Last Known Jew Leaves Afghanistan

Most of us know there is a large Jewish population in the United States, Canada, and France but did you know that there is a Jewish community in 99 countries. The last known member of Afghanistan’s Jewish community has just left the country.

Historical evidence suggests Afghanistan was once home to a sizable Jewish community. It reached 40,000 in the mid-19th century and began declining around 1870 with the passage of anti-Jewish measures, according to the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, a nonprofit group. Most of the remaining members of the country’s Jewish community left following Israel’s creation in 1948 and then in 1979 after the Soviet invasion, the group said. The last Jew just left that country on the first day of Rosh Hashana, September 6. He was the caretaker of the synagogue in Kabul.

Zebulon Simentov, the last known Jewish person living in Afghanistan, closes the window to the synagogue he cares for in his Kabul home on August, 29, 2009.

I knew two Jewish people who were born in China. Their families had left Europe in the 1930s as Hitler started his campaign against Jews. I know a lady whose family was ejected from Egypt by their dictator Gamal Abdel Nasser.

The Berman Jewish DataBank at Stanford University list all the countries with Jewish residents. Twenty of those 99 countries have only about 100 Jews.

Why am I obsessed with this subject you may ask. My father moved our family into a community where anti-Semetism was prominent. I promised myself I would only live in a community where there is a prominent Jewish population. The article about the last Jew in Afghanistan on CNN web site prompted me to post this.

Will the United States Defend its Allies?

In his first trip abroad, President Joe Biden told Allies “America Is Back.” My question is what are we back to? Will it be pre-WWII or post-WWII?

“The U.S. remains firm in its commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russian aggression and — and our support for Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations,” Biden said at the outset of the discussion, touting new agreements to broaden cooperation on defense, energy and economic development.

In remarks Tuesday marking the end of 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan, Biden espoused something of a foreign policy doctrine, stating that the “fundamental obligation of a president … is to defend and protect America, not against the threats of 2001 but the threats of 2021 and tomorrow.”

Biden seems to be following in the footsteps of his predecessor. Trump policy was America First. In his inaugural address, President Donald Trump announced an America First approach to foreign policy and trade, which centers on reducing U.S. trade deficits and rebalancing burden sharing within alliances. He pressured NATO allies to spend more on their defense and even considered exiting NATO. He spoke of charging South Korea a fee for keeping troops in that country.

What would the United States do if China invaded Taiwan? Russia has already annexed Crimea which was part of Ukraine and other than sending some armament to Ukraine and the United States did nothing.

Our nation is beginning to look like America before WWII when even FDR promised to keep America out of wars in Europe and Asia. The United States adopted an official policy of neutrality between 1935 and 1939, Congress passed five different Neutrality Acts that forbade American involvement in foreign conflicts. The impetus for these laws came from a revitalized American peace movement, the revelations of war-profiteering by American munitions businesses during the Great War (WWI), and a widespread belief among Americans that their intervention in the European war had been fruitless.

The UK stood by its allies when Germany invaded Poland. The United Kingdom declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939, two days after the German invasion. France also declared war on Germany later the same day. The UK had not been attacked.

Under what circumstance would the United States go to war even though it was not attacked?

Biden’s Speech on Afghanistan, in 3 Minutes

Biden doesn’t get it. It’s not about his decision to end the war. It’s about the mismanaged withdrawal of our troops and the Afghanis who were our aids.

Afghanistan:’This War Ended in Self-Defeat’

The words of an experienced retired general. H.R. McMaster, former National Security Advisor; Lt. General, U.S. Army (Ret.), talks about the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. Even as someone who opposes wars I find his words very troubling.

The Price of War

Why war should be a last resort.

The Department of Defense has released the names of the 13 US service members who were killed in an attack outside Kabul’s airport on Thursday

– Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, 31, of Salt Lake City, Utah

– Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosariopichardo, 25, of Lawrence, Massachusetts

– Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 23, of Sacramento, California

– Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio, California

– Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Indiana

– Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, 20, of Rio Bravo, Texas

– Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, 20, of St. Charles, Missouri

– Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, California

– Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, 20, of Norco, California

– Navy Hospitalman Maxton W. Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio

– Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tennessee

– Marine Corps Cpl. Rylee McCollum, 20, Jackson, Wyoming

– Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Daegan Page, 23, Omaha, Nebraska

President George W. Bush sent our troops into Afghanistan less than a month after the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center in NYC. The goal was to topple the Taliban government that was the home of Al-Qaeda which was quickly accomplished. We helped establish a new government there. Then came the mistake of trying to create a democracy in a nation of warring tribes.

American service members killed in Afghanistan through April: 2,448

U.S. contractors killed 3,846.

And now the United States is on a revenge mission. That translates to more loss of life.

Why is the United States in countries where we are unwanted occupants?

If only we would listen to Thomas Jefferson who said “I am for free commerce with all nations; political connection with none; and little or no diplomatic establishment. And I am not for linking ourselves by new treaties with the quarrels of Europe; entering that field of slaughter to preserve their balance. … The first object of my heart is my own country.”

