ANTI-SEMITISM AND NUCLEAR IRAN
The world today is indeed on shaky grounds, and the Jewish state and Jews throughout the world are being once again targeted as an undesirable entity that needs to be obliterated. Injustices, lies and nefarious conspiracies are reaching new heights to delegitimize the only democratic country in the Middle East in the form of fictional accusations against the Jewish army who has been relentlessly provoked since 1948 to defend its citizens against wars, rockets, suicide bombings and despicable propaganda meant to portray Jews as an alien monstrosity. The Jewish army who has been praised by many respectable U.S. generals as the most moral army in the world, has been accused of such evil and absurd lies as harvesting organs from Palestinians and of indiscriminately killing harmless Palestinian children as depicted recently in a governmental run TV program in Turkey. In fact, blood libels reminiscent of medieval blood libel accusations are certainly meant to encourage hate crimes against Jews. As the former Canadian Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler described it, “it is a genocidal anti-semitism, the public calls for the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people” wherever they may be.
Just as the Obama administration has strategically surrounded itself with Jew boys who couldn’t care less about their religion and the Jewish state to pressure Israel to make concessions to a fictional Palestinian entity, the Goldstone report, headed by a Jew from South Africa, is shamelessly parroting the tiresome resolutions of the UN Human Rights Council whose campaign is aimed at denigrating, delegitimizing and demonizing Israel without any shred of evidence and irrespective of the thousands of Hamas rockets hitting Israel for several years, a terrorist aggression which has no parallel elsewhere in the world.
The forces of evil are tirelessly working overtime to destroy Israel and encouraging anti-semitism throughout the world, nothing short of insanity. Although Jews have survived injustices and slaughter for millennia, this age old canard is once again raising its ugly head in spite of the horrors of the past. In parallel, Muslim extremists are determined to eliminate democratic values and replace them with Muslim caliphates based on Shariah law through mass inflows of Muslims to Western countries.
No one in this world today is immune to imminent catastrophes in the making. The leaders of the Free world are hesitant of taking strong measures to stop rogue states such as Iran to acquire nuclear weapons that could very well fall into terrorist hands in the waiting. They are afraid that attacking Iran may initiate the closure of the Strait of Hormuz which supplies 20% of the world’s oil and thus create an untenable world’s economic crisis. However, a nuclear threat from a country that is described as a “messianic apocalyptic cult” who believes that Allah and time is on their side would translate into a devastating catastrophe for the entire civilized world with horrific repercussions. Israel may have no choice but to obliterate this threat not only for its sake, but for the sake of the future safety and prosperity of the free world.
ISRAEL – HOME OF SCIENTIFIC INNOVATIONS
September 7, 2009 by yipbop · Leave a Comment
In this essay, I will abstain from the customary political indignation in view of the latest biased Jew bashing and anti-Semitism analogous to that of the medieval and World War II events, and focus instead on the steady medical breakthroughs emanating from Israel, the home of innovation.
Although at some point, the use of gene therapy seemed to fade the radar when researchers realized just how great a distance stretched from the concept of using genes for therapy to translating that concept into clinical practice, lately, despite significant hurdles, gene therapy remains alive and steadily under very active investigation, especially by a distinguished team of investigators in Israel. This community of scientists, albeit underfunded when compared to other scientists in the U.S. and Europe, has managed to be a major driver of productivity and innovation.
One such discovery involves the use of a molecule to regenerate dying cells. What does this mean in lay terms? This outstanding clinical application gives the potential to reverse what is now irreversible, liver and kidney failure. In addition, this extraordinary molecule is being tested with great success in animal models to reverse the side-effect known as “dry mouth syndrome” or non functioning salivary glands experienced by patients suffering from cancers of the head and neck undergoing radiation. This medical breakthrough can be interpreted as sparing such patients from severe and ongoing suffering while allowing higher doses of radiation to increase their chances of cure.
Another medical innovation emanating from Israel, while having no impact on patient survival, contributes massively to cancer patients’ moral and psychological well being. The Israeli investigators discovered that this same molecule prevented animal models from losing their hair or fur when undergoing irradiation. They found that a protein plays a central role in hair loss. They applied an antibody to this protein and administered it prior to radiotherapy in animal models. These animals kept their hair throughout radiotherapy. Clinical trials are underway and Israeli scientists are looking into the prevention of hair loss from chemotherapy as well as radiotherapy in patients undergoing cancer treatments, a leading cause of psychological distress.
