We Have Lived These Dangers Before

 

Long ago in Israel there were enemies in the areas which today we call Gaza and Syria and Lebanon. Gaza had the older enemy, the Philistines, an Egyptian offshoot community which arose from Egypt separating soon after the Israelites arrived and conquered Canaan or a remaining Canaanite tribe which survived the Israelite advances for quite some time. They were capable warriors who used variants of Egyptian fighting methods as the Canaanites had been vassals of Egypt and were often included in Egyptian campaigns against the Hittites who ruled much of the lands north of Canaan. Their units would include chariots with archers as well as spear and sword men as well as drivers. This required slightly larger and heavier chariots which were equally hearty and difficult to destroy in combat. They also used heavy and light infantry, standing archers and slingers and limited horse cavalry. This made them a very formidable enemy for the Israelites who relied heavily on infantry, mostly light infantry which would utilize geological landscapes to great advantage. During their series of wars the Philistines had the distinct advantage in the flatlands while the Israelites fared better in the Judean hills and mountains. These hills and mountains rendered the chariots unusable and limited the advantages for horse cavalry. Hills and mountains also would wear out heavy infantry rather quickly as their heavier armor, shields and weapons rendered then exhausted while the Israelite light cavalry moved well and was very familiar with these lands. Still, often the Israelites fared well even on open flatlands against the Philistines, especially when under the rule of King David and King Solomon. David had a particular knowledge of the Philistines having lived and fought amongst them with a group of close friends and followers while hiding from King Saul who wished him dead. In the end it was Saul who committed suicide after his son was felled in battle which was ill advised and proved disastrous for the Israelites. Following the death of King Saul, David rose to the crown amid great celebrations and fanfare. Initially David made peace with the Philistines but that peace fell apart and a great war ensued. Eventually mention of the Philistines vanished with little explanation and their tribe was subsumed by other tribes and the Philistines simply ceased to exist. The Philistines have absolutely no genetic or other ties to the Arabs claiming their heritage from this Biblical tribe. Another influence on the Philistines was our other group, the Phoenicians. This was thought due to their seafaring economy and types of ships. Either way, the animosities between the Philistines and the Israelites was obviously due to their both being very capable and strong tribal communities and being neighbors naturally led to incursions and their inevitable conflicts.

 

Empire of Kings David and Solomon
including the Philistines and Phoenicians

 

The others were the Phoenicians who too were one of the stronger Canaanite tribes with Egyptian ties. The Phoenicians were the great maritime and commercial traders sailing the eastern Mediterranean Sea (Great Sea). There were also found to be some Hittite influences and possible interbreeding between the two civilizations in the early periods in Phoenician history. One of the most lucrative trade items they dealt in was a deep purple, a royal purple, dye necessary for robes of royalty as well as the Israelite Priests and many garments of the Tabernacle and later the Temple. The Phoenicians were eventually pressed by the invading empires of Babylonian, Persia and Greece that they took to their ships and settled in Northern Africa, some claim they became Carthage, and traded with people as far as the British Isles. History lost the Phoenicians per se and if they became Carthage they were exterminated with the remnants strewn across northern Africa or enslaved by Rome after the Punic Wars. The Phoenicians also warred with the Israelites with varying results over the years just as the Philistines had done though they survived beyond the Greek conquest and enslavement of the Israelite Tribes.

 

Greek and Phoenician Civilizations 800 to 550 BCE

 

The Babylonians had conquered and took us from our lands while the Persians, Greeks, Assyrians and initially the Romans simply ruled over us in our lands. There was one consistent reason for our defeat each and every time, infighting between the different tribes, political divides, different sects or whatever divisions which kept us infighting when we needed to be united to save our homelands. The Persians also had a large number of Jews decide they preferred living remaining in the cities which had been Babylon, moving to the capital or other large Persian city, anywhere but under Torah and living as one people in one land. This may have been a contributing factor to subsequent losses and leading eventually to the great Roman dispersion spreading us to the far corners of the Roman Empire and everywhere between all in all as slaves with no rights and an expectation that our culture and people would perish. This was how the Romans destroyed the remnants of the Phoenician Empire when they destroyed Carthage and dispersed their survivors. That was the end of any mention of Carthage, Carthaginians or Phoenicians in the rest of history. The Romans not only dispersed the Israelites, by then the Judeans, resulting from the great division of the Israelite nation into Judea and Israel, of which Israel and its Ten Tribes were conquered by the Assyrians and disappeared from history until being found in tribes from the far corners of the globe, and the Romans took care of the remainder, or so they thought. The twelve distinct tribes were ruled separately with their sharing of the Priestly tribes amongst them as their common thread. They were finally unified under King David starting the Israelite “empire” and made a great power with King Solomon (see maps below). This divide resulted in two kingdoms, one took the name Israel and the other took the name of its predominant Tribe between Benyamin and Judah thus became Judea. The name Judea was eventually shortened until the remnants of the Tribes of Judah and Benyamin along with their priestly classes simply became Jew. After the Assyrians capture the ten tribes of Israel they disappeared from Biblical history and many feared they had assimilated completely into the peoples with whom they settled. This may explain why today we are finding tribes claiming to be Jewish who genetically have many of the marker genetic makeup which has historically been defined as being an Israelite descendant. Further explaining such was the Roman dispersion which went further than the far corners of the Roman Empire as Jews were also sold to neighboring countries and empires such as India, China, Mongols, Arabs, Egyptians, and even the European and African barbarians plus escaping enslaved Jews would immediately target the closest non-Roman tribes they could find. The miracle was that for the large part the Jews kept themselves fairly separate once there had risen a Jewish community. It is even assured that many a Jewish parent would send to distant relatives or known Jews who may have resided in proximity in order to have their children marry within the faith, within our peoples.

