Bibi's Impact

It seems just about everyone thinks Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu was incredibly strong this past week in how he addressed and presented Israel's concerns and approach to the future of the Middle East, whether they agree in general or not. And, throughout the country and especially in Congress, most people really liked and appreciated the points he made as well, leading to the seemingly unending, loud standing ovations from the entire Congress, something most Presidents get once or twice in each of their State of the Union addresses - which is a depressing point, when one thinks about it.

There are however two particularly interesting points that seemed worth a bit more inspection:

• What is so different between Bibi Netanyahu circa 1999 and Bibi Netanyahu circa 2011,
• And why did what he say resonate so strongly with Americans?

Bennett Ruda at Daled Amos asked the first question today:

I wonder whether Netanyahu is any less passionate than he was during his first term as Prime Minister--I imagine not. But few remember Bibi's first term as Prime Minister all that fondly.
Let's not forget that Netanyahu's performance over the weekind was something of a surprise--a pleasant surprise, but a surprise nevertheless. There was concern, as there has been for many months, that Bibi would fold--that he would give in to US pressure. But he did not.

I believe (and Bennett agreed as well) that the difference is primarily expectations. In the nineties, Netanyahu ran on a platform which essentially stated that the peace process as formulated was devastating to Israel and would place the country in grave danger, by being the first country to capitulate to terrorist tactics - then went on to make some questionable concessions himself. All in all, people were disappointed as compared to what they had desired and expected.

This week, the expectations were much lower, and much more nerve-wracking. People weren't sure what Netanyahu may or may not concede to after a strong speech by President Obama. But instead (and perhaps the overstepping of the President in calling for a return to a 1967-based border before discussing Jerusalem, "right of return", et al allowed for this), he did the exact opposite. He firmed up his stance clearly and unequivocally, demonstrating exactly why those points were not demands, but necessities, and obvious to any rational observer or listener.

~~~

In today's Best of the Web, James Taranto quotes Walter Russell Mead, who believes that Netanyahu's speech "may have been the single most stunning and effective public rebuke to an American President a foreign leader has ever delivered." Perhaps more interestingly, Taranto discusses (and agrees with) Mead's assertion that

Being pro-Israel matters in American mass politics because the public mind believes at a deep level that to be pro-Israel is to be pro-America and pro-faith. Substantial numbers of voters believe that politicians who don't "get" Israel also don't "get" America and don't "get" God.

While this certainly has a strong ring of truth to it, it doesn't seem to be the primary reason Netanyahu resonated so well across the spectrum with his statements.What Netanyahu discussed, when he wasn't giving basic but important history lessons, were true elements relating to freedom. There are broad differences among American Jews, let alone Americans, in terms of what Israel should be doing and how to approach the Middle East's various issues. But above all, what Americans value is freedom, and I believe that it is that core value which is what spoke so strongly to Americans from Netanyahu's speech and other comments throughout the weekend.

There are two basic elements of freedom, democracy, and liberty: The freedom to make one's own choices in life; and the restrictions we place on ourselves so as not to infringe on other people's freedoms.* When the leader of a small but strong democracy notes that his people simply must have secure, defensible borders, Americans relate. We understand, perhaps now better than ever, that it is integral to feel safe in one's own country - whether at home, on a bus, at work, or on the way home from school. When he asks us to imagine a country just nine miles wide in the middle, it is not hard to relate to the difficulty of defending a country as wide as the average person's daily commute. When he states Israel will not accept approaches which do not protect their basic interests, and neither would America in the same situation, we accept that only Israel should determine its fate. And when he speaks his mind to say (thanks JoeSettler for the text)

Of the 300 million Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa, only Israel's Arab citizens enjoy real democratic rights. I want you to stop for a second and think about that. Of those 300 million Arabs, less than one half of 1% are truly free, and they're all citizens of Israel!

This startling fact reveals a basic truth: Israel is not what is wrong about the Middle East; Israel is what is right about the Middle East!

most people just get it.

For all of the issues, all of the concerns, Israel is doing what the United States has always done: Stand for freedom. As Netanyahu noted in an interview, the Korean War memorial says simply "Freedom is never Free." The United States has fought many wars, often even ones that barely involved them, for the cause of freedom. Israel has fought many wars, and is now trying to forge a lasting peace, to protect its people and their freedoms - with neighbors who themselves are not free. It is nearly impossible for any American, raised on the principles of freedom and liberty, to not feel a strong kinship with Israel.

