The Olympics is all about setting records. Well, the first night was a bit of a fizzer, as no world records were set in the swimming – possibly because les génies gastronomiques dishing it out to the athletes went vegan. More about that later.
But the Olympic Opening Ceremony probably did set records for the number of complaints about its parody of the Last Supper and the mountain of self-serving, obfuscatory, double-tongued, oleaginous, smirking, mendacious BS to explain it away.
If you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know what it’s all about, here’s what you need to know.
First of all, Celine Dion was a knock-out. After coming back from a life-threatening illness to belt out the Edith Piaf classic “Hymne à l’amour” before hundreds of millions, she was sensational.
Second, the light show from the Eiffel Tower was absolutely brilliant. Unbeatable.
Third, despite the pouring rain, the flotilla of boats filled with athletes cruising up the Seine through the heart of Paris was terrific. Clockwork stuff.
Fourth, the tableau featuring drag queens dressed to look like Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “The Last Supper” was a salacious display of aggressively anti-Christian blasphemy. In front of the tableau was a nearly naked man painted blue evoking Dionysius. It was like dining at a three-star Michelin restaurant and finding a cockroach in the bouillabaisse.
(Oh yeah, s’il–vous-plait, what was the little kid doing in there with the drag queens? In the USA someone would certainly have called the gendarmes about that. Perhaps in gay Paris they don’t sweat that sort of thing any more.)
Catholics around the world took umbrage. The French bishops said that the Games were magnificent but that they had been horrified at “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity.”
Soooooooooo sorry about that, darlings, really truly we are, said a representative of the Olympic Committee. We weren’t aware that we were offending anyone.
Four years to prepare this €120 million (US$130 million) gig, which must have been studied by committee after committee after committee – and you weren’t aware? Don’t tell me that pencil-pushers from the École nationale d’administration are that clueless.
Actually, it’s exactly what you would expect from Thomas Jolly, the 41-year-old director who designed and coordinated the evening’s entertainment. He is openly gay, married to a man, and has a reputation for outré theatre. No doubt he’s brilliant – I’d love to experience his production of H6R3, a production of Shakespeare’s Henry VI trilogy followed by Richard III which runs for 24 straight (no pun intended) hours.
But the putrid convention-busting Last Supper tableau must have been exactly what the organisers wanted: a public service announcement for a post-Christian France.
So what did Tom have to say for himself?
“The idea was to do a big pagan party linked to the gods of Olympus. You’ll never find in my work any desire to mock or denigrate anyone,” he told the media. “I wanted a ceremony that brings people together, that reconciles, but also a ceremony that affirms our Republican values of liberty, equality and fraternity.”
And here’s the official explanation, i.e., lie:
“The absurdity of violence between human beings” – that naked Dionysius is a powerful war-stopping statement, isn’t it? I bet that guys in Ukraine threw down their rifles and leapt over mine fields to embrace their Russian comrades after watching drag queens preening themselves as Apostles.
Actually, The Wrap, an entertainment site, caught Tom out in a massive fib. Their journalist obtained a statement from the Olympic organisers which explained
“For the ‘Festivities’ segment, Thomas Jolly took inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting to create the setting … Clearly, there was never an intention to show disrespect towards any religious group or belief … [Jolly] is not the first artist to make a reference to what is a world-famous work of art. From Andy Warhol to ‘The Simpsons,’ many have done it before him.”
In fact, showing disrespect might be not a bug but a feature of the 2024 Olympic ethos. For politically-correct bureaucrats it is an opportunity to educate not only the bog-stupid billion who will watch but also the athletes themselves.
Former Australian swimmer and Olympic medallist James Magnussen reported that nutrition-obsessed athletes were being shamed into going vegan.
They had a charter that said 60 per cent of food in the village had to be vegan friendly and the day before the opening ceremony they ran out of meat and dairy options in the village because they hadn’t anticipated so many athletes would be choosing the meat and dairy options over the vegan friendly ones.
The caterer had to rejig their numbers and bring in more of those products because surprise, surprise — world class athletes don’t have vegan diets.
“Paris Olympics: Vegan is the way to go as Games Village reduces meat, cheese, dairy products on menu to reduce carbon footprint” was the headline in The Indian Express. The Indian media was ecstatic. The athletes not so much.
An Aussie heavyweight boxer – 6 foot 6, 250-pound – was told that chops were being rationed; he could only have two of them. “He’s come here as a heavyweight, he’ll go home as a middleweight,” joked a Sky News journalist.
To be fair to Tom & Co, Christianity was not the only tradition to be demeaned. La belle France, which gave birth to Joan of Arc, le Roi Soleil, Robespierre, Napoleon, Victor Hugo, Marie Curie, and Coco Chanel, copped a hiding as well.
“We drew on the past of each site and monuments: almost each stone tells something about our history of France, of the history of Paris, a history which is connected to the world,” Jolly said, according to the Financial Times.
Could have fooled me. The proud heritage of France was boiled down like old chicken bones to a decapitated Marie Antoinette and can-can dancers. Maybe, just maybe, the mysterious silver-clad horsewoman looking like a cross between a Nazgul and the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse evoked Joan of Arc. The Da Vinci Code was a better advertisement for France.
M. Jolly is all about egalité – even in the people he insults. Christians shouldn’t feel singled out. The Opening Ceremony was thoroughly post-modernist and PoMo is all about deconstructing traditional values. In that, at least, it was successful.
And now, on with the Games!
Is the fuss over the Opening Ceremony overblown? Tell us in the comments below.
https://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.png00DrRichSwier.comhttps://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.pngDrRichSwier.com2024-07-30 16:51:182024-07-30 16:51:18Not just Christians were insulted in the Olympics Opening ceremony
The New York Times was more than happy to get emails shared in confidence between J.D. Vance and Sofia Nelson.
J.D. and Sofia were friends while attending Yale Law School.
J.D. trusted his friend and yet his friend betrayed him.
Why?
Because, as a man, J.D. wanted to protect children by supporting an Arkansas ban on gender-affirming care for minors.
Sofia, a queer, got angry and lashed out by betraying J.D. who is a man of principle, a husband, father and most of all a man of faith.
It is ironic that even after his friend betrayed him, J.D. forgave him. That is what decent men of faith do.
A spokesperson for Senator J.D. Vance said that he wishes Sofia, who leaked the emails and betrayed him, the “very best.”
“Senator Vance values his friendships with individuals across the political spectrum. He has been open about the fact that some of his views from a decade ago began to change after becoming a dad and starting a family, and he has thoroughly explained why he changed his mind on President Trump. Despite their disagreements, Senator Vance cares for Sofia and wishes Sofia the very best,” the statement said.
Ironically, J.D. Vance spoke about loyalty in a speech in Minnesota. Like Sofia, Kamala Harris has had the audacity to question J.D.’s loyalty to America.
It is always those who are truly disloyal who always question the loyalty of others.
Be it a former college friend, Sofia Nelson, or J.D.’s political opponent Kamala Harris.
It’s always all about smearing others, loyalty or integrity be dammed.
WATCH:
If you truly want to know who the J.D. Vance really is don’t read the New York Time hit piece. Rather read his #1 New York Times Best Seller published in 2018.
Hillbilly Elegy recounts J.D. Vance’s powerful origin story about a former U.S. Marine and Yale Law School graduate now serving as a U.S. Senator from Ohio and is the Republican Vice Presidential candidate for the 2024 election.
an incisive account of growing up in a poor Rust Belt town that offers a broader, probing look at the struggles of America’s white working class.
Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of white working-class Americans. The disintegration of this group, a process that has been slowly occurring now for more than forty years, has been reported with growing frequency and alarm, but has never before been written about as searingly from the inside. J. D. Vance tells the true story of what a social, regional, and class decline feels like when you were born with it hung around your neck.
The Vance family story begins hopefully in postwar America. J. D.’s grandparents were “dirt poor and in love,” and moved north from Kentucky’s Appalachia region to Ohio in the hopes of escaping the dreadful poverty around them. They raised a middle-class family, and eventually one of their grandchildren would graduate from Yale Law School, a conventional marker of success in achieving generational upward mobility. But as the family saga of Hillbilly Elegy plays out, we learn that J.D.’s grandparents, aunt, uncle, and, most of all, his mother struggled profoundly with the demands of their new middle-class life, never fully escaping the legacy of abuse, alcoholism, poverty, and trauma so characteristic of their part of America. With piercing honesty, Vance shows how he himself still carries around the demons of his chaotic family history.
A deeply moving memoir, with its share of humor and vividly colorful figures, is the story of how upward mobility really feels. And it is an urgent and troubling meditation on the loss of the American dream for a large segment of this country.
Men change their minds. Real men forgive others for their transgressions. Real men protect children from falling prey to the queer effort to trick, brainwash and even force little boys into believing that they are little girls.
If you don’t have the time to read J.D.’s book then please watch the 2020 film Hillbilly Elegy produced and directed by Ron Howard on NETFLIX.
This is what J.D. was and is against as a husband, father and Catholic.
Matthew 6:15 KJV reads, “But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
God bless J.D. Vance and his family. Give them the strength to hold on their love of others, even those who betray them, near and dear to their hearts. May they hold on dearly to the love and grace of God and His Son Christ Jesus.
https://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.png00DrRichSwier.comhttps://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.pngDrRichSwier.com2024-07-29 14:51:342024-07-29 14:51:34J.D. Vance’s disloyal friend Sofia Nelson from Yale betrays him and America, and yet J.D. forgives him. That’s what real men do!
Fr. Raymond J. de Souza: The company we keep is not only an issue for popes but also for political leaders, and presidential politics provides many examples.
Jesus taught, in part, by the company he kept.
“Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” the Pharisees asked the apostles. (Matthew 9:11)
Jesus kept company with those who scandalized others and made clear the nature of the scandal. Not the scandal of approving sinful behavior, as the Pharisees thought, but the scandal of God’s mercy: that forgiveness was available to the contrite as was the offer of salvation to even great sinners who obeyed His command, “Go and sin no more.”
It remains a challenge for Christian disciples today to keep company with all and make clear the purpose of the company keeping. Consorting with public sinners is no longer the issue it was in Biblical times, the confusion can still arise from the ambiguities inherent in the company we keep. The meeting is the message.
How to get that message right? Recent challenges come to mind.
Last month, Pope Francis invited comedians to join him in Rome, including Chris Rock, Whoopi Goldberg, Jimmy Fallon, and Conan O’Brien. It was not a tax collectors and sinners moment; comedic contrition was entirely absent. It was a celebration of comedy and an affirmation of the invited comedians, even as the Holy Father slipped in a subtle clarification, noting that “the laughter of humor is never ‘against’ anyone, but is always inclusive, purposeful, eliciting openness, sympathy, empathy.”
Perhaps too subtle. While no one thought that the Church was endorsing, say, the comedy of Chris Rock, there was also no sense that he should clean up his act.
Pope Francis knows how to message by meeting. In May 2022, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone instructed Speaker Nancy Pelosi to no longer receive Holy Communion. In June 2022, Pope Francis welcomed Pelosi to St. Peter’s, and was photographed with her. She received Holy Communion at the papal Mass.
In contrast, when Pelosi was received by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009, the Holy Father did not permit the customary photograph and a statement was issued immediately to clarify exactly the message of that meeting.
The company we keep is not only an issue for pastors, but also political leaders. Presidential politics gives further examples.
I returned to reading about Theodore Roosevelt recently, as his progressive politics have resurfaced, after a fashion, in the Republican Party. Trump vanquishing the Bush Republicans has some echoes of TR against the Taft dynasty of Ohio.
In the first weeks of his presidency, TR learned the impact of invitations when he dined with Booker T. Washington at the White House. Racists across the South erupted in rage. TR, while considering the dinner correct in principle, later came to consider it a “political mistake.” Washington did not dine at the White House again.
Pastors and politics sometimes mix. At the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham, was invited to offer a prayer. Not the customary invocation or benediction, but rather Graham formed part of a quartet introducing Donald Trump. First up was Tucker Carlson and then Hulk Hogan. Graham followed Hogan, but did not rip off his shirt. After Graham, came UFC impresario Dana White.
What was the message? What does it mean for a Christian pastor to lead a prayer – specifically “for Donald Trump” and that God “will make America great once again” – as part of the wrestling-style introduction of a political candidate? Sandwiched between professional wrestling and mixed martial arts, was Graham just another act in someone else’s show?
The RNC itself offered a bit of teaching by the company it kept. On Monday, after Senator J.D. Vance was announced as the vice-presidential nominee, the evening program featured the president of the Teamsters Union. Republicans do not usually keep company with Big Labor, so this was a message that Trump and Vance wanted to send.
Also featured that night was Amber Rose, a TikTok influencer who inaugurated the “Slutwalk,” a promotion of “sex-positivity” at the annual west coast Pride marches. She has her own pornographic site. What message did the RNC want to convey by consorting with Big Sex? Perhaps that converts were welcome; both Vance and Rose changed their minds about Trump.
After the assassination attempt, certain religious voices ramped up their political rhetoric. For example, Eric Sammons of Crisis, a Catholic magazine which promotes a novel conservative fusion, namely Trump and the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM):
At this point, the lines are as clear as they ever could be: if you love our country and want it to survive, you must vote for Donald J. Trump in November. . . .I don’t care if you don’t like his personality. I don’t care if you don’t like his position on many issues, including his at times squishy pro-life stance. I don’t care if you think he won’t be a good president. All that is irrelevant at this point. Our country is descending into chaos, and, like him or not, Donald Trump is the only person standing in the way.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, and given the dire state of presidential politics, many sympathize with Sammons. There is some truth in his approach.
