12/31/2005 10:10:00 PM | 
Posted by
JoeSettler
Arabs destroyed the Eruv connecting Beerot Yonatan and Efrat.
I’m not making any associations - whatsoever.
Hat Tip: Nadia Matar
I will cross-post my response here and there. You will need to look at his site to understand the response:
Dr. Bean:
1)
What Pollard did was espionage and treason.
Espionage in Israel’s eyes, and treason in the US’s.
Pollard provided us with information vital to our survival.
For us in Israel, Pollard is a hero. Period.
(That the Israeli government hung him out to dry is a disgrace).
Pollard’s punishment is an attempt to teach other US Jews (like Dov Zakheim) to know where their loyalties must unequivocally lie.
In the real world, the US regularly spies on Israel (like the attempt with the snooping submarine we tagged this summer, and regular Sigint eavesdropping). I would hardly be surprised to learn that the US even runs agents inside the IDF and government.
All countries spy on one another.
How Religious American Jews should deal with it, is really their problem.
They belong in Israel and then won’t have face issues of dual loyalty. But that is an Aliyah issue – and not what we are discussing right now.
2a)
Huh!
These kids just saw the IDF they were planning on proudly serving in, rip their friends and families out of their homes, destroy entire Jewish towns, communities, etc., and everything else that has transpired since, such as missile attacks on Ashkelon, the reengaged Gaza NPZ (No People Zone) where the northern Jewish towns in Gaza used to be.
They have zero intention of participating in a repeat act of what they see as so reprehensibly stupid, evil, wrong, [fill in your term here].
For some it is a question of do they go to jail now (when they get called up) or only after they get the order to expel more Jews (which they fully expect to get under a Sharon government).
They are incredibly committed to Israel (or “Zionism” as it used to be called).
They want to serve and protect the People of Israel.
They don’t want to be pawns in an army where the generals consider the expulsion of Jews from their homes to be a successful showcase of the IDF’s power and capabilities (I actually heard an IDF general say that while I was in Gaza).
That they are discussing these things is excellent.
Besides, if someone hates settlers or the religious, then they’re going to hate them anyway, and the extreme left considers all the settlers/religious in the army to be fifth columnists anyway (if they can't be brainwashed properly)!
2b) You must be unaware as to how many secular kids receive exemptions from the army (Mia Buskila withstanding). The numbers are relatively close to the number of Charedi kids who don’t serve. The difference is only in the percent from the population sector. (I'll try to find the numbers.)
3)
I never wrote anything along those lines, so I never actually removed it.
Listening to my Israeli (left) friends who are bigshots in the army, I realize that they have never inculcated and integrated concepts like decisive victory into their thinking. For them, maintaining a relative status quo is victory.
Utterly vanquishing the enemy (or the enemy’s capabilities) is not something they consider. Missiles on Ashkelon or the Golan, “Big deal, it doesn’t really hurt us, we've withstood it for years, and can withstand it for years more if we need to”.
Disproportional response is something they would never do (only threaten).
Now I just have to convince someone to vote for me!
Even as you read this serious plans are afoot for the IDF to unilaterally retake unilaterally evacuated regions due to the unilateral threat on Israeli cities. IDF foot soldiers will be encamped on the sites of former Jewish settlements, but this time without the support of the local residents.
Let me ask you. How far Left does one have to be for this to begin to make sense?
Hat Tip: Jameel who will be writing more on this next week.
Creating Competiton
It's not enough that we left behind the planted fields, the Israeli government is actually actively helping the Arabs enter the market previously cornered by the Gush Katif farmers.
We can't break apart the monopolistic IEC, but we can destroy one of our largest exports.
Are we that confused?
Terror Warning
Terror warnings this weekend (for all over the country) are at an all-time high point that we haven't seen since the height of the Intifada.
Hat Tip: Jameel who will also be writing more on this next week.
You can run, but you can't hide
Rampaging (armed) Arabs took over the Rafiach border crossing (between Gaza and Egypt). The international EU force meant to "observe/protect" the border ran away in terror leaving the border open for whatever they needed to import into Gaza today. Perhaps another anti-aircraft missile.
I received a pressing phone call last evening. One of the new “illegal” outpost that was just established urgently needed someone to do guard duty overnight (for protection against Arabs, not the police).
A fellow settler and I drove way out there looking for this new illegal outpost called “Beerot Jonathan”, aptly named after Jonathan Pollard.
Finally, after driving off-road for a while and then walking through some muddy fields we stumbled upon the illegal outpost.
The outpost itself is built on State-owned land which over the past few years has found itself illegally occupied by Arab squatters planting crops in their attempt to claim primordial ownership.
The "illegal" Jewish occupiers of this outpost are the wonderful children from the nearby town just overlooking this hill.
I left this morning with an overall positive impression, but merged with some rather mixed feelings.
I met wonderful, dedicated youth who overwhelmingly felt the need to do something “more” and “positive” for Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael after the Expulsion.
I don’t know if the idea of outposts was their idea or the idea of some adults, but I felt that for these incidental wounded of the expulsion, it was more therapeutic than productive (which is also undeniably important). It is an attempt to take back control of their lives, help conquer their fear that their own home and even country may be next, and perhaps even to simply “stick it to the (fat) man”.
Their message is “Construction – not Destruction”
We discussed though the night whether they would be doing army service. We discussed how/where else they could be more effective. We discussed if they really felt that camping out on a hill for a few days was really going to make a difference. We discussed what more they could be doing to make their message heard and how to open the hearts of all their fellow Jews in Israel.
I don’t think we reached any definite conclusions, though my fellow settler and I did discuss a new education program we hope to pilot soon based on some of the answers we received.
I think these outposts are important for the kids.
But I think the adults can find a better way to make use of the incredible energy, love, faith, and dedication that these kids have for Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael, and Torat Yisrael (in whatever order).
I am not saying not to use outposts, but not the way they are being implemented right now.
Incredible energies are gathered together – now focus them properly, promote them properly, nurture them properly.
I’ll need to write more about this about this another time.
Two monuments in memory of the destroyed Jewish towns in Gaza:
Site of the future Beit Medrash:
Some of the "illegal" settlers (they should be sleeping):
I maintain a couple of accounts at Bank Leumi. I have been a client of theirs for too many years. I’ve tried other Israeli banks to my dissatisfaction, and have various accounts here and there.
If it wasn’t so difficultly annoying to completely switch banks I would do it in a second.
(In answer to the obvious question, switching accounts means canceling/moving all my “standing orders”, credit card payments, documentation, getting all my clients to correctly update their supplier information –which is a huge hassle, running back and forth to lawyers for their stamp on the corporate account papers, etc. – a very time consuming procedure, which on one hand I really don’t have time for, even if I stopped blogging).
1) Bank Leumi recently introduced a new “feature”.
Because service at their branches is so incredibly bad/slow, they introduced “Leumi-call”. Supposedly you can do all your banking over the phone, except when you can’t.
So now I can’t reach my branch except physically, and I can’t get anything done over the phone, so instead I can only leave messages/faxes for my banker to call me back.
(Apparently bank policy says he will get into big trouble if he gives out his direct number, so instead he surreptitiously gave me his bank manager’s instead, which I try to abuse every now and then).
2) Last year my branch bounced two very large checks to the tax authorities.
It wasn’t because I didn’t have to money to pay, it was because the branch unilaterally decided I had so much money in the account it was a shame it wasn’t locked up in a CD to get some interest.
So instead of unilaterally opening up the CD, they bounced the checks instead, which got me a very nasty letter, phone call, and the unwanted extra attention/inspection by the various tax authorities.
