The Zionist Conspiracy |
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A clandestine undertaking on behalf of Israel, the Jets and the Jews. 
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Thursday, May 31, 2007
Israel Quandary Either during the summer or for Succos, I have gone to Israel almost every year since 1995. Neither terrorism, war, El Al Succos prices, or the brutality of flying (twice) with a baby have deterred me. In my very little spare time, I must soon decide whether to go to Israel this summer. Along with the warm air, my mind is increasingly wandering to thoughts of brunch at Atara Cafe (which I learned yesterday has supposedly closed), Friday night visits to the Western Wall, hanging out in the Old City, and hurriedly walking past the small park on Ramban Street before my son notices and demands that we stop there. In addition to the expense (contrary to El Al's false advertisements, tickets for July and August are in the $1500 range), there is the matter of my having to take not one but two young children, ages (in August) 2 1/2 and 8 months. Putting aside the fact that during previous trips I could barely do anything in Israel with one young child, let alone two, there is the matter of dealing with two babies in airports and on the plane. Indeed, Lanie and Jewboy still haven't recovered from their measly flight from Atlanta to Baltimore with just one child. I still shudder when I recall Robert Avrech's post about flying to Israel and being seated right behind a couple and two babies. There is nothing like dealing simultaneously with the hatred from fellow passengers and the screaming of one's children for an entire 12 hour flight. One possibility is to go to Israel myself for 5 or 6 days, and then upon my return join my family on a second excursion closer to home, perhaps Niagara Falls and Toronto. For some reason my wife does not like this idea, though that hasn't stopped me from picking up AAA's travel guide to Ontario and showing her all the exciting attractions, like the Hockey Hall of Fame. The other is to bite the bullet, hope for the best, and go to Israel with my wife and children for a visit of around 12 days. If we choose Option B, I may also take our babysitter, who would give us an extra hand in the airport and airplane, and babysit while in Israel. My fear is buying her a $1500 ticket and her then changing her mind about going. The third option is not to go to Israel at all, but that's hardly a viable option. Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Yeshiva World and Darfur Refugees Yesterday, Yeshiva World News reported on Israeli Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann's call for Israel to accept Darfur refugees based upon "instructions in the Torah which teach about compassion." Comments called Friedmann a hypocrite because he never before expressed any interest in the Torah or its principles. Those comments were not necessarily offbase in that regard, especially considering that Friedmann was a member of the anti-religious Shinui party, something that those commenting apparently were unaware of. Nevertheless, a number of these comments were quite offensive. Friedmann was referred to, derisively, as "a Tzaddik," an "apikorus," and perhaps worst of all, as a "Zionist." The final two comments, including one from Charlie Hall, objected to the insensitivity of those commenting to the plight of the refugees. While a few comments on a website cannot be deemed to reflect the sentiments of charedim generally, they remain disturbing. It is legitimate to ask whether charedim care about the refugee, as well as how they relate to the State of Israel, and to what extent the comments to the post about Darfur reflect the view on the charedi street. Mets Notes 1. While I remain apprehensive about the Mets prospects of finally winning a third World Series, I am enjoying the 2007 season a lot more than 2006. I think this is because this year's team is winning more like the traditional good Mets teams: With overachieving starting pitching. Nobody expected John Maine and Oliver Perez - let alone Jorge Sosa - to perform this well. 2. I never understood the big deal about Carlton Fisk's Game 6 homer in the 1975 World Series. Sure, it was a very dramatic moment, but the next night the Red Sox lost Game 7, and they would go another 29 years without winning a World Series. Now I have a similar peeve about the continued euphoria about Endy Chavez's catch in Game 7 of last season's NLCS. Mets fans do not seem to remember what happened a little later that evening, when the Mets blew a golden opportunity to win the pennant and probably the World Series. 