Jewish thinking

Welcome to my blog- Here is a Summary of Contents

2009-03-20T00:40:00.000-07:00

Below are five articles on the five topics, each have nothing to do with each other so feel free to pop over to the one or ones which interest you.

Disclaimer: This "blog" is really a "post" as I have posted just five articles. I only write about topics I think are generally misunderstood and I have a strong opinion about.

The first essay- Now is time to accept the sixth branch of Judaism- Jews for Jesus!...
demonstrates in an out of the box way how Orthodox Judaism is not intolerant for not accepting Reform and Conservative Judaism as legitimate forms of Judaism.

The second article- The Right was Right but the Left Won (RE: Arab-Israeli Conflict)...
puts the current Arab-Israeli conflict into focus from the perspective of the debate that was raging when I was growing up in 1970s and '80s.

The third article- Orthodoxy discriminates against women? – HOW UPSIDE DOWN CAN YOU BE?!
explains that not only Orthodoxy does not discriminate against women, but women who are part of Orthodox community are far less discriminated against than their secular Jewish counterparts.

The fourth article The Problem with Secular Zionism or Why there are 1.25 Million Yordim...
explains an inherent weakness in Secular/Political Zionism in Israel today and proposes an explanation for the large number of Yordim (Israelis living outside of Israel).

The fifth article How to Win the Campus Activism War - Go on the Offensive!
is in my opinion the best strategy for pro-Israel activism on college campuses- if implemented this strategy would turn the current situation where Israel is the big loser on campus to Israel being the winner in the debate.

Enjoy! And let me know what you think by posting a response.

Thanks & Kol tuv,

dn
daveneil55@yahoo.com

Now is time to accept the sixth branch of Judaism- Jews for Jesus!!!

2009-03-18T12:22:00.001-07:00

Now is the time to accept the sixth branch of Judaism- Jews for Jesus!!!

My friend Mark grew up with me and shared my Conservative background. Now he is a Jew for Jesus and belongs to a Messianic synagogue. He wants to start a movement to have Messianic Judaism become recognized as an official sixth branch of Judaism. The first five are of course, Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist and Humanist*.

Mark argues his is the fastest growing form of Judaism, thanks to inter-marriage and strength in numbers of children of the inter-married there are over 1,300 active Messianic Synagogues in the U.S.

He argues that through Jesus he feels fulfilled as a Jew. He says that as a Messianic Jew he observes the Shabat much more now than he ever did as a Conservative Jew. Why should we discriminate against him? Is he not a Jew? Don't we believe that each person has a right to express their Judaism as they see fit? He is doing so and he is following his "Rabbi".

On what grounds can you or I rebuff his desire to create an official sixth branch?

Think about it, as a liberal Jew for many years I have always heard it said that the Orthodox are intolerant for not accepting Reform and Conservative Judaism as legitimate forms of Judaism.

But once I start thinking of making standards to Judaism and saying certain beliefs fall outside of Judaism- am I really any different than the Orthodox who rejected Reform or other groups based on their standards? Am I now also intolerant?

Just like I wouldn't accept that Jew for Jesus is a true expression of authentic Judaism how can I fairly expect Orthodox Jews who have been practicing their beliefs for thousands of years to suddenly accept all the new "rules of the game" that my community is playing Judaism by. For example in my community we drive to the Temple on the Sabbath and High Holidays (which of course is making a fire on Shabbat by burning gas), accept Gays and Lesbians as legitimate lifestyles and our women are called up to the Torah to have an Aliyah. Perhaps we shouldn't label the Orthodox as "intolerant" just because they have a more restrictive definition of what Judaism is than we do.

The Conservative movement has standards as well. Conservative ideology holds that the Halacha (Jewish law) is binding in Judaism. Reform does not see Halacha as binding. Would a Conservative Jew be called intolerant if he said that Reform Judaism isn't Judaism because a true practice of Judaism must include the concept of Halacha as binding?

In fact, since Reform ideology clearly falls outside of what the Conservative movement's standards of what Judaism is would it not be more honest for the Conservative movement to state so openly?

One can readily understand that it is very insulting to Reform and Conservative Jews to hear from an Orthodox Jew who is most representative of the Judaism handed down through the ages- the type of Judaism that Jews died for- that their ideologies fall outside of Orthodox standards of what Judaism is. One can understand that they would be insulted and would prefer to believe that the reason they are not accepted is just because of INTOLERANCE of Orthodox Jews. That is an easier pill to swallow than to think that, what a minute, perhaps Judaism isn't a free for all.

