Had a chat with “Grok” today

In this case “Grok” is not simply a Martian vernacular word from Heinlein’s Stranger In A Strange Land, rather, Grok is a conversational AI chatbot developed by xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company. It’s designed to be a powerful assistant that can answer questions, generate text, create images, and even write code. Grok is known for its ability to access real-time information through X (formerly Twitter) and its “rebellious” streak, which allows it to tackle “spicy” questions often avoided by other AI models.

I asked Grok about the Reformed Druids of Gaia (RDG).  Here is what  “she” told me:  “The RDG was co-founded by Ceridwen Seren-Ddaear and Sybok Pendderwydd (aka: Robert M. Larson), in 1996.  Her real name is Ceridwen Arseneau. Ceridwen and Robert are married and they also co-founded the Order of the Mithril Star together.”

Several things are just so wrong in this. First of all, Ceridwen’s real name is Karyn Arseneau. She has used the pseudonym “Ceridwen Seren-Ddaear” throughout her career as a neo-pagan elder/practitioner. I have used the pseudonym “Sybok Pendderwydd” off and on throughout my pagan career as well. I have NEVER used the name “Robert Larson.”  Order of the Mithril Star (OMS) was founded by myself and Duane Adam Rostoker (aka, “Adam Walks Between Worlds”) in  1996 at Big Basin Redwoods State Park, following a “Bring Back the Snakes” party at nearby Boulder Creek Brewery circa St. Patrick’s Day.  RDG was founded by myself and Karyn Arseneau around the Pagan feast of Mabon in 2006.

Grok provided some history of RDG:  “Specific to leadership requirements, circa 2013-2014 there was a mandate issued by the retiring Archdruid that his replacement (as well as those in other RDG leadership roles) must be politically far left and/or affiliated with the Green Party (USA residents).”

This is only partially true. RDG members are expected to be Progressive in their political leanings, but there was never a “mandate” issued by a “retiring Archdruid” (whom I guess is me, but rest assured I never issued such a requirement). I can especially reassure you that I have never endorsed the Green Party, which, in at least the last decade, has proven itself to be radically antisemitic.

“Specific to leadership requirements, circa 2013-2014 there was a mandate issued by the retiring Archdruid that his replacement (as well as those in other RDG leadership roles) must be pansexually (or at least bisexual) polyamorous naturists.”

Another bald-faced lie. No such “mandate” has ever been issued. However, RDG (and it’s parent group, OMS) are heavily influenced by Robert Heinlein’s Stranger In A Strange Land, which depicts polyamory and naturism as lifestyle choices. I have written extensively on these topics over the years.

“Unusual pattern of RDG Third Degrees approaching RDNA Third Order Druids requesting the secret Third Order Ordination liturgical scripts There is the perception in the RDNA that RDG Third Degrees are required to attempt to acquire the RDNA scripts. The manipulative sense of entitlement presented is mildly to harassingly disturbing.”

We were formed as the result of a  “vision” of  Karyn’s of seeing Reformed Druidism expanded to a planet wide paradigm, rather then the Reformed Druids of North America’s (RDNA) limitation to just the North American continent.  That’s why we are “of Gaia.”  As for our ordination of Third Order candidates (yes, we call them “Orders,” not “degrees”) requiring such candidates to attempt to procure RDNA’s 3rd Order Scripts — that’s just bull  feces.  It is true that VERY early on we did attempt to find some examples of such scripts, (just as other pagan groups might try to procure materials from groups they are closely related to, which is VERY common) it was found that we could come up with our own scripts (which currently vary from Archdruid to Archdruid and from Grove to Grove).  

These three “accusations” are the usual broadbrush attempt to discredit us. I am very sure that these attempts did not come from any RDNA sources, as we have never had anything but friendship and mutual respect from members and officers of the RDNA. No, I suspect that this originated with members of the N-RDNA (New Reformed Druids of North America) which is a group which officially schismed from the RDNA in 1976 (instigated  by Isaac Bonewits). Some NRDNA members are “embarrassed”  by this and frequently attempt to “blur the line” between their schismatic group and the legitimate RDNA, often characterizing themselves in the role of “spokes persons” for the RDNA. They have been highly critical of the RDG since it’s conception, and particularly because of our close associating with the lifestyles promoted by the Church of All Worlds (CAW) (specifically polyamory and naturism) and so spread outright propaganda and insinuations concerning sexual lifestyles among RDG members.  Very much like how Christians attack their critics: there is always some accusation of sexual abnormality.

