Hamas War

Saturday, May 31, 2014

The Pope's Peace Proposal, Innocent Double Faux Pas or Insidious Subterfuge Against The State of Israel?

Food for Thought...

The pope's suggestion that he host a peace prayer with Mahmoud Abbas, "the president of the State of Palestine" sic and Shimon Peres, the President of the State of Israel sounds so "innocent" and logical if you're an ignoramus and don't know that de jure neither men are heads of state.


  1. Mahmoud Abbas is president of what is known as the Palestinian Authority. Unfortunately many states and international organizations act as if there is a Palestinian State, and even worse is that the Israeli Government has been willing to negotiate the establishment of such a state. This would be done by driving Jews out of their homes, destroying Jewish communities and making large portions of our historic Biblical Jewish Homeland juderein. All Abbas has to do is recognize the right for the State of Israel to exist as a Jewish State and declare that he wants to live beside it in peace. He has refused.
  2. Shimon Peres is the Israeli President, but that position is not an executive position. He has no legal authority to invoke policy, propose laws or negotiate. He is a figurehead, with less legal power than the Queen of England.
By proposing that Shimon Peres represent Israel in a "peace prayer" with Abbas the pope has publicly insulted the Prime Minister of Israel and the entire Israeli Government. 

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will join Pope Francis in a prayer for peace at the Vatican.
The prayer will take place on June 8, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi confirmed Thursday, according to Vatican Radio.
The pope made the invitation following the celebration of Mass in Manger Square in Bethlehem during his visit last week to the Palestinian West Bank city. A rabbi and a Muslim imam will be present at the service, the pope reportedly said.
In his invitation, the pope said, “I offer my home in the Vatican as a place for this encounter of prayer.  …  All of us want peace. Many people build it day by day through small gestures and acts; many of them are suffering, yet patiently persevere in their efforts to be peacemakers.”

Read more: http://www.jta.org/2014/05/29/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/pope-to-host-peres-and-abbas-in-peace-prayer-at-vatican#ixzz33JvLs3O9

I have trouble believing that this was an innocent mistake. This was done to undermine the authority of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his legitimate legally elected government.

Friday, May 30, 2014

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

Today is Rosh Chodesh Sivan, the beginning of the Jewish Month of Sivan. Women came from all over the area to pray together at Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh, where the Mishkan, Holy Tabernacle was located for 369 years before Jerusalem was the Capital of the Jewish Nation. Yes, Shiloh was the first one.

Archaeologists agree that the Shiloh we know, where I live is the same Shiloh. It's where Jews came to pray for centuries. It's where the Biblical Chana prayed for a son who would lead the Jewish People. That son was born to her, Samuel the Prophet.

One of the participants used the occasion to treat us to a lovely meal to thank G-d for the wonderful things He has done for her.


Next month's Rosh Chodesh, Tammuz, will be Sunday June 29, 2014. Please save the date.

Women's Prayers at Tel Shiloh Rosh Chodesh Tamuz
Sunday, June, 29, 2014
1st of Tamuz 5774, 8:30am
Tour of Tel Shiloh & Dvar Torah, Short Torah Lesson
Please come and invite family, friends and neighbors

תפילת נשיםראש חודש תמוז בתל שילה
יום א' 29-6 א' תמוז תשע"ד 8:30
יהיה דבר תורה קצר וסיור בתל
 כדאי לבוא ולהזמין חברות, משפחה ושכנות

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

You're welcome to join our facebook page. 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.


Emanuel Winston Memorial Sovereignty Conference, Information


The next Emanuel Winston's Sovereignty Conference will be on June 8th. It's a must-go. The program is extensive, lots of speakers.

VISIONS OF LASTING PEACE IN ISRAEL: SOVEREIGNTY @ TEMPLE MOUNT, JERUSALEM, JORDAN VALLEY, JUDEA AND SAMARIA
Sunday, June 8 at 5:00pm in UTC+03
Especially considering political, hasbara and security mess the State of Israel is at the present time, it is important to hear the experts who will be speaking at the conference. We should not be taking advice from the American Government, United Nations or any other international body. There is a solution for Israel's security and diplomatic problems, and it is ריבונות Rebonut, Soverteinty!

Jewish "Ribonut" over ALL Jerusalem, Temple Mount, Judea, Samaria, the Jordan Valley and The Golan Heights! 

Only with sovereignty from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean will Israel have lasting Peace, Independence, Freedom & Security in a Jewish & Democratic state”
 
:The Conference will take place on
17:00-21:00 ,Sunday, June 8th, 2014
wheelchair accessible**
 **FREE ENTRANCE **

Seating is limited 
!!RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY
02-534-1135
gail@winstonglobal.org

Thursday, May 29, 2014

חודש טוב!! Chodesh Tov!!

Our next Rosh Chodesh Prayers will be on Rosh Chodesh Sivan, Friday, May 30, G-d willing.
Women's Prayers at Tel Shiloh Rosh Chodesh Sivan
Friday, May 30, 2014
1st of Sivan 5774, 8:30am
Tour of Tel Shiloh & Dvar Torah, Short Torah Lesson
Please come and invite family, friends and neighbors
תפילת נשיםראש חודש סיון בתל שילה
יום ו' 30-5 א' סיון תשע"ד 8:30
יהיה דבר תורה קצר וסיור בתל
כדאי לבוא ולהזמין חברות, משפחה ושכנות
Please join us. For more information, please contact me, thanks.
You're welcome to join our facebook page. 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.
This isn't a "women's minyan," although we do sing the Hallel prayer out-loud together.


