FOR MY LEBANESE FRIENDS

The Ground Zero Synagogue—Lebanon Becoming More American than America

Has Lebanon officially become more tolerant and progressive than the United States?

Let's talk about Lebanon’s Ground Zero and you can decide for yourself.

One must first understand what “Ground Zero” means to most Lebanese.

In a country with about the same land mass as Los Angeles County which has been at war off and on for nearly four decades, “Ground Zero” for the Lebanese is arguably their entire country—and at the center of their Ground Zero is downtown Beirut, captured and occupied by the Israeli Defense Force in 1982 and which was almost entirely reduced to rubble from Muslim West Beirut to Christian East Beirut, and all points in between.

Once upon a time not too long ago, there was scarcely a building left standing or unscarred by shrapnel in all of Beirut. I know, because I was in Beirut in 1991, and witnessed first hand a city once described as "the Paris of the Middle East" reduced to ruins, pot marked with unexploded munitions and a haphazzard "network" of open sewers.

Miraculously, Beirut was rebuilt and reclaimed its prominence. It once again became the jewel of the Arab world, remarkably able to bridge the ancient mystique of the east with the modern allure of the west.

Upon the first completion of its "rebuilding" process however--after 15 years and tens of billions of dollars spent on reconstructing Lebanon and its Ground Zero from rubble to splendor, Israel did what Israel does...

In July and August of 2006, Israel again followed through on its promise to “bomb Lebanon back into the Stone Age,” and in so doing displaced 1,000,000 Lebanese civilians (nearly a quarter of the country’s population), completely destroyed the country’s infrastructure (again), its only airport, at least 64 bridges, leveled entire buildings and neighborhoods to rubble (again), including the country's largest milk factory, a food factory, two pharmaceutical plants, water treatment centers, power plants, grain silos, a Greek Orthodox Church, several mosques, and a handful of hospitals (in a country which only had a handful of hospitals to begin with).

Over 1,200 hundred Lebanese civilians were killed and over 5,000 wounded.

Israel routinely talks about “proportionality” when comparing their “terrorism deaths” to American 9/11 deaths. In order to shock the sensibilities of a gullible American public, they portray a figure “in American terms,” by multiplying their dead by a number which reflects their population in comparison to the American population.

Well, what’s good for the Israeli goose is good for the Lebanese gander. I will play their game: 1,200 dead Lebanese civilians are the “proportional equivalent” to 90,000 American dead when accounting for the two countries’ population differences. Therefore, according to Israeli goose math, that’s the equivalent of roughly thirty 9/11’s Israel exacted on Lebanon in July and August 2006 over the course of 34 days—nearly one 9/11 a day for an entire month without relent.

Incidentally, July and August of 2006 only tell a small part of the story when it comes to Israeli aggression against Lebanon. There have been decades of invasion, devastation, and occupation which predated 2006. Several thousands of Lebanese have been killed at the hands of the Israeli Defense Force. Tens of billions of dollars of damage have been levied on the Lebanese infrastructure and private and public property courtesy of the IDF over the course of decades.

“Ground Zero” for Lebanon is an ever expanding, never ending, open wound that never heals.

So what now Newt?

Should you expect the Lebanese to allow a synagogue to be built on their Ground Zero, in the aftermath of a 9/11 that occurred 5 years after ours and which, “proportionately” speaking, was 30 times the size of ours?

Well guess what you hateful, misguided, twit?

THEY DID.

In the process of re-building Beirut yet again, in 2008, renovations began and have now been completed on the Maghden Abraham Synagogue located in the middle of newly renovated downtown Beirut in an area known as the “Solidere" which has become the focal point and showcase of Lebanon’s rebirth.

This isn’t some hole in the wall, nondescript, “excuse me” synagogue hidden out of view so as to not “offend” Lebanese non-Jews—this is an elaborate, ornate, beautifully designed, cathedral-style house of worship built for a Lebanese Jewish population that totals less than 500 in a country of more than 4,000,000 (in stark contrast to the eight million American Muslims living in the United States).

