Recently, while transferring some of my past television shows (Wow! It's Arlene Peck!) from tape to DVD's I had a chance to review some interviews I had done with Irv Rubin. For those of you unfamiliar with him, Irv was the Director of the Jewish Defense League founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane who was also murdered. I knew both of these men well and it's ironic that the ideologies of both men, considered 'radical' and 'crazy' during their lives, have become mainstream thinking today.





I remember Rabbi Kahane telling me repeatedly that "We Jews are the only ones stupid enough to give our enemies the ability to vote. Tell me? In which Arab country would Jews be allowed to visit, much less vote? They aren't going to beat us with bullets, but with ballots!"



Irv was another story. Although he lacked Kahane's charisma, he was nonetheless a powerful force. I sincerely believe that he was killed in prison on his way to his arraignment. The official story of suicide was ludicrous. Knowing Irv as I did, I'm convinced that he never would have killed himself. It makes less sense still considering he had already waited a year in jail for his case to come up.



The reason I mention this now is because there is a terrible void of the kind of 'rabble rousing' that these men represented that is needed in the Jewish state.





Israeli leaders come and go (usually the same half dozen), and after ten minutes in office capitulate to the demands and whims of our State department. I believe many of the officials making these demands are firmly in the pocket of the various Arab countries that they once represented. Israel is not a banana republic yet is repeatedly treated as one. Unfortunately, its leaders all too often justify the charge of behaving like they are which doesn't help Israel's situation. Instead of opening the jails and tearing down the fence, these leaders might want to show a little backbone. Any other country would by now be bombing the hell out of the Palestinian Authority. Yet, the current Israeli logic seems to be "Let's tear down the fence so Arafat can go bomb another bus and we can keep the guys in the Hague happy."





Aside from the lack of leadership, where are the public relation representatives the Israeli government so sorely needs? Far too often, I see issues being buried under 'quite diplomacy' which should be shouted from the roof-tops: stories which should be placed in the national newspapers, totally ignored by the local consulates. If necessary, full page ads should be taken out on a regular basis to get the point across.



When I was in Israel reporting, I went to that bastion of Arab anti-Semitism in Jerusalem, Orient House, where the international press corps seemed to like to gather and have drinks in the evening. The Arabs were out in full force socializing with the members of the press. Maybe it's time for the Israeli Consul to do a little of their own promoting.



A case in point is Walid Shoebat who was recently a guest on my television show. He was once a former PLO terrorist who is now a strong supporter for Israel. Under great danger to himself, he is speaking out about the violent culture under which he was raised.



A week or two before the taping, I called the Consul General, Yuval Rotan's office to invite him or a representative to appear on the show. As usual, I was rebuffed. I then contacted the Press Office to see if they would like to send someone to the studio to go on with him. Nobody was interested. I also contacted the good people at Jerusalem Front Page, a Christian Broadcasting station with over a hundred outlets, and they jumped right on the story. He was even invited to North Carolina to attend the Christian Coalition meeting. What are those people doing over there at the consulate?



When speakers like Shoebat, Daniel Pipes, Tovia Singer, or most any controversial person, who happens to be Jewish are booked to speak at a University, the Arabs are there in full force. They intimidate, they threaten, and they are usually able to shout the Jewish speaker down. Like the hijacking and "suicide" bombings this violent culture has besieged upon the world, these methods have been very effective. So now the unthinkable, Anti-Semitism, is given full reign, and nobody is there to combat them.





I spoke with Dr. Pipes on his way to the Berkley campus and he told me his reactions afterward. "It was a carnival atmosphere, but I also expected the university to do a much better job of controlling the outbursts, the insults, and the general atmosphere of intimidation." He is a guy who can handle that, however most speakers can't and the students are the ones who suffer.



So, now the unthinkable, Anti-Semitism, is running rampant at our schools and nobody is there to combat them. "Anti-Zionist" Film festivals are becoming the norm at our universities and the students are being taught regularly about the "siege and occupation" of Israel by the Jews. What is being done to combat it? In the old days, my friend Irv Rubin would have traveled there just as he did to Idaho to confront the Nazis. He would have been outside with a bullhorn reminding these "demonstrators" that they were not allowed to do all that they are getting away with today.



Irv took his own "troops" to Idaho to confront the Nazis. Where are his inheritors to combat these Arabs at our universities? Shouldn't the Israeli consul be doing less plaque taking and more position taking? A little more basic public relations could sorely be used right about now - and so could a few good Irv Rubins.