The Zionist Conspiracy |
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A clandestine undertaking on behalf of Israel, the Jets and the Jews. 
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Thursday, March 25, 2010
Staying Calm Amidst Obama's Betrayal With a hostile and nasty administration in Washington until either 2013 or 2017, these aren't easy times for Israel and its supporters. That our so-called "leaders" are completely ineffectual adds to a strong sense of frustration. There is no reason to downplay the damage that Obama has done to Israel. But it's important to keep some things in perspective. No buses were blown up in Israel during these past two weeks. Israelis have safely gone out to eat, drink, pray and assemble. During the early days of this blog, there were so many times that I'd post - or start to draft something that I ended up not finishing - about bus bombings, cafe bombings, road shootings. Then, there was good reason for despair and rage. Mass murder of Israelis was routine. Today, thankfully, it isn't. A lot of people in this country strongly support Israel. Unfortunately, the president and those in his administration do not. But with resolve, wisdom and the leadership of Prime Minister Netanyahu - and hopefully some help from its supporters here - Israel can get through the difficult times and endless crises that will occur during the course of the Obama administration. Netanyahu's Only Response - The Rest Is Commentary Are we a vassal state of yours? Are we a banana republic? Are we youths of fourteen who, if they don't behave properly, are slapped across the fingers? Let me tell you who this government is composed of. It is composed of people whose lives were spent in resistance, in fighting and in suffering. You will not frighten us with 'punishments.' He who threatens us will find us deaf to his threats. We are only prepared to listen to rational arguments.-Prime Minister Menachem Begin, December 1981 In a world that has been conditioned to see Israel as the heavy, every Israeli retreat from positions under dispute with the Arabs will naturally be applauded. Israel will be patted on the back and congratulated as long as it continues to make unilateral concessions. But once an Israeli government decides, as it inevitably must, to draw a line beyond which it cannot retreat, the international applause will cease — and pressure will begin again. Hence the test of Israeli diplomacy is not whether it can gain short-term sympathy by sacrificing Israel's vital interests, but whether it can protect these interests while securing international understanding and support. To yield to pressure for the sake of ephemeral international praise is as tempting as it is short-sighted. To be firm about vital matters and to earn the respect of nations for this stance is much more difficult, but ultimately more prudent and responsible. The school of thought that holds that Israel's public relations problem would end with the establishment of a Palestinian state is wrong. In such a case Israel would be faced with an existential threat and a public relations nightmare, as Arab irredentism turns its focus on the Arab population within the remainder of Israel.-Binyamin Netanyahu, A Durable Peace: Israel and Its Place Among the Nations Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Where Have You Gone, Al D'Amato? During his 18 years as a Senator from New York, Al D'Amato, a Republican, was at all times a staunch supporter of Israel. For the first 12 of those years, the White House was occupied by a Republican, but that didn't matter. If Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Caspar Weinberger or James Baker pressured or bashed Menachem Begin or Yitzhak Shamir, D'Amato always remained in outspoken support of Israel. I thought D'Amato was one helluva guy - a Roman Catholic who staunchly supports Israel, even if that put him against the position of a Republican administration. How naive I was back then. D'Amato, it was explained to me, supports Israel because he is a Senator from New York. Any Senator from New York must support Israel just like D'Amato does. Funny, I haven't seen any statement of support of Israel from Charles Schumer. Kirsten Gillibrand's statement was quite tepid. How naive I am to have expected anything different. After all, the pundits explain, Schumer and Gillibrand can hardly be expected to take a position against that of Barack Obama. Any Democratic Senator has to support the Obama administration's line. Monday, March 15, 2010
The Churva Shul  62 years after it was burned down and completely destroyed by the government of Jordan, and nearly 43 years after the liberation of Jerusalem, the Churva shul reopens tonight. With the redevelopment of the rest of the Jewish Quarter, the ruins of the Churva have long served as a real life reminder of the desolate state of Jerusalem between 1948 and 1967. The opening of the Churva won't bring the shul back to its former status as the leading synagogue in Israel and a prominent Jerusalem center. But it will serve as a meaningful symbol of the rebuilding of Israel and Jerusalem. Sunday, March 14, 2010
LaDainian Tomlinson ESPN is reporting that the Jets and LaDainian Tomlinson have agreed on a two-year deal. Tomlinson is obviously a Hall of Fame RB, and for that reason his signing is intriguing. But more likely than not, he will never be close to the player he was. While I'm not a huge Thomas Jones fan, over the last two seasons, Jones has been the better RB. I'm all for depth at RB, but if Leon Washington comes back healthy and Shonn Greene stays healthy, I'm not sure how Tomlinson will get enough touches to warrant signing him. Reports are that Tomlinson would be the Jets' third down RB, and could catch the ball out of the backfield. It's definitely true that Tomlinson is a much better pass catching RB than Jones and Greene, and the lack of a checkdown option for Mark Sanchez hurt the Jets offense last season after the injury to Washington. But if Washington is back and healthy, at this point in their careers, I'd much prefer him over Tomlinson as the 3rd down back. Ultimately, I'm okay with this move, but more for purposes of depth at RB than anything else. With Shonn Greene having limited experience and Leon Washington coming off a very serious injury, LaDainian Tomlinson is not a bad guy to have around. Just don't expect to see much of the old LaDainian Tomlinson as a New York Jet. Saturday, March 13, 2010
Considering Netanyahu's Response There is nothing for Israel - nor for Prime Minister Netanyahu's government - to gain from an open confrontation with the Obama Administration. Nevertheless, Obama himself has now picked a fight with Israel. Likely, Netanyahu's response will come in the morning. It should take into account the following: 1. Most Americans support Israel. 2. Barack Obama strongly dislikes Israel and wants to bring down the Netanyahu government. For this reason, whenever he believes it to be timely, he will strike harshly at Israel, like he has done this week. 3. Those advising Obama, especially Rahm Emanuel, ignorantly think that Israel is deeply divided over construction in "East" Jerusalem and that Netanyahu will emerge badly damaged as a result of Obama's humiliation of him. 4. In fact, the overwhelming majority of Israelis support the government's policy on Jerusalem. In particular, there is almost nobody in Israel who opposes Jewish housing in a place like Ramat Shlomo - which is not even located in "East" Jerusalem. 5. The overwhelming majority of Israelis also know that Obama has only disdain for Israel, while Syria, Iran and the Palestinian Authority are treated with great deference and respect by him. Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Calm Yourself, Biden No, Joe Biden's visit was not the best time to announce the construction of 1,600 new apartments in Ramat Shlomo, a charedi community in north (not east) Jerusalem. OK, fine. Let's stop all the silly self-flagellation. Ramat Shlomo was founded in 1995 by Yitzhak Rabin. It is squarely in Jerusalem, and is by no means a "settlement." Only because of the egregious concessions offered by the two Ehuds is Israel now in a situation where every new apartment in Jerusalem is international news. In 2008 - when Ehud Olmert and Tzipi Livni were running Israel, hardly a peep was heard when 1,300 housing units were authorized there. If Joe Biden is as close a friend as he says he is, he should calm down, let this one slide. Pretend it's no big deal, like a few "settlers" getting shot dead, or the "moderate" Palestinian Authority naming a Ramallah town square after a terrorist who murdered 37 civilians. Alas, we are saddled with an administration whose first instinct is to rip Israel. Tuesday, March 02, 2010
The Legend Of Jim Craig  As evidenced over the last couple of weeks, these days Jim Craig is the most celebrated star of the 1980 USA Olympic hockey team - topping even Mike Eruzione. Just after those Olympics, Craig won his debut for the Atlanta Flames. That game was the highlight of his NHL career. There were no more SI covers or Coke commercials with his Dad. The Flames moved to Calgary after the 79-80 season. America's hero was not so marketable in Canada. Craig was traded to his hometown Bruins, with whom he was mediocre. Then there were a bunch of injuries, a car accident and an arrest. It seemed to make sense for the Rangers - led by GM Craig Patrick and head coach Herb Brooks - to give Craig a shot. But that never happened. Jim Craig's NHL career ended with a record of 11-10-7. If Craig didn't quite fade into obscurity, he came pretty close. There wasn't much news about him in the mid-late 80's, except that his father - the one who he memorably searched for after the goal medal victory over Finland - died. More sad news about Jim Craig. Every few years there would be a piece about Jim Craig having become anonymous, living the simple life, and liking it a lot better that way. Around 2001, ESPN featured Craig on its SportsCentury series. I tuned in wondering what happened to him. He seemed okay, making a living as sort some of businessman. That was good to see; indeed, a relief. Then came the HBO documentary about the 1980 team, followed by the untimely death of Herb Brooks in a car accident and Disney's release of 'Miracle.' Suddenly there was nostalgia for the 1980 team, and for Jim Craig - especially every four years during the Winter Olympics. And now all we remember about Jim Craig are those amazing two weeks in Lake Placid when he was 22 years old. Monday, March 01, 2010
Thomas Jones I don't have a strong feeling about the Jets' decision to cut Thomas Jones. With Leon Washington coming off a very serious injury, and Shonn Greene seemingly having a style that gets him banged up, I'd have liked Jones to come back for one more season. On the other hand, Greene's late season emergence made him the Jets feature back heading into 2010, and if Washington is healthy, Jones wouldn't likely have carried the ball enough to justify a $5.8 million salary. The bottom line for me is that if the Jets use the money saved on Jones to sign a potential impact player - Adalius Thomas comes to mind - letting him go is probably the right move. If the money is not spent but is instead used only to help alleviate Woody Johnson's thousands of unsold PSLs, then getting rid of Jones is disappointing. The Gold Medal Game Thanks to a dead car battery, I missed the third period of yesterday's classic gold medal game between the USA and Canada. Watching the game was an unusual experience for me, probably akin to what it's like to be a casual fan of a team playing for a championship - though I'm not really sure, because I'm not a casual fan and my teams very rarely play for championships. If their team wins, casual fans get all excited and hop onto the bandwagon. If their team loses, the casual fan's day goes on as if nothing went wrong. That's what it felt like to me yesterday. I don't know anyone who was really too upset about our loss. Which probably means it's a good thing that Canada won. The Canadians really needed to win this one. I wonder whether the game will turn many sports fans into hockey fans. | "
