Shabbat Shirah 5775 Havel Havelim

Take out your cymbals, castanets, bells, horns and drums. There must be something to celebrate!  I used to dance down Fifth Avenue to celebrate the fact that we have a Jewish State, the State of Israel. I can imagine being right behind the Biblical Miriam as she rallied the women and then all of the people to celebrate our escape from Egypt with singing and dancing.

Salute to Israel Parade, 1968
Yes, I'm one of the dancers

Havel Havelim, the long running, weekly international Jewish blog carnival that has been appearing well over a decade. It was begun by Soccer Dad who no longer blogs. He coordinated it for quite a while. Now we use our facebook page to coordinate and publicize it. That's where we sign up to host an edition (Hint! Hint!) and see the latest Jewish blog news. Join the page and become part of the community. 

Next week's Havel Havelim will be hosted by Tzivia of Adventures in Aliyahland and a number of other fantastic blogs. You can send in your links to  tzivia@aliyahland.com with a one-line description of your post and HH as "subject." Our weekly deadline is before Shabbat "your time."

Please read, comment and share the various links and the Havel Havelim, too.

You don't have to be a blogger to participate, read, comment and

 share Havel Havelim!!

Join us celebrating Rosh Chodesh, Women's Prayers at Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh!
Real Jerusalem Streets discovers Hidden Treasures.
Yael's perspective. She discusses the frustration of feeling a loss of independence because of language barriers. Yet sees the struggles and challenges melting away לאט לאט Slowly, Slowly.
Real Jerusalem Streets posts in Israellycool about the inaccuracies, the distortions in Reuters photographs.

Rabbi Ben-Zion Spitz Choose Your Weapon Carefully
Jacob Richman 70 multiple choice questions about Jewish food to the Jewish Trivia Quiz.
Yocheved Golani shared looks at the aging process, and a few life lessons, with her readers this past week. Let's join them at Surviving Old Age.
IMHO I May End Up Voting for Jewish Home, Because It's Nothing Like The Old NRP

If you're interested in kosher food and kosher restaurants, here's the latest Kosher Cooking Carnival!
There never was a Palestine, so How Can Israel be Occupying a "Country" that has Never Ever Existed?
Next week's host Tzivia What Jewish looks like: opening up the ortho-BOX.
Redefining Rebbitzin The Cadence of Kaddish
Tzedek, Tzedek What is a Rabbi?
Israel Brews and Views Six "winter holiday" ales
Reesa's World The Good of the Land

A Damaged Mirror, On the Liberation of Birkenau
Ruti Mizrachi book review, Potatoes in bread is as funny as it sounds
Israellycool Latest Palestinian Blood Libel: Invasion Of The Child Snatchers
First One Through What do you Recognize in the Palestinians?
A Soldier's Mother May Their Memories be Blessed
Abu Yehuda How Europe and the US subvert Israel’s sovereignty
My Right Word How Deep the 'Valley'

And just in case you've forgotten...
Please read, comment and share the various links and the Havel Havelim, too.

You don't have to be a blogger to participate, read, comment and

 share Havel Havelim!!

Knesset Elections 2015 Update, Choice of Benny Begin, Bad News for Likud

Benny Begin

In a sense I'm not surprised that Bibi took former MK and Minister Benny (son of Menachem) Begin out of the "boidim*," storage space, and gave him the very safe #11 that had been rumored for Caroline Glick. I had no doubts that Netanyahu was planning on using the spot for a strong vote-getting Right wing candidate.

Tzachi Hanegbi

Benny Begin's strong ideological credentials make up for his lack of charisma. He avoids the spotlight, rather anti-political, but his task is to reel in traditional Likud Revisionist supporters. He can do that, at least with pensioner crowd, but in all honesty, I don't think he'll attract anyone under the age of fifty or maybe even sixty. As I had written a number of times before, all the talk of giving that spot to Caroline Glick was so that she'd bring in the ideological Right. Caroline would have done a better job, being female and young; I guess Bibi didn't have too many people to choose from. He needs to counteract Tzachi Hanegbi who was actively involved with Disengagement and was a stalwart founder of Kadima.

The choice of Benny Begin shows that the Likud, is hurting and Bennett's Jewish Home is getting more attractive to young Right wing activists and potential MKs. Now that Naftali Bennett has really opened up and changed the NRP to the Bayit Yehudi, Jewish Home, even recruiting/welcoming non-Jewish Israelis, more and more of your everyday "man in the street,"  "amcha" Israeli will feel more at home in the Jewish Home.

Remember that demographics are very important in predicting political trends, and not only are the Jewish Home supporters young, but they do have relatively large families. That's why the future is in the Jewish Home rather than in Yair Lapid's "Yesh Atid," "There's a Future" Party.

Now that the political parties have had to finalize their lists, I'll have more to say.

