We have lost a champion for Jews, Israel, and the United States.

Let’s see how true to their word the Democrats are. “We want to unify the nation,” said Joe Biden, the President-elect.

So far? Twitter bans the President for life but keeps radical regimes like Iran’s Khameini and others.

Big Tech puts Parler.com, an alternative to Twitter, OUT OF BUSINESS, all on the same day. This is just totally a coincidence.

Forbes editorial says any business that hires former Trump employees will assume everything they say is a lie. Does “you can keep your Doctor” count? Oh, sorry, wrong administration. If Joe Biden is the statement he professes to be, he needs to move on and unify the country instead of talking about it.

Bad news, Sheldon Adelson passed away last evening after a long battle with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Mr. Adelson was a staunch supporter of the United States, Israel, and, more recently, the Republican party.

Mr. Adelson represents the real American dream. His father, a taxi driver, came from humble roots to become one of the world’s wealthiest men. Mr. Adelson created Comdex, computer-oriented trade shows which he later sold.

He then purchased the Las Vegas Sands, where he built a convention center and the Venetian Hotel.

Most recently, during covid, he kept his associates on the payroll until October thirtieth of 2020. Las Vegas has been hurt during the pandemic, and Mr. Adelson recently said he considered selling the Vegas properties.

On a personal note, Sheldon Adelson passed away at the same age my father would have been. He reminded me of my father, a tough man who came from humble beginnings but had a heart of gold. He was extremely funny and had a tremendous amount of energy, especially for a man who was mostly in a wheelchair after his diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy.

Mr. Adelson was a big supporter of Birthright Israel. This organization enables all Jewish youth to visit the land of their ancestors. Three out of my five children participated. Here is a link to Wiki, which has listed some of his many accomplishments. Most importantly, he was a doer, a person who took the initiative to make the most out of his life and leave the earth a little better than when he entered it.

He was a proud Jew, family man, and American.

Mr. Adelson is survived by his wife Miriam, their two children, and two children from a previous marriage.

May his memory be a blessing.

VIOLENCE IS VIOLENCE, INCITEMENT IS INCITEMENT THERE IS NO MORAL EQUIVALENCE.

I have been spending a lot of time thinking about everything.

Should I write another column? What does it matter? Maybe I will write something that feels good. I always write what I think and what I believe, the truth, and nothing but the truth as I see it. I wrote one piece about my Dad, who has been gone now at the young age of 67 for 21 years, and what he would think about today’s events.

That was going to be it; however, I received another email from a local Rabbi in the largest Synagogue in Columbus. “A thought before Shabbat.” Once I read the email, I felt like Al Pacino in the movie “Godfather three” “Every time I try to leave, they pull me back in.” It didn’t help that I received what I thought was a nasty email from the former Cantor of said Synagogue. I quickly wrote an equally hostile response back. My response to him was not very nice, but … I AM NOT A CANTOR OR A RABBI. I said,… go away; you are irrelevant.

Okay, I never said I was mature. This was the Cantor who set up a J Street chapter in Columbus after lying about it. I said I may have misinterpreted it, so I asked him to explain, nada, nothing, zero.

Here is an excerpt from Rabbi Hillels post. I have nothing against his guy, never met him, and have no personal animus towards him whatsoever.

The images of the insurrection at the Capitol can never be erased from our memories, just as the lives lost can never be brought back. The President’s words of Incitement can never be unspoken. Our country’s status as an influence for good throughout the world may never be restored. We were reminded once again — especially after a summer full of protests for racial equality — that equal protection for all is a dream that has not yet been realized.

This is the type of moral equivalent nonsense that we are getting from our “spiritual” leaders and the left.

