Monday, September 7, 2009
Marriott Westchase Hotel (Houston)
LECTURE ON ISRAEL FUTURE SECURITY AND SURVIVAL
by Bernard J. Shapiro
Freeman Center For Strategic Studies
www.freeman.org
by Bernard J. Shapiro
Freeman Center For Strategic Studies
www.freeman.org
Labor Day - September 7, 2009
Thank you Dr. Frank and Alice Lana for giving me the financial and moral support to make this evening possible.
A special warm thanks to my old friends Rabbi Jack Segal and Dr. Richard H. Rollick. Both of you mean more to me than words can explain. I have learned and grown over the years by being close to you. Through good and bad times your words of wisdom have motivated me to keep working for Israel.
INTRODUCTION
In 1934, Harry W. Freeman, my grandfather, was already lecturing about the dangers of Hitler and Nazism. Nobody listened. The Holocaust was not prevented. Today, in 2009 there are 1.9 billion Arab & Moslem people who plan a second Holocaust against the Jews of Israel and the world. The governments and people of Europe not only acquiesce but actively aid in this genocidal plan through diplomatic and material support. The American State Department encourages the Arabs by actively striving to weaken Israel’s strategic and military superiority. Their first stage is to use the so called “peace process” to weaken Israel and strip it of its strategic territories. They are being aided by the same hypocrites and accomplices in the West who failed to aid the Jews of Europe in their darkest hour. Unfortunately, even left-wing Israelis have fallen victims to the seductive lure of peace and have begun a policy of appeasement similar to that tried with Hitler. The results will be no different.
The Arab propaganda full of slanders and libels; the media bias against Israel replete with double standards and the rewriting of history are all working to the same end: the de-legitimation of Israel. Israel is the only country considered by many to be GUILTY OF ORIGINAL SIN by virtue of its very existence. This process of de-legitimation has as its goal creating a world climate in which the DESTRUCTION of Israel is acceptable. Many in the Jewish community are either apathetic or fail to recognize this threat. Fortunately the Jews have new allies in the Evangelical Christian Community and in the Hindu community that has suffered Moslem depredations for about1400 years.
Thank you Dr. Frank and Alice Lana for giving me the financial and moral support to make this evening possible.
A special warm thanks to my old friends Rabbi Jack Segal and Dr. Richard H. Rollick. Both of you mean more to me than words can explain. I have learned and grown over the years by being close to you. Through good and bad times your words of wisdom have motivated me to keep working for Israel.
INTRODUCTION
In 1934, Harry W. Freeman, my grandfather, was already lecturing about the dangers of Hitler and Nazism. Nobody listened. The Holocaust was not prevented. Today, in 2009 there are 1.9 billion Arab & Moslem people who plan a second Holocaust against the Jews of Israel and the world. The governments and people of Europe not only acquiesce but actively aid in this genocidal plan through diplomatic and material support. The American State Department encourages the Arabs by actively striving to weaken Israel’s strategic and military superiority. Their first stage is to use the so called “peace process” to weaken Israel and strip it of its strategic territories. They are being aided by the same hypocrites and accomplices in the West who failed to aid the Jews of Europe in their darkest hour. Unfortunately, even left-wing Israelis have fallen victims to the seductive lure of peace and have begun a policy of appeasement similar to that tried with Hitler. The results will be no different.
The Arab propaganda full of slanders and libels; the media bias against Israel replete with double standards and the rewriting of history are all working to the same end: the de-legitimation of Israel. Israel is the only country considered by many to be GUILTY OF ORIGINAL SIN by virtue of its very existence. This process of de-legitimation has as its goal creating a world climate in which the DESTRUCTION of Israel is acceptable. Many in the Jewish community are either apathetic or fail to recognize this threat. Fortunately the Jews have new allies in the Evangelical Christian Community and in the Hindu community that has suffered Moslem depredations for about1400 years.
I founded the FREEMAN CENTER FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES in order to create a powerful voice to arouse the Jewish community to the action necessary to frustrate the evil designs of the enemies of Israel and the Jewish People. I need your help to accomplish this mission.
The following are functioning parts off the Freeman Center:
THE MACCABEAN ONLINE
Monthly Internet Magazine archived
THE FREEMANLIST
Daily Email broadcasts of news and commentary
THE FREEMAN BLOG
THE FREEMAN WEBSITE
Multiple good sources of information
EXCELLENT GRAPHIC PRESENTATIONS
Important issues covered
WORK CONTINUES DAILY DESPITE MANY DIFFICULTIES SINCE 1992
SOME THINGS YOU MAY KNOW AND SOME YOU MAY NOT
Harvard University’s Judaica Division and Purdue University are archiving articles from THE MACCABEAN ONLINE (back to 1996)
EBSCO, The largest data bast in the United States is archiving THE MACCABEAN ONLINE. It will be available to ALL Universities, Schools (K-12), Libraries, Military and Government Institutions.
))))))))))))))((((((((((((((((((
As I survey the fragile planet we call home, my mind makes note of the chaos, blood, and tears. The cries of a million lost souls shatter the night in a million corners of the earth. The sensitive, compassionate among them try to feed the hungry, heal the sick, clothe the naked. One by one their energies dissipate. They try to hold back the tide with a teaspoon and then see the impossibility of the task. The Jewish people are but a cosmic speck in this universe. To many Jews who feel deeply about their own people, that speck becomes the whole world. Other Jews are irrevocably tied to non-Jewish pursuits. Many Christians believe that their fate and that of their loved ones is also tied to the fate of the Jewish People.
We are all, Jews, Christians, and Hindus living in one World threatened by a global Jihad that would consume us all.
MIRACLES IN THE HOLY LAND - THERE ARE MANY -
MOST OF YOU KNOW OF SOME - BUT THIS IS WORTH REPEATING
AFTER THE ROMANS DESTROYED JERUSALEM
AND DROVE THE JEWS OUT
A Roman legionnaire stands on a hill overlooking Jerusalem. He watches the city burn and proclaims proudly, "Judea capta est" Judea is destroyed. It will never rise again. Rome's rulers even decreed a change of name for Judea. Henceforth it would be named after the Philistines (or Palestine) and the Jewish connection would be obliterated forever.
Yet, like the legendary Phoenix, rising from the ashes of its own destruction, the new nation of Israel burst onto the international scene in 1948, with the lusty cry of a newborn infant, yearning to breathe free. Five Arab armies rushed to invade Israel and crush the life from the new Jewish State. With unbelievable bravery and heroism the new state survived. Six thousand of its young defenders gave their lives that Israel might live.
In blood and fire was Israel born, and on a hot anvil was she forged. Her youth understood that life in the new Jewish homeland would require sacrifice. With stories of burning flesh from the ovens of Auschwitz embedded deep in their psyches, the young Israeli soldiers fought with the firm conviction that there was "no alternative" (ein brera).
[Originally written and published in 1992 as a founding statement of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies.]
Mark Twain wrote ABOUT JEWS and first published in HARPER'S magazine, September 1887.
If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one quarter of one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of stardust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of; but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk.
His contributions to the world's list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine and abstruse learning are very out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in this world in all ages; and has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself and be excused for it. The Egyptians, the Babylonians and the Persians rose, filled the planet with sound and splendour; then faded to dream-stuff and passed away: the Greeks and the Romans followed and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished.
The Jew saw them all, survived them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?
As Mark Twain implied, their secret is that the Almighty loves his children, Israel.
========
Let Me Tell You About
A HARSH REALITY
Facing Jews and others.
We all want peace. We pray for peace in our Sabbath services every Friday night. After thousands of years, being victims of persecution, expulsion, extermination, and discrimination, it is natural that we yearn for peace with every ounce of our bodies and souls.
It is because our hunger for peace is so strong that we must be doubly cautious not to fall for a pseudo-peace. Today none of us believe Chamberlain really negotiated "peace in our time" with Hitler.
Israelis my age have fought in 7 wars and a 120 year war against terror.
I understand their desire to be free of constant conflict. Unfortunately there is no magic cure. I wish I could speak more optimistic words. Beyond the neighboring states that Israel is negotiating with now lies another ring of unmitigated hostility led by Islamic fundamentalists like those in Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia. Even the “so called Peace Agreements with Egypt and Jordan have not real substance. Those countries will turn on Israel the moment it is opportune for them.
As Jews, Christians and Hindus we are all involved in this historic struggle to survive. It is not our fate or that of all non-Moslems, that we should retire from this struggle. The only peace the Arabs are prepared to give us is the peace of the grave.
NATURE OF PEACE
Great issues of war and peace as related to Israel are being debated by Jews and Christians across America. Israelis are debating the same issues among themselves. There are strong opinions on both sides of the Atlantic as well as both sides of the major issues. What seems to be lacking in all these discussions is the proper historical context. Professor Paul Eidelberg formerly of Bar-Ilan University, reviews the historical facts.
Between 1945 and 1978 the longest time without a war going on someplace was a mere 26 days. On an average day there are 12 wars being fought somewhere on earth. The consensus of scholars has been that the norm of international relations is not peace but war. As Eidelberg reports, "Indeed, the occurrence of 1,000 wars during the last 2,500 years indicates that "peace" is little more than a preparation for war. Which means that peace treaties are WORTHLESS, to say the least."
