Bombing Argentinian Jews (1994)

Today's Golden Oldie is a Dry Bones cartoon done 15 years ago in 1994.

The cartoon was done after the horrific bombing that obliterated the seven-storey Jewish Community Center building in Argentina, killing 85 and injuring more than 300.

Ahmad Vahidi, who led a unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards known as the Quds Force was the "mastermind" behind the brutal, antisemitic, terrorist attack. Interpol issued a wanted persons alert for him in 2007. To see the Interpol "wanted" poster for Ahmad Vahidi, click on Interpol.

Want to know where this wanted terrorist is today? He is not in hiding. He is the Secretary of Defence in Ahmadinejad's Iranian Government.

When he got the job, earlier this year, a spokesman for Obama's State Department described Vahidi's nomination as "disturbing".

Iran in 2010

The world watches as the Iranians battle against the illegitimate Ahmadinejad regime that stole the last election and set up show trials of the opposition. The Iranians are fighting the nasty regime that tortured, raped, and murdered demonstrators and dissenters.

Interesting to note that, as Ahmadinejad threatens the world, he himself is threatened by "the will of the people".

Virtual Reality Games (1994)

Today's Golden Oldie is a Dry Bones cartoon done 15 years ago in 1994.

It's another one of those cartoons that I could do today without having to change a single line.

Profiling

Our modern world is being threatened by an Islamist movement. It is carrying on a Jihad against the rest of us. It is antisemitic, anti-Christian, anti-Bahai, anti-Buddhist, anti-Hindu, anti-athiest, anti-female, homophobic, intolerant, and anti-democratic. It teaches young Moslems that dying in the service of Islamist global conquest is a carrying out of the teachings of the Quran. It teaches Muslims that bombings and terror attacks against innocent men, women, and children are holy acts of Islamic faith.

The idea that security personnel should not treat Muslim men with more suspicion than other travellers is stupid!

Quiz

You probably don't recognize the name Dalal Mughrabi, but Palestinian children certainly will.

Back in 1978:
Dalal Mughrabi was a Palestinian terrorist.

In March of 1978 she led one of the most cruel and deadly terror attacks in Israel’s history. She and her fellow terrorists landed in rubber boats on a beach near Tel Aviv. On that beach, photographing rare birds was American photographer Gail Rubin. After first questioning her, the terrorists then murdered her in cold blood and went on to hijack a bus on the nearby coastal road, killing 37 civilians, 12 of them children.

Now, in 2009:
The Palestinian Authority, under the control of the Abbas government, has set up a modern new computer center. It will be named "after the martyr Dalal Mughrabi," the female terrorist who led that deadly 1978 attack. The new center is funded by Abbas's office, which receives Western aid money.

Earlier this year, on the anniversary of the Mughrabi murders, PA TV broadcast a special program celebrating the terror attack, calling the killing of 37 civilians "one of the most important and most prominent special operations... carried out by a team of heroes and led by the heroic fighter Dalal Mughrabi”.

Last summer the PA sponsored "the Dalal Mughrabi football championship" for kids.

The Abbas government runs a "summer camp named for martyr Dalal Mughrabi... out of honor and admiration for the martyr."

The Abbas government held a party to honor exemplary students, named "for the martyr Dalal Mughrabi," under the auspices of Abbas and at which Abbas's representative "reviewed the heroic life of the martyr [Mughrabi]

In 2002, the US provided money for renovations of the "Dalal Mughrabi school for girls". After PMW alerted the US State Department to Mughrabi's terrorist past, the funding was cancelled. Within 24 hours, the PA said the name would be changed, and the American money was reinstated. Once the work was completed, however, the school was renamed for the terrorist. It bears Mughrabi's name to this day.

* * * You probably don't recognize the name Salakh Khalaf, but Palestinian children certainly will. One reason is that today's Palestinian kids can enjoy the sports fun at the Salakh Khalaf soccer field.(Funded with U.S. AID money)

Khalaf was the head of the Palestinian terror group that murdered 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics and two American diplomats in Sudan.

* * * For more information check out this May 2009 PMW Bulletin

And be sure to visit www.PalWatch.com (Palestinian Media Watch's new website!)

Santa Claus (1996)

Hanukka has just ended and Christmas Eve is tonight. While rummaging through my archives for a Golden Oldie I was surprised to see how many times I've already cartooned and blogged about Christmas since I began this blog back in August of 2005.

To see the Christmas postings, just click on Dry Bones Christmas postings.

And to all our Christian friends out there, have a beautiful and Merry Christmas!!

Twenty Years Later

Before 2009 comes to an end, I wanted to point out that in this, the 20th anniversary of the reuniting of their divided city of Berlin, the Europeans want to divide our reunited city of Jerusalem

The way to do that, I figured, was to do a cartoon that "just said it"!

* * * For a report on the current situation by Dr. Dore Gold, Israel's ambassador to the UN in 1997-99, click on Europe Seeks to Divide Jerusalem

Climate Change (1989)

Today's Golden Oldie is a Dry Bones cartoon done 20 years ago in the winter of 1989.

I picked this cartoon because of the latest weather-related news which makes the threat of Global Warming seem as silly to us simple folk now, as it did back then in 1989.

A few samples:

from Ireland:

Freezing weather causes havoc on the roads

"Motorists have been urged to be extremely careful on the roads as the cold snap continues to make driving hazardous.
Further freezing conditions are forecast for tonight, with temperatures expected to dip to zero and more snowfalls expected.
Icy road surfaces today have resulted in cars skidding. Thousands of kilometres of local roads remain untreated and are extremely dangerous to drive on." -more

from Poland:

Poland reports 29 deaths in deep-freeze weather

"Warsaw - Twenty-nine people people have frozen to death throughout Poland during the weekend's bitter cold wave that has dropped temperatures to minus 20 degrees Celsius, police said Sunday in Warsaw. Most of the dead were homeless and alcohol-dependent men between 30 and 50 years of age. The latest deaths brought to 71 the number of people who have died in Poland from exposure since early December." -more

from Western Europe:

Eurostar passenger train services suspended over freezing weather

"Eurostar trains carrying passengers in the undersea Channel Tunnel between Britain and France will remain suspended on Sunday over concerns of freezing weather, the rail operator has said.
A total of five high-speed passenger trains broke down on Friday and Saturday as they entered the warmer tunnel from cold air outside, with condensation causing electricity failures. More than 2,000 passengers were trapped inside the tunnel for many hours." -more

from The United States:

Blizzard-like storm slams East; region snowed in

" WASHINGTON — A blizzard-like storm rocked the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Saturday, crippling travel across the region and leaving hundreds of thousands of customers without power.
Five deaths appeared to have been caused by the storm system, which stretched from the Carolinas north to New England and also spread into some Midwestern states. The 16 inches of snow that fell at Reagan National Airport outside Washington was the most ever recorded for a single December day, while about 16 inches had also fallen in Philadelphia.
-more

from Canada:

Edmonton Registers Record-Low Cold Weather

" Edmonton, Alberta (AHN) - Edmonton registered on Sunday a record-high freezing temperature of minus 46.1 degree Celsius. It broke the old record of negative 36.1 degree set in 2008.
The extremely cold weather was logged 5 a.m. on Sunday at the Edmonton International Airport, according to Environment Canada meteorologist Pierre Lessard. If the wind chill is included in the measure, the recorded temperature was at minus 58.4 degree Celsius.
Edmonton's city center also broke its own record Sunday when it logged on Sunday a temperature of minus 36.5 degree Celsius at 8 a.m. It broke the previous Dec. 13 record of negative 32.8 degree Celsius set in 1882" -more

* * * Your thoughts?

Auschwitz

According to the Associated Press:

WARSAW, Poland -- "The Nazis' infamous iron sign declaring "Arbeit Macht Frei" -- German for "Work Sets You Free" -- was stolen Friday from the entrance of the former Auschwitz death camp, Polish police said."

"The 16-foot-long, 90-pound iron sign at the Holocaust memorial site in southern Poland was unscrewed on one side and torn off on the other, police spokeswoman Katarzyna Padlo said."

"The sign "Arbeit Macht Frei" ("Work Sets You Free") was stolen before dawn Friday. The theft from the entrance to the camp, where more than one million people, mostly Jews, died during World War II, triggered world-wide condemnation." -more

Annoying

I spent the past two days in Jerusalem attending the annual 2009 Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism (GFCA). There were more than 500 participants from over 50 countries. Among those taking part was Lithuania’s Foreign Minister, Canada's Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, and the Czech Republic’s Minister of Human Rights. There were also legislators, jurists, academics, and heads of many NGO's among the participants... and as near as I could determine, one cartoonist.

