« March 2006 | Main | May 2006 »
April 30, 2006
The Steven Vincent Foundation
Last week was a difficult time for Lisa Ramaci.
It was a year ago, on April 24, that Lisa last hugged her husband Steven Vincent goodbye and watched as he went off to seek truth in Iraq. There, this good and talented man was kidnapped with his translator, Nour Weidi. Steven was horribly tortured for over five long hours and finally murdered in cold blood. Nour, a lively and poetic young woman, survived--but just barely. Steven's book, In the Red Zone, is the best summation of post-war Iraq I have yet to read.
Lisa and I speak to one another by e-mail. I have told her of my grief for Ariel and she has told me about Steven. We have prayed alone and together for those we have lost.
The other day, Lisa sent me this most important interview she did about The Steven Vincent Foundation.
Most of us are probably not aware that there are brave journalists out there who are risking their lives every single day in pursuit of the truth. Yes, there are men and women with integrity, old fashioned values, who are not sitting in comfortable hotels and letting "freelancers" get shot at, do all the dirty work for them.
Let's not lose sight of the fact that not all journalists are hacks working for the Mainstream Media.
By the way, I want to draw your attention to an absolutely superb story about free-lancer and kidnap victim Jill Carroll, that exposes the truth about how the Mainstream Media uses and abuses free lance journalists. This two-part series is by new Seraphic friend David Paulin, at his new blog The Big Carnival. David's a former free lance journalist so he knows exactly what he's talking about.
Here's Part One.
Here's Part Two.
The days of the MSM are fast coming to a close, like dinosaurs they are roaring, trying to convince us and themselves that they are still relevant, still vital, but read Lisa's words, read Steven Vincent's blog and you'll fast understand that the MSM is dead, they just don't know it yet.
And of course, as Seraphic friend Michael Jennings has pointed out on many occassions, the business model that modern newspapers operate under is positively stuck in the 19th century and simply cannot hope to compete in the new global marketplace.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 01:11 PM | Comments (18)
April 28, 2006
Out of the Shadows
Efraim Halevy, former head of the Mossad, is in the Unites States promoting his new book, Man in the Shadows and making far too few appearances in the media. Apparently, Halevy's simple and politically quite unPC message is not a favorite of the liberal producers who dominate the airwaves of MSM, and so he has not been booked as often as one would expect from the former head of one of the most important, sophisticated and feared intelligence services in the world.
I have not yet read Halevy's book, but as soon as I do I will review it here. I have heard that it is superb.
The other night, I caught Halevy on Charlie Rose, where Brian Ross, sitting in for Rose, tried desperately and none too subtly, to get Halevy to denounce the American effort in Iraq.
Halevy was having none of it; elegantly and eloquently he made the case for America's aggressive war on Islamic terror. I'm quoting from memory here, but Halevy's main strategic thinking was: for America to prevail over this world-wide Islamic pansurgency she has no choice but to bring the fight to their shores, to Afghanistan and Iraq, to whatever land gives support to these barbarians.
The middle east, Halevy repeated starkly, is the fulcrum of the battle for western civilization.
To fight this war in America would be, Halevy stated, a disaster; the only way to fight and to win this life and death struggle is to slug it out on their soil.
Brian Ross looked absolutely stunned. Clearly, here was a man mugged by sanity.
As for Spielberg's "Munich," Halevy sighed wearily and dismissed it as a silly Hollywood fantasy having nothing to do with any reality whatsoever. And anyone who knows anything about the Mossad, about the aftermath of the Munich Massacre, of the Israeli retaliations against the Arabs terrorists, will nod their heads in agreement and dismiss the wretched Spielberg/Kushner collaboration, as did the American public; good people who know better than to equate Arab terrorists with Jewish victims.
Seraphic friend Irina Tsukerman has a fine write-up on her always excellent blog, The IgNoble Experiment, of Halevy's main points.
***
Seraphic Secret will be updated over the next few days, so if you experience any problems, the updating of Movable Type will, no doubt, be the reason. We have been flooded by spam over the past few weeks and we must take measures to control this form of cyber terror. How we hate these twisted creatures who send out these mass offers for pornography, Viagra and other strange drugs, questionable mortgages and G-d knows what else for we want none of it and we're pretty sure neither do you, and that is why we are working so hard to update our site so as to protect you, your family and loved ones from these crooked cyber creeps; and that's why this sentence is so long and overwrought and verges on becoming Proustian, but look we're tired and Shabbos beckons, so we just want to warn you again that Seraphic Secret might not be all she should be over the next few days so have patience, and just remember that what we're doing we're doing for you because without you we are nothing.
Karen and I wish all our Seraphic friends a lovely and meaningful Shabbos.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 12:28 PM | Comments (15)
April 27, 2006
Hollywood Gets it Right
Isn't it nice when Hollywood gets it right for a change. Much thanks to Seraphic friend Elliot Ganz for sending me this piece.
Yehudit at Kesher has a wonderful roundup of "United 93" articles at her always fine blog.
And here is Debbie Schlussel's rave review of the film. Thanks to Seraphic friend Michael Makiri for sending this to me.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 03:02 PM | Comments (13)
April 26, 2006
What G-d Sends
"You know that I didn't want my son to join the army."
I nod. I'm having lunch with a friend from the film industry. We're not close friends, more like acquaintances, but Frank (not his real name) has asked to meet with me and of course I agree.
Ashen, that's the best way to describe his complexion. His son has just been rotated out of the Iraq and I expect Frank to be happy and relieved. But on the contrary, Frank seems more weighed down by sadness than when his son was in the war zone.
"The thing is, my son, he's just not doing well. Hell, he's in bad shape.
"You think he needs help, therapy?"
Frank shrugs.
"Did you suggest it to him?"
"I brought it up..."
"And?"
Frank shakes his head, hopelessly.
"You think it was the war?"
"Nah, he wasn't even in combat. He had, ah, problems before. We never wanted him to enlist. Never."
There is a long pause. Frank toys with his salad, stares out the window. He looks like he's about to weep.
"You know what somebody told me the other day?"
"What?"
"That G-d never sends us more than we can bear."
I take a deep breath.
"Frank, I'm here to tell you that that is simply not true. Every single day G-d sends us tragedies that are simply intolerable."
Frank looks at me.
"You'd know, huh?"
I look at him and nod my head, just once, but with perfect conviction.
Lunch is over and we step outside, wait for our cars.
"Kids, they just don't come with a how-to-manual, do they?"
He takes my hand, squeezes tight and thanks me.
"So, G-d really does send us stuff that's unbearable?"
"Every minute of every day."
"That's good, I feel much better. Weird, huh?"
"Not at all."
Frank hops into his Jag and roars away.
Somewhere in America, Frank's son is sitting in a hotel room, on the edge of his bed, head in his hands, trying to keep it from exploding.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 09:24 AM | Comments (50)
The Voices Behind the Generals
Much has been made in the media recently of the retired Generals and their call for Donald Rumsfeld to join them in retirement. From The American Thinker, a superb and to-the-point analysis of this tempest in a tea pot.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 08:59 AM | Comments (0)
April 25, 2006
Yom Ha Shoah and M16's
This fine post from WestBankMama who now handles her M16 with proper care and respect. Thanks to our friend Jeremiah for bringing this to my attention by way of Solomonia.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 12:08 PM | Comments (15)
A Cry From the Heart
On this Yom Ha Shoah, I want to bring your attention to an amazing article written by Orly Wiesel, an emergency room physician in Israel. It comes from a superp blog The Augean Stables which was brought to my attention by our new friend David Paulin of The Big Carnival.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 09:56 AM | Comments (12)
April 24, 2006
Avi's Voice
Avi, one of Ariel's ZT'L best friends, used to come to Ariel's hospital room, hold my son's hand and sing songs for him. One of my most vivid memories is Ariel's last Passover, when Avi recited Shir Hashirim, The Song of Songs for Ariel in the Intensive Care Unit.
Music lifted my son's soul.
Avi has just written to me and told me that he and some Yeshiva friends have cut an album of Jewish music and let me tell you, it is stunning. You can go here to order it, and to listen to samples of the beautiful tunes. Cut number six, Yisimcha, is Avi's voice.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 11:30 AM | Comments (9)
Penn State Tyrant
It's always nice to know who is responsible for doing what. Well, in the case of the Penn State Outrage, we've got the man who shut down the Art exhibit that, horror of horrors, dares to display the faces of Palestinian Terrorism and anti-Semitism.
Take a moment and write the good Professor a note. Don't be rude. Don't threaten. Be firm and respectful and forthright. And pass this on to as many people as possible.
Do not let this man have a moment's peace.
Charles Garoian( E-mail: crg2@psu.edu) Professor and
Director of the School of Visual Arts.
