Submitted Comments RSS Feed Comments by hindy abelson
Posted in: Netanyahu faces moment of truth
As a Jew and a lover of the Jewish state, I find the right wing responses on this blog very scary. So many of them, like all religious fanatics, profess to know exactly what God is thinking and relegate him to the role of real estate agent. Shame on all of you. If peace in the region depends on Fundamentalists of the Moslem and Jewish stripe, God help us all! Its time for the moderates on all sides to begin a dialogue. And for those who say there aren't any on the other side. You're wrong! I've met quite a few. Check out the website ArabsforIsrael.com, as well as ishadmanji.com. There are more and more journalists from Arab countries that are speaking about liberalization. What ever happened to that wise philosophy - "keep your friends close and your enemies closer"? I hate to say it, but I'm totally disgusted with most of the bloggers on this post.
Posted in: Orthodox group: Rabbi violated rules by joining National Prayer Service
Sorry for the pun but Rav Herring is a red "herring" when it comes to this issue. Thank you Rab Lookstein for considering the broader - more ecumenical and more humane - picture. I fail to see how anyone can be so insecure in their faith that they won't allow another rabbi to participate in the inauguration of a new president - just because its in a church. This isn't pre-war Poland. Its America. There are no cossacks and no pogroms and no great effort by the general population to try to convert Jews. Get with it. You can still be orthodox while respecting other faiths and participating in such a momentous occaision. Don't worry! I've been to weddings in churches and guess what? I'm still a Jew!!!!
Posted in: Amid anti-Semitic storm, Europe's Jews stand for Israel
I am generally extremely pro Israel. However, I believe that the time for Israel to have launched a major PR initiative would have been months ago, before they launched their offensive. It would have been relatively easy to get sympathy from the western world if they showed graphic images of Israel's victims along with interviews of ordinary people living in the line of fire of Hamas rockets. Now, unfortunately these pictures pale in comparison to the images of injured and dead children coming out of Gaza. It would also have been helpful had Israel turned to the west for sympathy and diplomatic assistance prior to going it alone. Even if the world didn't help, the PR campaign would have shown the legitimacy and lack of choice for Israel's actions. Unfortunately, the time for any country to simply go off and attack another on their own is over. Look at what happened to Bush and America's image abroad as a result of him playing the Lone Cowboy in Iraq. Unfortunately Israel may win the physical battle but she has definitely lost the battle of public opinion. The special tragedy here is that civilians - unlike Lebanon, have no place to run to. Somehow Egypt is getting off scott-free for refusing to open its borders in order to save civilian lives. I'm not questioning Israel's justifications for defending itself against Hamas terror. I'm questioning the faulty and shortsighted PR tactics that Israel has launched understandably much too late for the world. At this moment its understandably become impossible to justify the feeble images from Israel with the horrific ones from Gaza.
RSS Feed Breaking News
Updated 11/22/09 @ 05:02PM EDT
- Hundreds of Jewish and non-Jewish Brazileans protested in Rio de Janeiro on the eve of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit.
- "Real progress" has been made in negotiations to release a captured Israeli soldier, President Shimon Peres confirmed.
- The online auction Web site eBay said it took down an ad offering biological samples from Benito Mussolini before anyone could bid on them.
- Turkey has given Israeli defense contractors 50 days to deliver 10 promised drone aircraft.
- Iran began an air defense drill designed to protect its nuclear program, Iranian state television reported.
- Brazileans protest Ahmadinejad visit
- Peres: ‘Real progress’ in Shalit talks
- The Mofaz plan—state now, ask questions later
- eBay removes Mussolini brain, blood samples
- Turkey demands delivery of Israeli drones
- Iran begins air defense drill
- More Israeli recruits seeking to join combat units
- Haredim return to protest Jerusalem Intel factory
- Female Orthodox scholars helping women talk about sex
- Obama half-brother has Jewish roots
- Lieberman: Fort Hood could be terror attack
- J Street confab shows generational divide on Israel
- What really happened at the Reform biennial in Toronto
- Pro-Israel fliers confiscated at campus speech
- Rubashkin convicted on 86 charges
- Obama shifts to Israel’s corner, but tries not to show it
Posted in: Israel likes speech, stresses security
06/06/09 01:58 PM
When I hear the right wing Israeli response I have to ask "What speech were some Israelies listening to?" I'm a Jew and what I heard is Obama make many more demands on Islamic countries than he did on Israel. He asked them to drop their racist rhetoric , to embrace respect and freedom for all to worship as they wish, to stop spreading revisionist lies about the Holocaust, to grant equality to women and to basically embrace the values of countries in the West. He even asked them to recognize the legitimacy of the Jewish people's right to their homeland. It appears to me, that Obama's brilliant speech was directed at the young and moderate within Arab countries. All he asked of Israel was to put a freeze on settlements and its about time for that. Much was made of the fact that he didn't use the word "terrorists". In my opinion his use of "religious extremists" was much more powerful because they are the "seed" of terrorism. After all, while not every extremist is a terrorist, every single terrorist (of all stripes) is an extremist. Bless you Obama. Unfortunately many in the world are too blinded by their own insecurities, fears, hysterical and historical paranoia to truly listen to what you really said. You're a once in a lifetime leader. My only wish is that you stay safe from all of the crazies in the world (including the religious settlers who believe that God (the master real estate agent) gave them title over the land.