Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind.(Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)
We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East.(From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948) With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last.(Friends of Israel Initiative)
Regarding the roots of Muslim antisemitism and their implications for Israel, the Saudis can teach Obama's man in Brussels a fact or two, as this passage from a by no means unique Saudi textbook indicates:
"Whoever studies the nature of the conflict between the Muslims and the Jews understands an important fact, [namely that] this is a religious conflict, not a dispute about politics or nationality, or a conflict between races or tribes, or a fight over land or country, as some describe it ... [T]hroughout Islamic history, the Jews have striven to destroy the [Islamic] religion and spread fitna [chaos] among the Muslims."
Inthis article in Commentary magazine Omri Ceren has the details.
Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, made a gung-ho speech in June, which left no doubt as to his iron-clad support for Israel, his recognition of the evil it's threatened by, whether in the shape of Hamas or of Iran, and the hypocrisy which characterises its foes in the United Nations. Indeed, he went so far as to promise that within hours of becoming the next occupant of the Oval Office, he would order the American Embassy to remove to Jerusalem.
Last week, of course, he stirred controversy when he described the Palestinians are "an invented people".
But in that assertion Newt Gingrich, who, incidentally, has a PhD in history, is absolutely right, and as the following clip shows he is able to deal deftly with persons seemingly not as familiar with the facts as he is.
Newt Gingrich has proved himself to be on the side of history. The question is, of course: will history prove to be on his side?
In this spell-binding speech, the well-known Lebanese-born American writer Brigitte Gabriel, addressing a Jewish audience in California some months ago, gives a graphic account of the destruction of her idyllic childhood and her beloved Lebanon by Islamic radicalism, and warmly praises Israel and Israelis - citing the "love and compassion" that she saw there, not only towards her and her mother as Christians, but towards Muslim Palestinians.
She stresses that, in the world today, most Muslims are not radical jihadists. Nevertheless, she cautions, the radical minority comprise perhaps 15 to 25% (some 300 million people). The USA has been infiltrated by Al Quaeda, Islamic Jihad, and (especially) Hamas. Listen as she reels off the names of the cities in which Hamas cells (disguised) operate! She warns of the indoctrination by Saudi Arabian influences of most of the mosques in America. She calls the universities "Occuped Territories" because they are being infiltrated by anti-Israel Saudi-funded centres and professors.
She warns that political correctness and multiculturalism is set to make Americans lose their freedom, and observes that "tolerating intolerance is a crime". And she implores the Muslim majority to speak out loud and clear against the radical minority, for a war for survival is being waged.
Meanwhile, across the Herring Pond, a party called the British Freedom Party has been formed (though don't look for information about it on the BBC). In this interview with the Canadian broadcaster Michael Coren (hat tip: reader Shirlee) its leader, the urbane and (dare I add!) photogenic Paul Weston, describes it as "centre" rather than "rightwing". He observes that the Muslim population of Britain doubles every ten years, warns that given this trend bloc votes might elect Islamists to Westminster, and laments the failure, through fear, of non-radical Muslims to speak out against the radicals.
O, Bewdy! ( as we say in Oz). This video is self-explanatory, and has already had over 15,000 hits. I'm a Joanna-come-lately to it, and I'm not at all convinced that being a blatant sex object is in any way enhancing to the status and dignity of women. However, she won...
I guess this is one way to influence the British chattering classes: hold an art exhibition at a posh venue in London. Having said that, I am not so churlish as to deny that the works on display have artistic merit.
As the Harvard law professor says, Israel has the best human rights record of any nation faced with comparable threats, but the human rights agenda at the United Nations has been hijacked by countries which "promote human wrongs".