And wait until you hear Hezbollah’s response to the building of this Ground Zero Synagogue.

(To those expecting a Newt Gingrich equivalent response, prepare to be woefully disappointed).

Courtesy of Hassan Nasrallah himself: "We respect Judaism, just as we respect Christianity. Our only problem is with Israel."

Did you hear that Newt (and the rest of you idiots)?

An Arab democracy, with a Muslim Prime Minister and a Christian President, allowed the building of a synagogue, squarely in the center of their “Ground Zero” in the heart and pride of downtown Beirut which used to be a dumping ground for Israeli military ordinances.

An Arab democracy allowed this, without so much as a protest being made by its citizens, or allegations by politicians that this was sacrilege, or hateful commentary by the media that the Jewish faith was barbaric, or any of the other stupidity I have seen and heard plastered all over American television, talk radio, and internet-blogs regarding a certain “Ground Zero Mosque” and the Islamic faith.

Regardless of whether you perceive Israel to be justified in perpetrating the devastation it did on Lebanon is irrelevant. The purpose of this article is not to debate that. What cannot be debated, is that Israel (a Jewish State, flying a Jewish flag) unleashed hell on Lebanon for 34 straight days in July and August of 2006 (and for decades prior in its wars against Lebanon). Regardless of whether or not you feel Israel had a right to do that, you cannot deny that Lebanese civilians harbored, and continue to harbor, a very real resentment against the government of Israel—this Jewish state—for those actions and the devestation those actions caused.

Yet these very Lebanese, who are so quickly labeled as “blood thirsty terrorists” by Newt Gingrich and his army of xenophobic morons, were able to draw a distinction between the Jews “flying those planes” in July and August of 2006 working at the behest of the Israeli government, and the Jews whom are citizens of Lebanon who had no connection with those attacks.

Lebanon rebuilt that Ground Zero Synagogue for its Jews.

Not for Israel. Not for the world’s Jewry. Not as a monument to mark a “Jewish victory” over Lebanon.

Lebanon rebuilt that Ground Zero Synagogue because its Jews lived in that neighborhood and they had every right to build a house of worship in a place they called home.

For crying out loud, Hassan Nassrallah and Hezbollah can even draw the distinction between a Lebanese Jew and an Israeli soldier who happens to be a Jew. So how is it that Americans can’t distinguish between American Muslims who were victims of 9/11 and Saudi Muslims who were the perpetrators of 9/11?

Thank you Mr. Gingrich for allowing Hassan Nasrallah and Hezbollah to outclass you and the Republican Party (and you Democrats aren't too far behind--yes Harry Reid, I'm talking to you). When the former Republican Speaker of the House and the current Democratic Senate Majority Leader start sounding less tolerant and less reasonable than a "terrorist," we need to start sounding the alarm bells.

What a sad state of affairs for America.

The Pro-Israel Lobby And The New Israel

The Pro-Israel Lobby And The New Israel

08 Mar 2010 05:10 pm

Andrew Sullivan at the Atlantic has a good read:

In a response to Dowd, Goldblog acknowledges:

It is undeniably true that Jewish fundamentalists wield disproportionate
power in Israeli decision-making; it is true that a small minority --
fundamentalist settlers -- has kept Israel entangled in the lives of the
Palestinians on the West Bank; it is true that, because of the power of the
Orthodox rabbinate, it is easier in some ways to be Jewish in America than in
the Jewish state (Just ask women who try to pray at the Western Wall.) All this
is not to say that Israel isn't still the most enlightened democracy in the
Middle East, but there's not much of a competition. And it should be cause for
deep worry when the Saudis -- not especially known for their liberalism -- have
a point about illiberal Israel.

What I found telling was MoDo's more recent column in which she came up with the following brilliant formulation that reflects on the pro-Israel voices so over-represented in the MSM punditariat:

Obama created an obstacle for himself by demanding that Israel stop expanding
settlements when it was not going to do so — even though it should — and when
that wasn’t the most important condition to Arabs

Got that? Now I have no idea what Maureen means when she says that a settlement freeze "wasn’t the most important condition to Arabs." Much that I've read seemed to suggest that the various Sunni Arab regimes were looking for precisely a freezing of further Israeli colonization of the West Bank as proof that Obama really was going to break from the whatever-Israel-wants policy of the previous eight years.