Until a final resolution is reached, there will continue to be debate as to the best route to a lasting peace, should one exist. But most important for Israel, and Prime Minister Netanyahu, is that he was able to clearly transmit the principles which must guide such a peace - principles which cannot be denied, principles which are understood as fundamental concepts by the people of the United States of America: Security; self-determination; and above all, freedom.


* Ezzie: I believe I just saw someone say this, and I'm drawing a blank as to who and where. My sincere apologies.

Ouch

A worthwhile read, with a fun closing paragraph:

So in summary - Obama's ever increasing subsidy programs ala Cash For Hairdryers and the upcoming Cash For Ratting Out Nonconformists will have a phantom impact of making it seem things are better while all these temporal redistribution mechanisms do is take from the future in order to satisfy the US consumer in the here and now. And the fact that nothing at all is being fixed in the economy, quite the contrary, with every day, America gets tens of billions of dollars deeper into the debt black hole, seems perfectly agreeable to all those in power.

The "Cash for Hairdryers" is obviously poking fun at the horribly Cash for Clunkers program which has accomplished about nothing to the tune of $1 billion tax dollars; the "Ratting Out Noncomformists" line is due to this poorly worded request on the official Whitehouse.gov website:

Scary chain emails and videos are starting to percolate on the internet, breathlessly claiming, for example, to ‘uncover’ the truth about the President’s health insurance reform positions [...]

There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.

As James Taranto noted yesterday in his Best of the Web column:

It seems unlikely that this is anything more than a clumsily worded request for information that will inform the administration’s rebuttals to critics of its plan. During the Bush administration, we quickly tired of the endless and empty left-wing complaints about imagined assaults on civil liberties. Such complaints are no less tiresome coming from the right.

On the other hand, it was clumsily worded. At the very least, it is obnoxious to imply that all opposition to ObamaCare is based on “disinformation.” This show of contempt for opposing views ought to make skeptics even more skeptical. And it is creepy for an agent of the government to ask citizens to inform on their neighbors.

Who Decides the Days?

Today, according to numerous websites that claim to be authorities on such thing, is National Chocolate Milk Day. I'm not especially surprised. There's Pi Day, on the 14th day of the 3rd month, and a zillion other such days dedicated to things ranging from hot dogs to running. Who created these days?

Some of the days are obviously created by individuals. International Towel Day, May 25th, is for Douglas Adams fans, while Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19th) is mostly known by Dave Barry followers.

So is that all it takes? You choose a date and publicize it via websites and other media? Or is there a national registry somewhere? Does anyone know? How about we start a Blogger Appreciation Day right now?

Unless some website is already listing it somewhere...

The Plus Side of a Parliament

(Hat tip: Holy Hyrax) Every once in a while, you get to watch someone with a healthy dose of common sense rip into the leader of the country for taking the wrong tack. This is British MP Daniel Hannan slamming Prime Minister Gordon Brown for his horrible economic outlook and approach.

Sadly, this would probably not go well in Congress - not only are most of the members of Congress not particularly good at speaking and getting points across in general, those that are tend to slip into dumb political gestures rather than sticking to substantive policy ideas. But it would be nice to see a member of Congress or the Senate (I don't care which side) take a similar slap at what's happening right now in this country, which is heading down almost as fast as the UK under similar policies.

Best line: "The truth, Prime Minister, is that you have run out of our money."

I enjoyed the point that every British child is born into about 20,000 pounds of debt; in the USA, children today are born with $22,000~ of debt, plus whatever the interest costs. It's astounding.

Life Is Yours

I've been doing this for a few years now (woah), and very rarely is there a post written that resonates so strongly with me. Perhaps it's because it's a close friend of ours who wrote it, and I appreciate it because of that; perhaps it's just because it really is that good. Either way, as I read this post, I couldn't help but pump my fist and think "EXACTLY!!" a number of times throughout.

So, ya know, read it.

