Barack Obama's Double-Speak

During his speech at the conference in Cairo, Inexperienced President Barack Obama stated that "all nations" (ie IRAN) have the right to develop nuclear power, as long as the resource is handled "responsibly." Because radical Islamic nations with a thirst to get rid of the Zionist and the Capitalist entities will use nuclear power for schools and hospitals, rather than to develop a far-reaching nuclear weapons program. He further implied in his statements that the United States would look the other way if these so-called responsible countries had a fit of irresponsibility, opening the door for every Arab country to attack Israel.

Several days later, Obama issued a press release clarifying that anyone who attacks Israel (in a responsible way of course...) will be attacking America. It reminded me of the microscopic corrections box hidden between the ads in the New York Times and other major news papers. No one pays attention to the accurate information, once the headline has screamed.

In a developing pattern, at the beginning of this week, Obama's representative in the Middle East stated that Israel has every right to defend itself from its enemies, and that the United States has not and will not direct our internal and foreign policy, including such time that Israel should decide to attack IRAN. What followed that day in the Israeli press were a series of faux blustering, every politician in this country claiming that Israel has never backed down from a fight because our allies told us to, that Israel has and always will defend its citizen and its borders. Both recent and past history certainly disprove that claim.

Today, after several days had passed, Obama issued a statement that the United States has neither requested from Israel nor would they approve of Israel attacking Iran for any reason. Again, who is paying attention now?

These calculated slips are dangerous, similar to the time that former/shameful PM Ehud Olmert let it "slip" that Israel has nuclear capability, at the behest of America who were trying to intimidate various upstart nuclear nations in the area. Obama may think that his soaring rhetoric and supposed charm will conquer the world and bring about peace in the Middle East, and yet his moves speak of more of inexperience and naivete, leading to disaster and chaos.

The Argument Against Prisoner Exchange

Gilad Shalit and his family are suffering. There is no question about that, and I feel for them, and I despair at the inadequacies of our current government.

To play the flip side, a point with which I equally agree and thus causes me great conflict: when a man or woman joins the army, they know that they might be captured or killed. Gilad Shalit knew this as well as anyone else.

In the last prisoner exchange, we broke through all the "red lines" and released not only terrorists with blood on their hands, but several high ranking and particularly heinous individuals. For the return of two dead bodies.

We have already upped the ante, and the Arabs know they can exploit our weaknesses.

What price Gilad? Is one man worth releasing 450 killers, who will return the favor by adding more bloodshed to the Israelis in the future? And by making a deal, does it not in fact encourage all terrorist groups to kidnap more soldiers, to bring about the release of more of their cronies legitimately jailed and held by Israel? Do we even know that Gilad Shalit remains alive?

As I have said before, I surely do not have the answers to these questions, and I do not presume to forecast the future.

1000 Days

Last night I attended the Solidarity meeting for the kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, who as of yesterday, has been in captivity for a full 1000 days. I joined the journalists and Israeli citizens, some of whom had driven several hours from all over the country to support the Shalit family; three weeks ago, they moved out of their home and into the protest tent across from the Prime Minister's house in Jerusalem.

Unfortunately, the Shalit family are returning to their home this morning, as the latest rounds of negotiations for Gilad's safe return have failed, and it looks like the responsibility will fall to the incoming Netanyahu government. I never trusted Ehud Olmert to get the job done: he had three years and only made it a priority when he was literally on his way out of office, and had to save his legacy and reputation.

Before the ceremony began, a PA system played a tape in Gilad's voice, saying, "My name is Gilad, son of Noam Shalit, a prisoner of Hamas. Save me." All the more heartbreaking when you know his mother and father and brother, his friends and relatives, have been living this reality every day.

Noam Shalit put Netanyahu on notice, saying that the incoming PM would not have his 100 days of political honeymoon; that the family and the country expected Gilad back not in "one hundred days, or ten days, or even ten hours." 1000 days have already passed, with opportunities wasted.

Meir Shalev, the noted Israeli author, encouraged the government to stop protecting their own "red lines" and put Gilad Shalit first. Notably absent the entire evening: both Ehud Olmert and Bibi Netanyahu, literal neighbors of the Shalit protest tent. Shame on them, they couldn't roll out of bed to support this family and encourage the country with some leadership?

The rally ended with a group prayer more inspirational than any Yom Kippur I have ever experienced, and of course with HaTikva. By the time we got to the Israeli national anthem, the crowd could barely sing, so choked up with tears.

