Category Archives: defense of others

defense of others, duty, Elsewhere, genocide, gun control, guns, hatred of Jews, Inspiration, Israel, Jewish philosophy, mindset, Political philosophy, Politics, self defense, Terrorism, Uncategorized

Zehut, The Politics of Identity

June 21, 2016 Carl Bussjaeger 2 Comments

by Sheila Stokes-Begley

When many people go to Israel, the want to see the historical sights. I do as well, especially military museums. There will most likely be a column on that. A lot of people want to eat the fabulous
food. Yes, me too. They want to shop, I’m SO there, especially when you talk about Yafo. They want to swim, did that. But what I really, really, really, really wanted to do, was interview Moshe Feiglin. At
which most tourist are probably saying “Excuse me?” But that was one of my very highest hopes for this trip. And I was successful.

I first learned about the former MK (Member of Knesset) when in response to something I had written my wonderfully kind team mate Y.B. sent me a portion of a Torah Thought from Mr. Feiglin. I loved it! I asked for more info and Y.B. told me who had written it and who he was. I did online research and signed up for the Manhigut Yehudite newsletter and was soon getting my own copies of Torah Thoughts included with each newsletter which I very much looked
forward to receiving. Each newsletter included Torah and politics. Does it get any better? Well, also a Dry Bones Cartoon. That’s pretty good too.

Last year I got to interview Mr. Feiglin by phone, and it was a great interview. This year it was in person. I feel very blessed.

So why my fascination? My respect first blossomed when he was writing articles calling for the Israeli government to make it easier for everyday Israelis to get weapons permits. Gun Control? Or Citizen Control?

With all that has been going on in Israel, I had a lot of questions for Mr. Feiglin. Especially since he along with the support of a lot of everyday people have founded a new political party. Zehut, which means “Identity”. Zehut is unusual in that they also allow people from places other than Israel to join. And with that I tell you I am a proud card carrying member. Well, I will be when my card gets here, but I am.

My first question was why form Zehut? Was it in response to the betrayal of leadership in politics? They campaign on one platform and then when elected turn and go another direction?

Feiglin: The average Israeli feels disenfranchised from their Jewish identity and the concept of a Jewish state. (I believe he said in a recent poll that 80% of Israelis identify as Jewish first, and as an Israeli second). The disenfranchisement started with the Oslo accords and now takes the form of things like a Judge appointed to the High Court who refused to sing HaTikvah, the Israeli national anthem after being sworn in. It shows in an army which is now refusing to allow soldiers to grow beards, “too much Jewish”. And very sadly when a Yad Vashem guide pointed out that the murder of Gil-Ad Shaer,16, Eyal Yifrah, 19, and Naftali Fraenkel,16 had occurred in Gush Etzion because they were Jewish. (That would seem evident to
me, but I guess political correctness can run amuck anywhere). Israel is a Jewish democratic state, but 10% controls the power and it is eroding Jewish values.

I have a few questions about everyday Israelis being allowed to carry weapons. Why are there areas where people are not allowed to have carry permits? A buddy moved from Jerusalem where he could carry, to Tel Aviv and now he can’t. He’s no less qualified in Tel Aviv. Yafo which suffered a terrorist attack is certainly within walking distance of Tel Aviv, I’ve done so! Why aren’t the military allowed to carry off duty, and why after people are out of the military can they not automatically be allowed to carry a weapon? As it turns out, the answer to all these questions are the same. Mr. Feiglin is very good at seeing the big picture and summing it up.

Feiglin: Because the concept of freedom is wrong. It should be the concept that the right of self- defense is G-d given! In Israel they believe that the right is given by the state. And if the state can give you the right to self defense, they can take that right away. In America they had the right concept, although they are losing the mindset. They believed anyone should be allowed to own guns unless they showed they were not to be trusted with them. (I pointed out that the UN does not believe self defense is a human right at all. Considering how anti-Israel the UN is, that is really not a good
combination). Zehut believes in planting in the Israeli mind the concept of true freedom. That everyone is responsible to defend their life, that of their family and the nation. Of course, there are those that oppose this. When I was in the Knesset I fought for more people to be allowed to carry. There were 150,000 people licensed to carry. But the Knesset wants to decrease that till terrorism decreases. You have the state as “Big Brother”.

What about the shooting in Hevron? (Sheila’s article on this incident) WHY is this soldier being prosecuted? Didn’t the fact that the video came from B’Tselem raise suspicions? This produced a wealth of information. This is so much more to this than a simple case of Katie Couric media malfeasance. I really think you should go read Moshe’s whole article on this topic, but here is what we covered.

