Elvis Presley Dandy Attitude

November 22, 2009

Der Welt erscheine ich, von meiner Seite absichtlich, bloß wie ein Dilettant und Dandy: es ist nicht schlau, der Welt das eigene Herz zu zeigen – und wie ernsthaftes Verhalten die Tarnung des Trottels ist, ist Narrheit in ihren exquisiten Arten von Belanglosigkeit und Gleichgültigkeit und Mangel an Sorge das Gewand des schlauen Mannes. In solch einem geschmacklosen Zeitalter wie diesem brauchen wir alle Masken. (Oscar Wilde)

Dieser David mit seinem Elvis-Tick:

Dieser „nervige“ David: Er kann von Glück sagen, dass ich Elvis Aaron Presley auch mag.

Aber hier: Dandy Attitude (wirklich gut!; wo er das immer her hat…)

Bernd Dahlenburg, Herausgeber des Blogs Castollux


Earl Shugerman’s Corner: Finding Faith in Israel

November 22, 2009

 Earl Shugerman brings every week a serie of stories about Anglo-Saxon immigrants to Israel. This project is aimed to promote a more realistic view of life in Israel.

Finding Faith: Abraham risked all for the Promised Land

Finding Faith: Abraham risked all for the Promised Land

Many Israelis follow the age old tradition of the Friday night dinner and prayers to honour the beginning of the Sabbath. Friends and family meet to share companionship and pray together. This Friday I celebrated the start of the Sabbath with my friend Zehava and her family.

Zehava and her husband Leon are French born, old timers in Israel. They immigrated to Israel in 1980. They have two teenage sons and a six year old daughter Shira who is the “Apple of My Eye.” They also invited their American cousin Linda to join us.

Linda is a fifty’s year old single female with a 16 year old daughter. Linda was born, in France, but lived in California most of her life. We enjoyed a wonderful meal and then went to sit on the veranda to drink coffee and chat.

Linda was married to a “wonderful Christian man for 14 years.” “We respected the differences in our spiritual backgrounds and praised our daughter for exploring faiths independently”, added Linda. ” I belonged to a Reformed [Jewish] Congregation when we married and my spouse was a self proclaimed agnostic”.

“However, in the course of time I found that I needed to be more in touch with my Jewish roots. I took classes in the Talmud and Torah through Chabad House and found [the] spirituality that I had been missing in life. My husband explored his Catholic heritage. I found myself, after a two-year process, even considering a life in Israel. I lived in a beautiful home, had a great job, and a fine partner but decided to risk it all to try life in Israel”.

“My husband insisted on staying in the States. We agreed to a one-year trial separation period to see how we did on our own.  [This would] allow me to taste the life in Israel”.

“Three years later, I am still in Israel, employed as a clerk in a Tel Aviv bank. We decided to end our marriage and allow our daughter to spend the school year in Tel Aviv. She stays in California during her vacations. She sees this as a great adventure, and loves learning about new cultures and languages. Arabic is her second language in school”.

“ Did I make a mistake?” I ask myself that question many times a day. “Time will tell”. “Life here has many challenges”. “We need to learn a new language, a new culture, face a less luxurious lifestyle and there is still the struggle for peace”.

It is impossible to understand the invisible Hand that shapes our destiny. However, many Jews have felt the magnetic allure of Israel. The patriarch Abraham was the first. He left the comfortable trappings of ancient Babylonia to undertake an arduous emigration to the “ land that G-d would show him”. Evidently this demanded a great deal of faith. To mere mortals of the modern age, doubts can always surface to challenge our thinking.

 Although Israel is not a Utopian society where the streets are paved with gold, it is an integral part of Jewish heritage. Today record numbers of Global Jewry are returning to their ancestral homeland. They are undeterred by the challenges that face them. The obstacles are merely there to be overcome. And after 60 years in the remaking, Israel continues to thrive thanks to the new found faith of Linda and many others.

About the author: Earl Shugerman is a retired American Government public relations specialist,  currently spokesperson in Haifa for The Jewish Agency and a writer specializing in interfaith relations. He has worked together with the Catholic and Southern Baptist Movements, the Reformed Jewish Movement and Muslim groups in interfaith activities.


Revitalizing the Transatlantic Security Partnership – An Agenda for Action

November 13, 2009

A Venusberg Group and Rand Corporation Project

Report written by F. Stephen Larrabee and Julian Lindley-French

The election of Barack Obama as the new U.S. president provides an opportunity to overcome many of the divisions that have bedeviled U.S.-European relations in recent years and give the transatlantic partnership new dynamism and vision. In the coming decade, the United States and Europe face a daunting array of challenges. These challenges are so complex and demanding that neither the United States nor Europe can manage them on their own. They require close and sustained collective action.

To manage these challenges successfully, the transatlantic relationship needs a new mindset based on the premise that a multipolar world is emerging—one that will affect foreign policy options and consequently the ability of Americans and Europeans to shape others. To that end, a new transatlantic security partnership must be crafted that reflects both the new global realities and the political realities in Europe and the United States.

Central to such a partnership will be shared interests and values and a mutual commitment to the projection of stability and the anchoring of emerging powers in effective multilateral institutions underpinned by a strong commitment to the international rule of law. Specifically needed is a new architecture founded on a strong U.S. involvement in NATO, NATO-EU relations aimed at promoting and projecting effective civil-military security beyond the Euro-Atlantic area and an EU-U.S. security relationship that assures the protection of the home base.

This report is aimed at furthering that goal. It seeks to define the substance and parameters of a new security partnership between the United States and Europe as well as to outline an Agenda for Action for the new partnership.

Read full story.


The Freemason’s Song.: Je t’appartiens – Let It Be Me

November 13, 2009
VANITAS Je t’appartiens [i.e.: I belong to The Great Architect of the Universe]

Hiram legend was not used when modern Freemasonry started in 1717.

By 1730 (just a few years later) it was the central part of the Masonic ritual. Today it remains the heart of the ritual. It is supposed to teach us Masonic lessons. But what are they?

Freemasonry (remember the period when the Hiram legend started, 1717-1730) teaches that each person is entitled to dignity and respect, freedom of thought and speech, not even our friends, or ourselves, should curtail this freedom. Hiramic legend could be about the universal struggle for freedom.

If so, what is this freedom?

Freedom of speech includes freedom of those who say things we hate, hurtful things that upset people. Otherwise, it is not real freedom.”

(Brother Paul Bessel – Presentation at Benjamin B. French Lodge No.15, F.A.A.M., Washington D.C., February 17, 1999)

LYRICS

Music: Gilbert BécaudWords: Pierre Delanoë, 1955

Comme l’argile
L’insecte fragile
L’esclave docile
Je t’appartiens

De tout mon être
Tu es le seul maître
Je dois me soumettre
Je t’appartiens

Si tu condamnes
Jetant mon âme
Au creux des flammes
Je n’y peux rien

Si tu condamnes
Si tu me damnes
Voici mon âme
Voici mes mains

Avec les peines
L’amour et la haine
Coulant dans mes veines
Je t’appartiens

Que puis-je faire
Pour te satisfaire
Patron de la terre
Sur mon chemin

Comme les anges
Chanter tes louanges
Mais je ne suis pas un ange
Tu le sais bien

Je ne suis qu’un homme
Rien qu’un pauvre homme
Je t’aime bien
Comme un copain

Souvent je pense
Que dans ton immense
Palais de silence
Tu dois être bien

Parfois je pense
Que dans ton immense
Palais de silence
On doit être bien


Did You Ask A Good Question Today?

November 8, 2009

Judaism is a religion of questions.

Rabbi Sacks

by Sir Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth

Isidore Isaac Rabi, winner of a Nobel Prize for physics, was once asked why he became a scientist. He replied: “My mother made me a scientist without ever knowing it. Every other child would come back from school and be asked, ‘What did you learn today?’ But my mother used to say, ‘Izzy, did you ask a good question today?’ That made the difference. Asking good questions made me into a scientist.”

Judaism is a religion of questions. The greatest prophets asked questions of God. The Book of Job, the most searching of all explorations of human suffering, is a book of questions asked by man, to which God replies with a string of questions of His own.

