LET MY PEOPLE GO - Day 199

Shabbat table in London

DAY199

Tonight (Monday) is the first night of Passover, the first seder night. When we should be celebrating freedom, this night will be different from all other nights for all Jews worldwide. Just as shabbat tables are set with empty chairs, dining rooms all over the world will have empty chairs at the table, not for Elijah the Prophet, but for all those held hostage in Gaza. These are the newest slaves in captivity, but there is no hero, no Moshe, to lead them to freedom right now. 

The hostages are held in unspeakable conditions, beaten, sexually abused, and denied aid or even visitation from the International Red Cross who, just in case you haven't heard, recently hired Pierre Krahenbuhl, former head of Hamas-supporting UNWRA who quit his UN post over ethics violations, as its new director general. Then again, the ICRC has never been a friend to Jews, much less Israel. But who's counting? 

Certainly not Hamas. They claim they cannot produce 40 living hostages for the initial cessation negotiation. According to CNN:

Hamas has indicated it is currently unable to identify and track down 40 Israeli hostages needed for the first phase of a ceasefire deal, according to an Israeli official and a source familiar with the discussions, raising fears that more hostages may be dead than are publicly known.

The framework that has been laid out by negotiators says that during a first six-week pause in the fighting, Hamas should release 40 of the remaining hostages, including all the women as well as sick and elderly men. In exchange, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners would be released from Israeli prisons.

Hamas has told international mediators – which include Qatar and Egypt - it does not have 40 living hostages who match those criteria for release, both sources said.

Much is written in Jewish law regarding the ransoming of those in captivity. Ransoming captives is a mitzvah, a sacred duty, for which the community is responsible. From the Jewish Virtual Library: Bava Batra:

CAPTIVES, RANSOMING OF (Heb. פִּדְיוֹן שְׁבוּיִים; Pidyon Shevuyim): The religious duty to ransom a fellow Jew captured by slave dealers or robbers, or imprisoned unjustly by the authorities to be released against ransom paid by the Jewish community. 

The fulfillment of this mitzvah was regarded by the rabbis of the Talmud as of paramount importance (BB 8a, 8b). It is told of R. Phinehas b. Jair that he went to ransom captives, and because he was fulfilling this duty, a river parted to enable him to cross (Ḥul, 7a, TJ Dem. 1:3). Maimonides explains that "(The duty of) ransoming captives supersedes (the duty of) charity to the poor.…" (Yad, Mattenat Aniyyim, 8:10).

Notice the line: paid by the Jewish community. Jews have been subjected to kidnap and captivity as long as we have been a people. It comes as no surprise to any of us that segments of our law deals with ransoming our own. Even in THE POMEGRANATE, Batsheva's brother comes to pay ransom for her freedom. It's what we've been doing for thousands of years: taking care of our own. 

Because no one else will. 

This is crucial to understanding the anger Israelis currently feel about their government. Throughout our history, we have rescued and redeemed our own, and the mounting outcry that the government is not doing its job grows louder daily. 

Yes, thousands have died in Gaza. Pointlessly so. But they, too, were held hostage by Hamas, used to shield the military installations hidden in hospitals, schools, and beneath apartments. Their deaths were wholly preventable had Hamas chosen to release the hostages. No matter who you want to blame, or what you want to say, Israel did not begin this war. 

At the seder table, we recite the 10 plagues delivered on Egypt, the last of which was death of the first born sons, and for each plague, we remove a drop of wine from our newly filled cup. The removal of wine is a tangible symbol of the diminishment of joy.

We do this because we do not celebrate the tragedies and misfortunes of others, whether it is through natural disaster, war, plague, or for any other reason. People died when we left Egypt, and those deaths remain with us amidst our greatest celebration.General Yitzchak Rabin (z"l) made this observation after the Six-Day War in 1967:

While the joy of victory seized the nation, there is a strange phenomenon among the soldiers themselves: their celebration is not whole-hearted, as it is mixed with a large measure of sorrow and shock. Some soldiers cannot celebrate at all. Those in the front lines saw with their own eyes not only the glory of victory, but also its price: their comrades fallen beside them soaked in blood. I know, too, that the terrible price paid by our enemies also touched deeply the hearts of many of our men. It may be that the Jewish people have never learned and never accustomed themselves to feel the triumph of conquest. And so we receive our victory with mixed feelings. There has never been any hatred for the Arabs. Can one fight against enemies without hatred in one’s heart? Perhaps in this respect, too, we are different from many other peoples. I do not believe that hatred adds anything to fighting capacity. We go forth to war when we are forced to, when there is no other choice.

We echo Moshe's cry to Pharoah: LET MY PEOPLE GO. We demand the same of Hamas. They have experienced their version of the plagues at the will of Hamas, not the will of Israel. We still take drops out of our cups as we always have. We still will recognize the loss of human life in a war. We will still shake our heads, unable to understand why Hamas would put their people in harm's way.