Let me be clear, what President Trump did was selfish, it was ill-considered, it may even be actionable on some level. He did NOT, however, tell people to go and trash the Capital. There were NO calls to violence. What is unforgivable is that he gave hope to many especially the unsophisticated who supported him, that he would remain President, somehow. He also put his loyal VP in a terrible position. There was an infinitesimal chance that he would succeed. Having a speech simultaneously as the electoral count and telling the large crowd to go to the Capitol was undoubtedly really stupid, inappropriate and had consequences.

There is growing evidence that some Antifa and BLM activists were leading the way as well. I am not excusing the violence; it is repugnant. It should be condemned, and every one of those creeps should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I had friends who went to the rally; these people were accountants, hardly preppers, and creeps. They were there to support the President and most of his policies.

A little perspective here:

The BLM riots of 2020 ( riots, not protests) caused ONE TO TWO BILLION dollars WORTH OF DAMAGE TO OUR CITIES. Businesses were destroyed, lives were destroyed. There were at least 26 deaths and over 500 injures to policemen. There was literally a pogrom in California against Jewish businesses. BLM “protesters” writing and chanting “fuck Israel” and other “niceties.”

Where is the condemnation of our Rabbi of these events? Is it because they are orthodox? Jewish lives, businesses don’t’ matter?   https://www.jta.org/2020/06/02/united-states/los-angeles-jews-take-stock-after-george-floyd-protests-batter-local-institutions

BLM’s mayhem and destruction were not for “equal rights” that the Rabbi says it was for an incident that was used by the left to churn a nation and incite violence. Incitement is Incitement, violence is violence BOTH MUST BE CONDEMNED.  The video of George Floyd having a cop sit on his neck for 8 minutes was disturbing and repugnant. The courts will ultimately decide what happened since we are a nation of laws; however, we know the following. This was a bad cop who should have been fired long ago if it had not been for the police union protecting him. Floyd was no innocent either. He had a violent criminal history, including posing as a water company man to rob a pregnant woman during a robbery. Floyd had a combination of meth and enough fentanyl to kill a tyrannosaurus rex. He was also resisting arrest. This had nothing to do with “equality”; it had everything to do with electioneering. We even DO NOT KNOW IF IT WAS RACIALLY MOTIVATED TO THIS DAY. WE KNOW THAT IN 2019 THERE WERE PRECISELY 10 INSTANCES, TEN, OF WHITE COPS SHOOTING UNARMED BLACK PEOPLE. THAT IS TEN TOO MANY, BUT IT WAS TEN.

Was this worth almost two billion dollars worth of destruction? Was this worth over 26 deaths, the removal, the burning of buildings, the injuries, the lives destroyed?

THIS RABBI EXCUSES THE RIOTS BECAUSE HE BELIEVES HIS POSITION IS MORALLY SUPERIOR TO THOSE TRUMP PEOPLE. HE IS THE SAME AS THE PALESTINIANS AND HAMAS WHO KIILL CIVILIANS AND SAY IT IS FINE BECAUSE IT IS FOR THEIR CAUSE.

ALL VIOLENCE IS UNACCEPTABLE. There is no moral equivalence, and this Rabbi and anyone who supports this should be ashamed of themselves.

However, disputing the election results and what Ted Cruz was proposing was legal; it was proportional, and it was appropriate. Cruz was merely calling for a ten-day audit. Over seventy million think this was an unfair election. Democrats have disputed electoral votes in several recent elections

https://www.cruz.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=5541

The Rabbi and others should take this Shabbat and reflect on the big picture. Reuniting our country and our community that is literally split into two. For preaching equality, he needs to listen to that message and act on it. If the Rabbis of this synagogue or any other synagogue think that I am an outlier they are very sadly mistaken. We are a community and there are many like me who feel this way. We are not racists, homophobes just people with common sense who have different opinions on how to accomplish things.

I spend my time reading, talking, and thinking about these subjects; they are essential to me. I get no pleasure out of criticizing clergy. Still, someone needs to be occasionally brave or stupid enough to speak out in an age of growing censorship.

Thank you

Sincerely

Larry Levine

[email protected]