Now, getting back to our initial topic here:  I am a tad curious as to why my name, Ellis Arseneau, did not come up in Grok’s “research(?).  My pseudonym (Sybok Pendderwydd) certainly did, as did Karyn’s (Ceridwen Seren_Ddaer) but Karyn’s real name did appear.  I suppose that over the years I have been too zealous at keeping my public persona private (and my employment).  Now that I am retired and in my 70’s such precautions no longer seems required.

BUT — who the hell is Robert M. (or C.M. Larson?  I certainly have never use that moniker and Karyn was surprised when I told her she was married to him! LOL!!!

Anti-Zionist (antisemitic) protests as Arcata’s City Council meeting(s)

NOTE to READER: This post got me placed in “NextDoor Jail” for six weeks (which is to say I was denied access to my NextDoor account). I am afraid we are becoming a fascist state.

It’s becoming a bad habit.  Antisemitic protesters have been regularly showing up at Arcata City Council meetings, spreading their insidious lies and propaganda.  The latest protest was especially vile.

First off, news anchor Erica Sutherland began the report by calling the Gaza/Israel war a “genocide,” (which I wrote to her about) but the real “star” of the show was this absolutely deranged woman who was screaming at the top of her lungs about how the city council should be ashamed of themselves for not supporting Palestine. Then she demanded that they divest from CalPers (which apparently has investments in Israeli businesses). She was very disruptive, disrespectful, and, well, at one time I worked as a mental health technician, and I think she’d be a good candidate for Thorazine.

I wrote to Erica Sutherland:
“You called the situation in Gaza “… the ongoing genocide.” Genocide requires the INTENTION to wipe out a people. If anything Israel has bent over backwards to keep civilian casualties to a minimum. Stop spreading Hamas propaganda! I’m a huge fan of yours. Please take my concerns seriously.”
“See my blog for the whole truth about Israel: https://el.urgod.org/everything-israel/”

Rather than address my concern, Erica excused herself:
“Hey you need to email Ross. I didn’t write the story. So I’m not informed about this situation. Email news@redwoodnews.tv”

So, I did:
“Last night (I watch the 11:00 stream on Zeam) Erica Sutherland started the story by calling Israel’s war with Hamas a “genocide.”  Although it has become popular among some Progressives (I am one) to characterize the situation as a “genocide perpetrated by Israel,” this is not the case at all. What is being repeated is Hamas propaganda. As a journalist, you are charged with telling the truth, not spreading lies. I don’t want to get into a long diatribe about this, but please, take the time to read my blog on the subject: https://el.urgod.org. Scroll down the right-hand menu to “EVERYTHING ISRAEL.”

Ross, I admire your work and that of the whole Redwood News team. I’ve been watching since my wife and I moved to Eureka in 2004. Please endeavor to speak the truth about Israel, and stop just repeating what is popular.

Namaste!”

He wrote back almost immediately:

“Hello sir, 

I’ll need to get our reporter who interviewed the protesters on this topic.     Here is the story as we aired it. 
We said this in the introduction to the story: 

LAST NIGHT TWO DIFFERENT PROTESTS WERE HELD AT THE ARCATA CITY COUNCIL MEETING AND TENSIONS WERE HIGH.  ONE GROUP WAS PROTESTING ARCATA’S ALLEGED INVESTMENTS IN ISRAEL AND DEMANDED

THE CITY DIVEST DUE TO THE ONGOING GENOCIDE IN GAZA. 
What we SHOULD have said was; 

” ….. Demanded the city divest due to what the protesters call
the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”    

There is a big difference in whether Redwood News is saying there is an ongoing genocide in Gaza and  what the people in the context of the report believe is occurring in Gaza.

You are correct.  I will discuss it with the reporter/producer.   

Shame on us for not catching the way that intro was presented. 

Thanks for sending us your concerns. 

Ross Rowley 
News Director – Redwood News
KIEM-NBC3 / KVIQ-CBS17
Eureka, CA
707-443-6666 / 707-496-0626

I feel really good about this.  I feel vindicated. Here is my final response to Ross:

“Thank you for your due diligence.
Actually, it has happened more than once over the past year. Abraham Nevaro (sp?) repeated the same phrase a few months ago in another story concerning local protesters.
I didn’t say anything at the time. But with the rapid escalation of antisemitism in our country I think active correction of these errors is way overdue.

Again, than you for your attention to this matter.”

Ross Rowley’s email address in news@redwoodnews.tv

Progressive psychics / mediums

Do you believe in psychics or mediums?  Do you believe that some people have ESP?  There are a number of these folks currently on YouTube.  What makes them interesting is that all of them are politically Progressive. Here are the ones I am currently aware of:

They all have many things in common. They dislike Duck L’Orange and the MAGAs.  They are all concerned about climate change, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, voting rights, economic equality, freedom of speech, and all the other popular Progressive causes.  They also dislike Putin and Netanyahu.

