Pope to get seat over the Tomb of King David

From Jewishisrael.com

Outgoing Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon is leaving his mark on Jerusalem. After years of negotiations with the Vatican over property and tax issues, it seems that Israel is about to formalize diplomatic relations with the "Holy See".

But there are disturbing reports that the Vatican will receive a degree of "control" and "an official seat" for the Pope in the Upper Room (Cenacle Shrine), which sits above the traditional Tomb of King David - a central part of the Diaspora Yeshiva grounds on Mount Zion.

Jewishisrael reviews the reports, some recent history, and gets reactions from the Diaspora Yeshiva and from the director of the Mt. Zion Redevelopment Project....more

American Jewry, Some Observations, Part 1

I've been in Phoenix, Arizona for almost a week.  Although I've been here a number of times before, this is the first visit in which I've met up with the Jewish community.

Since I've been there before, I do know that there are some kosher restaurants, which not every Jewish community has.  That's an indication of numbers and also of Jewish tourism.

I have friends who have lived in the Phoenix area, which includes Scottsdale and Tempe, and from them I've learned that there are a number of synagogues and the usual controversies and "feuds."

Considering that my Phoenix friends are very connected to Israel, mostly living in Israel, I was surprised by how many people I met on Shabbat who have never been there.  The reasons are mainly financial.  Just to remind you, not all American Jews are wealthy.  I was in the Young Israel of phoenix, which is a very warm and welcoming community.

I had been asked to speak to the women's class on Shabbat.  Since Shabbat was TU B'Shavat, the 35th anniversary of the return of Jews to Shiloh.  Shiloh, where I live, is now a nice sized active and warm community.  It's located in the same spot where biblical Shiloh was.  Barely a mile from my house is the location where the Biblical Tabernacle was located for 369 years.

Since I traveled the day after Elections, I'm not all that up to date with the news in Israel and was concerned that people would want information I couldn't give.  But besides my host, who has an excellent knowledge of what's happening in Israel, most people I met weren't really interested.

In Israel, many of us mistakenly think that world Jewry and international politicians have nothing else on their minds but what's happening in Israel.  The truth is the opposite, and if Israeli politicians, media etc would stop trying to please "the world," then we'd be totally ignored.  There would be lots less pressure on Israel. Just like any other bully situation, the best defense is using strength against them.  All we have to do is tell all the international diplomats to mind their own business and we must stick to that line.  Don't discuss the issues at all.

Israel, Storms From The North on The Horizon

Israeli politicians are relieved that there has been quiet from the South, but we have three enemy fronts.  There's also the north, a double-headed monster, Syria-Lebanon.  And we should never forget that our super long border on the east can never be relied on, since there are Arab terrorists even in Israel, Judea, Samaria, Jordan Valley and Jordan.

There has been violence in Syria for months, and there are suspicions that it will spill over into Israel, G-d forbid.

Israel Girds for Attacks as Syria Falls Apart

Goran Tomasevic/Reuters

A building burned in Damascus after a Syrian Air Force strike on Sunday. As the chaos worsened, Israel deployed one of its Iron Dome missile defense batteries.

Is this article to prepare us?

Right now our Israeli politicians are busy with their coalition game, which combines chess and poker.

And I wouldn't count on any foreigners, whether United States, Europe or the United Nations to assist us.  There's a rare diplomat or media figure who really cares about Israel's security and future.  Honestly, it doesn't matter what they claim.  Their "love" can be fatal.

UN Special Rapporteur, Richard Falk, has comparing Hamas terrorists to fighters with the French resistance during the Holocaust. (complete article)

If you asks Falk if he wants the destruction of Israel, what would he say?  Would he admit that his support of the terrorists is the support for the destruction of the State of Israel?

I hope someone's minding the store.  An Iron Dome isn't enough. It's just a band-aid, a bit better than the plastic bags I saw on the heads of people in Phoenix trying to protect themselves from the rain.

