Israel in Danger!

for illustrative purposes, credit

Last night I saw a facebook status update by a friend who lives close-by that her son and his friends had a close call.  Arab terrorists attacked their car with rocks.  Rocks thrown at a car can and has killed many innocent Jews. In their case, the car's windows were smashed, but the passengers were miraculously unharmed, B"H, Thank the Good Lord.

Those sorts of attacks generally don't make the news, because the media considers them harmless, boring routine events. The government pays for replacement car windows as long as the owner reports the attack and damage promptly to the army/police who try to make it sound like it's something we "settlers" accepted on ourselves with our insistence on living in Judea/Samaria/Jordan Valley. It's supposed to be just a clerical procedure, like dealing with Bituach Le'umi, National Insurance, similar to the American Social Security. As long as you know how to fill in forms and bring in the correct documentation, you'll get your money.

Yes, we live the "victim as guilty" according to the government, media and a good part of the world. That's one of the reasons that Jews aren't allowed civil/religious rights in our holiest spot, the Temple Mount.

"If you pray the Arabs will attack."

So, instead of arresting the attacking Arabs, they prosecute Jews for praying.  Nu, and that's in Israel.

Even though there has been no sign that your ordinary Arab here really wants to be under "P.A." or Palestinian Arab rule, that hasn't stopped the Netanyahu Government from continuing to "negotiate" via the American "mediation" for the "Two State Solution."

It's incomprehensible to me how anybody in their right mind actually believes that Israel would survive very long if this "two state solution" actualizes, becomes real.  It was difficult and dangerous enough during the 1950's and until 1967 while the heartland of the Land of Israel, Judea, Samaria, the Jordan Valley, the Golan and Sinai were in Arab hands.  Not only were there constant attacks on Israel, but the economy was awful and people were leaving in droves.  The popular joke was:

"Would the last person who leaves please turn out the lights."

The Israeli economy didn't pick up until after the 1967 Six Days War. Israeli domestic technology and standard of living were very low.  It could take seven years to get a phone number and one of the options was still a party-line, like the America of the early twentieth century. In the 1950's many people were still depending on ice deliveries to keep their food cold. Modern refrigerators weren't yet the norm. Baking was in a sear pele, wonder-pot used on a small flame, because ovens were luxury items and scarce.

For some strange reason, the Israeli Left is nostalgic about those times and is convinced that Israel doesn't need the Land we liberated in 1967. Nothing they say makes any sense if you take a good look at the proposed maps or listen to what the Arabs are really saying.

Source of Map:
From: UCI

PA depicts a world without Israel

The Palestinian Authority makes no attempt to educate its people towards peace and coexistence with Israel. On the contrary, from every possible platform it repeatedly rejects Israel's right to exist, presents the conflict as a religious battle for Islam, depicts the establishment of Israel as an act of imperialism, and perpetuates a picture of the Middle East, both verbally and visually, in which Israel does not exist at all. Israel's destruction is said to be both inevitable and a Palestinian obligation. (complete article)

Honenu versus the Israeli Mainstream Media

I've been a supporter of Honenu for years.  It's the legal aid organization for Jews/Israelis unfairly targeted by the government.

Honenu is an Israeli Zionist legal aid organization which offers legal assistance to our people to protect and preserve their rights to receive a fair judicial process. We provide legal services to approximately 1000 arrestees a year. Soldiers and civilians who find themselves in legal entanglements due to defending themselves against Arab aggression, or due to their love for Israel, have an organization that will come to their aid 24 hours a day. In the Arab-Jewish conflict in Israel there are dozens of foreign funded organizationshelping our enemies. We are there for those loyal to the Jewish people.

Following is one of their latest reports:

Peace Now removed post defaming Honenu from their Facebook page
Posted on February 26, 2014 by adminWednesday, February 26, 16:07 Following a letter from Yosef Ben Baruch warning the left wing organization Peace Now of a lawsuit, they were forced to remove a post from their Facebook page entitled “The extreme right – Not at our expense!”
Post on Peace Now’s Facebook page, later removed
The post continued, “Until today you did not know that you also are funding the extreme right wing non-profit organization Honenu which defends murderers and ‘price tag’ criminals.
“A special investigation by Peace Now reveals that this non-profit organization [Honenu] (alongside other right wing non-profits), enjoys a benefit [the 46a clause] intended to assist non-profit organizations working for the good of the community, and succeeds in causing all of us to pay for its operation.
“This is the time to demand that the finance minister immediately cancel the 46a [clause] for the extreme right wing non-profit organizations and to stop the funding granted to them at our expense.”
To the post was attached an announcement discouraging donations to Honenu, an organization which assists “terrorists”, according to Peace Now, and calling on Finance Minister Yair Lapid to cancel Honenu’s eligibility for the 46a clause. It should be noted that in the announcement a photograph of Yosef Ben Baruch appears with a caption accusing him of being one of the organizers of the Bat Ayin Underground, despite the fact that over 10 years ago he was exonerated by the court of any involvement with the Bat Ayin incidents. Ben Baruch sent a letter to Peace Now warning them of a 250,000 NIS lawsuit.
Additionally attorney Doron Nir Tzvi, who is representing Honenu and the Shomron Settlers’ Council, sent a warning letter to Israeli Channel 2 following a broadcast by commentator Amnon Abramovitz on the February 21 Friday night program Ulpan Shishi.
In the letter sent to Channel 2 and to Amnon Abramovitz, Nir Tzvi states that “In the latest Ulpan Shishi of 21/2/14 a program of Mr. Abramovitz was broadcast of which the heading on the Internet page is “Operating Illegally and Receiving Benefits”. From this fraudulent heading and also the concluding statement of Mr. Abramovitz (“The non-profit organizations which operate illegally …”) the understanding is that Honenu (with which the body of the broadcast deals) operates illegally, whereas the organization holds a certificate of sound management and has never carried out an illegal act.”
Also in the letter Nir Tzvi demanded on behalf of Honenu and the Shomron Settlers’ Council that Channel 2 promptly publicize an apology the size, placement and wording of which will be determined beforehand and in writing by his clients. Also the letter demanded that Channel 2 immediately remove or change the fraudulent heading.
The letter continued, “Furthermore in the broadcast a video clip was shown without credit given to my client – the Shomron Settlers’ Council – and giving fraudulent credit to Channel 2. Also photographs from the Honenu website were used without permission and without giving credit. You are hereby required to compensate my clients with the sum of 50,000 NIS for theft of the aforementioned rights and to immediately remove the video clip and the photographs from [your page and website] on the Internet.
“Needless to say Mr. Abramovitz did not take the trouble to receive Honenu’s response to the defamatory broadcast about the organization, which is in violation of the Rules of Journalistic Ethics, and my client will consider filing a complaint on the matter with the Israel Press Council.”
It should be noted that the Channel 2 broadcast aired on Friday, February 21 after Yariv Oppenheimer, the director of Peace Now, approached other media networks over the previous few weeks with the same material. The material had been published previously in an article by Haaretz journalist Uri Blau in said newspaper; no media other than Channel 2 agreed to take the rehashed, recycled material. At the time the claims were published in the Haaretz article they were examined by the relevant authorities who confirmed that contributions to Honenu are tax exempt under the 46a clause.
Honenu responds: “Despite the impression given by the Channel 2 broadcast, Honenu does not receive any assistance or a budget from the State of Israel. All of Honenu’s work is accomplished through ‘grass roots’ efforts. Honenu works to promote the purpose for which the organization was founded, the purpose which was authorized by the National Registrar of Non-Profit Organizations and deemed eligible for the 46a clause. In the broadcast and from the statements by Amnon Abramovitz it seems that there is a cynical and ugly attempt to influence the decisions of a high-ranking judge in Israel.
“At the core of democracy is the rights of the individual, the right to a fair trial, the right to be innocent until proven guilty. Honenu will continue to assist soldiers and civilians who find themselves in legal entanglements due to defending themselves against Arab aggression, or due to their love for Israel. Peace Now’s campaign is prejudicial against a certain segment of the population and we urge those who are interested in justice for all to contribute to Honenu.”

Please share this and support Honenu!

Israel's Syrian Border: Batten Down The Hatches; Don't Negotiate!!

Periodically there are strange utterings by Israeli politicians and wannabes about "returning the Golan Heights to Syria."  I have no idea why someone could ever propose such a thing, even in jest.  Syria is not only one of Israel's most dangerous enemies, but the regime also attacks its own citizens.  Recent studies and news reports show that Syrians are fleeing their country in record breaking numbers.

CREDIT: REUTERS/SANA/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS

(Reuters) - Syrians are about to replace Afghans as the world's largest refugee population, fleeing a conflict where barrel bombs leave bodies in pieces and a generation of children are physically and emotionally scarred, top U.N. officials said on Tuesday.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the U.N. General Assembly that the world body would do everything to implement a U.N. Security Council resolution - adopted on Saturday to boost humanitarian aid access - and get help to millions in need.
"Supplies are ready to go into areas that have been hard to reach, and into the towns and cities that have been under siege," Ban said. "What we need is guaranteed safe passage for humanitarian supplies along key routes."
"It is incumbent on the Syrian government and all parties to the conflict to reach these agreements," he said.
Some 9.3 million Syrians - almost half the population - need help, the United Nations said. Some 2.4 million of those people have fled the country during the three-year civil war.

Granted that I've always been against Prime Minister Menachem Begin's withdrawal from the Sinai, which is touted as precedent, but at least the Sinai is large and a fairly effective buffer zone at least in theory. Of course its status as a buffer zone depends on how stable and peaceful the Egyptian government is, and now Egypt is in turmoil.  Also topographically, the Sinai isn't higher than the adjoining Israeli Land, so they can't hold us hostage.  It's just that the border is long and hard to police, especially considering the network of tunnels used for smuggling drugs and arms.

During the nineteen 19 years that Syria ruled the Golan Heights, it was used to launch attacks against Israel. See the maps:

Let's ignore ideology for a minute and just think logically.  Considering that Syria has never had a democratic western regime which offers acceptable civil and religious rights to its citizens, why should any intelligent, level-headed person ever propose that Israel invite Syria to rule the Golan again?

If Americans Love Israel so Much, Why Do Their Leaders Make Dangerous Demands?

phone case

Yoram Ettinger has an interesting article in the Jewish Press detailing Israeli popularity among Americans especially versus that of Arab countries.

According to a February 18, 2014 Gallup Poll, Israel is the MVP (most favorite player) in the Middle East – 72% very/mostly favorable –  leading all other Middle East countries by a dramatic margin: Egypt – 45%, Saudi Arabia – 35%, etc. Israel’s popularity is at the highest since 1991, when Gallup first polled Americans on foreign countries, compared to 2009 (63%), 2010 (67%), 2011 (68%), 2012 (71%) and 2013 (66%). Israel is more popular than most Western democracies, while the Palestinian Authority is ranked among the least favorable (19% favorability), along with North Korea (11%), Iran (12%), Syria (13%) and Iraq (16%). 
Read more at: http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/americans-israel-is-the-mvp/2014/02/23/

That fact doesn't really surprise me. When I'm in the states to visit family and shop, I'm always asked to sign up with the various stores' credit cards/membership.  I always decline by explaining that "I live abroad."

"Where?" The clerk usually asks.
"Israel," I answer.

And then they generally say one of two things:

"I've always wanted to visit Israel." or
"I visited Israel once.  It's wonderful."

