Chit Chat

By Ted Belman

From now on comments on every post must relate to the content of the post.

Comments that don’t relate to the post must go here.

Any person who contravenes this demand will be put on moderation. Also their offending comment will be trashed.

The reason for this demand is so that people who want to read comments which pertain to the post, don’t have to wade through the chatter.

Everyone will be happier.

April 16, 2020 | 7,783 Comments »

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  1. @Sebastien

    EU Declares Fossil Fuel To Be “Green” Energy As ‘Climate Change’ Narrative Self-Destructs

    It would seem that the myth of the toxic energy has outlived its narrative usefulness. Or is it that climate changed just changed direction – is carbon now climate protective? Whatever, Slava climate!!…or something like that.

  2. Gantz, Abbas, Celebrate Together Abraham’s Sacrifice of Ishmael
    By David Israel – 9 Tammuz 5782 – July 8, 2022

    According to WAFA, the official Palestinian Authority’s news agency, “the President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, received, this Thursday evening, at the presidential headquarters in Ramallah, Israeli Minister Benny Gantz. From his part (sic.), Minister Gantz extended congratulations to the president and the Palestinian people on the occasion of Eid al-Adha.”

    Before we move on with the friendly meeting, some background: nothing represents more bluntly the assembly of lies at the core of Islam which is aimed at denying the veracity of the Torah than Eid al-Adha (Holiday of the Sacrifice).

    According to Oxford Islamic Studies, it honors the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to Allah’s command. Before Ibrahim could sacrifice his son, however, Allah provided him with a lamb which he was supposed to kill in his son’s place because of his willingness to sacrifice his own son in the name of Allah. In commemoration of this intervention, animals are ritually slaughtered. One-third of their meat is consumed by the family which offers the animal, while the rest of the meat is distributed to the poor and the needy. Sweets and gifts are given, and extended family get-togethers are celebrated.

    In other words, the illiterate caravan security guard Mohammed stole from the stories he had heard from traveling Jewish merchants the story of the Akeida (the Binding of Isaac), changed the names, and created a nice Islamic tradition for the whole family.

    And that is what Israel’s defense minister, Benny Gantz, honored Thursday night. Somebody, make sure he comes to shul on Rosh Hashanah to hear our version.

    The two, who hadn’t met since the onslaught of Arab terrorist murders in the streets of Israeli cities last March, discussed President Joe Biden’s visit to the region next week. But there was more: Ganz asked that the Palestinian Authority expand its security activities in Area A, to prevent future massacres of Israeli civilians. He also pleaded with Abbas to refrain from suing Israel in the International Criminal Court in The Hague, despite the fact that such lawsuits constitute a violation of the Oslo Agreements and should be punished.

    In exchange for Abbas agreeing not to go Dutch, Gantz offered to increase the number of work permits issued to PA Arab workers; make it easier for PA Arabs to travel abroad through the new Ramon Airport; and establish a symbolic PA military presence at the Allenby crossing to Jordan.

    Who said terrorism doesn’t pay?

    The defense ministry issued this press release Thursday night: “The meeting was conducted in a good spirit and positive atmosphere. The two discussed during their meeting the security and civilian challenges in the area. The Defense Minister updated Abbas on the complexity of the coming period in Israel, and the two agreed to continue close security coordination and avoid measures that would harm stability.”

    Happy binding of Ishmael day.

  3. @Sebastien

    Is the timing of this article ironic or just typically clueless ideologically motivated doubling down , do you suppose?

    Interesting article, not regarding its content, but as you note, the timing is eerily coincidental.

    I had an old lab partner who came from Japan. Her name was Mai and she taught me a great many things about her homeland and her culture. The thing which the article fails to actually cite is the fact that the Japanese have never had an issue with gun crime, or crime in general. Their society is very strongly disciplined and accepting of authority. The assassination (attempt??) of Abe is very regrettable, but it is also quite unbelievable given this fact.

