"A Small Modicum of Hope"

Arlene Kushner

The Shas party has announced that it will not be joining a coalition headed by Tzipi Livni. This decision was made by its Council of Sages; the announcement declared that it had demanded real aid for the poor and sought to protect Jerusalem: "We suggested solutions for the poverty issues and Jerusalem, but our opinion was not accepted..." I cannot but wonder what role Bibi Netanyahu played in all of this. Livni has announced that she will make her decision on Sunday as to whether to try to hobble together a narrow government, that is, one with a bare minimum of seats required, or to go to elections. Various advisors are telling her to go for elections and to hold tight. I'm betting she goes for elections. I certainly hope so. She is likely to opt for this because a narrow government is particularly prone to falling apart quickly. Labor had insisted that it wanted a stable government that would last two years.

If she decides to go for elections, it will be two months until they take place, and -- unless something totally unexpected happens -- Bibi Netanyahu will be our next prime minister.

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I am including here a link to a speech given in New York on September 25, by Geert Wilders, who is another reason to have a modicum of hope.

The situation he describes in his speech is grim -- and should be noted seriously. The tendency in many quarters to make light of the realities he describes is cause for great concern. These facts need to be received by all with utmost seriousness, indeed alarm.

But good things are also happening. In his speech, which was sponsored by the Hudson Institute, Wilders -- chairman of the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands -- introduced an Alliance of Patriots and announced the Facing Jihad Conference to be held in Jerusalem in December, promoted in part by MK Aryeh Eldad (NU/NRP). At long last a response to the Jihadist threat is coalescing with seriousness.

http://europenews.dk:80/en/node/14505

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This is what Wilders -- bless him! -- says about Israel. Would that every American understood this:

"The best way for a politician in Europe to loose votes is to say something positive about Israel. The public has wholeheartedly accepted the Palestinian narrative, and sees Israel as the aggressor. I, however, will continue to speak up for Israel. I see defending Israel as a matter of principle. I have lived in this country and visited it dozens of times. I support Israel. First, because it is the Jewish homeland after two thousand years of exile up to and including Auschwitz, second because it is a democracy, and third because Israel is our first line of defense.

"Samuel Huntington writes it so aptly: 'Islam has bloody borders.' Israel is located precisely on that border. This tiny country is situated on the fault line of jihad, frustrating Islam’s territorial advance. Israel is facing the front lines of jihad...Israel is simply in the way. The same way West-Berlin was during the Cold War.

The war against Israel is not a war against Israel. It is a war against the West. It is jihad. Israel is simply receiving the blows that are meant for all of us. If there would have been no Israel, Islamic imperialism would have found other venues to release its energy and its desire for conquest. Thanks to Israeli parents who send their children to the army and lay awake at night, parents in Europe and America can sleep well and dream, unaware of the dangers looming.

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I am hard at work on major material -- on UNRWA -- at this juncture, and so I ask your forbearance if my postings are somewhat less frequent or somewhere shorter than is my norm. I am finding I need at least six more hours in each day, but will do my best to post as I can.

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I am by nature an optimistic person. I certainly never give up the fight and never abandon hope -- that is forbidden. But I confess a great heaviness of heart these days because I am witnessing the implosion of the US, both politically and economically. This is something I never imagined I would see. Perhaps, with the help of Heaven, the situation can be turned around. But please, please, do not write to me to tell me Obama brings great promise for good change, because I do not, cannot, accept this. Not remotely.

Blessings of peace to all.

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see my website www.ArlenefromIsrael.info