The Year 2023: Entry To The Holy Land

Posted on April 21, 2023 by First.One.Through

There are millions of religious Christians who look at the founding of the State of Israel as a matter of divine will. One of the points of evidence they use is that the year of the founding of the state was 1948 in the Gregorian Calendar, commonly referred to as the Common Era. It was in that year in the Jewish Calendar – 1948 – that Abraham was born according to the Old Testament. Remarkably, after two thousand years of persecution and wandering, that the Jews would reestablish their homeland in that common year is considered too much of a coincidence. It is a sign from G-d.

It is therefore important to note this moment in time, 2023CE. As Israel celebrates its 75th anniversary milestone, it was in that year of the Jewish calendar, that Abraham entered the land of Canaan and G-d promised him and his descendants blessings and the land.

Genesis 12:1-4:

“יהוה said to Abram, “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, And I will bless you; I will make your name great, And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And curse the one who curses you; And all the families of the earth; Shall bless themselves by you. Abram went forth as יהוה had commanded him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.”

Seventy-five years since the rebirth of the Jewish State, the country thrives while it continues to have challenges. It has remained stable and economically sound despite the mayhem in the surrounding countries. It has defeated its foes in battles repeatedly, and has forged peace treaties with several former enemies. It has managed to ingather millions of Jewish exiles from around the world, as it rekindled Hebrew into a common spoken language. It granted citizenship to non-Jews living in the land, in a unique forum of coexistence in the Middle East.

Abram was 48 years old at the time of the Great Dispersion from the Tower of Babel. He witnessed firsthand the ill effects of unanimity, and was part of G-d’s global directive towards particularism – in both language and place. At 75 years old, he was told to relocate, to a place already inhabited by others, to become the source of blessing for the entire world.

In 2023 of the Jewish calendar, the father of monotheism was not directed to conquer or convert the slightly more “indigenous” people (by 27 years) in the holy land, even as the land was soon to be promised to him, his son Isaac and the generations after him. Abram was to be an inspiration and a talisman for everyone. In that generation which broke the embraced orthodoxy of universalism, he embodied G-d’s will of particularism.

Today, in 2023 of the Common Era we live in a very tense world. People are divided, in part, because of technology that has enabled microtargeting of people with customized news and advertisements, couple with social media algorithms which keep people hyper-engaged. While fifty years ago everyone was basically fed the same media and news, now billions of people can consume and transmit whatever they want. While more satisfied with being fed unique content whenever they want, the hyper-particularism has left many isolated, angry and distrustful.

In considering the year 2023 both in the Jewish calendar and the Gregorian one, it is time to reset our thoughts on universalism and tribalism.

We don’t all need to think, dress or worship the same way. We must break with the notion of unanimity of position, and embrace a society of tolerance. That mean stop canceling, firing and unfriending people if they don’t share your opinions on critical race theory and transgenderism, or dislike the people you follow on Instagram. Allow space for unique attitudes, as long as they are not harmful.

The Bible tells us that Abraham left his “native land” to a land where he would become a focus of not just the local inhabitants but “all the families of the earth.” In today’s world of billions of isolated people, Jews and the Jewish State continue to demand global attention. It is an opportunity for a universalistic approach towards the particular: for the world to bless the Jews and receive G-d’s blessing in return.

A pretty simple formula for a better and happier world.

*The Israeli flag at the Western Wall in Jerusalem*

The Place and People for the Bible

The Jews of Jerusalem In Situ

The Journeys of Abraham and Ownership of the Holy Land

Abraham’s Hospitality: Lessons for Jews and Arabs

Israel, the Liberal Country of the Middle East

Judaism’s Particularism Protects Al Aqsa

UN Ignores Horrific Spike In Palestinians Killing Israelis

Posted on April 20, 2023 by First.One.Through

The United Nations’ obsession for Israel does not include the Jewish State’s suffering from Palestinian Arab terrorism.

On March 22, 2023, Tor Wennesland, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (he is no such thing but the mouthpiece for Palestinian grievances), addressed the United Nations Security Council. His report gave a summary of actions between the parties from December 8, 2022 until March 13, 2023, and then offered his personal observations.

In recounting the violence, he noted that there was a “growing number of attacks by Israeli settlers” which harmed Palestinian Arab-owned property and individuals, including four people who were killed. He added that “13 Israeli civilians, including one woman and three children, and one foreign national were killed… by Palestinians in shooting and ramming attacks, clashes, and other incidents.” That means that Palestinian Arabs killed 3.5 times more civilians than Israeli “settlers” over this period according to Wennesland’s own count.

Yet in his summary remarks, Wennesland said “I remain deeply concerned by the increase in levels of settler-related violence in the occupied West Bank sometimes in proximity of Israeli security forces.” Why isn’t Wennesland outraged and calling out the more prevalent and deadly Arab terrorism?

