Guest Post: Waiting for Normal Life to Return to Netivot

From Life on the border with Gaza - things people may not know (but should)

Waiting for Normal Life to Return to Netivot
by Esther Hilf Revivo

We had a quiet (I wish) night Motzei Shabbat. There were 4 rockets sent to the Eshkol Region -- but nobody gives a ding-dong about THAT! The tanks are still there so the terrorists are behaving themselves, relatively speaking. If you call 40,000 people rioting and throwing thousands of grenades and other explosives at our IDF all through the night behaving. But there was no breaching of the fence.

Our government has to look for a long-term solution, which it does NOT CARE TO DO! So we, especially those on the border, continue to suffer from the whims of Hamas, as do innocent Gazans who want peace, and indeed they do exist! I've heard one speak twice on my laptop via Adele Raemer, a friend living on the border Kibbutz, Nirim.

We are fed up with the apathy of the government, media and all of the country outside of the area affected by the present violence. Below I will present an article posted in The Times of Israel on Friday, March 29th, by Joshua Davidovich and address each of his points.

I originally penned this on Friday but nothing has changed since then. We are in the same stalemate! Rioting continued on the border and the noise was unbearable at border settlements and clearly heard here in Netivot from Friday until motzei Shabbat! We were awakened on Shabbat at 4 and 6 a.m. by huge BOOMS from an IDF tank that targeted a Hamas outpost. The government reacts but is not proactive in seeking solutions.

Before I answer Mr. Davidovich’s points, let me tell you that ALL of Netivot has descended on the shops to fill up on food, bottled water and gas for their cars. We are mentally prepared for war. Everyone is walking on eggshells and feels terribly tense. The noise last night was horrific. I couldn't stop thinking of our soldiers out there. Well, here are what aforementioned Joshua Davidovich sitting safely in Central Israel had to write and my responses:

1. "BRACING FOR THE WORST: Massive protests on the Gaza border are not planned to take place until Saturday afternoon, but Israel already seems to be at peak gird."

BOOOOOOOMING all last night. That was Thursday, March 28, 2019. The first arrivers to the party threw HUGE explosives at our IDF. One thankfully blew up in their faces seriously wounding 5 terrorists. What a boom that was. My friends at the border had ANOTHER sleepless night. How much more can we take?

2. “According to the Walla news site, senior commanders are preparing for a variety of scenarios, including the possibility of deterioration to the point of a large-scale ground operation. TOI’s Judah Ari Gross notes that “The Israeli military is preparing for the possibility that Saturday’s protests will be some of the most violent yet.”

We know. We see the tanks and here the drones etc. But there have been preparations before and the GOVERNMENT HAS WIMPED OUT. We’ve had a year of Hamas violence specifically rockets, grenades, incendiary balloons, etc. AND WE ARE FED UP!

3. “Though Hamas is referring to the Land Day demonstrations as the ‘million-man march,’ only a few tens of thousands of people are expected to participate. The weather, which is currently predicted to be cold, rainy and windy, may help keep the numbers even lower than that,” he adds.

A FEW? How are "only tens of thousands” a few?! Get your butt down here to smell the fires; hear the noise from the grenades thrown at our soldiers, and tell me how you would feel if you were not be able to calm your children's fears nor stop them wetting their beds at ages 10- 12!!!

4. “According to Yedioth Ahronoth, troops will be stationed along the border starting Friday, with ‘tensions reaching their peak.’ Trying for a truce: Reports indicate that Egyptian mediators are still working furiously to try to broker some sort of calm ahead of the expected melee. On Thursday, the delegation passed a message from Israel to Hamas, telling the Gaza-ruling terror group: ‘Any mistake you make on Saturday could lead to war,’ Channel 12 news reports."

Yeah, yeah. Heard that for a year but we still have no solution. HAMAS IS STILL CALLING THE SHOTS! We only react mildly, which doesn’t help at all.

5. Walla’s Amir Bohbot said that it will be hard to predict how the demonstrators will act following the “extreme speeches and incitement to violence against Israel. “ Especially after the brainwashing by Hamas, which according to events of the last year is leading them back toward Israel.”

BRAINWASHED. That is the problem exactly. From kindergarten, if not earlier, children are taught to "KILL THE JEWS!" Hamas, as you all know, has special camps to teach elementary school age children how to become terrorists. May Hashem (G-d) continue to create miracles for us, and may the government have the guts to finally do something other than allow more Qatari money into Gaza!

