Out Popped Abbas From Pandora's Box!

Fun and games in the Pseudistinian aka Palestinian sic election plans.  It looks like Mahmoud Abbas is using every bargaining chip he can find.  As far as I'm concerned, they can delay it forever.

It seems like yesterday, for an old fogey like myself, when every Israeli politician, right, left and center insisted there was no such thing as a palestinian sic nation.  Then  Menachem Begin, as Israel's Prime Minister, offered the Arabs "self-rule," which like your proverbial Pandora's Box transformed into "autonomy" and now the "two state solution."

And anyone who thinks that Israel would be safe and secure with an Arab terror state in its midst...maybe, you'd be interested in that Brooklyn Bridge...

Beware of Gerrymandering!

Hat tip: my husband

For years, or more accurately, forever, whenever I hear people say that Israel should change its it election system to America-like districts I hear a chirping in my ear getting louder and louder, shrieking:

gerrymander

gerrymander

gerrymander

gerrymander

It's very hard to turn this warning off.  Not all election districts are created equal.  New York State is a perfect example of districts drawn to produce specific results.

Isn't this a work of art?  Wouldn't you love to see what Israeli politicians would produce if allowed to freedom to create districts? 

Israel can't afford the luxury of such a mistake.  Our very existence is at stake, so although our system isn't perfect, it's the best system for us until the Moshiach is here and in charge.   Democracy is risky, because we're dependent on the intelligence and judgement of human beings.  Need I say more?

What Prevents Aliyah?

This post is inspired by a poll on Arutz 7.

Poll: What's the biggest obstacle to Aliyah?
1. Finding a good job
2. Leaving family behind

3. Security concerns

4. Not knowing Hebrew

The answer I wanted to give isn't one of the choices.  I think that most people fear change. That's the key, and everything else is just an excuse.  The next biggest difficulty is conquering Hebrew, the fear of making mistakes, sounding stupid.
 
With good Hebrew, you can get a good job, not one limited to those for "English speakers."  With good Hebrew, you can become part of Israeli society and not restricted to being friends with fellow anglo (English speaking) olim, immigrants.
 
There is no intellectual linguistic reason to think that learning Hebrew, or any other language, is impossible.  Immigrants from all different countries to all different countries manage to learn the new language and function.
 
And for those Jews who have graduated from a life time of Jewish schooling, it's criminal that they're not totally fluent in Hebrew.  Jews were once, until the mid-twentieth century, known as multilingual experts.  That's why there were Jews on the ships which sailed to the new land, America.  The same students whose parents would tell me that their family is incapable of learning English would later admit that their grandparents were fluent in three or four languages.
 
What changed was expectations.  It used to be that immigrants expected, demanded from themselves a few months to immerse themselves in the new language and culture and then be as fluent as anyone else.  Today this is harder.  Immigrants come with their old language DVD's, ipods filled with their old music and quickly set up cable or a dish to receive television from the old country.
 
As I've already written, "...most people fear change."  And to make aliyah successfully, you have to change more than your address.

"Gifted Orator?" My Foot!

Anyone dependent on a teleprompter is not a "gifted orator," and statements like the following from the New York Times are totally ridiculous. 

"As the most gifted orator of his generation, President Obama finds speechmaking perhaps his most potent political tool."

A few well-written campaign speeches aren't enough to cement such a lofty reputation.  Considering that one can hear when Obama's reading verses reciting from memory, I wouldn't put him in the class of his predecessors.  Ronald Reagan was known to say that he couldn't imagine being president without his acting training.  U.S. President Ronnie Reagan had a point.

A truly great orator and great leader can turn on the passion; it's part of charisma.  Obama is lacking that magic ingredient.  What do you expect from a man who voted party line 96% of the time?  That's the sign of a follower, not a leader.

Barack Hussein Obama was cast in the role as United States Presidential candidate, because he was easy to package.  He's a Democrat, half-Black who showed he could follow instructions.

There are two questions:

• Who's controlling him?
• Why didn't he get better acting lessons?

Shades of... Taxation Without Representation!