(I run a 100% kosher firm, so I wasn't worried, but audits are a very unpleasant experience in general).
3) I had to pay an overseas supplier last month.
Despite the checkmark on the transfer form that clearly indicated that the required “withholding tax” would come from the supplier’s side (as was agreed with the supplier), the bank decided that the supplier would rather have all the money and deducted the “withholding tax” directly from my account instead.
Surprise!
4) When I transfer money overseas they open a temporary Dollar account for the transfer. Otherwise the account is empty. Unfortunately they always forget to close the account (actually I watch my banker close it, yet it never registers as closed), so every few months I sit with my banker and he zeroes out the accumulated fines.
5) Yesterday I went to my bank to do another transfer to a supplier. I finally reached my bank to find out why I didn’t get my wire transfer confirmation.
Answer: Oh, the person who does it is busy with many other transfers, and she’ll try to get to it tomorrow.
Real reason: I complained about her last month when I got hit with thousands of dollars in taxes because she unilaterally decided to hit me instead of my supplier with the “withholding tax”, so now my transfers aren’t that important.
The worst part of this is - all the banks in Israel are just as bad.
I told him we need him back, and he made it pretty clear that he has no interest in that direction.
So much for that.
In a photo with JoeSettler Jr.
(JoeSettler Jr. is the one on the right)
The picture has been blurred to protect the innocent . . . and the not guilty.
For all those undecided voters, having trouble deciding who to vote for?
This test should help you out.
Left Wing Modern Orthodox: 34%
Right Wing Modern Orthodox: 62%
Left Wing Yeshivish/Chareidi: 40%
Right Wing Yeshivish/Chareidi: 13%
This means you're: Huh?
I understand the results as much as the test does.
Years ago, before his first stroke, Sharon promoted the idea of semi-autonomous, noncontiguous cantons for the Palestinians in Yesha.
Since coming to power, Sharon has been putting this plan into place, except it is the Jews who are in the noncontiguous cantons.
At major junctions in Judea/Samaria, border crossings have been and are being constructed.
For instance, one particular border crossing in the Shomron (and this it seems will be the model) has 3 lanes; one lane is for local residents with a special canton sticker on their car, one for Israeli citizens, and one for “commercial” traffic.
Each Jewish canton resident will be receiving (or has in some cases received) a personalized car sticker that will allow them relatively unhindered access between the State of Israel and their canton. Non-resident Israelis will need go through an inspection to determine what their business is, who are they visiting or visited, and who’s in the car with them.
Of course, a resident of one canton in Yesha that wants to visit his friend or relative in a different canton will go through a non-resident inspection as each canton sticker is canton specific.
In short, unilateral disengagement from Judea and Samaria has already begun, just much more subtly and quietly.
But it doesn't end there, as once the Arabs get their "safe passage" between Gaza and Hebron/Ramallah to provide them contiguity, then the State of Israel itself will find itself divided into noncontiguous cantons.
Go Sharon Go.
(Somebody bet on the gray.)
But now I have a serious problem, I can’t get it to rhyme with Netanyahu.
Netanyahu is chasing after the so-called center vote and is worried that Feiglin is going to make him lose that.
But in the meantime, Bibi’s Likud MKs actually still sit (with his blessing) in Sharon’s government as ministers.
So it’s not clear to me anymore. Why should I vote Likud?
Shalom (Sharon’s man) is given the number 2 position instead of Uzi Landau who actually deserved it - not to mention some of the nasty things Shalom said before the primaries. Likud MKs Livnat, and others still serve at Sharon’s pleasure - so a vote for Netanyahu gets you what?
A spineless leader who can’t control his own party, an ideologically philandering politician who doesn’t properly reward Landau’s loyalty, and someone who has proven in the past that he can’t stand up to US pressure like in Hebron.
Bibi said regarding banning Feiglin, "The Likud will bring back glory and honesty, clean hands and democracy in the spirit of Menachem Begin."
Is there anyone in the Likud beside Feiglin that exemplifies the honesty, clean hands and democracy in the spirit of Menachem Begin?
So why vote for Bibi’s Likud? Vote for Sharon and get the original.
Meanwhile Labor MK Matan Vilnai wants us to send troops back into Gaza – does he want to unilaterally reengage?
I wish they could have made up their minds about these things before they expelled thousands of Jews from their homes.
The answer is simple. There is none.
Yet Bibi wants to unilaterally expel Feiglin from the Likud.
So then what exactly differentiates a Feiglinless Likud from Kadima?
Absolutely nothing, except that Kadima has a stronger (despite his stroke), and certainly more popular (perhaps even more so due to his stroke) leader .
So then how exactly will the Likud distinguish itself as a Center-Right party?
Bibi gave away parts of Hebron. Limor Livnat, Shalom and others Likudniks (that still haven’t left Sharon’s government!) supported the expulsion. Besides Uzi Landau, who else has any surviving center-right-wing credentials left to distinguish them from Kadima?
Bibi has the opportunity to create a true center-right party, a party with values and goals, but instead he is trying to merely create a Kadima clone in an attempt to regain a few seats. A poor copy at that.
So Jameel, and everyone else, submit your accurate update/revision of the (entire) Al-Hanissim prayer for modern Israel in the comments section.
I’ll select a winner and post it.
In the early years of the Third Jewish Commonwealth, a wicked faction rose up against the people of Israel and tried to make them forget their Torah and to lead them astray from your will.
But You delivered the majority into the hands of the minority,
the impure into the pure,
the Left in the hands of the Right,
the secular into the diligent hands of the Yeshiva students.
You worked a great victory and the Temple was restored in all its glory, and we light the eight candles of Chanuka in thanks and praise.
I can say with all honesty that I wish him well, and that he should have a long life, but back on his farm and out of politics.
This leads us to a very curious situation.
Some people have commented that if he decides (and is able) to stay in politics, Israelis will still vote for him no matter what his condition. Probably true. But Kadima's numbers will plummet for sure.
But what happens if he can no longer run.
Who runs Kadima? Will Kadima disappear?
Kadima is Sharon, Sharon is Kadima, and all the political garbage and egos he has gathered into one place will no longer have their unifying factor.
Obviously their best bet will be to unite under Peres, which would completely turn them into the new Labor party, for who else is there in Kadima that could lead? Ahh, the backstabbing and infighting we are going to be seeing soon.
But for Kadima, that is their only realistic option, their old parties won’t be letting the trash back in, and otherwise everyone is Kadima is completely out of a job. Certainly we won't be hearing much more of 'Bugsy' Weisglass and Omri the Enforcer.
And that is the Prime Minister’s True Legacy.
He managed to clean out a significant amount of political trash from the Likud (and Labor) party and has put them in a position where they can (hopefully) no longer be politically significant.
True he missed Shalom and a few others, but a cleaner, leaner, more ideological Likud can only go up in the polls as a result, and hopefully the travesties and tragedies of last summer will also remain in the trash bin of history to never repeat itself.
A few minutes ago a 32 kg. 115 mm Kassam-2 missile fell inside the Ashkelon (Rottenberg) power plant, just missing a large coal pile!
It's time to unilaterally evacuate Ashkelon because it simply isn't worth the amount of resources required to defend it.
(The "real" media may censor this story for a while, or say it's "south of Ashkelon)
Remember - you read it here first.
Hat-Tip: Jameel at the Muqata
I’m sure he was just trying for some cheap populist points with his remark that he “would rather close down a West Bank settlement than a state religious school”.
But I find that remark strange, because with the closure of each settlement comes the closure of quite a number of schools, yeshivas, and seminaries.