Office: 814.865.0444
Fax: 814.865.1158
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 08:55 AM | Comments (8)
April 23, 2006
Penn State Tyranny II
Gather round folks: it's Islam Awareness Week at Penn State.
This story just gets more vile. Little Green Footballs informs us that a few years ago the Muslim students invited a Nazi to campus and guess what happened?
Nothing.
It's clear that a double standard exists at Penn State: one that favors radical Muslims over democratic Jews.
Time to divest from this vile institution that appears well on its way to dhimmihood.
Correction: Antisemite William Baker was invited to the University of Pennsylvania, not Penn State University.
Oh, gee, that's such a comfort.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 05:21 PM | Comments (8)
Penn State Tyranny I
We are constantly told that our universities are places where free speech thrives; where free speech is alive and respected.
Of course under this guise of "academic freedom" Israel and Judaism are under constant assault by apologists for Palestinian terrorism. Using Orwellian language, free speech is constantly invoked as if the Caliphite these savages wish to impose would ever tolerate any forms of freedom.
Make no mistake about it, the freedoms these enemies of Israel and Judaism use so bluntly will be used against Christianity and all forms of Democracy; against women, against homosexuals; against the very foundations of western civilization.
And so, what happens when a Jew invokes the same free speech rights on a campus in respect to an art exhibit?
Here's a shock.
Free speech disappears; free speech bows to the iron curtain of, you guessed it: cultural diversity.
Truth no longer matters. We've got to be sensitive, even to a culture that is by covenant: genocidal.
In America, our freedoms are clearly threatened from two tyrannical voices: the Jihadists and the radical left.
And where have these two groups met and formed their alliances? In the groves of academia.
If you are an alumni of Penn State, write them a letter and express your outrage.
Do not send this institution one more penny. In fact, divest from Penn State.
Two can play that game.
If you are a parent, do not send your child to this corrupt institution.
It is time for Jewish parents to stop paying the salaries of our enemies.
Hat tip to the always excellent blog Solomonia.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 03:15 PM | Comments (16)
April 21, 2006
Jeremiah Jumps In
One of the nicest duties here at Seraphic Secret is seeing one of our commenters as they head off and create their own blog. And of course, whether it's true or not, I take full credit for its creation. I like to think that I've inspired others to do what I've done. So far, Pearl, one of our earliest commenters created her superbly observed and always lovely Pearlies of Wisdom. And of course there's Randi, also an early reader and commenter, who is now the very distinctive and always hysterical Cruisin' Mom. That Randi brings me coffee and babke before we go shooting at the LA Gun Club has no effect whatsoever on my lavish praise of her wonderful blog. None. Zero. Nada.
And now, a more recent commenter, a man whose clear, impassioned and deeply literary voice, made us all sit up and take notice, has launched his own blog.
Let us smile, the blogosphere is already a better and richer space. Here's his announcement.
***
Hello Old Friends, New Friends, Family, and Acquaintances!
You are all cordially invited to visit and become Gentle Readers of a blog I've just recently launched. It's called Jeremayakovka. It's about what happens when someone steeped in liberal culture moves into the ranks of neoconservative politics. And, in my opinion, it's about time!
Please partake of what, if all goes well for Jeremayakovka's Gentle Readers as well as for myself, stand to be an adventure as well as a venture. The main categories of posts are included in the summary below, which first two weeks' worth of posts have touched on.
Your comments, questions, and opinions - even judgments - are welcome. Thanks to everyone who's already offered their interest and advice. And of course, please pass the word.
Sincerely,
Jeremiah (or "Jeremayakovka')
JMK Main Post Categories:
JMK
Material related to the blog itself, to its main inspirations (see "About" on its main page), and to observations on blogs and blogging.
Poesy
By popular demand (insofar as friends have urged me to "submit" for publication) I will offer my original poetry. Try it, I think you'll like it. Guaranteed: no fluff.
Burn that MFA!
Observation and wisdom from someone who has swum in books for nearly a decade, making up for the liberal education he received (or failed to receive) in college. I think of this life simply as, "How many muses can one man carry on his shoulders at a time?", with the first rule, as always, being, "Show, don't tell."
GWOI - The 21st Century's Good Fight
Since 9/11 I've slowly but surely come round to supporting the Bush Administration's leadership in the West's Global War on Islamofascism. GWOI has been the clincher for putting away the childish things of my Leftist youth while providing an opportunity to figure out what of that youth is worth preserving in what I call "our brave, new, neoconservative 21st Century." For starters, I like Jim Morrison's chant, "The West is the best."