The earliest sermons usually began with a question asked of the rabbi by a member of the congregation. Most famously, the Passover Seder begins with four questions asked by the youngest child.

So I can identify with Rabi’s childhood memories. When I left university and went to Israel to study in a rabbinical seminary, I was stunned by the sheer intensity with which the students grappled with texts. Once in a while the teacher’s face would light up at a comment from the class. “Du fregst a gutte kashe,” he would say (you raise a good objection). This was his highest form of praise.

Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski tells of how, when he was young, his instructor would relish challenges to his arguments. In his broken English he would say: “You right! You a hundred prozent right! Now I show you where you wrong.”

Religious faith has suffered hugely in the modern world by being cast as naive, blind, unquestioning.

The scientist asks, the believer just believes. Critical inquiry, so the stereotype runs, is what makes the difference between the pursuit of knowledge and the certainties of faith. One who believes in the fundamentals of a creed is derided as a fundamentalist. The word fundamentalist itself comes to mean a simplistic approach to complex issues. Religious belief is often seen as the suspension of critical intelligence.

As Wilson Mizner once put it: “I respect faith. But doubt is what gets you an education.” To me, this is a caricature of faith, not faith itself.

Questions testify to faith – the universe is not impervious to our understanding, life is not chance.

What is the asking of a question if not itself a profound expression of faith in the intelligibility of the universe and the meaningfulness of human life? To ask is to believe that somewhere there is an answer. The fact that throughout history people have devoted their lives to extending the frontiers of knowledge is a moving demonstration of the restlessness of the human spirit and its constant desire to transcend, to climb. Far from faith excluding questions, questions testify to faith – that the world is not random, the universe is not impervious to our understanding, life is not chance.

That, I suspect, is why Judaism encourages questions. On the phrase: “Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness,” Rashi, the 11th-century biblical commentator, says: “This means, with the power to understand and to discern.”

Critical intelligence is the gift God gave humanity. To use it in the cause of human dignity and insight is one of the great ways of serving God. When faith suppresses questions, it dies. When it accepts superficial answers, it withers.

Faith is not opposed to doubt. What it is opposed to is the shallow certainty that what we understand is all there is.

Reprinted with kindly permission of Aish HaTorah International.


Elvis Presley – Pieces Of His Life

October 30, 2009

Elvis is the greatest cultural force in the twentieth century. He introduced the beat to everything, music, language, clothes, it’s a whole new social revolution — the 60’s comes from it. (Leonard Bernstein)

Elvis was an instinctive actor…He was quite bright…he was very intelligent…He was not a punk. He was very elegant, sedate, and refined, and sophisticated. (Walter Matthau)

Fuck those people of the Scientology Church! There’s no way I’ll ever get involved with that son-of-a-bitchin’ group. All they want is my name and my money. (Elvis Aaron Presley)

ep-piecesofmylifeelvis7

Lyrics

(words & music by Troy Seals)

A water glass full of whiskey
And women that I never knew too well
Lord, the things I’ve seen and done
Most of which I’d be ashamed to tell

I don’t know how it started
But that’s what makes a man a man, I guess
Now I’m holdin’ on to nothing’
Tryin’ to forget the rest

I’m lookin’ back on my life
To see if I can find the pieces
I know that some were stolen
And some just blew away
Well, I’ve found the bad parts
Found all the sad parts
But I guess I threw the best parts away
Lord away, away

Playing the bars, playing like a star
Anything to get a name
Carryin’ on, living on songs
My friends wrote to me to sing

I’m lookin’ back on my life
To see if I can find the pieces
I know that some were stolen
And some just blew away
Well, I’ve found the bad parts
Found all the sad parts
But I guess I threw the best parts away
Away, away

Lord, the pieces of my life
They’re everywhere, they’re everywhere
And the one I miss most of all
Is you and you know who

Lookin’ back on my life, Lord
To see if I can find the pieces
Lookin’ back on my life, today
To see if I can find the pieces
Lookin’ back on my life
God help me find the pieces


Sumit Lal: The ubiquitous Indian

October 28, 2009

Our friend from New Delhi, Sumit Lal, former Director and General Manager at ECCO INDIA, and currently Business Adviser at ECCO Asia Pacific Limited, has just started his own blog.

Please check it out here.


Earl Shugerman’s Corner: Life’s little pleasures in Israel

October 27, 2009

 Earl Shugerman brings every week a serie of stories about Anglo-Saxon immigrants to Israel. This project is aimed to promote a more realistic view of life in Israel.

Yesterday, a group of my Anglo friends and I were sitting at Lias Books sharing ideas about entertainment for the weekend. Israelis are avid readers and my favorite pastime is reading detective novels and attending book clubs. I am a particular fan of James Patterson.

Israelis also love movies. Haifa, my hometown has 22 theaters that show movies in most major languages and for all ages. Popcorn, hot dogs and cokes are usually available, but often at inflated prices. The ticket costs are comparable to those in America. Most movie theaters are located in malls, and allow the audiences to enjoy cafes, window shopping, and other mall amenities. Many cafes have outdoor terraces due to the balmy climate.

Cinema King: The Cinemall at Lev Hamifratz, Haifa boasts a spectacular 23 screens.

The Cinemall at Lev Hamifratz, Haifa boasts a spectacular 23 screens.

Very sadly, the revered American pastime of the Sunday afternoon drive is not part of Israeli entertainment. Driving in Israel is at best a rugged adventure. Israeli drivers are not known for their patience and in many parts of the country parking is a real nightmare. By contrast, the public transportation in the country is wonderful. In many places, bus and train services are readily available and inexpensive.

The entertainment of Haifa surely showcases a wide range of fascinating things you can do here, and in many cities in Israel. Among the large number of things to do in Haifa, you would probably first look for some eating joints in the city. Dining is one of the best forms of Haifa entertainment, with a large number of places offering everything from French, Italian, Chinese, Continental and the traditional Middle Eastern dishes. Located in some of the most convenient spots and serving delicious dishes, the popular restaurants in Haifa are surely a must try. The joy of international dining in Israel is enhanced by the number of nationalities and languages spoken by diners and staff in most houses of cuisine. One Saturday night, my American companion, Linda and I counted seven languages while dining at our favorite cafe. We strolled along the Haifa beachfront after dinner.

After a wholesome meal at the restaurants you can also check out the scintillating nightlife of Haifa. Wonderful ambiance and great music, combined with the liquor of your choice will surely give you an excuse to party the night away. Shopping in Haifa is great. You can buy fashionable clothes, hand-blown glass, silver, enamel, pottery and also gold jewelry. Entertainment in Haifa thus includes the major shopping zones of the city on Masada Streets and also the Panorama Center. Many American products are sold in major malls.

The theaters in Haifa are popularly endorsed by both indigenous folk and tourists. They showcase the best of the local culture and traditions. Thus the major places of interest in Haifa also include the performance halls like the Haifa Auditorium and the Haifa Municipal Theater. Other than live theater, they are also known for hosting dance recitals, musical performances, orchestra and many more.

For the family, entertainment in Haifa is not complete without Sports and Recreation. Full of fun and pleasure, the activities like tennis, bowling, basketball, skating, football, fencing, diving hiking, biking, swimming will provide you with a lot to indulge yourself in.

Israel is a small country about the size of New Jersey.  The three major cities of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa are relatively close. A road trip running north to south can embrace them all in an hour and one half. My friend Helen commented yesterday that; “it is still amazing to me that I can visit the holy sites in Jerusalem, take a short swim in the Sea of Galilee, and dine in Tel Aviv in the same day!”

Israelis watch more television and play more video games per- capita than any nation in the world. I am writing this article at the University of Haifa. My computer neighbors asked me to join them in a few hands of video poker! “This is my favorite pastime”, exclaimed David, a young American Oleh! “What about your work?”, I joked. He laughed in a good natured manner and drew a losing hand.

Welcome to modern Israel!

About the author: Earl Shugerman is a retired American Government public relations specialist,  currently spokesperson in Haifa for The Jewish Agency and a writer specializing in interfaith relations. He has worked together with the Catholic and Southern Baptist Movements, the Reformed Jewish Movement and Muslim groups in interfaith activities.


