San Diego Jewish World

                                            Thursday Evening, July 5, 2007    

                                                                      Vol. 1, Number 66
 

_________________ The Jewish Citizen              by Donald H. Harrison

Libby furor disproves one piece of Arab propaganda

SAN DIEGO—It is interesting, is it not, that a Jewish member of Congress, Democratic Rep Robert Wexler of Florida, decided, per the story above, to bring a resolution of censure against President George W. Bush for commuting the sentence of another member of the Jewish community, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby?

What? you ask.  What does religion have to do with this? 

Exactly.  Nothing at all.

But if you were to listen to the propaganda put out by the Arab world and its sympathizers in Europe and elsewhere, which even has its adherents in the United States, you might think such a turn of events could never happen.  They believe somewhat ridiculously that all the Jews stick together in Washington and, in fact, are part of some grand conspiracy or cabal that dictates the federal government's decision making on issues large and small.

Anybody who really knows us Jews would have to chuckle over the idea that we could all agree on anything, much less something so important as foreign policy.

There are 30 Jewish members of the House of Representatives, 29 of them Democrats and one, Eric Cantor of Virginia, a Republican.  In the Senate, there are 13 members of our community, 9 of them Democrats, 2 of them Republicans (Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, and Norm Coleman of Minnesota) and two of them independents (Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, and Bernie Sanders of Vermont.) 

It will be interesting to see how they divide on the issue of censuring the President.

Following the July 2 presidential announcement—but prior to Wexler's announcement today—a half dozen lawmakers posted comments on their websites about the President's decision  to eliminate jail time from Libby's sentence while letting stand his fine and probation.

I thought it would be appropriate to reprise their statements to date, in alphabetical order, as a gauge of how they might react to Wexler's censure resolution.  I'll also try to keep track of their statements in the future.  (Jump to continuation)

 

 
Israeli soldiers maneuver and pray during 5-day exercises on the Golan Heights. Photo: Abir
Sultan, IDF Spokesperson

IDF completes 5-day exercise on Golan Heights

By Dor Blech

GOLAN HEIGHTS, ISRAEL (Press Release)—The largest training drill performed by the IDF, in recent years, was conducted over the last five days. Numerous IDF combat units participated, including the Golani Brigade, the Storm Formation artillery support unit and the Golan support unit. They performed various war scenarios.

In the July 1-5 operation, a large amount of Armored Corps, Corps of Engineers, and Air Force forces took part.  This drill included the first live fire operational exercises in a number of years.

The Golani Brigade exercise summarizes a number of months of exercises, where the soldiers of the brigade performed various maneuvers in the field.
"There were many different acts in the exercise," said Colonel (res.) Gil Schwartzman. "It combined different types of warfare, in daytime and at night."

A large number of reservist forces were called for the drill, as well as to instruct the regular service soldiers based on their experience.  "Everyone learned something from the drill.  Both those who participated in the actual exercises and those instructing and orchestrating it," said Colonel (res.) Schwartzman. "The reservists came to help and instruct; we like to call it 'quality education'.  The veterans teach the younger soldiers."

The medical teams of the formation also participated in the wide- scale training drill. "The medical aspect of the drill placed emphasis on the integration of the teams into the combatant forces, in order to better assist the medical team in time of war," explained Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Tarif Bader, the support team medical officer. 

During the training drill, the medical team evacuated wounded from the field, while riding tanks, armored personnel carriers, jeeps and helicopters. "Each brigade has a medical company composed of doctors and medics, serving as a medical services body away from the front lines," explained Dr. Bader. "The battalion aid station evacuates the wounded to the medical battalion or to hospitals. In the exercise, all of the battalion aid stations of the units which were exercising went through exercises as well." 

"This drill contained many 'acts' and each progressing one showed great improvements," he summarized. "Each of the exercises that were conducted will greatly help us during real war, but hopefully we won't get to that point. This was an exercise whose scale has not been seen for many years in the Golan Heights."

This training drill simulates a time of war ", said Alon, commander of the team in the engineering company of the Golani Brigade, after finishing exercises by Mt. Edom.

"Of course, thank God, there were neither real enemies, nor wounded soldiers and casualties.  However, the exercise level was very high. I really feel that this drill as well as the exercises we conducted in recent months greatly benefited our preparedness level."

Prominent features in the background of the drill were the purple berets of the Givati brigade officers, who came to inspect the drill. Additionally, they were looking to pick up tips for their brigade's upcoming training drill, set to take place in the next few months. 

"Everyone's contribution helped make a drill of this level possible. I feel that it will be remembered as a success", said Schwartzman about the drill. "Steady progress can be seen when analyzing the exercise, and it is certainly satisfactory."

  The preceding story was provided by the Israel Defense Forces

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Olmert shuffles ministers in his coalition

JERUSALEM (Press Release)—The Government on Wednesday, July 4,  unanimously approved the appointment of MKs Haim Ramon and Ruhama Avraham as ministers. The Government also approved the following reassignments:

Minister Meir Shetrit will serve as Interior Minister. Minister Zeev Boim will serve as Minister of Construction and Housing.  Minister Yaacov Edri will serve as Minister of Immigrant Absorption and will be responsible for the development of the Galilee and the Negev.

