Showing posts with label Opinion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Opinion. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 30, 2024



Disclaimer: the views expressed here are solely those of the author, weekly Judean Rose columnist Varda Meyers Epstein.

Kamala Harris didn’t actually call Trump a Nazi, but she might as well have. Echoing allegations by disgruntled Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, she declared that Donald Trump wants a military that will be "loyal to him personally" and "obey his orders even when he tells them to break the law or abandon their oath to the constitution of the United States."

Vice President Kamala Harris continued on, saying, "It is deeply troubling and incredibly dangerous that Donald Trump would invoke Adolf Hitler, the man who is responsible for the deaths of six million Jews and hundreds of thousands of Americans. All of this is further evidence for the American people of who Donald Trump really is."

And there it is, Godwin’s Law. The longer the election dragged on, the more inevitable it had been that someone would bring in the Holocaust. Not in the sort of, “We must never forget the Holocaust,” kind of way, but in the sort of, “He’s the author of the Final Solution, Adolf Hitler himself,” kind of way.

Harris running mate Tim Walz was happy to run with it, remarking that Trump’s alleged comment regarding Hitler’s generals “makes me sick as hell.”

“Folks, the guardrails are gone. Trump is descending into this madness — a former president of the United States and the candidate for president of the United States says he wants generals like Adolf Hitler had,” said Walz, who has lied about his military service.

Walz said he was a retired command sergeant major, but he wasn’t. He claimed he carried weapons “in war,” but never saw combat. In truth, he skipped out on his battalion only months before they were deployed to Iraq. J.D. Vance, among many others, condemned these falsehoods as “stolen valor.”

This is something to keep in mind when weighing the credibility of those Walz “orange Hitler”-style slurs. But it gets worse with Walz. Much worse, in this Jewish writer’s opinion.

From The Hill:

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, compared former President Trump’s Sunday rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden in to a 1939 pro-Nazi event.

“Donald Trump’s got this big rally going at Madison Square Garden,” Walz said at an event in Henderson, Nev. “There’s a direct parallel to a big rally that happened in the mid-1930s at Madison Square Garden.”

An American Nazi Party held a rally at Madison Square Garden in February 1939 that lured 20,000 supporters to the iconic New York City landmark.

“And don’t think that he doesn’t know for one second exactly what they’re doing there,” Walz said.

When Walz speaks, he draws a picture. We can see that pro-Hitler rally in our minds. It hits you right in the kishkes.

Up next is Hillary Clinton. The former (failed) 2016 presidential candidate picked off where Walz left off, continuing on with the same “Trump is a Nazi” narrative, claiming that Trump with this rally was reenacting the infamous Nazi rally, held in that very same space. “Trump [is] actually re-enacting the Madison Square Garden rally in 1939,” said Clinton to CNN’s Kaitlin Collins.

“President Franklin Roosevelt was appalled that neo-Nazis, fascists in America were lining up to essentially pledge their support for the kind of government that they were seeing in Germany,” said Former President Clinton’s wife never-to-be-president Clinton.

"It is clear from John Kelly's words that Donald Trump is someone who I quote 'certainly falls into the general definition of fascist.' Who in fact, vowed to be a dictator on day one, and vowed to use the military as his personal militia to carry out his personal and political vendetta,'" said Clinton.

Harris, meanwhile, is not better than Walz or Clinton, only more boring—she doesn't believe her own rhetoric but is determined to get to the top with her gleaming eyes and maniacal laugh. She’s not even original. In fact, she’s a yawn. And frankly, unintelligent. 

“I invite you to listen and go online to listen to John Kelly … who has told us Donald Trump said, why — essentially, ‘Why aren’t my generals like those of Hitler’s, like Hitler.'

 “The American people deserve to have a president who encourages healthy debate … and certainly not comparing oneself in a clearly admiring way to Hitler.

“This is a serious, serious issue. And we know who he is. He admires dictators.

“The American people deserve to have a president who encourages healthy debate, works across the aisle, not afraid of good ideas wherever they come from, but also maintains certain standards about how we think about the role and the responsibility, and certainly not comparing oneself in a clearly admiring way to Hitler.”

Asked if Trump were a fascist, Harris' bluffed right on through. “Yes, I do,” she said. “Yes, I do.”

There was something in her smile. Something sly in it for that tiny split second.

Well, what else could Kamala Harris, famous for her word salads, do to win at this point but smear her opponent? She wants to be president, but has done so little to articulate her policies. Or rather, she’s articulated many words that go good with Thousand Island dressing.

As November 5 draws nearer, Harris seems to have stopped even trying to outline what it is she intends to do if elected president. Instead, she has begun this slow crescendo of hateful tropes, each day ranting and raving about Donald Trump ever more vigorously, insistently and repeatedly telling us that Trump is a very bad person.

There is a name for this. It’s called negative campaigning. Whether or not smearing one’s opponent is an effective strategy is up for debate, but it certainly seems the coward’s way out of articulating an actual policy. Something Harris can’t and hasn’t done.

We have seen Kamala Harris a lot these past weeks, Tim Walz, less so. I think they hide him. He’s scary. He has crazy eyes. And I did not like the look of hatred that flashed on his face, that downturn of the mouth when Walz was asked by a reporter about the hostages in Gaza—it was so quick I had to watch the exchange a few times to confirm it. Then the mask came down and Walz was Mister Friendly Guy once more—all smiley like he didn’t hear the reporter’s question. But we all saw it. I saw it. I saw Mr. Evil Man rear his ugly head for that little almost undetectable blip in time.