These are the responses I've gotten in Tempe, Scottsdale, AZ, Miami, FL, Atlanta, GA and also New York. The clerks/salespeople aren't Jewish, not by a long shot.  It's very rare for my admission of being Israeli to be greeted with a blank stare, and bli eyin haraa, I've never encountered any hostility.

Most Americans may, like their politicians, be ignorant of facts and history.  And I must admit that even many Jews in Israel have no idea where my hometown Shiloh is located. That has me even more worried than what Americans may think or not think.

The fact that polls show that Israel is a popular country with American citizens is one of the reasons I have absolutely no fear of bucking American policy.  Actually, I think that Israel would become even more popular if our government would tell the Americans to leave us alone and take care of its own problems.  I have no doubt that if Israeli officials would refuse to continue with those dangerous so-called "peace" sic negotiations and simply state that since the Arabs we're supposed to be making peace with envision their "peace" as a world without the State of Israel, we say "NO."

The State of Israel owes nothing to the United States.  It's just a myth, total fiction that the United States has always contributed to Israel's survival.  History shows the opposite.  I don't call shopping coupons for American military industries to be good for Israel or its economy. Our own industrial development and economy have suffered because of these "gifts."

Israel's greatest victories, the 1948-9 War for Independence and the 1967 Six Days War were when we fought totally on our own.  We almost lost the 1973 Yom Kippur War, because we kept on consulting with the Americans, who were also helping Egypt.

And to answer my question "Why Do Their Leaders Make Dangerous Demands?"  The reason is that the State of Israel hasn't had the guts to tell the USA to leave us alone.  In classic bully vs victim mode we will continue to be bullied by the United States until we stop the cycle.  It's up to us, to Israel.

IRAN? "PALESTINIANS"? TRUST THE WISDOM OF OUR SAGES!

We are constantly seeing headlines like this one: Israel's Netanyahu 'Concerned' Over Iran (Nuclear Talks)

and this one: 'I'm Ready To Accept Palestine, Why Not Israel?'

א"ר יצחק שנה שמלך המשיח נגלה בו כל מלכי אומות העולם מתגרים זה בזה, מלך פרס מתגרה במלך ערבי והולך מלך ערבי לארם ליטול עצה מהם וחוזר מלך פרס ומחריב את כל העולם. וכל אומות העולם מתרעשים ומתבהלים ונופלים על פניהם ויאחוז אותם צירים כצירי יולדה, וישראל מתרעשים ומתבהלים ואומר, "להיכן נבוא ונלך להיכן נבוא ונלך להיכן נבוא ונלך?", ואומר להם "בני אל תתיראו כל מה שעשיתי לא עשיתי אלא בשבילכם מפני מה אתם מתיראים? אל תיראו הגיע זמן גאולתכם, ולא כגאולה ראשונה גאולה אחרונה כי גאולה ראשונה היה לכם צער ושעבוד מלכייות אחריה אבל גאולה אחרונה אין לכם צער ושעבוד מלכיות אחריה

OUR SAGES foresaw this ages ago, as follows: Regarding Iran, the Yalkut Shimoni, the best-known and most comprehensive Midrashic anthology, covering the whole Bible, predicted (as recorded in Yalkut Shimoni, Sefer Yeshayahu, ch. 499): "In the future Messianic era, Persia (Iran) will make war on (Saudi) Arabia, and Arabia will go and ask help from Aram [Syria?] (or Edom - the West. The Hebrew text is not clear here). Persia will (attempt to) destroy the entire world, and the world will be in chaos. They will fall on their faces and be seized with pangs, like those of a woman in labor.

The Nation of Israel also will be confounded and say, 'Where shall we come, and where shall we go; where shall we come and where shall we go?'
But then G-d will say to the Jewish People: 'Don’t worry, everything I have done, I did only for you. The time for your Redemption has arrived. And this Redemption will not be like the Redemption from Egypt, which was followed by a long and difficult history. This Redemption will be a total Redemption.'" (thanks to Sara Yoheved Rigler for this quote and its source).

Rebbe Shaul Yedidya Elazar of Modzitz ztv"kl

Regarding the so-called "peace process" with the "palestinians," who spell it P-I-E-C-E, the second Modzitzer Rebbe, Rebbe Shaul Yedidya Elazar Taub, said the following:

This is based on a verse in the Psalms (Tehillim, 120:7), which says, literally, "I am peace, but when I speak, they are for war."

He begins by asking, why does it say, "when I speak," it could have just said that I am peace and they are for war." Also, it should say, "I seek peace," what does "I am peace" really mean? He explains by referring to another verse (Psalms 109:4), "I am prayer." What does THAT mean?

A parable: If a poor man who is embarrassed by his poverty, dresses nicely and approaches a wealthy man to ask for his help, he has to pour his heart out to him, to fully explain why he needs help. But there’s another kind of poor man - one who is so poor, that he can’t hide his poverty - his clothing is nothing but tattered rags. Such a person doesn’t need to explain his situation; his entire appearance tells what he is in need of.

So it is with prayer: "I am prayer," means that my entire essence is praying; I don’t need to make a special effort to pray.

And so, too, is it with peace. Whether it be between individuals, or moreover between nations, the most important thing is that one side does not need to explain their inclination for peace to the other. Rather, the entire conduct of that nation demonstrates its desire for peace: it refrains from arming itself, it ceases to draft soldiers into its army, etc. When the opposing side sees this true desire for peace, it too will extend its hand in peace.

BUT when one [nation]’s deeds do not indicate such an inclination for peace, but they only talk about it, "Peace, peace," this will cause the opposing side to do no more than talk about peace. In the end, this will result in war.

So, King David in this Psalm is saying, "I am peace," my whole being and manner demonstrate the desire for peace, and there is no reason for peace conferences. But "when I speak," but my deeds do not demonstrate peaceful intentions, so to "they," the opposing side, will do likewise, which will only lead to war.

