Tag Archives: Israel

October 7, 2025 · 8:53 pm

Follow The Money

IDROS cannot believe it has been two years. Arguably the worst two consecutive years for Jews and for humanity since any two years from 1933-1945. Maybe there is some hope now, with a nebulous offer on the table and finally some pressure placed by most of the world where it should have been for the past 731 days…on Hamas (not by the “Free Palestine” masses and celebrity racists, per se, who have been incredibly loud for most of the past 2 years, but by world leaders…most of whom have been vocally anti-Israel as well until the last week). Except while Israel accepted the deal, Hamas only sort of accepted…they “agreed” to release the hostages, but the rest of the deal remains, at least in their barbaric fantasy, an invitation to renegotiate.

We shall see. But at least there is some reason to be optimistic, and some unexpected but welcome voices joining the US and Israel in championing the deal on the table.

48 is an important number for us Jews. It represents the year Israel was reborn, the 48 prophets (of the Tanakh) and the 48 ways to accept/acquire Torah (from the Mishnah). There are many other significant gematria according to the Kabbalah. But for now, 48 represents the bodies and souls of the remaining hostages, abused, tortured and shattered for an unfathomable two years. And so, on this awful anniversary, IDROS will remain focused on the hope that those 48 will return home.

But know…even if they are returned, an immeasurable price will be paid. By Israel, and by all freedom, truth and peace-loving people of the world. Beyond the heavy price already paid: in lives, destruction, stolen years, journalistic integrity, spreading and proliferation of hatred, erosion of trust and everything else that the horrors of two years of war on eight fronts have cost all of us.

Consequences. The only way this nightmare will ever end is with real, measurable consequences. Kowtowing to terror, offering a reward of statehood, pressuring the victims, blaming the victims, forcing the side who was attacked to negotiate with terrorists…none of these ridiculous tactics or reactions by the global powers that be are acceptable, nor will they lead to peace or any semblance of a world order that any rational player in our world should desire.

Since October 7, only those warring parties or nefarious actors who have been met with overwhelming FAFO-level consequences have either surrendered completely (see Hezbollah, who was bitch-slapped with a masterclass in counter terror techniques exemplified by the exploding pagers), or have turned tail and amended their ways (see Columbia and Harvard (who allowed terrorists to basically run amok on campus for the better part of two years, harassing Jews, vandalizing campus buildings and basically turning their respective campuses into glorified homeless encampments with the added je ne se quoi of Jew Hate to make them truly unbearable and the true embodiment of an actual hate crime disguised as an institution of higher learning)…but when the current administration threatened and then actually cut off their federal funding – i.e., went after the MONEY, these Ivy League cauldrons of hate began to reform, arrest the terror sympathizers on their campuses, settle lawsuits (like the one brought by Shabbos Kestenbaum) and start to root out the Jew-hating venom that has gripped their campuses (the jury is still out on this one…IDROS fears it might take generations to ween the woke crowd off the drug of antisemitism).

But the threat to those sacred endowments, and loss of tax-exempt status and grant funding and lawsuits and court costs and oversight and bureaucratic red tape and congressional hearings, etc…that brings us right to the all-powerful…

Money.

For better or mostly worse…Jews are inextricably associated with money. And we have been for centuries. Why? To keep it simple, Jews were excluded from most professions (and most societal and community intermingling) throughout the world for millennia (even well into the 20th century). The Catholic church forbid Christians from working in the banking profession for religious reasons (which mostly centered around charging interest). Due to these circumstances. Jews, out of desperation, gravitated toward professions like money lending. As religious stigmas relaxed during the Reformation, Christians moved into banking and lending professions as well, but for many Jews, these roles were all they knew. And having worked in the industry for generations, they became quite good at it, as did their children and grandchildren. Jews got so good that they would be entrusted with large sums of money that needed to be transported from one city to another and even one country to another as payment for goods and services. But transport became dangerous, what with thieves and marauders. So, Jews innovated, and invented the first checking system, using systems of markings and designs on worthless paper to convey large sums of money over great distances. And as luck would have it…the whole world took notice, used our services when they needed them or it suited them, and badmouthed Jews for it in closed circles. And that phenomenon birthed one of the most defining derogatory associations Jews would have…and it still haunts us today.

But despite the jokes in poor taste and the racist undertones that accompany most mentions of Jews and anything money related, Jews do know money. And we know the power it holds over most in our world.

We know hate laid the foundation for October 7 and the past two years of unrelenting antisemitism. But we also know that money was the fuel used by sinister and nefarious forces to orchestrate all that has unfolded…and the flow of this money began decades before October 7, 2023.

So, let’s follow the money…

The money that was stolen by Hamas, which built terror tunnels and bought weapons (and yachts for their leaders) instead of schools and infrastructure and hospitals for the Gazan citizens.

The money that was funneled by Qatar to every university campus in the Western world over the past four decades to create an antizionist, anti-West PR campaign the likes of which have never been seen, and one which is self-fortifying and sure to grow over time because the students who are indoctrinated will eventually become future professors or attain even more dangerous positions of power and influence outside of academia.

The money that Iran spent from its vast oil reserves to build nuclear weapons, fund terror throughout the Middle East through its proxies and the rest of the world through terror-linked non-profit organizations (Iran linked organizations pay many of the keffiyeh-wearing radicals on college campuses and at protests in cities across the western world).

The money the Palestinian Authority uses for its PAY-TO-SLAY policy whereby they pay the families of terrorists who kill Jews or are “martyred” trying to kill Jews.

The money allocated by the entire world to organizations like the UN, UNRWA, the Red Cross, Amnesty, etc., which get hijacked by terrorists within the organizations, or due to bias and racism, are used in ways that lack integrity (even the World Central Kitchen was infiltrated by terrorists posing as WCK team members, which was just finally admitted and apologized for by Jose Andres and his organization, but not before irreparable libel, slander and lies were wielded as weapons to undermine and cast Israel as evil).

The money earned per click and per viewership by every mainstream media outlet, credentialed or not. This includes podcasters, influencers and rags like the Huff Post, the Guardian, the Atlantic, Haaretz, the Forward, and of Course, news outlets that should, but somehow aren’t, held to journalistic standards and integrity, such as WaPo, NYT, Reuters, the AP, the BBC, etc.

The money funneled to and earned by al Jazeera, which is funded by Qatar, to spread false information, libels and undermine Israel and all Western Democracies in more ways than most can fathom…including harboring actual militant terrorists who cloak themselves in Press jackets to allow them full access to the battlefield where they capture (read: choreograph) the money shots for the press with one hand, while firing bullets at the IDF, hostages and innocent Gazans with their other hand.

The money lining the pockets of politicians throughout the Western world, bought and paid for by Qatar and Iran to help do their bidding.

The billions if not trillions of dollars in losses caused by the Houthis in Yemen, who have continuously disrupted shipping in and around the Persian Gulf, destroying cargo ships and rerouting countless others adding exponential costs to an already supply chain-constrained global economy – not to mention the money required for the air defense systems like the Iron Dome, to shoot these missiles down, and the money to rebuild the catastrophic damages caused by the missiles that get through.

The money spent by nefarious governments like Russia, China and North Korea to sow chaos and unrest throughout the West with online libel campaigns, hackings, bot infestations and by providing weapons to terror groups and despots throughout the Middle East.

The trillions of dollars in oil money that flow to and from the Middle Eastern oil rich emirates and cartel members every year, allowing the region to influence policy worldwide, build and support terror organizations, fund supposed philanthropic efforts, etc.

We must stop these fountains of money from flowing, or at least slow them down, make those who benefit most and who facilitate the nefarious transactions feel serious pain.

IDROS recommends the following courses of action:

  1. The money stolen by Hamas from various Gazan relief efforts, including UN and UNRWA allocations as well as from philanthropic efforts from the West must be frozen, and those providing funds must be sanctioned.
  2. Any aid getting into Gaza (now and in the miracle scenario that could end this war) must be secured, and Hamas must be prevented from seizing, and then selling the aid to their own benefit. Things have been better since GHF began operations, but there is so much aid being dropped by so many parties that there is no way some of it isn’t slipping through the cracks or that gets hijacked by Hamas like it always has been.
  3. Qatar must be brought to task. IDROS doesn’t know how Qatar has skated by basically with impunity since October 7, but they are and have been the biggest reason so many lives have been lost in Gaza, Israel and throughout the diaspora. They also somehow get to mediate and broker hostage deals but are as biased a player in that role as there could be. They harbor terrorist leadership in Doha, run mass antizionist, antisemitic and anti-Israel PR campaigns through both al Jazeera and through their flooding western institutions with cash and this must stop. Israel and America (and preferably many others) must put pressure on Qatar, threaten their oil reserves, threaten their leadership and sanction them until they free the hostages (and if/after the hostages are freed, pressure them even more). Any university who has taken funds from Qatar over the past 30 years should be forced to return every penny or risk having their own assets frozen or tax- exempt status revoked, etc.
  4. Iran must pay for the chaos they have wrought on the world. Much like the Nazis after WWII, the US and Israel should pressure the mullahs with sanctions and military destruction until they surrender. Iran’s nuclear capabilities must be investigated more closely and should be hit again if there are any traces remaining of any of the materials feared prior to the stealth bomber efforts earlier this year.
  5.  Yemeni Houthis must pay for the damage and chaos they have levied upon global shipping and logistics, as well as for raining missiles at a sovereign nation. What they have done amounts to no less than a declaration of war on the entire Western world, and requisite countermeasures must be taken until the Houthis are no longer, and until Iran (and others such as North Korea) is no longer able to fund and arm them.
  6. The UN must be dismantled or drastically overhauled/amended. Much of the other “philanthropic” organizations must be carefully vetted, cleansed of terrorists and terrorist sympathizers, and the money trails for all must be audited and accounts frozen/seized as necessary.
  7. And Jews all over the world must initiate class action lawsuits against any number of offenders listed above. IDROS recommends starting with media companies who have stoked the flames of antisemitism and anti-Israel bias/hatred, and in fact, are accomplices in and the root cause of many murders, violent assaults, harassment, acts of vandalism and other criminal activity throughout the diaspora including the murder of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim in Washington DC, and the murder by firebombing of Karen Diamond in Boulder, CO. These class action suits should continue with colleges and universities who failed their Jewish students (their parents) and faculty miserably over the past 2 years. These suits should include civil suits against specific inciters on campus such as Mahmoud Khalil.

And there have also been ridiculous sums of money spent out of necessity by those directly and indirectly targeted by the actions listed above:

  • The money spent on defense for places like Israel and for Western military installations in the Middle East to prevent catastrophic and genocidal fallout from a constant barrage of rockets, missiles and other weaponry fired from myriad proxies and sovereign nations throughout the Middle East.
  • The money Jews in Israel and throughout the diaspora are forced to spend every year to secure synagogues, Jewish Day Schools, Jewish neighborhoods and events because just existing in our world as a Jew is among the most dangerous realities in the world.
  • The billions in taxpayer dollars spent each year on clean-up for Jew-hate related vandalism, graffiti, cemetery desecration, security (armed police, guards and even militia) for protests and rallies, rising insurance premiums etc.
  • The millions spent on hospital bills and funerals for those targeted in terror attacks, taken hostage and later released (dead or alive), beaten or attacked in the streets across the world, etc.
  • Legal fees and wasted hours by courts and courtroom professionals to navigate this circus and its fallout, much of which is yet to come.
  • And the untold billions not yet known that will be spent by the victims, their extended families and every Jew in the diaspora on PTSD, anxiety and other mental health trauma care and stress related illnesses as a result of the October 7 massacre and subsequent rise in Jew hate.

Finally, IDROS would be remis if not discussing an enormous bill that remains outstanding: The mammoth costs to rebuild Gaza. Whoever signs on to foot this bill would be crazy to write this blank check if things remain status quo. Should Hamas, or any terrorist organizations, remain in Gaza after a treaty/agreement is signed to end the war, the risk of renewed fighting and destruction will remain at 100%…it will not be an IF, but a WHEN. So, who would invest billions if not trillions in such an endeavor with such risk outstanding? And if Qatar or others are willing to move forward with such an undertaking without being absolutely certain the terror threats have been fully mitigated, it begs the question…If Qatar (and/or others) have that kind of sway with these barbarians, and trust them enough to invest billions or more into rebuilding the enclave without fearing re-escalation in the future, why couldn’t they use the same sway to get the hostages back more quickly? Or maybe these players have so much money that they just don’t care what happens? True F-YOU money. And the YOU, unfortunately, is all of us. God help us.