Post-IWP
Parting shots at the Marxist psychological cult I ran with in the 90s, sometimes referred to as the International Workers Party. It was an allegiance which formed and deformed me, almost beyond repair. Strictly on a "need to vent" basis.
Judaism (and other faiths)
With religion it seems to me that those who know don't talk and those who talk don't know. Still, I'll offer posts that testify unmistakably, if indirectly, to the place religion has in mine and others' lives. Understandably (and unapologetically), this will refer mostly to Judaism and Christianity.
Diversions
To be kept to an entertaining minimum.
# # #
Click here to get to: http://jeremayakovka.typepad.com/
Clicking and dragging Western culture -- kicking and screaming,
if necessary -- into our brave, new neoconservative 21st Century
__________________________________________________
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 01:41 PM | Comments (14)
Of Words
An incredibly important dispatch from Michael Yon.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 10:32 AM | Comments (5)
April 18, 2006
Last Days of Passover & The Fall of France
We will be celebrating the last days of Passover so Seraphic Secret will be silent until Friday.
Karen and I wish you all a lovely and meaningful Pesach.
Until then, this wonderful post from The Gates of Vienna. Essential reading.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 05:31 PM | Comments (4)
Swedish Jews -- Your Turn
It's Open Season on Swedish Jews. Hat tip to Little Green Footballs.
Are the oh-so tolerant Swedes so dense as to believe that the Islamic Jihad taking root in their country will only be isolated to the land's 16,000 Jews?
Wait, I forgot, this is the "neutral" country that did business with Nazi Germany during World War II. The "neutral" country that allowed German troops to march through their lands.
Yup, it's just the Swedes being, well, Swedish.
What a shock.
Note to Seraphic Readers: When you read the full story prepare for your jaw to hit the floor. Hard.
Note to Jews in Sweden: Run like hell!
Note to self: Buy more ammo.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 04:27 PM | Comments (13)
The Last Helicopter
A fine post from Dean's World on American Credibility.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 02:07 PM | Comments (2)
The Day After
In planning the Yom Kippur War, the Egyptian high command made a list of Israeli weaknesses, which they proceeded to exploit in their surprise attack.
1. Arrogance.
2. Inability to sustain casualties.
3. Inability to sustain a prolonged war because of economic factors.
4. Sensitivity to world opinion.
In that check list, only #1 no longer exists. But the rest are still in full play and are being exploited to the fullest degree by the Palestinians. And the Israelis have not adjusted their war game one iota.
I am not suggesting that we become inured to the death of Jews, of course not. But what the Israelis must do is cease their tiny surgical strikes that do absolutely nothing. The Palestinian people have elected a terrorist government and they must suffer the consequences of their odious choice.
Only overhelming force, never used, can be effective. The Jews of Gaza were thrown out of their homes on the theory that their presence aggravated the situation. Jewish land and homes are now used as terrorist training camps. This is not even debatable. Hamas boasts of it, publishes pictures in their newspapers.
The disengagement was supposed to give the Palestinians the opportunity to build their own infastructure, but of course they are incapable of any such thing. They have no interest in building a state, only destroying a state--Israel.
Never has a national movement so clearly displayed their unworthiness to posess their own state; never have a people so clearly shown their inability to run a modern nation.
The Palis have squandered gazillions of dollars, and never even bothered to build their own electrical power grid.
Yup, you heard right.
All Israel has to do is flip a few switches and the Palis will be in the dark. Literally.
Which might be a good idea. Let those with a medieval mindset live a medieval lifestyle.
And damn world opinion for the world's nations hate Israel for her goodness and restraint. In the face of true evil, such as the tyrannies of Iran or Sudan there is perfect silence. If you can't see this, you are blind.
Let the terrorist Pali government know that every time a rocket is launched from Gaza or a homicide bomber tries to cross the border, the power in Gaza and the Arab towns in Judea and Samaria will be shut off for 48 hours, or even longer. And each time a Jew is murdered, well, there will be no power for a week. Hamas will be handing out candles to a very angry public.
As for the economic factors, the shoe is on the other foot now; the Palis are the greatest welfare witches the world has ever seen. And don't worry about all those pledges of big bucks from Quatar and Iran. That's just talk to preserve honor. Not one penny will ever appear in any Pali bank account. We've heard these pledges before and they are worthless rhetoric, as is Arab solidarity.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Olmert has bombed an empty factory in Gaza. Supposedly used to build bombs. No casualties.
That'll do it.
Hamas must be shaking in their boots.
