We put Claudia Rossett on my show yesterday to make the following points that "somehow" eluded the geniuses at the New York Times and the AP:

1) Any money that goes to Gaza will go to Hamas. DUH! Saying you're not giving money to Hamas in this instance is like putting money in the cash register as the convenience store is being held up and claiming you're not giving money to the robbers.

2) UNWRA is in league with Hamas. In Gaza there are two real jobs you can get: 1) Hamas empployee or 2) UNWRA employee. There really is no difference.

3) None of this money will be used to rebuild anything. Like most "foreign aid" it will end up in the hands of the men with guns.

Jake:

You have been doing a great job over at Fox. The other networks, ABC, NBC, CBS, are a disgrace. Pravda of the airwaves.

Claudia Rossett's superb journalism covering the corrupt and Jew-hating U.N. should earn her a Pulitzer Prize but that will never happen. Only lock-step liberals are eligible.

To say that the money will go to weapons, or to Hamas for that matter, is overwrought and ultimately, self-defeating for supporters of Israel. It will be carefully disbursed to responsible people, with, as far as possible in the Middle East, real oversight.

The problem is that now, Hamas has been freed from any need to spend the other money that is pouring in from their bloody supporters on infrastructure, and they can spend it all on weapons, training, and those tunnels, may they become their graves.

Barzilai:

Are you serious?

I think the point Barzalai is trying to make (correct me if I'm wrong please) is that of the classic problem with providing aid to corrupt regimes. In Gaza it is the responsibility of the governing authorities, in this case Hamas to spend money on infrastructure ect. Providing massive amount of aid to Gaza will allow Hamas to abdicate this responsibility and empower them to spend the money that they do have on weapons, rockets and not on rebuilding. This also means that Hamas will not come under pressure from their own people for not spending on infrastructure.

Ted, that is exactly what I mean. Sorry it was not clear.

Part of Hamas' appeal to the masses is that they make the trains run on time, so to speak; they steal UN supplies and distribute them as if they were the benefactors, they build homes for 'victims' of Israeli aggression, and, to the extent that they don't steal the money to buy mistresses and villas in France, they are less corrupt than Fatah. Bloody murderers, of course, but not fiscally or sexually corrupt. If outsiders rebuild Gaza infrastructure, Hamas is freed up to focus their time, energy and money on their core motivation-- killing Jews.

Ted, Barzilai:

Hamas won the Palestinian elections on a simple Islamist platform: the promise to destroy Israel. Never for one moment did they make believe that they would build a working infrastructure.

Hamas have no interest in Gazans, no interest in Palestinian nationalism. They routinely steal medical supplies and food sent in by Israel and then sell them on the black market, or hoard them for their terrorist cells. Hamas are financed and supplied by Iran via Syria, thus an arm of a terrorist state who make no secret of their genocidal intentions toward Israel and toward Jews.

To suggest that Hamas will come under pressure from Gazans is simply delusional. That's not how totalitarian regimes operate. They use terror and murder to achieve their ends. Obama's $ not only hits directly at Israel, but enables one of the most brutal regimes on the earth.

Well, I knew it was coming. I just didn't expect it to come so soon.

How much money did Arafat embezzle? I heard it was in the hundreds of millions.

Orwellian...

Orwellian...close enough, it's Obamian.

Of course, for those of us that shouted to the roof tops about Obama are hardly surprised by his affinity for Arab terrorists and his animus towards Israel.

What I would like to know....
How can any Jew who, despite the tangible proof that Obama would be horrible for Israel and America, still justify their vote.

Robert is correct in being scared....
The market will tumble....unemployment will soar, along with taxes....and our enemies will enjoy a free rein.

Will soldiers have to read miranda rights to the ememy before they take them down?

To those that voted for Obama...
Thanks.

I stopped believing that the US would really support Israel a long time ago. Israel has no real friends and should act accordingly.

Israel does have many friends. They just got voted out of power, but that doesn't mean they have ceased to exist.

Jack:

There is a vast gulf between the Democrat Party's support of Israel, weak and getting weaker, and comfortable home to genuine Jew-haters, and the Republican Party, who, though not perfect, (what is?) are, in every way, stronger supporters of Israel.

To say that all are the same is a justification for an Obama vote.

President Bush quite properly shunned Durban.

Obama is participating in an openly Jew-hating festival where Muhammar Quaddafi just accused the Jews of masterminding the horror in Darfur.

As I say to all with an open mind: if an American administration does not strongly support Israel, that administration will not be a strong advocate for American power.

Robert,

I have been an independent for a long time. I cross party lines without any hesitation. I despise what is happening in Durban and have contacted my senators and congressmen to complain about this.

I do not trust either party to keep Israel foremost in their thoughts. We can go back and forth about the issues, Dubya's endorsement of a Pal state, Baker's loving "comments" about us and more.

Obama's admin is not doing the right thing, but I can't say that I had high hopes.

I still believe that the only state that Israel can completely rely upon is Israel and it has nothing to do with not having an open mind.

