There is a chilling scene in the 2002 movie “The Pianist.”  In it the train was already chugging along on the path to insanity and destruction, but before all was destroyed.  The family of the protagonist has been moved into the Warsaw Ghetto and the head of the family is sitting at a table, reading a newspaper.  He looks up and says, “I blame the American Jews.”

He was talking to me.

At least, that’s how I heard it.  I resolved then not to be our time’s analog of a World War II American Jew — you know, the ones who read the newspapers, see what is happening to Israel, mutter “tsk, tsk” and turn the page.

Others have had similar epiphanies, but the light from our bulbs going off is obscured by the clouds of appeasement and apologies, dressed up as tolerance and even-handedness.

Z STREET is based on these ironclad positions:

Unlike other organizations that claim to be pro-Israel, Z STREET will not pander to politicians who invite us to their offices and pay attention to our pocketbooks but ignore our positions.  For those who do not embrace our principles, there are plenty of other organizations to join. This catalyzing organization seeks to change the way discussions about Israel are crafted and viewed.

A fuel source previously untapped has been released: within days of the launch  thousands clamored to our site, asking how to join and how they can help.  Z STREET already includes members from five continents and more than twenty states.  News articles are being written about Z STREET from the far right and the center, and we have been viciously denigrated and cartooned from the far left – all of which is gratifying.

The rising groundswell is in part a response to organizations whispering into the ear of this US administration that pervert the meaning of “pro-Israel.” Their ultimate loyalty is to left-wing principles including a secular Israel and tolerance of terrorism only when directed at Jews.  They are ashamed of an avowedly Jewish State, yet completely comfortable with 22 Muslim ones, and are actively seeking the creation of a 23rd, based in Jerusalem, whose governing documents call for the destruction of Israel.

The idea that weakening Israel, either because of ideological conviction, animosity towards a strong Jewish State, cowardice, or the grossly misguided belief that compromise or dialoging with committed terrorists will lead to Middle East or global peace, is obscene.

A very few World War II Jews acted as catalysts for those who refused to be cowed.  They adamantly, sometimes theatrically, demanded action to prevent the incineration of millions of Europeans Jews, along with millions of members of other minority and political groups.

This band of warriors, led by Peter Bergson and Ben Hecht, staged marches, rallies and theater events.  They refused to mimic the Jewish leaders who shrank from their moral duty to demand the US government face the irrefutable facts of the plans, and then the execution of those plans, to murder millions.  It would be an honor for Z STREET to be compared to the Bergson Group.  Others should join so that the present horrors, and worse, are prevented.  The policy implications are profound and the time is now.

I sleep better knowing that when my grandchildren ask me what I did to help prevent the destruction of Israel, I can tell them about Z STREET with a clear conscience and a sense of pride.  What will you say?

Two stalwart bi-coastal friends of Israel, Lori Lowenthal Marcus of Philadelphia and Allyson Rowen Taylor of Los Angeles, have launched a new Zionist advocacy organization: Z STREET.

Co-Chair Marcus describes the essence of the new organization, “No more appeasement, no more negotiating with terrorists, no more enabling cowards who fear offending more than they fear another Holocaust.”

Operating under the aegis of Taylor’s non-profit organization “People Against Hate Speech,” Z STREET has obtained permits for a huge rally in front of the White House on October 27th – the same week that the rabidly anti-Zionist J Street holds its first annual meeting in the nation’s capital.

Marcus explains, “the presence of Z STREET will ensure that the true Zionist voice is heard: that we will not stand by quietly as apartheid is imposed on Jews in the Israeli territories, and we will not stand by quietly as the Iranians continue racing madly towards obtaining weapons to wipe whole peoples off the globe while politicians send polite letters and invitations to parties.” “This grass roots effort will compete for media attention with the slick packaging of several well-funded anti-Zionist organizations,” said Co-Chair Taylor, “and unless those of us who are committed to maintaining a strong, unified Jewish State of Israel stand up and speak out together, the weak will continue to appear strong and the strong will continue to appear weak.”

There are many who ignore global threats to Israel’s existence, including the threatened dismemberment of Israel by her domestic and foreign enemies; Z STREET will become a leading-edge organization for educating and informing all Americans about the need for, and the facts that support, the Zionist mandate.

