Wrong Accusations About Jews Living in Judea and Samaria

Nadene Goldfoot
American and European press have misled readers and listeners about how Jews happen to be living in Judea and Samaria.  Jews are sticklers for doing the right thing.  Our whole religion is mostly a matter of doing the right thing and that's  something that's pounded into our whole being.  So how would we be out to do the wrong thing and cheat the Palestinians?  Not true.

Israel was brought to life again on May 15, 1948.  Negotiations had been going on with England, who held the mandate for over  30 years. Yucky malaria infested swampy land was bought and paid for.  So was the desert-type land.  Any land was legally contracted. The total land of Palestine was a waste, an unwanted waste of what had once been a Jewish empire originally.   The state went through the UN and was voted on as a state.  Legally, every point had been covered.  Our founding fathers didn't want to be accused of anything illegal.

 Israel has a darned good court system.  They can be in competition with any court in the world for fairness.  When the Israeli government has given its approval for the building of a Jewish village, town, building or home, it has to advertise its intentions in the Arab newspapers and invite any Arabs who have claims to the land to come forward with them.  We do similar things of advertising in our newspapers in the USA.  When there are no claims for at least 6 months, the courts rule and also have a thorough review of facts.  The court system bends over backwards to be fair to all Arab claimants.  The same goes if there is a claim.  Everything is investigated.  The courts have forbidden the Israeli government from confiscating any Arab-owned land since 1980.  The government hasn't authorized any new building since the Israeli-Palestinian "peace process" began in 1993.

The state bends over backwards to make sure that building does not take place on Arab-owned land.  Authorized and unauthorized Jewish communities were built on unoccupied, uncultivated and uninhabited "waste land."  No Arab homes were destroyed.  No Arab residents were expelled.  No Arab farmland was taken in creating any Jewish communities.

There are land ownership laws of Judea and Samaria dating to when the land was under Turkish rule (Ottoman Empire) and are respected by all governments since then including Israel.  All the wasteland belongs to the state of Israel, not private owners.  There have been almost no Arab buyers of such land because it involved paying past taxes on it for anyone who bought it.

One of my friends in Safed was an American lawyer who of course would have to take the bar in Israel to practice.  He said it was far more complicated than anything he had ever seen because of the rules left over from the Ottoman Empire that were still in effect.  It was too much for him and he tried  teaching English in the local high school, finding that needed a skill he didn't have as well.

Along comes the far left of Israel, also without any background in legal matters, such as Peace Now and other groups who have been overly zealous in wanting to be fair with the Palestinians about land and obviously not trusting anyone who have challenged any building at all  with their worthy human rights projects without being able to back them up with true facts.  They haven't been able to prove any of their conclusions in the courts.

Both groups want to be fair.  Our Jews are not followers.  Each one is a leader in his own mind.  Israel even has a Freedom of Information law, but the leftists who attack the system haven't been able to come up with one document that supports their claims about Jewish "settlements" on "privately owned Arab land" that's ever been brought to someone's attention.   They allowed themselves to be the victims of hearsay instead of the facts.  Americans think they are the land of the free.  Israel's freedom of speech and writing sometimes undermines itself.  Israelis seem to understand it, but the outside press doesn't and takes advantage of it.  Let any Jewish Israeli say something against their state saying they are wrong and it makes headlines in every paper in the world an hour later.

Judea and Samaria, what Jordan has dubbed "West Bank"  was Jewish land long ago. In 933 BCE  Judea was the Kingdom of Judah of the Jews.  When King Solomon, King David's son was dead, Judah was divided into two parts.  Judah was the southerly of two Jewish kingdoms.  The northern part became the Kingdom of Israel.  This land is precious to Jews, especially to the religious Jews who have moved there to live.  That's why they are there.  The tribe of Judah lived in Judah along with most of the tribe of Benjamin.  They also took in the tribe of Simeon which was isolated in the extreme south.  It had become poor without advantages of exits to the sea and were not on the trade routes.  It was like being a city that the freeway had bypassed.  Jerusalem sat in Judah which means the Temple was there.  It was able to preserve Mosaic monotheism in a purer form than Israel did.  The monarchy was the house of David and it went from father to son peacefully with a few exceptions, like Athaliah 843-37.  There were a few others.

Then along came the Assyrian expansion which overwhelmed Israel in the north but was stopped at the walls of Jerusalem in 701 BCE.  Finally in 586 the Babylonians overwhelmed it and the city and state fell to them.  They took large numbers of Jews and deported them to other parts of the Middle East.  The Jewish exiles in Babylonia continued to keep Judaism alive.  Prophets continued with their work from there and you will find great parts of the Bible that were composed from their exile.  So Judea has special meaning for Jews.

Samaria was the capital of Israel in the north.  It was founded in 880 BCE by King Omri who bought it from from Shemer (I Kings 16:24).  The site is about 7 miles NW of Shechem, today's city of  Nablus on a slight elevation that dominated the countryside.    It was made up of 25 acres and royal palace.  The biblical patriarchs camped under its walls.  It had been marked as the territory for the tribe of Ephraim and was picked as a city of refuge and the center of the House of the tribe of Joseph.  Joseph is buried there.  Finally it became a Roman city with people being the Samaritans.  In 1967 the population was 44,000 of mostly Moslems and has become the center of fanatical Arab nationalism.  A small Jewish community had existed there in Shechem.   Samaria is also the name to the entire northern region of the central highlands.  I believe that is what is referred to when they say Judea and Samaria or "the West Bank", which Jordan named it as it is land west of the Jordan River.

1967's War against Israel lasted 6 days with Israel being the winner.  This area had been in Jordan's hands, but since they were one of the attackers, lost it to Israel.  Before that, Jordan didn't allow Jews to even be in East Jerusalem.  I remember when the war was over that the solders were able to dance and pray at the Western Wall for the first time and how everyone cried in joy.

The PLO was founded in 1964.  At that time this area of Judea and Samaria and Gaza were under Arab rule.  The PLO wanted to liberate the land, not Judea and Samaria and Gaza which they already had, but Israel! They were talking about Israel within the 1967 borders.  Their official PLO insignia is on the map including all of Israel.  The Muslims speak of their religious savior coming to take all the land and of course they hate Jews.  They hate this well known remnant of the 12 tribes of Israel, Judah and Levi, born when Jacob had 12 sons, "the traditional division of Israel into 12 tribes: Reuben, Simeon (Levi), Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Ephraim, and Manasseh."  They don't even have a reason to hate us, except that there is the remnant of us who refuse to convert to Islam, which is not a good reason to hate a people.  The land they are living on in their eyes must be "Judenrein", free of all Jews.  They are not tolerant such as Americans and Israelis are.  There are 1.4 million Arabs living in Israel who are citizens.

