Today is the first day of Pesach (Passover), which is a celebration of the Israelites' exodus out of Egypt (slavery) and toward the Promised Land (freedom).
Since Pesach is regarded as one of the most significant Jewish traditions, last Thursday I asked our Hebrew teacher, Varda, how long Pesach typically lasts. Her answer was interesting. She remarked that it lasted for as long as it needed to. She smiled as I mulled this information about in my head.
Initially, this struck me as a sign of sheer brilliance--a holiday that ended whenever one desired! As a byproduct of the United States, I couldn't help but wonder how we ever let that idea slip past!
I mean we're the leisurely-minded entrepreneurs who gave the world the LA-Z-Boy, clap-on lighting, and the greatest lazy man's invention of all time!
Americans come out of the womb wondering how we can make even that process easier. How in the name of push-button 4-wheel drive did we not jump aboard that bandwagon?
This mystery eluded me for the better part of four days.
However, I should note that the most pressing concern for myself is the inconvenient truth (an actual truth, Al) that all of the stores are fresh out of bread. This means that it's all matzah all the time. And matzah, for those who may not know, is unleavened, hardened bread. It's like eating a flat and tough Saltine cracker without all the flavor of a typical Saltine cracker.
What's that you say? Saltine crackers don't have any flavor to begin with? Well, that's a fine point you make. What's that? I'm having a mock conversation with myself and need to cease immediately?
Much appreciated. Moving right along, then.
Needless to say, matzah is not very appetizing. But that's essentially the point. The matzah represents a particular dynamic within the story told in Exodus. The Israelites had to flee Egypt in such a hurry that there was literally no time for the dough to rise in their bread. Hence the creation and significance of matzah.
As is Jewish custom, families will gather together and celebrate today for a seder dinner. Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, or secular, Passover is regarded as an essential element of Jewish identity.
And in Israel, the holiday carries an even greater significance. Following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 A.D. by the Roman Caesar Titus, nearly two thousand years of Diaspora displaced the Jewish people to the four corners of the earth. Such a fate should have surely resulted in the death knell of the Jews and Jewish tradition.
But it was not to be.
The story of Judaism's survival through the ages is one of the most remarkable tales in mankind's history and perhaps the topic for a future blog post. What's important is that the Pesach tradition survived during those two thousand years. And in 1948, a new reality soon set in for God's Chosen.
The restoration of the state of Israel drew her people back home and with them, traditions that had grown and been internalized in ways likely unimaginable for the Jews of millennia past. The restoration of Israel, like the Exodus out of Egypt, brought the Jews back to the Promised Land--out of bondage and servitude to others and into freedom--freedom to once again have a sovereign say over their own destiny.
So while Pesach is indeed a celebration and acknowledgment of God's deliverance from Egypt, it is also an acknowledgment, be it direct or implicit or grudgingly, by Israelis of God's promises kept through the generations.
And I realize now what Varda meant when she said that "it lasted as long as it needed to." Passover is not a single day or week or event that is commemorated, stowed away, and brought back out of the box the following year. Passover is about God's promise. It's about freedom.
And that's not something that merely lasts for a season. It's something that lasts for eternity.
!פסח שמח
Monday, March 29, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Beseiged
I apologize for the lack of frequent updates. The workload for our program is quite heavy and I've found relatively little time to give Fried Camel the attention it deserves.
Fortunately, the Pesach (Passover) break has begun today and there will be time to update over the course of the next two and a half weeks. Additionally, there are trips to the Golan Heights, Masada, and the Dead Sea planned, which could and should provide for interesting posts--not to mention Pesach itself.
That stated, I thought I would follow up on the thread from last week regarding the political situation here in Israel. If the unfolding situation between the U.S. and Israel could be described as a brush fire, I would not describe the brush fire as intense in its "heat" as it was last week, but I would certainly describe it as having spread. And there is little sign of it tapering off.
As per last week's update, the announcement of new housing units in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood of East Jerusalem by the Israeli Interior Minister provided the perfect opportunity for the Obama Administration to trap Prime Minister Netanyahu. The move turned a simple boneheaded mistake on the Israelis' part into a desirable crisis on behalf of the Obama Administration.
And we all know that our leaders don't believe in letting "a good crisis go to waste."
Recent developments and their implications change as rapidly as they appear, which makes for difficulty when attempting to analyze. However, analysis is necessary as the implications are far reaching.
The divide within Israeli society over the "loners" and "groaners" hasn't shown any tangible signs of exacerbating since I last updated the blog. Most Israelis seem to be locked into wait-and-see mode. The intentions of the Obama Administration are being weighed against the actions of the Netanyahu-led coalition.
What will the United States tolerate? What does the U.S. expect of Israel? What will Bibi Netanyahu's decisions reflect? Will the United States interfere in the Israeli government as they did under President Clinton when American Democratic strategists and Democratic donors all but ousted Netanyahu in his first tenure as Prime Minister? What does this all mean with regard to the Iranian threat?
These are some of the things Israelis are thinking about--things that they are nervously anticipating. Fresh developments have put Israel under even further scrutiny.
During a speech to AIPAC (American-Israeli Political Action Conference) two days ago, Netanyahu announced quite bluntly that "Jerusalem is not a settlement. It is our capital." This was a clear slap at the Obama Administration. He received enthusiastic applause for such defiance in the face of a none-too-friendly U.S. President. This is not a surprise considering the equally enthusiastic pro-Israel crowd.
What is somewhat surprising is how bold and savvy this move was. Netanyahu has essentially decided to circumvent the U.S. government and instead make a direct appeal to the sympathy of the American people, who are overwhelmingly in support of Israel. The calculation seems to be that domestic support for Obama is not as strong as it once was and that the American people can bring pressure to bear against their government to support and defend the American-Israel alliance.
Given Netanyahu's American education and his understanding of American society, this could prove to be an interesting tactic that in the long run gives Israel an advantage.
Reports are circulating that the private meeting between Netanyahu and Obama did not go well at all. Here in Israel, the media seems to be portraying the entire conflagration rather tepidly. Neither left or right want to inflame tensions any worse. Both sides of the ideological spectrum understand the danger involved with undermining Netanyahu and assailing Obama. Israel needs America if Iran is to be stopped.
This media approach could certainly change as the entire situation is fluid. And news in Britain and Jordan reflects this fluidity. In what I believe is a bid to energize their domestic voter base prior to the coming elections, the Labor government has expelled Israeli personnel from the Israeli embassy in Great Britain.
Information gleaned following the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a Hamas operative responsible for transferring weapons from Iran to Gaza, points to a highly elaborate Mossad effort to disrupt the Iranian regime and their terror proxies. According to the British government, Israeli intelligence agents impersonated British citizens using false passports to pull off the high-profile assassination in Dubai.
And yesterday, the British government used its strongest language yet against Israel, taking even stronger action to expel Israeli embassy staff.
Now Israel is withering a highly publicized confrontation with its two closest and most powerful allies--despite the shared common enemy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. And today, the U.S. announced that it would seek weaker than expected sanctions against Iran over its nuclear weapons program.
Even the moderate regime of Jordan, an Arab nation formally at peace with Israel and a strong U.S. ally in this region, announced courtesy of King Abdullah II that "Israel must decide if it wants conflict or peace."
As I've stated before, words mean things in this region. And the fact that Jordan is entering in the fray suggests that King Abdullah II senses a power shift in the world and the Middle East. He knows he must tread carefully if Iran or Turkey's influence continues to grow in the face of weakened and softer U.S. leadership.
Neither Jordan nor Egypt want to face the wrath of their coreligionists for signing peace treaties with the Zionist state. And this wrath is becoming a greater and greater possibility as the threat against Israel's very existence mounts and the decisiveness of the West to act against Iran continues to wane.
Netanyahu returns to Israel from the U.S. without having secured assurances from the American government, with burgeoning British hostility, growing uncertainty from Islamic moderates, and with renewed confidence from radical Islamists. This recipe is not one for peace.
The words from the prophet Isaiah grow louder and louder every passing day:
The hour to once again stand with Israel and our Jewish brethren draws near.
3/26 Update: The Times of London is reporting that Prime Minister Netanyahu was humiliated by President Obama during a meeting in the Oval Office a couple days ago.
Netanyahu unveiled a flow chart explaining how the Interior Ministry and housing pronouncements work and explained to Obama how there was absolutely no way that he could have known that such an announcement was coming during Vice-President Biden's visit.
Obama, none too pleased that Bibi was not addressing U.S. demands, then apparently stood up, told Netanyahu that he had a private dinner to attend, and to "let me know if there is anything new." Such a snub is unprecedented. The only thing that even is comparable is Reagan walking away from the negotiating table at Reykjavik when he was dealing with Gorbachev and the Soviets.