 

Eretz Yisroel as formed after the conquests by the Kingdoms of King David and King Solomon; both of whom allowed the Principalities of Edom, Moab and Ammon to be semi-autonomous as long as they and their armies supported Eretz Yisroel

 

The Assyrians and Romans as well as the Babylonians all conquered a divided people too stubborn to work together to resolve differences and agree on the best and strongest means of representing the entirety of the Jewish People. The divisions often were over trivial matters or vital matters where Torah interpretation was always a critical matter which often went unresolved while manner of worship, sacrifice, or other religious obligations were minor items which should have easily been resolved. The reality was that all too often in Jewish history, Israelite history, was that we allowed divisions in our family and this led to our destructions. Under Roman rule we could not have been a more divided people with groups proclaiming their leader was the Messiah and all of them proved to be wrong. Even Rabbi Hillel falsely believed that Bar Kokhba was the Messiah, something for which he paid a horrible price as did many others after that rebellion was squashed by Roman legions. We defeated ourselves throughout history yet when we were united we proved to be formidable. Just look above at the conquests by King David and then King Solomon who reached the Euphrates River in what is today northern Syria almost in Turkey. We suffered from such weakness being self-inflicted throughout three thousand years of history with only a few bright spots where it took a Moses or Joshua, it took King David and King Solomon and after each of these pairs we fell into fighting ourselves again.

 

One would think that as smart as we are presumed to be we might have finally learned. Nope, we have not learned anything. Sure we were kind of united in 1948 once the Haganah, the Irgun, the Sternists, Lehi and other splinter groups realized it was fight as one or die individually. Even then there was the wasteful and unnecessary destruction of the Altalena due to a struggle over power with David Ben-Gurion opposed and attempting to suppress Menachem Begin and, in absentia, Ze’ev Jabotinsky which resulted in the shelling of the ship the Altalena off the Tel Aviv beach (see image below). That was the second confrontation between Irgun and Haganah branches of the newly forming Israeli Defense Force during the 1948-9 Arab genocidal intended invasion where they conquered and illegally occupied Judea, Samaria (Jordan) and Gaza (Egypt). In future wars up through the June 1967 Six Day war, a response to overt moves and imminent invasion by Egypt and Syria under the orders from Egyptian President Nasser with assistance from Syrian Dictator Assad. When Jordan joined the fight the next day over pleading and warnings from Israel, the Israelis appeared surrounded but broke through and ended this attack rather rapidly liberating Judea, Samaria and Gaza and gaining the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights from Egypt and Syria respectively. Even though the October 1973 War caught Israel flatfooted and unprepared, the Yom Kippur War as it became known still resulted in an Israeli victory. As per usual, while Israel appeared to be being defeated the world was almost enveloped in an astounding silence but as soon as Israel was almost to Damascus and approaching Cairo the world found their voice and from the United Nations in New York, the White House in Washington D.C., the Kremlin in Moscow and any number of other capital cities, especially across Europe all demanded Israel cease all military activity and return immediately to the armistice lines from the Six Day War as Israel must not be permitted to actually defeat any of her enemies, that would upset the world’s balance.

 

Shelling and Sinking of the Ship the Altalena off the Tel Aviv Beach

 

So where do we sit today in Israel. Well, the Arabs have formulated a false flag operation called the Palestinians. Using the Arab Palestinian against Israel instead of the armies of Egypt, Syria (well, not so much Syria now), Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iran and whatever other Arab nation all attacking making Israel the underdog, they use the Arab Palestinians and place them as the poor, unarmed underdogs. With this ploy the Arabs continuously claim ownership of lands sometimes going back to Ottoman Empire deeds. When there is a set of conflicting deeds with one held by any Arab, even one living in America who never even walked this land and the other a Jew who has built a home and has a valid deed, the Arab is almost always considered the owner by the Israeli Supreme Court which leans so far left they may as well convene in Paris and rule as if they were a European Union Court. This has allowed the Arabs to watch as Israel slowly but inexorably eats itself to pieces throwing Jews from their homes, now from entire neighborhoods, all without any real court hearing the claim and ruling on actual ownership. More often than not, when the time comes for a court to actually hear a claimant, the Arab usually drops all claims and all paperwork which once was used to destroy a Jewish life of their home has disappeared into thin air. Does this lead to the Supreme Court reversing their decision, of course it does not. Any Jew thrown off the lands that the leftists on the Supreme Court still believes belongs to the Arabs and no Jew should be permitted to walk there, let alone build a home or community. The Arabs watch as Jews destroy Jewish homes and they riot in celebration. Then the circle starts again usually now with a “Jewish” leftist group such as Peace Now, B’Tselem, Jews for Justice in Palestine, Rabbis for Peace, J-Street and a plethora of other far left Jewish groups many of which are mostly if not completely funded by European governments, the European Union, George Soros, American Jews, and some like J-Street are largely made up of American Jews; all will file often singularly and sometimes in small groups as each time they succeed their funding is increased enriching the leaders of these groups. Once filed directly with the Supreme Court without any need for a court ruling on the properness or even legality of the claim, the Supreme Court jumps to force Jews from their communities. What the claim is these groups are helping the Arab Palestinians who are poor and kept down because Jews are living beyond the Green Line in areas almost devoid of any Arabs or others. The fact that these communities include businesses and manufacturers who employ many Arab Palestinians and when they are shuttered and must relocate within the Green Line the Arab Palestinians they employed lose their employment. These Jewish companies pay premium wages as far as any Palestinian not on the government take is concerned. Arab Palestinian companies pay less than half the going wage paid by the Israeli companies, but by removing these businesses they are helping the Arab Palestinians, especially the ones who were employed there, right?

