Hamas War

Thursday, January 30, 2020

The More I Hear About The Trump "Deal," The Less I Like It

The rationale behind the Trump "deal" is full of stereotypes and dangerous presumptions. It treats us all, Jews, Arabs, and other "minorities" as pawns not people. It promotes/proposes two apartheid states, which will only increase tensions and terrorism.

The Trump "Deal" requires a system of passage ways and roadworks in the mode of science fiction, not reality.

And the so called "sovereignty" Israel will be "permitted" to have over Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley would require a four, yes 4 year moratorium on building. That would cause major problems, since new houses are built in most places every year.

For more unpleasant details, I suggest reading Arlene Kushner's The Really Big Fly in The Ointment!!*

Ancient Shiloh

Women still come to Shiloh to pray, just like in Biblical Times
Americans and other foreigners are terribly chutzpadik telling the Jewish People where to live and build. Our documented history in places like Shiloh is more than ten times the existance of the USA.

*There's a new post Arlene just sent out to those on her mailing list, From Israel: It's True What They Say about the Devil!! It's not yet on her site. Check the site for updates https://www.arlenefromisrael.info/

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Trump Stepped in It, "Deal?" Bleh ๐Ÿคฎ

I can't find the post/item from early in Donald Trump's political/presidential career in which he said that there can never be an imposed peace; the parties have to negotiate themselves. But I do remember blogging about it with enthusiasm. Unfortunately for all, including Trump's eventual record as United States President, someone, or the dangerous feeling of omnipotence as POTUS, turned his head.

Donald Trump and his close staff, including his Jewish son-in-law Jared Kushner, have stepped in it for sure with their so-called "Deal of the Century." It's not a "deal." It's a dangerous proposal they want to impose on Israel and our neighbors enemies.

Even if it's better for Israel than all previous proposals, it won't give us PEACE.

The closest thing to true peace and security for the State of Israel and the Jewish People world over would be:

  • The State of Israel must declare full SOVEREIGNTY over all the Land we still hold, which had been liberated in the 1967 Six Days War. 
  • We must make it perfectly clear that there's nothing to negotiate. 
  • All terrorists caught in the act must be executed immediately, no trial and no cushy jail time. 
  • The PA-Palestine Authority must be disbanded.
  • Har Habayit, the Temple Mount must be administered by Jews, full Jewish rights to worship including a suitable building until the Third Temple is complete.
Those are the basic principles. Once our enemies realize we mean business, life will be more peaceful, Gd willing.

Photo taken by me at the Shiloh Hakeduma Hologram showing worship in the Biblical Tabernacle in Shiloh

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Geula Cohen, Remembered, 30 Shloshim

Tzachi Hanegbi speaking at his mother's shloshim
Last night I attended the Geula Cohen, ZaTza"L, event in the Beit ATza"G, Uri Tzvi Greenberg Center to commemorate her Shloshim, 30 days since she had passed away. For us, Geula was family. My husband had worked for her and with her for decades.

The hall was packed mostly with older people who had known Geula personally in her various roles, crusades and projects. There were very few politicians, but many activists and ordinary Israelis who had been inspired by Geula's history and contributions, yes, in the plural, to the establishment of the State of Israel, her unwavering support of Jewish Rights and Sovereignty in all of the Land of Israel and her promotion of the teaching of the poetry of Uri Tzvi Greenberg and the legendary fighters/member of Lechi and Etzel.

Tzachi Hanegbi, Geula's son, spoke beautifully and very suitably especially given the location of the event. I'll just repeat one very telling story, which he revealed to us last night. For a relatively short period of time they both served as Members of Knesset, Geula representing Techiya and Tzachi the Likud. Then there was the elections in which Techiya didn't get enough votes to be in the Knesset. Tzachi was nervous about how his mother would take it but forced himself to visit her soon after the results were out.

Instead of finding Geula depressed and/or angry, Tzachi was amazed to find his mother already galvanized, lobbying for her next project/cause. Geula's forced retirement from the Knesset was dedicated to the promotion of the teaching of  Uri Tzvi Greenberg, his contributions to Hebrew and Jewish Literature, poetry and more. If it wasn't for the vision of Geula Cohen, Uri Tzvi Greenberg would be forgotten.


We must never forget Geula Cohen who was a great Jewish fighter for the Jewish Land, State, People, History and Literature.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Politics: Sometimes You Have to Hold Your Nose...

I had a talk with a neighbor at the makolet* last night about it**. We both felt that in the world of politics/compromise/deals, Otzma is useless. Sometimes you have to hold your nose and vote either Likud or Yamina or whatever they're calling themselves this time round.
* local supermarket
**upcoming Israeli Elections


This is a popular version of what Otto von Bismarck had said:
"Politics is the art of the possible, the attainable - the art of the next best."
In Israel, more than in some other countries, the meaning of this slogan is 1,000% accurate.

The Israeli Political System does not include direct voting for the Prime Minister, executive branch of government. Actually we don't vote for individuals at all. We vote for a list of potential Knesset Members, and the head (#1) of the list succeeds in crafting/negotiating a ruling majority, minimally sixty-one 61 out of the one hundred and twenty 120 MKs becomes Prime Minister.

This isn't a simple process. I guess we should be grateful that for the first seventy 70 years of statehood, we never needed a "redo" election. Now we're about to try a third time, and the polls again predict a standoff, unless elected MKs break ranks and follow Bismark's suggestion. Neither side has to luxury of uncompromising principles.

We must choose to vote for a political party that has a serious platform for the security and betterment of the State of Israel. Politics isn't supposed to be a personality game. That's why those who decided on our political system decided against direct elections for Prime Minister.

Gd willing, in our next Knesset Elections, the voting citizens of the State of Israel will choose wisely, even if it necessitates going against uncompromising idealism.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

First Blog "Carnival," Roundup of 2020, Tevet 5780

Winter in the Holyland, when a "nice day" means gentle rain, because if we don't get enough rainfall in the winter, we'll suffer dangerous drought throughout the following year and beyond.

Gd willing, I'll provide you with lots of interesting and varied reading material from Jewish and Israeli blogs. Of course, I'm only responsible for my own blog posts, not the opinions of others. And I do try to provide a variety of blogs and articles.


Make yourself comfortable with hot coffee or a bowl of soup, or read while traveling in bus or train or plane. I'm always interested in meeting new blogs, so if you have any to suggest, please let me know in the comments. You're also invited to give your opinions concerning which posts or blogs your enjoyed the most.

All I will do is list the titles, and hope that you feel tempted to click and read. Most bloggers are happy to read your comments. We don't like to feel we're blogging to an empty cloud of nothingness. Enjoy, and please tell me what you think.

Pharaoh – The Original Anti-Semite!
Harry and Meghan and the Parsha of Names
PALESTINE POSTS, Book Review
WATCH: Al Pacino and the Nazi Hunters
Something to talk about
Harvey's Smokehouse, Must Return
Signs--- The Times They Are A Changin’
The Koren Talmud: A Landmark in Jewish Publishing
Israel Is Ready
Parshas Vayechi Divrei Torah and Insights 5780
An Open Window
Hagibor Brewery: A short introduction
Geula Cohen, Genuine Israeli Hero
Barry Liben z"l
Yes, Muslims Occupied Palestine
Asaf Romirowsky – Don’t Confuse Me With Facts. It’s Always About the “Occupation”
Third Try Israeli Elections, I Vote Hรคagen-Dazs
Kahlon To Quit Politics, Spend More Time With Failed Economic Policies
Fantastic Salad Deal in Ariel

Nu? Which post was the most fun to read? Which got you the angriest or made you laugh or cry? Don't be shy.

Once upon a time there was a weekly Jewish blog carnival called Havel Havelim and also a monthly Kosher Cooking Carnival, and they floated from blog to blog....

Friday, January 10, 2020

Third Try Israeli Elections, I Vote Hรคagen-Dazs

Here in Israel, we've recently had two national Knesset Elections with the same unsuccessful results. The Israeli political system requires a coalition government if no political party gets a majority of the one hundred and twenty Knesset seats.

In 2019, neither the Bibi-Likud Bloc nor the Anti-Bibi Blue and White Bloc succeeded in negotiating deals that would bring them to that magic sixty-one-plus, 61+. So we're scheduled for a third round of elections in a few weeks.

