Amazing

The Story:

NEW YORK (AFP) – Fidel Castro, the longtime president and leftist icon who stepped aside during a health crisis but still leads the Cuban Communist Party, has told a reporter that Israel definitely has the right to exist.

"Yes it does, without a doubt," Castro, 84, told visiting US journalist Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic magazine, according to a new article published Wednesday.

In the same interview Castro criticized Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for denying the Holocaust and said in an interview Tehran should acknowledge Israel's fears for its own survival.

Asked if Cuba was ready to establish diplomatic ties with Israel, Fidel Castro said that those things took time, the report added.

The former Cuban president who handed over power to his brother Raul in 2006 said Iran should understand the consequences of theological anti-Semitism.

"This went on for maybe two thousand years," Castro was quoted as saying. "I don't think anyone has been slandered more than the Jews. I would say much more than the Muslims. They have been slandered much more than the Muslims because they are blamed and slandered for everything. No one blames the Muslims for anything."

"In my judgment here's what happened to them: Reverse selection. What's reverse selection? Over 2,000 years they were subjected to terrible persecution and then to the pogroms. One might have assumed that they would have disappeared; I think their culture and religion kept them together as a nation."

"The Jews have lived an existence that is much harder than ours. There is nothing that compares to the Holocaust," he said.

-more * * * Tonight is the eve of "Shmini Atzerit" ...the holiday that marks the end of Sukkot. Next Cartoon on Friday October 1.

Hag Sameah!
Happy Holiday!

Sukkot (1999)

Today's golden Oldie cartoon is from Sukkot in 1999.

As it was then, so it is now!

For previous postings about this week long holiday, just click on Sukkot.

Quiz Time

As reported by CBN News on September 20:

Pal. Authority: Death Penalty for Selling Land to Jews

JERUSALEM, Israel - "Israel's peace partner reaffirmed on Sunday that Palestinians convicted of selling land to Jews would face the death penalty for "high treason."

PA officials claim the death penalty deters Arabs from selling land to Jews living in Judea and Samaria, which they envision free of Jewish residents in a future Palestinian state.

But one Palestinian affairs expert said while such laws may deter the sale of land, they give credence to the perception of Palestinian terrorism.

Dr. Hillel Frisch of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University said imposing the death penalty for the sale of land is "pretty stringent in the modern conception of human rights."

"It certainly reflects that a Palestinian democracy has already been placed in the coffin a long time ago," Dr. Frisch told CBN News. "The idea even of a semi-liberal state is long past us," he said. -more

Happy Sukkot Holiday

The Sukkot holiday begins at sunset tonight.

For previous cartoons and columns about the Sukkot Holiday click on Sukkot.

Next cartoon on Monday September 27th!

'Til then, G'mar Hatima Tova, Happy New Year, Hag Sameah, Shabbat Shalom, and Happy Holiday to us all!

Holidays (1998)

Today's cartoon is from 1998.

Back then, as now in 2010, the string of holidays, holy days, and Shabbats seemed to have been strategically placed so as to totally disorient life in Israel

Hag Sameah!

Happy Holiday!

Sukkot begins at sunset tomorrow.

Russian Roulette

The story (as reported 2 hours ago) by the Associated Press:

Israel tried to block Russian arms deal with Syria
By JOSEF FEDERMAN (AP) – September 19, 2010

JERUSALEM — "Israel's prime minister said Sunday that he failed to block Russian plans to sell Syria anti-ship cruise missiles that his country fears could fall into the hands of Hezbollah guerrillas.

Syria is a key backer of the Lebanese Hezbollah, which has used Russian-made weapons against Israel in the past, including anti-tank missiles that were one of the militant group's most effective weapons during the month-long war with Israel in 2006.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the deal to sell Syria P-800 missiles would be "very problematic" for the Jewish state.

"We have been aware of this deal for some time, and there were discussions with the Russians at every level," Netanyahu told a closed meeting of Cabinet ministers from his Likud Party. His comments were confirmed by a meeting participant, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was closed.

A string of Israeli leaders raised concerns about the deal, most recently Defense Minister Ehud Barak during a trip to Moscow earlier this month. Israeli defense officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were discussing a sensitive diplomatic matter, said Barak was told the sale would go through.

Russia's defense minister, Anatoly Serdyukov, announced in Washington last week that his government would go ahead with the deal, signed in 2007. Both Israel and the U.S. had voiced objections." - more

Angels

Sunset tonight ushers in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. May you be inscribed in the Book of Life for a good year!

Have an easy fast!

Shana Tova (1979)

Today's Golden Oldie is a Dry Bones cartoon done 31 years ago for Rosh Hashana in 1979.