Many more medical innovations emanating from Israel are in progress such as the use of gene therapy based on RNA interference (RNAi) referred to in a previous essay for curing cancer without the customary invasive use of chemotherapy and radiation, and I intend to keep you posted on this major innovation in future essays. It is a shame that the world which will ultimately benefit from these medical innovations originating from Israel, are instead making the lives of Israelis insufferable through unjustified bias and even medieval anti-Semitic accusations. Could one imagine what additional stellar contributions might be made if Israel in particular and Jews in general were not the victims of unjustified accusations and harassment by the world community, especially when Israel stands among the giants in new technologies and medical discoveries that enhance our everyday lives?
The new anti-Semitism and its political roots
August 31, 2009 by yipbop · Leave a Comment
By S.B. (Ontario, Canada)
Anti-Semitism has a long history, often written in blood. Rather than dwelling on past tragedies, we should learn from the dynamics that led to them and try to identify shifting patterns at an early stage.
Traditional anti-Semitism originated in Church teachings and propagated itself up to the Nazi period. The anti-Jewish edicts, ranging from the earlier Church synods of the 4th century to the councils of the 15th century, and the striking parallels found in the Nuremberg Laws of 1935 and later Nazi ordinances are chilling. Traditional anti-Semitism is different from all other hatreds in that it is entirely irrational: based on wild accusations, often self-contradictory (Jews are too powerful; Jews are a miserable vermin), or on hereditary and collective guilt (Jews are Christ killers) in defiance of the most basic logical principles. Thankfully, this form of virulent anti-Semitism has been largely stamped out and is no longer a main concern.
The new anti-Semitism is of a different nature. It is essentially fuelled by anti-Zionism and the main difference with the old brand is that it presents itself as convincingly rational. This pseudo-rational narrative can be summarized as follows:
“Israel has been illegally occupying foreign lands since 1967, if not since 1948, and the Palestinian indigenous population are the victims of this relentless occupation, oppression, colonization, spoliation, racism, Nazi-like treatment and apartheid practices at the hands of foreign Jewish settlers who stole their lands and make Arab lives miserable in spite of their courageous resistance.”
The cornerstone of this web of lies is the notion of “illegal occupation.” As long as this notion remains unchallenged, whatever is built upon it will stand because “occupation” is vilified all over the world and all occupied territories have been liberated from their colonial powers in the past century. “Occupation” has no redeeming value. Persistent occupiers are bound to be pilloried, mercilessly. And the blemish of “occupation” will not be circumscribed to political leaders and their government policies; the blemish will naturally spread to all “Zionists” and, by extension, to all Jews.
The falsehood of this “occupation narrative” has been crawling, spreading and bursting with the same tenacity and the same slanderous fury as the famous “calumny” tirade in the Figaro of Beaumarchais. Surprisingly, Israelis and Jews have remained inexplicably passive to this deadly onslaught, while pouring a few buckets of water on the raging forest fire. But now that this evil has turned into a “universal chorus of hatred and exclusion” in universities, in the media, in boycott campaigns, in Islamist calls for genocide, in UN resolutions, and in threatening policy shifts from our most trusted allies, it would be suicidal not to react. And react forcefully.
This is a time for action for both Jews and non-Jews. Manifestations of anti-Semitism are the proverbial canary in the mine: they are a harbinger of deep social and political upheavals which affect all sections of the community. Even though everyone should be concerned, the Jewish community ought to be particularly vigilant and proactive in fighting this scourge. Jewish leaders should first recognize the problem and fully appreciate its ramifications and its magnitude. They should set aside any trivial, internal divergences and speak with a unified voice. And they should not be bashful in attacking the cornerstone of the anti-Zionist propaganda machine which fuels the new anti-Semitism. Demolish the myth of “occupation” and the whole edifice of hateful propaganda will start to crumble.
For this to happen, Jews around the world together with their non-Jewish friends must be aware of the assault on the truth that a masterful Arab propaganda has been conducting for the past decades. Distorted narratives and intentional omissions of fundamental historic and legal facts have gradually led to false accusations, delegitimization and demonization of the Jewish State of Israel. If the Arabs have been able to peddle these lies and to drag public opinion to their side, especially the left-leaning advocates of social justice and human rights, why would the Jews and their allies be incapable of restoring factual truths?
