Opuscula Liberal’s Mentality

IF I DON’T AGREE WITH AN IDEA, IT DOESN’T EXIST.

So goes the “mentality” of the left.

According to Israel National News/Arutz 7¹, several 20-somethings on their way to Israel on a Birthright trip, decided while awaiting to start their highly subsidized two-week trip that Israel was not a suitable place to visit.

Birthright usually is reserved to young people who never have been to Israel; whose only connection to Israel has been second or third hand.

The online media reported that:

Far-left anti-Israel activists from the IfNotNow organization attempted to recruit Birthright participants departing from New York’s Kennedy Airport.

"They set up a table with a sign and snacks and when the groups arrived they turned to them as they waited in line," said one of the group members, Miss Ariel Tidhar. "They told them they had to learn the truth about the State, and claimed that Birthright was working against Jewish morality." Operatives demanded "to stop American-Jewish support for the occupation."

On Thursday, it appeared that the group’s efforts to recruit Birthright participants had paid off.

A group of five American Jewish women in their 20s made a very public exit from a Birthright tour, publicly protesting Birthright with text and video messages released via social media.

The group blasted Israel’s use of force to defend its border with Gaza from terrorists and rioters attempting to breach the security fence, and condemned Israel’s presence in Judea and Samaria as an unjust “occupation”.

Had the departing young women really wanted to know about life in Israel, with perhaps a tour to farms near the Gaza fence, they would have boarded the flight and seen for themselves.

One of the five posted a Facebook comment that “Birthright wouldn’t show us the occupation so we are going to see it for ourselves.” Really?

In April², members of IfNotNow were arrested in Los Angeles after they entered a Jewish Federation office and began reciting the traditional Jewish “Kaddish” prayer to mourn the deaths of Arab rioters killed while attempting to infiltrate into Israel from the Gaza Strip.

It would be interesting to know if any of the know nothings ever had been to Israel or Gaza or the PA territories. My guess would be the answer is “not one.”

If you won’t LOOK at the reality on the ground, then how can you know – let alone understand – what IS the reality on the ground?.

If all your information is from one source and, at the same time, you refuse to hear/read information from an alternate source, not only are you depriving yourself of a balanced education, you are guaranteeing your ignorance.

The leftists’ mentality is to don a pair of blinders so that they are spared seeing anything that might not agree with their leaders’ rants. They remind me of two of the three monkeys who see no evil, hear no evil , speak no evil. They neither hear nor see the “evil” of reality. When they speak, the evil is their ignorance.

By all means, waylay Birthrighters at the airport and try to prevent them from seeing for themselves. Maybe the Birthrighters will return to spread the anti-Israel message, but most come back having had a reality check during their brief stay in Israel.

Truth in blogging My daughter went to Israel with Birthright. She later made aliyah (moved to Israel) and makes her home in Israel with her husband and children.

She KNOWS the reality of life in Israel. She KNOWS, as do her parents, what is it like to hear the sirens and to see the rockets. She KNOWS, as do her parents, what it’s like to sit at a restaurant and wonder if the place will be the target of a suicide murderer.

THIS is the reality of Israel.

The reason for the fences is to reduce the threat to Israelis (Jews and non-Jews) and visitors – including Birthrighters. The reason Israel won’t open its border with Gaza and PA-land is because the people in these areas have sworn to wipe Israel off the map. (By the way, Egypt ALSO closed its border with Gaza -- yet the leftists don't seem to complain about THAT.)

THAT is the reality of Israel.

Sitting in the diaspora as these IfNotNow people and their recruits do, never will provide anyone with a true knowledge of Israel.

Why bother to go and see for yourself when there are leftists – often ignorant Jews – who will fill your head with whatever they were taught to believe.

Truth? Their “truth” is the only truth, even if it barely is a half truth.

---

Sources

1. http://tinyurl.com/ycs7qvfs

2. http://tinyurl.com/y9vh7d8u

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Birthright

Opuscula Border closed To fleeing Syrians: Where can they go?

From Israel HaYom, 6/19/18

Israel delivers tons of aid as Syrians flee for border

http://tinyurl.com/y9nevaq2

Israel braces for border breach as tens of thousands of Syrians flee Assad onslaught and head for Jordan, Israel borders • IDF says will not allow Syrians to enter Israel • IDF transports tons of food, supplies and medication to Syrian refugee tent camps.