I went to the Crisis site because it ran a commentary by Joseph Shaw, chairman of the Latin Mass Society, about something that I had written about a letter to Pope Francis regarding the TLM. Signed by various grandees of British society, it asked the Holy Father not to impose further restrictions on the Traditional Latin Mass.
In 1971 a similar letter had obtained a favorable response from St. Paul VI, who was impressed to see the name of non-Catholic Agatha Christie amongst the signatories. The 2024 version included Andrew Lloyd Webber, perhaps appealing to Pope Francis’ national sympathies with evocations of Evita; don’t make us cry, Papa Argentina.
I had wondered whether that was a good strategy, entirely independent of the merits of the case. If Pope Francis regards the TLM as putting flamboyance over faith and costumery over a contrite heart, would it help to highlight the support of non-believers of theatrical fame? Who is at the meeting – or signs the letter – shapes the message.
(A companion American letter was signed by Andrew Sullivan, the preeminent Catholic advocate for same-sex marriage.)
I thought keeping such company might distract, even undermine, the message. Shaw, as per usual, had good points to make on the liturgical principles in play. But, again, does it help his argument to have it appear in a publication the editor of which advocates voting for Trump even if “you think he won’t be a good president”? Would it advance Shaw’s cause in Rome to have it associated with such enthusiastic Trump partisanship?
It is fair to argue that it is the argument that matters, not what appears adjacent to it. But the company kept is a communication of its own. It’s been that way for a very long time.
https://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.png00DrRichSwier.comhttps://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.pngDrRichSwier.com2024-07-28 14:51:532024-07-28 14:51:53The Company We Keep
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to meet former U.S. President Donald Trump at the latter’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., on Friday.
“Looking forward to welcoming Bibi Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago,” Trump said earlier this week. “During my first term, we had peace and stability in the region, even signing the historic Abraham Accords, and we will have it again.”
Ahead of their meeting, an Israeli official revealed that Netanyahu called Trump on July 4, in what was reportedly their first conversation since January 2021.
Trump has said he felt slighted when the Israeli leader congratulated President Joe Biden for winning the 2020 U.S. election.
On Wednesday, Trump, who is the Republican nominee for his old job, declined to commit to changing Biden’s policy of slow-walking weapon shipments to Israel.
Asked on Fox News morning program “Fox and Friends” if he would, as president, fast-track arms transfers to the Jewish state, Trump dodged the question, hours after Netanyahu made that request during an address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress.
Instead, Trump focused on Israel finishing the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. “I would make sure that it gets over with fast. You have to end this fast,” he said.
“They gotta get this done fast because the world is not taking lightly to it,” added Trump, while again claiming that Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre “would’ve never happened” if he were president.
On Tuesday, Trump shared on his Truth Social media platform a letter that he received from Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas condemning the assassination attempt against the former U.S. president.
The letter was sent from Ramallah on July 14, the day after Trump was shot in the ear while speaking on stage at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Abbas wrote that “acts of violence must not have a place in a world of law and order. Respect for the other with tolerance and valuing of human life is what must prevail.”
Abbas has been repeatedly criticized for promoting violence through the P.A.’s “pay-to-slay” policy of financially compensating terrorists and the families of terrorists who murder or attempt to murder Israelis.
His Fatah faction, which rules parts of Judea and Samaria, on Tuesday signed a unity agreement that includes Hamas.
Trump responded to Abbas with a signed handwritten note on the letter: “So nice. Thank you. Everything will be good. Best wishes.”
On Friday, the Israeli official described Trump’s relationship with Netanyahu as “good.”
Vice President Kamala Harris and roughly 70 other Democrats boycotted PM Netanyahu’s historic speech to Congress on Wednesday. Many other Democrats such as Bernie Sanders, Chris Murphy, Nancy Pelosi, Chris Van Hollen, and others condemned the speech. The anti-Semitism in the Democrat Party is not just a tiny faction. It is the Democrat Party. Shame on any Jewish American that votes Democrat this November.
Former US President criticizes Vice President Harris: She’s totally against the Jewish people, and it amazes me how Jewish people will vote for the Democrats when they’re being treated so disrespectfully.
Former US President and Republican presidential nominee in the November election Donald Trump on Wednesday once again spoke out against Jewish Americans who vote for the
Speaking at a campaign rally in Charlotte, Trump criticized Vice President Kamala Harris, who will seek the Democratic presidential nomination, and said, “Now what she’s doing is she’s running away from Israel. Bibi Netanyahu is in Washington, and she refuses to be there [at his speech]. Even if you’re against Israel, or you’re against the Jewish people, show up and listen to the concept.”
He then added, “But she’s totally against the Jewish people, and it amazes me how Jewish people will vote for the Democrats when they’re being treated so disrespectfully and badly. It amazes me. It’s shocking.”
https://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.png00DrRichSwier.comhttps://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.pngDrRichSwier.com2024-07-26 21:52:052024-07-26 21:52:05President Trump: It Amazes Me How Jewish People Will Vote for the Democrats
What motivates an otherwise normal teenager or American 20-something-year-old to throw their lot in with a genocidal terrorist organization? It’s a question we have all asked as we try to understand the eruption of support for Hamas after their inhumane massacre, torture, rape and kidnapping of over 1,200 Israelis on October 7, 2023.
The 20-somethings are a demographic that campaigns for anti-racism, anti-bullying and human rights for all. How are we to understand the extreme Jew hatred and demonization of Israel from this age group?
Moreover, after the terrorists strapped Go-Pros to themselves and filmed their horrific crimes on October 7 in real-time, why do vast swaths of 20-somethings deny the reality of the terrorists’ deeds?
The answers to these questions are as complex and idiosyncratic as most humans are. However, a deep dive into what is colloquially known as Generation Z (Gen Z for short) — today’s 12-27-year-olds — will set us on a path to unraveling this mystery and make clear a number of course corrections our society needs to make if we are to avoid devolving into a society much like the one Hamas created in Gaza. View Generations Chart.
This report explores the reasons why Gen Z youth heeded the calls made by anti-Israel groups in America and student organizations in Gaza for the “revolutionary escalation of the global student intifada for Palestine.” It is also worth noting that these same student organizations support other authoritarian regimes opposed to human rights and democracy, including those in China, Iran, Cuba and Russia.
In this report, we will discuss:
Why Gen Z matters
Consequences of becoming the first generation born entirely in the digital age
Effects of social media on Gen Z regarding: radicalization, mental health, normalization of violence, narcissism, interest in factual truth
Why Gen Z Matters – Today’s Radicalized Voters are Tomorrow’s Radicalized Leaders
Gen Z refers to the demographic born between 1997 and 2012. As of 2024, Gen Zers (also known as “Zoomers”) range in age from 12 to 27, with the youngest around the age of a sixth grader and the oldest already in the workforce.
As of 2023, Gen Z is also the largest generation. Gen Z youth alone will account for over 40 million potential voters in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, nearly one-fifth of the American electorate. By 2030, the entire generation will be old enough to vote.
Gen Z has also been described as the “activist generation.” A 2024 “Gen Z Activism Survey” found 32 percent of Gen Zers and 40% of Gen Z college students are “regularly engaged in activism or social justice work” and just over half of Gen Zers have participated in rallies or protests to support specific causes or social issues. View United Way Survey of Gen Z.
The survey also found that 66 percent of Gen Zers say that most of their activism takes place online.
Gen Z is also known as “iGen,” since it is the first generation “born entirely during the digital age.” Due to their tech fluency and comfort with social media, Gen Zers have influence far beyond their age, life experience and knowledge of history (i.e., most Gen Zers don’t even remember 9/11).
Yet, being the iGen doesn’t come without consequences. A 2018 survey conducted by the American Psychological Association (APA) revealed that Gen Z had the weakest mental health of any living generation, suggesting a direct link between social media use and mental health.
Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist, said in a Wall Street Journal interview that Gen Z’s mental health crisis can also be attributed to growing up in a culture that “valorizes victimhood.”
Members of Gen Z have carefully cultivated and nourished their “victim status” online, with a host of intersectional code words in their social media bios that have become a form of virtue signaling. In doing so, they are rewarded with comrades-in-arms but have forfeited the sense of agency that is essential to mental health.
The PIRUS data found that over 60% of far-left extremists were under 30 (with nearly 10% under the age of 20), animal rights and extremist environmentalists were the largest far-left group (nearly 35%), followed by anti-capitalist, Communist and anti-Imperialist groups (nearly 24%) and anarchist movements (14%).
Between 2010 and 2020 (coinciding with the mass proliferation of major social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram and, since 2016, TikTok (along with Gen-Z entering their teenage years), the PIRUS dataset shows a 413% rise in internet playing the primary role in the radicalization process for those under the age of 30 compared to the previous decade.
According to the study, “Online platforms provide opportunities for far-left extremists to build community, disseminate propaganda, trade tactical material, orchestrate activism, and even announce and broadcast attacks” making it easier for young people to engage in acts of violence and to be targeted and indoctrinated by radical groups.
Susceptibility to radicalization is increased by a process referred to as “Algorithmic radicalization,” in which popular social media sites create an informational “funnel effect” with “recommender algorithms” steering users “toward progressively more extreme content over time, leading to them developing radicalized extremist political views.”
Gen Z uses social media as a search engine for their informational needs, including news, both in the United States and abroad. According to the Global Network on Extremism and Technology, social media exposes young people “to information that is often misexplained, misunderstood, and reshared in the digital and physical space, potentially further disseminating harmful untrue claims.”
Because online information may often lack context and nuance, it is often the case that Gen Zers do not easily discern between truth and misinformation. One study found that “77% of Gen Z believes in the authenticity of user-generated content on social media.”
According to a November 2023 Pew Research poll, a third of young Americans now get their news from the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok, where users promote anti-Israel and pro-terror content. View PEW Research Center chart on TikTok users.
In November 2023, Osama bin Laden’s Letter to the American People, in which bin Laden justified the killing of civilians, randomly resurfaced on TikTok. The letter, originally published in 2002 after bin Laden’s terror group, Al-Qaeda, killed nearly 3,000 Americans on September 11, 2001, went viral on TikTok because young Americans were celebrating it.
A December 2023 poll conducted by the Daily Mail found that after the incident one out of five younger Americans had a positive view of Osama bin Laden and that three in 10 Gen Zers thought bin Laden’s views were a “force for good.”
A Generation of “Truthers”
An article in MIT Technology Review posited an explanation of why Gen Zers believe and reshare online misinformation. Social media, the article states, “promotes credibility based on identity rather than community. And when trust is built on identity, authority shifts to influencers. Thanks to looking and sounding like their followers, influencers become trusted messengers on topics in which they have no expertise.”
Gen Zers thus prioritize content and their identification with the content providers over objective facts. Essentially, many Gen Zers are so-called “truthers,” meaning they live in a “post-truth” world having been conditioned to think that “beliefs needn’t change in response to evidence.”
Part of that conditioning is the belief that everyone has “their truth,” a non-negotiable right to “believe as they please” even when verified objective facts run counter to that belief.
An article titled, “The Cause of America’s Post-Truth Predicament” states: “When we affirm one another’s ‘right’ to believe things—even things that fly in the face of evidence—we essentially decouple critical thinking and belief revision. This damages the norm that keeps minds tethered to reality” and people “become more susceptible to conspiracy theories, paranormal beliefs, science denial and extremism—mind viruses, if you will.”
Stanford University Professor of Psychiatry Anna Lembke notes that people who are obsessed with instant gratification – an essential component of social media scrolling – means they are living in the limbic brain which processes emotions, rather than in the pre-frontal cortex which deals with future planning, problem-solving and personality development.
Gen Zers, most of whom are addicted to social media, are essentially being controlled by the emotional narratives their brains offer in response to the dizzying array of digital images they encounter. Without the counterbalance that the executive functioning of the pre-frontal cortex provides, including the ability to differentiate between good and bad, to predict outcomes of behavior and work towards long-term goals, it is no wonder that radicalization among Gen Z is prevalent. View Calla post on X.
As graphic images of Israel’s military response to the Hamas massacre of 1,200 Israelis on October 7, 2023 began flooding the internet, young viewers were privy to inflamed rhetoric, conspiracy theories and misinformation – misinformation that they do not have the curiosity or urgency to investigate.
Take, for example, the October 17, 2023 bombing of the al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital in Gaza. Initial media reports claimed 500 casualties and blamed Israel. U.S. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib immediately accused the Biden administration of funding Israel’s “genocide” of Palestinian people.
A December 2023 survey conducted by Harvard-Harris polling found that a majority (60%) of 18- to 24-year-olds believe the October 7 killing of more than 1,200 Israelis (including Israeli-Americans) by Hamas was justified.
The poll found that 50 percent of Gen Z support Hamas and said they believed the long-term answer to the Israel-Palestinian conflict was for “Israel to be ended and given to Hamas and the Palestinians.”
Seventy-six percent of Gen Z think Hamas can be negotiated with to create peace; 31% think Israel has no right to exist; 67% believe Jews “should be treated as oppressors” and 60% said Israel was committing “genocide.”
Following October 7, members of Gen Z are more likely to support Hamas and to oppose Israel than any other generation. This fact has been attributed to anti-Israel propaganda and a biased algorithm on TikTok.
