U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is perhaps the most pathetic figure in the entire Biden administration. He's a "Russia collusion" hoaxer who also commissioned the fake "intelligence" letter to suppress reporting on Hunter Biden's laptop, and can't muster the strength to stand up to China, or anyone else -- except Israel.
Israel's apparent dependence on the U.S. for military funding and for munitions has encouraged Blinken and Democrats like him to think they can bludgeon Israel into accepting whatever they want -- to the point of ignoring the Middle East reality, which is not impressed by graduate school policy papers or consulting firm talking points.
Anyway -- Blinken went to Davos, to talk to Tom Friedman -- a "journalist" infamous for his expensive tastes, his total hypocrisy, and his belief that the only acceptable Israeli government is a left-wing one. Friedman went full antisemite a while back -- I know he's a Jew -- in attacking the "Jewish lobby" or some such. He's just a joke.
But in that environment, somehow, Blinken felt he could express his true self -- as if there were no reporters, as if he were just in a tight circle of friends. And he revealed: 1. He sees Israelis as the obstacle to peace, not Palestinians or the Arab world, even after Oct. 7; 2. He's committed to rewarding Hamas for terror with a Palestinian state.
I don't really have words for how insanely stupid these ideas are, but they are apparently what the world's elite love to hear. Which is a timely reminder that Israel's success is not a function of elite collusion but rather the outcome of a determined group of honest misfits who overcame idiocy of this kind from the establishment.
This week’s portion launches the great story of Abraham, who is told to leave everything of his life behind — except his immediate family — and to leave for “the Land that I shall show you.”
There’s something interesting in the fact that Abraham is told to leave his father’s house, as if breaking away from his father’s life — but his father, in fact, began the journey, moving from Ur to Haran (in last week’s portion). His father set a positive example — why should Abraham leave him?
Some obvious answers suggest themselves — adulthood, needing to make one’s own choices, his father not going far enough, etc.
But I think there is another answer. Abraham (known for the moment as Abram) needs to establish his own household. This is not just about making one’s own choice, but really about choosing one’s own starting point. It’s starting over.
Sometimes we start over in fundamental ways even if much that surrounds us remains the same. Sometimes the journey we have to ...
The story of Noah is familiar; the details, less so.
Noah is often seen as an ambivalent figure. He was righteous -- but only for his generation. What was his deficiency?
One answer suggests itself: knowing that the world was about to be flooded, he built an Ark for the animals and for his own family -- but did not try to save anyone else or to convince them to repent and change their ways (the prophet Jonah, later, would share that reluctance).
Abraham, later, would set himself apart by arguing with God -- with the Lord Himself! -- against the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that they should be saved if there were enough righteous people to be found (there were not).
Still, Noah was good enough -- and sometimes, that really is sufficient to save the world. We don't need heroes every time -- just ordinary decency.
Hi all -- as I noted last month, I'm going to be closing down my Locals page, at least for tips and subscriptions -- I may keep the page up and the posts as well, but I'm no longer going to be accepting any kind of payment.
Look for cancelation in the very near future. Thank you for your support!
