One day before Israel is scheduled to act on sovereignty, Abbas declares, "I want to talk with Israel!"

Do you remember when US President Donald Trump announced his "Deal of the Century" Peace Plan? Seems long ago, doesn't it?

It wasn't. It happened in January, 2020--less than 5 months ago. 

On january 28, 2020, US President Trump announced his new Peace Plan. It was designed to end the Arab-Israel conflict. 

Trump loved it. He called it, the 'Deal of the Century'. 

Trouble was, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas didn't love it. His reaction to it was swift, certain and predictable: anger and rejection. 

He started with his anger even before the Plan was formally announced. On January 27th, the day before the official announcement of the Plan, Abbas called for an escalation of violence "on all fronts" in order to stop it (here). 

Then, Abbas went on a diplomatic rant:

-"Furious Abbas 'gives go-ahead' to Day of Rage over Trump plan" (here, on January 28th)

-"Abbas on Trump peace plan: 'Conspiracy deal won't pass'
" (here , on January 28th)

-"Abbas: 1,000 ‘no’s to the Trump plan" (here, on January 28th)

-"'Slap of the century': Palestinians reject Trump Mideast plan" (here, on January 28th)

-Just four days later, on February 1st, Abbas announced he wasn't just going to reject this insult (slap of the Century) of a 'plan', he was cutting all ties with both the US and Israel because of it (here).

-By February 6th, Israel had already seen a new series of terror attacks (here)--3 occurring on February 6th alone (here).

-On February 7th, Abbas declared angrily, "Palestinians will foil Trump's peace plan no matter who the victims might be'" (here). He added that his Palestinians "will fight the plan regardless of the sacrifices" (ibid).

-The next day, February 8th, Abbas lashed out at Trump, saying in a speech in Arabic that Trump took over the peace process--and did nothing (here). 

-Days later, at the UN, on February 12th, Abbas spoke to the UN,  condemning the Plan: "Palestinian leader Abbas slams Trump’s peace plan at UN" (here). He "warned" that "violent protests could break out" because of it (ibid).

This has been the tone and content of Abbas' remarks since January, 2020. He rejects, absolutely rejects, the Trump Plan. He won't talk about it. He will no longer speak to the US about it-or, about anything! (here).

Then, a little more than four months later, on June 9th, with less than three weeks to go to Israel's scheduled sovereignty announcement (July 1st), Abbas's Prime Minister announced that the Palestinian Authority (PA) had drafted a "counter-proposal" to the Trump Plan (here). But this "counter-proposal" wasn't going to go to Trump. It would instead go to the Quartet of Mideast mediators--currently not functioning, currently moribund--a group that's made up of the US, the EU, the UN and Russia. 

While short on detail, this 'offer' appeared to contain a proposal for a demilitarized Palestinian state, 'minor' border adjustments and some land swaps with Israel. The offer also requested the UN to supervise the agreed-upon peace (here). As announced, there appeared to be no Palestinian interest stated in this draft for direct talks with Israel.

This PA announcement didn't get anywhere. There have been no real responses to it. It seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

But now, today, June 30th, literally hours away from Israel's July 1 deadline to begin announcing sovereignty decisions, Abbas has changed his tune. He's no longer talking about trying to kill the Trump Plan. He's no longer refusing to negotiate anything with Israel. 

Now, he wants to advance this 'counter-proposal' (above); and he wants to get serious with it. He wants to discuss it through direct talks with Israel (here). 

This call for direct talks is new. It represents a dramatic change in stance by Abbas.

But there's a catch: the offer for direct talks stands only so long as Israel halts its commitment to act on sovereignty. Indeed, the offer for direct talks will be immediately withdrawn if Israel annexes (declares sovereignty over) anything beginning tomorrow, July 1.

This is new--direct talks with Israel. Is it so tempting that Israel will halt its movement towards sovereignty announcements and sit down with Abbas? 

My uneducated guess is, yes--Israel will halt its plans for sovereignty, at least for the moment. I think Israel will halt sovereignty actions right now because it has so many internal conflicts right now over sovereignty--and so many unresolved issues with the details of the Trump Plan, which is linked to sovereignty actions--there's a possibility that Israel will seek at least some type of temporary refuge from these conflicts and issues and grab onto this offer for direct talks. 

Will Israel accept this offer? Will it drop talk of sovereignty, at least for now?

Stay tuned.

Year Zero will be when Jews outside Israel will be trapped

The phrase, 'Year Zero', refers to one moment in time--a specific year--when a set of events change everything. 1917 could have been such a year, for that was when the Russian Revolution brought to the world the oppressive scourge we now call 'Communism'. 1860 could have been another such year, as that was when the war over slavery in the US began in earnest. That war changed everything in America.

1776, when American colonies declared their independence from England, was another 'Year Zero'. That year changed also 'changed everything'.

1939, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland, was another 'Year Zero'. That attack changed everything, especially for Europe's Jews.

You can build a parlor game,  called 'Year Zero'. Participants could be challenged to identify their own choice for a 'Year Zero'--for their own lives, or for their families or country.

A 'Year Zero' is distinctive. It's when life, as we know it, changes dramatically. It's a moment when new realities shatter the life-order we had come to know. While a 'Year Zero' is not necessarily a moment that brings change through some kind of violence, that's how we typically think of a 'Year Zero', for it is unwanted violence that shoves extraordinary change down our collective throats. 

The Jews of Twentieth Century Europe had their own 'Year Zero'. That  might have been 1935, when Germany's Nuremberg Laws were passed, essentially stripping Germany's Jews of their citizenship--and the right to vote, along with other rights and benefits. For Germany's Jews, that was the beginning of 'and everything changed'. 

Perhaps 1935 in Poland was another 'Year Zero' for Jews, this time in Poland. 1935 might be the year when physical, violent attacks against Jews increased in number and intensity. 

Today, a 'Year Zero' could begin anywhere in the world, for any country or any people. It could begin in France with the election of an anti-Semitic regime to high office. It could begin in America with--some say--the election of a radical Democrat President in the November, 2020 national election. It could begin in Britain with new laws that, perhaps, bring Sharia law to the UK. 

Each of these changes could be a 'Year Zero'--a time when  everything changes.

For Jews in Western countries, a 'Year Zero' could begin with a Court ruling that Jewish day schools and Yeshivot that teach only Jewish children are henceforth illegal because such facilities do not represent 'equality'. A 'Year Zero' for Jews in any Western country could begin with wide-spread, explosive riots that turn on Jewish businesses, homes, neighborhoods and Jewish wealth.

Sound impossible?  If you think so, you haven't been keeping up with news coming out of Europe and North America.

A 'Year Zero' for Jews could mean finding yourself (a Jew) being trapped in a hostile political environment where those with power (either nationally or locally) aim to commit evil against 'the Jews'. Worse, wherever a 'Year Zero' dawns, it will dawn with little fanfare. Jews won't get advanced notice about it in text messages or a whatsapp. They'll have little-to-no time to escape or to prepare for escape. 

Can you name a group or two in your own country which wouldn't hesitate to attack Jews if given the opportunity? Do you think such groups exist in your own city?  Do you know if they exist in your own  city? Have they already attacked--or inspired someone else to an attack?

If, for Jews, the proverbial '#^** hits the fan', will there be time to escape? Or, as has happened recently around the world, would there exist at that very moment--when an escape route should open but can't because--a nation-wide lock-down is in force because of a pandemic--or rioting? What happens to Jews then?

You'll have no escape. You'll be trapped. 

The only 'good' news with a 'Year Zero'--if there is one in your future--is this: before a 'Year Zero' actually happens, Jews (almost) always see signs of it. You'll see increases in physical violence against Jews. You'll see increases in various forms of verbal, social, job-site and intellectual "troubles" perpetrated against Jews. Your children will see an explosion of raw,  disgusting, hate-filled tweets on social media. They may not tell you about what they see, but they'll see it.

This represents 'good' news because it signals what may lie ahead. Those 'signals' might give you time to get out--if, that is, you heed the warning signs. 

Unfortunately, the history  of 'Year Zeroes' hasn't been kind to Jews. Jews have almost always been asleep when a 'Year Zero' strikes. Few heeded the signals. Few escaped. 

That's how a 'Year Zero' has presented itself to Jews in the past. It's also how it will present to Jews in the future--with clues building slowly, providing signs, warnings and hints that whisper to you to pick up, pack up and leave. 

Look around. How good is Jewish life today in your country? How good was it fifteen years ago? By comparison, how good is Jewish life now in your country? Are you safer now than fifteen years ago? 

I cannot predict that you are destined to see a Jewish 'Year Zero' in your future.  But you can answer three questions: 

-Can you see what swirls around you? 

-Can you see the clues that assault your senses almost every week or  month--the hints of anti-Semitism? 

-Do you know that, in 2018, there was a worldwide surge of anti-Semitism that has many Jews "concerned" (here)?; Are you concerned?

Keep looking around. Do you know what's happening to your Jewish children on America's college campuses (here)? Do you know what's happening on Britain's college campuses (here)--or on France's campuses (here)?

Do you see what's been happening to Jews, synagogues  and Jewish property in Los Angeles (here), Portland (here here), Seattle (here), New York (here) and Chicago (here, here) --or in cities in the United Kingdom (here) and France (here, here)? 

If you're like most Jews who live outside Israel, you--or someone you love--may be clueless about the hate around you. You--or someone you love--may simply not know what you (s/he) don't (doesn't) know about anti-Semitism. Or, if you do know, have you chosen to ignore it? 

'Year Zero' is real. It creeps towards you (here). When, or if, a 'Year Zero' strikes your country, will you be caught flat-footed--or will you have already joined your people in Israel and become one with us?

It's your call. It's your future. It's your life.

Aliyah and the question, is America headed towards civil war?

The America I left 10 years ago to make aliyah to Israel was an America at peace--with itself. Sure, there were disputes between peoples and groups. But was my America headed towards civil war?

No way. Not in a  million years. Not then.

But what about now? Has America changed?  

I suspect it has. As a recent US poll suggests, some 34% of Americans say it's likely the US will see a  civil war within the next 5 years (here). Is such an idea possible? A civil war? 

From where I sit, I no longer see an America at peace with itself, or even comfortable with itself. I see a horror-show. I see a world very much turned upside-down (here).

Do you?

Look at this video below. It gives you a view of what's going on in just one place in America. The music in the video is upbeat. But the video's content? 

As you watch this video, ask yourself a question: which aspects of this video could become a part of your city's future?  (Note: there is 'adult' language to be heard here; the video comes from here):

I can't tell you what to think. But if 34% of your American peers believe a civil war is 'likely' in the US in the next 5 years, what does that say about the piece of America where you live? What does it say America's Jewish population? 

Civil wars are rarely healthy for Jews. Are you safer today than you were 10 years ago? Are you as safe?

It's already been reported that 2019 was a record year--for anti-Semitism. That year, your America saw more anti-Semitic incidents since such tracking began in 1979 (here). Even if the US doesn't devolve into a civil war, what will you do if America's anti-Semitism is worse in 2021 that it was in 2019?

Where would that leave you? Will you still be safe? 

More important, do you remain convinced that aliyah to Israel isn't for you? Or, for your children?

Riots in America: questions from Israel

(Last update: June 11, 2020)

For the last two weeks, riots have spread across America.  The initial trigger for this violence began in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where a black man by the name of George Floyd was videoed being pinned to the ground by a policeman's knee on the back of his neck—pinned down by a uniformed  officer apparently trying to arrest him or to restrain him after arrest. That police officer kept this man so pinned for almost 9 minutes, even as Floyd cried, ‘I can’t breathe’. Mr. Floyd died with the officer's knee on his neck.

