Submitted Comments RSS Feed Comments by hindy abelson
Posted in: Chanukah II: Obama's Revenge
As a Jew I am truly ashamed of all of these reactionary comments. To call Obama anti-Israel just because he wants an end to the conflict would be the same as Tsipi Livni's supporters anti-Israel. The hysterical comments here are exactly that hysterical. Since when is an opposing opinion anti Jewish? Aren't we the people who are respect individuals from other nations that have the courage to buck the status quo while the sheep among them toe the line? Would you rather that we all speak with one voice - like so many fanatics do. Shame on all of you for becoming what we hate in others.
Posted in: Israel likes speech, stresses security
When I hear the right wing Israeli response I have to ask "What speech were some Israelies listening to?" I'm a Jew and what I heard is Obama make many more demands on Islamic countries than he did on Israel. He asked them to drop their racist rhetoric , to embrace respect and freedom for all to worship as they wish, to stop spreading revisionist lies about the Holocaust, to grant equality to women and to basically embrace the values of countries in the West. He even asked them to recognize the legitimacy of the Jewish people's right to their homeland. It appears to me, that Obama's brilliant speech was directed at the young and moderate within Arab countries. All he asked of Israel was to put a freeze on settlements and its about time for that. Much was made of the fact that he didn't use the word "terrorists". In my opinion his use of "religious extremists" was much more powerful because they are the "seed" of terrorism. After all, while not every extremist is a terrorist, every single terrorist (of all stripes) is an extremist. Bless you Obama. Unfortunately many in the world are too blinded by their own insecurities, fears, hysterical and historical paranoia to truly listen to what you really said. You're a once in a lifetime leader. My only wish is that you stay safe from all of the crazies in the world (including the religious settlers who believe that God (the master real estate agent) gave them title over the land.
Posted in: Netanyahu faces moment of truth
As a Jew and a lover of the Jewish state, I find the right wing responses on this blog very scary. So many of them, like all religious fanatics, profess to know exactly what God is thinking and relegate him to the role of real estate agent. Shame on all of you. If peace in the region depends on Fundamentalists of the Moslem and Jewish stripe, God help us all! Its time for the moderates on all sides to begin a dialogue. And for those who say there aren't any on the other side. You're wrong! I've met quite a few. Check out the website ArabsforIsrael.com, as well as ishadmanji.com. There are more and more journalists from Arab countries that are speaking about liberalization. What ever happened to that wise philosophy - "keep your friends close and your enemies closer"? I hate to say it, but I'm totally disgusted with most of the bloggers on this post.
Posted in: Orthodox group: Rabbi violated rules by joining National Prayer Service
Sorry for the pun but Rav Herring is a red "herring" when it comes to this issue. Thank you Rab Lookstein for considering the broader - more ecumenical and more humane - picture. I fail to see how anyone can be so insecure in their faith that they won't allow another rabbi to participate in the inauguration of a new president - just because its in a church. This isn't pre-war Poland. Its America. There are no cossacks and no pogroms and no great effort by the general population to try to convert Jews. Get with it. You can still be orthodox while respecting other faiths and participating in such a momentous occaision. Don't worry! I've been to weddings in churches and guess what? I'm still a Jew!!!!
Posted in: Amid anti-Semitic storm, Europe's Jews stand for Israel
I am generally extremely pro Israel. However, I believe that the time for Israel to have launched a major PR initiative would have been months ago, before they launched their offensive. It would have been relatively easy to get sympathy from the western world if they showed graphic images of Israel's victims along with interviews of ordinary people living in the line of fire of Hamas rockets. Now, unfortunately these pictures pale in comparison to the images of injured and dead children coming out of Gaza. It would also have been helpful had Israel turned to the west for sympathy and diplomatic assistance prior to going it alone. Even if the world didn't help, the PR campaign would have shown the legitimacy and lack of choice for Israel's actions. Unfortunately, the time for any country to simply go off and attack another on their own is over. Look at what happened to Bush and America's image abroad as a result of him playing the Lone Cowboy in Iraq. Unfortunately Israel may win the physical battle but she has definitely lost the battle of public opinion. The special tragedy here is that civilians - unlike Lebanon, have no place to run to. Somehow Egypt is getting off scott-free for refusing to open its borders in order to save civilian lives. I'm not questioning Israel's justifications for defending itself against Hamas terror. I'm questioning the faulty and shortsighted PR tactics that Israel has launched understandably much too late for the world. At this moment its understandably become impossible to justify the feeble images from Israel with the horrific ones from Gaza.
RSS Feed Breaking News
Updated 02/10/12 @ 02:32PM EST
- Three Jewish groups that favor insurance coverage of contraceptives praised President Obama's comrpromise allowing religious institutions to direct staff to alternative health care plans funding such services.
- An Obama administration official said the United States urged Israel not to free Palestinian terrorists in the Gilad Shalit exchange deal who killed Americans.
- Turkey will never endorse a military strike on Iran, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a Washington audience.
- Israel's test of a missile defense system was declared a "major milestone" in its efforts to establish viable barriers to a missile strike.
- French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that the solution to the Iran crisis is "never military."
- Reform, Hadassah, JWI praise Obama contraceptives compromise
- Holder: U.S. urged Israel not to release killers of Americans
- Turkish FM: We will never endorse striking Iran
- Israeli missile defense test a ‘milestone’
- Sarkozy: Iran solution should be non-military
- Marines’ SS photo condemned by Jewish groups
- Grandson of Auschwitz survivor takes the ice for Germany
- Poll: Half of U.S. voters back strike on nuclear Iran
Posted in: Chanukah II: Obama's Revenge
12/18/09 02:05 AM
As a Jew I am truly ashamed of all of these reactionary comments. To call Obama anti-Israel just because he wants to explore an end to the conflict is no different then calling Tsipi Livni anti-Israel. The hysterical comments here are exactly that - hysterical. Since when is an opposing opinion anti Jewish? I've always taken pride in the fact that we are a rebellious opinionated people. Aren’t we the people who venerate individuals from other nations that have the courage to buck the status quo while the sheep among them toe the line? Would you rather that we all speak with one voice - like so many of our enemies do? Shame on all of you for wanting us to become exactly what we hate in others.