העורך Editor
Before the Anti-Walter Block ‘Damnatio Memoriae’ Does Its Worst…
Mr. Lew Rockwell’s Foreword to “Building Blocks for Liberty”:
Murray Rothbard, in his life, was known as Mr. Libertarian. We can make a solid case that the title now belongs to Walter Block, a student of Rothbard’s whose own vita is as thick as a phone book, as diverse as Wikipedia. Whether he is writing on economic theory, ethics, political secession, drugs, roads, education, monetary policy, social theory, unions, political language, or anything else, his prose burns with a passion for this single idea: if human problems are to be solved, the solution is to be found by permitting greater liberty.
Yes, Walter Block is provocative. He is an admitted anarchocapitalist, and his signature treatise is called Defending the Undefendable. But readers who spend time with his prose discover that there is far more to the Blockian method than simply breaking taboos. He is provocative not just because of his conclusions but also because he is relentlessly logical, unfailingly truthful, and unusually sincere. He wants answers to the most vexing human problems — whether they are small or large — and he is going to pursue that truth as far as human reasoning can take him.
I can recall looking through correspondence that Professor Block has had with colleagues in topics such as monetary policy, letters in which Block is sharply in disagreement with his correspondent. His argument on behalf of his position is so pointed and attractive that his opponent cannot resist attempting an answer, but of course that only elicits yet another response, and yet another rejoinder, and another response, and so on. The rounds of correspondence can go on for dozens of interchanges. Block persists not because he wants to beat anyone down, but because he is so sincere about finding truth and ferreting out error. If he is wrong about a point, he wants to know it. That’s why his opponents always end up on the hot seat.
There is another aspect to his work that should be noted. His public persona is as a plumb-line libertarian, but his method and mode of argument come from his core training in the science of economics. He deploys economic tools in the service of finding answers to social problems. This shows up not only in his exposition; he is also an inspired teacher who never misses a chance to present his argument step by step so that the reader can come to understand economic logic along the way.
You might be surprised at how reasonable-sounding Block can make what might otherwise be considered an outrageous idea. Not every reader will accept every one of Block’s conclusions. But everyone will learn how a top-notch economic thinker in the Austrian tradition approaches a huge range of issues. If you disagree with him, you would do well to do so with the same method: that of thinking through problems with close attention to logical and analytical detail.
There is one final trait of Block that might be overlooked: his humility. In a world of academics with inflated egos and selfish ambitions, Block displays constant sincerity, a sweet trust in believing that the truth demonstrated with patience and logic should be enough to carry the day. In our politicized world of charlatans and agenda-driven ideologues, this is rarely the case, of course. But Block charms us with his truth-seeking way, his desire to engage counterarguments of any sort, and his willingness to be shown where he is wrong.
