I value the friendship that has grown and blossomed over the years with my Jewish friends. And I have many Jewish friends. What I have come to value and respect even more, however, is the Jewish State of Israel. The only sane, civilized, and productive democracy in the Middle East, and arguably the strongest ally that America has ever had. Israel sits on this speck of sand, surrounded by barbaric countries, cultures and governments that continue to live in the 7th century. Countries that are dedicated to nothing less than the total destruction of the Jewish State and to wiping it from the map. Countries that commit and condone barbaric torture, rape, mutilation and outright murder of their own citizens. Countries that brutalize women and send 9 year old girls off to marry their abusers. Countries that are no less than completely dedicated to the destruction of all Western culture, as evidenced by the events of September 11th 2001, and September 11th 2012.
Jewish Americans, or should I say, LIBERAL Jewish Americans have largely grown complacent in their own security in America. They have become insulated. After so many centuries of persecution, they believe they have finally found sanctuary. The reality is, of course that persecution is still following them, no matter where they have set down their family and roots, because their collective enemies are legion. Too many of them, whether they are practicing Jews or not, consider Israel to be a distant issue that can be conveniently dismissed. It can be ignored for the sake of continuing to rabidly vote Liberal Democratic in American elections rather than ever, God forbid, voting for a member of any other party who will stand up for not only their heritage and real values, but for their Biblical and cultural “homeland.”. Many of them have actually already accepted the eventual demise of the country itself, and the absorption of the people and culture into the melting pot of global societies, while not realizing that this desperate attempt on their part, knowingly or unknowingly to dilute their culture cannot dilute who they are, and that they will always be looking over their shoulders. Just because they are Jews. Or half Jew. Or one quarter Jew.
Israel is important to America and to Jews not just because of what it represents as a true and compassionate democracy, but because of its countless contributions to the betterment of humanity, its historical roots in ancient faith, its vibrant people, customs and culture, and the light of hope it shines for the future of Jew and non-Jew alike.
This video is not some short clip of talking points, it is rather a detailed and thorough walk-through of the current Administration attitudes and policies toward Jews and the Jewish State. It is 15 minutes of reality. WAKE UP, LIBERAL AMERICAN JEWS. Yes, Obama doesn’t much care for Israel, but you know what? He doesn’t much care for YOU either.
Stu Hirschfield October 12, 2012
This video is absolutely true.I see it among my Liberal Jewish friends.I don’t understand why the facts are so unimportant to realize.History is Fact.Currently history is about to repeat itself.The Jew is singularly vulnerable.No where in the WORLD has the Jew found a welcome mat except in Israel.No where in the world INCLUDING Israel has a Jew ever felt Safe except in America.So,the two Israel and America are the two most Important aspects of Jewish ability to survive.BOTH are under assault…Israel for its survival,and America as we know it.This election may very well determine the future of Jews everywhere.
CrankyOldJew October 12, 2012
http://www.wnd.com/2012/10/oblivious-obama-not-behind-osama-raid/
Dustin Wadsworth October 22, 2012
Whats going on in the middle east is barbaric but to characterize the middle east as barbaric in general is I think a little silly. Socially, the middle east is not a progressive as we are generally. That’s a general statement and there are exceptions and maybe I’ve been lucky because I have four very close friends that grew up in Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and my ex girlfriend’s family is from Iraq and her sister is Farah Nosh, a famous war photographer during the Iraq war.
My friend Waleed’s job was to drive media around Bagdad during the war. He filmed people dying in the process with his camera (which I later helped him edit into his very powerful grad film) that he brought with him everywhere. He had friends that had been killed in random bombings. They lived in tents and had herds of sheep, totally peaceful people and Waleed interviewed one of the fathers that lived there. They revisit the site where he breaks down when he finds a tattered piece of clothing that was his daughters among burned sheep carcasses and remainders of a bombed tent. If anybody would be angry it would be Waleed, but he’s not. He’s just like you and I only he’s sad. It’s a part of Waleed that you figure out quickly and that sadness is more of a characterization of the people of the middle east. Much more so than the word barbaric. Farah Nosh called this “the Bagdad look” and she described it as an underlying sadness they you could see in between smiles and distractions.
Barbaric is a term that should be used for the minority of terrorists, who, like ALL of my friends from the middle east, will be the first to call them barbaric.
Bob I remember when you posted a story about a beheading in Saudi Arabia a while back. I talked to my friend Ahmad about that. I asked him if it was normal and he said that stuff like that did happen there, but he also explained that while mysticism is common among uneducated people, a story like that is a lot like hearing about some crazy person in the U.S.A.
He pointed me to columbine (and now more recently the shooting in Aurora) they hear about that stuff and they are telling their families the same things about us. About how we are so barbaric that even our children go out and shoot people.