But notice that it is Obama's fault for asking an alleged ally merely to freeze - not reverse - construction settlement as a good faith gesture to the peace process and as a favor to the US in trying to recapture the role of an honest broker in the region. It is not Israel's fault - even though Maureen thinks Israel should have done it.

Nothing illustrates better the total bizarreness of the US-Israel relationship. No one in Washington - apart from a few Likudniks and Palinite end-timers - actually supports more settlements or any settlements i the West Bank. At the same time, Washington exercizes a UN veto to protect Israel from international law, funnels a vast amount of foreign and military aid to the country, helped finance the pulverization of Gaza last year, provides absurd international cover for Israel's 150 nukes, has worked tirelessly to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear capacity, and on and on.

In return? Fuck you, Obama. To which the overwhelming response in Washington is: Obama screwed up.

There is something completely awry here and it has rarely been more evident than in the last twelve months.

The Irvine Saga Continues

It wasn't enough that the Zionists in the audience during Orens speech nearly turned into a rabid mob against the Muslim Students Union during their protest. The Jewish staff member who threatened "failing grades" as the students walked out of the hall? Hardly vindication. Arresting 11 young Muslims? A drop in the ocean. No, what they want is blood and nothing else will do.

ZOA to Jewish students: Stay away from Irvine

February 16, 2010

NEW YORK (JTA) -- The Zionist Organization of America is calling on Jewish students not to apply to the University of California, Irvine because it does not condemn campus anti-Semitism.

Calling Oren a murderer and shouting words like killer? Did you all see the video? Anything antisemitic in it? I thought not.

ZOA in a statement released Tuesday accused the university of enabling bigotry and violating civil rights "by failing to condemn longstanding anti-Semitic and Israel-bashing speech and conduct on campus, and failing to enforce its own policies against the perpetrators."
This request is a violation of civil rights in itself. Its asking a university to sew the mouths of its students shut on all but praise for Israel-or else! Or else Zionist students will not attend. And "perpetrators". That is a new on on me. I know that ordinary "criminals" are referred to as "terrorists" by the hateful faithful in Israel, but to call protesters "perps" in the states is beyond overstepping. It also betrays the hate and racism behind the ZOA.

In its statement, the ZOA said that “UC Irvine must now pay the price for its inaction. We call on all decent people, both Jews and non-Jews, to stop supporting, with their money and enrollment, a university that has been complicit in promoting bigotry. It’s the right and moral thing to do, until the university makes it crystal clear that it will stop tolerating anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism and that the perpetrators will be held to the same standards of conduct as everyone else.”

I understand the request to stop tolerating antisemitism when antisemitism is actually present and not used as a control mechanism as it so clearly is here, but "anti-Israelism"? Yeah, right. How about Anti-Iranism while we are at it? Calling on all decent people...I'm a decent person and I will say, "Go shove it Nazi" before I will comply to any attempts to censor society on behalf of one rogue country that has earned every ounce of criticism it faces.


But the Muslim Student Union, the recipients of this temper tantrum, have it all together. This is what they have to say:

"The ZOA has unlawfully threatened the MSU's freedom of speech and freedom of association," spokesperson Hadeer Soliman said in an e-mail to JTA. "It has long lobbied University administration and governmental legislatures, acting as a vigilante group to undermine MSU's very basic freedoms. It seeks to silence MSU, and its tactics have resulted in an unconstitutional chilling effect."

I sure would like to know more about the history alluded to in that statement.
Source for all quoted content.

Americans, listen up!

It was considered a tragedy when one of my own kin joined a high school program called Junior Reserve Officers Training in high school. That this program professes to not recruit children and in fact are barred from doing so in public high schools has been contradicted by former students who signed on for the war in Iraq in recent years. Some have served their time and now dedicate their lives telling the truth. They were in fact not only recruited while still minors in high school, but also were encouraged and rewarded (sometimes monetarily, per head) for recruiting other children.

