'German intelligence agency destroyed files of former Nazi SS members'

Historians appointed to look into the Nazi roots of the BND, Germany's intelligence agency, find that in 2007, the BND destroyed files of some 250 of its employees who 

"held significant positions in the SS," 

and some of whom were even investigated for possible war crimes.

Israel Hayom Staff

Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's intelligence agency, Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND). 

| Photo credit: Reuters

An independent commission of historians in Germany that was appointed to research the widely-known Nazi history of the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), Germany's foreign intelligence agency, has found that the BND deliberately destroyed the official files of some 250 of its personnel in 2007, the German Spiegel Online website reported Wednesday.

The commission was appointed in early 2011 by head of the BND, Ernst Uhrlau after it was long-speculated that around 10 percent of the BND's employees and its predecessor organization once served under SS chief Heinrich Himmler in Nazi Germany.

A week before Uhrlau is set to retire from his position, the commission claimed on Wednesday that the BND's destroyed files include documents on people who were "in significant intelligence positions in the SS, the SD (the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party) or the Gestapo," Speigel Online reported.

Historians added that some of those individuals had even undergone investigation after 1945 for possibly committing war crimes during WW II.

A spokesman for the commission, Klaus-Dietmar Henke, told Spiegel Online he was "somewhat stunned" by the destruction of the files.

The BND itself has confirmed that the files were destroyed.

"The incident inevitably raises suspicions that agency employees have deliberately tried to obstruct Uhrlau's efforts to investigate the organization's history," Spiegel Online said.

This is not the first time BND files have been tampered with. Spiegel Online reported that it recently asked to see BND papers relating to the former SS Captain Alois Brunner, who was once closely associated with Adolf Eichmann. The intelligence agency told the news source that a 581-page file on Brunner had been thrown out in the 1990s - a move that was also apparently taken without the BND's leadership being aware of it.

Mahmoud Abbas Could Dismantle Palestinian Authority

THE DAILY BEAST

Dec 3, 2011 12:00 AM EST

Leader Mahmoud Abbas is allegedly preparing to threaten to dismantle the group if its U.N. statehood bid fails.

These are tough times for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Two months after he asked the United Nations to accept Palestine as a state, the membership bid is all but dead. Aid from the United States is drying up. Last month in Cairo, another attempt to make peace with his rivals in the Islamic Hamas group fell flat.

Now, The Daily Beast has learned that one of Abbas’s closest advisers drafted a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the past month informing him that Abbas intends to dismantle the Palestinian Authority and transfer “all powers and responsibilities” over everyday life in the West Bank back to Israel. The letter has not been sent and there’s no indication that Palestinian leaders intend to relay it to the Israelis anytime soon. Instead, it appears to be part of a contingency plan in case Abbas feels he has exhausted his political options. A source who saw it said the letter outlined a staged handover of authority over each realm of government, including security, education and health.

The source, who was shown the letter while meeting with Palestinian officials, described it as two-pages long and addressed to Netanyahu. Abbas’s name appears at the bottom but the letter is unsigned. The source said it was drafted by Saeb Erekat, a longtime peace negotiator and aide to Abbas. In a conversation with The Daily Beast, Erekat refused to discuss the letter but did not deny its existence. Two Palestinian officials said a committee composed of top PLO members had been discussing the possibility of dismantling the Palestinian Authority should the membership campaign at the U.N. fail—but only as one option among several. Alternatives included calling a quick election in the West Bank and Gaza and seeking an international trusteeship for the Palestinian territories. The officials said the committee had met three times in the past month—one of them referred to the meetings as “brainstorming sessions”—but did not come to any decision.

Majdi Mohammed / AP Photo

Why Palestinians decided to put the idea of dismantling the Palestinian Authority in writing in unclear. The PA was established in 1994 under the Israeli-Palestinian Oslo agreement and was meant to govern the West Bank and Gaza for a period of three to five years until the two sides reached a final peace accord. Seventeen years later, an agreement has yet to be negotiated.

Lately, a growing number of Palestinians around Abbas are saying the PA has become too convenient for Israel. Its institutions manage the daily lives of Palestinians, sparing Israel the hassle and the expenditure. Palestinian policemen help prevent suicide attacks and cross-border raids, allowing Israel to deploy far fewer soldiers in the West Bank than in the past. All the while, Israel continues to control the territory and expand Jewish settlements, eating up land that Palestinians want for their state.  Erekat has described the situation as a win-win for Israel. In a meeting with Palestinian diplomats this past summer, he said: “If the PA cannot achieve independence, it’s better that it didn’t exist at all.”

