The Washington Free Beacon reported this week on the continuing omission of Israel from a U.S.-sponsored organization called the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF). At a recent forum meeting in Spain, Maria Otero, U.S. undersecretary of state for civilian security, democracy and human rights, delivered a speech titled “Victims of Terrorism,” but, in her roll call of victims, she didn’t mention Israel. The conference at which she spoke was described as a “high-level conference on the victims of terrorism,” but Israel wasn’t a participant.
It bears repeating because it is so fantastic: At an international conference devoted to victims of terrorism, the world’s leading victim or, better, leading target of terrorism — Israel — was nowhere in sight, or mind.
Welcome to the GCTF — U.S. counterterrorism’s new “normal.” This 30-member organization got its official start last September as a “major initiative” of the Obama administration when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced its launch in New York.
It was quite an occasion; Hillary curled her hair. Seated next to her Turkish co-chairman, ensconced amid ministers from Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and 18 other miscellaneous member-states plus the European Union, she then said the magic words: “From London to Lahore, from Madrid to Mumbai, from Kabul to Kampala, it’s innocent civilians who have been targeted …”
Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Ashkelon? Poof, gone. And that’s the point: This new counterterrorism organization, with its related counterterrorism center coming soon to Abu Dhabi, is Judenfrei. Not coincidentally, it is also heavily Islamic. Eleven member-states — slightly more than one-third of the organization’s membership — also belong to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a bloc of 56 Islamic countries working to impose Islamic law (Shariah) on the world. Six of those 11 members additionally belong to the Arab League. Both groups have defined “terrorism” to exclude Israeli victims (sometimes U.S. soldiers), and “terrorists” to exclude groups dedicated to the destruction of Israel, such as Hamas and Hezbollah. It is no wonder the Arab-Islamic members would now unite in “counterterrorism” without Israel.
What is both shocking and shameful, however, is that the U.S. would, too. It shows that the U.S. has implicitly but clearly accepted the Arab League/OIC definitions of terrorism and terrorists.
As in Libya, where the U.S. supported the jihad-linked side, as in Egypt (same), as in Syria (same), this side-switching sparks scant comment. Oh, sure, there was some media yapping last month when Hillary jetted to Istanbul to pronounce another Israel-free incantation about efforts to “defeat extremist ideology.” Two — count ’em, two — U.S. senators (independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Republican Mark Kirk of Illinois) wrote her letters. But such complaints are nothing next to the smiles and cooperation coming our way from the Islamic core of the GCTF. And it was so easy! Why didn’t we think of this before? All we have to do is see things the way the Islamic world does; pretend things like Israel don’t exist (just as maps in Arab countries already indicate); and insist that Islam is a boon to mankind — not the animating doctrine of global jihad against Israel and the wider West.
I would like to say this is all something President Barack Obama initated, but such appeasement goes back a long way. If we look to the Gulf War in 1990-1991, we see this same denial of Israel’s existence take shape in the makeup of President George H.W. Bush’s “international coalition” — sans Israel. The same is true in 2003 with the formation of President George W. Bush’s “coalition of the willing” in Iraq (also Afghanistan) — sans Israel.
These omissions were in no way due to Israel’s unwillingness to join the “war on terror.” They were due to the same Islamic pressure in force today. Both Bushes bowed to it, accepting a state of dhimmitude (inferiority of non-Muslims under Islam) for the high privilege of spilling American blood and treasure into the ungrateful desert. Israel, both Bushes agreed with their Islamic “allies,” just wasn’t fit to fight on Islamic sand. Thus, Israel was excluded from these wartime alliances.
Such dhimmitude only intensifies, as the latest developments show. Under the Bushes, after all, while Israel was not permitted to fight alongside coalition forces, at least it was still recognized for withstanding more than 60 years of Islamic terrorist attacks. Today, under the auspices of the Obama administration, Israel no longer rates mention even as a victim. “Big Satan” has thrown “Little Satan” to the sharks. Which says two things about Big Satan. Our institutions now see the world from the Islamic perspective, and, as far as the sharks go, we’re next.
yamit82 Said:
Isn’t that what I said?