I dread the thought of Walz in a position of influence. Kamala is a power-hungry puppet who will not be kind to Israel should she win, but she is too stupid to craft or carry out policy, and that’s where others come in.

Will Walz distinguish himself as an advisor? Will he have a voice? More likely Walz is a signal to Israel-hating voters: Here is someone in Kamala’s corner.

Someone who hates the Jews.



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!

 

 

Wednesday, August 28, 2024



Disclaimer: the views expressed here are solely those of the author, weekly Judean Rose columnist Varda Meyers Epstein.

Donald Trump has many times reiterated the claim that what happened on October 7 in Israel would not have happened had he won the 2020 election. I completely agree. Which is why, to a degree, I blame Donald Trump for what happened on and in the wake of October 7.

If Trump hadn’t been such a rude bully, perhaps Joe Biden would not now be pretending to be executive in chief with Kamala Harris waiting in the wings while contemplating the great significance of the passage of time (why Joe wasn’t pushed down a flight of stairs and said to be dead from COVID long ago, I have no idea).

You don’t need me to tell you that Trump is (in)famous for his ad hominem attacks on his opponents. Trump delights in inventing creative attack nicknames for his competitors, among them:

·        Little Marco

·        Lyin’ Ted

·        Crooked Hillary

·        Ron DeSanctimonious

·        Low Energy Jeb

·        Pocahontas

·        Crazy Joe Biden

·        Sleepy Joe

·        Comrade Kamala

·        Tampon Tim

 

The mean nicknames no doubt delight many Trump voters. For them, it’s all a part of Donald Trump’s charm. But what about those who take offense at the name-calling? They also vote. If Donald Trump really cares about America, shouldn’t he want their votes, too?

Aside from the rude and childish name-calling, there was his mockery of the way the now-deceased John McCain used his hands. Love or hate Donald Trump, you have to admit that making fun of the disabled is repugnant, pure and simple. But it’s even worse when that disabled person is a former prisoner of war and war hero, whose disability is the result of maltreatment and torture. Is someone who mocks the disabled, someone who behaves in this fashion, worthy of being elected to the highest office in the land—a land that John McCain defended with his body?

 

The name-calling, crude references to manhood/menstruation, and public mimicry of the disabled are all problematic and, it must be acknowledged, at least in part to blame for Trump’s loss to Biden in 2020. Many are now warning Trump that here too in 2024, he stands to lose voters because of his coarse behavior. And then we’re really in trouble, because God forbid, we’d end up with two YUGE antisemites running the show, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

As Victor Davis Hanson explains it, there is only a short window for Donald Trump to define himself for the voters. When Trump calls Harris “stupid” without saying why, he only looks churlish. It’s a missed opportunity to present his case at a time when time is running out, or as Hanson put it, “No time for invective.”


Despite his at times unpresidential behavior, Trump was a damned good president according to just about every measure this author can think of. Think back to what your grocery cart looked like then compared to now, under the Bidenomics of which Kamala is so proud. Picture the signing of the Abraham Accords, and then see in your mind’s eye how Biden, instead of fostering peace, gave Iran the wherewithal to finance Hamas brutality while staying Israel’s hand from its own defense:

“I will end every single international crisis that the current administration has created, including the horrible war with Russia and Ukraine — which would have never happened if I was president — and the war caused by the attack on Israel, which would have never happened if I was president,” said Trump at the RNC.

“Iran was broke. Iran had no money. Now Iran has $250 billion. They made it all over the last two and a half years,” he adds, saying the Biden administration has provided Tehran sanctions relief.

“I told China and other countries if you buy from Iran, we will not let you do any business in this country.”

These are not empty boasts. I believe Trump when he says these things. And he’s right; Hamas would not have attacked Israel on October 7 had he been in office. They wouldn’t have dared; and now they remember all too well how things were when Trump was in office—and tremble. As they should.

Trump starved Iran of money, making it impossible for the Ayatollah to support his proxies, including the one in Gaza, Hamas. Joe Biden, on the other hand, has fed Iran a constant diet of cash, even as he stays Israel’s hand from obliterating this cruel enemy. There’s no reason to think this policy of emboldening those who murder, rape, and brutalize Jews won’t continue under a Kamala Harris presidency. And by now we must acknowledge that Joe cannot possibly be running the show. The unseen handler of Joe is likely to become the handler of Kamala Harris as well, if Trump fails to make his case.

Here in Israel, we feel the terrible strain of the hostage situation. We pray for the best, but anticipate the worst, and it is unbearable. That makes me—and I’d venture a lot of other Israeli Jews—feel kind of desperate about the American presidential election. We are desperate for Donald Trump to win. And angry that this might all have been avoided, had Trump behaved a little better in the run up to the last election. Who knows how many lives would have been saved had Trump kept a civil tongue in his mouth? It makes me ache to think of it. A good president who won’t behave, and people died.

And still, it is a pragmatic fact that Trump must win, because he is the president who will act decisively, and extract a price from Hamas for what it did and continues to do to Americans and American allies both dead and alive in Gaza. In spite of his rough behavior, it’s obvious that Trump has a strong sense of right and wrong. He feels the disgrace of what it means for Biden to have allowed this state of affairs to continue even as Joe helps it along—helps the terrorists along. Trump also feels the disgrace of America throwing an ally, Israel, under the bus.

Kamala, on the other hand, will be worse than Joe. She has expressed sympathy for supporters of Hamas and Hezbollah, again and again.

So we watch and worry. We worry that Trump will say more nasty, childish thing and that this will affect his chances at the polls. What will be of our hostages if Trump can’t shut his mouth and restrain himself. “Save it for Putin!” we want to shout.

