Nebraska's Chuck Hagel and Harry Reid, Democrat and the Voting for Secretary of Defense

Nadene Goldfoot
The senators who will be voting might relent after they return to Washington.  The vote will probably nominate Chuck Hagel.  Only 15 Republican Senators are asking Obama to withdraw his name from nomination.  Their concerns center around the Benghazi, Libya fiasco in which 4 Americans were killed; one being the US ambassador. Another accusation is that he has been too lenient on Iran.  Miracles are in short supply.  A few such as Senator Ted Cruz still oppose the confirmation as Secretary of Defense.  With all the negatives abounding, how is it possible for a man so unsuitable for this job to even be nominated?

In today's Oregonian, the PolitiFact section's headline is "No sign of Iran celebrating Hagel defense nomination."  I suppose this is to show the public that if Iran isn't celebrating his nomination, that this means they fear him and he will be tough on them.  Wrong.  They're smart enough to know this.  People should realize that their newspapers are government owned and will reflect the will of this mentally unstable government.

If anyone believes that Iran's zeal to develop uranium is for medical purposes only will believe in flying carpets, too.  Iran has threatened Israel so much and has called them so many outlandish names that you know they are serious.  Just look at their charters.  On page A7 of today's paper, a teeny item titled Iran Nuclear, says that  UN inspectors recently found 200 advanced machines fully or partially installed at their main uranium enrichment site.  This confirms the accounts that Tehran has begun a major upgrade to be used for making atomic arms.  You see, they are getting around this action because international law allows using it for scientific and medical purposes.  But knowing the government, you know what their real goal is.

Chuck Hagel will be in charge of  defense of the USA and will be affecting the defense of Israel.  As a Republican Senator from Nebraska, his attitudes do not reflect the present Republican views.  John McCain surprises me in backing down so quickly.  Chuck is reflecting far more of the Democrats, and I am sadder to think that anyone  would take his positions.  Just look at a few of the attitudes he reflects.

1. Hagel commented  that Israel is responsible for violating virtually every United Nations resolutions since 1967.  This is factually inaccurate.
 2. Hagel’s advocacy of negotiations with the terrorist organization Hamas, it is morally obtuse.
3. He tried to close the USO's Haifa retreat from 1987-1990, a place popular with US sailors.  45,000 had visited this port (so much like Portland) in 1990.  His comment was, "Let the Jews pay for it!."
4. Only Hagel abandoned Russia's Jews.  He wouldn't give support in 1999 urging Boris Yeltsin to take action against anti-Semitism.  Only he wouldn't sign a letter all other senators signed.
5. Refused to sign a Senate letter supporting Israel during Yasser Arafat's terrorist Intifada in 2000.  He was one of 4 that refused to sign.  96 Senators signed.
6.  He said that the State Department is the adjunct to Israel's foreign minister's office.  That is surely a nasty statement.  He's saying they are attached!  Never mind that they may be sharing the same values.  Because they might be in agreement with many things that he isn't, he has become most nasty and really-this shows his true colors about Israel.
7. Saying nasty comments about AIPAC.  such as, "The Jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people up here on Capitol Hill."  He said this to Aaron David Miller in 2008 and was printed in the New York  Post. This is another anti-Semitic comment.  It's inferring that Jews have such power as to intimate people.  Nonsense.  Again, we do have shared values.  AIPAC people are Americans.
8.  Commenting that because someone is Jewish,  he is getting good reviews.  A secretary of defense shouldn't be on the religious affiliation of an American who participates in foreign policy debates.  I would hope that in this country you would have to be a good debater to win a debate and not just because you're Jewish.  Do I detect a little jealousy here?
9 I'M A UNITED STATES  SENATOR.  I'M NOT AN ISRAELI SENATOR." This statement of Hagel's reflects a chip on the shoulder and an attitude.  In other words, we could not possibly be on the same side.  He has also strongly implied that some of the other senators have more loyalty to Israel than to the USA.
10.    Prominent Jewish Nebraskans get the cold shoulder from Hagel. He didn't return any of their phone calls, said Gary Javitch.  He had always had callbacks before, even as a turn-down but Hagel wasn't running again so in his last year in office could afford to ignore certain people.  Carol Katzman, former editor of the Omaha Jewish Press found him most unresponsive to work with.  His office wouldn't respond.  He and his office were dismissive.  He's been the only one in Nebraska that has treated the Jewish community in this manner and they feel that he doesn't give a damn about any of their concerns or of them.   Since they are Jewish, he snubs them.

Each of our 50 states gets only 2 Senators. Today the Republicans have 45 seats while the Democrats have 53 with the leader seat being from Nebraska, Harry Reid.  51 votes are needed to pass a vote.

 Nebraskan Jews have a right to be heard just like the other Nebraskans.  Nebraska is smaller than Oregon in population.  As of July 1, 2012, they had only 1,855,525 people.  Oregon had 3,899,353.  Nebraska is the 37th out of 50 in size while Oregon was the 27th in size. There are from 6,100 to 7,200 Jews who live in Nebraska.  The population has been declining by 10% in the last 3 decades.  Most live in Omaha which has 4 synagogues, a Jewish community center and a mikveh.  Lincoln, Nebraska has 2 synagogues.  Most likely they are not the wheat growers but the merchants.  Jews in Nebraska make up only 0.3% of the population; not enough to bother with, evidently for Hagel.  Jews in Oregon make up a whopping 1.1.% of the population.

Now, if this is how he has treated Jews in his own state, besides all the attitudes and deeds he has already displayed about Jews and Israel, we have a good idea of what to expect from this Secretary of Defense.  Our antennae are more sensitive to these things than other people's.  We've experienced it through the ages.
The 100  senators have other axes to grind with this man.  How is it that they might give up so easily in placing this man in our government's cabinet without a fight?  Why is Obama being so adamant and why did he ever pick him in the first place?  Aren't people vetted before they get on his list?

Resource: Oregonian Newspaper 2/22/13 page A2, and A7.
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0213/murdock.php3#.USex8B2OTqE Chuck Hagel's Greatest Hits by Deroy Murdock
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/21/republican-senators-call-on-obama-to-withdraw-hagel-nomination/
http://spectator.org/blog/2013/02/21/why-hagels-position-on-israel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_population
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0015_0_14643.html Nebraska
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/usjewpop.html Oregon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_elections,_2012
http://www.reid.senate.gov/

Hagel Discussed by Two Senators, Democrat and Republican: On Hagel's Possible Nomination

Nadene Goldfoot
NBC's Sunday program, Meet the Press had Senator Charles Ellis "Chuck" Schumer, Democrat from New York speak with Senator Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz, Republican from Texas about the upcoming possible nomination of Chuck Hagel for Secretary of Defense. The issue basically is how does Hagel feel about Israel and will he defend her when she needs the assistance. Hagel's past record has been very negative towards Israel.

As so many Jews are staunch Democrats, so is Schumer.  He said that he interviewed Hagel personally and asked him the pertinent questions about Israel.  He was most pleased with Hagel's take on Israel's problems and will defend her.

It took Cruz, who had the final say on the program, to bring out that he knows of Hagel's past views concerning Israel  and doesn't trust a sudden turn around at a time of such a nomination.  I think even he is surprised at Schumer's trust, but then politics make friends, and in this case I do not see Schumer ever going against a Democratic president and another Democrat, no matter what his record has been.

Schumer, 62 years old and a Harvard lawyer,  became a senator in 1998 and is Jewish.  Cruz was elected in 2012.  Cruz, whose father is Cuban, is 42 years old and also is a practicing Harvard lawyer. He happens to be a Baptist.  He has attended the U. of Texas in Austin, though and is from Houston.  Ted attended Princeton as well.  "He competed for the American Whig-Cliosophic Society's 's Debate Panel as one of North America's top-ranked parliamentary debaters, winning the top speaker award at both the 1992 U.S. National Debating Championship and the 1992 North American  Debating Championship".   Schumer holds high postions in the Democratic Party.  He has never practiced law as he entered into politics instead.

