Levi Brackman's

Friday, 24 April 2009 04:24 - Obamas Morality, Netanyahu Watch Out

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 11:24:35 +0100

A former Shin Bet officer told me that he left the service because he found administering the harsh interrogation techniques needed to gain life saving intelligence from detainees difficult. It would be inappropriate for me to divulge the exact interrogation practices he described but suffice to say, that besides for waterboarding, they were not that different in nature to those in the recently declassified CIA memos. In fact Israel officially claims that it reserves the right to use what it terms as "moderate physical pressure" during interrogations.

Friday, 28 November 2008 08:07 - A Battle Between Good and Evil - Evil Won

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 15:07:00 +0100

It seems so surreal. I have been watching the news that has been coming out of Mumbai, India in virtual horror. Any terror attack targeting innocent people is nothing short of evil. However, this attack has been especially troubling for more reasons than one. We have become accustomed to terror attacks that are over within a few moments. These attacks have lasted days instead of minutes. Those of us who are following the news coming out of Mumbai are witnessing horror happening in slow motion.

Friday, 06 July 2007 14:25 - "Those who cure you are going to kill you"

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 21:25:24 +0100

“Those who cure you are going to kill you" were the words of a senior al-Qaeda chief in Jordan to Canon Andrew White, who runs an Anglican church in Baghdad, seemingly in reference to the physician’s plot to kill thousands in England and Scotland.

Chillingly these words identify exactly what most people find so horrifying about this particular terror plot. Doctors are held in esteem in the West—people trust doctors more than almost any other professional. In a world where doctors pledge to use their knowledge to heal, the fact that people with that skill were plotting to kill thousands is especially disturbing.

Thursday, 17 May 2007 17:11 - Can Religious People be Tolerant?

Fri, 18 May 2007 00:11:17 +0100

It is people, not religions which are violent, and sadistic people will use religion for their cruel and evil aims. People who are tolerant and peaceful by nature will find these values within their religion

Can a truly religious person really be tolerant of a heretic? Or to rephrase the question, can someone who is convinced that what they believe in is the G-d given truth not only for themselves but for others as well, tolerate another who has rejected that perceived truth? To the secular person this question sounds absurd: however this is something the religious person must really struggle with.

Friday, 11 May 2007 12:14 - Managing the Fallout of the US Terror Plot

Fri, 11 May 2007 19:14:30 +0100

After six Muslims were arrested this week for plotting a terrorist attack on an American army base I heard an interview with a representative of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). He was expressing concern for the safety of his community and thus stressing that these six were in no way representative of Islam or American Muslims and he criticized the media for portraying them as such.

As a Jew who has suffered from anti-Semitism I felt instant sympathy for this man's cause. However, it was undeniable that he did not say enough to calm the nerves of his audience.

Thursday, 22 March 2007 17:47 - A Deadly Epidemic Sweeping across our World

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 00:47:05 +0100

Suicide bombing is in vogue for some of the youth living in our planet. First it was only in Israel but now it has reached the rest of the world as well

Not a day goes by without news of a new suicide attack in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel Indonesia or Europe and this week, in Iraq, they have begun using children for this vile task as well. As long as this horrendous phenomenon was just contained to Israel people were able to claim that suicide bombers were just groups and individuals who had lost all hope and out of extreme desperation resorted to killing others with explosives attached to their bodies.

Thursday, 15 March 2007 17:31 - Nazis Like We Have Never Seen Before

Fri, 16 Mar 2007 00:31:08 +0100

The two strategies of containment and prevention are the calling of our day. We ignore them at our peril

The statement, published this week, by arch Al Qaeda terrorist and mass murderer Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is sickening: "I decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew, Daniel Pearl, in the city of Karachi, Pakistan. For those who would like to confirm, there are pictures of me on the internet holding his head."

He also admitted responsibility for the 9/11 attacks and many others. However what is most startling about the nauseating bragging of this murderer is that he also said, "I don't like to kill people."

Sunday, 19 March 2006 09:29 - You Have Made Us Proud

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 16:29:54 +0100

We Jews have tremendous coping power. This week, this was yet again put to the test.