Even before the police officer was arrested—and then charged with murder—riots in Minneapolis erupted. Rioting quickly (too quickly?) spread to perhaps 75 cities across the US (here), including cities far from Minneapolis. It turns out that most of the cities which erupted in rioting, including Minneapolis, were run by Democrats. So far as we can tell from Israel, the worst rioting may have been confined to such cities.

Most of these Democrat-run cities have been controlled by Democrats for decades. Some in America have noticed this reality, and have claimed that this (rioting) is what a large American city gets wherever it’s run by Democrat governments (see here a list of cities where most riots have occurred, all identified as Democrat-run).

Is this a correct assessment? 

So far, the damage from this rioting has been estimated to be greater than 500 million dollars.  But the rioting isn't over. The damage hasn't ended. 

The damage caused by rioters has been extensive. Black business owners have been hard-hit: too many of the businesses destroyed by the rioting were minority-owned, specifically black-owned.

The rioters riot because, they claim, they seek justice for George Floyd in particular (a Black man) and for Black Americans in general. So if justice for Black Americans is the true goal of these rioters, why were so many black-owned businesses looted and gutted?

For justice? Is this what justice now looks like in America?

What is justice in this case? The offending police officer has already been arrested for George Floyd’s death. He was quickly charged, not excused.  Isn’t that the beginning of the process we call, justice?

But the rioting? Where does that come from? Where is the connection between rioting and justice? 

We see mobs breaking into stores to steal food, drugs, appliances, clothes and jewelry. That’s not justice. It's anarchy.

Some in America say that certain of the groups involved in the rioting are anarchists (here). Do you believe that?

These riots are supposedly an outcry against systemic racism and the supposed police brutality against blacks which is a part of that racism. Is this true?

Most agree that there is at least some racism in America. But who is responsible for that racism? The police?  More to the point, who is responsible for violence against Blacks? The police?

Honest statistics don't appear to verify such a charge. Instead, statistics seem to suggest that violence against blacks doesn't come primarily from police (or from whites). It comes primarily from other blacks (here, p. 6).

These rioters seem to want more than justice. Why else do they want to see white leaders and police kneel before them, which many did, willingly (here, here, here, here). Why do they want white political and police leaders to bow before them—and to wash Black men’s feet? What’s that all about (here; or, is this the greater reality here?).

Protesters want Blacks to be protected from police. They want police departments defunded (here, here, here and here). Other protesters focus instead on eliminating school police especially--you know, to dismantle "White supremacy" (here) or to protect students (here).

Apparently, some of America's leaders agree: some politicians support such a move (here). Some police departments are "1,000 percent" behind such a move (here). Others disagree (here,  here, here).

How do you think defunding/taking police off the streets will impact black communities already suffering disproportionately from Black-on-Black violence? The tragic irony of all this is that, for example, In New York City alone, between June 1-7, 2020, inclusive, while police left neighborhood patrols to engage in protest crowd-control, city shooting incidents were up more than 65%, and the city's murder rate doubled--all occurring while protesters took to the streets to protest the murder of a black man some 1,000  miles away (here). 

For many of us in Israel, America has always seemed the land of the free, where justice--despite its failings--has seemed the best in the world. These riots don't suggest justice to us. They don't suggest freedom. They suggest insurrection and out-of-control violence. They are horrific. 

From Israel, we see non-Jews telling "all good people" to get out of Democrat-run cities (here). As a Jew, such a call makes me think of America's Jewish population: Will American Jews now begin in earnest to make aliyah (emigrate to Israel), to leave this chaos behind? 

Maybe not.  Most Jews in America are Democrat. Democrats support the protests. They support the calls to 'defund police'.

During this rioting in America, American Jewish leaders seem to have made their own choice-of-conscience--about standing with my Israel: after ZOA (Zionists of America) President Mort Klein recently vilified Black Lives Matter on Twitter, Jewish leaders immediately called for his expulsion from the US's Conference of Presidents, an umbrella organization of some 50+ national Jewish organizations in America (here).

