Israel's Deputy Ambassador's Speech To 'J Street'. FULL TEXT

This year Barukh Binah, Deputy Ambassador to the United States from Israel, addressed the annual meeting of J Street and their Kapos Supporters.

Sixty-five years ago, there could not have been a Jewish ambassador, representing the Jewish State, speaking to a Jewish audience in a flourishing and confident diaspora. Today, I come before you, my Friends, to greet and congratulate you on your third conference and to discuss our common goals and possible disagreements.

Our story is always exciting and un-expected, but in the last 150 years we have surprised even ourselves. We rose from the Ghettos of East Europe and the Malah of North Africa to create a dynamic, resourceful and vibrant democracy in an unusually hostile and oppressive region.

Nobody is perfect; and, as a 7th generation Israeli born I know full well what needs to be fixed in my own society. I salute those individuals and organizations working for grass-roots improvements within Israel, and I personally attempt these corrections every four years when I cast my vote. Sometimes I have it my way, and sometimes I do not. It is called Democracy.

I understand that you, my friends, are all about future and hope. So are we, the young and most energetic country that we are. But while our view is towards the future, we dare not forget our past. History must not shackle us, but its lessons must guide us. And please, do not tell me that it is no longer relevant, because it is. (It is alive and scorching just like the trail left by an Israeli Air force F-16, flown over Poland's valleys of death by the granddaughter of the commanders of a Ghetto revolt. It is alive in ink on paper as long as a 12 year old, an 8th generation Israeli born, dedicates her Bat Mitzvah Book to "members of my family whom I never met", though nobody coached her in this direction.

We look today to our two flourishing communities – in Israel, and here in the United States; each shoulders an historic and current responsibility for the survival of the Jewish people. Our relations are therefore of the utmost importance, and we must guide them with principles that will ensure our partnership.

I come to you today not only as the second highest ranking Israeli diplomat in the US, but as a brother (and I have an extensive American family). We share your democratic values. But unlike your secure existence between these happy shores, an ocean apart from the bad guys, our borders are curved and dusty, and made of missiles and mayhem. As we continue to face intolerable threats, we sometimes have to make decisions of life and death. We welcome the opinions of our brethren in the Diaspora, especially on issues of Jewish identity and pluralism, but at the end of the day, it is we, the Israelis, who must bear the ultimate burden and may have to pay the ultimate price. And we, dear Friends and Family, have no margins of error; none whatsoever.

So, we need you to stand with us. It is as simple as that and someone ought to say it. Internal activism is a central part of democratic society, but Pressures on the elected government of Israel can present us with a problem, when we need you the most.

In this spirit of democracy and openness, I have to broach an issue with you, for J Street is not just an NGO that publishes a magazine and states an opinion in the free market if ideas. It is an organization that lobbies congress. You practice not only free speech but a legislative agenda. You don’t only publish op-eds, you bring members of Congress to the region. I respectfully submit that this relatively new role lays responsibilities before you which I am not certain have always been adequately considered. Thus, when you bring lawmakers to Israel, please make sure that they come out with a full picture.You may be critical of settlements, but if you choose to show the most extreme, it behooves you to present the greater mass of moderates as well. If you show them negative aspects of checkpoints, please show as well the catastrophe and grief of terror victims. If you show them Israel’s failings, show them also our triumphs such as the aliyah of the Jewish community of Ethiopia. I urge you to strive for balance, so that these lawmakers may become friends of Israel who might be critical, and not critics of Israel who are not friends.

I welcome the evolution in J-Street's position, which brought about the recognition of the ultimate need to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear capabilities. I hope that this will be followed by adopting President Obama's policy that all the options, including a military effort, are on the table.

Likewise, I welcome your position against one-sided resolutions on settlements, and I hope that you will never go back to opposing a veto cast by the Obama administration, like you did in January of 2011.

I would like to express our appreciation of J Street’s active repudiation of BDS, and of your activity on campus to help stem this insidious ideology. Our shared view is that BDS is not a form of criticism, but a blatant, though veiled attack. I hope that the leaders of the BDS movement will not be welcomed at J Street, and that all calls for boycott will continue to be refuted. They use such appearances as a means of gaining legitimacy, and whatever actually happens in your fora, they report to their supports that they were greeted at J Street with enthusiasm and consent. Please don’t let yourselves be used. They aren’t honest players.