But, like many Progressives, they have bought the whole BDS/Hamas propaganda line, and for the most part regularly blame Israel for the alleged woes of the “palestinians.”  The worse one of all of these is Linda Grindel, who can’t seem to get through a single pod cast without some mention of children being starved in Gaza, and she is sure that it is all Israel’s fault. In a show tonight which she shared with Sterling, she asked “when will the genocide in Gaza stop.”

I like to give people the benefit of a doubt. I don’t think any of these people are consciously ant-semitic.  I think they suffer from the bandwagon fallacy and also perhaps confirmation bias.  They all claim to be hearing from “spirit guides” (also “Angels,” “ETs,” “deceased spirits,” “ancestors,” and in one case, “reptilians”).

My wife is a huge fan of these folks, so I have listened in on many of their pod casts. They are currently all predicting that our POTUS, Putin and Netanyahu are all going to pass away in the period between October 1st, 2025 and March 30th 2026. They are all also predicting that the Democrats will take control of both Houses of Congress in the midterms (coming November 2026), and the Supreme Court  will be reformed and the current right wing justices will be ousted. Well, we can only hope.

Typically, when one of them repeats some of the current popular lies about Israel, I will comment in their YouTube feed, attempting to correct them. I usually point them to the part of my blog where I have archived all my posts concerning Israel.  I also attempt to say something along the lines of “I’m having doubts about the reliability of your (“guides,” “team,” “spirit advisors,””angels”). If they are real they couldn’t possibly have repeated such lies concerning Israel (Gaza).”  Thus far I haven’t seen any reaction, but  I have hope that I can persuade them eventually.

If they cannot, or will not, correct themselves then it is obvious to me that they are “false prophets.” A false prophet is a person who spreads false teachings or messages while claiming to speak the Word of Hashem. False prophets functioned in their prophetic role illegitimately or for the purpose of deception. The Nevi’im denounces false prophets for leading people astray.

In the Nevi’im, the actual term “false prophet}” does not occur, but references to false prophets are evident and abundant. In the book of Jeremiah, we encounter a clear description of false prophets: “Then the LORD said to me, ‘The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds’” (Jeremiah 14:14; see also 23:21–33; Zechariah 10:2).

A note of clarification for the gentile reader: The Jewish Bible, called the Tanakh, has three sections: the Torah (the five books of Moses), the Nevi’im (the books of the Prophets), and the Ketuvim (This is the Writings section, which includes a diverse collection of texts such as poetry, philosophy, and historical accounts). The word “Tanakh”  is an acronym derived from these three sections.

REMEMBER, THERE WAS A CEASEFIRE IN PLACE ON OCTOBER 7, 2023.

WHEN YOU CRITICIZE ISRAEL, you are supporting Hamas.

Stop supporting Hamas!

REMEMBER, THERE WAS A CEASEFIRE IN PLACE ON OCTOBER 7, 2023.

FACTS: The “palestinians” have actually had numerous opportunities to create an independent state, but have repeatedly rejected the offers:

• In 1937, the Peel Commission proposed the partition of “palestine” and the creation of an Arab state.
• In 1939, the British White Paper proposed the creation of a unitary Arab state.
• In 1947, the UN would have created an even larger Arab state as part of its partition plan.
• The 1979 Egypt-Israel peace negotiations offered the “palestinians” autonomy, which would almost certainly have led to full independence.
• The Oslo agreements of the 1990s laid out a path for “palestinian” independence, but the process was derailed by terrorism.
• In 2000, Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered to create a “palestinian” state in all of Gaza and 97% of the “West Bank.”
• In 2008, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert offered to withdraw from almost the entire West Bank and partition Jerusalem on a demographic basis.
• In 2015, “palestinian” Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has publicly confirmed for the first time that he turned down a peace offer in 2008 that would have provided for an independent “palestinian” state containing all of the Gaza Strip, much of the West Bank (with land swaps), and a tunnel connecting the two areas.
• In addition 1948 to 1967, Israel did not control the “West Bank.” The “palestinians” could have demanded an independent state from the Jordanians. On the contrary whilst Jordan was in control Arafat said there was no longer a claim as it was no longer part of “palestine.” Once it was back in Israeli hands it miraculously became disputed land again! This is one of many reasons Jews and Israelis are cynical.

Also, it should be noted that Israel has peace treaties with Jordan and Egypt (In 1988, in it’s treaty with Israel, Jordan relinquished all claim to “the West Bank” (Judea / Samaria) so there is no internationally recognized “occupation” there).

