Showing posts with label Security. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Security. Show all posts

November 18, 2023

Confronting Deep-Rooted Anti-Semitism of Present

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "Confronting Deep-Rooted Anti-Semitism of Present."

As a very small minority in the world, Jews have forever been made the scapegoat and persecuted, whether in the Crusades, Inquisition, expulsions, pogroms, the Holocaust, terrorism, or war. As far back as Amalek, the Philistines, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, and more, Jews have never been granted long-lasting moments of peace. Perhaps that is one of the reasons we yearned for millennia to return to our homeland of Israel and why we so look forward to the coming of Mashiach so that we can once and for all achieve not only the universal acknowledgment of and worship of the One true G-d, but also a sincere and enduring peace for our people and the world.

The fight for Jewish survival is far from over. Yes, with Israel and the brave young men and women of the IDF, we are stronger now than we ever have been. However, the hate and violence we face are unbridled and unabashed, and given the chance, we have seen what our enemies will do to us. In response, we need to raise our heads high and fight the good fight regardless of what anyone else has to say. G-d will be our judge even as the anti-Semites condemn us either way.

(AI Generated Photo via https://www.craiyon.com/image/j3sTgGblTuOt9ea8dVdOPw)
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August 27, 2023

10 War Strategies for Peace

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "10 War Strategies for Peace."

Of course, we may not win every battle, but we need to make sure that we win the war. Strategy and tactics, along with plenty of investment, planning, technology, training, and execution, are the way to win. 

Ultimately, peace is the goal, but to get there, we must be ever vigilant, smart, and strong, and maintain our faith in the Almighty.

(Photo via https://www.army.mil/article/247350/fort_leonard_wood_examines_wwii_ghost_army_deception_tactics)

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August 13, 2023

Not By Strength Alone

 
Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "Not By Strength Alone."

For Israelis and Jews around the world, success includes being powerful enough to defend ourselves from no longer being every demagogue and dictator's scapegoat, but much more than that, it means that we become a true "light unto nations." We want to be a democracy anchored in freedom and human rights. We also want to be a "Jewish State" (it's the only one in the world!) that is a haven for every Jew to come home to and that is culturally and religiously Jewish (but not a Jewish dictatorship). Israel will not survive by strength alone but rather by the spirit of Hashem (Zechariah 4:6). And so our values are to follow in G-d's path and do good in the world, fix what's broken, and make it a better place, and that includes, as the prophet Isaiah said, "beating their swords into plowshares." Moreover, we understand that G-d is not only the creator but also the perpetual master of the universe, and it is He who decides whether Israel behaves righteously and ultimately whether she will merit to stand for the duration this time and, hopefully, the final time.

(Photo: Alexi Rosenfeld, IDF/Creative Commons via https://israelradar.com/israels-3-new-tricks-for-gaza-war-with-hamas/)
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May 14, 2023

Israel's 3 Stages of Attack

 

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "Israel's 3 Stages of Attack."

Iran has long sought nuclear weapons to destroy Israel. Of course, if the Ayatollah doesn’t change course towards peace, it only makes sense as a strategy for Israel to not only preemptively attack but also incrementally dismantle Iran and its terrorist weapons buildup in three distinct stages.

As we are maneuvering closer to the finish line with Iran, we must maintain our ultimate faith in the “Rock of Israel,” as well as continue to be dedicated to defending our people, land, and religion.

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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May 6, 2023

Israel's Mysterious 7 Watershed Moments

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "Israel's Mysterious 7 Watershed Moments."

G-d works in mysterious ways, but occasionally He reveals Himself to us to impart His holiness and perfection to the world.

As we know, seven represents the miraculous days of G-d's creation of the heavens and earth and his rest on the holy seventh day of Shabbat. Additionally, in Kabbalah, seven represents the number of lower sephirot, which are the divine manifestations or emanations of G-d present in this world.

We shall see that many of Israel's watershed moments have happened over many decades in years ending in the number seven (7).

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

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March 30, 2023

Keeping Kids on a Short Leash

Better safe than sorry.  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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November 16, 2022

From Outrage to Action on Anti-Semitism

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "From Outrage to Action on Anti-Semitism."

What is striking to me is that when it comes to hate against the Jews as opposed to hate against other groups, we continually see that “their” rights are immediately supported, while we have to prove that it’s really hate.
Hopefully, our community leaders, police, FBI, and Homeland Security are paying close attention and will take appropriate preventive action so that we can avoid another incident like the shooting just four years ago at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. We need more intelligence, surveillance, officers, patrols, data-driven policing, self-defense and emergency medical training, synagogue protection, community outreach, beefed-up reporting systems, and tougher penalties to start with. We can’t expect the people who hate to stop, but we do need to keep raising the bar on how to keep our communities safe and stop hate crimes.

(Credit Photo: Laura Rosenberg Hosid)

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November 9, 2022

Lion Bollard, Washington DC

Protection by a lion bollard. 

