By Paul Jeser
Viewpoint 

Today is my 69th birthday, so why am I so sad and so mad?

 


Today (Nov. 18, 2014) is my 69th birthday so why am I so sad and so mad?

I’m sad for the three obvious reasons: The death of five Israelis at the hands of terrorists; the ongoing world-wide attacks against Jews; and the belief that things will probably never get better but keep on getting worse.

I’m mad for many reasons:

That so many people, including Jews who should know better, believe Israel’s so-called settlements are the problem. That, if Israel would retreat to the 1967 borders things will be ok—there will be peace.

That so many people, including Jews who should know better, voted for Obama and still support him. His statements today prove, once again, that the 25 years he spent learning from Rev. Wright have so significantly influenced his anti-Jewish and anti-Israel bias (rhetoric and some appointments aside). Today, while condemning the attack he asked both sides to “lower tensions and reject violence.” Both sides!? How can smart people still believe that Obama is supportive of Israel?

That so many people, including Jews who should know better, still subscribe to and read the NY Slimes. I quit years ago when Rabbi Haskell Lookstein tried to get the Jewish Community to break from the Slimes without much support. Their headline today (Four killed in Jerusalem synagogue complex) just proves, once again, how biased this paper has become. Perhaps maybe the synagogue roof caved in due to a structural flaw? Or maybe there was a gas leak?

That so many people, including Jews who should know better, still give JStreet, Eric Yoffie, Rick Jacobs platforms from which to spill their ongoing criticism of Israel. John Rosove, a Los Angeles rabbi, even referred to Israel as an addicted drunk

These people, and others of their ilk, not only have hurt chances for peace, but actually have given the enemy strength. Please imagine the leaders of Hamas and other terrorist groups waving this public criticism and saying to their followers “see what Jewish leaders are saying about Israel?”

That so many people, including Jews who should know better, living in the LA area, voted for Ted Lieu over Elan Carr. Lieu, in accepting an award from CAIR (which even the UAE calls a terrorist group applauded them for their good work. The CAIR/Hamas relationship is well documented. Even Sen. Charles Schumer understood how anti-Israel CAIR is—“CAIR has ties to terrorism and intimate links with Hamas.”

That so many people, including Jews who should know better, are living back in the 1930s, believing that the anti-Semitism that is growing throughout Europe and here in America, is bad, but not that bad—that we’ll survive...

So, what should have been a day of happiness and celebration has turned out to be a day of extreme sadness and, at the same time, being very mad at what I see around me.

Paul Jeser is a former executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando and now is the national director of Major Gifts, director of Western Region at American Committee for Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. He resides in Los Angeles, Calif.

 

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