Just Over a Week Before 5779, 2019 Knesset Elections, and We're on Verge of War

Life here is Israel is rather surreal. From what I've heard and know of history, Israeli culture and living here for almost half a century, that's "normal." There's just over a week before the 5779, 2019 Knesset Elections, and I notice less election hysteria than in the past. Maybe it's because the Israeli news has been so anti-Bibi that I feel that nothing has changed, or is it because of the EU backed Arab terror, riots, incendiary devices and rockets fired from Gaza for the past year, which has the country on the verge of war.

As tiny as the State of Israel is, and by American standards, it's about the size of New Jersey, we don't see and feel the terror/violence in most of the country. A few decades ago, Israelis in the north complained that most of the State of Israel was oblivious to the rockets, terror/violence they suffered. So, it's very deja vu for me. Israelis who had been alive during the War of Independence would tell similar stories, how despite the war all around, the cafés, coffee shops in Tel Aviv were always full of revelers.

Here in Shiloh, we haven't been directly affected by the Gazan attacks/terror, but other waves of terror, the intifadas were nearby, and then it was quiet in both the north and south.

Life on the border with Gaza - things people may not know (but should) Facebook group

Shiloh is northeast of Ramalla, which isn't in the "red zone."

As for the 5779, 2019 Knesset Elections, when I speak to neighbors and friends, we all seem to want the same thing from our MKs, but we differ on which political party will be the best choice.

Last night I even posted on facebook :

This may shock some people, but I don't mind if Likud is in the opposition for a bit. It'll go more Right.

Most responders/comments didn't agree with me. They just don't get it. Being in the opposition would be a good shock/cleanser for the Likud. It would remind them that the Israeli voter wants a real Right party in power, not a bunch of Centrist wimps. This scenario would happen if their prospective truly Right political parties, like the Shaked-Bennett New Right lose votes to the fake Right, like Feiglin and Kahalon.

And concerning the terror from Gaza, the IDF has called up a lot of reservists who are waiting for a decision. IMHO, we should have bombed them to bits last year when it started. Any terrorist or agent provocateur, regardless of age should have been eliminated. We're being attacked. That's war, and there's no need to act like these are toddlers having a bissell tantrum.

In less than two weeks, maybe there will be some election results. Or will the 5779, 2019 Knesset Elections be suddenly postponed because of war? Tune in ...

Knesset Elections 2019, 5779, Polls are Just Polls & Feiglin Kingmaker

This post isn't the one I told my facebook friends I'd write, but I think it's good pre-Shabbat food for thought message. Print it if you don't have time to read it now, or if you want to show it to others.

To be honest, I also check the polls and appreciate Jeremy's Knesset Insider, which just gives the basic numbers and attributes his findings. The polls indicate possible trends, though because an Israeli Prime Minister must negotiate a coalition, the more detailed the poll, the less accurately it may actually predict who will run the next government.

What I find absurd and inaccurate are those television news commentators, who excitedly read off various poll results as if they're giving us a real-time report of a Wimbledon final. A few hundred people willing to fill in an online form or answer a telephone caller isn't the same as the actual elections. Please, don't take it all so seriously.

For the first time, now in the 2019 Israeli Elections, there are quite a few political parties campaigning as Right. Not only hasn't this happened before, but former MK Michael Ben-Ari has davka been forbidden to run by the Central Elections Committee. Their excuse is that he's too Right. Center used to be the popular label. To be honest, I don't see most of the self-labeled Right parties as truly Right. They're mostly trying to cash in on the fact that Israelis are getting tired of the weak Center.

Bibi, Center
Bagel Hole

We have just a week and a half now before Knesset Elections 2019, 5779, and once the votes are counted enough to see which party got how many Knesset seats, if not before, Likud and Blue-White negotiators will be seriously courting and competing for the only unaffiliated supermarket party running, Feiglin's strangely named Zehut, Identity. That's a terribly ironic name for a party that has no real ideological identity.

Moshe Feiglin has gathered a diverse collection of MK wannabes, who don't have anything in common other than wanting to get elected to the Knesset. In terms of ideology, they cancel each other out. As a party, they can't be labeled truly Right or Left or even Center. Just call them Opportunist. They'll end up being offered "the moon" by both Likud and Blue-White. That's very dangerous for the State of Israel.

The State of Israel seems to be on the verge of war in  the South and political chaos, if my prediction about Feiglin is correct.

Let's pray.

Shabbat Shalom u'Mevorach

Have a Peaceful and Blessed Shabbat

Has Gantz - Hit The Fan?

