The U.S. and Israeli relationship

The unique US/Israeli relationship is not just a manifestation of a mutually beneficial political foreign policy alignment, nor is it simply a relationship based on mutually shared security interests or some other abstract idea.

The U.S./Israeli relationship is based on tangible political, social and religious values shared by both countries. The relationship, in anthropological terms, is a matter of shared knowledge, beliefs, and values. The U.S./Israeli relationship is based on a bedrock of shared culture, and more than anything else, this explains the deeply emotional ties between the two countries.

Fargotstein Geneology

Marcia Fargotstein looked at the Hebrew on Max Fargotstein's headstone and said his Hebrew name is written: Moshe Ben Shepsel

The text is written in Tammuz, which Marcia can read, and the next line must be his birth date. Devra is also born in Tammuz (July).
Next line is date of death which looks like the 29th of Sivan. Each one gives the Jewish year.
Next line is standard for gravestones. I can't remember the meaning.

Sam Fargotstein's (Max's Father) birth certificate says his father's name is unknown. However Sam's father's name was DAVID and he visited the US in 1931 to visit Sam, his son. David, died in 1936 and was buried in Warsaw at age 70. That would explain why none of Max's siblings were named David - he was still alive when they were born. David had a brother Moshe for whom your Max was probably named. David's wife was Bueka which I bet is Rebecca or Rivka - and that's who Becky was probably named for. David's brother Moshe Enoch (Morris Henry) Forgotston emigrated to Syracuse and then moved to Gonzales TX where he died. He was Sam's uncle. Did you ever hear of relatives in Gonzales? And Morris Henry had a (probably great-grandson) WILLIAM FARGOTSTON living in Dallas. That makes a least 3 William Fargotsteins/Forgotston's.,
David and Marcia Fargotstein's great-grandfather were first cousins which makes us 4th cousins.

Margaret Fargotstein's Farferoni Recipe

This recipe is guaranteed to please

3 cups farfel
1 egg beaten
1 lb lean ground beef or turkey
1 onion
1 Pkg fresh mushrooms
1 Jar Kosher for passover pasta sauce
1 can tomato paste
garlic powder
salt and pepper

Instructions
Combine farfel and egg in skillet until toasted and somewhat brown. Add 2 cups boiling water and return to fire until all the water is absorbed.
Brown meat, onions and mushrooms. Add tomato paste and jar of pasta sauce. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Simmer for 1/2 hour over low heat. Put farfel in 9"X13" greased pan. Pour sauce over farfel. Bake at 350 degrees uncovered for 20-30 minutes. ENJOY!

Obama: An Inconsistent and naive foreign policy

I hate to sound like a party pooper, but there is another way to view the “democratic change” that President Obama has inconsistently promoted around the world – incitement to riot. The sheer ignorance of our CIA official to describe the Muslim Brotherhood as a “secular organization” is only exceeded by Obama’s overnight dismantling of 60 years of consistent U.S. Mid-East foreign policy.

Obama’s handlers, who advised him to get in front to the Egyptian riot and call it the Obama parade had no idea of the potential unintended consequences of their actions – many of which are playing themselves out in the mass killing in Libya and violent schisms of slaughters and near civil war between Sunni and Shiite Muslims from Morocco to Bahrain. Of course, adding and abetting President Obama in his mindless foreign policy exploits are the Iranians, who are clearly the only beneficiary of the rise of Shiite rioters in the streets across the Middle East.

As Americans, we incorrectly tend to view the world through the lens of our own sensibilities and morals, which is a problem when our politicians – especially those with zero diplomatic experience project these Western values on fragile cultures that are dominated by tribal and/or dominate authoritarian rulers.

President Obama’s lack of support to the 2009 Iranian uprising was a major disappointment. That was a once in a lifetime opportunity to draw a line against Iranian tyranny. Now Obama shoots from the hip again by inciting the world to riot in the name of human rights, when in reality there are more sinister forces positioned in those same crowds waiting to advance their radical causes. Obama doesn’t seem to want to unbalance the delicate US/China relationship, even though China is one of the top human rights violators in the world. How do you spell hypocrisy?