Shabbat Shalom uMevorach,

May this be a Peaceful and Blessed Shabbat.

*boidim-storage space made by lowering the ceiling. It was/is built into Israeli apartments.

War Again?

Reuters

Yesterday two IDF soldiers were killed and seven injured by enemy attacks in the north.

Two IDF soldiers were killed and seven others were wounded, most of them suffering shrapnel injuries and broken bones, in an attack on northern Israel launched Wednesday at 11:35am by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization.
A UNIFIL peacekeeper from Spain also died in the exchange of artillery fire that followed.
The multi-pronged attack on Mount Dov, Mount Hermon and the Metullah area in northern Israel involved gunfire and anti-tank missiles directed at a convoy of two IDF vehicles and two civilian vehicles traveling from Mount Dov. Both of the unarmored army jeeps were hit directly. (Jewish Press)

Reuters

Ordinary Israeli citizens have barely recovered from the war this past summer, which had Tel Aviv sprinting to shelter and citizens of the south realizing that the sounds under their feet weren't paranoid hallucinations. There really were/are Arab terrorist tunnels under their homes and schools. Now it looks like our Northern enemies are itching for a war against us.

Troops remain along border, continue drilling for tunnels near Zir'it. (Jeruslaem Post)

This is not good! For years residents of the North had also complained of strange sounds under their feet, and the chances are that like in the South, the Arab terrorist enemies have been building a sophisticated network of tunnels in order to enter and leave Israel undetected.

We're a month and a half from Israeli Knesset Elections which are a couple of years ahead of schedule. Serious security problems will make Israelis focus on that, rather than the social issues the Left promotes. But Bibi's problem will be that he didn't "finish" the war in the south last summer. He left our brave IDF soldiers and most of the public feeling very frustrated and angry.

For much too long, our wars have been incomplete. Instead of demanding total surrender from our enemies, we beg for a ceasefire. And in exchange we send our soldiers home and our enemies work hard so that they'll be in a stronger position next time. And then each "next time" comes faster.

This is not good!

Re: My Mention in Ha'aretz, Mistakes by Writer Allison Kaplan Sommer

As my husband blogged and others have told me, my Caroline Glick post was mentioned and quoted in Ha'aretz, ROUTINE EMERGENCIES, by Allison Kaplan Sommer. I don't pay for their "premium" which gives unlimited access to their site. I couldn't get the article on my computer, so people sent it to me by copying, which of course can be done. I'm only going to quote the relevant sections about me and what I think Sommer got totally wrong.

It is such outspokenness that causes some of Glick’s fans on the right to voice distress - not pleasure - at the prospect of her signing up with the Likud. Batya Medad, writing in the blog “Shiloh Musings” warned that if Glick joins Netanyahu, that her one-state solution “hard-hitting opinions” will be “muzzled window-dressing” in the Likud, and she will merely act as “window-dressing” for Netanyahu.
“It’s because I agree with and respect Caroline Glick that I want her to stay on the outside where she won’t be muzzled and disciplined. We need an “untied” Caroline Glick!!”
Medad and company needn’t panic just yet. Glick’s Likud spot is far from a done deal, and she hasn’t even confirmed that an offer was made. It’s not clear precisely how politically advantageous for Netanyahu choosing her would be. Glick is far from a household name to non-English speaking Israelis, and her public repudiation of the two-state solution puts her in the politically problematic right end of the Likud spectrum. It’s not a political position she can fudge or conceal. Her latest book, after all, is titled The Israeli Solution: A One State Plan for Peace in the Middle East.

First of all, to refer to Glick as "far from a household name to non-English speaking Israelis" is totally false. She is bilingual and has an extremely large Hebrew-speaking fan base. Latma was/is in Hebrew besides a couple of their songs. I think the anglo writer Allison Kaplan Sommer is just projecting her own language restrictions/limitations here. There's plenty of Hebrew on Glick's facebook page, and she has been in Israel for a long time.

I'm a cynic and I have a nasty suspicion that Bibi wants Glick in the party Likud Party Knesset list for one reason and one reason only, to get votes. As much as he couldn't stand Moshe Feiglin, he can't deny that Feiglin brought in votes, but it was clear to all that those votes won't return. Feiglin supporters didn't even show up to vote in the Likud Primaries. Many are joining Bennett's Jewish Home, or Otzma Yehudit or are just plain disenchanted with politics.

Caroline Glick will attract votes and I'm sure that the "election events planners" would love a debate between her and Ayelet Shaked who agree on just about everything except which party to support.

Christianity comes to the IDF

Posted by JewishIsrael.com

Comment Confusion on The Jewish Press Article Regarding IDF Soldiers Targeted by Missionaries:

With the entangled mess of comments under yesterday's Jewish Press article, JewishIsrael thought it should try to throw some light on the situation.