Most of the public is rather nauseated, sick of all these useless elections. There's a saying in Hebrew if you meet someone a second time within a short period. I've written about it before, Knesset Elections Ad Nauseum.
ืคืขื ืฉืœื™ืฉื™ืช ื’ืœื™ื“ื”
Pa'am shlishit glida
Third time ice cream
My guess is that the winning bloc will be the one whose supporters are less jaded and bored. Whichever side can galvanize its voters to show up and vote has the best chance to win, meaning get enough MKs to form a ruling coalition. Polls are showing Likud behind, which suits Bibi's favorite "gevalt-we're losing" campaign strategy.

Right now the small satellite parties of the Right and Left are negotiating to run to form two larger parties, one pro-Bibi and one anti-Bibi, in order not to waste votes for parties that don't pass the minimum.

Elections are scheduled for March, 2020, the Jewish Month of Adar, 5780. Adar is traditionally a month of surprises, so there's no way of predicting results or what the results will result in...
ื•ื ื”ืคื•ืš ื”ื•ื
Vinahaphoch huAnd everything will be reversed


So, beware of pundits. Gd has something up His sleeve for sure. That's the most accurate prediction one can make.

I'm a Hรคagen-Dazs fan. The ice cream brand was founded by good pro-Israel Jews, Rose and Reuben Mattus, who supported Jewish Rights in all of the Land of Israel. This is diametrically opposed to Ben & Jerry's which supports Leftist causes, including endangering Israel by being pro-Palestine.

Let's have a Hรคagen-Dazs party! How can we go wrong with good ice cream?

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

PALESTINE POSTS, Book Review

PALESTINE POSTS: AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF THE BIRTH OF ISRAEL By Daniel S. Chertoff is an amazing book. Chertoff found a collection of his father's correspondence written between 1947-1949 when Mordecai S. Chertoff (his father) was here witnessing the end of the British Mandate and the beginning of the State of Israel.

Mordecai Chertoff came to "Palestine" officially to study in Hebrew University but was quickly drafted to the staff of the English newspaper, The Palestine Post, now called The Jerusalem Post. In addition, he joined the Haganah, and later after the establishment of the State of Israel, he became a citizen and was subsequently drafted into the IDF.

The letters Daniel found were from his father to the family in America and letters sent to him from them. Besides the correspondence, Daniel had an incomplete memoir of the time, his father had once started writing. Besides all that, there are many of the articles Mordecai had written for the Post and other publications. Daniel's job was to weave these all together along with a historical narrative informative enough for those less knowledgeable to follow and not too simplistic for those who already know the history. He did a very good job. I can recommend the book to all.

I had a personal need to read the book very carefully. My Uncle Izzy, Israel Shanks "Red" Shankman, was also here in Palestine-Israel at the time. He was in the Palyam, the naval branch of the Palmach as high level crew, medic plus, on some of the ships that defied the British in an attempt to bring Jewish immigrants to safety. It's very possible that they had been acquainted, though my uncle isn't mentioned. My uncle also left Israel for New York, around the same time.

Mordecai's letters are invaluable in describing what life was like in Jerusalem during the long, difficult siege. There was rationing, since water and food were almost impossible to find. The only road Jews could take to Jerusalem, for deliveries of all sorts, went through enemy Arab territory. Attacks were frequent. It's amazing that people survived on such small quantities, but they did.

Due to Mordecai's status in the Haganah and Palestine Post, he got to Tel Aviv on occasion. He writes of the plentiful food and being able to leisurely bathe, both luxuries in Jerusalem. From his letters I discovered that there was a real lack of unity between Jerusalem and "Israel" in the early days of the state. One reason was that the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan Jerusalem was to be a separate entity, not part of Israel. And even after the 1949 ceasefire, travel from the coast to Jerusalem was difficult until Israel's victory in the 1967 Six Days War.

There was only one thing that mars the book. Daniel criticizes his father's words about Arabs fleeing the Jewish State, page 338. Nobody's reading PALESTINE POSTS to discover Daniel's 21st century PC opinions. If another edition is printed, I suggest deleting those comments.

PALESTINE POSTS is a very readable, well-written book. Daniel Chertoff succeeded with a very difficult task. This is a History book, Biography, family memoir and more. The fonts and print-size are easy on my elderly eyes. I highly recommend PALESTINE POSTS: AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF THE BIRTH OF ISRAEL By Daniel S. Chertoff.