If 250,000 people gathered in Washington D.C. (which happens all the time) to protest the lack of economic progress and jobs, how would we feel if Russia’s Vladimir Putin incited the rest of the USA to riot in the streets? I wholeheartedly support the aspirations of people control their own destiny and demand human rights. I just don’t like seeing US foreign policy run by amateurs.

Being Pro-Memphis: Attitude Does Matter

I have lived in Memphis for 56 years, and for the first time in my life, I feel Memphis is slowly chugging down the right track to realizing its potential - and hopefully becoming a progressive, dynamic Southern city of choice. Sure, we have the same laundry list of urban problems that exist in other major metropolitan areas - crime, poverty, corruption, as well as recession related economic issues. In fact, many of those issues loom larger than in other comparable cities and may end up being more difficult to reverse. My optimism stems from the sincere belief that Memphis has a strong core of pro-Memphis citizen/leaders, a Mayor who is honest, understands the issues and sincerely wants to make Memphis a better place. As citizens of the City of Memphis, we can’t leave this job solely to the people at the top of the governmental, business and social strata. While they can get top-down initiatives started all day long, it takes a supportive broad based citizenry to make it all work. Instead of harping on the ever-present negativity, maybe we should start supporting positive initiatives, as well as thinking more about solutions and acting on those ideas.

Turning a city around is not done in 5 years. We are lucky to have a beautiful preserved downtown area, the largest Urban Park in the country, the longest rails to trails bike path conversion in Tennessee, a beautiful new Law School and Art School downtown, one of the best distribution networks in the world – and soon we will have a refurbished airport with Southwest airlines!

The path to success is not a destination; it’s a never ending journey that starts one step at a time.

The Israeli "Settlement Issue".

The CA’s 10/21/10 AP news story (p.A4) entitled “Israeli settlers work quickly, build hundreds of new homes” is a good example of agenda based reporting. The agenda in this case is to misrepresent the “settlement issue” and to demonize Israel – part and parcel of the Palestinian strategy to delegitimize Israel in the court of global public opinion. The fact that the reporter’s name was missing from the piece also makes one suspect that their prior writings were equally as biased against Israel.

The term “settlements” is misleading. In most cases, the Israeli “settlements” in the West Bank are as large as most small American cities, with all the conveniences and infrastructure that would rival any new city in America. These cities contain hundreds of thousands of Israelis and a 10 month building moratorium will inevitably result in a backlog of building projects that are a result of natural growth. It should be noted that almost all growth has been up and not out.

The Palestinians theoretically should have a sense of urgency to make a peace agreement with Israel under these circumstances – that is if peace was their actual goal. Even if these settlements are in “any potential peace agreement scenario”, why can’t these Jewish citizens live in the Palestinian state like the Israeli Arabs live in Israel? Isn’t that insinuating that the Palestinians want to legitimize the “ethnic cleansing” of Jews from any potential Palestinian state?

Secondly, building in these Israeli cities is not an obstacle to the peace process, as the last 10 month moratorium has demonstrated. The Israelis have been waiting patiently to negotiate for the past year, but Palestinian political division, lack of Palestinian will to make peace, Iranian interference and a general inability for the Palestinians to deliver on any promises is the greatest obstacle to peace. There is no question that Israel has the legal structure, political unity and self-discipline to follow up on their side of any agreement.

