The Path to Peace

The only thing which would make the Arabs leave us in peace

would be if we are strong and uncompromising.

That's it. Simple.

Think about it.

Israel has been trying to compromise and "be nice" for sixty years or more, yes, even pre-1948, and what has it given us?

Terrorism and War

Let's try something else. Defeat them and make it clear that we mean business. No gifts, no nice guy.

A Bissel "Late?"

More about Winograd...

In response to his being blamed for the incompetant running of the latest Lebanese War, all of a sudden Amir Peretz began saying things which he should have said then.

All along, not that I'm a Peretz fan, I felt that he got stuck with the "hot potato," like in the game.

Peretz was the Minister of Defense at the time of the war. Defense wasn't and isn't his specialty. He's a labor leader. That's it.

Peretz had nothing to do with the army, its policies, training, equipment, politics, nor had he been responsible for building shelters for civilians etc. He hadn't a clue. Even if he had some background and good plans and ideas before getting the position, a very short time before the war, there was no time to correct or change anything.

Blaming Peretz for the military unpreparedness is like blaming a waiter for badly cooked food. The cooks are guilty. In our case, the cooks are in Olmert's government at this very moment: Ehud Barak and Shaul Mofaz. Olmert dished it out and set it on the plate. He put the soup in the bowl which was too small, so it spilled all over, and added lemon to the milk which soured it. The serving made a bad meal worse!

Actually, Barak replaced Peretz as Head of Labor Party and Minister of Defense. If Peretz had been smart, if he had actually understood what happened, he would have used Barak's guilt in his campaign against him. That mistake is Peretz's own fault. It's rather pathetic to think that only now, over a year and a half after the war, he is starting to blame Barak. I guess he finally has a better staff or something.

Who is? What is?

MK Otniel Schneller?

According to his address, he'd be expected to have opinions somewhat like mine.

But he's a member of Olmert's Kadima Party.

Two years ago, after Olmert announced his drastic, cruel and dangerous plan to destroy most of the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and transfer us to ghettos, I remember seeing and hearing Schneller on TV excitedly and enthusiastically showing maps of destruction. He was Olmert's point man.

Recently, he has taken a public stand in favor of Jews living in Hebron. He is now considered the "nationalist," most pro-Right in Olmert's party.

But I can't get the image out of my mind, the joy he showed when he talked of destroying my community, my home here in Shiloh.

Some of us don't forget and won't forget.

Winograd Committee January 30, 2008 remarks

Thanks to IMRA

Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Full text: Winograd Committee January 30, 2008 remarks

Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA: Take the time to at least read this and think
about it for 60 seconds before opening your mouth and you are way ahead of
the overwhelming majority of talking heads appearing on the various Israeli
television channels tonight.
There is one particularly bizarre phrase in the remarks of Judge Eliyahu
Winograd: "We should also note that the war had significant diplomatic
achievements. SC resolution 1701, and the fact it was adopted unanimously,
were an achievement for Israel. This conclusion stands even if it turns out
that only a part of the stipulations of the resolution were implemented or
will be implemented, and even if it could have been foreseen that some of
them would not be implemented."

Does this mean that Winograd considers a piece of paper to be a "
significant diplomatic achievement" even if it can be foreseen that the
piece of paper won't be implemented?

This is an extremely dangerous position to take, given that there is
tremendous concern that the current "piece process" is exactly that: an
attempt to reach a photo opportunity signing ceremony in which a piece of
paper is signed with great fanfare even though it can be foreseen that the
piece of paper won't be implemented.

Winograd Committee Press Release - January 30, 2008

January 30, 2008
Press Release
Good Evening.

1. About an hour ago we submitted the Final Report of the Commission to
Investigate the Lebanon Campaign in 2006 to the Prime minister, Mr. Ehud
Olmert, and to the Minister of Defense, Mr. Ehud Barak.

2. The task given to us was difficult and complex. It involved the
examination of events in 34 days of fighting, and the scrutiny of events
before the war, since the IDF had left Lebanon in 2000. This covered
extensive, charged and complex facts, unprecedented in any previous
Commission of Inquiry.

3. The fact that the Government of Israel opted for such an examination, and
that the army conducted a large number of inquires of a variety of military
events, are a sign of strength, and an indication that the political and
military leaders of Israel are willing to expose themselves to critical
review and to painful but required mending.

4. We have included in the classified version of the Report all the relevant
facts we have found concerning the 2nd Lebanon war, systematically and in a
chronological order. This presentation of the factual basis was an important
part of our work. It is reasonable to assume that no single decision maker
had access to a similar factual basis. In this task we had a unique
advantage over others who have written about this war, since we had access
to a lot of primary and comprehensive material, and the opportunity to
clarify the facts by questioning many witnesses, commanders and soldiers,
including bereaved families.

5. For obvious reasons, the unclassified Report does not include the many
facts that cannot be revealed for reasons of protecting the state's security
and foreign affairs. We tried, nonetheless, to balance between the wish to
present the public with a meaningful picture of the events and the needs of
security. We should note that we did not take the mere fact that some data
has already been published in the media as a reason for including it in our
unclassified Report.

6. We, the members of the Commission, acted according to the main objectives
for which the Commission was established - to respond to the bad feelings of
the Israeli public of a crisis and disappointment caused by the results of
the 2nd Lebanon war, and from the way it was managed by the political and
military echelons; and the wish to draw lessons from the failings of the war
and its flaws, and to repair what is required, quickly and resolutely. We
regarded as most important to investigate deeply what had happened, as a key
to drawing lessons for the future, and their implementation.

For complete text click this.

A Miscarriage of Understanding by Ellen W. Horowitz

In case you missed it, a couple of weeks ago three Republican congressmen representing America's pro-life (anti-abortion) camp paid Israel a visit.

Congressman Chris Smith, leader of the Pro-life Caucus in the House of Representatives led the group which met with Shas Party officials, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger and others in order to bolster Israeli legislative efforts in the battle against abortion.

The US lawmakers expressed concern over Israel's declining birth rate - when compared to the growing birth rate among Palestinians. They also discussed the possibility of holding a conference in Washington which would host rabbis, academics, and Israeli MKs from the anti-abortion lobby. Shas MK Chaim Amsellem announced plans to establish a parliamentary lobby against abortions which would work closely with Congressman Smith's.

As a Torah observant woman I wouldn't touch America's pro-life or pro-choice camp with a 10-foot forceps, as neither position represents the complex and compassionate Jewish approach to the issue. Jewish law does not sanction a total ban on abortion, nor has it ever endorsed abortion-on-demand.

Importing the great American abortion conflagration does not seem to be something Israel needs right now (or ever). Our collective soul has been sufficiently rent over endless national concerns, and lumping US partisan politics and social mores together with Israeli demographic concerns, and dumping them atop a complex medical ethics and halachic issue, would only serve to obscure rather than clarify - exploit rather than humanize.

THOUGH I personally would like to see more stringent abortion guidelines in Israel, I would hate to think that any distressed Jewish woman facing an abortion review committee would have cause to feel that made-in-the USA Judeo-Christian trends, or Israeli-contrived doomsday demographic forecasts would have a bearing on any decision determining the future of the life that she is bearing.

It is an enormous tragedy that any women in the Jewish state would feel compelled to consider abortion due to a lack of social or economic support. Thank God there are organizations such as EFRAT which manage to step in, assist, and succeed in a significant number of these situations.

Indeed, officials from EFRAT also met with the congressmen. But I wonder if the rabbis, parliamentarians and organizational heads in attendance were familiar with the positions held by the pro-life congressmen, or were they simply wowed by the charm of their guests and the heaps of praise they were receiving?

BEFORE AGREEING to cooperate with or solicit the services of Republican pro-lifers, it would be wise to examine agendas and intentions.

Chris Smith has declared that, "Human life begins at the moment of fertilization." He likens abortions to a "holocaust" and deems it an "indisputable fact that abortion is violence against children ..." With regard to stem cell surgery, Smith considers it experimentation "with cells obtained from human beings ruthlessly killed in the first weeks of life..."

That's pretty brutal, and a far cry from most Jewishly-held positions on the subjects.

Did the chief rabbinate have an inkling of the way in which Christian pro-lifers would spin and simplify halachic discussion?

Jill Stanek a prominent pro-life spokesperson and columnist for World Net Daily picked up on a rabbinic opinion which was published on Ynet that, "...abortions [for other than life or health endangerment] are a grave sin which may even delay the coming of the messiah."

On her ProLife Pulse blog she comments, "I'm surprised they [these rabbis] didn't worry the Messiah might be aborted. Perhaps that isn't possible according to Jewish theology."

Along those same lines, Lifenews.com reminds its readers that Jews do not believe the messiah is Jesus Christ, and their report suggests that the congressional group met with members of the Knesset to help promote pro-life laws which could reduce or "eliminate abortions" (pretty much an impossibility according to halacha).

ProlifeAmerica.com continued to build on the messiah theme, and told their readership that "Although sacred Jewish texts and traditions oppose abortion, most American Jewish groups have long supported the practice and pro-abortion lawmakers." They then proceeded to finger the AJCommittee, ADL, Hadassah, and the National Council of Jewish Women.

IT IS NO coincidence that the congressional threesome of Chris Smith, Joseph Pitts and Frank Wolf have been in the forefront of a crusade to promote religious freedom. Nothing wrong with that, except that we are talking about legislation custom designed to protect and encourage Christian missionary activities. The 1998 International Religious Freedoms Act made religion an integral part of US foreign policy and helped to squash proposed Israeli anti-missionary legislation (which, ironically, had been jointly proposed by Shas and Labor MKs).

THIS JEWISH mother wishes she could conjure up a "morning-after pill" which would compel my coreligionists into taking a hard look at the consequences of our relationship with the Christian Right.

Meanwhile, it is essential that everyone understand that Israel is a unique nation, with uncommon obligations , and that the Jewish people are certainly entitled to ensure religious continuity, seek moral clarity and formulate legislative solutions for our own people in our own way.

THE JERUSALEM POST Jan. 30, 2008

The writer and her family live on the Golan Heights. She is the author of The Oslo Years: A Mother's Journal and is working on a new book which takes a critical look at the Israel-Evangelical relationship.

The Winograd Mega Market

Something for Everybody!

Yes, that's the Winograd Report, a long, convoluted compositon of words in which almost all sectors in the Israeli political, military and civilian spheres can find something they agree with, and something they disagree with. Yes, a supermarket, a mega market, with an enormous variety of products in great and confusing quantities.

Personally, the thing that bothers me the most is the blame on the army, as if the army is independent of its political bosses.

Think about it:

• Who provides the army with its budget?
• Who decides on its goals and aims?
• Who appoints its top commanders?

I can go on with those sorts of questions, but the answer is the same. It's The Israeli Government, Israeli politicians. So who is really responisble for the poor performance of the Army?

• Ehud Olmert
• Ehud Barak
• Ariel Sharon
• Shaul Mofaz
• Amir Pertz
• Shimon Peres
• Tzachi Hanegbi and all of the many Israeli politicians who have been in positions of influence over the years...

As many people with more patience than I have continue to go over the report, more and more "peculiar statements" will be discovered in the report, showing how political and unreliable it really is, a snow job for sure. G-d's joke is to give us weather to match.

I'll start with the statement my husband found:

Israel must - politically and morally - seek peace with its neighbors
and make necessary compromises.

That was not what they were supposed to "judge." That's a politically ideological statement at odds with reality and many of us Israelis.

IMRA found something else which rankled them.

...32. ... At the same time, we also note that...We have not found that the political echelon was aware of the details of the fighting in real time, and we have not seen a discussion, in either the political or the military echelons, of the issue of stopping the military operation after the Security Council resolution was adopted"

The media here is ignoring the fact that Winograd Report condems the fact that the government, Olmert, Peretz etc hadn't a clue as to what was really happening.
That's why Olmert is happy. The media is protecting him.

The worst thing is that even though, according to the official government statements, Israel went to war to free Ehud, Eldad and Gilad,

they are still being held captive by the terrorists.

Truman and Olmert

Truman was known for saying:

The Buck Stops Here

He believed in taking responsibility.

Olmert claims that taking responsibility means being willing to "improve." Will he or won't he resign? The media is full of Winograd spin. What does it all mean?

Davka today I read that Truman's daughter passed away.

I Told You...

... that Rudy didn't have a chance.

For Giuliani, a Dizzying Free-Fall

I'm glad he's out of the running for US President. It'll be interesting to see what deal he makes with McCain. He has been denying that he's interested in being Vice President, but who knows?

Personally, I want Rudy far from public office. If he's VP or "special envoy" it'll be bad news for Israel. He's an Olmert supporter.

For the "Cause?"

The Jerusalem Post must be pretty desperate to keep publishing opinion pieces like this one. It's another attempt to brainwash people into thinking that communities like mine, Shiloh, are "unnecessary."

Here's my "talkback:"

What is this poorly written badly thought out piece of misleading - doing in the paper?
Just more of your attempt to demoralize the Jewish people?

What type of lala land does he live in?

If there hadn't been places like Shiloh, Shechem, Beit El and Hebron in our history, there wouldn't have been a Jerusalem.

