Likud & Cronies Care More About Power Than The Needs of Israeli Citizens

Outgoing Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu refused to politely 
congratulate incoming Prime Minister Naftali Bennett

No doubt you can guess that these are photos of my television screen showing the historic day when Naftali Bennett became Israel's Prime Minister. The dominant figure we see in both pictures isn't Bennett, it is former Prime Minister Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu. You can feel his fury in his eyes and body language.

Bibi showed himself to be a "sore loser." Not only did he lose the office, the political position he cherished and thought would be his for many more years, but he lost the respect of many. Unlike Shimon Peres, whose politics were at the opposite end of the political spectrum from Netanyahu, and in fact unlike all of his predecessors, Netanyahu showed no dignity, no respect for legal process. As we say in Jewish slang:

Bibi's no mensch.

The standard custom in Israel is for the outgoing Prime Minister to publicly congratulate his successor, no matter how far apart they are politically. Afterwards he/she conducts a proper civilized traditional "handover" process in which procedural matters top secret information are passed on so that the government continues to function in an efficient manner.

Netanyahu orchestrated the most disgusting antidemocratic display in the history of the State of Israel. He and his fellow Likud MKs along with the rest of his mafia just screamed, cursed and insulted the incoming government. It was horrifying to see close to half of our Knesset Members acting like drugged/drunk juvenile delinquents. 

Now here we are over a year later, and we have not heard a single apology. In a few days, we will be celebrating the second Rosh Hashanah since that unforgettably horrible scene. According to Jewish Law, a public sin demands a public apology. How anyone can vote for any of them, their parties, ever again is beyond my comprehension! 

If that wasn't proof enough of their moral depravity, the opposition went on a two-pronged attack, macro and micro. The micro* comprised the targeting of various coalition MKs to harass them, taunt them and tempt them, or simply to buy them out with promises of safe spots in the Likud list in the next elections. As proof, former Yemina MKs took their seats from the coalition are now Likud candidates with guarantees to be Likud MKs.

The macro attack required the opposition to vote against all laws proposed by the government, even those which they actually favored. Anything, any political weapon to use against the Bennett government became legitimate in their eyes, no matter what the cost to ordinary Israeli citizens. With a very weakened coalition, see micro*, the so-called Right wing opposition voted against the Settlement Law endangering the security, health and more of Israeli citizens in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley. 

If Netanyahu had really led a Right wing government during the decade plus he had been in power, he would have declared Israeli sovereignty on these areas, and then there would have been no need for periodic renewal of the Settlement Law.

 Naftali Bennett was not willing to risk harming Jews whose security, health and more required the renewal of the Settlement Law, so he stepped down from his position as Prime Minister, which necessitated new elections. According to the coalition agreement he had with Yair Lapid, if the government falls because of the actions of the sitting Prime Minister's MKs, then the other one becomes the sitting Prime Minister. Bennett who is an honorable man honored that commitment. 

Even with the mask on, you can see that Bibi Netanyahu
isn't happy when he discovered that Naftali Bennett 
had become Prime Minister just over a year ago.

 

Fascists Take To The Streets Reject Laws

I'm glad I don't live in a large city right now. Fascist mobs are demanding government changes trying to use their power to overrule the elected government.

Now, don't get me wrong. It's not like I support all government policies, and I certainly don't support any blindly. But the way to change the government is through elections, not massive demonstrations in the streets.

Thank Gd, Israel is a democracy.

• We've had better governments, and we've had worse governments. 
• We've experienced better policies, and we've experienced worse policies. 

In all honesty I think that Prime Minister Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu's decision to make a broad disparate coalition with Benny Gantz's Blue and White ended up backfiring on him. One crucial aspect was successful in that Gantz and Gabi Ashkenazi have lost a major part of their voter support.

But Bibi's attempt to hold the extremely heterogeneous coalition together was an unmitigated disaster. Blue and White got an unprecedented percentage of powerful positions, which angered pretty much everyone on all sides of the political spectrum with exception of the recipients themselves.  

Not only can't Bibi control the Blue and White MKs' voting power, he has lost control of his own Likud Party. Apparently he gambled that giving less veteran MKs cabinet posts would make them more loyal, and he took for granted that his more veteran MK ministers would play ball with him. The result wasn't as he planned.

We're now suffering another round of what I call Korach demonstrations meaning that those demonstrating/rioting don't have the same aims other than to destabilize the government. 