It is a mistake to label Orthodox Jews as "intolerant" for not accepting Reform or Conservative Judaism if the reason they do not accept these movements is that the ideologies of Reform and Conservative fall outside of what their definition of Judaism is. In fact it is more honest for the Orthodox to admit that they do not accept these movements as a legitimate form of Judaism if they don't. It’s not that they are intolerant it is just that they have standards. Just like you do.

One thing I think we can all agree on is that it is an insult to Judaism to label it "a belief system where anyone can believe anything they want to as long as they don't believe in Jesus".

If you don't accept Messianic Judaism (Jews for Jesus) as a sixth branch of Judaism- ask yourself why not? And if you have standards- why are your standards (which doesn't accept Messianic Judaism) more correct than the Orthodox standard which traces itself back thousands of years to Sinai and doesn't accept Reform or Conservative?

Dave Neil

*Humanist Judaism, the most recent invention of the Something - hyphen- Judaism, demonstrates you don't even need to believe in G-d to be called a form of "Judaism" see www.shj.org/believe.htm This "form of Judaism" has nothing in common with the belief system found in the Torah. If you want you can also start a new version of Judaism- just make a list of things you believe- better to make it things which are popular so you can have more adherents- and call it something such as Liberal-Judaism. But don't start a new stream of Judaism if you think there is something wrong with each person making up a new branch of Judaism based on their own ideas. One obvious problem which would arise is that we would end up with as many "Judaisms" as there are Jews! (See Numbers 15:16)

The Right was Right but the Left Won (RE: Arab-Israeli conflict)

2009-03-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

The Right was Right but the Left Won (RE: Arab-Israeli conflict) I'm in my mid-forties and I remember how in the 70's and 80's the major debate in Israel was between the Rightist Likud approach versus the Leftist Labor approach which could best be summed up as follows: The left said: We must create a Palestinian State and then we would have peace- since there are a majority of many Arabs in the West Bank. If we don't create a Palestinian State we will end up like a South Africa apartheid state instead of the Jewish democracy we want to be. But the Right countered and said give them autonomy at most, but not a state. If Israel would create a Palestinian State on the West Bank the Palestinians would still believe all of Israel should be a single Arab state and would be determined through terrorism, missiles, and even with the help of other Arab states to destroy Israel. The Right also argued (correctly) that the conflict with the Arabs was never really about the West Bank or "territories" if that was the case why did the Arabs attack and kill Jews in 1929, 1936 attack Israel in 1948 or 1967? The conflict has always been about Israel's right to exist at all. That was the debate. What happened was the worst of all scenarios: The Right was right but the Left won! With the Oslo Accords in 1992 the Left won. Thanks to Rabin there is now a world expectation and it's considered a given that a Palestinian State is just a matter of time. BUT the Right was right. The Palestinians still want all of Israel. The PA itself is as radical as the PLO ever was. Hamas is even more determined to destroy Israel and is more popular with the Palestinians than the PA is. According to opinion polls if elections were held today in a newly created West Bank Palestinian State- Hamas would win. When we left Gaza we got missiles and the same will occur no doubt when we leave the West Bank- except then all of Israel will be in rocket range. A newly created Palestinian State would no doubt expect and be given an airport with direct flights from Iran and Syria bringing in the missiles, soldiers and ammunition. While the world now asks: "How can Israel justify preventing the Palestinians from self-determination in their own homeland?" The world will later ask once that State is formed: "How could Israel be so stupid as to create a state which is so determined to destroy to her- wasn't it obvious from the start?" Meanwhile the Palestinians continue to teach their children in their schools to hate the evil Israeli Jewish occupier.

The Left wing which supported the Gaza disengagement said it would bring more peace to the region. The Right wing argued that we will end up with a radicalized Gaza that will launch missiles and attacks from Gaza once we leave which is exactly what happened.

It is important that one understand Islam on its own terms. Islam does not allow for compromises that would leave non-believers in Allah and Muhammad in control of any land that was formerly a part of dar al-Islam- no matter how small. Go to www.jihadwatch.org/Islam101/ This is why Palestinian leaders such as Arafat and others are praised by their own people for showing no compromise in accepting any sized Jewish State in the region- simply put Islamic law does not allow for it. Is there a solution? In the military elite training school at West Point I heard one instructor was quoted as saying that with the Arabs either you keep your foot on their throat or they will put their foot on yours. Using strong counter force to put down Arab attacks on Jews would in the long run save Jewish and Arab lives. Israel should for example set up an automatic missile launchers (not manned by any person) but set up with radar that detects any incoming Kassam or missile of any type and that would automatically send 20 or 30 missiles back to population centers in Gaza. Israel would warn Hamas and whoever else is sending missiles "don't shoot at yourselves". If any missiles are sent to Israel many more will automatically fly back to your population centers automatically- without us pushing one button. While in the short run some Arabs will be killed in the long run more Jewish and Arab lives will be saved as the missiles from Gaza would stop. One wonders why this solution isn't being done now. This might not be popular, and unfortunately it wont be done, but such policies is the only way. Unfortunately Israel is heading towards exposing itself to the point that it will look like it is conquerable which will only lead the Arabs to try to conquer her (i.e. after we leave the West Bank and the Golan). The result will be a large catastrophic war where many Jews are killed and then many Arabs are killed back. For Oslo – Israel was told to give up land for peace- Remember they told Israel to "take risks for peace". The Arab desire for Jewish blood was so great they could not even wait to get the land they were promised and started an intifada where over 2,000 Jews have been murdered- men women and children in all kinds of attacks – including many bus bombings. What were they protesting – the beginning of Oslo which promised them a State? What are they protesting in Gaza by sending Kasams to kill innocent Israelis- that we left Gaza for the Palestinians to have self rule? We took risks for peace and we got over 2,000 innocent Israelis dead- is that not enough?

Common law does not allow a person to to shout "Fire! fire!" in a crowded movie theater, as human life is considered a more sacred and fundamental value than freedom of speech.

Similarly, even if one argues that the Arabs have a right to the West Bank as they are in the majority– the fact that the Arabs cannot accept a Jewish State and will try to destroy her negates her claim to the West Bank. If your neighbor owned his house but couldn’t stand to see you living next door that he kept shooting at anyone going through your front or back doors and through your windows wouldn't that negate his right to continue to live in his house even if he owned the house? Get it?

Dave Neil

Apparently General Ya'alon gets it: (May 26 '09)

Ya’alon: Palestinians want State on Israel’s Ruins May/26/09 (IsraelNN.com) The Minister for Strategic Affairs, General Moshe Ya’alon, said Tuesday that “from the analysis of previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinians, we see that they are not seeking the 1967 borders but a Palestinian state on the ruins of the State of Israel.”

See http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/165653

Foreign Minister: Hamas is Waiting in the Wings by Hillel Fendel http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/142882 Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman says: Hamas is currently strong enough to wrest control over Judea and Samaria from Fatah – but is waiting until Fatah receives as much as it can, in terms of area (square kilometers), recognition, and aid, from the international community. Lieberman briefed the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee today on Israel’s diplomatic situation around the world. Regarding the Fatah-Hamas rivalry, he said: “Foreign Ministry assessments are that Hamas is stronger than Fatah not only in Gaza, but also in Judea and Samaria [Yesha]. However, Hamas is being smart and does not want to capture Yesha right now - because it is waiting for the ‘day after,’ when Abu Mazen [PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas] and [PA prime minister Salam] Fayyad get the maximum they can from the international community – and then Hamas will take over.” Hamas took control of Gaza from Fatah in 2007, following a short but bloody war in which 170 Arabs were killed. Both groups killed opponents by throwing them from building tops. Since then, sporadic clashes have erupted between the groups as well, though these are also dotted by periodic reports of attempts to make peace. Lieberman explained why the the Palestinian Authority does not want to negotiate with Israel: “They figure they can get more in the international arena than they can by talking with Israel.” Eldad: Annex Jewish Areas Now! MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union) responded afterwards: “I agree that if Israel leaves Judea and Samaria, the dominant force will be Hamas. Only those who are either blind or ostriches continue to try to convince themselves that the ‘moderates’ will rule whatever entity the Palestinians receive. We must head off a unilateral PA declaration of statehood by quickly annexing all the areas in which Jews live in Judea and Samaria

Please help publicize the following logical point which doesn't even deny the right of a Palestinian State sometime in the future…Just advocates why the creation of such a State should for now be put on hold…

The Left- which through Oslo, created the expectation of a Palestinian State on the West Bank- has been proved to be wrong for Israel.
It is clear that the goal of such a state would be to work with other states such as Iran, Syria and the likes of Hezbollah and Hamas to destroy the Jewish State.
There are two values which must be weighed against each other- the value of a people's right for "Self-determination since they are a majority in the host society" versus the value of the very life of the host society.
This is like weighing the right of free speech against the right to scream fire in a crowded movie theater.
Just like the value of free speech is suspended when there is a potential for loss of life so too should the Palestinian State be put on hold until we are dealing with a people who are not bent on our destruction.

Orthodoxy discriminates against women? – HOW UPSIDE DOWN CAN YOU BE!?

2009-03-18T06:41:00.001-07:00

Funny I grew up Conservative in the States and I remember how Conservative Rabbis would say from their pulpits that Orthodoxy discriminates against women. How "upside down"- the truth is the opposite- living a secular lifestyle is much more discriminating against women. Although I grew up in the Conservative movement in the States, my wife and I are now part of a very religious community. My wife and I strongly believe that our girls are being much more protected and respected by being raised Orthodox than had we raised them in a non-Orthodox environment where pre-marital sex is the norm. The first man to touch a daughter of mine will be the one to marry her. How many non-Orthodox fathers can say that?! How sad that pre-marital sex has become the norm in the secular world. How sad to see women being used. Or as that crude old expression puts it- "Why buy the candy when you can get it for free?" The taboo on pre-marital sex in the Orthodox world is alive and well and protects women from getting used. How sad so many girls and guys are not getting married or marrying so late in the game. In our community it is wonderful to see so many young couples in their early 20s with their first and second child. Want to shock yourself? Go to onlysimchas.com to see how many couples are marrying so young in the Orthodox world. How sad for secular girls who grow up in front of the T.V. and to think they have to be models and forever young to be considered attractive- a guaranteed formula for depression and low-self worth. Virtually no one in our community has T.V. or internet in their houses. We’re glad our children aren’t on the internet and are boys aren't being fed a narrow notion of what beautiful is. See this link entitled "Evolution of Beauty" sponsored by the company Dove for an example of what i mean... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbb8D-u8ues You might live somewhere where you don't believe it's possible there are communities today where people don't have T.V.s or internet in the home, email me back and I'll tell you many of such communities in Israel and in the U.S. where you can see this for yourself. Living a secular lifestyle, in a culture which objectifies women, is MUCH more discriminating for women than living an Orthodox lifestyle. The fact is that a Torah lifestyle is much more "non-discriminating" to women than an American lifestyle. And as far as ritual goes- it is a farce to say that just because there have been different roles played by the man and the woman over the centuries in Judaism, Judaism discriminates. I certainly don't look at my wife's role as the one who lights the candles Friday night discriminates against me just because the tradition is for the woman of the home to do so. That Jewish women don't lead the service or have an Aliyah to the Torah is the custom out of modesty for Jewish women, not as a non-Orthodox Rabbi would like you to believe, that Orthodox discriminates against Judaism. How beautiful and joyous is the traditional Jewish wedding where the men and the women dance separately, each group focusing exclusively on making the Chasan (Groom) and the Kallah (Bride) happy! What's more discriminating against women- living a secular/ Conservative/ Reform way of life or being religious? Think about it in light of the above. It's clear to me! Dave Neil

The Problem with Secular Zionism or Why there are 1.25 million Yordim

2009-03-18T05:04:00.000-07:00

The root of the problem is found in secular Zionism itself...

Why settle for a bad imitation when you can have the real thing!

Political or Secular Zionism stated that the goal of the Jewish State is to become a state like any other Western secular state. Nowadays the message being projected from this camp is that Israel should become a miniature America comprised of Jews.

The message Israeli kids hear over and over again growing up in Israel is that America is such a wonderful country and Israel should strive as much as possible to be like America. American music, T.V., movies, sports, etc. is idealized in Israeli culture. Israelis are simply fascinated and in love with just about everything American.

So why are Israelis so surprised when their children decide to live in America when they settle down?

(Personal experience regarding this topic: My first Israel peer trip was when I was 16 and the program included a component called "mifgash" where we were matched with other 16 year old Israelis. I made a close friend named Chanan who knew all the U.S. rock songs. I was a Conservative kid getting more into Israel and Judaism growing up. Chanan moved to the U.S. after finishing his army service and has been living in Ohio ever since for the past 25 years living his dream. And I am observant now, part of an Orthodox community living in Jerusalem. When I made Aliyah during my 20s Israeli peers looked at me in amazement. "Why would I give up America for Israel?" they would ask. On their walls in their homes were pictures of their heroes, Michael Jordan, Bob Dylan and a picture of the cast from the movie "Hair".)

The Israelis leaving Israel are just acting out what they were raised to think from the Israeli media:
Why settle for Israel (which is a bad imitation of American society) when I can have the real thing by living in America?

Secular Zionism today as a movement doesn't motivate young people today to endure the many sacrifices living in Israel requires. America has a lot more opportunities to make money, less taxes, no universal army conscription, virtually no terrorism or threat of annihilation and A LOT less daily stress. This is why there are an estimated 1.25 million Israelis (that's one out of every five Israelis) living outside of Israel today.

Many Israeli secular parents get a lot of naches (pride) from seeing their children do well in the U.S. and from hearing their American grandchildren speak English like Americans. They would probably be more proud to have secular children living in NY or the Valley (CA) than if their child became a religious-Zionists and settled some hill top in Samaria.

It seems it is a matter of time before the religious will become the majority here. The religious and their children are much more likely to stay in Israel. They also get marry at earlier ages, have more children and less divorce. Some religious Jews cynically suggested that what motivated the secular Israeli government to bring in so many Russians- even Christians- was just to ensure a secular majority in Israel. Any price to keep secular Zionism in the majority- even the price of bringing in close to a half million non-Jews.

When there was no State of Israel young Zionists were filled with idealistic motivation to create that Jewish secular State. Now the State is created and the job is finished.

The goal of Religious-Zionism though is not finished. Moreover religious-Zionism is much more ideologically motivated and tied to the Holy Land itself. Herzl could take into consideration the possibility of the creation of a Secular Jewish State in Uganda (which was proposed during his lifetime) but for a religious-Zionist Jew there is no alternative to the Land of Israel. Moreover, the goal of creating a Torah State, in all the Land of Israel with a re-built Bet HaMikdash (Holy Temple) which would be a light unto the nations is still something not achieved yet and is still being strived for by the religious-Zionists.

Dave Neil

PS look at this cutie:
12% increase in number of Israelis seeking to relinquish citizenship in 2007
Published:
01.02.08, 16:53 / Israel News
A total of 867 Israelis asked to relinquish their citizenship in 2007 – a 12% increase compared to 2006. This according to census data presented by the Interior Ministry.

Most of those giving up their citizenship status did so because they were seeking to become citizens of a foreign country or did not wish to deal with renewing their Israeli passports. (Tani Golstein)

And this article from Haaretz.com:

Last update - 06:24 03/06/2009
Secular Jews may be minority in Israeli schools by 2030
By Ofri Ilani
Secular Jews are expected to become a minority in Israeli schools and among the draft-age population within 20 years, according to a recent study published in the current issue of U.S. magazine Foreign Policy. The study, which is based on figures from Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, predicts that by 2030 Arabs and ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) Jews together will compose close to 60 percent of Israel's elementary school population and about 40 percent of eligible voters. "The Changing Face of Israel" was written by Richard Cincotta, a consulting demographer to the U.S. government's National Intelligence Council, and Eric Kaufmann of the University of London. They use demographic analysis to explain the trends evidenced in the last Israeli election, including the growing strength of the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu party, and attribute its success to secular Israelis' fears about the continuing erosion of the country's Zionist majority.

"As the secular proportion of Jewish voters recedes, Yisrael Beytenu's fortunes are bound to improve," write Cincotta and Kaufmann. "And that secular proportion will indeed recede, unless, of course, the rules of the game change." The article demonstrates that the proportion of secular students has shrunk significantly in the past several decades. "The numbers are impressive," the article states. "In 1960, the [Central Bureau of Statistics] reported that just 15 percent of students in the Israeli primary-school system were either Israeli Arabs or haredim. Now, about 46 percent are. Around 2020, the majority of primary-school students will likely be composed of children from those two groups, each segregated into its own segment of the school system." The authors note that the average number of births for each ultra-Orthodox woman is seven, and the average number for Arab Muslim women is 3.9. A U.S. intelligence assessment released about six months ago predicted that demographic trends could have a significant effect on the composition of the current Knesset.

How to Win the Campus Activism War- Go on the Offensive!

