Judging J Street By The Candidates They Support

J Street, founded back in November 2007, made no secret of its agenda in its beginnings. In 2009, co-founder Jeremy Ben-Ami admitted to New York Times journalist James Traub:

Our No. 1 agenda item is to do whatever we can in Congress to act as the president’s blocking back.

Back then, there was also no secret about what kind of candidates J Street was going to support -- all you had to do was check their website.

• In 2010, J Street endorsed 61 candidates - all Democrats
• In 2012, J Street endorsed 41 candidates - all Democrats
• In 2014, J Street endorsed 71 candidates - all Democrats
• In 2016, J Street endorsed 73 candidates - all Democrats

That's 246 candidates J Street has endorsed during that time, and all of them Democrats.

So much for the importance of bi-partisan support for Israel.

What Does the ICRC Say About Civilians Rioting in Support of a Military Objective?

Someone limited to just the media coverage of the "Gaza March," could be forgiven for thinking that the issue of the IDF's Rules of Engagement (RoI) during those riots is e a simple matter of math - most of the Gazans rioting at Israel's border are civilians, so that should be the guiding rule for Israel's response.

But it is not that simple.

To The New York Times, Hamas Isn't Terrorist - It Is "Pragmatic"

Pragmatic: relating to matters of fact or practical affairs often to the exclusion of intellectual or artistic matters : practical as opposed to idealistic.
Merriam-Webster

To be a pragmatist is to be a realist, someone who understands that there are times that one's idealism or ideology has to give way to different means, even if contrary to that ideology, if one is going to achieve a successful end.

And that is what the new philosophy of Hamas is all about - at least that is what The New York Times believes.

This week, David Halbfinger - who took over last year as the new Jerusalem Bureau Chief for The New York Times - reported that Hamas Sees Gaza Protests as Peaceful — and as a ‘Deadly Weapon’. Halbfinger went on to write approvingly of the Gazan riots controlled by the Hamas terrorists:

Its experiment with popular resistance may or may not be wholehearted, but it is indisputably pragmatic. [emphasis added]

Pragmatic?

Are Jews Overreacting To Poland’s Holocaust Law? – An Exclusive Interview With Rabbi Michael Schudrich, Chief Rabbi Of Poland

My interview with Rabbi Michael Shudrich originally appeared in the March 23rd print issue of The Jewish Press and on their online edition. It is posted here with permission.

Rabbi Michael Schudrich. Credit: Rabbi Michael Schudrich

Although several weeks have passed, indignation over Poland’s “Holocaust Law” still pervades the Jewish community. The law outlaws blaming Poland for crimes committed during the Holocaust, but it has been seen by many as an attempt to deny the Holocaust itself. In reaction, some have suggested boycotting Poland, including ending student trips to the country.

Rabbi Michael Schudrich, chief rabbi of Poland, sees matters in a very different light, arguing that much of the criticism of the new law is misplaced. He recently shared his perspective with The Jewish Press.

The Jewish Press: Before we address the new law, please provide a brief primer on the modern Jewish community of Poland?

Gaza: One Man's Genocidal Riot Is Another Man's Peaceful Sit-In

We will take down the border (with Israel) and we will tear out their hearts from their bodies.
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, April 6, 2018, on Al Jazeera TV

The sit-in demonstration is set to culminate on May 15 — the day after Israeli independence
NBC News, April 5, 2018

Once again, whenever the conflict between Palestinian Arabs and Israel heats up, a second, parallel story develops as well: the media bias towards Israel.

Take The New York Times, for example.

Jews Have Also Been Holding Onto Their Keys

One of the issues of the Israel-Palestinian conflict is the refugee problem resulting from those Arabs who left the land during the 1948 War - how many left out due to the encouragement of promises from the Arab world, how many out of fear of the chaos of war and how many and how many from other reasons is a question for another time.

Today there is a symbol used to represent this refugee problem: a key.

Art by a teenage Bethlehem artist, entitled Resolution 194,
a UN resolution. The keys symbolize those kept as mementos
by many Palestinians who left their homes in 1948

It is a poignant symbol - but apparently, Arabs have been known to hold onto their keys before.

Let Abbas Know: The Eternal Capital of "Palestine" Isn't Jerusalem, It's Damascus

According to Mahmoud Abbas, Jerusalem is the “eternal capital of the State of Palestine.” Then again, Abbas is the Palestinian Arab dictator whose term in office ended in 2009. Not only do Abbas and the Palestinian Arabs know that Jerusalem is the capital of "Palestine" -- they also think they have a pretty good idea of just what "Palestine" looks like.

Here is the logo of the Fateh Youth Movement. The boundaries of what they call "Palestine" are basically the borders of Israel, except that they also include Gaza and the West Bank.

Not surprisingly, that map bears little resemblance to reality -- not because they are trying to co-opt the State of Israel, but because there was no country called Palestine that corresponds to that map.

Do You Really Want To Argue That Israel Stole The Hora From The Palestinians?

Last week, The New York Times entered the world of dance.

In an interview, Israeli-American choreographer Hadar Ahuvia talked about her latest work - Everything you have is yours? To Ahuvia, that is no idle question. She is the granddaughter of Eastern European Jews who came to Israel -- and then years later, her parents moved with her to Florida and then Hawaii. Ahuvia has developed an interest in what she sees as the Israeli mimicking of Palestinian Arab culture.

Is 2017 The Year That European-Style Antisemitism Arrived In The US?

The hour of judgment shall not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them, so that the Jews hide behind trees and stones, and each tree and stone will say: 'Oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him,' except for the Gharqad tree, for it is the tree of the Jews."
From Hamas Charter, as recorded in the Hadith collections of Bukhari and Muslim

It is no secret that there are Palestinian Arab imams preaching hate against Israel and against Jews.

It is not even surprising that this preaching of hatred has expanded to outside the Middle East, and has found a home in Europe, where the favorite Hadith of Hamas can be heard, promising the death of Jews.




What is surprising is that last year Muslim Antisemitism, with all its vitriolic hatred, has found its way into the US. It is not as if Antisemitism did not already exist. It's just that generally it has not been as out in the open nor expressed as violently as we have seen it elsewhere.

Iranian Protests Show Iran Needn't Be More Palestinian Than The Palestinians Themselves

As the Iranian protests continue, one of the signs of just how serious the protesters are is what they are chanting in public about their government:
“Death to Dictator” “Death to Rouhani” "Death to Khamenei" and “Reza Shah, Bless Your Soul”.

Clearly, the extent of the anger of the protesters goes beyond removing an individual leader -- some want a complete change in government that would return Iran to the way things were before Khomeini and the Islamic revolution.

Here is another anti-government chant opposing Iranian machinations outside of the country: