Polanski – Luxurious Life on the Lam

First things first, he raped a thirteen year old girl… Let me say that again… Roman Polanski raped a thirteen year old girl.  He got her drunk, gave her drugs and did things to her as she repeatedly told him to stop.

This must be established and really, truly considered before we can go on.

It does not matter that it was thirty some odd years ago.  Hell, we still pursue war criminals and other fugitives.  We must acknowledge that there was a heinous crime… that a child was raped… that someone broke the law… smashed one of the very strict guidelines to civilized life.

If this was anyone else, they would have been locked up and served the maximum amount of time.  No questions… no open letters of support… no sympathy.

How he was able to plea bargain the way he did was a crime… And yes, he was scared that the judge might do something crazy… like punish him more… so he fled.

Usually, and I say usually because sometimes it is not the case… but if you are involved in a situation with judicial misconduct, it usually means you did something wrong to get you in that court in the first place.

And Roman Polanski did something really, really wrong.  As a father, I can tell you without a doubt, I would have killed him.  And you can blame the mother just like we partially blame the parents in the Michael Jackson trials… for putting their kids in those positions… But no is no… and doing anything to a thirteen year old girl is wrong.  Period.  It does not matter what she said, or how she looked or if she ever had sex before.

I will be the first to admit that I had not given this as much thought as it deserves.  I had not ever read the court transcripts until today.  I assumed, and I guess certain factors in the media and PR world won on this, that it was more of a question mark… that perhaps it was consensual… that there were other factors…

I watched the documentary and I actually felt sorry for Polanski… survivor of the Holocaust… wife and unborn baby murdered by Charles Manson… an unstable judge… I felt like this issue needed to be put to bed… and partly because the victim said she forgave him and finally wanted to move on.

But here is the thing… justice should not and cannot just move on.

I did not really delve into the issue until today… I did not have the details until today.  It was rape… it was abuse… it was and is disgusting.

We are told to feel bad for Polanski because he cannot come to the US… But he has been living in luxury for all these years… How many of us would not like to be banished to Paris… Forced into exile in the castles and majesty of Europe? He continues to work and profit and have a whole and complete life.  But has he paid for his crime or has he tried to buy justice?  Where is the outrage and open letters on this?

People were horrified when Michael Jackson bought justice… and look, we do not know what really happened there… But Roman Polanski admitted to doing these things.  He copped to it in return for a crazy and lame plea bargain that the rest of us would never, ever get!

His punishment was almost non-existent.  Be famous, rape a child, get off with a slap on the wrist, but then run away before even getting the slap.  The only ones slapped here are his victim and the state, who must, and I say MUST exact punishment.

That is great  that he has lived on the straight and narrow since then… that is great that he is an amazing and powerful filmmaker… That sucks that he got arrested on the way to receiving a Lifetime Achievement honor… but how does that justify anything?  How does it justify all these Hollywood folk for demanding his release?

Call me crazy… call me a non-Liberal… and I’m pretty Liberal… but I DO NOT GET IT!

Response to the Open Letter to the Toronto Film Festival

Great movie dialogue is a hard thing to come by.  Too often people are not talking with or to each other, but talking at each other.  This is nothing more than an argument, and allows no growth or discovery between characters, nor the artists portraying them.

A great artist looks at both sides of a story.  They realize that there is a complexity that is very often not black and white.  An artist, hopefully, is an objective being, who starts out with an open mind and longs for a true collaboration between themselves, the other actors and all of the creative entities that make up a set.

The open letter to the Toronto Film Festival, signed by artists who I will probably no longer patronize like Vigo Mortensen, Danny Glover, Jane Fonda, Alice Walker, Wallace Shawn and David Byrne, is not that.  It is a monologue, which by definition is a very one-sided affair.  It is an affront to other artists in the pursuit of making a statement against a government, which it believes is causing harm.

