No matter who you decide to vote for in this election, please take time tomorrow to get out and vote. I believe if everyone participates, we might get better outcomes.
Until next time!
I recommend this article too when you have a chance to read it.
I wish there was a way to legally ban anti-Zionist Jews from entering Israel but I know I’m thinking in anger and is probably not morally correct.
I agree that neither party is here for us. Voting was not fun, and I hope I picked the least damaging option, but who knows? I do not feel happy and while I did finally select a candidate, I don’t know what to pray for, so I pray for whatever is best according to G-d.
I agree, they should have their right of return revoked if they’re technically Jewish or should be banned from entering Israel if they don’t recognize its right to exist.
This was a tough election cycle. Let’s all try to be more empathetic of people who disagree with us politically. I am certainly trying, varying degrees of success some days honestly.
Fortunately, there are other ways to organize and help besides pinning all our hopes on one politician or another. Let’s explore them all and bet on ourselves the next four years.
Actually,Jews are some of the biggest philanthropists in America. Thanks to Jewish Americans (but not only ) Israel has organizations for: cancer victims, hospitals, special children, kidney transplants, soldier bus stops, coffee stations for soldiers, hungry children, poor brides, Passover distributions, yeshivas, transportation for children to get to school, breathing machines and on and on and on. In effect, there is already a “voluntary tax”.
IMO, a real protection for Jews is their Torah, their tradition. This is the thing that has preserved us for three thousand years.
I appreciate that perspective. I often wish that faith was something that came to me more easily and felt natural. Although I do not observe all of the Jewish rituals in the way a religious person would, I am glad that many people do and preserve those traditions for future generations. I will always fight for their right to do so.
You really don’t have to have faith, to start with. For the first three years after becoming an observant Jew (I grew up in a fairly assimilated family) I didn’t even think about G-d. The more I learned and practised, the more it all made sense, and the profundity could not have been thought up by the most intelligent human being. It is way beyond our finite minds.
In any case, all of Am Yisrael is precious, no matter what their stance is.
I very much like the goal of more Jewish gun ownership in the United States. Right now I do not own any guns. My plan is to find two local gun dealers and two local shooting clubs. Learn to shoot safely and make friends with sensible people I meet that own guns. There are lots of nice people that own way more guns and ammunition than they can possibly shoot on their own. I will volunteer to help defend them with their guns and myself in the process.
My personal plan is a couple of pump action shotguns. Keep them locked up. First 3 rounds small shot pellets, last three heavy shot or slugs.
Finally a couple friends with guns have established a specific LLC to control some liability if the weapons are stolen.
Hey Thomas, I highly encourage you to watch our first interview with a Jewish NYPD officer where he talks about gun safety and how to get started responsibly. I think a local shooting range is a good place to get started and they can help you get started and on a path to learning how to be a responsible gun owner. Good luck.
Money is not the answer—money is what you need when you know the answer and you can teach it.
I have been an atheist since 1966, but I have always been and will continue to be a Jew. Maybe there is a better idea.
I did not have a Jewish education, but I grew up a secular Jew. I am also an anthropologist. For the last five years, I've been studying the anthropology of God.
What does this mean? Reading the Bible (Fox translation). Trying to understand what makes the Jews different — at once, what makes us both different, and special, is the Jewish idea of God.
Whether you believe that God created man or Man created God, our Jewish God is unique — there is no other like Him in the world. The shul is a school, and God gave Moses the Commandments. But men have free will— what is that? Free Will means that you have to think. How do you solve the problem of survival? You choose to think.
October 7, 2023 made me re-evaluate everything. I am more proud of being a Jew than ever.
You can ask for money in two ways: as alms or as payment. I prefer the latter. It's a harsh reason why the Jews are targets since the days of Abraham, and Jews asking for money as alms is about as far away from a workable solution to October 7, 2023, as we could get.
If God is both good and just, whether you believe in God or not, the Jewish God brought a better idea to the world. The world is aligned now to crush the Jews and launch the Last Battle between Civilization and Chaos. Asking for alms to support a cause more Just than any other betrays the fact, that although Judaism is the oldest monotheistic religion, the Jews themselves have never learned nor communicated to the world what we were Choosen.
What makes the Jews different? The Jewish idea of God. We are the Choosen people, not because God choose us, but because we had the capacity to know, and to choose, what others surely have the capacity to learn: Life is the value. Life, this life, is the ultimate value. God lives with us and we with Him when we hold no value higher than our own self-respect.
Why? At the scene of the sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham, the Bible says God stayed his hand, and Isaac lived. Christians are taught that this non-sacrifice is as bad as an actual sacrifice. Really!
I heard this story many times when I was a child. If Abraham was a good man, God a good and just God, and Isaac an innocent child, how can anyone believe that Isaac would be dead at the end of that scene?
I couldn't at five, six, or any time after. This story is the test — no self-respecting man, no self-respecting god and no normal, happy child would believe it to be anything but theater. It took me 70+ years to figure this out. Someone needs to explain this most important lesson from the Bible. Why doesn't the world see it this way — life is the value
I appreciate you sharing your perspective. I agree money isn't always the answer, but Israel does have very real security needs that need to be funded. Financing an army the size of the IDF with a country as small as Israel is no easy task. Many Israelis already struggle mightily with the high cost of living, high taxes, and relatively lower wages than other western nations. I do think quality of life without some type of creative subsidy would make life even more difficult and threaten the nations longevity, although I do believe Israel will always find a way to survive regardless.
My belief is more so that there the fates of Israelis and diaspora Jews are intertwined, even for secular Jews like me. Diaspora Jews should do more to support Israel than rhetoric. If they wish to serve, great, they should not pay the voluntary tax if they are willing to serve, but those Jews are probably the most willing to pay it willingly anyhow.
Trump can have a positive impact on supplanting the hatred-centric middle eastern governments against Jews and Israel. Sadly, I agree with everything else you’ve predicted, and I agree with what you’ve proposed as a response to circumstances as they are, especially as the dominant crony countries of the EU and CIANATO cannot be relied upon any more than Russia or China.
I agree with all the solutions bar unconventional IDF alliances. We've all seen what happens when you support a group like Hamas. They can't be trusted (obviously) either if both parties have a common enemy.
I like the idea of a global tax to raise funds. But how many in the West want to contribute to more weapons? They (the majority of left wing Jews in America) want peace and believe thats the only way forward.
They want “peace” by advocating Israel surrender to a terror group who won’t recognize their right to exist. They have zero skin in the game. They just think it will make them popular at a cocktail to be seen as an edgy Jew advocating against Israel, the nation that’s indirectly keeping them safe.
I do agree of these ideas, that’s the worst one that has the highest potential to backfire. Last I read Israel created a new unit to retrofit the armaments and incorporate what they can into their army, which makes more sense.
Great article! Great out of box thinking. We need new ideas; the old ones are clearly not working. I want to vote for multiple ideas on your poll. Regifting the confiscated weapons is good; reminded me of seeing all the tags at the Latrun tank museum identifying their origin. Regarding politicians, they would need to actually be serving our Jewish and societal issues.
of bugs... none of this woke trash is acceptable.... no self hatred! At this point recognizing Kahane was a prophet strengthens us as a people! Let's face truth! Yes, we must be ready and strong if we are to be in this world. G-D bless you for seeing the reality and say.... Thank YOU G-D for having made me a Jew! We must understand we are not here on this earth to be victims.... we are here to bear witness and defy the evil that lurks in wait for us.
Thank you! None of our beloved children should be in the hellscape of public 'education'. No mandates, no 'taking of the knee', no poisoning of the bidy, no mutilations, no eating
My suggestion is to stop letting the Masada complex become a self-fulfilling prophecy. There does seem to be an anti-Jewish strand running through the US. It’s a mystery to me but I suspect it has not got a lot to do with support for Palestinians. Nitwits shouting the Jews will not replace us are racist and fascist. You have conflated two separate things as though they were one.
I appreciate your perspective, I’m not understanding what two things you believe you think I’m conflating.
I believe strongly that the “anti-Zionist” movement in the West and the conflict in the Middle East are absolutely linked issues and that most diaspora Jews and Israelis and do not realize how deeply their fates are intertwined. If they did, they might support each other more. Building a bridge and stronger understanding between these two communities is a big reason I write this column.
Yes. If Jews are in danger in Western countries it isn’t from pro- Palestinian protestors, it is from neo-Nazis. For reasons impossible to fathom there has been a resurgence of Jew hatred. These idiots think that the Rothschilds head some world organisation determined to drown Western culture in a tsunami of migrants. People of this ilk would as soon murder blacks in a church or Muslims in a mosque as they would worshippers in a synagogue. The cancerous abscess in the Levant needs to be solved. But your suggestions will not achieve that.
Thanks for reading Maccabee Nation!
No matter who you decide to vote for in this election, please take time tomorrow to get out and vote. I believe if everyone participates, we might get better outcomes.
Until next time!
I recommend this article too when you have a chance to read it.
https://www.thefp.com/p/abigail-shrier-the-kinderfada-revolution?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web
Great ideas. I love the taxes.
I wish there was a way to legally ban anti-Zionist Jews from entering Israel but I know I’m thinking in anger and is probably not morally correct.
I agree that neither party is here for us. Voting was not fun, and I hope I picked the least damaging option, but who knows? I do not feel happy and while I did finally select a candidate, I don’t know what to pray for, so I pray for whatever is best according to G-d.
