General Category > Ask JTF
Ask JTF for Sunday February 7, 2010
Secularbeliever:
Shalom Chaim, Two questions if I may.
1) What do you think of Robert Aumann, the Israeli Nobel Prize winner. He is certainly a nationalist (he might even live in Judea or Samaria), Orthodox and extremely logical. I know he is not a Kahanist, he favors concessions to the Arabs if they are returned by real concessions and states that neither Jews nor Arabs in Judea or Samaria should be forced from their homes. I find him very interesting and his arguments very convincing.
2) I have a somber question. If the Israelis keep offering to sacrifice the Jews and land of Judea and Samaria as they have been doing for over 20 years now, and we wake up one day and find the Arabs have taken them up on their offer (they can't be stupid forever) what should we do if we have tens (if not hundreds depending on what happens to the settlement blocs) of thousands of Jewish refugees and an Israel crammed into the Mediterranean Coast vulnerable to attack and having ripped the heart out of the best communities and people in the nation? Would you still want to go to Israel? Would you have the same love for it? Would you hope that yet again we would gain Judea and Samaria?
eb22:
Shalom Chaim,
I'm interested in your thoughts about the direction the Tea Party Movement is going in. It seems that much like the Republican Party itself, the Tea Party Movement is also heavily divided. With various factions pulling in different directions.
Thanks as always, eb22.
imaknick:
Sara Palin has endorsed Rand Paul for senate. Have you changed your opinion of her? I think she is part of the establishment. Ever since she became a commentator on fox news and authored a book, she has become more and more as part of the establishment as well as going "rogue".
Ari Ben-Canaan:
Dear Chaim,
What is the maximum amount of distance I may cross on Shabbat? I am a 90 minute walk from the synagogues I attend [they are close together].
Is riding a bike prohibited on Shabbat? Unlike a car it has no sparks/electronic.
---
Last week I asked about Zoroastrianism, and what the Rabbis have to say about it. I do not study it with any thought of it being a religion for ME, for me it's Adonai or nothing. I was wondering about what the Rabbis thought of Zoroastrianism in regards to Persians [are they heathens, or are they members of a "valid" religion like Christianity... certainly they must be above Muslims].
A thought is, "Persians do not need Islam, they have a religion of their own; Zoroastrianism." - -Persians are a prideful people, and I have noticed they HATE being called Arabic... perhaps their egos could use a history lesson. Persians in my area have symbol of Zoroaster they flaunt to show they are Persian, even if they are Muslim at the same time. Get Iranians to dig up the pride they once had for THEIR religion instead of the Arabic virus of Islam... maybe THEN people will stop calling them Arabs... otherwise they might as well be Arabs, for what the world sees [which is what I in no calm terms express to my Persian "friends"]. - Divide and conquer, no?
Maimonides:
Shalom Chaim and Thank you as always for your hard work and for answering my questions.
I know that you are grateful to the late Senator Jesse Helms for helping you get kosher food when you were in prison, but looking at Jesse Helms's record it appears he started out as a Ron Paul type conservative, and only became somewhat pro-Israel after getting Israel to go along with arm sales to so-called "moderate" Arab countries. Considering the information posted below, what is your opinion of Senator Helms?
According to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Helms#Foreign_affairs
--- Quote ---Helms was not originally a supporter of Israel, proposing in 1973 a resolution demanding Israel return the West Bank to Jordan, and, in 1975, demanding that the Palestinian Arabs receive a "just settlement of their grievances".[55] In 1977, Helms was the sole senator to vote against prohibiting American companies from joining the Arab League boycott of Israel,[56] although this was primarily because the bill also relaxed discrimination against communist countries.[57] In 1982, Helms even called for the U.S. to break diplomatic relations with Israel during the 1982 Lebanon War.[58] He favored prohibiting foreign aid to countries that had recently detonated nuclear weapons: aimed squarely at India, but also affecting Israel should it conduct a nuclear test.[59] He then worked to support the supply of arms to the United States' Arab allies under Carter and Reagan, until his views on Israel shifted significantly in 1984.[55]
--- End quote ---
Helms positions on Israel changed in 1984 when he apparently almost lost re-election because of his anti-Israel stance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Helms#1984_re-election_campaign
--- Quote ---Unlike in 1978, Helms faced an opponent in the primary, George Wimbish, but won with 90.6% of the vote, while Hunt received 77% in his.[33] During the general election campaign, Hunt accused Helms of having the most "anti-Israel record of any member of the U.S. Senate".[55] Helms pledged during the campaign that he would retain his chairmanship of the Agriculture committee.[202]
In the most expensive Senate campaign up to that time, Helms narrowly defeated Hunt, taking 1,156,768 (51.7%) to Hunt's 1,070,488 (47.8%).[33] Helms might not have won had it not been for Ronald Reagan's popularity in the state; Reagan carried North Carolina by 24 points that year.
--- End quote ---
According to the Wall Street Journal, Helms only changed his position on Israel when he got Israel to agree to go along with ARM SALES to "MODERATE" Arabs countries http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB121521073192129407.html
--- Quote ---Contrary to his reputation, Helms did change his mind. For his first decade in office he opposed aid to Israel and in 1982, after that nation invaded Lebanon, called for "shutting down" relations. But after learning more about Israel's security fears during a visit there in 1985, and receiving assurances that officials there could support some military sales to moderate Arab nations, he became Israel's stalwart ally."It was a complete switch," recalls Morris Amitay, former executive director of AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby.
--- End quote ---
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