The difference between the Soviet Union and Israel should be quite apparent to anyone reading this.
Both Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak then went to the Roosevelt Room to regroup, but eventually opted to leave the White House entirely because they no longer trusted the Americans not to listen in on their discussion or phone calls.
Thus they returned to the Israeli embassy in D.C. and eventually flew back here to Tel Aviv.
Fortunately, the Pesach (Passover) break has begun today and there will be time to update over the course of the next two and a half weeks. Additionally, there are trips to the Golan Heights, Masada, and the Dead Sea planned, which could and should provide for interesting posts--not to mention Pesach itself.
That stated, I thought I would follow up on the thread from last week regarding the political situation here in Israel. If the unfolding situation between the U.S. and Israel could be described as a brush fire, I would not describe the brush fire as intense in its "heat" as it was last week, but I would certainly describe it as having spread. And there is little sign of it tapering off.
As per last week's update, the announcement of new housing units in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood of East Jerusalem by the Israeli Interior Minister provided the perfect opportunity for the Obama Administration to trap Prime Minister Netanyahu. The move turned a simple boneheaded mistake on the Israelis' part into a desirable crisis on behalf of the Obama Administration.
And we all know that our leaders don't believe in letting "a good crisis go to waste."
Recent developments and their implications change as rapidly as they appear, which makes for difficulty when attempting to analyze. However, analysis is necessary as the implications are far reaching.
The divide within Israeli society over the "loners" and "groaners" hasn't shown any tangible signs of exacerbating since I last updated the blog. Most Israelis seem to be locked into wait-and-see mode. The intentions of the Obama Administration are being weighed against the actions of the Netanyahu-led coalition.
What will the United States tolerate? What does the U.S. expect of Israel? What will Bibi Netanyahu's decisions reflect? Will the United States interfere in the Israeli government as they did under President Clinton when American Democratic strategists and Democratic donors all but ousted Netanyahu in his first tenure as Prime Minister? What does this all mean with regard to the Iranian threat?
These are some of the things Israelis are thinking about--things that they are nervously anticipating. Fresh developments have put Israel under even further scrutiny.
During a speech to AIPAC (American-Israeli Political Action Conference) two days ago, Netanyahu announced quite bluntly that "Jerusalem is not a settlement. It is our capital." This was a clear slap at the Obama Administration. He received enthusiastic applause for such defiance in the face of a none-too-friendly U.S. President. This is not a surprise considering the equally enthusiastic pro-Israel crowd.
What is somewhat surprising is how bold and savvy this move was. Netanyahu has essentially decided to circumvent the U.S. government and instead make a direct appeal to the sympathy of the American people, who are overwhelmingly in support of Israel. The calculation seems to be that domestic support for Obama is not as strong as it once was and that the American people can bring pressure to bear against their government to support and defend the American-Israel alliance.
Given Netanyahu's American education and his understanding of American society, this could prove to be an interesting tactic that in the long run gives Israel an advantage.
Reports are circulating that the private meeting between Netanyahu and Obama did not go well at all. Here in Israel, the media seems to be portraying the entire conflagration rather tepidly. Neither left or right want to inflame tensions any worse. Both sides of the ideological spectrum understand the danger involved with undermining Netanyahu and assailing Obama. Israel needs America if Iran is to be stopped.
This media approach could certainly change as the entire situation is fluid. And news in Britain and Jordan reflects this fluidity. In what I believe is a bid to energize their domestic voter base prior to the coming elections, the Labor government has expelled Israeli personnel from the Israeli embassy in Great Britain.
Information gleaned following the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a Hamas operative responsible for transferring weapons from Iran to Gaza, points to a highly elaborate Mossad effort to disrupt the Iranian regime and their terror proxies. According to the British government, Israeli intelligence agents impersonated British citizens using false passports to pull off the high-profile assassination in Dubai.
And yesterday, the British government used its strongest language yet against Israel, taking even stronger action to expel Israeli embassy staff.
Now Israel is withering a highly publicized confrontation with its two closest and most powerful allies--despite the shared common enemy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. And today, the U.S. announced that it would seek weaker than expected sanctions against Iran over its nuclear weapons program.
Even the moderate regime of Jordan, an Arab nation formally at peace with Israel and a strong U.S. ally in this region, announced courtesy of King Abdullah II that "Israel must decide if it wants conflict or peace."
As I've stated before, words mean things in this region. And the fact that Jordan is entering in the fray suggests that King Abdullah II senses a power shift in the world and the Middle East. He knows he must tread carefully if Iran or Turkey's influence continues to grow in the face of weakened and softer U.S. leadership.
Neither Jordan nor Egypt want to face the wrath of their coreligionists for signing peace treaties with the Zionist state. And this wrath is becoming a greater and greater possibility as the threat against Israel's very existence mounts and the decisiveness of the West to act against Iran continues to wane.
Netanyahu returns to Israel from the U.S. without having secured assurances from the American government, with burgeoning British hostility, growing uncertainty from Islamic moderates, and with renewed confidence from radical Islamists. This recipe is not one for peace.
The words from the prophet Isaiah grow louder and louder every passing day:
"But you, O Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend, I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, 'You are my servant'; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish.
Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you."
-Isaiah 41:8-13
The hour to once again stand with Israel and our Jewish brethren draws near.
3/26 Update: The Times of London is reporting that Prime Minister Netanyahu was humiliated by President Obama during a meeting in the Oval Office a couple days ago.
Netanyahu unveiled a flow chart explaining how the Interior Ministry and housing pronouncements work and explained to Obama how there was absolutely no way that he could have known that such an announcement was coming during Vice-President Biden's visit.
Obama, none too pleased that Bibi was not addressing U.S. demands, then apparently stood up, told Netanyahu that he had a private dinner to attend, and to "let me know if there is anything new." Such a snub is unprecedented. The only thing that even is comparable is Reagan walking away from the negotiating table at Reykjavik when he was dealing with Gorbachev and the Soviets.
The difference between the Soviet Union and Israel should be quite apparent to anyone reading this.
Both Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak then went to the Roosevelt Room to regroup, but eventually opted to leave the White House entirely because they no longer trusted the Americans not to listen in on their discussion or phone calls.
Thus they returned to the Israeli embassy in D.C. and eventually flew back here to Tel Aviv.
Monday, March 15, 2010
On Unsettling Ground
A crisis is brewing here in Israel. All signs are pointing toward a potentially catastrophic rift in U.S.-Israeli relations.
The visit last week by Vice President Joe Biden was deemed by many Israeli analysts to have gone from tense upon the outset to outright disastrous by the end. The announcement of new construction of settlements in East Jerusalem in what is being called the "Ramat Shlomo" scandal has brought the longstanding relationship into question.
First, I believe some background details are needed to properly convey what has transpired and brought us to this breaking point.
When Vice President Biden arrived in Israel last week, his reception was considered to be cool at best. After having already visited Washington multiple times to meet personally with President Obama, Netanyahu's neutral reception of Biden should be of no great surprise. However, it is believed that elements within the Israeli government considered the Obama Administration's decision to send Joe Biden instead of Obama himself was a "slap in the face" to Israel.
Biden was the first official visitor from the Obama Administration. With the looming threat of Iran, the rearming of Hezbollah, the continuing threat posed by Hamas and Syria, and a stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, it is understandable in my view why Israelis would view the arrival of the Vice President less enthusiastically than the President.
When Vice President Biden was visiting with Palestinian officials in the West Bank, a minister aligned with the Netanyahu-led government announced the construction of 1,600 new housing units in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood of East Jerusalem--a clear "infraction" by the Israelis across what is called the 'Green Line' denoting Palestinian and Israeli territory.
The timing of this announcement was indeed purposeful in embarrassing the Vice President and the United States and should be scorned appropriately. However, it is important to consider that the announcement was done by a member of Shas--the ultra right party that is a part of Netanyahu's coalition government.
What is being missed in the uproar and occasionally petulant turmoil that has ensued is the fact that domestic politics within Israel is at play here. Shas wants to position itself more favorably with the settlers who generally view Netanyahu's Likud party as the strongest party representing their interests.
The announcement by Interior Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) was nothing less than political sabotage against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This is patently obvious.
Following the announcement, Biden, clearly infuriated, showed up to his planned dinner with Netanyahu nearly two hours late. Netanyahu responded by assuring both Biden and the U.S. that the announcement was one of "stupidity not malice."
Considering the implications of such a timed announcement, the pressing issues facing Netanyahu with regard to the existential threat posed by Iran, and the ensuing fallout, I think it's safe to take him for his word.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reportedly went on a tirade over the phone for nearly forty-five minutes when speaking with Netanyahu. And just today, Obama's chief political advisor, David Axelrod, called Israel's actions an "insult" and an "affront."