And if we hadn't had a Jerusalem to pray for, then there wouldn't be a Tel Aviv, Raanana, Herzliya or Eilat. There certainly wouldn't be a State of Israel.

Without our history we wouldn't exist.

It would all melt into ugly nothingness like the snow I see disappearing on the road outside my house.

Winograd Won't Get To The Root of The Problem

The Israeli media is hopping, getting all ready for the official full report from the Winograd Commission.

By the time the Second Lebanese War had ended, the Israeli public was demanding an inquiry. Canny ol' Olmert decided to appoint his own judges to judge his war leadership. That's the Winograd Commission. He gave it a rather narrow scope. Also, unlike previous commissions of inquiry, Winograd held secret sessions.

Olmert should have given it wider scope, which would throw blame on Ehud Barak for his abandonment of Southern Lebanon. That would have been the green light for the commission to totally destroy Barak's career, including his lucrative lecture business. From the time Barak gave orders to the IDF to flee from Southern Lebanon until the war began, the terrorists there set up a military infrastructure to attack Israel's north. Barak was also the IDF Chief of Staff who is responsible for the lowering of standards and the dependence on technology, rather than first hand military skills and training.

It may be that Olmert sees Barak as an ally, not a competitor, and for that reason he prefers to protect him.

One thing for sure, Olmert will not retire no matter what the commission recommends.

Just another two months until the two year pension for MK's kicks in for Olmert's coalition....

A German's point of view on Islam

This was sent by a friend.

"A German's point of view on Islam"
by Dr. Emanual Tanay, Psychiatrist


A man whose family was German aristocracy prior to
World War ll owned a number of large industries and
estates. When asked how many German people were
true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our
attitude toward fanaticism.

'Very few people were true Nazis 'he said,' but many
enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more
were too busy to care. I was one of those who just
thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the
majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then,
before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost
control, and the end of the world had come. My
family lost everything. I ended up in a
concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my
factories.'

We are told again and again by 'experts' and
'talking heads' that Islam is the religion of peace,
and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to
live in peace. Although this unqualified assertion
may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is
meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and
meant to somehow diminish the spectra of fanatics
rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.
The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this
moment in history.

It is the fanatics who march. It is the fanatics
who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide. It
is the fanatics who systematically slaughter
Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are
gradually taking over the entire continent in an
Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who bomb, behead,
murder, or honor kill. It is the fanatics who take
over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who
zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape
victims and homosexuals. The hard quantifiable fact
is that the 'peaceful majority', the 'silent
majority', is cowed and extraneous.

Communist Russia was comprised of Russians who just
wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists
were responsible for the murder of about 20 million
people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant.
China's huge population was peaceful as well, but
Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70
million people.

The average Japanese individual prior to World War
ll was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan
murdered and slaughtered its way across South East
Asia in an orgy of killing that included the
systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians;
most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet.

And, who can forget Rwanda, which collapsed into
butchery. Could it not be said that the majority of
Rwandans were 'peace loving'?

History lessons are often incredibly simple and
blunt, yet for all our powers of reason we often
miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points:
Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by
their silence. Peace-loving Muslims will become our
enemy if they don't speak up, because like my friend
from Germany, they will awaken one day and find that
the fanatics own them, and the end of their world
will have begun.

Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians,
Rwandans, Serbs, Afghanis, Iraqis, Palestinians,
Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have
died because the peaceful majority did not speak up
until it was too late.

As for us who watch it all unfold, we must pay
attention to the only group that counts: the
fanatics who threaten our way of life.

Lastly, at the risk of offending, anyone who doubts
that the issue is serious and just deletes this
email without sending it on, is contributing to the
passiveness that allows the problems to expand. So,
extend yourself a bit and send this on and on and
on! Let us hope that thousands, world wide, read
this - think about it - and send it on.


Emanuel Tanay, M.D.
Ann Arbor, MI

To Serve Moetzet YESHA, I Presume

"Radioyosh" will most probably be a tool of the government.

Anyone who expects the new government-approved radio station "for settlers" to be a reincarnation of Adir Zik is hopelessly naive.

It will be run by the Moetzet YESHA crowd.

We should have demanded a commission of inquiry about Moetzet YESHA's disastrously unsuccessful "opposition" to Disengagement. Just like Olmert after the "second Lebanese War," they neither apologized nor resigned. All they did was add a few new people for window dressing.

Loyal Soldiers!

Here's the latest "Voices From Shiloh" which appears in Sharon Katz's "Voices."

I recently wrote about the IDF, and one of my readers asked a very important, crucial question in the comments.

"Are we supposed to be proud of serving in the army? Are we making it into a specific ideal in itself?"

At first I didn't know how to answer him. Very conveniently I had to say my daily T'hilim (Psalms) and, even though I must admit that I mumble them, somehow an answer was formulated in my mind by the time I had finished.

Here's part of my reply:

"Our Jewish soldiers should be in the army to observe the mitzvah of pikuach nefesh and keeping Eretz Yisrael safe and Jewish.That's what every one of our soldiers must be focused on, and then it's totally a mitzvah, a mitzvah to be proud of. If the army punishes the good Jewish soldier, it has to be seen as among the "trials/challenges" of living a proper Torah life."

The Israeli Left-wing has been dealing with their dilemmas, the conflicts between their ideology and army orders, for a long time. They show no embarrassment at refusing orders and writing protest letters. The media support them, and the politicians adopt their ideas.

The women in the extreme left-wing Machsom Watch keep denying that their harassment of soldiers endangers the soldiers and innocent Jewish Israeli civilians. They proclaim their "superior morality," even when facts contradict them.

Now back to our soldiers, our husbands, sons, brothers, neighbors.
It is a great mitzvah to be a soldier, a Jewish soldier for the Land of Israel. Defending Jews and defending our Holy Land are a privilege. The more frum soldiers in the army, the more power Torah will have in the army. I'm not claiming it's easy.

Why should any of us expect that building a Jewish State should be easy? Building a Jewish State is hard. As the mother of five and a grandmother, I know that giving birth and raising children, as wonderful, thrilling and important as it is, easy it's not. When we become pregnant, our body definitely undergoes changes. For many women, even the monthly ovulation can cause obvious changes to the body. Some women are almost unrecognizable during pregnancy, and so many books and articles have been written about childbirth, there's no need for me to go into detail. But I'm sure you all know that the uterus must work terribly hard to expel the baby, and then… ahhh, a newborn baby is so sweet, soft and helpless. Then they begin growing and developing. I'm sure most of you have seen infants crawling enthusiastically, proudly and earnestly backwards.