Yet we know that in spite of any mean-spirited behavior to the contrary, in the bigger scheme of things, Trump has more morality in his little finger than there is in the entire Biden White House.



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!

 

 

Wednesday, August 21, 2024



Disclaimer: the views expressed here are solely those of the author, weekly Judean Rose columnist Varda Meyers Epstein.

Jessica Tarlov is the snotty token Democrat on the Fox News political talk show, “The Five.” The petulant downturn to her mouth is annoying, as are her righteously angry rhetoric and whiny voice. But in some ways, Tarlov’s most important quality is that she always comes armed with facts with which to debate the far more numerous conservatives weighing in on the discussion. Tarlov interprets that data from her liberal perch and bias, but at least the Democratic Party political strategist is using facts.

Or so I thought.

In a discussion regarding the anti-Israel protesters and their new nickname for Kamala Harris, “Killer Kamala,” Tarlov remarked that “The majority of American Jews, and also Israelis, favor a peaceful two-state solution.”

70% of American Jews vote for the Democrats and I believe that number will be the same come November 5th. I don’t think any of this is going to make a substantial difference, but I think Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have firmly stood with Israel. They have given all the arms Netanyahu has asked for. He has said multiple times that he thanks the administration for it.

If people think Donald Trump is going to be better for Israel, they have another think coming. Because guess what? The majority of American Jews, and also Israelis, favor a peaceful two-state solution and Donald Trump doesn’t care about that at all.

 

Now, I listen to The Five on my phone with half an ear as I do everything I play on Youtube to keep me company as I prepare lunch or cook for Shabbos. But when I heard that last bit about the two-state solution, my ears perked up. “That’s not true,” I said to myself, mentally making a note to check the numbers on Google.

It was conceivable to think that a majority of American Jews would be in favor of a two-state solution, but I didn’t know this absolutely. Since she was wrong about the Israelis, I thought, maybe she’s wrong about the Americans, too. Even if the majority of Israelis were in favor of a “peaceful two-state solution” whatever that means—it’s an oxymoron if I ever heard one—they sure aren’t in favor of it now, after October 7. That ship has sailed.

Gallup did a survey of Israelis between Oct. 17 and Dec. 3, in the weeks and months following October 7. What they found is that “Israelis no longer support a two-state solution”:

One in four Israeli adults currently support the existence of an independent Palestinian state, while most (65%) oppose it. This is almost a complete reversal of where they stood on the issue a decade ago, when twice as many Israeli adults supported an independent Palestinian state (61%) as opposed one (30%).


So there you have it. A majority of Israeli Jews do not want a two-state solution. And if that were true it meant that Tarlov was wrong—or at least using way outdated figures. That’s if we are to give Tarlov the benefit of the doubt and assume that she made an innocent mistake as opposed to telling an out-and-out lie. The truth is, it makes no difference. Tarlov’s recitation of false facts robs her of credibility.

Fact-checking Tarlov’s claim that the majority of American Jews favor a two-solution, brought mixed results. A March Pew Research Center survey found that 46% of Jewish Americans think a two-state solution is the best possible outcome, while 22% support a one-state option, preferring all the land to be one country under Israeli rule. 46% of anything, by definition, cannot be a majority—a plurality, yes—but not a majority. That’s an important distinction. 46% of American Jewry does not represent even half of that sector.  

A May survey by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA), on the other hand, does indeed find that a majority of American Jews, 60%, support a two-state solution. I consider the JCPA to be an absolutely credible organization, whose august panel of experts includes Dr. Dan Diker, Khaled Abu Toameh, and Amb. Alan Baker. The survey offers a snapshot of “the viewpoints of 511 American Jews regarding the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.”

“Conducted between May 9-11, 2024, the survey provides critical insights into the attitudes and concerns within the American Jewish community during this turbulent period. The survey has a margin of error of ±4% and includes a balanced representation by gender and age.”

Of course, the Pew survey had a sample of nearly four times that size, with 1,941 Jewish American respondents weighing in. And I really doubt that the progressive-leaning Jessica Tarlov went digging around on the ‘net, like I did, and stumbling on the JCPA survey, decided to use it as a statistic more to her liking than the one from Pew. Why the suspicion? Aside from the JCPA luminaries already mentioned above is Jason Greenblatt, Trump’s advisor on none other than . . . drumroll please. . .

Israel.

It is difficult to believe that Jessica Tarlov would cite, unless by accident, the results of a survey published by a think-tank with a Trump appointee as its senior director of Arab-Israeli diplomacy. More likely, Jessica Tarlov was thinking of the March Pew survey. In which case, we really need to wonder at the conflation of “majority” with “plurality.”

Not that anyone did at “The Five.” No one among full-time cohosts Greg Gutfeld, Dana Perino, Jesse Watters, and Jeanine Pirro said a thing in response to Tarlov’s erroneous statistics about Jews and the two-state solution. They must have figured that yet again, they, the non-Jews have been caught flatfooted, undercut by actual Jews when non-Jews try to speak up for them. They certainly wouldn’t have been splitting semantic hairs over “majority” and “plurality.”

At any rate, there wouldn’t have been a way for the cohosts to verify Tarlov’s claims on the spot, while they were live on air, even if some unseen guy were feeding them facts through some gewgaw in their ears. I, on the other hand, had the luxury of time and a laptop to actually investigate Tarlov’s wide-of-the-mark assessment of Jewish attitudes in regard to the stupidest, most unworkable concept on earth: the two-state solution.

