use this time to smuggle more weapons into Gaza via tunnels that Israel destroys during it's raids. Whoops Henry-caught you in a lie!

"It cannot be said that Israel launched its assault to protect its citizens from rockets. It did so to protect its right to continue the strangulation of Gaza’s population."
ASDL: Cannot be said? You haven't finished your own half-cocked article and you are already telling us how not to reply to it? Talk about control-freak ala Silverstein! Why do you put a punch and a block in the same sentence? Because you know how weak your statements are? If the United States was being rocketed by a border country-how would it react? If this border country was amassing weapons to attack the USA, would Bush or Obama allow it to occur?

"when Hamas – brutally, to be sure"
ASDL: Here we go. Now the truth comes out! The end of הסברה, Henry? Hamas is brutal and Israelis "inside the green line" are on the receiving end, Professor.

"Hamas brought to Gaza a level of law and order unknown in recent years,"
ASDL: Bold-face lie. Hamas was responsible for the rockets hitting inside Israel for years. This statement is absurd. All fears of Hamas leadership became materialized when they took over.

"and did so without the large sums of money that donors showered on the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority."
ASDL: You mean the billions that Arafat put in his pocket? Where did that money go? Maybe you should ask Suha Arafat?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasser_Arafat#Financial_dealings
Financial dealings
Arafat speaking at the World Economic Forum in 2001

In August 2002, the Israeli Military Intelligence Chief alleged that Arafat's personal wealth was in the range of USD $1.3 billion. In 2003 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conducted an audit of the PNA and stated that Arafat diverted $900 million in public funds to a special bank account controlled by Arafat and the PNA Chief Economic Financial adviser. However, the IMF did not claim that there were any improprieties, and it specifically stated that most of the funds had been used to invest in Palestinian assets, both internally and abroad.

Also in 2003, a team of American accountants–hired by Arafat's own finance ministry–began examining Arafat's finances. The team claimed that part of the Palestinian leader's wealth was in a secret portfolio worth close to $1 billion, with investments in companies like a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Ramallah, a Tunisian cell phone company and venture capital funds in the US and the Cayman Islands. The head of the investigation stated that "although the money for the portfolio came from public funds like Palestinian taxes, virtually none of it was used for the Palestinian people; it was all controlled by Arafat. And none of these dealings were made public."

Although Arafat lived a modest lifestyle, Dennis Ross, former Middle East negotiator for Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, stated that Arafat's "walking-around money" financed a vast patronage system known as neopatrimonialism. According to Salam Fayyad, - a former World Bank official whom Arafat appointed Finance Minister of the PNA in 2002—Arafat's commodity monopolies could accurately be seen as gouging his own people, "especially in Gaza which is poorer, which is something that is totally unacceptable and immoral." Fayyad claims that Arafat used $20 million from public funds to pay the leadership of the PNA security forces (the Preventive Security Service) alone.

An investigation by the European Union into claims that their funds were misused by the Palestinian Authority found no evidence that funds were diverted to finance terrorist activities. Fuad Shubaki, former financial aide to Arafat, told the Israeli security service Shin Bet that Arafat used several million dollars of aid money to buy weapons and support militant groups.

"In fact, Hamas is no more a ‘terror organisation’ (Israel’s preferred term) than the Zionist movement was during its struggle for a Jewish homeland."
ASDL: Mr. Siegman, when your fellow Jews were being slaughtered in Europe, there were Jews in the Land of Israel trying to secure a place that Jews could go to without being attacked. Perhaps that is one of the only true victories of "Zionism" (other than the adoption of Hebrew as a national language)-that the State Of Israel regulates it's own borders. This is the only such case in the world in the past 20 centuries-where Jews are able to regulate the borders of their own country (or any country). And some 60 years later "Jews" like yourself equate Hamas with the earlier Zionists? Is that what you learned in Hebrew school?

