Palestinians slowly discover love and a new futureג€¦ Can I dream?ג€¦

Zebra Thinks Change...
Zebra Thinks Change…

It is often said that the Palestinians are the best educated group per capita among the Arab world. Why? And why are they not welcomed in any other Arab capital?

With all the news events happening currently, I thought I’d take again, a different spin on the situation. I’m not going to try to defend any position on either side, that’s done way too much in the media as they, the media, all search for headlines for their employer. In Israel, the ration of NGOs and International Journalists to citizens is probably just about one to oneג€¦ So, at every corner you have a camera ready video instigator at the ready to spur on any event and get that all critical exclusive. Did you ever wonder about the camera angles? I’ve seen over 50 camera and journalists all lined up trying to catch one rock thrower and the image is always one guy throwing a rock against the green background of Israeli soldiersג€¦. Really, stop and think about thatג€¦ Every day, every hour, every yearג€¦ nonstop. Can the Media change their stripes any better than a Zebra?

Ok, so the headline, love and a new future for the Palestinians, what am I talking about? This is an appeal to the educated population of the Palestinian people living in the country of Israel. Now is the time to consider that the many years of hate have brought nothing. I suggest trying the concept of Love. Really, sounds stupid and ridiculous, I know, but after sublimating or reducing the self’s ego of being right, on both sides by the way, one can consider the love that can exist for each other. One can begin to see how things could be totally amazing here in this area, better than anything we’ve ever experienced.

It is well known that the Arab world with years of endless hate spoken to their people have not educated their populations, increased their standard of living, and in fact have created the current crisis we see all over the Arab world today. If just one leader would stand up or the people would stand up and shout loudly that they want an end to Hate speech and a start of Love speech, the world would change overnight. Leaders need to start to put the word Love in their speeches. Even if they don’t believe it, eventually the use of the word will begin to alter reality.

When I go into the local shops and see my Arab friends, we hug, and chat about holidays, family, and general things. Every time there is an upsurge in violence, it strains the interaction as the unspoken situation creates suspicion and distrust as we each size each other up to see if anything has changed in our mutual love for each other as human beings who share the same love of every human being. But we still hug and march forward.

I ask the Palestinians, and Arabs in general if they truly believe Israel, Israeli’s, or the Jews are trying to capture or ban access to the Temple Mount or the Al Aksa mosque? Really? If you’re honest, you know that if Israel wanted to take over any country or small piece of land, do you think it couldn’t do that? In actual fact, in under ten seconds Israel could do that, but Israel respects the religious desires of all people, not just the Muslims, and therefore will always fight for an equitable solution and access, shared with respect to these areas.

Don’t be fooled by your leaders that continue to use you for their own destructive goals and ends. Look at Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Labia, Sudan, Yemen, on and on and on, the list goes. Do you want to become another battle ground? Or do you want to become a paradise that everybody in the world will want to visit and take part in the Love that pervades our every day.

There is no doubt in my mind that we can live in this mode, and grow our region like no other. You must see how Israel has grown to become a beacon for the world in so many ways. The Palestinian people can choose to love and join this powerful force or Love, Peace and Growth, or they can, again, choose to follow small minded hateful leaders that will lead them, their children and their aspirations for a wonderful meaning full life down the same path that has led to the destruction of so many other nations and peoples.

I ask you to please do your own research into the real history and truth of the region, don’t take some person’s word for what was in the past. With today’s fast and easy access to information and events, the opportunity is ripe for fast course correction. It is easy to see what Israel was a hundred or so years ago, and before that. The history is there, and it is obvious to any honest person, but that’s not the point. The history can be argued back 4000 years, to what end? The point is that we’re here today at another crossroad, and once again, the Israeli’s, Jews, are offering Peace, Love, and a wonderful life, but they/we will not enter into such a relationship without a reciprocal partner. You would not marry a person that planned to murder you after you said “I do”, would you? Neither Israel will just accept anything but an honest partner, in Arbic, Hebrew, and English. The days of speaking in Arabic about hate and love in English will not work, and have proven unsuccessful.

I want to say that we can live here in an amazing land, filled with respect for each other’s traditions, space, culture, food, celebrations, work, and destiny. (In many neighborhoods this is already the reality.) Why not try? Israel is filled with Arab and Muslim towns, so why the insistence on a “Jew Free” Arab future town? See? That already starts the discussion off on the wrong foot.

Imagine an Arab leader saying, “We are going to commit to a new path, one filled with Love, Trust, and Sincere respect for each other’s future peaceful growth. The Jews and Israeli’s will be our friend and business partners of the future. We’re going to rebuild this region like no other. I’ll set a goal of 100% GDP rise for my people by 2025. This will of course have to be based on a rule of law that includes individual rights, true freedom of the press, and respect for and love for each other. Pretty easy if you choose that path. Most of the rest of the world have been living this for many years already and doing so successfully. It won’t be easy, but an easy life doesn’t bring about true happiness. Better work hard to achieve the beauty, just like in child birth, that’s not easy, but the reward is a miracle and beautiful.

I say, we, Israeli’s and Palestinians can be the leaders for the African Nations, as well as for the broader Muslim and Arab world. However, in the end, it is our choice.

I wish us all a life filled with love of each other, our children, your children, and opportunities for a future that you can only imagine if you open up your heart to the love that resides there and is waiting to burst out. It is a lot easier to love than to hate, and all those years of hate are just waiting to break free and transition into love. It only takes one candle to light up a dark room. Let Love spark your dark room and brighten our lives. Dare to try it, you might like itג€¦Demand your leaders try it tooג€¦ In the end, they follow you, not the other way aroundג€¦

Brand USA vs Russia, does it matter?

US President Barack Obama (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin hold a bilateral meeting in Los Cabos, Mexico on June 18, 2012 on the sidelines of the G20 summit. Obama and President Vladimir Putin met Monday, for the first time since the Russian leader's return to the presidency, for talks overshadowed by a row over Syria. The closely watched meeting opened half-an-hour late on the sidelines of the G20 summit of developed and developing nations, as the US leader sought to preserve his "reset" of ties with Moscow despite building disagreements. AFP PHOTO/Jewel Samad
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama hold a bilateral meeting in Los Cabos, Mexico on June 18, 2012 on the sidelines of the G20 summit. Obama and President Vladimir Putin met Monday, for the first time since the Russian leader’s return to the presidency, for talks overshadowed by a row over Syria. The closely watched meeting opened half-an-hour late on the sidelines of the G20 summit of developed and developing nations, as the US leader sought to preserve his “reset” of ties with Moscow despite building disagreements. AFP PHOTO/Jewel Samad

With today’s media driving all things “perception” and instant three second attention grabbing headlines, what is the new branding reality for nations in the modern era and does it matter?

It really doesn’t matter if a headline if true or false, misleading or maligning, incomplete or careless, in the end, certain images or thoughts reside and are stored deep inside the consciousness via eyeballs and ears all over the world. A person may not even know they’re being programmed, but the programming is being done, very purposefully using the most asymmetrical type of geo or realpolitik of the modern era.

Consider the Brand of USA vs Russia, Obama vs Putin. In the USA, the President, is the Brand or face of the nation. This is why American’s need to feel that the person they vote for will well represent the brand that they are attached to at a very deep and emotional level, i.e., constitution, bill of rights, individual freedom, etc. They need to feel proud, confident, and secure in the belief that this person will measure up to the critical apparatuses of the job. In Russia, the same applies, but with a very different history of how to achieve these elements for the population. Putin is the current brand or face of Russia. He has very craftily navigated using power plays of the old guard to create both internally and externally the brand of old Russia. This makes his population feel proud and confident that they have a strong leader that is working on their behalf. They’re used never “rocking the boat” with voicing opposition, and they see quickly how things turn out for any who dissent. ?Putin, then has successfully Branded his country and I believe will continue to move quickly, before the next USA election to cement his line in the various sand boxes he’s currently sitting in. His media plays regarding recent military actions in Syria (Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov) remind me of Saddam Hussein’s foreign minister Tariq Aziz, that said whatever he wanted towing the line no matter what the facts truly were.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, shake hands after making statements following meetings regarding Syria, at a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Saturday Sept. 14, 2013. U.S. Secretary of State Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said Saturday they have reached an agreement on a framework for Syria to destroy all of its chemical weapons, and would seek a U.N. Security Council resolution that could authorize sanctions, short of military action, if Syrian President Bashar Assad's government fails to comply. (AP Photo / Larry Downing)
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, shake hands after making statements following meetings regarding Syria, at a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Saturday Sept. 14, 2013. U.S. Secretary of State Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said Saturday they have reached an agreement on a framework for Syria to destroy all of its chemical weapons, and would seek a U.N. Security Council resolution that could authorize sanctions, short of military action, if Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government fails to comply. (AP Photo / Larry Downing)