The main thing for me, at any rate, was that I learned a lesson, or at least had one reinforced by the exercise. Don’t easily accept stats, especially when it comes to Israel and the Jews. Always question further, even when the one citing those stats seems like a serious person, even if you do disagree with them. Which was how I’d seen Tarlov until now, someone I respected, even if I disagreed with her. Now, even the respect is gone.

Tarlov may be snappy with the stats, but she isn’t being either careful or accurate, playing fast and loose with the numbers as she apparently does. In my eyes, going forward, Tarlov is forever tarnished, and by extension, so is everyone else.

I’ve lost trust.

Can you blame me?



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!

 

 

Wednesday, August 14, 2024


Disclaimer: the views expressed here are solely those of the author, weekly Judean Rose columnist Varda Meyers Epstein.

Tim Walz just can’t seem to get enough of the imam Asad Zaman of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota (MAS Minnesota). We should examine why Walz is a fan of the cleric of an arm of the Muslim Brotherhood. Does the man who may become vice president of America share the philosophy and goals of the Muslim Brotherhood? Or is the association of Walz with the imam—an avowed, Hitler-loving, Hamas-loving antisemite who wants to eradicate the Jews—completely innocent?

To give the devil his due, Walz may be using his relationship with Asad Zaman only to curry favor with his Muslim constituency. But it’s awfully difficult to overlook the implications of the more than $100,000 Walz has contributed to MAS Minnesota. Walz must want something for that cash payout, unless of course, he deeply admires Zaman’s worldview.

It was Gabe Kaminsky, investigative reporter at the Washington Examiner who brought the affiliation between Tim Walz and Asad Zaman, to light:

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, on at least five occasions as governor of Minnesota, hosted a Muslim cleric who celebrated Hamas‘s Oct. 7 attack last year on Israel and promoted a film popular among Neo-Nazis that glorifies Adolf Hitler, the Washington Examiner found.

The imam, Asad Zaman of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, joined other Muslim leaders in May 2023 for a meeting about mosque security with Walz’s gubernatorial office in Minnesota. Zaman also spoke at a May 2020 event to call for peaceful protests with the governor during the riots in Minnesota sparked after George Floyd’s death. In April 2019, the cleric delivered an invocation before Walz’s state address — just months after Zaman called for an end to a government shutdown at a press conference with Walz in January 2019.

Zaman, moreover, attended a May 2019 event that Walz hosted for Ramadan, social media posts show.

 

 

More from the Washington Examiner about the worldview of Walz’s friend, the cleric Zaman (emphasis added):

Zaman, who is from Bangladesh, said on Oct. 7 of last year that he “stands in solidarity with Palestinians against Israeli attacks.” That day, which saw 1,200 Israelis murdered by Hamas terrorists, he also shared an image of a Palestinian flag on Facebook in response to a post by Yusuf Abdi Abdulle, director of the Islamic Association of North America, declaring that “Palestine has the right to defend itself.” The Biden-Harris administration, Abdulle wrote in the post, was “on the wrong side of history” in “supporting the extremist Zionist regime and its illegal settlements.” 


Asad Zaman’s loyalty to “Palestinians” should be translated as “loyalty to Hamas,” since he once shared a Hamas press release. The occasion? The 2016 hanging of Motiur Rahman Nizami, a Bangladeshi Islamic leader, after he was convicted of genocide, rape and torture.


One of Asad Zaman’s favorite things, of course, is Hitler. Zaman even shared a link to the website of the pro-Hitler film, The Greatest Story Never Told.

Here is a text from the website of this 6-hour documentary on Hitler:

Since the mid-20th century, the world has only ever heard one side of an incredible story. The story of a boy from an ordinary family whose ambition it was to become an artist, but who instead became a drifter.

His destiny however was not to drift into the awaiting oblivion, but to rise to the greatest heights of power, eventually to become one of the most influential men who ever lived.

Now for the first time, here is a documented account of a story many believe to be…

The Greatest Story NEVER Told!

Learn the untold story about the most reviled man in history. Adolf Hitler, The Greatest Story Never Told is a 6-hour Documentary by TruthWillOut Films.

This ground-breaking documentary chronicles the rise of Germany from defeat in World War I, to communist attempts to take over Germany; hyperinflation during the Weimar Republic, widespread unemployment and misery, and Adolf Hitler’s rise to power.

It also reveals a personal side of Adolf Hitler: who he was, his family background, his artwork and struggles in Vienna and what motivated him to come to power.

There’s so much hidden history to recount; FDR Pearl Harbor conspiracy, Soviet brutality, betrayal and treachery on all sides. Do we really know the true cost of war? Do we really possess all the facts?

Watch this series and uncover the real root causes of World War II. Do your own research and decide what you choose to believe. Think differently.



The Washington Examiner explains that the 2013 movie is popular among antisemites, citing an Anti-Defamation League spokesperson. “Imam Zaman has a troubling history of playing into classic anti-Jewish themes and justifying violence against Israel.

“He also has justified violence against Israel, including from terror groups. Given his hurtful remarks post-Oct. 7, and absent any recognition of the pain he has caused the Jewish community, we urge all public officials and leaders to avoid meeting with him in the future. Those who have met with Imam Zaman should clarify that they don’t agree with his toxic views about Jews and the Jewish state.”

After a terror attack, it is always meaningful to see who rushes to support the Jewish State; and all the more so after the slaughter of October 7. On that black day, Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) was quick to offer sympathy and support to Israel and the Israeli people. At the other end of the scale was Asad Zaman, who asked Porter if she were willing to “reaffirm the right of Palestinians to defend themselves.”