The Jewish People are so smart about some things, but we're not too wise about ourselves. Remember the "Golden Calf?" Such a short time after G-d's miracles facilitated our exodus from Egypt; couldn't we give Moshe another few days to get down from the mountain? Did they all have such exact watches and "palms" to keep track of the time? It's perfectly legitimate for someone to be late, not that he actually was.

G-d forgave, OK, after Moshe used all his powers. Then there's the story of the "Meraglim," spies. They were la crème de la crème of the Hebrews, and ten out of twelve decided that they knew better than Moshe, even better than G-d. The majority voted against G-d and Moshe. So much for democracy! Joshua and Caleb were the only ones to insist that our People, with the help of G-d, could conquer the Land and live in peace.

Our IDF soldiers must model themselves on Joshua and Caleb. They must be proud to be soldiers, because it's a great mitzvah. They must remember who the real Chief of Staff is. They must remember who gives the true rewards and punishments. Yes, we need strong soldiers, strong in faith in G-d.

The Rudy and Ollie Show!

Too many of you got upset when I said:

"As long as it's not Rudy, who knows how to manipulate Jews, I really don't care who the candidate is."

So for the past day, I've been trying to explain that Rudy and Ol' Etrog Ollie Olmert are buddies. So I was very glad to see this in The Jerusalem Post:

Giuliani bolsters Olmert ahead of Winograd

When it comes to Israel, Rudy isn't the hard line anti-terrorism figure New Yorkers remember.

Caption This!

Bringing you...

CAPTION CONTEST #3

Again, the picture is from The Jerusalem Post. Please write in your ideas on what they are saying or thinking via the comment section of this post.

Anyone can comment. You don't have to join anything or sign in. You can enter as many times as your imagination requires. Contest closes late Tuesday, February 5, Israel time or early Tuesday on the "West Coast."

I'm Not Afraid of Obama As US President

An illustrated version of this, including the Hillary Suha kiss, is posted here.

Don't get me wrong. It's not because I think he's pro-Israel or cares about Israel or Jews in a good way. I wouldn't argue with the facts in articles like this one.

But...

I think that Israel is safer with an American President who isn't going to play us like some schmaltzy fiddle. Today's US blacks aren't the Martin Luther King who marched happily with Jewish supporters.

Today's blacks know that they don't need the Jews' sympathy and support.

I hope and pray that whoever is America's next president won't use the perpetual lie of:

"We must move the American Embassy to Jerusalem."

I prefer honesty. I prefer a president who won't claim to be "a friend of Israel." Almost twelve years ago, hours after being run over by an Arab terrorist, I did not feel comforted to hear then US President Bill Clinton on the news saying that he will "stand by Israel." Well, to me "standing by" means watching, not helping. A friend doesn't "stand;" he gets up and actively helps.

Clinton's wife uses all the code words to attract Jewish support, but she has the same aim as Bush and Rice, placating the Arabs and giving the terrorists another state. Obama may be more honest about it. I'm sure he has American Jewish supporters, because the American Jewish "religion" is to help the blacks, even if it hurts.

And about the Republicans, I know even less about the candidates. As long as it's not Rudy, who knows how to manipulate Jews, I really don't care who the candidate is.

In the end they're all the same. Could it be like Yes, Minister, or more sinister than that? Remember that the anti-commie Nixon recognized Red China, and Begin gave Sadat the Sinai. Yes, it's the same all over the world.

Maybe those teenage girls who wouldn't give their names to the police are more pragmatic than all those obsessing over polls and elections. Think about it!

We've Been Marching About This For Years!

Nu? So the Jerusalem Post editorial staff thinks they've "discovered America?"

Today they published a very convoluted editorial about how the Israeli High Court makes its decisions about military issues according to its concept of "morality." The editorial has its good points, which they tried to dull to a very PC finish.

For many of us, it's painfully old news.

Four and a half years ago, our neighbor, Avihu Keinan, was killed in an army action, planned to do minimal harm to enemy civilians at the risk of endangering our soldiers.

Avihu's parents obviously knew the risk of normal military action, but when they discovered that their son had been killed because the army had endangered him to protect the enemy, that was too much. His father Moshe declared a march to the Israeli President to protest the absurd, dangerous, perverse morality ruling our military.

That Succot, just two and a half weeks after Avihu's death, Moshe led us on a march from Shiloh to Jerusalem and then camped out by the President's Residence until the end of the Holiday. Since then it has become a Shiloh tradition to march to Jerusalem.

Many Israeli soldiers, civilians, police and border police have been killed by terrorists, because there's something dangerously "confused" in the Israeli concept of what's "moral." The lawmakers, the Knesset have invested too much power in the courts, especially since Israeli high court judges think their job is to judge according to their personal opinion, rather than law.

Listen to the Enemy

hat tip IMRA

We are in big trouble, since our politicians and military aren't listening to the Arabs who want to destroy us.

Read this:
President Abbas: We are Ready to Take up Crossings to Ease Suffering of Our People


RAMALLAH, January 26, 2008 (WAFA - PLO news
agency)-President Mahmoud Abbas
confirmed that Jerusalem is the capital of the
state of Palestinian and we
will never give it up.

In a speech at a Palestinian National Conference
on Jerusalem held Saturday
in Ramallah, President said that the Jewish
settlements, particularly what
is built in Jerusalem, are illegal and we will
never accept them.

"Whatever they do in Jerusalem and no matter what
they do to change its
structure, occupied Jerusalem will remain the
capital of the state of
Palestine and we will never give it up," he
added.

President accused Israel of seeking to change
facts on the ground in East
Jerusalem to preempt permanent status talks with
Israel that include
negotiations over the eastern section of the city
occupied in 1967.

As for the crossings, President said we are ready
to take up the crossings
to ease the suffering of our people, calling on
Israeli government to end
the siege imposed on Gaza.

"The long Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip,"
said Abbas, "has caused a
popular explosion. When you deny the people fuel,
medicine and all their
basic needs, what should they do? The people have
no choice but to explode."

President confirmed that the Islamic movement was
part of the Palestinian
people, demanding that Hamas give up control of
crossing points into Gaza
Strip to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA)
as well as give up its
control of salient entirely.

TU beShvat in Hevron by Yonathan Gormezano

Bs”d
Beit HaShalom is a large building between Kiriat Arba and Hevron, which was recently bought by a Jewish philanthropist for a heavy sum, from an Arab. The Arab seller was immediately threatened to be killed by the ‘palestinian authority’, and as a result denied that the sale ever took place. Despite the fact that the sale was filmed on camera, and no evidence backs the former owner’s claim, Olmert’s evil government has given full backing to the Arab former owner, and is ever threatening to evict the 20 or so Jewish families who now live there.

