It would be funnier if...

JTA: Ahmadinejad tells U.N. - U.S. was behind 9/11 attacks

It would be funnier on the big screen with popcorn and a credit reel.  It would be laughable if the genre fell on the fiction shelves.  Not so funny at the podium of the U.N. General Assembly. 

According to Iranian Present Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, its time to set the record straight, informing us all that the U.S. arranged the 9/11 attacks to “save the Zionist regime”.  He then called on the United Nations to establish an “independent fact-finding group” to investigate the attacks. Were I there, I would have followed the footsteps of the U.S. delegation who walked out of his speech, along with all 27 European Union delegations, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Costa Rica.  I’m wondering who was left? Did he finish his ranting to an audience of reporters?

Were I a reporter at the General Assembly, I might have a few questions for Mr. Ahmadinejad. 

A) If this is true, wouldn’t it have been wiser for us to stage the mass murders on foreign soil so have our own citizens? Or at least set the attacks at a location that wouldn’t cause so much chaos and disruption...like the middle of nowhere?  B) How exactly do the 9/11 attacks relate in any way to Israel and supporting them? I’m not the most politically savvy, but I’m failing to see the connection.  C) Is he not aware that there were extensive ‘fact-finding groups’ following 9/11, which led to a war that we are still fighting (we’ll leave the discussion of the accuracy of those groups for another day...) D) Could you comment on the irony of your speech taking place not far from where Islamist terror attacks destroyed the World Trade Center towers 9 years ago?

 E) Were you dropped on your head as a small child, or take medication for the voices you must hear in your head??

The outrageousness would make me laugh were he not the president of a state with nuclear powers and sitting too close for comfort to Israel.  It would be funnier if this weren’t real life...

I’m not laughing. 

It's not 'The Question'

Does Israel Make Us Safer? By Thaddeus Russell

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-07-04/thaddeus-russell-does-us-support-for-israel-threatens-american-safety/

57 Contributions Israel Has Made to the World. By Zola Levitt

http://www.levitt.com/news/2005/08/04/57-contributions-israel-has-made-to-the-world/

Israpundit.com: What Israel Does for the U.S.

http://www.israpundit.com/2008/?p=12828

It might be the question that Thaddeus Russell mulls over while counting sheep or the question that Mr. Russell wishes was the topic of Obama’s meeting with Netanyahu, but it’s certainly not The Question.  “Does the existence of Israel make Americans and Jews safer?” That’s his question.  And he doesn’t wait long before dropping a concrete “No”, buried under the weight of shadowy facts that loom in dark corners.  Does Israel make Americans safer? I have my own answers to that, but the point is it’s not the right question. It’s not the right question if your aim is to radically change American foreign policy.  It’s small thinking.  Thaddeus is proposing that America should stop giving all aid to Israel on the basis that standing behind Israel is an “act of self-destruction”, tossing in bullet points of fear mingled with patriotism with “There was not a single act of Arab terrorism against Americans before 1968, when the U.S. became the chief supplier of military equipment and economic aid to Israel.”

Ah, so apparently, the tragedy of 9/11 was the fault of the Jews after all.  As well as all other terrorist attacks upon American soil. It becomes a simple equation: protect your children by turning your back on Israel.  He splashes an entire nation with red as he paints nightmares of threats and war. Is this sounding eerily familiar to anyone else? And if this question of our safety related to Israel’s existence really is The Question, why is it that no one is asking it? It’s not as if there aren’t ample volunteers to speak out against Israel or the Jews.  So why does Mr. Russell think that no one is taking the bait?

Perhaps because we know its the wrong question.  Perhaps we know that safety slips through back doors and can’t be measured with facts and prejudicial data.  Perhaps we support Israel because we believe in its existence for moral reasons, personal reasons, humanistic reasons.  Perhaps we don’t ask his question because we already know the answer, which is that Israel gives more to us than we could ever offer to them.  Perhaps. 

But lets play along nicely.  Ok Thaddeus Russell.  You want the United States to end our relationship with Israel, cut of financial support, and cease muddling in peace talks? Ok.  But you can’t have it both ways.  So if we are walking away from the table, you have to leave all of the offers behind. 

So, our hospitals will have to return the cutting edge no-radiation diagnostic instruments for breast cancer and the PillCam, the first ingestible video camera, that helps diagnose cancer and digestive disorders.  And don’t forget to pack the computerized medication dosage system that removes human error from the administration of medication.  Thaddeus Russell quotes 5,000 Americans killed over the past 50 years due to our defense of Israel.  Every year, 7,000 patients die from medication dosage mistakes...so pick your poison.

Oh, and the first solar-powered fully-functional electricity generating plant in California’s Mojave Desert? Return to sender. 

Our law enforcement agencies will have to find new technologies to monitor voices and messages on cell phones and emails, and unfortunately all anti-virus software packages must be deleted as they spawned from the first product made by Israel in the 1970’s. 

Living Green is a hot topic these days so I’m sure you’ll find large support for the removal of all drip irrigation systems developed by Israeli engineer Simcha Blas, an invention that caused a revolution in agriculture. 

And back to the drawing board for the World Trade Center Memorial as the design chosen was by Michael Arad, an Israeli.

In a rush at the grocery store? Might be a while as the Israeli Company Retalix created the grocery scanners used as Costco, Albertsons, 7-11, along with 25,000 other retail markets across the country.

