By Any Means Necessary

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "By Any Means Necessary."

Modern-day anti-Semitism has taken the form of pro-Hamas supporters on our campuses and in our cities who pretend that they are fighting against colonialism and an occupation of Palestine. They strategically disguise their Jew-hatred by falsely portraying themselves as the victims of oppression. Instead of showing themselves as the vile racists that they are, they attempt to hide as wolves in sheep's clothing. They do this to try and get the world's sympathy and take the mantle of morality and legitimacy through lies and distortion. In so doing, they can call for resistance, intifada, and jihad, and "by any (murderous and abhorrent) means necessary," all the while pretending to be virtuous.

(AI generated image via Designer)

By Any Means Necessary

If Intifada had a Wine

If Intifada had a Wine

Love Is Not Blind, but Hate Sure Is

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "Love is Not Bling, But Hate Sure Is."

What blind love and hate do have in common is an irrational mob mentality that destroys one's ability to think rationally and morally. When you either deprive people of real information and outside perspectives, brainwash them, or create a sense of baseless fear and anger, you can bring out a real destructive side of humanity that borders on the psychotic and sociopathic. Thus, when people get back to their family, friends, and "real life," similar to when Hitler was killed and the Nazis and their propaganda machine were defeated, then perspective and normalcy could return. This is why it's so important to fight the fake news and brainwashing that are so prevalent right now.

In the end, love is not actually blind, but hate most certainly is completely blind, deaf, and utterly dumb.

(AI generated image from Designer)

Love Is Not Blind, but Hate Sure Is

Why Wokeism Hurts More Than It Helps

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "Why Wokeism Hurts More Than It Helps."

While we should continually strive to promote mutual understanding and empowerment, we must also call out the false messiah of wokeism for what it is: a hateful, corrupt, and self-righteous ideology of entitlement and dictatorship. Instead of wokeism endlessly talking about victimhood, trying to turn one against another, and taking "all you can get," we should instead take a more positive and unifying approach that includes strong individual and family values, hard work, constructive reform, and of course, faith in the One above.

(AI Generated Photo via Craiyon)

Why Wokeism Hurts More Than It Helps

“Death Con” NEVER AGAIN

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "Death Con NEVER AGAIN."

KanyeWest - I hope that you visit Auschwitz and think deeply about the hurtful, hateful anti-Semitic words that you said. Hopefully, you can change your rhetoric to feelings and words of love and brotherhood.

(Credit Photo: Adapted by Andy Blumenthal from public domain photo; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanye_West#/media/File:Kanye_West_at_the_2009_Tribeca_Film_Festival_(cropped).jpg

 

“Death Con” NEVER AGAIN

Jude in America

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "Jude in America."

What was shocking was that despite the professional environment, this was a climate where they actually felt “safe” expressing their Antisemitism and hate. In this case, these high-level, powerful, “educated” people working in the heart of our nation’s capital should know better, much better than to harass someone because she is a Jew, an Israeli, a woman or all three.

It is unfortunate that there still are individuals that hate out there: that lash out questioning our faith, our people, and our intentions. Good people see the common humanity and good in others, and bad people are infatuated with imaginary intolerable differences, especially of minorities, and enjoy scapegoating them, goading others to join their hate, and even violently preying on them.

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Jude in America

Terror In Israel: Time To Take Out The Trash

 

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "Terror in Israel: Time To Take Out The Trash."

Passover, which is the holiday of liberation and freedom, is also when we must acknowledge that hate and terror is inconsistent with faith and holiness. The terrorists impinge on our freedom to live as a free people in our own land. On Passover, we must renew ourselves with the strength, determination, and perseverance to rid ourselves of the chametz, not only as represented by food but metaphysically by those filled with haughtiness, intolerance, hate, and violence towards us.

(Source Photo: Zoriah; https://www.flickr.com/photos/zoriah/3170393154/)

Terror In Israel: Time To Take Out The Trash

Don't Follow Haters and Liars

I liked this sign:

Truth does not mind being questioned. 

A lie does not like being challenged. 

This seems like truth to me!

People who push an agenda and their propaganda never like to discuss it or answer questions about it. It's usually prejudice in some way and they just want to ram it down people's throats. 

Questioning and shedding light on things that don't seem right is part of our moral and civic duty.  

Of course, the haters and liars would rather that we just accept the falsehoods they are peddling like stupid sheep who blindly follow them down the road to perdition. ;-)

(Source Photo: Friend)

Don't Follow Haters and Liars

Ben and Jerry's: Racism and Terror

New flavors to go along with Ben and Jerry's new hateful values. 

