As a reminder that in each generation new tyrants (new and improved Pharaohs) will seek to destroy the Jewish People, well, heeeere’s Alexander Cockburn! Even as we speak, right now, this minute, Cockburn is on C-Span TV, live and taking questions from those who agree with him. Others, who disagree, get cut off, as I did.

A previous caller slammed him for being part of Left Wing anti-Semitism. I dialed in, got through, and asked Cockburn what he meant by referring to that caller as “your kind.”

Well, that pretty much ended my half of the “conversation.” Cockburn began a rant that went on for about 10 minutes. I tried to explain that – oh heck, what’s the difference. There was no sense in even trying as he kept on hollering. This man is a pro. Knocking Israel (and America) -- this is his business. His main point? Israel is not PERFECT.

Compared – I asked – to whom? I don’t think that got in. I said, “Your hostile agenda against Israel is so transparent.” This, I think, did get in, and about here he accused me of reading from notes. What notes? How can I be reading when neither he, nor the C-Span host, would even let me speak?

Never mind four questions. How about one?

No, this was the Alexander Cockburn Show. More piling on upon Israel because Israel is NOT PERFECT.

Click, and I was off the air. To make room for people who were “so glad” that his views (against Israel) were being heard.

(Shades of THE  JIMMY CARTER SHOW on the same C-Span.) 

Cockburn has been around. Wikipedia notes that back in the 1980s he was dropped by The Village Voice for apparent “conflict of interest.” You’re welcome to read about this “conflict” back there at Wikipedia online. But Cockburn was not silenced. He found a new gig at The Nation. (Plus CounterPunch.)   

HIS KIND – they never let up. They never let go. They keep on coming. They do indeed arise from generation to generation.

From Pharaoh through Haman up to this very instant – they will always be with us, THIS KIND.

This is important to remember. As THAT KIND persists, so must Israel persevere from strength to strength.

They seek to destroy us, but they can’t and never will.

What perfect timing, the proof of this lesson. Just in time for Passover.

The main calumny thrown at the Jews is that they are bullies, meanies. What greater accomplishment of Zionism could be imagined?
In some ways it is a depressing period in Jewish history. The American Jewish Diaspora community, or at least the non-Orthodox bulk therein, is in the process of committing cultural/national/religious suicide. Most American Jews are indifferent to their Jewishness; intermarriage is close to and may be above 50 percent; and the dominant "religion" of the American non-Orthodox Jews is the pseudo-religion of Liberalism-as-Judaism, its chief tenet being that Judaism is nothing more nor less than the political agenda of the American Left, never mind that this agenda is totally bankrupt intellectually on its own demerits.

The Reform movement, the Deconstructionist Reconstructionists and many Conservatives (as in Conservative synagogues) are simply religious liberals, with political liberalism as their dogma.

The "defense" organizations, American Jewish Congress, Bnai Brith, et al, are also largely devoted to the practice of political liberalism as pseudo-religion.

And then we have the chattering classes in Israel - the media and intelligentsia and literati - devoted to seeing Israel weakened and dismembered through the Oslo process of national suicide. 

In these days of frustration, I think there is one idea that we should bear in mind. And that is that the Zionist movement has many fantastic accomplishments under its belt, one of the most important of which is that Zionism forced a major change in the nature and expression of anti-Semitism. 

Not that anti-Semites are really any different when they hide behind the mask of anti-Zionism. These are the same gutter bigots, the same people who refuse to acknowledge that Jews are humans, that Jews are entitled to rights and equality. But they have been forced to express their bigotry differently.

This should be obvious any time you observe the campus anti-Semites of the Left, the Arab fascists and the self-hating leftist Jewish Uncle Toms demonstrating against Israel.

For centuries, the slogans of the anti-Semites were that Jews were racially inferior, intellectually inferior, cowards, money-grubbers, killers of God, sub-humans.

But observe the main slogan of anti-Semites today: The Jews are mean. They are mean to the poor Palestinians.

Ooooh, soooo mean.

What a marvelous transformation!  The main calumny thrown at the Jews is that they are bullies, meanies. What greater accomplishment of Zionism could be imagined?

Of course, this does not mean that the anti-Semites really think that the Jews are mean or cruel to the "poor" Palestinians. The anti-Zionists do not give a damn about the Palestinians, and the last thing they care about is Arab human rights. This is why they have absolutely nothing to say about the treatment of Arabs in Arab countries or by the Palestinian Authority's Gestapo.

When Saddam Hussein ordered Kuwaiti civilians to be forced to drink gasoline and then had his troops shoot into their bellies to make them explode (to the cheers and laughs of his stormtroopers) there was not a single anti-Zionist who expressed disapproval or concern. The anti-Zionists know perfectly well that Arabs are treated a thousand times better in Israel (and this would be so even if one were to believe all their accusations and allegations of mistreatment) than are Arabs in Arab countries.

