The dork diva, the useful idiot and why Israeli officialdom panders to their agenda
The Investigative Project on Terrorism has a piece that discusses why Chelsea Clinton (known in the television industry as the dork diva) would make a great promoter for 'Islamophobia.' The jump-off point for the post is Clinton's 'moderating' a March 14 event at the JCC of Manhattan, which featured useful idiot Marc Schneier and his good friend Imam Muhammad Shamsi Ali. Here's part of that post.
One weapon that has proven useful to the Industry is so-called "interfaith dialogue" involving Jewish and Islamic leaders. The Muslim participants tend to be Islamists, while their Jewish counterparts tend to be well-meaning "useful idiots" like Rabbi Marc Schneier, who has tried to establish a partnership with the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), which is rooted in the Muslim Brotherhood. All too often, the result is a debacle in which the liberal Jews pine for dialogue while the Islamists stonewall and repeat anti-Semitic slanders.
And when Schneier (who heads a group called the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, or FFEU) and Imam Muhammad Shamsi Ali joined Chelsea Clinton at the JCC March 14, things didn't go a whole lot better. Although it talks a lot about the virtues of diversity, the Islamophobia Industry portrays Muslim life in America in a bleak, one-dimensional way: as if Muslims here are little more than innocent victims of thuggish, bigoted non-Muslim gangs determined to punish them for 9/11 and subsequent jihadist actions.
I was taught a long time ago in Journalism 101 that the job of a journalist is to report on the news – not to act as an advocate or partisan. NBC's special correspondent views things a lot differently, declaring it is "the responsibility of the media to help ameliorate Islamophobia."
And that's precisely what Chelsea tried to do, tossing one softball after another to Ali and Schneier, parroting misinformation of her own and failing to question whoppers from the imam and the rabbi. Schneier, for example, bragged about his collaboration with hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons at FEU, but didn't get a single question from the moderator about Simmons' long history of sycophantic praise for Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, a notorious anti-Semite.
Nor did Chelsea seem well-informed about the Ground Zero Mosque controversy that heated up in 2010. She askedSchneier how "you think about trying to use the media to in many ways combat the media?" Chelsea suggested that Schneier might need to gear up for battle because "we saw such vitriolic statements covered widely in the media" with commentators using "terms that at best were insensitive to somewhere in the middle, or derogatory, and at worst were really dehumanizing." (She neglected to provide an example).
After Chelsea asked what the pair was doing to stop this, Schneier talked about his opposition to hearings on Islamist radicalization in the United States by House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y., and bragged about working with Islamist Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., in an effort to win the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Schneier received thunderous applause from the audience when he described such work as an example of "the genuine authenticity that is needed for this Muslim/Jewish reconciliation."
Read the whole thing. Until now, I have largely ignored Schneier. He's been mentioned about six times previously on this blog. I didn't believe that anyone outside the Jewish community in the United States and those who follow it had ever heard of him, and like Mikey Lerner and Wacky Waskow, Schneier wasn't worth the time or the bandwidth to attack. Then Sunlight sent me these, which apparently come from the Hampton Synagogue's website. It is clear to me, as I am sure it is to all of you, that hotshot politicos and the like show up at Bar Mitzva's to honor the father and not the 13-year old boy (I'm making a Bar Mitzva this summer, God willing, and if you're a hotshot politico and want to come, send me an email and I'll consider letting you know where it is). I'm looking at these blurbs and I am wondering what the heck is wrong with Israeli officialdom? Why do Ron Prosor and Ido Aharoni (what - Michael Oren couldn't make it?) have to show up for this Bar Mitzva? Why does Rabbi Metzger, like a schnorrer, fly halfway around the world hours after landing in Israel to honor someone who is thousands of miles away from his own worldview?
What's clear to me is that all these Israelis are being sucked in by the American Jewish community. They're smart enough to avoid J Street, because J Street was started by former Israelis, and by not embracing it they have ensured that any embrace of J Street by the American Jewish community is tentative at best. But they see Schneier - a four-time loser who probably has more adherents in Al Sharpton's crowd than in Rabbi Metzger's - as someone to whom we have to pander.
Oy... Pollard family hoping Peres of all people will push for his freedom
One cannot help but wonder what Shimon really thinks of the pleas he is getting on behalf of Jonathan Pollard. Peres, who may have been responsible for Pollard's imprisonment, was already being asked to use the opportunity of a trip to the White House in June to help Obama's reelection campaignreceive a medal of peace, to plead for clemency for Pollard. Now, with Pollard being hospitalized again and apparently in serious condition, Peres was asked on Sunday by one former and two current Chief Rabbis (Rabbis Ovadia Yosef, Yona Metzger and Shlomo Amar) to do all he can to bring about Pollard's release. Their calls joined a call from Pollard's wife to save Pollard's life while it is still possible.
Esther Pollard, the wife of the convicted American Naval Intelligence analyst who has spent 27 years in prison for spying for Israel, on Sunday entreated President Shimon Peres to act immediately to try to secure her husband's freedom before it is too late.
Esther was accompanied by MKs Uri Ariel and Ronit Tirosh who head the Knesset lobby for the release of Jonathan Pollard, along with members of The Committee for the Release of Jonathan Pollard. "I am the wife of Jonathan Pollard. I do not want to be the widow of Jonathan Pollard," she said her voice trembling with emotion and her face crumpling with anxiety.
...