What price Gilad? How many terrorists can and should be released to bring him home? I don't know how to answer that question.

But G-d keep Gilad safe and bring him home, so that he does not become another Ron Arad.

The Responsibility to Vote

With less than 24 hours before the voting booths open around the country, I think it is important to point out that the United States has some good lessons to teach other democracies. In the States, there are two large parties - the Democrats and the Republicans - with a smattering of small independent parties that rarely get notice. Neither of the big parties necessarily represent everything for which you stand, but there is normally a clear side or candidate that works for you.

By having two large parties, the chances of bickering are slim to none, as the majority rules in the House and in the Senate.

Israel, a so-called Parliamentary Democracy, has up to 40 parties large and small each election. The negotiating and bargaining are inevitable, and everyone loses, as the larger parites do not get enough votes to have a clear majority of 61 in the Knesset. Shas gets to exort money for its seminaries, other parties lobby for various Ministerial positions for which they are not qualified; and the country, instead of being able to start clean and fresh, gets stuck in the same old garbage.

The three to four big parties running in this election are: Likud (Central-Right), Kadima (Central-Left), Labour (running out of steam) and the dark horse Yisrael Beiteinu (the Fascist Lieberman party). Many potential Likud voters are planning on voting for Lieberman because they subscribe to his extreme right positions, and make the assumption that Netanyahu of the Likud will get enough seats to become Prime Minister.

Do the math! If all you people don't vote for Likud and instead vote for the Russian, Netanyahu will lose the ever shrinking advantage with which he started, and then we get stuck with Kadima, again. I encourage all those who lean to the right to cast their vote for Likud, so we can see real change in this country.

If I had my way, I would have four parties in the system: Central-Right, Central-Left, Far Right and Far Left. This would force natural allies to unite, and would significantly cut down on the destructive post-election bargaining.

Big Surprise for Labour (Not)

A recent poll revealed that since the start of the latest Operation in Azza, Ehud Barack and his political party, Labour, has gained five seats for the upcoming Knesset elections in February 2009. Netanyahu's party, Likud, considered hawkish and therefore in line with this military action, gained two seats, and Kadima gained one seat. Olmert has at last done something to help rather than harm his colleagues.

Not a big surprise. There is nothing that generates more election (and economic) fever than a chaos and war.

Ehud Barak Unhinged

First, Ehud Barak, Number One Son of the Israeli Labour party, posts these confusing ads all over the country to convince us voters that he deserves to be our next Prime Minister. The ads have a solemn expressioned Barak (mole and all) with the catch-phrase: "Not Nice. A Leader."

Huh?

Let us not forget that the last time Ehud Barak was PM, he was willing to give in to 98% of Yassir Arafat's demands, and only Arafat's stupidity saved us from that colossal mistake.

This week Barak appeared as himself on the top-rated satire show Eretz Nehederet (It's a Wonderful Country), based upon the modern political stylings of the Americans who judged their Presidential candidates not on their qualifications, but on their entertainment value as a guest on Letterman. All this while neglecting his duties to the Israeli civilians being bombed daily by Hamas.

Seems to me that Barak is running for a spot on Saturday Night Live, rather than the chief office of a country that badly needs positive leadership.

Direct Elections, Jerusalem

Today I get to vote in an election that has not been pre-determined by blue states and red states, the Electoral College or a rigged computer system.

Today I get to vote in direct elections for Mayor of Jerusalem, one of the poorest, dirtiest and unemployed cities in the Middle East, despite its high standing in every major religion.

Today I take my stand against Meir "G-d Likes me Best" Porush and the Ultra-Orthodox infiltration that has ruined the place in which I have lived for over eleven years.

Take advantage of democracy and your rights as a citizen; get off the couch and get to the voting booth.

Allow Nir Barakat to have a chance to improve our lives and safeguard Jerusalem.

Showing Their Cards

Every once in a while, politicians forget to bluff and say what they actually mean, for better or for worse.

For better: three cheers to Benny Begin, who has chosen to rejoin Likud in lieu of the elections coming up in February of 2009. He is a good man with integrity - kind of the reason he did not succeed last time - but maybe his presence will inspire and help turn others around.

