MICHAEL HOFFMAN: The Hoffman Wire

Mitt Romney: Clueless in “Israel”

  By Michael Hoffman 

Copyright ©2012 www.revisionisthistory.org

Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney did his ritual obeisance in counterfeit “Israel,” propitiating the gods of war and holocaust denial with his former business partner at Boston Consulting Group, Benjamin “the Butcher” Netanyahu. Mr. Romney also placed a note to the Talmudic deity in the supposed “western wall of the Temple,” while wearing the obligatory yarmulke Talmudic head gear.

Of course the American media were complicit in the farce, failing to ask Romney how much a gallon of gas will cost American drivers if “Israel” bombs Iran (around five bucks a gallon). They also ”forgot” to ask him what the bill to American taxpayers will be to fulfill Romney’s scheme to base a U.S. aircraft carrier task force permanently off the coast of Iran, at a time when Republicans say we must drastically cut the Federal budget.

Romney flirted with anti-Arab bigotry from the Ayn Rand school of disembodied economics, by opining that it was unspecified “cultural differences” which accounted for the huge disparity in Palestinian and Israeli incomes: "As you come here and you see the [Gross Domestic Product] per capita, for instance, in Israel which is about $21,000 dollars, and compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality," Romney said, according to a media pool report. 

In fact, the Washington Post reports that the difference is far more stark than that. “According to the World Bank, Israel's GDP per capita is actually $31,282. The same figure for the Palestinian areas is around $1,600.” 

"Culture makes all the difference. Culture makes all the difference," Romney said, repeating the conclusion he drew from a book by David S. Landes, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations.

How soon we forget when the holocaust is against people who are not considered holy: during “Operation Cast Lead,” the Israelis used white phosphorus on schools and hospitals in Gaza from December, 2008 to January, 2009. They killed 1400 people, mostly civilians. They destroyed some 4,000 Palestinian homes and flattened 80 Palestinian government buildings.

Palestinian access to their own farmland and water supplies are routinely restricted, denied or “appropriated” by the Israelis. Palestinian trade and commerce are heavily impeded. In addition to ignoring the Israeli mass murder of Palestinians, Romney did not mention that “Israel” controls all crossings to Palestinian lands. Israelis have imposed a blockade of Gaza since Hamas won an election there in 2007. In the West Bank, the Israelis continue to severely blockade Palestinian trade and movement. Romney has no clue concerning any of these destructive policies which have strangled the Palestinian economy. 

Romney has to be a political illiterate or a clown to equate Palestinian workers and managers with Israelis, as if they were both competing on equal terms in the business world. This is what denial of the slow motion holocaust of Palestinians by the Israelis engenders: a make-believe foreign policy that leads America from one foreign war money-pit disaster to another, based not on pragmatic geo-politics, but a reality twisted and warped by the demands of Israeli supremacy over the Middle East.

The Republican candidate for President of the United States ignores the slaughter of Palestinians and the mass destruction of their housing less than four years after it happened. Romney just can’t factor a little thing like the Israeli subjugation and slaughter of an occupied people when doing his libertarian economic analysis. This is beyond callous. It is merciless. While none of us is allowed to forget the smallest chapter in the Zionist tale of eternal woe from the Middle Ages to the Munich Olympics, the Israeli demolition of Gaza and the human and financial consequences that accrued from that human rights horror are already a will-o’-the-wisp.

It is said by some on the Right that Romney is the conservative alternative to Obama. If Romney was trying to conserve anything resembling western civilization he would have condemned MK (Member of the Knesset) Michael Ben-Ari who, on July 17 in Jerusalem destroyed a copy of the New Testament by ripping out its pages and terming it “garbage,” after it was mailed to him by a missionary. Romney, the tough talking “Republican conservative” had nothing to say in defense of the gospel of Jesus Christ which was traduced three weeks ago by a barbarian who happens to be a member of the Israeli parliament.

If someone in Palestine had ripped out pages of the Babylonian Talmud and called it garbage while tossing it in the trash, Mitt would have thundered denunciations of “this biased hate crime against a holy book.”

Biased hate crimes against Jesus Christ’s holy book don’t register, however.

So which God does Mr. Romney serve, the god self-made from the swamp of Judaic racial pride, or Jesus Christ who, when it comes to Zionist depredations against His Name and Word, seems to have few defenders, though many come preaching “Lord, Lord.”

Michael Hoffman is the author of Judaism’s Strange Gods and Judaism Discovered, and executive editor of Revisionist History newsletter.

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***

COMMENTS:

TruthSeeker

Rommney is not illiterate, nor is he ignorant. Ignorance (derived from Latin) means not knowing, and this is a good excuse for his attitude. But he is a well educated and aware of what is happening in Israel. He is a jackass carrying a load of books (his illiteracy your are referring to). And the worst of all he has willfully sold himself to the devil.

He is filthy rich.So I wonder what the big deal is about seeking the presidency of the US, unless he has in mind making the world a safer place! But all what he is calling for is to the contrary.

"He who is silent about rightfulness (not promoting it and promoting wrongfulness instead) is a dumb devil.", so it is said.

 What 

Rommney is!

NEWS: News Updates

 

 Stop greatest forced displacement of Arab citizens of Israel since the 1950s

July 29th, 2012 

Posted here is the whole of Adalah's new campaign to raise support to block the Prawer Plan - the programme to move tens of thousands of Bedouin from their unrecognised - by the Israeli state - homes in the Negev to concentrations in set areas. JfJfP supports the rights of the Bedouin to stay in their traditional homes. 

Fear of Ramadan delays eviction of Migron outpost

July 29th, 2012 

The Migron settlement was acknowleged as illegal by Israel's Supreme Court - because it was built on privately-owned Palestinian land. It was to be evacuated on August 1st but this has been delayed because, say authorities, it falls during Ramadan. 

