Hillel, about your post in the Culture Forum of SabraNet on 14 July, 1998:

Since I observed that you are the only one of the whole bunch that is not a wacko, and considering that you were the only one to recognize Dr. Ghitis' genius, I forwarded your message to him. He said he is very sorry you felt aggravated, that on the contrary, he was very much pleased to realize that you care about Judaism.
Dr. Ghitis added that he is strict with the usage of language and with the factuality of information. Also, that he enjoys conveying the results of his research, guided by the intuition resulting from his lucky set of Super-Coprots-Feprots --that is, from the high-level Emergents-- that happened to develop in his brain. He realizes that he is bound to be marked as pompous, yet considers that it is an insignificant price to pay for the pleasure of being able to unravel the secrets of Nature, and also to be able to explain in a coherent way historical developments that nowadays are still taken at face value.
You will realize that what the Hasmoneans did had profound POLITICAL meaning at the time. Ordering the MILA to become a TOTAL CIRCUMCISION, served to preserve Judaism against the siren call of Hellenism. This way, Judea's existence as a polis, i.e., as a political entity, was assured. Thus, it was not only Monotheism that was saved against paganism, but especially it was the Jewish LAND (the Land of Israel) that was preserved, at least for a meager more centuries.
Hillel, take it from me: swallow your pride, and do not miss the opportunity to learn, not only facts, but also how to use them constructively.