Sh!t happens... life goes on

Me and the Farm Manager were discussing the situation in Gaza. She's got extended family in Israel, so it's a topic she's invested in. Fortunately, all those relations have multiple passports and can catch a flight to Montreal or New Jersey if things go south. That appears to be happening. I read somewhere, and I can't personally vouch for the source, that almost half a million Israelis have left the country since 10/7. But enough about relatives... which brings to mind an anecdote about the New Brunswick born Hollywood mogul, Louis B Mayer. Long ensconced amongst Hollywood's Jewish elite, Mayer had occassion to have Albert Einstein as a dinner guest. Upon hearing that Albert had concocted something called "the theory of relativity," Mayer is alleged to have replied that he had a theory about his relatives too. A lot of big names in Jewish culture were never fully on-board with the Zionist agenda. Mayer and Einstein were two of them. Edgar Bronfman was another. Bronfman was head of the World Jewish Congress for decades. He was a staunch advocate for Palestinian rights. Unfortunately, the WJC was more interested in his money than his advice. History is full of make-up stories. Folks who inflicted assorted war crimes on one another, like the Germans and the French, for example, were inter-marrying and signing trade deals a generation later. Shit happens. It's often ugly shit. It's almost always being manipulated by hate-mongers who seek to profit from division and despair. Here's my advice; leave the shit behind and get on with life.

How the Netanyahu crowd has destroyed Israel

Where is Israel today?


Fighting a rear-guard action against BDS.


Continuously justifying the unjustifiable in the West Bank and Gaza.


Fighting another rear-guard action against an Iran deal that leaves the Iran nuclear program exposed to the bright sunshine while leaving Israel's nuclear program completely in the dark. Why anyone in Israel should object to such a deal is inconceivable.


Alienating Israel's one essential patron while fighting that fight.


Israel does indeed have an existential problem, and it's got nothing to do with Iran.


It's got everything to do with the Palestinians.


Before Netanyahu, there was always hope, even in the Sharon era.


Today?


Show me the hope...


When Edgar Bronfman passed, Israeli media were quick to lard on the plaudits. After all, how could they not? Mr. Bronfman, President of the World Jewish Congress for two decades, was the number one advocate for Israel for a long time.


What none of those obits mentioned, was that Edgar Bronfman ceaselessly advocated for a Palestinian state. He knew what BDS knows; Israel has an existential problem that needs to be resolved if Israel is to continue.


That's not anti-Semitism.


That's reality.

Saints Sinners Muslims Jews Christians

When Edgar Bronfman went to his reward not too long ago, the papers were full of tributes to his great accomplishments as a businessman, philanthropist, and his leadership of the World Jewish Congress through some very difficult times. Nowhere in those accolades did I notice any references to a recurring theme in Mr. Bronfman's writings and speeches; the necessity of establishing a binding peace deal with the Palestinians.

Parse his writings and speeches carefully enough, and you can make a case for Edgar Bronfman being a great champion of Palestinian rights.

Mr. Bronfman's wealth earned him great respect, especially among the many recipients of his philanthropy, who loved his money but couldn't care less about his convictions about an Israel-Palestine "solution."

His wealth accrued from the fact that his dear daddy had the sharpest elbows and the roughest enforcers among the underworld clans who provisioned America with booze back in the prohibition era.

The good deeds of the son absolved the sins of the father...

And here's a good one; Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi was recently voted world's best mayor. Nenshi is the Muslim mayor of the most red-neck big city in all of Canada... how does such a thing even happen?

What Nenshi's success tells me is that even among a population that is traditionally very conservative, excellence trumps stereotypes.

When a right-wing Christian city elects a Muslim as mayor; when a billionaire Jewish philanthropist champions Palestinian rights, you know hope is still alive...