Yeshiva World News

In the history of pro-Israel speeches it wasn’t that dramatic, in the history of Obama’s speeches it was downright monumental!

President Obama has heard you loud and clear. You sent him a clear message earlier this month by voting for Republican Bob Turner in the special congressional  election- well, today at the UN Obama has said message received.

Obama started off his speech at the UN by stating his opposition to a unilateral Palestinian state. “Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the United Nations — if it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now. Ultimately, it is the Israelis and the Palestinians who must live side by side. Ultimately, it is the Israelis and the Palestinians — not us — who must reach agreement on the issues that divide them: on borders and on security, on refugees and Jerusalem,” he said.

Then he affirmed America’s commitment to Israel’s security,  “America’s commitment to Israel’s security is unshakable,” he said. “Our friendship with Israel is deep and enduring. And so we believe that any lasting peace must acknowledge the very real security concerns that Israel faces every single day.” That was pretty much where the old Obama ended and the new Obama took over.

“Let us be honest with ourselves: Israel is surrounded by neighbors that have waged repeated wars against it,” Obama said. “Israel’s citizens have been killed by rockets fired at their houses and suicide bombs on their buses. Israel’s children come of age knowing that throughout the region, other children are taught to hate them. Israel, a small country of less than eight million people, looks out at a world where leaders of much larger nations threaten to wipe it off of the map. The Jewish people carry the burden of centuries of exile and persecution, and fresh memories of knowing that six million people were killed simply because of who they are.”

Israeli officials were extremely happy with the Presidents speech, and they all made sure to go out of there way and express it. Netanyahu called Obama’s position a “badge of honor” and thanked him for “wearing that badge of honor.” Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman gushed about the speech saying, “I laud this speech and sign off on it with both hands. The president made two important points in his speech: first, that it is impossible to resolve the conflict in any international forum and second, he did not mention the issue of the 1967 borders. This was the speech of a friend and ally.”  Defense Minister Ehud Barak continued the Obama praise parade, “It has once again been proven to all the doubters that President Obama is an ally and friend of Israel. The Obama administration has lent its support to Israeli security in a broad, comprehensive and unprecedented manner.”

The Palestinians on the other hand were fuming. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas could be seen shaking his head in disapproval during the speech, and afterwords his henchmen competed for ways to express their anger. “All that’s left is for Obama to join the Zionist Congress,” said a senior member of the Palestinian delegation. Another senior official said, “Americans massacred the Indians and now they identify with the massacre perpetrated against us by the Israeli occupation.”

It seems like the true colors of the Palestinian Authority are starting to finally seep out of their carefully crafted suits and ties.

But before you start popping champagne or begin campaigning for Obama to win re-election, remind yourself that once Obama wins his second term, there’s nothing stopping him from turning back into the original pro-Palestinian peace lover.

Yechezkel Gordon is an independent political columnist. He can be contacted at yechezkelgordoncolumnist@yahoo.com

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[By Tevi Troy]

The Jewish High Holidays are upon us, so naturally it’s time for the White House to feed political talking points to rabbis.

As has become its annual practice, the Obama administration on Thursday convened a conference call with several hundred rabbis and Jewish leaders. According to a participant on the call, President Obama promoted his jobs bill—noting that those who have been more blessed should pay their fair share—and briefed the rabbis on U.S. efforts to counter the push for a declaration of Palestinian statehood at the United Nations.

I was on another such call recently, the purpose of which—according to the Jewish rabbinical group that invited me—was to help listeners “understand the current state of the economy; learn about the impact of the proposed budget cuts on the poor and disenfranchised; consider the consequences of the increasing gap between the rich and poor in America; and, glean homiletic and textual background to help prepare their High Holiday sermons on this timely topic.”

The agenda of the call organizers was clear. Two speakers, one of whom was a (non-Jewish) Democratic senator, spoke of our country’s need for “raising revenue,” the new code phrase for tax increases. When I suggested that we separate politics from spirituality, a third participant pushed back, saying “the Torah is a political document.” A curious assertion in a crowd that would quickly denounce any invocation of the Bible in political discussions.

Of course the Obama administration didn’t invent the politicized sermon. In the Conservative temple in which I was raised, the joke (not an original one) was that the rabbi would take homiletic guidance from the New York Times editorial page. In his memoir, former Nixon speechwriter William Safire told of his displeasure with a Yom Kippur sermon in which the rabbi warned “not to let our country be divided and polarized by those who use the technique of alliteration”—referring to Vice President Spiro Agnew’s critique of “nattering nabobs of negativism.”

So President Obama is taking advantage of an existing proclivity toward political sermonizing. Other presidents have acted similarly, hosting calls around holidays or meeting with Jewish leaders before the White House Hanukkah party, as George W. Bush did. But Mr. Obama has innovated, as by focusing on a specific issue or two with rabbis before the High Holidays each year.

In 2010, according to the New York Post, he “asked a conference call of about 600 rabbis to preach his Mideast peace plan from the pulpit.” In 2009, he invited a group of 1,000 rabbis to discuss his health-care plan and then preach about it afterward. Some certainly delivered. Rabbi Amy Schwartzman of Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church, Va., for example, gave a Yom Kippur sermon that year entitled “The Jewish Understanding of Health Care: A Moral Imperative,” declaring that “working towards health care for all, however that might be accomplished, is a Jewish mandate.”

Political sermonizing is a mistake for many reasons. First, the Holy Days are supposed to bring forth a universal message about the unity of the Jewish people, the importance of our shared religious tradition, and the need to rededicate ourselves to observance of the Torah in the year to come.

Then there’s the risk of alienating part of the congregation. Even if you know that 70%-80% of your synagogue votes one way—and public opinion polls suggest that this may be the case in Conservative and Reform synagogues—why risk alienating the other 20%-30%? In many (or most) communities, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are the only time certain congregants set foot in synagogue that year. Why risk driving them away with a message that could offend?

Furthermore, while it may appear easy to find support for left-wing political positions in the Torah and rabbinical sources, the truth is that the Jewish tradition doesn’t give much guidance on the optimum level of marginal tax rates, Medicare restructuring, or food-stamp funding. To claim otherwise is to give false guidance.

The passages read aloud on the High Holidays each year are filled with the most important problems of the human condition, including Jonah’s attempt to shirk his responsibilities, Hannah’s desperate plea for a child, and God’s testing of Abraham’s faith with the binding of Isaac. All of these stories still resonate today, and skillful speakers can use them to guide congregants.

The mandate of religious leaders is to convey to their communities spiritual encouragement and the wisdom of the ages. For the other stuff, there’s cable news.

Tevi Troy is a visiting senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. A former senior White House aide and deputy secretary of Health and Human Services in the Bush administration, he also served as the White House Jewish Liaison.

The above Op-Ed was originally published in the Wall Street Journal, and submitted to YWN by the author.

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“This win is not my personal win. It belongs to the entire community. It proves that with Achdus we can and will IYH accomplish a lot.”

Those are the words that Aaron Ben Zion Wieder wrote to me when I asked him for a reaction to the Primary Day results released just days ago.

Mr. Wieder, formally the Vice President and temporarily the President of the Board of Education (BOE) at the East Ramapo Central School District (ERSCD), was a candidate to the Rockland County Legislature on the Democratic Line against the current incumbent, a well-known Haitian American. Wieder however won the Democrats’ Primary. Additionally, Mr. Wieder won the Republican and Independent lines as a write-in candidate. In November, Wieder will be on the above three line while the current incumbent will be on the Working Families line with diminished chances of surviving this coup.

On the surface, the results of last week Tuesday appear as a “typical win” for the Jewish community in Monsey/Spring Valley. As some detractors would suggest, Jews vote in a bloc and as such they can win whatever they want. Sadly, some within our own circles also think that a win for a candidate happens in a vacuum; it happens to the wish of a few power players while the public follows with zero options to disagree.