For more information about the organization, including how to become a member, go to the brand new Z STREET blog at http://ziostreet.wordpress.com. See its charter, below.

Z STREET CHARTER

Z STREET is an organization of Zionists who join together at this time of great danger to the Jewish State of Israel and, increasingly, to world Jewry.

I. Z STREET proudly asserts the right of the Jewish people to a state.

II. Z STREET proudly reclaims the words “Zionist” and “Jewish State” as ones to wear with pride, in direct opposition to their recent branding as shameful or impolite terms.

III. Z STREET maintains that Jews have the right to live anywhere in the world, including, and especially, within greater Israel.

IV. Z STREET is dedicated to maintaining and strengthening the Jewish State of Israel in the firm belief that there can be no compromises or agreements with, and no concessions to, any Terrorist Entity or any individual Terrorists.

V. Z STREET is dedicated to rejecting and refuting the condemnation of any actions taken by Israel which are not similarly condemned when taken by any other individuals or political entities.

VI. Z STREET is dedicated to constantly and consistently declaring and affirming the facts which fully support the legal, moral and historical right of the Jewish State to exist in peace and security without physical or verbal assault against its sovereignty or legitimacy. This necessarily entails adamantly opposing the dismantling of and/or handing over territory to any other entity or entities.

VII. Z STREET is dedicated to constantly and consistently declaring and affirming the facts that reveal the fallacious narratives of Terrorist Entities, Terrorists, and their supporters undermining the legal, moral and historical right of the Jewish State to exist in peace and security without physical or verbal assault against its sovereignty or legitimacy.

VIII. Z STREET insists that terrorist or other threats against Israel be unequivocally condemned, and that those members of the world community failing to actively condemn those threats also be branded as active or passive supporters of a second genocide against the Jewish people.

IX. Z STREET declares that Israel’s respect for women’s, religious and other minorities’ rights, provides a welcome beacon – particularly in the Middle East – to be acknowledged and respected by all people of good will.

X. Z STREET recognizes the existence of 22 officially Muslim countries and 19 Christian countries, whose status the world does not challenge, while only Israel, the Jewish State, is demonized for asserting its legitimate right to be a religion-affiliated State, and which religion, Judaism, is the world’s oldest monotheistic faith.

XI. Z STREET recognizes the value of other Zionist organizations whose activities include lobbying, producing publications, the sponsorship of scholars and scholarship centers, honoring generous donors and/or other important programs. Z STREET is not intended to supersede those other Zionist organizations. Z STREET is intended to serve as an alternative to many mainstream and other Jewish organizations that, to meet donors’ requirements or for ideological reasons, cannot affirm the principles set out in the Z STREET Charter.

XII. Z STREET has no need to, and will not negotiate with, nor seek to gain the approval from, any governments, Israeli or Diaspora organizations, or individuals supporting the diminution or weakening of Israel either because of ideological conviction, animosity towards a strong, Jewish State, cowardice, or the misguided belief that compromise with Terrorist Entities can lead to peace in the Middle East or global peace.

XIII. Z STREET will serve as an educational force that will FIGHT WITH FACTS. Z STREET undergirds its positions with facts and provides that essential ingredient to exponentially increasing the ranks its membership ranks.

XIV. Z STREET is a new, entirely volunteer organization for those who affirm the foregoing and dedicate themselves to upholding and ensuring respect for these principles. Its primary purpose of which is to provide a proud banner for Zionists behind which to rally.

By Jerry Gordon

Terrorism has many faces. The bombing of the SS Cole, The World Trade Center, and the murder of Leon Klinghoffer in the Mediterranean. This is terror we can see, smell, and fear. But there is a new kind of terror that is invading the West, and it is clean, invisible to the smell, and seems savory in the way it is being marketed. This new terror is Shariah Finance. This is a way of banking that is growing rapidly in the Gulf, Britain, France, and the United States,Hong Kong, and worldwide due to the bulging pockets of burgeoning wealth from the profits of petrodollars. Every time we fill our gas tanks, we are not only contributing to the pollution of our air, we are funding terror in an insidious way that will effect us long after we go “green”.

