Liz Berney for Congress http://www.jta.org/user/profile/66383 en-us zsilberman@washingtonjewishweek.com Copyright 2012 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 This IS good news! I'm very pleased to see that Congressman Gary Ackerman is finally ending his relationship with the anti-Israel J-Street (which raised funds to re-elect Ackerman and endorsed Ackerman's position of pushing for further dangerous Israeli concessions). Congressman Ackerman's relationship with J-Street outraged people throughout our Congressional District. However, several aspects of Congressman Ackerman's accompanying cut-off statement are of concern. First, we do NOT need any more so-called "aggressive pro-peace pro-Israel" organizations, as Ackerman states. J-Street is not the only culprit, and it is very troubling that Ackerman says that we need more organizations of the same ilk as J-Street. All of these leftist organizations (e.g., Peace Now, Brit Zedek v'Shalom, Israel Policy Forum, etc.) have a history of supporting policies that endanger our ally Israel’s security and continued existence. For instance, Brit Zedek recently defended Palestinian school textbooks, which preach hatred of Jews, Israel and America. These textbooks incite a new generation of Palestinians to continue violent attacks on Israel. The leftist organizations also continue to pursue the flawed "land and more and more concessions for empty promises of peace" model which has been proven time and time again to damage Israel's ability to defend herself (e.g. the Gaza withdrawal resulted in thousands of rocket attacks on southern Israel). Second, when Ackerman calls Israel's unilateral lifting of hundreds of West Bank security checkpoints and 10-month settlement freeze "gestures of good faith," he misses the point that these "gestures" should never have been made, and were only made as the result of pressure from Obama and his administration (and perhaps due to Ackerman's own comments in Congress criticizing Israel and Israel's much-needed checkpoints). The lifting of checkpoints resulted in Palestinians murdering and injuring Israelis at locations which were previously protected by the checkpoints. The one-sided settlement freeze made life miserable for Israelis (while Palestinians continued to build thousands of homes in the West Bank) and gave the wrong impression that settlements are an obstacle to peace. The real obstacle to peace is continued Palestinian intransigence, terrorism, and determination to destroy Israel. In addition to cutting ties with J-Street, Congressman Ackerman should also consider donating the money that J-Street raised for his re-election campaign to an organization that assists American and Israeli victims of Palestinian terrorism. In any event, thank you, Congressman Ackerman for taking a step in the right direction. Elizabeth (Liz) Berney, Esq. Republican Committeewoman and attorney Liz Berney ran against Ackerman in 2008 and 2010. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Obama's Syria policy, supported by Ackerman, IS appeasement, and has been so even before the administration took office. Here is a bit of the record: During the 2008 campaign, Obama sent one of his foreign policy advisers and Hillary Clinton sent one of her finance chairs, Hassan Nemazee, to meet with Syria's President Bashar Assad. (President Bush had downgraded relations with Syria after the Syrians joined with the Iranians to sabotage Iraq. President Bush properly removed our ambassador to Syria after the assassination of Rafik Hariri, due to Syria's complicity in the assassination.) Less than two weeks after Obama took office, on Feb. 2, 2009, the Obama administration partially lifted the sanctions on Syria to help Syria overhaul and modernize Syrian-state-owned airplanes. In response, on Feb. 26, 2009, Israel's wonderful supporter, brave Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen introduced H.R.1206, entitled "To strengthen sanctions against the Government of Syria, to enhance multilateral commitment to address the Government of Syria's threatening policies." Virtually all the co-sponsors were Republican. Obama sent numerous envoys back and forth between Syria and Israel starting in the early months of his administration, to pressure Israel into a suicidal treaty involving Israel giving up the Golan Heights. Obama reiterated in several speeches (including his April 6, 2009 address in Turkey and his Sept. 23, 2009 UN Speech) that pursuing such an Israeli treaty with Syria is one of his main goals. (Giving up the Golan would leave Israel with an indefensible northern border, according to military experts.) Obama also stood with Mahmoud Abbas in the White House on May 28, 2009 when Abbas demanded that Israel give up the Golan. On May 5, 2009, Ahmadinejad visited Assad in Damascas, where both reaffirmed their support for "Palestinian resistance." Ahmadinejad visited Hamas chieftains and other radical terrorists harbored by the Syrian regime in Damascas. The Obama administration (and Ackerman) were silent. In July 2009, Obama announced that he would send an ambassador to Syria. Also last summer, the Obama administration set up a mechanism to fast track further exceptions to the Syrian sanctions. Obama and his administration (including George Mitchell's January 7, 2010 interview) have repeatedly stated that the administration's plan is the so-called "Arab Peace Initiative" a/k/a "Saudi Peace Initiative" which calls for Israel to give up everything (including the Golan, "rights of return" and more) in return for nothing. In 2008, Ackerman told my district that Obama "would be good for Jews and Israel." I warned that Obama would be bad for Jews and Israel. Sadly, I was right. Liz Berney, Esq. (Republican candidate - CD 5 in 2008 & 2010 (Ackerman's opponent) & 2008 local "surrogate" for McCain campaign) LizBerneyforCongress@gmail.com LizBerneyforCongress.com 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 If Senator Schumer would really like to live up to his pledge to be a "Shomer" (guardian) of the Jewish people, here are a few concrete suggestions for him: 1) Don't run to Florida and other Jewish areas to tell the Jewish community to vote for Pres. Obama again in 2012. Schumer did this in 2008, despite the clear signs that Obama would be the worst president ever for Israel, including Obama's anti-Israel advisers and pre-election "cycle of violence" statements (which equate terrorists with IDF defensive actions and flip-flop on Jerusalem. Better still, advise the Jewish community to vote for Obama's opponent this time. 2) Start speaking up and criticizing Obama, Clinton and others in the Obama administration every time Obama and his administration accuse Israel of the "occupation," and otherwise attempt to delegitimize and pressure Israel. Oppose the administration's outrageous demands for settlement freezes, building freezes in Jerusalem, releases of Palestinian terrorists from prison who will go on to murder again, lifting of checkpoints and roadblocks needed to save lives, and funding to the Palestinian Authority and Gaza with our tax dollars. 3) Support strong effective action against the Iranian nuclear threat, including selling Israel bunker busting bombs and refueling planes, providing fly-over access, and an American military strike option. As Ambassador Bolton explains, the sanctions bills (which have not been reconciled or signed by the president) are "too little, too late." Curiously, at the AIPAC Northeast Regional Dinner, Senator Schumer misleadingly told the crowd of 1500 that the sanctions bill was now "law." At least now he admits that this is not the case. 4) Insist that the administration must abide by the signed 2004 American commitment (the 2004 letter from Pres. Bush to Prime Minister Sharon plus the Congressional resolution endorsing this commitment) that Israel keeps West Bank Jewish populated settlements. (The administration, including Hillary, Obama and others, and Congressional Democrats such as Congressman Ackerman now claim that this commitment is no longer binding on the U.S., as they keep pressuring Israel.) 5. Insist that the administration should stop pressuring Israel to give up the Golan Heights, which would be suicidal in light of Syria's current chemical weapons and other weapons capabilities. 