*   *   *   

NEWS REPORTS¹ CLAIM THAT JORDAN has closed its border to Syrians fleeing from the fighting in their country.

The Blue Bonnets (UN “peacekeepers”) are, as usual, not to be found.

Where can the refugees go?

Jordan is already hosting about 660,000 registered Syrian refugees and estimates that the number of displaced Syrians in the country is twice as high.

The report claims that Since last Tuesday, Syrian troops have targeted rebel-held areas in eastern Daraa, one of the country’s last major rebel strongholds. The strategic area was part of a truce deal reached last July between the United States, Russia and Jordan.

The offensive’s goal appears to be regaining control of the border crossing with Jordan, which has been in rebel hands since 2015. President Bashar Assad’s recent military victories, including the capture of Damascus suburbs and southern neighborhoods, have propelled the push.

While Israel has provided a number of Syrians with medical care, it cannot be expected to welcome people from a regime that has several times tried to wipe it off the face of the earth.

On the other hand, Jordan has reached a saturation point.

What can be done?

SEND THE REFUGEES ELSEWHERE

The map, below, shows Jordan’s geographical location vis-a-vis Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

Israel has vast experience in relocating large masses of people. If tiny Israel can manage to transport thousands of refugees, Jordan could apply Israel’s “lesson’s learned.”

Saudi Arabia is a huge country with an abundance of open spaces.

It could be Jordan’s first choice in relocating refugees currently in Jordan.

Since Iran is in bed with Syria’s tyrant, and since Saudi Arabia is not a friend of Iran, it should be willing to accept Syrian refugees from Jordan; thereby freeing up more space in Jordan for new Syrian arrivals.

Iraq is not feasible since it is an Iranian proxy.

Turkey is in turmoil.

Lebanon, controlled by Hezbollah, is in truth part of Syria.

Egypt has space in the Sinai, but that area is largely the playground for Muslim extremists.

Gaza cannot support its own population and it is unlikely that Israel would allow an influx of unvetted Syrians into Gaza.

Sudan?

On 14 December 2017, members of the “Troika” countries (Norway, the United States and the United Kingdom) described the situation in South Sudan as "intolerable".²

The Troika, in a joint statement, welcomed the revitalization forum of the 2015 peace deal, describing the forum as a unique and critical opportunity to make progress towards peace between warring political factions and tribal groups in South Sudan.

The humanitarian, economic, security, human rights and political situation continues to deteriorate with devastating consequences for the ordinary people of South Sudan, it said.

The “Sudanese Option” is not an option.

Yemen, Oman, and even the UAE are not suitable destinations for Syrian refugees.

Europe already is saturated with Muslim refugees.

The bottom line is that the refugees – and Jordan – have only two viable options to relieve the strain of hosting Syrian refugees: Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

The Blue Bonnets supposedly are setting up refugee camps in Jordan (a la the permanent “Palestinian” camps that have been home to several generations of “refugees”).

They could as easily set up camps in Saudi Arabia and Egypt’s Sinai – assuming the countries would be willing to host the overflow from Jordan.

Meanwhile the UN member nations, in particular Arab states, could tax themselves to support the camps in Jordan and elsewhere. (Jordan, by many accounts, almost is broke and the natives – mostly “Palestinians,” – are getting restless.)

Jordan should be a temporary stop on the refugee transit.

Once in Jordan, the refugees could receive immediate succor – food, clothing, medical care – and then moved to a final destination (until the Syrian civil war ends).

Unlike Israel, no country will be expected to absorb the refugees; they need to know that when the shooting stops, they will be returned to Syria and whatever government exists.

Jordan needs help.

The help can come initially from Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Perhaps other Muslim countries in the area can accept refugees on a temporary basis, but Saudi Arabia and Egypt are the nearest options.

Sources

1. http://tinyurl.com/yc4qyrve

2. http://tinyurl.com/y76zl7vp

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Syrian refugees

Opuscula Drones and kites Taking their toll On Israeli budget

I READ ALMOST DAILY that Israel has shot down an enemy drone or incendiary kite or balloon.

The enemy’s aerial attacks cost a few enemy“prutot” while each Israeli missile sent to down them cost thousands of dollars.

The enemy – be it Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and its proxies in Syria – is winning the war on Israel’s treasury and taking money that could be better spent on promised social programs.

According to Forbes¹, Israel spent around $23 billion on its armed forces in 2014 and SIPRI estimated that this amounted to 5.2 percent of its GDP. In comparison, Russia has embarked on a huge military spending binge which was estimated to have reached 4.5 percent of its GDP in 2014

Even if the incendiary devices did not cost thousands of shekels damage to the economy – both domestic and export – the cost of bringing down the devices by missiles depletes the country’s treasury.

Weaponry provided by the U.S. and other countries may seem free, but it is not. All “gifts” come with a string. The “string” for U.S. supplied weapons is that Israel must buy a certain amount of good from the U.S., often from the same company that made the weapons.

*   *   *   

FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE

Rather than send missiles worth tens of thousands of dollars against a drone worth a few hundreds, send a drone to down a drone.

Arm the defensive drone with (relative) low cost weaponry to either disrupt the attack drone’s guidance system or, at a little extra cost, armed with a short range weapon – e.g., a shotgun or rifle – that can down the invader.

The drone, once the invader is finished, can be returned to base to fly again.

This is not science fiction.

Drones also can be used to “discourage” kite fliers and balloon launchers from nearing the Israel-Hamas fence.

Israel has a non-lethal spray that, like a skunk, has a “perfume” that is not pleasant to the human olfactory sensory neurons. Chicken manure is as good an example as a skunk’s discharge; and both have the same effect of discouraging continued presence in the “fragrant” area.

I might recommend a spray combining poison ivy, sumac, and mango. It might not smell as bad, but the effect lingers longer.

The only concern with using a spray is its dispersal. Depending on wind direction, the atomizer drones might have to be well behind enemy lines. From the military’s point of view, “not a problem,” since the drones can be remotely controlled over relatively long distances.

Save Amir Perez’s Israel-made Kippa Barzel (Iron Dome) and U.S, supplied Patriot missiles for anti-missile and anti-aircraft use.

Israel makes – and sells internationally – some very sophisticated Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), a/k/a drones.

If a drone is downed there is minimal loss. (If the drone is equipped to self-destruct, the technology loss is minimized.) A downed drone is far less expensive that a downed aircraft (fixed wing or rotary wing). Since the UAV is, by definition, unmanned, no lives are lost if a drone is shot down.

Worst case, equip the drones with their own incendiary devices to set fire to enemy fields and buildings. “Tit for tat” as the diplomats say.

Drones, due to their size, speed, and maneuverability, are harder for radar and human eyes to detect than kites, balloons, or aircraft.

Israel can mass produce drones of sundry sizes and functionalities much more economically than it can Iron Dome missiles and with fewer “strings” that Patriot missiles and manned warplanes.

Sources

1. http://tinyurl.com/y9tlfcvu

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Drones

Opuscula Bilaam, was he Bad guy or prophet

QUICK QUIZ: THERE ARE TWO TALKING ANIMALS in the Torah. What are they and where do they appear in the Torah (book, chapter, and verse).^{1, 2}

THE RABBIS DELIGHT IN CASTING ASPERSIONS ON BILAAM. They should be ashamed.

All references and translations are from the Hertz/Soncino humash.

Bilaam was a prophet to whom HaShem spoke to in dreams. (Numbers 22 V. 9-12)

The rabbis take umbrage with Bilaam because once HaShem told him not to go with the messengers from Balak, they (the rabbis) think that should have ended the whole idea.

However, if anyone continues to pay attention to Bilaam and HaShem’s conversations with him, they will see that HaShem DID allow Bilaam to go to Balak and say exactly what HaShem wanted him to say . (Chap. 22 V. 20)

Consider that HaShem easily could have prevented a few messengers from visiting Bilaam again; after all, look what happened to the Egyptians, Sodom and Gemorrah, Korach, and, later, to Jericho.

The fact that HaShem allowed the messengers access to Bilaam should, but apparently fails to, tell the rabbis something about Bilaam’s relationship with HaShem.

I am confused, however, --and perhaps this is on what the rabbis base their anti-Bilaam conclusion, that HaShem’s “anger was kindled because he went (with the messenger). (Chap. 22 V.22)

Apparently HaShem’s anger – does He change his mind? – was sufficient that an angel suddenly appeared in Bilaam’s path, an angel that only the אתון could see.