Michael Oren, Israeli's ambassador to the U.S., is suggesting that the U.S.-Israeli relationship is In A Crisis of Historic Proportions.
So what does all of this mean?
First, Netanyahu is now in a demonstrably unenviable position. He is now being forced to choose between his longstanding political supporters at home who support a unified Jerusalem under Israeli control or the integrity of the longstanding, strategic alliance with the United States.
This means that the support he has enjoyed since taking office last year is in jeopardy of melting away. The fact of the matter remains that most Israelis would rather see Netanyahu lose power than Israel lose its most important and powerful friend--particularly at a time when Israel's very existence remains threatened.
Netanyahu is very aware of this situation. And from what I can gather from Israeli media and Israelis themselves, is that the doubts about the intentions of the Obama Administration are metastasizing into two sharply divided camps: loners and groaners.
Israelis who were suspicious all along of America's new government are now rallying around the "go it alone" mentality. They believed the special friendship with America died when Obama was elected and this past week's developments are merely confirmation of that. Subsequently, Israel is now on its own regardless of whatever platitudes Biden paid in lip-service during his speech at Tel Aviv University.
The second group, which I've dubbed the "groaners," are those Israelis who likely never supported Netanyahu and were never distrustful of Obama. They are the ones who are self-flagellating themselves, lambasting Netanyahu for jeopardizing relations with the U.S., and lamenting the fallout as a sign that Israel must capitulate to all or many international demands in order to keep the United States on her side.
The question remains which of these two groups are the most dominant. And it should also be noted that Israel has complied with all of these demands in the so-called "peace process." They have withdrawn from southern Lebanon and Gaza and have received nothing but death and destruction in return. They have lost over 1,000 of their own citizens to radical Islamists in the West Bank and Gaza. And they have, under Netanyahu, frozen construction of all settlement projects outside Jerusalem for ten months in order to jump-start the stalled "peace talks."
Israel has been making real sacrifices. Sacrifices that often go ignored by people in the U.S. and the moral-equivocating, chattering heads in Europe.
And finally, there is the most important factor following this unsettling turn of events. And that is Iran and by rote its proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah. Make no mistake that they are watching these events with great interest and great delight.
Words mean things in this region. Words are literally matters of life and death. And if there is a perception of separation between the U.S. and Israel, the radical Islamists will pounce. Already, the Obama Administration's abysmal and lackluster effort in reigning in Iran's nuclear weapons program has empowered all of these entities--entities which are undeniably on the rise.
Obama's willingness to "end the debate" and proclamations that it is time to "stop the talking" with regard to domestic policies like Health care reform, Israeli-Palestinian issues, and a host of other initiatives has not carried over to dealing with Iran and its terror masters. In fact, the President of the United States seems all too keen to talk with Iran right up until the point that the nuclear weapons are on the launching pads.
This stark and utterly unfathomable contrast in these actions has not been lost on either the Israelis or on the Iranians. The foreboding tremors rippling from these events suggests a harbinger of coming events.
And the prospect for war, in my opinion, is now greater than ever.
3/16 Updates:
Yehuda Avner, Former Adviser to late Prime Minister Rabin: "Obama repeating 1975 Mistakes; U.S. Painting Israel into a Corner"
Sen. Joe Lieberman and Sen. John McCain: "Quit Attacking America's Friends"
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "Not Backing Down; Jerusalem Will Be A United City"
Khatem Abd al-Kader, Fatah Cleric: "Rallying Cry to Muslims to Save Al-Aqsa; Jews Trying to Rebuild Temple"
Hamas: "Day of Rage Forthcoming"
The visit last week by Vice President Joe Biden was deemed by many Israeli analysts to have gone from tense upon the outset to outright disastrous by the end. The announcement of new construction of settlements in East Jerusalem in what is being called the "Ramat Shlomo" scandal has brought the longstanding relationship into question.
First, I believe some background details are needed to properly convey what has transpired and brought us to this breaking point.
When Vice President Biden arrived in Israel last week, his reception was considered to be cool at best. After having already visited Washington multiple times to meet personally with President Obama, Netanyahu's neutral reception of Biden should be of no great surprise. However, it is believed that elements within the Israeli government considered the Obama Administration's decision to send Joe Biden instead of Obama himself was a "slap in the face" to Israel.
Biden was the first official visitor from the Obama Administration. With the looming threat of Iran, the rearming of Hezbollah, the continuing threat posed by Hamas and Syria, and a stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, it is understandable in my view why Israelis would view the arrival of the Vice President less enthusiastically than the President.
When Vice President Biden was visiting with Palestinian officials in the West Bank, a minister aligned with the Netanyahu-led government announced the construction of 1,600 new housing units in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood of East Jerusalem--a clear "infraction" by the Israelis across what is called the 'Green Line' denoting Palestinian and Israeli territory.
The timing of this announcement was indeed purposeful in embarrassing the Vice President and the United States and should be scorned appropriately. However, it is important to consider that the announcement was done by a member of Shas--the ultra right party that is a part of Netanyahu's coalition government.
What is being missed in the uproar and occasionally petulant turmoil that has ensued is the fact that domestic politics within Israel is at play here. Shas wants to position itself more favorably with the settlers who generally view Netanyahu's Likud party as the strongest party representing their interests.
The announcement by Interior Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) was nothing less than political sabotage against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This is patently obvious.
Following the announcement, Biden, clearly infuriated, showed up to his planned dinner with Netanyahu nearly two hours late. Netanyahu responded by assuring both Biden and the U.S. that the announcement was one of "stupidity not malice."
Considering the implications of such a timed announcement, the pressing issues facing Netanyahu with regard to the existential threat posed by Iran, and the ensuing fallout, I think it's safe to take him for his word.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reportedly went on a tirade over the phone for nearly forty-five minutes when speaking with Netanyahu. And just today, Obama's chief political advisor, David Axelrod, called Israel's actions an "insult" and an "affront."
Michael Oren, Israeli's ambassador to the U.S., is suggesting that the U.S.-Israeli relationship is In A Crisis of Historic Proportions.
So what does all of this mean?
First, Netanyahu is now in a demonstrably unenviable position. He is now being forced to choose between his longstanding political supporters at home who support a unified Jerusalem under Israeli control or the integrity of the longstanding, strategic alliance with the United States.
This means that the support he has enjoyed since taking office last year is in jeopardy of melting away. The fact of the matter remains that most Israelis would rather see Netanyahu lose power than Israel lose its most important and powerful friend--particularly at a time when Israel's very existence remains threatened.
Netanyahu is very aware of this situation. And from what I can gather from Israeli media and Israelis themselves, is that the doubts about the intentions of the Obama Administration are metastasizing into two sharply divided camps: loners and groaners.
Israelis who were suspicious all along of America's new government are now rallying around the "go it alone" mentality. They believed the special friendship with America died when Obama was elected and this past week's developments are merely confirmation of that. Subsequently, Israel is now on its own regardless of whatever platitudes Biden paid in lip-service during his speech at Tel Aviv University.
The second group, which I've dubbed the "groaners," are those Israelis who likely never supported Netanyahu and were never distrustful of Obama. They are the ones who are self-flagellating themselves, lambasting Netanyahu for jeopardizing relations with the U.S., and lamenting the fallout as a sign that Israel must capitulate to all or many international demands in order to keep the United States on her side.
The question remains which of these two groups are the most dominant. And it should also be noted that Israel has complied with all of these demands in the so-called "peace process." They have withdrawn from southern Lebanon and Gaza and have received nothing but death and destruction in return. They have lost over 1,000 of their own citizens to radical Islamists in the West Bank and Gaza. And they have, under Netanyahu, frozen construction of all settlement projects outside Jerusalem for ten months in order to jump-start the stalled "peace talks."
Israel has been making real sacrifices. Sacrifices that often go ignored by people in the U.S. and the moral-equivocating, chattering heads in Europe.
And finally, there is the most important factor following this unsettling turn of events. And that is Iran and by rote its proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah. Make no mistake that they are watching these events with great interest and great delight.
Words mean things in this region. Words are literally matters of life and death. And if there is a perception of separation between the U.S. and Israel, the radical Islamists will pounce. Already, the Obama Administration's abysmal and lackluster effort in reigning in Iran's nuclear weapons program has empowered all of these entities--entities which are undeniably on the rise.
Obama's willingness to "end the debate" and proclamations that it is time to "stop the talking" with regard to domestic policies like Health care reform, Israeli-Palestinian issues, and a host of other initiatives has not carried over to dealing with Iran and its terror masters. In fact, the President of the United States seems all too keen to talk with Iran right up until the point that the nuclear weapons are on the launching pads.
