Humble Opinions

On Dec 27th, Israel attacked the Gaza Strip delivering a decisive blow to Hamas, who were caught unprepared for the air strike. Here are my thoughts on the matter:

1. Once again, Israel displays a portion of what they are capable of, and many stand in awe. The Israeli armed forces are literally the best in the world.

2. For those that think Israel struck first, you are mistaken. Hamas has shot over 6,000 rockets into Israel since 2005, causing insane amounts of damage, loss of life, interruption of life, shock victims, hysteria, and traumatized children. They shot over 50 in the last week alone.

3. I think everyone must keep in mind the success of the attack was entirely divine providence, as so many things could have gone wrong, but they all went perfectly. There have been no reported injuries or fatalities to the Israeli army, and not even any plane damage.

4. This attack was done on Shabbas. I’m actually not really sure how I feel about that yet.

5. Although this air strike appears to have been successful, we need to keep in mind there is a long way to go. Everyone should be saying a prayer for Israel and her armed forces… also her citizens, of whom I will be one of starting tomorrow.

Farewell America, I am off to become Israeli.

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For one who thinks about the Jewish holiday Chanuka, there are a few obvious questions: What exactly are Jews celebrating, and why do they celebrate it? If you’re a history buff, you’ll answer the holiday is a commemoration of the Maccabean revolt successfully repelling the Syrian Greek army of Antiochos Epiphanes in the year 170 BCE. But I’ve got news for you - the fighting did not end there. There were battles for years that followed the events of Chanuka. And another thing, the Greeks did not declare a holocaust decree against the Jews. The Greeks felt the Jews were standing in the way of “the future” - namely, the progressive philosophy, architecture, and beauty their society was trying to bring to the world. The Greeks never attempted to wipe out the Jews.

Furthermore, do you know how many thousands of mini-battles the Jews have won in their history? Why don’t Jews celebrate their victory over the Amaleki army that occurred shortly after their exodus from Egypt? Why not their miraculous conquer of the city of Jericho? If anything, we should at least celebrate the 1976 Raid on Entebbe. That was quite a victory in my opinion.

So the question stands: what is so special about Chanuka?

First, we need to make a distinction. There is an enormous difference between non-Jewish holidays, and Jewish holidays. Non-Jewish holidays are celebrations to recall earlier events that coincidentally happened on the same day of the calendar that Pope Gregory XIII created in 1582 - a nice coincidence indeed. Jewish holidays are something entirely different.

A fundamental Jewish belief is that the physical world as perceived by us humans is merely a manifestation of a spiritual dimension. Thus, when a person smiles at you, and it makes you feel happy, you are not actually feeling that joy as a result of the other person reshaping their mouth into a U-shape. Rather, that U-shape is a representation of a deeper essence that cannot be clearly defined in the physical dimension of the universe. But we already knew that.

Now let’s expand that concept to time. Time is not a method of accounting. Time actually has personality to it. Winter feels different than Summer. Spring feels different than Fall. Thus, time carries with it specific energies that enable a person to better accomplish certain things at certain times. That is why in the Jewish calendar, we have set periods of judgment, periods of mourning, periods of great striving, etc. Jewish holidays are not merely celebrations. They are opportunities.

So what’s the deal with Chanuka?

Chanuka is a prime example of the Jewish situation in the world. One of the first things the Greeks occupying the Land of Israel banned was circumcision of male babies. They felt it was a defilement of the human body, which was naturally perfect and beautiful. Greek culture also promoted public nudity, and the beautification of the human body (hence their art). This stance was entirely opposed to Jewish thought, which believes true beauty comes from within, and as a result of refinement of one’s self.

The Greeks did not deny the existence of god. But they gave their gods human attributes. Greek gods were womanizers, murderers, and had all the failings a human being could have. This was a diametrically opposite view of the world than the Jews had. Thus, the battle between the Jews and the Greeks was something far deeper than an exchange of firepower - or whatever weapons were cutting edge back then. It was a conflict of stance.

Where are the Greeks today? Modern day Greece has no connection to ancient Greece, and Greek philosophy can be found for the most part in whatever book has collected the most dust. Did the Jews win a guerrilla warfare battle? Yes, but that is not what Jews celebrate. Jews celebrate their everlasting view of the world, their mission to uplift it spiritually, and the fact that no empire or madman has yet to extinguish them.

And I’ve got some bad news for Mahmoud Ahmedinejad: You’re going to lose, trust me.

Happy Chanuka!

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A 6-month shaky ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas-ruled Gaza strip is officially over, and Hamas says it will not renew it, because “the Zionist entity has not respected its conditions.” I know this topic has been argued endlessly, and I imagine that very few supporters of either side has changed their opinion by much. Nonetheless, I thought I’d give my humble opinion.

Let’s discuss why Israel “has not respected its conditions.” Less than three weeks ago, Israeli armed forces discovered a hidden tunnel leading into Israel from the Gaza Strip. Israeli intelligence (which ranks among the best in the world) determined the tunnel’s purpose was to enable Gaza militants to kidnap another Israeli (preferably a soldier) and hold them hostage. Israel used controlled explosives to destroy the illegal tunnel, rendering zero dead, and zero injured. In response, Hamas launched several rockets aimed at open Israeli civilian settlements for the few days that followed.

Was Israel justified in doing this? Well let’s see… On June 25th, 2006 Hamas raided Israel by crossing through the Kerem Shalom kibbutz, and kidnapped a then 19-year-old Israeli soldier named Gilad Shalit. Gilad is still in captivity over 2 years later, and Hamas has offered to trade him for over 1,000 jailed Palestinian and Hamas militants. Nice.

Sigh. It is beyond me how the world stands for this for even a single moment. What do you think America’s response would be if an Islamic group recognized as a terrorist organization setup a small camp in Los Angeles, and fired rockets into other Californian cities on a daily basis; sometimes more than 10 rockets per day? My opinion is the entire organization would be demolished in a matter of hours of the first rocket launch.

But instead, Israel sits with both hands tied behind its back, all the while Hamas continues smuggling more weapons, and longer range rockets into the Gaza strip. Every Israeli response is met by a UN condemnation. Not only that, but Israel has been accused of committing war crimes, and has been compared to the Nazi regime.

Let me paint the picture to you: Israel has some of the most advanced weapons on earth. So advanced, that even the monstrous country Russia has recently made a bid to purchase Israeli spy drones. Israeli armed forces visit the United States to offer training to US armed forces on a regular basis. For more than the first year of its existence, the US sold its highly acclaimed F-16 fighter jets to only Israel, as Israel was to test them out, give feedback, and offer ideas for improvement to them. Israel has missile stockpiles, unmanned fighter planes, remote-controlled machine guns, satellite intelligence, and much much more.

How many Israeli suicide bombers have you seen blowing up Palestinian malls, pizzerias, hotels, and weddings? How many Palestinians or Hamas militants has Israel beheaded on live television? The answer to both is zero. And by the way, who provides the electricity for the Gaza strip? Who pays their water bill? Their hospitals? Israel! In fact, Israel never targets civilians. Never. The reason the Palestinian civilian death toll exceeds Israel’s is because Hamas sets up their rocket launchers in civilian areas, their bomb-building factories next to kindergartens, and uses civilians (many times children) as human shields. If you don’t believe me, there are videos of this practice being used on the Internet.

Israel could very easily take over the entire Gaza strip, and utterly destroy Hamas to pieces. Instead, they waste an enormous amount of resources, and lives of Israeli army personnel performing things like door-to-door raids, and blowing up Hamas buildings (always with at least a 15 minute warning). Every year since 1977, the UN has been observing an International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

My question: What the hell?? Where is the International Day of Solidarity for the Tibetans who have been living in incomparably worse conditions under Chinese occupation for almost 60 years. How many Tibetan suicide bombers have their been? Zero. How many Chinese have been kidnapped by Tibetans, tortured, and beheaded? Zero.

Why is it that the Palestinians enjoy such an imbalance of media coverage? Simple: they use the most disturbing tactics in the world to make their statements. People love action - it’s like watching a movie. But what amazes me is the insane criticism Israel receives for simply trying to defend its civilians. Practically every recent US president has tried to form a 2-state solution, carving out part of Israel for the Palestinians. Can someone remind me why terrorism is being rewarded?

The State of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians has been compared to a system of apartheid, like that of South Africa’s treatment of non-Whites from 1948 - 1990. This is simply ridiculous. Israelis do not enslave Palestinians. They do not beat them randomly, nor do they arrest them without cause. Israel gladly admits Palestinians into its hospitals. Many Jewish business owners gladly employ Palestinians, and offer them far better pay and working conditions than they could obtain in any of the surrounding Arab countries. In fact, while we’re on the topic, lets make a few comparisons:

Between the years 1948 - 1953, 850,000 Jews were kicked out of Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq in response to the establishment of the State of Israel. Israel accepted them with open arms, integrated them into society, and offered them all jobs. To compare, many Palestinians were told to flee from Israel between 1947 - 1948, while the invading Arab armies would throw the Jews into the sea - then they could return. When things didn’t work out as planned, did any of the more than 20 surrounding Arab nations offer to settle the Palestinians? No. They have been purposely exacerbating their plight as political pawns.

And how did the West Bank come under Israeli control? Let’s see… In 1967, Egyptian President Gamel Abdel Nasser (armed and trained by Russia) coordinated with Syria and Jordan to invade Israel and kill every single Israeli. The Egyptian radio broadcast statements such as these: “Jewish women prepare yourselves! We will throw the men into the sea!” Days before the 1967 Six Day war, Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol addressed the nation, telling everyone to keep calm. Mid-speech, he broke down and began crying. The numbers simply spelled utter defeat for Israel any way a person looked at it.

With unparalleled military planning, execution, and divine providence, Israel preemptively struck all the surrounding Arab air forces, and won the war in a shocking 6 days… during which, the West Bank came under Israeli control. Obviously, Russia forced a cease-fire in the UN immediately (had it been the other way around, I assure you that would not have happened). In 1988, Jordan finally ceded its claims to the West Bank, leaving over a million Palestinians under Israeli control. Israel now provides health care, security, education, and the highest standard of Arab living in the Middle East to these people.

Now let’s compare numbers: The Arabs have a stained record of not accepting peace plans. In 1952, West Germany settled to paying Israel and Holocaust survivors $750 million as reparations for the Nazi holocaust, in which 6 million Jews were systematically starved, raped, tortured, gassed, burned in ovens, and endured brutal medical experimentation. In the year 2000 at the Camp David Summit, then Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered Yasir Arafat 98% of the West Bank and Gaza strip as a state for the Palestinian people, plus $30 billion as reparation for Palestinian displacement during the wars being waged against Israel. Yasir Arafat turned this offer down, made no counteroffer, and instead began a wave of violence known as the Second Intifada.

Can someone please explain to me how any of this is happening?

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