Last but not least, President Obama has done more to retard the possibility of peace negotiations bearing fruit, as his administration has legitimized the “settlement building” issue - providing cover for the Palestinians to refuse to even sit down at the negotiating table. The Israelis can’t make peace alone, and there is no Palestinian entity that can deliver on ANY peace process proposals - nor is there even a legitimate Palestinian entity to make decisions on behalf of the Palestinian people. Israel is literally sitting in a cage, surrounded by hostile Iranian surrogate terrorist armies to their South (Hamas) , and their North (Hezbollah). Couple these border threats with the overt Iranian nuclear threats against Israel, and the “settlement issue” looks – and is – an insignificant and manufactured issue. The core impediment to peace is Iran. Without Iran’s support of Hamas and Hezbollah, the peace process would at least be able to see a ray of light.

Has Islam morphed into a Political/Religious Hybrid?

For a 23 year old Jewish American, the 1977 march by the USA Nazi party in Chicago was a civics lesson that I will never forget. To refresh your memories: In 1977 the Illinois National Socialist Party of America (NSPA) attempted to demonstrate their political existence with a march on Skokie, Illinois. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) interceded in behalf of the NSPA, in the case of the National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie, wherein an Illinois appeals court ruled that the presence of the swastika, the Nazi emblem, would constitute deliberate provocation of the people of Skokie. However, the Court also ruled that Skokie's attorneys had failed to prove that either the Nazi uniform or their printed materials, which it was alleged that the Nazis intended to distribute, would incite violence. The March went on in Chicago and nothing happened.

Thirty four years later, we have a similar situation with Florida Preacher Jones wanting to burn a Koran to prove the political and physical threat of extremist Islam. The Florida ACLU condemned Mr. Jones's message Wednesday as un-American but defended his right to free speech."We cannot pick and choose who is protected by the Constitution," spokesman Brandon Hensler said. "We're very concerned about this wave of anti-Muslim sentiment. But the answer is not to infringe on their right to say what they want to say." I personally agree with the ACLU. Anything else would have made them hypocrites of the first degree.

Preacher Jones, as strange as he may seem, has some valid points to make in his version of a 2011 civics lesson. Preacher Jones claims that Islam is a hybrid religion/political movement similar to communism or the Nazi party, and should not be able to hide behind the cloak of American sensibilities that separate church and state. Furthermore, he claims that the overt threat of violence from the four corners of the Islamic world - if he were to burn the Koran, has not only stifled our free speech, but has intimidated our President and our military.

No one is claiming that all Muslims are terrorists or followers of an extremist version of Islam. That is the asymmetrical argument. What is being claimed is that the Islamiphobic atmosphere that has gained steam and pervades the airwaves is being fed by Islamic insensitivities to American feelings (9-11 Mosque), actual threats of physical harm for expressing our civil rights, and the feeling that our constitution is being exploited for political gain under the guise of religion.

While the nature of Islam today can be debated, it is not a stretch to see the asymmetrical nature of a political version of Islam that is able to exploit our Western values and turn them into tactical advantages in the broad grey area created by a religious/political hybrid. President Obama has demonstrated a heightened sensitivity to the perceived grievances of the global Muslim community - grievances that are no different than what this country has suffered in the name of free speech - be it the Nazi party, the Klu Klux Klan, flag burners, or artists that depict Jesus in works of art produced with human excrement.

The Muslim world is feigning great offense with the Koran burning, and I understand their frustration, but threatening violence and denigrating this country for defending free speech is throwing fuel on the fire.

How will history judge the US involvement in the Iraq war?

They say that history is the narrative of the victor, so even history can be interpreted through a partisan filter. I don’t believe there is any dispute that Saddam’s Iraq was waging war across the Middle East; after all he fought a 10 year war against Iran that killed up to 1 million, invaded a number of his neighbors, and gassed thousands of Kurds who resided within Iraq’s borders. History will probably say that the USA became involved for good reasons: Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, a US ally – and the potential for Saddam to wreck havoc with the free flow of oil, and more importantly – his overt threats to uses weapons of mass destruction to dominate/blackmail the region.