Lifeline for Gaza will open through Rafah crossing

July 29th, 2012 

The Egyptian uprising is finally having results for the people of Gaza. Gaza's Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh has had talks with new Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi and agreed that the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt will be open 12 hours a day. This should ease the siege imposed by Israel on people and goods moving in and out of Gaza. 

Romney tries to woo Jews with threat to destroy Iran

July 29th, 2012 

Nobody knows what millionaire CEO and Republican candidate Mitt Romney stands for - except everything President Obama doesn't. Obviously that includes Israeli military aggression. So from a drizzly performance in the UK he has gone to a sunny reception in Israel, where he hopes his bellicose remarks will win him Jewish votes back home. 

Palestinian-Syrian bond fractures; don’t mend it with anti-Israeli feeling

July 29th, 2012 

The long alliance of Palestinians and Syrians is breaking as Palestinians too feel the brunt of pro-Assad violence. Palestinians are divided over old loyalties and new realities. Sharif Nashashibi warns against supporting Assad as a way of opposing the US and Israel rather than universal human rights. 

A vast and clumsy bureaucracy to control Palestinian movement

July 29th, 2012

The attempts of Israeli state officials to control the movement of Palestinians have generated a huge and inefficient bureaucracy in which the clerk controls the Arabs but no-one is in charge of what the clerks do, how or why. Ha'aretz interviews the author of a new book on how it works - or doesn't. 

Settlers’ leader applauds inertia on removing them

July 29th, 2012 

Dani Dayan, chairman of the council for West Bank settlements, claims in an op-ed piece in the NY Times that Israel's seizure of the West Bank was morally necessary as a defence against Arab aggression (!) and the settlers will expand their control (2nd). Lara Friedman, (1st) disputes his argument and conclusion as immoral and wrong; lastly, Richard Falk asks whether his realpolitik is not to be admired. 

A good week in the West Bank: only 24 Arabs wounded by settlers and IDF

July 29th, 2012 

We post this week OCHA's weekly report for 18-24 July because the number of Palestinians injured by settlers and the IDF is unusually low. The dispassionate account of daily life in a 'good' week for West Bank Palestinians is horrible, Second, a frenzy of land grabbing and house demolitions by settlers is reported by the National Bureau for the Defense of Land. 

‘It seems that Israel is determined to become a fascist state’

July 29th, 2012 

London student Jakril Hoque is shocked when he is interrogated, imprisoned and deported from Ben Gurion airport. Why? He is the wrong colour. He is most shocked when his interrogator tells him happily that Israel alone is alllowed to practise racial discrimination because it is 'special'. From justifying paranoia and racism to implementing fascism is not, it seems, beyond possibility. 

New US law will extend Israel’s air-strike range

July 29th, 2012

The USA's new security co-operation law, passed earlier this month, had great ideological power. Its most immediate practical significance may be, writes Yitzhak Benhorin, to allow the IDF to buy re-fuelling aircraft for the first time. It was to hinder Israel attacking Iran that aerial refuelling planes have been withheld by the USA up till now. 

From idealism to corruption, Zionisms all the way

July 29th, 2012 

Uri Avnery examines the ways in which the meanings of Zionism have changed since the 1890s and especially since the founding of Israel. He recounts how and why he coined the term 'post-Zionism' - as a word for the redundancy of this ideology which is thus still useful. 

Diamonds are for war crimes

July 29th, 2012 

The take-over of De Beers diamond company by Anglo American is stumbling on ethical issues, nowadays key to the pure diamond image. One such gem is De Beer's Steinmetz Jubilee diamond on display at the Tower of London. Steinmetz funds the Steinmetz Foundation which adopted the IDF's Givati Brigade - accused of the worst massacre during Operation Cast Lead. Protesters highlight another 'blood diamond' . 

EU cowers before bellicose Lieberman and ditches Palestinian principles

July 27th, 2012 

As predicted, 2 posts below, the EU-Israel Association Council has decided to expand their areas of co-operation even though 'respect for human rights and democratic principles' is part of the agreement. Stuart Reigeluth believes the EU side was bedazzled by Lieberman's talk of Hezbollah, Syria and war. Palestinian human rights groups have jointly condemned the EU's failure to stand by its own principles. 

Occupation and military rule

July 26th, 2012 

Oded Na’aman writes: "As you stand at the checkpoint, you must constantly consider the various ways in which you may be attacked: Where are they going to come from? What will their strategy be? Is that child as innocent as he seems, or is he smuggling a weapon? Is that ambulance really rushing a woman to the hospital to give birth, or are there enemies hiding inside? Is that old man harmless... These are the instructions soldiers receive before beginning their principle combat mission in the IDF: enforcement of military rule in the West Bank." 

EU speaks with forked tongue

July 23rd, 2012 

In recent months Catherine Ashton, the EU representative for foreign and security policy, has heavily criticised Israel's settlement expansion policy. To show how serious it is in wanting to put an end to Israel's willful and continued violation of international law, the EU is now preparing to upgrade its relationship with Israel without preconditions! 

G4S helps police Israeli detention centres

July 23rd, 2012 

Defence for Children-Palestine (DCI-Palestine) has released an urgent appeal to end the practice of holding Palestinian children from the West Bank in solitary confinement in facilities in Israel. Our old friend G4S helps police their detention. 

When 1 and 1 don’t make 2

VIDEOS: Connect the dots...

BBC: Osama bin Laden 

was CIA agent & Al-Qaeda Never Existed - Invented by CIA

CIA Agent 

Exposes How Al-Qaeda Dosen't Exist

CIA 

Admit Faking Binladen Video

Hillary 

Clinton : We created Al-Qaeda

BBC 

Reports Osama Raid A Fake

TRUMP: OSAMA 

BIN LADEN DEATH WAS A SCAM!

Osama Bin Laden 

Dead Since 2001 (Benazir Bhutto Says Osama Bin Laden Dead In 2007)

Tim Osman aka Bin Laden

9/11, pilots say "NO WAY"!

This 

should piss off the entire world!!!!

