There are many rumors regarding Israel that have been used to support or deny various claims, including claims in regard to Israel's need for U.S. financial assistance. Israel reportedly receives the largest percentage of U.S. foreign aid of any country (including $30 billion in military assistance) and it is imperative that these rumors be properly labeled as either true or false so that our views of Israel are not skewed by misinformation. I call on Israeli leaders to address these rumors today so that Americans, and the American legislature, can begin to make decisions about the most compassionate distribution of U.S. foreign aid and foreign military assistance.
The first rumor is that Israel has artificially expanded its population to justify the need for more land and more financial assistance by converting many foreign non-Jews (such as South Americans) to Judaism, and by paying many others as much as $10 million or more to move to Israel to help secure the land and preserve it as Jewish property. As a result, millions of people have been displaced over the years, leaving behind in Israel their homes and property in order to make room for the new Jewish arrivals. The second rumor is that every Jewish child in Israel automatically receives from the government a weekly stipend of U.S. $10 (worth approximately $40) from birth into late adulthood. Thus, every child potentially has thousands of dollars in savings by the time he or she becomes a teenager, unless the money was used for basic expenses. The third rumor is that every Jewish child in Israel receives free education from childhood through college, including all graduate and post-graduate education. The fourth rumor is that after college, every Jewish child in Israel receives a free trip to the United States with all expenses paid for them and their entire family, including thousands of dollars in spending money. The fifth rumor is that every Jewish young adult in Israel who graduates from college receives a mortgage-free home in which to live in Israel if they so desire, with title in their name. The sixth rumor is that if a Jewish family in Israel has more than six children, both parents can choose to remain at home and be financially supported by the government. This benefit is designed to increase procreation, as well as the family's health and wellness. The seventh rumor is that if a Jewish family in Israel has more than ten children, the government pays them a fertility bonus of $1 million. This bonus is also designed to increase procreation. If all or most of the above are false rumors, spread for the purpose of undermining Israel's need for U.S. financial assistance, then they need to be promptly labeled as false rumors. If all or most of the above statements are true, then they suggest the need for our legislature to begin to reassess the distribution of foreign aid and foreign military assistance so that the countries with the most need, including individuals here in the United States with dire financial needs, can receive a compassionate distribution of U.S. assistance. Horrible things will not happen to U.S. citizens just because the U.S. Congress says "no" to Israel or to any other country who is not in dire need of U.S. economic or military assistance.
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There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to destruction. The path to destruction often is covered with rose petals and lined with beautiful shrubbery. One would never imagine that such a beautiful path could end in destruction, until it does. In contrast, the path that leads to life often is not as alluring at its beginning. It seems to require surrender, sacrifice, and a giving of self to others and to a greater purpose. It is the path least traveled--the narrow road.
There is a huge difference between being free and being independent. Being free means that you have power over your outcomes. You determine the result you want. Being independent means that you have freedom to make decisions, but you have no power over your outcomes. Freedom is more desirable than independence. Only God can give freedom.
On my Global Emergencies Blog, I posted an article on the Cholera Epidemic that is well worth reading. See www.RebekahIsaac.info.
Warring countries and warring states are a constant part of our historical landscape. It seems that there is no period in history when some degree of conflict between countries and between states did not exist. The idea of having a world in which all factions are completely at peace with each other seems to some to be profoundly idealistic. Yet, peace is what we all crave.
We can test the concept of a peaceful world by putting our egos to sleep for eight hours. Our spirits never sleep, yet when our egos are asleep, our world is at peace. From the perspective of the spiritual realm, the only war that exists is the war between good and evil, between our spirits and the devil and his demons. That is the only war being fought when we are asleep because the wars in Syria and Iraq and Afghanistan and other areas of the world all come to an abrupt halt when our egos are asleep. We can practice putting our egos to sleep without actually falling asleep by spending one day arguing in favor of our opponent's position. Instead of thinking only about the wrongs visited upon us, what we desire, and what we believe to be our entitlements, we instead privately adopt the fervent arguments of our opponent, and perhaps create new arguments in their favor. It would be a truly revolutionary exercise because we would realize that our positions are not always as fail-proof and justifiable as we would like to believe. Ideally, this would be the perfect preparation exercise for each side of a dispute prior to any attempt at conflict resolution. The cost of being involved in an exchange is usually equal for both parties to the exchange. You give money, for example, and you gain something of value relevant to the amount of money you gave. It is very rare that someone would willingly engage in an exchange in which they receive something of significantly less value than what they gave. Nonetheless, some may choose to do so. Parents rarely receive equal value from their children. Yet, they willingly sacrifice, and sometimes do the unthinkable, in order to meet their children's needs. When you know that you are engaged in an uneven exchange in which you gain significantly more than you are capable of giving, the least you should do is give an expression of gratitude. And when you know that you are engaged in an exchange in which you are giving significantly more than you gain, you must decide that the exchange is being done freely and willingly, without expectation of a return.
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