And now, for an update. Back on March 18th, I wrote a very short blog. It said: 

WATCH IRAN

I wasn't kidding, was I?  On April 1st, Israel killed two Iranian generals at an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria. Last Saturday, April 13th, the Islamic Republic of Iran launched a drone and missile attack on Israel.Over 300 things were launched, but few made it into Israel.

But I want to clarify something here. I intentionally said IRAN because there are two vastly different entities within those borders. The first is the Islamic Republic of Iran, an Islamist regime that according to Wikipedia's page on Human Rights in Iran:

Restrictions and punishments in the Islamic Republic of Iran which violate international human rights norms include harsh penalties for crimes, punishment of victimless crimes such as fornication and homosexuality, execution of offenders under 18 years of age, restrictions on freedom of speech and the press (including the imprisonment of journalists), and restrictions on freedom of religion and gender equality in the Islamic Republic's Constitution (especially ongoing persecution of Baháʼís).

Reported abuses falling outside of the laws of the Islamic Republic that have been condemned include the execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988, and the widespread use of torture to extract repudiations by prisoners of their cause and comrades on video for propaganda purposes. Also condemned has been firebombings of newspaper offices and attacks on political protesters by "quasi-official organs of repression," particularly "Hezbollahi," and the murder of dozens of government opponents in the 1990s, allegedly by "rogue elements" of the government.     

The drone attack was, near as anyone can tell, some kind of test, seeing if Netanyahu could be pushed over the edge to attack Iran, thereby instigating a hot war in the ME. Instead, Israel retaliated with a small demonstration of arms and accuracy, hitting a specific target in Isfahan, a strike the ISRI pretty much ignored. It's interesting to note Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS, and Yemen remained virtually silent about the drone strike and the retaliation. 

London 24 Jan 2024

But there is another part of Iran that is not Islamist. In fact, they are often called Monarchists, indicating a desire to return to the modern Iran they once had under the Shah. Whoever they are, they are the ones who are defying the regime are growing numbers. Iranians outside Iran are increasingly showing support for Israel against Hamas and Hezbollah. In unexpected places, the Iranian flag has appeared at pro-Israel rallies. 

This should not be surprising. Before the Islamic revolution back in 1978, Iran was a modern, thriving society. Not so much now. Young Iranians want their country back. They want their freedom back. One might think others living in the neo-dark ages would want the same. So when I say WATCH IRAN, I'm talking about both sides. This is far from over. And the internal struggle in that nation is just beginning anew.

And here’s Muppet Newsflash for you: it matters to us. One day the kids of Gaza, like the kids in Iran, Morocco, and the rest of the Arab world, are gonna wake up and wonder why they are being left behind, why just next door is start-up nation while they’re still struggling to keep the lights on. Young people aren’t stupid…unless they’re American young people who are too busy drinking the Kool-Aid to understand the propaganda they are being hand fed.  There is a second Arab Spring happening and while the goals maybe unclear to us, the revolt is directed at repressive, authoritarian regimes. Will they succeed? Far be it from me to predict. We can only hope access to information will bring them into the 21st century.

Meanwhile, when we remember Pesach of 5784, we will remember it with the pain and sadness of this war. Our joy is diminished by the reality of bloodshed and loss. Like every war before it, all the dead, Israeli and Palestinians, will be mourned. It's what we are taught, that ALL lives are precious. Each drop of wine taken from our cups will be for all the dead, not just our own. 

The Wifely Person' Tip o'the Week

The game remains the same:

return the 129 hostages and Israel stands down.

Hamas, the ruling party of Gaza, refuses.

Maybe it's time to consider the possibility that Hamas is also holding

2.1 million hostages as well?

Aunty Gladknit is on her way to Aunt Ruthie's to meet the gang.

 With no surprise to any of us who knew her, but Aunty Gladknit took control of her own ending. 

Jamming at Conways

Aunty G was a take charge person. She skied, she golfed, she was an engineer. She took charge of Jewish War Veterans Women's Auxiliary and rose to National President . She took charge at Temple Emeth in Delray and oversaw its merger with a shul in Boynton Beach to become Temple Torat Emet. She was a great mastermind of anything she decided was worth her energy. She knitted, she embroidered, she did needlepoint, beading, and cake decorating. There wasn't a craft she could not master. She was at the senior son's wedding, and danced the night away at the after-party blues jam at Conway's Bar until 2 a.m. When COVID hit and her shul stopped having daily minyanim, she became a regular at our zoom minyan in Minnesota. Nothing stopped her; she was a rock star.

But after receiving the happy title of Great-Grandmother, Aunty Gladknit decided 95 was enough. She'd had a good run (her words) and it was time to stop fighting the rapidly encroaching frailty.  So she called a halt to all treatment and with her kids, her IDF-serving grandson, and her sister (yes, she has a younger sister) by her side, she went to join Uncle Budge.

Sunday, we all gathered (missing only one newborn baby and one first cousin) on Long Island, New York to bury my Aunt Gladys. 

Uncle, Aunty, Mom, & Dad

Aunty G was the last of my aunts and uncles. Standing at the gravesite, it hit me harder than anticipated. I was sorta frozen to the spot as the idea settled over me that I was really a full-fledged orphan. See, there was the circle: the grandparents in the middle. then the siblings and their spouses. The Simons (mom's clan) just sorta joined up with the Schwaidelsons (dad's clan.) We grew close. We have pretty much remained close. Without thinking about it, I can tell you where all my first cousins and even their kids are. 

Jewish tradition dictates that we bury our own. Literally. It's the last mitzvah you can do for a person and it's one that can never be repaid. The first bit of dirt is thrown from a shovel turned upside down. One should never be too anxious to bury the dead. Then you turn the shovel over and begin moving dirt in earnest. When you have shoveled enough, you never hand the shovel to someone; you stick it back in the dirt. Everyone who can, participates. There is no sound worse in the world than dirt hitting the top of a plain wood casket. In my heart, that moment when you pull the shovel from the mound of dirt. you perform the most important act one person can do for another. Once you hear your dirt echoing in the grave, you can never unhear it, just as you cannot undo death.

My much older bro hit 75 this week. I will hit 72 this summer. My cousins on both sides are all around the same ages. In other words, we’re not kids anymore no matter what we wanna think. We are the ones sitting at the survivors’ table. My hair may be grey and my joints creakier than they used to be, but that doesn’t make me old. Knowing one’s limitations does not make me old, either…it makes me smart enough to know I have to adapt/adjust. Not understanding the lyrics of a new song does not make me old; it makes me open to the idea that I do not care.

And that brings me to the martinis. 

On her way to Ruthie's

After my dad's older sister Ruthie died, the running gag in our family became "going to Ruthie's for martinis"...a rather strange euphemism for dying. I don't remember how it got started, but shortly before he died, Ziggy told me he would meet me at Ruthie's for a martini when it was my time to go, but he was going on ahead. Right before he died, Dad told me Uncle Lenny was hiding in the bathroom waiting to take him to Ruthie's for a martini. And even before she died, Mom said she was ready to go to Ruthie's whenever Dad came to get her. So as Aunty G was fading, Perdie told her to go to Ruthie's because the gang would be waiting for her, and the seder would be there. Of course, potato vodka would be served for Pesach. 

Do I really believe everyone is at Aunt Ruthie's drinking martinis? Eh, probably not. But more important is why I do want to believe in that euphemism? It's not about some kind of heaven, or even the Olam ha'Ba. It's about everyone I love being together. That in my heart of hearts, my family still hangs out. I am certain if they're waiting for me, Ziggy has found a way to procure pastrami and half sour pickles to go with the martini. As more and more of my peeps take off for parts unknown, I need to hold them inside me, imagining them standing around Ruthie's living room or the giant backyard with all the peonies, martini glasses in hand. When I envision that, all's right in the world. 

THE WIFELY PERSON'S TIP O'THE WEEK

This weeks tip is from Scottish poet Jenny Joseph who, in 1961 wrote THE WARNING:

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple

With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired

And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

And run my stick along the public railings

And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

And pick flowers in other people’s gardens

And learn to spit.

 

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

And eat three pounds of sausages at a go

Or only bread and pickle for a week

And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

 

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry

And pay our rent and not swear in the street

And set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

 

But maybe I ought to practise a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised

When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple

    

An Open Letter to My Non-Jewish Readers

This is the actual abduction of the Bibas family

Dear Non-Jewish Readers, 

On October 7th, Israel was attacked not by an army, not by an air force, not by a navy, but by a roving band of terrorists who murdered kids at a music festival, people in their homes, parents in front of their children. Over 1,160 people were murdered in cold blood. Over 250  hostages ranging in age from 9 months old to 86 years old were abducted to Gaza. 

6 months later, 134 hostages remain in Gaza, amongst them, 11 of are foreign nationals, 8 are American. No one really knows who is alive and who is dead. Shiri Bibas, and her sons, Ariel and Kfir, were claimed by Hamas to have been killed. Yarden, her husband and father of the boys, was taken separately and is thought to still be alive. 

But no one knows for sure. 

Let me repeat that: NO ONE KNOWS FOR SURE.

Here's a fun-filled fact. Hamas could stop this war any time it wants. Piece o'cake. Israel has said it every day in every way. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES and the war stops. If Hamas released them tomorrow, the war would stop on a dime. 

But that would be a problem for Hamas. They WANT to be victims. They want to blame everyone and every institution for their failure to establish a country. Being a victim is so much more fun. You don't have to do anything. You get to stand there and look pathetic while you spend every fucking dime to get to reinforce your tunnels and buy missiles to fire on civilians because no one thinks firing thousands and thousands of missiles on civilians who happen to be Jews is a problem.

IF Hamas released the hostages, countries across the globe, including Israel, the US, and maybe even a few Arab states, would be stepping up to help the Palestinians rebuild their country. Oops. Excuse me. It should  BUILD an actual country since Hamas never bothered with an economy or a government before this. Now that the network of tunnels has been exposed, it would be harder to divert funds to rebuild that network while the civilian population is starving, right? 

But screaming FREE PALESTINE doesn't really recognize that Palestine needs to be freed from Hamas, which is really the issue. But no one wants to talk about that part. Why would they? It would mean that the Palestinian people are opting for a real country. So far, that does not appear to be the case. 

Insisting that Israel is committing genocide in Palestine is another piece of abject stupidity being funded by Islamist groups like ISIS, Iran, and Islamic Brotherhood. Allow me to disabuse you of that concept with numbers. 

1. If Israel want to commit genocide against the Palestinians, it would've been over in a day or two. Okay? Clearly, that's neither their target nor their intent, but admitting that doesn't make for a good chant.
2. If Israel wanted to commit genocide against the Palestinians, the population of Gaza would not have grown exponentially since 2005. With a high birth rate (28 per 1000 people in Gaza. ) When Israel left Gaza in 2005, the population was 1.3 million. The most recent estimate is 2.1 million, not quite twice as many people as when Israel left. 
3. Does Israel want to take Gaza back? Hell, no. They want Hamas out so the daily missile barrage will cease. And yes, it's still going on. See Newsweek.
4. Arab Israelis currently make up about 20% of Israel's population. Those who hold Israeli citizenship have the same legal rights as any other Israeli. Is it perfect? No.  Are there problems and issues? Sure, just like minority populations in any other western country. But women fare far better in Israel than any other Arab nation. 

5. 

   Half Shekel coin issued by the Jewish rebels in 67–68 CE
   Letters are in Paleo-Hebrew.

   Israel is the poster-child for DECOLONIZATION. After more than two thousand years of facing east toward Jerusalem to pray, standing at the remnant of Solomon's Temple, continuously living in the land, Jews began to buy back their traditional homeland from the Ottomans. Piece by piece, land was purchased, developed, farmed, and the seeds of an economy were sown. Hebrew, the language of the Bible, our holy books, and our liturgy was resurrected as our daily language, replacing Yiddish and Ladino and other dialects that once divided us. The first modern currency, Israeli Pound (or lira yisraelit,) officially reverted to the shekel, our traditional monetary unit, in 1980.
   

It's pretty widely established that the goal of Hamas is to obliterate Israel and remove all Jews from Israel and the globe. The ADL published Hamas in its own words:

Statements by Hamas officials make clear the terrorist organization’s commitment to destroying Israel and killing Jews and Israelis around the world. 

• Ismail Haniyeh in 2020: He explained that Hamas rejects ceasefire agreements by which, “Gaza would become Singapore,” preferring to remain at war with Israel until a Palestinian state is established from the River to the Sea: “We cannot, in exchange for money or projects, give up Palestine and our weapons. We will not give up the resistance... We will not recognize Israel, Palestine must stretch from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea.” 
• Hamas official, Hamad Al-Regeb in an April 2023 sermon: He prayed for “annihilation” and “paralysis” of the Jews whom he described as filthy animals: “[Allah] transformed them into filthy, ugly animals like apes and pigs because of the injustice and evil they had brought about.” Al-Regeb also prayed for the ability to “get to the necks of the Jews.” 
• Hamas Political Bureau Chairman Saleh Al-Arouri in an August 2023 interview:  He expressed Hamas’ desire for “total war” with Israel: “Therefore, we are convinced that if a total conflict begins, the airspace and seaports of this entity will be shut down, and they will not be able to live without electricity, water, and communications.” 
• Ahmad Abd Al-Hadi (Hamas representative in Lebanon) in an October 12, 2023 TV show laid out Hamas’ expectation that it would be Israel that would sue for peace and indicated that a ceasefire is part of Hamas’ overall strategy, but said that he was not at liberty to say what exactly Hamas has planned for the next step after a ceasefire. He also stated that October 7 had achieved its intended purpose of landing “a blow to the normalization (of relations between Israel and Arab countries).” 
• Hamas member, Ghazi Hamad on October 24, 2023: “Israel is a country that has no place on our land […] because it constitutes a security, military, and political catastrophe to the Arab and Islamic nation.” (October 24, 2023, LBC TV (Lebanon)). He also vowed to repeat the October 7 attacks “time and again until Israel is annihilated,” and expressing a desire to “sacrifice martyrs” (referring to Gazan civilians) for Hamas’ ideological aim of destroying Israel. 
• In a speech before the International Union of Muslim Scholars in Doha on January 9, 2024, Ismaeel Haniyeh, chairman of Hamas's political bureau, called the October 7 massacre the “advanced [battle] front of the Ummah.” Calling for “financial jihad” (donations to Hamas) and “jihad of the teeth” (physical jihad), he asked the international audience, “Who wishes to invest in building the jihadist generation to liberate Jerusalem and to unite the blood of the Ummah with the blood of the people of Gaza, Jerusalem, and Palestine on the land of Palestine for its liberation and the liberation of Jerusalem?” 

