Book Review: Deceit of an Ally, by Bruce Brill

Bruce Brill invested considerable time in writing this must-read book, Deceit of an Ally: A Memoir of Military Anti-Semitism, NSA’s Secret Jew Room and Yom Kippur War Treachery, but it was certainly worth the wait! I'm acquainted with Brill and must admit that I've been waiting decades for the full story. Deceit of an Ally is a combination memoir and exposé. It's the true background story of the 1973 Yom Kippur War in terms of the American involvement, and there definitely was American involvement. It's the story that powerful people have wanted to keep secret, but we need to know the truth. 

Deceit of an Ally proves yet again that even paranoids have enemies.

I've been in Israel since 1970, and during the 1973 Yom Kippur War I suspected something very fishy in American policy. After reading Brill's book, it's confirmed that I'm a realist, not paranoid.

 In 1973 Bruce Brill was working for the US National Security Agency (NSA), and he was told by his supervisor that  Israel was going to be attacked. Brill did not contact the Israeli Embassy. He figured that he wouldn't be taken seriously, and it wasn't his job. I also think at the moment he wondered if the guy was really serious. Had he warned the Israelis, he would have been sitting in jail just like Jonathan Pollard about a decade later. Afterwards Brill no longer felt comfortable working there, and within a few years, made aliyah, (moved to Israel.)

The more than two thousand six hundred 2,600 tragic, unnecessary Israeli deaths due to Israel's being totally surprised and unprepared Yom Kippur 1973 has haunted Brill ever since. 

Deceit of an Ally is the result of years of research, interviews, painstaking and frustrating search for the truth. How could Israel not have seen the signs that Egypt and Syria were planning to attack? There had even been a contingency plan to meet an Egyptian attack that would have saved many soldiers' lives and given Israel a better and quicker chance to defeat the Egyptians. Who were the high level Americans who had told the Head of Israeli Military Intelligence General Eli Zeira that Israel had nothing to worry about? Trusting Zeira's assessment, the plan wasn't implemented by the IDF.

This true story, Deceit of an Ally,  is more suspenseful than the best mystery or detective story, but unlike a fictional book, we're still left with questions. It's real life and can't be neatly wrapped up. 

I highly recommend Deceit of an Ally and wonder if Brill will get more information in order to write a sequel, maybe with the answers to our questions. Read Brill's story; I consider it required reading if you're not afraid of the truth. 

You can also get the book in kindle from Amazon.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Aleichem Books (October 26, 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 346 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 965930420X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9659304202

Goyishe Chutzpah!

I've always opposed the celebration of the 29th of November, 1947, when the infant, newly established, United Nations voted "approval" of a Jewish State. This "state" they approved of was to have such absurd borders that its days were numbered, since it wouldn't be viable. 

A short few decades before the Balfour Declaration had declared that the British Mandate would establish a Jewish State in what they called Palestine, which was then an undeveloped piece of Land on both sides of the Jordan River. At that point there was trickle of Jews trying to establish agricultural settlements and bring the barren land back to life. 

There had always been a Jewish presence in various cities, even after the destruction of the Second Holy Temple. Zionist pioneers began changing the Jewish attitude towards Jewish sovereignty. The Arab communities were mostly in a few Arab cities and villages, plus some nomads. There was no history of local Arab nationalism.

Great Britain went against its mandate to establish a Jewish State in the land by bringing in a foreign clan, the Hashemites, and invented the kingdom of Jordan sic on the eastern bank of the Jordan River. And then to make matters even worse for the Jewish People, the members of the United Nations decided to invent a second Arab to share the western side of the Jordan River with Israel. But as I stated earlier, nobody expected the Jewish State to survive. That made it easy for countries to vote on the 29th of November, 1947, for a Jewish State. Because the truth is that those countries didn't really want a Jewish State to exist. Maybe a few did think a Jewish State should exist, but that nascent state wasn't given a fighting chance. Britain armed the Arabs and trained them in warfare, and no country gave the State of Israel any help.