It is essential and urgent that the Jewish community grasps the full picture and the repercussions of present-day Christian affiliations and cooperation with Israel and the Jewish nation.....more

Something Fishy About the Logo for the "Forum for the Enlistment of the Christian Community"?

Those Jews familiar with historic Christian symbolism may find the letterhead of the "Forum for the Enlistment of the Christian Community" to be somewhat disturbing. The organization, headed by Greek Orthodox Priest Gabriel Naddaf, features as their logo the traditional"Jesus Fish" united with, or entering, a Star of David...more

Related videos: 

IDF marches to the drumbeat of messianics in Jerusalem

Father Gabriel Naddaf addresses B’nai B’rith International 

Obama, Like FDR, Antisemite

There are many similarities between sitting United States President Barack Hussein Obama and the late U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

1. Both have fanatically loyal Jewish fans/worshipers
2. Both are (was for FDR) actually antisemitic.

Dr. Rafael Medoff brings up a lot of this in his excellent article which appears on Arutz 7.

U.S. President Obama didn't attend the anti-terror rally in Paris and is also going to be a no-show for the 70th Anniversary event for the liberation of Auschwitz. That's besides his consistently foul and insulting behavior to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his amiable negotiations with Iran. Other presidents and prime ministers immediately cleared their calendars in order to march in Paris and planned their schedules around the 70th anniversary celebrations.

Heads of states and officials march during the Unity rally "Marche Republicaine" on January 11, 2015 in Paris (AFP Photo/Eric Feferberg)

For decades, generations even, American Jews have worshiped FDR, but recently it has become more acceptable to reveal his true antisemitic nature. The American war effort was never to stop the Holocaust against German and European Jewry. That's another reason the American military was totally shocked and unprepared for the serious state of the survivors they found in the concentration camps. Many survivors were literally killed by misplaced kindness. The soldiers weren't given instructions about feeding those who had been starving for so long. Many survivors died because they ate too much and too quickly.

And don't forget that thousands and thousands, even hundreds of thousands or more, of European Jewry could have been given entry visas to the United States, but FDR's government locked them out and sent them back to Europe. Even after the war the American Government was stingy with visas.

You never see such a glowing smile on Obama when he's with Bibi.

I have no doubt that with time, we'll see more and more revelations about Barack Hussein Obama's true feelings about Jews and Israel that will make the Jews who voted for him and support him very sorry they did so.

I May End Up Voting for Jewish Home, Because It's Nothing Like The Old NRP

For many years decades I've said that I wouldn't vote for the NRP for two basic reasons:

1. I don't think a political party should revolve around the issue of religion.
2. Traditionally there was something very "apolitical" about the NRP. It found ways to join almost all the coalitions whether Left or Right to protect its institutions. 

There was also something so terribly homogeneous about it. 

Today I watched and listened to one of the top Bayit Yehudi, Jewish Home leaders, Ayelet Shaked, and she said something rather revolutionary for that party. She said that it wouldn't be the end of the world if they were to find themselves in the opposition. I was overjoyed. If you check my posts from two years ago before the previous elections, you'd see that one of my complaints about Naftali Bennett was that he had announced, before even beginning negotiations with Netanyahu that they'd be in the government. 

I use my vote to support an ideology, not for anything else. I want the MKs I've voted for to be able to tell the truth and speak out on every issue. As you probably know, I don't see MKs as having too much power, and coalition MKs have even less. 

One thing I really like about Bennett's Jewish Home is that it is getting further and further from the old NRP. And I think that Bibi's Likud is getting further and further from Menachem Begin's Herut, Gahal and Likud. One of the latest surprises is that Betar Jerusalem's former soccer star Eli Ohana may be joining up with Bennett and Shaked.

See, I've been saying for quite some time, usually as facebook comments, that the Jewish Home is becoming what the Likud should or could have been!!

How Can Israel be Occupying a "Country" that has Never Ever Existed?

• There never ever was an independent country called Palestine!
• There never ever has been a Palestinian people!

Check your history books! Check/google online for a list of kings, presidents, emperors, prime ministers of such a country. You won't even find a tribal leader, not in the twentieth century nor a thousand years ago. 

It would be even harder to find references for "Arab Palestinian culture." I dare you to find a source more than a century old. The term is very new, and that's because it was invented as a tool to supplant, replace Jewish nationalism aka Zionism in the very well documented Jewish Homeland, the Land of Israel.  

This whole Arab Palestinian myth was concocted to prevent a viable Jewish state.

“There is no such country as Palestine. ‘Palestine’ is a term the Zionists invented. There is no Palestine in the Bible. Our country was for centuries part of Syria. ‘Palestine’ is alien to us. It is the Zionists who introduced it.” – Auni Bey Abdul-Hadi, Syrian Arab leader
“There is no such thing as a Palestinian people, there is no Palestinian entity, there is only Syria. You are an integral part of the Syrian people, Palestine is an integral part of Syria. Therefore it is we, the Syrian authorities, who are the true representatives of the Palestinian people.” – Syrian dictator Hafez Assad to the PLO leader Yassir Arafat
“There is no such thing as Palestine in history, absolutely not.” – Professor Philip Hitti, Arab historian
“It is common knowledge that Palestine is nothing but Southern Syria.” – Representative of Saudi Arabia at the United Nations (Cherson and Molschky)

Before the advent of political Zionism, the Land of Israel was extremely deserted. There have always been Jews and Jewish communities here in Jerusalem, Tsfat, Hebron, Gaza and other historic Jewish cities. But there hasn't been an independent vibrant country since the Jewish Kingdom was conquered by Rome over two thousand years ago.  Ever since then, this Holy Land has been ruled/occupied by foreigners until May, 1948 with the Jewish Declaration of Independence. The State of Israel is the resumption of Jewish rule here. 

Islam was invented after Christianity which was very long after Judaism emerged as a religion/people/culture. 

The Jewish Calendar is a brilliant synthesis of the solar and lunar cycles to guarantee that our Jewish Holidays will always fall in the correct season according to the seasons in the Land of Israel. This gives a very tangible proof of our inalienable rights and connections to this precious Land. 

In contrast, the Muslims have a strictly lunar calendar in which their holidays wander around the seasons in their very nomadic way. They are opportunists without roots, just like their calendar.

May G-d give us, the Jewish People leaders with the wisdom and strength necessary to accept the gifts and miracles G-d has bestowed upon us, so that we will have true peace. 

Caroline Glick as Likud MK, Muzzled Window-Dressing

As a long-time political observer and pundit based here in the Heartland of the Jewish Nation, there are a few unpleasant things I've learned about Israeli Government/politics:

• Knesset Members have very little actual power.
• Government Coalition members have even less power.
• Coalition and Party Discipline can be very effective muzzles.
• Actual Government policy is made by the Prime Minister and his/her "Kitchen Cabinet."
• The Israeli Supreme Court considers itself well above the Government and makes decisions that effectively cancel legal laws.

Caroline Glick is certainly one of the most brilliant and bold political pundits/journalists in Israel. It's very rare that I have disagreed with her articles. If Caroline Glick was to be appointed to an actual policy making position in government, I'd be overjoyed, but that isn't the story. It has been "leaked" by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's staff that he is seriously thinking of offering her one of his choice spots on the Likud list.

Netanyahu’s associates said Glick was among multiple candidates being considered for the 11th and 23rd slots on the Likud list that Netanyahu has at his disposal. (Jerusalem Post)

Many, many Israelis and pro-Israelis are overjoyed at the thought of Caroline Glick being in the Knesset. They envision her hard-hitting opinions being broadcast far and wide from the Knesset. They envision the initiator of Latma to be in a policy making position. They dream that Glick's policies will be the Israeli ones, rather than the weak Centrist-Left that have been endangering us.

But that's not how it works.

Israelis will vote for Caroline Glick, but we'll still get the same Center-Left Bibi we've had now for years. Bibi runs a tight ship. He's not going to give her any freedom of expression. Caroline Glick won't be in a policy-making position. She'll just be Right window dressing.

It's because I agree with and respect Caroline Glick that I want her to stay on the outside where she won't be muzzled and disciplined. We need an "untied" Caroline Glick!!

Obama's Misdirected Anger

One of the things I've said about Barack Hussein Obama as early as his campaign for the United States Presidency is the fact that he had no real political experience. I consider politics to be a skill and a talent. Some people have an easy knack for getting along with people and manipulating them to do things in a way that the people even believe they're doing what they want to do.

Ever since Obama has been in the public eye he has shown none of these necessary talents and skills. He'll chastise, browbeat and get just plain nasty. He doesn't have an easy and natural way with people. He can put on short acts but can't sustain them. As United States President, Obama has been a disappointment even to many who supported him, and he hasn't seemed to grow in stature, public respect at all.

Obama's nemesis seems to be Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's Prime Minister. I certainly have my complaints about Bibi Netanyahu, but the truth is that he is everything Obama wishes he could be. Netanyahu's a true intellectual, amazingly knowledgeable, a well-respected former soldier in a world renowned special unit,an expert in international terrorism, and he's a master political manipulator.

The Israeli political system requires a Prime Minister who can not only negotiate with other parties for form a working coalition but to keep them in line. Obama, as a "lame duck" president has even less control over congress than ever before. The American system stresses a separation of powers, and Obama is rather isolated in the White House. That's one of the reasons that House Speaker John Boehner invited Netanyahu to come to Washington and address Congress about Iranian nuclear development. Many Americans consider Bibi a lot more knowledgeable about the issue than their own government. This has Obama and staff livid.

“He spat in our face publicly and that's no way to behave. Netanyahu ought to remember that President Obama has a year and a half left to his presidency, and that there will be a price."

The anonymous quote was a throwback to when, last year, Atlantic magazine quoted another unnamed senior administration official calling Netanyahu a “chickenshit.” (Fox News)

It's a sign that Obama is not in control of the American Government.

Congress is not playing ball with the White House. That is Obama's problem; it's not Bibi's fault. Being President of the Unites States of America is a lot more complicated than Obama's supporters bargained for. It seems that being an effective president is harder than getting elected, at least for Barack Hussein Obama.

Amona Back in The News

A few years ago the government's decision to destroy a few houses in the community of Amona turned into one of the most disgraceful displays of anti-civilian brutal violence by the Israeli government. Many demonstrators were injured by the armed forces including Knesset members and young children.

I was a high school English Teacher then, and my students were there and came back totally traumatized. They saw their teachers, rabbis being thrown out of windows as if they were garbage. That was in 2006, nine years ago. We thought that as awful as it was, at least it was over and Amona could resume as a community next to Ofra, just south of Shiloh.

But unfortunately we were wrong. The extreme Leftist anti-Jewish Rights to the Land of Israel faction has again gotten the approval of the far Left Supreme Court, and now they want all of Amona to be history.

Israeli Supreme Court President Asher Grunis ordered the government Thursday to evacuate Amona, the largest outpost in the West Bank and the center of drawn-out legal battles, within two years.
Read more: Supreme Court orders removal of Amona outpost | The Times of Israel http://www.timesofisrael.com/supreme-court-orders-removal-of-amona-outpost/#ixzz3Pcal8iMd Follow us: @timesofisrael on Twitter | timesofisrael on Facebook

When I was in Jerusalem last night I was surprised to see a large demonstration of young children, the children of Amona.

Amona, The Land of Israel is for The People of Israel 

Amona, Do Not Evacuate (Destroy) Jewish Communities!

Pro-Amona Demonstration in Jerusalem

They were demonstrating for the continued existance of their community.

May G-d turn this all around and give true wisdom to our earthly judges!

Tel Aviv, יש"ע זה כאן YESHA Zeh Kan! YESHA is Tel Aviv!!

Of all the slogans ever put out by Israel's pro-Jewish Rights in All of The Land of Israel aka "the Right," my favorite has always been:

 יש"ע זה כאן YESHA Zeh Kan! YESHA is Here!!

Absolutely nothing summarizes the situation better than that simple statement. There is no real difference between Tel Aviv and Tel Zion, Gush Etzion or Gush Dan, Ma'ale Gilboa or Ma'ale Levona, Eli or Eilat. If anything we Jews have a richer, more extensive and easier to prove ties to YESHA than to Tel Aviv or Eilat or any of the other places the Israeli Left (and today's Center) take for granted the Arab enemy will allow to remain in the State of Israel after negotiations for the establishment of a State of Palestine sic.

Just look at how the Al Qassam website reported yesterday's Arab terror attack in Tel Aviv. (Hat tip IMRA)

At least ten Israeli settlers were stabbed Wednesday
morning on a Dan Line 40 bus on Begin Road in Tel Aviv near the Maariv
Bridge. (emphasis mine)

A wounded Israeli woman is treated at the scene of Wednesday's terrorist attack in Tel Aviv | Photo credit: Yehoshua Yosef

Leftist Israelis (and others) who live in pre-June, 1967 Israel try to distinguish between themselves and those of us who live in Land liberated in the 1967 Six Days War. They totally ignore the frequently proven fact that our Arab enemies make no distinctions, none at all. For them we are all the same. They aim to destroy the entire State of Israel. We can have no peace with them.

 יש"ע זה כאן YESHA Zeh Kan!

Arab Terror Attack in Tel Aviv by Illegal Arab Resident Punish the Facilitators!!!

Arab terror attacks can happen any place, Paris, Tel Aviv...

Tel Aviv stabbing

Assi Divlinsky, Magen David Adom

And this morning's terror attack took place in Tel Aviv by an Arab who has been living in Israel illegally.

The assailant is a 23-year-old man from the West Bank city of Tulkarm, illegally residing in Israel, police said. 
The suspected terrorist stabbed at least nine people on the 40 bus line in Tel Aviv  near the Maariv junction around 7:30 A.M. on Wednesday. (Jerusalem Post)

This isn't the first time an Arab terrorist who was living and/or working illegally in Israel used the opportunity to try to murder innocent Israelis. And there are many, many other Arabs living and working illegally in Israel. Their employers and landlords must be fully and strictly prosecuted by the law. If the punishment is light, then the law must be changed to charge them as accessories to the crimes. Whoever has been employing this terrorist must be charged as if he/she is also a terrorist, attempted murder. The same goes for the landlord who owns the apartment where the terrorist ahs been living and the same for all the flatmates.