For worse: Meir Porush, one of the candidates for Mayor of Jerusalem, made a speech in Yiddish last night, so the rest of us goyim would not understand him. He said that his great hope "...in another decade, no secular person will be mayor of any city [in Israel], except perhaps some miserable villiage." His plan also includes making Jerusalem inhospitable to anyone but the Charedim, part of his global Ultra-Orthodox conspiracy.

Meir Porush indeed looks down upon us pagans, but as a politician running in elections less than a week away, how stupid to say it, in Yiddish or Hebrew or English or Swahili. A candidate will have reporters following him around, and many citizens of this country can translate.

When confronted by the press today, Porush did not deny his statement, but rather took up the Scooby Doo approach, "Darn, I said it in Yiddish so most of you would not understand it! If not for those pesky kids..." This is NOT a man who should win the election next week.

Porush's response begs a comparison to another unfit candidate, Barack Hussein "Non-American Citizen" Obama, who did not deny attending the dinner in honor of the Palestinian terrorist; espressing regret only because he got caught on tape doing so.

A good leader takes responsibility, and neither Porush nor Obama fit the bill. Nir Barakat does.

The Day Democracy Died

This morning, while standing in line at the post office, I reduced an American woman to tears, and destroyed her faith in the democratic option of Absentee voting.

She had come to the post office in a panic, afraid that if she mailed her Absentee ballot today, it would not arrive in time for the American Presidential elections on November 4th. She had just spoken to the teller and decided to mail her ballot Express, in the vain hope - and considering how the current set of Jewish holidays slows down all the mail - that it would reach its destination within a week.

I politely tapped her on the shoulder and gave her a brief but succinct lesson in political science (may major in college); I spoke about the blue states and the red states, about the fact that Absentee ballots can arrive within a week after the election takes place officially, about the fact that these votes are only counted when the results are too close to call. I didn't even get into a discussion of the Electoral Colllege. I further pointed out that the both of us being absentee voters in Massachusetts, we could vote for G-d himself on the ballot and Barack Obama would still take the state.

She stamped her feet, shook her head violently, and tears welled up in her eyes. She started shouting idealistic statements like, "but I filled out all the boxes," and "you don't know what you are talking about," and "my vote counts, I know it does!" She called me a liar and refused to accept that all I was trying to do was save her some postage, as I stood there holding in my incredulous laughter.

This woman did indeed mail her ballot first class, Express mail, and firmly believes that her vote will make the difference in the American Presidential elections.

She also firmly maintains that I am mean and stupid and am the Judas of Democracy and all that is good in the world. Whatever helps her get through the day, though I personally hope that the results of the elections for Mayor of Jerusalem on November 11 have a better result than the American elections, with Nir Barkat coming out on top.

The Wall Street Progrom

(Thoughts for a Friday)

I am not sure why anyone is surprised at the huge outburst of anti-Semitic remarks across the world in the wake of the collapse of Wall Street, and its influence on world markets.

After all, anyone with half a brain who lives in the Midwest (or anywhere in Europe) and has married their first cousin knows that the Wall Street crisis has nothing to do with George Bush, or the natural cycle of the economy. Everyone knows that the Jews control the entire supply of money in the world - hell, in the Universe - in addition to controlling the government, Hollywood and the garbage pickup on every day except Thursday.

For sure, 9/11 is the Jews' fault, because we had the gall to work in some buildings in Manhattan, and the Arabs were just doing their job by trying to kill us.

And that Jewish man or woman with whom you had an affair, that person who supposedly ruined your marriage? It must be the Jews' fault, because we are so darned good looking. (Look at what Monica Lewinsky did to the Clinton administration, as an example.)

My final observation, as long as we are talking about the irrational and dangerous; the campaign posters for Meir Porush, in his Mayoral bid, show him as a smiley Santa-like cartoon character, with the tag line, "Jerusalem will love Meir Porush," like we don't have a choice in the matter. Well, Jerusalem voters, we do have a choice, in fact an imperative to end the Ultra-Orthodox stranglehold on our city. Porush is not a cartoon unfortunately, but a real person with extremist ideals and lacking the support of his own people. (It doesn't really mater, because the Chareidi community does the mitzva of allowing the dead to vote.)

Jerusalem has suffered for too long, and I believe that Nir Barakat is the candidate to return the honor of one of the most treasured cities on the planet and throughout history.

Sarah Palin's "Secret" Pregnancy

Sarah Palin hid her pregnancy until the seventh month because she did not want it to interfere with the business of being Governor. She gave a speech about Alaska oil drilling as her amniotic fluid was leaking out. She gave birth one month early, to a Special Needs child, and returned to work three days later.

