Alex Khazanovich http://www.jta.org/user/profile/50436 en-us zsilberman@washingtonjewishweek.com Copyright 2012 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Fernando, clicking your profile, I have accidentally saw your prior posts, and from them I gather that you live in Europe, or at least share the Europe's pacifistic idealism. The idea of living in peace is laudable, but the peace has to be just and strong, not the kind of fragile peace that is broken by terror acts and lobbing rockets over the border. Indeed, for someone who has never been a target of a terror attack it is quite difficult to relate to those who have, and it is easy to discount it as an occasional event, an act of a deranged individual, that should not justify drastic measures like occupation and building the border fence. However, I believe that if you have not been a target of an attack attributed to the islamic rage, it is only a matter of time until you will be. Remember the train attacks in Spain, the subway attacks in London, the riots and car-burnings in France? Did any of those countries kick them out of their houses or their lands? And if you think that giving up Gaza and West Bank is going to give Israelis peace, think again - the acts of Palestinian terror have been happening many years before the 1967 war, when Israel reclaimed those territories, and they stupidly gave up Gaza, their hopes for peace were dashed in the barrages of rocket attacks, kidnappings, and other terror acts. The only kind of peace the Palestinians want is the kind when all the Jewish dwellings are gone, including those in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and elsewhere. This is what the Palestinian mainstream education (not some fringe like al-Qaeda or Hamas) system teaches their children in school. Now, on the subject of veracity of the Bible - if there is no Bible, then there is no Jews (or Moslems, or Christians). Why is it that in your country there is a history of persecuting the Jews? 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 I am not surprised by this article, which is another example of Kraftwerk (I used to like the band, it's Dina Kraft's viewpoint, disguised as "reporting" that I despise). The areas of "West Bank" are indeed known as Judea and Samaria to the Jews. Anyone would know that "Judean hills" are indeed the hills of Judea, which those who want to deny the Judeo-Christian tradition, now call "West Bank". Mr Evans, please remember the maxim of Goebbels and Stalin - if one repeats a lie often enough, people start to believe it. I am not sure if you are one of those duped in believing it, or one of those willful liers, purposefully spreading it. If I had to guess, I would think it is the latter, judging by the close-mindedness of your posts here. If I am mistaken, please forgive me; however, I would suggest that you check your sources. Many of the "facts" that you quote are patent lies. In fact, the first major controversy involving Wikipedia was when the Middle-East-related posts were hijacked by the Islamists and many untruths that the Arab propaganda has been perpetuating in their textbooks have found their way into what used to be a definitive, if voluntary research tool. It is for that reason that today Wikipedia is not considered a reputable source - because it is not verified, and can be untrue (and in this particular case is). Phil, you are not entirely correct - I must agree with Mr Evans here, that there are many Jews in the US who are very comfortable feeling American, so comfortable, in fact, that they forget about being Jews, waiting for an anti-semitic incident to remind them. They hide behind their Jewish parentage, though do nothing that makes one Jewish (like following the laws of Halacha) - e.g. "for my Bat Mitzvah I have performed a mitzva project by volunteering in the animal shelter on Saturdays". I am afraid that an average American Jew feels more empathy for a dog, than for a fellow Jew, which gives rise to the likes of Mrs Axelrod and Emanuel, and the bozos of J-street. There are plenty of those in Israel, like B'tzelem and Shalom Ahshav (whose one-time leader once told me that he considered Israel responsible for the PLO massacre of Jewish children on the bus in Maalot) or the anti-semitic Jew who got elected into the palestiinian parliament. Oh, isn't his name "David Evans"? 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Don't know about others, but my indignation was not with the few anti-semites managing Aftonbladet, but with their foreign ministry's retracting the statement by the Sweden's ambassador to Israel. To me that was an indication that the majority of the country's population, which is represented by the sitting government, shares in these anti-semitic attitudes, and that blood libel is indeed alive and well in Sweden. When Swedish individuals had posted Mohamed-themed cartoons, which moslems deemed offencive, the government of Sweden saw fit to intervene and stop their publication and shut down the hosting web site. However, when it comes to offending the Jews, they are hiding behind the "freedom of speech", and are refusing to not only stop this crap, but even to condemn it. Or maybe the real problem is with us Jews that we do not speak with one voice, as some of us take offence the legitimate and very necessary actions of the Israelis to defend themselves from the attacks from its neighbors but none at being portrayed as blood-thirsty organ snatchers than at . 