Israel - Current Assessments by Non-Jews 9/24/2011

I am a citizen-observor who has been following the news regarding Israel,  the West Bank, Iran, and the Middle East in general. Everyone knows about the bid by Mahmoud Abbas for
"Palestinian Statehood".

I was born after World War 11 and in studying history, I always wondered how were the Nazis able to pull off the destruction of their enemies in full sight of the whole world? I know this information was public because I looked through archive copies of the New York Times, before the war and during the war. The news was out there.

Here is an article by Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy in the Reagan Administration, currently heads the Center for Security Policy in an opinion piece recently published regarding the current events occurring in NYC and in the US senate.

‘Diplomacy of September’
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/gaffney092011.php3

He starts this way "In her Pulitzer Prize-winning book, "The Guns of August," Barbara Tuchman chronicles how a cascading series of seemingly minor developments led inexorably to World War I and the worst carnage known to man up to that time. In the future, historians may point to the present "Diplomacy of September" as the catalyst for the next horrific conflict now in the offing in the Middle East, and potentially beyond..."

Another observer, Victor Davis Hanson,  a classicist and military historian, is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and a recipient of the 2007 National Humanities Medal.
Can Israel Survive
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0911/hanson092211.php3
He writes an opinion piece, and his view is really pessimistic as he reviews the current challenges to Israel by the Middle Eastern Neighborhood.

But I thought that the most chilling article was this one

If Israel Disappears
By Cal Thomas
p://www.jewishworldreview.com/0911/if_israel_disappears.php3

And then I just read this article by Rex Murphy, host off CBC's Cross Country Checkup:
"Teaching Everyone How to Hate" in today's National Post.


...those detested are subjected to grotesque mockeries and caricatures ... Finally, the hatred escalates to such a pitch that it brings on ... negative sense: It grooves the path to other hatreds.These unoriginal ... the latest vessel of the oldest hate. How strange it is that he was speaking ...
National Post - Saturday. Sept. 24, 2011

If you read any of these articles, all written by non-Jewish observers and analysts
you will never be able to say, nobody warned you of what is transpiring right now in the UN, in New York City,  at the infamous UN Durban 111 "conference for Human Rights" and in the Middle East.

And yes it affects all of us here both in the US and in Canada.
I invite your comments.

A Rosh Hahanah Greeting for my Non-Jewish Friends

At this time of year you are probably getting used to hearing Happy New Year, Shana Tova, and the words Rosh Hashanah bandied about and wondering what is this exactly. Rosh Hashanah is a combination of penance and joy. It is hard to explain so I will share a short (2 1/2 min.) video I recently discovered that explains this weird holiday, and also contains the blowing of the shofar - the ram's horn - which I will talk more about after the video.

Now you are probably thinking what is and why a shofar? The shofar is a ram's horn and is reminiscent of human vocal expression, and is supposed to awaken us to do the work of self-evaluation and introspection (before G-d as the judge) regarding the world and our place in it during the month prior to Rosh Hashanah. As such it is integral to the High Holidays (Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur) services and also used in preparatory work during the month prior to what we call "The Awesome Days" "Yamim Noraim" or "The High Holidays". And by the way it's harder to get a sound out of that shofar than it looks. (Yes I tried and failed). But here are some examples of people who succeeded.

The Very long shofar blast.



And a totally new initiative, the shofar flash mob, groups who got together at different places in the world, Chicago, New york, Budapest, Jerusalem, this year Sept. 2011/5770 to blow shofar together.

May we all have a good year that brings to fruition the results of our work in our personal,
professional, and spiritual lives.

A Rosh Hashana Greeting for my Non-Jewish Friends

At this time of year you are probably getting used to hearing Happy New Year, Shana tova, and the words Rosh Hashanah bandied about and wondering what is this exactly. Rosh Hashana is a combination of penance and joy. It is hard to explain so I will share a short (2 1/2 min.) video I recently discovered that explains this weird holiday, and also contains the blowing of the shofar - the ram's horn - which I will talk more about after the video.
http://youtu.be/UDVprarv7aA
Now you are probably why a shofar? The shofar is a ram's horn and is reminiscent of human vocal expression, and is supposed to awaken us to do the work of self-evaluation and introspection regarding the world and our place in it during the month prior to Rosh Hashanah. As such it is integral to the High Holidays (Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur) services and also used in preparatory work during the month prior to what we call "The Awesome Days" "Yamim Noraim" or "The High Holidays" . And by the way it's harder to get a sound out of it than it looks. (Yes I tried and failed). But here are some examples of people who succeeded.
The longest shofar blast.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=EQkbmu2UhLA
And a totally new initiative, the shofar flash mob, groups who got together at different places in the world this year, 2011/5771 to blow the shofar together.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7HfYlKBHgw&feature=related