Feiglin: This is a war of Israelis and Jews. It’s the soul of the Israeli, for what comes first, a concept of citizen or Jewish state. It’s been going on a long time. For the Israeli (in this comparison, sounds to me like your typical “enlightened” leftist who doesn’t have good sense about how this will play out) it’s the citizen, not Jewish state or identity. It was certainly evident when the Eichmann trial took place in Israel in 1961. A Jewish writer Hannah Arendt wrote a book, “Eichmann In Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil,”with basically the premise that Eichmann was just there, wrong place, wrong time. Can’t blame him, can’t blame anyone but Hitler. Anyone would have acted the same. Apparently some Israeli “intellectuals”
felt the need to agree. This kind of thinking is evident in the IDF today. The former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon recently said that “If someone rises to kill you, kill him first” is not the IDF’s strategy. The Deputy Chief of Staff equated those who subscribe to that value with Nazis. He would rather lose soldiers who protect citizens than kill terrorists. There is no difference in the value of the life of a person just out doing their shopping and the terrorist that comes to kill them. Certainly had nothing to do with ideology, right? But yet today some Arabs want to kill any Jew, soldier, civilian, man, woman, child or baby, it doesn’t matter. It IS the ideology. When Arafat was sick in Ramallah I had a sign on my car that said Hurry up and kill him before he dies. For someone that had that much blood on his hands to die in his own time is immoral. For terrorists to go to trial is immoral. A healthy Jewish response is you kill the attackers. You kill the terrorists that have
declared their own war on Jews. After the soldier killed the terrorist, the stabbings stopped. He did more than all the speeches.

What about the Temple Mount, Har HaBeit? Why are the Israeli police so quick to remove Jews? One young boy was even recently removed not for saying anything but because he had tears in his eyes. And for those that wonder, yes I did express my opinion of Moshe Dayan’s decision.

Feiglin: It has to do with losing identity. We must let Jews have their identity on the Temple Mount. There are those replacing Jewish identity, and they fear what Israel will become with it’s Jewish identity. Arabs do not really have an identity so much as filled with hatred. It’s in their textbooks, their schools, mosques, social media and how they are raised. If Israel disappeared from the map, there would be no more “Palestinian”. Their reason for being would be gone. The first Zionists were colonialists from Europe, and they just wanted to be one big happy family. They didn’t understand the Arab mindset. Most Israelis are Jews first, Israeli second but they are being led by a minority that doesn’t have that mindset.

What about the Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) or as I call it (BS) movement? Has it had an effect? Is it just plain anti-Semitism in increments?

Feiglin: BDS is about the delegitimizing of Israel. When did the holocaust start? (He did ask me this, and I thought for a second and answered “the night Hitler was conceived”) That was the correct answer. When Hitler spoke again and again against the Jews it had it’s effect. In 1939 or 1940 when Jews ran to their neighbors to hide, they were killed. It was about eliminating the right of Jews to exist. Israel has to attack Iran, there is a real danger of Jewish history being written in Jerusalem. Not Warsaw. It’s needed to make a moral point. There is a correlation between the speeches made in Iran 12 ½ years ago by Ahmadinejad and the delegitimization of Israel, and it’s growing.

My last question to him “We’ve had a possible Kenyan as a president, at least someone not really raised as an American, I think we should try having an Israeli for a President, would you run?”

Feiglin: I’ve been asked about the current election. My answer is it doesn’t matter which one wins. If Israel will do what is best for Israel, then all will be better.

I started this interview by telling him that I felt like I cared more about Israeli lives than some Israeli politicians did.

After talking to him, I am quite certain that is not how it is when it comes to Mr. Feiglin. He has a very sound political platform based on a Jewish identity in THE Jewish state, living by Jewish laws and principles. Laws that will protect the innocent, laws that will allow every citizen living their daily lives be it in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Be’er Sheva, Judea and Samaria to know their lives are worth defending and giving them the means to do so. It will allow the IDF to return to being the fine army it was meant to be and not a social experiment.

Zehut is a party based on knowing who we are, and what we are, and where we belong. And embracing it!

Honestly, I think there is a lesson in this for Americans as well. Because I’m very, very tired of having values that the majority of U.S. believe in being derided and told “that’s not who we are”.
Yeah, it is. And as the politicians and their compatriots in the media crank up to hype another round of gun control tripe, we would do well to remember it. It makes me think so much of “You can live
by G-d’s law or die by man’s.

I want to thank three wonderful people, Aryeh Sonnenberg who is the international director of Zehut and so warmly welcomed me when I joined. He put me in touch with Shmuel Sackett (who I got to talk with on the phone, really) who set the meeting up with Moshe. Shmuel also writes excellent articles. And I very much want to thank Moshe Feiglin for giving me an hour of his very valuable limited time. And since I often like to close with a video, this one is perfect!

(source)

defense of others, hatred of Jews, Inspiration, Israel, Jewish history, Media, mindset, Politics, Terrorism

So who’s side?

May 27, 2016 Sheila Stokes 3 Comments

It’s interesting to me, the more I study and the more I ask the more questions I end up having.

For instance, Judea and Samaria or “occupied territories”? Since I truly believe words matter I decided to do a little investigating.

So what all is in Judea and Samaria that might sound familiar if only vaguely? Well, first you might want to know that while the place remain the same, the names get changed.

A quick but by no means comprehensive list:

Palestine as a term for Israel. This was given by the Emperor Hadrian in around 135 A.D. after he put down the second Jewish rebellion under Bar Kochba. He most likely chose it because it was close to the ancient enemies of Israel, the Philistines who no longer existed at this time. As a by the by, the original Philistines were not Arabic, they were Europeans, from the Adriatic sea next to Greece. There is no “p” in the Arabic language. Why would you call yourself something for which there is no letter?

