This Thing With Orange...

"This thing with Orange is killing me" These are the words spoken by a husband in the early morning hours to his wife as they lay in bed sleepless and upset.

"How can I call you?" These are the words spoken by a young child to her mother in the first moments after she awakens. She calls me every day when she comes home from school. It is the price we pay for my being a working mother - those first minutes when a child runs in the house and tells her mother about her day usually take place in a telephone call.

"This is impossible," says Shmulik. "I have to have a phone to call S. and other officers and commanders." He was stranded today without notice when Orange suddenly closed our phone lines after months of ignoring our requests by email and phone for a meeting to explain how, how in God's name they were sending us monthly bills almost three times what it should be.

Nowadays, soldiers need their phones as a necessary part of their service. It is expected, if not required. When a soldier goes home from basic training, he needs to call his commanding officer or send him an SMS to confirm he arrived safely. If he is going to be late or has any problem - he has to call his commanding officer. Even during the Gaza War, communication that wasn't on encrypted phones was shortened enough to confuse but get the message across.

"I need you here," Elie once told his commanding officer. It was enough. It looked like something was happening on the Lebanese side of the border but Elie didn't have an encrypted phone to explain that he could see enemy forces moving nearby. It was enough - done on an unencrypted phone - our phone (no, not Orange, but Cellcom before we had the great misfortune to believe Orange could offer better service).

And when not in war, the army runs excercises - imagine, at this moment, you have just been called to war, that your unit has been mobilized. How fast can you reach your men? How fast can they be notified and ready to move? The army needs to know. And so more than once, Elie "mobilized." In the distant past before cellphones - the operatrion was not completed until the soldiers reached the base. Now, with cellphones, it is easier - pretend you've been mobilized. Call me back "as if" you'd gotten that call.

Every morning, I am the family alarm clocik. For some reason that is beyond my understanding, most of our family cannot wake up without my calling them. They go back to sleep - it can't be serious if Ima didn't call. With a family plan (at least we had one with Cellcom and arranged one even if Orange wasn't honoring it in the actual numbers and bills), it means I can gather clothes and begin dressing even as I call and wake them. 

The only exception to this "Ima wakes us" rule is the soldier who must leave hours before. He will rise and leave on his own - but the rest wait for their mother. I could force the issue, but I don't. In the length of a life lived, what harm is there in these few years where I speak the first words to them each morning? "Good morning, my lovie," I say to my daughter. Why shouldn't she awaken to those words?

This morning, after Orange shut our phones without warning, I got out of bed and did it the old fashioned way. My feet are cold, for not having put on slippers and I want so much to crawl back into bed and desperately try for those last few minutes of sleep before my day begins and yet I come here to my computer.

I am angry at an insensitive phone company that forces my family, workers and friends, to face this day without the convenience of a phone. Writers are heading out to meetings - without phones. Mothers will not be able to reach their children. The alarm company cannot reach me to confirm that all is fine when the earliest to arrive in the office disarms the alarm. They may well send someone down to check the place.

An elderly couple will head up to Haifa in two hours - without phones. My mother teaches at the university there; my father enjoys the campus and wanders around until my mother calls him and tells him she is finished. Except today, she can't call him. He sometimes gets distracted with the views, or sits and ignores the time as he drinks coffee and reads a newspaper. My mother broke her hip many years ago and her leg a few years ago. She has weak bones - and today, she won't have a phone with her. |I am angry - and rightly so - you don't cut off the phone of two elderly people who don't speak Hebrew nearly well enough.

My son heads back to the army. He wants to call Pelephone today and take that deal they offered him. It is a special discount for soldiers - it includes hundreds of minutes of free time between army numbers. He is fed up and angry - and rightly so. You don't cut off a soldier's phone without warning.

My daughter will come home today - a young girl wanting to call her mother. That at least, I can solve. She was afraid yesterday when it was getting dark and she didn't have my office phone number - why should she when she has her own phone and she knows my number. But it didn't work yesterday - suddenly, without warning and so she was smart. She went to the neighbors and the neighbor sent me a note on Facebook. Today, at least, I have taken care of her. She has my office number - thanks to landlines and Bezek. She, at least, I can help.

And then there are those words my husband spoke to me a few hours ago; a whisper of a man who is sick and tired of trying to get a massive, insensitive, greedy corporation to listen. "This thing with Orange is killing me." Never more than now have I regretted signing the contract with Orange a year ago.

I opened a special blog to keep this issue away from this one. But who wants to read about how yet another large corporation is cheating yet another person? A Soldier's Mother has been going now for more than 3 years and I wanted to keep this blog about that and not about this...until yesterday when that and this collided.

We have been suffering with Orange for more than a year since we signed that contract and have been fighting ever since. The issues are complex - broken promises, over-billing, equipment not received, lines not opened. The simplest solution would have been a meeting with Orange to explain the bills. We tried that once with the head of the Jerusalem Business office - he came for a few hours - sat talking to his office on the phone making adjustments to the bill and decided, on his own, without explanations, what we were entitled to.

He canceled 17 lines and offered a compromise amount of 10,000 NIS credit if we'd forget the whole mess and just move on. Move on to what? How did you get to 10,000 NIS? Why can't you go phone by phone and discuss it? We asked him. He was in a rush to leave to his next appointment. 

"After you pay," he said.

"Pay what?" we asked him.

He could not or would not answer. How do you pay a bill when you don't know what you are paying for? When even the company can't unravel the lies. The most honest truth was the one that one Orange representative gave us, "If we gave you what Gal promised, the company would lose money." But Gal was their representative, set on making the deal, giving us the SIM cards and getting his commission. Gal has long since been removed from the picture - if only we were so lucky.

This thing with Orange is killing my husband, leaves my daughter without a convenient way to contact her mother, leaves a soldier without a phone and a way to contact his family, his fiancée, his commanding officer. This thing with Orange leave two elderly people without communication for the next few hours. This thing with Orange is an outrage.

JibJab Offers Obama's Goodbye to 2010

LATMA\s Brilliant Contribution - We Didn't Start the Fire

The Jews and the Jaws

I have long believed that what you can't cry about...you have to laugh about. This is a perfect example. Thanks to the Colbert Report for this one!

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Israel Shark Conspiracy
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog March to Keep Fear Alive

A Last Look at the Carmel Fire

Few words could be added to the pictures here...and so all I will add is a prayer that their memories be blessed and their sacrifice be forever remembered.

