You promised not to eat the Rousseau!!!
This is the Holy Grail of my childhood.
Don't Eat the Pictures.
I figured we could use a change of pace.
Don't Eat the Pictures.
I figured we could use a change of pace.
Friday, August 25, 2006
Monday, August 14, 2006
More on the Muslim world.
I don't know why this isn't more widely reported.
Another e-mail I received. This one's an interview.
Subject: Interview with Pierre Reehov French Filmmaker
By - Pierre Rehov, documentary filmmaker
MSNBC's "Connected"
One of the guests was Pierre Rehov, a French filmmaker who has filmed
six documentaries on the intifada by going undercover in the
Palestinian areas.
Pierre's upcoming film, "Suicide Killers," is based on interviews
that he conducted with the families of suicide bombers and would-be
bombers in an attempt to find out why they do it. Pierre agreed to a
request for a Q&A interview here about his work on the new film.
Q - What inspired you to produce "Suicide Killers," your seventh
film?
A - I started working with victims of suicide attacks to make a film
on PTSD (Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder) when I became fascinated with the
personalities of those who had committed those crimes, as they were
described again and again by their victims. Especially the fact
that suicide bombers are all smiling one second before they blow
themselves up.
Q - Why is this film especially important?
A - People don't understand the devastating culture behind this
unbelievable phenomenon. My film is not politically correct because
it addresses the real problem, showing the real face of Islam. It
points the finger against a culture of hatred in which the uneducated
are brainwashed to a level where their only solution in life becomes
to kill themselves and kill others in the name of a God whose word,
as transmitted by other men, has become their only certitude.
Q - What insights did you gain from making this film? What do you
know that other
experts do not know?
A - I came to the conclusion that we are facing a neurosis at the
level of an entire
civilization. Most neuroses have in common a dramatic event,
generally linked to an
unacceptable sexual behavior. In this case, we are talking of kids
living all their lives in pure frustration, with no opportunity to
experience sex, love, tenderness or even understanding from the
opposite sex. The separation between men and women in Islam is
absolute. So is contempt toward women, who are totally dominated by
men. This leads to a situation of pure anxiety, in which normal
behavior is not possible.
It is no coincidence that suicide killers are mostly young men
dominated subconsciously by an overwhelming libido that they not only
cannot satisfy but are afraid of, as if it is the work of the devil.
Since Islam describes heaven as a place where everything on Earth
will finally be allowed, and promises 72 virgins to those frustrated
kids, killing others and killing themselves to reach this redemption
becomes their only solution.
Q - What was it like to interview would-be suicide bombers, their
families and survivors of suicide bombings?
A - It was a fascinating and a terrifying experience. You are dealing
with seemingly normal people with very nice manners who have their
own logic, which to a certain extent can make sense since they are so
convinced that what they say is true. It is like dealing with pure
craziness, like interviewing people in an asylum, since what they
say, is for them, the absolute truth. I hear a mother saying "Thank
God, my son is dead." Her son had became a shaheed, a martyr, which
for her was a greater source of pride than if he had became an
engineer, a doctor or a winner of the Nobel Prize.
This system of values works completely backwards since their
interpretation of Islam worships death much more than life. You are
facing people whose only dream, only achievement goal is to fulfill
what they believe to be their destiny, namely to be a Shaheed or the
family of a shaheed.
They don't see the innocent being killed, they only see the impure
that they have to destroy.
Q - You say suicide bombers experience a moment of absolute power,
beyond punishment. Is death the ultimate power?
A - Not death as an end, but death as a door opener to the after
life. They are seeking the reward that God has promised them. They
work for God, the ultimate authority, above all human laws. They
therefore experience this single delusional second of absolute power,
where nothing bad can ever happen to them, since they become God's
sword.
Q - Is there a suicide bomber personality profile? Describe the
psychopathology.
A - Generally kids between 15 and 25 bearing a lot of complexes,
generally inferiority complexes. They must have been fed with
religion. They usually have a lack of developed personality. Usually
they are impressionable idealists. In the western world they would
easily have become drug addicts, but not criminals. Interestingly,
they are not criminals since they don't see good and evil the same
way that we do. If they had been raised in an Occidental culture,
they would have hated violence. But they constantly battle against
their own death anxiety. The only solution to this deep-seated
pathology is to be willing to die and be rewarded in the afterlife in
Paradise.
Q - Are suicide bombers principally motivated by religious
conviction?
A - Yes, it is their only conviction. They don't act to gain a
territory or to find freedom or even dignity. They only follow Allah,
the supreme judge, and what He tells them to do.
Q - Do all Muslims interpret jihad and martyrdom in the same way?
A - All Muslim believers believe that, ultimately, Islam will prevail
on earth. They believe this is the only true religion and there is no
room, in their mind, for interpretation. The main difference between
moderate Muslims and extremists is that moderate Muslims don't think
they will see the absolute victory of Islam during their lifetime,
therefore they respect other beliefs. The extremists believe that the
fulfillment of the Prophecy of Islam and ruling the entire world as
described in the Koran, is for today. Each victory of Bin Laden
convinces 20 million moderate Muslims to become extremists.
Q - Describe the culture that manufactures suicide bombers.
A - Oppression, lack of freedom, brain washing, organized poverty,
placing God in charge of daily life, total separation between men and
women, forbidding sex, giving women no power whatsoever, and placing
men in charge of family honor, which is mainly connected to their
women's behavior.
Q - What socio-economic forces support the perpetuation of suicide
bombings?
A - Muslim charity is usually a cover for supporting terrorist
organizations. But one has also to look at countries like Pakistan,
Saudi Arabia and Iran, which are also supporting the same
organizations through different networks. The ironic thing in the
case of Palestinian suicide bombers is that most of the money comes
through financial support from the Occidental world, donated to a
culture that utterly hates and rejects the West (mainly symbolized by
Israel).
Q - Is there a financial support network for the families of the
suicide bombers? If so, who is paying them and how does that affect
the decision?
A - There used to be a financial incentive in the days of Saddam
Hussein ($25,000 per family) and Yasser Arafat (smaller amounts), but
these days are gone. It is a mistake to believe that these families
would sacrifice their children for money. Although, the children
themselves who are very attached to their families, might find in
this financial support another reason to become suicide bombers. It
is like buying a life insurance policy and then committing suicide.
Q - Why are so many suicide bombers young men?
A - As discussed above, libido is paramount. Also ego, because this
is a sure way to become a hero. The shaheed are the cowboys or the
firemen of Islam. Shaheed is a positively reinforced value in this
culture. And what kid has never dreamed of becoming a cowboy or a
fireman?
Q - What role does the U.N. play in the terrorist equation?
A - The U.N. is in the hands of Arab countries and third world or ex-
communist countries. Their hands are tied. The U.N. has condemned
Israel more than any other country in the world, including the regime
of Castro, Idi Amin or Kaddafi. By behaving this way, the U.N.
leaves a door open by not openly condemning terrorist organizations.
In addition, through UNWRAP, the U.N. is directly tied to terror
organizations such as Hamas, representing 65 percent of their
apparatus in the so-called Palestinian refugee camps. As a support to
Arab countries, the U.N. has maintained Palestinians in camps with
the hope to "return" into Israel for more than 50 years, therefore
making it impossible to settle those populations, which still live in
deplorable conditions. Four hundred million dollars are spent every
year, mainly financed by U.S. taxes, to support 23,000 employees of
UNWRAP, many of whom belong to terrorist organizations (see
Congressman Eric Cantor on this subject, and in my film "Hostages of
Hatred").
Q - You say that a suicide bomber is a 'stupid bomb and a smart
bomb' simultaneously. Explain what you mean.
A - Unlike an electronic device, a suicide killer has until the last
second the capacity to change his mind. In reality, he is nothing but
a platform representing interests which are not his, but he doesn't
know it.
Q - How can we put an end to the madness of suicide bombings and
terrorism in general?
A - Stop being politically correct and stop believing that this
culture is a victim of ours. Radical Islamism today is nothing but a
new form of Nazism. Nobody was trying to justify or excuse Hitler
in the 1930s. We had to defeat him in order to make peace one day
with the German people.
Q - Are these men traveling outside their native areas in large
numbers? Based on your research, would you predict that we are
beginning to see a new wave of suicide bombings outside the Middle
East?
A - Every successful terror attack is considered a victory by the
radical Islamists. Everywhere Islam expands there is regional
conflict. Right now, there are thousands of candidates for martyrdom
lining up in training camps in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Inside Europe, hundreds of illegal mosques are preparing the next
step of brain washing to lost young men who cannot find a satisfying
identity in the Occidental world. Israel is much more prepared for
this than the rest of the world will ever be. Yes, there will be more
suicide killings in Europe and the U.S. Sadly, this is only the
beginning.
Another e-mail I received. This one's an interview.
Subject: Interview with Pierre Reehov French Filmmaker
By - Pierre Rehov, documentary filmmaker
MSNBC's "Connected"
One of the guests was Pierre Rehov, a French filmmaker who has filmed
six documentaries on the intifada by going undercover in the
Palestinian areas.
Pierre's upcoming film, "Suicide Killers," is based on interviews
that he conducted with the families of suicide bombers and would-be
bombers in an attempt to find out why they do it. Pierre agreed to a
request for a Q&A interview here about his work on the new film.
Q - What inspired you to produce "Suicide Killers," your seventh
film?
A - I started working with victims of suicide attacks to make a film
on PTSD (Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder) when I became fascinated with the
personalities of those who had committed those crimes, as they were
described again and again by their victims. Especially the fact
that suicide bombers are all smiling one second before they blow
themselves up.
Q - Why is this film especially important?
A - People don't understand the devastating culture behind this
unbelievable phenomenon. My film is not politically correct because
it addresses the real problem, showing the real face of Islam. It
points the finger against a culture of hatred in which the uneducated
are brainwashed to a level where their only solution in life becomes
to kill themselves and kill others in the name of a God whose word,
as transmitted by other men, has become their only certitude.
Q - What insights did you gain from making this film? What do you
know that other
experts do not know?
A - I came to the conclusion that we are facing a neurosis at the
level of an entire
civilization. Most neuroses have in common a dramatic event,
generally linked to an
unacceptable sexual behavior. In this case, we are talking of kids
living all their lives in pure frustration, with no opportunity to
experience sex, love, tenderness or even understanding from the
opposite sex. The separation between men and women in Islam is
absolute. So is contempt toward women, who are totally dominated by
men. This leads to a situation of pure anxiety, in which normal
behavior is not possible.
It is no coincidence that suicide killers are mostly young men
dominated subconsciously by an overwhelming libido that they not only
cannot satisfy but are afraid of, as if it is the work of the devil.
Since Islam describes heaven as a place where everything on Earth
will finally be allowed, and promises 72 virgins to those frustrated
kids, killing others and killing themselves to reach this redemption
becomes their only solution.
Q - What was it like to interview would-be suicide bombers, their
families and survivors of suicide bombings?
A - It was a fascinating and a terrifying experience. You are dealing
with seemingly normal people with very nice manners who have their
own logic, which to a certain extent can make sense since they are so
convinced that what they say is true. It is like dealing with pure
craziness, like interviewing people in an asylum, since what they
say, is for them, the absolute truth. I hear a mother saying "Thank
God, my son is dead." Her son had became a shaheed, a martyr, which
for her was a greater source of pride than if he had became an
engineer, a doctor or a winner of the Nobel Prize.
This system of values works completely backwards since their
interpretation of Islam worships death much more than life. You are
facing people whose only dream, only achievement goal is to fulfill
what they believe to be their destiny, namely to be a Shaheed or the
family of a shaheed.
They don't see the innocent being killed, they only see the impure
that they have to destroy.
Q - You say suicide bombers experience a moment of absolute power,
beyond punishment. Is death the ultimate power?
A - Not death as an end, but death as a door opener to the after
life. They are seeking the reward that God has promised them. They
work for God, the ultimate authority, above all human laws. They
therefore experience this single delusional second of absolute power,
where nothing bad can ever happen to them, since they become God's
sword.
Q - Is there a suicide bomber personality profile? Describe the
psychopathology.
A - Generally kids between 15 and 25 bearing a lot of complexes,
generally inferiority complexes. They must have been fed with
religion. They usually have a lack of developed personality. Usually
they are impressionable idealists. In the western world they would
easily have become drug addicts, but not criminals. Interestingly,
they are not criminals since they don't see good and evil the same
way that we do. If they had been raised in an Occidental culture,
they would have hated violence. But they constantly battle against
their own death anxiety. The only solution to this deep-seated
pathology is to be willing to die and be rewarded in the afterlife in
Paradise.
Q - Are suicide bombers principally motivated by religious
conviction?
A - Yes, it is their only conviction. They don't act to gain a
territory or to find freedom or even dignity. They only follow Allah,
the supreme judge, and what He tells them to do.
Q - Do all Muslims interpret jihad and martyrdom in the same way?
A - All Muslim believers believe that, ultimately, Islam will prevail
on earth. They believe this is the only true religion and there is no
room, in their mind, for interpretation. The main difference between
moderate Muslims and extremists is that moderate Muslims don't think
they will see the absolute victory of Islam during their lifetime,
therefore they respect other beliefs. The extremists believe that the
fulfillment of the Prophecy of Islam and ruling the entire world as
described in the Koran, is for today. Each victory of Bin Laden
convinces 20 million moderate Muslims to become extremists.
Q - Describe the culture that manufactures suicide bombers.
A - Oppression, lack of freedom, brain washing, organized poverty,
placing God in charge of daily life, total separation between men and
women, forbidding sex, giving women no power whatsoever, and placing
men in charge of family honor, which is mainly connected to their
women's behavior.
Q - What socio-economic forces support the perpetuation of suicide
bombings?
A - Muslim charity is usually a cover for supporting terrorist
organizations. But one has also to look at countries like Pakistan,
Saudi Arabia and Iran, which are also supporting the same
organizations through different networks. The ironic thing in the
case of Palestinian suicide bombers is that most of the money comes
through financial support from the Occidental world, donated to a
culture that utterly hates and rejects the West (mainly symbolized by
Israel).
Q - Is there a financial support network for the families of the
suicide bombers? If so, who is paying them and how does that affect
the decision?
A - There used to be a financial incentive in the days of Saddam
Hussein ($25,000 per family) and Yasser Arafat (smaller amounts), but
these days are gone. It is a mistake to believe that these families
would sacrifice their children for money. Although, the children
themselves who are very attached to their families, might find in
this financial support another reason to become suicide bombers. It
is like buying a life insurance policy and then committing suicide.
Q - Why are so many suicide bombers young men?
A - As discussed above, libido is paramount. Also ego, because this
is a sure way to become a hero. The shaheed are the cowboys or the
firemen of Islam. Shaheed is a positively reinforced value in this
culture. And what kid has never dreamed of becoming a cowboy or a
fireman?
Q - What role does the U.N. play in the terrorist equation?
A - The U.N. is in the hands of Arab countries and third world or ex-
communist countries. Their hands are tied. The U.N. has condemned
Israel more than any other country in the world, including the regime
of Castro, Idi Amin or Kaddafi. By behaving this way, the U.N.
leaves a door open by not openly condemning terrorist organizations.
In addition, through UNWRAP, the U.N. is directly tied to terror
organizations such as Hamas, representing 65 percent of their
apparatus in the so-called Palestinian refugee camps. As a support to
Arab countries, the U.N. has maintained Palestinians in camps with
the hope to "return" into Israel for more than 50 years, therefore
making it impossible to settle those populations, which still live in
deplorable conditions. Four hundred million dollars are spent every
year, mainly financed by U.S. taxes, to support 23,000 employees of
UNWRAP, many of whom belong to terrorist organizations (see
Congressman Eric Cantor on this subject, and in my film "Hostages of
Hatred").
Q - You say that a suicide bomber is a 'stupid bomb and a smart
bomb' simultaneously. Explain what you mean.
A - Unlike an electronic device, a suicide killer has until the last
second the capacity to change his mind. In reality, he is nothing but
a platform representing interests which are not his, but he doesn't
know it.
Q - How can we put an end to the madness of suicide bombings and
terrorism in general?
A - Stop being politically correct and stop believing that this
culture is a victim of ours. Radical Islamism today is nothing but a
new form of Nazism. Nobody was trying to justify or excuse Hitler
in the 1930s. We had to defeat him in order to make peace one day
with the German people.
Q - Are these men traveling outside their native areas in large
numbers? Based on your research, would you predict that we are
beginning to see a new wave of suicide bombings outside the Middle
East?
A - Every successful terror attack is considered a victory by the
radical Islamists. Everywhere Islam expands there is regional
conflict. Right now, there are thousands of candidates for martyrdom
lining up in training camps in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Inside Europe, hundreds of illegal mosques are preparing the next
step of brain washing to lost young men who cannot find a satisfying
identity in the Occidental world. Israel is much more prepared for
this than the rest of the world will ever be. Yes, there will be more
suicide killings in Europe and the U.S. Sadly, this is only the
beginning.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Israel's Media Crisis
I'm going to be gone for a few days but I want to give the small few who read this blog some thought food.
Israel is grossly misrepresented in the media. I received the following bits and pieces as e-mails. Please read them, and realize that the Israelis are not the violent infidels in this conflict. We are dealing with an enemy that is powered by the wrath of their God.
Anyhow, read on...
Article One:
Islam's Torture of Lebanon
By Jamie Glazov
FrontPageMagazine.com | August 11, 2005
Frontpage Interview guest today is Brigitte Gabriel, a survivor of Islam's Jihad against Lebanese Christians. She is now an expert on the Middle East conflict who lectures nationally and internationally on the subject. She's the former news anchor of World News for Middle East television and the founder of AmericanCongressforTruth.com.
FP: Brigitte Gabriel, thank you for joining us today.
Gabriel: Thank you for inviting me. I'm delighted to join you.
FP: First things first, tell us a bit about your background.
Gabriel: I was raised in the only Christian country in the Middle East, Lebanon. A lot of people think the Middle East has always been made up of Moslem countries. That is not true. There once were two non-Muslim countries in the Middle East. One is a Jewish state called Israel which is under attack for its existence today and the other was a Christian country called Lebanon now under a Moslem majority controlling influence.
When Lebanon got its independence from France in the 40's the majority of the population was Christian. We didn't have any enemies. We were merchant, descendents of the Phoenicians, strong in commerce in which we prospered. In no time Lebanon became the Paris of the Middle East the banking capital of the Middle East. We were the only westernized Arabic speaking country in the region.
I was an only child to older parents. My parents were married for twenty-two years before I came into their lives. They were unable to have any children. My mother was 55 years old and my father was 60 when I was born. I had the ideal childhood, the love, adoration and attention of two mature adults who looked at me as a miracle in their lives, and were thankful for god for blessing them with a child.
Even though I was raised in a Christian country, it was still an Arabic country trying to please its neighbors, the Arab Muslims. Even the Christian private school I went to was effected. When we studied the Bible, we only studied the New Testament. I never saw the Old Testament or heard anything about it, because it was considered the enemy's bible. All I heard was Israel is Satan, Israel the devil, Israelis are demons, and they are the source of the problem in the Middle East. The Jews are evil, they are unstoppable and they want to control the world. I heard nothing but hatred toward the Jews.
FP: Can you expand a bit on some of the tragedy that befell your family? I am sorry that this is painful territory.
Gabriel: The Christians in Lebanon always had problems with the Moslems, but we never thought our neighbors would turn on us. That situation was aggravated by the influx of the Palestinians coming from Jordan after King Hussein kicked them out in Black September. That's what tipped the scale in Lebanon. Not only had Moslems become the majority but they now also felt empowered by the presence of the Palestinians and Yasser Arafat wanting to attack the Christians, take over Lebanon and use it as a base from which to attack Israel.
When the Moslems and Palestinians declared Jihad on the Christians in 1975 we didn't even know what that word meant. We had taken them into our country, allowed them to study side by side with us, in our schools and universities. We gave them jobs, shared with them our way of life. We didn't realize the depth of their hatred to us as infidels. They looked at us as the enemy not as neighbors, friends, employers and colleagues.
A lot of Muslims pored in from other Muslim countries like Iran -- the founder and supporter of Hezbollah, one of the leading terrorist organizations in the world today. They came from Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. The Lebanese civil war was not between the Lebanese, it was a holly war declared on the Christians by the Muslims of the Middle East.
They started massacring the Christians, city after city. Horrific events the western media seldom reported. One of the most ghastly acts was the massacre in the Christian City of Damour where thousands of Christians were slaughtered like sheep. The Muslims would enter a bomb shelter, see a mother and a father hiding with a little baby. They would tie one leg of the baby to the mother and one leg to the father and pulled the parents apart splitting the child in half. A close friend of mine was mentally disturbed because they made her slaughter her own son in a chair. They tied her to a chair, tied a knife to her hand and holding her hand forcing her to cut her own son?s throat. They would urinate and defecate on the altars of churches using the pages of the bible as toilet paper. They did so many things I don't need to go into any more detail. You get the picture.
Americans just don?t realize the viciousness of the Militant Islamic fundamentalist. I think the biggest disservice for the American people was the denial by the networks to air the beheading video of Daniel Pearl. I think we as a society need to see what type of enemy we are fighting. People have been so sheltered in this country they have not paid attention to what was going on in the last 20 some years. They were more interested in watching a documentary about Madonna than paying attention to world events.
The majority of the Lebanese army was Muslims. Christians went to universities, not to the military. The Muslims began taking over military bases across Lebanon. They combined their forces with the Palestinians and formed what they called the Arab Lebanese Army and started attacking the Christians. I lived 50 yards below the last military base left in the hands of the Christians. While attempting to bombard the military base their shells missed landing directly on my home bringing it down and burying me under the rubble. I was 10 years old.
