Saturday, March 16, 2024

Musings on Whether Biden Will Allow Netanyahu to Doom His Reelection Bid

By Rudy Barnes Jr., March 16, 2024


President Biden has allowed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to make him look like a witless surrogate of a militant Zionist who can dictate America’s policy in the Middle East.  Biden has lectured Netanyahu on the need for Israel to sponsor a ceasefire in its war with Hamas, but so far Biden has failed to back up his words with economic sanctions.

Since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the Israeli IDF has killed over 31,000 Palestinian civilians and destroyed many of their homes and civilian infrastructure in Gaza with retaliatory strikes that have violated international humanitarian law.  Even so, President Biden assured Netanyahu that he is a fellow Zionist, and that America has Israel’s back.


After Biden urged Israel to minimize Palestinian casualties, he continued to authorize military assistance to Israel “under the radar” that has exacerbated a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.  Israel is an occupying power in Gaza and has an obligation to provide essential services to Palestinians; but Israel has failed to comply with its international humanitarian obligations.


Biden’s loyalty to Netanyahu and his continued support for IDF’s “scorched earth” strategy in Gaza violates both international humanitarian law as well as the American Foreign Assistance Act.  Apparently Biden doesn’t understand that his deference to Netanyahu’s militant Zionism conflicts with American and international law, and democratic ideals.

With America’s election in November, both parties have chosen presidential candidates that leave doubt whether either can promote America’s national security interests and common good.  Both Biden and Trump have put partisan loyalties ahead of the common good.  Trump is a narcissistic demagogue, and Biden has been in politics too long to discern the common good from party loyalty.  


Israel has received $billions in foreign aid from the U.S. over the years.  It can and should provide safe zones and needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza.  An airlift is not required to do what Israel can do with ground transportation; and if necessary the U.S. could assist Israel to provide humanitarian assistance in Gaza.


An open Democratic convention could provide an alternative to Biden as the Democratic nominee for President with no disqualifying loyalties to Israel or Netanyahu; but there has been little support for that option so far.  And there is little evidence that an independent candidate will give voters a choice in November.


America’s democracy has come apart at the seams, with its two nominees for President deferring to demagogues who oppose freedom and democracy.  Trump has told Putin that he can attack NATO allies, while Biden continues to fund Netanyahu’s war against Hamas after killing over 31,000 Palestinians.  With friends like that, America doesn’t need any more enemies.


Notes:


On Promoting the Common Good as Essential for Political Legitimacy in a democracy, see 

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2023/08/musings-on-promoting-common-good-as.html.


On an open convention as A better option for Democrats than Biden, see The Ezra Klein Show, NYTimes, February 16, 2024, at NYT Audio app, Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, or Google.


On Biden providing military aid to Israel through a loophole while advocating humanitarian aid in Gaza, see US uses loophole to keep 100 arms sales to Israel under the radar amid Gaza war at  https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/06/israel-weapons-sales-loophole, 6 Mar 2024.    


“A day after President Biden asserted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was ‘hurting  Israel more than helping Israel,’ Mr. Netanyahu dismissed Biden’s contention as ‘wrong.’ Netanyahu asserted that his policies “are supported by the overwhelming majority of the Israelis.  Biden said that Netamyahu’s military strategy was ‘contrary to what Israel stands for, and I  think it’s a big mistake.  So I want to see a cease-fire.  Netanyahu] cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead as a consequence of his  pursuit of Hamas.’  The president’s comments once again highlighted the delicate position the U.S. has found itself in: arming Israel while at the same time providing humanitarian aid to Gaza. See Biden-Netanyahu Dispute Over Gaza War Heats Up After the president asserted that Mr. Netanyahu’s military strategy has been “hurting Israel more than helping Israel,” Israel’s leader dismissed his contention as “wrong.” at  https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/03/10/world/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news.                         


