From Foreign Policy, excerpts below:
The U.N.'s relationship with autocracy has always been fraught, but the organization has only grown more schizophrenic toward repressive rulers since the fall of the Berlin Wall, becoming more openly pro-democracy even as it has remained at times astonishingly accommodating of dictators. It's true that the U.N.'s commendable corps of experts has provided important technical assistance for elections in dozens of developing countries taking halting steps toward democracy in recent years. But most of the U.N. system remains a safe haven, offering an imprimatur of legitimacy that dictators often can't find elsewhere.
As the developing world increasingly came under the rule of military juntas, one-party systems, and other forms of authoritarianism, the U.N. accordingly became a place dictators were welcomed and outrageous abuses were ignored. No matter how loathed by their people, ghastly rulers like Uganda's Idi Amin could make use of the U.N. platform and continue to participate in U.N. activities even as they oversaw massive violations of human rights.
Decades later, the organization has not done much better in combating the pathologies of dictatorship within such countries. Look at Darfur, where the U.N. leadership decried widespread killing, but then stood by and watched.
Is the U.N. to blame for the persistence of dictators? In the end, the answer must be "no," if only because the U.N. does not have that much clout. Dictators come to power because of complex and powerful domestic forces, and that often gives them the ability to resist significant international pressure, much less the moral suasion and limited sanctions that the U.N. can propose.
Of course the U.N. could do more. But that would require an effort on the part of the great powers that, they haven't exactly been interested in. Unless they change their ways, both the U.N. and the dictators it gives aid and comfort to will look increasingly like relics of a bygone era.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Self Sacrifice
From A Fire Burns in Breslov:
How can one live a life of self sacrifice? Life is filled with tests, especially for those who keep Torah and mitzvos. We have a clear precedent for virtually every step of life. What we can and cannot do, and how to do that which we must. Those who withstand the many trials of life and fulfill Torah as it should be kept live with self-sacrifice. We have six hundred and thirteen mitzvos which teach us how to live our lives. How to eat and how to sleep; every detail is explained. Non-Jews are free to do as they please. Nevertheless, a Jew who overcomes his base urges feels filled with joy. Like a general returning from a victorious battle, he sees the positive and rejoices in his success. Most importantly, he rejoices in his portion as one of the chosen of Hashem, a son of the King.”
How can one live a life of self sacrifice? Life is filled with tests, especially for those who keep Torah and mitzvos. We have a clear precedent for virtually every step of life. What we can and cannot do, and how to do that which we must. Those who withstand the many trials of life and fulfill Torah as it should be kept live with self-sacrifice. We have six hundred and thirteen mitzvos which teach us how to live our lives. How to eat and how to sleep; every detail is explained. Non-Jews are free to do as they please. Nevertheless, a Jew who overcomes his base urges feels filled with joy. Like a general returning from a victorious battle, he sees the positive and rejoices in his success. Most importantly, he rejoices in his portion as one of the chosen of Hashem, a son of the King.”
Friday, June 25, 2010
A Common Purpose
Being Jewish is like totally awesome, know what I mean? Maybe not so let me try to explain.
Being an observant Jew can be really hard, it forces you to change everything about your life if you grew up secular like I did. It forces you to make all these changes and sacrifices but out of those restricts and rules, there comes such beauty. Case in point, last night I had an observant friend stay the night. He had an appointment downtown and this cut an hour off his commute so no problem right? That’s just what friends do for one another. But it doesn’t end there behind that is this whole other thing, this guy is a future doctor and I live right next to a hospital that he’s going to be interning in at soon. When my girlfriend heard about this, her first reaction was to him was so of course you can come over when you’re working and use the kitchen. The fact that we are all bound together with a common purpose and common set of ideals and ideas is what creates that connection so powerfully. If not for my kitchen, he’d have to pack lunches, eat cold food, etc. But with my kitchen he can just come over and have food, with no restrictions. Being observant means opening up your home to people from all over, because they need a kosher food stop, or because it Shabbat and they’ve traveled a long way and need a place, whatever the reason, it binds us all together.
I love that this brings me and an acquaintance closer together it makes us closer friends it forces us to get to know one another, it makes me stretch myself constantly. Another example; at the beginning of this week I got sick and everyone knew why? Because there was a wedding and I didn’t go. There are always public events going on and everyone always congregates and when you become part of that web people notice stuff a lot easier and they check up on you and ask if you need anything and go out of their way for you because if you have to go to the hospital then you’ll need food, we’ll keep you in our thoughts when we pray… I hope I’m conveying the frenetic nature of it all, because it’s so vibrate, so alive all the time.