1 DAY BEFORE 

911 WTC Attacks, An Amazing Thing Happened

      Be smart!

USA/ISRAEL: Coital Relashionship...

In Jerusalem speech, it was Romney's voice but Netanyahu's words Netanyahu embraces Romney as no Israeli prime minister has ever before embraced a candidate running against an incumbent U.S. president.

By Barak Ravid | Jul.30, 2012 | 2:03 AM

Romney's staff picked the 150 guests carefully. Religious American immigrants dominated the crowd; secular Jews and native-born Israelis were few and far between. Those present included Jewish-American millionaires, settler leaders like the former chairman of the Yesha Council of settlements Israel Harel, and former Netanyahu aides such as Dore Gold, Naftali Bennett, Ayelet Shaked and Yoaz Hendel. 

The best places at the center of the first row were given, as expected, to Sheldon and Miriam Adelson. The casino magnate and owners of the Yisrael Hayom newspaper is considered one of the strongest supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The $100 million that Adelson pledged to donate to Romney in order to get Obama out of the White House is the oil in the wheels of Romney's election campaign. 

Romney gave his speech in Jerusalem's Mishkenot Sha'ananim at sunset, with the walls of Jerusalem's Old City behind him. Jerusalem's Mayor, Nir Barkat, who greeted Romney, was involved no less than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in helping Romney's staff organize the event. 

Over the past several days, senior Republicans have also attacked the White House for its refusal to say that Jerusalem is Israel's capital. Romney, too, attacked Obama on this point, a sensitive one for many American Jews. "It is a deeply moving experience to be in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel," he said. 

But it's easy to say such things as a candidate. Like others before him, Romney may well adopt a different tone if and when he is elected. 

Romney read his speech from two teleprompters that were placed opposite the stage, but compared to Obama, Romney seemed gray and uncharismatic. Even from this hand-picked, extremely friendly audience, he wasn't able to extract thunderous applause.

The speech itself sounded as if it could have been written by Netanyahu's bureau. So it's no surprise that when the two met later for dinner, Netanyahu thanked him for his "support for Israel and Jerusalem." 

In general, Netanyahu embraced Romney as no Israeli prime minister has ever before embraced a candidate running against an incumbent U.S. president: Aside from their working meeting in the morning, Netanyahu also hosted Romney and his wife and sons for dinner at his official residence. 

Romney's entire visit to Israel was born in the Prime Minister's Office. According to Tablet Magazine, those who cooked up the visit over breakfasts at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem a month ago were Romney's adviser Dan Senor and Netanyahu's adviser, Ron Dermer, who himself hails from a Republican family in Miami. 

The two clandestinely planned the visit in order to preempt Barak Obama visiting Israel before the Republican candidate. Senor and Dermer decided to give the scoop on the visit to the New York Times. 

Romney opened with Netanyahu's favorite subject commenting on the rise of the Jewish people after the Holocaust, continuing with Israel and the United States' common values, mentioning the 40th anniversary of the murder of the 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics, talked about the terrorist attack at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem a decade ago, which took the life of Israeli and American students, as well as, lauding Israeli innovation and its thriving economy. Apparently, in his in-flight briefing, Romney wasn't briefed on Israel's social protest. 

Despite this, during his whole day of meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Peres, and Opposition Leader Mofaz, he didn't commit himself to on attack on Iran's nuclear program if elected to the presidency. The most his advisor Senor was willing to say was that if Israel attacked Iran, Romney would respect that decision. 

This didn't stop Romney from implying that Obama is being naive about Iran's nuclear program. "When Iran's leaders deny the Holocaust or speak of wiping this nation off the map, only the naive ¬ or worse ¬ will dismiss it as an excess of rhetoric," he said. "Make no mistake: The ayatollahs in Tehran are testing our moral defenses. They want to know who will object, and who will look the other way. My message to the people of Israel and the leaders of Iran is one and the same: I will not look away ... We have seen the horrors of history. We will not stand by. We will not watch them play out again."

Nevertheless, at no point during his visit did Romney promise that if elected, he would attack Iran's nuclear facilities. The most he would say about military action against Iran recalled Obama's position: "In the final analysis, of course, no option should be excluded. We recognize Israel's right to defend itself, and that it is right for America to stand with you." 

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney promised to honor the U.S. rules of the game by not attacking President Barack Obama while out of the country, and he indeed never mentioned Obama by name. But it was impossible to mistake the target of his criticisms: The incumbent president, he implied in his speech in Jerusalem last night, has bolstered Israel's enemies. 

"Standing by Israel does not mean with military and intelligence cooperation alone," he said in his address at Mishkenot Sha'ananim. "We cannot stand silent as those who seek to undermine Israel voice their criticisms. And we certainly should not join in that criticism. Diplomatic distance in public between our nations emboldens Israel's adversaries." 

Those words were clearly aimed at the repeated public confrontations between Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the building In the settlements and the freeze in settlement expansion.

 USA 

and Israel coital relationship

 

ISRAEL: Thieves...

Pyromania in the Hebron Hills 

 

Defense Minister Ehud Barak is evicting hundreds of Palestinian farmers and shepherds by declaring the land on which their villages stand 'firing zones.'

Haaretz Editorial | Jul.29, 2012 | 1:20 AM |

Defense Minister Ehud Barak last week took a break from his urgent work on the Iranian crisis to heat up the relatively quiet eastern front as well. Barak told the High Court of Justice he had decided to demolish eight Palestinian villages in the southern Hebron Hills, in Area C, where some 1,500 people reside and make their living. 

Barak said he had made the decision because it encompasses an area known as "Firing Zone 918," which is essential for Israel Defense Forces training. The state expressed concern that the residents would gather information about IDF methods and use them for terrorist purposes. 

The declaration of Palestinian lands as "firing zones" was used during the era of military government over areas in Israel as a common method to take over tens of thousands of dunams of land belonging to Palestinian citizens of Israel, and to confine them to a smaller region. With the conquest of the territories in 1967, the new military government that was established there also adopted the method. 