The Virtual Pathway Into Real-Time Violence
The Gen Z incubator included the 2020-2021 global COVID-19 pandemic and the violent Black Lives Matter riots.
The pandemic resulted in high rates of youth unemployment as young workers were concentrated in the retail, hospitality and food services industries. Most Gen Z youngsters were not eligible for relief or benefits.
With no steady income and little access to credit, Gen Zers who took student loans went into debt and felt despondent about their economic prospects. They pointed to a failure of government to take care of them.
A 2020 op-ed in Teen Voguedeclared, “This pandemic has brought into sharper relief what some of us have always known to be true: Capitalism, and the culture of hierarchy that props it up, is extremely screwed up.
“We must recognize that COVID-19 is not the only virus that must be destroyed. We also have to confront capitalism and the world that sustains it … the pandemic has given us a glimpse of what an anti-capitalist society could actually look like.” View teenVogue article on COVID and Capitalism.
The Black Lives Matter riotsnormalized violence as well as challenged the authority of the government, politicians and the mainstream media. Moreover, Gen Zers watched as government officials hypocritically sanctioned the protests (making exceptions to large gatherings for racial justice) and even promoted the donation of funds to bail out violent activists.
Left-Wing Radicalism: Social Justice Warriors or Narcissists?
Left-wing extremism is linked to toxic, psychopathic tendencies and narcissism, according to a March 2023 study published in Current Psychology.
The study found that “Narcissistic individuals and those with psychopathic tendencies are more likely to strongly endorse left-wing antihierarchical aggression.”
Researchers of the study found that “certain forms of activism might provide them with opportunities for positive self-presentation and displays of moral superiority, to gain social status, to dominate others, and to engage in social conflicts and aggression to satisfy their need for thrill seeking.”
The research suggested “that individuals who endorse aggressive actions to overthrow those in power are more likely to exhibit traits of exploiting others for their own gain, lacking empathy, feeling entitled, being arrogant and manipulative…”
The research also noted: “Social justice is often used as a guise for these activists to behave unhinged.”
This letter by an “Ex-Canary” (an individual who was formerly featured on Canary Mission but has since rejected their antisemitism and removed from the website) is a perfect example of someone who became sucked into a social media echo chamber and acted out a narcissistic personality for the “thrill.”
“As I immersed myself in a social media presence,” the individual wrote, “I spiraled into becoming an unpleasant person. I became addicted to social media, and with that, my personality changed. I became more impatient, short-tempered, careless, and unfiltered.
“ … I gained thousands of social media followers, and I got hundreds of likes, and it began to consume so much of my life. I began to make many ‘Internet friends’ who shared very biased and negative opinions towards Israelis and Zionists.
“I began to partake in the hatred they spewed online … Why? I wish I had a better answer. Perhaps the attention it gave me? I look back at the way I behaved and I cringe from embarrassment and shame.”
Calla Walsh: A Case Study
An argument can be made that young Muslim Americans have been socialized into anti-Israel and antisemitic hate from early childhood. Some may have relatives in Gaza that have been affected by the conflict.
However, GenZ Americans have no such background and no single cause célèbre upon which to anchor their emerging identities. Many GenZers spend their formative years wandering around digital spaces, seeking identity, power, social connections and community, all of which are typical of adolescence.
Walsh comes from a middle-class family in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the daughter of Chris Walsh, a Boston University English professor, and attended the Winsor School, a top private school for girls in Boston.
Walsh attributed her entry into political activism at the age of 15 to the “climate crisis,” which segued into her activism for the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and then into the violent wing of the anti-Israel movement.
At 20 years old, Walsh faces multiple charges following her arrests in two states after she participated in violent protests at Elbit Systems, an international defense technology company owned by Israelis.
In February 2024, Walsh was charged with rioting, conspiracy to commit criminal mischief, burglary and conspiracy to commit falsifying physical evidence for her actions in climbing to the roof of Elbit Systems of America, creating a disturbance and causing property damage. Each charge is a class B felony, punishable by 3.5 to 7 years in state prison.
And yet, Walsh appears to be unfazed by it all – the physical carnage, the financial damage caused by her actions, the violent rhetoric and the incitement to violence that she issues regularly from her social media loudspeaker. View picture of Calla Walsh.
In 2020, Walsh said her motivation for political involvement was “personal and that I wanted to feel like I was doing something … just knowing there’s this looming climate crisis that is going to destroy my future, that is very burdensome to be thinking about all the time … [and] when I started organizing in more climate activist circles, I instead felt like I became someone who is protecting the earth instead of just watching it burn and get to ruin.”
Note that Walsh considers herself the primary beneficiary of her activism, no matter the cause she chooses to address. At 16 years old, Walsh expressed that she was “burdened” by thoughts of the climate crisis and her activism turned her into someone who was “protecting the earth.”
Activism as a Quest for Power and Control
In 2020, then 17 years old and a sophomore in high school, Walsh launched a digital campaign that helped re-elect Senator Ed Markey in the Senate Democratic primary race of September 2020.
Walsh helped build a “youth movement and online cult of personality” around Markey, which became known as the “Markyverse,” a digital universe where Walsh, as a young social media “kingmaker,” rallied her digital forces to reinvent Markey as a progressive icon and left-wing superpower.
Following accusations from Massachusetts Rep. Joe Kennedy III (Markey’s opponent) that Walsh’s “negative campaigning online had created a vicious, dangerous atmosphere,” Walsh said, “That’s when I realized I had a stake in this game: They are scared of me, a random teenager on the internet who just happened to be doing some organizing with her friends. I think that made us all think, ‘Hey, they’re scared of us. We have power over them.’”
In an August 2021 piece for Teen Vogue titled: “The Democratic Socialists of America Can Mobilize Gen Z’ers Like Me,” Walsh wrote, “No other crisis in our history has posed such an existential threat and moral obligation for radical change in our economic and political systems. Human survival will depend on revolution.”
The article now carries an editor’s note: “The author of this piece left DSA in December 2021 and is no longer affiliated with the organization.”
In 2021, Walsh abandoned politics and found her way into anti-Israel activism after she felt betrayed by Markey’s support of Israel during Operation Guardian of the Walls. Walsh claimed that Markey had “framed Israel’s violence as a ‘both-sides’ issue rather than calling it what it is: settler colonialism and apartheid.”
In December 2023, Walsh wrote in Mondoweiss, “The experience permanently disenchanted me from electoral politics and made me question whether ‘accountability’ even exists for representatives of a capitalist, settler-colonial empire like the United States.”
Walsh added, “I don’t work on campaigns anymore. History shows us that direct action, protest, and internationalist solidarity are far more effective strategies than appealing to the morality of elected officials who are in the pocket of the military-industrial complex.”
2024 – College Drop-out and Hamas Fan Girl
After dropping out from McGill University in Montreal in 2023, Walsh seems to have radicalized to the point of self-destruction. She has vowed to escalate her violent extremism as a “self-sacrificial tactic” and glorified Hamas terrorists, casting as her heroes the likes of Yahya Sinwar and Hassan Nasrallah.
In a November 2023 interview with the Real News Network, Walsh spoke about the criminal charges against her. “We’re not just going to be politely asking our senators and representatives to stop sending weapons to Israel,” she said. “We are going to put our bodies on the line and say, we are stopping these weapons from going to Israel, and we dare you to stop us.”
Walsh continued, “And so when I was in jail, what I was thinking was that I would be ready to do it again and again and again and again until we shut these factories down.” View Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement.
On her 20th birthday, Walsh tweeted that she had “nothing to celebrate.”
As of July 2024, Walsh was enrolled in an online summer course at Birzeit University, a school located in the West Bank whose student body has celebrated terrorists since at least 2003.
In late July 2024, it was announced that Israeli security forces had thwarted a major terror operation being planned by a cell of students from Birzeit University.
https://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.png00DrRichSwier.comhttps://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.pngDrRichSwier.com2024-07-25 22:51:512024-07-25 22:51:51NEW REPORT: Why Does Gen Z Support Hamas?
Oscar-winning actor and outspoken pro-Israel conservative Jon Voight said in an interview published Tuesday that his daughter, Angelina Jolie, had backed the Palestinians because she was “influenced by antisemitic people.”
The interview, by Variety, said:
Today, Voight doesn’t resemble any of the troubled men tortured by circumstances he’s played in his six-decade career, including would-be hustler Joe Buck in “Midnight Cowboy,” paralyzed Vietnam vet Luke Martin in “Coming Home,” and Ed Gentry, a suburban everyman turned avenging killer in ”Deliverance.”
Today, he’s all loopy grandpa, which is a role he plays for his six grandchildren now that he has reconciled with his once-estranged daughter, Angelina Jolie.
No one is spared Voight’s seething right-wing political opinions, including his daughter, who he feels has fallen victim to antisemitic subterfuge. (“Angelina wishes him well but does not speak about him publicly,” said a source close to the actress.)
He says her politics are, to put it mildly, not his, while his are the subject of an endless circular conversation — especially now that Trump is on the upswing.
The actor is a staunch supporter of Israel, most recently its response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks, and Jolie is a longtime refugee activist, currently decrying Israel’s killing of women and children in Gaza [sic]. In our conversations, Voight never lets it go, criticizing her Palestinian stance repeatedly, like a candidate going after an opponent in a 30-second ad.
“She has been exposed to propaganda,” he says. “She’s been influenced by antisemitic people. Angie has a connection to the U.N., and she’s enjoyed speaking out for refugees. But these people are not refugees.”
Israel is not deliberately killing women and children in Gaza; it tries to avoid civilian casualties — unlike Hamas, which hides among Palestinian civilians while targeting Israeli civilians.
Voight’s statement that the Palestinian residents of Gaza are “not refugees” refers to the fact that most were resettled there 75 years ago; many were born and raised there and are not “refugees” in the way that term is used for other conflicts.
In October, Jolie released a statement on the Hamas terror attack and the subsequent war: “What happened in Israel is an act of terror. But that cannot justify the innocent lives lost in bombing a civilian population in Gaza that has nowhere to go, no access to food or water, no possibility of evacuation, and not even the basic human right to cross a border to seek refuge.”
Palestinians have been provided with large shipments of aid; they have “nowhere to go” because neighboring Arab states refuse to take them in.
https://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.png00DrRichSwier.comhttps://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.pngDrRichSwier.com2024-07-25 20:53:102024-07-25 20:53:10WATCH: Ivanka Trump cites her Judaism in responding to online attacks
It is very important to listen to the officers who now have more fighting experience than anyone else in IDF history.
Colonel in the IDF reserve, Moti Yogev was interviewed and had this to say to the people of Israel:
*Ending the fighting in the Gaza Strip now, supposedly in exchange for the return of some of the abductees, which we all wish for their return*, before the defeat of Hamas, while abandoning the Philadelphia axis to renew the armament of the terrorists in the Gaza Strip, all these mean one thing: irresponsibility and security negligence, which will not return all the abductees nor Enable the return of Otaf residents to their homes with security and a sense of security.
Those who have not yet realized that Israel’s disengagement from the Gaza Strip in 2005 is what caused the intelligence blindness and the horrors of 7/10, will continue to strive to disengage from the Philadelphia axis and the Gaza Strip, the lawlessness that will enable the renewal of Hamas and bring the next 7/10 closer to us.
Those who have their eyes in their head and the reality is not denied by them, understand that only after the destruction of Hamas and its infrastructure until its decision in the Gaza Strip and Israel’s control of the Strip, with an emphasis on the Philadelphia area, while continuing efforts to find the kidnapped and their return, are they the ones who will bring security to and from the Strip and the ability to return the residents of the Otaf to their settlements with security and a sense of security security.
The Hamas decision, which has not yet been reached, is also the one that will somewhat improve Israel’s deterrence in relation to its enemies in other sectors.
“For the forces of civilization to triumph, America and Israel must stand together.” — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to bolster U.S. support for his country’s fight against Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran in a speech to Congress on Wednesday afternoon, July 24. 2024. This was Prime Minister Netanyahu’s historic fourth appearance before Congress.
Noticeably absent from the event was Kamala Harris and many Democrats.
Outside of the Capital building during PM Netanyahu’s speech were the pro-Hamas anit-Semitic useless idiots who support those “monsters” who “butchered 1,200 people from 41 countries, including 39 Americans…And these monsters—they raped women, they beheaded men, they burnt babies alive, they killed parents in front of their children and children in front of their parents. They dragged 255 people, both living and dead, into the dark dungeons of Gaza.”
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson Senator Ben Cardin, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senators, Members of Congress, Distinguished guests,
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank you for giving me the profound honor of addressing this great citadel of democracy for the fourth time.
We meet today at a crossroads of history. Our world is in upheaval. In the Middle East, Iran’s axis of terror confronts America, Israel and our Arab friends. This is not a clash of civilizations. It’s a clash between barbarism and civilization. It’s a clash between those who glorify death and those who sanctify life.
For the forces of civilization to triumph, America and Israel must stand together. Because when we stand together, something very simple happens. We win. They lose.
And my friends, I came to assure you today of one thing: we will win.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Like Dec. 7, 1941, and Sept. 11, 2001, Oct. 7 is a day that will forever live in infamy.
It was the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah. It began as a perfect day. Not a cloud in the sky. Thousands of young Israelis were celebrating at an outdoor music festival. And suddenly, at 6:29 a.m., as children were still sleeping soundly in their beds in the towns and kibbutzim next to Gaza, suddenly heaven turned into hell.
