Thursday, March 31, 2016

Vegan Diet in Judaism

Nadene Goldfoot                                                              
Gaon of Vilna evidently was a vegan in his late years.
1720-1797
In   thinking about Adam and Eve, I also  thought about Neanderthals and even gorillas.    "While some zoo specimens are known to eat meatwild gorillas eat only plants and fruit, along with the odd insect—as far as scientists know (see video of wild gorillas feasting on figs).Mar 7, 2010"  ""Although [70 percent] of the human genome is indeed closer to chimpanzees, on average, a sizable minority of 15 percent is in fact closer to gorillas, and another 15 percent is where chimpanzees and gorillas are closest," said geneticist Aylwyn Scally, a study co-author also at the Wellcome Trust."  Even gorillas have been known to eat meat in captivity.  Somehow, gorillas remain very strong while on a plant only diet.  








My children have been aware of vegan dieting ever since they were in college in the 70's.  Steve has been a vegan on and off for many years.  Now, Michael Greger, MD, has written a book, HOW NOT TO DIE, advocating a vegan diet and tells why meats and dairy products harm the body more than they help it, and why vegan dieting is so good for us.  This certainly upsets the traditional Jewish dieting which uses meats and of course separates dairy products from meat in cooking and serving.

 However, we did have an advocate of such a diet with the famous rabbi, The Great Gaon of Vilna, Lithuania, Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon (Elijah Ben Solomon Zalman (1720-1797).  I found a recipe under Polish cooking in the book THE JOYS OF JEWISH COOKING by Stephen and Ethel Longstreet, the following soup:

One of the Gaon's  favorite dishes in his old age was called the Zayde (grandfather) Vegetable Broth.

3 carrots, chopped               1 T salt
3 onions, chopped                1 bay leaf
3 cups chopped celery          3 quarts water
3 leeks, cut up

In a soup kettle combine carrots, onions, celery, leeks, salt, bay leaf and water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 3 hours.  Strain the broth.  (I think I would leave the veggies in the soup and eat it.)

He was a student and lecturer of the Talmud. He had to have commented on both the Babylonian and the Palestinian Talmuds, for we have these two.    They are a collection of the records of academic discussion and of judicial administration of Jewish Law by generations of scholars and jurists in many academies and in more than one country during several centuries after the year 200 CE.  This is about when they were finished.

 Elijah was born in Lithuania and was famous for his scholarship.  From 1740 to 1745 he traveled among the Jewish communities of Poland and Germany, settling in Vilna where he taught and later founded his own academy.  He refused rabbinic office and instead lived in seclusion, gaining a reputation as a saint and scholar.  He then led the opposition to the Hasidim in Lithuania, and ordered their excommunication and the destruction of their literature.  His attitude towards them checked the spread of Hasidism in Lithuania.

When he was about 60 years old, he set out alone for Palestine, but returned before reaching his destination.  He must have met up with people who were anti-Semitic, discouraging him from arriving alive there.

His reputation is in the field of halakhah (the legal part of talmudic and later Jewish literature, in contrast to Haggadah or Aggadah, the non-legal elements.  His goal was to establish critical texts of the authoritative rabbinic writings,  He based his views and rulings on the plain meaning of the text.  He thought very highly of the early kabbalistic works and was very critical of philosophy.

Elijah read secular works insofar as they threw light on the Torah, but he opposed the Haskalah (a movement called "enlightenment" that was spreading modern European culture among Jews).  He wrote commentaries on the Bible, annotations on the Talmud, Midrash and Zohar, works on mathematics, geography of Palestine, Hebrew grammar, etc.  His comments influenced not only his own generation but that of succeeding generatons.  He was a member of the opposition of the Hassidic movement, which was  the Mitnaggedim.  They regarded him as their spiritual leader.
                                                                             
Baal Shem Tov of Poland, possible shochet
(1699-1761)

A story relating to vegetarians and the Baal Shem Tov is that   "In a small European village, a shochet (ritual slaughterer) fetched some water to apply to his blade in the preparation process. At a distance, he observed a very old man, watching him and shaking his head from side to side disapprovingly. Finally, the young shochet asked the old man for an explanation.