If the rioters get their wish and force Netanyahu out, then they'll just fight among themselves, since they have no real leader other than the secret money source coming from abroad. 

The financial backers have unsuccessfully promoted Ehud Barak and more recently replaced him with Benny Gantz. Who will be their next figurehead?

The only real advantage of the present instability here in Israel and in the states is that the horrid "Trump Deal" has been put on the back-burner.

Ribonut, Sovereignty vs The Trump-Kushner Apartheid Terror Plan

Yesterday I was in Jerusalem and had a bit of time between appointments, so I made my way to the Women in Green's three day "Yes to Sovereignty over the Land of Israel, No to Palestine" conference.

It was good to feel that I was doing more for Jewish Life in the State of Israel than tapping on my computer keyboard, even though I only sat and listened to the speakers. Seeing women and men from all over the country who all agree that we can't play games with our sovereignty and security was reassuring.

Trump's "plan/deal" is a nightmare and diametrically opposed to his original stated policy. He should have stuck with his position that only the parties involved should negotiate, and there should never be an imposed/proposed plan by outsiders.

Now, his so-called Israeli Sovereignty sic requires American approval as if we're under his and Jared Kushner's rule.

The state of Israel is an independent country, and in June, 1967, we were threatened with total destruction by neighboring Arab countries. The results of the war those threats caused was the straightening out of our borders and the liberation of territory which had been used to attack Israel. All international historical precedent is similar situations is that the victorious country absorbs/annexes such territory, and that is what the State of Israel should have done as soon as Jordan, Egypt and Syria surrendered or ceased attacking. Incomprehensibly we didn't, and we've been suffering ever since.

Better late than never, it's the time NOW TO ANNEX ALL LAND ISRAEL HOLDS! If the Arabs don't like it they can leave. Simple.

Dangers of "Half" or "Partial" Sovereignty

Yesterday our local senior citizen whatsapp group was full of panicky posts trying to make sense out of the rumors, incomplete leaks, incomprehensible maps and news about possible "half-sovereignty," sic.

Deja vu the old United Nations Partition Plan, this partial or half-sovereignty will cause major inconvenience at best and more death by terrorism for sure. A splattering of Jackson-Pollock style splashes in the Land of Israel makes no sense. There's no legal, security or moral reason for such a thing.

"Half" or "Partial" Sovereignty will only fill more cemeteries 

Shades of Barack Hussein Obama and his predecessors, the latest threats by United States officials are no different from FDR's refusal to allow Jews fleeing Hitler to get refuge in America and Truman's State Department which had recommended not recognizing the Jewish State in the UN vote.

Nothing has changed. We're on our own, and we're best off like that. Remember that the State of Israel had no foreign allies during the Six Days War, and that was the best. Let the world butt out, including Trump and Kushner.

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/

Israel-Palestinian "Peace Plan" Oxymoron

It seems that Donald Trump let his son-in-law Jared Kushner talk him into a stupid, useless and inevitably dangerous policy, presenting an Israel-Palestinian "Peace Plan." The term is pure oxymoron for sure. The so-called Palestinians sic have no desire for peace. They were invented to terrorize and abort a Jewish State by the British.

This fiction of a "nation," which has no history is the "pet" of innumerable countries, NGOs, media, celebrities etc.

Early on in Donald Trump's career as a politician, he had announced that it was up to the two opposing sides, Jews and Arabs, to negotiate. Too bad he didn't stick with that policy.

It doesn't matter how creative or practical or revolutionary the "peace deal" Kushner and co have come up with, it won't bring peace to the middle east. And they should know perfectly well that a "deal" can't be imposed from outsiders.

These same Arabs that celebrate murder of innocent Jews will not change their deadly cruel culture for anything. They still, supported by the EU, UN and too many others, educate their children to kill, and until this changes and takes effect, there's no chance for peace.

Gd willing, some day there will be true peace, but that will only come when the State of Israel fully annexes all of the Land of Israel and executes all Arab terrorists.

Gantz & Co Folded Without a Fight

The Blue & White Party led by Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid officially conceded the 2019 Knesset Elections to Likud- Binyamin Netanyahu. I kept hoping that he'd say something about waiting to hear the final tallies after the double-envelope votes are counted, plus surplus distributed. I guess Gantz and crew are awful Poker players. They'd lose to Bibi in Chess, too.