- Boom Intifada Cookie Core

- Everything But The Jews

- Jihadi Coffee Toffee

- Mintifada Chocolate Cookie

- AntiseMint

Forget Peace and Love; Ben and Jerry's moves to adopt Racism and Terror!  

Boycott Unilever and Ben and Jerry's. ;-)

(Credit Photo: Friend via Facebook)

Ben and Jerry's: Racism and Terror

When Might Makes Wrong

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "When Might Makes Wrong."

A single Jewish country, like Israel, doesn't stand a chance at the UN, where they are automatically outvoted and imprisoned by their enemies in a virtual diplomatic isolation.

The ability of the Muslim nations and those they coerce to outvote Israel at the United Nations, whether in the General Assembly, the HRC, and through UNRWA is neither right, ethical, nor moral, but simply a fixture of might makes wrong at the UN! In democracies around the world, we pride ourselves on balancing voting with constitutions that protect the basic human rights of all people, including minorities be they according to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or disability. Unfortunately, these principles and protections of people don't apply at the United Nations. Thus, bias and hatred of Israel is allowed and even encouraged to perpetuate as long as their enemies can use sheer numbers or their power to deny the basic rights of a secure existence and nationhood to the Jewish people. Regretfully, these types of gross injustices, including genocide, have been perpetrated against many other minorities as well. While there have been attempts in the past to reform the UN, unfortunately, these remain mostly unsuccessful, and the farce that is the United Nations continues with its unsound power structure and the lack of a global moral compass to guide its actions.

(Credit Photo: Pixabay) 

When Might Makes Wrong

Mount Meron and Hating The "Baseless"

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called, "Mount Meron and Hating The 'Baseless.'"

We are all reeling from the devastating deaths of 45 Jews on Lag B'Omer at Mount Meron (and many others critically injured) from a stampede during the bonfire celebration near the grave of the holy Kabbalist, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Last night, we were glued to the new as the body count kept going up. I couldn't help thinking to myself that this is something that happens in the masses of people that gather in India or Saudi Arabia, not in the tiny State of Israel. But lo' and behold, tragedy can strike anywhere, anytime. Life is completely tenuous!

So can we draw conclusions that in those days there was baseless hate and so too in our times. I think, while we don't know G-d's ways, certainly from experience and observation, we do know that there is not only baseless hate, but also plenty of "hate the baseless".  And what I mean by that is that one type of Jew thinks they are better than another whose beliefs, faith, and observance we denigrate and deem baseless, without support and they without real merit...We are forever driven towards a "Better than thou" attitude and lifestyle. To the religious catcalls of "get out of our neighborhood slut" or the throwing of Shabbat rocks at passing cars. This all has got to stop!

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Mount Meron and Hating The "Baseless"

The Power of Love

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called, "The Power of Love."

When we act up and fight with each other, then in the end, we will really only end up hurting ourselves.

Tomorrow can be better than today and yesterday, if we learn to live in peace and brotherhood with each other, and understand that hurting another is really only hurting ourselves in the end. G-d’s holiness dwells among us only when we stop the silly bickering and infighting, and love each other, and Him, with all our heart and soul.

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

The Power of Love

Rope Light

This rope light is sort of frightening. 

Looks like a noose and it's hanging from the ceiling. 

I don't think this light is too enlightened!  

There are no ropes needed.

We need to cast light not darkness in this world. ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Rope Light

We Are Comm-unity!

I saw this painted on a storefront window. 

Community, United We Stand. 

With all the polarization these days, is this still true?

Unity is literally built into Comm-unity.

Divided, we tear each other apart. 

Instead, we could accomplish so much together.  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

We Are Comm-unity!

Still Fighting For Our Rights

This picture about sums where we are in having to protest the same things we've been fighting for since the beginning of time:

I can not believe I still have to protest this crap!!

Just went you thought humanity (at least Western civilization) had mostly evolved past all the discrimination, biases, bigotry, prejudice, and racisms.

We arrive in time only to find out that HATE is still brewing in our societies and people's evil hearts. 

What a shame--that we misinterpret what divides us as taking precedence over what unites us!

What a pity--that we misjudge people by the color of their skin, their race, their religion, etc. instead of by the worthiness of their deeds. 

What a disgrace--that we mistreat our fellow man simply because they are different from us and in the most superficial of ways. 

