Dem-flip flops /Islamophobia

The editorial in yesterdays WSJ giving a chronlogy of Hillary Clinton's statements on Iraq ,and an op-ed in the same paper on John Edwards views on Iran are not only compelling reading,but frightening.
Every person is entitled to chamge their minds,even politicians.However when it occurs because of the audience being addressed ,or the polls, it is political cowardice.For a long time,I said that while I disagree with Hillary's domestic agenda,her national security statements were closer to Joe Lieberman's than her fellow Democrats.No longer!
In view if George Soros backing Obama,the all-star Dem. candidates are fighting for left field.Hillary hopes that after she wins the nomination,she can move to left-center.Problem is-who is going to believe her?
By the way John Edwards,noted ambulance-chaser-malpractice lawyer who is building a 27 bedroom 6 million dollar home with a basketball court,should consider giving part of his property to "the other America".
For me the real problem is ,when Israel will be under the gun,and under pressure from Iran ,and threatened by Hizbollah and Hamas can we trust these vacillating politicos?
I think NOT!

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I like Rabbi Marc Schneir as an activist and innovator,even if if I disagree with his politics.What he did in the Hamptons is terrific.His association with Kadimah,as its American President ,will be short-lived,for after the next elections,it and the Pensioners Party will be history.
However,his new project to fight ISLAMOPHOBIA ,is another matter.
Helping to erase misunderstanding between the black-Jewish and hispanic-Jewish communities is laudable.Neither seek our destruction.There are always responsible black and hispanic leaders who condemn anti-semitism,or anti-Americanism.
Islam today,as represented by Saudia Arabia,Pakistan,Iran and all of the billion plus non-Asian (exclude khazakstan,Uzbekistan etc) muslims,do not recognize Israel,nor do they criticize the fundamentalists who seek to kill and destroy all that we stand for.I do not condemn each individual muslim,however the tact of the organized community has been to claim discrimination whenever charges are leveled against terrorists,or a film like "24" presents realism.
The Jewish Community in the US awaits some confirmation from the Muslim American Community,that they recognize that not only is their loyalty to our country,but they are prepared to renounce all teachings and acts that threaten civility and true cooperation amongst our two communities.
To my friend Marc,I wish you well.However the stakes are very high and the dangers of being used very real!

The Super Bowl

I am a member of a small minority that did not watch the Super Bowl.Although my children and grandchildren think that my wife and I are somewhat strange in this regard,my aversion to all professional sports goes back to the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Prior to their moving out of Brooklyn,I attended 15-20 games per year,recorded every pitch,and knew every batting average better than Dodger announcer Red Barber.Once they announced the move,I realized Baseball(and then football etc) was not a sport but a business.Only one problem -it was not my business that required my loyalty and devotion,.
So I went cold turkey.and nothing over these past almost 50 years has made me regret my decision.If anything the business aspect has multiplied,as the team and player loyalty to the fans has diminished.
Thus as a real outsider,I cannot get over the hype and prioritization of the game in the American psyche.More strange is this fascination with TV ads that cost millions of dollars per mili-second.
If we would analyze why our society has lost control of morality in the schools,and substituded a permissiveness in the manner of dress for example ,or why there is a need for `policemen in the halls of academia .or a myriad of other political ,social and moral issues the way we analyze these ads,what a better society we would live in.

The hearts of Hamas and Fatah are hardened!

Last nite I heard Rabbi Shlomo Riskin of Efrat ,deliver a talk on Religious Zionism.Riskin,an old friend was a debating team colleague both in high school and college.Incidently,a third member of our yeshiva high school team was Avi (now Allen ) Dershowitz.
Riskin ,made one interesting point.Like the Pharoh in our Torah,G-d has hardened the hearts and minds of HAMAS and FATAH, so that despite working against their common interests, they continue to kill themselves.
From the very first Madrid "PEACE" Conference,I worried that the Arabs would wisen up and agree to everthing Israel offered(similarly at Oslo I, II etc) and proceed to have a State,and most of the West Bank,part of Jerusalem etc.THEN.....it is classical for Arabs to lie(witness all the failed agreements,and the false reporting from the Arab world during the six day war,etc) THEN,being in a stronger position they could renounce their agreements and start again to fight for their ultimate goal-the end of Israel and the return of their "refugees".
Alas,they have never missed an opportunity to shoot themselves in the behind.Their ineptness and plain hatred for the Jew has helped mask the general mediocrity of later day Israeli leaders.
As we enter the '08 election season,and as the left wing of the Democratic party is jockeying to move further left(and carrying Hillary with them) the pressure to talk and engage Iran and Syria will grow.
I believe Syria is not the same as Iran, and under the right circumstances, there could be progress in talks.Syria knows what it has to do to bring this about,and up to the present is not prepared to either divorce itself from the mayhem in Lebanon,or stop being the home for a wide range of terrorists groups.
The first step the US and Europe should take ,is to bring Israel into full NATO membership.The signal to Iran would be clear.As Chirac pointed out ,before he tried to withdraw his comments,an attempt by Iran to launch a nuclear device would mean the instantaneous destruction of Tehran.
The financial sanctions must be toughened to bring home to the Mullahs that the world is unhappy with both holocaust denial and Iranian nuclear ambitions.
The participation of Romney,Edwards and Gingrich in the recent Herziliyah Conference dedicated to the Iranian problem is an important event.
The temptation to make believe that Iran is ripe for diplomacy will only lead to the production by Iran of multiple nuclear devices ,as time is on their side.It is interesting to read today of the mysterious sudden death of an Iranian nuclear scientist allegedly by Mossad.Hopefully he will not be the last mysterious mortality.
The Iranians undertand strength and unity on the part of the free world.
Together with the Saudis-who are not their friends,they finance world terrorism and Islamic fascism.
We are in a world war that we must not lose!