“US aid policy on Gaza has been described as 'absurd' given military support for Israel, according to Michael Fakhri, a Lebanese-Canadian law professor mandated by the U.N. Human Rights Council to document and advise on global food security.  Fakhri warned of chaos as starving people joust for supplies. He called the port and air drops methods of "last resort". "The time when countries use air drops, and these maritime piers, is usually if not always, in situations when you want to deliver humanitarian aid into enemy territory," he said.  Fakhri said such methods made little sense while Washington continues to provide military support to Israel.  He envisages an additional $17.6 billion in new military assistance to Israel as its war against Hamas continues in response to their deadly Oct. 7 attacks.  "That's more than allyship. That's a marriage ... It's almost incomprehensible," he said of U.S. support to Israel, calling the recent aid measures a "performance to try to meet a domestic audience with (U.S. presidential) elections around the corner". "That's the only rational coherent interpretation (for these aid announcements) because ...from a humanitarian perspective, from an international perspective, from a human rights perspective, it is absurd in a dark, cynical way," he said.  Fakhri, who has been critical of Israel on social media, on Thursday told the Geneva Human Rights Council that Israel was destroying Gaza's food system as part of a broader "starvation campaign". Israel's envoy called this a lie and it strongly denies restricting aid into Gaza.  See

 https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-aid-policy-gaza-absurd-given-military-support-israel-un-expert-says-2024-03-08/#:~:text=U.S.%20legislation%20%2C%20opens%20new%20tab,%22That's%20more%20than%20allyship.


“Seven Senators have urged Biden to stop arming Israel, citing violations of the Foreign Assistance Act that bars military aid from going to any country that blocks humanitarian aid.  It was the latest bid by Democrats to intensify pressure on Mr. Biden to demand that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu change his tactics and mitigate the suffering of Palestinians as the offensive in Gaza drags into its fifth month. The senators urged Biden to make it clear to the Netanyahu government that failure to immediately and dramatically expand humanitarian access and facilitate safe aid deliveries throughout Gaza will lead to serious consequences under existing U.S. law,” [not  to mention international humanitarian laws violated by the IDF]. Senator Sanders said it was clear that Mr. Netanyahu’s actions were in breach of the terms of American military aid as set out in the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act, which is part of the foreign assistance law. The act says that as soon as the president is made aware that a country is blocking or restricting the delivery of American humanitarian assistance, no U.S. military aid can be provided. “That’s exactly what Israel is doing; they are preventing U.S. humanitarian assistance from getting to the people of Gaza. They are in violation of the law, and therefore financial aid should be suspended. Last month, the Senate approved an emergency national security aid bill that would send an additional $14.1 billion in military aid to Israel, including $10 billion for offensive weapons for the war against Hamas. “Israel has the right to defend itself,” Mr. Sanders said, “but Israel does not have — in any way, shape or form — the right to go to war against the entire Palestinian people.”  But as the United States finds itself as both the source of offensive weaponry and the provider of relief for those on the receiving end of attacks from those weapons, Biden has failed to circumvent the obstacles preventing assistance from reaching the Palestinian people. See https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/12/us/politics/democrats-biden-israel-letter.html.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and called for new elections in Israel in a speech on the Senate floor on March 14, 2024.  See https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/14/politics/chuck-schumer-israel-election-comments/


On how Netanyahu is making Israel radioactive, Thomas Friedman has said “Israel today is in grave danger. With enemies like Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran, Israel should be enjoying the sympathy of much of the world. But it is not. Because of the way Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist coalition have been conducting the war in Gaza and the occupation of the West Bank, Israel is becoming radioactive and diaspora Jewish communities everywhere increasingly insecure.”  And Friedman fears it’s about to get worse.  Netanyahu has broken Israel with his destructive policies but is not seeking to fix the problems he has caused.

See https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/12/opinion/israel-hamas-war-netanyahu.html/.


On Biden’s Words Over Deeds.  Biden’s misplaced love and loyalty for Israel has prevented him from pressuring Netanyahu to agree to a cease fire that could result in humanitarian aid for Palestinians. See https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/14/opinion/biden-israel-gaza-policy.html.


​​On the conflict between Netanyahu’s militant Zionism and international humanitarian law and democratic ideals, see Musings on Why Criticism of Netanyahu’s Militant Zionism is not Antisemitic at https://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2023/12/musings-on-why-criticism-of-netanyahus.html.




