7/31/2006 08:12:00 PM | 
Posted by
JoeSettler
Did you notice (how could you not?) the beat of their synchronous clapping as the crowd applauds in perfect unison with impeccable timing?
Nothing at all like the free-for-all ‘white noise’ clapping of an enthusiastic American audience that fills an auditorium.
Annoying, isn’t it?
Have you ever wondered why Israelis clap that way?
My theory is that it is a side-effect of the Israeli fear of being alone and unloved.
That theory explains why the Israeli behind you is practically on top of you when you are entering your bank code at the cash machine, it explains why the Israeli sticks to the back of your car even if you are the only two cars on the highway, and it explains why Israelis want the UN to love them even as they say "Um Shmum".
Israelis can’t stand to be alone and different, so they even clap in unison with the rest of the crowd.
A form of isopraxism, if you will, as they try to reach a unified synergy with those around them.
Scientists have actually studied the phenomenon and have come up with different explanations for the cause.
One study (done in Europe, as the phenomenon is relatively uncommon in the US) found that synchronicity vs. white noise clapping is directly related to the actual enthusiasm and true excitement of the crowd. A less enthused crowd will clap in unison, a genuinely appreciative or enthused crowd will exhibit much more white noise for longer periods of time.
Why do I mention all this?
Well, the Prime Minister just got on TV in front of a crowd in Tel Aviv and said, “There is no cease fire, there will be no cease fire, we will continue to fight and we will win.”
The crowd spontaneously broke out in massive white noise clapping that went on at least 45 seconds before it became synchronous. I have never heard an Israeli crowd clap non-synchronously for more than the 2 seconds it took them to find the beat.
And just now, at the end of his speech, again white noise clapping for at least 15 seconds (though some sounds of synchronicity were trying to force their way in).
In short, Israel actually and truly does want to fight and win this war.
I hope Olmert understands that this is what the people want and they support him in this (and not his convergence/realignment plan).
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3283540,00.html
Lebanon crisis and the army of God
Anyone walking by Mea Shearim's central synagogue this week would have had to rub his eyes in disbelief, the quarter's inhabitants had been praying for the sake of the people of Israel for 72 consecutive hoursby Neta Sela
Anyone walking by Mea Shearim's central synagogue this week would have had to rub his eyes in disbelief, the quarter's inhabitants had been praying for the sake of the people of Israel for 72 consecutive hours Neta Sela
It is commonly thought that the ultra-orthodox community in Israel lives in a closed and sealed bubble, and does not take an interest in matters that do not directly relate to it.
Apparently, however, members of the community in Bnei Brak and Mea Shearim are fearful for the fate of the Jewish people and the state of Israel, and are not only fearful of god.
In the past two weeks, since hostilities began in the north, the community has been conducting special prayers for the abducted soldiers, IDF fighters and for the citizens of the northen communities.
"More than 50 years ago the ultra-orthodox community said 'you fight and we'll pray'", said a staff member at the prime minister's office this week, who is also a close aid of the former prime minister Ariel Sharon.
"It's true that they were always criticized about this, but on the other hand, they really do stand by their part of the agreement. They don't try to dodge the commitment they took upon themselves. Ultra-orthodox worshippers pray because they truly believe that that's what will help, and perhaps we need someone to do it."
72 hours of Psalms
Anyone walking by Mea Shearim's central synagogue this week would have had to rub his eyes in disbelief. Hundreds of the quarter's inhabitants prayed for 72 consecutive hours in shifts changing every two hours. The shifts included men and women who came to read Psalms for the "sake of the people of Israel."
The Jerusalemite quarter is considered to be the stronghold of the ultra-orthodox community, and it is where members of the most extreme sects of the orthodox community, who are opposed to the Israeli government, reside.
Without prior notice a vehicle sounding psalms on a loudspeaker stopped at the Etnura square in Bnei Brak Thursday. An eye witness at the scene said hundreds of the city's inhabitants stopped to take part. Prayers and other rallies were also conducted throughout the country as well as in countries such as Antwerp, Belgium and in Gateshead, England.
Members of an orthodox organization tried to maintain ongoing Gemara studies in dozens of synagogues throughout the north of the country, conducting lessons in the bomb shelters. The organization's coordinators touring the north tried to address the influx of requests for study kits. Requests also came from the IDF.
It's no holiday, we have to study Torah
On Saturday evening two weeks ago, on the day a grandmother and her grandson from the Miron settlement were killed by rockets fired into Tiberias for the first time, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef came to give his weekly sermon at the Yizdim synagogue in the Bukhara quarter in Jerusalem. He was accompanied by the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Shlomo Amar.