Here we are seventy-five 75 years later, and things haven't changed much. The United Nations condemns Israel more than it condemns any other country, and our so-called allies are having fits because Israel hasn't returned land to the Jordanian aggressor from the 1967 Six Day War. They call Israel an apartheid country, but insist that Judea/Samaria be free of Jews. The latest is that they're condemning Israel for giving recognition to a few Jewish communities. They act like they're our bosses, and that they have approval rights for what we do. 

Goyishe Chutzpah for Sure!

A new building project in Shvut Rachel, just east of Shiloh

Israel's Political System and Judicial Reform-- What's Going On?

I almost titled this post "Israeli Judicial Reform for Dummies," but didn't want to antagonize people. Also the topic is no joke. This is serious stuff, and it's complicated.

Oy. Where should I start?

Let's start with the Israeli political system, which may be unique; though others may be similar in some ways. Let the adjectives used here be different or unique. I don't want any judgmental ones like better and worse. It doesn't pay to go there, since there is no country like the State of Israel in size, history, sociology, security needs etc. Being a democracy, Israel has developed into the country we know today, and in most ways it actually works well. 

Israel is a Parliamentary Democracy. Our parliament, called the Knesset, has one hundred and twenty 120 members. There are many political parties represented in the Knesset, and certainly even more that didn't get enough votes to be included. Now a party needs 4.5% of the votes, called the Electoral Threshold, to get any of their list in.

Each political party submits a list to election board by a certain date, and it's according to the order on the list that people become Members of Knesset. After the votes are counted, the failed parties subtracted and the numbers of MKs per party calculated, the President of the State of Israel then calls the leader #1 of the largest party and offers him/her to chance to form a coalition.

OK, I know that some of you are jumping in your seats trying to get my attention and ask why we have so many political parties. I'll start with a joke:

"two Jews five opinions"

OK, some say only three opinions, but Israeli society is too complex --remember that Israeli Arabs also vote and have a few political parties-- for two political parties to suffice. The political/social spectrum isn't a simple right/left. It also includes religious observance and many other factors. 

The Knesset reflects Israeli diversity, and that diversity isn't reflected at all in the High Court. The democratically elected MKs do not have a say in who sits as a justice on that court. The justices vote in their replacements, and they choose very carefully to find people who follow their ideology, which is far to the Left of the Israeli population. In recent years they have been making legal decisions that go against laws voted in by the elected MKs. That's not democracy. 

The justices don't base their decision on laws. They base their decisions on their political ideology, which is what they treasure and want to preserve. They call it "judicial independence." It's davka that "independence" which endangers Israeli democracy. 

Justice Minister Yariv Levin's plan will reduce the power of the High Court in a number of ways. I'm not getting into the details of the laws he proposes. You can click Judicial Reform for the details. I just wanted to show that reform is needed. 

Nobody has the right to play god, not even High Court justices. 

Rosh Chodesh Shevat ראש חודש שבט תפילת נשים Women's Prayers

Rosh Chodesh Shevat is rapidly approaching. So here's the reminder that we'll have Women's Prayer at Shiloh Hakeduma-- Tel Shiloh

Monday January 23, 2023

1st of Shevat 5783

8:30am

תפילת נשים בראש חודש שבט

בשילה הקדומה 

יום ב' 23\01\2023

א' שבט תשפ"ג

8:30

Shiloh Hakeduma is just off of the Shiloh Junction and can be reached by car or bus. For more information about all of the activities there for people of all ages, contact 025789111, visit@telshilo.org.il or the facebook page.

The Likud's Time Bomb

Likud-Wikipedia

It's very deja vu hearing all of the complaints frustrations from veteran, loyal Likud MKs once they recognize that yet again there are hardly any senior positions remaining for them. Those who've worked hard and shown their loyalty to Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu and the Likud, some for decades, have had to accept low-ranking or made-up positions, or none at all, as the good stuff has not only gone to coalition partners but also new and relatively inexperienced Likud MKs. At the same time they're not getting any younger. OK, they're not as old as the newly crowned King Charles of England who's barely a year older than Bibi himself.