The partisan talking heads can claim whatever they want, but between Saddam’s claims and bad US intelligence on the matter, both Democrats and Republicans in Congress voted for the invasion of Iraq – after all possible alternatives had been exhausted. The fact that Saddam was bluffing about the weapons is just Monday night quarterbacking and is not relevant to the question about how history will judge the US involvement in the Iraq war. The outcome of our presence there has yet to be determined. If we can finally leave (we will have 50,000 troops there indefinitely), and the Iraqi government sustains the rule of law and becomes an enlightened Democratic beacon of hope to the region, then our presence was a tremendous success. If Iraq falls into the same religious chaos that caused the Iraq/Iran war, then it will be considered Iraq’s failure, not the USA.

The global reality is that you could take all the militaries from around the world and combine them, and they would not be as big or as well equipped as the US military. Whether we like it or not, the US military is the SWAT team for the rest of the world. That is a difficult position for the US to be in, but without this global force, many people believe that the same type of brutal chaos that is ravaging Africa and the Middle East would run rampart across the globe. Of course, the opposing view is that the US foreign policy is causing “bad feelings” and “resentment” around the world, and that our military involvement around the globe makes Jihadist do what they do. Pick your side.

At the end of the day, it was an exercise in the USA trying to protect its national interests - and no country should be faulted for making that attempt.

The Turkish Flotilla Incident

Regarding the NYT 7/10/10 Editorial entitled “After the Flotilla”: As regrettable as the death of 9 Turkish citizens may be, the premise of the editorial - that there should be an inquiry by an “impartial international body” to discern Israel’s guilt or innocence in the flotilla affair – ignores the fact that Israel was indisputably within international law to place a Naval embargo around Gaza. The outcome of Turkey’s attempt to breach the embargo was clearly to create an international incident, and the videos and other evidence clearly show that the entire flotilla and Turkish passengers were pre-prepared for a violent encounter whose outcome was unpredictable.

Israel has agreed to conduct an internal investigation which I am sure will be more impartial and larger in scope than other ”impartial” U.N. investigations into recent Israeli military actions. The “Goldstone” report into Israel’s defensive war in Gaza was a 175 page anti-Israel tirade, ignoring the obvious and predictably demonized Israel. Another U.N. investigation would surely end up with the same conclusion.

Israel’s Navy operates under the same international codes as that of U.S., Britain, France or Russia – none of whom would ever subject their Navies to a hostel international inquiry, especially when there were no legal grounds.

Sophistry and the Art of Deception

Sophistry – “to make a clever argument with the intent to mislead or be dishonest".

When I recently saw this word for the first time, I was compelled to look it up because it was in reference to how the press, the United Nations and the leftist global movement were piling up on little Israel for enforcing a blockade against Hamas in Gaza. Never mind that at the core of Hamas’s charter is a reference to destroying Israel, never mind that Hamas has shot over 10,000 rockets into Israel from Gaza since it took over in a violent coup on June 15th 2007. Never mind that the “innocent” Palestinians in Gaza elected Hamas to a legislative majority of seats in 2006, never mind that Israel allows 10,000 tons of Humanitarian aid in to Gaza DAILY, never mind that Egypt is an equal participant in the blockade of Gaza.

I could go on and on about the hypocritical absurdity of the dual value system that the world uses to judge Israel, but being on the defensive constantly isn’t going to change the tactics of the masters of “sophistry” – the Muslim/Arab world. After all, they have monopolized the United Nations and the global agenda for over 60 years, at the expense of legitimate tragedies of humongous proportions. Let’s be candid and honest. In the last 3 days, over 150 people were massacred in Kyrgyzstan and hundreds of thousands left homeless. All the UN could muster was serious “concern”. It is likely that thousands will die there before the week is out, yet not a peep out of the Arab world, no UN Security Council condemnations, no requests for inquires – virtually no response or concerns.

Are we to blame Israel, Iran, Turkey or so-called peace activists for the brutal recorded assault on the Israeli Navy personal? Maybe all of the above, but President Obama - in my opinion - is the main ingredient in the accelerating tensions in the Middle East. His policy of engaging terrorist regimes like Syria and Iran, the perception that he is leading a strategic reversal of American foreign policy – has created a fear that America’s global security treaties born through decades of multi-lateral understandings with dozens of countries are becoming worthless at breathtaking speed.