Resource:  FrontPage Magazine http://frontpagemag.com Are Jewish Settlements built on Arab Land?  by Rachel Neuwirth and John Landau, Daily Mailer.FrontPage
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0020_0_20039.html

JEWISH YEAR OF 5772-5773: Our History Back There With Persia (Iran)

Nadene Goldfoot                                                              

Update:
I wrote this article in 2012 for our Jewish New Year, and the leading problem then for Israel was IRAN.  Today, June 7, 2018, it is still the same problem, only this time Iran is in control of Syria and the Hamas terrorists of Gaza causing rockets to be fired into the Golan and the fields of Israel to be burned by kites on fire floating across the fence between Gaza and Israel.  

Ahmadinejad is no Cyrus the Great.  He's the big bully in the schoolyard that pokes fun at the little kid with glasses, calls him every name under the sun including throwing rocks at him, then runs home to Mama to say that the skinny little kid started it all.

In 2005 Ahmadinejad called Israel a tumor and a cancer, and now a vampire, just three of hundreds of derogatory names.  He has threatened Israel verbally and physically with an atomic wipe-out by building  secretive atomic facilities  and the threats to go with it like-"we'll wipe you out". He supplies the very people who attack Israel with weapons.   On Yom Kippur he told the whole General Assembly how bad Israel was and how they deserve such an end, which will come very soon.  It's as plain as day; Iran has been threatening Israel with total destruction while all along continues to build atomic facilities to manufacture such weapons.  He is using the UN to "spout paranoid theories and repulsive slurs against Israel"
                                                                           

Blowing the Shofar on Yom Kippur
During the synagogue service and at the end of this Day of Atonement

At least the USA had the good sense to not attend and listen today, on Yom Kippur, the most  solemn holy day for Jews when they ask G-d for forgiveness of their sins and are repenting. The USA didn't listen to his rhetoric along with Israel.  Others walked out on him.  Most of Europe sat and listened to Mr. A say that Israel would soon be eliminated.
                                                                               

Netanyahu reminded people that history shows that those who wanted to wipe us off the map failed and that the Jewish people overcame all obstacles.  Israel's goal is to prevent Iran from achieving nuclear weaponry.  Netanyahu's role is not to let the Holocaust happen again and have the 6 million Jews of Israel incinerated a second time.  You see, we've been burned once, and are not about to stick our finger into the fire again.  We know what can happen.  

Ahmadinejad, a man who just might have a few segments of Jewish genes himself, seems to know very little history of his own country, thinking it's been around since the mammoths 10,000 years ago.  Jews have been in existence right along with them since it was Abraham, (2nd millinium BCE)  a citizen of Ur "Iraq"  who created monotheism and is father of the Jewish people. Yet Mr. A tells his people that Jews have only been in the Middle East for the past 60 years.  We're like the swallows of Capistrano, Mr. A.  We're returned home to those who never left.  I doubt if history books are allowed in Iran, so it's possible his people wind up swallowing his lies.
                     

David

                                                             

Solomon

We'll skip to about a thousand years later to the Jewish King Solomon (961-920 BCE)  who built the first Temple in Jerusalem. His father was King David who developed Jerusalem.

Along Came the Assyrians

Hoshea of Israel in 726 BCE, last ruler of Israel,  tried to throw off the yoke  that led  to Assyria's King Shalmaneser V's siege of Samaria and his imprisonment and its capture in 721 BCE by his successor, Sargon, king of Assyria (721-712 BCE).  .  Sargon annexed the country and deported 27,290 Israelites to Assyria and Media who cooperated with the Babylonians in the 6th century BCE and replaced them with Syrian and Babylonian prisoners.  Manasseh of Judah was exiled to Assyria in 652 BCE.  Then Assyria declined quickly and was succeeded by Babylon.  Sargon was assassinated.  Sennacherib took over.
                                                                           

Then Came the Babylonians

  Nebuchadnezzar (634-562 BCE) exiled the Jews of the ancient kingdom of Judah to Babylon in the 6th century BCE.  The first time was in 597 BCE when they sacked the Temple and took many of the leading men.  Babylon was dependent on Assyria.  Nebuchadnezzar had attacked Egypt in 601 BCE which led to rebellions, including Judah and that's how he captured Jerusalem and kicked out King Jehoiakim, afterwards destroying the city and temple and deporting not only the best of the men but other prominent citizens and parts of the Jewish population of Judea to Babylon.
                                                                     

Persians in the Act                

Cyrus II of Persia (Iran) lived around 600 BCE to 530 BCE and was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, creating the largest empire the world had yet seen.  He only reigned for 29 to 31 years, but respected the customs and religions of the lands he conquered.  He set the model for centralized administration and a working government to the advantage and profit of its subjects.  The Jews called him the "anointed of the lord" or the Messiah".

He is remembered for his achievements in human rights, politics, military strategy, and his influence on both Eastern and Western civilizations.  He came from Persis, which would be the modern day Iranian province of Fars.  His influence even went as far as to Athens, where they enjoyed a reciprocal cultural exchange.

Cyrus overthrew Babylonia in 537 BCE.  He allowed the Jews to return to their native land.  More than 40,000 returned.  Previous Assyrian and Babylonian rulers had not allowed the monotheistic Judaism to exist, but he did.  He even ordered the rebuilding of the 2nd Temple in the same place as the first, but died before it was finished.  Darius the Great, his replacement, saw that it was finished.  It was ready for consecration in the spring of 515 BCE, more than 20 years after the Jews' return to Jerusalem.
                                                                               

We know from the book of Esther that Haman, the forerunner of Hitler and Ahmadinejad,  was an Agagite noble and vizier under the Persian King Ahassurerus, known to the general public as Xerxes the Great (son of Darius the Great) in the 6th century BCE.  Haman and his wife, Zeresh, instigated a plot to kill all the Jews of Persia, and it was a huge empire then.  They might have well said the whole world.  The plan was stopped by the beautiful Queen Esther, who was married to the king. She and her uncle Mordecai were Benjamites.   Haman and his 10 sons were hung as a result.  Jews have celebrated every year since then with their happy holiday of Purim.  At that time, there were lots of Jews living right in the capital of Shushan.

But today there are very few left.  Many have immigrated to Israel, the USA and abroad.  About 30 some years ago a group of Jewish lads escaped out of the country on camels.  A few were shot.  It had become irrepressible to be a Jew and live in freedom in Iran.  In 1989 there were only 20,000 remaining there.