That sentiment is reinforced by the fact that the PA is already teetering anyway. For two months now, Israel has withheld the funds it collects in customs revenue on behalf of the Palestinian Authority—around $100 million monthly. The money amounts to about half the PA’s operating budget. Without it, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has had to borrow money from banks to pay the salaries of government employees and other bills and is now overleveraged. Israel says it’s withholding the money to punish Palestinians for their UN membership bidand for Abbas’s renewed effort to reconcile with Hamas.

There’s another reason as well. When Hamas traded Israeli soldier Gilad Shalitfor about 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in October, the Islamic group pledged to pay each prisoner a $2,000 stipend, according to both Israeli and Palestinian sources. Abbas, fearing Hamas was buying the prisoners’ support, pledged to pay each prisoner $5,000. Israeli leaders see the payment as a form of terrorist financing and have pressed Abbas to stop the disbursement. (Israel announced this week it would resume the revenue transfers for now).

The potential implications of the PA’s sudden disappearance would be dramatic. To prevent chaos, Israel would have to resume its pre-1994 role as full-fledged occupier in the West Bank. A study the Israeli government commissioned several years ago put the cost of re-asserting control in the Palestinian territory at billions of dollars per year. Robert Serry, the United Nations secretary general’s envoy in the region, said in an interview last month that Israel would be on the hook for that outlay. “The Israelis shouldn’t expect us to again finance the consequences of what may happen.... Israel will again bear the full consequences of being the occupier.”

continue reading ...........

NOTE:  The Palestinian Authority, united with Hamas, while seeking "statehood" through the U.N. was an insane move by Abbas, considering the PA's can't "afford" its independence, as it bottom-feeds off the MILLIONS of DOLLARS from the United States, Israel, and EU members, plus the UN's contributions.  Can anyone figure out exactly how much money the PA's, including Hamas, receives on a yearly basis?!  It has to be to the tune of BILLIONS of DOLLARS!  

And in return, what does the Palestinian Authority give back to its citizens, and the world?!

NOTHING! ... COUNT IT ...ZERO!  

However, they use the money sucked up by nations of the world, INCLUDING Israel's monies, to pay off terrorists;and like a bribe, they will try to refrain from terrorism as long as the flow of money keeps flowing like a river, there way!  (By the way, Israel has agreed within the last two days, to continue supporting the PA's .. no longer withholding funds to the PA's) So much for "punishing" these "Palestinians" for their outrageous behavior.

We read today how the Obama administration, through Panetta, speaks harshly to Israel about "getting to the damn table" with the Palestinians.  Hey, Panetta, do you remember PM Natanyahu offering to speak with Abbas at the UN meeting?! Yup, blame Israel; after all, the Arabs and the Muslim world blames Israel - why should Obama's refrain be any different?  Obama has chosen to stand with terrorist organization who bleed the world dry, while offering the world, the Middle East nothing in return and yet, these same PA's have the audacity to seek "statehood" without offering peace, and without recognizing Israel as the one Jewish state in this world.  Give us all a break!  Please, give us a break from stupidity!

My guess is that if this rumor of Abbas giving up or dismantling the PA's is true, it is because Hamas has already determined that they reject (behind closed doors) any unity between their organization and the PA's.  Hamas has probably suggested that Abbas break it up in order for the Hamas terrorists to take over the "Palestinians" completely.  That is why the two have not come to a full agreement of "unity" after months of talks.  Interesting!  Considering that Panetta thinks he can force Israel into some kind of "box", while the PA's and Hamas can't even come to an agreement.  And by the way, since Hamas are terrorists, why on earth would the US and its partners think for one minuted that Israel should now sit down and speak to those associated with terrorists?

Oh, here's a guess ..... Obama will be notifying the world that Hamas terrorists are actually "moderates" ... stay tuned ....

See: December 03, 2011  Panetta to Israel: 'Get to the Damn Table' for Peace Talks

The Jewish National Fund owns 53 square km of land - in Syria

Friday, December 02, 2011

ELDER OF ZIYON

The Matson Collection of old photos from Palestine includes this interesting one, a photograph of a map, entitled "Map. Extent of Jewish landholdings, issued by Jewish Natl. [i.e., National] Foundation, Jerusalem", taken between 1934 and 1939:

You can see some areas that are outside Israel's current borders that are highlighted as well.

