The entrance to Auschwitz concentration camp, with the words “Arbeit macht frei”, meaning “work sets you free”. The phrase is known for appearing on the entrance of other labour camps, including Dachau and Theresienstadt. (Photo from the post “Untangling memory, taking a stand.” By Moyukh Mahtab & Shamsuddoza Sajen; The Daily Star; 1/28/17 12:00 AM Last update on: 7/18/17 03:57 PM)
As you discover Mr. Ball is a member of the Latter Day Saints (aka Mormons). In full disclosure I am among the Biblical Christians that believe Mormons follow extra-Biblical teachings which some describe as modern day Gnosticism. And yet who am I to criticize? I belong to a group of Christians labeled Word of Faith and another labeled as Christian Zionists. Many Christians critical of Mormonism also have no difficulty in labeling the Christian groups I associate with as heretics.
The point to be recognized here is one religious group recognizes age old Antisemitism (which predates Christianity by-the-way) is sadly not only ongoing but might be reaching Nazi-Germany era levels again among those who call themselves Christians who should assuredly by now no better.
JRH 1/29/22
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On Jan 27, 2022, at 6:54 PM, Matthew Ball <mball@…> wrote:
Dear Ari,
It is with great sadness and acute awareness of the many sacrifices and suffering of our Jewish Brothers and Sisters that I share this letter from some of our Church Leaders–with you. Our hearts go out to you and your international community with a gratitude for your friendship and a desire to extend our love to you during a very difficult time of remembrance.
Attached is a letter that my colleagues across Europe have shared with their Diplomatic friends and associates. I wanted you to know that we share these feelings.
Amidst the very difficult your memory of this tragic era in our history, we express our support and concern for your well-being.
Embracing you as one of our own,
Matt
P.S. – It’s rather amazing to hear of the snow that fell in Israel today. Apparently, not since the 50’s has such a phenomenon occurred. I hope this helps to codify the “cold” but necessary remembrance of today.
Matthew Ball
Director of Public & International Affairs, NAWA
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
1591 E. Temple Way
Los Angeles, CA 90024
+++++++++++++++++
[Ari sent attachments of the letter in PDF format and jpg format. Below is the photo. Following the photo is Ari’s email response.]
Dear Matt,
When a family member goes out to try and secure food and does not come back, another family member goes out looking for her. She does not return either to the hiding place of the family.
Some of the good Polish neighbors squealed on them. Neither was ever heard of or seen again.
One of the two was my grandmother – my sister is named after her – the other was her mother.
The Poles, these wonderful people who were “under occupation” and neither participated nor took part in and derived great joy from the atrocities carried out, who did not smell or felt the human ashes being spewed from the Crematoriums, passed certain laws in recent years to re-write history. In fact, for what I have written here, I can face dire consequences today in Poland.
And yet, we rush to send our kids to the March of Living in Poland every year. What a very big business it is!
The Poles were indeed most amazing people who cared greatly about the Jews in their midst. There were a few – the Righteous Gentiles – who risked their own lives and that of their families for Jews, sometimes Jews they did not even know. After escaping the Warsaw Ghetto, my father and my uncle hid for the duration of the war with one such family.
The very same loving nation continues to fight to this very day against the Survivors who are trying to get their properties back. As the Hebrew saying goes, “Have you murdered and inherited too?” Another law was recently passed, but that law simply codified what we already knew by experience – the Poles utterly refuse to return property to its rightful owners. Just ask my father and my uncle who spent the last few decades fighting – at all levels of the judicial system in Poland. One court case after the next, more than a dozen in total, where each level sends it to the next – up and back down, like a rollercoaster.
And then we were invited to the Academy, right here in BH, when an entire nation went on a blitz to persuade itself and the world that it is just [an] innocent victim like everybody else – Poland was occupied by the Nazis, and the Poles had nothing to do with anything.
There is no remorse. There are no second thoughts. Just a complete revision of history and the utter determination not to allow the flood gates to open. After all, the Survivors are getting older and die, and when they all die, their descendants will not continue to fight. That is the human story; this is life.
Tomorrow my uncle turns 89. My father is 84. They were young when the War erupted. Now they are the last of the Survivors. Everyone else – those few still with us – is in his or her 90s. They are determined not to give up, no matter what. They were deprived of their childhood and early adulthood, and they are being wronged to this day.
Israel does not take care of Holocaust Survivors outside of Israel. Shamefully, even the care and concern within Israel proper is something to be desired. But let us worry not – soon there will be no more Survivors, and no more firsthand, live accounts of the horrors of the Holocaust. Then when a child will ask Siri or Alexa, “Tell Me, What Was the Holocaust,” she or he may receive an answer along the lines, “A scientific international conference, convened by a sovereign nation (Iran), determined it was a sophisticated hoax perpetrated by the Jews.”
Included here is a former professor of mine from UCLA from decades ago. One of the foremost experts on that period, she had to prove in a (British) court of law that the Holocaust did happen.
Included herein is a brilliant researcher in Israel who is publishing one book after another about the Holocaust. Yet, publishing houses stay away from publishing these books – for there is no demand, and so it is not profitable to engage in such publications. Yet, he does not stop, for he is on a mission.
All together, we are a team. My parents and my uncles, Survivors; dear friends who are part of this e-mail – daughters and sons and spouses of Holocaust Survivors; dear friends, protectors and defenders of Israel who fight day in and day out to safeguard the Jewish State; and our Christian brethren whose steadfast support of Israel and the Jewish people is a miracle in and of its own.
TOGETHER WE ARE TEAM ISRAEL.
As my dear friend Zohreh says,
AM ISRAEL CHAI (the nation of Israel lives; and is strong)
SHALOM!
Always, Ari Bussel bussel@me.com _____________________________
A quote from Ari Bussel wondering about indigenous born Arab Christians in the Middle East and Israel:
If given a choice to live in the Jewish State or under Arab/Palestinian/Iranian/Muslim rule, they will never choose the latter. And yet, they criticize and malign Israel. I have never understood why so very few of them find the courage or exhibit the characteristics they preach to stand up and defend Israel; unless they think that they have a future at all if Israel will cease to exist.
In this post submitted by Ari is lengthy valid response to an email Ari received pointing to an article about Jews attacking Christians in Israel and a Black-American Bishop who immigrated to Israel acting as if Jewish attack are the norm rather than the exception but with zero mention of Muslims persecuting Christians causing a depopulation in Judea-Samaria.
And another matter: Jews were persecuted 2,000 years before the birth of Jesus (raised as a Jew) and SADLY Jews have been persecuted by Christians (and other groups) for another 2,000-plus years. Is there any wonder there is Jewish mistrust of Christian motives?
Then there is the sad phenomenon that the millennia of Christians that themselves have survived Muslim persecuting practices have lived under the brainwashing tactics under Dhimmitude one of submitting to Quranic induced Jew-hatred.
Those are my thoughts, but Ari Bussel is much more erudite than I in dispelling essentially a Christian camp leaning into Antisemitism.
JRH 1/8/22
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[Blog Editor: After reading the post associated with the link, it is my humble opinion the Bishop is criticizing the persecution of ALL Christians in Israel but is particularly disturbed by Jewish animus toward Israeli Christians. On a personal level when the Bishop talks of Christian persecution he makes zero reference to the Muslim persecution of Christians particularly in the Judea-Samaria (rudely labeled West Bank or Palestinian Authority controlled land) where huge numbers of Christians have been reduced by persecution via Muslims against Christians. Here is the link’s headline, opening and first paragraph and skip a few paragraphs where the Bishop decries the treatment of Black Americans not a part of the email:
EXCLUSIVE: Evangelical bishop says Israel must deal with attacks, discrimination against Christians coming from ‘radicalized’ Jewish groups
Bishop Plummer says “time for silence is over;” urges dialogue and stepped-up support from current Israeli government
Church of God in Christ Bishop of Israel Glenn Plummer and First Lady Ruth Pauline Plummer, Ph.D. at the Israeli president’s New Year’s reception, Dec. 29, 2021. (Photo: courtesy)
An Evangelical bishop backed a statement issued by the heads of traditional Christian churches in the Holy Land, saying that the time for remaining silent is over in the face of radicalized hatred and attacks on Christians and their holy places.
…
Plummer, spoke with ALL ISRAEL NEWS after attending a New Year’s reception hosted by Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday, where Herzog welcomed the leaders of several denominations in Israel – from Catholic and Coptic to Greek and Armenian Orthodox along with leaders of Evangelical ministries in the land.
The reception came a few weeks after these same denominational leaders issued a statement condemning racist acts against Christians in Israel, including “countless incidents of physical and verbal assaults against priests and other clergy, attacks on Christian churches, with holy sites regularly vandalized and desecrated, and ongoing intimidation of local Christians who simply seek to worship freely and go about their daily lives.”
We have reported on several such incidents, here and here.
…
“The White Evangelical leadership and organizations have tried to keep it quiet because they don’t want backlash against Israel – our mutual adversaries will take that and use it against Israel,” Plummer said. “But secondly, it’s also out of fear. It’s out of fear that if they take a public position, that these guys will show up at their door as well.”
But Plummer said that as “Bishop of Israel for the largest Black church in the world, we know what discrimination and racism feels like in America.”
In recent years, there is a phenomenon of developers coming to Beverly Hills and telling us – active and caring residents of decades – what is good for our City (they really mean what is good for them). Most regrettably, the two most notable examples that come to mind are of Jewish developers. About one’s behavior I wrote before Yom Kippur many years ago (he has boycotted me ever since); the other is a recent comer, and in a Rabbi-supervised dialogue between us, he was astonished when I described his behavior as Rosh Katan (small head, i.e., limiting one’s behavior to what is most narrowly excusable or the minimum required). If it were not for the respect to the Rabbi, I would have immediately been declared Public Enemy No. 1.
Similarly, an American Black Evangelical Leader moves to Israel with his wife during the Great Pandemic. On its face, anyone familiar with Israeli immigration requirements would find this fascinating. In an extremely short period of time, this person is being embraced by the Israeli political elite, which has been courting Christians for a long time now.
So why would anyone point out the fact the Evangelical leader is Black? Because he uses the color of the skin, or the Race Card, a most common phenomenon in the USA of President Obama and President Biden. The leader brings with him from the USA the current culture of accusations that “America is systematically racist” and that “all White males are racist” as well as floating into the air “White Supremacists” and “Domestic Terrorism” and other like buzz words that divide rather than unite the country.
He then applies it toward a new landscape, accusing his new host country of the very same evils. True or not, this does not matter. The objective is not to improve anything that might need improvement, to highlight real issues and work on real solutions; rather it is to sow discord and distrust. When catchy lies (half a sentence long to maximum a sentence long) are floated to the air, it is very difficult to disprove them. The bigger the lie, the easier it becomes an accepted truth.
I have dedicated the past quarter of a century, if not longer, to building bridges between Christians and Jews. It is a most tedious work, one stone at a time, brick after brick. We stand proud of the distance traversed thus far in Judeo-Christian relations. And this most formidable fort that was erected is attracting opposition, attempt after attempt to tear it down, much like what happened with the First and Second Temples.
To this very day Jews fast four times a year to remember the destruction that took place two millennia ago. We remember the past in order not to repeat it. Today, in a slightly different context, we face the very same division and forces that threaten our unity and very survival.
Let us stand united in our conviction, in our team experience and mutual respect and expel from within us those who want to weaken our defenses, to accuse us of wrongdoing where there is none and to spread confusion among us. Let us remain focused on what is important, on what God wants from us, and we will be able to separate truth from fiction, reality from lies, good intentions from evil ones.
The Newcomer to Israel may not have any insidious intentions. He may simply be bringing with him and echoing loudly a current-day American culture that has gone wild, in the wrong direction. This should not be welcomed in Israel, for we have enough enemies – internal and external – and we do not need to be distracted by more unjust, undeserving and untrue attacks.
A Reply to Your Query
The article cited below [Blog Editor: And quoted in brief form above] is not anti in any direct sense of the word to which we are accustomed; but it is dangerous nonetheless.
(1) Lies Told Often Enough
What I hear when I read this article is a huge choir repeating a chorus. It is heard in the background, like distant drums, and as it gets closer, the noise becomes frightening, overwhelming, most dangerous. In my mind’s eye I hear repeated accusations, drums beating: White Supremacists, Haters, Racists and Domestic Terrorists (characteristic of the US), Settlers, Occupation and Jesus at the Checkpoint (to give a taste of Israel). There is no terrorism, there are no acts of terror, just Israeli-soldiers, Nazi-like, restricting movement and life in general.
Equally alarming, I hear transposition of reality, blaming the Jews for what others are doing. How very typical to the Middle East!
I am beginning to feel deja vu: taking a reality, transposing it and floating the lie over and over and over again so that people are convinced it is the truth. Just to name a few examples: Mossad agents are the evildoers in any current prime-time TV series in the US while Muslims are the sexy, smart, good-doers. Mossad perpetrated the 9/11 Attacks. Islam is a peaceful religion and Jihad is a quest for peace. Israelis are the new Nazis. Israel wants to topple down or burn the Al Aqsa Mosque. And more appropriately to this discussion: Settlers uproot olive groves, Settlers steal the water of Palestinians, Settlers allow sewage to flow into nature (that clearly belongs to the Palestinian), Settlers burn Palestinian homes and murder their Palestinian neighbors and so forth. Soon to come: Settlers shoot at Palestinian cars and stub innocent 80-year-old ladies walking in the street or run cars into people standing at bus stops.