The program is used in place of the physical education requirements we have in the U.S. and the commitment is said to be a very loose two year one. If a child wants out, they say, "No Problem", but then the regular high school staff raise a fuss and state they have no room in regular classes for anybody who wants out of JROTC. That is how they enforce the commitment.

The embedding of this program in public schools has drawn protests from parents and anti war groups. Entire regular schools have been shut down, their student body displaced only to reopen as Military Academies. Both the JROTC and the military academies are funded by the public as well as the respective arms of the military (also funded by the public) that run them. Its part of a larger privatization of public education plan better known as "school reform".

School closures are largely in ethnic or economic minority neighborhoods. The U.S. military has a disproportionate amount of these populations serving in the real military and recruitment bases are usually in very close proximity to high schools with large ethnic populations, something anti war protesters are trying to change.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan was the mastermind that spawned these academies when he ran Chicagos public education system but other cities have followed this model proudly. They call it "opportunity" and "choice". One of the first things Obama stated as President was that he would be closing 5000 schools nationwide in order to "reform" them. This is just the tip of the iceberg. More closings will follow.

Americans are buying the school reform issues and sadly, sending their children to the military academies under the assumption that these academies are going to keep their kids out of street gangs, in the case of the ethnic and poor victims of the plan. I have news for these parents- gangs have made their way into the military, into the police force and other allegedly "safe" American institutions. They have legit branches. Our kids are in double jeopardy.

Make that triple jeopardy. Because the biggest gang of all- the neocon Zionists- are the leading force behind any supposedly "American" agenda. While Obama is hypnotizing his politically correct followers with plans to pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. has it's eyes on Iran on behalf of Israel, as we know, but to the ordinary American, its for our own good, to keep our American way alive (that this way collapsed, perhaps permanently,still hasn't fully sunk in to many, but all the more reason to support the militarization of our society).

Most Americans believe that Iran (the current proxy for Zionist genocidal rage) poses a danger to our nation. The War On Terror is a winning formula for the masters and we are its puppets. School reform via JROTC and military academies, is just one way we are being eased into the process of perpetual war.

Make no mistake, one day it will be your children coming home in body bags. And there will be nothing to be proud of, the sacrifice will not produce a safer world, but a more dangerous one.

While our children are being slaughtered, Israeli children grow up to fight an unarmed, occupied and imprisoned population. Safe and sound in comparison to what our own children will face. Our children will face war tribunals one day. Israeli children will not. We should be ashamed when we let our children don a uniform, even in the playtime that is JROTC.

My children will not fight for the U.S. of Israel. I will not hate on its behalf. Be clear about who the real enemy is. And if you are a patriot, start working towards leadership with American interests. Israel is a big boy now, a fully armed and dangerous psychopathic bully. Let Israel take care of its own dirty business all on its own. Leave our children out of it.

ISRAEL PLANNING WAR AND OBAMA RUNS FOR RE-ELECTION

I think even those most supportive Obama-bots surely must now be wondering what happened to their bringer of “hope and change.” As the Kool-Aid wears off, and reality sets in, I think we can all see what is taking place in the Whitehouse.

Obama began with such high hopes. Not only in America, but around the world. And that second statement is the one that will cause America even more problems. Giving false hope to a world weary of manufactured phoney wars on terror is one thing. But, giving hope to Muslims around the world who have been demonized for the last 10 years is quite another. They won’t be so easily forgiving, nor will they hold any trust whatsoever that America can ever change it’s neocon warring ways.