Statements by Hamas officials also make clear the terrorist organization’s disregard for the loss of civilian life not only in Israel but also in Gaza. 

• Hamas senior leader Khaled Mashal stated on October 19, 2023 that he views the current loss of civilian life in Gaza – brought about by Hamas' strategy of using human shields – as essential: “No nation is liberated without sacrifices... In all wars, there are some civilian victims. We are not responsible for them.” 

• Hamas senior leader Ismail Haniyeh, commenting on the loss of civilian life in Gaza on October 26, 2023: “The blood of the women, children and elderly […] we are the ones who need this blood, so it awakens within us the revolutionary spirit.”  

I've left the links intact in case you want to see more.  Some of it is pretty terrifying, but you have to understand....it's not just about Israel and Jews. When they finish with us, they are planning to go after the rest of the non-Islamic world. And some of the Islamic world as well..the part that doesn't agree with their brand of sectarianism. (Gee, doesn't that sound a little like the Christofascists in our world? I thought so.)

Meanwhile, what's happening to the people of Gaza is reprehensible, made worse that Hamas refuses to do anything to help them as evidenced by the statements above. The targeting of WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN relief workers is equally inexcusable and the reaction of Israelis should drive home the point that they are not happy with how the war is being conducted by Netanyahu. Their collective anger with their own government should demonstrate that not all Israelis are supporting the government, and that like anything else in the Jewish world, there are enough divergent opinions for everyone to have one. 

The Times of Israel reported recent polls showing 71% of Israelis think Netanyahu should resign. This is not a surprise. Israelis are unhappy and the hostages are at the center of that anger. Do not make the mistake of thinking we are a single voice led by a single voice, Jews are great at arguing. Just look at the Talmud. It's what makes us strong. 

We are not sheep. We are  not lemmings. We are not the Jews of 1930s Europe. We have reclaimed our homeland and we're not going anywhere, so disabuse yourself of that notion. What Hamas did was to declare war on us, and by G-d, they got one. Now they stand there blaming us for the destruction, yet no one is talking about the missiles and the tunnels, the suicide bombers or the threats to wipe us from the earth. 

But they are the victims.

I don't think so. 

The victims are the Israeli kids at a music festival, families at home in their beds, children who watched their parents murdered, and parents who watched their kids die. 

The victims are the Palestinian children offered up as blood sacrifice to the gods of greed and power while their parents stood by and did nothing to stop Hamas from using them as human shields. 

The victims are the Jewish kids on college campuses being attacked and covered in a hatred they did even know existed. 

And the biggest victim of all? 

Truth. 

Newspapers don't print it, they spin it. TV presenters don't ask questions, they set traps for interviewees, then manipulate the footage. Politicians don't talk about what's really happening; they only talk about what will get them donations and votes. 

We are knee deep in this bullshit and there isn't a clear path out. 

And for the record, April 7th marked 6 months. Today, April 8th, 2024. was Day 183

THE WIFELY PERSON'S TIP O'THE WEEK

Release the hostages. 

Why You Need To Watch Iran... and other stuff to think about

First things first.

Miss Bialy

Last week was a disaster in the making. The short version begins when I had Bialy overnight, and on our first walk, she lunged and I didn't. Face plant thankfully in the grass. But once again, I bruised my torso and within 48 hours, I could not bend over which was a problem because Bialy was coming to stay for a week while Junior Son and family went on vacay. I could not pick up poop. So I did the least expected thing on the planet....I called Senior Son. Since he was already scheduled to come in for a gig at the end o'the week, I invited him to come here and work from my dining room. He was so shocked that The Iron Lady admitted she needed help, he came in on Friday and thank G-d he did. By Monday, I was felled by a good, old fashioned cold. I went down with a thud. Hence the 2-word blog. You're lucky you got that much

Bialy is old. About 98 in dog years. She's got arthritis. She's got kidney issues. She's skinny as a rail despite eating lots and lots of healthy, good things. She gets cold. She likes to snuggle up at night, preferably under a blanket glued to whomever is in the bed. And when she runs in her sleep, it's like have your own massage chair. Then, to add insult to injury, she dumped me for Senior Son. I suppose that was okay since he was the one walking her every hour. Over all, we had a good time. I am one lucky mam; that's a fer sure. 

Now, if you were wondering about why I told you all to watch Iran last week, it wasn't because the US freed up some of the cash we're holding. Nah,  I meant Hezbollah's increasing attacks on the northern border. Like Hamas, Hezbollah bows to its Iranian masters because they are the backers and the bankers. Iran supplies arms and cash to various Islamist groups. State sponsored terrorism at its finest. 

Iran has been supporting a terrorist network for years. Hamas is only one group. Iran also actively supports Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Iran's relationship with Hamas continues to evolve, and it's hard to tell what the real end game is. That said, they also support Hezbollah in Lebanon, Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq, the Houtis in Yemen. The AJC posted a pretty complete list back in January. Go take a look if you think Gaza is the only place these Islamic Jihadists have a toe-hold. The network is extensively scary. 

