To update my entry from last night about the Berkeley Hillel, my friend has now received a detailed response from its new Executive Director. The bad news seems to be that the events in question did happen a few years ago. But the much better good news is that under his watch, they are not at all likely to happen again.
Hillel Update
To update my entry from last night about the Berkeley Hillel, my friend has now received a detailed response from its new Executive Director. The bad news seems to be that the events in question did happen a few years ago. But the much better good news is that under his watch, they are not at all likely to happen again.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009 Mini Blog
When I grew up in Halifax some 100 years ago, there was a very popular rock group called "April Wine" with some suburban Halifax roots. They had a number of hits, including a song called "The Whole World's Going Crazy" - which is the theme of today's mini-blog. (personally, I think the world went stark, raving psycho a long time ago, truth be told - see, for example, "Germany, Nazi, 1933-1945").
Case in Point #1 - Navy SEALs Face Assault Charges for Capturing Most-Wanted Terrorist - Iraq | War | Map - FOXNews.com. I will spare you the details and (especially) the pictures, but this terrorist was behind one of the most gruesome events in Iraq - the murder of 4 American contractors and the subsequent mutilation and exhibition of their remains (which, as an aside, in my humble opinion, makes Abu Ghraib look like a weekend frat party and the alleged flushing of a Koran a high school prank). Regardless, the terrorist claims that - are you sitting down? - one of the Navy SEALs punched him:
"Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named "Objective Amber," told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it. Now, instead of being lauded for bringing to justice a high-value target, three of the SEAL commandos, all enlisted, face assault charges and have retained lawyers"
ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Is this the way to show support for the military - especially the elite anti-terrorist units who risk their very lives to capture this type of scum?
Case in Point #2 - On my last blog, I linked to a column by Caroline Glick in which the following paragraph appeared:
"Take UC Berkeley's Hillel center, for example. Since Ken Kramarz, Hillel's regional director for Northern California, started his job in June 2007, Berkeley's Hillel has adopted a hostile view towards Judaism and Israel. As pro-Israel community activist Natan Nestel notes, in the past year alone, Hillel held a dance party on Yom Hashoah, and it held a Cinco de Mayo barbecue on Remembrance Day for Fallen IDF Soldiers. It has also failed to hold community Seders for the past two years. Instead, last year, its members hung signs in the Hillel building declaring, "Matza sucks."
I was literally made nauseous from reading this. I wrote to the national Hillel organization to ask if these allegations were true. No response. A friend wrote directly to 2 reps at the Berkeley Hillel to ask if these allegations were true. No response. There is nothing that I saw on either the main Hillel website or the Hillel Berkeley website to suggest otherwise. To me, this suggests that the allegations are true.
And if the allegations are proven true, then I hope that in some (lawful) way, the people behind this repulsive behavior reap what they have sown. They will deserve it.
Case in Point #3 - Ron Radosh » Why Wright is Wrong: A Liberal Pundit Blames America for Maj. Hasan’s Jihad
Case in Point #4 - Hamas Web site encourages suicide bombers in Europe | International News | Jerusalem Post - and this is aimed at CHILDREN.
Case in Point #5 - Brazilian president: 'There's no point isolating Iran' | International News | Jerusalem Post - they're just so warm and fuzzy - they terrorize and oppress their own people, threaten Israel and deny the Holocaust - the trifecta!! - by all means, don't do anything that might upset them or hint that their behavior is simply unacceptable.
There's not other way to end this mini-blog except for this:
Sunday, November 22, 2009
1. Buycott, Not Boycott - In my recent Cranky Edition, I noted the plan to boycott Mountain Equipment Cooperative because it sells Israeli products. Well, here is the perfect response - Cross-Canada BUYcott Alert for Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) « BUYcott Alerts.
2. Boycott, Not Buycott - Chesler Chronicles » Boycott Burqa Barbie
3. Uh, Guys, Can Work Together? - Funding for Overseas Jews In Disarray as Agencies Duel – Forward.com
4. Gaza - It is now approaching a year since Operation Cast Lead. Here is a retrospective - ANALYSIS / Gaza war brought Israel its quietest year in a decade - Haaretz - Israel News, as well as current news - RubinReports: Important Step? Hamas Declares New Ceasefire; Launching Bid for Massive Aid for Gaza Strip.