Eidelberg then quotes from a book by Lawrence Beilenson, entitled THE TREATY TRAP, saying, "After studying every peace treaty going back to early Roman times, Beilenson concludes that treaties are made to be broken. In fact, he shows that treaties for guaranteeing the territorial integrity of a nation are useless to the guaranteed nation, and worse than useless insofar as they engender a false sense of security. Such treaties can only benefit nations governed by rulers intending to violate them whenever expedient."
Midge Dector says this about "peace" and I must explain: As a political scientist, she was not talking about peace with G-d, with our friends and loved ones.
Her statement below was intended to mean peace between nations at war.
She says: What I want to say is something that virtually the whole history of the 20th and 21st century teaches us and yet something we refuse to learn. And that is , when applied to the affairs of nations, peace is an evil word. Yes I said evil. And the idea of peace as we know it is an evil idea. From the peace of Versailles to "peace in our time" at Munich...each declaration of peace or expressions of longing for peace ended in slaughter. Not necessarily immediately and not necessarily directly, but slaughter all the same...
For there is no such thing as making peace. Nations who are friendly do not need to do so, and nations or people who are hostile cannot do so.
To cry peace, peace when there is no peace, the prophet Jeremiah taught us long a go, is not the expression of hope, not even superstition but a reckless toying with the minds and hearts of people whose very future depends on their capacity to rise every day to the harsh morning light of the truth.
On September 3, 1993, I wrote the following on Oslo and it was published in a Press Release in the Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston):
"The rush of events in the Middle East has been dizzying. The media hype, the talking heads, the worldwide expectations of peace in the Middle East are all quite staggering. Radio, TV, newspapers herald the coming of a new era of reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. The positive images are so abundant that any moment one might expect to see Isaiah on Nightline showing Ted Koppel video clips of lions lying down with lambs. Despite the media hype surrounding these developments, let me make something very clear: A leopard does not change its spots. And you can say a berachaha (Hebrew blessing) over a ham sandwich, but that doesn't make it kosher. And a deal with the PLO is like a dance on quicksand --before you realize it, you have sunk into the muck and slime."
IS PEACE POSSIBLE BETWEEN ISRAEL AND THE ARAB WORLD?
It is possible only when the Arab/Moslem world creates secular democratic states not subservient to the rule of Islam. The problem for Israel is the very hostile attitude that Islam has not only toward Jews, but also Christians and Hindus. Islam is all encompassing and guides behavior, law and religion. It perceives the world as two separate parts:
1.The first is Dar el-Islam or the World of Islam
2. All the rest is Dar el-Harb or the world of war -- that is non-Muslim nations that have yet to be conquered.
JIHAD or Holy War is the instrument to conquer the non-Moslem world. Another concept in the Koran essential to understand when relating to Moslems is the law of HUDAIBIYA which dates back to Muhammad. It states clearly that "Muslims are permitted to lie and break agreements with non-Muslims." This applies to business, personal life and politics. Would a peace treaty be worth much if the other party is Moslem?
Islam divides the world between Believers and Infidels. Do you really think it is possible to make peace or negotiate a people with this religious background.
HITLER AND THE ARABS
"Hitler, Goebbels and Goering were pathological and pragmatic liars. Arafat also lied at Oslo as he fully intended to carry out his staged plan of 1974. Under this plan he would accept any part of Palestine until he could conquer the remainder. The Nazis lied so convincingly and so hugely that most statesmen from other countries could not believe that what they were hearing was a lie…One of Hitler’s biggest lies was constantly to assure the world of peaceful intentions while obviously planning war. Arafat has done the same.
The only reason that the Arabs have not yet done to the Israeli Jews what Hitler did to their forefathers in Europe is that they have thus far lacked the military means and weapons of mass destruction which were at Hitler’s disposal, to do so.
That the Arabs have not done so to date has not been due to any reluctance on their part, but because, this time, there has been this difference:
The Jews in Europe had no army to defend them. Thank G-d, the Jews in Israel have not only the Israel Defense Forces but the Mighty Hand of the Almighty to defend them!
May Israel be wiser in relation to this death wish of her neighbors, than the Jews in Europe were. They belittled the writings and speeches of Hitler and the Nazis and were massacred as a result. May it not happen again with Abbas and his Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Iran, Syria and the new Hitlers of the 21st century!
THE LEFT
This is where the left went wrong. And of course this includes our new radical Leftist President here in America. They believed that you could make peace with your enemies by being nice, making concessions, and in every way appeasing their demands. Yet they immediately forgot that these people were just that: the enemy.
Islam is the enemy. In the Middle East they have armies, anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles, armored cars, mortar launchers, snipers etc. Rather than negotiate peacefully they have launched several wars, both regular and terrorist against Israel and its Jewish citizens. I might remind the audience that they have also attacked us here in America and at American facilities overseas. And the recent terrorist assaults on India at Mumbai, remind us that this is a world wide struggle. But tonight I focus on Israel security and survival.