Beyond Porter, there is Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chairman Ken Martin, who wrote on social media that he was “beyond heartbroken” to hear about Israeli acquaintances “brutally killed or kidnapped” on Oct. 7. Of course, Zaman was there to respond with the threat that his group would be shunned by the Muslim community, that it “cannot be joined at the hip to apartheid Israel and still hope to court the Muslim vote.”

The Zaman way is to twist the truth, equating Hamas terror to Israel defending itself. Because this is how they roll at the Muslim Brotherhood offshoot known as the Muslim American Society of Minnesota. On October 7, MAS Minnesota issued a statement that it “reaffirms its unwavering support for the Palestinian people in their struggle against the Israeli occupation.” We don’t wonder that MAS Minnesota expresses its support for Hamas, a fellow branch of the Muslim Brotherhood; but why has the Walz administration forked over more than $100,000 in funding to MAS Minnesota?

Sam Westrop, a terrorism researcher and analyst at the Middle East Forum think tank, told the Washington Examiner that Walz’s ties with Zaman suggests that the Harris-Walz cabinet will be filled with anti-Israel extremists.

“It is astounding that with all the available public reporting and information about the iniquities of Imam Asad Zaman and MAS Minnesota that Gov. Walz has repeatedly given public platforms and taxpayer money to this extremist,” said Westrop.

“Across the country, Islamists hungry for government support will surely welcome Walz as vice president.”

Note that the Muslim American Society has been described by federal prosecutors as being “founded as the overt arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in the United States.” In the United Arab Emirates, the Muslim Brotherhood was designated as a terrorist group in 2014. There was a brouhaha in 2019 when a video surfaced online of children at an event held by MAS Philadelphia calling to murder Jews.

“We will chop off their heads, and we will liberate the sorrowful and exalted Al-Aqsa Mosque,” recite two young girls, reading from a prepared text.


 How does Tim Walz describe his pal, the pro-Hitler movie fan Asad Zaman? Walz calls Zaman a “master teacher” who offers Walz lessons whenever they spend time together.

“I would like to first of all say thank you to imam,” Walz said at the MAS Minnesota 2018 event, standing next to now Lieutenant Governor of the Gopher State, Peggy Flanagan:

“I am a teacher, so when I see a master teacher, I know it. Over the time we’ve spent together, one of the things I’ve had the privilege of is seeing the things in life through the eye of a master teacher, to try and get the understanding. It was imam talking [saying that] ‘in those times is where we find who we are, in those times is where we really see.’

“That brings me to the second lesson that imam taught me,” said Walz, going on to accuse Congress of feeding on “fear more than hope” and “division.”


Ben Shapiro spoke with Gabe Kaminsky after his exposé of Walz’s friendship with Zaman. During the interview, Kaminsky said that MAS Minnesota had been deemed a Muslim Brotherhood offshoot as far back as 2008, in a terrorism financing case.

“But this individual, Asad Zaman, has a controversial history on social media, on his Facebook page. He has, in one case, promoted a pro-Hitler movie, a movie that glorifies Adolf Hitler. On Oct. 7, when 1,200 Israelis were slaughtered in the Jewish state, his immediate response was to say that Palestinians had a right to resist, a right to defend themselves. And this individual has promoted other conspiracy theories on his social media history.”

Fox News also asked for clarification from the Harris campaign regarding Walz’s links to the imam. The Harris-Walz campaign responded to Chicago-based correspondent Mike Tobin by lying, telling him that "Gov. Walz does not have a relationship with [Zaman],” though Walz has hosted Asad Zaman on numerous occasions.

The campaign also said that Walz "strongly condemns Hamas terrorism.”

Fox's Tobin expressed his concerns:

We start to see more appearances with Zaman and Gov. Walz in 2019, January, April and May. At one point, Zaman delivers an invocation to the state of the state address.

He appeared with Gov. Walz in May of 2020, calling for calm in the George Floyd riots, and again in 2023 following a string of vandalism at mosques.

Sam Westrop of The Middle East Forum says Gov. Walz has been willfully ignorant of Zaman’s radicalism because he relies on the Arab or Muslim voting bloc and cannot do anything that would make him appear Islamophobic.

Westrop said, “This is a serious problem. Under a Walz-Harris ticket, given Walz's ability to embrace really just the worst kind of radicals within the Muslim community, one can only imagine this will be replicated at the White House level. Walz clearly doesn't want to know about the extremists he embraces.”

Even the Dem-friendly CNN wants to know what’s up with Walz and the imam. They got the same response from the Harris campaign’s Lauren Hitt, who told CNN that Walz and Zaman do not have a “personal relationship.”

“The Governor and he do not have a personal relationship.”

Is Hitt getting around what is now known by all, by qualifying the nature of the Walz Zaman relationship? It’s not “personal.” Does Hitt mean they’re not gay, they’re only friends?

Hitt, still sticking to the script, blah-blah-blahed the same thing she’d said to everyone else who’d inquired. “Governor Walz strongly condemns Hamas terrorism,” said Hitt to CNN.

Zaman separately told CNN that he does not have a “personal relationship” with Walz. Pressed by CNN about his antisemitic social media posts, he said that sometimes he shares links “without fully looking at them.” 

“People, myself included, will sometimes pass along social media items without fully looking at them. I support organizations, leaders and efforts to bring greater justice, equality and wellbeing to all people whether Muslim or Jewish, Christian or Hindu, believer or atheist. Desiring harm to people is against my faith and my personal convictions,” said the imam to CNN.