I've been mulling over the pros and cons of blogging about the latest Obama scare, his creative way of subsidizing American health care by taxing expats, those U.S. Passport bearing citizens who reside in other countries.  It's funny to think that his own mother would have been billed for health care she couldn't get during parts of her life, if there had been a law like that when she was a young mother.  Ironic, but very "Obama."

L'havdil, very different, is the Israeli draft law, which was once strictly enforced on every Israeli citizen, even those residing abroad.  The result was that once a foreign-country-living Israeli citizen reached the age of seventeen, he (and some she's) stopped visiting Israel, because they were subject to the draft.  It was very difficult to get a temporary exemption, and without it, the young citizen couldn't leave Israel legally.

Today, it's much easier.  The policy is to allow non-resident citizens to visit without being forced into the IDF.

Maybe it's just my mind-set as I live in a slower lane taking care of my elderly father, but I just can't believe that the American border control will bill us all for medical care we don't need.  If you'd like more information, then just read what Jameel wrote. 

The medical care system which presently exists in America is awful, and if they dare make me pay to improve it, I just won't visit.  Right now my father is living with us and we're waiting for my mother to join him.  Israeli medical care is a good reason to stay in Israel. 

He's Probably Standing on It

Ehud Barak, the master of bombastic statements:

Barak before leaving US: "We're leaving no stone unturned in peace quest"

I picture him on some "soapbox" to give a bit of needed extra height when he said that. Like the actual short-sighted dove, he can't see much further than his nose, and he's oblivious to the source of our state of war/tension.

Ehud Barak and his fellow Loony-Leftists are standing on the very stones they need for peace. There is only one way to bring peace, the real thing not the phony imitation rhinestone variety, to the Middle-East. It all depends on the Arabs. When the Arabs here want peace and all it really means, we'll have peace. They are the cause of war, terrorism and destruction.

Barak should take his stones and build homes in the Jewish HomeLand. That will bring peace, too. Because the Arabs will only quiet down when they realize that their terrorism won't get them anywhere.

I'm proud to be a hawk.  A hawk is a smart bird that sees long distances and can sniff out and defeat enemies.

Another Type of Giving

The other day the phone rang:

"I'm calling from --"
"Sorry, I don't give over the phone."
"Did you get the -- we sent?"
"Maybe.  Did you say that you're --?  How is it going?"
"Fine, but..."
"I really would like to donate, but I can't.  We just don't have the money right now."
"It's OK."
"I have an idea.  I blog.  Why don't you arrange that I visit --.  I'll take pictures, interview, write about it.  Isn't that worth more than money?"

I wonder if they'll call.

How Should We Label Those Arabs?

Always eager to learn, I accept that my placement of "sic" before the term "Palestinian" may be incorrect.  Sabba Hillel commented on my blog that I should write "sic" afterwards.

For a long time, I refused to use the "P" word at all, unless it was in quoted text.  Then I vainly I admit began adding it, with "sic" before and both italicized, to attract google and other internet searches to my blogs.  But if he's correct, I guess I need a new way of mentioning that false people, the one invented by the British to prevent the Jewish People from receiving all of our Historic Homeland.  The Balfour Declaration declared that we, the Jewish People, should be given our Land, which the international community had labeled "Palestine."  But then the British brought in the Hashemites, declared them to be the rulers (king) over the territory east of the Jordan River and began inventing a history, culture etc.

That act was typical of the way the British treated their "colonies."  They played G-d.

I have always placed the "sic" before, because we must say "bli neder" before the thing we don't pledge to do. I feel it necessary to indicate that the "Palestinians" sic are a false nation before the word is even read or pronounced. After over a decade of EFL teaching, I have no doubt that people don't read all the words, so I need to warn them that I don't recognize a separate Arab nation here.

But back to proper grammar combined with accurate history.  I guess I ought to write it this way:

Pseudistinians, AKA "Palestinians" sic,

Does anyone have a better idea?

It's A Matter of Loyalty

Is any other ethnic or religious group in the United States asked "the loyalty question" the way Jews are?

"If Israel was at war with the United States, which would you support?"

