J.Post October 11: J Street and the Common Denominator

Sir, - Alan Eisner, vice president for communications at J Street, categorically informs us that the "unbreakable bond" between Israel and the United States is in danger of erosion if the "occupation continues." ('No chance Netanyahu, Obama will heal their rift, says J Street,' October 7.) He clearly and unconditionally blames the "occupation" for being the root of all evils, believing its end will usher forth the final redemption. Unfortunately, the J Street spokesman is not only sightless but seems to display a witless naivete about the realities that comprise the complex geopolitical, religious, and social tensions that find their expression in this region of the world.

I challenge Mr. Eisner to relate or find any causal connection between the following news events that were published in The Jerusalem Post on the same day as the appearance of his J Street wizardry, and his theory of "occupation":   'Thousands of refugees in Jordan return to Syria' (Page 7); 'NATO rejects Russian excuse on Turkish air space,' '15 soldiers dead in Aden attacks on gov't targets,' 'Car bomb attacks kill 57 people in Iraq' (Page 8); 'Boko Haram terrorists kill 11 Chadian troops,' 'Pro-Russian Ukraine rebels postpone vote' (Page 9); 'Forces seize M-16 used by Hamas to kill Henkins' (Page 10).

The common denominator for all these events, Mr.Eisner, is not "occupation" but an Islam that has been kidnapped by ruthless murderers who share a culture of death and aggressively force their savagery on the thousands killed in the Twin Towers in the United States, on 250,000 innocents killed in Syria, and the death of the cherished Henkins in Israel.

ZEV CHAMUDOT

Petach Tikva

[Image credit: 

The end of the Yazidis

Sir, - The one thing that we can be certain of concerning the Yazidis is that they are destined for annihilation. They are a people living in northern Iraq whose religion is an amalgam of Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Islam. They have suffered persecution for centuries, and of late have become the target of an extremist group of Muslim fanatics known as ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, who are determined to wipe them out if they do not choose to convert to the true Islam. In the ISIS depraved program for ruling the world and forcibly converting it to a Sharia-ruled Islam, there is no room for contamination by anyone of non-pure Islamic faith.

In their maniacal zealotry, ISIS have slaughtered many hundreds of Yazidis by means of revived dormant cruelties: burying alive hundreds of children, beheading and butchering menfolk, and raping and enslaving countless women.

What is the Yazidis crime? That they are different. What is the crime of the enlightened world? That they let it happen.

ZEV CHAMUDOT

Petach Tikva

[Image credit: Chris de Bruyn]

Islamic Culture of Death Goes Global

Sir - The horrendous headlines that are distributed throughout Sunday's paper confront the intelligent reader with at least two important issues of concern that are deserving of serious attention. Starting on the front page we read, "Bombs kill 42 outside Sunni mosques in Tripoli," and we are further informed, "Suicide bomber targets Baghdad cafe, killing 25," and still further we learn, "Nigerian Islamists kill 44 in northeast." Add to the above the massacre of civilians in Syria and the hundreds of dead in the turmoil in Egypt we are provided unfortunately with conclusive testimony that Islam has been taken captive by a culture of death.

1) The continued heroization of terrorists and the P.A's ongoing incitement to hatred through its schools and mosques would seem to clearly locate them well within the destructive parameters of that culture. Does it make any sense to conduct negotiations with those who do not ascribe any value to the fundamental belief in the sanctity of human life?

2) How can we explain the extraordinary fact of the failure of Prime Minister Erdogan to blame Israel for the murderous bombs described above? Was he, in violation of Sharia law, inebriated? Was he institutionalized for paranoia? Is he possibly doing Tshuva? It is most important for the geo-political alignments in this area to know the answers.

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petach Tikva

[Image credit: Religious Freedom Coalition]

Keep Jerusalem UNITED, Keep Jerusalem JEWISH

Sir, - Gershon Baskin's article is basically another one of Baskin's attempts to deceive and thereby influence the Israeli public towards accepting his perverse pro-Palestinian position.

The attempt at deception begins with the very title "Negotiating Jerusalem, negotiating peace" -- by which Baskin means that he would like to see Israel totally capitulate to the Palestinian position and accept their claims of entitlement to the Old City and East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine. Presently Jerusalem is united under Israeli sovereignty, so the P.A. has nothing to offer at the so-called negotiations other than what exists in Baskin's delusional scenarios.

United Jerusalem as Israel's capital affords unprecedented equal rights and access to all its citizens, as well as full freedom of worship. Throughout the millennia it has never served as the political or religious capital of any sovereign entity other than that established by the ancient Davidic Kingdom or the modern state of Israel. 

The hundreds of years of Muslim dominance in this region have always placed the capital cities in Damascus, Baghdad, or Istanbul -- but never in Jerusalem. Baskin has the effrontery to cite Jordan's annexation of East Jerusalem in 1949, when Jordan joined several other Arab countries in their attack to eliminate the new state of Israel. In the 19 years of Hashemite rule, Jerusalem was never considered its capital. It did, however, manage to divide the city by barbed wire fences and walls that cut off the Old City and the Jewish holy places from Israel and the Jewish world.