Why bring this up? Well, it's like this. Hezzbollah is planning an attack similar to October 7th. They keep talking about it.  According to the UK's Jewish Chronicle, their offensive would be "October 7th on steroids;"

The Alma Research and Education Center, an institute located two miles from the Lebanese border focused on the security challenges along Israel’s northern front has obtained a Hezbollah video in which the terrorist group laid out an almost identical plan to the one carried out on Oct. 7 by Hamas: a rocket barrage followed by a ground invasion into Israeli towns and villages.

 

“All we have to do is listen to their own words, what they’re saying in Arabic, and cross it with their capabilities,” Alma Center founder Lt. Col. (res.) Sarit Zehavi told JNS.

Last week, another network was in the news: ISIS. In this case, ISIS-K took credit for the Moscow theater bombing. NPR had a pretty good article about Moscow, ISIS-K, and where it falls in the terror networking scheme:

Despite military and territorial setbacks, ISIS-K has been expanding its ambitions and operations, experts told NPR. 

"There have been reports of active and foiled ISIS-K plots in Europe," Mir said. "[The organization] really has a global mission of going after all entities that it considers as being opposed to its brand of Islamism." 

"Most of its attacks until recently were largely confined to Afghanistan and Pakistan, but it carried out a major attack in Iran earlier this year that was incredibly devastating," Byman said.

Why Moscow? ISIS-K is still made about the Russian occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, and then Putin's support of Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Talk about holding a grudge. These guys hate everyone who doesn't align themselves with their version of world order. These are not guys without big dreams. Many believe in worldwide domination of Islam. The mission statements vary from group to group, but the reestablishment of an Islamic empire permeates them all. The violence will not end in the Middle East...Moscow illustrated that. So don't keep fooling yourself that this is about just Israel. Nor is it about Zionist or Zionism. It's about eradicating Jews from their homeland first, then the planet. 

And I keep wondering how these guys are fundamentally different from the MAGA crowd...the ones who wanna curtail civil rights, make this is Christian country, convert all the non-Christians, and who just haven't taken up arms....yet.

Why do I say yet ? Because according to Feckless Loser, if he loses this election, there will be a bloodbath. Yup. He said it at a rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on March 16th. Here's the quote:

“If you’re listening, President Xi — and you and I are friends — but he understands the way I deal. Those big monster car manufacturing plants that you’re building in Mexico right now … you’re going to not hire Americans and you’re going to sell the cars to us, no. We’re going to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you’re not going to be able to sell those cars if I get elected...Now if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole — that’s gonna be the least of it...It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country. That will be the least of it. But they’re not going to sell those cars. They’re building massive factories.”

 And if that was no bad enough, he added:

 “If this election isn’t won, I’m not sure that you’ll ever have another election in this country.”

When you say stuff like that, people believe you. Just like they believed January 6th was a call to arms. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch....

No blog episode next week. I will be speaking on my favorite topic, THE POMEGRANATE  in Connecticut on Monday night, so writing isn't gonna happen. If you happen to be in the vicinity of Hartford...specifically Manchester, I'll guest author, live and in person, for the Sandals Lecture at Beth Sholom B'nai Israel. It'll be a good time. I promise.

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

Be there or be square. 

TWO WORDS

Watch Iran

There Is No Accounting for Taste

I suppose everyone wants to talk about the Oscars. I've seen a few of the nominated films, hope to see a few more, but will go on record as saying I cannot abide Emma Stone as an actor. 

Seriously, I have hated just about everything she's been in, and at the top of my list is La La Land, her other Oscar winning turn. (Okay, I liked THE HELP but thought she was hopelessly miscast.) I may be alone in this, and I'm okay with that, but I think she has a plasticine face that has two expressions: eyes wide open, and puppy-eyes about to cry. She has no range, no passion, she squeaks, and she is boring. Jump on me about this all you will, but I would not cast her as an extra. I will probably see POOR THINGS some time this week. If I change my mind about her, I will let you know. 

On the other hand, I saw KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON and thought Lily Gladstone was brilliant. Let's all hope we get to see a lot more of her work.

One film I definitely want to see is ZONE OF INTEREST, mostly because it's from such a different perspective. What I did not appreciate was the subsequent misrepresentation of Jonathan Glazer's speech:

Jonathan Glazer

All our choices we made to reflect and confront us in the present, Not to say ‘look what they did then’ — rather, ‘look what we do now.’ Our film shows where dehumanization leads at its worst. It shaped all of our past and present. Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people. Whether the victims of October 7 in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza — all the victims of this dehumanization, how do we resist?

Glazer is not refuting his Jewishness, nor the Holocaust. He is saying what many of us are saying, that using our Jewishness and the Holocaust as some kind of screwed up rationale for what is happening in Israel and in Gaza is antithetical to who we are as a people and as Zionists who believe we have a right to live in our own country.. Based on the anti-government demonstrations in Israel, I suspect most Israelis share that view. 