Suffice it to say, that after 20 years of a "peace [piece] process," with the other side still inciting its young towards war, and refusing to recognize us, this will only lead to war…

"Occupied Palestine," sic, An Oxymoron

How can one occupy something that never, ever existed?

Politicians, diplomats, academics, journalists etc keep bandying about the phrase "occupied Palestine" sic as if there had once been a country called "Palestine."  "Palestine" never existed.  There is a history for the use of the name, but the truth is that there never, ever was such a country, people, tribe or anything that you can intellectually bite your teeth into and give an actual history or timeline.

It would be humorous if there weren't so many who worship this faux state.  Adding to the fantasy is the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan which the British instigated/invented to block the establishment of a Jewish State in the territory the League of Nations had mandated to Great Britain for Jewish settlement and statehood.

Are we supposed to laugh or scream when Jordan's king declares:

“Jordan is Jordan and Palestine is Palestine and nothing but that, not the in the past or the future."

I just don't know what to make of the silence and acquiescence to the historic absurdity and chutzpah of the statement.  I guess I should be used to it by now.  In recent decades the fantasy Arab country called Palestine has taken on life, like a psychopathic Pinocchio.


Instead of being a cute loveable, though misguided character like Pinocchio, the so-called Palestinians have embraced terrorism.  And since they target Jews and Israel, the world doesn't care.

Back to the assignment/mandate Great Britain was given in 1920 and ratified in 1922, there was only mention of a Jewish homeland and not any other nation.

Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have also agreed that the Mandatory should be responsible for putting into effect the declaration originally made on November 2nd, 1917, by the Government of His Britannic Majesty, and adopted by the said Powers, in favour of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people

The reason is very simple.

NO OTHER NATION/PEOPLE HAD A HISTORY OF SOVEREIGNTY IN THE MANDATED TERRITORY BUT THE JEWISH PEOPLE!

Here we are almost a hundred years later and a newfangled anti-Jewish narrative has been invented and accepted by the world.  Not only are the terrorist Arabs aka "Palestinians" accepted by the "world of nations," but they are encouraged. Silence or meaningless, toothless tsktsking is the reaction to their murdering Jews.  It so reminds me of how the world reacted to the Nazi's treatment and systematic killing of German, then European Jewry soon after the British had been assigned to facilitate a Jewish homeland in the Middle East.  Strangely, or not so strangely the British invented Jordan for the Arabs before doing anything for the Jews.  The land given to the foreign Hashemites was at the expense of what had been mandated for a Jewish State.  Yes, this all took place at the same time, the rise of the Nazis and that should not be ignored.

At no point during this time in the twentieth century was there mention of a Palestinian history or people, because it had not yet been invented. So the obvious truth is that such a "people" is total fiction and therefore we can't be occupying a country/people that had never existed.  It's all a lie to delegitimize and destroy us, G-d forbid!

You Can Call Me a "Neanderthal," but I'm Not Looking to Adopt Tefillin, Torah Reading etc. to My Life

Oops!  The title of this post is much too long, but it does summarize how I feel.

OJC Section,
New Montefiore Cemetery

When I was a kid, up to the age of thirteen, studying in a Conservative Hebrew School, Oakland Jewish Center in Bayside, NY, I did enjoy taking my turn to lead the prayer when allowed.  I do have memories of it, so I presume that's what happened there even though this was long before women could be ordained as rabbis or qualified as cantors by the JTS Jewish Theological Seminary. The choir was mixed, and we were children.  The reason I volunteered is that I'm a performer by nature.  Spirituality wasn't on the curriculum.

Immediately after I graduated OJC's five year Hebrew School, we moved to Great Neck and that was the end of our Conservative Jewish affiliation.  My parents ended up joining the Orthodox Great Neck Synagogue which was in their budget and under the leadership of Rabbi Ephraim Wolf, ZaTZaL, very warm and welcoming.  Within a year I became an active member of their Teen Club, which was a founding chapter of NCSY National Conference of Synagogue Youth. In short, through those activities I became religious aka Orthodox.

It was complicated enough for a teenager living at home to observe kashrut and Shabbat.  I had no interest in adding any of the male mitzvot/requirements/customs, such as Tefillin, minyan, public Torah read or aliyot, then or now.  I do doven every day, both morning and afternoon prayers, Shacharit and Mincha, but I enjoy the fact that it's a personal time between me and G-d. I'm not needed in a minyan, required prayer quorum of ten. I don't need the addition of Tefillin to connect to G-d, since G-d chose to make me a woman who has a higher innate spirituality than your typical man.

I'm not a dabbler by nature.  When I take on something I go "all the way" in my commitment.  I don't at all relate to the women who show up at the Kotel one hour a month donned in Tefillin and Tallit surrounded by media crews demanding to be given the same rights and recognition as those women who pray their 24/7.

I consider HaRav Soloveitchik's comment about women's aliyot when "they write the checks" terribly cynical.

The Rav knew exactly what I was asking. He smiled and told me he would not give me a psak halakhah on the subject. However, he said I should go back and assure the students at Brown that, “When the women write the checks, they will get the aliyot to the Torah.” He repeated it three times.
Read more at: http://www.jewishpress.com/blogs/the-talmudic-blog/rav-soloveitchik-told-me-when-women-write-the-checks-theyll-get-aliyahs/2014/02/21/

As I see it, The Rav meant that some things aren't decided by principle/law/halacha but by money meaning financial power. Since I'm a believer in "principles" and not "might makes right," I don't support "egalitarian Judaism."