Three thousand Hamas terrorists stormed into Israel. They butchered 1,200 people from 41 countries, including 39 Americans.
Proportionately, compared to our population size, that’s like 20 9/11s in one day. And these monsters—they raped women, they beheaded men, they burnt babies alive, they killed parents in front of their children and children in front of their parents. They dragged 255 people, both living and dead, into the dark dungeons of Gaza.
Israel has already brought home 135 of these hostages, including seven who were freed in daring rescue operations. One of those freed hostages, Noa Argamani, is here in the gallery sitting near my wife Sara.
On the morning of Oct. 7, the entire world saw Noa’s look of desperation as she was violently abducted to Gaza on the back of a motorcycle. I met Noa’s mother, Liora, a few months ago. She was dying of cancer. She said to me: “Prime minister, I have one final wish. I wish to hug my daughter Noa one last time before I die.”
Two months ago, I authorized a breathtaking commando rescue operation. Our special forces, including a heroic officer named Arnon Zmora, who fell in this battle, rescued Noa and three other hostages.
I think it’s one of the most moving things, when Noa was reunited with her mother, Liora, and her mother’s last wish came true.
Noa, we’re so thrilled to have you with us today. Thank you.
Many hostage families are also here with us today, including Eliyahu Bibas. Eliyahu Bibas is the grandfather of those two beautiful red-headed boys, the Bibas boys, toddlers. And they were taken hostage with their mother and Eliyahu’s son. The entire family was taken hostage. Two beautiful red-haired children taken hostage. What monsters.
And with us also is Iris Haim, whose son Yotam bravely escaped Hamas captivity with two other Israelis, and tragically they were killed making their way back to our lines.
We have with us also the families of American hostages. They’re here.
The pain these families have endured is beyond words. I met with them again yesterday and I promised them this. I will not rest until all their loved ones are home. All of them.
As we speak, we’re actively engaged in intensive efforts to secure their release, and I’m confident that these efforts can succeed. Some of them are taking place right now.
I want to thank President Biden for his tireless efforts on behalf of the hostages and for his efforts to the hostage families as well.
I thank President Biden for his heartful support for Israel after the savage attack on Oct. 7. He rightly called Hamas “sheer evil.” He dispatched two aircraft carriers to the Middle East to deter a wider war. And he came to Israel to stand with us during our darkest hour, a visit that will never be forgotten.
President Biden and I have known each other for over 40 years. I want to thank him for half a century of friendship with Israel and for being, as he says, “a proud Zionist.” Actually, he says, “a proud Irish American Zionist.”
My friends, for more than nine months, Israel’s soldiers have shown boundless courage.
With us today is Lieut. Avichail Reuven. Avichail is an officer in the Israeli paratroopers. His family immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia. In the early hours of Oct. 7, Avichail heard the news of Hamas’s bloody rampage. He put on his uniform, grabbed his rifle, but he didn’t have a car. So he ran eight miles to the frontlines of Gaza to defend his people.
You heard that right. He ran eight miles, came to the frontlines, killed many terrorists and saved many, many lives. Avichail, we all honor your remarkable heroism.
Another Israeli is with us here today. He’s standing right next to Avichail. This is Master Sgt. Ashraf al Bahiri. Ashraf is a Bedouin soldier from the Israeli Muslim community of Rahat. On Oct. 7, Ashraf too killed many terrorists. First, he defended his comrades in the military base, and he then rushed to defend the neighboring communities, including the devastated community of Kibbutz Be’eri.
Like Ashraf, the Muslim soldiers of the IDF fought alongside their Jewish, Druze, Christian and other comrades in arms with tremendous bravery.
A third hero, Lieut. Asa Sofer is also here with us. Asa fought as an officer in the tank corps, and he was wounded in battle. He was wounded in battle while protecting his fellow soldiers from a grenade. He lost his right arm and the vision in his left eye. He’s recovering, and incredibly, within a short time, Asa will soon return to active duty as a commander of a tank company.
I just learned there’s a fourth hero here—Lieutenant Yonatan, Jonathan Ben Hamo who lost a leg in Gaza and continued to fight.
My friends, these are the soldiers of Israel—unbowed, undaunted, unafraid.
As the Bible says, “They shall rise like lions.” They’ve risen like lions, the lions of Judah, the lions of Israel.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The men and women of the IDF come from every corner of Israeli society, every ethnicity, every color, every creed, left and right, religious and secular. All are imbued with the indomitable spirit of the Maccabees, the legendary Jewish warriors of antiquity.
With us today is Yechiel Leiter, the father of one of those Maccabees. Yehiel’s father escaped the Holocaust and found refuge in America. As a young man, Yechiel moved to Israel and raised a family of eight children. He named his eldest son Moshe after his late father. Moshe became an exemplary officer in one of our elite commando units. He served with distinction for two decades while raising six beautiful children of his own.
On Oct. 7, Moshe volunteered to return to combat. Four weeks later, he was killed when a booby-trap mine exploded in a tunnel shaft right next to a Mosque. At his son’s funeral Yechiel said this: “If the State of Israel had not been established after the Holocaust, the image engraved in our collective memory would have been the photograph of that helpless Jewish boy in the Warsaw Ghetto holding his hands up in the air with Nazi rifles pointed at him. But because of the birth of Israel,” Yechiel continued, “because of the courage of soldiers like my son Moshe, the Jewish people are no longer helpless in the face of our enemies.”
Yechiel, please rise so we can honor your son’s sacrifice. And I pledge to you and to all the bereaved families of Israel, some of whom are in this hall today, the sacrifice of your loved ones will not be in vain. It will not be in vain because for Israel, “never again” must never be an empty promise. It must always remain a sacred vow. And after Oct. 7, “never again” is now.
My friends,
Defeating our brutal enemies requires both courage and clarity. Clarity begins by knowing the difference between good and evil. Yet incredibly many anti-Israel protesters, many choose to stand with evil. They stand with Hamas. They stand with rapists and murderers. They stand with people who came into the kibbutzim, into a home, the parents hid the children, the two babies, in the attic, in a secret attic. They murdered the family, the parents, they found the secret latch to the hidden attic and then they murdered the babies. These protesters stand with them. They should be ashamed of themselves.
They refuse to make the simple distinction between those who target terrorists and those who target civilians, between the democratic State of Israel and the terrorist thugs of Hamas.
We recently learned from the U.S. director of national intelligence, that Iran is funding and promoting anti-Israel protests in America. They want to disrupt America. So these protesters burned American flags even on the 4th of July. And I wish to salute the fraternity brothers at the University of North Carolina who protected the American flag, protected the American flag against these anti-Israel protesters.
For all we know, Iran is funding the anti-Israel protests that are going on right now outside this building—not that many, but they’re there—and throughout the city. Well, I have a message for these protesters: When the Tyrants of Tehran, who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair, are praising, promoting and funding you, you have officially become Iran’s useful idiots.
It’s amazing, absolutely amazing. Some of these protesters hold up signs proclaiming “Gays for Gaza.” They might as well hold up signs saying “Chickens for KFC.”
These protesters chant “From the river to the sea.” But many don’t have a clue what river and what sea they’re talking about. They not only get an ‘F’ in geography, they get an ‘F’ in history. They call Israel a colonialist state. Don’t they know that the land of Israel is where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob prayed, where Isaiah and Jeremiah preached and where David and Solomon ruled?
For nearly 4,000 years, the land of Israel has been the homeland of the Jewish people. It’s always been our home; it will always be our home.
It’s not only the campus protesters who get it wrong. It’s also the people who run those campuses. Eighty years after the Holocaust, the presidents of Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, and I’m ashamed to say my alma mater, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, couldn’t bring themselves to condemn the calls for the genocide of Jews.
Remember what they said? They said it depends on the context. Well, let me give these befuddled academics a little context.
Antisemitism is the world’s oldest hatred. For centuries, the massacre of Jews was always preceded by wild accusations. We were accused of everything from poisoning wells to spreading plagues to using the blood of slaughtered children to bake Passover matzos. These preposterous antisemitic lies led to persecution, mass murder, and ultimately, to history’s worst genocide, the Holocaust.
Now, just as malicious lies were leveled for centuries at the Jewish people, malicious lies are now being leveled at the Jewish state. No, no. Don’t applaud. Listen. The outrageous slanders that paint Israel as racist and genocidal are meant to delegitimize Israel, to demonize the Jewish state and to demonize Jews everywhere. And no wonder, no wonder we’ve witnessed an appalling rise of antisemitism in America and around the world.
My friends,
Whenever and wherever we see the scourge of antisemitism, we must unequivocally condemn it and resolutely fight it, without exception.
And don’t be fooled when the blood libels against the Jewish state come from people who wear fancy silk robes and speak in lofty tones about law and Justice.
Here’s a case in point: The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has shamefully accused Israel of deliberately starving the people of Gaza. This is utter complete nonsense. It’s a complete fabrication. Israel has enabled more than 40,000 aid trucks to enter Gaza. That’s half a million tons of food, and that’s more than 3,000 calories for every man, woman and child in Gaza. If there are Palestinians in Gaza who aren’t getting enough food, it’s not because Israel is blocking it, it’s because Hamas is stealing it.
So much for that lie, but here’s another: The ICC prosecutor accuses Israel of deliberately targeting civilians. What in God’s green earth is he talking about? The IDF has dropped millions of flyers, sent millions of text messages, made hundreds of thousands of phone calls to get Palestinian civilians out of harm’s way.
But at the same time, Hamas does everything in its power to put Palestinian civilians in harm’s way. They fire rockets from schools, from hospitals, from mosques. They even shoot their own people when they try to leave the war zone. A senior Hamas official Fathi Hamad boasted—listen to this—he boasted that Palestinian women and children excel at being human shields. His words: “excel at being human shields.” What monstrous evil.
For Israel, every civilian death is a tragedy. For Hamas, it’s a strategy. They actually want Palestinian civilians to die, so that Israel will be smeared in the international media and be pressured to end the war before it’s won.
This would enable Hamas to survive another day, and as they vowed, to carry out Oct. 7 again and again and again. Well, I want to assure you—no matter what pressure is brought to bear—I will never allow that to happen.
The vast majority of Americans have not fallen for this Hamas propaganda. They continue to support Israel, and I want to say: Thank you America, and thank you, senators and House members who continue to support us, continue to support Israel, continue to support the truth and see through the lies.
But as for the minority that may have fallen for Hamas’s con job, I suggest you listen to Col. John Spencer. John Spencer is head of urban warfare studies at West Point. He studied every major urban conflict, I was going to say in modern history, he corrected me. No. In history.
Israel, he said, has implemented more precautions to prevent civilian harm than any military in history and beyond what international law requires.
That’s why despite all the lies you’ve heard, the war in Gaza has one of the lowest ratios of combatants to non-combatant casualties in the history of urban warfare. And you want to know where it’s lowest in Gaza? It’s lowest in Rafah. In Rafah.
Remember what so many people said? If Israel goes into Rafah, there’ll be thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of civilians killed. Well, last week, I went into Rafah. I visited our troops as they finished fighting Hamas’s remaining terrorist battalions. I asked the commander there, “How many terrorists did you take out in Rafah?” He gave me an exact number: 1,203. I asked him, “How many civilians were killed?” He said, “Prime minister, practically none. With the exception of a single incident, where shrapnel from a bomb hit a Hamas weapons depot and unintentionally killed two dozen people, the answer is practically none.”
You want to know why? Because Israel got the civilians out of harm’s way, something people said we could never do, but we did it.
These heroes here today, the heroic soldiers of Israel, should not be condemned for how they’re conducting the war in Gaza. They should be commended for it.
I want to thank all of you here today who have forcefully opposed the false accusations of the ICC and stood up for the truth. These lies are not only libelous. They’re downright dangerous. The ICC is trying to shackle Israel’s hands and prevent us from defending ourselves. And if Israel’s hands are tied, America is next. I’ll tell you what else is next. The ability of all democracies to fight terrorism will be imperiled. That’s what’s on the line. So let me assure you, the hands of the Jewish state will never be shackled. Israel will always defend itself.
My friends,
In the Middle East, Iran is virtually behind all the terrorism, all the turmoil, all the chaos, all the killing. And that should come as no surprise. When he founded the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini pledged, “We will export our revolution to the entire world. We will export the Islamic revolution to the entire world.”
Now, ask yourself, which country ultimately stands in the way of Iran’s maniacal plans to impose radical Islam on the world? And the answer is clear: It’s America, the guardian of Western civilization and the world’s greatest power. That’s why Iran sees America as its greatest enemy.
Last month, I heard a revealing comment, ostensibly about the war in Gaza, but about something else. It came from the foreign minister of Iran’s proxy, Hezbollah, and he said this: “This is not a war with Israel. Israel,” he said, “is merely a tool. The main war, the real war, is with America.”
Iran’s regime has been fighting America from the moment it came to power. In 1979, it stormed the American embassy, it held scores of Americans hostage for 444 days. Since then, Iran’s terrorist proxies have targeted America in the Middle East and beyond. In Beirut, they killed 241 U.S. servicemen. In Africa, they bombed American embassies. In Iraq, they supplied explosives to maim and kill thousands of American soldiers. In America, they actually sent death squads. They sent death squads here to murder a former secretary of state and a former national security adviser. And as we recently learned, they even brazenly threatened to assassinate President Trump.