Back then I drew the Dry Bones characters without pupils in their eyes. The style now gives them a kind of "dazed look". Of course it was the seventies in Israel ...they probably were dazed!

Now, as then, Happy New Year! Shana Tova!and G'mar Hatima Tova, may you be inscribed in the book of life for a good year!

Jewish Continuity

Jewish continuity, the wisdom of our sages, the latest news, and the Jewish Holidays all seem to be converging! In this cartoon I decided to show the "Old Days" in black and white.

Three Day Weekend (1998)

Today's cartoon is from 1998. It celebrated the weird, jet-laggy feel of Israel after a three-day weekend. Last weekend was another. Erev Rosh HaShana on Wednesday, then Thursday and Friday the two-day New Year holiday, followed by Shabbat, and then, at 2AM on Saturday night we set our clocks back an hour!!

Everyone I know here in the Jewish State is still staggering around in a daze.

Your thoughts?

Delegitimization

In exactly one month I'll be in Boston. I'm scheduled to be one of the speakers at CAMERA's conference on "the Global Campaign to Delegitimize Israel" at Boston U. So if you're in the area . . .

According to the organizers:

"Israel faces a convergence of global forces that may undermine its legitimacy in the eyes of the the world community. A two-day conference will bring together international experts to articulate the enormous challenges of the moment as well as to define constructive action to be taken in countering the biased onslaught. The focus will include the role of the media, NGOs, the UN, academia and the mainline churches in threatening Israel's legitimacy. The urgent conditions in Europe will be examined as well."

For further information about the event click on CAMERA conference.

Best Wishes

Today's cartoon goes out with my best wishes to you all, with hopes of a honey-sweet Jewish New Year. The holiday begins at sunset this Wednesday, September 8. Our next posting will be one week from today, Monday September 13.

Shana Tova.

Happy Jewish New Year to us all!!

Family Ties

According to Israel's Haaretz:

Mubarak signals Egypt succession by taking son to Washington

Gamal Mubarak, long presumed heir to the ageing president, will meet Israeli delegates to peace summit - and maybe even Netanyahu himself.

"Gamal Mubarak, son of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, will accompany his father to this week's Washington peace summit in what may be the clearest sign yet that he is being groomed for the succession.

Gamal has long been the center of speculation that he will replace his ageing father - but until now the 82-year-old president has kept his presumed heir at arm's length during high-profile international engagements." -more

And this from the Irish Times:

Campaign under way in Egypt for son to succeed Mubarak

"The effort to ensure that Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s president for nearly 29 years, is succeeded by his younger son is being conducted by no fewer than three well-organised groups seeking to pre-empt the decision of the ruling party on a candidate for next year’s presidential poll.

Posters showing Gamal Mubarak against the background of the national flag have appeared on the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities.

Some posters call the businessman connected to Egypt’s wealthiest citizens the “dream of the poor”, while others bear the Arabic inscription, “No God but God”, with the aim of attracting the devout.

Leaders of the “Yes to Gamal” campaign are also circulating a petition urging the ruling National Democratic Party to choose him as its presidential candidate.

The effort is apparently designed to cultivate popular backing for the younger Mubarak, who has not yet committed himself to run. Recent polls showed his approval rating is low." -more

And the TIMESonline of South Africa adds:

Brotherhood not ready to rule Egypt, says official

Egypt's largest opposition group is not yet ready to take power in the country, a prominent supporter of the banned Muslim Brotherhood said in a newspaper interview ahead of parliamentary elections in October.

"I think it's not time yet for Islamists to be in power," Muntasser al-Zayat, a Muslim Brotherhood activist and lawyer, told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.

"Of course, the Brotherhood is the most experienced Islamist group to play a role in Egypt's political life, but I think it is a blessing from God that no Islamist faction reached power in Egypt," he added, referring to previous election efforts by the group.

He told the paper that opponents of the Brotherhood were seeking to watch it fail and the Islamists needed to be in a better position before seeking power.

The Brotherhood is technically banned in the country, but has members in parliament who ran as independents. -more

Talking About Talking (1980)

Today's Golden Oldie is a Dry Bones cartoon done 30 years ago in September of 1980.

Now, as then, talks about talks are going on.
Just for a sense of reference, when I did this cartoon Barack Obama was 19 years old and had just graduated from high school the year before.

Israeli September

One of the pleasures of my life is the enjoyment of Israeli culture.

The constant propaganda war against us hides the realities and entertaining quirks of Israeli life. In response, I feel the need to do battle against those who malign and try to delegitimize our wonderful, creative, amazing, and brave little land and its people.

But every now and then it's fun to take the time to reveal what it's like to live here. What it's like to be at home.

Like in today's cartoon about trying to deal with a local repair man in the days ahead.