Right now there's a Likud Press Conference demanding that Benny Gantz, who has branded himself as "clean" be investigated. Apparently, Gantz's friend Roni Alshech, head of the Israeli Police had arranged a deal using equipment from Gantz's company without the legally required public call for bidding, opening it to the public.

Likud Demands that Gantz be investigated
Following the State Comptroller's report regarding critical problems in the Home Front command and Helicopter commands the Likud party demanded that chairman of the Blue & White Benny Gantz be investigated, saying:
"There is no one law for Netanyahu and another law for all the rest. We can not accept double standards and decisions that apply only to Netanyahu. If the law enforcement system wants to prove that every citizen has the same law, it is necessary to announce the opening of an investigation against Gantz and the others mentioned this evening."

and

COMPTROLLER: THE POLICE ACTED IMPROPERLY IN DEALINGS WITH GANTZ’S COMPANY

Joseph Shapira’s report mentions that “Company A” was given an unfair advantage when it got to be present during internal police meetings about who to choose for the supplier role which Company A was competing for.

The police even granted Company A use of proprietary police technology at a discount to help it develop its solution which the police wanted it to produce.

However, the report goes even further and accuses Company A of making misleading statements to the police in order to win an NIS 4 million payment in 2016 to carry out a pilot project in the cyber technology realm.

Gantz company eventually went bankrupt after the US sanctioned its main investor, a Russian tycoon linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

But it is even possible that Gantz’s company could have been paid NIS 50 million by the police if his company had not gone bankrupt.

The 2019-5779 Israeli Knesset Elections is getting more and more interesting.

This news conference was broadcast on the internet, not on any of the three Israeli channels. Those channels are all pro-Gantz and anti-Bibi and didn't want to make the Likud look good. My husband had to send me the link, since I had been watching the tv news.

The New Right, HaYamin HeChadash, הימין החדש in Shiloh

Last night there was a parlour meeting with The New Right, HaYamin HeChadash, הימין החדש in Shiloh. Yes, of course I attended.

The New Right, HaYamin HeChadash, הימין החדש in Shiloh. MK candidates Matan Kahana and veteran MK Shuli Moalem-Refaeli

It was in Hebrew, which is no problem for me. Davka, most of the attendees were English speakers, but we've all been in Israel for many years.

Matan Kahana and MK Shuli Moalem-Refaeli introduced themselves to us, and their backgrounds are extremely impressive. Kahane, whom I had known nothing about until last night, spent years in the IDF and Israeli Air Force, also managing to get law degrees and other professional training. I'd really like to see him using his obvious intelligence in the Knesset. Moalem-Refaeli, a nurse, is more well known and has taken well to her Knesset work.

Ayelet Shaked and Naftali Bennett have certainly attracted and assembled an extremely talented, diverse and experienced team on their New Right Knesset List.

The parts of the New Right's Campaign Platform Kahana and Moalem-Refaeli stressed in Shiloh were, obviously, those that affects us. They spoke about Ribonut, the importance of declaring Israeli Sovereignty here and Jewish building and rights in "Area C."

No beating around the bush here, I fully support The New Right, HaYamin HeChadash, הימין החדש and plan on voting for that party. I certainly hope that many other Israelis agree with me. As I see the Israeli political system, it's the Right versus Left blocs one must think of when choosing a party. For instance, if you want a strong Right coalition, then there must be a large political party on the Right to pull the Centrist Likud Rightwards. I'll never forget hearing Binyamin Netanyahu state, at the First International Bloggers Convention state that although is political beliefs are firmly on the Right, he thinks that a Prime Minister should be in the Center of the political spectrum. That was a true eye-opener for me. And that's why I don't vote Likud.

The NRP aka Jewish Home has its source as the Israeli Center. No matter what it's calling itself today, the mafia that pulls the strings historically prides itself on being able to join any coalition. That's why Shaked and Bennett had to leave after they rehabilitated the veteran party, which was pretty much dead when they were recruited to take over.

I will only vote for a party whose leaders are unabashedly on the Right of the Israeli political spectrum. The New Right, HaYamin HeChadash, הימין החדש

For Want of an Asterisk, Shiloh Celebrates Two Days of Purim

Before I get started, I want to thank my husband for doing some of the research for this.

There are a number of places here in the HolyLand where Purim is a two day holiday. Many of them are neighborhoods in modern day Jerusalem, which are distant from the Old Walled City. In those cases, it's perfectly understandable that their status is questionable. But for many of the other locations where Purim is celebrated both days, especially Shiloh, it really makes no sense.

