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| The flag and the Kotel |
A zillion answers raced through my mind, most of them flip and dismissive, but as she kept rambling, digging her hole deeper and deeper, I realized flip wasn't the right way to go. When she finally stopped blaming Israel for everything wrong in the Middle East, I said, "I am deeply committed to Israel and its continued existence the same way you, as a progressive Democratic Socialist are deeply committed to the continued existence of the United States."
Let me take a moment to make my position crystal clear:
- I am a Zionist
- I believe that Jews are the indigenous people of that land and have a right to be there.
- Israel as a cultural entity on its own is first mentioned in the stele of Egyptian Pharaoh Merenptah c.1213-1203 B.C.E.
- By 1080 B.C.E. a kingdom was established. Around 930 BCE the kingdom split into two parts, Israel in the north and Judah in the south.
- Hebrew has been our spoken AND written language for over 3000 years.
- Our name is Yehudi. It means a person from Judah/Judea. A Jew from that place named for us, not the other way around.
- Our literature and our liturgy have been in Hebrew for over 3000 years.
- Mount of Olives is a Jerusalem cemetery in continual use over 3000 years containing 150,000 graves...and growing.
- The heart of our religion was the Temple in Jerusalem until the destruction of the Second Temple on the 9th of Av, 70 C.E. That day is still observed as a fast day for us.
- The Temple Mount in Jerusalem is revered by the three Abrahamic religion. Christianity begins in the first century C.E. and Islam begins in the 7th century C.E.
- Jews have been exiled, persecuted, and abused by a litany of conquerors since then, but we have never completely abandoned the land. Jerusalem remains central to our liturgy. We end the Passover seder saying, Next year in Jerusalem.
- Since Israel was declared a modern state in 1948, its neighbors have continually attacked. And lost. In 1948, 1956, 1697, 1973, 1982, 2008.
- Offered their own state many times, Hamas has never accepted nor ceased rocket attacks on Israeli civilians.
- We have an obligation to defend ourselves from those attacks whether they are from soldiers or suicide bombers on buses.
- In 2005 Israel didn't just pull out of Gaza, it removed every Jewish person who had been living there since before the establishment of the state, turning everything over to the Palestinians to begin their own journey to independence.
- Since 2007, when Hamas took control, over 30,000 rockets and mortars have been fired into Israel, aimed mostly at civilian targets like the town of Sderot. Approximately 1 in 5 launches misfire and land in Gaza.
- October 7th, 2023 was not an attack on a military target, it was an attack on a music festival and people asleep in their beds. Rape, murder, torture are all documented for examination, including the videos taken by the attackers to show off their acts of violence.
- If you have a strong stomach, this is a visual complication of October 7th. Maybe you are one of the ones who needs to see this to understand what happened that day.
- Do I believe Israel has waged a long term war of genocide on Gaza? No. Populations experiencing genocide do not increase in size. Between 2000 and 2023 the population has almost doubled from 1.1 million to 2.2 million. They have one of the highest birthrates in the world.
- Do I believe the end result in Gaza is a humanitarian crisis and tragedy? Yes, but I believe the onus is on Hamas and its treatment of its own people. Had they built an economy instead of tunnels, industries instead of rocket launchers, Gaza would be much different. The Palestinians would be on the road to economic prosperity.
- Do I believe Israel wants to take Gaza back? No. Most Israelis would like an independent state with a burgeoning economy focused on the betterment of its population.
- Do I agree with Bibi Netanyahu and his government? No. Like most Israelis, I want him gone. According to Times of Israel, 55% to 61% believe he should be retired.
- I am also a voting American who believes the very fabric of our democracy is under attack. Did I vote in the primary? Absolutely.
- I am not a supporter of Democratic socialism, but I do support a more socialist democracy that provides safety nets for its vulnerable citizens. [See last month's Junior High Cit Ed Refresher Course if you don't understand the difference.]
- I certainly am not a supporter of our current kleptocracy. President Feckless Felon's continued policies that enrich himself are anti-American at best and should be stopped. If only we had a congress that cared about Americans.
There you have it. I dislike both governments equally. The bottom line?
I AN A ZIONIST JEW. I AM AN AMERICAN.
There is no conflict of interest here.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch....
Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia raised some interesting points on this topic. From The Independent:
While the sailors on the Lincoln fight his war, while he fruitlessly drains our munitions and oil reserves, the president sleeps through his meetings... He golfs and trades stocks. See, he doesn't want to do the job. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the emir of Qatar.
I'm not so naive as to think men of power don't have their side pieces. Think Anne Boleyn (Henry VIII,) Madame de Pompadour (Louis XV,) Nan Britton (Warren Harding,) Lucy Mercer (FDR,) Monica Lewinsky (Bill Clinton) and while no one mistress has been assigned for President Felon, he's extra-marital assignations are well known since he also marries them. Natalie seems to be the current sycophant-in-residence. Let's see how long she lasts...before Melania puts a stop to her. Or not. Maybe Natalie keeping him busy and his butt clean is a load off Melly's plate. Stay tuned. Natalie, backpack, & boss
The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week
For a really interesting read
on our government's spending habits, try this:
I thought it was fascinating.