F anyone and everyone who celebrated this dubious anniversary in any way, shape or form. You all disgust me and deserve to burn in eternal hellfire.

As for the rest of you, IDROS send vibes of hope and optimism…for better days and years ahead; for an end to this unrelenting madness; for a return to truth and sanity; and of course, for the return of our 48. (And if you want to move on bullet 7 above, IDROS is ready).

#BringThemHomeNow

Thanks for reading,

IDROS

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January 7, 2025 · 6:52 pm

NUMBERS

Happy New Year all! It’s been a minute since IDROS felt inspired enough to put fingers to keyboard. In many ways, IDROS, like many of you, has been mired for the past year and a quarter in a crippling state of shock. But we must persist. And so IDROS moves forward, much like the nomadic tribe of his ancestors, through the desert fleeing bondage.

Numbers is the fourth book of the Torah.

Numbers continues the story of the Jews’ escape from bondage, and delivers us to the land of Israel, the Promised Land. The Book’s importance to our story cannot be overstated, just as numbers are intertwined with humanity.

First there was creation. Second came freedom. Third, the rule of law. But without numbers, how would we understand the order of things?

Numbers don’t lie. Numbers are ubiquitous in life, death and throughout the universe.

Numbers help us to measure, compare, catalog, calibrate, categorize, name, differentiate, urinate, defecate, navigate, investigate, rate, rank, code and even paint (for those of us not blessed with artistic talent).

Numbers also mark human wrists like cattle.

It’s no accident I am writing this on 1/7, exactly 10 years after the terrorist attack in Paris on Charlie Hebdo.

10 and 7 are numbers.

5785 is a number.

1.6 billion is a number.

15,000,000 is a number.

55 is a number.

1 is a number.

6,000,000 is a number.

1,200 is a number.

240 is a number.

101 is a number.

2025 is a number…

The year reads as if out of a science fiction novel or movie. And the past five years, ten if I’m being honest, have fit the bill.

Reeling from the crushing blow that was October 7, 2023, I trudge through the sand dunes and scorched earth of modern Jewish life, bearing witness to another agonizing hate crime, campus encampment, terrorist ramming or award show double standard.

I truly felt that morning of 10/7 as though I literally had the wind knocked out of me, and have been trying to catch my breath ever since. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. My grandparents had suffered so much, sacrificed so much to ensure that.

We had just survived a pandemic!

And just as the world began to revel in that triumph, as ebullience gripped the economy and ushered in a new Roaring 20’s exactly one century later, IDROS’ people, the world’s rounding error, were doomed to continue our quarantine in a new ghetto fortified by a new spin on humanity’s oldest prejudice. This has been a nightmare far worse than Covid…and now, we weren’t the ones wearing masks.

It has been a trying five years and an unthinkable 460 odd days. Bearing witness to the pervasive and incessant hatred has been harrowing. But the silence and ambivalence has been far worse. Raising children amid this cruelty is a Herculean test.

Still, the more and more IDROS reflects, the more he believes this time is pivotal, even monumental for Jews and our brave allies everywhere. Sure, there have been times of relative peace and prosperity for us as a people…most of us grew up and lived the majority of our lives during such a time, and we were blessed! Blessed for the sacrifices of the millions who paid the ultimate price, the millions more, who like IDROS’ grandparents (and those of Mrs. IDROS), somehow clung to life among the ruins, and last, but certainly not least, blessed for the brave actions of our allies, soldiers and citizens who risked everything at a time when humanity had dipped further into the bowels of hell than ever before, and through their courage, saved humanity from eternal damnation.

It is imperative we honor the memory of the 6 million, and of the 1,200, and of the countless others who we lost along the way. We cannot allow their deaths to be in vain. It’s our time to grab the reins from our grandparents and help ensure that our story continues.

Having Israel is a huge bonus, one our grandparents suffered without. But there is still work to be done across the diaspora. Don’t sit on the sidelines. We have an opportunity to build a better future for not just the Jewish people, but all of the civilized world. It seems daunting. We are outnumbered. But we always have been.

IDROS loves numerology and Gematria. Numbers don’t lie. People lie, but numbers are beacons of truth.

In Numbers god takes a census, the first census, of the Jewish people. Then, 40 years later, a second census is taken, and each counts almost the same exact number of people. There are now approximately the same number of Jews worldwide as there were prior to the Holocaust. We know this because we continue god’s work. This must have significance.

October 7, 2023. This date was significant. Its aftermath is significant.

In the Jewish calendar, the date was the 22/23 Tishrei, 5784.

Tishrei is the seventh month in the Jewish calendar, and means beginning.

By the time the atrocities of 10/7 were known across the diaspora, and we had time to digest the horror, it was 23 Tishrei. 23-7-5784.

2+3+7 = 12

5+7+8+4 = 24

12+24 = 36

18 represents Chai, meaning life, in Hebrew.

The Gematria of 10/7 is double Chai.

IDROS interprets this as a new beginning for life, for both Israel, and for the Jews of the diaspora.

L’chaim.

Thanks as always for reading,

IDROS #BringThemHomeNow

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July 3, 2024 · 1:21 pm

Reflections on A Godawful 9 Months – The Nuts and Bolts of Our Collective Grief and Frustration

Pistachios. The green delicious nut that offers health benefits such as lower blood pressure and cholesterol, better gut health and improved eyesight. Moreover, the work involved in extracting the morsels from their protective shell is somehow calming. But for the past nine months, no amount of pistachio consumption could cure what ails me – my blood pressure has risen, my gut is twisted in knots and it has been extremely difficult to relax. And I am not alone.  

October 7th 2023 shattered whatever false sense of security many Jews in both Israel and the diaspora have felt for decades. And with each passing day since that horror show, our collective angst and dread has only grown stronger.

So what on god’s green earth do those yummy treats have to do with Israel, Palestine or October 7?

Stick around. IDROS will get to that shortly. But before we crack open that mystery…

To begin, IDROS is reminded of the scene in Pulp Fiction in the basement of Maynard’s pawn shop. IDROS has dissected this seminal scene before, but now we can view it from another perspective. Butch had all but escaped after dispatching the Gimp. He was home free, but his conscience weighed on him…no matter what he thought of Marcellus ‘that’s your pride talkin’ Wallace, what Zed and Maynard were doing was so heinous and unforgivable that he grabbed the samurai sword, and headed back down to rapeville, to the bowels of hell. He risked everything for a man he loathed so much he had just hit him with his car…because the others were terrorists…worse than terrorists. Butch sliced and diced Maynard, and as he went for Zed to finish the job, we hear the shotgun cock and Marcellus bellow, ‘step aside, Butch!’ Then Marcellus told Butch he could go and proceeded to ‘go medieval’ on Zed and Maynard and their families.

On October 8, America should have been Butch. But it shouldn’t have taken a crisis of conscience…Israel was a close friend and essential ally for not only America, but the entire Western world. And Israel had just been invaded and violated as horrifically as Marcellus had been. And some of the hostages taken were American citizens for crying out loud. America should have stormed down those cellar stairs, guns blazing. Sure, Israel could have nudged its buddy and said, step aside partner, we got this.

The past nine months would have gone down much differently, for Israel, Jews and the entire world if America, who has entered many conflicts for much less of a reason, jumped in on day one and made it crystal clear that Hamas would pay a heavy price if every hostage was not returned alive immediately. Noone brazenly takes American citizens hostage, nor citizens of any American allies, and gets away with it.

Ah…what could have been.

Almost two months ago, we experienced a very uncomfortable Yom HaShoah. Sacred day, almost exactly 7 months after the worst violation of Never Again imaginable. And here we were, Jews the world over embroiled in mental and physical trauma, banging our collective heads against the Wailing Wall, asking unimaginable questions to ourselves, our families, our friends, our god…again. And the world, once again, had not come to our rescue. In fact, much of the world seemed to openly mock us, spit in our faces, or torture us with ambivalence.

And now, as I try to celebrate my birthday with family, I am left to think about those who are held in dark tunnels like Maynard’s basement, experiencing god knows what…just like that 12 year old girl in Paris. I think about their families. And all the families who have endured similar trauma throughout the ages, because of a dark and sinister and preposterous hatred that has bubbled in the recesses of humanity for thousands of years.

Here are some of the maddening topics that have ruined my birthday, and prevented so many others from experiencing their next celebration, many…far too many…for good.