I’ve been fortunate enough to meet a good group of thinking people from the middle east which really changed the way I thought about that region. I used to dismiss the cultures there as barbaric and America hating. I used to buy into the lie that GW Bush used to say over and over, “they hate us for our freedom.”
Trust me, they don’t. The crazy ones hate our policies. The thing about articles like yours Bob is that it never mentions things like America’s involvement in the “barbaric” middle east.
We aided Iraq with intelligence and chemical and biological weapons to Saddam under both Reagan and Bush. W. We knew he was using it against Iran and meanwhile we publicly condemned it.
Most American’s wouldn’t know this and probably wouldn’t believe it without reading the declassified reports but guess who does know this. You guessed it! The entire middle east. These kinds of policies always are at the forefront of peoples minds when they talk about American policy. They lived this stuff, it wasn’t happening halfway around the world. But to us, we never hear about things like this leading to the attitude that we are all high and mighty and oh so righteous but Bob, by you’re own definition “Countries that commit and condone barbaric torture, rape, mutilation and outright murder of their own citizens,” this one small example makes us no less barbaric than Saddam Hussein!
Sorry for the rant.
On the subject of Iran, it will be interesting to see the rhetoric at the debate tonight. The analysts are saying that Romney and Obama will be trying to distinguish themselves from each other on foreign policy but in actuality, they’ll both take very similar approaches on Iran in office.
MorgansAmerica October 25, 2012 — Post Author
Dustin,
As you correctly pointed out in your “general statement” there are exceptions, but I believe you have the exceptions turned around backwards. The “exceptions” are those very people you spoke of knowing, not the countries and cultures they grew up in. They are the quiet and quite rare few who speak out against these regimes. I also note that no where in your Comment here did you even mention Israel, its plight, what it means to the world at large, and what it has given to humanity. We continue to hear from many people, and from most people on the Left is that the extremists who awaken daily with their sole purpose in life being the destruction of all we are and all we represent are in the tiny minority. That we need to look at the people as a whole. Well, many of us HAVE indeed looked at the people in the Middle East as a whole, but more than looking, we’ve listened. And this is what we hear, Dustin. Silence. Crickets. A few token slaps on the wrist from the rest of the Muslim world. Are there exceptions to this? Absolutely. And what happens when a few precious flowers of sanity try to spring up in these countries? They are brutally and sadistically repressed. They are shot in the streets. Their entire families are imprisoned. If they profess adherence to any faith other than Islam, they are stoned to death. The students in Iran confronted that reality when they turned to Obama for support during their demonstrations and found a deaf ear. He left them to twist in the wind.
You quote George W. Bush, but you don’t explain the context of where that quote came from. You appear to make a comparison between the barbarism practiced in these nations and individual nutjobs in America who go on a rampage. As if there is any real comparison at all. As if your friend making a comparison to be-headings such as the video taped beheading of American Jew Nick Berg to a disturbed person or student in America taking up a gun and going on a shooting rampage can be called “mysticism” similar to that which is also practiced in America. As if Americans are equally as capable of surrounding one of their embassies, dragging their Ambassador through the streets, and anally raping him before brutally murdering him and his staff. As if Americans would just as easily condone selling 9 year old girls into sexual slavery and treating women in their culture as one step above a dog, and dogs are at the bottom. And mostly, as if in the virtually impossible event that any of these things were to happen here that there would not be a complete and total condemnation , moral outrage, investigation and prosecution of those involved. But we don’t hear ANY of that from these governments and their populations at large, Dustin. The now governing Muslim Brotherhood in Libya made a mild statement of condemnation and then the next day called for Jihad. An American reporter managed to find a person sympathetic to what had happened, and that person said to convey to Americans that not all Libyans feel that way. Well…..maybe they don’t, but they most certainly have a very funny way of showing it.
I value any friends I have, Muslim or Jewish, who are freedom loving people. But in the Middle East in general, that’s been our mistake. The majority of people in these countries, with the exception of Israel, do not want, nor do they respect freedom. Even if the small minority, including your friends, do. What the majority of people in these still largely tribal and sectarian societies respect is not freedom, but the strength of the sword. As for America’s involvement in the “barbaric” Middle East, isolationism is not an option, and where there is indeed involvement it must be in the interests of America. Whether in the end it was a mistake for us to take out Saddam Hussein, even though he gassed a 1/2 million of his own people and trained and harbored terrorists remains to be seen. Unfortunate, but alas, very very true. And lastly Dustin, as to your “high and mighty and oh so righteous” comment…….no, America is not a perfect nation. No nation is a perfect nation. But America is a more perfect nation than any nation that exists or has ever existed. We continue as a nation to right our wrongs as we have done since our founding. For instance, our Constitution was written and adopted with the full knowledge that even though slavery existed and even though some of the founders themselves held slaves under the prevailing social norms of the times, slavery itself could never survive under that Constitution for long, and indeed within 75 years we went to Civil War over it. Some of us continue to try to return to the founding values that this nation was built upon. Unfortunately not all of us do. By the way, unlike your Iranian or other Middle Eastern friends might freely do in America, I would advise you against walking down the streets of Cairo, Beirut, Baghdad, Benghazi, Damascus……or most certainly Tehran. Wouldn’t be good for your overall health. And I don’t think the “majority” of citizens would come to your aid. And the ones that might consider doing so wouldn’t consider doing so for very long if they valued their lives.
