REPEATING THE TRUTH -- A LA GOETHE

By Schmoel Yitzhak

"The truth must be repeated again and again because error is constantly preached around us," the philosopher, Goethe, told a friend in 1828. "And not only by isolated individuals but by the majority! In the newspapers and encyclopedias, in the schools and universities, everywhere error is dominant, securely and comfortably ensconced in public opinion which is on its side."

Goethe's words, written almost three centuries ago, could very well have been authored today when it comes to speaking the truth about Israel while the Middle East's only democracy is daily assailed with lies or -- to be nice -- errors.

Then again, I could add some ironies into the fire because some of the most ironic comments uttered this Spring and early Summer fall into the category of error with a capital E.

One of the most ironic statements emanating from Washington, D.C. belongs to her Royal Highness, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

According to Uncle Sam's Secretary of State, Syria's brutal crackdown on protests actually is a sign of weakness.

"They engage in unlawful detention, torture, and the denial of medical care to wounded persons," said Clinton back in May when uprisings began. "There may be some who think that this is a sign of strength. But treating one's own people in this way is in fact a sign of remarkable weakness."

So, here's the irony:

When protests erupted in Egypt last February, President Hosni Mubarak never employed his military to unhesitatingly shoot and kill Egyptian protestors a la Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Yet, Clinton and her boss, Barack Obama, wasted no time knifing Mubarak in the back. With Obama's urging, Mubarak -- an ally of Israel -- was pushed out of office and jailed faster than you can say Alcatraz.

Meanwhile, Assad -- the dictator whose ouster should have been Washington's top priority -- continues to rule like the murderer that he is.

The White House response to that is to counter with sloth-like "speed" which, otherwise, can be equated with Secretary Clinton's fatuous words.

"We are going to hold the Syrian government accountable," Clinton added. "We are looking for ways to increase the pressure."

Notice that almost two months have passed since Hilary harangued Bashar and you'll notice the effect it has had on the Assad regime. None whatsoever.

Wherever possible, Syrian soldiers have wiped out the dictator's opponents in a manner that would have made Soviet dictator Josef Stalin proud.

Accountability? Who's kidding whom?

And that goes for the mess in Cairo as well.

Obama's haste in removing Mubarak is yet another addition to the White House list of blunders because Egypt now in the post-Mubarak months is a nation in tatters.

Leaderless, Egypt now suffers from an abysmally failed economy with street rioting a daily occurrence and the militant-in-waiting Muslim Brotherhood awaiting the propitious moment for a government takeover.

The so-called Arab Spring will no more be an asset to democracy than the Nazi party was to Germany in 1933. Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat makes that point in his forthcoming book, 21st Century Global Forces.

"The rise of viloent, jihadist Islamic groups," writes Eizenstat, "depends heavily on the sanctuary of failed or failing states unwilling or unable to control their activities."

You can put Egypt in that category and just about any other country supposedly embracing the "Arab Spring."

One would think that unrest throughout the Arab world would inspire England, France, Italy, Spain, et. al. to offer truly democratic Israel much more fervent support.

That would make sense but we're living in a world where sense is equated with nonsense or naivete while -- as Goethe so aptly pointed out -- "error is constantly being preached around us."

Most important, Israel's leaders, starting with the Prime Minister, must be unflagging in making their case whether it is halting a Gaza-bound flotilla or pointing out that Lebanon's Hezbollah government has been indicted by the United Nations for assassinating one of the country's most distinguished leaders.

I don't know whether Benjamin Netanyahu ever has read Goethe but whether he has or not, Bibi must hammer away at one cogent point:

"The truth must be repeated again and again because error is constantly being preached around us!"

JACKASSES AT SEA

By Simon Fischler


When I was a child the television show I loved to watch most was the MUPPET SHOW.

Created by Jim Henson this show was truly intelligent, funny and just plain silly.

One of the best skits on the MUPPET SHOW was a take off of Star Trek and old fifties B space movies called PIGS IN SPACE.

Today we have new MUPPETS but sadly it is just not the same.

They are not the sweet, intelligent Muppets of old. The intelligent, witty and silly characters of Kermit the Frog, Fozzie the Bear and Ms. Piggy will not be found in these new Muppets.

No, todays Muppets are led by Alice Walker and instead of PIGS IN SPACE we have JACKASSES AT SEA. There is nothing intelligent about them, plain and simply they are just SILLY.

It is truly amazing that while Syrian Tyrant Bashar al-Assad is showing the world that monsters truly do exist someone like Alice Walker can still find time to condemn Israel, the only democracy in the Middle-East.

Wait, why is Alice Walker condemning Israel again? FOR PROTECTING HER CITIZENS.

Apparently captain Alice does not feel that Israelis and there children (many of Ethiopian decent) deserve freedom. She couldn't care less that Israelis are forced to live with rockets raining down on their towns and cities.

Maybe Alice Walker also missed the new U.N. memo.

The government of Turkey is now doing everything it can to persuade Israel to drop the results of the U.N. investigation that TURKEY demanded the U.N. conduct into Israel’s actions against last years Arab Imperial Armada.

Why? Because the U.N. (the same U.N. that just loves to condemn Israel) has decided that Israel’s blockade of the Gaza strip is legal and that her actions were correct, even if the U.N. says Israel used disproportionate force.

Apparently the U.N. feels it is disproportionate for a soldier to prevent his fellow comrades from being beaten to death, stabbed to death, shot to death or kidnapped.

Mind you this is also the same Turkish government that has been in a political stalemate with once ally Israel.

Yes, that is right the JACKASSES AT SEA, lead by captain Alice Walker will be sailing right past Turkey, the same Muslim Nation State that is occupying Northern Cyprus and Kurdistan.

They will then continue past Syria, where the mad man Bashar is barbecuing his own people.

Past Lebanon, where Hezbollah an Iranian proxy is oppressing its own people while assisting Mr. Assad in murdering Syrian Citizens seeking freedom from an oppressive dictator.

Right into Gaza harbor to save not the people of Gaza but Hamas the same terrorist organization that is backed by the Butcher of Syria and the Mullahs of Iran.

Captain Alice and her band of audacious Jackasses seem to also think that international law is for the birds. They are not demanding that Hamas release Gilad Shalit, nor are they pushing Hamas to do exactly what the International Red Cross has demanded of Hamas and prove that Shalit is still alive.

I guess for Alice Walker the only Jews she likes are the ones who are subservient.

It is no wonder that she has become estranged from her daughter Rebecca. Rebecca Walker says her own mother sees her more as I quote "a political symbol...than a cherished daughter".

That really is true audacity, but not of hope, but of hypocrisy and self-righteousness.