  • Please Stand Up – Why is nobody with any power in the entire Western World standing up for us Jews, demanding accountability and consequences, and doing more than meekly delivering  hollow and worthless soundbites like ‘I condemn hatred in all its forms?’ These same people who scream from the rooftops when the pro-gun set offers ‘thoughts and prayers’ following every horrific school shooting somehow believe their qualified condemnations and platitudes will extinguish an exponential rise of the world’s oldest and most prolific form of hatred and vitriol and allay the fears of Jews who have literally been fearing for their lives since October 7. We are grateful for politicians like Stefanik, Hawley, Fetterman and Torres, who have been vocal and champions for our plight from day 1, but let’s be honest…nobody knew any of these representatives on October 6, and none of them are in a position to truly help turn the tide.  
  • The Miseducation of Our Best and Brightest – Stealing part of this bullet title from a noted celebrity antisemite because we need to upend the indoctrination of our children by nefarious actors in the dark recesses of radical Islamic interests. Led by Qatar, Iran and Saudi Arabia, billions have flowed to the most hallowed halls of academia throughout the western world since the rise of the Ayatollah, creating Middle Eastern studies departments rife with anti-Israel and antisemitic agendas, birthing and bolstering student and faculty led campus groups like SJP who use grass roots techniques to prey on and radicalize progressive students, and aligning with key progressive causes, groups and allies that once not only embraced Jews, but in many cases were created or largely influenced by Jews. By using a model of oppressor vs. oppressed, colonizers vs colonized and white vs. non-white, defining Jews and Israel as white colonizer oppressors – despite the fact that none of these definitions are remotely true, and Palestinians as non-white oppressed and colonized, slowly turned their progressive, liberal constituents against anything remotely supportive of Israel, Zionism and Jewish causes. If I weren’t so terrified for my family, friends and future generations of Jewish life, I would marvel at the intricate genius of the long con that has been perpetrated. But for now, I grapple with the serious questions surrounding how we can possibly undo the decades of radicalization of our most brilliant, supposedly educated students and recent graduates, the desecration of our universities and institutions of higher learning, and the rot that has infiltrated our educators, faculty and administrations, which has permeated not just higher education, but secondary and even primary educational levels in some ‘progressive’ communities.   
  • Refugees – there are two distinct phenomena that fall under this heading…both are tragic and both carry double standards. First, how are generations of Palestinians awarded refugee status perpetuating and exacerbating what is a devastating situation beyond the scope of any other people in the world? Somehow, this population has its own UN Relief organization dedicated to assist Palestinian ‘refugees,’ and despite this – and more on UNRWA later – their plight has worsened and their population has multiplied exponentially. And second, why are the people displaced in every other country involved in a war allowed to move out of harm’s way and migrate away from conflict to more peaceful countries in the world…but not the Palestinians? More than 6.5 Ukrainian refugees have fled war torn Ukraine in the past couple years, and almost 6 million more fled Syria during the recent Civil War there. But for Palestinians, they must remain in Gaza, an area not even 25 miles long and six miles wide, to be used to further alienate and burden Israel for the future, so despite there being 50-plus Muslim majority countries in the world, not one will open their borders to the Palestinians. Culpability for this phenomenon lies with many parties – the majority with the Arab League, who created the conflict by attacking en masse following Israel’s declaration of independence in 1948, their refusal to take in refugees since, attacking again in 1967 and 1973 and generally exacerbating tensions in the region ever since. Iran and Qatar’s role, which has jumped to the top of the list since 1979, will be explained in greater detail below. The UN and their evil stepchild UNRWA shoulder an enormous amount of the blame as well, allowing itself to be co-opted for nefarious plotting and undermining by terrorist groups and human rights offenders throughout the world. UNRWA was created to assist the Palestinians and allow them to shed their refugee status, but the group has been hijacked by terrorists and uses its entire massive budget for evil, teaching Palestinian children to hate Israel and the Jews from infancy in their ‘schools’ where they hide weapons stockpiles and terrorists. Finally, among those to blame for the crisis and conflict, we cannot forget the western democracies, led by the USA and the UK, who fund the UN, UNRWA and the terrorist groups who ‘govern’ the Palestinian citizens directly. Furthermore, it was the west, led by the UK, who spearheaded the partition plan in 1947 that led directly to this conflict, and who washed their hands of the situation after refusing to help the Jews, who found themselves mired in a regional war for their own survival against pretty much every surrounding nation as well as the Arabs who now call themselves Palestinians. Sure, Israel has some culpability in the current conflict and with the fact that there were some refugees stemming from the 1947 partition and ensuing war, but Israel DID NOT have anything to do with the UN’s partition plan map nor did Israel START the war in 1948, and Israel DID absorb hundreds of thousands of Arab Muslims and non-Jewish refugees in 1948, all of whom have been and remain full citizens of Israel today.
  • Inversion Psychology – Words matter! And weaving the playbook of anti-Zionist jargon including genocide, apartheid, ethnic cleansing and colonialism into any and every soundbite is not only infuriating manipulation of the facts, but also are all explicitly triggering to Israelis and diaspora Jews because of our lived experiences. Every one of these words describes not Israel, but the Palestinians and their terrorist governments as well as most of the Arab League and Iran.
  • Occupation – As with most facts, the truth that Israel hasn’t occupied Gaza since 2006 doesn’t seem to matter when arguing or debating with the pro-terror set. Worse, there have really been two Palestines since then, and that fact is used against Israel across every possible nuance of the conflict…Palestine and the people of both territories are united when convenient, and two separate entities under very different leadership when convenient. Also, every loser of a major war in our world, pretty much since the dawn of time, has been ‘occupied’ by the victor, and has had borders redrawn, territories annexed/lost, and created great migrations of refugees…occupations of the losing side are especially common when said loser started the war. The US and allies still occupy Germany, Japan and Korea, decades after those wars ended and will continue their military presence there for decades to come.
  • Data Manipulation and Media Bias – nearly every major media company as well as the throngs on social media all parrot misinformation repeatedly, even long after it has been proved untrue. The George Costanza theory that ‘it’s not a lie if you believe it’ seems to have made serious inroads among antisemites and antidentites of the world. Even months after the Gazan Ministry of Health finally copped to inflating the numbers of the dead in Palestine, nearly every media outlet still quotes the inflated numbers. Worse still, trusted outlets like Wikipedia are littered with lies, omissions and manipulations of facts. And the gestapo that runs such outlets are precluding respected agencies like the ADL from helping to correct the widening morass of misinformation.
  • It can’t get worse than what happened 10/7, right? The depressing and sometimes unbearable fact that things have gotten worse each day since October 7 weighs heavily on all of us.
  • Silence is Deafening – the silence of our ‘friends’ and ‘allies’ has been a rude awakening, and continues to boggle our collective minds. With the surge of antisemitism on college campuses all around the country and world, the silence becomes magnified. We know it is risky for many of you to visibly and vocally support us Jews, and especially Israel for fear of loss of business and general safety…trust us…we are experiencing it daily. But we represent a mere rounding error in the global population, and not much more here in America, so without non-Jewish support, we are doomed. We are beyond grateful for those of you who have had our backs, but we need more support.
  • Double Standards / Consequences- this may seem like the title of a suite or a Double Shot Tuesday entry by a 70s band like Foreigner or The Guess Who…if only. We could do a hypothetical for every detail of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, dating from before the Mandate through now, and Israelis and Jews get treated differently than any other country and people would in every situation…always. The most glaring is that Jews in the diaspora are immediately and negatively associated with and pay a heavy price for Israel’s actions – which, by the way, are always REactions. Name another ethnicity or religious group that is treated similarly. If any other country in the entire world was attacked even half as savagely and barbarically as Israel was on October 7, I guarantee there would be far more devastation and a much more violent response with far more casualties. Ukraine was attacked by Russia, and more than 2 years later and far more casualties later, they are still fighting back. Israel is not allowed to win a war, and that is why for almost 80 years, after winning 3 wars it didn’t start, going for a 4th, surviving two intifadas and countless terrorist attacks including at the 1972 Olympics, we still have the situation we do, and it has gotten worse and worse to boot. There are consequences for waging war against a sovereign nation, especially when you lose…for all instigators except the Palestinians. Similarly, there are consequences for all people who commit hate crimes against a minority or protected class…unless, apparently, it is a crime against Jews…even in 2024.
  • The Legion of H, and their puppetmaster I with the funding of Q – I and Q are the masterminds behind not only the chaos in the Middle East, but also everything happening across the globe in city streets and on college/university campuses. The trio of H – Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis continue to wreak havoc and do the bidding of their masters, and the rest of the globe has pretty much accepted this status quo leaving Israel to fight a war on seven fronts – Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iran and the media/global public opinion.
  • DON’T – This policy by the Biden/Harris administration is a JOKE! Hezbollah has not stopped raining missiles on Israel since October 7…clearly undeterred by this misguided farce of a warning. Nearly 100,000 Israelis have been forced to evacuate their homes for nearly a year now, with no timeline or encouraging sign that they will be able to return any time soon. The Houthis similarly have continued to inflict damage on the world stage, and have caused shockwaves in the global trade economy by forcing cargo ships to reroute due to their threats and attacks. DON’T eerily reminds IDROS of Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement policy toward Hitler and the Nazis…not sure that one worked out so well.
  • The Squad and the ‘Jewish’ Dissent – while this may sound like a dystopian Noah Baumbach film, this one stars elected members of the US Government who ooze antisemitic actions and tropes on the regular…and their token ‘Jewish’ counterparts that include our nation’s 2nd Gentleman, Bernie, Oscar winner Jonathan Glazer, Chuckie Schumer, and the worst offender, Jonny Stuart Leibowitz. These people, with large audiences and positions of power and gravitas, further alienate and marginalize, exacerbate the hateful rhetoric and lies, and, in the cases of the Jewish haters, are used as tokens to legitimize the antisemitism. We do get to hang a small win here with the recent defeat of Squad member terrorist-first-class Bowman being recently unseated, but these awful people who have attained positions of power and have millions of followers of their hateful bile continue to pull at the fabric of human decency, and make any peaceful resolution even more unattainable.
  • Never Negotiate with Terrorists – what happened to rule number one in the counter-terrorist playbook? More hypocrisy when it pertains to Israel and the Jews…do as we say, not as we do. And of course, let the financiers of terror and Jew-hatred around the world serve as the moderators and facilitators of any negotiations. How is this Israel’s only hope of a resolution? How do Israel’s chief allies, who have their own citizens in captivity, allow this as an acceptable reality?
  • The Innocence Project – Either Hamas was democratically elected – and because more than 70 percent of Palestinians support Hamas and the October 7 massacre still today, this is the likely scenario – in which case, the Palestinian citizens, tragic as it is, must face the consequences much like the German citizens under the Nazis and the Japanese citizens under Hirohito, and countless other ‘’innocent’ civilians have throughout history when their governments instigated/started a war. Or, Hamas ruthlessly came to power by force and the Palestinian citizens wanted no part of them – very unlikely – but even if this is the truth, then Israel has a duty to free the Palestinians from the terrorist group that holds them captive, and the Palestinians should support this. They don’t, nor does much of the world…because the majority of Palestinians aren’t so innocent…and because Jews don’t count. 
  • Masks – the fact that the terrorists themselves, and all in the world who have supported and continue to support them around the world, on campuses and city streets, in front of synagogues and on capitol hill, cover their faces with masks and keffiyehs, speaks volumes. Good guys and gals don’t wear masks, nor do they need to.

And last, but certainly not least,

  • Hostages – Never forget them. Any realistic protests must begin with the return of those held, and raped and tortured against their will. Bring them home NOW!

So back to pistachios. Remember back in the 70s and early 80s when pistachios were red? That dye would get all over your fingers and around your mouth. Frank Dreben, played by Leslie Neilson, in the Naked Gun was a big fan. The majority of our pistachios at the time were imported from…IRAN. And in order to hide the imperfections on the shells, which became more pronounced as a result of prolonged timeframes from harvest to point of sale due to lengthy shipping routes and port inspections, Iranians would dye the shells red. It was all a lie. The nuts aren’t really red, nor are they really nuts. Pistachios are seeds that actually grow inside a fruit. And of course the red dye is cancer-causing as most red dyes are – not that this was an issue in the 70s, when smoking on airplanes was still a thing, and farmers bathed our produce in pesticides – so the Iranians were [inadvertently] poisoning us too while deceiving consumers by covering the ugly markings on the older seed shells. Furthermore and with a bit of irony, the dye made the nuts non-kosher. But in a strange turn of events, when the Iranians took American hostages in 1979, the US embargoed all Iranian goods, and thus began the American pistachio industry in California. The red dyed nuts were swapped out for pure, natural cream-colored shells, and now most, if not all pistachios consumed in America are domestic.

These delicious delicacies well represent the Jewish people. They have been lied about, misrepresented, and the truth about them was hidden from the general public by middle easterners protecting their own self-interest. There is record of pistachios dating back thousands of years. They are referred to as ‘choice fruits,’ or botnim in the Torah. Their benefits to humanity, especially health benefits, are vast and multifaceted. But most importantly, despite political strife and a hostage situation forcing them to relocate, PISTACHIOS ARE INDIGENOUS TO THE MIDDLE EAST!

Wishing you all a happy Fourth of July. And while you are reveling in your own freedom this holiday represents, IDROS urges you to pray for the freedom of the 120 remaining hostages, several of which are fellow Americans. #BringThemHome

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December 31, 2023 · 12:19 pm

Speechless

Somewhere, in a parallel universe – Bizarro World, if you will – our octogenarian president gives our nation a new year’s address, updating Americans on everything that has befallen one of our most important allies since early October.

Good evening my fellow Americans. This is Bo Jiden. I would like to take some time to apprise you all of what is happening half a world away, vis a vis one of our nation’s most fierce and loyal friends, allies, trade partners; a nation that, like us, champions democratic and liberal values and is always quick to lend a helping hand to anyone, anywhere, that needs it.

What happened on October 7 was a massacre of such brutality and savagery, it is difficult to properly put into words. And since that time, even more gruesome details and accounts of the horrors of that day have been revealed and confirmed. I would like to reiterate our steadfast and unqualified allegiance and support of Israel, the Israeli people and to Jewish people everywhere, especially our Jewish American family. We will never allow evil like that which invaded and declared war on Israel and the Jewish people on October 7, such unspeakable terror and barbarism, to go unpunished or even find quarter or support or be enabled in any way, shape or form, anywhere in the civilized world, and especially anywhere in this great nation.

Allow me to clear up a few misconceptions and lies that have been spreading around the world. Israel is not a white colonial power. Israelis are not white, but rather make up the spectrum of skin tones that exist in our world. A vast majority of Israelis are dark-skinned Mizrahi Jews, African Jews and Muslim Arabs. And Israel has never colonized anyone or any territory. Rather, Jews are indigenous to the area, dating back thousands of years, and have themselves been colonized multiple times by nations and empires including Muslims. Furthermore, Israel is not committing, nor has it ever committed genocide. While Hamas committed genocide on October 7, Israel has never started any war, only uses aggression in retaliation to attacks and is perhaps the most careful and judicial combatant in the history of warfare. No other nation or armed forces go to the lengths Israel does to warn civilians before an attack and to use restraint and discretion in attacking civilian centers at all. That said, they are up against a terrorist organization that uses civilians as human shields, and consistently commits war crimes of hiding and storing arms and munitions among civilians, in schools and hospitals and of building underground bunkers beneath these structures. Hamas has been on record a number of times admitting that the extensive network of tunnels and bunkers it built were not to protect citizens but rather to protect its arms and Hamas itself. Protecting civilians is the UN’s problem.

Before I begin, please allow me to quickly invoke my predecessor and take care of some long overdue business in my own administration. So, to Karine Jean-Pierre…you are fired. Thank you for your service, but this administration will not stand for anything close to unqualified condemnation of antisemitism…full stop. Too many times, you chose to counterbalance the hate rhetoric and hate crimes Jews have experienced before having a second to mourn the tragedy of October 7 with whataboutisms and ‘but also’ language…sometimes even failing to address antisemitism at all with very poor word choices and by sweeping very serious and ominous antisemitic trends and tropes under the rug.

