Maay 25, 2024 - Open Your Eyes to Something of Great Importance, Israel, and Climate Change

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It’s a Lot Worse than Just Truth and Lies – Open Your Eyes! 

Telling a lie on TV, or at a press conference, or posting it on a website can get you sued, but it is not against the law.  Republicans do it all the time, and indeed occasionally do get sued by those who can afford to do so.  They sometimes remove the most blatant of their lies from wherever they posted them, but only after they’ve had their desired effect upon their audiences.  An obvious professional liar like Tucker Carlson was dumped by Fox News but has now found a new patron in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, where his lies appear in translation.

But telling lies while under oath in a courtroom or in a Congressional hearing, is another matter entirely.  That can be a criminal offense.  That is why the defeated and repeatedly indicted former president usually disappears when he must swear ‘to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,’ using his lawyers to bring about what appear to be almost endless delays in litigation, allowing him the time and space to tell lies in venues where taking an oath is not required. 

Roy Cohn (who later advised Donald Trum) and Joe McCarthy 

Historically, such tactics were practiced by the late Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s, and led to his exposure as an unrepentant liar when he bit off more than he could chew in attacking the U.S. Army with his anti-communist slurs.  His counsel in his attacks was lawyer Roy Cohn who later provided the same skills to Donald Trump in teaching him how to lie and cheat.  McCarthy and Cohn are long dead (rumored to be caused, respectively, by alcoholism and AIDS) but Trump is still around, refusing to testify in court on his own behalf where truth prevails.  Donald calls his present website ‘Truth Social’ but please, don’t look for any truth there. 

The former president, between court appearances, is running for president again, on the ticket of the once but no longer respectable, Republican Party whose label he has tacked on to what is now actually the Trumpublican Party.  Remaining traditional Republicans, needing the votes of Trump’s MAGA supporters to stay in office, hold their noses and fall in line, before retreating to the bathroom to vomit.  

These are the same Republicans who cannot even get their lies straight.  Initially some lied by blaming the January 6 insurrection on Antifa.  Then, recognizing that lie wasn’t being bought, they briefly condemned the rioters.  But not for long.  Their current lying has morphed into describing the rioters as constitutionally-protected heroes and those already sentenced by the courts for their lawbreaking as ‘hostages’ rather than the criminals they are ... and have been convicted by courts as being.

BUT THE NOVEMBER ELECTION IS ABOUT MUCH MORE THAN TRUTH VERSUS LIES AND DEMOCRATS VERSUS REPUBLICANS.  It is about the future of democracy in the United States.  The upcoming election offers an opportunity to those who feel a more autocratic, if not dictatorial, government would be better for the country and are trying to ditch our present representative democracy in favor of one.  

That is worth repeating: THE NOVEMBER ELECTION IS ABOUT MUCH MORE THAN TRUTH VERSUS LIES AND DEMOCRATS VERSUS REPUBLICANS.  It is about the future of democracy in the United States.  The upcoming election offers an opportunity to those who feel a more autocratic, if not dictatorial, government would be better for the country and are trying to ditch our present representative democracy in favor of one.  

There's no formal conspiracy to do that but their actions make their intentions clear.  Those involved include most of the Republican leadership in both legislative houses and in many state governments along with at least two Supreme Court Justices.  They are out to ditch representative democracy in the United States.

It's no secret to those with their eyes open that the January 6 attack on the Capitol to stop the electoral vote count, the threats to kill the Vice President and the House Speaker, the ennobling of that day’s insurrectionists in the eyes of the Republican Party, the legitimatization of the denial of the results of the election, and the Nazi-like allusions to ‘racial poisoning’ and detention camps for immigrants all echo the tactics of the Axis powers that we fought in the Second World War.  One recent Republican piece, quickly withdrawn last week, even spoke of a new ‘Reich.’ 

Along with this is a disrespect for the rule of law in the highest levels of the G.O.P.   One convicted January 6 rioter from Texas is vying for a seat in Congress.  And Americans should be worried about the appearance of a leather-jacketed Hell’s Angel among those in the courtroom where the former president is on trial in New York. Guess who he was supporting. 

And speaking of that trial, Senators and Representatives also came to New York to be in the courtroom demonstrating their loyalty to the former president and making speeches outside of the courthouse where he stands accused of cooking the books to hide an illegal bribe to keep a porn star’s mouth shut before the 2016 election.  A Supreme Court Justice flies an American flag upside down, a traditional sign of distress, over his lawn to show his lack of faith in the rule of law.  He also flew the ‘Pine Tree’ flag over his beach house in NJ, a banner used by Christian Nationalists who have little faith in the First Amendment and as a plea to heaven to ‘Stop the Steal’ of the 2020 presidential election, which that flag has come to represent.  Millions of Americans are wondering if the loyalty of Supreme Court Justices and Federal Judges rests with that rule of law or with the President that appointed them.  

None of this is being hidden by those who want to destroy our democracy. The signs are all around us, if you watch carefully.  They are sometimes subtle.  The whitewashing of the Mueller Report (remember that early attempt to corral Trump) was an early warning.  When Trump’s AG, Bill Barr, blunted its edges, sirens should have been wailing.  And today, here’s an example:  A new gasoline station in my neighborhood included in its prominent corner landscaping an American flag flanked by a Florida State flag and a black POW/MIA flag.  This was not a way of selling gasoline. It’s the proprietor’s legal way of advertising the conservative, if not reactionary, rights of States to oppose a Federal government that works to benefit all Americans.  It is intended to stoke MAGA voters with the anti-communist hysteria that was directed at opponents of the Vietnam War half a century ago.  There are no longer POWs or MIAs in Vietnam, where a lot of our clothing is now manufactured, so why fly that flag any longer?  Think about it.

All of this is legal, but that is what the flags really mean and needless to say, it will be a cold day in hell before I patronize that gas station, although Joe McCarthy and Roy Cohn would, were they alive.  Keep your eyes open.  The signs are all around you … and of course read or re-read the recent Time Magazine interview in which Donald Trump included them in his own words! CLICK HERE to re-read it or navigate to   https://time.com/6972021/donald-trump-2024-election-interview/

Defeating the foes of democracy will not be automatic.  It will not be easy.  Your votes and hard work are required.  But I feel that most Americans know better than to fall for this neo-fascist crap and will, I hope, vote for ‘truth’ in November, sending Donald John Trump, in the words of poet William Ernest Henley, back ‘to the vile dust from whence he sprung, unknown, un-honored, and unsung,’ along with all of the MAGA trash that support him, especially in the States of the Confederacy, supposedly but not really, defeated in 1865.

If this posting doesn’t start your blood boiling, check out Heather Cox Richardson’s ‘Letters from an American’ dated May 23. It relates today’s challenges to Abraham Lincoln’s 1858 ‘House Divided’ speech. (She writes it late in the evening and it usually appears the next day.)  I recommend that everyone reading this right now make sure that they are receiving her daily postings every day!   They are free unless you want to add your comments to them.)  If anything should be ‘required reading' for today's American patriots, her postings qualify! 

Just CLICK HERE to reach that May 23 posting or find it yourself at https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/may-23-2024-9ac .  Mark Twain once pointed out that while history doesn’t repeat itself, it frequently rhymes.  Yes, it does.  That is why history is important.

And please, don’t forget to sign up to receive each free daily posting of ‘Letters from an American’ from Professor Richardson at https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/by or by https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/by CLICKING HERE.

 

JL 

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Israel’s Extremists

Before reading on, let me make one thing clear.  In order to defeat a foe in a war, the deaths of innocent civilians unavoidably occur. It has always been that way.  In World War Two, the deaths of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Germans and Japanese civilians took place in order to rid the world of the evil governments that they had allowed to control their countries.  Tragically, this is what is happening right now in Gaza.  Were it otherwise, it would amount to telling aggressors that their deeds might go unpunished and enhance the chances of their aggression attaining its goals. That’s why demands for a ‘cease fire’ ring hollow in many ears.  They amount to telling Hamas that they won!

The preceding Jackspotpourri posting included the New York Times Magazine’s major article on how extremists took over the government of the State of Israel, with whose policies I strongly disagree, except for their insistence on defeat of Hamas despite the unavoidable deaths of innocent Palestinians among whom Hamas militants are intentionally embedded.  I did not include my opinion as to where this will lead.  But I did make a comment directly to the Times’ website concerning the magazine piece.  It assumes that however the conflict in Gaza with Hamas is resolved, or at least stabilized, there will be elections in Israel that will remove Benjamin Netanyahu from office.  Here is what I wrote: 

‘When there are elections in Israel, a new government will try to get the settlers and their supporters to obey the laws. If the IDF, the police, and the Shin Bet, under that new government, cannot do that, there will be civil war among Jews in a country where everyone is armed. Strong, unshakable faith in one's religion, regardless of what it is, has never led to peace.’  