Here's a quote from Olmert in 2005: "We are tired of fighting, we are tired of being courageous, we are tired of winning, we are tired of defeating our enemies, we want that we will be able to live in an entirely different environment with our enemies."
Here's a quote from Winston Churchill in 1940: "We shall not flag nor fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France and on the seas and oceans; we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our Island whatever the cost; we shall fight on the beaches, landing grounds, in fields, in streets and on the hills. We shall never surrender..."
What more can one say?
Here's Michelle Malkin's round-up of internet links about this atrocity.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 09:27 AM | Comments (33)
April 17, 2006
Passover Atrocity
A homicide bomber has brought death and destruction to Tel Aviv in the midst of Passover. This is not just an attack on the people of Israel, it is a calculated assault on Judaism.
Hamas, the elected government of the Palestinian people, have applauded this atrocity.
In 1938, Hitler told the world exactly what he was planning on doing, and then the world was shocked, just shocked, when he went ahead and did it.
Hamas are a genocidal government supported openly by Iran, a government that gleefully calls for the destruction of the State of Israel and all Jews.
Hamas has an address as do the people who elected these barbarians. For too long the world has allowed the Palestinian people to escape the consequences of their deadly and stupid choices.
The Japanese lost heart when on April 1, 1942 Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle's aviators bombed the Japanese mainland. The Japanese people realized that their army could not protect them from American power.
The damage actually inflicted by the raid was small, but its psychological effect on the Japanese was all that might have been desired. The army and navy had failed in their duty to safeguard the homeland and the Emperor from attack. Admiral Yamamoto regarded the raid as a mortifying personal defeat. Eagle Against the Sun by Ronald H. Spector, pg. 155.
It is a tragic truth of modern warfare that unless civilians pay a personal price they will never change their odious governments. The worst that Palestinians suffer from Israel is enduring long lines at check points. Lines they are ultimately responsible for because of their love of homicide bombers.
This is the second time that the Palestinians have struck on Passover. Four years ago they slaughtered 29 people in Netanya in the midst of their Passover Seder. This is no coincidence. During Passover we Jews celebrate "z'man cherutenu" our "time of freedom." The Arabs wish to show that they are our masters. In the Middle East, a tough neigborhood, Israel must show the Arabs that their fate will be like the ancient Egyptians; crushed under so many plagues that the ten plagues will seem like a blessing.
Read this by the always wonderful Mark Steyn.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 10:47 AM | Comments (16)
Hebrew Kid & Ben Franklin
The Hebrew Kid and the Apache Maiden, has been
named as one of three finalists in the 2006 Benjamin Franklin Awards
competition, in the following category: Best First Book, Fiction.
Here is a complete list of the finalists in all the categories.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 09:46 AM | Comments (9)
April 16, 2006
Shanghai Jews
This from Seraphic Friend Michael Jennings who recently spent some time in Shanghai and was delighted to discover that here was a place where Jews were rescued during WWII.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 10:14 AM | Comments (9)
April 12, 2006
Passover 2006
"And it is this that has stood by our fathers and us; for not only one has risen up against us to destroy us, but in all ages they rise up against us to destroy us; and the Holy One, blessed be He, rescues us from their hands."
We recite this passage during Passover seder.
The question arises: What is the this that is referred to?
The "Artscroll Hagaddah" provides the simplest explanation:
That the covenant concluded with Abraham has always stood by the Jewish people. Even though enemies have risen against us in all ages--not just Pharaoh in Egypt--we can rely on G-d to stand by us.
What was the nature of the promise that G-d made to to Abraham?
That His Divine Presence would always be with us and help us against attacks, not just in Egypt but in all exiles.
That G-d's covenant with the Jewish people would never be superceded.
That our liberation from Egypt was an act in which we all still share today; therefore any latter-day oppressors must inevitably share the fate of Pharaoh.
Karen and I wish all our Seraphic readers a happy, kosher and meaningful Pesach.
***
I just received this from David Paulin, a self-described liberal mugged by reality. He has a new blog, Big Carnival, where he has written a beautiful article about Steven Vincent and I want to share it with you. I wrote about this fine journalist a few days ago. I want to emphasize that Steven Vincent was a great and courageous man. The world is greatly diminished with his loss. His torture and murder was not just a tragedy -- it was an atrocity.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 10:51 AM | Comments (12)
April 11, 2006
The Duel
"On July 16, 1940 George Orwell noted that many intellectuals of the London Left were completely defeatist, ready to give up, while the middle-class people were not."