I spent Tu’bShvat afternoon in Hevron, joining Nadia Matar ’s group in Beit HaShalom towards evening.

That was a great event, and we got a guided tour by one of the place’s inhabitants, followed by partaking from the fruit of the Land of Israel (dried fruit not from Turkey ) and seeing a nice film about the Outposts. Women in Green then gave a gift of scarves to the women of the Beit Hashalom.

…and finally I drove back to Petah Tikva in the thickest fog I have ever seen (they don’t make fog like this even in England), but with a great and assorted bunch of hitchhikers, with whom we spent the time talking about the Land of Israel, past struggles and what the future holds for us.

Blessings for the New Year (of the trees),
Yoni
Here are a few pictures…

The Usual Political Blabbering

Officially the great accomplishment of the recent Israeli school strike was to reduce class size.


Class size went up drastically, when the budgeting was changed. The government used to give a set amount for a "class" of a certain number and up. Then it was changed as a payment "per student." So it's vital for the school to put as many students in a class as they can. Also, in schools like the one in which I teach, there's pressure to accept and hold onto negative (problematic and disruptive) students, because the schools need the money.

So, there's a very quick and easy way to reduce class size if Education Minister Tamir and her bureaucracy really wanted to. And there's a very simple recommendation that Irgun Morim, Teachers Union, head, Ron Erez, could make if he really wanted to help the students and teachers. Just go back to the old budgeting system.

According to an article in the Jerusalem Post, Tamir is promising to reduce class size in ten years! Ron Erez thinks that 7-8 would be a fine compromise. Here's what I sent to talkback:

It's all a joke. The kids in elementary school will be finished with high school by then. That's the loss of another generation.

That's what happens when you let politicians run things.

Celebrating 60

Israel's ruling elite are planning themselves 60th Independence Day Celebrations at the expense and convenience of ordinary Israelis. There will be another keep the riff-raff away visit by US Bush and now it's announced that Barbra Streisand will sing for Peres. As the government's official guest list grows, ordinary citizens will be forced to celebrate far from those parties.

And what is there to celebrate when Olmert and Peres have offered Jerusalem and our Biblical Homeland to Arab terrorists?

And what is there to celebrate when innocent Israeli citizens are being attacked daily by the same Arab terrorists and this government only worries about the safety of our enemies?

Olmert Won't Resign

All the letters and petitions in the world won't convince him. Olmert knows that Possession is eleven points in the law. He will show neither weakness nor doubt. Either G-d will surprise him and us with an unexpected medical "miracle," or his political support will have to totally fold. It is very rare for sitting ministers to turn off their tshuparrim, "freebies" or benefits. So no matter what scandals are revealed, don't expect this to be easy.

Until the politicians in Olmert's government are convinced that their careers are in danger, they will not desert Olmert. The possession of political power is addictive and distorts reality. Even if they originally believed that they had the best of intentions for Israel's future, it doesn't mean that they're willing to see the true dangers of their policies and politics.

Convince yourself that you're G-d's holy envoy, and anything you do will be justified and assume sacred dimensions. What any common soldier knew to be reprehensible evil became heroism in his eyes. Zealousness has a way of making the world appear very different from how it looks to the common-sense man. And when one is totally sure of himself, there is no limit to what he can do.
Thus, the greater a person is, the more terrible the evil he is capable of perpetrating. One who sees himself as G-d's fierce defender, who believes so utterly in his principles (which only the greatest among us do) -- when those principles become ever so slightly corrupted -- is capable of the greatest and most terrible acts of destruction. Such people possess the potential for tremendous good. But their potential for evil -- if their evil inclination gets the better of them -- is equally awesome and terrible...
Pirkei Avot, Chapter 2, Mishna 5(b)
Fighting G-d's Wars
By Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld

We saw this during the "Second Lebanese War," a year and a half ago. While the Arabs were attacking Haifa the Left wing media, politicians and public saw the dangers and mistakes of Disengagement. They agreed that Ehud Barak's withdrawal from southern Lebanon gave the terrorists the chance to rearm without interference. But they couldn't take that final step and join us, admit that their entire "t'fisat olam," way of looking at the world is based on a serious mistake.

The pragmatism of politicians is based on one thing and one thing only, getting votes and power. That's the fatal flaw of democracy. Tzedek, Justice, and common sense have nothing to do with anything.

I write and rant to keep myself sane and healthy. I have no idea if I'll ever change anyone's opinion. The best I can hope for is to bring the waverers to the right side or encourage those who fear to admit the truth to join us.

Who Writes Her Speeches?

I had a good laugh when I read this headline:

FM Livni: Israel doesn't punish civilian population for its leaders' policies

That Tsippi, she should be a comedienne. She's funny. Did she say anything when her government jailed teenage girls, who were too young to have Teudot Zehut, Identity Cards? Then when the girls, emotionally scarred by Disengagement, Amona, Administrative Detention of people they know, refused to cooperate with the authorities, did she care about the punishment these young civilians got from her government?

There seems to be a real apartheid in the way people are treated here. The Arab terrorists are treated with kindness and Jews are treated with cruelty.

Putting a "Face" on Sderot

A friend of mine teaches in southern Israel, where they suffer from the Arab rockets launched at them from Gaza. I'm posting some of what she wrote:

"..... 2 nifgaei helem taken to Barzili Hospital...."

I think that the message of what is going on in Sederot, especially this past week, should be of interest to Israelis not only of right wing political leanings such as you and I have, but of the population at large!!!!!

I have no intention of getting into politics. I'd just like to put a "face" on those anonymous ".....no physical harm; only structural damage; nifgaei helem..." etc. that we hear daily on the news.
What is "Nifgaei Helem?" Shell shock? Post traumatic stress disorder?

This Thursday we had a special program (planned months ago,) to remember our angelic Ella Abukassis who was killed by a piece of Kassam shrapnel a three years ago. Since this week has been so traumatic, our principal allowed several of our pupils from Sederot to take the microphone and talk. One girl spoke for 20 minutes.

(Her older sister graduated last year; she developed Irritable Bowel Syndrome from all the stress.) She is in 7th grade and described what this week and many others like it have done to her family over the past 7 years.

We also had representatives from The Committee for a Secure Sderot a non-political organization made up of Sederot citizens who are from all walks of life-- religious and non-religious; from all political parties that have one aim: to make others aware of what Sederot is going through. Also, they aid those in need by in many ways. I was extremely proud to see that two of our Ulpana's College/ University graduates opted to volunteer in Sederot instead of seeking lucrative jobs for the time being.

Please go to this link, download and watch the short film about the organization. (The first part is disturbing but shows what is going on. I can't forget that hysterical little girl shrieking, "IMA!!)
We saw another film for which I can't find the link that was even more dramatic. It was about the town alone, not about the organization.