A volume of all the “critical essays” by Walter Block would surely run into thousands of pages. But this is an excellent sampling, and a great tribute to one of the most inspired and hardworking intellectuals of our time.
אנכי ולא יהיה לך מפי הגבורה שמענום – וורט חדש מהרב יצחק ברנד
דברי מורנו הרב יצחק ברנד שליט”א, מתוך הפורום הידוע:
אני רוצה כאן להביא מה שנתחדש לי בשבת קודש בחשבי על שני מצוות אנכי ה’ ולא יהא לך ועל המפרשים בחטא העגל
ע’ בפירוש הרב שמשון רפאל הירש שהביא שחטא העגל לא היה תחליף להקב”ה אלא תחליף למשה רבינו כמו שנאמר
שמות פרק לב פסוק א (פרשת כי תשא)
(א) וַיַּ֣רְא הָעָ֔ם כִּֽי־בֹשֵׁ֥שׁ מֹשֶׁ֖ה לָרֶ֣דֶת מִן־הָהָ֑ר וַיִּקָּהֵ֨ל הָעָ֜ם עַֽל־אַהֲרֹ֗ן וַיֹּאמְר֤וּ אֵלָיו֙ ק֣וּם׀ עֲשֵׂה־לָ֣נוּ אֱלֹהִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֤ר יֵֽלְכוּ֙ לְפָנֵ֔ינוּ כִּי־זֶ֣ה׀ מֹשֶׁ֣ה הָאִ֗ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֤ר הֶֽעֱלָ֙נוּ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם לֹ֥א יָדַ֖עְנוּ מֶה־הָ֥יָה לֽוֹ:
והטעות לא התחיל בעגל אלא שנתנו גדולות מוגזמת למשה רבינו שהוא מעין אלהים
רש”ר הירש שמות פרק לב פסוק א (פרשת כי תשא)
הם לא ראו במשה את עושה רצונו של ה’, שה’ בחר בו בחירות, מתוך יוזמה חופשית, והטיל עליו את שליחותו בחירות; אלא הם ראו בו במשה דמות איש, אשר התעלה בכוחות עצמו מעל לטבע האדם הרגיל ורכש תכונה אלוהית, – איש שבכוח השפעתו להטות את רצון האלוהות ושבכוח יישותו להבטיח חסות מטעם האלוהות. בעיני האנשים האלה לא היה זה ה’ שהוציאם ממצרים באמצעותו של משה, אלא היה זה משה שהיטה את רצון ה’ לעשות את מעשה הגאולה הזאת. בעיניהם הקשר הנצחי עם ה’ לא נוצר על – ידי התורה האלוהית שנמסרה להם בידי משה, והערובה הנצחית לחסות ה’ עליהם ולקירבת ה’ שבהישג ידו של כל אחד ואחד, ללא מתווך, – אלה לא היו בעיניהם סידרי – החיים האלוהיים, דהיינו המשפטים, שיישארו עמהם – אף בשעה ששליחם הזמני לא יהיה עוד. אלא יישותו של האיש משה הקרוב לאלוהים – זה היה להם הקשר והתנאי שיצר את זיקתם אל ה’, ויישותו היתה להם הערובה לחסות ה’ עליהם. הם האמינו, שיחסו של משה אל ה’ הוא פרי יוזמתו של משה ולא של ה’, ובדרך זו האמינו, כי לאחר פטירתו המשוערת של משה יהיה בידם לעשות מעשה בכוח עצמם, שיהיה בו משום יוזמה המכריעה את ידי האלוהות, ולפיכך סברו שעליהם להפעיל יוזמה זו. התודעה היהודית החופשית, שיסודה תפיסת האדם ביחס ישיר ובלתי – אמצעי אל ה’, כשהתנאי היחיד והבלעדי ליחס הזה הוא עשיית רצון ה’, – תודעה זו טרם נתבהרה להם בתכלית הבהירות, או שמא טושטשה תודעה זו בליבם על – ידי הפחד מפני הנדודים במדבר, שמעתה יהיו ללא מנהיג.
ועל פי זה נראה לי לפרש אחד מן הטעמים שחז”ל אמרו (מכות כ”ג:) אנכי ולא יהיה לך מפי הגבורה שמענום, ולמה לא מינה את משה רבינו לתפקיד אמירת שני הדיבורת, משום שאנכי כולל גם זה שלא משה רבינו הוציאנו ממצרים אלא הקב”ה, וכן לא יהא לך אלהים אחרים על פני, זה בא לנו להחדיר שלא תעשה את משה רבינו לאלהים
ובכל זאת נכשלו וחשבו את משה רבינו העיקרי ביציאת מצרים, ואילו היה משה רבינו מדבר היה סכנה זו הרבה יותר גדולה
A Brief History of the Netanyahu-Hamas Alliance
Find a cached copy of this paywalled Oct. 2023 article from Haaretz here (links omitted).
As expected, the leftist focus is on how fresh Hamas atrocities keep the ostensible Right in power (since the Left is commonly presumed to be even worse). And the Bennett\Lapid government? Reminder: they actually stopped the cash suitcases to Hamas!
Some excerpts:
…
In practice, since the Cast Lead operation in late 2008 and early 2009, during the Olmert era, Hamas’ rule has not faced any genuine military threat. On the contrary: The group has been supported by the Israeli prime minister, and funded with his assistance.
When Netanyahu declared in April 2019, as he has after every other round of fighting, that “we have restored deterrence with Hamas” and that “we have blocked the main supply routes,” he was lying through his teeth.