For too long, Israel has demonstrated her desire for peace by offering concession upon concession in a “peace process” that all but ignored her legal rights as they have been recognized in international law since 1920. Israel’s peace driven approach has boomeranged in the most vicious ways, turning a political stalemate into racial hatred and growing anti-Semitism. Even the so-called “moderate” Fatah faction of the Palestinian Authority is openly intransigent to any Jewish national presence in the region. It is high time to say “enough is enough.”
A broad effort aimed at restoring the truth is required. It should be carried out on many fronts. At the international level, Israel should put an end to the charade of the “two-state solution” as it has been defined in the Oslo process, and come up with a made-in-Israel plan that accounts for her acquired rights in international law and her strategic needs of self-defence. Diaspora Jews and community leaders of all political hues should embark on a proactive campaign of education/information targeting students, academics, the media and political figures in a pattern faithful to factual events of recent history and consonant with the renewed position of the Israeli government.
We should understand that the current wave of the new anti-Semitism has not only political overtones but is largely fuelled by Middle East politics, the Palestinian construct and, ironically, the ongoing “peace process.” Those who believe that this process should be pursued, in the way it has been shaped since 1993, will encourage the creation of a new sovereign Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria with Jerusalem as its capital and will usher, perhaps unwittingly, the demise of Israel. Those who oppose pursuing such a process that flies in the face of international law; that makes a mockery of the legal rights of Israel to the lands that harbour 90% of the Jewish historic patrimony; and that places Israel in existential danger, should stand firm and make their voices heard. The former will hope in vain to appease the anti-Semites. The latter will stand for truth and justice as prerequisites of a lasting peace.
S.B. is a guest writer from Toronto, Canada for our site.
THE WORLD’S HIDDEN POLITICAL AGENDA WITH ISRAEL
August 26, 2009 by yipbop · Leave a Comment
It appears that peace in the Holy Land, above all other conflicts in the world, is at the heart of most anti-Semitic people in the world, including the Arabs, Europeans and recently Barack Hussein Obama’s new policies. You may wonder why so? The answer is very clear; a flimsy peace between Israel and the bogus Palestinians which would entail ejecting half a million Jews from their homes and forcing Israel to withdraw to indefensible borders, could answer their prayers of eventually obliterating the Jewish state and what it represents. The so-called Palestinian people whose entity suddenly appeared when the arch-terrorist Yassir Arafat and his ilk came to Israel from Tunis and the rabid and anti-semitic Palestinian propaganda machinery that ensued claiming their right to the entire Palestine as their legal patrimony, are all working together in harmony to eliminate Israel’s existence.
The pressure that is put on Israel to go through dismemberment and make peace with proven terrorists is not only due to anti-semitism; we also have to acknowledge that the Arab world which occupies 22 countries and controls the largest reserves of natural oil, also comes into play. But Jew-hatred is a deadly virus to be reckoned with; it has caused atrocious genocide for many centuries and is again showing its ugly head even in the 21st century. It is evident that world leaders are conspiring through subterfuge and appeasement of the Arabs to destroy Israel even though they are cognizant of the fact that this tiny piece of land is the only democracy in the Middle East. They also know that in spite of its defensive wars against Arab armies bent on its destruction, Jews have managed to be among the world leaders in medical, scientific and technological breakthroughs contributing to the well-being of the world at large. Yet, it appears that these wise leaders, including self-hating Jews are concocting a harmful peace with Israel’s enemies whose charter of destroying Israel has not been and will never be amended.
The universality of renewed anti-semitism can be attested by recent events, the most striking of which has appeared recently in the Swedish media accusing Jewish soldiers of snatching young Palestinian organs for transplantation. This anti-semitic canard which depicts Jews as ritual murderers brings to mind the medieval accusations portrayed in Chaucer’s “Prioress’s Tale” claiming that Jews used the blood of young Christian children to bake their Passover matza (unleaved bread). Just this week, the former President Carter and author of his biased book calling Israel an apartheid state, is joining other illustrious Jew bashers such as Desmond Tutu who calls for international campaigners to treat Israel as they treated apartheid South Africa, and Mary Robinson who allowed the Durban conference to become a global platform for Israel venting. This “respectful” trio who call themselves “the elders” reminiscent of the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” are campaigning to impose peace unilaterally through the Quartet, without Israel.