The old man replied that as he watched him prepare his blade, it brought back memories from many years earlier when, as a young man, he had observed the saintly Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (founder of the chassidic movement) doing the same thing. But the difference, he explained, was that Rabbi Israel did not need to fetch water in order to sharpen the blade—rather the tears that streamed from his eyes were adequate."  
Hasidism was a Jewish religious and social movement founded by Rabbi Israel BAAL Shem Tov that came before the Mitnaggedim (1699-1761) in Volhynia and Podolia, Poland.  It was the outgrowth of the depressed state of Eastern European Jewry in the 18th century that followed the horrid Chmielnicki massacres and Christian persecutions.  Internal Jewish life was also in a catastrophic condition because of the oligarchic rule of the community and the disillusionment that happened from the Sabbetaian fiasco where they realized many had been following a false prophet.  Shabbetai Tzevi died in 1676 and his followers thought he was the Messiah.  This belief was revived and his followers believed he would reappear as the savior of Israel.  These adherents split into various sects.  Tzevi was succeeded  by Jacob Querido, who adopted Islam along with his son, Berechiah while retaining Sabbetaianism.  By doing this he created the Donmeh sect.  Many of these semi-followers joined up with Judah Hasid who organized a mass pilgrimage to Palestine.  1,500 followers set out but most died along the route and many others became converted to either Christianity or Islam.  The most extreme was the Frankists.  Eventually, Hasidism diverted popular attention from Sabbetaianism.

Much of Jewish people were unlearned due to restrictions against the Jews of education and so they were attracted to the Baal Shem Tov's preaching and doctrines.  He taught that all were equal before the Almighty and this meant that the ignorant were no less honored than the learned.  He said that purity of heart was superior to study, and that devotion to prayer and the commandments was to be encouraged by not ascetic practices.  This new movement had spread rapidly through Eastern Europe.

When the Baal Shem Tov died, he was succeeded by Dov Bewr of Mezhirich who died in 1773 who systematized Hasidic teaching, bringing it into line with the doctrine of Isaac Luria of Safed, and was responsible for the wave of followers-even those of learned and influential classes in Lithuania.

To the Gaon of Vilna, this teaching was heretical and sounded too much like Shabbetai Tzevi who justified his apostasy with such remarks.
                                                                     
Shneour Zalman of Lyady-Founder of Chabad
b: September 4, 1745 Liozna, Belarus-d: December 15, 1812 Kursk Oblast, Russia
Chabad's Rabbi Menahem Mendel Schneerson
b: April 18, 1902 Mykoleaiv, Ukraine-d: June 12, 1994 Manhattan, New York
Opposition was intensified against Hasidim after Shneour Zalman of Lyady (died in 1812) became the leader of Hasidim.  He has been the outstanding Rabbi of the  Chabad movement, which includes a philosophical and rationalizing aspect within Hasidim.  Scholars of White Russia and Lithuania followed him.
The argument went as far as the Mitnaggedim issuing in 1784, a manifesto against the Hasidim which prohibited ritual slaughter to be performed by a Hasid and refused to allow any member of the sect to hold public office.  The bans were reissued frequently and great bitterness was engendered throughout Lithuania.  Less opposition was found elsewhere and Hasidism branched into 3 division; the popular Ukrainian branch, the Chabad branch and the Polish-Galician branch.

Chabad is now all over the world.  It's teachings have become widely known in the occidental world, mainly through the worksd of Martin Buber, both by his retelling of Hasidic antedotes and through his philosophy which has been termed "neo-Hasidic."

Now the Gaon of Vilna has come into his own with a cookbook of vegetarianism.  It was originally published in Yiddish in pre–World War II Vilna and miraculously rediscovered more than half a century later. " Its 400 recipes ranged from traditional Jewish dishes (kugel, blintzes, fruit compote, borscht) to vegetarian versions of Jewish holiday staples (tsholent, kishke, schnitzel) to appetizers, soups, main courses, and desserts that introduced vegetables and fruits that had not traditionally been part of the repertoire of the Jewish homemaker (Chickpea Cutlets, Jerusalem Artichoke Soup; Leek Frittata; Apple Charlotte with Whole Wheat Breadcrumbs). "  The Gaon may have been way ahead of his time in regards to healthy eating.  

