Monday, November 19, 2018

Israel is treasonous. Its Jewishness betrays 'globalism'


If you believe the title above is outrageous--or, worse, incomprehensible--you haven't been keeping up. You don't see what the nations of the world wish to accomplish. You haven't been watching what's going on in Europe--or among US Democrats. 

You haven't understood what multiculturalism, open borders, free trade and every-vote-must-count-not-just-legal-votes mean. You miss completely why there's a growing pressure to identify Israel as an enemy-of-the-world.

Religious Jews who are Zionistic, along with many pro-Israel Jews who aren't particularly religious, have no problem saying that Israel is a Jewish nation-state. Indeed, many such Jews have no problems saying Israel is the Jewish nation-state. They're proud to be Jewish. They're proud of Israel. 

For the world, however, that's a problem. The world's elites believe we must all act as one 'family'. By calling itself 'Jewish', these elites suggest, Israel puts loyalty to itself above loyalty to the world 'family'. That, the elites will soon say, is treason

Do you know what the traditional penalty is for treason? 

Because of its 'Jewishness', Israel isolates itself. Such conscious isolation is about to become an international sin. It'll  be a sin because Israel is rejecting a growing international consensus that we no longer live in a world characterized by 'nation-hood'. 

Nation-hood doesn't work. It's bad. The selfish belief that 'I am German' or 'I am Russian', etc is what got us into so many wars where, literally, hundreds of millions of people have died.  

The world's elites don't want war. They want a collective world peace. More important, they now know how to create that peace. 

They'll create the ultimate peace through 'globalism'.  This, they say, is our future. It's our Destiny. 

Globalism teaches that distinct nations compete with each other. They don't cooperate. They oppose each other. They want themselves to be 'best'--and will often go to war to prove that.

Family, by contrast, sticks together. Family works together. 

Globalism believes that we are all on this earth together. This earth has too many problems for us to solve separated from each other, competing with each other. The problems we face are simply too big to attack separately. We can't survive by being separate or distinct. We've reached a point that we will either hang together as a cooperative unit and survive--or, we will hang, separately, individually, alone, powerless and overwhelmed by those problems. 

That's why globalism promotes no borders, no trade restrictions, no 'illegal' immigration, the freedom from racism and no cultural differences. Globalism is the 'Great Hope'. Globalism will bring the greatest 'equality' the world has ever seen; and that 'equality' will become the glue that makes world peace work. 

There'll be no differences. Globalism will bring us together so we'll be able to fight what ails us with a common purpose--you know, like the nations of the Bible did when they joined together to build the Tower of Babel. 

Working together as one family will create a 'New World Order'--a new utopia that will solve the problems we cannot solve by being 'separate' (here). For this New World Order, global governance is in, individual sovereignty is out (ibid). National individuality is out. Global equality is in.

Individual nations will no longer rule themselves. A United World government (a revised 'United Nations'?) will rule instead. 

This is where pro-Jewish-Israel Jews have a problem. A 'Jewish' Israel is a nationally distinctive entity. By definition, a nationally distinctive state can't subscribe to globalism. It can't have borders open to all who wish to enter. It can't have multiculturalism, where all nationalities and religions are 'equal'. 

Israel rejects such equality. It promotes Jewishness which, according to the globalist theory, promotes Apartheid--the opposite of 'equality'. 

Israel is hated because it rejects universalism. It  puts 'Jewish' first. Just ask all those who cried out against Israel's new Nation-State Law (here). 

A Jewish Israel can't be 'global'. By definition, it can only be 'local'. It's 'nationalist', not 'globalist'. It's tribal, not universal. It's 'Jewish', not 'equal'.

Get the picture? 

Increasingly, this is how the anti-Jewish world sees Israel. It sees Jews standing in the way of progress. It sees Israel standing in the way of the new globalism. Indeed, it sees Israel standing against world peace! 

The world has begun to identify the Jewish Israel as the prototype of an anti-global 'nationalist' heresy. It sees Israel as an evil that resists equality and peace.

Such a nationalist state as Israel isn't just different. It's treasonous (Charlie Spiering, "French president Emmanuel Macron: nationalism is treason, breitbart, November 11, 2018). It's treasonous  because a nationalist, Jewish Israel puts its own beliefs ahead of everyone else. It puts Jewish above global. It puts Jewish above equal. It forces Israel to reject the new globalist ideology. It makes Israel betray the new 'global' ideology (ibid).  