Shechem, now called Nablus by Arabs, is where Avraham and Sarah first entered the land of Canaan. When Jacob returned to Isaac and Rebecca from his uncle’s house, he settled his family there. Joseph is buried in Shechem. His tomb has been burned and ransacked by the pieceful palestinians. Historically, Avraham traveled through Shechem on his way to Canaan and here offered his first sacrifice to G-d. After the conquest of Canaan, Joshua assembled the Israelites here and encouraged them to follow the Mosaic laws. During the period of the Judges, Abimelech was crowned king here.

Biblical Shechem was destroyed by the Assyrians in the 8^th century BCE.

Lots of Jewish history there for a town called Nabulus by the Arabs.

Nazareth? Arab town now, and thanks to Arab MK s Jews don’t feel so welcome there, but the Mayor of Nazareth doesn’t appreciate their influence.

So now let’s take a look at Judea and Samaria, or as called by the left and the “falestinians” (no “P” remember) the “West Bank” or “occupied territories”. You can find a more complete list of towns with familiar names here if you’re interested.

What’s there? Ariel University, for one thing. A lovely university! It has beautiful grounds and very clever students. To get there you will need to go through a checkpoint, and coming out? Oh yes, the same.

In and out you will be checked. With good reason.

Because some of the Arab inhabitants have a nasty hobby of trying to kill Jews. I guess stamp collecting isn’t big in Arab villages there. The grounds are lovely, the Professors I met were very nice. Our hostess, a Professor is a wonderful person. I very much enjoyed visiting with her. The grounds were spectacular and she gives credit to the amazing gardener and his staff. The university is attended by Arabs and Jews. If you speak fluent Hebrew and want to teach engineering, you should take a look as well. But the leftist press would have you believe that Israel is oppressing the pieceful falestinians. No, they own land as well.

The difference is, you don’t see Jews normally carrying out stabbing attacks, on the falestinians. And the cases where Jewish youth were blamed for fires? The fires turned out to have been set by Arabs, knowing the world’s media would be more than happy to play the home version of the game “blame Israel.” If you want an idea of the attacks that take place weekly in Judea and Samaria you can find it (for this week) at http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/en/article/21009 That so many of these attacks were planned and carried out by very young teenagers is terrifying. The women and children barry says we have no need to be afraid of a perfectly capable and willing to kill.

So the world and the UN tell us that the violence is the result of the pieceful falestinians frustration with the lack of “piece talks” and a “two state” solution. They don’t want a “two state” solution. They want a “one state” solution and that “one state” doesn’t involve a little thing called “Israel”. The Boycott, Divest and Sanction movement, BDS, or as I call it BS? Interesting origins.

As to being “occupied”, according to this article, when there are more Israeli troops present, not only does it decrease attacks, it protects civilian women from being stabbed in the doorway of their homes in front of their children. The reasons for this success might surprise you, it may not work for the reasons you think. Israel does take their “purity of arms” code very seriously. It’s an interview with six current IDF Colonels. The sad irony of this is that the world then condemns Israel for having more troops there and urges them to remove them. Even though it will cost more lives, falestinians as well as Jewish. So it’s not really about being safe or saving lives, is it?

Here’s the thing people don’t understand, when they use terms like “occupied territories” or “West Bank” it lends credence to the anti-Antisemitism. How so? Because the pieceful falestinians claim Jews don’t belong there. But it’s not really about “where” the Jews are, it’s the fact there are Jews. An example of this was the recent rape of a 20 year old mentally disabled Jewish girl by 3 Arabs, 2 of them from Shomron. They also spit and urinated on her while shouting anti-Antisemitism threats to her and her family if she told. How so sure it was these pieceful falestinians? One of them filmed it. But this occurred in Tel Aviv. One of the rapists said she didn’t belong in his land. While Jerusalem is the capitol of Israel, the direction challenged US government claims Tel Aviv is. So even in the poorest scenario, Jews don’t belong in the Jewish capitol on the one Jewish state?

Words matter, they can give credence to Anti-Semitic hatred. The Arabs that hate Israel, and by all means, not all of them do, are certainly aware of this. We need to be as well and not play unwittingly into their very bloody hands.

The fact that there are major CHURCH denominations that have jumped on the BDS/BS bandwagon is unbelievable to me. Perhaps they need to go back and see where some of the major events took place in the book they share with the Jews. And then they should remember after Saturday? Comes Sunday. Useful idiots.

As to why live there, just enjoy the views.

defense of others, duty, gun control, guns, self defense

Sure, it’s great to see some serious pro-gun Jews, seriously arming themselves for self-defense. But …

April 20, 2016 Claire Wolfe 6 Comments

Does this have to be the way to go about it???

Oh. Yeah. I guess when you’re dealing with corrupt cops and an impossible “police chief’s friend” type of permitting system, this is what you’re forced to resort to. Shaya Lichtenstein could have done a better job of keeping his mouth shut, though.

(Via David Codrea)

defense of others, gun control, Inspiration, Politics

Constitutional carry and the art of skinning cats

March 29, 2016 Claire Wolfe 23 Comments

On Friday, March 25, Governor Butch Otter signed SB 1389, making Idaho the ninth state to adopt constitutional carry (aka unrestricted carry or permitless carry).

Back in the day, we knew this as Vermont carry, after the one-and-only state whose residents were legally free to tuck guns in their pockets or purses or under their clothing without first asking their state government for permission. Vermont had been that way for generations. And for all those generations, they remained alone.