6. Investigate and bring civil rights actions to stop the Arab-funded rampant anti-semitism and Israel bashing on U.S. campuses which our college students are subjected to. P.S. If Senator Schumer does all this, I'd be happy to personally give him the $1800, although next time I hope that he'll call a cheaper cleaning service. Liz Berney, Esq. LizBerneyforCongress.com LizBerneyforCongress@gmail.com 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 A useful analogy: Blaming the building of Israeli homes in Jerusalem for the lack of peace in the Middle East is like blaming Michele Obama's redecoration of the White House for the lack of peace between America and al Queda. Liz Berney, Esq. LizBerneyforCongress@gmail.com 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Shameful speech on so many levels. Among other things, notice how Mrs. Clinton deliberately avoided condemning Mahmoud Abbas, Fatah and the Palestinian Authority for their continuing refusal to recognize Israel, continued incitement of violence and hatred, and naming of a square in Ramallah after terrorist Dalal Mugrabi, who murdered 38 Jews, including 13 children. As Secretary of State, Mrs. Clinton is well aware that Ramallah is the de facto capital of the Palestinian Authority, that Mahmoud Abbas has his headquarters in Ramallah, and that Abbas and Salam Fayyad participated in the ceremonies honoring terrorist Mugrabi. Yet, incredibly, Mrs. Clinton's speech blames the naming of the square totally on Hamas! Clinton stated: "When a Hamas-controlled municipality glorifies violence and renames a square after a terrorist who murdered innocent Israelis, it insults the families on both sides who have lost loves ones in this conflict." In addition to attributing this outrageous incitement by Abbas and Fatah to the wrong terrorist entity, Mrs. Clinton's statement is outrageous for equating the murder of innocent Israeli civilians to losses of life by suicide bombers and other terrorists. Similarly, Mrs. Clinton blames the Palestinian incitement regarding the re-dedication of Hurva Synagogue on unidentified "instigators." Later in the speech, Mrs. Clinton praises Abbas and Fayyad for reforms, claims that Abbas put his country on the "path to peace," and misleadingly urges them to "redouble their efforts put an end to incitement and violence." We would of course be in even worse trouble if Abbas and Fayyad "redouble" their efforts, since unfortunately, Abbas and Fayyad's "efforts" have consisted of honoring terrorists at every opportunity in television specials, textbooks and the media; naming public squares, children's schools and sports competitions after terrorists; and holding up maps of Israel with Israel entirely wiped out and replaced with "Palestine," and repeatedly stating that they do not recognize Israel. Mrs. Clinton's use of the term "redoubling" falsely implies that Abbas and Fayyad have done something constructive to stop incitement - which is clearly not the case. And, of course, Mrs. Clinton's insistence that the building Israeli homes in Jerusalem and the West Bank is an obstacle to peace is completely untrue. Thus, demanding so-called "confidence building" concessions from Israel will not bring peace. The real obstacle to peace is exactly what Clinton refused to condemn -- the Palestinians' continued incitement of violence. Liz Berney, Esq. LizBerneyforCongress.com email: LizBerneyforCongres@gmail.com 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 It is mind-boggling and truly shameful that a Jewish leader attacks perfectly legitimate Israeli policy and remains silent about the outrageous actions of Israel's sworn enemies. Rabbi Yoffie should be condemning the Palestinian Authority's ceremony last week naming a public square in Ramallah after terrorist Dalal Mugrabi, who murdered 38 Jews, including 13 children, and wounded 71 more. And Yoffie should condemn the rockets launched from Gaza which fell on Israel today, killing one person. And Yoffie should display some real courage - and attack the Obama administration's criticism of Israel for building needed homes in its own capital. LizBerneyforCongress.com 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Each of the last 5 agreements (Oslo I, Oslo II, Wye River, Hebron accord, etc.) signed by Israel and the PA during the last 16 years REQUIRED the PA to stop incitement of terrorism. Yet, despite their written agreements, Palestinian incitement of terrorism against Israelis (and against Americans and Jews all over the world) continues to this day in daily PA television programs, in PA television specials such as the recent one honoring Dalal Mugrabi (the murderer of 37 Israelis including 12 children in the Tel Aviv Coastal Road Massacre), in PA schools, textbooks, other media, mosques, soccer teams, and most recently, the Fatah convention which called for Israel's destruction. We should demand that the Palestinians must finally keep their existing commitments, before even considering further concessions or agreements. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 It was interesting that Ms. Raivich mentioned FDR in relation to the Jewish voting patterns issue. FDR received 82% of the Jewish vote in 1932 and 85% of the Jewish vote in 1936. However, throughout most of his administration and WW 2 (until the belated establishment of the War Refugee Board in 1944), FDR maintained absurdly low immigration quotas - thereby impeding the escape of millions of Jews trapped in Europe. In 1939, FDR refused to allow the St. Louis ("voyage of the damned"), which was filled with Jews fleeing from Nazi Germany (including my great grandmother), to debark when the boat reached the coast of Florida, and instead turned the ship back to Europe. Two-thirds of the ship's passengers thereafter perished at the hands of the Nazis. Nonetheless, 90% of American Jews voted for FDR in 1940. FDR thereafter refused to bomb the railway tracks to the death camps, which could have slowed down the Nazi killing machine. Nonetheless, again in 1944, 90% of Jews voted for FDR. As with Obama's policy of pressuring Israel to make dangerous concessions on every front, many American Jews were misled, uninformed or did not fully comprehend the consequences to their brethren overseas of the FDR administration's policies. But perhaps some simply did not care enough. Liberals believe that they care about others more than they care about themselves. Hopefully, they will extend that caring to the innocent Jewish citizens of Sderot and other beleaguered Israeli communities, Hondurans, Poles, Iranians crushed by Ahmadinejad, and, of course, fellow Americans, all imperiled by the Obama administration's policies. Liz Berney, Esq. LizBerneyforCongress@gmail.com 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 The Goldstone report is filled with huge inaccuracies from cover to cover, which reveal the anti-Israel bias of its authors. For instance, the "report" repeatedly refers to Israel's "continuing occupation" of Gaza and states that Gaza is "Occupied Palestinian Territory" (or "OPT") (see, for example, report paragraph 1654 on page 515 and report paragraph 1694 on page 526), despite the fact that Israel withdrew from every inch of Gaza years before Operation Cast Lead. The report also uses the Hamas estimate of casualties (1400) , despite the fact that this oversstates the number of real casualties by over 50%. (See paragraph 1682 of the report.) The report also provides so-called damage costs to Gaza, while ignoring the enormous cost of the damage which Hamas rockets inflicted on Sderot and other Israeli towns and villages over the 8-year period during which these rockets fell on Israel on a daily basis. The report also asserts the absurd conclusion that because the Israeli operation was planned, it must have been directed at the people of Gaza (see paragraph 1680) - rather than at stopping the rocket attacks. Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli citizens had increased to 150 rockets a day when Israel commenced the Gaza operation to protect her citizens! In fact, the planning by Israel was designed to keep Palestinian civilian casualties as low as possible, and succeeded in doing so. An unplanned operation would have inflicted far more casualties. Indeed, most of the casualties were if fact Hamas terrorists (or "militants" or "Palestinian armed groups" as Mr. Goldstone prefers to call the jihadists who made life unbearable for Israel's innocent citizens with their constant rocket attacks). The report also claims (through a second hand report) that a Gaza's people show resilience and dignity because a teacher wanted to "resume" "human rights education." (See paragraph 1695) Far more reliable sources (for instance, Palestinian Media Watch - http://www.pmw.org.il/ ) have documented what is really taught in Gaza's schools - namely, unmitigated hatred for Israel, Jews and Americans, lies that Israelis are putting Palestinians into ovens and taking their body parts, praise for terrorists who kill Israeli citizens, and encouraging students to destroy Israel and kill Jews and Americans. I could continue to list the enormous inaccuracies with this shamefully shoddy "report" all day. LizBerneyforCongress@gmail.com LizBerneyforCongress.com 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 I agree with the importance of civility - meaning, sticking to the issues and avoiding name calling. However, we should not remain quiet in the name of civility when the very existence of the U.S. and Israel and our other allies is endangered. Jewish leaders (and all of us) should courageously scream to the rooftops if need be about issues such as Obama's attempt to blame lack of peace on "settlements" instead of where the blame really rests (the continuing Fatah and Hamas terrorism, incitement and opposition to Israel's very existence). We should be outspoken about the Obama administration's inaction in the face of Iran's imminent nuclear weapons capability and Iran's intention to strike Israel and the U.S. with such weapons. And we should not remain quiet in the face of constant demonization of Jews, Israel and the U.S. by the enemies of our people. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 It's appalling to read the continuing, extremely vicious, bizarre anonymous attacks by "Tom" on Ms. Cheryl Mavrikos. Ms. Mavrikos has a right to express her views here no matter what her religion is. I did not have time to write about this previously, but Ms. Mavrikos had a very valid point when she criticized Obama for likening his health care plan to a partnership with G-d, assuming that this is how Obama phrased his remarks. I understand that no transcript of the conference call was released, but news reports state that Obama asked 1,000 rabbis to preach his political agenda in their sermons on Rosh Hashanah, one of the holiest days of the year. Such a request was totally inappropriate. The current healthcare proposals are fraught with problems which are likely to damage the quality of healthcare in this country. According to experts, the proposals will result in the closure of some of some of our best hospitals, as funds are directed away from specialty care. Current proposals risk running afoul of the basic medical maxim "First do no harm." Expanding coverage does not mean expanding real healthcare or improving the quality of care. The experience of Massachusetts is revealing: Although more people have coverage, they often cannot obain an appointment with a physician, or have long waits, due to severe healthcare personnel shortages. The U.S. is also facing projected severe physician and nursing shortages nationwide. The House bill also imposes at least 6 new taxes, including taxes on individuals and families who do not obtain "acceptable" health care coverage, as defined by government bureaucrats. This will be a hardship on middle class families who wish to spend more of their limited funds on food, shelter and education rather than on buying a government-approved "acceptable" healthcare plan. In addition, the House bill assigns to a "Health Benefits Advisory Committee" a huge role in determining health insurance benefits - even though this committee of 27 members (mostly government bureaucrats appointed by the president) may end up not including a single practicing physician. (The House bill only calls for "at least one practicing physician or OTHER healthcare professional" to be on the committee.) There is a huge debate regarding the government's role in healthcare, the current healthcare proposals, and how to achive the best quality and quantity of care. For Obama to say or imply that G-d is on his side of the debate is uncalled for. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Dear Tom ______, Thank you for asking whether Ms. Cheryl Mavrikos is really Liz Berney, Esq. The answer is no. I've also never had the opportunity to meet, speak with or correspond with Ms. Marvrikos. When I send a letter to JTA, I sign my name to it (and usually add my email so that anyone who wishes to respond to me directly can do so). Ms. Mavrikos apparently also signs her full name to her letters, and I see that her JTA profile also lists her state and town, as befits someone who writes a letter to an editor. As O'Reilly says, "Name and town, if you wish to opine." I hope that you - and other anonymous JTA letter writers - will identify yourselves in the future. The anonymous letters tend to be the most objectionable and inappropriate ones. JTA should be a forum for civil discussion of the issues, not anonymous mud-slinging. Sincerely, Liz Berney, Esq. LizBerneyforCongress@gmail.com 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 It's pathetic that the only complaint voiced by the non-representative "leaders" hand-picked by Obama to attend his "for show" meeting was that there is a "perception" that Obama is not "even-handed." Obama's one-sided support for the Arab anti-Israel cause is far more than a perception. We need to directly challenge Obama's clear pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel policies, including Obama's arrogant anti-semitic demands that Jews cannot build in Jerusalem or in the tiny 6% portion of Judea and Samaria / the West Bank which Jews inhabit, Obama's pledge of $900 million of our U.S. tax dollars to Gaza which will benefit Hamas, Obama's claim that the creation of Israel was a disaster which caused Palestinian suffering, Obama's deliberate policy of ignoring the thousands of years of Jewish history and the Jewish presence in Israel throughout the millenia and the international documents (e.g., the San Remo conference) establishing the Jewish right to Israel (and the fact that Jews purchased the land from Turkish owners - Israel was NOT "stolen" from "Palestinians"), Obama's partial lifting of the sanctions against Syria in February and pressure on Israel to give up the absolutely strategically essential Golan Heights, Obama's high level appointments of anti-Israel advisers and envoys including Samantha Power and George Mitchell, Obama's failure to support the challengers to the Iranian regime and weakness regarding Iran's nuclear weapons capabilities, etc., etc. The representative groups excluded from Obama's meeting (such as ZOA, Americans for a Safe Israel and Council of Young Israel) would have challenged Obama. But Obama doesn't want to hear from any Jewish leader who he can't coopt. The "leaders" chosen by Obama to attend his meeting were the same ones who led so many Jewish voters astray last November regarding Obama's record of support for and by anti-Israel fanatics such as Rashid Khalidi, Samantha Powers, etc. Those of us who opposed Obama last year knew that he would be one of the worst presidents ever for Israel and America. Sadly, we've been proven correct. LizBerneyforCongress.com LizBerneyforCongress@gmail.com 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 A written commitment in a letter from a U.S. president IS a formal understanding. Bush's letter agreement with Sharon should to be honored. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Perhaps what should be emphasized is Ahmadinejad and the Ayatollahs' brutal treatment of gays in Iran, including the fact that being gay in Iran is punishable by death, numerous horrific slow hangings of gays in recent years in which the rope (with body attached) is slowly pulled up by a crane or truck and pulley rig instead of the usual immediate neck-breaking drop from a scaffold, hangings of allegedly gay teenagers (a 16 year old and 18 year old were hung in Mashad last year), unwanted sex change operations, severe torture to obtain confessions, and Internet gay entrapment programs, to name a few. It would be good to see human rights organizations focus on these horrors instead of trumping up phony human rights claims against Israel. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 John Q. Public and other contributors here hit it on the mark when they said that anti-semitism coming from supposedly different directions does not come from entirely separate entities. A prime historical example of this is the meetings and coordination between the notorious Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al Husseini, and Adolf Eichmann in the 1930s. Al Husseini was a rabid, violent Jew hater who instigated numerous Arab attacks on Jews and moderate Arabs in Israel, including the 1929 pogrom in which much of the Hebron Jewish community was murdered. Al Husseini pressured the British to virtually stop Jewish immigration to Israel from 1939 onwards, resulting in the deaths of millions of European Jews who then had no place to escape to. In the early 1940s, as a special guest of Hitler in Berlin, al Husseini broadcasted to the Middle East calls to murder Jews. In 1943, al Husseini organized Muslims into the 13th Waffen SS division to kill Jews in Yugoslavia. (The Grand Mufti's complicity in the Holocaust is one of many reasons why Obama's revisionist Palestinian history is so offensive.) It is also probably a misnomer to refer to Nazis (National "Socialist" Party) as right-wing. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Dear Cantor Rosenman, I'm glad to hear that you love Israel. I hope, then, that you will take the time to carefully read and analyze Obama's full speech, so you can appreciate how one-sided and distorted Obama's version of history and the conflict is. I also urge you to take a look at the country descriptions of Israel and each of the Arab nations which the U.S. State department placed on its website when Obama took office. Unfortunately, there was nothing "unwitting" about the omissions and distortions of history in Obama's speech. Just like Obama's speech, the U.S. State department has eliminated all references to Israel as the historic Jewish homeland, eliminated all references to Jews living in Israel throughout the millenia, and eliminated all references to Jewish/Israeli culture, archeology, contributions to civilization, Nobel prize winners, etc., etc. By contrast, under Obama, the U.S. State Department now waxes poetic over every Muslim nation's thousands of years of magestic Muslim history, archeology, poetry, contributions to civilization, etc., etc. - just as Obama's Cairo speech did. (Now that's a cut and paste job.) Obama's adoption of the false Palestinian narrative is not "unwitting." It is Obama's deliberate policy. Unfortunately, the Obama/Palestinian false narrative (that Jews had no connection to Israel and decided to to occupy Israel and displace Palestinians in order to escape from European anti-semitism) incites hatred against Israel and the Jewish people. (As I hope you know, those Jews who returned to Israel from diaporas around the world found barren swamps and deserts, which they purchased from absentee Turkish landowners. Most "Palestinians" appeared in Israel after Jews started developing the land.) It makes no sense to urge people to "see the conflict through each other's eyes" when the conflict is presented in an inaccurate, one-sided manner, or when the "conflict" is a misnomer for one-sided terrorism. We would never urge our black friends to see the "conflict" through the eyes of a member of the Ku Klux Klan who is determined to lynch all black persons. We would simply do eveyrthing in our power to stop the KKK member's heinous acts. Similarly, we should not urge Israel to see the "conflict" through the eyes of those who are determined to kill Jews and destroy Israel. Instead, those who love peace should simply do everything within our power to stop the heinous acts of Hamas, Hezbolah, Palestinian terrorists, and all those who incite and support them. I sincerely hope that as a Cantor, you have enough historical knowledge to appreciate the incredible inaccuracies of Obama's portrayal of Israel's history. Frankly, Obama's revisionism reminds me of Orwell. I also hope that you - as a Cantor who loves Israel -will be extremely alarmed about.Obama's promotion of the so-called "Arab Peace Initiative" which would push Jews into a tiny indefensible area and overwhelm Israel with millions of puirportedly "returning" Arabs. This "initiative" is tantamount to the destruction of Israel. Since I pointed out numerous other problems with Obama's speech in my previous letter, I won't repeat them here, lest I be accused again of cutting and pasting. (No, I did not cut and paste my letter.) Shalom, Liz Berney, Esq. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Obama's speech is historically inaccurate, completely promotes the Palestinian revisionist narrative of history, promotes an end to Israel as a Jewish state, forbids Jews to live where they are entitled to live, speaks of "Palestine" as if it is an existing state, applauds the so-called "Arab peace initiative" which calls for Israel to retreat to completely indefensible borders and accept an influx of millions of Arabs, permits Iran's nuclear ambitions, does not say a word about Iran's sponsorship of terrorism throughout the world, glowingly glorifies Islam's "majestic" culture, poetry, music and contributions to civilization and America, and does not say a word about Jewish culture, poetry, music and contributions to civilization and America, to name a few. In other words, the speech is a nightmare couched in the platitudes of peace. A few specifics from the full speech: (1) The speech never acknowledges that Israel is the historic land of the Jewish people. The speech never acknowledges that Jews lived in Israel thousands of years ago and that some Jews continued to live in Israel throughout the millenia, while the bulk of the Jewish people were dispersed to other lands against their will. The speech never mentions the 1 million Jews who had to flee for their lives from Arab countries - and that these refugees were welcomed by Israel. Instead, Obama misleadingly bases the entire "aspiration" of Jews in Israel as "rooted in the tragic history" of the European Holocaust and European anti-semitism, which (according to Obama), ended up causing the "displacement [of Palestinians] brought by Israel's founding." In other words, Obama parroted the Palestinian Arab revisionist narrative of history, pure and simple. (2) Obama's speech speaks of 60 years of Palestinian "suffering," "disclocation," "refugee camps" and "humiliations - large and small - that come from occupation." In other words, Obama completely blames everything the Palestinians "suffer" on Israel - instead of acknowledging the refusal of their Arab brethren to take them in (as Israel did for the Jews fleeing from Arab lands). Obama never mentions that 78% of the original Palestine Mandate was given to Jordan for the Palestinian homeland. (3) Obama says he will work for Jerusalem to be a "home for Jews and Christians and Muslims." In other words, it's no longer Israel's capital. Obama ignores the fact that it is only under Israeli sovereignty that Jerusalem has been a place where all faiths could pray together freely. (4) Obama blames settlements as an impediment to peace. He fails to acknowledge that Arab attacks on Israel existed long before the settlements (many of which are simply suburbs of Jerusalem) were built, and that Arab attacks on Israel will no doubt continue even if every settlement is dismantled. Let's gather our strength to oppose Obama's disastrous policies. Liz Berney, Esq. LizBerneyforCongress.com LizBerneyforCongress@gmail.com 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Sadly, the title of this article is, in part, a misnomer. The text of the article reveals that some Jews and Jewish groups ARE speaking up - but they're saying the wrong thing. Silence would be much better than statements such as Gary Ackerman's damaging unsupported assertion: “Settlements have proven to be one of the things that have been problematic.” The real problem is not any of the settlements; Arab attacks on Israel began long before