How can mankind build its new Utopia when the Jews betray everyone in the world with their selfish Jewishness?

More than 3,000 years ago, the Jewish King David wrote of a day when Edom (Christian nations?) and Yishmael (Islamic nations?) will plot and conspire to cut Israel off from its nationhood (Tehillim, 83). The tents of Edom  and Yishmael will make a covenant with other nations to inherit for themselves the 'pleasant habitations of G-d' in Israel (ibid). 

Of course, those who conspire today against Israel use other words, but their intent is the same.  The non-Jewish world becomes the anti-Jewish world. It creates a covenant to un-nation the Jewish nation--for global peace, of course. 

If you fail to see this, you haven't been keeping up. You don't yet realize that Jew-hate has been dressed up. It's now called, globalism. It has become, 'how can the world progress towards peace when those Jews keep pushing us backwards?'

Yes, if you believe in a Jewish Israel, you're a traitor. You don't want equality. You don 't want peace. You don't want freedom-for-all. You want only Apartheid.

Our Jewish tradition teaches that, in the days leading up to our Final Redemption, the nations will turn against Israel. They will seek to destroy Israel.

Stay tuned. Our Final Redemption is close. The nations will play their role--eagerly. 

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Beware, Hamas: Israel won't 'turn other cheek' forever

(Last updated: November 16, 2018)

(Warning: if you are a multicultural progressive, this essay could offend you. It doesn't promote 'equality'. It doesn't promote 'justice for Palestinians'. It promotes the idea that the Jewish nation of Israel actually needs to be 'Jewish'.)

In 1993, Israel changed. 1993 was the year Israel signed the Oslo Accords. Israeli leaders didn't realize back then what  'Oslo' would do to Israel. But we can now see what Oslo did: it committed Israel to embrace peace by always 'turning the other cheek' in conflict. 

That's a wonderful concept. But it isn't a Jewish concept. It's Christian. 

It's not a good fit for Israel. G-d never told Jews to 'turn the other cheek'. When He brought the Jews to Israel, He told them to fight, not stand down. 

Oslo was supposed to bring peace. But it was the wrong recipe. Telling Jews to 'turn the other cheek' against an enemy eager to kill or die trying to kill isn't a recipe for peace. It's a recipe for a bloodbath with lots of Jewish victims.

Before 1993, Israel almost never turned the other cheek. Look at what happened in 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973. In each of those years, when Israel was either threatened or attacked, it didn't turn a single cheek. It hit back--hard. It crushed its enemies. Its successes  spelled survival. The only exception to this pre-Oslo commitment to fight may have been the Lebanon War of 1982 (a war which may have helped make the supposed 'surrender for peace' at Oslo possible).

Since Oslo, Israel has stopped hitting hard enough to crush the enemy. In each war Israel has fought with Hamas--in 1998/9,  2012 and 2014--Israel hit back only so much and then, too quickly, 'turned the other cheek'. Today, as the number of rockets Hamas has fired into Israel at Jews approaches 20,000 since 2005, Israel continues to hit back only so much before it turns the other cheek. 

With each Hamas rocket, with each Hamas 'war', Israel has always, in the end, backed off. Israel yields. It stops.   

There's a significant problem with this behavior. Yes, it certainly demonstrates that Israel upholds (or, tries to uphold) an important Christian value. But it ignores the fact that those who attack Israel have no interest in any Christian values. Every time Israel behave like a good Christian and stops fighting, Hamas celebrates victory.

That does nothing for peace. It leaves Hamas eager to fight again. 

Actually, few seem to notice that those who attack Israel to kill Jews aren't even Christian. They hate Christians almost as much as they hate Jews. They know nothing about 'turning the other cheek'. 

Even Jewish tradition doesn't talk about turning a cheek. Jewish tradition says, he who comes to kill you, you kill him first. 

It's a simple concept. Israeli Jews know it. It's the opposite of the Christian concept. It's a thoroughly Jewish concept that once helped Israel become strong. 

At Oslo, Israel's Jewish leaders ignored it. They chose instead to imitate Christians. 