And let me be clear here…there are too many members of our American government who lend their voices to antisemitic efforts, post antisemitic nonsense, support and echo anti-Jewish conspiracy theories and antisemitic tropes, and in the case of a certain small but vocal group in my own party, consistently spew Jewish hate and spread violent anti-Jewish and anti-Israel rhetoric, propaganda and garbage. I am appalled by this behavior, and embarrassed to be associated with people with such hate and ignorance in their hearts. These people, though elected by Americans in fair, American elections according to a democratic process, do not represent America nor our great nation’s views, opinions and love for Israel and the Jewish people.  

I am calling this out. Rooting out hate and ignorance begins at the top, and today, I stand before you, the American people and assure you that our government will not allow anti-Jewish hate to exist in any form in or around the sacred halls and grounds that represent our great nation, from any sitting member of the three branches of our government, nor from any of the staff hired to support them. America will never resemble anything close to Europe in the 1930s…not under my watch and I am here to assure our Jewish citizens as well as those who give their full support and embrace to our American Jewish brothers and sisters that America is a place Jews can feel safe to live openly as Jews, to wear yarmulkes and stars of David, to have mezuzahs on their doorways, and most importantly, to safely pray at their temples and send their children to Jewish schools.

Allow me to make myself painfully clear – what I witnessed in the immediate aftermath of October 7, right here in America, was an embarrassment to western civilization and to humanity. Israel didn’t have time to identify its murdered citizens…its women and children, babies and senior citizens…Its attendees of a music festival centered around peace for crying out loud; and there were people rallying behind these savages who committed such atrocities they put all horror movies to shame. taking over our streets, blocking public forums and roads and buildings, tearing down posters of missing hostages, babies, children, mothers and grandmothers. Inciting riots, bullying jews, destroying public and private property, threatening violence, chanting refrains that invoke genocide…and on and on. In support of what/ to further the cause of what…for whom?

Hamas is the most vile incarnation of evil I have seen in my lifetime. And they don’t care about the Palestinian people at all. They have made clear what they care about…dead Jews. They said they would repeat the bloodbath of October 7 over and over again until there were no Jews left in Israel…and no Jews left on the planet. Any American who supports them is not an American and is a racist and your privilege of living in the greatest nation in the world should be rescinded. Full stop. And it should be noted by everyone in the world if it wasn’t abundantly clear even before October 7…ANTI-ZIONISM IS ANTISEMITISM. There is no nuance. There is no whataboutism. There is no exception.

Secondly, what has infested our college campuses over the past ten or twenty years is extremely problematic, and I am going to put an end to it. Jewish students and professors and educators should never feel singled out and threatened on a university campus or at any event on or off campus and even loosely affiliated with an academic institution in this country. I know billions of dollars have flowed to our universities from the Arab League, and from Qatar in particular. I will work tirelessly to make sure those dollars are sent back to where they came from, to punish any institution who refuses by revoking their favorable tax status and even fining them and their endowments, and in some cases, by revoking their accreditation to educate our students. I will be forming a congress-led task force to address this issue and will use funds traditionally earmarked for the United Nations and UNRWA in particular, to fund this new endeavor.

Which brings me to my next challenge. The UN and UNRWA. These institutions no longer have support from America. They are mere shells of what they were created to do, and the nations who have gained influence in these institutions are the most shockingly hypocritical tyrannical and inhumane governments in the world. America will not support any institution that would have Iran, Russia, North Korea or China as part of a committee related to human rights, let alone chairing such a body. And UNRWA, somehow created to only help one people in an entire world of misfortune and poverty, has been grossly mismanaged and corrupted since its inception. The billions in American tax dollars that have funded these institutions in the past will be redirected to more important and necessary challenges, including rooting out hate right here in America, but also ensuring global poverty and food insecurity is actually addressed across the world.

Social media is another area in my administration’s crosshairs. Free speech is critical to keep the values that have made America what it is today, but what we see on every social media platform today is a giant dumpster fire of misinformation, bullying and hate and none of it has a place in a civilized society. I will be working with congress and the executive leadership of all of these platforms in order to rein in the vitriol and propagation of fake news. We also have a serious problem with foreign platforms like tik tok as well as hackers and bots built by domestic and foreign terrorists which further muddy the waters and make these platforms untenable in their current forms. We will work together to build better and safer platforms so that the internet doesn’t further devolve into the bowels of hell it is currently headed for.

No less important in this entire conflict and its wake is the plight of the Palestinian people. We as Americans realize there are millions of people in Gaza and in the West Bank who are now seemingly worse off than they were a few months ago. I assure you that is not the case, and your immediate and long-term future are vital to any resolution of the current conflict.  I also want to make this crystal clear. Israel is not your enemy or problem. Corrupt leadership in the Arab league, the UN, UNRWA, and of course, among your own ranks as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Fatah and the Palestinian Authority, have hijacked your cause, stolen and embezzled funds meant for you, the Palestinian people and for building vital infrastructure to better your lives. Once Israel has completed its war to remove Hamas, the international community will be tasked with rebuilding Gaza and putting the Palestinian territories on a path toward statehood. This must happen, and it must happen in a manner that does not threaten the security of Israel, who is and will ALWAYS be your neighbor. You as Palestinians and whatever leadership emerges out of this conflict must acknowledge that fact and recognize Israel before any meaningful progress can be made toward reconciliation and Palestinian statehood.

Finally, to our friends and allies, the Israeli people and government. We are unable to fully communicate how devastated we were on the morning of October 7 and every day since. You are our family, and what happened to you, the Israeli people and the Jewish diaspora was not only unacceptable, but a direct attack on us as Americans and the entire civilized world as well. We stand with you, shoulder to shoulder, and will continue to do so until the scourge that is Hamas is removed as a threat to Israeli, Palestinian and global security.

We also know Iran is the puppet master behind Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and all other radical Islamic threats in the region, and we want to ensure you that we will deal with the Iranis as soon as you finish with Hamas. They will no longer be able to create such chaos in the region or the world, and we will cripple them with all our might.

Furthermore, we will not allow Hamas’ inhuman attack on October 7 in any way lead directly toward Palestinian statehood. We do not condone negotiations with Terrorists, and we certainly don’t recognize terrorist actions as appropriate bartering chips toward any national or real goals – for any people or groups. Setting such a dangerous precedent here would encourage terror organizations the world over to commit similar acts of barbarism in their quest for whatever it is their cause or supporters desire.

We will help guide the rebuilding efforts that will be required, and as I previously stated, we will put the Palestinian people on the path toward statehood, but we fully recognize that much work remains to be done along those lines. This includes rooting out the education of minors to hate Israel, the Jews and westerners…be it in homes, schools or on television programs aimed at Palestinian youth. It also includes ending the pay for slay programs and the idea of martyrdom in their society. We understand you cannot be expected to live in peace and harmony with neighboring people who are indoctrinated with such hate from a young age and rewarded for adopting such a lifestyle.

In conclusion, we love and support our Israeli allies as well as our Jewish American citizens. We apologize if at any time this love and support was not clear, but I assure you this administration is 100 percent dedicated to proving it going forward.

Thank you and good night. I wish you all a happy, healthy and meaningful 2024.

IDROS wishes the above comes true. I won’t hold my breath, but here’s hoping. Wishing you and your families and loved ones a happy, healthy and peaceful 2024.

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November 22, 2023 · 8:22 am

The Blade

The gleaming blade inched closer and closer as the din of the crowd dissipated into an uncomfortable silence. My father’s firm hands held me tight but in an unsure and awkward manner. An unknown, bitter taste of fruity schnapps coated my lips and mouth, warming and disorienting me. The pain came quickly as the cold scalpel pierced my flesh, and as the tears welled up, my shrieking cry was drowned out by a loud “Mazel Tov!”

As the mohel treated my wound, my loving clan surrounded my father and me with beaming smiles of approval and kind words. My hysteria slowly abated into rhythmic squeals and heavy breathing.

I was eight days old when this barbaric ritual was performed on what would become my manhood. This horrific but hygienic rite of passage had been passed on throughout the generations of Judaism for millennia.

But I never knew until October 7, 2023, that this brutal tradition served another purpose. It has prepared Jewish males and the women who love them for our savage and gruesome world, one foreskin at a time. Before the awful world could prey on our innocent children with its sinister racism and vicious Jew-hatred, we choose to inflict our own generational trauma on ourselves…a perverse but necessary self-preservation technique allowing our people agency over their life that awaits.

I had been “lucky” as a Jew. Unlike my grandparents, who were tortured and orphaned by the Nazis, my Brit Milah stood as my low water mark…easily the worst day of my life. And so it would remain…until that heinous Shabbat morning six weeks ago.

And every day since October 7, a sense of dread gripping me as I hold my children a little bit tighter, I recoil at the horrific state of our world. Each subsequent day I have felt somehow even worse as the veil of society has been slowly lifted. And as I mourn the tragedy that occurred physically in Israel last month, but also in the hearts and minds of every Jew throughout the diaspora, I commune with generations past, who also shuddered and threw their hands up in disgust as they watched their fellow Jews, shtetl-mates and comrades succumb to the unrelenting murderous mobs of their particular era. I bang my head against the wall in frustration with the overwhelming majority who remain silent at a time like this.

And I know, crazy as it may sound, that in a heartbeat I would call a mohel and subject myself to a second circumcision, at the age of 50…with no schnapps, if I knew doing so would return the 1,200 murdered and 240 kidnapped that day to their families, safe and sound. That pain I can handle.

So here’s to Tradition!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving.

#BringThemHome

IDROS

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October 14, 2023 · 4:55 pm

Hamas More Can We Take?

In the words of a prominent Jew, This shit got me in my feelings. And there are so many overwhelming feelings and emotions that I am short circuiting inside my head. When I get emotional and need to process more than I can handle, I tend to write. So here goes. And I apologize in advance if this goes long and rambles from time to time. I appreciate you following along. I also apologize if any of this is graphic or difficult to digest or triggering in any way. But it is my truth…our truth, laid to bare.

I am mired right now between the proverbial Scylla and Charybdis of fear and dread. But the Sirens of anger, frustration, horror and grief are closing in as well. I have been warned since early childhood of not just man’s proclivity toward inhumanity and savagery toward his fellow man, but also of a specific branch of this brutality and dehumanization reserved solely for the Jewish people.

I saw it tattooed onto my grandparents’ wrists. I heard it in the stern warnings of survivors like Elie Weisel, who bunked with my grandfather in Auschwitz, and whom I went to hear with him and my family when I was but an age where I still tacked on a fraction. I read about it in books, like Anne Frank’s diary and Maus and Night. I learned about it in religious school and history class. I went to rallies. I traveled to Israel, and visited with family who also survived the Shoah to get there. I spoke to them and filled in some of the enormous gaps and missing branches of my family tree. I listened to stories that would make Wes Craven and Bram Stoker’s blood curdle. I visited Yad Vashem. I was one of the first to tour the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC, and the Jewish Museum in Philadelphia.

My family felt safe in America. The others, in Israel, told me they felt reasonably safe too. But there was always an underlying dread…a reality that our relative safety was incredibly fragile, and it was only a matter of time before the safety bubble afforded by the Holocaust (the world’s pity literally bought us a generation or so of relative reprieve) would erode and leave us back out in the cold and miserable Jew-hating world to fend for ourselves again.

Ahhhh…but now we have Israel! We all clung to this notion…our own semitic holy grail. Israel’s mere existence made another Holocaust impossible, right?  If they came for us again, we knew we had a safe place to go where we could be free and proud to be Jewish…we knew we had a place that wanted us, and where we felt like family.

Well, the events of the past week definitely took some wind out of those sails. I’m not saying I believe the utopian dream of Jews, our Ner Tamid, has been extinguished. But the reality of how fragile and exposed and isolated Israel truly is, wedged amid vicious enemies, terror groups, and tyrants has not been so apparent since 1973. And in that 50 years, as the world’s dependency on oil grew exponentially with its population, and new regimes rose and fell around the tiny Jewish nation based on oil prices and various wars and shadow wars orchestrated by the global superpowers, fundamentalists seized the ensuing chaos to grab hold of a war weary and easily manipulated population, ratcheting up the hatred of the infidels in Israel and the colonist West. After all, it was the Western powers that dropped the state of Israel like a bomb in the middle of their Arab hegemony, and propped Israel up and used it to interfere in their meal ticket commodity, their black gold.

But that was THE lie they clung to and fed to the rest of the world…especially the war-weary new generation of hippies and liberals. Jews had been continuously living in the region for thousands of years…since before there was Islam. There were large and glorious populations of Jews in pretty much every nation in the Middle East for hundreds and even thousands of years…before there were borders that carved nations out of the desert once ruled by empires.

And so, from THE big lie (one of many actually), I will begin to unload and unpack the various sources of my anger, fear and dread that were magnified by the events of last Saturday:

Yitgadal v’yitkadash sh’mei raba

1) A Greek Tragedy: Maybe Jews are the embodiment of mythical Sisyphus. Though we have certainly cheated death more than twice, it seems we are doomed to suffer for eternity, pushing our metaphorical rock up a never-ending mountain of grief, despair and torture.

di-v’ra chirutei, v’yamlich malchutei b’chayeichon

2) Silence is not golden in the face of evil: I am angry that the right people won’t read this (or any of the amazing posts I have read from many in my Network) because we all live in our self-chosen echo chambers in today’s polarized world. I would like to begin by thanking those of you in my life and any of my networks and chats and who aren’t Jewish, who have taken the time to reach out to me personally and especially those who have posted publicly in support of Israel and Jews in the wake of the latest horror show. It means so much! Unfortunately, your support represents a very small percentage of my non-Jewish world, and the ambivalence, cowardice and/or antisemitism that has been illuminated among the others is telling and extremely painful.

uvyomeichon uvchayei d’chol beit yisrael,

3) Sitting Shiva on Groundhog Day: I am exhausted from having to repeatedly defend the one Jewish country in the world…even after a traumatic and brutal event on par with and in many ways, even worse than 911 (in terms of the dehumanizing elements of targeting and raping and brutally murdering infants, children, mothers and grandmothers, as well as in sheer numbers killed and inured as a percentage of population, and because this was a hate crime against Jews, and not simply an indiscriminate terror attack). Think about that. At a time when Jews everywhere are all triggered by generational trauma, when we are in mourning, in shock and unable to breathe, when we should be comforted and shown kindness and offered condolences and words of compassion, instead, we are forced into a cycle of needing to defend, of getting sucked into ludicrous debates dripping with whataboutisms (a tactic, mind you, that if it were brought into a conversation or debate following a tragedy or event involving any other minority, race, gender, or slice of humanity, would be met with vicious counter-attacks, scorn, dismissal and banishment from said dialogue).

ba’agala uvizman kariv,

4) We dread what comes next more than what happened: After I digested the events of last Saturday morning and gave myself a few minutes to mourn what could only be described as the set of the next Saw movie (except in real life), I immediately had a pit in my stomach, dreading what was to come. As angry and horrified as I was over the brutal murders of Jews, the imminent retaliation I knew was inevitable weighed on my trembling soul. I am beyond incensed at the murder of my brothers and sisters in Israel, but even more furious at what their deaths will force the Israeli government and armed forces to do to avenge the fallen and taken, and to prevent further attacks.

v’im’ru: “amen.”

5) Out of Proportion: A consistent source of frustration and anger throughout my life as I have analyzed the complexities and nuances of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is the idea of “Proportionate Response.” War is awful. But I assure you, in any war or battle throughout the history of man, there is nobody sitting on the sidelines keeping score, using a clicker or abacus to count the dead and injured on each side. I am certain that the scrutiny of this particular conflict focuses on such details due to racism above all, and that makes my blood boil. Beyond the usual and justifiable rationales behind the discrepancy in body counts (we have a right to defend our citizens), the fact that Hamas, a known terrorist organization, purposefully instigates retaliation while hiding behind women and children, and locating their operations and munitions in hospitals and schools, ensures unbalanced collateral damage. They want it that way. They don’t care about their own people they were “elected” to serve and protect…they only want the rest of the world to be shocked and repulsed by the images of dead Palestinian children. And it works. Further, nobody ever brings up the fact that during each incident, thousands of rockets are launched into Israel with the intent to murder Jews. The fact that Israel wisely spends huge sums of its budget on DEFENSE and fortunately has technology that can stop most of these rockets should not influence world opinion regarding what could have happened. The world plays the result, and only sees the aftermath. Not the panic in the streets of Israel; the days and nights spent in bomb shelters; the disruption of business and life in general, on the regular; and the terror Israeli’s face daily, living side by side with people intent on murdering them. Attempted murder is a crime too. Every rocket launched from Gaza is a war crime. Yet this goes unmentioned from the armchair foreign policy analysts around the world. And lastly, I leave you with this to ponder: what exactly is the proportionate response to rape? To beheading babies? To torturing and kidnapping elderly women? To violently murdering parents in front of children and children in front of parents? To cutting unborn fetuses out of pregnant mothers and shooting the baby and the mother?     

Y’hei sh’mei raba m’varach l’alam ul’almei almaya.

6) Antizionism IS the New Antisemitism: The state of Israel allows (read: mostly leftist, liberal) Jew haters everywhere to be more comfortable in a woke world. But I also know Israel is a true beacon of pretty much everything that side of the aisle holds sacred. That said, the woke crowd won’t have it. Even the most intellectual among them are relentless in their stubborn refusal to acknowledge Israel as an ally to their causes and a friend in a region where so many other nations and players and citizens would literally throw them in jail (or much, much worse) for extolling the rights of the LBGTQ community, the equality of women, free speech, free press and free assembly. Make no mistake…the heinous and barbaric crimes commited last Saturday were not an attack on Israel and Israelis and their Government. THEY WERE AN ATTACK ON JEWS, EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD! And I am sickened, and terrified.

Yitbarach v’yishtabach,

7) I am scared for my children: It must have been shortly after the Rodney King riots in the 90s when I first heard a black celebrity on a talk show describe “the talk” black parents must have with their children, about what to do if they get pulled over and talking to the police in general. It made a lasting impression on me. Now I have children and have come to the realization that my wife and I too, as Jews, must have a similarly depressing series of conversations with our children. We need to carefully recount their family histories, which include Concentration Camps, the Holocaust, hidden children, pogroms, looting, confiscation, torture, “scientific” experimentation, murder, DP camps, humiliation, starvation, the rise of Communism, Socialism, poverty, etc. We also need to paint the picture of our world, and what that means for Jews, be it the police presence at synagogue and religious school, the time a girl at school asked my son if he killed Jesus after finding out he was Jewish, the Tree of Life murders, the Paris terror, neo-Nazis, the KKK, a thousand other stories and hate crimes from around the world…and of course Israel.

It broke my heart yesterday when my eight-year-old son asked my wife, “Will Hamas find out that Jewish people like us live in America? Will they come after us here?” And what parent wants their children to fear their identity, their religion, their ethnicity, right? Let that sink in a bit. Devastating. Then:

v’yitpa’ar v’yitromam

8) From the mouths of babes: Guess where my mind went from there? To the depths of hell, that’s where! I started thinking about all this new technology we have, and all the posts the Jewish community has made globally, and thinking that the modern-day Hitler, these shitty terrorists, could now easily track all of the Jews and Jew supporters and actually do something on the level my son was suggesting…

v’yitnaseh, v’yithadar v’yit’aleh v’yit’halal

9) Academia, a safe and inclusive space for all: I am furious at universities and supposed idyllic campuses for “higher education” and have been for some time. Wokeness and Liberal antisemitism has been festering on campuses around the world under the guise of freedom of speech and inclusiveness. But guess who was never invited to this party? Probably the greatest champions of human rights, civil liberties and LBGTQ and Gender equality on the planet (definitely per capita, and arguably by overall contributions as well). And why? Because many Jews support Israel, which is unacceptable in today’s hallowed halls of academia. How these campuses, many of which can count Jews as some of their largest donors and benefactors and distinguished alums, can allow this insidious filth to penetrate their ivy walls and classrooms, where professors with tenure lambaste Israel in front of full lecture halls of malleable young minds, is beyond me. But the real kicker has been a proliferation of university-sponsored events, usually on campus or nearby, that feature some of the world’s most notorious and outspoken antisemites (generally under the cloak of antizionism). I can count both of my alma maters, Duke and NYU, among these crumbling institutions (and want to puke), as well as UPenn, Temple, CAL Berkeley, UNC, Stanford, Harvard and too many more to count.  

sh’mei d’kud’sha, b’rich hu,

10) And Iran (not Flock of Seagulls): I am furious at our current administration in the US for releasing the funds to Iran. I know Iran played a role here. To what extent, we shall see. But the looming deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel along with the timing of the release of the funds was no coincidence. And are the politicians claiming the funds were frozen in Qatar (the largest funder of Hamas) serious? They claim the money could only be used for humanitarian uses. Great…so up to 6 billion in Iran, that might have gone to those uses, was now freed up to fund terror. I don’t understand the blindness there. Money is money. YOU DON’T MAKE DEALS WITH TERRORISTS! Rule 1, 2 and 3 of diplomacy. Biden and his cronies have some ‘splainin to do. (And it seems the Saudi/Israel negotiations have been derailed…so victory to Iran and Hamas on that front).

l’eila min-kol-birchata v’shirata, tushb’chata

11) Religion and Politics: Make no mistake: I am angry at many members of BOTH parties and many “independents” too. I realize Jews have tremendous allies in American politics and am grateful. But both parties are littered with antisemites and those who not only tolerate antisemitism, but encourage and attract it with their rhetoric, policies, hunger for power and tacit support for nefarious regimes and tyrants globally. I had a friend post something to social media this week in support of her Jewish friends, which is amazing. However, said message of support also contained a pointed attack on one political party in our country. This is not a time to exploit the horrific terror attacks in Israel for your own political gain or messaging. BOTH PARTIES ARE GUILTY OF ANTISEMITISM. Jews have no safe harbor in American nor global politics.

v’nechemata da’amiran b’alma,

12) Set Up to Fail Israeli Awful: Speaking of dealing with terrorists, I don’t really understand what the world nor the US in particular, expected Israel to do given the fact that a terrorist organization was running the show in Gaza? Why was Israel solely responsible? Hasn’t the world seen firsthand the difficulty of freeing a nation from the grips of a militant terrorist organization. The world’s two most powerful superpowers spent much of two decades failing spectacularly in Afghanistan. It is brutal for even the largest and wealthiest countries with the most powerful arsenals…so what exactly was the expectation of Israel here? Even throwing tons of money at them couldn’t help, especially given the rest of the world’s one-sided view of Israel coupled with the fact that so much money continued to be funneled to Hamas under the guise of humanitarian aid.  

v’im’ru: “amen.”

13) Egypt Us: And then there is the rest of the Arab and Islamic world, and in particular, Egypt. Why do they get a pass? Why is this situation always blamed on Israel, and Israel alone? Pretty much everything that has happened in that region since the end of WWII is the fault of the UN (who now has become the most antisemitic joke of an organization in the entire world), and the 20+ Islamic nations in the region who have repeatedly attacked, funded, instigated, harbored terrorists, ethnically cleansed themselves of once thriving Jewish communities and made life extremely difficult for Israel. And Egypt, who also shares a border with Gaza, has been downright obstinate in alleviating problems. The Arab and Islamic world has conspired to use the Palestinian people, who none of them want in their countries, as pawns in a long con to win back Israel’s territory in the world’s “court of public opinion.” And it is working.