"The Torah gives precise details on how animals are to be sacrificed and slaughtered (shechita). According to Rabbis Shlomo Ephraim Luntschitz and Abraham Isaac Kook the complexity of these laws were intended to discourage the consumption of meat.  Kashrut may also be designed to remind Jews of the magnitude of the task undertaken in killing a living being.  Eating meat continued to be a must with our desire and need to eat, and so Jews were stuck with following these complex laws.  
                                                                       
My Challah (Friday night especially homemade bread for the occasion) is made with one egg-
a no no on a vegan diet but okay for some vegetarians.)  "
Whether or not you can eat eggs depends largely on the type of vegetarian diet that you follow. Semi-vegetarian and pescetarian diets allow for the consumption of eggs, as well as some animal or fish meats. Among pure vegetarians, lacto-ovo vegetarians eat eggs and dairy products, but no meat, poultry or fish.My one and only favorite recipe is from 
the kitchen of a Frankfurt, Germany Jewish carpenter, generations old made in one bowl.p 146-147 in THE JOYS OF JEWISH COOKING. (see below).  We're about to cut into it with a special knife used for only this purpose.  That's why its cover is now off-so we can view it.  (Desert Rose China).



"Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935) was the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Pre-state Israel, after the British mandate.   Rav Kook was a highly respected and beloved Jewish spiritual leader in the early 20th century. He was a mystical thinker, a forceful writer, and a great Torah scholar. He was a very prolific writer who helped inspire many people to move toward spiritual paths. He urged religious people to become involved in social questions and efforts to improve the world. The strongest support for vegetarianism as a positive ideal anywhere in Torah literature is in the writing of Rav Kook. Among his many significant writings is "A Vision of Vegetarianism and Peace," in which he gave his philosophy of vegetarianism. He believed strongly that God wants people to be vegetarian and that meat was permitted as a concession to people's weakness. He thought that the many prohibitions related to the slaughtering and eating of meat were meant as a scolding and reminder that people should have reverence for life; this would eventually bring people back to vegetarianism in the days of the Messiah".  Many people of all faiths believe that we are in that age today.  

For all my ancestors from Lithuania who cooked so deliciously with chicken shmaltz (chicken fat) I find that Jewish vegetarianism is the belief that following a vegetarian diet is implied in the Torah.   While it is neither required nor prohibited for Jews to eat meat, a number of medieval scholars of Judaism, such as Joseph Albo and Isaac Arama, regarded  vegetarianism as a moral ideal, not just out of a concern for animal welfare but also the slaughterer.  Jewish vegetarians also cite health and environmental reasons for adopting a plant-based diet.  An exclusive plant based diet does not include any meat, fish, or dairy products or even eggs.  Those who follow this are called Vegans.  This is what Dr.  Greger advocates.  

I suppose that in the Cain and Abel story, where Abel was a hunter and Cain wasn't, this was showing the differences in diet as well. Scholars also see this conflict as the struggle between the nomadic shepherd and the settled agriculturalist. "Cain brought a sacrifice of grain, while his brother Abel offered animals. Rabbi Albo explains that Cain regarded humans and animals as equals and, accordingly, felt he had no right to kill them.

Cain then extended this misguided logic: If people and animals are inherently equal, then just as one could permit taking the life of an animal, so too could one permit taking the life of his fellow man. Thus Cain was able to justify the murder of his brother.

Also, it comes up with the brothers Ishmael and Isaac.  Ishmael was the hunter and Isaac, father of Judaism, wasn't.  

As for those of us still eating meat, kosher meat suits a purpose of not bringing pain to the animal. "There are several religious and philosophical arguments used by Jewish vegetarians regarding the ethics of eating meat.  One mitzvah cited by vegetarians is tza'ar ba'alei hayyim; the injunction not to cause "pain to living creatures."  The laws of shechita are meant to prevent the suffering of animals.  Evidently, in some slaughter houses, they have tried to go modern.  "However, factory farming and high-speed mechanized kosher slaughterhouses have been criticized for failing to meet the essence of shechita.   Jonathan Safran Foer narrated the short documentary film If This Is Kosher..., which records what he considers abuses within the kosher meat industry.  
                                                                               

Reuven Rivlin is the President of Israel and has been a vegetarian since the 60's.  "Reuven "Ruvi" Rivlin (Hebrewרְאוּבֵן "רוּבִי" רִיבְלִין[ʁeʔuˈven ʁivˈlin]Arabic: رؤوفين ريفلين; born 9 September 1939) is an Israeli politician and lawyer who has been President of Israel since 2014. He is a member of the Likud party. Rivlin was Minister of Communications from 2001 to 2003 and subsequently served as Speaker of the Knesset from 2003 to 2006 and again from 2009 to 2013. On 10 June 2014, he was elected as President of Israel..  I'm also finding DNA matches to our family  who may be connected to him as well.  

