My Thoughts Leading to Ari Bussel

John R. Houk

© August 23, 2017

Ari Bussel is dynamic supporter of Israel, Jewish, an American by birth and my Internet pal. Courageously Ari is a supporter of President Trump.

Ari sent me an email about his response to compatriots from the Jewish Press wondering where he stood after the Dems and the media had connected President Trump to creepy racist White Supremacists (who are typically Antisemitic) going full-Nazi at the Charlottesville Rumble.

I intended this to be a short intro to the email Ari Bussel sent to me, but I couldn’t help myself to my two-cents of the thugs on the Left which as it turned out has turned into something a bit longer than an intro. Ari’s email will be below (“President Trump - Chaos in the Administration”) my thoughts because all Americans should take stock in Ari’s thoughts and not just American Jews.

Here goes my two-cents

Most American Jews gravitate toward the Democratic Party politically meaning they support a Liberal (some say Progressive, I usually say Leftist) agenda for America and Israel. The American Jewish Liberal stance is mind-boggling to me since it will lead eventually to as much Antisemitism as that which the American White Supremacists openly display. AND the Liberal agenda supports the existence of a Palestinian State under the delusion that will bring peace for Israel and the West. The thought of a Palestinian State is delusional because the Arabs that call themselves Palestinians are devoted to Israel’s destruction.

With such Jew-hatred and anti-Israel animus, how do you think a Palestinian State will bring peace rather than a military confrontation capable of threatening Israel’s existence?

As Liberalism in America, look how the Left dominated media and the Dems in general NEVER vilify the Communist oriented Antifa movements and Communist oriented Black Lives Matter. Rather those groups blame all societal violence solely on the racist White Supremacists as if Antifa/BLT thugs are innocent of violence and are merely the victims of the White Supremacist racists.

Racism indeed is evil, but so is Marxist thuggery designed as sedition against the U.S. Constitution and traditional American values. Trust the end goal of all Marxism is a dictatorship in which the State tells how to think, live and survive. Violating the Marxist State agenda is a crime that history shows leads at best to oppression and at worst – DEATH.

Hitler’s Nazis killed 12 million civilians, 6 million of those were Jews. That is a horror that White Supremacists usually deny ever happened blinded by racism. But few realize the two most Communist nations of the former USSR (Stalin alone – best estimate 20 MILLION) and the still existent Red China’s (Mao Zedong best estimate – 65 MILLION) political genocide dwarf the genocide perpetrated under the guise of Aryan race superiority.

Progressive American Jews in their logical earnest to denounce White Supremacist racists are unwittingly being duped to ignore the Communist legacy behind Antifa and BLK.

The American Left is so determined to take down Trump that there is no thought on how such duplicity will end with the dismantling of the Constitution. In the long run, such a dismantling will affect American Liberty on all sides of the political spectrum. That is not good for anyone.

JRH 8/23/17

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President Trump - Chaos in the Administration

By Ari Bussel

Sent: 8/20/2017 10:30 PM

Dear John,

I was asked if my opinion of the President, to whom I voted, has changed.

Do I criticize what he has said (or the manner in which he has said it, or the tone or the volume or anything else that might sound as “I accuse!”)?

These were part of a list of questions by the Jewish Journal, as we are salivating at the thought that here comes the downfall of the President!  L’Chaim!

+++

"Time to Gloat - We have told you so?” - Not Really!

It is Time to Unite and Support the President!

There is a lot of chaos in the White House, and President Trump is learning, adjusting and trying to run the country, while he has been given not an iota of patience or civility, not a chance to prove his capabilities or his ability to be a good President.

A President who demands absolute loyalty, has he shown the same to the people surrounding him?  That I do not know, as I am not privy to the inner circles of the Administration.  But his devotion to the USA is complete, and he is trying to do the best for the country.

Against fierce opposition and challenges, not by the Chinese or the Russians, Iran or Daesh - none of whom sits idly - but by a country divided, a country that is refusing to allow the President to lead it, President Trump is now vilified as the greatest satan, the actual fulfillment of imaginary fears and baseless accusations.

Half the country is disappointed, as was the other half eight and four years ago.  But the previous disappointment did not lead to riots in the streets and to distraught students and faculty on campuses requiring mental health intervention, while then President Obama refused to call any terrorist attack by its name and, rather than try to heal, pointed an accusing finger at our first responders causing havoc and mayhem directed toward police officers.  

The current disappointment is of those spoiled who cannot admit a loss, for they cannot - by definition - lose.  It stands contrary to the laws of nature.  So their anger festers and looks for outlets to release all the pus that has accumulated.  Lacking such an outlet, the body will keep poisoning itself, and that is what we are seeing now:  a President being judged according to different standards than ever before, tailored-made to attack only one, the most-horrible President Trump!

Let us focus!  If Barcelona has not been a sharp-enough reminder, coming days surely will.  A House Divided We Fall, and we cannot afford to be divided at this time.

Those who support Israel and/or are involved in Jewish communal life and organizations have witnessed a coordinated attack against the President.  “He did not say enough.”  “He supports extremism.”  “He is fulfilling everything we said about him.”  It is a feeling of self-vindication, self-righteousness and self-indignation.

Has President Trump been that bad for America?  He may not be a Kennedy or a Clinton, or even (I dare say not) a Bush, but he was duly elected to carry out the job of running the country.  It is time to unite and respect the Office of the President, Democrats and Republicans alike, for else, our own betrayal will come to haunt us.

As for the latest accusations, whatever the President would have said would not have satisfied some people, and the American Jewish leadership, exactly those who vocally and fiercely fought against his being elected, will stop at nothing.

The previous open door and listening ear at the White House is not there for them anymore, and the Jews cannot buy their way in, for the President needs not their money and would rather listen to common sense and do his own evaluation.  Suddenly they feel powerless, for the obsession with the “Occupation” and the “Two State Solution” comes to a head-on collision with reality:  Israel craves for a true and lasting peace, while her enemies want her complete and utter destruction.

The Arabs understand this.  Israelis understand this.  But American Jews know better.  Except, they no longer have an administration blindly at their service.

American Jewry and its leadership took wrong stands in the past, most notoriously during WWII.  In recent years, American Jewry and its leadership have turned away from Israel, trying to force her to do what is bad for Israel, supporting BDS (although largely stopping short of calling for an outright boycott of Israel, her institutions and products) and overall utilizing its influence to advance an agenda that is no longer tied to Israel.

It will all come back to haunt us, for we must remember:  We are a tiny minority in this country, and the general established consensus is already that the Jews Control the World (from business to finances to entertainment to government).  Let us reduce the rhetoric against the President of the United States, for it will end up harming us in the long run.

The blame game is very effective, and changes are abrupt.  What is currently being utilized against President Trump will easily change course, and Jews have always been a most convenient scapegoat.  All that will have to be done is point the finger at us - American Jewry - and the hatred that is already started to boil will explode like a volcano.

Ari Bussel

Business owner

Beverly Hills, California

An American by birth, to a family that has emigrated to the USA a century ago, I have been a registered Republican since I was first able to vote.  Previous generations in our family were Democrats, but the party is no longer what it was last century.

________________

My Thoughts Leading to Ari Bussel

John R. Houk

© August 23, 2017

______________

President Trump - Chaos in the Administration

© Ari Bussel

Ari Bussel Bio via Saybrex International [Editor: I am uncertain if Ari still employed there or also owns a separate business]

Ari Bussel is Vice President of Operations at Saybrex International, a privately held family business specializing in the distribution of fine wines and spirits. He is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company and has held various positions in the company since 1993.

Prior to joining Saybrex, Mr. Bussel served as First Lieutenant in the Center for Systems Analysis at General Headquarters of the Israel Defense Forces, where he led the implementation of the Logistics War Doctrine in the Computerized Wargame Program.

Mr. Bussel is involved in a variety of philanthropic and civic activities. Mr. Bussel completed the Team Beverly Hills Leadership Program and served on the Environmental Sustainability Topic Committee of the City of Beverly Hills. He was a member of the Steering Committees of former Beverly Hills Mayor MeraLee Goldman and the current Beverly Hills City Treasurer, the Hon. Eliot Finkel. Mr. Bussel also completed and participated in the Community Emergency Response Training Program of the City of Beverly Hills as well as the Crisis Response Team of the Maple Counseling Center.

Mr. Bussel was among the founding members and served on the boards of Gen. Shimon Erem’s Israel Christian Nexus, the Western Region of Friends of Israel Firefighters and the Israel Institute for Alternative Energy Advancement. He completed the Salvin Leadership Program of the Anti-Defamation League.

Mr. Bussel writes regularly. For the past decade, his weekly columns appeared in print in Israel Jewish Life, Shalom LA, Muslim World Today and Israeli Week. Mr. Bussel’s articles appear on numerous websites, including Canada Free Press, Free Republic, NewsBlaze, SlantRight and OpEdNews. He is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club.

Mr. Bussel received a Master of Science in Operations Research from Stanford ... READ THE REST

The End of Secular Jews in America

Around September 10 there was a Christian interdenominational summit that included Eastern Rite Churches in Washington DC. The purpose of the summit was to show a rare moment of Christian unity among Christians that do not necessarily agree on how to worship our Lord Jesus Christ as Savior/Messiah. The show of unity demonstration occurred because of the ISIS butchery of Christians in Iraq and Syria in areas controlled by these Islamic Supremacist butchers of humanity.

Senator Ted Cruz was a speaker of note on September 10. Senator Cruz began his speech as expected condemning the barbarity of the Christians at the hands of ISIS. Then Cruz included the nation of Israel as a place vilified in the Middle East and that the Jewish is an ally with the USA as a proponent for civil rights. The Senator did not get far when the visiting Eastern Rite Christians that made the trip to Washington DC began booing Senator Cruz’s inclusiveness of Israel. Senator Cruz correctly expressed his disappointment with the antisemitism being demonstrated by his audience and then left the podium in disgust. I used this incident as a starting point to write a post pertaining to the development of antisemitism among Christians in the Muslim dominated Middle Eastern nations which is also the cradle of the beginning of Christianity with this title: “Antisemitism of Middle Eastern Christians”.

Norma Zager also uses the Ted Cruz incident to discuss two phenomena emerging in the USA. Namely, the growing antisemitism in America particularly among the Mainstream Media (MSM0 and the self-loathing among Left Wing-minded Jews that too often concurs with the MSM and hence to an antisemitic culture.

JRH 10/19/14

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The End of Secular Jews in America

By Norma Zager

Sent: 10/18/2014 9:08 PM

The incredible and overt rise of anti-Semitism in the world is troubling, yet not as troubling as the astounding increase in the proponents of Jewish hatred in America.

Watching Senator Ted Cruz walk off the stage at an event the other night after Christians booed Israel and the Jewish people filled me with sadness.

Of course I felt gratitude to Senator Cruz for showing integrity and loyalty, but how sad that it is so acceptable to Americans to behave so visibly anti-Semitic.

I realize that anti-Semitism has never left the building, but there is a big difference now that has created a perfect storm against Jewish people. Three factors have been the game changers, and together they will quickly bring on the end of the Jewish people in America:  the media, Jew-haters and the elimination of tradition.

First would have to be the media. For a group that has always been accused of taking their orders from Jews, it is shocking how anti-Semitic it has become. Israel has become some evil stepbrother the United States must endure, but would rather not.

Sadly, I see no end to this trend. If the media cannot defend the Jewish people against savage monsters that are determined to destroy them, there is little that will ever again bring them to our side.

Along with the widespread media bias the Jewish people suffer, there are also the blamers. People who actually believe the world would be better if Israel and the Jewish people just dissolved and were never heard from again. Of course when the Jews disappear they would like them to leave behind all the advancements in medicine, technology and areas too numerous to mention. The haters don’t mind benefitting from Jewish brains, despite the fact they would like to beat our brains out of our heads.

Yet, with all those who wish us harm, the true end of the Jewish people will come about at our own hand. It will be the Jews that ultimately destroy themselves, and history will record they eventually assimilated and self-hated themselves out of existence.

If that sounds harsh, the reality is much more so.  For anyone that takes the time to notice, the things that kept us a people are being driven to extinction by a new generation lacking the feeling and the Tom for what it means to be Jewish.