Sir James Paul McCartney’s Good Evening Europe Tour 2009

October 24, 2009
Photograph of Paul McCartney as The Beatles arrive in New York City in 1964.]
Legendary singer and songwriter Paul McCartney (67) – knighted Sir James Paul by Queen Elizabeth II on March 11, 1997 – unveiled his schedule for his “Good Evening Tour Europe 2009”.
 
It will be a seven city run, that will mark his only appearance in Europe this year, starting with his “hometown” Hamburg, where The Beatles Story began.

Good Evening Europe Tour 2009:

December 2, 2009: Hamburg, Germany – Color Line Arena
December 3, 2009: Berlin, Germany – O2 World
December 9, 2009: Arnhem, Holland – Gelredome
December 10, 2009: Paris, France – Bercy
December 16, 2009: Cologne, Germany – Koln Arena
December 20, 2009: Dublin, Ireland – The O2
December 22, 2009: London, England – The O2 Arena


Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle

October 24, 2009

The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle

“The West needs innovation; Israel’s got it,” write Dan Senor and Saul Singer, authors of Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle. They argue that the Israeli economic model, based on innovation, can help the West, in particular, “get out of its economic hole.”

Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel – a country of 7.1 million people, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war since its founding, with no natural resources – produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the United Kingdom?

Drawing on examples from the country’s foremost inventors and investors, geopolitical experts Dan Senor and Saul Singer describe how Israel’s adversity-driven culture fosters a unique combination of innovative and entrepreneurial intensity.

As the authors argue, Israel is not just a country but a comprehensive state of mind. Whereas Americans emphasize decorum and exhaustive preparation, Israelis put chutzpah first. “When an Israeli entrepreneur has a business idea, he will start it that week,” one analyst put it. At the geopolitical level, Senor and Singer dig in deeper to show why Israel’s policies on immigration, R&D, and military service have been key factors in the country’s rise – providing insight into why Israel has more companies on the NASDAQ than those from all of Europe, Korea, Japan, Singapore, China, and India combined.

So much has been written about the Middle East, but surprisingly little is understood about the story and strategy behind Israel’s economic growth. As Start-Up Nation shows, there are lessons in Israel’s example that apply not only to other nations, but also to individuals seeking to build a thriving organization. As the U.S. economy seeks to reboot its can-do spirit, there’s never been a better time to look at this remarkable and resilient nation for some impressive, surprising clues.

Reviews & Endorsements

“An eye-opening look at a side of Israel that most people never think about.” (The Week)

“There is a great deal for America to learn from the very impressive Israeli entrepreneurial model—beginning with a culture of leadership and risk management. Start-Up Nation is a playbook for every CEO who wants to develop the next generation of corporate leaders.” Tom Brokaw, special correspondent for NBC News, author of The Greatest Generation

“Senor and Singer’s experience in government, in business, and in journalism—and especially on the ground in the Middle East—come to life in their illuminating, timely, and often surprising analysis.” George Stephanopoulos, host of This Week, ABC News

“In the midst of the chaos of the Middle East, there’s a remarkable story of innovation. Start-Up Nation is filled with inspiring insights into what’s behind Israel’s dynamic economy. It is a timely book and a much-needed celebration of the entrepreneurial spirit.” Meg Whitman, former president and CEO of eBay

“Senor and Singer highlight some important lessons and sound instruction for countries struggling to enter the 21st century. An edifying, cogent report, as apolitical as reasonably possible, about homemade nation building.” Kirkus Reviews

“The authors ground their analysis in case studies and interviews with some of Israel’s most brilliant innovators to make this a rich and insightful read not just for business leaders and policymakers but for anyone curious about contemporary Israeli culture.” Publishers Weekly

To order the book, click here.


Alan Posener’s Column: The Open Society and its Trends

October 23, 2009

by Alan Posener
Die Welt / Welt am Sonntag  / HIRAM7 REVIEW

Something’s going on in Europe, and I don’t like it.

There’s the future German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle’s refusal to even listen to the question of a BBC correspondent, unless it’s put to him in German:

There’s the BBC giving the British National Party’s Nick Griffin a nationwide TV platform for his racist and anti-Semitic views.

And there’s people not only defending German Central Banker Thilo Sarrazin’s right to make racist comments, but denying that they are racist and demanding a muzzle for people who dare to say they are racist.

You only have to look at the comments on Youtube and elsewhere to realize what it is that is going on here: the political and chattering classes have abandoned the rules governing their chatter; nationalism, racism and intolerance in general are being allowed back into polite society after spending the past 40 years out in the cold.

Political correctness – that great civilizer – is dead. Multiculturalism is under siege. And the ban on anti-Semitism – which the Catholic Church has already lifted by welcoming back the anti-Semitic Pius Brotherhood into its ranks – will soon be as worthless as the paper on which Sir Karl Popper’s great book on the Open Society was written.

I mention Karl Popper, because in the age of Totalitarianism he confronted a vexing question of democracy head-on: was the open society bound by its own philosophical, legal and political parameters to tolerate the propaganda of its enemies?

Popper said no: there was no reason to tolerate intolerance; no reason to grant freedom to the enemies of freedom; there should be no openness towards the enemies of openness. People who want one man, one vote one time should not – as they were in Gaza – be allowed to contest elections. Democracy is more important than freedom; more important than truth; more important than justice – or any one of the multitude of ideas, concepts, slogans and ideals in whose name one could (and people have tried to) suspend democracy.

It’s always the enemies of tolerance who chafe at this seeming intolerance of democracy. One shouldn’t let oneself be fooled. People say, “If you stop people from saying what Sarrazin said, you are denying 80 percent of the population a voice.”

Well, if 80 percent of the population are racist, which I don’t believe for a moment, but I’m saying if, then fuck them and there’s all the more reason to keep a tight lid on what is said by public figures, isn’t there?

Popper didn’t call his book “The Majority Rules”, he called it “The Open Society”. Even 99 percent of the population don’t have the right to dismantle the open society and replace it with a society in which privileges are awarded or denied according to race, religion, creed, gender, sexual orientation or social background.

That’s what Europe has been about this past half-century. Let’s keep it that way.


Earl Shugerman’s Corner: Hannah’s Aliyah to Israel

October 18, 2009

Earl Shugerman brings every week a serie of stories about Anglo-Saxon immigrants to Israel. This project is aimed to promote a more realistic view of life in Israel.

Aliyah is the word that describes the return of the Jewish People from the exile in the Diaspora back to the Land of Israel. The word Aliyah is derived from the verb “laalot” which means “to go up”, or “to ascend” in a positive spiritual sense. A person who makes Aliyah is called an Oleh, meaning “one who goes up”. Making Aliyah heralds a new dawn. People redefine their aspirations and focus on a positive future. Finding a meaningful and loving relationship is an inherent feature of Israeli culture. As Hannah discovered, help was close at hand.

When I came to Haifa for a family Seder in 2006, I decided I could retire here.  I had wanted to retire for some time but didn’t know where.  I had lived in Massachusetts for 28 years but couldn’t imagine spending my winters there as a retiree.  When I got to Haifa, a very big light bulb came on!

I had a very good life in the States but there was one goal I hadn’t been able to reach.  I wanted to meet a kind, intelligent, sexy, fun Jewish male around my age and for years I put this goal on my “top goals list” but never reached it.

When I got to Haifa, one of the first things I did was to attend services at Or Hadash, a reform synagogue in my neighbourhood.  I met a very kind Israeli woman called Pnina there and she made me feel very welcome and introduced me to many members of the congregation. I immediately felt very comfortable and “at home” and Or Hadash became my shul.

One day Pnina and I were looking over at the male congregation and every man I asked about was married. She asked me if I wanted to meet someone and I said yes.  She arranged for me to meet the father of one of her friends – an Australian widower, a year older than me. We had a blind date and continued seeing each other on an irregular basis. After seven months of getting to know each other, we began a more serious relationship and now, just over a year later, we are very happy doing many things together. He has introduced me to his children and grandchildren and has met my mother, sister, brother-in-law and various friends. In October we are planning to travel to Australia together to welcome his son’s first child there.