This quote is from page 172 of John Lukacs's The Duel, an utterly absorbing study of the titanic eighty-day struggle between Churchill and Hitler, 10 May - 31 July 1940.
Hitler's powerful army had invaded and now occupied Czechoslovakia, Poland, Belgium, Holland, and France.
And now Germany was poised to invade England.
Chamberlain and Halifax, appeasers, stepped aside and Winston Churchill, an outsider, mocked as a "mongrel" by the British upper classes because of his American mother, formed a government and became a bulwark against the Nazi tide.
If not for Winston Churchill, Western Civilization as we know it today would probably not exist.
Reading this fine book is at times depressing for people do not change. The appeasers of the left are still with us. The ways in which Winston Churchill were mocked are achingly familiar.
True, George Bush does not have the oratory skills of Churchill, but he does recognize evil and he understands that the barbaric mindset, and the rising tide of terrorism and state sponsored terrorism of the Arab world can no longer be tolerated.
To most of the western world in the late 30's it was easier to believe that Herr Hitler could be dealt with, could be negotiated with. There were peace parties all over Britian, especially in the churches, well meaning dolts who made sure that Britian was not prepared for war. And as a result millions died, deaths that could easily have been avoided. These peace parties, ultimately, are mass murderers.
And they are still with us. A branch of the Presbyterian Church just met with Hamas in Beirut about divesting from Israel. These Church people are collaborating with mass murderers, collaborating with a government whose covenant calls for the destruction of Israel.
To me what's most interesting about this book is that Churchill always understood Hitler whereas Hitler never really understood Winston Churchill; no Hitler spent much more time simply hating Churchill.
And Hitler absolutely never understood the first thing about America. Which ultimately crushed him.
I look at the Arab world and I pretty much see the same scenario playing itself out in the long run. Political Islam has a only a surface understanding of America and Americans. Their contempt for America, and especially for American women and their freedoms, trumps all.
For if they were to truly get to know us, truly understand us, they would instantly become one of us; and so they keep their distance with a blinding hatred that in the end will lead to their demise.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 09:10 AM | Comments (25)
April 10, 2006
Hamas's Script
Karen and I had Shabbos lunch with a group of people, one of whom is a sort of roving Jewish diplomat. He's one of those behind-the-scenes men who seems to know just everybody.
The conversation, naturally, turned to Israel, and our friend explained that we would no longer hear any talk from Hamas about a separate Palestinian state. From now on, the new tactic they will follow will be "the single state solution." i.e. the the end of the state of Israel replaced by a, get this, "democratic Palestinian State."
This blog has been saying since its inception that the Palis have absolutely no interest in building a state, only destroying Israel. The PA went about this by stealth. Hamas will attempt to do it openly, in stages.
So, the next time you find yourself talking to an academic or a European, the conversation is going to go something like this:
You: We believe in a Jewish State, do you?
Them: Yes, most certainly, but will it be a Democracy?
You: Yes.
Them: Then you'll have no objection to allowing all Palestinian refugees to return and vote, correct?
You: No, we would like to have Jewish State.
Them: Ah, so you're nothing but a racist!
That's the script being written. Never mind that there are already twenty-two Arab/Islamic countries that are Judenrein; that Christians are a persecuted minority in almost every Arab country.
It's an astonishing phenomenon when your enemies accuse you of what they themselves are absolutely guilty of. You look around and you wait for the civilized world to come crashing down on these barbarians--and when it doesn't you realize that courage and goodness are in very short supply.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 09:21 AM | Comments (38)
April 07, 2006
Red Zone
Today, April 7, is Iraq Liberation Day. Three years ago, Iraq was liberated from the iron fist of one of the most repressive regimes this world has ever seen.
To honor this liberation I'd like to recommend the finest book written about post Saddam Iraq: Into the Red Zone by Steven Vincent.
Vincent was a critic for glossy art magazines when the twin towers came crashing down. So deeply was he effected by the atrocity, that he moved heaven and earth to get to Iraq so he could understand and report on what he saw.
Vincent is a rarity from the NY art world. He recognizes evil when he sees it.
Vincent is also particularly sensitive to the nuances of the battle of words that define how wars are fought. He scolds the mainstream media for labeling the murderers in Iraq as "insurgents." Call them what they are: "fascists" or "paramilitaries." Calling them insurgents, he notes, gives them a romantic air, and gives them a legitimacy they do not deserve.
Vincent reserves his most scalding criticism for the so-called "peace activists" who flood Iraq with their "fact finding" missions.
