RUTHFULLY YOURS

Who bears the blame for the disaster in Gaza? Ariel Sharon and the administration of George Bush the minor.

After his initially strong speeches on 9/11, only months later in February 2002, then President Bush invited the Saudi Prince Abdullah to his Crawford, Texas ranch. One month later Abdullah announced his “peace plan” which called for withdrawal from “occupied” territories, among other inimical demands. It was just another clone of the so-called peace processing that insisted on Israeli concessions in exchange for “Israel’s right to exist.”

The plan did not go very far but it occasioned pressure on Israel for “concessions” by the Bush administration.

Ariel Sharon known as the “lion” of Israel succumbed like a lamb.

In 2003 he proposed implementation of disengagement from Gaza which was ultimately adopted and approved in 2005. It would remove all Jewish presence from Gaza which included state of the art farms, fertilizer equipment, hydroponic technology, tractors and vehicles, greenhouses, and lovely homes and gardens.

To promote the deal, American philanthropists purchased the farms from Israel and gifted the Gaza Arabs with farms, homes and equipment.

The rest is history. Almost immediately after the removal of all Jewish presence, the Arabs trashed and destroyed all the farms, equipment and homes belonging to Jews and turned the once productive area into a terrorist-controlled area from which to lob rockets into Israel’s heartland.

Donald Trump understood the failure of the “territory for peace” policy. The present administration does not.   rsk

Only three years after the end of the Holocaust when the world was still reeling with horror  at the murder of one of every three Jews in the world, despair led to hope when President Harry Truman formally recognized the state of Israel.

On May 12th, President Truman heard his top advisers in the White House advisers at the White House. Clark Clifford made the case for recognition. Secretary of State George Marshall led the opposition, saying he couldn’t vote for President Truman if he pursued recognition. President Truman weighed personal, political and strategic concerns. On May 14th he acted. America recognized the new state of Israel.

This was an ultimate answer to the prayers of millions who died with the words “Hear oh Israel.”

Israel heard and the world heard and the Arabs heard and attacked the newborn state with blood curdling threats of annihilation.

Some things never change…..rsk

In Greek mythology, the Rod of Asclepius, also known as the Staff of Aesculapius, is a serpent-entwined rod wielded by the Greek god Asclepius, a deity associated with healing and medicine.

My father and late husband were physicians whose guiding principles were to cure the sick and comfort them when they could not cure them. Yesterday at the graduation awards ceremony of the Mount Sinai Medical School most of the awards were given to progressive graduates who combined healing the sick with healing social problems and disparities and inequity and access, and diversity.

So be it. There were many who won awards for excellence in specific specialties. Some moments were illuminating.  A young and scholarly graduate returning home to family in the heartland; another graduate already famous and wealthy for inventing medical technology headed for California; an Orthodox graduate working to encourage under-represented women, including Orthodox Jewish women to become doctors. The greetings from proud families in America, Africa and Israel were also heartwarming.

They all had a story and I salute their zeal and enthusiasm and love for their profession after four arduous years of study and hard work.

I do want to remind them, however, that several generations of doctors who preceded them vanquished polio, infectious diseases, many forms of cancer, heart disease and preventive care without prejudice or any motivation other than to cure and prolong life of all patients regardless of race or religion or ethnicity.

rsk

Dear Sir,

I am a Republican conservative who has voted in every election since 1960. Of all the ensuing presidents I am convinced that you were the absolute best in domestic as well as foreign policy. You deserve the eternal gratitude of supporters of Israel for the genius in planning and implementing the Abraham Accords which heralded unprecedented alliances among Israel and formerly hostile Arab nations.

Furthermore, I am convinced that the 2020 election was a fraud that robbed you of victory and all Americans of your astute leadership.

Look ahead and not at the past. There is a great deal of talent and energy in many Republican legislators today. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the present governor De Santis of Florida,  Rep.Young Kim of California, Elise Stefanik of New York, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee are just a few who deserve a shot at higher office to further your achievements , legacy and agenda. 

Help them on that path instead of teasing about running again.

With utmost respect….rsk

The political schism between parents and offspring is an issue perplexing so many of my conservative friends. Perhaps it was always thus. John Locke (1632-1704) an English philosopher and physician, was regarded as one of the founding fathers of  liberalism. He mused:

“Parents wonder why the streams are bitter, when they themselves have poisoned the fountain.”