Sunday, 19 March 2006 09:29 - Abraham's Anti Terror Strategy

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 16:29:29 +0100

The recent cowardly attack on Jordan and recent arrests in Australia has once again brought the following question into sharp focus: how can we avoid the looming devastation international terrorism would like to bring upon us? Many experts are pessimistic, seemingly resigned to the idea that the worst is yet to come and there is really precious little we can do to stop it. Is this doomsday prediction a realistic view of current affairs or is it misplaced pessimism? It seems clear that the desire to cause mass murder and destruction exists. The real question however is: can we defeat this force of evil before it swallows us up?

Sunday, 19 March 2006 09:29 - Arafat's Legacy of Terrorism

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 16:29:03 +0100

There are conflicting views about the life of Yasser Arafat. France gave him a full state final farewell. Some say that Arafat was a freedom fighter and a hero, who symbolised the suffering and hope of the Palestinian people. Others are more realistic. They say he was the founding father and architect of international terror. But with signing of the Oslo Accord he was seen as a terrorist turned peacemaker. All of a sudden he had international prestige and recognition. He was a welcome guest in the major capitals of the world and a regular visitor to Clinton’s White House. Towards the end of his life, however, he found himself shunned by the United States government and totally isolated by a good part of the civilised world. This man, whose hands were drenched in Jewish blood, had the opportunity of making an historic peace with Israel. He could have ended the suffering not only of his own people but also of many other people all over the world. Instead he missed the opportunity and has died a colossal failure – even his own people secretly admit this.

Sunday, 19 March 2006 09:28 - Today's Greatest Political Dilemma

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 16:28:38 +0100

In the world today we seem to be facing tremendous challenges. There seems to be two types of views the western more secular view on the one hand and the religious fundamentalist dictatorial view on the other. I know that these are sweeping generalizations but for our purposes they will do. These two views clashed on September 11^th 2002. In a world of so much uncertainty how can we know that the right thing is being done? Will the war in Iraq prove to have been a positive thing? Or will history judge it to have been the biggest single mistake made by and United States and UK government. Is the foot dragging regarding Iran’s nuclear program the correct policy or will we live to regret not having acted when there was still a chance. This and similar questions haunt most people and especially heads of governments of the civilised world.

Sunday, 19 March 2006 09:28 - The Kabbalah of Defeating Terror

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 16:28:02 +0100

There is no doubt that the greatest threat facing the civilized world today is the amalgam of extremism, terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. This lethal combination could one day, if given the chance, claim the lives of millions, G-d forbid.

Sunday, 19 March 2006 09:27 - Replacing Fundamentalism...With What

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 16:27:34 +0100

Like most people, I am becoming increasingly disturbed by the reports of bombings, kidnappings and beheadings coming out of Iraq. The cities Falluja and Ramadi and much of Anbar Province are now controlled by fundamentalist, Al-Qaeda style militias.

Sunday, 19 March 2006 09:27 - Is Radicalisation Bad?

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 16:27:05 +0100

Radicals and radicalisation are the words on everyone’s lips. People are trying to understand the process of how normal people become radicalised to the extent that they become suicide bombers. They therefore talk about radicalisation as if it is always a terrible thing. The truth is however that anyone who becomes enthusiastic enough about a cause can become radical – is radicalism really a bad thing?

Sunday, 19 March 2006 09:26 - Why Do They Hate Us?

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 16:26:31 +0100

The recent terror attack in London was unique--it was carried out by British-born fundamentalists, not foreigners. After suffering years of IRA-sponsored terrorism, the question people here in Britain are asking is why people would want to blow their fellow citizens and themselves to smithereens in a crowded rush-hour underground train. Most people just cannot fathom this new evil perpetrated by seemingly normal people who could have been their neighbors or classmates.

Sunday, 19 March 2006 09:25 - Should We Hate Them?

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 16:25:51 +0100

Many of us are not quite sure how to react towards terrorists who have no qualms about killing huge numbers of people. Should we feel sorry for them because manipulative, demagogic religious leaders have indoctrinated them into these acts of killing? Or should we hate them for the terror, fear and chaos that they bring into our lives?

Sunday, 19 March 2006 09:25 - Cartoon Riots and An Interfaith Dialog

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 16:25:20 +0100

This week in Lahore, Pakistan, religious parties protesting the publication of caricatures of Prophet Muhammad by various European newspapers ransacked a McDonald’s outlet and set fire to the outlets of KFC and a foreign cellular service provider. Demonstrators also burned vehicles and about 2,000 sat near the Punjab Assembly, followed by setting a part of the building on fire.