Now the ambitious career woman/supposed hockey-mom is toting around young Trig (Have you read the names of her children? There ought to be a law against that...) to show what a fabulous parent she is, and using his Downs Syndrome as proof to all those who may have doubted her sincere and religious conviction against abortion.

Her fans call her a "tough lady" and a "great mom."

I disagree and find it somewhat despicable that the woman who chose to have her husband raise their children - when he is not racing across Alaska in a dog sled -is now using her family as a political ploy. No wonder her supposedly abstaining teenage daugther Bristol (Did you catch that name? There ought to be a law...) got pregnant, there are no parents in the house to truly guide her.

History in the Making, or Huge Blunder

With the announcement by the McCain campaign of his choice of Vice-Presidential candidate, there are a whole new set of considerations for someone like me, a blue-blooded Democrat who does not want to vote for Barack Obama.

I have analyzed several factors regarding the choice of Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska, interspersed with hilarious quotes from an op-ed piece by David Brooks.

1. She is woman: Very smart, given the 18 million disaffected female voters on the Democrat side, who did not get Hillary Clinton the nomination.

DB "Hillary Clinton's ringing endorsement of 'the weak-looking thin guy who's bound to lose.'"

2. She is extremely Pro-Life: This troubles me, in huge way. Just because she is a religious Soccer Mom, head of the PTA and mother of a child with Downs Syndrome whom she refused to abort, does that mean that I lose my right of choice? I treasure the division between Church and State, even if it is in name only.

3. She comes from of all places, Alaska, and both she and her husband are "real people": Excellent, given that Barack Obama has been critisized for not being in touch with the average American, black or white.

DB "We got to know Barack and Michelle Obama, two tall, thin, rich, beautiful people who don't prespire, but who nonetheless feel compassion for their squatter, and smellier fellow citizens."

4. She lacks experience: Actually fantastic, because if any Democrat dares to address this point, it bounces right back and them and hurts Obama in a big way. In fact the amount she has accomplished in such a short time, given the structure of her life, is quite impressive. If you want something done right, give it to a woman who is already busy.

DB "Barak Obama loves the future, because that's where all his accomplishments will be."
"We heard about his time as a community organizer, the three most fulfilling months of his life."

5. Her son will be serving in Iraq: Both positive and negative, given that she cannot be faulted for not contributing to the cause of a (lost) war, she might even work to end the war faster, to bring her son home. On the other hand, it means she supports the war which Bush blundered, and I just want our soldiers out of there; let the locals fight it out amongst themselves.

6. She actively supports using American oil resources (in Alaska): Not great for the environment, but a clever move given that Obama has spoken about the same idea. More cross-over from the Democrat faithful.

7. The perpetual question, is it good or bad for the Jews? The Republican Jewish Coalition Executive Director, Matt Brooks, says that Palin has "enjoyed a strong working relationship with Alaska's Jewish community."

It seems in this election that actually the VP will be the determining factor; if McCain dies in office, do you want Sarah Palin in there, after all, he is 72 years old. If Obama falters, he has a VP with slightly more experience, though not always for the benefit of his consituents and the American people.

DB "We heard from Joe Biden, whose 643 years in the Senate make him uniquely qualified to pander to the middle class... and who is himself a verbal train wreck waiting to happen."

Youth counts here, Barak and Palin's youth, McCain and Biden's age.

Either way, history will be made with a black President, or the first woman Vice-President.

Winners and Losers, the Israeli Perspective

The outgoing oft-investigated Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has come up with a land return and exchange deal, which would involve 93% of the West bank, among other discussions of borders and prisoner exchanges. According to the delusional Olmert, he feels "there is time to reach an agreement during his remaining time in office."

Hmm...the most corrupt Prime Minister in modern Israeli history, who does not even have the support of his own party infra-structure, thinks that he can negotiate a major land deal. Right now, I don't think he can even negotiate himself out of "early retirement" into a comfortable prison cell.

And yet the Israeli optimism persists, in the form of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. When an Israeli athlete fails to make the semi-finals, the news proclaims, "Israeli swimmers set new personal records." Not to belittle the accomplishments of the delegation thus far, but it is awfully convenient to ignore the real lack of progress if it does not suit your mood, and damn the consequences in the long run.