Saturday, March 9, 2024

Musings on Saving Jesus from Church Doctrines that Jesius Never Taught

By Rudy Barnes, Jr., March 9, 2024  


The early church fabricated many Christian doctrines and creeds that were never taught by Jesus, and that has cost the church credibility in Europe and America.  Jesus called his disciples to follow him as God’s word, not to worship him as God; and he never suggested that only future Christians could experience salvation.


Jesus was a Jewish rabbi who understood that blasphemy was a crime, and he never claimed to be divine.  The Jews were looking for a long-expected messiah, or  leader, sent by God, but not another God or another religion.  Jews considered Mosaic Law as God’s standard of righteousness, but Jesus taught the primacy of love over law in the greatest commandment to love God and our neighbors of other races and religions as we love ourselves.


The greatest commandment is a moral imperative of faith taken from the Hebrew Bible and accepted by Islamic scholars as a common word of faith.  It’s more relevant to changing times than ancient mystical beliefs or religious laws.  The Gospel of John is ambiguous on the divinity of Jesus.  It introduces Jesus as the Logos, or word of God, but it omits a virgin birth and later describes Jesus as the way, the truth and the life. (John  1:1 and 14:6)


If following the teachings of Jesus as the word of God, or Logos, is the way, the truth and the life, that’s sufficient for salvation without believing that Jesus is God.  Since all the gospels consider the teachings of Jesus to be the word of God, following the message of Jesus, not worshiping him as God, is the way to salvation; and that message is not limited to Jesus.


That’s a simple universal concept of belief that could help reconcile Judaism, Christianity and Islam on the divinity of Jesus and their great prophets, like Moses and Muhammad: but none of the institutional religions have suggested it as an option.  There would still be important differences in the Abrahamic religions, but without asserting that God prefers one over the other.      


Jesus was a universalist Jew who never claimed to be divine, or suggested that any one religion was superior to others.  Jesus taught that sharing God’s altruistic love with others was the supreme virtue needed for personal salvation for all people, and that it begins in this life and extends into whatever comes next.


According to Jesus and James, true faith is based more on altruistic acts of love for others than believing in Jesus as God.  James said, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” (James 2:26)  While the church has long emphasized worship as evidence of faith, Jesus emphasized that following him is more important than worshiping him.


Where do we begin our journey of altruistic and universal faith?  By reading the Gospel accounts and sharing God’s love with those of other faiths, and those of no faith.  You will find that Jesus never taught the exclusivist beliefs of Christian doctrines and creeds promoted by the church, only the moral imperative to love others--all others--as we love ourselves.


Notes


On the greatest commandment as a common word of faith, see The Greatest Commandment: A Common Word of Faith at

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/01/the-greatest-commandment-common-word-of.html.


On Who Is My Neighbor? see 

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/01/who-is-my-neighbor.html.  See also

OnThe Politics of Loving Our Neighbors as Ourselves at  

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/01/the-politics-of-loving-our-neighbors-as.html.


On Love over Law: A Principle at the Heart of Legitimacy, see

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/01/love-over-law-principle-at-heart-of.html.


On Altruism: The Missing Ingredient in American Christianity and Democracy, see 

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2018/03/altruism-missing-ingredient-in-american.html.


On God’s Simple, Universal and Timeless Truth, see

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2023/05/musings-on-gods-simple-universal-and.html.

See also Musings on Resurrecting a Universal Jesus to Restore America’s Moral Compass at

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2023/02/musings-on-resurrecting-universal-jesus.html.


On how the Logos can free us from the bondage of worshiping a divine Christ, see Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Jesus as the Logos in John’s Gospel at 

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2023/02/musings-of-maverick-methodist-on-jesus.html.

See also, Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Irony of the Logos in John’s Gospel at

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2023/02/musings-of-maverick-methodist-on-irony.html.


On Saving Jesus from the church, see  Was Jesus the Prophet of the Gospels or the Christ of the Church? at

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2020/06/was-jesus-prophet-of-gospels-or-christ.html.

