Shirley Shankman Spiegelman, 1925-2013
Shifra bat Avraham and Chaya Raisia
Brooklyn, Bayside, Great Neck, all in New York and finally Arizona
last surviving of nine children
wife, mother, aunt, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend to many
Volunteers don't take days off.
My musings, reflections on life here in Shiloh. Original, personal, spiritual and political. While not a "group blog," Shiloh Musings includes the voices of other Jews in The Land of Israel. **Copyright(C)BatyaMedad ** For permission to use these in publications of any sort, please contact me directly. Private accredited distribution encouraged. Thank you.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
My Mother and Her Judaism
Let's start with the official obituary.
Like many of her generation in the United States, my mother's parents, who had emigrated from the Ukraine and White Russia to New York before World War One, were Torah observant, kept Shabbat, kashrut, the Jewish Holidays and more. My grandfather had been a great lover of chazanut, the "artisitic," operatic singing of Jewish Prayers and she would accompany him on Shabbat to the large synagogues to hear the great cantors of that generation, such as Koussevitzky.
As a teenager, she was friends with the kids in her high school who were in Hashomer Hadati, and renewed friendship with a couple whose elderly mother lived in our building in Bayit V'gan, Jerusalem.
My mother was the eighth out of nine children in a poverty-stricken "his, hers and theirs" family. By the time she was in her teens, her elder siblings were adults and were no longer religious. She once told me that it was expected that she would follow their lead and she did.
My father, although always a proud Jew, wasn't from a strictly religious home and didn't believe it was important to keep kashrut, Shabbat and Jewish Holidays. But as a Jew, it was important to him to be a member of a synagogue. They were founding members of the Oakland Jewish Center, Bayside, NY and then joined the Great Neck Synagogue when we moved. My mother was always active in the synagogues' Sisterhood and Hebrew School PTA's. In Great Neck, where they lived for decades, she took an extremely active role, being President of the Sisterhood for many years, helping to organize the "Kiddush," provide food for mourners and ran the gift shop.
When I announced that I was Orthodox, she joined my father in trying to stop me, but later on, when I began college she agreed that I should have my own kosher dishes, so I could come home for visits and eat. I remember going off with her to a local "five and dime" and buy a slew of pots, pans and dishes for my personal use. A couple of years later, after I became engaged they got instructions on how to kasher the house. That made it possible to socialize with the more religious members of the shul and have us over with the kids.
After my sister and I moved my parents to Arizona, they joined a Conservative shul they had liked to frequent during visits to my sister. My sister has made an effort to take them there whenever possible.
In the New York neighborhoods of their childhood, Judaism was the dominant religion. It was the culture and the food.
It definitely mentions a host of hobbies, interests and activities, but it leaves out something that was very crucial to her life, Judaism.Spiegelman, ShirleyShirley passed away at age 88 Saturday June 15, 2013, in Tempe, AZ. Born in Brooklyn in 1925, she moved from Great Neck, NY, to Arizona in 2010. Devoted to her family and community, Shirley had a lifelong passion for dance, theater and the arts, making the most of the cultural offerings in New York and wherever she traveled. She put her experienced eye and mind to work for many years as a docent at the Nassau County Museum of Art, on Long Island. She was pre-deceased by her parents and eight brothers and sisters. She is survived by her adoring husband of 65 years, Sidney, her loving children, Vivian, Hal Thomas Spiegelman and Batya Medad, seven grandchildren, four great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. All will treasure her spirited love, beauty, warmth, fairness and good cooking. A service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 18th, at Sinai Mortuary, 4538 North 16th Street, Phoenix, AZ. A graveside ceremony will take place at 1:00 p.m. Wednesday June 19th at the New Montefiore Cemetery, 1180 Wellwood Avenue, West Babylon, NY.
As a teenager, she was friends with the kids in her high school who were in Hashomer Hadati, and renewed friendship with a couple whose elderly mother lived in our building in Bayit V'gan, Jerusalem.
My mother was the eighth out of nine children in a poverty-stricken "his, hers and theirs" family. By the time she was in her teens, her elder siblings were adults and were no longer religious. She once told me that it was expected that she would follow their lead and she did.
My father, although always a proud Jew, wasn't from a strictly religious home and didn't believe it was important to keep kashrut, Shabbat and Jewish Holidays. But as a Jew, it was important to him to be a member of a synagogue. They were founding members of the Oakland Jewish Center, Bayside, NY and then joined the Great Neck Synagogue when we moved. My mother was always active in the synagogues' Sisterhood and Hebrew School PTA's. In Great Neck, where they lived for decades, she took an extremely active role, being President of the Sisterhood for many years, helping to organize the "Kiddush," provide food for mourners and ran the gift shop.
When I announced that I was Orthodox, she joined my father in trying to stop me, but later on, when I began college she agreed that I should have my own kosher dishes, so I could come home for visits and eat. I remember going off with her to a local "five and dime" and buy a slew of pots, pans and dishes for my personal use. A couple of years later, after I became engaged they got instructions on how to kasher the house. That made it possible to socialize with the more religious members of the shul and have us over with the kids.
After my sister and I moved my parents to Arizona, they joined a Conservative shul they had liked to frequent during visits to my sister. My sister has made an effort to take them there whenever possible.
In the New York neighborhoods of their childhood, Judaism was the dominant religion. It was the culture and the food.
Monday, June 17, 2013
My Mother, SAHM Did Not Mean Just Folding Laundry
Officially, you could say that my mother, Shirley Spiegelman, was a SAHM, Stay at home mother, but she really didn't stay at home much, except to run the various groups and organizations she joined. I learned how to fold by folding flyers she had to distribute for those groups and whatevers.
She was president, secretary, chairman, in those days called chairwoman when female, and on a rare occasion a more minor position. Every PTA, Sisterhood, the National Council of Jewish Women, Bell Park Gardens Day Camp and groups I never knew about were on her "CV." The deal my parents had was that he would earn the money and she would care for us and run the house. It worked for them and always seemed ideal to me. I never looked at "not working" as an inferior life. I was hoping to have the same arrangement with my husband, but in the end I had to find ways to get paid.
Besides all of the organizational work, my mother loved the stage. She'd take dancing lessons and also acted, first in the Fresh Meadows Community Theater, when we lived in Bayside, NY, and later in the Great Neck Community Theater.
My Cousin Mickey, who had Cerebral Palsy, used to love to tell how my mother kept him entertained by dancing for him when he suffered through painful physical therapy when he was a little boy.
One summer when I was in college, friends of hers insisted she teach them "exercise to music," the predecessor of "aerobics." It was actually my specialty; I had been training with an expert, Alan Wayne. So she convinced them that I should be her assistant to demonstrate the exercises. What we really did was that she would tell people to do what I did, and then we both got paid.
When my father retired, they liked to go to the musical performances there were for free in Great Neck. I once went with them. My father would inevitably fall asleep for the whole show, and when he got up he'd say:
Actually, he did the same thing this past winter in the senior citizen place they were then living in.
