Told You So!

A year and a half ago people looked at me like I was crazy. My own daughter was among those who were angry at me for voicing an opinion that I had at the time. All this uproar was caused by several statements that I had made concerning my feelings about the upcoming election. Having been interviewed by this paper and others as well as TV and during what I thought would be a non-political radio broadcast, I repeated my belief that one of the reasons that I would not support candidate Obama was my mistrust of his future policies concerning Israel. People told me that concern was ridiculous: “democrats always help Israel,” “the whole Jewish community supports Obama, it will be OK.”


None of those arguments changed my mind. Now I am sorry that my concerns were well founded. Events last week prove that our President is much more concerned in courting the favor of the Arab world than in the security of Israel or the simple recognition that Israel is America’s only ally in the Middle East. Obama slips Netanyahu in the back door to avoid pictures, tries to tell him how to run his country (sorry threats don’t work like they do in American politics,) and then leaves him sitting like a scolded school boy while the President goes to eat. I think Ed Koch said it best in an editorial that he wrote last week. Koch noted that Obama treated Bibi like a third-world dictator, while he treats third world dictators like honored heads of state.

I am saddened by the widening rift in our country. The “great uniter” is tearing our country apart. While many hail this time as a “rebirth” of a new, better America, I believe the short presidency of Obama has already done more damage that we can even measure. That is an American problem that we will deal with in the next election. That will be the debate that we will hold until the next election. What I hope is that all Americans and, in particular, all Jews will agree on right now is our need to support Israel. Democrat or Republican, you must affirm that Israel is America’s ally for peace not, as the administration has said, the road block to peace.

Obama’s shameful break of trust comes at the worst possible time. It weakens Israel and emboldens terrorists everywhere. All this at a time when Israel may be the only one to stand up to Iran. Now we know that if Israel is forced to act they can’t count on our President for support. That is the greatest insult of all. If you love Israel I ask you to think about these events and share your feelings with others.

Finding Answer?

Looking for Answers




I don’t understand it. How can some Americans be so filled with self-hatred and anger? I refer specifically to the case of “Jihad Jane.” Colleen LaRose looks like just about anyone you would pass on the street or wait behind in a line at your local store. Somehow she decided to become an enemy of our country and to offer her very life to kill others for the sake of Jihad. I understand that she was a convert to Islam and obviously has deep religious feelings. How did those feeling turn into the desire to kill others? I don’t understand it—as a Jew I want to live for my faith not die for it. I want to live to teach and help, to learn and share, to use the time that I have on this earth as a chance to make it a better place not to destroy it. I firmly believe most people (regardless of their religion) feel the same. I guess that it why it remains so hard for us to understand this obscene twisting of faith into the praise of martyrdom and the call to kill others.

For me it is doubly inexplicable that an American can feel this way. I know that our country is not perfect. I know that we have made mistakes and that our democracy is still a work in progress, but I also know that this is the greatest country in the world. We are the most generous. We are always the first to help others. We are always the first to fight for those who have no one to protect them. Yes, all in all, I am proud to be an American and am not at all apologetic about it. We may not be perfect but we are the best society to ever exist on this planet and I believe it will be the models that we have produced that will serve to point the way to that time when a society will finally “get it all right.” Should that ever happen it will in no small part be due to the example set by America.

So how is it that an American could be convinced that we are the “worst” – that our country should be attacked, innocent lives taken, our society torn apart by the sword of “holy war?” I can but offer the following: We often take what we have for granted and, thereby, belittle it. We often choose to dwell on what we do not have rather than what we do have. We often tend to forget that most of the world would be happy to have the freedoms that we squander. Sometimes we start to believe the rhetoric of those who hate us. I believe that Colleen LaRose thinks this way. She does not understand or appreciate what it means to be an American. I am not even sure she understands what it means to be human. To be human you must feel a common humanity with others. You can’t feel that when you are plotting murder.

What can we do? I make one small suggestion: Let’s not forget to remind ourselves of who we are. As Americans we can serve to bring light to this world even in these moments when there is so much darkness. Our society is not perfect but we have not given up on the ideal of perfection. Such perfection would be a moment in which every person has freedom, justice, and opportunity. Yes, it is a big dream but that’s why it’s called the “American dream.” We are the first people to dream so boldly. “Jihad Jane” is what we look like when you stop dreaming.

Tamarac Community Center Photo Exhibit

Please stop by at the Tamarac Community Center, 8601 Commercial Blvd, during the month of March. My photos will be on show for the month.