The Muqata

Why its essential for you to know Hebrew.

2012-02-29T11:50:00.005+02:00

Hebrew -- knowledge of the language of the Jewish people is essential.

Jews pray in Hebrew, and therefore should know the words they say.

The Torah is in Hebrew, and its better to understand it in the original.

Hebrew is the international language of the Jewish people and in all the places I've been around the world, Hebrew works better than English.

And...many of the blog posts I simply don't have time to write, are based on sources in Hebrew. These stories would fascinate you, yet I simply do not have the time to translate them all for you.

For example: Maariv reports on how the JNF has capitulated to Leftist demands to stop planting trees in the Negev, despite the land being 100% State of Israel land and upheld by the courts.
Source (in Hebrew)

The Jewish woman from Bat-Yam who started going out with "David"...and his strange behavior caused her to have him investigated by private investigators. They revealed that he was an Arab...married with 4 children. And her response? Don't tell anyone so she can continue her relationship with him...she honestly believes she can continue this way. Source (in Hebrew)

High School students expelled for having setting up a table for students to put on tefillin. The Secular high school in Haifa (no, not Modiin) said they were not expelled for the tefillin, per se, but for arrogant behavior. Source (in Hebrew)

Merrill Lynch analyst says Bezeq Telecom stock will rise 47% Source (in Hebrew) Bezeq?! Mashiach must be here...

MK Dr. Ahmad Tibi; A Jew that expects an [Israeli] Arab to sing the "Hatkiva" [Israe's national anthem] is either an idiot or crazy, or he is MK [David] Rotem [Yisrael Beiteinu party] or MK [Michael] Ben-Ari [Ichud Leumi] (Haaretz, 10 AM today)

So what can we expect from Israeli Arabs and not be considered crazy?

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The Pioneers of the Citrus Industry

2012-02-28T13:29:00.000+02:00

Sometimes, one decision can make the difference between making history and becoming a footnote.

Dov David Fellman, a businessman from Mezritsh (Mezhirichi ), came to Israel in 1883, on a pre-Aliyah trip. He toured the land, visited the existing Jewish villages of the time, and decided to start off his own farm, and so set an example for others.

Becoming an Ottoman citizen so he could buy his own land, he bought 10 acres in the Arab village of Sumeil. Sumeil, more than an hour's donkey ride from the Jews of Yaffo, was located in what is today the 'old North' of Tel Aviv, between the streets of Ibn Gabirol, Alrozorov and Shlmo Hamelech.

In the winter of 1884 he brought his family to Israel - his mother, his wife Sarah Itta (his second marriage), and his seven children (ages 17 to 1). They were accompanied by R' Baruch Meir Rozenblum, teacher and butcher, and by the family's maid.

Sarah Itta and five of her children (1884)

David Fellman wanted to be prepared, and so he bought a few books before boarding the boat, and on the way over taught his family Arabic and read up on farming and agriculture.

On their new homestead the family planted an orange grove and on the rest of the land they planted wheat, barley and vegetables, and had cows and chickens. David would start off every day with his morning prayers and learning Mishnah, he would then go to Yaffo to sell his produce, come back, work in the fields with his two eldest sons, and end the day with the evening prayers and a page of Gemarah.

The Fellmans faced many hardships that winter, but the hardest for David was that, due to the Shabbat travel limits, he could not pray in a minyan (quorum) on Shabbat. Together with R' Meir he studied the Halacha and possible solutions. They went out to measure the 'techum shabbat' distances, but Yaffo was simply too far away. The first 'techum shabbat' ended on what is today Hamelech George street in Tel Aviv. The second ended where the neighborhood of Neve Shalom was later built.

But he was willing to put up with everything for his belief that this was his contribution to Redemption, and that once he blazed the trail, others will follow.

That summer, disaster struck. David Fellman died from misdiagnosed heatstroke. A few weeks later, the baby daughter died of malaria.

