Obama bad, Reagan good?

Chemi Shalev is my new best friend. I swear this is the truth. You see yesterday morning I had a conversation with one of the strongest supporters Israel will ever have in this country or any other for that matter, but of the old school. His distaste for our current president has been well-expressed on prior occasions. Yesterday he stated that what we needed was a strong leader and friend of Israel in the White House, like Ronald Reagan. (Full disclosure: Reagan was the first president I voted against.) I controlled myself and left the comment alone.

Then I awoke this morning and, as I do every morning, checked out Haaretz and saw this from Haaretz's Chemi Shalev, as he remembers Reagan. Shalev starts:

Imagine if Israel would launch a successful preemptive strike against a country that is building a nuclear bomb that threatens its very existence, and the American president would describe it as “a tragedy”.

And he goes from there. Chemi, if you are ever in Chicago. Stop by. Drinks are on me.

ICYMTO (in case you missed the opportunity)

ICYMI . . . here's Eli Valley's take on the zombie talking point that "the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity." Brilliant.

New blog discovered

Check out Professor David Schaub's blog. He's been following the J Street U Berkeley story, which has just taken a turn for the good guys.

And oh yeah, Go Illini! 

If you dare . . .

Click here and follow Haaretz's live blogging of the Republican Jewish Coalition's candidates forum.

Meretz MK assigned body guard

The onslaught against champions of Israeli democracy continues. Following death threats from a right wing extremist, the Knesset Guard and Israeli Police assign Meretz MK Zehava Gal-On a bodyguard. Right wing extremist National MK Michael Ben-Ari calls it "a provocation of the Left." 

Not turtley enough for the turtle club, I guess

How effed up is this? The Jewish Union at UC Berkeley voted (10-9, 2 abstentions) to deny membership to the Berkeley Chapter of J Street U, because J Streeters are just not pro-Israel enough for the pro-Israel club. According to Jacob Lewis, co-president of the student group Tikvah, “J Street is not pro-Israel but an anti-Israel organization that, as part of the mainstream Jewish community, I could not support.” Give 'em hell Jakie!

Jacob, as self-assigned spokes-kid for the "mainstream Jewish community" represented by the 10/21sts who voted to keep the Streeters out of the club, knows what all true blue and white blooded American Jews know -- the real pro-Israel folks are American Jews.

I'm sure that comes as quite a shock to Alon Mazor, the Berkeley J Street U member who sought admittance to the club. Get it? Alon Mazor. Do I need to spell it in Hebrew fonts? Alon, you see, was born in Israel.

So where did Jacob get the idea that Alon's J Street U is anti-Israel? To hear Jacob tell it, it was from another Israeli he heard speak  . . . at a J Street U event. Last year, Assaf Sharon, from the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement in Israel spoke at Berkeley and explained to Jacob that East Jerusalem, being beyond the Green Line, is a settlement. Sharon, the presenter at this "virulently hateful event about Israel" is now back home in Israel, spreading his "anti-Israel" message, with a host of other "anti-Israel" Israelis, and where he was recently physically assaulted by those "pro-Israel" Israelis living beyond the Green Line.

Perhaps, if Alon hates Israel so much, he should just go back where he came from, and leave the pro-Israel clubs to real Jews.

Meir Dagan - Od Pa'am (Again)

Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan warning against an attack on Iran:

"I'm concerned about possible mistakes and I prefer to speak out before there is a catastrophe," Dagan said in an interview on the Israeli television program “Uvda."