Ahmadinejad seems to love to stick it to Israel as to what horrors will happen to them, definitely mental cruelty.    He should be told about what happened in Queen Esther's day.  He wants to be the big shot and get rid of all the Jews and Israel so that Israel can become a totally  Islamic land.  Then he'll be the big savior to all the Middle Eastern Muslims and have the Western powers at his knees as dhminnis states.  They just might be next on his list.  Well, Haman probably had the same scheme.  He didn't get very far. Since Israel has combated his threats with warnings of taking out their atomic plant, he is sure yelling about it, just like the bully on the playground in the UN today.
                                                                               

Queen Esther and her son, King Darius

It's interesting that the 50-60 million Pashtuns of Afghanistan,  Pakistan and India claim descent from the tribe of Benjamin, Queen Esther's tribe and the other lost 10 tribes,  and that their respected countries are very close to Iran.  In fact, the Pashtun language has some Persian qualities in it as it belongs to an eastern Iranian language group from Avestan, the oldest preserved Iranian group, maybe from Queen Esther's day.    Their people are  fair-skinned and the men are outstanding fighters known for their good looks and height.  It could be that they were right there in the city of Shushan right along with Queen Esther and Mordecai, but had become  the Lost 10 Tribes of Israel later.

Book:  The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebuchadnezzar_II
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrus_the_great
httP://news.yahoo.com/netanyahu-promises-tough-response-ahmadinejad-181532401.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Ahmadinejad_and_Israel
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/ahmadinejad-tells-un-uncivilized-zionists-are-threat-to-iran-us-boycotts-address/2012/09/26/738d12a6-0800-11e2-a10c-fa5a255a9258_story.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pashto_language
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhaUVmYBXD0  Netanyahu's speech today at General Assembly

UN's Gang Up On Israel Day

Nadene Goldfoot
Whatever would the UN ever talk about if there wasn't an Israel?  They made their first meeting day a day to show their hatred, of course.  Israel reps walked out before it all happened, knowing what was coming with Ahmadinejad there.

He continued to deny the Holocaust from ever happening, this man who swears Iran was around 10,000 years ago.  He's so sharp in the matters of history.  Of course he questions the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and swears they have absolutely no gays in Iran.

The UN did one smart thing, put him on to speak on Wednesday, which is Yom Kippur, when they knew that Jews would not be in attendance.  Instead, they would be in a synagogue on their most solemn day of the year.  The Human Rights group at the UN used the whole first day anyway attacking Israel.

They are so mad that Israel exists.  They still call the whole land "Palestine."  They throw out falsehoods of us "Occupying" Arab territories, having human rights violations and self determinaton of the Palestinian people.  Israel has done more to correct any of these terms than any other Arab nation has ever done for their people.  While they slaughter each other, it is Israel who takes the brunt of criticism, the nation that created fair play in the first place.

The Council is ridiculous.  They meet to implement the Goldstone Report when Goldstone has stated that he had been in possession of the incorrect information and has withdrawn his report. He has admitted that he was wrong.   The Council is acting illogically.  They continue to act on it anyway, because that's the answer they wanted to read.

Do they talk about anti-Semitism making the news in the world like what is going on in Malmo, Sweden?  Anti-Semitism started with the Romans when they tried to take Judah and Judah, later called Judea,  resisted quite well, giving them a hard time, and really has never stopped.  Do they talk about the treatment of women in Iran and how they are barred from universities?  Do they talk about how elections happen in Iran,  do they mention that dissidents have been raped, or how they have persecuted Bahai members and other minorities or that they hang gays?  Do they talk about how they torture people in their Tehran prison?  Has Syria been mentioned? Do they mention that Ahmadinejad has threatened Israel with atomic warfare by saying they will be eliminated, and wiped out?  Nobody has the guts to suggest that Ahmadinejad should be expelled and indicted and that Iran should lose their membership from the UN because so many are just like Iran and because they are afraid of them!

So, these people spend most of the time there on rebuking and kicking Israel.  Half of the council's country resolutions deal with Israel.  China and Pakistan are perfect in their eyes evidently.    Israel is the only member state that isn't allowed in a regional group at the council.  Israel is the only country that has a permanent investigator (big brother?) who is one-sided and presumes guilty for starters.  It's Richard Falk who promoted the 9/11 conspiracy theory and endorses Hamas, a terrorist group. that reminds me.  There  never has been a word out of this group condemning Hamas and their pals for constantly attacking Israel from Gaza for the past 12 years, has there!   Such an illuminated group of people here at the UN.

Resource: http://www.unwatch.org/cms.asp?id=3493510&campaign_id=63111

Ahmadinejad's Threats From UN Meeting

Nadene Goldfoot
Before the UN annual General Assembly session, Iranian's Ahmadinejad has stated that Israel has no roots in the Middle East and would be "eliminated."  He was speaking to reporters before he speaks to the General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.  He tried to brag that Iran, on the other hand, has been around for the last 7 to 10 thousand years and tries to brainwash people into believing that Israel has only been around for the last 60 to 70 years.  Does he not realize that mammoths roamed the landscape 10,000 years ago?  I don't think that Persia was in existence then.  He refers to Israel as a minimal disturbance.

He let the world know how he felt about Israel in 2005 when he called Israel a "tumor" and echoed the Ayatollah Khomeini by saying that Israel should be wiped off the map.  On Monday Ahmadinejad attended a meeting on the rule of law and said that states should not yield to international law as imposed "by bullying countries."  He's the pot calling the kettle a container that can boil water.  I don't know of another country today more bullish than Iran.

He certainly gets an F from me for his knowledge of history.  Jews' roots go back in the Middle East to before Abraham's birth in the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE, being Abraham, called the Hebrew,  is also our father of Judaism, and Abraham, in order to continue his family in monotheism, moved them all out of Ur, a land of idol worship, which is in today's Iraq, into Canaan, which is what Palestine was called much later when the Romans took over.  Jews called it Eretz Israel.    I didn't notice Islam starting up from the pagan religions his people were following in his tribe of Quraysh until  after Muhammad's birth in Mecca in 570 CE when he got into creating Islam in about 613 CE.  Abraham must not have made that big an impression on their belief system then, though Ishmael was born first before Isaac in our interpretation of the story, which does differ from the Islam version.

Israel is a land and a people.  Our history, which means our roots in the Land of Israel is more than 35 centuries long.  This land has been the core of our national life and the center of our aspirations.  For 3,000 years we've had Jews live here.  Our Biblical period origins go back from the 17th to the 6th century BCE. The Patriarchal history to the descent into Egypt's period was till the 17th century BCE.

