Month: July 2014

Yesterday we mentioned in a Facebook post that readers had told us about a protest on Glades Road near Boca Rio.
That sparked quite a comment thread, mostly favorable but with some angry opposition. One common objection to our post was that we should not have referred to the protest as “anti-Israel.”
The most eloquent critic was Farrah Ibrahim, an FAU graduate who is now a law student at Nova Southeastern.

Wow a protest for Gaza automatically means “anti-Israeli”? You can be against the killing of innocent children and condemn Israel’s illegal actions without being “anti-Israeli”.

The discussion touched a nerve. People in political debates play with words in a way that would make Orwell laugh. Note for example how Ibrahim slightly twists our term, “anti-Israel” into “anti-Israeli.”
Democrats complain about “access” to healthcare as if Republicans are blocking the doors to hospitals. They claim Hobby Lobby is banning birth control when all they’re doing is refusing to pay for some forms of it. They’re not stopping anyone from going to the drug store and paying for it out of their own pockets.
Republicans are just as bad. The whole notion of using the word “defense” to describe our military operations is absurd. Defense is when we defend our own borders – which we don’t do. We’re in other people’s territory. That’s offense. Republicans pretend they’re for small government and fiscal responsibility when their hero, Ronald Reagan, doubled federal spending and tripled the national debt.
It should be obvious by now that we’re not trying to make friends with this editorial.
So we’re not playing games with what the protesters are about. They are anti-Israel. One argued with us that they’re not “anti-Israel,” but rather “pro-Palestine.” We invited these critics to let us know what their proposed long-term solution is to the situation when we all know what they really have in mind is a final solution – no Israel.
Please stop pretending that’s not true. If you’re going to respond to this editorial, the first thing we want to hear is what your proposed solution is that doesn’t involve the elimination of the State of Israel. What borders and conditions do you propose that will satisfy enough Palestinians so that we’ll have peace?
We believe there is no such answer and you know that. But we’re open to a discussion, especially from Ms. Ibrahim. We offered to debate her on our site but she declined.
You can see her real policy agenda in some of her words. She refers to Israel’s existence as an occupation, for example. If that’s what you believe, the only just solution in your eyes is to end the occupation, which means no Israel.
She also uses this phrase: “Israel has been mass murdering the Palestinians for over 60 years.” It is also common for “pro-Palestinian” advocates to call what Israel is doing a “genocide.” This is one of the most blatant and offensive abuses of language I have ever seen.
In a genocide the targeted population gets dramatically smaller. In Israel and the rest of the disputed territories, the Arab population has consistently and dramatically increased.

See this link for more on that. In this idiotic view, Israel is both overpowering in military force and yet incompetent in its genocidal actions.
Some other comments from Ibrahim deserve a response:

Finally, Israel’s indiscriminate use of heavy weaponry in civilian areas is a war crime, not self defense.

This is the United States. We have a long history of using heavy weaponry in civilian areas. Visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Ask the Native Americans about that, and also about occupation. You’re living on their land right now.

Gaza is the most densely populated place on earth.

Sorry for the humor, but maybe y’all should stop working for Hobby Lobby and use some birth control. Gaza is experiencing fast population growth due to very high fertility rates. And yet again that genocide thing isn’t working so well.
Some final words. First, we think the pro-Israel rallies are the wrong response. Having an anti-Israel protest in Boca Raton is hysterical. It might be less stupid than having a KKK march in Harlem, but not by that much. The sensible response would have been to have a chuckle and ignore them. We covered Venezuelan protests a few months ago and most of you probably don’t remember or never noticed. But then we are writing this editorial so maybe we’re guilty too.
Second, I want to be clear on my position about Israel. Yes I am Jewish and pro-Israel. However, I am an American and not a Zionist. I have never been to Israel and have no interest in moving there. I’d take an Irish pub over an Israeli cafe any day. I’m also opposed to all foreign aid, including to Israel. The US government should not take money from American taxpayers and give it to other countries. And we certainly shouldn’t borrow from China, give the money to other countries, and expect our children and grandchildren to pay it back.
Third, I’m not anti-Palestinian. I recognize they’ve been getting screwed for hundreds of years. That is not the fault of Jews or Israel. It dates back long before to the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire and even the Mongols. Today they get mistreated by many Arab countries, but for some reason they fall for the propaganda and blame Israel.
We normally stick to news about West Boca and stay away from foreign affairs, national and even statewide issues. But since these events are happening in West Boca, we figure we should cover them.