Resource: http://www.locatetv.com/tv/meet-the-press/7917783 Sunday morning Meet the Press, NBC
http://jewishfactsfromportland.blogspot.com/2012/12/chuck-hagel-on-docket-for-defense.html
http://www.senate.gov/senators/113th_Congress/Cruz_Ted.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Cruz
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Schumer

Chuck Hagel on Docket for Defense Secretary Quite Troubling

Nadene Goldfoot
High on the list to fill the opening for Defense Secretary is Chuck Hagel which is causing many in the American Jewish community to feel nervous.  Both Caroline Glick and Bret Stephens have written about this.
Charles Timothy Hagel, age 66 (born October 4, 1946) in North Platte, Nebraska is a former US Republican Senator from Nebraska.  He is now a professor at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown U.  Since 2009 he has served as chairman of the Atlantic Council and co-chairman of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board.

You might think that because he is a former Republican senator that he is sympathetic towards Israel, but it doesn't seem to be the case.  He has a "Jewish problem."  He has this idea that the "Jewish Lobby" intimidates a lot of people in Washington.  Fact is, there is no "Jewish Lobby."  What there is that he must be accusing is AIPAC, which is the only group supporting Israel who bothers to educate people with accurate facts.  People involved in any "Jewish Lobby" or "Israel Lobby" includes non Jews like Christian Zionists.  Not all Jews are members of AIPAC.  To many people who are not in the "know", Zionist is a dirty word.  All it means is that they support the right of Israel's existence.

Nebraska is not a very heavily populated Jewish state.  I'm surprised to hear that there are about 6,100 Jews in the state of only 1.8 million people, so Hagal probably has not met many or knows much about Jews.  His family, stemming from Catholic Poland and Germany,  could have even raised him without hearing kind words about Jews. He is now Episcopalian, but attitudes often linger.   He might even have this in mind thinking that legislators who might be friendly with AIPAC are doing so out of fear and not out of political conviction.  He has been most emphatic in saying, "I'm a US Senator, not an Israeli Senator," as he stated to US diplomat Aaron David Miller in 2006.  He told him he supported Israel but...but his first interest isn't Israel."  One could feel that he is thinking that Jews all have dual loyalty and is questioning that.  I might add that Jews should be involved more in the current events and past history of the problems Israel is facing and be more informed than others, but this isn't always the case.  For those of us who are such students, we will be supportive of Israel.  This doesn't mean we will turn against our home country, the USA.  He shouldn't have to worry.  Israel and the USA are still allies having common beliefs and goals in life.

Hagel served in Vietnam in the army infantry and became Sergeant from 1967-68, the same period of Israel Six Day War in 1967.  He was highly decorated.  When he returned home he became a radio newscaster and talk show host in Omaha while attending college using the GI Bill.  Then he was hired as a staffer for a congressman in Nebraska for 4 years, and then -as a real lobbyist for Firestone Tire and Rubber Co.  The next job was as an organizer for Ronald Reagan.  Following positions got him into the Veteran's Administration and becoming involved with the Agent Orange issue.  He concludes that we should have never been involved in Iraq and was highly against the Bush administration for that.   "In July 2006, Hagel criticized the Bush administration on its handling of the Israel-Lebanon issue saying "The sickening slaughter on both sides must end and it must end now. President Bush must call for an immediate cease-fire. This madness must stop"  I always note that no one ever speaks out against the Palestinians for bombarding Israel since 2001 with mortars, missiles and rockets, but let Israel finally and belatedly turn about and defend themselves  after warnings after warnings, and it's all ..."stop Israel."

