Featured-Post-2 Archives - Page 7 of 7

March 18, 2015 By Olivier Melnick 2 Comments

Bibi’s Miraculous Landslide Victory Will Help Identify his Enemies!

In listening to the media and a majority of political analysts, Benjamin Netanyahu had a tough road ahead in the 2015 Israeli elections. So when his Likud party won 30 seats (six seats ahead of Herzog’s Zionist Union party), it was a bit of a surprise for most and even a shock for some. Netanyahu’s victory could be considered a landslide victory, but certainly must be considered a miraculous victory. For the next few years, Israel will continue to thrive under the leadership of one of the strongest Prime Minister in her history.

Bibi’s victory doesn’t make everybody happy, especially after some of the announcements he made hours prior to the elections. His enemies will be quick to denounce and criticize him and his agenda.

At the top of the list we can obviously find the Palestinian Authority and Hamas doing everything in their power to delegitimize Israel. The PA continues to apply pressure at the International Criminal Court in The Hague to force them to investigate possible war crimes during the 2014 Gaza War. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat declared:“It is clear that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will form the next government, and for that, we say clearly that we will go to The Hague tribunal, we will accelerate, continue and intensify.” This is a despicable move akin to accusing Jews of crimes against humanity during the Warsaw Ghetto uprising against the Nazis. Hamas has also called for renewed confrontations with Israel…No surprise there!

Another disappointed enemy is the leader of Zionist Union Isaac Herzog who many had seen as a serious contender in the race for the Knesset. Herzog finally conceded and congratulated Bibi on his victory.

The Israeli government is a complicated political machine. The Knesset demands that the ruling party would form a coalition with other parties since 61 seats are required for a majority over its 120 seats. No party has ever won with a majority in Israel’s 67 years of history. Very often the votes are so close that coalition governments are formed with members of the two parties who were competing for the win only the night before. But this time, with 30 seats, Netanyahu finds himself in a majority position from the start, allowing him to form a government much more center-right than ever before. This is a bigger defeat for the Left in Israel. Netanyahu will certainly gain more power from the get go.

Herzog campaigned on issues that he thought were attractive to Israelis like renewed talks with the Palestinians towards a Palestinian state, a strengthening of US/Israel relations, and a change in Israel’s economy bridging the gap between classes. He wanted to bring “Change” to Israel. I think that someone, somewhere already tried that same socialistic ideology and it failed! As it turned out, Israeli voters were much more interested in the security of their country than the economy of their country. After all how good is a rebounding economy in a country that would be opening its doors to people determined to kill all the Jews. Security over economy doesn’t mean that Netanyahu will not work towards a better Israel economically, but as he has said numerous times and repeated at his address to the US congress, the security of Israel’s people is first and foremost.

It is also interesting to notice that the “Joint Arab List” became the third party in the Knesset. This will undoubtedly create a new dynamics within the Israeli government. What we need to remember is that the “Joint Arab List” comprises three different lists that strongly disagree within themselves. They had to form a mini Arab coalition to even become a reality within the Knesset. Will they find enough of a common ground in their loathing of Israel to work together? Time will tell, but I am certain that we will hear more from the “Joint Arab List.”

Many international leaders are worried about Bibi’s last minute shift to the right to garner the necessary votes from ultra-nationalist factions. They feel that it will only exacerbate the Palestinians and further bury the prospect of any peace in the Middle East. What they really fail to understand is that a more socialistic party like that of Isaac Herzog would facilitate the emergence of a group of people who have absolutely no interest in a two-state solution. They might hypocritically pretend to be open to the idea, but that is only until they have gained enough power to completely annihilate the Jews. Mr. Herzog idealistic vision is obviously blinded by his liberal leanings.

And then of course, there is the leader of the “United Welfare States of America”, Barack Obama! While many heads of states will personally call Netanyahu to congratulate him on the Likud’s victory, Mr. Obama gave the task to a White House aid who congratulated Israel without any mention of Netanyahu or the Likud. Some will accuse me of pettiness, but the least that our President could have done was to call Netanyahu in person. Then again, coming from the same man who chose to snub Bibi’s recent congress speech, it shouldn’t surprise us. What a shame!

