Lady Gaga and Elton John at Carnegie Hall, New York City, in 2010. Photo: wiki commons.

A few quick thoughts today:

I’m amazed that mainstream American media outlets havn’t extensively covered the fact that the largest Muslim country in the world recently forced Lady Gaga to cancel a planned concert in the country.  Indonesian authorities denied Gaga a permit for the show and it simply didn’t muster much coverage in America. ABC News did cover the story, writing: “A spokesperson for the National Police said that it denied the permit based on the police recommendation and the protests from the Islamist groups who had accused Gaga of being vulgar, corrupting the morals of the country’s youth, and worshiping Satan.”

TIME magazine devoted its most recent cover story to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The cover headline reads, “King Bibi”.  TIME editor Rick Stengel notes that one of Netanyahu’s most important upcoming decisions is whether “… he can write a new narrative” regarding the peace process with Palestinian leadership.  There is this incessant media push for peace-making but the Israelis cannot make peace alone, and it appears that they have no viable partner for peace.  Go ahead –  find me the Palestinian leader that is capable of guaranteeing agreements and tempering the Arab hatred of Israel.

Israel’s purpose is Jewish survival. Peace would be welcome, but growth and survival are integral.

The famous Zionist Ze’ev Jabotinsky said: “At the root of our 2000 years of suffering is our refusal to surrender.”

“The history of the Jewish people in the exile is not the history of what they did, but the history of what was done to them.”

Benjamin Netanyahu presumably is aware of both of these quotes and understands well the insights they provide into Israel’s reasons for being.

Ronn Torossian is CEO of 5WPR, and an active Jewish philanthropist.