@ emmess:
The blessing is for the Gentiles not the Jews.
All Jews ever asked for is to be left alone by the gentiles. Judaism is Isolationist.
Numbers 23:9…“For from their beginning, I see them as mountain peaks, and I behold them as hills; it is a nation that will dwell alone, and will not be reckoned among the nations.”
Rashi: For from its beginning, I see them as mountain peaks: I look at their origins and the beginning of their roots, and I see them established and powerful, like these mountains and hills, because of their patriarchs and matriarchs. — [Mid. Tanchuma Balak 12, Num. Rabbah 20:19]
It is a nation that will dwell alone: This is [the legacy] their forefathers gained for them-to dwell alone, as the Targum [Onkelos] renders it [it is a nation that is alone destined to inherit the world].
and will not be reckoned among the nations: As Targum [Onkelos] paraphrases, they will not perish along with the other nations, for it says, “for I shall make an end of all the nations…” (Jer. 30:11); they will not be reckoned with the rest. Another interpretation: When they rejoice, no other nation rejoices with them, as it says, “God alone will guide them [to future happiness]” (Deut. 32:12). And when the nations prosper, they will receive a share with each one of them, but it will not be deducted from their account, and this is the meaning of, “and will not reckoned among the nations.” – [Mid. Tanchuma Balak 12, Num. Rabbah 20:19]
Calvary Said:
Other than in reference to the Canaanite nations and the Amalek of the past, what are you talking about?
Calvary Said:
Conquering sin and death; two impossible tasks. What Judaism does is reduce the incidences of sin. Death, however, is inevitable and any religion that believes that death is survivable is very dangerous. Nowhere in Tanach does it say one must be religious (except, perhaps, for honouring the Sabbath), but it does say you must serve God by serving your fellow man. The objective is social justice albeit not as it is currently interpreted by leftists. Interesting, there is a school of thought that if the story of Jesus is true, and someone has died for sins, then it is the Jewish people who have been sacrifice for the sake of the sins of “the nations” and that, just as in Isaiah 53, there is reference to the suffering servant, Christianity has usurped that phrase to justify its messianic concept whereas the suffering servant is, indeed, the Jewish people.
@ Calvary:
If you study the true nature of the earliest Jesus followers, they were almost identical in outlook to today’s Chabad. They were orthodox, “moshiachist” Jews led by James “The Righteous”, alleged brother of the J man. Why alleged? Because historical evidence exists of James and Peter and even John the Baptist and Saul of Tarsus but there is not a shred of evidence that Jesus was any more real than Harvey the Rabbit. Jewish dominance over gentiles is not a historical fact. The Jewish concept is to be a light unto the nations, to spread God’s codes of civility by way of the seven Noahide laws (the Ten Commandments are meant for Jews unless you can show me that Episcopalians were led out of Egypt as per the first commandment). It has been the purpose of the Jews to contribute to surrounding societies, not to triumph over them. Conversion was not an objective. A good example is the U.S.A., based constitutionally on “Old Testament” concepts and shaped, culturally, by Jews such as Gershwin and Berlin, Samuel Goldwyn, Gen. Sarnoff, Milton Berle et al. When we triumph, everyone wins.
Judaism is also a triumphalist religion. Shy Guy and Yamit can rattle off any number of Tanakh passages that speak of ultimate Jewish dominance over gentiles. Those passages are real – and true I believe. But must be balanced with other Tanakh passages.
Anyway, Jesus was clearly more concerned with conquering sin and death than peoples and nations. Likewise his faithful followers.
@ TTW:
Christianity, unfortunately, like Islam, is a triumphalist religion. That accounts for much of its blood soaked history especially with the Jews. All we ask is that Christians have faith in Genesis 12:3, God’s promise to Abraham that those who bless Israel will be blessed.
