jason H http://www.jta.org/user/profile/68060 en-us zsilberman@washingtonjewishweek.com Copyright 2012 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 I am confused. I thought that those commandos were supposed to be showered with rose paddles from the flotilla crew. Why they wanted to defend their ship is shocking. It is a dirty ambush. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 @Vlad Observer: That is really funny and fits perfectly into the essence of the incident. But I guess I may have a different interpretation. I think that the the commandos with paintball guns are the Soviet tractors. The dead flotilla mobsters are the Chinese tanks. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Even up to now, Netanyahu's biggest mistake is underestimating Obama. I don't think that he is getting it as yet by the pitches he made in his last trip to DC. For those who think Obama is anti-Semitic, the world is not divided in Ying and Yang. What makes it even more complicated is that Ying can transform to Yang in the long term and vice versa. Obama is very complex person. By labeling him enemy of Israel will only further damage the image of the Jews in the eyes of the world communities. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 $3B is only 1.5% of the GDP. Why would Israel compromise its freedom for that small amount of the aid? If the aid stops, Jews communities world wide will donate to make up the majority of the US aid, without the annoying string. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 I share your view, Yochanan. Very well said. If Netanyahu continues to push what he perceives as the "weak" Obama presidency, fewer and fewer Americans will see Israel as sharing the same vital interest with the US. More and more Americans will see Israel as bully as opposed to the soldiers in "300" trying to defend their home land. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Jerome Whitson: No. I was not serious. I happened to read http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072466.html, and watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mJp5d3ffP8. I found them hilarious. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 “If I am not for myself, Who will be for me?” Mr. Shuster, I am sure that you are willing to sacrifice for your family, your country, and the Jewish people. There is a "me" that is greater than "me." This is about your honor, your sense of morality, and your ability to empathize from an opposite perspective. The state of Israel was established based on International empathy of the historic suffering of the Jewish people, particularly under the Nazi persecution. The international community is also fully supportive of Israel's right to defend itself. But in the recent years, Israel has changed from a defender to an aggressor. The use of excessive forces in dealing with Palestinian civilians is only a superficial issue. The fundamental issue is that in Israel's mind, it does not really want peace. When you have overwhelming power, you want a total victory. The question in the Jewish ultra nationalists' mind is: What is the "final solution" for the Palestinian people? 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 As long as people like Henry Siegman can speak out, no one can deny that there is a Jewish conscience. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 It probably has more to do with education level? 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Jackie, The following findings in the report might have played a role in terms of lack of information on the Israeli side. When the government stonewalled the investigation, you can't blame the investigation is one-sided. 1628. The Mission was unable to conduct on-site investigations owing to the decision of the Government of Israel not to cooperate with the Mission. 1629. The Mission addressed questions to the Government of Israel regarding individuals who have been affected by rocket and other fire from the Gaza Strip. The request of information included data about any psychological, social and economic harm caused by the rocket and mortar shells that have been launched into Israel. The Mission did not receive any reply to its questions. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Correction of my last sentence: "...yet NOT using her story as she was led to believe is beyond me." 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 This is the context where her name appears in the report: 1673. It should be noted that the Tseva Adom system is not 100 percent effective; according to Noam Bedein, , the system failed to detect a rocket that struck Sderot on 21 May 2007, killing one and wounding two others,.1015 Moreover, the system may also give false alerts, a fact which led authorities in Ashkelon to switch off the system in May 2008. Consequently, no warning was given when a rocket struck a shopping centre on 14 May 2008, seriously injuring three people (including Dr. Emilia Siderer, who appeared before the Mission at the public hearings held in Geneva on 6 July 2009). I sympathize with her position that the report does not reflect her suffering and her anguish of being trivialized. Quite frankly, I am at lost what information Goldstone was looking for when his panel interviewed her. While here personal story is tragic, there were many Israelis and Palestinians who were killed or severely injured in the conflicts. It would be impossible for him to cover each individual grievances. So why Goldstone (not sure if himself or his staff) thought that her testimony was important yet using her story as she was led to believe is beyond me. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 If Israel strikes unilaterally, not only the middle east will be in turmoil. The whole muslin world would be united. And their common enemy would be Israel and of course its major backer, the US. Guess what would happen in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan? You just screwed up all effort the US has done in the past 8 years and the death of thousands of our soldiers. From strategic perspective, Iran would love to see that happen. They would probably be able to get nuclear weapons much faster with Israeli help. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 UN bended backward in picking a Jewish descent and Zionist, judge Goldstone, to lead the war crime investigation. This choice would have been way too easy to cry foul by the Palestinian sympathizers. The irony is that now the Israel and conservative Jews are seeking to discredit the Goldstone commission and UN after the report was published. It seems that Israel does not get alone well with UN Human Right groups. Just recently, Mary Robinson was in the cross-hair and not so distant past, Dr. John Dugard. If Israel is right, then why there are so many anti-Semites in the human right organizations? Are judge Goldstone and others all part of Muslim conspiracy? Or is it just possible that Israel has become so self-righteous that the standard for self survival has expanded to self entitlement, but non-the-less using this argument to justify all the killings, demolitions, physical and economic blockade against the Palestinian? The US made a lot of mistakes and human right violations in the last 7 years. If there were an UN report, it is almost certain that it would not look good. But at least, many American people are reflecting upon themselves and paying the prices for the degraded reputation. Israel should do the same. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 It is a gross simplification to say that if you are not 100% pro Israel, then you must be taking side with the Muslim. You speak like a spoiled child: if your parents do not satisfy 100% of your requests, they must hate you. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 I am not why someone would even think that Iran is a chip that the US plays against Israel. A nuclear Iran is the last thing the US wants to see too. The only difference between the US an Israel is how to deal with it. Now if Israel does not need US weaponry and diplomatic support, it can certainly act unilaterally and deal with the consequences by itself later. In a similar way, Israel does not need accept any proposal from the US or anybody else in the peace deal. It is silly to say that the US is using Iran as a chip to force Israel to accept its conditions. No. The US policy on nuclear Iran will not change regardless of the peace effort. However, if Israel decides to do whatever it wants for its short term self interest, Then the its longer term interest may suffer. The Israel does not need to worry if the US would do anything to Israel. Rather, it may want to think about what are the things that US may be less motivated to do. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Republicans have also been unfairly treated. why Larry Craig, Mark Foley, John Ensign, and Mark Sanford received so much media attention? Most of them did not even commit a crime. On the other hand, Ellis Spitzer's (who happens to be a Jew) scandal seems to forgotten quickly and he even has a chance to return to public life. William Jefferson's bribery conviction did not seem to make a dent to democrat's reputation. You have to wonder, why the news of a gay or adulterer republicans are so much more interesting than their democratic counterpart? 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 The health care reform will be bad for two types of professions: doctors and lawyers. It is pretty bad for Jews, for sure. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 @hsr0601 If you want to find a good national health care system that Americans can learn from, look no farther than your back yard: Israel. A simple comparison: Americans now spend 15.3% of GDP on health care and only 86% of the population carries any kind of insurance. Israelis spend 8.7% of the GDP and everyone is covered. The rate of increase for health cost in the US is twice of inflation, and has been 2% higher than the rate of increase of GDP since the 70's. Let's be fair here. Regardless if you like Obama, you have to agree that the existing system does not work. With existing trend continues, fewer and fewer people can afford health insurance. It would be less than sincere for any person to argue that the national health care policy in Israel is not far superior system to the one in the US now. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 What Limbaugh did was aggravating and wrong. But what is new? I am actually surprised that the source of this incident: THE ORGANIZED REPUBLICAN PROTECTORS OF OBMAMA HEALTH PLAN TOWN MEETINGS CARRIED SWASTIKAS SIGNS..... has not attracted much attention. You have to think, the American conservatives and Jewish conservatives are really friends of principals or friends of convenience? 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 I don't get the joyful undertone of this article. So the author smirks at Mary Robinson because: 1. The author is not fond of the Jewish woman working for Mary Robinson and glad to see her fired by Robinson? 2. The author was cheerful that Mary Robinson, who objects to Israel settlements, unknowingly hired a woman who conducts business in a settlement thus looks like a fool? 3. The author have proven his theory that Mary Robinson is a Jew hater because she has to fire the Jewish Woman who also is a speaker of a Jewish business operating in a settlement? I don't get it. So you think that Obama would care, regardless if Robinson fires this Jewish woman or not? And you guys are happy for the Jewish woman who had to choose the job that makes her money and the job she enjoys doing? 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 You apparently don't know Chinese. They only execute the secondary criminals of the modest crimes, like vice mayor of a city or the son of a out of power general. If you make it really big like Madoff did, pretty much everyone in the inner circle is your buddy. So you have absolutely nothing to worry about. All you have to do is to turn over a mid-level manager, who will be scapegoat of the "9mm solution." 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 I guess after all, Mr. Blackie has a sense of right and wrong. He is a decent individual around the people who know him. But when he does radical things (and he knows it), he goes by "Blackie," which he knows full well that it is wrong term to use. In other words, he is just typical hypocrite. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Israel has been using its political capital to influence American media and public opinion against Obama administration and anyone that they do not like. Its shadowy pattern begins to take shape. First, on Charles Freeman's appointment as the chairman National Intelligence Council. There is no doubt about Charles Freeman's qualification (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_W._Freeman,_Jr.). The irony is that he predicted his own future when he endorsed Professor Stephen Walt's working paper "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy." He said: "No one else in the United States has dared to publish this article, given the political penalties that the Lobby imposes on those who criticize it." So down he went, thanks to the powerful Israel lobbyists. Then characterized Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod as “self-hating Jews.” These are the two most trusted advisers and closest confidants of Obama. Netanyahu wants to undermine their credibility as a a means to disarm Obama's defense shell. And now, attacking Mary Robinson to demonstrate that Obama is an enemy of the state of Israel. I have no doubt that this pattern of relentless attack has an effect on the right-wing Jews as well as those who did not trust Obama to begin with. It also proves that the Israel lobbyists are indeed powerful. But these moves also revealed how Israel is able to manipulate the media and replace American interest with its own. This is also seen by the international community that Israel, once was as the brave and smart small countries surrounded by powerful and mean Arabs, now becomes the bully and cunning beast that totally pursues its own interest at expense of other peoples and countries. I think that it would be wise for Israel to work with Obama's administration to pursue peach as the larger interest for Israel. If staying on the current course, Israel will probably lose more strategically over the long term. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Dick Morris analyzes the polling data collected by evangelical Traditional Values Coalition, from a group of 500 "self identified" democrats. Hmmm. There is not even the appearance of being bias neutral. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Mary Robinson has been critical of US for its practice in "War on Terror" and capital punishment; of Ireland for its EU only immigration policy; of China for its suppression over the Tibetans. She vigorously promote human right in general, particular the right of the less-powerful. Judging from her records, she would be a vigorous and courageous defender of the Jews when they were persecuted around the world before the state of Israel. If she has a bias, the bias is against the authority in power. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 Does it occur to you that those "self hating blacks" and "self hating Jews" are actually people with a larger vision? And those "self loving Jews" can only see the beautiful selves and never see the world around them. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 It is funny that the US the only country that elected a wimpy administration (can you think of anyone that is milder than Obama/Biden?) during the hard time. Most newly governments are right-wing hardliners. You don't have the look far to see the proof. 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00 The only way to fight a moral war is the Jewish way. Destroy their holy sites. Kill men, women and children (and cattle). - Rabbi Manis Friedman Wait. Was Hitler a jew? 2012-02-09T;22:54:00-05:00