Bilaam, still going under the authority of the previous night’s instructions from HaShem, “smote” the animal, apparently something he never did previously, for the animal spoke, saying “What have I done to three that thou has smitten me these three times? (Chap. 22 V 28)

Later (Chap. 22, V.32) the angel to (Bilaam): Behold I (not HaShem) am come forth … because thy way is contrary unto me.” Unto me, not HaShem.

The rabbis remind us that the Torah has no extra words.

Finally, when Bilaam meets with Balak, he tells Balak that he can say only what HaShem tells him to say.

Balak, it seems, accepts these terms, and the rest is history.

The question remains: How can a person doing what HaShem tells him to do be so denigrated by the rabbis, Does HaShem speak to them in a dream or vision? Are they prophets?

I suggest that the rabbis need to read the ENTIRE portion and weigh Bilaam’s nocturnal conversations with HaShem against a brief appearance of an angel who frightens an animal.

---

Sources

1. Talking animal #1: Snake – Genesis Chap. 3 V.1-5

2. Talking animal #2: Bilaam’s אתון – Numbers, 22 V. 30

*. There are other talking animals in other literature, but only two in the Torah.

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Bilaam

Opuscula Chief rabbinute Vs. Israeli Jews

NORMALLY (באופן רגיל) I AM ALMOST AUTOMATICALLY AGAINST PRONOUNCEMENTS FROM ISRAEL’S CHIEF RABBINUTE.

However, on some things I find myself in agreement with the old men in Jerusalem.

I HAVE NOTHING against Conservative, Reform, Humanistic, and all other variations on the Jewish theme, but I DO have a problem with non-halakic conversions and accepting people as Jews who have a non-Jewish mother.

Unlike the Chiefs, I don’t care how observant a person it at home or in their own social circle.

I also realize that until the Chiefs can strip an “accident of birth” Jew of his Jewish status – it cannot to the best of my non-rabbinical knowledge – the old men should not strip a convert of his or her Jewishness simply because they – as millions of other Jews – elect to ignore the commandments.

I would rather go to a non-observant synagogue where the congregants actually PRAY and PAY ATTENTION to the d’vir Torah lesson than an “Orthodox” synagogue where the men sit and chat or read the paper or – scandal – crane their necks to see who is in the women’s section (and then loudly complain about having to see a woman).

ON THE OTHER HAND, I want to know that my grandchildren will marry Jews who ARE ((halachically) Jews; the child of a Jewish mother (Jewish by birth or Jewish by halakic conversion).

Yes, I know the halakah of conversion is strictly rabbinical. By today’s Chiefs, Ruth was, is, and always will be a Moabite nokaret (non-Jew). Yet, Tanach declares her Jewish sufficient that King David is descended from her. (So was David a Jew or not? A rabbinical quandary.)

While the old men in Jerusalem are trying to rout out converts (via “orthodoxy”) who fail to follow all 613 mitzvoth – an impossibility in any event – they are simultaneously attacking non-Israeli “orthodox” rabbis who, although not on the Chiefs’ list, accept candidates for conversion. Some prominent U.S. rabbis failed to “make the cut.”

Politics does not, in my opinion, belong in religion, but that is what the Chief Rabbinute is all about: politics.

I have family who are heloni – non-observant. It is enough, they believe, that they live in Israel.

There may be something to that – living in Israel most assuredly IS an important mitzvah.

Will the old men in Jerusalem strip them of their Jewishness?

Unlike many rabbis and other professional Jews (e.g., yeshiva “boys”), the non-observant in my family serve – or served – in the army; they live daily under threat of rockets from Israel’s neighbors to the north and south; they work to support their families … their children and grandchildren.

That is NOT to suggest that ONLY helonim work and support their families; there are many observant Jews that do the same.

The Chief Rabbinute is political.

To be elected a chief rabbi (there are two when there used to be one) is a mater of politics; just like non-rabbinical politics, it is not WHAT you know but WHO you know within the rabbinute. (Sounds like the cardinals selecting a new pope, and sans the white smoke, the process is similar.)

The old men are fallible, albeit their followers will deny that.

On the “Sefardi” side, most chief rabbis have been Iraqi. Nothing wrong with that, but one recent chief rabbi told North African Jews their traditions were wrong. He later was obliged to recant.