2009-03-18T04:19:00.000-07:00

Please forward this to anyone you know who is a pro-Israel activist.

How to Win the Campus Activism War-
Go on the Offensive!
by Dave Neil

Dear Fellow Israel Activists,

It’s time to go on the offensive and decide what the topic of the discussion is going to be on campus! Students shouldn’t be reading about Israeli roadblocks to poor Palestinians travelers in their campus newspapers…

We should not be afraid to tell these truths- (out of fear of appearing to “right wing”) – while the anti-Israel and Divestment movements are not afraid to tell lies about Israel.

We didn’t choose this fight, but now that we have been attacked we must gain our courage to be stronger and smarter and fight back to win- even if for some of us Jews-it isn’t our natural or preferred way of doing things.
We the pro-Israel campus activist students should be setting the agenda on campus by submitting articles to our campus newspapers on the subjects we choose.

For example here are two huge problems to address which are largely ignored and should not be:

1. "Honor Killings" in the Arab world and

2. Female Circumcision in the Arab world.

The general theme is how women are subjugated in the Muslim world.

Do a semester campaign for each of the above- by putting articles into the campus newspapers on these subjects and organizing petitions against governments which don’t punish the perpetrators of honor killings or allow female circumcisions in their countries.

Put many and long detailed articles about these topics with personal examples of the human tragedy involved in your campus newspapers. Set the agenda of the Arab-Israeli debate on campus by choosing the topics.

Try to get all the students to sign your petitions including the faculty. You should also get any feminist and/or women groups on campus to support your campaign by becoming a co-sponsor to this project which defends women's rights.

You can find plenty of information for both of these topics- you will be surprised how widespread these problems are- by going to google AND youtube. Use quotes to narrow your search: "Honor Killings" and "Female Circumcision". Use the information you find in your campaigns- including powerful video footage which can be found on YouTube. You can also hit the "news" option when searching Google to get the latest atrocities.

It is important that the pro-Israel activists go on the offensive not just "explaining" (Hebrew for Hasbara). Don't wait for the other side to choose the topic which will be debated on campus- you pick the subject. Try to win over the minds of the majority students on campus who are neither pro or anti Israel .

Remember: Don’t waste your time debating with those students who are anti-Semitic/anti-Zionist- you wont change their minds. The battle is to try to win the vast numbers of students in the middle who haven’t made up their minds yet vis-à-vis the Arab-Israeli conflict. To simplify things there are only 2% strongly pro-Israel students on most campuses facing about 8% of the campus that is anti-Zionist/anti-Semitic. You will never change the minds of the radical anti-Israel students since their hatred is non-rational and based on anti-Semitism. Remember that the real battle is over the minds of the 90% of college students who are "in the middle" of the debate.

Everyone on campus should be reading about how common it is in some Muslim societies to cut out the woman’s clitoris so that she wont enjoy sex and would have less reason to cheat on her husband.

Everyone on campus should also read about the many cases of girls being murdered by their own father or brother(s) in honor killings! With the conclusion that if these Arabs are capable of doing such atrocities to their own family members imagine what they would do to the Jews if they ever got the upper hand.

The college students today are the Americans of the future so your pro-Israel activity on campus is very important for the future of Israel and the Jewish People.

After gaining enough signatures on your petitions try to present them to Amnesty International or other groups and try to get general media attention- call your local and national news producers. It's time to be like the Israeli army and go on the offensive.. Stop with the "Hasbarah" which means explaining- why should we always be on the defensive and sound apologetic when we are in the right?

Do you want Arab Muslim anti-Semites to decide what the topic is and wait for them to set the parameters of the debate so you can start being defensive and explaining and explaining- or do you want to choose the topic of discussion at your school?

Which strategy is smarter?

Obviously it's much smarter for you to choose the topic and thereby set the parameters of the debate. So start a spring semester campaign against Female Circumcisions and follow it up with a Fall semester campaign against Honor Killings.

Another excellent topic to write and publicize is about the Arab Christians flight from Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank due to pressure and the hostility of Muslim fundamentalist groups.
June 18th 2009- See this article on Muslim nations being leaders of human slave trafficing- which is another topic to bring to the attention of the campus public.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/131928

Please forward this message to as many other activists as you can.

If any of these topics turns into national (campus) campaigns that's done every year- even better.

Good luck!

Dave Neil
For more articles by Dave Neil go to http://www.smartjew.blogspot.com/