This conventional wisdom is however contrary to what actually takes place before the successful elections that the Orthodox and Hasidic Communities in Rockland prove to pull off almost every year for more than a decade now. Let’s just look at Wieder’s background as a sample:

First, Wieder ran a few years ago to be a member of the BOE at the ERSCD. He lost. Ask him why, he will admit that he was one of those who thought that things happen by default. He however learned that he needs the grass roots support of members in the community. He learned that in order for community activists and advocates to lend him a hand, he needs to prove him self as someone who understand what the community needs.

A year later Aaron won a three year term to the Board. Each year since, the Orthodox/Hasidic members won handily the School Board elections and budget battles.

This past May, Mr. Wieder was up for re-election to the School Board, but due to his nature of “rocking the boat,” meaning, not letting things at status quo with a cost to residence and a loss to students, Wieder’s name was used by some to steer up emotions against the Orthodox Community. To avoid a loss for him and the other two community members on the ballot, Mr. Wieder decided against another term, and BH the favorable candidates won the election.

In other words: Aaron gave up a step in order to give two steps for the community.

This approach takes place in almost every election here in Rockland County. Community activists and advocates each have different opinions as to who will be a better Sheriff, a better Judge, a better Town Council member. Hefty negotiations; feedback from average community members and forfeiting egos take place before consensus candidates emerge. When they do, heavy lifting is done in order to see people to the polls. Rabbis don’t sign Fatwas that people just follow through on Election Day. Instead, candidates, their teams and community activists make their case to the public in many forms in order to get their support. Massive, joint get-out-the-vote drives are activated in order to pull off wins. Nothing, as I wrote earlier, happens in a vacuum.

The Rockland County election results can be a great moment for community leaders and activists in other Jewish areas to observe and learn how to proceed in similar situations. Achdus, as Ben Zion said, is what counts. When people are ready to back off a step, they will ultimately give two steps for the community and that is something which everyone – who has the public’s good at heart – should be willing to do.

Yossi Gestetner is a New York-Based Writer and Marketing Consultant in the Orthodox Jewish/Hasidic Communities. His Firm “Gestetner & Co” Serves Political, Charitable and Corporate accounts. Yossi can be reached via yossi@yossigestetner.com

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Ehud Olmert, the previous prime minister of Israel, tried to stick his head into the ongoing UN fiasco by penning an op-ed for the NY Times titled, “Peace Now, or Never.” After reading it your left wondering how Israel ever survived three years under him.

He’s obviously feeling left out and unimportant, so he’s doing a politicians version of jumping up and down and screaming-  look at me, look at me! Well Ehud, we’re all looking and it’s not a pretty sight.

He starts off reminding us of his offer he put on the table back in September 2008. He writes, “The parameters of a peace deal are well known and they have already been put on the table. I put them there in September 2008 when I presented a far-reaching offer to Mr. Abbas.” Now wait a second Ehud, if you have the best solution to the ever-lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and you already laid it out 3 years ago, why do you think all of a sudden now it’s going to be accepted by both parties if it was already rejected the first time you tried it?

Anyways, the wizard of peace continues, “According to my offer, the territorial dispute would be solved by establishing a Palestinian state on territory equivalent in size to the pre-1967 West Bank and Gaza Strip with mutually agreed-upon land swaps that take into account the new realities on the ground.” Okay that’s not too crazy, but wait until you read what the wizard of peace wrote next.

“The city of Jerusalem would be shared. Its Jewish areas would be the capital of Israel and its Arab neighborhoods would become the Palestinian capital. Neither side would declare sovereignty over the city’s holy places; they would be administered jointly with the assistance of Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United States.”

Are you kidding me? We will be forced to get on our hands and knees and beg some Jordanian official every time we want to daven at the Kosel? Or have some Saudi Arabian official decide who’s holy enough to go to the Kosel?

All I can say is, thank g-d he isn’t the prime minister any more. And judging by the last election where the right wing blocks won the majority, I think most Israelis agree with me.

Yechezkel Gordon is an independent political columnist. He can be contacted at yechezkelgordoncolumnist@yahoo.com

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President Barack Obama.

Is he pro Israel, or anti-Israel?

Did he make Prime Minister Netanyahu enter the Whitehouse through the backdoor, or did he not?

Did he talk to Netanyahu with his shoes up on the desk, or didn’t he?

Let’s say he did. Does that give Orthodox Jews in galus the right to take revenge against the President of the United States in front of his face?

Allow me to explain.

Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry held a press conference in Manhattan, on Tuesday morning, to blast President Obama for his Israel policy. He was flanked by Orthodox Jews, most of them wearing their black velvet yarmulkas, and stroking their beards. Perry accused President Obama of fostering a policy of “appeasement” in the Middle East, blaming him for the standoff at the United Nations over the Palestinian bid for statehood recognition.

His words were followed by cheers and laud applause by those who are  “Shomrei Torah Umitzvos”.

How outrageous!

President Obama was across the street at the United Nations working feverishly to stop the Palestinians from declaring a state, and a group of men wearing Yarmulkas publicly gather to blast the President of the United States on live television. Talk about a chilul hashem. And don’t think for one second that most of them mean this “lishem shomayim” to defend Israel. They could not care less about Israel. They care about one thing and one thing only: chanifah towards Rick Perry lest he be the next President. Oh, and as an added bonus they get to pretend that they are machers for a day by getting their photo in a newspaper with the Republican Presidential frontrunner.

What did Obama do to deserve this? Promising to veto the Palestinian State wasn’t enough? How about saving a dozen Jews in the Israeli Embassy in Egypt last Shabbos? Where is the hakoras hatov?

And don’t worry. Rest assured that as the election gets closer, some of those very people on that stage will once again start their “get Pollard out of jail” campaign. Can you imagine the chutzpah?

In thousands of years of history there has never been a medina shel chesed like the United States of America, where we have such freedom of religion and, boruch hashem, prosperity as a community. We owe our country and President a little respect. Playing for cheap political points to help another candidate for President who conveniently supports Israel when he is running for office is shameful. We’re better than that. This is not what “Orthodox Jews” do.

Let me end by making myself clear. I did not vote for Obama in the last election, and will not be voting for him the next one either. This article is not about who I support, or whom I will be voting for. This is about Orthodox Jews deciding on their own to make a move which can potentially hurt the interests of millions of Jews around the world – both in Israel, and in the United States. Which Gadol sanctioned this event? Can anyone name him? Whatever happened to the rule that we have been following for thousands of years of “Lama Tisrau”?!

Charles Katz is an attorney practicing criminal law in New York, and above all a “god-fearing Jew”.

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Texas Governor Rick Perry, a leading contender for the Republican Presidential nomination, held a press conference at the W Hotel in midtown Manhattan this past Tuesday morning. It was a clear showing of his strong support for Israel, and criticism for what he believes are the failed and misguided policies of President Obama on Israel.

We would not be here today … if the Obama policy in the Middle East wasn’t naive and arrogant, misguided and dangerous,” he said. There is no middle ground between our allies and those who seek their destruction, continued Perry, who is being advised on foreign policy by some of the leading conservative voices of the George W. Bush administration. America should not be ambivalent between the terrorist tactics of Hamas and the security tactics of the legitimate and free state of Israel.

Strong words indeed!