Chief rabbis have errors of judgment, and – in my opinion, – they need to rethink their stand on halakic conversions and the behavior of the convert. There are many reasons a person might wish to become Jewish but lack a desire to perform all the possible mitzvoth. It’s a steep road to climb, going from a non-Jewish life to a Jewish life. Even ba’ali tshuvah (Jews becoming observant) should start off one new mitzvah at a time. (Those who try to do all the possible mitzvoth from Day 1 often drop out, thinking it is too difficult. It can be difficult, but taken one mitzvah at a time – one step at a time – usually works best.)

I don’t know what can be done with non-halakic conversions and those who claim their Jewish status from their father. (Perhaps the later deserves some thought by the old men in Jerusalem.)

As far as the Law of Return, that should remain strictly within the realm of the civil government.

The Chief Rabbinute is losing the respect it once earned.

It is losing the kashrut war in Israel to another Jewish organization that is equally strict.

It is losing its control of Jewish marriages and divorces; for many years Israelis have gone to Cyprus or elsewhere to marry, now they can find an Israeli lawyer to marry them. Recently a three-rabbi committee found a way to abrogate a woman’s marriage when the old men in Jerusalem – despite putting a recalcitrant husband in jail – failed to force the husband to give his wife a get (divorce).

The sad thing is that as the Chief Rabbinute falls into disrepute, the religion also suffers.

While Judaism is not a popularity contest, the Chief Rabbinute seems intent on alienating Jews in Israel and around the world.

THERE HAVE BEEN some great chief rabbis who tried to bring Jews together. One was Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Israel Meir Lau. Rabbi Lau had the respect of Ashkenazi, Sefardi, and Mizrachi Jews in Israel and elsewhere.

We need chief rabbis in R. Lau’s mold to save the rabbinute from itself.

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Chief rebbinute

Opuscula If you don’t Live in Israel Hold your tongue

I DO NOT, NOW, LIVE IN ISRAEL. I DID. MY DAUGHTER AND GRANDCHILDREN LIVE IN ISRAEL.

I lack the chutzpah of many U.S. (mostly leftist) Jews to tell the Israeli government what to do regarding anything – not the enemy on its borders, not Shabat observance, not even “Who’s a Jew.”

I have opinions on those and other issues, but I’m sitting in the relative safety of the United States; no one is shelling my house or flying flaming kites in my direction. The Israeli Orthodox rabbinate trying to control my life … another matter.

My only official connections with Israel are two:

1. I am a Jew
2. I am an Israeli citizen (as well as a native-born American citizen).

Recently there was a survey funded by the American Jewish Committee (AJC)¹. The survey, conducted for the American Jewish Committee earlier this year, found that while 77% of Israeli Jews approved of Trump's handling of U.S.-Israel relations, only 34% of American Jews did.

Why the difference of opinions?

Several reasons.

First and foremost, in MY opinion, is the fact that the Israel Jews polled live in Israel. They are on the front lines; they have enemies on several borders.

American Jews, while they may have relatives living in Israel, do not themselves live in Israel. They may have high crime areas within a few miles of their homes, but there are no serious threats from the Canadians to the north or the Mexicans (and those transiting Mexico) to the south. Neither Jamaica, The Bahamas, nor even Cuba threaten the eastern seaboard.

Second, while perhaps the majority of Jews in Israel are “heloni,” non-observant, they generally are still more observant – or at least more respectful – of Jewish traditions and customs than the Reform and Conservative Jews who, according to the survey, make up the majority of Jews in the U.S.

While there is indeed a leftist element in Israel – even overlooking the anti-Israel Muslims in the country’s Knesset – the majority of Israelis in Israel are either non-political, centrists, or conservative.

The only place to look for politically conservative Jews in the U.S. is within the “orthodox” (read “observant”) communities.

I would suggest that the majority of leftists in Israel, like the majority of Conservative and Reform Jews in the U.S., are Ashkenazim, Jews descended from Europeans. (True, there are left-of-center Sefardim and Mizrachim, but their numbers are whelmed^cq2 by the Europeans.)

Americans have become politically radicalized in the last decade.

President Trump can do nothing proper as far as the leftists are concerned.

Never mind that a majority of Americans voted for the man based on his promises; promises the Democrats are trying to prevent him from honoring.