7. A New Palestine? - David Horovitz's Column: Salam Fayyad builds Palestine | Columnists | Jerusalem Post.
8. Jonathan Pollard - I have never been especially knowledgeable about this case. Now, as he enters his 25th year in prison, the story is getting some media attention. Here are some links to sites with varying opinions (note - some of these are written by members of his family):
- Time for a new attitude in the Pollard case | Op-Ed Contributors | Jerusalem Post
- Justice for Jonathan Pollard
- Jonathan Pollard
- Why Pollard Should Never Be Released (The Traitor)
- Convicted Israeli Spy Wants Commutation from Bush | Newsweek Scope | Newsweek.com
9. This Ain't The Boy Scouts After All -Barak: 'Iron fist' to quell IDF insubordination | Israel Palestine-Gaza Conflict | Jerusalem Post and Ashkenazi says that there is no IDF without subordination | Headlines News | Jerusalem Post.
12. Caroline Glick on American Jewry - Can you believe this excerpt from this piece - Caroline Glick's Column: Whither American Jewry? | Columnists | Jerusalem Post - are you kidding me?
"Take UC Berkeley's Hillel center, for example. Since Ken Kramarz, Hillel's regional director for Northern California, started his job in June 2007, Berkeley's Hillel has adopted a hostile view towards Judaism and Israel. As pro-Israel community activist Natan Nestel notes, in the past year alone, Hillel held a dance party on Yom Hashoah, and it held a Cinco de Mayo barbecue on Remembrance Day for Fallen IDF Soldiers. It has also failed to hold community Seders for the past two years. Instead, last year, its members hung signs in the Hillel building declaring, "Matza sucks."
14. It's Amazing What Is Out There - Documents on Hitler discovered in Paris archives | International News | Jerusalem Post
16. Classroom Update - Pajamas Media » Conservative Children’s Books: Keeping Young Minds Open to New Ideas
17. Amazing Achievement - This is an amazing achievement in and of itself - Israel top patent producer in Western world - Israel Business, Ynetnews. Now consider it in light of Israel's turbulent 61 year history.
18. OK - I'm A Juvenile - I get a laugh out of this stuff.
Saturday, November 21, 2009 - Shavua Tov!
1. What Were They, Um, Thinking? New Statesman - Exclusive: easyJet grounds in-flight magazine after Holocaust gaffe. Would someone do a fashion photo-shoot at Vimy Ridge? I think that the problem is that too many people today have no true of what really took place in the Shoah, nor its significance. The 1940s? Gee, that's like 60 years ago. Come on people - get with it.
2. What Were They, Um, Thinking #2? When Nazism Was All The Rage On Campus, Steven Plaut - of course, in this case, we aren't talking about modern-day photographers, we are talking about the creme de la creme of the ivory tower crowd - who surely could not have been wrong.....oops! And this is very very very worrisome given the current state of affairs on so many campuses - where so many of the intellectual elite seem bound and determined to repeat the mistakes of the 1930s.
3. What Were They, Um, Thinking, #3 - “The Matrix” Meets the Muslim Brotherhood – by Ryan Mauro | FrontPage Magazine. This ought to be a real sweetheart of a movie - a, shall we say, questionable advisor, and an incendiary subject. The director says that the movie is intended to portray the "....true meaning of Islam". I'm not holding my breath.
4. This Is Really A Surprise - Pajamas Media » Christians Suffer Under the Palestinian Authority - this never seems to hit the main stream media - mention Israeli "apartheid"........
5. Because The Tactics Work, And No One Else Has Any Better Ideas - NATO chief comes to study IDF tactics, despite Goldstone | Israel Palestine-Gaza Conflict | Jerusalem Post.
6. Speaking Of Goldstone - War unchecked - washingtonpost.com and Anne Bayefsky Evicted from UN for Criticizing Goldstone Report - WSJ.com.