Not to be outdone, the sports pages in Haaretz happily reported today that "Two Jews and a Black Man help Phelps Fulfill Dream." If we cannot claim our own victories, we will latch onto the American team, a tactic which has not served us well in politics, in the last seven or so years that Bush has been President.

An Eye for an Eye

One year ago, PM Ehud Olmert told a group of high school kids that the kidnapped soldiers, Regev and Goldwasser, were "probably dead." A posting on an Arab website described the poor condition of the two soldiers at the time of the kidnapping, the Arab witness claimed that at the time - two years ago - neither could walk without assistance, that they were bloody and beaten and would probably not survive the night.

Don't tell me that the government was surprised when they traded a very much alive Samir Kuntar, along with four other terrorists with blood on their hands, and 199 dead bodies, that they expected to get back two live Israeli captive soldiers.

I am relieved for these two heroes that they can be given a proper burial by their family, in their homeland.

I am afraid and sad that Gilad Shalit will become the next Ron Arad.

I anticipate that every terrorist group now knows that we will Israelis will sacrifice beyond the normal and rational, and that the kidnapping of Israelis and Jews will start all over the world, with no consideration on their part for the value of human life. All you need to do is observe the Prince's homecoming Kuntar and the other's received, to understand that our Arab neighbors are active and complicit in the goal of the destruction of Israel.

I think that we should have done an even trade, two dead bodies for two dead bodies. I would not have cried if one of those bodies had been Samir Kuntar.

Here's another scenario: Samir Kuntar get released as part of the original deal, and then gets re-arrested and thrown into a scorpion pit for the rest of life for announcing that as soon as he gets out of Israeli borders, he will be gearing up for the next set of Nassrallah-approved terrorist attacks against Israel, within Israeli territory.

When a vile terrorist, who has already killed women and children, makes that kind of statement on international television, he is asking for it.

Human Whack-A-Mole

This morning, in the women's dressing room at the pool, I overheard a conversation between two Anglo-Saxon women, both teachers. One woman said to the other, that she was disconcerted because her students always did their homework, and that some even asked for extra work during the summer vacation. These teenagers apparently did not talk back, and did not attack her physically. This woman closed the thought by saying that maybe she ought to return to her former school, where she felt uncomfortable and threatened, so she would feel more "challenged" and less "bored."

It is an accepted expectation that Israeli school children of all ages will be at the very least unmotivated and at the worst, violent.

After my swim, and before starting my Chiropractic day, I sat outside in a lounge chair, trying to soak up some Vitamin D. During the summer the pool is packed with day camps, and as far as I am concerned, they accept too many children and have too little supervision.

I noticed out of the corner of my eye that a five-year old boy was raising and lowering a rod-shaped swimming flotation device, whipping the area below him. It took me a second look to realize that he was not hitting the sidewalk, but rather two other boys, who lay on the ground cowering as they got hit in the head, over and over again.

I waited for the counsellor to break up the fight, I waited for the life guards to intervene, and no adult who witnessed the event stepped in. Finally, after three minutes - and violating my own rules -I walked over and grabbed the float away from the boy, and said in a firm voice (in Hebrew), "No. This is not acceptable play."

It disturbs me that the other responsible adults left it to a stranger to protect these young children from one of their peers. It disturbs me that a five-year old boy wore a sadistic smile on his face as he abused his friends, even as I took his weapon away. It disturbs me that the other children seemed to enjoy the bullying.

There is a fine line between the attitude of "boys will be boys" and "enough is enough." I believe that bullies become abusive teenagers and adults simply because the adults in their life do not set proper limits.

This can be applied equally to children in Israeli society, as well as to our Arab neighbors and enemies. The reason they continue to blow us up, kidnap us and bomb us, is because we Israelis and particularly our criminal PM Ehud Olmert does not reasonably strike back when attacked. We do not set limits and assert the right to defend ourselves. The more they terrorize us, the more we try to placate them, showing them that there are no consequences to their bad behaviour.

We had better learn this Zero-Tolerance lesson soon, before our children - no matter how well behaved - do not have a place to call home.

Olmert's Arrogance

"I will resign from the post of Prime Minister if they manage to indict me on THIS [emphasis added] charge of accepting bribes and violating campaign law."

Which somehow implies that Olmert would never consider resigning with five other previous criminal investigations open against him.

Which somehow implies that he has no thought or consideration for the good name and honor of the country he represents, nor for his own reputation.