One thing for sure. No matter what types of jobs and occupations and hobbies one has during one's active years, nothing really prepares us for the difficulties of old age, when we may have no choice about staying home* or going out.
*whether it's "home" or an "old folks home" where we have little control over our lives
She was president, secretary, chairman, in those days called chairwoman when female, and on a rare occasion a more minor position. Every PTA, Sisterhood, the National Council of Jewish Women, Bell Park Gardens Day Camp and groups I never knew about were on her "CV." The deal my parents had was that he would earn the money and she would care for us and run the house. It worked for them and always seemed ideal to me. I never looked at "not working" as an inferior life. I was hoping to have the same arrangement with my husband, but in the end I had to find ways to get paid.
Besides all of the organizational work, my mother loved the stage. She'd take dancing lessons and also acted, first in the Fresh Meadows Community Theater, when we lived in Bayside, NY, and later in the Great Neck Community Theater.
 |
| The make-up artist in the Great Neck Community Theatre complained that there was no way to make my mother look as old as she was supposed to look for that role. |
One summer when I was in college, friends of hers insisted she teach them "exercise to music," the predecessor of "aerobics." It was actually my specialty; I had been training with an expert, Alan Wayne. So she convinced them that I should be her assistant to demonstrate the exercises. What we really did was that she would tell people to do what I did, and then we both got paid.
"That was the worst music I've ever heard."
One thing for sure. No matter what types of jobs and occupations and hobbies one has during one's active years, nothing really prepares us for the difficulties of old age, when we may have no choice about staying home* or going out.
*whether it's "home" or an "old folks home" where we have little control over our lives
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Baruch Dayan Ha'Emet, "it's no real surprise, though always is"
My mother passed away on Shabbat in her new "home" in Arizona. I had just visited and left there less than a week ago.Funeral and Shiva arrangements to be announced.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Jewish Prayer Direct to G-d
One of the most wonderful things about Judaism is that we don't need an intermediary to pray to G-d. That's one of main lessons we learn from the Biblical story of Chana (Hannah) in Shiloh.
After almost four hundred years of a leaderless anarchy, when after conquering the Promised Land, it was time for the Jewish People to take the next step and choose a king.
The Biblical Chana, barren, though married to Elkanah who had many children with his other wife, Penina, couldn't understand why Chana wasn't satisfied with her life. During one of their pilgrimages to the Mishkan, Holy Tabernacle in Shiloh, Chana went to pray. She prayed for a son who would be dedicated to work for G-d and the Jewish People.
G-d answered Chana's prayers, and she gave birth to a son, who was the Prophet Shmuel (Samuel,) the person who led the Jewish People after the capture of the Holy Ark and anointed the first two kings, Saul and David.
For the past few years I have been inviting women to join me at Shiloh HaKeduma, Tel Shiloh for Rosh Chodesh Prayers. Shiloh is easily accessible by public or private transportation. Please spread the word.
תפילת נשים
ראש חודש אב בתל שילה
יום ב' 8-7 א' אב תשע"ג 8:30
יהיה דבר תורה קצר וסיור בתל
נא לבוא, לפרסם ולהזמין חברות, משפחה ושכנות
After almost four hundred years of a leaderless anarchy, when after conquering the Promised Land, it was time for the Jewish People to take the next step and choose a king.
Judges Chapter 21 שׁוֹפְטִיםIt took a woman to finally set this in motion.
כה בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם, אֵין מֶלֶךְ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל: אִישׁ הַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינָיו, יַעֲשֶׂה. {ש} 25 In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes. {P}
1 Samuel Chapter 1 שְׁמוּאֵל א
For the past few years I have been inviting women to join me at Shiloh HaKeduma, Tel Shiloh for Rosh Chodesh Prayers. Shiloh is easily accessible by public or private transportation. Please spread the word.
Women's Prayers at Tel Shiloh
Rosh Chodesh Av
Rosh Chodesh Av
Monday, July 8, 2013
1 Av 5773, 8:30am
Tour of Tel & Dvar Torah, Short Torah Lesson
Please come and invite family, friends and neighbors
תפילת נשים
ראש חודש אב בתל שילה
יום ב' 8-7 א' אב תשע"ג 8:30
יהיה דבר תורה קצר וסיור בתל
נא לבוא, לפרסם ולהזמין חברות, משפחה ושכנות
There's now a very interesting and well kept up tourist center in Shiloh, Shiloh HaKeduma, at Tel Shiloh. You can arrange tours and events there by emailing visit@telshilo.org.il or call 02-994-4019.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Caroline Glick's Latma Brings Us to a "Better Place"
Political parody isn't always funny, but there are some excellent pieces here that will make you think of things a bit differently.
And Caroline Glick's article this week is davka about the "Better Place" cars.
Shabbat Shalom!
Gay Pride and Pederasty in Tel Aviv; Arab Pride and Peace Plans in Syria
And Caroline Glick's article this week is davka about the "Better Place" cars.
Shabbat Shalom!
Yes, Bibi, "The World Ignored Our Annihilation"
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| Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu at Auschwitz, June 13, 2013. Photo: Israel GPO. |
“The leaders of the Allies knew about the Holocaust in real time. They understood exactly what was happening in the death camps. They were asked to act, they could have acted, and they did not. To we Jews the lesson is clear. We must not be complacent in the face of threats of annihilation. We must not bury our heads in the sand or allow others to do the work for us. From here, the place that attests to the desire to destroy us, I, the Prime Minister of Israel, the state of the Jewish People, say to all the nations of the world: The State of Israel will do whatever is necessary to prevent another holocaust.”
I'm just a lowly blogger; I'm not in any position to change or make policy, but Netanyahu is the Israeli Prime Minister and he can do a lot more than just tap letters on a keyboard.
The Holocaust teaches us that normal cultural and "moral" values are ignored when the victims are Jews.
Today we are victimizing ourselves by agreeing to empower Arab terrorists and given them sovereignty over our Land. Claiming that it's possible to make a "Palestinian state" that doesn't endanger Israel is like claiming that 1 + 1 = 3.
The early Nazi laws which only "discriminated" against Jews in Germany were nothing compared to the laws against Jews in most Arab countries today and also in the "PA Authority." Yes, Jews were still safer then in Germany, than we are today in Jenin, Ramallah or Shechem.
Just like there was silence from international human rights organizations then when Jews were losing their jobs and being thrown out of schools, who is complaining about the Judenrein policies of Jordan, Dubai and the PA Authority, among others?
It's time to learn our lesson and stop talking "peace." We have a country to build. We shouldn't expect any help from others. Once we concentrate our energies on true sovereignty, we'll be the "light to all nations," strong and secure.
Shabbat Shalom
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Peace? Let's Stop Begging!!!
Last night, not for the first time, I had the unpleasant experience of listening to our Prime Minister pathetically begging our enemies to "make peace."
Netanyahu in Poland: Stop Negotiating About Negotiations
There will only be peace, true peace, when we stop begging and make it clear that we don't need any favors from anyone. We're perfectly fine without that sort of "peace."
True PEACE won't cost us land or security. There will only be true PEACE when the Arabs are ready and want it as much as we do. You can't buy peace, nor can it be achieved through negotiations. I'm only interested in true PEACE.
As long as we keep on begging for "peace" we'll just keep on getting wars, threats and terror. We'll just get more pressure and dangerous "suggestions" to sweeten the "negotiations."
True PEACE doesn't have an expiration date like milk does; it won't grow moldy like bread left out in plastic for a week or two.
You can't compromise with people who want you destroyed. Would it have worked with Hitler? Did it work for the countries that had made treaties with him? No.
“I think it is time to stop squabbling over preconditions. I think it’s time to stop negotiating about the negotiations. I think we have to start peace talks immediately,” Netanyahu said during a joint press conference with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk...
Kerry phoned Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday to assure him that he was continuing to push for renewed talks.
Abbas reiterated the demand that Israel must freeze West Bank settlement activity and Jewish building in east Jerusalem.
He also asked that Israel release all Palestinian prisoners in its jails.
All these scenarios that Bibi, Peres, Obama, Kerry, Blair etc. keep proposing are unworkable, fantasies, just recipes for disaster for the State of Israel and Jewish People all over the world.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Old and Ancient Sure Have Different Meanings When Living in Israel
My fellow jblogger, Paula, the Soldiers' Mother is having the same reaction to Europe as I had when in Philadelphia last summer.
Shiloh was the Capital of the Jewish State that had existed here three thousand years ago. Our People, religion and country existed before there was a language called English, or French or Russian. We speak, work and invent modern technology in that very same language.
A mile from my house is the Shiloh HaKeduma, Tel of Ancient Shiloh.
Most of my Shiloh neighbors live much closer to the Tel than I do. Modern Shiloh grew around the old structures.
My sons live and one even works in Jerusalem buildings over a hundred years old.
The Jewish Religion and Jewish Nation are thousands of years old. We have out-survived all of our enemies, and we're thriving, thank G-d. Everything looks different from the perspective of being here in Shiloh, Israel, the Holy Land.
The State of Israel would be in better shape if only our political leaders would accept this and stop trying to more "modern," like other countries. We are not the same as other countries, other religions and other societies.
Let's stand up proudly and state that our country is thousands of years old. We predate all of those who try to tell us what's best for us. The only One Who does know what's best is G-d Almighty. That's it in a nutshell.
I asked the really nice Pakistani taxi driver how old London was - I should just do the research. He said - "very old. More than 300 years old."
Pretty much everything in America (at least in terms of architecture) is, at most, 200 years old so at 300 and more, that becomes impressive. The problem, I realize, is that after living in Israel so long, pretty much nothing tops it. There are parts of Jerusalem that are 2,000 years and more. Rome will likely have similarly aged buildings but I've clearly decided my question was wrong. Old , for someone who is in Jerusalem daily, is not a good measuring factor.
Shiloh was the Capital of the Jewish State that had existed here three thousand years ago. Our People, religion and country existed before there was a language called English, or French or Russian. We speak, work and invent modern technology in that very same language.
A mile from my house is the Shiloh HaKeduma, Tel of Ancient Shiloh.
Most of my Shiloh neighbors live much closer to the Tel than I do. Modern Shiloh grew around the old structures.
The Jewish Religion and Jewish Nation are thousands of years old. We have out-survived all of our enemies, and we're thriving, thank G-d. Everything looks different from the perspective of being here in Shiloh, Israel, the Holy Land.
The State of Israel would be in better shape if only our political leaders would accept this and stop trying to more "modern," like other countries. We are not the same as other countries, other religions and other societies.
Let's stand up proudly and state that our country is thousands of years old. We predate all of those who try to tell us what's best for us. The only One Who does know what's best is G-d Almighty. That's it in a nutshell.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
What "Reality" Does MK Dov Lipman See?
“So did [my recognition of] the reality there, which we cannot ignore,” he added. (from Arutz 7)
At the same time Lipman said that Israel must give Land to the Arabs.
Love for the entire land of Israel can go hand-in-hand with support for Israeli withdrawals and the creation of an Arab state in Judea and Samaria, says MK Dov Lipman of the Yesh Atid party.
When I explain to those unfamiliar with the Land of Israel, Judea and Samaria why Israel wouldn't survive the "two states for two peoples" fantasy, I explain that the reality is that such an arrangement has never ever worked any place. For people old enough to remember when there was an West Berlin in the middle of East Berlin, it becomes pretty easy for them to see the reality of the dangers to the security and continued existence of the State of Israel.
It's clear that Lipman is enamored with his position in Yair Lapid's party. I remember that during the campaign a friend of mine heard him speak and was very disgusted with his simplistic platitudes and campaign double-talk. Having Orthodox simcha (ordination,) keeping kashrut and Shabbat does not make him an expert in the Land of Israel and how it applies to the Jewish People today.
G-d made us the miracle of the 1967 Six Days War, because He knew it was essential that we Israelis control the Land of Israel at least until the Jordan River. He, Hakodesh Baruch Hu, also gave us the Temple Mount, the Sinai and the Golan. Unfortunately our dangerously foolish politicians immediately gave the Arab Muslims the Temple Mount, and then ten years later, Menachem Begin, as Prime Minister, gave Egypt the Sinai. Begin, like Lipman, wanted to please the world and change his image.
There's an interesting op-ed in the Jewish Press, also complaining about Lipman. The feeling is that Lipman sold his soul to Yair Lapid, and now he fits in fine to Lapid's Yesh Atid.
But along came MK Dov Lipman and decided to stage a show-down. “There will be war!” came the message. “We must get those Haredim out of those yeshivos!” “We will only allow a tiny amount of the elite to stay in learning, as a grand concession.” “We will starve them out – we will cut their funding if they don’t do the core curriculum, and we will cut their social security, and we will cut their children’s allowances… ” “And we will do all of this for their sakes, for they do not know what is in their own best interests.”
Power sure changes people...
Monday, June 10, 2013
Jordan, A Fake Country
Jordan's land was supposed to be part of the Jewish State. When the League of Nations assigned Great Britain the responsibility to prepare former Turkish land aka Mandated Palestine to be the Jewish State, it included both sides of the Jordan.
But it didn't take long for Britain to give Transjordan aka the East Bank of the Jordan to the Hashemites, from Saudi Arabia. They financially and diplomatically supported their new/fake/pet country for decades.
The inevitable is starting to happen. There are serious cracks in the Hashemite Kingdom. There's a limit how long foreigners can rule.
And there's also a limit how long a country without any real history, common culture etc can stay united and peaceful. The land was pretty empty when Britain invented Jordan. It was easy to give it to the Hashemites, because there had never been more than nomads, villages and towns. There was no regional culture. There had never been an independent country based only in that part of the work. It had been part of the Biblical Jewish Kingdoms, from the time of Joshua, which even predates the kings. Two and a half Jewish tribes lived there, their capital being Shiloh and later Jerusalem.
