How Israel Helps USA's Trump; Not Dictates What To Do

 Nadene Goldfoot                                             

According the Wall Street Journal, Israeli intelligence (Mossad, no doubt)  informed the U.S. that Iran transferred thousands of uranium-enrichment centrifuges into tunnels deep inside the Pickaxe Mountain site last fall after the 12-day war in June.                    

After the 2020 explosions near Natanz, Ali Akbar Salehi, then head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said that Iran would build a "more modern, spacious and comprehensive" facility inside a mountain near Natanz. Based on satellite imagery, excavation at Pickaxe Mountain began in the autumn of 2020 and intensified in 2021,

Pickaxe Mountain—known locally in Iran as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La—is located in central Iran. It is situated roughly one mile south of the heavily fortified Natanz uranium enrichment facility.  Pickaxe Mountain is located in the Zagros Mountains in Iran's Isfahan Province. It is situated roughly 1.5 kilometers south of the Natanz nuclear complex.

 The Natanz site, where two of Iran’s uranium enrichment plants are located, has been bombed before; during the war started by the US and Israel on 28 February, and during the 12-day war of 2025. 

The Twelve-Day June War was a direct armed conflict between Israel, the United States, and Iran that took place from June 13 to June 24, 2025. The war began when Israel launched surprise airstrikes on Iranian military and nuclear facilities. In response, Iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones into Israel. 

The United States intervened on June 21, launching strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. The conflict resulted in over 600 deaths in Iran and nearly 30 in Israel before a U.S.-brokered ceasefire ended the fighting on June 24, 2025.  Iran traditionally exaggerates numbers, so 600 might be less.  (there's that 21st, and I'm thinking of the coming November 21st and peace)

February 28, 2026, marks the outbreak of the 2026 Iran war following joint U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, military infrastructure, and leadership. The initial strikes, codenamed Operation Epic Fury by the U.S. and Operation Roaring Lion in Israel, resulted in the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

According to the Institute for Science and International Security, the underground complex is buried roughly 328 feet beneath the mountain, which rises more than 5,000 feet above sea level.

 President Trump has said recently that Pickaxe Mountain was a potential target for U.S. forces.

Official Pentagon photo of an F-15E “Strike Eagle,” like 

the 

one that was shot down over Iran yesterday. The F-15 was 

designed in the 1960s and went into service in the 1970s. 

(Air Force photo.)

When pressed about the facility, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Tuesday that the U.S. military has the capabilities to strike deeply buried targets.  “A lot of our capabilities are classified, but if anybody in the world can reach anything on God’s green earth, it’s the United States military, the most powerful military in the world,” Hegseth said. “It’s all about options and trade-offs.”

Trump is presented facts from Israel and knows it is true.  it never pays to give out false information whoever you are.  To be honest is to give all the facts, not leave anything out that you already know and are not sharing when asked.  That's a hard and dangerous action to follow, but otherwise, no one will trust you.  I've seen media leave out all sorts of important facts that could change a person's opinion.    

Looking Back: Anti-Semitism in the 70's in Portland, Oregon

Nadene Goldfoot                                              

In the 1970s, Portland’s Jewish community experienced a complex reality. Overt, violent acts of antisemitism were rare, but the community navigated systemic exclusion in exclusive social circles and the early rise of right-wing extremist groups in the broader Pacific Northwest While Portland had a long history of Jewish civic participation (including a Jewish mayor in the 19th century), social and athletic clubs maintained restrictive membership policies.  

Portland had a history of being welcoming to Jews at first.  Portland's first Jewish mayor in the 19th century was Bernard Goldsmith, who served as the city's 19th mayor from 1869 to 1871. He was an immigrant businessman originally from Bavaria. Goldsmith was succeeded two years later by another Jewish businessman and leader in the community, Philip Wasserman, who served as mayor from 1871 to 1873.  

So, While Portland itself was generally a safe haven, the broader Pacific Northwest became a targeted hub for white supremacist and neo-Nazi organizing in the 1970s and 80s. This era marked the transition of the White nationalist movement toward revolutionary ideologies that explicitly positioned Jews as the enemy. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and local watchdog groups like the Western States Center have documented how radical right-wing extremists used the era's cultural circles to freely spread their agendas across Oregon. 

Cars of the period that everyone wanted to drive:  

            1971 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible $21,298.  

The history of racism in Oregon began before the territory even became a U.S. state. The topic of race was heavily discussed during the convention where the Oregon Constitution was written in 1857. In 1859, Oregon became the only state to enter the Union with a black exclusion law, although there were many other states that had tried before, especially in the Midwest. 

By the same time that Jews experienced anti-Semitism, the Blacks  saw  organized white supremacy in Portland transitionizing from the overt Ku Klux Klan rallies of earlier decades into more localized, politically engaged, and anti-government paramilitary movements.  

Despite these subtle and creeping threats, the 1970s was a period of growth and advocacy for the Portland Jewish community.  Organizations like the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) helped facilitate the emigration of thousands of Jewish refugees from the Soviet Union to Portland to escape religious discrimination, but at least Portland's wasn't as lethal as what was happening to Russian Jews.  

Israeli folk dance formally began at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center (MJCC) in 1972, but its roots go back to 1950s Portland.  At the same time, critical events were happening in Israel that affected Jews of Portland as well:  The 1970s in Israel was a defining decade marked by the conclusion of the War of Attrition, the devastating Yom Kippur War in 1973, and a major political shift in 1977 when the Likud party took power. The era also saw a rise in militant attacks and concluded with historic peace talks with Egypt with Sadat.