At the end of the sermon Rabbi Yosef prayed for the IDF soldiers, blessed the abducted soldiers and asked that they be returned safely, he prayed for the wellbeing of the citizens of the north and of the southern city of Sderot. He also asked those present to begin saying morning and afternoon prayers as well as a special prayer said during the ten days of repentance.
On Tuesday of this week, the eve of the month of Av, Rabbi Yosef announced the holding of a rally at the Western Wall, and modified the prayer marking "difficult times." More than ten thousand people attended the rally; they read psalms and prayers along with the kabbalist rabbis.
In the world of orthodox Yeshivas it is common to take a three week vacation commencing from the end of Tu Be'av until the beginning of the month of Elul. However, Rabbi Yosef told the congregation at the payer rally that there will be no vacations this year.
"We're all experiencing these troubled times, so what's a vacation? We have to study the Torah. With the help of the Torah God will save us. We have to strengthen those who are risking their lives," said the rabbi.
There's nowhere to go
The Rabbi of Braslev in Safed, Eliezer Kenig, arrived on the evening prior to the rally. He came with dozens of his students who had remained in the city, in order to pray at the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai in Miron. Generally, at the beginning of each month, hundreds of worshippers, if not more, flock to the area. This week, only a few dozen arrived.
Rabbi Kenig sent the young boys from his yeshiva to study at the Braslev Yeshiva in Beni Brak, but he himself decided to remain in the city along with the 40 families of his yeshiva students.
"Where can we go? Several of our students joined their parents in Haifa and Carmiel, but the rockets fell there too. If we flee, will they stop firing the rockets? We have to stay put and pray that God will protect us, and yes we'll stay and prevail, thanks to our faith. These words were written thousands of years ago, not today."
Rabbi Kenig abides by a classic religious faith. He is of the opinion that "this war has come to awaken us, to remind us that we must become stronger and believe that the State of Israel is the only place for the Jewish people. Even if we ask the non-Jewish populations they too will agree that the state of Israel is our home."
According to Rabbi Kenig, this awakening applies to all sectors of the Jewish people. "We are seeing that it doesn't matter these days who is secular and who is orthodox. We are one people and there are no differences between us. The people of Israel are a unique people that are able reveal their quality from within, as well as the reason for their united existence here in the land of Israel.
Perhaps what we need is unity
For the past two weeks 25 volunteers from Megan David Adoms's orthodox volunteer organization have been manning four stations in Safed, Hatzor Haglilit, Tiberias and Avivim. They sent the women and children to Kibbutz Hafetz Haim to the south of Gedera, so that they could dedicate themselves entirely to their work and the evacuation of wounded civilians and soldiers in the north.
"The contact with the forces who are risking their lives for us," says one of the volunteers Nachman Klien, "strengthens the unity among the Jewish people. I evacuated several soldiers from the area, and it wasn't easy.
"One of my friends evacuated the regiment commander who was wounded during the fighting. He told us that while the soldier was being evacuated, he called to leave instructions before being admitted into hospital, despite his multiple wounds and the severe pain he was in. These are things that give a lot of strength, knowing that our soldiers are strong people and we trust them and believe that with the help of god they will get the job done."
Klein talked about dozens of benevolent organizations who came to the north over the past two weeks, bringing food to those in the shelters or hosting families. "The volunteers keep running from one place to another. During the weekend they give out hot Shabbat meals to those who have remained behind. This unity, the good deeds and charity is perhaps what's really missing."
From the Magen David Adom station in Safed Klein hopes that the situations encountered will be remembered.
As more than 500,000 Jews are refugees from their homes, seeking sanctuary in bomb shelters, at friends, relatives, and even strangers; as businesses are destroyed, buildings destroyed, cars destroyed, Jews murdered and wounded – by Islamic Fundamentalist missiles, I haven’t heard the UN say anything about aiding Israel, I haven’t heard any of the world bodies say anything about providing aid to Israel.
As Kassams fall on Sderot injuring and killing I don't hear the UN talk about aid to the victims.
In fact, it was only when Israel began to hit back did the world suddenly remember the word “cease-fire”.
The truth is, keep your aid, and keep your cease-fires.
In the end, we Jews are keeping the mitzvah of supporting our own and don’t want or need to share it with you. We are raising our own funds to support the victims of Islamic Fundamentalism and World Hypocrisy. We are providing shelter for our own in our own homes.
You busybodies who hate Israel are so irrelevant to our existence and success. You tried to kill us or simply look away (just like now) during the Holocaust - your values and morals are less than meaningless.
Israel is the Nation that stands alone. You’ve proved that. And we’re all the better for it.