There are innate differences between men and women.  I'm the mother of five children; men and women aren't the same. To say that being counted in a minyan, wearing Tefillin are the same as allowing women into medical school or be bus drivers or President of the United States (which was once considered unacceptable/unthinkable) are the same is a distortion of the issues. If a Jewish woman feels an irresistible need to pray with Tefillin or doven with a minyan, that's her individual choice, but if she wants to upgrade it to principle for all, she's affecting the religious responsibilities of all women. And that I personally find objectionable. She shouldn't try to speak for all women.

John Judis's Truman Book Backs My Theory

Clarification: This post only deals with one small aspect of Judis's book.  I have not read the book and nor was it sent to me for a review.  I doubt if I'll ever see it in its entirety. There have been many complaints/criticisms about the book, such as by Ron Radosh referred to by comments on this post.

For the longest time I've been writing/blogging that the myth of United States President Harry Truman as great supporter of the Zionist aim to have a Jewish State made no sense to me. Here's what I wrote in Has The United States "Unfriended" Israel?:

The two dove-tailed contradictory Harry Truman stories should be looked at carefully.  On one hand, legend has it that he was a great friend of Israel.  Nu, if that was the truth, why did his old buddy, a Jew, have to use protexia, force himself into an appointment with the busy US President and beg that Truman instruct the United States Delegation to the United Nations to vote for a Jewish State?  If Truman had really been so pro-Israel, then no pressure from his friend would have been needed.

I'm a CPA's daughter.  I can frequently see facts as clearly as numbers, and if they don't add up, you just can't convince me that I'm wrong.  So I'm very excited to see that someone much more knowledgable than I has written a book proving me right!

Following is from the excerpt from Genesis: Truman, American Jews, and the Origins of the Arab/Israeli Conflict published in the New Republic.

But in the years leading up to, and in the months following, American recognition of Israel in May 1948, Truman was filled with doubt and regret about his role. The rosy portrayal of Truman’s unquestioning commitment to and constant sympathy with Israel, which is often linked to a picture of the younger Truman as a Christian Zionist, is dead wrong.
As president, Truman initially opposed the creation of a Jewish state. Instead, he tried to promote an Arab-Jewish federation or binational state. He finally gave up in 1947 and endorsed the partition of Palestine into separate states, but he continued to express regret in private that he had not achieved his original objective, which he blamed most often on the “unwarranted interference” of American Zionists. After he had recognized the new state, he pressed the Israeli government to negotiate with the Arabs over borders and refugees; and expressed his disgust with “the manner in which the Jews are handling the refugee problem.”

I'm not blogging about this to knock down Truman's reputation.  What concerns me is that American Jews and Israelis are so desperate to feel loved, to have allies that they we end up fabricating myths like the one about Harry Truman and his support for the nascent Jewish State.

Afterwards, Truman did accept Israel and considered himself a friend, but we must remember that he was prepared to instruct the American representatives to the United Nations to vote "no."  If that had happened, there's a good chance that other countries would have followed suit and Ben-Gurion would not have gotten the international support he felt necessary to declare statehood.

We must develop the confidence to act in ways best for Israel's security without checking for international approval.  We don't need more unreliable and imaginary allies.

I'm most worried by the fact that American Jews refuse to listen to the truth and prefer to cancel events that may prove their legends lies.

Questions Continue to Loom Over Mount Zion as Pope Prepares to Visit Israel

Posted by JewishIsrael.com

The Pope is coming to town and an historic agreement between Israel and the Vatican seems imminent. Reports and rumors are rife concerning the status of a Catholic shrine (the Cenacle) which sits directly above the traditional Tomb of King David. 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's Office (PMO) released a statement affirming that Israel will not, despite earlier reports, give away Mount Zion -- including King David's tomb -- to the Vatican.

JewishIsrael hopes that the government denials of relinquishing land and control do not amount to red herrings, as there remain unanswered questions regarding numerous reports that the Franciscans will be granted "administrative control" of the Cenacle including the rights to hold regular Catholic Mass above the Tomb of King David...more

Peace? It's Not Enough if the So-Called Palestinians "recognize Israel as Jewish state"

True Peace is more than just words, a template, formula or mantra.

It's so clear to me that even if the PA's Abbas can get out the phrase that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the Americans want him to "recognize Israel as Jewish state." there won't be true peace.

In all honesty, I'm terribly, terribly worried by Bibi's obsession with this goal of his to hear Abbas saying he recognizes Israel as a Jewish state.  That's not a guarantee of peace and security for the State of Israel.

Words don't make us safe.  Anyone or anything can make words.  Today we live in a world that has machines that speak when you type something into it.  People who are physically incapable of speech use them to communicate.  They don't even have to type words.  There are icons and symbols that can produce a spoken sentence, question etc.  

There are computer programs that can read written words out loud. When I was a Remedial English Teacher it was recommended to allow children or students with certain learning disabilities to use these programs to listen to a text.  It's also a way for those who can't read a foreign language but understand it when they hear it.

To think that the United States is trying to force Abbas to state his recognition of Israel as a Jewish State, really bothers me.

US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro declared Friday that the Palestinian Authority (PA) will be obligated to recognize Israel as a Jewish state under the US framework agreement - despite the PA's ongoing defiance over the issue.
"[The PA] recognizing Israel as Jewish state is a key sign that the conflict is ending," Shapiro stated on Reshet Bet radio. "The United States has always believed that Israel is a Jewish state and that it should stay that way." 

You'd really have to be nuts to think that true peace can be achieved with the recitation of a few words, a magic formula.

True peace is a lot deeper and more complicated.  It will only exist when both sides want it and educate for peace and tolerance.  When terrorism is no longer the ideal in the Arab world there will be peace.

Shabbat Shalom uMevorach

May You Have a Peaceful and Blessed Shabbat

Kerry Should Market The Moon's Green Cheese, More Realistic Than "Peace in The Middle East"

There's no doubt in my mind that United States Secretary of State John Kerry, his boss Obama and many others in this world, do not see things very clearly.

