The Zionist Conspiracy |
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A clandestine undertaking on behalf of Israel, the Jets and the Jews. 
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Friday, May 30, 2008
Olmert Should Not Resign Perhaps I'm just very dense, but what exactly has Prime Minister Olmert been proven to have done that justifies all of the current hysteria? He's a hedonist, he took advantage of an older man from Long Island, he took envelopes with cash? While the testimony by Moshe Talansky raised serious questions warranting further investigation, it hardly provided evidence of serious criminal wrongdoing. Israelis seem clueless as to why someone like Talansky would help Olmert to the degree he did. They just can't understand the close connection some American Jews feel toward Israel. They assume something sinister must have occurred. I do not like Olmert, but I hope he does not resign under these circumstances. If he does, it will set a danger precedent. Tuesday, May 27, 2008
 Bobby V - Just Do It The Wilpons and Omar Minaya supposedly can't find anybody who will get more out of the 23-26 Mets, so are sticking with Willie Randolph. The media can't stand the man who is by far the best manager who is not managing a major league team, so are dismissing the notion of hiring him. For Mets fans, however, it is obvious that Bobby Valentine is the right man for the job. When Art Howe was fired after the 2004 season, we at The Zionist Conspiracy called on the Mets to bring back Bobby V. At the time, a reunion was arguably premature, but by now almost six years have gone by since Valentine's tenure ended. Valentine knows how to manage a bullpen. He is the opposite of apathetic. He will not be afraid to call out players who are listless or indifferent about winning. He is not afraid of giving young players a chance to succeed. The Mets need to hire Bobby Valentine immediately. How To Blow $137,391,376 Critics wonder how the Mets, with a payroll of $137,391,376, are fourth in the NL East, 6.5 games out of first. Of course, Willie Randolph is completely inept. But an examination of where the $137,391,376 has gone clearly shows how bad of a job Omar Minaya has done. Pedro Martinez, Moises Alou and Orlando Hernandez have spent all or almost all of the season on the DL, but their salaries come to a cool $26,313, 351. Carlos Delgado has been a disaster, but he is making $16,000,000. Carlos Beltran has a .261 average and four homers to show for the $18,622,809 he is making. Luis Castillo is now a mediocre player. He makes $6,250,000 and will continue to do so through 2011. Nearly half of the Mets payroll has been given to these six players, while another $27.5 million is going to Johan Santana and Billy Wagner. Overall, $95 million is going to eight players. In contrast to the Yankees' $207 million payroll, the Wilpons have kept Minaya on a budget, and Minaya has responded by cutting corners on the bench, bullpen and back end of the rotation. This, along with Minaya's having traded or given away nearly all of the Mets prospects, has resulted in the Mets having nobody to play first base in place of Delgado, no decent #5 starter (the Mets did not have money to sign Kyle Lohse or Livan Hernandez, even at relatively bargain prices). Things are so bad that despite suffering the effects of his second concussion this season, Ryan Church is forced to pinch-hit every night when he belongs on the DL. Minaya still takes credit for acquiring John Maine and Oliver Perez. But having given away, among others, Jeff Keppinger, Ruben Gotay, Heath Bell, Royce Ring, Brian Bannister, Mike Jacobs and Matt Lindstrom, Minaya has underestimated his own talent far too often, and proven himself adept at little more than signing stars to record contracts. The Mets are somewhat fortunate that the contracts of Martinez, Alou, Hernandez and Delgado all come off the books after this season. Right now, however, it appears that time is passing on the team constructed by Minaya over the last four years. It is questionable, at best, whether he should have a chance to lead the necessary refurbishing of the Mets. Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Willie Plays The Race Card Willie Randolph makes $2 million, and he will make $2,250,000 in 2009 whether he is or isn't still managing the Mets. Randolph's team has underachieved this season and last. Yet he wonders about the criticism toward him. "Is it racial? Huh? It smells a little bit," he charged. If the Mets continue to underachieve, Willie will be fired, just like the Mets fired Davey Johnson and Bobby Valentine - both of whom took the Mets farther than Randolph has - and both of whom are of course white. Indeed, the Mets have fired every manager they have ever hired with the exceptions of Casey Stengel - who retired during the 1965 season after breaking his hip at age 75 - and Gil Hodges, who died suddenly just prior to the start of the 1972 season. Hodges' replacement, Yogi Berra, was fired during the 1975 season, despite taking the Mets to Game 7 of the 1973 World Series. Managers and coaches in professional sports are fired all the time, and Randolph should know that as well as anyone. Randolph argues that he took the Mets to Game 7 of the LCS. Well, Grady Little did the same thing for the Red Sox and never managed another game for Boston after Pedro Martinez blew the lead and Aaron Boone's homer won the pennant for the Yankees. (Boone, who never played another game for the Yankees, is also indicative of how expendable everyone