I know that my father's first job was in a kosher meat market in the late 20's in Portland, Oregon, and they killed cattle  the required way-that of slitting the throat by a professional trained to do it just right with a very sharp knife that brought on instant death and no pain.  As my father went on his own with his own slaughter house, he continued to have kosher kill for a period of time.  Today Portland must get kosher meat from Seattle, a larger city with a larger Jewish population.  

"Judaism stresses the importance of maintaining health and not harming oneself (venishmartem me'od lenafshoteichem). Joel Fuhrman and other doctors, such as John A. McDougallNeal D. Barnard and Dean Ornish, claim a diet high in animal products is detrimental to health and suggest following a plant-based diet.  Michael Greger's book goes a step farther with detailed examples of just what happens to our bodies when we do eat meat, eggs and milk products and studies of people who have been cured of diseases caused by such foods.  

Genetics does play a part in all this.  I'm 81 1/2 years old and have not followed vegetarianism, let alone tried to be a vegan. Now, I've been alarmed.  I read that chicken had all sorts of negative powers over our bodies, and I buy a chicken every week for my Friday night dinner.  I have chicken then, during the week as well. After reading all this, I may not.   What with the Mad Cow Disease coming along in the 90's, I've been leery of beef, my father's staple product in his last meat packing business.  

 Being raised on meat was the joy of having a father in the business.  I remember once having a boyfriend over for dinner.   My mother served us each a steak.  This poor fellow couldn't believe he was given a whole T-bone steak for himself.  According to all these studies, I should have died long ago from the joy of eating meat.  The other grandmother of my only grandson reminded me in our discussion about veganism and this book that her brother lived till 104 and he ate everything he wanted which included meat, milk and eggs.  

Kale is very popular with vegans today. It's one of Dr. Greger's favorite greens.  He advocates one 1 C raw or 1/2 C cooked of 2 servings every day of greens.  Other favorites are Arugula, beet greens, collard greens, mesclun mix-assorted young salad greens, mustard greens, sorrel, spinach, swiss chard and turnip greens.  He says that dark-green, leafy vegetables are the healthiest foods on the planet. p. 311.   I found a recipe in my Jewish cookbook of HERBED KALE! Evidently herbs also have medical qualities.  I guess I never respected mint leaves enough.  According to the late Dr. Atkins, 1 C kale has 6.7 Carbo/gr, 5.0 protein/gr and 0.8 fat/gr.  

4 bunches kale                 Your favorite healthy sweetener
1/2 C boiling water            pinch of pepper
1 onion, chopped             2 T. parve margarine
3/4 t. salt
Wash kale, pinch leaves off stems.  Place leaves in saucepan with boiling water, onion, salt, sugar, pepper.  Cover and cook 20 minutes, until kale is tender.  Drain.  Add margarine if desired.    Mix and serve.  6 servings.  36 calories per cup cooked.  

If we remain as meat eaters, here's something to think about. " When eating is not merely an act of “mindless consumption,” but rather an act with clear intent that the strength and energy one derives from the food will be utilized to benefit the world, then eating has been sublimated to an act of worship."  Meat has given us strength and energy.  With the hard labor we have had to undergo as humans, It's no  wonder we have depended on meat. For Jews, our sources have been listed in the bible under Kashrut law; cattle, sheep, goats, but not such animals as camels or pigs.  
Update: 3/31/16: It seems to me that Hummus and Pita; and Falafels are perfect for a vegan diet.  This is standard fare for Jews and Arabs in Israel.                