Ted Belman Said:
That is fine. Isn’t it helpful for Jews and others to have a balanced view when you see something that is not totally true? My earlier post from today is not yet posted. As long as I am on your website I will follow your guidance. I hate to be continuously censored. There are many things on which we both could agree as we have common enemies. As much as possible it is good to avoid attacking all Christians as though all of them are not friends of Israel. There are a lot of Christians that I know who bring a lot of individuals to Israel every year and will do anything possible to help.
Ted Belman Said:
Thank you so much for your response. When I saw your first warning, I thought you were one of my fellow commentators who simply object to my comments. I did not know your position or/and influences within Israpundit. What you are objecting to is now clearer to me than before.I have respect for any person whether he/she is a believer or not. I respect your views. Although this is not a forum in which we can openly discuss and resolve some erroneous views about biblical Christianity and Judaism, more than any other groups I know what unites us are extremely far more than what may “divide” us. I have not come to this website to discuss about religious issues. I tried to make some corrections with a hope that we may come to an understanding. I like most of the stuff I see on this website. My humble opinion is not to allow this website to bash non-Jews. Anything you freely allow will grow. As you may know better than me, Israel needs more friends than enemies. My insignificant contribution on this website and others are based on principle: I am convinced that injustices have been done against Jews and Israel. I will continue to fight such a gross injustices as much as it is humanly possible. Thanks again for your input.
Shy Guy Said:
It’s called the “pintele Yid”.
@ Shy Guy:
Being secular can give you a greater perspective of Judaism through its history rather than its lore and ritual. I have discussed Judaism with rabbis who can recite every word of every prayer and psalm, know when to bend the knee and even tear up toilet rolls for use on Shabbat but know nothing about the incredible, spiritual and actual journey our ancestors have taken. Worst of all, they have little interest in the reality of the battles we are currently fighting if they do not fit within their theological framework. No, it’s not every rabbi but there are very few who deviate from the stereotype of the rabbi on Seinfeld (whatever makes you feel good, it’s Judaism.
In fact, one of the best books on historical Judaism was written by a secular, Hollywood screen-writer, Howard Fast. If you can find his book, “The Jews”, it’s a very enlightening read.
Ted Belman Said:
With your Yiddishe neshama shining through!
🙂
@ TTW:
I will not tolerate Christianity – Judaism disputations. I have told you on a number of occasions to stop it. I even got rude on one occasion to drive the point home. Stop any religious arguments and you will have no problems here. I have asked Yamit to stop participating in these discussions but I give Yamit almost full latitude because he is giving the Jewish perspectives. I am not interested in hosting the Christian perspective. Do I make myself clear?
And I speak as a secular person.
Shy Guy Said:
No, they are not disobeying the Qur’an. They are practicing their savage religion accurately. Those whom we call “moderates” are actually the Muslim lunatic fringe. The savages are the mainstream.
@ Andrew:
Don’t always take “goy” as a pejorative. As you know, it means “nations”. It is, however, an alternative to “gentile”. In some ways it’s like the word “Jew” which can be flung as an epithet or said with respect.
To Israpundit Moderators,
Since recently, all of my comments are subject to your approval. I donot know what serious mistakes I have done in order for you to take such steps. Believing that we could discuss various issues on this website, I have responded to comments made mainly by yamit 82 regarding religious issues with a hope that some corrections could be made for the errors I had observed. When some commentators objected to some of the words I used, I apologized and then avoided to use the same words. Thanks for the opportunity you have given me to make comments thus far on this website. I know some individuals have informed you as though I have “done” something “terrible”. Please recheck the contents of any complaints made against me. Even if an error was made, it was done in good faith and not at all based on malice. If you think my comments have done more “damages” than good, please let me know about the mistakes made so that I could make corrections. Thanks in advance for your fair and balanced response. Shalom!
yamit82 Said:
Please try to avoid too much generalities. I thought you really understood about the extreme hatred the Arabs have against Jews first and then Christians. Had the Bushes involved Israel in a war that took place in an Arab country, the Arabs would have changed the wars as though they were between Israel and themselves. Under such circumstances I wonder why you were not able to see my points. The Arabs have continuously fed their citizens all sorts of negative stuff their subjects from cradle to grave. Because of these factors, the Arab and Muslim countries for which America was willing to go to war would not have accepted an offer for a participation of Israel. What makes you to believe otherwise?