This is Terrorism

Elie said those words in anger last night as we watched the flames consuming our land, our precious and beautiful land. Many decades ago, a representative of Burma came to Israel. Burma is, apparently, a land covered in trees. To find place for the growing population, they have an aggressive deforestation plan, to rid the land of the trees so that people can live.

The representative of Burma came and was so impressed by our wide open spaces with no trees, that he commented on how amazingly successful our deforestation plan was. In reality, according to history, our "deforestation" plan is thousands of years old, and never really ours. When the Romans came to our land more than 2,000 years ago, destroyed the Holy Temple and took many of our people into slavery, they salted the earth, to curse it and make it barren.

There are many statistics. If I were trying to be thorough, I would do research and point to sites to prove the numbers I say here - perhaps later I will add them. For now, I'll tell you that I remember hearing that only Israel, of all the nations in the world, has MORE trees today than 50 years ago. We have no deforestation plan. It is our love of the land that drives us, year after year, to plant new forests and trees, to care for them, to cherish them.

We have lost over 5 million trees. The tragedy of this knocks us to the ground. If you are not Israeli, I do not know if you can comprehend the incredible agony of the heart that we Israelis are feeling today. We take such pride in our forests, our trees. They are an expression of our love. It causes such pain to watch them burn, hour after hour, day after day, as the flames are fanned by the winds. I could say the same and more at the thought of the 41 people who have been killed in this fire, the wounded, the homeless. More than trees, these are people and yet both the people and the land break our hearts.

Two stupid, careless boys from a Druze village have been arrested for setting the fire. What they were doing was definitely illegal - burning garbage in a forest. Was it deliberate? We don't yet know. In all honesty, few think it was deliberate, few want to believe it possible. Elie calls it terrorism - it is his love of the land that brings this harsh verdict, but there is more.

In the last 48 hours, there have been more than 20 arson attempts by Arabs to set fire to our land - the latest this morning near Jerusalem. They know that from all over the country, firefighting equipment has been sent north. Little remains to protect other areas. It is all we have to give. Countries around the world, even those that still call themselves enemies - Turkey, Egypt, Jordan...have joined the Greece, Cyprus, Italy, France, Russia, the United States - forgive me if I have forgotten someone, we are so grateful.

The thought of so many coming brings tears to my eyes. A part of me says it is only right - we have flown the world to help others, to Kenya, to Turkey, to Haiti, to Indonesia, and beyond. Again and again, it is only right that they come and help us. But this isn't about right or wrong. It is about the beauty of it all.

They come to our land to help us. We are so grateful. Tomorrow will be time enough for politics and an accusing finger. Perhaps our government, this one and previous ones, should have done more. Perhaps this minister or that one. I don't focus on that now.

For now, I listen only to reports from the north. I need to know all the details - are they safe, these firefighters of ours and theirs? Do they have enough water to fight this? Is the wind endangering them? How soon can the planes take to the air and help?

Again and again, I check the news. Again and again, I hear of more arson attacks. I am left with one burning thought - if someone intentionally sets fire to the land, it is obscene for him to then claim that he loves it.

You do not intentionally burn trees and acres and acres, dunams after dunams, of a land you love. Those who love this land, are those who have spent days fighting these fires. I see it in their eyes, as they tell the story to reporters. The overwhelming heartache, the sadness, the damage.

And there is one more thing in their eyes - something the Arabs forget to easily, something they are blinded from seeing now...and for the last 60 years. We love this land. We will replant. We will rebuild. This was terrorism and for all of our lives, we have answered terrorism with the one thing that can stop it - determination. We will plant. We will build.

Why there will be no peace in the Middle East

When you start this young, what hope can there be?

Abraham Calls to Me

Every once in a while (perhaps more often than I let myself believe), I take the liberty of writing not just as a soldier's mother, but as an Israeli, a Jew. I could tie this in with the blog, and I will, a bit, but for now, let's start with history.

The thing about history is that there are often sides, shades, and personalities that we can only imagine. The longer between the event and the reporting, the harder it is to imagine, to believe, to know. Sadly, this is what is slowly happening with the Holocaust. As we move into a generation that knows no survivors, the fact that there are films, videos, direct testimonies of those who did survive, physical evidence that corresponds and confirms all that they say and said - still there are those who would twist, deny, inflame.

Imagine now, that the history happened thousands of years ago, and not merely a few decades ago. Imagine a man who married a woman and they have a child. That child marries and has two sons. One of those sons marries not one, but two women. One of those dies young and is greatly mourned. The second is buried in the same place as the first man and his wife, the second man and his wife, and her own husband, the child of the second man.

So far, other than there being a man who married two wives, our story is common enough that it takes little imagination.

But the man was named Abraham and his wife was Sarah. In the technical writing terms I often live by, Abraham revolutionized the world - perhaps the first of so many great Israeli/Jewish discoveries and innovations that have graced the world. There was no US Patent Office, but his idea was certainly unique. If you can fashion stone into a figure, calling that figure "God" is absurd.

Abraham's patented system of global management was simple - recognize the Power...where the Power really is. When Abraham's wife died, Abraham did something else that is well documented and stands through time. He buried her, we all know that - but more. He refused the gift of her burial place. He demanded to purchase the land and so, in effect, the Bible that documents this transaction proves a legal and binding land contract in which Abraham purchased what is now called the Cave of the Patriarchs, in Hebron.

There, he was buried. His son, Yitzchak with his wife Rifka; his grandson Yaakov, and his wife Leah. I have always felt sad that Rachel lies alone and yet her grave, its location and presence were important enough to have been separate. That Yaakov loved her was enough.

All this was written, explained, documented, in the first book of the Torah. This week, we read Chaye Sarah - the life of Sarah...in which she dies. A contradiction, the name, with what happens. I'll let scholars and Rabbis explain more, but let me tell you that Hebron, and especially Ma'arat HaMachpela (the Cave of the Patriarchs) has always been a place that touches me, calls to me, and soothes me.

I’ve been there when almost no one has been there; I’ve been there when it was so crowded, you could barely move. I’ve been there in the early evening, mid-day, more than once in the morning. I’ve been there as I watched two people wed, and I’ve said prayers for the sick there.

Each time, the feeling is the same. I’ve come home. I’ve come to the grave of my grandparents, a direct link, a connection. I have the right to pray there, to ask them to intercede on my behalf because I am theirs, they are mine.