World leaders’ gagged and blindfolded strategy of schmoozing with terrorists and appeasing the Arab street by imposing a dangerous peace treaty between Israel and a terrorist entity, are shooting themselves in the foot, since their Machiavellian stratagem will imperil not only Israel, but also the rest of the world. Moreover, global anti-semitism at these times, as opposed to the Nazi years, will only benefit Israel by attracting millions of Jews to Israel’s shores, fulfilling biblical prophesies of the ingathering of the exiles and the eventual redemption. Peace in the Middle East will only come through a higher power and not through the imposition of leaders who only look after their own interests.
I ACCUSE!
August 13, 2009 by yipbop · Leave a Comment
The bashing of Israel since its birth in 1948 continues unabated especially in times when Israel had no choice but to defend itself against recalcitrant Arab enemies bent on its destruction. You may wonder, what is it with Israel whose contributions in health, biotechnology, agriculture, and the largest concentration of high-tech companies outside Silicon Valley, provokes so much hatred and unjust criticisms, unequal to any other country in the world? If it is about the bogus “occupation” It is certainly not for want that successive Israeli governments have tried in vain to reach peace with enemies who publicly avow Israel’s annihilation; in fact, no nation has made more concessions over the years to its arch enemies than Israel. I wonder just what method would be legitimate and acceptable to the international community when dealing with an enemy who will only accept wiping you off the face of the Earth? How much retaliation is necessary and/or justified? Ironically, it is worth mentioning that time and time again, throughout successive Israeli governments, in spite of Palestinian terror and incitement, each time Israel has conceded or retreated, especially after the 2005 disengagement from Gaza where over 10,000 Jews were thrown out of their homes and businesses, the world community reacted with even more incendiary criticism, heightened anti-semitism, scrutiny and condescension. So what is instigating this global loathing?
The strong bias and double-standards against Israel is becoming so bizarre, that I have come to the realization that those who are throwing these blanket accusations and wholesale blame against Israel have realized that if you aspire to become a great leader in the international community, gain friends throughout the world, and especially receive plenty of funding, all you’ll have to do is preach hatred and criticism towards the Jewish state. It is a risible advise, but one that works plenty. Just pick a few examples to substantiate this counsel – Yasser Arafat, the most prominent and diabolical terrorist leader of the past century, who pioneered airline hijacking and suicide bombers against civilians, enjoyed the status of some sort of statesman, was more invited by the then Clinton administration than any other world leader and was awarded the Nobel Prize! left wing organizations such as “J street” who is a haven for those who seek to censure Israel and campaign to discredit Israel’s self defense conflicts is warmly accepted by the Obama administration and is very well funded; and let’s not forget the Jewish high ranking leaders surrounding Obama such as Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod, Dan Shapiro, and the other good American Jews working with Obama as a fifth column; and lately, Obama’s shocking announcement of nominating Mary Robinson, the most vicious anti-Israel spokesman who presided over the UN’s notorious Durban conference in 2001, to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
I reiterate what I said previously, and I believe this to be a sure-fire strategy: to elevate your standing in the global community a thousand-fold, and even receive large funds and bonuses, just start bashing Israel, denounce settlement activity and promulgate expulsion of settlers, become a partisan for Israel’s dismemberment and even annihilation, schmooze with terrorist organizations, request for a Judenrein Palestinian state and the return of millions of Arab refugees to Israel, and use your influence to promote a weak Israel since according to the Jerusalem Post’s Carolyn Glick “Successive governments in Jerusalem, from the Rabin-Peres government to the Barak, Sharon and Olmert governments, all embraced the Arabist view that regional stability and hence Israeli security is enhanced by a weakened Israel.”
The good news for Israel is that the demonization of Israel has instilled a rising specter of anti-semitism especially across Europe unlike anything seen since World War II, and this alarming anti-semitic trend has prompted a big rise in the number of European Jewry immigrating to Israel, and I anticipate that this trend will increase exponentially, to fulfill Isaiah’s prophesy (11:12; 27:13; 56:8; 66:20) on the ingathering of the exiles.