Zero tolerance for terrorism and facilitating terrorism!!

Israeli Elections, 2015, 5775, Chrareidi Women's Party Boycotted to Death

When I first heard that one of the "New Parties on the Block" to run in Israeli Knesset Elections is of Chareidi women, בזכותן Bizchutan, all I could think was "oxymoron." There's an inherent impossibility in the term.

Chareidi women who want to run for political office don't suit the full definition of "chareidi." It just can't happen. Chareidi is more than just a way of observing Judaism's mitzvot, commandments. It's accepting a certain life-style and customs. It's being part of a strict social inflexible structure, which may be a bit more liberal (with a small "L") at home within the confines of family, but in the public realm there's very little leeway.

I remember watching the press conference a few weeks ago with Arye Deri and Rav Ovadia's very accomplished daughter,  Adina Bar-Shalom, when she announced that although she had been offered all sorts of offers to be in safe spots on Knesset lists, she was sticking with Shas and making do with joining Yaffa Deri on a new "Women's Council."

Therefore, I'm not at all surprised that the public leadership of the women's chareidi party are beginning to feel the pressure of their society against them in offers they can't refuse.

"Be careful - the ones who become muktzeh here aren't hareidi women, it's you who will be muktzeh because the hareidi society will excommunicate you, because the hareidi society will not receive your sons, it won't accept shiduchim (arranged marriages - ed.)," he warned.
Halbertal continued "you will be muktzeh there in the hareidi society. On the personal level I say to you, think twice about what you're doing to your family and also the other hareidi women there, you will be excommunicated for generations. They will denunciate you all, and rightly so, from the hareidi community."
The threats echo similar threats of excommunication from the hareidi school systems made last month by United Torah Judaism party activists against hareidi women who campaigned to have female representation in the hareidi parties. (Arutz 7)

Their families must decide whether they really want the pressure and rejection, because if they do, then they aren't really chareidi, are they?

"Palestine" Semantics

In a rare move, the Israeli Government has refused a visa to a United Nations investigator. But davka UNHRC special rapporteur on violence against women, Rashida Manjoohad, planned on investigating the status of women in the P.A, though knowing the United Nations and the Arabs, there's little doubt they'd find some way to blame Israel.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Paul Hirschson said on Monday that the issue was the language of the request and the travel itinerary, which did not include a visit to Israel.
“The special investigator asked to visit ‘Palestine.’ We explained to her that there is no such country. Should she wish to visit the Palestinian Authority as part of a visit to Israel, that would be no problem.
Israel has an excellent record of working with UN special investigators,” he said.

For most of the world, there is a country called Palestine, and it's just an immoral minor detail that it is "occupied" by Israel which restricts access. Most of the world fully believes that there had been an Arab country called Palestine here before the establishment of the State of Israel. Of course they ignore the simple fact that they can't find any record of such a country, its leaders, history etc. Why should they need such historical facts when it comes to delegitimatizing the Jewish state? The "blood libel" is alive and thriving even in the twenty-first century.

This reminds me of a Morty Dolinsky story from the time he was head of the Government Press Office:

When the late Morty Dolinsky was in charge of the Government Press Office in the 1980s, he once famously replied to a reporter, who asked for information about the West Bank, that he knew no West Bank as he banked at Leumi.

I sincerely hope that the Government of Israel doesn't apologize to the U. N. for refusing Rashida Manjoohad a visa. And we should stop giving visas to all the NGO activists, investigators etc who just incite the Arabs against Israel! They should be declared persona non grata and expelled!

Likud, Bayit Yehudi/NRP/Jewish Home Primaries Miscounts?

One year we had to start outside since
we didn't have a key to  the building
where the voting was to take place.

Vote counting isn't easy. I've been running our local Shiloh Mazkirut "Town Council" elections almost every year for the past thirty years or so. We certainly have fewer votes to count than in the various Knesset polling stations (which I've also been part of here in Shiloh) or the party primaries. But I can certainly sympathize with those entrusted with the actual counting. First of all, it all happens late at night, when few of us are sufficiently alert to do a good job. And few people actually know what to do. I have my systems, which generally work in our small town.

inside the Likud Primaries polling booth

In Shiloh the elections are for voluntary posts which demand a lot of time, efforts and nothing much but public complaints in exchange. The party primaries are to give people the chance to be Knesset Members, a position with an above average salary, granted for some people it's a reduction, but for others it's more money than they had previously earned, and another aspect of the job is the chance to give other people jobs on the MK staff. And that's besides the actual status and chance to try to legislate change from the inside, rather than ranting from outside the government.

I may be wrong, but I think that the numbers of possible voters in the Likud and NRP aka Bayit Yehudi, Jewish Home are probably the most of any Israeli political party. That means that it is complicated and mistakes my be unintentional. Each polling station does its own count, and then the totals (and ballots) are brought to a main center where it's all calculated for grand totals. When recounts are needed. all the papers are there for a staff to do the job.

A lot has been in the news about both the Likud and Bayit Yehudi having impossible to be accurate results:

Bayit Yehudi to re-count primary votesand
Likud judge decides in favor of Hotovely

I wouldn't dare to guess whether something crooked really happened in either party's primaries. Since it's all done by "hand," the human factor means that it's easy to cheat and also easy to make an honest mistake.

If there was cheating, let it be proven and have the guilty, tried and punished.

And I also wish that political and elected government leaders be punished for saddling us with policies they campaigned not to rule by!

Blacking Out of Heschel's Presence in the Selma March Typical of Black Antisemitism

American Jewry was always so supportive of the Black Rights, civil rights movement. It went hand and hand with their worship of FDR. Many of the leaders and lawyers for Civil Rights were Jewish, and Abraham Heschel's prominent place in the Selma March was always stressed. So now his daughter is upset to see that his presence is not mentioned in the new movie about it.

Rabbi Heschel with MLK, Jr. on the march from Selma in 1965. Heschel is second from right. (Image" Duke University, Abraham Heschel papers archive)
Read more at http://libertyunyielding.com/2015/01/18/selma-strikes-deleting-rabbi-heschel-religious-inspiration-selma-history-video/#DKP6QAJF5oMCt5yg.99

This "love affair" between American Jews and the blacks was always very one-sided. A neighbor of mine was one of the lawyers who went down south to investigate the disappearance and death of Civil Rights workers, like in the story depicted in Mississippi Burning. In general white Americans stayed away from the movement and American Jews embraced it.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (2nd from right) in the Selma Civil Rights March with Martin Luther King, Jr. (4th from right). Photo: Wikipedia.

The recently released film ‘Selma’ is facing a fresh controversy after the daughter of a famed rabbi who was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement told The Algemeiner she was “shocked and upset” by the exclusion of her father from the movie.
Susannah Heschel, a Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College, whose father Abraham Joshua Heschel marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King at the third protest march from Selma depicted in the film, said that the iconic photo of her father marching with Dr. King “has meant so much to so many people,” even President Obama.
“President Obama said to me ‘your father is our hero’, everybody knows that picture,” Heschel said. “I felt sad and I had moments when I felt angry,” she said of the omission, describing it as “tragic.”
Since its release, the film, which portrays a key turning point in the fight for civil rights in the United States, has been surrounded by controversy. Its unsympathetic portrayal of President Lyndon B. Johnson has been roundly condemned as inaccurate, and New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd described it as “artful falsehood.” (Algemeiner)

But antisemitism has played a large role in Black American society. It's just too easy for them the blame Jews, because everyone hates the Jews.


It's a shame that American Jewry has wasted so much talents, energy and money on helping others instead of supporting Israel.

Arabs Burned the French Flag, Threw Eggs at The Canadian Foreign Minister! Has The Teflon Worn Off Yet?

For whatever incomprehensible reasons, the Israeli government is still allowing Muslims free access to the Temple Mount. The Arabs don't really go there to pray. They use it to riot. One of their latest riots included the burning of the French Flag!

Masses bear Hamas flags and Muslim doctrine at the holiest site in Judaism Sliman Khader/Flash 90

Gazan Hamas-Supporters Burn French Flag on Temple Mount
Israel lets nearly 200 Gazans protest Charlie Hebdo's cartoon after Paris massacre, fly Hamas banners on Temple Mount.

Palestinian Hamas supporters burn a US flag during a protest in Gaza City, Friday. (photo credit: AP)

Read more: From Jerusalem to Jakarta, Muslims take to the streets to protest anti-Islamic film | The Times of Israel http://www.timesofisrael.com/from-jerusalem-to-jakarta-muslims-take-to-the-streets-to-protest-anti-islamic-film/#ixzz3PCaxLS4F
Follow us: @timesofisrael on Twitter | timesofisrael on Facebook

Today there were reports that the Arabs threw eggs at the Canadian  Foreign Minister John Baird, while the P.A. Police stood by and watched.

nbcnews.com

Palestinian protesters have thrown eggs at Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird as he was visiting the West Bank city of Ramallah. (BBC)

Nu, when will the world admit that not only can't we (Israel) negotiate peace with them, but the rest of the world is also in danger?

Likud, Bad Polls Can be Good News

Reuters

I'd say that the "bad news polls" of late are playing in the hands of the Likud campaign strategists. The latest polls are giving Labor-Livni more seats than Likud.

The combined Labor-Hatnua list would win three more Knesset seats than the Likud, 25 to 22, if the election were held now, according to a Panels Research poll taken for The Jerusalem Post and its Hebrew sister publication,Maariv Sof Hashavua. (Jerusalem Post)

One of the key planks in the Likud platform always is a warning that if you want Netanyahu as Prime Minister, which according to the same polls a pretty steady half the population does want, voting for any other party will endanger that.