I woke up from a dream life into a nightmare. My eyes were blinded by the bright light of the explosions. But the light faded quickly as a hot liquid started poring into my eyes burning and shutting them closed like glue. I was wounded by shrapnel, which cut the artery in my arm that was twisted on top of my face. Blood was poring over my face and into my mouth. By the time I was rescued by my parents and taken to a hospital the next morning at 8:00 AM I was on my last breath. I was put on a bench in the emergency room and operated on without anesthesia. As the nurses held me down the doctors cut my flesh with scissors and sawed into my bone to get out the embedded shrapnel. As I faded in and out of consciousness, between my screams I prayed to God to stop my torture. I ended up in the hospital for two and half months.
While there, I would ask my parents why this happened to us, they would say because we were Christians and the Moslems want to kill us. So I knew ever since I was 10 that I was wanted dead simply because I was born a Christian.
When I returned home my new home was no longer the one that I knew. We ended up living in a bomb shelter under ground without electrify, water and very little food. Little did I know that this would become my life for the next seven years. Our bomb shelter was an eight by 10 feet cinderblock room buried underground, that my father used as a storage room for our restaurant.
FP: What is life like under the threat of Islamic terror?
Gabriel: We borrowed life one day at a time. After sleeping in cardboard boxes for a month that had been stored in the bomb shelter, thinking this will be over soon, we realized this situation is getting worse and worse. We finally furnished the bomb shelter with two old mattresses from our garage. My mom and I slept on one and my dad on the other. To get food my mother and I would go out and find different types of grass and dandelions to eat around the shelter in between the bombing. My mother would soak chickpeas, rice, lentils and beans over night so we can eat something during the day. My father couldn?t get out because in the bombing of our house, he lost his hearing and he wouldn?t hear the sniper?s bullets nor the bombs coming so he can hide. He had to stay put while my mother and I got out. To get water we would crawl in a ditch under snipers bullets to a near by spring. Every time we?d leave we would say our last good-byes because we didn?t know if we would come back alive. My mother would use her stocking on top of the bottle to filter all the worms and the debris so we can drink it. Then we would crawl back with bullets flying over our heads. Sometimes it would take us hours just to crawl 100 feet back into the bomb shelter.
One day when I was 13 one of our soldiers warned us that we are no longer able to fight and we are going to be attacked viciously that night. He wished us a merciful death as he left. Knowing we were going to be slaughtered that night I put on my Easter dress because I wanted to look pretty when I was dead, knowing that there would be nobody to prepare me for burial. I stood in my dress in front of the mirror crying as my mother combed my long hair and tied a white ribbon in it. I told her: ?please I don't want to die I?m only 13.?
FP: Discuss your intellectual journey about your view of Jews and Israelis, from what you were told in your childhood to when you started questioning whether it was true, to what you think today.
Gabriel: My town was 2 and half miles from the Israeli boarder. We in our Christian town were faced with the combined Muslim and Palestinian forces waiting to slaughter us. We knew our fate, knowing what they have done to other Christian towns and cities in the rest of Lebanon. To our back was Israel. The enemy, Satan, the demon possessed Jews. We had no where to turn but one way, to the devil Israel. After all we knew the Jews wouldn?t slaughter us because we had more shared values with them than we had with the Moslems. Under the cover of darkness, few men from our town went to the border, flagged down an Israeli boarder patrol, explained the situation and begged for help.
Israel agreed to help the Christians. Israel became our lifeline. The Israeli military would come during the night and bring food and ammunition to the military and milk for the children. They would take the Christian men anyone from age 13 to 70 and train them to fight; most of them have never held a rifle before. Most of the Christian men had degrees that decorated their walls, but all the degrees in the world can not defend you when an enemy is facing you with a gun, wanting to kill you by what your enemy believes is an order from God.
The only reason we stayed alive is because Israel came into Lebanon and drove the Muslims away from the surrounding hills and set up positions in our town to protect us. Things got worse as Syrian, Libyans, Iranians Egyptians became enraged and flocked into Lebanon to fight the infidel Christians and Jews.
The Muslims had one vision, to take control of the only Christian country in the Middle East and than attack Israel. Syria, with its military already suffocating the Christians, Iran with its militia Hezbollah, The PLO with the number one world terrorist Yasser Arafat, and all the other Muslim zealots on a holly mission, were using Lebanon as a terrorist breeding ground exporting terrorism into the rest of the world. Under the auspices of a peacekeeping force in Lebanon Syria shelled Israel along with Hezbollah the Iranian financed holly warriors. The world press which was getting its information from the Muslim controlled areas in Beirut were saying that Israel is occupying Lebanon and the poor Lebanese were fighting back to kick the Israelis out.
By 1982 Israel was fed up with Syria?s repeated attacks on its northern boarder. They invaded Lebanon declaring war on the terrorist infrastructure, going all the way into Beirut. During the first two days of the invasion as the Muslims were retreating they shelled us frantically. In their last artillery barrage, they scored a direct hit on the front of our bomb shelter. My mother was seriously wounded and would die without immediate medical attention. My father was too old and weak to take her to the hospital, the responsibility fell on my shoulder. We had to take her to Israel for treatment. For her it was a life saving experience. For me it was a life changing experience. It was my first lesson in the difference between the Arabs and the western world particularly the Jews.
Before we left my father gave me $60 dollars in case I needed some money since we were going to Israel for treatment. We took her first, to the Lebanese hospital in town which was vacant and bombed out. There was an Israeli doctor on duty for first aid situations. He gave my mother first aid and we put her in an Israeli ambulance and drove her under the bombs to the border. It was about a ten-minute drive, the driver was a friend of the family. When we got to the border we changed ambulances. The Lebanese driver asked me if I had any money for the ambulance fee. Like an innocent teenager who never handled money I took it out of my pocket and handed it to him and asked him how much did he want. He said: give me 30 dollars, which was half the money I had. I thanked him for driving us with tears dripping down my face and got in the Israeli ambulance and we drove off.
The drive to the hospital inside Israel was an hour long. The driver was a middle-aged soldier. He treated me like his own daughter with such respect and compassion. He listened to the radio and explained to me how the war was going in Lebanon. I felt alone and afraid. My mother was fading in and out of consciousness and moaning from pain. We got to the hospital and I walked around the ambulance to pay him the fee. I took the money out of my pocket thinking (God I?m sure this is not going to be enough for this man) If the 10 minute drive cost me 30 dollars I?m sure this is going to be much more. I extended my hand with the money asking him how much I owed him. He looked at me surprised and said: ?you don?t owe me anything. The ambulance ride is a free service from us to you. Keep your money, I wish everything goes well with you. I wish your mother, health, and speedy recovery.?
I thanked him from the bottom of my heart and thought to myself: what an honest man!!! What an ethical man! He could have taken my money and partied all night and I would have not known the difference. Yet he didn?t. And all of a sudden I felt this anger towards the Lebanese driver who was supposedly a friend of the family. I realized that he actually stole my money. I didn?t have to pay a fee for the ambulance, he basically robbed me. I felt violated. I thanked the Israeli driver from the bottom of my heart for his honesty and help.
We went into the emergency room and I was shocked at such a scene. There were many wounded people lying all over the place. Israeli soldiers, Lebanese Muslims, Christians and even Palestinians brought in from Lebanon! I was stunned at such a scene. I thought to myself why the heck are the Israelis helping the Muslims and the Palestinians? I am a Christian, I am their friend, but why are they helping the Palestinian and the Moslems? Little did I know about the principles and values of the Israeli people? The doctors treated everyone according to their injury. The doctor treated my mother before he treated the Israeli soldier lying next to her because her injury was more severe. They did not see religion, they didn?t see political affiliation, they did not see nationality, they saw people in need and they helped.
They took my mother to the 4th floor of the hospital and put her in a room with two other Lebanese ladies one Muslim and one Druze. We were in the room for 5 minutes and we heard this loud commotion outside our balcony. People were walking through our room to go out and look. I went out to see what was going on. Two Israeli helicopters had just landed to deliver wounded Israeli soldiers. I stood at that balcony feeling sick to my stomach. I felt Ashamed, Humiliated, Embarrassed, Broken hearted. After all these people are wounded because of the war with my country. I didn?t even look at any one around me I kept my eyes down. I was surrounded by mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and children of wounded soldiers. I felt out of place, I felt uncertain I didn?t want to make eye contact with anyone because I didn?t know how they would react to me.
While I was standing there, I felt someone tapping on my shoulder. I looked up to see a nurse standing next to me. She asked me: ?You are new here aren?t you?? I said yes they just brought my mother to this room. She put her arm around me and looked into my face and said don?t worry we?ll take good care of her, everything will be fine.?
I broke out crying, I never felt such compassion and love. For the first time in my life I experienced a human quality that I know my culture would not have shown to their enemy. I experienced the values of the Israelis who were able to love their enemy in their most trying moments. That nurse didn?t even know if I was a Christian, a Moslem or a Palestinian. I spent 22 days at that hospital, those days changed my life and the way I believe information, the way I listen to the radio or to television. I realized I was sold a fabricated lie by my government about the Jews and Israel that was so far from reality. I knew for fact that if I was a Jew standing in an Arab hospital I would be lynched and thrown over to the grounds as shouts of joy of Allahu Akbar, God is great would echo through the hospital and the surrounding streets.
When Israelis heard there were Lebanese wounded in the hospitals they came barring presents, they brought chocolates, they asked people what they wanted and what they needed. They said our home is your home if you need anything let us know. They came extending a peaceful hand. I became friends with Israeli mothers staying at the hospital with their wounded sons. One in particular Rina, her only child was wounded in his eyes. One day I was visiting with her and the Israeli army band came to play national songs to lift the spirits of the wounded soldiers. As they surrounded his bed playing a song about Jerusalem Rina and I started crying. I felt out of place and started waking out of the room, and this mother holds my hand and pulls me back in without even looking at me. She holds me crying and says: ?it is not your fault?. We just stood there crying holding each other?s hands.
I thought: "What a contrast between her, a mother looking at her deformed 19 year old only child, and still able to love me the Arab, and between a Moslem mother who sends her son to blow himself up to smithereens just to kill a few Jews or Christians."
The Moslem woman who was in the room with my mother stayed in the hospital for about 12 days. And even after 10 days the doctors would come and change her bandages and check on her in their morning tour, as they would be leaving the room she would have the evil look on her face and say: "I hate you all. I wish you were all dead." For the first time in my life I saw evil. I realized that this Muslim couldn?t love the Jews even after they saved her life. And when you are unable to be grateful to the people that saved your life there is no hope.
I had to go back to Lebanon because I had to take care of my parents but I vowed that one day I would return to Israel. That one day I will live among those people. These are the types of people I want to be like. These are the types of values I want to adopt. I knew they had something even I did not. They were able to love the Palestinians and forgive them much more than I was able to, and I was a Christian who was supposed to love like Jesus taught.
FP: What hope is there? I doubt that if the Palestinians get their own state that they will suddenly love the Jews and that the whole Islamic-Arab world will put anti-Semitism on the backburner. What do you think?