If there’s anything terrorist organizations like more than hiding behind different names for the pseudo-anonymity of their patrons (as if we didn’t know who they were), it is hiding behind civilians as they launch their attacks.
Hundreds of missiles have been launched out of Kfar Kana. Hundred of missiles striking Jewish towns, causing injuries, damage, and deaths.
Hizbollah thought they could hide behind the baby carriages of Kfar Kana and be granted invulnerability from Israeli retribution and defense.
On one hand, the deaths of the foreign civilians that Hizbollah directly caused by using them as human shields is a shame, but there comes a point when our own lives must come before those of an enemy state, as missiles from the enemy state rain down upon our civilians.
Israel cannot stand by and let Hizbollah hide behind (or in) women’s skirts while they continue to murder our citizens. Is our blood redder than theirs? I’d rather not have my blood spilt to find out.
It’s time the rules of the game are recognized for what they should be.
If Hizbollah chooses to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity by using civilians as human shields for their acts of terror, then Israel is not responsible for any results that may occur in defending ourselves. If Lebanon chooses to keep its border open with Syria to keep resupplying Hizbollah then they are just as complicit as Hizbollah.
The Lebanese government and the Lebanese people need to decide if they want Hizbollah and thereby be complicit partners in their terror, or if they don’t – and then act accordingly.
Their first act must be the return of our kidnapped soldiers and the total destruction of Hizbollah.
Nothing less.
The simple answer is ‘No’, as there is no a shortage of Islamic Fundamentalists living throughout America (and Canada) and not just in Detroit, that it gives even me pause before I would step out again on those Golden Shores (unarmed).
But was he a member of Hizbollah? Probably not, but that is irrelevant. Because as I am sure in the end we will learn that he belonged to one terrorist group or another.
When Rabbi Kahane was murdered, the authorities declared it the act of a lone gunman unassociated with any terror group. We’ve since learned how wrong that assessment was and how the Jihad in America (and perhaps even 9/11) could have been nipped in the bud at that point in time.
After El Al in LA was attacked, the US authorities declared it the act of an enraged ex-employee (or some other nonsense), unconnected to any terrorist group. Again, we’ve learned better since then.
And even if he had no other connection than his Mosque and fellow Imans, that it is sufficient enough terrorist connection in this cultural/religious war.
America wake up, the enemy isn’t at the gates, they’re already inside.
http://benchorin.blogspot.com/2006/07/few-days-ago-i-posted-nasty-little.html
To my good friends in “Red” Haifa:
I write to you as a brother and, as brothers are wont to do, I will speak directly and honestly. My heart is with you in these difficult days. But still I must point out to you that if you were not in Haifa, this would not be happening to you. You chose to live in Haifa despite the inherent dangers and despite Arab claims to Haifa. Now you must pay the price for that decision.
I appreciate that you and your ancestors have dreamt of living in Haifa for generations, but do Arabs not have dreams? They too dream of Haifa and, as their rockets prove, are willing to struggle valiantly to realize those dreams. It is you who stand in their way. For how long will those of us who do not dream of Haifa, who do not even care to visit Haifa, need to do battle in the name of your messianic hallucinations?
For years we fought in Lebanon to defend you even though we did not believe in the justice of your cause. We have had enough. We do not want to chase down children shooting rockets in Lebanon. Lebanon is a quagmire. It would be simpler for all of us if you just moved elsewhere.
Unfortunately, I suspect that your idolatrous attachment to your homes is such that these arguments do not persuade you. So, at least think of the economic cost of your insistence on staying in Haifa. Do you know how much money is wasted every year on subsidizing your hopeless escapade? This money could be spent on feeding the poor, on providing care for the sick and incapacitated, on finding a cure for cancer, on shelters for battered women. Do you not care at all for the less fortunate in our society? Shame on you.
I turn to you as a brother. Come home. Come back to the heartland. To Judea and Samaria, where the rockets don’t reach. They will be there and we will be here. It would be best if you came of your own volition. We will see to it that you will be fairly compensated. But do not mistake our generosity and civility for lack of resolve. If you do not leave Haifa voluntarily, we will have no choice but to remove you by force.
With sensitivity and with resoluteness.
While certain sectors would like to tell you that we have given the IDF a free hand – that unfortunately is a lie.
Yesterday we witnessed a repeat of Jenin, again resulting in the needless deaths of some of our outstanding young men.
The corrupt value system of the Left is still holding the IDF and our country shackled.
The majority of the civilians have long left Bint Jubeil. Yet instead of Halutz dropping some of his infamous (‘bump under the wing”) 1 ton bombs on the town (among other weapons), we are foolishly rush in our ground troops as cannon fodder.