Baskin's unmitigated gall continues with his positive approval of the Palestinian position as including the entire Old City of Jerusalem including the Jewish Quarter and the Jewish holy places. He is, however, willing to accept a division of the Old City that would leave the Jewish Quarter under Israeli sovereignty while the other three quarters -- Armenian, Christian, and Muslim -- would come under Palestinian sovereignty. Under what flight of fancy should the Armenian or Christian quarters be turned over to Muslim rule, when faced with indisputable evidence of deliberate Muslim deprivation of the Christian community of Bethlehem and active anti-Christian behavior throughout the Muslim world???

Baskin is most treacherous when trying to tackle the question of the Temple Mount. He makes himself completely oblivious to the harsh reality where the Muslim Waqf absolutely forbids Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount. A Jew is presently not permitted to move his lips without being stopped by Muslim officers. If this shamefully abusive denial of freedom of worship for Jews exists while under general Israeli sovereignty, can any honest and sane person other than Baskin truly believe it would change under Muslim sovereignty? I challenge Baskin to find any recognized Muslim religious authority that would back his claim that Muslim Sharia law permits the Jews to pray in the Temple Mount mosques. 

He goes on, cynically finding support for his anti-Jewish bias in some rabbis from the orthodox world who oppose praying on the Temple Mount. Their objection is based on the state of sanctity of the Temple Mount and their zealous concern that this sanctity not be defiled. He obviously does not understand that their opposition would have to include Muslims as well.

Finally, Baskin -- who is unable to offer any coherent reasons for denying the status quo -- asks the Jews to accept his Palestinian program and wait for the Messiah to solve the difficulties inherent in his myopic views. I too suggest that we all await the coming of the Messiah, but until then a united Jerusalem should and must remain the capital of Israel.

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petach Tikva

[Lower image credit: Wikimedia user Ori~]

J.Post May 29: Responding to London Terrorism

 Sir, – “British PM urges against ‘knee-Jerk’ response to terror after attacks on UK mosques,” (May 24) appeared as a headline in The Jerusalem Post. I would like to suggest that the prime minister’s statement reflects an even more harmful knee-jerk reaction to the terrorist massacre that took place on the streets of London.

Of course, burning down mosques is not the appropriate response to the atrocity, and therefore the PM urges “restraint,” but by doing so he helps divert attention from the despicable barbarous act of attempted decapitation that deserves the full focus of attention.

We owe a debt of gratitude to Seth Frantzman’s article “Nigeria: Why Islamism succeeds, in miniature,”( Terra Incognita, Comment and Features, May 22) wherein with admirable boldness and exemplary lucidity he explicitly stresses that “the resort to compromises merely feeds the illusion that terrorism is part of a legitimate ‘conflict with the state.’ It isn’t. The terrorist goal is mass killing of civilians; its conflict is with humanity.”

The prescient accuracy of Frantzman’s words was dramatically demonstrated with the repulsive terrorism carried out in broad daylight in London [where two converts to Islam stabbed and then decapitated a British soldier. Despite their shouts of "Allahu akbar" and their vowing to never stop fighting in His cause which left not even the slightest doubt that this was a deliberate, murderous, and heartless act of "pure" terrorism, it is important to note that the police shot, but did not kill, the two assailants].

It becomes increasingly obvious that neither dialogue or restraint can serve as a proper or effective response to unadulterated barbarism. Terrorism, says Frantzman must be confronted with the most “disproportionate force” possible and “prisoners should only be released in coffins.”

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petah Tikva

[Image credit: John Pannell]

Jews on Temple Mount Expose Meretz Hypocrisy

Sir, - It is rather ironic that the subject of prayer invites such contradictory and hypocritical responses from Meretz MKs. At least two members of the Knesset from Meretz were among the most demanding and outspoken of those present when the "Women of the Wall," in defiance of Supreme Court decisions and police regulations, chose to conduct their Rosh Chodesh Prayers at the Kotel. They certainly related with complete disdain and total rejection of any claims that their behavior would perhaps stimulate violent reactions from the haredi groups that pray at the Wall on a daily basis and maintain established traditions of behavior and prayer that have been in practice for centuries.

How blatantly and disgustingly different is their reaction to the wish of the new head of the Knesset Interior C'tee MK Miri Regev who states that Jews should be able to pray at the Temple Mount. This would rectify the patently absurd and maliciously discriminatory policy of the Muslim Wakf that presently dictates the arrest of Jews who dare to even move their lips in silent prayer on the Temple Mount. Despite the complete justice and fairness of Regev's attempts to establish a policy of sanity on the Temple Mount, Meretz MK Michal Roisin vehemently states her objection and issues a dire threat about the igniting of a third intifada.

It is about time that Meretz MKs understand that it is not the location where a Jew prays that disturbs the Palestinians, it is rather our very presence that they cannot tolerate.

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petach Tikva

Obama Affirms Israeli Sovereignty in Jerusalem

Sir, - The refusal of Pres. Obama to speak in the Knesset unfortunately lends itself to a broad range of speculative opinions, none of which can be interpreted as favorable to Israel.

However, Obama's choice of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem as his residence for the duration of his trip at least recognizes the Biblical monarch and the presence of Jewish sovereignty in Jerusalem 1,300 years before the birth of Islam.

ZEV CHAMUDOT

Petach Tikva

[Image credit: Mark H. Anbinder]

Microcosm: Mughrabi Bridge Affair

Sir, - The Mughrabi Bridge affair is not merely sad as your sub-caption exclaims, but it provides for us in microcosm the complexities and intolerable injustices that Israelis are subject to in the 'sovereign' state of Israel.

The ironies that now accompany that historical declaration "The Temple Mount is in Our Hands" gives us ample room for reflection about the gut issues of the Israel-Arab conflict. One wonders at the initial acceptance with apparent equanimity of the discrimination that limits access to the Mount for non-Muslims and tourists to only one entrance.

The affair becomes even more poignant when confronted by Wakf police who control the behavior of those who do ascend.

We can finally appreciate the full meaning of the story circulated in New York Jewish circles on the High Holidays when a well known cantor was leading the services. An entrance ticket had to be presented to a guard at the synagogue entrance.

A teen-ager approached the guard on Yom Kippur and explained that he had no ticket but merely wanted to check on the well-being of his grandfather. After much recrimination and deliberation the guard permitted him to enter with an irate admonition, "But I better not catch you praying!"

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petach Tikva

J.Post Magazine August 12: Imam Faisal Rauf on Jewish State

Sir, - Under the guise of a soft spoken and benign demeanor, Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf manages to deliver an equable but unmistakably malevolent message.

He is quite adept in avoiding answers to questions on contemporary issues.When asked about applying sanctions against Iran, he adroitly states that he is in favor of combating radicalism by strengthening the voice of moderation and peace. He provides not the slightest hint about how to do that effectively, and is seemingly oblivious of the real immediate danger that a nuclear Iran presents to the world. He clearly chooses to ignore Iran's hostility to Israel and the calls for its elimination.

When questioned about the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, the Imam states quite cunningly, "Whether the State of Israel was Jewish or Islamic would be a less relevant issue in the future". I dare say that his Muslim ethos would never permit him to insinuate the same indifference if the question was about anyone of the many Muslim states?

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petach Tikva

Still in Exile? Ramadan in Jerusalem

Sir, - I read with considerable interest the article about the Ramadam fast and of its meaning and importance for the Muslim world.

Ramadan celebrations in Jerusalem's Old City

I was greatly dismayed however, to note the complete absence of any mention or referral to the fact that on the very same day, throughout the Jewish world, Rosh Chodesh Av was solemnized. The month of Av ushers in a period of remembrance, mourning, and commemoration for the loss of our Temple, the destruction of Jerusalem, the loss of our national independence, and the start of a period of two thousand years of exile that preceded our return to Zion. These are most significant events in our history and national identity and played a major role in keeping alive the dream of our national redemption.

In addition to my dismay, I was utterly disgusted to learn about the cancellation of the yearly march around the Gates of Jerusalem because of its clash with the Ramadam period.

Who are we? Are we still living in exile?

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petach Tikva      

[Image Credit: Wikimedia user Kmhad]

J.Post January 4: Shabbat in...Gaza

Sir, - The behavior of the Natorei Karta delegates increasingly becomes more bizarre, and perhaps reaches its climax with four of them spending Shabbat inside Gaza (''A Guten Shabbos' in Gaza,' January 3). Undoubtedly, they were able to enjoy a genuinely warm and Torah-filled atmosphere in the intimate company of their terrorist hosts.

However, I wonder if, while the Natorei Karta-ites were assiduously trying to convince our enemies that the terrible tragedy in Gaza was not in the name of Judaism, they gave the slightest thought to questioning their hosts about whether the terrible gut-wrenching suffering of Gilad Schalit and his family is in the name of Islam.

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petah Tikva

J.Post December 1: Lessons From Mumbai Attack

Sir, - With our hearts shattered by the shock of the Islamist terrorist atrocities in Mumbai, I was profoundly dismayed to read 'Israeli officials say India mishandled hostage situation' (November 28). Instead of such gratuitous criticism, the Israeli response should be a sharing of the pain and outrage at this horrible and senseless slaughter.

The world, and Israel in particular, must absorb this clear lesson: Demonic and implacable Islamist terrorism is motivated by a culture of death which, if not eliminated, will go on to threaten all of civilization.

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petah Tikva