This question is a classic for various youth group activities and mixers, even though actual war between Israel and the United States is unthinkable.  Disagreements, for sure, but actual war, no way.

Prior to Major Nidal Malik Hasan's attack at  Fort Hood, how often have Arabs and/or Moslems been forced to confront the question?

And now people are saying that Hasan's behavior was suspicious, but if that's the case, why didn't anyone alert the authorities?  Afterwards, it's always so clear...

Let's Retire Mofaz

Shaul Mofaz, presently Kadima MK and formerly IDF Chief of Staff, is another of Israel's too long list of retired army officers who provide very accurate examples of the Peter's Principle:

"In a Hierarchy Every Employee Tends to Rise to His Level of Incompetence."

First of all, Kadima is the political home of the least principled of all the Israeli politicians. 

At least it's reassuring that the latest IMRA poll shows that most Israelis disagree with Mofaz.  Mofaz is one of those who wants us to be dependent on foreign security forces, rather than being a truly independent country.

"Mofaz stressed that, if need be, international forces could assist the Palestinians in their new state."

It brings me back to the Kadima spin, after the Olmert-Kadima Lebanon War.  They claimed that it was a success, because it brought in foreign troops to protect us. Don't forget that Mofaz was invloved in that badly planned disaster.

May G-d help us!

Next Week Is Rosh Chodesh Kislev! ראש חודש כסלו

It's time to resume my custom of going to Tel Shiloh for Rosh Chodesh, beginning of the Jewish Month.

Rosh Chodesh Kislev is the perfect time for any renewal.  It's usually the date when we see the first green growing after the rainy season begins here in the Holy Land.

תפילת נשים
ראש חודש כסלו, ל' חשון
יום ג' 17-11 9:30
תל שילה
Women's Prayers
Rosh Chodesh Kislev, 30th of Cheshvan
Tuesday, 17-11, 9:30am
Tel Shiloh

Please join us. There's a bus from Jerusalem at 8:30, the 148. If you'll be taking the bus, please let me know, so I can arrange a pick up to the Tel from the bus stop.

What's A "Terrorist?"

Hat tip: Boris


This CNN Report about radical Moslems in the United States of America should be an eye-opener for all those involved in public security.  Listen to what the Moslems say about terrorism.


Recent post-attack investigations about Major Nidal Malkik Hasan have revealed that he is a Moslem extremist.  Have all Moslems been painted at terrorists in the American media?

In Israel, one Jew suspected of violence is automatically labeled a terrorist, and the media goes totally hyperactive trying to malign anyone who could possibly be connected by address or background.

I was amazed that my father, who hasn't been able to comprehend a written menu for years, read, understood and began asking on-target, intelligent questions about this headline.  It was obvious that the extreme Left-wing newspaper Ha'aretz got its message across.

In contrast, how many editorials or op-eds like this have there been in the Israeli press?

Teitel has yet to be tried and convicted, but that hasn't stopped the press from blasting accusations as facts. 

Watch CBS News Videos Online

In contrast, U.S. Major Hasan's deadly attack in Fort Hood is documented.  For sure Hasan murdered innocent people.  And although he was trained as a medical doctor who pledged to heal the sick, witnesses say that he shot the wounded to increase the number of dead.

Neither case is finished.  I'm not happy comparing them, Teitel and Hasan.  My intention is to compare the government and media reactions.

American Military, Fatal Error

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, the Arab-American Army doctor who went on a shooting rampage murdering over a dozen people and wounding dozens more didn't hide his opposition to the American wars.  Maybe his superiors should have taken his words more seriously. 

Did the killer attack as a Moslem or as one suffering a "second hand" post traumatic stress syndrome?

Refuah Shleimah, a complete recovery to all the wounded and comfort to the mourners.

The United States Put Its Money on The Wrong Horse

A hefty part of the Unites States Israel sic Palestine policy is based on Mahmoud Abbas, who isn't willing to stay in the race.  He has been touted by the Americans, Europeans etc as a "moderate."  They may like him, but he doesn't have much of a following among the Pseudostinians.