There is no exact census or demographic data available detailing how many Israelis entered Portland, OR in the 1970s. Historical records focus on the broader Jewish population, which hovered around 7,000 to 8,000 in the early 1970s and grew to 10,000 by the late 1970s. This demographic increase was largely driven by an influx of young, well-educated migrants from other parts of the United States who were drawn to Portland's progressiveness, rather than direct immigration from Israel. Nationwide, organized immigration from Israel to the U.S. was relatively small during this decade.

The primary figures and factions driving the hard-right and white supremacist scene in the area during this era included:

Walter Huss: A fundamentalist minister and vocal anti-communist who was actively tied to white nationalist groups. He maintained deep grassroots connections with the far-right in Oregon, ultimately serving as the chair of the Oregon Republican Party from 1978 to 1979.
The Posse Comitatus: A militant, anti-tax, and white supremacist organization that established roots in the Pacific Northwest during the 1970s. This group, which advocated for local vigilante justice and rejected federal authority, included former members of the pro-Nazi Silver Shirt movement. 
Christian Patriots: A network of religious extremists who advocated for white Christian supremacy and tied their ideology to anti-Semitism and anti-communism, often crossing paths with other far-right activist circles. 

The hard-right ecosystem in 1970s Oregon laid the groundwork for the violent neo-Nazi skinhead movements that became highly visible in Portland during the 1980s.

Resource:

Moment Magazine +4

Jewish Federation of Greater Portland +1

Looking Back: Anti-Semitism in Portland In The 60's

 Nadene Goldfoot                                              

In the 1960s, the premier venue for Jewish country club dances and formal social events in the Portland area was the Tualatin Country Club located in Tualatin, Oregon, just south of Portland. For country club events, galas, and golf, the community relied on the Tualatin facility, which was originally established by the Jewish-founded Concordia Club in 1912 precisely because Jews were excluded from other elite clubs in Portland. For other youth dances, lectures, and social gatherings closer to the city, the community frequently gathered at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center (MJCC), which was located in the Southwest neighborhood during that era.  . However, historical estimates and demographic studies placed the Jewish population in the Portland metropolitan area at approximately 3,500 during that era. 

In 1960s Portland, antisemitism rarely took the form of violent extremism. Instead, it was largely sociocultural and institutional. Jewish Oregonians frequently faced systemic exclusion from exclusive country clubs, prominent corporate law firms, and certain fraternities and sororities.  

Social Club Exclusions: Elite social organizations like the Multnomah Athletic Club (MAC), the Arlington Club, and the Waverley Country Club maintained informal or formal quotas that barred Jewish membership until the 1970s. Dancing in Portland during the 1960s was defined by a split between the psychedelic rock revolution, early soul and R&B nightlife, and local TV dance crazes. The decade featured massive R&B performances, thriving counterculture ballroom crowds, and neighborhood jazz and dance schools.  The epicenter of the counterculture dance scene was the McMenamins Crystal Ballroom. For R&B and soul dancers, the premier destination was the Cotton Club at 2125 N. Vancouver Ave in North Portland. Known as the only nightclub on the West Coast with "wall-to-wall soul," it brought in major touring musicians and provided a vibrant hub for the local African American music and social scene. 

       Portland State University's Urban campus: Portland State University is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next 20 years and was granted university status in 1969. There is no historical evidence of significant, organized anti-Semitism specifically directed at Portland State College (now Portland State University) in the 1960s. The college was a commuter school that grew rapidly during that decade. The campus culture was largely shaped by broader social movements, free speech, and the Vietnam War, rather than religious or ethnic tensions. While Portland's Jewish community faced historical housing and employment discrimination in the mid-20th century, anti-Semitism at the college itself did not figure prominently in campus affairs during that era.

Professional Barriers: Many Jewish lawyers and professionals were unable to secure jobs at established non-Jewish firms, prompting the creation of their own prominent, successful practices (such as the origins of Tonkon Torp).The most famous Jewish judge in Portland, Oregon during the 1960s was Gus J. Solomon. Appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon in 1949, he served as the state's first Jewish federal judge and was its longest-serving federal jurist. Breaking Barriers: During this decade, prominent Jewish leaders—most notably lawyer Moe Tonkon—actively fought to dismantle exclusionary practices by becoming the first Jewish members of Portland’s elite WASP-dominated clubs. Moe was an immigrant.  Moe Tonkon (1905–1984) was a prominent Portland business lawyer, civic leader, and founding partner of the law firm Tonkon Torp LLP. A Bender, Russia native who grew up in Portland, he helped bring the Portland Trail Blazers to the city and served as a major trailblazer against local antisemitism.

Neighborhood Redlining & Shifts: As the historic immigrant Jewish neighborhood of South Portland was largely demolished for urban renewal in the early 1960s, Jewish families moving to the suburbs or other parts of the city occasionally encountered restrictive housing covenants and subtle real estate discrimination. 

In the 1960s, Black Portlanders faced systemic discrimination heavily concentrated in housing, employment, and policing. Redlining and discriminatory real estate practices forced 80% of the city’s 15,000 African Americans into the Albina district. While Black Portlanders fought for civil rights, this concentrated community was continuously fractured by urban renewal projects, including the construction of Interstate 5 and Memorial Coliseum, which bulldozed Black-owned homes and businesses.In the 1960 U.S. Census, the Black (or "Nonwhite") population in Portland was approximately 15,000 to 16,000 residents. Specifically, census tract records indicate the city's Black population stood at 15,637 within Portland's city limits.

Interfaith Cooperation: In 1961, Rabbi Emanuel Rose from the Reform Temple helped found the Oregon Board of Rabbis, fostering early connections and mutual understanding with the Catholic and Muslim communities.

Resource:

https://www.ojmche.org/oral-history-people/rabbi-emanuel-rose/