Since then, Israel has reaped the consequences of Jews imitating Christians. Israel hasn't won. Hamas has never lost.  

Just ask Hamas.

Now, the Jews of Israel begin to question the value of imitating Christians. A recent poll suggests that more than 70% of Israelis feel that Netanyahu has mishandled the current crisis with Gaza--a crisis that began more than seven months ago and remains unresolved (here).  Simply put, Netanyahu fails to respond strongly enough.   

These days, Jews in Israel want their Jewish leaders to return to their Jewish roots. They want Israel to destroy those who want to kill us.

Each time Israel faces off against Hamas, and then yields, Jews in Israel call for a more 'Jewish' response--to strike back hard enough to stop Hamas once-and-for-all. Today, we may have reached a point when the more Israel's leaders turn the other cheek, the greater becomes the call to stop turning the other cheek. 

For example, a few of days ago, Hamas bombarded Israel with close to 500 rockets over perhaps a single 30-hour period. All these rockets were aimed at Israel's south, all aimed at killing Jews. The bombardment paralyzed Israel's south. 

Yes, Israel responded with air strikes. But pin-point air strikes that destroy empty buildings in Gaza don't frighten Hamas. Sending out notices to Gaza that warn of an imminent attack on this or that building don't leave Hamas terrified of Israel's air power (here). Instead, such a strategy leaves Hamas feeling bulletproof. 

After 150 air strikes strikes in less than 24 hours, Israel turned the other cheek. It agreed to a ceasefire with Hamas. Israel didn't require Hamas to stop attacking Israel. 

That's not what an increasing number of Jews in Israel want to see. They want Hamas smashed. All they got was yet another 'ceasefire' in a long string of ceasefires that never last. 

After the ceasefire was announced, the Jews in Israel's south remained living in fear.

On Wednesday, November 14, 2018, perhaps in response to Israel's lack of toughness in the face of a relentless, murderous Hamas, Israel Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman resigned. He suggests he's fed up. 

He's angry at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Apparently, Netanyahu has turned the other cheek against Hamas one time too many (here). 

Whatever Liberman's motivations, his resignation is a symbol. It captures a feeling of frustration at a Jewish Prime Minister who seems always to turn the other cheek. 

Israelis really do understand that he who comes to kill you, you kill him first. Netanyahu hasn't been doing that. He isn't behaving in a 'Jewish' way.  He appear to follow the Christian 'turn the other cheek'. 

As a result, Netanyahu feels the pressure to become 'more Jewish'. For the first time in a very long time, his leadership might be in trouble (here).

Beware, Hamas. One day soon, you will push Israel too far. You may have already pushed too far. You may have just  convinced Netanyahu that, if the Jewish nation in Israel is to support him, he's got to become more 'Jewish'. 

Monday, November 12, 2018

Israel under attack. Almost 100 rockets have been fired at Israel in less than an hour. That hour isn't up yet

(Last updated: November 13, 2018)


Today, Israel  mourns. One of our IDF officers, an unidentified Lt Col, was killed either last night or early this morning in a firefight against Hamas fighters inside Gaza.

Last night, sirens sounded in southern Israel as Hamas and its 'friends' fired at least 17 rockets into Israel. The rockets were probably a response to the IDF attack above in which a senior Hamas official was killed, along with our Lt Col.  

When these IDF missions occur, we typically hear there were no IDF casualties. Today, we heard bad news: one IDF officer killed, one IDF soldier seriously wounded. 

As bits of information trickle across the news, the possibility occurs that this IDF mission might have been ambushed. It's just a suggestion, gleaned from curious tidbits of news. 

We may never find out what happened. Israeli and IDF officials won't offer any details about the incident which took this unnamed soldier's life.

We don't worry about such a silence. We have bigger issues to focus on--rockets coming into Israel.

Now, still Monday, late afternoon, sirens sound repeatedly in southern Israel. A couple of cellphones in our house have apps that sound a distinct alarm when a 'red alert' siren goes off in Israel to announce an incoming rocket being fired at Israel. Those apps have been sounding now almost non-stop for the last 30 minutes.

It isn't yet 5pm Monday afternoon, November 12, 2018. Will today be the start of another war with Hamas? We may not have to wait too long to find out.

