By Jack Engelhard
As everyone around here knows, at four year intervals we all have to get our driver’s license renewed, pretty much from scratch. For us, the time was up this month, and we waited until pretty much the last day to show up at the DMV to get this done. Not so fast. What happened was near terrifying.
The old driver’s license is not enough to prove that you are you. No, you must bring your birth certificate, marriage license and, in my case, citizenship papers.
Now, my wife is always totally careful with such papers but, after she opened the box that contains all that, everything was there, yes, everything, except our birth certificates, our marriage license, and truly, the most important paper that I own, that document that proves that I am a citizen of the United States, which I secured in Cincinnati when I was 21.
Gone! All that – gone! I’m already back on the boat to France! As for our marriage license, well, we’ll get married again.
Until then, we will not tell our kids that they are suddenly illegitimate.
Birth Certificates? That cannot be renewed. “I know,” said Leslie, “that I put everything in this briefcase.”
I knew that, too. But where? Leslie never misplaces a coupon from Rite Aid, so surely not this!
Panic set in, though Leslie was a trifle more together than I was. I was finished, an immigrant all over again. No papers! Throughout all these years as I traveled the world, even those years in Greenwich Village when no one knew where anything was, with all the packing and unpacking, I somehow managed save my birth certificate from Toulouse, France, and that citizenship document.
I remembered how precious it was, that day when I was sworn in as an official American – this, after surviving Hitler. What a day that was in Cincinnati. There was one glitch, for which I will never forgive Michael Aaronson. We were required to bring along a witness to testify as to our good conduct. So before I raised my arm for the oath, the officer asked Mike if he thought I’d make a good citizen.
Mike? Mike paused, as if he wasn’t sure. I could have knocked him out right there – and later, of course, outside, he said that he’d been joking. Very funny.
Leslie says, “I’m going to start searching all over again.”
I lit up my pipe, as if that was going to solve everything.
“Here it is” she yells. “It’s all here!”
Whew. We were born after all, and married!
In the morning we drive over to the DMV and yet, from that trauma, I was placed back to those days when we were all truly immigrants – my father, my mother, my sister, and me -- and it was all about PAPERS. Fresh from the Holocaust, onto the Serpa Pinto, the famous “Ship of Refugees,” we had to show our papers. Could we get into the United States? No. Canada? Okay. Then, finally, the Unites States, first temporarily, then permanently.
My parents schlepped me along from one embassy to another – and it was always tense. If your papers are NOT IN ORDER, you can get shipped back.
During the escape from France, with Nazi stormtroopers at every corner, it was always about Papieren – Papers. The wrong papers, and it’s Auschwitz.
That’s the mood I was in when we stepped into the DMV. I was a kid all over again, a refugee. I saw the clerks as determining my fate, not to drive again, but to live again.
Well, it was all done in about half an hour. For me, it was welcome back to the United States. Then they took my picture, and let’s not even talk about that!
Novelist Jack Engelhard, author of “The Bathsheba Deadline” and “Indecent Proposal,” can be reached at his website www.jackengelhard.com.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Obama: No More Mr. Nice Guy
By Jack Engelhard
We can all agree (for once) that President Barack Obama’s inauguration speech was no thriller. If anything, it was a downer.
It had to be. One minute he was president-elect; next minute, My Gawd! he was President! The real deal. The gloves had to come off. The truth had to be told. What an awakening this must have been, to realize that the party is over, the work begins. That is sobering! It’s doubtful that any time soon he’ll be showing up on TV with Oprah Winfrey, or sharing dance steps with Ellen DeGeneres.
From now on those photo-ops will show him in the company of world leaders, some who wish us well, many who wish us harm.
There’s a new sheriff in town and he won’t be smiling.
In other words, that inauguration speech was perfection. It proved that he gets it.
From my vantage point – well, I saw him age right before my eyes. During the swearing in itself, followed by the parades, I saw this only at a glimpse of him now and then, but there was no mistaking that a new man had arisen. I saw hints of worry, flashes of concern. His eyes grew distant even as he forced a grin.
I remember John F. Kennedy and how he aged when the campaigning had been done and after the business of being president began.
JFK was tested. Obama will be tested.
Like JFK, Obama is cool and hip. That’s rare in our presidents, but this time around, as before, it’s a character trait to be valued.