"While Hamas’s ideology formally calls for that state to be established on the ruins of the state of Israel, this doesn’t determine Hamas’s actual policies today"
ASDL: Oh my. Here it states in black and white what Hamas is up to, but that isn't what they are thinking today? Did they suddenly have an epiphany? Did they start reading Tikkun Olam and now they see the whole world in the "framework of hug and kiss?" This is an absolutely ludicrous statement, which undermines the entire article. That is like someone like David Duke who was once in the Klan and now seeks legitimacy. Someone like Siegman wouldn't buy it, but with Israel and Hamas he takes the side of foe? Thanks for giving the benefit of the doubt to your fellow Jews, Henry!

"The Hamas leadership has undergone a change ‘right under our very noses’,"
ASDL: Tell that to the families of the people who were killed in rocket attacks? Why don't you, Henry?

"But this is a delusion that would bring about the end of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state."
ASDL: This is a scare tactic. Israel will remain here. Most Holocaust survivors are in Israel. They and their descendants won't allow another catastrophe to happen. Your words were meant to scare Israel into making concessions to it's enemies.

"they have disgraced themselves and damaged their country and their friends.’"
ASDL: Perhaps they disgraced themselves by waiting for an opportune time politically to defend their own people. What do you expect from conniving politicians? Their friends are the enemies of their country-what is your point? Just as Bush had nothing to lose by looking away-they had nothing to lose being that Olmert had as much of a horrific tenure as Bush did!

Richard Silverstein Threatens To Kill Israel Soldiers

I was just listening to this radio story (audio download) about child murder in Gaza and for the first time in my life I felt like killing the Israeli soldier responsible. I realized that in all the years that I’ve chronicled the misdeeds of the IDF over the years here in this blog, I’d never felt that emotion. It was a frightening and unwelcome one. I’m constantly disgusted by what I learn of the IDF’s capacity for brutality. But I’ve never felt such rage at such heinous, subhuman behavior.

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Justin White:

Thank G-d this anti-Jewish fanatic has finally let it slip: Richard Silverstein admits to hating Israel so much that he wants to actually kill (murder) Israeli soldiers.

Silverstein's Bigoted World: Sefardic Jews Didn't Suffer-NILI Takes Him To Task!

Unknown blogger "NILI" Steals The Show On Lil Richard's Self-Hate Highway

Having long been a self-proclaimed anti-racist "champion," Richard Silverstein reveals himself to be a hypocrite and an anti-Sefardic Jew-hater.

from Comments On:
Lies Jeffrey Goldberg Told Me (About Gaza)

On January 17th, 2009 at 7:38 PM
Peter said:

Richard Silverstein writes:

“700,000 Israeli Arabs left/were “cleansed” from Israel during the 1948 war.”

My response:

1. This “cleansing” would never have happened at all had it not been for the invasion of Israel (within the teeny borders set by the 1947 UN Partition Plan) of armed forces of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq, whose leaders were BOASTING joyfully of their plans to literally genocidally massacre all Palestinian Jews (the term “Palestinian” in those days referred to anyone living in Palestine - Arab, Christian, or Jewish). So if you want to talk about “ethnic cleansing” - this was the Arab leaders’ openly expressed intent. People who talk about Israel’s “ethnic cleansing” in 1948 seem to completely forget that the responsibility for this war falls on the Arabs, who were the aggressors. If they hadn’t invaded, there would have been no Palestinian Arab refugees.

2. The Arab exodus from Palestine in 1948 was complicated. Many of the local Palestinian Arab businessmen, political leaders, intelligentsia, etc quietly slipped out of the country even before the outbreak of hostilities. There were cases of Jews trying to convince the local Arabs to remain, notably in Haifa. Those Arabs who were “encouraged” to leave were feared, sometimes with good reason, to pose an existential threat, since they were harboring and aiding Arab armed forces who had a stranglehold on the road to Jerusalem, where the Jewish community there was totally besieged.

3. An equal or likely greater number (I’ve heard estimates in the 700,000 - 800,000 range) of Jews were expelled immediately after the war by Arab countries: notably Iraq, Yemen, and Morroco, but really all the Arab countries, Syria, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, … right down the line. These were Jews who had absolutely nothing to do with the 1948 fighting. They were minding their own business living their civilian lives, and suddenly their property and life savings were confiscated and they were forced to flee.

Why is it that so few people who talk about the Palestinian refugees, don’t also talk about the Jewish refugees? They seem to have nothing to say about the ethnic cleansing of Jews. Why not? Shouldn’t some compensation for their losses be part of any comprehensive settlement of the conflict?
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On January 17th, 2009 at 9:55 PM
Richard Silverstein said:

This “cleansing” would never have happened at all had it not been for the invasion of Israel

What rot. What you mean is that if the Arab states had accepted the UN partition plan that Israel would not have had an excuse to rid itself of significant portion of its Arab population as Ben Gurion would no doubt wish it could do (& did when he had the proper excuse). Besides, there was no strategic reason whatsoever to expel the Arabs. They posed no threat to Israel. They were not armed. They were quiescent. There isn’t a single recorded incident in which an Israeli Arab used violence against Israel in 1948. So blaming the Arab states for the expulsion is pathetic reasoning.

Besides you have no idea how Israel would’ve treated its Arab population had the Arabs accepted it. They might still have found reason to emasculate, discriminate against or even expel it as they have done since 1948.

The Arab exodus from Palestine in 1948 was complicated

Ah yes, “complicated.” That’s the word you people use for any incident involving Israel which is a tad uncomfortable to explain to people who don’t have a natural set of pro-Israel sympathies.

Those Arabs who were “encouraged” to leave were feared, sometimes with good reason, to pose an existential threat…

“Feared” maybe. But feared justifiably, for any good reason? You say they posed an “existential threat” (interesting term–did they possess nuclear weapons like the Iranians hope to have?). Yet the only threat you can muster is that they sheltered Arab forces. Even if yr claim has any validity, how does sheltering someone pose an existential threat to Israel?

quietly slipped out of the country

“Slipped out of the country?” Really? Why don’t you provide a few examples.

There were cases of Jews trying to convince the local Arabs to remain, notably in Haifa.

You say there were “cases” and you name one. Yes, there may’ve been a few singular cases in which some local Zionist leader had a shred of conscience and understood how retaining Arab residents would work in Israel’s favor after the war ended. Those few certainly had some moral compass. But what about the rest?

An equal or likely greater number (I’ve heard estimates in the 700,000 - 800,000 range) of Jews were expelled immediately after the war by Arab countries: notably Iraq, Yemen, and Morroco, but really all the Arab countries, Syria, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, … right down the line.

This is either based on utter ignorance of the facts of willful lying. You’ve “heard” estimates. How did you hear them? From the tooth fairy whispering in your ear? Where do they come from? Do you have a CREDIBLE (not partisan pro Israel ideological) source? For example, Morrocco did NOT expel any Jews. On the contrary, the king begged Jews to stay. It was Zionist representatives who spread fear there through rumormongering about the dangers Jews there would face if they did NOT emigrate. Unfortunately, most Jews were convinced and left. But not for Israel. Most Jews went to France and other Francophone countries. And if your claims about Morrocco are so bogus we can’t believe your claims about any of the other countries.

No one is claiming that life for Jews in Arab lands was a bowl of cherries. But it turned out to be a helluva lot better than it was for the Jews of Europe. There were never massacres of Jews in Arab lands. Inequality? Yes. But Jew-hatred on the scale of the Crusades, Inquisition or Holocaust? Never.

There was no ethnic cleansing of Jews. Do provide us the least bit of credible evidence.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
On January 18th, 2009 at 3:52 AM
LD said:

The Arab ethnic cleansing by ISRAEL is not complicated.

Read Benny Morris’s essay on this during the 80s. Read Christopher Hitchen’s essay on this during the 80s.

BOTH cite the declassified IDF report that quantifies the reasons for the exodus.

The old claim of Arab radios was debunked. The reasons, as stated in the IDF report was due to JEWISH TERRORISM and that fear instilled into the Arabs.

They were driven from their homes.

This is only complicated for Zionist apologists just as it is ‘complicated’ for Nazis to accept the Holocaust.