As more rocket alerts began to sound just a while ago, the s'faradi shul I belong to sent out a message that, translated, told everyone we are all obligated to spread the call to pray; the message came with a part of Tehillim included. Given the number of rocket alerts we're getting, it's a good suggestion.

Eight minutes ago a news brief appeared to declare that the IAF (Israel Air Force) is "attacking length of Gaza". Just one minute ago, a news brief popped up with just a headline: 80 terror missiles launched into Israel in less than an hour. 

When the 2014 war with Gaza began in 2014, Hamas and 'friends' fired into Israel more than 1,400 rocket/mortars over a single seven-day period that bracketed the beginning of that war (here). Now, Israel sees 80 incoming missiles in less than an hour? 

What does that suggest?

Hamas is insane. Is it signalling war? That's the 64-dollar question for Israel. I really don't think Israel will wait as long as it did in 2014 before responding in force.

 Conventional wisdom in Israel (for many of us) is that our politicians will have to 'grow a pair' in order to stop this nonsense and protect us and our sovereignty. So far, Israel has been getting attacked every weekend for more than 7 months--and has done little in response. 

Israel has to be strong. It seems afraid what the world will think if it responds to these rocket attacks. Perhaps Israel should declare its allegiance to HaShem, and forget about the EU and the UN.   

Apparently, Israel is afraid. It's afraid to speak HaShem's name.It's afraid what the nations might say if we defend ourselves. 

That kind of fear is not a good sign. It's a sign of weakness. It's a signal to Hamas to attack--which is exactly what's happening right now.

One of my children has just come to me to say she's receiving red alert notices that indicate that rockets from Gaza now reach into the Dead Sea area. That's our area.

If a local siren goes off for us, she reminds me, we can't ignore it. We'll have go immediately to our building's bomb shelter. I told her, yes, that's the plan.

So we wait. A new headline has just popped up: approaching 100 rockets coming into Israel in less than an hour.

Stay tuned.

May HaShem give Israel the resolve it needs to defend this Holy Land.






Friday, November 9, 2018

One Israeli view of US midterm elections



You know about this week's US 'midterm' elections, right (on November 6, 2018)? Democrats won enough seats in the US House of Representatives to become the dominant Party in the House. Republicans held onto their majority in the Senate--and actually increased its majority in the Senate.

What's the meaning of these results? Some in America say it proves that America has repudiated Trump by putting Democrats in control of the House. Some say it means Trump has now lost control of the US government. 

Those evaluations may be wrong. You see, US 'midterm' elections (elections exactly mid-way between a President's four-year term) are traditionally not friendly at all to a sitting President. Traditionally, the Party that holds the Presidency loses seats in both House and Senate in these midterms. 

Some say that, traditionally, midterms are a reflection of how Americans rate a President's performance. Some say, midterms are, traditionally, a referendum on a President's job performance.

Just as traditionally, a President's Party loses seats in both the House and the Senate as a result of midterm elections. In fact, some say that, in the 84 years between 1934 midterms and the 2018 midterms (the last 21 midterm elections), the President's Party has lost an average of 30 seats in the House and 4 seats in the Senate as a result of a midterm election.

Apparently, American don't much care for how a President is performing in the middle of his 4-year term. Apparently, Americans uses these midterm election to send a President a message: we don't like what you've done so far.

For example, look at midterm results for President Barack Obama's first midterm election, 2010. His Party didn't lose 30 seats in the House (the recent average). It lost 63 seats. 

His Party didn't lose 4 seats in the Senate (the recent average). It lost 6.

Final election results for all 2018 midterm races aren't in yet. Some races may require a recount. But as things now stand it looks like President Donald Trump's Republican Party also failed to match the average losses established during the last 84 years.

For example, it appears right now that Trump's Party didn't lose 30 seats in the House. Depending upon final vote-counts, Republicans may have lost as many as  35. That's an above average loss. But it's nowhere near Obama's 63-seat loss in 2010. 

Trump's Party also didn't lose 4 seats in the Senate (recent average). His Party looks to have picked up an additional 1 or 2 seats (again, depending on final count numbers). 