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Rush Limbaugh may have gone a little too far in calling Dems Nazis. There is no similarity between the Left and totalitarian regimes of the world. Just look at what they have done in the 6 months since taking control of the elected branches of the US gov't: Domestic policies: - expand gov't control of the economy (with the bailouts of the automakers), - stifle free speech (in calling for "the fairness doctrine"), - push through the major, nation-altering legislations without the national debate (think healthcare, environmental "cap and trade"), -elevate status of the disenfranchised proletariat (by promoting organizations like ACORN, and appeasing trade unions), -trying to curtail individuals' gun ownership. Foreign policies: - Dissociate the US from our traditional allies like Colombia and make nice with the Socialists in Venezuela, Bolivia and Cuba; - travel around Europe and apologize for the supposed wrongs that the US has done, according to the European Communists, -blamed Zionist Israel (settlements, occupation, defending itself) against Peaceful Palestinians, -extended diplomatic olive branch to the dictatorial regimes of Iran and Syria. Hmm, maybe he is not that far off the mark in arguing that many left-leaning democrats are Socialists, perhaps not the National Socialists (aka Nazis) in Germany, but definitely up there with the Communist counterparts of the former USSR. The funny thing is - the latter have finally realized that what they had was a corrupt, bad system, while the Americans are choosing to try it on us. No wonder our educational system is rated so poorly. Oh, and by the way, I hear the persistent rumor that our esteemed president has approved some $20 Million USD to bring to the US and resettle the Palestinians who could not live under Fatah rule because they support Hamas. This isn't true, is it? That's change you can believe in. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 These guys are idiots - why make it "water-only"? Is it how they mark Yom Kippur and Tisha B'Av too? They must feel really strongly about this. I think it's time to stop half-hearted "fasting", and fast for real, no food, no water, no time limit - as long as it takes. They should also enunciate the goals of this fast more clearly - allow more weapons for Gaza, which are capable to reach not just Sderot, Ashkelon, Beer Sheva, but the rest of israel, too - Tel Aviv, Haifa - all of it. And while they are at it, they should also declare their support for iran's building of a nuclear bomb - once they can get a bomb like that to Hamas, it will make their goal of wiping out israel so much easier to achieve. Of course, they are doing it as great experts on Jewish tradition and the Halachic law and we should all follow Reform and Reconstructionsts' lead in practicing Judaism. No more of that Orthodox crap, not eating pork, not driving on Shabbat, not marrying outside of Jewish faith - these are the REAL Jews, real spokespeople for all the practitioners of Jewish faith. Heck, I'd love to sing more accolades to these guys but got to run - it's alsmost candle-lighting time. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 These groups do not speak for me, neither on the issues of foreigh affairs, relations with israel, nor internal policies. This bill is a bad bad idea, and the fact that they repeat Obama's statements verbatim is a tell-tale sign of whose agenda they are pushing. The leftist, communist ideas have discredited themselves throughout most of the world. Sadly, it is once again the Jews that are fostering them in the US. It is high time for the religious leadershim, including "rabbi" Saperstein, to remind the community (and themselves) that what makes us Jewish is not following the feel-good liberal ideas, which justified in the religious quotes, often taken out of context, but doing the Mitzvot of the Torah. it is the religious observance that has preserved the Jews for thousands of years, and not eating bagels and lox, and promoting the ideas of Trotsky and Marx. In fact, during the recent visit to Yad Vashem, I have noticed an interesting display panel, stating that the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe has directly followed the assimilation of the Jews there, and their departure from the Jewish communal issues and greater involveminent in the political affairs and governments in their respective countries. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 I, too, think that the West must show more support to the Iranian protesteres, not because of what Ahmadinejad may be thinking, but because it is the right thing to do. I also think the growth of the Jewish population in the Arab-occupied Judea and Shomron should continue. If there is ever a peace agreement resulting in having 2 states, there will likely be Arabs in the Jewish state. No reason there should not be Jews in the Arab state - or "ethnically pure state" only applies against the Jews? Isn't that predjudice? 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 The same way as the leftists tried to label all of the opponents of Obama (including Hillary Clinton at one time) as racists, now Ari tries to liken those who disagree with his leftist anti-Israeli point of view, to Hamas, and call those who don't support his anti-Israeli agenda as "not normal". I, for one, am happy that there are still plenty of those people whom Ari does not deem "normal" - had we left the stewardship of the land of israel to him and his ilk, it would have been pawned off to the highest bidder by now (tho Ari himself would feel very good about, at least until the reality of the situation hit him over the head). 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Another example of the leftist, pro-Palestinian biased reporting. The "facts" of the altercation mentioned above make me ask some questions: "reportedly set fire to the nearby fields and groves owned by Palestinians" - reported by whom? the Palestinians - that's a trustworthy, objective source, worthy of quoting by serious journalists, just recall Mohammed Dura, and the "massacre of Jenin"; writing "they said it was set by local Palestinians..." seems to call into question the verasity of the fact that there was a fire, that the settlers had battled. Another questions comes to mind: aren't the same people who are quick to label the outposts "illegal", the same ones who will fight tooth and naild to call the illegal immigrants here in the US "undocumented"? Other than trying to smear the settlers, the article gives some sketchy facts about their life, but the few bits of information that come across paint the picture that the people living in Havat Gilad are motivated people, whose answer to Arab violence and murder is to settle unclaimed lands in Judah and Shomron, the territories occupied by the Arabs, though the proper standard of reporting would require that the author specify one or another (and not "West Bank"). Their life is tough, having to worry about everyday necessities, like water and electricity, but the dedicated Jews keep their spirits high. The fact that they are able to have wheat fields without impinging on the Arab agriculture tells me that there is enough land for them, and they the Arabs want them kicked out of spite, rather than of existential necessity (e.g. not having enough room). Interestingly enough, even reading this biased article, I see the picture of the settlers as non-violent people, who show their disagreement with the Israeli government, which has broken numerous promises and betrayed the trust of the voters, (and all the Jews) a number of times, in the mostly civil forms, more like Gandhi than Abbas. It is regrettable that all these facts come through BETWEEN the lines, rather than in the prose of the article. Reporting like this is not conducive for furthering one's understanding of the situation in Havat Gilad, nor for bringing about peace (as evidenced by some of the comments above). 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 I like the idea of having affordable, heck, free, healthcare for everyone. But it is important to recognize, and clearly state, that to date there is no country in the world that has good medicine (with care standards approaching those in the US) that is working well. Canada? Let's talk about not being able to see a specialist for months, or not being able to get to a family doctor, because there is not enough of them practicing, Russia? Where they can't get even the common medications for people without a rich uncle (like the US Gov't) donating it, or where they reuse needles for injections? Sure, I think that our system is not perfect, and should change. So let's talk about specifics, looking at a specific country as a model. And then let's analyze its system and how it would be applicable to us, and which changes, good and bad, we can expect to see after this system takes hold. Talking about "universal affordable health care" without specifics is pure demagoguery, which has gotten many unscrupulous politicians where they are today. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 One other thing: It appears that you, Ms. Orkin, seem to disagree with the idea that Israel is a Jewish, Zionist, democratic state, and you agree with the idea of Nakba - that the creation of Israel was a catastrophe. In other words, you discriminate against the Jews. Doesn't this make YOU a racist? 