As I understand it, the basic criteria for celebrating Shushan Purim, the day after regular Purim is this Mishnah, the requirement that the city had a wall at the time of Joshua.

Sefaria, Mishnah Megillah 1

מְגִלָּה נִקְרֵאת בְּאַחַד עָשָׂר, בִּשְׁנֵים עָשָׂר, בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה עָשָׂר, בְּאַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר, בַּחֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר, לֹא פָחוֹת וְלֹא יוֹתֵר. כְּרַכִּין הַמֻּקָּפִין חוֹמָה מִימוֹת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן נוּן, קוֹרִין בַּחֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר. כְּפָרִים וַעֲיָרוֹת גְּדוֹלוֹת, קוֹרִין בְּאַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר, אֶלָּא שֶׁהַכְּפָרִים מַקְדִּימִין לְיוֹם הַכְּנִיסָה:

The Megillah [Scroll of Esther] is read on the eleventh, on the twelfth, on the thirteenth, on the fourteenth, [or] on the fifteenth [of Adar], not earlier and not later. Cities surrounded with walls from the days of Yehoshua son of Nun read it on the fifteenth [of Adar]. Villages and large cities read it on the fourteenth, but villages read in advance on the day of assembly.

Shiloh Hakeduma, Ancient Biblical Shiloh, the Canaanite Wall

Shiloh Hakeduma, Ancient Biblical Shiloh, the Canaanite Wall

According to those criteria, Shiloh fits the bill perfectly. Sections of that wall exist even today, as you can see in the above photos. This is the Shiloh, agreed by both Biblical and archeological scholars, where Joshua brought the Tabernacle.

Nu, so what's the problem? The Mishnah also lists a number of cities where Jews are to celebrate Purim the second day, and Shiloh, for some reason, isn't in that list. It's presumed that at that very time the Mishnah was written, there wasn't much of a Jewish community living in Shiloh. But that isn't a requirement according to the actual Mishnah, unless I'm mistaken.

Joshua 18

וַיִּקָּ֨הֲל֜וּ כָּל־עֲדַ֤ת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ שִׁלֹ֔ה וַיַּשְׁכִּ֥ינוּ שָׁ֖ם אֶת־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד וְהָאָ֥רֶץ נִכְבְּשָׁ֖ה לִפְנֵיהֶֽם׃

The whole community of the Israelite people assembled at Shiloh, and set up the Tent of Meeting there. The land was now under their control;

Today over forty 40 years since we, the Jewish People and State of Israel have returned to Shiloh, we're stuck in a strange halachic situation. We live a short walk from the wall which dates to the time of Joshua, but we're not among the cities celebrating Purim on the 15th of Adar. On the 14th of Adar we celebrate Purim with a bracha and Al Hanisim, but because we know that Shiloh existed as a walled Jewish city at the time of Joshua, we celebrate the holiday sans bracha on the the following day.

The listing in the mishnah of cities that should celebrate Shushan Purim should have included an asterisk*, with the following note:

"*plus any walled cities in the Land of Israel we may have left out"

Photos from each of the four readings of  Megillat Esther, Purim 5779, the fourth being my walk home.

Star of The Purim Story Esther, Not Haddassa

I have my "differences" with the accepted Biblical commentaries in a lot of issues. And I see things in the linguistics of the Tanach/Bible in ways that others don't. It's hard to say why, but for sure, one of the main reasons is that I didn't grow up with the "Torah stories" that most others grew up with.

Almost everything I know about the Tanach/Bible I learned as an adult. Add that to the fact that my mind does work a bissell differently from others, and you shouldn't be surprised.

Unlike EVERYONE ELSE, I read the line I've circled here as:

"And he raised Hadassa, actually named Esther..."

Standard commentary of her name is that her Persian name was Esther, but her real name was Haddassa.

It's a well known fact that there's a Hebrew root to the name Esther סתר.  סתר S-T-R means "secret." And the same linguistic root להסתיר lihastir means to hide.  Those who claim the root to be Persian, say it's "star." I have a question for you:

When are stars out?

Did you answer "at night"?

Think again, please. Stars are always surrounding the earth. It's just that daylight hides them. Clouds and rain hide them even at night. Yes, stars are mostly hidden.

Not only did Esther hide her national identity when in the palace; she hid her intelligence, too. Ester was a woman of secrets, just like her name in Hebrew, Esther סתר , אסתר S-T-R means "secret."