 

Meanwhile there are often demonstrations within Israel where Zionists protest the destruction of Jewish homes without an actual court decision on who really owns these lands. As stated, most of these deeds are either falsely identified, forgeries or actually never existed.There is just some Arab these groups find and pay to tell the court that the identified lands belonged to their family back before the Jews stole the lands. Many of these were denoted as state lands and the Jewish communities went through every required search and received the blessings and even some funding from the government but as soon as an Arab says the magic word, “Mine,” then the Jews must be removed without any further considerations, after all, why would the poor man lie about such an easily proven true or false claim? Maybe because you never validate their claims before ruling the destruction of Jewish communities and even after there is proof from a lower court you still insist your original order be carried out and after the homes and businesses are destroyed you will talk about a review. That almost helps, doesn’t it? The current target is Amona, again. The Israeli government obeyed their Washington D.C. masters and did as President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice demanded, destroying over nine thousand Israeli lives and giving all of Gaza to the Arab Palestinian Authority (PA) so they could prove how capable they could be at running a state of their own, and they failed miserably. Never mind they have a semi-autonomous fiefdom around Shechem (Nablus) which they have been misallocating billions of dollars and euros over the years making first Yasser Arafat and his cronies overly wealthy and since his departure Mahmoud Abbas, his three sons and all of his cronies and security detail, without which he would be dead and add in the IDF and Shin Bet foiling a Hamas plot to murder Abbas about every four to six months, but they needed Gaza and it be made Jew-free before they could accept the land. Well, they received the lands around mid-August of 2005 and by June of 2007 after over a year of on again off again fighting Hamas, had finally secured all of Gaza and went about executing any Fatah person not convincing enough in their denial of being a part of the PA and pledging their undying loyalty to Hamas, assuming they lived out the week. Many PA leaders had departed ahead of this collapse and despite training by United States Special Forces under the supervision of General Dayton, all performed out of sight in Jordan, the PA Security Forces were unable to prevent a Hamas takeover of Gaza. The Arabs still only noticed that the Jews were removing Jews for the Arabs to take the land and use it to attack Israel with even more lethal arms including any rocket they get the knowhow to build. Iran has been very helpful in providing Hamas and Islamic Jihad with the plans and motors for even larger and heavier rockets until now they can strike Jerusalem and Tel Aviv from Gaza and possibly as far north as Haifa. Now the Arabs are watching the Jews remove Jews from area after area in Judea and Samaria and they are beginning to envision the total destruction of the Jew using the entirety of the Judean Hills overlooking the heart of Israel and her population and manufacturing and power generation centers. There are desalinization plants, natural gas powered electricity plants, refineries, homes, schools, kindergartens, nursery schools, synagogues and the docks of Haifa, Tel Aviv, Ashdod and Ashkelon all visible from and within easy range of the Judean Hills.

 

On the other side of the argument are the “settlers” themselves backed not only by the Zionists, as one would suspect, but also by a large majority of the people. One might query as to why if the majority, and a clear majority at that, favor annexing most if not all of Judea and Samaria does the elected government not act more forcefully to implement such a solution. Ah, now that is the question. Perhaps, as some of the most ardent Zionists have claimed, Israel just does not have the right government in place and Netanyahu has been so worn down by the friction and pressures that he is simply paralyzed and unable to act according to the desires of the people. That begs why has he been Prime Minister for such an extended period, longer than any other Israeli? This comes down to a single statement in our opinion and that comes from this past election. The last election had many varied and twisted variables. One was V 15 or V 2015 and was a foreign funded and based NGO from the United States at the direction of President Obama whose leader, Jeremy Bird, had been President Obama’s reelection campaign chairman and closely tied to One Voice which was funded by the usual suspects as well as George Soros and registered as if an Israeli based NGO just as so many European NGOs have done to interfere in Israeli day to day political decisions. V 2015 worked to elect the Labor Party ticket and had made some inroads, at least as far as the polls showed. The day before the election Netanyahu made a plea of seeming desperation and as the week or two before the person topping the closest right wing party which might challenge Netanyahu, Naftali Benet, had stated he was unsure if he truly was ready to be Prime Minister. This may have been a play at humility, but what it became was a landslide of Jewish Home voters to Likud in response to Netanyahu who then won with a comfortable margin but marginalized Jewish Home and their ability to affect government. With the United States with direct, though unprotested, White House interference in the Israeli election and to have the Zionist, nationalist, right wing parties still dominate the election, what more proof does it take to know the Israeli public favors annexation of Judea and Samaria and addressing the Arab Palestinian problem afterwards.