Minister Ramon will serve as Vice Premier in the Prime Minister’s Office.  He will be involved in all areas of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s duties, including in the diplomatic-security sphere, according to the Prime Minister’s consideration.

Minister Avraham will be responsible for Government-Knesset liaison.Minister Yitzhak Herzog will be responsible for the Israel Broadcasting Authority. Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer will chair the Ministerial Committee on the Non-Jewish Sector. Minister Gideon Ezra will join the Judges Selection Committee.

The preceding story was provided by Prime Minister Olmert's office

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EU Parliament President Pottering seeks new Madrid-style Mideast peace conference

BRUSSELS (Press Release)—Hans-Gert Pöttering MEP, the president of the European Parliament, has called for an international Middle East peace conference to be convened under the aegis of the Quartet. ‘’I am convinced that in the current situation, we need a multilateral approach to solve the Mideast conflict,’’ Pöttering told a conference organized by the Socialist group of the European Parliament in Brussels. He gave as a model the Madrid conference in 1999.

The German Christian-Democrat, who visited several Mideast countries last month as part of his first trip abroad since his election at the head of the parliament, urged Israel to support Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and to avoid previous failures by driving him into a corner. ‘’Israel must give Abbas the chance to regain the confidence of 65 percent of the Palestinians who elected him as president in 2006,’’ Pöttering said. He also called on Israel to release the Palestinian legislators and other politicians arrested by Israel but made no reference to the fate of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit kidnapped one year ago by Palestinians near the Gaza Strip. The Brussels two-day conference was attended by politicians, academics and high-level experts.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the conference, the Socialist group’s leadership said that talks between Palestinians should be urgently revived to allow the formation of a new government "in the spirit of reconciliation and national unity".

The preceding story was provided by the World Jewish Congress

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Sarkozy, Brown chat by phone with Olmert

JERUSALEM (Press Release)—Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday evening, July 4,spoke with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and congratulated him on his appointment.  The Prime Minister wished his British counterpart success and congratulated the British people on the release of BBC journalist Alan Johnston.

Prime Minister Olmert expressed his appreciation the recent actions of the British security forces in thwarting bomb attacks.

The two men agreed to meet soon and to maintain close ties in order to advance bilateral relations, as was the case when British Prime Minister Brown served as Chancellor of the Exchequer.  The British Prime Minister said that Prime Minister Olmert was a close friend who is active for peace and that he is interested in jointly advancing the regional peace process.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday, spoke with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.  The two men discussed developments on the Palestinian track following Palestinian Authority President Abu Mazen’s recent visit to Paris.  They agreed to meet soon in order to advance bilateral relations and the peace process.

French President Sarkozy said that he was a true friend of the State of Israel and the Jewish People and added that he intends to work to strengthen bilateral relations.

The preceding story was provided by Prime Minister Olmert's office

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Discourage ties with Iran, EU delegation urged

JERUSALEM (Press Release) —Israel’s prime minister Ehud Olmert has asked European Union member states to discourage any contact with Iranian businesses in order to weaken the current Iranian regime. Economic sanctions could be efficient if they were strongly implemented by the international community, Olmert told a delegation of European Friends of Israel (EFI) in Jerusalem. The group, led by Belgian member of the European Parliament Férdérique Ries, is currently on a four-day visit to Israel.

Olmert told the delegation, which comprises legislators from eleven European countries: "We must think about the recent riots in Iran provoked by the lack of gas in the country. EU countries must discourage any contact with Iranian business in order to weaken the regime. Europe is of great importance in the struggle against a nuclear Iran. The sanctions on Iran are doing their part but it is possible to impose other sanctions, not just economic, such as the denial of entry visas to Iranian passport holders."

The preceding story was provided by the World Jewish Congress

Tzipi-Benaissa talks included status of holy places

PARIS (Press Release)—Vice Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi is currently in Paris for meetings with French Persident Nicolas Sarkozy and Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.

On Wednesday, July 4, FM Livni also met for the first time with her Moroccan counterpart, Foreign Minister Mohamed Benaissa. They discussed the era after the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip and the establishment of the new Palestinian government headed by Salad Fayyad, noting that despite the difficult situation which this takeover
Foreign ministers Livni and Benaissa* 
has caused on the ground, it has also created a new opportunity to move forward in the political process.

Another issue raised during the meeting was that of the holy sites in Jerusalem. Morocco has a keen interest in this subject, as Moroccan King Mohammed VI serves as Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee - the Islamic committee responsible for the holy sites in Jerusalem on behalf of the Arab League.

The preceding story was provided by Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
*Photo: Guillaume Bureau

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Latin American legislators converge
on Jerusalem for seminars,  tours

The preceding story was provided by Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs
 

French officials welcome American Jewish Committee

PARIS (Press Release) —An American Jewish Committee delegation concluded a three-day visit to Paris for meetings with officials of the new government and other leading personalities.
 