This Shabbat is the anniversary of Sarah’s death and so thousands, literally thousands, will go to Hebron to be there to commemorate this day, this life, this death, this start of our people, this continuance. Of all the times I have been there, this is the one time I have never been. So natural and yet each year there was a reason, a delay, something else or even nothing else.

This time, almost 80 members of our community are going to Hebron – amazingly enough, to camp out in tents across from the Cave of the Patriarchs. What an amazing opportunity to be there, to share this moving day with so many. I can’t wait to go. I’ve got brownies cooking, carrots steamed, a noodle casserole in the oven. It will be a huge communal meal and, as usual, I already know I have gone overboard.

It doesn’t matter – Abraham calls to me.

And to tie this in, Chaim called mid-week. I don’t even remember about what and I asked him about Shabbat. It’s a way of leading in to him telling me if he can/wants to come without putting any pressure on him.

“I’m going to Hebron for Shabbat,” he told me.

“Me too,” I answered excitedly.

“Yeah, but I’m staying in a tent across the street from Ma’arat Hamachpela,” he responded back.

“Me too,” I answered back so happy.

In the end, Chaim had planned to sign up for the communal meal but by the time he got through, it was sold out. Chaim called to ask what we had planned in terms of food and so, he is joining our community as our “son” – Chaim and another friend.

Elie and Shmulik aren’t into this camping out in the wilderness part of it all and are staying home; sharing one meal with their older sister, another here in our home, perhaps with friends. We have friends who went to Hebron yesterday and set up the community’s “perimeter.” We sent down extra tents; I am chilling a beer for Chaim.

Abraham calls to me, as he often does. “Come,” he says to me, “come and give respect to your mother, to Sarah, my wife.”

I will go and pray there – for RifkA bat Teirtzel, for Elie’s friend Re’em. I will pray for the sick of Israel…and the healthy. I will pray for my daughter and her husband that all their dreams come true; I will pray for Elie and the path he has begun since leaving the army. I will pray for Shmulik, for his safety in the army and for his future with the bride he will soon take. I will pray for Davidi, that the years and his teachers be kind to him as his path is forged and his personality developed. I will pray for my little Aliza, who every day gets bigger and bigger and just had her first “babysitting” job.

I will pray for my husband and our life together. And in the midst of all this, I will thank Abraham and Sarah for creating the nation and the path to this day, to this land, to this place. Somewhere, the reality of what we know parts from the imagination we have. There is archeological and historical evidence for much of what occurred in the Bible. Where science stops, belief and faith continue. Beyond belief and faith, I guess, is imagination.

I imagine a great love in Abraham for his wife, Sarah and all he built with her. It is there in his buying the Cave of the Patriarchs so that no one can ever lay claims to that land. It is, in some sense, the oldest recorded land deal, and we have the deed, right there in every Bible.

I hear Abraham calling to me. They are waiting for me and I will go. I will sleep the night in a tent across from where they rest. To show my respect, to show my faith, to show my love. Me…and tens of thousands of their other children. We are the people of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rifka, Jacob, Rachel and Leah.

Shabbat shalom.

I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains

A Song of Ascents. - Psalms 121
I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains: from whence shall my help come?
My help cometh from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved; He that keepeth thee will not slumber
Behold, He that keepeth Israel doth neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is thy keeper; the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD shall keep thee from all evil; He shall keep thy soul.
 The LORD shall guard thy going out and thy coming in, from this time forth and for ever.

The Wisdom of a Man

Someone posted this quote to Facebook today - the wisdom...the incredible wisdom of these words stands the test of time:

"Israel was not created in order to disappear - Israel will endure and flourish. It is the child of hope and the home of the brave. It can neither be broken by adversity nor demoralized by success. It carries the shield of democracy and it honors the sword of freedom."

Thank you to President John F. Kennedy for his words. If only the world would be smart enough to realize how right he was, so long ago.

Obama on LATMA...

Can't add much to this one...

Free Gaza...

Jumbled News and A Clear Message of Triumph

Sometimes, the news jumbles together and you wonder how it is possible not to learn a lesson from the very clear path it builds for you. There is a truth, even in the lies our enemies tell. A truth so bitter, so real, that our leaders refuse to listen, even if it means our deaths.

As I drove to work recently, I listened as the news reported that Abbas was telling Israel that we had to choose between peace and settlements. It is a formula that might make sense, if it was the settlements that prevented peace. It is a lie that might fool the most ignorant but for those who understand that we have not built for 10 months while Abbas made no effort to make peace, it is yet another abomination. We have done so much; Abbas has done nothing but avoid negotiations, set preconditions, and spin truths into the most horrid of lies.

For 10 months, we caved into Obama; to the US, the UN, the EU, and worst of all, our own desperation to believe that peace can be shoved down the throats of the Palestinians despite their very clear message that they worship death and violence, not peace and harmony. For 10 months, Netanyahu wanted us to believe the impossible – that you can dance alone to a tune only he hears; that you can convince those who seek to confuse, that honesty is the better road. For 10 months. For 10 months there was nothing. Nothing but rockets, stone throwing attacks. Nothing but accusations, preconditions, demands.

So, having done nothing but wait until the last possible minute to even agree to talk to Israel, the Palestinians are now positioning themselves to say that it is Israel that has not done enough, not cared enough, not sacrificed enough. It’s true, they laugh to themselves, for 10 months nothing…and for how much longer can we watch Israel dance while we laugh on the side? I have no sympathy for the Americans who come to the party so disastrously ignorant. I have no compassion for the Blairs of the world who cannot comprehend a world, a culture that raises its children to martyrdom. We are finished, I want to scream at Abbas. Your lies won’t work. But they do, and I am left to wonder, again and againt.

Obama – for God’s sake…how stupid can you be? How can you look at our country and believe we have not done all we can. Now in these last 10 months? Five years ago when we destroyed the homes of 10,000 people for nothing? You want us to give more? Tell that to the orphans, the widows, the bereaved parents.

Abbas says Israelis much choose. The anger encompasses the brain at times, chokes you beyond words.

That was the morning. In the afternoon, there was a conversation with an Israeli aboard a boat heading to Gaza – a flotilla with a message; he said. And what, the newscaster asked, what was the message? My mind flashed, as it often does, to Gilad Shalit – it makes sense – they are trying to grab the attention of the world to focus on Gilad. They sail to gain the attention of the world, to turn it to the cause of the naval blockade – the ongoing, illegal captivity or our son, Gilad.