People don’t like the truth when it reveals them or their cause to be a farce, a charade, etc.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
On January 18th, 2009 at 4:35 AM
NILI said:

@Peter and Richard

“There isn’t a single recorded incident in which an Israeli Arab used violence against Israel in 1948.”
Not true. According to the Israeli high school matriculation program Arabs were planting bombs even before ‘48. I have eleven such classes digitally recorded and can send them.

“But what about the rest?”
It is a known fact that Moshe Dayan used the IDF to block Arabs from leaving Israel. Dayan had a good relationship with the Arabs and knew Arabic fluently. He related this in the A&E biography about his life.

“Do you have a CREDIBLE (not partisan pro Israel ideological) source?”
There is a documentary called the Forgotten Refugees in which it discusses just this issue-the expulsion of Jews from Arab countries. According to the film, the yellow patch that Nazis forced Jews to wear came from Muslim countries in the 8th century-Jews and Christians were made to wear them. Jews were considered “10th class citizens”-Dhimmi. It says “They would pull babies apart from their limbs until they broke. They would rape women and daughters in front of the families.” “My mother had to run through roof tops to escape the mob that was out to kill many of the Jews in her neighborhood.”

“On the contrary, the king begged Jews to stay”
The Insight Guide on Morocco (not about Jews mind you) relates that Jews were nailed to the doors of their houses during one period of Moroccan history.

“And if your claims about Morocco are so bogus we can’t believe your claims about any of the other countries.”
The documentary mentioned above systematically refutes this statement.

“It was Zionist representatives who spread fear there through rumor mongering about the dangers Jews there would face if they did NOT emigrate.”
Haj Amin al Husseini said “Arabs, rise as one man and fight for your sacred rights. Kill the Jews wherever you find them.” Jews around the Middle East felt this and were alerted. The documentary relates “When I witnessed the persecution…within the city within the country of Iraq, I came to the decision-my parents also-that country wasn’t our country and we had to leave!”

“There were never massacres of Jews in Arab lands. Inequality?”
According to Forgotten Refugees, in 1912 there was a massacre of several hundred Jews in Fez-it was because of this incident that Jews were forced to live tightly together.

“There was no ethnic cleansing of Jews. Do provide us the least bit of credible evidence.”
The Jews of Egypt and other Arab countries left EVERYTHING-their businesses and land (and in Morocco). The Egyptian government stamped on the passports of Jews “one-way-don’t come back.” In Libya, the community was emptied completely-”cleansed.” The documentary says “all told nearly 1 million Jews fled Arab countries and Iran and hundreds of Jewish communities have been ethnically cleansed…”

In addition, 500,000 people attended the public hangings of Jews in Baghdad by Saddam Hussein. After the Six-Day War there were concentration camps in Egypt called Abu Zaba-they were beaten and tortured. The UN has established resolutions concerning Arab refugees but not one mentions Jews of Arab countries. According to Professor Maurice Roumani, here are the figures of the Jewish population then and now (1944/2004)
Morocco-265,000/5,000
Tunisia-105,000/1,500
Iran-100,000/20,000
Syria-30,000/150
Lebanon-38,000/20

The Forgotten Refugees Documentary DVD Is Available At:
http://www.davidproject.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=41&Itemid=115

Lies Richard Silverstein Told US-Jewish Suicide Bombers??

from Lies Jeffrey Goldberg Told Me (About Gaza)
On January 14th, 2009 at 6:39 PM
tzvee said:

Terror is not a response to oppression. The two have no connection whatsoever. Proof? When Jews were oppressed for millenia - they did not become wanton pointless terrorists.

Richard Silverstein said:

That’s not quite true now is it, Tzvee. What were the Maccabees if not guerilla insurgents of their day? They too engaged in suicide attacks on their Greek enemies. They too killed their own (Jewish Hellenizers) when they viewed them as traitors to their own (Maccabean) form of Jewish values.
And you don’t think the Romans viewed the Kochbaites as terrorists? What about the Sicarii who executed their fellow Jews as a result of religious-political differences? How about the Jewish partisans fighting the Nazis? YOu don’t think the Germans viewed them as terrorists? YOu see, one man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist. It all depends on your national perspective.
Beware any ideological partisan like Tzvee who claims his own side is white as snow and the other side black as coal. Each side ends up a dingy grey which is the truth of current situation with Israel and Hamas.

