Representative Giffords apparently owes her life to her intern who administered basic first aid until paramedics arrived - Daniel Hernandez, intern, stays by Gabrielle Giffords' side. Read this story for a true example of heroism.
One "angle" on the stories that followed the shooting is that Representative Giffords is Jewish, though the ADL has stated that it does not believe that her religion played a role in the attack. The Department of Homeland Security is apparently not as sure. In any event, as tributes rolled in for her, the story of her re-discovery of her Jewish identity and her support for Israel came to the fore - Miracle Giffords- 2002 Trip to Israel: Land for Peace a Farce - A7 Exclusive Features - Israel News - Israel National News.
I have not really followed the nasty war of words that followed, but if you are interested here are some links:
2. Further Controversy - as if the war of words between the political right and left following the Giffords attack wasn't bad enough, a further controversy erupted when Sarah Palin referred to verbal attacks on her as a "blood libel" - The Fact Checker: Sarah Palin's 'blood libel' statement on the Tucson shootings:
Sarah Palin: "If you don't like their ideas, you're free to propose better ideas. But, especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible."
I had the completely unintentional but personally bizarre experience of listening, or should I say hearing, Whoopi Goldberg explain the concept of a blood libel while my wife watched "The View" this morning - in fairness, I did not think she did a bad job - though I disagree with her on almost everything.
Without delving too deep into the issue, I will agree with what Abraham Foxman of the ADL said in this link - Dershowitz, others defend Palin’s use of ‘blood libel’ The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment:
"While the term ‘blood-libel’ has become part of the English parlance to refer to someone being falsely accused, we wish that Palin had used another phrase, instead of one so fraught with pain in Jewish history..."
3. Instability In Lebanon - Hezbollah has withdrawn its support for the current Lebanese government, the issue being the pending report into the assassination of Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese Prime Minister. There are several points of view about this - my current thinking, if you are interested, is that political instability in Lebanon, particularly over this type of an issue - is not a good thing for Israel.
- Lebanon in crisis
- Michael Totten - On The Brink
- Hezbollah’s Latest Suicide Mission - NYTimes.com
- Analysis: Israel needs to be concerned
6. But Apparently, We Are Not All Jews - We are all Copts - see also Egypt recalls Vatican envoy after Pope criticizes persecution of Christians - Jihad Watch, 'Christmas is evil': Muslim group launch poster campaign against festive period Mail Online and The Plight of the Middle East's Christians - Jeffrey Goldberg - International - The Atlantic.
7. I'm Not A Mental Health Professional - but this type of thing must indicate some type of disorder - Iran downgrades tomb of Esther and Mordechai JTA - Jewish & Israel News. See also - Iranian government stirs up antisemitism with invented massacre Meir Javedanfar - guardian.co.uk.
Just imagine if the shoe was on the other foot.....and the world says nothing.
And where are all the critics of Israel on this one (or all the examples like it) - especially the ones who so vehemently proclaim their Jewishness while criticizing Israel, or - my personal favorite - that they are of "Jewish heritage"? Is this type of thing acceptable to Independent Jewish Voices, to Canadians, Jews and Arabs for a Just Peace in the Middle East, Queers Against Israel Apartheid, and other such groups? Your silence is absolutely deafening - and your credibility is zero as a result.
Iran, Syria, the PA, Hezbollah, Hamas and a host of others routinely engage in the vilest antisemitism imaginable - denying Jewish history, denying Israel's right to exist and threatening Israel, Israelis and Jews with physical destruction. They are also doing the same to Christians. And all these "advocacy groups" can seem to do is sit there and make no absolutely comment - except possibly to blame Israel.
I wonder how the vast majority, if not all, of the people in these "advocacy groups" would react if a rape victim were blamed instead of the rapist, or if a homosexual were targeted because of their sexual preference - actually, I am pretty sure I know - with outrage and horror. So these people know how to take a stand and separate victim from assailant - it's just that when it comes to Israel and Jews, they just cannot seem say the words or take the stand - and that, in my books, is antisemitism through and through - back to my Natan Sharansky primer.
9. Time - as in "grime", "slime" and "crime" - or as in "expletive deleted". No one can forget Time's famous slur against Menachem Begin, nor its continual anti-Israel bias. According to Alana Goodman, Time has now reached a new "high" in "low "(don't worry - I am sure it will keep digging) - Commentary » Blog Archive » Time Magazine Takes Its Israel Hatred to a New Level.
12. Great Advertisement - and not just because of the girl in the bikini:
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