Important Admission by Arab Newspaper!

Hat tip: IMRA

The Al-Aqsa Foundation says the plans are a threat to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is adjacent to the Western Wall.


The area is considered the third holiest in Islam and holiest in Judaism.  (complete article)

The issue is the proposed building of an elevator for handicapped visitors to the Kotel (western wall.)  Of course the Arabs don't want any Jewish construction in the area, in principle, but their opposition to the elevator for the handicapped is totally laughable.

In a statement, the foundation said the project intended to divide the mosque and prevent worshipers from reaching it, citing the plan as an attempt by Israeli forces to increase the presence of Jews in the area. (emphasis mine)

What's the threat by elderly, handicapped and young families with baby carriages?  Are they afraid of canes, crutches and pacifiers?

During the nineteen years Jordan governed the area Jews were forbidden entirely, the same discriminatory policy for all of the Jewish holy sites in Judea and Samaria.  Only Israel allows all religions full civil rights.  Oops!  Not exactly.  Jews are severely restricted on the Temple Mount, our holiest site in the world.  Something's very wrong....

Not The New York Times!

The articles in Hudson New York are nothing like the ones in the New Tork Times.  They see things very differently.


Here's an article, The Mosque at Ground Zero, a Muslim View: Planting a Flag on an Islamic Conquest by Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, which expalins the true reason why muslims want a mosque near ground zeor, the site of the destroyed World Trade Center.  It's not for the conveniene of local muslims.  It's to make a point, show victory, plant a flag.


Another interesting article is Thought Police at Augusta State University, by Herbert I. London.


Back to the "stop the mosque," there will be a protest in New York.  Place try to attend.

1751 Second Ave, New York, NY 10128
Tel: 212-828-2424; Fax: 212-828-1717; afsi@rcn.com; www.afsi.org
Contact: Helen Freedman, Executive Director

August 16, 2010

BE THERE – WITH YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND NEIGHBORS!!


URGENT PROTEST AGAINST THE MOSQUE AT GROUND ZERO!


EMERGENCY RALLY AT THE PROPOSED MOSQUE SITE,


TWO BLOCKS FROM GROUND ZERO –


45-47 PARK PLACE – NYC


SUNDAY, 10:30 AM


Message from the Coalition to Honor Ground Zero:


SAY IT LOUD ENOUGH TO BE HEARD AT THE WHITE HOUSE AND AT GRACIE MANSION: NO GROUND ZERO MOSQUE!
LET YOUR VOICE OF CONSCIENCE BE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR ON SUNDAY WITH MOTORCYCLISTS FROM ACROSS AMERICA, CONSTRUCTION WORKERS, FIREFIGHTERS, VETERANS, THE 9/11 FAMILIES AND FIRST RESPONDERS, AND RESIDENTS OF THE GROUND ZERO AREA AT A MAJOR PROTEST AT THE GROUND ZERO MOSQUE SITE

DATE: Sunday morning, August 22

BACKGROUND: On August 19-22, 2010, America’s 9/11 Foundation, an organization that first coalesced eight weeks after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, will conduct its ninth trek for motorcyclists to the three 9/11 crash sites, atShanksville, PA, the Pentagon and the World Trade Center site in New York City. (http://www.americas911ride.org).


SUNDAY MORNING EVENTS AT GROUND ZERO: On Sunday morning, at 8:30 a.m. a flag line and memorial at Ground Zero will gather at Ground Zero to greet the arriving Memorial Ride.


Following the flag line, which will be joined by members of the Coalition to Honor Ground Zero, the Coalition will invite all patriots to move to the site of the controversial proposed mosque for a major rally to begin at approximately 10:30a.m.


WHO: Motorcyclists from across America; the Coalition to Honor Ground Zero; Blue Collar Corner; The Bravest; 9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America; Women United International (http:womenunitedcodered.org); ACT Manhattan; and many other organizations and leaders to be announced, as well as local residents living in the Ground Zero area. The Coalition to Honor Ground Zero is calling upon all patriots to show support for the missions of America’s 9/11 Foundation and of the Patriot Guard Riders, by joining the flag-line at Ground Zero in the morning. Further information about participating organizations and speakers will be released later this week.


Many of the participants in the Memorial Ride are members of the Patriot Guard Riders (http://www.pgrny1.org/) and other military and first responder support groups, who will be forming the flag line starting at Ground Zero at 8:30AM for the Ride’s concluding ceremonies. The Patriot Guard Riders (nearly 200,000 strong nation-wide) ride escort and stand flag lines in honor of and respect for those who have given their all in service to America.


Please spread the word and post on your website. To add your name or organization as a supporter of this effort, please write to stop911mosque@gmail.com.


PLEASE VISIT


Coalition to Honor Ground Zero


http://stop911mosque.com

GUSH KATIF BOOK FEAST

GUSH KATIF BOOK FEAST
By Sara L. Shomron

In keeping pace with the 5th Gush Katif memorial, here is a selection of books on Gush Katif written in, or translated to English, all authored by former residents of Gush Katif:

1. Prayer for the Poor by Rabbi Elnekaveh,
the former area rabbi of Gush Katif.
Book Description:
Talks in a general way about life under the backdrop of Disengagement.
Shiloh BarChetz, © 2007.
Available from Moriah book store in Jerusalem

2. 222 Days of K’far Darom by Dr. Aryeh Yitzhaki,
military historian.
Book Description from the Jewish Press book review reads in part:
“The book portrays an unparalleled heroic episode. For eight and a half months in 1948, several dozen young men and women faced the local Arab enemy and the invading Egyptian army. The defenders were under almost complete siege, suffering from terrible hunger and thirst. Most of them were religious kibbutzniks, reinforced by Palmah fighters…"
Eretz Israel Publishers, © 2007.
Now available in English.

3. Eviction by Rachel Saperstein, Founder and Director of Operation Dignity.
Book Description from Amazon.com:
“Rachel Saperstein moved to the beautiful area of Gush Katif in Gaza to raise a family and enjoy an uncluttered life. Trouble is, she and her kind" pose an inconvience to Arab power brokers. You see, Jews and Christians are not suppose to live in Arab/Muslim lands even though Muslims may live in Christian or Jewish lands. This book sheds light on this nasty situation.”
Pavilion Press, © 2005.
Available from Amazon.com


4. Grains of Sand The Fall Of Neve Dekalim
by Shifra Shomron (Literature Study Guide available for free downloading).
A teenager raised in Neve Dekalim wrote, in English, the first published historical fiction novel leading up to the controversial Israeli unilateral withdrawal from the Jewish communities in Gush Katif, Gaza Strip.
Book Description from the author’s website in part:
“Set in Neve Dekalim, Gush Katif, Israel, "Grains Of Sand: The Fall Of Neve Dekalim" is told through the vantage point of teenager Efrat Yefet, a high school student living under the dual threat of Arab attacks and the Israeli government's 2005 Disengagement plan to destroy her town and adjacent communities. She, along with family, friends, and neighbors, try to lead ordinary lives as the ever-encroaching conflict gets closer, and the whole community joins efforts to save their beautiful towns from destruction…”
Mazo Publishers, © 2007.
Available from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, select Jerusalem book stores, Gush Katif Museum, and Mazo Publishers


5. Katif Nine Days in Av Portrait of a Struggle
by Miri Tzachi, journalist photographer.
Book Description from Amazon.com reads in part: “Beautiful Coffee-table Size Photo Album Depicting the Saga of Gush Katif…Text in 4 languages: English, Hebrew, French & Russian…”
L'Chaim Publications, © 2006.
Available from Amazon.com


6. The Expulsion From Gush Katif, educational resource.
Book Description:
A compilation of articles from Gush Katif residents and journalists leading up to the expulsion.
“…For those who never lived in Jewish Gaza, The Expulsion of Gush Katif provides a clear picture of the suffering of its residents and what they went through when their homes were destroyed. It is also a moving record of faith and strength, and hope for the future."
Southern Hills Press, © 2008. Edited by Naomi Grossman.
Available from amazon.com

Zionist Renewal

My dear friend Isramom sent a very inspiring video out to friends.  I trust that she'll, too, be blogging about it and explaining her connection.  You can probably connect the dots if you look at her gorgeous blog banner.


The younger generation of דתי לאומי dati le'umi, national religious Israeli Jews are doing amazing things all over Israel.  They have taken up the challenge of Zionism today and have the idealism and creativity of the very early Zionists who had left Europe, poverty, universities, great cities, and frequently traditional Jewish Life etc to reconnect with our historic Homeland building and planting.  They thought that they needed to be "new Jews" and tried to replace Torah adherence and Jewish Law with a socialist "Utopian" Zionism.  A large proportion of their descendants now feel disconnected, disengaged from that very Land.


Davka, it's the religious Israeli youth who are the new pioneers.  They embrace both the Torah and the Holy Land.  They're planting a newer and better Zionism with strong roots. 

Without celebrating our Torah and ancient Biblical history, our country will wither like the descendants of the early secular Zionists.

HH, Soccer Dad Returns!

For those of us old time jbloggers, Havel Havelim and Soccer Dad were inseparable.  Even though he didn't host it every week, he always had a hand in by encouraging and sending lots of links. I never manage to read as many blogs as SD does. 


So I'm really glad that Soccer Dad has returned to the playing field of his great success, even if it's only for one game edition of Havel Havelim!

Many of the newer jbloggers only know of him as the person mentioned in the standard Havel Havelim introduction.  Havel Havelim is the key to our community of Jewish bloggers.

Here he his; I met him f2f, yes, face to face.

Thanks, Soccer Dad!

Judaism, 24/7

I had all these plans to blog on political things, like the mosque near Ground Zero or more about Beit Shemesh, but something I heard last week reverberates in my mind.

"My mother is a convert.  She chose Judaism because she felt the need for a religion that controlled all aspects of life, not just a weekly visit to church."

I'm acquainted with the woman and some of her kids.  I would have never guessed that she hadn't been Jewish from birth, not that most converts wear labels on their foreheads or any other obvious signs.  In our conversations it had never  come up, and I don't think she expected that her child was going to mention it.  It's not the conversion revelation which got me thinking.  I have lots of Jewish friends who chose Judaism.  It's that I never thought of Judaism as good, preferable because of its influence on every single aspect of our lives, from morning to night, eating, "eliminating," and birth to death.

Torah observant Jews never ignore our religion.  Everything we eat and the timing must take Jewish Law into consideration.  The same for how we dress, plan our days and act towards our fellow man.  The pragmatic truth is that most of us are far from perfect; we ignore or are lax about certain laws and categories.  But the ideal is clear.  

There's always room for improvement.

We're always supposed to reflect on it.  This process of reflection and improvement, Teshuva, repentance, is an ongoing cycle reaching an annual peak Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur.  The build-up is now, the Jewish Month of Elul.  This ongoing dynamic is part of the 24/7 aspect of Judaism, and very different from other religions, we can communicate directly with G-d.  The Hebrew for to pray is להתפלל l'hitpallel, a reflexive verb, meaning we do it to ourselves.  Prayer isn't done for us.

There's a maturity you don't see in other religions concerning man's relationship with G-d.  Even more is the fact that sins between man and fellow man can only be forgiven if we go directly to the very person we sinned against.  That's to remind us that for every word, every action we must be accountable.

Shavua Tov and Gmar Chatima Tovah

Have a Good Week and A Good Final Accounting

Take the Money and Run

After more than half a year on the market, it looks like my parents' house will be sold.  It's about time.  The house needs a young family.  Also, considering the American economy, waiting for a better price may be a futile waiting for Godot.  My parents need the money now to fund their "final years" in a senior citizen facility in Arizona.  When you're as old as they are, today is more important than tomorrow.

I mentioned it to a friend who went through a similar house-selling after his parents died.  Like me, he told his siblings to just take it.  Don't wait.
From our vantage point in Israel, things in the United States don't look all that rosy.  Manufacturing is down. 

"Maybe it's our Israeli mentality.  They kept insisting that things were bound to get better."

The US Government sneakily subsidizes its military industry by handing out "shopping coupons" to countries like Israel, calling them "foreign aid."  Properly defined, it's foreign countries aiding American industry by weakening their own local industry in the process.  That's what happens to Israel.  There are products we can no longer produce, because we're caught in a self-destructive economic relationship with the United States, yes, to our detriment.  And of course, any product we manufacture with an American component can't be marketed and sold without American approval.  That's bad business for us Israelis.

There are always strings to deals which seem too good to be true, like "foreign aid" from the United States.

Back to the real news here.  A very long chapter, forty-eight 48 years, is closing on my family.  When someone asks me:

"Where did you used to live?"

I won't be able to give my old unclear answer:

"My parents live in Great Neck."

I'll have to say something else, accurate, of course, but...

I guess I'll answer either "New York" or "Long Island"  and hope that they don't ask for details.  Most people don't really want to know.  Does it really matter where I lived one third of my life?  We're celebrating forty 40 years in Israel, almost exactly two-thirds of my life, and of those forty years, almost three-quarters, twenty-nine 29 years have been in Shiloh.  That's what's most important!

New JBlog, Check it Out

Shomron Central

In a place where there are no rabbis, try to uphold Jewish tradition

Posted by Jewish Israel

Israeli High Court Defends Jewish Tradition
In a ground-breaking decision it appears that the Israeli secular high court has come to the rescue of Jewish tradition by applying the concept of teshuva to the Law of Return. The Jerusalem Post reports on a stunning case of a Jewish convert to Christianity who apparently will not be allowed into Israel under the Law of Return until she can prove and convince the Interior Ministry of her renewed commitment to the Jewish people...more

Tuesday Night Live for Christians
Reports are coming in that Ari Abramowitz’s and Jeremy Gimpel’s Tuesday Night Live in Texas resembled a Baptist church revival with some token Jews in attendance. Abramowitz and Gimpel are up and coming rabbis, and their interfaith ventures with messianic and church groups appears to represent a severe break with Orthodox Jewish tradition. But there’s something more which Jewish Israel explores and exposes in Part 2 of Now there arose new rabbis in Israel who knew not the Rav ...more

Excellent Article by George F. Will in New York Post

It's rare that I send you off to read someone else's article, but this one by George F. Will comparing Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu with United States President Barack Hussein Obama is definitely worth reading.

Airplane Baggage Gripe, Rant

Steven Slater, the JetBlue airplane attendant who recently had a dramatic "fit" at the end of a flight puts the blame in the wrong place.  I've never flown JetBlue, but I do fly at least once a year.  Some of the baggage rules do rankle and make no sense.





Now that it's the norm for American airlines to charge for checked baggage, it's no surprise that people will try to sneak more and more on the plane.  One airline had a sign saying that you couldn't bring anything on the plane which you can't lift to the overhead compartment yourself.  Nu?  Does that mean that all of us under a certain height can't bring any carry-ons onto the plane?  And if we have medical issues forbidding us to lift bags into the overhead compartment, does that, too, forbid us the convenience?


I generally ask for help, since I can't safely store my bag.  I also can't take it down.  I've always understood that the height requirements for cabin attendants is to guarantee that the staff can easily deal with the overhead compartments.  There's no requirement like that for passengers.


I don't understand how the "offending passenger" brought an "over-sized bag" in the plane when most airlines "catch" over-sized carry-ons before boarding.  If a passenger refuses to allow the bag to be checked, then security should be called in.


For years I've traveled with an assortment of pouches strapped to me holding documents, tickets, money, camera etc.  EL AL never counted them as "bags."  On my recent trip from Israel to Arizona, USA, on British Airways the first stewardess insisted that my pouch (fanny pack) had to be put in the overhead, since it was a back which could fly around the cabin in a storm.  It was as attached to my body as my skirt was; the demand made no sense to me at all.  It had my most valuable things; I stuffed it in my backpack which was in the overhead compartment.  I dream of a flight jacket or vest with lots of large pockets for all the valuables.  My son wore slacks with pockets large enough for all our passports, tickets etc.  That's the way to fly.


Slater would never survive working in ELAL, since the norm among Israelis is to stand up and start taking down the bags before the plane has fully braked.  Everyone's in a rush.