    Regarding the timing, I am quite suspicious to be honest, as it is too coincidental to ignore. Additionally, the story by itself is an abuse upon the Japanese culture and one that makes no sense at all – a popular, recently retired politician, publicly executed at a political event. Mai passed away several years ago, but were she still alive, I know the sense of shock this would have brought upon her. Respect for authority figures is a hallmark of who the Japanese are. Violent attacks upon such individuals in Japan, outside their parliament fist fights of course, are quite rare, even ignoring the lack of gun violence.

    Japan has one of the lowest crime rates in the world and it also has one of the lowest unsolved crime rates in the world as well – always a good incentive to behave, but it is really their culture, I believe, that keeps these rates low.

  4. @Sebastien

    Is the timing of this article ironic or just typically clueless ideologically motivated doubling down , do you suppose?

    Interesting article, not regarding its content, but as you note, the timing is eerily coincidental.

    I had an old lab partner who came from Japan. Her name was Mai and she taught me a great many things about her homeland and her culture. The thing which the article fails to actually cite is the fact that the Japanese have never had an issue with gun crime, or crime in general. Their society is very strongly disciplined and accepting of authority. The assassination (attempt??) of Abe is very regrettable, but it is also quite unbelievable given this fact.

    Regarding the timing, I am quite suspicious to be honest, as it is too coincidental to ignore. Additionally, the story by itself is an abuse upon the Japanese culture and one that makes no sense at all – a popular, recently retired politician, publicly executed at a political event. Mai passed away several years ago, but were she still alive, I know the sense of shock this would have brought upon her. Respect for authority figures is a hallmark of who the Japanese are. Violent attacks upon such individuals in Japan, outside their parliament fist fights of course, are quite rare, even ignoring the lack of gun violence.

  5. @SEBASTIEN-

    Look up how many sword, knife and garotte deaths. And their suicide deaths. Very high, I’d guess. A good old Japanese custom.

  6. @PELONI-

    A wealth of information indeed. Yet, I do not believe, under any circumstances conceivable, that Ben Gurion was fooled for one moment. Begin must have publicly chosen to “believe it;(he was a politician also) Remember he was a tough hard Russian Jew. My Dublin Community was full of them. My grandfather, after whom I was named, was just a picture perfect example. My beloved father told me that when he was already a married man of 27-8 years old. (likely about 3 years older as he never knew his exact age-I uncovered it not long before he passed away by an unusual piece of detective work.) his father was annoyed with him and slapped him across the face, a not unusual act.

    My dear father began working at aged 10, earned a shilling a week and saved his money, every penny, for a few years, and opened his own business. When it showed success, his father took it over and put his own name on it.

    So, Ben Gurion, when he “got his knife into you”, it was a lifelong hate; his life was full of political scheming. He winkled Weizmann out of the Prime Ministership, which he deserved to have, as it was by HIS statesmanship and lifetime labour, that caused Israel to come into being. It was his untiring efforts to meet with Truman and his frantic urging for Ben Gurion to “declare a state immediately at all costs”, when BG wavered and was going to postpone, that pushed Israel into being.

    Regarding France, I note what you say and agree totally, but would like to add that I believe that France had that interest in the Jews controlling Palestine as they always had felt a nettle itch, because, although it was THEY who conceived, and persuaded the Egyptian Pasha to agree, and they built the Suez Canal, it ended up in British hands, (through D’Israeli and the Rothschilds), like much else that France felt entitled to. Don’t forget, regardless of French-UK alliances, they were alliances of mutual necessity only, Friendship did NOT exist between them The “Biftek” Bulldog was always “Perfidious Albion”.

    Just my opinion, but I think, likely.

    That film ‘SUEZ” with Tyrone Power and Annabella. I always likeed Annabella. Very enjoyable if not exactly accurate film.

    An odd thing… The Champion boxer Georges Carpentier, in my opinion, bore a resemblance to Annabella whose family name was “Charpentier”:.

    With an Israel under obligations to France, right next door to the Canal it would be advantageous to France at some future time.

  7. @Peloni Is the timing of this article ironic or just typically clueless ideologically motivated doubling down , do you suppose?