Standing on stage behind Perry at the press conference were some of the leading Jewish activists in NY and a few Israeli politicians. But standing out among them were three individuals who stood together just one week ago at the winning rally of newly elected Congressman  Bob Turner. NYS Assemblyman Dov Hikind, NYC Jewish Community activist Chaskel Bennett, and the newly elected Congressman Turner. Some might have wondered how the orthodox Jewish leaders managed to be front and center in a major press conference with someone who might be our next President. But the answer is simple: Israel. The Republican Party is doing all it can to woo Jewish voters who usually vote democrat but might be susceptible to vote republican in 2012 if they feel that the security and safety of Israel depends on it. Thats where the orthodox Jewish leaders play a prominent role. Since, unlike conservative or reform Jews, the orthodox have already clearly embraced the GOP and have voted heavily for them for over a decade. (Lieberman was the last presidential election that many orthodox also voted democrat.) On both social and foreign policy issues, the orthodox and GOP see eye to eye. Being pro-Israel also helps in the Republican primaries, where the Christian conservatives who strongly ally with Israel, play a major role. Hence, it was no surprise to see Perry embrace, both literally and figuratively, prominent orthodox Jewish leaders at the Israel press conference.

The GOP has tactically used Obamas vulnerability on Israel to their benefit, by making Israel a major issue in the 2012 elections. This creates a tremendous opportunity for the orthodox Jewish community as a whole, and its leaders in particular, to rise up to the occasion and make a tremendous kiddush hashem. Lets make sure we don’t make the Republican Party regret their embrace of us.

Yechezkel Gordon is an independent political columnist. He can be contacted at yechezkelgordoncolumnist@yahoo.com

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The Obama administration is often considered the most hostile administration to Israel since its inception in 1948. President Obama compared Palestinian suffering to the murder of six million Jews during the holocaust in his infamous Cairo speech. He also publicly humiliated Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton famously berated Netanyahu on the phone for 45 minutes and once called on Israel to show “respect.” The administration’s demands from Israel have often shocked the world; from its requirement for more Israeli concessions to the Palestinians, to the ridiculous order of returning to the 1967 indefensible borders, to the insistence that Israel stops building homes in disputable territories as a precondition.

Indeed, John Bolton, the former US envoy to the UN said: “President Barack Obama is “the most anti-Israel president in the history of the state, without any question.” Additionally, New York Senator Charles Schumer, a Democrat, called on the Obama administration to stop the “counter-productive” policy regarding Israel. Furthermore, in a speech to the Israeli Knesset yesterday, Netanyahu signaled that he is bracing for another cold shoulder from the President.

The prospective Republican presidential candidates also took the President to task. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney slammed President Obama for disrespecting Israel and throwing it “under the bus,” Rep. Michele Bachmann blamed Obama for siding with the Palestinians over Israel,” and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich charged that “Obama is endangering Israel.”

However, Texas Governor Rick Perry took it a step further. At a speech he delivered in New York yesterday, as the United Nations General Assembly convened with a vote on a Palestinian state looming, Perry accused Obama’s “naive, arrogant, misguided and dangerous” foreign policy as “isolating and undermining Israel.” He elaborately outlined his vision for peace and demonstrated unwavering support for Israel.

Nevertheless, what was intriguing with Perry’s speech was not the policy he outlined or the words he chose; it was the backdrop. Perry is a long-time friend of Israel. He has been to Israel more than any other candidate and often compared Texas’ struggles to those of Israel, Yet, amongst the American and Israeli flags that propped the stage, were a dozen or so Orthodox-Jews that stood alongside him. They are known community activists that came out to show their support for the current front-runner in the race; yet, the things they did and said were startling.

Jacob Javits wrote: “The reluctance to challenge the president is founded in an awareness that he holds, in large degree, the fate of the nation in his hands. We all wish to assist and sustain the presidency. But I have come to the conclusion that the awesome nature of the power over war in our time should require us to withhold, in relevant cases, that unquestioning support of the presidency.”

Israel is facing a diplomatic tsunami, and only the United States will spare it some shame. Whether or not the President is to blame for this debacle, Orthodox-Jews must not scold and chastise the President in-his-face during a period when he will undeniably stretch out his neck for the Jewish State. We shall not be ungrateful after the President got involved saving Israelis that were trapped at the Israeli embassy in Egypt. Yes, we can send a message by electing conservative candidates to Congress or deny him a second term; but for now, we should leave the attacks regarding Israel to his political rivals and talk-show hosts. During trying times, we must unite behind the President to thank him for his efforts on our behalf and urge his assistance; we should not engage in risky political ploys just to get photo-ops or political clout on the expense of Israel and the people.

Dave Hirsch is a political analyst and columnist. He can be reached at davehrsch@gmail.com

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This week, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is making his annual visit to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly. This time, Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran’s foreign minister and former head of its Atomic Energy Organization, will accompany him, despite being under U.S. and European Union travel bans for his role in Iran’s human rights violations and its illegal nuclear weapons program.

Their presence in the United States makes a mockery of the international sanctions regime that the Obama administration has so skillfully constructed.

As Ahmadinejad testifies before the UN, his government continues to provide money, intelligence, cyber experts to shut down dissident communications, and reportedly even detachments of snipers to prop up Bashar Assad’s regime as it guns down democratic protesters in Syria.

Ahmadinejad ascended to Iran’s presidency through the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, arguably the world’s most deadly terrorist organization. Through the IRGC, Tehran has waged a low-intensity war on the United States for over 30 years. In 1983, Iranian proxy Hezbollah bombed a Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241 U.S. servicemen. In 1996, a group with Iranian ties bombed the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, killing 19 U.S. airmen. Throughout the 1990s, and perhaps leading up to 9/11, Imad Mughniyeh, Hezbollah’s terrorist mastermind, worked as Iran’s liaison with al Qaeda providing training on mass casualty attacks.

Today, Iran continues to support terrorist groups ranging from Hezbollah to the Palestinian Sunni groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, as well as Shiite militias in Iraq, and lately even its erstwhile enemies the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The Revolutionary Guards control the economy of an oil-rich nation, travel abroad on diplomatic passports, and hide their operatives in Iranian embassies all over the world. The Guards also enjoy full representation at the UN, OPEC and other international bodies. Sanctioned Guards commander Rostam Qasemi currently serves as OPEC’s president, and will be attending the organization’s meetings in Vienna.

Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, the current head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, is also subject to international sanctions, but also travels regularly to meetings in Vienna. The U.S. and EU pass travel bans to great fanfare, yet ignore them completely when sanctioned officials travel to meetings of international organizations. As Congressman Ted Deutch (D-FL), a congressional leader on Iran issues, wrote in an Aug. 11 letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, these measures are meaningless if loopholes allow sanctioned Iranian officials to travel freely.

Congressman Deutch has urged the Obama administration to use current U.S. sanctions laws to prohibit any company from providing fuel to the aircraft that would enable Qasemi’s air travel to and from Vienna. These same laws should be used to sanction companies refueling the aircrafts Ahmadinejad and Salehi use to fly to and from New York next week.

Ahmadinejad himself is not under U.S., European or international sanctions, despite his role in presiding over a six-year reign of terror, featuring widespread human rights abuses, the acceleration of Iran’s nuclear weapons program, and the killing of U.S. and allied troops in Iraq and Afghanistan — not to mention hundreds or perhaps even thousands of civilians.

If the United States and Europe finally stood up and sanctioned the dictator of Damascus for slaughtering his own people, why can’t they do the same to the man propping him up?

More than 30 years after Iran declared war on the United States — and only days after the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks — Washington must recognize the centrality of the Iranian threat, and move more aggressively to counter it.

Sanctioning Ahmadinejad and keeping him and his henchmen out of New York would be a start.

Mark Dubowitz is executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He directs FDD’s Iran projects on sanctions and human rights issues and leads the foundation’s work on technology and revolutionary change in the Middle East.

(Source: Huffington Post)

[By Karl Rove]

Tuesday’s special elections for House seats in New York and Nevada were devastating for Democrats. Both races turned into a referendum on President Obama, who again proved how unpopular he is.

The New York seat made vacant by Anthony Weiner’s scandal has been in Democratic hands since 1923. Mr. Obama carried it by 11 points in 2008, but on Tuesday Republican Bob Turner beat Democrat David Weprin by eight. In a district with a 3-1 Democratic registration advantage, dissatisfaction with Mr. Obama among blue-collar ethnics and orthodox Jews was central to the GOP victory.