7. And The Never-Ending Issue Of Iran - If it was up to anyone but Israel, they will be talking about sanctions right up to the time the Iranians are fueling the launch vehicles for the nuclear weapons - Obama: New Sanctions on Iran Are Forthcoming – Forward.com. Other Iran stories:
- David Frum: Tehran's last chance - Full Comment
- Commentary » Blog Archive » Axis of Uranium Meets Middle East Peace Process
- Commentary » Blog Archive » Re: Axis of Uranium Meets Middle East Peace Process (extra piece)
- RubinReports: When it Comes to Iran, President Obama Won’t Hear “No” For an Answer
- Commentary » Blog Archive » Big Six Meeting on Iran Produces Less than Nothing
- RealClearWorld - Hezbollah's Man in Iran
- Planning for the unthinkable - a nuclear Iran | Front Lines - the week that was | Jerusalem Post
- http://www.nationalpost.com/news/features/story.html?id=2042422
9. This Idiot Must Be Missing The Limelight - Chavez praises alleged terrorist Carlos the Jackal | International News | Jerusalem Post.
10. This Pretty Such Sums It Up - RubinReports: Israel: We believe in Life; You Benefit - and the world condemns Israel.
11. I Cannot Stomach This - Haredim, police clash at fresh Jerusalem rally against Intel plant - Haaretz - Israel News - what makes these guys better than extremists from other religions? Simply because they are Jewish - not in my books.
12. This Is Definitely Different - Convicts help rescue neglected Jewish cemeteries in Poland - Haaretz - Israel News.
16. Various Aspects Of Home-Grown Terror (Including Fort Hood) - some things to consider:
- Commentary » Blog Archive » 9/11 Victims and All of Us Deserve Better
- Pajamas Media » Why Would Obama Take Such a Risk with KSM?
- Peter Bergen discusses the risk of terror cases inside the U.S. | Foreign Policy
- Seven salient facts about Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan. - By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine
- VDH's Private Papers: Nidal Hasan and Fort Hood
18. Little Things Make Me Laugh - 4 seconds long....
Thursday, November 19, 2009 - The Cranky Edition! UPDATED
The Dolphins won 24-17! They are now at .500 with 6 games to go. Ricky Williams (below, being congratulated after a 46 yard touchdown run in the 4th quarter) had a monster game for the Dolphins, who have lost major offensive star Ronnie Brown for the season due to injury.
Thursday, November 19, 2009 - The Cranky Edition!

I'm cranky this evening. Fed up with boycotts, political correctness, double-standards, hypocrisy, misinformation - and those that enable, distribute and buy into it. Not that the stories on the internet today are that much different than usual. I'm just cranky.
This story got me started - Hamas: Terrorism to Eliminate Israel is a 'Principle' - Defense/Middle East - Israel News - Israel National News. This excerpt seems very clear to me:
"In an interview published Thursday in the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat, a Hamas spokesman said that the jihadist movement is loyal to "Palestinian principles" in its policy of terrorism against the Jews until Israel ceases to exist."
And this is the same Hamas that is the darling of so many left-wingers, people who are supposed to be educated, liberal and tolerant in their outlook.
The same Hamas that perfected the use of suicide bombs. That deliberately targets non-combatants and launched thousands of missiles at Israeli civilians in Sderot, Ashdod, Ashkelon, etc. over many years. That uses its own civilians as human shields. That uses civilian infrastructure as cover for military operations. That promotes a radical and intolerant form of Islam. That inculcates hatred and bigotry in its children. That holds a kidnapped soldier hostage since 2006 and does not allow the Red Cross access to him. Yeah - these guys are wonderful role models.
Then I became aware of this story. To be clear, this is an initiative of groups that advocate for Palestinians - it is not an initiative of Mountain Equipment Cooperative. The information (if you can call it that) given on the page I linked to - is totally out of context and one-sided. But these people do not concern themselves with accuracy - that would be very inconvenient. So they quote the usual suspects - Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter and the like - and would have you believe that Israel is just the worst and most oppressive country on earth.
They selectively quote from the infamous Goldstone Report as if it is some contains nothing but irrefutable truth. They suggest that there are water shortages in Gaza because Israel destroyed the civilian infrastructure - hey - did you ever ask where the Qassam rockets come from - ever think about why there are no water and sewer pipes in Gaza?
And without too much effort, it is possible to find these extremely annoying links:
- Another Vast Jewish Conspiracy
- Criminalizing Criticism of Islam
- Academic Boycott #1
- Zionists Test Drugs on Palestinian Detainees
- Norweigan Doctor: Israel A Terrorist State
- Up Against The Wall
So - with the Dolphins leading Carolina 14-3 at the half, I think that I will just sign off and hope not to be cranky tomorrow - but no promises!
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