The anti-Semites lament supposed Israeli mistreatment of the "poor" Palestinians because they think this is an effective way to delegitimize and undermine the existence of Israel.  In other words, they are motivated by hatred of Jews and not by any compassion for Palestinians.  They seek to see Israel destroyed, not the Palestinians enfranchised, or rather their only interest in Palestinian enfranchisement is as a tool to endanger Israel's existence.  Of the enormous Arab territories of the Middle East, almost twice the land mass of the United States, the only place where they suddenly are concerned for the welfare and civil rights of Arabs is in Israel. The other Arabs, as far as they're concerned, can go to hell.

And if they can accuse Israel of violating Arab civil rights (never mind that their accusations are false and invented) then they can pretend to be compassionate and interested in peace, not gutter bigots who hate Jews.

The anti-Semites have lost their ability to march about and accuse the Jews of ritual murders and similar medieval libels (at least outside the Arab media and Counterpunch magazine). Such things would make them laughable in the West.  No one outside the Arab world takes the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as anything other than an embarrassment for anti-Zionists.  Hence they have seized onto a new propaganda tactic, complaining that the Jews are oh, so mean and cruel - and bullies to boot.

At long last -after two millennia of exile - to be accused of being bullies! To leave the anti-Semites with no more effective weapon than heaping invective upon the mean Jews! For this one must say a blessing of thanksgiving, a shecheyanu. And often.

It is Zionism's greatest achievement!

Haim Ramon, one of the godfathers of the Oslo debacle and inventor of Israel's bolshevik "National Health Insurance" law, one-time Israeli Minister of Health and then later Minister of Justice, was convicted of sexual harassment of a young soldier. Now Ehud Olmert wants to bring him back into the cabinet as Minister of Finance.  Ramon will not be doing any prison time, unlike poor little Naomi Blumenthal.  Talk about tongue twisting. 

I would like to see billboards around the country that read: "I would rather have Haim Ramon's tongue in my mouth than his hand in my wallet!"

The Jewish Theological Seminary is the New York school in which rabbis serving in the Conservative synagogue movement are trained.  This week the media headlines are about the decision by the school to admit homosexual men and women as rabbinic students.  That would preseumably mean they would become ordained rabbis in a few years, at least as far as the "Conservative" synagogues are concerned, in a few years.JTS

The initiative seems to be that of the new JTS chancellor, Dr. Arnold Eisen.  Eisen is not an ordained rabbi.  Before coming to JTS he was a professor at Standord.  And long LONG before that, he was an undergrad in Philadelphia.  While I really doubt he remembers this, he and I were among the founders in the late 60s of the Philadelphia Union of Jewish Students.  I was a little PC twerp back then, while he was not.  How the times have changed.  Today I am an anti-PC twerp.  He however is acting as a Grand Master of Political Correctness at JTS.

Recruiting practicing homosexuals as rabbinic students was one of the banners Eisen brought to JTS.  To his credit, it should be noted that he is not infected with most other symptoms of PC whackiness, and he is decidedly not anti-Israel. 

Nevertheless, as someone raised in the Conservative movement, I find it terribly sad that the Conservative synagogue movement has decided to follow the Reformies and the Deconstructionists down the slippery slope of PC silliness.  Evidently the JTS thinks that the 11th Commandment reads, "Thou Shalt be Trendy".

  Dr. Eisen

It is also entirely arbitrary and inconsistent.  It is one thing to suggest that homosexuals be treated with civility and politeness, protected from most forms of job discrimination and the like.  It is quite another to suggest that practicing homosexuals are qualified to serve as rabbis.  Is the JTS intent upon emptying the position of "rabbi" of all moral stature and authority, as defined by Judaism?  Homosexual acts (as opposed to urges and feelings) are unambiguously defined by the Torah as abominations, morally equivalent to bestiality, and even can be capital offenses (never mind that such punishments were never applied).  If the JTS is to admit as rabbinic students practicing homosexuals, why not also practicing drug addicts, kleptomaniacs, alcoholics, incarcerated criminals, pedaphiliacs?

And if homosexuality is suddenly regarded by the JTS as irrelevant to being a rabbi, why the arbitrary discrimination in favor of homosexuals?  Why not also pass a new JTS policy admitting as rabbinic students those practicing bestiality, incest and necrophilia?  After all, really - why should THEY not be admitted?   Necrophiliacs do not hurt anyone and are simply expressing their love!   How are we to insist that they only marry the living until death do them part?