Sometimes I hear from my non-observant friends and family and from them I always hear about the hardships I must endure or the rules I must follow and what a bore it must be and what cant things be simpler, etc and I understand that because I once felt that way to, but now? I can’t imagine my life without it. Can’t imagine my life without Shabbat without a time when no matter what I’m doing I take a break I put it out of my mind and just relax, eat food with friends, take a nap in the middle of the day because worrying is for tomorrow, thinking about all the work I have to do is for the next day and I can deal with it then.
There is such freedom and such love within all the rules and restrictions it binds Am Israel together as a nation, it’s beautiful and I love it and I could never imagine going back.
Shabbat Shalom
Being an observant Jew can be really hard, it forces you to change everything about your life if you grew up secular like I did. It forces you to make all these changes and sacrifices but out of those restricts and rules, there comes such beauty. Case in point, last night I had an observant friend stay the night. He had an appointment downtown and this cut an hour off his commute so no problem right? That’s just what friends do for one another. But it doesn’t end there behind that is this whole other thing, this guy is a future doctor and I live right next to a hospital that he’s going to be interning in at soon. When my girlfriend heard about this, her first reaction was to him was so of course you can come over when you’re working and use the kitchen. The fact that we are all bound together with a common purpose and common set of ideals and ideas is what creates that connection so powerfully. If not for my kitchen, he’d have to pack lunches, eat cold food, etc. But with my kitchen he can just come over and have food, with no restrictions. Being observant means opening up your home to people from all over, because they need a kosher food stop, or because it Shabbat and they’ve traveled a long way and need a place, whatever the reason, it binds us all together.
I love that this brings me and an acquaintance closer together it makes us closer friends it forces us to get to know one another, it makes me stretch myself constantly. Another example; at the beginning of this week I got sick and everyone knew why? Because there was a wedding and I didn’t go. There are always public events going on and everyone always congregates and when you become part of that web people notice stuff a lot easier and they check up on you and ask if you need anything and go out of their way for you because if you have to go to the hospital then you’ll need food, we’ll keep you in our thoughts when we pray… I hope I’m conveying the frenetic nature of it all, because it’s so vibrate, so alive all the time.
Sometimes I hear from my non-observant friends and family and from them I always hear about the hardships I must endure or the rules I must follow and what a bore it must be and what cant things be simpler, etc and I understand that because I once felt that way to, but now? I can’t imagine my life without it. Can’t imagine my life without Shabbat without a time when no matter what I’m doing I take a break I put it out of my mind and just relax, eat food with friends, take a nap in the middle of the day because worrying is for tomorrow, thinking about all the work I have to do is for the next day and I can deal with it then.
There is such freedom and such love within all the rules and restrictions it binds Am Israel together as a nation, it’s beautiful and I love it and I could never imagine going back.
Shabbat Shalom
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Balak
From the Chief Rabbi:
In this weeks parsha, emissaries go from Moab to Midian. Balak king of Moab wants Bilaam to curse the Israelites. Bilaam's answer is a model of propriety: Stay the night, he says, while I consult with G-d. G-d's answer is unequivocal: "Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed."
Obediently, Bilaam refuses. Balak redoubles his efforts. He sends a second set of emissaries. Bilaam's reply is exemplary: "Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the LORD my G-d." However, he adds a fateful rider: "Now stay here tonight as the others did, and I will find out what else the LORD will tell me." The implication is clear. Bilaam is suggesting that G-d may change His mind. But this is impossible. That is not what G-d does. Yet to our surprise, that is what G-d seems to do: That night G-d came to Bilaam and said, "Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you." Why does Bilaam ask again? Why would G-d change his mind?
The true meaning of G-d's second reply, "Go with them," is, "If you insist, then I cannot stop you going - but I am angry that you should have asked a second time." G-d did not change His mind at any point in the proceedings. In scenes 1, 2 and 3, G-d did not want Bilaam to go. His "Yes" in scene 2 meant "No" - but it was a No Bilaam could not hear, was not prepared to hear. When G-d speaks and we do not listen, He does not intervene to save us from our choices. "Man is led down the path he chooses to tread."