Asad Zaman isn’t the only terrorist with whom Tim Walz has fraternized. There’s also Hatem Bazian, an antisemitic academic. Bazian has been an ever-abundant and dependable source of antisemitic propaganda in the wake of October 7. Naturally, this is someone Walz wants to cultivate. In fact, Walz cozied up to Bazian the Jew-hater for a photo opp in 2019, at a Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) event. The views of CAIR and Bazain were transparent even then. 

CAIR, much like MAS, was labeled by federal prosecutors an unindicted co-conspirator of Hamas in a terror finance case from 2008. In 2017, Bazian was compelled to apologize for posting an antisemitic meme depicting a Jewish man with the caption, "Mom look! I is chosen! I can now kill, rape, smuggle organs & steal the land of Palestinians Yay #Ashke-Nazi."

Walz posed for photos with this man, Hatem Bazian. What does this say about Walz? By now we know. He likes hanging out with known antisemites. And giving them money.

Meanwhile, you won’t get any kind of admission from the Harris campaign about the vice presidential candidate and his close associations with terrorists. When questioned, all they do is lie. Matt Brooks, CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition was blunt not only about Walz’s relationship with Asad Zaman, but how the Harris campaign responds when confronted with the evidence:

It is an outrage to the American Jewish community that Tim Walz would champion Hitler-promoting cleric Asad Zaman of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota. On Oct. 7, 2023, as Israel was suffering the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, Mr. Zaman disgustingly asserted that he ‘stands in solidarity with Palestinians against Israeli attacks.’ Appallingly, under Tim Walz, Minnesota has awarded over $100,000 in funding to Zaman’s Israel-hating organization.”

At a time of spiking antisemitism here at home and as Israel faces an existential war for survival, it is essential for the American Jewish community to have confidence in our leaders—and it is clear that we cannot trust Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. Their priorities are not our priorities, and the American people will reject their radicalism and extremism in November.

Beyond the stolen valor issue and more, the American public has begun to notice Tampon Tim's affinity for terrorists. Florida Senator Rick Scott spoke out about Walz hosting a Hamas-affiliated terrorist who celebrated October 7 on some five occasions, saying that Harris/Walz is the “pro Hamas ticket.”

Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.) meanwhile questioned the response of the Harris team: “Why did Tim Walz lie about his obviously friendly relationship with a Minnesota Muslim cleric who promoted Hamas and Hitler?

“Weird—and disqualifying.”

Many are the accusers who call Donald Trump “Orange Hitler” with no proof. There’s just a call that goes out to the echo chamber, and the media and its audiences, fall in. Meantime, in Walz we have a potential VP who has the very bad habit of legit hanging out with genuine Hitler fans. Donald Trump told Elon Musk that any Jew who votes for Harris should have his head examined; and in truth, an examination of the facts about Walz and his Muslim cronies can lead to only one conclusion: Walz is a terrorist sympathizer.

If you vote for Harris, you’re voting for Walz.

And if you vote for Walz, you’re voting for Jews to die. 



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!

 

 

Monday, August 12, 2024

By Forest Rain



“To me, you cannot say, that’s not realistic”

There are those who talk and there those who do. I deeply admire the doers. The people who make things happen, particularly those who, with unwavering determination, pull a new reality out of thin air. The stubborn ones who keep treading the long road, against all odds, despite being derided and denied, accused and despised.

“The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

When Steve Jobs created the famous Apple ad honoring the misfits and troublemakers who have no respect for the status quo, the general public loved the romance of the idea presented. Public reaction is very different when it comes to real people who fit this description.

Few people have made, as Jobs liked to say, “a dent in the world”, like Daniella Weiss. She changed the map of Israel. Literally.

For the past 50 years, Daniella has been (and still is!) the most prominent woman in the settlement of biblical Israel – Judea, Samaria, and Gaza.

Daniella was a key member of Gush Emunim, a Zionist movement with the mission: “To bring about a major spiritual reawakening in the Jewish people for the sake of the full realization of the Zionist vision, in the knowledge that this vision’s source and goal in the Jewish heritage and in Judaism’s roots are the total redemption of both the Jewish people and the whole world.”

Basically, their idea was that Jewish identity is tied to our ancestral homeland and to fully actualize our identity, it is necessary to live in the land that gave birth to our People. Healing the divide between this land and her people, the people and the land, will not only heal Jews but will also heal the world.

To make this vision a reality, the leaders of Gush Emunim went to different areas of biblical Israel. Rabbi Levinger went to Hebron. Rabbi Chanan Porat went to Gush Etzion.

Daniella Weiss, with the core people of Elon Moreh went to Samaria. Her actions and mentorship led to the creation of 300 communities, 800,000 Jews living where, before 1974, there were none.

Between 1984 and 1988, Daniella served as the Secretary General of the Gush Emunim Movement. For 11 years Daniella was the Mayor of Kedumim. Since 2007, Daniella, together with others, including the late Rabbi Levinger, established The Nachala Settlement Movement.

When I was a child in America, the word “settler” meant “pioneer”, the people who braved the wilderness and built America with their own two hands. They were people to be admired and emulate. After the Six Day War, Israelis returning to their ancestral homeland, were treated as heroic miracle-makers. After the Yom Kippur War in 1973 many people, including Israelis, were not so certain about being the people physically actualizing a biblical prophecy.

As if settling down, and making yourself comfortable, in the land of our ancestors could be a bad thing. I can imagine Daniella would laugh and say: “Do you really think that Jews returning to their promised land is avoidable?”

People who believe in biblical prophecy are often derided. Those who take action to make the prophecies come to life are considered by many to be crazy. They are called extreme, hard-liners, messianic...

Jews living in their ancestral homeland, willing to defend themselves and their families, even when the government is unwilling (or due to international pressure, unable), to come to their aid are deemed by European governments, the US State Department, and even by some on Israel’s left to be “the obstacle to peace.”  Recently different governments have sanctioned individual residents of Judea and Samaria, including Daniella Weiss, as if they are to blame for the lack of peace.

Jewish presence in the land makes it impossible to divide the land and that makes many people angry.

They forget that Judea and Samaria, not Tel Aviv, is the ancestral homeland of the Jewish People. They refuse to look at the map and see how the Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria protect the metropolitan of Tel Aviv from an October 7th-style invasion from Palestinian Authority-controlled territories, the same PA whose leaders promised more October 7s, whose people overwhelmingly support Hamas. For example, the PA city of Kalkiliya is 14 kilometers, 9 miles from the Mediterranean Sea – an easy stroll away from Kfar Saba. The outskirts of Kalkiliya and Kfar Saba are practically touching, closer than the distance between Gaza and Nir Oz. The only difference is that in Gaza there were no Jews and subsequently no IDF to prevent the invasion.

One doesn’t need to be “messianic” to recognize the importance of Jewish presence to establish Jewish safety. Bible believers, both Jews and Christians, will say that it is wrong to divide God’s land. Indigenous rights dictate that Jews have the right to live in their indigenous homeland. But even if only focused on the practicalities needed to create security, it is easy to understand that civilian life means homes and roads that remain open because they are in use by civilians. The IDF doesn’t occupy territory, it protects homes. Pulling civilians out of that area (like what happened in Gaza) creates a vacuum that the enemy fills – and when that endangers the nearby civilian population, it is necessary to use extreme military force.

The presence of communities actually keeps the peace, as much as peace is possible in this region.

Daniella Weiss’s Nachala Movement continues to support the return of Jews to our ancestral lands. She says: “I don’t need to be told that the people need to lead the government in making things happen. I teach others that idea.

She says 650 families have registered to establish communities in Gaza. Governments, organizations, and even many Israelis say that this is a wild, crazy, and dangerous idea. Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “It’s not realistic.”

Daniella’s response? “To me, you cannot say it’s not realistic. Gaza is part of the historic land of the tribe of Judah and we are going to return to our land.”

For 50 years she’s been making the unrealistic real. 

Steve Jobs said it better than I ever could: “Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”




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!

 

 

Wednesday, August 07, 2024


Disclaimer: the views expressed here are solely those of the author, weekly Judean Rose columnist Varda Meyers Epstein.

Three Americans held hostage in Russia were released a week ago today. While you may not have been familiar with the name Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist with dual US/Russian citizenship, it is almost certain you knew the names of the other two now-freed hostages: Paul Whelan, and Even Gershkovich. But how many of you are familiar with the names of the 8 American citizens still held hostage in Gaza?

  • Edan Alexander
  • Itay Chen HY"D
  • Sagui Dekel-Chen
  • Hersh Goldberg-Polin
  • Gadi Haggai HY"D
  • Judith Weinstein Haggai HY"D
  • Omer Neutra
  • Keith Siegel

Some of the eight are no longer alive, their dead bodies held captive by Hamas and their families denied the chance to bury their loved ones. Others still live in daily torment. Their names, if not their bodies, need to live in our minds, and in the minds of the public. In that task, the world has failed them.

One exception that proves the rule is the name “Hersh Goldberg-Polin,” thanks to the intensive efforts of his parents, Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin. The two have somehow managed to keep their son’s name front and center; not an easy feat in our ever-changing news cycles. The campaign on behalf of their son has made a difference, not least of all because Rachel Goldberg is both appealing and a gifted speaker. She appears fragile, yet we admire her strength and wonder how she manages to keep going, day after day. We can tell she is living a nightmare, and her pleas for her son’s release hit home.

Photos have also helped to keep Hersh and his name alive in our minds, in particular, that of Rachel stooping to peek at the camera over Hersh’s shoulder as he sits in a lawn chair. Other visual reminders of Hersh would have to include the eye-catching bright yellow and black posters emblazoned with Hersh’s face and name that sprang up in my town early on. We might not yet have known the details of how it happened; how Hersh was thrown into the back of a truck with a bloody stump where his arm used to be. But we knew he was an American hostage in Gaza and we knew his name: Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

Another effective visual reminder of Hersh’s absence is the bit of masking tape affixed to Rachel’s clothing. Replenished daily, the piece of tape is marked with the number of days Hersh has been held in captivity, that number written in ballpoint pen by a yearning mother’s hand. When you see Rachel Goldberg’s Instagram posts, it’s that piece of tape that catches your eye. It’s poignant; a real punch to the gut to see it. Rachel Goldberg literally wears her pain on her shirt, and for her followers, the strip of tape is a stark, daily reminder of just how long this nightmare has lasted for her son, Hersh. All of these things, the posters, the photos, the piece of tape, the soft-spoken, quietly-suffering mother have served to cement the name “Hersh Goldberg-Polin,” firmly in our minds.

But what about the other 7 American captives? Do you know their names like you know Hersh’s name? Have you heard their names spoken by the American president and/or his administration? Is the American media keeping their names alive in your mind?

If not, why not? They managed to make you remember the names “Paul Whelan” and “Evan Gershkovich,” so why not follow the same recipe on behalf of the American hostages in Gaza? After all, politicians and journalists, if they know anything, know branding. They know how to use a name to their advantage. And they know how to keep a name quiet when it is controversial, harmful, or distasteful.