Charles always knew that as long as he outlived his mother he'd get the crown, but it's not so simple in politics.

Please look at that chart above, which I copied from Wikipedia. Party leadership usually lasts about a decade. OK, yes, I know that Menachem Begin had been a party leader much longer, first Cherut, then GaHa"L and then finally a decade in the Likud. But the Likud party was cobbled together for the 1973/4 elections, and four years later was Begin's first victory and term as Prime Minister. He resigned/retired in 1983 and was replaced by Yitzchak Shamir who was party head for ten years, and then Netanyahu took over. 

Besides the six years of Arik Sharon seriously marred by his notorious Disengagement Plan, for most of that time and until today Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu has been leader of the Likud and Prime Minister of Israel. He was young when he took over the party, all of fourty-four 44 in October of 1993, and now there are many, many talented and aging Likud MKs younger and waiting in the wings for their chance to head the party. It doesn't look like they'll ever get the opportunity. Instead of competing against each other for leadership, there's Bibi holding onto those reins. He first grabbed them when they were still in school.

Anger and frustration are bubbling close to the surface. And it's not healthy for the party to have one leader for thirty years. It reminds me of, if you'll excuse the expression, dictatorships.  OK, I said it. What do you think?

Chanukah Rosh Chodesh Tevet-- Women's Prayers

 

Women's Rosh Chodesh Prayers Gd willing next Sunday. 

For other Chanuka events at Tel Shiloh, Shiloh Hakeduma call 02-5789122, write to visit@telshilo.org.il.

Will There Be Harmony in Bibi's New Coalition?

Political Chaos, my 52frames photo from Chaos album, week 44, 2022

Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu, longtime head of the Likud party, had gathered a number of ambitious political parties to campaign as one block calling themselves the "Right" wing. 

The chareidi parties are his veteran coalition partners, though "Right" isn't how any honest political expert would label them. Actually, the Likud, which does call itself "Right" is more Center-Left when in power. 

But the bloc that Bibi orchestrated of truly Right and uncompromisingly patriotic religious parties of Smutrich and  Ben-Gvir was the key to his electoral plan. Bibi had hoped to be able to control them, but they're turning out to be more of a Frankenstein. 

Smutrich and Ben-Gvir know very well that many in the Israeli public, even those who didn't vote for them, support or sympathize with their views. It's very much like an Israeli version of Ronnie Reagan's "silent majority." They also know that if Bibi dumps them and makes a desperate deal with Ganz or Lapid, he'd lose the trust/votes of veteran Likud voters. Don't take the media too seriously, as in the rest of the world-- it's Leftist. A majority of Israelis are Right and religiously traditional or religious. That's why Bibi crafted his campaign in that direction and succeeded, though I'm not sure why he sabotaged Ayelet Shaked after approving her. 

It seems like these recent elections were the easy part for Netanyahu; coalition negotiations are a very public nightmare. Likud MKs should be used to getting the scraps of what's left after Bibi gives the goodies to those he needs on his team. I wonder if Bibi was surprised at the toughness of Smutrich and Ben-Gvir while haggling over ministries. He may have thought of them as inexperienced, but they certainly aren't. And their followers expect kavod, honor.

At this point, Bibi may almost have all the pieces put together with the exception of the Chareidim and his own people. No doubt the success of Smutrich & Ben-Gvir may embolden the chareidim to make more demands. Nobody wants to be a "sucker." 

So far Smutrich and Ben-Gvir haven't gotten in the way of chareidi parties, but considering the amount of rabbis and yeshiva students in their camp it's only a matter of time. 

Think about it--  If this is the courtship, what type of marriage will they have? Ironically the Bennet-Lapid government was touted as a coalition of very different parties looking to work together for the sake of the country, and it lasted over a year. It would have lasted longer except for Bibi's dirty tricks. 

What's next?