3. Rather than boasting that he could pitch better than Roger Clemens right now, Pedro Martinez should be quiet and focus on his rehab. If Pedro can pitch better than Clemens can, why won't he even be throwing off a mound until July? 4. The debate about whether to acquire a number 1 starter (Elster is on record supporting such a move even without any details as to who the Mets would trade) is probably be an academic one, since no number 1 starter will likely be available. That's another reason why the Mets will need Martinez to come up big down the stretch and hopefully in the postseason. 5. Recently I criticized Mets fans for chanting "Yankees sucks" more than "Let's Go Mets." Since then, when I have reveled in the Yankees misery, their fans have called me a hypocrite. Make no mistake: It is pathetic to enjoy the Yankees last place performance more than the Mets first place performance. It is fine, however, for all to enjoy the downfall of the evil empire in The Bronx. Sunday, May 27, 2007
Tashbih Sayyed The Zionist Conspiracy mourns the untimely passing of Tashbih Sayyed, editor-in-chief of Pakistan Today and a heroic and tireless champion of a truly moderate Islam. Four years ago in an article in National Review, Dr. Sayyed stated that only after Muslim terror is defeated and discredited could a Palestinian state be formed. Following the Mecca Accord leading to the formation of the national unity government between Hamas and Fatah, Dr. Sayyed wrote: The Mecca Agreement is a big victory for the Global Jihad against the West; Monday, May 21, 2007
Mets Fans Suck At Shea last night, Yankees fans kept chanting "Let's Go Yankees." To which many Mets fans responded: "Yankees suck." I don't mind the occasional "Yankees suck" chant. Indeed, since Friday my two year old son has mysteriously been blurting out "Let's Go Mets" and "[Y]ankees suck." I happen to be optimistic that the Yankees run of 12 straight playoff appearances will end this season. I'm enjoying their struggles as such as anyone. But we all know that the Yankees do not suck. The recent dominance and the 26 World Series championships attest to that. When will Mets fans get over their inferiority complex and primarily chant "Let's Go Mets," with "Yankees suck" reserved for special occasions? Wednesday, May 16, 2007
My Reflections on Jerusalem Day In lieu of saying the Hallel prayer, following are some thoughts about Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day), on the 40th anniversary - in the Hebrew calendar - of the liberation of Jerusalem. My first meaningful understanding of the significance of what transpired in 1967 was during the summer of 1979, when I was six years old. My family spent that summer in a very large house in the Shaarei Chesed section of Jerusalem. I have many clear memories of that summer, including discovering a family of mice while walking around in a jag-lagged stupor in middle of the night, dining nightly either at Sova Restaurant or Richie's Pizza - never elsewhere - on King George Street, and Tisha B'Av, when Thurman Munson was killed in a plane crash and my father was hospitalized with a kidney stone. Also among these memories is my brother mentioning early in our trip that the family living in the house - they were in Japan for that summer - "were going to move from Indiana to New York. But after '67 they moved to Israel." I was very curious. There were Jews from Indiana? And what, I wondered, had happened 12 years earlier that would cause an American family to change their plans and move to Israel? When we walked through the Arab shuk to the Western Wall on Friday nights, I would learn that until '67 Jews were prevented by barbed wire from entering the eastern part of Jerusalem. My mother recalled waking up on June 7, 1967 and hearing Jay Bushinsky reporting for WINS radio in New York from the Western Wall. For the last 28 years I have retained a six year year old's fascination with the Six Day War. I've read just about all of the books on the subject. When I landed a gig as a sportswriter for The Jerusalem Post in 1990, I used my access to scourge through the Post's archives and read all of the news coverage from late May through mid-June 1967. When I signed up for eBay in 1998, the first thing I did was buy all of the magazines and newspapers relating to the Six Day War. When I visit Israel, I usually try to make it to Ammunition Hill - and am always taken aback - if not surprised anymore - that nobody else is there. My first stop