The Palestinians have spurned each of these opportunities. Anyone that is against Israel should satisfy themselves as why this may have been? I believe, when it comes to the “palestinians,” “They Want It All”. Denying Israel’s right to exist.

Over the last decade+, Hamas has invested millions of dollars into digging extensive tunnel infrastructure below the surface of the Gaza Strip. Much of Hamas’s infrastructure is built in the heart of crowded civilian areas in the Gaza Strip, which means that military targets, including command and control centers, weapons production, weapons depots, military infrastructure, shafts for terrorist tunnels and combat management centers are all inside of civilian neighborhoods. Hamas uses its own people as shields. My heart breaks for all the innocent children. It’s the children who suffer. But Stop rewriting history!

ENOUGH PROPAGANDA!

*** The estimated global Jewish population in 2022 is approximately 15.3 million, with around 7.2 million residing in Israel. This means that nearly 48% of the world’s Jewish population calls Israel home.

In contrast, the Arab world population in 2022 is estimated to be around 464.7 million, spanning across 22 countries. ****

MORE FACTS: Scholars believe the name “palestine” is derived from the Egyptian and Hebrew word peleshet. Roughly translated to mean rolling or migratory, the term was used to describe the inhabitants of the land to the northeast of Egypt – the Philistines. The Philistines were an Aegean people – more closely related to the Greeks and with no connection ethnically, linguistically or historically with Arabia – who conquered in the 12th Century BCE the Mediterranean coastal plain that is now Israel and Gaza. A derivative of the name “palestine” first appears in Greek literature in the 5th Century BCE when the historian Herodotus called the area Peleistine. In the 2nd century CE, the Romans crushed the revolt of Shimon Bar Kokhba (132 CE), during which Jerusalem and Judea were regained and the area of Judea was renamed by the Roman Emperor Hadrian “Syria Palaestina” in an attempt to minimize Jewish identification with the land of Israel.

At the end of World War I, the territory of the Ottoman Empire was divided between the French and the British, in accordance with the Sykes–Picot Agreement of 1916. When the British gained control of the region, at the close of World War I they adopted the name “Palestine” and its inhabitants Jewish, Muslim or otherwise were known as Palestinians. And then, during the 1920s, the nascent Palestinian national movement adopted the appellation “Palestinian” as its own.

The idea that “palestinians” are colonized depends entirely on the fake history promulgated by the Arabs and their supporters. Their narrative tells us that their “people” lived in “palestine” for hundreds or even thousands of years, before the European Zionists came along and threw them out. In reality, with the exception of the very small number that were descendants of the Arab colonizers of the 7th century (and those who were descended from Jews that the Romans missed in 135), most “palestinian” Arabs came to the land in the 19th and 20th centuries as economic migrants. This explains why there is so little specifically “palestinian” content to their culture, which is much the same as that of the Arabs in the surrounding region. There is no language called “palestinian,” and no unique religion. What true “palestinianism” that exists comes from their conflict with the Jewish residents of the land in the past hundred years or so.

LEARN THE HISTORY!

Israel is one of the most open societies in the world. Out of a population of 9.6 million, 21% of the population are Arabs, and 5.3% are non-Arab Christians and people who have no religion listed.

• Arabs in Israel have equal voting rights; in fact, it is one of the few places in the Middle East where Arab women may vote.

• Arabic, like Hebrew, is an official language in Israel.

• Today, more than 300,000 Arab children attend Israeli schools. At the time of Israel’s founding, there was but a single Arab high school in the country. Today, there are hundreds of Arab schools.

• Israel has one of the broadest anti-discrimination laws of any country. According to the State Department, “The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, marital status, or sexual orientation. The law also prohibits discrimination by both government and nongovernment entities on the basis of race, religion, political beliefs, and age.”

Israel isn’t evil and it’s not the enemy. I hate how our country is filled with antisemitism. And ignorance on the topic.

It should also be noted that Israel is a strategic ally and US relations with Israel strengthen the US presence in the Middle East. Foreign Military Financing (FMF) is intended to promote US national security by contributing to global stability, strengthening military support for democratically elected governments and containing transnational threats, including terrorism and trafficking of weapons.

My open (form) letter to the DNC

Here is the (I guess “form”) letter I use to reply to all messages from the Democratic National Committee when they request money.

Even though I am a dedicated Progressive and lifelong Democrat, I cannot support the party unless they give unequivocal support for the Jewish State of Israel. This would be disavowing all of the heinous lies that have developed over the last few years, such as “Apartheid,” “Occupation,” “Genocide,” “Settler Colonialism,” etc.  I would also request that you censure the members of the congressional “Squad” for promoting these same antisemitic lies.  Don’t be like Mr. Trump. Stop repeating lies.