Anarchy on the other side of the Jordan, visible from my home in Shiloh, will probably last quite a while. Actually, Israel is usually safer when Arabs fight each other. The only thing that unites them is their aim to destroy the State of Israel and murder/terrorize Jews.
Let them continue to fight each other...
But it didn't take long for Britain to give Transjordan aka the East Bank of the Jordan to the Hashemites, from Saudi Arabia. They financially and diplomatically supported their new/fake/pet country for decades.
The inevitable is starting to happen. There are serious cracks in the Hashemite Kingdom. There's a limit how long foreigners can rule.
For the last two years, Jordan has been witnessing regular protests calling for reform, with some demanding the king give up his powers. [1] On November 15, 2012, massive protests broke out in Jordan after the Jordanian government, in compliance with the requirements of the International Monetary Fund, raised fuel prices. Protests, as The Independent noted, swept the country, “with most chanting for toppling the regime” despite the fact that protesters had previously “rarely targeted the king himself.”[2]
For the first time, the Palestinians engaged fully in the protests; As Al-Jazeera reported, Palestinians, including those from refugee camps, have been fully involved, [3] calling for toppling the regime in most of their major residential areas, including the Al-Baqqa refugee camp [4], the Al-Hussein refugee camp, close to downtown Amman [5] Douar Firas [6], Jabal Al-Nuzha, [7], and the Hitteen refugee camp [8].
And there's also a limit how long a country without any real history, common culture etc can stay united and peaceful. The land was pretty empty when Britain invented Jordan. It was easy to give it to the Hashemites, because there had never been more than nomads, villages and towns. There was no regional culture. There had never been an independent country based only in that part of the work. It had been part of the Biblical Jewish Kingdoms, from the time of Joshua, which even predates the kings. Two and a half Jewish tribes lived there, their capital being Shiloh and later Jerusalem.
Anarchy on the other side of the Jordan, visible from my home in Shiloh, will probably last quite a while. Actually, Israel is usually safer when Arabs fight each other. The only thing that unites them is their aim to destroy the State of Israel and murder/terrorize Jews.
Let them continue to fight each other...
Sunday, June 9, 2013
If "Netanyahu: Israel trusts only itself to protect its borders," Then Why Does Bibi Pay Attention to Foreign Leaders?
There is a very crucial inconsistency in Bibi's statements and policies. Readers of my blog can easily picture me blogging something similar to this recent Israel Hayom headline:
I just wish that these words quoted from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu could be taken serisouly as Israeli policy. It's because of statement like this, which frequently float very convincingly from Netanyahu's tongue that many people think of him as Right wing and expect his government coalitions to follow Right policies.
Unfortunately, I don't see Netanyahu's actual policies as following this:
He keeps trying to get reassurance and praise from foreign leaders. We need a leader like King David who rejected conventional military strategy and insisted that his secret weapon was G-d. That's how King David killed Goliath. King David did fight military battles, but he knew that the final outcome was actually up to G-d. Netanyahu does not have that sort of religious faith. It's is tragic flaw as a Jewish Leader.
I still think that Netanyahu has the potential to be a great Jewish leader, but he must stop thinking with his head and he must start thinking with his Jewish soul. I believe he does have one, but he is used to repressing it.
I have no doubt that Bibi loves the Land of Israel, the Bible and Jewish History. He just doesn't know how to combine them into policy. He is missing the connection to G-d and the glue of the Mitzvot, Torah commandments. Let's pray for him to reach his potential and become a great Jewish Leader. Until then, I can't vote for him...
Netanyahu: Israel trusts only itself to protect its borders
Shiloh Musings: Israel should trust only itself to protect its borders
I just wish that these words quoted from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu could be taken serisouly as Israeli policy. It's because of statement like this, which frequently float very convincingly from Netanyahu's tongue that many people think of him as Right wing and expect his government coalitions to follow Right policies.Unfortunately, I don't see Netanyahu's actual policies as following this:
"We discussed matters pertaining to Syria, where the situation is getting more complex by the day," Netanyahu said. "We saw just last week the fighting that took place near our border on the Golan. Israel will not interfere in the civil war in Syria, as long as the fire is not aimed at us."
The prime minister said Israel trusted only itself to protect its borders.
"The disintegration of the U.N. force on the Golan highlights the fact that Israel cannot place its security in the hands of international forces. They can be a part of [future] arrangements, but they cannot be the basis of Israel's security," he said.
He keeps trying to get reassurance and praise from foreign leaders. We need a leader like King David who rejected conventional military strategy and insisted that his secret weapon was G-d. That's how King David killed Goliath. King David did fight military battles, but he knew that the final outcome was actually up to G-d. Netanyahu does not have that sort of religious faith. It's is tragic flaw as a Jewish Leader.
I still think that Netanyahu has the potential to be a great Jewish leader, but he must stop thinking with his head and he must start thinking with his Jewish soul. I believe he does have one, but he is used to repressing it.
I have no doubt that Bibi loves the Land of Israel, the Bible and Jewish History. He just doesn't know how to combine them into policy. He is missing the connection to G-d and the glue of the Mitzvot, Torah commandments. Let's pray for him to reach his potential and become a great Jewish Leader. Until then, I can't vote for him...
Let's Demand a Moratorium to Peace Talks!
I suggest, in all seriousness that Israel declare a moratorium to peace talks. Simply, we aren't interested until the Arabs come begging. The State of Israel shouldn't beg anyone for peace.
We aren't the aggressors. We live peacefully with our Arab neighbors. The aggression, terror, threats and war come from them not us. So they have nothing to fear from us, from Israel.
It probably will take at least a couple of generations if not longer. That's no problem. In the meantime we'll do what is really important. We will develop and strengthen the State of Israel and make it more Jewish and more secure. Our economic growth is far better than the United States and Europe. No doubt more and more Jews will come to live here. And many Jewish immigrants will want to live all over, including Judea and Samaria.
We must also stop taking advice and orders from foreign countries. If they're so smart why is our economy better?
If a foreign dignitary, official visiting or a foreign ambassador calls us aggressors, insults or threatens us, like the Turkish and even American ones, we must expel them and declare them persona non grata. Within no time, we will gain international respect. If any Israeli media, politician, academic or whatever join in criticizing the IDF or Israeli Government for defending Israel and its citizens, they must be arrested. That Turkish flotilla aggression would have blown over a long time ago if only we had behaved this way. They should have had apologized. Israel did absolutely nothing wrong!
We aren't the aggressors. We live peacefully with our Arab neighbors. The aggression, terror, threats and war come from them not us. So they have nothing to fear from us, from Israel.
It probably will take at least a couple of generations if not longer. That's no problem. In the meantime we'll do what is really important. We will develop and strengthen the State of Israel and make it more Jewish and more secure. Our economic growth is far better than the United States and Europe. No doubt more and more Jews will come to live here. And many Jewish immigrants will want to live all over, including Judea and Samaria.
We must also stop taking advice and orders from foreign countries. If they're so smart why is our economy better?
If a foreign dignitary, official visiting or a foreign ambassador calls us aggressors, insults or threatens us, like the Turkish and even American ones, we must expel them and declare them persona non grata. Within no time, we will gain international respect. If any Israeli media, politician, academic or whatever join in criticizing the IDF or Israeli Government for defending Israel and its citizens, they must be arrested. That Turkish flotilla aggression would have blown over a long time ago if only we had behaved this way. They should have had apologized. Israel did absolutely nothing wrong!
Friday, June 7, 2013
What a Week! Obama's Choices and Turkey and Iranian Elections A La Latma
Let's start with Latma's news report from Turkey, Iranian elections and other tidbits.
Caroline Glick and her Tribal Update writers get it Right for sure.
Ruthie Blum thinks that things can't get much worse when it comes to United States President Obama, Rice and Power can't make things worse, but in a rare move, I disagree. I do agree with what Blum writes about Obama, Rice and Power, but I think it's dangerous to ever think that things can't get worse.
"Indeed, Rice's appointment exemplifies the low-life political workings of the Obama administration: The better someone is at covering the president's tracks, the more he or she is rewarded for it. In Rice's case, this involved the Benghazi horror. After four Americans, among them Ambassador Christopher Stevens, were killed in a carefully planned terrorist attack in Libya last Sept. 11, Rice wittingly and willingly became liar-in-chief for the White House and State Department. With gusto and disdain she hit the airwaves to perpetuate the bald-faced prevarication that the murders in Benghazi were the unfortunate result of a spontaneous Arab protest that had erupted as a result of an American-made video critical of Islam's Prophet, Muhammad.
Much as been written recently about what went on in Benghazi prior to the attack. One key theory is that the Obama administration had armed revolutionaries in Libya and Syria, and that Stevens was in the process of retrieving American weapons from Libyan jihadists when the policy was understood to be a bad one. It is believed that because Obama did not want any of this to emerge in time for it to harm his chances for re-election, he basically abandoned Stevens and the others to the killers. Whatever other facts come to light in the future, one is certain: A Special Forces rescue operation was not approved....
This is not the only reason for her promotion, however. Two others are equally relevant. One is that a presidential appointee for national security adviser is not required to obtain congressional confirmation. This means that Rice won't have to undergo any grilling that might expose her and her bosses' falsehoods.
The second is that, as national security adviser, Rice will enjoy the umbrella of the president's "executive privilege," granting her immunity from charges of contempt if she declines to testify in hearings on the Benghazi scandal.
Criticism of the Samantha Power nomination is centered on statements she made about Israel more than a decade ago. In 2002, when she was the director of Harvard's Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Power gave an interview to University of California professor Harry Kreisler on a college campus radio show. When asked by Kreisler what she would advise the president if there were a serious human-rights crisis in "Israel-Palestine," she gave a glib answer indicating that she would support sending the U.S. military to protect the Palestinians from Israel."
When people say that, it's like an eyin haraa causing things to davka get worse.
Shabbat Shalom and Chodesh Tov
A Quick Dvar Torah for Parshat Korach
I came up with one I hope you'll like. As we all know, Moshe asks Hashem to get rid of Korach and Co. in a very graphic way in order to show that he, Moshe, is really the chosen leader by divine mandate. He asks for the rebels to be swallowed up by the earth! And that is exactly what happens. But that is not only a resounding answer to Korach, it is a resounding answer to the claim of the spies in last week's parsha that the Land of Israel is "a land that eats up its inhabitants". No, my friends, Eretz Yisrael does not eat up its inhabitants, galut (exile) does! It eats up those who dwell in it, literally "sit" in it, implying comfortably and statically with no plans to leave. Those who are trying to accomplish something, learn Torah and do mitzvot, be Jewish activists, are not the ones eaten up. Those of you who are still not living in Eretz Yisrael, hope to see you soon!
The Dangers of Being Too Nice to Warring Arabs
The Ziv Medical Center in Tsfat just had a real miraculous close call. Sometimes good, charitable best intentions can not just boomerang they can explode very dangerously. Some wounded Syrians had been brought in for emergency medical care. Why does Israel do it? I don't know. And live grenades were found on the Syrians.
Are we really required to help the Syrians? We also accept enemy Arabs aka Palestinians sic into our hospitals.
Sometimes being too nice is very foolish and also makes us look weak and easily controlled.
In terms of the warring factions in Syria. Neither side is even remotely our ally, pro-Israel or even neutral when it comes to Israeli security. They are united in their anti-Israel policies and ideologies.
Doctors at Safed’s Ziv medical center were greeted with an eerie surprise Thursday while treating two Syrian rebel fighters, after it was discovered that one of the rebels had an unexploded grenade in his pocket.
According to reports, the emergency room was briefly evacuated and sappers were called in to remove the explosive device.
Are we really required to help the Syrians? We also accept enemy Arabs aka Palestinians sic into our hospitals.
Sometimes being too nice is very foolish and also makes us look weak and easily controlled.
In terms of the warring factions in Syria. Neither side is even remotely our ally, pro-Israel or even neutral when it comes to Israeli security. They are united in their anti-Israel policies and ideologies.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Bibi, Cut Out The Dumb Slogans, and Do the RIGHT Thing for Israel
One of the dumbest ever slogans in political activism is "give peace a chance." Of course it was highly successful and popular as a slogan.
But what the protesters are usually demanding isn't "peace," it's some dangerous irreverseable concession. To experiment with "peace concessions" isn't like trying a new clothing style or having your haircut a new way and then letting it grow back out.
Peace is a lot more complicated.
For there to be true peace, both sides must be ready and truly want it. So for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to beg the Arab Abbas to "give peace a chance" is totally idiotic and dangerous for the security and continued existence of the State of Israel.
The Israeli Government must stop the quest for peace with people who aim to destroy us and just make Israel a stronger and more secure country. At some time in the future, G-d willing, the Arabs will stop educating their children to terrorize us and there will be peace. There is absolutely nothing we can give them, bribe them with to speed the process.
The only way to speed up peace is to stop begging/negotiating for it. There will only be peace when the Arabs want it. I want true peace, because the other one is fake and fatal. It's no better than a "dime store diamond."
But what the protesters are usually demanding isn't "peace," it's some dangerous irreverseable concession. To experiment with "peace concessions" isn't like trying a new clothing style or having your haircut a new way and then letting it grow back out.
Peace is a lot more complicated.
For there to be true peace, both sides must be ready and truly want it. So for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to beg the Arab Abbas to "give peace a chance" is totally idiotic and dangerous for the security and continued existence of the State of Israel.
"Since he (Abbas) doesn't speak Hebrew, and my Arabic is not great, I am calling on him in a language we both know and saying to him, 'Give peace a chance,' Netanyahu said, switching to English to utter the phrase."Don't miss the opportunity," he added, saying he was prepared to make "difficult decisions to move negotiations ahead" but cautioning he would take no moves that would jeopardize Israel's security.