The difference between a false prophet and a true prophet is: the false prophet speaks. The true prophet listens. The false prophet tells people what they want to hear. The true prophet tells them what they need to hear. The false prophet believes in his own powers. The true prophet knows that he has no power.
"No" is the hardest word to hear, but it is also often the most important - and the sign that someone cares. That is what Bilaam, humbled, eventually learned and what we too must discover if we are to be open to the voice of G-d.
In this weeks parsha, emissaries go from Moab to Midian. Balak king of Moab wants Bilaam to curse the Israelites. Bilaam's answer is a model of propriety: Stay the night, he says, while I consult with G-d. G-d's answer is unequivocal: "Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed."
Obediently, Bilaam refuses. Balak redoubles his efforts. He sends a second set of emissaries. Bilaam's reply is exemplary: "Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the LORD my G-d." However, he adds a fateful rider: "Now stay here tonight as the others did, and I will find out what else the LORD will tell me." The implication is clear. Bilaam is suggesting that G-d may change His mind. But this is impossible. That is not what G-d does. Yet to our surprise, that is what G-d seems to do: That night G-d came to Bilaam and said, "Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you." Why does Bilaam ask again? Why would G-d change his mind?
The true meaning of G-d's second reply, "Go with them," is, "If you insist, then I cannot stop you going - but I am angry that you should have asked a second time." G-d did not change His mind at any point in the proceedings. In scenes 1, 2 and 3, G-d did not want Bilaam to go. His "Yes" in scene 2 meant "No" - but it was a No Bilaam could not hear, was not prepared to hear. When G-d speaks and we do not listen, He does not intervene to save us from our choices. "Man is led down the path he chooses to tread."
The difference between a false prophet and a true prophet is: the false prophet speaks. The true prophet listens. The false prophet tells people what they want to hear. The true prophet tells them what they need to hear. The false prophet believes in his own powers. The true prophet knows that he has no power.
"No" is the hardest word to hear, but it is also often the most important - and the sign that someone cares. That is what Bilaam, humbled, eventually learned and what we too must discover if we are to be open to the voice of G-d.
A fly falls into a cup of coffee
The Italian - throws the cup and goes into a fit of anger.
The Frenchman - pulls out the fly and drinks the coffee.
The Chinese - eats the fly and throws out the coffee.
The Russian – drinks the coffee with the fly.
The Israeli - sells the coffee to the Frenchman, the fly to the Chinese, buys himself a new a cup of coffee and uses the remaining money to invent a device that prevents flies from falling into coffee.
The Palestinian - blames the Israeli for having thrown the fly in his coffee, complains to the UN for this act of aggression, receives a loan from the European Union to buy a cup of coffee, uses the money to purchase explosives and then explodes himself in a cafe, where the Italian, Frenchman, Chinese, and Russian, are all trying to explain to the Israeli that he should give his cup of coffee to the unfortunate Palestinian.
The Frenchman - pulls out the fly and drinks the coffee.
The Chinese - eats the fly and throws out the coffee.
The Russian – drinks the coffee with the fly.
The Israeli - sells the coffee to the Frenchman, the fly to the Chinese, buys himself a new a cup of coffee and uses the remaining money to invent a device that prevents flies from falling into coffee.
The Palestinian - blames the Israeli for having thrown the fly in his coffee, complains to the UN for this act of aggression, receives a loan from the European Union to buy a cup of coffee, uses the money to purchase explosives and then explodes himself in a cafe, where the Italian, Frenchman, Chinese, and Russian, are all trying to explain to the Israeli that he should give his cup of coffee to the unfortunate Palestinian.
Monday, June 14, 2010
The Brothers Karamazov
On Sunday night I completed a marathon, no I did not run 26.2 miles, in fact I hardly moved at all.
What I did do was finish The Brothers Karamazov. Brothers K is the final novel of Fyodor Dovstoevsky and it is a masterpiece. It’s also a 700+ page behemoth of a book that took me a solid three weeks to get through. It was a commitment but only once (when I had around 60 pages left) did I ever dream of putting it down (and I’m happy I pushed through and finished it) it was simply wonderful.
Contained within the voluminous pages of this book is the story of not just the four brothers of Pavel Karamazov, not just the intrigue of the mystery of the murder of their father but also the story of an entire country. It’s about the soul of Russia and also the soul of all men. Dovstoevsky is a philosopher and a poet; he goes on in length about what makes a man a man, what makes men good and holy, and evil and base. He struggles with g-d and man’s relationship to the creator; he struggles with the desires both good and evil of all people.
I cannot hope to translate the beauty of the experience of reading this book. But only urge readers to not be intimidated by it and to pick up the wonderful translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky and be prepared to go to battle with this book. If you dare to rise to the challenge you will not be disappointed, you will finish and think and think and think about the ideas contained within it. It will transform you and you will be better for the experience.
I’ll leave you with a quote: "First of all and before all be kind, then honest, and then - let us never forget one another...dear friends, do not be afraid of life! How good life is when you do something good and rightful!" - Alyosha Karamazov
What I did do was finish The Brothers Karamazov. Brothers K is the final novel of Fyodor Dovstoevsky and it is a masterpiece. It’s also a 700+ page behemoth of a book that took me a solid three weeks to get through. It was a commitment but only once (when I had around 60 pages left) did I ever dream of putting it down (and I’m happy I pushed through and finished it) it was simply wonderful.
Contained within the voluminous pages of this book is the story of not just the four brothers of Pavel Karamazov, not just the intrigue of the mystery of the murder of their father but also the story of an entire country. It’s about the soul of Russia and also the soul of all men. Dovstoevsky is a philosopher and a poet; he goes on in length about what makes a man a man, what makes men good and holy, and evil and base. He struggles with g-d and man’s relationship to the creator; he struggles with the desires both good and evil of all people.
I cannot hope to translate the beauty of the experience of reading this book. But only urge readers to not be intimidated by it and to pick up the wonderful translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky and be prepared to go to battle with this book. If you dare to rise to the challenge you will not be disappointed, you will finish and think and think and think about the ideas contained within it. It will transform you and you will be better for the experience.
I’ll leave you with a quote: "First of all and before all be kind, then honest, and then - let us never forget one another...dear friends, do not be afraid of life! How good life is when you do something good and rightful!" - Alyosha Karamazov
Sunday, June 13, 2010
June 13, 2010
Today is June 13, 2010
Yesterday, June 12 was the first anniversary of the Iranian elections and the start of the protests about its legitimacy. I feel tired as I write this. But a year ago yesterday the people of Iran stood up against their despotic regime and the world was silent, and yesterday once again most of the world was silent and I don’t want to make this about Israel because it’s not.
It’s about consistency. When a country, a leader says we support the rights of all people to live in relative freedom we need to be consistent, if we’re not then we do not only ourselves a disservice, but also those struggling to be free and to have the right to speak openly.
A recent report from Amnesty International states:
They continue to document serious human rights violations, including detention of human rights defenders and other prisoners of conscience, unfair trials, torture and mistreatment in detention, deaths in custody and the application of the death penalty.
Never mind, the rest of the world, where was the United States a year ago when protests began in Tehran? It was the twitter revolution we couldn’t get away from it and yet by and large we were silent. Me included I think we all share in the blame. The world missed an opportunity on that day, while there is no guarantee that anyone thing could have stopped the savage rulers of the Persian Empire Khamenei and Ahmadinejad from solidifying their power and silencing the opposition, we’ll never know because we were silent.
Yesterday I prayed for the people of Iran who are unable to speak their minds openly as I’m doing now. I prayed for them and prayed for myself. I prayed for forgiveness and for my indifferent heart.
Let us not forget all those who today are not free. Yibaneh Ha-Mikdash
Yesterday, June 12 was the first anniversary of the Iranian elections and the start of the protests about its legitimacy. I feel tired as I write this. But a year ago yesterday the people of Iran stood up against their despotic regime and the world was silent, and yesterday once again most of the world was silent and I don’t want to make this about Israel because it’s not.
It’s about consistency. When a country, a leader says we support the rights of all people to live in relative freedom we need to be consistent, if we’re not then we do not only ourselves a disservice, but also those struggling to be free and to have the right to speak openly.
A recent report from Amnesty International states:
"Iran's latest presidential election on June 12, 2009, took place against a backdrop of discrimination, worsening repression of dissent and violent unrest.”
They continue to document serious human rights violations, including detention of human rights defenders and other prisoners of conscience, unfair trials, torture and mistreatment in detention, deaths in custody and the application of the death penalty.
“Iran has one of the highest number of recorded executions of any country in the world.... Furthermore, Iran executes more people than any other country in the world except for China. Iran is also the only country in the world that continues to execute juvenile offenders…Iran is now witnessing sweeping restrictions on the use of communications technology, including telecommunications, satellite broadcasts and internet access, a ban on peaceful demonstrations, armed attacks on students in university premises, as well as the arbitrary arrest of political activists, students, journalists, and human rights defenders."
Never mind, the rest of the world, where was the United States a year ago when protests began in Tehran? It was the twitter revolution we couldn’t get away from it and yet by and large we were silent. Me included I think we all share in the blame. The world missed an opportunity on that day, while there is no guarantee that anyone thing could have stopped the savage rulers of the Persian Empire Khamenei and Ahmadinejad from solidifying their power and silencing the opposition, we’ll never know because we were silent.
Yesterday I prayed for the people of Iran who are unable to speak their minds openly as I’m doing now. I prayed for them and prayed for myself. I prayed for forgiveness and for my indifferent heart.
Let us not forget all those who today are not free. Yibaneh Ha-Mikdash
Thursday, June 10, 2010
We are one family
According to this article in the New York Time's Jew's are one family.
Jewish communities in Europe and the Middle East share many genes inherited from the ancestral Jewish population that lived in the Middle East some 3,000 years ago, even though each community also carries genes from other sources.
The shared genetic elements suggest that members of any Jewish community are related to one another as closely as are fourth or fifth cousins in a large population, which is about 10 times higher than the relationship between two people chosen at random off the streets of New York City.
Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews have roughly 30 percent European ancestry, with most of the rest from the Middle East, the two surveys find.
Jewish communities in Europe and the Middle East share many genes inherited from the ancestral Jewish population that lived in the Middle East some 3,000 years ago, even though each community also carries genes from other sources.
The shared genetic elements suggest that members of any Jewish community are related to one another as closely as are fourth or fifth cousins in a large population, which is about 10 times higher than the relationship between two people chosen at random off the streets of New York City.
Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews have roughly 30 percent European ancestry, with most of the rest from the Middle East, the two surveys find.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
A Safe Haven
At the end of WWII Jews were still being killed in Eastern Europe, having been thrown out of their homes when they returned many were not allowed to reclaim their homes and business and as many as 1500 were killed in Poland alone. Much of Europe made it clear that it did not want its returning Jews to come back to their homes. The United States, under its fears of communism, maintained tight quotas. So Jews turned their eyes to Eretz Israel. Life would not be easy there but in Israel they would be together and relatively safe.
In their book 'A Safe Haven', The Radoshes cite Branda Kalk, a Polish Jew who lost her husband to the Germans in 1942 during the war she and her family fled east to Russia, where they remained until the end of the war. When they returned to Poland a pogrom wiped out what remained of her family and Kalk was shot in the eye.
Before the U.N. investigating committee she had this to say, "I want to go to Palestine, I know the conditions there. But where in the world is it good for the Jew? Sooner or later he is made to suffer. In Palestine, at least, the Jews fight together for their life and their country."
In their book 'A Safe Haven', The Radoshes cite Branda Kalk, a Polish Jew who lost her husband to the Germans in 1942 during the war she and her family fled east to Russia, where they remained until the end of the war. When they returned to Poland a pogrom wiped out what remained of her family and Kalk was shot in the eye.
Before the U.N. investigating committee she had this to say, "I want to go to Palestine, I know the conditions there. But where in the world is it good for the Jew? Sooner or later he is made to suffer. In Palestine, at least, the Jews fight together for their life and their country."
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
A moment of Zen
From a great website I just discovered Not always right:
Clerk: “Can I help you find anything, ma’am?”
Customer: “Yeah, I’m looking for Christian passover cards.”
Clerk: “I’m sorry, ma’am, we don’t carry any Christian Passover cards. Were you maybe looking for the Easter cards?”
Customer: “No, I need Passover cards for a Christian.”
Clerk: “I’m sorry, but Passover is a Jewish holiday. We don’t carry Christian Passover cards because Christians don’t celebrate it.”
Customer: “Jesus did!”
Clerk: “Can I help you find anything, ma’am?”
Customer: “Yeah, I’m looking for Christian passover cards.”