Those who hate Jews use the Holocaust to discredit the right of Israel to exist on our own land. Yes, we say "never again," but conflating that stand with bombing Gaza is just intolerably inaccurate. The birth of the State of Israel came out of the ashes of the Holocaust, but our right to live on our own land in our own country is over 4000 years old. To compare Gaza to the Holocaust is to give credence to the idea that Israel wishes to murder all the people living there and take over the land. Again, ongoing demonstrations in the streets against the radical right of Netanyahu's government demonstrates the exact opposite. 

Instead of jumping to inaccurate conclusions, the mouthpieces of major Jewish institutions would have done well to actually read what the guy said, then quote him accurately. I cannot imagine they support the slaughter in Gaza. No one in their right mind wants more civilians to die. That's not Jewish. That's not who we are. And right now, I don't think the government of Israel represents who we are as a people, either. 

In other news...

Mark Robinson 

Jeff Jackson won his primary for North Carolina Attorney General by a significant margin even with all the dark money poured into his opponent's campaign. This is a really good thing because the guy running as the GOP candidate for governor, Mark Robinson, is a few cards short of a full deck. He's running on a party line not unlike the one Hershel Walker used in the Georgia senate race. Feckless Loser loves him and during a rally in NC, said he was 

...Martin Luther King on steroids...I told that to Mark. I said, ‘I think you’re better than Martin Luther King. I think you are Martin Luther King times two.’

Robinson, a long time fan of Hitler, Stalin, and Mao, has used his platform to admit to wanting to go back another time. At a Moms for Liberty event last July, he told those moms:

Whether you’re talking about Adolf Hitler, whether you’re talking about Chairman Mao, whether you’re talking about Stalin, whether you’re talking about Pol Pot, whether you’re talking about Castro in Cuba, or whether you’re talking about a dozen other despots all around the globe, it is time for us to get back and start reading some of those quotes,"

Robinson is also a vociferous Holocaust denier:

...this foolishness about Hitler disarming MILLIONS of Jews and then marching them off to concentration camps is a bunch of hogwash.

This guy also thinks transgender women should be arrested if they use a women's bathroom and should, instead, go leave the building to relieve themselves:

If you are confused, find a corner outside somewhere to go.  

And he longs to return to an earlier, simpler time:

I absolutely want to go back to the America where women couldn’t vote. Do you know why? Because in those days, we had people who fought for real social change, and they were called Republicans.

Oh, yeah....Robinson is running against current NC state Attorney General, Josh Stein. Yup, you read that right. He's Jewish.

North Carolina, y'all better elect Jeff Johnson cuz y'all gonna need strong AG if Robinson wins.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch....

I took an impromptu meeting with the ground last Thursday. Thankfully, it was spongy from all the fine weather we've been having, so I am relatively unscathed. That means nothing broke, not even my glasses which do need an adjustment. My nose is kinda scraped, but nothing grotesque. My torso, however, is another story. Just like my not-so-flying leap in Boston a couple of years ago, I bruised my right side. Why this hurts to beat the band is a mystery to me, but arnica gel and a rotation of Tylenol, aspirin, Advil, and Aleve make movement reasonably okay. That means I'm not screaming in agony every time I try to get outta the bed in the morning. 

While this is all Bialy's fault...she got excited because Poodle Puppy Lucy was returning from her walk...I cannot fault her post-flop behavior. With me for a sleepover, she was incredibly attentive...as in glued to my leg... the rest of the night, and again in the morning. She is such a limpet; she insisted on sleeping spooned up against me. Normally, I don't mind having the body on the bed, but she insists on sleeping tight...ergo pushing me off the bed. 

My grandpuppy returns for a whole week with Savata on Thursday while her family heads off on spring break. By the grace of timely gigs, the Senior Son is coming in so I will have back-up for poop-doody. (Yeah, that's weak.) If you're wondering why she doesn't go to a boarding kennel, ask yourself this: would you send your 98 year old grandma who thinks she's 20 to a trampoline park? Well, Bialy is 98 in dog years, but thinks otherwise when outside. No dog camp for you, Miss B!

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

Spending time with Bialy is precious to me. 

I'm so glad she's coming for the week. 

FIL and Baby Bialystock

An Open Letter to SCOTUS

Dear Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States,

In 7th grade, we learned about checks and balances. Keeping in mind that I am a baby-boomer, the first generation after World War II and living amongst a great number of people with numbers tattooed on their arms, I thought checks and balances were the only way to prevent another attempt at genocide because the Supreme Court would uphold the Constitution to protect all citizens, not just a preferred few. I totally believed with a 7th grader's fervor that our representatives represented all of us when they sat in those two august chambers. That once someone was sworn in as POTUS, he was responsible for the good and welfare of all Americans because he couldn't possibly get elected if he wasn't an honest and upstanding kinda guy. 

