How Not to React to Rioters Demand to Limit Free Speech

First off, let us realize that much of the recent disturbances and all of the American dead in Libya had absolutely nothing to do with any perceived insult by Muslims, these were actions set to commemorate the 9-11 attacks and as payback for the death of the al-Qaeda number two leader al-Libi who was from Libya. Just a few days before the raid on the United States consulate in Benghazi, Ayman al-Zawahiri called for the murder of any Americans in Libya as retribution for the killing of Abu Faraj al-Libi by a drone attack on a meeting he was attending in the tribal regions of Pakistan by the United States military. The riots in Egypt were also related to the leader of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, as they were organized and led by his brother, Mohamed al-Zawahiri. There were also claims that the riots in Egypt were sparked by demands for the release of Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, also known as the Blind Sheik. Whatever the motivating factor in Libya or Egypt, the alleged U-Tube video of a so-called anti-Muhammad film was not the real cause. But, despite the facts, that film has been used to explain other Muslim protests and riots and utilized by the Obama administration as the cause for all the recent violence and have led to some very dangerous that defames Islamic leaders and faith. Such calls are misguided and dangerous in many ways.

Despite the recent calls for limitations on the right to free speech and despite the guarantee of such in the Amendment I of the Bill of Rights, there should not be any considerations given pursuing such a policy. The reason behind ignoring a call for limiting free speech if it offends anybody has been a point which has been bandied about for a few decades. The idea that speech needs to be curtailed so as not to offend is plainly ridiculous. Let us first take the current case in point where the demand is for making any speech deemed blasphemous illegal and punishable under law. The first question would be who gets to decide the definition of blasphemous? The current examples have called for Muslims to decide what is blasphemous. So, would it solely be Muslims who get to make such determinations or does every religion have the right to define what is to be considered blasphemous. Will Muslims be held to the same restrictions of not blaspheming other faiths or is it to be only Islam which must be protected. The one instance I discussed this with a Muslim I was informed that it is only in Islam where negative references to Allah, Mohammed or Islam was a blasphemy and that there are no such items defined as blasphemous speech by other religions. I was informed since the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, did not define any speech as blasphemous it was impossible to blaspheme either Judaism or Christianity. I would assume there is a similar argument for most religions and their holy writings. But this would present an interesting argument for a court of law if we should bend to such pressures. If such laws or legal codes were adopted, would speaking in favor of same sex marriages now be instantly illegal as to even consider such is against Islam? This would present a dangerous road.

But there is worse and it comes from a Supreme Court Justice. Last year Supreme Court Justice Breyer of the United States Supreme Court seemed to indicate that the burning of a Koran might be equivalent to yelling fire in a crowded theater. This is a dangerous road to go down as soon you will be splitting hairs as to what is and is not allowed as part of free speech. Once it is decided that any speech or action protected under free speech becomes unprotected once it causes violent rioting or other dangerous reactions, then all speech can be immediately called into question providing a sufficiently large enough group takes to violent actions in response to any encroachment into areas they hold as sensitive. Imagine allowing all speech to be restricted simply because some other might react violently, much like currently seems to control speech limitations on all too many college campuses in the United States, Europe, Canada and the rest of the Western World. We would very rapidly find riots breaking out whenever anybody made even the least controversial viewpoint as there would still be enough people to make an appearance of sufficient violent response. Political speech would be silenced. Religious speech would be silenced. Very soon, all speech would be silenced. Debate and free discourse would become very very un-good. Candidates for office would no longer be allowed to disagree, actually would not even be allowed to agree as any stance could likely erupt into riots even of those who came to hear what they had to say. Imagine a debate between President Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney where the moderator asked if they favored or opposed same sex unions. To claim one was against could easily cause riots in the streets in every city in the country. And as soon as the other one claimed to support them another segment of the population would riot. Once it became evident that all speech against any position could be silenced simply by rioting there would be people who would hire out to riot whenever anybody said virtually anything. All speech would be squelched, possibly even saying it was a nice sunny day if somebody simply hated sunshine. This would be one way to end every political discussion and make governance impossible as how can laws be enacted if simply by rioting people can prevent their discussion? This would not even produce a polite society; it would produce a silent society. Freedom from hearing or reading anything anyone considered to be offensive material, is that even possible?

Beyond the Cusp

The Real Problem for Obama is not Jewish Voters

President Obama does not have a Jewish problem in the upcoming election; he has an Israel problem. Contrary to the mainstream media portrayal of President Obama facing a loss of Jewish support is false as their votes are minimal when compared to the numbers of Americans who might not vote for him due to their perceiving that he does not stand with Israel as much as they might like. Where the Jewish voting population is less than 2% of the total and in their more heavily represented states respectively, it is but a mere 9.1% in New York, 5.5% in New Jersey, and 4.6% in Florida then dropping even lower from there; of these states, New York is not a likely swing state and even if President Obama lost sufficient Jewish support in the others, the split at worst would be an even 50/50 which drops the percentage lost to under 2% of the total vote compared to the normal voting history in any state. This is unlikely to be the determining factor when weighed against the Christian support for Israel which has been measured to be as high as 70% and measures consistently well over 55% in polls taken without regard to religion. This is the significant voter losses the media is referring to when they talk about the problem that President Obama is likely to lose votes because of Jewish support for Israel.

That begs the question of why they tie the vote loss to Jews over Israel when the majority of the losses will come from Christians and other non-Jewish voters. The most innocent reason is likely that relating the loss of Jewish votes over perceived lack of solid support for Israel is the most obvious and requires no further explanation, thus for the sake of simplicity and pure laziness this connection is utilized. There also is the possibility that those reporting on this are myopic and their narrowness of focus does not allow them to look past the most obvious of reasons. Perhaps the reporters honestly believe that the Jewish vote is far more significant in numbers than is the reality of their numbers. They might be incorporating the loss of donations from Jewish sources which likely has a larger influence than Jewish voting power possesses. Somehow, I doubt that it is any of these all-so-innocent reasons and instead they are far more likely to have a darker and more sinister reason at the heart of this reporting.

It just might be that they desire placing the blame for an Obama loss on a misperception, according to the mainstream press, of his lack of support for Israel. This would allow all the blame for an Obama loss to be because of those Jews who placed Israel before their consideration of the United States. Should President Obama actually lose in November, we all know it will only be because of some nefarious reason spawned by some sinister and deceitful campaign which used lies and suspicions to mislead people from reelecting the presumed <a href=http://www.examiner.com/article/obama-believes-he-s-the-fourth-best-president-of-all-time target=blank>fourth best President</a> in American history. So, if you are going to formulate such a theme, why mess with what has been the most successful plot-line used throughout history to explain every calamity from the beginning of history through the plagues during the Dark Ages right up to the excuse for the evils and plight of the Palestinians today. The real problem is that should the blame be placed on Jews as the reason for the President failing to be reelected, there will be an unfortunately large number of people who will simply nod their heads knowingly and simply agree that was the real reason behind Obama losing.

The full extent of the result of placing the blame on Jews in the minds and hearts of those on the far left of the political spectrum is that this has been the formula used to explain so many other failures in history. Other than the obvious use of the Jews as a scapegoat in 1930s Germany, there was the same reasoning used by both Lenin and Stalin in Soviet Russia, the same when Jews were branded along with the Muslims during the Inquisition as Spain threw off their Islamic invaders after centuries of oppressions, and in numerous other calamities even including the dispossessing of Jews of their lands, holdings, wealth and property by General Grant in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi area which were under his control at the end of the Civil War in the United States. This order was overturned by President Lincoln immediately of his receiving notification which proved to be too late for many Jews who had already been driven from their homes and had their businesses taken and they being driven from the area with whatever they were allowed to carry with them. Such use of Jews as the perfect scapegoats throughout history led to Jews, wherever they lived, to keep a suitcase which contained a few changes of clothes, a second set of candle-holders for the Sabbath candle lighting, a second set of personal religious items, some gold, silver or money if they were fortunate to have some to set aside, an extra family bible replete with family histories exactly as their regularly used one, and whatever other items they valued and felt were absolutely necessary to restarting their lives should they be driven from their homes without notice. Is the world heading in that direction again? Has the world not learned anything from the past and the ever increasing price paid, first by the Jewish people, then by everybody else each time they blame the Jew, trotted out that it was their doing why things went other than desired? Looking around the entire world and it is growing darkly obvious that this lesson is on the verge of being once again imposed and on a scale beyond all previous times. Perhaps the Shoah, the Holocaust, was not the final and most horrid result to befall the Jews and the world from out-of-control anti-Semitism. Is this where this blame the Jews who prevented Obama from reelection because of their love of Israel over America is taking us? Some conspiracy theories have no expiration use-by date and apparently are not learned no matter how many times they are repeated.

Beyond the Cusp

Can Israel’s Image be Salvaged and Polished?

Once there was a time where Israel was seen for what she is, the tiny little country holding tenaciously onto a small, insignificant, former wasteland which was barely visible on maps which is surrounded by the entirety of the Muslim Lands which stretch from the North African Atlantic Coast all the way to the Indonesian and Philippine Islands in the Pacific Ocean. She was viewed as that sparkling gem of freedom, liberty, individual rights and democracy in the midst of a sea of oppressive, repressive, despotic, tyrannical states which crushed human spirit. Israel was once the underdog who had to scrap and fight for her survival against near unimaginable odds and who had managed successfully to do so at every turn. Israel once stood for equality of mankind, individual liberties, endless possibilities, religious freedoms, and unbelievable scientific and cultural achievements that not only survived but thrived against all of the odds stacked against her. What happened that took a place of such acclaim and hope and turned world opinions so horribly against her. How did Israel transform from her once proud and laudable stature into a nation spurned by the world at large, constantly answering charges of crimes against humanity, oppressor of religious beliefs, and usurper of Palestinian lands with an expansionist agenda eyeing all the lands between the Rivers Nile and Euphrates to expand and conquer for the sake of a Greater Israel?

The answer to this enigma is twofold, first is the rise of the ancient hatreds out of history and second the exquisitely planned and expertly executed assassination of the Israeli character carried out on all of the world’s stages beginning with the United Nations and finding its way into every new outlet even to include all too many within Israel herself. After the failure of the Armies of Egypt and Syria during the Yom Kippur War, which was launched in a surprise attack on Israel starting on Saturday October 6, 1973 which was both the start of Yom Kippur and the Sabbath, the Arab nations sought a different approach in order to defeat and destroy Israel. Initially, the combined forces made sizeable gains on all fronts before Israel fully mobilized, which took longer than usual as almost all public and private services and operations were on essential only staffing for the high Holidays, and mounted a counter strategy. This defeat of the combined forces of Egypt and Syria after scoring complete surprise and taking full benefit of every possible advantage available convinced the Arab World that a new, innovative and alternative approach was needed. Thus was the protracted victory through attrition due to terrorism and guerilla warfare tactics was adopted and with it the carefully planned and executed campaign to demonize Israel in every form of media, on every available stage in the world, and through commitment to use organizations such as NGOs and PACs. Quickly, this new tactic began to show progress in the world media the Arab and Muslim offensive to turn the Israeli reputation in the perspective of the world from shining gem and exemplary outpost of freedom in the Middle East to that of a pariah state brimming with oppression and guilty of the occupation of lands which rightfully belonged to the Palestinian People requiring the reestablishment of the ancient state named Palestine. Their success brought with it a steadily increasing number of nations, governments, unions, organizations, political parties, politicians, colleges and the United Nations with its entire assembly of NGOs and commissions.

So, against such an advanced campaign to delegitimize, defame, divest, boycott, and eventually destroy Israel, what can be done to prevent these schemes from eventually attaining their goals? The first step required appears to be counterintuitive, which is for Israel needs to stop apologizing and answering every single charge or allegation no matter how seemingly insignificant simply to attempt to prevent being overwhelmed by negatives. Israel needs to get out from under the repressive effects of the Oslo Accords which have been skillfully applied in a manner that has handcuffed Israel and those who protect her while having no ill or restrictive effects on the Arab, Muslim and Palestinian side. This step could be easily accomplished by taking two simple and immediate steps. The first is to file a complaint with the Security Council of the United Nations requesting they sanction the Palestinian Authority, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the PLO for failing to amend the Palestinian Charter by removing the still standing section which calls for the utter and complete destruction of the State of Israel and the subjugation or elimination of its Jewish people. Follow up with pressure in order to get some response, even if it is simply a motion noting the Palestinian failure to comply without making it an actual judgment carrying a penalty for noncompliance. The other step is to provide the Palestinian leadership with copies going to the United Nations General Security Council, the United States, the European Union, Russia, all the leaders of European nations, all the leaders of the Arab and Muslim world and generally announce this last and final offer for peace through the establishment of a state for the Palestinian people called Palestine. This proclamation should state with accompanying map the borders Israel is willing to offer in this final attempt to reach an amicable peace. Where these borders are drawn is actually of little importance as the Palestinian leadership have painted themselves into a corner where they are unable to accept any peace proposal even if it contains each and every one of their wildest aspirations as by doing so they will have committed an unforgivable sin and would have to face the repercussions from their own people. This proclamation should also contain a second map which denotes the borders Israel is prepared to declare should the Palestinian leadership refuse this final offer. Once whatever deadline has been reached which was written into the offer, Israel should annex whatever sections of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) as they require or even simply desire and exile the leadership of the numerous terror groups along with the political leadership of the Palestinian Authority back to their pre-Oslo accommodations in Tunis, Tunisia.