But Iran understands that to truly challenge America, it must first conquer the Middle East. And for this, it uses its many proxies, including the Houthis, Hezbollah and Hamas. Yet in the heart of the Middle East, standing in Iran’s way is one proud pro-American democracy—my country, the State of Israel.
That’s why the mobs in Tehran chant “Death to Israel” before they chant “Death to America.” For Iran Israel is first, America is next. So, when Israel fights Hamas, we’re fighting Iran. When we fight Hezbollah, we’re fighting Iran. When we fight the Houthis, we’re fighting Iran. And when we fight Iran, we’re fighting the most radical and murderous enemy of the United States of America.
And one more thing. When Israel acts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons that could destroy Israel and threaten every American city, every city that you come from, we’re not only protecting ourselves. We’re protecting you.
My friends,
If you remember one thing, one thing from this speech, remember this: Our enemies are your enemies, our fight is your fight and our victory will be your victory.
Ladies and gentlemen,
That victory is in sight. Israel’s defeat of Hamas will be a powerful blow to Iran’s axis of terror. Another part of that axis, Hezbollah, attacked Israel on Oct. 8, a day after the Hamas attack. It has launched thousands of missiles and drones against us; 80,000 of our citizens in northern Israel evacuated their homes, becoming effectively refugees in their own land. We are committed to returning them home.
We prefer to achieve this diplomatically. But let me be clear: Israel will do whatever it must do to restore security to our northern border and return our people safely to their homes.
Last Friday, a third Iranian proxy, the Houthis, attacked Tel Aviv with a deadly drone. It exploded a few hundred feet from the American consulate, killing one person and injuring nine. On Saturday, I authorized a swift response to that attack.
All our enemies should know this. Those who attack Israel will pay a very heavy price.
And as we defend ourselves on all fronts, I know that America has our back. And I thank you for it. All sides of the aisle. Thank you.
My friends,
For decades, America has provided Israel with generous military assistance, and a grateful Israel has provided America with critical intelligence that saved many lives. We’ve jointly developed some of the most sophisticated weapons on Earth. I choose my words carefully: we’ve jointly developed some of the most sophisticated weapons on Earth, that help protect both our countries. And we also help keep American boots off the ground while protecting our shared interests in the Middle East.
I deeply appreciate America’s support, including in this current war. But this is an exceptional moment. Fast-tracking U.S. military aid can dramatically expedite an end to the war in Gaza and help prevent a broader war in the Middle East.
In World War II, as Britain fought on the frontlines of civilization, Winston Churchill appealed to Americans with these famous words: “Give us the tools and we’ll finish the job.” Today, as Israel fights on the frontline of civilization, I too appeal to America: “Give us the tools faster, and we’ll finish the job faster.”
My dear friends,
The war in Gaza could end tomorrow if Hamas surrenders, disarms and returns all the hostages. But if they don’t, Israel will fight until we destroy Hamas’s military capabilities and its rule in Gaza and bring all our hostages home.
That’s what total victory means, and we will settle for nothing less.
The day after we defeat Hamas, a new Gaza can emerge. My vision for that day is of a demilitarized and deradicalized Gaza. Israel does not seek to resettle Gaza. But for the foreseeable future, we must retain overriding security control there to prevent the resurgence of terror, to ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel.
Gaza should have a civilian administration run by Palestinians who do not seek to destroy Israel. That’s not too much to ask. It’s a fundamental thing that we have a right to demand and to receive.
A new generation of Palestinians must no longer be taught to hate Jews but rather to live in peace with us. Those twin words, demilitarization and deradicalization, those two concepts were applied to Germany and Japan after World War II, and that led to decades of peace, prosperity and security.
Following our victory, with the help of regional partners, the demilitarization and deradicalization of Gaza can also lead to a future of security, prosperity and peace. That’s my vision for Gaza.
Now, here’s my vision for the broader Middle East. It’s also shaped in part by what we saw in the aftermath of World War II. After that war, America forged a security alliance in Europe to counter the growing Soviet threat. Likewise, America and Israel today can forge a security alliance in the Middle East to counter the growing Iranian threat.
All countries that are at peace with Israel and all those countries who will make peace with Israel should be invited to join this alliance. We saw a glimpse of that potential alliance on April 14. Led by the United States, more than half a dozen nations worked alongside Israel to help neutralize hundreds of missiles and drones launched by Iran against us.
Thank you, President Biden, for bringing that coalition together.
The new alliance I envision would be a natural extension of the groundbreaking Abraham Accords. Those accords saw peace forged between Israel and four Arab countries, and they were supported by Republicans and Democrats alike.
I have a name for this new alliance. I think we should call it: The Abraham Alliance.
I want to thank President Trump for his leadership in brokering the historic Abraham Accords. Like Americans, Israelis were relieved that President Trump emerged safe and sound from that dastardly attack on him, dastardly attack on American democracy. There is no room for political violence in democracies.
I also want to thank President Trump for all the things he did for Israel, from recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights to confronting Iran’s aggression, to recognizing Jerusalem as our capital and moving the American embassy there. That’s Jerusalem, our eternal capital, never to be divided again.
My dear friends, Democrats and Republicans,
Despite these times of upheaval, I’m hopeful about the future. I’m hopeful about Israel because my people, the Jewish people, emerged from the depths of hell, from dispossession and genocide, and against all odds we restored our sovereignty in our ancient homeland, we built a powerful and vibrant democracy, a democracy that pushes the boundaries of innovation for the betterment of all humanity.
I’m hopeful about America because I’m hopeful about Americans. I know how much the people of this country have sacrificed to defend freedom. America will continue to be a force for light and good in a dark and dangerous world. For free peoples everywhere, America remains the beacon of liberty its extraordinary founders envisioned back in 1776.
Working together, I’m confident that our two nations will vanquish the tyrants and terrorists who threaten us both. As Israel’s prime minister, I promise you this: no matter how long it takes, no matter how difficult the road ahead, Israel will not relent. Israel will not bend. We will defend our land. We will defend our people. We will fight until we achieve victory. Victory of liberty over tyranny, victory of life over death, victory of good over evil. That’s our solemn commitment.
And we will continue to work with the United States and our Arab partners to transform a troubled region, from a backwater of oppression, poverty and war into a thriving oasis of dignity, prosperity and peace. In this noble mission, as in many others, Israel will always remain America’s indispensable ally. Through thick and thin, in good times and in bad, Israel will always be your loyal friend and your steadfast partner.
On behalf of the people of Israel, I came here today to say: Thank you, America. Thank you for your support and solidarity. Thank you for standing with Israel in our hour of need. Together, we shall defend our common civilization. Together, we shall secure a brilliant future for both our nations.
May God bless Israel.
May God bless America.
And may God bless the great alliance between Israel and America forever.
https://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.png00DrRichSwier.comhttps://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.pngDrRichSwier.com2024-07-25 08:51:392024-07-25 08:51:39VIDEO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s historic address to the U.S. Congress on July 24, 2024
Attacking the police is insurrection. Islamic revolution in America. This is the poison fruit of a university education.
The Daily Caller reports: – Anti-Israel protestors surrounding a burning American flag at the National Mall
The madness has returned in full force. Anti-Israel protestors have flooded the streets of Washington DC with the arrival of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the scene is absolute chaos.
Vandalism. Clashes with police. Burning flags.
Where do you draw the line?
Watch exclusive footage of the dystopia happening right in front of our eyes here.
The NY SUN: The ugliest protest took place at Union Station, just blocks from the United States Senate. Hundreds of protesters clashed with police as they tore down an American flag that was hanging on a pole high above the ground. They replaced that flag with a Palestinian flag and burned the American one that had been torn down. The same group then burned Mr. Netanyahu in effigy.
A video of the event posted online shows anti-Israel demonstrators chanting, “Burn that sh–! Burn that sh–!” as one lit a flame and poured what looked like lighter fluid on the flag.
Speaking to the joint session for an historic fourth time, Mr. Netanyahu took to the podium in the House chamber to raucous applause from the Republican side and a more muted, polite clapping from Democrats. Some members on the left side of the aisle sat and remained stone-faced as he made his way through the chamber. The prime minister, as he passed Senator Schumer — who has called for his ouster — gave little recognition to the majority leader, offering only a head nod.
https://x.com/atensnut/status/1816174982759641550
Inside, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib — the first and only Palestinian-American to serve in Congress — held up a sign that caught the attention of her colleagues and the press. On one side, it read, “War Criminal,” while the other side said, “Guilty of Genocide.”
One of her Democratic colleagues, Congressman Jake Auchincloss, moved away from her once she unveiled the sign. A Republican, Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, then went over to talk to her and told reporters after the address that it was “cordial.” Ms. Tlaib later concealed the sign.
Many Democrats boycotted the speech altogether, which likely contributed to the calmer atmosphere in the House. Congressman Jamaal Bowman, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Congresswoman Cori Bush — all members of the so-called “Squad” — did not attend the speech. Speaker Pelosi spent the day meeting with the families of hostages still being held at Gaza more than nine months after the October 7 attacks by Hamas terrorists.
In the gallery, several individuals were arrested after they stood up wearing yellow shirts with messages that read, “Seal the Deal Now.” They were removed from the gallery in a matter of minutes.
While Ms. Tlaib was the only House member to openly defy Mr. Netanyahu during his address, thousands gathered outside of the Capitol building to protest the premier’s presence in the chamber.
Less than a mile from the Capitol on Constitution Avenue, a stage was erected by anti-Israel protesters to decry not only Mr. Netanyahu’s presence, but the actions of Congress and the Biden administration supporting him. “We demand liberation! End the Zionist occupation!” one speaker chanted. Another group of protesters walked around with a large puppet resembling Mr. Netanyahu with devil horns and covered in blood.
Earlier in the day, protesters were seen marching up Independence Avenue chanting, “Long live the intifada,” “There is only one solution: intifada, revolution,” and “Globalize the intifada!”
Protesters were seen trying to break through a barricade that had been set up by the Metropolitan Police Department, which led officers to deploy tear gas and pepper spray on the crowd. One protester — who was referring to the Israel Defense Forces as the “Israeli Occupation Force” — could be heard chanting: “IOF, KKK, MPD, They’re all the same!”
One woman, whose face was shielded by a keffiyeh during the protests, is already going viral for carrying a Hamas flag around the demonstrations.
I have had many many come to Jesus moments. From jumping out of airplanes as a U.S. Army paratrooper to having bullets fly past my ear and wounding or killing the man standing next to me while serving in combat with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam.
These are all come to Jesus moments.
President Donald J. Trump had his on July 16th, 2024 at 6:11 p.m. local Pennsylvania time. So too did a former fire chief Corey Comperatore who was attending the rally with family and was killed shielding them. Two other men had a come to Jesus moments were David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, and James Copenhaver, 74, who both were critically wounded.
6:11 PM is the time this tyranny occurred and it is an interesting number — read Ephesians 6:11.
“Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand the evil plans of the devil.”
God Speed President Trump we’ve got your back. Civil War has been averted for now but don’t forget George Soros and the Republican controlled Congress are still funding the threats against us.
The leadership of the FBI, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Secret Service still get their funding from the Republican led Congress and they are the only threats Trump needs to really worry about. Trump is standing in their way preventing them from controlling us the American people.
It is now clear that the Son of God Christ Jesus is watching over President Donald J. Trump.
It is now clear that President Trump feels blessed by His presence.
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The chief rabbi of Paris, Moshe Sebbag who is serving with his unit in Gaza has a message for French Jews: “LEAVE!”
“It is clear today that there is no future for Jews in France”, “I tell everyone who is young to go to Israel or another safe country”.
This wonderful soldier, of French origin, addresses the Jews of France:
“I know you are afraid to leave, to leave the house, the business company and the job.
Sell! Sell! There will be a big war there, and you will all be stuck there. I am calling the rabbis in France: come to Israel all of you. All the Jews, as they want to kill all the Jews, That’s how all the Jews have to come to Israel, there is food, and there will be apartments for everyone in Israel?
Come on, French Jews, they don’t want us there , my fellow Jews, wake up and come, like our parents left (the Arab countries), and see what will happen there, that’s what France will look like. Come to Israel now, don’t waste time.”
Already in 2018 we predicted that the Jews of France would undergo ethnic cleansing, and it is happening, and just like the Jews of Arab countries were cleansed from there, no one is even talking about it.
Why is the Israeli government silent in the face of the forced deportation of French Jews?
https://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.png00DrRichSwier.comhttps://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.pngDrRichSwier.com2024-07-24 19:52:212024-07-24 19:52:21WATCH: Paris Chief Rabbi, ‘There is no future for Jews in France’
The 228th Brigade is Increasing Readiness for Combat in Lebanon.
This week, the 228th Reserve Brigade of the Northern Command completed a brigade-level exercise led by the Ground Forces Training Center.
The troops practiced combat scenarios in Lebanon, including movement in thicketed terrain, advancing along mountainous routes, the activation of fire, evacuating wounded soldiers under fire, and logistical and communications support from headquarters.
This is the second deployment of the 228th Brigade along the northern border since the start of the war and the unit continues to be a significant part of the IDF’s defensive and offensive operations along the western part of the border with Lebanon.
https://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.png00DrRichSwier.comhttps://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.pngDrRichSwier.com2024-07-24 19:52:202024-07-24 19:52:20WATCH: IDF — ‘Ready, Willing and Determined to Defeat the Enemy!’