This stark and utterly unfathomable contrast in these actions has not been lost on either the Israelis or on the Iranians. The foreboding tremors rippling from these events suggests a harbinger of coming events.
And the prospect for war, in my opinion, is now greater than ever.
3/16 Updates:
Yehuda Avner, Former Adviser to late Prime Minister Rabin: "Obama repeating 1975 Mistakes; U.S. Painting Israel into a Corner"
Sen. Joe Lieberman and Sen. John McCain: "Quit Attacking America's Friends"
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "Not Backing Down; Jerusalem Will Be A United City"
Khatem Abd al-Kader, Fatah Cleric: "Rallying Cry to Muslims to Save Al-Aqsa; Jews Trying to Rebuild Temple"
Hamas: "Day of Rage Forthcoming"
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Hail to the Sheesh
The temperature was rapidly warming to unreasonable levels. Ryan, Andrew, and myself moved quickly to catch up with the other half of our group.
The three of us were approaching the security gates leading into Tel Aviv University. It was 8:00 a.m. And the Vice-President of the United States was in town.
Back home, we all know him as "Scranton Joe"--a self-assumed label he has worn proudly in his thirty plus years in the U.S Senate. The Israelis have another name for him: "Sloppy Joe."
I prefer the Israeli label if only for its accuracy and creativeness. Well done.
"He just doesn't take crap off anyone," Andrew continued as we crossed Rehov Chaim Levanon.
"Yea, I get the impression that he's someone that goes off behind closed doors," Ryan responded neutrally.
"Biden's just awesome, man!" Andrew blurted out excitedly. Our newest roommate was displaying a degree of misplaced youthful enthusiasm to a degree that I had not witnessed in quite some time. His praises for our Vice President stemmed from having met Biden in person back in 2008 and having had the opportunity to hear a story or two from him.
While most of us haven't had the pleasure (or displeasure) to meet the man, I think it's safe to say that we've all heard plenty of stories from him.
That stated, I understood Andrew's enthusiasm. I did not share it. But it would have been more than a little hypocritical on my part to challenge Andrew on something that I too had been guilty of in the past.
As we moved through the front gate and down past the music studies building, a building guarded by no fewer than twelve child-sized cats, I pulled out my phone and called Tyler.
They were already heading to the ticket line.
***
"I didn't know we were going to have twins," Dustin remarked with a deep laugh.
"Bite me," I replied.
"But my horse is a different color than his!" Stefan protested half-seriously. His French-Irish accent contorted the words into a near indecipherable strand of disbelief.
Both of us were wearing the same baby blue Polo shirt. The indignity of such a fashion faux pas must have been nigh unbearable for Stefan. The French part of him had a flair for high fashion. And it had just been reduced a few levels by the upstart redneck from Alabama.
Matt, Tyler, Pieter, Stefan, and Dustin had gotten to the first check point a few minutes prior. Matt wanted to hear what the Vice-President had to say. As a Green Beret who had served in and out of Iraq for the better part of half a decade, he of anyone deserved to know what the Administration's message was going to be to our best friend in the region with regard to security policy and with regard to the growing Iranian menace--a menace which had claimed hundreds of American lives in Iraq.
We handed our student ID cards in to the two Israelis at the table. They checked our names and put a sticker on the card for the next round of screening.
The line to get inside the auditorium was already expanding into the parking lot when we arrived at the second and last security check point. Israeli special police units and Shin Bet operatives were everywhere.
The Shin Bet is Israel's domestic intelligence/security agency. It's a combination of the FBI, the NSA, and DHS. And their operatives certainly possess a distinct attitude about them; one that suggests that they are Yahweh's gift to the art of kicking butt and taking names. Their placement outside the auditorium and on the surrounding buildings was strategically determined long in advance.
As we began to run through the second security apparatus which resembled a makeshift tent, I couldn't help but notice that the protocol was similar to airport security. We were required to remove shoes and all objects from our pockets. As I walked through the metal detector, a small black-haired, black-eyed Israeli girl stepped out in front of me.
"This whole 'intimidating pretty girl' thing is getting to be a little too routine," I thought with a silent laugh.
"Yesh lecha neshek (Do you have a weapon)?" she asked sternly.
"Lo," I said flatly. "Unless you count Matt. He's pretty dangerous."
Standing in front of me with their arms crossed at their waist were two bald-headed Secret Service agents and a Shin Bet operative. The two American flag lapel pins, amongst other features, stood in stark contrast to the hardened Israeli next to them.
Stefan and I made it through security first. He hustled up to me and asked if those big guys were Secret Service.
"Yea," I said as I looked back. "And from personal experience, I can tell you that they don't have much of a sense of humor."
"Really?"
"I drove in a Secret Service convoy for Sarah Palin during the election. When I asked one of them for an earpiece, he literally stared me down for a solid three seconds before telling me never to do that again."
Stefan started cackling.
"See, I thought it was funny too!"
"Thank God," Tyler announced in marked relief. "We've got air conditioning!"
"And it looks like we've got a while," Matt said as he walked up behind us.
***
"He's really smart and really respected. It's why a lot of Americans really like him. I mean his name is Joe!" Andrew repeatedly emphasized by repeatedly using 'really.' "Like he's an average guy on a lot of levels, but also really respected."
The curly-headed Israeli girl standing behind our group had her arms crossed and was nodding her head in a manner that suggested she was sorry she had ever asked.
"I think he's one of the better guys on foreign policy and..." Andrew continued.
The girl looked over his shoulder at me.
I was shaking my head and mouthing "No." She started to laugh. Andrew turned around and saw Tyler and I leaning against the air conditioner. He couldn't help but smile.
"I take it that you don't agree?" the girl asked in an unusually impressive display of English.
"Yea, all these guys are conservatives or Republicans so they don't exactly see Biden like I do," Andrew said a bit too sheepishly. I almost wanted to encourage him not to back down to me so easily or quickly. Almost.
"Well, as conservatives, we stand for liberty and freedom."
"As opposed to tyranny and oppression?" she countered sarcastically.
"Precisely," I quipped in return. "Gam anachnu ohevim latsood anashim ra'im." (We also like hunting terrorists).
"Well that sounds nice to me," the Israeli girl said as she turned to Andrew.
"I don't know what he said," Andrew uttered with a laugh. "But it sounded nice to me, too...I think. And I just want to clarify that I don't stand for tyranny and oppression!"
"Yea, yea, that's what they all say. Don't believe a word of it," I said, giving Andrew a wink.
We had been standing inside the auditorium for nearly forty minutes. It was almost 9:00 a.m. Biden wasn't expected to speak until 11:30. Ryan and Pieter had peeled off to talk with a few other MAMEH students that had come in behind us. Andrew eventually gave up with the Israeli girl and found a group of fellow undergraduates to hang out with.
The rest of us passed the time by telling jokes and cutting up--mainly with Matt and his experiences in Iraq.
"So there was this guy named Ahmed in this unit of Iraqis that we worked with," Matt explained. "He was a big guy, you know, and these Iraqis were pretty good in a fight. It might have been the only really well-trained Iraqi unit in the entire country, but they were as good a shots as we were by the time we left and had respectable unit cohesion."
"They were Iraqi Special Forces, right?" Tyler asked.
"Yea," Matt answered. "But we had a lot of fun with these guys. I mean the stuff we had to do to keep them on a leash could be made into a comedy."
"So we're flying through Baghdad one day and we're in our trucks and humvees and I get a call from one of my guys in the back of the convoy and I'm thinking 'Great. This can't be good.' And my guy starts yelling and says "Sir, he's doing it again!"
"Who's doing what again?" Matt asked.
"Ahmed!" the other Green Beret replied. "He's tossing flash bangs out into the crowds as we drive by. There's sheep, goats, and merchants running for cover!"
"Damnit! Who let Ahmed have the flash bangs again?!" another Green Beret yelled over the radio.
"I dunno," the initial soldier answered. "But he's certainly having a good time."
Tyler, Dustin, Stefan, and myself are laughing so hard that my side begins to spasm. Matt continued with the Ahmed stories to our utter delight.
One day, they were preparing to blow in a door in an effort to nab a high-value Al-Qaeda target. And before the charges had been finished being put into place, Matt, his men, and the other Iraqi commandos heard a loud yell as Ahmed jumped out of the humvee and charged toward the door.
"You've got to be kidding me," one of Matt's men said.
Sure enough, Ahmed lowered his shoulder and plowed through the door. The hinges collapsed and the door fell straight down with Ahmed laying on top of it!
"Go! Go! Go!" Matt yelled.