I agree, they should have their right of return revoked if they’re technically Jewish or should be banned from entering Israel if they don’t recognize its right to exist.
This was a tough election cycle. Let’s all try to be more empathetic of people who disagree with us politically. I am certainly trying, varying degrees of success some days honestly.
Fortunately, there are other ways to organize and help besides pinning all our hopes on one politician or another. Let’s explore them all and bet on ourselves the next four years.
1 STATE 🇮🇱. G-D bless our warriors on the battlefield.
Very unique and creative ideas!
Actually,Jews are some of the biggest philanthropists in America. Thanks to Jewish Americans (but not only ) Israel has organizations for: cancer victims, hospitals, special children, kidney transplants, soldier bus stops, coffee stations for soldiers, hungry children, poor brides, Passover distributions, yeshivas, transportation for children to get to school, breathing machines and on and on and on. In effect, there is already a “voluntary tax”.
IMO, a real protection for Jews is their Torah, their tradition. This is the thing that has preserved us for three thousand years.
I did enjoy reading your thoughts, though.
I appreciate that perspective. I often wish that faith was something that came to me more easily and felt natural. Although I do not observe all of the Jewish rituals in the way a religious person would, I am glad that many people do and preserve those traditions for future generations. I will always fight for their right to do so.
You really don’t have to have faith, to start with. For the first three years after becoming an observant Jew (I grew up in a fairly assimilated family) I didn’t even think about G-d. The more I learned and practised, the more it all made sense, and the profundity could not have been thought up by the most intelligent human being. It is way beyond our finite minds.
In any case, all of Am Yisrael is precious, no matter what their stance is.
https://maccabeenation.substack.com/p/moshe-moskowitz-interview-founder you might enjoy this interview we did awhile back.
It looks interesting. BTW, my husband is 73 and he has been jumping rope for 45 years.
Many of us non Jews would be happy to pay out as well!
😎 You’re awesome Pat.
All of your proposals are valid, as is your assessment that the next four years will be fraught with danger and challenges for the Jewish diaspora.
I very much like the goal of more Jewish gun ownership in the United States. Right now I do not own any guns. My plan is to find two local gun dealers and two local shooting clubs. Learn to shoot safely and make friends with sensible people I meet that own guns. There are lots of nice people that own way more guns and ammunition than they can possibly shoot on their own. I will volunteer to help defend them with their guns and myself in the process.
My personal plan is a couple of pump action shotguns. Keep them locked up. First 3 rounds small shot pellets, last three heavy shot or slugs.
Finally a couple friends with guns have established a specific LLC to control some liability if the weapons are stolen.
Hey Thomas, I highly encourage you to watch our first interview with a Jewish NYPD officer where he talks about gun safety and how to get started responsibly. I think a local shooting range is a good place to get started and they can help you get started and on a path to learning how to be a responsible gun owner. Good luck.
I love being Jewish...Am Yisrael Chai
Money is not the answer—money is what you need when you know the answer and you can teach it.
I have been an atheist since 1966, but I have always been and will continue to be a Jew. Maybe there is a better idea.
I did not have a Jewish education, but I grew up a secular Jew. I am also an anthropologist. For the last five years, I've been studying the anthropology of God.
What does this mean? Reading the Bible (Fox translation). Trying to understand what makes the Jews different — at once, what makes us both different, and special, is the Jewish idea of God.
Whether you believe that God created man or Man created God, our Jewish God is unique — there is no other like Him in the world. The shul is a school, and God gave Moses the Commandments. But men have free will— what is that? Free Will means that you have to think. How do you solve the problem of survival? You choose to think.
October 7, 2023 made me re-evaluate everything. I am more proud of being a Jew than ever.
You can ask for money in two ways: as alms or as payment. I prefer the latter. It's a harsh reason why the Jews are targets since the days of Abraham, and Jews asking for money as alms is about as far away from a workable solution to October 7, 2023, as we could get.
If God is both good and just, whether you believe in God or not, the Jewish God brought a better idea to the world. The world is aligned now to crush the Jews and launch the Last Battle between Civilization and Chaos. Asking for alms to support a cause more Just than any other betrays the fact, that although Judaism is the oldest monotheistic religion, the Jews themselves have never learned nor communicated to the world what we were Choosen.
What makes the Jews different? The Jewish idea of God. We are the Choosen people, not because God choose us, but because we had the capacity to know, and to choose, what others surely have the capacity to learn: Life is the value. Life, this life, is the ultimate value. God lives with us and we with Him when we hold no value higher than our own self-respect.
Why? At the scene of the sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham, the Bible says God stayed his hand, and Isaac lived. Christians are taught that this non-sacrifice is as bad as an actual sacrifice. Really!