The letter states “Brand Israel would take the focus off Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and its aggressive wars, and refocus it on achievements in medicine, science and culture.”

For whatever reason the Palestinians have become the cause du jour of many celebrities.  They see them as a people beaten down, innocent, occupied and tortured.  While it is true that many do suffer, one cannot ignore the suffering of the innocent Israelis on the other side nor the “aggressive” hatred and destruction created, supported and exported from Gaza and the West Bank.

Terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah are looked at as heroes, fighting against an apartheid-like government. Nelson Mandela and Hamas on the same plane?  I think not.  Not even close.

According to those who signed the letter, the festival and Israelis themselves should showcase the biased and one-sided arguments against them.  Why is this necessary when the Arabs, Europeans and United Nations already do this on the political, social and world media stage every day?

The world loves to talk about “Israel’s ‘treatment’ of the Palestinians.”  It does not like to talk about the Palestinians “treatment” of the Israelis… of Israeli children running into bomb shelters on a daily basis, to the sounds of wailing sirens… of the maimed Israelis, victims of suicide bombs in markets and restaurants… of the Arab world’s treatment of the Israelis.

This is convenient.  This is one-sided.  This letter is a monologue of hate.

The irony is that Israel’s accomplishments and gifts to the world of science and medicine are profound.  And I can tell you that they would much rather focus on these things, than have to worry about defending herself and her borders from those who surround her and wish to “wipe her off the map.”

To the people who signed this egregious letter, do you really believe that Israel enjoys sending its sons and daughters to die more than peace and joy and the ability to make such breakthroughs in science and medicine and help heal the world?  Tikkun Olam is one of the tenants of Torah, it is a core belief of Judaism and means to repair or heal the world.

The letter continues… “We do not protest the individual Israeli filmmakers included in City to City, nor do we in any way suggest that Israeli films should be unwelcome at TIFF. However, especially in the wake of this year’s brutal assault on Gaza, we object to the use of such an important international festival in staging a propaganda campaign on behalf of what South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, and UN General Assembly President Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann have all characterized as an apartheid regime.”

The comments of the mis-informed and hateful Jimmy Carter can be addressed at another time, as well as the incredible bias shown Israel at the UN.  But this letter complains about the Israeli propaganda machine and how evil it is, yet the signatories seem very happy to jump on the other side’s one-sided PR bandwagon, where Israel and its people do not have the right to exist, where daily attacks and suicide bombing attempts are justified.

Please hear me.  I am not saying that there is no suffering amongst the Palestinians.  But one must also look at the lifelong infrastructure and industry built upon hate, built upon the idea that Israel must be destroyed, built upon the denial of Israel’s right to exist.

Surely a great deal of the blame has to be placed on the leaders and the teachers and the textbooks who teach that killing Jews is of more value than living one’s own life or worth more than the lives of one’s own children.

Where is the guilt of Arafat, who squandered away a true opportunity for real peace and squandered away billions of dollars into Swiss bank accounts instead of to his own people?  Instead of an economy, he gave them a militant, terrorist army.  Instead of running water and electricity, he gave them guns.  Instead of objective schoolbooks and a democratic and free view of the world he gave the Palestinian children belts of bombs to wear.

There is but one Jewish state in the world and it is the size of New Jersey.  It is surrounded by Muslim states in every direction.  Arab states who exiled every last Jew out of their homes.

So where is the letter decrying that?

Spain, France and Russia expelled Jews through the Inquisition and pogroms, rooting them out of their homes, stealing their possessions.  Converting them when they could, raping and killing them when they could not.

But where were the protests and letters and cries of apartheid for that?  Where is the open letter to a film festival?

Yes, these are things that happened long ago.  But look around, and you can see them happening all over again.

These images and ideas are taken away from the Jews and turned against them, belittling the memory of these events and the Holocaust and using the same terms to describe Israeli actions in Gaza or the West Bank.  This is unfair, this is one-sided and this is they very definition of a propaganda machine and a propaganda film, exactly what those who signed this letter seem to decry.