But now … oh my.

In some ways Idaho’s bill isn’t a huge change from its existing laws. Idaho residents already had constitutional carry outside city limits; SB 1389 merely extended it to cities — over the objections of police chiefs, Bloomberg’s Everytown, and the usual hoplophobes who cried the usual cry of “blood in the streets!”

In other ways, what a very, very big deal this is.

For one, the bill explicitly acknowledges the individual right to bear arms and that said people grant only limited powers to state governments:

The legislature hereby finds that the people of Idaho have reserved for themselves the right to keep and bear arms while granting the legislature the authority to regulate the carrying of weapons concealed. The provisions of this chapter regulating the carrying of weapons must be strictly construed so as to give maximum scope to the rights retained by the people.

Like all such bills, it’s full of legalisms that hardcore freedomistas won’t appreciate (for instance, permitless carry is only for those 21 or above; those 18 to 20 must still get permits, though those permits are “shall issue”).

But for some of us who’ve been around a long time … it’s a bloody miracle.

Let me take you back to the day

It was a dark day. 1993 and 1994. A rabidly anti-gun president held the White House. A Congress composed of rabidly anti-gun Democrats and wishy-washy Republican “leaders” like Bob Dole stood ready to give Bill Clinton more service than Monica Lewinski ever did.

Wham! They hit us with the Brady Law. Wham! They hit us with the Ugly Gun Ban. Over the next several years, they hit us with more laws to restrict guns, give more funding to anti-gun enforcement, and in general extend the powers of both the federal government and local police against We the People.

Dark days indeed.

In 1993, I used my smoking-hot 1200-baud modem to dial into a gun-rights bulletin board in Colorado — half the country away from my Pacific Northwest home. And for me, that’s where I first encountered hopeful change — though I didn’t recognize it at the time.

The Internet, though it existed in the scientific and academic communities, was not yet a thing for ordinary people. But we were reaching out to find each other, anyhow. Some via FidoNet bulletin boards (BBSes) like the one I mentioned, which had been set up by and for fans of writer and gun advocate L. Neil Smith. Or a bigger FidoNet operation, the Paul Revere Network (PRN — where I first met TZP co-founder Brad Alpert). Others gathered local friends and huddled around short-wave radios, where a handful of firebrands (some as crazy as moonbats, but that’s another story) were beginning to agitate against the looming federal takeover. Many began to gather in the real world to form militias.

I was soon running up $300-a-month phone bills dialing cross-country to various gun-rights and Bill of Rights bulletin boards. (My wallet and I were both so relieved when subscription Internet came along shortly thereafter.) But that first Colorado bulletin board remained my mainstay as long as FidoNet ruled the dawning e-world.

Quirky little Vermont and the people who saw bigger things

It was on those primitive BBSes that I first heard the term “Vermont carry.”

Maybe it was the term itself, which hinted at the quirk of one small and quirky state. Or maybe it was just the hopelessness of the times. But it never dawned on me that Vermont carry had a chance of slipping outside the boundaries of Vermont. If asked to give odds, I’d have put it at a thousand to one against.

The “shall issue” concealed carry permit movement was the only bright spot for guns at that moment. It had been gaining ground since the late 1980s. But for me that was no bright spot at all. I saw state-issued permits not only as unlawful government control, but worse, as a sneaky way to gather data on gun owners for eventual confiscation.

On that Colorado BBS, a Wyoming activist, Charles Curley, had a lively debate going on with L. Neil Smith. The two were friends, but on one issue they ardently differed. Charles was working with fellow activists to get shall-issue concealed carry permits in Wyoming, which Neil saw as a betrayal of true freedomista principles.

I was privately in Neil’s camp, but I liked Charles (with whom I soon had a seven-year romance) so I didn’t say much. But where Charles really made my head spin was with his claim — preposterous! — that he and his fellow Wyoming ccw activists were consciously and deliberately setting things up to move eventually from shall-issue to pure Vermont carry.

I simply didn’t see how giving state governments more control (as I viewed it) could ever result in less control, eventually. Just did not believe it possible. Especially in those dismal days.

But these steady, patient activists were beginning a major change. I just couldn’t see it. They worked. And they worked. And they got major court judgments in their favor. And they worked some more.

Now

Today, seven states have permitless concealed carry for every lawful gun owner and two (Idaho and Wyoming) have it for their own residents, though visitors still require permits from their home states.

It began in 2003 with Alaska, and continued through Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, and Maine. Successes were far between at first, but the pace is picking up. This month alone, both West Virginia and Idaho got on the freedom train. The West Virginia legislature had to override their governor’s veto. Although Idaho’s Butch Otter signed without quibble, both houses of the Idaho legislature passed the bill with impressively veto-proof margins (27 to 8 in the Senate and 54 to 15 in the House).

And there’s more. Oklahoma allows residents of constitutional carry states to carry discreetly within its borders. Puerto Rico has constitutional carry (following a lawsuit), though that’s being appealed. Other states have permitless concealed carry outside of city limits or allow it if the weapon is unloaded or in an “enclosed case” (and a woman’s purse or a man’s backpack counts as an enclosed case). Or on a motorcycle. Or on horseback.

Yes, the laws remain quirky and imperfect. (There’s no such thing as a perfect law.) But virtually every change has been in the right direction. And activists continue the march toward constitutional carry in many more states.