At the same time, many Republicans are fed up with Democratic rhetoric and “tune out” anything a Democrat might suggest.

U.S. Conservative and Reform Jews, from the safety of their homes thousands of miles from Gaza and the PA, and Syria/Lebanon, have the chutzpah to tell Israel to settle for a two-state solution.

HOW a “two state solution” might work is not a concern for America’s leftists, a few of whom actively support BDS efforts.

Assume for a minute that Gaza is a state sandwiched between Egypt and Israel.

It has, even now, its own government.

It has an army, albeit sans uniforms.

It trades with other countries.

If Gaza is an example of how a “two-state solution” will work, than most Israelis probably would prefer another option. (Give Gaza back to Egypt, but Egypt – wisely – doesn’t want Gaza.)

How about the PA as a unique state.

Unless it makes some type pact with Israel, it is surrounded by Israel. It cannot trade with any other country other than through Israel. Israel could provide a path to Jordan, but many Jordanians remember Black September when the PLO tried to assassinate Jordan’s king.³

The article, Poll shows deep divisions between Israeli and U.S. Jews fails to provide information readers need to determine the value of the poll.

For example, it would be nice to know

When the poll was taken How many people were polled What was the religious affiliation of those polled: Conservative, Orthodox, Reform, Unaffiliated Were any of those surveyed dual nationals? What were the poll questions; phrasing makes all the difference in a survey’s outcome. What was the political affiliation of those surveyed? Where did those surveyed reside (e.g., big cities, small towns)?

At one time I was required to do a weekly “Man in the Street” survey for a major Pennsylvania newspaper. I made up the question (with my editor’s approval) and braved the elements to get six printable answers. I know how to phrase a question to generate the response I want. I also could be selective in who I asked.

In other words, this scrivener not only knows how surveys work, he knows how to make surveys work to provide the desired responses. Bottom line: I never trust a survey unless I know all the facts.

Sources

1. http://tinyurl.com/yb8cs3qr

2. http://tinyurl.com/j53shmp

3. http://tinyurl.com/y942uw33

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Hold your tongue

Opuscula Prevent Literacy, Tax books

Back in the day (c 1976), when I flacked for Tel Aviv University, Friends of the University getting the Grand Tour would ask what they could do for Israel.

Having tried to teach school in Zefat -- I am not a teacher, lacking all the skills and attributes teachers must possess -- I would suggest that they send childrens books to the youngsters.

MISTAKE.

I was reminded of this the other day when a local tv station went begging for books for children.

New books.

Gently used books.

The talking heads fronting the program said that every child needs a book.

My first thought was Get the kid a library card; there are hundreds of books in the many county libraries for which I (willingly) pay taxes.

Then I thought a second time.

I always had my own books (as well as a library card).

My three also had their own books – and library cards.

Even my three grands have their own books.

I confess the twins (three years old) are not mature enough to get their hands on library books.

I know the value of book ownership.

Back to Israel and …

It turns out that the government of the People of the Book TAXES used books.

The people were giving the books to the schools.

Steimatzky, Israel's largest book store (and other stuff) chain paid taxes when its new products for sale were imported, and it paid a Value Added Tax (ma'am) when someone bought the book. The government made out "like a bandit."

But USED BOOKS for use in schools? Especially in schools away from the more affluent areas of the state: Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem.

In my south Florida area, one of the tv stations has an on-going book drive, with the idea that every child should own his or her own book.

Mind, we have lots of taxpayer-funded "free" lending libraries scattered around the county. No community is far from a county library. The county is mostly urban; I have not seen a bookmobile.

Zefat, while (once) Israel's second holiest city, is not a wealthy community.

Some of the children at Canaan Bet, where I pretended to teach, had one good meal a day -- at school. My students were not even poor cousins to the Rothschilds.

Imagine giving a child a book of his or her very own.

A book can teach a child – and adults, too – a number of things.

How to read; start simple (Run, dog, run) and work up.

How to add, subtract, multiply, and divide.

But more important than that, book ownership teaches responsibility.

It doesn’t really make much difference if the book is Little Red Riding Hood or a Collegiate Dictionary; the main thing is that the child has a book of his or her own.

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Books

Opuscula NATO nations Tell Israel “No help here”

APPARENTLY THE POLITICAL LEADERS of NATO’s European communities either forgot about or never heard of Martin Niemöller.