But we weren't blind to the issues of governance. We studied the Civil War. We learned about Reconstruction. We were in New York, so we knew what was on the Statue of Liberty and that when they talked about huddled masses yearning to breathe free, they were talking about a lot of our grandparents. It was all very close to home. Our teachers told us what happened in Germany could NOT happen here because we had checks and balances built into our Constitution. And when push came to shove, the Supreme Court, an apolitical, unbiased institution would have the determining say on what could and could not legally be done. The Supreme Court was established to protect We, the People from those who would behave in unscrupulous ways. 

On the website for The Supreme Court states: [highlights are mine.]

The Supreme Court is "distinctly American in concept and function," as Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes observed. Few other courts in the world have the same authority of constitutional interpretation and none have exercised it for as long or with as much influence. In 1835, the French political observer Alexis de Tocqueville noted the unique position of the Supreme Court in the history of nations and of jurisprudence. "The representative system of government has been adopted in several states of Europe," he remarked, "but I am unaware that any nation of the globe has hitherto organized a judicial power in the same manner as the Americans. . . . A more imposing judicial power was never constituted by any people."

The unique position of the Supreme Court stems, in large part, from the deep commitment of the American people to the Rule of Law and to constitutional government. The United States has demonstrated an unprecedented determination to preserve and protect its written Constitution, thereby providing the American "experiment in democracy" with the oldest written Constitution still in force.The complex role of the Supreme Court in this system derives from its authority to invalidate legislation or executive actions which, in the Court’s considered judgment, conflict with the Constitution. This power of "judicial review" has given the Court a crucial responsibility in assuring individual rights, as well as in maintaining a "living Constitution" whose broad provisions are continually applied to complicated new situations.

Why have you abandoned We, the People?

You took away the right of women to determine how our bodies are to be used. You took away the right of parents to choose the life of the mother over the life of the fetus. (Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization,)

You refused to rein in Citizens United, thereby putting our elections on the auction block for anyone to spend unlimited amounts to buy votes, thereby overturning precedents dating back 100 years set by the Tillman Act of 1907. 

You refuse to take up the issue of ethics when it comes to personal behavior exhibited by members of the court, most noticeably Justice Clarence Thomas whose purchase price appears to be in reach of several of his robber-baron friends. The corollary issue of Mrs. Thomas' attempts to overturn the election has not yielded any sort of censure from that body. A shocking lack of ethics amongst the justices is not news. In fact, policing/monitoring their personal behavior has, for years, been a buried issue. Everyone knows it's an issue and it remains tidily under the rug. 

And now, you are working overtime to make sure Feckless Loser is re-elected. 

Let me clarify one thing: the states do NOT have the power or the discretion to remove him from the ballot. His name must appear. That's a given. But delaying the hearings on his immunity and instigation of the insurrection absolutely ensures the cases won't be heard/resolved before the conventions, and in turn, a convicted felon may very well be the GOP nominee. 

And then what happens? Let's say the trials are delayed until after the election and Feckless Loser becomes Feckless Leader Part Two? If he is a convicted felon, he cannot serve, according to the 14th Amendment, Section 3:

Disqualification from Holding Office

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

What happens if you delay the hearings and trials for so long that the election takes place and he wins? Do you think he's gonna stand around with his finger up his butt waiting for the paddy wagon to Club Fed? Or, do you think he's capable of summoning his personal military with an eye to suspension of the Constitution? 

Justices of the Supreme Court: guide us; tell us what YOU think is going to happen? Or are you already prepping your retirement on some Caribbean jewel where the agony and disarray that has become America cannot touch you?

To say I am disappointed in The Supreme Court would be a supreme understatement. I get that this is a highly polarized nation. I understand there is a giant disconnect between the Democrats and the Republicans. I grok the concept that there are three branches of government as designed by the drafters of the Constitution. That division and limitation of powers is supposed to protect us, but you are abrogating your responsibility. You patently ignore the will of the people in light of settled law and then you stage a paper coup to make sure that a candidate with a predisposition to act solely on his own behalf can retake the Oval office.

What is wrong with you people?

Recent polls show confidence in the Supreme Court to be at an all-time low. Just for shits and giggles, here are some numbers from the Marquette Law School national survey on the Supreme Court:

And the kicker:

You can see for yourself We, the People, are not thrilled with you. That's because you're supposed to be looking out for all of us, not just your preferred political ideologues. We, the People, understand we might disagree with some of your rulings, but repealing settled law is not in our best interest. The majority of Americans have serious issue with the Dobbs ruling. 

Now, all of that aside, allow me to make a recommendation: Clean. Up. Your. Act. Get your ethics house in order first and fast, then start looking out for the rest of us: get those immunity and insurrection hearings up, moving, transparent, and at the very least, transcript available to We, the People. We, the People, deserve to know if this guy is gonna attempt to overthrow the government. And We, the People, need to be prepared.

Do you really want to be known as The Last Court: The OneThat Failed America? I hope not, but folks, you are heading down that road at a pretty scary speed.

Respectfully submitted,

The Wifely Person

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

I want to believe We, the People,

are capable of electing  proper government. 

Then again, I know better than to believe 

the people behind the curtain.