With Talents on Loan from God

"We love people. [Applause] When we look out over the United States of America, when we are anywhere, when we see a group of people, such as this or anywhere, we see Americans. We see human beings. We don't see groups. We don't see victims. We don't see people we want to exploit. What we see -- what we see is potential. We do not look out across the country and see the average American, the person that makes this country work. We do not see that person with contempt. We don't think that person doesn't have what it takes. We believe that person can be the best he or she wants to be if certain things are just removed from their path like onerous taxes, regulations and too much government. [Applause]

We want every American to be the best he or she chooses to be. We recognize that we are all individuals. We love and revere our founding documents, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. [Applause] We believe that the preamble to the Constitution contains an inarguable truth that we are all endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life. [Applause] Liberty, Freedom. [Applause] And the pursuit of happiness. [Applause] [...]

We don't want to tell anybody how to live. That's up to you. If you want to make the best of yourself, feel free. If you want to ruin your life, we'll try to stop it, but it's a waste. We look over the country as it is today, we see so much waste, human potential that's been destroyed by 50 years of a welfare state. By a failed war on poverty. [Applause]

We love the people of this country. And we want this to be the greatest country it can be, but we do understand, as people created and endowed by our creator, we're all individuals. We resist the effort to group us. We resist the effort to make us feel that we're all the same, that we're no different than anybody else. We're all different. There are no two things or people in this world who are created in a way that they end up with equal outcomes. That's up to them. They are created equal, given the chance - -[Applause]

[...] We want the country to succeed, and for the country to succeed, its people -- its individuals -- must succeed. Everyone among us must be pursuing his ambition or her desire, whatever, with excellence. Trying to be the best they can be. Not told, as they are told by the Democrat Party: You really can't do that, you don't have what it takes, besides you're a minority or you're a woman and there are too many people that want to discriminate against you. You can't get anywhere. You need to depend on us.

Well. Take a look [...] at all the constituency groups that for 50 years have been depending on the Democrat Party to improve their lives. And you tell me if you find any. They're still complaining, still griping about the same problems. Their problems don't get fixed by government. And those lives have been poisoned. Those lives have been cut short by false promises, from government representatives who said don't worry about it, we'll take care of you. Just vote for us. [Applause]"

~ excerpted from the keynote CPAC speech by Rush Limbaugh [emphasis added]

Growing up, I quickly learned to hate one person: Rush Limbaugh. My father used to work out of our house, and that meant that he would walk around with an annoying little hand-held radio, listening to Rush. I hated it. I would tell my father that this guy is pompous (his intro states the title of this post), he's loud, and his 3-hour show could be shortened to two if he'd talk a little faster. 15 years or so later, I still think all of those are true, and never listen to his radio show (if I listen to anyone, it's typically Michael Medved) - but he is also absolutely brilliant, speaking with a level of clarity most of us could only dream of.

The speech he gave recently to the Conservative Political Action Committee lays out beautifully just what conservatives believe, don't believe, and why - something which unfortunately has not been done in a long time. I had the radio on for a few minutes while I was driving yesterday, and Michael Medved noted that one of President Bush's greatest failings was his inability to communicate just what it was conservatism was and why people believe in it.

After a hilarious joke about his own arrogance at 2:45, at about 4:50 in this first part Limbaugh starts to lay out just what conservatism is. One of the most interesting things about this speech (and what adds to its impressiveness), mentioned at one point by Limbaugh himself, is that Limbaugh uses no teleprompters, and almost no notes (he seems to have a single piece of paper in front of him). He is simply stating his beliefs, and does so better than many politicians do with every word set out in front of them. I highly recommend watching this speech (whatever your political beliefs are or are not), and I'm posting the first two parts below. Enjoy!

Where Government Works

President Obama's inaugural speech was a very good one; I was able to listen to almost all of it on the radio, missing a few lines here and there while I was driving.

While he did make a couple of small points that I think can be reasonably disagreed with, his points were predominantly those with which everyone can agree with. His focus on personal responsibility and his toned-down rhetoric in exchange for practical approaches and a request for the help of the citizens of the United States were wise and well-delivered. His assertion that

The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works ... Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end.

was an excellent one. His offer to the Muslim world was also a well said one:

...we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

Overall, it was a very good speech, though without (as of yet) any memorable lines like JFK or others had. This, too, is good - any such lines can come off as mere rhetoric instead of substantial, and many of the lines we now recall were only remembered further in the future. May God bless President Obama and may he be safe, successful, wise, and humble these next four years while keeping this wonderful country the same.

Other notes:

• Rev. Rick Warren's address was quite good; it was really interesting to have him use Shema Yisroel as a central focus.
  
• Rev. Lowery's address was very nice and a good close.
• I believe it was Sen. Feinstein who was speaking early on who had some overly politicized portions to her speech. It was unnecessary.
• I never realized how different the oaths given to the President and Vice President are; the President's is far simpler than the VP's. Obama seemed to choke up trying to get through it for a second, though perhaps he couldn't hear Justice Roberts well with all the noise.
  
• The booing of President Bush and chants of "Get Out" were tasteless and disgusting; in contrast, the respect President Obama showed, the genuine camaraderie he and his wife seemed to have with the Bushes, and the acknowledgment of the incredible assistance the Bush administration gave to the Obama one in transitioning these few months was incredible.
• President Bush seemed quite relieved to be finished, understandably.

God Bless America!

Ask Not What Your Country Can Spend For You

...ask what you can spend for your country. Hat tip: Scraps. This video by Fred Thompson (former actor, recent United States Presidential candidate) is amazing, hilarious, and brilliant. Enjoy. :)

2008 Live Election Results Map

Via JoshWaxman, this is cool and reasonably useful, showing actual results (rather than polls). Enjoy!

Of Course

Please go fulfill your civic duty and vote, whomever you are voting for. It is always best if politicians are representing as much of the electorate as possible, whether they are local politicians or Presidents of the country. The more they understand they are responsible to all voters and not merely interest groups, the better it is for all citizens.

Formula for Success

There were a few good pieces in the Wall Street Journal yesterday, but this pair pretty much sums up some of the most important pieces of the economic puzzle the best:

The Competitiveness Index created by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) identifies "16 policy variables that have a proven impact on the migration of capital -- both investment capital and human capital -- into and out of states." Its analysis shows that "generally speaking, states that spend less, especially on income transfer programs, and states that tax less, particularly on productive activities such as working or investing, experience higher growth rates than states that tax and spend more."

Hmm.

Ranking states by domestic migration, per-capita income growth and employment growth, ALEC found that from 1996 through 2006, Texas, Florida and Arizona were the three most successful states. Illinois, Ohio and Michigan were the three least successful.

The rewards for success were huge. Texas gained 1.7 million net new jobs, Florida gained 1.4 million and Arizona gained 600,000. While the U.S. average job growth percentage was 9.9%, Texas, Florida and Arizona had job growth of 18.5%, 21.4% and 28.9%, respectively.

Bigger hmm. Then there's this:Guess which two states have the lowest tax rates? Guess which have the highest? And finally:

Mr. McCain will lower taxes. Mr. Obama will raise them, especially on small businesses. To understand why, you need to know something about the "infamous" top 1% of income tax filers: In order to avoid high corporate tax rates and the double taxation of dividends, small business owners have increasingly filed as individuals rather than corporations. When Democrats talk about soaking the rich, it isn't the Rockefellers they're talking about; it's the companies where most Americans work. Three out of four individual income tax filers in the top 1% are, in fact, small businesses.

In the name of taxing the rich, Mr. Obama would raise the marginal tax rates to over 50% on millions of small businesses that provide 75% of all new jobs in America. Investors and corporations will also pay higher taxes under the Obama program, but, as the Michigan-Ohio-Illinois experience painfully demonstrates, workers ultimately pay for higher taxes in lower wages and fewer jobs.

Not to mention, there's no such thing as a corporate tax. But that's for another post.

Holy Hyrax - American!

Congtratulations to Holy Hyrax on receiving his citizenship!! It only took him 23 years... He probably kept spelling his name wrong. But in all seriousness, congratulations. :)

While we're at it, a belated mazel tov to: Amishav on his wedding, Jewish Atheist on getting engaged, and I can't even remember half the rest of the celebrations from around the blogosphere.

And if you're looking for a good read, read Erachet's post on Israel and SoccerDad's post on Obama and foreign policy. Money quote:

If you had to do it over again, Moran asked, knowing what you know now, would you support the surge?

"No," Obama said. "These kinds of hypotheticals are very difficult. Hindsight is 20/20. But I think that what I am absolutely convinced of is at that time we had to change the political debate because the view of the Bush administration at that time was one that I just disagreed with and one that I continue to disagree with is to look narrowly at Iraq and not focus on these broader issues."