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 This article is a load of crap, and another example of the corrupt leftist demagoguery. Here in the US children have to say the Pledge of Allegiance every school day, and our politicians, including the president and the members of congress, have to swear an oath to uphold the founding principles of our country before taking office. That is not undemocratic, that is just common sense. However, Ms Orkin and her ilk seem to be grossly devoid of common sense. Calling one a racist is a tactic used by the left worldwide (in Israel, as well as in the US) against their political opponents, to avoid dealing with the real disagreements on policy issues. It has worked in the US (even amongst the Jews), but it has not worked in israel. Give it a rest, Ms. Orkin, your side lost, because of the policies you advocate. Stop your poison pen now. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 It is disgraceful that JTA, which purports to represent the Jewish points of view would publish such drivel - this is more anti-Semitic crap than what you will typically find in BBC, CNN or Al-Jazeera. It is the people on the left, such as the ones making baseless accusations about IDF "brutalities" during the Gaza operation, who do the most harm to Israel and its case around the world. Sadly, JTA does not devote "special reports" to such crap despite the fact that it promulgates the anti-semitic image of the blood-thirsty Jew, and as a result increases the very real threat that all the Jews around the world, including the ones in America, face. However, this does not seem to coincide with the JTA editors' political agenda, so not much coverage there. Having visited Israel in the last month, I was struck by the difference in the spiritual, uplifting, purposeful life in Jerusalem and other mostly religious areas with the Sodom-like atmosphere of secular Tel Aviv. Although this is my 3rd visit to Israel, this trip, more than the previous ones, has put it into perspective for me that while the secular Israelis serve in the army, and are employed in important jobs, spiritually it is the religious people who hold the country together. They are the only ones that realize that Israel is not just the country that houses the Jews live - if that were all, Jews would have had a better claim to Uganda, Madagascar, or Birobidjan. but rather the land given to the Jews by G-d, and the one that we are responsible for keeping. The secular left, which, unfortunately, makes up a large portion of Israel (and an even larger portion of the American Jewry), will not be able to preserve Jewish connection to the land of Israel, as long as they deny that it was given to us by G-d, and not by the UN. By the way, as a quite religious, but not very observant person, I feel compelled to respond to the statement that the religious Jews don't like Reform Jews. That is a lie - they like all Jews, including Reform. What they don't like is Reform Judaism, and for good reasons - it attempts to abrogate Jew's connection with the Torah and its mitzvos, and tries to substitute feel-good liberal values for the traditional values of the Torah, trying to codify this religious ignorance (to some - heresy) as a "separate" brand of Judaism. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Idiots - why don't you fast to call attention to the selling out of Israel by the Obama administration? Strangely, these "rabbis" feel less kinship with fellow Jews than with the Sudanese. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Thank you, Rabbi. I find your opinion much more agreeable and sensible. I am glad that a representative of the Orthodox Union has spoken up to repudiate the very offensive piece of Rabbi Shafran, which he had presented under his credentials as a spokesman of the OU. Chag Sameach 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 I was born in the former Soviet Union, and am grateful to all the American Jews (and non-Jews) who had advocated on our behalf, which has given me, and thousands of others like me, a chance to leave the life of religious oppression and eventually settle in the freedom of America. However, there is a significant difference between the Jewish emigration from the Soviet Union then (and even now), and the situation of those trying to cross into the US across the the Mexican border. As Jews living in Soviet Union, we were subject to a systematic government-approved persecution. We were not allowed to conduct any religious observances, denied educational and professional opportunities on the basis of our religion (or "nationality" as they'd called it). We had to live in the atmosphere of violent anti-semitism, with the government news media running stories daily detailing how the blood-thirsty Jews were killing peaceful, innocent Palestinians and robbing their lush farmland. The years of this anti-Jewish propaganda, prevalent throughout the media, has led many Russians to take out their righteous indignation on the local Jews, like me, sometimes as innocuous grading down of Jews on the college exams, sometimes as violent