I heard this story many times when I was a child. If Abraham was a good man, God a good and just God, and Isaac an innocent child, how can anyone believe that Isaac would be dead at the end of that scene?
I couldn't at five, six, or any time after. This story is the test — no self-respecting man, no self-respecting god and no normal, happy child would believe it to be anything but theater. It took me 70+ years to figure this out. Someone needs to explain this most important lesson from the Bible. Why doesn't the world see it this way — life is the value
I appreciate you sharing your perspective. I agree money isn't always the answer, but Israel does have very real security needs that need to be funded. Financing an army the size of the IDF with a country as small as Israel is no easy task. Many Israelis already struggle mightily with the high cost of living, high taxes, and relatively lower wages than other western nations. I do think quality of life without some type of creative subsidy would make life even more difficult and threaten the nations longevity, although I do believe Israel will always find a way to survive regardless.
My belief is more so that there the fates of Israelis and diaspora Jews are intertwined, even for secular Jews like me. Diaspora Jews should do more to support Israel than rhetoric. If they wish to serve, great, they should not pay the voluntary tax if they are willing to serve, but those Jews are probably the most willing to pay it willingly anyhow.
It is in G-D's time to be set upon the path.
I am proud of you on your journey. May you ever be blessed.
Rabbi RL
Trump can have a positive impact on supplanting the hatred-centric middle eastern governments against Jews and Israel. Sadly, I agree with everything else you’ve predicted, and I agree with what you’ve proposed as a response to circumstances as they are, especially as the dominant crony countries of the EU and CIANATO cannot be relied upon any more than Russia or China.
I agree with all the solutions bar unconventional IDF alliances. We've all seen what happens when you support a group like Hamas. They can't be trusted (obviously) either if both parties have a common enemy.
I like the idea of a global tax to raise funds. But how many in the West want to contribute to more weapons? They (the majority of left wing Jews in America) want peace and believe thats the only way forward.
They want “peace” by advocating Israel surrender to a terror group who won’t recognize their right to exist. They have zero skin in the game. They just think it will make them popular at a cocktail to be seen as an edgy Jew advocating against Israel, the nation that’s indirectly keeping them safe.
I do agree of these ideas, that’s the worst one that has the highest potential to backfire. Last I read Israel created a new unit to retrofit the armaments and incorporate what they can into their army, which makes more sense.
Great article! Great out of box thinking. We need new ideas; the old ones are clearly not working. I want to vote for multiple ideas on your poll. Regifting the confiscated weapons is good; reminded me of seeing all the tags at the Latrun tank museum identifying their origin. Regarding politicians, they would need to actually be serving our Jewish and societal issues.
Thank you again for your forthright writing
Thank you for reading!
Taxes for we who hope for dual citizenship with ability to vote in Israel elections. It would be a dream come true to give and be honored to so serve.
of bugs... none of this woke trash is acceptable.... no self hatred! At this point recognizing Kahane was a prophet strengthens us as a people! Let's face truth! Yes, we must be ready and strong if we are to be in this world. G-D bless you for seeing the reality and say.... Thank YOU G-D for having made me a Jew! We must understand we are not here on this earth to be victims.... we are here to bear witness and defy the evil that lurks in wait for us.
Be ready, fear nothing but HaShem!
Rabbi RL,
Tribe Judah
My family was slaughtered at Babi Yar
Thank you! None of our beloved children should be in the hellscape of public 'education'. No mandates, no 'taking of the knee', no poisoning of the bidy, no mutilations, no eating
My suggestion is to stop letting the Masada complex become a self-fulfilling prophecy. There does seem to be an anti-Jewish strand running through the US. It’s a mystery to me but I suspect it has not got a lot to do with support for Palestinians. Nitwits shouting the Jews will not replace us are racist and fascist. You have conflated two separate things as though they were one.
I appreciate your perspective, I’m not understanding what two things you believe you think I’m conflating.
I believe strongly that the “anti-Zionist” movement in the West and the conflict in the Middle East are absolutely linked issues and that most diaspora Jews and Israelis and do not realize how deeply their fates are intertwined. If they did, they might support each other more. Building a bridge and stronger understanding between these two communities is a big reason I write this column.
Am I misunderstanding what you mean?
Yes. If Jews are in danger in Western countries it isn’t from pro- Palestinian protestors, it is from neo-Nazis. For reasons impossible to fathom there has been a resurgence of Jew hatred. These idiots think that the Rothschilds head some world organisation determined to drown Western culture in a tsunami of migrants. People of this ilk would as soon murder blacks in a church or Muslims in a mosque as they would worshippers in a synagogue. The cancerous abscess in the Levant needs to be solved. But your suggestions will not achieve that.