These are our brothers and sisters, and the very least we can do is to educate ourselves about what is going on, and not treat as "white noise" the fact that kassams are falling in the Western Negev. There are many young people who G-d only knows how they will have normal adult lives with such stress as youngsters. Adults? The problems they have are too many to count. Here are three facts about a few of our pupils:

One pupil's Mom had a nervous breakdown this summer; another's Mom is now in Soroka with dangerously elevated blood pressure; another girl's parents are getting divorced.

"Moral Codes"

The Jerusalem Post, obviously to generate more Internet traffic, has a section called "Hot Potato." They throw out a quotation and ask readers to respond.

This morning they had this up:

'If Israel truly didn't care about moral codes, it would level Lebanon, Gaza, and W. Bank'

Here's my reply:

The only "moral code" a country should care about is the one which demands protecting its own citizens. By caring more about the enemy's, Israel is totally immoral!!!

Before seeing it, I had planned on blogging a post I was going to call:

"Give 'em an Oscar!"

That's because of the unbelievably over-acted, melodramatic newscast about the Israeli blockade on Gaza. The Arabic-accented IBA reporter was part of the show. He was hysterically shouting as he "reported" that the Gazan announcer had "burst into tears" as he told the public that their electricity was down due to the cruel Israelis. Then he showed an enthusiastic children's demonstration against Israel, where the children burned replicas of American flags and put out the flames with their feet.



This picture of the kids marching with candles wasn't shown in the clip I saw. I guess the Jerusalem Post doesn't want to show the anti-Americanism of the Gazan Arab terrorists. The children's candle march is so much more "peaceful" and "sympathetic."




The truth is that there is no "humanitarian crisis" in Gaza. It's no more real than James Bond or ET. The "crisis" is a PR lie manufactured by those who want to damage Israel's reputation.

If we would use a screenwriter like theirs, maybe Tzvi Fishman should go back to his profession, we would get the world support we deserve.


If we had a government which cared first about its own citizens, the world would know how much of Sderot has been destroyed by Arab rockets from Gaza.



If we had a government which cared first about its own citizens, pictures of Israelis injured by Gazan rockets would be flashed all over the world.



If we had a government which cared first about its own citizens, pictures of the damage by Gazan rockets would be broadcast for all the world to see.



Obviously, there's something insidiously perverse in the priorities of the Israeli politicians, media, judicial etc. They care more about the enemy than they care about Israel. And they call this "morality!"

It's sick and it's dangerous. There's nothing moral about protecting one's enemies.


There is only one way to have peace, and that's to destroy, defeat your enemy!



That is what we learn from the Bible, the true source of morality

.

Deuteronomy Chapter 25
יז זָכוֹר, אֵת אֲשֶׁר-עָשָׂה לְךָ עֲמָלֵק, בַּדֶּרֶךְ, בְּצֵאתְכֶם מִמִּצְרָיִם.
17 Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way as ye came forth out of Egypt;
יח אֲשֶׁר קָרְךָ בַּדֶּרֶךְ, וַיְזַנֵּב בְּךָ כָּל-הַנֶּחֱשָׁלִים אַחֲרֶיךָ--וְאַתָּה, עָיֵף וְיָגֵעַ; וְלֹא יָרֵא, אֱלֹהִים.
18 how he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, all that were enfeebled in thy rear, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God.
יט וְהָיָה בְּהָנִיחַ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לְךָ מִכָּל-אֹיְבֶיךָ מִסָּבִיב, בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה-אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ נַחֲלָה לְרִשְׁתָּהּ--תִּמְחֶה אֶת-זֵכֶר עֲמָלֵק, מִתַּחַת הַשָּׁמָיִם; לֹא, תִּשְׁכָּח. {פ}
19 Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget. {P}




1 Samuel Chapter 15
א וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁמוּאֵל, אֶל-שָׁאוּל, אֹתִי
שָׁלַח יְהוָה לִמְשָׁחֳךָ לְמֶלֶךְ, עַל-עַמּוֹ עַל-יִשְׂרָאֵל; וְעַתָּה שְׁמַע, לְקוֹל דִּבְרֵי יְהוָה. {ס}
1 And Samuel said unto Saul: 'The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over His people, over Israel; now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD. {S}
ב כֹּה אָמַר, יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, פָּקַדְתִּי, אֵת אֲשֶׁר-עָשָׂה עֲמָלֵק לְיִשְׂרָאֵל--אֲשֶׁר-שָׂם לוֹ בַּדֶּרֶךְ, בַּעֲלֹתוֹ מִמִּצְרָיִם.
2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts: I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him in the way, when he came up out of Egypt.
ג עַתָּה לֵךְ וְהִכִּיתָה אֶת-עֲמָלֵק, וְהַחֲרַמְתֶּם אֶת-כָּל-אֲשֶׁר-לוֹ, וְלֹא תַחְמֹל, עָלָיו; וְהֵמַתָּה מֵאִישׁ עַד-אִשָּׁה, מֵעֹלֵל וְעַד-יוֹנֵק, מִשּׁוֹר וְעַד-שֶׂה, מִגָּמָל וְעַד-חֲמוֹר. {ס}
3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.' {S}

150! Thank You Soccer Dad

If you haven't yet caught the reference, ... Jbloggings' very own Soccer Dad is heading the ball to Jack after 150 Havel Havelim Jblog carnival editions. Soccer Dad started Havel Havelim and kept it going for over three years.



I expected more fanfare, but here's the 150th Havel Havelim!

It's All In The Timing

I admit that I haven't read every article discussing why Yvette (Avigdor) Lieberman left Olmert's Government, just now, but the CPA's daughter in me goes to the numbers.

The numbers I'm talking about are the polls, what today's modern ambitious politicians eat with every meal.

Two things have been eating away at Lieberman's potential support. One is he, himself, his actions and words. It's hard to reconcile his joining Olmert's anti-Land of Israel, anti-Jewish Civil Rights policies with what Lieberman claims to believe in. And the other is the potential political power of billionaire Arkady Gaydamak. He has invested his money where others just float words.

Here are a sample of some recent polls:

IMRA, 18 Jan 2008, Actual Knesset today in [brackets]
27 [12] Likud
19 [19] Labor
11 [29] Kadima
11 [09] Nat'l Union/NRP
10 [11] Yisrael Beteinu
07 [11] Shas
08 [00] Social Justice (Gaydamak Party)

And a week earlier:
11 January 2008
Dahaf poll of 500 adult Israelis (including Israeli Arabs) conducted 8
January, 2008 for Yediot Ahronot.
Statistical error +/- 4.5 percentage points.
If elections were held today how would you vote (expressed in mandates - no
indication how many were undecided)
Actual Knesset today in [brackets]
28 [12] Likud
21 [19] Labor
11 [11] Shas
10 [29] Kadima
10 [10] Arab parties
08 [11] Yisrael Beteinu
08 [09] Nat'l Union/NRP
07 [00] Social Justice (Gaydamak Party)

Yes, I'm sure he wants G-d's support, too. No harm for the man who wants to rule, nu?