Regarding Iran, this radical, ideological regime represents an unparalleled danger to world peace and stability and a very serious threat to Israel, as its leaders continue calling for our annihilation. For this regime to have nuclear military capability is simply unacceptable. A nuclear Iran will never be contained.

Israel's position is very clear. We support the initiative lead by the United States to take all possible measures in order to make sure that Iran gives up its nuclear military ambitions. We applaud President Obama's clarification that all options are on the table, economic sanctions, diplomacy, and including the military effort.

Our region indeed harbors forces of radical ideology, unwilling to accept our very existence as a free nation in our own country, and while we pursue and seek peace, the Ayatollahs of Iran call loudly for our annihilation. They seek to develop nuclear weapons and support terror groups in Lebanon and in Gaza who attack us constantly and defy our right to exist.

Regarding our peace policy, a vision that Israel was established with. It is the vision of our prophets, from Isaiah to Herzl. Without peace our security will not be complete, but without security there will be no real peace.

The sands of the Arab Spring may go on shifting, but Israel remains committed to achieving peace with our Palestinian neighbors. We wish them well. Yet, our efforts to directly negotiate all issues are constantly thwarted by Palestinian rejection. We are willing to put all the contentious issues on the table, in order to bring an end to the conflict. But time after time we find out that the metaphoric table was removed, or cut, or blown up in the flames of Terror. We urge the Palestinian leadership to lead their people in the arduous path of peace, as true leaders do, and to forgo the game of the past, the game of hatred and virulent incitement. It is not a game of political Quidditch that we play here; it is a heavy-duty selection of choices that we must make. A Hamas government is not a harbinger of peace and neither is an Iranian-backed Hezbollah regime.

However, the proof of the pudding, my friends, is in the eating, and so far we are only fed with the old, stale and hateful anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish slogans, as if nothing is happening. I read the sober remarks of Judea Pearle, father of the late WSJ reporter Daniel Pearle, over the last weekend. He said: "I grew up in Israel in a culture of peace and coexistence … but I do not see a hint of that on the other side … there is still no Palestinian leader who can go back to his people with the words 'end of conflict'" on his lips.

So, while we cling on to our quest for peace we must be very careful and keep our shields up. Especially when repressive regimes such as Iran's or Syria's continue to butcher their own citizenry (like in Teheran 2 years ago and in Homs, 2 days ago); especially when they go on spewing their venom, and especially when they strive to build a nuclear arsenal that might attempt, God forbid, to put an end to the Jewish Question, this time in the Middle East.

We are grateful for President Obama's statement that, “When there are efforts to boycott or divest from Israel, we will stand against them. And whenever an effort is made to delegitimize the state of Israel, my administration has opposed them.” We are just as appreciative of the US administration steadfast support in the Human rights council in Geneva, and in other international fora, rebuffing one-sided unbalanced resolutions on the settlements, and the US insistence on Palestinian return to the negotiating table. I am sure you share with us the bond of "special relations" between Israel and the United States.

I have mentioned some of the challenges that we face, but I come before you today as the proud envoy of a cheerful and optimistic country. We should celebrate our tiny, little country. You all know of our superb military, our research universities, and our Nobel laureates, the contributions we make in science, health and Agro-tech. But how many of you know that, according to UNESCO figures, Israel ranks first, alongside the UK, in the number of new titles per capita per year?

We are still driven by the old flame, compelling us to exceed our potential, and this is the true essence and meaning of being a Zionist today.

Friends, I urge you to stand by our side as Americans, as members of your community, as Jews. For the sake of our forefathers and our future, we must keep our brotherhood strong.

The assembled supporters of J Street sat there in stunned silence as they were dressed down by a real Jew.  I wonder if this could be the beginning of the end for J Street?

"President Obama has made it okay to hate Israel!"

Was a recent comment that Joel Pollak gave to INN.

Joel Barry Pollak was born on April 25, 1977 in Johannesburg, South Africa, his parents emigrated to the United States shortly after his birth. He became a U.S. Citizen in 1987. He grew up in the Chicago suburbs, principally in Skokie. He attended Solomon Schechter Day School and Niles North High School, where he was the class valedictorian in 1995.

Joel graduated magna cum laude from Harvard with a joint degree in Social Studies and Environmental Science & Public Policy. His master's degree is in Jewish Studies from the University of Cape Town in 2006. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 2009. In December 2009 he wed Julia Inge Bertelsmann.

He is the author of:

The Kasrils Affair: Jews and Minority Politics in the New South Africa

Don’t Tell Me Words Don’t Matter: How Rhetoric Won the 2008 Presidential Election

He is the Republican candidate for the 9th Congressional District trying to defeat 6 term incumbent Jan Schakowsky.

Here are some excerpts from the INN article:

A Conversation with Joel Pollak - Candidate for Chicago's 9th congressional district

As candidates from both sides of the aisle feverishly stump to achieve a victory in the upcoming November mid-term elections, pundits and opinion makers have been focusing on a small but highly significant race for Chicago's 9th congressional district. It is in this suburban Chicago setting where political neophyte Joel B. Pollak (R) is seeking to unseat the incumbent, Rep.Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) who is running for her seventh term in congress.

Israel National News spoke with Mr. Pollak, a soft spoken 33 year-old Orthodox Jew and Harvard trained lawyer who decided to throw his hat in the political ring for the very first time. "I grew up in a secular home but my parents and I became observant Jews and I learned first hand of the special significance that Israel holds for the Jewish people" says Pollak. "I love Israel – not just because it is my religious homeland, and not just because of my family roots there, but also because of the principle that it represents. The State of Israel stands for the idea that an oppressed people can take control of its own destiny, and build freedom and prosperity with nothing more than faith and hard work. It is the same idea that built America. That is why our two countries are so close, and will remain so," he declares.

Pollak, a resident of Skokie, a predominantly Jewish Chicago suburb, says that he is running for Congress because there is a failure of leadership in Washington and that the concerns of his constituents are not being addressed by their current representative. "I'm outraged that Congress did not raise their voices in indignation over the fact that "war crimes" were committed against Israel during the Gaza flotilla debacle. Our government should demand accountability from those responsible for this attempted act of murder against Israeli soldiers and that includes Turkey and Iran. We must immediately reassess our relationship with Turkey and those countries who foster terrorism. Israel is facing existential perils that are graver than they ever were before and my opponent just does not understand that. President Obama has made it okay to hate Israel," he intoned.

The Weekly Standard has reported that "Rep.Jan Schakowsky is one of the top recipients of campaign cash from J Street, the far-left organization that opposes Israel at every opportunity. It turns out that J Street has taken $750,000 from George Soros, despite the earlier denials of J Street executive director Jeremy Ben-Ami."

Moreover, at a recent Schakowsky fundraiser in Chicago, Helen Thomas, the former doyenne of the White House press corps appeared as the featured speaker and guest. Thomas, a long time pro-Palestinian apologist, achieved notoriety this past May 27th when she told Rabbi David Nesenoff after a White House Jewish Heritage event that the Jews should "get the hell out of Palestine" and went on to say that the Palestinian people “are occupied and it’s their land” and that Israelis should “go home” -- to Poland, Germany, America “and everywhere else.” Commenting on this, Mr. Pollak said, "Rep. Schakowsky and her guests were well aware of Thomas’s record of anti-Israel rhetoric, and were invited to distance themselves from her views. None did. Instead, Rep. Schakowsky declared proudly of Thomas: “She’s so awesome!”

On domestic issues Mr. Pollak stands in stark contrast to his opponent who has virtually rubber stamped the Obama agenda of redistribution of wealth, entitlements, government bailouts and health care reform. "I will introduce laws to roll back government interference in the economy. With appropriate regulations in place, the government should divest itself of the large chunks of the banking, insurance and automotive sectors it recently took over. We need to send the right signals to workers and entrepreneurs that the U.S. is once again a nation committed to free enterprise, job creation and economic growth", said Pollak.