Well wishing rabbis tried to convince the new widow, just 27 years old, to go back home to Mezritsh. Rabbi Diskin of Jerusalem told her: "I've never told a Jew to leave Israel, but my advice to you is to leave. You're a widow with six orphans!" But Sarah Itta was determined to stay on the farm, her husband's dream and legacy. This was the land for which he died, and this was where she was going to stay.

Sumeil (1946), viewed from Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv (1946), viewed from Sumeil

Life was very difficult, but nothing deterred Sarah Itta. The farm was in debt, so she sold off her jewelry and got a loan from Rothschild. With time and effort the orange grove became a profitable business. Sarah Itta even surprised Rothschild by returning the loan.

When Baruch Meir Rozenblum, the children's teacher, left for other endeavors, she brought in other Torah scholars: Rabbi Shaul Shaulzon from Hebron and Rabbis Dov Marcus and Nachman Gedalia Broder from Jerusalem. The latter, who came with his wife, later became known as an authority on the Etrog.

The Fellmans became the national experts on orange growing. In 1989, when R' Aryeh Lev Frumkin planted the first orange grove in Petah Tikva, he bought the saplings from the Fellman farm. The Fellman sons helped out in the orange groves of Petah Tikva, Hadera and other Jewish villages. In 1891 the eldest son, Aharon Lev Fellman, wrote "Ma'ayan Ganim", the first (Hebrew) book on orange growing (available online as PDF).

The Arabs of Sumeil had a lot of respect for their new neighbors. When they first arrived, the village sheik, Muhammad Abu Jabra, would help David Fellman out and, at first using sign language, taught him how to work the land. When Bedouins stole something from the orange grove, Abu Jabra fined the robbers and the Fellmans donated the money to the village poor. Another time Bedouins robbed the house when the boys weren't home. The Arab neighbors heard shots and came to protect their neighbors, fighting throughout the night until they managed to fight the robbers off.

Another time an Arab child drowned in the farm's water hole. Arabs gathered from near and far, and a lynch mob started forming, accusing the Jewish family of killing the boy. But the child's mother stood between them and Sarah Itta "My son was as dear to her as he was to me. Woe to whomever touches her."

The older sons got married in Sumeil but once the grandchildren were school-age, they moved to the new Yaffo neighborhood of Neve Zedek. At the turn of the century, after fifteen years on the farm, Sarah Itta bowed to family pressure and moved to Yaffo. There she got involved with community and charity affairs, but she didn't leave her beloved farm - every day she would ride to Sumeil, supervise the workers and meet with her former neighbors.

In 1917, towards the end of World War I, the Turks forcibly evacuated Yaffo and the new city of Tel Aviv. Though the deportation order applied to everybody, the Turks turned a blind eye to the fact that most Arabs set up camp in the nearby orange groves.

The Fellmans hid their belongings in Sumeil, by Sheikh Abu Jabra. For a while they were in Kalkilyah (Qalqilya), where Sarah Itta set up a bakery for the benefit of the Jewish evacuees. They then moved north and settled in Tiberias, where one of the sons ran the concession stand in the Zemach (Samakh) train station.

In the 1930s, as the city of Tel Aviv grew, the agricultural land of Sumeil became valuable real estate. The Fellmans, like their Arab neighbors, were offered a lot by builders. In 1936, shortly after the family sold the farm, Sarah Itta passed away.

In 1934, the city of Tel Aviv celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Fellman farm. Hundreds of dignitaries came from across the country and Mayor Meir Dizengoff and the city council crowned Sarah Itta "the pioneer of Hebrew citrus farming".

(Palestine Post, January 31, 1934) (see also JTA archive)

Anybody who visits Tel Aviv can visit the Fellman farm - today hidden under Rabin Square, the Tel Aviv municipality, Gan Ha'ir and dozens of apartment buildings - and honor the first Jews who lived here, who put Torah above everything, and who were convinced that Redemption will only come by buying land, planting an orchard and sticking it through.

[The pictures in this article were posted online by Sarah-Itta's great-great-grandchild.]