 

As near as we have been able to determine from our beachfront town of Nahariya, which is on the Mediterranean coast, we are as settled Israeli as Tel Aviv; but from our sense from people we cross, they are favoring a one state solution with the Arabs permitted limited autonomy or simply being bought out and encouraged to leave and settle elsewhere as wealthy people if that is what it would take. There is the feeling that any solution requires the removal of Mahmoud Abbas, his cohorts and henchmen, otherwise known as the PA Security Forces and particularly Force 17. Then there would need to be fair and open elections which Israel would need to monitor and, in order to satisfy a suspicious world, United Nations, European and United States and maybe Russia and China and who knows who else, but not the Arab League, to monitor the fairness and openness of the elections, something completely missing in any votes taken currently. It is possible that many Arab Palestinians would enjoy the freedom and opportunities for economic growth and freedom from oppressive governance that Fatah used in Judea and Samaria and Hamas oppresses in Gaza. Gaza, unfortunately, is beyond help unless Israel, the next time thousands of rockets rain down each week, possibly daily, out of Gaza simply cleanses Gaza of all terror related rocket and weapon factories, storehouses and the people involved in such activities once and for all and allows them an open and semi-autonomous region and assistance in economic recovery. Oddly enough, granting the Arab Palestinians the opportunity to become economically viable and independent from their dependence on charity from throughout the world and the graft that produces and the other sins soon attached, is something the United Nations, European Union, many European governments, the United States State Department, the Arab League, Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood and who knows who else, would fight against with all their might as they enjoy their power to attack Israel without any direct ties or involvement. The world will eventually have to realize, Israel has been reestablished and is going to remain against any and all odds.

 

But what are the world’s Jews doing about all of this? We are fighting one another and beating our heads together for no solution. Our stance explained in the following is favoring the Zionist arguments as that is where we place ourselves. The solution is for a single state owned and protected by the IDF with the Arab Palestinians enjoying their semi-autonomous rule within Areas A and B while Israel settles Area C and the Jordan Valley, period, end of discussion. There is a great need for revamping how Justices are chosen for the Supreme Court and after that every other court of civil law. There needs to be a drafting of a Constitution which iterates the make-up of the government, what powers are vested where, the procedures for making a law and limitations on adjudication such that there cannot be any legislating from the bench. Judges apply the law using the letter of the law and not some dreamed up insanity that no normal human being could dream came from some law. That is what is needed and with this the annexation of all of Judea and Samaria. Any Arabs desiring of leaving, there will be a buy out of your property and a generous benefit package to assist with your relocation along with finally a free airline first class trip to whatever nation is accepting you. We will wish you luck. From the semiautonomous region ruled by Arab Palestinians we only demand that you obey the Noahic Code and not pursue violence against Israeli citizens. Should this advisory not be heeded then we will assume you have decided to wage a war of separation which will result in a complete and total response by all of the forces short of nuclear weapons required to decimate all of the area, structures, homes, businesses, wells, charcoal mounds and people in a conflagration which will not soon be forgotten by those watching. We, on the other hand, will simply return to living happily either before such an episode and it not being required or afterwards safe in the knowledge that there is no longer even a hint of a threat from former members of the PA, period. All of the alternatives will be of your choosing and we have explained our responses, you decide. Thank you in advance for your participation.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

American Liberal Jews, Israel, Funding, Freedom and Self-Respect

 

American Jews just supported Hillary Clinton in impressive style garnering her an impressive over three-to-one count, just a little shy of their support for Barack Obama averaging his two runs. Their claim that they supported President Obama despite his stance on Israel, especially after his first term betrayals of the Jewish State at every opportunity, because he actually was doing Israel a favor by cutting ties. They promised after the Iran deal not to be taken again and here we are back at square one with one blessing, they lost the election. We need to take a closer look at some of the American Jewish leftist groups and reveal truths about them. Some come right out and claim they want to destroy Israel as the Jewish State in order to save Israel as a democracy. J-Street is one such group and apparently are unable to figure out that if they got their way, then there would be no Israel should the need ever arise in the future for Jews to run to safety. The American Jews should ask themselves whether they are really serious when they wish to sacrifice Israel on the altar of Progressive Leftist Liberalism. Many will answer that doing so is the best alternative for Jews as their real future is within the United States and not trying to relive ancient history. They will claim that we Zionists are the ones who require a reality check because there is no Hashem which will gather the Jews back and make a great nation of Israel after two thousand years because the Torah was just some old scroll written by Moses if he ever really existed. They will further place as evidence the differing writing styles as proof that Torah was written in different periods by groups of political-religious philosophers who wrote some very handy parables but Torah is no more than a fiction which holds no real value to the reality of Jews today. These are the same people who also claim that the American Constitution is a living document which must be reinterpreted by their leftist leaders so it applies to the society they intend to build and not to preserve a society built back some two-hundred years ago. They make a similar claim about both the Torah and the Constitution, they claim both are great reads but have no real relevance to the world today and need be put on the shelf while they move forward with building a Utopia.

 

The reality is that the American Constitution was a work of brilliance with minds of a group of patriots who were the best America had to offer at that time and their experiences with the Crown of England and the Articles of Federation gave them a real look into what the soul of a governance need be and they worked very hard to craft a document that was to be the frame for the future of the United States and to survive intact and be applied for all time. To them it was not a work in progress but the culmination of everything they knew and loved and was supposed to be set in stone and applied exactly as written. They wrote it in the common language not using Latin or legalese but plain English such that every American would understand its plain language. Where there is vagueness it is partly due to language having changed and for some wiggle-room but not to be used to apply legal crowbars until the document is split wide open.

 

Torah is an even more carefully worded document and is also a history of the Israelite People, the forefathers of today’s Jews wherever they may be found. The stories in the Torah and the Old Testament have withstood archeological research and as time continues there comes more and more cases of proof of the stories, the histories, told in Torah. Torah is to be applied literally and there have been volumes of writings by Rabbis over the ages dissecting every world with the greatest volumes being included in the writings of the Talmud. The Oral Code is the miracle for adjusting Jewish life to fit the times and perhaps with time there will be further works compiled as well as new writings giving us a better fit with the Oral Code as it is to be followed today. Until then we will simply live with what is available and work first to rebuilding our homelands and gathering our flocks home, those willing to join in the making of the final Israel and readying her for the coming of the Messiah. This is the splitting point between the American leftist Jews and the majority of Israeli Jews including those who made Aliyah from the United States. This also might explain the complete disparity between the two groups voting patterns where Trump was more supported in Israel by near equal a ratio as Clinton won the American Jewish vote.