"Thanks Ahmed!" one of the Green Berets shouted as he and the Iraqi Commandos charged inside and stepped all over Ahmed's back.
Soon thereafter, the doors opened to the auditorium and we were allowed to go inside. I think all of us could have stood out there and listened to Ahmed stories for a few more hours, but that was not the reason we had come.
An Israeli girl and her boyfriend, in typical display of ignorance with regard to manners, kept shoving Matt, Ryan, and I forward. I flashed annoyance in her direction. She scowled in return.
"Sometimes I think Israelis display the herd mentality of cows," Matt quipped in frustration.
The girl behind him, perhaps overhearing him, shoved him forward a little harder.
"Relax, sweetheart" Matt said. "We're all gonna get there."
***
The auditorium was newly renovated and absolutely massive. Secret Service and Shin Bet operatives had been placed at all entrances and exits. The sheer number of visible security personnel was astounding. The undercover agents were likely just as numerous.
Matt, Pieter, Tyler, Dustin, Ryan, and myself all took up seats on the front row and slightly to the right of the stage. American and Israeli flags draped the backdrop of a large, hastily assembled construction plastered with the Seal of the Vice-President.
Ryan took up a seat to my right while Dustin sat to my left. Tyler and Matt sat on the other side of Dustin, their conversation turning toward all things military.
It was 10:00 and Biden wasn't supposed to be on stage for another hour and a half. Little did we know that he would be nearly forty-five minutes late.
Members of the White House press pool started to file in from the door to our far left (there's some irony for you). Among them was none other than MSNBC's Chris Matthews. He looked tired, unkempt, and wretched. I managed to snap a picture of ole' Chris in what has to be a very unflattering photo.
Andrew had wound up sitting just a row beneath him and quickly turned to talk with him. Stefan had also been funneled further out into the crowd. On the other side of the auditorium, I made out Huoshin and Dominique, both of whom waved and grinned.
Within thirty minutes, Tel Aviv University's auditorium was packed to full capacity. This observation did not immediately register with my faculties due to interference of the worst kind seated in the row directly behind us.
I had not come to this event seeking confrontation. But as usual, confrontation found me.
***
It began as a wildly unbelievable tale regarding a military show from back in the States. One of the men behind us claimed he had witnessed a military demonstration before coming to Israel and was elaborating on the event to his friend. I admittedly began to eavesdrop if only to hear the details.
When I did, I was unimpressed. Neither of these guys had any idea what they were talking about. And that pretty much became the theme for the next ten minutes.
"You actually read that garbage?" one of the guys behind us asked the other. "Thinking men read Haaretz. Jerusalem Post is crap."
"I think the Jerusalem Post is a rightwing publication," the girl to his right commented.
"Aside from that, it's garbage," the man responded.
"A thinking man?" I chuckled to myself. "This coming from a guy who just a few moments earlier claimed he once saw 20 Marines load up into an Apache helicopter? Apaches are used exclusively by the United States Army and are attack helicopters that hold a total crew of...two. Not twenty."
The conversation then took a turn from the comically ignorant to the flagrantly stupid.
"Our last President was a moron," the second kid said smugly. I could hear him crinkle his copy of the Jerusalem Post.
"I mean...I think...you know...the whole terrorism thing can be drawn back to the fact that since the end of World War II, the U.S. has invested in the IMF and the World Bank and has been exploiting everyone around the world," the other managed to utter seriously.
"Yea and we also fully funded the Taliban during the 1980's," the second dude followed up in what I initially thought was an impersonation of the type of staccato conversational transition typically found in Family Guy.
As it turned out, this guy was also serious.
"Think about the fact that the CIA has assassinated all those people and populist leaders in South America," the first guy continued.
"What the HELL are you two vomiting out of your mouths?" I thought as I squirmed ever more uncomfortably in my chair.
Dustin and I exchanged looks of irritation. He could hear them and he rolled his eyes. Ryan also looked more than a little perturbed.
"There was a time when I would have already turned around and made a scene," I whispered to Dustin.
"That makes two of us," he whispered back.
"I mean, Bush tried to kill Chavez in 2002. And the CIA went in there and you know...Chavez was locked up for two days and then was released from prison and was stronger than ever," the man continued.
"Aaaaand...it's go time!" I thought as I flashed Dustin an apologetic look.
"Alright, I'm sorry but I can't just sit here anymore," I announced as I spun around in my seat. The audible groan emanating from Dustin was not so much a sign of disapproval as it was disbelief. Ryan crunched up the issue of the Economist that he had been reading and leaned away as he smirked.
Ryan would later tell me that he had been wanting to turn around and metaphorically blast them the entire time, and that his heart had been in his throat while I opened up on them.
"Everything that you two have said over the past ten minutes has been completely and utterly wrong in every conceivable way."
The second guy, the one now sitting to my left, recoiled. The first guy, the one who thought the CIA was powerful enough to destroy entire governments on a mere whim, leaned forward and spat out a well-rehearsed trigger phrase, "But you don't deny that the U.S. is controlling people with the IMF and the World Bank?"
"What does that even mean?" I countered.
"It's colonialist..."
"Do you even know what colonialism is?" I asked before he had time to spout off another inanity. "We're not some imperialist power that's oppressing native populations through force in order to drain their resources. You want real imperialist powers, look no further than Britain and France in the 19th Century."
"The U.S. invaded Panama to take back the Panama Canal!" the young man continued. It should be noted that this individual was easily thirty years old and could not use misplaced teenage angst as an excuse.
"So let me get this straight. The U.S. invaded Panama in 1989 to retake the Panama Canal? The most powerful country in the history of the world invaded the tiny piss ant nation of Panama, defeated them with a relative yawn, all in an imperialist effort to retake direct control over the Canal, and yet, did not actually take the Panama Canal?" I retorted, incredulity dripping out of my mouth.
"What about the sovereignty of Iraq?" he asked, trying to ignore the flaming corpse of his previous statement. "Did we not invade a country and assassinate their leader?"
"Define sovereignty," I fired back. "Sovereignty usually requires that a nation-state has the backing of the people. In the West, we define sovereignty as having key elements, among them that the will of the people is properly represented by its government. Do you think the will of the Iraqi people was being expressed by Saddam Hussein?"
"Well, I mean, look what we did in Iran in the 1950's with the CIA..." he floundered.
"You mean with Mossadegh?"
"Yea! What do you think caused the Iranian Revolution?" he asked with a raised voice.
Ryan guffawed off to my right.
"Well, seeing as how we're Middle Eastern History Master's students, allow me to elucidate something for you. The people hated the Shah for a variety of reasons, none of which had to do with the CIA's intervention in 1953. The true seeds for the Iranian Revolution began in the Tobacco Protest in 1891."
"I know, but..."
"You know?" I asked in surprise. "Tell me about the Tobacco Protest then."
"Okay I don't..."
"And speaking of Iran, it would have been nice if our President had taken the time to utter three little words, "We support you," when the people were rioting and dying on the streets protesting the theocratic tyrants running their regime last year," I continued full force. "But he was too big of a coward. And he certainly did not then, nor does he now, understand this region." I finished.
Cleanup on aisle two. Can we get cleanup on aisle two.
***
The two guys behind us had very little to say from that point onward. This was understandable if not unfortunate because Biden's speech was nothing more than a lecture disguised as a speech.
He buttered up the crowd with his anecdotes on his father's love for Israel. Then he spoke about Israel's obligations to stop settlements only after he had laid on the compliments in a thick fashion.
It was utterly transparent. And I could tell that he was personally offended at having the Israeli government announce the creation of new settlements while he had been visiting in the West Bank. The move had been intentional by the Netanyahu Administration.
Prime Minister had visited the U.S. three times to meet with President Obama since he had been sworn in in January of 2009. Obama had not returned the favor and had deigned to send the Vice-President instead of himself for the Administration's first official visit to Israel.
Many Israelis disapproved of this decision and were offended at what they saw as a slap in the face. The previous Administration had never faltered in having President Bush front and center meeting with Israeli leaders, both in Israel and at home.
And much of Biden's speech was aimed at defusing the tensions and reassuring Israelis that the Administration's commitment to Israel was just as strong. But it seemed desperate to me.
The Q & A that followed was appalling. The Vice-President took three questions due to time constraints, but babbled on incoherently for ten minutes with each question. He mentioned the success of Iraq, but declined to mention that it had been himself who had originally wanted to carve Iraq up into three separate countries. He skirted the questions and did what politicians do best--talk incessantly without actually saying anything.
But then again, I think the Israelis expected as much out of 'ole "Sloppy Joe."
Waiting for the Vice-President.
Did ya get it, Chris?
