Scams!! The Iran "Deal" and Fake Kidnapping

Time today is limited, and I don't know which awful event of yesterday to blog about. But they do have something in common; they are both scams. Yes, I'm referring to the horrendous deja vu panic two young men had put the country, security forces through yesterday afternoon-evening and until late at night over a suspected terrorist kidnapping and the other is this potentially literally world-shattering deal to allow Iran to "rein in" but not stop its nuclear weapons development.

nuclear bomb explosion 

“The agreement being put together in Lausanne paves the way for that result. Apparently it will leave in Iran's hands underground facilities, the [hard-water] reactor at Arak, advanced centrifuges. All those things that only a few months ago we were told, rightfully so, that they were not vital to a peaceful nuclear program.”
It was US President Barack Obama who said that each of those elements was not needed for a peaceful program. (Jerusalem Post)

The dangers of a nuclear Iran are international, not specifically Israeli, and I think that Prime Minister Netanyahu has been making a very serious tactical mistake by stressing the dangers to Israel instead of the dangers to international peace.

American President Barack Hussein Obama is more concerned with his deal-making than with true peace. He has two aims for his lame-duck presidency, a deal with Iran and establishing another Arab state which he calls Palestine. An Arab terror state in the heartland of Israel, a short walk from Israeli cities is the true danger to the State of Israel, not a nuclear Iran.

The pre-Passover security panic caused by two young men is unforgivable.

It is believed that Assaraf and his friend may have played a prank on authorities, as Assaraf was located with a sleeping bag and non-perishable food items shortly after Almoz's statement.
The incident began on Thursday afternoon around 4:00 p.m., when a call to the 100 emergency hotline of the Judea and Samaria district police was received from an Israeli youth, who said he and his friend had gotten stuck in their car due to a flat tire between Kiryat Arba and Beit Anoun. (Arutz 7)

New Bus Routes Between Jerusalem and Binyamin-Shomron Will Force More Tremping (Hitchhiking)

On one hand I can't argue with the numbers, because the massive overhaul in the public transportation between Jerusalem and the Jewish communities of Samaria and Benjamin, where I live, will have more buses, more routes, which will be more frequent etc.

New W. Bank bus lines to offer better service, security
(the Jerusalem Post's headline)

But like many seemingly good deals, this one has some tricks and lots of disadvantages. The rationale behind it, according to the article, is "security" by making "tremping" unnecessary, but that's the one thing it doesn't give us.

A big advantage to taking the bus, especially before a long trip of an hour or more, is that you can go to the bus station, a closed building, with toilets and shelter from the elements. With this new plan, we must wait outdoors. The nearby to the new bus stops' Pisgat Ze'ev Mall usually has a line to get in and the trip from Pisgat Ze'ev by train to the Central Bus Station, if anyone needs to travel to or from another Israeli city can take about an hour by the "lightrail." It can even take more when you take into account waiting for the train and the walk from the train to the bus station. The train isn't a direct route. It goes through Arab neighborhoods and there have been attacks there of late. At present there isn't a direct bus route from the Pisgat Zeev Mall to the CBS. That means taking a couple of buses, and even though our ticket will give us a transfer for 90 minutes, those 90 minutes will probably be finished by the time we need the local Jerusalem bus. And also many of the Shomron and northern Binyamin destinations/starting points are more than a 90 minutes ride.

If we have to stand outside waiting for a bus, we may as well choose to wait where we also have an option for a "tremp," like the boys when they were kidnapped by terrorists.

And another big draw to tremping is the fact that our last bus home is only at 10pm from Pisgat Ze'ev. At present it's 11:30, and there's a 10:30, also. To get to that 10pm bus, we have to leave the more central parts of Jerusalem well before 9:30, so more and more people will be forced to hitchhike home.

So, to put it mildly, the Ministry of Transportation and Egged management and our hapless local leaders are conning us and endangering us.

No surprise.  They all get cars from work.