John McCain carried Nevada’s 2nd District by a mere 88 votes in 2008. Yet Tuesday, former state Republican chairman Mark Amodei beat State Treasurer Kate Marshall by 28,307. (Full disclosure: I’m associated with a group—American Crossroads—that spent $265,000 on mail, phones and online media to drive up GOP early voting in the race.)

In some ways, the Nevada defeat is the more damaging. While both Democrats were lavishly funded, Mr. Weprin is now being disparaged as a poor campaigner. However, Ms. Marshall was thought to be the perfect candidate. Running the 2012 Democratic playbook, she ran ads accusing Mr. Amodei of “supporting an end to Medicare to give tax breaks to millionaires.” It didn’t work.

The Obama presidency is now in a downward spiral. The economy has flat-lined, his poll numbers are plummeting, and Democratic leaders are turning on the president.

In a speech at Wayne State Community College last month, California’s Rep. Maxine Waters, a leader of the Congressional Black Caucus, said of African-Americans, “We’re getting tired . . . we don’t know what the strategy is.” Oregon’s Rep. Peter A. DeFazio complained to the New York Times last week that “enthusiasm . . . has mostly evaporated . . . There is tremendous discontent.” In the same news story, Maryland Rep. Elijah E. Cummings said “The frustrations are real,” while Jon M. Ausman, a Democratic National Committee (DNC) member from Florida admitted that “If the election were held today, it would be extremely close” in the Sunshine State. “The alarms have already gone off in the Democratic grass roots,” added New York DNC member Robert Zimmerman. “If the Obama administration hasn’t heard them, they should check the wiring of their alarm system.”

Part of this on-the-record Democratic criticism is a reaction to Mr. Obama’s arrogance and aloofness, which leaves him without much personal affection among party leaders and members of Congress. Part of it is the concern that the president has turned the DNC into an arm of his own re-election campaign and has little interest in helping congressional Democrats in 2012. And part of it springs from the unreasonable expectations among some Democrats who anticipated an even more radical agenda from Mr. Obama.

So when Democrats lose elections as they did Tuesday or last fall, they panic. And in their panic, they distance themselves from the president.

Mr. Obama’s instinct will be to re-energize his base by moving further left. But embracing more liberal policies and more aggressive language against his political opponents will be a big mistake.

Mr. Obama’s main political challenge between now and November 2012 is winning back independent voters. After voting for him by a 52-to-44 margin in 2008, only 41% approve of his job performance and only 34% approve of his handling of the economy in the latest Resurgent Republic Poll.

On big issues, independents look a lot more like Republicans than Democrats. For example, in Gallup’s August 14 survey measuring Mr. Obama’s performance on jobs, the economy and budget deficits, Republicans gave an average of 7% approval on the three questions, independents an average of 22%, and Democrats an average of 55%. These are dreadful numbers and moving left will make them worse. Winning back independents is a more vital task than placating his intra-party critics.

Here’s an example of Mr. Obama’s dilemma. In remarks prior to a presidential speech on Labor Day, Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa referred to Republicans and tea partiers as (words removed by YWN) who needed to be “taken out.” By artfully distancing himself from Mr. Hoffa’s inflammatory attack, Mr. Obama could have reminded independents of his 2008 promises to heal America’s political divisions through a more civil discourse.

But a badly weakened president decided he dared not cross a labor ally, no matter how thuggish the rhetoric. So he remained silent.

Mr. Obama is in a bad place. Tuesday’s special election results will only intensify Democratic unhappiness with him. And his reaction to this will diminish his standing with independents. Things are about to get uglier for the Obama West Wing.

This article originally appeared on WSJ.com on Wednesday, September 14, 2011.

Karl Rove is a former senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush. He is a Fox News contributor and author of “Courage and Consequence” (Threshold Editions, 2010).

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The following Op-Ed by Dan Senor appears in the WSJ:

New York’s special congressional election on Tuesday was the first electoral outcome directly affected by President Obama’s Israel policy. Democrats were forced to expend enormous resources in a losing effort to defend this safe Democratic district, covering Queens and Brooklyn, that Anthony Weiner won last year by a comfortable margin.

A Public Policy Poll taken days before the election found a plurality of voters saying that Israel was “very important” in determining their votes. Among those voters, Republican candidate Robert Turner was winning by a 71-22 margin. Only 22% of Jewish voters approved of President Obama’s handling of Israel. Ed Koch, the Democrat and former New York mayor, endorsed Mr. Turner because he said he wanted to send a message to the president about his anti-Israel policies.

This is a preview of what President Obama might face in his re-election campaign with a demographic group that voted overwhelmingly for him in 2008. And it could affect the electoral map, given the battleground states—such as Florida and Pennsylvania—with significant Jewish populations. In another ominous barometer for the Obama campaign, its Jewish fund-raising has deeply eroded: One poll by McLaughlin & Associates found that of Jewish donors who donated to Mr. Obama in 2008, only 64% have already donated or plan to donate to his re-election campaign.

The Obama campaign has launched a counteroffensive, including hiring a high-level Jewish outreach director and sending former White House aide David Axelrod and Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz to reassure Jewish donors. The Obama team told the Washington Post that its Israel problem is a messaging problem, and that with enough explanation of its record the Jewish community will return to the fold in 2012. Here is an inventory of what Mr. Obama’s aides will have to address:

• February 2008: When running for president, then-Sen. Obama told an audience in Cleveland: “There is a strain within the pro-Israel community that says unless you adopt an unwavering pro-Likud approach to Israel that you’re anti-Israel.” Likud had been out of power for two years when Mr. Obama made this statement. At the time the country was being led by the centrist Kadima government of Ehud Olmert, Tzipi Livni and Shimon Peres, and Prime Minister Olmert had been pursuing an unprecedented territorial compromise. As for Likud governments, it was under Likud that Israel made its largest territorial compromises—withdrawals from Sinai and Gaza.

• July 2009: Mr. Obama hosted American Jewish leaders at the White House, reportedly telling them that he sought to put “daylight” between America and Israel. “For eight years”—during the Bush administration—”there was no light between the United States and Israel, and nothing got accomplished,” he declared.

Nothing? Prime Minister Ariel Sharon uprooted thousands of settlers from their homes in Gaza and the northern West Bank and deployed the Israeli army to forcibly relocate their fellow citizens. Mr. Sharon then resigned from the Likud Party to build a majority party based on a two-state consensus.

In the same meeting with Jewish leaders, Mr. Obama told the group that Israel would need “to engage in serious self-reflection.” This statement stunned the Americans in attendance: Israeli society is many things, but lacking in self-reflection isn’t one of them. It’s impossible to envision the president delivering a similar lecture to Muslim leaders.

• September 2009: In his first address to the U.N. General Assembly, President Obama devoted five paragraphs to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, during which he declared (to loud applause) that “America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements.” He went on to draw a connection between rocket attacks on Israeli civilians with living conditions in Gaza. There was not a single unconditional criticism of Palestinian terrorism.

• March 2010: During Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel, a Jerusalem municipal office announced plans for new construction in a part of Jerusalem. The president launched an unprecedented weeks-long offensive against Israel. Mr. Biden very publicly departed Israel.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton berated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a now-infamous 45-minute phone call, telling him that Israel had “harmed the bilateral relationship.” (The State Department triumphantly shared details of the call with the press.) The Israeli ambassador was dressed-down at the State Department, Mr. Obama’s Middle East envoy canceled his trip to Israel, and the U.S. joined the European condemnation of Israel.