Am I crazy to feel this way? I voted New Right, and we won't know for sure if they're really out in the cold until all the double-envelope votes are counted. Gantz & Co had been played up, promoted like they could beat Cassius Clay, but they ended up like a Woody Allen character, but in real life.

I had been hoping for more drama and excitement. The hype was so stupendous. Think about it. On paper, this shouldn't have ended so blahh.

Three top generals, who had been IDF Chief of Staff and a media star versus the professor's middle son. You'd think it would be a piece of cake for them. Now, granted that the professor's kid had been in a top commando unit, but against three GENERALS?!

It seems that being the middle of three sons can make one pretty tough, too.

Now Bibi, Trump has already moved the United States Embassy to Jerusalem and recognized the Golan as Israel, so we expect you to immediately annex, declare Israeli Sovereignty on Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley, at least all of Area C. Don't forget to destroy all the illegal Arab buildings up there, including those funded by the EU and any other foreign bodies. 

Bibi, How Dumb Do You Think We are?

Generally just before Knesset elections, Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu, #1 in Likud, starts his:

"Gevalt!! If you don't vote Likud I won't be able to form a ruling coalition."

And when the votes are counted, it's clear that Likud has leached votes from the Right wing parties. The sum total of potential MKs amenable to being in his coalition are the same as the polls had been predicting, but more are from the Likud. The "smaller" parties are even "smaller."

This time the "smaller" parties aka potential coalition partners are making a point of saying that since they plan on being in the coalition, one shouldn't fear that voting for them would make it harder for Likud to form the next government. So, now, especially since there are at least three political parties self-labeled as Right, now the Likud has come up with a new line:

Jerusalem Post Israel Elections NETANYAHU VOWS TO ANNEX SETTLEMENTS IN WEST BANK IF HE WINS ELECTION

Duh!? Bibi has had a decade to do it. Why hasn't he annexed our Land? It sounds like he's suddenly reading from the New Right platform, which calls for Israeli Sovereignty in Area C. Honestly, ideally I would love to undo the PA-Palestinian Authority, but it's not really feasible at this time. Anyone who says it can be done, is lying.

We know that despite Bibi's promises and smooth talking, he'll just continue as he has, unless he's more dependent on his coalition partners. The only way to see progress in annexing/declaring Israeli sovereignty is  to have a large, strong New Right in the government and Knesset. Honest Right MKs will pull Bibi/Likud Rightward. That's how politics works in Israel. This isn't Kansas; it's not even New Jersey.

Shiloh, Israel

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

Sovereignty Now!

Here in Israel we've been living in a dangerous absurdity for over fifty 50 years.

In June, 1967, against all odds and predictions, not only did the State of Israel survive the war which began with vicious threats of annihilation from Egypt's Gamal Nasser, who had galvanized the Arab world and easily got the United Nations to withdraw its Peacekeeping Forces, but when the dust settled after battles on three fronts, lasting less than a week, Israel was victorious.

In all honesty, to say that "Israel was victorious" is an understatement. Not only did the State of Israel defeat the three neighboring countries which had attacked, Egypt, Syria and Jordan, but the IDF Israel Defense Forces liberated land on all three fronts.

On the Egyptian front, the unpopulated Sinai desert and Gaza fell into Israeli hands, as the Egyptian soldiers rapidly fled back to Egypt. On the northern front with Syria, Israel succeeded in pushing the Syrians out of the Golan Heights, which has drastically improved the security of northern Israel, most notably the agricultural communities which had suffered greatly from Syrian attacks over the years. And most significant was that Jordan lost what they had referred to as the "west bank," land they had illegally occupied and didn't develop since the 1949 ceasefire. In the UN Partition Plan, that area was supposed to be an additional invented* Arab state.

Davka, the land liberated from Jordan is the Biblical Land of Israel, where most of Ancient Jewish History had taken place. Besides Beersheva, which Israel has held and developed since the establishment of the State of of Israel, the other main Biblical cities, Shechem, Hebron, Shiloh and Walled Jerusalem were all liberated from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in June, 1967.

For some inexplicable, fokokt reason, instead of annexing and declaring full sovereignty over all of that miraculously liberated Land, like any normal country would do, Israeli leaders decided to hold it to use as "payment" for "peace" with our enemies. On the whole, our enemies haven't taken the bribe.

Egypt, under Nasser's successor Sadaat, did accept the Sinai sans Gaza in exchange for what could be called a "cold peace." The price for Israel was extremely high, since it involved the destruction of Jewish communities and the forced exile of their Jewish residents.

The Golan, where there are many Jewish communities, can't be given away without endangering northern Israel. And considering the instability and violence in Syria, the truth is that not even the Arabs in the area really want change.

For some totally mystifying reason, Israeli politicians have been claiming that it's possible to allow a "State of Palestine," sic to established in some of Judea Samaria without causing danger to the State of Israel and the Jewish communities which would be "permitted" to remain. This questionable policy, which is now supported by people all over the world, has caused a dangerous instability and uncertainty among the local Arabs. It has davka pushed them into allying with Arab terrorists. That's because  it's clear to them that if Israel, Gd forbid, leaves, the terrorists will rule.

Sorry Charlie, as the saying goes, but without a strong Israeli presence, not only will Arab terror rage and rule, but the State of Israel would be in serious danger. And obviously, Israel can't buy peace for Land.

The only way we can start on the road to peace is by imposing Israeli Sovereignty on all of the Land Israel controls, including what had been given to the PA-Palestinian Authority.

Sovereignty Now!

Shiloh, Israel

This is my new facebook cover photo, which I produced for 52Frames "Hello From..." challenge. Following is what I wrote:

"Shiloh, Israel"
One of the downsides of being a longtime member of 52Frames is finding a new angle to this challenge. That's why instead of using a picture I took of our iconic Tabernacle Synagogue, based on the Biblical Tabernacle which stood here in Shiloh for almost four hundred years, or the area of the Biblical Shiloh, I looked for a different view. I shot east from the archeological site, but I wasn't fully satisfied with the photo. Then today I was in Jerusalem and photographed an Israeli flag, flying outside a store. Yes, I used the double exposure tool in snapseed to combine a picture of western Shiloh with an Israeli flag. It may be kitschy, but I like it. Sometimes patriotism is kitschy at times, but it's not a crime. Modern Shiloh is celebrating forty-one years this week, perfect timing.

*To this day, there has never been a history of unity, peoplehood among those Arabs living west of the Jordan river. To be perfectly honest, until Great Britain brought the Hashemites in to occupy and rule Transjordan, east of the Jordan River, there had never been an independent country, society, culture, people etc there either.

Revisiting Sha'ar Binyamin, My Jewish-Arab Workplace

Yesterday, I shopped in Rami Levy, Sha'ar Binyamin. I hadn't been there for a very long time. For close to six years I had worked in Yafiz in the commercial center. I worked with Arabs. It's definitely a Jewish-Arab Workplace. I sold to Arabs. I got to know some of the Arab staff in Rami Levy.

When I had been asked to join the Yafiz staff, nobody told me that I'd be entering an entirely new world. Nobody told me that there would be fellow staff and lots of Arab customers. I honestly don't know if I would have taken the job if it had been described that way.

At the time I began working in Yafiz, we really needed the money. Not that I got decent pay in Yafiz; it was minimum wage. But even minimum wage is better than no wage at all.

On the whole my experiences with the Arabs, fellow workers, including at Rami Levy, and customers was very pleasant. I gained a certain confidence for sure. When Arab (men, of course, women didn't) tried to bargain with me to get a lower price, I made it very clear, in my firmest teacher's voice, that nobody, ABSOLUTELY NOBODY got discounts. All customers paid the same price. I even learned a few words of Arabic to help me.

Many Arabs used to love to come and talk to me in English. There were those who said that coming to Yafiz reminded them of America.

An elderly Arab woman used to shop for clothing to send to her grandchildren in Egypt. Jordanian businessmen used to tell me that they loved the selection of children's clothes we had. There was even a time when Arab tourists used to come in vans for "shopping tours."

Yesterday I was surprised at the friendly greetings I received from workers and customers there, Jews and Arabs alike.

There are still many Arab workers, but one thing I noticed, even the last two years I worked in Yafiz, that there are fewer Arab customers. Apparently, the PA Police try to punish those who shop in Jewish businesses and confiscate their purchases.

I want to make something very clear. I'm what can be called an extreme Jewish Nationalist, who firmly and unabashedly believes that there is none and never has been a Palestinian People, Arab terrorists should be executed even without a trial if caught in the act and full Israeli Sovereignty must be declared over all the Land held by the State of Israel, even the Land that has been allowed to the PA-Palestinian Authority. But I also believe that one of the ways to develop peace between Jews and Arabs is to carefully give the Arabs a chance. At the same time there should be zero tolerance to any Arab who even hints at pro-terror feelings. 

Houses on the Road to Amichai

Amichai!

Yesterday on my way home to Shiloh, I could see the caravillot, temporary homes on their way to Amichai, the new town just southeast of Shiloh.

https://a7.org/media/a7radio/misc/video/18/feb/AMICHAY21-2.mp4

Priority for living there is being given to those who had been thrown out of Amona, which was on a hill right next to Ofra. The residents of Amona had undergone two very traumatic destructions. One was partial, and the most recent totally leveled their peaceful community, making all residents homeless. As compensation, the government decided to build a new community for them, Amichai.

Amichai is southeast of Shiloh, south of Shvut Rachel, near a number of small hilltop farming communities and has been allocated land for growth. It is a beautiful area. It is a short distance from the Alon Road which goes north-south in the Jordan Valley. The children who had lived in Amona and whose parents agreed to move to Amichai have been bussed to the Shiloh elementary schools this year.

We, in Gush Shiloh, the bloc of communities surrounding Shiloh, are very excited about the establishment of the new town, although we are very upset that Amona had been destroyed. Why does it always take death, murder and destruction to galvanize the Israeli government to build new towns and communities?

Why Does it Take Murdered Jews for Government to Act?

For decades I've been asking this question. There has been a long-standing custom, even predating the establishment of the State of Israel, to establish and name communities and even cities after Jews murdered by Arab terrorists. The list of such places is very long, and I'm not going to try to list all of the communities/towns/cities that fit that criteria.

Just in the past few days, the community of Chavat Gilad, which is built on private Jewish land, was given approval, because of the sympathy the Israeli government felt for the residents after one was murdered by an Arab terrorist.

Shvut Rachel, which is just a few minutes' walk east from my house, was established on land allocated to Shiloh by a garin, group of people planning on living as a community together, that had plans to establish a new community east of Shiloh before Rachella Druk, HaYa"D, was murdered, but hadn't actually done it. After Rachella was murdered, they quickly moved caravans to the site which is now Shvut Rachel, and a yishuv was born. I've been wondering ever since about the possibility that if only they had established a new community beforehand, would Rachella be alive today?

Why do we only react to horrible tragedies? In recent decades this has become pretty much the only impetus for Jewish settlement. Forty years ago when Shiloh, Tekoa, Beit El, Efrat, Ariel and many other Jewish communities were established, there was a drive to fill the Biblical landscape with modern Jewish life.

We must return to the ideology of settlement in the Land of Israel because it is ours and our right, privilege and obligation to live here, not as a reaction to murder!

True Peace Only With Full Israeli Sovereignty in Jerusalem

It's no surprise that almost all countries are having fits about Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Capital of the State of Israel. They really wouldn't mind if there wasn't a State of Israel. Of course, they won't admit it. Many countries, and that includes the USA State Department hope that placating the international Arab terrorists with Jerusalem and all the Land held by Israel would make them safer. But the truth is that it would just empower them.

The cancer of international terrorism has turned pretty much every place into a "game" of Russian Roulette. Terror can strike wherever you are, Paris, London, New York etc. Claiming that Israel is the most dangerous spot is totally incorrect.

We have to counteract the terrorism in two basic ways.

• One is zero tolerance which includes immediate execution without trial of any Arab terrorist. Do not give them a platform to preach or defend themselves. Certainly, when caught in the act, even in trying to transport/carry a weapon, only execution/death is the judicial answer. 
• Two is for the State of Israel to make it 100% clear that Jerusalem is the Capital City of Israel and only Israel. It cannot and will not be shared or split. 

No international body or foreign meddler has any right to interfere or even voice a contrary opinion. The Jewish People, Religion and Kingdom have existed longer than any other. Have some respect.

1967 Six Days Victory, Alternative to Destruction

"So Sorry We Won" was the brilliantly prophetic name Ephraim Kishon and Dosh gave to their post 1967 Six Days War political satire. Here we are a half a century later, and even Israelis think there was a viable alternative to the miraculous victory of Biblical proportions which gave the State of Israel our Historic Homeland.

I was about to graduate high school when Egypt's Nasser began his tirades threatening to destroy the State of Israel, wipe it into the sea.

The absence of any significant international reaction to the reimposition of the blockade on the Gulf of Aqaba only emboldened Nasser. In a speech to Arab Trade Unionists on 26 May, he declared his real objective: "The battle will be a general one and our basic objective will be to destroy Israel." (Jewish Virtual Library)

There was nothing ambiguous about his statement, and there was nothing ambiguous about the fact that the United Nations and every single solitary country in the world just acquiesced or ignored Nasser's threats.

Here we were thirty years after the rise of Hitler and Naziism in Germany, just over twenty years after their defeat, and it looked like Hitler had risen from his grave.  The world, including the United States, had sat idly by when Jews were murdered by the Nazis, and now their successors were standing placidly on the sidelines while Nasser was orchestrating the destruction of the nineteen year old struggling State of Israel.

That was the situation in June, 1967, when without any foreign ally the State of Israel achieved the most miraculous and unprecedented victory in the history of warfare. In six days, not only did we defend the indefensible Auschwitz borders, but we liberated all of the land from the Golan Heights in the north to the Suez Canal on the south and to the Jordan River on the East. This not only gave the State of Israel all of historic, holy and Biblical Jerusalem, it returned the locations of our Biblical National History and finally gave the modern state logical and defendable borders.

You'd think that such a victory would be embraced, celebrated and accepted by all sectors in Israeli society for eternity.

The Jewish People may be academically brilliant with a disproportionately high percentage of discoveries and prizes in science, but when it comes to politics and "self-defense," we tend to get things wrong. In the Bible you can read about how our very first king, King Saul, was more concerned with trying to kill David than obeying Gd's decree that he destroy all of the enemy Amalek. And unfortunately, things haven't changed all that much.

Not only are the European Union and most foreign governments boycotting the big celebrations of the 50 years our 1967 victory and subsequent settlements in the liberated Land, but many Israeli politicians and political parties are boycotting the Judea and Samaria jubilee.

Honestly, I'm not surprised by the fact that non-Jews and other countries don't care about the survival and security of the State of Israel, but I find it truly incomprehensible that there are Israelis who don't understand, or more accurately, refuse to understand that the alternative to that 1967 victory was the destruction of the State of Israel, Gd forbid. Here we are a half century, fifty 50 years later, and they still haven't a clue as to the perilous security situation we'd be in without having full control and sovereignty over Judea, Samaria, the Jordan Valley and the Golan Heights.

It's bad enough that Menachem Begin gave Egypt the Sinai. But there is no way the State of Israel could survive with an enemy Arab terror state inside our borders.

Allowing Jews to live in all parts of the Land of Israel we now control is the only way to secure the Land and make even Tel Aviv a safe place for Jews.

True Story: No Room on Israeli Bus for Jewish Passengers

This past Friday I found myself sitting on the steps in a #86 bus from the Yarkon Junction to Ariel. Happy to finally be on my way home, I just sat down on the steps near the driver. I really felt much more comfortable in more ways than one. Here's the story...

On Friday I got stuck trying to get home. I had been to a "simcha," a festive occasion not too far from the Yarkon Junction. I calculated that I'd have no problem getting home on one of the Israeli buses to Ariel that stop at the Yarkon Junction. The only problem was that the buses didn't stop. They were full of Arabs who work in the Tel Aviv-Petach Tikva areas. I don't know what percentage of them have work permits or not or how they get to work. But there are times of the day when the buses are so full of them, there's no room for any more passengers by the time they reach Yarkon Junction.

Finally one stopped for me. I happily got on the bus and paid the driver. Then the driver said:

"There's no room. I just let you on since someone got off from the back."

Then I look around and saw that I was possibly the only Jew on the bus. I wasn't about to stand until they got off, most probably just before Ariel. So I calmly sat down on the steps near the driver. It's not the cleanest place to sit, but it's comfortable.

Since there wasn't a free seat, and I didn't feel like doing the staring until someone got up thing. 

A few miles down the road, after we had passed a couple of stops without stopping at all, some passengers got off. I had to get off the bus to let them off. And I realized from the conversations some had with the driver, that he was also an Arab. I was happy to be on my way home and prayed for the best.

After another group of Arabs got off, finally I sat down on a proper seat, yes, next to an Arab. It was in the front row. And then at the bus stop at the entrance to Ariel, before the security check, the bus emptied almost completely. Then there were about three of us, all who looked like Israeli Jews, left on the bus. By the time I got off near the Ariel University I was the only passenger left. The bus driver and I discussed which stop was best for me. The driver was polite to me the entire trip, and I did feel safe. What bothers me is that the bus fares are subsidized by Israeli taxpayers. These are Israeli buses, public transportation. And it's not right that Israeli citizens should find themselves waiting at bus stops without bus service.

In Jerusalem there are these gorgeous new modern white buses that are part of an Arab bus company that connects Jerusalem to nearby Arab towns. Why can't there be something like that in the Petach Tikva area to Samaria? That way there will be room on the Israeli buses for Jews?

Bibi's Land Policies Bad For Jews

Even though the Israeli media and "world public opinion" insist on labeling our Prime Minister as "Right," the truth is that his policies are far to the Left of the Israeli political spectrum. I can easily admit that he can give a great speech, which even echoes the basic principles of what's considered Right policies. But the truth is in actions and not words. And when it comes to actions, or policies, there's nothing Right about Prime Minister Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu.

Here in 21st Century Israel the key to judging/measuring Right/Left on the political spectrum is one's policies and attitude to the Land of Israel, statehood and sovereignty.  In a nutshell that means that if someone is in favor of Jews living, building and being sovereign in the Land of Israel, ignoring the 1949 Armistice lines, then he/she is on the Right. If one sees a legal holiness or eternal permanence in those lines and consider them as a border between an "Israel of all its citizens" and a judenrein apartheid Arab state called "Palestine" or "West Bank of Jordan," then he/she is on the Left.

Bibi is a pretty smooth speaker and could have been a hell of a used car salesman, but we've heard his lies a few times too often. Those "like new" cars are lemons with doctored records.

While Bibi keeps on touting the hundreds of Jewish homes he has approved for building, they are the same ones that were approved years ago but never built.  Bibi doesn't play those games with the Arabs. They have a new city called Rawabi, and now even on land that was supposed to be for Jewish only building, Jews can't get permits but Arabs can:

FIVE PALESTINIANS CITIES TO EXPAND INTO AREA C

I'm not being paranoid!

Why are we Jews being held back? Why hasn't the new Amona been brought here?

Bibi has promised that a new community will be built southeast of Shiloh. There will be special "incentives" for the Amona community, and it will also be open for other Jewish families. We are waiting. Words won't help. We want action!

Davka, Ofra

Evacuation of Amona in 2006,
Nati Shohat/Flash 90, Arutz 7

Ever since the Israeli Government's destruction of nine permanent, sic, houses in Amona, a "suburb" of Ofra, eleven years ago, I've been troubled by the fact that davka Ofra, which has always been a "conventional" government supporting aka mamlachti community has become the target of "Peace Now's" favorite weapon, the Israeli Supreme Court.

On February 1, 2006, after a protracted legal battle, some 10,000 Israeli police officers, border guards and soldiers arrived at the illegal Amona outpost in the central West Bank to demolish nine of the settlement’s buildings, in accordance with a court order. (Times of Israel)

Ofra, the first post 1967 Six Days War Jewish community in Samaria, the hills north of Jerusalem, where the Kingdom of Israel had been located after it split from Judea as told in the Bible, Kings, Chronicles and Prophets, has never been known for anti-government extremism.

Although the original garin, group of people, who had planned a Jewish residential presence in Samaira had wanted to live in Biblical Shiloh, they cooperated with the government and moved to what is today Ofra. That decision/concession is a significant cause/source of today's problems. There is not enough unclaimed government land in that area. Davka, there is more than enough unclaimed government land in the Shiloh area.

A couple of days ago, the unthinkable happened. Lovely new Jewish homes, owned and lived in by Israeli families were seized and destroyed by the Israeli Government.

A bulldozer destroys a home built on private Palestinian land in the West Bank settlement of Ofra on March 1, 2017. (AFP Photo/Menahem Kahana) Times of Israel

Protesters on the rooftop of a home during an operation to evacuate nine homes in the Jewish settlement of Ofra, in the West Bank, February 28, 2017. (AFP Photo/Menahem Kahana) Times of Israel

For those who managed to survive the trauma of Disengagement still trusting the Israeli Government, I wonder if they have finally realized, accepted the frightening fact that the government is working against its best interests, against the raison d'etre of the Zionist Movement and the Establishment of the State of Israel.

By dividing the Land of Israel into different "priorities" and levels of "legitimacy" the government has caused the legitimacy and existence of the entire of the State of Israel to be endangered.

Davka the community of Ofra which began by symbolizing Jewish strength, pride, settlement and renewed Zionism has now become an endangered community, davka, endangered by its very respect for and obedience to the State of Israel.

Finally, Consumer Protection and Warnings for Israeli Citizens Over "Green Line"

Israeli citizens like myself, who live over the "Green Line" in communities that are boycotted by some Israeli businesses are getting some legal protection.

I had to buy my washing machine from a repairman who was
an agent for a company in order to get full service coverage.

To explain how we're effectively second class citizens, it has happened to me and many others, that after choosing to purchase something, a store will suddenly announce:

"We don't deliver to ___"

At best they will give the number of someone who charges a lot more than the distance from store to location would normally cost. And then if the appliance or piece of furniture requires some installation or assembly, we have to pay privately and won't get serviced unless we deliver the malfunctioning appliance/furnishings etc. I have also discovered that the standard service renewal offers haven't been sent to me by many companies. That means that after the required/promised service contract, I have to pay privately. I have no other option. After living in Jerusalem over a decade before our move to Shiloh, I found that to be an unpleasant, unexpected and potentially expensive surprise.

Luckily the Jerusalem furniture where
I bought my couch set a number of years ago
delivered to Shiloh without any problems.

Finally, the Knesset has passed a law that requires businesses to at least warn us in advance.

Knesset passes ban on discrimination against settlers
Now, businesses that do not provide services or ship goods to residents of Jewish settlements in the West Bank will be required to clearly state and display that policy. This makes it different from race, gender, etc. The legislation will prevent a business from deliberately misleading customers about where goods or services will be available.
Businesses that fail to properly warn about their policy — for example with a sign of at least A4 size by the cash register — could be fined up to NIS 10,000 ($2,690).

OK the "advance" is at the checkout counter, but that is still better than nothing. And it must be a properly legible size. The best part is that a business that doesn't comply will be fined.

Many of my neighbors have discovered some excellent appliance shops nearby, in Jewish communities, which offer very competitive prices along with excellent service. We plan on patronizing one of them when we redo our kitchen, Gd willing. We were warned that IKEA doesn't deliver full-service assembly to Shiloh, so I'm not even checking them out. 

A half a century after the 1967 Six Days War, there are many Jewish Israeli citizens living here. The distance isn't great nor is the danger when traveling.

The Regulation Law, Will It Make a Difference?

Israeli lawmakers attend a vote on a bill at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem February 6, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

Right, Left and Center Israelis have such conflicting views on the Regulation Law.

 "...would legalize housing units built by settlers on private Palestinian land, if the construction was carried out in good faith: If the settlers did not know that the land they were building on was privately owned by Palestinians, and received some kind of assistance from the state, they would be allowed to remain there.
The proposed legislation notes that government support may be explicit or implicit, from the start or post-facto, and that the backing of local municipalities is considered state support.
The bill, sponsored by Jewish Home MKs Betzalel Smotrich and Shuli Moalem-Refaeli and Likud MKs David Bitan and Yoav Kisch, allows the government to appropriate land for its own use if the owners are unknown. If the owners are known, they will be eligible for yearly damages amounting to 125 percent of the value of leasing the land or a larger financial package valued at 20 years’ worth of leasing the plots, or alternate plots." (Times of Israel)

Maybe I'm just a cynic, but I think that it still doesn't go far enough. Like this traffic circle I photographed the other day in Ofra, I don't think that the Regulation Law will really solve the problems. The cycle of attempted settlement, legislative change and then the Supreme Court declaring the laws null and void, "unconstitutional," even though we don't have one...

Consider it a cycle of legal violence against Zionism.

Yes, I, and many others, consider the entire "settlement movement" to be the modern manifestation of the same Zionist Ideology that produced the political structure and rationale for the Establishment of the State of Israel.

The Israeli Left, which once just concentrated on economic ideology, socialism versus capitalism, has dumped "economic utopia" for a flaky unrealistic kumbaya-drug filled dream of Jews and Arabs living and loving together as if John Lennon's "Imagine" is their road map and bible. 

Truth be told that Israel is a dictatorship of the Extreme Left Judicial, which self-perpetuates, because only the sitting justices can elect/appoint new ones. They admit they decide by their own moral compass, which according to their interpretation of Israeli Law, supercedes anything passed by the publicly elected Members of Knesset.

Basically, there must be a way for the Knesset to seriously amend the system to take away the veto power of the Judicial. Without that we can never escape their legal tyranny.

And MK Yehuda Glick is being overly optimistic when he says that the next step is Annexation and Sovereignty.  He and his fellow MKs should have had gone straight to Sovereignty for all of the Land we hold.