Over the years, a system of "special security zones" developed. Palestinian entry can be restricted to lands that they own in these zones, which are located near settlements or along roads used by settlers. 

The state prosecution claims, based on testimony by anonymous collaborators, that most of the residents in the villages slated to be razed have permanent dwellings in the town of Yatta. As a result they are not entitled to protection from eviction, which only applies to "permanent residents." This position is well reflected in the distorted view that Area C, which constitutes about 60 percent of the West Bank, is the natural living space of the settlers. 

While the state fosters the settlements and avoids evacuating the outposts - including some established on privately-owned Palestinian land - it is miserly when it comes to issuing master plans and building permits for Palestinians under its aegis. The authorities even harass international organizations and human rights groups that finance basic infrastructure, schools and clinics. 

According to international law, the land under contention in the Hebron Hills - like all the land in the West Bank - is occupied land. The eviction of hundreds of farmers and shepherds using the pretext of "firing zones" is pyromania. 

The defense minister must prevent the Hebron Hills from being set on fire, and act fairly toward all Palestinian residents under Israel's authority.

Land Theft: They are rats..stealing

JEWS: The late American comic book writer Harvey Pekar, author of "American Splendor,". Is he a self-hating Jew?!

Portrait of a comic book author's disillusionment  

After the death of his co-author Harvey Pekar, illustrator JT Waldman was left on his own to finish the controversial graphic novel, "Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me." 

By Nirit Anderman | Jul.27, 2012 | 8:04 AM

The late American comic book writer Harvey Pekar, author of "American Splendor," is sitting in his car, talking with illustrator JT Waldman, his co-author of the book they are writing. “So Harvey, what are we going to do with the middle of the story? We got your childhood and the deep history of Israel covered in the beginning. And the end of the book will lead us to today. So what’s at the heart of this thing? What’s the core?”

Together they drive through the streets of Cleveland. 

“Oh, I don’t know,” Pekar answers. “I’m just tired of people saying I’m a self-hating Jew because I’m critical of Israel or make fun of old Jewish ladies. I do not hate myself. And Jews who criticize Israel aren’t necessarily mentally ill.” 

Pekar tells Waldman to stay in the right lane, and continues. 

“Israel’s creation was politically amazing and caused by a number of unusual events. And I understand. For centuries, Jews endured horrible suffering and like other people deserve the right to self-determination, but the way Israel is going now frightens me. Jews make awkward colonial overlords.” 

This dialogue is from the pages of Pekar's final work, published in the United States this month two years after his death. It's a glimpse into his psyche, showing the transformations that pushed him from a devoted, enthusiastic Zionist and Israel supporter into a critical observer watching, with newfound awareness, the Zionist entity in the Middle East. 

Like "American Splendor," the work that made him a darling of the American comics scene, this work is also autobiographical. 

"Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me" takes place over the course of a single day, during which Pekar and Waldman roam the streets of Cleveland. They go from one library to another, meet various characters and stop for a bite to eat. Mostly, though, they talk. 

Pekar, a local Cleveland boy-made-good, ruminates about his relationship with Israel and how it has changed over the years. In a bit of meta-fiction, the two men discuss their plans to write a book on the topic, and debate its structure and how to learn the land's complicated history. They decide to conduct a historical survey, one that attempts to encapsulate the connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel through time. 

Pekar's parents, the reader learns, were devoted Zionists. Love of Israel was as much as part of the dinner table as their daily bread. 

“I’ve never even been there, but it’s been a part of my life since childhood,” he says. He recalls that his relationship to the State of Israel began to change in the 1960s, when he became friendly with leftists and Marxists and was exposed to their world view. 

At that time, Pekar says, he was unemployed and so despondent about his life and his chances of finding work that he decided to look into moving to Israel. He knew that every Jew who came to Israel received automatic citizenship, and along with the new passport came the hope of ever-elusive salvation. But in one brief meeting, the clerk at the Israeli consulate in Chicago succeeded in dashing his hopes. 

The clerk, irritated by the desperate man staring at him across the counter, told Pekar that moving to Israel would be a massive mistake and that he had no chance of finding work if and when he arrived. 

In an instant, Pekar's lifetime illusions of life in Israel were popped like a sorry balloon. Without tact or empathy, the clerk cut him down. 

“What the guy was saying was that I was a loser and Israel had no time to rehabilitate schmucks,” Pekar recalls. Even a kibbutz, the clerk tells him, won't have him. “I knew I was no prize. Also, I didn’t go through the Holocaust. Israel probably had enough trouble with neurotic American Jews.” 

That real-life exchange, recounted in graphite in the pages of this illustrated novel, was the beginning of the end for Pekar's allegiance to Israel. 

Pekar spent the end of his days collaborating with Waldman on this project. After his sudden death, Waldman completed the work on his own, and Joyce Brabner, Pekar's widow and a comic-book artist in her own right, wrote an epilogue. 

The book, like the story itself, ends with Pekar's death. 

Winning the lottery

 

Waldman, 35, lives in Philadelphia. He says that as a child, he was a voracious reader of comic books, with a particular affinity for ones about superheroes. 

Some boys dream of being firemen or police officers. Waldman dreamed of one day creating his beloved comics. 

His parents tried to steer him toward a different path, but Waldman was stubborn.

He studied art and humanities at the University of Michigan and digital design at the Vancouver Film School. He lived for a time in Spain, where he continued his art studies, and spent two years in Jerusalem, where he studied in a yeshiva. 

It was in Israel that Waldman created his first graphic novel, "Megillat Esther." The book, published in 2006, was a fresh visual twist on the old biblical story, equally inspired by archaeological sources, rabbinic texts and pop culture.

Waldman first met Pekar in 2007, he says during a phone interview. Pekar had written a short introduction for a graphic novel on the role of Jews in the history of American comic books, and he asked Waldman to do the illustration. 