 

There is one point where we differ from many Israeli Jews from the United States and actually agree with the leftist American Jews though for entirely different reasons. Odd as it may sound, ending the suckling of Israel to the tune of billions of dollars is an idea whose time approaches and would be a great offer for Prime Minister Netanyahu to give President Trump as Israel’s present to assist with the United States balancing their budget and putting their house in order. Granted Israel will still require the financial arrangements for acquiring the F-35 JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) as the new mainstay for the Israeli Air Force as already set in place and agreed upon. But if Israel can arrange that we end the military ties where Israel is dependent upon the United States as a junior partner requiring the largesse of the United States to survive can and should end. Israel would also gain from such an arrangement as this would bring any future Israeli mainstay for our Air force home to be designed and produced in Israel. Would we require purchasing parts from other nations such as the possibility of procuring jet turbine engines from Boeing or McDonald Douglass, Lockheed-Martin or Pratt & Whitney? Yes, and we would also be free to buy Rolls-Royce power plants choosing between the three companies (see below images) and any others for the best deal for the Shekel. Relying on Israeli designs and Israeli production for as much of any future aircraft as can be done in Israel would boost the Israeli economy, provide tens of thousands of jobs over the years and make Israel a competitor in the military aircraft industry. Israel could partner with whomever they choose without having to receive United States approval for every step which could only strengthen Israeli ties with other nations such as India, Brazil, Britain, Russia, China or who knows as the possibilities are magnificently broad and open. And of course Israel could still team with the United States and doing such might be the best natural fit, time will tell. After all, does not Israel manufacture one of the best main battle tanks, the Merkava IV currently if we remember correctly? Why, yes, they sure do.

 

Top left Pratt & Whitney right Rolls-Royce
Bottom Lockheed SR71 Test with Full Afterburner

 

In so many other areas Israel and the United States share many common interests but the Palestinian situation has not been one of the stronger ones. Contrary to what many American Jews are fearing, President Elect Donald Trump is not a racist, not an anti-Semite and not any of the phobic identity titles Leftist Progressives love so much to throw in the faces of people they don’t like. The Republican Party is not anti-Israel and probably passed the most pro-Israel platform since President Truman took to task every advisor who demanded the United States not recognize Israel as doing so would upset the Arab world and recognized Israel anyway. The fact that this recognition was immediately followed by the placing of an arms embargo against the United States selling arms to Israel is another matter. At least there was no great effort to prevent private citizens from shipping Israel weapons through circuitous channels or through well disguised and concealed manners. There is no denying that the United States has been a reliable and friendly partner to Israel even if the only manner was the use of their Security Council veto to prevent the crushing of Israel by international forces mostly powered through Arab oil monies and their threat of embargo of the precious fluid, especially to European nations so dependent upon the oil from the Middle East and Russia. This may become mitigated in the future as natural gas replaces oil in many power production facilities and Israel is sitting on two very large offshore reservoirs of natural gas. The production and sale of this will serve to lower electrical costs to Israelis while also being a profitable export resource with which to formulate new and better relations throughout Europe, providing the Europeans are willing and still capable of controlling such agreements without setting off riots in the streets. Sometimes we here at BTC believe that there is absolutely little if any future for Jews to live in Europe without being under constant threat. We pray often that those still residing in Europe escape before anything horrific will come to pass. We feel this way about all Jews as we are a family as well as a People and far more than a simple religion as too many Jews believe. Coming to Israel for an extended visit, one will see the reality and perhaps then make the fateful and correct choice to make Aliyah. Then again, there are those who will never come here as it is too Jewish and this we understand and regret. The truth is it is so much easier to be a good and religious Jew in Israel than almost, if not every other location on Earth.

 

Let us talk briefly about the difference between the Democrat and Republican Party Platforms. It was probably snuck into the Democrat platform recognizing Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel and that efforts towards moving the embassy there should be made, well, at least pretend to make moves and blame the State Department once more as a President Hillary Clinton would have signed the necessary waver to prevent such each year as has been the case since forevers. The Republican Platform recognizes Jerusalem as the Capital City of Israel and President Elect Trump has stated repeatedly his intent to move the Embassy to Jerusalem. He could use the Consulate as it was built as a secure facility with intent for it to eventually, should the President ever not sign the waver, be utilized as such. What is interesting is that President Trump in order to make the move for the United States Embassy to Jerusalem has simply to do nothing. That’s right; nothing. In order to prevent the move the President is required to sign a waiver twice each year stating that for reasons of international concerns and other consideration moving the Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is not possible and would be damaging. Below are the particulars from the legislation which has passed both houses of congress and been approved by President Clinton.

 

Sec. 7. Presidential Waiver.

(a) Waiver Authority.—
(1) Beginning on October 1, 1998, the president may suspend the limitations set forth in section 3(b) for a period of six months if he determines and reports to Congress in advance that such suspension is necessary to protect the national security interests of the United States.
(2) The President may suspend such limitations for an additional six month period at the end of any period during which the suspension is in effect under this subsections if the President determines and reports to Congress in advance of the additional suspension that the additional suspension is necessary to protect the national security interests of the United States.
(3) A report under paragraph (1) or (2) shall include—
(A) A statement of the interests affected by the limitation that the President seeks to suspend; and
(B) A discussion of the manner in which the limitation affects the interests.
(b) Applicability of Waiver to Availability of Funds.—
If the President exercises the authority set forth in subsection (a) in a fiscal year for the purpose set forth in such section 3(b) except to the extent that the limitation is suspended in such following fiscal year by reason of the exercise of the authority in subsection (a).

 

It will be readily obvious whether President Trump makes good on his promise as stated to AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) where he stated the following: (video of entire speech can be found below)

But when the United States stands with Israel, the chances of peace really rise and rises exponentially. That’s what will happen when Donald Trump is president of the United States.
We will move the American embassy to the eternal capital of the Jewish people, Jerusalem.
And we will send a clear signal that there is no daylight between America and our most reliable ally, the state of Israel.

 

Donald Trump Full Speech at AIPAC
Policy Conference on March 21, 2016

 

The media and majority of American Jewish organizations with the most obvious exception being the ZOA (Zionist Organization of America) who stood almost alone in not rushing to denigrate Donald Trump as a racist anti-Semite nor to stand with Hillary Clinton completely ignoring the anti-Israel, anti-Zionist and anti-Semites who were a critical part of her team and have been advising and winning asseverations from her filled with encouragement and petition to carry on with the good work. These individuals are well known and include but are not limited to Huma Mahmood Abedin (father, mother and brother to the Muslim Brotherhood), Sidney Blumenthal, Max Blumenthal (Closest advisor on Israel with emphasis on Palestinian Arab support even at the cost of Israel) , Sandy Berger (Advised forcing Israel from all of Judea and Samaria to aid Abbas and make him stronger despite his also believing that any deal would place Hamas ruling the West Bank and Abbas in exile or dead), Anne Marie Slaughter (who advised e-mailing Hillary, “Suppose we launched a ‘Pledge for Palestine’ campaign,” and “Such a campaign among billionaires/multi-millionaires around the world would reflect a strong vote of confidence in the building of a Palestinian state.” And Hillary wrote back, ““I am very interested-pls flesh out. Thx.”), Thomas Pickering, George Soros and others with some listed here. Hillary Clinton was not alone in casting stones at Israel and religious Jews in general. The ADL (Anti-Defamation League) is a leader in pointing out anti-Semitism but also appears to be planning to go off the rails and defames conservatives falsely and defends anti-Semites rights in the courts, something many believe to be unconstructive. One such example was Stephen Bannon who was defended by Morton A. Klein, President of ZOA.

 

An article detailing the path we can expect from the ADL’s new president, Jonathan Greenblatt, is intending to take the organization making attempts to make it into a progressive movement which fully backs leftist causes even at the expense, or possibly because of their expense, against Israel. The supporting of anything progressive, leftist and uber-liberal has become Jewish canon which is their new interpretation of Tikkun Olam (Hebrew: תיקון עולם or תקון עולם’). The claim is it means “repair the world” and they interpret that as meaning to perfect governance and make the general welfare of all equalized and marrying various progressive ideas and ideals. They miss the other side which would have the Jews spread the word of Hashem through perfecting ourselves and living a life which is exemplary with success from serving Hashem and committing to all the Commandments. The idea is that one must first look within and repair the self and through this set an example others will desire to follow as Avraham did by digging wells for water wherever he traveled and by being a supportive and respectful neighbor while seldom speaking ill of any other person. He also made a great effort to arrange his affairs openly and make any land and other purchases with great care, truthfully, and before numerous witnesses laying out precise terms which were clearly defined and everything delineated as in the form of a legal contract. Repairing the world must start with repairing oneself and that alone often takes a lifetime and even then most require even longer. Judaism, non-Orthodox Judaism is or has lost its way depending on your congregation and Rabbi and the only cure we see is to make Aliyah and open your eyes and heart to Hashem and find what it is Hashem desires of you, nothing more and definitely nothing less.

 

What the last few elections have proven is that approximately three-quarters of American Jews consistently show signs of having lost their way and latched onto Progressive, liberal, leftist and even extreme leftist ideas and ideals. They have replaced their Torah with the Progressive Left’s propaganda swallowing its swill hook, line and sinker. They need to look back at the previous Progressive track record and compare it to today’s Progressive playbook and note the similarities and how deeply it is offensive to Torah and one might say also Hashem. The Progressives first advanced the concept of Eugenics and perfecting humanity through genetic selection. This was a belief held by American aviator Charles Lindbergh as well as by the author of “Looking Backward” where socialist author Edward Bellamy mused about “race purification.” Among the more notable progressives to embrace the practice, as listed by Discover the Networks.org, were the anarco-communist Emma Goldman, NAACP founder W.E.B. Dubois, author H.G. Wells, political scientist Harold Laski, socialist reformers Sidney and Beatrice Webb, biology instructor/atheist Edward Aveling, economist John Maynard Keynes, playwright George Bernard Shaw, World Wildlife Fund founder Julian Huxley, sex theorist Havelock Ellis, and Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger. Move to today and the Progressive movement still supports Margaret Sanger’s project, Planned Parenthood. The institution of Planned Parenthood is still in the Eugenics movement and serving the Progressive aims of building a better world through selective breeding. According to Life News, Planned Parenthood, according to new research, shows the abortion business targets blacks and Hispanics by placing 79% of its abortion clinics in minority neighborhoods. Corroborative information can be found here, here, here, here, here, and here.

