Hamas War

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Hate terminology in Arabic sanitized in English translations by Palestinian news service



Palestinian Media Watch Bulletin - Feb. 27, 2007
Contact details here
View this bulletin online here


Hate terminology in Arabic sanitized in English translations by Palestinian news service

by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook

The Ma’an News Service publishes numerous daily announcements in Arabic, which it subsequently translates and releases in English. In recent stories, PMW has noted that the Ma'an releases in Arabic include the hate ideology espoused by the terror organizations that deny Israel's right to exist, express reverence for suicide terrorists and justify terrorist murder as "resistance." But when translated into English, the same stories go through a sterilization process to hide from the English readers – and possibly from the two Western countries, the Netherlands and Denmark, who give them funding – the terrorist ideology Ma'an is helping to propagate.

The following are two examples:

1 – On Jan. 29, 2007, a suicide terrorist killed three Israelis in the city of Eilat. The Ma'an Arabic report included the language of the terror organizations, while the English was cleansed with changes and omissions, including changes to the language of direct quotes. The differences are striking:

Denial of Israel's right to exist
In English Ma'an accurately reports that the event happened "in the southern Israeli resort of Eilat." But in the original Arabic, Eilat is changed from an Israeli city to a Palestinian city occupied by Israel – reflecting the terrorist assertion that all of Israel is “occupied Palestine.

Ma'an English: "…in the southern Israeli resort of Eilat."
Ma'an Arabic in first reference: "… in Eilat located in the south of occupied Palestine."
Ma'an Arabic in second reference: "…carried out a brave deed and for the first time in occupied Eilat.”

click this for the entire article

The Tartman Scandal


Israeli media is riveted on the Tartman scandal.

The youthful, attractive Yisrael Beitenu MK, who is her party's candidate to be the next Israeli Minister of Tourism has been found to have some skeletons in her closet.

Apparently her official biography had some "exaggerations," sort of like the type some people use as "fluff" for their CV's. To consider these a matter of "nuances" is wrong.

But considering the fact that politicians like Olmert, who is the Prime Minister, have more serious charges against them, and they haven't been thrown out of office!

If Tartman only had a collection of expensive pens given as gifts by businessmen needing influence, like Olmert's, she'd be considered just an innocent.

As is, Tartman is foolish, and Avigdor Lieberman should be running a "tighter ship."

What it boils down to is...

The Knesset is filled with fools and crooks. That's the result of democracy!

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

THEY'RE BACK! guest post

THEY'RE BACK!

by A good Jew, exiled from his beloved Gush Katif home
Adar 5767, Februrary '07

Today I took my usual tiyul/hike into the Nitzan-Dune nature reserve behind the small village of Nitzan where Neve Dekalim of Gush Katif will reestablish itself after the "disengagement" of 2005. Next to the Eucalyptis Park at the beginning of the reserve I found newly established tents of arabs with herds of goats, complete with wooden pens. As I discovered last year, I expect to see ten's of herds, stockyards, tents throughout the nature reserve, and of course, around our caravilla site. (I have lots of time to hike as I'm still looking for employment; thanks to the expulsion; no thanks to the govt. employment office). Normally, I would not be especially bothered by arabs grazing freely throughout our land while Jews have devised all matters of security fences, security patrols, armed guards for group hikes, wherever Jews live on both sides of the "green line". But here in the Nitzan reserve where all the "green" organizations including interior minister Paz-Pines protested our intended reestablishment of Jewish towns from the Gaza Strip - not a peep about goats grazing for months in that same reserve. (By the way, no reestablished Jewish towns will be located in the nature reserve.) I have two degrees in biology and I know that goats eat everything, down to the roots of natural dune vegetation - they are not compatible with a nature reserve. The silence of the "greens" to this assault on dune vegetation is deafening. The Jews are not without guilt. The dunes are full of and off road motor bikes happilly riding over all areas of vegetation - again incompatible with a nature reserve and again the silence of the "greens" persists.

Perhaps I wouldn't be so sensitive to seeing arabs outside our caravilla-site in Nitzan (there's not an arab village within 20 km of here), except for the fact that several of our synnagogues had all their air-conditioner units stolen this past Thursday night. Another theft in a series of thefts since we arrived from Gaza. I know, I know - how can I say arabs committed these thefts? The epidemic of theft of Jewish property (cars, apartments, farm equipment and live stock) throughout Israel is so well known, no one, except for the leftist media even questions who the perpetrators are. To anyone who thought we Jews from Gush Katif were, at least, disengaging from arabs and the associated problems, think again.

Monday, February 26, 2007

That time of the year, memory time

It's a week before Purim, memory time. Not of parties, fun, drinking or feasts.

Thirty-seven years ago, a week before Purim, while I was busy with the NCSY Folk Dance Group at the Israeli Folk Dancing Festival at the Felt Forum, Madison Square Gardens, my Aunt Rosie passed away from a heart attack. She was younger than I am now; her body had been weakened from the effects of the stress of her husband's heart attack on her. Ironically, he survived for decades after, but she didn't even live to see all of their grandchildren. We must remember that those caring and worrying about the sick need our care, too.

Thirty years ago, a week before Purim, my Aunt Sadie passed away. She had never married, but she mothered her younger siblings and was a devoted aunt/"grandmother" to her many nieces and nephews. Yes, she must be remembered for all the good she did for others.

Eleven years ago, a week before Purim, when I was waiting for a bus or ride home from Jerusalem, an Arab terrorist drove into us, a few dozen innocent Jews, waiting on the sidewalk. One woman was murdered and over twenty injured, including me. The following Shabbat was Shabbat Zachor, Remember! Yes, "Remember what Amalek did to you!"

Yes, we must remember, because the descendents of Amalek are still trying to destroy us. We must destroy them, like the brave young men who immediately shot and killed the terrorist who had run over my foot eleven years ago.

Kadima! To Jail!

Olmert's Kadima Party and Korruption seem to be related. From day one, when he and Sharon announced their new party of politicians professing a wide variety of ideologies, the only thing we could see they had in common was corruption, "legal problems." And now, over a year later, with the once powerful Ariel Sharon laying comatose in a hospital bed for much of that time, we're still hearing more and more about the corrupt Kadima politicians.

The latest headline is:

J'lem affairs minister questioned under warning

There's still talk of
Mazuz suggests Peres be probed by Knesset Committee

But so far his Teflon is holding strong.

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Take the caps off your glasses, please!

Some people don't need covers on their glasses not to see. They focus solely on a world of dreams and illusions. I keep reading and hearing that
"the Palestinians(-sic) want peace, just like Israelis do. They, too, are tired of war." "Yoo hoo! Wake up , listen to what they're saying. Pay attention to what they're teaching their children."



Feb. 24, 2007 21:34 Updated Feb. 24, 2007 21:41
Supporting peace education in the PA?

By ITAMAR MARCUS AND BARBARA CROOK
Anyone who hopes for peace should be horrified by the content of the latest set of Palestinian schoolbooks. In many respects, these new books for Grade 12, written by Fatah-appointed Palestinian educators, are the worst of the textbooks produced by the Palestinian Authority since 2000.
These newest books deny Israel's right to exist, anticipate its destruction and define the conflict with Israel as religious, not merely territorial.

full article
more information here

and their idea of "peace?"


Bethlehem - Ma'an - Head of the Hamas political bureau, Khalid Mash'al, has declared that the key to any solution to the Palestinian issue is Israeli recognition of Palestinian rights; to withdraw from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and comply with Palestinian demands.
full article

I'm a pragmatist. I look at reality. The Arabs want us dead and gone.

There's nothing to talk about, so let's get on adn build our country, the only Jewish one, Israel!

So you thought that the holes in your socks were an invasion of privacy?

Now, your whole body can be xrayed.

No real surprise, since many people have all sorts of metal parts, besides jewelry and dental work, which they can't take off or out when going through security checks.

Forged medical certificates about pins and implants are a security risk.

Is the anti-Peretz camp over-doing it?

You've seen this!



Israel Defense Minister, Amir Peretz, is a very easy target. He just asks for the mockery. By now everyone has seen this picture of him blindly staring through the blocked binoculars.

I'll compare him to the Likud's David Levy, an early Sfaradi politician from Beit She'an, a development town in the north of Israel. The higher Levy got in politics, the more anti-Levy jokes were heard, but he was no Amir Peretz. He was/is nobody's fool.

In his prime David Levy was a mover and a realist. Knowing well how the Labor establishment would treat him like garbage, because of his background, he joined the Gahal-Likud.

Amir Peretz may be forced out of office pretty soon, unless all the anti-Peretz stuff causes a backlash of sympathy. Regardless, his career won't be lasting, since he's not a strong leader.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

We don't need the world's approval!

It's articles like the following that help prove that we shouldn't be aiming for the world's approval. No matter what we do, they'll find something, or make something up to criticize. November 29, 1947 is celebrated in Israel because the infant United Nations voted its approval for a Jewish State. We didn't need their vote, since it makes them our "superior," "life-giver." Our existence is from G-d.

World-Wide Blitz against Israel
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

(IsraelNN.com) The United Nations, Russia, Arab states and the media have escalated an international broadside against Israel while touting the Hamas-Fatah coalition. (continued)

Friday, February 23, 2007

International Islam

Nothing is "coincidence" without reason, according to Chazal, our sages. So, to find the following articles on the net this morning. They remind me of the famous saying:


"Hell is paved with good intentions." Samuel Johnson
The modern "religion" of Left-wing-Liberalism and Democracy began with the best of intentions. And now in the early 21st Century, we find Moslem Arab terrorists, not only a world threat, but citizens with full rights of the very same countries they are threatening. Yes, I know that there are some truly peace-loving people among them, but statistically more terrorism in this world has been caused by Moslems than their percentage in the world's population. That makes them, statistically, a serious threat to world peace and security.

Read these articles:

Operation Prayer Shield



1623 Third Avenue, Suite 205, New York, NY 10128
Tel: 212-828-2424; Fax: 212-828-1717;

E-mail afsi@rcn.com Website; http://www.afsi.org/

Contact: Barry Freedman, Executive Director

AFSI announces the launching of ‘Operation Prayer Shield’ and ‘Days of Prayer and Action’ to unite Jews and Christians in support of the threatened communities of Judea and Samaria and the preservation of the biblical sites. Please read the material below and join us in this effort by forwarding this information and signing on your church or synagogue.

Operation Prayer Shield

Operation Prayer Shield has been initiated to gather an army of Jews and Christians together for the purpose of praying about the Biblical and Political developments surrounding Judea and Samaria.

Presently, Judea and Samaria is the biblical heartland of Israel. It houses more than 200,000 Jewish people and is known in the scriptures as “The Mountains of Israel.”

Governments inclusive of the United States, Britain, European Union, United Nations, and surrounding Arab Nations are working feverishly toward a plan that will territorially remove Judea and Samaria from Israel and place it in the hands of the European Union Peace Keeping Force until it becomes the Palestinian homeland.

The plan not only mandates the removal of all the Jewish communities from Judea and Samaria, but it also places all Biblical Holy Sites under Islamic control. To date Islam is claiming all the Biblical sites as their own and rewriting the history of each one.

Today, within the boundaries of the ancient landmarks are thriving communities resurrected by G-d Himself as a continuing living testimony that His WORD is infallible. Ezekiel 36 among hundreds of passages states that G-d will bring His people back to the Land given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and that He will settle them in Judea and Samaria never to be plucked up again.
As bible believing Christians and Jews how can we get involved in sanctifying G-d’s Name and His testimony existent in the land of Israel and throughout the earth?

We can pray. Join with us for Operation Israel Prayer Shield. We will provide your congregation with a monthly information page on each Biblical Site and the thriving community at each site today. We will also provide an article and prayer points that can be shared by the pastor or appointed leader to engage the congregation in prayer for Israel.

From: Americans For a Safe Israel/AFSI

Re: Days of Prayer and Calls to Action in Support of Israel’s Biblical Heartland

President Bush’s State of the Union Speech was a reaffirmation of the administration’s misguided “Road Map” policy for “Peace in the Middle East.”

The policy requires that Israel relinquish Judea and Samaria – the so-called West Bank – to the Arabs for the establishment of a PLO state.

It would appear that the U.S. State Department is encouraged to revive the “Road Map” – knowing that they are dealing with the weakest government ever to lead the Jewish State.

Military experts over the last several decades have recognized that Israel would find it nearly impossible to survive if an enemy were to occupy the mountain areas of Judea and Samaria.

For the Bible-believing community, the “Road Map” is unacceptable for reasons that transcend strategic interests.

The names and places so familiar to students of scripture are the names and places of Judea and Samaria.

Those communities include but are not limited to:

Hebron Genesis 21:1,2

Kiryat Arba Genesis 21:1,2

Maon Samuel I 25:2

Carmel Samuel I 25:2

Bethlehem Samuel I 16:1

Efrat Genesis 35:16

Beth El Genesis 35:16 Samuel I 16:1

Shilo Samuel I 1:3

Elon Moreh Genesis 12: 5, 6

PRAYER AND ACTION

AFSI is proposing a series of Days of Prayer and Calls to Action in support of the threatened communities in Israel’s Biblical Heartland.

All of the communities in the Biblical Heartland are threatened with expulsion and destruction as we saw in Gush Katif.

‘Land for Peace’ (as embodied in the U.S. plan called the ‘Road Map’) is a real threat.

It is our hope that the collective prayers of Israel’s friends will be answered and the message of Christian concern these days exhibit will favorably influence decision makers in Washington.

If we are successful, the United States can play a vital role in saving the Biblical Heartland from the spreading threat of Islamo-fascism.

We look forward to seeing the calls to action spread across the country from church to church, raising a loud voice of support for the Biblical Heartland of Israel.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

No tradition

When we made aliyah in 1970, we signed up at the Kupat Cholim Le'umit Health Fund and joined Cherut, and it was clear that we'd be voting for Gachal, which shortly after became the Likud.

There was no way that we'd be part of the Kupat Cholim Clalit, since it meant we'd be members of (since then the law has changed) the Histadrut, associated with Ben Gurion, Rabin and all those who had attacked the Altalena.

Everything was connected. Sick Funds, jobs, schools and voting.

Things were so simple then.

The same people ran the country for over thirty years, if you remember to add the pre-state time. It was only when the S'faradi, North African Jews became more politically sophisticated and realized that not only did the ruling Labor elite discriminated against them, but that they wouldn't lose their jobs if they voted Likud. So in 1977, Menachem Begin's Likud finally made the ruling coalition.

Since then, each election has its surprises.

We don't know when the next elections will be, remember it's still less than a year since the last one. Each time polls are published they only point out how weakly aligned, or loyal, Israelis are to the parties they've voted for. Since most of the people who voted for the Retirees did it as a lark, an anti-establishment protest, there's a good chance it will fade from the political scene. This is especially since it hasnt followed its platform.

Here's the latest poll from Maagar Mohot Survey Institute (headed by Professor Yitzchak Katz for Channel 10 TV "Every Morning" on February 20,2007. Statistical error +/- 4.5:

Election results if Knesset elections held today and there was a new party running by Akadi Gyadamak.

Results expressed in mandates. Current Knesset in [brackets]
11 [29] Kadima
27 [12] Likud
14 [19] Labor
10 [09] Nat'l Union/NRP
10 [12] Shas
08 [11] Yisrael Beiteinu
05 [05] Meretz
06 [06] Yahadut Hatorah
10 [10] Arab parties
05 [07] Retirees
14 [--] New party of Arkady Gyadamak [AL: Party
does not yet exist]

Voting preference today of those who immigrated from the former Soviet Union 1989 or later:
30% New party of Arkady Gyadamak
45% Yisrael Beiteinu
11% Likud
14% Other replies

What party those who would vote now for the New party of Arkady Gyadamak voted for in the last elections:
Yisrael Beiteinu 40%
Kadima 19%
Likud 8%
Shas 13%
Other replies 20%


Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis)
mail: POB 982 Kfar Sava
Tel 972-9-7604719/Fax 972-3-7255730
INTERNET ADDRESS: imra@netvision.net.il
Website: http://www.imra.org.il

NOW IT CAN BE TOLD by Rael Jean Isaac (AFSI)

From: OUTPOST - Published by Americans for a Safe Israel (AFSI)
www.afsi.org

NOW IT CAN BE TOLD
Rael Jean Isaac


The State Department has finally admitted what it was determined to conceal for 33 long years – that it knew Arafat personally ordered the killings of two U.S. diplomats in Khartoum in 1973, outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Sudan George Curtis Moore, then the highest ranking black man in the Foreign Service, and his replacement as Ambassador, Cleo Noel. They were brutally beaten and machine-gunned. The State Department's Office of the Historian has released an authoritative summary of the relevant documents prepared by the CIA.

Why the long cover-up? Seven successive administrations, Republican and Democrat, denied the government had any evidence Arafat was involved. As recently as 2002 the State Department once again officially denied it had any proof Arafat was responsible. For the last seven years James J. Welsh, the National Security Agency's Palestinian communications analyst from 1970-1974 and the man who heard the tapes and first intercepted Arafat's murder plans, had vainly tried to mobilize Congressional interest in exposing the story.

In a 2002 letter to columnist/lawyer Debbie Schlussel, Welsh writes about Arafat's double game. Arafat pretended to the West and the international press that he was making every effort to get the hostages released (Noel and Moore, along with Belgian Charge d'Affaires Guy Eid, who was also murdered, had been captured by Black September operatives while attending a farewell party for Moore at the Saudi embassy in Khartoum). Arafat would then return to Fatah headquarters in Beirut to instruct the hostage takers on the next step in the demand process (they were demanding the release of terrorists held by a number of countries, among them Sirhan Sirhan, the murderer of Robert F. Kennedy). And then he ordered that the murders be carried out. The CIA and NSA had tapped into Fatah's phones and bugged its headquarters – everything was on tape.

Welsh explains the initial reasons for the cover up in a letter he sent to members of Congress in October 2000 (which Schlussel has reprinted on her website). He and another analyst responsible for monitoring PLO communications had learned from an NSA field station of a conversation between Arafat and other Fatah leaders about preparations for an imminent operation in Khartoum. The information was sent at Flash (highest) precedence to the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum via the State Department, as channels required. Welsh was amazed and horrified when he heard of the capture of the diplomats – they would never have gone to that reception, given the warning. He learned that a Watch officer in the State Department had downgraded the urgent warning message to a routine cable – it arrived two days after the men had been assassinated.

The cover-up went into high gear. The field intercept tapes and transcriptions were buried – when Welsh asked to see them he was told they'd been looked at and there wasn't much there. His folders and that of his fellow analyst, with all the materials on the hostage crisis, were never returned from the higher levels to which they had gone. Welsh is convinced that the President's office (Nixon was President at the time) and the State Department were fearful of the scandal that would erupt if the bungled delivery of the warning message became public knowledge. And so, he charges, they covered up the existence of the warning message, removed from the normal analytical departments all evidence of the message, destroyed copies of the cable sent too late to the U.S. embassy in Khartoum, and shielded Arafat from paying any penalty due to "the need to keep this warning hidden from any scrutiny."

Subsequent administrations, Welsh believes, chose for political reasons to turn a blind eye to Arafat's guilt, seeing him as useful in advancing Arab-Israel negotiations and after Oslo, wanting at all costs to avoid "derailing the Middle East peace process."

Thus it came to be that the man directly responsible for the brutal murders of U.S. diplomats and Belgian diplomat Guy Eid, and known by each administration to be their murderer, was transformed with American connivance into a fawned-over "partner for peace," a Nobel Peace Prize winner, and eventually became the most courted and frequent foreign visitor to the Clinton White House. In sum, successive U.S. administrations knowingly betrayed their bedrock responsibility to seek justice for the assassination of their own diplomatic representatives.

Mind you, it isn't as if the story, even prior to Welsh going public with his testimony, had not leaked. In the immediate aftermath of the murders, Sudan's s President Jaafar Numeiry reported that one of the terrorists (they had been promptly captured) confessed the entire operation had been orchestrated by Fatah headquarters in Beirut. In 1986 47 U.S. Senators (including Al Gore, then senator from Tennessee) sent a letter to Ed Meese, head of the Justice Department, saying they knew the Justice Department had State Department cables confirming Arafat's role in the murder, and a tape of the intercepted message in which Arafat ordered the assassinations. They urged a warrant be issued for Arafat's arrest and a criminal indictment be filed. The Reagan Justice Department stonewalled, denying any knowledge of such tape recordings, the sine qua non for taking legal action.

In April 2002 we republished in Outpost an article by Joseph Farah, editor of WorldNetDaily, "New Evidence Arafat Killed U.S. Diplomats." Russ Braley, a retired long-time foreign correspondent for the New York Daily News, had explored boxes of papers in the National Archives' Nixon Project (created when Congress took control of Nixon's papers) and come upon several boxes of documents related to the 1973 kidnap-murders in Khartoum. The following is from Farah's article:

"Though the files had been, according to Braley, thoroughly purged of information regarding intercepts of Arafat giving the explicit orders for the machine-gun murders of the diplomats, one surviving CIA report, found in NSA box 666 and enclosed in a message from [Secretary of State] Rogers to some 40 U.S. embassies, shows Arafat's complicity in the terrorist crimes.

"The embassies were instructed to convey the information to foreign governments 'orally only,' due to its sensitivity: 'Begin text. The Black September Organization (BSO) is a cover term for Fatah's terrorist operations executed by Fatah's intelligence organization, Johaz al-Rasd. The collapse of Fatah's guerilla efforts led Fatah to clandestine terrorism against Israel and countries friendly to it. Fatah's funds, facilities and personnel are used in these operations. There is evidence that the BSO [Black September Organization] operation in Khartoum was carried out with substantial help from Fatah's Khartoum office and applauded by Fatah radio stations in Cairo and Beirut...

"For all intents and purposes no significant distinction now can be made between the BSO and Fatah. Four of Fatah's 10-man command, including [Fatah Deputy Chief Salah] Khalaf, the planner and director of the Munich and Khartoum operations, are identified as BSO leaders. Fatah leader Yasser Arafat has now been described in recent intelligence reports as having given approval of the Khartoum operation prior to its inception."

This smoking gun discovery by Braley never made it past WorldNetDaily. Then as now the media turned its back. (For decades the mainstream media portrayed Black September as a revolt against Arafat's leadership and said he disapproved of its methods.) Today, as Caroline Glick notes in her Jerusalem Post column (Jan. 1), the media have shown no interest in the newly released State Department material, with a Google search showing none of the major news networks or national newspapers picking up the story.

Media that hype the most minor scandal or hoped-for-scandal (look at the recent feeding frenzy over the supposed leak of CIA employee Valerie Plame's name) are disinterested in a truly massive decades-long cover-up with huge political consequences. Glick asks: "How many lives would have been saved if the U.S. had not been intent on upholding Arafat's big lie? How would such a U.S. policy have impacted the subsequent development of sister terror organizations like Hizbullah, al-Qaeda and Hamas, all of which were founded by members of Arafat's terror industry….Imagine what the world would have looked like if, rather than clinging to Arafat's big lie that he and his Fatah terror organization were central components of Middle East peace, the U.S. had captured and tried Arafat for murdering its diplomats and worked steadily to destroy Fatah."

Sadly, the release, finally, of the incriminating material does not signify any change in U.S. policy which continues to be the whitewashing of terror leaders. In the tradition of his mentor Arafat, Mahmoud Abbas continues the same double game while the U.S. – backed by a cooperative media -- plays the same role of willing dupe. One need look no further than Abbas' most recent major speech in Ramallah on January 11. Yes, as the AP reported, Abbas called for rival factions in the PA to "respect each other" but, as the AP failed to report, he went on to say "let our rifles, all our rifles, all our rifles, be aimed at the Occupation." Nor did the AP or the hundreds of English-language articles on the speech bother to mention that Abbas went on to use the Koran to claim Jews "are corrupting humanity on earth."

And what is the U.S. response to the blatant anti-Semitism of the speech and the call to arms against Israel? Why, the most fulsome praise for Abbas. Standing beside him in Ramallah three days after his speech, Condoleezza Rice declared "I want everyone to know, particularly the Palestinian people, how much we admire the leadership of President Abbas as a leader of the Palestinian people." The effusive panegyrics are accompanied by a policy of arming Abbas' security forces, notably Force 17, with $86.4 million currently scheduled to be devoted to this effort. There can be no question the arms and training will go to killing Israelis. As Aaron Klein notes on WorldNetDaily, some in Force 17 are openly members of Fatah's "military wing," the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (which along with Islamic Jihad has taken responsibility for every suicide bombing in Israel over the past two years). Klein quotes Abu Yousuf, an avowed member of both Force 17 and Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, who says "It's unnatural to think these American weapons won't be used against the Israelis."

Moreover, although the ostensible U.S. purpose in arming Abbas' forces is to undercut Hamas, in fact the weapons quickly travel to Hamas. The forces of Abbas are riddled with Hamas supporters. Hamas spokesman Abu Oubaida told Klein: "I am sure that like in the past, this $86 million from America will find its way to the Hamas resistance via the honorable persons in the Fatah security organizations, including in Force 17. I can confirm 100 percent that this money and purchased weapons will find its way to Hamas." The Wall Street Journal (Jan. 12) quotes Bassam Eid of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group, who put it succinctly: "What Mr. Bush will do with this money is double the number of thugs."

Meanwhile in Newspeak worthy of Orwell's 1984, a U.S. document announces that the $86 million will "assist the Palestinian Authority presidency in fulfilling PA commitments under the Road Map (peace plan) to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism and establish law and order in the West Bank and Gaza."

So the surreal "peace processing" goes on. It is as likely to achieve "two states living peacefully side by side" as, in columnist Ralph Peter's apt analogy, a rabbi is likely to become king of Saudi Arabia.

That's news?


Whenever I visit my parents in New York, I find watching TV very frustrating. There are about a hundred channels but nothing's worth seeing. And news? Not the news nor the depth I'm used to.

Here in Israel, I may get upset by the Leftist slant or terrified by the truth behind the reports, but at least the reports are about serious things.

Pat Oliphant by Pat Oliphant
No one is safe from the acid brush of Pat Oliphant, acknowledged by many as the nation’s most influential political cartoonist. A master of what he calls "confrontational art," Oliphant spares neither the liberal nor conservative, sinner nor saint. As the most widely syndicated political cartoonist in the world and a winner of the Pulitzer, he produces work that is as visually stunning as it is metaphorically powerful.

On the Road Again - Mount Hermon, a Guest Post by Sara Layah Shomron

On the Road Again - Mount Hermon
By Sara Layah Shomron
Caravilla Site, Nitzan , Israel
3 Adar 5767 (February 21, 2007)


Today five buses carrying Neve Dekalim expellees now temporarily housed in Nitzan Caravillas traveled 5 hours up to Mount Hermon, Golan Heights to spend a few hours in its splendor. It was a day trip to take a break from the pressures of our collective State Disengagement sponsored status: homeless and jobless. It was an excursion of snow fun for both adult and child alike.

The unseasonably warm, sunny winter weather conspired to make a glorious day at the majestic Golan Heights . I last visited Mount Hermon as a teenager 30 years ago. My memory of the mountain range is a summery one yet the panoramic view remains unchanged regardless of season.

Winter sports offer much fun. Snow play attracts people from all walks of life regardless of age, ethnicity, political affiliation, religion... The snow was icy-crystal and hard; not the white fluffy sort or packing snow from my Wisconsin childhood. Slush is consistently slush regardless of locale.

Laughter was in the air as all ages threw snowballs. Snowballs don't discriminate. One unknown teenager found it fitting to target my ear and when I turned around she threw another snowball at me - the chilling wetness running down the front of my sweater. I knew I was being egged on into a snowball fight and so wanted to take the bait - but space relations prevent me from hitting a desired target so I moved on to enjoy the day with a smile. Small plastic sleds were available for rent. My two youngest daughters and I alternated turns as well as doubled up. It was a blast loosing control of the sled, bumping into people as well as an occasional unobstructed, smooth downhill run. We watched people downhill ski and I told my daughters how I enjoyed skiing in my youth on shorter, more manageable skis than what's normally used. How they wanted to give it a go. But time was limited and serious instruction needed – so I punted. A mountain track for bobsleighing was off in the distance. Binoculars are a must! We finished up with the ski-lift. I had forgotten how terrified I initially felt in my youth of the great height between the ski-lift and ground; the memory quickly came back as I embarked. I took a deep breath, hummed a little ditty and relaxed. The panoramic view was breathtaking and well worth it!

Clearly the day trip accomplished its goal. People were visibly relaxed and enjoyed the day. My daughters and I had a fantastic time – I mustn't let another 30 years pass 'till I get back up North again!

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Obviously he's no idiot


Israeli news "pundits" are trying to figure out what's really behind Russian tycoon Arkady Gaydamak's non-party "party."

He claims not to know Hebrew, but as an extraordinarily successful businessman, the chances are that poker's another talent of his. And one of the key skills in poker is not giving a hint of your "hand" to your opponents. So, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that he actually understands Hebrew very well.

Tonight on the TV news they kept stressing that he hadn't used the מ (mem) or "P" word. That's מ for מפלגה, miflagah, Political Party.

He's calling his whatever a תנועה t'nuah, "movement."

Polls show that anything he heads will get lots of votes:

it would receive 14 mandates - the same number as the Labor party, a Channel 10 poll revealed on Wednesday.
The same poll put Likud in the first place, with 27 mandates, followed by Labor and Gaydamak's movement, with 14 each.
Kadima, according to the poll, would win a mere 11 mandates.

But, I have a question. Who is he?

according to Wikipedia

Career
In 1973, Gaydamak left Israel and settled in France. Lacking an academic education, he began his early career working as gardener and a bricklayer. In 1976, Gaydamak opened a translation bureau near Paris, servicing Russian commercial delegations visiting France, and made contacts at a number of French companies. By 1982, Gaydamak Translations was a highly successful business, and he opened a branch in Canada. During that period he began pursuing a more lucrative business path in importing and exporting. He used his ties in the Soviet Union to further his business and sequentially formed various business organizations across Europe. Gaydamak wealth is estimated at anywhere from $800 million to more than $4 billion.

[edit] Angolagate
Gaydamak spent many years in France, but fled the country when an arrest warrant was issued for him in connection to an arms-dealing scandal known in France as L'Angolagate. He is wanted on two charges; illegal arms dealing with Angola, and tax evasion.

A lot of Israelis are happy that under his ownership Betar Jerusalem Soccer team is doing really well. Gaydamak is just the type of guy Israelis go for.

Arkady Gaydamak is something of a renaissance man. He speaks a handful of languages, deals in art, sports and the stock exchange. He holds Russian and Israeli citizenship, and an Angolan diplomatic passport.
The stories he tells makes him sound as though he were a character in a James Bond movie - such as when he recounts saving downed French airmen in Bosnia and receiving military medals in state ceremonies from French President Jacques Chirac. read more here


Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Why can't they admit the truth?

There's a surprisingly, though only partially, good editorial in Sunday's Jerusalem Post:



It is nearly a year and a half since a government-sponsored advertising campaign reassured the nation that "there's a solution for every settler" - a reference to the thousands of Israeli citizens then slated to be removed from Gaza and northern Samaria as part of disengagement.

However the sorry truth is that not a single evacuated family has been relocated to a permanent home. Most of the evacuated breadwinners are still unemployed. Only 10 of the 400 farmers were given new land, and even that was woefully inadequate.

And the advances that have been paid on compensation (the final extent of which is still bogged down in red tape) are being eaten up by the cost of daily subsistence in lieu of income. Many previously well-to-do settlers are being reduced to financial ruin and cannot afford to buy new homes. (for the entire editorial, click the highlighted phrase above)
Just like the Israeli Leftists they mention, who now feel sorry for the Disengagement victims, the law-abiding Israeli citizens, who were exiled from their homes and had their businesses destroyed, the writer/s of this editorial refuse to admit that the entire concept of "land for peace" is a dangerous lie!

They are all horrendously short-sited. The present condition of the "evacuees" is marginal to the danger of territorial withdrawals. Giving them money and new homes does not make the evil of the entire plan go away.

It reminds me, l'havdil, of how adamantly Menachem Begin opposed German Reparations after the Holocaust. One of the reasons was that he understood that the Germans saw it as a "penance" their payment to get forgiveness from Israel and World Jewry.

Being sympathetic to the "plight" of the Jews who were forced out of Gush Katif and Northern Shomron isn't enough. The Government, media and all other Israelis and World Jewry should first recognize and admit that the entire Disengagement concept of unilateral withdrawal of any territorial withdrawal and destruction of Jewish communities is evil, dangerous and will not bring peace. The silence of World Jewry helped teach me just how the Holocaust happened.

So many of us naively thought that with modern communications, fax, email, internet etc, none of these atrocities would be secret. The world would see the horrors and support us. We were wrong about that.

PM Olmert still plans on destroying more Jewish Communities, G-d forbid!
PM Olmert still plans on giving our holy land to Arab terrorists, G-d forbid!

We must not be silent!
My neighbors and I don't want to be victims!


Put the pressure on the government, on the media and on the world that the only way to live in peace is to be strong and whole. The stronger we get the weaker the Arabs will be.

Al tira! Do not fear!

f2f at the fair

I'll be, G-d willing, at the International Book Fair tomorrow, that's Wednesday. I'll probably arrive after 1pm or so. I blogged about a f2f for jbloggers, but for some strange reason, I didn't get even a comment. I guess I'll be there for a few hours, unless it's a total waste. I'll go after the pool and after meeting a visiting friend for an early lunch.

Have any of you jbloggers been there yet?

Monday, February 19, 2007

Compromise is Suicide

Unfortunately, we Jews, as a group, suffer from a terrible inferiority complex. It's known as the "ghetto mentality."

We try to be nice. We want to be liked, and we think that compromise is the path to approval by others.

Those of us who disagree and see no reason to beg for the "affection" of other nations are called "dangerous right-wing extremists" and worse. The media and ruling politicians never waste any opportunity to warn the public that we will cause war and endanger the nation. And, unfortunately, the public believes them. That's the nature of most, following whomever seems strong. That's why our politicians want Rice and Bush to tell them what wonderful brave leaders they are when they are leading us to possible destruction, G-d forbid.

The Old City of Jerusalem is a good example of the dangers of compromise. Jerusalem is our holiest city, and the Temple Mount, Har HaBayit, where our Holy Temple stood, is the holiest place of all.

The Christians and Moslems consider Jerusalem one of their holy cities, not the holiest by a long shot. What attracted them to Jerusalem originally? They wanted their theology to replace Judaism as the means to worship the "One G-d." Both of those religions adopted our Ancient Biblical History and then added to it. Judaism is the original. They only claim our holy sites as theirs, because those sites' original holiness is Jewish.

As long as we survive, we show them as failures.

In today's Jerusalem, Jews pray by what's known as "The Western Wall," HaKotel HaMa'aravi. It is not the holiest spot for Jews; it's just an outer wall of the Temple Compound as expanded by Herodian. Developing the actual Temple Compound by Jews would be very complicated, though far from impossible. The rabbis and community leaders, also in pre-state times, decided that "sharing" the Old City with the Moslems was the easiest way; that's compromise.

Whoever thinks that the Arabs will be satisfied with our precious Har Habayit is mistaken. There are Arab leaders now preaching that the Western Wall is Moslem, too.

At the same time, the Vatican is pushing to take over Mount Zion. They're trying to make deals, big money deals. Last year we managed to stop it, but the Vatican keeps trying. They want the alleged location of the "Last Supper," but honestly what was that "supper?" It was the Passover seder conducted in a place holy to Jews, near King David's Tomb. And why did Jesus eat there, if he actually did eat there? He was a Jew. After his death, his followers developed a new religion around him.

Israeli Leftists keep saying that the Arabs will give us peace, if we just give them some of our land. The major problem with that theory is that the Arabs themselves haven't promised peace in exchange for the land the Leftists are willing to give over. They keep repeating and repeating that they want all of Israel, to the last inch or centimeter, which is actually smaller.

Compromise won't work! It will only cause destruction. It is suicide.

In just under two weeks is Purim. In Shiloh we read the Megillah four times, since we celebrate the holiday for two days, rather than one. I've become quite familiar with the narrative after twenty-five years of quadruple readings.

The captive Jewish People joined King Achashverosh in his celebrations, compromising their religious precepts, thinking that it would ingraciate them with the rulers. But what happened? Were they safe?

We all know the answer. Haman schemed to get King Achashverosh's approval to murder, destroy every Jew, young and old.

G-d saved us by "Hester Panim," His Hidden Face. He "arranged" things, so that Mordechai and Ester were in the right place at the right time.

Mi shenichnas Adar, marbim b'simcha!
When the month of Adar begins, joy is increased.
Chodesh Tov and Chag Purim Sameach!

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Growing ignorance

When Limor Livnat was Education Minister, she initiated a program to enrich the Zionist and Jewish History curriculum. Unfortunately, it hasn't made a dent on the growing lack of knowledge among kids graduating the Israeli public schools.

On my way back from work today, one of the rides I caught was with someone who meets many of the youth as part of his job, and we discussed the problem. The topic was raised because of the obvious ignorance of one of the hitch hikers. I had already told the guy to stop hailing vehicles, since most were Arab. "Don't tempt," them, I said. "Whoever is meant to stop will stop."

I can't understand how people can "tremp," the Hebrew for hitch hike, when they're not fully familiar with the area.

Then I got home, and when I was eating dinner, they showed the latest "history test" on the news. Some kids were asked about Jabotinsky and gave a report about Allosoroff. When asked about Eichman, they thought he was associate with the bomb. Their answers were so off, it wasn't even good comedy material.

Politics--Behind the Scenes

I've just read two, interesting and revealing articles about politics. Of course every single article about politics and politicians have their agendas, both open and hidden.

I'll start with the Newsweek article about the US Presidential candidate who has seemed most "plastic" and manufactured, like a Ken doll. I'm talking about John Edwards, who has been running for President for the past five years. What I like about this article, and I must stress that I don't see it as my role in any way to support or oppose American politicians, is the inside working of campaigns. It definitely seems like his advisors were (and probably still are) trying to manufacture him into the image they think can be elected.

When he began his campaigning, five years ago, he cooperated, showing a lack of confidence and true leadership. Now, at least according to this article, he had matured and is trying to campaign as "himself." This is extremely crucially important especially in today's politics so dominated by "professional advisors."

Too many politicians, all over the world, have one aim, and that's to be elected, and they will say and do anything to reach that goal. Last night Israeli TV showed a "special" about another US Presidential candidate, Barack Obama, who doesn't seem to have anything unique about him except his color. When asked why now? since he has no "National" experience, his answer didn't make sense. My feeling is that the true reason is that he, and his "pushers," don't want to wait eight years. They're calculating that since Bush has finished his second term, the presidency is open for another two terms, and there's a good chance that whomever is elected next year will be re-elected four years later. Eight years is a long time to wait, and they're impatient. Lots can happen in eight years.

Politics from a different angle concerns the personal relationships between politicians and the media. Media stars comment on their friends the politicians, so how objective can they really be? In Israel, a very small country, the relationships are extremely, closely entwined. Read this very revealing interview with Dan Margalit, one of Israel's most veteran and respected journalists, about his decades long close friendly, and now former, relationship with Ehud Olmert.

Now that they are no longer friends, will we finally hear the truth from him?

What is truth, when it comes to politics? Don Qixote never ran for office, right? That's because of his "impossible dream." Am I too "1960's" for the real world?

Friday, February 16, 2007

National Masochism


I'm glad that I live in this "protective Jewish bubble" of Shiloh, where our souls breathe the scent of the ancient Ketoret, and we are surrounded by the walls of the Shechina.

The other day I was in Jerusalem helping someone shop for gifts, and we overheard a disturbing exchange in a shop. A customer had requested that the crafts store censor the artist's identification page. The artist lives in YESHA and writes that the ancient views are an inspiration. The customer demanded that the shopkeeper delete that as a condition for buying the gift. Of course, the store agreed to the request, and I have no idea if the artist was informed. People are in business to make money.

The night before, on Israel TV, there were similarly disturbing statements by Israeli politicians about how marginal Jerusalem was to the Zionist movement and how wonderful Israel was before the burdening and unnecessary expansion do to the results of the Six Days War. "We did fine without the territories," he claimed.

Now that's selective memory for sure. The most popular joke in pre-Six Days War Israel, was the request that "the last one leaving, please turn out the lights." The long "peculiar" Auschwitz borders were impossible to defend by all means of human logic. There were constant terror attacks and snipers from the "neighboring" Arab countries on Jerusalem, the Negev and the Galilee.

The standard of living ranked with the "Third World." When we made aliyah in 1970, people in Israel were living under conditions which resembled pre-WWII United States and worse.

Ben Gurion and his followers re-wrote Jewish History. They invented a school curriculum to brainwash the population to believe that what was included in the 1949 "green line" was the true Jewish Nation. Nothing else was necessary for post-Holocaust Jewish survival and the Jewish State, which was to be a country like all others.

In 1967, when the Arabs threatened to attack us, annihilate us, "drive us into the sea," which were their exact words," all the Israeli Government wanted was to preserve those indefensible borders. There were no battle plans to liberate the Old City of Jerusalem or to free Judea and Samaria from Arab rule. Not only didn't they want to allow Jews to visit Joseph's Tomb in Shechem or the site of the Tablernacle in Shiloh or the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, they didn't even dream of freeing Gush Etzion, which had been the home of Jewish kibbutzim, which were destroyed by the Arabs during the War for Independence in 1948.

This year some of us will be celebrating 40 years since the liberation of Judea and Samaria and the Golan, while others will just be "celebrating" the survival of the country. Israel had existed for only 19 years before that war.

Think about those numbers! The post 1967 Six Days War period is more than twice the time that pre-dates it.

The chasm in Israeli society has deepened both financially and spiritually. Israel's nouveau riche is oblivious to the lives of the majority, and most Israelis only know Judea and Samaria and even our capital, Jerusalem, from army service.

When I was an elementary school student in New York, we had to memorize the map of the United States, know the names and locations of all of the states and the names of the state capitals. Israeli high school graduates are so ignorant of the geography our tiny country that I've heard soldiers waiting for rides in Beit El asking if a ride to Jerusalem passes Ariel. I wish I was kidding. The clerks answering the phone at our washing machine service in Petach Tikvah pronounces שילה "Shilah," instead of Shiloh, totally unfamiliar and oblivious to the historic and religious significance of my home town.

I can't lie to you. The situation is not good. We have a lot of work to do to save our nation and country. We tried massive demonstrations and prayer vigils before Disengagement, and they weren't successful. I wish I knew the magic formula to immediately stop this "National Masochism," but I don't.

What I do know is that I'm not giving up, and I'm not alone. We have to just keep on doing everything we can.

Shabbat Shalom from the Holy City of Shiloh

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Drug abuse in the frum community-a Guest Post

This was taken from a jewish email list. I got permission from the writer.

I am an alcoholic and an Orthodox Jew.

-- makes a number of good points that illustrate why so
few Orthodox Jews become alcoholics and drug addicts in comparison to
the general population, but while he comes close to a solution, he
misses the mark slightly. Secondly, the strong Jewish prohibitions
against drinking seem not to have translated into strong prohibitions
against drug abuse so we need to understand what we are doing right
about alcoholism in the community and what we are doing less right about
drug abuse. Perhaps we can discuss that further.

I will use -- 's comments as a jumping off point to make
comments of my own. As I make my comments, do not assume that somehow
-- was saying something different. He might agree with me.

> Several postings have been written about drugs in the frum community
> but no one has mentioned the simple steps needed to stop them -- I
> refer to prayer and charitable deeds.

Yes. Prayer and charitable deeds are the essence of what works. However,
once one is caught by addiction, one must be more specific. It is not
enough to pray regularly, write checks to the synagogue and help little
old ladies across the street. These are all admirable deeds and one will
have to do them as a frum Jew, but the frum alcoholic/addict will have
to do things IN ADDITION to these deeds and maybe BEFORE he does
anything else.

It is said that an alcoholic/addict is a person who is waiting for a
call from G-d, and when he does not receive it, he searches for a way to
make that contact. Some will seek out that connection in drugs and
alcohol. If a person builds his connection with the Holy One, blessed be
He, through Jewish prayer and charitable deeds, then he will have a good
foundation to guide him when that crisis of connection occurs. But just
as many of us are not Talmud scholars despite our desire to be more
learned, so too, a person might not have a full enough foundation in
Jewish prayer and practice to weather this crisis when it comes. What to
do?

At first alcohol and drugs work. It fixes the crisis. But in time the
body changes. The very cells change their configuration so that one will
no longer be able to resist the use of drugs. The body will scream for
drugs the way the body will scream for food... more so. One can deny
oneself food for only so long but a drug addict will forego food to get
drugs.

> It is published literature that the endorphins released after prayer
> are similar in quantity to a dose of tranquilizers.

Endorphins are also released during long-distance running, but once the
body has reconfigured itself to desire drugs and alcohol, prayer (or
even jogging) will not be enough. You cannot do a substitution in this
situation. It would be like substituting bread and water for cheesecake
and wine. It might work for a short while, but in time the desire will
return stronger than before. An alcoholic/addict needs more.

> We all know why people take drugs...they want temporary reliefs. We
> say it is wrong because it is temporary. Someone like Dr Twersky will
> say it is animalistic and mechanical and not spiritual.

I have spoken to Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski. He well might analyze the
condition that way. But he has told me personally that the frum
community does not pay close enough attention to drug abuse. We are
doing things that he finds maddening. He seemed very upset about the
practice of febrengen on college campuses. He had heard mothers and
fathers complain that they were glad to hear that their sons were
getting involved with Orthodoxy, but then were shocked when the Orthodox
returned their kids as drunks. He also told me of his worry that a large
reason why Israelis enter rehab is to recover from heroin abuse. He has
no firm statistics, but he is worried.

We say, "It can't happen in a frum community!" so we don't look for it
until a young man dies of a drug overdose. Then we say, "I suppose he
was not frum enough." That is a poor excuse for our failure to notice a
boy's despair. That is like the excuse Christians use when one of their
number does something wrong. They say, "No good Christian would do such
a thing!" and then when someone is brought to trial, they say, "He was
not a good Christian." It is a circular argument. My fellow Jews are not
worthy of such a sophomoric slight of hand.

A few days ago a Jewish woman called me. She was in deep despair. Her
doctor had prescribed pain medication while she recovered from
surgery. The pain was terrible and perhaps the surgery did not fully
correct the problem. The doctor continued the pain medication for three
weeks. In the end, she decided to stop the medication and realized
something terrible. She longed for that drug and the soul-yearning she
felt was almost unbearable. I almost cried, she was suffering so. I
spoke to her today. She is better now. She was nipped by the ringer. It
was only a small bit of the soul-pain an addict goes through when he
must give up his drug. It has nothing to do with character, although
character helps when the pain comes.

There is no test to know whether one is susceptible to addiction. You
won't know until you are exposed. Once exposed, and the truth is known
to you, perhaps your good character will carry you through. But with
only slightly less character, one is caught and then... only G-d can
save you. I mean direct intervention. You will need a soul-changing
spiritual experience or you will die. Most people die.

> I have been shocked when I relate the above approach that people cite
> the Aruch Hashulchan that one should not make ones own prayers (that
> is insert personal requests during prayer). This is cruel and not
> completely accurate.

I insert my own prayer after my required prayers. In the past I have
asked G-d for help and I still do when the need arises... as do we
all. But after my regular prayers, I add this prayer of thanksgiving. It
will seem a little strange but here it goes.

Thank you G-d for everything you have given me.
Thank you for everything you have taken from me.
Thank you for another day of life.
Thank you for making me a Jew... and an alcoholic.

It was easy to learn to thank G-d for the things He gives me. It was
more difficult to learn how to thank G-d and mean it when He takes
things away from me, but I have lived long enough to see the end of some
things. What at first I thought of as a tragedy, turned out to have
consequences I could not have imagined. One good example is my
alcoholism. While tragic and disruptive, there have been some benefits I
would not change. Without my addiction, I would not have sought out G-d
with the fervor that I do. I would not have known the depth of
experience. My soul has been lost in a void of chaos. I have walked to
the gateway that leads to the Garden of Eden and I have seen the light
of Heaven shining through.

I thank G-d I am an alcoholic. It led me to be an Orthodox Jew.

> ...(Only to cry out to God). People who sing like this do not need
> drugs and will never experiment with them.

It is best not to experiment with drugs, but some folks do foolish
things regardless. All of us have done things we regret and perhaps we
are embarrassed by our foolishness, but telling us not to do foolish
things will not help us after the fact. If that foolishness involves
drugs, and we have a predisposition to addiction, we are caught and we
can't get out.

And if we take prescription drugs, it is easy, when we have real pain,
to salve the wound with pain medication. Who can deny us? The pain is
real. The drug helps and if we take one extra pill, who will know or
care? Even if we call the doctor and ask permission to take more, the
doctor cannot know if one person or another is especially susceptible to
addiction.

I remember recovering from a broken leg and had to take pain
medication. I was worried about addiction for the obvious reason that I
had shown susceptibility due to my alcoholism. It was proven. So when I
thought I could survive on aspirin and tough it out, the doctor said I
was being ridiculous. How could I become addicted on such a small amount
of narcotic?

"But I'm an alcoholic."

"Oh." Long silence. "Okay. I'll prescribe Motrin." I got the largest
dose they made. It was uncomfortable but it worked.

The doctor knew about addiction. Some folks need to get off the
narcotics as quickly as possible. I was one of those people. He knew
it. I knew it, but some folks won't know it until it happens to
them. Then it is too late.

> ... I asked how we could integrate our own needs into prayer. He
> stared at me blankly and answered my question by saying "I dont think
> you understand prayer."

Yes. I know. I use Jewish prayer like a mantra. Saying them over and
over again helps to move my soul in the proper direction. Read "Jewish
Meditation" by Aryeh Kaplan. He suggests selecting some Jewish phrase in
your prayers as a mantra.

So... not only prayer but meditation is also required. Find out what
meditation is.

Everyone who prays daily recites a meditation though you may not realize
it. It goes something like this. "My G-d, guard my tongue from evil, my
lips from speaking deceitfully..." You know the rest of it. It is a
meditation we recite three times a day. But the alcoholic/addict needs
to do more than this. So read Aryeh Kaplan's book. Find out.

> ... There are people under stress...if you let them cry out in prayer
> they will not need drugs, therapy or anything else. If you clamp them
> down you are inviting the type of psychological disasters that plague
> our community. Let me put it this way....without prayer we are no
> different than the non Jews we live with.

In general I agree with you. If one is not yet an alcoholic or drug
addict and involves himself in the activities your recommend and at the
level you recommend then certainly it will be of great help as a
preventative measure. However, it is difficult to convince people to
invest that kind of effort in an activity, no matter how noble,
admirable, or desirable, without some greater motivation for doing so.

We may all wish to do Daf Yomi study, but how many of us actually commit
to it fully and without fail? Few have enough character and personal
drive to do so, no matter how much we may wish for it.

When I was younger, in order to make me an Orthodox Jew, G-d would have
had to beat me with a stick until I was bloody and nearly dead. So He
did. He "beat" me with alcoholism until I was nearly dead. And now I am
an Orthodox Jew. I thank G-d for the "beating," as awful as it was. I
know it was necessary since I would not have come to Him and Orthodoxy
otherwise. And I would not have been able to see the wisdom of prayer
and mitzvot. Now I do.

> I would also warmly recommend chesed community projects as a way of
> avoiding states where one has a need for drugs. I have seen more of
> these in previous years and I hope the trend continues.

Each week I visit the local jail and meet with some of the inmates. We
talk a little about G-d and a lot about alcoholism and drug abuse. Why
would I do such a thing? Trust me. I'm a nice guy, but I'm not THAT
nice. I do so for several reason but the most important to me is that I
must or I will drink again. It is selfish. I agree. But it is true. In
order to help myself, I must help others who are similarly
afflicted. Nothing less will do. So I go.

The other reason I do this type of work is because I grateful to those
who came before me. They went way out of their way to help me. They
asked for nothing in return except my attention and even then, not much
of that. They kept saying, "Keep coming back" so I did. It worked.

I suggest a few books for the Jewish alcoholic/addict:

Jewish Meditation - Kaplan
Living Each Day - Twerski
Twelve Steps for Everyone - Twerski
Twelve Jewish Steps to Recovery - Olitsky
Alcoholics Anonymous - AA World Services

You can find more information about alcoholism at The Orthodox Caucus
and from JACS (Jewish Alcoholics, Chemically dependant persons, and
Significant others).

http://jacsweb.org
http://www.ocweb.org/index.php/knowledgebase/kbtemp/cat/Substance%20Abuse/

Please contact me if you have any questions or need help. I will keep
your name confidential. I am associated with JACS but no one pays
me. I'm trying to pay G-d back for helping me. He doesn't take cash but
He seems to be pleased when I help others. Go figure.

Izzy (not my real name)
Izzy@utj.org

World Terrorism--More than you could ever imagine!

hat tip to Boris


World Terrorism is all over. Here's a site which shows up to the minute attacks, threats, alerts and more.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Oxymoron* and other news

Arutz 7 should have known better than to use such a term.


The Arabs and far-left peace activists, after clearing the Jewish farm's land, then proceeded to plant olive tree saplings there.

