Motzei Shabbat - September 25, 2010

I hope that "my" Jewish readers enjoyed the first 2 days of Sukkot followed by a restful Shabbat, and that "my" non-Jewish readers had a good week.

1. Here's Something You Don't See Everyday - Secret Jewish heritage converts neo-Nazi - CNN.com



3. The Peace Process - a big deal is being made over whether to continue the moratorium on new Israeli construction in Judea/Samaria - Commentary » Blog Archive » Settlement Freeze: An Unacceptable Veto. Everyone on the Palestinian side says that to do so is vital for the talks to continue and would constitute a major Israeli concession indicating her willingness to make peace. Well, it would be nice for the Palestinians to make some gestures of their own - like doing something about this - PA affirms death penalty for land sales to Israelis (this would be a good, albeit very minor, beginning). How about the Arab backers of the Palestinians doing something concrete about this - I am a refugee. Or this? - Arab politics; Palestinians suffering.


Fayyad (supposedly a moderate - my insertion) canceled a scheduled subsequent press conference with Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon in New York on Tuesday, after Ayalon refused to approve a summary of the meeting which said "two states" but did not include the words "two states for two peoples."

"What I say is that if the Palestinians are not willing to talk about two states for two peoples, let alone a Jewish state for Israel, then there's nothing to talk about," Ayalon told the Post in a telephone interview. "And also, I said if the Palestinians mean, at the end of the process, to have one Palestinian state and one bi-national state, this will not happen."
It ain't just semantics, folks.




7. Fall In NYC - and the nuts come to town for the UN General Assembly, including our favorite nut, the President of Iran. Here are some reflections:


9. Sometimes, What Goes Around Does Come Around - love it - Zombie » Sirhan Sirhan dedication backfires on Bill Ayers 36 years later

11. A Chilling Read - even if it concerns the death of Adolf Eichmann - The Executioner


12. Falafel Guy - not my favorite food,but watch this guy go!

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Tuesday, September 21, 2010

I'm back after a break over the Yomim Noraim - the Days of Awe - between the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). I hope that "my" Jewish readers have been inscribed in the Book of Life for a happy, healthy and prosperous 5771, and, of course, I wish all the best to "my" non-Jewish readers.

1. Death Of A Leader - I am sad to report on the death of Irving Schwartz, of Sydney, Nova Scotia, a man I had the privilege to meet briefly many, many years ago. I doubt that my words could describe him well, so I will simply link to his obituary - SCHWARTZ Irving Schwartz 81 years, New Waterford SCHWARTZ, Irving ... | Jobspress and Prominent N.S. entrepreneur dies at 81.

May the family be comforted among the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

2. Time Magazine - you know - "Time" as in "Grime", "Slime" and "Crime".

Many years ago, when introducing then Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, the magazine's editors referred to him as "Begin" as in "Fagin" - the hook-nosed shyster from Oliver Twist. Truly a lack of editorial sensitivity, even for the 1970s. Since then, Time has had the reputation of being antisemitic/anti-Israel or both.

In any event, the latest controversy arose with the publication of an issue coinciding with the start of the recent Israel-Palestinian peace talks. Look at the cover:


I think that the title of the article is a gross indecency deliberately calculated to delegitimize and discredit Israel in the eyes of the world at a very sensitive time. The content of the article also follows traditional antisemitic themes such as focusing on an alleged obsession with money.

I also believe that Israelis (of all political stripes) want peace - secure, tangible, meaningful and lasting peace - with their neighbors, more than anyone can describe.

I might have had more sympathy if the article presented a story to the effect that despite the unwillingness of the Palestinians to make any meaningful concessions toward achieving a lasting peace, that despite thousands of terrorist attacks on innocent civilians, rampant incitement against Jews and Israelis in the Palestinian and Arabic education system and entertainment industries, and unwarranted international isolation on a prodigious scale, Israelis have somehow been able to build a stable, relatively safe and economically successful country. I would have understood a story about skepticism about the likelihood of success. But that is not what was presented.

Here are links to some of the fallout from the whole fiasco (read the 2nd link in particular):
3. I Have An Idea - How about a Time magazine issue dedicated to why the Palestinians don't care about peace? It could include:
4. Yom Kippur War - an amazing story of heroism from the 1973 Yom Kippur War - Brik's Wall




6. How I Spent My Summer Vacation - 100,000 children attend radical Hamas summer camps

(Hamas or not Hamas?)

(Hamas or not Hamas?)


8. Ongoing Madness - The ongoing madness. On a separate but related note, you should also read this - The west's bloodstained hands | The Spectator and this - All the News That's Fit to Slant | Jewish News From WorldJewishDaily.com.

9. Collection of Jewish Stories & Themes - interesting stuff.....

11. No Wonder People Want Archives Sealed - MI6 Attacked Jewish Refugee Ships After WWII - The Daily Beast - fast forward to 2010 and compare with the "Freedom Flotilla"


12. Israel Police Band - performs in Moscow:

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Saturday, September 11, 2010 - motzei Shabbat


I have deliberately timed this posting to "go live" at 8:46PM ADT for 2 reasons. First - it will be after Shabbat has ended. Second - it will mark (in a manner) the time that American Airlines Flight 11 was deliberately crashed into the World Trade Center's North Tower on September 11, 2001 - though of course, that was in the morning - 8:46AM - followed later that day by United Airlines Flight 175 (South Tower), American Airlines Flight 77 (The Pentagon) and United Airlines Flight 93 (brought down by heroic passengers in rural Pennsylvania).

There are lots and lots of articles, links, etc. about this, the ninth anniversary of 9/11. The events of the day. The conspiracy theories. The aftermath. The current controversies. And so on. You can find that in lots of places.

What I am going to share with you is an article that has always resonated with me about Rick Rescorla - one of the murdered victims who lost his life that terrible day in New York City.

I know that his story is only one of many, and I am not judging his to be more-deserving than any others. Like I said above, it has always resonated with me - perhaps because of the connection to his participation in the famous Vietnam battle at the Ia Drang Valley (the subject of the film "We Were Soldiers Once...And Young....").

Here is the article - I hope that you find it as riveting and memorable as did I



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