The fear of being caught isolated without the American security umbrella, be it Japan, South Korea, Israel – or even Europe, has created a scenario where countries like North Korea and Iran are more apt to exploit these fears by “probing” to determine Obama’s leadership resolve. Sinking a South Korean Navy Vessel – killing 26, or sending a locked and loaded flotilla into an inevitable clash with the Israeli Navy are not random acts. In both instances, President Obama blinked by not supporting both South Korea and Israel – and event went out of his way to limit their response.

The lack of a credible US response backing up Israel – either in word or deed – will surely result in deeper military probing by Israel’s enemies– which will make it more likely that a preemptive strike and/or a military conflagration will take place sooner rather than later.

The Battered Wife Syndrome legal defense: An abused defense?

Regarding the CA editorial “Bresden holds complex case” dated 4/23/10: The Gaile Owens case is a slam dunk for the death penalty. She hired a guy to kill her husband, and it was carried out according to plan. This was pre-meditated 1st degree gruesome murder, and is a prime reason why we have the death penalty. My only shock is why it has taken 24 years for the system to bring her up for execution.

I believe the battered woman syndrome (BWS), which I admit exists in obvious and extreme cases, is now too often used as courtroom trickery - a back door legal defense where lawyers find easy traction in a courtroom with no one to defend the murdered male. BWS in most cases is used when there is nothing else for the defense to hang their case.

We live in a society where personal responsibility is no longer a value that is a desired trait, and this spells nothing but trouble for our society. Women are not idiots – after all, they have been fighting for, and deserve equal rights - and there are resources where they can call or go to in order to document domestic violence. They can get a lawyer and get a divorce; they can go to the doctor and document physical abuse.

As a male, it unnerves me that in Memphis, Tennessee a man who lives a normal quite life can be brutally executed by a disgruntled wife in a premeditated fashion and then sees his character assassinated again in court without the benefit of defending himself.

The Mary Winkler case was a travesty of justice. If Gaile Owens execution is suspended or delayed any further, it sends a duel message to the community.

Men: You better be on your best behavior, or you may end up brutally murdered and your character bludgeoned without the benefit of a defense.

Women: Why hire a divorce lawyer? You can have your husband murdered, collect the insurance money and have a happy life. If you get caught, you (and your lawyer) can make up whatever slander you want against the deceased in order to get off on a “battered wife syndrome” defense.

Does this sound like justice to anyone?

Obama the Paper Tiger

One has to admit, when it comes to staging a political public relations event to distract the press – and at the same time enhance his image as a global leader, President Obama’s recently ended “Nuclear Security Summit” in Washington DC was a masterful stroke of genius.

Unfortunately, there was more smoke and mirrors than substantive results. The recent discovery of an expansion of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons production, the consistent violations of North Korea’s nuclear program, and the clear and present danger that Iran’s nuclear program presents to the Middle East and the entire world was not even on the table for discussion.

President Obama has no problem making outrageous and offensive demands of Israel in order to curry favor from the Arab world. How can our President expect Israel to take him seriously when he is preoccupied with building permits and zoning issues in Israel’s capital, while a fanatical Iran is openly threatening Israel’s existence and at the same time building nuclear bombs? When it comes to the heavy lifting of confronting Iran over its nuclear program – a program which will surely start a dangerous arms race in that region (or worse), Obama is a shameful paper tiger.

Pakistan, which is desperately defending its main cities from Taliban assaults, could fall any day if it were not for the U.S. military propping up the Pakistani government. The odd of their nuclear arsenal falling into Taliban hands - with the help of Pakistan’s Taliban sympathetic security services, is now a likely scenario.