Are we likely to see constitutional carry in Massachusetts, New York, or California any time soon? Ha! But I can tell you that a lot of us who were around in the dark old days of 1993 and 1994 never thought we’d see even this much, ever, in so many places.

And “this much” is a lot. A hell of a lot. Better yet, we’re going to see more.

Do I now approve of the “shall issue” permits that laid the groundwork for this? Nope. No way. But even I have to admit that the grassroots “shall issue” ccw movement gave birth to the constitutional carry movement. And constitutional carry is an unreservedly good thing.

Back in the day — those dark old days of seemingly unstoppable federal overreach — I thought we’d have to fight (real “blood in the streets”) to restore our gun rights. Of course, we may yet have to fight to preserve our freedom.

But thanks to the new and expanded gun culture across the land — a culture in part built and normalized by the very activists I doubted — We the People are becoming an ever more formidable power.

I wouldn’t have thought it possible. I wasn’t a part of making it happen. In my eyes it will forever remain a mystery of darned-near miraculous proportions.

It definitely goes to show that there can be a lot of ways to skin the proverbial cat.

—–

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defense of others, genocide, Inspiration, Jewish history, resistance, self defense

Whispers from the Nabiloka

January 19, 2016 Claire Wolfe 17 Comments

Guest commentary
Exclusive to The Zelman Partisans
by Historian

During the Second World War, a variety of partisan groups arose in the territories occupied by Nazi Germany. In the East, Poland, the Ukraine and Byelorussia, and into Russia itself, some of these partisan organizations were partially or primarily composed of Jews who had fled German attempts to concentrate them into ghettos or who had fled the ghettos themselves. One of these was made famous by the movie Defiance, starring Daniel Craig as Tuvia Bielski, the leader of this partisan group. This fictionalized account of the Bielski Otryad, which hid in the Nabiloka forest in what is now western Byelorussia I found compelling, and it awoke an ongoing interest in the history of the partisan groups that arose from the German invasion.

These groups varied considerably, as one might expect. Some were comprised of mainly young more or less healthy males, and geared towards military action against the Germans. Other groups, such as the Bielski Otryad, were more inclusive, taking in any Jew that wished to join, regardless of their fitness or prior employment. I was impressed at the survival of Bielski’s group in the face of both anti-semitism from the Soviets and ongoing attacks from the Germans, but I found it surprising to learn that partisan groups composed almost exclusively of young strong males, dedicated to fighting the Germans and resisting the invaders, fared much worse than groups like the Bielski Otryad whose members had widely varied backgrounds, and whose primary goal was survival.

Most of those young fit men died and their groups were wiped out, while the Bielski Otryad survived the war, growing even as the Nazis chased them through the Nabiloka forest. Some of the Bielski Otryad members died during the war, but when they were met by advancing Russian troops, they numbered 1200 Jews, the largest number of Jews saved by Jews during the war. Two of the three Bielski brothers (Tuvia and Zus; Asael was killed in 1944 fighting for the Soviets) survived also, traveling to Israel and ultimately emigrating to these presently united States in 1956.

It appears that there were two key factors at play; one was that the primary goal of the Bielski Otryad was not to kill Germans, but to help Jews survive. The other was that even deep in the taiga, there was survival value in having a wide range of skills available to the group. A wide range of outlook, experience and opinion allowed the group to better cope when conditions or circumstances changed.

There is a lesson in this for the Liberty Movement.

Today, I see a wide range of opinion about the path forward for individual freedom. Many of those espousing these various opinions bitterly attack others in the Liberty movement for their ‘impure’ or ‘imperfect’ ideas, or slather acid criticism on those who disagree in one particular or another. Topics ranging from the ideal caliber for pistols or rifles to whether or not we need or should have a Constitution and everything in between are viciously debated, and barbed words fly back and forth growing more heated with each exchange.

To what end? Cui Bono?

What is the goal of the Liberty Movement? More personally, what is YOUR goal, in the pursuit of freedom? Each one of you will have to answer that question for yourself, but my goal is: to create a system that allows each person to do as they wish, to speak as they wish, to do with their bodies, their lives and the fruits of their labors as they choose, as long as they grant others the right to do the same. As Enlightenment philosophers put it- Life, liberty and property. If someone who shares this goal with you disagrees with you as to how best to accomplish that, so what? Isn’t the whole point to allow others their otherness? Aren’t we trying to help individual Liberty survive?

Or are we?

Tuvia Bielski made his goal the survival of Jews. He did not cast out the old, the infirm or those whose politics differed from his, and as a result, a community of 1200 Jews, anarchists, socialists, communists and individualists survived the Holocaust. He made a place for a wide range of opinion, and the Jewish community he built in the Nabiloka forest was stronger and more resilient as a result.

There is much to be said for earnest discussions about the paths forward for individual Liberty. This is, after all, a war of ideas. There is no doubt that the American experiment is in trouble and we need to carefully consider how we went wrong, and what must be done to make things better. But are the paths leading to the restoration of American Liberty to be found in the stifling of dissent, or in bitter vituperation among those who agree on the big issues? This country was founded on dissent and disagreement; rather than weakness, it may be our greatest strength.