I was already enjoying my Aliyah here and meeting Shmuel was the “icing on the cake.” 


British Army Hero Tells UN Human Rights Council: ‘Israeli Defense Forces Most Moral Army in History of Warfare’

October 16, 2009

Today’s emergency United Nations Human Rights Council debate in Geneva on the Goldstone Report predictably saw a line-up of the world’s worst abusers condemn democratic Israel for human rights violations.

In a heated lynch mob atmosphere, Kuwait slammed Israel for “intentional killing, intentional destruction of civilian objects, intentional scorched-earth policy”, saying Israel “embodied the Agatha Christie novel, ‘Escaped with Murder’. Pakistan said the “horrors of Israeli occupation continue to haunt the international community’s conscience.” The Arab League said, “We must condemn Israel and force Israel to accept international legitimacy.” Ahmadinejad’s Iran said “the atrocities committed against Palestinians during the aggressions on Gaza should be taken seriously” and followed up by the international community “to put an end to absolute impunity and defiance of the law.”

What the world’s assembled representatives did not expect, however, was the speech that followed (see video and text below), organized by UN Watch. The speaker is a man who repeatedly put his life on the line to defend the democratic world from the murderous Saddam Hussein, Al Qaeda, and the Taliban. The moment he began his first sentence, the room simply fell silent. Judge Goldstone, author of the biased report that prompted today’s one-sided condemnation, had refused to hear Colonel Kemp’s testimony during his “fact-finding” hearings.

But UN Watch made sure today that this hero’s voice would be heard – at the United Nations, and around the world.

***

UN Human Rights Council, 12th Special Session
Debate on Goldstone Report – Geneva, October 16, 2009

Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Did More to Safeguard Civilians Than Any Army in History of Warfare

Colonel Richard Kemp served in the British Army from 1977 - 2006.
Colonel Richard Kemp served in the British Army from 1977 – 2006.

Thank you, Mr. President.

I am the former commander of the British forces in Afghanistan. I served with NATO and the United Nations; commanded troops in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Macedonia; and participated in the Gulf War. I spent considerable time in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, and worked on international terrorism for the UK Government’s Joint Intelligence Committee.

Mr. President, based on my knowledge and experience, I can say this: During Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli Defence Forces did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare.

Israel did so while facing an enemy that deliberately positioned its military capability behind the human shield of the civilian population.

Hamas, like Hizballah, are expert at driving the media agenda. Both will always have people ready to give interviews condemning Israeli forces for war crimes. They are adept at staging and distorting incidents.

The IDF faces a challenge that we British do not have to face to the same extent. It is the automatic, Pavlovian presumption by many in the international media, and international human rights groups, that the IDF are in the wrong, that they are abusing human rights.

The truth is that the IDF took extraordinary measures to give Gaza civilians notice of targeted areas, dropping over 2 million leaflets, and making over 100,000 phone calls. Many missions that could have taken out Hamas military capability were aborted to prevent civilian casualties. During the conflict, the IDF allowed huge amounts of humanitarian aid into Gaza. To deliver aid virtually into your enemy’s hands is, to the military tactician, normally quite unthinkable. But the IDF took on those risks.

Despite all of this, of course innocent civilians were killed. War is chaos and full of mistakes. There have been mistakes by the British, American and other forces in Afghanistan and in Iraq, many of which can be put down to human error. But mistakes are not war crimes.

More than anything, the civilian casualties were a consequence of Hamas’ way of fighting. Hamas deliberately tried to sacrifice their own civilians.

Mr. President, Israel had no choice apart from defending its people, to stop Hamas from attacking them with rockets.

And I say this again: the IDF did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare.

Thank you, Mr. President.


How We Can Win in Afghanistan

October 14, 2009

 

U.S. Soldiers with the 101st Division Special Troops Battalion, 101st Airborne Division watch as two Chinook helicopters fly in to take them back to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, November 4, 2008.

U.S. Soldiers with the 101st Division Special Troops Battalion, 101st Airborne Division watch as two Chinook helicopters fly in to take them back to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, November 4, 2008.

 

The most pressing issue on the U.S. president’s agenda today is whether he will commit more troops to Afghanistan – the “good war.”

In an article published in the November issue of Commentary Magazine, military historian Max Boot brings all his expertise to bear on explaining how the U.S. can win in that Taliban-plagued country.

But first we have to win the battle at home – the battle to convince Barack Obama to learn the right lessons from history and to heed the wise counsel of his own general, Stanley A. McChrystal.

Read full story.


Human Rights and the Rule of Law in China

October 10, 2009

Elizabeth Economy, expert on China-U.S. relations and Chinese domestic and foreign policy, testified before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. She discussed China’s current environmental challenges and implications for U.S.-China relations.

Elizabeth Economy – Director, Asia Studies, Council on Foreign Relations

Statement Prepared for the Congressional-Executive Commission on China

October 7, 2009, Room 628 Dirksen Senate Office Building, 2:00 pm

Mr. Chairman and distinguished Members of the Commission, it is my pleasure to have the opportunity to discuss China’s efforts in the realm of human rights, the rule of law and the environment and the prospects for U.S.-China cooperation on this critical issue.

Introduction

Over the past five to seven years, China’s leaders have become increasingly concerned about the impact of the environment on the country’s future. Twenty of the world’s thirty most polluted cities are in China; over half of the country’s population drinks contaminated water on a daily basis; and more than twenty-five percent of the land is severely degraded or desertified. As China’s Minister of Environmental Protection Zhou Shengxian acknowledged in 2007, “Pollution problems have threatened public health and social stability and have become a bottleneck for sound socio-economic development.”

Much of China’s environmental challenge stems from the very rapid and unfettered growth of the past thirty years. The “growth at all costs” model of development has exerted a profoundly negative impact on the country’s air, water and land quality and further transformed China into a major global polluter. The country now ranks as the world’s chief contributor to global climate change, ozone depletion, the illegal timber trade, and pollution in the Pacific.

Yet the inability of China’s leaders to turn this devastating environmental situation around—and the environment is frequently mentioned as a “top” priority by President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao—has as much to do with failings in governance as with economic interests. China has passed well over 100 environmental laws and hundreds of regulations. The challenge rests in effectively implementing these laws and regulations, a process that is seriously impeded by a lack of transparency, rule of law and official accountability.

Whether China’s leaders are able to incorporate better governance practices into their system matters enormously not only for the health and welfare of the Chinese people but also for the rest of the world. If China cannot enforce its current environmental laws and regulations, there is little reason to believe that it will be able to respond effectively to a challenge such as global climate change.

The Nature of the Challenge

China’s leaders are concerned about the country’s environment above all because it is limiting opportunities for future economic growth, harming the health of the Chinese people, and has become one of the leading sources of social unrest throughout the country.

The economic challenges are most direct. Over the past several years, the Chinese media have reported on a number of environment-induced annual economic losses: desertification costs the Chinese economy about $8 billion, in addition to water pollution costs of $35.8 billion, air pollution costs of $27 billion and weather disaster and acid rain costs of $26.5 and $13.3 billion respectively.

All told, the Ministry of Environmental Protection estimates that environmental pollution and degradation cost the Chinese economy the equivalent of ten percent of GDP annually. Regionally, the impact is even more devastating. The prawn catch in the Bohai Sea, for example, has dropped by ninety percent over the past decade and a half as a result of pollution and overfishing. In Qinghai, over two thousand lakes and rivers have simply dried up over the past two decades, contributing to significant lost opportunities for industrial growth.

These economic costs are compounded by a set of mounting public health problems. In a survey of thirty cities and seventy-eight counties released in spring 2007, the Ministry of Health blamed worsening air and water pollution for dramatic increases in the incidence of cancer throughut the country: a nineteen percent rise in urban areas and a twenty-three percent rise in rural areas since 2005.

About 700 million people in China drink water that is contaminated with human or animal waste, and according to the Ministry of Water Resources, 190 million drink water that is so contaminated that it is dangerous to their health.