Instead of spending a few weeks clearing out the ground ahead of us with air support, we are prematurely accelerating our ground troop deployments to avoid the externally demanded deadlines and ceasefires that we will voluntarily choose to accept being imposed on us.
For once I want to see Israel throw away the left’s distorted value system and put the lives of our own soldiers first.
For once I want to see Israel say we will not accept your deadlines and ceasefires that attempt to maintain the status quo – a status quo that is openly detrimental to Israel and merely invites more of the same.
It's time that Israel dumped the Left and their damaged value system. If the Left wants to protest the war against Hizbollah, let them go to Nahariyah and do so, and let’s make sure no one lets them into any bunkers when the missiles begin to fall.
This is, without a doubt, the most pressing question floating around the Jblog(o)sphere as of late.
The truth is, it’s not much of a mystery (except to those that don’t know).
- I’ve been very busy with other very important things.
- I don’t want to write any public analyses about Lebanon or Gaza to avoid accidentally writing something that might be classified or was previously unnoticed/unrecognized by the enemy (Hizbollah, Hamas, or our fellow Leftists citizens that take money from foreign governments or simply hang out with terrorists for coffee and a chat) that may read my blog.
- I am also wondering about the point of this blog.
Let’s discuss [3] for a second.
For the Religious/Right that reads my blog, I am doing nothing more than preaching to the choir (though some in the choir feels this preaching gives them Chizuk).
For the sicko Leftists out there (as this week has proven), reality, history, and facts will never impinge on their world view so what’s the point in trying to open their eyes?
And as for the dithering middle, well, for you guys, it’s wherever the wind blows today anyway, so nothing of value sticks, regardless.
If Olmert can go to Nitzan and have the insanity to tell the Expelled that it is good that we are not in Gaza and he plans to kick out even more Jews from their homes - then any discussion with the Left is impossible because their position is pseudo-religious and simply irrational. (And if Effy Eitam thinks this little interruption will stop Olmert then he's just as crazy too).
For those that really do want my view on this war, last week a reporter from the Washington Post also asked me for my opinion, and this is what I said:
“If Israel finishes this conflict with anything less than the total destruction of Hezbollah, Hamas, Fatah, and every other terrorist group, as well as not rescuing all our kidnapped soldiers (and not through prisoner trades) then no matter what other results on the ground - we will have lost - as these terrorist attacks (all sponsored by Iran and Syria) will repeat themselves on a larger scale.”
But the way Olmert is dumbing down the goals of this war, it looks like we will lose.
I highly recommend reading these 4 articles:
http://www.jewishisrael.org/views/feiglin/66/feiglin_6618.htm
http://www.jewishisrael.org/views/sackett/66/sackett_6613.htm
http://www.jewishisrael.org/views/feiglin/66/feiglin_6614.htm
http://benchorin.blogspot.com/2006/07/few-days-ago-i-posted-nasty-little.html
My friend Rachavam came up with a great term Hitchamshut.
It translates as ‘Rearmament’.
And after all, what could better describe the plans put into action by Barak, Sharon, and Olmert (if he gets his way), that the rearming of our enemies with even better (and more) weapons than ever before.
Hitchamshut it is.
I spoke with a number of friends and they were telling me that they spent the day calling up their reserve units to get them up into the fight. One of my friends was actually from the platoon that got attacked, and he had finished his reserve duty just a few days earlier.
I honestly have no desire to be left-wing cannon fodder, so I asked them why they are willing to volunteer for the extra duty.
The answers surprised me.
They spoke of responsibility to the country, of protecting the nation, and of killing Arab terrorists – despite how the Left directly propelled us into this situation, while betraying us and hurting us personally. They didn’t want to leave the defense of the country (while we are defending it for a change) in the hands of the ‘Yifeh Nefesh’.
I can understand all those sentiments, and have some thinking to do before I make any phone calls - meanwhile I'm busy protecting my Yishuv, my neighbors may be thinking of taking their celebrations to the next level.
I remember when Eidan’s family made Aliya. He couldn’t have been more than 6 years old turning cartwheels in his new living room. I’d see him every now and then over the years, in town, at protests, just growing up.
Eidan is the kind of young man that would make any parent proud. A platoon leader. A good Jew. An example to follow.
And Eidan’s parents don’t yet know he is on his way up North.
During my various stints In Lebanon it was dangerous and we met our Arab terrorists head on and (thank G/d) won.
But things are different now. After abandoning our safety net, our control, our intelligence, our allies, and our security, Hizbollah has been given 6 years to build up their forces, weapons, and traps. (And after hitting Haifa today, we see they made good use of our gift.)