There are situations that give us lots of pause about Mr. Hagel.  In 2002, two years after Yasser Arafat was offered a state by PM Ehud Barak at Camp David, after 457 Israelis were killed in terrorist attacks, Hagel said that "Israel must take steps to show its commitment to peace."    Not the Palestinians?  There is no one more interested or deserving of peace than Israel.  No one is more under the microscope than this tiny state of almost 6 million Jews and 1.4 million Arabs.  No one has been more hated because of religious bias than Jews.  For 2,000 years Jews have been without their homeland living under other's laws and being scapegoats in every situation.  Hagel has the audacity to remind Israel that they should show that they want peace?  Perhaps that's because in past dealings with the Palestinians, it has always been Israel who has given in to ceding land for peace.  Not once have the Palestinians ever given into anything important to Israel.  They have refused the opportunities offered to them since 1948 to have their own state.

He did it again in 2006 in his senate speech where he said, "The US and Israel must understand that it is not in their long-term interests to allow themselves to become isolated in the Middle East and the world."  The world has never been pro-Jews, as far as I can see.  History speaks of this.  The Holocaust is a good example as well.  The Middle East is made up mostly of 48-49 Muslim majority countries whose Islam religion has become radically against Jews to the point of their head religious leaders having fatwas to kill all Jews due to their newly found political dogma.  They're all for apartheid, exclusion of Jews, which they then turn around and accuse Jews of being.  Since they dominate much of the UN, there is no sense thinking they'll be better friends than Jordan has been.   At least Mubarak of Egypt was keeping the peace, but we saw to that, didn't we,  in not supporting him even vocally?  Now the Muslim Brotherhood, with a charter to destroy Israel, is at the helm with Morsi.  So who tipped the scales in Egypt?  Not Israel.  At least the Egyptians were getting lots of tourism coming from Israel to help their economy.

Obama, who disagreed with Netanyahu on camera over the 1967 border,  seems to be intent on choosing people that are not friendly with Israel.  Hagel is one.  John Kerry, Democrat, possible next Secretary of State,  is another.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Hagel
WSJ.com Wall Street Journal, Stephens:  Chuck Hagel's Jewish Problem-"the would-be secretary of defense has some curious views" by Bret Stephens.
http://www.carolineglick.com/e/2012/12/chuck-hagel-for-defense-secret.php

Added 12/19/12 from Front Page: http://frontpagemag.com/2012/ari-lieberman/chuck-hagel-and-the-jewish-lobby/?utm_source=FrontPage+Magazine&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=6008a01641-Mailchimp_FrontPageMag

How Paul Ryan Looks at Israel

Nadene Goldfoot
Congressman Paul Ryan, 42 years old,  has just been picked as the running mate for  Mitt Romney, 65 year old Republican candidate for President of the USA.   His position on Israel is very important.  Being the chair of the U.S. House of Representatives Budget Committee from Wisconsin has not called on him to be in on working on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but he has written his opinion about it and I see he shares my opinions.   Paul has been a 7 term congressman, so has had lots of experience.

He would not jeopardize Israel's safety or do anything to legitimize terrorism.  He realizes that Hamas is a terrorist group who call for Israel's destruction.  He knows the Palestinian Arabs  refuse to recognize Israel's existence and even call Osama Bin Laden a "martyr."  He may not even realize, though, that every fallen Palestinian is a "martyr" in Gaza and Judea-Samaria and many have holidays to celebrate their actions.

He reports that America shouldn't force Israel to come to a peace compact that will not result in peace and security for them.  First, the "Palestinians Arabs" must recognize Israel's right to exist.  If they want a state, they must accept that Israel is there as a state as well.  This is Israel's position as well.

Paul co-sponsored legislation H. Res. 268 that passed the House on July 7, 2011 by 407-13, introduced by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in May that reaffirms the US commitment to negotiate a settlement through direct negotiations.  I note that so far Abbas, the Palestinian leader, refuses to come to the table as he wants things settled his way before he even opens his mouth.  