Behind Those Gorgeous Israeli Flags, We're Under Attack

Today's the day after Jerusalem Day, 5774, 2014 and I couldn't resist posting lots of gorgeous pictures of Israeli flags on me-ander. That's the image we all like to envision when thinking of the State of Israel. And I wish that the state of affairs here in Israel was a strong and bright as those flags seemed being carried and danced with on the Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall in the center of Jerusalem.

Just a day before I ran into a friend who told me of her rather uncomfortable visit to Har HaBayit, the Temple Mount where paid Arab women are stationed all over screaming in Arabic whenever Jews came near. She said that Arab youth played irreverently and Jews were restricted from praying. Any sign of moving lips which could be construed as prayers, and the Jew would be roughly hustled away from the Holiest Place on Earth. Yes, to make it clear,  Har HaBayit, the Temple Mount, where both Batei Hamikdash, Holy Temples had been located is the Holiest Place of Earth for Jews. The Kotel which Jews tout as the "holiest" sic is no more than the outer wall and was more a parking lot where Biblical Jews left their animals, transportation of the time, when they went up to pray and give sacrifices.

AP Photo/Osservatore Romano
Hamas PM Haniyeh and
PLO official Ahmed  
Photo: REUTERS
Unfortunately, the Israeli Government continues to perpetuate lies and encourages outrageously insulting behavior, such as the recent visit here of the pope got away with two totally chutzpadik and undiplomatic insults which the State of Israel, the Binyamin Netanyahu Government should have condemned. The first was the entire itinerary which gave full recognition of the so-called Palestinian state sic as an equal with the State of Israel. The pope gave those the P.A. president Mahmoud Abbas, who has announced to all the world that he is joining with the officially recognized terrorists in Hamas, equal time and treatment with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. When the proposed itinerary had first been sent to Israel it should have been rejected. It would have had been better if the pope hadn't come to Israel at all.

Davka yesterday, while I was enjoying the Israeli flags waving freely and proudly on Ben-Yehuda Street, Jerusalem, Arab Muslim terrorists were attacking Jews and taking over Har HaBayit.
Arab rioters succeeded in violently shutting down the Temple Mount this Jerusalem Day to everyone except Muslims.
One police officer has been injured so far by a rock hurled by a rioter as security personnel battle Palestinian Authority Arabs on the Temple Mount in the first hours of the morning on Wednesday.
Masked Arab youths have been hurling stones and firebombs (Molotov cocktails) since the start of the morning, once again effectively preventing Jews and anyone other than Muslims from reaching the site. Their handy weapons are stored in piled caches in and around the Al Aqsa mosque, one of two Muslim houses of worship located on the Temple Mount. (Jewish Press)


Were they dispersed? Were they arrested? NO, but Jews were sent away. This makes a total farce out the Israel's victory in 1967.

We have a long way to go, baby...

Prayers, Nothing More Important Than Our Children

Today the internet has been full of reminders to say a special Parents Prayer for our Children by The Sh’lah HaKodesh. Thanks to Mystical Paths.

(Provided for free download and copyright by Artscroll/Mesorah Publications.) -- FULL ENGLISH-HEBREW DOWNLOAD (PDF) here, shown below… .


The traditional time to say it is the day before Rosh Chodesh Sivan, which is tomorrow/today Thursday May 29th.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Housing Minister Ariel: Words versus Facts on the Ground

 Whom are we to believe? Housing Minister Uri Ariel or the regional heads of Judea and Samaria?

Poster  I photographed at Tzomet (Junction) Shiloh signed by Judea-Samaria regional heads claiming a second Netanyahu building freeze is in effect at present.
Housing (Construction) Minister Uri Ariel of the NRP aka Jewish Home Party, who campaigned that in the cabinet/coalition he and his party head Naftali Bennett could best guarantee the growth and building of yishuvim, is quoted in Arutz 7 as saying:
"There will be no more freezes, we will not accept delays and restrictions in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and we will continue to build in all parts of our country," said Ariel.
“Jerusalem will not be divided again. Between the Jordan and the sea there will be only one state, and that is the State of Israel.”
But facts on the ground are the opposite according to the signers of this poster.
Hahakpa'ah ha shniya shel Netanyahu zeh chonek otanu.The second building freeze of Netanyahu, it's choking us.
That's what is written on black on the poster bottom. It is signed by those who head the various regions, counties, Jewish cities in Judea and Samaria.

As I have written before, there is still a waiting list to get into many yishuvim, such as Shiloh, because of the severe housing shortage. In recent years there has been a demand for multifamily homes for various reasons. One is that they can be less expensive than single-family homes and the other is that people are now building rental apartments or granny apartments on their houses which quite often use the basement, making the house three, rather than two stories, which necessitates a change in zoning which isn't granted. Another reason is that some of the yishuvim are now extremely limited in available land for building new homes. When yishuvim were first built, the norm was to only build single family homes, and the standard building limit was two stories in many locations, such as Shiloh. Changing this basic regulation has proven very complicated for many people and communities.

As I've written many times before, cabinet/coalition members of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's government do no have much power. He doesn't poll them before making policy decisions. They are more like window-dressing and have to pledge to support his government to be accepted in the coalition. Building in Judea and Samaria to meet its needs won't happen with Bibi's government still trying to give the Arabs our Land to make an Arab terror state, aka Palestine.

Today is Jerusalem Day, so expect to hear all sorts of great speeches, but the truth is that we (the State of Israel) are still not sovereign in the Land of Israel and even in Jerusalem.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Instead of Jailing Arab MK Masud Ganaim for Treason, the Israeli Government Destroys Jewish Homes

Arab MK Masud Ganaim (Raam-Taal) appealed to the Palestinian Authority (PA) for help fighting the Jewish State Law, proposed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on May 1, which would affix Israel's status as the nation-state of the Jewish people as a Basic Law.
Speaking to the terrorist organization Hamas's journal "Palestine" on Tuesday, Ganaim said the new law could have far-reaching negative consequences for the "Palestinian problem," and particularly for "Palestinian" citizens of Israel, referring to Israeli-Arabs. Arutz 7 complete article
Something must be done with the Arab MK's who show no loyalty to the State of Israel.

Frequent commenter to this blog, known as Shy Guy, sent me film clip of the recent destruction of a Jewish home, which may not look like the most luxurious or conventional.  But it was the home of a family of six in Ma'ale Rechavam.



Something is very disturbing when with all of the dangers that surround us and are within the Jewish State, the government wastes precious security resources destroying Jewish homes. They are so careful when it comes to the Arabs, but absolutely cruel to Jews. Yes, that does remind me of King Saul who murdered the Kohanim, Jewish Priests in Nov but let the Amalekite king live.

Celebrating Jerusalem and Shiloh Day, too, Building!

Let the sound of tractors fill the air!


Shiloh, like many yishuvim, Jewish communities in our area is suffering a serious housing shortage. There's a waiting list for caravans, those small prefabricated "huts" that are either trucked in or assembled on site, in situ. Many people building homes are including rental apartments which are snapped up very quickly. There's a rush on houses and apartments that are suddenly free, usually because the family has moved into the house they built.


Not every family is up to the challenge of finding an empty building plot, planning and building their own custom-built home. And most people can't really afford it, not in terms of the finances and certainly not in terms of the time and effort one must invest in choosing architects, contractors etc. And of course you then must understand enough about building to properly supervise the process which can last, depending on building method, for anything from half a year to even two years.

Actually, there's a housing shortage in most of Israel, not just in Judea and Samaria. That's why housing costs are so high and climbing. The only way to lower the price of homes and apartments is for there to be large building projects all over the country. Among of the criteria for popular housing is convenient location and good education. They are reasons that Shiloh is so popular. Our schools are excellent. We are half an hour from both Jerusalem and Tzomet (Junction) Yarkon near Petach Tikva, no exageration here. I'm not talking about speeding at 3am. We are also just ten minutes from the Ariel University.

In recent years many young families are becoming second and third generations to live in Shiloh. People who grew up in yishuvim want to raise their children in yishuvim, even if they choose a different one from where they were raised.

Forty-seven 47 years after the great miraculous victory in the 1967 Six Days War, when with the Help of G-d the IDF simultaneously defeated the Egyptians, Jordanians and Syrians, we still haven't thanked G-d sufficiently. The key to our victory was the liberation of our Biblical Homeland, Judea, Samaria, Jordan Valley, Golan and the Sinai. G-d gave us this land to use for our People, not to hold in escrow as a bargaining chip.

We won't enjoy true peace until we are sovereign, build and populate the entire Land we were given.

G-d willing the sounds of tractors and building homes for Jews will fill the air in Shiloh and the rest of the Land of Israel.

Monday, May 26, 2014

Send the Pope Packing!

Pope Francis touches the wall that divides Israel from the West Bank, on his way to celebrate a mass in Manger Square. Photograph:AP

I'm not surprised that the pope enthusiastically participated in the P.A."chairman" (is it?)  Mahmoud Abbas's media trick on Israel. I have been writing all along that the pope's planned "even-handedness" was an affront against Israel by equating the State of Israel with that band of Arab terrorists. Video from the Catholic News Service via Arutz 7.



He topped it off by insulting Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, a political/diplomatic faux pas that shouldn't be ignored. The pope then invited Shimon Peres to meet with him and his buddy Abbas at the Vatican. Please remember that Abbas has been busy of late uniting his supposedly "moderate" Fatah organization with the unabashedly terrorist Hamas. And Shimon Peres's position as "President of Israel" is supposed to be a totally ceremonial one with less political, diplomatic and policy power than the Queen (or if there is ever a King) of England has in Great Britain. 

The fact that Shimon Peres has always been involved in sneaky, actually illegal contacts and "diplomacy" without government authority is something that should have been stopped decades ago. Sarah Honig has written an excellent article about the illegal (and treasonous would you say?) diplomatic escapades of Peres and other extreme Leftists, which is worth reading yet again. I linked and quoted from it in Treason? Could Be, Couldn't It?

  • There is nothing Jewish in the principle of "turning the other cheek." It's a Christian thing which is used more to tell us Jews to shut up and take the insults and discrimination silently than anything a Christian would actually do.
  • There is no such thing as a "joint Jewish-Christian heritage." We worship G-d, and they worship a man. 
  • Their Bible denies the continued eternal legitimacy of the Jewish Bible. 
It's no surprise that the pope has been a very rude guest. The ultimate aim of his Catholic religion is the supplanting/replacement of Judaism aka identity theft. Actually Islam has the same aim. Now, here in Israel they are allied against us. In other parts of the world they are at loggerheads competing for power. The State of Israel should never have approved of the Vatican's itinerary for the pope. It was a political, diplomatic and theological mistake!

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Spark Ignited, A Book Review

How can I begin this book review.....?

Although I have many friends who are converts to Judaism, Spark Ignited tells stories of conversions of the sort I had never heard before. Spark Ignited, by Michaela Lawson and Ashirah Yosefah, features many warnings and stories about proselytizing Christian groups that mimic Jewish customs in dangerously confusing ways.

A few years ago, I had been asked to lead a tour of Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh for a group of "Christian Zionists." Looking at them, with their men in kippot with tzitziyot, and the women in modest dresses, hair covered with scarves, I found myself very confused, especially when the group leaders mentioned that they lived in a yishuv (Jewish town) not far from me. They dressed as Jews, but I was told that the group was Christian Zionists. It was only at the end when I spoke to the leaders and heard their names, that I understood that I had taken around a rather notorious "messianic" group known for targeting Jews.

Michaela Lawson and Ashirah Yosefah, the writers of Spark Ignited tell their stories and of others explaining how some members of these Christian Hebrew cults/sects are sincerely looking for the True G-d but have a very difficult time weaning themselves from worshiping Jesus. In some cases it takes decades. Being born a Jew, although not in a Torah observant home, I cannot understand how someone can worship a person, especially a dead one. Considering how enormous and powerful the various Christian religions are, it's pretty obvious that my way of thinking is a very tiny minority in the world.

Everything written in Spark Ignited is important for us to know. I think that the book would have been more powerful if it had begun with the personal stories which are in the end. It could just be because I'm a "people person" and relate to these personal tales of conversion more than the series of essays that begin the book.

The people whose stories are included were apparently "red-flagged" by the Rabbinate for their Christian-Hebrew activities. I'm comforted by the fact that the Rabbinate is aware of the dangers of these cults or Christian sects and make efforts to keep them out of conversion programs here. The Ministry of the Interior also have them flagged and try to limit and cease renewing their tourist visas.

The personal stories I read in the book were amazing. The converts had to work so hard to convince the Ministry of the Interior and the Rabbis in the Conversion program that they were sincere in their wanting to be Jews and that they no longer believed in Jesus. And even more amazing is that these converts actually sympathize with the Israeli authorities, because they know very well how dangerous to Judaism these Christians can be.

Enough of my reactions to the book. I suggest that you read it yourself. It can be ordered through Barnes & Noble or Amazon besides its publisher MenorahBooks.

We are Here to Stay!

The following is my translation of the lead article in this past week’s “Sichat HaShavua (#1429),” a weekly Chabad newsletter that is distributed throughout Israel. Its message is simple and quite well-known, but we often forget some of the most basic things, and need to hear them over again…from Yitz of Jerusalem, via Shiloh Musings, to you:

We are Here to Stay
Weekly Op-Ed, by Rabbi Menachem Brod

The endless preoccupation with diplomatic negotiations creates an impression as if it was only yesterday that the 'territories' which are under discussion fell into our hands, and that there is a problem that needs solving. A quick glance at the calendar shows how false and unfounded this sense is. We're talking about a reality which has existed for forty-seven years!


(The Kotel Tunnels. The Miracles of the Six-Day War restored the Old City of Jerusalem to the Jewish People).

At this time of year, forty-seven years ago, the Six-Day War broke out, in which valuable parts of the Land of Israel, foremost of which ancient Jerusalem, were restored to Am Yisrael (the Jewish People). Forty-seven years comprises two generations! Those born in those days could be now be grandparents. And yet, we continue to talk about "the problem of the territories."

A most just war
Also nineteen years before that, we 'conquered' territory, but then we did not call it occupation but liberation, and the war was called the "War of Liberation" (Milchemet HaShichrur; otherwise known as the War of Independence). Thanks to that war, Jews can live safely in Ashdod and Ashkelon, Acre and Nahariya, Ramle and Lod, in Beit Shemesh and Kiryat Gat, Beer-Sheva and Nazareth Illit.

Regarding official world recognition, the territory designated for the Jewish State was within the bounds of the 'Partition.' The Arabs never agreed to the 'settlements' of Ramle and Acre. But for us, it was clear that these territories were not intended to be delivered to the enemy, but rather, they were another stage on the way to restoring the entire Land of Israel to the Jewish People. We did not seek the agreement of the Arabs, nor the approval of the world. We did what was good for the Jews.

The Six-Day War (from the Israeli perspective) was the most just war. Arab armies amassed against us and talked explicitly about their desire to destroy (G-d forbid) the Jewish State. The older amongst us remember well the anxiety and worry that filled the heart of every Jew in those stressful days. But G-d was with us, and He wrought the mighty miracle of victory over our enemies in six days. For what, exactly, do we need to apologize?

How is it that no one has thought to give up Ashkelon, a city of the Biblical Philistines, to the Arabs, while Jerusalem, Hebron , Shiloh and Anatot, are under negotiation! From where did we get this obsequiousness, to declare right after the war, that the liberated territories are merely a 'deposit,' to be returned when peace will come?!

The forty-seven years that have passed illustrate how our presence in Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights is by the Hand of G-d. After all, we did not think to conquer these territories to begin with! After the war, we expressed our willingness to give them up in exchange for a peace agreement. Still - it turns out that again and again that the 'territories' are not the 'obstacle' to peace; but rather it is our very existence in Israel.

To build without hesitation
Unfortunately, there are Jews who have internalized Jewish stubbornness to make repeated attempts to give away parts of our country to our enemies. Reality has proven time and again that any such concessions only drives peace further away. The Oslo Agreement flooded our streets with terrorist attacks. The deportation of Jews from the Gaza Strip gave us the state of Hamas, and the threat of missiles on the entire South and Center of the country. And yet they maintain their position, as if their eyes are closed.

After forty-seven years, it is time to put an end to all these delusions. We need to internalize that we are here to stay. We need to build hundreds of thousands of homes in all the cities and towns in Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights, and to inform the world, once and for all, without hesitation, that the People of Israel have returned to their Land and ancestral home.

Havel Havelim Bamidbar, In The Desert. Wouldn't Dessert be Nicer?

Cross-posted on me-ander

Sure, why not dessert? This is birthday week for me! Actually this year there's only a day between my goyish and Jewish birthdays. It's just a quirk; I don't know why. It's not an age that can be easily divided by 19. Back to the subject at hand.



Havel Havelim is the longest running International Jewish blog carnival. A blog carnival is an internet magazine with blog posts as articles. Many, like HH, float from blog to blog. Havel Havelim is weekly and was begun by Soccer Dad who no longer maintains his blog. In recent years we've (that's Esser Agaroth and yours truly) have been coordinating it as a group effort with the friends and support of other bloggers on our facebook page. A wide variety of bloggers share the responsibilities of hosting, and we hope that you'll read, comment and of course share the carnival and the various blog posts included. Getting to know other blogs is what it's all about.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A BLOGGER TO READ AND SHARE HAVEL HAVELIM!!

I hope you enjoy this week's round-up. Just to make things clear. These are blog posts. I don't know many or possibly most of the authors and I may not even agree with what is written. There's lots of food for thought for sure. Some post links were sent to me, and others I chose. As is my custom, I'm just listing the titles and hope that you check them out. Just click the titles. To submit posts, you can use  blog carnival or email the week's host; information on  our facebook page. If you'd like to host an edition, then contact us on facebook or shilohmuse at gmail dot com or esseragaroth at gmail dot com, thanks.

It's All Up to You
Why Sefer Bemidbar is My Favorite Book in the Chumash - See more at: http://finkorswim.com/2014/05/23/why-sefer-bemidbar-is-my-favorite-book-in-the-chumash/#sthash.PPRK74Ab.dpuf
Going south: thoughts on a bus from Eilat
Like Home
To Martin Indyk - from an Israeli Jew
Good News and Bad News and A Request for Help
We Can Only Hope
Believe The Child
The Falafel Economic Index: Not as Silly as You Think.
Three Out of Four!
Proposed Law: shomer shabbos teams and athletes
Educational Resources for Jerusalem Day - May 28, 2014
Guest Post: Religion of Hate
Guest Post: Moriah Goldberg: Why Did I Choose to Go to Jail? למה בחרתי להיכנס לבית הסוהר? ע"י מוריה גלדברג
Jerusalem Day, Celebrating Ramat Eshkol
Jerusalem: Parades, Runners and New High Flyers
When Rome Comes to Jerusalem: Papal Visit Causes High Anxiety in Israel
Jewish Truck Driver In 100 KPH Tefillin Bomb Scare
More Signs of a Collapsing Regime
How the Other Half Lives
Let The Facts of History Prove Israel's Rights versus The So-Called Palestinians
Rug Moment
Which Hat Shall I Wear?
New Bus Hub in Jerusalem
Rav Yaakov Ades Shlit"a Delivers Stinging Attack Against the Pope and Xtianity
Is "Peace in the Middle East" Really Possible?
Pope Gog Coming to Israel?

Bloggers and blog fans, are you disappointed that your blog or blogs or your favorite blogs aren't included in this edition?  Well, there are two simple way to solve that painful dilemma.

  1. Just submit the links either via blog carnival or to the weekly host, which you can discover by following our facebook page. If you're really stuck, then email me shilohmuse at gmail dot com with HH as subject.
  2. Volunteer to host an edition instead of standing on the outside and feeling left-out. More information on  our facebook page. Or email me shilohmuse at gmail dot com with "HH hosting" as subject.

Remember:

  • Havel Havelim is a Jewish blog carnival, so the post must have Jewish or Israeli content. 
  • Posts must not promote any other religion.
  • Posts must not question the legitimacy of the State of Israel. 
  • Posts must be from the previous week or the time since the previous edition of HH, when during Jewish Holidays we skip a week.
  • Posting time is any time except for Shabbat from Friday to Sunday, depending on the convenience of the host. 

I also coordinate the Kosher Cooking Carnival which is a monthly Jewish blog carnival that includes posts about all aspects of kosher food from recipes, customs, halacha-Jewish Law and reviews of kosher restaurants and cookbooks. We also have a facebook page and blog carnival account.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of jewish-israel blog carnival aka havel havelim using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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Saturday, May 24, 2014

Treason? Could Be, Couldn't It?

IMHO Ruthie Blum, in Israel Hayom, hit on the nail when she wrote:
"Personally, I would have called it treason. But that's just me."
Reuters
Blum was referring to Tsippi Livni's "private initiative" aka unapproved trip to London to meet up with Abbas.
As soon as it became apparent that Abbas was no longer willing to continue being courted by Israel and the United States, Kerry threw his arms up in despair, blamed Israel for the impasse and took a time-out from his incessant shuttle diplomacy.That left Livni all dressed up with nowhere to go.Rather than directing her outrage at Abbas for this turn of events, she made a secret pilgrimage to see him in London last week. It was a move that spurred an angry Netanyahu and other coalition members to announce that this had been Livni's private initiative, devoid of any official backing.
source
No doubt Livni is just emulating Shimon Peres. Davka, Sarah Honig devoted her Friday article about the underhanded illegal, unapproved negotiations by Peres and other extreme Leftists.
The hubris to flout the authority of any government – no matter who heads it – exclusively emboldens leftwing players. They range from relatively unknown individuals (though they’re always well-connected to the real clout-bearers) all the way to top-ranking ministers who, fired up by their own chutzpah, set out to hijack history-making prerogatives.
Soon-to-retire President Shimon Peres still does it in his ostensibly ceremonial role of president. But he already behaved badly as foreign minister to both prime ministers Yitzhak Shamir and Yitzhak Rabin.
The latest to dabble in unauthorized diplomacy is Justice Minister Tzipi Livni. She recently conferred with Ramallah figurehead Mahmoud Abbas in London, despite the government’s decision (which she supported) to freeze contact with him for his kiss-and-make-up with Jihadist Hamas.
This is very dangerous for the State of Israel. Policy is supposed to be made by the Prime Minister, and nobody without specific authority may negotiate for the Government of the State of Israel. Bibi has some cabinet-cleaning to do.

Friday, May 23, 2014

When Rome Comes to Jerusalem: Papal Visit Causes High Anxiety in Israel

posted by JewishIsrael.com

The intensity of the reaction to the current papal visit is likely due to the mixed bag of perplexing messages emanating from the “holy see”, as well as from the seats of government in Israel, and those from mouths of the media. 

What the Vatican and international press are saying and what the government of Israel is not saying produces high anxiety in Israel, which is matched only by a level of anxious anticipation and optimism in Rome. 

As of this writing, protests are organized, bloggers are busy, grassroots organizations are on alert, rabbis are being silenced and restraining orders have been issued. The international press is salivating in anticipation of an incident and the Israeli government has shifted into damage control mode. 

JewishIsrael feels that it is high time to expose the sources of the provocative reports which so many Jews find upsetting. The truth is very telling, albeit not that surprising...more

Celebrating Jerusalem Day and Israel's 1967 Victory, Some Thoughts

Each time I write about, or mention the 1967 Six Days War I feel myself transported back in time to that spring of 1967 just as I was about to graduate high school. Yes, I'm old enough to remember it all. I remember the threats of Egypt's Nasser to destroy the small State of Israel and how quickly the United Nations pulled out its "peacekeeping forces" from the Suez Canal. I remember the silence of the rest of the world, yes, including the United States of America as they all waited on the sidelines expected to watch the defeat and destruction of the tiny, weak State of Israel. No doubt, the speechwriters were  already preparing verbose eulogies for the country nobody cared much about. And maybe some were wondering who would take the Jewish survivors after the expected defeat. Did any country really want to increase their Jewish populations with more refugees?

Nasser kicking Israel into the Sea, 1967 YNET

Baruch Hashem, G-d pulled off a surprise victory for the Jewish State, for the State of Israel!




Considering the existing Israeli borders of the time, nobody in their right mind ever expected Israel to defeat Egypt, Syria and Jordan simultaneously. It was insane to say the least, but Jews all over the world gathered in prayer. The only ally we had was G-d, and G-d didn't let us down. I remember being at a huge prayer meeting in Great Neck, NY, acting as an usher bringing all of the local rabbis to the stage, the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform. This was unprecedented.

Forty-seven years ago during this very same season the Jewish People united and G-d came to our rescue. I wish I could end this with, "...and after that we the Jewish People all lived happily ever after."


Yes, G-d made it possible, in the space of six short days for the tiny IDF to defeat our military enemies, and we celebrated.

Group of young Israelis dancing the Hora in front of the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem after the unification of the Jerusalem . -GPO 07/02/1967

But within days, hours we, the State of Israel, began throwing the gift away. First the Muslim Mufti was given Har HaBayit, the Temple Mount, and then the Israeli Government began planning on "negotiating peace" by offering almost all of the liberated historic Jewish Homeland to the Arabs. We're still suffering from this mistake, and subsequent Israeli Governments still haven't learned that the only way for us to enjoy peace is to hold on and develop the Land G-d gave us for Jewish life and living.

May our politicians, government leaders, be gifted with true wisdom and then we'll really celebrate Jerusalem Day, the great victory over the evil Arab nations that surround us.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Don't Celebrate the Pope's Visit to Israel

I'm one Israeli who is not impressed nor happy that the current pope, head of the Roman Catholic Church will be in Israel next week. No doubt many Israelis will find themselves stuck in traffic as the papal convoys traverse the Jerusalem area, wherever his itinerary takes him. And the fact that some Israelis won't even be given any freedom of movement is worse.
An Israeli police spokesman said police and the Shin Bet internal security service handed restraining orders to "a number of right-wing activists" whom they believed intended to cause "disruptions during the pope's visit and be involved in provocative illegal acts".
The spokesman declined to say how many activists received the orders. But he said they would not be allowed to enter certain areas "for security reasons" for four days.

There is a very, very major problem with the planning of the visit. I don't agree with the concept of "equality/balance" between Israel and the so-called "Palestinians."
Despite the pope's strong ties to the Argentine Jewish community and appreciation for Judaism, which he cultivated during his years as the amicable archbishop of Buenos Aires, Pope Francis will maintain a policy of "total balance" when it comes to Israelis and Palestinians, the rabbi predicted.
Israel is a country sixty-six 66 years old, the return/continuation of a well-documented nation/people over three thousand 3,000 years old while the so-called Palestinians are a recently invented "people" who use terrorism against Jews and Israelis to get publicity and support. There's no comparison, no balance between us and the Arabs. It's an insult to the State of Israel to pretend that there is.

Davka that the pope's visit coincides with the forty-seventh anniversary of the 1967 Six Days War is terrible timing. We should be thanking G-d and celebrating the great miracle of our survival and victory and not celebrating the visit of a man who represents a religion with a long, very long history of murdering Jews and forcing conversion to Catholicism.

And I pray to G-d that we can trust those government "reassurances" that the Mount Zion, David's Tomb area won't be given to the Vatican.

If the pope really insists on coming here to Israel it should not only be to officially apologize for the Crusades, Inquisition and tacit support of the Nazis, it should be to admit that his Catholic religion is an attempt of identity theft since they claim to be the continuation of the Jewish Bible and want our historic Holy Land. Of course, there's no chance of that, but I can dream...

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Carpetbaggers, Dual (or Multi-) National Citizens and Polygamy

Hat-tip Rafi's Life in Israel

A new law has been proposed:
MK Menachem Eliezer Mozes (UTJ) submitted a bill that would require potential mayoral candidates to live in the city in which he wants to run for mayor for a minimum of 6 months prior to officially joining the electoral race (i.e. a minimum of 7 months total).
I think it's  a very good idea. I never liked the British law which allows someone to run for Parliament to represent a district they may never have had even visited before deciding to campaign. I was also very disgusted with the Clinton's for moving to New York, a city they had no connection to, just so that Hillary could run for the Senate from there. Carpetbagger* or not, she won the race.

Sports at Safra Square, the Jerusalem Municipality
The position of Mayor is very local. It's not just an administrative job. To do it best, one should intimately know the town or city. And the most reliable way of knowing a place is to live there. That's how you really know if the garbage is picked up and at which hour of the day or night, if the schools are good, public transportation is convenient, infrastructure kept in repair and the community centers and parks have a suitable variety of facilities.

There was a time when it was permitted for Israelis who held dual or multiple citizenships to be Knesset Members, but now the first step for a candidate, even before election day, is to renounce all foreign citizenship. It's part of the loyalty one needs to be in high national office.

One can say that in such national positions, multi-citizenship is like polygamy, right?

*Carpetbagger:
1. a Northerner who went to the South after the Civil War to profit from the unsettled conditions.
2. any person, esp. a politician, who takes up residence in a place opportunistically.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Brilliant Israeli Animation -in English!- Explaining the Dangers of Nuclear Iran

Diaspora Affairs Minister Naftali Bennett's staff put together a brilliant video clip explaining the dangers of a nuclear Iran and how the U.S. Obama's negotiations won't help.


Please watch and share, thanks.

PS I hope that crew is now working on a clip of similar quality showing the dangers to the State of Israel if a Palestinian sic State would be established here in the Holy Land.

Let The Facts of History Prove Israel's Rights versus The So-Called Palestinians

The Jewish State of Israel is the most modern realization in a well documented history that spans thousands and thousands of years. The modern State of Israel isn't the first Jewish State, country, kingdom to be in this location in the Middle East.

My opening paragraph is fact, not ideology.

It's important to stress and concentrate on simple, historic facts, not ideology when trying to get to the root of today's "conflict." Oh, how I hate that term "conflict" as if two children are squabbling over a ball in the playground or who's going to get a larger slice of cake. Those dangerous "mediators," like United States Secretary of State John Kerry and his president Obama like to belittle the seriousness of the Arab terrorism against Israelis and Jews by treating us like misbehaving kids in nursery school.

I suggest that history students take on the challenge of doing their post-graduate thesis on listing the Palestinian sic independent national governments, presidents, kings, shahs etc over the past few thousand years. This should be the shortest thesis ever, because they won't find any in the history books, archives etc. There never ever was such a country or kingdom.

Jewish National History, or the History of Jewish Nationalism, Nationhood over The Past Four Thousand Years is a very different subject. It's rich with facts, documentation, history books and archaeology finds.

Equating the two "sides" is not only an insult to Jewish History, but it's pseudo-academic fraud. It's even worse than Holocaust denial which is related. They are both manifestations of the attempt to put Jewish History in the gutter by using facetious distortions and outright lies.

Shiloh HaKeduma, at Tel Shiloh, a recognized archaeological site, the location of Biblical Shiloh
The Jewish People have a continuous presence in the Middle East, the Land of Israel. We speak the same language as our forefather Abraham, his great-grandchildren who formed the Twelve Tribes, those who exiled into Egypt, then miraculously escaped, resettled their ancestral Homeland, established Kingdoms and dynasties, built Holy Temples, were exiled throughout the world while always maintaining a presence in the Land and then in recent centuries returned and established the modern State of Israel.

What got me started on this topic this morning?  It was an article in the Algemeiner about Zionism 101. Zionism 101 is a site that offers a "video course" about the true history of Zionism which I recommend.  It also has a facebook page.


Monday, May 19, 2014

Is "Peace in the Middle East" Really Possible?

A few years ago, after discovering a still successful way to lose weight and keep it off, I tried to market myself as a Diet Coach. I couldn't find people willing to pay for my advice, system and support. I think it's because one of my basic principles is that it's not good to aim for an arbitrary weight, even if one's doctor demands it. I believe that one should aim for a livable sustainable, healthy eating regime that will bring a person to a better, healthier weight that can be maintained. I consider myself a pragmatist. This is what has worked for me and although others admire my success, they still prefer someone who will promise them the impossible.

The "peace process" here in the Middle East is actually no different, nor is my approach to it.

Again, I'll remind you that I'm a pragmatist, a CPA's daughter and I see numbers, logic and common sense. When Arab terrorism is still supported and sympathized with by the so-called moderate Arabs, many Israelis across the political spectrum, the international media and most foreign diplomats and "human rights" agencies, I just can't see how there is anything Israel can do to "make peace." Simple logic is what I'm following. People just don't change so quickly and easily. You really can't expect a middle-aged mother of six to get a figure she could barely keep at the age of twenty. Can you?

Just a reminder, there was always Arab violence aka terrorism against Jews in the Holy Land aka Middle East. It's not something modern, and it's not something that just started in 1948 or after the 1967 Six Days War. The cause of the Arab terrorism is not Jewish building in Gilo, Shiloh, Hebron or Har Chomah. Thinking that all Israel has to do is "destroy the settlements" for the Arabs to be happy is like using make-up on skin cancer.