Complete the Mission! Sayyem et HaMissimah! סיים את המשימה

For days, actually week's I've been searching for the right name for this war. Please stop calling it an "operation," "campaign" or whatever non-military euphemism the government has dreamed up! 

Today while watching the television news I heard the interview of a mother of a wounded soldier who is also the mother of a soldier fighting. She was asked if she had a message for her son the soldier on the battlefield:

"סיים את המשימה Complete the Mission! Sayyem et HaMissimah!"

Yes, that's what she said to him live on Israeli television.

Among the wounded are several lone soldiers, who came to Israel for the sole purpose of joining the IDF 

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 Photo credit: Dudu Grunshpan

And yes, that's the way most Israelis feel. We are sick and tired of listening to unrealistic extreme Leftists who pontificate the supposed, alleged peacefulness and logic of the Gazans, claiming "they certainly want peace, just like we do." Well, the proof's in the pudding; they don't. It's very dangerous to dream that our enemy is "just like us."

Remember that the night, less than two months ago, when the three teenagers were kidnapped and murdered, there were celebrations in Arab towns all over. And the films of the celebrating Gazans, including children, yes all civilians at the capture of IDF soldier (most probably his dead body) are horrifying.



We must keep pounding away until they break, because otherwise they will win. There's no negotiating and no ceasefire if we want to survive!

Compare the Funerals, And The Mourning

Here's a picture I took at the funeral of Gilad Shaar and Naftali Frenkel, both 16, and Eyal Yifrach, 19, HaYa"D, at the Modiin Cemetery where they were buried.

The mourners were quiet and stoic. And here's one from an angle I couldn't take.

Oren Ziv/Activestills.org

Compare the body language with these from the funeral of the Arab teen Mohammed Abu Khudair*:

REUTERS/FINBARR O'REILLY

Here's how Jews mourn:

 Israelis light candles in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square on Monday as they mourn the news of the death of three abducted Jewish teenagers. Credit: Tomer Neuberg/Flash90

And here's how the Arabs are mourning:

Photo Credit: Flash 90

All of this is something to think about...

Apparently, the Arab rioters so badly damaged the lightrail tracks and equipment in the  Shuafat and Beit Hanina neighborhoods of Jerusalem that the trains will no longer be able to travel through there. That leaves Pisgat Zeev without train service. More buses will have to be added to service those neighborhoods which are as populated as many Israeli cities. I, too, along with many residents of the Benjamin, Samaria and Jordan Valley take the train to and from Pisgat Zeev as part of our traveling to and from Jerusalem. There will now be more traffic on the roads and more crowded buses. I suggest that the city and the CityPass directors decide to change the route, leaving out the Arab neighborhoods. They should build a direct route straight from Pisgat Zeev to French Hill. It will make the train safer all around and a quicker ride for us.

*Read the article about the kidnapping of Mohammed Abu Khudair by Elder of Ziyon.

Postmortem: Was The Israeli Government Wrong to Give The Impression The Kidnapped Teens Were Alive?

Writing another postmortem on the Arab terrorist kidnapping of the three Jewish teenagers, I feel it necessary to delve into the snowballing issue of whether or not the Israeli government was right to give the impression that the kidnapped boys were alive, even though they knew perfectly well that the boys had been murdered. Once they took the phone call seriously, they heard the sound of the shots. Also the sounds of hysterical partying and celebrations coming from Arab villages that night should have had raised suspicions. Many of us, far from any official security sources suspected that the boys had been murdered immediately after their capture. And we felt that the type of searches the IDF was doing showed that the army considered them dead.

Some people, like Noam Sheizaf in 972 consider the official line that the boys are still alive to have had been a manipulation of the families and public.

Details under gag order could have suggested early on that the abducted teens were murdered. The government-led campaign calling for their release helped the legitimacy of Israel’s military operation in the West Bank. Local and even international media played along.The following issue is not the heart of the kidnapping affair, the Israeli military operation or its aftermath — but it does carry an important lesson, especially for journalists. The bottom line is this: the Israeli public has been manipulated.

To be honest, I think that the government did the right thing.

From the beginning of the search and certainly after hearing the emergency call, it was pretty clear that there would not be a happy ending to the story. Even if the boys were "just wounded," the chance of any of them getting proper medical care and surviving was pretty slim. Thirty-one years ago, Aaron Gross, HaYa"D was stabbed in Hebron and left to bleed to death in an Arab hospital.

But of course, our Jewish and Israeli history is full of amazing unexpected survival and victories. Otherwise we'd be just a short postscript or footnote in massive volumes of ancient history. There wouldn't be a State of Israel today nor a Jewish People if our survival was dependent on the normal rules/laws of nature.

Was it a cruel manipulation of the families and public to keep up hope that these three rather ordinary teens, who liked sports, music and normal teen activities as their families described, were alive and waiting to be rescued?

I think it would have had been a gazillion times worse if the parents and public had been told they were dead and they were in fact fighting for life. How many times had "experts" predicted the end of the Jewish People and here we are thriving despite the terrorism and antisemitism in this world?

If the families had campaigned for their sons' dead bodies for proper burial, would that have been as effective and moving? Would the parents had preferred that? The rallying cry would have been "We want to bury our sons" instead of "We want to hug our sons." I can't speak for the families.

Bat-Galim and Ofir Sha'ar

Flash 90

I certainly sympathize with the anger of the families in the delayed search, because for whatever reason, the police didn't take the call seriously.

An angry Bat-Galim Sha'ar, mother of Gilad (16), who along with Eyal Yifrah (19) and Naftali Frenkel (16) was kidnapped and murdered by Hamas terrorists, on Wednesday leveled harsh criticism at top security officials.

Unfortunately, it seems that the boys were already dead before the earliest the police could have begun searching.

None of these arguments will bring back Eyal Yifrah, Gilad Shaar, and Naftali Frenkel HaYa"D. All the arguing and condemnation will do is to destroy the unity we achieved while searching and praying for the boys.

Shabbat Shalom u'Mevorach

May You Have a Peaceful and Blessed Shabbat

A War of Rockets, Fires and Words

A good friend of mine who lives in Southern Israel was awakened by red alert, emergency alarms at 4:24am.

"Good morning ladies At 4:24 this morning our yishiv was rudely awaken by 2 double sirens. We get Grads. Not a nice way to wake up."

There are times, much too frequently even though even once is more than enough, when her house shakes and booms fill the air. So far, each time she reports that they are fine. But no country should accept this as "normal" for their citizens to be targeted by missile fire.

As I write this, more alarms and missiles destroy what should be summer calm in Israel.

"And again a double siren with very loud booms...."

This is no "Summertime and the living is easy..."


Real life is no fairy tale.

We have only 15 seconds to get to safety. We are fortunate that we only have to get the dog to safety. But a house full of young children it is a nightmare..totally impossible. Kids are crying and frightened. Not nice at all.

Will those carefully "targeted attacks" by the IDF on Gaza really destroy the Arab terrorists' structure and morale?

Israel Air Force (IAF) aircraft targeted 15 terror sites in Gaza on Wednesday night.
According to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, the airstrikes targeted concealed rocket launchers, training compounds and weapons storage sites, all of which belong to the Hamas terrorist group.
The statement said that the airstrikes were in retaliation for the latest escalation in rocket attacks on southern Israel.

No matter what "brave words" come out of the Israeli Government, unfortunately, I doubt if this retaliation will end Arab terrorism against Israel and Israelis.

"A wide-ranging intelligence effort is underway to find the killers," Ya'alon said. "We will pursue them until we get our hands on them."
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called for a military offensive along the lines of Operation Defensive Shield, Israel's operation against Palestinian terrorist groups in Judea and Samaria in 2002.

We've tried this too many times and it's a waste of bullets and manpower. Each time the Arab terrorists come out stronger. What can I say?  It's like mowing the lawn to make the grass stronger. We are just mowing down terrorism instead of pulling it out from the roots and totally destroying it.

It also really galls me when Jews are too quick to condemn Jews for the murder of Arabs. As angry as we are, and as much as we shout, it's extremely rare for Jews to act on it. I totally agree with Lori Lowenthal Marcus's Jewish Press article:

The public statement, “JCPA Mourns Palestinian Teenager, Calls for an End to Violence,” was posted on its website just after mid-day on Wednesday, July 2, less than 12 hours after news that an Arab teenage boy had been found dead in Jerusalem.
And yet, although JCPA President Rabbi Steven Gutow noted in the statement that, “the circumstances of his death remain uncertain,” the same sentence then takes a sharp turn and places the blame squarely on Israel: “it appears that Mohammed was not a party to nor instigator of the tragic events of recent days and weeks. But he now has paid the ultimate price regardless.”
So although no one yet knows for certain how the teenager died or who was responsible, the JCPA publicly drew a target on the back of the Jewish State. Not content to simply act as judge and jury, the JCPA proceeded to send out the statement to its members across the country, inviting everyone to embrace its judgment – that Israel or individual Israelis are responsible for the abu Khaider’s murder, and pronouncing the murder a revenge attack.

I also recommend reading the Arutz 7 article that gives good reasons to put the blame/guilt on Arabs not Jews.

Arab riot in response to murder

Flash 90

A senior former police official argues that the abduction and murder of the Arab youth who was found dead Wednesday morning was most likely a criminal act, rejecting the claim that Jewish "revenge" for the murdered Israeli teens lay behind it.
The official noted that the family of the murdered 16-year-old was well known to police sources in Jerusalem, adding "it's a problematic family with internal clashes that have been ongoing for many years."
"I have no doubt that as time passes it will be clarified that the murder was criminal and nothing more," declared the official, who spoke to Arutz Sheva on condition of anonymity.

My first reaction upon hearing of the dead Arab was that he was killed by fellow Arabs for possibly condemning the murder of the Jewish boys. It's doubtful that I have the reason right, but violence of the fatal kind is much more common among Arabs than Jews, and whenever possible people do try to pin on Jews.

I'd say that it's an easy bet to say that if the murder is solved, the guilty party will be shown to be an Arab, not a Jew!

The Funeral of the Three Murdered Israeli Jewish Teenagers, I Was There

There must have had been hundred of thousands of people who attended the funeral of the three murdered teenagers, because I was there and the mobs of people extended so far and wide, and the number of buses and private vehicles was larger than anyone could count. We had to walk miles, not just kilometers (which is a shorter distance) to go from where the bus dropped us off and then waited until we found it, until we got to a place where we could barely hear the loudspeakers amplifying what was happening around the graves.

So many people of all ages were there, even though it was a rough hike at times to just arrive near the cemetery.

It was a youth movement hike without the singing.

People made every effort, though the weather, even late afternoon was brutal.

We finally reached a point where we could hear the loudspeakers but couldn't see anything but crowds of people in all directions. That's where we stopped.

Many people felt ill from the heat, and although we had seen lots of ambulances and motorcycle first aid vehicles, help came from people nearby passing along water and juice.

The crowd was quiet, sad and emotionally exhausted after the long two and half weeks of searching, praying and hope. Everyone was in pain. You didn't need to know the boys or their families. The murderous attack was random though well-planned. It could have happened to anyone.

Walking back to find the buses afterwards, groups of men stopped and said the Mincha, afternoon prayer in minyan, quorums of the required ten or more. Our Shiloh bus took so long to fill that the men even called a Ma'ariv, Evening Prayer.

We arrived home very, very late.

HaMakom yinachem...
May G-d comfort the mourners...

And may G-d give wisdom to the politicians in government who are supposed to be leading us. May they make the right decisions. We must defeat Arab terrorism or these scenes will just keep on repeating themselves! We cannot make peace with terrorists who are out to destroy and murder us!!!

Destroy Arab Terrorism! No Mercy!!

Now the media is full of questions about not only what will the government do as a reaction to the brutal murder of the three teenagers  Eyal Yifrach, Naftali Frenkel and Gil-Ad Sha'ar, HaYa"D, but what is the best way to prevent more Arab terrorism.

My mind keeps going back to a time over thirty years ago, when my youngest was a baby and re-hospitalized due to a very serious infection that was also in his blood, Osteomyelitis, infection of the bone. At the time I had received the diagnosis, after taking my baby back to the hospital because his leg was red and swollen, he was just over two weeks old. The doctor explained that that my son would have to receive at least six weeks of IV (that's in the vein) antibiotics which would require hospitalization. I was warned that even after there were no superficial signs of infection or even when all tests came clean, we would have to continue the regime.
Apparently the sort of bacteria that was threatening his life was known to hide in the body without showing/causing symptoms. That was the most crucial time to destroy it, and that's why although he seemed, and probably was, perfectly healthy after only a couple of weeks of the powerful antibiotics, he needed to complete the full amount.
And thank the Good Lord and the tools He gave to the modern medical profession, my son fully recovered. 

Why is this story crowding all else from my mind today?

I have no doubt that if we don't do absolutely everything in our power to totally destroy the Arab terrorist structure, status etc., the Hamas and its ally the Fatah and ban and banish every single NGO, foreign emissary, volunteer, United Nations international organizations et al, the terrorists will keep on returning. The State of Israel must also re-sentence each and every convicted terrorist and give them the death penalty. Jail conditions must also change to minimal services and no more than that.

If we don't do everything in our power to destroy Arab terrorism we will suffer even more. Each attack will be more dangerous and audacious than the previous one.

We Should All Be Ripping Our Clothes in Mourning

When Gilad Schalit had been held captive by Arab terrorists, his father's campaign theme was that Gilad was "everybody's son" and we should do everything possible to free him, even release all those convicted terrorists.

I think that for many Israelis and Jews all over the world, the three Jewish teens who had been kidnapped by Arab terrorists two and a half weeks ago were also "our sons," and when a close family dies, the custom is to do kri'ah, rip part of the outer clothes. The mourner doesn't change to clean clothes daily, nor bathe except in honor of Shabbat. The three kidnapped teens, Eyal, Gil-Ad and Naftali became our sons, our responsibilities. Hearing that they had been murdered pretty much immediately after the kidnapping makes it very clear that this Arab terrorist act was for the violence and not for any political or diplomatic end.

The murderous kidnapping wasn't for negotiations, nor to show that they want a state. That is the message we must take from it. We are not dealing with rationale peace-loving people. We are not dealing with sophisticated lovers of arts and opera who just hate Jews and want to annihilate us. These Arab terrorists aren't like the German Nazis; they are worse.

There is nothing more I can say now. I'm sick to my stomach from the terrible news. I had been suspecting that we would find the dead bodies of the boys. I am not personally acquainted with the families. I hope they feel my hugs along with the support of so many others.

ברוך דיין האמת

Baruch Dayan Ha'Emet

Blessed is The True Judge

G-d Willing, We Will Soon Hear... בע"ה נשמע...

Nobody has to complete the sentence...

G-d Willing, We Will Soon Hear...

בע"ה נשמע....

Bi'ezrat Hashem nishma...

It seems like every meeting, greeting, parting includes these words, this mantra of sorts. Whether between friends, family members or total strangers. It doesn't matter where I am, what I'm doing, this is what we're all thinking about, the three kidnapped boys and their families. 

May G-d give them strength and health...

We all know who the "them/they" are. They are the people who were close to Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar, and Naftali Frenkel before the terrible Arab terror attack, the kidnappings almost three weeks ago. Today, we all feel like we're part of the family. The campaign to wage an international public opinion campaign to force is encouraging people all over the world, in all sorts of occupations to post photographs holding signs demanding the boys' release.

Gush Shiloh Women, Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh:
#BringBackOurBoys!

So, of course the women from Shiloh and Eli who showed up yesterday to doven, pray at the site of the Ancient Biblical Tabernacle  in Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh, came prepared..We certainly would have preferred to have been celebrating the boys' return, but they are still imprisoned by Arab terrorists.

I couldn't be at the massive rally last night in Tel Aviv. I had to be at work.

Arutz 7

“The rally expresses concretely what everyone here in Israel feels,” Avi Fraenkel, father of Naftali, told Ynet.  Fraenkel remarked on the national “unity of fate and a very basic feeling of mutuality. Many people wanted to come here and we barely have time to see them, we barely have time for ourselves, and it’s an opportunity for us to do something with everybody. (Jewish Press)

In Yafiz, Sha'ar Binyamin, it was almost "business as usual," working with and selling to Arabs. However many of us did notice that the percentage of Arab customers has dropped ever since the kidnapping, even though Ramadan, which started yesterday is usually a time when they buy lots of new clothes.

The IDF is working hard searching Arab cities and towns for the boys. People are praying, specially learning, saying T'hillim (Psalms,) giving charity and more. And there are rallies of all sizes in all sorts of locations. All of this is to find the three young teenagers and G-d willing bring them safely home.

I wouldn't dare presume which of these methods will make the difference and end the personal and national nightmare G-d willing. I wouldn't dare tell someone that his or her idea is wrong. We must all do something, even more than one "something." For those who mock any of these methods, I counter by referring to how our Forefather Jacob prepared for his potentially dangerous meeting with his brother Esau who had pledged/threatened to kill him when they had last met. Bereishit, Genesis chapter 32 tells of how Jacob:

• sent Esau messengers
• sent Esau gifts
• prepared for battle
• divided his family, so there would be survivors if attacked
• prayed to G-d

The one thing he didn't do was to trust that others would save him. 

Dry Bones: Europe and anti-Jewish Terrorism

Our history is full of antisemitic attacks and wars, and in no case did any foreign power rescue us. We have only One G-d, and He must be the focus of our prayers. 

G-d Willing, We Will Soon Hear...

בע"ה נשמע....

Bi'ezrat Hashem nishma...

 Eyal Yifrach, Gil-ad Shaar, and Naftali Frenkel 

Disappointed and Sad that We Didn't Celebrate the Kidnapped Boys' Return

I was really hoping that by now, over two weeks since the three teenage boys had been kidnapped by today, Rosh Chodesh Tammuz we'd be able to celebrate their return home safe and sound.  Instead we prayed for them at Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh.

There is no better place to pray for children than Ancient Shiloh, where Chana prayed for a son to lead the Jewish People out of the anarchy the Time of the Judges, when there was no king and everyone did what they felt like doing...

We sincerely hope that before next Rosh Chodesh, Rosh Chodesh Av we will celebrate and thank G-d for the safe and healthy and speedy return of Gil-Ad, Naftali and Eyal.

Next month's Rosh Chodesh, Av, will be Monnday July 28, 2014. Please save the date.

Women's Prayers at Tel Shiloh Rosh Chodesh Av
Monday, July, 28, 2014
1st of Av 5774, 8:30am

We start dovening together with Hallel. Pray Shacharit at home or come early if possible, please.
Tour of Tel Shiloh & Dvar Torah, Short Torah Lesson
Please come and invite family, friends and neighbors

תפילת נשים ראש חודש תמוז בתל שילה
יום ב' 28-7 ב' אב תשע"ד 8:30
מתחילים את התפילה ביחד עם הלל. נא להתפלל שחרית בבית או לבוא מוקדם אם אפשר, תודה

יהיה דבר תורה קצר וסיור בתל
 כדאי לבוא ולהזמין חברות, משפחה ושכנות

Did The Arab Terrorists Expect the Kidnapping to Escalate to War?

Gazan attack on Sderot Jerusalem Post Itsik Lev

A rocket launched from the Gaza Strip struck a factory in the industrial district of Israel's southern city of Sderot on Saturday evening. The structure broke into flames following the strike.
A group of employees manged to escape the blaze and no injuries were reported in the attack.

IMHO we're getting into war mode. We're not there yet, but it's getting closer.

I'm glad that Israel is doing everything to try to find the three kidnapped boys.

• I just hope we continue. 
• I also hope that the State of Israel will institute the death penalty for all convicted Arab terrorists. 
• I would have let the hunger-striking Arab terrorist convicts kill themselves.

I'm very concerned about the pro-Arab terrorist , pro-Palestine and anti-IDF demonstrations among Arab Israelis. 

A demonstration by Israeli Arabs against the IDF operation to locate three kidnapped Israeli teenagers turned violent on Friday afternoon, as five people were injured.
The protesters, who gathered in the Wadi Ara region in north-central Israel, waved Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flags and blocked roads, while calling for the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers and for the release of all terrorists who are serving time in Israeli prisons.
Police officers who tried to disperse the demonstrators used tear gas, and the protesters responded by throwing rocks at the officers.
Two officers were among the five people who were injured in the demonstration, reported Channel 2 News. At least one protester was arrested.
Among those participating in the protest was MK Mohammed Barakeh of the far left Communist Hadash party.
"This demonstration is against the violence of the IDF and against the illegal arrests and illegal activities of the IDF in the territories," he declared. Arutz 7

It may be that it had to take such a serious act as the kidnapping of three teenage boys for the State of Israel to get out of the delusion that we can negotiate peace by being "nice." Many of us knew it a long time ago, but unfortunately the Israeli Government in trying to be Center is really far Left. This has pushed them further Right. I just hope that afterwards, when G-d wiling Eyal, Gil-Ad and Naftali will be safely home, the government won't forget the lesson.

Most important:

I hope and pray that the three teenagers, Eyal, Gil-Ad and Naftali will be found safe and sound and returned to the families and ordinary lives.

Israeli Media, Again, Humanizes Arab Terrorists!

G-d willing on Rosh Chodesh Tammuz, this coming Sunday we'll be celebrating the release of Naftali, Eyal and Gilad, if not then we will pray for them. Reminder that Rosh Chodesh Tammuz will be this Shabbat and Sunday.

Our Women's Prayers at Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh will be on Sunday.
Next month's Rosh Chodesh, Tammuz, will be Sunday June 29, 2014. Please save the date.
Women's Prayers at Tel Shiloh Rosh Chodesh TamuzSunday, June, 29, 2014
1st of Tamuz 5774, 8:30am
Tour of Tel Shiloh & Dvar Torah, Short Torah Lesson
Please come and invite family, friends and neighbors
תפילת נשיםראש חודש תמוז בתל שילהיום א' 29-6 א' תמוז תשע"ד 8:30
יהיה דבר תורה קצר וסיור בתל
 כדאי לבוא ולהזמין חברות, משפחה ושכנות
Mark your calendar, and join us. For more information, please contact me, thanks.

Last night I watched the Israeli Channel Two News. The good news was that they announced that the IDF has had a major lead in tracking down and G-d willing releasing the three kidnapped teenagers, Gil-Ad Shaer, Eyal Yifrah and Naftali Fraenkel, from the Arab terrorists, because they know who are the terrorist masterminds of the crime.

Marwan Kawasmeh (L), Amar Abu-Eisha

Israel Security Agency

my tv screen, father of Arab terrorist
being interviewed by Israel's Channel 2

The bad news is that since the media had this information for days, they had prepared a terribly sympathetic, humanizing piece about them featuring one of the wives, who looked young, beautiful and innocent crying that she didn't believe her husband was guilty. I wasn't quick enough to get my camera out to shoot her, but I did catch the interview with the father, who, no surprise, firmly denied that his darling son could be involved. Apparently, according to what was said, the news media has known this for days and cooperated with military censorship. They didn't publicize the news, but they did prepare the clip to be ready the moment the IDF let the information out.

There was very little about the kidnapped boys and their families, since no doubt after almost two weeks, there isn't much new to add. They did show the seventeen year old brother of Eyal Yifrach in London. He is there to speak about his kidnapped brother.

Asaf Yifrach at the London
solidarity event
pic by Steve Winston

Asaf Yifrach was in London yesterday to raise awareness of the plight of his brother  and fellow teenagers Naftali Fraenkel and Gilad Shaar and to urge the community to pray for the trio who disappeared in the West Bank two weeks ago.Speaking to the Jewish News ahead of a Zionist Federation-organised solidarity event in north London and as Israeli forces widen their search for the youngsters, the 17-year-old said: “At first I didn’t believe what had happened. Eyal said he would be coming home late that day and never returned. This is now our reality. I haven’t even been able to eat. My brother and I are best friends. Every time he came into the house I was so happy, but I would never tell him. Now I regret not saying how much he means to me.”Asaf said he has gained “huge strength” from the outpouring of support that has seen vigils held and also moved celebrities, politicians and supporters from all walks of life to back the ‘Bring Back our Boys’ campaign.

Yes, the families' campaign has gone abroad, not only to the United Nations.

#BRING BACK OUR BOYS!!

Deja Vu, I'll Never Forget My Panic When My Kids Didn't Come Home on Time

There's no laxative that activates the kishkes like the panic I'd go through when waiting past the "should be home by now" time in the days my kids commuted to school and even work, while living at home here in Shiloh.

So I would just hate to be in the shoes of those three lovely families who are waiting almost two weeks already for their sons, brothers, nephews, grandson's etc. to be released by terrorists and allowed home to continue their ordinary lives. Watch and listen to Naftali Frankel's mother Racheli speak to the United Nations Human Rights Council, UNHRC.:


We've been living in Shiloh for almost thirty-three years, and from that first year until my fourth child finished junior high school over fourteen years later, there was usually at least one who was commuting daily. Not only was this before the days of cellphones, but for the first year we lived in Shiloh, we didn't have a phone in the house and for the first few months there wasn't even one in the neighborhood.  Talk about isolation....

As busy as I was as a mother of young children and working at various outside jobs I'd be counting the minutes, then the seconds until their expected returns home. If the expected time had passed, I'd begin to panic. I certainly never would have needed colonic irrigation during those years.

Times Square

My joy and relief at children's safe return was like the daily dropping of the "New Year's Ball" at Times Square. A safe uneventful trip was not something I or my children could take for granted. My kids experienced traffic accidents and terror attacks. Sometimes the stories were even humorous, but most of the delays had more unpleasant reasons.

More than once I'd find myself contacting security to ascertain if it was known where the vehicle transporting them could be. Just before cellphones became the norm, there was a communications service, Kesher Binyamin, in which members had an open speaker from which they heard announcements and could verbally answer. One evening a couple of hours after I had expected my daughter's return, I called her employer who confirmed that she had left on time, so I contacted security.  They sent out an alert asking if anyone had seen her. That's how we tracked her down. The car's driver had done a couple of mitzvot and errands on the way home which was the reason for the delay. Once I knew she was safe, I, and my kishkes, could calm down.

Another time, my son wasn't home long after he should have been from junior high school in Beit El. I saw the neighbor's son home. He didn't remember if mine was on the school bus, so I ran over to other neighbors to ask what to do and see if their son had seen him.  That's where I found my son; he was watching tv with his friend. After getting off the bus, he went there to bring the homework assignment to his friend who hadn't been in school that day. My neighbors apologized profusely for not realizing that he hadn't been home yet.

Baruch Hashem, thank G-d, my stories all end happily. Let's all pray that there will be safe and happy returns home for Gilad Michael Ben Bat Galim, Yaccov Naftali Ben Rachel Devora and Eyal ben Iris Teshura.