Which somehow implies that he has no itention of getting indicted on this or any of the other charges pending against him.

Olmert is already pointing the finger at two of his aides, saying that they were the ones who handled the money, and that if the money somehow ended up in his personal pocket, he was not an active conspirator. Once again, Olmert's staff will fall on his ever bloody sword, with the bizarre sense of loyalty that I would prefer to call political S and M.

He also had no problem speaking on Yom HaZikaron, comforting the families who have lost sons and daughters in battle, when his own children fled the country rather than serve in the army. With three of our most recent MIAs still not returned home, dead or alive, Olmert could look these families in the face with no shame, and play at being popular.

When George Bush visits this week, Olmert plans on plowing through public opinion and his low approval rating in order to give away more land to terrorists who will only use our weakness to their advantage.

How sad for Olmert that he does not have the balls to leave already, and how sad for us that Israelis have such a disheveled and dis-honorable state of leadership.

To end with a quote from Uzi Benziman, in his op-ed piece in Haaretz today entitled, He Cannot Continue:

"This judgment relates to his practical ability to continue as prime minister, ignoring for the purposes of this discussion the moral dimension of his behaviour...Olmert has the right to a fair trial. But the prime minister must realize that he has lost his ability to continue leading the State."

Get Naked Against Chametz

With only a sock to protect his private parts, a 27 year old seminary student stripped down in a supermarket in Bat Yam that was selling chametz (leavened bread) over Pessach. Protesting the government's decision to allow the sale of chametz in restaurants and supermarkets - areas deemed not public by the new law - this student reasoned if this particular market was private according to the law, he could romp around in his birthday suit.

Despite his failed methodology, I applaud this student for taking a stand on an issue much deeper than the availability of hamburger rolls: the very identity of the Jewish people in a Jewish state. In fact, the same argument can be applied to the sale of pork products. The Jewish State was founded by and for Jews by Ben Gurion and his cohorts, on the basis of Jewish history and halachic law, and so how can chametz be sold publicly on Pessach, or how can a law be passed to subsidize pig farmers?

Let's face it, if someone is desperate enough to have some toast this week with their morning coffee, they will find it; and if someone must have bacon with their scrambled eggs, they will find it as well, and they will pay premium price for it. Once the Torah becomes a bargaining chip or merely a symbolic cultural heritage, all is lost in terms of the Jewish identity of the State of Israel.

Zionist history will note that Ben Gurion - a self-proclaimed secular Jew - always carried a Tanach in his pocket, attended a weekly Bible study group, and encouraged a small group of Ultra Orthodox Jews to be an integral part of the early settlement of the land of Israel. He and the other founders believed that it was the Torah, its observance and its faith, that kept the Jews alive since the beginning of their travails on this planet, and certainly through the Holocaust.

Has that appreciation and respect disappeared to such a degree, that we Jews must ourselves become anti-Semitic? How do we expect the international community to honor our needs for survival in this modern day of terrorism, when we are chipping away at our existence from the inside?

On that note, I propose a positive change in the halachic world of Pessach tradition, abolishing the concept of kitniot, an outdated food custom which continues to divide needlessly between Jewish ethnicities. When a Sephardic and an Ashkenazic Jews can sit at the table together over Pessach and eat sushi, we will be one step closer to unifying our own nation.

Just a Drill

Ladies and Gentlemen: that siren you are hearing for a minute and a half this morning is a just a drill. If this were a real war, you would be in big trouble...

The Syrians are claiming that Israel is using the Home Front's test throughout the country to stage an attack on its Arab neighbors. Clever idea, too bad we didn't think of it. I don't know about every other Israeli in the country, but when the siren went off, I had just left the post office in Jerusalem, having mailed in my 2007 US taxes, and did not stop driving; nor did I seek out a man or woman in uniform and ask them what I should have done if this had been a real attack by one of our many enemies in our many unofficial wars.

Since I was almost killed by a Palestinian sniper in 2001, I have taken a realistic, fatalistic view toward death. While I will not wander in traffic on the highway, I will also not obsess about my remaining time on this planet, because only the Higher Power knows when it will be my time to check out of Hotel Earth. I have, however, shifted my way of thinking and planning, living more in the moment and worrying less about where I will be ten years from now.

