RUTHFULLY YOURS

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-dershowitz/israeli-elections-and-pal_b_2541709.html

“Resuming negotiations would send a powerful message to Obama that Israel does indeed know its own best interests. The only way to know for sure is to begin negotiations, with no preconditions and with open minds and open hearts.”

The American politician Tip O’Neill once famously observed “that all politics is local.” Had O’Neill been an Israeli, he might have added: “but local politics often has international consequences.” The as yet uncertain results of the Israeli election have considerable implications internationally. They suggest a movement toward the center and away from the extremes. This, in turn, makes it more likely that the Israeli government might have more flexibility in dealing with the Palestinian Authority and in moving toward a two-state solution. There is also some suggestion that the Palestinian Authority may be prepared to soften its refusal to sit down with the Israelis until after a total settlement freeze is agreed upon.

In September I spoke to President Abbas and suggested to him a formula for restarting negotiations: He would agree to sit down and begin negotiations without Israel having frozen settlements, with the understanding that only after he began good faith negotiations, would Israel initiate a settlement freeze. The plan also contemplated a quick and rough division of the West Bank into three areas: those that would almost certainly remain part of Israel; those that would almost certainly become part of a Palestinian state; and those that are reasonably in dispute. As to the first, there would be no limitation on building; but as to the second and third, a freeze would remain in effect until final borders were agreed upon, so long as the negotiations continued in good faith.Abbas agreed to this formulation, after conferring with Saeb Erekat. He even signed a paper that set out this plan.

We both agreed that it was unlikely that negotiations would resume until after the Israeli election. And I said that I would reraise the issue at that time. So I am.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/12789#.UQXCYrb6Zz8 On Friday, January 25, 2013, Sunni protesters were “blocking an international road linking Iraq with Syria.” In plain English, that means the Sunni protesters were peacefully blocking Iranian arms shipments to Iran’s murderer-puppet Assad, this with the full knowledge of Iran’s other puppet, Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Maliki. The Iranian-controlled Shiite-puppet Iraqi Army opened gunfire […]

QUEENS VILLAGE, January 24, 2013: Rabbi Aryeh Spero, will be the keynote speaker at the 138th Anniversary Lincoln Day Dinner on February 10th, presented by the Queens Village Republican Club, the oldest continuously active Republican Club in America. His job is to fire up the attendees to go out and wage the battle for the soul of America. He is up to the task, as he has been inspiring thousands to action in his nationwide speaking tour.

Past Lincoln Day Dinners have been exciting experiences. Queens Village’s historic political club hosted a Lincoln essay contest for student scholarships. Political celebrities and firebrands have been featured speakers such as former Congressman Allen West, radio talk show host Curtis Sliwa, Conservative icon George Marlin, former borough president and mayoral candidate Herman Badillo, Mayor Bloomberg and others. They have regaled the GOP Club’s Lincoln Dinner parties that have been hailed as the annual highlight of the Queens political calendar.

As an acclaimed public speaker, Rabbi Spero, known as “America’s Rabbi” speaks passionately about his wholehearted love for America. The melding of his exuberance for his country and his fervent devotion to Judaism in the Orthodox tradition have produced an enlightening offspring in the form of a book: “Push Back, Reclaiming the American Judeo-Christian Spirit.” It’s not merely an argument he’s advancing for the Jewish values, Torah and the New Testament that have laid the foundation of Western Civilization. More importantly, he imparts the courage and strength to actively stand up and fight for the traditional values of America, before its inevitable decline as a morally based society. Rabbi Spero is a spiritual firebrand in the battle for the soul of America, and his defiant cry is to take it to the streets and shout it out loud in the public square, in order to make a real difference.

This is his ever-present theme, the theme of pushing back, standing up and speaking out, that pervades not only his book, but every one of his articles, op-eds, TV appearances, radio interviews, public speeches, congressional hearings, as well as one-on-one conversations. He has appeared regularly on FOX News, CBS, C-SPAN, WOR-TV, the Glenn Beck TV program and many others. His articles have appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers and he has been interviewed on radio shows throughout the country. He has spoken to the National Press Club, testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee, addressed The Heritage Foundation, fired up Tea Party rallies and Conservative Party events. Rabbi Spero founded a conservative think tank of Black and Jewish political conservatives with Herman Cain, and was the first rabbi to endorse Ronald Reagan for President in public newspaper ads around the country.

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3560/britain-anti-semitism How bad must things get before people notice that their country has an anti-Semitism problem? How bad must things get before people notice that their country has an anti-Semitism problem? Three striking stories from recent days go some way to demonstrating that though Britain may not admit it, we have a problem. Earlier this […]

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3541/palestine-dysfunction The world heritage program of UNESCO, which was a mechanism for driving governments to preserve valuable sites, has become a mechanism for their neglect. There is no plan for the Church of the Nativity, and the Palestinian Authority is relieved of the obligation to formulate one. The state of the church will deteriorate precisely […]

FROM IRVING BERLIN: Music: Irving Berlin
Lyrics: Irving Berlin
This Is the Army & Call Me Mister CD [1942]

We all have been selected from city and from farm
They asked us lots of questions, they jabbed us in the arm
We stood there at attention, our faces turning red
The sergeant looked us over and this is what he said:

This is the Army, Mister Jones
No private rooms or telephones
You had your breakfast in bed before
But you won’t have it there any more

This is the Army, Mrs. Green
We like the barracks nice and clean
You had a housemaid to clean your floor
But she won’t help you out any more

Do what the buglers command
They’re in the Army and not in a band

This is the Army, Ms. Brown
You and your baby went to town
She had you worried but this is war
And she won’t worry you anymore

A bunch of frightened rookies were list’ning filled with awe
They listened while a sergeant was laying down the law
They stood there at attention, their faces turning red
The sergeant looked them over and this is what he said:

THIS IS THE ARMY MS. JONES

http://www.encounterbooks.com/books/saturday-people-sunday-people/ Saturday People, Sunday People is a unique portrait of Israel as seen through the eyes of a Christian who came for a visit and has stayed on for more than six years. Long fascinated by a land that has become an abstraction centering on international conflicts of epic proportions, Lela Gilbert arrived in Israel […]

http://pjmedia.com/rogerkimball/2013/01/26/the-line-of-the-day-from-andrew-mccarthy/ I think Andrew McCarthy wins the line of the day contest this morning with the opening of his National Review essay “Apes, Pigs, and F-16s [1].” The F16s, as anyone following the news knows, are the advanced U.S. fighter jets that we’re crating up and sending to our good friend Mohammed Morsi, the president […]

http://pjmedia.com/claudiarosett/human-rights-violations-in-north-korea/?print=1 Let us credit the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, that earlier this month she urged more attention to the hideous human rights abuses in North Korea. Expressing her concern that North Korea’s nuclear ventures and missile-testing projects might steal the spotlight from the “deplorable human rights situation” in the Democratic […]

http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=3324 An international delegation of parliamentarians went to Budapest this week to express concern and offer help to combat rising anti-Semitism. The distinguished historian Professor Robert Wistrich has described anti-Semitism as “a kind of barometer to us and to the nations, both of what is wrong — because it is often a symptom of major […]