Gabriel: Israel is stepping out in ?good faith? again to do whatever it takes to achieve peace with its neighbors. As if Hamas is going to appreciate the goodness of the Jews and re-write its charter accepting Israel as neighbor and a friend. Hamas has only one goal and that is to eradicate Israel one piece at a time until it becomes vulnerable to Arab military aggression and conquest.
As one who knows what's in the hearts and minds of Arabs, let me repeat what seems to be the hardest thing for world opinion to accept: The Arabs have no intention of having peace with the Jews period, exclamation point, end of discussion. No Jews can exist free and unencumbered in the Middle East. "What an outrage. Jews are dhimmis, how dare they come back and live in our midst, make the desert blossom and create a country more advanced than any other in the Middle East. And they don't have any oil?"
So far all territory concessions made by Israel have been an illusion of land for peace. In Egypt, who was given the Sinai Peninsula back in 1979, or Jordan, who signed a peace treaty with Israel, the phone books go from Ireland to Italy as if Israel never existed? What type of peace is this without full acknowledgement of statehood? What type of peace is it when Egyptian government, run and controlled television, airs the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion?"
Intelligence sources say there are plans to create a terrorist state in Gaza where world terrorist operations will be planned and carried out. This is equivalent to Somalia & Afghanistan terrorist controlled societies, but within striking distance of Israel proper. The mini Hamas Terror State would have an airport and port facilities from which to export terror to the rest of the world.
U.S. security officials have received multiple confirmations of a meeting in March [2003] between al-Qaeda, Hamas, and Hezbollah figures. Most alarming is Hamas' move towards embracing global jihad as evidenced by its publishing the messages of Osama bin Laden mentor Abdullah Azzam-Palestinian, originally from Jenin. Hamas openly publicizes its support and alliance with al-Qaeda organizations jihad action in Chechnya, Kashmir the Balkans and Afghanistan. As Al Qaeda associate Jordanian terrorist al- Zarqawi firmed up his relationship with bin Laden in Iraq, it is only a matter of time for Hamas to follow suit under the sovereignty of an independent mini-terror state free from the demands of the weakened PA leadership under Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah..
They will form an instant terror base from which to attack every corner of Israel bent on jihad and revenge for al Nakbah-the catastrophe of their defeat in the 1948 War of Independence. Israel is engaged in an existential crisis of Armageddon-like proportions. Another piece for a peace? You have to be kidding, right?
FP: It is interesting that most people think of Hamas as an Israeli problem. Which it is of course. But it is also an American problem. And it will become a great American problem. Can you comment on this?
Gabriel: Many terrorist organizations have already set up shop here in America. The three most threatening ones are Hamas, Al-Qaeda and Islamic Jihad. Some of their operatives and supporters have entered the country illegally using visa fraud.
Of all the Islamic militant groups in the US. Hamas has developed the most sophisticated American infrastructure. Under our liberal un-restrictive environment of the United States these people are operating and were able to set up a whole array of cells that spread across the US from sea to shining sea. According to intelligence information they have cells in the top 31 cities in the US. Right in many of our towns and cities. Right in our back yard. And it?s our lazy government officials and lax laws that allowed them to come here to plan our destruction. Many are still blind in this country to the threat that we face. When are we going to wake up? Yes, we now have enacted Homeland security but without all Americans supporting the war on terrorism today our success will be limited.
What we need is to know our enemy better. And I?m not just talking about Al Qaida. How many Americans have read the Hamas charter published August 1988. Excerpts for the charter of the Hamas, the charter of Allah, the platform of the Islamic resistance movement Hamas: Article 22: "Our enemies have planned from time immemorial in order to reach the position they?ve obtained now. They strive to collect enormous material riches to be used in the realization of their dream. With money, they?ve gained control of the international media beginning with news agencies, newspapers and publishing houses, broadcasting stations. They also used this wealth to stir revolutions in different parts of the world in order to fulfill their interests and reap their fruits. With their money they created secret organizations that spread around the world in order to destroy societies and carry out Zionist interests. Such organizations are: the freemasons, rotary clubs, lions clubs, b?nai b?rith and the like. All of them are destructive espionage organizations. With their money they?ve taken control of the imperialist states and pushed them to occupy many countries in order to exploit the wealth of those countries and spread corruption there."
How many rotary club members, Lions club members know they are mentioned in the Hamas charter the largest militant Muslim infrastructure in the United states that they are considered the enemy to be destroyed.?
We really need to realize?All Americans need to realize that these people hate us and want nothing but to eliminate us because as far as they are concerned we are the infidels. These are religiously motivated fanatics who you cannot negotiate with. These are people who are convinced that god has ordered them to kill us. Their motivation is tremendous. They believe that the minute they die, at the first drop of blood, a crown of pearl will be placed on their head and they will be carried by the angels to heaven and placed at the right side of god and 72 virgins are offered to them. We cannot drop our guard for a minute. We must be more vigilant than ever before. Wake up America.
FP: Brigitte Gabriel, you are an incredible person with an extraordinary, inspiring and vital story to tell. Thank you, it was an honor to speak with you.
Gabriel: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to join you today. Organizations like yours make it possible for people like me to get the word out. Together we can make a difference.
Article Two
About major Roy Klein ZL (of blessed memory):
The very least that we can do for someone who sacrificed his own life so heroically, is to tell his story. It's unclear why the media has kept this story from the eye of the public opinion.
Major Roy Klein Z/L, the IDF Golani assistant battalion commander, from the settlement Eli (yes, yes, a settlement), was the most senior rank officer among his fighters in the village of Bint El G'bel in Lebanon. During battle, he suddenly noticed a hand grenade thrown to his men. Since it was too late already to defend and prevent the deadly hit of the grenade, he immediately jumped over it in such a way his body completely blocked the grenade?s blast, thus saving his subordinates. His sacrifice bore the fruit. His troops who were saved told afterwards that he shouted "Sh'ma Israel !" (hear oh Israel ! a traditional Jewish prayer which is also usually said before one?s death) while he jumped over the grenade.
Roy Klein, a true hero in age of an anti-hero admiration, was buried in his 31 year old birthday.
Friends tell about him that was a very talented saxophonist and a brilliant intellectual, who graduated his engineering studies with distinction. Who traveled with friends in Africa, who had an uproarious laughter, whom all of his acquaintances described him as a gentle, calm guy, whose widow's only wish is her children will be much alike their late father.
Instead of lighting a candle, let his story be heard by forwarding this message. He's deserved much more than this, but that's all we can do?
Israel is grossly misrepresented in the media. I received the following bits and pieces as e-mails. Please read them, and realize that the Israelis are not the violent infidels in this conflict. We are dealing with an enemy that is powered by the wrath of their God.
Anyhow, read on...
Article One:
Islam's Torture of Lebanon
By Jamie Glazov
FrontPageMagazine.com | August 11, 2005
Frontpage Interview guest today is Brigitte Gabriel, a survivor of Islam's Jihad against Lebanese Christians. She is now an expert on the Middle East conflict who lectures nationally and internationally on the subject. She's the former news anchor of World News for Middle East television and the founder of AmericanCongressforTruth.com.
FP: Brigitte Gabriel, thank you for joining us today.
Gabriel: Thank you for inviting me. I'm delighted to join you.
FP: First things first, tell us a bit about your background.
Gabriel: I was raised in the only Christian country in the Middle East, Lebanon. A lot of people think the Middle East has always been made up of Moslem countries. That is not true. There once were two non-Muslim countries in the Middle East. One is a Jewish state called Israel which is under attack for its existence today and the other was a Christian country called Lebanon now under a Moslem majority controlling influence.
When Lebanon got its independence from France in the 40's the majority of the population was Christian. We didn't have any enemies. We were merchant, descendents of the Phoenicians, strong in commerce in which we prospered. In no time Lebanon became the Paris of the Middle East the banking capital of the Middle East. We were the only westernized Arabic speaking country in the region.
I was an only child to older parents. My parents were married for twenty-two years before I came into their lives. They were unable to have any children. My mother was 55 years old and my father was 60 when I was born. I had the ideal childhood, the love, adoration and attention of two mature adults who looked at me as a miracle in their lives, and were thankful for god for blessing them with a child.
Even though I was raised in a Christian country, it was still an Arabic country trying to please its neighbors, the Arab Muslims. Even the Christian private school I went to was effected. When we studied the Bible, we only studied the New Testament. I never saw the Old Testament or heard anything about it, because it was considered the enemy's bible. All I heard was Israel is Satan, Israel the devil, Israelis are demons, and they are the source of the problem in the Middle East. The Jews are evil, they are unstoppable and they want to control the world. I heard nothing but hatred toward the Jews.
FP: Can you expand a bit on some of the tragedy that befell your family? I am sorry that this is painful territory.
Gabriel: The Christians in Lebanon always had problems with the Moslems, but we never thought our neighbors would turn on us. That situation was aggravated by the influx of the Palestinians coming from Jordan after King Hussein kicked them out in Black September. That's what tipped the scale in Lebanon. Not only had Moslems become the majority but they now also felt empowered by the presence of the Palestinians and Yasser Arafat wanting to attack the Christians, take over Lebanon and use it as a base from which to attack Israel.
When the Moslems and Palestinians declared Jihad on the Christians in 1975 we didn't even know what that word meant. We had taken them into our country, allowed them to study side by side with us, in our schools and universities. We gave them jobs, shared with them our way of life. We didn't realize the depth of their hatred to us as infidels. They looked at us as the enemy not as neighbors, friends, employers and colleagues.
A lot of Muslims pored in from other Muslim countries like Iran -- the founder and supporter of Hezbollah, one of the leading terrorist organizations in the world today. They came from Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. The Lebanese civil war was not between the Lebanese, it was a holly war declared on the Christians by the Muslims of the Middle East.
They started massacring the Christians, city after city. Horrific events the western media seldom reported. One of the most ghastly acts was the massacre in the Christian City of Damour where thousands of Christians were slaughtered like sheep. The Muslims would enter a bomb shelter, see a mother and a father hiding with a little baby. They would tie one leg of the baby to the mother and one leg to the father and pulled the parents apart splitting the child in half. A close friend of mine was mentally disturbed because they made her slaughter her own son in a chair. They tied her to a chair, tied a knife to her hand and holding her hand forcing her to cut her own son?s throat. They would urinate and defecate on the altars of churches using the pages of the bible as toilet paper. They did so many things I don't need to go into any more detail. You get the picture.
Americans just don?t realize the viciousness of the Militant Islamic fundamentalist. I think the biggest disservice for the American people was the denial by the networks to air the beheading video of Daniel Pearl. I think we as a society need to see what type of enemy we are fighting. People have been so sheltered in this country they have not paid attention to what was going on in the last 20 some years. They were more interested in watching a documentary about Madonna than paying attention to world events.