Among the highlights of the visit were discussions with Jean-David Levitte, diplomatic advisor to President Nicolas Sarkozy; Bernard Kouchner, minister of Foreign Affairs; Catherine Albanel, minister of Culture and Communication; David Martinon, spokesman for President Sarkozy; U.S. Ambassador Craig Stapleton; Israeli Ambassador Daniel Shek, and Richard Prasquier, the recently elected president of CRIF, the umbrella body of French Jewry.
 
The AJC group also met with key officials of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, and Justice, and were invited to participate, together with visiting U.S. Representative Robert Wexler, (Democrat, Forida) Chairman of the Europe Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in a roundtable discussion on trans-Atlantic relations and the Middle East, sponsored by the weekly news magazine L'Express and broadcast through its website.
 
The principal topics of discussion during the meetings centered on the Middle East, including Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and Israeli-Palestinian issues - as well as the ongoing challenge of global anti-Semitism.
 
"We were very pleased with our meetings and the warmth of the reception we received," said David A. Harris, AJC's Executive Director. "There appears to be an ever-increasing convergence of views on the key challenges facing France and the United States in the Middle East. This is most welcome, and augurs well for the likelihood of success in confronting the serious threats to regional and global security."
 
The AJC group also had the opportunity to meet privately with Tzippi Livni, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, who was in Paris to see President Sarkozy and Minister Kouchner, and with a high-level Moroccan delegation that had traveled to Paris for meetings with French counterparts and with Minister Livni. The meeting between Minister Livni and Moroccan Foreign Minister Mohamed Benaissa was the first public ministerial meeting between the two countries in more than three years.
 
AJC's Paris office, one of six in Europe, is directed by Valérie Hoffenberg.  AJC delegations frequently travel to France for meetings with government officials, policy analysts, and Jewish community leaders.

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Latvia's president dedicates Holocaust memorial

RIGA, Latvia (Press Release)—Politicians and Jewish leaders have inaugurated a memorial honoring Latvians who tried to save Jews during World War II.

President Vaira Vike-Freiberga unveiled the monument, a large white wall tilting on short legs that are inscribed with the names of those who saved Jews. "These people, 269 in all if I am not mistaken, put their lives to risk. This was a special kind of heroism," Vike-Freiberga told the 200 people gathered at the ceremony in downtown Riga.

The memorial, designed by local artist Elina Lazdina, is located on the site of a synagogue that was burned down on 4 July 1941, killing an unidentified number of Jews who had hidden inside. Seventy thousand Jews were killed in Latvia during the war.
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 Weiner announces committee hearing to grill U.S. National
 Park Service on why Lady Liberty's crown remains closed

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)-— Rep. Anthony Weiner (Democrat, New York), a member of the House of Representatives Energy & Commerce and Judiciary Committees, announced Congressional hearings into the reopening of the Statue of Liberty, which remains the only national park to remain closed since the attacks of 9/11.

Rep. Raul M. Grijalva (Democrat, ARizona), Chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands announced they will hold hearings this summer to review management of the Statue and the decision to keep Lady Liberty's crown closed.

While Lady Liberty’s base, pedestal, and observation deck were reopened in August 2004, her crown – and the observation deck it houses – remain closed.  The Statue’s crown is the only site overseen by the National Park Service that has yet to re-open since 9/11.  The National Park Service overseas such sites as the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. 

The Interior Department’s failure to reopen Lady Liberty has had a profound impact on New York City’s economy.   Since her crown was closed to the public, the Statue has seen a 40.8% drop in visitors.  This loss of 2.24 million tourists has cost New Yorkers millions in lost economic benefits. 

Weiner has been a longtime vocal critic of the Park Service’s failure in “courage and imagination” to reopen the Statue. Last week, Weiner’s legislation which provides the National Parks Service with $1 million in the Interior Appropriations bill for the purpose of reopening the Statue of Liberty unanimously passed the U.S. House of Representatives.

In April 2004, Weiner called on the Government Accounting Office (GAO) - the non-partisan, chief investigative arm of Congress - to initiate a federal investigation into the fund raising practices of the Statue of Liberty—Ellis Island Foundation. 

The Foundation, a non-profit organization, said they were working in partnership with the National Park Service to raise the funds to reopen the Statue.  But while the Foundation raised sufficient funds to re-open the statue, Lady Liberty remains closed.

“The National Parks Service has repeatedly ignored the will of Congress to reopen Lady Liberty and send a strong message that America will never yield in the face of terror,” said Weiner.  “These hearings will finally allow us to get answers why the Parks Service is choosing to deny this generation of guests the thrill that many of us first had as children – gazing at the New York landscape through the iconic crown of the Statue of Liberty.”

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Rationalizing the irrational: the excuse Jews make to avoid acknowledging Arab hatred

By Alex Grobman, PhD

ENGLEWOOD, N.J.—Quite frequently there is significant evidence in the press about a particular event to understand what is transpiring, yet at times we seem unable to analyze the information, assimilate it or comprehend its import. Part of the problem is a predilection not to accept what is unpleasant. Denial becomes the response. Additionally, confronting the truth, especially when a situation concerns us deeply is difficult to acknowledge because it might require some form of action that could disrupt our lives.
       