It is just the most practical approach. It wouldn't matter if Dubya was still in office the US is not going to approve a strike on Iran. Not in this climate.

Frankly in some ways I am most concerned about what is happening in our universities. The attitude towards Israel really bothers me.

Robert,

We are going to have to agree to disagree on this point and it has nothing to do with having an open mind.

It is far too easy to go down a list of actions taken by both parties that are damaging to Israel. Off the top of my head I'll grant that the Dem side are probably more serious, but in the end...

I just don't trust any of them and far prefer that Israel take the necessary steps to act as needed without having to clear every little thing with the US.

As it regards Israel I have grave concerns about what is taking place in our universities these days.

Well - here comes more. Now that Hillary doesn't have to worry about Jewish voters - the "kiss up to Arafat" Hillary is coming out! All you Jews that bought into her "rethinking" her position on Israel were all fooled again. You liberal Jews are so pathetic.
http://wcbstv.com/national/hillary.clinton.israel.2.945238.html
Rush was right, Hannity was right - my conservative friends were right - they kept asking me "how can Jews vote for Hillary or Obama" - I had no answer. Well - the liberal Jews drank the Obama Koolaid - and we are now in for some very rough days ahead. These people - Obama, Hillary, hell - almost the entire democratic party is evil - period. They are destroying our future economy - our children's future and taking direct aim at Israel. Moshiach is near.

Obama wasted no time in showing his true anti-Israel(anti-jewish, antisemetic)colors.
His appointmenst of Sandra Powers and Chas Freeman along with the Durban 2 catastrophe have clearly punctuated his anti-israel foreign agenda.
The incomming Israeli Govt. will be walking a tightrope over the next several years.
Bibi's first order of business will be to nullify any preexisting commitments made by the previous govt. This will be no easy task since Fatah has decided to cojoin with Hamas giving legitimacy(in the eyes of the world) to the despot regime in Gaza.
Obama's attempt to 'relate' to the dictator in Iran will allow the Persian Hitler to unabatedly procure nuclear weapons within the next 12 months.
Hizbullah/Syria are fully armed with tens of thousands of missiles and Hamas is rearming daily.
Tension is mounting in Turkey(Israeli ally)as ant-Israeli sentiments are spreading throughout the country and its govt. is contemplating breakig off from NATO and forging an alliance with Russia/Iran.
Along with the economic crisis which is starting to affect the tiny countries economy I forsee some very very dificult times ahead for the State of Israel.

I have to believe there is a majority of Jews in the US that do not care about Israel. Why else would they have voted for someone worse than Jimmy Carter when it comes to the continued existence of the only democracy in the ME?

It was all out there before the election. Samantha Powers alone should have been enough top make Jews run from Obama.

I don't understand how anyone can paint the Republicans with the same brush as Democrats. Arafat was the favorite guest of the Clinton WH and Bubba was ready to give the PLO everything they wanted and make Israel like it. Even Palin had to repeat to Charlie Gibson that the US had no right to second guess what Israel has to do to secure its nation. Somehow I cannot imagine those words coming from Obama.

Robert:

I'm afraid, too and I'm not even Jewish. I'm afraid for my friends, afraid for myself, and afraid for my wonderful country. I wrote about it here: http://grandrants.wordpress.com/2009/02/27/open-letter-to-israel/.

And yet, and yet. God has given his angels charge over each one of us, to keep us in all our ways. And as we all know, one of the first things angels say to us is, "FEAR NOT!"

So fear not, dear friends. Hold up your head and go about your business. This thing ain't over yet, by a long shot.

American Jews voted for Obama for a simple reason; while they may (or may not) have been concerned about Israel, they were more concerned about the economy, the war in Iraq, healthcare etc. Now of course one may argue whether Obama can fix these matters or not, but I think that's the simple reason why Jewish Americans voted for Obama. In fact this is why I paradoxically hope that Obama fixes these issues; because then American Jews would start caring about Israel more, as they rightly should. Right now the problem is that even if they care about Israel, it's hard to put that on their list of priorities if they don't have a job like millions of others. In fact I have several Jewish friends who are very concerned about Obama's stance on Israel, but they are much more concerned about whether he is going to get them a job, and I don't blame them for this.

Excuse me, Bob.....but that sounds a lot like "Right v. Wrong" comes second to "What's in it for me?"

And you don't find this blameworthy?

Am I missing something, here......?

Oh, by the way.....it appears that the problem Robert describes is even worse in England. Would you believe that Worcester is seeking "sister-city" status with Gaza? Check it out: http://bloodthirstyliberal.com/?p=8820

Well, if someone believes in the prosperity and well-being of the US and his own grandchildren it isn't exactly wrong, is it? In any case, I am not really trying to make a moral comparison or something here or saying that their indifference is justified; it's more of a factual statement about why Jewish people voted for Obama. All I am saying is that people, not surprisingly, seem to vote on the basis of issues which they perceive as affecting them directly.
The news about Worcester is depressing.

Waste of tax payers money. There is not one US tax payer that would support this. Who voted for that? This makes me upset!