Save the worries about politics for tomorrow. (By the way, enough heckling on George W. Bush. That means you, Jay Leno. Not funny. In fact, quite ugly.)
I still find myself doing a double-take and it’s got nothing to do with his being African-American. It’s all about his youthfulness, that bounce to his step, the smartness of his articulation. This kid is my president, and glory to us, as Americans, that we DID OVERCOME – so partly it is about his being African-American.
Martin Luther King had a dream, and here he is – Barack Obama.
Not all of us favored this man, but now that he’s in, he’s ours, and we have no choice but to render him our blessings. His successes will be our successes, and let’s not even talk about failures, not at this moment when we’re still in thrall. We reflect ourselves in our presidents. If he is young, attractive and youthful, we as a nation suddenly become young, attractive and youthful.
Let’s hope this endures.
We had it going pretty much the same with John F. Kennedy. I do not see Obama as Lincoln fulfilled. I do see him as JFK fulfilled. I see him as finishing what JFK had started and after all, JFK did promise us the moon, and we got there all right. I’m not sure exactly where we’re going with Obama. We’ll find out as we move along. So far, so good.
True, we’re only talking about the first 100 Hours. But this much is certain: Barack and Michelle are very much in love, and that’s a good omen. That honeymoon is still going strong and it sure would be nice if the honeymoon between us and our president lasts just as long. That would be sweet – and I say this into the teeth of my friends on the right and my own right-wing tendencies. I say it because me too – I also like to dream.
In my novel on JFK and his generation (“The Days of the Bitter End”) I open with the wisdom of Solomon, as follows:
“So remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come.”
So, yes, let’s remember these days of our youth, as mirrored in our spanking new president.
About the author: Jack Engelhard’s novel “The Days of the Bitter End” traces the rise and fall of JFK and his generation. Engelhard’s latest novel, “The Bathsheba Deadline,” places journalism at the center of our war on terror. Engelhard wrote the international bestselling novel “Indecent Proposal” that was translated into more than 22 languages and turned into a Paramount motion picture starring Robert Redford and Demi Moore. He can be reached at his website www.jackengelhard.com.
We can all agree (for once) that President Barack Obama’s inauguration speech was no thriller. If anything, it was a downer.
It had to be. One minute he was president-elect; next minute, My Gawd! he was President! The real deal. The gloves had to come off. The truth had to be told. What an awakening this must have been, to realize that the party is over, the work begins. That is sobering! It’s doubtful that any time soon he’ll be showing up on TV with Oprah Winfrey, or sharing dance steps with Ellen DeGeneres.
From now on those photo-ops will show him in the company of world leaders, some who wish us well, many who wish us harm.
There’s a new sheriff in town and he won’t be smiling.
In other words, that inauguration speech was perfection. It proved that he gets it.
From my vantage point – well, I saw him age right before my eyes. During the swearing in itself, followed by the parades, I saw this only at a glimpse of him now and then, but there was no mistaking that a new man had arisen. I saw hints of worry, flashes of concern. His eyes grew distant even as he forced a grin.
I remember John F. Kennedy and how he aged when the campaigning had been done and after the business of being president began.
JFK was tested. Obama will be tested.
Like JFK, Obama is cool and hip. That’s rare in our presidents, but this time around, as before, it’s a character trait to be valued.
Save the worries about politics for tomorrow. (By the way, enough heckling on George W. Bush. That means you, Jay Leno. Not funny. In fact, quite ugly.)
I still find myself doing a double-take and it’s got nothing to do with his being African-American. It’s all about his youthfulness, that bounce to his step, the smartness of his articulation. This kid is my president, and glory to us, as Americans, that we DID OVERCOME – so partly it is about his being African-American.
Martin Luther King had a dream, and here he is – Barack Obama.
Not all of us favored this man, but now that he’s in, he’s ours, and we have no choice but to render him our blessings. His successes will be our successes, and let’s not even talk about failures, not at this moment when we’re still in thrall. We reflect ourselves in our presidents. If he is young, attractive and youthful, we as a nation suddenly become young, attractive and youthful.
Let’s hope this endures.
We had it going pretty much the same with John F. Kennedy. I do not see Obama as Lincoln fulfilled. I do see him as JFK fulfilled. I see him as finishing what JFK had started and after all, JFK did promise us the moon, and we got there all right. I’m not sure exactly where we’re going with Obama. We’ll find out as we move along. So far, so good.
True, we’re only talking about the first 100 Hours. But this much is certain: Barack and Michelle are very much in love, and that’s a good omen. That honeymoon is still going strong and it sure would be nice if the honeymoon between us and our president lasts just as long. That would be sweet – and I say this into the teeth of my friends on the right and my own right-wing tendencies. I say it because me too – I also like to dream.
In my novel on JFK and his generation (“The Days of the Bitter End”) I open with the wisdom of Solomon, as follows:
“So remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come.”
So, yes, let’s remember these days of our youth, as mirrored in our spanking new president.
About the author: Jack Engelhard’s novel “The Days of the Bitter End” traces the rise and fall of JFK and his generation. Engelhard’s latest novel, “The Bathsheba Deadline,” places journalism at the center of our war on terror. Engelhard wrote the international bestselling novel “Indecent Proposal” that was translated into more than 22 languages and turned into a Paramount motion picture starring Robert Redford and Demi Moore. He can be reached at his website www.jackengelhard.com.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Is Richard Gere Responsible?
By Jack Engelhard
First let me say that I do not watch Hollywood award shows strictly for the cleavage. No, I’m in it for the Art -- and the Cleavage.
Salma Hayek is the best actor in the world though I have never seen any of her movies. That one eye-candy moment at the Golden Globes was persuasive enough.
For me, the awards season began with the National Book Awards on C-Span, where I learned that there are agents, editors and publishers who actually support writers. This amazed me. One writer after another – the winners – got up and gushed over these people who were so “helpful” and “devoted.” In what universe is this happening?
I imagine that writers less fortunate wanted the names, addresses and phone numbers of these literary helpmates. Since Maxwell Perkins left the scene – where are they?
Most writers are lucky to get a phone call, never mind an award.
Let’s get to the glamour. I watched, off and on (usually without the sound), the most recent three Hollywood award shows; something from the Critics, then the People, then the Foreign Press. This all happened within a span of about five business days, so why, I wondered, would any of the participants, like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, bother to go home and change clothes? Sleep in the limo and stay in those tuxes and gowns until the next round.
I learned that to accept an award, for openers, the winner is expected to trash Bush. This is automatic and guaranteed to gain sustained applause.
Next, to win for best performance by an actor, it is preferable to be dead. Heath Ledger walked off with that trophy, or would have if only he were still with us.
No living actor has a shot when the Oscars come around. (Mickey Rourke disqualified his chances when he outted himself as a conservative – or a no nonsense liberal.)
But it’s not all about the Art – it’s also about Doing Good. At one of these bashes, Richard Gere was honored for his humanitarian works, like that time, in 2006, when he visited Gaza and urged the Palestinians to vote. Mr. Gere told those thousands assembled at a rally, “Hi, I’m Richard Gere. I’m speaking for the entire world.”
We don’t know if it’s the entire world these people resented, or Mr. Gere personally, but they went on a rampage when he uttered those words, jeered him, pelted him with rocks and stones, chased him out of Gaza and made a bonfire of all his movies, starting with “Pretty Woman.” Indeed, though, the people did vote. They voted for Hamas. They voted for terror.
Good lesson that, like Vegas, whatever happens in Hollywood should stay in Hollywood. This is not to say that Mr. Gere is to blame for the chaos in Gaza, that, in fact, he started a war! -- but a man exercising his vanity and speaking for the entire world does assume some responsibility. After making “The Ten Commandments” and splitting the Red Sea, Charlton Heston remembered that he was not Moses.
I suggest that actors stick to the script, forget political activism, keep us astonished in the theaters, and allow is to share the pizzazz of these award-show love-fests.
From Salma Kayek, we want to know, “Who are you wearing?”
I’m speaking for the entire world.
About the author: Jack Engelhard’s latest novel, the newsroom thriller “The Bathsheba Deadline,” is now available in paperback. Engelhard wrote the international bestselling novel “Indecent Proposal” that was translated into more than 22 languages and turned into a Paramount motion picture starring Robert Redford and Demi Moore. He can be reached at his website www.jackengelhard.com.
First let me say that I do not watch Hollywood award shows strictly for the cleavage. No, I’m in it for the Art -- and the Cleavage.
Salma Hayek is the best actor in the world though I have never seen any of her movies. That one eye-candy moment at the Golden Globes was persuasive enough.
For me, the awards season began with the National Book Awards on C-Span, where I learned that there are agents, editors and publishers who actually support writers. This amazed me. One writer after another – the winners – got up and gushed over these people who were so “helpful” and “devoted.” In what universe is this happening?
I imagine that writers less fortunate wanted the names, addresses and phone numbers of these literary helpmates. Since Maxwell Perkins left the scene – where are they?
Most writers are lucky to get a phone call, never mind an award.
Let’s get to the glamour. I watched, off and on (usually without the sound), the most recent three Hollywood award shows; something from the Critics, then the People, then the Foreign Press. This all happened within a span of about five business days, so why, I wondered, would any of the participants, like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, bother to go home and change clothes? Sleep in the limo and stay in those tuxes and gowns until the next round.
I learned that to accept an award, for openers, the winner is expected to trash Bush. This is automatic and guaranteed to gain sustained applause.
Next, to win for best performance by an actor, it is preferable to be dead. Heath Ledger walked off with that trophy, or would have if only he were still with us.
No living actor has a shot when the Oscars come around. (Mickey Rourke disqualified his chances when he outted himself as a conservative – or a no nonsense liberal.)
But it’s not all about the Art – it’s also about Doing Good. At one of these bashes, Richard Gere was honored for his humanitarian works, like that time, in 2006, when he visited Gaza and urged the Palestinians to vote. Mr. Gere told those thousands assembled at a rally, “Hi, I’m Richard Gere. I’m speaking for the entire world.”
We don’t know if it’s the entire world these people resented, or Mr. Gere personally, but they went on a rampage when he uttered those words, jeered him, pelted him with rocks and stones, chased him out of Gaza and made a bonfire of all his movies, starting with “Pretty Woman.” Indeed, though, the people did vote. They voted for Hamas. They voted for terror.
Good lesson that, like Vegas, whatever happens in Hollywood should stay in Hollywood. This is not to say that Mr. Gere is to blame for the chaos in Gaza, that, in fact, he started a war! -- but a man exercising his vanity and speaking for the entire world does assume some responsibility. After making “The Ten Commandments” and splitting the Red Sea, Charlton Heston remembered that he was not Moses.
I suggest that actors stick to the script, forget political activism, keep us astonished in the theaters, and allow is to share the pizzazz of these award-show love-fests.
From Salma Kayek, we want to know, “Who are you wearing?”
I’m speaking for the entire world.
About the author: Jack Engelhard’s latest novel, the newsroom thriller “The Bathsheba Deadline,” is now available in paperback. Engelhard wrote the international bestselling novel “Indecent Proposal” that was translated into more than 22 languages and turned into a Paramount motion picture starring Robert Redford and Demi Moore. He can be reached at his website www.jackengelhard.com.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Expel The Media
By Jack Engelhard
The major news organizations, all across the firmament of newspapers, radio and TV, are complaining that Israel won’t let them into Gaza.
Ain’t that a shame.
A newscaster named Smith spoke for his fellow foreign correspondents when he said that reporters have a “right” to gain access to the conflict.
Israel has an “obligation” so that the “truth” can be told.
The last big “truth” I remember was the Muhammad al-Durra hoax that was staged in cahoots between Palestinian and French “journalists.” This blood-libel provoked a killing spree against Israelis even after the facts came out to reveal that 1.the boy was killed by Arab gunfire, not Israeli; 2, the boy wasn’t killed at all. He walked off the set with his father after the director yelled “cut” (and you thought only Hollywood made movies).
Meantime the damage was done. Through the inflammatory and popularized image of a Palestinian boy cradled in his father’s arms against “Israeli bullets,” Islamic terrorists now had their justification to commence a second Intifada with the usual suicide bombings throughout Israel. Yes – rivers of Jewish blood.
There were few retractions when the facts came out. Why bother with the facts when the fiction is so good – and so harmful to Israel?
Worldwide, Journalism has served as an active and activist second front against Israel. Israel is facing an enemy that uses its own women and children for cover, an Islamic army of MEN IN SKIRTS, but pick up any newspaper or turn to any channel and behold the one-sided coverage. We find the BBC’s correspondent in Gaza, Fayad Abu Shamala, addressing a Hamas rally in Gaza as follows:
“Journalists and media organizations are waging the campaign shoulder-to shoulder together with the Palestinian people.”
That was during an earlier conflict, but there it is – the news media “shoulder to shoulder” together with the Palestinian people.
That BBC pep talk was recorded by honestreporting.com and cited by Israel’s press officer, Daniel Seaman, who further noted that “Palestinians who work with the media attend a course in media manipulation at Bir Zeit University -- and exercise control over information flow.” [Ed Note: Documentation for this and for Journalism’s war against Israel can be found in Engelhard’s paperback thriller, "The Bathsheba Deadline."]
Today, Mr. Smith accuses Israel of trying to “control the message.” Too bad.
In time of war, what nation allows reporters to roam freely within zones of combat? Israel has no “obligation” except to protect its citizens.
During my own years as a combat reporter, I recall a particular visit to Israel with a group of journalists from around the world.
Shlomo, a captain in the IDF, was ready to give us a tour of Israel’s glories. The busload murmured and then rose up in revolt. They wanted “the Palestinian Villages to see the suffering.” They wanted nothing about Israel as a light unto the nations and her vast contributions to civilization. Shlomo, a hero of many wars, gave up and old me in private, “It’s hopeless.”
I caught journalists feeding “quotes” to Palestinian “victims” and cueing tears for the cameras. Back at the lavish American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem, Arab “fixers” are welcomed by these journalists who, in need of a story, are advised by these Islamic tipsters that incidents can be staged and filmed for FRONT PAGE.
Notice how this time around the media seeks out Israel’s “Atrocity of the Day” to make the case for Hamas. This morning’s New York Times portrays Gaza jihadists as “fighters” – heroic and “defiant.” TIME magazine betrays its wishful thinking with a front page cover story that screams “Israel Can’t Win.”
History proves otherwise, that throughout the generations, King David’s Army fights and wins.
Don’t let them in, these propagandists posing as journalists. Keep them out – for the sake of truth.
(This commentary first appeared on www.israelnationalnews.com.)
Novelist Jack Engelhard, author of “The Bathsheba Deadline” and “Indecent Proposal,” can be reached at his website www.jackengelhard.com.
The major news organizations, all across the firmament of newspapers, radio and TV, are complaining that Israel won’t let them into Gaza.
Ain’t that a shame.
A newscaster named Smith spoke for his fellow foreign correspondents when he said that reporters have a “right” to gain access to the conflict.
Israel has an “obligation” so that the “truth” can be told.
The last big “truth” I remember was the Muhammad al-Durra hoax that was staged in cahoots between Palestinian and French “journalists.” This blood-libel provoked a killing spree against Israelis even after the facts came out to reveal that 1.the boy was killed by Arab gunfire, not Israeli; 2, the boy wasn’t killed at all. He walked off the set with his father after the director yelled “cut” (and you thought only Hollywood made movies).
Meantime the damage was done. Through the inflammatory and popularized image of a Palestinian boy cradled in his father’s arms against “Israeli bullets,” Islamic terrorists now had their justification to commence a second Intifada with the usual suicide bombings throughout Israel. Yes – rivers of Jewish blood.
There were few retractions when the facts came out. Why bother with the facts when the fiction is so good – and so harmful to Israel?
Worldwide, Journalism has served as an active and activist second front against Israel. Israel is facing an enemy that uses its own women and children for cover, an Islamic army of MEN IN SKIRTS, but pick up any newspaper or turn to any channel and behold the one-sided coverage. We find the BBC’s correspondent in Gaza, Fayad Abu Shamala, addressing a Hamas rally in Gaza as follows:
“Journalists and media organizations are waging the campaign shoulder-to shoulder together with the Palestinian people.”
That was during an earlier conflict, but there it is – the news media “shoulder to shoulder” together with the Palestinian people.
That BBC pep talk was recorded by honestreporting.com and cited by Israel’s press officer, Daniel Seaman, who further noted that “Palestinians who work with the media attend a course in media manipulation at Bir Zeit University -- and exercise control over information flow.” [Ed Note: Documentation for this and for Journalism’s war against Israel can be found in Engelhard’s paperback thriller, "The Bathsheba Deadline."]
Today, Mr. Smith accuses Israel of trying to “control the message.” Too bad.
In time of war, what nation allows reporters to roam freely within zones of combat? Israel has no “obligation” except to protect its citizens.
During my own years as a combat reporter, I recall a particular visit to Israel with a group of journalists from around the world.
Shlomo, a captain in the IDF, was ready to give us a tour of Israel’s glories. The busload murmured and then rose up in revolt. They wanted “the Palestinian Villages to see the suffering.” They wanted nothing about Israel as a light unto the nations and her vast contributions to civilization. Shlomo, a hero of many wars, gave up and old me in private, “It’s hopeless.”
I caught journalists feeding “quotes” to Palestinian “victims” and cueing tears for the cameras. Back at the lavish American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem, Arab “fixers” are welcomed by these journalists who, in need of a story, are advised by these Islamic tipsters that incidents can be staged and filmed for FRONT PAGE.
Notice how this time around the media seeks out Israel’s “Atrocity of the Day” to make the case for Hamas. This morning’s New York Times portrays Gaza jihadists as “fighters” – heroic and “defiant.” TIME magazine betrays its wishful thinking with a front page cover story that screams “Israel Can’t Win.”
History proves otherwise, that throughout the generations, King David’s Army fights and wins.
Don’t let them in, these propagandists posing as journalists. Keep them out – for the sake of truth.
(This commentary first appeared on www.israelnationalnews.com.)
Novelist Jack Engelhard, author of “The Bathsheba Deadline” and “Indecent Proposal,” can be reached at his website www.jackengelhard.com.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Spare the Pieties on Gaza
By Jack Engelhard
Frankly, given a choice, I prefer the skinheads and other brutes who express their anti-Semitism openly. In such places, we know the enemy.
But please spare me the pieties and the righteous indignation of those “good people” protesting throughout Europe against Israel’s defensive operation in Gaza. True, thousands have taken up banners in support of Israel. At the same time, however, the streets of Europe (and even some in America) are in an uproar. These are the “humanitarians” – the good, the noble, the refined who chant “Peace.”
Now you’re up and about? Now you speak? Where were you when, throughout the years, thousands of Jihadist bombs fell on Israel? The streets of Europe were empty. There were no pictures in the newspapers of grieving Jewish mothers and fathers. You called it “peace” as long as the Arabs were doing the killing and the Jews were doing the dying. All was well with the world.
Suddenly, as Israel answered back, you found your CAUSE – and how self-righteous you are in your CAUSE.
You are the best and the brightest of Europe. You are educated. You attended the finest schools. You care for the birds, the bees, the bears, the trees. You favor free speech and freedom of religion. Strange it is, that the one and only place in the Middle East that shares your world-view, is Israel, and it is Israel that you slander.
Israel is a Jewish State. Is that your problem? At the first hint of Jewish self-defense, how quickly you show your true colors.
I’ve seen the photos of your candlelight vigils along the streets and boulevards of Europe, all of it, all these tears, in the service of those terrorists whom you call your brothers. Indeed you are related to Hamas (and Fatah) as once before, a mere generation ago, you were related to Hitler’s storm troopers. Your angelic faces are touching – and disgusting. Your hypocrisy is transparent and nauseating.
You speak of disproportion. You want proportion? Give Israel a population of 300 million residing in 22 countries, similar to the Arab Muslims who surround and ambush Israel – instead of five and a half million Jews in one single country. There’s plenty of “proportion” coming from your BBC, which delights in presenting one side of the story and picks up where Der Sturmer left off. Now, with this type of “news,” we know how Europe was conditioned for a Holocaust.
Already we see nights of broken glass. Thank you, Europe, for reminding us why America was discovered just in time (and why Israel was redeemed many generations too late). You dare judge Israel? In your deportations, your expulsions, your forced conversions, your inquisitions, your pogroms, you have no moral authority over Israel or even within your own borders. You gave all that up from 1492 to 1942.
To those on the Left who sought Peace, well dear Peace Lovers – Peace brought this on. “Land for Peace” made this happen as Land for Peace became Land for Jihad. “Painful Concessions” caused this war. “Goodwill Gestures” backfired. Want more “peace?” Give up the Golan Heights. Give up the entire West Bank. Give up Jerusalem. Imagine the “peace.” As for those “innocent civilians” in Gaza, they were given a choice and they chose Hamas. They chose this pestilence.
As for those “refugee camps” – why are they “refugee camps” when Israel handed over all that territory for a nation to be built in peace and security alongside Israel? Why are all Palestinians automatically refugees even after they’ve been given a home? The only true refugees are the thousands of Israelis who were driven from Gaza and still live in trailer parks. No tears for them in this world that still dreams of Auschwitz.