Palestinian Arabs conducted more attacks than “settlers” in every month of 2022, and the number of murders is also rising after this report, including of the Dee family, a mother and two daughters, who were gunned down while driving in their car on holiday. According to Palestinian polls, the majority of Arabs favor killing Jewish civilians inside of Israel, so it should not be surprising that in the Israeli territory of Area C in the West Bank, Palestinians are regularly targeting Jews.

On April 8, Wennesland tweeted his objection to the killing of the Dee family, “I condemn yesterday’s terrorist attacks in the occupied West Bank and Tel Aviv. Heartfelt condolences to the victims’ families. There is no justification for acts of terrorism and they must be clearly condemned and rejected by all.” But once again, he did not specifically call out “Palestinians” in his tweets and UN reports. He solely calls out “settlers”.

Palestinians pay no price on the global stage for their terrorism, as the UN continues to ask for money for the Palestinian Authority and UNRWA, and to only condemn Israelis.

email Rep. Jamaal Bowman

#PrimaryBowman

Victims of Preference

The Palestinians aren’t “Resorting to Violence”; They are Murdering and Waging War

Excerpt of Hamas Charter to Share with Your Elected Officials

Letter To Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY16) About Palestinian Support For Attacks

Will The UN Ever Support Israel Addressing Terrorism And Violent Extremism?

Israel And Jews Everywhere Must Be Protected As An Ethnic, Religious And Linguistic Minority

Biden Counts Votes, As He Pushes For Non-Orthodox Jews And Against Orthodox Jews In Jerusalem

Posted on April 18, 2023 by First.One.Through

United States President Joe Biden’s approach to religious freedom was laid out clearly in back-to-back pronouncements this week.

On April 16, 2023, US Ambassador for International Religious Freedom Rashad Hussain and US Special Representative for Palestinian Affairs Hady Amr “reiterate[d] the U.S. commitment to the historical status quo in Jerusalem” which bans Jews from the basic human right of praying at their holiest site on The Jewish Temple Mount. The desire among Jews to pray at the site is almost exclusively held by the Orthodox.

The next day, Hussain tweeted “I reiterated US support for implementation of the 2016 Western Wall agreement to expand the egalitarian space at the Wall,” a move that would BREAK from the historical status quo which has limited prayer at the Kotel plaza to only be in the Orthodox style of separate sections for men and women.

There is no consistency in Biden’s approach for the status quo in Jerusalem, in one case embracing it and in another breaking from historic custom. The only commonality is his ignoring the sensitivities and wishes of Orthodox Jews and promoting those of Muslims and non-Orthodox Jews. Biden is seemingly limiting his concerns about religious freedom to those who stuff Democratic ballot boxes, as poll numbers show that 75% of Orthodox Jews vote Republican, while 80% of Reform Jews vote for Democrats.

Domestically, the Biden Administration took aim at rescinding protections for religious groups on American college campuses in February. The proposed rule read: “The U.S. Department of Education proposes to rescind regulations related to religious student organizations at certain public institutions of higher education that prescribe a novel role for the Department in enforcing grant conditions related to religious student organizations.”

Sam Brownback, a former U.S. senator and governor of Kansas and current co-chair of the bipartisan International Religious Freedom Summit, warned that the Biden administration’s proposal ignores the First Amendment rights of religious clubs, saying that the administration is not supportive of religious freedom. In response to the Biden proposal, many attorneys general sent letters to the president stating their opposition to rescinding protections for religious groups.

Also in March, several senators lambasted Biden for allowing anti-Semitism to fester on college campuses due to his refusal to endorse the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism as it related to Title VI.

Biden’s domestic and international policies related to religion are dictated by his loyal base of historically Black Protestants, non-Orthodox Jews, Buddhists and Muslims who overwhelming vote for Democrats, according to Pew Research. In contrast, Mormons, Evangelicals and Orthodox Jews who vote Republican are feeling Biden’s animosity after he emerged unscathed in mid-term elections. Those groups may have much to fear if he wins a second term.

The US State Department’s Selective Preference of “Status Quos”

Biden Enables Anti-Semitism On College Campuses

Tolerance at the Temple Mount

Open Letter To Politicians On Al Aqsa Mosque

The Democrats’ Slide on Israel

My Big Fat Passover Program

Posted on April 17, 2023 by First.One.Through

A satire.

I was excited to head out to the Passover program with my family this year. I had done extensive research on six WhatsApp and Facebook groups devoted to the subject with thousands of nit-picky Jews from around the world just like me over the prior five months. My choice was carefully balanced between nice hotel and physical facilities, good food, and whether I cared more about talented speakers, mixed swimming or a relatively cheap price.

