Nice article; thanks. I think one can have an optimistic view of the world while recognizing that fear, aggression, territorialism, and just plain xenophobia are as much a part of the human condition as the more compassionate and cooperative traits. Even more plainly, when somebody says he or she is coming to kill you - and their culture echoes this loudly - believe them. Thinking you can change their minds is not optimism; it's foolish arrogance.
Thank you, Joanne, for describing so well the emotional/intellectual maelstrom since Oct. 7. My head is still spinning from having done a 180 so fast. I am asking myself many things, but not whether I was wrong ever to have planted myself so firmly among liberal thought. I WAS wrong, and I’m guessing you feel that way, too. I loved, though, that you started my day with some gentle, self-deprecating humor. I think, more than renewed optimism, I now aspire to seeing and appreciating humor, and goodness, wherever they may be found.
You Write: 'Prince Faisal made it clear that his country would not recognise Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state. On this issue, he explained, Saudi Arabia is patient:'
The history of the Middle East is one where each of the countries of The Middle East play the Double Game.
It is TOTALLY Obvious that the formation of any Palestinian State whatsoever is only a prelude to the resumption of the Arab War of Genocide against The Jewish People and the State of Israel.
Further, the Saudis both arm and provide religious succour to all of the Sunni Islamist Militias beyond its borders.
Any Nascent Palestinian State once formed would simply re-arm under the protection of Statehood and then attack Israel. The Hamas alliance with the Re-Formed Nazi Party, monitored in London, means just this.
A state LEGALLY MEANS THE RIGHT TO AN ARMY in Law. This is therefore why there is no such thing as a 'De-Militarised State' or some such treaty 'guaranteeing this as part of any such agreement with The Palestinian Authority.
The Saudis know this. Saudi Arabia may well be patient. Well, so are Israel and The West.
The Middle East teaches us that War is Endemic to the whole Region. We have just seen this once again in the absolute horror which is Syria. It has been like this for 10000 years.
This is the meaning of The Double Game: Talking Peace and then going to War.
Thus there can be no 'Palestinian State', either Full or De-militarised or anything else, because any Nascent Palestinian State once formed would simply wait patiently, re-arm under the protection of Statehood and then attack Israel.
Thank you. As an optimist, I've been nurturing my cynical inner self so that I can fit in socially. I'm progressing nicely by giving my cynical inner self plenty of exercise. That said, a day or two after Oct 7, 2023 I began writing that 'The We' need to get "The BIG Lesson". 'The We' also has to face THE question: "Now What". I don't use a question mark with that. Regarding the to and fro theme of your essay, maybe it points to 'damned if you do and damned if you don't"? 'The We' so far do not yet have the right to discuss one of the elephants in one of the rooms which is: the 22 or so communities/kibbutzim of The Envelope were said to be THE most advanced in 'doing everything the right way'. Unfortunately we need to pull out our Joan Rivers Card soon i.e. her famous entrance line "Can we talk". Understandably, no, not yet. Soon we have to face a profoundly tragic discussion - How does our positivity create our vulnerability? I haven't the emotional or writing ability to calmly address that necessary soon to be timely question/discussion. But it is starring us right in the face, but, at least publicly i.e. on written www forums... we pull a Hamlet and 'turn awry and lose the name of action'. Understandably.
I wonder this every time I see Anne Frank mentioned. Did she really die an optimist? We’ll never know, but I think that having been captured and thrown in a death camp might have tarnished that optimism. I find it hard to believe her optimism lasted to her death, and I’m not comfortable with the assumption that it did.
I think I'm an optimist because I'm always surprised at how stupid people can be. But the quote is attributed to the movie maker, Billy Wilder, " the pessimists are in Hollywood, the optimists are in Auschwitz. "
And we're in California playing chicken with the Hayward fault and hedging our bets.
It doesn’t matter if someone is good deep down, it matters if they’re willing to kill you. We don’t have to judge the inside of another person’s heart; we have to assess the risk they present to our safety.
Anyone who has had a toddler and a new baby understands this. Little pudgy hands, incapable of malicious thoughts, are entirely capable of doing real and lasting damage to a fragile newborn. The toddler is a good person, they aren’t even old enough to use self-control. But you still must watch them because someone could get hurt.
It doesn’t make a difference why people murder babies in ovens. Are they still good deep down? That job is for G-d. Our job is to keep the baby safe by realistically assessing risk.
And the idea that because someone is a victim they are not a danger is false in every way.
Smart woman with a good outlook. I forward these FofJ articles to family and friends, some of whom have now themselves subscribed. Unfortunately, I am still amazed that there are those who, even after all that has happened, have not come around to the fact that there are some folks with whom we cannot "coexist". It takes time. Apparently with some, it takes an eternity.