Taken together, these economic and health problems are at the root of the rapidly rising public discontent and unrest over the state of the environment. According to Minister Zhou, in 2005, the number of environmental protests topped 50,000.

While some pollution-related protests are relatively small and peaceful, others become violent, even deadly, when demands for change are repeatedly ignored.

In August 2009, for example, several thousand villagers in Shaanxi Province stormed a lead and zinc smelting plant after hundreds of children living near the plant tested positive for excessive levels of lead in their blood.Of these, 154 were so sick that they had to be admitted to the hospital. The villagers had been complaining for three years about the plant, and although the local government has promised to relocate the affected families, villagers in the relocation sites have noted that their children are similarly afflicted with lead poisoning.

Environmental protest has also been spurred by the Internet. In May 2009, in Shandong Province, a group of residents posted an online petition calling for an investigation of four cyclohexanone chemical plants. The petioners believed that the factories, which had been in operation since a year earlier, were polluting the air and water and contributing to an unusually high number of thyroid cancer cases. The county government initially ignored the petition, arguing that the factories were not allowed to drain wastewater until they met provincial standards and had passed official water quality tests. Over the next month, the petition circulated on web portals such as Baidu and Tianya, collecting an estimated 1,400 signatures.

In an open letter published on Internet forums, one resident even called for a broader “uprising” that might not be successful but would “mark the start of a revolution against a crude regime” and even called for the killing of the Communist Party chief and county director. The author later claimed that more than 5,000 people had signed up for the protest. On June 29, 2009, Premier Wen Jiabao ordered the Shandong officials to investigate the claims and respond to the public.

In addition, the Internet and other forms of telecommunication such as texting have facilitated mobilized protest in urban areas, a phenomenon of only the past two years. There have been significant protests—with up to 10,000 people—in major cities such as Xiamen, Zhangzhou and Chengdu over the planned siting of various large-scale chemical and petrochemical plants. Here, too, violence has occurred in some cases. Notably, in a few of these instances of urban protest, public opposition has been strong enough to lead to a reversal in a government decision. The significance of the urban, middle class protest is that it erupts not “after the fact” in response to a devastating environment-induced economic or public health crisis, but rather in advance of something likely to cause significant public health damage. In a small, but potentially significant, way, therefore, urban protestors have influenced Chinese government policy.

Reform in Environmental Governance

There are a number of reasons for China’s worsening environmental situation and the related proliferating social and economic challenges: a continued priority on economic growth, the pricing of resources that doesn’t support conservation or efficiency, a dearth of political and economic incentives to do the right thing and, most critically, a lack of transparency, official accountability and the rule of law. There is no reliable mechanism for uncovering and dealing with environmental wrongdoing.

To begin with, accurate environmental data are often difficult to obtain. Sometimes it is a matter of capacity. Local environmental officials may simply not have the manpower, transportation or funds to monitor pollution levels at all the sites for which they are responsible. In addition, local officials are often reluctant to provide information that reflects poorly on their leadership, and there is no institutionalized check on the statistics that are provided. One significant central government campaign to evaluate local officials on their environmental performance—the Green GDP campaign—failed in large measure because the Ministry of Environmental Protection could not access the necessary environmental data from a number of recalcitrant provincial leaders. In a few places, such as Jiangsu Province, there are experiments underway with interntational partners to scorecard factories and make the information available publicly. However, ensuring the transparency element of the process has apparently been quite difficult.

Corruption is also a serious problem. Many local officials often ignore serious pollution problems out of self-interest. Sometimes they have a direct financial stake in factories or personal relationships with factory managers. In recent years, the media have uncovered cases in which local officials have put pressure on the courts, the press, or even hospitals to prevent pollution problems and disasters from coming to light. Moreover, local officials often divert environmental protection funds to other endeavors. A recent Ministry of Environmental Protection-supported study, for example, found that fully half of the environmental funds distributed from Beijing to local officials for environmental protection made its way to projects unrelated to the environment.

Recognizing the potential of local officials to subvert or ignore environmental laws and regulations, Beijing has opened the door to the media and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to act as unofficial environmental watchdogs. China’s first environmental NGO, Friends of Nature, was established in 1994, and it was devoted to environmental education and biodiversity protection. Fifteen years later, China has over 3,000 environmental NGOs that play a role in virtually every aspect of environmental protection. Above all, they help bring transparency to the environmental situation on the ground.

These groups help expose polluting factories to the central government, launch internet campaigns to protest the proliferation of large-scale hydropower projects, sue for the rights of villagers poisoned by contaminated water or air, provide seed money to smaller, newer NGOS throughout the country, and go undercover to expose multinationals that ignore international environmental standards. The media are an important ally in this fight: educating the public, shaming polluters, uncovering environmental abuse and highlighting environmental protection successes.

Environmental NGOs are also at the forefront of advancing the still nascent rule of law in China’s political system. In 1998, Wang Canfa, a professor of law at the China University of Politics and Law, established the Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims (CLAPV). The center trains lawyers to engage in enforcing environmental laws, educates judges on environmental issues, provides free legal advice to pollution victims through a telephone hotline, and litigates cases involving environmental law. Between 2001 and 2007, the center trained 262 lawyers, 189 judges and 21 environmental enforcement officials in environmental law.

In addition, Wang has been advising the Chinese government on the establishment of a system of specialized environmental courts. Beginning in late 2007, the Supreme People’s Court established a network of courts that are responsible only for cases regarding environmental protection and the enforcement of environmental regulations. These environmental protection courts seek to address the weak capacity of judges to solve environmental disputes due to lack of expertise and experience, eliminate the challenge faced by plaintiffs in bringing environmental lawsuits, and strengthen the enforcement of judgements against defendants who are influential in local economic matters. Thus far, these courts have been established in three provinces: Guizhou, Jiangsu and Yunnan. The courts have already heard a number of cases: the Kunming Court in Yunnan Province heard twelve environmental law violation cases during the first half of 2009, while the Guiyang court in Guizhou accepted forty-five environmental cases (and ruled on thirty-seven of them) in its first six months.These environmental courts also have the authority to enforce the judgments they issue. More environmental courts are expected to open throughout China as the success of established courts becomes determined. The biggest problem currently confronting the courts is that they do not have enough cases to consider.

Despite the important role that environmental NGOs and the media have come to play in China’s environmental protection effort, many Chinese leaders remain wary of the intentions of these non-governmental actors. Above all, China’s leaders fear the potential that the environment might become a lightning rod for a broader push for political reform. They thus have put in place a byzantine set of financial and political requirements to confine NGO activities within certain boundaries and to enable their close monitoring by authorities.

Misjudging these boundaries can bring severe penalties. Wu Lihong worked for sixteen years to address the pollution in Tai Lake, gathering evidence that forced almost two hundred factories to close. In 2005, Beijing honored Wu as one of the country’s top environmentalists, but in 2006, one of the local governments Wu had criticized, arrested and jailed him on dubious charges of blackmail and fraud. Yu Xiaogang, the 2006 winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize and 2009 winner of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, both for grassroots environmental activism, has been forbidden to travel abroad in retaliation for educating villagers about the potential downsides of a proposed dam relocation in Yunnan Province. A third environmental activist, Tan Kai, has been in jail since 2006. In 2005, Tan established the NGO Green Watch in his home province, Zhejiang, to monitor local officials’ compliance with orders to shut down several polluting factories that had been the sites of serious protests.

Implications for the United States

For the United States, the capacity of China to meet its environmental challenges is only becoming more pressing. If China does not have transparency, accountability or the rule of law within its domestic environmental system, it cannot be relied upon to be a responsible partner to meet the challenge of a global issue such as climate change. It will not possess the capacity to enforce the regulations that will arise from domestic climate legislation nor the transparency to ensure accurate measurement of emissions and emissions reductions. Nor will China be able to devise and implement a system that will ensure that officials who attempt to subvert the legislation will be held accountable. This does not mean that the United States should not move forward to assist China in setting and meeting targets to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. It does suggest, however, that building capacity within China’s system of environmental governance should be a top priority for bilateral cooperation.