Put it another way. If this is a war of ideas, and ideas are weapons, don’t we want the forces of tyranny to have to face as many different threats as possible? Don’t we want to see statism attacked on as many fronts as we can manage? Do we want to let the perfect become the enemy of the good?

Tuvia Bielski welcomed Jews of all social classes, ideologies, ages or abilities. They followed different paths through the Nabiloka forest to reach their refuge with other Jews, and this was again, part of their protection. Imagine how easy it would have been for the Nazis to exterminate them all if they had all followed one path. Regardless of how they got there, where they came from, or what baggage they carried, they were all welcomed. As far as I can tell from my reading, Tuvia Bielski only asked that each person work as they could to support the goal of the group, which was to ensure that the Jews survive. And they did. He won.

What is your goal, gentle reader?

Will you be like Tuvia Bielski, and make your goal the survival of Liberty, welcoming and protecting all those who love individual freedom, benefiting from each person’s unique outlook?

Or will you conduct intellectual auto-da-fé against all who disagree with you, seeking to crush disagreement and to force all to goosestep to the truth as you see it?

Do you view differing opinions within the Liberty movement as a threat, or as an opportunity?

I wonder what Tuvia Bielski’s Jewish partisans would say to the enraged ideologues among us?

Can you hear the whispers from the Nabiloka forest?

With regard to all who serve the Light,

Historian

—–

Ed. note: This commentary appeared first on TZP’s weekly email alert. If you would like to be among the first to see new commentary (as well as to get notice of new polls and recaps of recent posts), please sign up for our alert list. (See sidebar or, if you’re on a mobile device, scroll down). Be sure to respond when you receive your activation email!

defense of others, duty, Inspiration, spirit of rebellion

Take care of one who’s taken such good care of our rights

January 11, 2016 Claire Wolfe 3 Comments

As you go about your Monday (and your Tuesday through Sunday), please send your best thoughts toward Mike Vanderboegh, who got the worst possible word from his doctor last week.

And not only your thoughts, but whatever you can spare to make his last months and his wife Rosey’s future less dire. Mike has given his all — including his health and his financial well-being — for freedom. Without Mike (and David Codrea) the Fast & Furious scandal might have remained buried. Without Mike, the III Percent wouldn’t recognize themselves as such a powerful potential force.

I hope all freedomistas will give back to Mike in full measure.

defense of others, gun control, guns, Israel, mindset, Politics, resistance, shooting

Into the Herd

January 5, 2016 Sheila Stokes 3 Comments

Recently I had a lovely opportunity to spend some time with three people that wanted to learn to shoot. While I’m not a REAL firearms instructor, I knew enough to teach basic gun safety and had a place they could shoot. So I coached them through rifle from the prone position only, shotgun and handgun. They all seemed to enjoy themselves very much. I was heartened to hear the young girl, college age comment it wasn’t guns that are bad, it’s who is doing what with them. They all seemed pleased with having the chance to learn and get familiar with some basic tools and they seemed very pleased with how they shot. They should be. They all did a fantastic job. But best of all, they had fun. It was a good experience for them. I was so very proud of the three of them and made it very clear. When I wasn’t kicking their feet, but other than that. I mostly drank coffee, coached, corrected and encouraged. I kept my political commentary and legal commentary to a minimum due to time constraints. Two of the young’uns had to be at work at a certain time.

But one part I just couldn’t contain myself. During our handgun portion I was asked about carrying, how often did I carry, I did carry didn’t I? Of course. I said that most of the time it seemed when people had to pull their emergency equipment that the attacking party reconsidered their current itinerary. BUT, that didn’t mean they would. That a person needed to consider before they ever decided to carry that if the need arose, could they, would they kill someone to protect themselves or someone they were with? That you shouldn’t ever pull your weapon hoping to run a bluff. The people that prey on others are predators and they will sense that. NEVER put your sights on something you aren’t willing to destroy.

I guess this was so strongly on my mind because recently in Tel Aviv there was a Israeli Arab that attacked a pub crowd killing two and wounding others. Witnesses noticed an armed civilian who failed to try to neutralize the terrorist. They don’t know why, but speculation is that he was afraid of being prosecuted or arrested for awhile. America has Mom’s Demand Sanity Action and Gun Senseless crowd to deal with. Israel has “Gun on the kitchen table” who have successfully got the government to restrict the number of weapons issued to security guards and civilians. They apparently have had no effect on the amount of illegal guns in the arab communities as yet though. The terrorist left the pub massacre and went on to kill a cab driver who picked him up. He is still at large presumably in Tel Aviv.

This seems to be happening more. There have been police officers assaulted because they were afraid of becoming Darren Wilson, and afraid to do their job due to the “Ferguson Effect”. Civilians afraid to defend themselves because they are afraid of becoming George Zimmerman and having Black Panthers (or anyone else) publicly put a price on your head. Law abiding citizens are the ones under attack from the law, the government wants people to be afraid to defend themselves and they want the guardians to be afraid to defend the law-abiding. The only ones it seems this administration is intent of defending are thugs.

Which, I guess explains barry’s recent plans on gun control. If they aren’t afraid, make them unable.