@ Catarin:
Besides the fact that these verses are referring to the historical past and not an eternal promise, try reading that entire section of Sura 7 in context, through to verse 174, and see if you can figure out what the Qur’an defines as good and bad Jews and why the Qur’an does not advocate anything good for the Jews of today.
Cherry picker! Ask yourself why.
Here’s some more, infidel woman:
References to Jews in the Koran
Islam: Religion of Piss.
@ Shy Guy:
See Sura 7, 137
emmess Said:
She said that Muslims, in their rabid terror, are disobeying the Qur’an. Do you agree with that?
For those that can read Hebrew, Feiglin published the following article in the past Friday’s Makor Rishon:
Indeed – Har Habayit (The Temple Mount)
@ emmess:
I’m just a goy who lives half a world away. But something about Feiglin resonates with me. Everything he says makes sense to me.
@ emmess:
Ahmen, ken yehi Ratzon.
@ Shy Guy:
My thought was to not look to the heavens and wait for “Zeus to shoot a lightening bolt at the enemy”. I have also said that if a messiah is needed, there is one right now but the religious are so tribal in outlook that they refuse to see him. I’m talking about Moshe Feiglin who is doing battle as a mighty warrior, albeit on the political side and whose success in leading Israel could easily lead to a messianic age of peace. You don’t achieve peace by holding out olive branches but by defeating your enemy with a decisive victory. I trust Feiglin to do just that.
emmess Said:
The messiah will be a man – a very righteous one – but nevertheless a mortal.
In any case, in the interim, we Jews have been mostly a bunch of ingrates for all the good and miraculously wonderful events that have taken place over the last half a century. Even without a messiah, we’ve shot ourselves numerous times in the feet. Not many toes left to stand on.
@ Catarin:
Give Catarin a cigar, she got it right. The Muslim is the eternal enemy of not only the Jew but every non-Islamic faith. In fact, by comparison, the Jews get off easy. The fact is that anti-Jew hatred is in reality the enemy looking upon his own sins and transferring them to the Jews. The Jews do not suffer for our sins but for the sins of the goyim.
It always bothers me when Jews write or say that God will preserve us: “no one can pluck Israel out of its land again.”
Too many Jews view God through gentile eyes. It is the other religions that give God a gender and form rather than seeing Him as the intellectual construct that He, Himself, claims to be: “I am …” If you want to believe, as Rabbi David Solomon says, that God created the world in six 24 hour days, that’s perfectly fine — there is plenty of material that supports that view. If you want to believe that the earth is several million years old, that’s fine, too. The fact is we were not there and we will probably never know. But there are realities in the world that point to some form of creation. The universe is composed of four elements and the differences between species can be as little as .01%. That proves nothing but the complexity of living creatures is hard to explain by science alone. Bottom line is that though we may be the creation of God and believe in the Chosen People concept, it is up to man, not a messiah, to preserve the Jewish nation and the Jewish state.
Catarin Said:
They are following the Quran and the aHaddith perfectly. Repeating jibberish about a moderate Quran and a cuddly Mohamed doesn’t make it any truer.
I don’t like the idea of this committee excluding Jews, but taking a look at Muslims who are, Erdogan is a childish immature leader who I think is only interested in self-glorification. For Muslims who want to exclude Jews from the fight on terrorism, I think it’s because it is the Muslims who are the terrorists against the Jews and have been for 1300 years. When it comes to Muslims’ treatment of Israel, it appears the Muslim g-d has deserted them because they disobey the Quran. As long as they continue their planned ignorance, they are ignorant.