Washington, D.C. 

Wait, what's he saying? ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal) 


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August 28, 2022

Announcing My First Book: On Judaism and Life


With gratitude to Hashem, I am announcing my first published book, On Judaism and Life

It is available on Amazon in Kindle, paperback, and hardcopy

Book description:
This book is about finding and connecting with G-d. As the prophet Jeremiah states (29:13), "You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." This is my personal journey back to G-d and Judaism. It provides my life reflections, dreams, prayers, and hopes to strengthen my faith and trust in G-d by exploring a variety of the precious gems of Judaism and the Torah, reflecting on the diversity and strength of our people and culture, and longing for our nation and beautiful State of Israel and the completion of the final Redemption and bringing of the Mashiach. Please G-d, may it serve as inspiration for your journey as well.
I hope you enjoy!

Interview requests may be directed here.

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January 1, 2022

A 2022 New Year of Eggs

New Years 2022. 

Congratulations!

But I wouldn't call it "eggcellent," because there is a lot of world instability and fear looming on the horizon.

Are we looking at competition, conflict, and even possible areas of collapse or a much rosier outcome in the order of things?

  • From Russia to China and Iran to North Korea. 
  • From Al-Qaeda to ISIS and Hamas to Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad
  • From WMD to Cyber 9/11 and EMPs to Hypersonic ICBMs
  • From Covid to the Economy and Inflation to National Insolvency

Like a bunch of eggs. 

Will it be a year of Broken, Scrambled and Mashed or Sunny Side Up and Eggs Over Easy? 

Either way, we had better hope and pray that we don't get fried and burned.  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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September 19, 2021

Unstoppable Fear Meets Immovable Humiliation

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "Unstoppable Fear Meets Immovable Humiliation."
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is really about fear vs. humiliation. The Jews are fearful of the Palestinians and the Palestinians feel humiliated by the Jews. The Jewish people collectively suffer post-traumatic stress and anxiety disorders after millennia of persecution culminating in the Holocaust and multiple Wars in Israel against far greater Arab forces. Further, this has been perpetuated by decades of terrorism and Intifadas that have left the Jews feeling vulnerable in their own land of Israel. The net effect of this Jewish history and of being surrounded by hundreds of millions of Arabs, many resentful and angry, is that Jews are naturally afraid. At the same time, the Palestinians, as part of the greater Arabs, feel humiliated after the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the carving up of their lands by the West and the colonialism and occupation that followed by Britain and France. More recently, the Palestinians feel humiliated by the founding of the State of Israel amidst the multitude of Arab lands of the Middle of East, as well as by the barrier wall and regular checkpoints that protects Israel from terrorist intruders, by the West Bank settlements (and actually by Jews anywhere in Israel), and by general Israeli military control over the territories.
There is hope that in time and with G-d's help, the opposing forces of fear and humiliation will weaken and thereby become less oppositional. At that miraculous time, please G-d in the near future, the factors that prior resulted in a cosmic explosion of war, terror, Jihad, and Intifada will dissipate. Then instead of suicide bombers and terror tunnels and walls and checkpoints, we can have hope for the arrival of a beautiful white dove with an olive branch of peace that knows no bitter boundaries of Jew or Palestinian anymore.

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

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September 17, 2021

Watch Your Feet

Anyone trying to jump this fence had better watch their feet. 

Spikes, ouch! 

Luckily, I don't think they're sharp. 

But they could be.  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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August 15, 2021

Paradoxically Jewish

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "Paradoxically Jewish."

While Israel and the Jews are filled with paradoxes from our forefather Abraham to the modern State of Israel, we are a people who try to wear these paradoxes well. We relish our commonalties even as we are proud of our differences and uniqueness. We argue and fight with each to try to get to “the truth of the matter,” and we negotiate, compromise, threaten and cajole to that sometimes elusive end. Paradox is just another word for our survival against all odds and our determination to overcome the blind hate, anti-Semitism, and scapegoating of Jews throughout history. We Jews are individually broken, but together, we are a beautiful, paradoxical mosaic—a little meshuggah (crazy) and with an unfortunate dose of PTSD, but fundamentally good in intent and deed—working to fulfill our optimism, hope, and mission to usher in the universality of G-d in the world and of betterment for humankind.
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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July 4, 2021

A Practical Approach to Peace in the Middle East

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "A Practical Approach to Peace in the Middle East."