Resource: The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
The Joys of Jewish Cooking by Stephen and Ethel Longstreet
http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/244372/jewish/The-Rebbe-A-Brief-Biography.htm
Book: How Not to Die by Michael Greger, MD
https://www.yivo.org/The-Vilna-Vegetarian-Cookbook
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_vegetarianism
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/77049/jewish/Rabbi-Schneur-Zalman-of-Liadi.htm
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/rabbinicveg.html
http://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/vegetarianism-and-judaism/
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/03/120306-gorilla-genome-apes-humans-evolution-science/
https://www.caloriecount.com/calories-kale-i11234
http://jewishbubba.blogspot.com/2016/02/science-phylums-and-kosher-law-of.html
http://jewishbubba.blogspot.com/2014/01/differences-between-kosher-and-halal.html
http://jewishbubba.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-jews-eat-affects-relationships-with.html
http://www.jewishpress.com/judaism/parsha/the-10-minute-parsha/shemini-why-keep-kosher/2016/03/30/
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/3262774/jewish/Nutrition-in-the-News-Is-It-Kosher.htm


Friday, March 25, 2016

Living Alone Is Israel's Fate

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                   
Exodus-Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt and to the Promised Land

I am always inspired by this website's awesome finds in our Torah that ring true in today's world.  Here's one that sure fits today's position of Israel.  To think that this was written down almost 4,000 years ago is amazing!  It's earth-shaking!

It says that  the Jewish people shall not be reckoned  among the nations.  In other words, the Great Plan for us was already known that we were a stiff-necked people and that others would react as they do. They were to remain as independent thinkers.   Webster's dictionary tells us that reckon means: count, estimate, compute, to determine by reference to a fixed basis,  to regard, consider, think, to settle accounts, judge, suppose, depend, calculate, rely.

The result is that Israelis are to live alone.  They cannot be counted as  part of a pack.  Israel is not to be swayed by others.  Jews have the Mosaic LAW and that is what they judge themselves with.
                                                                           
The biblical story of Balaam's old she donkey scolding Balaam for hitting her is interpreted by
Maimonides as a vision that he had.  Balaam thought his donkey was mocking him
with her braying and he hit her 3 times at which she asked him why?  
Balaam was a heathen prophet who was invited by Balak, the king of Moab (Ruth's home of Southern Transjordan) , to curse the Israelites when they neared his country during their walking of the Exodus from Egypt to their Promised Land.  Instead, when he opened his mouth, out came Blessings instead of Curses.  Numbers 33-1:16 tells of Balaam's following advice to the Midianites to invite the Israelites to worship Baal Peor-the local Canaanite deity, worshipped with sexual orgies on Mt. Peor in Moab.  Of course, being men, the Israelites were temporarily attracted to this cult during the time of traveling through the land.  The result of this instigating was of being killed by the Israelites on the battlefield.   Balaam was not an Israelite  prophet but was a Mesopotamian priest and soothsayer. Even so, he  was a faithful servant of G-d as well.  He was among the 7 prophets who spoke to heathen nations of that day with success.  Evidently he was tuned into the the creator but wasn't capable  of understanding the full message.
Incredible view from Israel's highest peak | 15 Adar II 5776  (March 25)

For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, it is a people that shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations

כִּי-מֵרֹאשׁ צֻרִים אֶרְאֶנּוּ וּמִגְּבָעוֹת אֲשׁוּרֶנּוּ  הֶן-עָם לְבָדָד יִשְׁכֹּן וּבַגּוֹיִם לֹא יִתְחַשָּׁב

במדבר כג: ט


kee may-rosh tzu-reem er-e-nu u-mig-va-ot a-shu-re-nu hel am l'-va-dad yish-kon u-va-go-yeem lo yit-kha-shav

Shabbat Inspiration

Today's verse describes an attempt by the wicked Balaam to curse the Jewish people. His plan was foiled by God, and instead he utters a reluctant compliment, “Indeed this is a people that dwells alone and is not counted among the nations.” For better and for worse, the Jews have always been set aside from among the nations and singled out for special treatment. Israel receives an utterly disproportionate amount of coverage by the media, most of it negative, yet there is an inherently positive lesson in this solitude: the people of Israel are singled out for a holy purpose. They are chosen by God to remain faithful to Him and to fulfill the Biblical mandate of teaching His truths to the world. 

Resource: Israel365
Tanakh, The Stone Edition, Numbers: 23-9.
The new Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
Webster's Dictionary, 7th new collegiate edition

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Is Hillary a True Friend of Israel?