In Bethlehem, under Palestinian Authority rule (Israelis are not allowed), the Christian population dwindled down to less than 2%, and yet this article refers us to a previous statement about Israel, not about PA-ruled Bethlehem: the Christian population has decreased from 20% at its height to less than 2% now. In reality, though, the number of Christians in Israel continues to increase, but why let the facts confuse us?
(2) Attention Seekers
The actions described are reflective, in part, of an attention-seeking Bishop. He has just arrived, and he is already charging and leading a fight to reform Israel, to save the Evangelical Christians who live there (and maybe to save Israel from herself!).
I am immediately reminded of another self-proclaimed prominent Christian Leader.
Remember when Netanyahu lost after four election cycles within two years, and a new coalition government was formed (the current government under Bennett)?
One Christian leader who published dozens of books and has a museum and a communications center in Jerusalem went all out against Bennett and the new government. He was so self-absorbed in his momentary madness, that he threatened to unleash tens of millions of Christians from around the world AGAINST Israel, bringing into question not his sanity but the essence of his support. [Those who support Israel do so not only so long as their interests are well served. He who threatens to unleash powers against Israel better remember that it is a declaration of war against God Lord of Hosts Himself (which should come with a health warning).] Since then, Mike Evans calmed down and returned to his senses. Any contrition shown might have been more for public consumption.
Then a new Leader and his wife arrived to Israel, and in short time claimed a position of prominence. I wonder how this happened so quickly and so very easily, there is something unnatural about it. Perhaps I am a skeptic (I likewise treat Mike Evans’s claim of having tens of millions of followers with some respect and some doubt).
What I do know, though, is that this leader has utilized the color of his skin and his title (not to be confused with the more commonly-used title of Bishop in the Catholic Church), as well as God the Almighty Himself, something that is NOT in our hands and should never be done. If God wants to support someone, He knows how to do so. It is not by the person’s self-proclamations.
What is most alarming, is that this is not the first battle cry in so many months. Bishop Plummer was a guest speaker at the Christian Media Summit in Jerusalem, and there too he criticizes, something that might have gone unnoticed by many. After all, it is a new virus unrecognized by the Body Israel (like CoVid-19 which was unrecognized by the human body).
(3) Let’s Get the Facts Straight
In this article, let me first touch on a point of history: The President’s meeting and reception with Christian leaders (real, locally-established leaders – unlike the self-anointed, instant new-comers who were kindly invited to join as welcomed guests) has been going on since the formation of the Modern State of Israel.
In fact, the inclusion of Bishop Plummer evidences Israel’s constant quest for making an outreach and finding leaders of the other side (in this instance, Christians, for their holiest time of the year). Bishop Plummer mistakenly seems to think this tradition was created in his honor.
Israel always paid the utmost respect to other religions; much to its own detriment.
Next time you are in Jerusalem, you may want to visit the Jerusalem Residence of Yitzchak Ben Zvi, Israel’s 2nd president (1952 – 1963). At a time that Israel did not have means and was struggling to survive, he (and his wife) thought it would be most appropriate to be at a humble abode, a shack. There he hosted dignitaries from the entire world.
A family member of ours served at the President’s residence under Ben Zvi, and his son took us on a tour there in November 2019. Among the pix on the walls, there are pix of President Ben Zvi hosting the Christian leaders in Israel. There is nothing new under the sun, and such meetings/receptions were not for the sake of photo-op, rather real of intention, reflective of an attitude and a reality on the ground. Their mere existence evidence the importance given by Israel to cultivating a two-way relationship, at times of need and at time of joy.
So for a newcomer to teach us that the current president’s opening the residence for such a reception is a sign in the right direction simply shows that new-comer is under the mistaken illusion that life and reality commenced upon his most recent arrival, and thus that things revolve around him. Not so.
(4) Truth vs. Evil Fiction
If one is under the impression, after reading this article, that Christians are persecuted in Israel, or that it is commonplace for a Christian believer in Israel to be threatened or to be afraid, or for churches to be vandalized and desecrated, such are false and most dangerous accusations.
If something like that happens, and should file a police report. Then another. And another. This will create a track record, an audit trail, and it will not go unnoticed.
In Israel it would prompt individuals and non-profits to immediate action. It would give them pleasure and an occupation. It would provide a point about which to argue and fight. This is, before all, Israel!
But to generalize and claim that it is commonplace in Israel is a frightening misrepresentation of reality. There are so many places of non-Jewish worship, and they are all part of the tapestry that is Israel. They are protected under the law and in practice, but more so, they are the commonplace throughout Israel. That is exactly the reason that Bahai, Ahmadi, Druze, Armenian, Greek-Orthodox and so very many other minorities find Israel to be the only safe haven throughout the Middle East and the African continent.
So what is one to learn from this article? That Evangelical Christians are persecuted in Israel, disrespected, not allowed to practice freely, maybe crucified? Do those Evangelical Christians (and all other Christians) who chose to live in Israel even aware of the conditions described? Do they share the experiences?
Why would Christians who live in Israel for a very long time not utter a word when we meet each year? They have not been shy about anything, except what should be most important (life and safety)?
If the situation is so bad, how is it that everyone waited for Bishop Plummer to arrive to Israel to discover the horrible truth and lead the fight to change it? Is he the only one that can see, the only one that has the courage and power to act? Maybe a mashiach has finally arrived to the Holy Land? I am sorry if this sounds disrespectful, but I cannot reconcile what I have witnessed year after year after year for decades with what someone who has moved to Israel less than two years ago claims is a real pandemic. Either I am blind, deaf and dumb – I am not – or something is really wrong in the accusations brought forth. And thus, Pablo, I turn to your question about this article and what might be behind it.
(5) Israel’s Detractors
Dr. Nankin hosted at his home one of the leaders of the Coptic Church (there is a large community in Los Angeles) following unfavorable statements by the Coptic Pope regarding Israel some years ago. While I can understand why the Coptic Pope in Egypt may not have favorable things to say about Israel, as his fiduciary responsibility is first and foremost to his people who are persecuted, arrested, tortured and murdered and will be at even greater risk if he dares say anything positive about Israel, I cannot understand Christian Arabs in Israel.
Maybe Bishop Plummer only hears what those who speak with a forked tongue have to say?
Christian Arabs know that the only place they can worship freely and safely in the entire area called the greater Middle East and the African continent is the Jewish State of Israel.
The only place where Christians are safe in this entire region is under Jewish rule of law, practice and traditions.
Christian Arabs know that they will have to pay a Dhimmitude tax and live as second-class citizens anywhere else throughout the Muslim world. They fled from Bethlehem. They fled from Lebanon. They fled from Iran and Iraq. In fact, if the (Catholic) Pope stood by them, they would have fled Africa rather than die there. Apparently, they are not really welcome anywhere in the entire region, except in Israel. This is why their numbers in this only safe haven grow constantly.
If given a choice to live in the Jewish State or under Arab/Palestinian/Iranian/Muslim rule, they will never choose the latter. And yet, they criticize and malign Israel. I have never understood why so very few of them find the courage or exhibit the characteristics they preach to stand up and defend Israel; unless they think that they have a future at all if Israel will cease to exist.
Is it possible that after 74 years of “Suffering” after the “Great Catastrophe,” Christians in Israel finally have a messiah who has arrived on a white donkey to rescue them from bondage? Maybe, like the Hebrews in Egypt, they did not even understand their plight, and a new Moses has arrived to deliver them to freedom?
The story of Moses took place thousands of years ago, and Christians in Israel enjoy freedoms that can be found nowhere else. The only Messiah we are all waiting to reveal Himself is not a flesh and blood who has arrived with his First Lady to Israel during the Great Pandemic. To this point I can attest with my life.
(6) Addressing the Claims – Let’s examine the situation on the ground
Is it possible that there are those Jewish Israelis who are hesitant, cautious or even unwelcoming to Christians in Israel? Of course. There is a two millennium history of Jewish persecution, of blaming us for the Crucifixion, of blood libels directed at us and using Jews as scapegoats. There is a very noticeable effort of proselytizing Jews by Christians in Israel. This causes the sensitivity, suspicion and distrust to increase.
These are issues we work to address, one small step forward at a time, brick after brick.
When on Israel’s Independence Day, at the heart of Tel Aviv, people are accosted by attempts to lure them to leave their Jewish home and replace it with another, it causes concern. When Israelis are approached both directly and covertly in an attempt to convert them, the foundations of the bridge being built during the last twenty some years – this hyphen between Judeo and Christian – shake.
But the overwhelming feeling is that of coming together, not apart. We know our past. We understand the dangers of the present. And we raise our eyes to the future, all pre-told in our Bible. We are very sensitive to it all, and we take baby steps, one after the other. Today we are running together, long distances. We have become a team. Dependable, trustworthy, inseparable.
Even the most Orthodox Jewish religious leaders are opening to conversation, if not outright direct relations with our Christian brethren. It is a new day, a most magnificent day in the making, and the first rays of sun are most encouraging.
From the Prime Minister to the President of Israel, past and present, members of the Knesset, religious, business and other leaders, Israel joins in extending a hand to Christians in Israel and throughout the world. Christians realize that without their roots, the Old Testament, they cease to exist; without a certain Jewish Rabbi, they cannot exist. And thus we stand one entire, blessed body, roots to leaves, proud and most grateful.
If the situation is as Bishop Plummer describes, we will all go out to change it. But we have not been late arrivals to the scene. We have been in the trenches for two decades and longer, and we still know to differentiate between cow manure and the smell of citrus blossom. We will not allow false prophets with an agenda to cast an evil spell on us. Instead, we will continue fighting side-by-side with others, Jews and Christians together, arm in arm, one protecting the other, against all attacks. Our very survival is at stake, and our enemies know that the only way for them to prevail is to sow doubt and confusion. We have to make sure this does not succeed!
I haven’t heard from my online friend Ari Bussel for quite some time. Yesterday he sent a Christmas Eve greeting that includes an audio dialogue between Ari and Norma Zager which will give you a great idea on how those two interact their “Postcards from America – Postcards from Israel.”
On this Christmas Eve, 2021, a bucket of blessings – may the joy of the season engulf you to the point you will feel like a couple dancing and dancing until your breath is taken away like a couple who knows they are – from marriage to death – one; inseparable; a husband and wife may your head spin with energy, with clarity of vision and unshakable commonsense and with the knowledge that good things are yet to happen that God is Great (or as I always say, “excellent”) no matter what!
Back in 2008, at this time exactly, I ventured from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. Returning very late at night and sat down to write, by that time it was Christmas morning here in the USA and a friend, Pam, was in church reading my report (we will not address the “reading” in church – on the Jewish side we have the same issue of “talking” in the synagogue) and that was the greatest gift for me for years to come.
Ten years later I recounted part of that experience of an Israeli and American passports holder venturing into a town to a holy place where Jews are not allowed and are not welcomed where such a visit can be most dangerous to their lives and to the wellbeing of the State of Israel
You are invited to read “The Day I Discovered God:” [Blog Editor: Can be read below]
And now, three years later, the world is like nothing anyone had envisioned and we still do not see the light at the end of the tunnel (although we know with absolute certainty there is light and there is a way out!) I sat to write another Christmas message recounting my ongoing negotiations with none other than God our Lord Himself (some would call it “Chutzpah,” but then it is the Israeli blood in me, the stubbornness of every Jewish person since the times we were slaves in Egypt to present day and God is used to it already; He even likes his children being so very stiff necked at times!)
You are invited to read “A Christmas to Remember:” [Blog Editor: posted below “The Day I Discovered God.”]
And if you prefer, you are invited to listen to the latest episode of my colleague Norma Zager and my radio show – the Jewish Voice on Christian Radio – airing this weekend “It’s a Wonderful Christmas,” here:
“A Song of Ascents: Out of the depths I have called Thee, O, God. Lord, listen to my voice, let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.” (Psalms 130:1-2)
I discovered God on Christmas Eve.
I knew all along God exists, but I never had any direct dealing with God.
In Israel, at a time that a phone was connected to the wall, there was at most one phone line per household – after many years of waiting – and phone calls were charged by the minute or a fraction thereof, God’s presence in His City, Jerusalem, was often referred to as a “local call.”
People had direct dealings with God. A man, for instance, was very much in a rush on a busy errands day, but there was no parking space to be found.
He turns to God and says, “God, if You only make a parking space available for me now, I will observe the Sabbath and do all that You want me to do.”
Not a minute passes, and a parking space becomes available. The man turns to God and says, “God, no need anymore, I already found one myself!”
Since I am not a Jerusalemite, I did not have direct dealings with God. Until that faithful day-before-Christmas, when I was 42 year old.
Jewish people are not allowed in Palestinian-controlled territories. “Peaceful co-existence” for the Palestinian is a land void of Jews. If a Jew wanders into their midst, he likely will be murdered, as were two reservists who were lost, taken to a local police station, tormented
almost to death then thrown from the balcony to the celebrating, ecstatic mob that finished the task.
Israel’s so-called “peace partners” want the entire land of Israel, and they neither slumber nor sleep until the entire area is “clean of Jews.”
The prohibition against Jews-in-their-midst is most stern. If an owner of land or property were to sell it to a Jew, he has broken the law, a most despicable act punishable by death.