I guess (somehow) they don’t count.
He continued with, “But it's clear that in a real peace agreement Israel will have to give up something.”
But since everyone so far thought they were getting real peace (for some reason), I’m now completely confused between the differences in his position and that of Yossi Beilin’s.
Of course he finishes off with the Left’s, “I do not think that in today's world we will be able to rule over three million Arabs”.
So of course his left-wing solution to the problem is to “give up something”, and “close down a west Bank settlement” while throwing a bone to “Jordan is Palestine” which he obviously doesn’t believe in. After all, if “it’s just a matter of time before the winds of freedom and democracy come to the Palestinians in Jordan “, then simply wait out the storm and come out at the end with everything that is ours.
The NRP has failed repeatedly as the self proclaimed banner holder for educating the Israeli public in Jewish values, history, and Torah when it had both the opportunity and power.
What exactly is the National Union doing trying to create an alliance with a party that has failed in both principles and performance, and will obviously only be doing worse in the next election?
Note the various district names (Judeah, Samaria)
This one is from 1557:
I 100% demand that a full and free democracy be immediately implemented in Eastern Mandatory Palestine (currently known as Jordan, which stole and occupied 75% of Mandatory Palestine when it was established on May 25, 1946) so that a de facto Palestinian state can be created, and all regional Arabs can immediately receive their Palestinian citizenship.
I 100% do not accept that Israel must accept dual citizenship for any Palestinian citizen, but may allow Palestinian nationals (completely unconnected to any acts of terrorism) to live in the Land of Israel as Resident Aliens with full protection for their civil rights, while being free and able to fulfill all their national aspiration in the existing Palestinian state on the East Bank of the Jordan River.
End the Jordanian Occupation. Free Palestine Now.
Today, the first Kassam missile hit Ashkelon from Gaza, meanwhile the government plans more expulsions, this time of Jews from a part of Hebron that was bought by various Jewish families over 200 years ago (and if I got the location right, including land owned by members of my own extended family who barely made it out alive during the 1929 Arab massacre of the Jewish residents).
But if that isn't ridiculous enough for you, today the government attempted to start constructing the wall around Gush Etzion, well actually only part of Gush Etzion, the rest is apparently to be abandoned.
So they came with their chainsaws and were about to cut down the entire beautiful 100 year old forest near the Gush Junction to build a provisional wall, until a last-minute temporary injunction was issued!
This government has decided to simply roll over and die, but not before taking everyone else down with them.
The Suda Forest
The Government Tree Cutters
And while I’m mentioning the ridiculous I might as well add one more item.
A major car bomb was caught today just before it was deployed.
The Arabs of Bethlehem/El Hadr planned to drop a fully loaded car bomb onto the Gush Etzion bridge from the mountain ridge just over the tunnel entrance that the bridge extends from.
Even if there was a plan to build an additional wall on the ridge (there is a fence there already, but it proved to be quite useless today) it won’t prevent the Arabs from simply attacking from behind the wall, after all, the government has no intention of clearing out the mountain face, just sticking its head in the sand behind the walls.
In fact, there have been a number of Molotov cocktails dropped in the past couple of months from that area.
Unless the government finally decides that the best defense is a good offense things will just get worse.
The bridge/tunnel entrance
A few commenters left their remarks on her site which aren't on the main page anymore but can be found on the permalink.
Jameel recalled that until Oslo and the advent of Palestinian suicide bombers, there were almost no roadblocks or checkpoints, and just as it is completely safe now for a Bethlehem Arab to go visit the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo without being hurt or killed by Jews, that’s how safe it was just 15-20 years for Jews to visit Beit Lechem, Aza, and other areas occupied by Arabs.
Jameel expressed hoped for the day there would be real peace and then road blocks and checkpoints wouldn’t be needed anymore to stop Palestinians on their way to mass murder Jews.
Does that sound extreme or unfair to you?
Another commenter posted the following version of their checkpoint experience coming from Efrat (just south of Beit Lechem). It was apparently written in response to an article in a magazine.
Sirs,
I read with interest your article on Palestinians, checkpoints and Israel.As an Israeli living in Efrat, one of the Jewish towns mentioned in your article, I felt I personally related to the description of the humiliation, delays, and inconvenience caused by the various checkpoints.
Let me describe my typical day.
Efrat should normally be a 7 minute drive to Jerusalem, yet when I leave for work I have to drive through 2 checkpoints to enter Jerusalem, often sitting in traffic for as long as a half hour, as each car is checked one by one to make sure no Palestinian suicide bombers sneak through.
Before heading to work, I stop off at the post office to get my mail. At the post office, I empty my pockets, walk through a metal detector, and as I invariably beep, I then face the daily humiliation of the pat down (like when you are at the airport), I usually then show my ID – all to make sure that I am not a Palestinian terrorist planning to shoot up everyone inside the building - again.
Having completed that checkpoint I head over to work. Entering the building's parking lot, my car is then thoroughly searched to make sure no bombs are smuggled inside or attached unbeknownst to me (oh, and I show my ID yet again).
Entering the lobby requires that once again I show my ID. If it is a nice guard that knows me, he'll sometimes skip the humiliating pat down if I beep as I walk through the metal detector.
In the evening, if I want to go shopping with my wife and then catch dinner and a movie, the checkpoints and humiliations become nearly unbearable.
Entering the shopping mall parking lot in Talpiot, our car is once again thoroughly checked for bombs, and depending on the day's warning level, I might have to get out of the car and undergo yet another humiliating pat down (and of course show my ID).
Entering the supermarket, once again I empty my pockets, and get the pat down, my wife has the additional humiliation of not just a pat down, but of some stranger rummaging though her pocketbook and seeing what she keeps in there. Once again, to make sure we are not Palestinian terrorists smuggling in weapons to kill innocent Israelis in a public place – yet again.
Having completed our shopping we head to a restaurant, where yet again, we undergo a full body pat down, and to my wife's humiliation yet again, her pocketbook is rummaged through, all to make sure that we are not yet another Palestinian suicide bomber trying to blow up yet another restaurant and all the Jews inside.
Do I need to describe what happens when then head over to the movie theater?
I probably should, because there we are checked 3 times, as they make sure that the previous guard didn't misidentify us at any point.
Luckily, when we head back home there are no spot checks on the road today and even better, the guard at the checkpoint to our town recognizes us, so we go through unhindered.
As he opens the huge metal gate attached to the wall that surrounds my town, which protect us from Palestinian infiltrators, I feel like I'm entering a big prison.
Prison-like or not, usually our town's security fence works. In the past few years, only 3 Palestinian terrorist got through, but thank God they were killed in time before their attacks actually succeeded.
Though the truth is, the Palestinian suicide bomber in our supermarket only failed because the trigger to his suicide belt malfunctioned when he pressed it.
So I must say, I do relate to the fact that my Palestinian neighbors must go through so many checkpoints, yet not as many as I go through every day.Unfortunately, unless the Palestinians unequivocally give up terrorism, both their checkpoints, and my checkpoints are here to stay.
Tomorrow I am renewing my ID card. It's worn out.
Now I ask you. Do you think it is right that we Israelis have to go through so many checks and metal detectors every day just because Arabs like to blow themselves up and take everyone else with them?
No it isn't.
And do we give a hoot about some whiny Arab from Bethlehem who gets to spend the day safely wandering around Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo or Malcha Mall after passing through some checkpost that was only installed to prevent them from from killing even more innocent people?
No we don't.
Currently you can see it live at: http://web11.mediazone.co.il/media/zoo/
Don't worry, the one on the right is asleep.
