The most moral army in the world needs to fulfill the promise of Never Again (Forest Rain)

By Forest Rain

Ours is the most moral army in the world. The people of Israel like that. We want to be moral and good. We don’t like the idea of fighting or killing.

The IDF is the Israel Defense Force (not the Israel Attack Force) for good reason. We have no desire to attack anyone. The mission of our military is to defend the Nation of Israel – our State and our People. To protect our homeland so that Jewish people everywhere know that, in a world that is dangerous for Jews, there is one place on earth where Jews can defend themselves and are not left to the mercy of others.

The IDF is supposed to fulfill the promise of “Never Again”.

The problem is that the world, including many Jews, have not learned the lessons of the Holocaust. Lessons, sharp and clear (though different for Jews and non-Jews) have been diluted and universalized to the point of being meaningless.

The Hamas massacre of October 7^th, 2023 is a harsh reminder.

This isn’t a general issue. It’s a particular issue.
This is about me. My family. My friends. My home. And Never Again is NOW.

For Jews, the promise “Never Again” means that never again we put our safety in the hands of others, no matter how civilized they seem. Never Again will we wait for other people to rescue us. It is up to us to be powerful enough to defend ourselves.

For non-Jews, “Never Again” was supposed to be a promise to never again remain silent while Jews are being abused, tortured, and slaughtered. To not remain silent when they see evil occurring. To never again, turn away and pretend they don’t see what is happening – no matter how frightened they are of the people committing the atrocities.

Because there will always be someone eager to commit horrendous acts against Jews.

And what happened?

Jews built the State of Israel, powerful enough to defend herself from invading armies, prevent enemy states from building nuclear bombs, and even fly across the globe to rescue Jews, targeted for being Jewish. And then we allowed ourselves to be convinced to hand our security over to other people and let monsters live on our doorstep.

Over and over, we were attacked, innocent people brutally murdered, our country bombarded with missiles and the “civilized” nations of the world told us to stand down, that the “stronger side” can swallow abuse for peace. That the monsters on our doorstep were our chance to live in peace.  

And we, because we want peace and hate war, because we want to live in a kind world, decided to believe them.

The problem is that this decision was immoral.

It is one thing to be proud of succeeding in eliminating murderous terrorists without hurting bystanders because that is more moral than carpet bombing. It is another thing to know that the people on your border want to wipe you off the face of the earth and allow them to have hope that one day they will succeed.

We knew the problem existed. We watched it grow. We suffered the results of it when it was still small. Worst of all, we listened when we were told “The world is condemning you. Don’t retaliate. Lick your wounds and pretend it never happened.” We wanted to be loved.

The Hamas Charter states that it will eliminate the Jewish State through jihad. On October 7^th, Hamas showed the world what that jihad looks like – they came with Go-Pro cameras and proudly filmed their actions for posterity.

Well-trained Hamas commando units broke through our borders under the cover of a missile bombardment. That opened the way for swarms of regular Gazans, eager to join in.

"Crimes against humanity" is too mild and technical a term to describe the atrocities they committed.

They slaughtered men, women, and children and chopped their heads off.
They entered homes, tortured the parents in front of their children, children in front of their parents, gouging out eyes and chopping off fingers – all while eating the family’s food and laughing.
They gang-raped girls and then ripped their limbs off.
They ripped open a pregnant woman’s stomach and stabbed the baby.
They tied children together and burned them alive.
They did more and worse. It is not possible to detail all the horrors.

And then they stole money from the wallets of the people they murdered, looted their homes, taking everything from TVs to tractors, identity cards, and passports.

And then they took as many hostages as they could get their hands on - including babies and elderly people, entire families, and dead bodies.

They came with maps and details about homes, how many people in each family, whether there was a dog or not - all spelled out by individual Gazans who Israelis had employed for years, doing construction work and odd jobs in their communities. 

They didn’t come as an army trying to conquer an enemy state, soldiers fighting against soldiers. They came as a tidal wave of death, to exterminate everything living in its path and before doing so  - humiliate and create as much suffering as possible.

They know that we love life and hold it sacred. They know that we honor the dead, putting supreme importance on respectful burial. This is why they hurt us where it would be most painful.  

They violated the sanctity of our homes, showing that Jews are not safe anywhere.

They violated our past, terrorizing Holocaust survivors and bringing the Holocaust into the present with fire and sending Jews into hiding where they had to hold their hands over the mouths of babies, praying that they wouldn’t make a sound so the monsters wouldn’t find them. 

They committed mass rapes of women, grandmothers, and children as more than a by-product of vicious bloodlust – in the context of people who come from an “honor culture”, this is the deepest violation, the theft of our honor, a display of utter disgust and domination, “dirtying” our beloved, grinding them into the earth – and mocking our men who were not able to save them. 

Dismembering bodies, scattering them, and burning people is not just a matter of gruesome cruelty. The terrorists were given deliberate instructions to commit these acts by people who understand how serious Jews are about respecting our dead and bringing them to a proper burial.

They know us well and they deliberately used everything we care about most to hurt us.

And after all this, around the world, we are seeing people marching in the streets, chanting their support for the Hamas Massacre. Jews are being marked in “civilized” countries. Homes marked with Stars of David, businesses smashed, and students humiliated and abused because they are Jews.

Never Again is NOW.

For years we have said that had Israel existed, the Holocaust would never have happened. Now it is time to make sure that is true. That is what the IDF is for.

The IDF must fulfill the promise of Never Again. This is not about revenge (though well warranted). This is about the survival of Jews everywhere.

It is necessary to crush Hamas so thoroughly and completely that all enemies of Israel will learn that there is no impunity and no safe haven for those who dream of our extermination.