Eidan is going into a new situation. When I served, we mostly controlled the ground and everything around us, and when we didn’t, we made sure we did fast enough.
But Eidan is going in with no safety net, with no allies, with no intelligence, against an enemy that has studied this capitulating regime and can manipulate it like nobody’s business.
Ehud Barak should be charging the line up North. Not Eidan. Eidan should be at home, while those responsible for putting us in this situation should be up front putting their lives on the line with everyone else safely far behind them.
Please G/d let Eidan come home safe.
Yonit Levy, Channel 2's anchorwoman, tried provoking the minister and asked him: "What do you say to the people who claim you are a defense minister without experience?"
Peretz decided not to answer and told journalists: "Don't get excited. I come from Sderot where there are constantly Kassam attacks."
Dear Amir Peretz,
When Yonit asked you about having experience, she was referring to hitting back at the enemy, not getting hit by the enemy.
-Joe Settler
One of the advantages of my position is the entertainment.
All evening I have been watching the most amazing fireworks shows lighting up the entire sky from every direction.
My neighboring Arabs friends are celebrating the missiles strikes on Haifa, Tzfat, and even on the town of one of their own.
Meanwhile a group calling themselves the Gilad Shalhevet Brigades claims to have kidnapped 2 Arabs and plans to release them only if our soldiers our released first.
Personally, I can’t wait till Moshe Feiglin is Prime Minister.
There is no doubt that the IDF will in the end stand to the challenge, but it will only be after it scours away the mental morass and muddle that it’s been poisoned with.
If case you haven’t noticed, the Left are now trying to excuse themselves from any and all recriminations that they so whole-heartedly deserve.
Their new claim is that they all knew that war (or unquiet at least) would happen (sic), but you have to understand that continuously running away and hurting our own civilians and hiding behind an imaginary wall would place us in a better position to fight back.
(Well, if they believed it might bring war or “unquiet”, then why didn’t they prepare for it and why didn’t they react against it at any point before it became totally inexcusable?)
Obviously, when straddled with their perverted moral value system and distorted world outlook, they actually believe their revisionism – but seriously, let’s get real.
In order to win this war, Israel will need to fight an active war on 5 fronts:
- Gaza
- Lebanon
- Syria (potentially)
- West Bank (as opposed to Judea & Samaria whom Olmert would prefer to be fighting)
- Leftist ideology
But without destroying fifth, any progress on the other 4 fronts is simply doomed to failure.
Israel military thinking has become stagnant and outdated.
The military has predefined protocols on how to react in certain situations. Apparently some idiot forgot to update them. Ten years ago when we were in Lebanon, perhaps it made sense to reactively send in a tank, but after not being in control of the ground for so many years, didn’t someone think to review (and revise) these rules?
How many other outdated protocols are we following?
In its zeal to chase peace and expulsions, has the government caused the IDF to become slipshod and negligent in preparing for its actual role of defending this country?
The government has certainly crippled our intelligence force's capabilities to detect and prepare us for these kind of (now quite regular) events.
There is a word in Hebrew that describes the period preceding the Yom Kippur War, when our government and military leaders couldn’t even perceive the possibility of war happening despite the obviousness of it to everyone else.
Unfortunately, we’re back there again.
I’ve written enough about it, and I’ve been right. Instead let’s talk about something else.
Today is the 17th of Tamuz. It is the day the Romans breached the walls of Jerusalem leading to the destruction of the Second Jewish Commonwealth in the Land of Israel. It is the day that Moshe broke the first set of Tablets because of the Golden Calf. It is the day Nebuchadnezzer breached the Jerusalem walls. It is the day the Kohanim discontinued the ‘Tamid’ sacrifice in the First Temple.
It is the day that led to the destruction of the two Jewish Temples on the Temple Mount.
And just less than a year ago, on Tisha b’ Av last year, Ariel Sharon began his expulsion and deportation of all the Jews from Gaza, Israel.
The period between the 17th of Tamuz and the 9th of Av is called the 3 weeks. There is no name for the period between the 9th of Av and the 17th of Tamuz.
The 17th of Tamuz is a fast day. No food or drink from before sunrise to after sundown.
On the 17th of Tamuz we fast in memory of these bad events. On the 17th of Tamuz we fast as a Tikun for these bad actions.
I hope everyone has an easy fast, and G/d keep our soldiers safe and healthy and may we bring them all back alive and whole, and may G/d through the IDF severely pour down his burning wrath on the nation(s) attacking us.
They do an excellent job of getting innocent people out of ‘administrative detentions’, essentially arrest based on ‘secret’ evidence that the arrestee can’t defend himself against.