I happened to be in Israel on Christmas Eve when I was 42. I was determined to go to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ. It was not a pilgrimage for me, rather a childhood memory, when there were only single TV stations, and all in black and white. I remember a Christmas Tree, the sight of snow and the feeling of Christmas morning in Bethlehem.
Clearly, I could not miss the opportunity of being in Israel and not going to Bethlehem.
Alas, Israeli-Jews are prohibited from passing from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, lest they be murdered or kidnapped. Americans at that time were not very welcome either. But I was determined to see if my childhood memory had anything to do with reality. As a foreign correspondent in Israel, I decided that nothing bad can happen to me.
Thus, my first stop was to the Government Press Office, in charge of all foreign correspondents in Israel.
“Do you have your (American) Passport?” asked the high-ranking Government official. “Then you can go.”
With that blessing, I proceeded to a venture of a lifetime, Christmas Eve in Bethlehem.
Alas, it got close to midnight, and as the excitement wore off (after a delightful dinner, with some fellow Americans – we were the only
ones in the restaurant, as tourists that year stayed away from Palestinian-controlled areas), I decided to return.
I realized I was alone, other than some policemen/military with rifles in the middle of the street. That was danger, not safety for a foreigner, especially one who looks Israeli.
My previous attitude dissipated. I was no longer the confident “nothing-bad-will-happen-to-me” foreign correspondent. I look Middle Eastern, and not the Arab type. In fact, I looked completely out of place.
It is exactly for such a reason that Israelis are prohibited from crossing the border, lest something bad happen to them.
I was in a deserted neighborhood. Darkness all around, now not a person in sight. I could hear dogs barking and my heart was beating wildly.
Fear had not frozen me completely. I realized that if I were to walk along the Wall – the one extending 18 feet high, preventing the transfer of terrorists into Jerusalem where they exploded themselves in crowded places shouting “Allah U Akbar” – as long as I did not let it out of my sight, I would eventually arrive at a crossing.
It was exactly at that time that I found myself negotiating with God. “If I only return to Israel safe and sound,” and “if You only guide and protect me, Oh, God.”
My session of pleas apparently distracted me completely and even managed to calm my nerves. I was so absorbed in my own private redemption and salvation, that when an Israeli soldier appeared some hundred yards ahead of me, his rifle pointing directly at me, and ordered me to stop and raise my hands, I was elated. My own Christmas Jubilation.
I try not to involve God in helping me find a parking space or other such mundane things. But the flashing of all the most-horrible outcomes of my adventure to Bethlehem was traumatic enough to have shaken me so that I was reciting Psalms 121: “A Song of Ascents: I lift my eyes to the mountains, from where will my help come. My help is from God, who made heaven and earth. … God is your keeper, God is your shadow, upon your right hand. … God will keep you from all evil, He will safeguard your soul. … God will guard your going and coming, from this time and for ever.”
I have ventured outside of Jerusalem to Bethlehem, from light to darkness, from safety to peril. And I did it out of my own volition, as if testing God.
Bethlehem lost its holiness under Palestinian rule. The Christians were driven away. Luckily, Jerusalem remains standing, a beacon of light and safety, peace and security.
When I returned I was grateful; oh, so very grateful. It was as if I managed, just moments earlier, to escape from the gates of Hell, and here I was back at the Kingdom of Heaven, of God the Almighty Himself.
The years have passed, and although I knew before God existed, I discovered God and the sanctity of life on that Christmas Eve in Bethlehem.
The New Testament tells us in Matthew 2: “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem saying, ‘Where is He that is born King of the Jews?’ for we have seen His star in the east and we have come to worship Him.
“When Herod the King had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the Prophet: ‘And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, art not the least among the princes of Judah: for out of thee shall come a Governor that shall rule my people Israel.’’” [KJV]
The reference is to the Prophet Micah (5:1 in the Old Testament). We note that Beth Lehem is the birthplace of King David (1st Samuel 16:1) and there he was anointed.
And so we arrive at the essence of the Christmas story. Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ and in the Bible realizes and knows that Jesus is an heir of King David and that He has arisen from within Judaism.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, a Governor, a King among the princes of Judah. Judah-Judea-Jewish, how interesting; how everlasting.
For anyone to reinvent the story nowadays and call Jesus a “Palestinian” is a travesty and sacrilegious. For anyone to claim Bethlehem has roots or any connection whatsoever with a made-up “Palestine” (a name from very many centuries later) is dangerous, and the intention bogus and misleading.
All that any Christian needs to do to clear the air is open the Bible and read. Most Christians live the Word of the Bible, but those who believe but need to pick up the Bible, remove a layer of dust and read, do so!
The Prophet Isaiah tells us (9:5): “For a child has been born to us, a son was given to us, and the position is upon His shoulder, and His name is wonder advisor, a hero god, the father of eternity, the minister of peace.” [alternative translation: “His name is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”]
Once, not long ago, there was a majority of Christians in the city that is the birthplace of Christ. Then Palestinian terrorists desecrated the Church of Nativity, using it as a compound to which they knew Israelis will not enter or harm, for it is a religious place. They persecuted the Christians – as is the common practice throughout
Arab lands in the Middle East and the African Continent – and drove them away.
Today there are less than a couple of percent Christians in Bethlehem. Not only is the area “clean of Jews,” it will soon be completely devoid of Christians as well. For our enemies try to destroy the Saturday and the Sunday people, and then they proceed to murder their own as well (e.g. Daesh; Muslim Brotherhood; Hamas; Hezbollah; Iran; …). Nothing is sacred to them, except Death, Satan and Hell.
Let us celebrate our God, for we are all His people, on Christmas Day and every day of the year.
Let us separate truth from fiction, reality and history from make-belief and distortion. Jesus was not a Palestinian. He was Jewish and born in Judea.
There cannot be “Settlements” in the area that for three thousand years was Judea and Samaria. Erase that, and Jews do not exist, nor are Samaritans (or Good Samaritans).
Our enemies tried to erase Jerusalem, but their curses turned into blessings. One cannot prevail when one sets eyes on destroying God or harming the Apple of His Eye.
Let us stand firm and protect our very essence, for a fight against Jerusalem, Jews and Christians is a fight against God the Almighty, Lord of Hosts.
+++++++++++++++++++
A Christmas to Remember
By Ari Bussel
We are all familiar with the reality that the older we get, the quicker time passes. But this year, the second year of the Great Pandemic, has disappeared with astonishing speed, that it seems that God Himself has hastened it to move on, to soon be forgotten.
God and I have an ongoing discussion, already two years in the making. First, I prayed that the Pandemic that was just given a name would disappear into nonbeing in an instant, and that this Act of God will take place before the first night of Passover. It did not, and I did not give up. I wished it to go away by the end of Passover, for we do celebrate seven days.
I was very flexible – any day of the seven days of Passover would be acceptable; and as they passed and nothing happened, I put my faith on the very last day. God’s messenger refused to leave. So I continued praying with all my might. The fate of the entire world was on the balance. God has sent a messenger on a mission, and that messenger was not leaving until he got the job done. It may not be the culture on earth, but definitely the angels are being held accountable; dereliction of duty is not possible.
When the next Passover was upon us, after an entire year of isolation, I again repeated my request. But since I did so in jest, so as not to fall deeper into despair in case it was not answered again, God did not take my prayers seriously. When we give ourselves a way out, we do not fully mean what we request. Besides, God is under no obligation to heed to our requests. It is a very important lesson we need to remember always: Asking does not grant us an entitlement.
The situation around us became intense, frighteningly dangerous. Darkness has engulfed us and became thicker, impenetrable with each passing day. No, it was not the additional six hundred thousand who succumbed to the disease here in the USA alone (three times as
many as in the first year). No one said a word about that. It was a most evil darkness of another kind.
Those who had ever lived under Communism or Nazism, or in Iran, Gaza or Syria, may know what really frightens me. The grab of power; the Cancel Culture that pervaded the country; the loss of guiding principles that tip toward the greater good and the long term health and wellbeing of the country; the urge to punish the other who does not think like us and the joy such act provides; and the lingering effects of this disease on generations to come.
We heard calls to bring about “unity,” but that did not mean willingness to give in just a bit to achieve this goal. Rather, the message was: You must all stand obedient, like good soldiers, and do whatever we tell you. You must all think the way we tell you. Be warned, if you do not obey, if you dare think differently, your punishment will be severe. Dare us not!
Historians have grappled with the question why did the Jews not rebel in the Concentration Camps or the Ghettos. Did they simply go like sheep to the slaughter? The numbers were in their favor. But the spirit and the will were not there. They did not comprehend what was happening to them, that the atrocities being carried day and night are even possible by those enlightened fellow human beings who took such great delight in doing the unimaginable.
[There are clearly exceptions. The two that immediately come to mind are the most heroic and inspirational Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the Crematorium Revolt in Auschwitz-Birkenau.]
How is it possible that 75 to 100 million Americans do not rise to protect all that is dear to their hearts and essence of existence? The skies have been obfuscated and no one is standing for the truth or common sense any more. The despair is most contagious. Anyone daring to express the sentiment like at the beginning of this paragraph is a Domestic Terrorist, and thus must be hunted, punished and eliminated. So people are afraid.
There are no longer Checks and Balances. We are all standing for hours in the cold, being taunted, tortured, and no one says a pip.
People are silenced. People are afraid. And we let ourselves a way out, much like Ari in his negotiations with God the Almighty: “Come November 2022, things will take a turn, the darkness will start dissipating, there will be light again.”
Anyone entertaining oneself with such false hopes better realize that we have seen nothing yet. There is nothing more addicting and intoxicating than the feeling of absolute power, and those holding it will do everything to make sure it remains in their hands.
Will we have to learn to live with this new reality, maybe get a booster every three to four months? There are those who tell us the Pandemic is here to stay, that we better get used to it. However, we are not blind and stupid, and we do remember history. Nature is cyclical, and nothing is absolute and forever – other than God.
Pandemics came and went. This one, too, shall be over, and I keep negotiating with God, praying most eagerly to God, begging Him to consider, that it will happen sooner rather than later.
In politics too, the nightmare of this past year – from open borders to inflation, to the spread of the virus and its variants, supply chain issues and workers shortage, violence and crime skyrocketing and the police doing little or nothing, a Commander in Chief who has cognitive difficulties and a world that stopped taking the US seriously – will be over.
It will take an act of God or good people standing up for the truth and what is right, but change will come about. Until then, we lift our eyes to the mountains and know from where salvation will come:
Our help will come from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
God is our Keeper, He is our shade upon our right hand
God will keep us from all evil, He will protect our souls
God will guard our coming and our going, from this time forward for all times
On this Christmas Eve, as we look around, with family and friends abound, with abundance of health and our faculties intact, our gratitude is about to erupt – for there is so much to celebrate.
In the midst of all the darkness, small, individual lights appear, joining one another, much like in the Jewish Festival of Lights, making us one strong force for good.
May we all realize the beauty of the Season and the roles we need to play in this most magnificent story; a story called Our Life.
Yesterday I got to an email in time from Ari Bussel informing me of a Conference Call billed as National Faith Leaders Call with Donald Trump. Ari provided the contact info to be on the call to me which I indeed participated (9/2/21).
The call began with a proviso that if members managed to get access to hang up now for the Conference Call was to be off the record. Because of that I will not share the content of what I was able to listen. Sadly my old Android Smart Phone dropped the call about a half-hour after beginning. BUT this I will share: President Trump (that without FRAUD – the actually elected President in 2020) was very upbeat and did NOT sound like a quitter.
In conjunction with that Conference Call I am sharing Ari Bussel’s email exchange with whom he was invited to participate.
JRH 9/3/21
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What an extraordinary surprise and blessing it is to have received your invite this morning! So while we were (not) “asleep at the wheel,” and while numbness seems to have frozen us to the point of “slumber and sleep,” you have apparently continued working, creating, germinating and are here now, ready for this very day!
There is nothing more encouraging and uplifting that looking all around and seeing the multitudes – us – ready and eager to join; standing thirsty and waiting for these drops of rain, like seeds in the Sahara Desert.
We are one, great in numbers, but united in essence and purpose – in belief in God the Almighty and what He wants from us. Thus, a song plays in my mind, written more than 120 years ago following the First Zionist Congress. The Congress main mission was to UNITE the Jewish People, all hundreds and hundreds of its cooperatives, associations and groups into one great movement whose members will emigrate to the Land of Israel, in great waves.
[שאו ציונה נס ודגל – S’u Tziona Nes va Degel]
Lift toward Zion a pole and flag, the flag of the Judean camp …
Return, return from great distances
to our homeland, to the land of our Fathers …
For our people, for our land, be strong and become strong
Together we will go, please, we will return
to our land, that of our Forefathers
to our beloved land
where our childhood began ….
Then our mouths will be filled with laughter and our tongue with singing (Psalms 126:2 – which continues, “then said they among the nations: ’The Lord has done great things with these!’”)
…
And so the song that has become somewhat of an anthem (and has filled my mind, refusing to leave) is based on the words of the Prophet Jeremiah. The Prophet tells us to “tell,” to “sound,” to “say” and to “blow the horn,” – to “call, fill and tell, gather and let us come together” – all action directives – CARRY THE FLAG TO ZION, DARE NOT STAND” (idle), carry the flag, unite!
ו שְׂאוּ-נֵס צִיּוֹנָה, הָעִיזוּ אַל-תַּעֲמֹדוּ: כִּי רָעָה, אָנֹכִי
מִצָּפוֹן–וְשֶׁבֶר גָּדוֹל.
5 Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem, and say: ‘Blow ye the horn in the land’; cry aloud and say: ‘Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities.’
6 Set up a standard toward Zion; put yourselves under covert, stay not; for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.
You have called us to the Flag today, exactly a week before our Jewish New Year.
It is at this time (this Hebrew month leading to the Jewish New Year, in the Seventh Month of the Biblical Calendar) that it is said we are closest to God;
that God hears us clearest,
for the King is in the Fields –
out of the castle, traveling, closest to His people
who are working in the fields
It is this month,
therefore,
that we ask for forgiveness
that we focus on retrospection (and introspection)
and get ready to the blowing of the Shofar (horn)
which is (what we are commanded to do on) the first day of our New Year
1 And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have a holy convocation: ye shall do no manner of servile work; it is a day of blowing the horn unto you.
White House High Holy Days Call
Friday, September 27, 2019
Operator: Hello and thank you for joining today’s High Holy Days call with Jewish faith leaders. Please note that this call is being recorded. At this time all audience members are in listen-only mode to minimize background noise. There will be Q&A at the end of this call, and we will provide instructions at that time. I would now like to formally begin today’s call and introduce President of the United States, Donald J Trump.
Pres. Trump: It’s a great honor to be with you and to host our third annual call with Jewish leaders, rabbis and friends to wish you Shana Tova, a sweet new year. During the High Holy Days, families gather in synagogues across the country and around the world to sound the shofar and pray, reflect and thank God for His many blessings.
As we mark the Jewish New Year, our entire country is reminded of the infinite ways Jewish Americans strengthen our communities, uplift our nation, and deepen our culture. You care for your neighbors, teach your children, cherish our heritage, and you embody the American dream. Throughout history, the Jewish people have suffered unthinkable oppression and persecution, yet they have persevered, endured, thrived, and created a flourishing democracy – the state of Israel.
In the last two and a half years, we have strengthened the everlasting friendship between the United States and Israel. I moved the United States Embassy to Jerusalem. We recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which was something they were trying to have done for 72, or 52 years to be more specific. We’re confronting Iran, a regime that chants “Death to Israel.”
As I said in my recent address to United Nations, America will never tolerate anti-Semitic hate. In recent months, our entire nation was stricken with shock and grief and righteous anger when two horrific anti-Semitic murderers attacked synagogues in California and Pennsylvania. To every survivor, family member and to the entire Jewish community, all of America embraces you with love. We pledge our undying and total resolve to excise the vile placing of anti-Semitism from our world. Earlier this year, I appointed a new special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism. Elan Carr, who is with us now and will provide an update shortly. In the wake of such atrocious attacks, millions have been inspired by Jewish-American heroes who responded to the worst evil with remarkable bravery. During my State of the Union Address, we were all moved by the presence of Pittsburgh survivor, Judah Samet, who also survived the Holocaust. In May, on the National Day of Prayer in the Rose Garden, we were joined by members of the congregation from Poway, California, including Rabbi Goldstein. This afternoon we’re joined on the call by survivors of the Holocaust. We cannot comprehend the persecution and suffering you have endured, yet you have overcome the darkest chapters of human history with the purity of love and goodness in your hearts. We renew our pledge now and always. Never again.
I understand that during this time of year, you often read Psalm 27. We remember the promise of those words that says, “Wait for the Lord. Be strong and let your heart take courage.” Today, we thank God for His faithfulness and for the countless ways Jewish-Americans bless our nation.
Those who read my blog posts are aware that I consider Beijing Joe Biden’s acquisition of residence in the White House the result of a nefarious election coup committed by the Democratic Party (which usually refer as Dem-Marxists) and an unholy collusion of RINOs desiring to depose President Trump.
I don’t know much about Lipstadt other than her defense for truth. I pray her leanings are not Left-Wing, but if they are, at least she can be counted on to battle another growing generation of Jew-Haters beginning to show their ugly heads in public.
Ari Bussel shares about Lipstadt and Ambassador-level post designed to combat Antisemitism.
JRH 8/1/21
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Ever since the departure of Elan Carr and his team from the State Department, even prior to the end of President Trump’s term, I had a wish, that President Biden would nominate Professor Deborah Lipstadt to the job.
I realize of course that it is the Secretary of State who will be the Special Envoy’s boss, and that an actual confirmation will be necessary, as the position was uplifted to an Ambassador’s rank, but much like the case of Carr, this position originates with the President.
Professor Lipstadt was not only the natural choice, she is the best candidate to serve as the US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism. It was so obvious to me, that when the President visited Emory University, I wrote Prof. Lipstadt asking her is she is ready (for an announcement) on that most special day. It was not to be on that day, but a short few months later.
Before the appointment of Carr, the position was vacant for a long time, until the Adelsons introduced Carr as their candidate for the job (they previously supported his failed run against Ted Lieu for the Congressional seat). We should all be grateful to President Biden for placing this appointment on his priority list and for acting on it.
The job is immensely important, not only to us – the Jewish People – but to all people. History, Six Million Jews (of whom about 1.5 million were children) and most of my family that perished in the Holocaust taught us what happens when good people do not speak and act against evil. We vowed Never Again.
So first, we celebrate the nominee. Second, we are grateful for the importance shown to the subject matter by the timing of the appointment.
Professor Lipstadt is a common household name today, due to a movie depicting her struggle and triumph, court tribulation and vindication when she was wrongly sued for liable in the UK and had to prove that the Holocaust did happen. A person who fought against all odds will forever be dedicated to the cause.
Professor Lipstadt is the most known brand name in the field of fighting Antisemitism. When Yair Lapid, Israel’s current Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, commented about “Antisemites from the BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanction) movement,” he said as part of the same sentence “that Deborah Lipstadt and many others – including me – dedicate time and effort to combat its corrupt, deviant and evil positions.” Professor Lipstadt brand (or name or just being) is synonymous with fighting Antisemitism in all its modern-day forms and manifestations.
Professor Lipstadt was not chosen because she will target only white extremists, nor was she chosen to be a mouthpiece of the radical left that is threatening the Democratic Party as we once knew it. Professor Lipstadt is an independent thinker, encourages her students (I was one of them, some three and a half decades ago) to use their common sense, knowledge and training, and will do the same herself. She will unite us in purpose and unwavering resolve.
If anything, Professor Lipstadt’s nomination is based on merit, which she earned over the decades. She is the expert in the field, and she uniquely combines a classroom theory with real-life experience. A few years ago she appeared at the annual Holocaust Remembrance Lecture-Lunch at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles (an annual event by Dr. Joel Geiderman), before hundreds of doctors, nurses, staff and a few Survivors who were still alive. As she did in the classroom, she mesmerized all attendees with her knowledge, clarity of thought and expression, dedication and experience. In a way, she is Professor-Judge Amy Coney Barrett, and unlike Justice Coney Barrett’s confirmation, maybe Professor Lipstadt will receive a better, apolitical treatment by Democrats and Republicans alike.
If there is one thing that is generally accepted by Jews – who are otherwise divided on anything and everything – it is that Antisemitism is on the rise. President Biden is giving us a gift, in the form of Professor – soon to be Ambassador – Lipstadt to the job. We should be most grateful for that.
Israel just went through a process similar to the last Presidential election in the US: After more than 12 years in office, Prime Minister Netanyahu was ousted in the fourth election in less than two years. Prime Minister Bennett’s current coalition government’s oldest minister is Dr. Nachman Shai, who recently spent a sabbatical at Emory University and met Professor Lipstadt.
Minister of Diaspora Affairs Shai is tasked with regaining the hearts and minds of American Jews who seem to have drifted away from Israel. Based on my friendship with him for the past 13 years, I know he is the best person for the job. Likewise, I remember Professor Lipstadt when I was a graduating senior at UCLA, one of several hundred students in her class. That was before she became famous. We kept in touch over the decades, and there is no doubt in my mind she is the best person for the job. Both are uniquely qualified to unite us in purpose, as the Prophet Ezekiel said (37:19), making us one: “and make them one stick, and they shall be one in My hand.”
A new day is dawning, in Israel and in the US, where we are reminded that there is more that unites than divides us. Let us rejoice in this day, and be grateful that such an excellent candidate is to be confirmed as the new Special Envoy of the State Department to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism.
If Carr has left a legacy, it is that the job entails action, not only words (or filing paperwork). If Lipstadt is to leave a mark, it is that fighting Antisemitism is neither a “Republican” or “Democrat” task nor a tool against anyone but Antisemites. She will undoubtedly leave a lasting mark that is more important than ever.
My parents, both Holocaust Survivors, are the last of the generation of first-hand witnesses, the remnants that rose from the ashes of the Holocaust. After them, there will not be any direct accounts of the Holocaust. The task of maintaining the promise “NEVER AGAIN” and pouring action into faith is upon us. May God the Almighty provide Professor Lipstadt the wisdom and strength to make this appointment into a living reminder of our promise, a breathing and kicking one that endures long after we are no longer here.
____________________________
Edited by John R. Houk
This is the latest in the series “Postcards from America – Postcards from Israel,” a collaboration between author and journalist Norma Zager and columnist Ari Bussel.
Zager and Bussel collaborate both in writing and on the air in a point-counter-point discussion of all things Israel-related.Together, they have dedicated the past two decades to promoting Israel and have become “the Jewish Voice on Christian Radio.”
Ari Bussel has been a more active in submitting posts in the past. He is an honest fellow and a big supporter of Israel. That translates into I usually agree with him. In this submission Ari muses on being born American and looking at his Jewish heritage that also has led to an active citizenship in Israel.
In Ari’s musings he touches on a couple things I do not agree with. Ari believes former Vice President Pence conducted his Electoral College count with dignity and that the January 6 protest of a fraudulent 2020 Election began as peaceful but ended as an Insurrection with a capital “I”.
It is my opinion Pence at best acted in cowardice and at worst in collusion to treason. And the peaceful protest was infiltrated by Dem-Marxist agitators who made peaceful Trump supporters appear violent and, in some cases, agitated for violence. There was never an Insurrection with a capital “I”. In hindsight of the ever-increasing proof of an Election Coup perhaps a countercoup is not out of the question. Dem-Marxist criminals definitely would view a countercoup as an insurrection against their illegitimate despotic regime.
Ari’s thoughts on the USA’s power transition are not the focus of this essay. The focus is the ironic nearly mirror transition of power occurring in Israel. Angry Conservative Israeli Jews are seeing their leader pasted with unproven smears and the exercise of Parliamentary shenanigans by Israel’s Left to depose Prime Minister Netanyahu. Christian Zionist supporters (of which I am one) are uneasy with how Netanyahu is getting the boot.
Benjamin Netanyahu – Naftali Bennett
Ari is calling for calm. I’m still not calm about what transpired in America, I can only imagine the displeasure Conservative Israelis are experiencing.
Info to consider about Netanyahu not typically available in the USA:
The burden of proof is on Bennett: Sadness at seeing the Right lose power is mixed with joy over the end to the political chaos and pride that Israel is about to have its first religious prime minister; By Yifat Erlich; Israel Hayom; 6/11/21 10:30 – Last modified:07:57
JRH 6/11/21
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“A Song of Ascents: Out of the depths I have called Thee, O, God. Lord, listen to my voice, let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.” (Psalms 130:1-2)
“A Song of Ascents: I will lift my eyes onto the mountains, from where will my help arrive? My help from the Lord, who makes heaven and earth.” (Psalms 121:1-2)
I wear two hats: I am American by birth and Israeli by lineage.
As an American, I learned of unintended consequences when unleashing great powers over which we may not have complete control. President Trump said, “let us walk to the Capitol,” meaning let us march there and continue our peaceful protest. This day in the park turned into an Insurrection with a capital I.
Vice President Pence was under immense pressure at that time, both by his boss, the President of the United States, and by the Democrats. And yet, he handled himself with dignity and has earned the right to walk his head high. At the end of his term he would say “It was the greatest privilege of my life serving you” or maybe “It was the greatest honor of my life serving you.” Mike Pence has earned my vote if he will choose to run in three and a half years.
As an Israeli and an officer in the Israel Defense Forces, I know that without the IDF, we would cease to exist. We, the Jewish people, have only one homeland. When we did not, some eighty years ago, six million of us – and many of my family – were systematically slaughtered. My parents, the remnants who Survived the Holocaust, vowed with an entire nation: “Never Again.”
Israel today is a thriving country. She is the laboratory of the world, in terms of both innovation and testing. Creativity there knows almost no bounds, so does ingenuity. And the people are most grateful for having a country of their own, after two millennia of exile. We also know we can count on no one than ourselves, and that our fate is in our hands. Indeed, we have an ancient promise and a Covenant for a thousand generations, but God only helps those who help themselves, and being the children of God does not allow us extra privileges in this respect (only extra responsibilities, being a “Light Unto the Nations”).
We had the most amazing four years when President Trump was President, likely the best during our existence as a modern country. Promises that each previous President had made to move the embassy to Jerusalem became a reality. Jerusalem was recognized as Israel’s de facto capital. And a new day has dawned on the Middle East, with normalization of relations – the Abraham Accords – that cannot be undone. Unlike any other action by President Trump that is being demolished, reversed, cancelled and erased, the new reality is here to stay.