Don't Throw That Out Yet, Folks!

Today we received a mailing from "One Home" ("T'nuat Bayit Ehad"), the EU-financed organization founded to peacefully get us settlers out of our homes. If you read even a fraction of it you can easily see that it's a very fancy form of junk mail, a kind of real-estate pornography. Any sensible person knows that the proper place for such paper is in the garbage, or in a recycling bin if your community is "green" enough to have one. I was heading to the appropriate pail when I noticed the self-addressed envelope enclosed, paid for by the organization.
The anti-Semites who funded this abomination apparently hope we will use this envelope to send them personal information which will be useful in destroying our communities. They have plenty of money to spend on this propaganda, although not a Euro to relieve the suffering of the Gush Katif refugees or the sitting ducks of S'derot.
I saw that envelope and I came up with a mischievous idea, which I will share with you: USE THAT ENVELOPE! Not to send them a filled-out form, but a piece of your mind!
You can write a letter telling how you love your home and your homeland, and will not leave it voluntarily. (Don't waste too much time writing an opus magnum here; it's pearls before swine!)
You can fill out the form with names and addresses of Arabs taken from a phone book from anywhere in Israel.
Make several copies of the form and volunteer several Arabs for repatriation.
You can copy an article by a rabbi or other wise person on the importance of settling the Land of Israel.
You can send them historical stories or pictures of how the Jews were helpless in pre-Zionist Europe (or wherever).
You can send them historical stories, maybe even personal ones, about how vulnerable we were within the " Auschwitz Borders" before 1967.
You can send an orange ribbon.
You can send curses.
You can send a piece of toilet paper, new or used, to show what we think of their scheme.
You can send them photos of the all-too-frequent cost of territorial compromise: a terrorist wound, a loved-one's grave, a yahrzeit candle, a newspaper clipping about an act of terror, your former home in Gush Katif, a picture of Jonathan Pollard...
You can be personal, or less so, whichever makes you feel better. The idea is to "rub their noses" in the fact that this is not a peace process, but a piece process. And that we are not stupid enough to buy into their scam.
I don't expect to "convert" any Leftists or non-Jews to love Israel. But I reckon that if they sent out 200,000 letters and got 0 response they would just think that the campaign was not efficient enough, or not slick enough, to get their message across. Or maybe our mail doesn't come through. Or maybe we are too busy stealing money from the impoverished neighborhoods or eating Arabs for breakfast to get their "vital message". That better "packaging" will get the results they want.
We can be almost as annoying to them as they are to us! They're paying the postage, so let the junk mail flow both ways! The agency which is spending its budget on junk mail may think twice in the face of a flood of unfriendly return mail at their expense. The easiest thing is to send the form back blank, which says "I heard you but I'm not having any". If you have the time and inclination to be creative, go ahead; its safer than tranquilizers, less fattening than chocolate, and FREE!
Have fun, hevreh!
.

Following The Yellow Brick Road To...

HELL!

I couldn't resist one of my old time favorite songs rewritten by Sarah Honig. Sing along:


As part of last week's provincial, sycophantic and syrupy welcome for George Bush - orchestrated with every shameless kitschy contrivance - some inspired stage-manager had a young girl offer red roses and cloyingly sing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" to the big boss, who had come down from the White House to boost his own sagging prestige and that of his flunky fawning protege, Ehud Olmert.
Schmaltzy excess notwithstanding, there's lots of merit to choosing The Wizard of Oz theme. It was just used incorrectly. Here's a more apt rewrite.

The cast:

Dorothy - Shimon Peres

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - G. "Dubbleya" Bush

Glinda - Condi Rice

The Wicked Witch of the West Bank - Mahmoud "Abu-Mazen" Abbas


The Tin Man - Ehud Olmert

The Cowardly Lion - Ehud Barak

The Scarecrow - Tzipi Livni

The Flying Monkeys - Kassams and Katyushas

The Munchkins - Israel's citizenry

The Yellow-Brick Road - the "road map"

The plot synopsis:

Our incurably optimistic Dorothy, always enthusiastically promoting rosy visions of "The New Middle East," never tires of reminding us that "somewhere over the rainbow way up high, there's a land" she's "heard of once in a lullaby." Adversity won't dampen her escapist delusions, because:

"When all the world is a hopeless jumble

And the raindrops tumble all around

Heaven opens a magic lane…

To a place behind the sun

Just a step beyond the rain…

Where troubles melt like lemon-drops

Way above the chimney-tops."

Glinda, seemingly all smiles and goodwill, in actual fact coldheartedly cons Dorothy and her assorted companions. She callously conceals the fact that Dorothy all along possesses the power to solve her problems by herself and safeguard her most vital interests. With deliberate guile Glinda dispatches the inveterate daydreamer down the Yellow-Brick Road to seek a miracle from a counterfeit wizard - a patent-medicine peddler, who falsely promises cure-alls and who has no compunction to leave in the lurch any suckers who foolishly depend on his benevolence. He flies off in his Air Force One balloon, deserting the dumb dupes.

Meanwhile back at the Mukata, the wickedness of the West Bank's once-infamous witch is far from dead. Glinda may broadcast her "good news" about the transformation of the malevolent hotshot from terrorist to ally, but Abu-Mazen is hardly the reformed character she makes him out to be. He may vow to coexist peacefully with Dorothy and her Osloite band, but in effect he persistently refuses to renounce his goals of capturing Toto and attaining control of Dorothy's magic slippers - to be used to further his nefarious schemes.

And so, even as Abu-Mazen makes nice to cozy up to Glinda and her Wizard, Flying Monkeys (whom Abu-Mazen was supposed to curb but pleads woeful inability to restrain) menacingly descend upon the peaceful inhabitants of Sderot and its vicinity. They keep coming at the very time the bamboozled Munchkins up north surreally glorify the:

"Whiz of a Wiz if ever a Wiz there was,

If ever, oh ever, a Wiz there was,

The Wizard of Oz is one because…

Because of the wonderful things he does."

Neither the Wizard, nor Glinda and certainly not Dorothy and her entourage, seem to care about Sderot's plight. The Tin Man has an excuse:

"…I could be kind of human

If I only had a heart.

I'd be tender, I'd be gentle

And awful sentimental…

If I only had a heart."