"Really, was Saddam that bad?" says one of these clueless anti-American leftists.
For the truth about these Canadian/Mennonite/Christian/Communist/Lenninist "peace" groups is that they only appear to bash America and Israel, but never true tyrannies.
And of course, not one of these peace groups raised a voice when Steven Vincent, this good and supremely talented man, was kidnapped and murdered by fascist thugs.
May his memory be a blessing.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 09:24 AM | Comments (18)
April 05, 2006
Seraphic Invitation
Karen and I would like to invite all our Seraphic Friends to the Third Annual Ariel Avrech Memorial Lecture.
Sunday, June 11, 2006.
The Young Israel of Century City
9317 West Pico Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90035
(310)273-6954
Time: 10:00 AM
The lecture is free.
The Avrech Family & Friends are honored to present as our guest lecturer:
Rachel Friedman
Mrs. Friedman is a world renowned scholar on The Five Books of Moses, and The Prophets.
The title of her lecture is: How Can We Come to Know G-d?
What does "knowledge" mean in the Bible? How do our ancestors come to "know" G-d in biblical times? In an age devoid of prophecy and open Divine revelation, how can each of us come to "know" G-d today?
Through an exploration of selected Torah texts as well as Midrashic and medieval commentaries, we will explore how the Torah defines and guides the relationship between G-d and human beings.
Mrs. Friedman was inspired to explore this topic by some of Ariel's comments ZT'L in his article Bringing Purim Into Pesach on p. 113 of The Book of Ariel.
Rachel Friedman is Director of the Yesodot Foundations Program at the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education in New York City. She also coordinates the Tanach program for the Drisha Scholar's Circle. Rachel is an instructor of Bible and exegesis and has taught in Drisha's Continuing Education, Beit Midrash, Talmud/Tanach and Scholar's Circle Program.
Rachel is lead author of Joshua of the Tanach Yomi , Daily Torah Study series published by AMIT. She also contributes to each of the Tanach Yomi volumes on the Five Books of Moses.
Rachel has taught Bible at the Frisch School and at the Ma'ayanot Women's Adult Education Program in Northern New Jersey. She has also practiced law at major law firms including Weil Gotshal & Manges in New York City.
Rachel has an MA in Bible from the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Yeshiva University and a JD from Columbia University School of Law. She also did graduate work at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.
A delicious brunch follows the lecture. If you want a taste of Offspring #2's wedding, well, we're using the very same caterer.
Interpolation: a short tale of food, medicine and Shabbos.
When Ariel was in the hospital waiting for a lung transplant, a transplant that never happened, there was a fine young physician, J., who cared for Ariel on a daily basis, and who's relationship with Ariel expanded well beyond the normal doctor/patient boundaries.
This young doctor was and is Shomer Shabbos, a Sabbath observer, but naturally he does not keep the Sabbath in the hospital for his duties as a physician, the commandment to preserve life comes first--as prescribed by Halacha, Jewish law.
Shabbos in the hospital: after the sun fell, after Ariel and I davened, prayed, I poured grape juice for Ariel, and as if by magic, J., the young physician appeared in Ariel's room, and Ariel chanted the Kiddush, the blessing over the grape juice.
J. sank heavily into a visitor's chair.
"Ahhh, Shabbos," he sighed.
We sang Shabbos z'miros, songs, together, and then Ariel gave a short d'var Torah, a Torah thought, without preparation, just off the top of his head.
J. never failed to be astonished at Ariel's iron fortitude. You see, our son was hooked up to, gosh, so many machines. He was not even breathing on his own. And yet, and yet, Ariel insisted on living his life as prescribed by the Torah and the Mesorah--without one complaint, without conceding any of the holy parts because the whole was so damaged. Ariel ignored the broken parts. Karen called it, "healthy denial."
Once, in all seriousness, J. confided to me: "Ariel, your son, he might be, have you ever considered that he's one of the Lamed Vovniks?"
This is not something we Orthodox Jews suggest to one another very often, or lightly. In fact, pious Jews almost never seriously consider this notion. And yet J. is a deeply serious man and there was not a flicker of irony in his eyes nor a hint of self consciouness.
And since then, several people, all G-d fearing and learned, have proposed the very same thought to me.
Which makes me tremble. For the more time that passes the more vividy does our son come into focus and yes, there was something otherworldly about our Ariel Chaim.
And if you'd like a peek into how a writer loots material, read my book The Hebrew Kid and the Apache Maiden, where you will discover a whole storyline about the Lamed Vovniks.