“A few months later, he was asked to do an entire book on the history of the Middle East, and he called me up and said, ‘You’re the person I want to do this book with.’ I felt like I’d won the lottery," Waldman says. "I never would have expected in a million years, when I was a child and said, ‘I want to make comic books,’ that I would work with Harvey Pekar one day. It was never in my world view. I never thought of it happening.” 

Pekar's fame was for many years confined to the underground comic book scene in the United States. Tapping into his own life for inspiration, Pekar's began his first series of books, "American Splendor," in 1976. The stories described his life as a file clerk in Cleveland, shuffling papers on the shores of Lake Erie and facing oblivion in the rust belt's heart. 

He stayed at his day job, toiling away by day and scribbling by night. In the mid-1990s, after he published and distributed "American Splendor" independently, major publishing hours began to pick up on his talent. His big break came in 2003, when "American Splendor" was made into a film of the same name starring everyone's favorite schlub, Paul Giamatti. 

The film received excellent reviews and was an international success. Publishing companies were now banging on his door, begging him to write for them He was asked to write a graphic novel about the history of the Beat Generation, invited to be a guest editor for The Best American Comics 2006 and to edit a graphic novel about Yiddish culture ("Yiddishkeit: Jewish Vernacular and the New Land," with Paul Buhle).

The project was long and it certainly wasn’t easy. 

“When we started the project, it was in 2008, and it went through lots of changes," says Waldman. "At first it was the history of the Middle East, and it was very big. I think it was fueled with his frustration with the Bush era and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the sense that things that were happening in history, knowledge and actions in the Middle East were affecting things in America, and no one really knew why. He wanted to try to demystify the actions of today with his perspective.” 

But with half of the book under his belt, Waldman says, Pekar couldn’t shift the focus away from Israel. He finally decided that the Jewish State would be the book's theme.

Waldman had lived in Israel for a year and a half and was well-versed in the culture of the Jewish nonprofit world, but Pekar had never visited there. 

Inserting Waldman into the book was a calculated move on the part of both Pekar and his editor, who thought Waldman's character would offer some balance. 

Now the book was a dialogue rather than a monologue, with perspectives from two different generations (Waldman is in his mid-30s while Pekar was 70).

Because the book’s subject matter seemed so frightening, Waldman says, he and

Pekar tried to make the dialogue more personal, emphasizing the intimacy between them so that readers would feel as though they were with the two characters during their conversation. 

Pekar wrote the script by hand, as he usually did, and gave it to the publishing company for typesetting. The printed version was sent to Waldman, who decided how to break the script down into frames, how many frames would be on each page and how many pages would make up each section of the story. 

The excellent illustrations and the way they are spread out over the pages do justice to the fine content. While the conversational portions of the book are drawn realistically, Waldman chose to illustrate the sections dedicated to the historical surveys in the style appropriate to the period that he describes. 

Although the historical surveys give some helpful background, they say nothing new. In fact, they are overshadowed by the autobiographical situations, which are far more interesting. Even though these scenes deal with heavy, serious subjects, Pekar, who has always excelled at describing these sorts of personal, day-to-day slices of life, succeeds in doing that here as well. 

“I saw him as a writer who was a very good observer,” Waldman says. “If you read "American Splendor" and you look at his work, he had an amazing ability to see details, to look at the things that everyone else walked by," he says. 

Holes in the story

 

Waldman was at work on the book when he heard about Pekar's death. 

"It was heavy, and it was difficult, because I found out through the Internet," he says. "He died just after the fourth of July. I hadn’t spoken to him in about four or five days because of the holiday. His health had been failing for a couple of months, so I was aware that his health was not too well. But he wouldn’t tell me. I had to find out through other channels. 

He was very intent on me not treating him differently. There was no coddling. He acted like everything was normal. And then when he died, out of the blue, so quickly, we had gotten far enough that we knew where things were going.” 

Although the book was far along in the process, says Waldman, there were still holes in the story. For example, he had no information on how Pekar felt about Israel at the beginning of the 1980s. No longer able to simply call Pekar and ask him to explain or write a few more sentences, Waldman had to solve the problem himself. He spoke with Pekar’s widow, Joyce Brabner, who told him that at the end of the 1970s, Pekar published an article about Israel in a newspaper. Waldman went to the library to search for them, and eventually found the three articles that Pekar had written in 1978. Waldman used excerpts of those articles as some of Pekar’s speech in the book. 

“That was the biggest missing piece of the puzzle. Everything else from that point I was able to take from a video that Harvey and I made. When I went out to visit Harvey in January 2010, I made a video of Harvey and I talking about the book. It was about 25 minutes of video. Probably, in the last 20 pages of the book that we have, most of the dialogue of Harvey and I talking back and forth comes from that video.” 

The last illustration in the book (before Brabner’s epilogue) shows Pekar sitting in the library from the point of view of someone at the top of a staircase. The reader, at this moment, is looking at the world through Waldman's eyes. 

“That was how I left him, literally,” Waldman said. “The last day I saw him, I dropped him off at the library and I went to the airport.” 

As one might expect of a work with such a title and content, Pekar’s book drew complaints from members of the American Jewish community. But Waldman says that the book’s title is nothing more than a softened version of the name that Pekar first chose for it. 

You've gotta have faith?

“The original title was 'An Untitled History of the Middle East,' and then it became 'How I Lost Faith in Israel.' Harvey told me he wanted it to be that, and I said, ‘Harvey, I don’t like that title, I don’t agree with that title, I don’t want to put my name next to that title.’ And then he said, ‘OK, then, we’ll come up with something else.’ And then, when he passed away, it was actually Joyce who came up with the title. I thought it was such a great title because of the whole idea of the Promised Land, and the idea that every generation makes a different promise, and that the promises have changed for generations. It’s still sensational, as people see the title and go ‘Oooh,’ but it’s not as negative, so to speak. And I have not lost faith in Israel, so I couldn’t put my name next to it.” 