Yes, I favored WWI, WWII, and Korea because the enemies were obvious and their intent was clear. Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan were fights over religion and oil. Does it make any difference who controls the oil fields and which part of Islam is dominant? Not in my world.

When is “enough is enough?”

The Buck Stops Where?

President Biden blamed the chaotic fall of Kabul on the failure of the Afghans to fight back, in a defiant defense of his decision to withdraw troops. That does not excuse his administration’s failure to recognize the possibility that the country could be taken over by the Taliban in days, not months.

No doubt there will be hearings in Congress but they will be political in nature and will accomplish nothing. The president is the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and he alone has the power to move and remove the military as he sees fit once the Congress authorizes military actions. Congress has also given the president the authority to act militarily in emergencies.

It was President Harry Truman who authorized the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended WWII. The first bomb, dropped on the city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, resulted in a total death toll of around 140,000. The second, which hit Nagasaki on 9 August, killed around 50,000 people. Truman offered no apologies.

While Biden said the words “The Buck Stops Here” he gave an 18 minute speech on Wednesday August 17 placing blame for the chaos at Kabul’s airport on everyone but his administration.

Last Days in Afghanistan

For most Americans who remember it, the end of the Vietnam War is inextricably linked with images of chaos: desperate residents of Saigon climbing the walls of the U.S. embassy, sailors on navy vessels pushing helicopters overboard to make room for more refugees. Few people know the full story behind the city’s controversial mass-evacuation in April 1975. Told by survivors and key figures in the exodus, Last Days in Vietnam unearthed new footage and reexamines those events in a way that raises questions about contemporary conflicts in Irag, Afghanistan, and with ISIS.

The final 24 hours of the Vietnam War were no less ugly than all the years that preceded them. This grainy photo says it all.

It was reported repeatedly that Afghanistan’s army was four times the size of the Taliban’s fighting force. That the Afghanistan army had all of the latest weaponry. The army had 20 years of training by the United States army. Despite those facts the Afghanistan army disintegrated when confronted by Taliban forces.

The American flag has been taken down at the Kabul embassy. The president of Afghanistan has reportedly left the country. Afghan aides to the US military (translators, interpreters, and other who worked in the US embassy) fear for their lives and are searching every avenue to leave their country.

Afghanistan is a tribal tribal country that historically was governed by an Emir. An Emir is not a king. He is selected by the tribes. The population of the country consists of numerous ethnolinguistic groups: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Aimaq, Turkmen, Baloch, Pashai, Nuristani, Gujjar, Arab, Brahui, Qizilbash, Pamiri, Kyrgyz, Sadat and others.

The Western world has tried to install democracy in Afghanistan for more than 100 years. They are happy with their way of life that is guided by the Koran.

Undoubtedly there will be a movie titled “Last Days in Afghanistan.”

A U.S. Chinook helicopter flies over the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021.

Canada vows to resettle 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan, as Taliban sweep country

Canada has become the destination for many people fleeing violence in their home country. Has the United States relinquished its moral authority? Was the Statue of Liberty given to the wrong nation?

By Alex McKeen Vancouver Bureau, Toronto Star Fri., Aug. 13, 2021

Canada has announced an expanded program to resettle Afghan refugees as territories in Afghanistan fall rapidly to the Taliban.

Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said Friday the program will welcome 20,000 Afghans, targeting those who belong to groups vulnerable to persecution by the Taliban.

Those groups will include: “Women leaders, human rights defenders, journalists, persecuted minorities, LGBTQI members, and family of previously resettled interpreters,” Mendicino said.

The government made the announcement amidst pressure to expedite its program to resettle those who were employed by Canada during its efforts in Afghanistan, such as interpreters.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland on Friday acknowledged what she called Canada’s “moral duty” to help resettle Afghans who have worked for Canadian Forces and the Canadian Embassy.

On July 23, under pressure from the veteran community and advocates, Ottawa announced a new program to expedite the resettlement of its former employees including translators, drivers, cleaners and cooks.

The effort has been plagued by questions and controversy, including whether the extended families of those who previously came to Canada are eligible for assistance.

Under the newly extended resettlement program, those families will be eligible. Mendicino said they will be able to come to Canada through family-class sponsorship and refugee programs.

The Cycle of Revenge

President Joe Biden just dodged a bullet. Biden’s focus has been on COVID-19 vaccinations, seeing everyone returning to work, and stimulating the economy. He needs every Democrat on board with his plans. What he did not want was a confrontation with the liberal left of his party over support for Israel. So he was likely saying to his staff “Whew, we have peace in the Middle East without me taking a stand on Israel Palestinian feud.”

Since neither side wants to resolve the Israel Palestinian issue there is sure to be many more hits on Gaza because the loss of life and injuries in Israel was small (12 lives) that the prime minister of Israel is willing to accept every few years rather than reaching a conclusion of a treaty with a Palestinian state.

The cycle of revenge will continue to be part of Middle Eastern life for many more decades.