I am surprised that those who signed the TFF letter were too blind to see this.

But then again, when it comes to Israel and Jews there is and has only been deafness, blindness and silence.

Not a good skill set for an artist or filmmaker.

Stop Hating on Israel – Read the Facts

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve posted a political blog… and with so much going on, that’s kind of crazy.

The impetus for this is in response to a ridiculous protest at the Toronto Film Festival…

“A group of filmmakers are planning to pull their movies from a Canadian film festival in protest of Israel.  Director John Greyson and several others say they will withdraw their films from the Toronto International Film Festival because of the event’s weeklong homage to Israeli cinema, Ha’aretz reported.

The group, which includes the left-wing writer and activist Naomi Klein, said it was not protesting the participation of Israeli films per se, but rather the specific “spotlight” on them, which they said celebrated Israeli culture while ignoring the “brutal occupation.”

In an interview, Greyson drew comparisons between contemporary Israel and apartheid South Africa and the segregated American South.”

If you want to discuss brutality and barbarism, and occupation let’s… And remember how unwilling the Arab states are to even recognize the state of Israel and her right to exist.  If the shoe was on the other foot, none of these filmmakers could represent their own countries, because they would not be recognized. Hmmm…

Instead of allowing the arts to put people on common ground, these “artists” have decided to allow their ignorance and anti-Semitism and one-sided (and incorrect) views of history to blind them with hate.

Let’s look at some FACTS… Not hyperbole and propaganda…

(And feel free to educate yourself at http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths/index.html)

Nationhood and Jerusalem : Israel became a nation in 1312 BC, two thousand (2000) years before the rise of Islam.

Arab refugees in Israel began identifying themselves as part of a Palestinian people in 1967, two decades after the establishment of the modern State of Israel.

Since the Jewish conquest in 1272 BC, the Jews have had dominion over the land for one thousand (1000) years with a continuous presence in the land for the past 3,300 years.

The only Arab dominion since the conquest in 635 lasted no more than 22 years.

For over 3,300 years, Jerusalem has been the Jewish capital. Jerusalem has never bee n the capital of any Arab or Muslim entity. Even when the Jordanians occupied Jerusalem , they never sought to make it their capital, and Arab leaders did not come to visit.

Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in Tanach, the Jewish Holy Scriptures. Jerusalem is not mentioned even once in the Koran.

King David founded the city of Jerusalem . Mohammed never came to Jerusalem.

Arab and Jewish Refugees: in 1948 the Arab refugees were encouraged to leave Israel by Arab leaders promising to purge the land of Jews. Sixty-eight percent left (many in fear of retaliation by their own brethren, the Arabs), without ever seeing an Israeli soldier. The ones who stayed were afforded the same peace, civility, and citizenship rights as everyone else.

The Jewish refugees were forced to flee from Arab lands due to Arab brutality, persecution and pogroms.

The number of Arab refugees who left Israel in 1948 is estimated to be around 630,000. The number of Jewish refugees from Arab lands is estimated to be the same.

Arab refugees were INTENTIONALLY not absorbed or integrated into the Arab lands to which they fled, despite the vast Arab territory. Out of the 100,000,000 refugees since World War II, theirs is the only refugee group in the world that has never been absorbed or integrated into their own people’s lands. Jewish refugees were completely absorbed into Israel , a country no larger than the state of New Jersey.

The Arab-Israeli Conflict: the Arabs are represented by eight separate nations, not including the Palestinians. There is only one Jewish nation. The Arab nations initiated all five wars and lost. Israel defended itself each time and won.

The PLO’s Charter still calls for the destruction of the State of Israel . Israel has given the Palestinians most of the West Bank land, autonomy under the Palestinian Authority, and has supplied them.