You can visit the GFCA website by clicking here.

Hanukka (1997)

Today's Golden Oldie is a Dry Bones cartoon done for Chanukka in 1997.

It was published in the Jerusalem Post and other newspapers for folks to cut out and mail to their friends. These days forget "snail mail", you can just forward it! So I decided to re-run it as a Golden Oldie.

Happy Holiday!

American Idol

The American media has hounded Tiger Woods' and luxuriated in this "story" like some old gossip magazine. But because the guy is a multimillionaire, and because it looks to me like he had himself a real good time, I allowed myself the luxury of taking a cheap shot at him, and did this cartoon to give you a laugh. In any case, his "comeback" will be brilliant and profitable!

A thought: Most public figures who dramatically withdraw from public life and want to prove it ...are photographed playing golf. How will Tiger handle that?

Money (1984)

Today's Golden Oldie is a Dry Bones cartoon done 25 years ago this month in 1984.

It was a time of economic pressure. Folks didn't know how they'd make it to the end of the month. Which is why this cartoon resonated so well with local fans at the time.

Happy Hanukka!

Lebanese Army

The developing story as reported in the Lebanese newspaper, The Daily Star:

"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the Lebanese government on Monday it will be held accountable for any aggression from Hizbullah after allowing the resistance to retain its weapons. He also launched a scathing attack on UN Security Council Resolution 1701, claiming it had “collapsed” and was playing no role in preventing Hizbullah stockpiling huge arsenals of rockets.

“Hizbullah is today the real Lebanese army and it has replaced Lebanon’s army as the dominant force by arming and organizing itself as a full-fledged military,” Netanyahu told parliament’s foreign affairs and defense committee.

“The Lebanese government and Hizbullah are becoming entwined and they will bear the responsibility for any attack against Israel,” a senior official who attended the meeting quoted Netanyahu as saying." -more

Sunday Mail: Dr. David Neiman

Posting a cartoon every weekday leaves no room for me to simply share news, ideas, and other stuff with you. So welcome to 'Sunday Mail: Letters from Dry Bones', the new, once-a-week Dry Bones feature.

Item One: A Friend:
Dr. David Neiman was a guy whom I'd bump into when he was in Israel visiting his daughter, a friend of mine. We'd sit at a sidewalk cafe in the bohemian-ish Shenkein neighborhood in Tel Aviv. Mostly we'd argue over the Bible, prophecy, and current events. He was a delight. It was only after his death that I discovered that the guy I loved to debate was a learned scholar and historian!!?!

He was the first Jewish scholar ever to be invited to teach in the theology department of a Catholic University, joining the faculty of Boston College in 1966. He went on to become the first Jewish theologian to be invited to teach at the Pontifical Gregorian University at the Vatican

Item Two: For Hanukkah:
There are many stories and myths associated with Hanukkah...and lessons to be drawn ...and foods and rituals to enjoy, but how many of us are familiar with the actual historical events we mark at this time ?

One way to educate yourself is to sit in on one of the courses that my friend Dr. David Neiman gave. I did and thought you might enjoy it too.

Click here to listen to Dr. Neiman's 46 minute lecture on Hanukkah.

By the way, you can also find some of Dr.Neiman's YouTube videos at Dr.Neiman's videos

Happy Hanukkah!!

Chanukah 2009

Hannuka, Chanukah, Chanukkah . . . however you spell it, it stands for our eight-day "Festival of Lights".

And it begins tonight!

Have a Happy!!

Negotiations (1973)

Today's Golden Oldie is a Dry Bones cartoon done in 1973.

I thought I'd post a really old "Golden Oldie" today, so I checked to see what was happening in the very first December in which I was doing Dry Bones cartoons, 36 years ago ...and discovered that nothing much seems to have changed!

A Question

According to the MEMRI Iranian Media Blog:

"Iranian expatriate human rights activists report that 4,000 students demonstrated in Tehran to mark Students Day today, shouting "Death to (Iranian Supreme Leader Ali) Khamenei " and "Khamenei is a Murderer and His Religious Authority Is Null and Void," as well as "Death to the Government That Deceives the People."

At Amir Kabir University in Tehran, 1,500 students shouted for the "coup government" to step down, and chanted "Death to the Dictator" (referring to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad)." -more

To see a video of this week's Iranian student anti-Ahmadinejad demonstrations click on Tehran Video

Israeli Demonstrations (1999)

Today's Golden Oldie is from December 1999. Ten years ago this month.