I’m not really sure what prompted my three guests to decide they wanted to become a bit familiar with lifesaving tools at this time. I didn’t ask. It didn’t really matter. Bringing new people that understand tools and know how to use them into the herd is good, no matter what gets them here. But I do know what motivated me to teach them. A labor of love. People have different ways of thinking about things and different ways of saying “I love you”. And perhaps they are beginning to realize or consider what some have already discovered the hard painful way. “Without a rifle, you are nothing”.

So at the end of the day, I felt pretty good about things. I had successfully introduced and furthered some education on rifle, shotgun and handgun. I can take them apart a clean them. I was thinking I might not be far from a superhero cape. Until I tried to make a rice dish I wanted and discovered while I can do those things, I can not cook rice properly. I guess the superhero cape will be on hold for a while.

defense of others, hatred of Jews, Israel, shooting

This is how you do it

December 14, 2015 Claire Wolfe 6 Comments

Guy rams car into a crowd, injuring 11. He has an axe in his vehicle. This is Israel. Seems he intended to join the ongoing “stabbing jihad” but to go for the bigger thrill of making it a “hacking jihad.”

Crowd doesn’t intend to go quietly. Someone has a gun. Good-bye, terrorist swine.

Yes, that’s how you do it.

defense of others, guns, self defense, shooting

Controlled violence, or pistols and other things that go boom.

December 8, 2015 Claire Wolfe 9 Comments

Guest commentary
Exclusive to The Zelman Partisans
by William Lehman

Various friends and family have come to me over the years to ask questions such as “What type of pistol should I buy? Should I have a shotgun in the house?” and variations on this theme.

Seems some folks think I know a bit about the subject. Well, after carrying a firearm for more than 35 years, much of it for pay, I suppose they’re right. I was a cop for eight years, and in the military for 20. I’ve owned my fair share of weapons, and though my ankles and knees are not up to copping any more, I stay in the loop. I have drawn a weapon in the line of duty – both police and military – and to the best of my knowledge, I’ve never shot anyone.

Many of the following words of advice are not original to me; some of them are paraphrases of such greats as Col. Jeff Cooper; many of these words are distilled wisdom I’ve picked up from guys that REALY know something.

So, you want to join the members of that most unique society — those who are willing to take personal responsibility for their safety? OK, here are the rules:

First rule: You need to answer the following question: will you actually be willing and able to shoot someone in the head or heart, and watch them die before your eyes, maybe while wiping the blood off your face? (Most gunfights happen at a distance of less than 10 feet.) If the answer is “no,” you shouldn’t carry.

A firearm is not a magical talisman you whip out of your pants or purse, speak the magic words, “I have a gun,” and make evil disappear. You’re going to have to be willing to USE it.

Now, in most instances, merely brandishing a firearm is sufficient to make the bad guy suddenly realize he had an appointment across town that he’s now half an hour late for. But bad-guys are animals, and like animals, they can smell a bluff. If you go waving that Tacticool SIG with the laser sights, extended mag loaded with .45 ACP rounds, sporting the trigger job, flashlight, and bayonet in his face expecting to scare him, but without actually being willing to use it, and you may have just given them a high-dollar present with a lot of stupid baubles on it…

Oh, and probably your life, because after taking your firearm away, he will likely kill you. Of course, he would have probably killed you even if you weren’t armed, but at least you wouldn’t have added to his arsenal.

I understand that some folks are just mentally incapable of taking a life. OK, if you can’t, you can’t. Stay with someone who can, or understand that you take a very small, but existing risk of being robbed, raped, and then killed.

If you would rather be a martyr to the cause of non-violence than a survivor who has to report what happened to the police, and maybe live through a trial for daring to defend yourself, cool. Stop reading now, the rest of this is not for you.

Did the peaceniks leave yet?

Good.

I don’t understand that sort of mind set, but I know people, even people about whom I care about very much, who have that outlook. I view these folks the same way I look at those who suffer from a self-inflicted, incurable illness and are doomed to die of it. It’s unfortunate, but ultimately the decision was theirs.

The rest of this essay is for those of who have decided it’s better to be tried by 12 than carried by six.

Second rule: All guns are loaded. Always. Unless you personally checked it, know its condition, and have not let it out of your hand since that time, it’s loaded and there’s one under the hammer.

A while ago, I had an accidental discharge with a gun I always kept loaded. I knew it was loaded, but what I did not know is that my roommate had taken it to the range, and reloaded it afterward with all six rounds, meaning that the round under the hammer was live. When I handled it, my thumb slipped off the hammer and I had an accidental discharge, because I did not properly check my firearm. Best advice is to never assume. Never.

Third rule: Never put your finger in the trigger guard until you have your sights on the target.

Fourth rule: never cover anything with your muzzle that you are not willing to destroy.

These are common sense rules we have all likely heard before, but they bear repeating. Again and again.

Fifth rule: Carry the biggest caliber that you can comfortably control. If the best you can control is a 9mm, I’ll tell you what ammunition will be effective, because only a very few, brands and types of 9mm ammo are effective man stoppers. And if you can’t handle the recoil of a 9mm, start working out, because anything less than a 9mm, while effective under the proper circumstances, will be difficult to use effectively to stop an oncoming threat.

Imagine hitting a moving target the size of an eyeball, while scared out of your gourd, and trying to stay alive. If you can hit a man in the eye, or the bridge of the nose, or the throat, while he’s trying to stick, shoot, or bludgeon you to death, you don’t need to read this, because you’re an assassin.