The question then is why? What is so intractable about the Israel-Palestinian conflict that no one seems to be able to solve it and that it has become virtually the Holy Grail of world issues on which if only we could solve it then everything else would-be nirvana. The conflict has been blamed for everything from the endless Palestinian refugee situation to Soviet aggression and expansion during the Cold War, the oil embargo of 1973, the rise and proliferation of Islamic terrorism, and countless other of the world’s ills. Anyone who even contributes to Middle East Peace like Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat and Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat win the Noble Peace Prize, and that’s without there being a full and final solution!
I am certain that Israel’s willingness to negotiate and even to make painful compromises for peace has been far more prevalent, far-reaching, and consistent over time—whether in Oslo, Camp David, or Taba. In the meantime, Israel and the Palestinians continue to “take the risks” and remain in a perpetual state of sometimes active and more often passive war that is fought by Israel through military control and incremental settlement expansion and by the Palestinians through terrorism and their pursuit of the demographic population time bomb. When it comes to achieving peace, perhaps the wisdom of the ages applies here: “the short road is long”—there are no shortcuts to serious negotiation and compromise—and “the long road is short”—eventually, a solution for peace will be found even if for now it tragically and painfully evades us all.

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

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June 27, 2021

From Passivity To Power

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "From Passivity To Power."
Over the course of our history, the Jewish people have grown from a passive and helpless people during 2,000 years of exile to become, once again, an assertive and strong nation in the Land of Israel as we once were in the days of Joshua, King David and the Maccabees.
In the end, we need to be as faithful as “Jacob” and as strong as “Israel.” As we learn in the Torah and from the rest of Jewish history: inside every Jacob, who just wants to serve G-d in peace as the “People of the Book,” there is also a determined, strong, and brave Israelite fighter and innovator who can stand up for his people and his faith.

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

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June 19, 2021

Menachem Begin, Hero of Independence and Beyond

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called, "Menachem Begin, Hero of Independence and Beyond."

While David Ben-Gurion was the politically savvy founding father of the modern-day State of Israel, Menachem Begin was the military genius who brought the Jewish people from British subjugation to being a free people in our own land.
In the end, the Jewish people’s fight for freedom from oppression and for an independent homeland, even the willingness to accept a partitioned land along with the desire for peace, required both the political fight that Ben-Gurion brought to the world’s governments as well as the military struggle that Begin was expert at against both the British overlords who refused autonomy under the mandate and to the Arabs who refused partition. Further, this underscores the stark contrast between the Jewish struggle and that of the Palestinians who have incessantly rejected negotiation and any opportunities for autonomy and peace, including at Oslo, Camp David, and Taba, as well as after Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 that was followed by Hamas’s terror tunnels, kidnappings, incendiary balloons attacks, and rocket barrages on Israel civilian population centers.

(Credit Photo: Israel Government)


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June 13, 2021

When Compromise Means Death

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "When Compromise Means Death."
The nations of the world look on with horror at the “plight of the Palestinians,” but they turn a blind eye to the chants of “death to Israel” and as the Palestinians turn billions of dollars of aid into relentless homicide bombs and send thousands of missiles into Israel civilian population centers. The compromise that Israel has shown would end the Palestinian “victim status” and thus endanger their endless money and support that flows freely from the UNRWA to prop up the corrupt Palestinian leadership. The reason that the Palestinian leadership doesn’t want an agreement is that they want the Jews dead “from the river to the sea!”
Israel has shown that is willing to make difficult and painful decisions and support Palestinian autonomy for the sake of peace, but will the Palestinians ever compromise at all? As Golda Meir said:
Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.
Please G-d, the day will arrive soon, when reason will overcome hate, and peace will prevail over prejudice, and Jews and Palestinians can live side-by-side, as neighbors and as friends.

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

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May 23, 2021

The Stranger and The Enemy


Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "The Stranger and The Enemy."
In summary, with regards to Israel, we must follow two important commandments that guide our relationships with the outside world. First, there is the imperative to love our neighbor and the stranger. Second is the dictum to wholly defend ourselves from our enemies who seek our destruction. While on the surface these may pose a contradiction, in reality, they do not, because if our neighbors and the strangers among us are willing to live in genuine peace with us then we gladly and actively will extend the olive branch in peace and brotherhood. But if unfortunately, our neighbors are bent on our genocide then we must fight them.
Love and peace is always what we want from the bottom of our hearts, but war is a necessity that is sometimes thrust upon us by our enemies and that we must absolutely, with G-d’s help, win.

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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May 16, 2021

Fight Terrorism / Support Israel

(Credit Photo: Andy and Dannielle Blumenthal)
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May 15, 2021

Israel's Last Stand

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "Israel's Last Stand."
It is the mere fact of our Jewish existence that irks our Anti-Semitic, terrorist enemies. This is why the world does not care, and may actually even cheer while Palestinian terror rockets fly overhead, hundreds at a time, into major population centers in Israel. From 5-year old, Ido Avigal, killed by shrapnel in Sderot to an 87-year old woman killed near Ashdod while running from rocket fire, nowhere seems safe, including in cars, homes, walking down the street, and even "safe rooms."
Like it or not, every rocket, every suicide bomber, every attacker will be met and defeated—from north to south and east to west—because the Jewish people will not be driven out; this is our last stand and we will survive.

(Source Photo: Pixabay)
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