    “Japan has almost completely eliminated gun deaths — here’s how
    Chris Weller and Erin Snodgrass Updated Jul 5, 2022, 6:09 PM

    Japan is a country of more than 127 million people, but it rarely sees more than 10 gun deaths a year.
    Culture is one reason for the low rate, but gun control is a major one, too.
    Japan has a long list of tests that applicants must pass before gaining access to a small pool of guns. ..”

    https://www.businessinsider.com/gun-control-how-japan-has-almost-completely-eliminated-gun-deaths-2017-10

  8. (2 of 2)
    In support of their silent support of a proxy ally in the area, France agreed to also train another division (sometimes referenced as a brigade – the first one was just shy of 1000 men so this would likely have been the size of the second as well) of Irgunists from among the surviving members of the Concentration Camps to accompany the next arms shipment. Additionally, the French actively supplied both the Irgun and the Haganah with vital intelligence during the early part of the war, including the details surrounding the planned invasion by the Arab Legion at the outbreak of the war.

    When the Altalena arrived in Tel Aviv, and Rabin began his attack upon the Irgun weapons ship, the US and UK representatives were within ear shot of the fracas. Consequently, the French involvement as the source of the weapons was quite soon revealed creating an international incident. There was a board of inquiry pursued in France against those govt officials involved in providing the arms, but the only real consequence of the aftermath was really limited to effect of ending French interest in continuing their now exposed support of Israel, which was quite impossible after the tragedy that became known as the Altalena Affair.

    Regarding Rabin, in addition to the details you shared regarding the unconscionable actions taken by him on the beaches of Tel Aviv that day, he continued to shell the ship even after a truce had been agreed upon, and in Begin’s desperation to restore order and preserve the arms, a white flag of surrender was waived from the ship, and this too Rabin refused to recognize as the continuing shelling set fire to the ship. Their decided actions to destroy the Irgun that day was far too successful, and the echoes of their actions went well beyond the loss of even the arms – as you say, they would likely have taken all of Yesha.

    In fact, I would suggest it would have been far from impossible for a well armed Jewish army to have been capable of carving back at least part of Churchill’s gift to Abdullah of the other 78% of the East bank of the Jordan as well. Alas, the reckless self serving actions taken to preserve Ben Gurion’s hold on power (which was never under any threat, though this fact may well have been hidden from him), as enacted by the dedicated execution of Rabin, was a devastation from which Israel has never recovered. Furthermore, Ben Gurion continued to play the victim to this faux betrayal by the Irgun in the coming years, even though it seems quite impossible that the truth was never known to him.
    /2

  9. (1 of 2)
    @Edgar
    @Sebastien
    Begin came to accept the explanation that Ben Gurion had been misled by his political rival on the Left, the villain Israel Galili, and not for the first time, as he had also helped create the chaos and counter claims related to the King David Hotel bombing as well. Despite this explanation, however, Ben Gurion had previously demonstrated a willingness to act against his fellow Jews as he was seen to do during the Season when he actively hunted the Irgun in support of the British.

    Furthermore, whereas Begin had refused to betray the state by prosecuting a civil war among the Jews in the midst of an Arab invasion to preserve his political position, Ben Gurion had no such hesitation conducting such a betrayal for exactly this reason, regardless of the mischief that may have been put in place by Galili.

    Additionally, the crime that Ben Gurion committed against the survivors of the camps, the Irgun, and Begin was only part of the tolled tragedy resulting from the betrayal of Begin and those aboard the Altalena.

    It should be noted from recent revelations that the French had been keenly interested in exploring the potential of exploiting a quite support of the Jewish State to offset British power in the Middle East, to limit the harms that Britain could affect towards the French holdings in the region, while also providing a bit of payback for the humiliation dealt to them by the British in the Syrian crisis in ’45-6. Moreover, with Jerusalem being named a neutral city, France was looking for a regional proxy with the means and temperament to protect the French consul in Jerusalem along with the Christian holy sites, as well as other French cultural institutions in the area.