Take President Biden’s triumphant remarks on the release of the three Americans wrongfully detained by Russia. In those remarks, the president managed to get in a dig at his opponent, Donald J. Trump, with a false accusation regarding the number of Americans held since before he took office. What Joe Biden didn’t do, is get the names of the Gaza hostages out there to the American people:

I will not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with their family. My Administration has now brought home over 70 such Americans, many of whom were in captivity since before I took office. Still, too many families are suffering and separated from their loved ones, and I have no higher priority as President than bringing those Americans home.

Today, we celebrate the return of Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir, and rejoice with their families. We remember all those still wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world. And reaffirm our pledge to their families: We see you. We are with you. And we will never stop working to bring your loved ones home where they belong.

Think of the impact it would have had, had Biden slowly recited the names of the hostages in the course of his speech, pausing for effect between each name. One small edit was all it needed:

We see you. We are with you. We remember our eight hostages in Gaza:

  • Edan Alexander
  • Itay Chen HY"D
  • Sagui Dekel-Chen
  • Hersh Goldberg-Polin
  • Gadi Haggai HY"D
  • Judith Weinstein Haggai HY"D
  • Omer Neutra
  • Keith Siegel

And we will never stop working to bring your loved ones home where they belong.

We should all say their names, of course, but in particular, the American president should be saying their names at every possible occasion. Because they are Americans. And because the president is currently working to negotiate a Gaza ceasefire—it’s something that is happening right now.

Which makes it totally appropriate to mention their names:

  • Edan Alexander
  • Itay Chen HY"D
  • Sagui Dekel-Chen
  • Hersh Goldberg-Polin
  • Gadi Haggai HY"D 
  • Judith Weinstein Haggai HY"D
  • Omer Neutra
  • Keith Siegel

In fact, this writer could not find a single instance when Biden recited the names of these eight. He refers to them only as “hostages.” Of course Biden had no trouble using the release of Natalie and Judith Ranaan and little Avigael Idan to his advantage. Biden said THEIR names aplenty. But not these eight—those Americans still in the clutches of Hamas. Not even in his statement marking 100 days of captivity for the hostages of Gaza:


Today, we mark a devastating and tragic milestone—100 days of captivity for the more than 100 innocent people, including as many as 6 Americans, who are still held being hostage by Hamas in Gaza. For 100 days, they have existed in fear for their lives, not knowing what tomorrow will bring. For 100 days, their families have lived in agony, praying for the safe return of their loved ones. And for each of those 100 days, the hostages and their families have been at the forefront of my mind as my national security team and I have worked non-stop to try to secure their freedom.

Since Hamas brutally attacked Israel on October 7, my Administration has pursued aggressive diplomacy to bring the hostages home.  We saw the first results of that effort late October, when two Americans were reunited with their loved ones.  In November, working in close coordination with Qatar, Egypt, and Israel, we brokered a seven day pause in fighting that resulted in the release of 105 hostages—including a 4-year-old American child—and allowed us to surge additional vital humanitarian aid into Gaza. I was deeply engaged to secure, sustain, and extend that deal. Sadly, Hamas walked away after just one week. But the United States and our partners have not given up. Secretary Blinken was back in the region this past week seeking a path forward for a deal to free all those still being held.  I look forward to maintaining close contact with my counterparts in Qatar, Egypt, and Israel to return all hostages home and back to their families. 

I will never forget the grief and the suffering I have heard in my meetings with the families of the American hostages. No one should have to endure even one day of what they have gone through, much less 100.  On this terrible day, I again reaffirm my pledge to all the hostages and their families—we are with you. We will never stop working to bring Americans home.

That is the sum total of Biden’s statement, leaving the eight hostages to remain nameless before the public. How hard would it have been to include those names? It would have made so much sense to name the hostages before the public as the president of the United States. 

But it’s no wonder Biden keeps a low profile when it comes to the hostages of Gaza. With the left ascendant, the Jews are in bad odor. Which renders Jewish hostages unmentionable not only by the president, but by the mainstream media as well.

Even the word “hostage” is a no-no if one is to go by today’s CNN homepage or Middle East section. Ditto today’s NY Times front page and world section. The word “hostage” is nowhere to be found, let alone those eight precious names:

  • Edan Alexander
  • Itay Chen HY"D
  • Sagui Dekel-Chen
  • Hersh Goldberg-Polin
  • Gadi Haggai HY"D
  • Judith Weinstein Haggai HY"D
  • Omer Neutra
  • Keith Siegel

Biden has done a very thorough job of keeping the names of the American hostages under wraps, and the media has fallen right in line. With Kamala Harris waiting in the wings, it can only get worse. Meantime, the dire situation of the hostages drags on.

There doesn't seem to be much if anything we can do about the hateful attitudes of those who strive to keep the hostages’ names out of sight and out of mind. They're antisemites; their hate isn’t logical and there’s nothing you can do about that. What you can do is what they won’t do:

Say their names.

Edan Alexander

Itay Chen HY"D

Sagui Dekel-Chen

Hersh Goldberg-Polin

Gadi Haggai HY"D

Judith Weinstein Haggai HY"D

Omer Neutra


Keith Siegel

***
Note: Edited after sharp reader ahad_ha_amoratsim suggested that Z"L should be changed to HY"D, wherever it appears. And he is correct. Z"L means "May his/her memory be a blessing," while HY"D means "May God avenge his/her blood." 



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!

 

 

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