During the Shoah, most Jews in Europe and the U.S. were unable to comprehend what the Nazis were planning because there was no historical precedent for the systematic, bureaucratically administered destruction of a people—and especially one scattered throughout Europe. In November 1942, Jan Karski, a member of the Polish underground resistance movement, met with leaders of the West in London and in July 1943 with President Franklin D. Roosevelt to inform them of his first hand account of the Nazi effort to destroy the Jews of Europe. Karski also met with U. S. Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter accompanied by Frankfurter’s friend, the Polish ambassador in exile. After Karski told Frankfurter what he had seen in the Warsaw Ghetto and in an extermination camp, Frankfurter said he could not believe it. When the ambassador protested, Frankfurter said he was not calling Karski a liar, but that he could not accept the information. Either Frankfurter found the thought of Jews being killed in this fashion inconceivable or he knew that if he acknowledged the systematic destruction he would have to act publicly in their defense.
      
After having experienced the Shoah, the idea that a group might seek to destroy the Jewish people should not seem like such an alien concept, yet that is precisely the way some Israelis and American Jews act when it comes to the Arab/Israeli conflict. Attacks against Israel by Arab religious and political leaders are a real threat to their very being as a nation and a people. Accusations that Jews are Satan, sons of apes and pigs, and evil are not just words—they have motivated Arab homicide bombers and other Arab murderers into indiscriminately maiming and killing Jewish men, women and children on buses, in cars, restaurants and in their homes.

Some Israelis are willing to overlook public pronouncements in the Arab media that call for the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people. They seem oblivious to the impact Arab textbooks claiming Israel is illegitimate have on students. They ignore clear violations of agreements made with the Jewish state, and statements challenging any Jewish connection to sacred sites in the country. Rarely is anything said when the Holocaust is denied. With all of the Arab demonization of Jews, Israel and the denial of their right to live in the Land of Israel, there are many Israelis who staunchly adhere to the notion that Arabs want peace. 

What do the Arabs have to say or do before Jews acknowledge the true extent of Arab hatred and their ultimate goal to obliterate Jewish presence from Israel? Why do Israeli officials lower themselves to meet with a Holocaust denier who also rejects their historical connection to the Land of Israel?  In other words, is there any way for us to understand this self-destructive and suicidal conduct?

Kenneth Levin, a clinical psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School, offers one of the most credible explanations for this aberrant behavior when he says that Israelis are in “state of chronic siege,” which causes them to seek ways out of their stressful lives. Their search for a more normal existence has produced “the Oslo approach,” which is founded on “wishful thinking” that has no connection to “reality.” Those maintaining this view in the face of contradictory evidence and who will not tolerate any debate are textbook “delusional,” Levin says. Jews who question Arab motivation are called “enemies of peace,” similar to those engaged in anti-Israel terror.   (Jump to continuation)                                          

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Jews in the News            --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Like you, we're pleased when members of our community are praiseworthy, and are disappointed when they are blameworthy. Whether it's good news or bad news, we'll try to keep track of what's being said in general media about our fellow Jews. Our news spotters are Dan Brin in Los Angeles, Donald H. Harrison in San Diego, and you. Wherever you are,  if you see a story of interest, please send a summary and link to us at sdheritage@cox.net and we'll acknowledge your tip at the end of the column. To see a source story click on the link within the respective paragraph.

*As former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan publishes a book, makes speeches, and earns money as a consultant, his successor Ben Bernanke is blazing a quieter path.  A story by Greg Burns of the Chicago Tribune is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*Freed BBC reporter Alan Johnston said the group which captured him, the Army of Islam, seemed less interested in the Israel-Palestinian conflict and more interested in "getting a knife into Britain in some way."  He added in a news conference in Jerusalem that he does not wish to return to Gaza.  The Associated Press story by Matti Friedman and Steve Weizman is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

*The commutation of the prison sentence of I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, former chief of staff of Vice President Dick Cheney, remains a top news item.  An Associated Press story by Ron Fournier in today's San Diego Union-Tribune suggests every politician from the President on down is engaged in some form of hypocrisy in their public statements about the case. And, Robert Novak, the columnist to whom the leak about Valerie Plame Wilson being an undercover CIA agent started the case, suggested in today's column that President Bush should have simply pardoned Libby, as either way he would have caught heat from critics.

*In its world briefs column, today's San Diego Union-Tribune contains three Associated Press items of Mideast interest.  First, Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met in Paris with Morocco's Foreign Minister Mohamed Benaissa, despite the fact that the two countries do not have formal diplomatic relations.  Second, in a clash about a mile inside the Gaza Strip, near the Bureij refugee camp, four Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli troops.  Third, a demonstration was held in Rome to protest discrimination in the Muslim world against Christians, which has forced many Christians to flee. 

*Adonis Irwin, 32, was sentenced to nine months in jail and three years probation for the vandalizing the office of Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss with paste-on swastikas—a hate crime.  The Associated Press brief is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.