My late husband sold New York Times outside the bagel factory on Sunday mornings. Sunday mornings were such an important time for Jewish families. Fathers awoke, got dressed and went to pick up fresh smoked fish, lox, herring and a chub for brunch.

This wasn’t done solely in the city where I grew up; it was a ritual from New York to California to Montreal. It was the special family breakfast, even the pets joined in. Our dog Lamb Chop and cat Pywacket would sit patiently next to the table and await their bagel with cream cheese and lox.

Jewish people lived with certain traditions, bagels Sunday morning, Chinese food Sunday dinner and a fattening and greasy brisket on Friday nights.

Healthy, maybe not so much, but my father lived to 94 and my mother at 91 is healthier than some forty year olds.

When you were Jewish, you lived a certain lifestyle, and you knew what was expected of you.

No one really thought much about it, you just felt a certain inner knowledge that confirmed, “I am a Jew and this is my life.”  You went to college, you married someone appropriate and grandchildren were not an option.

Then came a new generation, one that saw cream cheese as the enemy and a brisket or a Sabbath dinner was a heart attack on a plate. Challah was traded for whole wheat, rugalach were exchanged for power bars and smoothies replaced that sickeningly sweet purple concoction called wine you got to drink on Shabbat and holidays.

Suddenly it wasn’t cool to be Jewish anymore. Young people questioned the existence of God, although I thought that was settled in the sixties after the whole “God is Dead” debate.

But being Jewish is not solely about God. It is about an identity, one that enrobes you as a warm and comfortable furry afghan on a winter night. It is about enjoying a corned beef sandwich on mushy rye bread with crispy double-baked crust. About knowing your mother will go into the kitchen two weeks before Rosh Hashanah or Passover and not be seen again until the dinner is served.

Being Jewish is about knowing when the first crisp air of autumn arrived, so did the High Holidays. And laughing as your brother tried on last year’s suit and the sleeves were two inches too short.

It’s about searching the house for the eight Chanukah gifts and chanting your Bar Mitzvah portion for your grandfather. Attending Bar Mitzvah or Confirmation services and parties for all your friends, new outfits and dancing in your socks all night.

It’s about seeing everyone shopping in the grocery store to get ready for the invasion of family, and cooking while you chatted on the phone with friends about what you were cooking and how they made theirs.

I am in no way saying these things are not the same for Christians during Christmas or Easter, I am only saying the feeling of being Jewish has been eclipsed by a new generation that believes corned beef should be outlawed and delis are for 90-year-old men with pacemakers.

Yes, there is truly a disappearance of the Jewish lifestyle in America. So, if the lifestyle is gone, we are no more able to survive than deer when their entire forest has burned. The cocoon of Judaism has been torn and has not been replaced.

The younger Jews of today practice their form of Judaism, and this works for them, but once a religion has been watered down, that trickle will become thinner and thinner with each succeeding generation.

Years from now a child may ask when he is told he is Jewish, “what does it mean to be a Jew?” Sadly, his parent may not have a clue what to answer.

________________________

This is the latest in the series “Postcards from America – Postcards from Israel,” a collaboration between Zager and Bussel, a foreign correspondent reporting from Israel.

Ari Bussel and Norma Zager collaborate both in writing and on the air in a point-counter-point discussion of all things Israel-related.  Together, they have dedicated the past decade to promoting Israel.

© Israel Monitor, September 2014

First Published September 14, 2014

Contact:  bussel@me.com

If one does not stand for oneself, for whom should one stand?

Jon Lovitz stood up against Jew-hatred in America.

JRH 4/21/12

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If one does not stand for oneself, for whom should one stand?

Jon Lovitz Would Not “Sha Still”

By Norma Zager

Sent: Apr 19, 2012 at 7:49 PM

“I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more…” Albert Finney in Network

Ari’s recent article about the Flytilla got me thinking.

Why is it that Jewish people are reactive instead of proactive toward life?

I fear this is a Jewish mindset that has created much of the trouble suffered by a people who just would rather “sha still” and ignore reality.