He was also the co-sponsor of the HR 4133, United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act, also introduced by Cantor, passing in the House in May 2012 stating that it is the US policy to reaffirm commitment to Israel's security as a state, provide Israel with military capabilities to defend itself, expand military and civilian co-operation, assist in a negotiated settlement of the conflict, and encourage Israel's neighbors to recognize its right to exist.  It passed, 411-2.

Paul has been a very active congressman.  He had also been the author of a House-backed budget plan that curbed overall entitlement spending and changes in Medicaid into a voucher-like system to save costs.  He's a man with a "vision for the country, according to Romney.

Paul attended the funeral for victims of the Sikh temple shooting in Wisconsin.  Romney's son, Tagg joined him there.

Congressman Paul Ryan  has been picked for his successes and goals in the economy and budgets, not on his outlook on Israel, but I'm sure that didn't hurt.  Together, they make a great team that also should be good for Israel.

PS:  The Sunday paper has an article telling that Oregon Democrat Senator Ron Wyden, (Jewish) authored a 2,300 word piece in March explaining a plan he and Ryan developed which is quite different from the Ryan-authored Medicare proposal adopted by the republican led House.  This Wyden-Ryan plan will allow seniors to continue receiving Medicare coverage while revamping and expanding private options.  It's different from the "end Medicare as we know it" approach that caused Democrats to fire away at Ryan.  Wyden will now have a new prominence in the race since Medicare is a huge issue.  Being a senior and on Medicare through our social security, I find this reassuring.

PPSS: The Oregonian newpaper 8/14/12 page A4  this morning has another article saying that the Wyden-Ryan package was followed by Ryan's later who "advocated a formal budget-slashing proposal that passed the House which Wyden voted against when it came to the Senate".  Wyden denies that he co-lead a piece of legislation with Ryan now. He said this after Romney suggested Wyden ws embracing his running mate's ideas.   More than being angry with Ryan, Wyden is attacking Romney throughout the piece.

Resource: http://www.thepoliticalguide.com/Profiles/House/Wisconsin/Paul_Ryan/Views/Israel/
Oregonian newspaper, Frontpage: Ryan is reportedly Romney's VP choice by Kasie Hunt and Brian Bakst
Fox News TV channel 118-morning announcment
http://www.haaretz.com/news/u-s-elections-2012/romney-campaign-confirms-paul-ryan-as-running-mate-1.457478
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443404004577582112521141598.html Mitt Romney/Ryan
http://www.jpost.com/VideoArticles/Video/Article.aspx?id=280850
1:45pm Sunday:  Oregonian newspaper 8/12/12 Wyden has a history with GOP pick by Jeff Mapes p: A6.
Oregonian newspaper 8/14/12 page A4   

Muslim Brotherhood's Goals in America with "Dawa"

Nadene Goldfoot
Obama just announced the end to the War on Terror for our country.  For me, it's the beginning of my state of intense fear for the USA. Terror is something that inspires fear.  It is a frightening aspect.   It's heralding the entrance of a power from a religion, and we're not supposed to mix religion with politics here.

Ah, but this is America.  The Muslim Brotherhood can't gain a hold here, can it?  After all, the Muslim Brotherhood's charter  only says that their goal is to turn the world into an Islamist empire.  It has chapters in 80 countries.  They wish to see America fall and tells its followers to be patient.  Why?  they feel that western democracy is corrupt, unrealistic and false.

The Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, is charged with coming under the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood through a Washington attorney and political activist, Suhail Khan.  He just happens to be connected with "Muslims for America." Khan's father, Mahboob Khan, was a leader of a large mosque in Santa Clara, California. He was also a founding father of the Muslim Brotherhood movement in America.  He had allowed Osama bin Laden's #2 man, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, to raise money there.