For over a decade, Netanyahu has lent a hand, in various ways, to the growing military and political power of Hamas. Netanyahu is the one who turned Hamas from a terror organization with few resources into a semi-state body.
Releasing Palestinian prisoners, allowing cash transfers, as the Qatari envoy comes and goes to Gaza as he pleases, agreeing to the import of a broad array of goods, construction materials in particular, with the knowledge that much of the material will be designated for terrorism and not for building civilian infrastructure, increasing the number of work permits in Israel for Palestinian workers from Gaza, and more. All these developments created symbiosis between the flowering of fundamentalist terrorism and preservation of Netanyahu’s rule.
Take note: It would be a mistake to assume that Netanyahu thought about the well-being of the poor and oppressed Gazans – who are also victims of Hamas – when allowing the transfer of funds (some of which, as noted, didn’t go to building infrastructure but rather military armament). His goal was to hurt Abbas and prevent division of the Land of Israel into two states.
Wow, no awakening on the Left at all!
It’s important to remember that without those funds from Qatar (and Iran), Hamas would not have had the money to maintain its reign of terror, and its regime would have been dependent on restraint.
In practice, the injection of cash (as opposed to bank deposits, which are far more accountable) from Qatar, a practice that Netanyahu supported and approved, has served to strengthen the military arm of Hamas since 2012.
Thus, Netanyahu indirectly funded Hamas after Abbas decided to stop providing it with funds that he knew would end up being used for terrorism against him, his policies and his people. It’s important not to ignore that Hamas used this money to buy the means through which Israelis have been murdered for years.
“Israelis”? Weren’t “Gazans” also murdered? Oh, you mean to say “Jews“!
In parallel, from a security standpoint, since Operation Protective Edge in 2014, Netanyahu has been guided by a policy that almost completely ignored the terrorism of the rockets and the incendiary kites and balloons. Occasionally, the media has been exposed to a dog-and-pony show, when such weapons were captured, but not more than that.
…
In August 2019, former prime minister Ehud Barak told Army Radio that people who believed that Netanyahu had no strategy were mistaken. “His strategy is to keep Hamas alive and kicking… even at the price of abandoning the citizens [of the south] … in order to weaken the PA in Ramallah.”
And former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot told Maariv in January 2022 that Netanyahu acted “in total opposition to the national assessment of the National Security Council, which determined that there was a need to disconnect from the Palestinians and establish two states.” Israel moved in the exact opposition direction, weakening the PA and strengthening Hamas.
“Opposition direction“? They need an editor.
People on the right said similar things. One of the mantras being repeated was that of newly elected MK Bezalel Smotrich, who in 2015 told the Knesset Channel that “Hamas is an asset and Abu Mazen is a burden,” referring to Abbas by his nom de guerre.
No, “Abbas” is the nom de guerre!
In April 2019, Jonatan Urich, one of Netanyahu’s media advisers and a Likud spokesman, told Makor Rishon that one of Netanyahu’s achievements was separating Gaza (both politically and conceptually) from the West Bank. Netanyahu “basically smashed the vision of the Palestinian state in these two places,” he boasted. “Some of the achievement is related to the Qatari money reaching Hamas each month.”
…
The prime minister himself spoke briefly at times about his position regarding Hamas. In March 2019, he said during a meeting of Likud MKs, at which the subject of transfer of funds to Hamas was under discussion, that, “Whoever opposes a Palestinian state must support delivery of funds to Gaza because maintaining separation between the PA in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza will prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
…
In that same 2019 interview with Army Radio, Barak said that Netanyahu was keeping the south “on a constant low flame.” One should pay particular attention to his assertion that the security establishment laid on the cabinet table several times plans “to drain the swamp” of Hamas in Gaza, but the cabinet never discussed them.
Netanyahu knew, Barak added, “that it’s easier with Hamas to explain to Israelis that there is no one to sit with and no one to talk to. If the PA strengthens… then there will be someone to talk to.”
Bravo Barak… Because the PA would never seek to murder Jews! The lying liars “forget” the PA’s role in even the Shmini Atzeres pogroms themselves.
See the rest here…
We have quoted some of the same material in other articles.
And of course, Bevin Netanyahoo is a permanent, all-around security menace, not just by supporting Hamas.