Question: What should the citizens of a democracy do when their government ignores the will of the people?

Answer 1: When the government willingly defies the will of the people, the citizens should demonstrate against the government and its policies.

Answer 2: When, the government ignores the will of the people because of outside pressures, the citizens should demonstrate against the government and its policies in order to support it.

As it was in 1999 with the Golan Heights issue, so it is now in 2009, with the Obama Settlement Freeze. It's the dilemma of democracy in a small and beleaguered country.

Swedish Meatballs

The story according to Reuters, as quoted by the Daily Times ( a Pakistani Site)

JERUSALEM: "A proposal before the European Union to endorse the division of Jerusalem would risk closing off half the city to non-Muslims, according to a think tank close to the Israeli government. The Israel Project said the plan could be backed at a regular meeting of the bloc’s 27 foreign ministers on Monday, as part of what it called a bid to “forge a high-profile role” in resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Diplomats in Brussels said the EU meeting was likely to discuss the stalled Middle East peace process, but no radical new policy change was in the works. East Jerusalem has been seen for years as prospective capital of a future Palestinian state. The think tank singled out current EU president Sweden and its foreign minister Carl Bildt, saying he aimed to sideline the EU’s more balanced existing policy. Relations between Sweden and Israel have been irritated recently by what was seen in Israel as an anti-Semitic story in the Swedish press and Israel’s refusal to let a Swedish minister visit Palestinians in the blockaded Gaza Strip." -more

Falling Into Place

With all the debate going on in America about the war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, and the "situation" with Iran, it is interesting that the vast majority of Americans have no idea of where these countries actually are!! * * * A look at the map shows what seems to be forming as a spreading Iranian area of influence bordered by Israel on the West all the way to India on its Eastern border. A worrying development for both of our countries.

Christmas (1999)

Today's Golden Oldie is from December 1999. Prior to the PLO takeover of Bethlehem, local Israeli TV news crews would cover the dressing up of the Christian city's streets with bright lights and "Stars of Bethlehem".

I used to live in Jerusalem, in neighborhood that was a short drive to our sister city. I'm a sociable sort and soon had a number of Bethlehemite friends that I hung out with regularly.

One day I was in Bethlehem with an American who was visiting the country. I introduced him to a Palestinian businessman who was a close friend of mine.

My businessman friend took me aside. "Why did you introduce me as a Palestinian?!" He demanded. "When I met you" I answered, "you said that you were a Palestinian!". "When you met me" he retorted "you were an Israeli Jew, so of course I said that I was a Palestinian!!". "But now we are friends and you should know that I am not a Palestinian, I am a Christian!!"

The Muslim population has swelled and has since taken over my friend's city. Most of its Christian community has fled or is in the process of fleeing to America's west coast or to Latin America. The pleasant days of arguing with Arab friends over tiny cups of overly sweet coffee in the little town of Bethlehem are long gone ...but I do miss them.

And to my Bethlehemite friends, wherever they may be these days, I wish a very Happy Christmas.

the Promise to Abraham

The Bible quote is from the first of the five books of Moses. The King James translation renders the promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 as:

"And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."

In my recent American speaking tour I discovered that the folks who once believed that George W. was either demonic or stupid now have perfect faith in Obama as a glowing Messianic figure.

I thought I'd do a cartoon about President Obama's surprising string of failures, but these days any criticism of the politician from Chicago is a violation of Political Correctness ...and an invitation to being called a racist!!?!

So I did this cartoon about "playing it safe".

Your thoughts?

Delivery Systems (1994)

Today's Golden Oldie is from 15 years ago this month. It was drawn in December of 1994.

The subject of the cartoon was the use of "exploding suicide belts" for terrorists. Previously, the danger came from booby-trapped devices and bomb-laden vehicles. The advent of using willing stooges had, as pointed out in the cartoon, certain advantages for the Palestinian Terrorist organizations.

* * * These days, of course, the IslamoFascists are developing newer delivery systems for their murderous missions. I refer, of course, to the looming threat of Iranian nukes deliverable by Iranian missiles.

The American administration does not seem overly concerned by the situation, except for its worrying about any Israeli move to prevent the attack planned to "wipe Israel off the map".