If the western "powers" really support the principle of democracy as much as they claim, or even half as much, they must recognize that their kind of Arab isn't popular among his peers.

And Israel must follow a much more pragmatic policy and look at the Arab people, read the press, listen to what they say instead of basing themselves on unrealistic dreams of "peace."

Let's get real.  The Arabs here, supported by the United States, the United Nations, Europe etc believe that they can destroy us, G-d forbid.  Israel must take off those loony-Left lenses and see the hatred and antisemitism which powers most of the world.

Yes, we're very much alone, and rebranding and following foreign "suggestions" will not make us more popular.  If we just ignore them and do what's best for us, at least we'll get respect.

Shabbat Shalom u'Mevorach

May you have a Peaceful and Blessed Shabbat

Time for Some Out-of-the-Box Thinking

In the recent post on the Altalena I commented that we should organize a memorial day for the victims of the Ben-Gurion-Rabin Bolshevist-secularist terror. That could include victims of the Saison as well. The central observance would be on the Tel Aviv waterfront where the massacre occurred. For a month previous to the memorial date (15 Sivan) there would be public announcements, bracelets and posters memorializing individual victims. Black memorial candles would be distributed as well. Schools are still in session in that month before and could be asked unofficially to participate.

Now, are you ready for an even more crackpot idea? This will sound contradictory to the previous one. Those of you who are frustrated with both the religious/right parties and the Likud (aka Licouldn't), I have another idea to drive the System and the elites crazy. It's called the Avodat Hashem faction in the Labor Party. The Labor Party is in danger of extinction, being the fossil that it is. It is ripe for a hostile takeover. Get a bunch of young religious kids barely over the age of 18 to join the Labor Party. Those kids who want to rebel against their elders' staid ways, this is the perfect way to do it. Convince some people in the party who are worried about its decline that here is a useful source of new blood. Get some old kibbutzniks and moshavniks to go along. The platform is Social Justice, pulling in the kids whose heads were beaten in by cops and who were arrested. Crack down on import of foreign labor, but demand fair conditions for existing foreign workers with permits. Oppose immodest advertising and media on the grounds of feminism. Educational reform for the kids who suffered through our deteriorating schools. More tradition and Yiddishkeit in the Labor Party to offset the demographic shift and baalei teshuva. Coexistence and kiruv which involves bringing back Arabs with Jewish roots to Judaism. Attack the Shabak for being too cautious about Arabs converting. Demand more teaching of Arabic in the schools. One people, one state, secure borders. Lash out at the hypocrisy of leftists who live in neighborhoods built on the ruins or abandoned houses of disappeared Arabs of '48 while being against the results of the Six Day War of '67. March in front of prominent leftists who live in Katamon in Arab houses or in apartments in Ramat Aviv. Pro-Temple Mount activism (Avodat Beit HaMikdash, get it?). Have registration drives and get young religious chevre into the Labor Knesset faction. Make Barak look stupid at every possible opportunity. Beard the lion in his den. Oh, yes, and get a haskama letter from ... Rav Yossi Sarid of Kollel Meretz. It could do for Israeli politics what Bill Veeck's midget did for baseball. Drive 'em nuts. Shake things up and give the elite a run for their money. Do the unexpected. Much of this platform stuff is negotiable. None of it is written in stone. You can also attract some former Meimad types. That's okay, too. But grab the young protest vote. And make it FUN!

Obama's Missing Coat Tails

In the states the Democrats were still basking in last year's victory, when Obama brought them a "clean sweep."  This week's election results weren't so "Democratic."  The "D" stood for "disappointing."

It really shouldn't surprise anyone.  That's for two reasons.

• Number one- Obama isn't an experienced politician.  He didn't work his way up through the ranks.  He was thrust into the role, the position as President of the United States.  Compare his experience, training etc with all the other Presidents in the past fifty years.  So, expecting him to know how to campaign for others and all the back room stuff required, is very naive.
• Number two- Teddy Kennedy is dead.  He was an experienced and very professional politician with a great staff.  The Kennedy machine is missing the charisma, which was well-used by Obama's campaign.

So, you can say that reason number two is actually more important than reason number one.

If the Kennedy Clan hadn't backed Obama, then Hillary would have gotten the nomination and if she had become the U.S. President, then she and Bill would have done more for the Democrats who ran this week.

And another "if."  If the NYC Teachers Union had gone officially against Bloomberg and supported  Thompson, Bloomberg would probably have been defeated.

I love politics!

Read Carefully, Please

It all started with my hat tipping IMRA, all in the best intentions.  You know, the type that leads to the road to hell.

Somehow a Jerusalem Post reporter put my commentary into Lerner's mouth and he became very angry, sending off letters denying that those awful words could be his, claiming I "fabricated."  Not that I consider what I had written so awful, or I wouldn't have written them.

Now his letter is in the Jerusalem Post directly maligning me, and this is what I sent to the paper:

First your reporter miss-quotes from my blog angering IMRA's Aaron Lerner.  His letter was easily identified, indented in my blog post.  She quoted my words.

And now you published an angry letter by Lerner which claims that I fabricated words claiming they're his.

I suggest that your reporters learn the first lesson I've taught many times as a high school EFL teacher.  Look at the graphics.  Lerner's words were in an indented section of the post.

http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2009/11/jewish-terrorists.html

One of Those Crazy "Emergency" Calls

A short while after my husband had left for work, he suddenly called.  I couldn't imagine why.  A call at that hour usually concerns some urgent news that I must know, or to take care of something he had forgotten to do.

Well, apparently for him and some other expat Americans on the bus this was an "emergency."  I was requested to hurry to the New York Times site and check out the score of the World Series.  Ahhh, so that's why I had heard him turn on the diningroom table laptop for just a second before he left for work.

OK, the Yankees (personally I never liked them, they made me think of boring white bread) were ahead in the 8th inning.  He asked me to check again in a few minutes.  I did and then called him with the news he had wanted to hear:

"The Yankees won the World Series 7-3."

Death Penalty For Terrorists!

Recently, ever since the murder of three generations of a family, the Israeli media has been campaigning for the death penalty for murderers of children.

Why don't they include terrorists in this?  Why didn't they campaign for the death penalty when Arab terrorism was murdering generations of the same family?

Mediation or Autocratic Dictator?

Maybe I just taught EFL (English as a Foreign Language) too many years... 

I had to explain the simplest words and terms to my Israeli high school students.  It forced me to look at every word so carefully, and considering that I began that profession after working in advertising where I specialized in finding just the right words to put in tiny ads in both Hebrew and English.  I take the choice of words very seriously, their nuances and most subtle implications.

That's why I consider it insiduously ironic that the United States calls its role in the sic "Israel-Arab conflict" mediation, when it is actually dictating final results.  There's nothing diplomatic about United States President Barack Hussein Obama when it comes to his Israel policy.  He's trying to steamroll his pet policy on us.

Barack Hussein Obama wants a sic Palestinian State, whether or not there's any historical, moral or legal legitimacy for one.  He keeps sending out his loyal drones, Clinton, Mitchell etc to wear us down, and unfortunately Israeli politicians are no tougher than butter on a hot day.  They melt under the least bit of pressure.

Jewish History and Civil Rights are ignored and denied.  We're expected to accept these dictates.

Sorry, folks, the Jewish People aren't giving in nor giving up.  The politicians don't rule us.  We're here to stay in the Land of Israel.  It's ours and nobody else's.  We will build hour homes and raise our families here.  Politicians come and go.  Only G-d is Eternal! 

What Will It Take For Israel To Read The Writing on The Wall?

All those years successive Israeli Governments ignored the missile attacks against it from Arabs in Gaza and Lebanon have increased the danger.  The latest military intelligence is that Arabs in Gaza, (and possibly Lebanon, too), have rocket launchers which can reach Tel Aviv.

Each time a Kassam is launched by the Arab terrorists at Israel, they are practicing.  This isn't some innocent baseball pitching.  They are out to destroy us and they're not too shy to say so.  We just have to listen.  We have to hear what they are saying and not what we want them to say.