Author and commentator Midge Decter, my dearest friend  asked in 1975 in her book “Liberal Parents, Radical Children”Why and how did liberal parents end up raising a generation of radicals?”

In 2015 Bret Stephens opined:

Radical Parents, Despotic Children  Sooner or later, Orwellian methods on campus will lead to Orwellian outcomes.https://www.wsj.com/articles/radical-parents-despotic-children-1448325901

“Liberal Parents, Radical Children,” was the title of a 1975 book by Midge Decter, which tried to make sense of how a generation of munificent parents raised that self-obsessed, politically spastic generation known as the Baby Boomers. The book was a case study in the tragedy of good intentions.”

For almost 50 years universities have adopted racialist policies in the name of equality, repressive speech codes in the name of tolerance, ideological orthodoxy in the name of intellectual freedom. Sooner or later, Orwellian methods will lead to Orwellian outcomes. Those coddled, bullying undergrads shouting their demands for safer spaces, easier classes, and additional racial set-asides are exactly what the campus faculty and administrators deserve.

Please read his entire column under EDUCATION

rsk

Posted below in a review of Rod Dreher’s book “Live Not by Lies”  an Australian pastor Mark Powell  provides a pithy definition of totalitarianism:

“The term totalitarianism was first used by supporters of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, who defined totalitarianism concisely: “Everything within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state.” That is to say, totalitarianism is a state in which nothing can be permitted to exist that contradicts a society’s ruling ideology.”

Exactly!  Coming to America in a one party rule?   rsk

PBS and Ken Burns have made a docu-series on the life of Ernest Hemingway. Of far greater interest to me is the life of his wife Martha Gellhorn, arguably the finest war correspondent and journalist. Compared to today’s news readers and tyros who write and comment on evolving conflicts and politics, Gellhorn was informed, articulate and principled.

For affirmation please read:

https://www.military-history.org/feature/world-war-2/war-reporters-martha-gellhorn.htm

 War Reporters: Martha Gellhorn

The outbreak of the Second World War is likely one of the most written-about topics in history. It is difficult to imagine what more new and original could be added to the already profuse literature on the tumultuous events of the 1930s.

But going back to one of the earliest accounts of the rise of Hitler’s Germany provides a different experience. Reading Martha Gellhorn’s reporting from Czechoslovakia in 1938 is like watching the war rise from the ashes of Depression-era Europe with new eyes.

https://www.dw.com/en/the-liberation-of-dachau-75-years-ago/a-53270700

The liberation of Dachau, 75 years ago

When US soldiers reached the gate of the Dachau concentration camp on April 29, 1945, they had no idea what horrors awaited them. War reporter Martha Gellhorn shared what she saw with the world.

You can also read her myriad columns on Israel’ history and legitimacy…..rsk

My family Passover was a jolly event of family reunion after lock-down separations and the artifice of ZOOM.
The traditional four questions were asked but a fifth hangs in alarm and doubt:
“Wherefore is overt anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel so mainstream in the academies, the media and even in the corridors of Congress?”
The ancient hatred’s fig leaf is so called “tough love” of Israel. Now it is manifested in global harassment, beating and murder of Jewish citizens and slander equating Zionism and Israel with every violation of human rights.

Much is rightly bruited about hate crimes against Asians. Perhaps we should glom on to that since Israel is an Asian nation of Asian nationals. Look at the map….
rsk

On April 1, 1700, English pranksters began popularizing the annual tradition of April Fools’ Day by playing practical jokes on each other.

The biggest political prank/con was played on the American people by the Democrat party in hiding Joseph Biden’s diminishing cognitive skills and promoting him to the toughest job in an increasingly fractious world- a task he cannot fulfill…..rsk

Maria Bartiromo’s guests yesterday were all GOP legislators who visited the border and witnessed the unspeakable conditions with cages and thousands of people crowded into rooms designated for 250 persons. Children unaccompanied, some with Covid or other communicable diseases…. human traffickers …. drug cartel members…. young girls subjected to rape…. This is a human rights crisis and where are the concerned Democrat legislators other than Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) ? They are too busy and too concerned with altering voters’ rights in order to consolidate their power.

 Please read the columns on the appalling crisis that Biden has wrought….rsk