That said, the prudent pistolero does not get in a gunfight with a caliber that doesn’t begin with a “.4” (.40 S&W, .45 ACP, and .45 LC, .45 GAP, .44, .41. or the two exceptions to the rule: the .357 and the 10mm).

Sixth rule: Try different pistols before you buy one. Shoot a lot, and shoot many different types. Shoot with friends. Try out their firearms. Most gunnies don’t need an excuse to go out and shoot. After you shoot a lot, you’ll find something that fits your hand and that you can shoot comfortably. Buy one just like it. Spend the money to buy a GOOD weapon; you’ll have it for life.

Guns can be heirlooms. Buy a decent handgun, give it a modicum of care, and you will hand it down to your kids, and they will hand it down to their kids, and so on, and so forth. This tool will maintain value better than almost anything other than maybe gold, so buy a good one and take care of it.

Finally: Never plan to get into a gun fight. Pistols are like fire extinguishers. They are there for emergencies. Why would you go anywhere with the expectation of trouble? If you’re expecting trouble, you might want to bring more firepower than just a pistol. Long guns, shotguns, and armed friends should accompany you if you are really expecting problems.

Remember the only fair fight is the one you win. Chivalry is for competitions. In war — whether nationally declared or street — when your life is on the line, giving the bad guy an even chance is a good way to end up dead. And unlike reenactments, movies, or video games, when you’re dead, you’re dead. Your kids get to squabble over your inheritance, and I have to go to your funeral.

I hate funerals, except for those of my enemies.

William Lehman is a retired Navy, medically retired police officer, who currently works for the Navy as a civilian and writes the John Fisher Chronicles — an urban fantasy series based in the pacific Northwest.

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defense of others, duty, Elsewhere, mindset

War horses

November 18, 2015 Sheila Stokes 1 Comment

I know Veteran’s Day was a week ago. And I apologize, for not having written a column for Veteran’s Day. Life has been a bit hectic and I had an event that I wanted to attended before I wrote my column.

The use of war horses goes back about 5,000 years, in human, not horse years. Originally I don’t believe they were ridden, instead being used more as pack animals and later pulling wagons and chariots. As equine technology improved, saddles and stirrups came along and the horseback rider made a difference in battles. Different breeds of horses were used for different tasks, owing to their difference in sizes and temperaments. While a Friesian makes a fine mount for a knight, it’s not going to work so well for the cavalry scout.

These horses have fought alongside and died alongside their people for thousands of years. One of the most well known is Sgt. Reckless. She was a member of the USMC, she EARNED the rank of Sargent, believe me. Take a minute and read about her. She was amazing, and came from very humble beginnings.

So why am I writing about horses for Veteran’s Day? Because there is a new organization called Warhorses for Veterans. Their goal is to help Veterans that have returned home and find being home not quite as familiar and comfortable as it should be. Not as easy to return as it should be. It’s not always easy to talk through stuff with people that have no understanding (no matter how much they try) of what you’ve been through.

Warhorses was founded by a young man after he came back from Iraq around 2004 he returned to his equine oriented life. He found that it gave a sense of peace and calming and began to wonder about the possibilities of it helping other veterans. With the help of a wonderful couple Warhorses for Veterans was founded.

My view, and my view alone here. No matter how people may feel about the wars America has been engaged in, the “limited actions”, “police actions” or whatever else they may be called, one thing remains the same. Our soldiers have suited up, showed up, given their best and sometimes their all. They have left behind their families, their homes and their jobs to do what was put in front of them. I guess all of us know when we get on the highway to go some place we may not come back. But that is not the same as waking up of a morning drinking a cup of coffee and getting in a tank to go out on the battlefield. That camaraderie that develops in battle is part of what helps in the Warhorses program.

More than once on American soil as well as other countries soldiers are what stood between civilians and a threat. I’m very aware and appreciative of the liberties I still enjoy because of their sacrifices.

This last Sunday Warhorses hosted a 5K run/walk. Their goal is to raise money to help the program, which if you didn’t read the link, is briefly, to give Veterans a rural place where they can talk with each other, network and experience the healing that horses bring. No singing Kum Ba Yah. There is no expense to the Veteran. This is not a government program, this is good people seeing a need and stepping up to help.

I signed on.

It was a cool/cold day and a bit more of a hilly course than most of my walks, but I didn’t care. I had told a co-worker of mine on Wednesday night about the program and that I was signed up. He is a Viet Nam veteran, and not given to warm fuzzys, but is kind. He listened and said “They are doing good work, and you are doing a good thing”. From him? That’s a lot. I held on to that as I dug in and powered up those hills. It was windy and “right nippy” as we say around these parts. I didn’t care. I did my best and completed the most challenging course in my best time ever.

I had a chance to meet one of the founders after the race and told him what my co-worker had said, and who he was. He seemed pleased, and glad to know it was being well received. I’m also glad I was wearing my very fetching berry colored TZP zippy hoodie.

I fully realize walking in a 5K is pitiful small thanks to our Veterans, both staff of TZP and our members, but it’s what I could do, and I wanted so much to find a way, to try in some way, to give back for what I have so generously been given by ya’ll.

Thank you Veterans and their families who have given so much. Ya’ll are my heroes and I thank you from the bottom of my heart and feet.