They keep on insisting that the main cause of "tension," Arab terrorism and worse here in the Middle East is Jewish communities like my hometown Shiloh and the fact that we are building homes here.  They have it all wrong.  They should get their eyes checked and their mind cleaned out of pro-Arab anti-semitic/Jewish/Israeli ideologies.

I'm glad that Kerry has heard that PA Abbas's diplomatic-sounding words to him aren't what Abbas says to others, and that Kerry is "disappointed."

US Secretary of State John Kerry expressed his “disappointment” to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday over anti-Israeli rhetoric...The officials said that Abbas had rejected the original framework agreement that included Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.
Abbas rebuffed the part that calls for turning only parts of east Jerusalem into a capital of a Palestinian state, as well as the annexation of settlement blocs in the West Bank to Israel.
Abbas expressed opposition to Kerry’s proposal for a “symbolic” return of Palestinian refugees to their homes inside Israel, according to the officials.
Abbas, the officials said, continues to insist that any framework agreement call for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the pre-1967 lines with minor swaps of land.

The burden of  "compromise" is disproportionately being placed on Israel, as if it's our fault that the Arabs want us destroyed and gone.

The perennial question from pundits and even veteran kibitzers like The New York Times’s Thomas Friedman is whether Israelis are ready to take risks in order to achieve peace. That was the conceit of a column he wrote last week titled “Israel’s Big Question,” and if it seemed familiar to readers, it was no accident. Friedman has been writing the same column for decades in which he asks Israelis whether they will leave the West Bank in order to retain both the Jewish and democratic identities of their nation. If they don’t, and Secretary of State Kerry’s initiative fails, Israel’s doom is, he says, sealed. But of course Israel has already tried to trade land for the promise of peace and failed. The Palestinians turned down three offers of statehood and there is every indication they will turn down a fourth offer of up to 90 percent of the West Bank that is being mulled by the Netanyahu government. Friedman’s assumption – as well as that of many of Israel’s critics – is that if the Israelis are sufficiently forthcoming those problems will disappear. They should instead be asking what it is about the political culture of the Palestinians that makes their intransigence not merely possible but inevitable. The answer comes in two separate stories that touch on what it is that both the PA’s negotiators and Hamas believe.
Read more at: http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/the-question-the-palestinians-arent-being-asked/2014/02/20/

I just wish that Kerry and the rest of the pro-peace negotiators and supporters would admit that achieving peace through these high pressure negotiations is as ridiculous as making money by marketing green cheese from the moon.

Tomorrow: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2014 / 20 ADAR 1 AT 10AM

Kavod Ha Torah.....You're Invited 

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2014 / 20 ADAR 1 AT 10AM 

VIA 9 AM 163 EGGED BUS 

SEFER TORAH READING BEGINS 

WITH SHEMONEH ESREI

LED BY THE BOSTONER REBBE OF HAR NOF 

HARAV MAYER HOROWITZ, 

place: BEIT BNEI RACHEL, THE HOUSE OF RACHEL'S CHILDREN IN THE RACHEL TOMB WALLED COMPLEX 

Seuda Following Ceremony; 

RSVP Rachel's Children Reclamation Foundation 

rachelschildren@gmail.com  facebook.com rachelschildren.org/ the racheltear.blogspot.com 

054-224-2649

1998        2005      
      

What's A Jew? Who's A Jew?

One thing I've been noticing over the years when at the Kotel is that more and more obviously non-Jews come to pray there.  As an ancient recognized holy spot for Jews, other people and religions also want the benefit of the "local call" to G-d.

That's fine.  I've also seen it in Shiloh among those who come to Shiloh Hakeduma at Tel Shiloh to visit the site and also pray.  Christian groups have been coming for decades.  They consider the Jewish Bible and History as also theirs.  Even abroad, there are non-Jews who frequent the graves of Jewish people/rabbis etc considering them as not just spiritual mentors for Jews.  Don't forget that Christians and the Muslims vie for the status of our replacement as G-d's Chosen People.  Their biggest theological and logistic problem is that we not only still exist, but bli eyin haraa, we're thriving in a successful country and active Diaspora.

Our biggest problem is that with Jewish success and acceptance there is terrible assimilation.  Many Jewish families or branches of Jewish families have ceased to exist as Jews.   Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman brought up that subject in his address to the Presidents Conference.

However, the recently released results from the Pew survey on American Jewry make for pretty depressing reading. They demonstrate that there is a significant rise in those who have little or no Jewish content in their lives, marry outside the faith and are not raising their children Jewish, than from a similar survey taken ten years ago. The intermarriage rate has reached a high of 58% for all Jews, and 71% for non-Orthodox Jews, a huge change from before 1970 when only 17% of Jews intermarried.
On attitudes towards Israel we are witnessing a major generational gap. While 30% of respondents professed to be very attached to Israel and 39% said they felt “somewhat” attached, 31% answered that they felt not very or not at all attached to Israel. Asked whether caring about Israel was an "essential" part of being Jewish, only 43% answered in the affirmative, only one percentage point higher than those that responded “having a good sense of humor” was an essential part of being Jewish.
According to the researchers, older Jews are more likely than younger Jews to see caring about Israel as an essential part of what being Jewish means to them, with more than half of respondents over the age of 65 believing that caring about Israel was an essential part of their Jewish identity, whereas only 32% of respondents under the age of 30 shared the same belief.

This massive loss to the Jewish People also exists in my own family among my cousins and their children and grandchildren.

At this point in time, years decades after Conservative and Reform Jews have decided on their own criteria for conversion, there are many, many people who consider themselves Jewish but aren't.  For strictly Torah observant Jews aka Orthodox to refuse to recognize them isn't "discrimination" any more than it would be considered discrimination when a new immigrant who had been a doctor in his/her former country is required to study and qualify.

Prayer, Does G-d Need Those Written Notes?