On June 30, 1881, a Norway, Maine newspaper called The New Religion published an address given before the Maine Congregational Conference by the president of Bowdoin College, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. He was well-known as a Civil War hero in his home state of Maine where he would serve four terms as the Republican governor. At Gettysburg, Chamberlain led his men in the defense of Little Round Top, saving the Union Army’s left flank. In his address, Chamberlain was at liberty to speak on a subject of his choosing. He chose to speak on an issue “which every public teacher and every good citizen and well-wisher ought to feel in a church…” — namely, church and school.
The issue of teaching the Bible in public school is one that has recently received much attention. On June 19, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry (R) signed HB 71 into law which requires all publicly funded schools and colleges in the state to display the Ten Commandments. The Left was apoplectic in response. On the same day the bill was signed by Landry, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced that they, alongside other groups, would file a lawsuit. Just earlier this week, a federal judge blocked the bill from being enforced until November.
But is it so unreasonable to display the Ten Commandments in public schools? Is it an outrage to teach American youth about Christianity? Chamberlain thought not.
He began by arguing that the church has made America much of what it is, “the land of liberty and law — a country, which seeks, at least, through all its toils and struggles, to establish righteousness among men — which is the end of law as it is of liberty, the end of government as it is of religion.” Chamberlain saw clearly the Christian church’s important influence on the establishment and formation of the American republic. “The church has a work for society as well as for the individual.”
But in what way does the church have a work for society? Chamberlain specifically had in mind the education of America’s youth. “The church’s care for education — this, it seems to me, is one of the saving influences in our country.” He continued, “If the national character is to be founded and built upon the Christian virtues, then the Christian church must be the guardian, or at any rate, the watchful friend and guide of education. The influence of the Christian church in this way is essential to the prosperity and even to the existence of a free Christian people.”
Chamberlain then pointed to a few examples of how the church’s role in public education was playing out at the time in other countries within Christendom. He first mentions France, where the Roman Catholic nation had moved to take the schools out from the control of the church. He found it curious that this decision in freeing French schools “from religious trammels of any sort” still planned to instill “common virtues of social civil life — virtues that we are accustomed to call Christian virtues…” He observed, “It is sad, rather, to see this depth of sincerity in the isolated standpoint of the individual soul, this restless groping of the mind seeking in itself the standard of highest right and highest good. God grant them the better revelation!” And in Protestant Holland, a similar movement was happening to make education secular and religious teaching neutral.
Yet, across the channel in England, just the opposite was happening. The educational act of 1870 made it clear that the English wanted more religion in their schools. Quoting the London school board, he noted they urged teachers to “use every opportunity earnestly and sympathetically to bring these religious principles home to the minds of children.” But he would point out that England had an established church. The United States did not. If America is a nation made up of so many different races and religions and our Constitution prohibits the establishment of religion by Congress, then how could American education teach Christianity?
Chamberlain would declare, “[W]e are a Christian country. More than any people known to history, we are founded and built upon the principles of Christianity. … We have no religious tests for our citizenship or its offices, but that is not saying that we are a people without a religion, or that all beliefs and all religions and no religion stand in utter indifference in our eyes. It is only necessary to look at our statute laws, to see that it is not regarded as a hardship to be compelled to recognize and respect Christian practices and Christian virtues.”
Yet, it is this very suggestion by Chamberlain that is most dreadful in the eyes of the ACLU and like-minded groups. To them, America has no religion and never has. They see no direct correlation between Christianity and the laws and ideals of America. They think it completely unreasonable to display any portion of the Bible in American schools. Chamberlain would disagree:
“[I]t would seem not unreasonable to let the instruction in these doctrines and principles have place in our system of common education. How otherwise can we keep our foundation firm? How otherwise shall our youth become and continue upright and efficient members of a great Christian nation? How otherwise shall we go on or even hold together as a Christian nation? It seems to me it is folly and suicide to stand by idly and see our institutions undermined.
“The country was built upon strong foundations. …If people want to enjoy the immunities and advantages of this Christian land, let them at least not be allowed to undermine its foundations. If people do not want to come to a land Christianity has made so prosperous and conform to its Christian spirit, then we can do without them.”
While Chamberlain expressed that he was not arguing for a state-church or an established national religion, he was advocating for the “study of the broad truths of Christianity,” saying it “would not be unreasonable nor oppressive for the youth of a Christian country.”
So what about the church’s work for society in light of all this? Chamberlain elaborated, “The very fact that as a Christian people we cannot, as they do in England, secure such instruction by law, makes it all the more important that we secure it by influence. We do not want the church to govern the state, as organizations. But we do want society persuaded by Christian principles and the Christian spirit. This must be done then by personal and organized Christian effort. …For the church is not merely to look to its own salvation. It is the great guardian and minister of glad tidings and good among men — to the littles ones also.”
If America is to remain true to its foundations, its people must be familiar with its Christian origins. Of these origins, the church was historically independent of the state and remains so to this day. But that does not mean public schools are to be void of all mentions of our Christian roots, far from it. Movements like we see in Louisiana to incorporate teaching on our nation’s Christian foundation is a step in the right direction. America’s second president, John Adams, remarked “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People.”
The integrity of the republic depends on, as Chamberlain would say, the church “by all the influences and forces at its command to keep the foundations of our education pure, and the foundations of character and of liberty sound and sure.”
The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.
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THIS JULY 24: surround the U.S. Capitol and issue a notice of Citizen’s Arrest for Benjamin Netanyahu for crimes against humanity! The U.S. government has invited the Prime Minister of Israel to address Congress while he carries out a genocide against the Palestinian people. We won’t let a war criminal walk the streets of DC!
The people of the world stand with Palestine and against the genocide committed by Israel with the full agreement of the United States. In Washington DC, we will surround the Capitol building while the U.S. war criminals cheer on (and fund!) Israel’s genocidal campaign and welcome Netanyahu inside.
We must keep building momentum and increase the pressure with more marches, walk-outs, sit-ins, and other forms of direct action directed at the political offices, businesses, and workplaces that fund, invest, and collaborate with Israeli genocide and occupation.
There is a growing global movement for a Free Palestine. Across the world, millions of people are engaging in demonstrations and organizing major marches in solidarity with Palestine. Our demands for an immediate ceasefire, cutting all aid to Israel, and lifting the siege on Gaza have broader support than ever. On November 4th, over 500,000 gathered in Washington DC for the largest march in recent times to stand in solidarity with Palestine. Protests with half a million people erupted on the streets of London, constituents across Canada occupied over 17 MP offices from coast to coast, and Belgian dock workers’ unions have refused to transport weapons by plane or sea that are destined for Israel. We must keep building momentum and increase the pressure with more marches, walk-outs, sit-ins, and other forms of direct action directed at the political offices, businesses, and workplaces that fund, invest, and collaborate with Israeli genocide and occupation. NOW is the time for our mobilizations to grow in size, frequency, and focus; building a political climate that makes Israel’s business of genocide unsustainable.
Already protesters have shut down highways, train stations, and bridges in the United States; activists have targeted Israeli weapons manufacturers; Belgian dockworkers’ unions have refused to handle weapons transports to Israel; Bolivia has cut diplomatic ties with Israel while Jordan, Chile, and Colombia have recalled their Israeli ambassadors. Be part of the change, take action, and make your voice heard as the global struggle for Palestine enters a new phase.
We call on movements, organized labor, youth, students, media and healthcare workers, and all members of society to join us in demanding an immediate ceasefire, cutting all aid to Israel, and lifting the siege on Gaza. This call to action started on November 9, but we will continue to build up the momentum with ongoing days of action. No business as usual until Palestine is Free!
Walk out from work and/or school
Picket Israeli embassies and consulates
Picket against companies that profit from Israel’s occupation of Palestine (Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Elbit Systems)
https://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.png00DrRichSwier.comhttps://libertyfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_v6_225x110.pngDrRichSwier.com2024-07-24 07:51:492024-07-24 07:51:49INSURRECTION: Pro- Hamas ‘Shut It Down For Palestine’ Taking Over D.C. to Shut Down the U.S. Government!
The misuse of language induces antisemitism, to paraphrase Socrates.
The philosopher Socrates once wrote that “the misuse of language induces evil in the soul” and this maxim pretty much sums up the sanctification of Hamas and vilification of Israel since October 7th. There should be no question about the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas or its goal of exterminating Jews globally. And yet, progressive voices the world over misuse language to describe the rape of Jewish women and girls, murder of Jewish civilians, decapitation of Jewish babies, and taking of Jewish hostages as “acts of resistance.”
Even liberals who identify as moderate have urged Israeli restraint, suggested that Israel’s conduct provokes terrorism, or trumpeted concern for Gazans whom Hamas, not Israel, has put in harm’s way. If their worry over civilian safety were truly sincere, however, they would be exhorting terrorists – not Israelis – to stop using human shields. Instead, public handwringing over civilian casualties has become a dog whistle for falsely accusing Israel of war crimes and genocide.
Despite suffering unspeakable horrors that violated all bounds of human decency, Israel is demeaned, and Jewish lives are devalued by the media, by university professors and students, by mainline Christian churches, and by radical Congressional Democrats who laud Hamas and rationalize or deny its brutality. And also, by Vice President Kamala Harris, who recently complimented anti-Israel campus protestors for “showing exactly what the human emotion should be.”
Really?
Not even Socrates could have imagined such linguistic nonsense. Israel is described as “colonial” although the Jews’ presence in their homeland goes back thousands of years before any Arab occupation.
Jews are described as “oppressors” though they were the ones who were subjugated, abused, and dispossessed after the Arab conquest.
Despite lacking any documented provenance, the Palestinian-Arabs are described as “aboriginal” when in fact Arab-Muslim culture was imposed on the region through jihadist colonialism and the Jews are indigenous to the region.
And as antisemitic crime drastically increases, Jews are portrayed as “provocateurs”. One recent example was an anti-Israel demonstration outside congregation Adas Torah in Los Angeles by masked hooligans who blocked access and threatened those who came to the synagogue’s defense, while police on the scene reportedly facilitated the mob’s agenda by initially discouraging Jews from entering or leaving the building. Little was done to disperse the demonstrators, who continued to threaten and harass congregants and obstruct the use of private property.
Undoubtedly, the police would have flexed more muscle had the protestors been attacking an abortion clinic or a gay pride event.
Not surprisingly, mainstream press coverage of the incident indulged anti-Israel sensibilities, as illustrated by a Los Angeles Times article noting the synagogue was hosting a real estate marketing event “in which at least one company [had sales listings] in the occupied West Bank,” and describing the demonstration as “the latest skirmish” in a “decades-long international battle over the expansion of Jewish settlements on land seized and occupied by Israel during its 1967 Six Day war…” The article went on to contextualize the mob’s actions by stating that building “settlements on seized Palestinian land is considered by many countries to be a violation of international law…”
Such statements are highly problematic for several reasons. First, synagogues in LA do not dictate Israeli policy. Second, it is acceptable under traditional international law for countries under attack to seize land from belligerent nations that initiate hostilities. Third, the territories liberated in 1967 were never “Palestinian land” as no such country existed at any time in history.
Israel can claim lawful ownership today because she was acting defensively when she defeated Jordan, an aggressor nation that acquired these ancestrally Jewish lands by illegal conquest in the first place. Although critics cite the Law of Belligerent Occupation and Fourth Geneva Convention to accuse Israel of unlawful occupation, these standards apply to sovereign territories captured by belligerent conquerors. They do not really apply to Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem because inter alia they were not sovereign lands when Jordan seized them in 1948 or when Israel liberated them while defending herself in 1967.
Jordan’s illegal occupation from 1948 to 1967 was illegitimate ab initio under international law; and consequently, Jordan did not possess lawful title when it conveyed its putative land rights to the Palestinian Authority at the beginning of the ill-conceived Oslo process. Thus, Palestinian-Arabs cannot rely on derivative Jordanian rights to claim an interest superior to that of Israel or the Jews. Nor can they assert loftier ancestral claims given the 3,500-year history of indigenous Jewish habitation that long preceded Roman, Arab, and Ottoman conquests and occupations. It is Jews who are historically indigenous, not “Palestinians,” who are relative latecomers to the Jewish homeland.
Mainstream coverage blaming Israel for the Gaza war, misstating the region’s history, depicting antisemitism as political speech, or sympathizing with terror groups like Hamas, has helped normalize Jew-hatred. As a consequence, anti-Jewish gangs have become commonplace from Los Angeles to New York, London to Paris, and east to west – only to be rationalized or validated by progressives and their media lackeys. Or by leftist politicians and vapid celebrities as an understandable reaction to Israeli “apartheid,” though Israel has never been an apartheid state. Those who claim otherwise are employing the Hitlerian “Big Lie” by repeating an outrageous mistruth so frequently that people come to believe it because of its sheer audacity.
The International Criminal Court’s Rome Statute of 2002 defines apartheid as “an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other racial group or groups and committed with the intention of maintaining that regime.” This definition clearly does not fit Israel, where ethnic and religious minorities have equal rights under the law. But it does describe communist dictatorships like China, Islamist regimes like Iran, and genocidal terror organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah, which are romanticized by progressives in Congress, on college campuses, and in the urban street.
American antisemitism has exploded by nearly four-hundred percent since October 7th, but this did not occur in a vacuum and has been brewing for decades. Indeed, it became politically acceptable under President Obama, when antisemitism among his party’s leftist and identity-community bases was first ignored, then tolerated, and later weaponized to slander Israel and justify appeasement of Iran and Hamas. Since the Obama years, Democratic politicians have often blamed antisemitism on Israeli policies, though it always existed among the progressive and minority demographics they traditionally courted and considered natural allies.
