It was suggested by my rabbi
yesterday that in a way silence is sometimes the most appropriate response
to the Holocaust, because human words are inadequate to grapple with the horror
of that time. Thus the title of this posting:
Tonight and Monday are Holocaust
Memorial Day. (In Hebrew it's Yom HaZikaron leShoah v'leGvurah -- Day
of Remembrance of the Holocaust and of the Heroism -- and this year
especially Yad V'Shem will be focusing on the Resistance).
Credit:
beachhillel
But in fact, even in the face of
the pain, the horror, we need words, if people are to know what went on (never,
to understand it).
And if we are to say "Never
Again!" and mean it. It was Rabbi Sacks, whose talk I shared recently, who
said, that today, "'Never again' is beginning to sound like 'always
again.'"
Those living in the New York City
area, please take note:
Today at noon, there will
be a Holocaust Memorial event in front of the Iranian UN Mission, 622 Third
Avenue (at E. 4th Street) Manhattan.
~~~~~~~~~~
This past week, the New York-based
Israel Policy Forum -- which "promotes active U.S. engagement to achieve a
two-state solution" -- sent a letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu, signed by
100 "prominent" Americans, urging him to:
"work closely with Secretary of
State John Kerry to devise pragmatic initiatives, consistent with Israel’s
security needs, which would represent Israel’s readiness to make painful
territorial sacrifices for the sake of peace."
Unmitigated gall
is what this is. "Painful territorial sacrifices for the sake of
peace"? In the first place, such territorial sacrifices, as they so
elegantly put it, would not bring peace, but rather put all Israelis at risk,
AND engender the loss of what is rightfully our heritage. But in any
event, it is not the place of Americans to call for Israelis to make "painful
sacrifices."
And they want our prime minister
-- who has called for the only thing that remotely makes sense:
negotiations without pre-conditions -- to start by giving Abbas something to
bring him to the table. This is the same Mahmoud Abbas who has just
engendered major riots of Arabs against Israel by making libelous charges
against Israel.
~~~~~~~~~~
In order to respond to this, dear
readers, I ask your cooperation. This is a bit more complicated than
what I usually ask, but the situation requires it: I am looking for the
participation of other "prominent" Americans who are offended by what this
letter says and want to see Netanyahu stand strong against Kerry's inevitable
demands.
If you are a "prominent" American
-- a rabbi, a philanthropist, an academic, a doctor, a writer, a major
executive of a Jewish NGO or a corporation, etc. -- I ask you to write to Prime Minister
Netanyahu and tell him that you have learned of the Israel Policy Forum letter
and are deeply offended by it. Tell him you are also a prominent American
-- state your position -- and implore him to stand strong and not make
concessions. Please don't copy these words exactly -- put this sentiment
in your own words. Keep it short and direct.
Send to:
E-mail: Memshala@pmo.gov.il and also pm_eng2@it.pmo.gov.il (underscore after pm) use
both addresses.
~~~~~~~~~~
If you know "prominent"
Americans -- the more prominent the better -- and believe they
might participate, please enlist
their assistance.
Thank you.
And, dear readers, if you are
not "prominent," do not for a moment imagine that you are any less valued.
It is simply that the nonsense of the Israel Security Policy letter must be
countered in kind.
You can see the letter and the
signatures here:
The Emergency Israel Committee,
founded by William Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard, has sent its
own letter to PM Netanyahu, asking him to ignore the advice of the Israel
Security Policy letter.
~~~~~~~~~~
Now I want to renew my request for
prayers for little Zakkai, who has had surgery four times in his two years of
life, because of tumors on and around the spine. His last surgery went
well, and I thought that, while he needed physical therapy, he was in the
clear. This turns out to not be the case, as his parents
write:
"Zakkai is scheduled for his next
MRI scans on Friday, May 31. If microscopic cells (note: this is not a
malignancy but a rare benign yet very invasive tumor) were left behind, they
could begin to rear their ugly head by then, which would most likely mean
another intervention. And, even if the scans show nothing, we’re nowhere
near in the clear. ...slow-growing tumors...recur over a much longer
period of time (3-5 years...). To nip any tumor problems in the bud,
Zakkai will be watched very closely – he’ll be MRI scanned every 3 months or so
for the next few years. He
will also be going to physical therapy 1-2 times a week for many years to
strengthen his core in order to slow or even reverse abnormal curvature of his
spine.