Matt enjoying a refreshing energy drink while the Vice-President strings words together.
"Lord, I was born a rambling man!"
Apologies for the blurry pictures. The lighting on the stage was terrible.
The three of us were approaching the security gates leading into Tel Aviv University. It was 8:00 a.m. And the Vice-President of the United States was in town.
Back home, we all know him as "Scranton Joe"--a self-assumed label he has worn proudly in his thirty plus years in the U.S Senate. The Israelis have another name for him: "Sloppy Joe."
I prefer the Israeli label if only for its accuracy and creativeness. Well done.
"He just doesn't take crap off anyone," Andrew continued as we crossed Rehov Chaim Levanon.
"Yea, I get the impression that he's someone that goes off behind closed doors," Ryan responded neutrally.
"Biden's just awesome, man!" Andrew blurted out excitedly. Our newest roommate was displaying a degree of misplaced youthful enthusiasm to a degree that I had not witnessed in quite some time. His praises for our Vice President stemmed from having met Biden in person back in 2008 and having had the opportunity to hear a story or two from him.
While most of us haven't had the pleasure (or displeasure) to meet the man, I think it's safe to say that we've all heard plenty of stories from him.
That stated, I understood Andrew's enthusiasm. I did not share it. But it would have been more than a little hypocritical on my part to challenge Andrew on something that I too had been guilty of in the past.
As we moved through the front gate and down past the music studies building, a building guarded by no fewer than twelve child-sized cats, I pulled out my phone and called Tyler.
They were already heading to the ticket line.
***
"I didn't know we were going to have twins," Dustin remarked with a deep laugh.
"Bite me," I replied.
"But my horse is a different color than his!" Stefan protested half-seriously. His French-Irish accent contorted the words into a near indecipherable strand of disbelief.
Both of us were wearing the same baby blue Polo shirt. The indignity of such a fashion faux pas must have been nigh unbearable for Stefan. The French part of him had a flair for high fashion. And it had just been reduced a few levels by the upstart redneck from Alabama.
Matt, Tyler, Pieter, Stefan, and Dustin had gotten to the first check point a few minutes prior. Matt wanted to hear what the Vice-President had to say. As a Green Beret who had served in and out of Iraq for the better part of half a decade, he of anyone deserved to know what the Administration's message was going to be to our best friend in the region with regard to security policy and with regard to the growing Iranian menace--a menace which had claimed hundreds of American lives in Iraq.
We handed our student ID cards in to the two Israelis at the table. They checked our names and put a sticker on the card for the next round of screening.
The line to get inside the auditorium was already expanding into the parking lot when we arrived at the second and last security check point. Israeli special police units and Shin Bet operatives were everywhere.
The Shin Bet is Israel's domestic intelligence/security agency. It's a combination of the FBI, the NSA, and DHS. And their operatives certainly possess a distinct attitude about them; one that suggests that they are Yahweh's gift to the art of kicking butt and taking names. Their placement outside the auditorium and on the surrounding buildings was strategically determined long in advance.
As we began to run through the second security apparatus which resembled a makeshift tent, I couldn't help but notice that the protocol was similar to airport security. We were required to remove shoes and all objects from our pockets. As I walked through the metal detector, a small black-haired, black-eyed Israeli girl stepped out in front of me.
"This whole 'intimidating pretty girl' thing is getting to be a little too routine," I thought with a silent laugh.
"Yesh lecha neshek (Do you have a weapon)?" she asked sternly.
"Lo," I said flatly. "Unless you count Matt. He's pretty dangerous."
Standing in front of me with their arms crossed at their waist were two bald-headed Secret Service agents and a Shin Bet operative. The two American flag lapel pins, amongst other features, stood in stark contrast to the hardened Israeli next to them.
Stefan and I made it through security first. He hustled up to me and asked if those big guys were Secret Service.
"Yea," I said as I looked back. "And from personal experience, I can tell you that they don't have much of a sense of humor."
"Really?"
"I drove in a Secret Service convoy for Sarah Palin during the election. When I asked one of them for an earpiece, he literally stared me down for a solid three seconds before telling me never to do that again."
Stefan started cackling.
"See, I thought it was funny too!"
"Thank God," Tyler announced in marked relief. "We've got air conditioning!"
"And it looks like we've got a while," Matt said as he walked up behind us.
***
"He's really smart and really respected. It's why a lot of Americans really like him. I mean his name is Joe!" Andrew repeatedly emphasized by repeatedly using 'really.' "Like he's an average guy on a lot of levels, but also really respected."
The curly-headed Israeli girl standing behind our group had her arms crossed and was nodding her head in a manner that suggested she was sorry she had ever asked.
"I think he's one of the better guys on foreign policy and..." Andrew continued.
The girl looked over his shoulder at me.
I was shaking my head and mouthing "No." She started to laugh. Andrew turned around and saw Tyler and I leaning against the air conditioner. He couldn't help but smile.
"I take it that you don't agree?" the girl asked in an unusually impressive display of English.
"Yea, all these guys are conservatives or Republicans so they don't exactly see Biden like I do," Andrew said a bit too sheepishly. I almost wanted to encourage him not to back down to me so easily or quickly. Almost.
"Well, as conservatives, we stand for liberty and freedom."
"As opposed to tyranny and oppression?" she countered sarcastically.
"Precisely," I quipped in return. "Gam anachnu ohevim latsood anashim ra'im." (We also like hunting terrorists).
"Well that sounds nice to me," the Israeli girl said as she turned to Andrew.
"I don't know what he said," Andrew uttered with a laugh. "But it sounded nice to me, too...I think. And I just want to clarify that I don't stand for tyranny and oppression!"
"Yea, yea, that's what they all say. Don't believe a word of it," I said, giving Andrew a wink.
We had been standing inside the auditorium for nearly forty minutes. It was almost 9:00 a.m. Biden wasn't expected to speak until 11:30. Ryan and Pieter had peeled off to talk with a few other MAMEH students that had come in behind us. Andrew eventually gave up with the Israeli girl and found a group of fellow undergraduates to hang out with.
The rest of us passed the time by telling jokes and cutting up--mainly with Matt and his experiences in Iraq.
"So there was this guy named Ahmed in this unit of Iraqis that we worked with," Matt explained. "He was a big guy, you know, and these Iraqis were pretty good in a fight. It might have been the only really well-trained Iraqi unit in the entire country, but they were as good a shots as we were by the time we left and had respectable unit cohesion."
"They were Iraqi Special Forces, right?" Tyler asked.
"Yea," Matt answered. "But we had a lot of fun with these guys. I mean the stuff we had to do to keep them on a leash could be made into a comedy."
"So we're flying through Baghdad one day and we're in our trucks and humvees and I get a call from one of my guys in the back of the convoy and I'm thinking 'Great. This can't be good.' And my guy starts yelling and says "Sir, he's doing it again!"
"Who's doing what again?" Matt asked.
"Ahmed!" the other Green Beret replied. "He's tossing flash bangs out into the crowds as we drive by. There's sheep, goats, and merchants running for cover!"
"Damnit! Who let Ahmed have the flash bangs again?!" another Green Beret yelled over the radio.
"I dunno," the initial soldier answered. "But he's certainly having a good time."
Tyler, Dustin, Stefan, and myself are laughing so hard that my side begins to spasm. Matt continued with the Ahmed stories to our utter delight.
One day, they were preparing to blow in a door in an effort to nab a high-value Al-Qaeda target. And before the charges had been finished being put into place, Matt, his men, and the other Iraqi commandos heard a loud yell as Ahmed jumped out of the humvee and charged toward the door.
"You've got to be kidding me," one of Matt's men said.
Sure enough, Ahmed lowered his shoulder and plowed through the door. The hinges collapsed and the door fell straight down with Ahmed laying on top of it!
"Go! Go! Go!" Matt yelled.
"Thanks Ahmed!" one of the Green Berets shouted as he and the Iraqi Commandos charged inside and stepped all over Ahmed's back.
Soon thereafter, the doors opened to the auditorium and we were allowed to go inside. I think all of us could have stood out there and listened to Ahmed stories for a few more hours, but that was not the reason we had come.
An Israeli girl and her boyfriend, in typical display of ignorance with regard to manners, kept shoving Matt, Ryan, and I forward. I flashed annoyance in her direction. She scowled in return.
"Sometimes I think Israelis display the herd mentality of cows," Matt quipped in frustration.
The girl behind him, perhaps overhearing him, shoved him forward a little harder.
"Relax, sweetheart" Matt said. "We're all gonna get there."
***
The auditorium was newly renovated and absolutely massive. Secret Service and Shin Bet operatives had been placed at all entrances and exits. The sheer number of visible security personnel was astounding. The undercover agents were likely just as numerous.