See also Musings on Atheism and Religion and Living Life to the Full at

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2020/07/musings-on-atheism-and-religion-and.html



Saturday, March 2, 2024

Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Need for an Unconventional Faith

By Rudy Barnes, Jr.


Faith is not the same as religion.  Religion is based on institutional doctrine while faith is based on personal beliefs.  Many of us have become skeptical of our religious beliefs and are uncomfortable questioning them; but If we don’t question our religious beliefs, we can’t grow in faith--and every person should be encouraged to grow in faith.


Our journey of faith should begin with an understanding of God’s will in the cosmic battle between the forces of good and evil.  God’s will is to reconcile people, while Satan’s will is to divide and conquer; and Satan is winning the popularity contest by doing a convincing imitation of God in politics and the church.


The measure of success in both democracy and the church is popularity, but the universal teachings of Jesus summarized in the greatest commandment to love God and our neighbors of other races and religions as we love ourselves were never popular.  It’s taken from the Hebrew Bible, was taught by Jesus and accepted by Muslims as a common word of faith.


  Tribal partisan politics have undermined democracy with divisive values, and the election of Donald Trump by a majority of white Christians in 2016 was evidence of a morally corrupt culture.  For God’s will to prevail, conventional Christianity needs to be reformed or replaced by an unconventional religion that’s committed to promote the common good.


In the 18th century popular sovereignty and democracy replaced the divine right to rule.  Christians continued to pray that God’s will be done, on earth as it is in heaven; but democracy continued to degrade through the Civil War.  Today American faith needs to be reborn to provide for the common good based on the greatest commandment as a common word of faith.


That doesn’t mean restoring God’s legal sovereignty over our politics, only recognizing God’s sovereignty over the moral standards of legitimacy in our lives and in our politics.  These are voluntary and altruistic moral standards of faith and legitimacy, not religious laws that can be enforced; but it’s the kind of unconventional faith needed to defeat the forces of evil.


The church could take a lesson from the military.  It created Special Operations Forces (SOF) as unconventional forces to complement conventional military forces in achieving strategic mission objectives.   As a military lawyer I was privileged to wear the  green beret during my military career, and I considered Civil Affairs the Army's Peace Corps.


When Donald Trump was elected by a majority of white Christians in 2016, Christianity lost its moral compass and its legitimacy.  It can only be restored (if at all) by an unorthodox faith cleansed of the corruption of church doctrine that was never taught by Jesus.  That will require restoring the primacy of the altruistic and universal teachings of Jesus as God’s word.



Notes:


On Faith and Religion: The Same but Different, see  

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/10/faith-and-religion-same-but-different.html

   

On Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Losing Religion and Finding Faith, see

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2018/09/musings-of-maverick-methodist-on-losing.html.


On Musings on Atheism and Religion, and Living Life to the Full, see 

http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2020/07/musings-on-atheism-and-religion-and.html


Generally, on the unconventional nature of Special Operations Forces, see Rudolph C. Barmes, Jr., Military Legitimacy: Might and Right in the New Millennium, Frank Cass, London, 1996.


On the need for the diplomat warrior whenever public support is a political objective of U.S. military operations, see The Diplomat Warrior, Military Review, May 1990, pp 55-63, at https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0khhnnLsL75VWg0cV9Dc1dVNXc/view?usp=sharing.


On Civil Affairs: Diplomat-Warriors in Contemporary Conflict, Special Warfare, Winter 1991, at 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lMxiDFtg9UPOsOddWsaeZGNOKkKcGPpsNp1dkJdVRYOilpfIB5hMS2uJfqhWg7nz6KM0Yd568lIWqFap/view.  


Generally, on the background and role of the diplomat warrior and concepts of legitimacy in U.S. policy and strategy, see Military Legitimacy: Might and Right in the New Millennium, chapters 5 & 6, at https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3gvZV8mXUp-VmpMUV9sSU9kaDA/view.


On  diplomat-warriors in Islamic cultures since 9/11, see Back to the Future: Human Rights and Legitimacy in the Training and Advisory Mission, Special Warfare, Jan.-Mar. 2013, pp 42-47, at    https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3gvZV8mXUp-eVRlcWFENHNUVUE/view.