As for the recent declaration that more settlements in the West Bank are legal, I believe they are. Muslims are invaders and conquerors of the Holy Land and have no religious connection to it. Some American Jews and leaders are begging Israel not to build more settlements but the question I have is will another war come sooner or later?
emmess Said:
I personally prefer to see peace between Arabs and Israeli’s. The Arabs have ruled out a possibility of peaceful coexistence with the sate of Israel. If Israel “won’t” defeat its enemies, it is impossible to continue living as is for an indefinite period of time. Under normal circumstances, if your enemy or “bastards” wins, you will try to live under your enemies control until you amass enough strength to unshackle yourself from oppression. The Arab-Israel conflict is not normal by any standard. There is, therefore, no option for defeat. A defeat amounts to non-existence, as Israel’s enemies would like to destroy not only it but all Jews within and around the world. God has promised saying “no one can pluck Israel out of its land again.” He is faithful to keep His promises.
Laura Said:
You are right. It was my mistake. Sorry about it.
@ BlandOatmeal:
An Australian, the English, no Jews in Canada other than Jewish weeklies, Israeli post-Jews, Quatar and whoever is running Russia.
I am not influenced at all by these Americans. In fact I view them as part of the American devil brew.@ BlandOatmeal:
@ BlandOatmeal:
Not to mention the Number One “jewboy”, George Soros.
With all these friends, no wonder we have enemies.
@ TTW:
And what if the bastard isn’t defeated?
BTW, “bastard” in this case is not a pejorative, it is an apt description.
@ BlandOatmeal:
Your statement specifically said: “The Arabs, of course, are victims. The (largely Jewish-influenced) press tells me so),
Looking at your list I see:
Jew hater and anti Israel Thomas Friedman — Columnist
A possible (haven’t checked him out yet) Peter Chernin, President and Co-COO of News Corporation Limited
Mortimer Zuckerman — Publisher
Most of the rest are media moguls but not the press as you stated. What’s Eli Wiesel doing on such a list?
Your source is a well known Neo-Nazi antismetic site which explains much and reinforces my opinion of you.
Yamit, I tried responding to your raving lunacy, but I’ve been moderated out of existence. If the Jews don’t control the media, who does? The Baptists?
@ yamit82:
World’s most influencial Jews:
4. Sergey Brin — Founder of Google
23. Mark Zuckerberg — Facebook Founder
26. Mortimer Zuckerman — Publisher
30. Elie Wiesel — Writer
31. Steven Spielberg — Filmmaker
33. Jeff Zucker — CEO of NBC Universal
38. Thomas Friedman — Columnist
39. Haim Saban — Media magnate
— http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishFeatures/Article.aspx?id=175871
Gerald Levin, CEO and Director of AOL Time Warner
Michael Eisner, Chairman and CEO of the Walt Disney Company
Edgar Bronfman, Sr., Chairman of Seagram Company Ltd
Edgar Bronfman, Jr, President and CEO of Seagram Company Ltd and head of Universal Studios
Sumner Redstone, Chairman and CEO of Viacom, Inc
Dennis Dammerman, Vice Chairman of General Electric
Peter Chernin, President and Co-COO of News Corporation Limited
— http://www.rense.com/general44/sevenjewishamericans.htm
I’ve barely scratched the surface. Some duck! Some quack!
@ yamit82:
Kinky Friedman
@ Ed Katz:
Bull, my sister and family live in Dallas and last I heard it’s in Texas: Example!!
Meryl, that doesn’t happen in Texas or Arizona. If it did, someone would git an ass whuppin.
Israel will soon be all alone. Its BFF the USA will surely go KFC under its obese debt ( that it cannot hide ). I have no pleasure in this. The USA is one of the few places on earth a Jew was able to be a Jew and live in tranquillity.
Can Someone please explain to me like you would to my youngest 5 yr. old, how can a world currency, backed by 16 trillion dollars of debt BE A WORLD CURRENCY and accepted in exchange for gold, silver,oil,,,? Am I living on a different planet?.
