Politics has become a lot like a sport these days, at least in the manner in which it is handled. And for those who are not lifelong sports fans, how do they know how to deal with the opposing moves of the other side of the political spectrum when they’re tossed in their direction?
It’s about strategy and seeing the other player’s move before they make it.
The same is true for war, which unfortunately at this advanced stage of world history, is still the same problem it was fifty, one hundred, or even a few thousand years ago.
In its short history, Israel has never been involved in a protracted war like it is today in Gaza. Things are on the precipice of exploding on multiple fronts, with threats from both Hezbollah in Lebanon and the arch dictatorial terrorists in Iran.
The people who live in these countries do not want war with Israel. It is the leadership that is making these destructive decisions for a combination of reasons. One is that the idea to kill Jews and destroy Israel is in their national DNA. The second is due to the foreign policies of the U.S., as well as China and Russia. The leadership of Iran and other terror states make billions of dollars by indulging in the wanton and senseless slaughter of civilians, with no end in sight.
When Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was justifiably assassinated in Iran two weeks ago, he was living in high-style and luxury in Qatar and had personal assets of around $5 billion. This is a man who had no real job or business other than orchestrating the killing of Jews. The same is true of other terrorist leaders both in Gaza and Lebanon.
At the same time, despite some policy miscalculations on Iran, we have to offer high praise to the U.S. and our allies who are committed to defending Israel against the Iran-Hezbollah threats that are trying to overwhelm Israel’s substantive defense abilities. Of course, it is only right and proper that the U.S., England, France, and other superpowers do their utmost to protect Israel from any assault from these terror merchants.
Even better is the news that countries like Jordan and Saudi Arabia are ready to do their part to deflect a possible Iranian or Hezbollah attack.
Interestingly, word was leaked that the mullahs were aiming to attack Israel specifically on Tishah B’Av, the fast day of the 9th of Av. Apparently, the idea was born out of a conversation between the Supreme Leader Khamenei in Iran and Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Fortunately, those plans did not come to pass.
I was talking with a colleague the other day, wondering if the two mullahs and other Muslim leaders might know more about Tishah B’Av than many Jews, especially here in the U.S. Unlike so many past years, there was a heightened tension surrounding Tishah B’Av this year, not necessarily because we are missing our Holy Temples, but because we keep hearing in the news that Iran was planning to retaliate against Israel on Tishah B’Av.
Many innocent lives have been lost, not just during the last year and the beginning of the current crisis, but for many decades prior to that.
Why anyone would root for Hamas or Hezbollah when their own people oppose them is a hard concept to grasp. On a side note, Haniyeh and Fuad Shukr were killed because their own people turned on them.
Additionally incomprehensible is the long exile of the Jewish people, which today is an unusual galus, more so than at any point in our four-thousand-year history, primarily because during that long, extended galus, Israel was just a dream that existed in the minds of our ancestors, an idea that refused to die.
Today, and certainly since 1967, Israel has been within our physical and spiritual reach. So, we indeed have Israel now. All we need is for the promised redemption to take place and the glorious era of Moshiach to begin.
Thousands of years ago, our ancient Jewish ancestors could not have imagined how this modern generation would be living. We are with Israel but without our promised redemption. We are free to travel there, have relatives who live there, and the land is very much an important aspect of our lives and our national conscience. We love Israel and we worry about her.
It seems that we are presently dealing with a remarkable confluence of matters that on some levels are interconnected. And those matters include the ten-month-old Gaza war, the 115 hostages being held by Hamas, the Iran and Hezbollah threat in the wake of the assassinations of their leaders, and the political upheaval in the U.S., a situation described by Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana as, “Kamala Harris flip flopping like a flounder on the beach.”
So how are all these situations related to each other? Hopefully, in the near term, tension between Israel and her hostile enemies will cool down, at least somewhat. It is encouraging to note that as we went to press, there has not been an all-out attack against Israel as the Iranians, Hezbollah, Iraq, Yemen, Hamas, and Fatah have been threatening to do.
As you know, on Saturday night, a young Chabad chassid was stabbed in Crown Heights by an African American man. The stabber yelled, “Free Palestine!” and “Are you ready to die?” These incidents in Brooklyn and elsewhere have largely been a manifestation of the constantly changing political position, at least verbally, between the U.S. and Israel.
It started with Kamala Harris boycotting the speech to Congress by Prime Minister Netanyahu a few weeks ago. A move like that sends a clear signal to the mentally unbalanced (who are aware of the situation), that attacking the Jews under any circumstance is tolerated, and possibly applauded, by the left.
Today, the U.S. is undergoing a sort of Barack Obama Redux situation. Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, are offering positions on important policies that they never supported in the past. They do not personally voice these opinions because, under Obama’s direction, they do not want to be called liars later in case they actually win the election, G-d forbid. At that time, they will be able to say that the spokesperson misspoke.
Sure, I agree that Donald Trump is not the perfect candidate. Polls recently indicated that Trump stands to attract the highest percentage of the Jewish vote since Dwight D. Eisenhower received 45% of the Jewish vote in the 1950s. Trump supported Israel with a series of pro-Israel policies that included recognizing Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights and moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. He also brokered diplomatic relations between Israel and five Muslim-majority countries: Bahrain, Kosovo, Morocco, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates. With Trump, his pro-Israel stance is clear and unequivocal, but we root for him the way we root for Israel and against the miscreants from Iran and Lebanon. It’s not a perfect situation by far, but at present, it’s the best we’ve got. Let’s go Israel. n
Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
B”H Only the morally obtuse and the ignorant of history and astounding vacuity of the once GOP’s candidate for President, would so insultingly to decent pubic opinion would recommend that the 45th return to perpetrate a renewed chaotic regime as the 47th chief executive. But, then, no one accused Larry Gordon of having truly American and Israeli interests in mind. Nor has he been guilty of political moderation in joining his false, unhinged failed prophet and MAGA founder as he continues the drumbeat of discredited personal bromides against the prospective first Black woman to be elected our President —- perhaps precisely because of those characteristics, and more; her ability to proclaim support for Jews and Israel while justifiably critical of Netanyahu’s stewardship of the Gaza war, and avoidance of making the release of hostages a priority! The sole concession that his nominee is flawed is just that: agreeing a better person does exist somewhere, but we have to make do with the worst of choices my nominal Party has put forth. Simultaneously, it includes elevating a similarly intolerant and bigoted person as vice president to complete the ticket from hell. Our collective nightmare bringing embarrassment and shame to a magnanimous nation gives ample hints that is destined to end on November 5, and with dancing on the streets! The indicators are in the smiles of the Harris-Walz team, and the huge crowds that greet their appearances; the message of hope for tomorrow and the bipartisan endorsement they enjoy —- including from this moderate-progressive-liberal Republican! There’s no question that Kamala Harris will prevail; the question is how wide will be her/our victory, and whether the sore loser in twin prior popular defeats will concede, or attempt to gum the routine certification of results? Those are issues to explore and expose by the non-5TJT, and its narrow-minded publisher-editor. With fraternal affection, Asher 🙏🇺🇸😊🎶