Blowing the image up, we can see details:

With a little research I found this article from Globes in 2000:

"Globes" has further learned that the documentation proving JNF ownership of 53,000 dunams on the Golan Heights deep inside Syria were submitted to Prime Minister Ehud Barak for presentation at the negotiations with Syria.

JNF chairman Shlomo Gravitz today confirmed that JNF owns 5,000 on the Golan Heights, and another 53,000 dunam deep inside Syria. He said, "It's important that the public be aware that there are lands on the Golan Heights and in Syria that belong to the Jewish nation, not to Syria. We transferred the material to the Prime Minister for use during the negotiations."

Also, this 2001 paper on the JNF says:

The JNF also owns land beyond the borders of Israel: a few thousand dunams in the Gaza Strip, which is currently under the control of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and broad tracts of land and in Areas A and B in Judea and Samaria, which are also controlled by the PA. The Deheisheh refugee camp, for example, is situated entirely on land owned by the JNF. The JNF owns 53,000 dunams of land in Syria in a region located about 30 kilometers south of Damascus. These lands are registered in the name of the JNF in the Syrian land registry. Additional tracts of land owned by the JNF are located in Jordan, mainly in the area of Naharayim that was transferred to Jordan following the peace accords. These lands are registered in the JNF’s name in the Jordanian land registry. All the land was purchased by the JNF before the demarcation of borders recognized today.

Interesting!

I wonder how many Syrians know they are living on land belonging to the Jewish National Fund.

VIDEO: Obama - The Anti-Israel President

As President of the United States of America, you represent the will of the people you serve — and the citizens of America do not support terrorists.

.... ACLJ

Obama – The Anti-Israel President

Posted by Frontpagemag.com Bio ↓ on Dec 2nd, 2011

ABOVE is the David Horowitz Freedom Center’s new video: Obama – The Anti-Israel President.

To help support the Center’s dedication to defend America and Israel, click here.

Friday Afternoon Roundup - The Man from Massachusetts - by Sultan Knish

Friday, December 02, 2011

The Panel

Before I begin the roundup, I would like to mention the Islamists: Enemy Within panel that I participated at during the David Horowitz Freedom Center's Restoration Weekend, along with Robert Spencer, Raymond Ibrahim and Frank Gaffney and moderated by Jamie Glazov, it was a privilege to be part of the event, and there are now videos of the panel available here.

The Islamists Within Part 1

The Islamists Within Part 2



The Man from Massachusetts

He was a prominent politician from Massachusetts with great hair and all the visual qualities of a leader. There were some who accused him of flip flopping on important issues, but he always had a glib reply, except for the times when he got nervous and said something stupid. Like, "I voted for that 87 billion dollars before I voted against it."

Obviously I'm talking about John Kerry, but I could just as easily be talking about Mitt Romney, who seems to have some qualities in common with him. Granted Romney doesn't look like a horse that's been dead for several years and kept alive with shots of botox and shoe polish. But then Kerry had fewer awkward meltdowns on camera,

And if you think that's a new thing with Romney, let's flash back to 2008 and see if this looks familiar.

On the other side of the table, Gingrich has become the Anti-Romney without exactly being all that Anti. Some are suggesting that we should just give politicians a pass for any views that they recanted within the last two or three years, which I suppose covers the front runners in this race, and we might as well start ignoring immigration.

That's certainly one way to do it. The only real defense for that approach is that we have no real choice. Case in point, we've got a Ron Paul ad hitting Gingrich on hypocrisy, which is rich coming from a man who slips pork into bills and then makes a show of voting against them.

When candidates start arguing about hypocrisy, they end up running hypocrisy contests instead and the whole spectacle becomes nauseating. Bachmann and Santorum, the two candidates in the race who have stuck to a conservative line, have been pilloried and dismissed out of hand. And from there it's RINO city.

I like Gingrich well enough, he's good on some issues, bad on others. Unlike Perry he gains a certain amount of credibility on issues like immigration because he gives the impression that he actually thinks about them and is capable of changing his mind. But we're still talking about the author of "A Contract with the Earth." And that's the problem right there.