Interim Arab Terrorism, Israel Needs a New Coalition ASAP

At present I'm in rainy Phoenix, Arizona.  Yes, it's record-breaking rain weather here.  I've been spending too much time taking responsibility for the rain.  That's better than blaming my hosts for conning me.  All those claims of gorgeous spring-like weather in late January were just a con to get me here, right?

But news from back at the ranch, in Israel is much worse than rain in Phoenix.  At least I'm protected by wearing my winter coat and boots.   The Arab terrorism that has returned after a short break to Israel is much worse.

Sunday saw a number of incidents in which Arabs shot at Israelis, rioted, and threw rocks at kindergarten children

Technically, the present government isn't an "interim" government, because it's pretty much obvious and accepted that the only MK who can fashion and negotiate a coalition is the Likud's Binyamin Netanyahu, the sitting Prime Minister.  The incoming 120 MKs are not the same as the outgoing MKs.  Many are the same politicians, but a very large sizable number are new to the position of Member of Kenesset.

Being a Knesset Member isn't so simple, as they will soon discover.  Some of the parties have very few experienced MKs to help mentor the new ones.  And some of the new MKs aren't the type to conform to rules.  And they, for instance those representing Lapid's Yesh Atid and the NRP-Bayit Yehudi are expected to be in the new ruling coalition.

Habayit Hayehudi leader Naftali Bennett (left) and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid: A two-phased coalition agreement, first with Yesh Atid, then with haredim and Habayit Hayehudi, could be in the works, sources say. | Photo credit: Gideon Markovitch Although President Shimon Peres is expected to ask Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new government only after Wednesday, preliminary negotiations are already underway behind the scenes and are gradually intensifying. Likud officials are bracing for what could turn out to be a lengthy and complex ordeal.

I'm not quite sure why President Shimon Peres is waiting until  after Wednesday to call in Netanyahu and offer him the chance to make a government.  Maybe it's to extend the time to its maximum.  In the meantime the media is busy faux negotiating, publishing all sorts of possibilities.  Considering Bibi's love of the surprise and unexpected, I have no doubts that he will come up with something the media just can't guess or predict.

In the meantime, I'll enjoy the rain...

Yallah, Latma!

In the meantime I can't see the Latma I had put up and I do see codes.
 There's nothing like Latma to tell us what's really happening in Israel.

Yair Lapid's amazing coalition and a bird's eye view of Israeli democracy

Elections are Just a Distraction, G-d is in Control

Elections are Just a Distraction, G-d is in Control-- think about it very seriously.  So many times the pundits are wrong.  All of us see the same "facts" and make the wrong predictions.

Anyone of any religion with a minimum of faith, knows that there are things totally out of our control.

Elections are a distraction, sort of like the chest breathing and hand/feet contractions I remember learning about in reading a Lamaze childbirth book.  As the mother of five, all "natural" births, I can attest to the fact that by concentrating on a different part of the body, not the area of the strongly and painfully contracting uterus, I felt better and in control.

Democracy, elections, politics all distract us from what is really happening.  The story of mankind is thousands of years old, especially for those of us who follow the Bible.  In the Bible we also read of democracy, elections, politics and lots of sinning.  There was never a time in history when all people were righteous and good.  Even in Jewish history, such a condition lasted only seconds, when the entire people pledged obedience to G-d at Mount Sinai.  Soon after, they were sinning again.

It's the nature of man to abuse free will.  Life is a moral struggle.

There's the "hype" that politician "a" or "b" can make it all better.  None of it's true.  Each of us must do our best to overcome our weaknesses and obey G-d.  All the politics and elections are toys/tools G-d has given us to learn how.

Americans are Gambling on Their Security

It wasn't quite the lottery I would have had liked to have won.  Just when I was most nervous about the logistics of flying and catching planes, the security worker said to me:

"You won!"