They do such a great job that the government has decided to start putting the breaks on their activities.
Ariel Gruner from Yitzhar heads the Honenu organization.
Today the government placed him in administrative detention based on secret evidence that he is a threat to the general public and security forces.
I bet he is. Gruner is a successful civil rights activist against government brutality and abuse of right-wingers and our rights. That’s about as dangerous as you can get to a regime like Olmert’s.
Unfortunately, while we all know why Gruner was really arrested, but as the information is ‘secret’ he can’t defend himself in front of judge, so now he sits in jail without charges for at least 3 months.
"We have here an order without a legal process, without proof, without evidence," said Itamar Ben Gvir, settler activist, told Army Radio. "Amir Peretz is behaving like a dictator."
"His arrest crosses the red line," Gvir said. "It is not clear why the champions of human rights and democracy are being silent now."
Baruch Marzel said that left-wing civil rights activists should be very worried (I disagree, they don’t need to worry at all – yet). But could it be despite their claims to liberalism, free speech, and civil rights for all, they actually only demand it for those that think like them? (Oh come on, we already all know the answer to that).
Sources: Ha'aretz Arutz-7 Ynet
(I’m obviously ignoring the two Kassam missile launches on Friday from Samaria that happened to fail, and all the attempted and minor kidnappings and murders - as from a Leftist point of view they never really happened).
Obviously we know that having settlements and IDF forces in Judea & Samaria keeps the Arab terror attempts to a minimum in those areas, but it doesn’t help the Leftists understand what went wrong with all the theories he is continuously risking our lives for.
Obviously we will have to ignore the continued attacks from Lebanon to explain this theory, but suspension of disbelief is certainly something they are good at.
The question is, why did Gaza not quiet down like Lebanon (supposedly) did after Israel ran away?
Well, the answer is actually quite straight forward. Hizbollah achieved 90% of their stated military goal, while the Palestinian Authority have only achieved around 5% of their stated military goal.
It comes down to this. The Palestinians both say and see all of Eretz Yisrael (and "Ever l'Yarden" too) as Palestine.
Just because they managed to have us expelled from one part of Palestine, does not mean they see the game as having ended.
For them, all of Palestine is one contiguous unit, and as long as they don't also rule in Tel Aviv and Haifa where they ran away from in '48, the Occupation will simply not have ended.
That is the major difference between Hizbollah and the PA.
Hizbollah essentially achieved their stated goal of kicking Israel out from Lebanon, and therefore they can take a respite from fighting.
The PA on the other hand, has only had the initial taste of victory and it's left them hungry for the rest of the meal.
And that is why the Left can't understand why we are still fighting in Gaza - because they can't accept the Palestinian's stated goals at face value.
Honestly, what was that big scene he made last year? Did he think it would win him votes or assuage his conscious?
If I were writing about it, I would ask him to explain the difference between his position and Yossi Beilin’s, and even after his explanation, I would find it difficult to see the difference.
So while Netanyahu does his best to prove he isn’t a
I will write about something positive.
I will write about something positive.
Oh, of course.
My work at expanding the settlement enterprise, despite the efforts of Leftists agents supported by foreign governments, is going forward quite well. (Sometimes they visit on Shabbat to take pictures).
Please G/d in the coming days (or weeks) we will be moving into our new home as we help significantly expand our
Ahhh, you should see the dreamy-eyed expressions that crosses the faces of my fellow residents of Yesh(a) when we talk about it.
There is nothing they would love more than to leave
Alas, even with all the money I am paying them, it isn’t enough to make it happen, and then there is the problem of the Green Cards, Visas, and gaining citizenship.
Now, as regular readers of JoeSettler know, there are relocation programs for Arabs that sell their land in Yesh(a) to Jews and want to resettle in some Western country without a death sentence hanging over them. The problem is that these programs are small-scale. They’re run by handfuls of people with (relatively speaking) small budgets. It’s enough to assist (let’s say for this post) a few hundred emigrants a year, but that is still a drop in the bucket.
It’s time we introduced a new Jewish Zionist Enterprise, we’ll call it Nefesh L’Nefesh.
We’ll take all that to-be-wasted "Realignment"/Deportation & Fence ($5 Billion Dollars - talk about more bang for the buck) money, and then for every Jewish family that arrives via Nefesh B’Nefesh, a Palestinian family, or two, or ten will be offered to opportunity to settle the golden shores of America with their own Golden Egg.
I can see it now.
No longer will my Arab neighbors have to settle for their fleeting dreams of America as they work building up my permanent settlement. We can make their dream a reality. A dream they openly state, covet and desire. We can make it happen.