ANTI-SEMITISM AND JEWISH SELF-DELUSION
Unfortunately, Jews throughout history have deluded themselves about their position in society. They pursue utopian solutions to complex political problems and disputes. Jews rejoiced as the enlightenment spread across Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. Many were eager to give up their Jewishness and become German, French, Italian, and English. In the final analysis those societies viewed them as Jews. Self-delusion came into collision with reality and left us with the stench of burning flesh from the ovens of Auschwitz. Many Russian Jews eagerly supported the communist idea of a worker's utopia with no nationalities and no religion. Reality taught them that their neighbors still considered them Jews.
The left-wing in Israel believes in a common humanity of shared values with the Arabs. In the face of all empirical evidence to the contrary they believe peace is possible. In the book Self Portrait Of A Hero: The Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu (1963-1976), Jonathan Netanyahu, the fallen hero of Entebbe and brother of Benjamin, said it best:
"I see with sorrow and great anger how a part of the people still clings to hopes of reaching a peaceful settlement with the Arabs. Common sense tells them, too, that the Arabs haven't abandoned their basic aim of destroying the State; but the self-delusion and self-deception that have always plagued the Jews are at work again. It's our great misfortune. They want to believe, so they believe. They want not to see, so they shut their eyes. They want not to learn from thousands of years of history, so they distort it. They want to bring about a sacrifice, and they do indeed. It would be comic, it wasn't so tragic. What a saddening and irritating lot this Jewish people is!" Need I say more?
THE BLINDING FLASH OF INSIGHT
In 1967, only days after the war ended, I found myself rushing to Jerusalem to touch the Holy Wall near the Temple Mount, on the previously Arab side of a spit Jerusalem.
As I touched and said my prayers I felt a huge surge of energy go through my body.
I suddenly understand how modern Israel is the beginning of the Third Temple Period and the spiritual heir to Joshua, Saul, David, Solomon, the Maccabees and Bar Kokhba. I frequently write about the security reasons for incorporating Judea, Samaria, and Golan into the body of Israel. There is another side to this issue and that is the spiritual-religious side. The truth, which many find inconvenient, is that the Land of Israel was promised by G-d to Abraham and his seed in perpetuity. The Land of Israel is not speculative real estate to be bartered away for some high sounding (but false) promises of peace. The hills and valleys of Judea and Samaria contain the collective memory of the Jewish people. It was here that the Israelites first entered the Holy Land. And it was here they fought the battles, built the towns, elected their kings and were preached to by their prophets and judges. And it was on this soil that they wrote the Holy Scriptures we call our Bible.
THE OSLO ACCORDS: A FAILURE - IS PEACE IMPOSSIBLE NOW
1. Giving world recognition to a terrorist organization as a representative of a legitimate national entity
2. Terrorism - over 1500 killed 20 thousand maimed and injured
3. Armed Palestinian force in the heart of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza
4. Incitement against Jews, Nazi like Anti-Semitism on PA TV, sermons, newspapers and in schools
5. Abbas (and Hamas) support massive violence and terrorism against Jews and turns his back on promise of negotiations for peace
6. Potential loss of strategic territory: Judean-Samarian mountain ridge
7. Loss of 30% of its water resources
8. Greatly divided Israel when unity was necessary to face the Arab threat
9. And finally, the Arab/Muslim world rejects a Jewish state in their midst for deeply held cultural, religious and anti-Semitic reasons. These are non-negotiable.
9. A victory for post-Zionism and a decline in Israeli patriotism
10 The recent acceptance of a Palestinian state by Bush, Blair, Obama and Israeli leaders will lead to the destruction of Israel.
THINGS AMERICANS MUST LEARN QUICKLY - BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE
1. The current American government is doing many things that impact negatively on our security
2. Negotiating with evil is morally wrong. Like all deals with the devil, YOU LOSE YOUR SOUL
Evil in today’s world include: Iran, Hamas, Syria, Hizbollah, Fatah, Islamic Jihad, Sudan and many other - all Moslem
3. The relationship with Israel helps protect America - Many think America supports Israel but it goes both ways. In fact the contribution of Israel to America in Intelligence, High Tech Military products, medicine, telecommunications, agriculture, irrigation, pharmaceuticals and many others out weighs American contributions to Israel by a factor of 5-1.
4. The moral factor. Israel is the canary in the coal mine. To the Jihadists, “the Little Satan” and America is the “Great Satan.” After Europe falls soon and Israel is destroyed then America will be target number one. Jihadists have already infiltrated this country to a degree few Americans understand.
They control Middle East Studies at most universities, force text books to distort history, have hundreds of undergrown cells waiting to be activated.