 

Finally, should one look objectively at the politics in Europe and the United States, they will see the greatest concentration of anti-Semites as well as anti-Zionists and anti-Israel feelings at the furthermost left end of the spectrum. This is a trend which has occurred before and is once again raising its ugly head and will soon rise to its feet and the enormity of this monster will become evident. Yes, yes, yes, we admit that there is a core at the hard right who are anti-Semitic and these include your KKK, neo-Nazis and supremacist groups (particularly white supremacists) and that they are a constant problem; but they have been checked and marginalized to the point it is the ACLU who represents their right to march, and even when they win in court the court of public opinion, often turns out five to ten or more times the numbers of counter-protesters than these groups can muster for their march. This has reached a point where they get their court order but seldom march and instead hold an ineffectual rally. The groups on the right, the David Dukes, are such lost causes that most conservatives ignore them hoping they will simply go away quietly and never darken the door again, and that is often the case. Will a David Duke grab a headline for supporting Trump? Of course he will but had he supported Hillary Clinton nobody would have heard his endorsement as it would somehow simply not make news as it would not serve the leftist cause. How many articles have you read about former Senator from West Virginian Robert Byrd and his joining the KKK which he honestly admitted was “the greatest mistake I ever made.” Had Donald Trump made a similar error in judgement does anyone honestly believe his campaign could have survived such a report? Of course he could not and his candidacy would have died on the spot, period, no questions and no explanation required, desired or ever to be reported upon, he would have disappeared, period. The far left Progressives are, as Hillary Clinton stated revealingly that she admired, the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Progressive movement. One must wonder if she realized that this movement believed that Hitler, Mussolini and the leaders of the Eugenics Movement were wonderful and were going to bring us a better world by removing the defective genes from the gene pool by sterilization and eventually extermination as it turned out. The evil, lesser, genetically inferior included any handicapped whether physical or mental, those deemed idiots or morons with lesser IQs, blacks, Hispanics, Jews, the Polish, Russians, Ukrainians and we are sure the list would continue until there was one single human left. The early Progressives were not the altruistic people Hillary likely believes they were as they believed in a new deity, science. Science was the answer to every problem and simply by having the government applies scientific principles, proven principles, to their laws and regulations then the world would work like a Swiss watch. Fortunately the world dodged a bullet and perhaps the United States will come and return to reason and collect what remains and build anew, build better and stronger America. And at the same time perhaps Israel can find the means to cut the umbilical cord and walk on her own two competent, strong and steady feet.

 

Giving Trump a present of an end of supportive aid to Israel would benefit both nations in the end and Israel needs more opportunities to hire people to produce her own weapons’ systems which requires her to walk free and independent. We can then work with the United States, the Americans, as equals with both sharing expertise and at the end of the day Israeli research is Israeli and there will be no begging for approval from the United States to sell a few weapons or radar or other system as Israel will have all Israeli designed and produced systems. Israel has a proven record in this field and would also be the perfect exit from President Obama’s funding trap where all monies must be spent in United States companies and Israel will get none of the aid money. If Israel is not permitted to use the aid for herself unless her companies are sold and become American and leave Israel releasing their workers, why should we continue with such an atrocious deal? Let President Trump have the few billion dollars to repay the Social Security funds in the “lockbox” which is a figment of the government’s imagination, who knew they were that advanced. Of course listen to any and all offers from President Trump when Netanyahu meets him and encourage the weapons storage in Israel be updated and restocked and thank him for all he desires to do and tell him that should he simply move the embassy to Jerusalem, our Capital City, that would be payment in full for all that each has done. Stress we are better together by choice than tied at the money belt as that makes one the beggar and the other the owner and Israelis are demanding more from our government and the governance than having us suckle at the American foreign policy trough. Further, making it on our own will also remove the fear and pressures from the State Department as they will no longer have an override on anything as Israel will have paid her own way and in full. Such an arrangement will prove healthier for both nations, so thanks but no thanks to the money and maybe that will free America from also paying the Arab world equal amounts to every state. The example Israel sets could change the Middle East remarkably as Israel will truly be a free nation owing nobody. That is freedom.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

Israel Prepares for New Reality

 

For quite some time Israel has seen the writing on the wall and knew she was not prepared for what lies ahead in her future. She had absorbed influxes of immigrants over the years with varying levels of effectiveness. There was the initial pouring in of European Jews who survived World War II and the European death camps. This is the only influx of immigrants most of the world remembers and thus get the warped opinion that Israel is simply a European colony. The second influx of immigrants laid that misconception aside as false as these were the nearly one million Jews expelled from across the Arab and Muslim worlds from Pakistan to Morocco and Turkey to the Sudan to Yemen and beyond. These Asian, Middle Eastern and North African Jews comprise almost half the population of Israel at the time of the Six Day War in June of 1967. There have been subsequent waves of immigration with the largest single source being Russian Jews many of which spent time in work camps while others simply took advantage of a means to leave the Soviet Union. Other immigrant waves were less in numbers but some of those Israel is most proud to have found the means to settle and incorporate into the population. There were the Ethiopian Jews who have been airlifted from camps in Ethiopia and other Ethiopian Jews have made their way to Israel through airlifts and some by their own volition. There were the Bnei Menashe Jews from India and various other groups of Jews from the world over.

