Jewish Russian Telegraph

Rick Perry: Chanukah in Texas

In brief: we like this dancing governor.

 

  

posted by: jrtelegraph

Caroline Glick to Bibi: Enough of Looser's Games at the UN, Time To Learn How To Win

In brief:

Caroline Glick shows that Bibi and Co. are playing a loosers game at the UN. Why play with people who are forever ready to change the rules in favor of your adversary? In addition, relinquishing the iron clad Jewish claim on Judea and Samaria and replacing it with security concerns leads to security concerens being defined down every round of negotiations. Meanwhile Israel's friends on the Hill are showing Netanyahu a way to win. Did we forget the meaning of this word?

Caroline Glick on ways to win:

...As for Israel's allies in the US Congress, they have responded to the PLO's UN statehood gambit with two important legislative initiatives. First Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced a bill calling for the US to end its financial support for the Palestinian Authority and drastically scale-back its financial support for the UN if the UN upgrades the PLO's membership status in any way. Ros- Lehtinen's bill shows Israel that there is powerful support for an Israeli offensive that will make the Palestinians pay a price for their diplomatic aggression.

Ros-Lehtinen's bill is constructive for two reasons. First, it makes the Palestinians pay for their adversarial behavior. This will make them think twice before again escalating their diplomatic warfare against Israel. Second, it begins an overdue process of delegitimizing the Palestinian cause, which as is now clear is inseparable from the cause of Israel's destruction.

Were Israel to follow Ros-Lehtinen's lead and cut off its transfer of tax revenues to the PA, and indeed, stop collecting taxes on the PA's behalf, it would be advancing Israel's interests in several ways.

It would remind the Palestinians that they need Israel far more than Israel needs them.

Israel would make them pay a price for their diplomatic aggression.

Israel would end its counterproductive policy of giving the openly hostile PA an automatic seal of approval regardless of its treatment of Israel.

Israel would diminish the financial resources at the PA's disposal for the advance of its war against Israel.

Finally, Israel would pave the way for the disbandment of the PA and its replacement by another authority in Judea and Samaria.

And this brings us to the second congressional initiative taken in anticipation of the PLO's UN statehood gambit. Earlier this month, Rep. Joe Walsh and 30 co-sponsors issued a resolution supporting Israeli annexation of Judea and Samaria.

While annexation sounds like a radical formula, the fact is that Israel already implemented a similar move twice when it applied Israeli law to Jerusalem and to the Golan Heights. And the heavens didn't fall in either case. Indeed, the situation on the ground was stabilized. [Read the whole article]

posted by: jrtelegraph

Rabbi Dovid Margolin: Reflections On The Eve of The Jewish New Year

Dovid Margolin:

a version of this column originally appeared on the JointMedia News Service

As the Jewish year ends and a new year begins, one word dominates: Teshuva – the Hebrew word for repentance. It’s brandied around in synagogues and homes, newspapers and podcasts, but at the end of the day, what is it?

Simply put, Teshuva is a two part process: The first part is the regret of past misdeeds, and the second is the resolve to make things better in the future.

Teshuva is commonly mistranslated as “repentance.” The actual meaning of the word is to “return,” to once again be beloved in G-d’s eyes the way we once were, as if there was never a break in our relationship with Him. In order to achieve this, one must first put an end to their misdeeds. No part of their misdeed may carry on to the new year. It is not enough to merely stop doing the physical action; they must stop their “actions” in words and in thought too.

Additionally, Teshuva has the unique ability to literally change the past. Even though we have committed the sin, Teshuva has the power erase it. How? The answer lies in the fact that G-d is not bound by time. While a person must obey the laws of time and space, the past, present, and future are all the same to G-d.

Through Teshuva a person can take complete control over themselves, including their past, and not only neutralize their past transgressions, but transform them into merits.

Rectifying our actions is but to scratch the surface of what Teshuva can accomplish, for it has the capacity to change the individual, rather than one’s deeds alone. We as Jews are not defined by our external actions, however sinful they may be, rather we are defined by the innate connection to G-d that lies at the center of our souls. We therefore have the ability to take the distinctive power of Teshuva and use it to not only rectify our past transgressions, but to actually reveal our true selves. Through Teshuva we can reach, and reveal that deep part of the Jewish soul that is always openly connected to G-d, regardless of our transgressions.

Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi once said that a Jew neither wants, nor is able to be cut off from G-dliness. This is because our soul has an actual spark of G-d in it, and that spark can never disappear. It must only be revealed.

posted by: jrtelegraph

Do Muslim Students Have A Right To Disrupt and Intimidate Guest Speakers On Campus?

In brief:

Are we in Weimar republic yet? Do students have a right to disrupt and intimidate a speaker they disagree wiht? Do you need to go to college for it? They must be really convinced in the power of their arguments.

Investigative Project on Terrorism:

Jury Gets Irvine 11 Case

by IPT News  •  Sep 21, 2011 at 9:34 am

SANTA ANA - Jury deliberations begin this morning in the case of 10 students charged with misdemeanors stemming from an orchestrated series of interruptions during a February 2010 speech by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren at the University of California, Irvine.

