Robert Joseph, the Under Secretary of State responsible for nuclear non-proliferation has resigned. The spate of resignations seems to indicate that all is not well in Condi Rice's State Department. At least Joseph waited until Rice had filled the Deputy Secretary spot by bringing back John Negroponte.
This administration has almost completely mishandled the non-proliferation issue, first under John Bolton, and then under his successor, Joseph. Iraq turned out not to be a threat; Iran has largely ignored our holding our breath and stomping our foot until they give up their nuclear program; and the Washington Post says one reason Joseph may be leaving is because he does not like what is happening with North Korea.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Jewish Greed for Eastern European Holocaust Reparations Stirs Up Anti-Semitism in Return
This Christian Science Monitor article picked up by Reuters points out that there is a backlash to the never ending Jewish litany of "Holocaust, Holocaust, Holocaust!"
The article says:
"Six decades after World War II, the once-dormant pursuit of Holocaust-related justice is forging ahead in newly democratic central-eastern Europe. Yet the hunt carries a price: It has stirred resentment among a financially struggling populace, which bristles at the multimillion-dollar property claims by their Jewish communities, and sees the harassment of nonagenarians as unnecessary or even cruel."
"For those stalking war criminals, though, time is running out. To speed the process, Mr. Zuroff and the Simon Wiesenthal Center launched 'Operation Last Chance' in 2002, offering $10,000 rewards for information leading to convictions, while ratcheting up the rhetoric against reticent governments. That has made some local Jews squirm. In Lithuania, where nearly 95 percent of its 220,000 Jews were killed and fewer than 5,000 remain today, many Jews say that each time a Holocaust-related issue hits the media, it sparks a backlash. 'I understand it's the right thing to do,' says one young Jewish woman in Vilnius, the capital. 'But I sometimes wonder whether it's worth it, since it'll cause another conflict with the people.'"
As the article points out, one problem is that the Holocaust is increasingly being used to make a few people rich (or richer). I don't have any figures, but I would guess the vast majority of the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust did not have world class art works, real estate or life insurance worth millions of dollars. Yet, increasingly the Holocaust issue is being used to help a small number of families recover hundreds of millions of dollars. That puts a small value on the lives of the millions who died, and one could say that it brings out the very worst stereotypes about Jews and money.
The article says:
"Six decades after World War II, the once-dormant pursuit of Holocaust-related justice is forging ahead in newly democratic central-eastern Europe. Yet the hunt carries a price: It has stirred resentment among a financially struggling populace, which bristles at the multimillion-dollar property claims by their Jewish communities, and sees the harassment of nonagenarians as unnecessary or even cruel."
"For those stalking war criminals, though, time is running out. To speed the process, Mr. Zuroff and the Simon Wiesenthal Center launched 'Operation Last Chance' in 2002, offering $10,000 rewards for information leading to convictions, while ratcheting up the rhetoric against reticent governments. That has made some local Jews squirm. In Lithuania, where nearly 95 percent of its 220,000 Jews were killed and fewer than 5,000 remain today, many Jews say that each time a Holocaust-related issue hits the media, it sparks a backlash. 'I understand it's the right thing to do,' says one young Jewish woman in Vilnius, the capital. 'But I sometimes wonder whether it's worth it, since it'll cause another conflict with the people.'"
As the article points out, one problem is that the Holocaust is increasingly being used to make a few people rich (or richer). I don't have any figures, but I would guess the vast majority of the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust did not have world class art works, real estate or life insurance worth millions of dollars. Yet, increasingly the Holocaust issue is being used to help a small number of families recover hundreds of millions of dollars. That puts a small value on the lives of the millions who died, and one could say that it brings out the very worst stereotypes about Jews and money.
Man Who Fought for Holocaust Restitution Resigns in Scandal
Just for the record, New York state comptroller Alan Hevesi had to resign after admitting that he illegally used state chauffeurs to drive his wife and pleading guilty to a felony. Hevesi, the great-grandson of the prewar chief rabbi of Budapest, was one of the most outspoken advocates of restitution for victims of the Holocaust, and he was an advocate of greater investment by New York in Israel, according to the Forward. It just takes some of the luster off the whole Holocaust cause.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Jews on Center Stage
Just a note of three recent articles:
"Does Abe Foxman Have an Anti-Anti-Semite Problem?" from the NYT Magazine yesterday, which says, "...Colin Powell ... links President Bush's Middle East policy more to Jewish-neoconservative influence than to principle." And Foxman says, "One out of three people in these United States believes that the Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the U.S.... That's a classic anti-Semitic canard." The article's author says, "I asked [Foxman] isn't slinging the dread charge of anti-Semitism at people like Jimmy Carter and Tony Judt and Mearsheimer and Walt really a way of choking off debate? 'No, it isn't,' Foxman said.... I asked if it was really right to call Carter, the president who negotiated the Camp David accords, an anti-Semite. Foxman replied, 'I didn't call him an anti-Semite.' 'But you said he was bigoted. Isn't that the same thing?' 'No, "Bigoted" is you have preconceived notions about things.'"
"Fury Over Delegate's Remarks on Slavery" from the Washington Post. Virginia state delegate Frank Hargrove criticized a proposal for the state to issue an apology for slavery, likening it to requiring Jews to apologize for "killing Christ." The ADL (Abe Foxman) condemned Hargrove's comments about Jews.
"The Neo-Cons Route to Disaster," from the Financial Times, which says, "The neo-cons stand accused of many errors: imperialism, Leninism, Trotskyism (New York school), militarism. Some believe that the real problem is that so many of them are Jewish – this is an alarmingly popular theme, to judge by my e-mails. But the problem with the neo-cons is not that so many of them are Jews. The problem is that so many of them are journalists."
"Does Abe Foxman Have an Anti-Anti-Semite Problem?" from the NYT Magazine yesterday, which says, "...Colin Powell ... links President Bush's Middle East policy more to Jewish-neoconservative influence than to principle." And Foxman says, "One out of three people in these United States believes that the Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the U.S.... That's a classic anti-Semitic canard." The article's author says, "I asked [Foxman] isn't slinging the dread charge of anti-Semitism at people like Jimmy Carter and Tony Judt and Mearsheimer and Walt really a way of choking off debate? 'No, it isn't,' Foxman said.... I asked if it was really right to call Carter, the president who negotiated the Camp David accords, an anti-Semite. Foxman replied, 'I didn't call him an anti-Semite.' 'But you said he was bigoted. Isn't that the same thing?' 'No, "Bigoted" is you have preconceived notions about things.'"
"Fury Over Delegate's Remarks on Slavery" from the Washington Post. Virginia state delegate Frank Hargrove criticized a proposal for the state to issue an apology for slavery, likening it to requiring Jews to apologize for "killing Christ." The ADL (Abe Foxman) condemned Hargrove's comments about Jews.
"The Neo-Cons Route to Disaster," from the Financial Times, which says, "The neo-cons stand accused of many errors: imperialism, Leninism, Trotskyism (New York school), militarism. Some believe that the real problem is that so many of them are Jewish – this is an alarmingly popular theme, to judge by my e-mails. But the problem with the neo-cons is not that so many of them are Jews. The problem is that so many of them are journalists."
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