CrankyOldJew October 25, 2012
Dustin, I commend you for seeking the good in people. You seem to know a lot of folks from the Mideast…Iran,Iraq,Afghanistan…how about Israelis? Know any? …Before you respond, if you do know any Israelis, what do you know about Israel? Not from a Wiki article or some show on Nat Geo..but its struggle, the real History of how it came to be (trust me it wasn’t because the UN said,….oh, ok) How much struggle they’ve endured and how many wars and how big it is and how many people there are and what (Percentage wise) were murdered in WW2? How they live in constant fear even today but continue to build hospitals, and orange droves and medical and scientific miracles…now before you answer..answer this..How long has Israel been a nation…and how long have the rest of the surrounding countries been nations…why, in the space of a tic on the clock on a 24 hr day in comparison is there such a difference. One Group of People seeks to benefit Mankind…the other seeks to Rule mankind….Come to think of it…That’s just how America started…a few, with an Ideal….and risking EVERYTHING to Live FREE or DIE. I don’t see that in the rest of the Middle East…forget the few who LEAVE it to come here…Americans stayed here and fought for it…they didn’t leave for an easier life…Israelis WENT THERE to Israel before they were Israelis to stay there and fight for it…Not just to have an easier life someplace else. The friends you talk about I’m sure are nice folk…however,they(and I’m not saying I blame them one bit) left to come here for a better life…the ones to be admired are the ones who stay and Fight for Freedom for a better life in a place they call their country….So when and if they say..Oh America is My country to you…I’m bettin’ they call where they came from “their country” when speaking to each other.
Dustin Wadsworth October 26, 2012
To Bob
When we compare America to a place in the middle east, it’s easy to see that the general culture is not as progressive in the middle east. There is a huge problem with the treatment of women. I was shocked at my friend Waleed’s description of what it’s like there. I can’t argue that there are widespread social problems there. Everybody knows that and in fact it’s actually the only thing I’ve ever seen in the media. My argument is that the majority of people are actually not as extreme as the liberal media makes them out to be.
But I think I need to make a distinction here. I have people very close to me that are by all accounts racist. They are not actively racist, they would never associate with any sort of racist group or hurt anyone physically or anything like that. Maybe some rude behavior towards a mexican but aside from that they are harmless and totally good people. It’s out of an ignorance and comes from the culture of an older time.
Growing up just outside of one of the most liberal cities in the United States, it was still totally acceptable to use racist language with my friends. We grew up telling jokes and poking fun at differences (in the way that all kids do but we were being racist)
I was in Austin Texas this summer and I met a great couple, super nice people. We were at dinner and this guy used the N word as a matter of description. Though he did cover his mouth immediately and was embarrassed, but you got the sense that using that language is the norm.
All these people have in common one thing. They are all good people. It would be easy to say that they are all racists, I mean, if you steal you are a thief, but I don’t think it’s that black and white.
I think there are things that become the norm culturally and people for the most part don’t usually challenge those norms. There’s also a difference between these passive racists and someone that is actively a part of a group of racists that gather and take these beliefs very seriously.
I think this is what I’m getting at here. I would say that the majority of all people in the middle east are like this. They have governments that are doing awful things and where there is effective power comes effective thought control. That’s been observed throughout history.
In fact, even the title of this very post suggests this. It’s what power does!
So my argument is that most middle easterners are like the passive racists than they are like the extreme Jihadists. And admittedly I am basing that on knowing many people from the region and none of them have ever even met a terrorist (aside from one time Waleed took his camera to the wrong place in Iraq and had his tapes destroyed and almost got killed)
I also don’t want to trivialize the way women are treated there. It’s a serious problem and there have been women and men fighting this.
There is a fantastic animated film made by an Iranian woman called Persepolis. It’s a great film to watch about the region and the struggles of a woman growing up in that culture.
Here is the trailer:
http://youtu.be/3PXHeKuBzPY
To CrankyOldJew
Without looking I know Israel became a nation in 1949 (as prophesied in the bible to the actual day)
I know that it’s nothing short of a miracle that Israeli people haven’t been wiped off the face of the earth because I can’t think of a people the persevered through more persecution historically than the Jews.