It’s not just medical breakthroughs and technological innovations that we would have to go without.  The U.S. Military relies heavily on Israeli weapons and intelligence.  General George Keegan, the former head of U.S. Air Force Intelligence, was quoted in the NY Times on March 9,1986, saying that “The ability of the Army to defend whatever position it has...owes more to the Israeli intelligence input than it does to any single source of intelligence.” He further stated that between 1974 and 1990, Israel received $18.3 billion in U.S. military grants. During the same period Israel provided the U.S. with $50 to $80 billion in intelligence, research and development savings. So if anything, perhaps Israelis are should be questioning if American support is in their best interests.

Currently in Iraq, Israeli technology is being used by the U.S. forces to protect them from Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) that are responsible for more U.S. casualties in the Iraq War.  In other words, Israel helps save American lives.  Oops.  I guess Mr. Russell overlooked that tidbit.

I’m not a historian like Thaddeus Russell, nor do I claim expertise in politics, military, or foreign policy.  But I am a citizen of this country who supports Israel. I am so naive as to believe that we have an entire nation duped by Israeli accents, throwing money and support to Israel while they slip away with our children.  It would seem that it is in American’s best interests to support Israel.  But should you opt to follow Mr. Russell and advocate for Israeli tough-love, just know what you’ll be giving up.

One more thing.  Please leave your cell phones and laptops at the door.  1^st cell phone, Windows XP, Pentium and Centrino processors...Israeli-developed.

Have a good day...

Summer Camp Redefined

Gaza Terrorists Burn Down Second UN Camp, Handcuff Guards - Defense/Middle East - Israel News - Israel National News
Hamas Woos Gaza Kids from UN Camps to Join 'Fun with Terror'

I must be missing something.  Perhaps if I read it a 3^rd time, I’ll find the line explaining the joke. Maybe I’ve stumbled onto a humor website and am just having trouble locating the laughter. Maybe the coffee hasn’t swept the sleepy haziness aside yet and I'm weaving fiction with real life.  But the third reading is no different than the first, still inducing my solo rants as I shake my head in disbelief.  Apparently, my definition of Summer Camp is horribly outdated.  Apparently, despite the water skiing, sailing and arts & crafts, camp as I remember it was lacking in essential activities. 

Apparently, the place to be is Hamas’ Summer Camp, where you can learn about Islam and studying the Koran, but “children also learn to fight in the Jihad against Israel. Children are taught weapons training, hand-to-hand combat, as well as the use of explosive belts for suicide missions.”

Today, Hamas Terrorists burned down a second UN camp in Gaza.  A camp for their own children…I’ll give you a moment.  The first camp was burned down in late May, when Hamas council member Younis al-Astel repeatedly lambasted the UN camps for being “coeducational, and claimed that campers there used drugs, learned how to dance, and worst of all, were taught about reconciliation between Gaza and Israel.”

Heaven forbid children are taught tolerance, forgiveness, and compromise. Imagine the horrors that will ensue. 

I have trouble keeping perspective while reading articles like these. I have trouble putting myself in the opposing shoes, trouble locating my compassionate understanding, and trouble twisting my brain to try and keep an open mind.  I can see how the co-ed activities could be problematic for Islamic families, and claims of drug use are a definite problem.  But as of August 2009, boys and girls no longer intermingled while they played.  And given a choice between rumors of drugs versus Bombing 101, I have to choose drugs. 

Maybe I'm not being fair or I don’t have the whole picture.  Maybe there are undisclosed evils going on at the UN camps and Hamas Terrorists have justifiable reasons to commit arson.  Maybe children at the Hamas camps didn’t really put on shows of re-enacting the Gilad Shalit kidnapping.  Maybe.

But in a month of flotilla raids, blockades, claims of starvation and lacking medical supplies, I am having trouble accessing my tolerance. Amidst worldwide attention to their plight, Hamas chooses to hurt their own?

I grew up in a world where the children were our future, where the hope of society laid at the feet of the next generation.  I was raised to believe that we protect our children, cherish them, and stand in front of the fire for them. I was taught that peace rests with our children, a generation absent of prejudice and wounding history, a population who could learn to laugh together without the ancient grudges and political clashes of their parents.  I assumed that children were off-limits, excused from paying the price of summer happiness with burnt playgrounds for political gain.

I should never assume.

It pains me to see children used as pawns for religious agendas.  It pains me to imagine little boys and girls rapt with awe at the sight of shiny guns and stories of eternal glory.  It pains me to realize that rather than utilize the aid being offered, Gaza terrorists would rather make a statement, sacrificing the children in favor of making headlines.

I understand standing up for what you believe in.  I understand making a point, regardless of the personal cost.  I understand loyalty and patriotism, along with fighting for freedom.  I understand living by your faith and refusing to compromise your beliefs.  I understand.

But I don’t understand where this ends.  I don’t understand what the goal of burning down the UN camp was. I don’t understand teaching innocent inquiring minds how to carry out suicide missions.  I don’t understand using bullets as words and bombs as rallies. 

Maybe if I did, I would have some solution to suggest or an innovative program that miraculously would result in Israeli and Gaza children holding hands and skipping across fields.  Maybe if I knew more, was more open-minded, more compassionate, or more tolerant, I would skip over this article as par for the course.  Maybe I wouldn’t be shocked or outraged, aching and angry. Maybe I would be hardened to the bastardization of summer camp and unmoved by a fire that cost no lives.  Maybe.

But for the moment, I'm just outraged without a plan, irate without a soothing balm.  I am illiterate in the verse of terror, and sit at the brainstorming table silent with solutions.

How to establish peace without losing ourselves? How to co-exist while still holding on to our dreams? How to compromise without sacrificing all we have fought for? How to call a truce when one side is willing to die to win? How to find common ground on a soil etched with history?  How to make a world for our children where summer camp lacks terrorism lessons and all can stroll the streets without the fear of exploding buses?

I wish I had the answer.