Y’hei shlama raba min-sh’maya v’chayim

14) Unsettled: The only opinions that should matter are Native American, African Bushmen, Māori or Aboriginal (and of the like). I am so triggered every time I hear or read about Israel’s “settler colonialism.” It is very easy for many to sit in their comfortable homes in America and Europe (and Australia, South America, Asia, etc.) with relative security afforded by millennia of colonialism, slavery, and institutional racism and cast judgment on a fledgling nation composed of the most hated and vilified minority on earth, historically and currently. Especially when most doing the judging would not be able to endure one second of life in said country, conscripting their children to the army at eighteen, living with constant threat of incursion and terror, and doing this with the generational trauma all of them have from not just the Holocaust, but Stalin, the Middle Eastern actual ethnic cleansing of Jews, the Cossacks, the Inquisition, the Edict of Expulsion and countless other genocidal and antisemitic purges, policies, hate crimes and incidents. The Palestinian people were given land for a state just as the Jews were. They rejected it, and then joined four other Arabic nations in declaring war on the Jews. Then the Arab league attacked two more times, and the Palestinians were quite complicit. Israel captured land during each of those three incursions to help defend against further attacks. Throw in Munich, multiple Intifadas and volatile, tyrannical and terrorist leadership with ties to and funding from Iran, who has sworn to wipe Israel of the face of the earth, and it is difficult to blame Israel for annexing land that helped secure its people in regions most defensively vulnerable to attack.

aleinu v’al-kol-yisrael,

15) Appeasement is feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last: As Churchill famously decried, appeasement of evil never works. Ask Chamberlain, or any French leader after Napoleon. I don’t know how we free Palestine and many other Middle Eastern nations from the grips of terrorists, but if our world ever wants to see peace in the Middle East, rooting out and destroying terrorist organizations, cells and their accomplices would be an appropriate step. It will take time, will endanger the lives of millions and could set off a world war. But if the world is unwilling to combat evil at the scale it did in 1941, then the awful cycles of violence we see repeatedly throughout the Middle East will continue to reverberate, forever. And if people truly do care about the plight of the innocent Palestinians, this is the only way forward.

v’im’ru: “amen.”

16) The Emancipation Occupation: Israel takes blame around the world for its Occupation of the West Bank and control of Gaza’s borders. Do schools teach history? Following most wars throughout the history of mankind, the victors have occupied the losers. In ancient times and until the end of the First World War this was done for colonial reasons and to remunerate the victors for the steep cost of battle. Following the Second World War, however, at least for the Western Powers, Germany and Japan were occupied in an effort to rebuild the unprecedented destruction inflicted on both nations by the allied forces, but also to prevent a relapse or any further desire by either nation to rekindle their belligerence. The US still has a military presence in Japan and Germany to this day. Occupation protects both the citizens of the occupied nation/territory, and the surrounding nations and populations from any potential threats. It works in many cases and places…with the exception of the Middle East. But we all saw what happens when the US pulled out of Afghanistan…terrorists (The Taliban) filled the void and regained control. And the people of Afghanistan are now worse off than when the US was occupying. Israel cannot have terrorist organizations surrounding them in additional locations (they already have Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon not to mention Iran casting a long shadow over the entire region). Allowing more evil terrorists to fill their void would be suicidal. And I have no idea what any good alternatives might look like…only that I don’t understand why the world puts this onus on Israel and Israel alone.

Oseh shalom bimromav,

17) SMH: I am so sad and angry and fearful to live in a world where the events of last Saturday can not only happen, but be applauded and celebrated by many, ignored by many more and not unequivocally denounced, but rather justified or debated using whataboutisms and platitudes by huge swaths of humanity.

hu ya’aseh shalom aleinu

18) Mourner’s Kaddish: I have cried during the reciting of this prayer maybe nine times that I can remember. Three at the funerals of my grandparents, three more at the funerals of dear friends’ parents, once at the funeral of an uncle, once during an unforgettable episode of Homeland, and last night, during a Shabbat service at my Temple, in honor of those slain, tortured, kidnapped and butchered last week in Israel. I was a wreck. Just like our world.

v’al kol-yisrael, v’imru: “amen.”

May he create peace for us and for all Israel, and let us say, “Amen!”

Please, for all innocent men, women and children who have been killed this week, be it Israeli, Palestinian or other, and who will be killed in the coming days, weeks, months and beyond, may their memories be for a blessing.

#NeverAgain

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October 28, 2022 · 8:11 pm

KKKan-Ye

What a week! Being Jewish has never been easy. And I am in no way comparing the public fall from “grace” of a loose cannon, unstable genius who has always found it necessary to publicly embarrass himself (and others – see George W. Bush, Taylor Swift etc.) to the countless atrocities inflicted upon the Jews since the dawn of Judaism.

But this particular circus is scary…the acts themselves, many of the comments on social media and elsewhere, the tacit nods of appreciation, the silence (in pockets), the delayed response by Nazi-founded affiliate Adidas, the emboldened hate groups, and the greater macro-dynamics and undertones. So scary, in fact, that IDROS has been compelled to weigh in on this seismic event and subsequent fallout instigated by a racist, narcissistic buffoon who has regularly spewed more bullshit than high season in Pamplona.

He has always told us who he is. Pink’s prescient but easy 2009 Twitter post following Ye’s selfish, rude and misguided grandstanding at the MTV VMAs has never seemed more relevant. But he has consistently told us that he is not only an ass, but a racist, immature little man-child who believes the world revolves around him and all others should kiss the sacred ground he walks upon. When someone tells us repeatedly who he or she is…it is incumbent upon us to BELIEVE him/her. But in our culture, the good ole dollar means more than anything. We see it again and again. If someone can produce movies, or run a hedge fund, or throw/run with a football, or hit a baseball, or host a TV show, or tell jokes or govern a Southern state, or run an oil company, or own a professional sports team, or run a large real estate company, or own a media company, etc. very, very well (and others profit from these talents)…well then letting a racist/misogynistic/homophobic comment or tweet slide is par for the course. Those who prove they can make other people money are pretty much untouchable…even for nefarious and illegal actions, let alone their hallowed and protected right to speak (or type) freely.

And damn him, but Yeezus could make money. Pretty much everything he touched turned to gold. So his inner circle and various media outlets have turned a blind eye or ignored him at every turn, scoffing…”oh Kanye…he so crazy” or “he’s off his meds, don’t mind him” or “don’t be so thin skinned…it’s only words” or “Kanye being Kanye…don’t mind him” along the way. Worse, some protected him to the point that they buried some extremely dangerous quotes and off-the-record comments (like his adulation for Hitler, which was nearly the title of his eponymous album we know as Ye).

Let me be clear: Ye and his enablers are dangerous! And they kept a lot of the most serious and disturbing rhetoric out of the public eye for years. Why…because he was their golden goose (or because they feared being sued for libel/slander). And I have issue with that last part (and the first part, of course) because shouldn’t media members be encouraged to blow a whistle on thoughts, comments and ideas that could present a danger to others? Isn’t it similar to a doctor or lawyer breaking patient/client confidentiality to prevent a crime? He did make a very antisemitic public comment in 2013, discussing Obama, but it wasn’t followed by a shitstorm of follow up Jew hatred, double downs and refusals to apologize that accompanied his latest episode, and so it was promptly swept under the rug and dismissed as “Kanye being Kanye.”

The PoS Ye has 30 million social media followers. THIRTY F-ING MILLION! That is twice the Jewish population of the entire world. There are levels of wrong, just as there are levels of responsibility. His misguided hate speech (which likely could have been nipped somewhat in the bud, or at least mitigated had one of his enablers or media protectors acted sooner (like in 2018 when he professed his love and adulation for the Fuhrer)). Clearly this latest outburst was inciteful. White supremacists proudly hung antisemitic banners over a freeway in the second most populous city in our country and gave the Nazi salute while the hatred swayed in the wind below them. Too many comments on every mainstream social media outlet praised the rapper, echoed his sentiments and said he was “right.”

That is why Elon Musk welcoming him with open arms to his soon-to-be owned bird-brained social media company was so scary to me…and should be to the rest of you. That is also why the self-proclaimed genius’ deal to buy Parler is terrifying. (And don’t get me started on the likes of Tucker Carlson).

I am all for free speech. People confuse financial consequences and social ostracization with legal ramifications (read: there are none in a country with protected free speech) all the time. They whine every time “cancel culture” rears its head; they talk about the good old days, when comedy was free to be comedy (read: people had free reign to attack every marginalized group out there for laughs, no matter at whose expense those laughs came. About the great free wheeling days of Mad Men, when boys could be boys and make sexual innuendos and bang every co-ed in the office, no matter the power dynamic (and back then, the power dynamic always tilted Y Chromosome). The problem is not “cancel culture.” The problem is the unchecked criminal behavior: the hate crimes and incitement of violence. As for the “cancel culture” response, it can be overdone and wielded more heavy-handed than it should be in some cases…like everything else in America, we can’t do anything in moderation. We don’t understand the concept.

But in this case, the Heartless rapper deserves everything that has come thus far, and so much more.

Bottom line, words have consequences. You are seeing that in real time.

Social Media wasn’t a thing when our Bill of Rights was written, and many of its nuances could not be anticipated.

There is a reason members of the KKK wore (and continue to wear) hoods. They didn’t (don’t) want their doctors, lawyers, neighbors, children’s teachers, etc. to know they were in the Klan.

I do not believe speech should be protected if the speech is made anonymously. After all, what then are we protecting? And whom? Put your name on it. Say it without a pillowcase covering your hateful face.

This becomes even more germane (again, not Jackson) in the modern world, where people toss salvos and vitriol from the comfort of their basements (or more likely, their mother’s), using fake profiles, stolen pictures and no repercussions. And those are the actual human trolls. What of the tech-generated, algorithm-based bots? And these will get more and more dangerous with the development of better AI, and more time to learn about humanity and what makes us tick. And believe me…they are learning at exponential speeds.

What goes on in the shadows is and has always been terrifying. Zed’s basement in Pulp Fiction exists, on some level, all over the world. Add to that the element of tech-driven, undetectable, dangerous and inciteful language and behavior and we have a recipe for unimaginable consequences. Jews invariably will be targeted at a higher rate than all others and recently have been seeing an uptick in hate crimes (from our base line which was already unenviable). It is not surprising that most Jews are portrayed as neurotic in all movies and tv shows…we are. And we have every right to be.

Which leads back to the clown prince of Jew Hatred.

How can a billionaire, who has literally found uber success in everything he has touched (from fashion to music production to performance art) have any reason to blame Jews for anything? Oh no, a Jew told him “NO.” Sorry, I guess you will have to go back to your miserable billionaire life and all your other successes. But nobody puts baby in a corner. Nobody can say no to Kanye. Especially one of the Jewish faith. And so it’s open season, not only on the specific person who said no, but on all Jews.

Interestingly, in his song “Who Gon Stop Me” he mentions the Holocaust (and equates the street thug experience of African Americans to the Holocaust). It’s best to avoid comparisons of the Shoah in general, but I guess poetic license in a song lyric can be somewhat justified (you be the judge). Still, what I find intriguing is that his protagonist in this song (and the very title) has the same very cavalier attitude as its author did following his latest barrage of antisemitic outbursts…he literally tweeted that he can say whatever antisemitic garbage he wants, and his most valuable partner (Adidas) can’t do anything about it (aka, who gon stop me). Talk about life imitating art.

Aside from his 30 million adoring followers (and likely more in his overall fanbase) and the comments many of them wrote in response to Ye’s recent Twitterstorm…do you know what really keeps me up at night?

HE OWNS A SCHOOL! Let that sink in.

Sure, it closed down in the wake of this fiasco (though the letter to parents insinuates that the school will be back, open and ready to taint (read: indoctrinate) innocent minds in 2023. And as of this writing, it seems it may not close at all.

A friggin’ school! And a school cloaked in secrecy…I kid you not. I couldn’t make this shit up if I tried.

I mean…as the old adage goes…give a kid a Jew to hate…he or she will hate that Jew for a day (or three). Teach a kid to hate Jews…well that hatred will last a lifetime, and likely be passed down to future generations to continue the hatred. It’s the gift that spans generations. Wait, I believe I just found the new school motto. Anyone know a copyright/trademark attorney?

So yeah. IDROS is scared.

The world is a scary place for a Jew without the Jew Hate. The greed, the guns, the pandemics, the political divides, the economic woes, the war in Ukraine, terrorism, murder hornets, the war on women, sexual abuse, global warming, natural disasters, oligarchs, tyrants, homophobia, drug cartels, etc.

But for us Jews, we get so much more for our money:

We have metal detectors and police presence at our houses of worship.

We get accosted, excluded and treated unfairly on college campuses around the world by pro-Palestinian groups and a slew of other anti-Israel affiliates…even by some professors!

We face discrimination in every walk of life.

We suffer verbal and physical abuse and far too often, murder.

We are threatened more often per capita than any other race, religion or minority, through distributed flyers, graffiti, vandalism, bomb threats and other forms of harassment.

We are denied our history, our culture and our collective truth by holocaust deniers, anti-Zionists and conspiracy theorists.

We are blamed and scapegoated for pretty much everything, by everyone.

We are accused of being rich, powerful and controlling, and also for being subhuman scum.

We face antisemitism from the right and the left. Even known antisemites use us as pawns for their own political gains.

We are accused of being white when it suits people of color in their railings against white privilege, and of being of color when it suits white supremacists and other far right groups in their insane rantings and utopian ideals.

We are not white! Fellow Jews, stop checking that box on the census and on questionnaires. We are other. We always have been other and get told as much by every other group on earth regularly. Sometimes they tell us nicely…more often though, they don’t.

I have children. Jewish children. And I love raising them Jewish and showing them our traditions and discussing our history and ancestry. Going to Israel with them recently was one of the most incredible experiences I could imagine. A dream come true.

But…I am dreading the talk. My kids are too young to really learn about the Holocaust (and the inordinate number of other sickening and genocidal acts of horror inflicted upon us throughout history). To really grasp what it means to be a Jew. Black parents often mention having “the talk” with their children…about their horrific history. About Jim Crow. About institutional racism, red lining, block busting and gerrymandering. About how to interact with police and authorities. About what to do, and not do, if/when they ever get pulled over, etc. And it’s truly heartbreaking that they must have those discussions.

We Jews have our own version of the talk. And IDROS dreads that day…the day my children lose their innocence and learn the truth about our heritage. About what that means, and has meant for their grandparents, and great grandparents. About why there are significant holes in our family tree. About the loss, and the torture, and the starvation. About the freezing cold, the never-ending shivering. About the forceful exile and imprisonments, and the squalor and disease. About the seizure of their belongings, and homes. About their abandonment. About the not knowing. About the omnipresent fear. About their night terrors, and pent-up rage. About Sophie’s Choice-like decisions they all had to make. About their salvation/liberation, only to return to homes that had been stolen from them, and neighbors who wanted them to (read: forced them to) leave. About Israel, a beacon of hope, and how it was attacked from all sides the day it declared its independence. About the two subsequent wars all of its neighbors waged unsuccessfully. About the continued terrorism by the Palestinian, Lebanese and Iranian backed militias. About the pogroms. About the purging of Jews from all countries in the Middle East. About the 1972 Olympics. About the Tree of Life and Beth Israel Colleyville Synagogues. About the Paris attacks, and those in the Jewish day school in Toulouse. About Charlottesville and the tiki torches. About Daniel Pearl. And on and on and on.

So thank you Kanye, for giving me 30 million more reasons to dread that rapidly approaching day…the day I must show my own children that I am afraid and officially welcome them to their reality…to the most hated group on our planet. You, like your idol Adolf, will not succeed. Enjoy your hateful life.

Shabbat Shalom!

Love and Light,

IDROS

#NeverForget

#GoPhils

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May 26, 2021 · 9:25 pm

The Hate Is Rael

I cannot be silent. And I will not stand for this continued anti-Semitism, be it in its newest form, Anti-Zionism, or the tried and true, millennia-old chicanery we all know as Jew Hatred. NEVER AGAIN means NEVER AGAIN! IDROS knows full well that this blog post, and most of the push back I have seen on Social Media and beyond, will be read by the very people who need to read it the least. Our collective echo chamber of mostly Jews (and those most sympathetic to MOTs…whom we have learned to trust and have welcomed into our inner sancta of neuroses and inherited trauma) certainly helps…but it’s not going to stamp out the flames of genocidal intentions and hate speech from our vile world.  

May 17 IDROS read the following tweet and exchange on the Twitter.

It almost made your stoic and hardened author cry. You see, almost exactly a year prior, IDROS proudly changed his profile on social media to Black, with a hashtag of #BlackLivesMatter. IDROS stands in solidarity with all oppressed people on our planet. But in this Israeli-Palestinian saga, who are the oppressed people and who are the oppressors? It isn’t as clear as groups like BLM and BDS would have you believe. And though BLM doesn’t use the term White Supremacy in this tweet, it does very clearly on its website, and didn’t distance itself from BDS’ response. Jews are only white when it suits the labeling class. A large number of Israeli Jews look just like their Arab (and Palestinian) neighbors.

What irked your author most was that Jews have been and continue to be one of the most important allies for all marginalized groups seeking equal civil rights…especially for Blacks. And for tweets like this, from a prominent Black activist group with over a million followers, it further clouds the water for Jews, who most of the world views as inseparable from Israel.

And so, as a writer, IDROS wrote a message to the powers that be at BLM using their “contact us” messaging system on their website.

Here is the letter:

To Whom It May Concern:

I was extremely disappointed to see your unilateral support for the Palestinian cause made public on social media during the latest bout of fighting. Not because I believe that the plight of the Palestinian civilians and children is fair and should be ignored. To the contrary, I grieve daily for all INNOCENT lives that are mistreated, face injustice and senseless violence all over the world…this includes the indigenous and migrant populations in Gaza and the West Bank.

BUT…this is a very complex and nuanced situation, and innocent lives are threatened and killed all the time on both sides. The true crimes to the Palestinians are propagated by Hamas and the corrupt leadership in both Gaza and the West Bank, dating back even before Hamas rose to prominence. The world (via the UN and USA) as well as regional powers (Iran) pour money into the coffers of Hamas and the PLA under the auspices it will be used to help the Palestinian people and communities. However, said leadership uses those funds to buy arms, train terrorists and to pay the families of terrorists who die by their own hand murdering Israelis and other “infidels.”

I also was alarmed to read your message, which said you were united against “Settler Colonialism” all over the world. I see that sentiment nowhere on your website. And your actions would say otherwise as well. I see no protests of any other place in the world where “settlers” and/or “colonialism” is or was a policy or the manner in which the nation was founded. Israel, unlike most of the world that was actually founded in colonialist fashion (and that you do NOT protest), was founded LEGALLY, through the United Nations. But Israel is hardly a settler/colonialist nation, and while Israel may do some things in the name of security and protection of its citizens that violate borders drawn up in 1949, those borders were created BEFORE every Arab nation in the Middle East, including the people who now call themselves “Palestinians” attacked Israel in 1967 and numerous other times since, and most notably, have not recognized Israel’s right to exist. Your decision to unilaterally side with the Palestinians over Israel, and not call to the carpet the terrorist entity who rules over the Palestinians, Hamas…now, or ever, is a joke.

Finally, you must know that the Jewish people have been and continue to be among the most active and faithful allies in championing the causes of African Americans. Stalwarts such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg were instrumental in the Civil Rights movement, and Rabbis marched shoulder to shoulder with Dr. King. Jews continue to vote and march for causes near and dear to Black people, and for organizations such as yours (as well as prominent Black people in general) to align yourself with movements that are anti-Semitic and stand for the complete destruction of the one Jewish nation in our world, and the murder of all Jewish people (see the Hamas charter if you refuse to believe this) is very difficult to grasp.

In fact, your post and continued unilateral support for the Palestinians without denouncing Hamas and other terrorist entities who enable Hamas and corruption among the Palestinians in general puts Jews at risk right here in America and around the globe.

I would like to have a dialogue with you and the people who made the decision to post your unilateral support for the Palestinians, to understand your motivations better and to potentially find a way to mend fences. Marginalized minorities like Jews and Blacks should be working together, not alienating one another. I would like to help us get there.

Thanks, and hopes for peace,

IDROS

IDROS, unsurprisingly, is still waiting for a response…on the edge of his seat…It’s been over a week. He’s not holding his breath.

One thing that became crystal clear during the Trump Experiment in America is that you can’t reason with or successfully debate ignorant or racist people.

Another element of post-fact society in the age of the internet, is that anyone with Wi-Fi can find a hundred blog posts, doctored videos or twisted narratives masquerading as factual to justify their opinions or general BS.

And here we are…we jettisoned the mascot of White Supremacists everywhere, but the ignorance and racism persist. Imagine that.

For me, the worst part of this latest flare up in the global case of hemorrhoids that is the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, is that most of the racism and ignorance for this particular situation rests with the same people, by and large, that were my allies for the past four years.

THE SAME BASE that called out Trump and his supporters for their hatred and lies and incitement and internet conspiracies…now directs that same vitriol and finger pointing and cancel culture mentality at Israel and the Jews.

Anti-Semitism…aka Jew-Hatred, knows no party lines or boundaries. It is ubiquitous and insidious, and can be found in every corner of our world, among every race, religion and ethnicity, every class and caste, and among the least and most educated of people.

I knew. I would be lying if I said this surprises me in the least. I made a conscious sacrifice…one I would make again in a heartbeat, by the way. I willingly chose to help take down a demagogue and wannabe tyrant IN MY OWN COUNTRY, which I love and support despite its imperfections, all the while knowing that the party and candidates I propped up in HIS place would be detrimental to Israel. And I should say this…I don’t begrudge my fellow Jews who voted Red. We all see why they did…ISRAEL is a beacon of strength and hope for all Jews, whether we live there or not. We all know that had Israel existed before World War II, the Holocaust would never have happened. And so, Israel and its continued safety and security, is and should be a top priority for all Jews. But the painful reality for us Jews is that there is no good choice…ever…in any election. Because Anti-Semitism has corrupted all of humanity. The silence of those supposedly most intolerant of racism during the past couple of weeks has been deafening.

Hamas is a Terrorist Organization. They brilliantly tested America’s new Administration in much the same way children push the boundaries with a new babysitter. Sensing weakness, and also unhappy with the moderate tact Abbas has taken, Hamas pounced, making a play for political control in the West Bank where they have no influence, and also bolstering their control in Gaza. The evictions in Sheikh Jarrah provided the perfect Red Herring, a drama few outside the legal world would fully understand, but that would easily garner the sympathies and anger of pretty much everyone in the world…especially when spoon-fed to the media Hamas controls in the region in order to ensure the spin always goes their way. (Hamas uses a combination of threats and also access to all the gory violence the world craves when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis to keep the media – like the AP and al Jazeera – in their pocket.)

Israel isn’t perfect, but it is one of the most incredible places on the planet. It is an anomaly and an anachronism; a pariah state surrounded by enemies, forced to sleep with one eye open, every night of its existence. But it astounds in its innovation, its intertwining of the spiritual and secular, its inclusion of all races and religions, its beauty (natural and manufactured), its ability to cultivate the most arid and formidable tracts of land on earth, and its wonderful and strong citizens, who constantly prove a willingness to help any and every person and nation in the world with any problem at the drop of a hat.

Whenever there is a global disaster or crisis, Israel is ALWAYS among the first to arrive on the scene with aid. Israel is a shining beacon of democracy and liberal values in a large wasteland of misogynistic, backwards and paralyzingly rigid rule by radical religious zealots, tyrants, despots, terrorist enclaves and autocrats.

It hurts me personally to read the comments; to see and hear and read about the slew of celebrities who castigate Israel and support the Palestinians; and to read/watch the biased accounts across trusted media platforms worldwide.

Mark Ruffalo, one of the staunchest anti-Israel/Pro-Palestinian celebrity voices that didn’t once play in a band called Pink Floyd, recently posted this interesting, timely apology:

I thank him for the sentiment, mostly because he has 7.5 million followers and he finally realizes that his words are causing innocent Jews to get hurt and killed and are playing a role in a global flare up in Anti-Semitic hate speech and actions.

But to me, the words he chose are passive aggressive at best, and fall way short of the mark. And You Can Count On Me, IDROS, to give an honest account (see what I did there?)

He limits his apology to his recent Israel/Hamas posts, but has been posting similar, one-sided opinion tweets for years. He also wrote “Now is the time to avoid hyperbole.” Now? So, all the other times you have tweeted or reposted tweets that featured hyperbole were ok? You see Jews being killed and assaulted globally as a result of things millions of people like you post, say, and accept as fact and realize you are an accessory to murder…so you post an apology…for this one time? A narrow, flimsy, carefully worded, half-hearted apology.

The truth is, I am being hard on Ruffalo mostly because he has taken Israel out to the woodshed, unabashedly, for more two decades. He is one of Israel’s most rabid critics and is unrelenting. I am actually happy to see any sort of apology and sincerely appreciate his act, narrow as it was. I have some respect for Mark, not just as an actor, but for his good intentions beyond just this one issue. He genuinely cares about people and our planet and gets behind causes all over the globe to make our world a better place. While it pains me that he unilaterally blames Israel for the plight of the Palestinian people (and not Hamas, nor the Arab nations in the region who helped create the current situation and enable its prolonged cycle of violence), he doesn’t fall into the category of Israel critics that I find most repugnant: Single issue critics, who focus all of their “holier than thou” attention and disdain on Israel and its “treatment” of the Palestinians, yet fail to speak out or seem to care about any other injustice on the planet.   