Obama started with a small amount of intestinal fortitude by making a somewhat hard-line stance towards Israel’s aggression, settlements and refusal to make peace. And whilst this lasted for a no more than 2 months. Soon after, the first sign of trouble emerged. From the AIPAC Zionist take down of Charles Freeman, to the AIPAC spy scandal involving Jane Harman and Nancy Pelosi, among others, we have seen a steady and rapid descent in any criticism of Israel. Then came the Goldstone report, where America once again embarrassed itself to the world, by not only arm twisting other nations to help smear a well respected Jewish man, Richard Goldstone and his report. Then there was the not so surprising, no hope, no change, vote in the American congress to reject and condemn the Goldstone report. The vote? 344 to 36. Now if that is not a clear illustration of the strangle hold the Zionist lobby has on American politicians, I don’t know what is. One wonders if those 36 who dared to be outside the fold stand a snowballs chance in Hell of being re-elected. They will be on the AIPAC hit list now. Free thinkers who work for America are not allowed to operate within American government. The fact that a once democratic country, is now run by a foreign presence, speaks volumes for the future of Americans and America itself.

Clearly the same people who were pushing the “agenda” under the Bush years, are still at the controls, just working for a prettier smiling more eloquent face now. We have not seen a rollback of the Bush Agenda and war against Islam and Muslims. In fact we have seen not only a continuation, but resurgence. The continued allowing of Israel to act with impunity, the supporting of ethnic cleansing of Jerusalem and all other lands Israel has on its list, the support for war criminals over International Law is startling enough from this “man of hope and change.” But even that is small in comparison to the over all world picture. The meddling in Iran’s elections, the continued involvement in attempting a colourful overthrow of Iran’s democratically elected government is frightening. The world was outraged and shocked when Bush stole the election from Al Gore, yet the world never began a campaign to overthrow Bush, or invade America if it did not hand over the Presidency to Gore. Why is this justified for Iran? American duplicity once again.

And what of Obamas continued push for war, not only directed at Iran (at Israelis behest) what happened to the man who said he would talk to America’s enemies without any preconditions? And now we have Yemen. Add that to Afghanistan, Iraq and the soon to be re-invasion of Gaza by Israel with American support and assistance.

The picture is clear, the Egyptian wall, the unrelenting siege, the war games Israel is playing now getting ready for a new invasion to this time occupy Gaza and hand it over to those who work with Israel, Mr, Abbas and his corrupt American puppet government under General Dayton, a man appointed by Bush and kept there by Obama. And this upcoming invasion into Gaza, what else is it? Why a good practice run for a possible upcoming war on Iran. Practice makes perfect you know. Never mind how many Muslims are murdered.

Today I see a very bleak picture. With Obama’s approval ratings in the basement and heading for somewhere underground. No chance of him standing up to Israel or the war mongers within America, not if he wants to have even a remote chance of re-election. All those cross over voters, Republican lites and independents, won’t be voting for him again. And what of the Democrats themselves? No harmony there either, judging from the fiasco of Obama’s healthcare package war and ultimate watered down approval.

Obama is now running for re-election. He’s got to morph into George W. now if he stands any chance of being more than a one term President. With Clinton and other right of centre Dems on his coattails and the Repugs foaming at the mouth, this is what will shape the path of Obama’s decision making now.

Obama’s biggest mistake was not focusing on the middle east and standing up to Israel early on, forcing them to do the deed and make peace early enough in his term as President, so he’d have enough time to recover from the Zionist AIPAC fallout and then use the Peace Deal as a victory and proof of his election promises to then focus on his next run for election. Obama has left it far too late for this term in office. Now any peace deal can only be one that Israel wants, no matter how badly the result is for Palestinians. We are witnessing Obama’s desperate attempt to save his own arse, at any cost.

ISRAEL PICKS A NEW FIGHT

Well, well, Israel is picking a fight with Europe. Why? Because the EU will be voting on declaring East Jerusalem the capital of Palestine, which, it is. Ban Ki Moon of the United Nations says so:

link Jerusalem must be the capital of two States – Israel and Palestine – living side-by-side in peace and security, with arrangements for the holy sites acceptable to all, if peace in the Middle East is to be achieved, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned today.

And even the Americans are “asking” Israel to stop building illegal settlements in occupied East Jerusalem. Asking nicely is all Obama can do, because they dare not piss off the Israeli Lobby by saying more. Still, even the Americans surely know that East Jerusalem is not up for grabs by Zionists and that Palestinians will never agree to such a deal.