"...we are guardedly optimistic –
we hope and pray that things will get better but fear that they
won’t."
And so, please, keep praying for
this little boy: Rephael Zakkai
Avraham ben Yakira Avigael
Thank
you.
~~~~~~~~~~
Well,
the talks with Iran have been called a failure. What a surprise. The
"cautiously optimistic" Catherine Ashton, yesterday said, "The two sides remain
far apart on substance."
A senior US official, who spoke anonymously, pointed to
what he intended to be the bright side: "There was no breakthrough but also
no breakdown." Far better had there been a breakdown, so this charade
would end. But no, this official says the major powers intend to
continue to utilize diplomacy to resolve the
issue.
This
would be laughable if it were not so serious. As it is, we should be
weeping.
For
his part, Iran's chief negotiator, Saeed Jalili, said that Iran had
proposed a plan (which, says the NYTimes, is not anything new) and now
it was up to the powers to demonstrate a willingness to offer
confidence-building measures.
What
is this, with these "confidence building measures"? Yes,
weep.
Jalili
is speaking about "the inalienable rights" (another buzz term) of Iran to enrich
uranium for peaceful purposes.
~~~~~~~~~~
The
question hanging in the air is whether the crisis with North Korea is going
to affect what's going on here. On the one hand, the Iranians have
the North Koreans as a role model. They're watching closely and see that
North Korea beat sanctions and skirted past dialogue to achieve their nuclear
weapon. It gives them "hope," as they proceed -- motivates them to hang in
there for the final goal.
On the
other, it just might, and this is a very tentative "might," dawn on Obama
at last that this is where he's headed with Iran as well. Surely the
threats from a petty Korean tyrant with weapons he should not possess have been
unsettling. But so far there's no evidence that Obama is extrapolating
from Korea to Iran. He still seems more unsettled by the prospect of
having to hit Iran militarily than by a nuclear Iran.
That
he's willing to risk the same behavior from another quarter is a frightening
prospect.
~~~~~~~~~~
According to Israel National News, the White House will be
hosting leaders from Arab states that are considered US allies -- Jordan,
Turkey, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates -- in the coming weeks, in order
to discuss issues of shared concern.
First
will be King Abdullah of Jordan, on the 26th of this month, followed by Erdogan
of Turkey next month.
~~~~~~~~~~
It
should be noted that King Abdullah and putative PA president Mahmoud Abbas
last week signed an agreement in Amman to stop the "Judaization" of Jerusalem. (My readers know
what a joke I consider this to be: Jerusalem IS Jewish.)
What
was interesting here is that Jordan was recognized as the authority that would
head the Wakf, the Islamic trust, that oversees Muslim territory.
This gives Jordan and not the PA authority for administering and
"protecting" Islamic sites such as the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aksa Mosque
on the Temple Mount. De facto this has been the case for a while --
and I have no doubt but that it was Jordan to which Netanyahu accorded
deference last year when he declined to rebuild the Mughrabi bridge to the Mount
after Abdullah objected.
(See: http://arlenefromisrael.squarespace.com/current-postings/2011/12/14/december-14-2011-what-are-they-thinking.html)
And it
was certainly the case before Oslo.
But
over the last 20 years there have been struggles between the two, with
regard to which Wakf is official. There are undoubtedly implications
here, that Abbas has surrendered the PA's right to be in
charge.
~~~~~~~~~~
Please note that during March, Netanyahu had gone very quietly to
Amman for a meeting with the king. At that time Abdullah spoke about
his "very strong" relationship with Netanyahu: "Our
discussions have really improved." He indicated that Netanyahu would have
to choose between "apartheid and democracy," but thought it might be "too late"
for a "two state solution." An interesting -- non-politically correct--
position as well.
Abdullah, it should be noted, has
Islamists breathing down his neck, and this must be remembered as his
various positions are considered.
~~~~~~~~~~
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Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by Arlene Kushner,
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