Israel is not without sin or blame in this endless cycle of violence. But the tiny nation has been placed in a precarious situation since its founding and has been forced into conflict by ALL of its neighbors countless times. It is a nation, and as such, has every right to defend itself and to protect its citizens. And for the most part, that is what it does. And Israel’s Armed Forces and Government take great care to limit if not entirely eliminate collateral damage. But its enemy is wily and uses innocent citizens as pawns in an elaborate long con to gain control of the region, destroy Israel and kill all of the Jews.

It is frustrating and devastating to know, for a fact, that a majority of the world is prejudiced against your people…your family and friends, your traditions, your history and everything in life you hold dear. It is difficult to put in words what it feels like to have lost large branches of your family tree less than a century ago to the same vile hatred and ignorance and ambivalence, and many other branches decades before that, and over and over again like clockwork throughout history.

People see dead children on the news or on Facebook and they need someone to blame. And we Jews have always been great scapegoats for people…throughout history. We have been blamed for wars, plagues, the murder of religious figures, eating the blood of children, stock market crashes, faking moon landings, controlling Wall Street, controlling the media, controlling Hollywood, controlling governments, being Communists, being greedy money loving Capitalists, not being white, being white…and on and on and on. Whatever fits the narrative du jour. And in total numbers, we represent a mere rounding error in comparison to the Global population…even before being butchered on the grandest and most grotesque scale last century.

So, the world should embrace the plight of the Jews…allow us to defend ourselves in the one predominantly Jewish state in the entire world. That doesn’t mean Israel should be allowed to bend or break the rules, and murder indiscriminately. But Israel has every right to defend itself and its citizens when attacked. But just like racism permeates every facet of society in America, global anti-Semitism informs policy, media, elections, alliances, perspective, sentiment and reaction(s) throughout the world…and in particular, within the very entities created to uphold and preserve the world order such as the UN.  

But the world will not suddenly come around and see the light. The hatred has always been there, simmering just below the surface for stretches, and then erupting, cyclically, like a volcano of genocidal vitriol, malice and misanthropy. And as Jews we cannot depend on a sudden change of heart to save us. Furthermore, the Arab world led by Iran and its evil tentacles of radical Jihad, like Hamas, are running a masterful long con, playing the media like fiddles, showing a cavalcade of dead children, whether killed by Israeli armed forces or not, using propaganda and conspiracy theories, and generally pulling at the heartstrings of anyone and everyone across the world who fancies themselves to be “woke.”

Jews, as always, are trapped between the proverbial Scylla and Charybdis…and today those threats manifest as Anti-Zionist venom from the progressive Left and straight Jew-hatred venom from the Nazi and White Supremacists on the Right.

IDROS is scared. Scared for his family and friends. Scared for the future of Israel and the Jewish people. And terrified that his children, who are mostly unaware of the full horror show that is the collective history and present of the Jewish people, will have to learn about it, and then live those truths, whether they want to or not.

On a related note, this article by Pamela Paresky is the most frightening and sobering thing I have read in a while…IDROS urges all his readers to give it a looksie. It should be required reading for all high school students across the globe.

Sorry to be such a buzz kill,

IDROS

#NeverAgain #DontBeSilent #SpeakOutAgainstAntisemitism #IStandWithIsraelForever #AmYisraelChai

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November 21, 2014 · 5:22 pm

THREE FOR THOUGHT

1) Yet another horrific week in the Israeli-People who live on the outskirts of Israel saga. Deafening silence from the likes of Celebrity Asswipe Central (including Russell “I’m not an Anti-Semite…I just choose to bash Israel for defending itself over all the other causes in the world” Brand, Roger “I wrote The Wall so I am entitled to use my celebrity to comment on any situation in the world where an actual nation builds a wall as self-defense against a fictitious people” Waters, the Spanish Brainless triumvirate, Selena “If my taste in men is any indication, I am clueless” Gomez, Emma “you are so lucky you can act, honey” Thompson, Rihanna (she of the Twitter deletion contingent that apparently doesn’t realize the permanence of the internet), Danny “you apparently actually are too old for this shit” Glover, and even Jon “et tu Brute” Stewart). I guess they all hold civilized people to a different standard. Incredibly, I have more respect for Mel Gibson than these naïve cowards. They hide their anti-Semitism behind the idea that they are rallying around a “just cause” while Mel just hates Jews just like daddy did…loud and proud.

But enough on celebrities that aren’t worth my time or money (ironically, both songs penned by Roger Goebbels Waters). And don’t get me started on the media…I have no idea when CNN, the BBC, the AP and CBS became affiliates of al Jazeera, but the reporting on everything involving Israel and its neighbors has devolved into something out of George Orwell’s worst dystopian nightmare (click here and here for some examples).

3 for thought pic (Way to equate the innocent victims with the brutal terrorists CNN – I wish I was making this up)

I remember thinking to myself a few years ago, when Israel heroically decided to free a thousand terrorists in exchange for one of its own (Gilad Shalit), that unfortunately, many innocent people are going to die because of this decision. Of course every precious life in Israel is valuable, and I applauded the exchange at the time despite the uneasiness it made me feel. And it is, in my opinion, no coincidence that the aftermath of that bold, life-affirming move by Israel has led to a giant step backward in the stability of the region. It reminds me of the scene just after “dickless” turns off the power grid in Ghostbusters, releasing hundreds of ghosts the eponymous quartet had spent the better part of the movie capturing, back into New York City society…they wreaked such havoc.

Most of the world is blaming the person for having the unmitigated temerity to swat at the mosquito, who has left welt after welt upon his or her body…and god forbid the swat connects, and the pesky parasite is hurt or even killed…

And every time these troglodytes cheer the death of innocent Israelis like their home-town just won the Super Bowl or World Cup – and I know this happens far more frequently and in greater numbers than the already far-too-abundant video we see in the West – I try to imagine Israelis, or Jews anywhere in the world, really, celebrating in the streets over the death of even Hitler himself…and alas, I can’t even picture it. That level of infantile hatred, of abject putrescence, is reserved for only the lowest of the low.

And yet we hear nothing from the throngs who condemned Israel just months ago…

2) Florida State: While there is much to say about the football team led by a shady character with a growing litany of crimes ranging from grand theft crustacean to rape and sexual assault (and if the rape allegations are true, he should burn in hell)…alas, I am referring to the shooting on campus. Perhaps the nation is so immersed in the deep freeze, digging out of yet another polar vortex, that the shock of yet another mass shooting seems muted in relation to past events…or perhaps it is because none of the innocent victims were killed…or maybe we are becoming numb as a society to all of this nonsense. Whatever the case, the mass-shooting epidemic in our nation is not going away. Feel free to revisit my two-part novella on senseless gun violence I wrote in the aftermath of Sandy Hook…in the words of the great Led Zeppelin, the song remains the same.

3) AP – Not the AP that blames Israel for every wrong in the world these days…but Adrian Peterson. Yesterday, the NFLPA appealed Roger Goodell’s ruling to suspend AP for the remainder of the season without pay. Just once, I would like to see that stupid union do the right thing and say “you know what, we agree with the NFL here. AP was wrong and if any of you other players think it’s ok to get medieval on your own or anyone else’s children, you will not have our support. We are donating the full amount of what AP was set to earn for the remainder of the 2014 season to charitable organizations that champion the causes of abused children and encourage the Minnesota Vikings and the NFL to match our donation dollar for dollar.” Wouldn’t that be great? Why doesn’t that kind of thing happen in our world – especially when it’s teed up like that?

And Rusty Hardin, AP’s defense attorney….are you friggin’ kidding me? This dirt bag had the audacity to ask “who in the hell does he [Roger Goodell] think he is?” Who do you think YOU are Rusty? You defend assholes, criminals and the occasionally wrongly accused for a living…Goodell runs the league in which your client plays. Look, I will be the first to admit Goodell handled the Ray Rice situation about as poorly as someone could, and has not been the best commissioner the NFL has ever seen on many levels, but he is the commissioner. And the real irony in the whole thing is that AP believes, as the father of the child, he should be allowed to mete out discipline any damn way he pleases (he shouldn’t)…and yet is somehow taken aback when the head of his league does the exact same thing, except, you know, without the unconscionable physical abuse.

Anyway…I wish you all a wonderful, happy and healthy turkey day.

Gobble Gobble,

IDROS

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June 28, 2012 · 2:27 pm

Revisiting Israel: 20 Years Later

Twenty years ago today, I embarked on a trip that would change my life…my first journey to Israel.

People who are passionate about Israel can talk until they are blue in the face. They can write powerful prose extolling the virtues of the magnificent Pariah nation wedged among its most dangerous enemies on the Eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. They can share beautiful, awe-inspiring photos of a lush oasis amid the stark deserts and barren lands that surround it.

I do not disregard any of that, and appreciate their efforts. (In fact, I recently wrote my own Israeli passion piece…please click here to read it)

But this I can say with certainty, a guarantee I can make regarding very few things: Visiting Israel is a game changer; setting foot on the sacred ground depicted in the five books of the Old Testament, the Torah, and experiencing the juxtaposition of some of the most jaw-dropping, mind-boggling spiritual, traditional and cultural remnants of our ancestors (all of them: Jewish, Catholic and Muslim, alike), with majestic geographical and topographical marvels as well as an injection of inexplicable, mystifying modernity, technological advances and a population determined to defy all odds, will affect you in ways that are difficult to articulate.

Bottom line: Until you land at Ben Gurion airport and immerse yourself in the “Promised Land,” until you walk the ancient streets of Jerusalem , or listen as the waves lap upon the magnificent beaches of Tel Aviv; until you watch the sunrise from atop Masada, or lend a hand on a Kibbutz; until you dive into the crystal clear waters of the Red Sea or float in a chair in the heavily salted Dead Sea; until you catch fresh St. Peter’s fish from the Kinneret or rappel into a waterfall in the desert oasis of Ein Gedi; until you stroll the beautiful streets of Haifa or sample fresh produce in any of the wonderful markets throughout the country; and until you see the scars and devastation marking the constant rocket fire and terror attacks that have plagued the nation since 1948, you cannot truly appreciate how incredible Israel is in every way.

For those who made the trek with me twenty years ago, please find a list (in no particular order) below of some of the amazing memories of our eight week adventure:

1)      The Shoresh…and those Swiss Chalet-like huts;

2)      Bob Marley’s bus soundtrack;

3)      MSP3 Turquoise t-shirts;

4)      The Underground;

5)      Shady deals in the Arab market;

6)      Tevas;

7)      Dodging rocks in Mea Shearim;

8)      Our guards, packing Uzis;

9)      The Druze village;

10)   Planting Trees;

11)   The Mickey Mouse pool at our Kibbutz;

12)   Our group photos in the glow of sunrise atop Masada;

13)   Riding camels in the Bedouin camp in the Negev;

14)   Kayaking on the Jordan;

15)   Shawarma;

16)   Ben Yehuda Street;

17)   The Samples;

18)   TURKEY CHICKEN;

19)   Booze Cruise in Eilat;

20)   Watching Animal House in Ein Gedi;

21)   Michael’s Midwest (Wisconsin?) accent – get your byack pyacks;

22)   Craig’s letters from Sharmi (sp?);

23)   Our lost journal;

24)   Yardena Strahan;

25)   Archeological dig;

26)   Palestinian lectures;

27)   Mr. T’s;

28)   Israeli Salad, Hummus and Nutella breakfasts;

29)   Ari’s big trade – his boom box for a camping pack?

30)   Final night roast, and John’s comment about flying a plane through the gap in Yardena’s teeth;

31)   Boomer tearing the bathroom door off its hinges on our flight home;

32)   Ain’t No Crickets in Brooklyn…

Hope everyone is well. It’s been a wild 20 years.

If any of you have any others you would like to add to the list, feel free to do so in the comments area below. Also, if any of you have the email addresses or are friends with any of our other MSP3ers on Facebook or Twitter or LinkedIn or MySpace or Friendster or whatever…please forward this link along.

Thanks,

IDROS

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