My knowledge of Israel is limited to a hand full of people. I know 3 people from Jerusalem and I traveled with two Israeli guys and one woman for a month in Thailand. The had just finished their military duty. I found out quickly that Thailand is filled with Israelis after they finish military duty, we ended up going out to bars and they would be packed with Israelis which was awesome at first but the drunker everyone got the less people would speak english and so I always felt a little left out at the end of the night haha!
I’ve also read “Islam and the Jews” by Mark Gabriel who was a former muslim (now born again christian) professor of history at a major university in Cairo. The entire book lays out the conflict in detail.
I really am hazy on details and I’ve even had Waleed tell me about it and he’s insanely accurate when it comes to history. To be honest, it’s so complex to me that I don’t really understand why the fighting is happening. I do know that both sides are guilty of killing innocent people. I also know that Israel is our biggest ally in the region so we need to protect them.
With the comment regarding the people staying is admirable. I actually think that this is by individual.
Waleed did fight in Iraq against Saddam through music. He used cryptic lyrics that could be interpreted as pro Saddam but also was sarcastic. The band had been held in detention after shows and questioned by Saddams men. Then the war hit and he moved to Canada, not at all for himself but totally and helplessly for his family. I’ve never seen a man so driven for family as Waleed is. And I mean quite literally, I’ve never seen anything like it. To the point where I feel guilty sometimes talking to him about my family, it makes me feel sort of cold and selfish comparatively.
He came here to do well for himself but his number 1 priority is getting his family, and specifically his mother here.
In my opinion, that is every bit as admirable as staying somewhere to fight.
Waleed is also going back to Iraq with MTV to work on a documentary. I actually talked with him last night (his wife happens to be in New York as well!) about it and we’re going to meet about me possibly coming with him as crew.
Funny enough, I’m probably going to be busy this summer as I find out this week if I’m helping a friend shoot a film in June in Saudi Arabia!
Just another thought!
The Americans came to north America and committed genocide stole the land from the natives so that they could have a better life here, then they felt taken advantage of by the British and then fought for independence. I know we Americans feel really proud (myself included) of the freedoms we do have. However, historically, we were doing the same thing to the natives that Palestine is doing to Israel. Would you say it would be admirable if natives rose up and began fighting America for their land back?
Stu Hirschfield October 28, 2012
Hello again Dustin. I’m going to present some facts for your consideration regarding Israel as it relates to the region along with some historical facts. Some I’ve known all my life and some I’ve learned as an adult. I am doing this because I see you are a very intelligent young man, who is someone that truly seems compassionate and open minded. In addition, since you’re open to discussion I’ll take the time for that as well, should you decide to. Bob told told me he thinks the world of you and that, for me is good enough. First let me say,my name is Stu. I am also Jewish. I made up my mind long ago to be involved in politics, Israeli, American, and American History and have a strong interest in things Geo Political. While you may think i am biased based on my opinions, that does NOT change facts…opinions yes…but then opinions also do not mean they are untrue. They are based on ones life experience if it is to be at its best. Opinions based on talking points are just a lame excuse for an opinion…which in so many blogs, news stories and reports are just that. I will continue with my information..in my next post. I like to post in bites, so it can be digested, dissected and verified. Ok? I hope it will be informative. Stu.
Dylan Morgan November 4, 2012
Dustin, I think it’s fair to say that everyone has made mistakes in life with some larger than others. America is no different, but shouldn’t be judged on it’s past but what it stands for now. Our history is important so we don’t repeat those mistakes and to learn from them, which we have and will continue to do. Leaders such as Ahmadinejad and Qaddafi (just to name a few) are oppressive and bone chillingly wicked. You really can’t distinguish America from a lot of the Middle East?
Dustin Wadsworth November 27, 2012
Well, the other day I had spent some time writing a response to both Stu and Dylan and accidentally closed the tab while I was multitasking. UGH!
Anyway, I’ll summarize.
To Stu
I would love to hear what you have to say. Especially if they are facts! I promise I will read and consider whatever you have to say.
To Dylan
I can distinguish America from the middle east. I never said that we are no different. My question was that if we call someone like Saddam barbaric and then sell him guns and chemical weapons that he uses barbarically then what does that make us?
I believe that we can judge cultures by critically examining and comparing to other cultures. The uncomfortable part about that is that to do it right you have to take an honest look at your own culture and you have to be willing to admit that the USA isn’t the best at everything (which is contrary to everything I was ever taught.)
The other thing I wanted to bring us is a book that I had read a few years ago by Edward Said called Orientalism.
In my post that was erased I tried explaining key ideas from the book but I actually found a youtube video that I think is excellent (even if it’s a little dry, the host isn’t the most engaging speaker)
http://youtu.be/yH2T6a_2gBo
These ideas are the foundation on which I begin critically analyzing other cultures. The book was a paradigm shift for me.
Also, I don’t think the video is worth watching unless you watch all four parts. I know it’s long but I promise it’s worth it.