Moments after Mr. Biden concluded his visit to the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority held a ceremony to honor Dalal Mughrabi, who led one of the deadliest Palestinian terror attacks in history: the so-called Coastal Road Massacre that killed 38, including 13 children and an American. The Obama administration was silent. But that same day, on ABC, Mr. Axelrod called Israel’s planned construction of apartments in its own capital an “insult” and an “affront” to the United States. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs went on Fox News to accuse Mr. Netanyahu of “weakening trust” between the two countries.

Ten days later, Mr. Netanyahu traveled to Washington to mend fences but was snubbed at a White House meeting with President Obama—no photo op, no joint statement, and he was sent out through a side door.

• April 2010: Mr. Netanyahu pulled out of the Obama-sponsored Washington summit on nuclear proliferation after it became clear that Turkey and Egypt intended to use the occasion to condemn the Israeli nuclear program, and Mr. Obama would not intervene.

• March 2011: Mr. Obama returned to his habit of urging Israelis to engage in self-reflection, inviting Jewish community leaders to the White House and instructing them to “search your souls” about Israel’s dedication to peace.

• May 2011: The State Department issued a press release declaring that the department’s No. 2 official, James Steinberg, would be visiting “Israel, Jerusalem, and the West Bank.” In other words, Jerusalem is not part of Israel. Later in the month, only hours before Mr. Netanyahu departed from Israel to Washington, Mr. Obama delivered his Arab Spring speech, which focused on a demand that Israel return to its indefensible pre-1967 borders with land swaps.

Mr. Obama has made some meaningful exceptions, particularly having to do with security partnership, but overall he has built the most consistently one-sided diplomatic record against Israel of any American president in generations. His problem with Jewish voters is one of substance, not messaging.

Mr. Senor is co-author with Saul Singer of “Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle” (Twelve, 2011). He served as a senior adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq in 2003 and 2004.

Source: WSJ

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[By Tevi Troy]

Back in June, I pointed out the importance of Ed Koch in Democratic presidential politics, making the case that when Koch deserts the Democratic presidential candidate, it often spells bad news for the Democrats. Koch tortured Carter in 1980, particularly over Carter’s stance on Israel, and he backed Bush over Kerry in 2004, largely because of Bush’s strong positions on national security issues, including Israel and the War on Terror.

Shortly afterwards, Koch urged Jewish Democrats to vote for Bob Turner in the special election in heavily Democratic NY-9 to send a message to Obama regarding Israel. The New York Times sniffed that Koch’s efforts were “the least helpful contribution to this race,” but Koch turned out to be on to something. He not only smelled a winner in Turner, but he also helped put Turner over the top. As Newsmax put it, Koch was “arguably the one single factor in helping the GOP win the battle to succeed disgraced Rep. Anthony Weiner in the U.S. House.” Tablet’s Marc Tracy observed that, “Age has not dimmed Hizzoner’s savvy” when it comes to politics.

With respect to 2012, Koch has said he will not back Obama in 2012, and his continued involvement should send a loud warning Obama to watch his base, even in unexpected places. Robert Costa’s good piece today notes that one of the lessons of the race is that Republicans should not ignore New York in 2012. He’s right. With Ed Koch’s help, as we have just seen, stranger things have happened.

Tevi Troy is a visiting senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. A former senior White House aide and deputy secretary of Health and Human Services in the Bush administration, he also served as the White House Jewish Liaison.

The above Op-Ed was originally published in NationalReview, and submitted to YWN by the author.

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As the Turner- Weprin house race finally comes to a conclusion at 9:00 pm tonight, the voters of the 9th CD have a historic opportunity to pull off a Scott Brown type victory with significant local and national implications.

It is obvious even to the casual observer that the Turner campaign has galvanized the Frum community in a way we haven’t seen in a long time. Simultaneously, it appears, David Weprin has struggled to receive any meaningful religious support, going as far as Israel to get a strange endorsement from a Deputy Jerusalem mayor for lack of any meaningful local support. That in itself is telling.

While “Citizen Candidate” Bob Turner has successfully attracted the overwhelming grassroots support of Orthodox voters, David Weprin has surprisingly continued to stick with the Democratic true and tried  approach of tax and spend. In this late hour, it is obvious, Orthodox voters have clearly not responded to him or his message, leaving him scrambling to court the only constituency that still responds to a leftist liberal agenda, Obama Democrats.

It is no secret that David Weprin is a career politician. In the past he has run for a number of positions including, City Comptroller, City Council and his current job as State Assemblyman. History tells us, should he lose to Bob Turner, he will probably run for something else. Either way he immediately goes back to his comfortable and safe Assembly seat. Maybe his heart wasn’t really in it after all?

The real question voters might ask themselves as they go to the polls today, while Mr. Weprin has been in various government positions for many years, how effective has he been, and does he deserve a promotion to Congress? The important point is, you can fool some of the people some of the time but right now, the voters of the ninth district don’t want to be any body’s fool. They need and deserve real change. Voting for Weprin represents an endorsement of the Obama agenda. Lots of talk but little action.

Experienced pro- Israel voters fear that the Democratic Weprin will continue to toe the party line and bow to the Obama Administration as his Democratic colleagues have been forced to do. With heavy pressure currently facing Israel from Turkey, Egypt, Syria and across the Middle East, many Democratic pro-Israel supporters in Congress like Representatives: Ackerman, Engel, Hoyer, Nadler, Rothman and yes even Senator Charles Schumer have been silent when it has mattered most. With all of our “good friends”, it still has not been enough to protect Israel from President Obama’s skewed vision for the Middle East.

Ask yourself; were those congressional members able to prevent the President from pushing Israel into a corner in his now infamous ’67 border speech? Were they able to prevent the very damaging Gaza flotilla and diplomatic fallout that continues to isolate Israel, even today? The case has to be made that the Democrats, no matter how well- intentioned, have failed to get the President off Israel’s back. Another Democrat, even a friend like David Weprin won’t change that.

Enter Ed Koch. Despite causing the Democratic Party all sorts of agita, a vintage and independent Ed Koch got it right when he was the first to endorse Bob Turner as a means to make a referendum on the Obama Administration’s policy towards Israel. Despite Democrats throwing Mayor Koch under the bus for having the Chutzpah to actually speak the truth, nobody has yet to convince us that Mr. Koch was wrong. In fact, the polls confirm that the voters feel that Koch is right. To the chagrin of his party, Koch has become a powerful force against Obama’s misguided Israel doctrine and he not Obama has the voter’s ear.

It is clearly evident; Israel does not have a friend in this White House. How can voters believe that David Weprin will have any meaningful impact on Administration Israel policy when he unabashedly embraces the very idea of an Obama second term without preconditions? The answer is they can’t. And that’s why pro- Israel voters have turned away from Mr. Weprin in droves. The polls confirm that for many, David Weprin’s waffling and now personal pledge of support for the Obama 2012 reelection bid is all they needed to know about David Weprin.

On issues closer to home, Turner’s unwavering position on family values are in line with many of the proud hard working men and women of the district including the sizable orthodox community. And unlike Mr. Weprin, Turner honestly believes in the institution of marriage as one between a man and woman. Despite the unending explanations, clarifications and double speak of Weprin, the bottom line is he betrayed his community and his constituents and “proudly” voted for the same gender marriage bill as an “Orthodox Jew.” Not truly realizing his community’s outrage even today, Weprin flip-flopped on his reason for voting, convincing himself and his team that they could move on from the issue if only they stayed on a civil rights message. Amazingly, he still fails to understand the feelings many still harbor by his ill- advised vote and his shallow defense for ever casting it.

With all of his expert advisors and handlers apparently nobody sat down the esteemed Assemblyman and explained the seriousness of this issue to him. Allow me. Dear David, nothing personal but you cannot campaign for political office as an Orthodox Jew in openly Orthodox neighborhoods while imploring the same Orthodox electorate to ignore your anti- torah liberal positions. You simply can’t have it both ways. As numerous Roshai Yeshivos, Rabbonim, Admorim, community leaders, blog posters and your colleague Dov Hikind have repeatedly said, your inability to realize the magnitude of your vote and the error of your ways disqualifies you from representing our community in Congress. There I said it.

Turner has been endorsed by experienced leaders including former Mayor’s Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani, two men who know a thing or two about leading New Yorkers through tough times. He was also been endorsed by Homeland Security committee chairman Peter King, former Governor George Pataki and Assemblyman Dov Hikind. Mr. Weprin has been endorsed by the entire Democratic Party Politburo including President Obama, Gov. Cuomo, Senator Schumer, Speaker Shelly Silver and Christine Quinn. I ask you the voters to decide where each of you stand and with whom.

Turner has convinced us that he gets it. Weprin has waffled on every question and issue.

Our community places a high premium on support for yeshiva education assistance. Turner says he will be an advocate for desperately needed yeshiva tuition relief. Democrat Weprin was endorsed by the Teachers unions. Case closed.

Which leads us to the most important question facing the voters today, do you want a career politician, appointed by the party bosses as a place holder for your interests, or a new face beholdened to nobody and prepared to do battle with the political establishment in Washington? The answer is clear. Send Bob Turner to Congress.

From Israel and defense of marriage, to speaking the hard truths about Social Security, Medicare and the economy, Turner has a been a welcome and needed voice of reason while Weprin stubbornly sticks to tired talking points. By choosing Republican Bob Turner over David Weprin voters have an opportunity to shock the political establishment of Obama, Pelosi and Reid and force Democrats to abandon the President’s liberal agenda.

Finally, the NY Daily News in endorsing Bob Turner took the unprecedented step of pointing out the large Orthodox Jewish community in the ninth Congressional District. It appears that the eyes of the political world and the media are  carefully watching the voting numbers of the Orthodox community. It is national news. In this election maybe more than any other in history, Orthodox Jewish voters have a voice and a platform to make our case to leaders of the land. For the Kovod of Hashem, the safety and security of Israel and for ourselves, let’s show the world something special. Cast your vote for Bob Turner.

Jason Nussbaum – Queens, NY

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[Op-Ed By Yossi Gestetner]

As frum Jews, we often take for granted the freedoms that we are privileged to enjoy.  Our community simply assumes that our elected officials will take the necessary steps to ensure that we can practice our religion in accordance with the tenets of our faith.

Unfortunately, it is the assumption that everything will be okay that can potentially get our community into trouble.  If the wrong individual is making decisions that affect the future of our frum community, we are in for a very rude awakening.

For the past 11 years, the residents of the Town of Ramapo in Rockland County have been especially fortunate to have an individual in Town Hall who understands the needs of our community and who has expended a tremendous amount of energy and effort to make certain that the members of the Orthodox Jewish community in the Monsey and Spring Valley area can live their lives with peace of mind.

Under the leadership of Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence, the frum community has enjoyed enormous growth.  Our shuls and yeshivas are thriving primarily due to his efforts.  Supervisor St. Lawrence has demonstrated time and time again that he is willing to make the tough decisions necessary to improve the lives of Ramapo families.  He has never shied away from the issues that impact the Orthodox community, and he has often encountered unwarranted criticism from some individuals outside of the frum community for his efforts to address the needs of all Ramapo residents, including the Town’s large and vibrant Orthodox community.

In the upcoming Democratic Primary on Tuesday, September 13th, Supervisor St. Lawrence is facing a challenge from an individual who has been an outspoken opponent of the Orthodox community.  Robert Rhodes is the Chairman of Preserve Ramapo, which is a political group that has been fighting Supervisor St. Lawrence and the frum community for the past decade.  Robert Rhodes and Preserve Ramapo have vehemently opposed our shuls and yeshivas and have worked hard to try and prevent the growth of our mosdos.  Rhodes opposed the new Yeshiva of Spring Valley building.  He spoke out against the expansion of Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim and supported the eviction of dozens of yeshiva bochrim and kollel families, which would have left them homeless.  Robert Rhodes has openly decried the population growth in the Orthodox community and suggested that a study be conducted to determine how to inhibit their growth.

As he embarked on his campaign to become Town Supervisor, Robert Rhodes once again proved to the heimishe community that he does not care about their interests when he selected Emilia White as one of his running mates.  White and her husband have led the charge to silence the voices of the Orthodox community in the East Ramapo School District.  Together with Robert Rhodes, White has displayed an utter disregard and outright disdain for the rights of parents with children in yeshiva.  They have publically disparaged the members of the frum community who have dedicated themselves to improving the education of all Ramapo children.

It is imperative that the frum community collectively stand up on September 13th and support Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence and his two running mates, Councilman Daniel Friedman and Brendel Logan, who have a proven track record of working on behalf of the community.  Our community must soundly reject Robert Rhodes and his running mates Emilia White and Patricia Wooters.  The Orthodox community needs to say “no” to the type of hatred and divisiveness that Rhodes preaches.  The future of our community and our Mosdos depends on it.

Yossi Gestetner is a New York-Based Writer and Marketing Consultant in the Orthodox Jewish/Hasidic Communities. His Firm “Gestetner & Co” Serves Political, Charitable and Corporate accounts. Yossi can be reached via yossi@yossigestetner.com

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As the campaign to replace Anthony Weiner for NY-9 heats up, both candidates rolled out their endorsements. After receiving a key endorsement from former Gov. George Pataki this week, Bob Turner, the Republican candidate, announced the support from Assemblyman Dov Hikind. Hikind’s support is noteworthy as he crossed party lines and endorsed Turner over his orthodox-Jewish counterpart in the Assembly. David Weprin countered those with Sen. Charles Schumer’s endorsement. Nevertheless, the biggest shocker of all came soon thereafter: Yitzchak Pindrus, the orthodox-Jewish Deputy mayor of Jerusalem endorsed Weprin.

In a letter addressed to the Jewish community, Pindrus claimed that Weprin will be a reliable friend who won’t cave into the Obama administration’s pressure. “David has never been afraid to speak in our defense and has always displayed courage when Israel needs to be defended,” he stated.

The question is unambiguous: How does Pindrus, a deputy mayor in Jerusalem, get into the picture? Furthermore, how can someone who claims to represent the Degel HaTorah, the party founded by Rav Shach Zt”l, meddle into foreign affairs and support someone who displayed disgust with everything Rav Shach stood for? Further, this is the same Pindrus who was fighting the gay parade in Jerusalem by holding a simultaneous “donkey parade”.

The answer is simple: Yitzchak Pindrus, which is a former mayor of Beitar Illit, is a long-time client of Ezra Friedlander’s firm The Friedlander Group.

Politicians hire The Friedlander Group to get the Jewish vote. Consequently, the accustomed system for Friedlander was: contract with candidates, get the establishment behind him/her, and arrange community leaders’ endorsements and bingo. This scheme, however, is on a collision course.

It all began with John Heyer.

In 2009, a young man named John Heyer ran for the 39th District of the New York City Council. Heyer received widespread support among the Jewish brethren for sharing common values, and a grassroots campaign erupted. It was, perhaps, the first time in history that the community defied the establishment, and Heyer was indeed beating the other leading candidates in Boro Park. Friedlander went ballistic and wrote an opinion for the Yeshiva World News in support of Brad Lander.

“There are those in the community who make the argument that we as a community should support candidates who share our core values.  That is a position I agree with”, Friedlander declared.  “In this specific election— as opposed to a city wide election where all likeminded voters can unite—only a candidate who espouses liberal positions on social issues can and will win this race” he wrote. A week later, he wrote another desperate opinion in the Yeshiva World News stating that Heyer is not in sync with the community and won’t be able to advocate for our needs.

Brad Lander won the election but lost Boro Park.

Things got worse for Friedlander when the youth in Jewish communities became more involved in politics. The November 2010 midterm elections were approaching, and many statewide offices and candidates Congress were on the ballot. Some races were deemed close, and the Jewish vote was vital for Friedlander’s clients. In a frantic move, Friedlander wrote a controversial opinion in the Hamodia which pleaded that Jews divorce religion upon entering the poll booth. “Recently, our community has taken a strong interest in elections and political campaigns,” he noted. “We’ve seen members of our community debating on whether to support candidates who hold certain positions on social issues that do not conform with our standards.  The issues range from abortion to same gender marriage”, he continued before declaring: “Campaigns are all about winning.”

“Certain organizations have been pressured by self-proclaimed askanim not to engage with elected officials who don‘t share our Torah ideology,” he lamented, and condemned those who wish to make a difference. “All you need to do is sign on to a blog or write an anonymous letter to the editor,” he cried. He finished with the most shocking statement yet: “let’s not drag our proudly held religious beliefs into it.”

However, the community listened to Rabbanim over Friedlander, and they voted for the candidates that vowed to defend our core values.

With support diminishing for Weprin amongst our community, Friedlander decided to pull out his last stop. In an exchange with David Lobl, Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs for The Friedlander Group, he claimed that politicians should not invoke religion during a campaign. “Members of Congress represent Congressional Districts, not religions,” he avowed and suggested that we look at issues. Yet, when challenged to cite Weprin’s positions, he steered clear.

Weprin cannot run on the issues vital to our community. His attempt to conceal his support for the President and Obamacare went futile, and he displayed that he’s oblivious to the danger of Washington’s spending spree. In an interview with The Jewish Week, Weprin blasted those concerned about his positions as “coming from individuals outside the district, in Brooklyn and Lakewood [in New Jersey] and Monsey [in Rockland County].” Yet, when he realized that the DNC troops from all over the country are ineffective, he had to go until Jerusalem to get support.

However, we are smarter than petty politics. We will send Washington and Friedlander a message for once by voting Turner.

Dave Hirsch is a political analyst and columnist. He can be reached at davehrsch@gmail.com

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The anger being expressed against the Government of Turkey by Israelis on board Turkish Airlines flight 793 on Monday (Sept. 5th) is indeed understandable, a natural reaction to the deplorable behavior of security officials in the airport in Istanbul, but what is even more outrageous, and unforgivable, in the deafening silence of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister’s Office. Where is the outrage, the messages of condemnation, the Jewish pride, a government standing tall for its citizens? So far, statements have been limited more or less to “the incident is under investigation”.

It is clear that the detention of some 40 Israelis disembarking from a flight originating in Tel Aviv was solely for the purpose of embarrassing Israel, to put Jerusalem in her place after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu refused to issue a public apology to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his cronies – all surrounding the Israel naval commando operation against the Marmara terrorist ship. The latter however knows how to stand tall and defend his Islamic pride, while the prime minister of the Jewish People on the other hand seems to be too busy seeking to placate the White House, maintaining a low profile in the face of mounting ‘social justice’ protests, and juggling to prepare for a possible unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood later this month. This all in addition to ordering troops to use the cover of darkness to enter the community of Migron and oust three families from their homes, and then move ahead with the destruction of the buildings – leaving 12 children homeless.

The Israelis who were victims of the Turkish ‘selection’ in the airport were simply embarrassed and humiliated. Women were compelled to undress, underwear included, and some were victimized by the touch of the Turkish police in the name of law and order, calling it a body search.

Where is the Israeli government outrage?! Mr. Netanyahu releases media statements when his wife stands accused or depriving their maid of workers’ rights, but remains silent when 40 citizens, representatives of the State and the Jewish People are publicly humiliated in an airport of an Islamic country – in the eyes of the world. After all, mending relations with this once staunch Islamic ally supersedes any moral requirement to give backing to one’s own people. Mr. Netanyahu, you and your administration are simply an embarrassment to us all! Your gift of gab, above average oratory skills simply no longer cut the mustard. Your bag of tricks has been exposed and simply stated, the emperor has no clothes – we see you for who you are.

The current administration proudly evicts Jews from their homes in Migron while bending over backwards for any and all collateral injuries to Gazans struck in air force retaliatory raids over Hamastine. The Prime Minister’s Office sheds tears for the ‘innocent’ residents of Gaza, those who distribute sweets and dance in the streets when buses are blowing up in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, those partners in peace.

For those who still cling to the Zionist dream, it should be becoming increasingly clear that the redemption will be coming despite the Governments of Israel, those who evict Jews from Sinai, Gush Katif, Northern Shomron and Migron. Those individuals who simply will not shed a tear when Kever Yosef is desecrated by Israel’s peace partners; when the Shalom Al Yisrael Shul in Yericho, the oldest shul in the world is burned to the ground by Arabs who simply wish to express their frustration over the stalled ‘peace process; by the abomination of seeing Kever Rachel encased in a cement cloak in the hope of protecting mispallalim who wish to shed before our Matriarch. We permit Yismael to control the Holy of Hollies, to use Har HaBayis as a launching pad to spread the venomous anti-Semitism that is synonymous is the Waqf and those who are aligned with it. It was the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem who proudly befriended Adolph Hitler YM”S, and his descendants proudly continue in his footsteps.

It was a Government of Israel that turned a blind eye as hundreds of trucks of earth containing artifacts from the Beis HaMikdosh were carted away from Hay HaBayis over recent years as the Waqf continues to remove any and all traces of its Jewish roots, part of the new Islamic order – rewriting world history to remove Am Yisrael’s Biblical claim to Eretz Yisrael, one that many members of the current administration simply fail to understand.

It is the Governments of Israel that repeatedly declare “Jerusalem is the capital of all three monotheistic religions”, as if Christianity or Islam share Am Yisrael’s G-d-giving right to the Holy City chas v’sholom.

We pray for peace and daven for Moshiach, but simultaneously, those who rule over the Holy Land continue to undermine all that it holy, literally, and we can only hope that Hashem will have mercy on his People and redeem us for the pain is too great.

Shlomo Werner – A Jerusalem resident.

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[By Patrick Brennan for National Review]

The last time New York’s Ninth Congressional District sent a Republican to Congress, Warren G. Harding was president and wide swaths of Queens were still cornfields. Thanks to Anthony Weiner’s digital indiscretions, Bob Turner has a chance to break that streak.

A new poll indicates that the race is at the moment dead even between Turner and Democrat David Weprin. Turner mounted a credible campaign against Weiner in 2010, winning 41 percent of the vote. His race this time around should give an indication of how far frustration with the economy and President Obama can take Republicans, albeit in one of the most Democratic corners of the country.

Turner has emphasized two issues throughout his campaign: the debt and Israel. While his opponent failed to give the New York Daily News a reasonably close approximation of the amount of the federal debt when asked, Turner has repeatedly pointed out that if entitlements and runaway spending are not addressed, “we will saddle the next generation with a debt-service problem that is insurmountable.” His ideas on spending, taxes, and entitlements are realistic, both fiscally and politically, acknowledging the extent of the pending crisis but stopping well short of the more extensive changes contemplated by Paul Ryan and other hardcore deficit warriors.

Both Weprin and Turner are hawkish supporters of Israel, a perfectly orthodox stance in the Ninth. But Turner, seeking an edge on the issue,  argued during an interview with National Review Online that his opponent’s opposition to Obama’s antagonistic Israel policies “would be undercut by party loyalty.” Robert Hornak, a spokesman for the Queens Republican party, notes that the election is “a referendum on Obama’s leadership, and in this district, especially as it pertains to Israel.” Unfortunately for Turner, the district’s Jewish community is so unwilling to vote Republican that the best he can hope for is that Weprin’s weakness on Israel might depress turnout.

Turner has emphasized his career as a businessman and his lifelong residency in Queens, characterizing Weprin as a political opportunist and pointing out that he does not even reside in the district. Whether those local ties will be enough to overcome party affiliation is the crucial question for Turner.