If you were wondering if elephants can jump click here.
Just in case you were really concerned...
Meanwhile, the exodus from the Likud is beginning to make the Likud more attractive. As I implied in previous posts ( Taking out the trash, Running the Likud by Remote Control, and A Quickie Political Analysis ) the Likud needs to clean house, and Sharon’s Refugee party is giving those dead-end power stalkers a place to run to.
With Mofaz now gone, and Silvan being the only one that can do it for Judy (at least according to the advertisements she hung up all over the place), I think the rest of us would be happy if he were also to run on over to Sharon.
Meanwhile the Likud is beginning to return to its roots, and the reason people voted for it originally - ideals and principles that represent the majority of this nation’s beliefs.
Does that mean that Likud could win over Kadima.
Who knows?
Kadima still has the attraction of a new party and Sharon does draw his crowd, but a new Likud that is clean and takes a strong moral position may turn out to be just the crowd-pleaser that the public is looking for.
Once the Likud announces its new leader and gets in gear we’ll see a change in the polls.
As for Sharon, as I asked my leftists friends, besides himself, what exactly does he stand for?
Hmmm. Ze’ev has infected me with the Book Meme which was originally the I-Pod meme. Good thing too, because I don’t have an I-Pod, and don’t really listen to music enough for the original meme to be relevant (I have more than enough CDs/songs, but it just seems irrelevant)
As I choose to understand it, he wants me to name 15 books I am reading or have read recently.
I normally ignore these things, but I guess I’ll do this one, particularly after Jameel called my blog “academic”.
I’m always in the middle of a few books. Some I finish right away and some drag out a bit longer.
Currently reading:
- Tanach (currently up to Yishayahu, but finding it a bit difficult for some reason to get started).
- The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe. Roger Penrose – Surprisingly interesting. He actually makes the math understandable too!
- What to Expect ™ in the First Year.
- Dr. Spock (8th edition, though wondering if I should have bought the 7th instead).
- The Federalist Papers
- John Locke – 2 Two Treatises of Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration
- Clausewitz’s On War. Reading it incredibly slowly though.
- The Chronicles of Narnia
Here are a few I read recently:
- Caveman Chemistry, Kevin Dunn – Skimming through it again it. It’s a very interesting book.
- A few of James Clavell’s books
- Sharansky’s The Case for Democracy
- Netanyahu’s Fighting Terrorism: How Democracies Can Defeat Domestic and International Terrorists
- Civil Disobedience and other Essays (Thoreau)
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- Rich Dad Poor Dad
- Harry Potter (of course)
- Rectifying the Jewish State, Ginzburgh
I expect to be reading the following in the near future, as soon as I place my order with Amazon:
- The Immortal, Sy Polsky
- Surely you’re joking Mr. Feynman
- QED, The strange Theory of Light and Matter, Feynman
- The Tipping Point, Malcom Gladwell
I hereby infect Jameel http://muqata.blogspot.com/ with this meme.
I've corrected that fundamental mistake in this version.
The Jewish population in Israel is expected to grow faster than in any other Jewish country in 2005, to more than 5.31 million people, the government reported Thursday.
The Jewish settlement population at the end of September was 5.28 million, up from 5.23 million at the end of December 2004, the Central Bureau of Statistics said. If nine-month growth continues at the same rate, then the Jewish settler population would expand 1.7 percent for all of 2005, to 5.31 million the bureau said.
The 5.31 million Jews settlers live among more than 230 million Arabs in territory the Arabs claim for yet another future Arab state.
Big story right?
Well, I accidentally found out all about it that week, but until today no one else knew what I was talking about. Plenty of friends (and you all know who you are) thought I was making it up.
I haven’t decided if the story was censored then because it was right after the disengagement and things were heating up and the government didn’t want it known that mortars were now in range of Jerusalem and it showed an obvious failure of the government’s policies, or if they were simply trying to catch the rest of this terrorist’s friends.
To be honest, the way things work here, you can’t really know what the real reason was.
Anyway, as I’ve mentioned, there are now mortars in range of Jerusalem.
It’s a good thing that the Knesset is having its roof reinforced against missile strikes.
But certainly someone as distinguished and important as Peres should no longer have to demean himself anymore to accommodate something as common and populist as elections. I’m sure that Sharon will be giving Peres an interesting job, though not necessarily a Knesset seat.
Of course this would change the picture a lot. “Crush ‘em” Ramon and Peres together – sounds like the New Labor Party to me (and now Dalia Itzik and Yossi Sarid wants in too).
Obviously Sharon knows that too much Labor might turn off some of his Likud voters, so Peres might just end up with a Kadima/Government “Elder Statesman” position - something with a title, prestige, and the continuing opportunity to hobnob with the rich, famous, and powerful – all at the taxpayer’s expense, though not as an MK (but perhaps as a minister Sharon could fire).
So where does that leave us?
Kadima is the new Labor, and the Old Labor is now… Shas.
That’s right!
The disenfranchised will vote for the new hero of the tired, poor, hungry and Sephardi – Amir Peretz and Labor.
Where does that leave Shas?
Heading towards oblivion I’d say (well OK, heavily damaged actually).
The funny thing is that Shas holds victory in the palm of its hands.
If only Shas (or the man in charge) could swallow its/his pride and bring back Aryeh Deri.
Deri could ensure that nary would a single Sephardi vote ever reach Peretz, and Shas would once again be kingmaker.
Unfortunately, Deri is friends with Ramon and some other Kadima people, so he could just as easily put Kadima in the catbird seat as he could anyone else.
What about the Likud?
What a mess.
But between the Trojan horse (Mofaz), the man with no ideological backbone (Netanyahu), the man with no voter appeal (Landau), the man with no chance (Feiglin), and all the other wannabees (Shalom, Livnat, etc.) and not to mention a 1000 of Sharon’s men in the Likud Central Committee, who knows what will happen.
The only thing probable is that with Peres visibly hanging on to Sharon, a lot of Likud’s potential Kadima voters will vote Likud in the end.
What of Sheretz and Shinui?
Well those that really hate Settlers and Religious will still vote for them, respectfully.
Those that vote economically left will instead vote Avoda, politically left for Sharon, and those that only vote White will vote Sharon since Shinui will be a wasted vote. If Yair joined his dad they'd win the female vote big time.
Sheretz with Barghouti at it's head would win the far Left and Arab vote - whether or not he was still in jail.
And the Right?
Well, a joint Religious and Right bloc would pull in a serious number of seats, particularly if Shas (with Deri) also joined, but a configuration like that will never happen.
Instead a joint NRP & Nation Union party will pull in some seats from the Likud, but that’s it. They've simply got nothing exciting or new going on over there.
And the Religious? (Not the NRP, which doesn't count for much these days.)
Well their constituency has been hurt very badly this past term by Sharon. They may actually come out to vote in larger numbers than usual. That could actually affect the size of the pie slices for each party.
As a side point, the polls currently say that Sharon may get a large number of seats - but voters may soon begin to ask themselves, "If I vote Sharon, what will I actually get after the elections?" - I expect that to be the Likud's message.
We’ll check back in a few weeks when the smoke starts to clear, and see if this analysis has any merit.
Jameel and I were discussing other people’s blogs (opb).
This is anything but an endorsement; it's just a list of a few blogs I tend to check out more regularly than others (obviously not meant to insult anyone not mentioned, of course).
The comments section is now open to anyone that wants to mention their pro-Israel, pro-Jewish blog (your own, not someone else's). I assume Elchanon will be first.
It obviously wasn’t enough for them to spend their time defaming and slandering settlers, they’ve expanded their scope to include other known traitors of the Kibbutz movement – also known as residents of Shalevim, all the while printing openly biased articles that too often forget to quote the other side or mention all the relevant facts (that might actually shed some accuracy on the story or remove the slant).
Jameel has a few good comments that are very worthwhile reading.
http://muqata.blogspot.com/2005/11/haaretz-darlings-injure-7-idf-border.html
http://muqata.blogspot.com/2005/11/haaretz-dislike-media-you-must-be.html
This is my response to them. It is clearly a subject I will need to explore further in the future:
Yes, this government did something very evil, and yes the same players will try to do more evil after March.
But don’t stop your Aliya because of them. Make Aliyah despite them.
We need American Jews that don’t roll over when a government says so. We need Jews in Israel that understand concepts like democracy, representation, and civil rights and will demand them.
Israelis are a passive/submissive people. Too large a large number meekly accept and submit to whatever is thrown at them (high taxes, disengagement, terrorism).
We need Jews who are awake and will stand up. Join us and be one of those willing to make a difference.
It’s not always easy, but living in the Land of Israel is both a great mitzvah and vitally central to the future of the Jewish people all over the world.
You may legally need to be an Israeli to live in the State of Israel, but you can still be a proud Jew in the Land of Israel.
www.JoeSettler.com
He would use his self-appointed Likud Central Committee members (1000 members who make up 1/3 of the committee) to do something he perceive as damaging to the Likud, perhaps having them all vote for Feiglin for Likud leadership.
Checking out the Haaretz today I learned that Sharon is even more subtle.
To our surprise, his man Mofaz didn’t jump ship with Sharon. To remind you, Mofaz is the Defense Minister who loyally and eagerly implemented the Sharon Disengagement plan to create Jewish refugees.
It turns out that Mofaz has set up a major clandestine network inside the Likud (ostensibly for the day Sharon retires) to help him get elected PM.
So if Mofaz’s plan succeeds we now have an answer to the question as to how Sharon plans to set up his coalition.
He’ll have his B-list poodles in “Kedima”, while remotely running the Likud though his real right-hand man.
What a shame that Sharon has turned to the dark side of the force.
Article 5 of the law stipulates what conditions justify objecting to the registration of the party. These include a party's position rejecting Israel's right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state, incitement to racism, supporting the armed struggle of a hostile country or terrorist organization against Israel, or a situation in which there is reasonable cause for suspicion that the party is meant to be a cover for illegal activities.Need I say more?
A friend, Robert Klein of Beer Sheva, pointed out this article.
A soldier was arrested for providing 3 guns to Palestinian Terrorist Organizations.
To quote Robert:
"Now if he had provided, say, 50,000 guns, that'd be called a peace process."
Personally I think the guy should get the Nobel prize just for the effort. Why should Shimon share it alone?
Maybe Candy&Rice could have him join her staff.
Jobs this guy is now qualified for:
- Prime Minister of Israel
- Israeli Minister of Defense
- Israeli Foreign Minister
- Israeli Peace Negotiator
- U.S. Peace Mediator
- Yitzchak Rabin imitator
- Nobel Prize winner
- Prime Minsterial candidate in the upcoming elections
What happens when an unstoppable manipulator collides with an unyielding dictator? (and which one is which?)
In a typical Sharon maneuver, Sharon tried to sidestep Peretz’s demand for the meeting to dissolve the government.
Attempting to buy himself time, Sharon simply pushed off the meeting with a flimsy excuse.
Peretz, the seasoned negotiator (Peretz hasn’t lost a negotiation yet that I know of - simply because he always knows who to take hostage - everyone) decided that Sharon’s typical manipulation of the playground rules will simply not happen this time.
So Peretz had all his Labor sheep submissively write, sign, and hand in their resignation notices – which he duly collected and will be presenting to Sharon.
A Fait Accompli.
So like it or not, Sharon’s government is now over within 48 hours of whenever Peretz decides to give him the letters.
You can note a series of interesting points with this story:
- Labor ministers are sheep.
- Despite all this talk that Peretz is inexperienced in politics and doesn’t have the background/experience needed to run a government (as if any politician in the rest of the world actually does before they are elected), you can see that that talk is just sour grapes from those “experienced” MKs who are now acting like the sheep they are.
- Sharon is so used to bulldozering his way and manipulating the rules, he completely fumbled against someone who knows how to manipulate within the rules even better than he.
- Peretz has a very serious chance of becoming the next Prime Minister.
Very scary isn't it?
Meanwhile, it's no longer a surprise to me why the Left keeps bringing us Oslo reruns and never notices when it doesn’t work, yet again, the real reason why.
Talk about a group of delusional individuals.
None of my Leftist (politically, not financially Left) friends are at all concerned with Peretz’s communistic philosophies, tendencies, actions and beliefs.
Every single one of them completely and utterly believes that once he is in power he will moderate his actions and attitude.
“What you see from here is not what you see from there,” Sharon said, and they repeat.
Who are they kidding?
Listen to the guy talk. He hasn't modified anything, and he has no intention to.
Peretz hasn't backed down or modified his view on anything he believes in his entire life.
Peretz's every ambition and negotiation has always been to force his opponent to give him exactly what he wants.
This man has shut down the entire country numerous times; he’s stranded innocent tourists for days at the airport as his hapless pawns; he’s caused blameless industries millions if not billions of dollars in damages so he could get something he wanted from a different sector entirely.
Can they really kid themselves into believing that this is a man who will moderate himself now that he has the chance to do exactly what he has always wanted to do?
This means that he (and his communist manifesto) is a front runner candidate for Prime Minister of Israel.
If Israel’s economy wasn’t already horribly hobbled by its socialist history, this man will drag us back 50 years.
I can’t begin to imagine what benefits (only) Histadrut members would be getting once he takes power.
This man’s idea of negotiations (and he considers himself a great negotiator) is to put an economic gun to our nation’s head and wait until he gets what he wants.
If that doesn’t keep you up at night...
Left wing voters have apparently given up on Shimon Peres’s messianic adventurism into his militant world of Peace, and instead want Amir Peretz’s exercises in economic terrorism to rule the roost.
What does this mean for us here in Israel.
One can only assume that when Peretz will protest a vote in the Knesset he will use his standard trick of shutting down the country for a few days until he gets what he wants.
Talk about a strong opposition party.
Heading into the world of speculation, Peres will need to decide if it is better to serve in hell or to serve in hell.
Will Sharon break away from the Likud, and Shimon join him as one of his number 2s?
Or will Shimon stay on and serve as one of Peretz’s many number 2s?
A tough choice for a perpetual loser 1 2.
Al Quaida ME strikes on 9/11.
Doesn't that sound suspiciously like....
Maybe Israel should learn from France....Transfer?
It will be interesting to see if France learns from Israel or if Israel learns from France how to put an end to these Arab riots.
The Jewish public's pessimism can apparently be ascribed to the state of affairs today, which leads an overwhelming majority of 74 percent to expect that even if Israel withdraws from all the territories beyond the Green Line and the occupation ends, Palestinian violence will not stop and may even intensify.
The ramifications of this poll are tremendous.
An incredible majority of Jews today understand that Arab violence against Israel not only won’t end but will even intensify no matter what we give them.
Yet what does that say about the Israeli government and people that keeps repeating the same wrong solutions and mistakes.
There are so many things to write about this, but I will pass the baton to Jameel and hear what he has to say later today.
He was concerned that the disengagement may have shaken my faith.
To be honest, I still don’t understand his question.
But I’ve been thinking about it a lot since he asked.
I’ve been wondering if his understanding and conceptualization of Torah, Judaism and G/d is so simplistic that he believed my commitment to G/d and Torah might be in someway be compromised simply because certain people managed to do something very evil.
The more I ponder his question, the more I’ve come to realize that Leftists in general have this incredibly childish, patronizing outlook towards G/d, Judaism and religions in general (particularly their own).
That is why they overreacted when we nearly had a Parah Adumah a few years ago, that is why they don’t want Jews to pray on Har HaBayit, and that is why they keep misunderstanding what this war in Israel is really about - and how to end it.
Most importantly, it’s why they repeatedly keep pushing inappropriate solutions on the rest of us that merely bring about more and more deaths.
When, surprise, their messianic peace doesn’t arrive, they face severe cognitive dissonance and react like every other shaken cultist who’s UFO didn’t appear on schedule – and at that point there's no more sense to their beliefs at all and they simply become fanatical and fixated.
They’ve adopted a simplistic religion to match their simplistic outlooks while building up convoluted theories as to why everything hasn’t happened as it should have (generally blaming religious Jews and/or Settlers).
Perhaps the first step in their Kiruv is to wake them to the fact that the world is much more complex than their mantra, “Peace Now” and their spaceship isn't coming.
I only saw the tailend of the video, but it seems that a bullet (hole and/or wound) is either missing or unexplained, and one expert concludes that the hole in the front of the shirt was created when someone used Rabin’s body as an ashtray to snuff out their cigar or cigarette (after he was dead).
Unfortunately, apparently the entire show and the panel afterward concentrated on only that discrepancy and not the many others that have been brought to light.
It was very clear that Hess (Israel's chief pathologist and the guy who over the years has been constantly connected to very strange stories regarding dead bodies he’s touched all over, as well as various missing body parts) didn’t do a very professional job (unless he was part of a cover-up).
My favorite line was MK Ephraim Sneh’s, where he said there are 2 truths. The historical truth that Yigal Amir killed Rabin due to right-wing incitement, and the ballistic report truth which is irrelevant to the historical truth - sort of like, don't confuse me with the facts.
Obviously the only point of the Channel 2 show was to make sure the public knows that that it was Yigal Amir and there was no conspiracy.
Which in my eyes they completely failed to do, no matter how many times they repeated and repeated and repeated and repeated that everyone accepts that only Amir was the murderer (except for Sneh who also blamed everyone on the right).
It’s time we put an end to this controversy.
Clearly the only solution is to exhume Rabin’s body.
In fact, Ariel Sharon has an entire unit of soldiers that are now experts in that.
Dig him up. Let’s see the truth for ourselves.
If you haven’t been following the news, Arabs in over 9 Paris suburbs have been rioting for the past week.
This includes throwing rocks, burning cars and buildings, Molotov cocktails thrown at a local town hall, and even shooting at policemen with real bullets!
Police responded with tear gas grenades being shot into a Mosque and rubber bullets at the rioters.
There are reports of 2 dead Arabs so far (who managed to kill themselves while breaking out of the police station).
Nor is this the first time that Paris has seen such Arab riots.
And the Arab excuse…
“We’re angry. We’re being humiliated,” claim various Arabs interviewed in the French local media.
Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
All I can say is:
"PM Villepin, you must act with restraint. You must stop this cycle of violence involving your police forces.
The Arab population must not be humiliated or angered anymore. There are understandable viewpoints on both sides, but France, being the occupier must act with restraint otherwise we will demand that 3rd party forces will be introduced into your region.
In fact, I've requested a UN peacekeeping mission be sent in right away."
But to top it off, I want to remind our favorite French people that when the 10 million+ Arabs (and growing) living in France demand autonomy, or better yet, an Arab state in Paris, I will fully support their demand.
In the meantime I fully laud any plans for a unilateral withdrawal from the Eifel Tower and surrounding occupied neighborhoods by the French government.
I might take this post down later as it is really out of place in this blog.
But what is going on between the Yigal Amir family and our Leading Leftists?
Is it simply the anticipation of the upcoming November 4th RabinFest celebrations, or is there something more happening behind the scenes?
For the past two weeks, newspapers have been reporting instigative remarks coming from the Amir family and even more inciteful responses from our leading Leftists.
Each side is publicly demanding the death of their opponents, but today our leading Leftists notched it up a step by expanding the argument and openly demanding that Freedom of Speech be taken away from everyone whom they find offensive – not just the Amirs.
I presume that could eventually even mean you (my readers) or me. (See Jameel’s blog on Shimon Peres’s new goals which were made around the same time Peres was denouncing the IDF for trying to stop Islamic Jihad in Northern Samaria).
But then what totally blew today completely out of proportion was Yigal Amir’s surprise demand for a new trial.
On what basis you may ask?
His prime objection being the discrepencies and contradictions within Rabin’s medical records, the ballistic reports, the Kepler video, (and his own actions).
Suddenly he claims he wasn’t the actual killer.
Go figure.
I personally don’t put much weight in “C”-word theories, but I sure would like to know what’s going on behind the scenes right now, and while we’re at it, how did Carmi Gillon, the man who personally failed to save the Prime Minister (and ran agent provocateur Avisahi Raviv) end up with a series of cushy government jobs like ambassador and then mayor?
Suddenly, stable dictators (who are our “friends”) are off-limits to this policy, and yet perhaps it is these countries that need it the most – particularly Jordan, for there to be peace.
I needn’t go back far in history to demonstrate how Mandatory Palestine included Jordan.
Nor can I ignore that more than 80-85% of the Jordanian population defines themselves as Palestinian. Even their crown prince is half Palestinian.
It’s enough for the Jordanian-Hashemite (minority) dictator to be deposed or step down and a democratic election be held, to instantly create a secular Palestinian state in the Middle East.
Yet, this idea is not suggested – it is even deplored.
In a Jerusalem Post interview a few months ago, the Israeli government’s Dore Gold declared that having a stable dictatorship like the despotic Hashemite Jordan on our Eastern border as being indispensable to peace.
To quote Dore directly: “...every Israeli hopes the Hashemite Kingdom [will] stay there for ever...”!
Nevertheless, Dore will willingly accept a State of Palestine on our eastern border - as long as it is on our side of the Jordan River.
Does that make sense?
Obviously not.
Unfortunately, beyond lip service (and in Jordan's case, not even that), both the U.S. and Israeli government have not internalized President Bush’s policy of promoting democracy in the Middle East.
It's difficult to promote peace when your policies are selective and arbitrary.
Unfortunately to our dismay, Maarat HaMachpela, the resting place of our ancestors was closed to Jews!!!
Quite incomprehensible, though no less inconceivable than the fact that Jews may not go up to pray at our holiest site either (and no, it’s not the Kotel).
We picked up a pair of America tourists also wandering around Hebron with no transportation and drove them back to Jerusalem before Shabbat.
We stopped off and showed them “Har Homa” on the way.
They were surprised that this was the neighborhood that had caused all the controversy. They asked us a few times if we’re sure we’re talking about the same place.
Back home Mrs. Settler raised the idea again that the settlers need to run a “birthright yesh(a)!”.
Jews need to see and understand what it is these “settlements” really are.
This couple is going back to America with a new understanding. We did nothing more than drive them through a supposedly controversial neighborhood.
No amount of media bias and Arab propaganda will ever be able to distort the reality they saw with their own eyes.
I've posted the entire article in my comments section (without permission of A7).
It will be wonderful if my previous post on the subject will be completely ruined.
For some reason, the expulsion of 10,000 Jews from their homes hasn’t rocked their lives or shifted their foundations. I would not be far off to say that it affected their lives almost indifferently. For many, it seems that Katrina, while an undeniably awful event, completely displaced something that should be much closer to their hearts.
Even the Rabbi of one shul I attended barely managed to offer, as an apparent afterthought, a mismatched metaphor for the expulsion during his sermon, while Katrina had the defining influence on his speech.
Many spoke to me about how awful it was, but with a few exceptional exceptions, I didn’t see or hear of anyone doing anything about it.
Many people were unaware of events and details of what happened beyond what was said on the news, or what is happening now and were shocked by the common knowledge events I detailed to them.
To be fair, I did speak with some who were very connected and were personally assisting tremendously.
But overall, my impression is that Orthodox Jewry in America has disengaged from life in Israel, beyond visiting for the holidays.
They are more concerned if microscopic bugs in water make it treif.
Can you imagine that! I was shocked to hear that people won’t eat in other people’s homes who don't have a water filter.
Has distancing themselves from Israel also distanced them from Halacha?
The Ramban said somewhere that practicing Halacha outside of Israel is just that – practice. Only in Israel are you actually performing and fulfilling Halacha.
Isn’t it time that American Jewry starts reconnecting to its roots in Israel, and started performing instead of playacting?
Ask yourself these questions:
1) Why would the Arabs quietly accept this solution or status, when (a) they would never consider Dayan's new borders to be satisfactory (b) Barak already offered them more, and (c) they consider all of Israel to be occupied Palestine?
2) What happens when we pull back further and (surprise) the Arab terror attacks don't stop?
3a) If your answer to #2 was that we'll attack back in force, then please explain why we’ve never attacked Lebanon for kidnapping 3 soldiers (and a drug dealer) and holding them hostage for over a year, while in the meantime firing numerous Katushyas at us, and not to mention all the successful infiltrations - despite the exact same threat that we would hit back?
3b) Same question, Gaza.
4) What happens after this next pullback, and the Arabs in the Galilee Triangle demand autonomy?
5) Same question, the Negev.
6) Same question, but this time the Galilee and Negev Arabs start an armed intifadah.
7) So, in fact then, how many Jews have to actually be killed in an Arab attack for any return strike to actually be considered moral or permissible?
8a) If this is supposed to bring peace and quiet, then why did the Arabs import into Gaza more (high-end) weapons in 3 days than they did in 30 years, and are now demanding safe passage (presumably for their weapon systems) directly into the West Bank?
8b) What are they planning to do with all those weapons, including anti-aircraft missiles?
9) If you decided in #2 to go back in force to stop the attacks, will it be better to (a) send in mass troops to permanently retake/clean out these territories at whatever cost to IDF soldiers lives, (b) better to drop bombs, indiscriminately killing terrorists and innocents alike, or (c) simply chase all the Arabs out of the Land of Israel and let them continue to be refugees elsewhere, but with no more deaths on either side?
10) If you did not choose 9 [c] then please go back and answer question (1) again.
One of the posts set off a keyword filter that brought in that junk.
I hope this post corrects that a bit.
A shame I didn't write about the Moneytree or mortgages and loans or even jobs, that would have put something else there entirely. Heck, mentioning Kosher food would put up some interesting and more appropriate ads.
I've modified part of the offending post, but I won't bet my bottom dollar that it will fix it entirely.
We'll see.
I was rereading the Omega Group’s alternative plan to the Disengagement, and while I don’t 100% agree with their solution I was very impressed by how dead-on accurate their analysis was.
For example, just look at the faults listed in the plan. Except for #3 (so far, but let's see) everything else (particularly #6) has already proved itself true.
Faults with the Prime Minister's Disengagement Plan
Those faults are:
- 1. Capitulation to terrorism.
- 2. The expulsion of Jews is inherently immoral and racist.
- 3. The expulsion of Jews sets precedents in other countries as being acceptable behavior.
- 4. The one-sided expulsion of Jews threatens the social unity of Israel and undermines morale.
- 5. Zero penalty to the Palestinian leadership and terrorist organizations.
- 6. No solution to the "Philadelphia Route" security issues with regard to defense and the easy access via tunnels and border crossings for weapons, drugs and terrorist smuggling.
- 7. No solution to the "occupation" issue leaving us back where we started.
- 8. No solution to the festering refugee camps leaving an underlying aspect of the problem to flourish.
Their plan would have turned all these issues into non-issues.
Well there’s a document that is totally irrelevant now.
Did you notice Sharon's choice of words, "The Jewish people have a long memory"?
Why did he say "Jewish people"?
Because a goldfish has a longer memory span than an Israeli, as Sharon likes to regularly proves.
You can't win money, but perhaps fame and fun will do.
Check it out: http://muqata.blogspot.com/
Ten years ago, Rabbi Baruch Shapira ZT”L said that in ten years Gaza will be cleared of all Jews, and all Jewish homes and synagogues will be destroyed.
Then there will be an earthquake which will cause a tsunami and wipe out all of Gaza.
That’s all I have so far, and the source and quote are still unverified.
More to come as I verify the story.
My friend Steve pointed this one out this nivuah to me from around 2000 years ago. I've taken the liberty to repost it without his interpretations.
Dr. Yosef M. Tabak also has his own interpretation. It's interesting, but I don't agree with him 100% either.
What is very interesting is that Dr. Tabak translates "Generations" instead as "bonfires" or "plowed furrows" - both accurate descriptions for what happened to the Gazan synagogues.
From Devarim (Deuteronomy) 34:3 - Targum Yonatan Ben-Uziel (written some two-thousand years ago) in Aramaic:
It will be that the king of the South will join with the king of the North to attack the citizens of the land;
and the Ammonites and the Moavites that live in the Camps (or Plains) that cause distress to the welfare of Israel;and the deportation of the disciples of Eliyahu that were expelled from the Jordan Valley;
and the expulsion of the disciples of Elisha that were transferred from Dekel Village (Neve Dekalim)
by the hands of their Israeli brothers - 200,000 people;
and it will be when the anguish of every generation and the visitations of Evil Incarnate/Armalgos/Armilus and the series of battles of Gog, and during that period of the terrible pain -
- then will Michael arise, with the seed of the Redem ption.
A forecast like that reminds me of the story of Rabbi Akiva.
When the Temple was destroyed and they saw the results, all the Rabbis cried except Rabbi Akiva, who instead laughed.
They asked him why he was laughing.
He answered, "If the first half of the nivuah came true about the destruction, then the second half will come true about the Redem ption."
What an amazing speech (and in Hebrew too)!
What a shame these things were only said after the expulsion.
Perhaps if they had been said before, more often, and both at home and to the world, then our nation and Prime Minister would have a different outlook on Jews, on G-d, on Torah, on Israel and on our unquestionable right to live here and rule in the complete land of Israel - our birthright and inheritance.
Jameel will probably say Sharon is cynically using the expulsion for international brownie points, while the Israeli news already said he cynically said what he did to help get reelected with the Likud Central Committee.
I only wish that what he said was coming from deep inside, and returns there so that he hears the truth of his own words.
The reality is that if he so firmly believed in the first part of his speech, then he wouldn't have made certain comments in the second.
And furthermore, one needs to remember that this is the same person that deceived everyone that voted for his party. This is the same person that said that what happens to Netzarim is what happens to Tel Aviv. He then ripped 10,000 Jews out of their homes (including Netzarim).
An open letter from Ahmed.
