Obviously, I Didn't Die

Apparently, I was a victim of Influenza A. How anyone can tell A from B or C or XYZ is beyond me, nor do I care enough to find out. What I learned from the experience is that having had the flu shot before I  went to Israel in October may have helped to mitigate the worst of it. Additionally, during my attempted self-diagnostics is that Aleve really works on the body aches and joint pain. Not being a doctor and all, I can't recommend anything past mint or jasmine green tea and chicken soup to cure whatever ails you, but NSAIDs were my best friends last week. And for all of you who were trying to keep tabs on me (and you know who you were) I did manage to go to the movies on Christmas Day to see AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH.

I want to talk about that for a moment. Ziggy was still sucking air when the first one came out and we opted not to go, which was unusual for a guy who was heavily into computerized film making. I eventually saw it on tv and it was meh. I did not see the second one. But for reasons I cannot really explain, I wanted to see this one, so I went with a friend. It was visually stunning, of course, and the 3D was very effective. There was stuff going down I could not grok or even follow, but I was able to figure out what I needed. HOWEVER, there were some parts of the story line that niggled at the back of my neck. I knew I would have to think through some of my random thoughts. 

This episode is clearly anti-colonial and a whole lotta people are saying this is a thinly veiled version of Israeli colonialism. I call bullshit on that. Jews are the indigenous people of the area via language, culture, religion, burial, and written history. Period. End of discussion. The return of Jews to Israel should be the poster story for all indigenous people longing to return to their homeland. Show me ANY cultural documentation demonstrating a 5000-year PALESTINIAN presence in that land, and then I'll ask for your crack supply. Oh, for G-d's sake, they have always called themselves refugees in Gaza, Jordan, and Lebanon. And that's exactly what they are. If they were so damned interested in having a functioning state, there was ample opportunity beginning in 1948 to have one. Just ask a Palestinian when the last time they had an independent Palestinian state on that land, or a Palestinian currency. They can't. It never existed. 

The last independent NON COLONIAL government on that land was the Kingdom of Judea and that was dismantled in the first century CE by Rome. Following the Bar Kokhba Revolt in 132 C.E,  Hadrian, the Roman emperor at the time, changed the name to Syria Palaestina and the name of Jerusalem to Aelia Capitolina in an attempt to sever the relationship between Jews and their homeland. It didn't work. From that point on, Jews remained on the land, albeit in fewer numbers, considered Hebrew to be their language of prayer and literature, and lived under a series of rulers right through to the Ottoman Empire. When Great Britain took over, it was just another in a long line of foreigners who wanted control of the Holy Land.  But the Brits did something else: they agreed to partition the land. Hence, the birth of the state of Israel in 1948. Click here for a succinct timeline.

Why bring this up now? 

For two reasons. First, if someone tells you they don't hate Jews but they are anti-Zionist, they are full of shit. WE ARE ZION. We are the people of Israel. We come in many colors, many traditions, many foods, many dialects, but when push comes to shove, we can always reach each other in Hebrew...whether it's through a line of liturgy or a passage in Torah. It is in Hebrew and that is our language. The oldest known inscription spelling Yerushalayim as we know it today is 2100-years old, dating from the first century B.C.E.  While the inscription is Aramaic, it uses Hebrew letters and says, "Hananiah son of Dodalos of Jerusalem."  Islam was founded in 610 C.E. Do the math.

The second reason is because I am sick to death of the hypocrisy. We own the banks, the media, governments across the globe according to the Jew haters. If that was the case, don't you think we'd be doing a better job of taking care of our own people? If we actually ran the world, do you think Yasser Arafat's daughter Zahwa would be a billionaire living off money skimmed from the PLO and aid to the Palestinians? Hate needs a scapegoat and Jews have been serving that purpose for a couple of thousand years....yet we're still here. We returned home, started "start-up nation," became a major player in technology and medicine...yet we are vilified for existing. Israeli civilians are attacked, murdered, mutilated, raped, kidnapped, and burned, yet Israel is the aggressor because it defends its citizens? If those same terrorists crossed the border from Canada to, say, Buffalo, what would you expect the United States to do? 

Jews are already heading back into hiding. UK PM Starmer pointed out British Jewish children are the only ones attending school behind armed gates yet just yesterday, he welcomed Alaa Abd El-Fattah to England despite his repeated calls to kill all Zionists. Jewish shops are closing all over Australia...and that was before the Bondi Beach massacre. Every shul, community center, and day school in this country have armed guards. And the haters will blame us for not being shot up enough. And it's global. 

Here's a happy New Year thought for all those who think Feckless President Felon is a friend to the Jews: if you saw what he did to Ukraine and Zelenskyy, understand he will throw Israel and the Jews under the same bus the minute the revenue stream slows to a trickle. The Goniff-In-Chief has not interest past the lining of his own pockets. As he manipulates mergers and acquisitions, he enriches his family coffers steadily and without shame. His big plans for Las Gaza....will never be completed because he will default as he has done countless times before this, leaving others to clean up the mess. 

And waiting in the wings for this collapse will be Mayor Mamdani who keeps appointing pro-Palestinian hate mongers to positions of power in NYC's government. As soon as the wheels come off the pretend protectionism of this administration, Mamdani will stand back and let the haters hate out loud and in person. 

Meanwhile, back at the government teat, JD Bedbug, Pete Hogshead, and others are all loudly proclaiming the new Christian America we will all be enjoying as we seek salvation. They are celebrating the birth of Jesus by cutting off access to healthcare for millions of Americans, destroying the families of thousands of immigrants with legal ties to this country, bombing other countries without congressional consideration as they shit on the institutions that are the pride of this country. But that hasn't stopped any of them from putting out very religious messages from their government offices. Makes me wonder whose religion they subscribe to, because it sure ain't the one Jesus was preaching.  See for yourself: Trump Administration Emphasizes Religion in Official Christmas Messages from the NYTimes.

As 2025 draws to a close, We, the People need to have a reckoning about who we are as a People. After growth and progress, are We, the People really willing to revert to the way things were in 1900? 

Measles are surging back to life in America. Rubella and Pertussis are already rearing their ugly heads.  Polio is in the wings. Are we ready to sacrifice our children on the altar of Trumpian stupidity?  Make sure you know that answer to that because that very issue will become the centerpiece of the next real societal war. 

One last thought: may your New Year be happy, healthy, and peace-filled. 

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

If your kids aren't up to date on their vaccines, fix that

NOW.

Waiting is not a wise option.