The majority of the Lebanese army was Muslims. Christians went to universities, not to the military. The Muslims began taking over military bases across Lebanon. They combined their forces with the Palestinians and formed what they called the Arab Lebanese Army and started attacking the Christians. I lived 50 yards below the last military base left in the hands of the Christians. While attempting to bombard the military base their shells missed landing directly on my home bringing it down and burying me under the rubble. I was 10 years old.
I woke up from a dream life into a nightmare. My eyes were blinded by the bright light of the explosions. But the light faded quickly as a hot liquid started poring into my eyes burning and shutting them closed like glue. I was wounded by shrapnel, which cut the artery in my arm that was twisted on top of my face. Blood was poring over my face and into my mouth. By the time I was rescued by my parents and taken to a hospital the next morning at 8:00 AM I was on my last breath. I was put on a bench in the emergency room and operated on without anesthesia. As the nurses held me down the doctors cut my flesh with scissors and sawed into my bone to get out the embedded shrapnel. As I faded in and out of consciousness, between my screams I prayed to God to stop my torture. I ended up in the hospital for two and half months.
While there, I would ask my parents why this happened to us, they would say because we were Christians and the Moslems want to kill us. So I knew ever since I was 10 that I was wanted dead simply because I was born a Christian.
When I returned home my new home was no longer the one that I knew. We ended up living in a bomb shelter under ground without electrify, water and very little food. Little did I know that this would become my life for the next seven years. Our bomb shelter was an eight by 10 feet cinderblock room buried underground, that my father used as a storage room for our restaurant.
FP: What is life like under the threat of Islamic terror?
Gabriel: We borrowed life one day at a time. After sleeping in cardboard boxes for a month that had been stored in the bomb shelter, thinking this will be over soon, we realized this situation is getting worse and worse. We finally furnished the bomb shelter with two old mattresses from our garage. My mom and I slept on one and my dad on the other. To get food my mother and I would go out and find different types of grass and dandelions to eat around the shelter in between the bombing. My mother would soak chickpeas, rice, lentils and beans over night so we can eat something during the day. My father couldn?t get out because in the bombing of our house, he lost his hearing and he wouldn?t hear the sniper?s bullets nor the bombs coming so he can hide. He had to stay put while my mother and I got out. To get water we would crawl in a ditch under snipers bullets to a near by spring. Every time we?d leave we would say our last good-byes because we didn?t know if we would come back alive. My mother would use her stocking on top of the bottle to filter all the worms and the debris so we can drink it. Then we would crawl back with bullets flying over our heads. Sometimes it would take us hours just to crawl 100 feet back into the bomb shelter.
One day when I was 13 one of our soldiers warned us that we are no longer able to fight and we are going to be attacked viciously that night. He wished us a merciful death as he left. Knowing we were going to be slaughtered that night I put on my Easter dress because I wanted to look pretty when I was dead, knowing that there would be nobody to prepare me for burial. I stood in my dress in front of the mirror crying as my mother combed my long hair and tied a white ribbon in it. I told her: ?please I don't want to die I?m only 13.?
FP: Discuss your intellectual journey about your view of Jews and Israelis, from what you were told in your childhood to when you started questioning whether it was true, to what you think today.
Gabriel: My town was 2 and half miles from the Israeli boarder. We in our Christian town were faced with the combined Muslim and Palestinian forces waiting to slaughter us. We knew our fate, knowing what they have done to other Christian towns and cities in the rest of Lebanon. To our back was Israel. The enemy, Satan, the demon possessed Jews. We had no where to turn but one way, to the devil Israel. After all we knew the Jews wouldn?t slaughter us because we had more shared values with them than we had with the Moslems. Under the cover of darkness, few men from our town went to the border, flagged down an Israeli boarder patrol, explained the situation and begged for help.
Israel agreed to help the Christians. Israel became our lifeline. The Israeli military would come during the night and bring food and ammunition to the military and milk for the children. They would take the Christian men anyone from age 13 to 70 and train them to fight; most of them have never held a rifle before. Most of the Christian men had degrees that decorated their walls, but all the degrees in the world can not defend you when an enemy is facing you with a gun, wanting to kill you by what your enemy believes is an order from God.
The only reason we stayed alive is because Israel came into Lebanon and drove the Muslims away from the surrounding hills and set up positions in our town to protect us. Things got worse as Syrian, Libyans, Iranians Egyptians became enraged and flocked into Lebanon to fight the infidel Christians and Jews.
The Muslims had one vision, to take control of the only Christian country in the Middle East and than attack Israel. Syria, with its military already suffocating the Christians, Iran with its militia Hezbollah, The PLO with the number one world terrorist Yasser Arafat, and all the other Muslim zealots on a holly mission, were using Lebanon as a terrorist breeding ground exporting terrorism into the rest of the world. Under the auspices of a peacekeeping force in Lebanon Syria shelled Israel along with Hezbollah the Iranian financed holly warriors. The world press which was getting its information from the Muslim controlled areas in Beirut were saying that Israel is occupying Lebanon and the poor Lebanese were fighting back to kick the Israelis out.
By 1982 Israel was fed up with Syria?s repeated attacks on its northern boarder. They invaded Lebanon declaring war on the terrorist infrastructure, going all the way into Beirut. During the first two days of the invasion as the Muslims were retreating they shelled us frantically. In their last artillery barrage, they scored a direct hit on the front of our bomb shelter. My mother was seriously wounded and would die without immediate medical attention. My father was too old and weak to take her to the hospital, the responsibility fell on my shoulder. We had to take her to Israel for treatment. For her it was a life saving experience. For me it was a life changing experience. It was my first lesson in the difference between the Arabs and the western world particularly the Jews.
Before we left my father gave me $60 dollars in case I needed some money since we were going to Israel for treatment. We took her first, to the Lebanese hospital in town which was vacant and bombed out. There was an Israeli doctor on duty for first aid situations. He gave my mother first aid and we put her in an Israeli ambulance and drove her under the bombs to the border. It was about a ten-minute drive, the driver was a friend of the family. When we got to the border we changed ambulances. The Lebanese driver asked me if I had any money for the ambulance fee. Like an innocent teenager who never handled money I took it out of my pocket and handed it to him and asked him how much did he want. He said: give me 30 dollars, which was half the money I had. I thanked him for driving us with tears dripping down my face and got in the Israeli ambulance and we drove off.
The drive to the hospital inside Israel was an hour long. The driver was a middle-aged soldier. He treated me like his own daughter with such respect and compassion. He listened to the radio and explained to me how the war was going in Lebanon. I felt alone and afraid. My mother was fading in and out of consciousness and moaning from pain. We got to the hospital and I walked around the ambulance to pay him the fee. I took the money out of my pocket thinking (God I?m sure this is not going to be enough for this man) If the 10 minute drive cost me 30 dollars I?m sure this is going to be much more. I extended my hand with the money asking him how much I owed him. He looked at me surprised and said: ?you don?t owe me anything. The ambulance ride is a free service from us to you. Keep your money, I wish everything goes well with you. I wish your mother, health, and speedy recovery.?
I thanked him from the bottom of my heart and thought to myself: what an honest man!!! What an ethical man! He could have taken my money and partied all night and I would have not known the difference. Yet he didn?t. And all of a sudden I felt this anger towards the Lebanese driver who was supposedly a friend of the family. I realized that he actually stole my money. I didn?t have to pay a fee for the ambulance, he basically robbed me. I felt violated. I thanked the Israeli driver from the bottom of my heart for his honesty and help.
We went into the emergency room and I was shocked at such a scene. There were many wounded people lying all over the place. Israeli soldiers, Lebanese Muslims, Christians and even Palestinians brought in from Lebanon! I was stunned at such a scene. I thought to myself why the heck are the Israelis helping the Muslims and the Palestinians? I am a Christian, I am their friend, but why are they helping the Palestinian and the Moslems? Little did I know about the principles and values of the Israeli people? The doctors treated everyone according to their injury. The doctor treated my mother before he treated the Israeli soldier lying next to her because her injury was more severe. They did not see religion, they didn?t see political affiliation, they did not see nationality, they saw people in need and they helped.
They took my mother to the 4th floor of the hospital and put her in a room with two other Lebanese ladies one Muslim and one Druze. We were in the room for 5 minutes and we heard this loud commotion outside our balcony. People were walking through our room to go out and look. I went out to see what was going on. Two Israeli helicopters had just landed to deliver wounded Israeli soldiers. I stood at that balcony feeling sick to my stomach. I felt Ashamed, Humiliated, Embarrassed, Broken hearted. After all these people are wounded because of the war with my country. I didn?t even look at any one around me I kept my eyes down. I was surrounded by mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and children of wounded soldiers. I felt out of place, I felt uncertain I didn?t want to make eye contact with anyone because I didn?t know how they would react to me.
While I was standing there, I felt someone tapping on my shoulder. I looked up to see a nurse standing next to me. She asked me: ?You are new here aren?t you?? I said yes they just brought my mother to this room. She put her arm around me and looked into my face and said don?t worry we?ll take good care of her, everything will be fine.?
I broke out crying, I never felt such compassion and love. For the first time in my life I experienced a human quality that I know my culture would not have shown to their enemy. I experienced the values of the Israelis who were able to love their enemy in their most trying moments. That nurse didn?t even know if I was a Christian, a Moslem or a Palestinian. I spent 22 days at that hospital, those days changed my life and the way I believe information, the way I listen to the radio or to television. I realized I was sold a fabricated lie by my government about the Jews and Israel that was so far from reality. I knew for fact that if I was a Jew standing in an Arab hospital I would be lynched and thrown over to the grounds as shouts of joy of Allahu Akbar, God is great would echo through the hospital and the surrounding streets.
When Israelis heard there were Lebanese wounded in the hospitals they came barring presents, they brought chocolates, they asked people what they wanted and what they needed. They said our home is your home if you need anything let us know. They came extending a peaceful hand. I became friends with Israeli mothers staying at the hospital with their wounded sons. One in particular Rina, her only child was wounded in his eyes. One day I was visiting with her and the Israeli army band came to play national songs to lift the spirits of the wounded soldiers. As they surrounded his bed playing a song about Jerusalem Rina and I started crying. I felt out of place and started waking out of the room, and this mother holds my hand and pulls me back in without even looking at me. She holds me crying and says: ?it is not your fault?. We just stood there crying holding each other?s hands.
I thought: "What a contrast between her, a mother looking at her deformed 19 year old only child, and still able to love me the Arab, and between a Moslem mother who sends her son to blow himself up to smithereens just to kill a few Jews or Christians."
The Moslem woman who was in the room with my mother stayed in the hospital for about 12 days. And even after 10 days the doctors would come and change her bandages and check on her in their morning tour, as they would be leaving the room she would have the evil look on her face and say: "I hate you all. I wish you were all dead." For the first time in my life I saw evil. I realized that this Muslim couldn?t love the Jews even after they saved her life. And when you are unable to be grateful to the people that saved your life there is no hope.
I had to go back to Lebanon because I had to take care of my parents but I vowed that one day I would return to Israel. That one day I will live among those people. These are the types of people I want to be like. These are the types of values I want to adopt. I knew they had something even I did not. They were able to love the Palestinians and forgive them much more than I was able to, and I was a Christian who was supposed to love like Jesus taught.