Iran’s entry into the nuclear weapons club will usher in an era of uncertainty and paranoia around the world – especially in the Mideast - that will equal the darkest days of the US/Russia cold war. The only difference is that Iran has demonstrated in the past – unlike Russia – that it has been consistently willing to share their most sophisticated weapons to various fanatical groups who are more than willing to use them without any limitation.

The Summit’s fancy gilded dinners, tuxedo-ed cocktail parties, grand closing proclamations, and the PR enhancing Obama press conferences cannot mask the fact that his Presidency is incapable of providing leadership on the serious foreign policy issues of the day. In the absence of America’s moral global leadership, the world is cast into the ocean on a boat without oars, and – in my opinion, the world is entering a phase more dangerous than we could eve r have imagined.

Airport Security

The glaringly obvious hole in airport security is the political correctness that requires everyone to go through the same security check. Does a 75 year old grandmother from Memphis -who flies regularly - really need to go through the same security check as a 23 year old Nigerian Muslim, who has Yemen stamped on his passport? El Al Airlines is the most secure airline in the world and their first line of defense is psychological profiling. Once someone is flagged (for whatever reason), they must go through a gauntlet of intense security questioning and inspection. The USA is too big and our resources are too limited to examine everyone using the same methods - and the result was what happened on Flight 253. We need to focus our airport security resources on those who are most likely to fit the profile of a terrorist: Individuals traveling either alone or in groups, between the age of 16-45, who may appear to be Islamic, have an Islamic name, have traveled in the past to Europe, Africa, Indonesia or the Mideast, and who appear nervous and can’t easily explain their past or where they are going . Does anyone remember the last time a 50 year old blonde haired Swede, or a 80 year old couple from Stuttgart blew up a plane?


I understand the implications of profiling to one’s civil rights, but we’re not talking about the horrible internment that happened to the Japanese during WW2. We must allow our society to protect itself from an enemy that has no boundaries, and views our civil sensibilities as a weakness to be exploited. After all, doesn't society - as a whole - have the civil right to be protected while in the air?

Obama’s 1 year foreign policy report card grade: F

President Obama came into the office 11 months ago with virtually zero foreign policy experience, but with an expectation that he could staff his administration with smart people who specialized in the field. In a moment of supreme over-confidence, he announced in a Cairo speech that he was going to “re-engage the Muslim world in a way that would respect their culture”, while at the same time “work to solve the Israeli/Arab conflict” once and for all. This was his stated a foreign policy priority during his first term. While it’s only been 11 months, let’s take an inventory of his accomplishments so far:

1) He set a September 30th deadline for Iran to end their nuclear efforts “or else” the US would use harsh measures. We are in December and Iran is still thumbing their nose at the world and Obama still making empty threats. Obama “re-calibrated” his deadline to December 31st, and there is no expectation in either the USA or Iran that anything will happen.

2) Hillary Clinton, in an attempt to assure Israeli fears over a possible nuclear Iran, said “if Iran bombed Israel the US would retaliate” – which only served to make Israelis less secure with her inference that the US would allow Iran to have the bomb.

3) Obama, true to his campaign promise, has pulled most US troops out of harm’s way in Iraq, and the predicted massacre of the Iraqi forces that worked with our troops began immediately. This didn’t help US credibility in the eyes of any of our dwindling allies in the Middle East.

4) During the campaign President Obama described Afghanistan as “the good war” because that is where Al Quada is based. It took President Obama 3 months to respond to our US military Afghanistan commander’s request for 40,000 more troops. His response was 30,000 more troops, no logistics infrastructure, and a 12 month timetable before evaluation and possible withdrawal. This was greeted in the Muslim world with astonishment, and served to encourage the Taliban that they are winning the war and can just sit it out for the next 12 months.