On this day, in response to a column I wrote about Theresienstadt, someone responded that I was incorrect; that Theresienstadt was not a prelude to Auschwitz, but rather “a vacation resort.” I wrote back wishing this person a lifetime in such vacation resorts. I wish the same lifetime vacation resorts to all those parading throughout the streets of Europe with banners crying “death to Israel.”
God bless the IDF! Go Israel!
Novelist Jack Engelhard, author of “The Bathsheba Deadline” and “Indecent Proposal,” can be reached at his website www.jackengelhard.com.
(This commentary first appeared on www.israelnationalnews.com.)
Frankly, given a choice, I prefer the skinheads and other brutes who express their anti-Semitism openly. In such places, we know the enemy.
But please spare me the pieties and the righteous indignation of those “good people” protesting throughout Europe against Israel’s defensive operation in Gaza. True, thousands have taken up banners in support of Israel. At the same time, however, the streets of Europe (and even some in America) are in an uproar. These are the “humanitarians” – the good, the noble, the refined who chant “Peace.”
Now you’re up and about? Now you speak? Where were you when, throughout the years, thousands of Jihadist bombs fell on Israel? The streets of Europe were empty. There were no pictures in the newspapers of grieving Jewish mothers and fathers. You called it “peace” as long as the Arabs were doing the killing and the Jews were doing the dying. All was well with the world.
Suddenly, as Israel answered back, you found your CAUSE – and how self-righteous you are in your CAUSE.
You are the best and the brightest of Europe. You are educated. You attended the finest schools. You care for the birds, the bees, the bears, the trees. You favor free speech and freedom of religion. Strange it is, that the one and only place in the Middle East that shares your world-view, is Israel, and it is Israel that you slander.
Israel is a Jewish State. Is that your problem? At the first hint of Jewish self-defense, how quickly you show your true colors.
I’ve seen the photos of your candlelight vigils along the streets and boulevards of Europe, all of it, all these tears, in the service of those terrorists whom you call your brothers. Indeed you are related to Hamas (and Fatah) as once before, a mere generation ago, you were related to Hitler’s storm troopers. Your angelic faces are touching – and disgusting. Your hypocrisy is transparent and nauseating.
You speak of disproportion. You want proportion? Give Israel a population of 300 million residing in 22 countries, similar to the Arab Muslims who surround and ambush Israel – instead of five and a half million Jews in one single country. There’s plenty of “proportion” coming from your BBC, which delights in presenting one side of the story and picks up where Der Sturmer left off. Now, with this type of “news,” we know how Europe was conditioned for a Holocaust.
Already we see nights of broken glass. Thank you, Europe, for reminding us why America was discovered just in time (and why Israel was redeemed many generations too late). You dare judge Israel? In your deportations, your expulsions, your forced conversions, your inquisitions, your pogroms, you have no moral authority over Israel or even within your own borders. You gave all that up from 1492 to 1942.
To those on the Left who sought Peace, well dear Peace Lovers – Peace brought this on. “Land for Peace” made this happen as Land for Peace became Land for Jihad. “Painful Concessions” caused this war. “Goodwill Gestures” backfired. Want more “peace?” Give up the Golan Heights. Give up the entire West Bank. Give up Jerusalem. Imagine the “peace.” As for those “innocent civilians” in Gaza, they were given a choice and they chose Hamas. They chose this pestilence.
As for those “refugee camps” – why are they “refugee camps” when Israel handed over all that territory for a nation to be built in peace and security alongside Israel? Why are all Palestinians automatically refugees even after they’ve been given a home? The only true refugees are the thousands of Israelis who were driven from Gaza and still live in trailer parks. No tears for them in this world that still dreams of Auschwitz.
On this day, in response to a column I wrote about Theresienstadt, someone responded that I was incorrect; that Theresienstadt was not a prelude to Auschwitz, but rather “a vacation resort.” I wrote back wishing this person a lifetime in such vacation resorts. I wish the same lifetime vacation resorts to all those parading throughout the streets of Europe with banners crying “death to Israel.”
God bless the IDF! Go Israel!
Novelist Jack Engelhard, author of “The Bathsheba Deadline” and “Indecent Proposal,” can be reached at his website www.jackengelhard.com.
(This commentary first appeared on www.israelnationalnews.com.)
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