Suhail has been a consultant to The Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR.  He served on committees at the Islamic Society of North America, ISNA.  Our government now tells us that they are fronts for Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.  Suhail has served as a Republican congressional aide in the late 1990, and then joined the White House staff of George W. Bush's administration as a liaison to groups including veterans.  After that he got into the Dept. of Transportation after 9/11.

The Brotherhood is extremely anti-Semitic.  They are in a rage saying that Jews today are not the Israelites of old.  They call Jews "pigs." During the 2nd World War they supported the Nazis like the Ottoman Empire to the point of carrying out violent pogroms against Jews living in Egypt in November 1945. Interesting, science has stepped up in DNA studies and finds that the major haplogroup of Jews in Israel as J1 and I, J being called the "Cohen" gene, showing that we certainly have continued on for over 4,000 years.

 They're the ones that assassinated Anwar Sadat in 1981 because he had made peace with the hated Zionists, of which I am one.  Hamas, a known terrorist organization and dictators in Gaza,  is a wing of the Muslim Brotherhood.  They glorified Osama bin Laden, calling him a mujahid (heroic fighter).  They glorify martyrdom in "Palestine" and advocate violent jihad.  Their main operations are using deceptive strategy in democracies by appearing to be moderates and use the powers within and then sabotage it all.  Their plan is to replace democracy with fundamentalism of Sharia Law.

The Brotherhood refuses to commit to any Israel-Egypt peace treaty.  This is why Hamas's leader refuses to come to the peace table with Israel and instead sends its underlings.

A doctrine called "dawa," is a pre-violent form of jihad meant to get Islamizing into a a non-Muslim country.  Every Muslim activist seems to be a part of this, and the source of this information comes from no other person than  Yusuf Qaradawi, the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood who lives in Qatar.  He's the world's most influential Islamic cleric and the Emir is his mentor and friend.  Qaradawi said, "We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America, not through the sword but through dawa.  He has also called on killing all Jews everywhere and would love to do so himself with his bare hands, even though he's old and in a wheelchair.

Where we idolize George Washington for not telling a lie, the Muslim Brotherhood uses Taqiyya, an honored practice of lying for the faith, which they don't consider to be lying.  It's a part of the Shariah law and is used in infiltrating our democracy.

As I understand it, Obama was not upset with the Muslim Brotherhood taking over in Egypt since Mubarak was deposed.  Mubarak had fought against it.  So did Sadat.

Many Muslims in America say they are not terrorists, of course.  A majority are South Asians and most are Sufis, believing in harmony with the nation.  They make the mistake of thinking that the Brotherhood is good, however.

The Muslim Brotherhood goals are extreme.  They make it known that their intentions are to be violating the precepts of the USA as a power intending to take over the country and instill Sharia Law.  No other religious group has ever disrespected our platform before, coming here for religious freedom, not planning to take over and replace our religions  with theirs.  Very few people recognize this difference.

Obama has been supportive to their rise in international political power and has opened the door for them at the White House, something already started by our Republicans, sadly.  Our administration tells us that the War on Terror is at an end because the influence of al Qaeda has ended with Osama bin Laden's assassination last year under his directive.  Knowing what the Brotherhood stands for gives me the shivers, and makes me completely puzzled as to why our government would support this group, unless their goals are completely different than my hopes and dreams.

Reference: frontpagemag.com/2012/05/04/the-muslim-brotherhood-in-america-a-video-course/print/
http://www.wnd.com/2011/01/24734/print Now Look Who Else is Infiltrating CPAC
http://www.standwithus.com/app/inews/view_n.asp?ID=1757  Muslim Brotherhood Fact Sheet
http://www.tawfikhamid.com Fighting Sharia Law MUST be a Strategic Objective for the USA by Tawfik Hamid

Why Did American Jews Risk Israel in Their Voting? Nadene's Opinion

There have been more than two very interesting articles about why Jews are Democrats. They both give the history of why most Jews voted Democratically. Since World War II when President Roosevelt was in power, we have been grateful to find America a haven from the killing fields in Europe that took the lives of six million Jews. Thank goodness we were here.