Programs can generally be lumped into three groups: those under 250 people; 250 to 600 people; and a bazillion people. The tinier programs tend to get small families and Europeans, while the enormous programs get the nouveau riche who bring twenty-seven kinsman and a nanny. We opted for the middle one, assuming a Goldilocks outcome.

My cheap (prefers “frugal”) spouse insisted on taking two flights to get to our destination, to save a total of $400 for a family of five, on a program that cost in excess of $80,000. While he said the extra four hours of travel time were about principle, I’m sure he figured it would keep my mother from joining us, who could never manage the transfer in a large airport, thus avoiding both needing to pay for her and having her company for ten days.

Fortunately, only one suitcase went missing on our arrival, with all of one son’s yom tov clothing. He managed to get by with loaners from a friend on the program, who was only two sizes larger than my 20-year-old. He’s “in the freezer” and not dating yet anyway, so looking shlumpy wasn’t a big deal.

We arrived at the hotel to have a young snotty woman wearing a Vasser shirt tell my other son that she was triggered by his “NYPD” T-shirt, and demanded that he change it immediately. He laughed at her and told her to “go to a woke non-Orthodox program next time.”

Not a great start.

Our rooms were pretty nice with ocean views, but our three adult children with nine large pieces of luggage could barely fit into their shared room. We had opted to not splurge for a third room, in a ridiculous approach of pretending we weren’t spoiling our kids rotten.

By the time everyone unpacked and showered, there was very little time to call family members at other programs around the world. I opted to just post a quick family pic on the broader family’s WhatsApp. Everyone else did the same, including my brother who was unhappily at home with his in-laws, who posted a GIF of a young boy crying.

The boys ran off to minyan while the women followed a comfortable 30 minutes later to not appear too frum. The boys used the opposite approach, tucking four sefarim under each arm to “frum signal” to other bochrim on the program. Personally, I thought the white shirt, dark suit and 4-foot long tzisit dragging behind them was sufficient but I’m old school.

The Ashkenazi and Sefardi minyanim both started at the same time, with about the same number of people, however the Ashkenazis got the ballroom while the Mizrahis only got to pray in the hallway. Quite a strike in a program hosted in an Arab country, native to many of the yet-again-abused Jews.

The men looked for someone to talk to about the minyan situation, only to discover that there was no one from the program operator on premise for the first days of yom tov, presumably attempting to avoid yenching Jews. In any event, it sorted itself out, as both groups were ultimately placed in small windowless rooms, and the Sefardi minyan shrank in size as many people abandoned the long atonal davening of their Mizrahi brothers and joined the Ashki crowd. Little did they know that the Ashkenazi minyan had been taken over by a group of Five Towns’ guys who only gave aliyahs to friends and family. Worse still, the American and French families who had made aliyah let their small kids run around like lunatics, seemingly preparing them for a future of hooliganism.

The food on the program was great. If only the people treated the seder and meals with a modicum of respect.

We entered the dining room to see a woman throwing a fit, tossing platters of food to the ground when she found out that the program wasn’t gebrochts. Men stalked the buffet with full plates of lamb and steak in each hand, and then asked the Muslim waiters – who had fasted all day for Ramadan – to bring them burgers and fries without a second thought. Concurrently, two American mothers stormed the kitchen demanding that their kids are the most special, and needed white meat chicken without salt, and dessert that contained no chocolate, nuts or gluten. ASAP.

We made the mistake of taking our food before finding our table. Carrying full plates, we had to walk back to the entrance to look up our table number, an astonishing #86. The high number wasn’t the issue; we were trying to figure out the logic as the prior highest number was 44, a bizarre gap. Worse, the table numbers in the dining room were completely random with absolutely no order or logic. Even more curious, table #86 didn’t exist. We ended up grabbing an empty table next to the kitchen entrance to enjoy the incessant flow of dozens of waiters shuttling back-and-forth with plates and food, overwhelmed by the hungry Jews who remarkably ate every two hours.

Things slowed down to a normal pace after the first day, with relatively few outbursts. The “Vasser woman” switched to a PETA shirt for the remainder of the chag, alternately yelling about the 200-pound tuna flopped near the barbeque which was carved up each meal, and the seventy foot-long buffet of charred animal meat. One girl complained to management that she saw a swastika design in one of the carpets, while a few boys got into a mild fight about whether Shraga is a real yeshiva. Yet no one complained about the small children who kept playing in the lobby fountain, kicking the spotlights to squeals of delight, waiting to get electrocuted.

*Two hundred pound tuna to be carved up for barbeque*

The Israelis celebrated a single day of yom tov even though they left the holy land at precisely the time they are supposed to be there. One Israeli woman with fake breasts that looked like goiters if her gigantic botoxed lips had not lowered them into correct orbit, brought her kids horseback riding, not pondering the strange small gold hamsa hand dangling between her legs from a chain around her waist. I wasn’t sure if she was proclaiming abstinence or complaining about the effects of the ride.