And that, unfortunately, is just the beginning because they are just one of the monsters on our doorstep. We are surrounded (and some are within our borders) and they are watching us. Without utterly crushing them, Israel will not survive.

Without Israel, no Jew, anywhere on earth, will ever be safe again.

Fulfilling the promise of “Never Again” doesn’t look nice on TV. Already the “civilized” nations are telling us to wait, delay, and consider the humanitarian needs of Gazans. It is crucial to retain our morality and fulfill our obligations.

Being merciful to the cruel ultimately makes you cruel to the merciful.

Allowing our enemies to have hope that they can succeed in wiping us off the face of the earth is immoral. We allowed this evil to grow too large. It must be stopped now, no matter how bad the process looks, no matter what our “friends” say.

“Never Again” is the moral obligation of the IDF.

The obligation of decent individuals everywhere is to make sure everyone else knows this.

---

---

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism  today at Amazon! Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.  Read all about it here!

 

Read More

The winners write the history books (Forest Rain) (update)

The winners write the history books

by Forest Rain

Ironically, a book that just might hold one of the most important messages of our time is least likely to be read.

“The Great Revolt” by Dr. Michael Ben Ari tells of one of the most dramatic times in Jewish history: the Jewish revolt against Rome that ultimately led to the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE), exile, and the loss of the Jewish homeland until it’s reestablishment almost two thousand years later (1948).

This pivotal moment in history has been discussed by many people. Interestingly, the story is always told a certain way, from a very specific perspective.

Dr. Ben Ari tells the story differently and therein lies the importance of this book.

Standard discussions about the Great Revolt are based on the accounting of Josephus Flavius. The explanation of what led to the destruction of the Temple and the shattering of Jewish life, culture, and sovereignty is repeated without question, so much so that it has become a trope: “baseless hatred between brothers [between Jews] led to the destruction.”

Dr. Ben Ari, a historian with a Ph.D. in Land of Israel and Archaeology studies, a rabbi and teacher brings the perspective of the Jewish rebels while raising many questions about the “history” we thought we knew: Why did the Jews revolt against Rome? Did they not understand that they had no chance against the all-powerful empire? Why did the Romans feel it necessary to obliterate the culture of our tiny nation? Who were the rebels? Did baseless hatred cause the revolt to fail? Whose baseless hatred?

As I read the book, I felt horror growing inside me.

By bringing alternative historical sources Dr. Ben Ari tells a story of Jewish rebellion that most of us have never heard. Most importantly he explains the sources of rebellion and the connection between rebellion and sovereignty – a message of utmost importance and obvious parallels to current events in Israel (which echo in America as well).

The Nation of Israel is a nation divided. In ancient times there were those who wanted to belong to the greater empire, placing individual comfort over traditions that root us in this Land. Today we also have those who prefer individual comforts, wishing to be part of the “family of Nations,” unconcerned (or even feeling repelled) by the ancient and tribal traditions that make our family a Nation, separate and unique. Today, like the ancient story of the Revolt, we are receiving our “knowledge” about who we are as a People, our past, and even our future through the filter of other people who have a vested interest in fostering certain beliefs about who we are, what we are capable of and what we deserve.

Today, our People are divided between those who believe the media narrative and the stubborn rebels who do not. The ancient Jewish Revolt is taught through the perspective of Josephus, a Jewish military commander during the revolt who betrayed his People and joined forces with the Roman enemy to save his own skin. Is the fact that he detailed events extensively proof that he did so accurately? Does someone who turns on his own People not have a motive for recounting events in a way that makes his actions sound reasonable and right?

The winners write the history books. That doesn’t mean that they are written truthfully.

Dr. Michael Ben Ari investigates what we really know about the ancient Jewish rebels. Were they the hate-filled, irrational, violent bandits we are told they were? What if the truth is exactly the opposite? Perhaps the faith, courage, and collaboration of these heroes is the source of Jewish hope for 2000 years that the sovereignty we lost then can be regained.     

Considering the Revolt from the perspective of the rebels it begins to become clear why it might be in the interest of foreign occupiers to make us believe that the Jewish warriors of old were twisted in their ideology and morality and as such, people that should not be emulated.

Dr. Michael Ben Ari is himself a rebel. It is no wonder that his heart would be drawn to our ancestors, the rebels of ancient times whose story remains untold at best, at worst – deliberately mistold. A soft-spoken man, Dr. Ben Ari was ejected from Israeli politics for extremist views. He considers himself a student of Rabbi Meir Kahane who advocated for Jews arming and defending themselves and expelling enemy Arabs from Israel. In the past, Dr. Ben Ari explained that despite everything that was said about him, his perspective is not one of hating Arabs but rather concern for Jewish survival.

Many people, including many Jews, are very uncomfortable with the idea of warrior Jews, capable of defending themselves and even vanquishing their enemies. It is easier to express horror at Jews who are too brash, aggressive, or quick to violence than to address the existential threat that drove them to conclude this was the best way to proceed. It is easier to assume fault than to question why people behave as they did or to discover what really happened.

There will be people who will not read “The Great Revolt” because it was written by a man labeled an “extremist”, ignoring the fact that he is a historian, teacher, and rabbi with knowledge that most of us do not have.

Unfortunately, this important book is written more like an academic thesis than the dramatic and compelling story it conveys. So much research and knowledge went into its making that it is hard for the average person (myself included) to absorb all the details. Most of us, particularly those who had little or no religious studies in our background are shockingly ignorant about the history of our own People.

The winners write the history books but it is up to us to uncover where the truth lies.
It is our action – or inaction – that determines who “wins”.    

************************
This book was privately published and is not yet set up to be ordered online.
You can connect with the author via this Google form and indicate where you are from and what type of order you would like to make.

https://tinyurl.com/GreatRevolt

 

---

---

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism  today at Amazon! Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.  Read all about it here!

 

Read More

Vikings, Jews, and the god of "Progress" (Forest Rain)

By Forest Rain

A masterpiece of storytelling, writing, and cinematography, the “Vikings” series enthralled me.

I cannot imagine being able to write a sweeping saga so well. The characters are well-rounded and complex – as human beings are. The society portrayed is very different than what we are familiar with and yet, it is presented in a way that makes sense, through the lens of values and norms of that time rather than the judgment of our present-day perspective. This is an extraordinary accomplishment. On top of that the cinematography, lighting, and soundtrack are artfully done.

And still – I found myself baffled. Why was I so caught up by this series? I have no emotional connection to Vikings or England. I don’t particularly enjoy scenes of violence and blood. The characters, while interesting, are not necessarily likable. So… why did I find this saga so gripping?

Jordan Peterson explains that people don’t have ideas but rather ideas take hold of people. Ideas are bigger than individuals and they form, push and guide people. Stories teach ideas. People connect to certain stories because they hold something of value for the individual enthralled by them. This concept made me pay attention to the unexplained fascination I had with the Vikings saga.

(See? “Made me,” the idea caused me to act)

 It took me a while but eventually, I figured it out.

The Vikings series portrays the rise of Christianity and the clash between societies – one that adheres to ancient gods while the other is willing to do anything to promote their new god. The societies struggle to live together but this is impossible. The conflict between ideas and the divide between societies is too large. The new Christian god kills the old gods. 

As a Jew, one would think I would identify with the Christians as the rise of their society meant the dissemination of the biblical values that were adopted from my faith. Instead, I found myself identifying with the people whose ancient society and old ways were under threat.

And then I understood – we too are living in a time when “gods” are at war.

My God, the God of the Jews is an ancient God. The God of the bible is a god of rules, definitions, order, and judgment. The rights and obligations of humanity come from God’s Commandments. This means that no human has the right to take away what was granted by God. It also means that if we do not fulfill our obligations, we will have to answer to God.

The new god is called “Progress”. To triumph, Progress must vanquish the God of the bible. That is why Progress proclaims that the God of the bible does not exist. This means that rights are given by humans and can be taken away - if the human does not fulfill his or her obligations to the god Progress.    

The god of Progress gives no Commandments, aside from demanding obedience to the guidelines of the day. These change from time to time, but all are designed to rip apart the rules and order defined by the God of the bible.

The God of the bible created the universe through the power of words. Through words, order was created and from order, hierarchy: the separation between chaos and order, night and day, the heaven and the earth, animals and humans, man and woman, good and that which is not good.

After every act of creation, God judged and deemed it good.

The god Progress claims that words morph according to the agenda of the day. Words have no solid meaning; they shift according to the way people feel. One day the word “whiteness” is a description of skin color, the next it is an indication of origin, and then it becomes an accusation of privilege. Progress claims that it is wrong to judge, wrong to define, and separate.

The God of the bible created man and woman because both are necessary. Progress declares that gender isn’t biology, it’s a feeling. Men and women are exactly the same, and all differences are a sign of the evils of society.

The God of the bible placed people as custodians over animals and nature. Progress says that humans are not separate or in charge of animals, humans and animals have the same value and perhaps animals are to be valued more. Progress presents thinly-veiled genocidal tendencies, suggesting that the planet would be better off with no humans on it.

Progress looks at the humans created by the God of the bible and deems us bad.

The God of the Jews is rational, can have a conversation with humans, and can even be convinced to change His mind. The God of the Jews defined morality and gave humans the ability to choose. If there was no choice there would be no distinction between good and bad, or anything at all. It would all just be whatever we were told.

To vanquish the God of the Jews Progress must destroy everything created by our God.

Undoing the meaning of words isn’t a matter of being flexible in order to prevent hurt feelings, it is a way to undo the fabric of Creation.

Pretending that there is no difference between man and woman isn’t a path to equality, on the contrary, it’s a tactic to divide and conquer, for man to hate woman and woman to be afraid of man. It’s a denial of the spark of the divine in each individual and the rejection of the incredible bond and strength that results when man and woman strive together, in harmony.

The God of the Jews told us that mother and father are sacred and must be honored so that we can live long on the earth. This means that the family is sacred, that this institution provides us with the stability we need to survive. Progress rips apart the hierarchy of family, telling children that they must obey Progress and not parents who might tell them otherwise.

The God of the Jews determined that stealing and even coveting is wrong. We are not allowed to take what is not ours and even jealous yearning for something we did not earn is forbidden. Progress declares that redistribution of wealth and anti-racism is the way to fight disparity.

Progress fights hate with new hate. The God of the Jews fights hate by teaching compassion and justice. (Justice is also a word under attack by Progress…)

Understanding what is happening in our world today as a modern-day war between gods makes it easier to see a pattern. Seemingly disparate issues are pieces to the same puzzle, individual battles in the same war between the God of the Jews and the new god, Progress.

Progress has long been undermining the Judeo-Christian ethos that made America unique among nations. I no longer recognize the country I was born in. It is no wonder that Progress is infesting Israel, attempting to poison our roots, to make them wither and die.

The God of the Jews gave the Children of Israel a choice and we agreed to the special job He gave us – to be a Light unto the Nations. If it wasn’t a choice, the title would be meaningless. If it was easy, there would be no need to choose.

The God of the bible created light by separating it from the darkness. Creating order from chaos. We Jews were given the Commandments and rules for life that were designed to create order and justice for all societies that chose to adopt those principles. We are supposed to uphold and model these ideas. That is OUR story.

It is no wonder Progress hates Jewish stubborn adherence to our God, our Torah, our Land, and our People. These hold the ideas that provided the foundation of what we still call the “free world” and Jewish ability to maintain them over time. To reign supreme, Progress must kill them all, make them devoid of meaning and erase our understanding of these ideas. In many places, in many ways, Progress has already succeeded.

And yet, the war of the gods is not over.

Like the Vikings discovered, the two societies cannot co-exist. It is ours to choose which we want.

  

---

---

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism  today at Amazon! Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.  Read all about it here!

 

Read More

Questions Israelis ask when there is a terror attack (Forest Rain)

By Forest Rain

Every time there is a terror attack my mind (and heart) race down the same path. It is a horrible path because it is so familiar. And because it does not end.

Living elsewhere, the news of horror is theoretical. In Israel, the news is a visceral punch in the gut that generates an immediate response - emotions and depending on how close to home the horror hits - action.

How many people abroad, even those who do care, understand that when terror strikes, we all race down the path of terror. These are the questions we all ask. The emotional roller coaster changes depending on the answer.

What happened? Where? How many?
It’s not necessary to ask the full question: how many dead? How many injured? The newscasters ask the full question for us. We go with them to the hospital and hear the reports from the medical staff on the status of the dead and injured – people we don’t yet know if we know or not. People who, if not close family or friends are still members of our tribe; family we have not yet met.
One person is too many, too horrible so why do we obsess over numbers? I’m not sure. Perhaps we see numbers as an indicator of how much horror to brace for, how much grief and sorrow will need to be absorbed. We have 6 million reasons to be obsessed with numbers and they don’t end there – thousands more reasons came after, all who died in defense of this land, to grant us life. Soldiers and civilians, those who were killed in battle and who were murdered simply for being Jewish and alive in our ancestral homeland.

After gathering the basic facts of what happened and how many died my mind races down the path, taking personal inventory. Before the families of the dead are notified, we know how many were murdered but not WHO. Who do we know who might have been at the scene of the attack? Where are MY family members, my friends?

When the mind pulls up someone who might have been there – heart pounding, you pick up the phone and call. Where are you? Are you ok?
In the past when there were suicide bombings that caused buses to explode in the streets, when bombers blew themselves up in restaurants murdering entire families, there were so many people calling, trying to find their loved ones that the phone lines were overloaded, and it was difficult to connect with those you were desperately searching for. I’m not sure that the communication infrastructure is better now (maybe, hopefully, it is). When there are fewer people trying to use the lines all at the same time, there is less of a problem.

The worst possibility in this stage of the path of terror is when you know that your loved one was supposed to be in the place where the attack occurred, you call, and they don’t answer. Particularly when they are the kind of person who always answers the phone.

I haven’t been in the situation where you have to start calling hospitals to try to find your loved one, hoping to God to find them injured. Hoping that when the telephone rings it’s your kid, your husband, your sister telling you that they are ok – and not someone else, bringing other news.

I haven’t been in that situation – friends of mine have.
I haven’t received the dreaded knock on the door – friends of mine have.

Every time there is a terror attack, it is not just the dead, the injured, and their families that are damaged. It’s not just the children who are forced to grow up without their parents, parents who have to go on living when their children have been ripped from them. Everyone else who has survived something similar is thrown back into the abyss of their own experience.

They remember when they received the dread knock on the door.
When they raced from hospital to hospital searching for their child.
When they were told their son had a bullet shot through his head and IF he lives, he will never be the same again.
When they were stabbed. When they saw someone else stabbed to death in front of them.
When they saw pieces of people scattered across the sidewalk, people who moments before were standing next to them.
When they saw the video of their brother being murdered - BEFORE they were notified of his death.
They remember.
And for some, they re-experience their attack – the emotions, the sounds, and smells, rush back to drown them all over again.

And then we go back to work. Make supper and tuck the kids into bed.

Until the next time.

Israel is constantly ranked among the happiest nations on earth. Few note the burden we shoulder – the pain and grief that lives alongside the joy and accomplishments. We don’t play the victim game although, if we did, we could win. But who wants to win at a game that only losers would play? We are not victims. We are survivors. And we are stubborn. We will not give in. We will not give up. We will succeed against all odds – and we will be happy and GOOD, even when the world is cruel and heartless.

THAT is our victory.

Read More

Morality propaganda: Ukrainian refugees, Israel, and money (Forest Rain)

By Forest Rain

Over the years I have learned to smell propaganda. Being an Israeli means being under constant attack – both overt and covert. We are threatened with physical violence, terrorism, and war. We are also threatened by more sophisticated and elegant methods such as lawfare (using the court system as a weapon of war) and media manipulation, propaganda designed to wage war in the court of public opinion.

News is supposed to report facts. Opinion and feelings are in the eyes of the beholder and have their place. Propaganda is different in that it deliberately presents partial facts, rumors, half-truths, or lies as if they were news, as if they were facts, to win the war of public opinion.

Propaganda designed to delegitimize Israel and even destroy her from within is a billion-dollar business. The BDS movement to organizations like “Breaking the Silence” and the New Israel Fund are just a few examples. Foreign organizations and governments have and are meddling in Israeli internal affairs in countless ways (If you don’t know about this please read Catch the Jew by Tuvia Tenenbaum and take a look at the Terrorists in Suits report).

Now, the eyes of the world are turned to Ukraine, and yet, in this war that has nothing to do with Israel or Jews, somehow Israel, Jews, and the Holocaust, are in the limelight. Why?

Russian and Ukrainian leadership have both invoked Holocaust comparisons to elicit sympathy for their cause and to prod Israel into supporting them. That’s propaganda.