The flames of hatred are fanned today by mainstream journalists and commentators, who sanitize antisemitism from progressives, minorities, and Islamists, and who engage in secular taqiyya to discount Jewish historical claims and Israeli legitimacy. The media’s pervasive anti-Israel bias is reflected by its (a) disingenuous defense of Islamic extremists as inherently peaceful and mainly reactive, (b) tendency to minimize the risk, incidence, and aims of genocidal terrorism against Jews and Israel, and (c) false assurances of Palestinian “moderation” despite the extremist goals of Hamas, Hezbollah, and the PA – and the repudiation of Jewish sovereignty by most Palestinian-Arabs.
Too much energy has been wasted by well-meaning advocates who justify Israel’s existence as a beacon of western democracy, political freedoms, and social equality. And while all this may be true, Israel’s raison d’Etre is that she is a sovereign Jewish nation in the Jews’ ancient homeland. No other independent nation ever existed there – from the time of the Dispersion to the re-establishment of Jewish sovereignty in 1948.
Israel’s existence does not depend on whether she is a democracy or republic, or whether her leaders are liberal or conservative. Israel exists as the homeland of an ancient people who maintained their religious, physical, and national connections to the land and covenantal birthright throughout the millennia. This connection is both spiritual and corporeal and remains unbroken to the present day.
Israel is first and foremost a Jewish nation regardless of governmental form. Moreover, she is not a melting pot, but rather a patchwork where individual and minority rights are respected as long as they do not threaten her security and continuity as a Jewish state. No other country would be expected to risk national suicide by submitting to mortal enemies who oppose its very existence.
When all is said and done, Israel’s Jewish character is her truth, regardless of what the world might say or think. As stated by Rambam (Maimonides) eight centuries ago: “truth does not become truer by virtue of the fact that the entire world agrees with it, nor less so even if the whole world disagrees with it.” (Moreh Nevuchim, 2:15.)
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Right from the start, violent Jihad served as the engine of Islam under the command and supervision of Muhammad himself. To understand how quickly Islam spread worldwide, we must see the Timeline of Islam.
After Muhammad died in 632 CE, his friend Abu Bakr was named Caliph and ruler of the Islamic community, or Ummah. Muhammad’s followers occupied a vast geographic area in a short time; conversion to Islam was heightened by Islamic missionaries, who intermingled with local populations to promulgate Islamic teachings. It resulted in Islam’s spread outward from Mecca toward both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the creation of the Muslim world.
In no time at all, Islam spread like a pandemic disease. Once it attacked the minds of its victims, this debilitating disease was capable of transforming them into helpless pawns who had no choice but to execute what they were directed to do.
Here is the truth, as bitter as it may be. Islam is the culprit. Islam is anything but a religion of peace. Violence is at the very core of Islam. Violence is institutionalized in the Muslim’s holy book, the Quran, in many verses:
Qur’an 9:5: “Fight and kill the disbelievers wherever you find them, take them captive, harass them, lie in wait and ambush them using every stratagem of war.”
Qur’an 9:112: “The Believers fight in Allah’s cause; they slay and are slain, kill and are killed.”
Qur’an: 8:39: “So fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief [non-Muslims]) and all submit to the religion of Allah alone (in the whole world).”
Qur’an 8:65: “O Prophet, urge the faithful to fight. If there are twenty among you with determination, they will vanquish two hundred; if there are a hundred, then they will slaughter a thousand unbelievers, for the infidels are a people devoid of understanding.”
Qur’an: 9:38: “Believers, what is the matter with you, that when you are asked to go forth and fight in Allah’s Cause, you cling to the earth? Do you prefer the life of this world to the Hereafter? Unless you go forth, He will afflict and punish you with a painful doom and put others in your place.”
That’s what the Quran commands the believer repeatedly — to make jihad on even the people of the book, Jews and Christians, are specifically targeted. Islam essentially invented the idea that Christians, Jews, and pagans are abominations and offensive to Allah and that their very existence represents an attack upon the self-defined Islamic right to reign over the world. Allah thus enlists Muslim believers to eradicate by force those who offend him and, by disbelieving, prevent his rule. True Muslim believers, therefore, become the enforcers, hitmen, and mercenaries for their god in order to establish a global Caliphate for their parasitic clergy. Their targets are artificially constructed adversaries.
Muslim believers, hence, are instructed to fear the “great Satan” and are told that if they do not live up to Allah’s calls to Jihad, they are offensive to Allah and their families.
Now, the only question remains the extent of a Muslim’s obedience to the Quran and the Sunna, as well as the life examples of Muhammad. To be sure, a great many Muslims are not following the dictates of the Quran verbatim, as they should, since they consider it to be the literal, immutable, perfect words of Allah.
Furthermore, nowhere do I say all Muslims believe in shedding the blood of others automatically and make every Muslim engage in a killing spree. Yet the commandments of the Quran to believers are clear and emphatic. It is for this reason that an innumerable number of Muslims do engage in jihad, and suicide volunteers vie with one another to offer their services to their handler leaders.
A true Muslim does not and cannot believe in freedom of choice. In the religion of Islam — Submission — everything is up to Allah, as clearly and repeatedly stipulated in the Quran. The raison d’être for the Muslim is to be unconditionally submissive to the will and dictates of Allah. Everything that a “good” Muslim does is contingent upon the will and decree of Allah; he is brainwashed to believe.
To cut to the chase, we must eliminate some disinformation and myths about the “war on terror.” We are not fighting terrorism. We are engaging in an ideological battle between freedom, conservatism, democracy, individual rights, capitalism, “Christian” ethics and Islamic jihad, communism-socialism, theocracy, and tyranny.
There are also internationalist, dictatorial, and globalist forces that seek to use the conflict to create an international government and the unification of all religions by the destruction of nationalism, patriotism, individual rights, and sectarianism.
It is not “fanatical,” “radical,” or “extreme” Islam that we are fighting, but average, orthodox, canonical, typical, accepted, traditional Islam straight from the mouth of Muhammad. Islam is violent in direct proportion to its mission and scripture. The so-called fanatics and terrorists are only upholding the truth of their principles.
In short, We must begin to declare Islam evil, not from a sectarian perspective, but from a universal, humanist one. Every encroachment of Islam as a religion must be rejected, harassed, and discouraged by all people everywhere. Any leftist attempts to give aid and comfort to this religion of hate must be denounced and frustrated at every turn. Otherwise, get used to your radioactive suit and fallout shelter, a standard of living — and a level of freedom of 1/10th of what you have today.
Remedying the Right’s disastrous forays into culture.
The short clip from The New Norm Show that’s been circulating almost seems perfectly timed to prove Spencer Klavan’s point: the Right’s approach to culture is an abysmal failure. Nearly universally panned, the “anti-woke sitcom” is everything wrong with the Right’s typical incursions into the aesthetic realm. Pedro Gonzalez pointed out in Chronicles that “There’s nothing subversive or witty going on; it’s just hammering you on the nose with ham-fisted politics, accomplishing little more than tickling an already beaten-down audience of the converted.”
For the same crowd that likes to talk ad nauseam about the good, true, and beautiful, the Right never seems to produce anything with those attributes. We ask the Right to keep the embers of Western civilization glowing for future generations, but in return we get an endless stream of Left Behind-quality content and personalities like Lilly Gaddis, who has been dubbed the “Viral N-Word Girl.”
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All told, the Right’s cultural offerings are a cringeworthy mirror image of the Left’s intersectional dreck—but, as Spencer rightly notes, they even lack the latter’s occasional ability to create something worthy of close study and emulation.
In the Right’s desperate attempts to mount a challenge to the regime, they rush to pin their hopes on perceived champions who will do the hard labor that’s needed. Remember Anthony Oliver and his one-hit wonder “Rich Men North of Richmond”? Though Oliver captured some political truths in his now-forgotten hit, the song itself is an unremarkable piece of music featuring lyrics that mostly promote whining and despair. Like “constitutional conservatives” who beg for the table scraps of religious exemptions, Oliver’s ode to the working man is in fact a virtual concession to the Left’s hegemony.
I’d rather have Oliver over the usual D-listers riding the conservative celebrity circuit like Scott Baio, Kevin Sorbo, and Randy Quaid. However, pinning our political fortunes on such advocates has clearly failed to move the needle politically. And it will never succeed in building a culture that can produce even mediocrity, much less greatness.
This fact exposes the contradiction at the heart of the Right’s ventures into culture and the arts: for decades they’ve been frantically searching everywhere for political solutions—that is, everywhere but within politics itself. Like Congress delegating its power to the administrative state, the Right has mostly farmed out its main objective—attaining and using political power for the common good—to hoped-for cultural changers, which has resulted in predictable disaster. Apart from Donald Trump, himself an outsider, the Right has simultaneously gotten crushed in national elections and has created nothing of lasting artistic value.
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As Spencer rightly contends, the fault for the current state of things, dear conservatives, clearly lies with us. If the Right does not stop churning out the same politicized, low-rent garbage of recent decades, it will never achieve the hegemony it’s looking for—especially with Gen Zers. You can’t beat schlock with yet more schlock. For too long, conservative political commentators have been the sole source of influence driving nearly every aspect of the Right. This needs to end.
The Right’s feeble attempts to mimic the Left’s politicized culture must be rethought on a fundamental level. Like the phenomenon of evangelicals wanting a Christian politics instead of elevating Christians who understand politics well, Spencer points out that the Right has the same issue: “We want Conservative Art™, not art by conservatives.” Thomas Kinkade-esque January 6-themed paintings or depictions of Jesus directing Trump’s hand as he adds the God Amendment to the Constitution is what you get with the former. We must instead reorient ourselves to the latter pole.
One aspect of the solution is for the Right to have separate cultural and political silos. Though necessarily having a symbiotic relationship, these are fundamentally distinct projects that require people with different talents and skills. The political Right needs to jump headlong into the sometimes nasty business of politics. Meanwhile, the cultural Right should devote their talents to creating sitcoms, podcasts, music, artwork, films, and other quality content (the political Right, of course, can help with distribution efforts).
The cultural Right needs to develop conservative artists in every field who can create works that are worthy of the legacy of Western civilization. We need our Houellebecq who can narrate the reality of American life with penetrating insights and our Robert Eggers who can make a docuseries or even a film that will be studied for decades to come.
The ability to recognize, appreciate, and make quality art must precede its creation. As Anthony Esolen has pointed out, if you want to build a table, you should know something about carpentry. Better yet, you should apprentice with a master and learn everything that goes into turning nature’s bounty into beautiful pieces that can be kept in your family for generations.
When this does not happen, you get an utter catastrophe like “Come, All Ye Unfaithful,” the bowdlerized modern version of the classic Christmas hymn. It is evident that the writer was toying with things that were far beyond her understanding. Yet, it is telling that no one stopped her from making a mess of a wonderful carol. We are conditioned today to ensure that our comfortable cocoon of ignorance remains intact, while demoting taste and discrimination to the single-A squad. Sound aesthetic judgment has given way to the tribalism of the sub-mediocre.
Long-term, creating space for a healthy cultural Right may eventually make it easier to rack up political victories. But that should not be the cultural Right’s focus. Instead, they should produce things that will help Americans be better human beings and citizens, an important prerequisite to reestablishing a citizenry that’s capable of self-government. Just consider the class of men who used to become president: Calvin Coolidge presented his bride, Grace, with his own translation of Dante’s Inferno as a wedding gift. This was a man of culture and taste.
From Licentiousness to Liberty
Renewing the Right’s focus on culture also means granting artists liberties that might make some uncomfortable. “If we’re serious about a revival,” Spencer contends, “we are going to have to accept the inherent risk and unpredictability that comes from letting artists see the world before they judge it.” This cuts against the tendency on the Right, and among human beings in general, to pine for “morality tales in recognizable and safe formats that lead us to exactly the conclusions we already held.” And he cheekily adds: “And no swearing, please.”
One’s aesthetic sense must necessarily go through a process of refinement, because one is not born with discriminating taste by nature. With a nod to Edmund Burke, himself an ardent foe of aesthetic relativism, Spencer notes that “beauty is a thing that exists, like light, and that we have faculties for perceiving both.” Beauty pre-exists our ability to see and judge it—you could say it’s self-evident. In fact, the reason we may only later come to see the beauty inherent in a work of art is because our dull faculties have been sharpened, not because beauty is subjective.
But I want to emphasize something that Spencer acknowledges in jest but needs to be taken more seriously: our increasingly vulgar pop culture. What if top streaming shows and movies featured less swearing—or even none at all? After all, Rule 49 of George Washington’s “Rules for Civility” cautions his readers to “Use no Reproachfull Language against any one neither Curse nor Revile.” The proliferation of f-bombs and lewd language, not to mention a smorgasbord of far more appalling content, in just one episode of Amazon Prime’s The Boys—which those on the Right seem to watch just as much as the Left—would make most Americans prior to 50 years ago turn a dark shade of crimson (and would then work to ban it by every means at their disposal). You needn’t be living in Puritan Massachusetts to be revolted by the moral sludge that is regularly churned out today.