In closing arguments, attorneys on both sides claimed the case is about preserving First Amendment rights. Defense attorneys say their clients exercised their rights to protest. But in doing so, prosecutors say, they violated Oren's right to be heard.

The 10 defendants are among 11 people arrested during the speech. The disruptions were spelled out in great detail by emails distributed by UC Irvine's Muslim Student Union (MSU). They stood up and shouted accusations of murder and genocide at the ambassador, before being escorted out by police. A large group of cheering pro-Palestinian supporters staged a walkout shortly after the students' disruption.

The students' actions violated well-known norms and standards for such a gathering, Deputy District Attorney Dan Wagner said in closing arguments. Multiple admonitions by the professor who organized the event and the university chancellor did not stop the protest, nor did the arrest of each demonstrator. The students believed that their right to disrupt gave them a 'Heckler's Veto' over the ambassador's right to free speech, he said.

Although 10 students disrupted the ambassador, the only limitation to their interruption was a lack of more students willing "to go all the way," Wagner said.

This was not about the students' right to free speech, Wagner said, but rather an attempt to "shut down" the opinions of someone with whom they disagreed.

Defense arguments highlighted the students' right to protest and technical challenges to the prosecution's case. The students' actions were heroic, said attorney Lisa Holder, and the university administration and police had no right to stop their legitimate form of protest.

"Rude in not unlawful, peaceful protest is not unlawful," added defense attorney Jacqueline Goodman.

The defendants supporters cheered many of the arguments, prompted Judge Peter Wilson to threaten to clear the courtroom. But no one was forced to leave. [link]

posted by: jrtelegraph

Moscow Nationalists Join Jews To Protest Palestinian State

The Moscow News:

© Photo Courtesy of press-service of the SHAHAR movement

Moscow protest against Palestinian statehood draws nationalists

by Alina Lobzina at 22/09/2011 17:57

Russian nationalists joined Moscow’s Jewish community for a protest against Palestinian calls for UN membership, which is to be submitted on Friday.

Russian right wing campaigners believe that the future of Israel is crucial for their country, which is also part of the European civilization, “although not very well integrated”, according to Ilya Lazarenko, co-chairman at movement National-Democratic Alliance.

The main aim of yesterday’s rally staged by Jewish youth movement Shahar was to raise their voices against the creation of a Palestinian state without considering Israeli interests.

Christian support

Although the vast majority at the rally was represented Moscow’s Jewish community, organizers believe they managed to draw a wider audience at their protest.

“God loves Israel and so do we,” three middle aged women waving Israeli flags said. They were members of protestant church Derevo Zhizni (Tree of life).

 “I would suggest that a third of the whole assembly today were not Jewish,” Alexander Kargin, head of Shahar’s Russian branch, told the Moscow News. “Here are also some people from Christian organizations, and even representative from the society of Azerbaijan-Israel friendship society,” he said. “Everything’s quite diverse here.”  

Nationalist support

And as for the addition of nationalists, it is not going to exert any negative influence on their movement, organizers of the rally believe.

“Their position on Israel allows us to collaborate with them. I’m not aware of any statements they have made that would damage our reputation,” Roman Kaidin, one of the protest organisers, told the Moscow News. [link]

posted by: jrtelegraph

Video: Elizabeth Warren Channels Karl Marx

In brief:

William F. Buckley Jr. famously said: "I'd rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University."

Please meet Elizabeth Warren, Leo Gottlieb Professor of Law at Harvard Law School.

RealClearPolitics:

Elizabeth Warren: "There Is Nobody In This Country Who Got Rich On His Own"

 

“I hear all this, you know, ‘Well, this is class warfare, this is whatever. No. There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own — nobody," Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) said. Warren is running for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts. Warren hopes to face off with Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) in the general election.

(via Weasel Zippers) [link]

posted by: jrtelegraph

The Case of Sholom Rubashkin: Judges Protect Their Own

In brief:

Convenient justice. Appelate judges ruling about recusal of Rubashkin's judge, judge Reed, sit with her on the same bench on the same day they render ruling in her own case. Cozy, convenient, corrupt. 

 

DesMoinesRegister.com:

Appeals court: Rubashkin doesn’t deserve new trial

11:06 AM, Sep 16, 2011 | by Tony Leys | 

Comments

A federal appeals court has denied a former Postville meatpacking executive’s request for a new trial, saying he failed to show the judge in the case was unfairly biased in favor of the prosecution.

Sholom Rubashkin was convicted in 2009 of 86 fraud charges, which led to a 27-year prison sentence. Rubashkin ran the Agriprocessors kosher meatpacking plant, site of a huge immigration raid in 2008 that contributed to the business’ collapse. One of his lawyers said Rubashkin would appeal today’s ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Photo taken Jan. 26, 2009: A federal agent escorts Sholom Rubashkin, former head of Agriprocessors, left, to federal court in Cedar Rapids for a bail hearing. (Register file photo)

Rubashkin’s case drew national criticism, including from Jewish groups and the American Civil Liberties Union. At one point, six former U.S. attorneys general voiced concern about the harshness of the sentence prosecutors were seeking.

