The Deir Yassin Remembered Blog

Report on Beth Israel vigil 12-31-11

Posted on January 9th, 2012 at 8:45 am by

Making Some Lists; Checking Them Twice

Santa makes his lists and Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends offer ours in an effort to call attention to a possibly disturbing trend. The first list is one of mainstream Jewish organizations that pressed strongly for the US’s 2003 invasion of Iraq. Source: A War for Israel by Jeff Blankfort. It goes like this:

1. Anti-Defamation League
2. National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council
3. World Zionist Organization
4. Center for Jewish History
5. American-Israel Public Affairs Committee
6. Jewish Institute of National Security Affairs
7. Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish American Organizations (52 organizations represented)
8. American Jewish Committee
9. American Jewish Council
10. Council of Jewish Federations
11. Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies (Jerusalem)

In fact, we’d be hard-pressed to provide a mainstream Jewish organization that did NOT press strongly for an Iraqi invasion, nor one which is NOT pressing strongly for military action against Iran.

Our second list that of important Jewish individuals who also pressed strongly for an invasion of Iraq, same source as above:

1. Elliot Abrams
2. Michael Ledeeen
3. Marc Fisher
4. Abraham Foxman
5. Josh Block
6. Richard Perle
7. Paul Wolfowitz
8. Douglas Feith
9. Mortimer Zuckerman
10. Lawrence Kaplan
11. Max Boot
12. Stephen Solarz
13. David Wurmser
14. Lewis “Scooter” Libby
15. Stephen Hadley
16. William Kristol
17. Robert Kagan
18. Ted Koppel
19. David Frum
20. Daniel Pipes
21. Norman Podhoretz
22. William Safire
23. Murray Friedman
24. Abraham Shulsky
25. Thomas Friedman
26. Charles Krauthammer
27. Jeff Jacoby
28. Paul Greenberg

Our third list is provided by the National Museum of American Jewish Military History, is a list of Jews who have died in Iraq and Obama’s “war” in Afghanistan:

(Current as of 14 March 2011)

1. Pfc. Daniel J. Agami-USA
2. Sgt. Howard P. Allen-USANG
3. Spec. Benyahmin ben Yahudah-USA
4. 1st Lt. David R. Bernstein-USA
5. Cpl. Albert Bitton-USA
6. Sgt. Aron C. Blum-USMC
7. Petty Officer 3rd Class Nathan B. Bruckenthal-USCG……
8. Cpl. Ryan J. Clark-USA
9. Cpl. Michael R. Cohen-USMC
10. 2nd Lt. Seth J. Dvorin-USA
11. Lance Cpl. Mark E. Engel-USMC
12. Cpl. Mark A. Evnin-USMC
13. Pfc. Aaron E. Fairbairn-USA
14. 1st Lt. Daniel Farkas-USA
15. Sgt. Zachary M. Fisher-USA
16. Pfc. Jacob S. Fletcher-USA
17. Spec. Daniel J. Freeman-USA
18. Sgt. Foster L. Harrington-USMC
19. Airman 1st Class Elizabeth N. Jacobson-USAF
20. Lance Cpl. Jeremy M. Kane-USMC
21. 1st Lt. Nathan M. Krissoff-USMC
22. Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul-USAR
23. Maj. Mark E. Rosenberg-USA
24. Cpl. Dustin H. Schrage-USMC
25. 1st Lt. Roslyn L. Schulte-USAF
26. Capt. Robert M. Secher-USMC
27. Spec. Marc S. Seiden-USA
28. Staff Sgt. Michael B. Shackelford-USA
29. Sgt. Alan D. Sherman-USMCR
30. Capt. Benjamin A. Sklaver-USA
31. Chief Warrant Officer Eric A. Smith-USA
32. 1st Lt. Andrew K. Stern-USMC
33. Capt. Michael Y. Tarlavsky-USA
34. Pfc. Morris L. Walker-USA
35. Tech. Sgt. Timothy R. Weiner-USAF
36. Sgt. Robert M. Weinger-USA
37. Spec. Jeffrey M. Wershow-USANG
38. Pfc. Colin J. Wolfe-USMC
39. Maj. Stuart A. Wolfer-USA
40. Sgt. Elijah Tai Wah Wong-USA
41. Senior Airman Jonathan A.V. Yelner-USAF
42. Lt. Miroslav (Steven) Zilberman-USN

What Can Lists Tell Us?

First, the lists we did not provide: total number of US deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan (6,316, source: ), and total number of Iraqi and Afghani deaths, human beings whose countries we have invaded. Second, we mourn ALL deaths.

Jews are a minority in the United States, about 1.8%. Yet their influence and power exceeds the numerical significance. As seen in our first two lists, this energetic minority used their skills and resources to influence US foreign policy and to tip the balance in favor of invasion (see The Israel Lobby by Mearsheimer and Walt). That alone would be bad enough, but the third list tells us that Jews are not even dying in proportion (0.66%) to numbers in the population let alone in relation to the influence they wield.

Let’s be clear: the warning we offer is that there exists a potential for distrust, fear, and hatred when an influential minority causes a majority population to act in ways detrimental to the interests of that majority. “Beggars on horseback are seldom popular, least of all with those whom they have just thrown out of the saddle.” (British historian Sir Arthur Bryant). As the rhetoric and measures against Syria and Iran get ratcheted up, Americans need to know who is propelling us to war, for what reasons, and who is paying the price.

Eight vigilers
End War
Henry Herskovitz
Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends

Comments?
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2 Responses to “Report on Beth Israel vigil 12-31-11”

  1. Anonymous

    Why don’t you ask the PERMISSION of the families of those Jewish-Americans who were killed in action before using their names? Because NOT ONE would agree with your politics and grant you permission to exploit the names of their patriotic loved ones to promote your sick narcissistic leftist anti-American, anti-Israel propaganda. There is no one more despicable than people who use the names of the departed to promote ideas they would have obviously opposed.

  2. Anonymous

    Why should he ask permission to republish a list of names already made public by the Jewish United Fund? And it may very well be that among the dead and their families are true humanitarian who oppose Americans troops being used to do Israel’s dirty work. There is nothing more moral or pro-American than opposing the scourge of Zionism.

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