There's a linguistic theory that Hebrew is the root of all languages. What do you think?

Shabbat Zachor, Remembering 23 Years Since "My" Terror Attack

Davka Shabbat Zachor...

• It's a full year-- innocent Jews in Southern Israel have been suffering from riots and attacks and fires from Gaza...
• Twenty-three 23 years since I was injured in a terror attack.

This Shabbat as I sat in shul reading the special Maftir (Torah portion) and Haftara, ISamuel 15:1-34 (click and read the entire chapter;) the words were so clear and simple.

זָכ֕וֹר אֵ֛ת אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂ֥ה לְךָ֖ עֲמָלֵ֑ק בַּדֶּ֖רֶךְ בְּצֵאתְכֶ֥ם מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃
Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left Egypt—
אֲשֶׁ֨ר קָֽרְךָ֜ בַּדֶּ֗רֶךְ וַיְזַנֵּ֤ב בְּךָ֙ כָּל־הַנֶּחֱשָׁלִ֣ים אַֽחַרֶ֔יךָ וְאַתָּ֖ה עָיֵ֣ף וְיָגֵ֑עַ וְלֹ֥א יָרֵ֖א אֱלֹהִֽים׃
how, undeterred by fear of God, he surprised you on the march, when you were famished and weary, and cut down all the stragglers in your rear.
וְהָיָ֡ה בְּהָנִ֣יחַ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֣יךָ ׀ לְ֠ךָ מִכָּל־אֹ֨יְבֶ֜יךָ מִסָּבִ֗יב בָּאָ֙רֶץ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יְהוָֽה־אֱ֠לֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵ֨ן לְךָ֤ נַחֲלָה֙ לְרִשְׁתָּ֔הּ תִּמְחֶה֙ אֶת־זֵ֣כֶר עֲמָלֵ֔ק מִתַּ֖חַת הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם לֹ֖א תִּשְׁכָּֽח׃ (פ)
Therefore, when the LORD your God grants you safety from all your enemies around you, in the land that the LORD your God is giving you as a hereditary portion, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!

2 So said the Lord of Hosts, 'I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid (wait) for him on the way, when he came up out of Egypt.
בכֹּ֚ה אָמַר֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה צְבָא֔וֹת פָּקַ֕דְתִּי אֵ֛ת אֲשֶׁר־עָשָֹ֥ה עֲמָלֵ֖ק לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל אֲשֶׁר־שָֹ֥ם לוֹ֙ בַּדֶּ֔רֶךְ בַּעֲלֹת֖וֹ מִמִּצְרָֽיִם:
3 Now, go, and you shall smite Amalek, and you shall utterly destroy all that is his, and you shall not have pity on him: and you shall slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.' "
געַתָּה֩ לֵ֨ךְ וְהִכִּֽיתָ֜ה אֶת־עֲמָלֵ֗ק וְהַֽחֲרַמְתֶּם֙ אֶת־כָּל־אֲשֶׁר־ל֔וֹ וְלֹ֥א תַחְמֹ֖ל עָלָ֑יו וְהֵמַתָּ֞ה מֵאִ֣ישׁ עַד־אִשָּׁ֗ה מֵֽעֹלֵל֙ וְעַד־יוֹנֵ֔ק מִשּׁ֣וֹר וְעַד־שֶֹ֔ה מִגָּמָ֖ל וְעַד־חֲמֽוֹר:

Unfortunately, the message, the mitzvah, is still very relevant. That's because King Saul did not obey Gd's orders, that important mitzvah. Saul didn't immediately execute all of Amalek. Yes, it's a mitzvah to execute/kill Amalek and his descendants, those enemies who aim to destroy us. It isn't cruel to kill them, even the women and the children. We won't have true peace until our enemies are dead and gone.

That's the message or Zachor,Remember. That's the message of Purim. We dress up in costumes to disguise ourselves, and lehavdil, to differentiate, our enemies of today dress in proper suits and come armed with NGOs, diplomats, academics, journalists and smiling surgically enhanced celebrities using doublespeak to demand our destruction in pretty euphemisms.

Today, thousands of years after King Saul failed in his Gd given mission, more innocent Jewish families are in mourning, because more Israelis are being murdered by Arab terrorists. And successive Israeli Governments continue the ways of Saul by warning our enemies, rather than executing them.