Waldman hopes that, just as he and Pekar fill the book's pages with their dialogue, readers will be spurred to debate by the book. 

"It’s hard to have dialogue today, and I think it’s not just in the Jewish community," he says. "So the hope is that this book could be one step of a bridge. It’s not meant to divide." 

And the book's departed author, Waldman reminds us, was telling a very personal story.

“The book is not prescriptive. It’s not saying: This is how you can change things to make it better. It’s subjective," he says. "This is the history of Harvey’s point of view." 

When you criticize them, they label you as self-hating Jew, or anti-Semitic, and cry out: Nazi, Holocaust, chosen people, and all the racist remarks written in their TALMUD. How pathetic they're!

ROMNEY: What a hypocrite!

What Romney said: Highlights from Haaretz's interview with Obama's adversary

On the eve of his visit to Israel, Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican candidate for U.S. President, spoke to Haaretz's Ari Shavit about Iran, Syria and Netanyahu, but declined to comment on his opponent, U.S. President Barack Obama.

By Haaretz | Jul.27, 2012 | 1:07 PM

On the eve of his visit to Israel, Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican candidate for U.S. President spoke to Haaretz about Iran, Syria and Benjamin Netanyahu, but declined to comment on his opponent, U.S. President Barack Obama, adhering to the American political tradition of refraining from criticism of the president while "on foreign soil." In the same vein, he begged off commenting on Israel's settlement policy, saying it would demonstrate his "distance" from the president's policy. 

On a possible strike on Iran: Romney said that an American military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities "should not be ruled out" if other preventive measures fail. He added: "I am personally committed to take every step necessary to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability." 

On whether he would urge Israel to leave an Iran strike to the U.S. military: "Prime Minister Netanyahu always has to do what he feels is in the best interests of his own nation. I know that our nation will always feel the same about ours." 

On the dangers of a nuclear Iran: “I have said in the past and I can reiterate now that it is essential that Iran does not become nuclear. A nuclear Iran represents the greatest threat to the world, to the United States and to the very existence of Israel. A nuclear Iran would mean that Hezbollah or other actors would potentially someday be able to secure fissile materials which would threaten the world." 

On whether he would support regime change in Iran: “America is wise to stand by people seeking freedom − particularly in nations that regularly chant ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel.'” 

On Syria: "I think it is important for the responsible nations of the world to seek to understand which forces in Syria represent real change, rather than the kind of destruction that might occur if Al-Qaida were to seize the development of chaos and assert leadership in some significant way in Syria." 

On Russia and China's stance on Syria: “I was very disappointed with the vote of condemnation at the United Nations being vetoed by Russia and China. I was appalled at the decision by Russia as reported in the media to provide attack helicopters and other armaments to the ‘Butcher in Damascus.’ The world looks with horror at the devastation being caused by Assad.” 

On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: “I believe in a two-state solution which suggests there will be two states, including a Jewish state. I respect Israel’s right to remain a Jewish state. The question is not whether the people of the region believe that there should be a Palestinian state. The question is if they believe there should be an Israeli state, a Jewish state.” 

On U.S.-Israel relations: "In a time of turmoil and peril in Israel’s neighborhood, it is important that the security of America’s commitments to Israel will be as clear as humanly possible. When Israel feels less secure in the neighborhood, it should feel more secure of the commitment of the United States to its defense.” 

On what Israel policy would be if he were president: "If I will be president, there will be no confrontations between our nations before international institutions. There will be no public denouncing of Israel by the U.S. in the UN. Israel's friendly and unfriendly neighbors will know we stand with you. I believe that is the real way to achieve peace-by working with Israel, not creating distance between Israel and America." 

On Benjamin Netanyahu: "I have no idea what political impact it has, but nevertheless, this is a personally rewarding relationship which he and I will share, win or lose." 

On his reasons for visiting Israel: "The purpose of my trip is to listen and to learn. I do want to hear from individuals who are in places of strategic significance, who share our values and who have perspectives of significance relating to the tumultuous events throughout the world." He also added: "Yes, for me Jerusalem and Israel are places of divine significance." 

Read the full interview here

Or below

Romney to Haaretz: Military option on Iran should not be ruled out

On the eve of his visit to Israel, in an exclusive interview with Haaretz, presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney asserts that Iran is the biggest threat to the world, reaffirms Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state and reiterates his respect for Benjamin Netanyahu.

By Ari Shavit | Jul.27, 2012 | 12:31 AM 

 

LONDON – The man sitting on the other side of the table may be the president of the United States next year. According to the most recent public opinion polls, his chances are almost 50-50. But in the midst of the major campaign for Ohio, Florida and Virginia, Mitt Romney abandoned everything in order to spend a few days in England, Poland and Israel. That’s why he is now sitting in a steamy room in one of the historic buildings in the Tower of London compound. That’s why he is devoting half an hour of his time to me, removing his jacket and shaking my hand, and giving me a big smile. He says a few words about the surprising heat in England, asks what’s going on in Israel. He radiates old-fashioned American warmth. 

But when the recording device is turned on, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate immediately becomes tense. He is careful not to say anything superfluous. He refrains from making any commitments. Like a diligent student at an oral exam, he carefully weighs every word he is about to utter. But the interviewee is even more focused on what he is not allowed to say than on what he is about to say. 

He is not allowed to say how he loathes U.S. President Barack Obama. He is not allowed to say that he thinks Obama has pulled America down into the depths. He is not allowed to express his concern over what he sees as America’s domination by un-American ideas. 

Although Romney sees himself as the next Ronald Reagan, who has come to save his homeland from the hands of a failed Jimmy Carter, he lacks Reagan’s passion. Nor does he have Reagan’s maturity and sense of mission. The former governor of Massachusetts is an intelligent, professional and good-hearted businessman, but he lacks charisma. If a fire is burning in his bones, he hides it well. 

Big drama. This time the debate is over the decline of America and the battle is over America’s identity. For old America, the 2012 elections may be the last chance to reclaim the hegemony; for liberal America, the 2012 elections constitute an attempt by benighted forces to run a vapid candidate against the progress represented by Obama. The former regard the latter as Americans who have deviated from the path, and the latter regard the former as fanatics and racists who want to turn back the clock. Because the two forces are colliding with intensity and violence, the election campaign is expensive and polluted. The two Americas wrestling in the arena are beating each other to a pulp. 

The man sitting opposite me is a very surprising candidate for the role of the Great White Hope. For most Republican voters, he is too rich, too liberal and too reserved. He is also a Mormon. So what Mitt Romney has to do now is to ensure that the elections won’t be about him, but about Obama. That the elections will be a national referendum about the economy and about Obama’s worldview. Only by being anti-Obama does the elitist from Boston have a chance to win the votes of conservative Southern Evangelists who don’t really like him. Will he succeed? Does he have what it takes? 

When I observe the tall, handsome man who is answering my questions so cautiously, I have a feeling that the drama surrounding him is even bigger than he is. 

Governor Romney, President Obama gave his formative foreign policy speech in Cairo in June 2009. It was basically about appeasing Islam. Should you be elected president, where will you hold your formative speech and what would it say? What would be the fundamental values and principles of Romney’s America in the international arena and how will they differ from Obama’s?

 

“I don’t have a current plan for where my first address related to foreign policy might be, if I am lucky enough to be elected president. But my objective will be to describe a foreign policy that shows confidence in our cause, clarity in our purpose and resolve in the application of our might. I believe that over the centuries this nation wisely had a great deal of confidence that our cause was just and that the endeavors we undertook were for good purposes. The clarity of our purpose was described to our citizens and people around the world. When we applied our military might, it was with resolve to be successful and to fulfill a mission. I hope that I will be able to maintain that tradition and that these principles can be applied in today’s world. 

“Because we are on foreign soil, I will refrain in this interview from being critical of the president or open[ing] up new avenues of foreign policy that might be seen to be in contradiction to that of the current government. That being said, I have spoken many times about my view that this coming century must remain an American century. By that I mean that America should maintain the moral, economic and military leadership that will allow it to remain the leader of the free world and insure that the free world remains the leader of the entire world.” 

Throughout the world and in the Middle East as well, America’s allies feel that the U.S. is not as strong as it was and that it does not stand by its friends as it used to. Do you share this notion and how are you going to address it?

 

“I can tell you that it is my firm belief that it is a benefit to my country and the world to show our friends and allies that it’s better to be a friend than a foe. To stand by our friends at all times and particularly when a friend is in great peril. Secure commitments to values and allies formed our sphere of influence over the past years, and so it should be in the future.” 

Governor Romney, when you arrive in our region, you will find that what is on everybody’s minds − Saudis, Egyptians, Jordanians, Turks, Israelis − is the fear of Iran going nuclear. As president, would you prevent Iran from becoming nuclear, whatever it takes?

 

“I have said in the past and I can reiterate now that it is essential that Iran does not become nuclear. A nuclear Iran represents the greatest threat to the world, to the United States and to the very existence of Israel. A nuclear Iran would mean that Hezbollah or other actors would potentially someday be able to secure fissile materials which would threaten the world. Five years ago I spoke at the Herzliya Conference and I laid out seven steps that I felt were necessary to keep Iran from becoming nuclear. These included crippling sanctions, indicting [President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad for incitement to genocide, standing for voices of dissent within Iran, and developing reliable military options were they the last resort that had to be exercised. I continue to believe that these principles are vital, and are perhaps more urgent today.” 

Would you support regime change in Iran? If the Iranians should rise against Ahmadinejad as they did in June 2009 − would you stand by them?

 

“America is wise to stand by people seeking freedom − particularly in nations that regularly chant ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel.’” 

We are wise to listen to the words people say because, frightful as these words may be, history proves that sometimes they are carried out. 

“If there are voices for change and hearts yearning for freedom, America will stand by them.” 

But time is running out. Engagement failed, sanctions have not yet worked, regime change has not yet occurred. Therefore we find ourselves in a dramatic situation: Iran has enriched uranium for five to six bombs, and is only a year away from the ability to produce a first bomb. It might be that by now the only option is the military one. Should it be considered and employed?

 

“I think I made it clear in my address in Herzliya [in January 2007] that a military option is by far the least attractive option, but it should not be ruled out. The military option should be evaluated and available if no other course is successful.” 

Senator John McCain said some time ago that there is one thing worse than a military attack on Iran and that’s a nuclear Iran. Do you agree?

 

“President Obama has said that a nuclear Iran is unacceptable. I feel a nuclear Iran is unacceptable. The term ‘unacceptable’ continues to have a meaning: It suggests that all options will be employed to prevent that outcome.

"I am personally committed to take every step necessary to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapons capablity." 

Some fear that America has lost it. After the traumas of Afghanistan and Iraq and the financial crisis, it does not have the stamina needed to deal with the Iranian challenge. When faced with the ultimate dilemma, it will choose containment. It will live with a nuclear Iran just as it lives with a nuclear North Korea.

 

“I think there is recognition in America that a nuclear Iran is different than North Korea. Both are very dangerous and destructive. We know North Korea has been ... providing nuclear technology to Syria. That being said, a nuclear Iran will certainly usher in a period of nuclearization throughout the region. Given the fact that Iran is the leading sponsor of terror and has various surrogates such as Hezbollah ... one is concerned that fissile material may fall into the hands of a group like Hezbollah, which is now on the ground in Latin America. That could affect not only our friends around the world but actually our own country. We are weary of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the majority of the American people recognize that Iran is of a different character.”

In the past you said there is some truth in the statement that President Obama − unintentionally − is pushing Israel to war because it feels so desperate. Is this still true?

 

“I don’t want to make any comment about the president.” 