Yesterday I ended up at the Kotel early afternoon.  It's not that I really felt a need to be there.  Of late, I've been dreaming of going to Har HaBayit, the Temple Mount, which truly is the Holiest Spot in The World for Jews.

But one can't be spontaneous when it comes to a pilgrimage to Har HaBayit.  One must first get to a mikva, ritual bath and bathe in a special way.  Entry to Har HaBayit isn't the 24/7 as to the Kotel, at least for Jews. Politicians have seen to that. They have decided, granted with the support of many rabbis who consider Har HaBayit too holy for Jews to visit for prayer and reflection. But they don't care about the irreverence and destruction being done there by non-Jews, particularly the Muslims.

Brooklyn Bridge walking to Ground Zero

Simply put, the Kotel is an outer wall of Har HaBayit, far from the exact site where the Beit HaMikdash, Holy Temples had stood.  It's sort of like considering a trip to Brooklyn in view of where the World Trade Center once stood to be the same as being there.

I decided to go to the Kotel for the simple reason that I had the time, didn't want to spend money and I also needed a place I could comfortably sit to doven (pray) Mincha (afternoon prayers) and say the Tehillim, Psalms I say daily.

Once I got there, I found a nice spot in the shade and made myself comfortable.  I had plenty of time.  I wasn't in a rush.  After I finished I remained seated and looked around. The area was littered with small pieces of paper, carefully folded, which had obviously fallen out of the cracks between the stones.

All of the walls, even more modern, recently built ones, are being used as "mailboxes," as if G-d has a secretarial staff and needs written records of our requests.

• Our All Knowing G-d Almighty can see in our hearts. 
• Our All Knowing G-d Almighty hears what we say and what we think and feel.
• Our All Knowing G-d Almighty is not a person.

This "letter" custom aka kvittel, reminds me too much of the childish goyish custom of sending letters to Santa Claus.

According to Judaism, we do not need intermediaries between ourselves and G-d. We can and should pray directly. The lessons learned from Chana's prayer to G-d for a child, when she was at the area of the Mishkan, Tabernacle in Shiloh is that we should pray silently but mouth our prayers.  G-d does not need to have the volume up.  He hears and knows everything.

Jews, Israelis, We're Failing G-d's Qualifying Test

This post is inspired by Atara Snowbell's class, but I've added many of my own things which she never brought up.  So, if you have any complaints, please address them to me and not to her, thanks.

I'm not one of those who has this great confidence that G-d will just jump in and save the State of Israel, no matter how badly we and the Israeli Government sin against the Land and G-d. The more I study Tanach, the Bible, which due to the fantastic courses I've been taking in Matan which has been introducing me to Kings and Prophets I had never, ever before had the opportunity to study, the more I'm convinced that G-d will let the State of Israel be destroyed if we don't make some very crucial changes.

Shiloh Tabernacle Mishkan Synagogue Modeled after
the Biblical Mishkan built in the Midbar and later
located in Shiloh for 369 years

Last week at the first shiur of Atara Snowbell's  The Journey to Canaan (Numbers 20-36,) she brought up a very important point that reinforces my opinion. The course is about the last section of במדבר Bamidbar In The Desert/Wilderness aka Numbers which tells of the new, post-Exodus generation before they entered ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael, The Land of Israel.

Atara explained why Miriam died before the Jewish People entered the Land of Israel. Miriam was one of the main leaders, along with her brothers, Moshe and Aaron.  Her method of leadership was to encourage independence, by standing on the side and moving the strings from off-stage. Miriam and her brothers were the leaders of the exodus. A different sort of leadership would be needed in Eretz Yisrael.

After the older generation died out, with the notable exceptions of Yehoshua and Caleb, there was no guarantee that the new generation would enter the Land of Israel. They, too, had to be tested to make sure that they were truly ready, capable for the challenges that awaited them in the Land of Israel.  If that generation had failed the test, then G-d would have made the people wait for an additional generation, until a suitable generation appeared no matter how long it took.

To pass G-d's test, the Jewish People had to be independent of others and show faith in G-d.

Judaism has a very important element, and it's Free Will.  The upside is that we have choices, but the downside is that we may sin.  And there are serious consequences to sinning. One of those consequences is when G-d allows us to be exiled, suffer and wait for Redemption.  Redemption isn't automatic nor individual. There are always individual tzaddikim even among generations of sinners.

G-d is patient in that He does not give up on us waiting for us to be worthy.  When a generation is worthy, then G-d will start the ball rolling, as happened with the establishment of the State of Israel and our victories in the War of Independence, the Six Days War, the Yom Kippur War and other times we need G-d such as making Arab terrorist attack missiles land in empty fields etc.  But if the Government of the State of Israel continues on its dangerous and sinful path of helping the Arabs to establish another state, then I have no doubt that G-d won't protect us. The "two state solution" will be the last straw and will begin the end of the State of Israel.

G-d will protect us from whatever foreign sanctions begin when, and G-d willing it's when and not if, we cease all cooperation with the American mediated so-called peace sic talks. For the sake of our continued survival we must stop listening to the Israeli Left (Center, too) and the international busybodies.  They don't care what happens to us, just like they didn't care when the Nazis first discriminated against its Jews and then upgraded to extermination of European Jewry.  Nothing has changed.  G-d is our only ally.

We must pass the same test the second generation in the wilderness had to pass. We must be independent of foreign rule/influence and we must show full faith in G-d.

Arab Terror Against Israel is Becoming a Shabbat Routine

It seems that every single week when I turn on the computer after Shabbat I discover that the Arab terrorists attempted/succeeded in attacking Israel, destroying the fragile quiet (forget about the impossible to achieve peace) we desperately crave and need.