The prayers were short and unmelodious. While the large programs hire talented chazanim, the smaller ones get men who claim they have yorzeit for their mothers-in-law and torture the prayers in their memory. Shir HaShirim was completed in 300 seconds to a round of high fives. Even at breakneck speed, davening always seemed to end five minutes after breakfast closed down. For the evening services, the self-anointed gabbaim, who showed up to every minyan twenty minutes late, shouted with the authority of geonim about the right time to recite the omer, seemingly based on nothing more than it was a few minutes later than the last screamer.

While the Facebook groups had daily photos of program dinners from around the world, my spouse kvetched about breakfast which no Jews seemed to care about. One complaint was regarding the lack of the ultimate yin yang Pesach food, something which is both the opposite and complementary at the same time: chocolate covered matzah, which reenacts the battle scenes of the movie “300” in Jewish intestines. The hotel must have been familiar with the dietary ramifications of the holiday, as every room attendant had a toilet plunger in a holster.

One group of guys took no chances on the program’s kiddush and shlepped their own to the resort: tequila and foie gras from Europe. As they sliced the gelatinous mound onto Pesadic crackers, I didn’t have the heart to tell them that the expiration date on the goose liver was 18 months earlier. Perhaps I secretly wanted the Vasser girl to claim a small victory.

A friend on the program let me in on an observation both too early and too late: the busboys were only rubbing the dirt off the cutlery and not washing it. I found myself drinking soup straight out of the bowls and eating fruit by hand during the second days.

During chol hamoed, some people went on group tours while others hired their own guides – to do the exact same tours as the rest of the group at five times the price. Still others stayed on premises and attempted to poach workers to bring back to the United States for new help.

In all, we had a great trip that cost roughly five percent of the country’s GDP. My family around the world also enjoyed their programs seemingly more than people’s posts on WhatsApp and Facebook groups would suggest. My sibling who stayed home with in laws was glad it was over and that no one fell down (or needed medical attention!)

While the tradition of saying “Next year in Jerusalem” concludes each seder, I wonder whether people ended the holidays saying “next year I’ll find a program where I can do something to get a Passover trip for free.”

Chag Kasher v. Sa’meach

Teaching Palestinian Youth Compassion

Posted on April 11, 2023 by First.One.Through

Benjamin Ferencz, the last surviving prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials, died this week at 103 years old. He brought many individuals who committed crimes against humanity to justice, and had words of advice for future generations

You cannot kill an entrenched ideology with a gun. You have to teach compassion and tolerance at a young age.
Benjamin Ferencz

While Ferencz prosecuted individuals, he understood that an “entrenched ideology” feeds violence. Unfortunately, vanquishing criminals brings a temporary respite. To bring about an enduring peace requires teaching “compassion and tolerance at a young age.” Such actions can yield long term benefits for a community of coexistence.

In the 1930s and 1940s, Nazis and their collaborators had an entrenched ideology that Jews were evil creatures who were harming the purity of Aryan land. They sought to ethnically cleanse the land of their supposed filth through twisted laws and via violence. Alas, they mostly succeeded in their vile aim. It was only upon their defeat, admission of wrong-doing, and re-education towards tolerance, that Germany was welcomed back into the community of nations, including having a good relationship with the Jewish State.

Today, the terrible entrenched ideology exists among Palestinian Arabs about their Jewish neighbors. The Arabs refuse to acknowledge the basic fact of the long history of Jews in the region. They deny Jews the basic human right to pray at their holiest location on the Jewish Temple Mount. They ethnically cleansed Jews from the eastern portion of Israel including eastern Jerusalem in the 1948-9 war, and now demand a return to such Jew-free situation. They are attempting to use laws and violence to purge the Jews of what they see as purely Arab land.

While several Palestinian terrorist groups wage war against the existence of Israel and presence of Jews, the future must be waged with Palestinian youth. The lesson plans for compassion and tolerance should include:

The 3,300 year history of Jews in the holy land
That Judaism is a unique religion, with ties to a specific land, that is Israel
Judaism’s particularity poses no threat to Islam: there is no desire to convert people nor to turn al Aqsa or any mosque into a synagogue.
Jews and Arabs are both descended from Abraham. Judaism teaches that Abraham loved Ishmael and promised that he would become great nations
Jews are the most persecuted people in the world. Since 1900, they were tortured, routed and slaughtered in Russia, Ukraine, Europe and a dozen Arab countries.
As the Holocaust began in Europe, Palestinian leadership convinced the British to implement the White Paper capping Jewish immigration to Palestine, which led to the death of over 100,000 Jews in Europe
When Jewish survivors made it to Palestine after the European genocide, Palestinians and neighboring Arab armies waged a war to annihilate the paltry and weak remaining Jews
The Jewish State gave all Arabs citizenship when it declared itself a country and offered the Arabs of Jerusalem citizenship when it reunited the city. Over 25% of Israel is not Jewish.
Israel made peace with many Muslim and Arab countries and is willing to do so with local Arabs as well. It made several peace offers to Palestinian leadership which were all rejected

If Arab youth are taught that Jews coexist with non-Jews in Israel who have full rights in a liberal country, and that the Jewish State would welcome peace agreements with all neighboring Arab states, hopefully the evil ideology will be vanquished.