Although Israel has already sent enormous amounts of humanitarian aid to Ukraine, we are told that we aren’t doing enough to help.

Although Israel has gone to extraordinary measures to rescue Jewish Ukrainians, non-Jewish Ukrainians who fall under the category of the “Right of Return” and embraced Ukrainians with no connection to anything Jewish or Israeli we are accused of heartlessness and told that we should open our doors to all Ukrainians, with no stipulations and no limits. The Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel has deemed our immigration policy unacceptable and has sued the Israeli court system in order to force our elected government to change policy.

That’s lawfare.

Israel is under attack and most people don’t even seem to notice.

You might ask, who is attacking Israel? Why? The real question is, why not? There are many individuals and institutions who are motivated to attack Israel and the war in Ukraine provides a perfect “let no crisis go to waste” opportunity.
The world is changing. It is again acceptable to openly express Jew-hate. There is a global trend towards socialism and collectivism, against individualism, free speech, and anything that reflects national pride. Israel is the last hold-out of Judeo-Christian values and independent thinking in a time when many are promoting dependency and victimhood. Many desire the destruction of Israel but it can’t be countered if people don’t even realize what is happening.

It is easy to tell you are under attack when the violence is physical. When morality propaganda is turned against you it is more difficult.

For Jews in particular, morality propaganda is like kryptonite, devastating in its effectiveness.

Suddenly, from every direction, we are told what is moral and that, to belong to the correct team, to be on “the right side of history” we must behave according to the definition proposed of what is moral. The arguments are designed to trigger emotions, not thinking, to push us into doing what feels right rather than what is in our best interest.

Morality propaganda appeals to the most basic human desires. We want to feel that we are good people. We want to belong to the right team.

Jewish empathy and the drive to make things better, to minimize suffering, is deeply ingrained in every fiber of our being. We know it is our job to be a “light unto the nations” and model what is good and right. On Passover, we are directed to “remember that once we were slaves in Egypt.” Jews have been banished from their homes so many times, over so many centuries that the displacement caused in WW2 is only a more recent horror among many. We know what it’s like to be refugees, with no home and no place to turn to. How can we not have sympathy for other refugees? Jewish empathy has driven Jews to participate in the US Civil Rights movement and in countless charities around the world, striving to make the world better for others.

Jews and especially Israelis are not cowed by violence. We know how to fight back in the legal arena. Being told that we are not kind enough, not supportive enough, that we must not allow what was done to us to be done to others knocks the air out of us.

We must be kind. We must act. We must remember. We must not allow what was done to us to be done to others. But is that what is happening?

The easiest way to determine where the truth ends and morality propaganda begins is to follow the money.

Spontaneous, grass-roots demonstrations don’t come with pre-printed, professionally designed signs. That takes organizations and funding.

Especially not branded signs.

I was unfamiliar with the logo on the signs in this image of a “spontaneous” demonstration in demanding Israel bring Ukrainian non-Jewish refugees so I looked them up. On their website it says: Zazim is an independent movement, brought together by shared values of human rights, combatting the occupation and racism, and social and environmental justice… On their who funds us page it says: We are an independent organization that does not receive any funds from governments, political parties or corporations. Further down that same page it says: The rest of our budget comes from private foundations - the New Israel Fund and affiliated donors as well as the Rockefeller Foundation

Jews and Arabs against the “occupation.” New Israel Fund. That explains a lot.

And then there is this series of very expensive billboards that suddenly appeared in the center of the country in prominent locations. Each depicts a “refugee” crying out to a specific politician “Why are you deporting me?!” In a brilliant marketing move, the different posters are directed to the leading politicians in the government, both on the right and the left. This supports the idea that this is a cry for morality rather than an agenda driven campaign.

The slogan used is: “A Jew doesn’t deport a refugee.” The wording makes it obvious that the people in question are not Jews and yet the appeal is towards the morality of Jews. The slogan comes from the Disengagement from Gaza when Jews pleaded with the government to not rip them from their homes “A Jew doesn’t deport a Jew.” The choice of this slogan is both a cynical perversion of the original message and an assumption that the useful idiots are too stupid to remember.

I really don’t like being manipulated.

 

The organization that is credited for this campaign is the “Forum for the Absorption of Ukrainian Refugees.” Absorption as in immigration, not providing temporary shelter. Where did this forum suddenly appear from, overnight? They have a web page to gather leads and active social media platforms. They swiftly gathered the activist celebrities on their side and are pushing this agenda on every platform available.

Interestingly, I didn’t see any mention of who funds them. It does say that they have offices in a central location in Tel Aviv. Again – money. Lots of it.

The genius of this morality campaign frightens me. The use of empathy and Jewish values to undermine the foundation of the Jewish State is diabolical.

The Israeli public is generally very logical and reasonable. When surveyed about their opinion on how to handle the non-Jewish refugee question their answers were:

25% Only those eligible under the Law of Return should be allowed in
24% Adhere to the cap the government decided on [5000 people]
24% Increase the amount the government determined [in other words, have some limit but allow more]

13% Let in everyone, with no limitations

In other words, there is a public consensus that a limitation is necessary, it’s only a question of where to draw the line.

It is a tiny minority that is making all the noise, participating, amplifying the morality campaign, and pressuring our politicians to remake policy into an image of a New Israel – a country that might have Jewish citizens but isn’t a Jewish State.

When Amnesty declared that the Jewish State should not exist, many, including friends of Israel abroad, immediately denounced this unacceptable stance. When organizations and even foreign governments declare that the Jewish State has no right to determine that immigrants should be Jewish or at least connected to Israel, few see the problem with that.

After all, we all want to be moral, don’t we?

Read More

Jewish American Privilege and Ukraine (Forest Rain)

By Forest Rain

Jewish American Privilege

As a Jewish child, growing up in America, I was so privileged, I didn’t even realize I was privileged.

I knew that as a child, my mother got beaten up by Christian kids because “Jews killed Jesus” but that happened to her, not me. I never knowingly experienced antisemitism or discrimination.

I knew that my grandmother fled Russia and fought for the founding of the Jewish State but she did that, not me.

I knew that my father grew up without his family because they shipped him off to America as a very small child to save him from the Holocaust. I don’t know what happened to them, most Hungarian Jews ended up in Auschwitz. It was later that I learned that the US government knew what was happening in Auschwitz, could have bombed the train tracks to stop more Jews, my family, from being shipped off to their deaths but chose not to. America bombed factories all around the train tracks to damage the military industry but not the train tracks. Why damage the Nazi death industry?

I knew. But none of those things happened to me. I lived in a nice house, went to a nice school, had friends, took dance lessons. I was never cold or hungry. I didn’t know what it was like to have friends murdered in terror attacks or to have missiles shot at me.

I had no idea how privileged I was.

When Joe Liberman ran for US Vice President, I didn’t understand why my grandmother was horrified at the idea. Wouldn’t it be a good thing to have a Jewish man in such an important position? She told me, “You don’t understand. If he succeeds and something bad happens Jews will be blamed. Israel will be blamed. We will be accused of dual loyalty. We will be blamed. It’s better for a Jew not to be in such a prominent position.”

I didn’t understand.

When I made Aliyah and learned how difficult it is to integrate into the country, I didn’t understand why people from previous waves of immigration didn’t make it easier. Every single wave of immigrants has had to fight to become Israeli, to prove their worth, and to belong. Some had bigger gaps to bridge than others, but all had a hard time, including privileged me.

Why did those who had made their own Aliyah look with skepticism on new immigrants? We all want Jews to come home, why are there hesitations and difficulties in embracing those who come? Why the duality in attitude?

I didn’t understand. 

When he was Prime Minister Ariel Sharon coined the term “things one can see from here, you don’t see from there.” He was referring to the different perspective he gained sitting in the Prime Minister’s seat. Understanding changes when perspective changes.

Now I understand.

Now I know what it is like to have missiles shot at me because I am a Jew and I live in the Jewish homeland.

Now I know what it is like to stand at a funeral for a girl the same age as my son, murdered because she was a Jew, serving the Jewish State.

Now I know what it is like to stand each year and mark the names of all the people who were murdered for being Jews – just those who belonged to the same school my boys attended. Once I would not have understood why there is empty space on the Memorial Wall at the school, space for more names. I certainly would never have wondered what will they do when the wall is full. WHEN it is full – not IF it becomes full.

Now I know what it is like to be worried about MY soldier. To be terrified of the knock on the door. To have my guts twist in helpless agony for friends who did experience that life-changing official knock, announcing that your most precious was ripped from you, that your family will never be the same again.

Now I know many things I did not know before…

Now when I see the propaganda telling me that I must agree with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky because he is Jewish, I am reminded of my grandmother’s reaction to Joe Liberman’s run for VP. Zelensky is looking out for Ukrainian interests (as he should). All kinds of people, with varying agendas (including Zelensky) are pushing his Jewish roots and using Holocaust memory to manipulate Israel into action – with no regard for Israeli interests or security.

Now I understand the duality of attitude regarding new immigrants to Israel. How do we know that they are even Jews? We want ALL JEWS, from everywhere in the world, especially from areas where they are in danger, to make Aliyah. All of them. We will find the means to take care of them and do so happily. But non-Jews? Especially non-Jewish refugees from a notoriously antisemitic country?! No. Just no. Israel has already accepted way too many non-Jewish USSR ex-pats who just wanted to improve their standard of living. America didn’t accept them but they learned to manipulate the Israeli system, so they came here instead.

There are many voices, particularly those backed by progressive Jewish, American-based organizations declaring that Israel needs to stand on the side of morality and help ALL Ukrainian refugees, without inquiring if they are Jewish or have any connection to Israel. 

No. Just no.

One of the most fundamental lessons of Jewish morality teaches that one must look after the poor of one’s own town before looking elsewhere. Morality is looking after our family, friends, and neighbors before looking after strangers. The Jewish State is responsible for Jewish lives and a Jewish future. Those who are so privileged they don’t realize they are privileged might not realize that we can not take the existence of a Jewish State and a Jewish future for granted.  

Privileged or malevolent. Sometimes, it is hard to tell the difference - particularly when the result of adhering to their advice is destruction.

No one on the face of the earth has any right to demand that Jews or Israel do anything else. No one else will protect us. Israel DOES send assistance to all kinds of people, all over the world but we do so because we chose to, not because we must or because morality demands it.

It might be reasonable to demand we assist other nations when there are no poor people left in Israel. When none of our elderly have to choose between heating their homes in winter or buying medicine. When the government doesn’t have to choose which medicines to subsidize because there is enough money to find treatments for everyone (Jews AND non-Jewish Israelis). When we are not in a constant battle for the right to exist.

Then, maybe, it will be reasonable to demand we use our resources for other people and other nations. Until that time, no. Just no.

 

 

---

---

---

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Read all about it here!

Read More

Politically incorrect thoughts about the Russia/Ukraine war (Forest Rain)

By Forest Rain

Russia - Ukraine war: abuse of Holocaust memory and other politically incorrect thoughts

I work in a privately owned Israeli company founded by immigrants from Ukraine. Half the employees are Ukrainian-born Israelis. The others are from Russia (barring a handful of Israeli-born Israelis).

Many of the faces I see throughout the day are drawn and weary. People worried sick about elderly parents who did not make Aliyah. Worried about friends and extended family members currently in the war zone.

War is a terrible thing. Being helpless when people you care about are under attack is gut-wrenchingly awful. My heart goes out to all who are suffering during this truly difficult time.

And yet…

I have a big problem with the way the news cycle has turned to Ukraine. My social media platforms are filled with solidarity posts. Mainstream Israeli media is focused 24/7 on Ukraine. The comparisons with World War II and the Holocaust seem to be plastered all over the international media. Jewish and Holocaust-centered propaganda has been used by Russia (calling Ukrainians Nazis), by Ukraine (saying that Russia is killing Holocaust victims again by bombing Babi Yar) and by Jewish advocacy networks putting a spotlight on the Jews/Israelis caught in the crossfire of this war.

Frankly, I’m disgusted.

No Jews, no news?
This isn’t our war. We have enough wars of our own. This one has absolutely nothing to do with Jews or Israel. Any Jews who are hurt, injured, or suffer in any way from this war were not targeted because they are Jews. The Russians don’t care that they are Jews or might also carry Israeli citizenship. The Russians don’t care that there are sites connected to Jewish history in Ukraine either. They care that they are in the middle of a war aimed at conquering a country. People get killed in wars. Armies target significant sites in the enemy territory to inflict damage to infrastructure, create terror and/or damage tourism. It is Ukraine that is under attack, not Jews.

This war is NOTHING like the Holocaust

Bombs on Babi Yar do not “kill Holocaust victims a second time.” Preventing the grandchildren of Holocaust victims from protecting ourselves when WE are under attack DOES.

Neither Russians nor Ukrainians have ANY right to invoke Holocaust comparisons.

The Ukrainians were notorious for their glee in taking part in pogroms and murdering Jews. The Russians, who did fight the Nazis didn’t do so to save Jews. Today the Russians are not trying to exterminate the Ukrainians, they are trying to conquer land. The Russian army is known for indiscriminate bombing and being free and easy with civilian casualties and yet we’ve seen much footage of Russian tanks being stopped by Ukrainian civilians. It would be easy for a genocidal army to simply bulldoze those people. The Russian soldiers don’t because they don’t want to.

Buildings have been bombed. People have been killed. That is horrible BUT IT’S NOT GENOCIDE.

Genocide is what happened to the Yazidis when ISIS attempted to exterminate their ancient culture, slaughtering men, women, and children – and selling the women and children who survived into sex slavery. Genocide is what is happening to the Uyghurs in China. Genocide is what happened in Rwanda. In Cambodia. To the Armenians.

Anyone invoking the terminology of genocide in connection to the very conventional war between Russia and Ukraine should be ashamed of themselves.

Ukrainian refugees are nothing like Jewish refugees during the Holocaust.
Harrowing as their experiences were and are, Ukrainian refugees, have friendly countries on their borders to escape to. It’s difficult to be exhausted, scared, and worried about your future, property and family left behind. That’s nothing compared to starving, with no one to turn to, no country, no protection, and no friends in the world.

Israeli refugees are perhaps the luckiest of them all. Our government begged Israelis and Jews to leave. Now our representatives are in all possible locations pulling Jews out of the chaos, bringing them to safety. This is nothing short of a miracle.

It’s also, to a certain extent, an abuse of Jewish Holocaust memory. On one hand, it is difficult to get up and leave your home and country when danger is coming. On the other, that’s exactly the point – how many people of those being rescued by Israel are actually Jewish? If you feel that Ukraine is your country, are not Jewish according to the religious definition, have no connection to Israel or anything related to Jewish tradition or culture, do I need to care that you might have had a Jewish grandfather?

Israel DOES care because we go by the same guidelines Hitler did to define who was Jewish enough to be murdered when determining who has the right to make Aliyah. If Hitler would have murdered you for being Jewish, you can become a citizen of the only Jewish state on earth.

For Israel, all lives matter isn’t a slogan. We truly believe that do everything we can to protect lives – including those of our enemies. At the same time, we are a tiny country with limited resources, and we cannot take care of others before taking care of our own. Israel is the homeland and only safe haven in the world for JEWS. We are proud to rescue Jews from all corners of the earth. We cherish every member of our tribe. If the individual in question doesn’t care about Israel or being Jewish, do we really need to give them a free ride, sanctuary, and all the benefits of new immigrants?

Insisting that Israel take sides
America wants Israel to take sides. Russia wants the same. On one hand, Ukraine is the obvious underdog, attacked because the stronger party could - and we all have immediate sympathy for the underdog. On the other, Russia has its own logic for attacking (keeping the West off their borders and taking back what they believe belongs to them).

Israel understands what it is like for innocent civilians, under attack. At the same time, it is Russia on our border, not America, holding back the Iranian proxies. It is Russia who looks the other way while we prevent Iranian proxies from gathering more arms against us. It is Russia who can make it near impossible for Israel to protect herself, should Russia choose – and in the meantime, it is America racing to embrace Iran with agreements not worth the paper they are written on. Iran, who has promised actual genocide against Israel. Not the fake genocide both Ukraine and Russia are accusing each other of. None of the players pushing Israel to take sides have any interest in Israeli lives, they are only using us as a pawn in the proxy war between America and Russia. Ukraine utilizing Holocaust memory and propaganda in Hebrew to guilt Israel into standing with them is not much better although perhaps can be excused because they are searching for all the help they can get in their fight for freedom. As far as I am concerned, the only side Israel needs to take is ours.  

While the media is focused on Ukraine, what are they not telling us?
The media shapes reality by what they choose to show the public, how the content is framed, and by what they choose NOT to show. While eyes are on Ukraine, who is paying attention to Iran? A nuclear Iran is a threat to the entire Middle East and Europe, not just Israel.