I wonder what the former President of Israel, Moshe Katzav, was thinking when the siren sounded this morning, and when he canceled his plea bargain this afternoon, in order to defend his innocence. A shame that Katzav is getting prosecuted for something he didn't do, when PM Olmert and his cronies seem to get away with all the crooked deals and crimes they did in fact commit.

Give an Inch...

Israel's good friend, George Bush, has sent over various members of his administration to bully us to accept the agreements of Peace and co-existence with the Palestinians, taking no heed to the evidence, and to basic human rights.

This week, Israel agreed to shut down many of its security checkpoints, which the Palestinians claimed violated their freedom of movement. Yesterday, only hours after the army started removing one of those 'offensive' road blocks, a terrorist from Hebron tried to murder two Jews at the Shiloh Junction. The 30 year old Israeli defended the 15 year old teen and himself and shot the student from Bir Zeit University dead.

Meanwhile, The New York Times reported today that international monitors have noted the exponential escalation of anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli rhetoric in mosques all over the planet.

Peace, like any other human relationship, will only succeed if both sides are equally committed to the process and the decision to put aside old grudges. Instead, Ehud Olmert and the Israeli leadership continues to weaken the country politically, because the more we give into the Palestinian demands, the more they will take and the more they will feel free to attack us within our borders.

America would never cease their security regulations, because potential terrorists complained about the un-fairness, can you image the following scenario?

Terrorist: "It hurts our feelings when you profile dark-skinned males of Arab origin between the age of 18 and 40."
Bush: "Gosh golly, you're right. You can have free run of our country, and we will help you smuggle in explosives and weapons, so you can terrorize our citizens."

American, European and Israeli leadership must accept the reality that any agreement made by Israel will be one-sided at best; with the low level of approval for the current Knesset it is doubtful if even half of the Israeli population agrees in theory with the choices being made for us.

And American and European politicians must stop thinking of Israel as a step-child who needs supervision and direction. No one can possibly understand the day-to-day reality of this country until they have lived it, and feared daily for their physical existence.

Funeral Groupies

Every time a soldier dies in this country, the news will announce the time and location of his funeral, and thousands of people will attend, most of whom do not even know the family or the one who was killed. It is part of the "One Big Family" syndrome in Israel, and it is the anonymous person's chance to try to help, just by being there.

Last night I paid a shiva call to the Moses family in Efrat, whose 16 year old son Avraham Dovid was murdered last Thursday night in his school, along with seven other innocent boys. Not that one expects a shiva to be fun or entertaining, but there was a wierd energy in the room. Naftali Moses (the father of the boy) balanced his attention between those who had come to keep him company and offer comfort, and his children. His 11 year old son sat next to him, and I believe that he will suffer the most when he fully registers the impact of the death of his brother, who was closest to him in age. As Leah Moses, the stepmother of Avraham Dovid said, "they were each other's rocks."

Another daughter, desperate for her father's attention, started pulling her shirt up and crawling onto Naftali's lap; some woman had the gaul to try to pull the child away, thinking it was the "right thing" to do. The youngest daughter, a social talkative four year old, was very busy planning a sleep over, and canvassed the room to see if she had chosen the appropriate pajamas.

For the most part, the room was quiet, and then an older Israeli woman started chatting away, saying that she did not know the Moses family at all, but that she had an uncle who died recently at the age of 92, and was buried nearby on Kibbutz Lavi. She further explained that she was at this shiva house to show her support for those who live in the Gush and suffer from terrorist attacks.

Later that evening, I saw this same woman gazing adoringly at the photo of Avraham Dovid Moses, and stroking the image, as if it were her own child.

Who is to say what is and is not apporpriate at times like these? I give this woman the benefit of the doubt, and bless her for the kindness she showed this family.

I was at the pool the Friday right after the terror attack, and standing practically naked in the locker room, a Russian woman (also in a towel and not much else) just started shouting. In anger, in grief, to anyone who would listen and respond. She expressed her sadness at the death of these eight boys, her rage at the governement that cannot seem to protect its citizens, and continues to push through the idea of peace and cooperation with those who would murder us, citizen by citizen. This particular Russian woman felt that the best and only solution was for the Israeli government to give out free guns to any Israeli citizen - as opposed to the Israeli Arab citizen who walked into the yeshiva and shot more than 600 rounds of bullets - so that we may protect ourselves in the future.

Who is to say what is and is not appropriate at times like these? But thank G-d for the solider who killed the terrorist, before he could do even more harm.