the first settlement was built, and will not cease even if every settlement is frozen or dismantled. We've had plenty of proof of this in recent years: Uprooting the settlement in Gaza led to more rocket attacks on southern Israel. Freezing settlements will only make life miserable for Israeli families, without providing any "peace dividend." An Israeli who grew up in a settlement (by the way, many of the "settlements" are simply suburbs of Jerusalem) should not be prevented from building a home in the same town where his parents and friends live. Liz Berney, Esq. LizBerneyforCongress@gmail.com 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Obama's aid to the Palestinians in the PA and Gaza (with our tax dollars) is counter-productive. A 2007 study by economist Steven Stotsky demonstrated the strong correlation between aid to the Palestinians and increased Palestinian violence & homicides (including an increase in Palestinians killing Israelis and Palestinians killing each other). In order to achieve peace in the region, we must insist that the Palestinians must finally comply with the last 5 agreements which they entered into to stop inciting terrorism, collect illegal weapons, eliminate their platforms calling for the destruction of Israel, and stop teaching hatred of Israel and America in schools, etc. The anger, hate and violence in the region is caused by acts such as Mahmoud Abbas' recent appearance on PA television holding up a map of the region marked "Palestine" (with Israel eliminated) and statement that he does not recognize Israel; PA television's recent hour-long special glorifying the perpetrators of the Tel Aviv coastal road massacre (in which 38 Israelis including 13 children were killed); the PA's continuing teaching of hatred against Jews and Americans in Palestinian textbooks and schools; the Fatah constitution platform which still calls for violent destruction of Israel; Hamas' continuing rocket attacks on innocent civilians in Southern Israel; Iran's nuclear capabilities and threats to destroy Israel; and Iran's arms shipments to Hamas and Hezbollah. The Palestinians' record of non-compliance with their existing obligations indicates that another Palestinian state would further increase Palestinian and Hamas attacks on Israel, at the same time that Israel faces an existential threat from Iran. Iran's nuclear weapons and missile capabilities also pose an existential threat to the U.S. mainland, the U.S. fleet in the Middle East and other Middle Eastern nations. After 6 years of unproductive talks with Iran through our European allies, more action is called for than an assessment by year end. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Realities regarding the Palestinian Authority, continued: Fatah Constitution Still Calls For Violent Destruction of Israel: The Fatah Constitution (the PA political party) still demands violent destruction of Israel. Articles 12 and 13 state that Fatah’s goals are “complete liberation of Palestine, and eradication of Zionist economic, political, military and cultural existence” and establishing a state with “complete sovereignty on all Palestinian lands, and Jerusalem is its capital city.” The method is violence. Article 19: “armed revolution is a decisive factor in . . . uprooting the Zionist existence, and this struggle will not cease unless the Zionist state is demolished and Palestine is completely liberated.” Honoring The World’s Worst Terrorists: In July 2008, PA President Abbas visited and congratulated notorious murderer Samir Kuntar in Lebanon, when Kuntar was released in a swap of Hezbollah terrorists for dead Israeli bodies. (Kuntar murdered 4 Israelis in 1979, including smashing a 4-year-old Israeli girl’s head with his rifle butt after drowning the girl’s father in front of her.) In January 2008, Abbas declared 3 days of mourning throughout the PA when infamous terrorist George Habash died. (Habash founded the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror organization and masterminded the Air France hijacking to Entebbe, 4 other airline hijackings, the Lod airport attack in which 27 people were shot dead, and the 1970 Swissair bombing in which 47 people were killed.) Jenin’s central square, Yaabid’s school and main street (which was repaved with U.S. tax money), and a soccer tournament were named after the “Martyr” Saddam Hussein, whose death was blamed on Zionists. The Majority Of Palestinians Support Terror Attacks On Israeli Civilians: Palestinian and non-partisan polls repeatedly show that the majority of Palestinians support attacks on Israeli citizens. For example, a September 2006 poll by the Center for Opinion Polls and Survey Studies at An-Najah University found that 61.3% of Palestinian Arabs support terrorist attacks upon Israeli civilians. Other Problems: A PA state would uproot 400,000 Israelis from the homes and businesses, which would be a humanitarian disaster. (The 10,000 Jews uprooted from Gaza are still living in trailer parks.) The PA is insisting on a “contiguous” state – which means that Israel would be cut in half and no longer contiguous. The PA’s Fatah and Hamas are each responsible for an equal number of Israeli deaths. The Gaza withdrawal demonstrates what further West Bank withdrawal would bring: Israel’s longest border would be subject to constant mortar and rocket attacks. posted by Elizabeth Berney, Esq. website:LizBerneyforCongress.com email: LizBerneyforCongress@gmail.com 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 It is absolutely shameful and tragic that AIPAC’s leadership is supporting a Palestinian state and quietly signing off on a Hamas-Fatah coalition to run that state, against the wishes of the majority of AIPAC members, the Israeli public, the American public and Israel’s prime minister - when the Palestinian Authority has utterly failed to comply with its obligations under the last five agreements it signed and its leadership still refuses to recognize Israel and continues to incite terrorism. Instead of calling for a state which will become another launching pad for sending rockets into Israel, AIPAC should be educating its members and Congress about the realities of the Palestinian Authority, including the following: Continuing Refusal to Recognize Israel: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas stated just last week (on April 28, 2009): “I say this clearly: I do not accept the Jewish State, call it what you will.” (Preliminary conference of the Palestinian Youth Parliament, Ramallah) A smiling Abbas held up a large framed map of “Palestine” covering the entire area of Israel, which was featured on the front page of both PA daily newspapers (with “Palestine” printed in English). And Senior Fatah leader, PA official, PA Legislative Council representative (and Camp David negotiator) Mohammed Dahlan stated during an interview on PA television on March 16, 2009: "I want to say for the thousandth time, in my own name and in the name of all of my fellow members of the Fatah movement: We do not demand that the Hamas movement recognize Israel. On the contrary, we demand of the Hamas movement not to recognize Israel, because the Fatah movement does not recognize Israel, even today. . . . We of the Fatah do not recognize Israel . . . " PA President Abbas also stated in 2006: “Hamas is not required to recognize Israel . . . It is not required of Hamas, or of Fatah, or of the Popular Front to recognize Israel.” The PA’s Continuing Failure To Comply With Its Prior Agreements: The PA has failed to comply with its obligations under the past 5 Israeli-Palestinian agreements. (Israel transferred land to the PA’s control under these agreements.). For instance, the 1998 Wye River agreement required the PA to: (1) Outlaw and combat terrorist organizations and their infrastructure, immediately and systematically; (2) Prohibit illegal weapons, including establishing and vigorously implementing a systematic program for the collection of such weapons; (3) Prevent all forms of incitement to violence and terror, and systematically act against all expressions or threats of violence or terror; (4) Cooperate with Israel on security. Instead of complying, the PA has done the following (very partial list, continued in next posting due to space limitations): Continued incitement against Israel in textbooks: In February 2007, Hillary Clinton reported the findings that Palestinian textbooks describe the establishment of Israel as “a catastrophe that is unprecedented in history”; contain maps of the region in which Israel does not exist; and deny the Holocaust. Hillary stated: “We cannot build a peaceful, stable, safe future on such a hate-filled violent and radical foundation.” PA schoolbooks also teach that Jews are like “donkeys” and “treacherous and disloyal.” Continued Incitement on PA Television: On March 11, 2009, PA TV celebrated the anniversary of the Tel Aviv Coastal Road Massacre with an hour-long special. In the March 11, 1978 Palestinian hijacking of an Egged bus, 38 Israeli civilians (including 13 children) were killed and 71 were wounded. The narrator opened the program by glorifying female Palestinian terrorist Mughrabi and the attack as: “one of the most important and most prominent special operations, executed by the Palestinian revolution by sea, on the coast between Haifa and Tel Aviv. This operation, carried out by a team of heroes and led by the heroic fighter Dalal Mughrabi, had great impact . . .” Mughrabi has been honored in other television shows, etc. as a heroine and role model. A Hebron girls’ school, PA summer camps, and PA police and military courses have been named after her. PA television also frequently calls America “the greatest Satan in the world.” (March 3, 2008, by a Fatah legislator) PA Death Sentences: Under PA law, the penalty for selling or leasing land to Jews is death. In April 2009, a PA court sentenced an Arab Hebron resident to death for selling land to a Jew. In April 2008, a PA court sentenced a PA policeman to death for providing Israel with information to stop a terrorist attack. (continued in next posting) posted by Elizabeth Berney, Esq. website:LizBerneyforCongress.com email: LizBerneyforCongress@gmail.com 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Newt Gingrich is correct that regime change or destroying Iran's nuclear facilities are the only viable options at this point to stop the Iranian nuclear threat to Israel, the U.S. and a variety of other targets. AIPAC should be lobbying for effective action, not ineffective sanctions. AIPAC should also be opposing the Obama administration's pressure on Israel to form a Palestinian state. Abbas, Dahlan and other PA leaders have clearly reiterated during the past few weeks that they will never accept Israel, and that they consider every inch of Israel to be "Palestine." The Fatah constitution still calls for the destruction of Israel by violent means. (Incidentally, behind closed doors on Sunday, AIPAC's executive committee turned down a proposal to call for Fatah to change its constitution.) PA television also ran an hour-long program a few weeks ago celebrating the Tel Aviv Coastal Road Massacre, in which 38 Israelis (including 13 children) were killed and 71 Israelis were wounded. The concept of a "demilitarized" PA state is also unworkable. The 1919 Treaty of Versailles required the Rhineland was to be demilitarized and Germany's army to be limited to 100,000 men. We saw how well that worked out! More to the point, the Palestinians have failed to live up to their obligations under the last 5 agreements which they signed with Israel (Oslo I, II, Wye River, etc.). These agreements call for the PA to collect illegal weapons, stop incitement to terrorism, cooperate with Israel to stop terrorism, etc. Yet PA textbooks, television and media continue to teach hatred of and violent "struggle"against Jews, Israel and America. And just last year, the PA government sentenced to death a PA policeman whose "crime" was to warn Israel about a terrorist attack. This past month, the PA sentenced to death an Arab from Hebron whose "crime" was selling land to a Jew. (Selling or leasing land to Jews is punishable by death under PA law.) It is a tragedy that AIPAC has placed major Obama fundraisers in the top positions of leadership, is failing to lobby for effective action on Iran, and is failing to lobby against a terrorist PA state -- at a time when the Jewish community so desperately needs to oppose administration policies and pressures which endanger Israel and the U.S. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Dear Mr. Goldbarg, No. The Irgun did NOT use suicide bombers. The PLO and other Palestinians "deserve" all the credit for these sorts of bombings targeting civilians. When the Irgun bombed any place, it did everything possible to minimize casualties, including first warning civilians (and others) to leave the area. This includes the bombing of the British headquarters in a wing of the King David Hotel (done in response to a British operation against the Jewish Agency, at the time when the Brits were refusing to let Holocaust survivors fleeing Europe into Israel). The Irgun called in 3 warnings prior to the bombing, which the British apparently chose to ignore. Please read Menachem Begin's book, The Revolt, for a full account of the history and the respect for human life which was a hallmark of the Irgun's operational planning. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Clarification: The speeding ticket was received by one of the hijackers who was here illegally. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 We should remember that five out of the nineteen 9-11 hijacker-terrorists were here illegally. One of the 9-11 terrorists was even given a speeding ticket a few days before the attack - but was not detained. It is absolutely critical that any immigration policy should differentiate between those who seek to enter the United States to peacefully contribute to our country and those who seek to enter and remain in the U.S. to wreak havoc and destruction on us. Hopefully, those on both sides of the immigration debate will address this critical national security issue. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Mr. Cohen’s nonsensical theory that peace can be made with Iran’s leaders if Obama gets even tougher than ever before on Israel is like arguing that peace could have been made with Hitler if only the Allies had been even tougher on Czechoslovakia. Leaders committed to "Death to America" will not be satisfied by our throwing Israel under the bus. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 I wonder if it ever occurs to Obama that telling Israel to give a state to a Palestinian regime which has utterly failed to keep any of its existing written commitments to end the incitement of terrorism is, um, a bit . . . arrogant? 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Dear Neuroshock, It would be a humanitarian disaster if 400,000 Jews are uprooted from the West Bank / Judea and Samaria to make way for an expanded Palestinian state. The 10,000 Israelis who were uprooted from Gaza are still living in trailer parks. And a Palestinian state will not allow Jews to stay in their homes in peace. A Palestinian court recently reminded Palestinians that it is a crime punishable by death to sell or even rent property to a Jew. And recall that no Jews were permitted to remain in East Jerusalem, after the Jordanians took over the area by force in 1948-49, even though Jews had lived there for decades (and for centuries in some cases). Residential settlements serve a very important purpose - they allow Jews to live in their own homes in their own country. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 After The New York Times splashed these unfounded accusations against Israeli soldiers on its front page twice - which resulted it these false accusations being repeated by newspapers around the world, the NY Times finally came out, many days later, with a story (hidden on page 9 on March 27), which reveals that the accusations were untrue rumors. However, even then, the "corrective" Times story was misleadingly entitled: "Israel Disputes Soldiers' Accounts of Gaza Abuses" - thereby still implying that the "soldiers' accounts" were real, even though the story reveals that there were absolutely no soldier witnesses to, or participants in the supposed "abuses" - which did not occur. Here are two excerpts from the "corrective" New York Times story: "[O]fficers familiar with the investigation say that those who spoke of the killing of the mother and her children did not witness it and that it almost certainly did not occur. Warning shots were fired near the family but not at it, the officers said, and a rumor spread among the troops of an improper shooting. . . . [T]he top commanders say their consciences are clean. “The question is, did we do all we could do to avoid hitting civilians?” said General Shermeister, the chief education officer. “My answer is yes.”" 