It is unclear if Bibi’s speech on March 3rd, 2015 in front of the US congress was a political move or just a heartfelt desire to cry out to the international community. It was probably a bit of both. What is certain is that it facilitated Bibi’s victory. His stance on the “Iranian Deal” was powerful and obviously a slap in the face of our president and “King of Appeasement.”

Relations between America and Israel are tense and fragile at best. There are still many Americans who support the Jewish state. We might expect that the already strained relations between Netanyahu and the White House could lead to a political divorce. The one positive aspect of this win is that Netanyahu will outlive Obama in office and could very well regain a respected position with the next US administration.

So it would appear that Mr. Netanyahu has many enemies to contend with, within and without Israel. Physical rockets will continue to fall over Israel as will the verbal rockets from the liberals, the current US administration and the media. In the meantime, I believe that Bibi’s victory will ensure the best approach to Israel’s security. The road ahead is a rocky one and would greatly benefit from the prayer of the friends of Israel.

Congratulation Mr. Prime Minister, my prayers are with you and Israel!

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, May they prosper who love you. Psalm 122:6

March 11, 2015 By Olivier Melnick 2 Comments

Is this an Aliyah or an Exodus for French Jews?

It has only been two months since the terrorist attacks in France led to the death of 17 people including four Jews in a kosher supermarket on the east side of Paris. Prime minister Manuel Valls delivered an emotional speech punctuated with rightful indignation in front of the French Assemblée Nationale, calling anti-Semitism “The symptom of a democracy in crisis”. French President François Hollande vowed to defend France’s Jews when he was recently quoted saying: “Jews are at home in France, it’s the anti-Semites who have no place in the republic, in protecting its Jews, the republic is protecting itself.”  In reality, French Jews continue to feel very uneasy in France. The assurance of safety seems to only be a façade. Even with 10,000 troops and police officers deployed all over France in front of key Jewish locations like schools and synagogues, French Jews do not feel properly protected. After all, it wasn’t long after the January attacks that some French soldiers were attacked by a man as they were guarding a Jewish site. Additionally, a Jewish cemetery was vandalized in northern Alsace and over 200 tombstones were destroyed. French Jews are scared and they are not alone. Other European Jewish communities have joined the French in their feeling of uncertainty. But there is no doubt that France leads the pack when it comes to immigration to Israel.

This unprecedented increase in immigration didn’t just happen because of the Paris attacks of January 2015. To be sure, the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe in general and France in particular has led to an exponential increase in the number of European Jews making Aliyah. But again, France is way ahead of all the other European countries. In 2012, about 2,000 Jewish people left France for Israel followed by 3,120 in 2013 (a 60% increase over 2012). Then in 2014, over 7,000 French Jews made Aliyah to Eretz Yisrael, making it the largest Aliyah out of France since the 1970s and the top country for Jewish emigration in 2014( the highest global number in 12 years). We must keep in perspective that this number of over 12,000 Jews out of France over the last three years all happened even before the events of January 2015.

Over 1,000 Jews have already left France for Israel in the first two months of 2015. Numbers could exceed 10,000 by the end of the year. This is of course if no other tragic act of anti-Semitism takes place in France, something I am unfortunately not willing to bet on. Here are some other frightening statistics from the Jewish People Policy Institute:

At least 15,000 French Jews are expected to make Aliyah by 2016. (possibly as many as 10,000 in 2015)
The Jewish Agency is planning for up to 120,000 French Jews to move to Israel in the next 4 years.
By 2030, over half of French Jewry could have made Aliyah.

Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky expressed his fears in the summer of 2014 in Paris while the Gaza War was taking place in the Middle East, and French Jews were already leaving in droves. He was quoted saying: “Something historic is happening, it may be the beginning of the end of European Jewry. I think it’s a tragedy for Europe, what is happening in France, the strongest of Europe’s Jewish communities, reflects processes taking place elsewhere in Europe. I keep asking people if Jews have a future in Europe.” 

I am afraid that Mr. Sharansky might have been right. We could be witnessing the start of the decline of European Jewry with the departure of the French Jews as some sort of “handwriting on the wall” of western European civilization. The question that I ask myself has to do with the numbers of Jews leaving or planning to leave in the next few years. While a few thousands already create a noticeable demographic shift, if we indeed see up to 100,000 Jews leave France in the next five years or so, we are not talking Aliyah anymore, we are talking exodus.

Not all French Jews will immigrate to Israel. Some will move to America, Canada and even the U.K, but those who choose to make Israel their new home will constitute a formidable demographic and economic challenge to region. Set aside the challenge, Israel will gain a pool of people that will undoubtedly contribute to its further developing. It will be a win/win situation for the French Jews and Israel.

The loser in all this will be Europe. Already demographically circling the drain, Europe cannot afford to lose its Jews. With the Jews still in Europe, we are already seeing the emergence of Eurabia as a result of the Muslim “demographic Jihad” of the last 50 years. Even though French government officials expressed their desire to see French Jews remaining in the country, If France cannot protect its Jews, it is only a matter of time before other people groups or minorities become a target.

If indeed we are in the infancy stage of a mass European Jewish exodus, there is much more at stake than the loss of a once thriving community. God was not speaking figuratively when He promised Abraham to bless those who bless him and the Jewish people and curse him who curses them (Genesis 12:1-3). God meant every word of it then and He means every word of it today. With its Jews leaving, France becomes even more vulnerable to her enemies. Isn’t it ironic that the very people that many have described as a curse actually are a blessing from God?

March 3, 2015 By Olivier Melnick 12 Comments

The Day the Canary Became an Eagle!

There is an old story that goes back to the days of coal mining when gas leak explosions loomed at every corner of a mine. Miners would keep a canary in a cage with a person assigned to watching the small bird. At the first sign of the bird collapsing and dying, the miners would know that a gas leak was present and would immediately evacuate the mine before an explosion could potentially burry them alive.

For a while now, Israel has been described as the “canary in the coal mine of civilization”. It was 13 years ago that columnist Jeff Jacoby said: ” Jews, it is often said, are the canary in the coal mine of civilization. When they become the objects of savagery and hate, it means the air has been poisoned and an explosion is soon to come. If Europeans don’t rise up and turn against the Jew-haters, it is only a matter of time until the Jew-haters rise up and turn against them.”

We have been told over and over by some of the wisest political analysts, and many Bible scholars, that we should watch Israel closely. Jacoby claimed in 2002 that Europe was going to fall if they didn’t stand against Israel haters and anti-Semites. Today, Europe is watching as its own Jewish community is leaving in droves to move to Israel. The Jew-haters are winning Europe (not necessarily without the help of some natives, sad to say!).

This fate is unfortunately not reserved only for Europe. It is a global shadow covering an increasingly larger geographical area. As much as many Americans would like to believe it, America is not immune. The canary [Israel] applies to America as well. On March 3rd, 2015, the canary desperately tried to get the attention of the miners! Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke for over 40 minutes before a joint meeting of the US congress, showing true leadership through a passionate, focused and gravely concerned speech.

No representative from the White House was present. President Obama apparently was on a video conference call with European leaders. Vice President Biden was in South America and John Kerry was in Geneva discussing the very Iranian deal that was the topic of Bibi’s visit and speech. Over 50 democrats chose to boycott Bibi’s speech. The absence of the leader of the Free World and his entire cabinet spoke tons. It makes one wonder what Mr. Obama really means when he says that he would always have Israel’s back? Are we talking about watching out for the Jewish state’s safety or are we talking about stabbing in the back? Today’s no show would make me think the latter!

None of this prevented Mr. Netanyahu from expressing deep gratitude to the United States for a long-standing relationship with Israel. As Netanyahu said yesterday during his AIPAC speech (start at 1:25:50) in front of 16,000 people: “I mean no disrespect to President Obama.” Netanyahu’s speech started with many specific examples of why Israel will always be indebted to the United States, citing several specific cases when Mr. Obama supported the Jewish State. His gratitude was heartfelt and very obvious. It was clear that his visit wasn’t meant to be a scolding of the current US administration but more of an alarm sounding.

The rest of his speech focused on Iran and the danger it already poses today without nuclear capability, followed by how much more dangerous it would be with it. To most people, including some in the Middle East who are not necessarily Israel’s best friends, Iran is the biggest threat to the region. But Iran is much more than a regional bully, it is a global one. If the nuclear deal goes through, Iran will be soon equipped with nuclear head mounted missiles capable of reaching Israel of course, but also all the way to America’s east coast.

Netanyahu delivered a passionate appeal to the United States, but truly, he was speaking to the world. He was interrupted by over 40 rounds of applause, many of them being bipartisan standing ovations. What the current US administration fails to understand is that today’s speech was much more than the Jewish State pleading for sanction against Iran to protect itself. Today’s speech was the canary in the mine of civilization gasping for whatever little air is left before the global explosion.

Mr. Netanyahu was bold enough to let the world know that if necessary, Israel will stand alone, hoping that congress would get his “not so subliminal” message and back Israel up if and when necessary. His statement was very clear when towards the end he said: “We are no longer scattered among the nations, powerless to defend ourselves. We restored our sovereignty in our ancient home. And the soldiers who defend our home have boundless courage. For the first time in 100 generations, we, the Jewish people, can defend ourselves. This is why — this is why, as a prime minister of Israel, I can promise you one more thing: Even if Israel has to stand alone, Israel will stand. While I agree with Israel’s right to exist and defend herself I also recognize that God has been behind the miraculous rebirth and growth of the Jewish State. Nothing else can explain Israel’s existence today but the grace of the God of Israel who through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’s descendants, promised a great nation and land (Genesis 12:1-3).

Mr. Netanyahu showed courage, integrity and leadership at a time of great global turmoil. Many will complain that the leader of the Free World was absent today. The frustration is justified, yet it gave Benjamin Netanyahu an opportunity to state the truth with authority. Even though a great existential threat remains, and the road ahead is tumultuous at best, March 3^rd, 2015 was the day when the canary became an eagle!

February 19, 2015 By Olivier Melnick 37 Comments

Can ISIS ever be defeated?

It is with bewilderment, disgust and fear that our global community has become an audience to the bloody carnage inflicted by ISIS within the boundaries of their ever-growing “Caliphate.” On February 17, they set 45 people on fire in Iraq, adding to the gruesome death toll of the last few months. It wasn’t long ago when they set a Jordanian pilot on fire inside a cage and filmed it as if the act was scripted and planned. They also beheaded Japanese and European people among others, not to mention all the Christian beheadings like the recent 21 Copts in Libya. How far will they go and can they ever be defeated?

Before attempting to answer such a question, we need to understand the ideology behind the bloodiest jihadist group in modern history. Unfortunately, almost every attempt made recently could be compared to studying a bird as if it were a fish. It just cannot yield beneficial results. ISIS truly is in a league of its own and should be handled as such. In a previous post, I explained that they are organized, wealthy and weaponized. In and of itself, this already places them outside of your run-of-the-mill terrorist groups like Taliban, Al-Qaeda or Boko Haram. Yet they are unique in several other ways.

A Caliphate
ISIS’ name in Arabic is al-Dawlah al-Islāmīyah fī al-ʻIrāq wa-al-Shām meaning the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (The Levant being another name for greater Syria). They have only been around for about 15 years and mostly as a branch of Al-Qaeda, but they even became too extreme for Al-Qaeda. This would go along the lines of Hitler rejecting a group of soldiers because he deemed them too brutal to join the Nazi Party!

So ISIS flew the coop, and after Al-Qaeda officially severed all ties, their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (in charge since 2010) declared that he was the new caliph and that as such, he was now ruling all Muslims within a newly formed global Caliphate. To date, the introduction of a new Caliphate has been far from welcome by various Muslim countries. Nevertheless, it creates a new dynamics not only for the West but within Islam as well.

All terror groups until ISIS were underground and decentralized. ISIS is territorial, and under an Islamic Caliphate, it can only function as such. Thus it is in their interest to gain ground. As little as they might get and as slow as they might move, they must press on. ISIS will continue to move in the Middle East and spread from its epicenter like a bleeding wound on a piece of cloth as the world weakens.

Another aspect of a caliphate is the fact that the one who implemented it is seen by his followers as the unique ruler or “caliph.” He controls all Muslims globally. Of course, there are millions of Muslims who want nothing to do with the Islamic State, but according to ISIS’ exegeses of the Qur’an, if they indeed call themselves Muslims, they must submit to the caliph and his ruling or die as infidels. This puts all Muslims who are not adhering to all of ISIS’ ideology at risk since denying the holiness and inspiration of the Qur’an as they [ISIS] view it is pure apostasy.

Therefore, as anti-Semitic as they are, ISIS will not hesitate to decimate Hezbollah or Hamas who they do not consider in compliance with their views, before they even go after Israel. So apparently, even though it always is borne out of a specific interpretation and application of the Qur’an, Jihadism is far from being monolithic. But the point is that even though Israel and the West are constantly in the crosshair, there are obvious disconnects between, let’s say; the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and ISIS.

An Islamic Apocalyptic Theology
In a recent very thorough piece on ISIS for The Atlantic, Graeme Wood wrote: The reality is that the Islamic State is Islamic. Very Islamic. Yes, it has attracted psychopaths and adventure seekers, drawn largely from the disaffected populations of the Middle East and Europe. But the religion preached by its most ardent followers derives from coherent and even learned interpretations of Islam.

ISIS follows a very extreme form of Islam known as Salafism (in Arabic al salaf al salih means the “pious forefathers).” It promotes violence and bloodshed to establish and maintain hegemony through a very strict adherence to the qur’an and shari’a law.

ISIS also adheres to an apocalyptic theology and believes that the Mhadi or “guided one” will soon arrive and redeem Islam. According to them, Islam has been dead for over 1,000 years and was just reborn in 2014 when the global Caliphate was declared.
ISIS has boldly declared that Islam is not the religion of peace but the religion of the sword. They went to great length to explain what they meant in an article published in their magazine Dabiq. It really doesn’t matter what the rest of the world’s Muslim population believes, ISIS will continue to go for blood as long as they breathe because that is part of their apocalyptic “raison d’être”.

It is interesting that they include Jesus in their “end of the world” scenario as they see Him ultimately killing the Dajjal or Antichrist to bring in Islam as it always was intended. But until then, watch for the sword as it continues to swing through the infidels’ throats.

One the advantages of ISIS’s apocalyptic theology is that as bloody as it is, it is predictable. In the past, the Taliban, Al-Qaeda or even Hamas have been everything but predictable. If it was taken seriously, this could be to our advantage.

When does it end?
In America, a recent poll showed that 73% of Americans believe that the Obama administration doesn’t have a clear strategy to defeat ISIS (up 9% from 2014). President Obama called ISIS the Al-Qaeda “Junior Varsity”, clearly showing that he is clueless about the terrorist group. ISIS is an Islamic terrorist organization and it doesn’t matter if you believe that Islam is indeed the religion of peace because THEY DON’T!

On Monday, Mary Harf, A State Department spokeswoman proposed that we offer jobs to ISIS terrorists to pull them out of their misery and give them a sense of purpose. No wonder ISIS keeps humiliating the West and killing people. There is no solid leadership to take them out.

While our current president is struggling over semantics and a tactful approach, ISIS’s killing spree is growing exponentially. The days for a tactful approach are long gone (if they ever was such a time). It is time for a tactical approach and I am far from convinced that the United States will lead the free world in that endeavor. Don’t get too close to Israel though because the IDF doesn’t just bark, they bite too!

January 15, 2015 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

Charlie Hebdo Carnage in Paris Should be a Wake-Up Call!

Today France woke-up to a carnage that took place in the center of Paris at the Headquarters of the weekly magazine “Charlie Hebdo”. I grew up in Paris when Charlie Hebdo was already making anti-establishment. anti-God and anti-anything-and-everything statements on a weekly basis. Much of what they publish is often mix of satire and really bad taste, but freedom of the press shouldn’t be for the faint of heart and cannot be a one way street.

This being said, I am in shock and my prayers go out to the families of the 12 victims. France is in shock as well and remains on the highest alert for terrorism. There was absolutely no excuse for such a barbaric blood bath. As this is a developing story, some of the details could change fast.

Charlie Hebdo was started in 1969 and outside of a break from 1981 to 1992, is still being published weekly in 2015. They already had been attacked in 2011 when they published a cartoon of Mohammed and as a result got their facility firebombed. As the staff was having their regular editorial meeting today, the killers barged inside the conference room and after asking for names, started shooting the staff. Twelve people lost their lives today at the hands of what the authorities now believe were three men. Two brothers by the names of Saïd and Cherif Kouachi (Franco-Algerian), in their thirties, and another younger man, Amyd Mourad (nationality unknown). Amy Mourad apparently decided to surrender to the police later in the night. Two of the twelve innocent victims were police officers killed in the line of duty. More people were wounded and several are still in critical condition.

As the story develops, we will undoubtedly learn much more, but even though French authorities were originally very reluctant to connect the crime to an Islamist terrorist act, there is no longer any doubt that it was act of radical Islam against French citizens. Not to mention the fact that on the scene and as he went on his killing spree, one of the three terrorists declared: “We have now avenged the Prophet”. Speaking of course of Mohammed, and leaving little doubt as to the real motive of this mass murder. Additionally, it was later reported that all three men shouted “Allahu Akbar” as they went on with the carnage.

People will look at Islam from different vantage points from categorizing all Muslims as bloodthirsty barbaric terrorists to embracing all Muslim as peaceful practitioners of one of the three major world religions. I find myself somewhere in the middle and frankly, regardless of where you stand, we can all learn a lesson from such a tragedy.

This is not the first wake-up call that France has received but it would appear that tolerance, multiculturalism and political correctness keep pushing the snooze button over and over again. Today, France was tested regarding freedom of expression and freedom of the press. Will the country that championed satirical literature–taking it back all the way to the days of Marie-Antoinette–flex under pressure from the Islamists? Hard to say quite yet, but if France doesn’t take a stand, today will be remembered as much more than the “Charlie Hebdo Massacre”, it will be remembered as the day that freedom died.

There was in excess of 100,000 people rallying all over France within hours, many brandishing signs with the motto:”Je suis Charlie” or “I am Charlie” in a sign of solidarity. This was a very spontaneous reaction from the French who apparently have decided not to cave in. I applaud that move.

The French people and the French press might have spoken but the government must take this matter beyond the propagating of the new hashtag #jesuischarlie or #Iamcharlie. As a matter of fact, I agree wholeheartedly with Benjamin Netanyahu who in the short message of support he sent France, reiterated that this was an international problem, not just a French one.

This should serve as a wake-up call to the international community. Islamists are getting bolder and bloodier by the day. We have seen a lot of these kind of acts against the Jewish people lately, especially in France. The Islamists hate Israel and the Jews and will continue to go after them with rage. The way that the Jews have been attacked, and even killed recently should have been an early sign of what was coming. Israel is the “little Satan”, France and the rest of the West are “The Great Satan”.

The world must understand that what happened in Paris today wasn’t an act of anti-Semitism it was an act of evil and barbarism that, if left unpunished, will only invite many more…much bloodier acts! Yet for years now the Jewish community has been the greatest recipient of anti-Semitism and the world has for the most part looked the other way, not reading or possibly not willing to read the writing on the wall.

I am reminded of this profound statement that Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby made in 2004:

What the world should already know but so often forgets is that Jews are the canary in the coal mine of civilization. Anti-Semitism is like cancer; unchecked, it can metastasize and sicken the entire body. When civilized nations fail to rise up against the Jew-haters in their midst, it is often just a matter of time before the Jew-haters in their midst rise up against them.

If today wasn’t a wake-up call, I have lost all hope for France!

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