There are three conclusions from these numbers, none of which is a negative for Trump. First, Trump did better than Obama, whose "excellence" as President is practically worshiped by Democrats. Second, it appears that Trump's Party didn't lose any seats in the Senate. There, his Party did significantly better than the 'worshiped' Obama. Third, all the headlines around the world that suggest that Trump lost big-time in these midterms are false.

Nevertheless, the 'Trump is now wounded' political message will play out well across the world. It's the message anti-US and pro-Leftist elites want you to see. Actual election results don't matter. What matters is the anti-Trump narrative.

What does Israel think of these US election results? Views vary, of course. But there's one Israeli view that might be typical. 

This view comes in the form of a cartoon. But it's not a simple cartoon. It's tricky. Like the US election itself, you'll have to look very, very closely to see what this one Israeli view actually means. 

The cartoon below is from the venerable Shlomo Cohen, who publishes regularly on israelhayom. The cartoon was first published (here) on November 8, 2018:  






If, like some readers, you aren't able to figure out what the cartoon 'says', here are a couple of hints: first, look closely at the jet engines on the plane in the picture (which, of  course, is depicted as Trump's official US President's 'Air Force One' aircraft). One engine cover has the decal of an elephant--you can see the elephant's red tail. In America, the elephant is mascot for Trump's political Party--the Republicans. 

The second engine cover above has a decal of the Democrat Party mascot--a donkey. As you may know, Democrats oppose Trump.

Can you see those two decals?

Here's a second hint. Democrats do not want the US to go in the same direction Trump appears to be taking the country. Democrats want the opposite of what Trump wants. Democrats want gun control, open borders, completely universal healthcare, increased support for Palestinians, more government regulation of business, more climate control regulation, higher taxes, potentially less support for Israel--and no sanctions against Iran.

Look again at  the cartoon. Look at the direction each jet engine faces. The jet engine with the Republican insignia faces in the normal direction, with a massive air intake as a 'face'. This engine will push the Trump aircraft forward by sucking air into the engine through that 'face' and shooting it out the rear of the engine. 

Look at the engine with the Democrat insignia. It's reversed. That is, the engine faces the wrong direction. The back end of the engine faces forward. When this engine is fired up, it will push the 'Trump plain' backwards.

Therefore, the cartoon depicts what the cartoonist believes has happened in the US: two opposing forces (Democrat vs Republican) trying to push the Trump 'machine' both forward and backwards at the same time. The result, we infer, may well mean the plane makes no forward progress at all.

It's a good cartoon. It captures the current conventional wisdom about the assumed impact on US governance of a Democrat-controlled House and a Republican-controlled Senate: a do-nothing government.

Don't believe it. Trump isn't frozen by a Democrat-controlled House. He still has several 'political arrows'  in his 'political quiver'. He can still move forward much of his political agenda- -and, maybe, most of what may be his most important political goal--to appoint conservative judges to the federal court system in order to push the ideological position of federal courts to the Right (here).

Stay tuned. That huge 'machine' in the cartoon may not be as 'dead in the air' as everyone thinks. Trump may not be as 'handcuffed' by this election as Democrats would like us to think. 

So why is Israel concerned? Because Israel always worries about the US. Israel is always nervous about US attitudes.

Israel worries too much about the US.






Tuesday, November 6, 2018

In Israel, vigil for US midterm elections begins. Why?



At breakfast this morning in Israel, all English-language news outlets had something to say about today's US midterm elections. Some stories were simply factual. They described the elections. They described the anger Democrats and Leftists (one-and-the-same?) harbored towards US President Donald Trump.

Other stories worried about the impact a Democrat victory would have on US-Israel relations. We've heard that many Democrats in America appear to be anti-Israel. Would a Democrat victory hurt us?

The main concern in America for these elections is that Democrats can become a majority in the US House of Representatives. Such a situation will absolutely affect how Republican members of Congress plan their future political strategy. It could certainly impact Trump's ability to govern. It could impact his political agenda. But how does a Democrat-controlled House impact US relations with Israel? 

The US House of Representatives has little to do with everyday US-Israel business. In fact, most of the time, the House has practically no impact at all on US-Israel relations.

Israel's Left is interested in these US elections, but for a different reason. That is, Israel's Left hasn't figured out how to dislodge Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from office. The Left wants him gone. But the man, at least until today, has been 'Mr. Teflon man': no Left-inspired or media-driven scandal sticks to him.