Nadene Goldfoot                                                 
Huma Abedin, who works for Hillary Clinton in White House. and Hillary Clinton.
Huma was U.S. Secretary of State Clinton's Deputy Chief of Staff at the State Department
Huma's parents are avid Muslim Brotherhood members.  She's like
a daughter to Hillary. At age 2, Huma's Indian father and Pakistani mother moved to 
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where she was raised and lived until returning to the United States for college. On June 13, 2012, five members of Congress alleged that Abedin had "immediate family connections to foreign extremist organizations" which they said were "potentially disqualifying conditions for obtaining a security clearance" and questioned why Abedin had not been "disqualified for a security clearance.  With Obama as president and Hillary as a friend, "the claims in the letter were generally rejected, and were labeled by some as conspiracy theories."  
Oh Hillary!  I just finished printing out her 8 page speech to AIPAC that she gave on March 21st and thought, she knows all of Israel's problems.
                                                                             
 She's so aware and has been very involved in our dire situations, but she was on the other side!  She had joined Obama's team and did his bidding, which was so different from what she has written as her speech.  She quoted Elie Wiesel at the end of her speech when he was given the Nobel Peace Prize and said, "Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.  Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."  Did the Obama administration heed his words in their dealings with Syria?  Didn't  the Obama Administration keep quiet in chiding the Palestinians about attacking Israel, or didn't they instead blame Israel but never the Palestinians?  Yes, they did speak out at the UN against the countries coming down on Israel, but I haven't heard of anything they've done to let Hamas or even Fatah know that they can't keep attacking Israel and still find any favor with the USA.
                                                                         
She admitted right away that "we may not have always agreed on every detail, " and indeed, the details have been quite large, as a matter of fact, like Iran, which she brings up later.  When Netanyahu came to speak to Congress on Tuesday, March 3, 2015,  about  why he was  against President Obama’s plan for a possible nuclear deal with Iran,  who attended?  Almost none of the Democrats. Here are the Senators who gave notice early that they wouldn't attend.  Notice that Bernie Sanders' name is in this list.  All are Democrats plus Bernie, the Independent.
  1. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.)
  2. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
  3. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.)
  4. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii)
  5. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)
  6. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.)
  7. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)
  8. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)
    In total, 48 members of the House of Representatives and eight Senators skipped the Israeli leader's speech. Did Hillary?  This subject was a matter of LIFE and DEATH for Israel.  She admits very well that she knows about all of Iran's deadly accomplishments towards this Jewish country.   It takes a lot of chutzpa to think that AIPAC members are going to push all the negativity aside to vote for her after playing ball with the opposing team.                                              

 "Independent Senator Bernie Sanders (Vt.) joined 56 Democratic lawmakers in the boycott, which was seen by many as snub to the powerful Jewish-American lobby group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).  Also not in attendance were President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. The president said he could not be present because of the speech's proximity to the Israeli election, while Biden had a scheduling conflict. That was the election Obama had been interfering with.  

She spoke about the huge movement of BDS, boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel used in trying to manipulate Israel to do the movement's bidding.  She says many young people in the audience are on the front lines of the battle to oppose it, and in that she is right.  She agreed that it is maligning, isolating and undermining Israel and the Jewish people.  Does she realize that the most popular Protestant churches are in the front line of leading this international movement?  Did she offer any concrete help in combatting it?  She said she has been sounding the alarm and had written a letter last year to Jewish organizations that we have to unite to fight against it.  They've been trying to do that, Hillary.  It would be nice if you wrote a letter to the churches promoting it.   She  told Jewish college students at the meeting to stay strong and keep speaking out.  She told them not to let anyone silence you, bully you or try to shut down debate.  That's why they are AIPAC members, Hillary.  They already have heard that from the choir.