Under Jordanian rule, Jewish holy sites were desecrated and the Jews were denied access to places of worship. Under Israeli rule, all Muslim and Christian sites have been preserved and made accessible to people of all faiths.

The UN Record on Israel and the Arabs: of the 175 Security Council resolutions passed before 1990, 97 were directed against Israel.

Of the 690 General Assembly resolutions voted on before 1990, 429 were directed against Israel.

The UN was silent while 58 Jerusalem synagogues were destroyed by the Jordanians.

The UN was silent while the Jordanians systematically desecrated the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives.

The UN was silent while the Jordanians enforced an apartheid-like policy of preventing Jews from visiting the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.

Iran and the Nuke

This is my response to one of the comments posted here…

Obama calls a nuclear Iran a game changer… Israel says it is the biggest threat to its existence and will not let it happen.  They also all realize that you can destroy the facility, but cannot destroy the knowledge… Thanks to AQ Khan, the scientist/scumbag from Pakistan, the genie is out of the bottle and nuclear know how is in the hands of many folks who should not and would not have had it.  Off the record, yet in a somewhat official capacity, other Arab nations are saying that they want Iran stopped.  They do not like the power they are gaining and abusing, but yes, they must posture in front of their people or face overthrow and violence and perhaps even civil war.  Saudi Arabia is pumping millions of dollars into Lebanon to help defeat the candidates from Hizbollah.  These countries are scared, so who really know what  would happen if Israel goes in.
Ironically, we all could stop Iran by simply ceasing investments and business dealings with them, and not allowing refined petroleum to go into the country.  But we also learn, that money and power seem to trump philosophy in these same parts of the world.  According to many clerics, although I don’t see how the modern is mentioned there, the Koran forbids nuclear weapons… yet Iran moves forward…

Israel cannot and does not worry about what others think of her.  She will do what it takes to survive… a nuclear Iran will be a devastating set back and blow to all of mankind… Let’s hope Obama and the world figure that out sooner than later, for in this case, talk is not cheap… it is deadly.

Two States, Two Sides, Two Steps

Sounds like a dance… and I guess in a way, it is.

We all know that the road to peace will be through the two-state solution… But what does this mean?

It means that there must be a Jewish State… Jewish state… next to a Palestinian State.

Obama’s call to Israel to dismantle outposts and settlements and stop any new construction is all fine and good.  It is something that needs to be done and eventually will be done… But it cannot be done as a one-sided affair, nor can it be done at the expense of Israel’s security.  

Look at what happens when Israel leaves an area…

Lebanon… More weaponry, rockets and missiles than before.  The UN did absolutely nothing as Hizbollah received millions of dollars in cash and weapons from Iran and is now stronger than ever.  And whether or not they speak on record, the other Arab nations are terrified that Hizbollah could win many elections in Lebanon and take over government. 

Gaza… Hamas uses this territory as its own personal launching pad for mortars, rockets and missiles and spends the money and time and efforts of their citizens not in building hospitals and schools and infrastrcuture, but in digging tunnels into Egypt to smuggle more weapons in.

Does Israel need to stop with the outposts and settlements?  When it is safe, yes.

But right now all we are hearing Obama say is this… I get it… He is trying to reach out to a skeptical audience who has hated America for a long, long time.  His language needs to be balanced and strong but not one-sided, and he also needs to be careful with what is said publicly, as certain extremists may take his words as an opportunity for attacks or violence, sensing a fracture in American-Israeli relations.

Howard Kohr from AIPAC laid out several things the Arab nations must do… and none are egregious or extreme or anything short of normal.  I’ll paraphrase…

Follow Sadat’s lead and come visit Israel.  Seeing an Arab leader on Israeli soil will make a huge difference in perception. Whether you agree with Israel giving back the Sinai or not, it was Sadat’s visit that expedited that exchange and got people thinking in a different way.

Stop bashing Israel at the UN all the time.  ”Durban 2″ was a joke, and seeing people like Ahmadinejad getting standing ovations for his racist tirade does nothing to bring the two sides together.