    The French, and all of Europe, were well aware of the notoriety of the severe ignominy with which the Irgun in their long contest came to deal out against their British overlords, while the Haganah performed a significantly less confrontational role(quite an understatement really). This distinction between the reputation of the two Jewish organizations was among the leading factors which led the French to approach the Irgun rather than the Haganah with the offer of a massive arms shipment, despite the fact that the French had had a long standing prior relationship in dealing with the Haganah and the Jewish Agency. Operational secrecy, however, with regards to the arms shipment was paramount to the French designs of indirectly undermining British power in the Middle East without their knowledge, sort of a policy of revenge served quite cold. The desires of such limited knowledge of the aid lent to the Jews actually lead history to be quite ignorant of the role the French came to play in aiding Israel even while they advised them on how to navigate towards their intended goals while dealing with the British, Americans and Russian in the UN (as revealed in recently unveiled French secret govt documents).
    /1

  10. This is Why Israel Needs Netanyahu

    Walter Bingham Arutz Sheva radio

    Also, I didn’t know about the corrupt Mukhtar protocols which need to be abolished.

  11. @SEBASTIEN-

    If Ben G met with Katz as you describe it was to cover his tucchas from tom still continuing opprobrium Inner Israel circles were thenextremely small.so such a meeting is very likely.

    The orders are still extant, documented and clear. Both Jewish Virtual Library and WIKI give identical accounts. Dan Even was in charge overall. But Rabin was the commander who ordered the massacre. Several soldiers and airmen refused to kill Jews. and ALL were “disciplined later.

    Gen Gurion’s demands were swingeing. and the Irgun was given 10 minutes only to decide on an answer. Deliberately an assault on the IZL .and typical Jewish treachery of those times. It still goes on today but in a more “cultured” manner. Like Mandelblit’s Cabal conspiracy against the P.M.

    Ben Gurion essentially double crossed Begin and the IZL. The Altalena was Bombarded with Heavy guns, and machine gun fire. Also from Corvettes at sea.

    It is also recorded…in Ben Gurion’s diary, that Begin was one of the delegation who visited BG at Sde Boker in 1967 to ask him to return as PM during the crisis. He wrote “If I had known Begin long ago, the history of Israel would have been changed.”…or words to that effect.

    I believe that until then, he never referred to Begin by name…always “that man”…A well known fact. He was obsessive in his hatred of Begin.

  12. @Edgar @Peloni

    hap·less
    /?hapl?s/
    adjective
    (especially of a person) unfortunate.
    “if you’re one of the many hapless car buyers who’ve been shafted”

    https://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/04/world/arthur-koestler-and-wife-suicides-in-london.html

    Not as hapless as his poor devoted wife who was perfectly healthy but who, with him, belonged to a Euthenasia society.

    I remember hearing live a rock group by that name at the Ear Inn in 1979. They were wo ooud, I couldn’t hear anything.

    https://youtu.be/3nHeg2icaCw

  13. @Edgar I recall reading that Rabin massacred the Altalena survivors under Ben Gurion’s direct orders but that Ben Gurion later said it was a misunderstanding that led to his giving that order after meeting with Samuel/Schmuel Katz much later.

  14. @Peloni Lapid first came to my attention as a central stumbling block and bad actor when I read that it was he who vetoed the necessary legislation. If Smotrich and Ben Gvir’s gambit is foiled and the pro-Arab veto is not removed, then how else can Israel get out of this vicious circle?

  15. @Sebastien

    Does the Israeli Supreme Court have a Gorbachev waiting in the wings? Or will it?…

    It is an interesting point you make. The presence of a source of salvation in the form of a well trusted inner cog of the system would effectively evade the obvious claims that the cog is acting capriciously against the system.

    In the same light, some judicial advocate or member would be best placed to reform the court. The thing that strikes me most about that premise is that doing so would also allow the court to demonstrate that it alone would have the power to place such controls upon itself, and this is the very problem from which the court currently suffers – a lack of any hint of hubris while exercising an authority over everything including their own authority. In fact, for my own thoughts, the court needs to be shackled, not by an act of internal contrition, which might just as easily be re-reformed to return to its judicial overreaches at a later date by some later version of Barak, but by an officially established check upon their authority as exists in the US. In the US, the elected class are the solitary source of choosing and authorizing the membership of the Supreme Court, while the Court’s rulings can be overridden by passage of legislation or Constitutional amendments to obviate the court’s rulings. In Israel there is no counter to the court’s reach beyond the court’s own will to restrict its reach and its members are incestuously chosen in large part by the input of the legal class who actually are dependent upon the High Court for their rulings.