There are small-scale efforts already underway within the United States to help China develop such capacity. Over the past two years, the U.S. government has provided $5-$10 million in Development Assistance for programs and activities in the PRC related to democracy, rule of law and the environment. With support from the U.S. government, for example, the American Bar Association has supported both Wang Canfa’s Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims as well as various universities to train public interest lawyers to specialize on the environment and provide expertise to the new environmental courts. Vermont Law School similarly engages partners such as SunYat-sen University to help improve China’s environmental policies, systems and laws. Climate change is also garnering growing interest as an area of cooperation.

The state of California is already pushing forward on several fronts, including enhancing transparency in energy use in Jiangsu Province and fostering interagency cooperation at the local level to address climate change. Still, the majority of interest and attention in the United States and China is focused on the opportunity for technology cooperation and transfer. This technology will only be effective, however, if China has the appropriate political environment to support its use. To tackle an issue of the magnitude of climate change, will require far more of a concerted and coordinated international effort by the United States and its partners to bolster the rule of law, transparency and accountability within China.


General Stanley A. McChrystal’s military strategy in Afghanistan

October 6, 2009

President Barack Obama meets with General Stanley A. McChrystal, in the Oval Office at the White House, May 19, 2009.

President Barack Obama meets with General Stanley A. McChrystal, in the Oval Office at the White House, May 19, 2009.

 
General Stanley A. McChrystal’s review of U.S. military strategy in Afghanistan, in which the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan calls for an increase in troops, can be read here.

The Washington Post also reports on the military debate over whether to withdraw from isolated rural parts of Afghanistan where U.S. troops are more vulnerable to attack and refocus on urban centers.

Read full story.


French-Israeli Soldier Gilad Shalit seen for the first time in a Hamas videotape

October 3, 2009

Following Gilad Shalit family’s authorization, video of Gilad Shalit received from Hamas in exchange for prisoner release distributed to news agencies as sign of life, more than three years since soldier captured.


President Bill Clinton Launches the Clinton Foundation E-Newsletter

September 30, 2009

Dear Friend,

I’ve recorded a short video to introduce our inaugural online newsletter, and tell you a little bit about the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, which wrapped up in New York last week.

Please watch the video and check out the first issue below for a peek into our work around the world – none of which would be possible without you.

Bill Clinton


Earl Shugerman’s Corner: Hatzor

September 30, 2009

Earl Shugerman brings every week a serie of stories about Anglo-Saxon immigrants to Israel. This project is aimed to promote a more realistic view of life in Israel.

Forty years ago, I was a communications student at the University of New Mexico. The year was 1968 and like many youth of my era, I sought something rewarding and exciting to do with my life. I still had two years of studies to finish, but was unsure of my goals for the future. I volunteered to do a six month work/study program at a kibbutz in southern Israel, named Hatzor. The purpose of such programs was to promote Aliyah to Israel. Participants split the day evenly between work at the Kibbutz and Hebrew study in an Ulpan.

I soon discovered that sitting in a classroom was unsuitable. Conversely, my job as assistant Kibbutz caretaker was a perfect match. I delivered supplies throughout the settlement, did the gardening, collected the garbage, and did general maintenance. My supervisor, Shmuel, was a forty+ American born Kibbutznik. Shmuel was a short thin fellow with a moustache, slight limp, and ever-cheerful smile. Shmuel was very friendly but said little about himself. He mentioned that he had come to Israel in 1948 from New York as a volunteer, was married, and had a teenage son. He had studied journalism in New York and limped as the result as a car accident in “The Big Apple”.

My six months at the Kibbutz went quickly. I did not acquire a lot of Hebrew; nonetheless, I made many wonderful friends and learned to be a pretty fair maintenance man. The Kibbutz members were the most wonderful people. Many were survivors of the Holocaust. A number came as volunteers in 1948, primarily from The United States. At my “Going Away” party, I was stunned to learn that Shmuel and several of the other Kibbutz members were crew and passengers on the famous immigrant ship “The Exodus”. They had braved the British embargo. Some were interred in British prisons. For the first decade in Israel, they lived in treehouses and tents. The situation was further compounded by conflict with the Arab legions during the struggle for a Jewish homeland. Some of their comrades had died, or suffered serious wounds during their fight for freedom. Yet, they were warm, humble, and generous souls. Many of the volunteers had been members of Mahal.

The Mahalniks were mostly World War II veterans from American and British armed forces. Allied armies were reduced considerably after the end of the war and many soldiers were demobilised; moreover, the service experience became mundane and did not resonate with some servicemen, particularly pilots. In various circumstances they were invited, or heard of the Jewish state’s struggle for independence and enlisted. There were Jews and Christians, both ideological supporters of Zionism and mercenaries.

The Ha’apala movement, also called “Aliyah Bet”, which attempted to evade the 1939 and 1948 British Naval blockade restricting Jewish immigration to Palestine, was assisted by 236 Mahal former servicemen of the Allied Navies as crews of ten clandestine Jewish refugee ships, out of sixty-six participating vessels.

The 1948 Arab-Israeli War saw approximately 3,500 foreign volunteers from forty-three countries among the Jewish forces, out of an estimated 29,677–108,300 total (its size grew considerably in later stages of the war owing to immigration into Palestine). A total of 119 Mahalniks were killed in battle.

One of the most senior Mahal personnel was Mickey Marcus, a Jewish United States Army colonel who assisted Israeli forces during the war and became Israel’s first Brigadier General. Marcus’s wartime experience was vital in breaking the 1948 Siege of Jerusalem.

As we commence The Jewish New Year, I want to remind the world of these unsung heroes who did so much to build this wonderful nation.

A New Year postcard depicts the illustrious Exodus

A New Year postcard depicts the illustrious Exodus


USA, UK and France Tell Iran to Open Nuke Site

September 26, 2009

The New York Times reports that U.S. President Obama and the leaders of UK and France will accuse Iran of building a secret underground plant to manufacture nuclear fuel, saying the country has hidden the covert operation from international weapons inspectors for years, according to senior administration officials. 

The revelation, which the three leaders will make before the opening of the Group of 20 economic summit in Pittsburgh, appears bound to add urgency to the diplomatic confrontation with Iran over its suspected ambitions to build a nuclear weapons capacity. Mr. Obama, along with Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, will demand that Iran allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to conduct an immediate inspection of the facility, which is said to be 100 miles southwest of Tehran. 

U.S. officials said that they had been tracking the covert project for years, but that Mr. Obama decided to make public the American findings after Iran discovered, in recent weeks, that Western intelligence agencies had breached the secrecy surrounding the project.

On Monday, Iran wrote a brief, cryptic letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency, saying that it now had a ‘pilot plant’ under construction, whose existence it had never before revealed. In a statement from its headquarters in Vienna yesterday, the atomic agency confirmed that it had been told by Iran that a new pilot fuel enrichment plant is under construction in the country.

Read full story.


Alan Posener’s Column: German Election Blues – and Reds, Greens, and Yellows

September 24, 2009

by Alan Posener
Die Welt / Welt am Sonntag  / HIRAM7 REVIEW

With the German election drawing near, commentators have turned from castigating the politicians for the alleged lack of alternatives they present (bullshit, actually), to a more general wail of despair about an alleged crisis of democracy itself, as represented by the growth in the number of non-voters.

In the last election, we are told, non-voters were a bigger group than those who voted for Angela Merkel, and polls seem to indicate that the number of non-voters will be even higher this time around. Crisis! Bullshit again.

The point about democracy isn’t that everyone goes to vote. That’s what happens in dictatorships. The point about democracy is that I’m free to vote or not as I see fit. So if people don’t go to vote, that’s a sign that democracy is working.

The point about democracy isn’t that voting produces good governments. That’s patently not the case. The point about that democracy is that really bad governments can be voted out. (Good governments can be voted out, too.) Karl Popper once compared the democratic procedure to the procedure by which a scientific theory is defined. If a theory is scientific precisely because it can be falsified (J.B.S. Haldane’s famous “Precambrian rabbits” that would falsify Darwin’s theory of evolution), a government is democratic if it can be falsified – i.e. discarded – by the voters. If the voters choose not to – either by voting for the government or by not voting, i.e. not voting against it: well, that’s the way the democratic cookie crumbles.

As I said above, I don’t think the German election is boring at all. We have a clear choice: between Angela Merkel plus Walter Steinmeier and a continuation of the high-tax / high-spending CDU/CSU/SPD coalition, and Angela Merkel plus Guido Westerwelle and a CDU/CSU/FDP coalition dedicated to boosting growth through lower taxes. As a taxpayer, I know where I’m going to make my cross. It isn’t rocket science.

Ousting the Social Democrats from power will probably result in a putsch by the Left within the SPD, which will eventually lead to some form of rapprochement between the SPD and the “Linke”. This in turn will mean that in 2013 at the latest, probably much sooner, say 2011, a left-wing coalition will challenge Merkel’s right-of-centre government, and things will get really exciting again: How will the Greens react? Will they choose “Jamaica” in order to keep the extreme left out of power, or will they try to tame the left by joining a “Red-Red-Green” government?

And what will the electorate say? One good guess is: they won’t be staying at home.


American Jewish Committee’s Letter in NY Times on Goldstone Report

September 18, 2009

newyorktimes

Israel and Gaza: Which Standards Apply?

by Richard Sideman
President, American Jewish Committee
New York, September 18, 2009

To the Editor:
Re “Justice in Gaza” (Op-Ed, Sept. 17):

Richard Goldstone displays the same disregard for Israel and naivety regarding Hamas that permeates the report he wrote for the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Since its inception in 2006, the council has consistently demonized Israel while giving a free pass to some of the world’s worst tyrants, from Sudan to Iran. Mr. Goldstone largely neglects what prompted Israel to act militarily against Hamas.

Let’s be clear for historical accuracy. Israel’s military operation came after eight years of relentless rocket attacks from Gaza on Israeli towns and villages. Indeed, thousands of rockets were launched after Israel transferred the entire Gaza Strip to the Palestinians four years ago.

While the United Nations made no effort to stop the Palestinian rockets, Israel showed remarkable restraint over the years until it could not hold back anymore.

More disturbing, the Goldstone report has set a new standard for equating the behavior of democratic nations and terrorists.

He makes no moral distinction between Israel, a United Nations member state, and Hamas, a terrorist organization that violently seized control of Gaza two years ago from the Palestinian Authority.

The implications of this moral equivalency go beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In fact, they undermine the United States and other democracies facing asymmetrical warfare from adversaries who care little for international norms of war and international humanitarian law.

In sum, Mr. Goldstone’s conclusions are a disservice to the credibility of the United Nations itself.


UANI Calls on Gotham Hall to Deny President Ahmadinejad a Platform for Propaganda

September 18, 2009
 
  
 
 
Press Release
  
New York, September 18, 2009 – The think tank United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) today called on Gotham Hall to refuse to host President Ahmadinejad and offered Gotham Hall an opportunity to clarify its role as the host of a banquet for the Iranian delegation and as host for a speech by President Ahmadinejad on September 25, 2009 during his stay in New York for the UN General Assembly. 
 
In a letter to Allen Kurtz, Managing Director of Gotham Hall, UANI President, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace wrote “UANI requests Gotham Hall to clarify and reconsider its decision to host the banquet and address and instead decline to provide such a venue for President Ahmadinejad.  As we expressed to area venues in July, UANI denounces any decision to host President Ahmadinejad in New York and calls upon Gotham Hall to join the international community in isolating Iran and condemning its illicit nuclear program.” 
 
“By doing business with the Iranian government Gotham Hall is accepting blood money from a regime that brutally suppresses its own people and that is a danger to global security.  Moreover, by providing a forum for President Ahmadinejad’s speech, Gotham Hall is serving as a bullhorn for the propaganda of the illegitimate leader of a brutal theocratic dictatorship.”
 
To the extent that Gotham Hall persists in its plans to host President Ahmadinejad UANI will call on members of the public to boycott Gotham Hall.
 
Press Contact: Kimmie Lipscomb

Boycott Ahmadinejad’s speech at the United Nations!

September 15, 2009

Britain and France had to choose between war and dishonour. They chose dishonour. They will have war. (1938, Winston Churchill to Neville Chamberlain in the House of Commons, after the Munich accords)

An Open Letter to His Excellency Ambassador Thomas Matussek
Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations

by Narcisse Caméléon, Deputy Chief Editor HIRAM7 REVIEW

Excellency,

The President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has announced his intention to attend the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York later this month.

We are writing to express our concern that President Ahmadinejad be allowed to abuse the platform of the UN to propagate hate, to spread false accusations against other members of the UN, and to hijack the agenda of the UN, as he has done recently at other UN conferences.

The government of Iran is in defiance of several sets of UN sanctions, has failed to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency and might soon be capable of building an atomic bomb.

The Iranian government is also defying the will of its own people. People are imprisoned for their political beliefs, and women and religious minorities are being oppressed and persecuted. President Ahmadinejad has repeatedly denied the Holocaust, spread anti-Semitic libels, and threatened to wipe Israel off the map. He regularly incites to genocide.

Should President Ahmadinejad once again show complete disregard for the UN Charter we would respectfully ask that Germany’s delegation absent itself from the meeting for the duration of his address, in order not to dignify his remarks with the presence of a modern and liberal democracy like Germany.

Remember Munich 1938. No apeasement with ennemies of democracy!

Yours sincerely,

Narcisse Caméléon


HIRAM7 REVIEW Wishes You Happy New Year 5770

September 13, 2009

Guest Editorial by Rabbi Benjamin Blech: Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life – The film’s powerful Rosh Hashana message

September 13, 2009

by Rabbi Benjamin Blech

It’s a wonderful life.

At least that’s what a movie by that title, considered a classic of American cinema, wants us to believe. George Bailey, the hero of the film powerfully acted by James Stewart, finally decides upon suicide as his only recourse to solve his financial problems. Because he has a $15,000 life insurance policy he feels he’s worth more dead than alive. Acting on his desire to help his family he’s ready to jump off a bridge when the angel Clarence intercedes not only to save his life but to make him realize that it is really worth living.

The way the angel accomplishes this incredible transformation from a man anxiously seeking his own annihilation to a person perceiving the true value of his existence and the ultimate meaning of his life contains a powerful Rosh Hashana message.

How should we fulfill our obligation to better ourselves as we reach the 10 days of repentance on the Hebrew calendar? Many of us emphasize focusing on our sinfulness. It is a time to seek out our flaws, to seriously consider our failings. And of course that must be part of our personal stock taking.

First become aware of the positives in your life.

But that cannot be the whole story. If we spend our time only in self-condemnation we stand in danger of losing sight of the ways in which we have been successful. If we stress only the ways we’ve gone wrong we won’t ever be able to notice our accomplishments. We need to first become aware of the positives in our lives.

This point explains the sequence of the days book-ending our spiritual journey from Rosh Hashana to Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur we fast. We beat our breasts in confession of all of our sins. We cry out to God, “Who are we? What is our lives? We come from the dust of the earth and we return to the dust of the earth.” It is a recognition of how much we have failed, how far we have come from reaching our fullest potential. Yom Kippur is a necessary restraint to our egos. Before we can feel fully reconciled with God it is essential for us to demonstrate our understanding of our imperfection.

But it is not Yom Kippur that begins the process of our purification. The 10 days of repentance start with Rosh Hashana for good reason. Rosh Hashana doesn’t mark the first day of creation, but rather the last — the day on which the first human beings were created. Just as a host fully prepares for his guests before they enter his home, so too, the Midrash explains, God filled the earth on the first five days of creation with everything people might need before He brought them into being. Adam and Eve were created on the sixth day to endow them with a sense of their uniqueness and spiritual stature. It is we who were created in the image of God. Realizing this is a necessary prelude to leading a life worthy of our divine origin and our sacred nobility.

So on Rosh Hashana we begin getting closer to God by reminding ourselves that we are Godly, that we have a pure soul. On Yom Kippur we conclude the journey by acknowledging that we have not yet achieved all that of which we are capable.

Rosh Hashana asks us to remember how much we are worth to God, to our families, to our friends, and to the world. We feast as an expression of the joy we find in our life. And that understanding must precede the Yom Kippur emphasis on our failings that prompt us to fast and to cry over our imperfections.

To lead our lives only from a Yom Kippur perspective is to insure discontent and despondency. To be overwhelmed by a constant feeling that we are failures is to invite the pernicious desire to end it all. Why bother going on if we can never do anything right, why continue the struggle if we are doomed to always losing the battle? Suicide is the response chosen by those weighed down by a devastating sense that they accomplished nothing in their lives. It goes against God who as the ultimate giver of life decided that we still have a positive role to play here on earth.

In the film, after suffering a financial setback of $8,000 that puts his small saving and loans bank at risk, George feels his life is worthless. Despite the serious consequences this entails, if George would have framed his life as a balance sheet of accumulated good versus the mistakes and bad things he has done, he would have been able to put events in a more balanced perspective and not judge himself so harshly.

In the cosmic balance sheet of one’s life, sin does not wipe out the positive gains.

In business, your losses can wipe out your balance sheet. But in the cosmic balance sheet of one’s life, sin does not wipe out the positive gains. You are not your business or profession.

When George bitterly wept that he wished he would never have been born, Clarence, with his angelic power, showed him what the world would have been like if his wish really came true. He showed him his life’s balance sheet. George never realized how many people he had affected during his lifetime. He had no idea how different his community, his family, his friends, his neighbors, and indeed the world would have looked had he never been on earth.

When George comes to realize how many lives he has touched and how much of an impact he has had on so many others, he can at last acknowledge the truth of his brother’s toast that he is “the richest man in town.”

There are countless “Georges” among us. There are all too many who deserve to be recognized as successes when we consider the ripple effects of their deeds translated into the achievements of others. And perhaps most relevant of all, in the time of our own introspection, as we feel ourselves burdened by the sins of our failures, we ought to make room for the contentment and peace of mind that comes from knowing that God also weighs the good we inspire in all those around us.

Perhaps the most powerful irony associated with “It’s a Wonderful Life,” is the message implicit in its reception when it was released in 1946. The movie was a box office failure leading critics to say that Frank Capra, producer and director, was past his prime and no longer capable of producing a major motion picture. What an incredibly mistaken evaluation for a film that today is ranked by the American film industry as one of the top 10 classic movies in its genre ever made. What appeared at first glance to have been a failure is in retrospect one of the most outstanding successes. Isn’t that the whole point of the film itself?

As we reflect upon the meaning of our earthly existence before the High Holy days, keep in mind that sometimes it takes years for the beauty of our own lives and its significance to be fully recognized.

***

About the author: Rabbi Benjamin Blech,  is the author of 12 highly acclaimed books, including Understanding Judaism: The basics of Deed and Creed. He is a professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University and the Rabbi Emeritus of Young Israel of Oceanside (California) which he served for 37 years and from which he retired to pursue his interests in writing and lecturing around the globe. He is also the author of If God Is Good, Why Is The World So Bad?

Reprinted with kindly permission of Aish HaTorah International.


Earl Shugerman’s Corner: Unsung Heroes of Israel

September 12, 2009

Earl Shugerman brings every week a serie of stories about Anglo-Saxon immigrants to Israel. This project is aimed to promote a more realistic view of life in Israel.

In western society, people tend to regale in the exploits of illustrious forebears. In a recent survey, Winston Churchill was identified as the most famous Briton. William Shakespeare finished a close second.

During its brief history, Israel has embraced people with a modest perspective. They contribute to the welfare of the state as a whole. To them, fame and avarice are entirely secondary. Israel’s existence has been the enduring hope of a long and painful exile.

The following is a précis of everyday folk, who put the country first and foremost.

Bobbi and Gershon Lichtenberg made Aliyah from the affluent surroundings of the USA. After nine months, Gershon opined:

Are there challenges in our daily lives? Absolutely. One thing that I read before Aliyah said that the mistake that the author had made was to expect to bring a mid-western (Chicago) lifestyle to Israel. We did not expect that. We were ready for change and challenge, to live an economically conservative lifestyle, not a middle class one, and to expand our lifestyle only if our economics and desires allowed. As my wife said before we made Aliyah, “We still live like hippies.” Could we have more? Yes, but we are also cautioned by the old joke, How do you get a small fortune in Israel? Come with a large one.

To us it is important to be contributors to the state of Israel, not just a drain on the support system. We want to work and pay in to the tax system. This is our way of handling things. If we were a little older and living on retirement funds, our contribution would occur every time we bought something in a store, paid Arnona (property tax paid even by renters), or took a bus or cab. Doing volunteer work if we did not have jobs would be another way to contribute. There are many opportunities to do more than just sit or sightsee.

So what is our life like here? I work as an echo cardiographer (doing echocardiograms) at Rambam Healthcare Campus, a 1000+ bed hospital here in Haifa. How did I get this job? This is what I have done for most of my adult life, starting 3 decades ago. In the late 1980’s, I was lucky enough to work in Rochester, NY with Dr. Shimon Reisner, an Israeli cardiologist. He has always said he would get me a job here and, after 20 years, I was still able to take him up on his offer. This is referred to as ‘protekzia,’ which always sounds to me like something involved in a criminal activity. But having someone help you is a normal way of doing things here and there is nothing wrong with it. It simply means that people are happy to help open doors for you but it is up to you to walk in and put in the effort to succeed. I happen to have a skill that is useful here but, on the other side, the pay for it is only a tiny fraction of what I can make in the U.S. The cost of our lives here is also much lower.

After 1948, it became evident that the fledgling state would need to enhance its defensive capability. This point was not lost on Charles Winters, a businessman from Miami. Charles Winters was not Jewish, but sympathised with the country’s plight. In direct contravention of US neutrality, he contributed two converted B17 bombers (known as the Flying Fortress) to the Israeli Air Force. In an effort to preserve Israel’s independence he surrendered his own. He was incarcerated for a number of years. It was only during the presidency of George Walker Bush that a posthumous pardon was granted.

Presidential pardon: (inset) Unsung hero Charles Winters

Presidential pardon: (inset) Unsung hero Charles Winters

As an exponent of liberty, Israel encapsulates many divergent religious beliefs. Israel has the mantle of being the only democracy in the Middle East. This is very much the cornerstone of its existence. The last unsung hero deserving of homage therefore is society as a whole. American immigrant Yael explains:

My family and I attended Or Chadash [Synagogue in Haifa] for Yom Kippur services this year. Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. It is a day of both atonement and reconciliation. Jews throughout the world seek forgiveness for previous transgressions and vow to make the coming year more observant of Jewish law and ideology.

This is our first year in Israel and we were stunned at the sight we saw at Hovev on the way to pray. There were thousands of people gathered at the mall at 5:30 pm, just when the mall closed for the holiday. The men and women wore designer clothes, blue jeans and t-shirts or in some cases traditional Orthodox garb. Thousands of kids were riding bicycles or on skateboards. Many of the families had their family dogs, which were howling and jumping, which added to an already energized environment. Everybody was waiting for the streets to close at 6:30pm to begin Haifa’s annual Yom Kippur race for kids.

My family and I went to pray until about eight. The temple was packed with people participating in this five thousand year old observance.

We returned to Horev to see thousands of kids racing down the hill trying to reach downtown first, a trip of about five miles. I saw two of my friends from high school, Norit and Noga. They were just observing the fun. “What’s this all about?” I asked. Noga answered with a big smile “This is Haifa’s biggest annual social event. My parents participated twenty five years ago!”

Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement for Jews throughout the world, yet in Haifa and in other parts of Israel there are celebrations. Many Jews in Israel observe the traditional Yom Kippur fast and solemnity, while others seek joy. This is one of the most fascinating components of life in Israel to me as an American immigrant. Seventy percent of Israelis classify themselves as Hilonim or non-religious; yet live and sadly at times die to keep this small nation a Jewish state. To quote my friend Noga, the greatest blessing of life in Israel is that we can choose how to live our lives both as Jews, and individuals.

“Next year I will be there with my skateboard,” I said to myself.

Yom Kippur: Contrasting Ideals

Yom Kippur: Contrasting Ideals