And stop banning Israeli artists and athletes from entering your country.

Bring the people together with culture and arts, not just a piece of paper between governments.  This is my idea, as studies have shown that countries with cultural exchanges understand each other more on a human level and actually have better relations on all levels.

I cannot believe I have to even say it, but recognize Israel.  Look at a map people.  This tiny country is surrounded by Arab nations.  Let it have its tiny sliver and acknowledge that Israel is a Jewish State that has the right to exist.  How crazy is that, that we have to start by getting this as a concession!

Stop supporting terrorism and knock off the state funding of militants and extremists.

Put more support behind the Palestinian Authority and bolster them and Abbas instead of Hamas and other terrorist organizations.

Stop condemning Israel as a racist state and inciting Anti-Semetism.

Each side will need to make sacrifices, but it must start with a genuine step forward, a genuine step from each partner.

Iran…

The game playing continues… and while Obama has every right to want to engage Iran in dialogue, we must take their threats seriously.

This comes from a recent AIPAC update…

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is now claiming that Iran controls the entire cycle for producing nuclear fuel, highlighting Tehran’s continuing pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability. While the claim may be premature, the IAEA has confirmed that Iran has accumulated enough low-enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon if that material were further enriched. The United States and our allies should undergird a diplomatic approach to Iran with more robust economic, diplomatic and political sanctions, particularly if Iran does not soon agree to suspend enrichment. Iran has amassed a sufficient quantity of uranium to produce a nuclear weapon if it further enriched that material to weapons-grade level.

Read More at: http://www.aipac.org/The_Issues/index_22552.asp

And look at what is happening in Lebanon…

Nasrallah: Iran arming Hezbollah unconditionally

By Haaretz Service

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday said the Shi’ite militia receives weapons from Iran ‘unconditionally’ and blasted Arab governments for their unwillingness to supply Lebanon with weaponry.

Nasrallah’s remarks were part of a speech broadcast on Al-Manar television Friday, in which he rebuffed calls for the Shi’ite militia to disarm and hand over their weapons to the Lebanese Army, saying such a move would hamper Lebanon’s ability to protect itself from Israel.

Nasrallah also criticized Lebanon’s military and political leaders for what he called insufficient efforts to prepare Lebanon in the face of Israeli threats.

Nasrallah also said that though a future war with Israel cannot be ruled out entirely, the likelihood is slim, adding that Israel would prefer instead to pursue a policy of assassination against Hezbollah officials.

The Hezbollah leader also vowed to help strengthen the Lebanese army if the opposition wins next week’s national election.

Nasrallah’s speech came at a celebration to mark nine years since the Israel Defense Forces’ withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

As I See It…

Israel is not perfect. Israel makes mistakes. Israel has done things they are not proud of.

Yet no other nation is as scrutinized… no other nation is as judged…

Netanyahu has not said the magic words he needs to say… he has not come out and said he supports a Palestinian State. The world’s reaction is swift and strong and absolutely against him. Obviously he needs to do this. And he will do this. We all know he will do this. He has no choice. Right or wrong, he is using his silence as a political maneuver.

But Hamas refuses to recognize the state of Israel as a Jewish State. They continue to state that their goal is to destroy the state of Israel… 

(CUE CRICKETS)

This is what Israel is up against. It is held to a standard that does not seem to apply elsewhere… and when they argue the other side of the coin, they are met with silence and judgement.

Israel needs to agree to a two-state solution. The Palestinians need to agree that Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish State… Odd, isn’t it… The other side must AGREE you have the right to exist.  That’s crazy… and that should be a non-starter… a non-issue…

We agree to give up land and let you form a state… you agree to recognize us???  There has got to be more on the table… like safety and control over your own territories… pledging your support to protect your own people AND Israelis…

Obviously these are all things that will be dealt with.  But there are several issues afoot here…

When you negotiate with the US, you are talking to the US or her representatives… you are not negotiating with the Democrats and then the Republicans and then the Green Party… The same goes with Israel…

When you negotiate with Israel, you are negotiating with Israel…

Apparently the only group you are dealing when talking to the Palestinians is the PA… but obviously Hamas factors in… and Hamas hates the PA… and vice versa.  So how the heck does THAT work?

I am for peace… I don’t see how you can not be. But I am for a real peace… not a peace on paper, but a peace on people. A peace where there is mutual respect… a cultural exchange… a philosophical exchange…

This is the peace that will take years to accomplish… decades… perhaps lifetimes… but it is the only real peace that will hold. Yes, there is peace between Egypt and Israel, but is it real?  Or is it simply an agreement on paper to not attack each other?  Do Israelis and Egyptians have cultural exchanges?  Exchange students?  Frank and civil discussions on life and love?

Obviously I am biased… and I try my darndest to be objective, but it is hard… hard as hell.

The American media is completely biased… so is the European media… Ironically perhaps, the best place to get a true and honest sense of what is going on is in the Israeli press.  Read the different Israeli papers… The Jerusalem Post… Daily Haaretz… Ynet News…

No one argues all the different sides better than the Israelis themselves… This is true democracy and what a democratic society is all about… It is fascinating and informative and will make you understand the situation better than anything out there…

http://www.jpost.com/

http://haaretz.com/

http://www.ynetnews.com/home/0,7340,L-3082,00.html

We all could use some objectivity… we all need to take a deep breath, pull back and see what is really going on without all the hyperbole and blustering… without all the bullshit… but we also need to acknowledge the truth… 

One of the dictionary definitions of liberal is open-minded.  It does not say anything about blindly taking the sides of the perceived underdogs…

Tomorrow… Israel 101… Some guides to help you wade through all the questions and issues… and give you a simple, clear and objective understanding of the state of Israel.

More From Day 1… Will Obama Get Iran Before It Is Too Late?

Here is a great side story about David Ben Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister… Someone came up to him and told him that they knew the one thing Israel could do to get rid of all its problems. One thing would take care of it all. Ben Gurion was curious and asked the man to explain. He said you need to stand in front of the Knesset and declare war against the US.

“War against the US?” Ben Gurion asked…

“That’s right,” said the man. “They’ll win easily and take us over and then we’ll become part of the United States.  We’ll never have to worry about being invaded or attacked… We’ll have two Senators… we can divide ourselves into districts and get some Congressmen… a flight from Tel Aviv to New York will be domestic. It will be great… all our problems will be solved.”

Ben Gurion paused for a moment and looked at the man and said… “God, forbid, what if we win?”

 

Now to the heavy stuff… A nuclear Iran is a threat to Israel… but it is also a threat to the region and to the rest of the world. What we do not hear on the news, is how panicked the other Arab states really are… How they are begging the US to do something… 

Israel will not tolerate a nuclear armed Iran, and if no one else steps up… or if sanctions do not work, we all know that they will destroy the facility. They will… no question. They have no choice. None.

So what can be done? And will Obama get it in time?

The military option needs to be on the table, because that seems to be the only thing that actually scares the leadership. However, we can, as Newt Gingrich said to us, “make change without firing a shot.”

US companies and companies we do business with must divest from Iran. We must make sure our pensions and investments do not aid Iran.  We must make sure our Alma maters do not invest in Iran… These are steps we can all take. Make a call, find out… and if there are Iranian investments, start raising some hell.

Iran imports 40% of their refined petroleum products from the outside world… the refined petroleum is to be used in the weapons… We must not aid and abet them in this endeavor. We must tell companies that they can do business with the US or with Iran… Their choice.

But why should we do it?

Hmm… Because Iran is the largest state supporter of terrorism in the world. They aid Hizzbollah and Hamas and who knows how many more. They help arm the terrorists that US Soldiers face in Iraq and Afghanistan. They want to destroy Israel… they want to destroy the US… well, the leaders like Ahmadinejad and the Mullahs do anyway… These are dangerous people.