Klein supports Israel. Apparently, some in the Conference of Presidents see Klein as Islamophobic and racist (ibid). Such an accusation makes a Jew in Israel wonder: in America, some already claim that Zionism supports Islamophobia--and, by extension, racism (here). By suggesting that Mort Klein is Islamophobic and racist, do American Jewish leaders suggest that anyone who supports Israel supports Islamophobia and racism? 

In Israel, we want to know: is this how American Jewish leaders see the world's only Jewish homeland--as a racist and Islam-hating entity?

If the majority of American Jews agree with such a belief, then I fear that the Jews of America are doomed. 

The Palestinian Authority's Nazi complex

(Last update: June 7, 2020)


There are many similarities between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Nazi Germany. Both are virulently anti-Semitic. Both believe their culture and ideology are superior to those around them. Because of that sense of superiority, both became arrogant. Both are authoritarian. Both feel it is their destiny to conquer others. 

And yet, these similarities seem jarring. They don't correspond to reality.

If anything, the PA is nothing like the Nazi world, which is why we can say that the PA has a "Nazi complex": like Nazis of old, the PA is vain, boastful and with an overly high opinion of itself; and, like Nazis of old, the PA seeks to ennoble itself through Jew-hate, even as such hate has proven that it destroys those who embrace it. 

Embrace something that will destroy you? The PA doesn't care. It cleaves passionately to the murderous dreams of  Nazi Jew-hate, despite Nazism's horrific end. 

The PA and the Nazis. No two ideas could be more different. 
Nazi Germany conquered all of Europe. Hitler's army was a juggernaut, unbeatable during the conquest period, September 1939-May,1941. Within this singular 21-month period, Nazi Germany conquered nine countries with a lightning-like speed: Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Yugoslavia and Greece. Its power during this process appeared overwhelming.  

By contrast, the PA hasn't the power to conquer anyone (thank G-d). Yes, the PA is certainly desperate to conquer Israel. But it can't (again, thank G-d). So how does the PA press forward with its Nazi-dream of conquering the Jewish Israel? It draws cartoons showing Israelis as Nazis (here, using a Nazi image from 1936, here).

That's pathetic. 

Compared to the raw and stunning military power of Nazi Germany, the PA is an empty drum. It makes a lot of noise. It certainly dreams of killing Jews. But all it can do is spit, cry and lie about Jews and Israel (for example, here). 

This is also pathetic. 

Even today, as Jewish sovereignty over parts of the Jordan River valley fast approaches (it's scheduled to happen at some point after July 1, 2020--maybe), the PA makes a lot of noise about what it will do should Israel act on 'sovereignty'. But the PA has no real options; it's powerless (here).  

The PA has never developed a plan to create the state it claims it wants. The PA has never begun any plans for statehood. The only plans the PA has ever focused on are plans for inciting Palestinians to pick up a knife and attack heavily armed Jewish soldiers.

That's pathetic. 

Nazi Germany by contrast, was everything the PA isn't. It was 'all action'. Nazi Germany did as it threatened. It acted. It conquered. 

The PA's only tangible accomplishment is its ability to generate Jew-hating propaganda, 24-7. It produces nothing to support or to promote excitement about its future statehood. 

Statehood? The PA has never created any detailed description of what a new Arab state should look like.

That's pathetic.

By contrast, Nazi Germany had a strong and well-organized national game-plan that went far beyond military conquest. Hitler had plans not only for the 'enemies of his state', but also for Germans who accepted him: he would rebuild Germany. He would carry Germany from poverty to prosperity (here). He fulfilled that promise.

Then, to promote the glory of the Nazi race (and its society), Nazis co-opted cinema, art, medicine, engineering and science to showcase what it saw as the genius of the Nazi mind (see here, esp at the 0:30-2:35 mark). Scientists and doctors didn't hesitate to join the Hitler bandwagon (ibid). Metaphorically speaking, they joined Hitler's Nazis with a smile and cheer.