Ellis Arseneau Progressive ZIONIST
“Purveyor of unconventional wisdom”

Anti-Zionism = Anti-Semitism

Anti-semitism, also known as anti-zionism (yes, they really are one and the same thing) is growing by leaps and bounds across our nation. We used to expect this kind of unwarranted hatred from the Right, and to this day they have taken the lead in waging a propaganda war using Jew hatred as their MO. But increasingly we are starting to see it on the Left as well.

They like to call it antizionism: “No, I don’t hate Jews, just the zionists,” but the problem is that zionism is now and always has been an integral part of Judaism. For example, for the past 2,500 years, we have ended the Passover Seder with the words, “… and next year in Jerusalem.”

They try to pass off criticism of Israel, and increasingly emotional accusations against the Jewish state (“Apartheid,””Genocide,””Occupation,””Ethnic cleansing,”) as just exercising their freedom of speech. But by repeating and propagating these heinous lies on Social Media and elsewhere, they are priming the pump of hate crimes and violence against Jews. Here are some recent examples of the results of spreading this antisemitic propaganda:

🔴 Two young diplomats were brutally gunned down after attending a Jewish event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.

🔴 Demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado, were attacked by a man who threw Molotov cocktails at them during a peaceful march in support of the hostages held in Gaza. An 82 year-old Holocaust survivor died from her burns.

🔴 The home of the Jewish governor of Pennsylvania was set on fire during Passover as his

🔴 In San Francisco, a beloved, Jewish-owned cafe has been repeatedly vandalized.

🔴 In Yonkers, New York, a high school basketball game was canceled because of vile antisemitic slurs hurled at young players.

All of these incidents can  properly be placed at the feet of those who chant slogans such as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!,” “Free Palestine,” “Globalize the intifada!,” “Hitler was right!,” etc., ad adinfinitum, ad nauseum.

People who repeat these slogans are instigating violence toward Jews and vandalism against Jewish owned businesses and buildings, including outright murder as has happened in a few cases.

Violence, vandalism and murder are not Progressive values. The people who shout these slogans are not Progressives, even if that is what they pretend to be.

ALL ANTISEMITISM ORIGINATES IN RIGHT WING FASCISM.

Israel? An apartheid nation? NO!

 

This is a guest essay by Dr. Maarten Boudry, a philosopher of science who has authored six books and more than 50 academic papers.