On numerous occasions, I have written that there must be a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians.  It would require full recognition of the permanence of the State of Israel by all Muslim nations and the Palestinians and a recognition by Israel that Jewish settlements have no place in the territory that will comprise the Palestinian state, including those already there.  Both would be big steps forward, requiring basic changes in the positions of both sides.  I do not expect that to happen in my lifetime, but it will happen. Any other solution is a recipe for continued war and conflct, and the tragedy of additional civilian deaths, something neither Israelis nor Palestinians want. 

Part of the problem is that too many Muslims and too many Jews act on a ‘strong, unshakable, faith’ in their religions, preventing them from understanding the other side’s position.  (Christians are not immune from this pitfall either.)  I strongly suspect that the Creator of all mankind does not want it that way and frowns upon those whose deep devotion causes misery to others. Not taking the beliefs of one’s religion too literally is probably the best course for those who are among the truly religious.

 JL                                                    

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 How One State Successfully Deals with Climate Change 

I emailed the following letter to the Palm Beach Post the other day.  Afterwards, I realized that the Florida voters who keep Republicans in power in Tallahassee are so dumb that, if it is published, they will probably take it seriously. 

  ‘When I read in Monday's Post that the spreading crisis in homeowners insurance throughout the nation is attributed to 'climate change,' I thanked my lucky stars that I live in a State where that cause has been eliminated through the wisdom of Florida's legislature and its governor's foresight.  Effective July 1, according to HB1645, the words 'climate change' will be erased from several state statutes and removed  from being a priority in Florida's energy policy.  The rest of the country should be so lucky.’      

Perhaps the Republicans in Tallahassee can do the same with cancer, diabetes, Alzheimers, and heart disease.  All it would take is their voting to dump these diseases into the same wastebasket where they just dropped climate change.  Poof ... like magic, they're gone!! 

JL                                                      

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Housekeeping on Jackspotpourri 

Strange “Hits’!  The large number of those accessing Jackspotpouri from Singapore has suddenly ceased. In their place, however, there have appeared large numbers of ‘hits’ on each posting in the hundreds, and as was the case with those from Singapore, but this time from Hong Kong!  I suspect that the Chinese are playing around with internet transmissions, possibly to try to identify who is reading them.  

Email Alerts:  If you are NOT receiving emails from me alerting you each time there is a new posting on Jackspotpourri, just send me your email address and we’ll see that you do.  And if you are forwarding a posting to someone, you might suggest that they do the same, so they will be similarly alerted. You can pass those email addresses to me by email at jacklippman18@gmail.com. 

Forwarding Postings: Please forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it. Friends, relatives, enemies, etc.

If you want to send someone the blog, you can just tell them to check it out by visiting https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com or you can provide a link to that address in your email to them. 

There’s another, perhaps easier, method of forwarding it though!   Google Blogspot, the platform on which Jackspotpourri is prepared, makes that possible.  If you click on the tiny envelope with the arrow at the bottom of every posting, you will have the opportunity to list up to ten email addresses to which that blog posting will be forwarded, along with a brief comment from you.  Each will receive a link to click on that will directly connect them to the blog.

Either way will work, sending them the link to https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com, or clicking on the envelope at the bottom of this posting.

Again, I urge you to forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it, particularly if they are a registered voter.  This is an election year.  Spread the word. 

JL

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May 19, 2024 - Justices' Spouses, Brown vs. B. of E. and 14th Amendment, Israeli Extremism, You're the Jury, Hamilton, Franklin, and Baseball Trivia

 

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A Solution for Mrs. Thomas and Mrs. Alito

It looks like Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s wife was the instrumental one in hanging an upside-down American flag in their yard.  She joins Justice’s Clarence Thomas’ wife in providing us with a prejudiced SCOTUS. You can’t tell me that these spouses cannot influence their husbands.  We cannot have SCOTUS decisions based on ‘pillow talk.’  Justice Alito is as much out of tune with America as is Justice Thomas.  Unfortunately, demands that these two prejudiced Justices recuse themselves on certain cases has repeatedly failed.