With all our scientific advances and technological progress, we are still in stone ages of the evolution of our humanity.  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Still Fighting For Our Rights

From Hate To Love

Just a self-reflection today...

Important to me. 

It's about who I thought I was and...

Who I became. 

Truly, I went full circle from a child's hate to an adult's love relationship with:

- Reading

- Writing

- Swimming

- Hebrew

As a kid, I tried to avoid these like the plague, and as an adult I like to practice these every single day of my life. 

I wonder to myself is it that I strove to become good (or decent) at what I have previously been bad at or was somehow afraid of. 

Yet now, they are integral to my life, learning, and growth. 

Like the hands of a clock that circle and tick the hours and minutes. 

My life takes me full circle and brings me home to who I am and what I really love spending time at. ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

From Hate To Love

Life Equated With Hate

Does anyone get this sign from the Pro-Life rally last week?

Pro-Life is Pro-Hate

But equating Pro-Life with hate doesn't add up.

It actually seems the opposite that if you want to sanctify and protect life that you are loving people, not hating. 

Sometimes to make a point, people will just say anything. 

It's related to "gaslighting" where they want to manipulate you into questioning your own beliefs, values, and sanity.

Perhaps, throwing around terms like hate just dilutes the real meaning of it similar to making other false accusations against people. 

We need to argue the issues, and not attack each other. ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Life Equated With Hate

'Uncut Gems' Cuts Deep

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called, "Uncut Gems Cuts Deep."

Yesterday, we went to see the new Adam Sandler movie, Uncut Gems....Ratner's life is full of shlemazel of his own making. While he has a good wife, kids, and extended family (maybe with the exception of his loan shark uncle), a fancy-schmancy home in the suburbs with a newly renovated pool, his own jewelry business that even caters to some big-league sports players, and a shiksa girlfriend on the side (who seems to love him), Ratner is never satisfied or happy and is always pushing for more!

In the movie, Howard Ratner was driven by greed and made bad life choices, and to me, it was a shame that the he was portrayed as a Jew, which can feed the vicious cycle of discrimination and hatred that has often been anchored around money. With the vicious machete attack on Chanukah at a Rabbi's house in Monsey this week (after a slew of other anti-Semitic incidents, including an attack on a student for wearing a yalmulke on the NYC Subway to beatings and tire slashings of Jews in Brooklyn), we are reminded that there is once again a resurgence of prejudice and hate against Jews, but also that it's the light of Chanukah that "drives out the darkness," and that money and materialism are a mere shabby substitute to finding true security and success whether you work in the dense NYC Diamond District or live in the sprawling suburbs of America.

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

'Uncut Gems' Cuts Deep

I Pray For The Day

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called, "I Pray For The Day."

While I am a staunch supporter for the security of Israel, I pray for the day (a miracle) when Jews and Arabs can be brothers again--shoulder to shoulder--that embrace and help each other, rather than enemies "at each others' throats."

In my mind and heart, there has got to come a time when the hatred and violence ends, and when instead peace can and will prevail. ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

I Pray For The Day

Beautiful Anne Frank

In Remembrance of Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Observance) today:

This is a beautiful Hebrew song about Anne Frank who at age 13 went into hiding in Amsterdam from the Nazis.

For two years, they stayed in the attic...not being able to make a sound or open a window.

But she kept an amazing diary that preserves for us the life and suffering they went through. 

After 761 days, they were discovered and Anne Frank was was sent to Auschwitz Concentration Camp. 

Anne and her sister Margot died in Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp.

This child was beautiful and her story lives to remind us of the evil that we face and the survival that we all must.  ;-)

___
Song:

Anne Frank's Diary

Lyrics:

A bookcase hides me. 
And what, what a fear.
My father, my mother and my sister,
With the neighbors together.
We are all in silence and quiet,
With only the heart whispering whispers.
Here they hide from the soldiers,
Which our soul seeks.
My diary, my precious,
Oh Kitty, my friend.
Will I ever see a sunrise?
Will I find my death?
In the tiny rooms, From a suffocating feeling.
Cold days and clouds.
Nights of terror and silence.
It's not true, it's not right,
I want to laugh out loud.
Dance, sing and play,
I'm a child, all in all.
My diary, my precious ...
There are terrible moments,
In our relations.
So crowded here in the apartment, Everything is closing in on us.
Food is also very lacking, The war within the city.
Will I live? Will I survive?
Do you still love and sing?
My diary, my precious ...

Beautiful Anne Frank