Therefore, the Left watches a US election where President Trump's 'enemies' have used an attack strategy that has been especially personal, dirty, nasty and vicious. Israel's Left wants to know if such a relentless campaign of personal attack against a national leader can really change voter attitudes. 

If Democrats win in the US, Israel's Left will wonder if stoking the fires of such an intense personal attack will win here, too. If Democrats lose, Israel's Left would have to wonder if a similar vicious anti-Netanyahu campaign in upcoming 2019 national Israeli elections would lose, too.  

Of course, this is speculation. But such speculation isn't difficult to do. Israel's Left is pretty transparent in its interest in the Democrat 'take-no-prisoners' political attack against Trump. We saw that transparency at a recent Rabin Tel Aviv rally. At that rally on November 3, 2018, Israeli Leftists used the same exact words against Netanyahu which America's Left uses against Trump (see yesterday's post below).

But other than this specific Leftist interest, why would Israelis be riveted by American elections? What's the attraction?

My guess is, the aggressiveness of the attack draws us to those elections. You know how it is: a street fight always draws a crowd. 

Starting tomorrow morning (Wednesday, November 7, 2018), early political autopsies on the US elections will hit the news. From those analyses, we will surely ask our own questions:

Will US-Israel relations really be altered by a Democrat victory (if that's what happens)? Will Israel now face increasing pressure from the US because, suddenly, Trump's hands are tied by those newly-elected and angry Democrats in Congress? Will these elections really, truly change anything? Or, will little change--except the noise level of political discourse?

G-d knows. The rest of us will have to wait for the dust to settle--and for the Palestinian Authority to try to take advantage of any Democrat win.









Monday, November 5, 2018

Netanyahu beware: Israeli Left studies US Left's playbook




If you think Israel's Left isn't watching how tomorrow's US midterm elections turn out, you'd be making a mistake. If you are politically Right in Israel, you'd be wise not to ignore those elections. You'd be wiser to consider how Israel's Left studies those elections.

Tomorrow's (November 6, 2018) US elections will determine if Donald Trump's Right-leaning Republican Party will retain control of both the US 'Lower House' (called the 'US House of Representatives') and its 'Upper House' (called the  'US Senate'). If Left-leaning Democrats win back a majority in the House of Representatives, you will see two things happen, neither of which will be good for the politically Right in the US. 

America's Left wants the US House of Representatives to turn Left. Israel's Left wants to see Israel turn Left. They have a lot in common. Can Israel learn from Left-leaning US Democrats?     

Certainly, a Democrat-controlled House gives America's Left power. With a newly-elected majority in the House, Democrats can work to block Trump's economic and healthcare agendas (here). 

Israel's Left is interested in that process. It wants to tear apart every Right-leaning legislation Netanyahu has passed through the Knesset. 

The second thing that'll happen if Democrats take over the House is the appearance of a long list of anti-Trump 'investigations' (here). These investigations won't just 'begin'. They'll be 'unleashed' (ibid).

The goal for these investigations will be to bring criminal charges (if possible) against Trump appointees. Some Democrats say they'll also start impeachment proceedings in  the House against President Trump. 

Democrats have already promised that, if they win a majority of seats in the House, they'll initiate a veritable 'blitz' of investigations (here). So far as impeachment is concerned, some Democrats--and mainstream media--practically salivate at the thought of it starting (here). 

Israel's anti-Netanyahu Left doesn't ignore this plan to dismantle the Trump legacy--and throw out Trump through impeachment. Israel's Left could well use the US anti-Trump game-plan as a model for dumping Netanyahu and dismantling his legacy. 

This isn't idle speculation. It's a conclusion drawn directly from the behavior of Israel's Left.

If you want to see how Israel's Left uses the US Left's anti-Trump playbook to attack Netanyahu, you need look no further than the Rabin memorial rally that was held in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, November 3, 2018 (here). The language used by Leftists in Israel before, during and after that rally didn't just echo anti-Trump, language heard in the US. It was the same language. 

Moreover, the US midterms elections aren't being described as a 'politics-as-usual' election. They're being cast instead as a referendum on Trump (here, here). What's at stake here is, in other words, Trump's reputation. 