 

Upside-down flag on Justice Alito's
lawn is a sign of distress

Perhaps it would be best to insist that on appointment to the SCOTUS, all married Justices were required to file for divorce. 

JL

 

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Brown vs. Board of Education Anniversary 

Friday marked the seventieth anniversary of the Brown vs Board of Education decision, desegregating schools, based on the Fourteenth Amendment. 

Heather Cox Richardson’s posting (dated May 16) on ‘Letters from an American’ chronicles the efforts of the Republican Party to destroy democracy and the intent of that Amendment.  Each day provides us with more and more proof that the most un-American organization in the country is the Republican Party.  Check it out at https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/may-16-2024/comments or by CLICKING HERE to learn about the undemocratic movements of which that party consists or represents.  At a minimum, it makes it clear that a vote for any Republican is a vote against the Constitution and of course, the Declaration of Independence.

JL

 

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Israeli Extremists are the Problem

Should American support of Israel include silence about the role of extremists, upon whom Benjamin Netanyahu depends to remain in office?  Check out how the Israeli government, now controlled by them, supports lawlessness on the West Bank, preventing a real solution for the Palestinians from taking place, a step necessary to assure peace for Israel. Here is a short New York Times piece on the problem.  If you cannot read it due to a possible Times ‘paywall,’ send me an email and I will get it to you.  It is an important article.  But first try CLICKING HERE or visiting https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/16/briefing/how-israeli-extremists-won.html 

While this Times article summarizes the situation, the full investigation upon which it is based appeared in the Times’ weekly magazine section.  It is not a quick read but it is essential to understanding how it came to be that millions of Israelis stand in the way of what might be lasting peace there.  (Months ago, Jackspotpourri offered a ‘two-state’ solution that addressed this problem.)  

The Times Magazine article is in no way a pro-Hamas or pro-Palestinian piece, but it certainly attacks those who control Israel’s present government and who cannot deny partial responsibility for the problem. 

The full Times investigation in that article, stressing the failure of Israel to punish armed right-wing extremists who ignore that nation’s laws, can be found at 

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/16/magazine/israel-west-bank-settler-violence-impunity.html?campaign_id=190&emc=edit_ufn_20240517&instance_id=123698&nl=from-the-times&regi_id=78918068&segment_id=167012&te=1&user_id=02fa158150d34dc186b01b1b8ec7a224  or by CLICKING HERE.

Possibly illegal roadblock in Israel
between Israeli and Palestinian communities

JL

 

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You Will Be the Jury

My respect for the legal profession keeps sinking when I see some of the graduates of law schools ignoring the rule of law upon which this country was based.  Some of them use the skills they learned there to obstruct that rule of law in the courtroom and some of the worst of them have been elected or appointed to public office where they specialize in obstructing legislation that supports such rules. 

They have delayed litigation in Federal courts in Florida and the District of Columbia, and in State court in Georgia because they know that were this litigation to reach the trial stage, they would either lose there or even without losing, it would bring highly unfavorable information about the defeated, former president, currently running for the presidency in November, into the spotlight. 

Similarly, even if they are able to avoid his conviction in the ongoing New York State case concerning ‘hush-money’ payments, enough unfavorable information about the defendant is being revealed to diminish his chances in November.  That’s why, in their apparently losing efforts, his defense counsel’s efforts are primarily directed at discrediting the prosecution’s witnesses, there being little factually to contest.  Facts are facts, and even liars occasionally speak the truth. 

Which means that in view of deficiencies in our legal system brought about by such lawyers, it comes down to five words that describe how this all will end.  On November 5, 2024, YOU WILL BE THE JURY!

JL

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Quoting Hamilton and Franklin

A recent New York Times column by Charles Blow quoted Alexander Hamilton’s letter to George Washington in which he wrote that ‘the only path to a subversion of the republican system of the country is by flattering the prejudices of the people and exciting their jealousies and apprehensions, to throw affairs into confusion and bring on civil commotion.’  That is exactly what the former, defeated president does! 

Blow also quoted Benjamin Franklin’s words: ‘freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government: when this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved and tyranny is erected on its ruins.’ 

Many years ago, these Founding Fathers knew the score, and their words ring clearly today.  If they were alive today, where would they be interviewed? On Fox or on MSNBC?

JL

 

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The Dirt Strip

But enough of serious matters.  Let’s take a look at what used to be our national pastime, baseball.  The empty seats in many major league ballparks, contrasted with the full houses at NFL games, and the relegation of baseball news to the margins of the nation’s newspapers’ sports sections, are evidence of this demotion of baseball.  But it still has millions of fans, of which I am one.  So here follows a bit of baseball trivia: 

In the English game of cricket, from which baseball may be loosely described as a descendant, there is a dirt strip running from the bowler’s (the pitcher’s) place to the defending batsman, so that a struck ball would bounce on a smooth surface. Early baseball games were played on existing cricket grounds with that dirt strip.  Since there is always some foot traffic during a baseball game between pitchers and catchers, with umpires also sometimes making that trip, that dirt path avoided the problem of keeping the infield grass well maintained there, resulting in that strip surviving in many ballparks for many years.  

Nowadays, teams don’t mind that extra work, but one major league ballpark (until recently there were two) still maintains that dirt path, probably for the sake of tradition. Five years ago, the Arizona Diamondbacks removed the dirt strip at Chase Field between the pitcher and the batter, but one Major League ballpark still maintains it.  Can you name it?  

And while on the subject of baseball, let me make it clear that I never root for a team that does not put the names of the players on the backs of their jerseys.   Most fans can recognize their home teams’ players by sight, but this is not true of the visiting team.  TV commentators don’t always mention them either unless they are at bat or pitching.  I have always paid little attention to the New York Yankees because for years they have not included names on their jerseys.  (The Mets’ jerseys, of course, do include their names.)  

As of Friday, two New York Yankees had batting averages of exactly .269.  Here are their pictures.  One is recognizable as Aaron Judge. Can you identify the other guy?  It's difficult without their names appearing on their jerseys.

Aaron Judge

 

WhatsHisName

    

 

JL

 

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Housekeeping on Jackspotpourri

Strange “Hits’!  The large number of those accessing Jackspotpouri from Singapore has suddenly ceased. In their place, however, there have appeared large numbers of ‘hits’ on each posting in the hundreds, and as was the case with those from Singapore, but this time from Hong Kong!  I suspect that the Chinese are playing around with internet transmissions, possibly to try to identify who is reading them. 

Email Alerts:  If you are NOT receiving emails from me alerting you each time there is a new posting on Jackspotpourri, just send me your email address and we’ll see that you do.  And if you are forwarding a posting to someone, you might suggest that they do the same, so they will be similarly alerted. You can pass those email addresses to me by email at jacklippman18@gmail.com.

Forwarding Postings: Please forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it. Friends, relatives, enemies, etc.

If you want to send someone the blog, you can just tell them to check it out by visiting https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com or you can provide a link to that address in your email to them. 

There’s another, perhaps easier, method of forwarding it though!   Google Blogspot, the platform on which Jackspotpourri is prepared, makes that possible.  If you click on the tiny envelope with the arrow at the bottom of every posting, you will have the opportunity to list up to ten email addresses to which that blog posting will be forwarded, along with a brief comment from you.  Each will receive a link to click on that will directly connect them to the blog. 

Either way will work, sending them the link to https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com, or clicking on the envelope at the bottom of this posting.

Again, I urge you to forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it, particularly if they are a registered voter.  This is an election year.  Spread the word.

JL

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May 15, 2024 - The Political Locomotive, Antisemitism, the Palestinian Solution, Cowboys, and a Thomas Friedman Column

 

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The Locomotive is Rolling On

In Florida, November’s ballot will include an amendment (requiring a super-majority of 60%) to the State Constitution guaranteeing a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion.

I believe it will pass, and more importantly, it is likely to bring enough voters to the polls so that it might serve as a ‘locomotive,’ pulling a string of cars along behind it.  

These ‘cars’ are carrying Florida’s 30 presidential electors (third most of all States), Democratic Senatorial candidate Debbie Muscarsel-Powell, and numerous Democratic Congressional and State legislative candidates. 

There’s a lot at stake because a ‘yes’ vote for Amendment Four can thereby conceivably help bring about a continuing Democratic White House and Senate  majority, plus control of the House of Representatives and the Florida State legislature as well! 

ALL ABOARD!

                                                          

 JL

 

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One Reason for Not Voting Republican

The House Speaker, and numerous Republican Congressional leaders, showed  up the other day at the defeated former president’s ‘hush money’ trial in New York to say, outside of the courtroom, the things Judge Merchan’s gag order has prevented the defendant from saying.  This made it clear that the Republican Party is willing to place itself in opposition to the federal and state legal systems that are foundational to the U.S. government and a cornerstone of democracy. There is no question that they prefer something more autocratic than the ‘rule of law.’

JL

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Another Reason for Not Voting Republican

The previous posting on Jackspotpourri chastised South Carolina Senator Tim Scott for refusing to commit to accepting the results of the 2024 presidential election, whatever they may be.  The real harm that this does is that it presents the American public with the idea that it is perfectly acceptable to deny the results of an election with which they disagree, without any basis whatsoever, other than their disagreement with it. 

‘Gee whiz, if a Senator can think this way, I can too,’ they believe!  This is the position, unfortunately, of too many Republican voters and elected officials.  It is damaging to democracy and reason enough to vote against any and all Republicans who take similar positions.

JL

 

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 And now, getting to the hard stuff ... the 'heavy lifting' part of this posting.

Antisemitism 

Antisemitism is a subject that needs to be discussed.  That word is thrown around frequently and not always in the same context.  There are a lot of ways to getting into that discussion. Few are easy.  Here is one way that I tried recently.   

A ‘Your Turn’ guest columnist in the Palm Beach Post, who happened to be Jewish, recently accused American Jewish organizations of labeling those demonstrating against Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas from Gaza, as antisemites.  The writer clearly agreed with the demonstrators and felt accusing them of antisemitism on the part of the Jewish ‘establishment’ was an act of desperation.  I wouldn't go that far, but certainly some clarification was needed so I wrote the following letter to the Post (still unpublished): 

'The Post’s guest columnist in Friday’s ‘Your Turn’ strongly objected to those who accuse the movement for Palestinian justice of antisemitism.  Throughout history, those who harbor a hatred of Jews, which some define antisemitism as being, have rarely hesitated to take advantage of other movements to manifest that hatred. The 'Unite the Right' demonstration in Charlottesville in 2017 was an excellent example.  When Palestinians speak of a Palestine ‘from the river to the sea,’ as Hamas does, demanding the elimination of the State of Israel, some antisemites do not hesitate to join in supporting their activities. Recognizing that fact is not an ‘act of desperation’ on the part of Jews or Jewish organizations but only seeing things as they are.'

                                                        *  * 

There are many definitions of antisemitism.  Look them up. ‘A hatred of Jews’ is one. And it exists independently from the demonstrations referred to in my letter.  My guess as to where that ‘hatred of Jews’ originates centers on two sources, (1) theological and (2) commercial. 

When Christianity developed out of Judaism about two millenniums ago, many Jews refused to accept Jesus as the Messiah predicted in the Hebrew scriptures, politely referred to as the ‘Old Testament.’  Despite efforts to convert them, they were obstinate in their refusal to accept Christ’s divinity as the son of God.  As governments became ‘Christian’ (Rome for example), this defiance took on almost criminal aspects, and Jews became isolated and eventually hated for it.  Such hatred even led to their expulsion from entire countries (Spain and Portugal) and even to events like the Inquisition (throughout Europe) where denying Christ’s divinity could get you burned at the stake. That I see as one source of antisemitism. 

Beyond this theological basis for antisemitism, economic restrictions were placed on Jews by some ‘Christian’ governments.  They were kept out of the professions and most businesses.  But Jews were still permitted to engage in those commercial activities forbidden to Christians according to their interpretation of the Bible, the prime example of which was a prohibition on usury or charging interest (see Deuteronomy 23:19).  This opened the door to Jews becoming involved in money-lending (politely called ‘banking’) and profiting from buying and reselling goods made by others that they were not permitted to create on their own by their governments. In many economies, they became ‘middlemen,’ often functioning as shopkeepers.  

In this manner, many medieval Jews avoided poverty, some even becoming wealthy.  This drew the resentment of those who were not able to accumulate wealth from engaging in such mercantile activities as Jews were allowed to do, but which to Christians might be sinful.  This resentment grew, over the years, into a hatred of Jews for having what they felt were ill-gotten gains. See Shakespeare's 'Merchant of Venice' as an example, where the name of the Jewish character, Shylock, has come to define this view of Jews. 

I see one or both of these two explanations as the basis of all antisemitism.

When an antisemite, as defined above, encounters a situation in which he or she sees an occasion that might lead to Jews being harmed, or made to look culpable of a crime, they jump into action and take advantage of it, even licensing them to commit acts of violence against Jews.  These are not antisemitic situations in themselves but do provide an environment where antisemitism can flourish. Such situations occur, even if there were no such a thing as antisemitism! The attack by Hamas on Israel and Israel's reaction to it, both bringing Israel's relationship with Palestinians to the fore, is such a situation. 

The presence of antisemites in the protests against Israel’s retaliation against Hamas’ October 7 attack does not  make them antisemitic protests, despite some protesters’ inability to make this distinction.  Accusing Israel of genocide, even if brought about by Hamas’ embedding their military facilities in civilian environments is a far stretch, but it still provides a fertile area for the involvement of antisemites.  Incidentally, this creates a problem for Jewish protesters in these demonstrations who suddenly find themselves susceptible to charges of being ‘self-hating Jews.’  Stretching a point, some Jews must even wonder if a Jew who disagrees with the policies of the State of Israel can be considered an antisemite? If so, there are many Israelis who fit this definition. 

Other examples of this include the execution of the Rosenbergs in the 1940s for giving nuclear secrets to Russia. Antisemites jumped in and made certain that the public knew they were Jewish.  Similarly, during the last century, antisemites made certain that it was made clear that Leopold and Loeb, accused of murder in Illinois, were Jewish, and when Leo Frank was lynched for a murder he didn’t commit in Georgia, ultimately with the assistance of antisemites, was it because Frank was Jewish?  In the 1950s, did the fact that Goodman and Schwerner, two of the three ‘freedom riders’ assassinated in Mississippi while working for racial equality, were Jewish, make their murderers antisemites? Or did other motivations, beyond the ‘hatred of Jews,’ also exist in these instances? The borders of antisemitism are fuzzy and ill-defined as these examples suggest. 

This was not limited to the United States.  In France at the end of the Nineteenth century, military information supposedly fell into the hands of the Germans and a French officer, Captain Alfred Dreyfus, was accused and convicted, questioning his loyalty to France.  The whole affair was a ‘frame-up’ and after many years, he was ultimately exonerated, but the fact that he was Jewish for years gave grist to the mill of antisemitism in France, some of which even persists today. 

There are some fine distinctions to be made in determining when something is truly a purely antisemitic act, directly manifesting a hatred of Jews, such as the Holocaust, or just an occasion when antisemites find something they can latch on to and get a free ride for their ideas, like many of the demonstrations on college campuses, or clear-cut criminal activity by criminals who happen to have Jewish names.  (This also is applied to Italians, but that is another story.) 

At a minimum, this gives us food for thought.  And I hope my remarks have not offended anyone. 

JL

 

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Restating My Position on Israel

It is not a great leap from discussing antisemitism to contemplating the war in Gaza.  Ending the war in Gaza leads directly into the larger question concerning the future for Palestinians.  This might be a good time to restate my personal views on that, as I have done on several occasions in Jackspotpourri. 

It is a fact that there is a Palestinian population in the territory that once comprised the British Mandate there that approaches in size the larger Jewish population in Israel.  Any one-state solution (either contemplated by Israel or by a Palestinian group) would leave an enormous unwelcome population, that would either emigrate if possible, or remain as a second-class, persecuted minority.  This assures that there would not be peace there.  So, it must be accepted that there cannot be a one-state solution for the Palestinian/Israeli question.  

A two-state solution is the only answer.  That could be accomplished if all Arab states, including those following Iranian orders, agreed to permanently accept the existence of the State of Israel in exchange for Israel gradually abandoning its settlements in the area (West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem) that would constitute the Palestinian state.  The two states would cooperate peacefully with each other in regard to customs and trade, as is the case with the nations in the EU and the UN would in no way be involved.

Each side would have to make significant changes in their present approach to reach a solution.  Conceivably, it might bring about a civil war in Israel and most certainly, it would require Palestinians to forget about their 'river to the sea' imagery.  

I have been saying this for months but now I see that Ehud Olmert, former Israeli Prime Minister, is going down that path as well.  He recently wrote about this in H’aaretz, Israel’s leading ‘liberal’ newspaper. (Olmert was jailed after his term as PM for financial activities not unlike those that Bibi Netanyahu fears would put him in jail, only avoided by his support of right-wing zealots in the Knesset whose loyalty he has bought with his support of their dead-end one-state solution.)  CLICK HERE to read the H’aaretz article or read it by copying and pasting this link on your browser line:

https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2024-05-11/ty-article-opinion/.premium/the-gaza-wars-final-scene-and-beyond-this-is-what-israels-endgame-should-be/0000018f-6943-d284-adaf-7d7f58670000?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=Content&utm_campaign=daily-brief&utm_content=faa596c27d

JL

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Tom Friedman Sees Netanyahu as the Problem

President Biden is attempting to continue the United States’ support of the State of Israel while acknowledging the need to reduce the loss of too many Palestinian lives in Gaza, where Hamas’ militants intentionally are placed within civilian environments, resulting in Palestinians being killed in Israeli attacks on Hamas militants. The only tool Biden seems to have is the supplying of weapons to Israel.  Right now, he is limiting supplying certain bombs to the Israelis, but continuing supplies of other ordnance. 

Discussions of this between Biden and Netanyahu seem to run in circles, mostly due to the latter’s reluctance to be tied down to a definite policy for the future of Gaza.  Tom Friedman addressed this situation in a recent New York Times column.  Read it by CLICKING HERE  or visit https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/10/opinion/bidens-real-mistake-in-pausing-military-aid-to-israel.html. 

Let’s go back to Yogi Berra saying ‘if you don’t know where you’re going, you may end up somewhere else.’  This seems to describe Netanyahu’s position, with which he is happy so long as it provides him with sufficient votes in the Knesset to keep him in power and out of jail.

JL

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About Cowboys

 Here’s an interesting quote from Professor Heather Cox Richardson’s 5-12 posting on Letters From an American’: 

“The cowboy myth was always a political image, designed to undermine the idea of a government that worked for ordinary Americans. It was powerful after the Civil War but faded into the past in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s as Americans realized that their lives depended on government regulation and a basic social safety net. 

The American cowboy burst back into prominence with the advent of the Marlboro Man in 1954, the year of the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision, and the idea of an individual white man who worked hard, wanted nothing from the government but to be left alone, was a sex symbol, and protected his women became a central myth in the rise of politicians determined to overturn the liberal consensus. 

Now it seems the myth has come full circle, with the party led by a man whose wife rejects him and whose lovers ridicule him, who makes up stories about dangerous “others,” cheats on his taxes, solicits bribes, and tries to sell out his followers for cash—the very caricature the mythological cowboy was invented to fight.”

 I wonder who she is writing about.

JL

 

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 Housekeeping on Jackspotpourri

Strange “Hits’!  The large number of those accessing Jackspotpouri from Singapore has suddenly ceased. In their place, however, there have appeared large numbers of ‘hits’ on each posting in the hundreds, and as was the case with those from Singapore, but this time from Hong Kong!  I suspect that the Chinese are playing around with internet transmissions, possibly to try to identify who is reading them. 

 

Email Alerts:  If you are NOT receiving emails from me alerting you each time there is a new posting on Jackspotpourri, just send me your email address and we’ll see that you do.  And if you are forwarding a posting to someone, you might suggest that they do the same, so they will be similarly alerted. You can pass those email addresses to me by email at jacklippman18@gmail.com.

Forwarding Postings: Please forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it. Friends, relatives, enemies, etc.

If you want to send someone the blog, you can just tell them to check it out by visiting https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com or you can provide a link to that address in your email to them. 

There’s another, perhaps easier, method of forwarding it though!   Google Blogspot, the platform on which Jackspotpourri is prepared, makes that possible.  If you click on the tiny envelope with the arrow at the bottom of every posting, you will have the opportunity to list up to ten email addresses to which that blog posting will be forwarded, along with a brief comment from you.  Each will receive a link to click on that will directly connect them to the blog. 

Either way will work, sending them the link to https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com, or clicking on the envelope at the bottom of this posting.

Again, I urge you to forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it, particularly if they are a registered voter.  This is an election year.  Spread the word.

JL

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