Matt, Pieter, Tyler, Dustin, Ryan, and myself all took up seats on the front row and slightly to the right of the stage. American and Israeli flags draped the backdrop of a large, hastily assembled construction plastered with the Seal of the Vice-President.
Ryan took up a seat to my right while Dustin sat to my left. Tyler and Matt sat on the other side of Dustin, their conversation turning toward all things military.
It was 10:00 and Biden wasn't supposed to be on stage for another hour and a half. Little did we know that he would be nearly forty-five minutes late.
Members of the White House press pool started to file in from the door to our far left (there's some irony for you). Among them was none other than MSNBC's Chris Matthews. He looked tired, unkempt, and wretched. I managed to snap a picture of ole' Chris in what has to be a very unflattering photo.
Andrew had wound up sitting just a row beneath him and quickly turned to talk with him. Stefan had also been funneled further out into the crowd. On the other side of the auditorium, I made out Huoshin and Dominique, both of whom waved and grinned.
Within thirty minutes, Tel Aviv University's auditorium was packed to full capacity. This observation did not immediately register with my faculties due to interference of the worst kind seated in the row directly behind us.
I had not come to this event seeking confrontation. But as usual, confrontation found me.
***
It began as a wildly unbelievable tale regarding a military show from back in the States. One of the men behind us claimed he had witnessed a military demonstration before coming to Israel and was elaborating on the event to his friend. I admittedly began to eavesdrop if only to hear the details.
When I did, I was unimpressed. Neither of these guys had any idea what they were talking about. And that pretty much became the theme for the next ten minutes.
"You actually read that garbage?" one of the guys behind us asked the other. "Thinking men read Haaretz. Jerusalem Post is crap."
"I think the Jerusalem Post is a rightwing publication," the girl to his right commented.
"Aside from that, it's garbage," the man responded.
"A thinking man?" I chuckled to myself. "This coming from a guy who just a few moments earlier claimed he once saw 20 Marines load up into an Apache helicopter? Apaches are used exclusively by the United States Army and are attack helicopters that hold a total crew of...two. Not twenty."
The conversation then took a turn from the comically ignorant to the flagrantly stupid.
"Our last President was a moron," the second kid said smugly. I could hear him crinkle his copy of the Jerusalem Post.
"I mean...I think...you know...the whole terrorism thing can be drawn back to the fact that since the end of World War II, the U.S. has invested in the IMF and the World Bank and has been exploiting everyone around the world," the other managed to utter seriously.
"Yea and we also fully funded the Taliban during the 1980's," the second dude followed up in what I initially thought was an impersonation of the type of staccato conversational transition typically found in Family Guy.
As it turned out, this guy was also serious.
"Think about the fact that the CIA has assassinated all those people and populist leaders in South America," the first guy continued.
"What the HELL are you two vomiting out of your mouths?" I thought as I squirmed ever more uncomfortably in my chair.
Dustin and I exchanged looks of irritation. He could hear them and he rolled his eyes. Ryan also looked more than a little perturbed.
"There was a time when I would have already turned around and made a scene," I whispered to Dustin.
"That makes two of us," he whispered back.
"I mean, Bush tried to kill Chavez in 2002. And the CIA went in there and you know...Chavez was locked up for two days and then was released from prison and was stronger than ever," the man continued.
"Aaaaand...it's go time!" I thought as I flashed Dustin an apologetic look.
"Alright, I'm sorry but I can't just sit here anymore," I announced as I spun around in my seat. The audible groan emanating from Dustin was not so much a sign of disapproval as it was disbelief. Ryan crunched up the issue of the Economist that he had been reading and leaned away as he smirked.
Ryan would later tell me that he had been wanting to turn around and metaphorically blast them the entire time, and that his heart had been in his throat while I opened up on them.
"Everything that you two have said over the past ten minutes has been completely and utterly wrong in every conceivable way."
The second guy, the one now sitting to my left, recoiled. The first guy, the one who thought the CIA was powerful enough to destroy entire governments on a mere whim, leaned forward and spat out a well-rehearsed trigger phrase, "But you don't deny that the U.S. is controlling people with the IMF and the World Bank?"
"What does that even mean?" I countered.
"It's colonialist..."
"Do you even know what colonialism is?" I asked before he had time to spout off another inanity. "We're not some imperialist power that's oppressing native populations through force in order to drain their resources. You want real imperialist powers, look no further than Britain and France in the 19th Century."
"The U.S. invaded Panama to take back the Panama Canal!" the young man continued. It should be noted that this individual was easily thirty years old and could not use misplaced teenage angst as an excuse.
"So let me get this straight. The U.S. invaded Panama in 1989 to retake the Panama Canal? The most powerful country in the history of the world invaded the tiny piss ant nation of Panama, defeated them with a relative yawn, all in an imperialist effort to retake direct control over the Canal, and yet, did not actually take the Panama Canal?" I retorted, incredulity dripping out of my mouth.
"What about the sovereignty of Iraq?" he asked, trying to ignore the flaming corpse of his previous statement. "Did we not invade a country and assassinate their leader?"
"Define sovereignty," I fired back. "Sovereignty usually requires that a nation-state has the backing of the people. In the West, we define sovereignty as having key elements, among them that the will of the people is properly represented by its government. Do you think the will of the Iraqi people was being expressed by Saddam Hussein?"
"Well, I mean, look what we did in Iran in the 1950's with the CIA..." he floundered.
"You mean with Mossadegh?"
"Yea! What do you think caused the Iranian Revolution?" he asked with a raised voice.
Ryan guffawed off to my right.
"Well, seeing as how we're Middle Eastern History Master's students, allow me to elucidate something for you. The people hated the Shah for a variety of reasons, none of which had to do with the CIA's intervention in 1953. The true seeds for the Iranian Revolution began in the Tobacco Protest in 1891."
"I know, but..."
"You know?" I asked in surprise. "Tell me about the Tobacco Protest then."
"Okay I don't..."
"And speaking of Iran, it would have been nice if our President had taken the time to utter three little words, "We support you," when the people were rioting and dying on the streets protesting the theocratic tyrants running their regime last year," I continued full force. "But he was too big of a coward. And he certainly did not then, nor does he now, understand this region." I finished.
Cleanup on aisle two. Can we get cleanup on aisle two.
***
The two guys behind us had very little to say from that point onward. This was understandable if not unfortunate because Biden's speech was nothing more than a lecture disguised as a speech.
He buttered up the crowd with his anecdotes on his father's love for Israel. Then he spoke about Israel's obligations to stop settlements only after he had laid on the compliments in a thick fashion.
It was utterly transparent. And I could tell that he was personally offended at having the Israeli government announce the creation of new settlements while he had been visiting in the West Bank. The move had been intentional by the Netanyahu Administration.
Prime Minister had visited the U.S. three times to meet with President Obama since he had been sworn in in January of 2009. Obama had not returned the favor and had deigned to send the Vice-President instead of himself for the Administration's first official visit to Israel.
Many Israelis disapproved of this decision and were offended at what they saw as a slap in the face. The previous Administration had never faltered in having President Bush front and center meeting with Israeli leaders, both in Israel and at home.
And much of Biden's speech was aimed at defusing the tensions and reassuring Israelis that the Administration's commitment to Israel was just as strong. But it seemed desperate to me.
The Q & A that followed was appalling. The Vice-President took three questions due to time constraints, but babbled on incoherently for ten minutes with each question. He mentioned the success of Iraq, but declined to mention that it had been himself who had originally wanted to carve Iraq up into three separate countries. He skirted the questions and did what politicians do best--talk incessantly without actually saying anything.
But then again, I think the Israelis expected as much out of 'ole "Sloppy Joe."
Waiting for the Vice-President.
Did ya get it, Chris?
Matt enjoying a refreshing energy drink while the Vice-President strings words together.
"Lord, I was born a rambling man!"
Apologies for the blurry pictures. The lighting on the stage was terrible.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Room Raiders
Immediately prior to my departure home in late January, an event of momentous tragedy occurred which has shifted the entire equilibrium of the MAMEH program. Dominique, (aka The Dominator aka The Quebec Cowboy) yearning the independence that only a separatist can properly muster, moved out of the dorms and into his own apartment. In his wake, there remained only the tattered remains of his roommates and the faintly pungent scent of rotting vegetables in the refrigerator.
Thanks Dom.
Unsure of what to expect with regard to new roommates (most of the undergrads this semester have struck me as Jersey Shore rejects), I decided to play it safe and move into Ryan's room. This has turned out to be an excellent decision on many levels.