Nefesh L’Nefesh: Making the Dream a Reality
It's good to live in Yesh(a). It's expensive to live in Ramat Gan.
...Jameel says it's a mitzva too (to extend your life).
The first was that Israel has a problem in Gaza because we don’t have an enemy like Nasrallah running the show with his finger on the trigger like we do with Hizbollah in Lebanon – because Nasrallah is a very responsible enemy.
The second comment was that our (government and IDF) leadership were surprised by the outbreak of events in Gaza after the disengagement. They thought things would follow the Lebanon model. Once we left Lebanon, Gaza broke out and (they claim) Lebanon was on a back burner. They expected that after we left Gaza, Gaza would go on a back burner, and the war in Judea & Samaria would break out!
What sick, demented thinking.
First of all, it is so typically Israeli with their short-term memory problems, that they already forgot the IDF soldiers kidnapped and murdered in Lebanon, the multiple attacks on the IDF positions (one time saved solely by a brave Hesder yeshiva boy), the Hizbollah UAV flights over Israel, the missiles launched into the Gallil, the multiple infiltration attempts, and so on.
But Israeli’s don’t count or remember failed attempts (where only a few people get killed), only successful results (lot of dead bodies) and only for a short period of time, and so as long as the IDF mostly foils the attacks, or the incident in question is over, well, then it never happened.
So I’ve learned not to expect more.
But it is the second statement that bothers me a bit more (though it shouldn’t at this point).
The article said that the Israeli leadership expected violence to break out in Judea & Samaria after (and as a result of) the Gaza deportation.
Did you catch that?
They expected it to happen as a result. They’re not hiding it. They expected it. Dare I say, even hoped for it, to give them an excuse for more deportations?
As a result they were bit on the gluteus maximum when they couldn’t forsee that Gaza would exactly follow the Lebanon model, and kidnappings would happen, and missiles would be launched, and infiltrations would be attempted, and terrorism would ensue.
But that’s only because they forgot that it continued from Lebanon with Nasrallah.
(IsraelNN.com) Left-wing Israelis and Palestinian Authority (PA) residents are hurling rocks at Israeli vehicles near el-Hader, on the Gush Etzion-Hevron Road.The protest surrounds continued construction on the partition barrier in the area.Pesky Leftists. They didn’t prove to themselves with the Expulsion that they could outdo the Palestinians in their hatred, so now they simply decided to directly join forces with the enemy.
Note to self: Remember to take away their guns before the revolution.
Not like an Israeli leftist who thinks that we are simply embroiling ourselves in an unwinnable war or their idiocy that we need yet even more negotiations, but because the Left and the establishment are embroiling us in a war they don’t want to win.
Israel has now returned to liberate the exact same Jewish towns that 1,500 Jews were expelled from just one year ago. Why? Because the reach of the Kassam missile has been extended. Because disengagement failed.
And that is exactly the problem. The Left and the Government want to hide behind imaginary walls rather than address the core issues. Kassams landing too close, just move them further away (up to a point at least).
Thousands of Jews were kicked out of their homes where before there had been nothing but empty sand dunes.
Thousands of Jews were kicked out of their homes to create an imaginary separation between us and them.
And now we are back, simply pushing forward to our old positions, without addressing the core problem.
And until we address it, the current Israeli solutions will continue to be imaginary walls that impede nothing.
The expulsion may have succeeded but disengagement clearly failed.
It’s time the Left opened their eyes and looked at some solutions coming from the other side of the spectrum.
In response to the attack on Ashkelon (which hit a school), the IDF will be recreating the Northern Gaza buffer zone.
Until 2005, Northern Gaza was the site that housed the Jewish communities of Dugit, Alei Sinai, and Nisasnit. Approximately 1,500 Jews lived in Northern Gaza, protecting middle Israel from Arab terrorism. Because of those 1,500 people, the 120,000 citizens of Ashkelon were able to sleep peacefully at night.
Because the government ripped those 1,500 people out of their homes, 120,000 citizens of Asheklon are now hostages to our lame duck government and Arab terrorism.
I’m hoping that this is the first step for our settlers to begin to return to their homes – though somehow I doubt it, Olmert still has more time to capitulate.
In reality: There’s no military solution that a leftwing government is prepared to authorize to stop kassams.
Problem: The PA is starving for cash.
Solution: Start a war with Israel.
Results: Arab League & Saudi Arabia transfer $100 million in aid to Palestinians (AP)
Peretz says, “The IDF will increase it’s pace”
Question: Aren’t we retreating fast enough?
Event: Olmert visits S'derot for the first time since the deportation.
Non-event: Olmert sneaked in for 15 minutes and then ran away. No one even knew he was there.
Fortunately for Ehud though, he doesn’t actually have to live in S’derot, and he doesn’t need to risk his life day in and day out or even for an hour.
Unlike what he expects from the residents of S’derot, Olmert is not willing to put his own life in superfluous danger so…
…Ehud Olmert snuck into S’derot and Ehud Olmert snuck out of Sderot.
Talk about cowardly leadership, though the real question is, was Olmert more afraid of the Arabs finding out he was there or the abused citizens of S'derot?
But can you imagine that despite the IDF positioned inside Gaza, Olmert is still afraid to openly go to S’derot, as they might shoot some Shmassams at him while he is there?
What is Olmert saying about his trust in the IDF, or in the actual mission he gave the IDF to fulfill (which wasn't to stop Kassams)?
Obviously, not much, because the Arabs happened to shoot a Kassam into the Negev while Olmert happened to be there.
But then again they shoot there without fear all the time, so that’s nothing new.
Rather strange how much internal dissent there is these days. Sometimes a goal is clear and the path follows naturally, but sometimes the goal isn’t clear, but the path still is, or sometimes the goal is clear but the path isn't. Sometimes though you simply don’t which path will be more effective or less dangerous.
The Arabs, for instance, are just full of dissent.
They’re at war with everybody and everyone, in one way or another is at war with them.
But even internally they have dissent. Their most common disagreement being which is the best way to destroy Israel.
Even getting Hamas and Fatah to agree on the Prisoner’s document to plot a united strategy on how to destroy Israel led to further dissent.
And then we have the dissent within Hamas - two different sets of Hamas leaders striving to control the government and the strategy.
And all this of course leads us back to Israel.
Leaving out the Leftists not in the government (whether they want to be hurting the settlers, the religious, or the religion depends on which sect of secular they belong to), we have Olmert and Peretz openly fighting on how little to do in Gaza, and then we have the Security Forces openly disagreeing with Olmert and Peretz in that they (the security forces) want to do a lot more than either will let - never was there so open a disagreement as we have now.
We even have the IDF blowing up Palestinian electric power stations and then afterwards Olmert and Peretz promising to hook the Palestinians up (even further) directly to the Israeli grid - immediately (and obviously for free).
Unfortunately in the Orange Camp we have our dissenters too (but some of them seem to be being instigated from outside sources).
Ignoring the hypocritical (openly left) leftists that actually live in settlements (yes we have a few of those, and it is rather bizarre to hear someone openly advocating that not only is he is an occupier but he should be kicked out of his own home – I kid you not), you can’t go to shul on Shabbat without seeing the ideological war going on.
Someone (the government?) has been funding huge sums of money so certain “mamlachti” rabbis can publish these fancy, full size, glossy brochures and booklets they put out every week. Brochures that call for the settler population to remain passive, submissive and smiling(!) in the face of the destruction of their homes!
And finally now the Merkaz HaRav (and other) G’dolim have begunn to directly fight back against this subservient, compliant, yielding attitude that the government is trying to brainwash into the population through certain rabbis, and has started coming out in full force with their own flyers and booklets.
Ben Bayit alludes to it in his various posts.
But as one certain, very well known Mekaz HaRav Rabbi said, “Enough with the love, enough with the smiles, it’s time to be victorious”. – Amen!
Well, we still haven’t even achieved the unbelievably nominal goal as defined by Olmert (getting our soldier back), and Defense Minister Peretz is already opening the gates for Palestinian aid (yeah, yeah, the people aren’t our enemy, only the government these people overwhelmingly voted in to fight us is – I see the logic - not).
Meanwhile the Arabs dug a tunnel for nearly 3 months and nearly a kilometer long. Maybe the Shabak knew about it, maybe not (I’m gonna go with not), and we know (from after the fact) they have plenty of other tunnels they dug, so here we have all these tunnels under the fence, and we have all these missiles over the fence. When are people going to wake up and realize that this fence (and expelling Jews) isn’t the solution to the problem?
Well probably never, since 300 members of Yesh Gvul are protesting our trying to free our kidnapped soldier. They prefer we talk nicely with the same people that attacked, killed and kidnapped our people.
One soldier reported that the Jewish towns they visited were still covered in layers of rubble (except for the shul’s edifice which is still standing). Another reports conversing with local Arabs that used to work in their greenhouse, and they were begging for the Jews to come back, because the other Arabs don’t treat them very well.
Due to the Gaza situation he has delayed his visit.
Apparently he has become wary of Israeli military equipment, that after so many thousands of pounds of ordinance were deployed against Gazan targets they have resulted in only 1 dead terrorist.
He has begun to wonder if Israeli weapons technology is overrated.
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