Gingrich offers intriguing ideas, but just because they're more complex than his opponents, doesn't mask their flaws. It's interesting to watch Gingrich rework environmentalism in this Salon interview, but it doesn't hide the basic problem that he's attempting to steal the left's thunder, but ends up adopting some of their worldview. 

At least unlike Perry and Romney, Gingrich has avoided making an ass of himself during the debates, but considering how much he got pilloried for the orphanages line in the Clinton era, why in the world would he dive back into the Dickensian by talking about child labor laws. When you wear a permanent scowl on your face, the last thing you want to do is give your enemies a reason to put you in a stovepipe hat and with a whip in your hand.

Gingrich isn't wrong, but he managed to phrase enough of it in a way that gives the media the ammunition they needed. And he's going to have to learn to stop making those mistakes.

I suppose that I should also say something about Cain, but there's nothing to say. I liked Cain the man, but never had that much use for him as a candidate. Cain brought skills to the table that the other candidates needed, the ability to connect with audiences and market ideas in plain terms is something that Romney, Perry and Gingrich need to learn to do better. But Cain also lacked their basic skills and came with some unspoken baggage. I'm not here to pass judgement on other people's personal lives, nor do I claim to know what goes on behind closed doors, but it seems as if the boldness that Cain brought to the campaign had different aspects as well.

Paulling Around
  
Ron Paul supporters are throwing a hissy fit over their candidate being "excluded" from the Republican Jewish Coalition forum. As I recall the same thing happened in the last election. The RJC forum is not exactly a major event so this is just another tantrum from the tantrum candidate. Paul has nothing to say at the forum, except maybe to go on about how Gaza is a concentration camp.

Other candidates "excluded" from the RJC forum include Gary Johnson, Buddy Roemer and Jimmy McMillan who just as much serious candidates as Ron Paul. The invite does say, "Join the leading GOP Presidential Candidates as they outline their visions for the future."

Is Ron Paul a leading candidate in the mind of anyone who isn't one of his supporters?  

Last time the Paultards threw their hissy fit in 2007, the forum only featured McCain, Brownback, Romney, Thompson and Giuliani. Again it didn't feature every candidate in the race.  

I'm not involved with the RJC, but they have the right to invite candidates that align with their views. Are Catholic forums supposed to invite abortion supporters? Should gay Republican groups be forced to invite people who hate them? This is a non-argument blown up by idiots into the same predictable attacks and attention-mongering.

If Ron Paul was a serious contender, this argument might at least go somewhere, but he's not. The only reason for inviting him to a forum billed as a chance to hear from the next president is pity. 

But all this is just an opportunity to revive the same old smears. No, Jewish conservatives don't have issues with Ron Paul because he opposes foreign aid. Most people could care less about his views on foreign aid or anything else. His frequently attacks on Israel are another matter. But more than that he's a proponent of the Al-Qaeda view of American history, in league with Bin Laden's favorite pundit, and the usual motley collection of 9/11 Truthers and conspiracy theorists.

And if you're going to pose for photos with Neo-Nazis and take their donations, why in the world would you whine about not being invited to the RJC forum? It's called making a choice. 

Ron Paul chose the side of evil over and over again. Which is his choice. Unfortunately his supporters refuse to be honest about it. This is not about foreign aid, this is about Ron Paul repeatedly endorsing the terrorist worldview and putting the blame on the countries targeted by terrorists, whether it's America or Israel.  

As in 2007, cue the fake Jews for Ron Paul brigade, because the Campaign for Liberty is opposed to identity politics, except when it's their kind of plant identity politics. (The do anything you have to win style  makes a candidate about as attractive as any sociopath.)

That means multiple comments from "Orthodox Jews" supporting Ron Paul. A classic of the genre comes from the comments section of the Washington Jewish Week

I'm a Jew, I grew up in an orthodox househould, was educated in a yeshiva elementary and high school, and I'm a Republican. I also support Ron Paul.

If you want to ensure hatred/resentment for Jews and if you want to convey the message that we only talk with those who agree with us 100%... This is a PERFECT way to do it. Any non-Jew who sees that he's been excluded will get the picture that Jews are trying to stifle honest debate. Just saying.

Here's a way to make yourself and your candidate hated. Impersonate an ethnic/religious group's members and leave messages making threat against an entire ethnic\religious group using classic anti-semitic stereotypes.

And another authentically Jewish comment that in no way comes from a bigot using a fake Jewish identity.