 

Israel is truly a multi-ethnic nation as well as multi-religious with approximately twenty percent of the Israeli population made up of Arabs, both Christian and Muslim, who enjoy the full rights as citizens of the State of Israel. There are Arabs in the Knesset, they are judges, doctors, nurses, teachers and virtually every other profession one can think of and have their own churches and Mosques worshiping as they please. They vote in all elections and are equal citizens in every aspect bar none. There is also a community of Bahá’í who have two shrines in Israel, one near the recognized heritage site outside of Akko on Israel’s northern coast and the other on Mount Carmel in Haifa (see image below). These are the resting places of Baha’u’llah and the Bab, the founders of the Bahá’í Faith. Israel and India are the sole nations with such Bahá’í religious structures and grounds. The Bahá’í Faith was founded in Iran in the mid-19th century in Iran where the religion is all but outlawed today.

 

Bahá’í Gardens in Haifa

 

Things in Israel are about to change with yet two more waves of immigration by Jews to come. The first has already started and will result in the many European Jews and remaining Jews throughout the world with two main exceptions, Canada and the United States, will begin their exodus to Israel though a fair number of European Jews may choose to immigrate to the United States given half an opportunity. The European influx has already begun with France, Sweden, the Ukraine and the Balkan States being the early entries as anti-Semitism grows once again across the continent. Perhaps by now we should call it the Dark Continent of Europe as its history of anti-Semitism dates back to the early Greeks through the Roman and Byzantine Empires and continued through every age of Europe with Jews often keeping a couple of suitcases packed in case the family had no time to pack before leaving. There were those who believed anti-Semitism was a monstrous evil which had been put in its grave but alas that did not even prove true for Europe, let alone the MENA States (Middle East and North Africa). What was disparaging was one particular result of the worldwide anti-Semitism study which found that some seventy percent of those considered anti-Semitic said they have never met a Jew. That has to be one of the most vexing discoveries from the universal study of anti-Semitism in the world today. Still, such does not alter the fact that anti-Semitism is on the rise in Europe and if truth be told, also in the United States. There remains approximately one and a quarter to one and a half million Jews across Europe which is one reason there has been such a concentration on building new apartments within the Green Line and any demographic scientist would point out that Israel does not have sufficient lands to support the entirety of the World Jewish population, though that is a definitive possible future. Where Israel would face incredible difficulties would be should the nearly six and a half million Jews from the Americas (North, South and Central America) move in great numbers to Israel as this would be a doubling of the Israeli population when adding in the coming Europeans whether these Europeans first settle in North America or come straight to Israel. These demographic bombs are part of the reason that Israel must insist that she be granted what was promised by the Oslo Accords and be permitted to annex at a minimum the lands of Area C.

 

That brings us to the election of Donald Trump, a man who might become the most supportive President concerning Israel. It is undeniable that the Republican Platform plainly states that they no longer support the two state solution. President elect Trump has stated he does not see the “settlements” as a problem for making peace. One advantage Donald Trump has is that he fully understands contracts and can read the Oslo Accords and the promises and preconditions placed into that agreement and the related United Nations Resolution and realize at no point does anything demand Israel vacate all of the lands won in their defensive war in 1967 and the Six Day War and 1973 and the Yom Kippur War. It is obvious that Israel having returned the Sinai Peninsula and given up Gaza has already fulfilled any obligation for returning lands and that the main reason there has been no peace reached between Israel and the Arab Palestinians has been the Arab intransigence demanding the total destruction of Israel as a Jewish State, let alone the Jewish State. Between the Republican Platform and statements from Donald Trump an end to this decades’ long nightmare might actually be forthcoming.

 

This likely also explains the opposite voting patterns between American Jews residing in the United States and American Jews residing in Israel. In the United States it was reported that approximately, if not more than, three-quarters of Jews voted for Hillary Clinton while Israeli Jews and Orthodox Jews in the United States voted over three-quarters for Donald Trump. This last fact, especially orthodox Jews, of Jewish support for President elect Trump should dispel the ugly rumor that Donald Trump harbor anti-Semitic feelings. He will be the first American President with Jewish grandchildren as well as a daughter who has converted to Judaism (see images below). Trump’s chosen Middle East and Israel advisors support Israel and the Zionist enterprise of reestablishing the ancient home of the Jewish People with Jerusalem as its political and religious Capital City. Of course everything remains to be seen and what will be borne out after the State department gets their say into the mix will remain to be seen.

Ivanka Trump with Jared Kushner
and daughter Arabella Rose and son Joseph Frederick
and Ivanka with youngest son Theodore James

The final concern which Israel very well may face in the future would be the near unthinkable of anti-Semitism becoming so strongly engaged by populations the world over that Israel becomes the sole refuge from the storm. This would most certainly double the population of Israel and as what starts with the Jews rarely ends there, the potential for certain, if not all, Christians becoming victims of secular purges where any religion outside secular humanism are chased from the world’s societies. There are many who claim that the numbers of Christians would prevent such from ever coming to fruition in the Western world. The problem is looking at the Western world, especially Europe, and one sees a land destitute of Christians. The churches and cathedrals stand with empty pews Sunday after Sunday with some being sold to be torn down, used for Mosques or any other assorted uses. Should Christianity face the same withering assault from secular purists they too might seek refuge where religion still has a home, Israel and certainly areas in South America and Central and Southern Africa and Asia. There can be little denial that much of Western society no longer finds a place for religion and in a couple more generations such a trend to believe in mankind and the governments that man creates could lead to a cleansing of what would be viewed as a backward and suspicious practice with archaic structures and beliefs which would have no place in the perfect world presumably designed by man dedicated to pure intellect. For me, just leave me be and let me know how that works out in the end. I have my suspicions and they do not appear to be pretty, at least not as pretty as the secular humanists like to paint their bleak existence.

Beyond the Cusp