Women's Rosh Chodesh Kislev Prayers

 

Women's Rosh Chodesh Kislev Prayers

Rosh Chodesh Kislev 5783

Friday November 25, 2022 8:30am

Tel Shiloh, Shiloh Hakeduma

תפילת נשים

ראש חודש כסלו תשפ"ג 

בשילה הקדומה 

יום שישי 25\11\2022 ב8:30 

You can spend the day at Tel Shiloh, Shiloh Hakeduma. For more information 02-5789122  visit@telshilo.org.il. There's always a lot to see and do there.

Israeli Elections 2022: The Coalition Competition Will be Fierce

 

Spare Ballots if Needed

Here's the Choice of Political Parties

The previous elections were about a year and a half ago, which seems like ages, considering that the previous few were closer together. Most of those elections ended without coalitions. As I've written a number of times, Bibi Netanyahu and his merry band discovered an easy way to power--- being the interim Prime Minister/Government. 

Well, now Likud hasn't been in power for over a year. For them to return, no matter how many MKs they have, they need to supplement the number so it reaches over sixty to have a majority coalition. But now, the cat's out of the bag, and sitting Prime Minister Yair Lapid can play the same trick if he convinces enough Knesset Members not to join with Netanyahu.

This should be fun to watch.

You may be wondering why I'm not cheering on a specific party or leader. Well, like many Israelis I'm not very enamored with the choices. It's like watching a football or basketball match when you just want to see their skills, and you don't care which team wins.

That may sound strange to you. We are discussing the government which has power over security, growth etc. I'm feeling rather jaded about it. I just keep remembering the excitement when certain people became Prime Minister, and then how they surprised us with policies totally opposed to their platform/ideology, totally opposed to mine, too. So, we'll see what happens and I'll decide issue by issue and pray very hard.

We Survived the Holocaust: The Bluma and Felix Goldberg Story, Book Review

 

We Survived the Holocaust: The Bluma and Felix Goldberg Story is graphic memoir. Graphic here means cartoonish pictures. Bluma and Felix Goldberg's story is a true story. Things are obviously simplified, since it's short and written for children.

Times have certainly changed. Not long ago the Book Club I'm a member of chose Holocaust Literature as the genre for a meeting. Most members are of my generation, who grew up in the post World War Two 1950s. Besides The Diary of Anna Frank, there wasn't any Holocaust book for even an older child to read. Now libraries and book stores have shelves full of Holocaust Literature of all sorts for all ages, though it's hard to find books suitable for children. 

We Survived the Holocaust is illustrated in black and white which suits to subject matter and is a reminder that the Holocaust was a dark and dangerous time.  Here are a series of pages to give you an idea.

The general message is survival and heroism. Bluma and Felix Goldberg's story is totally amazing, and it's true, which makes it even better. It's almost incomprehensible to imagine ordinary people taking such risks and surviving such dangers. But we all know that somehow some people did survive and establish families and businesses after the war, after the Nazis had been defeated.

We Survived the Holocaust is an excellent tool for teaching children about Nazis and the Holocaust. As wonderful as the Goldbergs' story is, we mustn't forget that the majority of European Jewry was murdered during the Holocaust, whether gassed, gunned down or as the result of malnutrition/starvation or illness. The dead can't speak.

To help the reader, there are a timeline, a glossary, an index and recommended resources. We Survived the Holocaust: The Bluma and Felix Goldberg Story includes a postscript and information about the Goldberg children. I highly recommend it.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Imagine and Wonder; First edition (September 1, 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 156 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1637610203
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1637610206
• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 14 - 17 years
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.2 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 0.4 x 9.5 inches

Rosh Chodesh Marcheshvan Soon

Save the date! 

Women's Rosh Chodesh Prayers at Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh, Gd willing in another week!

It's always surprising how soon Rosh Chodesh comes after Simchat Torah, so I hope you can make it on Tuesday October 25, 2022 at 8:30am.

ראש חודש מרחשון

תפילת נשים בשילה הקדומה

25\10\2022 ב8:30

כולן מוזמות

תמיד יש הרבה לעשות בשילה הקדומה

There's always a lot to do at Tel Shiloh

For more information 025789111, visit@telshilo.org.il פרטים נוספים