How dare they pretend to speak for Jews and exclude the only candidate that can set this economy straight again. It looks to me like they are representing only the Jews that own the Federal Reserve, or on Wall Street, like the corrupt Bernie Madoff.

And just to keep the comedy going, here are some more gems from the comments section 

What is totally lost on the RJC's spokesperson is that Gary Johnson and Ron Paul are the only two Republicans running for president. All the others are neocons which is a euphemism for "Democrats-lite." Perhaps the RJC should change its name to the: "Democrat-lite Jewish Coalition."

If Gary Johnson is the only other authentic Republican, then I guess legalizing drugs, abortion and opposing the death penalty... while supporting the Global Warming scam makes you an authentic Republican.

I guess the only real Republicans are Democrats.

"Misguided" and "extreme?" Who was the lone Republican who refused to condemn Israel's defensive strike against Iraq's Osirak nuclear plant in 1981?

Who is the lone Republican who condemns Israel every time it strikes at terrorism today even though it's not his country and his platform is non-interventionism? I can tell you it's not Gary Johnson.

Article comment by: Jonathan Taubes

As an orthodox Jew, I think it's disgusting that they didn't invite Ron Paul.

Especially because Ron Paul is THE single best candidate for zionists and pro-Israel people such as myself.

Why? Paul wants to end foreign aid to Israel. When we give foreign aid to Israel they become our slave. We can make them do whatever we want. In 2005 when Israel wanted to bomb a nuclear facility in Saudi Arabia we said no and forced them not to. Ron Paul says stop making them dependent on us and give them their sovereignty back. The less foreign aid we give Israel, the more free THEY are to follow THEIR agenda, not ours.

Ron Paul thinks we should let Israel be fully sovereign and independent. He DOESN'T think we should be dictating its policies from Washington.

Every other candidate does, though, which is a big reason for my support of Paul, as an orthodox, pro-Israel Jew.

In case anyone missed that, Jonathan Taubes is a zionist orthodox pro-Israel Jew, which he repeated a bunch of times in a way that doesn't resemble talking points distributed on Ron Paul forums.

Now oddly enough I am a zionist orthodox pro-Israel Jew and yet I don't announce that in my comments or every time I walk into a room. I just am. Like most people who simply are things, I see no need for asserting an identity. 

And if this is the same guy, his defense of Ron Paul is a classic.

Its not cuz Paul is anti-semitic (he obviously isnt). Its cuz he opposes foreign aid/doesnt think our kids should die for Israel.

or 

@somemuslim If you support Ron Paul & want him elected, publicly calling Jews "zionist fools" is seriously counter-productive to that goal.

Enough said. Or maybe not.

Aight. I'm an anarchist 2 & while Paul isn't perfect, his vision is THE closest to a voluntary society we'll ever see in our lives.

So apparently he's an Orthodox Jewish anarchist. And he's totally a Republican. Deeply committed. 

I'm gonna do it. Never voted b4 & I doubt I will vote Republican ever again. Only to bring troops home & restore civil liberty.

And he is a totally 100 percent Orthodox Jew

Just fyi, I'm a socially liberal, pro-choice atheist. I think women have the right 2 their bodies. I also support Ron Paul.

And he is a Zionist too.

Ever hear of AIPAC? The tremendous power it wields over our govt? How it influences our foreign policy? Want a reading list?

Okay maybe he's an Anti-Zionist Atheist Anarchist\Liberarian who was also a Liberal Democrat?

Same here. I was a liberal Democrat b4 I checked Paul out. Hes an intellectual,his answers r always based on history/philosophy.

There could conceivably be two different fanatical Ron Paul supporters named Jonathan Taubes or the one on Twitter could be two different people too. But I've seen this before.

The Ron Paul campaign is like a strange Peter Sellers movie, the people drawn to it are extremists who behave in a cultlike way and commonly misrepresent themselves as different people to promote him. 

I dived into the cesspool with Jews for Ron Paul back in the last election. It was an education in dementia. Even aside from anything Ron Paul has said or done, anyone whose campaign is surrounded by this type of behavior would be a troubling individual.

It's like a creepy amateurish con game, repetitive talking points worked out in forums, people hiding their extremist politics to pretend to be something they're not. 

Back during the last election, Jews for Ron Paul rolled out its protest in response to Ron Paul being excluded from the RJC forum. Jews for Ron Paul was led by a gay Unitarian pagan who claimed to be an Orthodox Jew. 