Have we been grateful enough? Have we shown our appreciation? I am ashamed to say that the answer to these two questions is likely no. God must have meant to tell us something, hoping we will see, observe and learn a lesson. He who brings down the mighty and lifts the lowly at His will, in an instant, wanted us to change our ways. For four years, President Trump had a Divine Iron Dome protecting him, then in an instant it was all gone, taken away, and his presidency is now being demolished, erased, cancelled, reversed and tarnished to oblivion.
Did we learn the lesson? Likely not.
An Evangelical leader with good people around the world his followers, believers in the Word of God, stood up in rage. For a moment, he felt the world is collapsing around him. Trump – gone. Netanyahu – soon to be gone. He was filled with fright, to the point he threatened to unleash forces of good to fight the outcome of Israel’s fourth election in two years.
We are all fallible, and this Christian leader is but a man. He too erred. He was so anxious that he wrote a letter to the Prime Minister-designate, a letter that should not have been written or sent, and definitely should not have been published. He later would apologize for his haste, tone and verbiage. The Prime Minister-designate has likely already forgiven, for he knew it was not personal; the writer was hurting. Bennett’s kids, like all other kids, err at times too, and we use such moments as teaching tools and move forward.
This Christian leader who walks with kings could have picked up the phone, or knocked on the door of the Prime Minister’s residence and comforted his friend, Benjamin Netanyahu. A Man of God would know how to guide his flock in troubled times. After all, the Prime Minister did not realize (or refused to recognize) until just days ago that these are his last days as the prime minister of all prime ministers of Israel.
Indeed, it is President Rivlin who, at the height of the Pandemic, instructed us to act in this manner exactly, enlisting the words of the Prophet Isaiah (41:6): “One person helped the other, and to his brother he said: ‘Be Strong!’”
It is evident this Christian leader did not mean to turn friends into enemies, or to abandon the Jewish State of Israel. Christian support of Israel and the Jewish people does not depend on any one person and is not given as a reward or a punishment. It is not the annual monetary and military aid by the USA that some radical elements in Congress are threatening to take away. It is given, in whole, without any conditions or expectation. It is pure and complete and enduring.
Those who oppose Israel are standing against none other than Lord of Hosts, our God. Harm the Temple of God’s Eye, and what is to be expected, that God Himself will sit idly and say “amen, good, please proceed?” It may not have been evident to the onlooker, but a close examination of what took place reveals a greater purpose.
So if the threat to unleash forces over which one does not have full control was known to be wrong, what was the intention? We know that when we step onto a path, we may have an idea of where we want to go, but the path may take us elsewhere. And still we trust that all is known and planned and happens for a reason. Likewise here: Only God is all-knowing, and He guides his children and disciples.
The Christian leader started a tsunami that galvanized the Christian leadership-at-large into self-reflection and action. On the Christian side, it yielded reinforcement to oneself, “Why do we support Israel.” Maybe even an opportunity for self-examination, “Have we done enough? What can we do differently? Maybe better? Is our Lord God happy with our actions?”
On the Jewish Israeli side, “Why do the Christians support us, when some of our greatest detractors come from within? Why do they need this headache?” And: “Have we been grateful, have we shown our gratitude?” And further, “What can we – and the State of Israel – do in action to show the Christians we value and appreciate them?”
This process is likely the most important outcome of the current debacle. The Saturday and Sunday people having received a wakeup call that made them reexamine themselves and realize the importance of unity. As the Prophet Ezekiel said (37:15-28): “And bring them together one to another … and make them one … and they will be one in [your] hand … before their [own] eyes.”
The Prophet Ezekiel ends with “And the nations would know that I AM LORD, Sanctify Israel, as My Temple is in their midst for ever.”
The support of the Jewish people and the State of Israel comes from God and no other; and only God can bestow or withdraw it. We are mere instruments. All things happen at God’s will, and we must continue counting our blessings and be most grateful to God for having given us life, and having sustained us and having brought us to the present.
A new day is coming to Israel. A new government is being formed, one that represents the most amazing tapestry of its citizenry. There are extraordinary leaders – individuals of great stature – who have been anointed, and we must pray for their success, which will be our success. In fact, we must do more – we must put action behind our very prayers and do whatever we can to support and further enhance Israel, her leaders, ministers and advisors.
The challenges Israel facing continue to grow. They intensify in strength and frequency. Jews and Christians stand together in support, a great army, a most magnificent one, an army full of soul, meaning and determination – we are not a valley of very dry bones.
Jews and Christians may look like two hats, but we are one and the same, part of the same most magnificent tree. Let us remember the strength in unity, and let us continue to work together.
_____________________________
Edited by John R. Houk, Blog Editor
This is the latest in the series “Postcards from America – Postcards from Israel,” a collaboration between author and journalist Norma Zager and columnist Ari Bussel.
Zager and Bussel collaborate both in writing and on the air in a point-counter-point discussion of all things Israel-related.Together, they have dedicated the past two decades to promoting Israel and have become “the Jewish Voice on Christian Radio.”
Ari Bussel sent an email highlighting Pro-Israel Rallies that took place across the USA on May 23. The rallies were a valid response pseudo-Palestinian Islamic Terrorist Hamas blasting Jewish civilians with indiscriminate rockets in early May. Which incurred Pro-pseudo-Palestinian violence against Jews in America. This post is late, but people need to be made aware of the rampant Jew-Hatred increasingly aimed violently at people who have a Jewish heritage. In a Land which Leftists divide America with race-baiting, do they seem to think violence against Jews is okay because those of that heritage in America are primarily Caucasian? Or is the American now so Communist in outlook that Jews of any skin color are liable to receive attacks? The rallies are past but the Jew-hatred needs to end!
(All photos sent by Ari Bussel but arranged by Blog Editor.)
JRH 5/25/21
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It is 93 degrees in Boston. A non-Jewish friend is still at a loss to understand “why did Israel attack Palestine?” I am astonished, for there is a new country.
It is 79 degrees and partly cloudy in Miami. A Jewish Columbian friend is sending me a notice of a demonstration today in Beverly Hills. News travel around.
It is 91 degrees and partly cloudy in Washington, D.C. (soon to be a state?). An ambassador, a former Consul General of his country to the Western United States, writes about demonstrations that took place last week here in LA:
I heard there was poor participation at the pro-Israel demo in LA
As I remember in my times there, the pro-IL demo outnumbered the proPal one.
Is it not YOUR responsibility to ensure decent participation???
Then, a local activist here in LA, where it is 70 degrees and beautifully sunny, sends out a reminder of the upcoming demonstration and community event.
On Friday, at a press conference gathering at the Iranian American Jewish Federation, politicians who care about Israel and the fate of the Jewish people stood shoulder-to-shoulder in utter disgust of what took place in WeHo at a Japanese restaurant on La Cienega Blvd. Apparently, a group of pro-Palestinian protestors demanded to know “Who is Jewish” in order to beat them up.
Maybe it played a bit differently, but they were right. Jews should wear a Yellow Star of David, noticeably on their clothes, and they must not sit at the same tables as Aryans. What a Chutzpah of those Jews, and how correct were the demonstrators trying to restore order and calm to the community.
In Beverly Hills, we live in a bubble, a most unique one, that in many ways resembles Israel itself. Commonsense, power-to-do-good, teamwork, majority Jewish, a light unto others. Many years ago, then Mayor MeraLee Goldman was confronted with a demand for “equal time” when she invited anti-terrorism expert Steve Emerson to give a second talk at Council Chambers, part of the Millennium Forum Series she founded.
MeraLee utterly refused, rejecting the demand and the threats that came along. She took a stand. That was some two decades ago.
In the City of West Hollywood, Staff allowed a screening of a virulently anti-Israel movie disguising as a “documentary.” It is the sort of “documentary” that serves as evidence the Jews stole a land not theirs, they are Occupiers, they run an Apartheid Regime and abuse the poor Palestinians. It is a most brutally-honest film that compares Israelis to the new Nazis.
At the end of the screening, a person is so outraged and motivated, that the necessary thing to do is to go out to protest, identify a Jew and beat or kill him, because the Jews are so evil. They deserve all that will happen to them, and anything thus is justified. The world will be such a better place without them, so it is essentially doing a favor to the world.
Such a movie screening that receives the blessing of the most liberal city in the United States is what leads to the Demonization, Dehumanization and Delegitimization of the Jewish People (the three Ds of the BDS movement). [Bold text is Blog Editor’s]
Only one Council Member (today WeHo’s Mayor Lindsey Horvath) objected. The rest touted “Free Speech.” Imagine a movie that claims to be “documentary” that showcases Blacks as rapists, child molesters and killers. There is no need to imagine the consequences. The City would be on fire. But seemingly, Jewish life (and hence Jewish blood) is permissible. [Bold text is Blog Editor’s]
In previous centuries, instead of such “documentaries,” there were similar blood libels, chief among which is that we use the blood of Christian children to bake our Passover Matzos.
It was so important to showcase that travesty of reality, that the Council stood behind Staff and allowed the movie. The pleas of the residents that they were not safe and of hundreds of others fell on deaf ears (all except one).
So why is anyone surprised that a group of “protestors” would come into a dining establishment in WeHo and demand to identify the Jews in order to beat them up, or ridicule them, or terrorize them in some other fashion?
Eighty some years ago, this was a common scene. It was OK to stop a respectable-looking woman and make her clean the sidewalk with a toothbrush, because she was Jewish-filth and deserved it, or to beat a Hassidic Jew almost to death, while the crowd stood in joy.
When good people do nothing, and allow evil to flourish, we should not be surprised of the results. And we should know our past.
MeraLee Goldman stood firm. Terrorists do not get “equal time” to those fighting for the United States. There is no “moral equivalency” to the 9-11 Attacks on the US. There is no excuse. We are not those at fault. She did not allow the enemies of the United States to use our own system and values against us. She stood and protected the body against auto-immune disease.
The City of WeHo took the opposite approach. And if it were to happen again today, likely nothing would have changed. Staff in WeHo would permit and pay for such a screening, under the guise of “free speech” or “the public right to know.”
What still bothers me is my inability to understand WeHo and to forgive what happened there. The ONLY place throughout the Middle East and the African Continent that LGBTQ are protected and enjoy equal rights is in Israel, the only Jewish country in the world. And this is not an easy thing by any stretch of the imagination, because of the clash with the tenants of the religion.
So why go out and attack Israel and the Jewish people? Why allow evil to come in, welcomed and supported? “Take a Stand,” we shouted, implored, begged; but to no avail – it all fell on deaf ears of those determined to see the movie screened. In Gaza, Syria and Iran, Gays are tortured then either hung to death in City Squares or thrown (alive) off roof tops. Clearly Israel is responsible for that too!
Talk is a very cheap commodity nowadays. Action – meaningful action, not lip service – that backs faith is a rare commodity.
First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out – since I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out – since I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out – since I was not a Trade Unionist
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out – since I was not a Jew
Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak out for me
Let us each take a moment, and check your own four corners –
is action backing up faith?
Do we have the courage to act?
Do we speak against evil, wrongdoing and things that should be done differently?
Take the example of Mayor MeraLee Goldman, or of Mayor Lindsey Horvath. Women taking a stand, even when it is unpopular. Even when they may pay a personal price. Stand up for the right thing. Do not be afraid. And do not give up, for the truth is on your side! [Bold text is Blog Editor’s]
Ari Bussel
Beverly Hills, CA, USA
Lindsey Horvath speaking – Mayor West Hollywood (Photo provided by Ari Bussel)
And here for today’s contest: “Let’s Beat a Jew!” (Photo provided by Ari Bussel)
Here is my Rabbi, Rabbi Elijahu Hazany. He may look older, frail, easily beatable and very much Jewish. But he is surrounded by the most powerful weapon of all – deep belief and conviction, and pride in being a Jew. And if asked if he is frightened, he will refer us to Psalms 121:
I haven’t had a submission from Ari Bussel is some time. Ari is highly involved in the Jewish community in Beverly Hills, CA. He is also a very Pro-Israel supporter which makes him Aces in my book.
Here Ari addresses the rioting and looting in his Beverly Hills community with a very positive supportive message for ALL First Responders but especially for the police who risk their lives for law and order. For Ari to place these thoughts for reading you have to realize or at least it is my opinion, he might become a target for those BLM and Antifa types more concerned about a Marxist agenda then actual racial so-called social Justice.
Ari submitted all the photos of which I tried to use most but not all (the above photo from the Blog Editor).
JRH 7/5/20
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A group of not-so-young-any-more, quite-well-to-do and likely composed of mostly White Caucasian males started an initiative of bringing pizzas to their local police departments.
A person I know called and told me about this national initiative. I burst out laughing, exclaiming: We are already doing that!
There are many things of which to be proud of Beverly Hills, with the exception of the handling of the recent the riots. One is that throughout the decades, whenever a party ends, it is a tradition to bring trays and trays of food to our local police and fire departments, each to his or her choosing.
Second, when we say that the Police, Fire and Schools are the three pillars of our community, we mean exactly that. Things at times may be chaotic, even tense, but the noise, emotions and personal involvement indicate precisely how much we care about each of these pillars. We know that we will remain living together, so any momentary disagreements eventually fade away.
The police does pancake breakfasts for us. We can be lucky enough to be invited to the fire station and be treated to a dinner with the firefighters. The two departments, although competing with one another for our attention and overall prestige, are part and parcel of our City, and they always cooperate. Just a few weeks ago our former Chief of Police Dave Snowden made a special trip to personally deliver items for an auction for the Fire Department (the Chief’s wife works for the organizers of the auction – but it was a nice touch nonetheless).
One family, our family – Beverly Hills Police
On the professional side, the two departments cooperate also in regard to promotions and evaluation of potential candidates. In short, there is a competitive spirit, but one that can be found between two brothers, each striving to excel in his own right and field.
None of what I described thus far would sound newsworthy to a Beverly Hills local. Except, anyone who dares say anything remotely positive about the police nowadays is immediately titled “a Racist” who must be shunned and punished – just for daring. The Chutzpah!
The younger crowd – those who ignored the Virus and went out without masks and with careless disregard to physical distancing (to protect themselves and others) – is especially vocal when it comes to the police. Apparently, an employee at Starbucks at the corner of Wilshire and Little Santa Monica had asked/ordered our Finest to leave as soon as they received their order, since they apparently “were making some of the customers uncomfortable!” Anything is permissible now, much like it was a common scene to see a well-dressed Jew scrubbing the street or being ridiculed in public in Germany in the 1930s.
The young generation is so enraged by BLM, that it will pass a person lying on the street and will not slow down or stop to check if the person (irrespective of the skin color) is alive and might need help. They are so sensitive about the plight of “the other” that homeless people are just garbage for them: not even a blink, simply ignore and continue.
The demonstrators are so eager to topple down monuments and deface and destroy the past, they are so blinded by hate (which they supposedly demonstrate to eradicate), that they do not realize the error of their ways. At the corner of Beverly Blvd and Fairfax, they defaced with graffiti the statue of one Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Jews during the Holocaust. Only a handful of the Survivors are still alive, and they are signed “He Saved Our Faith in Humanity, the Survivors.”
Raoul Wallenberg statue Beverly Hills CA (Beverly Blvd & Fairfax)
The rioters on that Saturday when it all started did not know who Raoul Wallenberg was, nor did they care. Destruction was the right thing to do! They enjoy the freedom of anarchy, and no one should dare impede their enjoyment. Loot, throw rocks or bottles, vandalize, spray paint graffiti, destroy, set on fire and other like actions – in complete disregard to life and property – are their right, for doing so makes them feel better with themselves.
Clearly, not all of them are like that. No, they are not. But their passion and actions are misguided and void of real meaning; their naiveté is most dangerous. They are used to immediate gratification: Signing a petition for them is “action.” They have no patience: Reading a tweet is the sum total of their attention span (an article of this length will not be read, and pictures are a must). Someone has to provide them free university education and forgive their loans. They may not agree to any type of work, for their time is too valuable, their effort must be properly rewarded.
If they break curfew or block the right of way of others, there must be no consequence. Since they can do no wrong, the other must kneel and ask forgiveness. Most egregiously, they know neither geography (where are Mexico and Canada relative to the United States) nor history. So they go to fight for something just because it “sounds” good (fighting for social justice) or make them feel good. Likewise tell them “Israel is Apartheid,” and “Apartheid” sounds evil enough, so Israel must be evil, satanic. Do not let facts or reality confuse you. Follow the soothing sound of propaganda, lies and brainwashing.
The “peaceful” protesters walking on Burton Way toward Rodeo Drive
On live, national tv: Looting on Rodeo Drive, which apparently falls under one’s First Amendment “Rights”
We need our police, because for all the defenders of the First Amendment, wait until the rioters and looters reach your place of business (Rodeo Drive anyone?) or home (in the Flats). Then one witnesses “Not in My Front Yard” in all its glory. The looters’ and rioters’ “right” suddenly reduces to its true proportion (they have no such right under any pretense of “peaceful – yet illegal – protests”), and all my super-liberal friends and neighbors need the police to be there, to do its job!
More Beverly Hills Rioting and Looting:
Something most interesting happened after the riots, when demands were made to “defund” and “dismantle” the police. A friend and her family made care packages and delivered to the local Sheriff’s station. Another friend called to ask if he should bring pizzas to the Beverly Hills police. And yet another one sent a mass e-mail and people found the courage to respond.
Bringing home-made care packages to the WeHo Sheriff’s Department
Ellie and Dr. Pablo Nankin wrote:
Dear Beverly Hills Police department.
We want to thank you for all you have done for us and continue to do.
We are with you.
The Nankins
People were encouraged. They realized they are not alone. Suddenly there was a safe haven, as the world around them seemed to be collapsing, melting. They found the inner courage to stand up, one at a time, and respond: We love and appreciate you. Our support has not changed because of the riots. You are part and parcel of us. You serve us for decades (many police officers have been here for five, ten, fifteen and more years). You run into danger when we disperse, often at a great risk to your lives. You leave your families and stay here to serve the other, often people you do not even know.
Thus, the “Slice of Pizza” initiative has already begun in Beverly Hills, and no one had to call us to suggest it. In this respect, we are indeed a trendsetter, simply because we really care.
A friend is measured at a time of need, and we – individually and as a community – are true, forever friends of our brothers and sisters in uniform. We may not like it when they ticket us, we may have misgivings about their response or behavior in a particular incident, and we are never shy to express our opinions and feelings. This is what a family does. And, quietly, when we are alone, we admit to ourselves that we are most grateful to be living in Beverly Hills, where we have our Police, Fire and Schools.
During our radio program, my colleague Norma Zager urged all parents to take the time and speak with their children, especially now. For if the current attempt to brainwash and silence us succeeds, the kids of today have no future. It is thus our responsibility, and education starts at home.
Let us sit with our kids and explain to them what is happening, all the mayhem and anarchy, separate lies from truth and guide them to have the courage to do the right thing, to stand on the right side of history. When your friend is being bullied, when your friend is down and everyone is standing around and ridiculing him, you must find the courage from within to stand by his side and help him up. Protect him. Support him. Do not assume he knows you are on his side. Teach that lesson to your children, and they will be better human beings.
As we are about to celebrate our Independence Day, let us highlight to our kids and to ourselves all the great things in this great country of ours, the U S of A! Let us focus on our history, present and future and remember that we are a light unto the nations, a beacon of light against the darkness setting around us and a barrier against the storm hell-bent on destroying our way of life.
Start by two small steps: talk to your children and express your gratitude to our police (and first responders). Be grateful toward the other in a tangible, meaningful way, for if we do not stand up and take a position, we are doomed to fail. Translate your convictions and courage to action. There is so much to protect and to celebrate!
Ari Bussel is Vice President of Operations at Saybrex International, a privately held family business specializing in the distribution of fine wines and spirits. He is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company and has held various positions in the company since 1993.
Prior to joining Saybrex, Mr. Bussel served as First Lieutenant in the Center for Systems Analysis at General Headquarters of the Israel Defense Forces, where he led the implementation of the Logistics War Doctrine in the Computerized Wargame Program.
Mr. Bussel is involved in a variety of philanthropic and civic activities. Mr. Bussel completed the Team Beverly Hills Leadership Program and served on the Environmental Sustainability Topic Committee of the City of Beverly Hills. He was a member of the Steering Committees of former Beverly Hills Mayor MeraLee Goldman and the current Beverly Hills City Treasurer, the Hon. Eliot Finkel. Mr. Bussel also completed and participated in the Community Emergency Response Training Program of the City of Beverly Hills as well as …READ THE REST
[Blog Editor: Full Disclosure – I’m a Christian Zionist supporter of Israel’s Biblical Land Promise – JRH]
Ari Bussel shares a Jewish-American perspective that connects the Jewish community in Beverly Hills California and Israel. An interesting whether you are Jewish or not and have an interest in Israel’s existence.
JRH 2/27/20
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BLOG EDITOR: I’ve apparently been placed in restricted Facebook Jail! The restriction was relegated after criticizing Democrats for supporting abortion in one post and criticizing Virginia Dems for gun-grabbing legislation and levying protester restrictions. Rather than capitulate to Facebook censorship by abandoning the platform, I choose to post and share until the Leftist censors ban me completely. Conservatives are a huge portion of Facebook. If more or all Conservatives are banned, it will affect the Facebook advertising revenue paradigm. SO FIGHT CENSORSHIP BY SHARE – SHARE – SHARE!!! Facebook notified me in pop-up on 1/20/20: “You’re temporarily restricted from joining and posting to groups that you do not manage until April 18 at 7:04 PM.”
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A City like No Other – A Lesson in Life
What Makes Beverly Hills Unique
By Ari Bussel
Sent 2/27/2020 12:47 AM
When my siblings and I went to Beverly, we were taught that “there is Beverly Hills and the rest of the world.” Let us see what else we learned right here in Beverly Hills: Treat the other the way you want to be treated, and he who spreads his bread is bound one day in the future to find it.
The headline of the main local paper read “Two Presidents in Beverly Hills on One Historic Day.” One president was here to fundraise, the other for a short stop on a long route. Since I did not quite understand the true meaning of this “historic day,” I continued reading, flipping the pages to find and astonishing amount of “Israel.”
In the previous administration, President Barack Obama was in Beverly Hills so many times, one lost count. President Donald J Trump has not been here so frequently as his predecessor, but we knew each time he was here from the demonstrations against him. Surprisingly, Beverly Hills Jews are apparently not all Democrats, and some would pay tens and hundreds of thousands of Dollars for a photo-op or to spent breakfast, lunch or dinner with the President of the USA.
On the same day, Israeli President Rivlin was here too. Los Angeles was the first stop, followed by Pacific Islands on a long trip to Australia (still ongoing). In Los Angeles, the President was honored by the Beverly Hills City Council and given the Key to the City and at UCLA by the Nazarian Center for Israel Studies. Apparently, super-rich Iranians were able to reach the President who previously rejected an invitation by the local Jewish Iranian American community for a mega event in his and Israel’s honor. Money does the trick, and even a president flies in to be honored.
President Rivlin then (11/13/2017) emphasized: “We are all one people, and Israel is dear to all of us.” On the Western Wall, the President said: “The symbol of unity, the Wall of our Tears and Joy, has become a symbol of division and disagreement. I hope that in the future we can return to the table together, and reach an understanding on this important issue.”
And he laid the following need for cooperation: “These are the tasks before us; the fight against anti-Semitism, preserving Jewish identity, safeguarding the security of Israel. We must continue to pass these duties to our children and grandchildren, from one generation to the next.”
The deep rift regarding prayer at the Western Wall still continues. Neither the Prime Minister’s absence nor the President’s substitute speech helped.
Unlike New York, Los Angeles is far away from Israel. Thus, the total number of times an Israeli president has been here since the formation of the modern state is de minimis. When Israel’s ninth president, Shimon Peres of blessed memory, came to Los Angeles, the preparations took some two years. The President met numerous groups, including a mega event at the Beverly Hilton and another at Dream Works. It was most apt, for President Peres was respected by the entire world as a “Dreamer” (visionary, in the most positive sense of the word). The entire region was energized.
Like his successor who would refuse to meet with the Iranian Jewish community, President Peres refused to meet with the Christian community, and declined an invitation to a mega event (the President’s requirement at that time was for at least 2,000 people to attend an event; the proposed event was for 5,000). For each, his own priorities and preferences.
So here came President Rivlin, and like his previous visit, it was limited to those who are either super-rich or most connected. Strange, since President Rivlin is viewed as the people’s president, loved and adored by Israelis for being “one of them.” A once-in-a-lifetime treat that should be shared and open to the public at large, not only to a select few ended as a photo caption in one paper and a front page headline in another.
Israel and the Beverly Hills Courier
The coverage of the President’s visit would be a picture on p.2 of the other local paper a week after the visit and an entire issue immediately following the visit dedicated to Israel by the Beverly Hills Courier. How strange life turns out to be. Let me tell you why.
The BH Courier and the City of BH were always dismissed as insignificant by the Israeli diplomatic mission to the West Coast. There were other newspapers (e.g. the Los Angeles Times), there were more important cities (e.g. Los Angeles). So much so, that until the arrival of Consul General David Siegel [Jewish Journal-2011, Communications 2025 profile-2012 & GovServ.org-2019], the BH Courier was not even on the press list of the Israeli Consulate General.
The publisher of the Courier at that time, Clif Smith [Blog Editor: I didn’t do a deep search but found it interesting WikiZero’s report on Clif Smith’s publishing style as Conservative as if that was a bad thing.], wanted to meet with top Israeli visitors and hear from them. His paper and the community are ardent supporters of Israel, and it would have been appropriate that the main local paper be paid the respect and be afforded the professional courtesy it deserved. But for the staff at the Consulate, a local throw-away paper and a city of 34,000 were … nothing. Luckily, we in Beverly Hills stand very well on our own. We do good without expectation or anticipation of thanks. And we continue our unabashed support of the only homeland for the Jewish people around the world no-matter-what!
Came a real diplomat and changed the culture and attitude at the Consulate. After a pitch was made to include also the local – seemingly insignificant and unimportant – publications, Mr. Smith was invited for President Peres visit and a relationship started that is bearing fruit to this very day.
Similarly, slowly it was discovered that Beverly Hills is a unique city in the entire world in terms of Israel. What makes the City so unique? Its majority Jewish population? The number of synagogues within its boundaries? The large proportion of Iranians who call the City home (about 1/3 the entire City population)? The leadership, at all elected entities – City Council, School Board, Treasurer – that is usually Jewish?
Beverly Hills and Israel
We can go back generations of BH City Councils and meet amazing people who have supported Israel in numerous ways. Previously, mega donors to Israel call BH their home, and there is not a university, hospital or museum in Israel where their names cannot be found at the very top of the donors lists.
Then came to the City a philanthropist businesswoman, who does not even reside within the City proper, and turned the City into the strongest pro-Israel fort to be found anywhere in the USA. Gina Raphael [Algemeiner author profile & JNF Interview] has utilized her connections in the City, her own money and her leadership style to do good. She brought symposiums about water and cyber security to the City. She marked 9/11 jointly with Israel, time and time again. She brought the Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office (i.e. the Chief Executive of Israel) to celebrate Israel on Israel’s Independence Day (the one day he should have been in Israel). She regularly brings the different elements of the community together (i.e. Ashkenazi and Sephardi, competing Rabbis, …). Gina serves as an example for women in business, women in leadership and women of philanthropy and for parents who would do everything to have children, and she is a bulldozer when it comes to Jewish life and the Jewish people.
In short, Gina Raphael managed to change the landscape like a loving, most capable gardener tending to a garden. A magnificent and most tender work of creation. This happened at the same time that CG David Siegel was here and changed the attitude toward public diplomacy, that started with working with the press and treating each and every one as if they are the entire world (rather than dismissing those not useful at the very moment or not rich or not important enough as rugs on which to wipe one’s feet, possibly to be used in the future if and when convenient). It was a new world order.
Since then, Israel’s situation continued to deteriorate and the hatred toward Israel continued to intensify. Ancient anti-Semitism rose again, this time around disguised as “permissible criticism of Israel.” The United States has seen some horrific anti-Semitic attacks on synagogues. Hate crimes against Jews rose in numbers and intensity. The BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) movement has spread and managed to poison innocent minds with lies and propaganda.
[Blog Editor: The BDS Movement is a grievous embodiment of Antisemitic Jew-Hatred as is demonstrated by facts rather than lying propaganda:
Israel is compared to evil, and anything bad that happens to Jews is not punishment enough. Companies like Air BnB and leading figures in the entertainment world like Natalie Portman take action against Israel, for talk has now morphed into action, and even local Jews of the younger generation now support organizations that harm Israel under the guise of “human rights.”
And then, there is Beverly Hills, an oasis of safety and sanity, a city where the great divide – between Democrats and Republicans, Netanyahu’s supporters and detractors, Reform and Orthodox Jews – has not managed to blindside those at the helm (“every elected member in the City is Jewish,” as Dr. Julian Gold likes to say).
A City like no other
Time and again, the Council stands up to fight anti-Semitism, to support Israel, to allow a safe haven for the Jews and to remember those who perished in the Holocaust. Why do they do it? Likely because any student of history knows that what starts with the Jews never ends with the Jews; that if we do not know our own history, we are bound to repeat it; and if we do not stand up and speak (and act), there will be no one left to stand up for us when the time comes. Simple lessons; all practiced in Beverly Hills.
Nothing happens in vacuum, and the world has not come into being today. The support for Israel has been a cornerstone of Beverly Hills for the past seven decades. Giants like Guilford Glazer z”l [Blog Editor: For non-Jews who are unaware, when you see z”l after a person’s name, they are deceased (See CoffeeShopRabbi.com for some info)], Nate Shapell z”l, Max Well z”l, Larry Field z”l and others – many who survived the Holocaust. Philanthropists like Paul and Herta Amir, Virginia and Frank Maas and Dick Ziman. Past Mayors like Max Salter, MaraLee Goldman and Mark Egerman. Journalists like Norma Zager, the former editor in chief of the Courier. Local leaders like Sue Brucker (“How can we make Israelis understand we – Reform Jews – are Jews too?!?”). Rabbis like Rabbi Laura Geller, Rabbi Yossi Cunin and Rabbi Kalman Topp (a Reform and two Orthodox; a woman and two men). City Staff like Mahdi Aluzri and Pamela Mottice-Muller (an Iraqi and a Christian). Religious leaders like senior pastor Dave Worth (of the BH Presbyterian Church). In short – a community, Beverly Hills like no other.
It would not have happened without a push and a shove and a determination by a diplomat one rarely encounters in one’s life time, and a local mother-businesswomen-leader who focuses on doing good and away from nonsense, on substance than form. But more importantly, the lesson to be learned is to never belittle the individual, or in this case, a tiny city, seemingly insignificant, or a local paper, equally “inconsequential.” When you treat the “widower, orphaned and foreigner among us” as equal, as deserving and worthy, God repays, most handsomely. Pay attention in life, for that is what God wants from us. A dear lesson to learn indeed. And if we ignore the other, we may end up finding ourselves … on our own.
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BLOG EDITOR: I’ve apparently been placed in restricted Facebook Jail! The restriction was relegated after criticizing Democrats for supporting abortion in one post and criticizing Virginia Dems for gun-grabbing legislation and levying protester restrictions. Rather than capitulate to Facebook censorship by abandoning the platform, I choose to post and share until the Leftist censors ban me completely. Conservatives are a huge portion of Facebook. If more or all Conservatives are banned, it will affect the Facebook advertising revenue paradigm. SO FIGHT CENSORSHIP BY SHARE – SHARE – SHARE!!! Facebook notified me in pop-up on 1/20/20: “You’re temporarily restricted from joining and posting to groups that you do not manage until April 18 at 7:04 PM.”
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Edited by John R. Houk
Text enclosed by brackets and embedded links are by the Editor.
Ari Bussel is Vice President of Operations at Saybrex International, a privately held family business specializing in the distribution of fine wines and spirits. He is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company and has held various positions in the company since 1993.
Prior to joining Saybrex, Mr. Bussel served as First Lieutenant in the Center for Systems Analysis at General Headquarters of the Israel Defense Forces, where he led the implementation of the Logistics War Doctrine in the Computerized Wargame Program.
Mr. Bussel is involved in a variety of philanthropic and civic activities. Mr. Bussel completed the Team Beverly Hills Leadership Program and served on the Environmental Sustainability Topic Committee of the City of Beverly Hills. He was a member of the Steering Committees of former Beverly Hills Mayor MeraLee Goldman and the current Beverly Hills City Treasurer, the Hon. Eliot Finkel. Mr. Bussel also completed and participated in the Community Emergency Response Training Program of the City of Beverly Hills as well as the Crisis Response Team of the Maple Counseling Center.
Mr. Bussel was among the founding members and served on the boards of Gen. Shimon Erem’s Israel Christian Nexus, the Western Region of Friends of Israel Firefighters and the Israel Institute for Alternative Energy Advancement. He completed the Salvin Leadership Program of the Anti-Defamation League.
Mr. Bussel writes regularly. For the past decade, his weekly columns appeared in print in Israel Jewish Life, Shalom LA, Muslim World Today and Israeli Week. Mr. Bussel’s articles appear on numerous websites, including Canada Free Press, Free Republic, NewsBlaze, SlantRight and OpEdNews. He is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club.
Mr. Bussel received a Master of Science in Operations Research from Stanford …READ THE REST
For those of you who might only have a cursory knowledge of Islamic Terrorism aimed at Israel, the Abu Mazen in the title is the same person as Mahmoud Abbas. The “Abbas” name is the one used most often by the American Press.
Ari Bussel has been supportive of President Trump actions toward Israel in the past (e.g. moving U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem: HERE & HERE), but here – if I am understanding correctly – Ari is not pleased with Trump’s Deal of the Century, not pleased with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s cooperation with the Deal AND highlights Mahmoud Abbas speaking threats if any action is taken to enact The Deal of the Century.
On a personal level I have not read the Deal so I am not surprised by the Faux-Palestinian vitriol who seek to deny the existence of a Jewish State. BUT from Ari’s tone the Deal must be too conciliatory toward Arabs pretending to be Palestinians. I trust Ari. So I am now going to have to locate some Deal of the Century details for future reference.
JRH 1/31/20
Your generosity is always appreciated – various credit, check
BLOG EDITOR: I’ve apparently been placed in restricted Facebook Jail! The restriction was relegated after criticizing Democrats for supporting abortion in one post and criticizing Virginia Dems for gun-grabbing legislation and levying protestor restrictions. Rather than capitulate to Facebook censorship by abandoning the platform, I choose to post and share until the Leftist censors ban me completely. Conservatives are a huge portion of Facebook. If more or all Conservatives are banned, it will affect the Facebook advertising revenue paradigm. SO FIGHT CENSORSHIP BY SHARE – SHARE – SHARE!!! Facebook notified me in pop-up on 1/20/20: “You’re temporarily restricted from joining and posting to groups that you do not manage until April 18 at 7:04 PM.” THAT MEANS Facebook has blocked me from ALL Pro-Israel, Pro-Jewish, Pro-Zionist, Pro-Christian Zionist and Anti-BDS Groups until 4/18/20. SO PLEASE SHARE THIS INFO in those Groups I am restricted.
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Abu Mazen on Trump’s Deal of the Century
By Ari Bussel
Sent 1/30/2020 2:53 PM
Dear Friends,
The Deal of the Century was announced this week by US President Donald J Trump. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jewish donor Sheldon (& Dr. Miriam) Adelson were among those cheering onsite. The President also met with MK and former Chief of Staff Benny Gantz who currently is the forerunner to lead the country after the upcoming elections on March 2nd, 2020.
The responses were quick to arrive, and we can divide them into categories: Organizations who have to comment about anything and everything (e.g. the Reform Movement or the Zionist Organization of America); organizations who are focused on Israel (e.g. CAMERA or Arab America); and those who derive a direct benefit, some type of personal gain. Although many in these categories employ top thinkers and analysts, allow us to ignore them all and focus on one and only one reaction.
Abu Mazen expressed what the entire Palestinian tribal collection wants to hear and what it believes:
“Jerusalem is not for sale, and all our rights are neither for sale nor for compromise. This scheme will not succeed!”
Compare the reaction on the Palestinian side and that on the Jewish side. The Palestinian position is Simple. Concise. Clear. Unwavering. Full of Conviction. And now check the Israeli and Jewish side that has been entrusted with an undivided Jerusalem, the City where God resides among His people. We are weak. Ready to compromise. Debate. Give up. Divide. A sure recipe for destruction and fall; exactly what took place some two thousand years ago when the Second Temple was destroyed.
Not only do the Palestinians confuse sick-imagination with reality-transposed, they are not even sure who they are. For a people that cannot even pronounce its own name (the letter “p”) or realize the root of the word is invaders to a land-not-theirs, they so crave to make their dream of a county void of Jews a reality, that anyone who is not Jewish must therefore be a Palestinian. Jesus apparently was a Palestinian. He is still “standing” at the checkpoints designed to prevent terrorists from passing. Israeli citizens who happen to be Muslim are Palestinians (previously they were 1967 Arabs and before that 1948 Arabs, then 1947 Arabs and now pure “Palestinians”). So are members of the Israeli Knesset, who spew hatred toward Israel and against the Israel Defense Forces from the podium at the parliament. Full Israeli citizens call themselves “Palestinians,” but they will not give up their Israeli passports or all the benefits to which they are entitled as Israeli citizens.
There is supposedly a talk about some “border,” but the Palestinian have only one border in their mind: The entire country, from the River to the Sea, is theirs! No Jews allowed! Al Quds (Jerusalem) is their eternal capital, has always been; will always be. It is not up for dividing, sharing or bargaining. And all the millions of eternal refugees are waiting to go back to their homes throughout the country. In short: No Israel. No Jews. Viva Palestine!
To this theater comes the Most Crazy American President in an announcement: “I have the Deal of the Century!” Is he the clown during intermission? He is definitely not entertaining. Does he think that the Palestinians can be bought like Putin, China or North Korea? He simply does not understand with whom he is dealing; who really stands in front of him. He is a most useful puppet in the hands of his Jewish Handlers. Look, there is the Adelson couple opening their purse and pulling the strings. What has the President not done for them already! All will be reversed as the first order of action as soon as the new President is sworn in and replaces this travesty in announcing to DJT: “YOU ARE FIRED!”
The Deal of the Century is weak because it has exposed what is important for the Jews and their puppets, including sovereignty and control over the West Bank, no Right of Return of the Palestinians, Jerusalem remaining under Israeli control and end of BDS and claims in international bodies such as the International Criminal Court. Even Gantz (who ran on a platform “Just Not Bibi (Netanyahu)”) is supporting this plan. All that the Deal has done is to show where Israel really hurts, both what subjects and what effective tools are currently working effectively against her. In short, the Deal has emboldened the enemies of Israel that their struggle is working.
A President under Impeachment. A Prime Minister who has been Indicted. A main puppeteer, a filthy-wealthy Jew who controls the scene. And a Circus like no other. How good that people of conscience, including so many Jewish Americans and so many leading Israelis stand united against this evil plan!
To all lovers and protectors of Israel: Israel’s enemies do not want peace. They aspire death and destruction; a place clean of Jews. They have no plan for the day after, for they only want the death of the Jewish body. This is what cancer is all about, and any doctor who will prescribe the following course of treatment will likely lose his license:
“Listen Cancer, you may not even be able to pronounce your own name and likely you do not even know from where you came, but we propose the following to you: Restrict yourself to the ovaries, stop dreaming on the liver, the lungs and the brain. We will then let you thrive in the ovaries. Grow and expand. Go from strength to strength. We love and respect you. We will feed you and take care of you. We will continue adoring you. We realize you want the entire body, and that you have no plan for the day after. (The day after, you are dead.) We (the world) really, really like you. We admire your convictions. We stand with you regarding your aspirations and efforts. Give them all up. stay in the ovaries.”
Not only does the idea make no sense whatsoever, why would someone feeling strength, ever-growing strength, restrict oneself from taking, devouring, enjoying and destroying more and more? The cancer has metastasized to the liver and the stomach and the lungs and the brain. So why stop? Because an American President decided to say so? Even notable Israelis and many American Jews have succumbed to the cancer and have declared “Viva Palestine! End the Occupation! Free, free Palestine! A country of all its people!”
Those who love Israel awake! Not only the timing, but the mere idea of a Deal right now is contrary to basic business practices (which the President understands). One does not negotiate from an inferior position of weakness, and both Israel and the USA are weak.
We must learn from the Palestinians. They speak clearly. They are unified. They know exactly what they want, and this is everything. And they have the courage to stand by their convictions.
“Jerusalem is not for sale, and all our rights are neither for sale nor for compromise. This scheme will not succeed!”
Always,
Ari Bussel +++++++++
Blog Editor: More info added after signature in the same email:
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For those who want to expand, you are invited to continue reading:
The Deal of the Century was not a secret. There was access to it on the White House website in the weeks leading to the announcement. For very many months, it was mentioned in every opportunity. The timing of the celebratory announcement is questionable, for the President is trying to ignore the Impeachment proceedings in the US Senate, possibly to deflect attention, while in Israel nothing can be done permanently binding by a temporary government. Netanyahu’s government is twice temporary, after he forced the country to go into an election following which neither he nor his opponent was able to form a government. A second election was called with practically the same result, and now the country faces a third election in less than a year. Without a proper budget, nothing operates as usual, and with a country under the iron grip of the judiciary and advisors who grab power, even appointments or removal of bureaucrats translate to lengthy battles.
The US Administration is aware of what is happening in Israel, so what might be the specific reason for the release at this time? Possibly a parting gift to Prime Minister Netanyahu before his defeat and removal? Alas, this is not a reason for policy that is shaping a new Middle East.
As much as everyone likes to think Israel is the center of the universe, Israel is a tiny country with nine million people. It is the home of the Jewish people – all 14 to 15 million of us around the world – and the only country we can call our home. By any stretch of the imagination, Israel is tiny. In China, the center of outbreak of the current Corona Virus is much larger than Israel, both in size and in population. But the world continues to focus only on Israel, as if it is the source of energy for the entire universe.
The powers in the Middle East are impressive: A Turk who wants to become a Sultan over a re-emerging Ottoman Empire. Iran whose tentacles are pressing the Mediterranean on both sides, from its southern and northern shores. A KGB Uber-Oligarch who is meddling in Syria and wants to establish his country’s dominance in the region. A Kingdom that is always on a threat of collapsing. The persecuted Christians, who are raped, murdered, kidnapped, sold for slavery (sexual and labor) and burned alive in their churches throughout the region and the continent of Africa, and the world stands silent. And then, there are the Palestinians.
The Palestinians invented a nationhood and borrowed the craving of the Jews to return to their homeland. They are a very special breed. Their brethren in the Arab world view them as inferior. They never wanted anything to do with them. It is a class structure, where the Iranians view themselves as superior to all, and the Arabs view the Palestinians as inferior. Indeed, who are the Palestinians? Their forefathers emigrated to Palestine when the Zionists from Europe came and turned a desolate area into a blooming oasis. They (the Zionists) dried the swamps, defeated the malaria that was carried by mosquitos, created new technologies (such as drip irrigation and water desalination) and made areas previously uninhabitable into thriving communities basking in greenery, a light unto the nations, a source of goodness to the world.
Israel became a miracle, and it attracted workers. Many came from Egypt, and among them Yasir Arafat and Abu Mazen’s family, as well as the families of many of the Palestinian leadership. The area was called “Palestine,” the Jews and their institutions were often referred to as “Palestinians” and Arab nationalism was alive and thriving. There were Arabs and Jews, the Arabs did not want the Jews, and the superpowers who inherited and dived the Ottoman Empire kept slicing the area designated for the Jews into an ever diminishing slice of land.
After the formation of the modern State of Israel, the nascent country absorbed some 750,000 Jewish refugees expelled from Arab countries. Those Arabs who fled Israel – under the false promise “you will get to your homes within days, after we defeat and eliminate the Jews” – were never assimilated. They remained as garbage in the countries to where they fled momentarily. No one wanted them; no one was interested. But then something unique happened: The United Nations has created a special body to treat the newly formed “Palestinians.” They and their descendants forever, for all eternity, are called “Refugees.” There is no need to assimilate; there is no need for anyone (their own brethren) to absorb them. It is very big business, employing tens of thousands of UN employees, and channeling billions of Dollars to corrupt people. Why rattle such a thriving and successful business?
For several decades the Arab nations went along with this ploy, as they realized that Israel cannot be defeated militarily, despite all odds stacked against the nascent Jewish state. Something bigger is protecting Israel (and it is NOT the United States of America). 1956. 1967. 1973. Nothing helped. The Jews survive and thrived. To the Arabs, right in their corner were the Palestinians, a disposable, no-cost commodity that could be utilized to harm Israel. Thus, for instance, Gaza remained as it is – an open wound – where Israel left it and Egypt does not want it.
The refugee camps in Lebanon are a source of endless liberation fighters willing and able to sacrifice themselves. Keep them! And in Jordan, a full majority of the entire Kingdom is made of Palestinians creating an entire Eastern front against Israel. [The situation in Jordan has changed since Jordan is the only country that absorbed the real Syrian Refugees, and they realize what “refugee-dom” is all about and how the Palestinians are not “refugees” by any stretch of the imagination.]
With the advance of Iran and the real threat to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries, with the Arab Spring that turned quickly in Winter and the Muslim Brotherhood stronghold on Egypt, and with the continued slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Muslims by their Muslim brethren in Syria, the Arab World has realized the utter and complete fallacy of the Palestinians and their dream to eradicate Israel, to wipe Israel off the map.
The Palestinians squander the money they receive and stash it in secret bank accounts in Switzerland and France. The Palestinians cry foul all the time, crying and bickering. They work with Iran. They send their young ones to explode themselves – and soon the Arabs realized that what is effective against the Jews, is also employed against them!
And Israel? Contrary to what the Palestinians teach their children and the hatred they spew at every opportunity, Israel does good. Israel extends a helping hand at a time of disaster. Israel brings new technologies about water and agriculture in the times of peace. Commerce with Israel is bilateral. Israel opens field hospitals for Syrian refugees and brings the wounded from Lebanon, Syria and even Gaza to her hospitals. Israel is the only deterrent against the spread of Iran, and she is not afraid to act – at whatever time and place she sees fit. Israel can be trusted – by friend and foe alike. She is always true to her word.
Israel wants what every normal human being wants – to live, raise her children, thrive. She is focused on herself, not on harming others. She has no aspirations at expanding, colonizing or occupying. It is not easy for Israel, for where there are two Jews, there are five opinions. And Israel has always been a country of all generals! They Arabs see Israel; the Arabs hear the pleas and contact demands by the Palestinians; and when the Arabs do an accounting, or simple arithmetic, they understand they want to be associated with the Israelis, not with the Palestinians.
And so there is a titanic shift, which is based on much common sense. What would we do if faced in the same situation: on the one hand a group that whines and brings death and mayhem, evil and bickering; on the other a group that is good for you, and good for the entire world and humanity, that does not talk much but acts, and when it acts – there are no boundaries to the love shown.
The Palestinians feel neglected, left behind. They are angrier than ever. Remember, the Palestinians are a business. Their main stronghold, the United Nations, that seems to be serving them and ignoring everyone else (e.g. the really-persecuted Christians) is on shaky grounds as well. The United States, the UN’s main financial sponsor, has woken up and is bringing common sense back to the playground. And the European Union has finally started limiting the flow of money, as a major part of it goes to reward terrorists and their families for life – for every person murdered or injured.
And so comes The Deal of the Century. The USA (what one commonly refers to as “America”) has a crazy President. He dares stand up to Putin (the Democrats say he cooperates with him), to China, to North Korea. And now he decided to tackle the Israeli-Arab Conflict. Alas, the Conflict seems to have resolved itself – between Israel and the real Arabs.
The only thing that is left from the “Conflict” (the objective of the Arabs to “throw the Israelis to the (Mediterranean) Sea”) is Iran’s promise to “Wipe Israel Off the Map” (and this must be taken seriously; with one qualification that the only reason for Iran to do so is that Israel is the only obstacle standing in its way to control the entire region, and Europe should be concerned for Europe’s sake) and the Palestinians who do not even show Israel on their maps.
So if there is no Israeli-Arab Conflict, what is the deal to do? Appease the so-called Palestinians? Serve the Jewish Puppeteers of the President of the US?
Whether the Deal of the Century has been in the works for the past three years or not at all, it matters not. Also the timing of the announcement which is most suspect is not very important. Be the reasons what they might be, they are irrelevant. Both the US President and the Israeli Prime Minister quickly understood it – their folly was exposed, no one treats it seriously, not even those cheering in the background. The Prime Minister announced, even before leaving DC, “we are going to annex next Sunday,” and the Trump-Team (Administration) replied “not so quickly, let us wait until after the elections.” So quickly the two main players realized it was an exercise of hot air, that the entire exercise became beneficial only to all those “experts” and organizations that benefit from it (on the pro-Israel or anti-Israel side).
A Peace Plan has to be achieved by two sides who want it. And a lasting peace will continue as long as both sides really want it. Israel has a peace treaty with Egypt and another with Jordan. Israel could have had a peace treaty with Syria, had it not been for the Civil War there and Assad’s butchering hundreds of thousand of his own people.
Another Peace Plan that should serve as an applicable example is the one between the Allies and the Nazis. Except, the Middle East is not there yet. The main lesson is that one side really wanted “Peace” to bring the cessation of its utter and complete decimation, and the other side was both benevolent and smart to help the Germans rebuild.
The Palestinians live a very good life. Visit their homes and see. Visit their shopping centers. Watch their tv channels. The Palestinians need Israel. They come to work in Israel. They sell products to Israel. They depend on Israel as a neighbor and partner. And they want to eliminate her and have an area free and clean of Jews.
Instead of investing in infrastructure and institutions of civil society, they dig death tunnels, manufacture weapons of mass destruction and excel in death and mayhem. In short, they do everything opposite logic.
In addition to glorifying homicide martyrs as deserving 72 virgins, they propagate and expand the fantasy that the Jews will be eliminated, that the Jews do not deserve to live. They twist history, using elements they like as their own and others to their advantage. So they tell the Jews to pack their belongings and “go back.” They remove the archeological findings under the Temple Mount and trash them as rubbish, and then they declare the Temple Mount was really never there, the Jewish “story” of the Bible has not connection to the place.
They do excel, however, in a thousand and one Arabian nights – weaving a story like no other. And the story resonates with people around the world. Where a story takes hold, no deal or reality program can overcome. The Deal of the Century has not even lived its millisecond of fame, it was an orchestration that failed, a momentary distraction. Until Israelis take hold of the helm, until they start fighting for their own existence and survival, no substitute (as good and well-intentioned as it might be) will succeed. Now, let us return to real life.
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BLOG EDITOR: I’ve apparently been placed in restricted Facebook Jail! The restriction was relegated after criticizing Democrats for supporting abortion in one post and criticizing Virginia Dems for gun-grabbing legislation and levying protestor restrictions. Rather than capitulate to Facebook censorship by abandoning the platform, I choose to post and share until the Leftist censors ban me completely. Conservatives are a huge portion of Facebook. If more or all Conservatives are banned, it will affect the Facebook advertising revenue paradigm. SO FIGHT CENSORSHIP BY SHARE – SHARE – SHARE!!! Facebook notified me in pop-up on 1/20/20: “You’re temporarily restricted from joining and posting to groups that you do not manage until April 18 at 7:04 PM.” THAT MEANS Facebook has blocked me from ALL Pro-Israel, Pro-Jewish, Pro-Zionist, Pro-Christian Zionist and Anti-BDS Groups until 4/18/20. SO PLEASE SHARE THIS INFO in those Groups I am restricted.
Ari Bussel is Vice President of Operations at Saybrex International, a privately held family business specializing in the distribution of fine wines and spirits. He is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company and has held various positions in the company since 1993.
Prior to joining Saybrex, Mr. Bussel served as First Lieutenant in the Center for Systems Analysis at General Headquarters of the Israel Defense Forces, where he led the implementation of the Logistics War Doctrine in the Computerized Wargame Program.
Mr. Bussel is involved in a variety of philanthropic and civic activities. Mr. Bussel completed the Team Beverly Hills Leadership Program and served on the Environmental Sustainability Topic Committee of the City of Beverly Hills. He was a member of the Steering Committees of former Beverly Hills Mayor MeraLee Goldman and the current Beverly Hills City Treasurer, the Hon. Eliot Finkel. Mr. Bussel also completed and participated in the Community Emergency Response Training Program of the City of Beverly Hills as well as …READ THE REST
The Conservative-Patriot Christian Right 