Israel possesses this mindset. It must be a Jewish thing. I was happy to see they actually took steps before the Flytilla to deal with the troublemakers, before they could do much damage. Perhaps this is a sign the Jewish people are waking up to face their problems head on.

The irony of this Jewish mindset is enormous.

Jewish people will fight for others proactively, but not for their own people.

Jews started the labor movement

They marched with Martin Luther King and it was Jewish money that started the NAACP. (Although black anti-Semitism has never been greater or more dangerous than at this moment in time. So much for gratitude).

Jewish people will always fight for the underdog, even at their own peril.

Unless of course the underdogs are Jewish.

Jon Lovitz, the actor comedian, caused headlines recently when he busted three young high school girls for painting a swastika on a neighbor’s walk. His “tweets” were a force for good.

His efforts secured expulsion from school for these haters, and the mother who drove them to do this evil deed may now be charged for doing so.

Some may say Jon Lovitz did what anyone would do.

They would be wrong.

Jon Lovitz did what most do not do. That is why it is headline worthy. A Jew standing up and fighting for other Jews.

Well excuse me if I am surprised.

Since most of the comments from so many Jews who stand up lately are to speak out against their own people, to act as capos in a world rife with hatred for Jewish people.  Focusing on Israel as the center of their evil attentions.

Maybe I should be happy there is an Israel in the world for the anti-Semites to focus their anger on. In the past they had to just hate Jews wherever and whenever they came across one randomly.

In France Jewish children were murdered. I guess they are finding Jews to slaughter without a problem.

Goldstone’s report was false and misleading and condemned Israel for crimes they never committed.

Goldstone, a Jew turned the world against his own people.

I hear of how he is suffering from remorse.

I couldn’t care less.

The damage he did was monumental and his false report became the poster child the United Nations uses to allege Israel’s supposed wrongdoings and spread anti-Semitism.

Why is it okay for Jewish people to speak out for others, but not for themselves?

Was Jon Lovitz’s act just one random act of kindness toward his own people? Or was it a sign that perhaps the Jewish people are ready to stand together to fight for their own? To fight as hard for other Jews as they would for a stranger, a black leader or the downtrodden anywhere.

Can I take this as a sign of hope that Jewish people will finally see that they have a responsibility to their own family? To their own house, to secure it and create a fortress for their own children against the evils so hell bent on destruction and harm?

Jon Lovitz’s act is as powerful as Rosa Parks’ refusal to move to the back of the bus. If we let it be.

It can bring an end to the intolerance Jewish people have endured.

Their “sha still” reactive attitude.

Their “don’t make trouble” mentality.

A people who have always “sha stilled” to no avail.

It has never occurred to a people, seen as so smart, that the smart thing is not to roll over and play dead when someone is trying to kill you.

Fighting back is no sin. Fighting back is the only answer, the only response that can save our children now.

The world was not changed by armies.

It was always changed by a small group of people who stood up and battled for change.

They are the ones who have made a difference.

They are the ones who can still.

Jon Lovitz  is one Jewish man.

But he stood against evil.

He acted, he didn’t “sha still.”

He fought back.

And he won.

Oh, of course it is a small victory. One hateful incident in a world filled with the murder of Jews.

But it is one.

And one is sometimes all we need to begin a revolution.

This proactive act may set a new standard for the Jewish people.

Perhaps “sha still” is not the new answer.

Perhaps reactive for ourselves, but proactive for others, is not the way Jews must act to save themselves.

We “sha stilled” and six million died.

We “sha stilled” as thousands of rockets hit southwest Israel for years.

We “sha stilled” as our children were murdered by terrorists.

We “she stilled,” and the world lined up against us in a well-ordered and quite effective manner.

Can we afford to “sha still” any longer?

Let Jon Lovitz’s action serve as a new mantra for the Jewish people.

We should be mad as hell and not taking it any more.

And yet, we still are.

Perhaps all that can change.

I am certain it must.

If one does not stand for oneself, for whom should one stand?

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The series “Postcards from America—Postcards from Israel” by Ari Bussel and Norma Zager is a compilation of articles capturing the essence of life in America and Israel during the first two decades of the 21st Century.

The writers invite readers to view and experience an Israel and her politics through their eyes, Israel visitors rarely discover and Israelis often ignore.

This point—and often—counter-point presentation is sprinkled with humor and sadness and attempts to tackle serious and relevant issues of the day. The series began in 2008, appears both in print in the USA and on numerous websites and is followed regularly by readership from around the world.

Zager and Bussel can be heard on live radio in conversation on the program “Conversations Eye to Eye between Norma and Ari.”

© “Postcards from America — Postcards from Israel,” April 2012

Contact:  bussel@me.com

First Published Apr 17, 2012

AIPAC DOES NOT SPEAK FOR ME!

This essay from Ari Bussel initially rubbed me completely the wrong way. In fact I could not believe this was something coming from the keyboard of Ari Bussel. The essay begins with intense criticism for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) followed by heaps of praise for J Street. If you can stomach the seeming praise of a Leftist Jewish organization that tells people it is pro-Israel while simultaneously supporting policies that will destroy Israel, you will discover this is a good read.

JRH 4/3/12

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AIPAC DOES NOT SPEAK FOR ME!

By Ari Bussel

Sent: 4/3/2012 10:44 AM

I am an educated, affluent, liberal American.  I am a Democrat, and yes—I am Jewish.  AIPAC, the Jewish lobby on Capitol Hill, does not speak for me.  It does not represent my values.  AIPAC’s positions are not my own, its voice is not my voice. The words they speak do not resonate with me. I hear them, but I do not identify with their core beliefs.

Those at AIPAC say:  “Congress has been a bedrock of support for the U.S.-Israel relationship by supporting aid, helping stop Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability, supporting Israel’s right to defend itself and reinforcing American policy that peace will only be achieved through direct negotiations.”

We say:  I am a Zionist, and I deeply care about Israel.  For Israel to survive, it has to be a democracy with Jewish character.  Israel should be much like the United States, a country that was founded on Christian principles and allows every person to flourish. 

The Jewish Lobby has kidnapped center stage and is focused on Iran, promulgating fears of a Second Holocaust.  In the background, the song and dance routine is familiar:  “U.S. aid commitment to Israel is vital.”  “Aid enables Israel to confront emerging threats.”  “Robust foreign aid helps promote American values and interests.” 

Behind AIPAC’s “Enhance U.S.-Israel Security Cooperation,” one can almost hear the war drums beating, getting louder with every passing minute:  “We must attack, we must pre-empt, Iran is an existential threat.  We have no option but to act.  The U.S. has to enable Israel and pay for these (mis)deeds – for our own sake!?”

We believe: For the sake of Israel, America and the whole world, we must do everything possible to bring about Peace in the Middle East, and the real obstacle for peace is Israel’s Occupation.  It makes Israel become what it is not, an Apartheid state.  It makes Israelis do horrible things that stand contrary to our very being as Jews.

We allege: The Occupation corrupts.  Israel faces the danger of becoming what the Nazis were.  At all costs, we must make sure this does not happen.  We cannot afford to have the world point the finger at us and say:  You are the new Nazis!

I must now ask, “Who will protect Israel from itself?  Who will speak for American Jewry?”

It is believed by many that J Street has gained immense momentum as a grassroots organization that aspires for (and inspires) Peace in the Middle East.  It is the true “Pro-Israel, Pro-Peace” organization, although Peace Now (and its American counter-part, Americans for Peace Now) is the true think-tank that will help usher in the desired and so badly needed peace.

Doesn’t AIPAC see that those recently gathered in Doha, Qatar, for the International Conference on Jerusalem were filled with awe of the daring courage Jews of America now show as they support J Street?

They – the self-anointed “loudspeaker” of the Jewish people in America – say (with worried apprehension) that all Jews must sing from the same sheet, we say not.  The fact that each of us sings a different tune is a sign of a healthy society, of strength from within.  Remember, AIPAC DOES NOT SPEAK FOR ME.  The world needs to know there are other, more rational and constructive voices.  The world needs to hear our voices as well.

We say: Israel must cease all settlement activities and end the Occupation immediately.  Israel must withdraw from Occupied Territories if it ever wants to usher in peace and live in tranquility with its neighbors.