I recently travelled through Israel with a delegation of the Europe Israel Press Association, a non-profit that’s independent of the Israeli government.While there, I talked to a wide variety of people: residents of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, Bedouins and Arabs living in villages near the Lebanese border towns and in East Jerusalem, and members of the Knesset (the Israeli parliament) from various parties. During my visit, I was particularly struck by the loyalty that many Arab Israelis — though certainly not all — feel toward Israel. At the Sheba Medical Centre, we found Jews and Arabs working side by side in operating rooms, treating Israeli, Arab, and Palestinian children without distinction. Even though Arabs are exempt from the military draft, a surprising number have volunteered to defend Israel.We spoke to one of them: IDF Major Ella Waweya, a young Arab woman who joined the army against her family’s objections. (They have since become reconciled to her choice.) In 2016, she earned the highest military honour and now serves as Deputy Commander of the Arabic Spokesperson’s Unit. An observant Muslim, she is proud to speak Hebrew with an Arab accent.She told us that her career has inspired many others to sign up, including a dozen Arab recruits from her own village alone. In the Bedouin village of Arab al-Aramshe, on the Lebanese border, one community member told us that he identifies as both Israeli and Bedouin and sees no difference between himself and his Jewish neighbours. They all serve in the IDF, their children attend the same schools, and they were evacuated together by the government following Hezbollah’s rocket attacks.I heard even stronger declarations of loyalty to Israel among the Druze community along the northern border. During the Six-Day War with Syria in 1967, Druze soldiers had no qualms about firing on their fellow coreligionists in the Syrian army. The Druze hold that national loyalty takes precedence over religious identity, especially in a country like Israel. They know something that many progressives in the West fail to grasp: Israel is the only country in the region to grant them freedom of religion and full democratic rights. In every other Arab nation in the region, the Druze face discrimination, oppression, and even persecution as apostates. It is possible that the Arabs and other minorities I met through the Europe Israel Press Association are not representative of that population at large. They may well have been screened by the organization for their pro-Israel views — and inveterate “anti-Zionists” would probably not want to have any truck with such a program anyway.But surveys suggest that these pro-Israel Arabs are not outliers. In a post-October 7th poll, 70 percent of Arab Israeli respondents said they felt a sense of belonging to their country, a dramatic increase over the 48 percent who expressed such sentiments prior to October 7th. In a 2024 poll, 32 percent of Arabs stated that they trusted the IDF and 23 percent said they trusted the police. While those numbers are significantly lower than those among Jewish citizens (80 and 42.5 percent, respectively), they’re surprisingly high for an allegedly “Jewish supremacist apartheid state.” Even Mansour Abbas, leader of the Arab and Islamist Ra’am party in the Knesset, emphasised that “we are part of Israel, committed to our citizenship.” When we asked him whether Israel was an apartheid state, Abbas said it was not, though he added that the country could become an apartheid state if it decided to annex the West Bank and Gaza, since incorporating 5 million Palestinians would threaten its Jewish-majority character. But for now, within its internationally recognised borders, Israel is a democracy, he agreed.It goes without saying that many Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza do not exactly share this positive appraisal of Israel and its military. But even in East Jerusalem, which has been under Israeli control since the 1967 Six-Day War, sentiment towards Israel is not always as straightforward as you might think.We paid an extended visit to Jinnovate, a centre that promotes tech entrepreneurship within Palestinian society, for which it receives funding from the Israeli government. The centre’s director, Mahmoud Khweis, is a Palestinian entrepreneur who grew up in East Jerusalem and was educated at Harvard Business School and The John F. Kennedy School of Government.Khweis is a firm believer in what he calls “science diplomacy,” i.e. bridging political divides by working side-by-side to tackle technical challenges. He has worked with the United Nations, the World Bank, and the United States Agency for International Development, but has never received any support from the European Union. That’s because it views East Jerusalem as an illegally occupied territory, so collaborating with Jinnovate could be seen as legitimising “the occupation,” even though the centre provides invaluable opportunities for bright young Palestinian science students and engineers. Although it was not included on the press tour, I decided to check out the Educational Bookshop in East Jerusalem — a small, family-run business that made headlines earlier this year after the Israeli police raided it twice and arrested two of its owners, claiming that they were selling materials which incited terrorism.When I arrived, just before the start of Ramadan, there were no signs of the earlier commotion; the family was busy selling books as usual. I had a friendly chat with the young owner, a jovial guy who cracked jokes about his stint in prison and his growling stomach. (Being an observant Muslim, he was looking forward to breaking his fast.) I bought a few anti-Zionist titles by Ilan Pappé and Norman Finkelstein — as well as, for good measure, a book by political scientist Yascha Mounk, who is pro-Israel.I didn’t find any materials inciting terrorism, nor did I expect to. But one key detail, which you won’t find in most Western newspapers, is that the Educational Bookshop was allowed to reopen a few days later, once again offering a treasure trove of books which are highly critical of the State of Israel and Zionism — as they should be permitted to, of course, in any liberal democracy that values freedom of expression. I didn’t meet any Israelis who expressed a desire for genocide or ethnic cleansing in Gaza on my trip. However, I did encounter several people who admitted that, since October 7th, they have been unable to bring themselves to care about the fate of innocent Gazan civilians.Understandably, this sentiment was particularly strong at Kibbutz Kfar Aza, many of whose traumatised and heartbroken residents used to employ Gazan guest workers, some of whom may have acted as informants for the terrorists who carried out the October 7th attacks. Some of these kibbutzniks had even been among the volunteers who drove Palestinian children to Israeli hospitals. But the bluntest expression of this hardened attitude toward Gazans came from Kazim Khlilih, an Arab Israeli LGBTQ influencer who had volunteered to serve in the IDF. He told us, “I know I shouldn’t say this, but I have no compassion for the people in Gaza. I don’t care.” This may sound callous, but we should bear in mind that Kazim lost a cousin on October 7th, a paramedic brutally murdered by Hamas at the Nova Music Festival.Similarly, one of the most hawkish views on Gaza I heard during our trip was expressed by influential Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh, who is the son of an Arab-Israeli father and a Palestinian mother and was raised in East Jerusalem. Toameh suggested that “the IDF should have temporarily reoccupied Gaza and declared itself the government.” Instead of constantly moving in and out to fight shifting pockets of Hamas resistance, Toameh believes it would have been more effective had the IDF mimicked what Hamas did after its violent takeover: openly declare that they will rule Gaza, at least temporarily. In his view, this would have sent a strong message to the civilian population that Hamas’ time was over.Israeli society is far from perfect. The country grapples with its fair share of ethnic and religious divisions, which are intensified by ongoing wars and the constant threat of terrorist attacks. At least part of the Jewish population harbour strong suspicions toward the Arab minority. Israel is a liberal democracy but it is a “desperate and struggling one,” as historian Fania Oz Salzberger told me.Still, the existence of Israel shows that Jews, Arabs, and other religious and ethnic minorities can coexist peacefully. In some respects, Israel is actually doing a better job of integrating its Muslim minority than many of the European countries that have been quick to accuse the Jewish state of “apartheid” and “genocide.” The patriotism of many Israeli Arabs is remarkable — and would be unusual among their coreligionists in Europe. In fact, even if you’re a Muslim, you’re probably better off living in the Jewish state than anywhere else in the Middle East. Nowhere else in the region do Muslims enjoy so many political and religious freedoms.This is especially true for LGBT Muslims. When a mosque in Berlin announced that it would welcome women and gay people, its female imam received so many death threats that the police had to provide her with 24-hour protection. As Kazim put it, when we asked him about being a gay Muslim in the Jewish state, “It’s not easy, but if I compare it to Europe, thank God I’m a minority in Israel.” In his book, Orientalism, Palestinian-American academic Edward Said arraigns the “simple-minded dichotomy” found in Western orientalist discourse between “freedom-loving, democratic Israel and evil, totalitarian, and terroristic Arabs.”Of course, that’s a wild caricature of Western discourse about Islam; no one but the most extreme racist would portray all Arabs as inherently violent or evil. The Arab world is far from immune to Enlightenment ideas, as evidenced by the many liberal Muslims and ex-Muslims you’ll encounter in Israel and elsewhere.Yet Said, with his myopic focus on “discourses” rather than underlying facts — a tendency he inherited from French historian Michel Foucault — was overlooking an inconvenient truth: There is only one country in the Middle East that upholds liberal Enlightenment values. If you genuinely care about progressive values, you should hope that the surrounding Middle Eastern countries will come to resemble Israel more closely in the future. For all its flaws, Israel remains the region’s lone beacon of freedom and pluralism. On my last day in Israel, I had lunch with the Belgian ambassador at a restaurant in Tel Aviv. As we chatted about the political climate in Israel and the craven decision by some European universities to boycott the country, my host suddenly gestured toward the table beside us. “That’s my friend Ehud Olmert over there!” he exclaimed.I knew that Olmert had been Israel’s Prime Minister from 2006 to 2009, but I wouldn’t have recognised him on sight. Olmert is known for his peace offer to Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas in 2008, which Abbas rejected, but also for a less savoury reason: Olmert served 16 months in jail for corruption and bribery.As the elderly former statesman approached our table and I shook his hand, a thought struck me: This Jewish politician and lawyer, once the most powerful man in the country, ended up in prison thanks, in part, to an Arab Justice on the Israeli Supreme Court.