This may give a false impression that this is a new problem in America. But it is assuredly not. The X-rated Midnight Cowboy—a film that graphically portrays gang rape, sadomasochism, and prostitution—won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1969 (only two years after A Man for All Seasons won the same award). And this happened only a little more than ten years after Tennessee Ernie Ford’s Hymns was the second bestselling album of the year, spending an astonishing 270 weeks as the top album on the Billboard 200, breaking many records in the process.
And the rot since has extended to pop music. Simply compare the complexity of Sergio Mendes’s hit “Never Gonna Let You Go” or the mature musicianship of Sting’s “Fortress Around Your Heart” to the simplistic chords of Artemas’s “i like the way you kiss me” or the bite-sized vulgarity of Billie Eilish’s “Lunch”—a perfect vehicle for normalizing bisexuality among teen girls. The cultural downgrade is real.
Though the reasons for this post-World War II decline in American culture are surely complex, there is no question it has helped teach us out of the habits and virtues that mark a free people. And this has only accelerated with shows like Netflix’s Bridgerton, which features sex acts in warm, bright, feminine tones and race fantasies that even the Guardian thinks are ludicrous. The question isn’t how much sex is appropriate to show but why we should be showing it at all. The burden of proof should be squarely on those who want to depict in public what should be happening in the privacy of the marriage bed. In North By Northwest, Alfred Hitchcock’s famous cut to a train going into a tunnel after Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint embrace used to be all the signal audiences needed (and even that was controversial at the time). What we have been producing reflects who we are, which then in turn has further driven our tastes into the cultural gutter.
All told, much of the Right’s causal acceptance of what amounts to ingesting acid that eats away at our minds and souls, night after night, is at odds with self-government, much less being consistent with the Christian foundations that the American Founders, orthodox and unorthodox alike, thought were necessary to maintain the republic.
Per Matthew Peterson, the Founders would have viewed the present state of our culture as owing to a deep confusion between liberty and licentiousness, which Noah Webster aptly defined as “contempt of just restraint.” As Peterson importantly emphasizes, they would have seen this “not just a personal problem, but a political one” that, if not dealt with properly, will pave the way to tyranny.
James Wilson ended his 1788 “Oration on the Fourth of July” by teaching his listeners that “LIBERTY, VIRTUE, and RELIGION go hand in hand harmoniously, protecting, enlivening, and exalting all!” May our wish for an enlivened aesthetic sense on the Right fall in line with Wilson’s advice.
The Prickly Pear’s TAKE ACTION focus this year is to help achieve a winning 2024 national and state November 5th election with the removal of the Biden/Obama leftist executive branch disaster, win one U.S. Senate seat, maintain and win strong majorities in all Arizona state offices on the ballot and to insure that unrestricted abortion is not constitutionally embedded in our laws and culture.
Please click the TAKE ACTION link to learn to do’s and don’ts for voting in 2024. Our state and national elections are at great risk from the very aggressive and radical leftist Democrat operatives with documented rigging, mail-in voter fraud and illegals voting across the country (yes, with illegals voting across the country) in the last several election cycles.
Read Part 1 and Part 2 of The Prickly Pear essays entitled How NOT to Vote in the November 5, 2024 Election in Arizona to be well informed of the above issues and to vote in a way to ensure the most likely chance your vote will be counted and counted as you intend.
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Part 1: Perspectives on Israel is the first in a special, multi-part series on Israel brought to you by Lt. Gen (Ret.) William Boykin and Lela Gilbert.
Today — in mid-summer 2024 — Israel has been in a state of war for more than nine months. The battle continues in the Gaza Strip, where Israel battles Iran-funded Hamas terrorists after their horrifying October 7 atrocities against Israeli civilians. At the same time, the Lebanon border is aflame, as another Iranian proxy, Hezbollah, continues to launch thousands of rockets and missiles into Israel.
From north to south, Israel’s civilian neighborhoods are targeted, deadly explosions persist, and sirens continue to wail periodically across Israel.
As writers and observers, both of us share a deep concern for Israel and enjoy the company of many long-time friends there. However, even after decades of paying close attention to both Israel’s triumphs and travails, the shocking news reports on October 7, 2023 took us — and most of the world — by surprise.
When horrific violence shattered the peace that day, it exposed the most shocking Israeli intelligence failure in the Jewish State’s history. From elite political leadership in Jerusalem to young military recruits in the south of the country, it was only a small number of Israel Defense Forces females who observed sufficient preparatory work by Hamas to grasp what was about to happen. Their warnings were tragically overlooked.
And in the early morning of October 7, unimaginable atrocities were meted out to the civilian population of Israel. And for hours there was virtually no Israeli response.
Islamist terrorists swarmed like crazed beasts into sleepy Israeli communities along the Gaza border. The invaders seemed intoxicated with hatred and lust. Horrifying phone videos and proud messages from the terrorists to their parents revealed that the bloodthirsty invaders did not simply murder Israelis. In orgies of rape, they ravaged and torturously murdered women, girls and babies; castrated males, violently butchered and beheaded children in front of their parents, set entire families on fire and locked them into blazing infernos. In innumerable vicious atrocities, Hamas slaughtered more than 1,200 innocents.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported:
“In an act of war, Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, entering communities near the Gaza Strip — killing hundreds of civilians, taking hostages (including young children and elderly people), and firing thousands of rockets and missiles at cities across the country. More than 1,200 Israelis were murdered, thousands wounded and hundreds of people were taken hostage. In a horrific scene at a music festival, Hamas shot into the crowd and killed at least 260 people and they also grabbed as many hostages as they could. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of a ‘long and difficult war’ ahead and called for a mass mobilization of army reserves.”
Islamists gleefully celebrated October 7’s brutalities across the region. And on October 8, Hezbollah’s Iran-funded Lebanese terrorists began firing rockets and missiles into Israel from Lebanon. In response, nearly 100,000 civilians in Israel’s north fled their homes, evacuating en masse. To this day they continue to endure nearly a year of displacement. Meanwhile, full-fledged war looms between Israel and Lebanon.
In an unprecedented attack on April 13, Iran directly launched rockets and missiles into Israel. As reported by Foreign Affairs:
“The volley of attacks and counterattacks between Iran and Israel in the first two weeks of April drastically changed the strategic landscape in the Middle East. On April 1, an Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus had killed seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders, including two generals. Two weeks later, Iran retaliated with a barrage of drones and missiles, almost all of which were intercepted. Israel swiftly responded with its own drone and missile attack on an airbase in Iran. The exchange exposed and highlighted the shadow war the two countries have been fighting for more than a decade into the open.”
From then until today, uncertainty prevails. The fighting in Gaza grinds on, leaving behind a trail of destruction. At the same time, Israelis face the very real possibility another war with Lebanon. In early July, Prime Minister Netanyahu warned Hezbollah, “Whoever harms us is marked for death.” He issued this warning after the Shiite terrorist group fired 200 rockets and drones into Israel.
“Netanyahu’s government has been under increasing political pressure to find a way to allow the estimated 70,000 Israelis who fled Hezbollah’s missiles and shelling there and have been living in hotels and temporary shelters to return home. The depopulation of the north near Lebanon and parts of southern Israel near Gaza has hurt Israel’s economy and depressed morale.”
The U.S. has been involved in the defense of Israel, its greatest Middle East ally. However, President Biden’s support for Israel has waned somewhat as the U.S. election approaches, due to wavering support from his political party.
Joe Biden won his ticket by cobbling together a coalition of different groups under the big Democratic tent, but today his electoral strategy is unpopular. It is fracturing the Democratic Party, according to Wa’el Alzayat, the head of a Muslim advocacy organization. “And it’s not just Arabs or Muslims,” Alzayat explains the rejection of many potential Biden voters, “You’re seeing progressives, young voters, Black voters, liberal Jewish voters or progressive Jewish voters. This is a pretty good segment of the party.”
Against this backdrop, an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at an Pennsylvania election rally took place on July 14 — just hours before the Republican National Convention began in Milwaukee. His head still bandaged from the grazing bullet wound, Trump was greeted there by an overwhelming and emotional welcome.
Following Trump’s attempted assassination, both serious questions about the security arrangements at the Pennsylvania rally venue and a surge of support for Trump are considerable. At the same time, the uncertainty surrounding President Biden’s health and capacity to serve another term in office continues to increase.
Against this U.S. political backdrop, Israel’s war grinds on. Hoping to encourage further U.S. support for Israel’s war Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with President Biden in Washington D.C. on July 22. He will also address a joint session of Congress on July 24.
Today’s political stakes for all concerned parties — including Israel — could not be higher. As FRC’s Lt. General (Ret.) William Boykin explains:
“If the United States does not provide the necessary support for Israel, the Jewish State’s chances of fighting a war that they cannot win are significant. That is not to say that America is or should be the only nation in the world supporting Israel in its present conflicts or the sole source of the humanitarian supplies the Israelis need.
“However, when we look at the money that America has squandered on Iran — the same entity today that is funding both Hamas and Hezbollah and their attempts to run Israel into the Mediterranean Sea — it is hard to make a logical case for why we cannot or should not continue to wholeheartedly support Israel.
“The reality is our that president is allowing election-year politics to impact very critical decisions, which will further reduce our standing in the world. Our allies know that Israel is our key strategic partner and closest ally in the Middle East. Any lack of U.S. support for Israel during these difficult days will reflect badly on our country. There is just simply no reasonable excuse for President Biden to not give the Israelis what they need if it can be made available.”
Lela Gilbert is Senior Fellow for International Religious Freedom at Family Research Council and Fellow at Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom. She lived in Israel for over ten years, and is the author of “Saturday People, Sunday People: Israel through the Eyes of a Christian Sojourner.”
The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.
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Humanity stands at a crossroads between its lower, beastly nature and its potential for angelic behavior. Resisting and rejecting the unrelenting, vast, and varied, often attractive and enormously tempting urges and dictates of our lower nature would make us angelic, not angels. God has, I suppose, plenty of angels. He is interested in those who become angelic by suppressing their beastly and behaving, often in the face of the most daunting odds, angelic.
The journey towards becoming angelic is not one of innate purity but rather one of conscious choice and effort. God’s teachers bring us instruction manuals to help us become angelic if we choose. This guidance will elevate us and help us navigate our moral and ethical challenges. Christianity, for example, in its essence, serves as a beacon, illuminating the path to spiritual and moral enlightenment. Jesus reminds us that we are to be kind and compassionate to others. Treat people how you would want to be treated.
Religion is like energy. When energy is used wisely, it benefits mankind. When it is misused or abused, it is humanity’s bane. Therefore, credit or blame rests with the energy user.
Religion is a particular case of energy in the same way that steam is a derivation of fire. Steam engines move mass in physical space. Religion and emotional energy propels people’s minds in the metaphysical realm.
Religion may need only be tweaked and updated as our world evolves and grows. The core tenets of compassion, love, and justice remain timeless, yet their application may require re-interpretation in the context of contemporary issues. This is not a call to abandon tradition but to embrace a dynamic and evolving understanding of spiritual principles.
However, in the modern world, we are witnessing the rise of ideologies that claim to merge different religious beliefs under the guise of unity but, in reality, propagate division and conflict. One such ideology is Islam, which must be rejected because it is not a religion but a declaration of war.
Islam pretends to offer a bridge between two of the world’s major religions but instead foments discord and undermines the very foundations of faith.
The emergence of Islam highlights the dangers of distorting religious teachings to serve political or militant ends. True religion seeks to unite, heal, and guide individuals toward their higher selves. In contrast, Islam exploits religious identities to further a militant agenda, creating an environment of hostility and strife. Those committed to genuine religious principles must recognize and oppose this perversion of spiritual values.
To truly become angelic, we must engage in the rigorous practice of self-discipline, continually striving to rise above our baser instincts. This involves cultivating virtues such as patience, empathy, and humility. It is a lifelong endeavor requiring constant vigilance and reflection. Becoming angelic is not a linear progression but a journey marked by setbacks, triumphs, learning, and growth.
Religious teachings provide a framework for this journey, offering wisdom accumulated over millennia. By drawing upon these teachings, we can develop the moral fortitude needed to resist the temptations of our lower nature. This resistance is not about suppression in a negative sense but about channeling our energies toward constructive and compassionate actions.
Moreover, in a world increasingly driven by materialism and immediate gratification, the challenge of adhering to spiritual principles becomes even more pronounced. The allure of power, wealth, and sensory pleasures can easily lead us astray. Yet, in resisting these temptations, we forge our character and align ourselves with our higher purpose.
In this context, community and collective support cannot be overstated. Surrounding ourselves with like-minded individuals who share a commitment to spiritual growth can provide the encouragement and accountability needed to stay true to our path. Together, we can create environments that nurture and sustain our higher aspirations.
Focusing on shared values and common goals can build mutual respect and collaboration bridges. This approach not only counters the divisive tactics of ideologies like Islam but also enriches our spiritual journey by exposing us to diverse perspectives and experiences.
Ultimately, the quest to become angelic is a deeply personal and communal undertaking. It calls for an unwavering commitment to transcend our limitations and embody the highest ideals of our faith. As we navigate the complexities of the modern world, let us draw upon the timeless wisdom of our religious traditions and support one another in our shared journey toward spiritual and moral excellence.
Thus, the path to becoming angelic is noble and arduous, marked by the continuous effort to rise above our lower nature. By adhering to the teachings of true religion and rejecting perversions like Islam, we can aspire to fulfill our highest potential and contribute to a more harmonious and compassionate world. Let us embrace this journey with dedication and grace, knowing that in striving to become angelic, we honor the divine within ourselves and each other.
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