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 The letter-writers are a group of extreme leftists with virulent anti-Israel and anti-American agendas. For instance, the National Lawyers' Guild's website reveals that NLG is a "progressive" organization which promotes boycotts of Israeli products and complete divestiture from Israel. NLG also condemns Israel's efforts to defend herself and to stop rocket attacks as 'brutal aggression" and "crimes against humanity" and pursues nuisance lawsuits utilizing these vicious unfounded charges. Among other things, NLG accuses Israel of the crimes which Hamas and Fatah are guilty of (such as using children as human shields). The NLG's other projects include defending the "rights" of those "fleeing" "U.S. sponsored-terror" and "U.S. sponsored dictatorships" and suing the FBI. (Apparently the NLG believes that terrorism is all perpetrated by America and Israel.) I hope that all of us will oppose these extreme leftists' demands, and will renew our insistence that the U.S. should remain away from the anti-semitic anti-Western anti-free-speech Durban hate festival. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 In addition to Obama's tax rate increases, Obama's new limits on charitable deductions will hurt Jewish and other charities at a time when charities can ill afford an additional hit. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 The above comment was from Juan, using LB's computer system. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 The AIPAC leadership has too often avoided getting involved when it should, and seems to be dominated by the left. For instance, AIPAC stated that it was not taking a position regarding Chas Freeman, and did nothing to oppose the appointment of Chas Freeman (despite Freeman's receipt of funding from the Saudis, and his outrageous statements about 9-11 and biases). They've done nothing about George Mitchell and Samantha Power - two other terrible Obama appointments. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Interesting. Freeman thinks that Americans who support Israel should be "disqualified" from "any serious discussion about American interests in the Middle East" -- but that a man on the payroll of Saudi Arabia (the country which produced most of the 9-11 terrorists) is eminently qualified to discuss - and actually determine - American Middle East policy. But, I was glad to see Freeman Junior's statement that no foreign country's interests should trump those of America. Naturally, these words of wisdom mean that Chas Freeman's record of promoting the interests of Saudi Arabia and the People's Republic of China at the expense of American interests should disqualify Charles Freeman for the sensitive National Intelligence Council appointment. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 As both the cocktail party Israel bashing and some of the comments here demonstrate, the $25 million per year plus which Hamas spends on propaganda in the U.S. has been very effective. Anti-semites and Israel bashers now feel that they can justify their prejudices and false accusations by spouting even more false accusations. But in some senses, it's nothing new. The water comments above are reminiscent of the false accusations in the middle ages that Jews poisoned the wells, which incited the killing of thousands of Jews. The real problem is still anti-israel terrorism and the Hamas/Fatah/Hezbollah/Iranian goal of destroying Israel, America, Jews, Christians, and anyone who does not believe as they do. Hamas has been shooting thousand of rockets at Israeli kindergardens, synagogues and homes over an eight year period - and it still has not stopped. Fatah and Hamas continue to demand Israel's destruction and the release of convicted murderers from jail. Meanwhile, Israel cares for ill and injured Palestinians in Israeli hospitals. During the Gaza war, Israel did everything imaginable to avoid harming civilians, including warning Palestinians with flyers and hundreds of thousands of phone calls before attempting to destroy rocket launching sites. Israel has proven time and time again that she is humane to those attempting to destroy her. We need to keep reiterating this at cocktail parties and anywhere else we meet the dupes and purveyors of Hamas' destructive propaganda. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Hmm, let's see. We're going to give the job of making sure monies stay in the "right hands" to Mahmoud Abbas - the Palestinian Authority leader who: financed the Munich Olympics massacre; received his PhD in holocaust denial; refuses to this day to abide by the PA's written agreements to stop promoting terrorism; sentenced to death last spring a brave Palestinian policeman who reported impending terrorist attacks to the Israelis; sings the praises of terrorists such as Samir Kuntar (who killed a 4-year-old Israeli girl by smashing her head against a rock with his rifle butt and has vowed to kill more Israelis); still refuses to change the Fatah constitution which calls for Israel's destruction; produced an official Palestinian poster which blots out the existence of Israel and extols Yasser Arafat; and who declared "We must unite the Hamas and Fatah blood in the struggle against Israel as we did at the beginning of the intifada. We want a political partnership with Hamas." (Jerusalem Post, Feb. 5, 2007). What a brilliant plan! A much better idea if we're serious about peace: Don't give a dime to Gaza until every single rocket is dismantled and destroyed, the tunnels are closed, Iran stops furnishing more rockets, the Israeli hostage is released from Gaza, and the textbooks and entire educational system which promotes terrorism is changed. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 We already know enough about Chas Freeman to make it clear that Obama's appointment of Freeman as Chairman of the National Intelligence Council is a danger to U.S. national security, the security of our allies, and human rights throughout the world, and should be terminated immediately. Freeman's service on the payroll of Saudi Arabia and his outrageous statement quoted in Congressman Steve Israel's letter, in which Freeman falsely acccused Israel of smothering Palestinian democracy and absurdly accused Israel of failing to reach accord with its neighbors (despite the fact that Israel entered into agreements with Egypt, Jordan, and 5 agreements with the Palestinians which the Palestinians continue to violate), should be more than enough reason to terminate Freeman's appointment to the sensitive post charged with preparing our National Intelligence Estimates. But it's even worse than that. Freeman's record also includes serving on the payroll of the People's Republic of China and Iran, justifying the Tianamen Square massacre, constantly attacking Taiwan, making statements to the effect that our engagement in Afghanistan should ignore human rights issues (that would include the abysmal treatment of women for years), praising Mearsheimer & Walt's factually inaccurate Israel-bashing book, "The Israel Lobby," having his organization publish an "unabridged" version of this libelous book, and engaging in even more extreme Israel bashing of his own, including blaming the very existence of Israel (which he calls the "occupation") as a justification for Palestinian violence. Freeman stated: "Israeli occupation and settlement of Arab lands is inherently violent ... And as long as such Israeli violence against Palestinians continues, it is utterly unrealistic to expect that Palestinians will stand down from violent resistance and retaliation against Israelis." (Remarks to the 14th Annual US-Arab Policymakers Conference The National Council on US-Arab Relations, Washington, D.C., September 12, 2005). And: "We wring our hands while sitting on them as the Jewish state continues to seize ever more Arab land for its colonists. This has convinced most Palestinians that Israel cannot be appeased." (Oct 4, 2007 Remarks to Pacific Council on International Policy) And, then there were Freeman's statements blaming the U.S. for 9-11: "One lesson of September 11th that we need to recall more than any other is that if we attack someone else's homeland in this day and age, we can expect that our own homeland will be attacked. We know that if we attack Saddam he will use weapons of mass destruction in whatever way he can. We don't know, however,what preparations he's made." And Freeman's insistence: "And what of America's lack of introspection about September 11? Instead of asking what might have caused the attack, or questioning the propriety of the national response to it, there is an ugly mood of chauvinism. Before Americans call on others to examine themselves, we should examine ourselves." And Freeman's apology for al Quaeda: "Instead of addressing al Qaeda's case against our direct and indirect interventions in the Arab and Islamic worlds, we have ascribed to it an ideology that does not exist." (Oct. 4, 2007 Remarks to Pacific Council on Interanational Relations) And then there were Freeman's statements that we should help the Shiites (Iran) win fast in Iraq. The list of Freeman's awful statements goes on and on, revealing biases which make him a terrible choice for determining our national security appraisals. Obama's refusal to terminate his dangerous appointment of Chas Freeman despite the public outcry over Freeman's record also says much about the agenda and leanings of our President. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Incredible. Almost a billion dollars from U.S. taxpayers, which we can't afford, to "rebuild" the launching area of unrepentent terrorists! And, of course, as long as Hamas controls the area, the funds will fall into terrorist hands no matter what NGO the money is supposedly funneled through. Hamas is still busy re-arming for the next attack on Israel, and still shooting rockets at Israeli towns from Gaza every single day. At a very minimum, we should insist that every single rocket should be removed from Gaza and dismantled , and every textbook which teaches Palestinians to kill Jews, Christians, Israelis and Americans should be changed before we give them a dime. And why is this latest give-away so one-sided? Why is there no proposal to provide funds to rebuild all the homes, schools, playgrounds and synagogues in Sderot, Ashkelon and other Israeli towns which were destroyed by Hamas rockets during the last 8 years, especially in the last few months when 150 rockets from Gaza fell on Israel every day? Liz Berney, Esq. LizBerneyforCongress@gmail.com LizBerneyforCongress.com 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 We've had a great deal of response to Ackerman's outrageous accusations against Israel and Israelis. As you may know, Liz Berney, who ran for Congress against Ackerman in 2008, issued a statement the day after JTA reported Ackerman's accusations, demanding that Ackerman should issue a retraction for falsely accusing Israelis of perpetrating "pogroms." See https://lizberneyforcongress.clickandcms.com//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=62&Itemid=1 We've received letters from all over the world from people who are outraged at Ackerman's "Israeli intransigence" and "pogroms" comments, urging Liz to run against Ackerman again in 2010, as well as hate mail from the anti-Israel crowd. People have also forwarded to us emails from the left wing "peace now" type organizations. These organizations are sending mass emails to their members praising Ackerman for helping Obama to pressure Israel into making concessions for "peace." (Unfortunately, such concessions will only lead to more launching pads for attacks on Israel.) We also received an email from a former executive of Americans for a Safe Israel, recounting Ackerman's office's inappropriate, disrespectful treatment of AFSI and refusal to take literature from or meet with representatives of AFSI. This is part of a pattern of Ackerman's hostile treatment of pro-Israel advocates. See https://lizberneyforcongress.clickandcms.com//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=66&Itemid=32 (which reprints the AFSI letter). One of the issues in Liz Berney's 2008 campaign was Ackerman's previous accusations that Israel had "illegal outposts," and Ackerman's promotion of funding for the Palestinian Authority (despite the PA's announcement that it sends 40% of the funds it receives from international donors to Hamas.) Ackerman's promotion of funding for the PA resulted in $600 million of our U.S. tax dollars being sent to the PA in 2008. Even this was not enough for Ackerman; he demanded another $100 million in June 2008 and said at that time that we should make Mahmoud Abbas into the "Muslim Santa Claus." See https://lizberneyforcongress.clickandcms.com//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=1 An important economist's study shows that increased funding for the PA increases violence. See https://lizberneyforcongress.clickandcms.com//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=46&Itemid=32 LizBerneyforCongress.com LizBerneyforCongress@gmail.com 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Two further comments: Hopefully, JTA's readers are aware of the fact that the recent accusation that Israeli settlers committed a progrom against Palestinians is a total fabrication, a complete lie. It is the latest of numerous Palestinian propaganda inventions, which have included the non-existent Jenin "massacre" and the al Dura murder, proven to be false in a French court, which have been used as pretexts for attacking Jews around the world. Despite my familiarity with Ackerman's long line of outrageous statements and actions, I'm actually also a bit shocked that he would trumpet this blood libel about a non-existent progrom as truth at a Congressional hearing. In case you missed it, Ackerman's statements after the Mumbai attack were also outrageous. He stated "we can't stop determined terrorists, so we have to resolve the problems of Kashmir and Israel." In other words, Ackerman's solution to terror is to make more concessions to terrorists, and to provide terrorists around the world with more territory which they can utilize for terrorist training camps. Another Ackerman outrage you may have missed was his accusation against a nice woman lawyer and AIPAC leader from Minnesota, who called her Congresswoman's office to politely express displeasure with her Congresswoman (Betsy McCollum)'s anti-Israel vote. Such calls are of course is every constituent's first amendment right. Ackerman accused this woman attorney of engaging in "tactics reminiscent of the Taliban." Liz Berney, Esq. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Dear Mr. Wallick, Unfortunately, these sorts of comments are typical for Congressman Ackerman. Shockingly and most dangerously for Israel and America, Ackerman is Chairman of the Mideast subcommittee. Ackerman has spent the last five years promoting funding for the Palestinian Authority and Mahmoud Abbas, despite the fact that the PA announced that it sends 40% of the funds it receives from international donors to Hamas, and despite the PA's continuing promotion of terror in schools, textbooks and Palestinian television. Thanks to Ackerman, last year $600 million of our U.S. tax dollars were sent to the Palestinian Authority and Abbas. Last June, Ackerman said that we should send even more money to Abbas to make him into the "Muslim Santa Claus." (Seriously.) And Ackerman has criticized Israel for having "illegal outposts" in prior hearings. Ackerman also brags about running around the world talking to the world's dictators. These are only a few of the reasons why I ran for Congress against Ackerman in 2008 (and did quite well, especially considering that it was a brief, not-well-funded race and a bad year for Republicans), and why I may run against him in 2010. He needs to be stopped. You can read more about his shameful record and outrageous statements on my website. Sincerely, Liz Berney, Esq. Great Neck, New York LizBerneyforCongress.com email: LizBerneyforCongress@gmail.com 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00