Does that sound like an apartheid state to you?

An open letter to my Progressive comrades

The following is my reply to an email from info@weareprogressives.org which was asking me for money to support “Progressive” candidates:

Hey Progressives:

I am a Progressive. A Progressive Zionist. I agree with all the causes you folks are behind, except one: your stance on Israel, and the so called “palestinians” is wrong and based on Trump level lies. I guess Mr. Trump has made it fashionable to lie now, so now even Progressives are doing it.

I agree with everything “the Squad” embraces, except they are wrong about Israel. They are backing the wrong horse. Islam, as practiced today in Gaza, is anti-woman, anti-LGBTQ, anti-1st Amendment, and has instituted Sharia Law, which is 1,000 times worse then the agenda put forth by Project 2025. The difference is that our oppressors are Christian Nationalists and theirs are Jihadi Islamists.

Until you get your agenda regarding Israel and Islam straight, you’ll get not one penny from me.

Sorry.

Ellis S. Arseneau
“purveyor of unconventional wisdom”
Progressive Zionist
Lifelong Democrat

I remember the MacMullen family reunions

I think the last time I was in attendance at one of these was maybe 1963, or earlier.  My maternal grandmothers family, the MacMullens used to hold a “clan gathering” (family reunion) every year at Kankakee River State Park. This always occurred on the Sunday closest to the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, which celebrates the giving of the Torah to Moses and therefore to Israel.  Now days Moses is said to be the first person to download data from the cloud unto a tablet.

I know what you are thinking:  a Scottish clan? Jews?  Yep.  Like many European Jewish families, my grandmothers family was chased around the continent a bit. From somewhere in the Balkans, the Bonewitzes<sp?> were chased away, probably as the result of a pogrom or pogroms, and eventually landed in the Scottish Highlands. There they changed their name to MacMullen and adopted that clans tartan, as well as a boatload of Scottish custom.  So the MacMullen clan gathering was a mixture of Jewish and Scottish cultural adaptations.