The (Suit)case of the "Disappearing" Shofarot

Recently, my Dad and I went overseas for almost two months to visit family, friends and get away after a truly traumatic year. Upon our return, people have been asking "What was the highlight?" and the answer I give them is that there wasn't just one highlight but, over those weeks, many memorable experiences, occasions and moments. This included catching up with relatives and friends around the world (some of whom I'd not seen in many years), meeting many new people, seeing new places, eating out, touring, shopping, relaxing and generally having a break from the pressures of home.

I was lucky enough to meet a few bloggers in LA, NY and Israel and it's great to have met some of the personalities that I, previously, only knew from my computer screen. Hope to meet more of you next time!

Now to the story of the Shofarot. We stayed in Israel for around two weeks and had an amazing time. (My brother particularly enjoyed taking us to various restaurants, mostly because it made a nice change from Yeshivah food!) During that time my Dad was determined to find a new Shofar or two that he would have ready for Elul as he is the Ba'al Tekia at our Shul during the week. Unfortunately, he was not well with a slight dose of pneumonia which was aggravated by a particularly hot, crowded and unpleasant flight from Madrid. (Despite that, my brother and I dragged him around town, to the Kotel and Tunnel tours and restaurants but, Baruch Hashem, a bit of medication fixed him.)

So, he spent two huffing and wheezing days in Meah Shearim looking for his perfect Shofarot. (I went along on one of those days.) He must have blown dozens of them - where they could be found out of season (not quite close enough to Rosh Hashanah that there was a lot of stock). He finally found two Shofarot in different shops. Mission accomplished.

Of course he decided to do the right thing and declare these religious items at customs upon returning to Australia. But we flew back via Hong Kong, where we stayed for five days. (No J-Bloggers there that I knew of!)

In Hong Kong, my Dad packed the Shofarot in bubble wrap and put them on top of the clothes in one of his suitcases. He also had a bottle of duty free whiskey in each case because of the restrictive carry-on laws.

We arrived home from Hong Kong after a 8 or so hour flight (plus the delay of three hours), at about 11.00 pm. My cousin kindly came to pick us up. The bags came off the carousel and Dad found one of his by the fine aroma of 12 year old Scotch which had smashed in the case and leaked out everywhere. (He was still smelling like a pub come Shabbos because he didn't have time to wash his tie or shirts.)

Having declared Shofarot as religious items, we were directed to the appropriate region of the airport. The bags were scanned and then taken to be opened to check said items. (Note the drug sniffing dog staggering about after sniffing the whiskey suitcase. Never knew dogs could smile like that.)

Anyway, Dad opened the case and put his hand in to take out said items where he knew he most definitely packed them in Hong Kong. They were not there. He started pulling everything out and was getting quite agitated, not so much for the monetary loss, but because he had put so much effort into finding two Shofarot that suited him and were not replaceable. I took my phone to call my cousin to say we are delayed and almost copped a $2000 fine for using a cellphone restricted area. (Which I hadn't realised was restricted. Oops.) Dad still couldn't find these Shofarot so I sigh and start rummaging around his suitcases to look for them too. Couldn't find them. By now we're convinced he's left them in Hong Kong.

The customs fellow in charge then has a go at the bag. Also finds nothing. We repack the bag and put it back through the scanner for the second time. Nothing. He tells us to go and sorry about my loss(es) including the booze as he laughs himself silly. (Must have been a slow night.)

We head to the car, happy to see my cousin but Dad is upset about the missing Shofarot. In the car on the way home he calls the hotel in Hong Kong. Try to explain to a Chinese night desk supervisor what a Shofar is over the phone. My cousin and I are in fits of laughter because Dad is waving his hands around his head trying to will the image of a Shofar into the mind of a Chinese lady back in Hong Kong by phone. Have to tell you - it doesn't work... "A Horn. It's a Horn. Like on a sheep" he is saying while making hand motions to indicate a horn "H. O. R. N. Packed in plastic bag."

So apparently the Chinese secretary gets houskeeping to check all the junk we left behind. Dad calls back 20 minutes later. All they found in our room was a bottle of shampoo... hope they enjoy it.

We arrive home. Dad is quite despondent and let down after this double blow of loss of booze and his Shofarot.

We plonk his the suitcases down in the lounge room where whiskey runoff will do the least damage. My cousin waits around with me as Dad again opens the bag that was supposed to have the Shofarot inside.

He puts in his hand... and pulls out two bubble wrapped Shofarot. Right where he said he'd put them in Hong Kong!

Go figure...

Shavua Tov!

On This Fourth

There are numerous July 4th posts out there, but I particularly liked these two:

• R' Yonasan Goldson at Beyond BT on the sacrifices the signers made, and how that should translate to us.
  
• SuperRaizy has a few great videos that I really enjoyed.
  

Thanking Those Who've Made it a Holidy Weekend

As we're all enjoying our Holiday Weekend Jameel has taken a minute to help us recognize the sacrifice made by the members of our Armed Forces.

"The beauty and serenity of Virginia’s rolling hills and awe inspiring views of Washington D.C. clash with today’s reality of national loss, where grief is raw and in your face. You step over grass sods still taking root over freshly dug graves. You watch a mother kiss her son’s tombstone. Two soldiers put flowers and a cold beer next to the grave of a fallen buddy. A young son left a hand-written note for his dad. “I hope you like Heven, hope you liked Virginia very much hope you like the Holidays. I also see you every Sunday. Please write back!”

The rest is just as powerful.


I just want to take a minute to thank the guys I know, and everybody else for their sacrifice and devotion on our behalf.

A Moral Dilemma

I've been alternatively too busy or too lazy to blog lately, but a recent e-mail has me thinking. If someone would tell you right now that we could in the next 5 years:

• Remove Ahmadenijad from power in Iran;
• Establish a democratic government in its place;
• Have over 2/3 of the country participating in national elections;
• Have a somewhat unstable, but growing economy that allowed for a much better lifestyle than currently exists;
• Perhaps bring down gas prices somewhat;
• Reduce the risk of terror attacks within the United States;
• Overall reduction in [other] worldwide terror, but increase in terror in Iran;
• Dramatically hurt Palestinian terrorist groups, particularly in terms of funding;
• and perhaps more...
  

but it would cost the lives of about 3,000 US soldiers and $500 billion, would you still do it? Would you need all of those factors, or would only some be enough?

Swinging to Freedom

I really liked this post by JustStam:

As the storm clouds rolled in, threatening the Independence Day celebrations, the fireworks continued to shower the sky with determination. I slumped down onto one of the playground swings, slowly rocking back and forth. Then I started to pick up speed. Pretty soon I was among the fireworks themselves, bursting forth through the darkness with great steadfastness. As I rose higher and higher I remembered what it was like to be a young kid, carefree with wild abandon.

Suddenly nothing mattered. What school I went to, credit card payments, seminaries, my GPA, or what socks I had on. The latest styles, who officiated at my great-grandparents wedding, cell phone payments, or what color tablecloth we use. When my car needs its next oil change, first phone calls, or when my paycheck is coming. As I soared higher and higher I even forgot to care that the playground was full of community members.

Freedom of all worries, competition, care, and angst.
Now that is true independence.
Happy 4th.

Amen. Have a wonderful July 4th, everybody. We'll be hosting OD, SIL, and their kids the -ens along with my grandparents, who celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary yesterday.

Reb Abe: "If Only I'd Become A Marine Instead..."

Longtime reader and commenter Reb Abe posted this as a comment to this post. I asked his permission to post this where everyone would see it, and he obliged. Reb Abe is a great friend whom I've known for about five years, and who I have the deepest respect for. After reading this, you will too.

Thank You

Thank you from an (Orthodox) American Jew.

This past weekend, our great country once again honored our fallen soldiers, those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the field of battle. Sometimes Memorial Day represents nothing but a day off from work and a chance to spend time with the family.

But I find myself wondering what life would have looked like in different circumstances. What life would have looked like had I volunteered for the Marines fresh out of high school, instead of going to Israel to study in Yeshiva? What would 9/11 have been like if instead of being placed under a lockdown in my isolated Yeshiva in Israel, I would have been part of a mobilized unit sent to protect key installations? What would it have been like if instead of studying for finals, I would have been preparing for combat overseas? What would it have been like to be awoken to bomb blasts, machine gun fire and the sounds of screaming wounded, as opposed to the screams of “SHACHARIS…TIME TO GET UP!” It surely would have been different if instead of coming home to graduate college, I was only coming home to see my family for two weeks before heading back to Iraq.

I don’t always give the proper due to the brave men and women who serve our country with such pride and valor. Sometimes I don’t thank them at all. So here is a word of thanks from a grateful American Jew.

Thank You and God Bless You.