I was so busy hoping they would succeed, it took me a few moments to realize the treachery, the deceit, the horror. No. Not Gilad – not for these publicity-hungry, self-hating Jews who dared to talk of “true Judaism” as they desecrated Jewish law, ignored it, debased it. They want to show their solidarity, these stupid idiots, with the beleaguered Palestinians; they want to break the naval blockade and declare themselves heroes. They dare Israel to stop them – in the name of Judaism because those who sailed in the name of Islam already failed. But there is no difference between the Judaism of these people and the Islam that pushed the last flotilla to violence. I would not trust these self-proclaimed “peace activists” any more than I trust the last group of thugs.

They sail for the Palestinians, but not for Gilad. The anger grows as an ache deep inside; how blind, how naïve, how destructive, how wrong.

And then in the evening, I got a call from my son who was with the army in Hebron hours before. He is fine. He’s left the city, though he may go back. Slowly the mind takes in the information. Another shooting attack; indiscriminate; meant to kill. Another pregnant woman – but this time a miracle. Though the woman was shot, her husband was able to continue driving until he got her to help; she delivered her son in health and safety – a miracle.

What lessons do we learn this day of such jumbled news?  So many confused thoughts; so much anger. The journey of the day took me through the feeling that the world will fall, yet again, for Abbas’ lies and Palestinian propaganda and past the idiocy of those who are blind enough to help our enemies but care nothing for our own. It ended with the wails of a newborn baby boy, born of a terrorist attack that might easily have claimed his life and those of his parents. But a birth, a joy, a message that comes clear and washes away the anger. Tell your lies, follow the wrong path, but know that at the end of the day, there is a rebirth, a dedication.

I don’t know what the parents will name this child – perhaps Baruch, for blessing – for truly he is blessed. Perhaps David, who led his people in strength and war. Or Chaim, for he lives to triumph and show the world the determination of his parents and his people.

Or perhaps, though it is not my place to name him – perhaps they will call him Israel. I hope they will – for it was Israel that rejoiced in his birth last night as we put aside the anger and the lies to celebrate the most important part of our religion – life.

May God bless this baby boy, son of Netta Zucker. May he be welcomed into the covenant of Avraham, Isaac, and Jacob and may he be granted a long and happy and healthy life here in our land…the land that will remain ours, despite Abbas, Obama, the idiots on the flotillas, past, present and future.

May God bless this boy with life.

Dear World

In a few short hours, we, the Jewish people, will withdraw from your presence. We’ll ask you to leave us to ourselves in peace. We have had enough of all you speak of, all you hold hear. For the next day or so, we turn ourselves inwards, to the people we are, to the God we worship.
We have done much for you this year, sacrificed too much. We have lost friends and loved ones, too young to die and we ask ourselves “Why? For what?” But now we have to make peace with the truth. We did not sacrifice these to you, nor even to the mythical god you call peace. No, we simply are living God’s plan and for some reason we cannot fully understand, it was God’s will that these people fall to the Arab knife, gun, rock, explosion, attack, terror.
This past year, we did not build in our land – that too was a sacrifice you demanded and we offered but tomorrow, we return to ourselves. The European Union wanted to come talk to us today and feels snubbed that we refused. We offered alternative days and like the petulant children they are, they refused. We will talk to you today, or not at all, they cry out in their temper tantrum.
For once, we are united. We are the adults we should be. Whatever you want, we explain to them. There really are things more important, more crucial, than a bunch of EU representatives who demand to come hours before our holiest day. For once, we are above that.
This week, Secretary of State Clinton came to our land and instructed us, yet again how we should behave before the Arab world. We were bombarded with missiles and mortars, even some containing illegal chemicals and the world and Hillary Clinton were silent about these abominations. This week, they were silent and we allowed this – this too was a sacrifice you demanded and we offered. But for once, we are united. We are the nation we were meant to be. Whatever you wanted, we explain to Hillary Clinton, but no more. There really are things more important, more crucial, than the approval of Hillary Clinton and Barack Hussein Obama.
Once before, we were attacked on this holy of holy days and so tomorrow, our soldiers, our sons will not stand down. Many will not come home. They will stand there and fast, guard our borders so that we can negotiate the most important of deals, the most precious requests we place before the Almighty.
Dear World, there is nothing you can do to us, that God cannot do worse. There is no fear greater than our not being granted His blessings for the year to come and so tomorrow, we leave you to return to Him. Our airports close in a few hours – you cannot enter our land and we will not leave. Our radios and televisions stop – it is not the time for entertainment and frivolous activities. We speak of our lives, our futures, and those of our children.
Yes, we impose a closure on the Arab population and that infuriates the so-called human rights organizations who fail to understand that we too have a closure on ourselves. There is no work in Israel tomorrow – not for the Arabs, and not for the Jews. We have more important things to do, to consider, to repair.
Dear World, for once we do not ask your understanding, we do not ask for your forgiveness. For once each year at least, we turn in the proper direction – to our holy city Jerusalem and to our God. Forgive us for our sins, we beg You. Remember our land and all You have given to us. For once, God, believe that we understand and are focused properly. They can do nothing to harm us because we give You our faith, our love, our beliefs, our future.
May we all be written in the Book of Life and inscribed for a year of peace and health and happiness and growth and may we understand that it is that blessing that will grant us a year of peace – that, and nothing else, and no one else. G’mar hatima tova.

The Anger of an Infidel

There is an anger, so deep and vast, that it can choke you. It comes and goes without much warning, much like the terror attacks that cause its rebirth. It is a feeling of confusion, of wonder. How, you want to cry out. How can you be so stupid? How can you be so blind? How could you think this was anything but inevitable? Why? Why didn't you think? Why didn't you do something to stop it? Worse, why did you do something to cause it to happen now?
You can’t say you didn’t know. It’s happened so often, each time, really. The inevitable outcome of all attempted "peace" negotiations is death. Harsh though that sounds, that is reality. If you offer a hand to the Palestinians, there will be much conversation and discussion among the Arabs. Stupidly, the world, the western world, the United States, the State Department, even our out stupid, stupid leaders, will think the Arabs are discussing our latest offerings and the talks that will take place.

They will dream of peace and international fame for each of them. They will imagine the spotlights shining as the world deems them the ultimate peacemakers. They will dream of Nobel Prizes and going down in the history books. It’s true. The Arabs are discussing something, but the world is too stupid, too blind, too naïve and too ignorant to understand or accept that what the Arabs ARE discussing, what they are planning – is how to cut off that hand that the world demands we reach out.

That hand offered in peace is an abomination to their culture. It is the hand of an infidel, they will whisper among themselves. Easily ignored, even laughed at. How stupid these infidels are, let us offer them the peace of Mohammed. We can agree to anything. There is no dishonor in betraying a hand offered to an infidel, an agreement made with these non-Muslim leaders.
Perhaps even stronger, the greater the lie, the more impressive, the more powerful, the more manly, is the Arab leader that pulled off the ruse. That conned the infidel into making the deal. How much sweeter the deal, how much weaker the opponent, when you can get them to offer something for nothing but words. Stupid infidels.
There is an anger that burns inside me that so many of my own people refuse to understand this; that many say we settlers are the cause. The Arabs have murdered a pregnant woman. Shot her as she drove with her husband, and then again in the head to crown their victory. The agony incapacitates; the pain overwhelms and so the world rationalizes. Wait, it’s bad, but wait, she lived where? She makes her home over there? Ah, six children she had…she must have been one of those. Religious. Right-wing. Settler. Labels meant to separate when the only really important label here is the one the Arabs have given us. She was murdered because she was an infidel, like you, like me. Like so many of us.
We settlers can ask a simple question, a most logical one - if it is the SETTLERS that stopped peace from happening, why was there no peace in 1966 before there were any settlers or settlements? Why did we not all bask in the sunshine of peace and humanity in 1949 when the Arabs had more land than they are supposedly willing to settle for now? The answer, of course, is so obvious. We are all settlers – each and every one of us Israelis. We settled Tel Aviv as much as we settled Har Bracha and Beit Haggai. This week, it was two parents from Beit Haggai; next week, it could as easily be parents from Netanya. Why can’t you understand that in this battle, we are all settlers, all infidels?
Why, oh why, do you believe that the Arabs will not return, again and again, to the gun, to the bomb, to the rock, to whatever they can use to destroy in anger, the infidel among them. The reality is so simple. We Israelis dared to claim our homeland, which rests deep in the midst of their world. We dare to breathe the air Allah meant for them, to drink the water Allah intended they have alone. We are unworthy. But the stupidest, saddest, most infuriating question of all is why, oh why do you think that I am the infidel alone and you are not?
This week was a terrible one for Israel. No, wait. There are two Israels. One born of a drive to settle our land, to love it, to plant in its soil and one born of a need to smile before the world and assimilate into it. It is a drive to be like you out there, to pierce our bodies wherever you do, to dress as you do, to be all that you are, lest you think we are different.
To the Moslems, we are infidels; to much of the rest of the world, we are idiots. We were idiots this week and we have paid a horrible price for our stupidity. Three families lay in pain and ruin; seven more orphans added to our nation. An unborn child lost to us in the womb of his murdered mother. A beloved teacher gone. Seven orphans.
A couple graced with life, marvel the miracle that allowed them to escape death when 10 bullets riddled their car. A family ponders the life of a young girl, now wounded in moderate condition with doctors warning there may be permanent damage. All she did was drive in her parents car when an Arab decided to launch a large rock at the car, and hit her in the head. There, in the blink of an eye - five families' lives are forever changed.
All while far away, our leader dances before the world. You are my peace partner, he lies to Mahmoud Abbas. While we are burying our dead and caring for our wounded, the stabbing pain turns to boiling anger.
It is not that we are settlers - it never was. It is, if we are to be brutally honest, not even that we are Israelis. The bitterest pill to swallow, the reason why it is accepted with a sad nod that a pregnant woman and her husband, a teacher, and a newly-married young man, can be shot in the head and leave her children orphaned, is that we are Jews.
It isn't politically correct in this advanced year of 2010, in the early part of the 21st century. Anti-Semitism is from the dark ages of World War II. We are so much more advanced, so much more civilized. We, the world tells us, are no longer anti-Semites, not that we admit to ever being. No, we are anti-Israel and that is politically accepted, even praised.
But what of those Jewish mothers that we buried this week? Ah, it presents a problem to the world unless we can excuse it. Wait, they were settlers, weren't they? They chose to live on that other side of a line drawn in the land. Extremists, explains US Department of State Crowley, extremists on both sides are trying to stop the peace process.

And so the anger returns. Dear Mr. Crowley, what exactly did the Israeli side do to torpedo your peace talks in Washington? We sent you our idiot leader to stand there and say that he has a peace partner, and we buried our dead.

And after doing all this, the pain and anger rise to choke us because we watch as the world moves on to other things, while seven orphans never will. And somewhere, deep in the midst of this anger is the amazing bewilderment. Perhaps, after all is said and done, we really are as stupid as the Arabs believe us to be, we infidels of Islam.

What Happens When an Israeli Enters Kalandia or an Arab enters Kfar Sava?

What happens when an Israeli enters Kalandia is this:

Two couples and their five children, the oldest aged six and the youngest 11 months, in two different cars accidentally made a wrong turn this past weekend. They passed a checkpoint, but soldiers were only checking who was trying to enter Israel, not those trying to enter Kalandia, a Palestinian city moments away from Jerusalem. They realized their mistake almost immediately - so apparently, did the Arab residents of the city. As reported by YNET:

Said one Israeli father: "A minute after we passed the checkpoint we saw cars with blue license plates and realized we were at the wrong place. We made a u-turn but then the Palestinians realized we were Israelis. I locked the doors, but my brother-in-law didn’t make it on time. They opened his car doors, threw stones and started climbing on his car. We ran, we couldn’t drive towards the exit, but we realized we had to stay in motion. We drove back and forth at least five times."

His wife continued: "A few moments earlier we dropped the kids onto the car floor. Had the child still been sitting there, you would have been publishing his picture today. We prayed, they knew we were there and they waited for us each time we drove passed. They had giant rocks and murder in their eyes. It's not fear, its crazed horror one cannot imagine. I was afraid they'd yank the kids out of the car."

Two important facts need to be added: the families were in contact with the IDF, which apparently chose not to go in and get them out but rather waited while staying in contact and trying to get them out via other avenues. One must assume they were afraid a full riot would further endanger the families. Second point - one of the men had a gun with him. He chose not to open fire believing that was best for everyone.

And the second question - what would happen if two Arab families entered Kfar Sava, an Israeli town?

The answer is that they would be able to go shopping, have lunch, and return home safely. That, dear friends, is the Middle East in a nutshell.

Obama Coming to Israel?

President Barack Hussein Obama has announced that he is now willing and interested in coming to Jerusalem. My first thought was to beg him not to come. Jerusalem is a very old city and, to be honest, not well planned. Some cities and schools cancel for snow days; we have big-shot days. These are days when foreign visitors come to our capital and in so doing, honor our country while incapacitating the city for hours.

Generally, we don't mind it. We accept it as part of living in this beautiful city, the capital of our country. But now I hear Obama may want to come to Israel. My first thought was to tell him not to bother. I have no faith in his politicking. I have no belief that his grandstanding is good for Israel. I have heard his message and am not interested. He says he wants peace for this land. But only on  his terms, and his terms are dangerous for Israel. So, my first thought was to tell him not to come; my second thought was to tell him what to see.

I have no doubt the government will take him to the Western Wall, there to snap his picture looking serious and devout. They'll take him to Yad VaShem, there to look sad and contemplative. But these are not the places I would have him see, not the people I would have him meet.

If you want to really understand Israel, President Obama, here are the places you must see:

• Masada at dawn, as the sun rises above our country. Masada is a part of our psyche and it would do you good to understand this. Stand up there and look around at that desolate mountain top and understand our history, our connection, our determination and yes, our desperation. We will not surrender our country to those who would destroy not just the State, but the culture and religion we cherish. We are Jews. We have stood on this land and chosen to die rather than be enslaved by foreign and alien values. 
• Nitzan. This is where the people from Gush Katif have settled temporarily. Little more than a refugee camp, Nitzan is the single best example of why unilateral moves are meaningless and destructive to Israel. Nitzan is the fulfillment of Ariel Sharon's dream of peace and I have little doubt that another Nitzan will be the result of your peace dream.
• Golan Heights. Before you pressure Israel to surrender the heights, see the land of Israel laid out before your eyes, there in the valleys below. Understand the strategic significance of the pressure you would place on us and the murder and damage that the Syrians could so easily achieve if this small but important land buffer were ever to be placed in their hands. 
• Maale Adumim. Come see the wonder we have built from barren desert lands. See the thriving mall, a city of more than 40,000 people, the incredible flower beds and palm trees that blow gently in the wind. Come see the schools that fill this city, for thousands of children of all ages and understand the absurdity of a line drawn in the sand 62 years ago; one that lasted only 19 years and has been meaningless for more than 40.
• Abu Ghosh and Daliat HaCarmel. Come see these thriving cities: one Arab, one Druze. See that we can live with our neighbors, when our neighbors choose to live with us. See city streets filled with Israelis shopping and visiting and understand that it is not we who are the obstacles to peace here.
• Hadassah Ein Kerem, Shneider Medical Center, Soroka Hospital - it doesn't matter which one. Go to one of our hospitals and greet the patients there. Try the children's wards and see the love our nurses and doctors give to all our patients - Arab and Jew alike; Palestinian and Israeli. Think, President Obama - think of one hospital in any Arab country where you are likely to find anything that compares to the wondrous generosity of an Israeli hospital. You can't, of course, and you likely never will.
• Drive along the Security Fence: You will learn something amazing, something you probably don't know. The Security Fence, for most of its distance, is not a wall at all. Much aligned and misinterpreted by many, the Security Fence becomes a wall only in areas where the proximity between Palestinians and Israelis puts Israelis in danger. There, in those areas, you will see how close Arab homes are to the wall and perhaps someone will point to the place where Israelis have been injured by rock-throwing, and perhaps, perhaps, someone will mention little Noam and the exact place where the little 7-year-old girl was when she was murdered as her father drove. Her 3-year-old sister was badly injured in the attack, along with her brother and grandfather. And if you go there, though I doubt your security forces would allow it, maybe you will understand why the wall is sometimes a fence and the fence is sometimes a wall.
• The Temple Mount: I'm sure they will take you to the Western Wall, clear the place so no one will see you except for that all important photo-op looking up to the heavens beside the wall, or stuffing a piece of paper into the crevices of the ancient retaining wall of our holiest site. But I'd rather they take you up to the Temple Mount itself. From there, see the freedom of religion the Arabs have up there and more, notice that it is one of the few places in our land that have been declared Judenrein - Jews can only go up there at certain times of the day, their every move limited. Not a single prayer can be said up there on our holiest of holy sites lest we inflame the anger of the Arabs. This is the people you would have us make peace with, President Obama - a culture that cannot even tolerate the whispered prayers of another's religion.
• Kayaking: By now, after these many heavy sites, you must think we are a most serious nation, President Obama and maybe you too need a break. So go kayaking on the Jordan River - we all do it in the summer and early fall. It is our relaxation, our fun. But even here, there are things for you to see. Look at the people and how they love this land, how they marvel at it beauty and take whatever time they can to hike, swim, walk, climb here. Watch how the people call to each other - though most have never met. They will help you if you need it, steer your boat in the right direction, fish out an oar or fallen hat. If you forgot plates for a meal, ask someone and if they have extra, they will give you. Matches, even food. If you see a group of soldiers, watch how people come up to them and offer them cold water, snacks, smiles. Watch Obama, watch a people who have a connection beyond any you could ever imagine.
• Eilat's shoreline: I doubt they'll let you go snorkeling, though we have some amazing underwater sites, but just stand on the shore and gaze towards Jordan. Look at the crystal clear waters. This is another of our greatest treasures and another place we flock to for vacation and relaxation. Across the water, you'll see a huge Jordanian flag flying over the Jordanian city of Aqaba. It was a gift from the people of Israel. Notice how close the Jordanian city is, close enough to get hit by rockets aimed at us. Close enough to see Egypt, from where the rockets were fired. Look there in the distance - not so far, but a world away. That's Saudi Arabia over there. This is such a small geographical area and yet it is so packed with history and reality. When you want to start drawing lines on a map, maybe seeing how close we are to our neighbors might have some impact.
• Mt. Herzl Cemetery: This is one of our military cemeteries here. For you, ask them to close a section and go by yourself. Look at the names, look at the years they died and calculate their ages. This is what this never-ending war has cost us. We do not need you to preach to us the importance of peace. We live it, we face it. It haunts us and devastates us. We want no more of our sons to die. We want peace more than you. Your telling us that this is the time is an abomination because we know you are wrong. You are wrong because you are too stubborn or blind to accept that one nation cannot make peace alone. And we are alone, Mr. Obama, more alone now that you are president.
• Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron: No, I know that your security forces would never let you go there and yet, I wish you could. For one simple reason. Stand there before the graves of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Sarah, Rifka, and Leah. Stand there and understand. This is our land. We were given it by God and even you can't take it from us. Abraham bought the land where he is buried - it is probably the oldest documented real estate deal in history. He bought that land to bury his wife and his children, in the land that God gave to us. You don't have to agree. You are a dot in the history of man; long after you are gone, we will be here in this land - as we always have been, as we always will be. Go to the grave on Abraham and maybe there, finally, you will understand. Yes, they built a mosque on Abraham's grave, as you would likely have them do near the grounds of the World Trade Center, but we as a people have outlived the ancient ones and the modern ones. You can come as a friend or you can come as an enemy. You can come as a Christian; you can come as a Muslim. It makes no difference why you come or when. It matters only that we will be here - always.