5) President Obama demanded that the Israeli government to stop ALL expansion of existing Israeli cities around Jerusalem that are in the disputed territories, even though previous negotiations between previous US governments, as well as with Palestinian negotiators have always allowed for natural growth in these areas. This reversal of US policy alienated and created a sense of betrayal among the Israeli public towards the Obama administration, and also served to cause the Palestinians to backtrack on previous concessions and harden their positions regarding any further negotiations. Meanwhile, the Israeli concessions - having not been met with reciprocity by the Palestinians, are on the verge of being canceled.

6) In March, 2009 the Obama administration suggested to Russia that the US would pull its missile-defense plan in Europe in exchange for Russia more aggressively joining an international effort to stop Iran’s nuclear program and isolate Iran. In September 2009, Obama went ahead and scraped the missile plan and got nothing in return from Russia on Iran, which was interpreted by the international community as a complete US capitulation to Russian demands.
The net result of 10 months of US backtracking, back stabbing and withdrawals is that Muslim extremists all over the Middle East are emboldened and motivated like they have never been since Ayatollah Khomeini took over in Iran in 1979. Within months of our withdrawal from Afghanistan, the extremists will be focusing on taking over the government of nuclear armed Afghanistan.

I will be the first to say that the former Bush administration made some pretty big mistakes – both in foreign policy and in financial policy - but at the rate Obama’s “foreign policy experts” are “recalibrating US foreign policy” around the world, they are looking more like rank amateurs. They seem to have no concept of the possible unintended consequences of their foreign policy initiatives, and no appreciation for how difficult - if not impossible - it will be for a future US administration to fix the damage that is being done.

One thing the Democrats are not amateurs at is the ability to dress up a pile of partisan pork, slap some lipstick on top, and call it a health care bill. But that’s another story …….

Is the Memphis Commercial Appeal editorial staff anti-Israel?

Please explain to me why the CA felt the need to report on a criminal incident that perpetrated by one individual in Israel in 1990 in your snip-it entitled "Israel: Organ Harvesting in 1990's reveled" (12/21/09 A4). The "rehashing" of the 1990 incident, especially when framed in an accusatory tone against the entire state of Israel as if it happened yesterday, is nothing more than an overt attempt to demonize the Israeli people. The timing of this regurgitation - 4 days before Christmas - is especially suspect.

This incident was perpetrated by a single pathologist who was criminally indicted, but the PRESS - including the CA, have done their best - for almost 20 years - to portray this single incident as a systemic policy of the Israeli people in an attempt to keep the blood libel theories about Jews alive, and to accomplish what wars, and terrorism couldn't: Political pressure to delegitimize the Israeli people.

Had a single pathologist in the USA done the same (and they have dozens of times without prosecution), I doubt it would be reported 20 years later accusing the US of "harvesting" organs. I just wish the CA had as much righteous indignation at terrorism against Israeli civilians as they do for blatant abuses of the press to frame Israel as illegitimate.

I'm sure that the Palestinian propagandists in the Mideast will try their best to keep this story alive, and even embellish it as time goes on, but I don't understand why the CA editorial staff feels the need to be their accomplice.

What is love?

Max Fargotstein on on love and Marriage. Written on August 5th, 1970, at age 57 yrs.

Max Fargotstein (07/22/1913 – 07/02/989), was married to Esta (Katz) Fargotstein (October 25th, 1919 – January 2nd, 2009). Max and Esta had 6 children, Susan, Gayle, Emily, Laura, Shep and Bill (4 girls and 2 boys). This letter - Max’s vivid description on how to tell when you are in love, was to written to Emily when she was 22 years old. I believe the wisdom of Max’s point of view has stood up to the test of time, and are as valid today as they were 40 years ago.

As for my children, David , Sam and Molly Fargotstein: I am SOOOO pleased that this letter articulating my father’s (your grandfather’s) philosophy about love and marriage has survived 40 years. This is truly a gift, and I am putting it up on my internet blog and hope that thousands of people read it. The irony of this letter is that I am currently 55 years old – roughly the same age as my father when he wrote this letter.
Shep Fargotstein 12/12/2009

Aug. 5, 1970
Dear Emily,

Your mother told me a few days ago that you had asked her again how you could tell when you were in love. This is quite a question and I am sure you will get as many answers as there are different people to give them to you.