____________________________________________________________________________________
Taming Korach:

@Richard
The elephant fell on you & killed you.
You may have picked this up wrong. According to a Torah Lab translation of The Scroll Of Antiochus:
“Elazar was trying to kill the elephants, but he drowned in elephant dung. When they returned from battle they sought him and could not find him, until eventually they found that he had drowned in elephant dung.”
Apparently one soldier died from elephant dung. In any case, the books regarding Hannukah were not Divinely inspired and so were not included in the Hebrew Bible. The source for holiday Hannukah, the Gemara (Shabbat 21) never mentions such an incident-certainly no “suicide attack.”

Richard Silverstein: Leftist Blogger's Bizarre Past

taken from KapoDickie - an Adventure in Jewish Self-Hatred

Kapo Dickie Violates the Privacy of Elizabeth Edwards, wife of John Edwards

Is there no depth of indecency to which our Little Dickie will not sink?

Slate Magazine reveals that Richard Silverstein is running around exposing the fact that Mrs. Edwards used egg donations to get pregnant. Except it is not Dickie's right to reveal this matter if the Edwards want it kept to themselves.

Dickie, whose own exhibitionism knows no limits, seems to have been motivated by the opportunity to violate the Edwards' privacy so that it would give HIM a chance to get some attention. Seems that Dickie's wife also had some infertility problems, a matter over which we prefer to have less information. But Dickie thinks the whole world needs to know that his own chidlren are, well, not his own children. They come from donated eggs.

Here is Dickie in Slate:

But her silence on the matter has some people miffed. "I think someone in her position can serve a great public good by being more outspoken," said Richard Silverstein, 52, a fund-raiser in Seattle whose wife, Janis White, used a donor egg to give birth to their son, Jonah, three years ago. White, now 48, is currently pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl, also from donor eggs. Silverstein doesn't understand why Edwards—if she used donor eggs—doesn't speak up. "There's an enormous level of ignorance about egg donation," he said. "She could use the bully pulpit to clear some of it up."

"Fund raiser" as in raising funds to pay out to his libel victims?

Now we are as gratified as the next bloggers to know that Dickie's genes will not be passed on to the surviving human gene pool. That would be all the world needs - more geeky treasonous self-hating pro-terror unemployed anti-Semites and Neonazis running around the world, passing their time by running anti-Jewish blogs.

We are not sure why anyone would donate eggs to turn into children to be raised by a creature like Silverstein, but perhaps the rotten eggs below might make a suitable donation:

Victory Against Self-Hate in Germany Courts

Jewish Israel critic labeled anti-Semite
Jan. 6, 2009
Benjamin Weinthal, the jerusalem post, BERLIN , THE JERUSALEM POST
A Cologne appeals court ruled on Tuesday that German-Jewish journalist Henryk Broder is allowed to describe the statements of fellow Jew Evelyn Hecht-Galinski as anti-Semitic.
“Even German courts are beginning to understand that it is not enough to be Jewish in order not to be anti-Semitic,” Broder told The Jerusalem Post by phone. He is in Israel, covering the Gaza war for Der Spiegel’s Web site.
Hecht-Galinski equates Israeli policies with Nazi Germany’s, and has said that a “Jewish-Israel lobby with its active network is extended over the world, and thanks to America its power has become so great…”
The appeals court overturned a regional court ruling barring Broder from labeling Hecht-Galinski’s statements as anti-Semitic without citing reasons for his assertions.
Broder’s attorney Nathan Gelbart told the Post the ruling “is a victory for freedom of speech” in Germany and “a victory over those hiding their anti-Semitism in pretended criticism of Israel’s policies.”
The appeals court said Broder’s criticism of Hecht-Galinski contributed to a public discussion on Israel’s policies and was protected by free speech guarantees.
Hecht-Galinski said Broder statements defamed her character.

Richard Silverstein J4J? Silverstein Quotes Christian Scriptures

Gaza: Suffer the Children
Jan 6th, 2009
by Richard Silverstein

Suffer the little children to come unto Me.
–Luke, 18:16
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Taming Korach:
Only in my wildest dreams. This one dropped onto my lap like a golden egg. Richard Silverstein in his effort to “fix the world” has shown his true colors! How desperate has a Jew become when he is crying out in the name of the biggest idol in human history-ישו?
Lil’ Richard has become notorious for his tar and feathering of Israelis, dedicated Jewish activists, true converts, and anyone else who steps in this “liberal’s” path. Now we see what it was all for. To quote Christian scriptures-which are loaded with anti-Jewish statements-and throw them in our faces and a time when young brave Jews in our Homeland are being killed to defend other Jews. Sick? Yes.
What’s more is that one of Rich’s foolhardy (and less talented) fans (and blogger), Joachim Martillo, added a gratuitous corollary to Silverstein’s faux pas:
______________________
On January 6th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Joachim Martillo said:
Just for the record, I don’t have my Oxford here, but as I remember, “suffer” was commonly used to mean “allow” or “permit” until the middle of the 19th century.
In older usage “passion” as in “The Passion of Christ” was employed for “suffering” in the meaning “experience moderate to extreme unpleasantness.”
______________________
Joachim has a blog called (no joke) “Ethnic Ashkenazim Against Zionist Israel.” Oh boy. As if being an ethnic Ashkenazi suddenly permits one to rail against his own heritage? This is a ploy often used by Jewish leftists. It appears that Mr. Martillo has, like Rich, provided a clever cover to vent his hate. He also uses Yiddish in an effort to authenticate his hatred for Israel, Zionism, and Jews of Arab countries (Mizrahim). This will be the subject an upcoming post.

Update11-5-09
Silverstein now quotes Rosh Pina, a Messianic site:

According to the Rosh Pina Project (full disclosure: this is a site affiliated with Messianic Jews)

B.BarNavi-You Should Be Ashamed!

from: Gaza and the Shame of American Jewish Liberals


On January 4th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
B.BarNavi said:

Carlos and Shamwow:

Never be ashamed of who you are. And Shamwow, your words sound like some emo teen who would rather wish troubling things away rather than confront them.

Just because the Jewish state is engaging in some pretty despicable acts now doesn’t mean we should abandon it altogether. Be embarrassed now, but also work towards not making it an embarrassment.

I wonder if R’ Yoffie was ever this pliable in the Lebanon fiasco. Like I said, too many liberal Jews throw their principles to the wayside in times of war. Especially when the election of a liberal government is at stake! I also wonder if these same people would be the same if Obama was a warmonger?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
ASDL:
This has to be one of the repulsive entries I have seen on the Self-Hate Fuhrer's site. It is a despicable act to say such things about Israel when it has been attacked for 8 years by hoodlums like Hamas!
R’ Yoffie? You once mentioned "loosing עולם הבא." Saying a phrase like "R’ Yoffie" is like denying your Maker. In any case you are being inconsistent-if you had a "conservative conversion," then why do you "recognize" a leader from a movement whom the "conservative movement" doesn't recognize (it's converts)? Why not engage more in Talmud Torah? Why go to blogs of heretics and haters of Israel and contribute to their misdeeds?

Saneworks Reports On Anti-Jewish Silverstein

taken from KapoDickie - an Adventure in Jewish Self-Hatred

Saneworks.US Reports the Legal Vermination of Kapo Dickie

The prestigious and very widely read SaneWorks.US web site has run several pieces attacking Richard Silverstein as a self-hating anti-Semite and celebrating his getting clobbered for libel in court by Rachel Neuwirth. The latest report on the web site is here. Here are some excerpts from their report, titled "Leftist, America-bashing and Self-hating Jew Richard Silverstein gets a legal kick in the pants" (to right, Dickie with his Jihad Friends):

Leftist, America-bashing and Self-hating Jew Richard Silverstein gets a legal kick in the pants
Wed, February 11, 2009, 13:12:PM

The first chapter of this story is captured here in a Media-First Amendment blog and narrated as a victory for
free speech. Trust us when we say it had nothing to do with that and more to do with a leftist, America-bashing,
self-hating Jew named Richard Silverstein using his blog to defame at will. And defame he does. Any one who
opposes the Shariah-driven jihadists are attacked as racists and fascists and anyone who defends Israel is
labeled a Zionist war criminal.