attacks, and often as sneers at the workplace, at schools, while standing in line for goods, on the buses, when dealing with the police, and pretty much everywhere else, all done with the tacit approval of the government (which until its last days denied that there ever was anti-Semitism in Soviet Union). That is something that we have to get ready for in America now, unless we collectively stand up and start combating the liberal anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic bias of the majority of our media, though we'd have to start with the self-hating liberal American Jews who, like in the early Soviet days, are forgetting the teachings of the Torah in favor of misguided ideals of social justice, and in the process bringing iniquity to all the Jews, including their own descendants. But I digress. The fundamental difference between the Soviet Jews and the Mexicans is that the vast majority of those trying to cross into the US from Mexico are not singled out for persecution because of their religion, or their ethnicity, or any other factors unique to ther (except those that are wanted criminals). They are coming in for economic reasons. While I can't blame them for wanting to better their life, there is nothing that makes them different from the millions of people throughout the world, who also want to better their economic conditions. If you argue that the Mexicans should all be allowed in, why not allow in the millions (billions?) of Chinese, Indians, Africans, Pakistanis, and all the others who want in? On the other hand, if you don't like the idea of everyone flooding into the US uncontrollably, then you must support a legal way to control the influx of people into this country, i.e. the immigration laws. Once upon a time there was the time, when, indeed, anyone who wanted to, was welcomed and encouraged to come to the US, in an effort to build a better life for themselves, and many have. But that time has now passed, and there is a relatively fair process in place to take care of separating the legitimate refugees, in fear of oppression back home, and needing asylum, from those others, who want to come to the US for other reasons, and whose immigration must be regulated. While you may argue that these laws may need to be updated, the fundamental process must be followed, if for no other reason than to be fair - when you allow some people to skip the line, this makes all the others wait longer, making it unfair to them, the same way as allowing a non-citizen to vote makes it unfair to all the citizens (oh, that's also that they do in Minnesota). It is, therefore, incumbent upon us, as the Jews, to uphold the immigration laws, as well as all other laws, of our land. With Pesach fast approaching, I am looking forward to having all the Pesach visitors, some of whom are staying only for the Seders, while others are staying for days. We welcome them all with open arms, albeit with the expectation that they will show proper respect for the rules of our house (yes, we did, on occassion tell our sons' friends to pull up their pants that the underwear would not be showing). To come inside, they will all knock, or ring the door bell, at which point, we open the door, and let them in. If, on the other hand, strange people are breaking into my house through the window, I call the police. Wouldn't you? 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 That's an intersting point of view. However, doesn't Judaism teach us that actions speak louder than words, and what one does is more important than his motivation for it? I agree, that there was little moral choice involved in Capt. Sullenburger's landing the plane into Hudson. Although he could not have possibly known about the impending book deal, I imagine he was, at least in part, driven by the idea of self-preservation. In landing this plane, he had displayed the consummate professionalism, for which he is rightly lauded. What many forget is that he stayed on the partially submerged plane until every last passenger was out - that's a moral choice, especially keeping in mind that he could have exited the plane through an escape hatch in the cockpit, guaranteeing his own safety, but hastening the sinking of the plane. At the same time, Mr Madoff, while probably originally motivated by the desire to make money for his investors, as well as for himself, had for years been trying to hide his losses. We don't know what had motivated his eventual admission of guilt - perhaps it was genuine remorse, or perhaps a fear of further prosecutions of his family. I will grant him the benefit of the doubt. But this is an isolated act among the daily choices he had made for years to continue defrauding his investors and magnifying their eventual losses. Defrauding Tzedakah negates all the T'shuva and T'filah he may have done, as it casts doubts on the sincerity of them. His one act of repentance does not begin to tip the scale against the multitude of daily decisions he had made. So I have no admiration for Mr. Madoff, and quite a bit for Sully Sullenburger. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 It is regrettable that "Rabbi" Saperstein and his ilk are given the platform for their views which are anathetical to Judaism. They are not driven by the values of the Torah. They forget that the ONLY right we, the Jews, have to the Land of Israel, is because Hashem has given it to us - all of it, including the occupied (by the Arabs) territories. Without His will, the Jews have the same right to it as to a swath of land in eastern Siberia, the Madagascar, or Auschwitz. As such, the Jews have every right to live anywhere in the Land of Israel. But even putting aside the religious argument, which many on the Left are tryinig to do, this does not make any sense either. Having the Jews live in Judea and Samaria is no different than having Arabs live in the Galilee or in Haifa. And yet, Saperstein is not calling for curtailing their residential construction. Why? because he is either a vile anti-Semite or an idiot. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 So what does this say about said Dennis Blair and his boss? Does this mean either/both of them are inept managers, falling asleep at the wheel? Or closet anti-Semites? Neither one is a comforting thought. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 The concerns about this guy were enunciated for a long while. This underscores Obama's penchant for saying the right things (that he want everyone to pay taxes, concerned about security of the borders, supports Israel, etc.) and do the wrong ones (his tax-evading cabinet appointees,Napolitano, Freeman & Power & Rice). One can not trust a thing he says. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 There is no similarity between Lieberman and Ahmadinejad. Lieberman, for all his rhetoric, has shown support for for plenty of dovish government measures, confirming that he is interested in the lasting peace, and not in killing arabs. Many of his current campaign statements are attempting to address the issue of security for the citizens of Israel. Personally, I find some of his statements misguided, while others are right on, such as changing the debate from "land for peace" to "peace for peace". Taking his statements out of the broad context to me illustrates desperation of Israel's detractors in trying to find something to denigrate Israel with. However, every Israeli politician thus far, no matter how tough in his words, has been willing to work towards peace with its neighbors. Just think of Begin and Sharon. While Lieberman (and Netanyahu) don't view the world through the rose-colored glasses, they, too, are willing to work for peace. Ahmadinejad, on the other hand, does not want peace, but rather, he wants to destroy Israel. He has not only been consistent in his anti-Israeli vitriol, and hatred of all Jews, but also he has shown much of that in his actions, by arming Hamas and Hisbollah and instigating them to fight Israel, and by channeling the limited resources of his country into building a nuclear weapon, much to the detriment of his country's economy. This dogged determination and the constant anti-Israel/anti-Jewish rhetoric consistent with it should make everyone worried, even his fellow Muslims. To compare him to Lieberman is like comparing the bull raging about the china shop and stomping its customers, along with the delicate displays, to the owner of this shop, aiming at the bull with the tranquilizer gun. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 This is an example of a well-meaning yet ignorant person succumbing to the influence of mainstream media. All he has to do is to ask himself a simple question: if Arabs are allowed to live in Israel, why having Jews in the "arab" parts is such a problem? If the "two-state" solution were to be implemented, the Jews living there would simply become a minority, like the Israeli arabs are. The real problem is that the Arabs don't want a two-state solution - they want a "final solution". 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 This petition makes no logical sense - they say that the actions of the Palestinian terrorists and Israeli Defense Forces are not morally or legally equivalent, yet they seem compelled to equate them in their condemnation. That's pretty stupid for people calling themselves "intellectuals". Noam Chomsky and his ilk are no friends of Israel. Let's call this group for what they are - self-deprecating, anti-Semitic Jews. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Those of us who followed US inauguration undoubtedly remember the ceremony of swearing-in of the new members of Congress. Our children recite the Pledge of Allegiance daily. It is totally consistent with our democratic principles; I see absolutely no problem instituting the same in Israel as the first step. Moreover, Israel, as the country at war, would be totally justified to require the same oath of allegiance (not to the government, but to the country, or in our case, to the Constitution) of all of its citizens, especially those whose actions seem to undermine their country while it is at war. I think it is appropriate to require the same of its Jewish citizens, too, including the left-wing Arab collaborators of Meretz, B'Tselem, and Peace Now. At the same time, Lieberman is pretty moderate in his stance - he advocates that those refusing to pledge allegiance to Israel be allowed to remain in the country, just not participate in the political process. Many will remember how the US dealt with those suspected in collaboration with the enemy during the WWII - the Japanese americans were interned for years. While many will agree that this measure was extreme, even countries very committed to the democratic principles, may overreact at the time of grave danger to their existence. Israel, facing a similar threat is nowhere near that point. While one may agree or disagree with Lieberman about this issue, he deserves the credit for articulatingi something that should have been said long ago: the "land for peace" formula is unworkable, and should be replaced with a different one - "peace for peace". Israel does not have land to give up, hoping for the intangible "peace". Giving up Sinai was a mistake. Giving up Gaza was an even bigger mistake. It's time to speak up against this insanity. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 As a LEGAL immigrant in the US, I want to voice my opposition to the above. I believe that every country can and should be able to control its borders, and punish those who violate them. I support the immigration law that allows in those persecuted in their home countries. It is not beneficial to Americans (and especially to the Jews) to allow uncontrolled immigration of foreign nationals. The current system is not broken, its only failure is the half-hearted enforcement and the lack of funding, but I doubt that the Obama administration will be dedicating much of its pork spending on pluggingi the holes in our borders. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Mitchell's yesterday's comments that "every conflict can be resolved peacefully" shows fundamental lack of understanding of the Middle East situation. The fact that PeaceNow and their ilk (who are more concerned about the welfare of Hamas murderes than that of their innocent victims) are so happy about him only underscores the fact that this is not good for Israel. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 This is ridiculous. Shouldn't a synagogue promote the word of G-d, who clearly said in the Torah that homosexuality is not just prohibited, but is an "abomination"? This just shows how far some of the American "Jewish" institutions have departed from Judaism. Interestingly enough, this same synagogue's web site posts a statement about Israeli action against Hamas essentially equating Hamas terrorists with the Israeli troops protecting the country's Jewish citizens from the terror. Does this moral relativism (which unfortunately is so prevalent among the American Jews) stem from the ignoring the commandments of the Torah or vice versa? And what does this say about the future of the American Jewish community? 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Goes to prove that one does not need to be a non-Jew to be an anti-semite. Anyone who objects to the Jews stand up to defend themselves against the murderers aiming rockets at their kindergartens, promotes said murderers' cause. One can agree or disagree with various policies of the Israeli gov't. But in this case there is no over-reaction. What is the "proportional response" when rockets are fired from Gasa into a Sderot kindergarten or a Ashkelon school? to fire into a kindergarten and a school in Gaza? Israel is doing the right thing in protecting its citizens. I hope that our country, the US, would have the fortitude to protect its citizens, including Jon Stewart, if we were threatened and attacked by our neighbors. And if he finds the death of many Gazans abhorrent, he should take those responsible to task - and those are the Hamas murderers. Instead he blames Israel for their deaths, like all the anti-semites in the world who the jews for all the world ills and perpetuate blood libel. Stewart is just another example of a morally corrupt liberal who is so beholden to the left-wing causes of his audience that he loses sights of right and wrong. If he did it unintentionally, then he is an idiot, and must apologize. If he did it willfully, then he is an anti-Semite. My bet is that apology will long in coming. He should go drinking with his ideological buddy Mel Gibson 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Extremely regrettale to see that even in this early post-election period the coming administration is already changing course on not dealing with terrorists. Let this be a lesson to all who voted for Obama while professing their support of Israel and its right to live in peace. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00