Panels has been asking whether respondents want Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to remain in his post after the election. In Thursday’s poll, 58% said “no,” up from 51% two weeks ago but below the peak of 66% on December 11.
Fifty-four percent said Netanyahu represented Israel well in France last this week, 32% said he did not, and 14% had no opinion. A majority said it was right of Netanyahu to call for French Jews to make aliya, even if the French government does not approve of such statements.

So I have no doubt that the scare tactics of the Herzog-Livni two headed monster will dominate their campaign. Note that the Jerusalem Post purposely didn't give the percentage of support the polls showed for Herzog or Livni. This is no doubt because they were so low that it would show the obvious fact that the vast majority of Israelis do not want to see either of those two in power.  Bibi's campaign staff isn't stupid, and I trust that they will stress that in their Knesset Elections campaign.

Herzog & Livni

PM Binyamin Netanyahu

Versus



And for the umpteenth time, I'll just remind you that the Israeli political election system is rather complex.

• The system is strictly proportional representation.
• We vote for parties and accept the list of candidates in the order set beforehand.
• The President of Israel (who is not a policy maker) consults with the various party leaders after elections to see whom (or which party) they prefer to lead the country. 
• Then the President offers that party's leader the chance to form (negotiate) a ruling coalition. 
• If he/she succeeds, then the new government is formed. 
• If not, then another party's leader is given the chance.

Don't forget that elections will be on March 17 which is almost two months from now. And a lot can happen before then.

Havel Havelim, וָאֵרָא Va'era, And I Appeared....

This week's Parshat Shavua, Torah portion of the week is  וָאֵרָא Va'era, And I Appeared....

It was a very difficult week for the Jewish People. Four Jewish families based in France began their week preparing for funerals. Their loved ones were brutally murdered by Muslim Arab terrorists in a Paris kosher supermarket. Posts about this tragedy and the ramifications for world Jewry will be included in this edition of Havel Havelim.

Havel Havelim, the long running, weekly international Jewish blog carnival that has been appearing well over a decade. It was begun by Soccer Dad who no longer blogs. He coordinated it for quite a while. Now we use our facebook page to coordinate and publicize it. That's where we sign up to host an edition (Hint! Hint!) and see the latest Jewish blog news. Join the page and become part of the community.

Next week's Havel Havelim will be hosted by Elana of the Israel Forever Foundation. You can send in your links to blog@israelforever.org. with HH as "subject." Our weekly deadline is before Shabbat "your time."

Please check out the posts, comment and share, too. And remember:

You don't have to be a blogger to participate, read, comment and share Havel Havelim!!

Here's the January 2015 Jewish Book Carnival, a collection of book reviews, Jewish books, of course.
Gail Winston's "war diary"
Ben Zion Spitz's Faith is the Cure
The Real Jerusalem Streets was at the the Jerusalem funeral of the four French Jews murdered by Arab Muslim terrorists in Paris.
Yocheved tells how she felt going into Shabbat worrying about the Jewish hostages in Paris. The Meaning of Life is More than You Imagined

New immigrants deal with the unexpected in this moving post: Dear Kids, ...
Israel Forever L'Chaim to Our Lone Soldiers
For me, this is the most difficult Israeli election in the 44 years we're here. Terrible Israeli Election Dilemma!
I was just thinking that since we're almost at TU b'Shvat, it's time to do pre-Passover inventory, and here's an important post by Tzivia for those who don't quite fathom what Passover and the seder are.  10 Savvy Survival Tips to survive – and enjoy! – your first seder experience.
HaDassah's Jerusalem f2f!
Tzivia Ready to work: finding your first job in Israel.
Esser Agaroth asks: Dear Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook Rejects Extremism? Seriously?
As a terror attack survivor, Can One Protect Oneself Against Terrorism?
Israel Matzav Silencing dissent: Pro-Israel event canceled due to threats in...

Walk Through the Parsha Va'era-5775
The Rebbetzin's Husband Moshe the Superhero (Vaera 5775)
Chaviva and The Na Nach Bumper Sticker: A Missed Connection
Birder's Journey More Torah connections~
A Soldier's Mother When a Smile Speaks
Tzivia Have you told your kids about shemittah?
Post Snow, Just Winter
Jacob Richman 157th Anniversary of Eliezer Ben Yehuda (Tevet 21)

If you're disappointed in not finding your post included, sorry. I just included what was sent to me and what I found. The best way to guarantee being included is to send your link to the host of the upcoming week's Havel Havelim. That means that for the following week please send to blog@israelforever.org. with HH as "subject." Hosts always appreciate a short blurb to help us describe your post.

Remember, you don't have to be a blogger to participate, read, comment and share Havel Havelim!!