In Israel, this war provides a convenient excuse for our media to not cover many uncomfortable and critical issues including dangerous lack of sovereignty and frightening levels of corruption in our police and judiciary system. Every country has different challenges but everywhere the question remains the same – while they are focused on Ukraine, what are they not telling me that I need to know? 

---

---

---

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Read all about it here!

Read More

Walk in the Land of Israel (Forest Rain)

By Forest Rain 

Wisdom is knowing what we don’t know. When I made Aliyah I discovered that although I am Jewish and was raised in a Zionist household, I knew nothing about Israel.

Nothing. That was a painful discovery.

I was 13 and the culture shock was enormous. It took me years to reorient myself and be able to articulate what I didn’t know or understand and why it matters.

I was raised in a Zionist household. We weren’t religious but we observed Jewish holidays. Or so I thought. I attended a Jewish school and Jewish after-school daycare and even so - I knew nothing about Israel.

I don’t remember Israel ever being mentioned in my school. I thought I knew Hebrew (after moving here I discovered I didn’t). I knew what I thought were the basics about the Jewish holidays, but no one had ever pointed out the intrinsic link to the Land and to the fight for freedom and sovereignty. The most Zionist holidays either weren’t ever mentioned (like Shavuot or Tu B’shvat) or the elements of Zionism in them were simply ignored (like with Hannukah).

I knew we were different, but I didn’t really understand what that meant. Reverence for books and education was the air I breathed. I knew about the hate. I knew my grandmother was a fighter for Israel. And with all that - no one ever told me that the pillars of Jewish identity are the connection to our People, our Land, and the Torah. As secular Jews, our connection to the Torah was tenuous. We were connected to other Jews in our area but not in a way that was much different from other friends. You celebrate holidays with these, you do other things with those. And our Land? I had absolutely no clue.

Going to an Israeli school as an American ignoramus was difficult. Class trips were a big issue. Everyone seemed to love them. What was instinctive to my classmates was incomprehensible to me. We didn’t go on a trip to a museum or some similar location. We got on a bus, drove someplace, got out, and – walked. It seemed pointless to me. Why walk for hours, up and down hills, just to get back to the bus? That’s where we started off from so… why?

In his song “Get up and walk the Land” Yoram Taharlev articulates why – something every Israeli seems to know on a non-verbal, instinctive level and I, in a terrible disconnect from our heritage, did not.

Taharlev, an astoundingly prolific writer, articulated the primal truths of what it means to be part of the greatest love story ever documented – the love story between this Land and her People, between the People and our Land. That’s why his writings have become Israeli classics. We tend to think of classics as old cultural works, but they do not become classics by being old, they grow old by being profound, by conveying messages that are valuable and worth passing on.

That’s why it is worth studying his words. They can fill the hole in the Jewish soul that does not understand the full meaning of who we are.

In this song, Taharlev instructs us to walk in the land, put ourselves in the tools of hiking (backpack and stick), and let the paths of the Land embrace us. Walking is a way to physically reintroduce ourselves to the land that gave birth to our People. A way to remember that all the splendid buildings were built on top of a very old dream that is still there. It is also a way to remember that the places we walked as soldiers are full of children and homes, beauty, and life (which is exactly the reason why we were soldiers, to make those things possible).

Walking in the land is a way to connect with this unique entity that gave us our identity, that gave us a home, and is always ready to embrace us. Getting up and walking in the land is a way to remember the dream that ties the Nation of Israel to the Land of Israel.

THAT is the point.

Below is my translation of his song. I wish he was still with us so I could ask him about the nuances in his choices of language. May my words give justice to his.

 

קום והתהלך בארץ להקת פיקוד צפון מילים: יורם טהרלב לחן: יאיר קלינגר קום והתהלך בארץ בתרמיל ובמקל. וודאי תפגוש בדרך שוב את ארץ ישראל. יחבקו אותך דרכיה של הארץ הטובה, היא תקרא אותך אליה כמו אל ערש אהבה. זאת אכן אותה הארץ, זו אותה האדמה ואותה פיסת הסלע הנצרבת בחמה. ומתחת לאספלט לבנייני הראווה, מסתתרת המולדת ביישנית וענווה. קום והתהלך בארץ... וכרמי עצי הזית ומסתור המעיין עוד שומרים על חלומה וחלומנו הישן. וגגות אודמים על הר וילדים על השבילים, במקום שבו הלכנו עם חגור ותרמילים. קום והתהלך בארץ...

Get up and walk in the land Northern Command Band Lyrics: Yoram Taharlev Composer: Yair Klinger Get up and walk in the land In a backpack and a stick. [did he use the “in” rather than “with” for the rhythm of the sounds of the letters or because he was suggesting we put our soul into the tools of hiking?] You will surely meet on the way The Land of Israel again. Her paths will embrace you [The paths] Of the good land, She will call you to her Like to a cradle of love. This is indeed the same country, This is the same land And the same piece of rock Burnt in under the sun. And under the asphalt [Under] the showy buildings, The homeland hides Shy and humble.  Get up and walk in the land...  And vineyards of olive trees And the hiding place of the spring Still keeping her dream And our old dream. [she and we are two separate entities, part of the same story]. And red roofs on the mountain And children on the trails, Where we walked With belt and packs. [The words here work on two levels. Due to the choice of the plural form, to me, they seem to suggest the tools of soldiers rather than those of the hiker described at the beginning of the song - the belt of a soldier and bullet casings rather than backpacks. Bullet casings rather than bullets, to mirror the word used in the beginning of the song.].  Get up and walk the land...

 

 

https://youtu.be/vADdYHeuZ9w

---

---

Read More