Israel's Left has a history of going after Netanyahu's reputation. The US elections could teach Israel's Leftists a thing or two about doing a better job of it. 

Israel's Left watches these US elections because the idea of a referendum about Netanyahu (here) seems appealing. After all, Netanyahu still faces possible criminal indictments for a series of corruption allegations. Making the 2019  elections "all about Netanyahu-the-criminal-to-be" might work--if, that is, the anti-Trump campaign in the US proves successful.

To see how Israel's Left mirrors America's Left, compare the language used in the Tel Aviv Rabin rally (above) against the language used by US Leftists against Trump. For example, the Left in America accuses the Rightist Trump of dividing the country (here); he engages in 'fearmongering' (here); he incites for violence (here); he perverts government into a 'tool of partisan domination', seeking to persecute his political 'enemies' (here).

Trump attacks his 'enemies' by 'scoring political points' (here). He engages in the 'politics of hate' (here). 

In Israel, the Left uses these exact same words to attack its own political enemies--those on the Right, most specially Netanyahu. That's what it did at the Rabin rally.

It railed against Netanyahu's turning to 'the politics of hate' (here). It decried Netanyahu's "use of “incitement” and “fearmongering”. It called out against the government's using persecution of political rivals to score political points. It accused the Rightist-Netanyahu government of dividing the country" (here) .

Beware, Mr Netanyahu. This copy-cat language may signal that Israel's Left is getting ready to copy the American Left's 'discourse of hate' (here) political strategy. 

Will Israel's Left attempt to build an anti-Netanyahu campaign strategy based upon US Democrats' anti-Trump US campaign strategy? We'll get the answer to this question soon enough.

US elections begin in less than 20 hours (early voting has already begun). The results of these elections might tell everyone if relentless personal attacks on a political enemy can really change how people vote. 

Stay tuned. 

Sunday, November 4, 2018

World media sells a prophecy of doom about Netanyahu and Trump



News headlines aren't just introductions to news stories. They're a short-hand story-board that can reveal who we are and where we're headed. 

Headlines over the last year that cover US President Donald Trump and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are a case in point. They suggest that these two men are dangerous. They will, we are to infer, lead us to doom and destruction. 

Like prophets of old, recent news headlines prophecy a world-wide  Armageddon (here). Will these headlines really prove prophetic?

The language news headlines use to describe this coming doom-and-destruction aren't just about Trump and Netanyahu. They're also about how the future will treat them: both men will be politically and personally humiliated. They will fail at our expense. They won't serve out their elected terms. They'll bring us all down.

Read the headlines. Follow the story-line they create.

Here's that story-line. The headlines that damn us to doom seem to fall into six categories. Each category ratchets up the doom we face, until we get to the final category where the 'doom' is fully articulated. Here are those six categories:

First, there are headlines that proclaim Netanyahu's approaching failure:

-"Eulogizing Bibi, Once Again" (October 2018, here)

-"Israel Will Not Survive Netanyahu. And That's a Good Thing" (April 2018, here)

-"The four corruption scandals circling Benjamin Netanyahu", (March 2018, here)

-"The Final Days of Benjamin Netanyahu's Rule", (February 2018 here)

-"Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption scandal keeps getting worse — but he's still coming to Washington to meet with Trump" (February 2018 from jerusalemposthere

-Bethan McKernan, "Israel corruption scandal: Benjamin Netanyahu defiant over growing calls for him to step down", independent, February 14, 2018

-"Can Netanyahu survive?" (February 2018, here)


-"Scandal after scandal: Netanyahu questioned over corruption charges for fifth time" (November 2017, here);

-"A corruption investigation could bring down Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu" (August, 2017, here)

-"The Scandals that Could Topple Netanyahu" (February 2017 here)

-"An Israeli Scandal With Political Consequences" (September 2017, here)



Second, there are headlines that prophecy for Trump, 'this is the beginning of the end; or, 'the end is near'' (that's the language of prophecy, isn't it?). Here's a brief video summary of how headline language has depicted Trump. It comes from here:







Third,there  are headlines about the damning link between these two 'incompetent failures':

-"Israel and the U.S. Are Triggering a Risky, Unnecessary War of Choice in the Middle East" (May 2018, here)