The Cowardly Lion candidly admits that

"Yeah, it's sad…

When you're born to be a sissy

Without the vim and verve,

But I could show my prowess,

Be a lion, not a mowess,

If I only had the nerve."

The Scarecrow is aloofly above the fray because:

"I could wile away the hours

Conferin' with the flowers,

Consultin' with the rain,

And my head I'd be scratchin'
W
hile my thoughts were busy hatchin'

If I only had a brain.

I'd unravel any riddle

For any individ'le

In trouble or in pain."

With such professed good intentions, no wonder Scarecrow's approval ratings leave the unfeeling Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion so hopelessly behind.

This crew, regardless of their glaring deficiencies, blithely proceed down the Yellow-Brick Road at Glinda's imperious prodding. Establishment-oriented Munchkins (mainly, according to their own proclamations, members of the "Lullaby League" and the "Lollipop Guild") egg them on despite the Flying Monkeys' ongoing attacks - all dire consequences be damned. Exuberantly they shout:

"Follow the Yellow-Brick Road,

Follow the Yellow-Brick Road…"

They drown out all other voices. Only pro-Yellow-Brick Munchkin opinions are resonated by Munchkin-land's media, and the Munchkin police sternly restrict the opposition's protest options in the hallowed name of democracy and the civil liberties that Munchkin-land boasts.

Reality can be awfully pesky for those reckless trekkers down Glinda's treacherous road to the phenomenal, if bogus, destination. Existential dangers to all those trusting Munchkins don't concern the Yellow-Brickers nearly as much as the spin. With some cosmetic touchups the truth can be prettied up and their image improved, especially in Oz where appearances override all else.

Their PR specialists give our headliners the requisite makeovers. The Tin Man's damage-controllers "rub here… rub there" to keep him "in repair." The Lion's publicists "clip here… clip there" to give their client "the roughest claws." A "couple of brand new straws" are inserted in Scarecrow's cranium and Dorothy's beauticians crow that they can "make a dimple smile out of a frown." The ultimate object is to sustain illusion at any cost.

That's why the Tin Man gets a ticking pocket-watch in lieu of a heart, the Lion's courage is attested to by a medal and the proof of the Scarecrow's infinite wisdom is scribbled on a diploma.

The wrap-up:

Dorothy doesn't disown the fantasy even when it's exposed as a hollow sham. Mistakes aren't ever admitted - especially not of the survival-threatening sort.

The fraudulent Wizard has absconded but promises to return to celebrate the Munchkins' Independence Day. That should help prevent too many niggling doubts about Dorothy and Co. Hardly anyone stops to ponder whether Munchkin-land can at all be considered independent, given its little peoples' obsequiousness.

Normal?

The Zionist leaders always said that they wanted to be a "normal" nation.

What's normal about sitting passively while your country is being attacked daily?

There's only one normal thing to do, and that's to go to war to destroy the enemy, not arrest those who protest the attacks.

In a "normal" country, the politicians in power would have resigned in disgrace after losing a war, like Olmert's Lebanese War.

Shabbat's approaching, and I have more important things to do. Remember, I'm a blogger, not a paid journalist!

I Have A Dream...

I have a dream that our People will return from Exile.

I have a dream that we will walk freely and safely in our Land.

I have a dream that we will build new cities and rebuild our ancient ones.

I have a dream that pilgrims, ordinary Jews from all over the world, will return to Shiloh.

I have a dream that more Jews will sense the Ketoret, which still wafts here in Shiloh.

I have a dream that Shiloh will once again be a great city.

I have a dream that today's Channah will come in great numbers to beseech G-d, like the Channah of Old, for a leader of our people.

I have a dream that we will have a leader who will speak the words G-d tells him and obey the orders G-d gives.

I have a dream that our People will do what is right.

I have a dream that we will destroy our enemies, because only that will bring us Peace.

And in my small way, I've started bringing friends to pray at Tel Shiloh.

We pray for our Nation, our People. I'm tired of going to Kever Rachel, Rachel's Tomb. Honestly, I don't think it's the right place for our National prayers.

There is a very crucial difference between the prayer/request of Rachel for children and that of Channah. Rachel wanted a child for herself:

א וַתֵּרֶא רָחֵל, כִּי לֹא יָלְדָה לְיַעֲקֹב, וַתְּקַנֵּא רָחֵל, בַּאֲחֹתָהּ; וַתֹּאמֶר אֶל-יַעֲקֹב הָבָה-לִּי בָנִים, וְאִם-אַיִן מֵתָה אָנֹכִי.
1 And when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and she said unto Jacob: 'Give me children, or else I die.' Genesis Chapter 30

Channah wanted to give birth to the man who would lead the Jewish People:

ט וַתָּקָם חַנָּה, אַחֲרֵי אָכְלָה בְשִׁלֹה וְאַחֲרֵי שָׁתֹה; וְעֵלִי הַכֹּהֵן, יֹשֵׁב עַל-הַכִּסֵּא, עַל-מְזוּזַת, הֵיכַל יְהוָה.
9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk--now Eli the priest sat upon his seat by the door-post of the temple of the LORD;
י וְהִיא, מָרַת נָפֶשׁ; וַתִּתְפַּלֵּל עַל-יְהוָה, וּבָכֹה תִבְכֶּה.
10 and she was in bitterness of soul--and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.
יא וַתִּדֹּר נֶדֶר וַתֹּאמַר, יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת אִם-רָאֹה תִרְאֶה בָּעֳנִי אֲמָתֶךָ וּזְכַרְתַּנִי וְלֹא-תִשְׁכַּח אֶת-אֲמָתֶךָ, וְנָתַתָּה לַאֲמָתְךָ, זֶרַע אֲנָשִׁים--וּנְתַתִּיו לַיהוָה כָּל-יְמֵי חַיָּיו, וּמוֹרָה לֹא-יַעֲלֶה עַל-רֹאשׁוֹ.
11 And she vowed a vow, and said: 'O LORD of hosts, if Thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of Thy handmaid, and remember me, and not forget Thy handmaid, but wilt give unto Thy handmaid a man-child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.' 1 Samuel Chapter 1

That's why she prayed to G-d; she didn't demand that her husband do something. The child she wanted was no for herself. After Shmuel (Samuel) was born, she had many other children, and according to the Bible, she then lived a full life. Rachel, on the other hand, died in childbirth, though she said that she would die if she didn't have children.

Our Nation, Our People, is in danger. It is time to return to Shiloh, as in the days of Eli, Elkanah and Channah, and pray to G-d to send us a leader and pray to G-d that we'll recognize our generation's Shmuel HaNavi, Samuel The Prophet.