5. Our government has decided to ignore the threat and treat terrorism as criminal problem and not a real WAR.
6. The Obama/Clinton/Rahm Emanuel Foreign policy supports terrorists and condemns Israel to destruction.
7. Remember what the Bible says. Those that curse Israel will be cursed. Those that Bless Israel will be blessed.
A FUTURE MIRACLE
Israel is playing a waiting game. She knows that Iran driven by historical memory, overweening pride, and Allah’s cult of hatred, will strike; but Israel will have the warning time required to strike first—and the Jews, victims of the Holocaust, will indeed strike first. This will be the beginning of a new Middle East, that hardly anyone dreams of. Even before Iran is devastated, the Israel Defense Forces will deliver crippling blows to Hizbollah, Hamas, Fatah, and Syria. Israel will eliminate the entire terrorist network west of the Jordan River. Countless Arabs will flee from Judea and Samaria as well as from Gaza. The peace charade will be over. The mendacity and puerilities of Lilliputian politicians will be silenced. The Lion of Judah will have triumphed.
Israel must be truly sovereign.
Its power is greater than the sum of its arms and men. Fighting on its on soil, with the L-rd on its side it can never be defeated.
The Bible says that Son’s of Darkness will come from the North (Iran, The Arabs and Russia) and Battle the Sons of Light. This Battle will take place in Israel at Armageddon. I have stood on top that spot, called by its original Hebrew name, Meggido. You can see the Tiberious, the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River on the East and the Mediterranean on the West.
This small and sacred land holds the future of mankind. I pray that America stands with Israel in this final battle. Public opinion polls show overwhelming support for Israel but the new Democrat government has other ideas. I fear that we here will suffer the wrath of G-d if His people are abandoned.
On a final Note:
THE BOTTOM LINE
I know much more about the capabilities of the Israeli military than is commonly understood. Certain places in our government are purposely down grading the offensive capacity of Iran and other countries of evil. The result will be WAR with horrible consequences for all. If you are interested we can go into that during the Q & A.
The following are functioning parts off the Freeman Center:
THE MACCABEAN ONLINE
Monthly Internet Magazine archived
THE FREEMANLIST
Daily Email broadcasts of news and commentary
THE FREEMAN BLOG
THE FREEMAN WEBSITE
Multiple good sources of information
EXCELLENT GRAPHIC PRESENTATIONS
Important issues covered
WORK CONTINUES DAILY DESPITE MANY DIFFICULTIES SINCE 1992
SOME THINGS YOU MAY KNOW AND SOME YOU MAY NOT
Harvard University’s Judaica Division and Purdue University are archiving articles from THE MACCABEAN ONLINE (back to 1996)
EBSCO, The largest data bast in the United States is archiving THE MACCABEAN ONLINE. It will be available to ALL Universities, Schools (K-12), Libraries, Military and Government Institutions.
))))))))))))))((((((((((((((((((
As I survey the fragile planet we call home, my mind makes note of the chaos, blood, and tears. The cries of a million lost souls shatter the night in a million corners of the earth. The sensitive, compassionate among them try to feed the hungry, heal the sick, clothe the naked. One by one their energies dissipate. They try to hold back the tide with a teaspoon and then see the impossibility of the task. The Jewish people are but a cosmic speck in this universe. To many Jews who feel deeply about their own people, that speck becomes the whole world. Other Jews are irrevocably tied to non-Jewish pursuits. Many Christians believe that their fate and that of their loved ones is also tied to the fate of the Jewish People.
We are all, Jews, Christians, and Hindus living in one World threatened by a global Jihad that would consume us all.
MIRACLES IN THE HOLY LAND - THERE ARE MANY -
MOST OF YOU KNOW OF SOME - BUT THIS IS WORTH REPEATING
AFTER THE ROMANS DESTROYED JERUSALEM
AND DROVE THE JEWS OUT
A Roman legionnaire stands on a hill overlooking Jerusalem. He watches the city burn and proclaims proudly, "Judea capta est" Judea is destroyed. It will never rise again. Rome's rulers even decreed a change of name for Judea. Henceforth it would be named after the Philistines (or Palestine) and the Jewish connection would be obliterated forever.
Yet, like the legendary Phoenix, rising from the ashes of its own destruction, the new nation of Israel burst onto the international scene in 1948, with the lusty cry of a newborn infant, yearning to breathe free. Five Arab armies rushed to invade Israel and crush the life from the new Jewish State. With unbelievable bravery and heroism the new state survived. Six thousand of its young defenders gave their lives that Israel might live.
In blood and fire was Israel born, and on a hot anvil was she forged. Her youth understood that life in the new Jewish homeland would require sacrifice. With stories of burning flesh from the ovens of Auschwitz embedded deep in their psyches, the young Israeli soldiers fought with the firm conviction that there was "no alternative" (ein brera).
[Originally written and published in 1992 as a founding statement of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies.]
Mark Twain wrote ABOUT JEWS and first published in HARPER'S magazine, September 1887.
If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one quarter of one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of stardust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of; but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk.
His contributions to the world's list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine and abstruse learning are very out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in this world in all ages; and has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself and be excused for it. The Egyptians, the Babylonians and the Persians rose, filled the planet with sound and splendour; then faded to dream-stuff and passed away: the Greeks and the Romans followed and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished.
The Jew saw them all, survived them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?
As Mark Twain implied, their secret is that the Almighty loves his children, Israel.
========
Let Me Tell You About
A HARSH REALITY
Facing Jews and others.
We all want peace. We pray for peace in our Sabbath services every Friday night. After thousands of years, being victims of persecution, expulsion, extermination, and discrimination, it is natural that we yearn for peace with every ounce of our bodies and souls.
It is because our hunger for peace is so strong that we must be doubly cautious not to fall for a pseudo-peace. Today none of us believe Chamberlain really negotiated "peace in our time" with Hitler.
Israelis my age have fought in 7 wars and a 120 year war against terror.
I understand their desire to be free of constant conflict. Unfortunately there is no magic cure. I wish I could speak more optimistic words. Beyond the neighboring states that Israel is negotiating with now lies another ring of unmitigated hostility led by Islamic fundamentalists like those in Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia. Even the “so called Peace Agreements with Egypt and Jordan have not real substance. Those countries will turn on Israel the moment it is opportune for them.
As Jews, Christians and Hindus we are all involved in this historic struggle to survive. It is not our fate or that of all non-Moslems, that we should retire from this struggle. The only peace the Arabs are prepared to give us is the peace of the grave.
NATURE OF PEACE
Great issues of war and peace as related to Israel are being debated by Jews and Christians across America. Israelis are debating the same issues among themselves. There are strong opinions on both sides of the Atlantic as well as both sides of the major issues. What seems to be lacking in all these discussions is the proper historical context. Professor Paul Eidelberg formerly of Bar-Ilan University, reviews the historical facts.
Between 1945 and 1978 the longest time without a war going on someplace was a mere 26 days. On an average day there are 12 wars being fought somewhere on earth. The consensus of scholars has been that the norm of international relations is not peace but war. As Eidelberg reports, "Indeed, the occurrence of 1,000 wars during the last 2,500 years indicates that "peace" is little more than a preparation for war. Which means that peace treaties are WORTHLESS, to say the least."
Eidelberg then quotes from a book by Lawrence Beilenson, entitled THE TREATY TRAP, saying, "After studying every peace treaty going back to early Roman times, Beilenson concludes that treaties are made to be broken. In fact, he shows that treaties for guaranteeing the territorial integrity of a nation are useless to the guaranteed nation, and worse than useless insofar as they engender a false sense of security. Such treaties can only benefit nations governed by rulers intending to violate them whenever expedient."
Midge Dector says this about "peace" and I must explain: As a political scientist, she was not talking about peace with G-d, with our friends and loved ones.
Her statement below was intended to mean peace between nations at war.
She says: What I want to say is something that virtually the whole history of the 20th and 21st century teaches us and yet something we refuse to learn. And that is , when applied to the affairs of nations, peace is an evil word. Yes I said evil. And the idea of peace as we know it is an evil idea. From the peace of Versailles to "peace in our time" at Munich...each declaration of peace or expressions of longing for peace ended in slaughter. Not necessarily immediately and not necessarily directly, but slaughter all the same...
For there is no such thing as making peace. Nations who are friendly do not need to do so, and nations or people who are hostile cannot do so.
To cry peace, peace when there is no peace, the prophet Jeremiah taught us long a go, is not the expression of hope, not even superstition but a reckless toying with the minds and hearts of people whose very future depends on their capacity to rise every day to the harsh morning light of the truth.
On September 3, 1993, I wrote the following on Oslo and it was published in a Press Release in the Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston):
"The rush of events in the Middle East has been dizzying. The media hype, the talking heads, the worldwide expectations of peace in the Middle East are all quite staggering. Radio, TV, newspapers herald the coming of a new era of reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. The positive images are so abundant that any moment one might expect to see Isaiah on Nightline showing Ted Koppel video clips of lions lying down with lambs. Despite the media hype surrounding these developments, let me make something very clear: A leopard does not change its spots. And you can say a berachaha (Hebrew blessing) over a ham sandwich, but that doesn't make it kosher. And a deal with the PLO is like a dance on quicksand --before you realize it, you have sunk into the muck and slime."
IS PEACE POSSIBLE BETWEEN ISRAEL AND THE ARAB WORLD?