I think we need to accept the fact that there is only one good person, and that is God. We human beings are sinners, and there is no remedy except in Jesus Christ, Who died that we might be forgiven and restored to what God intended us to be - people made in His image, in fellowship with Him and our fellow man. Expecting other people to be good is merely setting ourselves up for disappointment and disillusionment. We can't even live up to our own standards, much less God's.
I'm Irish-American Catholic. The reason our Jewish brothers and sisters have been so brutally persecuted over the millennia is because of statements like "there is no remedy except in Jesus Christ". The belief that the Jewish people stand in the way of world redemption has led to more atrocities than any other belief. Plenty of those who believe in Jesus Christ (who was a very PROUD Jew) have committed atrocities. Many of those who pitilessly slaughtered their Jewish neighbors were true believers in Jesus Christ.
The Church turned its back on the slaughter of innocent Jews during the Holocaust, and the Episcopal, Methodist, Catholic, and Presbyterian churches are turning their backs on the persecution of Jewish people today.
Believing in Jesus is a joke. Christianity is a VERB, and by that definition, our Jewish neighbors have been far better Christians than most self proclaimed Christians have been (remember, God chose to be born as a Jew. There's a reason for that).
Please stop promoting the dangerous belief that only Christians are "saved". If believing in Jesus as the messiah made us better human beings there would have been no Holocaust, and the mainstream "Christian" churches would not be turning their backs on the Jewish people today.
Alison, this is a Jewish forum and your proselytizing about Jesus Christ is inappropriate and unwelcome. You are not coming across as a friend of the Jewish people with your post; just another enemy. We don't need support from people who are trying to convert us.
Susan, I am a Roman Catholic who supports Judaism and Zionism. I subscribe to this publication to enhance my knowledge of all things "Jewish." I become more astute at recognizing and calling out anti-semites. I agree with you and the other commentators. This is not the forum (time or place), to be proselytizing Jesus Christ.
Alison, we Jews do not believe that God is a person, and of course, you must know that we don’t believe that Jesus is God. Jews do not agree with each other on how to define God. I assume you did not intend disrespect for our beliefs, but your last sentence is the only one with which most of us can agree.
Nice article; thanks. I think one can have an optimistic view of the world while recognizing that fear, aggression, territorialism, and just plain xenophobia are as much a part of the human condition as the more compassionate and cooperative traits. Even more plainly, when somebody says he or she is coming to kill you - and their culture echoes this loudly - believe them. Thinking you can change their minds is not optimism; it's foolish arrogance.
Thank you, Joanne, for describing so well the emotional/intellectual maelstrom since Oct. 7. My head is still spinning from having done a 180 so fast. I am asking myself many things, but not whether I was wrong ever to have planted myself so firmly among liberal thought. I WAS wrong, and I’m guessing you feel that way, too. I loved, though, that you started my day with some gentle, self-deprecating humor. I think, more than renewed optimism, I now aspire to seeing and appreciating humor, and goodness, wherever they may be found.
Saudi Arabia plays the Double Game
https://www.thejc.com/lets-talk/with-trumps-return-will-the-abraham-accords-make-a-comeback-ewroy6zm
You Write: 'Prince Faisal made it clear that his country would not recognise Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state. On this issue, he explained, Saudi Arabia is patient:'
The history of the Middle East is one where each of the countries of The Middle East play the Double Game.
It is TOTALLY Obvious that the formation of any Palestinian State whatsoever is only a prelude to the resumption of the Arab War of Genocide against The Jewish People and the State of Israel.
Further, the Saudis both arm and provide religious succour to all of the Sunni Islamist Militias beyond its borders.
Any Nascent Palestinian State once formed would simply re-arm under the protection of Statehood and then attack Israel. The Hamas alliance with the Re-Formed Nazi Party, monitored in London, means just this.
A state LEGALLY MEANS THE RIGHT TO AN ARMY in Law. This is therefore why there is no such thing as a 'De-Militarised State' or some such treaty 'guaranteeing this as part of any such agreement with The Palestinian Authority.
The Saudis know this. Saudi Arabia may well be patient. Well, so are Israel and The West.
The Middle East teaches us that War is Endemic to the whole Region. We have just seen this once again in the absolute horror which is Syria. It has been like this for 10000 years.
This is the meaning of The Double Game: Talking Peace and then going to War.
Thus there can be no 'Palestinian State', either Full or De-militarised or anything else, because any Nascent Palestinian State once formed would simply wait patiently, re-arm under the protection of Statehood and then attack Israel.
Thank you for the bittersweet humor. I have had to remove my rose colored sunglasses so many times in my life. Still, I wear them…cannot help myself.
Thank you. As an optimist, I've been nurturing my cynical inner self so that I can fit in socially. I'm progressing nicely by giving my cynical inner self plenty of exercise. That said, a day or two after Oct 7, 2023 I began writing that 'The We' need to get "The BIG Lesson". 'The We' also has to face THE question: "Now What". I don't use a question mark with that. Regarding the to and fro theme of your essay, maybe it points to 'damned if you do and damned if you don't"? 'The We' so far do not yet have the right to discuss one of the elephants in one of the rooms which is: the 22 or so communities/kibbutzim of The Envelope were said to be THE most advanced in 'doing everything the right way'. Unfortunately we need to pull out our Joan Rivers Card soon i.e. her famous entrance line "Can we talk". Understandably, no, not yet. Soon we have to face a profoundly tragic discussion - How does our positivity create our vulnerability? I haven't the emotional or writing ability to calmly address that necessary soon to be timely question/discussion. But it is starring us right in the face, but, at least publicly i.e. on written www forums... we pull a Hamlet and 'turn awry and lose the name of action'. Understandably.
Thank you Joanne. Well put
I wonder this every time I see Anne Frank mentioned. Did she really die an optimist? We’ll never know, but I think that having been captured and thrown in a death camp might have tarnished that optimism. I find it hard to believe her optimism lasted to her death, and I’m not comfortable with the assumption that it did.
I think I'm an optimist because I'm always surprised at how stupid people can be. But the quote is attributed to the movie maker, Billy Wilder, " the pessimists are in Hollywood, the optimists are in Auschwitz. "
And we're in California playing chicken with the Hayward fault and hedging our bets.
It doesn’t matter if someone is good deep down, it matters if they’re willing to kill you. We don’t have to judge the inside of another person’s heart; we have to assess the risk they present to our safety.
Anyone who has had a toddler and a new baby understands this. Little pudgy hands, incapable of malicious thoughts, are entirely capable of doing real and lasting damage to a fragile newborn. The toddler is a good person, they aren’t even old enough to use self-control. But you still must watch them because someone could get hurt.
It doesn’t make a difference why people murder babies in ovens. Are they still good deep down? That job is for G-d. Our job is to keep the baby safe by realistically assessing risk.
And the idea that because someone is a victim they are not a danger is false in every way.
Smart woman with a good outlook. I forward these FofJ articles to family and friends, some of whom have now themselves subscribed. Unfortunately, I am still amazed that there are those who, even after all that has happened, have not come around to the fact that there are some folks with whom we cannot "coexist". It takes time. Apparently with some, it takes an eternity.
I think we need to accept the fact that there is only one good person, and that is God. We human beings are sinners, and there is no remedy except in Jesus Christ, Who died that we might be forgiven and restored to what God intended us to be - people made in His image, in fellowship with Him and our fellow man. Expecting other people to be good is merely setting ourselves up for disappointment and disillusionment. We can't even live up to our own standards, much less God's.
I'm Irish-American Catholic. The reason our Jewish brothers and sisters have been so brutally persecuted over the millennia is because of statements like "there is no remedy except in Jesus Christ". The belief that the Jewish people stand in the way of world redemption has led to more atrocities than any other belief. Plenty of those who believe in Jesus Christ (who was a very PROUD Jew) have committed atrocities. Many of those who pitilessly slaughtered their Jewish neighbors were true believers in Jesus Christ.
The Church turned its back on the slaughter of innocent Jews during the Holocaust, and the Episcopal, Methodist, Catholic, and Presbyterian churches are turning their backs on the persecution of Jewish people today.
Believing in Jesus is a joke. Christianity is a VERB, and by that definition, our Jewish neighbors have been far better Christians than most self proclaimed Christians have been (remember, God chose to be born as a Jew. There's a reason for that).
Please stop promoting the dangerous belief that only Christians are "saved". If believing in Jesus as the messiah made us better human beings there would have been no Holocaust, and the mainstream "Christian" churches would not be turning their backs on the Jewish people today.
Alison, this is a Jewish forum and your proselytizing about Jesus Christ is inappropriate and unwelcome. You are not coming across as a friend of the Jewish people with your post; just another enemy. We don't need support from people who are trying to convert us.
Thanks, Susan. I was just considering my response, but you already made it, firmly, politely and realistically.
Susan, I am a Roman Catholic who supports Judaism and Zionism. I subscribe to this publication to enhance my knowledge of all things "Jewish." I become more astute at recognizing and calling out anti-semites. I agree with you and the other commentators. This is not the forum (time or place), to be proselytizing Jesus Christ.
Alison, we Jews do not believe that God is a person, and of course, you must know that we don’t believe that Jesus is God. Jews do not agree with each other on how to define God. I assume you did not intend disrespect for our beliefs, but your last sentence is the only one with which most of us can agree.