Persia (Iran) came into the Jewish history with the conquest of the Babylonian Empire by Cyrus in 538 BCE.   For 2 centuries after that both Jews in Exile in Mesopotamia and in our holy land were under Persian rule.  It was under the Persians that Jews were allowed to return to Eretz Israel which continued to be a Persian province with some degree of local autonomy.  

Of course" the whole Middle East is the birthplace of some of the earliest human civilizations and the cradle of 3 of the most important religions of the world-namely, Judaism."  The dominant group of the Indo-Europeans of the Middle East are the Iranians, who have linguistic and cultural ties with the peoples of Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and parts of Turkmanistan and Uzbekistan as well as Pakistan.  This linguistic affinity exists between Persian and most of the languages of India and Europe.  Armenians and Kurds are related linguistically to the Persians, while the Kurds are the closest in DNA to the Jews.

Jews were continuously in the area.  In 70 CE Jerusalem fell to the Romans, but that didn't mean that all Jews were taken away.  We have always had a continual presence of Jews there.  They continued to live in Jerusalem and Safed "Tzfat", among other places.  They are called the Sephardim.  The European Jews in exile who returned are called Ashkenazim.  Probably the latter, of which I am one,  were taken through Rome and then onto Germany through the centuries from Jerusalem and from there onto places like Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, etc.in the hunt for a safe place to live. Their lives depended on the whims of the royalty of the countries they were in.  

Ahmadinejad is being quite defensive when he says that the sanctions are not as bad as they are portrayed and doesn't think that Israel will launch a military strike on their nuclear facilities.  He says Iran has NEVER sent arms into Syria.

How Ahmadinejad twists his thinking is astounding.  "Freedoms must not interfere with the freedoms of others," he said.  "If someone insults, what would you do?...Is insulting other people not a form of crime?  What on earth does he think he has been doing to Israel?


Resource: http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/ahmadinejad-israel-eliminated/2012/09/24/id/457372?s=al&promo_code=1027F-1
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
facts about Israel : Division of information ministry for foreign affairs, Jerusalem
Text: 2nd Edition of Middle East-past and  present by Yahya Armajani, Thomas M. Ricks
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~ancientpersia/timeline.html

So It's Okay For Muslims To Call Jews Nasty Names?

Nadene Goldfoot
Along the theme of saying slanderous things about another's religion, the biggest purveyors of this crime are the Islamists who call Jews every despicable name in the books.   One remark that made me laugh is when on the official PA daily on Israel's independence day said that Israel's goal was to turn a "Jewish monarchy in Palestine into a basis for their [the Jews'] eternal rule over the world, that others, 'goyim' [non-Jews], must submit to their will.  It must be the Islamists who started the original rumor that Jews would take over the world and now they're saying it so much they themselves believe it.  Jews, who make up far  less than 1% of the total world population, more like .03-.04%,  are not trying to take over the world.  They're just trying to stay alive, which isn't so easy with Qaradawi's fatwa telling their followers to kill us all. On the other hand, Muslims number 1.6 billion or 23% of the world population.

Islam almost succeeded in taking over the world with empires reaching into Spain and into Eastern Europe from Saudi Arabia, as Mecca, Saudi Arabia is their center. The last was the Ottoman Empire.   They seem to be trying it again as they already have 48 Muslim majority countries and are trying for the 49th with a Palestine.    After the loss of Jerusalem in 70 CE, Jews haven't even had their own state until 1948 , and have had to fight off Muslim invaders ever since.  Now Obama doesn't see why Israel shouldn't be forced back to the 67 borders that really were indefensible.

The weirdest thing I have discovered is that it is Judaism, of all the religions, who calls saying false things about another a crime. Judaism believes in free speech, but this is considered something apart from it.   It is Judaism who frowns on Loshen hora, (gossip, untruths about someone).  Obviously it's okay for Muslims as far as they are concerned to beat the heck out of Jews with their malicious lies, the latest being that Jews are vampires. Other pet names for Jews are Satan with a tail, apes, being void of wisdom, sin and filth, cancers and, tumors.   Oh really! Isn't calling all Jews such names also including our prophet, Moses?   I just printed off 12 pages of lies that Palwatch collected of horrible things that Muslims say about Jews which are said  by their leaders such as Abbas and Ahmadinejad.

When you come right down to it, many distasteful  things are said about us right in the holy books of Islam, so I think that it's a miracle we ever were able to live just as dminnis in the Muslim world for so long.  We must have been seen as harmless folk up till 1948, when they suddenly realized that we might have some clout and they might lose out on taking over Palestine, which they never wanted in the first place.  When Mohammad saw that he couldn't convince all the Jews to convert over to his new Islam, he was angry and added comments that were against Jews.  So this enmity between Jew and Muslim goes back to the origin of Islam.

I admire my Muslim friends who can treat me as another fellow human being without all the thoughts of these horrible adjectives.  They are people who have progressed along with Western civilization and wish to live in peace, just as I do.  Keeping all those horrible attitudes alive just doesn't get us anywhere or help this poor planet to keep on rolling.  These friends are very special to me because they have bucked the prevailing attitude towards Jews.  Their very friendship has caused me to see the whole problem in a new light as well just by their kindness.

And who did this idiot videomaker of blasphemy of Islam blame as having made it?  Of course!  We could guess in a half of a second.  He'd blame the Jew.  It turns out it was a Coptic Christian who was the culprit.

Resource: http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=7475
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Muslim_majority_countires
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_world

End of the Jewish Stereotype with Six Day War

Nadene Goldfoot
No one was more surprised than Egypt.  Mirage jets from Israel swung low across the Nile Valley, avoided radar, strafed and bombed the parked MIG planes and air hangars with accuracy and audacity. The Six Day War had started.  Israel destroyed 300 Egyptian planes and 19 airbases.  This was being repeated in other Arab countries.  By the end of 24 hours on June 5, 1967, the air forces of 4 Arab nations lay on the ground like charred birds of prey.  Israel's skills altered the whole picture of modern warfare.

Everyone found it hard to believe.  Britain and France had tried in 1956 with less results.  How could the Israeli Air Force do so much in a few hours?  Israel was greatly outnumbered.  How did they defeat the Arabs?  They did it all with nothing wasted, bombs or bullets.  It was neatly done.  The guns were so accurate that people thought Israel had a secret weapon with a honing device.

Israel did.  It was the Israeli pilots.  They had physical courage on a battlefield that the world didn't think about because they had a stereotype in mind of the Jew.  Everyone tried to make out that Jews were poor fighters and reluctant soldiers.

Here's some facts. 3 Jews are among 9 honored in the US Military Academy at West Point as history's greatest warriors.  15 Jewish officers fought in the Battle of Waterloo.  At one time so many Jews were soldier in the French Foreign legion that a Passover seder was held for 1,500 Jewish legionnaires.