Clerk: “I’m sorry, ma’am, we don’t carry any Christian Passover cards. Were you maybe looking for the Easter cards?”
Customer: “No, I need Passover cards for a Christian.”
Clerk: “I’m sorry, but Passover is a Jewish holiday. We don’t carry Christian Passover cards because Christians don’t celebrate it.”
Customer: “Jesus did!”
Monday, June 7, 2010
Indifference
“The opposite of love is not hate, its indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, its indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, its indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, its indifference.”- Elie Wiesel
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Be true to yourself and stay humble
I need to get this off my chest; I woke up this morning with feelings of despair. I truly felt this morning like the world was going to hell and there was nothing that anyone could do to stop it. I’m sure by now you’ve heard about what happened the other day when Israel committed one of the most egregious, stupid errors I have ever been a witness to. I am angry today, angry at Israel like I have never been before. What occurred on the seas the other day was terrible, it was a terrible thing and today Israel is paying the price for such a stupid and misguided action.
On this blog, on facebook and with my words and actions I have always been a strong supporter of Israel, the place that I love with passion and intensity and pride. But today I feel such shame and grief, shame and grief like I have never felt before towards the leaders of a great nation. Today Israel must do something that it has never before done in international court. It must be humble and admit that this operation was a mistake, a mistake on every level. The plan was stupid, the outcome and consequences were foreseeable, and Israel needs to stand up today before the world and admit that this was a mistake and it shall not be repeated. I love Israel with every fiber of by being, but this was stupid and shortsighted.
In the coming months and years Israel faces a threat like it has never faced before, Hamas in Gaza is armed, Hezbollah in Lebanon is one of the most battle hardened and sophisticated militias in the world and Iran is orchestrating the whole thing, in an attempt to stretch its hegemony in the Middle East from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. It is inconceivable to me, inconceivable that at a time like this Israel would engage in a military action that was so shortsighted, did they achieve their objectives with this operation? Yes, they stopped the ship, but Israel has traded a tactical victory for a strategic nightmare. Was this boat delivering supplies that could have been used to make weapons? I would wager yes, but was stopping this very small delivery worth the cost? I say no, and anyone who says yes is thinking in a very shortsighted manner. They didn’t have to do this, they could have turned the boat around another way, they could have done so many things differently.
Today my heart grieves for the lives lost, for the Israeli soldiers who bravely did their jobs and were put into an impossible situation by their commanders. All across the world today there are protests against this action, all around the world today people are condemning Israel. I just don't get it, I don't get the whole thing, I want to understand it, but I don't and I wish I did. I hope that with more information some sense will be made of this. But the truth is, is that it doesn't matter, the damage has been done.
On this blog, on facebook and with my words and actions I have always been a strong supporter of Israel, the place that I love with passion and intensity and pride. But today I feel such shame and grief, shame and grief like I have never felt before towards the leaders of a great nation. Today Israel must do something that it has never before done in international court. It must be humble and admit that this operation was a mistake, a mistake on every level. The plan was stupid, the outcome and consequences were foreseeable, and Israel needs to stand up today before the world and admit that this was a mistake and it shall not be repeated. I love Israel with every fiber of by being, but this was stupid and shortsighted.
In the coming months and years Israel faces a threat like it has never faced before, Hamas in Gaza is armed, Hezbollah in Lebanon is one of the most battle hardened and sophisticated militias in the world and Iran is orchestrating the whole thing, in an attempt to stretch its hegemony in the Middle East from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. It is inconceivable to me, inconceivable that at a time like this Israel would engage in a military action that was so shortsighted, did they achieve their objectives with this operation? Yes, they stopped the ship, but Israel has traded a tactical victory for a strategic nightmare. Was this boat delivering supplies that could have been used to make weapons? I would wager yes, but was stopping this very small delivery worth the cost? I say no, and anyone who says yes is thinking in a very shortsighted manner. They didn’t have to do this, they could have turned the boat around another way, they could have done so many things differently.
Today my heart grieves for the lives lost, for the Israeli soldiers who bravely did their jobs and were put into an impossible situation by their commanders. All across the world today there are protests against this action, all around the world today people are condemning Israel. I just don't get it, I don't get the whole thing, I want to understand it, but I don't and I wish I did. I hope that with more information some sense will be made of this. But the truth is, is that it doesn't matter, the damage has been done.
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