Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Gelbman: Responding to Questions

Itamar Gelbman, Place 5, Flower Mound Town Council.

A few days ago a resident, let’s call him “JR”, wrote a slanderous letter to The Cross Timbers Gazette in a blatant attempt to derail my campaign.  He is a member of a small but vocal group of, let’s calls them “special interest,” residents in this town.

This group views me and my dedication to the town’s master plan, ordinances, safety and to our residents as a threat to their goals of dismantling the master plan and smart growth so they can make millions by allowing multifamily developments.

They will stop at nothing to achieve their selfish goals. No matter what they have tried and will try, I will never back down from fighting to preserve the beauty of Flower Mound, the excellent school system we have here and the future and safety of our children.

That being said, I am more than happy to answer “JR’s” questions.

He started by asking how I could get a degree in Business OR Computer Science (emphasized the word “or” implying, I was lying).

I earned a Bachelor degree in computer science with a minor in business.

He continued by doubting my ability to receive a degree by the age of 18. Due to the fact that every citizen in Israel joins the Armed Forces at the age of 18, many schools and universities encourage students to take part in advanced placement programs. This is similar to the AP programs offered in the United States, and LISD offers this same type of program. I started this program at the age of 16, studied 3 semesters per year, and was able to complete the program before joining the military at the age of 18.

Next, he doubted that the Israeli Police Department used minors. Actually, they do.  Any resident who passes a background check can start volunteering with the Israeli PD at the age of 16.  You can even go through advanced classes including investigation, narcotics, firearms, and other leadership classes.  You are then attached to the specific unit that finds your talent most fitting to them. If you pass the firearm class you can even get a police issue M1 Carabine and/or Beretta .22. If you pass the firearm and leadership classes, you can even be a designated security guard for school trips. Due to the danger in Israel, every school must have armed security and every school trip must be escorted by armed security, either by designated security guards, teachers, parents, law enforcement and/or military personnel. Due to my young age and baby face look, the YAMAN unit asked me to join them. YAMAN is the Hebrew acronym for Yehedat Noar, which is the police unit specializing in crime against minors.

He next doubted the fact that I reached the rank of officer within 3 years of military service.  Due to fact that mandatory service in Israel begins at the age of 18, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) starts testing teenagers at the age of 15-16.  These tests include psychological, fitness, leadership, and tests in other areas. The IDF has neither the time nor the money to test after you join the service. By the time you join the IDF, most people know exactly which unit and what position they will go into. I was selected and joined the Officer Designated program, which is the fastest route to becoming an officer. The IDF likes to identify leaders and promote them quicker and they do so in hopes of retaining these individuals for a long military career. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, as an example, was one of the youngest officers in the IDF, and he achieved the rank of 2nd Lieutenant around his 20th birthday.

“JR” questioned my Real Estate background. I don’t know what he is trying to achieve from this, as I mentioned more than once that I used to be in asset management for income producing real estate. I do have certificates in commercial real estate, including the CCIM designation. The hypocrisy here is that when I wrote articles based on my knowledge as a real estate professional, including about the overbuilding of the commercial Real Estate base in Flower Mound and how it is unsustainable, “JR” and his friends attacked me and said I didn’t know anything about Real Estate and that my real estate background is a lie. Now they say that I lied about not having a commercial real estate background? They really need to choose a lie and stick to it.

He then continued with a lie about me running for U.S. Congress in 2010 for the California 27th District. I never ran for office in CA.  Feel free to check for yourself on the CA Secretary of State website or by clicking on this link.

And the same lies just continue… on and on and on, one after another

So, one starts to wonder why there is such a concentrated effort among 10 or so residents to conspire against me.  What nerve did I hit?  I’ll tell you. These residents are massive land owners in Flower Mound and they are trying to develop their land and cash out. They don’t care about your children’s education. They don’t care about your family’s safety. They are motivated by greed.  They could follow the master plan and sell their land and still make millions, but that’s not enough for these people. They want to squeeze every dime out of every square foot of their land and therefore ignore building standards, receive special exemptions and waivers, and put as many cheap multi-family units on their lots of land as they can.  They are happy to cash out while we little people are left to deal with the consequences of these exemptions, such as overcrowded, lower quality schools, bad traffic, and increasing crime rates.

Itamar Gelbman, Place 5
Flower Mound Town Council
Flower Mound, TX

CTG Staff
CTG Staff
The Cross Timbers Gazette News Department

Related Articles

9 COMMENTS

Popular This Week