Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel

The spirit of democracy cannot be established in the midst of terrorism, whether governmental or popular…The spirit of democracy cannot be imposed from without. It has to come from within—Mohandus Gandhi.

When Familiarity Breeds Contempt . . .

This past week or so, we heard a most remarkable statement from Vice President Biden that is a sobering reminder of the kind of animus the U.S. State Department has always maintained for the last several decades regarding Israel. Biden went on record sayng, “What you’re doing here undermines the security of our troops who are fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. That endangers us and it endangers regional peace. . . .” Frankly, I don’t know why he didn’t blame George Bush.

When Biden was  asked by American and Israeli newspaper reporters to clarify his statement, guess what? Biden refused to elaborate on his earlier remarks. This was no surprise. The Obama administration did not want to polarize the Jewish community at the recent AIPAC convention. Obama fears the political repercussions. Obama has no love for the Jews, they are only a political means to a presidential end. The political opportunist extraordinaire Jesse Jackson warned that Obama would take care of Israel–and he was right.

Even some of my liberal Jewish friends are starting to wonder as they experience their first revelation of cognitive dissonance: Is this a way to treat a loyal ally?

Swing Your Partner Round and Round . . .

Permit me to draw a parallel to Biden’s behavior to a peculiar custom known in Jewish tradition as “Shlug Kaparas” (“swinging of the chickens”). Here is how the ritual goes. On the eve of Yom Kippur, Hasidic and other Orthodox men take a rooster, while women must take a hen. The person taking the rooster in the right hand then announces: “This is my exchange, this is my salvation, this is my atonement. This rooster shall go to its death, while I will enter and proceed to a good long life, and to peace.”

The tradition then prescribes that the “swinger” (this was the obvious meaning of the original term) revolves the chicken around his head. Some authorities say that this should be done three times others say once is sufficient. If you are an expecting mother, it is customary to use two chickens for atonement–one for the mother and one for the child. One last note:  The ritual demands that the chicken must be alive; a dead chicken will not atone for sins–only a live one will suffice.

If I did not know better, I would say that Biden seems to have been quite familiar with this ritual, but instead of using a live chicken, he decided to  use Israel instead. Abraham Foxman commented at a Jerusalem Post interview, [Biden's remark]  “smacks of blaming the Jews for everything . . .  This is probably one of the most serious charges that we have ever heard.” Of course Foxman is correct.

All this political fanfare begs the obvious question: Why now? It would appear that Obama is trying to show the Arab world that they now have a friend who thinks, speaks, behaves, and negotiates just like Yasar Arafat.

And What of Jerusalem?

Obama, Biden and especially Hillary Clinton are experts in double-speak. The neighborhood is in Jerusalem, and the 2009 Netanyahu-Obama agreement was for a 10-month freeze on West Bank settlements excluding Jerusalem. Like a mentsch, Netanyahu apologized to Biden for the embarrassment. When Biden left Israel on March 11, the apology was officially accepted and the issue was diplomatically laid to rest–or so we thought. . . Enter Hillary–a woman whose political aspirations knows no bounds–or political etiquette.

Looking for an evanescent opportunity to boost her public image, Hillary demonstrated once again why she has an almost magical penchant for making little problems exponentially greater. A good diplomat knows when to hold her tongue. Even the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon made it clear this past week that the Jerusalem issue is to be discussed in final status talks. Hillary Clinton’s reaction is inexcusable and irresponsible.

Caroline Glick’s comments sum up calculated Obama’s reaction best:

“First, Israel must cancel the approval of the housing units in Ramat Shlomo. Second, Israel must prohibit all construction for Jews in Jerusalem neighborhoods built since 1967. Third, Israel must make a gesture to the Palestinians to show them we want peace. The US suggests releasing hundreds of Palestinian terrorists from Israeli prisons. Fourth, Israel must agree to negotiate all substantive issues, including the partition of Jerusalem (including the Jewish neighborhoods constructed since 1967 that are now home to more than a half million Israelis) and the immigration of millions of hostile foreign Arabs to Israel under the rubric of the so-called ‘right of return’ …. Netanyahu was led to believe that in return for these concessions Obama would begin behaving like the credible mediator his predecessors were. But instead of acting like his predecessors, Obama has behaved like the Palestinians. Rather than reward Netanyahu for taking a risk for peace, Obama has, in the model of Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas, pocketed Netanyahu’s concessions and escalated his demands. This is not the behavior of a mediator. This is the behavior of an adversary” (Emphasis added)

This is a wake-up call to Jews everywhere in the United States; it is a wake-up call for anyone thinking Clinton would make a great president. By the time the next 2012 election arrives, I predict that the American people will “Shlug Kaparas” with the Obama team. I think Obama’s legacy will be remembered as one of the most disgraced presidencies of recent history. Once  the American people get wind of the Messianic Complex that is consuming their president and his morally challenged enablers, his popularity will eventually reach the single digits. If Obama manages to hoodwink the people one more time, Obama’s future attack on Israel will make this recent comment seem like a pleasant day in the park.

Three Great Quotes from History

When I think about the Obamatization of our government and possibly nation, I realize that change is not always good–especially when a leader lacks both the humility and the wisdom to tread lightly along treacherously dangerous paths that spell potential death and disaster for so many innocent people. Anyone reading the news from Hamastan, knows the genocidal impulse that characterized Hitler’s manic obsession to destroy the Jews is alive and well in Gaza, Iran, Lebanon, and Syria.

Three sayings in particular best define the current debacle we seem to be in. The Chinese have a curse, “Be careful of what you wish for, because you might actually get it.” We wanted change, now we got it. Abraham Lincoln warned the future generations, “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.” Lastly, perhaps Aristotle said it best : In a democracy people get the government they deserve–not necessarily the government they need.