Alas, Arab youth are taught the evil ideology of their parents and reject coexistence and “normalization” as they seek a jihad with false claims:

That Jews are not indigenous but “colonizers”
There were no Jewish temples in Jerusalem
Jews are ethnically cleansing Arabs and committing a genocide (despite all facts and figures showing otherwise)
Israel is not a liberal country but committing “apartheid” against Arabs
The al Aqsa compound is a purely Islamic site and Jews have no history or rights
It is the Palestinian Arabs who are the real victims of a “Nakba” both from 1949 and 1967, lying that did not start either war
Israel has never made any real effort towards peace
The Israeli army likes to shoot Palestinian babies while Palestinians are simply “resorting to violence“
That Zionism is racism
That the United Nations will force Israel to absorb 6 million additional Arabs into Israel

This evil ideology does not accurately reflect the past, present or future. It is a concocted anti-Semitic invective which will stymy the chance for peace.

Benjamin Ferencz led a life of fighting evil and gave us a roadmap for enduring peace by teaching compassion and tolerance to young people. Let’s use that roadmap with Palestinian youth to bring peace to the holy land.

Palestinian Inversion Of Facts Based On Refusal To Coexist

Excerpt of Hamas Charter to Share with Your Elected Officials

Rashida Tlaib’s Modern ‘Mein Kampf’

The War Against Israel and Jewish Civilians

The New York Times Excuses Palestinian “Localized Expressions of Impatience.” I Mean Rockets.

The Anti-Semitism In Anti-Zionism

A Core Tenet of Zionism Is Combatting Anti-Semitism

Zionism is Justice

I am a Zionist. A Deep Zionist. An Amazed Zionist. A Loud Zionist.

US’s Weak Condemnation Of Palestinian Terror

Posted on April 9, 2023 by First.One.Through

Amidst the Jewish holiday of Passover, Palestinian terrorists launched attacks on civilians in Israel, killing three and injuring many others.

*Italian tourist Alessandro Parini, killed while visiting Israel by Israeli Arab*

The United States offered tepid comments about the heinous killings.

To start, the official statement came from Vendat Patel. Never heard of him? He’s the Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, quite a few levels down from the Secretary of State Antony Blinken or the American Ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides.

The full statement issued by this deputy spokesperson was as follows:

“The United States strongly condemns today’s terrorist attacks in the West Bank and Tel Aviv. We extend our deepest condolences to the victims’ families and loved ones, and wish a full recovery to the injured. The three horrific attacks today, in which three were killed and at least eight others wounded, affected citizens of Israel, Italy, and the United Kingdom. The targeting of innocent civilians of any nationality is unconscionable. The United States stands with the government and people of Israel. We are in close contact with our Israeli partners and reaffirm our enduring commitment to their security.”

Compare the terse statement about the killing of Israeli civilians to the one that the United Nations Security Council issued about the terrorism in Afghanistan on March 28. That statement “condemned in the strongest terms the continued heinous terrorist attacks targeting civilians.” It importantly made clear that: “The members of the Security Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice. They urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities in this regard. The members of the Security Council reiterated that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed. They reaffirmed the need for all States to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and other obligations under international law, including international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.“

Neither the United States nor the United Nations make the same obvious comments for Israel, that it – together with “all States” – “need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors” of terrorism accountable and brought to justice. Even when Israel effectively brings perpetrators to justice, the UN and US pressure Israel to let the backers “of these reprehensible acts of terrorism” off the hook.

The latest civilians murdered by Arabs in Israel include Italian and British nationals. Will Italy and the United Kingdom continue to allow the Palestinian Authority to pay the families of the terrorists in its popular “pay-to-slay” scheme?

It is a vile double standard which cheapens the lives of civilians in Israel, and simultaneously blesses and encourages Palestinian Arab terrorism.

The US State Department Does Not Want Israel to Fight Terrorism

Select Support in Fighting Terrorism from the US State Department

US State Department Comments on Terrorism in Israel and the Territories

CNN Sanitizes Palestinian Car Ramming Terrorism

Palestinian Post-paid Terrorism

Letter To Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY16) About Palestinian Support For Attacks

The United Nations Ignores Radical Muslim Violent Extremism and Terrorism

Praising and Defending Terrorism Against Jews

Will The UN Ever Support Israel Addressing Terrorism And Violent Extremism?