On October 17th, Mr. Pollak received the endorsement of "To Protect Our Heritage" the Midwest's oldest and largest bi-partisan, pro-Israel PAC. Their endorsement statement said of Pollak: "We are convinced that Joel Pollak will be a stronger advocate for the critical relationship between our country and Israel. In seeking out ways to strengthen the ties and protect Israel, he will be helping both nations."Concerning Pollak's opponent, TPOH expressed their thoughts by saying, "Problematic are Rep. Schakowsky’s strong ties with individuals and groups such as J Street. J Streethas labeled itself as pro-Israel; however, its underlying mission has been revealed to be the weakening of bi-partisan Congressional support for Israel by, among other tactics, drawing away Democratic support for that relationship. Rep. Schakowsky, by her staunch support of J Street since its inception – and she has been a main if not the main beneficiary of J Street fundraising efforts – likely unwittingly threatens to make Israel a partisan issue between the two political parties."

Mr. Pollak has also been endorsed by Harvard law school professor Alan Dershowitz who was a featured speaker at his fundraising event.

Read the full article here.

For those of you who do not remember this man this might jar your memory:










Harvard student takes on Rep Frank




Pollak's opponent Jan Schakowsky supports J Street, the Obama Agenda and Helen Thomas.

Joel Pollak is showing himself to be a new breed of Chicago Politician.  Young, Conservative, and Republican.  He supports limited government, lower taxes and is a supporter of Israel.


I wish I lived in the 9th District.

Monkey in the Middle proudly endorses Joel Pollak for Congress.

J Street Deception

J Street Deception

by Ben with commentary by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

The following article is our friend Ben. You have probably read Ben's work before, and you know he has a long history of studying Islam. He backs up his work by quoting the words considered "holy" by Muslims.

"J Street" claims it "represents Americans."

J Street At Obama's Table

J Street's stated goal is to put an end to Arab-Israeli conflicts, and to accomplish that goal, they support President Obama's plan for Israel to, among other things, surrender land serving as a barrier to Palestinian and Hamas aggressions.

J Street is the political arm of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement. We seek to change the direction of American policy in the Middle East and to broaden the public and policy debate in the U.S. about the Middle East. We support strong American leadership to end the Arab-Israeli and Palestinian-Israeli conflicts peacefully and diplomatically...

The photograph above, bears the same title I have above. A caption to this photo reads:

I just left an extraordinary meeting with President Barack Obama, which he called to meet with the leadership of the American Jewish community. ~ Jeremy Ben-Ami

As you read Ben's article, keep this quote in mind because, this was the first time Obama met with Jewish leaders - some 7 months after taking office, and when the invitation was finally issued, it did not include the largest and oldest pro-Israel group, the Zionists Organization of America (ZOA). The J Street lobby has said:

Surrogates and right-wing political operatives in our community stopped at nothing in their efforts to sway Jewish voters against Obama."

Obviously, conservative "operatives" failed because 77 percent of the Jewish vote went to Barack Obama.

Ben writes for Freedom Ain't Free & Take Our Country Back. Here is his important message:

J Street posted a petition at Care2 petitionsite, seeking support for President Obama’s Anti-Israel foreign policy. Their supporting text is reproduced below, in block quote format and Ariel type face, interspersed with my comments.

The status quo in the Middle East is unsustainable – for Israel, for the Palestinians, and for the United States. Yet some in Congress are trying to undermine President Obama’s balanced approach to solving the region’s problems.

The status quo is constant, low level warfare periodically interrupted by extremely intense warfare, punctuated by constant threats. President Obama’s approach is not balanced, it leans to the Islamic side, letting the aggressors do as they please while constantly carping at Israel and making unreasonable demands for suicidal actions and policies.

Defenders of the unworkable status quo are whispering to the White House and Congress that supporting the President’s thoughtful and balanced approach to the Middle East could hurt them politically.

Supporting President Obama’s demand that Israel surrender will eventually contribute to the loss of their sinecures because a growing number of voters are becoming informed of the Islamic agenda which is being promoted by left wingers including President Obama.

Jewish-Americans, as well as Americans more broadly, must stand up to support President Obama’s sensible pro-Israel policy in the Middle East.

Now is the time to be Americans, to reject identity politics and the inevitable Balkanization to which it leads. Our national interest is exactly the same as that of Israel: complete, total and permanent defeat of Islamic aggression wheresoever dispersed over the face of the earth.

They’re saying that President Obama should only press the Palestinians or Arab States. Of course, Palestinians and Arab states should do more for peace – but so should Israel, specifically by heeding his Administration’s call to stop building settlements.

Only the aggressor can make peace without exterminating the aggressor. Israel can only make peace by removing Islam from all territory within rocket range. Islam can make peace by permanently abandoning Jihad. If Israel is to walk the path to peace, it must terminate in the Muslim Cemetery. Settlements are not an obstacle to peace. “Occupation” of “disputed territories” is not an obstacle to peace. Islamic doctrine is the obstacle to peace.

J Street, a new Jewish-led pro-Israel, pro-peace lobby, supports President Obama’s balanced and strong American leadership to achieve a two-state solution, because that’s the only way to secure Israel’s future as a Jewish, democratic homeland and to create a homeland for the Palestinian people. A two-state solution is also a vital American interest.

The only possible solution is a one state solution: Israel alone in the Levant. While there is an Islamic state within rocket range, there will be no peace. Arab pride as well as Islamic doctrine make peace absolutely impossible.

Your representatives in Congress need to hear from the majority of Jewish Americans and Americans generally who support Israel and the President’s balanced approach, including his call for a complete freeze on Israeli settlements.

Congress must hear from Americans who understand Islamic doctrine & practice and recognize the fatal fact that Islam is inimical to peace in all places, at all times.

“Jewish Americans”, “Muslim Americans”, “African Americans”, Mexican Americans” etc. need to decide if they are Americans or not. There is no place in our nation for Balkanization. United we stand, divided we fall. If you are not American, then go home, where you belong.

President Obama’s demand for termination of settlements, stopping all growth & development, removing check points and other security measures while sending money to the enemy and training & arming their militias is the peak of suicidal damnfoolery; it is imbalanced on the wrong side, and it must come to a halt!

I shall now proceed to show you exactly why America and Israel can never obtain peace by any other means than making Islam extinct.

• 8:39. And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and polytheism: i.e. worshipping others besides Allâh) and the religion (worship) will all be for Allâh Alone [in the whole of the world ]. But if they cease (worshipping others besides Allâh), then certainly, Allâh is All-Seer of what they do.
• 9:29. Fight against those who (1) believe not in Allâh, (2) nor in the Last Day, (3) nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allâh and His Messenger (4) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islâm) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.

Muslims are commanded by their demon to fight atheists and pagans until all resistance ceases and only Allah is worshiped. Muslims are commanded to fight Jews, Christians & Zoroastrians until they are subjugated and extorted. Muslims who do not join or rigorously support the Jihad go to Hell. Muslims who go to war go to Paradise.

Because the bigots reading this are in denial, swearing that the cited ayat are mis-interpreted, mis-translated, mis-understood or anachronistic, I present confirmation from the hadith: codified Islamic oral tradition.

• Sahih Muslim Book 041, Number 6985:
  Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews.

The Muslims must hunt down and kill the last Jew before they can obtain admission to the celestial bordello. But, of course, that is anachronistic, not applicable in modern times. Of course, there is a vacant space between your ears.

• Sunan Abu Dawud Book 14, Number 2526

  Narrated Anas ibn Malik:

  The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Three things are the roots of faith: to refrain from (killing) a person who utters, “There is no god but Allah” and not to declare him unbeliever whatever sin he commits, and not to excommunicate him from Islam for his any action; and jihad will be performed continuously since the day Allah sent me as a prophet until the day the last member of my community will fight with the Dajjal (Antichrist). The tyranny of any tyrant and the justice of any just (ruler) will not invalidate it. One must have faith in Divine decree.

Jihad is the original religion of Muslims; abandoning it in favor of productive pursuits will subject them to a curse which will not be lifted until they return to Jihad.

• Sunan Abu Dawud Book 23, Number 3455:
  

  Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar:

  I heard the Apostle of Allah, (peace_be_upon_him) say: When you enter into the inah transaction, hold the tails of oxen, are pleased with agriculture, and give up conducting jihad (struggle in the way of Allah). Allah will make disgrace prevail over you, and will not withdraw it until you return to your original religion.

Please copy the url of this blog post, go to http://www.congress.org, enter your Zip Code and click the Federal Officials link. Paste the url of this blog post into your email.

End article.