in Israel is almost always the One Last Day Museum, where John Philips' photographs depicting the destruction of the Jewish Quarter in May 1948 are displayed, after which one can truly appreciate the privilege of walking around the Old City. I used to visit the wonderful Tourjeman Post Museum next to the Rockefeller Museum by a main border to the Old City. That was the museum commemorating the Six Day War - until some elites decided that after Oslo a museum commemorating a war was an anachronism, and replaced Tourjeman Post with the Museum of the Seam, dedicated to co-existence between Arab and Israeli. While co-existence between Arabs and Israelis may be illusory, my childlike wonderment about the Six Day War must co-exist with concerns about the geopolitical realities that face Jerusalem. Over the last 40 years, Israel made some excellent decisions and some terrible decisions with respect to Jerusalem. The decision to hand over control of the Temple Mount to the Muslim Wakf was the worst of all. Formal annexation of all of Jerusalem and the expansion of Jerusalem's borders to include and develop new neighborhoods like Ramat Eshkol, French Hill and Ramot in the north and Gilo and Har Homa in the south were correct, as was resettlement in Gush Etzion to the city's south and settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim and Givat Ze'ev just to the north of Jerusalem. In recent years, Israel's erstwhile efforts to retain Jerusalem as its "eternal and undivided capital" have steadily eroded. Following Oslo, the Palestinian Authority was allowed a foothold into the city. Ehud Barak accepted the Clinton Plan, which called for division even of the Old City. It's hardly even newsworthy that the U.S. boycotted Israeli events celebrating today's anniversary, and few remember that during his presidential campaign, President Bush promised to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem "on my first day in office." The city's demographics are changing, with the charedi and Arab sectors growing, and others leaving Jerusalem for places where there are more jobs and municipal services and cheaper housing. Increasingly, apartments in popular areas are gobbled up by Jewish foreigners, and remain empty much of the year. Arab areas receive relatively few city services, undermining the notion of an undivided city. Israel's mistakes and the resulting serious challenges to its sovereignty in Jerusalem do not negate the significance of the seminal event in Jewish history that occurred on 28 Iyar 5727. But to ensure that Israel retains its rights in and to Jerusalem and that the humiliation and repression experienced by countless previous generations of Jews does not recur, Israel must resume asserting its rights to Jerusalem without fear of censure. Reflections On Jerusalem Day - By Israeli Leaders "We did not then succeed [during the 1948 War of Independence] in liberating the Old City, and over the years, we lived with the painful feeling that the city was divided and that the remnant of the Temple was in the hands of foreigners. For 19 years, the paths to the Western Wall were desolate: 'The market square is empty, and no one visits the Temple Mount in the Old City,' in the words of poet Naomi Shemer. "We are divided in our opinions, on the Left and the Right. We argue over courses of action and over purpose. I believe that there is no argument on one matter - the wholeness of Jerusalem, and its continued existence as the capital of the State of Israel. I said yesterday, and repeat today, that there are not two Jerusalems; there is only one Jerusalem. From our perspective, Jerusalem is not a subject for compromise. Jerusalem was ours, will be ours, is ours - and will remain as such forever." - Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, in a May 29, 1995 Jerusalem Day address to the Knesset. "If they told us that peace is the price of giving up on a united Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, my reply would be 'let's do without peace.'" - Rabin, in a speech to Tel Aviv students, on June 27, 1995. "Jerusalem is politically closed, religiously open. No serious person will suggest to make out of Jerusalem another Berlin, to have a wall, a split. Jerusalem is united politically, is the capital of Israel, and you cannot have two capitals in one city." - Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, in a July 25,1994 interview with MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour. "Where do you exactly draw the line between calling someone a 'traitor' and saying [he