Hamas condemned the UN based on rumors that the UN was going to start including information on the Holocaust in UN schools in Gaza.

The UN denies they had any plans whatsoever to teach the Holocaust to the Palestinians.

I say "Good".

Hamas is complaining because they don't want "lies" to be taught to their citizens.


But I don't want them learning about it, as it might give them more ideas on how to kill Jews.

Shabbat Shalom!

I just got an email from WebAds and Nefesh B'Nefesh asking me to nominate a fellow blogger for a free round-trip ticket to Israel to go to the Jewish blogger convention.

You can see more here on the convention website.



My first thought was, who could I possibly convince to nominate me. But then I realized that that list couldn't possibly be very long, so I'm giving up on that idea.

Instead I decided to think about who deserves to be on the flight.

Jameel perhaps, but he was on it last year. I think it would be amusing to meet Dov Bear (and then smack him around a bit), but I doubt he'd emerge from his cave.

Then it hit me. SoccerDad.

It's not that I read his blog that often, but the guy has been at the forefront of pushing Jewish blogging - and has mentioned my blog in his Jewish blog carnivals more than once. If any Jewish blogger deserves a free trip to Israel to the blogger convention, I'd have to give him my vote.

(I'm still going to nominate a few other bloggers though).

I'm curious who Jameel will choose (pick me, pick me).

I want to make it clear that I am in no way affiliated with these companies, nor am I getting paid to write this or getting any other kickback.

Every now and then you find a piece of software that just makes your life so much easier that you’ve got to share it, because it really works.

A few years ago I began dealing with a problem that everyone deals with… too many online passwords.

I started using the same password for everything, and it wasn’t a difficult one because I didn’t want to forget it. But then I started to use a banking program online that made me change my password every 30 days! I was a goner. And then with the proliferation of online sites that require a password, I realized I needed a good password management solution.

I eventually found a program called Roboform, which manages (with encryption) all my online passwords. I’ve been using it for over two year now, and it’s great.

JoeSettler recommends RoboForm.

I used to have an old Maxtor One-Touch hard drive for backing up my computer – very important – especially after (or before) you’ve experienced a crash or two. It came with a program called Retrospect (I assume it was the “lite” version). So I used that for years. It worked. It was a little complicated and slow, but it got the job done, but I didn’t back up that often because of the speed and complexity.

I recently upgraded to a network drive, and needed a new backup software solution. What came with the drive wasn’t great. I wanted something better than what I had in the past. Easier, less complicated, more friendly, more features, and so on.

I tried out a lot of backup software packages, such as Norton Ghost, and a few others, but I wasn’t finding what I wanted.

I wanted to simply duplicate files onto the external network drive. I wanted to copy directories. I didn’t want compressed data files with incremental updates. I wanted a one to one file correspondence.

I eventually found a program called GoodSync Pro which I have been using for the past 3 months or so. It does everything I want in terms of file duplication. It doesn’t create a system image, or a system restore – which I wasn’t looking for. It simply backs up your data, and that’s exactly what I needed.

The interface is easy to use (though certain parts were confusing at first in terms of inclusions and exclusions and jobs). It seems to be very efficient. I can even back up Microsoft Outlook while it is still open (though I usually close it anyway when I’m backing it up).

I am not using it to backup installed applications, and for those I would reinstall everything manually, which would admittedly be a big hassle (and probably less so if I was saving an image with a different image backup package). And I am thinking of using it to backup my downloaded application installers. But backing up apps when I have the install disks, is less my goal, than backing up my personal data.

It can also handle two-way synchronization (but I only backup one way), and onsite services like Amazon S3 (which I may try at some point).

And that’s it.

JoeSettler recommends GoodSync Pro.

I hope these packages help you if you've been looking for solutions to the same problems I was.

Is "Boogie" making a move to be Prime Minister, or is he just putting some needed pressure on Bibi, who's forgotten who put him in office and what direction he was supposed to steer the country?

The jury is still out, but Boogie certainly has the support of a lot of disgruntled Likud members and parliamentarians who feel that Bibi is letting the Obama pressure get to him.

Ruby Rivlin said it more nicely. He said Bibi grew up in a good house, he just needs to be occasionally reminded which house he grew up in.

Of course the problem with Boogie is the problem with almost any other Likud candidate. His value system is coming from old-fashioned Zionism, not Judaism, so at some point "pragmatism" will win out when push comes to shove.

But Bibi is certainly proving to be a big disappointment at the moment.

Do we give him another chance?

The New York Times reported on a Great Jewish Hero - who dares stand up to the evil Settlers and the Occupation. His name: Ezra Nawi from Jerusalem.

Nawi dares to buck the trend. He is the Robin Hood of the Palestinians, supplying them with food, clothing, and support.