Amid The Terror, The United Nations Once Again Protects Palestinians

Terrifying Trifecta Of Anti-Zionism

Posted on April 4, 2023 by First.One.Through

The poorly named “Second Intifada” from September 2000 until 2004, was a period of Palestinian jihadi pogroms against Jews in Israel. Hundreds of Arab attackers bombed buses and ice cream stores, stabbed and ran over women and children in the street, and stoned cars carrying families. Well over 1,000 Jews were killed in their war on innocents.

The Palestinian community was very supportive of the murders. A December 2001 PCPSR poll of Palestinians found that 22.7% and 57.4% of West Bank Arabs “strongly supported” and “supported” armed attacks against Israelis, respectively, with 61.4% believing violence against Israeli civilians inside of Israel could achieve “Palestinian rights” more than negotiations. As such, the Palestinian slaughter of Jewish civilians continued.

The “Second Intifada” / Two Percent War came to a close when Israel built a security barrier which limited the entry of Palestinian Arabs into Israel. When Israel handed Gaza to the Palestinians in 2005 after assurances from the United States that it would support Israel’s annexation of parts of the West Bank, the center of Palestinian attacks mostly came from Gaza, not the West Bank.

That has now changed.

While the majority of Gazans have consistently favored killing Israeli civilians, the period before March 2021 had only about 25% of West Bank Arabs supporting murdering Jews inside of Israel. (To say “only” to one-out-of-four Palestinians in favor of killing innocent Jews is a relatively good figure is appalling, and goes to the jihadi mindset prevalent in the region). The figure jumped to about one-out-of-three after May 2021, when Israel made attempts to evict Palestinian squatters in Shiekh Jarrah in Jerusalem, and Hamas launched rockets into Israel in protest. According to the PCPSR poll in June 2021, Palestinians concluded that Hamas won the battle as Israel halted the eviction, meaning, violence pays off.

Between June 2021 and September 2022, the six PCPSR polls had West Bank Arab support for killing innocent Israeli Jews between 26% and 35%. Then the December 2022 poll showed a step up to 46% support and March 2023 jumped further to 57% support for murdering Jews inside of Israel. There were a few reasons for the jumps.

In the three months before the December 2022 poll, several events happened:

all Palestinian factions met in Algiers and voted to reconcile and hold new elections
Israel elected Benjamin Netanyahu to be Prime Minister again with a coalition of ultra-Orthodox Jews and those backing Jewish rights east of the 1949 Armistice Lines (E49AL)
The newest terrorist groups in the West Bank, the “Lions’ Den” and Jenin Battalion became known in widespread media coverage

The pollsters also believed that the World Cup in Qatar was a factor, noting that it helped “restore Palestinian public trust in the Arab World after years of disappointment.” Further, it added that “in light of the escalating armed clashes in the West Bank and the near formation of a right wing and extreme government in Israel, the Palestinian public becomes more hardline while indicating a greater confidence in the efficacy of armed struggle.” (Note that Arabs use the phrase “armed struggle” to defend the reality of the open slaughter of innocents.)

The three months before the March 2023 poll were not as eventful, but did see the point blank shooting of two Israeli brothers who drove into the Arab town of Huwara, and the subsequent revenge attack by Israelis on the town. The pollsters concluded that “In light of the recent events in Huwara and the northern West Bank, Palestinian public attitudes become more militant as support for armed struggle rises,… and for the first time since the creation of the PA, a majority says that its dissolution or collapse serves the interest of the Palestinian people.“

The more moderate West Bank Arabs have now joined the jihadists in the terrorist enclave of Gaza to conclude that the Oslo Accords and the creation of the Palestinian Authority does not serve their interests. They have decided that the best way to secure their “rights” is via “armed struggle”, now with more arms, and the belief that more people will support their cause than during the scorched earth pogroms of 2000-2004.

They have reasons to believe in their latest jihad.

Not only has Israel still not evicted the Palestinian Arab squatters in homes in Sheikh Jarrah, for the first time ever, Democrats in the United States have more sympathy for Palestinian Arabs than Israelis, according to a March 2023 Gallup poll. Left-wing politicians are leaning into the poll, such as Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Representative Jamaal Bowman (D-NY16), now pushing to condition military aid to Israel.

That will likely encourage Palestinian Arabs to continue their violent attacks against Jews in Israel and the West Bank, and anti-Semites/ anti-Zionists to attack Jews around the world.

It’s a terrifying trifecta: for the first time since the Second Intifada, the majority of Palestinians favor killing Jews; for the first time ever, a majority of Palestinians favor dissolving the Palestinian Authority; and also for the first time ever, more Democrats favor Palestinians over Israelis.