There are so many places to see in this amazing land but if you are going to come, President Obama - see the real Israel and meet the real Israelis. If you are coming for the oh-so-pure and political, please don't come. I hate to have to cancel class and I can't stand the traffic and you won't learn anything anyway. So really, please don't bother us or yourself. Stay in Washington and keep telling us how to make peace here. It will be as meaningless as your coming here, but at least you'll save the gas and our inconvenience.

A Letter to Gilad

Dear Gilad,

Today was your 24th birthday. A day you should have spent with your family. Today was also my husband's birthday. Yesterday, my youngest two children wrote their father letters and when he left for the synagogue, we slipped the letters under the plastic lining of the table so that as he ate his dinner with his family, letters of love and good wishes surrounded him.

This afternoon, we gave him presents and birthday cake and best wishes for a happy and wonderful birthday. He starts this new year as he spent his last one - together with his family, surrounded by his sons and daughters, having built a life, a home, here in his land.

Today, Gilad,  you weren't home. Your friends, those who served with you, have mostly left the army, as you probably would have if you had not been taken that fateful day in 2006. It has been more than 1,525 days since you have been taken. Your family waits for you, living in some strange limbo that is almost as bad as death, and so much worse than any other nightmare one could imagine.

I feel guilty when I think of you, Gilad. My son went to the army a year later than you, and already he has finished and a second has begun. I watched my son serve for three  years - all while you were in Gaza, held there in silence and pain. I went to each ceremony and thought how blessed I was, how lucky, and each time, as I stood there watching so many soldiers, I thought of you, of where you are. I watched as my son went to war and prayed that each artillery shell they fired at Gaza would not hurt you. I prayed you would be safe...even more, I prayed and prayed and prayed that a soldier would turn some corner in Gaza, enter some building, and find you and bring you home.

I have no words I could offer your mother and father, your brother and sister, your grandparents, a nation that wants you home desperately. Sometimes, I am a child and I want to stomp my foot and demand that Israel send in troops and bring you home. But the adult in me knows that if this were possible, you would already be home.

Sometimes, I am a mother, and I want to demand my country, our country, do all it can, release all it can, to bring you home. But the adult in me, the Israeli in me, knows that this is not possible. Even if it were to actually bring you home, and there is no guarantee that it would, it means many others will die. Those who are released will see it as a victory, and plan more attacks. This has happened so many times in the past - released terrorists are caught again after they have killed again. It is a surrender to terrorism and so many others, soldiers like you, tell me that it isn't the way.

Sometimes, I wonder if you know how many people are praying for you, if you have given up hope. In my weakest, most frightening of moments, I wonder if you were one of my sons, would you know that I would walk to the ends of the earth to try to save you - as your mother and father are doing. And if you were mine, would I have the courage, as your parents have had, to rise each morning and keep fighting for you, even against people like me, who believe we must find a way to bring you home without surrendering 1,000.

Gilad, I don't even know if you know that today is your birthday, that you are 24-years-old. This is your fifth birthday in captivity. Each year we pray it will be the last, and yet this is the fifth. So much has happened to me in these past years - my daughter's marriage, two children finishing high school and going into the army, we moved houses, bought cars and sold others. So much and still you remain where you are.

Others who went into the army with you, boys your age are getting married and starting their studies or traveling the world while you remain in limbo, a day older, but not a day happier. I don't know if you are a day closer to coming home and perhaps that is the worst of all tortures.

Gilad, dear Gilad. You are an innocent in all of this. You chose to serve your country, demanded that they put you in a combat unit when you could have been assigned to something easier. You were on our side of the border when they crossed into Israel and grabbed you. You'd fired no weapons, done nothing wrong. I hope the strength that drove you to want to serve as a combat soldier is still with you, that you know that your parents, all Israelis, pray for you every day and long for you to come home.

And Gilad, I have to confess, too, that I don't have a yellow ribbon on my car as many Israelis do. You probably don't know about the yellow ribbons - they are a sign of missing you, a sign that so many think of you and have not forgotten you. I wanted to put one on my car, but it didn't make sense to me because those that hold you will not care about my car.

I've put ribbons on my car in the past - but it was because I wanted to send a message to my government, our people and I knew that as the government and others saw the ribbons on my car and on other cars, we could bring about a change. If not a change, at least we were making a statement. An orange ribbon because I believed the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza would lead to more suffering and I believe it led to where you are now, the Lebanon War, and even the Gaza War.

The orange ribbon on my car was put there to beg the government not to take unilateral actions, not to surrender to world pressure. Destroying those communities in Gaza would not bring peace - and it didn't; it would bring rockets onAshkelon and Ashdod and Beersheva - and it did. It gave them the courage to try to kidnap an Israeli soldier - and they did.

I put a gold ribbon on my car to remind my government thatJerusalem is holy and that it is ours. I don't know if the government will listen or surrender to international pressure. But at least the ribbon is there to remind people as they go about their lives.

And then your parents asked us to put a yellow ribbon on our car - so many did. But then I listened to what they were saying, where they were protesting. Your amazing parents walked, Gilad - for days and days - to remind the world where you are and where you belong. My heart broke for them, as it does so often and I thought of the yellow ribbon. Thousands joined them - each was a message to you, Gilad and it was a message that I agreed with. It was a message to our government too - and that was my problem.

I listened and knew that I could not put that ribbon on my car because it was tied to the message of bringing you home at all cost, releasing all the prisoners being demanded. If it were to tell Hamas enough already - release Gilad or they would suffer as they have never suffered before, I'd have put that ribbon on - and most of Israel would have as well.

But Hamas has demanded 1,000 prisoners for you, Gilad, terrorists and murderers who will kill again. They want us to release them to just beyond our borders, not to some foreign and distant shores, but to porous borders that can easily be crossed and violated. We can't Gilad. As much as we want you home - the key to bringing you home does not rest inJerusalem. The answer is not here. The question your parents pose to our government is wrong, the address is wrong. You aren't in Jerusalem; you aren't held by our government and the key to your release is in Gaza with you.

I'm sorry that my government continues to supply Gaza with electricity and water and fuel, while you remain a captive there. Most of all, I'm sorry that you aren't home, contemplating marriage to some wonderful girl, planning out the greatest of all trips, or figuring out what you want to major in.

So Gilad, today you turned 24. There was no cake for you, no presents you could unwrap and marvel over and today again, I didn't put the yellow ribbon on my car. I'm sorry, Gilad. Sorry that you aren't home; sorry that the world doesn't do enough to demand it. I'm sorry, Gilad - for the hypocrisy of the nations of the world, who are cowards enough to abandon a 19-year-old boy and sit in silence as the years pass.

The only birthday wish I can give you is that this be your last birthday in Gaza and that soon, very soon, you will be free to dream and fulfill all life should be offering you.


With love and prayers that you come home soon,
A Soldier's Mother

well - this is cool - Jerusalem ferris wheel...

I've always loved Ferris Wheels...have you? If you do - come to Jerusalem to go on what might well be the world's largest!

This is How We Were Raised

India is, for many young Israelis, the dream vacation that awaits them after the army. They finish three years of national service, perhaps work for a few months and then travel. India is about the most opposite you can get from the army. Where the army is all about routing and discipline, India is about freedom. Sleep when you want, go where you want, eat what you want. Freedom.

What that means, sometimes, is Israelis getting into trouble...and sometimes, being involved in national or natural disasters beyond their planning and imagination. Thus it was with the tsunami years ago; thus it is with the massive flooding now taking place in India and its neighboring countries. The Foreign Ministry of Israel is among the most dedicated in the world to following after our citizens. Special units are ready for anything, anywhere.

When the flooding became apparent, the Foreign Ministry began plans to evacuate some 600 trapped Israelis. When the planes arrived, an amazing thing happened. Not all Israelis agreed to come home. In fact, 30% decided to stay and help. "Some helped lift boulders and evacuate the rubble from the streets. Israelis make up half of all the foreign volunteers, which is truly impressive," says Irit Shneor.

But the true message that came from the Israelis who chose to stay was an even more basic one, "This is how we were raised," says Matan Golan. Yes, this is how they were raised and this is how, yet again, they make us proud.

Britain...are you concerned?

Maybe you should be....

I am Israel

It doesn't get better than this. History explained...

Would There Be Peace If...

I have listened to so many suggest that if only Israel would compromise, if only Israel would talk, if only Israel...if only Israel...

...then there would be peace.

Do you really believe that?

Doesn't Get More Truer than This?

Sometimes pictures do say so much:

A Song For Gilad

The power of YouTube is often its ability to allow people to share their thoughts and prayers with others. Sometimes funny, sometimes ... sometimes so heartbreakingly serious

A Song for Gilad Shalit - four years in Gaza. It's time for him to come home...time to stop catering to Hamas until they release him.

When Music Makes Sense....Only Israel

I wish I had a better sense of music - better able to carry a tune. Sometimes, most of the time, definitely this time - it is the words that mean so much. Beautifully written, intelligently designed to show the real situation - but words are incredibly accurate...if only, if only the world would listen - only Israel!

Placing an Accent on the UN's Accomplishments

Ever wonder what the UN is really doing?

Ever want to explain to someone why it is so incredibly absurd? The funny part is that if you take what the UN does and explain it in a British accent...well, I'm hoping even the rest of the world can see the absolute absurdity.

This is no laughing matter - and yet, this excellent video will give you a great laugh. Enjoy:

Things Permitted to Other Nations

Got this from a friend as an email, checked it on the Internet...amazed I had never seen it before...have you?

I have long known of the double standard applied to Israel. I marvel only how few outside our country realize the absurdity of it all. A friend sent this to me recently. I must admit, I have never seen it before and yet it s 42 years old. Amazing in its simplicity, in its honesty. The words, written so long ago, are more true today than ever before.


ISRAEL'S PECULIAR POSITION...by Eric Hoffer
Los Angeles Times/5/1968.

The Jews are a peculiar people: things permitted to other nations are forbidden to the Jews. Other nations drive out thousands, even millions of people and there is no refugee problem. Russia did it, Poland and Czechoslovakia did it. Turkey threw out a million Greeks and Algeria a million Frenchman.
 
Indonesia threw out heaven knows how many Chinese and no one says a word about refugees. But in the case of Israel, the displaced Arabs have become eternal refugees. Everyone insists that Israel must take back every single one. Arnold Toynbee calls the displacement of the Arabs an atrocity greater than any committed by the Nazis.
 
Other nations when victorious on the battlefield dictate peace terms. But when Israel is victorious, it must sue for peace. Everyone expects the Jews to be the only real Christians in this world. Other nations, when they are defeated, survive and recover but should Israel be defeated it would be destroyed.
 
Had Nasser triumphed last June [1967], he would have wiped Israel off the map, and no one would have lifted a finger to save the Jews. No commitment to the Jews by any government, including our own, is worth the paper it is written on. There is a cry of outrage all over the world when people die in Vietnam or when two Blacks are executed in Rhodesia. But, when Hitler slaughtered Jews no one demonstrated against him.
 
The Swedes, who were ready to break off diplomatic relations with America because of what we did in Vietnam, did not let out a peep when Hitler was slaughtering Jews. They sent Hitler choice iron ore, and ball bearings, and serviced his troops in Norway. The Jews are alone in the world.
 
If Israel survives, it will be solely because of Jewish efforts. And Jewish resources. Yet at this moment, Israel is our only reliable and unconditional ally. We can rely more on Israel than Israel can rely on us. And one has only to imagine what would have happened last summer [1967] had the Arabs and their Russian backers won the war, to realize how vital the survival of Israel is to America and the West in general.
 
I have a premonition that will not leave me; as it goes with Israel so will it go with all of us. Should Israel perish, the Holocaust will be upon us all.