    In fact, he lack of any form of such a check upon their authority has been both the initiating cause while also presenting the the greatest challenge to reform the judicial overreach. Seeing that the High Court holds a view to consider any aspect of law and politics as being within their purview, how can a law authorized by the Knessett to restricting their authority be binding on them – they of course would have to consent. It truly leaves the situation as a catch 22 whereby there needs to be a greater authority to check the power on the court, but the court has to be willing to accept that authority as binding and overriding their own authority.

    The purpose of the High Court is to present a semblance of justice and responsibility on matters to prevent the free exercise of tyranny, but the court’s unrestricted exercise of authority to wick its will upon the govt, its members and its policy, presents the very form of tyranny for which the High Court should exercise some form of restraining ruling upon itself. Consequently, as necessary as judicial reform is essential, since the govt will have to legislate against the court while the court perceives that it there is no authority greater than their own, it does seem to lead towards an inevitable showdown between the two branches of power, a constitutional crisis of sorts, despite the incomplete nature of the Israeli constitution, and also because of this same fact.

    Hence, your suggestion of needing a Gorbechev jurist, which does bring a curious image to mind, seems the only way to tame this judicial leviathan, even if it is for only the present. Let us hope that the court’s membership is capable of locating such a rational member(s), for failing such an asset, the outcome could be more than a little interesting to follow – it does call to mind the situation when the Macedonian infantry went to war with the Macedonian cavalry following Alexander the Great’s untimely death. The casualties of that conflict were necessarily all Macedonian, veterans and comrades of a long, hard fought journey, all of whom would have profited from seeking out a better, more reasonable path forward than the conflict their egos could not avoid.

  16. @SEBASTIEN-

    Yes Rabin was a “hawk” and showed his hawkishness the most openly when he was machine-gunning the poor struggling concentration camp survivors; the non swimmers in the sea when they had to abandon the Altalena that was also bombarded by the “Hawk”

    The Champion 140 lb boxer Aaron Pryor was nicknamed “The Hawk”
    The very famous Kid Gavilan was also named (The Cuban) “Hawk”.
    Neither of them shot off tommy guns, only punches.

  17. @Edgar

    he had some sort of incurable disease.

    Leukemia and Parkinson’s as I recall. A truly gifted man with a truly wild life’s journey from which to share. He was a right to die advocate if my memory isn’t playing tricks on me.

  18. @SEBASTIEN-

    Your certainly are in a phunny mood today. You’re smoking some pretty good stuff, I’d bet. Definitely not a Corona Corona………

    As for Koestler, the guy was a genius, a most brilliant man with a curious and investigative mind. My recollection is that he was not the only famous figure of the early 1930s who was a Communist and became disenchanted. At that, he was one of the early “leavers’ as we know from the McCarty era and Whittaker Chambers. Not to forget my old pal Alger Hiss..

    There were several in our Dublin Community whom I knew well, although they were adults and I was a kid. The big brother of a friend went off to fight against Franco (which I heard about only many years later), and one of our school teachers did the same. (as I also heard much later, long after I finished school)

    Yes I remember reading that Koestler committed suicide,(don’t recall his wife) but I think he had some sort of incurable disease.. And he was very old with no hope of recovery.

    I may be mistaking him for another but I think that I’m about right.

  19. @Peloni Is it going to ge like a Frank Capra or Steven Spielberg movie, including the Indiana Jones series, in which the people and their champions are always defeated but a Deus Ex Machina taking pity saves the day?

  20. @Peloni And Sharon to relinquish Gaza and Rabin, who had also been a hawk, to perpetrate Oslo.