FP: What hope is there? I doubt that if the Palestinians get their own state that they will suddenly love the Jews and that the whole Islamic-Arab world will put anti-Semitism on the backburner. What do you think?
Gabriel: Israel is stepping out in ?good faith? again to do whatever it takes to achieve peace with its neighbors. As if Hamas is going to appreciate the goodness of the Jews and re-write its charter accepting Israel as neighbor and a friend. Hamas has only one goal and that is to eradicate Israel one piece at a time until it becomes vulnerable to Arab military aggression and conquest.
As one who knows what's in the hearts and minds of Arabs, let me repeat what seems to be the hardest thing for world opinion to accept: The Arabs have no intention of having peace with the Jews period, exclamation point, end of discussion. No Jews can exist free and unencumbered in the Middle East. "What an outrage. Jews are dhimmis, how dare they come back and live in our midst, make the desert blossom and create a country more advanced than any other in the Middle East. And they don't have any oil?"
So far all territory concessions made by Israel have been an illusion of land for peace. In Egypt, who was given the Sinai Peninsula back in 1979, or Jordan, who signed a peace treaty with Israel, the phone books go from Ireland to Italy as if Israel never existed? What type of peace is this without full acknowledgement of statehood? What type of peace is it when Egyptian government, run and controlled television, airs the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion?"
Intelligence sources say there are plans to create a terrorist state in Gaza where world terrorist operations will be planned and carried out. This is equivalent to Somalia & Afghanistan terrorist controlled societies, but within striking distance of Israel proper. The mini Hamas Terror State would have an airport and port facilities from which to export terror to the rest of the world.
U.S. security officials have received multiple confirmations of a meeting in March [2003] between al-Qaeda, Hamas, and Hezbollah figures. Most alarming is Hamas' move towards embracing global jihad as evidenced by its publishing the messages of Osama bin Laden mentor Abdullah Azzam-Palestinian, originally from Jenin. Hamas openly publicizes its support and alliance with al-Qaeda organizations jihad action in Chechnya, Kashmir the Balkans and Afghanistan. As Al Qaeda associate Jordanian terrorist al- Zarqawi firmed up his relationship with bin Laden in Iraq, it is only a matter of time for Hamas to follow suit under the sovereignty of an independent mini-terror state free from the demands of the weakened PA leadership under Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah..
They will form an instant terror base from which to attack every corner of Israel bent on jihad and revenge for al Nakbah-the catastrophe of their defeat in the 1948 War of Independence. Israel is engaged in an existential crisis of Armageddon-like proportions. Another piece for a peace? You have to be kidding, right?
FP: It is interesting that most people think of Hamas as an Israeli problem. Which it is of course. But it is also an American problem. And it will become a great American problem. Can you comment on this?
Gabriel: Many terrorist organizations have already set up shop here in America. The three most threatening ones are Hamas, Al-Qaeda and Islamic Jihad. Some of their operatives and supporters have entered the country illegally using visa fraud.
Of all the Islamic militant groups in the US. Hamas has developed the most sophisticated American infrastructure. Under our liberal un-restrictive environment of the United States these people are operating and were able to set up a whole array of cells that spread across the US from sea to shining sea. According to intelligence information they have cells in the top 31 cities in the US. Right in many of our towns and cities. Right in our back yard. And it?s our lazy government officials and lax laws that allowed them to come here to plan our destruction. Many are still blind in this country to the threat that we face. When are we going to wake up? Yes, we now have enacted Homeland security but without all Americans supporting the war on terrorism today our success will be limited.
What we need is to know our enemy better. And I?m not just talking about Al Qaida. How many Americans have read the Hamas charter published August 1988. Excerpts for the charter of the Hamas, the charter of Allah, the platform of the Islamic resistance movement Hamas: Article 22: "Our enemies have planned from time immemorial in order to reach the position they?ve obtained now. They strive to collect enormous material riches to be used in the realization of their dream. With money, they?ve gained control of the international media beginning with news agencies, newspapers and publishing houses, broadcasting stations. They also used this wealth to stir revolutions in different parts of the world in order to fulfill their interests and reap their fruits. With their money they created secret organizations that spread around the world in order to destroy societies and carry out Zionist interests. Such organizations are: the freemasons, rotary clubs, lions clubs, b?nai b?rith and the like. All of them are destructive espionage organizations. With their money they?ve taken control of the imperialist states and pushed them to occupy many countries in order to exploit the wealth of those countries and spread corruption there."
How many rotary club members, Lions club members know they are mentioned in the Hamas charter the largest militant Muslim infrastructure in the United states that they are considered the enemy to be destroyed.?
We really need to realize?All Americans need to realize that these people hate us and want nothing but to eliminate us because as far as they are concerned we are the infidels. These are religiously motivated fanatics who you cannot negotiate with. These are people who are convinced that god has ordered them to kill us. Their motivation is tremendous. They believe that the minute they die, at the first drop of blood, a crown of pearl will be placed on their head and they will be carried by the angels to heaven and placed at the right side of god and 72 virgins are offered to them. We cannot drop our guard for a minute. We must be more vigilant than ever before. Wake up America.
FP: Brigitte Gabriel, you are an incredible person with an extraordinary, inspiring and vital story to tell. Thank you, it was an honor to speak with you.
Gabriel: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to join you today. Organizations like yours make it possible for people like me to get the word out. Together we can make a difference.
Article Two
About major Roy Klein ZL (of blessed memory):
The very least that we can do for someone who sacrificed his own life so heroically, is to tell his story. It's unclear why the media has kept this story from the eye of the public opinion.
Major Roy Klein Z/L, the IDF Golani assistant battalion commander, from the settlement Eli (yes, yes, a settlement), was the most senior rank officer among his fighters in the village of Bint El G'bel in Lebanon. During battle, he suddenly noticed a hand grenade thrown to his men. Since it was too late already to defend and prevent the deadly hit of the grenade, he immediately jumped over it in such a way his body completely blocked the grenade?s blast, thus saving his subordinates. His sacrifice bore the fruit. His troops who were saved told afterwards that he shouted "Sh'ma Israel !" (hear oh Israel ! a traditional Jewish prayer which is also usually said before one?s death) while he jumped over the grenade.
Roy Klein, a true hero in age of an anti-hero admiration, was buried in his 31 year old birthday.
Friends tell about him that was a very talented saxophonist and a brilliant intellectual, who graduated his engineering studies with distinction. Who traveled with friends in Africa, who had an uproarious laughter, whom all of his acquaintances described him as a gentle, calm guy, whose widow's only wish is her children will be much alike their late father.
Instead of lighting a candle, let his story be heard by forwarding this message. He's deserved much more than this, but that's all we can do?
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Identity Crisis Part I
Hey kids, guess what time it is?!
It's time for my annual summer identity crisis!
In honor of this event I'm going to do a brief run through of my major formative teenage years in an attempt to trace the stages that have led me to today.
And we're off!
I remember being fourteen and joining my high school's Drama League. I was very impressed by the wit and ease with which its members tossed around directors, authors, films, obscure actors. That year I was in high awkward state. My apex arrived with the French Revolution Simulation we played in my freshman World History class. I was elected (elected! It made me feel like I was actually accumulating friends) Robespierre and proceeded to command my class with a certain amount of sadistic glee. Power does go to one's head, even fake power, and I took delight in knowing that the fate of France lay in my hands. Of coiurse that made no difference when my head was chopped off at the end of the simulation--but this decapitation did not occur until after I beheaded the entirety of my class, including my teacher. This was also the year that I entered my rather embarassing pseudo-goth phase.
I pause here to ruminate on goths.
I existed, for a period of time, in a state of false self-degredation. Oh woe is me, I thought, and my misunderstood self. I wrote awful poetry, wore a lot of black and Doc Martins, and ripped my jeans, only to doodle on them with black permanent marker. I listened exclusively to the Smashing Pumpkins and NIN, usually in the dark, often in the middle of the night. I developed a rather serious online relationship with a boy who was to die, five years later, in a late-night car accident. He'd write me e-mails saying he'd lie awake at night thinking of me and crying with happiness. Was I alarmed by this? Perhaps. But it fit my notion of myself as the "deep goth girl." Everything was so fucking deep--I could've drowned in the misery.
This is all very amusing in hindsight because I had no reason to be so gloomy. I lived, and still do live, a fairly priveleged upper middle class lifestyle. My parents never fought. I was never abused, never molested, and never deprived emotionally. So was I milking the poor little rich girl thing? Not really. I think I was just amused by the so-called darkness. About the only positive development at this time was my introduction to Neil Gaiman and to anime.
By now we're in the middle of my sophomore year, and I have become friends with the (slightly more) stable members of Drama League. Their influence led me from the pseudo-gothy darkness into a more sophisticated ennui of Radiohead and canonical drama. And David Bowie. I spent a lot of time in the President of League's black jetta, listening to excellent music and asking myself: "Do I have to be so gloomy?"
The answer--and I am sure this will delight my sister--"NO! NO! NO!"
So I began to, I think, mature. There is no reason to be so angry at the world, though I suppose every teenager endures their angry time.
Junior year was the highlight of my so-called high school experience. I had a wonderful group of friends, in particular the three people with whom I shared a lunch table. Together the four of us formed a fairly sex-in-the-cityish group. All we talked about was sex, which was amusing because we were all virgins in every sense of the word. There was the gay, the Amerasian Vegan Buddhist lesbian, and then there were KT and me. Junior year was the year of many APs, including AP Art History which sparked the path I'm still on today--to art history greatness, that is, though hopefully not documenting post medium. (Art history greatness, goodness). I had thoroughly emerged from my pseudo-goth phase (actually that's a lie, I still like to slather on the black eyeliner come Halloween but, really, I just like the makeup) and had managed to slightly detangle myself from the drama crowd. Just slightly--KT would always moan to me how I would so quickly ditch my foursome to hang with the drama crowd. I did stop this fairly early in my Junior Year, however, when I realized that the senior class of that year didn't like me all that much. Oh well.
Senior year brought me a long-distance relationship, brought the Amerasian Vegan Buddhist lesbian a tumultuous relationship with a friend of mine, brought the gay some romping with boys, and brought KT to the status of homewrecker. But a homewrecker for love, so it was okay (don't worry KT, you still have my adoration). Senior year wasn't quite as enjoyable as junior year, in hindsight, though it was my year of speech and debate greatness. It was also the year of embarassing relationship with younger foreign man, but that is not a story to be shared. However, the story does include the death of my maternal grandfather--the first of my grandparents to die. The funeral was fairly traumatic and involved my giving a eulogy and my great uncle's fainting before the kaddish. Very strange. Senior year also allowed me to realize that somehow, through my relative loner status, I had acquired the respect of many of my classmates. This was an odd realization, because I still held grudges toward many of my classmates for crimes they'd committed in middle school. So I suppose this taught me a measure of forgiveness--it also taught me that maybe I should attempt to socialize with the rest of my class. So I did. And it was, ultimately, a rewarding experience--and a decent way to end my high school career.