Those who call themselves "peace activists" are not working for peace. They are working for Israel's destruction. They are pro-Arab. Click the link and read the entire article, but not on a full stomach!

Israel also enforces its laws against Jews in ways it wouldn't dare against Arabs. There's a perverse and dangerous trend, which is only getting worse.

A good site to check out is The 2nd Draft.

*Oxymoron-An oxymoron (plural oxymora or, more commonly, oxymorons) (noun) is a figure of speech that combines two normally contradictory terms. Oxymoron is a Greek term derived from oxy ("sharp") and moros ("dull"). The meaning is "that which is sharp and dull," thereby designating and also exhibiting an opposition between two adjectives which serve as predicates for one subject.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

I guess that blogger's as tired as I am

I went crazy before trying to blog the previous post. Blogger kept telling me that it hadn't "been published,"

ERROR, ERROR,

it kept screeching at me!

Then I managed to get back to the page with the picture and text and posted it via yahoo, which is my fallback method. Nothing showed, so I posted again. Still nothing, so figured I'd do something more productive and finally succeeded--give me a standing ovation--in changing the "ring" of my new cellphone.

And now, planning on just turning off the computer since I have dishes to wash and lessons to plan and I do have to get to work, I discovered that all three postings were up. So I just deleted two of them.

Is this part of the "change to beta" campaign? I switched for me-ander and applied for this blog and was rejected. They told me to wait, so why make me suffer?

Chasing its Tail


Need I say more?
אחראי "Acharai!" "After me!" You won't hear that anymore from Lupolianski's Jerusalem.

Read this:
Jerusalem, February 12, 2007
2007-0225-408

The Mayor of Jerusalem, Uri Lupolianski, together with Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, Rabbi for the Kotel and Holy Places, have decided last night to allow public discussion of the plans to construct the Mugrabi Bridge at the planning and construction committees. This is due to the sensitivity of the plan and following meetings and discussions with representatives from eastern Jerusalem who requested to look over the plans and voice their opinions. The decision was made after conferring with Attorney General Meni Mazuz, the planning authorities at the Jerusalem Municipality, the city engineer and delegates & Mukhtars from eastern Jerusalem.
It should be noted that despite this decision, the rescue works, conducted by the Israel Antiques Authority, scheduled to go on for several months, will still take place but at the same time the public discussion wt the planning committees will begin.
Over the past several days, Lupolianski held meetings and discussions with various representatives from eastern Jerusalem, together with Rabbi Rabinowitz, and Lupolianski assured them that he will allow open discussion with full disclosure in order to make it clear that there is no intention to enter the Temple Mount or cause any damage to it.

Gideon Schmerling
Jerusalem Municipality Spokesman

Contact details: Raffi Shamir, Foreign Press Liaison 02-6297744

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Testing Ehud the Second

I have no doubt that the Arab riots in Jerusalem, which so remind me of the riots early in Ehud the First's reign, are to test the mettle of Ehud the Second. Hizbullah showed major weaknesses in the IDF last summer. This is Ehud II's last chance.

High Alert in Jerusalem as Arab Leadership Plans More Rioting

Saturday, February 10, 2007

JNF GUILTY IN JEWISH LAND LOSS TO ARABS


1623 Third Avenue, Suite 205, New York, NY 10128
Tel: 212-828-2424; Fax: 212-828-1717;
E-mail http://us.f538.mail.yahoo.com/ym/
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Website; http://www.afsi.org/
Contact: Barry Freedman, Executive Director

JNF GUILTY IN JEWISH LAND LOSS TO ARABS

By: Helen Freedman


In October of 2006, I put out a report entitled, “Generous Jews Deceived by Jewish National Fund/JNF.” The response from JNF was largely an angry or silent one. There was no word from Mort Zuckerman or Ron Lauder regarding my questions and statements regarding the JNF giveaway or sale of Jewish land to Arabs. Avinoam Binder, Chief Israel Representative for Keren Kayemeth L’Israel, or KKL, the Israeli branch of JNF, asked me to take him off my email list. Dr. Anita Jacobs, a uniquely dedicated woman, supplied me with information about the good deeds accomplished by JNF. I have no doubt that JNF is doing many good things throughout Israel, as it has been mandated to do. However, the egregious mismanagement of Jewish land matters cries out for attention.

The purpose of this update, four months later, is to share with you the report I received from Aryeh King, my source for JNF information, especially in Jerusalem, where he lives. Aryeh quotes from the JNF website: “Since the first land purchase in Erez Israel in the early 1900’s for and on behalf of the Jewish People, KKL-JNF has served as the Jewish People’s trustee of the land, initiating and charting development work to enable Jewish settlement from the border in the north to the edge of the desert and Arava in the south.” This statement becomes a travesty when matched against the information King has gathered. Again and again, King tells us that, “I am sad to write to you that JNF is NOT guarding and watching the lands that were purchased a hundred years ago with Jewish money, with the express purpose of redeeming the holy land of Eretz Yisrael.” Instead, in violation of its trust, JNF is giving or losing Jewish municipal properties to Arabs.

The situation in the north – in the Galilee – is described by King as out of control. Arabs are building illegally on JNF land, and JNF blames this on the fact that the Israel Land Authority/ILA is not guarding the land. This is disingenuous because 40% of the ILA Directors are connected to JNF. We also learn that the JNF turned over many buildings in the Galilee to the Jewish Agency a few years ago. It is reported that the Jewish Agency now owes millions of shekels in back taxes which it failed to pay to the districts and the municipalities. In order to erase these debts, the Agency is offering the properties given to them by the JNF, which had remained undeveloped all these years.

King then goes on to describe the situation in Jerusalem. As reported previously, in northern Jerusalem, in the area of the Atarot Airport, the JNF owns more than thousands of dunams of land. King reports that there are hundreds of buildings that Arabs have built in this area, on JNF land, and nothing is being done to stop these violations. He appraises the land belonging to JNF in Atarot as being worth $35,000,000. This is Jewish money that was collected for the preservation of the State of the Jews in Israel. Why are JNF donors not made aware of this blatant giveaway of the land for which they worked so hard to raise money? And why is this abomination allowed to take place, without any outcry or interference?

Another agonizingly painful piece of information has to do with the JNF land on the WRONG side of the “security fence” snaking through Jerusalem. There are hundreds or thousands of dunams of JNF land that will be on the Arab side of the wall and will therefore be totally lost to the Jews. We haven’t heard any protests from JNF to the Israeli government about this disaster. With all their connections with the ILA and Jewish Agency, one would think they would have some input in the decision making about the placement of the wall.

The tree planting program sponsored by JNF is paid for by Jews. Yet, Muslim Arabs are busy burning the forests, even if they personally benefit from them. They know that Jews will donate money to re-plant the forests, and this re-planting is NOT restricted to Jewish areas, but benefits everyone in the country.

We’ve also learned that gangs of Bedouin thieves are brazenly stealing cattle and equipment from Jewish farmers in the Negev. In the case of Shai Dromi, a farmer who resorted to sleeping in his sheep pen in order to apprehend the criminals, he was forced to defend himself by shooting at the feet of some of the invading Arabs. Dromi is now sitting in prison. Are the JNF developers of the Negev aware of this growing problem, and if so, what are they doing about it? The Arutz Sheva report of Feb. 7 that tells the Dromi story in detail, includes the following: “There is a struggle for the Negev that nobody will admit is underway. The Bedouin see themselves as the indigenous inhabitants of the land, and are often supported by human rights groups.”

Aryeh King concludes that the JNF is doing almost nothing about the redemption of the Holy Land. He declares that JNF is NOT the address to which to give if one is interested in preserving Jewish land. He suggests that those wishing to donate to truly Zionist organizations dedicated to purchasing land in Israel for Jews, and guarding and protecting that land, should write to him at: kingshir@bezeqint.net.il.