Expect a rerun of the same stuff again.

Ron Paul and his supporters have the right to oppose Israel and support terrorists. What they do not have the right to do is pass off themselves as something they are not. 

THE ROUNDUP

Where is the economy headed? Think low. Very, very low.

There will be no virgins left in Saudi Arabia when women get driver's licenses says Islamic science. The best proof for that is that men are allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia and there are no male virgins left there.

Remember All-American Muslim. Remember Homeland? Guess which one is beating the other.

The legacy of Mohammed's abuse and exploitation of women continues in... England.

My name is Bosch and I'm a recovering Muslim.

Here lies the man who wanted to destroy Israel, but got blown to demon virgin paradise instead.

Presence of Malice in the Man from Chicago

By and by we'll all be eating sugar pie

When women operate Trams in Holland, no Muslims will ride the train

Ein Europe Uber Alles with arms exports for all.

Win Muslim hearts and minds with unidirectional urination 

CAIR trying to shut down free speech just like in Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Obama Rolls Out New 2012 Slogan: “Change Is”

Let's play a game ... give this smiling idiot's picture a "caption"! .... I'll start:

"Am I on camera?" - 

PAT DOLLARD

December 2nd, 2011 (20) Posted By Derised1

Newser:

Barack Obama has a new pet rhetorical device designed to highlight his accomplishments and kindle memories of his 2008 campaign. The magic words: “Change is…” Obama trotted out the phrase a dozen times in a speech in New York Wednesday, the Huffington Post reports, with lines like, “Change is the first bill I signed into law—a law that says … somebody who put in an equal day’s work should get an equal day’s pay,” or “Change is health care reform that we passed after a century of trying.”

Obama actually debuted the device weeks ago, using it 10 times in a Nov. 14 speech in Hawaii. But using it again indicates that he’s trying it out as a recurring theme. “It’s an effort to take back the mantel of change,” a Democratic strategist says, “to circle back to the fundamental point of the ’08 campaign and to illustrate how that change has been accomplished.”

NOTE:

THE COMMENTS ON PAT DOLLARD'S LINK SHOULD GIVE A HINT AS TO WHAT AMERICANS THINK ABOUT OBAMA'S "CHANGE" SLOGAN!

Parents of SEAL raise cash for Chinook families

NAVY TIMES

By Kathleen Gray - Detroit Free Press
Posted : Thursday Dec 1, 2011 17:39:04 EST

The Navy SEALs are a highly trained, tight-knit family. So tight that they’ll die for each other.

When one or more dies, the others rally.

An Oakland County, Mich., family, whose son is an active Navy SEAL, is leading the charge to help the families of 22 SEALs who were killed Aug. 6 when the helicopter they were flying in was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and crashed in Afghanistan.

The family has asked to not have its name or any details about their son revealed. The family is helping to host a fundraiser in Bloomfield Hills on Friday. The SEALs killed in the attack left behind 26 children. A total of 30 people were killed in the helicopter crash.

TO DONATE

Donations can be sent through Dec. 31. Checks can be made out to the Navy SEAL Foundation, care of Clarkston State Bank, 15 S. Main St., Clarkston, MI 48346.

“They’re closer than brothers,” the Oakland County mother said this week. “That kind of relationship is so unusual. They depend on each other for their lives.”

The fund-raiser — a 7 p.m. strolling dinner, dance and silent auction at St. George Greek Orthodox Church — will raise money to be donated directly to the families.

“We’d like to raise at least $100,000 so we can give a little to each family,” said Ed Adler, founder of Clarkston State Bank. The bank is helping to host the fundraiser and will administer donations. “When there are a bunch of kids, any amount helps, especially around Christmas.

“For the risk they’re taking, it’s a small price to pay,” he said.

The Navy’s 2,500 SEALs, stationed in 40 countries, go through 18 months of training before they are accepted onto a team. That is followed by another year of training before their deployment.

The Oakland County mother talked about the extraordinary physical and mental abilities team members must have.

“You have to have a certain mindset to be on the team,” she said.

And you have to stay shrouded in secrecy. The crash claimed some members of SEAL Team 6. Several men from that ultra-elite team killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. But families will never know the assignments their Navy SEALs get.

“They never tell us anything,” the mother said.

Tickets cost $100 each and will be available at the church the night of the fundraiser.