And that is how I'll end tonight's post. Tomorrow I'll begin with the tale of the debacle that was my freshman year.
It's time for my annual summer identity crisis!
In honor of this event I'm going to do a brief run through of my major formative teenage years in an attempt to trace the stages that have led me to today.
And we're off!
I remember being fourteen and joining my high school's Drama League. I was very impressed by the wit and ease with which its members tossed around directors, authors, films, obscure actors. That year I was in high awkward state. My apex arrived with the French Revolution Simulation we played in my freshman World History class. I was elected (elected! It made me feel like I was actually accumulating friends) Robespierre and proceeded to command my class with a certain amount of sadistic glee. Power does go to one's head, even fake power, and I took delight in knowing that the fate of France lay in my hands. Of coiurse that made no difference when my head was chopped off at the end of the simulation--but this decapitation did not occur until after I beheaded the entirety of my class, including my teacher. This was also the year that I entered my rather embarassing pseudo-goth phase.
I pause here to ruminate on goths.
I existed, for a period of time, in a state of false self-degredation. Oh woe is me, I thought, and my misunderstood self. I wrote awful poetry, wore a lot of black and Doc Martins, and ripped my jeans, only to doodle on them with black permanent marker. I listened exclusively to the Smashing Pumpkins and NIN, usually in the dark, often in the middle of the night. I developed a rather serious online relationship with a boy who was to die, five years later, in a late-night car accident. He'd write me e-mails saying he'd lie awake at night thinking of me and crying with happiness. Was I alarmed by this? Perhaps. But it fit my notion of myself as the "deep goth girl." Everything was so fucking deep--I could've drowned in the misery.
This is all very amusing in hindsight because I had no reason to be so gloomy. I lived, and still do live, a fairly priveleged upper middle class lifestyle. My parents never fought. I was never abused, never molested, and never deprived emotionally. So was I milking the poor little rich girl thing? Not really. I think I was just amused by the so-called darkness. About the only positive development at this time was my introduction to Neil Gaiman and to anime.
By now we're in the middle of my sophomore year, and I have become friends with the (slightly more) stable members of Drama League. Their influence led me from the pseudo-gothy darkness into a more sophisticated ennui of Radiohead and canonical drama. And David Bowie. I spent a lot of time in the President of League's black jetta, listening to excellent music and asking myself: "Do I have to be so gloomy?"
The answer--and I am sure this will delight my sister--"NO! NO! NO!"
So I began to, I think, mature. There is no reason to be so angry at the world, though I suppose every teenager endures their angry time.
Junior year was the highlight of my so-called high school experience. I had a wonderful group of friends, in particular the three people with whom I shared a lunch table. Together the four of us formed a fairly sex-in-the-cityish group. All we talked about was sex, which was amusing because we were all virgins in every sense of the word. There was the gay, the Amerasian Vegan Buddhist lesbian, and then there were KT and me. Junior year was the year of many APs, including AP Art History which sparked the path I'm still on today--to art history greatness, that is, though hopefully not documenting post medium. (Art history greatness, goodness). I had thoroughly emerged from my pseudo-goth phase (actually that's a lie, I still like to slather on the black eyeliner come Halloween but, really, I just like the makeup) and had managed to slightly detangle myself from the drama crowd. Just slightly--KT would always moan to me how I would so quickly ditch my foursome to hang with the drama crowd. I did stop this fairly early in my Junior Year, however, when I realized that the senior class of that year didn't like me all that much. Oh well.
Senior year brought me a long-distance relationship, brought the Amerasian Vegan Buddhist lesbian a tumultuous relationship with a friend of mine, brought the gay some romping with boys, and brought KT to the status of homewrecker. But a homewrecker for love, so it was okay (don't worry KT, you still have my adoration). Senior year wasn't quite as enjoyable as junior year, in hindsight, though it was my year of speech and debate greatness. It was also the year of embarassing relationship with younger foreign man, but that is not a story to be shared. However, the story does include the death of my maternal grandfather--the first of my grandparents to die. The funeral was fairly traumatic and involved my giving a eulogy and my great uncle's fainting before the kaddish. Very strange. Senior year also allowed me to realize that somehow, through my relative loner status, I had acquired the respect of many of my classmates. This was an odd realization, because I still held grudges toward many of my classmates for crimes they'd committed in middle school. So I suppose this taught me a measure of forgiveness--it also taught me that maybe I should attempt to socialize with the rest of my class. So I did. And it was, ultimately, a rewarding experience--and a decent way to end my high school career.
And that is how I'll end tonight's post. Tomorrow I'll begin with the tale of the debacle that was my freshman year.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
A Letter from John McCain's brother.
Sent to me this evening:
Senator John McCain's brother on The Jews & Israel:
There is a lot of worry popping up in the media just now -- "Can
Israel Survive?" Don't worry about it. It relates to something that
Palestinians, the Arabs, and perhaps most Americans don't realize --
the Jews are never going quietly again. Never. And if the world
doesn't come to understand that, then millions of Arabs are going to
die. It's as simple as that.
Throughout the history of the world, the most abused, kicked-around
race of people have been the Jews. Not just during the holocaust of
World War II, but for thousands of years. They have truly been "The
Chosen People" in a terrible and tragic sense.
The Bible story of Egypt's enslavement of the Jews is not just a
story, it is history, if festooned with theological legend and
heroic epics. In 70 A.D. the Romans, which had for a long time
tolerated the Jews -- even admired them as 'superior' to other
vassals -- tired of their truculent demands for independence and
decided on an early "Solution" to the Jewish problem. Jerusalem was
sacked and reduced to near rubble, Jewish resistance was pursued and
crushed by the implacable Roman War Machine -- see 'Masada'. And
thus began The Diaspora, the dispersal of Jews throughout the rest
of the world.
Their homeland destroyed, their culture crushed, they looked
desperately for the few niches in a hostile world where they could
be safe. That safety was fragile, and often subject to the whims of
moody hosts. The words 'pogrom', 'ghetto', and 'anti-Semitism' come
from this treatment of the first mono-theistic people. Throughout
Europe, changing times meant sometimes tolerance, sometimes even
warmth for the Jews, but eventually it meant hostility, then
malevolence. There is not a country in Europe or Western Asia that
at one time or another has not decided to lash out against the
children of Moses, sometimes by whim, sometimes by manipulation.
Winston Churchill calls Edward I one of England's very greatest
kings. It was under his rule in the late 1200's that Wales and
Cornwall were hammered into the British crown, and Scotland and
Ireland were invaded and occupied. He was also the first European
monarch to set up a really effective administrative bureaucracy,
surveyed and censused his kingdom, established laws and political
divisions. But he also embraced the Jews.
Actually Edward didn't embrace Jews so much as he embraced their
money. For the English Jews had acquired wealth -- understandable,
because this people that could not own land or office, could not
join most of the trades and professions, soon found out that money
was a very good thing to accumulate. Much harder to take away than
land or a store, was a hidden sock of gold and silver coins. Ever
resourceful, Edward found a way -- he borrowed money from the Jews
to finance imperial ambitions in Europe, especially France. The
loans were almost certainly not made gladly, but how do you refuse
your King? Especially when he is 'Edward the Hammer'. Then, rather
than pay back the debt, Edward simply expelled the Jews. Edward was
especially inventive -- he did this twice. After a time, he invited
the Jews back to their English homeland, borrowed more money, then
expelled them again.
Most people do not know that Spain was one of the early entrants
into The Renaissance. People from all over the world came to Spain
in the late medieval period. All were welcome -- Arabs, Jews, other
Europeans. The University of Salamanca was one of the great centers
of learning in the world -- scholars of all nations, all fields came
to Salamanca to share their knowledge and their ideas. But in 1492,
Ferdinand and Isabella, having driven the last of Moors from the
Spanish Shield, were persuaded by the righteous fundamentalists of
the time to announce "The Act of Purification". A series of steps
were taken in which all Jews and Arabs and other non-Christians were
expelled from the country, or would face the tools and the torches
of The Inquisition. From this 'cleansing' come the Sephardic Jews --
as opposed to the Ashkenazis of Eastern Europe. In Eastern Europe,
the sporadic violence and brutality against Jews are common
knowledge. 'Fiddler' without the music and the folksy humor. At
times of fury, no accommodation by the Jew was good enough, no
profile low enough, no village poor enough or distant enough.
From these come the near-steady flow of Jews to the United States.
And despite the disdain of the Jews by most 'American' Americans,
they came to grab the American Dream with both hands, and
contributed everything from new ideas of enterprise in retail and
entertainment to becoming some of our finest physicians and lawyers.
The modern United States, in spite of itself, IS The United States
in part because of its Jewish blood.
Then the Nazi Holocaust -- the corralling, sorting, orderly
eradication of millions of the people of Moses. Not something that
other realms in other times didn't try to do, by the way, the
Germans were just more organized and had better murder technology.
I stood in the center of Dachau for an entire day, about 15 years
ago, trying to comprehend how this could have happened. I had gone
there on a side trip from Munich, vaguely curious about this Dachau.
I soon became engulfed in the enormity of what had occurred there
nestled in this middle and working class neighborhood.
How could human beings do this to other human beings, hear their
cries, their pleas, their terror, their pain, and continue without
apparently even wincing? I no longer wonder. At some times, some
places, ANY sect of the human race is capable of horrors against
their fellow man, whether a member of the Waffen SS, a Serbian
sniper, a Turkish policeman in 1920's Armenia, a Mississippi
Klansman. Because even in the United States not all was a Rose
Garden. For a long time Jews had quotas in our universities and
graduate schools. Only so many Jews could be in a medical or law
school at one time. Jews were disparaged widely. I remember as a kid
Jewish jokes told without a wince - "Why do Jews have such big
noses?"
Well, now the Jews have a homeland again. A place that is theirs.
And that's the point. It doesn't matter how many times the United
States and European powers try to rein in Israel, if it comes down
to survival of its nation, its people, they will fight like no
lioness has ever fought to save her cubs. They will fight with a
ferocity, a determination, and a skill, that will astound us.
And many will die, mostly their attackers, I believe. If there were
a macabre historical betting parlor, my money would be on the
Israelis to be standing at the end. As we killed the kamikazes and
the Wehrmacht soldaten of World War II, so will the Israelis kill
their suicidal attackers, until there are not enough to torment
them.
The irony goes unnoticed -- while we are hammering away to punish
those who brought the horrors of last September here, we restrain
the Israelis from the same retaliation. Not the same thing, of
course -- We are We, They are They. While we mourn and seethe at
September 11th, we don't notice that Israel has a September 11th
sometimes every day.
We may not notice, but it doesn't make any difference. And it
doesn't make any difference whether you are pro-Israeli or you think
Israel is the bully of the Middle East. If it comes to where a new
holocaust looms -- with or without the concurrence of the United
States and Europe -- Israel will lash out without pause or restraint
at those who would try to annihilate their country.