Harry Golden thought maybe Israeli will have a new stereotype.  People will now say:  Them Jews are great fighters, but they are certainly poor businessmen."  That was after Israel's 1956 Sinai War when Israel had economic problems and an unbalanced budget.  Today he couldn't say they're bad businessmen because they're one of the leading states in start-up businesses.

Now, people are asking, "START-UP NATION addresses the trillion dollar question: How is it that Israel-- a country of 7.1 million, only 60 years old, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war since its founding, with no natural resources-- produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada and the UK?"

Resource;  Book: Just Because They're Jewish by M. Hirsh Goldberg
Book: Start-Up Nation by Dan Senor :
http://www.amazon.com/Start-up-Nation-Israels-Economic-Miracle/dp/0446541478

Conundrum About giving Millions to Palestinians to Get American Security ?

Nadene Goldfoot
Hamas, which is the Islamic Resistance Movement of the Muslim Brotherhood, declared its intentions to eradicate Israel. Their 1988 charter speaks of replacing Israel with the Palestinians.  They have a military branch, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.   The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928.  It encompasses religion, politics and social beliefs.  "The Brotherhood's credo was and is, "Allah is our objective; the Quran is our law, the Prophet is our leader; Jihad is our way; and death for the sake of Allah is the highest of our aspirations. Its most famous slogan, used worldwide, is "Islam is the solution." Their goal is to wipe out Israel.

The Muslim Brotherhood was active in Gaza since the 1950's and out of it came Hamas in 1987. Their Sheik Ahmed Yassin said in " 1987 that Hamas was founded  to liberate Palestine from Israeli occupation and to establish an Islamic state in the area that is now Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip." Abbas, the Palestinian authority chairman, seeks a unity government with Hamas and got it. They reject direct negotiations with Israel.  By doing this, they are being honest for a change.  They have no intentions to make peace and stop attacking.

Yet Obama claims that American support for Israel is unbreakable.  He has given the people who openly say they will eradicate Israel, who have been shelling Israel daily in some sort of mad Russian Roulette practice, $192 million per year.  Congress had imposed a ban on this "financial aid" but Obama lifted it under the excuse that it was important to the security interests of the USA.  Only he seems to know what that is.  To me this sounds naive or disingenuous.

Congress saw right away that they were giving the enemies of Israel who are out to destroy her the money to do it with.  Why is it that Obama sees it quite differently?  How does he expect Netanyahu to believe his support is unbreakable?

The Arabs who had been living in Palestine along with the Jews were led by politically-minded leaders who brained washed the whole lot of them into hating their neighbors, the Jews.  They promised them the homes of the Jews if they'd get out of the way so they could win a quick war and it didn't happen.  The people, as brain-washed as they were, followed orders and lived in camps instead of becoming relocated.  They still were being fed promises the leaders couldn't keep.  Now we have a people maddened by their leaders who have nothing on their minds but hatred for Jews, thus for Israel.  They've multiplied quickly in the camps and each baby is thought of as a future fighter against Israel.  Hatred has become their religion. It's too bad that they were presented with Democracy so soon because they were only in the mood to destroy Israel and chose the ones who they thought could do it the best and fastest.  Those who followed the history and developments in this area knew what was coming.

This didn't happen with Arabs who remained in their homes alongside the Jews during the times of attacks.  They have become citizens of Israel and number about 1.5 million.  They are in the Knesset and have a better life than their friends who were the greedy ones to start with, not minding a take over of their slaughtered neighbors.

Has the millions of American dollars being spent on weapons to use against Israel?  They seem to have a never-ending supply.  Israel has to keep borrowing money from USA to pay for their arsenal.  It's  a ridiculous vicious  circle.  It's not one made by Congress, that's for sure.  The  Arabs thought that Obama would side with them in the struggle over Israel and so this is his solution, perhaps?

This brings back memories of the 20's where mobsters demanded payoffs for security.  If businesses didn't pay up, they'd find their stores all busted up.

So the USA is supporting the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt with $1.2 billion with our taxpayer money we had to borrow from China  in order to do this.  This didn't buy very good security and our flag was torn down while the Al Qaeda one was put up.  Now under lots of Washington pressure hundreds of protesters are being arrested in Egypt.

Next door in Libya, our embassy had no security at all.  The country has a new regime with President Mohamed el-Megarif, who feels it was al-Qaeda of Afghanistan who premeditated this attack.  Our Susan Rice of the UN goes along with Obama in that the whole thing came about from a video made about 6 months ago denigrating Mohammad, if you could follow the poor story line.  More facts show that Megarif is correct.    The American ambassador was killed along with 3 others and still no security visited.  Finally on the 3rd day, Obama got on the phone and there was action.  It took the phone call.  Libya has 6, 173,579 people of which 97% are Sunni Muslims which is their state religion.

Resource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas
http://frontpagemag.com/2012/joseph-puder/obamas-betrayal-of-israel/
Book:  From Time Immemorial by Joan Peters
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Qaeda
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/world/middleeast/anti-american-protests-subside-in-middle-east.html

Qaradawi: Moderate or Giver of Fatwas of Violence

Nadene Goldfoot
Youssef al-Qaradawi is a Muslim leader born in Egypt who was ousted due to his radical stance.  He was accepted by Qatar and given prominent importance there, where he has created a worldwide audience through the Web and a show on Al-Jazzera TV which comes from Qatar.

The leaders of the United States see him as a moderate, for that is what he projects in English while he entertains such people as Hillary Clinton on February 15, 2010.  Qatar is a tiny country with lots of money and has also become important by sponsoring teachers and materials to teach Arabic in many American schools, like Lincoln High in Portland, Oregon as well as a grade school here.

The Oregonian's article this morning ran his recent words from his Friday sermon from Doha, the capital.   "Our manner of protesting should reflect sense and reason."  What is he actually saying in Arabic?  Americans see him as competing against opposing calls that tap deeper passions like political factions and hard-line clerics across the Muslim world who are quick to try to capitalize after other perceived offenses against the faith.He has the Western world either fooled or in denial.

He is the very man who has called a fatwa against all Jews to be killed.  Though he's in a wheel chair he relishes the idea of killing Jews with his bare hands.  He's a" radical Muslim Brotherhood ideologue.  He shows consistent support of terrorist groups that seek to undermine a peaceful resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict."   He endorses Palestinian suicide bombings against Israeli civilians.  He calls for another Holocaust against Jews but this time at the hands of the Muslims.  It's he that's making this a religious war.  As he told his Al-Jazeera audience on January 2009, "Oh Allah, do not spare a single one of them (Jews). Oh Allah, count their numbers, and kill them, down to the very last one."  We don't have to check out Mohammed in the Koran.  Qaradawi makes it very plain to his audience as to what to do.