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News Sleuths: Mideast miscellany Watching the media gathering and reporting the news of Jewish interest

Date: July 5, 2007
Time: Noon, Eastern time
Place: United Nations, New York
Spokesman: Marie Okabe, Deputy Spokesperson, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
Source: United Nations Transcript
Subject: Israel-Palestinians

Question:  Is there any reaction of the Secretary-General to the continuing Israeli attacks in Gaza?  Almost 20 people were killed during the last few days. I wonder if there is any reaction from you.

Deputy Spokesperson:  I don’t have any specific reaction today. I think his past remarks would apply in the continuing situation on the ground there.

Question:  Most of the attacks have targeted Hamas and militants, and they killed civilians too.  The lack of comments means that since Hamas are getting killed, it doesn’t matter from the UN’s point of view?

Deputy Spokesperson:  No, it does not mean that.  The Secretary-General is always very concerned about the civilian casualties on the ground, no matter where they take place.  The fact that there is no statement daily does not reflect his position on that.

Date:  July 5, 2007
Time: 12:38 p.m. Eastern time
Place: Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building
Spokesman: Scott Stanzel, Deputy Press Secretary
Source: White House Transcript
Subject: U.S., Britain, Middle East

Q I've got three British, Middle East-type questions. The first one -- has President Bush personally been in touch with Prime Minister Gordon Brown on the terrorism of the past week?

MR. STANZEL: Not that I'm aware of. But, certainly, U.S. officials have been in regular contact with their counterparts in the U.K., so those conversations are frequent and very involved and regular.

Q Can the U.S. consider Great Britain a full ally when Prime Minister Brown has said that the war on terror is a phrase that won't be used anymore?

MR. STANZEL: We absolutely consider the U.K. a very valued partner and a full ally.

Q And third, has the U.S. attitude toward Hamas changed in any way in light of the release of Alan Johnston?

MR. STANZEL: You know, we were pleased by the safe release of Mr. Johnston. It was a great relief, of course, to his family and friends. And we would also note that there's another hostage in Gaza, and that's Israeli Corporal Shalit, and we hope that they would release him, as well. But that does not change our attitude.

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The Jewish Grapevine

ISRAEL AND SAN DIEGO—A letter favorable to Israel in its dispute with the Palestinians was printed in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.  It was written by Joyce Tavrow... Loren Brent is one of the San Diegans who will be heading to Israel this summer on the "Operation Birthright" program, which provides a free first trip to Israel to Jewish youngsters of college age. If you, or someone in your family are of the right age, and have never been to Israel before, this is the way to see it.  To learn more, contact the Israel Center at the United Jewish Federation, (858) 571-3444. ... Six-year-old Shor Masori (along with his brother Sky and mother Sandi) is visiting father Shahar's family in Givat Olga, near Hadera.  Asked by his maternal grandfather, Don Harrison, whether he is having a good time, Shor responded over the telephone: "Yes, they're spoiling me!"

TOURISM VIDEO—Israel's Consulate-General in Los Angeles forwarded the video on the left, which provides a very secular look at Israel.  Another video promoting Tel Aviv takes a similar tack.

 


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The Jewish Sports Fan

Perhaps Shawn Green was inelegant, but he told the truth

Unless otherwise indicated, source for these stories is today's edition of The San Diego Union-Tribune, to which we gratefully provide the links below. We do not apply halacha to determine if a player is Jewish; rather, if he or she has a Jewish parent or has converted to the faith, we count him or her as a member of our community.

BASEBALL—Shawn Green's quote was inelegant, but truthful about the Colorado Rockies three game sweep of their series with his New York Mets, including yesterday's 17-7 drubbing: "We got our butts kicked all three games.  They outplayed us in every way." Green's own batting performance improved somewhat in the last game, as he went 2 for 4, with one of those hits being his 17th double. His BA is now .275. Teammate Scott Schoeneweis pitched an inning in relief, giving up three hits and two earned runs to the relentless Rockies batters. His ERA now is 5.68... Kevin Youkilis sat out his Boston Red Sox game with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, while meanwhile taking seventh place on the list of the American League's top hitters with his .329 average.  The two men ahead of him with .330 averages are Jorge Posada of the New York Yankees and Placido Polanco of the Detroit Tigers.
 

TENNIS—At Wimbledon on Wednesday, in women's doubles, Shahar Peer of Israel and Sania Mirza of India were defeated by the combination of Lisa Raymond of the United States and Samantha Stosur of Australia, 6-0, 6-7 (4), 6-1... Similarly, in mixed doubles, Jonathan Erlich of Israel and Elena Vesnina of Russia fell to the French combination of Fabrice Santoro and Severine Bremond, 6-3, 6-4.

 

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News from the        Israel Baseball League

The preceding story was provided by the Israel Baseball League

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LIKE THIS?—Unidentified Israeli girl tries her hand at pitching a baseball with encouragement from pitcher Josh Zumbrm of the  Ra'anana Express of the Israel Baseball League.  Zumbrum, a Maryland native, played for the Air Force Academy
  
Israeli children with cancer experience the joy
of baseball with players of Ra'anana Express

RA’ANANA, Israel (Press Release) – Chaiyanu, the Israel branch of Chai Lifeline, hosted hundreds of children with cancer and their families to an amazing outing at Park Ra’anana on July 4th. A highlight of this event was the visit of some of the Baseball players from the Israel Baseball League’s Ra’anana Express Baseball Team.