• Wasting expensive ammunition on empty buildings will not bring us peace.
• Apologizing for killing or injuring rioters, regardless of their age/sex, will not bring us peace.
• Giving diplomatic immunity to terrorists and their supporters will not bring us peace.
• Negotiating and compromising will not give us peace.

May this year be the year we totally destroy Amalek, Gd willing!

Chag Purim Sameach

Guest Post: Letter From an Israeli Mother on The Gaza Border

We live within 7 kms of the Gaza border fence. We don't live as close as some and for that we are lucky and thankful but we are close enough and being in the center hear all the noise from the north down to the south and the activity in the Sinai from the Egyptian army.

An abnormal way of life has become 'normal' for us. When there is quiet, life is fine but always in the back of one's mind is the realization that it will not last.

My husband was evacuated from the Sinai as a result of the Camp David Peace Accord with Egypt in 1982 and we built our house before the Israeli withdrawal from Gush Katif. Why do I mention this? because when we built there were no rockets and we, along with a few other families, built the our mamads* according to the legal requirements which means that they are the size of a broom cupboard. We can't sleep in it, standing room only. Ok for when there's no rockets but a nightmare when they rain down and you have to scramble from bed at 02:00 wake and shift the kids and do it all in less than 15 seconds. !!! What about disabled people ?? Two of my girls suffer from living here. The middle one suffered for years from Compulsive Stress Disorder and the youngest has other stress related symptoms.

The kids here are terrified from the balloons** and bedroom windows have to be locked and securely covered by curtains so that there are no cracks because they are terrified of seeing faces at the windows.......as they explained .....the terrorists come at night. Whenever we go anywhere the first thing they do is check out where the shelters are and if they have enough time to reach one should there be an alarm. A few years ago when I took my youngest to visit her grandparents overseas she stunned us by one day asking quite matter of factly as we were driving along:

"Imma, the bus stops....where are the bomb shelters? Where do they hide when the rockets fall?" 

We were lost for words.... and then explained.

Last summer my youngest went to a Bar Mitzvah pool party, and we had to run the gauntlet and fetch her as rockets were falling all around us and kipat barzel*** sent out above our heads as we drove home. She was shaking like a leaf but didn't say a word. So yes the kids are traumatized here and sadly many of them don't know any other way of life. Years ago the school would take out the odd child from class to have a tipool (therapy session.) After Tzuck Eitan**** the situation was so dire that they decided to treat the kids by class. They would start the day with meditation. Kids wet their beds, siblings sleep together and nightmares are frequent.

Even in the quiet times there is noise but I think one of the most unforgivable things is being lied to by the security forces, being told that nothing happened when clearly something has. When rockets have fallen and they've denied it. We aren't stupid and people talk. The lack of information is frightening and frustrating. We are told (sometimes) on a need to know basis which doesn't help a parent when their kids are all over the area with friends.

Mary-Ann Lev

*shelter/secure room
**For the past year, Arab terrorists from Gaza have been launching balloons and kites equipped with incendiary devices that have caused serious fires here
***Iron Dome defense system
****Operation Protective Edge]

Gantz Desperately Continues Bibi Bashing

Hat-tip for link to article Tel-Chai Nation

To make it clear, I'm not voting Likud, but...

Benny Gantz is certainly proving that he's not leadership material. He sounds like an immature desperate teenage bully. He has nothing to offer the State of Israel other than empty inaccurate slogans, lies, jealousy and hatred.

Benny Gantz slams Netanyahu: Meir Kahane would be proud
By GIL HOFFMAN
03/12/2019
Gantz said he and the other leaders of Blue and White were the true successors of Menachem Begin, as well as former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.

Menachem Begin, the epitome of honor and old-fashioned niceties, would be horrified at Gantz's claims.

Gantz is continuing to prove the bankruptcy of his Blue and White "party platform." Israeli voters may be looking for new leadership, but they're quickly discovering that Benny Gantz doesn't fit the bill. Blue and White is top heavy with IDF generals, but politics isn't the same as the IDF, and too many voters are angry with those generals for a variety of reasons.

Remember that the Israeli political/election system requires that a party leader succeed in negotiating a working coalition to become Prime Minister. I'll repeat here that "politics isn't the same as the IDF." Whatever may have worked for Gantz and his fellow Blue and White retired generals in the past will probably backfire in coalition negotiations.

Even if Bibi Netanyahu has to bow out because of the indictment, there are highly qualified and experienced Likud politicians who can take the helm. Just like American Football has been compared to chess, so is coalition politics, and that means that successful coalition politics is like American Football. In football, the quarterback gets tactical instructions from the head coach, and if the QB can't play, there must be players to replace him, and then the other positions must reshuffle to win.