The Jews will not go quietly again.
Joe McCain
Senator John McCain's brother on The Jews & Israel:
There is a lot of worry popping up in the media just now -- "Can
Israel Survive?" Don't worry about it. It relates to something that
Palestinians, the Arabs, and perhaps most Americans don't realize --
the Jews are never going quietly again. Never. And if the world
doesn't come to understand that, then millions of Arabs are going to
die. It's as simple as that.
Throughout the history of the world, the most abused, kicked-around
race of people have been the Jews. Not just during the holocaust of
World War II, but for thousands of years. They have truly been "The
Chosen People" in a terrible and tragic sense.
The Bible story of Egypt's enslavement of the Jews is not just a
story, it is history, if festooned with theological legend and
heroic epics. In 70 A.D. the Romans, which had for a long time
tolerated the Jews -- even admired them as 'superior' to other
vassals -- tired of their truculent demands for independence and
decided on an early "Solution" to the Jewish problem. Jerusalem was
sacked and reduced to near rubble, Jewish resistance was pursued and
crushed by the implacable Roman War Machine -- see 'Masada'. And
thus began The Diaspora, the dispersal of Jews throughout the rest
of the world.
Their homeland destroyed, their culture crushed, they looked
desperately for the few niches in a hostile world where they could
be safe. That safety was fragile, and often subject to the whims of
moody hosts. The words 'pogrom', 'ghetto', and 'anti-Semitism' come
from this treatment of the first mono-theistic people. Throughout
Europe, changing times meant sometimes tolerance, sometimes even
warmth for the Jews, but eventually it meant hostility, then
malevolence. There is not a country in Europe or Western Asia that
at one time or another has not decided to lash out against the
children of Moses, sometimes by whim, sometimes by manipulation.
Winston Churchill calls Edward I one of England's very greatest
kings. It was under his rule in the late 1200's that Wales and
Cornwall were hammered into the British crown, and Scotland and
Ireland were invaded and occupied. He was also the first European
monarch to set up a really effective administrative bureaucracy,
surveyed and censused his kingdom, established laws and political
divisions. But he also embraced the Jews.
Actually Edward didn't embrace Jews so much as he embraced their
money. For the English Jews had acquired wealth -- understandable,
because this people that could not own land or office, could not
join most of the trades and professions, soon found out that money
was a very good thing to accumulate. Much harder to take away than
land or a store, was a hidden sock of gold and silver coins. Ever
resourceful, Edward found a way -- he borrowed money from the Jews
to finance imperial ambitions in Europe, especially France. The
loans were almost certainly not made gladly, but how do you refuse
your King? Especially when he is 'Edward the Hammer'. Then, rather
than pay back the debt, Edward simply expelled the Jews. Edward was
especially inventive -- he did this twice. After a time, he invited
the Jews back to their English homeland, borrowed more money, then
expelled them again.
Most people do not know that Spain was one of the early entrants
into The Renaissance. People from all over the world came to Spain
in the late medieval period. All were welcome -- Arabs, Jews, other
Europeans. The University of Salamanca was one of the great centers
of learning in the world -- scholars of all nations, all fields came
to Salamanca to share their knowledge and their ideas. But in 1492,
Ferdinand and Isabella, having driven the last of Moors from the
Spanish Shield, were persuaded by the righteous fundamentalists of
the time to announce "The Act of Purification". A series of steps
were taken in which all Jews and Arabs and other non-Christians were
expelled from the country, or would face the tools and the torches
of The Inquisition. From this 'cleansing' come the Sephardic Jews --
as opposed to the Ashkenazis of Eastern Europe. In Eastern Europe,
the sporadic violence and brutality against Jews are common
knowledge. 'Fiddler' without the music and the folksy humor. At
times of fury, no accommodation by the Jew was good enough, no
profile low enough, no village poor enough or distant enough.
From these come the near-steady flow of Jews to the United States.
And despite the disdain of the Jews by most 'American' Americans,
they came to grab the American Dream with both hands, and
contributed everything from new ideas of enterprise in retail and
entertainment to becoming some of our finest physicians and lawyers.
The modern United States, in spite of itself, IS The United States
in part because of its Jewish blood.
Then the Nazi Holocaust -- the corralling, sorting, orderly
eradication of millions of the people of Moses. Not something that
other realms in other times didn't try to do, by the way, the
Germans were just more organized and had better murder technology.
I stood in the center of Dachau for an entire day, about 15 years
ago, trying to comprehend how this could have happened. I had gone
there on a side trip from Munich, vaguely curious about this Dachau.
I soon became engulfed in the enormity of what had occurred there
nestled in this middle and working class neighborhood.
How could human beings do this to other human beings, hear their
cries, their pleas, their terror, their pain, and continue without
apparently even wincing? I no longer wonder. At some times, some
places, ANY sect of the human race is capable of horrors against
their fellow man, whether a member of the Waffen SS, a Serbian
sniper, a Turkish policeman in 1920's Armenia, a Mississippi
Klansman. Because even in the United States not all was a Rose
Garden. For a long time Jews had quotas in our universities and
graduate schools. Only so many Jews could be in a medical or law
school at one time. Jews were disparaged widely. I remember as a kid
Jewish jokes told without a wince - "Why do Jews have such big
noses?"
Well, now the Jews have a homeland again. A place that is theirs.
And that's the point. It doesn't matter how many times the United
States and European powers try to rein in Israel, if it comes down
to survival of its nation, its people, they will fight like no
lioness has ever fought to save her cubs. They will fight with a
ferocity, a determination, and a skill, that will astound us.
And many will die, mostly their attackers, I believe. If there were
a macabre historical betting parlor, my money would be on the
Israelis to be standing at the end. As we killed the kamikazes and
the Wehrmacht soldaten of World War II, so will the Israelis kill
their suicidal attackers, until there are not enough to torment
them.
The irony goes unnoticed -- while we are hammering away to punish
those who brought the horrors of last September here, we restrain
the Israelis from the same retaliation. Not the same thing, of
course -- We are We, They are They. While we mourn and seethe at
September 11th, we don't notice that Israel has a September 11th
sometimes every day.
We may not notice, but it doesn't make any difference. And it
doesn't make any difference whether you are pro-Israeli or you think
Israel is the bully of the Middle East. If it comes to where a new
holocaust looms -- with or without the concurrence of the United
States and Europe -- Israel will lash out without pause or restraint
at those who would try to annihilate their country.
The Jews will not go quietly again.
Joe McCain
Everyone has their own special dream...
It has been awhile since one of my loopy posts and, in lieu of world events, I think it is time for some levity.
I am really really really looking forward to Dreamgirls. It is either going to be really bad, or really great, or so bad it's great which works as well.
Either way, it'll be soulful. And glittery.
I am really really really looking forward to Dreamgirls. It is either going to be really bad, or really great, or so bad it's great which works as well.
Either way, it'll be soulful. And glittery.
Saturday, July 29, 2006
On Gardens.
This afternoon I will be roped into helping my parents mulch the yard. We're waiting until it clouds over, as it is unhealthily hot right now and, well, who wants to be bent over in the dirt in the sun?
I used to mulch with enthusiasm when I was younger. I remember on one excursion finding a plump, green caterpillar. The caterpillar spent the rest of the mulching experience curled in my palm--I was afraid that if I released it to the wild then it would get smashed up in the mulching. I sent it home when the gardening was complete.
...apparently as a kid I had compassion for insects. Ick.
Regardless, there is something to be said for getting one's hands in the dirt and communing with the flora. Fauna. And Merriweather.
I used to mulch with enthusiasm when I was younger. I remember on one excursion finding a plump, green caterpillar. The caterpillar spent the rest of the mulching experience curled in my palm--I was afraid that if I released it to the wild then it would get smashed up in the mulching. I sent it home when the gardening was complete.
...apparently as a kid I had compassion for insects. Ick.
Regardless, there is something to be said for getting one's hands in the dirt and communing with the flora. Fauna. And Merriweather.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Inconvenienced.
Saw the Al Gore movie today. Who ever thought we'd be saying that: "The Al Gore Movie."
Anyhow, please go see it. This past year I've tried to be more environmentally friendly. I started recycling my stuff in Gainesville and I've made more of an attempt to conserve electricity. I've become manic with turning off lights and other electronics when I am not using them. I drive a low emission Honda Civic. I still have to force myself not to turn the A.C. to freezing (not an easy task) and I have yet to give up my marathon showers, but I am taking steps. Baby steps, but steps nonetheless. I even calculated my carbon output at www.climatecrisis.net and discovered that I am actually outputting less carbon than the average American. I don't feel quite so guilty now.
Still, there is more I can do, and this has been a goal of mine for some time. Maybe I'll plant a tree. My sister planted a tree of unspecified specie in the empty lot next to our house. She planted it less than ten years ago. It caught my eye today and it is enormous. It has blossomed (yes, blossomed) from a little bush into a full grown tree with green leaves, a thick trunk, and powerful roots. The lot next to our house is parched and barren, but this tree gives it some personality. Perhaps if we planted a few more we'd have a mini-grove next to our house--and that would be magnificent.
I tend to have causes that I inform myself about but don't do much about--but this is something on which I can take action, because all it takes are changes within my own personal life. And that is entirely possible.
And perhaps if we all make little changes to our lives we could influence the powers that be to make larger changes--so that my house doesn't become waterfront property, and so that we don't become Planet Ocean.
Anyhow, please go see it. This past year I've tried to be more environmentally friendly. I started recycling my stuff in Gainesville and I've made more of an attempt to conserve electricity. I've become manic with turning off lights and other electronics when I am not using them. I drive a low emission Honda Civic. I still have to force myself not to turn the A.C. to freezing (not an easy task) and I have yet to give up my marathon showers, but I am taking steps. Baby steps, but steps nonetheless. I even calculated my carbon output at www.climatecrisis.net and discovered that I am actually outputting less carbon than the average American. I don't feel quite so guilty now.
Still, there is more I can do, and this has been a goal of mine for some time. Maybe I'll plant a tree. My sister planted a tree of unspecified specie in the empty lot next to our house. She planted it less than ten years ago. It caught my eye today and it is enormous. It has blossomed (yes, blossomed) from a little bush into a full grown tree with green leaves, a thick trunk, and powerful roots. The lot next to our house is parched and barren, but this tree gives it some personality. Perhaps if we planted a few more we'd have a mini-grove next to our house--and that would be magnificent.
I tend to have causes that I inform myself about but don't do much about--but this is something on which I can take action, because all it takes are changes within my own personal life. And that is entirely possible.
And perhaps if we all make little changes to our lives we could influence the powers that be to make larger changes--so that my house doesn't become waterfront property, and so that we don't become Planet Ocean.
Links
Previous Posts
- You promised not to eat the Rousseau!!!
- More on the Muslim world.
- Israel's Media Crisis
- Identity Crisis Part I
- A Letter from John McCain's brother.
- Everyone has their own special dream...
- On Gardens.
- Inconvenienced.
- I've decided to start blogging again...
- Eulogy.
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