The movement to “Globalize the Intifada” began to gather steam right after the May 2021 skirmish as Palestinians concluded that violence pays off. It is now reaching the boiling point as people conclude that governmental-led society is broken and should be abandoned.

It is called anarchy, and is coming for the Jews first.

*Marchers in Brooklyn, New York in July 2021*

The Global Intifada

The Current Intifada against Everyone

The Anti-Semitism In Anti-Zionism

Radical Muslim Groups Celebrate Bombings And Murder of Jewish Teenager In Jerusalem

The Insidious Jihad in America

The Banners of Jihad

Pick Your Jihad; Choose Your Infidel

Why Is This Week Different From All Other Weeks?

Posted on April 3, 2023 by First.One.Through

The first night of Passover is celebrated with a seder, with props designed to entertain and engage young and old. The youngest child at the table typically recites the Ma Nishtana, questioning why that night is different from all other nights of the year.

Below are some additional questions about the entire week of Passover for older people.

Every other week during the year I would never consider going away with in-laws; on Passover, I relish in the sponsored trip
During the rest of the year, I never go near raspberry jelly; for the week of Passover, I can’t get enough
For the entire year, I never pause to think about the nature of mixed or single sex swimming in the pools; on Passover, I might decide to change the country of my destination based on the response
For 51 weeks, I could go to Florida with a eight days of clothing in my carryon; on Passover I bring two oversized checked bags and a hatbox
Normally, I can go to the beach or pool without worrying about lunchtime; on Passover, I suddenly need a watch with an alarm lest I miss a piece of chremzel
When I typically go on vacation, I don’t think about who I might bump into; on Passover, I join and check the program’s What’sApp group so I can ping people twice a day whom I haven’t seen in years
When I pick a location for a holiday during the year, I focus on the location’s surroundings; on Passover, I factor in twelve other considerations like food, entertainment and who else will be there

Letter To Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY16) About Palestinian Support For Attacks

Posted on April 2, 2023 by First.One.Through

Email Rep. Jamaal Bowman
Mount Vernon Office (914) 371-9220, White Plains office (914) 323-5550, D.C. office (202) 225-2464

Rep. Bowman,

I understand that you are co-authoring a letter to President Biden “to investigate whether Israel is using U.S. weapons to commit human rights abuses against Palestinians.” In the current draft of the letter made available by Jewish Currents, you made reference to recent attacks in the West Bank as well as a claim that the “Israeli government’s anti-democratic mission to dismantle the rule of law… is attempting to destroy the independent Israeli judiciary.” You also claimed that there is an Israeli “military siege of Gaza.”

Allow me to give you information that you may have missed or decided to ignore.

The Palestinians poll themselves every quarter, something they have been doing since 2000. The latest poll came out on March 14, 2023¹ and details frightening sentiments of Palestinian Arabs about their Jewish neighbors:

68% support the formation of armed groups, such as the Lions’ Den, and 87% believe the Palestinian Authority (PA) does not have the right to arrest members of these groups
71% support the Palestinian point blank shooting of two Israeli brothers who drove into the town of of Huwara
61% of Palestinians support armed attacks against Israeli civilians inside of Israel
57% support the return to an “armed intifada”
Support for a two state solution stands at just 27%
If presidential elections were held, 52% would vote for the leader of the political-terrorist group Hamas

Those are the latest figures of the Palestinians polling themselves. It is because of that rejection of coexistence and preference for violent attacks that Israel launched a daytime raid into Nablus on February 22, to stop an upcoming terrorist attack. The Israeli defensive action killed nine terrorists and saved an untold number of lives – which your letter disgracefully omitted. Are you in favor of allowing terrorists to target and kill innocent Jewish civilians in Israel?

Even according to the biased United Nations reports, West Bank Arabs committed more attacks² than Israeli Jews living in Israeli territory of Area C in every month of 2022.

As for terrorist enclave of Gaza,³ the situation is more horrific. The territory is controlled by a US-designated foreign terrorist organization, Hamas.⁴ The March 2023 poll figures show that 36% and 31% “strongly support” and “support” armed attacks against Jews in Israel, respectively. A frightening 71% of Gazans support armed groups like the Lions’ Den and Jenin Battalion which do not take orders from the PA (question 40). Your inversion of this terrorist enclave to being the victims of an “Israeli military siege” is outrageous.

As to the assertion that Israel is “pushing repressive, anti-democratic policies,” let me remind you that Israel held five in elections in the past four years. This in a region that doesn’t hold any, including the PA, where the president’s four-year term ran out in 2009, fourteen years ago. Further, after each Israeli election, there was a peaceful transition of power, more than can be said for these United States.

Currently hundreds of thousands of citizens are peacefully protesting in the streets of Israel for months, in sharp contrast to the bloodshed and civil wars in neighboring countries.⁵ And both side of the Israeli protests are in favor of putting checks-and-balances for the government and judiciary.