The London Nasdaq, stock exchanges, Loehmanns, Barneys, Travelodge, Madame Tussauds, Citibank, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, and Caribou Coffee are just a few well known names that now belong to the Kingdom of Dubai, Studies have put the total value of Islamic equity funds in the Gulf Region at about thirty (30) billion dollars. This is from a study by Khaled al -Masri, a partner is asset management at the Dubai based Rasmala Investments.

Products like “Interest Free Loans” are being offered at banks nationwide, and they are attracting not only the Muslim investor, but others who think that this is a service that circumvents having to pay the bank interest. However, it is just another way of structuring a loan that was not inspired by the Koran, but developed by the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1920’s.  Due to marketing, and companies like Goldman Sachs, Lehmann Brothers, Och-Ziff and others, the tantalizing smell of money trumps the security of the United States and our freedoms. The issue is not the way the loans are structured, it is that they are structured to follow the tenants of Shariah Law. Many of the laws of Shariah are benign, however when one reads into the laws, issues such as stoning, beheadings, amputations, and honor killings are also part of the Shariah. In addition, there is a requirement in the laws to “cleanse” the “haram” (filth) from the “infidels: (non Muslims) by donating a portion of the interest made to Zakat (charity). We have no records as to what these charities are. Could they support Hezbollah? Iran? HAMAS?, or other groups that are determined to undermine western democracy. There is no due diligence, nor transparency in these bonds and loans, so it is a mystery as to what is being done with profits made via the “Infidels”. Has the SEC looked into these loans and bonds to see if due diligence is being done?

The basic principal of Islamic funds bans them  from investing in companies associated with tobacco, alcohol, pornography, tabloids, pork or gambling These are all considered taboo by religious Muslims.  In addition, countries like Israel, and products developed in Israel can also be forbidden. Boycotts of products develped in Israel have already been initiated, but major economic santions could be placed on the Jewish state by the UAE and Europe.  Drug companies are not immune from laws of Sharia, and investments in companies that do stem cell research, or birth control will also be banned. Any products that are deemed “Haram” will be subject to the issues of Shariah.  We must not just look at the moral issues of alcohol or gambling, but how this type of finance can have an impact on the development of life saving drugs as the investments of Shariah firms move into areas that do research.  Truckers that carry pork can be affected, the suppliers of the paper that supplies the tabloids can be affected, thereby causing loss of jobs, and financial ruin, and then offering the Gulf companies bargain priced property, businessness,and a foothold into American and Western society.  This is the danger, this is the goal.

Dubai, while run as a Kingdom, and a playground for the rich and famous worldwide holds double standards in its promotion of Shariah Law. While French, British, and Russian women sit on the beaches in bikinis, and the sex slave trade is proliferating, homosexuals are jailed,  women are being stoned, and the money made off the infidels is cleansed by Shariah Laws. Dubai, has also invested in hotels in Las Vegas, but do not let this fool you. The desire for money and the moral dilemma posed by Islam seems to disappear when big money is available. As the Zakat (charity) dividends help supply “orphans” and other undisclosed entities, we risk our dollars going to fund the insurgents and suppliers of terror in the “cleaning process”. In this type of investment, the end does justify the means.

Investments in the Islamic Finance Industry worldwide are now worth about $700 BILLION dollars. Moody’s Investor Services estimated this in a report put out in February 2008. The countries that are the largest contributors to Shariah Finance are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar,Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and Dubai. These countries have seen this type of growth due to the rise of oil prices that we are now paying for. Every increase in the price of gas at the pump is a step closer to a life under Shariah law.  A report by the investment firm of Morgan Stanley in February , 2008 put the outstanding Sukuk (bonds) market worth more than $90 billion dollars, and a projection that by 2010 it will be worth over 200 Billion dollars.  While this is good news for the investors, the risk of Shariah law and the changes to the way we live our lives will be changed with this new system of finance.

The main problem is that the lure of riches, bigger homes in the Hamptons, private islands and Gulfsteam jets has the banks, investment houses and hedgefunders panting with desire while the future of our democracy, our children’s future lives will be impacted by this insidious form of financial terrorism.

By Allyson Rowen Taylor