Again… we must keep our eyes on the situation. When Ahmadinejad says he wants to destroy Israel, we must take him seriously.

Newt Gingrich, who was fantastic by the way, quoted Primo Levi, a Jewish chemist, writer and Holocaust survivor. Newt said that Levi was asked what the one most important thing he learned from his experience was. Levi replied, “When a man points a gun at you and says he is going to kill you, believe him.”

Ahmadinejad has said he will kill Israel. Now he is just trying and hoping to get the gun. 

We need to believe him and we need to stop him, by whatever means necessary!

Newt also said this… “Polite silence amounts to complicity.”

You have a voice… and now is the time to use it.  Do not stay silent.  Do not repeat the mistakes of the past.

What happens to Israel happens to the US.

Shimon Peres

The security is way up today… double metal detectors… secret service… lots of uniformed and even plain clothed military and police… Shimon Peres speaks…

The man is one of the great Israeli leaders and a true Dove. He wants peace. He wants peace to be a legacy of his… But like most Israelis, he will not and cannot do it by giving up Israel’s security.

When a rocket or mortar is launched, Israelis have 15 seconds to get into a bomb shelter. And this is how they live their lives on an almost daily basis. A playground in Israel has to double as a shelter… This is unacceptable. No other country in the world will tolerate this… No one. Yet if Israel reacts, they are wrong. If Israel reacts, they are blamed. Israel is held to standards no other country is held to… and they try to do the right thing… How they try…

You watch this video, and tell me as a parent or simply as a human being if this is acceptable… If you would stand idly by and do nothing… and let this happen again and again and again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im4KE3nkGA0

His speech is impassioned… he is powerful… and in the middle… obviously waiting for this moment… a woman stands on the table and takes off her jacket. On her shirt are signs… She is too far away for me to read them, but she starts screaming something. Within seconds she is taken down and escorted out…

We find out later she is with Code Pink, women for peace. Again, that is fine. Peace is good… But how can these peace lovers only protest against Israel. It seems that these peace lovers have no issues with crimes against your own people, against  using kids as human shields, against suicide and homocide bombings, against using missiles and mortars to specifically attack civilian areas and targets… Nope… they only protest Israel. That’s some good balance there.

Peres does not blink or miss a beat or miss a word… He keeps going. The crowd boos the woman and applauds Peres.  Later we are told that if there is another protest to immediately break into applause to drown them out.

The message is clear… If Israel is destroyed, America is destroyed.

Then another girl stands up… we applaud… her message and protest is drowned out… She is removed quickly, although you can hear her yelling backstage for a while.

Peres says we need to disconnect religion from terror. We need to have a real and lasting peace, so that all children can be free from war. It needs to come from all nations and all parties.

He says that Israel wants to defend its people from harm and enable them to meet opportunity. He says the same of the Palestinians… Books, not bombs.

“Peace barrels from the soil like a geyser.”

But Israel must remain a Jewish state… we have had 2000 years of exile… pogroms, the Shoah, war, bloodshed and genocide… yet Israel is a bacon of light among nations. He wants to beat swords into plowshares. Redemption… heritage… destiny…

He says that he has the right to be an optimist, and that we have gained that right, too.  He shows us pictures of his grandkids and says that “our future is safe in their timy hands, in their strong hands.”

“To know the future is to respect history… to know the past.”

“Time is always short, but the time is now.”

Coming tomorrow… or early next week… a primer I’ll call Israel 101… for those who want some basics or to just weed through a lot of this.

More From Day 1 – Debunking the Myths of the IDF

The Israeli army is the most moral and ethical army in the world. Yet the Palestinians will have you believe they are barbaric monsters… and the world believes this… and sad to say, students and professors on many college campuses believe this.

