Opinion

Much has been written about the proposed trip to Israel by Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar.

American citizen and father of five Moshe Eliezer Ilovitz went missing in Israel one Saturday morning six weeks ago. It is hard to believe, but there are as many as 100,000 active missing persons in the United States at any given time. In Israel the numbers are much smaller but substantial. Each year about 30 people in Israel leave home and go missing. Families often turn to private investigators out of frustration with the police and other agencies. Yekutiel “Mike” Ben Yaakov, a volunteer who leads a canine search unit, claims the police in Israel are just not up to the task of finding missing persons. Frustrated families often turn to him but usually too late. The search for Moshe Eliezer Ilovitz is active and ongoing. The difference is that he is an American citizen. It means that not only does the Israeli law enforcement establishment and its political leaders have an obligation to find him, but American governmental officials have an obligation to find him as well.

Given the situation at the American-Mexican border, I decided to reflect upon my own personal immigration story. At the outset, I want to compliment the president for sticking to his guns and doing more than any president of the United States to correct a very complex and minefield-laden issue. It is also important to point out over and over again that President Trump made it patently obvious from the get-go that building a wall at the border with Mexico was one of his priorities. He was elected with this signature campaign promise. This was abundantly clear to everyone, and America gave him a mandate to do so.

With the first round of Democratic debates completed, America moved one step closer to a socialist takeover. It all really started happening under President Obama. Obamacare provides subsidies of over $700 billion annually. This redistribution of wealth was the first step. In the process, the medical profession got hurt, the middle class suffered inordinately, and healthcare for all was never achieved. Insurance premiums skyrocketed. Deductibles became insane and CEOs of insurance companies pocketed millions. Physicians, especially in private practice, have had trouble surviving.

The Petra and Imperial Hotels in the Old City of Jerusalem were legally purchased by Jews in 2005. A legal challenge was brought by the Greek Orthodox Church. On June 3, the Supreme Court of Israel rejected an appeal from Patriarch Theophilos III, head of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, against three real estate companies as well as former Patriarch Irenaios who had been dismissed in disgrace in 2005 after the sale was disclosed. The petition claimed that Irenaios sold several properties on church-owned land to Jews without the proper authority to do so. It is important to realize that it is not unusual for the Greek Orthodox Church to sell or lease lands in Israel to Jews. The Knesset, which is Israel’s Parliament, stands on leased land from the Greek Orthodox Church.

President Trump’s last-minute decision to pull back from a retaliatory strike on Iran is not new in the annals of modern history.