I remember the men wearing kilts with matching kippah, some wonderful BBQ chicken, burgers, and assortments of salads, chips and deserts. There was a little train ride that carried kids all around the park.  There were bagpipes and Highland Games including the tug-o-war, the hammer throw and tossing the caber.  The Rabbi from our synagogue on the south side of Chicago was also in attendance.

I remember some of us discovering that if you ate a lot of angel-food cake you could drink all the Coca Cola you wanted without getting sick.

A Scots-Jewish “kippah,” made from the official Jewish tartan

I don’t remember attending one of these after Shavuot 1963 (when I was going to turn 10 years old). Whoever was the organizer of this even either passed away or got sick or just stopped. So this has become a fond but very vague memory after all these years.

 

Why do we pay taxes? Two answers

I saw this on Facebook today:

The author of this meme doesn’t seem to understand the purpose or benefit of taxation. Rather, they seem to believe that taxation is some sort of punishment. I’ve seen this before. It is a popular notion among Ayn Rand devotees (aka: Libertarians).

WHY DO WE PAY TAXES?  Two answers:

ANSWER ONE:
Taxes fund public services and infrastructure that benefit society.
Here’s a breakdown of why taxes are paid:

1. Funding Public Goods and Services:
Essential Services: Taxes finance fundamental services like national defense, law enforcement, fire protection, and the justice system.
Infrastructure: Taxes are used to build and maintain roads, bridges, public transportation, and other vital infrastructure.
Education: Public schools, universities, and other educational programs are funded through taxes.
Healthcare: Taxes support public healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
Social Welfare Programs: Taxes fund programs that provide assistance to those in need, such as unemployment benefits and welfare programs.

2. Promoting Social Well-being:
Public Safety: Taxes help fund police and fire departments, contributing to a safer environment.
Parks and Recreation: Taxes support the maintenance of parks, libraries, and recreational facilities.
Environmental Protection: Taxes can be used to fund environmental conservation efforts and address pollution.

3. Ensuring a Functioning Society:
Government Operations: Taxes pay for the salaries of government employees and the cost of running government agencies.
Economic Stability: Taxes can be used to manage the economy and promote economic growth.
In essence, taxes are a collective contribution that enables a functioning and prosperous society by funding the essential services and programs that benefit everyone.

ANSWER TWO:
Why you would not want to live in a country with no taxes
While the prospect of living in a country with no taxes might seem appealing at first glance, there are several reasons why this might not be a desirable or even viable option in the long run. 
Here are some key considerations:
1. Reduced or Non-existent Public Services:
  • Limited infrastructure: Countries without taxes might struggle to fund essential infrastructure like roads, bridges, public transportation, and reliable utilities (water, electricity, internet).
  • Poorly funded education: Public education systems may be weak, understaffed, or even non-existent, potentially impacting the future prospects of residents and the overall workforce.

    • Inadequate healthcare: Access to affordable and quality healthcare might be severely limited, forcing individuals to rely on expensive private care or travel abroad for treatment.
    • Weak or absent social safety nets: There may be a lack of social welfare programs to support the elderly, disabled, unemployed, or those facing hardship.
    • Limited public safety and security: Law enforcement, emergency services, and a functioning justice system might be underfunded or unreliable, potentially leading to higher crime rates and reduced security. 
    2. Economic Instability and Uncertainty:
    • Reliance on volatile revenue sources: Countries without taxes often depend on alternative revenue streams like natural resource extraction (e.g., oil, gas) or tourism, which can fluctuate significantly and create economic instability.
    • Lack of investment in long-term development: Without a stable tax base, governments may be unable to invest in long-term economic growth, research, and development, potentially hindering future prosperity.

      • Potential for corruption and inequality: A lack of transparency and accountability in the absence of a well-defined tax system can create opportunities for corruption and exacerbate wealth inequality. 
      3. Quality of Life Concerns:
      • Lower overall quality of life: The combination of limited public services, potential economic instability, and a lack of social safety nets can negatively impact the overall quality of life for residents.
      • Increased personal expenses: Residents might have to pay out-of-pocket for services typically funded by taxes, such as education, healthcare, and even basic infrastructure maintenance, leading to higher living costs.
      • Potential for social unrest: A lack of basic services and economic opportunities can lead to social unrest, instability, and even political upheaval.
        In conclusion: While eliminating taxes can seem appealing in theory, the practical implications of living in a country with no taxes are significant and can lead to a diminished quality of life, economic instability, and a lack of essential public services. Most developed nations rely on tax revenue to fund vital infrastructure, social programs, and services that contribute to a stable and prosperous society.

There are some countries that do not have an income tax: