“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: may they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122: 6
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Caroline Glick—Of politicians and moral courage:
Leaders are not elected. Politicians are elected. Their election in turn provides politicians with the opportunity to become leaders.
You don’t become a leader by telling people what they want to hear, although doing so certainly helps to you get elected. A politician becomes a leader by telling people what they don’t want to hear.
If they are lucky, politicians will never have to become leaders. They will serve in times of peace and plenty, when it’s possible to pretend away the hard facts of the human condition. And they can leave office beloved for letting people believe that the world is the Elysian Fields.
Certainly this has been the case for many American politicians since the end of World War II.
This is not the case today. In our times, evil rears its ugly head with greater power and frequency than it has in at least a generation. As Americans learned 13 years ago this week, evil ignored is evil empowered.
Yet fighting evil and protecting the good is not a simple matter. Evil has many handmaidens.
Those who hide it away enable it. Those who justify it enable it. Those who ignore it enable it.
To fight evil effectively, a leader must possess the moral wisdom to recognize that evil can only be rooted out when the environment that cultivates it is discredited and so transformed. To discredit and transform that environment, a leader must have the moral courage to stand not only against evildoers, but against their far less controversial facilitators.
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SnyderTalk Comment: A real leader must be willing to call the enemy by its name. ISIS (or IS or ISIL) is the enemy. It’s evil and it’s Islamist. If a person can’t be specific and crystal clear about those two facts, then he isn’t doing his job and he’s not a leader. Simply stated, he is part of the problem, not part of the solution.
Barack Obama did more to create this mess than any other person on the planet, and he’s doing everything that he can do to avoid telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
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Patrick J. McDonnell and Nabih Bulos: Middle East’s deep divisions reflected in reactions to Obama speech—Reaction to President Obama’s vow to “destroy” the Islamic State militant group was predictably mixed throughout the Middle East and elsewhere on Thursday, with commentators and media outlets reflecting deeply divided opinions about U.S. actions in the region. In Baghdad, the office of Prime Minister Haider Abadi released a statement welcoming the U.S. stance as “supporting Iraq against Daesh and all terrorist groups,” using the common Arabic name for the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. Leaders in the generally pro-U.S. Kurdish region in northern Iraq also were positive about the White House moves to eliminate the militant group, which now controls a broad swath of territory across Iraq and neighboring Syria. […] In Egypt, the pro-government daily Al-Watan featured a headline: “Obama declares war against ISIS … to eat them for lunch before they eat me for dinner.”
Greg Miller and Craig Whitlock: U.S. Weakens Al-Qaeda Groups Around the World But Hasn’t Wiped Any Out—In declaring that the U.S. would degrade and “ultimately destroy” the Islamic State, an al-Qaeda offshoot in Iraq and Syria, President Obama articulated an objective that the U.S. has yet to achieve against any of the Islamist adversaries it has faced since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Through two wars, thousands of drone strikes and hundreds of covert operations around the world, the U.S. has substantially weakened al-Qaeda and its affiliates, eroding their capabilities in ways that have reduced the threat they pose, though the U.S. is still battling al-Qaeda affiliates in Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen.
Amos Yadlin: Dealing with Hamas’ Military Force Reconstruction—Israel did not succeed in imposing on Hamas the demilitarization of Gaza and the establishment of mechanisms that would deny Hamas the ability to reconstruct its force. However, this goal must be central to Israel’s demands in the negotiations on a long-term arrangement. Hamas will make every effort to reconstruct its force and prepare for the next military round. Placing Palestinian Authority government and security services in Gaza will not be enough to prevent Hamas’ reconstruction. However, Hamas is not expected to be able to reconstruct its force massively anytime soon. If the talks in Cairo do not result in an agreement that provides an effective response to reconstruction, Israel must formulate a strategy without Hamas’ consent, though coordinated with Egypt and the U.S., that will deal optimally with Hamas’ future force reconstruction. Furthermore, Israel must convince its U.S. and European allies that Hamas’ manufacturing strategic weapons and digging offensive tunnels are a causus belli for Israel, and that these are legitimate reasons for Israel to take military action in Gaza.
Abdel-Moneim Said: Victory and Defeat—When one side suffers 2,100 dead, thousands of others wounded, a large portion of its civilian infrastructure and its tunnels destroyed, and a good amount of its military capacities depleted because of the skilled commanders who were killed, while the other side loses 72 dead, the results of the recent war in Gaza can hardly be chalked up as a Palestinian victory. Yet Hamas leaders have proclaimed victory. We celebrated victory because the enemy failed to achieve its objectives as we defined them. While Khaled Meshal and Ismail Haniyeh might believe themselves victorious, in the manner of other Arab leaders who preceded them, the fact that the Palestinian people are convinced by their logic is truly amazing. According to an opinion poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, 79% of Palestinians say that Hamas was victorious in this last war. They are simultaneously telling us that if elections were held today Hamas would win.
David Daoud: A Guide to International Law and the Gaza War—As Oscar Schachter, a former president of the American Society of International Law, emphasized, “[a] State is not obliged to turn the other cheek” in the case of an ongoing armed attack. Israel was provoked into launching Operation Protective Edge on July 8 by continued rocket and mortar fire from Gaza into southern Israel, for which Hamas, as the ruling government in Gaza, is ultimately responsible. Between July 2 and 7, 230 rockets were launched by Palestinians in Gaza into Israel. Additionally, for some time Israel possessed intelligence that Hamas had built a large offensive tunnel network leading into Israel, discovering three tunnels in 2013. Israel agreed and adhered to multiple humanitarian ceasefires of varying duration, but Hamas repeatedly violated them. Essentially, when a country goes to war, it is allowed to use as much force as is necessary to stop the threat that caused it to go to war to begin with.
Victor Davis Hanson: The Middle East’s Maze of Alliances—It’s increasingly difficult to navigate the web of transitory enemies and allies in the region. President Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan were said to have a special friendship. But based on what? Erdogan is strangling democracy in Turkey. He is a big supporter of Hamas and at times a fan of Iran. A NATO ally, Turkey recently refused to let U.S. rescue teams use its territory to stage a rescue mission of American hostages – two of them eventually beheaded – in Syria. Ostensibly, America supports moderate pro-Western consensual governments that protect human rights and hold elections. But there are almost no such nations in the Middle East except Israel. About the best choice for the U.S. is to support without qualification the only two pro-American and constitutional groups in the Middle East, the Israelis and Kurds.
Lenny Ben-David: Asymmetrical Morality and Asymmetrical Victory—The current conflicts swirling from the Sinai and Gaza to Lebanon, Syria and Iraq are not only asymmetric in tactics and weaponry; this warfare is characterized by asymmetrical morality and asymmetrical definitions of “victory.” This warfare is conducted by decentralized, transnational armies that are well-financed and well-armed. For some forces, such as Hamas, Palestine Islamic Jihad, and Hizbullah, the training and rocketry are provided by Iran and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Psychological warfare is a major weapon of these 21st century jihadi warriors. The video-taped massacres of minorities and enemy soldiers spurred mass flight by locals. There are no restraints, no Geneva conventions, no “rules of war.” What the West calls “genocide” is not a crime for ISIS and its ilk when committed in the service of Allah. Traditional standards of “victory” do not apply since the jihadists and their supporters live for martyrdom. As Western nations stir from their slumber to confront the Islamic State and its forces, they have lessons to learn from Israel’s experience in the Gaza conflict. Asymmetrical conflicts and asymmetrical morality cannot be fought with outdated methods, tactics and rules.
Daniel D. Edelman: UN Gaza Commission Head Presumes Israel Is Guilty—Prof. William Schabas, chair of the UN commission investigating alleged Israeli war crimes during the recent Gaza conflict, told the BBCon July 17, before the Israeli ground offensive, that “prima facie there is evidence of disproportionality” by Israel sufficient to declare its air strikes unjustified because “there are a huge number of civilian casualties on one side and virtually no civilian casualties on the other.” UN war crimes courts have a rule that: “a judge may not sit at a trial or appeal in any case in which his impartiality might reasonably be doubted on any substantial ground.” Moreover, Schabas himself, in a respected work he authored on UN war crimes tribunals, wrote: “a judge should not only be subjectively free from bias, but also…there should be nothing in the surrounding circumstances that objectively gives rise to the appearance of bias.” On Sept. 4, Schabas championed his commission’s adjudicatory relevance in a CNN interview, stating: “the International Criminal Court is sitting in the wings,” and the commission will likely “provide materials that would go to the prosecutor of the ICC and so that’s a pretty big stick if we come to the conclusion that there were war crimes.”
Col. (ret.) Dr. Jacques Neriah: Heavy Blow Administered to Assad’s Foes—Ahrar al-Sham is a 10-20,000-strong group of jihadist-Salafi fighters which constitutes the main component of the “Islamic Front” fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad. The group was considered to be second in strength to the Islamic State. On Sep. 9, Ahrar al-Sham was dealt a major blow in what appears to have been a suicide attack that cost the lives of at least 46 (and perhaps as many as 70) top military officers and political leading figures of the group. In January 2013 the group claimed to operate 83 units across Syria, including in the cities of Damascus and Aleppo. Unlike the Islamic State, Ahrar al-Sham seeks a state run on Islamic principles that would also protect women’s rights, as well as ethnic and religious minorities. Four of the main leaders were killed in the attack: Hassan Abud, founder and emir of the movement, and head of the political department of the Islamic Front; Abu Talha al Ghab, military chief; Abu Ayman Ram Hamdan, former head of the Badr brigade and responsible for planning; and Abu Abdel Malek al Shari, its religious leader. The attack was a blow to a key element that could have rallied to the American cause.
Dennis B. Ross: Islamists Are Not Our Friends—A new fault line has emerged in Middle Eastern politics that will have profound implications for America’s foreign policy in the region. It is characterized by a fundamental division between Islamists – both Sunni and Shiite – and non-Islamists. What the Islamists all have in common is that they subordinate national identities to an Islamic identity. Today, the non-Islamists want to know that the U.S. supports them. For America, that means not partnering with Iran against ISIS. It means actively competing with Iran in the rest of the region, independently of whether an acceptable nuclear deal can be reached with Tehran. It means recognizing that Egypt is an essential part of the anti-Islamist coalition, and that American military aid should not be withheld because of differences over Egypt’s domestic behavior. These non-Islamists are America’s natural partners in the region. They favor stability, the free flow of oil and gas, and they oppose terrorism. The forces that threaten us also threaten them. Do not reach out to Islamists; their creed is not compatible with pluralism or democracy.
SnyderTalk Comment: Ross is right: they are not our friends, but they are our enemies. We didn’t declare war on them, but they declared war on us. The approach that Obama presented on Wednesday night is a half-measure. It’s not enough to get the job done, and getting the job done is Job One.
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Report: Family of murdered journalist Foley says was ‘threatened’ by US official over ransom
Hamas Terrorized UN Workers and Confiscated Humanitarian Aid During Gaza War
Israel Better-Prepared for Post-Gaza Legal Fight
Prominent Muslim Brotherhood figures to leave Qatar
Egypt says global action needed to counter Islamic State
Kerry says Egypt has key role to play against Islamic State
Kerry touched down in Cairo, holds meeting with Arab League Sec-Gen
Pentagon: Increased estimates on Islamic State fighters won’t change mission
Thousands of Israeli Arabs rally against Islamic State
Disarmament of Hamas non-negotiable, says Haniyeh
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Mashaal: No Direct Talks with the ‘Occupier’
Haniyeh Urges Abbas to Take Action Against Israel at ICC
Iran Demands Israel be Condemned Over Drone
Kerry Rules Out Iran’s Involvement in IS Campaign
Syrian Rebels: ‘Total War’ on IS Unlikely to Reach Israel
Two Rockets from Syria Explode in Golan
Rivlin: Israel Has a ‘Responsibility’ to Fight ISIS
Anti-Semitism up 400% in UK, Double in France
Jewish Groups to Rally Against Anti-Semitic Opera
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Syrian rebels said to control most of the border with Israel
Family of UK hostage urges Islamic State: Talk to us
Obama ‘confident’ of Islamic State’s defeat
A cacophony of conflicting viewpoints, as Israel’s leadership speaks its mind
Lapid trying to push gov’t toward elections, sources say
Palestinians ‘salute’ reservists from top intel unit
Jewish leader to Europeans: Far-right votes risk nations’ name
Israel Shuts Nazareth Offices of Hamas-Linked Group
Israel tells US it will act if IS reaches Jordan
SnyderTalk Comment: Despite all of his bluster, King Abdullah is incapable of dealing with the enemy that his country faces. Israel will have to do it, because he can’t.
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Palestinians Hire Advisors in U.S.
Egyptian President Denies Offering Part of Sinai to Palestinians
CIA’s New Estimate Triples Number of Islamic State Fighters
14-Year-Old Yazidi Girl Describes Being Given as a Gift to an ISIS Commander
Despite Cease-Fire, U.S. Renews Israel Travel Warning
IDF Seeks to Strike Rockets Before They’re Launched
40 Jordanian MPs Oppose Plan to Import Israeli Gas
Turkey Sends Back 830 European Jihadists
Iran: Baluch Sunni Rebels Fighting Revolutionary Guards
Evidence Growing that Hamas Used Residential Areas as Cover for Firing Rockets at Israel
SnyderTalk Comment: Videos of Hamas terrorists actually firing rockets from residential areas taken from the air and from the ground aren’t enough. Isn’t it strange that with no evidence Israel and Jew haters can work up a crowd and get a majority vote in the U.N. to condemn Israel for just about anything under the sun. That’s what I call evil on display.
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Email Distribution List:
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Genesis 29: 15-20
15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” 16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 And Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful of form and face. 18 Now Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” 19 Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than to give her to another man; stay with me.” 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her.
SnyderTalk Comment: Read His Name is Yahweh.
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His Name is Yahweh explains why the Name of God, Yahweh, is so important. It’s available in eBook format and in paperback. It’s also available for free in PDF format.
- God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This [Yahweh] is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.” (Exodus 3: 15)
- “Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—this time I will make them know My power and My might; and they shall know that My name is Yahweh.” (Jeremiah 16: 21)
- “Behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, ‘Yahweh our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 23: 5-6)
- Yeshua said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” (John 8: 58)
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Blessings in the Book of Revelation is a book that you need to read, especially now. There are blessings throughout the Scriptures but Revelation is the only book in the Bible actually containing a specific blessing for reading it. It’s repeated twice, once at the beginning and again at the end. This is the reason that I believe Revelation should be the first step toward studying biblical prophecy. Though not easy to do, Revelation can be broken down and understood by anyone, not just the academic elite. So, Revelation’s blessings are for everyone. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
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Other Books by Neil Snyder
- Stand! is a suspense novel that exposes the lies, corruption, and greed underlying the theory that man-made CO2 emissions are responsible for global warming. Professor Wes Carlyle and Karen Sterling, his research collaborator, carefully scan the audience for their would-be attacker—a member of the enviro-gestapo who has been following them for days. Wes spots his man in the back of the room leaning against the wall. Suddenly, another man in the audience steps forward and moves toward Karen at a menacing pace. With a vicious stroke, he swings a billy club at her head. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
- What Will You Do with the Rest of Your Life? deals with a question that every Christian has to consider: what should I do with my life? Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
- Falsely Accused is a true story about a young woman who was accused of committing a double homicide. It’s about a travesty of justice, and it reveals Yahweh intervening in the life of a believer to rescue her from danger in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Everyone will enjoy the book, but young people in particular need to read it because the mistakes made that led to the problem could have been avoided. They were the kinds of mistakes that young people are prone to make. As they say, forewarned is forearmed. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