The Holy Land, Eretz Yisrael, under Ottoman Rule was a sleepy backwater. There was always a Jewish presence and there was always violence and discrimination against the Jewish communities. The problem wasn't the Jews; the problem was that the few Arabs who had lived here didn't want any Jews around. Arabs attacked Jews; Arab terrorism against Jews isn't new, gotten from Wikipedia:

  • 350 years ago,  1660 destruction of Safed, "The towns of Safed and nearby Tiberias, with substantial Jewish communities, were destroyed in the turmoil.[citation needed] Only a few of the former residents of Safed had returned to the town after the destruction.[5][6] Sholem considers the 1662 reports about the destruction of Safed as "exaggerated".[7] The community however recovered within several years, whereas Tiberias lay in waste for decades."
  • In April 1920, a three-day rampage by religiously incited anti-Zionist Arab mobs left six dead and 200 injured in the Jewish Quarter. The attackers gutted synagogues and yeshivot and ransacked homes.  Myths and Facts
  • Hebron riots and massacre of Jews in 1929-But, on the night of August 23, 1929, the tension simmering within this cauldron of nationalities bubbled over and for a period of three days, Hebron turned into a city of terror and murder as the Arab residents led a rampaging massacre against the bewildered and helpless Jewish community. By the time the massacre ended, 67 Jews lay dead - their homes and synagogues destroyed - and the few hundred survivors were relocated to Jerusalem.  The aftermath left Hebron barren of Jews for the first time in hundreds of years.

There are many, many more examples. The root of Arab terrorism runs deep and can't be erased, deleted by a fancy festive "peace signing" no matter who or what is the so-called mediator or event planner.

The simple fact is that the Arabs, with the complicity of the world, as during the rise of the Nazis, want to destroy Jewish life and the State of Israel. The so-called "peace process" sic is a sham. It's a sophisticated way to get the State of Israel to self-destruct, G-d forbid.

It's time for us to stop cooperating with peace sic negotiations and only do what's best to strengthen the State of Israel.

  • First step is to declare full and uncompromising sovereignty over all of the Land we hold. 
  • Large building projects must be started all over Judea and Samaria for Jews and Jews only. That will lower housing costs and increase the standard of living. 
  • Mandatory death Penalty for all Arab terrorists, no matter their age, sex or health condition.
  • Another important change is to add a loyalty clause and basic Israeli history test to the process of becoming an Israeli citizen, even for Jews.
  • With Israeli citizenship privileges come responsibilities.
A pragmatic peace will take a long time, but it will be maintainable, G-d willing.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Is the End Near…For Evangelical Support?

Posted by JewishIsrael

Is the End Near…For Evangelical Support? Old and New Voices Weigh In

In a spate of recent articles appearing in major Jewish, Christian and mainstream publications, there appears to be a consensus acknowledging a significant weakening of evangelical support for Israel. 

Christian Zionist leaders are writing about a new and disturbing anti-Israel trend among evangelicals, while Jewish writers across the political and religious divide are warning about the dangers of faith-based alliances with zealous Christians. 

Is it time for Jewish leadership to switch strategies?...more

Save Mount Zion!! King David's Tomb Must Remain Jewish-Israeli

Listen to Jewish Israel's Ellen Horowitz talk to Arutz 7's Tamar Yona talk about the dangers of the Vatican takeover on Mount Zion.


Find more videos like this on Jewish Israel
JewishIsrael's content and research director, Ellen Horowitz, was interviewed by Israel National Radio on their show, News & Call-In with Tamar Yonah on May 5, 2014.
For prerequisite information on the subject of this interview, read JewishIsrael'smost recent article on this matter, Questions Continue to Loom Over Mount Zion as Pope Prepares to Visit Israel.
As we all know, the actual building is from crusader time which was a thousand years ago and a thousand years after Jesus's death. So the room is not where Jesus ate his "last seder meal." Yes, the Vatican is interested in the location of a Jewish ritual, while at the same time insisting that they are observing their religion according to Jesus's teaching. Duh?!? That doesn't seem very logical.

The original significance of the location on Mount Zion is that it is believed to be the burial place of King David, the second King of the Jewish Nation and the first one to have established a dynasty. The significance of that dynasty is crucial in understanding the Bible, the Jewish one of course, and the Jewish connection to Jerusalem and the entire Land of Israel. According to Dr. Yael Ziegler, my Tanach, Bible teacher in Matan, G-d's reason for refusing to allow King David to build Him an impressive House of Holy Worship, Beit HaMikdash, The Holy Temple was because the job, the privilege was to be given to King David's son which would cement King David's dynasty. (How's that for the source of the idiom?) Dr. Ziegler always stresses that the Tanach is a book of theology.

There's a religious, spiritual source or agenda for all that is recorded in the Bible. Tradition is that King David is buried there, and we the Jewish People and Jewish State must preserve that area as totally Jewish, Israeli sovereignty only. Remember that both Christianity and Islam are attempts at identity theft to take over our Land and our history. That's why we must stymie, refuse every single request by those religions for more power and legitimacy. The Vatican must be told NO! And if the pope's visit is cancelled, so be it, big deal. Not only will we survive; we will thrive.

Rabbi Goldstein, founder of the
Diaspora Yeshiva, Mt. Zion
For about forty-five 45 years, the Mount Zion location known as Kever David, King David's Tomb has been part of the Diaspora Yeshiva, headed by Rabbi Mordechai Goldstein. I was privileged to visit it a few years ago and been shown around by Rabbi Goldstein.



There should never be a non-Jewish presence there on Mt. Zion. Let David's Tomb and the buldings remain Jewish. Keep the Vatican away!!



The Diaspora Yeshiva Band (Selah) performing Ish Yehudi in Jerusalem. 1984.


Diaspora Yeshiva Band Reunion "Malchutcha," Your (G-d's) Kingdom will last forever!!