involved in pro sports is.) I do not like Willie Randolph as Mets manager. I don't like his stubborn refusal to give young players like Ruben Gotay, Heath Bell and Jeff Keppinger a chance. I don't like his failure to hold veterans accountable for their mistakes, and I don't like the large doghouse he places young players in when they make a mistake. I think he uses too many relievers for short stints. I think his baseball IQ is nowhere near that of Johnson and Valentine. That he has done a better job than Art Howe did, as he argues in his own defense, hardly impresses me. There are, still, very serious issues regarding race in this country. There is real employment discrimination - not the sort involving a baseball manager. There are many blacks in prison for crimes they did not commit. There are the slights, curses and insults directed at racial and religious minorities that never make the news, but occur in daily life. While some of his detractors surely are racist, overwhelmingly, the criticism toward Randolph is not race-based. Randolph's insinuation to the contrary is a shame. Four Years Of Seraphic Secret Today is the fourth anniversary of Robert Avrech's launch of Seraphic Secret, less than a year after Robert and Karen's son, Ariel, passed away. Seraphic Secret was, then, primarily the expressions - in their most raw form - of grief, loss, and anger felt by a self-described "forever changed" father. Luke Ford was then running things over at Protocols, and he frequently linked to and quoted Seraphic Secret. Luke's cynicism about most things did not apply to Ariel Avrech, and he wrote a powerful tribute. What repeatedly came to my mind when I first read Seraphic Secret was Linda Loman's statement in "Death of A Salesman," that "attention must be paid." Attention had to be paid to the life and tragic passing of Ariel Avrech, to the pain felt by Robert and Karen and all bereaved parents, to our community's all too frequent clumsy and foolish response to others' tragedy and loss. I do not know whether, in the very early days of Seraphic Secret, Robert expected or wanted a large group of readers. But Luke's persistent links to Robert's powerful writing ensured that those of us who did not have privilege of knowing Ariel during his too brief life would never forget him and his accomplishments - as well as the scope of his tragic passing - and that Ariel's legacy does and will endure. Monday, May 19, 2008
Why I Do Not Trust Barack Obama Barack Obama is not a closet Muslim, an anti-Semite, or someone who wants to see Israel wiped off the face of the earth. One need not be fueled by paranoia to feel a strong sense of unease about Obama's commitment to Israel. Obama has been friendly with anti-Israel Columbia University professor Rashid Khalidi. He also sat with the late Edward Said - an even more anti-Israel Columbia professor - at an Arab event at which Said served as keynote speaker. Obama has, for the most part, offered basic clichés in his expressions of support for Israel. However, he has consistently taken pains to emphasize in an unusually substantive manner his disagreement with what he calls "hawkish" Jews, as well as his strong opposition to "settlements" in Judea and Samaria, which he blames, in large part, for the "status quo." Of course, no American president has supported settlements, and no American administration has set forth a policy satisfactory to those of us whose political views on Israel are aligned with those of the Israeli right. And Obama's ties with Said and Khalidi do not mean that as President his policies will satisfy them. Obama, however, has offered a place at his table for everyone except what he calls "hawkish" American Jews. It was noteworthy - but alas ignored by everyone except me - when Obama boasted that Lester Crown, a member of his national finance committee, is “about as hawkish and tough when it comes to Israel as anybody in the country.” Crown, as I have pointed out, is a leading supporter of Peace Now and other dovish groups. But to Obama, he somehow is "hawkish," presumably because he cares about Israel's security. Will Obama dine with real hawkish Jews like ZOA president Morton Klein? I doubt it. Does this really matter? I think it does. Governor George W. Bush's 1998 aerial tour of Judea and Samaria, guided by Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon, had a strong impact when Sharon was elected prime minister weeks after Bush's first inauguration. Bush has never supported settlements, but he maintained a strong relationship with a Likud government, eventually supported Israel's war on terrorism, and has always kept an open door to Jews who do not subscribe to Peace Now's worldview. It is reasonable to believe that the Obama Administration will resemble the Clinton Administration in its love for Peace Now Jews and its disdain for those of us whose views are closer to Likud. It seems long ago now, but back in the day, before Hillary ran for the Senate, the Clinton White House was wide open to Tikkun editor Michael Lerner and to Nobel Peace Prize winner Yasser Arafat, while bad boy Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was routinely ridiculed, undermined and shunned. On paper, there won't be major policy differences on Israel. But during the course of an administration's term, there will be a handful of major issues involving Israel. Invariably, there will be internal differences within the administration, and the ultimate approach will be the one decided upon by the president, guided by his sense of what is right. I don't trust Barack Obama to have the correct sense of what is right. I don't trust Barack Obama to treat a Likud government like President Bush did, rather than how President Clinton did. The foregoing is not an endorsement of John McCain, nor of McCain's views toward Israel - about which there is much to be concerned. Thursday, May 15, 2008