“They hit a home run with every child” commented Yaakov Pinsky, director of Chaiyanu, “they played ball not only with the sick kids but embraced the siblings and parents as well.”

When Yanai from Beer Sheva received an autographed baseball from pitcher, Travis Zier he couldn’t stop smiling. He said “I have watched games with my Dad on the internet I love the game but I never dreamed I would meet a real baseball player and get a real baseball.”

Yanai’s father said “This is a great day for all of us, Chaiyanu really gave us such joy; I haven’t seen Yanai smile like this in months, thank you so much.” When catcher, Jesse Michel gave Ron from Tel Aviv a baseball glove he showed him how to wear it and how to catch as he played catch with him for over twenty minutes. Ron’s father said “Ron wasn’t really feeling well today
                                                                                                                                    Catcher Jesse Michel shows a glove

but his sister took him over to meet the team players and from that moment on he felt great”.

Josh Zumbrun, pitcher for Ra’anana Express, took a group of over thirty kids and showed them how to pitch, while other children were catching and parents were enthralled by this whole experience.

Gila. the mother of Ruti who was just released from isolation after a Bone Marrow transplant, said, “We started off the day with a clown show, treasure hunt, food galore, a magic show and then the Ra’anana Baseball team came. We are originally from Brazil and we know about baseball, so for us this was a very special treat to play with the players and especially
Infielder Ben Katz-Moses of Ra'anana Express poses
with some new Israeli friends at 4th of July event

with infielder, Ben Katz-Moses who gave my husband a brand new glove. He’s been looking forward to a new glove and couldn’t believe that at the Chaiyanu event he would get one

“When the famous singer Lior Narkis finished his concert my husband asked him to sign his baseball glove, he was in seventh heaven!”

As Josh Zumbrun told Motti Kornfeld, director of Community Development at Chaiyanu, "For many Israel Baseball League players the opportunity to play professional baseball is the realization of a lifelong dream. Yet, our presence in Israel is not nearly about our dreams as much as it is about those in Israel - its communities and its citizens. That's why we are here. To spread the joy that baseball has brought to our own lives, by reaching out to the community in every opportunity."

Andrew Wilson, communication manager of the IBL who made the connection between Chaiyanu and the IBL said, “Thank you for inviting us to your event yesterday. The players truly had a great time interacting with the children. I hope that we can continue to come to Chaiyanu events throughout the year”.

The preceding story and photos were provided by the Israel Baseball League 

 Censure resolution...
 (Continued from above)

Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (Democrat, Maryland), July 3 (from his website)—"The president(')s decision to keep I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby out of jail is a travesty that sends the message that the White House and its employees are above the law and do not have to face the consequences of their illegal actions. We are a nation of laws and a jury of his peers convicted Mr. Libby of the serious charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.

Today President Bush has given special treatment to one of the Vice President's top political and legal advisors. At the very minimum the President should have followed his own promise not to intervene in this case until Mr. Libby's appeals were exhausted.

Rep. Steve Kagen (Democrat, Wisconsin), July 2 (from his website)—"We already knew that President Bush believes in amnesty. Now he is telling the American people he does not believe in the Rule of Law. No President and no individual - citizen or non-citizen - is above the Law. If anyone violates the Law, there must be consequences equivalent to the crime."

Rep. Steve Rothman (Democrat, New Jersey), July 3 (from his website)—"We teach our children that no one is above the law in America. But President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and now the Vice President's former Chief of Staff, I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, in their opinion, are exempt from the laws that govern the rest of us. President Bush's decision to commute Scooter Libby's sentence is a slap in the face to all Americans who count on our government to apply equal justice across the board."

Sen. Bernie Sanders (Independent, Vermont), July 3 (from his website)—“A jury of his peers found Libby guilty of lying about his role in revealing the identity of a covert C.I.A. operative,” Sanders said.  “It is unfortunate that President Bush in commuting his sentence has once again put political considerations above the interests of our judicial system.” Libby was convicted in March of obstructing justice and lying to a grand jury and F.B.I. agents during a White House leak investigation.  The president announced that he had granted clemency hours after a federal appeals court denied Libby’s request to remain free while his case is on appeal.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (Democrat, Illinois), July 3 (from her website)—“I am very disappointed by the President’s decision to commute Scooter Libby’s sentence, but frankly I am not surprised.  This decision was not based on the facts or merits of the case; it was clearly political payback for being the scapegoat in the Valerie Plame affair. 

The Bush Administration has been playing fast and loose with the law since the first day they took office.  Whether it’s authorizing warrantless wiretapping, suspending habeas corpus, torturing prisoners at Abu Ghraib or revealing the identity of an undercover CIA agent for political payback, the Bush Administration has constantly shown a blatant disregard for the rule of law.  Instead of enforcing the law, the Bush Administration has defended and even rewarded people, like Scooter Libby, who have broken the law.