Peres, who sat grave-faced as she spoke, told her that he can imagine the agony that she is currently undergoing, and reminded her that it was Casper Weinberger, the late US Secretary for Defense who had insisted on a life sentence for Pollard for what Weinberger had claimed to be security reasons.. It was Weinberger who posed the greatest problem, said Peres. "But he retracted," came the chorus from those who had accompanied Esther Pollard to the meeting.
Peres said that at this stage it was important to focus on the humanitarian aspect of the Pollard case, and promised to make it a top priority.
Esther apologized for being slightly repetitious, saying that because she was so concerned about her husband, she found it difficult to concentrate on anything else and she was also sleep deprived as a result of worry.
She implored Peres to do everything in his power to bring Pollard to Israel. No other Israeli has as much influence and respect in Washington as Peres said Pollard, which was the main reason that she was begging him to act immediately. It was time to end the nightmare, she said, adding that 27 years was a long time in which to live in a hostile, anti-Semitic environment to be without proper food, without proper rest, without proper medical care and without family and friends.
...
Ariel presented Peres with a letter to Obama that has been signed by 80 MKs who ask the US president to grant Pollard clemency. The letter was to have been presented in June when Peres is due to fly to the US to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, but Ariel realized that an appeal to Obama could not wait that long and said that he joined in Esther's plea. Esther said that she had received a telephone call from Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger on Saturday night, who prior to the start of Pessah had called on the public to pray for Jonathan Pollard. Metzger had contacted her in order to give her moral strength and to tell her that the season represented a time of grace, a holiday of freedom, a symbol which the Americans understand.
Coming from America herself, Esther is well aware of this and told Peres of the case of a Cuban who had been released from prison and allowed to go home because his brother was dangerously ill. Under such circumstances, she could not understand why her husband who is severely ill should still be incarcerated.
In this administration, it's because the Cuban is a Cuban and Pollard is an Israeli. Isn't that obvious?
Peres pledged to explore every possibility and said that he would consult with others, but promised to take action not later than Monday. "We don’t want to make any mistakes at this stage," he said.
It was important for him to also convey that he had seen and spoken to Esther because this was yet another dimension of the humanitarian side of the case.
Speaking to reporters after emerging from the meeting with Peres, Esther said that she had no doubt that he was "very sympathetic and very committed to doing whatever he can as quickly as possible." She was also convinced that he understood that time is of the essence and that he must act now. "It's very clear that he's very devoted to bringing Jonathan home," she said.
Asked by The Jerusalem Post if she had been given more reason for hope this time around than on previous occasions, Esther's reply was "Jonathan is alive."
The fact that the Pollards are now dependent on the graces of Shimon Peres to bring him out alive is outrageous. But waiting for the holiday in the US to end on Monday night isn't likely to help much: American Jewry is largely afraid to speak up for Pollard.
During a meeting with Jonathan Pollard's wife on Sunday, President Shimon Peres said he may file an official request later this evening with his American counterpart Barack Obama to pardon the convicted spy.
Pollard was admitted to a hospital in North Carolina after his condition deteriorated over the weekend.
Peres is expected to receive the presidential Medal of Freedom from Obama in June, but a petition signed by more than 10,000 Israeli citizens, including artists and political figures, urged the president to work towards securing Pollard's release beforehand.
If Peres is actually responsible for Pollard's imprisonment, this is his chance for atonement. Let's hope he at least uses it.
Glenn Beck has arrived in Israel for his Restoring Courage events and the government has rolled out the red carpet.
Beck has scrapped plans to hold the rally on the Temple Mount after his security team warned him that “40,000 Muslims staring down” at the crowd might endanger them. He will hold two events – one at the Davidson Center at the southern edge of the Western Wall and the other in Safra Square, where Jerusalem’s municipal offices and city hall are located.
A staunch backer of Israel’s claim to all of Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and Judea and Samaria, he will visit communities in Samaria on Monday with the accompaniment of Likud Cabinet Ministers Moshe Ya’alon and Yuli Edelstein, along with Jewish Home Minister Rabbi/Dr. Daniel Hershkowitz and senior Likud Knesset Members who are strong nationalists.
Beck recently visited Israel to attend a Knesset panel, which invited to give his views on how to fight the international anti-Israel campaign that tries to show the Jewish State as being illegitimate.
During a visit to Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem, Beck said that Jordan is the true state for Arabs living under the Palestinian Authority.
As part of his preparation for the rally, Beck visited the Auschwitz death camp.
I believe Beck is sincere. I know that some of my readers disagree and that there is nothing Beck can say that will convince them. But my sense is that Beck is sincere
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
The Investigative Project on Terrorism has a piece that discusses why Chelsea Clinton (known in the television industry as the dork diva) would make a great promoter for 'Islamophobia.' The jump-off point for the post is Clinton's 'moderating' a March 14 event at the JCC of Manhattan, which featured useful idiot Marc Schneier and his good friend Imam Muhammad Shamsi Ali. Here's part of that post.
It is clear to me, as I am sure it is to all of you, that hotshot politicos and the like show up at Bar Mitzva's to honor the father and not the 13-year old boy (I'm making a Bar Mitzva this summer, God willing, and if you're a hotshot politico and want to come, send me an email and I'll consider letting you know where it is). I'm looking at these blurbs and I am wondering what the heck is wrong with Israeli officialdom? Why do Ron Prosor and Ido Aharoni (what - Michael Oren couldn't make it?) have to show up for this Bar Mitzva? Why does Rabbi Metzger, like a schnorrer, fly halfway around the world hours after landing in Israel to honor someone who is thousands of miles away from his own worldview?