Israel's Survival A few weeks ago, Maclean's magazine published a long piece provocatively titled, "Why Israel can't survive." The article itself was more nuanced and less insidious than its misleading title. The Maclean's title reminds me of Look Magazine's 1964 article called "The Vanishing American Jew." Although some of the predictions in that piece have proven accurate (particularly predictions of ever-increasing intermarriage), it has been pointed out with satisfaction that in fact it was Look that vanished, not American Jewry. Perhaps one day, while enjoying lunch on the Judean hills, we will be able to relish that Maclean's did not survive while Israel has continued to be successful. For now, however, the primary danger does not relate to demography, to terror, to Islamic extremists, or even to Iran. All of those represent dangers to Israel, indeed even existential dangers if mishandled. The biggest danger is in the growing charge by haters of Israel that the world would be better off without Israel and that Israel should therefore be wiped off the map. This charge is made by only a fairly small number of people, but it is being repeated more often that even a few years ago, and by those in respected positions in media and academia. We must not underestimate the importance of the battle of ideas concerning Israel. It is an existential war that must be won. Right now, we have the upper hand. America is the world's superpower, and America - and Americans - largely support Israel. Europe too has moved somewhat toward Israel over the last few years. We also happen to have truth and justice on our side, as well as the moral high ground. We are missing three things. First, the awareness that this battle of ideas is underway. Second, that while we have the upper hand, victory is not ensured, especially against a motivated enemy. And third, we are missing basic knowledge about why the ideas on which Israel is based should prevail. Our schools do not teach the history of Zionism and modern Israel. Instead, it is taken for granted that an instinctive love for Israel will suffice. On individual and communal bases it generally does, but in the world battle for Israel's survival it is not enough. Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Nakba Day 1. For those of us who support Israel, Nakba Day is a day to reflect on the fanaticism, hatred and mass murder of the Palestinians, and to be thankful that their evil designs - while causing much death, terror and pain - have not managed to stop Israel from continuing to flourish. Israel has survived Grand Mufti al-Husseini, Yasser Arafat, Sheikh Yassin, and all the other Palestinian mass murdering terrorists. Israel has prospered despite repeated Palestinian preference for war instead of partition. Nakba Day is a day to remember that whatever our political disagreements, we should be motivated by what is best for Israel, and stop wasting precious resources on concern for the enemy - an enemy whom, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad correctly noted today, would destroy Israel if "the smallest and shortest opportunity is given to them." 2. The Palestinians do not observe a special day of mourning for Israel's capture in 1967 of Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and Gaza. The "Nakba" refers to 1948, to the establishment of Israel, and to those who became refugees as a result of the War of Independence that Arabs forced Israel to wage. Jews prayed for a return to Israel for nearly 2,000 years. Without in any way suggesting that Palestinian claims to the Land of Israel are morally, historically or legally comparable to Israel's - they certainly are not - there is little reason to believe that Palestinians will not remember what they call the "Nakba" for many generations to come. Friday, May 09, 2008
The Olmert lnvestigation 1. Prime Minister Olmert admitted receiving money from a Woodmere businessman but insisted, "I look in the eye of each and every one of you and say I never took a bribe. I never took a penny in my pocket." The media have portrayed this as a denial of wrongdoing, but I believe the opposite to the case. Olmert, in fact, appears to be implicitly admitting illegalities relating to campaign finance. He wants to protect his reputation against hints that "taking money" means taking money for himself. He knows that if the Attorney General chooses to, there will be grounds for indictment for funnelling illegal campaign contributions through a charitable entity. 2. Olmert's policies have failed and it would be good for Israel if someone else would be prime minister. However, it would not be good for Israel for its prime minister to be forced out under the current circumstances. 3. Less than two years ago, Israel suffered badly when an incompetent government led it to war. Despite this, Haaretz reports that: At small internal meetings of Labor's leadership, somebody had this suggestion: This is indicative of how little many of Israel's "leaders" actually care about their country. Iran is developing nuclear weapons, Hamas heads the PA, Hezbollah is getting increasingly stronger in Lebanon, and in just over eight months, there will be a new President of the United States. And with this in mind, some Labor leaders want Tzipi Livni to be prime minister based on their hope and expectation that she would fail (as she probably would), while other Labor leaders deem that strategy "too risky," lest Livni succeed. 4. Some bloggers have taken to debating the severity of the "crimes" committed by Mr. Talansky, the man who allegedly gave money to Olmert. For the record, Talansky has been accused of no crime and nobody has said that he is a suspect. Rather, he is a witness that the Attorney General would like to depose. It is unfortunate that despite those pesky rules about lashon hora and rechilus, anonymous people feel free to offer baseless and uninformed speculation on this matter. Thursday, May 08, 2008
Short Non-Sports Musings 1. It would be nice to believe that dovish Israeli leaders are not naive simpletons who are unwilling and unable to understand Arab intentions toward Israel. But now President Shimon Peres said in a pre-Yom Ha'atzmaut interview, "I did not think we'd have so many problems. I believed the separation between the West Bank and Gaza would make things easier, not harder. I did not imagine that we would leave Gaza and they would fire Qassams from there; I did not imagine that Hamas would show so strongly in the elections." Israel leaving Gaza and Arabs firing rockets from there? Who could have imagined anything like that? Will Peres now concede that Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu was right? Don't hold your breath. 2. I confess that Michelle Obama annoys me. Does that make me a bad person? 3. I understand that most politicians will say anything to pander for votes, but a Senator from New York blasting Wall Street is a bit much. 4. It's nice to know that if, God forbid, Iran nukes Israel, the U.S. will supposedly respond very strongly. Will it also fund construction of a museum in Washington in memory of the State of Israel? 5. News reports about the latest Olmert investigation make the affair sound a lot more than a campaign finance scheme than anything resembling bribery. 6. Social conservatives rail against the large number of abortions performed in the U.S. But then the same people repeatedly ridicule pregnant teen TV star Jamie Lynn Spears, who, according the media, intends to raise her child and marry the father. I support neither abortion nor teen pregnancy, but to the extent the latter occurs, it would seem that public ridicule will only lead most teen girls and young women to quietly abort.  Five Years, 1,373 Posts And Only One Retirement Five years ago the topics of the day were whether Art Howe's Mets should move Mike Piazza to first base, Prime Minister Sharon's rejection during Yom Ha'atzmaut interviews of any notion of unilateral withdrawal, whether anyone could find a copy of The Making Of A Godol, and whether the Nets could make another NBA Finals appearance. Meanwhile on the Jblogsphere, She - she of Unbroken Glass - was lamenting her bizarre dating life, Hasidic Rebel was starting to get noticed, and Protocols was offering its politically incorrect take on Jewish affairs. Much has changed since May 8, 2003. Wednesday, May 07, 2008
 Yom Ha'atzmaut It's now Yom Ha'atzmaut in Israel, where for some reason, the holiday never seems to fall out on the 5th day of Iyar. We spend lots of time questioning, criticizing, and worrying about Israel. Today is a good time to ponder and appreciate Israel's wondrous achievements. Past posts related to Yom Haatzmaut include: Rav Soloveitchik, Charedim and Yom Haatzmaut Tony Judt and Yom HaatzmautReligious Zionism and the First Flowering of Our Redemption Tommy Lapid to Arabs Mocking Yom Haatzmaut Tuesday, May 06, 2008
 The Rabbi Is Right After listening to Elster wax poetic over Chris Drury's purported "clutch play" and being "great on face offs and intangibles", it was quite a relief to read some informed hockey analysis from The Hockey Rabbi. As the Rabbi writes about Drury: Drury disappeared long before he injured his ribs. Actually, I'm not really sure Drury ever appeared this post-season. If I hear another person talking about how well Drury does the "little things" I think I'll puke! Drury was NOT signed to his monstrous contract (complete with a "no-movement" clause) in order to do the "little things". Drury was signed in order to score those huge franchise defining playoff goals. You know the type...think Matteau...Matteau". Blair Betts wins face-offs and kills penalties too. Unlike Drury, after disappearing for most of the 2007-08 season, The Hockey Rabbi came back hard for the playoffs. Hopefully he'll stick around for what will surely be an eventful offseason. Thursday, May 01, 2008
 Bring Bobby V Home Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports includes Willie Randolph among an elite group of three managers who "look vulnerable." Rosenthal correctly points out that "the Mets would be best served by a take-charge, Jim Leyland-type who would compensate for their lack of clubhouse leadership." Alas, Rosenthal does not believe the Mets have many options right now. Indeed, he rules out Bobby Valentine, since Valentine is in Japan managing the Chiba Lotte Marines. Bobby V would provide both the leadership and the baseball intelligence that has been so sorely lacking. It's time to fly him home. It's time for Omar Minaya to call the Marines and offer Dave Kingman for Valentine. If necessary, Randolph, El Duque, Fernando Tatis and Keith Van Horn can all be added to the deal in exchange for Marines outfielder Benny Agbayani. | "