Of course the Arab terrorists choose Shabbat to attack.  They know that our defenses are down and we're recharging our spiritual batteries. They know that the police, hospitals and army are in "Shabbat mode." It's no great security secret.  In 1973 when Egypt and Syria planned their well-coordinated attack to totally destroy us, they chose  the "Shabbat of Shabbatot," the holiest day in the Jewish Calendar, Yom Kippur. Not only weren't we ready, but our politicians running the country were fanatics in the belief that after Israel's great victory in the 1967 Six Days War the Arabs would never attack us ever again.

Luckily G-d didn't desert us, and after a very painful war we were victorious.

No doubt it's G-d that directs the Arab missiles to miss homes and Jews during these Shabbat attacks and has them land in "No injuries were reported and the IDF was searching for pieces of the rocket." and "No injuries were reported and the IDF was searching for remnants of the rocket. Earlier in the evening, a rocket landed in Hof Ashkelon and caused no injuries. " That's the phrase used time after time.

Strangely, there's an additional report in the Jewish Press from the Taspit News Agency.

Terrorists Caught Infiltrating into Itamar Approaching the anniversary of the Fogel family massacre, the IDF caught 4 armed Arabs trying to infiltrate into the town of Itamar on Friday night.
On Friday night four terrorists were caught trying to infiltrate into the town of Itamar, in the Shomron. An IDF lookout saw four suspicious figures approaching the town and sent out a unit to search for the suspects. The IDF caught three of the infiltrators who immediately surrendered, while a fourth tried to run away and was also caught. The terrorists were armed with knives, and equipment for breaking into homes. They were brought in for interrogation. Read more at: http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/terrorists-caught-infiltrating-into-itamar/2014/02/15/

Why hasn't any other site reported it?

Arutz 7

Terrorists in Hamas-controlled Gaza fired a rocket at southern Israel on Friday evening.
The rocket exploded in an open area in the Hof Ashkelon Region. There were no physical injuries or damages. The “Red Alert” siren was heard in surrounding communities before the explosion, forcing local residents into shelters.
Rocket attacks have been on the increase in recent days, especially after Hamas gave terrorists the "green light" to open fire at Israel by withdrawing its forces that were deployed to prevent such rocket fire.
On Monday, two rockets were fired at southern Israel. The first one, on Monday afternoon, exploded in an open field near the Ashkelon coast. No physical injuries or damages were reported.
Later that evening, Gaza-based terrorists fired another rocket at southern Israel.

My gut feeling is that they don't care. All these Arab terror attacks, successful or otherwise are just becoming too routine.  It's  the difference between dog bites man versus man bites dog in the news world. The media loves to harp on anything that shows Jewish reactions to Arab terror and exaggerates it into alleged "Jewish terrorism," sic.

For Israelis living in Israel's south, Shabbat has become particularly stressful.  The Iron Dome isn't the cure. We need to totally destroy the terrorist network until they beg us declaring their unconditional surrender, and we must accept it and take over and strictly govern them. Only that will bring us peace, true peace.

Ki Tisa Havel Havelim, Losing Count

Cross-posted on me-ander

Ever since I lost track of the exact count of how many hundreds of Havel Havelim editions have been posted by Jewish bloggers all over the world, I have been naming them after the Parshat Shavua, Torah Portion of the Week.  This week is Ki Tisa,

יב  כִּי תִשָּׂא אֶת-רֹאשׁ בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, לִפְקֻדֵיהֶם, וְנָתְנוּ אִישׁ כֹּפֶר נַפְשׁוֹ לַיהוָה, בִּפְקֹד אֹתָם; וְלֹא-יִהְיֶה בָהֶם נֶגֶף, בִּפְקֹד אֹתָם.

12 'When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel, according to their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them.

The Parsha starts with counting...  and the great sin of the Golden Calf is because of bad counting... Sometimes relying on numbers can be problematic, so I hope you don't mind that I prefer that we name the longest running Jewish blog carnival, which comes out weekly, after the Parsha.

Blog Carnival

jewish-israel blog carnival aka havel ha

archives | submit post

Havel Havelim is the veteran weekly Jewish blog carnival.  It floats from blog to blog coordinated on our facebook page.  You can submit your articles via blog carnival. Next week and the following week it will be hosted by A Damaged Mirror.  Please share, link, read, comment and join our community.

As has become my custom, I'm just listing the titles which should hopefully get you interested in looking at blogs you may not normally read.

Destroying “Settler’s” Home, Beating up His Wife
Photos of the March to Mevaseret Adumim (E1)
One year ago today… (and milestones)
Sixty
"The Hope Merchant," More Than You'd Guess
Opportunity or Test?
They stab their rabbis
Settlers Attack Leftists Near Hebron: Oh, Really?
South Florida, Surprisingly Jewish
A Crazy Day, with a "Valentine" from Ricki

Rav Hershel Schachter's Valentine to Jewish Women
USA Broken Promises From Kerry and Obama About Jerusalem
Israeli Knesset – Hadassah Outside and What’s Inside
Sunday Scenes: February 9, 2014
Audio Shiur: Parshat Ki Tisa - How Could Moshe Break the Luchot?
Complete Dedication
Isolating Air Travelers to Israel
A Huge Kindness
Civil Administrations Shows Everyone How Brave They Really are by
Lest We Forget

Moving Towards the Army
Hadassah and Purim Katan
We <3 a="" hatzalah="" love="" united="">

I'll end with this in Memory of Sid Ceasar, Z"L, hat tip cosmic x

In case you're not yet familiar with it, there's a fourth Jewish blog carnival.  It's monthly and focuses on reviews of Jewish books.  Here's the latest at  Needle in the Bookstack.

And don't forget about the Kosher Cooking Carnival. Please get your links in via blog carnival.  We also coordinate on facebook.

And JPIX appears a few times over the year and is coordinated on the JPiX page.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of jewish-israel blog carnival aka havel havelim using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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