Ok, what she really said was that I was chosen randomly to be the subject of a further security inspection,  It was a full public pat-down.   Granted I was offered the option for a more private one, and they did bring me my bags after they had been x-rayed.  But it was clear to everyone that I wasn't a risk and they were wasting their time.

I followed their instructions, pointed my toes and lifted my legs, just like they asked.  And then I ran from one end of the Philadelphia airport to the other to catch my plane.

I'm too tired and jetlagged right now to write more, but I honestly don't see the deterrence in these random inspections. The Israeli profiling makes more sense.

Now The Masks Will Come Off

This is a quick post, because I'll be traveling soon.  But how could I miss this last opportunity for who knows how long to give some post-election information?

I hope that we all know how fake political campaigns are.  They are salesmanship to the most extreme.  Politicians and political parties, as elections go in Israel, must market themselves to win elections.

Yes, just like hand creams, cars, sports shoes and discount supermarkets.  It's a business, a hype and mostly lies.

Many times I've read that most cosmetics are the same.  The only difference is in the packaging, the price and the hype.  The same can be said for politicians.  They want your vote and will say and do most anything to get it.  Yes, as much as I enjoy observing politics, it's a show.

A good politician is a good actor/salesman.  The difference is that an actor markets his persona and a politician markets himself as a "savior."  Politicians tell us that they can save us from all sorts of dangerous and unpleasant situations.  They have the solution and we vote because we are convinced that some are better than others.  That is true, even though most are the same.  They'll change their minds and words according to the audience.

Now yesterday we had Knesset Elections in Israel.  We voted for lists of people who will then get together and try to make deals to form a government.

No doubt the new government will be similar to the old one, too many ministers, because Netanyahu will have to sweeten the package so that the other parties' MKs will be willing to sit together and support him.

This new government may not last very long.  Or it may last the full or almost full term.  There is a dangerously high percentage of new, inexperienced MKs.  That may be bad, since being an MK requires some knowledge of how the Knesset works.  Or it may be a lot of fun to watch if some begin to publicly chafe at the rules and restrictions.

So, we have a front seat to watch.  Let's pray that we don't find ourselves in trouble...

Politicians miss the mark and the truth about the Jeremy Gimpel video

Posted by JewishIsrael

The staff and board members at JewishIsrael are Torah observant Zionists with a number of political views and preferences. We strive to address complex issues in an honest and forthright manner, which will appeal to all Jews regardless of political persuasion.

Although we regularly run critical reports on Knesset members across the political spectrum, we deliberately avoided commenting on the election.

However, we feel that the uproar caused days before Israel’s election over Israel’s Bayit Yehudi party’s candidate Jeremy Gimpel's remarks to a church group, recorded back in 2011, requires a truthful response, because all political sides chose to ignore what's most fundamentally wrong with that video clip…more

  

Bayit Yehudi came under a scathing and unfair attack by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, spiritual leader of the Shas Party. Rav Yosef declared that  Habayit Hayehudi is "a party of goyim", a "home for non-Jews",  they uproot the Torah and that "anyone who votes for them is a heretic.”

This photo of Shas leaders with baby Jesus, Mary and a Christmas tree should perhaps signal to the good Rabbi that Jewish people in glass houses should be careful where they toss their stones.

JewishIsrael hopes and prays that Prime Minister Netanyahu will be able to form a government of strong Jewish leaders who will be good for the Jewish people, for Judaism and for the State of Israel....…more

NEW VIDEO: Major Global Prayer Initiative at King of Kings in Jerusalem calls for Israel to recognize jesus (December 2012):

A highly publicized Global Prayer Initiative sponsored by "Convoy of Hope", in affiliation with "Assemblies of God", IHOP and other major evangelical organizations, culminated in calls from Jerusalem to raise the name of jesus over Israel. Although there were heartfelt prayers for compassion and work with the poor and suffering (which was the declared purpose of the world-wide event), the missionary agenda directed at Israel came through loud and clear. View video excerpts here