I am a liberal in certain areas, and conservative in others… The issue I take with far left liberalism is that they sometimes, in an attempt to be “balanced and fair,” ignore evil and hate.  Ironically, their criticism is very one-sided and usually against Israel. There are also self-loathing Jews who attack Israel. They hate themselves and thus sell Jews and Israel down the river. This doesn’t exactly help the cause. And the cause is to be objective and look at history and behavior. Again, look at groups like Hamas and Hizbollah and take Israel out of the equation… assume the worst, that they actually do destroy Israel. 

Do you think they will stop there? These are groups that hate women. These are groups who ban music and dancing. These are groups who believe in death to all infidels. Wake up, we’re infidels. These are groups who have said, “We desire death like you desire life.” and to prove the point, these are groups who convince children and teens and the mentally handicapped and now women to strap explosives onto their bodies and blow themselves up in the middle of civilian areas. The PLO invented… invented hijacking… Do I have to remind you of the Munich Olympics?

PS and by the way… Arabs in Israel have equal voting rights and it is one of the few places in the Middle East where Arab women may vote. 

Let’s start modern…

1948 – Israel declares independence and is immediately attacked. And this comes on the heels of Arab attacks on Jewish settlements where there was no retaliation. 1967… 1973…

And by the way… Israel could have built a “security fence” in any of those years… The fence was not built until 2002 and only to stop the suicide/homicide bombers… and guess what…

“There was a 30% drop in the number of terrorist attacks that took place in 2003 compared to 2002. Similarly, there was a 50% decrease in the number of victims murdered by terrorists in 2003 compared to the previous year. There were 17 suicide bomber attacks inside Israel that emanated from the northern part (Samaria) of the West Bank during the months April-December 2002. In contrast, since construction began on the anti-terrorist fence, throughout all of 2003 only 5 suicide bomber attacks emanated from the same area. From that area where construction of the anti-terrorist fence has not yet begun, namely the southern part (Judea) of the West Bank, no decrease in the number of terrorist attacks has been noted.”

Does Israel behead its prisoners?

Have we forgotten that Gilad Shalit has been in captivity for over 1000 days? This is how the other side follows international law… and they will not allow even the UN or Red Cross to see him.

Israel consults international lawyers 24/7 and even during active operations, to make sure they are acting within international guidelines. What other army does this?

Israel is constantly evaluating itself to make sure that targets are of military necessity… that there is a distinction between military and civilian targets… that there is proportionality and humanity.

But let’s discuss proportionality for a minute, since Israel is always accused of disproportionate responses… I guess, according to those folks who believe this, all Israel should do is launch a few thousand random missiles, rockets and grenades into civilian areas… and find a few homicide bombers of their own to send into Gaza… that would be proportionate, right?

Between 2003-2008 Israel has faced 8,272 Missiles and mortars. What would any other country do if it was attacked on a daily basis?

What other country has given back almost all the land it conquered when it was attacked???

Does Israel use its own innocent civilians as human shields? Does Israel use children as human shields?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J08GqXMr3Y 

Does Israel launch missiles from school and hospitals?  UN Schools?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmXXUOs27lI     

Israel’s fight is not against innocent people, it is a fight against terror.

The IDF takes better care of the innocent Palestinians than Hamas does.  What other army in the world drops flyers telling the enemy exactly when and where they are going to hit?  What army in the world actually makes calls to houses with the same information? The IDF begs people to stay off their roofs. They design precision guided munition to avoid collateral deaths and damage. They design weapons that knock out walls without flattening an entire home. 

The most Palestinian missiles were launched when Israel was in a cease fire to deliver aid.  What other army has a 3-hour cease fire every day so aid can go in and out?

What other countries in the neighborhood have ethical debates and guidelines and internal investigations and constant legal supervision?

Have questions?

Check this site out…

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths/index.html

Coming up… Shimon Peres, Joe Biden, Netanyahu…