He wrote Fiqh (Jurisprudence) of Jihad (2009).  He's the man that chastises Muslims who do not observe jihad as an obligatory duty.  He tries to legitimize suicide bombing in his book or "martyrdom operations".  He says that "Zionist massacres of today" are a continuation of alleged Jewish calls to genocide in the Old Testament."  So he's getting even with Jews of almost 5,000 years ago today.

The Emir of Qatar has been responsible for keeping his name off the US list of designated terrorists. He was back in Egypt after Mubarak was imprisoned to speak to the multitude there and stir them up some more.  He is the spiritual guide for Hamas who shell Israel everyday.

As for Libya and his influence there, Gaddafi died October  20, 2011.  Qatar was the first Arab state to formally recognize the Libyan opposition Interim Transitional National Council (TNC) and is one of 2 Arab governments contributing military aircraft to coalition operations to enforce UN Security Council Resolution 1973.  Qatari C-17i aircraft and Mirage fighter jets supported the coalition air operations.  Some unconfirmed reports suggest that Qatar has supplied defensive weaponry to some opposition forces.  They pledged $400-500 million to support temporary financial mechanisms planned for the TNC meeting on May 5, 2011 in Rome.  Behind the scenes will be Qaradawi giving his imput.

From Doha comes backing of Sunni Islamists in Libya, Egypt and Syria so they can replace them.  The tiny Qatar, an emirate, is playing a center-stage role in birthing a new age in politics of the Arab world.

Reference:  Oregonian Newspaper 9/17/12 Front page and A4: Rage over film reveals sharp divides in Islam
ADL http://www.adl.org/NR/exeres/788C5421-7i0E3-4E4Dk-BKFF4-9BE14E4A2E58,DB7611A  I ran off on 11/21/2011  Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi:  Theologian of Terror
http://globalmbreport.org/?p=2225&print=1
Congressional Research Service
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muammar_Gaddafi
http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/Print/Article.aspx?id=254394
MEMRI  Sheikh Al-Qaradawi & Qatar's Education City Hosting American University Branches 

Netanyahu Needs a Meeting

Nadene Goldfoot
After being turned down by Obama  to meet with him, I figure that Netanyahu is feeling very irritated, and has made the strongest remarks possible with criticism of the Obama administration over the Iranian enrichment issue.  Israelis feel it is a clandestine Iranian plan to build nuclear weapons though Tehran keeps on denying this.  He feels Obama's type of response is just a signal to the Iranians that they could build atomic bombs with freedom from punishment.

Words are a funny thing.  People may understand and translate the English language, but depending on their culture, interpret words in different ways.  Take the example of what happened to cause riots in Cairo and Libya over words from one small-time pastor.  Not even in the translation but in the power of the words we find differences.  We sluff off his words while the people of those places took them to heart as an offense and rioted, killing 4 Americans.  .

US State Department spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland repeated Obama's commitment not to allow Iran to get nuclear weapons and said "it is not useful to be parsing it, to be setting deadlines one way or the other, red lines."  The whole problem rests on the fact that Israel will be hit first and needs to prevent it from happening in the first place but needs the USA as a partner.  The commitment sounds like a partnership, doesn't it?  They are not going to allow them to get nuclear weapons?  Israel needs some facts on their table. He needs facts but doesn't want to broadcast those facts, just know them, and he can't even get an appointment to talk about it let alone get any facts.

Netanyahu is not satisfied with the economic sanctions imposed on Iran and thinks they are ineffective in stopping the enrichment program.  Every day that goes by is another day they keep getting closer to creating nuclear bombs, Netanyahu fears.  He spoke before of a window of opportunity that could close very soon.  When it closes, we are all in mortal danger.

To feel secure, Netanyhu is a man who goes by detailed plans.  He has heard a lot of unfulfilled promises in his day.  It's a long haul by plane from Israel to New York.  I've done that trip.  It's exhausting.  Would it kill Obama to set aside time for Netanyahu and hash some of this out?  Isn't this a part of his job description?

Whatever happens, a least Netanyhu can feel that he has done his utmost to warn the world of the impending danger.  He's just trying to prevent the obliteration of his own little state by a leader or leaders that have continually threatened such extinction.  In that part of the world, people take leaders' words seriously.

Update: 12:00 noon:  I am going to take this a step farther.  Obama is not to like Netanyahu.  This comes from his comment once on an open mike that was heard by others and reported.  What is he doing to Netanyahu's constituency when he can't get an appointment with the President of the USA?  He's snubbing him and showing him disrespect.  Is Obama trying to get him out of office while he himself is drumming up votes for his next term?

Resource:  Oregonian Newspaper 9/12/12 page A3, Netnyahu criticizes US over iran stand

Cistern Dating to King Solomon Uncovered

Nadene Goldfoot
King Solomon was King David's son and lived from 961 to 920 BCE (10th century BCE)  .  He was responsible for a cistern or water reservoir  which could hold 66,000 gallons of water built that was just uncovered in a dig near the Western Wall.  It was destroyed 400 years later and then became part of the 2nd temple's water cistern.  .

It was most likely used by pilgrims coming to the first temple (Temple Mount).

Jerusalem was built by King David.  He wasn't allowed to build the temple as he was a war-like king, but his son, Solomon was given that responsibility.

The main water supply in King Solomon's day was the Gihon Spring, but they also needed reservoirs like this one found as well.  One wonders what tools they had that could cut through rock, a skill needed to build such reservoirs.

It seems like every day that history is uncovered showing life of the Jewish people in Jerusalem in ancient days.

Resource: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48951691/ns/technology_and_science-science/
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

Historian Benny Morris Now "Gets it"

Nadene Goldfoot
Benny Morris,  well-known left-winged historian in Israel, has made a 180 degree turn in understanding the history of his own country.  He's one of the "New Historians" of Israel and teaches at Ben Gurion University in Be'er Sheva.

I feel vindicated finally from being in disagreement with this young whipper-snapper, 14 years younger than me.  He finally sees that the main obstacle to Israeli-Arab peace "has been the Palestinians' refusal to compromise".  PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas" refuses to talk with Israeli leaders because he has no desire or intention of reaching a solution of 2 states for 2 peoples".

I could not understand why Benny didn't understand this in the first place long ago.  Maybe it was hope and being in denial, I just don't know.  I guess he just had to live long enough to see the constant refrain being played over and over again without change.  Israel wanted to talk and compromise and the Arabs didn't from Yasser Arafat to Abbas.