Israel and the Israeli people need to recognize a truth about people and the ways in which the world works; nobody, no organization, no country, no world body, absolutely nothing will be kinder and like you more than you are able to express the same feelings about yourself. This is a basic truism about people and a basic truism that also applies to countries. As long as Israeli politicians, newspapers, organizations, broadcasters, or people are unable of praise and giving testimony to the goodness of Israel, the world at large will continue to disrespect, disregard, and assume the worst evils of Israel. If Israel really desires wiping the tarnish off her international reputation, she first must change her voice which speaks so loudly to the world which consists almost exclusively of detrimental degradations impugning Israel’s character and denouncing her rights for the respect shown a state who acts and rules honorably. One of the initial tasks which must be accomplished to rehabilitate the Israeli image in the world would be to either redirect or found new news services which speak in English and other languages other than Hebrew which take an attitude and view of Israel that is positive and not simply regurgitate echoing every claim and disparagement spoken by those who would erase Israel and likely the Jews from the face of the Earth given the slightest opportunity. If Israel but echoes the propaganda which are released by her enemies while ignoring the truth, then the world has but one side of the discussion and will never hear the other side, This has the effect of limiting the conversation to the only view being projected, the Israel is an evil and horrid entity. We have had a recent set of events which give perfect example to this phenomenon.

During Shabbat for the last month the Arabs, with incitement, encouragement, cooperation and support of Israeli Jews who hold great spite and hatred for anything Zionist in nature, set fires to the fields surrounding the Yitzhar community in Samaria. When emergency personnel arrived to extinguish the flames before they spread to the community and the homes within, they were greeted by the Leftist Jews and their Arab compatriots showering them with rocks attempting to deny their ability to put out the flames. When the residents of Yitzhar responded in kind to protect the firefighters, the leftist Jews from B’tselem made sure to catch this on tape. Afterwards, these leftist Jews further edited the tape and distributed to the television news departments and sent selected picture to the print media along with a suggested dialog scurrilously depicting the situation as the Jews from the community of Yitzhar as having started the fires and initiating an attack on the Arabs completely unprovoked. This was the sole evidence available as the Jews who live in Yitzhar are observant Jews and thus unable to film the confrontation due to the Sabbath. This past week they had received allowance from their Rabbis allowing them to film the altercations even on the Sabbath. This week the television news organizations received both films, the heavily edited film from B’tselem as well as the longer and unedited film from the Yitzhar community. The news outlets unanimously showed the B’tselem video while deciding not to show any of the Yitzhar taken raw film which showed the Arabs exiting a Red Crescent ambulance and setting the fires and one of the Arab men pulling a knife and setting to attack the firefighters. The Arab was wounded by IDF troops who were called to protect the firefighters and disperse the rioting Arabs and B’tselem Jews. Israel will have no chance of escaping the scorn and rebuttals from the world as long as the Israeli news organizations for the most part appear to be a further outlet for Al-Jazeera News or Palestinian Authority or Hamas Official News Station. The other side of this erroneous picture drawn by the liberal Israeli press has been the near total blackout of the ever escalating rock attacks and car-jacking being perpetrated by Arab gangs in Judea, Samaria and Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem. These attacks have included daily incidents against the new Jerusalem light rail system which runs through one of the major Arab sections of Jerusalem.

Add the one last slant often taken by much of the world media is the propensity to report every single retaliatory strike by Israel in response to rocket and mortar attacks on Israeli civilians in the communities and cities within range of these munitions fired from Gaza. While the rocket and mortar attacks originate from Gaza where Israel has already removed all their citizens and all IDF troops from stationing within Gaza leaving all of Gaza under direct and independent Hamas rule, the Israeli retaliations target weapon storage facilities, rocket manufacturing locations, and the smuggling tunnels which cross the Gaza borders either heading to Egypt to facilitate supplies being brought to Gaza or to Israel which are used to infiltrate and attempt to attack or abduct Israelis. These reports almost universally report the Israeli strike in active and forceful terms while making only the slightest references to the initial rocket attacks and using passive terms to describe the terror strikes. This is also often the view expressed in Israeli television and other new sources. If Israel actually wishes to retrieve their former respect, then they must first recall the pride and justness of their actions and transfer this emotion and perspective to their reporting and make such the centerpiece of their activities with not only the rest of the world, but with each other in their everyday dealings and reporting. Simply reporting the entire story is all that is required. Israel has no need to pretty up the truth in order to be depicted as honorable, they have honorable as their source guiding their every move. All Israel and her reputation require to shine once again as the virtuous country they are is for the truth to be told without any requirement for polishing or positioning it in anything but a cloak of virtuous honesty.

Beyond the Cusp