Joel Rosenthal http://www.jta.org/user/profile/392 en-us zsilberman@washingtonjewishweek.com Copyright 2012 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Several years ago, there was an (obviously) non-binding resolution in the House stating that Israel has the right to defend itself against terrorism. Ron Paul was one of the few congressmen to vote against it. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Note to JTA: Please correct the spelling of "Pittsburgh" in the e-mail headline. You left out the h.' Thanks. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Fueros is 5.5 years old? That has to be a misprint. JTA? 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Disgusting, I know many Orthodox and Chasidic women, and although I wouldn't choose to live like them, not one of them is being mistreated. Many are professionals--dentists, psychologists, etc.--and they are committed to their faith. I see them driving their own cars and riding in all parts of busses. Anyone can cite examples of whacko criminal fringe groups. None of that changes the fact that you echo the rhetoric of some of the worst offenders of human rights on earth. I'm not going to check this page again because I don't think anybody else is reading it at this point, so don't bother to respond. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Rob, you are, of course, correct. So why did you tell me all that information you'd know I'd agree was correct? The answer is because there are honest people who aren't certain of who is right who might be reading this. I know I'm not going to change TD's mind (or get him a brain transplant), but if I can make a small positive impact on someone who just isn't certain of the truth, it's worth it. I think you might have, consciously or unconsciously, the same motivation, and you apparently know more facts than I do. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Pretend the last line of my previous post doesn't exist. I thought I had deleted it. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Disgusting, you obviously believe the lies of the people you find offensive and whacko. Says a lot for your level of intelligence. The Palestinians suffered not because of the Jews, but because the Arab countries launched a war the moment Israel was established. If the war hadn't happened, the Palestinians would have been Israeli Arabs. But you aren't interested in the truth. And those quotes from "Jewish texts" allowing Jews to commit crimes against gentiles are not accepted by any accepted Jewish authorities, and you know it. Jews are required to follow the laws of the jurisdiction they live in, and those who don't are criminals not only by civil law but by Jewish law. I have more questions: Why didn't any young English women stand in the way of a Palestinian bomb maker? Why, with people being slaughtered all over the globe, does everybody concentrate on Israel and the territories? Why doesn't the UN have 5 separate organizations dealing with the atrocities committed by Sudan? Osama bin Laden claimed victory over American troops in Somalia where the locals were purposely being starved by the military, yet you agree with his rhetoric. All of this is for Jew hatred, nothing more. I have more: What is the motivation for young Enlish 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 So, TG, you are so throroughly ignorant that you not only believe everything the Arabs say, but you also disbelieve that Dr. King even made that statement. Why not look it up, you idiot? So, everyone, what could explain that most of the world believes whatever people known for sending their children to blow themselves up on crowded busses, not allowing women any rights at all, honor killing, keeping people refugees for 69 years when every other group of refugees in history was resettled within a few years, murdering their own people, etc. say as long as it's against the Jews? How people could publicly express the same opinions as Osama bin Laden? How people who claim to be peace-loving could make the same accusations as Hitler? How people could get away with having their own "facts" that are completely separate from reality as far as Israel is concerned? There is only one answer. There is only one people in the world it's politically correct to hate--the Jews. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 I'm no right-winger, but I can't believe that anyone can be against the separation barrier. Do they really want to return to the early 2000s when there were suicide bombings daily? Those who are against the wall, if they aren't anti-Jewish, are clueless--for two reasons: One, they don't realize that they're supporting terrorism, and two, that the Palestinians have benefitted greatly from this barrier. Because it is now so difficult for the Palestinians to launch attacks, Israel has been able to ease security restrictions, and as a result, the West Bank economy is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. There is a lot of investment in the West Bank now because of the general peace there. As for the farmers who can't farm their land, blame it on the terrorists, not the victims of the terrorists. But remember that it was Israel's Supreme Court that forced the government to move parts of the barrier so as to limit the hardship it would cause to Palestinian farmers. These criticisms of the barrier are just another example of how the supporters of the Palestinian cause do more harm than good to the Palestinians. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Dennis, I agree with with most of what you said that doesn't pertain to President Obama. I think he is very concerned about Iran becoming a nuclear power. Honestly, I think the chances of success for any attempt to remove Iran's nuclear threat will be low if the entire world knows about it in advance. So I really don't want to read in the news about what the West's plans are for stopping the Iranians. And Barack Obama is NOT going to force Israel to accept a Palestinian state if the Palestinians don't accept Israel's inalienable right to exist in secure and recognized borders. I don't think the "Pals" will accept, so I have to disagree with your statement that "the Pals can have their state." I think we both know that the Palestinians won't miss this opporturtunity to miss another opportunity--they will never give peace a chance because they truly don't know how. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Alex and Lawrence: What planet are you from? Where did you learn about communism? Maybe you noticed that communist countries are the most polluted places on earth. No, you don't notice anything. The Republicans have been telling people that only they are for Israel and that everyone else is against Israel, so you automatically believe everything said by the extreme right and nothing said by anyone else. You have no minds of your own. You guys are clearly in another world. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Eu Wei Choi, You say it's false, so you appear to know the truth. What is the truth? Is the number not declining? 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Yaakov, you just baselessly accused Ehud Olmert and Barack Obama of treason. You are a reprehensible human being. Unless you have any evidence to back up your accusations, you should keep your paranoid rantings to yourself. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Peter Wedlund, you recently insisted in a post on a related subject that anyone who fears Iran is irrational and not in touch with reality. Now you agree that President Obama has to engage Iran in a peace process. But what point would a peace process be if there were no threat to start with? I am a strong supporter of President Obama, and I agree with his approach here. If Iran posed no threat, as you insisted, President Obama wouldn't need to do anything to curb the risk. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Ziggy, where are you getting your information? How can you possibly say that Iran is entitled, under the terms of the NNPT, to develop nuclear weapons? Where did you get that their rights are inalienable? Iran refuses to admit that it is working on such a program, but it refuses to cooperate with the IAEA as required under the NNPT. And finally, are you willing to risk the destruction of the world because you think Iran has these rights? Are you in some alternate universe? 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Imgard, I have no problem with what Rahm Emanuel said because it's true. That doesn't mean I think that Israel should enter into a bad deal with the Palestinians (is there any other kind?) just to get Arab support for US efforts to deal with Iran. But it's still a true statement. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Yeah, Irmgard, you said what I was thinking. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Well I signed the petition, but I maintain that we need to fight fire with fire in this case. I hope someone from Irvine reads my previous comment. They need to hold an 11-day event showing the crimes of Muslims throughout the world. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 So, Peter, you completely forgot the fact that Iran has been supporting Hizbullah and Hamas, whose main stated purpose is to destroy Israel and who both attack Israel on a regular basis? And you completely forgot all the statements made by Iranian leaders, not just the current president, that they want to wipe Israel off the map? When a country threatens to annihilate you and is working to build nuclear weapons, how can it be paranoia when you think they're building them to use on you? And do you think all the Arab countries who are equally afraid of Iran are paranoid? You're the one who's irrational--who can look at overwhelming evidence and not notice it? You honestly think Israel is making an unwarranted conclusion? If someone were threatening your life, supported those who attacked you, and went to buy an arsenal of weapons, would you think it irrational to fear that person? You're the one who's parted company with reality. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Demanding that the event be condemned is typical Jewish behavior. It doesn't work. And I'm sorry, Shirull, there are great numbers of people in the world who want to kill Jews, and a much greater number who would stand by and watch. The government of Israel is constantly criticized no matter what it does, but brutal Muslim terrorists can do anything they want--they have everybody afraid to complain. Well I think the Jewish students at Irvine should hold a demonstration showing the destruction caused my Muslims in this crazy world. Let's see videos of rape victims being stoned to death by Islamic courts. Of Hamas and Hezbullah attacking Israel from groups of innocent civilians. Of Sudanese beasts murdering and raping black Africans. Of Saudi women having acid thrown in their faces. The list is endless. Unlike the Muslims, we don't have to make this stuff up. Let's see what Drake says when the Jews try to hold this event. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 I honestly think that Abdullah believes what he said. I think a lot of people think that way. But I'll tell you this: If all non-Muslims left Earth for another planet and 20 years later sent a delegation to Earth to see what was going on, they'd find wars everywhere, disease, starvation, a handful of incredibly rich sheikhs, no freedom, little non-religious education, and still no independent Palestinian state. Also, the delegation would be kidnapped and held hostage or beheaded. So Abdullah is deluding himself--everyone who blames all the problems of the Middle East on the Israeli-Palestinian problem is delusional. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Bob's and Mark's comments about the President and Vice President are utterly without merit. The two of you wouldn't know a good politician if he saved the world. Maybe you would have been like the idiots that spilled the beans and nearly killed the original airlifts of Ethiopian Jews to Israel from Sudan in the 1980s. Thanks to the Iraq war, the United States has zero credibility in the world. So we're stuck giving diplomacy a chance. Will it work? Probably not. But diplomacy can include threats. For example, the negitoaitor can say to Iran: "You will allow the inspectors in immediately and agree to completely dismantle your nuclear program. No one in the world believes that an oil-rich country like yours needs nuclear power. If you do that we will lift the sanctions and offer to establish normal diplomatic relations. If you don't, well, we will have tried diplomacy but failed. You know that most of the world, even the Muslim world, is as concerned about your threats to the world as we are. So it won't take more than a reasonable attempt at diplomacy to convince them that we need to take out your nuclear program. So what's your answer?" That's my idea of diplomacy with Iran. The right-wing talk shows you two listen to have you convinced that any Democratic politician who attempts displomacy is going to say something like "Can't we all get along?" and "All you need is love." Now get real. These are good politicians, not Rodney King or John Lennon. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Interesting. I lean towards the right when it comes to Israeli politics. My U.S. politics are liberal. (I see no contradiction between the two--the issues are totally different.) Senator Feinstein's letter doesn't blame Israel for everything, so it's slightly surprising that dovish groups are in favor of it. I am not at all optimistic that anyone could negotiate peace with the Palestinians because they've all been brought up to believe that they're the most aggrieved, suffering people in the world and that Israel and the United States are entirely to blame. But as long as Israel isn't pressured to make dangerous concessions, I have no problem with the U.S. attempting to negotiate peace. I do think it's a bad idea for the U.S. to send any money to rebuild Gaza as long as rockets are still being fired. Israel will surely have to attack Gaza again, causing the money to be wasted. I do like Netanyahu's idea of boosting the Palestinian economy, especially because Palestinian "leaders" are AGAINST the idea. The level of violence from the West Bank, thanks to the separation barrier and other factors, has declined dramatically. These factors have allowed Israel to remove checkpoints in the West Bank, allowing the economy there to improve, further lessening the violence--a cycle of non-violence, if you will. So if Gazans can start living like normal human beings, maybe they'll stop fighting too. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00