  21. @Peloni It took Nixon to go to China, Bush to get Israel to relinquish Gaza, De Kloerk to bring down apartheid and Gorbachev then Yeltsin to bring down the Soviet bloc. Does the Israeli Supreme Court have a Gorbachev waiting in the wings? Or will it?

  22. @Edgar
    I am glad you had an opportunity to gain a strong understanding of the content Jovan exposed. It is but the first of three reports that he will be exposing in the coming weeks/months. He has explained that the timing of these releases are actually timed to support a greater tactical plan. He notes that this has been an informational war, which in which the media is a plays the role of the opposition’s greatest vanguard. Hence, the timing of the releases of information are, to a degree, manipulated to gain the greatest coverage and broadest effect. Just FYI.

  23. @Sebastien

    If Otzma Yehudit is granted a place on Central Elections Committee, right-wing could gain majority.

    Brilliant gambit, but even should they succeed in this attempt, it will no doubt fail to survive the intent of the High Court to preserve the Arabs’ continued hold on power within the Knessett.

  24. Perhaps Blinken representing Biden And Abbas are discussing ties in Haaretz because they are all on the same page?

    [Ohhhh, somebody stop me before I pun again. ” Mother of Mercy, is this the end of RICO?” ] That one’s for you, Michael, don’t say I never tossed you anything.

  25. @Edgar Yes, the waiter who came up to me also quoted Koestler to show he wasn’t antisemitic. Koestler not hapless? Well, let’s see, he went from Communist to anti-Communist to Zionist to non or anti-Zionist and then committed suicide together with his wife.

    As for the Khazars? Oh, thus such low hanging fruit, i can’t resist.

    Sometimes a Khazar – wait for it –

    IS JUST A KHAZAR,

  26. @Michael

    Robert Crimo ‘sized up’ synagogue months before Highland Park shooting, security officer says

    ‘He was definitely sizing up the synagogue,’ Martin Blumenthal, a volunteer security coordinator at a synagogue in Highland Park, Illinois, said about Robert Crimo’s visit over Passover.

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/robert-crimo-synagogue-highland-park-b2116893.html

    Highland Park parade shooting suspect Robert Crimo was kicked out of synagogue: report

    https://nypost.com/2022/07/05/highland-park-parade-shooting-suspect-robert-crimo-kicked-out-of-synagogue/

  27. Hi, Sebastien.

    In response to yourqueries, the victims

    Victims: Irina and Kevin McCarthy, aged 35 and 37, of Highland Park; Katherine Goldstein, 64, of Highland Park; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63, of Highland Park; Stephen Straus, 88, of Highland Park; and Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78, of Morelos, Mexico; The seventh victim died in Cook County and has not been identified by officials there.

    Shooter: 21-year-old Robert E. Crimo III

    “The suspect allegedly fired more than 70 rounds during what Covelli on Tuesday initially described as a “completely random” attack… the attack was racially or religiously motivated.

    “In a video titled “Toy Soldier,” another stick-figure cartoon character resembling Crimo is depicted lying face down on the floor in a pool of his own blood surrounded by police officers with their guns drawn. Another video, from September 24, 2021, showed Crimo III sitting on a set resembling a classroom, wearing a helmet and posing in various scenes while an instrumental arrangement of “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” played in the background.”

    https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/05/us/what-we-know-highland-park-shooting/index.html

    Sundheim is explicitly described as Jewish. I haven’t seen any religious description of the others. McCarthy is obviously an Irish name, and Toledo-Zaragoza was Mexican. Crimo is of Italian ancestry.

    No motive was discovered, but the attack was planned for a long time. The perpetrator was apparently stirred by (Confederate) Civil War music, and attacked on American Independence Day. Was he a self-styled Southern sympathizer? or a loser just looking for fame? You figure that one out.

  28. @ SEBASTIEN-

    Very interesting that you brought up the Khazars.I would regard Koestler as the reverse of “hapless”. No he certainly was NOT. I have “The 13th tribe” and my interest was aroused immediately. In Dublin virtually all the Community were from Lithuania and Latvia. Except for a few English draft-dodgers. There were two families that you’d swear came directly from Kaifeng. totally Asiatic. one family had a kid at school with us whose nickname was “Chinky”.