Or perhaps they are about to follow Gandhi’s advice to the Jews and to Churchill’s England.

Either way, the Europeans have once again proved cowardly in the face of a bully.

No one should be surprised.

MARTIN NIEMÖLLER¹ (1892–1984) was a prominent Protestant pastor who emerged as an outspoken public foe of Adolf Hitler and spent the last seven years of Nazi rule in concentration camps.

Niemöller is perhaps best remembered for the quotation:
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Niemöller was the first name that came to mind as I read the Israel HaYom headline:

NATO chief says alliance won't aid Israel if Iran attacks²

Imagine if the U.S. had that stance in 1943. Europe and England national flags would be nazi swastikas. Hong Kong, Korea, much of China, and Shanghai flags would be Japan’s red ball.

But then I thought of Gandhi. Like NATO’s European members, Gandhi was a pacifist. He was such an extreme pacifist that:

In a 1938 essay, Mohandas ("Mahatma") Gandhi, the spiritual and political leader of the Indian independence movement, counseled Jews in Nazi Germany to neither flee nor resist but rather offer themselves up to be killed by their enemies, since their "suffering voluntarily undergone will bring them an inner strength and joy."³

To be fair to Gandhi, not satisfied with telling the Jews to go happily to the slaughter. In the spring of 1940, Gandhi wrote to the British viceroy of India⁴ and advised surrender to the Germans, whose tanks were rolling over Western Europe:

“This manslaughter must be stopped. You are losing; if you persist, it will only result in greater bloodshed. Hitler is not a bad man....”

Then, on July 4, 1940, he wrote an open letter to the British people:

“Let them take possession of your beautiful island with your many beautiful buildings. You will give all these, but neither your souls, nor your minds.”

Perhaps the European NATO members are afraid of a Muslim Fifth Column in their midst, or, perhaps, the leaders believe – albeit falsely – that BECAUSE their countries have been more or less overrun by Muslims, Iran will have mercy on therm and attack only Israel, U.S. interests, and very likely Saudi Arabia since it’s brand of Islam is not Iran’s brand of Islam.

The European heroes of NATO are correct: Israel is NOT part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a/k/a NATO.

Yet Turkey and Greece are members and neither has a border on the Atlantic Ocean. As the map, below, clearly shows, there are a number of member countries that lack an “Atlantic” connection. (Click on map to enlarge.)

Image from Council on Foreign Affairs (http://tinyurl.com/y7vqvj4d )

Perhaps the Eurocowards’ support is NOT unnecessary.

Israel assuredly will receive, after the first dozen of so Iranian rockets land on Israeli cities, some support from a typically slow-to-react U.S. government. It is more likely that some of Israel’s neighbors will respond with whatever limited resources they have against the Iranians.

Unlike the U.S., always concerned about “collateral damage” (read “civilian causalities”), Israel’s Muslim neighbors may not be so restrained. Certainly Israel will retaliate in a manner the UN’s and U.S. State Department’s anti-Israel personnel will declare “not proportional” as they count bodies.

Syria, with its Iranian Revolutionary Guards contingents, can expect to have more than a few attacks from Israel to assure it – and Hezbollah in Syrian Lebanon – never will threaten Israel again.

HOPEFULLY, Iran will continue to be satisfied with saber rattling and castigating the Great and Little Satans with bellicose rhetoric.

One thing the belligerents need to bear in mind: No matter WHERE a nuclear bomb falls, the radioactive particles will “dust” a considerable area populated by both friends and foe. Some people in the area – e.g., U.S. and Russian troops – have suitable clothing to protect themselves. In Israel, newer residences include rooms that can be sealed against chemical weapons; how well they will protect against a nuclear weapon remains an unknown.

Image from Conscious Lifestyles Radio (http://tinyurl.com/yay36gn8 )

A close look at the map (above) suggests that the European NATO leaders may be in more danger than they realize from the fallout.

The European NATO members who so quickly point out that Israel is NOT a NATO member and that Israel should expect zero aid from a European NATO member perhaps should re-think their attitude. Like it or not, a nuclear weapon exploding in Israel probably will scatter fallout on the European NATO members’ countries.

Sources

1. https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007392

2. http://tinyurl.com/yaxebgyf

3. http://tinyurl.com/y9leevll

4. http://tinyurl.com/y9zdb736

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