He is supposedly a pacifist, but there are certainly means other than physical violence to cause problems, and obviously, the charges of his violence must be false. But that's a different legal case.

Because, oops, it's the support thing I mentioned earlier that may be the real problem.

Nawi is involved in a legal preceding against some settlers.

But the lawyers defending the Settlers noticed something strange. There was a section of Nawi's file that was sealed by the Defense Ministry.

After filing a petition to get the certificate of secrecy removed, the judge disclosed the secret contents.

The Ministry of Defense has determined that Nawi is a Hamas collaborator (unlike Hamas, Israel doesn't shoot collaborators).

I guess that would make him a real hero of the Left.

It looks to me like the conversation went something like this:

O: You're the Man.

M: No, you're the Man.

O: No really, it's you. You're the Man.

M: No, no no. It's you man! You're the Man.


And while we're on the subject, this article seems relevant.

Lurker found this graphic appeared in the LA Times on the new Palestinians Google.



But then friend Robert sent us a list of other new Palestinian Search Engines that were localized:

• Ask Jeehad
• AlterHista-ree
• Allah Web
• Highway 72 (think about it)
• Lie-cause
• Mecca Crawler
• Incite
• InfoSheik
• and my personal favorite:
• Itbach al-Yahoo

Here's to you Mary Robinson, Obama loves you more than you will know.

Obama had "no second thoughts" as He gave one of America's highest medals to the woman that presided over of the biggest Anti-Semitic hate-fest (Durban) in recent years.

Jonathan Tobin of the JP is worried that this is a lead-in to far worse.

I agree with him, but am not sure why he is surprised.

Jewish Leftists (not referring to Tobin here at all, but J-L in general - both the self-hating kind and the naive kind) tend to ignore that (or minimize, or sometimes agree with) their non-Jewish compatriots on the Left are extremely anti-Israel and anti-Semitic. One merely has to look at the US academic campuses to see that.

But these Jews believe they share with them other common Leftist ideals that are just as important, not understanding that the most important ideals and goals for these Leftists is the one that marks them as different.

Obama is part of that radical Left. The well-known JP interview before the elections were the first open indications of His stance on Israel - and that He was going to take an active and bad role against us.

There are no surprises here, and yes, I am sure you can consider this a lead-up to something worse.

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is the real reason there is no peace in the region.

The Palestinians, the world claims, need a State. 85% of the population in Jordan are Palestinian, and the Kingdom of Jordan oppresses them instead of granting them statehood in their land.

In fact, last month, the Kingdom of Jordan ripped away Jordanian citizenship from 40,000 Palestinians (without so much as a whine or whimper from the world).

The Jordanians are so afraid that they will be rightfully turned into the Palestinian State that Israel sent over a team to reassure the dictator that Israel is not working to create a Palestinian State (in the 80% Mandatory Palestine that is now called Jordan).

On the other hand, MK Aryeh Eldad proposed in the Knesset 2 months ago, that for Peace, the Palestinians in the West Bank be given Jordanian citizenship.

I think that’s a good idea. It’s a shame that the only idea that the world wants to hear is the one where Jews must be kicked out of our homeland.

Once again, the far Left are in the news for their blatant disregard for laws they find inconvenient.

We've already seen the questions that just seem permanently stuck to Peace Now connected to their tax fraud related to their actual non-profit status. We've already seen how they never legally applied for the proper status, which (if they didn't have close friends in the courts, another problem) should have caused the rejection of all their lawsuits, as they aren't even a legal entity.

Now, one of the big Leftwing lawyers who is always accusing and charging us Settlers of "stealing land" is under a lawsuit himself - for stealing.

It is alleged that Michael Sfard stole (plagiarized) substantial sections from the Israel Democracy Institute and placed them in his book, and didn't bother to ask permission or even give credit to the author.

I guess the Rule of Law can go out the window.

Back in ancient history, the Arabs gave 3 "NOs" about Peace with Israel.

Our "Peace Partners", the Fatah Terrorist Movement, under the strong leadership of Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) confirmed today, that those NOs are still holding strong.

In the document adopted today at the 6th Fatah General Assembly, they called for "sacrifices" for liberating all of Jerusalem (East and West), and making Jerusalem Judenrein.

"Fatah will continue to sacrifice victims until Jerusalem will be returned [to the Palestinians], clean of settlements and settlers."

Oh, and the Aksa Martyrs Brigades is the official armed force of Fatah (where exactly does that put General Dayton?).

A few dissenters at the assembly were beaten badly, and the rest seemed to have learned their lessons.

Abbas was unanimously redeclared ruler (no vote was even required).

Ho hum.

What in the world might the President of France (whatever his name is) have to do with Shas?

Nothing... except for a terrorist.

A short while back, Israeli police caught an Arab terrorist in the midst of organizing a terror attack. He had already acquired a weapon, a plan of attack, and a target. He was just waiting for the opportunity.

The police caught him, and since then, the terrorist has been receiving various levels of support from the government of France, because he is also a French citizen.

Talk about concern for your citizens.

Last week, the President of France actually sent a letter to Bibi asking for him to let the terrorist go!

Shas is extremely angry about this.

Why would that be? It's only one more terrorist to be let out of jail.

What makes him so special?

It turns out that the target the terrorist was planning to shoot was none other than Rav Ovadia Yosef - the spiritual leader of Shas.

I guess that's why this terrorist is different.

Arutz-7's print newspaper underwent a complete overhaul. The layout is completely different.

I didn't have the time to finish it this Shabbat and see all the differences. But what do you think of the new version (if you saw it)?

Jameel and I just signed up for the Second International Jewish Bloggers Convention.

But once again I find out, after the fact, that Jameel is getting special treatment.

Last year Jameel got a free flight. This year Jameel is giving a workshop on defending Israel.

And JoeSettler?

JoeSettler gets to go like all the other Red Sea pedestrian bloggers. No special treatment. No flight.

I certainly don't want to be the first blogger this year who will be whining and complaining about the convention, but something is wrong here.

So I'm not complaining about the convention or convention organizers. I complaining against Jameel who again kept this secret from me - again.

Do I really need to go to Jameel's course on defending Israel? I write his best stuff!

Fine I'll go.

And I signed up for the Jblogger twitter feed too.

It’s been four years since the destruction of Gush Katif in Gaza. I’ve been struggling all week to find the right words to write. Something, anything that after 4 years can put this meaningless, senseless, irresponsible, malicious, evil destruction in some sort of context.

I lack the words.

After the destruction of their home, one of my friends moved to an “illegal outpost”. I asked them why would they risk doing such a thing, and they looked at me in disbelief.

Their home in Gaza was paid for in full. Their town and home was approved by the State. The land was bought by Jews before the establishment of the State. Their town existed in Gaza before the establishment of the State, until it was overrun and destroyed by the Arabs in 1948, and rebuilt again after the land was liberated in 1967.

An article I read today mentioned that Gush Katif had a 100% draft rate, with 85% going to combat units.

Gush Katif brought in tremendous profits to the State of Israel with its massive export of agricultural products worldwide.

If despite all those facts and legalities, the government could make their legal home illegal, and their legal town illegal, and destroy profitable businesses, and turn them all into refugees with a purchased vote, then what difference does it make if the government considers their new home or new town illegal, as their old home was certainly 100% legal just days before.

This Shabbat, Makor Rishon had an article about some of the leaders of the various radical Left Wing groups causing so many problems for the Jews in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem.

So many of them were brought up religious, and some even former Settlers!

What nearly all of them had in common was a variation of a single statement they each made in the article, “There in no God”.

It immediately reminded me of the pasuk in Bereishit 20:11: And Abraham said, “For I said, there just isn’t the fear of God in this place, and they will kill for my wife.”


And then it hit me further that this article reminded me of an article last week that talked about Christianity, the Inquisition, book burning, and other periods of persecution of Jews. Many of the leaders and instigators of these crimes were former Jews who left the fold and became our worst enemies.

And that led to the other obvious similarity in more recent history.


I don’t have much to add to the discussion right now on Gush Katif.

I had wonderful times there. I served there for a while, I lived there for a while, I vacationed there, and did my part to try to save it at the end (and I hope I did enough).

When I recall some of the disgusting and inhumane comments and stickers that the Left were spewing 4 years ago (compare that to their demand this week for humane treatment, and the non-expulsion of illegal immigrants), it becomes clear that this was a battle of good vs. evil and the God fearing vs. the God hating.


It becomes clear is that this was and remains a battle between Jews who believe in God and Jews who don’t (and not “secular Jews”, and there are secular Jews who also believe).


And unfortunately in that round the bad guys won.

Yet, for most of those expelled, while some lost much of their will and strength from the trauma they endured, they didn’t lose their faith, and some (or perhaps many) even increased their will to fight for God, Torah, Jews and Eretz Yisrael.

Yes, there is still confusion in our camp as to how much to relate to the State. To fight from within or from without. How much legitimacy to confer on a State that can turn on its citizens in the blink of an eye, and brainwash and misappropriate its soldiers so badly that they can no longer properly fight the real enemy.

I think for many, the answer is to win from within and fight from without.

To continue to serve in the army and government, but not for the State as it exists now, but for the people and the State as it can be. And to fight, not the State, but evil decisions that the State tries to impose.

For the moment, that seems to be the answer.