By the mid-1930's, Nazi Germany had figured out how to promote and celebrate its 'glorious and triumphant' Aryan ideology. The Nazis did this through the power of propaganda (start here to look at the genius of filmmaker Leni Reifensthahl, at 8:25-10:10 mark, then watch a commentary on her propaganda masterpiece here). Nazi Germany celebrated its propaganda by turning it into high art (here, here). 

The PA (thank G-d) doesn't produce such propaganda. It produces only bald-faced lies in the form of really disgusting--and sometimes outrageous--hate and incitement. (See, for example, here, here, here, here). 

The truth is, no one can build a viable, modern nation-state on a recipe of hate and the arrogance that lies beneath that hate. Perhaps 600 years ago, that might have been  possible--perhaps. But the modern world has been  traditionally too interlinked, too complex to support such a state. 

By contrast, Nazi Germany was, for its day, an ultra-modern, high-tech and science-based operation: organized, and focused on using some of the best/most current scientific knowledge to accomplish its goals (see especially the years 1933-1939).  But Nazi Germany nonetheless failed because it was built on a recipe of hate and arrogance. That arrogance led to a war that destroyed the Nazi dream. 

The PA is no high-tech powerhouse. It offers no scientific 'advancements'. Instead, it's a badly managed, almost primitive society that plainly embraces hate--and rejects everything Western, including science and medicine. It has no engineering or medicine to celebrate. The only thing it celebrates is either (1) demonizing Jews, (2) killing Jews (here), or (3) glorifying Palestinians who die while trying to kill Jews (here). 

That's pathetic.

Ultimately, the world saw the horrors of the Nazi world-view. The same may be true for the Palestinian Cause. Where once the PA could dream of making Israel a pariah among the nations, it now sees Israel's international market value  leap forward in most every category imaginable except, of course, in the UN, which stomps obsessively on Israel while,  by the way, it becomes increasingly irrelevant (here,  here, here, here, here, here). 

Yes, Israel may be condemned by the despots who populate the UN, but Israel's high-tech culture, its expertise in cybersecurity, its success fighting terror--and now, its success fighting the coronavirus pandemic (here)--have all brought to Israel (literally) many admirers from the world's halls of power. 

As Israel's star rises, it is Ramallah and Abbas who appear increasingly to be viewed as less-than-desirable. For example, support for the Palestinian Cause within the EU may be waning (here). Support for the Palestinians against Israel may be waning in much of the Arab world (here). Increasingly, Abbas's threats and laments fall on deaf ears (here). The Palestinian Cause seems to have failed so badly that PA President Mahmmoud Abbas complains openly that Arab states fail to condemn Israel's talk of Jewish sovereignty over land the PA says belongs to it (here). 

The PA has no military power, just terrorism. It has no good life to offer, just mind-numbing victimhood. It is weak. It is, indeed, incompetent. 

But it does have hate (here). Lots of hate.

In the end, there are two similarities the PA shares with Nazi Germany. Both hate. Both fail. 

They fail because, ultimately, they are each built upon arrogance and hate. Arrogance and hate, you might wish to remember, do not, as a national goal, create modern, competitive, economically strong nation-states. Nations built on arrogance and hate are built on political quicksand. Ultimately, they sink because of the weight of their hate. Look at Iran. Look at the PA. Look at the majority of the Islamic world.

Nazi Germany was driven by arrogance and hate. It ended up destroyed. With an extraordinary passion, the PA has bought into Nazi Jew-hate. It, too, will be destroyed. 

Put another way, the PA's destiny of destruction has already been set into its Nazi-chosen love affair: you see, the chickens come home to roost. They always do. If the competent Nazis failed, how much more so will the incompetent PA.

Stay tuned. Pay attention. Watch how the Palestinian world incites Palestinians to pick up a knife to attack Jews (here).

Such incitement is pathetic. A knife? Do you really believe the PA will win this war? 



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