In this year's Super Bowl and the Israel Bowl*, the teams with the stronger defense won. 

Odds are that Likud will form the next government, whether Bibi Netanyahu is Prime Minister or Yuli Edelstein, who is #2 on the list.

That's why I'm voting New Right in the upcoming Israeli elections 2019. The Israeli Government needs a strong intelligent defense in it. An offensive offense is bad news for the team.

*Jerusalem "Big Blue" Lions won its third consecutive championship by surprising their opponents with some crucial position changes.

Clever of Bibi to Schedule Maximum Time Before Elections

A reminder that here in Israel we don't vote for Prime Minister; we vote for a political party's Knesset list. And it's the party leader who can hammer together/negotiate a coalition who becomes Prime Minister. That's why more and more polls are stressing the "bloc total," Right versus Left. Considering that some Center parties wouldn't agree to be in a coalition with Extreme Left and/or Arab parties, that limits Leftist options. To fully understand Israeli Elections and Politics, one must have a good head for strategy and tactics, like in chess. Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu is a champion at this. I'm sure he has it all calculated in his mind; none of this (except the indictment threat, maybe,) is by chance. 

Week by week, Likud is doing better in the polls. Remember that polls are just polls, but consistent trends should be examined. To keep track of the possible results of the upcoming 2019 Israeli Knesset Elections, just trends of course, I suggest checking out Jeremy's Knesset Insider periodically, once a week would be enough.

Now, why am I not surprised that the Likud is doing better in the polls?

• Most people are rather conservative by nature. Life in Israel on the whole is better than ever, so why change leadership?
• The four-headed monster party led by Gantz, Lapid, Ashkenazi and Ya'alon has no real platform, other than knocking Bibi from office. And each of their four "leaders" has holes in his CV. None of them have any real governing experience. Besides that, there aren't any women sharing the top.
• Kahalon's ploy to be considered the Jabotinsky (Revisionist) inheritor/follower, and calling himself the wimpy* Right will just backfire. Likud supporters don't abide such Identity Theft.

Historically, the Likud has always done better in actual elections than in pre-election polls. There are just a few weeks left before the 2019 Israeli Elections. That's a long time in politics, especially here in Israel.

*anyone who is on the Right of the political spectrum finds "moderate" to be rather offensive and illogical adjective. Kahalon is calling himself the "moderate right."

Sexist "Vote Female" Voting Facilitated Rise of Radical Leftists

Don't get me wrong. I'm not against Women's Rights. I have nothing against seeing more women in positions of political and economic power. But voting "blind" for women, just because you want women's number to increase" to governmental positions is dangerous.

Many Americans, even in the Democratic Party, and political observers all over the world are horrified at the antisemitic, shockingly ignorant photogenic chutzpadik Radical Leftist females who are now getting all the press in the United States Congress.

It's hard to believe that so many voters would have voted for them if they had paid careful attention to the qualifications and statements, opinions prior to the new congresswomen's campaigns. Most of the newbies moderated their positions a bit to make them more palatable for the electorate, but their unsuitability to such important public office was obvious. They all come from the very radical Socialist Left. The Democratic Party has moved to the Far Left of the political spectrum, and even the more "moderate" Democrats are trying to excuse and whitewash the antisemitic, anti-Israel, pro-Socialism policies of the new Members of Congress.

Unfortunately, American Jewry is at the forefront of this Leftist-Socialist radicalization of the Democratic Party. They are major donors and supporters of the Extreme Radical Left in some perverse and totally inaccurate opinion that the Democrats have always been the best for the Jewish People and State of Israel. Facts are very different. FDR Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Joseph Kennedy I did everything they could to keep Jewish refugees out of the USA during the Holocaust. And when Harry Truman overrode the State Department to demand that the American Ambassador to the United Nations vote in favor of a Jewish State, it was his private/personal decision after a friend spoke to him, not due to the Democratic Party. Remember that the most recent Democratic President, Barack Hussein Obama was the most anti-Israel president. In an unprecedented move, he used his time as a "lame duck" to an support extremely anti-Israel resolution in the United Nations. And the most recent Democratic National Convention had a strong anti-Israel and anti-American content.

Today's Democratic Party isn't the party of Adlai Stevenson or LBJ Lyndon Baines Johnson.

Check the "fine print" before voting. The gender of the candidate shouldn't be your deciding factor. Vote SMART not sexist.