The Israeli politicians, urged by its media and foreign busybodies, like Obama, Clinton (both,) Blair, Sarkozy etc refuse to accept the truth.  No concessions, gestures, gifts of Land etc will placate the Arabs.  They want us dead and gone.  Our only defense is to refuse to obey foreign advice.  We must be strong and only do what's best for us.  The world will rally around or look for someone else to bully.

A Weak Dollar = A Difficult Aliyah

There was a time when it was pretty easy for American retirees to live  relatively comfortably in Israel.  That was in the day of the $trong dollar and weak lira later shekel.  Today the American dollar doesn't buy much.  Social Security needs to be supplemented either by additional pensions, investments or the profits from the sale of an American home. 

Today real estate values in the states are low.  The economy is the "pits." Retirement age keeps climbing, because not enough money is going into the pot.

Israel has always had a healthy birthrate, but the 1970's in the states was the pits.  That's when I had most of my kids.  I remember walking around Manhattan with a toddler on the visit, knowing that another child was growing in my womb and noticing all the women of my age with flat stomachs.  My fellow baby boomers weren't interested in babies, so today there aren't enough high earning thirty-somethings adding to Social Security.  In addition, Social Security is still being paid to all the eighty and ninety-somethings still alive and needing lots of medical care.

My kids are helping me and my siblings care for my parents.  That's a positive advantage of being "sandwich generation."  It's usually described in the negative, trying to choose between conflicting pressures and commitments.  I'm very lucky in that I have wonderful kids.

The dollar is weak, but with a strong family, G-d willing we'll help my parents have a good life here in Israel.

Altalena Witness, First-Hand Account by Charles Rotter

I still remember as a young boy standing on the Tel Aviv beach opposite the burning Altalena. And I still remember very vividly Menachem Begin making his speech on the Irgun Radio Station after surviving the attempt on his life while he was escaping the burning Altalena. Begin never finished that speech and broke down crying for his fallen comrades. Many of those listening to his speech cried together with him.


This is what the evil murderer Rabin should be remembered for, instead of being hailed as a false hero by the perfidious Left.


Somehow forgotten during the tasteless "Rabin Festival" season is the fact that Rabin suffered a nervous breakdown just prior to the start of the 6 Day War, which was a good thing because in his absence Ezer Weitzman unleashed the Israeli Air Force's devastating attacks upon the Arab air forces, something the cowardly Rabin never would have had the nerve to do.


Another monument to Rabin's cowardice are the skeletons of the "Meshuryanim" armored cars left on the road side to Yerushalayim as monuments to the Palmach soldiers ( the G'Dud Ha'Chamishi 5th Palmach Battalion) who were trapped and died in them, while their cowardly commander non other than Rabin ran for his life on his Jeep to Jerusalem and refused Yigal Allon's direct orders to pick up reinforcements and go back to the battle scene in order to rescue them claiming he was too tired and hungry. Or in his direct quote:

 

"Ani Ayef Ve'Ra'ev Ve'Ani Holech Li'shon."
"I'm tired and hungry, and I'm going to sleep."

A true Leftist "Hero" indeed.


Shaul Charles Rotter

Jewish Terrorists?

For one thing, there's no "long list," contrary to the allegations of the Jerusalem Post's Yaakov Katz.  Arab terrorists are caught "almost weekly" simply because there are so many, and they're not really hiding. 


Arab terrorists are not afraid of Israeli justice, because they know very well, that they probably won't be jailed very long.  They'll be traded for captured Israelis or released as one of Israel's rediculous "gestures."


No doubt that no matter what percentage of the alleged crimes, from zero to a hundred, Teitel may be guilty of, he'll spend the rest of his life in jail.  Israeli "justice" is always different for Right wing Jews. The Israeli Left is overjoyed that they finally found a Right wing Jew who could be blamed for some unsolved murders.  What a wonderful way for them to celebrate the Rabin HateFest.

Dr. Aaron Lerner said it well on IMRA:



Sunday, November 1, 2009

 

Jewish terrorist not hero to Israel

Response to Court Decision to Lift the Gag Order

Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA: Here's the difference:


Yaakov Teitel will have his day in Israeli court and, if convicted, spend a good part of the remainder of his life behind bars.