will] divide Jerusalem?"These statements lead to [other] statements I've already heard: 'Peres wants to burn Jerusalem.' This whole campaign, with the slogan of 'Peres will divide Jerusalem,' is character assassination." - Peres, then Prime Minister, in February 1996, angrily rejecting the Likud election campaign slogan, "Peres will divide Jerusalem". "The government's position is clear. Jerusalem will forever remain the undivided capital of Israel. I call on everyone to show a sense of national responsibility and stop putting question marks around the subject of Jerusalem." - Prime Minister Ehud Barak, at a March 12, 2000 cabinet meeting. "Jerusalem shall forever remain ours because it is in our souls. Never again will Jerusalem be under foreign sovereignty. Only someone who has no sense of reality, who does not understand anything about Israel's yearning and longing and the Jewish people's historical connection to Jerusalem for over 3,000 years would even consider making any concessions over the city." -Barak, at a ceremony at Ammunition Hill on June 1, 2000 marking Jerusalem Day. Barak shattered the consensus on Jerusalem six weeks later at Camp David. "Yitzhak is certainly turning over in his grave. He never would have agreed to compromise on the Old City and the Temple Mount, because for him Jerusalem was sacred from a strictly national and historic point of view. He was thankful that in 1967 he was the army chief of staff who liberated it." - Leah Rabin, widow of Yitzhak Rabin, in a September 9, 2000 interview with Yediot Ahronot, criticizing Barak's concessions at Camp David. Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Jerry Falwell Without ignoring theological and political disagreements, pro-Israel American Jews should remember Jerry Falwell for his strong support for Israel. Falwell, as much as any other American, can be credited for the U.S. support for Israel that we now take for granted. Tens of millions of evangelical Christians are pro-Israel. It wasn't always that way, and it's a major part of why America largely supported Israel's war on terror, in sharp contrast to Europe. Monday, May 14, 2007
The Sports Fan's Misery Some of my earliest memories are of my father yelling at the TV after another Jets fiasco. For the hard core sports fan, there are lots of bad times and lots of bad memories. Recently El ("I Hate Hockey") st ("Let's Go Rangers") er ("Why Should I Watch This Insane Sport Again?"), unable to defend a litany of absurd arguments (i.e. "let's attack the Patriots for trying to win another Super Bowl") has been hurling insults my way. One such purported insult: That I did not enjoy the 2006 Mets' run to the NLCS. That isn't exactly true. After a six year Mets playoff drought, I was thrilled when Shea Stadium again became the center of New York sports last October. I was at Game 1 of both the NLDS and the NLCS (and unlike Elster paid for seats for which home plate was visible), and had dreams of a ticker tape parade downtown. But Elster had a point. All of last season, I fretted that the Mets pitching was not good enough, that Willie Randolph was not a good enough game manager, that Billy Wagner was not what he used to be. The Mets, I predicted, would not win the NL pennant. Alas, I was, as usual, correct. And ultimately, the Mets would suffer the worst defeat in their history when they blew Game 7 against the Cardinals. It is also true that in many ways, I really do not enjoy watching my teams play. A Jets loss is like a car wreck, while the feeling after a victory is generally akin to waking up after successful surgery. I couldn't even watch much of Game 7 of the NLCS. When the Cards put the go-ahead run on base in the 9th, I changed the channel. A few minutes later, I saw that the score was 3-1. Same with the late December Jets vs. Dolphins Monday night game. I took a break for a couple of minutes prior to Mike Nugent's field goal attempt. As disappointed as the Rangers' round 2 loss is, it is also a blessing to be relieved of the anxiety of playoff hockey. While watching Game 2 of the Buffalo vs. Ottawa series, I couldn't help but enjoy the Sabres' tying goal with 5.8 seconds left, and reflect on how miserably stressful it often is to endure the ups and downs of a Rangers playoff game. In the end, the elusive goal is that of a championship, the rare occasion when your team wins the last game of its sports' season. For me, that experience has occurred twice in around 115 seasons, and both times - the '86 Mets and '93-'94 Rangers - the road was torturous. After a season ends, we engage in coping mechanisms, like following free agency and the draft, and convincing ourselves that our new cornerback is going to shore up the secondary, all the while ignoring that everyone else gets to draft players too. Enjoy sports? If you can, great for you. But being an avid sports fan very often requires subjecting oneself to the opposite of enjoyment. So why will I be schlepping to the Meadowlands tonight for Game 4 of the Nets vs. Cavs series? Because the Nets are in the playoffs and are playing tonight. Hopefully they will win, and the ride home will be a good one. Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Four Years Old This blog is four years and 1,226 posts old today. I must have had much less work on May 8, 2003 than I do today. Sunday, May 06, 2007
Jbloggers Lead Jerusalem Protest Following last week's Tel Aviv rally, Aharon Horwitz over at Blogs of Zion is among those organizing a protest tomorrow afternoon outside the Prime Minister's residence at Aza and Balfour Streets in Jerusalem. Before making aliyah, Horwitz was among the Columbia University students who challenged anti-Israel bias and intimidation of Jewish students in Columbia's Arabic and Middle East Studies classes. 2006-07 New York Rangers It's hard to assess a season hours after its disappointing end, but something tells me that time won't make this Rangers' season any less of an enigma. Going into the season, we didn't know what to expect from the Rangers. Sports Illustrated ranked them highly, and the Post's Larry Brooks predicted a Stanley Cup victory. But after last season's collapse, fans were more cautious. As usual, in its late September preview, The Zionist Conspiracy got it exactly right, posting: Unlike last season, when the Rangers were excellent from opening night The opening night victory over Washington came just before the Succos holiday, on October 5, 2006, as the Mets took Game 2 over the 2006 NLDS over the Dodgers and the 2-2 Jets prepared for what we be a Week 5 blowout against Jacksonville. The Rangers had several terrible stretches, including a seven game losing streak that dropped them into 12th place in the Eastern Conference. Things turned around after the trade for Sean Avery and the demotion of Darius Kasparaitis. Led by Lundqvist, the Rangers played excellent hockey in March and April and the feelings of gratitude for the excitement they provided is mixed with deep disappointment that their run has ended. The Sabres are good, they are more talented than the Rangers, but in this series they were beatable. The Rangers had the hot goalie, but squandered a great opportunity. The Rangers remain an enigma going into the offseason prior to 2007-08. Lundqvist has reemerged as an elite goalie, but this team clearly has deficiencies. With some top free agents on the market, they will have a chance to improve their top two lines, and Marc Staal should be ready to help the defense. Unlike in the past, the Rangers should be able to attract top players without needing to overpay. Glen Sather has made lots of mistakes as Rangers' President. That will be forgiven if he can find the remaining pieces necessary for this team to join the NHL elite and become perennial Stanley Cup contenders. Roger Clemens Owes Me $200 That's what I spent on a pair of tickets to the Red Sox vs. Yankees game at Fenway Park during Labor Day weekend 2003, so that my wife and I could watch his last game in Boston. As I posted then: I went to Fenway Park in Boston for the first time on Sunday, and had Wednesday, May 02, 2007
NHL Replay Reviews A Joke It is pathetic that the NHL cannot get simple replay reviews right. On Sunday, Karel Rachunek's goal was absurdly taken away and almost cost the Rangers the game. In the final seconds last night, Daniel Briere stuffed the puck past Henrik Lundqvist and the game should have been tied 2-2. Replay officials said there was no conclusive evidence that the puck passed the goal line. Please. Anyone watching could see that it did. As a Rangers fan I'm glad that the Rangers survived the horrific call on Sunday and got a break last night. As a hockey fan, I'm frustrated that the NHL keeps getting it wrong. Tuesday, May 01, 2007