When Ariel was niftar, when Ariel's soul left his body, and J. found out, it's the only time I ever saw one of my son's doctors weep. J. was at Ariel's funeral. J paid a shiva call.
And J.'s father catered Offspring #2's wedding and will be catering the Ariel Avrech Memorial Lecture.
End Interpolation.
Attention Seraphic Secret University Students!
1. You will get extra credit for attending the lecture.
2. There will be a Seraphic Secret table reserved.
3. Bring your computers so you can communicate with one another if talking face-to-face proves too challenging.
4. No food fights.
5. Memo to Randi: No need to bring babake or coffee. Consider this your day off.
Karen and I can think of no more appropriate venue for meeting our Seraphic Friends. To us, you have extended great measures of comfort and generosity. We'd like to give something tangible back in return. The Third Annual Ariel Avrech Memorial Lecture would be a fine way indeed. And do keep in mind that by attending this lecture, you will be participating in the Mesorah. Yahrzeits have been observed since Talmudic times. It is a sign of reverance for the deceased. And yahrtzeit lectures, memorial lectures, are just as ancient.
Karen and I look forward to seeing you in a few weeks.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 09:41 AM | Comments (35)
April 03, 2006
Notebooks, Unbearable -- Karen
The thing that made this particular reading so difficult and yet so magnetic was that this book was different from all the others.
Most of Ariel's notebooks consist of copious pages of Talmudic lectures, fine points of law, intellectual webs that are impossible to follow if you don't know the original disagreement. But this notebook is different. These are his own in-depth notes for a talk he was planning to give in the Young Israel of Century City over spring break.
This particular d'var Torah that Ariel was working on is about Jewish philosophy, using traditional commentaries of course, but it spins off into the connections of the relationship between memory and practice and the constant dialectic between Zachor, the spark of memory, and Shamor, the actualization of practice.
Ariel makes the analogies of male and female. He compares Moses with Mordechai, Esther and Mordechai, the central characters from the story of Purim. I don't know how Ariel does it, but in the end it all coheres and makes perfect sense and I was astonished by the sophistication of his references.
Here, Ariel pulls in ideas about modesty and the origin of the world; the notions are cosmic. I never imagined that my son was taking on such bold themes. But the more I read, the more painful it became because I was remembering and seeing Ariel more fully. With each word he was being pulled more sharply into focus. All the dimensions of his personality were emerging in bold relief and I felt I would collapse from the pain -- I had to close the notebook.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 09:02 PM | Comments (11)
Notebooks, Unbearable -- Robert
Yesterday was Ariel's secular birthday. He would have been 25-years old.
Karen spent the day furiously cleaning for Passover.
My office, in back of the house, is where I decided to make my stand. I printed out pictures from Offspring #2's wedding, and worked on one of my elaborate scrapbook pages--a combination cubist collage, Talmudic page, and a father's sentimental love song.
A few days ago, Karen forced herself to step into Ariel's room, a space she almost never enters. She took one of his Torah notebooks, opened it at random, and found herself swimming in one of Ariel's elaborate exegesis on Pesach, Passover.
His handwriting is meticulous, every page written using his beloved fountain pens.
"I don't have to press very hard," he used to say "and so my hand doesn't cramp." Ariel was practical. Never would he admit that he loved the elegance of the fountain pens that I lavished on him.
Ariel favored rich blue inks. Every once in a while he throws in a deep green or a pitch black. But mostly the notebooks are a sea of serene blue.
Karen took it as a sign, what could be more clear? that Ariel wanted her to recite this d'var Torah, this Torah thought, at our Passover table.
But last night, Karen studied Ariel's notebook. She hunched over and her body shook.
"I'll never be able to summarize it," Karen sobbed, "it's too complicated."
"Maybe just read it."
Peering into Ariel's notebooks, there are about two-dozen of them, is the closest we can get to our son. It is his essence. They contain his love of Torah, his attempts to unify specific Talmudic ideas; there is his perfect belief in G-d, and here is his love of Israel. The march of ideas comes at you one after the other--boom, boom, boom--intellectual howitzers that simply knock you flat. Ariel was so young when these thoughts stormed his mind; how was it possible?
The notebooks are almost unbearable to open. But someone has to for they belong to the Jewish people and the Mesorah, the tradition that reaches back to Sinai.
"What did we do to deserve such a child?" Karen asked me.
I had no answer.
I have no answers.
There are no answers.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at 08:34 AM | Comments (29)