How a nation feels about another nation is critical for how a leader controls his people and the nations he or she must do business with.?? Branding by nations is critical, and that’s why it is so important to get this right as news flashes by so quickly. Entire populations can be whipped up into a frenzy based on false allegations or outright distortions and miss-direction or as they say in the spy business disinformation. Third page retractions, corrected images, completed statements that were edited, etc. all are ignored and every leader knows this, which is why you mostly will not get any real information in the fog of instant news reporting. Free loving people all around the world feel that the Brand USA, their last hope for true freedom is not as sexy as it used to be. Russia never was a brand for freedom seeking people.

The recent actions regarding Doctors without borders is a classic example of this in action. We don’t really know as of this posting exactly what happened. But having lived in Israel for many years, I know all too well how the enemies of freedom play the game of media headlines. I’ve seen so many examples of media filming shots of supposedly dead bodies that fall off the stretcher and then get back up on them to be carried off, or quiet intersections suddenly erupting into a fury as soon as a TV truck pulls up to film, only to quiet down and go back to whatever they were doing after the two minute shot is finished, complete with flag burning, rocks, chanting death to America, etc… The enemy knows that all they have to do is win the image war, not the actual war. If they can grab the headlines and two second “ahhh, how horrible” expression from the eyes and ears, their job or goal is achieved. Remember last week’s baby on the shore from the refugees’ crisis or is that already old news…?

How do you feel about Obama as a brand? If you’re an American it’s political, pretty much if you voted for him, mostly you’ll be very much in need to justify every action he has ever taken. Typically that’s just under 30-40% who will always be “he’s great, I love him” no matter what he does. However, heads of businesses, folks in the military, investors, international travelers, have very different realities to deal with that affect their life on many levels. Brand matters to them…

The reaction that an international traveler gets at an airport or at a caf? after another traveler learns that he or she is from the USA will be different based on who the President is and the current media blitz attacking or supporting that president. Everybody knows that Obama’s Nobel prize for being Obama was a major joke, but nobody cared since we’re living in a “who cares” world with no shame. Shame went out the window along with personal accountability or voicing your opinion after some self-research on a subject. It can get you fired, sidelined, disciplined, marginalized, pushed out, etc. Too many examples of this too, where nobody said anything for fear of getting noticed… Then people died after their self-serving actions. (2009 Fort Hood Shooting, Maj. Hasan’s colleagues had been aware of his increasing radicalization for several years.)

So, in conclusion with what arguably is a much longer post, Branding USA vs Russia is critical. We are fast heading in a very chaotic direction that needs to have leadership, and not be driven by media headlines. A short story comes to mind, where a person who goes to heaven is denied entry by an angel at the gate. The person says: “Hey, I was loved by everybody, everybody loved me, I was nice to everybody, I said yes to all, never criticized anybody, never questioned anybody or anything, just did what I was told, always a good person…” “Yes said the angel, so now go directly to hell. You’re not supposed to just sit there, you’re supposed to say something when you see that it is obviously wrong.? Why did God give you the ability to speak? How many times did you see evil, or a wrong being committed only to ignore that to be nice? Well, now you can think about that for a while.” Balance between right and wrong is not always easy, but when it is, one better be firm and clear in their understanding of why they need to stand up for love and hope. Brand Freedom or Brand Chaos?

