Credit:
mymorningmeditations
Tomorrow night begins
the two-day holiday of Rosh Hashana, a time of repentance and renewal. I
do not expect to post again until after the Shabbat following Rosh
Hashana.
I extend my heartfelt
wishes for health and fulfillment for each of you. And for all of
Israel the blessings of peace. May our prayers reach Heaven.
~~~~~~~~~~
I provide here a beautiful
rendition by Israeli singer David D'Or of Avinu Malkheinu -- a prayer
traditionally recited on Rosh Hashana and on Yom Kippur.
Our Father, Our King, we have no King but You. Hear our voice and
save us.
And that, when all is said and done, is the final truth: We can -- as
we are God's partners on this earth, we must -- work hard to repair the ruptures
in the world. But at the end of the day, we must bow our heads and
acknowledge that it is in His hands.
~~~~~~~~~~
In a lighter spirit:
The Fountainheads: Dip Your Apple
in the Honey
~~~~~~~~~~
A sweet year...
Credit:
Baltimoresun
~~~~~~~~~~
In my last posting I inadvertently
provided the wrong URL for the article on injured Syrians, including
children, being treated here in Israel. With thanks to those who
caught it, I provide the URL here:
The over-riding theme of this
article is pride in the way we Israelis conduct ourselves. Our values
truly are different -- especially different from those of others in this part of
the world. The world chooses not to notice, but we must notice and hold
fast to who we are.
~~~~~~~~~~
The news? It goes on, as
perverse and convoluted as ever. Truth is, if I were to write postings
non-stop, I still wouldn't cover everything I'd like to touch upon.
Obama does seem to be lobbying
members of Congress with a vigor that suggests he wants them to sign off on his
attack on Syria. Speaking on Fox News, Secretary of State Kerry
said:
The administration "has the right
to act regardless of what Congress does," though it prefers to have Congress'
backing. "We are stronger when we work together ... America intends to
act."
A very foolish, rather
schizoid, position: We don't need your approval, Congress, but it would be
better for all of us if you gave it, however be aware that we will act even if
you don't give it. Uh huh. Does lend the impression that those
running the American government don't quite know what they're
doing.
~~~~~~~~~~
But perhaps this apparently
schizoid position can be explain by Peter Wehner's Commentary article, on
"Barack Obama's staggering incompetence":
"...The president of the United
States is preparing in advance to shift the blame if his strike on Syria proves
to be unpopular and ineffective. He’s furious about the box he’s placed himself
in, he hates the ridicule he’s (rightly) incurring, but he doesn’t see any way
out.
What he does see is a political (and
geopolitical) disaster in the making. And so what is emerging is what comes
most naturally to Mr. Obama: Blame shifting and blame sharing. Remember:
the president doesn’t believe he needs congressional authorization to act. He’s
ignored it before. He wants it now. For reasons of political survival. To put it
another way: He wants the fingerprints of others on the failure in
Syria.
"Rarely has an American president joined so
much cynicism with so much ineptitude."
(With thanks here to Dan F. for
calling this to my attention.)
~~~~~~~~~~~
What really, really irked me,
however, is Obama's using Israel as an excuse (pardon me...a "reason"), provided
to members of Congress, as to why he has to hit Syria: Iran and Hezbollah
will be emboldened if he doesn't. And, an emboldened Iran and Hezbollah
are bad for Israel.
All of this is true enough.
But it happens that an emboldened Iran and Hezbollah are not in the best
interests of the US either. He should have left it at that, especially as
theoretically Obama is on a confrontational course with Iran (see
below): We do not want Iran emboldened with regard to its nuclear
development. Nor do we want Hezbollah, which foments terrorism
world-wide, emboldened either. End of story
There are anti-Israel, anti-Jewish
elements in the US and elsewhere in the world who don't miss an opportunity to
blame Israel for whatever is going on, no matter how far-fetched. Does
Obama have to provide them with fuel?
~~~~~~~~~~
But, as we all need a laugh from
time to time, I'll share this news as well:
It's been reported that Obama
called Netanyahu to provide assurances that he was determined not to let Iran go
nuclear.