Like the Dominator, Ryan is an ideal roommate. We are both on the same wave length in a lot of areas--particularly school, the program, apartment rules, general hygiene, areas of interest, our experiences in Israel, and most importantly, the Lord.
The initial transition was smooth and thus far the new living arrangement has been a tremendous boost in my own productivity. If dorms had personalities, Ryan and I are officially the OCD portion of it. The other half, the half where I formerly resided, has taken on a whole new "personality."
The first of our new roommates, David, is a dual citizen of both France and Canada and has been living in Toronto for the better part of a decade. This is a bit ironic in that technically, he is even more of a French-Canadian than Dom. In this regard, he has single-handedly stolen Quebec's thunder. For this alone we all owe him a debt of gratitude.
David is also Jewish and fairly devout at that. He is a prompt adherent to Shabat rules, kosher living, and reciting the Talmud. He is easy-going, meek, and a much quieter personality than what I've been used to since living in Israel.
David is getting his Masters' degree in Conflict Resolution and is atypical of the stereotypes one might associate with a Frenchman and a Canadian. He carries no ingrained anti-American bias (which seems to be the lifeblood of the French) and possesses a strong affinity toward Israel. He is also a proud supporter of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the conservative leader of Canada. This is admittedly the first Canadian I've met that has openly supported Prime Minister Harper. Needless to say, Dom was not a fan.
Our second new roommate is an undergraduate from New Jersey (not a Jersey Shore reject thankfully) named Andrew. Andrew is a student at George Washington University in Washington D.C., a place where I stayed during my time interning for Congressman Wilson back in the summer of 2007. He has only been here for a week and half and missed several days of school due to an IDF training program.
Andrew spent two months embedded with the IDF receiving field and weapons training. The program is part of an Israeli initiative to appeal to the Diaspora and to hopefully encourage Jews abroad to make aliyah. The unit he trained with is the famous and revered Golani Brigade--a unit on whose back the nation of Israel has been created and defended--defended at great cost to the proud members of the Brigade.
Andrew was keen to show us all video footage of his tenure with the IDF and to tell us stories. He described Golani as being special not just because of their history, but because of the almost fanatical pride of the unit.
Brian, one of the brightest individuals in our Master's program, was a member of Golani and fought during Operation: Cast Lead in Gaza. Brian also happens to be a scion of wit and stylish hair. But that's also for another entry.
Back to Andrew for a moment.
One of Andrew's first days in this training program saw him and other trainees (many from the U.S., South America, and South Africa) sitting in a dining hall with members of the Brigade. Andrew relayed the following encounter to me while we were talking in the kitchen:
"Where are you from?" the soldier asked Andrew.
"New Jersey," he replied.
"New Jersey huh? So you think you're good enough to be in Golani?" the soldier asked. "You think you want to fight with us?"
"I don't know," Andrew replied. "We'll see."
The soldier apparently looked down at his dish (primarily eggs) and took a few bites before looking at the rest of his compatriots at the table. Then he turned to face Andrew.
"I don't think you're tough enough to make it in Golani," the soldier said matter-of-factly. "We're the best. And the Arab knows we're the best."
"Like I said," Andrew responded. "We'll see."
Watching the videos of Andrew's two-month training program, a small part of my mind trailed off and analyzed why Israel would invest in such an initiative. And the logic of it struck me almost as soon as I ventured down that path.
Israel is suffering from a demographic crisis. Orthodox Jews are exempt from the IDF due to religious reasons--reasons which I won't go in to during this post. But the Orthodox are also the fastest growing group within Israel. It is not uncommon to see Orthodox Jewish girls as young as twenty-three with three children. In short, the Conservative and Reform and secular Jews, which comprise almost the entirety of the Israeli Defense Force, are not making as many babies as the Orthodox.
This means the manpower of the IDF is depleting which is a direct threat to its integrity and in turn Israel's overall defensive capabilities. Thus the need to start looking for assistance elsewhere--namely in the Diaspora.
I didn't mention any of this to Andrew as he showed me what was, objectively speaking, extremely awesome video footage of the firing range and small-unit tactics through the harsh environs of the Negev Desert. But I did take a moment to enjoy the current dynamic of the dorm: three Americans, one Canadian. Two Jews and two Gentiles. All with an abiding appreciation for Israel.
A small miracle. But a miracle nonetheless.
Thanks Dom.
Unsure of what to expect with regard to new roommates (most of the undergrads this semester have struck me as Jersey Shore rejects), I decided to play it safe and move into Ryan's room. This has turned out to be an excellent decision on many levels.
Like the Dominator, Ryan is an ideal roommate. We are both on the same wave length in a lot of areas--particularly school, the program, apartment rules, general hygiene, areas of interest, our experiences in Israel, and most importantly, the Lord.
The initial transition was smooth and thus far the new living arrangement has been a tremendous boost in my own productivity. If dorms had personalities, Ryan and I are officially the OCD portion of it. The other half, the half where I formerly resided, has taken on a whole new "personality."
The first of our new roommates, David, is a dual citizen of both France and Canada and has been living in Toronto for the better part of a decade. This is a bit ironic in that technically, he is even more of a French-Canadian than Dom. In this regard, he has single-handedly stolen Quebec's thunder. For this alone we all owe him a debt of gratitude.
David is also Jewish and fairly devout at that. He is a prompt adherent to Shabat rules, kosher living, and reciting the Talmud. He is easy-going, meek, and a much quieter personality than what I've been used to since living in Israel.
David is getting his Masters' degree in Conflict Resolution and is atypical of the stereotypes one might associate with a Frenchman and a Canadian. He carries no ingrained anti-American bias (which seems to be the lifeblood of the French) and possesses a strong affinity toward Israel. He is also a proud supporter of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the conservative leader of Canada. This is admittedly the first Canadian I've met that has openly supported Prime Minister Harper. Needless to say, Dom was not a fan.
Our second new roommate is an undergraduate from New Jersey (not a Jersey Shore reject thankfully) named Andrew. Andrew is a student at George Washington University in Washington D.C., a place where I stayed during my time interning for Congressman Wilson back in the summer of 2007. He has only been here for a week and half and missed several days of school due to an IDF training program.
Andrew spent two months embedded with the IDF receiving field and weapons training. The program is part of an Israeli initiative to appeal to the Diaspora and to hopefully encourage Jews abroad to make aliyah. The unit he trained with is the famous and revered Golani Brigade--a unit on whose back the nation of Israel has been created and defended--defended at great cost to the proud members of the Brigade.
Andrew was keen to show us all video footage of his tenure with the IDF and to tell us stories. He described Golani as being special not just because of their history, but because of the almost fanatical pride of the unit.
Brian, one of the brightest individuals in our Master's program, was a member of Golani and fought during Operation: Cast Lead in Gaza. Brian also happens to be a scion of wit and stylish hair. But that's also for another entry.
Back to Andrew for a moment.
One of Andrew's first days in this training program saw him and other trainees (many from the U.S., South America, and South Africa) sitting in a dining hall with members of the Brigade. Andrew relayed the following encounter to me while we were talking in the kitchen:
"Where are you from?" the soldier asked Andrew.
"New Jersey," he replied.
"New Jersey huh? So you think you're good enough to be in Golani?" the soldier asked. "You think you want to fight with us?"
"I don't know," Andrew replied. "We'll see."
The soldier apparently looked down at his dish (primarily eggs) and took a few bites before looking at the rest of his compatriots at the table. Then he turned to face Andrew.
"I don't think you're tough enough to make it in Golani," the soldier said matter-of-factly. "We're the best. And the Arab knows we're the best."
"Like I said," Andrew responded. "We'll see."
Watching the videos of Andrew's two-month training program, a small part of my mind trailed off and analyzed why Israel would invest in such an initiative. And the logic of it struck me almost as soon as I ventured down that path.
Israel is suffering from a demographic crisis. Orthodox Jews are exempt from the IDF due to religious reasons--reasons which I won't go in to during this post. But the Orthodox are also the fastest growing group within Israel. It is not uncommon to see Orthodox Jewish girls as young as twenty-three with three children. In short, the Conservative and Reform and secular Jews, which comprise almost the entirety of the Israeli Defense Force, are not making as many babies as the Orthodox.
This means the manpower of the IDF is depleting which is a direct threat to its integrity and in turn Israel's overall defensive capabilities. Thus the need to start looking for assistance elsewhere--namely in the Diaspora.
I didn't mention any of this to Andrew as he showed me what was, objectively speaking, extremely awesome video footage of the firing range and small-unit tactics through the harsh environs of the Negev Desert. But I did take a moment to enjoy the current dynamic of the dorm: three Americans, one Canadian. Two Jews and two Gentiles. All with an abiding appreciation for Israel.
A small miracle. But a miracle nonetheless.
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