We've been very loyal to Roosevelt's party. Now we've had 65 years of living peacefully in the United States, which is quite a stretch for us Jews. We've come from being kept out of organizations because of our religion to being accepted. We were kept out of jobs and schools and now find ourselves just one of the guys. Life has become good. That's almost three generations from Europe and pogroms and the holocaust. Our present generation knows very little about our past unless the parents were directly involved with past events. Our school systems do not dwell on this part of history, so our children just have not become impacted by it. How many attend Sunday School and even listen to the history portion in class? Being a past teacher and Sunday School teacher in Oregon, I know that very little has reached our young citizens.

I was on the Democratic Party's inner circle in Eastern Oregon, and even had a a party after an election before 1980 when our man won. I graciously invited my mother to the party even though she was a rebel and had voted Republican. I never considered ever voting Republican. She said she was more interested in what they stood for and not the party. She really investigated them. Her vote cancelled out my father's vote, but they learned to live with it.

When it came to voting again in this election, I found Democrats to be so engrossed in the identification of being a Democrat that they did not consider Israel's life at all. They were appalled at being questioned about it. The fact that the Bush Era had been such a mess determined their judgements. Anything to get away from the Republicans was their thinking in my opinion. Their thoughts were the same as most Americans. Stop the war. Save the soldiers. Obama was such an artful speaker. Who could argue against him? The world loved him. He was good for America and would be the first black president. Voters were more interested in saving the planet and going green than rescuing Israel.

I am an American with dual citizenship with Israel. I lived there for over five years teaching English as a Foreign Language in Safed. It was amazing to check with my mother back home in Oregon to find that what was happening in Israel was not reported in her papers. Obviously, the reporters were only interested in anything that showed how bad Israel was instead of all the horrid things happening to her or mention the good things it was creating and sharing with the world. It was depressing to find that prejudice existed again after our revival of support in 1967.

There were so many indications that Obama would not be supportive of Israel if elected, but most Democratic Jews that I knew would not read or consider the findings and possibilities. Israel was outweighed in their decisions. I suppose they quickly thought that Israel could overcome any obstacle it met regardless of Obama's leanings. After all, look how many wars it had come through since 1948. Some even may have thought that Ha-Shem would protect. The outcome was that most Jews voted Democratically in the last election. Israel is having one heck of a time being pressured to lose Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria. It has already lost Gaza which it really didn't want in the first place but found it placed in their lap. The goal of the surrounding Arabs and especially the Palestinians is to get rid of Israel, and they are closer now than ever with Iran threatening Israel with an atomic missile. Most of the world is of course not assisting Israel. They really didn't want its creation in the first place, except the Evangelical Christians who are most supportive.

My sincere thoughts are this. Israel was created in my lifetime after 2,000 years of lying dormant. This is a time spoken of in the past. It's a revival period of our ancestor's home and our history. We are the ones that are responsible for its continuation. This heavy responsibility is ours now. We were the leaders of conscience being the mother religion with Christianity and Muslims as the children. What are we doing about its life?

Resource: Why Are Jews Liberals by Norman Podhoretz-opinion: Wall Street Journal http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203440104574402591116901498.html

Why Are Jews Liberals-A Symposium: Commentary Magazine- look for Jeff Jacoby's article-also David Wolpe, Jonathan D. Sarna, Michael Medved, William Kristol wrote articles there. http://www.commentarymagazine.com/viewarticle.cfm/why-are-jews-liberals-a-symposium-15223

Republican Presidential Candidates Views On Israel

Nadene Goldfoot
My gut feeling is that the Republicans don't stand a chance in the presidential race. People want a change and want to get out of Iraq. I admire the Republicans that are running. None have a website that I have found like Hillary Clinton's telling of their accomplishments involving Israel, but all have visited Israel and have cultivated good rapport with Israel. In September of 2006 the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, asked four questions of the candidates, and I show the men's scores in regards to concern for Israel.