The Israeli Government must stop the quest for peace with people who aim to destroy us and just make Israel a stronger and more secure country. At some time in the future, G-d willing, the Arabs will stop educating their children to terrorize us and there will be peace. There is absolutely nothing we can give them, bribe them with to speed the process.
The only way to speed up peace is to stop begging/negotiating for it. There will only be peace when the Arabs want it. I want true peace, because the other one is fake and fatal. It's no better than a "dime store diamond."
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Obama, Kerry and American Jewry, Mind Your Own Business!
I'm sick and tired of foreigners, who have nothing to lose if their kokameyme ideas are wrong, telling me as an Israeli who lives in the very heart of the Land of Israel what's good for us to do!
That's it in a nutshell. I just read JJ Goldberg's Forward article about American Secretary of State's speech to the American Jewish Congress. The United States with its rotten track record in understanding the Arab mentality wants us to facilitate the establishment of a terror state in the center of our Land, and it thinks that American Jews should be used to convince us that they know better about the reality of life here and Arabs than we do.
I live right in the middle of the Land of Israel, between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. I live right between the north and the south. I live and work among Jews and Arabs.
What sort of logic or intelligence has the American Government used for Kerry to state:
That's an out and out lie. Americans, whether Jews, Christians, Muslims or Buddists have no right to claim a "stronger voice" than I an Israeli.
The "two state solution" is a recipe for disaster. The much simpler East and West Berlin arrangement didn't work. Did it?
If American Jews really care about us and are interested in learning the facts, come live and work with me and find out the truth. Live in a place like Shiloh and work with Jews and Arabs in Sha'ar Binyamin. You'll see a very different reality from the lies and fantasies the politicians and media are feeding you.
And yes, I know there are Israelis who claim to believe that a "two state solution" must be tried. They are wrong, and many of those who say it know I'm right. They'll confide that they agree 100% with me,
Considering America's horrendous military and diplomatic track record of late, Vietnam, Iraq, Iran, Afganistan etc. Why should anyone in their right mind trust American military and diplomatic advice?
Just butt out!!
That's it in a nutshell. I just read JJ Goldberg's Forward article about American Secretary of State's speech to the American Jewish Congress. The United States with its rotten track record in understanding the Arab mentality wants us to facilitate the establishment of a terror state in the center of our Land, and it thinks that American Jews should be used to convince us that they know better about the reality of life here and Arabs than we do.
Simply put it's immoral for citizens of one country to pressure another country, ditto for foreign leaders. What do all of you have to lose if you're wrong? I lose my life and my country and family.Here’s Kerry:[N]o one has a stronger voice in this than the American Jewish community. You can play a critical part in ensuring Israel’s long-term security. And as President Obama said in Jerusalem, leaders will take bold steps only if their people push them to. You can help shape the future of this process. And in the end, you can help Israel direct its destiny and be masters of its own fate, just as Prime Minister Meir dreamed that it would be.
Read more: http://blogs.forward.com/jj-goldberg/177993/kerry-to-us-jews-prod-leaders-to-back--states/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=The%20Forward%20Today%20%28Monday-Friday%29&utm_campaign=Daily_Newsletter_Mon_Thurs%202013-06-05#ixzz2VLRkP8gN
I live right in the middle of the Land of Israel, between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. I live right between the north and the south. I live and work among Jews and Arabs.
What sort of logic or intelligence has the American Government used for Kerry to state:
"[N]o one has a stronger voice in this than the American Jewish community."
That's an out and out lie. Americans, whether Jews, Christians, Muslims or Buddists have no right to claim a "stronger voice" than I an Israeli.
The "two state solution" is a recipe for disaster. The much simpler East and West Berlin arrangement didn't work. Did it?
If American Jews really care about us and are interested in learning the facts, come live and work with me and find out the truth. Live in a place like Shiloh and work with Jews and Arabs in Sha'ar Binyamin. You'll see a very different reality from the lies and fantasies the politicians and media are feeding you.
And yes, I know there are Israelis who claim to believe that a "two state solution" must be tried. They are wrong, and many of those who say it know I'm right. They'll confide that they agree 100% with me,
"....but you shouldn't worry because the Arabs we'll never sign an agreement. Heh heh heh, chuckle. It's just a trick. This way we can pretend to agree and look good in the eyes of the world. Giggle."That's a dumb and dangerous theory.
Considering America's horrendous military and diplomatic track record of late, Vietnam, Iraq, Iran, Afganistan etc. Why should anyone in their right mind trust American military and diplomatic advice?
Just butt out!!
The Religious Freedom Follies: State Department levels accusations at Israel
Posted by Jewishisrael.com
The U.S. State Department has
released its annual International
Religious Freedom Report. While not a severe offender of religious freedoms, the Jewish state did fall short of the
standards that have been set by America, an overwhelmingly Christian
nation. It appears Israel didn't make the grade when it came to accepting
"messianic Jews", welcoming missionaries and embracing proselytizing.
According to the report, the
population of "Messianic Jews" in Israel has apparently taken a
quantum leap over the past three years – growing from 10,000 adherents in 2009
to 20,000 in 2012. JewishIsrael
reviews this State Department report and takes a look at those intriguing
demographics.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Suspending Reality, A Full Day in The Air
At present I'm far from home. Not only am I not in Shiloh, I'm not in Israel. I'm in Tempe, AZ for a kibbud av v'em, honoring one's father and mother trip. I'm based at my sister's home. I now do this a couple of times a year.
I fly half way around the world. It's a suspension of reality, because although I've been flying since the mid-late 1960's flying is something I can never understand. It's not even considered miraculous by most. It's routine. But think about it. Hundreds of ordinary people are locked into a metal and plastic machine that rises above the clouds and makes its way over mountains, valleys and oceans, crossing time zones and countries. Then it lands with a gentle thump and slowly rolls to a stop.
And we passengers sometimes become a new "society" and sometimes we each isolate ourselves trying to have as little contact as possible. On the El Al flight I took to NY, I just wanted to hide myself away. There was noise all around me. Simultaneous partying in all sorts of voices, languages and accents. I was a solitary figure, trying to huddle into a comfort zone. Protecting my seat, myself from being grabbed and pulled and rocked by nearby and passing passengers who seemed incapable of standing and passing without grabbing my seat.
The Delta flight from JFK to AZ was a different world, none of the Israeli, or Jewish public partying in the aisles. It was a also an evening flight of rather tired passengers, the opposite mood of the hyper-energetic morning flight I was trying to recover from.
I truly enjoyed the peace and quiet. I also enjoyed the conversation I had with the women seated next to me. She initiated it. I was ready to talk, and she was interested and open-minded. Talking to her was good preparation for reconnecting with the earth and people.
