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February 10, 2012
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David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Feb. 10, 2009
/ 16 Shevat 5769
The clenching of the Israeli fist
By
Wesley Pruden
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Someone once asked Frank Broyles, the celebrated football coach at Arkansas, the secret of the Razorbacks' remarkable goal-line stands. "Well," he said, "it's not so hard if you can convince your defensive line that they're backed up against the edge of a cliff, and there's a bunch of hungry alligators down there among the jagged rocks."
There's something in this bit of sports metaphor for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the loudmouth leader of Iran who vows to erase Israel from the map of the Middle East. The Israelis, who have survived by paying close attention to their situation, understand that they live at the edge of a cliff, just above jagged rocks and hungry alligators. Their fractious neighbors can continue to lose wars, paying out blood and treasure forever. If Israel loses one war, it's over for the Jewish state.
The bad news for Mr. Ahmadinejad and his like-minded followers, both in and out of Iran, is that the changing of the guard in Jerusalem, ordained by the Israeli national elections Tuesday today, won't eliminate either rocks or alligators, but neither will it change the grim determination of the Israelis to survive.
Israel won't tolerate nuclear weapons in Iran, Ehud Olmert, the outgoing prime minister, told a group of visiting Frenchmen this week in Jerusalem, and there is neither government nor opposition, merely an iron will, unanimously held. No future government, whether of left, right or center, will change this.
The Israelis have been getting a lot of advice from Europe, some of it maybe even well-meaning, that it's important not to further radicalize the Palestinians, though it's difficult to imagine how men who send their children to blow themselves up to kill a few Jews could be further radicalized.
It's important, the Israelis are told, not to damage Palestinian confidence in the "peace process," though it is difficult to see how such a process, which is to peace as Velveeta is to cheese, could be further damaged by hard men who have never kept any agreement they've made. The Israelis are told to restrain their response to rocket attacks and drive-by shootings, since, with no West Point nor Sandhurst nor even a St. Cyr to teach military tactics and instill soldierly discipline, the Palestinians must send out women and girl children to defend men cowering at home. Hamas must not be pushed to the wall, lest its "warriors" become entranced by visions of heroic slaughter of Jews.
"What we didn't hear much of during this [election campaign]," observes columnist Herb Keinon in the Jerusalem Post, "were entreaties to the Palestinians not to take action that would radicalize Israeli society, that would rob it of hope, that would push it to despair of ever reaching a peace agreement in the region. One didn't hear Western leaders and learned columnists warning the Palestinians that their unrelenting terror would have a boomerang effect on Israeli society, that it would push Israel to the wall, that it would ram to the right a generation of Israelis who grew up under the cloud of suicide bombers and Kassam rockets."
This could be a useful caution for the Palestinian radicals, of whom there are many, but there are none to take it. No surprise, then, that suicide bombers and the Kassam rockets have clenched the Israeli fist. The 22-day offensive in Gaza, though widely condemned in the soft salons of the West, is popular among the Israelis who pay the price of restraint. This has led to ever-tighter clenching.
Benjamin Netanyahu appears to be the most popular of the candidates; he makes no apology for his vow to eliminate the threat of "the Islamic bomb" before Mahmoud Ahmadinejad can build one. Israeli pollsters expect Mr. Netanyahu's Likud party to run first, trailed by leftist Labor and "centrist" Kadima. But "centrist" means something altogether different in Israel than in London, Paris or the new Washington.
Tzipi Livni, 51, the leader of Kadima, promises to be "a different kind of prime minister." She would be the first female prime minister since Golda Meir three decades ago. She's different for sure. She was once an agent of Mossad, the fearsome and efficient intelligence agency, and until this week studiously avoided running as a woman, though Golda Meir's example showed that womanly does not necessarily imply weak.
"I make decisions, not coffee," she told a Tel Aviv audience of her role as foreign minister in the coalition government during the Gaza campaign.
Like her rivals at the polls today, she insists that she's ready with tough "decisions" if Hamas wants to continue making trouble.
The alligators among the rocks could sup on tasty Arabs, too.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Wesley Pruden is editor in chief of The Washington Times. Comment by clicking here.
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