I strongly believe that this is the most corrupt Administration in the history of our country.  At every turn, this Administration has abused its power, ignored the law and used fear to manipulate the American people for political gain.”

Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz (Democrat, Pennsylvania), July 3 (from her website)—"The decision of President Bush to commute the prison sentence of Scooter Libby is outrageous. We have long known the President considers himself unaccountable to the American people, and it is now crystal clear: he considers all members of his Administration above the law. This choice by the President demonstrates yet another case of his terrible lack of judgment. Scooter Libby lied to a grand jury and he lied to the FBI, but the President apparently believes Libby’s lies were acceptable." 

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Rationalizing the irrational...
 (Continued from above)

Israelis are influenced by a number of factors Levin explains. The so-called “new historians” who rewrote Israeli history convinced a substantial number of Israelis that Israel was at fault for the occupation of the territories and that its military aggressiveness is prolonging the conflict. This in turn has created an impetus among some Israelis to pressure Israel to relinquish the territories, which they claim would end the hostilities and herald a new era of peace. That so many Israelis see Israel as the aggressor is quite surprising in view of what really happened: The Arabs rejected the UN partition plan in 1947 and five Arab countries invaded Israel after it was declared a state in 1948. In 1967, the Six Day War was precipitated by Egypt’s closing of the Straits of Tiran (Israel's primary shipping route to the south and especially for oil), a casus belli (an act of war) in of itself, the blockade of the port of Eliat and the escalation of border fighting along the Egyptian and Syrian fronts. In 1973 the Arabs attacked Israel on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year.

Unrelenting verbal and physical attacks to undermine and destroy the Jewish State are ignored, while the Arabs responsible for these actions are presented as “moderate” in their behavior and in their expectations of what Israel must do to ensure peace in the region. In particular, Israel is being asked to mend its ways and to be more accommodating in its concessions to the Arabs.
   
Levin considers this attitude delusional since it fails to acknowledge the limited importance Arabs attach to Israeli actions.  For a century, for example, Israelis have touted the power of economic inducements to bring social stability to Arab countries and act as a disincentive to radicalism. This approach fails to take into account the lack of significance Arabs view commerce with Israel when compared to the economic potential of working with half a billion Arabs. Ironically, as Arab wealth has increased, ideologically motivated extremists have more funds to pursue their aggressive agendas.
           
Israelis also fail to consider the need for Arab regimes to keep Israel at arm’s length in order to placate the fundamentalists who threaten them. That Egypt has reneged on practically all of it agreements of the 1978 Camp David treaty is also ignored. 
       
Israel has no control in determining when the Arabs will decide that peace should come to the Middle East, Levin opines. That will only happen when the Arabs themselves believe that it is in their interest to stop the fighting. In other words, Israel’s military should be able to prevent the Arabs from winning a war, “but they cannot force peace.” This reality is so painful that some Israelis “take refuge in delusions of Israeli culpability,” regardless of all the evidence to the contrary.

The tendency to withdraw “to delusions of transgression, and of salvation through self-reform and concessions, is common, even endemic, within communities under siege,” Levin says.  In psychiatric literature they describe this as “Jewish-self hatred” or “identification with the aggressor.” Attributing antisemitic caricatures to fellow Jews is another manifestation of this pathology. Assuming responsibility for something over which you have no control is similar to an abused child who feels responsible for his plight and views himself as “bad.” The child maintains, “the fantasy that if he becomes good enough,” his father will cease hitting him, his mother will give him attention and whatever other form of abuse he suffered will stop.

The “fellowship fallacy”—that the Palestinians share Jewish values, goals and positions is another myth that pervades some Israel circles. Having met informally or in public forums with high-level individuals from the territories who are connected to the PLO, the Israelis hear statements that are less antagonistic and more reasonable than heard from the PLO leadership. They assume that these conciliatory words are what the PLO would really agree to in negotiations with Israel. Such was the case after informal discussions with Faisal Husseini, the leading spokesman for the Palestine Liberation Organization in the disputed territories. In October1989, Husseini proclaimed, “The Palestinian Peace Camp has won, and now leads the PLO and the Palestinian people.”

In a November 1992 speech to an Arab youth group in Amman, Jordan, however, Husseini declared, “We have not conceded and will not surrender any of the existing commitments that have existed for more than 70 years… We have within our Palestinian and united Arab society the ability to deal with a divided Israeli society….We must force Israeli society to cooperate…with our Arab society, and eventually dissolve the ‘Zionist entity.’” During the Oslo period, he asserted that their objective was to establish a Palestinian state “from the river to the sea.”        

The attitude toward Husseini illustrates the willingness of many Israelis to overestimate words of encouragement and underestimate the contradictory and inflammatory rhetoric he expressed to others. This situation continued under Yasser Arafat whose assurances about his yearning for peace would, incredibly, be accepted with greater credibility than his speeches and statements to the Arab media and public, and the racist curricula taught in Palestinian schools. The same attitude seems to be operating with regard to Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestine Authority.      