His lawyers said U.S. District Judge Linda Reade should have stepped aside from his trial because she cooperated closely with prosecutors before the immigration raid, showing bias against the plant’s owners.

The appeals court in St. Louis ruled this morning that Rubashkin failed to show Reade was required to recuse herself from the fraud trial. [link]

posted by: jrtelegraph

Yuri Milner Has Got Mail

In brief: 

It is rumored that Yuri has been recently complaining about the cost of living in the Valley. 

Forbes:

Mail.ru Slides As Chairman Yuri Milner Sells $59.5M In Stock



Mail.ru Chairman Yuri Milner has raised $59.5 million through the sale of 1.7 million shares of the Russian Internet company’s shares for $35 each,Bloomberg reports, citing an e-mailed statement from Goldman Sachs, sole manager of the sale.

Via his investment firm DST Global, the billionaire investor holds stakes in Facebook, Groupon and Zynga, among other high profile Internet companies.

The stock sale is clearly weighing on the price of Mail.ru shares; in London trading the stock is down more than 5%. [link]

posted by: jrtelegraph

Jeff Jacoby: Why Palestinians Never Wanted a State of Their Own

In brief:

Why no Palestinian state after a century of trying? Jeff Jacoby states: "The raison d’être of the Palestinian movement has never been the establishment and building-up of a sovereign Palestinian homeland. It has always been the negation of a sovereign Jewish homeland."

PA chose Latifa Abu Hmeid to deliver a letter to UN offices in Ramallah. What did she do to deserve such honor? She is a mother of four murderous terrorists serving 18 lifetime sentences in Israeli jails. A clear example of a mother providing good up bringing, and a clear example of well-intentioned partners in peace.

There is money in fighting them Jews. Say it ain't so mama Latifa. Read on.

Jeff Jacoby:

No to statehood

By Jeff JacobyGlobe Columnist / September 21, 2011

IF THE Palestinian Authority genuinely desired international recognition as a sovereign state, Mahmoud Abbas wouldn’t have come to New York to seek membership in the UN General Assembly this week. There would have been no need to, for Palestine would have long since taken its seat in the United Nations.

Were Palestinian statehood Abbas’s real goal, after all, he could have delivered it to his people three years ago. In 2008, then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert proposed the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state on territory equal (after land swaps) to 100 percent of the West Bank and Gaza, with free passage between the two plus a capital in the Arab section of Jerusalem. Yet Abbas turned down the Israeli offer. And he has refused ever since even to engage in negotiations.

“It is our legitimate right to demand the full membership of the state of Palestine in the UN,’’ Abbas declared in Ramallah on Friday, “to put an end to a historical injustice by attaining liberty and independence, like the other peoples of the earth.’’

But for the better part of a century, Arab leaders of Palestine have consistently said no when presented with the chance to build a state of their own. They said no in 1937, when the British government, which then ruled Palestine, proposed to divide the land into separate Arab and Jewish states. Arab leaders said no again in 1947, choosing to go to war rather than accept the UN’s decision to partition Palestine between its Jewish and Arab populations. When Israel in 1967 offered to relinquish the land it had acquired in exchange for peace with its neighbors,the Arab world’s response, issued at a summit in Khartoum, was not one no, but three: “No peace with Israel, no negotiations with Israel, no recognition of Israel.’’ [Read more]

posted by: jrtelegraph

Perry Slams Obama on Israel Policy

In brief: Rick Perry, a big Texan who is not afraid to take on Obama in defense of Israel. "There is no middle ground between our allies and those who seek their destruction."

 

NRO:

Perry: Obama’s Middle East Policy ‘Naïve, Arrogant, Misguided and Dangerous’

September 20, 2011 12:25 P.M.

By Katrina Trinko    

Flanked by top Jewish leaders and new GOP congressman Bob Turner, Rick Perry positioned himself as radically different from the Obama administration on Israeli policy in a press conference this morning.

Describing President Obama’s policy toward the Middle East as “appeasement,” Perry empathetically laid the blame for the current bid for Palestinian statehood at the White House’s steps.

“We would not be here today at the precipice of such a dangerous move if the Obama policy in the Middle East wasn’t naïve, arrogant, misguided and dangerous,” he said in New York City hotel about thirty blocks south of the United Nations.

Stating that there is “there is no middle ground between our allies and those who seek their destruction,” Perry attacked the administration for discouraging direct dialogue between Israel and Palestine by proposing “indirect talks,” with the U.S. as the go-between. He faulted Obama’s comments suggesting that the two sides discuss a return to the 1967 borders and denounced the administration’s call for Israel to halt building in settlements as a decision that had “put Israel in a position of weakness.” [Read more]

posted by: jrtelegraph