Laura, that is why I am pissed at the US. They blew it. Sadly, many of those responsible and trapping us in this worthless paper paradigm are Jewish ( Bernanke, Summers, Rubin,Greenspan, Goldman, Rothschilds, Warburg, Schiff,,,). I point out that many are gentiles, but let us face it, US Jewish elites are not virgins in this.
This does not help us. And yes, the gentiles have no idea what Zionism is and when rubber hits the road, I do not know if they can be trusted re: Israel.
0The US has been in Afghanland for 10 years now so who needs their support. I know a loser when I see one.
Yamit is right. I have a niece in 5th grade. All the kids spout anti-Israel and anti-Jewish slogans. “They’ve got all the money” “They love Israel more than America” “They start all the wars” They get this from their parents and the teachers.
@ TTW:
Bull-Crap!!! You are nothing but a Bush apologist. I see it as proof you can’t be trusted as an Israel supporter.
The true feelings of gentiles towards Jews is what they are willing to believe about them.
If I were to say I saw 50 Irishmen in a bar burn and curse the NT, would anyone believe it?
The willingness of most Gentiles even so called friends to believe any canard, Obliquity, Myth, Distortion, Equivocation, Libel and Prevarication is more telling than any public verbal and written statements of support for Israel and Jews.
@ BlandOatmeal:
Hmmm, If it talks like a duck consistently? Then it’s a given that he is a duck despite denials.
@ TTW:
I didn’t say that. What you quoted is from the article.
@ BlandOatmeal:
Forgive my silliness. It’s unbelievable, how delusional the world’s leaders are about Israel. I wish I could say that at least the Jews have sense; but they all too often seem to be leading the anti-Israel chorus. The people of the world have truly lost their minds.
Leftists have a hard time discerning good and evil: On the one hand, there are Arab suicide bombers, intent on killing innocent women and children; on the other hand, there are people who pollute the streams by washing their cars. It’s such a hard choice — and, as you say, all is relative. The car-washers are, of course, the greatest evil because their crime is against Mother Earth; and Mother Earth, we all know, is more important than a few innocent Jews.
(I sense an undertone of rabbinical thinking here; but I suppose that’s just me. Something about walking up 20 flights of stairs, so as not to profane the Sabbath and use the elevator…)
The Arabs, of course, are victims. The (largely Jewish-influenced) press tells me so, so it is reality. How absurd, to think of these victims as terrorists! And Jews, we know, MUST be eternally introspective. In heaven, I expect it will be easy to identify them: They are the ones who are inside-out. Now, if this is the case with Jews, what are the ignorant goiim to think? The Jews MUST be guilty, and the Muslims innocent!
There you have it, iron-clad logic from the Planet of the Apes!
God help us!
Laura Said:
Radical leftists have a hard time to differentiate between a theory and a fact. Because of leftist indoctrination, they cannot properly discern between good and evil. To them everything is “relative.” They tend to believe more in their own rhetoric than facts. There is no other country on the face of planet earth that has continuously suffered/suffering from terrorism than the state of Israel. The current US Administration has repeatedly shown its hatred of the Jews and the state of Israel. However, the majority of the American people support Israel. There is possibility for this administration to be replaced by new administration who will be a friend of Israel come November 2012.
Under the Bushes, it is understandable why Israel was not allowed to fight. Had Israel been involved in the wars, the Arabs would have easily mobilized its population and fought and it was possible to loose the wars.
Every time you think the Obama administration’s and the west’s dissmissive and contemptous treatment of Israel cannot get any more outrageous, they outdo themselves.
The world’s number one target for terrorism is excluded from a counterterror conference and left off a list of nations which are victims of terrorism. Meanwhile islamic countries, which are the greatest facilitators of international terrorism are welcomed at the conference on fighting terrorism.
This coupled with the Olympic Committees refusal to honor the 11 Israeli athletes murdered by “palestinian” terrorists in the 1972 olympics in Munich sends the message that the west accepts the islamic belief that slaughtering Jews does not count as terrorism.
We live in a world where the inmates are running the asylum and the west is being led by moral degenerates.