Benny's desire now is to "open readers' eyes to the truth."  His goal is to expose the goals of the Palestinian National Movement which is to wipe out the Jewish national enterprise and to take possession of all of  Palestine for the the sake of Arabs and of Islam.

Our next step should be to find a way to convince the Arabs to have a reason to compromise and come to a workable solution where all can live in peace and security.  It would be nice if this could take place before the coming of the Messiach.

Resource:  Arutz Sheva news@israelnationalnews.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Morris

Democrats Reinstate Jerusalem and G-d in Platform

Nadene Goldfoot
Hamas and the PLO (now Fatah) is having a tizzy over the fact that the Democratic Platform just reinserted the word "Jerusalem as Israel's capital "   in their platform after Obama intervened during the convention in Charlotte, North Carolina Wednesday.  Hamas is saying that declaring Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is "stupid begging" for Jewish votes at the expense of Palestinian rights."

Talking about rights!  There were no rights when Jerusalem was in the hands of Jordan.  Jews couldn't live there. Jews and Christians couldn't visit sacred places to their religion.  Points of interest for Jews and Christians were treated with trash.   Jerusalem has been the center of the Jews and their culture since before King David 1000-960 BCE, and even though the Romans attacked in 70 CE and Jerusalem fell to them,  have always had a Jewish presence there.

This means that Jerusalem was the city created by Jews, for Jews, and had been in Jewish hands for almost 2,000 years before Islam was even created.  It was only since 1967 that Israel had access to Jerusalem once again since 1948 CE allowing all people to be there.  Now Jerusalem is again the capital of Israel.  For 19 long years Jews had been deprived access as well as Christians to their beloved Jerusalem.  Now Palestinians are talking about rights of access!  Heaven help us!

There has never been a country of Palestine.  It was simply renamed Palestine by the Romans.  The Arabs who now call themselves Palestinians are made up of a variety of late-comers, some of which may have been  people from various empires who have trampled through the land at various periods since then, or even late late comers looking for work with the Jews who came in from Russia and other places to rebuild the land.

Izzat al-Rishq said on his Facebook page that Jerusalem was and will be the eternal capital of Palestine.  Well, yes, Izzy, but then, when the land was called Palestine by Europe, Jews and Arabs were called Palestinians.  It was meant that Jerusalem was the Jews' eternal capital.  Arabs became Muslim in 600 -700CE and that had nothing to do with Jerusalem except for one incident of Muhammad, born in Mecca, Arabia (570-632 CE)  who might have been visiting there, who is said to have gone up to heaven on his horse.  Jerusalem is not a word mentioned in the Koran.

Recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital on this platform must be a hook to reel in Jewish votes because it unfortunately doesn't affect the actual US policy towards Israel.  "The administration has long said that determining Jerusalem's status is an issue that should be decided in peace talks by Israelis and Palestinians."  It's not on the books. Obama simply intervened and told the writers to insert it.  The convention was loud in their voice vote with yeses and nos and boos, balancing each other out.  But Obama wanted it in so it was called a yes on the 3rd attempt, getting a lot of boos afterwards.

The platform stated that Jerusalem should remain an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths.  Remember, Democrats, this is a definite fact under Israel's rule. This was also on the platform 4 years ago.  So why was it taken out and then re-inserted?  All that had been in there to start with this time was "the nation's unshakable commitment to Israel's security."  It would be nice if this is a part of the USA's actual commitment in writing.

On "God," Obama had asked why it had been taken out in the first place.   Yes, the Democratic Party had changed lately to have taken it out of their platform.  It was inserted in "the most of their God-given potential" in referring to everyone willing to work hard.  

It seems to me that G-d and Jerusalem, which is definitely a city that Jews and Christians connect to G-d, are having a hard time with this group, who had to vote on it 3 times before passing,  in being taken seriously this year.  It's good that second thoughts, no matter what the reasons were, had brought these two words back into focus one again.

Reference: Oregonian newspaper, 9/7/2012, page A5, God, Israel references added to platform
http://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinians-blast-democrats-decision-to-return-omitted-language-on-jerusalem-to-platform/#
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad

Obama Vague on Iran's Limits

Nadene Goldfoot
There are two problems in dealing with Iran.  Israel would like to bring a halt to Iran's development of nuclear items such as bombs and such that would be destined to be dropped on Israel.  The United States just wants to slow down Iran's nuclear development.  Their aim is just to buy time.

The Oregonian's article this morning from New York Times  tells of Netanyahu feeling that Obama is too vague about Iran's limits in how far they can go.  He doesn't see a clear red line and Iran doesn't see a strong determination to stop its nuclear project.  This is because they haven't stopped their production activities at all.

Israel has been talking about attacking Iran's nuclear production on their own but doesn't want to.  They would like the USA to join them.  The USA is trying to forestall an Israeli attack while making the Iranians take the situation more seriously.

One thing the USA is doing  is installing a new radar system in Qatar.  Israel and Turkey already have this.  They want to "form a broad arc of anti-missile coverage." Qatar is not necessarily a friend of Israel, but may suffer the consequences of Iran's mission as well along with Saudi Arabia.  They are of a slightly different Muslim theology than Iran.  Iranians are Shi'a following the Jafari code (fiqh)  and Saudi Arabia and Qatar are Sunni who follow the Hanbali code.    The religious leader of Qatar is Qaradawi, who is very anti-Jewish. They have this one hatred in common with Iran.  Qaradawi is also the religious influence in Egypt, which doesn't help matters.  

Back in 2007 Israel hit Syria's nuclear reactor and it took weeks to become clear that it was Israeli jets that did the job, or at least most think it was Israel.  There was no retaliation and was a success.  Whoever hit it did it early enough to cause complete damage.  Now Iran's facility has gone underground and is so secret that it would be impossible for Israel to strike and destroy it.  It's gone on too long.  There may be one window of opportunity coming up, but would take more than just Israel to stop it.

We know that Iran at this point is not taking the USA and 25 other nations seriously in their sanctions against Iran.  Yet the USA thinks of a military strike that could trigger an Iranian reaction and unleash a new conflict in the Middle East.  So we get back to Israel's idea of a stern red line set by the international community letting Iran know just how far they can go.  Israel will not be the only ones hurt in Iran's unleashing nuclear powers but the whole world will also suffer from it.  Iran is not a sane dependable nation at this point in time. Their leaders are meshugenas.  That's why they must not get nuclear capabilities.a

Update: 9:27am General Martin Dempsey, US Chairman of Joint chief of Staff, told the British last week that the the USA doesn't want to be "complicit" in an Israeli attack on Iran.  He also warned against a go-it-alone military action.  This announcement changed this position of the USA in that the situation had to be reassessed now.

Will Iran take any sanctions seriously now that they know that an attack  is not a possibility?

Resource:  Oregonian 9/4/12 page A3 At issue, Tehran's nuclear program:  US takes steps against Iran, aims to head off Israeli attack
http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-chastised-israel-seeks-way-forward-u-over-152725950.html

The Change Obama Had in Store for Israel

Nadene Goldfoot
Statement from Obama in 2010:  “Israel cannot be expected to negotiate with Palestinians who do not recognize its right to exist”.          …

     … his position  recorded in the White House on March 12, 2012.    Has he just changed his mind, or what?  Yet Hillary Clinton has continued to pound on Netanyahu to negotiate, even though the PA won't come to the table and if they did, want everything settled their way before they even sit down.  And of course, they won't recognize their right to exist.

This was a statement brought to my attention this morning.  It should matter to Jews as we have to vote in November.  Israel probably wasn't the prominent issue on many Jewish voters minds four years ago, but it's time to put it on the front burner and think about it along with social security and healthcare.  I keep thinking, we in the USA will survive, no matter what, but will Israel?  After 2,000 years of being treated like chopped liver and drek, shouldn't we give Israel a higher consideration this time?  If Israel doesn't survive, the USA will be next on the chopping block.

He was one of the few senators who didn't support the Kyl-Lieberman resolution calling the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization.  He was against overthrowing Saddaam Hussein when a state senator.  He wanted to meet with Ahmajinadad without preconditions.  and his idea of Iran was that it was a tiny nation, he told a Pendleton, Oregon crowd because they spent far less on their military than the Soviet Union.  He didn't want to deal with the Likud party in Israel, which is Netanyahu's party.  

Obama had chosen Zbigniew Brzezinski as his foreign policy adviser, who had been the same for Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981. We know now that Carter was most negative with the book he has come out with about Israel.   This Professor Brzezinski of noble-birth from Warsaw, Poland  may not have given the best advice to insure Israel's well-being.

In his speech to AIPAC on March 2, 2007, he mentioned that our job was to do more than lay out another road map.  Our job was to rebuild the road to real peace and lasting security throughout the region.  Then, what did he want when he was on TV with Netanyahu?  He suggested strongly that  Israel to go back to the 1967 lines and he didn't seem to understand why Netanyahu just about plotzed at that suggestion?  Oh yes, that certainly is a change in the road;  his road is completely blocked!  Being Obama's first finances came from George Soros doesn't help, either.  Old George has financed a group that undermines AIPAC who have allowed themselves to be bedazzled by his contributions.

He was a 2 year senator with very little experience and had done virtually nothing  in foreign policy.  He had surrounded himself with friends that were not favorable towards Israel which surely must have influenced his decisions. His co-chair in 2008 for the presidential campaign was General Merrill McPeak, who lives right here in Lake Oswego, just outside of Portland.  He was a man against AIPAC, which is Israel's only American Lobby group.  He has spoken against Israel's settlement policies in the Palestinian areas of Judea and Samaria and wants Israel's withdrawal of some towns. (Israel just  moved out 50 families or about 300+ people by their Supreme Court order because it was an unauthorized community which was a difficult step for Israel to take.) He said this back in 1976, so we know where he stands on such matters.  Anyone that seems to be supportive of Israel, this man has been against.  The Oregonian  carried an article about him on March 27, 2008.

Obama surrounded himself with advisers that have been a negative influence about Israel.  David Bonior, the biggest supporter of the anti-Israel Arab lobby in congress, Robert Mally, fierce critic of Israel, Samanatha Power who called for the suspension of aid to Israel but for Palestine and using US soldiers to invade Israel and force a peace agreement with the PA., Senator Chuck Hagel who refused to ask the EU to declare Hizbullah a terrorist organization and was one of 4 senators that refused to sign a senate letter in support of Israel, and Joseph Cirincione who wanted Israel to give up its nuclear material but refused to listen that Syria has been building up its nuclear enrichment capacity.

Ha'aretz Newspaper didn't see it coming when they graded the contenders back in 2008.  They thought he was pro-Israel.  So did a high % of Jewish voters as so many voted for their usual Democratic ticket.  

Back on March 17, 2010, Obama said, "“The Iranian government has been more concerned about preventing their people from exercising their democratic and human rights than trying to solve this problem diplomatically. That’s why we’re going to go after aggressive sanctions,” the president said.."  Yet, options are still on the table as of September 2012 and the atomic energy commission just announced that the sanctions haven't slowed Iran down a bit.  Obama hasn't visited with Netanyahu to calm his fears, either, most of us have noticed.

Obama has been known to call the Arab-Israeli conflict an "open wound" or "an open sore" on his foreign policy.  This comes from Jeff Goldberg of the Atlantic Monthly who interviewed McCain and Obama.  To Jeff this showed some sort thinking  on Obama's part that the parties were equally guilty  and all it would take is to get both sides together and that all the other problems in the Middle East comes from this "open sore," rhetoric that the neighbors of Israel like to throw around, and he has bought into it.  So Ahmadinejad calls Israel a "cancer" and now we have Obama going with "open sore".

The event that maddened me was when Netanyahu and his men were at the White House in March 2010 and didn't get invited for dinner but were left on their own while Obama had dinner with his family.  To top off this snub, Obama had left Netanyahu  with a list of 13 demands.    " For over an hour, Mr Netanyahu and his aides closeted themselves in the Roosevelt Room on the first floor of the White House to map out a response to the president's demands."  Is this how Obama treats a friend?

 He kept warning us by talking about bringing change, and this change seemed to be geared towards changing Israel.  He has talked a good talk but walks unfairly with Israel.  

Update 9/6/12, http://news.yahoo.com/palestinians-criticize-democrats-jerusalem-stance-143416965.html, With Democratic convention going on, they took out Jerusalem as the capital and then put it back in .What is "said" and what will be contractual "written" as policy is to be seen.  So far, it has not been the American policy to accept Jerusalem as Israel's capital.  

Resource: http://spectator.org/archives/2012/02/22/obama-and-israel-the-silence-o
http://www.infowars.com/al-qaeda-grand-wizard-brzezinski-advises-obama-on-foreign-policy/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zbigniew_Brzezinski
http://anyonebutobama.org/index.php?page=Reason-10 EXCELLENT
Oregonian newspaper  9/3/12 page A4 Israeli settlers exit unauthorized site
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/162431-obama-and-netanyahu-note-differences-after-oval-office-meeting
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/7521220/Obama-snubbed-Netanyahu-for-dinner-with-Michelle-and-the-girls-Israelis-claim.html