    Anyway, by coincidence I got a newsletter from Kevin Brooks who is the se. of a group which monitors the archaeological excavations at Itil, which was the Khazar Capital. they arrive about twice a year as progress is slow and seasonal.

    But it has always been an absorbing interest of mine. We don’t need the ramblings of Michael to tell us what we can find by just looking it up on the Internet. The Khazar content of Ashkenazi Jews and Jews in general is very small, around NIL ,

    A geneticist called Behar issued the result of a study which found no identifiable Khazar connection with Ashkenazi Jews. This about about 7-8 years ago I think. I recall the report said that Ashkenazi Jews were closely connected with all other Jews.

    Several other studies found that the Kohanim were the most homogeneous.

  29. @Michael Yes, the Khazar trope, long championed by antisemites and hapless Arthur Koestler who probably thought Eastern Europeans would hate us less if they thought we had common origins, has long been discredited six ways to Sunday but I’m sure most Jews have never heard of it. Even Israeli papers are always printing bizarre theories about our origins. But, I no longer have such concerns because MyHeritage.com says I’m 2.8 percent Italian, even if the rest is Jewish, so Buena Sera mi amigo, I’m off to sunny Rome to find my roots.

  30. Hello again again, Sebastien. You said,

    @Michael Remember waiter with the Jewish wife trying to comnvince me we are Khazars? If we are Khazars, do we have any claim to Eretz Israel? Get it? Will we support Israel or the Arabs?

    I think “Khazar” is a term used by antisemites, to try to delegitematize Jewish claims to Israel. Ashkenazi Jews have a respectable amount of yDNA of haplogroup R1a — a group shared by Khazars, Slavs, Norwegians, Turks and others. Apparently, the Khazar Kingdom got along well with Jewish settlers there; and I’m told that the Jews returned the favor by allowing their hosts to become “Levites”. That seems to be a plausible explanation. The “purest” Jewish blood, by far, is that of the Cohanim, perhaps half of whom have yDNA nearly identical to that of their ancestors. Other common Jewish DNA, Sephardic as well as Ashkenazi, reflects mixture with the major peoples of the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and SW Europe. All of this is to be expected, of a people who wandered as widely as the Jews.

    Except for the Cohanim, one’s “Jewishness” has little to do with ancestry and everything to do with customs and traditions. At least, this was the case until the “Enlightenment”. Even so, because Jews tend to intermarry with other Jews, nearly all can be assured of ancestral lines on one side or another, that go back to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

    The legitimacy of Jews settling in Israel was estableshed by Torah, not by genetics. Arabs, of course, can also present legitimate blood lines going back to Ishmael (Arabs often marry their first cousins); but Ishmael was not promised an inheritance in Israel by Hashem.

  31. @Michael The article said it was predominantly Jewish. and so do other articles when I googled, sans quotes, Is Highland Park Predominantly Jewish?

    For exampke https://www.jta.org/2022/07/05/united-states/what-you-need-to-know-about-highland-park-the-very-jewish-chicago-suburb-rattled-by-july-4-shooting

    https://jewishunpacked.com/highland-park-chicagos-jewish-suburb/

    https://www.totallyjewishtravel.com/Kosher_Tours-TL5581-highland_park_illinois-Vacations.html

    https://hperuv.org/community

    You say it’s Italian. Your source? When I googled: Is Highland Park Italian? All that came up was restaurants, though it’s true they say you are what you eat. Still…

  32. Hello again, Sebastien. You made a comment about the Fourth of July Parade shooter in Highland Park, IL:

    Officials said they did not know the motive for the shooting in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood

    I suspect that HP is more Italian than Jewish.The shooter is of Italian extraction, and his father once ran for mayor. The shooting was indiscriminate, so that I doubt he was trying to single out any particual ethnicity. He seemed to be a real nut case; and in shooting up a 4th of July parade, we can assume he wasn’t happy with America, nor with its Christian founders.