There are alternatives to AIPAC, for even the staffers on Capitol Hill resent being bullied and pushed around by the Israeli lobby.  They often do not know where to turn for real facts, to ask questions that bother them.  It is vital our voice is heard, more important than ever to announce that AIPAC is not the only Jewish voice.

For instance, AIPAC says—supposedly on behalf of the American Jewish community—we have to go to war with Iran, adding, “Listen to what the Iranians themselves say, calling to ‘Wipe Israel off the Map!’ Jews during WWII were not much different, but the world has forgotten.”

APN says, “We need more time and diplomacy.  There are tremendous sanctions in place.  It is time to bring serious diplomacy to our aid.  The international community is working together toward that end.”



For Netanyahu, mentioning Iran is equal to mentioning the Holocaust.  His recent speech at AIPAC was all about the Holocaust.  He lives under a genuine existential fear of another Holocaust.  We at J Street and APN do not share his fear as describing or emanating from today’s reality.

And thus we truly believe we have the advantage over the other side:  “We are right!” Our positions and policy recommendations are clear, reasoned, sophisticated and based on analysis and not slogans.  The facts support our argument.  We only need to package them so they look useful and present them at the right time. Ours is the speech that should be heard, not AIPAC.

Our message to President Obama is “start preparing now for reengaging” (assuming you are re-elected).  We do not have the luxury of slow re-engagement.  We must hit the metal while it is seething hot.  We know you cannot publicly answer us now, for fear you will be maligned even further by the extreme-Right.  But we anticipate a plan is already in place, waiting to be executed.

We are waiting for the Presidential elections, and if things continue the way they are today, President Obama will be back in the White House for a Second Tour-de-Force.  He won the Noble Peace Prize once.  Imagine what he can achieve well into his second presidency!

This is the rhetoric I hear from J Street and its counterparts.

J Street urges the President to prepare now, formulate his plan now, and show his wrath immediately when the second term starts.  This sounds very worrisome to some.

It sounds as if an American Jewish contingency is the mouthpiece for Israel’s enemies.  “Occupation.  Settlements as the root-cause of all evil in the Middle East.  Israel’s eagerness to go to war.  The American Jewish “Not Speaking for Me!” Lobby is war-mongering.”  Not a single thing that Israel does which is positive, exemplary, deserving of one’s attention.

Is anyone surprised that there are voices that tell us that 9/11 was a Mossad-orchestrated event?  That the 2nd Persian Gulf War was fought by a US President FOR ISRAEL’S SAKE!?  That Israel is the only OBSTACLE FOR PEACE!?
  Or that there are many who today take it a step further, turning words into action, boycotting Israeli goods and services, institutions and companies, calling to divest and sanction Israel?

Does AIPAC truly speak for the Jewish people, or do we live in a new era, where a grass movement like J Street is the answer, the horn, and the hammer? 

I just hope the President will not use a Jewish-made hammer to hit Israel into a place from which it will be unable to move, that this hammer that supposedly speaks for “us” will not be the hammer that nails the coffin on Israel’s short existence as a modern democratic country.

###

This article, other than its ending (the conclusions are all my own), was inspired by the words of Lara Friedman of Americans for Peace Now, based in part on a presentation she recently gave in Los Angeles.  She is not alone.  A leading commentator in the American version of Yedi’ot, Israel’s leading daily newspaper, constantly voices similar if not identical opinions.

_________________________________

The series “Postcards from America—Postcards from Israel” by Ari Bussel and Norma Zager is a compilation of articles capturing the essence of life in America and Israel during the first two decades of the 21st Century.

The writers invite readers to view and experience an Israel and her politics through their eyes, Israel visitors rarely discover and Israelis often ignore.

This point—and often—counter-point presentation is sprinkled with humor and sadness and attempts to tackle serious and relevant issues of the day. The series began in 2008, appears both in print in the USA and on numerous websites and is followed regularly by readership from around the world.

Zager and Bussel can be heard on live radio in conversation on the program “Conversations Eye to Eye between Norma and Ari.”

© “Postcards from America — Postcards from Israel,” March 2012

Contact:  bussel@me.com

First Published Mar 6, 2012