In a nutshell, this is the story, now updated. Rachel Neuwirth sued Richard Silverstein and Stanford professor
Joel Beinin for libel. Silverstein had called Neuwirth, a respected journalist, a Kahanist-swine because she
supported Israel's right to be free from Palestinian jihadi attacks--you see, in Richard Silverstein's perverse
world (he has been diagnosed with an obsession for victimhood arising out of his claims of being an abused
child even though his parents, he concedes, never sexually or physically abused him--rather, they would scold
him when he was misbehaving and as such stunted his creative badness--or some such argument), the Jews of
Israel have no right to defend themselves from jihad as long as they don't make peace on whatever terms the
Palestinians (or Silverstein) demand.

Ms. Neuwirth had also sued because Silverstein had included on his blog a libel uttered by Beinin to Silverstein
that Neuwirth had left a message on Beinin's phone machine threatening his life. Beinin and Silverstein knew
that was false. Both men are avid Israel-bashers. This whole affair had been set up because Ms. Neuwirth had
recently won a lawsuit arising out of an assault against her by another Leftist, Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller,
Director of Hillel at UCLA. The good rabbi (a term we use loosely at best) likes to protest for peace, Leftist
causes and the "rights of Palestinians" but believes it is fine to beat up on women. The rabbi was forced to
apologize and take anger management classes. When Silverstein heard that his little rabbi friend had been
forced to cop a plea and admit publicly his shameful behavior, Silverstein went ballistic and started his crusade
against Ms. Neuwirth.

Interestingly, Dean Hansell, the partner at the high-brow, white-collar law firm of Dewey and LeBoeuf, under
whom SANE's David Yerushalmi worked more than 20 years ago, was representing Silverstein pro bono. This is
interesting to us because when Silverstein defamed Mr. Yerushalmi as he has done to so many others, precisely
because Mr. Yerushalmi stands for the proposition that Shariah and its jihad against America and the West
must be stopped, Silverstein posted comments from Dean Hansell to the effect that Mr. Yerushalmi was "very
conservative" way back then all in an effort to "prove" that Silverstein's wild-eyed accusations of "right-wing
fascism" must be true.

But we digress. At the trial court level, Silverstein and his professor partner in defamation won their anti-SLAPP
motion. An Anti-SLAPP law is a statutory device used in many states that allows courts to more quickly dispose
of lawsuits alleging defamation but which are in reality Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation, or in
other words, lawsuits to curb free speech.

Silverstein publicly paraded his "victory" like a peacock on display. He proudly draped himself in the skirt of the
First Amendment.

Well, the day of reckoning has arrived. What Silverstein and Beinin did not count on was that Ms. Neuwirth,
who really does wear a skirt, is a fighter and she was not about to roll over and allow the likes of these two
Leftist, Israel-hating Jews to take advantage of her. Ms. Neuwirth appealed and she has won.

In a unanimous decision by the California Court of Appeals, Second Appellate District, the court held that not
only were Silverstein's comments that Ms. Neuwirth was a Kahanist-swine libelous, there was more than
sufficient evidence in the record for a finder of fact to find actual malice (opening the door to punitive
damages!). While the court did let stand the dismissal of the second count (re the "death threat" libel), this was
on a statutory technicality which protects providers of interactive computer services (i.e., Silverstein's blog)
from tort liability for publishing the statements or content of third parties (Prof. Beinin's libelous comments).

Fine. Ms. Neuwirth will now get her second day in court and Richard Silverstein will no longer be able to hide
behind the skirt of free speech the way Palestinian mujahideen hide behind children. Silverstein and Hamas
most certainly deserve one another.