לאחי השמאל בעם היהודי – שלום! לי קוראים אחמד, וברצוני להודות
לכם מקרב לב על המאמצים שלכם ועל עקשנותכם שהביא אותי להגשמת חלום. אני
אחמד מאמין באללה ובקוראן. יש אצלכם יהודים שמאמינים בתורה - ואנו קוראים להם כופרים
ועם הספר. אין דבר חשוב יותר מאללה, ואין טוב יותר מג'יהאד
נגד הכופרים. האמת, בחיים לא האמנתי שאצליח להגיע לבית כנסת של
היהודים כדי להרוס אותה, אבל כששרפתי את הפתח של הבית כנסת ועקרתי את
הפינה של אותו בית כנסת שנראה כמו מגן דוד, הבנתי עד כמה אללה טוב. האמת
לא הייתי יכול להגיע ולהרוס ללא העזרה שלכם, אחי החילונים! היהודים המשיחיסתים
שנמצאים בארץ ישראל (התכוונתי כמובן לפלסטין) לא היו נותנים לי להרוס או לשרוף. רק
בעזרתכם, אנשים הנאורים שאינם מקבלים את השטות של היהדות, הגעתי למצב שאפשר
בגאווה להשתין במקום שעמד פעם הספר הזיוף שהדתיים
שלכם קוראים תורה. אני אחמד, אין מה להגיד לאותם יהודים דתיים
שחיים בעבר. הם מעלים את השואה ומחזיקים את עקרונות היהדות קרוב לליבם. בחיים
הם לא היו מגרשים (סליחה שוב התכוונתי מפנים) יהודים מבתיהם. אני מאד
מקווה שתמשיכו לא להאמין ביהדות ותמשיכו לזלזל ולחלל את הדברים
שאותם יהודים מחזיקים כקדוש. אם תעשו זאת אחיי השמאל החילוני, נצליח
יחד, להביא מזרח תיכון חדש ואפילו לנגב חומוס. רק הערה אחת, אני
לא אוכל חזיר אז תצטרכו לאכול את החזיר לבד ואני רק אסתכל
ואברך אתכם בשם אללה! לאותם דתיים יש לי רק דבר אחד להגיד
- אטבח אל יהוד!!! אנחנו והשמאל ביחד עם עוד הרבה שאהידים נחסל
אתכם! באהבה - אחמד השורף
For months the IDF basked in the loving embrace of the Israeli Left and their European lovers.
This ménage-a-trios of support and sympathy simply overwhelmed our IDF and government.
Never having experienced such overwhelming ecstasy from former antagonists, the IDF quickly climaxed, only to collapse exhausted - but not into the arms of its new lovers.
The loving relationship quickly turned into something more dark and sadistic, unexpectedly involving handcuffs and captivity.
Our IDF and government emerge from this adulterous affair confused, scared, and hurt.
Perhaps it begins to realize that its sadistic behavior against its most loyal citizens was actually masochism?
Perhaps it begins to understand that the loving embrace of the Left was something else, something more sinister?
IDF generals, just last month the darlings of the Leftist media, of the Leftists organizations worldwide and in Israel suddenly find themselves locked in and locked up.
Travel overseas is forbidden and forbidding as their former lovers now threaten to put them in jail.
Government ministers are astounded and outraged, “We did what you asked, why are you trying to hurt us more?”
Yes, the marriage between the religious and the secular Zionists is now over.
But that was an abusive relationship.
The religious won’t let themselves be smacked around again.
The secular, well, they’re taking another path, and it’s a shame their new lovers keep beating them.
“Nearly all IDF soldiers obeyed orders. Refusal was almost nonexistent.”
Hearing these statements made again and again in the media, has made me wonder whose army are we talking about?
When I served, we served proudly and volunteered for dangerous missions.
The boys I spoke with told me of the blatant warnings and open threats used in order to guarantee their basic cooperation.
The threats to be kicked out of officers school, flight school, and combat units, the threats to be decommissioned, dishonorably discharged, careers destroyed, severe jail time, and worse.
My IDF was motivated by pride in our mission.
This IDF is motivated by threats and coercion.
Can you imagine a state whose primary methods of motivation for its active soldiers are threats and intimidation?
Yet despite this, I am proud to say that many, many soldiers disobeyed orders.
True they did it quietly, but who wouldn’t with such threats hanging over their heads.
Thousands of Jews snuck into Gush Katif, and it was done directly with the covert help of IDF soldiers.
As many made their way into Gush Katif, soldiers in the fields saw them and smiled. Soldiers came over to help point people in the right direction, telling them what to avoid and where to go.
How many snuck out of Kfar Maimon and into Gush Katif miraculously through the “solid” line of soldiers in front of them? Hundreds.
Many soldiers surreptitiously helped people get past the police at checkpoints.
So, I still have hope for the IDF.
Despite the threats, many soldiers quietly did what they could to help – against orders.
If the moral makeup up these soldiers couldn’t be shattered and crushed by this government, and despite having so much to lose they still volunteered for the dangerous mission of clandestinely fighting the disengagement, then the moral fiber of many of our soldiers still exists.
True, there were too many that acted like robots after their month long indoctrination and “desensitization” training. And yes, it is scary that such brainwashing techniques worked so well.
But while the talking heads may think that they have all the soldiers sown up in their pockets, we who were in the field know otherwise.
This corrupt government needs to resort to threats and brainwashing to carry out its immoral acts, but many of our soldiers, in the best Jewish tradition were prepared to do what they could, volunteering to help the side of good, of Gush Katif, of the Jews.
Until their robots begin to break down, this government knows it has automatons it can count on, but I don't think for long, nor on a massive scale. I think this is the last time we will see such an operation.
Too many soldiers are hurting inside from participating in such evil acts. Too many soldiers have had their eyes opened.
My IDF is in there, its fighting to come out.
We find ourselves limited by our own innate ability to grasp, comprehend and visualize what others have experienced, simply because it is not within the framework of our own past experiences or perspectives.
After numerous conversations with various members of the Jewish community worldwide I suspect that many simply can’t fit the experience we in Israel have undergone and are undergoing into their own worldview and mindset.
Avi Abelow produced the following video from the expulsion. I think it will open some eyes and hearts.
To the video:
Alternatively, it is viewable here:
Who should desecrate the synagogues in Gaza - the Israelis or the Palestinians?
While the Palestinian defilement would likely follow the standard Arab model of synagogue desecration (which involves bodily functions), in the end, does it really make a difference who’s planting the C-4 or driving the D-9?
After 10,000 Jews were violently forced out of their homes, and Gaza quickly transformed into yet another Arab country free of Jews, is the destruction of a bunch of synagogue really such a big deal? (It is.)
Besides, after building a few more public toilets, I doubt the Palestinians would destroy the rest of the synagogues - more likely they will turn then into mosques, or Museums of the Palestinian Holocaust, or some other nonsense like that.
I also don’t understand the argument that it will set precedent for foreign countries to begin destroying their own synagogues. I would have to assume they already learned that such actions are acceptable directly from the disengagement.
Jameel at the Muqata has explored some the thought processes of the Left in order to understand why they feel so strongly that it must be Israel that destroys the synagogues, and that the synagogues must be destroyed.
Personally, I think the whole discussion is surreal.
What additional perspective could I add to it other than that kicking Jews out of their homes and then destroying their synagogues, homes, jobs, and lives, is wrong?
They document just part of what is to be destroyed - homes, Synagogues, lives, and even souls.
The homes and parks:
The Synagogues and Yeshivas:
Soldiers crying after understanding the extent of this crime and their participation in it.
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