Rudy Giuliani, b: 28 May 1944 and Roman Catholic, the former New York mayor, ranks high by the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz as being favorable towards Israel. He had many Jewish constituents in New York and is looked upon as a friend of Israel. He led them to believe that he would make a great effort to take military action to stop Iran's nuclear weapons plan. He returned a $10 million dollar donation from a Saudi prince after 9/11 following his comments on Israel. I'm not sure what the prince's motives were; to compensate for the bombing by Saudi citizens, a reward for his Israeli speech, or a bribe to not support Israel. Overall, he received a rating of 8.75.

John McCain, b: 29 Aug 1936 and Episcopalian, is the Arizona senator who believes that America must give Israel whatever equipment and technology it needs for defense, so he also supports Israel. He's 71 years old and has been a senator for 21 years. His father and grandfather were Admirals in the Navy. During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, McCain said Israel's response to the guerrillas was appropriate. "What would we do if somebody came across our borders and killed our soldiers and captured our soldiers?" said McCain. "Do you think we would be exercising total restraint? Such restraint should come from Hezbollah and the nations sponsoring it, notably Iran." John just won in South Carolina's race. He sees Israel as a strategic asset, and received an overall score of 7.63.
3/3/2008: In April 2002 in a speech to the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee he said that no free nation can tolerate a terrorist state on its border. ... We can allow terrorists no role in the political process. "the Oslo accord failed because it was based on...Palestinians and Israeli could live peacefully together. Israel determines their security....there can be no comprehensive peace between Israel and the Palestinians until Palestinians recognize Israel, forswear forever the use of violence, recognize their previous agreements, and reform their internal institutions. (May 2006). About a Palestinian state, it should be the "ultimate end,", but first there needed to be "peace,". Hamas is not a partner for peace so long as they advocate the overthrow of Israel. (Jan 26, 2006).

Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts governor, is a Mormon and graduate of Harvard. He talked about Israel's security and said that "the United States must keep Iran from acquiring a nuclear bomb", and that "he's helping a former Israeli prime minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) lobby Massachusetts to divest pension funds from companies that do business with the country (Iran). He opposed Khatami's recent U.S. trip, saying taxpayers shouldn't fund a man "who supports the destruction of Israel." Romney does view Israel as a strategic asset, but was not as strong about it as the other candidates. He received an overall score of 6.0

Mike Huckabee is the governor of Arkansas. He has made nine visits to Israel, including a trip to Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum. I take it that he wants to be informed. He has advocated forcibly transferring the Palestinians to other Arab nations. He has close associations with prominent End Times theological proponents like Pastor John Hagee, head of a Pentecostal congregation in San Antonio, Texas. They have 18,000 members and the executive director of Christians United for Israel belongs to this group. They are against the two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine crisis and are in favor of a military strike on Iran. Huckabee delivered two sermons there and received a standing ovation. He said that Hagee is one of the great Christian leaders of our nation. Hagee has written a book that I have, titled, In Defense of Israel. In it he states that he would not try to convert Jews and seems to respect our religion. This differs from the other evangelicals. Interestingly, Huckabee started preaching in 1980. Huckabee had his own television show in Arkansas called Positive Alternatives. Hagee's zealous support for Israel comes from his belief that Jesus will one day return to "biblical Israel" to usher in a kingdom of Heaven on Earth...We will live by the law of God and no other law." In 1989 Huckabee became the youngest president of the 500,000 member Arkansas Baptist State Convention. I wish that more people would read Hagee's book. He received an overall rating of 5.5.

References: Political positions of John McCain-Wikipedia
The Israel Factor: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=759107
Romney In Israel-Elections Blog-The Stump
Israel News: The Real Mike Huckabee: Israel and the Apocalypse