At times, she seemed to be lecturing to the choir.  Instead, her words should have been aimed at the Palestinians.  Why tell AIPAC members, and these attending this meeting are the very active ones, to not harm others, etc.  She said to AIPAC members, who spend their free time trying to educate others about what is happening to Israel, that "all of us must condemn actions that set back the cause of peace." That's what AIPAC knows is happening to Israelis.  They know about what their enemies are doing.  She said that "terrorism should never  be encouraged or celebrated."  Really!  Why tell AIPAC members this?  This is what her friend, Arafat stood for and encouraged.  This is what Israelis are fighting against!  She said that "children should not be taught to hate in schools as that poisons the future."   Hillary is showing AIPAC that she is aware of what Israel is up against, something that this audience knows about full well, but they would like to know how she sees the USA's part in combating such acts.  Pushing for a 2 state solution when this is going on is madness.  Can she give the Palestinians an incentive for peaceful behavior other than backing them all the time and expecting Israel to give them more and more land?  Hillary; from promises Israel was promised the Promised Land.  That promise only lasted a short while before Great Britain turned around and gave 80% of that land to King Abdullah.  (update) 

She spoke of 3 choices that we have, and the 1st one was to take the Israel-USA relationship to the NEXT LEVEL.  Trump has spoken of the art of the deal.  Perhaps she has read his book, for she is offering Israel a 10 year deal of a "defense memorandum of understanding to meet Israel's security needs far into the future." She is not afraid that this will send a clear message to Israel's enemies in that the USA and Israel stand together, united.  If this is really believed by her, then why won't she go for moving the USA embassy to Jerusalem and send the same strong message by doing it?

Getting to that NEXT LEVEL, according to her speech, was to make sure she became president-a president with a deep personal commitment to Israel's future as a secure Democratic Jewish state.  We hear the knocking and warnings of what Trump would be like as a president with dire consequences.  We get the warning, that to have security for Israel, America needs to remain a respected global leader, committed to defending and advancing the international order.  Hillary, like it has been these past 8 years?  Frankly, this is what has been missing!  Even she said a paragraph down that it's not good enough to trust and verify, and that our approach must be to distrust and verify.  Well, with your past shenanigans with your own ambassador's life being taken in a terrorist attack, there has been a lot of distrust.  Couple that with not even following your own USA rules about emails, and the mess that has entailed makes me want a lot of verification because that distrust has built up.  The question is, can we trust you and why?
                                                                           
Qaradawi of Qatar
Like reading about your good relations with Qatar, whose friend in good standing is  Al-Qaradawi of Egypt.  Qaradawi was kicked out of Egypt for being a trouble-maker and he lives in Qatar.  He's a Muslim religious leader who goads his followers to kill Jews.  He would do it himself, but he'd have a hard time choking one of us as he's in a wheelchair.  However, he has said that he would do it.  On February 15, 2010, Hillary Rodham Clinton participated in an official Al-Jazeera town hall interview at the Carnegie Mellon U branch in Qatar's Education City.  Al-Jazeera in Arabic advocates killing Jews on Qaradawi's program.  She said she's been followng the Qatar Foundation.  The Al-Qaradawi Centre for Research in Moderate Thought is a short walk away from Education City.  He happens to be barred from entering the USA and is documented as having called for the destruction of America and for the annihilation of the Jews; another Hitler.  Education City's support of Sheikh Al-Qaradawi means they support what he teaches.  This is all documented by MEMRI-(Sheikh Al-Qaradawi & Qatar's Education City Hosting American University Branches.)  As Secretary of State, didn't you realize that this man is a terrorist leader, as bad as ISIS?
                                                                     
Iron Dome shooting down a missile 
That was one promise-a memorandum.  She also said that the USA should provide Israel with the most sophisticated defense technology to deter and stop any threats, like the Arrow 3 and David's Sling, better tunnel detections, technology to prevent armed smuggling, kidnapping and terrorist attacks.  Who does she think will actually come up with these items?  No doubt our creative Israelis will, who continue to share with the USA all they have to protect themselves.  She must have forgotten that Israel has already created the IRON DOME.  It was developed by Haifa-based Rafael SPYDER, a company already known for its anti-aircraft systems.  She said she wanted to tighten the links between Silicon Valley and Israeli tech companies and entrepreneurs.  We already have many Israelis working in Portland in this field.  Israel spent a lot of money providing themselves with 3 of the Iron Domes.  "The $200 million offered by the Obama White House in 2010 helped build a fourth installment."  Because of probably mostly Republican Senators and House members, the USA has been helping Israel in this way, thank goodness.  In March of this year Israel announced the Iron Dome had successfully intercepted 90 percent of incoming Gaza missiles that would have landed in populated Israeli areas.  
                                                                              

One of the  first things Hillary will do as President is to invite the Israeli Prime Minister to visit the White House.  Does she figure Netanyahu won't be in this chair by January?  Why didn't she use his name?  He's been there many a time, Hillary, but not with you as Prez.  You can say that the relationship between Obama and Netanyahu is quite strained these days.  Obama was actively involved in the USA setting up an office in Tel Aviv to vote for Netanyahu's opposing party in his last election.  Since when would we ever put up with foreign interference in our political affairs so boldly?  That was crass!  
Halperin and Heilemann's book that tells how Hillary
operated when running in 2008 for the presidency.  







                                            
American Evita, published in 2004.

A book by Christopher Anderson called American Evita is about Hillary.
In it, on pages 49-50, Anderson cites  a 1973 incident that happened before Bill and Hillary were married on October 11, 1975.   Bill had driven over to a friend's house during a trip to his home state of Arkansas with Hillary to meet a politically well-connected friend.  They noticed as they came close to  the house that a menorah was on the door.  Bill's friend came to the door and when questioned about it, told Bill that his father was half-Jewish (by DNA-I suppose-since one either is or isn't following Judaism).  It was his father who hammered the menorah to the door to be proud that they were part Jewish.  The son couldn't say no.  However, Hillary wouldn't get out of the car to meet him.  Bill had to apologize and told his friend that she's really tight with the people of the PLO in New York.  They are her friends and she doesn't feel right about the menorah.

This is a case of anti-Semitism by Hillary, but it doesn't add up.  Jews don't have menorahs on their door.  They have a small mezzuzah on the side of the door with the 10 Commandments in the case.  To spot it from a car means they were looking for it, no doubt.  A mezzuzah is small.   Why should they worry about a chatchka from the car of a friend's house?  Who ever heard of a menorah on a door, anyway?  Not even in Israel did I see such a door decoration.  Somebody is meshuganah!
                                                                         
Arafat at UN General Assembly  on November 13, 1974
 packing a pistol and called on the world community to decide between
an "olive branch or a freedom fighter's gun."
At a time when elements of the American Left embraced the Palestinian cause and condemned Israel, Hillary was telling friends that she was “sympathetic” to the terrorist organization and admired its flamboyant leader, Yasser Arafat. When Arafat made his famous appearance before the UN General Assembly in November 1974 wearing his revolutionary uniform and his holster on his hip, Bill “was outraged like everybody else,” said a Yale Law School classmate. But not Hillary, who tried to convince Bill that Arafat was a “freedom fighter” trying to free his people from their Israeli “oppressors.”
When a first lady in May 1998, "
Ms Clinton became the first member of any presidential administration ever to call for a Palestinian State.  With Arafat never agreeing to anything, one wonders whose idea it was?  

                                                                                 
Hillary spoke about Iran and their threats to Israel to wipe them out.  She said that Iranian provocations, like the recent ballistic missile tests, are also unacceptable and should be answered firmly and quickly including more sanctions.  We know that, Hillary, and are not seeing it.  What has Obama done about it?  Are you nudging him properly if you believe this?  His presidency has been a "do nothing" and it will blow over thing.  He seems to not believe in "mixing in."  She says that" if elected, the leaders of Iran will have no doubt that if we see any indication that they are violating their commitment not to seek, develop or acquire nuclear weapons, the USA will act to stop it and that we will do so with force if necessary." We heard this from Obama, but haven't seen it.  It's turned out to be empty promises, just like Iran's promise to obey them.  

By addressing AIPAC,  Hillary didn't miss a trick in getting jabs in at Trump.  Israel will not benefit from her offers if he gets in,  was some of the message currently  on her mind and lips.                                                                                     

  Updated 3/23/16 12:50pm.PST.                                            
Resource: http://www.timesofisrael.com/hillary-clintons-full-speech-to-aipac/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Andersen
http://lidblog.com/hillary-clintons-latest-lie-shes-a-friend-of-israel/
https://warsclerotic.wordpress.com/2015/04/13/hillary-clintons-anti-israel-history/
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-israel-developed-the-iron-dome-2012-11
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/democrats-skipping-netanyahu-speech
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/03/03/nearly-60-lawmakers-boycott-netanyahu-speech
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huma_Abedin
http://wgno.com/2015/02/05/senators-threaten-boycott-of-netanyahu-speech/