Hassagot השגות

Note the following, unfortunate item:

U.S. reconsiders boycott of Durban II anti-racism summit  /  By Haaretz Service and The Associated Press  /  Last update - 18:37 14/04/2009  /   http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1078272.html    / Tags: Iran, Israel News, Durban II   /  

The Obama administration is reconsidering its planned boycott of a controversial United Nations racism conference that is deeply opposed by Israel and Jewish groups and will be attended by Iran's president, the State Department said late Monday.  /  In a move likely to upset its staunchest Mideast ally and its supporters, the department said the administration was pleased by a diplomatic push to revise an objectionable document that the meeting will adopt and suggested it could attend the meeting if the efforts succeed.  /  In February, after attending preparatory meetings for the follow-up conference, the Obama administration said it would not attend Durban II unless the meeting's final document was changed to drop references to Israel, defamation of religion and demands for reparations for slavery.

When does the water get too hot?

    The proverbial frog is placed in tepid water and is comfortable.  The water is gently heated; the frog remains content.  As the temperature rises beyond the point its body can survive, the frog dies.
    Much of the Jewish world during the years immediately preceding the Holocaust was like that frog--more or less unaware of the import of the foul wind that swept through Germany and that burst upon much of the rest of Europe.  I wonder whether the position of the Jews in America is akin to that of the Jews of 1930s Europe, akin to the proverbial frog.
    Strong words, a strong reaction to recent trends and events.  Paranoid perhaps?  My view is that one must be vigilant (that is, awake, aware, on watch), serious, informed, and appropriately vocal.  I am not a brave person, but I certainly air my concerns in conversations with family and friends and in posts on this blog. 

A Foul Wind: Accusations of Treachery toward Supporters of Israel

National Journal (an Atlantic Media production) featured a panel of experts on national security  entitled "How to Talk about Israel."  (See at National Journal; launched Monday, March 16, 2009; visited 4/7/09).  A brief citation from the following piece was quoted in "Anti-Semitism and the Economic Crisis" by Ira Stoll on the Opinion page of the Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, 4/7/09.