The Winograd Report and Israel's Political Situation Yesterday's release of the interim Winograd Report likely spells the end of Ehud Olmert's tenure as prime minister and hopefully the beginning of the end for the artificial Kadima party. Even if Olmert avoids pressure to resign and is not otherwise forced out of office, the final Winograd report, scheduled to be released this summer, will probably finish him off. As much as I dislike Olmert and Kadima, I have very mixed feelings about the manner in which their downfall is occurring. Governments make mistakes which are easy to lambast in hindsight. Are independent commissions of inquiry appropriate after national failures? If so, should the United States have examined who was to blame for the series of failures on and leading to 9/11? Should there be an inquiry into our idiotic Iraq adventure? I happen to think the answers to these questions are yes, and that the U.S. could learn from Israel in this regard. Serious examination of failure is essential to prevent the same mistakes from recurring. However, to avoid independent inquiries getting mixed up in politics, I believe it to be inappropriate for inquiries to result in the downfall of an elected government. In any event, if Olmert does resign, or if he is forced out by Kadima, it would be farcical for him to be replaced by foreign minister Tzipi Livni of Kadima. Unlike Olmert, who Israelis foolishly elected to be the leader, Livni has no such mandate. Friends of Israel must now hope that a modicum of sanity returns to the political arena there. Israel would be best suited to have a national election with Likud and Labor as the main two party candidates. While I happen to hope that Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu is the next PM, I also hope that Labor elects Ami Ayalon over Ehud Barak as its leader. Barak has already failed as prime minister, having been forced to resign without the need for a national inquiry. Despite my strong disagreements with Ayalon's dovish political stance, he would hopefully bring a breath of fresh air to Israel's polluted and increasingly corrupt political system. Post-Draft Jets Offseason Analysis Following is a review and analysis of the Jets' offseason moves, by position: QB: Released Patrick Ramsey, signed Marques Tuiasosopo. On paper, this is clearly a downgrade. However, the Jets were obviously intent on promoting Kellen Clemens to backup quarterback and didn't want to keep Ramsey around as their number 3. RB: Released Kevan Barlow, traded for Thomas Jones. This is a significant improvement, though Jones' performance will give an indication of whether Barlow was simply terrible or the run blocking is completely ineffective between the tackles. FB: B.J. Askew signed with Tampa, replaced with Darian Barnes. The Jets never really utilized Askew's offensive talent that caused them to draft him in the 3rd round. Barnes is reputed to be a better blocker but has no offensive skills. TE: No moves were made at tight end. WR: Aside from drafting Chansi Stuckey in the 7th round, no moves were made. Rumors persist that the Jets will release number 3 WR Justin McCareins. I'm not a fan of McCareins, but unless someone steps up as the third receiver during camp, he should stay on for another year. OL: No moves aside from drafting Jacob Bender in the 6th round. Rich Cimini of the Daily News reports that guard Pete Kendall may be released. That would make absolutely no sense. Overall, the addition of Jones helps at RB, but the Jets could have used a number 3 WR and help at OL. With a tougher 2007 schedule, Chad Pennington cannot be expected to again lead the Jets to the playoffs. The defense will have to step up and win a few ugly low scoring games. Fortunately, the Jets did make several notable moves on defense: DL: Jets signed ex-Cowboys backup DE Kenyon Coleman to a large contract. They also signed ex-Dolphins DE/OLB David Bowens. The Jets have improved their pass rush at least a little, though they could have also used a run stuffing DT. LB: Perhaps 2nd round pick ILB David Harris will be the run stopper the Jets lack at DT. Cimini thinks that drafting Harris means Eric Barton is a goner. I'm not a huge Barton fan either, but with the Jets under the cap, I'd prefer to keep him around another year even if he's overpaid. DB: Darrelle Revis instantly improves the Jets at CB. Again, per Cimini, the Jets may as a result release David Barrett. Again, my analysis is the same - keep him around for another year, unless cutting him frees up money to fill a need at another position. The Jets have the same group of safeties, and will have to hope that someone steps up at SS. Overall, Coleman, Bowens, Revis and Harris should improve the defense, and the Jets look to be more talented heading into 2007 than they were in 2006. More talented, but probably not a Super Bowl contender, especially with their tougher schedule and in light of the Patriots fantastic offseason. | "
