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National Council of Jewish Women
Greater Detroit Section
Celebrating
124 years
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We Don't Need No Stinkin' Primary Debates
A
fter one Democratic debate and
political theater.
three Republican debates, this is
Although the Democratic debate was
what new information
more measured and issue-orient-
we've learned about the candi-
ed, too many podiums were on
dates: nothing.
the stage. A few days later, Hillary
Primary debates are useless
Clinton had the same negative
when too many podiums are
polling numbers she had the
on the stage; the moderators
week before.
are trying to make a name for
With an aggrieved Republican
themselves, and the questions
party trying to wrest some
r
are sometimes longer than the
control over future debates in
answers.
Harry Kirsbaum the mainstream news media,
Considering that CNBC is
thinking that Sean Hannity, Rush
Contributing
NBC's business channel, I expect- Writer
Limbaugh and Mark Levin would
ed to hear some questions about
be a moderating "Dream Team"
the economy at the last Republican debate. is fraught with danger.
But I guess with 10 candidates on stage,
The candidates are all trying to get their
including a reality show star who is lead-
message out to the base, get exposure and,
ing most polls, the moderators decided to
above all, get the greenbacks.
go for the ratings.
I wouldn't mind having modera-
If they really wanted to put Donald
tors hand-picked by the Republicans or
Trump on the spot, they could have asked
Democrats during any primary debate
him a real question that demanded a
because it's just a primary debate. But
thoughtful answer and not allowed him to
there are moderators, and then there are
deflect to one of his roaming answers that
radio hosts.
usually include trade with China, the wall
I could possibly see Hannity as a
in Mexico and Putin.
moderator because he interviews other
We only heard the same thing out of all
people on his radio and Fox News show.
the candidates because the questions were
He knows how to ask a question and let a
so bad.
person give an answer, unless, of course,
I'm a fan of politics, but I'm no fan of
he disagrees with them.
Rush Limbaugh has made a fortune
by giving his take on politics, the media
and anything else that comes to mind
to an avid radio listening audience. He
takes phone calls from his ditto heads, but
mostly he interviews himself.
Mark Levin is the lesser known but
equally knowledgeable radio host, but
again he's a solo act. And his voice is bor-
derline crazy. He sounds as though he is
moments away from a heart attack and in
need of an ambulance.
Neither Limbaugh nor Levin would do
anything other than hog the mike during a
debate, and they would go head to head to
head, with Hannity; the viewing audience
would learn a lot more about them than
the candidates.
But what's most telling is that as we get
closer to the Feb. 1 Iowa caucus, the debate
ratings are falling, which is fine.
There won't be a real debate until after
the conventions are over.
I agree with Trump on one thing:
Candidates need to drop out.
Note to both political parties: A candi-
date shouldn't have a spot on any debate
stage if he or she can double their polling
numbers in Iowa by convincing three
cousins and their families to move to Des
Moines. *
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Temple Mount Payouts Are Disingenuous
A
group of far-right Jewish
extremists will pay $500 to any-
one whom Israeli police arrest
for violating the ban on Jewish prayer at
Jerusalem's Temple Mount. The group,
dubbed "Returning to the Mount:'
seeks Jewish sovereignty at the religious
landmark, imagining the Third Temple
there.
The payment pitch is intended to
disrupt a tenuous longstanding arrange-
ment allowing Jews to visit the revered
Old City site, but not pray there. The
pitch inflames a site where Jewish and
Muslim holiness intersect.
The Temple Mount, where the two
Jewish Temples stood, is the holiest
place in Judaism. Today, the sprawling
compound houses the Al Aqsa Mosque
and the Dome of the Rock, making it
the third-holiest site in Islam.
Palestinian leaders have stoked
dozens of terrorist stabbing attacks on
Israeli targets this fall largely by assert-
ing Israel seeks to alter the fragile status
quo relating to non-Muslim visits to
the Temple Mount — and by inciting
youthful "lone wolf" knife-wielders to
fight and even die for Allah in defense
of Palestinian interests.
Israel's Chief Rabbinate agrees with
the government's ban on Jewish prayer
at the Mount, citing religious-based
reasons. Ban-dissenters should appeal to
those authorities, not flout the law, espe-
cially in politically tense times.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
denies Israel wants to take over the
Temple Mount. He accused Palestinian
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas,
who governs West Bank areas under
Palestinian control, of incitement via
propaganda.
Religious officials of Jordan, which
controlled the Old City from 1948 to
1967, administer the Temple Mount on
behalf of the Islamic Waqf.
Adherrents of "Returning to the
Mount" believe the ban on Jewish prayer
is discriminatory and the situation for
Jews on the Mount "worsens with each
passing moment:'
"We must act not only to end the
slide, but moreover for the addition of
rights for Jews on the Mount, the first of
which is prayer;' leader Raphael Morris
told the Times of Israel on Oct. 28.
Yehuda Glick's Temple Mount
Heritage Foundation is another of 27
organizations in the United Temple
Mount Movement that's busy recruiting
Jews to visit the contentious hilltop adja-
cent to the Western Wall. About 10,000
Jews visited last year and the number
will likely jump by 4,000 in 2015.
"When we have 100,000 Jews visiting
the Temple Mount, we will be able to
demand Jewish prayer:' Glick told the
Associated Press.
Clearly, Israel, by virtue of secular
law and rabbinic ruling, isn't angling to
"Judaicize" the Temple Mount, as the
Arab world propounds. Jewish extrem-
ists seeking to inject paid prayer there
are only creating havoc for Israel. *
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November 12 • 2015
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