‘Butcher in Damascus’

 

So let me ask you about your friend Benjamin Netanyahu. He feels it’s 1938 all over again. Like in the 1930s, the West fails to rise to a historic challenge. Like in the 1930s, the Jewish people are in jeopardy. The combination of an unconventional regime with unconventional weapons is disastrous. Hence, Netanyahu might feel he must strike. Were this to happen, what should be the American reaction?

 

“I cannot speak for the president and for the nation. But as allies and nations that share profound values, we will work very closely together to prevent Iran from becoming nuclear. We will employ every means short of military power. We recognize that if all means are exhausted and fail, a military option will have to be considered.” 

As you are so close, would you say to the prime minister: Bibi, relax, you can trust America. America will eventually deal with Iran. Don’t do anything hasty.

 

“Prime Minister Netanyahu always has to do what he feels is in the best interests of his own nation. I know that our nation will always feel the same about ours.” 

Iran is the important regional issue, but Syria is the more urgent one. If chemical weapons fall into the hands of Hezbollah or jihadist organizations, should America intervene and take military action?

 

“I think it is important for the responsible nations of the world to seek to understand which forces in Syria represent real change, rather than the kind of destruction that might occur if Al-Qaida were to seize the development of chaos and assert leadership in some significant way in Syria. I would hope that nations like Turkey and Saudi Arabia and others would identify responsible voices of dissent within Syria, provide them with the arms they might need to protect themselves and further their cause. We must do our best to prevent the most radical Al-Qaida or Al-Qaida-like Jihadists from trying to secure a role in the reshaping of a new Syria.” 

Are you not appalled by the fact that the international community is so impotent in dealing with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s atrocities? Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is actually supporting and arming a war criminal who’s butchering his own people − and gets away with it.

 

“I was very disappointed with the vote of condemnation at the United Nations being vetoed by Russia and China. I was appalled at the decision by Russia as reported in the media to provide attack helicopters and other armaments to the ‘Butcher in Damascus.’ The world looks with horror at the devastation being caused by Assad.” 

Coming closer to the country you are about to visit: Are Israel’s settlements legal or illegal? Should Israel build more of them or dismantle them?

 

“I am afraid that any discussion of settlements would lead me into waters of showing a distance between me and the president. That will not be appropriate for me to do while on foreign soil.” 

Do you support the two-state solution? Do you think that a Palestinian state should be established?

 

“I believe in a two-state solution which suggests there will be two states, including a Jewish state. I respect Israel’s right to remain a Jewish state. The question is not whether the people of the region believe that there should be a Palestinian state. The question is if they believe there should be an Israeli state, a Jewish state.” 

'Time of turmoil’

 

Facing Putin’s aggressive policies, China’s rise and radical Islamic threats − did President Obama really lead from behind?

 

“I have got no comment on President Obama.” 

Obviously, you will not repeat now what you said not long ago − that the president ‘threw Israel under the bus.’ But would you say in a positive manner that Israel should not be thrown under the bus?

 

“In a time of turmoil and peril in Israel’s neighborhood, it is important that the security of America’s commitments to Israel will be as clear as humanly possible. When Israel feels less secure in the neighborhood, it should feel more secure of the commitment of the United States to its defense.” 

Isn’t it in everybody’s interest that there be some daylight and distance between the two countries?

 

“I believe that with regards to our allies, we are always wiser to lock arms and to stand as one for the world to see. There will be, of course, times of disagreement and disparity in our respective interests − but those we are best in keeping to ourselves, in private. 

"If I will be president, there will be no confrontations between our nations  before international institutions.there will be no public denouncing of Israel by the U.S. in the UN. Israel's friendly and unfriendly neighbors will know we stand with you. I believe that is the real way to achieve peace-by working with Israel, not creating distance between Israel and America."

Why Israel? Why now? What is the statement you are making in this critical time by traveling specifically to the U.K., Poland and Israel?

 

“The purpose of my trip is to listen and to learn. I do want to hear from individuals who are in places of strategic significance, who share our values and who have perspectives of significance relating to the tumultuous events throughout the world." 

Governor Romney, you’ll be arriving in Jerusalem on Saturday night, on the eve of the day on which we commemorate the destruction of the First and Second Temples. Many Israelis feel that the fate of the ‘Third Temple’ relies on its strong bond with a strong America. Can you assure them that should you be president, you will reverse the trend of American decline? Can you guarantee that both America, and Israel’s bond with America, will be strong once again?

 

“American strength is an ally for peace, unparalleled in world history. We must strengthen America through strong values, a stronger economy and a military that is second to none. I believe that our friends and allies support our strength by linking with us. We in turn reinforce them as they face various foes that seek to weaken them.” 

Apart from the question of America and Israel, there is the question of Mitt Romney and Benjamin Netanyahu. Is the special friendship between the two of you a political asset or a political liability?

 

“I have no idea what political impact it has, but nevertheless, this is a personally rewarding relationship which he and I will share, win or lose. I am no more involved in your politics than he is in ours. But I respect him, I respect the strength of his character and I respect the clarity with which he speaks. I believe strong leadership is always the best defense.” 

If I may ask, Mr. Governor, does the Holy Land, to which you’re heading now, evoke religious feelings in you?

 

“As I run for political office, my policies are not shaped by my religious feelings. That being said, I have grown up in the Judeo-Christian tradition. I have read and studied what my faith refers to as the Old and New Testaments. I’ve been on a boat in the Sea of Galilee. I’ve been to the Garden Tomb and other sites which I deem as having religious significance. Yes, for me Jerusalem and Israel are places of divine significance.” 

One small question as we end this interview. Will you win on November 6? Will Mitt Romney be America’s 45th president?

 

“I certainly hope so.” 

BLOGER'S COMMENT: This potential president of the USA is the most hypocrite, most lying, biggest ass kisser, most biased, and most rotten person I have ever seen.  After reading this article, the foul smell emanating from it hit my nose and I felt like throwing up. (my openion)