“Ironically, the fact that the Republicans have been putting nothing into this race has been good for Turner,” says Fred Siegel, an expert on New York City politics and scholar at the Manhattan Institute.

Weprin, on the other hand, will be playing party loyalty to the hilt. He has repeatedly tried to link Turner with the Tea Party movement, with which he is not affiliated, and with Paul Ryan’s entitlement-reform agenda, which he does not support. Weprin has specifically charged that Turner plans to cut or privatize Social Security and Medicare, a serious charge in a district with a huge share of older voters. Turner has consistently emphasized that he will not vote  to change benefits for citizens now over the age of 55 and does not support Paul Ryan’s plan, which, he says, “privatizes Medicare.” Turner has gone so far as to decline proffered support from tea-party organizations.

Turner still has a steep hill to climb. As Fred Siegel explains, “under Bloomberg, the city has become de-politicized, and what we’re left with is people for whom this is a business.” Weprin is one of those just-business candidates, and he’ll have public-sector unions and the Democratic machine behind him. They may be a bit weaker in the Ninth than in much of the rest of the city, but they are still a powerful force, and Weprin garners a new union endorsement seemingly every day. The febrile environment should inspire a strong turnout, and much of that will be driven by the Democratic apparatus. Republican sentiment at the moment is realistic but hopeful, and increasingly optimistic after Weprin’s gaffes and good news from the polls.

Turner hopes to be this year’s Scott Brown, with one important difference: Brown’s victory as a tactical coup for Republicans working to put together 60 Senate votes to block Obamacare. Even if he wins, Turner will be elected to serve 16 months representing a district that probably will be eliminated by redistricting in 2012. It would be a largely symbolic victory — but one that would put Obama and Democrats on notice that voters have had enough economic stagnation and are ready to reject the policies that have deepened it for all Americans — including those who live in traditionally Democratic districts.

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Orthodox-Jews gain much when a fellow orthodox-Jew represents them in Congress. Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) often came to the rescue of the Jewish community. Whether it was religious tolerance issues or Israel, Sen. Lieberman was a steadfast supporter of the community and served their needs. With his departure, the Jewish people will unquestionably experience a difference of representation in Congress; thus, it would be proper to replace him with another orthodox Jew in Congress. The 9th district of New York, which estimates to consist of thirty percent orthodox-Jewish voters, can serve as an opportunity to elect a person committed to the Jewish faith. The question remains, can David Weprin, a practicing orthodox-Jew, hold that post?

Sen. Lieberman is a man of faith. Many Jews serve on the Supreme Court, some held high-level positions in various administrations. Jews occupy 13 percent of the Senate, and they have 26 members in the House of Representatives. However, Sen. Lieberman is the only orthodox-Jewish representative in the Democratic caucus so far.

Yet, even Sen. Lieberman’s tenure has not been without controversy. Although he famously declared the Sabbath as a day of rest and even released a book about its beauty, he often did partake in sessions and votes on the sacred day, citing the cause of “saving lives.” He also raised eyebrows when he keenly pursued a bill that repealed DADT (which ironically passed on the Sabbath) and publicly announced that he does not say the traditional blessing “Shelo Asani Isha”. It undeniably caused the community much discomfort and humiliation.

Nevertheless, Sen. Lieberman was still a maverick, who more often than not put his faith before his career and party.

David Weprin deserves credit for his past commitment to the Jewish community; yet, the placing of his career and party before his faith is troubling and makes him the wrong contender for this position. His loyalty to the liberal stance of his party in place of his religion makes him a constant embarrassment for the constituents who ardently uphold the laws and customs of their belief. How can their conviction allow a person who practices Judaism, yet berated the core values in public, represent them and their values? How can they be at ease when a person rebukes his rabbi for upholding the Jewish values to the members of his community?

Yet, to his credit, it is not his faltering Jewish views that led to this rant and vote against his religious principles. He did not care to offend his Jewish brethren; it was rather a vote for “a civil-rights issue and not a religious issue,” as he explained later. His party-line vote is clearly in sync with his career. His naiveté is no less significant than his obliviousness to the peril of the rising national debt. His gullibility on this issue is equal to that of letting Social Security and Medicare go bankrupt. He is not anti-religious; he simply seems to be out-of-touch with the people and in-touch with the kingmakers in his party. Same-gender marriage is not a religious issue for a career politician that was hand-picked to walk toe-in-toe with the leaders in the party. He was simply chosen to reiterate and defend his party’s positions.

Sen. Lieberman understood that endorsing a Republican for president will not be popular among his peers in the Democratic caucus; yet, his faith was his priority. He understood that his career will end prematurely if he criticizes the President, but his religion took precedence over his occupation. David Weprin already said that he will support the President’s re-election; he supported the unpopular Affordable Healthcare Act which is not that affordable to business owners, because he is a Democrat. He was selected to represent the district because of his liberal positions. He will try to appease the community, but it will not happen at the expense of his party loyalty; after all, they hand-picked him to represent their views -– not those of the constituents.

It is for the same reason that Ezra Friedlander, the son of a distinguished rabbi in Boro Park (who perhaps opposes people who criticize the core values of Judaism), claims that Weprin “is better qualified to represent this community than probably anyone who has ever run for Congress.” He right in the eyes of a man who places his consulting firm before G-d, but for those who do not live off politicians and do take along religion into the voting booth, he is yet the worst to represent the community. Friedlander might lose money and a client if Weprin loses the race, but the community will win and gain a representative that is sensitive and compassionate to their values. David Weprin might be an orthodox-Jew, but he cannot and does not represent orthodox Jewry.

Dave Hirsch is a political analyst and columnist. He can be reached atdavehrsch@gmail.com

NOTE: The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of YWN.

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[Op-Ed By Yossi Gestetner]

You gotta love it when people who sit at dry TV sets in DC or in dusty basements tell you that preparing for Irene – the Hurricane that killed someone in your neighborhood; left you without power for a day; flooded your friend’s house with five feet of water; disrupted food and gas supply in your area; and dropped a huge tree onto your uncle’s dining room – was all just hype.

Indeed, Irene didn’t kill hundreds or thousands of people, but this is because people took the warnings serious and stayed indoors or evacuated in a timely manner. Many if not most deaths related to Katrina exactly six year ago were due to flooding (not the stronger-than-Irene winds), and due to people who didn’t heed the warnings to get out of harm’s way days earlier. But of course, after Katrina all three levels of government were attacked for their lousy work, but this time around state and local governments are attacked for trying to do their work.
 
Get a life, Toby Harden
 
Harden, the UK Telegraph writer noted that by lunchtime Sunday, sun shines were seen across New York. Indeed the sun was out, but huge sections of the NY 17 and the NYS Thruway were flooded into the evening hours, and mudslides and trees snapping took place late afternoon too. The 46 year old father of four who got electrocuted blocks from my house trying to help a six year who stepped into a small puddle that had a live wire in it, died when the sun was out, and the 83 year old Jewish woman who was swamped by water in Fleischmann’s New York perished after lunchtime.
 
Personally, I view NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg as an elitist snob; New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo as a Mob Boss, and New Jersey Governor Christie as someone who is full of himself. Additionally I think Government failed the Jewish woman in upstate New York as they failed my mother eight weeks ago when she was nearly killed in a flash flood. But all in all, the local and state leadership did the right move to warn people of an impending disaster. One can only imagine what chaos and loss of live we would have if people were going about their Sunday commute and shopping as in a regular weekend. George Will would be saying that yet again government failed the people on a massive scale…

Yossi Gestetner is a New York-Based Writer and Marketing Consultant in the Orthodox Jewish/Hasidic Communities. His Firm “Gestetner & Co” Serves Political, Charitable and Corporate accounts. Yossi can be reached via yossi@yossigestetner.com

NOTE: The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of YWN.

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