Whilst this may not pass within the EU, people still should not be disheartened, here’s why; Each one of these attempts to hold Israel accountable are very important, be it this one, or the many attempts to arrest and convict Zionist War Criminals and yes, even the Goldstone Report helps. You see, even if we loose out on them right now, with each attempt, Israel is once again “in the news” and NOT in a good way. They have to come out and fight each one, displaying strong arm tactics for the entire world to see. And this gives the world a perfect glimpse into how Israel operates, which in turn only further infuriates people who want to see Israel treated like any other country, in other words, “not special and above the law” So, back to today’s report about the Zionist Militia coming after Europe:

link A senior political source defined Monday Sweden's attempt to declare Jerusalem the capital of Palestine as an "underhanded move by Stockholm, a mere moment before its term as head of the European Union is over. We are making efforts to thwart this move at the highest diplomatic levels."

Sorry but I love the wording of this hasbara above. According to Israel someone in a position of power cannot make decisions if their term is ending soon? So does that mean that when Bush agreed to allow Israel to commit mass genocide in Gaza during the upcoming change over to the Obama Administration, does that count too? Was that “wrong and underhanded” as well? Of course it was, but it was fully legal, even though it was underhanded. I love how Israel attempts to dance around words. More:

The European Union's foreign ministers are scheduled to convene in Brussels later Monday, ahead of the EU meet scheduled to take place in the city on December 10. The agenda for the second day of the conference is said to include the Balkans, the Middle East peace process and Iran.

As part of the discussion about the Middle East, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt is expected to put forward a pro-Palestinian motion which includes an article declaring east Jerusalem the capital of the future Palestinian state.

Sweden's new stance has enraged Israel: The Foreign Ministry launched extensive diplomatic efforts to counter the move, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman have discussed the matter with their colleagues.

Shall I translate the above paragraph for you, sift through the hasbara? What this means is that they will begin calling on to the carpet every single EU member that they can arm twist in any way shape or form. Be it with-holding international contracts, schemes, money, support, donations, you name it. Anything Israel has in the pipes that can be withheld and used as a battering rod over the heads of certain countries and members. This is how they work, blackmail, like the mafia. And below we see what Israel wants to "change" in the statement, after removal of the offending issue of East Jerusalem. Why they want a "compliment" what a laugh it is:

link there has been heavy lobbying: "Israel is pushing for a text much shorter than the three-to-four-page Swedish draft, and one that would commend Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's housing-start moratorium in the settlements and urge the Palestinians back to the negotiation table

More:

Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon added that "the Europeans will not dictate the results of the (Israeli-Palestinian) peace process.

No, sadly we cannot do that, however, we CAN endorse the FACT that East Jerusalem IS an OCCUPIED area that BELONGS to PALESTINE and WILL ultimately BE the CAPITAL of ANY future PALESTINIAN STATE. Which, I hate to inform Israel of this, actually IS what the MAJORITY of the WORLD’S population SUPPORTS. Even if their blackmailed Governments don't. And we CAN do that much, if we choose to and our elected officials have the "chutzpah" to do it! Unfortunately for Israel it does not have the same amount of clout and control and blackmailing capabilities in Europe as it has in America. Thank GOD for that. More:

The Swedish initiative is dangerous and it may hinder the efforts to resume negotiations by radicalizing the Palestinian stand.

Yet more “silly” words from Israel. I’d like them to expand on that insanity regarding “radicalizing the Palestinian stand” should the EU endorse this position on East Jerusalem. As if Palestinians do not already hold the never ending belief and never wavering demand that East Jerusalem IS the Palestinian capital, only it is currently under illegal occupation. Seriously, Israel makes itself look stupid with such moronic statements. More:

"This initiative is also against the principles of the international community and the Quartet's decision calling on both sides to hold direct negotiations."

The “Quartet” does not “really” exist, it is not a “quartet” but rather an American controlled arm twisting posse that is merely a “replacement and extension” of Israel.