The sun is setting on a truly tolerant America

Why Can Ofer Cassif Teach in Hebrew U, But Not Be an MK?

It's no secret that most Israeli universities, as are many others in the world, are very Leftist. The influence of Leftist professors and History/Political Science departments world over is self-perpetuating and getting stronger. Students who disagree get lower grades and aren't considered for higher positions. MK wannabe, Hadash Party member Ofer Cassif is a professor in Hebrew University Political Science Department.

Obviously Ofer Cassif has influence and control over students and even staff. If he wasn't skilled at influencing people he wouldn't be on Balad Party list. The Central Elections Committee has, davka, banned Ofer Cassif from running in the upcoming Knesset Elections.

As far as I'm concerned, if Cassif isn't suitable to be in the Knesset, he shouldn't be teaching in Hebrew U!

Power of Gd

Jewish Theology integrales two rather contradictory concepts, The Power of Gd and the Gift He gave us, Free Will. I don't have time to delve into this complicated relationship now, but today I witnessed some of Gd's Powers.

As I was doing some things in the living area of my house, which faces east, south and west, I noticed that the sky to the west was getting dark. That could mean rain. And then suddenly I saw a strange flash to the east. I began to wonder if that had been lightning, when suddenly I heard a boom, thunder. So retroactively I knew that it had been lightning.

A few seconds later I had already taken out a siddur, Jewish Prayer Book, and said the appropriate blessings:

We humans like to think that we're clever, but we can't fully control the weather. Here in the Land of Israel, Gd uses the weather as a barometer to show approval or disapproval of our behavior. Some years we have perfect quantities of rain at the best times, accompanied by the right heat and cold facilitate miraculously blessed harvests. There are other years when lack of rain, too much or badly timed rain, along with damaging temperatures turn our Land into a barren wilderness. This doesn't happen by chance.

May we succeed in following Gd's Commandments correctly and deserve the best weather for the fertility of The Land of Israel.

Rosh Chodesh (The Real) Adar Thursday and Friday

The official name for the upcoming Jewish Month is Adar Sheni/Bet, meaning the second Adar. That's because in ancient days, before there was a "set calendar," the months were announced when the first sliver of the "new moon" had been sighted.

In those days, if at the end of Adar, when it definitely didn't look like winter was over, they'd declare the new month to be an additional Adar. For "Jewish Leap Years," that name stuck. We have Adar Alef/Rishon/First and Adar Bet/Sheni/Second.

I'm a troublemaker, and I don't find those names good. I honestly think that now since we have a set calendar, we should be calling the extra month Shevat Bet/Sheni/Second, and it should come before a solitary Adar. But since I'm no Talmud Chacham, scholar, you'll only read this on my blog. Nobody I've ever mentioned it to knows of any Jewish scholar/sage who's said anything similar.

I hope you don't mind that I've written something that contradicts accepted Jewish theology.

Back to "business."

For well over a decade, I've been inviting women to join me at Tel Shiloh, Shiloh Hakeduma, for morning Rosh Chodesh Prayers. We sing Hallel out loud, but otherwise our prayers are silent, between us and Gd.

As we walk to and from the location believed to be where the Biblical Tabernacle had rested for three-hundred-sixty-nine years, we check out the latest discoveries, exchange Torah Words and more. Sometimes we celebrate special events together, too.

Rosh Chodesh Adar Bet we will doven together on Thursday, March 7, 2019, 8:30am.

כולן מוזמנות, תפילת נשים, ראש חודש אדר ב' , ל' אדר א', יום ה' ,7/03/2019 , 8:30, בשילה הקדומה, תל שילה

Shiloh Hakeduma is an officially recognized archaeological site, and there's even something more important. Biblical scholars and archaeologists agree that Shiloh, where I live, is the same as the Biblical Shiloh.

Here in Shiloh, yes, barely a mile from my house is the very place where the barren Hannah prayed for a son who would be dedicated to the Jewish People. He was Shmuel Hanavi, Samuel the Prophet.

Shiloh Hakeduma, Ancient Shiloh, is open on weekdays. You can just walk around or arrange for an official tour. There are also interesting events, especially during Passover and Succot. For more information, contact them directly at visit@telshilo.org.il, or call 02-5789111.

For more information about our Women's Rosh Chodesh Prayers, email shilohmuse@gmail.com, with "Rosh Chodesh" as subject.

I hope you'll be able to join us.

Chodesh Tov!
Have a Wonderful Month!
Adar is the Month of Joy 
and Very Pleasant Surprises!