My posts from here will probably be different from my usual... Enjoy, I hope
I fly half way around the world. It's a suspension of reality, because although I've been flying since the mid-late 1960's flying is something I can never understand. It's not even considered miraculous by most. It's routine. But think about it. Hundreds of ordinary people are locked into a metal and plastic machine that rises above the clouds and makes its way over mountains, valleys and oceans, crossing time zones and countries. Then it lands with a gentle thump and slowly rolls to a stop.
And we passengers sometimes become a new "society" and sometimes we each isolate ourselves trying to have as little contact as possible. On the El Al flight I took to NY, I just wanted to hide myself away. There was noise all around me. Simultaneous partying in all sorts of voices, languages and accents. I was a solitary figure, trying to huddle into a comfort zone. Protecting my seat, myself from being grabbed and pulled and rocked by nearby and passing passengers who seemed incapable of standing and passing without grabbing my seat.
The Delta flight from JFK to AZ was a different world, none of the Israeli, or Jewish public partying in the aisles. It was a also an evening flight of rather tired passengers, the opposite mood of the hyper-energetic morning flight I was trying to recover from.
I truly enjoyed the peace and quiet. I also enjoyed the conversation I had with the women seated next to me. She initiated it. I was ready to talk, and she was interested and open-minded. Talking to her was good preparation for reconnecting with the earth and people.
My posts from here will probably be different from my usual... Enjoy, I hope
Monday, June 3, 2013
Seeing IDF Service as a Mitzvah
For those who can serve in the army, that is the greatest mitzvah, because one is risking his life and future for the Jewish People.
Hat tip: Life in Israel for the story of the Chabadnik who is going for the Israeli Air Force. When my daughters' friends were trying out for and some getting accepted into the Air Force it was considered revolutionary that a dati leumi, national religious with kippa s'ruga, crocheted kippah would be in the Air Force. By the time my sons' friends tried out, it was not news, but when one friend married a religious girl who was also in the Air Force that was special.
Many people like to complain about the difficulties of serving in the IDF for the religious, but like with every sort of position and all sorts of "marketing," the more people who take it on, the easier it will be.
I'm also seeing, at least here in Shiloh, more and more young religious women serving in the IDF and not just as teachers. Those who want to volunteer in educational positions still do Sherut Le'umi, National Service. But today quite a few young women are going into fields mostly occupied by men, because they feel the need to serve on a higher level.
It's too bad that the government is going on an aggressive track trying to rush the chareidi draft to the army. There are also too many lies, especially from the chareidi side which distort facts. One of them is that the dati Le'umi are only asked to serve seventeen months while they are being forced to serve three years. The seventeen months is the time of active service for hesder yeshivot out of their five year program. Let the chareidi also establish or join hesder yeshivot and commit to a five year program of which all of the post army part makes the students "first call" in an emergency.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Salute to Israel Parade, Memories
Today in New York there will be the Salute to Israel Parade. Just the name of it brings back such vivid memories. I marched and danced at/with/in all the early parades from the first until 1970. There were years I did it twice, rushing back to the start off. First I marched/danced with NCSY and then I'd march with Betar. I had such energy then.
There's only one picture I have of myself participating in the Salute to Israel Parade. It's the one that the Jewish Agency used in its poster to advertise the following year's parade.
Can you guess which dancer is me? I'm still very close friends with the friend I had danced with then. She also lives in Israel, not far from me. We even sometimes take the same Bible classes.
Just recently she confided that it was the Israeli folk dancing which I had gotten her involved that brought her to Zionism and Israel. We were privileged to represent NCSY in the Fred Berk Leadership and Choreography Course, 1967-68, which was held in the 92nd Street Y each year. The following year we led the NCSY Dance Group in the big Folk Dance Festival that Fred was in charge of.
When I look back on my life, these events were definite highlights. All of the young Zionist activists took part in one way or another. We got to know each other in person. In those days there weren't any cellphones or computers, internet etc. If you corresponded you used paper and stamps. Even phone calls were expensive. There weren't any security concerns. Terrorism was unheard of. It was truly a great time to be growing up in.
I was a young high school student when the parade first began. I traveled to the city with friends from my NCSY chapter of the Great Neck Synagogue. They were all older than me and possibly I was the only girl in the group. They also knew their way around Manhattan and navigated, finding where we started to march. And when it was over, they made sure I got home safely.
Almost fifty years later, Jews from all over are still marching in the parade, which makes me very happy. Enjoy! But remember, marching in the Salute to Israel Parade isn't a substitute for making aliyah and living in Israel.
The message of this week's Parshat Shavua, Torah Portion of the Week is that you're not supposed to think of the pros, cons and difficulties. Just come here and live in the Land G-d promised us.
There's only one picture I have of myself participating in the Salute to Israel Parade. It's the one that the Jewish Agency used in its poster to advertise the following year's parade.
Can you guess which dancer is me? I'm still very close friends with the friend I had danced with then. She also lives in Israel, not far from me. We even sometimes take the same Bible classes.
Just recently she confided that it was the Israeli folk dancing which I had gotten her involved that brought her to Zionism and Israel. We were privileged to represent NCSY in the Fred Berk Leadership and Choreography Course, 1967-68, which was held in the 92nd Street Y each year. The following year we led the NCSY Dance Group in the big Folk Dance Festival that Fred was in charge of.
When I look back on my life, these events were definite highlights. All of the young Zionist activists took part in one way or another. We got to know each other in person. In those days there weren't any cellphones or computers, internet etc. If you corresponded you used paper and stamps. Even phone calls were expensive. There weren't any security concerns. Terrorism was unheard of. It was truly a great time to be growing up in.
I was a young high school student when the parade first began. I traveled to the city with friends from my NCSY chapter of the Great Neck Synagogue. They were all older than me and possibly I was the only girl in the group. They also knew their way around Manhattan and navigated, finding where we started to march. And when it was over, they made sure I got home safely.
Almost fifty years later, Jews from all over are still marching in the parade, which makes me very happy. Enjoy! But remember, marching in the Salute to Israel Parade isn't a substitute for making aliyah and living in Israel.
The message of this week's Parshat Shavua, Torah Portion of the Week is that you're not supposed to think of the pros, cons and difficulties. Just come here and live in the Land G-d promised us.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Sin of the "Spies," A Misnomer
This week's Parshat HaShavua, Torah Portion of the Week is Shlach Lecha Numbers 13,1-15,41. If you read through very carefully, you won't find the word מרגלים miraglim, spies any place in the text. It is a Biblical word, because it appears in the Haftara, the passage from Joshua 2,1-24 read after the Torah.
Here's from Bamidbar, Numbers:
אֲנָשִׁים, וְיָתֻרוּ אֶת-אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן anashim-people viyaturu-? Later in the verse we are told that these people are tribal heads, important people. They didn't hide. They wandered the Land in public view.
One of the men who was sent by Moshe was Joshua, who took over as leader after Moshe's death. He gave different orders and to שְׁנַיִם-אֲנָשִׁים מְרַגְּלִים anashim meraglim, spies. Another difference was that it was in secret.