Curiously, your letter was shockingly devoid of any mention of the PA continuing its “pay-to-slay” policy, in which it pays the families of Arab terrorists who kill Jews. It failed to mention the many schools and public squares are named after Arab terrorists who kill Jews.⁶ It omitted mentioning Palestinian law which calls for capital punishment or a life of hard labor for any Arab who sells land to a Jew.⁷

Your refusing to acknowledge the radical jihadi violence currently prevalent in Palestinian society – as well as the Islamic Republic of Iran march towards nuclear weapons – while simultaneously calling for the U.S. to consider pulling back military support for the only Jewish State, is alarming.

Rep. Bowman, anti-Semitism is brewing in your district, in your state and your country. At the same time, more Israeli Jews have already been killed by Palestinian terrorism since President Biden took office than in the full four years of the prior American administration.

Amidst such backdrop, you’ve decided that America should open an investigation of the Jewish State and show its enemies that the sole liberal democracy⁸ in the Middle East is losing its main supporter.

Not satisfied with penning such letter with Senator Bernie Sanders, you are seemingly agitating to get other members of congress to join your assault.

Congressman, you defeated Rep. Eliot Engel, one of the authors of the Taylor Force Act which restricted funds to the Palestinian Authority as long as it continued its “martyr payments.” Are you now using your power to strip Israel of funding for its defensive operations? Did congress not only lose a defender of human rights in the Middle East, but did it gain a member which tramples on them?

There are indeed “gross violations of human rights” happening now. And you are aiding and abetting the perpetrators.

Palestinian Center for Policy and Public Research March 2023 https://www.pcpsr.org/sites/default/files/Poll%2087%20English%20full%20text%20March2023.pdf
https://firstonethrough.wordpress.com/2022/11/10/un-doesnt-like-proportionate-israeli-reaction-to-arab-terror-either/
Terrorist enclaves like Gaza are dangerous according to the U.S. Department of Defense https://www.gao.gov/assets/a126365.html
List of U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organizations https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/
Israeli democracy in the middle of a failed Arab Spring https://firstonethrough.wordpress.com/2023/03/18/israel-teaches-the-world-about-democracy/
Palestinian schools and squares named for terrorists https://firstonethrough.wordpress.com/2021/03/18/palestinians-celebrate-their-female-terrorists/
Palestinians die in PA custody for selling land to Jews https://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinian-man-convicted-of-selling-land-to-israeli-jews-dies-in-pa-custody/
Israel is a liberal country https://firstonethrough.wordpress.com/2015/03/26/israel-the-liberal-country-of-the-middle-east/

#PrimaryBowman

Letter to Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) On Conditioning Aid To Israel

You Cannot Be Progressive And Pro-Palestinian

Why Blockade Gaza

Excerpt of Hamas Charter to Share with Your Elected Officials

NY Times Uses J Street As The Source Of Its Israel Coverage And Promotes The Group

Posted on March 30, 2023 by First.One.Through

There was a time when the largest newspaper in the world did its own reporting, analysis and sourcing of news. It chose its stories and reported facts with the aim of educating the world-at-large about important matters.

Those days are long gone. The New York Times has become an activist agitator, reporting on stories from the vantage point of its far left-wing base. The news is not simply delivered as though written in the Opinion Section by progressive activists, but is actually SOURCED from left-wing groups.

Consider the paper’s reporting on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Times has long chosen to vilify him as a monster, even posting TWO close-up pictures of him in an article about a Palestinian Arab youth injured during riots, seemingly suggesting the Netanyahu himself punched the boy in the face. (For comparison, try to find a picture of President Barack Obama in a Times article about American drones blowing up people in the far East).

As the paper is online, it has become easier to track the deep bias against Israel and Netanyahu: J Street.

J Street markets itself as pro-peace and pro-Israel, when it is actually a far left-wing group headed by pro-Palestinian Jews, a counter to the Republican Jewish Coalition that is conservative and pro-Israel. J Street frequently publishes opinion pieces as it lobbies politicians to take pro-Arab actions, and the Times quotes the group’s leadership as though it spoke for the majority of American Jews.

In a recent Times’ article, “Biden’s Confrontation With Netanyahu Had Been Brewing For Years“, it described a letter written by Democratic politicians urging the president to take action against Israel. Rather than source the actual letter, the Times provided a link to J STREET’S WEBSITE praising the letter.

Not only does the “Gray Lady” not go to source documents to draw its own conclusions in writing articles, it acts as a REFERRAL TO LEFT-WING ANTI-ZIONIST SITES.

The radical jihadist group Students For Justice in Palestine said that J Street is a gateway for Jews to become anti-Zionist. The New York Times is providing them a global megaphone.