It is possible only when the Arab/Moslem world creates secular democratic states not subservient to the rule of Islam. The problem for Israel is the very hostile attitude that Islam has not only toward Jews, but also Christians and Hindus. Islam is all encompassing and guides behavior, law and religion. It perceives the world as two separate parts:
1.The first is Dar el-Islam or the World of Islam
2. All the rest is Dar el-Harb or the world of war -- that is non-Muslim nations that have yet to be conquered.
JIHAD or Holy War is the instrument to conquer the non-Moslem world. Another concept in the Koran essential to understand when relating to Moslems is the law of HUDAIBIYA which dates back to Muhammad. It states clearly that "Muslims are permitted to lie and break agreements with non-Muslims." This applies to business, personal life and politics. Would a peace treaty be worth much if the other party is Moslem?
Islam divides the world between Believers and Infidels. Do you really think it is possible to make peace or negotiate a people with this religious background.
HITLER AND THE ARABS
"Hitler, Goebbels and Goering were pathological and pragmatic liars. Arafat also lied at Oslo as he fully intended to carry out his staged plan of 1974. Under this plan he would accept any part of Palestine until he could conquer the remainder. The Nazis lied so convincingly and so hugely that most statesmen from other countries could not believe that what they were hearing was a lie…One of Hitler’s biggest lies was constantly to assure the world of peaceful intentions while obviously planning war. Arafat has done the same.
The only reason that the Arabs have not yet done to the Israeli Jews what Hitler did to their forefathers in Europe is that they have thus far lacked the military means and weapons of mass destruction which were at Hitler’s disposal, to do so.
That the Arabs have not done so to date has not been due to any reluctance on their part, but because, this time, there has been this difference:
The Jews in Europe had no army to defend them. Thank G-d, the Jews in Israel have not only the Israel Defense Forces but the Mighty Hand of the Almighty to defend them!
May Israel be wiser in relation to this death wish of her neighbors, than the Jews in Europe were. They belittled the writings and speeches of Hitler and the Nazis and were massacred as a result. May it not happen again with Abbas and his Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Iran, Syria and the new Hitlers of the 21st century!
THE LEFT
This is where the left went wrong. And of course this includes our new radical Leftist President here in America. They believed that you could make peace with your enemies by being nice, making concessions, and in every way appeasing their demands. Yet they immediately forgot that these people were just that: the enemy.
Islam is the enemy. In the Middle East they have armies, anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles, armored cars, mortar launchers, snipers etc. Rather than negotiate peacefully they have launched several wars, both regular and terrorist against Israel and its Jewish citizens. I might remind the audience that they have also attacked us here in America and at American facilities overseas. And the recent terrorist assaults on India at Mumbai, remind us that this is a world wide struggle. But tonight I focus on Israel security and survival.
ANTI-SEMITISM AND JEWISH SELF-DELUSION
Unfortunately, Jews throughout history have deluded themselves about their position in society. They pursue utopian solutions to complex political problems and disputes. Jews rejoiced as the enlightenment spread across Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. Many were eager to give up their Jewishness and become German, French, Italian, and English. In the final analysis those societies viewed them as Jews. Self-delusion came into collision with reality and left us with the stench of burning flesh from the ovens of Auschwitz. Many Russian Jews eagerly supported the communist idea of a worker's utopia with no nationalities and no religion. Reality taught them that their neighbors still considered them Jews.
The left-wing in Israel believes in a common humanity of shared values with the Arabs. In the face of all empirical evidence to the contrary they believe peace is possible. In the book Self Portrait Of A Hero: The Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu (1963-1976), Jonathan Netanyahu, the fallen hero of Entebbe and brother of Benjamin, said it best:
"I see with sorrow and great anger how a part of the people still clings to hopes of reaching a peaceful settlement with the Arabs. Common sense tells them, too, that the Arabs haven't abandoned their basic aim of destroying the State; but the self-delusion and self-deception that have always plagued the Jews are at work again. It's our great misfortune. They want to believe, so they believe. They want not to see, so they shut their eyes. They want not to learn from thousands of years of history, so they distort it. They want to bring about a sacrifice, and they do indeed. It would be comic, it wasn't so tragic. What a saddening and irritating lot this Jewish people is!" Need I say more?
THE BLINDING FLASH OF INSIGHT
In 1967, only days after the war ended, I found myself rushing to Jerusalem to touch the Holy Wall near the Temple Mount, on the previously Arab side of a spit Jerusalem.
As I touched and said my prayers I felt a huge surge of energy go through my body.
