Berkeley Jews Unite in Support of Israel

In a speech given to Arab diplomats in Stockholm on January 30, 1996. Yasser Arafat revealed his true intentions: "We of the PLO will now concentrate all our efforts on splitting Israel psychologically into two camps...We will make life unbearable for Jews by psychological warfare and population explosion; Jews won't want to live among us Arabs."

He failed.

Has life become unbearable in Israel?
Maybe not.

The United Nation’s first World Happiness Report ranked Israel as the 14th happiest country in the world. Conducted by Columbia University’s Earth Institute, the report notes:

"it is not just wealth that makes people happy: Political freedom, strong social networks and an absence of corruption are together more important than income in explaining well-being differences between the top and bottom countries. At the individual level, good mental and physical health, someone to count on, job security and stable families are crucial."

To many, the mere existence of an organization such as "Jewish voice for Peace" shows that Arafat tried. But again, he failed. The Jewish community is not split into "two camps"- and the size of JVP's mailing list ( I'm on it, for example) is simply irrelevant.

To "Jewish" Voice for peace: What we have here is the Jewish community in action. What you are seeing is called unity.



This is in Berkeley, remember. Berkeley. Berkeley- the town with its own foreign policy. Check it out, JVP

The local Orthodox, Conservative and Reform synagogues have joined together in unity to celebrate our ties with Israel. A community commemoration of Yom Hazikaron and Yom Hatzmaut - Israel Memorial Day and Israeli Independence day is planned- and Berkeley Jews will unite in prayer and in song.

This is done because we honor and respect Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people. And whimper and cry all you want, JVP. Talk about "oppression" and "privilege" and the 99%. But know this. This topic unites us- unifies us and gives us strength. Your theatrics are meaningless and irrelevant. And remember this- when a dozen of you aging misfits protest Israel in the Gardens, supplementing your ranks with angry Arab youth - there will be 20,000 people inside the Gardens- all in support of Israel.

The people united can never be defeated.