Obama knows full well what our
prime minister is thinking...
Says David Horovitz, editor of
Times of Israel:
"The Israeli political and
security leadership is privately horrified by President Obama's 11th-hour
turnaround on striking Syria."
~~~~~~~~~~
If there is good news on all of
this, it is that Assad may have to confront some unexpected backlash because of
his use of chemical weapons. Reports Haaretz (emphasis
added):
"[Assad...] cannot hide the
shock that has hit his closest allies: Russia and Iran. Russia has
decided to freeze the shipment of refurbished MiG jets, the S300 antiaircraft
missiles, and the Yak training planes to Syria – based on reports in
the Russian newspaper Kommersant. The official Russian explanation is that
Damascus has not met its payment conditions, but it seems that the timing is no
coincidence...
"Nor can declarations coming from
Tehran be particularly encouraging for Assad: Iranian President Hassan
Rohani denounced the use of chemical weapons – but avoided placing the
responsibility on any of the sides. Former Iranian President Akbar
Hashemi Rafsanaji justified the American attack..."
A JPost report goes even
further:
"Events in Syria have reportedly
prompted key Iranian figures to express their opposition to Tehran's ongoing
involvement in helping ...Assad remain in power.
"Sources inside Iran claim that
former president and opposition leader Hashemi Rafsanjani asked the commander of
the Iranian al-Quds Brigades...to stop sending volunteers to fight in Syria,
according to a report published on Sunday in the Iraqi daily Azzaman.
~~~~~~~~~~
The nuclear-powered USS Nimitz (one huge ship!) and other ships
in its strike group are being sent to the Red Sea as back up for a strike on
Syria, which may lend credence to the seriousness of Obama's
intentions. (We'll see.)
Credit:
trunews
I am picking up reports of a
reconnaissance ship being sent into the eastern Mediterranean by Russia, but
it's not clear if this is the same ship I had written about previously.
~~~~~~~~~~
For those who may still wonder why
it matters to Israel if the US
hits Syria...
Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Amos Yadlin,
former chief of Israel's military intelligence, writing with Avner Golov, says
(emphasis added):
"The most important
Israeli interest in the context of an American attack is the unequivocal
clarification that there is a high price to pay for the use of nonconventional
weapons. From a broader perspective, it is important for Israel that
the U.S. reestablish its strategic influence in the Middle East and improve its
credibility and deterrence in the region, which have eroded over the past three
years. Restoring
American deterrent power would strengthen the standing of U.S. allies, including
Israel, in the struggle between the region's moderates and
radicals."
~~~~~~~~~~
We have been told that the
sixth session of negotiations between Israel -- represented by Tzipi Livni
and Netanyahu envoy Yitzhak Molcho -- and the PA -- represented by
negotiators Mohammad Shtayyeh and Saeb Erekat -- would be held in Jerusalem
today, and that US envoy Martin Indyk or another US official would be present
(which has not been the case with every session).
The US is calling the talks
"serious," while Mahmoud Abbas, speaking in Ramallah said that no core issues
had been touched upon -- parties were still setting out preliminary
positions.
For the first time, Abbas has
admitted to his party that he struck an agreement not to "join any international
organization," which I assume means not to participate at the UN, during this
period, in exchange for Israel's agreement to release 104 prisoners.
A second group of those terrorist
prisoners is due to be released within weeks. Ouch! I expect Abbas to drag
out the negotiations until he has all 104 -- regardless of all his threats of
walking away because of the "settlements."
~~~~~~~~~~
There is a great deal more to say,
about the Palestinian Arabs, and about Arabs who are Israeli citizens. But it
will have to keep until after Rosh Hashana.
~~~~~~~~~~
©
Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by Arlene Kushner,
functioning as an independent journalist. Permission is granted for it to be
reproduced only
with
proper attribution.
If
it is reproduced and emphasis is added, the fact that it has been added must be
noted.
This material
is transmitted by Arlene only to persons who have requested it or agreed to
receive it. If you are on the list and wish to be removed, contact Arlene and
include your name in the text of the
message.
No comments:
Post a Comment