-Trump and Netanyahu are really one-and-the-same person,  Trumpenyahu (March 2018, here):


-"The striking similarities between Trump and Netanyahu" ( ibid); 


-"Trump and Netanyahu are playing the same game" (January 2018 here)


-"Donald Trump's New World Order" (June 2018, here)


-"Trump and Netanyahu, the Con Artists Cooking Up Cataclysmic Conflict With Iran" (May 2018, here)


-"Meet Donald Trump’s twin: Benjamin Netanyahu" (March 2018, here)


-"Trump, Netanyahu rage, rage against realities of immigration" (April, 2018, here)


Fourth, there are headlines that declare how these two unfit leaders will undo all we cherish:  


-"Israel’s Nation State bill could destroy the peace process once and for all" (July 2018 here)


-"A proxy war between Israel and Iran is looming — and it could become the Middle East's 'worst war' in decades" (April 2018 here)


-"Donald Trump Is Driving Us on a Road to Hell in the Middle East" (May 2018, here)


"To Save His Own Skin, Netanyahu Will Destroy [Israel's democratic legal] System" (February 2018 here)


-"Israel Nudges Trump Towards War With Iran" (May 2018 here)


"Unholy alliance: Palestinians trampled as Trump targets Iran and pulls Arab states into alliance with Israel" (October 2018 here)


"Trump tries to destroy the West" (June 2018 here)


"Will the fervor to impeach Donald Trump start a Democratic civil war?" (May 2018 here)


-"Netanyahu to Make It Official: Fascism Is What We Are" (July 2018 here)


-"World War 3: Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will 'DESTROY SYRIA' if Iran does not withdraw (June 2018, here)


"Trump Wants to Destroy the World Order. So What?" (July 2018, here)


"Trump, Netanyahu, et al: all the ways democracy is crashing and burning" (September 2018, here)




Fifth, headlines tell us how our end will begin:


-"Trump warns evangelicals of 'violence' if GOP loses in the midterms" (August 2018, here)


-"Actor James Cromwell warns of 'revolution': 'There will be blood in the streets' if Democrats lose" (October 2018, here)


-"TRUMP SAYS GOP ELECTION LOSS WILL MEAN BIG STOCK MARKET LOSSES" (October 2018, here)




Sixth
headlines repeat the main anti-'Trumpenyahu' message: in a world where Leftists (supposedly) demand peace, these men are warmongers: 

                  
-"Netanyahu openly boasts of Israel’s war on Africans" (January 2017, here)


-"Will Netanyahu Regime Wage More War on Gaza?" (October 2018, here)


-"Will Trump start a nuclear war with North Korea?" (December 2017, here)


-"Is Trump’s Iran Policy Meant to Start a War?" (October 2018, here)


-"Are we on the brink of World War 3?" (September 2018, here)


-"HOW TRUMP COULD TRIGGER ARMAGEDDON WITH A TWEET" (September 2018, here)


-"On the possibility of Donald Trump starting World War III" (September 2018, here)


-"Why Is Trump Trying to Start a War He Cannot Win?" (July 2018, here)


-"Could Donald Trump start a nuclear war?" (March 2018, here)


-"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Leads US President Trump to War with Iran" (October 2017, here)


-"Israeli MPs give Netanyahu power to wage war without cabinet vote" (May 2018, here)


-"Egypt academic: Netanyahu pushing US to start war against Iran" (September 2018, here)


-"Netanyahu Says Israel Preparing for War With Gaza" (October 2018, here)


-"Pat Buchanan: Bibi Netanyahu wants the US to fight a war with Iran on behalf of Israel" (April 2018, here)


-"NYT fails to report that Netanyahu started air war over Syria as corruption probes close in on him" (February 2018, here).



Finally, there is one headline that sums up the entire doom-and-disaster story-line: "Trump and Netanyahu drive towards war" (May 2018, here).
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Headlines aren't just window dressing for news items. They tell a larger story. They tell us where we are most likely headed. 

The headlines above sell doom and destruction. They try to convince you that US President Donald Trump and Israel Prime  Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are as close to evil as leaders can get. These headlines shout, Trump and Netanyahu are destined to fail--and they'll take us with them!!

Words have meaning. Words influence people. Words take us to our future.


It's November, 2018. Do you  know where your words will take you?