Those who challenge these myths are attacked as racists and extremists for denying the humanity of the Arabs and their feelings and aspirations. Mordecai Bar-On, a founder of Peace Now, believed that part of the reason for this intolerance was due to a lack of education and upbringing, which breeds less tolerance and an inability to understand the “other” and complex issues. This would account, he said, for the Sephardic community’s mistrust of Arabs. Distrust could also be found among elements of the Ashkenazi community that were less educated and were more traditional in background and practice.

Still another popular myth is that Arabs cannot be antisemitic since they themselves are Semites. If Arabs think that they cannot be antisemitic, it's out "of either ignorance or bad faith," declares Bernard Lewis, one the world's leading experts on Islam and the Middle East. "Semite, like Aryan, is a classification of language, not of race or nationality. The misuse of both these terms originated in the same quarters, and serves the same purpose." Antisemitism has never "been directed against any but Jews, and this has been well understood by all concerned. The Nazis saw no difficulty in simultaneously hating Jews and courting Arabs, and there were few Arabs who likewise found no difficulty in responding to this courtship."

The Egyptian intellectual Dr. Mamoun Fendi, a columnist for the London Arabic-language daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, also refuted the argument incessantly discussed in the Arab media—that the Arabs are Semites and accordingly cannot be antisemites. "When Arabs respond to accusations of antisemitism with the argument that 'we are Semites,' he said, "the West  laughs... because the term antisemitism as it is understood here in the West, is not the result of an anthropological classification of the races. The 'semitism,' of the concept of 'antisemitism' is mostly connected to the Jewish holocausts in Europe—that is, to the hatred of those people [the Jews], which led directly to the gas chambers in which the Jews were cremated. Therefore, when some Arabs say 'We are Semites,' the ordinary man [asks]: 'When exactly were the Arabs cremated in the gas chambers of Europe, and how are the Arabs connected to this?' Of course the Arabs were not cremated by the Nazis. Therefore, the Arabs' claim that they are 'Semites' is... an attempt to shove themselves into someone else's history.

"There are [in the West]... some who ask whether this [Arab] attempt to shake free [of charges of antisemitism] is connected to the Arabs' denial of this history, and that therefore, they stand in the same ranks as Europe's Neo-Nazis who deny that the gas chambers existed and that the Holocaust [ever] happened. While Germany purifies itself of this historical crime, we find that some Arabs celebrate the event [i.e. the Holocaust]."  

Denying Israel's right to exist "has clear genocidal implications," asserts Holocaust historian Yehuda Bauer. There is little doubt that abolishing the Jewish state would result in the "wholesale murder of its citizens."

After the Israelis defeated the Arabs in the War of Independence, Ben-Gurion said "The Arab people will not be reconciled to the fact that six hundred thousand Jews defeated them; and this will remain a critical issue for us for a long time." He also recognized the Arabs would not be deterred from liquidating the Jewish State—that they would take every opportunity to achieve a strategic advantage, and that they believed time was on their side: "It should not be assumed that the defeat has restrained them from [wishing to] extirpate us from our land. They are certain, with some justification that time is on their side. Ten, fifty, a hundred or two hundred years. They have a classic example right here in the country—the eleventh-century Crusader conquest. A Christian state rose[and] thrived for decades, [but] eventually the Muslim world overpowered and totally annihilated it."

Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir also understood the extent of this hatred when on October 16, 1973, she warned members of the Knesset: "I have never doubted for an instant that the true aim of the Arab states has always been, and still is, the total destruction of the State of Israel, or that even if we had gone back far beyond the 1967 lines to some miniature enclave, they would not still have tried to eradicate it and us."  

Golda realized that Arab leaders like Yasser Arafat were telling the truth when they openly declared that there was no solution to the Arab/Israeli conflict other than the destruction of the Jewish state. Yet, there is a predisposition in the West to disregard whatever the Arabs say as insignificant since it does not reflect what they really mean or will do, observes professor Gil Carl AlRoy.                          

This theory blames the Arabic language for this disconnect. At best, the correlation between words and action is unpredictable and random. Christian missionaries spread the patronizing notion that Arabs were wonderfully mischievous children.

Most scholars reject such views about the Arabic language. There is no ambiguity. Special emphasis is added to ensure that what was said, was intentionally said and is clearly understood. And therefore, failure to destroy Israel should not be misconstrued as a lack of commitment to achieving that goal. In the West, journalists and diplomats tend to highlight the discrepancy between what Arab leaders say in public and in private. When Arab leaders make a public statement that affronts Westerners, it is rejected as being meant only for Arab public consumption, for the street, while in private these same leaders are amiable and conciliatory.

 Levin and others have done a great service by diagnosing the irrational behavior of many Israelis and Jews who persist in acting out their fantasies. If we are to move beyond this delusion, to accept the situation as it is instead of what we wish it to be, we need to understand the nature of this pathology, which has caused tremendous damage to Israel and the Jewish people. We cannot afford to “rationalize the irrational.” The future of the Jewish state is at stake.

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