Prime Minister Netanyahu isn't asking for Jewish terrorist Yaakov Teitel to be freed.


There are no Israeli security forces planning to capture Palestinians to trade for Yaakov Teitel's release.


The Israeli school system isn't teaching that Yaakov Teitel is a hero.


No summer camp sponsored by a leading Israeli political party is going to be named after Yaakov Teitel.


Yaakov Teitel's family isn't going to get a monthly stipend from the Government of Israel as a sign of thanks for his actions.

Ya'akov Teitel, "Perfect Gentleman"

I'm totally in shock over the news that Ya'akov Teitel of neighboring Shvut Rachel has been arrested.  The media is all full of impossible to imagine charges.  I can't believe any of it can be true.

The media has him tried an convicted, but we don't know the truth, and neither does the media.

The Ya'akov I know was always a "perfect gentleman," offering me rides home from the grocery store.  Ya'akov would tell me that he didn't always agree with my articles, but he never elaborated on what he disagreed with.  I got to know his generosity, his "chessed side."  His wife was also very generous and kind about offering to help, even though giving me a ride always took them out of their way.

I'll leave you with those thoughts, because I can't comprehend that the news is about the person I know. 

May G-d give strength to his wife, children and other relatives and friends.

When Religious Freedom becomes Religious Tyranny

Posted by Jewish Israel

In its annual International Religious Freedoms Report on Israel and the “Occupied Territories”, The U.S. State Department accused Israel of “governmental and legal discrimination against non-Jews and non-Orthodox streams of Judaism”.

A disproportionate amount of the report is dedicated to depicting Torah traditions and Orthodox Judaism as oppressive, and to reporting on Israel’s “growing” but “harassed” community of apostate Jews and Christian missionaries.

The report cited that, “government allocations of state resources favored Orthodox (including Modern and National Religious streams of Orthodoxy) and ultra-Orthodox (sometimes referred to as "Haredi") Jewish religious groups and institutions, discriminating against non-Jews and non-Orthodox streams of Judaism.”

The State Department was hypercritical of everything from Shabbat observance to Jewish marriage counseling, divorce law, and burial rights in Israel. Jewish Israel wonders if censuring circumcision is next?

The report clearly bears the biased mark of Calev Myers, the Orthodox-bashing evangelical attorney from the Jerusalem Institute of Justice (JIJ). Indeed JIJ is cited in an especially lengthy rant on behalf of “messianic Jews” and against the counter-missionary organization Yad L’Achim.

Jewish Israel wonders if the State Department has nothing better to do than issue a protracted denunciation against Israel’s Jewish character. We’ve highlighted several pertinent points of interest and insanity from the report. So if you’re Goldstone-fatigued, and in need of a change in your choice of poison, read how Israel’s number one ally and friend brandishes their right to discredit the Jewish state and Jewish tradition in the name of religious freedom. Read our full take on the report at Jewish Israel

Also, later today, as a follow-up to our report on the halachic ruling against taking funds from Yechiel Eckstein's IFCJ, Jewish Israel will begin to post a list of those organizations who have written to us declaring that they do not solicit or take funds from IFCJ or Evangelical organizations.

If Hillary's Happy, I'm Not

It's a very simple equation, Arithmetic, not Mathematics.  United States policy is bad news for Israel, so if Secretary for State Hillary Clinton is pleased with something our Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has to say, I automatically consider it a danger to our security and existence.  Very simple.

The Obama-Clinton Administration is demanding a very racist, one-sided halt in Jewish growth and building in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, including parts of Jerusalem.  And again, like uncountable times in the past, it's the Arab intransigence which has saved us.  They're betting that our Israeli Government will be so desperate to please the Americans and make a deal that we'll give up even more.

I hope and pray that our government will quickly realize that all of these concessions only weaken and endanger us.  We have to send all the busybodies packing and do what's best for the security, development and continued existence of the State of Israel.  No foreign promises will protect us.