I suddenly understand how modern Israel is the beginning of the Third Temple Period and the spiritual heir to Joshua, Saul, David, Solomon, the Maccabees and Bar Kokhba. I frequently write about the security reasons for incorporating Judea, Samaria, and Golan into the body of Israel. There is another side to this issue and that is the spiritual-religious side. The truth, which many find inconvenient, is that the Land of Israel was promised by G-d to Abraham and his seed in perpetuity. The Land of Israel is not speculative real estate to be bartered away for some high sounding (but false) promises of peace. The hills and valleys of Judea and Samaria contain the collective memory of the Jewish people. It was here that the Israelites first entered the Holy Land. And it was here they fought the battles, built the towns, elected their kings and were preached to by their prophets and judges. And it was on this soil that they wrote the Holy Scriptures we call our Bible.
THE OSLO ACCORDS: A FAILURE - IS PEACE IMPOSSIBLE NOW
1. Giving world recognition to a terrorist organization as a representative of a legitimate national entity
2. Terrorism - over 1500 killed 20 thousand maimed and injured
3. Armed Palestinian force in the heart of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza
4. Incitement against Jews, Nazi like Anti-Semitism on PA TV, sermons, newspapers and in schools
5. Abbas (and Hamas) support massive violence and terrorism against Jews and turns his back on promise of negotiations for peace
6. Potential loss of strategic territory: Judean-Samarian mountain ridge
7. Loss of 30% of its water resources
8. Greatly divided Israel when unity was necessary to face the Arab threat
9. And finally, the Arab/Muslim world rejects a Jewish state in their midst for deeply held cultural, religious and anti-Semitic reasons. These are non-negotiable.
9. A victory for post-Zionism and a decline in Israeli patriotism
10 The recent acceptance of a Palestinian state by Bush, Blair, Obama and Israeli leaders will lead to the destruction of Israel.
THINGS AMERICANS MUST LEARN QUICKLY - BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE
1. The current American government is doing many things that impact negatively on our security
2. Negotiating with evil is morally wrong. Like all deals with the devil, YOU LOSE YOUR SOUL
Evil in today’s world include: Iran, Hamas, Syria, Hizbollah, Fatah, Islamic Jihad, Sudan and many other - all Moslem
3. The relationship with Israel helps protect America - Many think America supports Israel but it goes both ways. In fact the contribution of Israel to America in Intelligence, High Tech Military products, medicine, telecommunications, agriculture, irrigation, pharmaceuticals and many others out weighs American contributions to Israel by a factor of 5-1.
4. The moral factor. Israel is the canary in the coal mine. To the Jihadists, “the Little Satan” and America is the “Great Satan.” After Europe falls soon and Israel is destroyed then America will be target number one. Jihadists have already infiltrated this country to a degree few Americans understand.
They control Middle East Studies at most universities, force text books to distort history, have hundreds of undergrown cells waiting to be activated.
5. Our government has decided to ignore the threat and treat terrorism as criminal problem and not a real WAR.
6. The Obama/Clinton/Rahm Emanuel Foreign policy supports terrorists and condemns Israel to destruction.
7. Remember what the Bible says. Those that curse Israel will be cursed. Those that Bless Israel will be blessed.
A FUTURE MIRACLE
Israel is playing a waiting game. She knows that Iran driven by historical memory, overweening pride, and Allah’s cult of hatred, will strike; but Israel will have the warning time required to strike first—and the Jews, victims of the Holocaust, will indeed strike first. This will be the beginning of a new Middle East, that hardly anyone dreams of. Even before Iran is devastated, the Israel Defense Forces will deliver crippling blows to Hizbollah, Hamas, Fatah, and Syria. Israel will eliminate the entire terrorist network west of the Jordan River. Countless Arabs will flee from Judea and Samaria as well as from Gaza. The peace charade will be over. The mendacity and puerilities of Lilliputian politicians will be silenced. The Lion of Judah will have triumphed.
Israel must be truly sovereign.
Its power is greater than the sum of its arms and men. Fighting on its on soil, with the L-rd on its side it can never be defeated.
The Bible says that Son’s of Darkness will come from the North (Iran, The Arabs and Russia) and Battle the Sons of Light. This Battle will take place in Israel at Armageddon. I have stood on top that spot, called by its original Hebrew name, Meggido. You can see the Tiberious, the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River on the East and the Mediterranean on the West.
This small and sacred land holds the future of mankind. I pray that America stands with Israel in this final battle. Public opinion polls show overwhelming support for Israel but the new Democrat government has other ideas. I fear that we here will suffer the wrath of G-d if His people are abandoned.
On a final Note:
THE BOTTOM LINE
I know much more about the capabilities of the Israeli military than is commonly understood. Certain places in our government are purposely down grading the offensive capacity of Iran and other countries of evil. The result will be WAR with horrible consequences for all. If you are interested we can go into that during the Q & A.
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Bernard J. Shapiro is the Chairman of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies and editor of its monthly publications including THE MACCABEAN ONLINE. Click here to find out more about him and read more of his articles.
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