I believe that Moshe had sent his tribal heads to stake out the Land. Moshe rather naively expected all twelve of them to understand that this was the "mother of all" pilot trips. They were supposed to claim their areas and come back giving the greatest, most convincing PR ever to excite and enthuse the tribes to hurry and settle the Land ASAP.
Only Caleb and Joshua understood their task. For that reason, Caleb's tribe Judah was given Hebron, which he had claimed during the mission.
The lesson we Jews today must learn from this is that our job isn't to decide the pros and cons of living in Israel. We must just pick the place in the Land of Israel where we will live and make it all work out, with G-d's help.
Have a wonderful week.
Here's from Bamidbar, Numbers:
Numbers Chapter 13 בְּמִדְבַּר
Joshua Chapter 2 יְהוֹשֻׁעַ
אֲנָשִׁים, וְיָתֻרוּ אֶת-אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן anashim-people viyaturu-? Later in the verse we are told that these people are tribal heads, important people. They didn't hide. They wandered the Land in public view.
One of the men who was sent by Moshe was Joshua, who took over as leader after Moshe's death. He gave different orders and to שְׁנַיִם-אֲנָשִׁים מְרַגְּלִים anashim meraglim, spies. Another difference was that it was in secret.
I believe that Moshe had sent his tribal heads to stake out the Land. Moshe rather naively expected all twelve of them to understand that this was the "mother of all" pilot trips. They were supposed to claim their areas and come back giving the greatest, most convincing PR ever to excite and enthuse the tribes to hurry and settle the Land ASAP.
Only Caleb and Joshua understood their task. For that reason, Caleb's tribe Judah was given Hebron, which he had claimed during the mission.
The lesson we Jews today must learn from this is that our job isn't to decide the pros and cons of living in Israel. We must just pick the place in the Land of Israel where we will live and make it all work out, with G-d's help.
Have a wonderful week.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Latma's Shimon Peres and More
This week's Latma has some good skits.
Which do you like better, Peres, Europe or --?
Shabbat Shalom
Which do you like better, Peres, Europe or --?
Latma is funded by donations from private individuals who believe that the voice of Zionism must be heard, loud and clear, in Israel and throughout the world. We need your help in order to stay open and continue sounding our voices.
If you are in the United States, Latma is funded by donations to the David Horowitz Freedom Center's Israel Security Project which I direct. If you would like to contribute to our work, which is funded entirely by viewer contributions, please go to this link.For donations outside the US, here is a link to the donations page for our Israeli non-profit, the Zionist Incubator. You can make credit card donations to Latma by contributing to our non-profit.
Shabbat Shalom
Obama's Lucky Timing, Scandals are Discovered in Second Term
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| Photo: AP/J. Scott Applewhite |
Consider Obama's background. He was raised by a rather unstable extreme Leftist mother who left home young and had a hankering for foreign men of other races. After schlepping him around the world, she let her parents raise him. He had to deal with being biracial in a white world. There are all sorts of scandalous posts you can find on the internet claiming that he became a drug addict, homosexual etc., but whatever the truth he managed to marry a very strong intelligent, stable black woman and get elected President of the United States. That takes more than luck. Obviously, he has the smarts to learn how to play the game right and attract the right mentors/supporters.
Obama can't expect his luck to last forever, nor can his mistakes be hidden for all time.
The recent scandals are chipping away at Obama's popularity ratings.
Quinnipiac also shows that the confluence of three scandals (the two listed above and Benghazi) are starting to collectively erode the President's approval rating. At the beginning of May, Obama enjoyed a 48% approval rating with 45% disapproving. A month later he is upside down at 45% - 49%.
I doubt if his ratings will go much further down, because there's a strong element of "worship" in many of his supporters.
What's interesting is that many Democrats, Obama voters, are upset at the revelations, but they just can't blame Obama.
While President Obama's Attorney General, Eric Holder, faces a possible perjury charge and increased calls for his resignation over the Justice Department's outrageous spying on the media -- elsewhere, another scandal is taking another kind of toll. A new Quinnpiac poll shows that the public is far from satisfied that the IRS matter is settled. A full 76% want a special prosecutor named; that includes 63% of Democrats.
 |
At the recreation of the Truman
Oval Office at the Truman Library
in 1959, the former President Truman
poses by his old desk which has
the famous "The Buck Stops Here"
sign.
|
In America there are voices protesting Obama, such as Charles Krauthammer, who believes that the Obama scandals are worse than most people think.
“I think there is a bigger story here, here’s the one that will in time come out,” Krauthammer said. ”The biggest scandal of all, the biggest question is: What was the president doing in those eight hours?”“He had a routine meeting at five o’clock. He never after, during the eight hours when our guys have their lives in danger, he never called the Secretary of Defense, he never calls the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, he never calls the CIA Director,” Krauthammer continued. “Who does he call? About five hours in he calls the Secretary of State. And after the phone call she releases a statement essentially about the video and how we denounce any intolerance. It looks as if the only phone call was to construct a cover story at a time when the last two Americans who died were still alive and fighting for their lives. There’s the scandal and that has to be uncovered.”
Considering the power and influence the Obama White House has over the world, there's lots to worry about.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Cracks in Bibi's New Government?
To make matters even more complicated, although his Likud has a large portion of MKs from the Right, he filled his coalition with parties from the Left, starting with his Justice Minister Likud-Kadima deserter no extreme Left Tsipi Livni. Not only won't she reform the Justice Ministry which many of his Likud MKs and voters would like, but she has been given unprecedented powers to "make peace" with the Arabs who want to destroy us.
Bennett has a lot of strong Jewish right wing nationalists among his Knesset faction and got the votes from the Right, which prevented Eldad and Ben-Ari's party from passing the threshold. But now those voters are realizing that they've been had. They aren't happy with Bennett's policies.
Participants were asked if they were pleased with the party's handling of the matter of electing a Zionist rabbi to the Chief Rabbinate, in view of the split within the party over the issue.And Lapid's luster has already seriously tarnished with the release of his austerity budget which hits the lower and middle classes very hard.
Only 29.6% answered in the positive, while the rest, 70.4%, said they were not pleased.
Regarding issues that concern the hesder yeshivas (yeshivas that combine army service and Torah study over a five year period), too, about two thirds of the voters were not happy with the way the Bayit Yehudi handled things, while the remaining third were pleased.
The austerity budget includes cuts to the hesder yeshiva budgets. In addition, there has been controversy over an initiative to lengthen the period of military service of hesder yeshiva students.
Lapid has been using the threat to leave the coalition when he doesn't get his way, such as in pushing the draft of chareidim into the IDF and fining those who refuse. The fact that his budget has cut the IDF's money, and there won't be enough to cover the expenses of more soldiers seems irrelevant to his ideology. That's a sign of a true Leftist- "Don't let facts get in the way of our ideology."
The only thing that Netanyahu may have in his favor is that his coalition partners may be too afraid that they'll get fewer seats in new elections.
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