First of all, I don’t really know what love is. I think if you want to find something that you can sink your teeth into, you might call it a state of “very deep affection”.

I think one of the most horrible things that have happened to the children in the last 20 years is that they have been so romanticized and brainwashed by books and movies and a lot of double talk that their emotions and what they expect out of life is quite confused. There is no simple answer to this question and this “ state of deep affection” varies so much because everybody has a certain amount of affection that they can give or rather I should say, do give, and their reactions vary greatly.

I am going to try to approach this from a woman’s angle, if I may, because that is the one you are really interested in. I think that a woman normally is first attracted to a man by the way he looks and the way he acts and the other mannerisms which I am perhaps not too aware of. This is more or less the icing on the cake that draws the flies.

After you have a strong attraction, a woman, whether she admits it to herself or not, is whether she respects the person she is attracted to. Respect has absolutely nothing to do with attraction and when I say respect, I mean as a man in the best meaning of the word. By this, I mean, if she respects what he believes in - and he is a man of principle. I don’t mean that you are looking for an angel, but you want somebody that you know believes in what he thinks is right and I think it is almost universal - though you might not live by the same code, you can admire what he is and what he believes in.

I think one of the most important gauges of this “state of deep affection” is how you feel when you introduce him to the people you respect and admire. If you feel proud - if everything else is as it should be, then you have what I call a good start.

I think a woman has to consider, even though she may do it unconsciously, if he is the kind of person who would never under any circumstances hurt her, physically or mentally.

I think a pretty good gauge of this is to see what type of person you are interested in and then honestly ask yourself “would I like for my children to be exactly like him?”

I have seen good marriages and very poor marriages, even though some of them still stay together, where one of them married because the other party needed them. There is no such thing as a successful marriage with one of the two leaning on the partner but rather, a good marriage is like two boards tilted at an angle, and supporting each other. This business of bells ringing and lightening flashing is a lot of bull and if anything such as this did happen - it happens 30 years after the marriage.

A good marriage, and I mean this in the finest meaning of the word, has to have, I think, all of these ingredients, plus there must be enough in a financial way to make life bearable. Money is not the most important thing in the world but the absence of it can sometimes be a tragedy - if it’s about a pair of shoes, the rent or a doctor bill. It is very hard to be happy and content when the frustrations and anxieties of money matters are constantly at your throat.

I don’t think I have to tell you what a good marriage is because I think you have seen it in your own home, but this is not where they start. They are built memory by memory, consideration by consideration, by the tender touch and loving glance.

What I am trying to say to you in a very awkward way is that the more you put into a marriage, the more you get out of it and the basic ingredients must be there before a marriage has a chance of really growing and becoming the source of pleasure and contentment it can be. Don’t expect anything worthwhile to be easy and while a person might think that this is something they can never experience, I believe two decent people, if properly qualified, can build their “enchanted cottage” by putting together the best that is in them into a marriage.

You will notice that I am intertwining marriage and love because this is what it is all about. Morals may change, customs may change, but the man-woman relationship basically never changes and the ingredient that made a good marriage 100 years ago, are still valid today.

I realize I will never put Shakespeare out of business, but if you even get one thought out of this, I will be very happy.

I am mature enough to know that I have to expect disappoint in my children and it would be silly to think otherwise, but I never felt nor will I ever accept the feeling of being ashamed of any of my children. When I say ashamed, it is not for what other people may think and feel - but the way, I, myself feel inside of me about their conduct and attitude.

Love,
Daddyo

Dear Laurie,
I am enclosing a copy of this letter I wrote to Emily and I would appreciate it if you would read it, as I imagine the same question has, or will, at some time come to your mind and you might want to read this and give it some thought.

Love,
Daddyo