Ari Bussel

The War for Israel’s Independence

Israel’s enemies are becoming more and more vicious in their attacks. They claim to anyone who would still listen that it is the last attempt to save Israel from herself. To them the Palestinians are the answer, in fact the glorified goal, and cannot do anything wrong; Israel is at fault. They no longer sound reliable, these “lovers of peace.” Just a few days ago they embarked on a field trip to the Palestinian village where the murderers of the five members of the Fogel Family lived. The brutal murder was a cold, calculated mission by two males, 18 and 19, one a student.

Going to a War Zone

“You realize you may be going into a war zone?” I was asked as I booked my ticket to Israel. The time is Passover, a major holiday in Israel, and unlike all my other travels, this time I do not dismiss the notion outright and altogether.

Summary of Overnight IDF Activity in Response to Grad Missiles, Rockets and Mortars Fired at Israel

Overnight, IAF aircraft targeted several terror activity sites in the Gaza Strip in response to the severe number of Grad missiles, rockets and mortars fired at the Israeli home front. As a result of IDF activity since the attack on the children's school bus on Thursday, April 7th 2011, approximately fifteen terrorists were killed and an additional fifty injured.

Japan – What’s Next?

Japan is trying to get back to normal, but is it really possible? Allow me to start by quoting a reader’s comments to an earlier article I wrote about Japan – An Earthquake and a Tsunami:

Pastor Billy’s Legacy of Faith

“Regarding the debate about faith and works: It’s like asking which blade in a pair of scissors is most important.” -- C.S. Lewis Many times, we believe we know someone, until we are surprised to discover things we never knew about him. This Postcard is about an extraordinary person who possessed numerous facets, most known to all. He was a renaissance man, a basketball player, a preacher and a photographer, and he led a massive congregation. He was a man of color, tall and striking in appearance with his hair formed into long, cascading cornrows.

Modern Day Anti-Semitism

The Palestinians, concluded the Israeli Government after fifteen months of extensive research, are inciting hatred and terror against the citizens and Government of Israel. To track this “culture of death,” Israel has now established an Index of Incitement.

Ignorance of the Worst Kind

“We will have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us.”~Golda Meir I was having dinner with an Ivy League graduate. As usual for me, the discussion diverted to Israel and the Palestinian terrorists’ attempts to destroy the only Jewish country.

Be Careful Not to Offend Israel

There is nothing that can stop Israel or destroy her completely, if she only sets her mind on standing up and fighting back, if she only makes a decision to survive. Something touched a raw nerve in the Israeli Government when Palestinian terrorists entered a home, murdered the parents, 35 and 36, and three of their children, 11, four and a three-month old. Three children survived—the eldest daughter who was out while the stabbing massacre was in progress and two of her younger brothers who were in a different room.

An Earthquake and a Tsunami

Children, not realizing the dangers, are more excited to ski, go to high ground due to a possible flooding or experience an earthquake. I was a student at Stanford when I experienced my first earthquake. For some odd reason, it seems to me they always happen in early morning. After a few shakers, though, the sense of “excitement” was replaced with apprehension. I used to say, “When Mother Earth’s clock rings, you wake up without delay.”

Civil Discourse about Israel

An interesting question was raised at a Jewish Federation event in Greater Los Angeles: Should Jews who do not live, pay taxes, or risk their lives in Israel have a say in Israel’s affairs? While the community is debating this question, Israel has long been struggling with the reverse question: Should Israelis living overseas have the ability to vote in Israeli elections. There are many hundreds of thousands of Israelis whose permanent residence is outside of Israel (in the Greater Los Angeles area alone there are rumored to be some 350,000 Israelis).

How Dare You, Mr. President?

With much righteous indignation, reporters and revolutionaries around the world asked President Mubarak: How Dare You Defy the World! They could not comprehend the audacity, the “Chutzpa,” the nerve of the Egyptian President refusing to leave his country, defying their very wish, command and instructions.

House Demolitions

Let us remember the number: 24,000 house demolitions by Israel. He was not a Zionist. In 2011 he calls himself an anti-war “revolutionist,” from the '60's generation. He avoided the draft, allowing others to serve, get maimed and die. He believed he was something greater, something different. He deserved better than his fellow Americans. Apparently, the rules that applied to everyone else did not apply to him. First he escaped to rabbinical school, although he was not religious (he does claim to be Jewish), thus getting a deferment. Then he left for Israel, where he lives to this day.

Let’s Blame Israel

I am reminded that many thought (and some still do) that the United States went to war in Iraq on Israel’s request and for her sole benefit. President Bush, close with the Saudis, apparently cared so much more about Israel that, notwithstanding any threat to his friends the Saudis, he mobilized the entire US military to protect and defend Israel against an enemy she knew well how to handle. We can use as an example Israel’s 1981 bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor.

The New Middle East

If what we currently see is the face of “Democracy” in the Middle East, most would prefer dictatorships. Stability in this area of the world is not derived from freedoms, rather from very strict controls. There is only one exception to this observation, and that is Israel. Yet, even there, in the cradle of sanity, things can become quite insane.

A Splintered Reed of a Staff

It seems everyone gave up on Mubarak. Rulers under duress mistakenly believe that keeping quiet and protecting their individual turfs is the necessary remedy, but it is not. While Iran talks about the shockwaves reeling through the Middle East, there is no united front of the Arab League, or for that matter, of any of the major Arab leaders.

The Report

A local group of Israel Deniers calling itself “Jews for Peace” has taken upon itself to analyze, once a month, a portion of the Goldstone Report. The Report is highly critical of Israel’s conduct during Operation Cast Lead (12/2008 – 1/2009), accusing the Jewish State of “serious violations of international humanitarian and international human rights law.”

I will Apologize No More

Israel is good for the Palestinians. It supplies them electricity. It fulfills any order of the Palestinian Authority as a conduit into Gaza. It allows tens of thousands of them to go for medical treatment in Israel. It provides drinking water, assists with the water infrastructure and treats their sewage.

Recognizing Palestine

Five Latin American countries have already recognized Free, Independent Palestine: Chile, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. American Friends for Peace Now estimates that 30 more countries around the world will recognize Palestine by the next United Nation’s General Assembly in September.

Israelis, Haters of Israel

A two-day Arab Film Festival was held recently at the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. The event was part of a yearlong program of USC’s Arts and Humanities Initiative called Visions and Voices.

The Prime Minister’s Update

Following are Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks earlier this evening (Saturday), 4.12.10, at the Haifa University forward command center: