Rosh Chodesh Marcheshvan at Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh

Yes, it's hard to believe, since we're barely recovered from three weeks of Jewish Holidays, that the monthly holiday of Rosh Chodesh is almost here. We don't want to miss it; at least I don't. That's because for the past few years I've been going to Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh, the same place where the Biblical Chana had successfully prayed for a son. Yes, that's where I and some other women come to pray every Rosh Chodesh.

Rosh Chodesh is the "women's holiday" according to Chazal, our sages. So nothing's better for celebrating than praying together on Rosh Chodesh in one of the holiest spots in the world according to Judaism.  I hope you can join us.

Women's Prayers at Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh Rosh Chodesh Marcheshvan

Friday October 24, 2014

30th of Tishrei 5775, 8:30am

Tour of Tel Shiloh & Dvar Torah, Short Torah Lesson

Please come and invite family, friends and neighbors

תפילת נשים ראש חודש מרחשון בשילה הקדומה, תל שילה

יום ו' 24-10 ל' תשרי תשע"ה 8:30

יהיה דבר תורה קצר וסיור בתל

 כדאי לבוא ולהזמין חברות, משפחה ושכנות

You're welcome to join our facebook page.

Mark your calendar, and join us. For more information, please contact me, thanks.

Tel Shiloh is open to visitors daily. Guided tours can be arranged through the Shiloh HaKeduma, Ancient Shiloh office. Email visit@telshilo.org.il  or phone 02-994-4019.

Cheap Junk Food and Treif Faux Kosher Meat in Germany, Surprised?

The Israeli media spent some time trying to rev up the public in favor of the "olim liBerlin" socio-economic protest group. Apparently it started more as a joke by Naor Narkis, a yored, an Israeli who left Israel for Europe and posted a picture of a cheap chocolate pudding on his facebook page.

Of course it's pretty dumb to act like these unhealthy snacks are vital to people's diet. And the fact that the Israeli Milky is supposed to be of higher quality than the German pudding Naor Narkis promoted as a bargain worth moving to Berlin for.

According to Narkis, Milky pudding is “just an example of a simple pleasure that became expensive, that too many parents have to think about twice before putting in their shopping cart. (Jerusalem Post)

Do to the extremely unhealthy aspects of these puddings, whether Israeli or German, parents should "think twice" before buying and serving them!

Very few people showed up at the rally, not even Narkis bothered. It was a joke.

Dozens file into Rabin Square October 14 to learn about how to emigrate to Berlin. (photo credit:Lahav Harkov)

But what isn't a joke is the revelation that for years one of the largest kosher butchers in Germany has been lying and cheating their Jewish clients, including a Jewish school and old age home,  selling traif, meaning non-kosher meat.

Two Jewish men in Germany, accused of passing off non-kosher meat as kosher to members of the Frankfurt Jewish community over a period of two years, according to local media.
In all, 40,000 kg. of non-kosher meat was sold to unsuspecting customers for a period of years, according to the Juedische Allgemeine......The butcher shop supplied kosher meat to a Jewish school, a nursing home and numerous private residences both within Frankfurt and other locales.

There's more than a simple localized irony in this.

It's not just a German story. It's a story of Jews living in Israel versus any place else in the world. The aim of the Nazis was for Germany to take over the world and to destroy the Jewish People. As we all know, the Nazis were defeated. Germany was divided into two countries for a few decades. And the State of Israel, the only Jewish State in the world was established in our ancestral Homeland.

Despite the loss of six million Jews to the antisemitic Nazi murder machine, the Jewish People, with the Help of G-d, established a state that has survived many defensive wars in its sixty-six years. As small as we are, there's international focus on everything we do and everything our politicians say. We stand diplomatically alone without any reliable allies.

Life in the diaspora may seem attractive with its cheap pudding, but it all ends up traif, like the fake kosher butcher. The myth of the "easy American life" is easily proven a lie when you add up tuition for Jewish education, outrageously expensive healthcare, Torah observant Jews being forced to use all of their vacation days on Jewish Holidays, no mandated maternity leave and more difficulties.

There's only one place a Jew should live, and that's the Land of Israel. We've been here since soon after our wedding in 1970. Then it was still rather unique for American Jews to make aliyah, move to Israel. Now there's hardly a Jewish family abroad without members or friends here.

Yesterday I was interviewed for Arutz 7's aliyah radio show. I'm not quite sure when it will be broadcast, but it should be this week, because the them of the show is "Bereishit," in the Beginning, new beginnings. I spoke about education, helping your children adjust to new schools and the importance of learning Hebrew.

Anti-American Rant

I'll start with my conclusion, and then I'll rant, so you'll understand why I'm saying this.

After years of blogging that there's no moral reason for me, having been living in Israel since 1970, to vote in American elections, I'm probably going to change my tune and vote next time. 

This post may disappoint a few readers, because it isn't intrinsically anti-Obama. As incompetent and dangerous a president he may be for the USA, he isn't a dictator. There's a brilliant "checks and balances" built into the American Government system to prevent such a thing. I blame the entire system in general, not one person.

My husband and I made aliyah, moved to Israel when we were in our early twenties, all of twenty-one and twenty-three. Yes, you can do the simple math to calculate our ages if you want. Since then we have only worked in Israel and have no way to ever expect American Social Security or any other financial benefit from the American Government. All we have ever asked is to keep our United States passports up to date, which is a privilege we pay for each time.

We aren't wealthy. We pay our taxes here in Israel. And we've both reached the age to receive Israeli old-age payments from Bituach Leumi, National Insurance.

The American Government has revised its tax laws and now requires all expatriates to file income tax returns according to their laws.

I am an American living and working abroad. Do I need to file a US tax return?
Regardless of where you live now, being a United States citizen requires that you file a yearly tax return with the IRS. Green card holders and all US citizens are required to file a US return, no matter where they live, as long as their income (earned in-US and abroad) is just over $9,000. Many people wrongly assume that because they have never owed money to the IRS, they simply dont have to file.  Earning anything over $9,350.00 does require you to file, however.  The US has treaties with many foreign countries that will reduce or even eliminate actual owed tax. You cannot, however, take advantage of these benefits if you don't file. 

Do I need to file a State Tax Return?
As is the case with many legal matters, each US state sets its own rules regarding state taxes and expats. Some states do demand that you file a state return, while others release you when you move away. The rules can be complicated, so be sure to ask your tax preparer before making assumptions as to the requirements of your former home. The most stubborn states are New Mexico, California, Virginia and South Carolina. If you moved abroad from one of those states, it is unlikely that you have been released from the obligation of filing.  To read more about this issue see: State Taxes and the American Expats - Can You Ever Set Yourself Free? (ACA)

my father and the "spies"

Regular readers of my blog know that American Consulate spies, officials who didn't deny that they were spying, information gathering, when I explained they were "spies" to my elderly father when he was living with us. During the most recent visit I asked them about this tax law. Straight-faced they claimed to know nothing and could give no advice. So I asked for the tax specialist, and I was told that it wasn't a responsibility of the consulate.

I offered to set up and host an information event here for American citizens about the tax law. Nothing has come of that.  I also asked for their specialist in Social Security to help a neighbor who lost hers for reasons she can't discover. They don't have anyone in the consulate to help Americans with Social Security problems either.

About taxes, they recommended that I pay an American accountant to help me fill out the form. I can't afford that. I checked prices, and it's well over my budget, especially since I won't be getting anything in return from the American Government.

To summarize:

There are two urgent issues that hit many expats hard in the pocketbook:

• Social Security
• Tax Laws

And the American Consulate in Jerusalem can help American citizens with neither of them. There should be officials to give help and guidance to American citizens in clarifying their eligibility and rights for Social Security, and there should be free sessions or consul officials to assist us in filling out tax forms.

The final straw that has convinced me to change my policy and start voting in American Elections is the tax issue. I want to be represented in Congress and the Senate. There are so many expats like myself who would vote for candidates campaigning to repeal the law or at least provide free guidance in filling out forms. 

No taxation without representation!!!

Proclaiming the Truth in Face of the Lies!

Another gem from R. Menachem Brod (pictured below), from this week's Sichat HaShavua of Chabad, Number 1450 - translated by Yitz:

Proclaiming the Truth in Face of the Lies

Weekly Op-Ed, by Rabbi Menachem Brod

We are living in an upside-down world: Those whose views are based on lies and deception, declare those lies with full power and determination; while those on the side of truth and justice, avoid using them, or at most feebly express them.

Recently, we heard the speeches at the United Nations and the statements that accompanied them. The Arabs continually repeated the blatant lie that they have been the residents of the Land for about three thousand years, while the Jews are foreigners and occupiers. Why would they lie so much? Why not stick to the claim that they represent a population that seeks self-determination?

It is because they understand besides pragmatic arguments, they also need to establish a sense of justice. If this Land is not theirs, the pragmatic arguments lose weight. One cannot argue that his neighbor should give him part of his apartment, on the grounds that he has a large family, while his a neighbor lives alone in a big house. If the house is not his, the needs of each and every individual (great as they may be) interest no one.

Return to our rights
On the other hand, we have almost completely abandoned our claim of justice and rights, while talking again and again about security needs. There is no doubt that security is a crucial consideration, since there is nothing more important than securing life and saving lives [in danger], but our security interest cannot be detached from our moral justification and the questions of justice and rights.

If the security argument becomes the only element in our thinking and explanation of our position to the world, it is doomed to failure. When one side makes their argument of values and maintains its right to the Land, while the other holds onto security reasons, the outcome will be the defeat of the latter. Solutions will be offered to the security questions, but they will seek to give the other side what appears to be right and just. So we have to remember the principle roots of our moral and ethical rights to this Land.

It is not occupied
This Shabbat, when we read Parshat Breishit (the beginning of Genesis), we should we take a peek in the words of Rashi, in his very first words of commentary on the Torah. Rashi brings a question to the very fact that the Torah begins with the story of Creation. Because after all, this is not self-evident - the Torah is a Book of Laws of the Jewish People; apparently it should have begun with the first Commandment that the Jews were commanded. The answer is amazing: the story of Creation is designed and brought to establish our right to the Land of Israel!

Indeed, Rashi says in the name of Rabbi Yitzchak: "If the nations of the world say to the Jewish People: you are thieves, for you have conquered the Land of the seven nations, they can reply: All of the earth is G-d's; He created it and gave it to those about whom He felt justified. He willingly gave it to them, and He willingly took it away from them and gave it to us." In other words, through the story of Creation, the Torah equips us with a convincing reply to the Gentiles’ claim of conquest: "You are thieves, occupiers, and conquerors."

Hence we have a moral right, just and unparalleled, to the Land of Israel. When we sit in Jerusalem, Hebron, Elon Moreh and Shiloh, we are doing what is most right and just - the Jewish People's return to its home, its country and its inheritance. This truth needs to be heard again and again, with determination and confidence, and we shall win.

****

I would just like to point out that several years ago, the previous Modzitzer Rebbe (pictured above with Rav Lau Shlita; the Rebbe passed away in 2006) asked regarding the verse that Rashi cites (in the above commentary) from Tehillim (Psalms 111:6). The verse says, “The power of His works He declared to His People, by giving them the inheritance of the nations.” Since it was the nations of the world that are claiming the Jews are thieves, the verse should say that “He declared to the nations,” rather than to His People.

The Rebbe informs us that we learn from this that the Jewish People themselves need to be secure in the knowledge that the Land of Israel is their portion from G-d. Once they know this, the nations will also know. But if the Jewish People are unsure of this, there is no way that the nations of the world will be able to accept this. We saw the same idea expressed in the Egyptian exile, when Moshe Rabbeinu claimed that the Jewish People weren’t listening to him, so how can we expect Pharaoh to listen? (Shemot/Exodus 6:12).

After the Chaggim (Holidays) Havel Havelim, 5775

Yes, it's finally after the Chaggim, the three week marathon of Jewish Holidays, starting withe the two-day Rosh Hashannah, which this year was immediately before Shabbat, so three days. And then Yom Kippur and finally Succot and Simchat Torah. So from start to finish over three weeks of feasting, praying and fasting. And no doubt that Jewish bloggers have been blogging, too, whenever possible.

We Jewish bloggers have a great opportunity to promote Judaism and Israel via the internet. Today, many people can read our posts (articles) even on their phones. For many, even the computer is passe`.  We can even blog on our phone or tablet. And wherever/however you read or blog, you can share and comment on posts, too. So please comment and share the posts you find interesting. And of course share and comment on this Havel Havelim, thanks.

Havel Havelim is the weekly international Jewish blog carnival that has been appearing well over a decade. It was begun by Soccer Dad who no longer blogs. He coordinated it for quite a while. Now we use our facebook page to coordinate and publicize it. That's where we sign up to host an edition (Hint! Hint!) and see the latest news. Join the page and become part of the community.

As has been my custom of late, I'm first listing the posts that had been submitted to me, then mine and finally, if I have time, I'll add whatever I find on other blogs. Again, please read, comment and share, thanks. On with the show:

Jacob Richman sent links to his Succot pictures, Photos of Sukkot in Jerusalem, Photos of the Children’s Sukkot Parade in Ma’ale Adumim, Photos and Videos of the Sukkot Festival at the Lake in Ma’ale Adumim and Photos of Second Hakafot in Ma’ale Adumim
Ricki's Mom tells a wonderful story how  a nice bachur carried a table home for her, The Sukkah Table Porter
Adventures of a Chief Rabbi, For the first time in memory we hosted a lot of people who had either not been in a Suka for decades or in some cases had never been in a Suka. To see and experience the Suka through their eyes was an insightful exercise....
From Gail Winston, Gaza War Diary: Mon. Oct. 13 DAY 98
Jewish Book Carnival: October 2014 Edition
Yom Kippur, Repentance and Redemption
Aftermath of Elul
The Gratitude Challenge: How Happiness can be Achieved!
Having the Boss in the Sukkah
Reasons #3721 and #3722 for making aliyah
Varda Epstein blogs on news sites, not on her own private blog. But a blog is still a blog, as far as I'm concerned. Here are two posts of hers that she sent. It’s the Jews, Stupid and Not Clueless, Inept, or Stupid
Such Goodness חסד "Chessed" From Others, Only in Israel Tremping Stories
A Wolf in the Soul , A Book Review
One of My Favorite Unique Things About Israel! aka "Only in Israel"
Bibi's Strong Words vs American Pro-Apartheid Jerusalem, Too Little Too Late
How Can Smart People be So Dumb?
There Should be Health Checks Before Boarding Planes, It makes more sense than isolating air passengers going to Israel.
Revoking Israeli Citizenship? Why Just ISIS Members?
Caroline Glick, Benny Gantz’s troubling assessments
MamaLand Review: Every Picture Tells a Story, a new illustrated weekly parsha book for kids
To everything there is a season…
Even perfect parents can't fully protect their children, Building
It's NOT About the Settlements, Stupid
Best of Sukkot in Jerusalem
Sukkot in the Land of Memory
Family Sukkah Project 2014
When Hebrew isn’t Hebrew
Shabbos App, lay off my Shabbos!
For those who miss and mourn Coffee and Chemo's irreplaceable RivkA, Z"L, Erev zikaron for Rivka - 5775

That's it. So far there aren't any volunteers for next week, so I may have to host again.

There's a great variety of posts here. Please read, comment and share, of course.

Remember, you don't have to be blogger to read and comment and share blog posts! Enjoy and Shavua Tov to all!

There Should be Health Checks Before Boarding Planes

Heathrow Airport Isolation room for those
traveling to Israel

Nowadays there are more health dangers in international traveling than security dangers.

How many bombs have been found in shoes, but many airports still require us to take off our shoes so they can x-ray them along with our book-bags, wallets, carry-ons etc?

Instead of patting my headscarf and accusing me of padding my fat thighs and trying to check out what's under my skirt, the intimate checks at airports should be for contagious health issues like Ebola and the flu.

Anyone who seems sick with even the flu or stomach issues shouldn't be allowed to board the plane. I worry about whomever had to clean the vomit of the man who died flying.

(The New York Post) -- A Plane From Nigeria Landed At JFK Airport Thursday With A Male Passenger Aboard Who Had Died During The Flight After A Fit Of Vomiting — And CDC Officials Conducted A “Cursory” Exam Before Announcing There Was No Ebola And Turning The Corpse Over To Port Authority Cops To Remove, Rep. Peter King Said On Thursday.The Congressman Was So Alarmed By The Incident — And By What He And Employees See As Troubling Ebola Vulnerabilities At JFK — That He Fired Off A Letter To The Federal Department Of Homeland Security Demanding More Training And Tougher Protocols For Handling Possible Cases There.The Unnamed, 63-Year-Old Passenger Had Boarded An Arik Air Plane Out Of Lagos, Nigeria, On Wednesday Night, A Federal Law Enforcement Source Said.During The Flight, The Man Had Been Vomiting In His Seat, The Source Said. Some Time Before The Plane Landed, He Passed Away. Flight Crew Contacted The CDC, Federal Customs Officials And Port Authority Police, Who All Boarded The Plane At Around 6 A.M. As About 145 Worried Passengers Remained On Board, The Source Said.

The sick nurse should have had been red-flagged, too.

Amber Vinson was
not supposed to travel
on an aeroplane,
health officials said

US health officials are seeking 132 people who flew on a plane with a Texas nurse on the day before she came down with symptoms of Ebola.
The second person infected in the US, Amber Vinson, 29, fell ill on Tuesday.
Both she and nurse Nina Pham, 26, had treated Liberian Thomas Eric Duncan, who died a week ago in Dallas.
A nurses' union has said those treating Duncan were not given full protection and had parts of their skin exposed
More than 70 healthcare workers who may have come in contact with him at the hospital are being monitored for symptoms, the hospital's director has said.

Instead of targeting healthy Jews and others flying to Israel, security should be focused on those who could have been exposed to Ebola and other contagious illnesses. Once passengers land, they have had already been exposed in the closed air systems on the airplanes.

I'm glad that my next flight to the states is delayed until I finish an editing project.

The World Wouldn't Care if Israel was Destroyed, G-d Forbid

I feel like I'm constantly repeating myself, writing the same message but changing words and syntax.

How long will it take for the State of Israel and the Jewish World to admit, to realize, to internalize that we are in very serious danger?

Menachem Begin in Washington in 1977.
Photo by AP

Ever since the late Prime Minister Menachem Begin offered the Arabs what he called "autonomy" thirty-five years ago, it has been clear to me that a very big and dangerous Pandora's Box had been opened.

Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in a speech to the Knesset outlined his ideas for the future of the Palestinians in the disputed territories. Excerpts:.Autonomy Plan for the West Bank and Gaza Strip
(December 28, 1977)
... With the establishment of peace we shall propose the introduction of an administrative autonomy for the Arab residents of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip on the basis of the following principles:
The administration of the military rule in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip will be abolished. In Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip an administrative autonomy of, by and for the Arab residents will be established... (from the Jewish Virtual Library, complete text)

Begin opened the dike. Little drops become a flood. You can't sweep a flood of water into a corner and control it.

ABC News Photo Illustration

It got much worse when Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced that he supported the "two state solution" five years ago. Begin's "autonomy plan" had metamorphosed into a state for the "Palestinians." And it doesn't help that both of those Likud leaders had tacked all sorts of provisos, restrictions, conditions on their plans/proposals.

Words take on wings and can't be taken back.

Now more and more countries and international bodies are recognizing this "state" that has as its main aim and goal the destruction of the State of Israel. That "little detail" doesn't bother them. They don't care if Israel is destroyed and replaced by an Arab country called "Palestine." They sincerely believe that we destroyed and took over an earlier "Palestine." They consider us the usurpers, the invaders, the occupiers.

The Arabs won't be pacified or satisfied if they are just given Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley. They want Jerusalem, not Shiloh, Herzeliya, not Efrat.

Paula Stern explained it very clearly in her recent It’s about Israel, Stupid:

...There were NO settlements in 1948 when the powerful combined forces of more than five nations invaded the newly declared State of Israel. The goal was clear – they said it with their own mouths at a time when politically correct was a non-existent concept, genocide was still fresh on the minds of most humans, and the Arabs weren’t  smart enough to temper their English messages. They would, they promised – push the Jews into the sea. That’s right – the sea.
Read more: It's about Israel, Stupid | Paula R. Stern | The Blogs | The Times of Israel http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/its-about-israel-stupid/#ixzz3GKqcnmRp Follow us: @timesofisrael on Twitter | timesofisrael on Facebook..

Why is it that what is so clear to me and people like Paula aren't seen and acted on by our Israeli Government?

We must stop it now, before it becomes a tidal wave a tsunami against us! The lesson we must learn from the Nazi Holocaust is that we have no allies!

Step #1:

• Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu must rescind his support of a Palestinian State!

Yoohoo! Has anyone heard foreign condemnation of Arab Terror Attacks on Israelis, Buses and Trains?

Hardly a day passes when you can't find some American, United Nations, European, so-called humanitarian or whatever other type of self-proclaimed expert on legality and propriety proclaiming that Israel has sinned against the Arabs.

The American State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki condemned Israelis for unproven "price tag attacks" against olive trees, but can't be bothered to condemn the Arabs who attacked an Israeli bus in Jerusalem.

Psaki also hasn't "wasted any words" condemning the frequent attacks by Arabs on the Jerusalem lightrail which has left many Israelis without sufficient public transportation.  It's obvious that the American Government doesn't consider Israeli lives as valuable and important as allegedly Arab olive trees.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon couldn't be bothered to condemn Arabs for the attacks here, while he wasn't shy about condemning Israel for bombing rocket-launching sites in Gaza during last summer's war. Even the pro-Gazan international media admitted that the Arab Gazan terrorists had set up their war machine in schools and hospitals. Even the United Nations schools there discovered bombs/rockets to be used against Israel.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (L) hugs wheelchair-bound Palestinian Mohammed Abed al-Dayem at a UN-run school in the northern Gaza Strip October 14, 2014. 
CREDIT: REUTERS/MOHAMMED SALEM

After visiting a U.N. school at which 15 people were killed, Ban said the "enormous destruction in Gaza is a source of pain to me personally and is a shame to the international community".
He also condemned militants' use of U.N. schools for hiding rockets, which Israel cited as the reason for attacking U.N. sites during the conflict.
"Over the summer, weapons were also found in empty schools. We informed the world. United Nations facilities must be inviolable," he said

Photo Credit: Courtesy, 0404.co.il

But Ban showed no compassion for innocent Israelis who are frequently attacked by Arab terrorists when on Jerusalem buses and the lightrail.

There is serious "tunnel vision" when it comes to how the world sees what's happening here in the Middle East. Attacks on Jews are ignored while anything that happens to the Arabs are blamed on us as if we're the cause of the violence.

I work with Arabs, and I know from conversations with them that they fear their fellow Arabs, but they don't fear us Jewish Israelis.

"I then made sure that there were no pictures showing any staff, Jew or Arab on my camera."

There can never be peace here until the "world" fully supports Israel against Arab terrorism.

Any Normal Country Would Shoot Rioters and The Truth about The Temple Mount

Only in Israel do we just "stun" and push dangerous rioters when they come to clash with police and do more damage.

Here's the video from Reuters:

Stun grenades used to disperse Palestinians near al-Aqsa mosque


Most of this was not filmed in the Temple Mount Compound; it's from near one of the entrance gates to it in the Old City. I've been there, so I know.

Even the Reuters article admits that the Arabs were the aggressors here.

Palestinians clash with Israeli police at Jerusalem's al-Aqsa compound(Reuters) - Israeli police came under a barrage of rocks and flares from Palestinians in clashes in Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque compound, the third holiest shrine in Islam, on Monday and four protesters were arrested.
The site in Jerusalem's walled Old City has seen repeated disturbances over the years over what Palestinians say are fears of an Israeli threat to the site, which Muslims call the Noble Sanctuary. Israel denies any such threat. Jews also revere the site as the location of two destroyed biblical temples.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said officers went to the elevated compound, also known as Temple Mount by Jews, after receiving information that protesters had planned to start a riot and disrupt visits there.
"(Officers) surprised the rioters, pushing them back and found petrol bombs, rocks, stones, bottles at the scene that would have been used to attack visitors ... It was a police initiative to prevent disturbances," Rosenfeld said. (Reuters)

When I read the headline about the stun grenades I kept thinking that we should have used machine guns like any other effective police force would do. Those stun grenades are like covering skin cancer with make-up and claiming a cure.

The Temple Mount may be Islam's "third holiest shrine" but it's Judaism's top holiest place on earth. In actuality the popular and more accessible Kotel, Western Wall, is barely a close second. It's not the "Western Wall" referred to in the Mishne and other ancient holy writings. That truly holy "Western Wall" was of the Temple, Beit HaMikdash, which is long destroyed.

Today's "Western Wall" is an outer wall from the late Second Temple Period expansion by King Herod.

It is not at all connected directly in any way or form to our Holy Temples. This wall only became a popular prayer site in very recent centuries. Before that Jews ascended to the Temple Mount to pray. It gained popularity in the twentieth century because the British placed restrictions on Jewish Prayer there. So, davka, Jews who were also banned from the Temple Mount, Hebron's Ma'arat HaMachpela and other holy sites promoted the Kotel.

In a very bad policy move, the Israeli Government gave the Muslims and Jordan effective sovereignty over the Temple Mount almost immediately after liberating it in the 1967 Six Days War.

Yes, it is the center of the "problem" between Israel and the Arabs in a very spiritual sense. And since this is the Holy Land, we won't have peace until we fully take over the Temple Mount and begin Jewish worship and the building of the Third Temple.

And if we need to use machine guns against the Arabs attacking us there, so we shouldn't be shy about it.

Obama/Kerry Should Redefine "Mideast Peace" to Mean Iran, ISIS, etc.

No surprise that United States Secretary of State Kerry is back on his hamster wheel pushing for what he calls "Mideast peace." I wouldn't mind it so much if only he'd redefine the term and focus on the true dangers to world peace in the Middle East and try to fix things there.

REUTERS/MOHAMED ABD EL GHANY

(Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called on Sunday for a renewed commitment to achieving Middle East peace, saying a lasting deal between Israel, the Palestinians and all their neighbors was possible.
But prospects for a renewed peace process appeared dim as Kerry offered no specifics on how to restart negotiations in his speech to a Gaza reconstruction conference that raised more than $5 billion in aid for the Palestinians after a devastating war in the tiny coastal territory...

The problems between Israel and the local Arabs here is far down on the list IMHO. Arabs here have the best health care of any in the world. Israel has developed the infrastructure, electricity, piped water,public transportation, telephone system etc. since 1967 that gives the local Arabs all modern advantages. The P.A. (Palestinian Authority,) elected by the Arabs, is responsible for their municipal needs, so if they have any complaints, their problem.

Now there are urgent "hot spots" in the Middle East that do need fixing, so I would just tweak Kerry's plans a bit and send him off to negotiate the ISIS problem.

An ISIS fighter who goes by the name of Abu Muhammad al-Amriki (the American), was reportedly killed on Sunday, Oct. 12...In the video, the terrorist seems to be describing some sort of weapons double-crossing as the explanation for why he chose to defect to the ISIS terrorist group from a different Syrian terrorist group, Jabhat al Nusra. 

The U.S.-led coalition against ISIS has been hitting positions in the area for several days, but it seems to be too little, too late, and Kobane is soon expected to fall to the ISIS genocidal death squad. (Jewish Press)

Iran Police, Israel Behind the News

OK, is ISIS too hard or complicated? Then he should get the nukes out of Iran. Considering that Obama firmly believes that he can trust the Iranians to clean up their nuclear development, I am convinced that he should send it Kerry with a firm order to speed up those talks and transform the Iranians into a "peaceful Muslim country."

Some six weeks before the conclusion of crucial nuclear talks between P5+1 world powers and Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a Twitter feed he is believed to operate, posted a graphic laying out 11 non-negotiable “red lines,” beyond which his country’s negotiators would, presumably, not budge.
“During the past year, Ayatollah Khamenei, in line with his support for the Iranian negotiators, has also stressed on the Iranian nation’s rights and has called it necessary to observe the red lines in the course of the nuclear talks,” the infographic, which was posted on Sunday, said. (Algemeiner)

And here, closer to home, before Obama sics Kerry back on us, he should first clarify the true aims and ideology of the so-called "Palestinians," sic.

PA leaders: Our weapons  are for future wars with IsraelJibril Rajoub:"The weapons of the Resistance must remain in storage... When there is an attack, the battle will be in all the Palestinian territories, in which all members of the Palestinian people will participate" Al-Quds, Oct. 3, 2014 (PMW)

Would U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama really accept such people in his homeland? No, so he should stop supporting them financially and diplomatically!!! And Israel, yes, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, must categorically refuse to participate in the next round of Kerry talks!!!

My Succah Interview on Tamar Yona's Radio Show

Listen to my story  on Tamar Yona's Arutz 7 Radio show.

Here's the link, http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/Player.aspx#0#5814#1.
I'm at the very end of the show.
Nu, if you've heard it, what do you think? Thanks.