Brand USA is weak in my opinion and getting lost in the myriad of global events. They just don’t matter any longer since they don’t act, they just talk platitudes. Brand Russia is acting strong and leading the events by acting with conviction. Putin is the poster boy for a leader that is seen by his nation as acting in Russia’s best interest. What’s better for humanity, peace, love, is for history… or another post at least…

Jordan’s King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein is venturing into dangerous watersג€¦My analysisג€¦

The Kings recent pronouncements concerning the actions taken by Israeli security forces on the Temple Mount are not only incorrect, but one step beyond the point of return. His statements took place at the new session of the United Nations General Assembly this past Monday. Recent violence taking place in the area that is supposed to be under the control and leadership of Jordan according to the Israeli Jordanian peace treaty, is very tactfully orchestrated. There seems to be a broader move to position the Palestinian cause ever more increasingly into the media to force the ever increasing lies that are forever spewed by people with either no knowledge, apathy, an agenda, or absolute malice.

It is my assessment however that what King Hussein has chosen to do is to actually sever the only link to his legitimacy in the region. If he forces Israel to take over that area, and prevent an ever escalation of violence, not to mention strategic and deceitful destruction of historical artifacts by bulldozing hundreds of tons of foundational Jerusalem’s old city, then the King will no longer have any connection to the righteous path of humanity. He will go the way of Assad, Muammar Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein, and others, many of them before him and our modern age that have made the ever fateful mistake of turning their backs on the Jews and Israel.

It is pretty obvious, if you hate the Jews you will not succeed in your life on any level. This portends to countries as well. Denying the Jewish and more importantly, spiritual connection to the area goes against the forces of life, well before and beyond the Muslim faith was a concept. The more you love the Jews and Israel, the higher and faster you prosper, your people live more healthy lives, happiness, purposeful lives, and an economy that in no time will become or maintains steady growth. The basic reason is Love. Love is a powerful motivator and brings light into a person’s life, further increasing an awareness to all things possible. Hate on the other hand is the darkness that envelops people, cultures, countries, economies, etc. that in the end burn themselves out. Have you ever seen any Jewish hating or Israel hating entity prosper? Name one. There are none, and the many that surround Israel are all slowly going the way of the sand dunes that they call home.

Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is the best hope for the region and Arab Islamic world, as he delicately promotes and balances rapprochement and cooperation with Israel as his country slowly gets back in gear. He too should begin to use words like Love Israel, and working with Israeli’s to increase their GDP.

The reasons for becoming closer to Israel are many, but for starters, Israel follows a path that goes directly to the core value system that every human truly wishes to follow, (Provided they can or are allowed to think and act for themselves before brain washing in the soup of Hate). Freedom to self-determination, self-responsibility, loving your neighbor as yourself, and a level of self-criticism and spiritual self-introspection to better ones self that actually leads to great countries like the United States of America and Israel. Imagine what the Middle East could look like if each country 67 years ago embraced the new country of Israel, and Palestine that was born after thousands of years of injustice towards the worlds Jews. I’m telling you that for 100% sure, you’d have a paradise like no other. But first, Love has to exist.

In Israel, most of the world doesn’t even understand the reality of so many Arabs proud or at least happy to be Israeli and work, shop, heal, and live in perfect peace and friendship in Israel proper. They know the alternative and what that would look like. They may not understand that Love is the answer and that is the umbrella that currently protects them. Their sick leaders who unfortunately are scared to stand up to what’s right, continue to let their people down as they follow the easy path to a paycheck, United Nations handouts, and succumb to threats of death by the same pay check handing out patrons, i.e., Iran and some other wealthy backers.

So, I call on King Hussein to step back from the brink and choose to be a true leader of your people and join a thoughtful discussion on the best way to manage and SHARE a space that is holy for Jews and Arab Muslims alike. Everybody knows that is honest, that the Jews were the first monotheistic group that inhabited this area. I have always said that if the Jews were originally better at Marketing, the world would be Jewish and there would be no argument, Christians, or Muslims. The Jews would have just cut off your head, arm, or killed you unless you convert. Seems like that’s a pretty powerful and successful way to get followers, right? This as well, is another post. Once King Hussein chooses to side with the purveyors of hate, lies, and insurrection, he then becomes trapped as they escalate their demands on his opinion and by then, Israel will be a much harder phone call to make. Israel is and always will be the best hope for mankind, the true canary in the coal mine, and the light among nations. The Torah is the foundation of all common law in the world, and nobody can deny that they feel better when they share Love vs Hate. King, choose Love.