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I only regret I have but one life to give for my country

2012-02-21T11:38:00.005+02:00

"I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country."

Nathan Hale, the American patriot will forever be remembered with those words as he went to his death by hanging.

The Islamic Jihad terror group has the distinction of being the first Palestinian terror group to launch a Suicide Bomber against Israel, Bus 405 in 1989. Killing 16 people.

An offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood (those guys who just took over Egypt), the Palestinian Islamic Jihad have been one of the most violent and deadly of the rainbow of terror groups that make up the Palestinians.

Why am I writing about this?

Because one of their leaders, Sheihk Khader Adnan is being held in Administrative Detention by the Israeli government. He has gone on a hunger strike demanding his release. He is currently on day 67, and if we're lucky, he'll reach 70 days and die.

This Islamic Jihad leader has gained followers all over the world demanding his release.

Just so you understand, Islamic Jihad is the Palestinian equivalent to Al Quida.

Khadar Adnan cartoon courtesy of the JewishPress.com

Khader Adnan, as an Islamic Jihad leader, has accountability for his association and leadership in that major terror organization.

Islamic Jihad said they will launch attacks on Israel if their terrorist Adnan dies from starvation.

We know the Israeli government will probably fold under the world's pressure, but one can still hold on to the faint hope that it won't, and Adnan can go the way of the Dodo, even if unfortunately it's quietly in a bed.

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Chilul Shabbat in Tel Aviv - Public Buses to start?

2012-02-21T11:11:00.005+02:00

How times have changed. The Tel-Aviv municipality poster below was signed by Meir Dizengoff, the first mayor of Tel-Aviv, imploring the residents to not publicly desecrate Shabbat. "Observe the Shabbat and it will protect you!"

(poster source)

Contrast with today...

The Tel Aviv city council decided Monday to seek a Transportation Ministry permit to run buses on Shabbat.

The city's Mayor, Ron Huladi, has supported the move for a while now. During Monday's discussion he said: "Those who don't want to get on a bus (on Shabbat) can choose not to board it."

According to a decision approved by city council, the municipality will now draft a detailed request and submit it to the Transportation Ministry.

Should the ministry reject the bid, city hall will advance the establishment of an independent transportation company. Such service would enable Tel Avivians to travel to city center and to entertainment venues. Another option is for the city to seek a permit to extend the limited service currently offered by minibuses. ynetnews

R' Chaim Navon poses the question: Who is saying the following in Israel?

Who are you to tell us what to do? All the riders on the bus want this solution! If you don't like our solution, don't get on the bus.

Is the answer:

- the Tel-Aviv secular bus riders, who want to take the bus on Shabbat,
- the Ultra-Orthodox Chareidim who want women in the back of the bus, men in the front, or segregated buses altogether?

R' Navon writes a thoughtful article about how we in Israel need to find better ways to compromise on issues of religion. Today, everything is a war -- on both sides of the spectrum.

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The Shabbat Jerusalem got snowed in

2012-02-19T13:02:00.012+02:00

Due to the Jerusalem snow storm that wasn't, here's a story of a snow storm that was.

In 1787, on the week of Parshat Beshalach, a major snow storm hit Jerusalem. Starting on the Wednesday of that week (Jan. 31 - 12th of Shevat), and for three whole days, it snowed and snowed. The snow piled up in the streets man-high, covering up the doors and preventing people from going out. The gates of the city, usually open during the day, remained shut.

Rabbi Moshe Yosef Mordechai Meyuchas, the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem at the beginning of the 19th century, describes it as "something like we've never seen, and never been told by our fathers".

British soldiers next to the Western Wall, 1921

The snow was so heavy that the roof of the Istanbuli Synagogue collapsed. The Ottoman authorities did not allow the Jews to rebuild the roof, and it was only in 1835, under the rule of Muhammad Ali Pasha, that the synagogue was repaired.

Come Shabbat (Tu Bishvat) the Jews were faced with a problem. The synagogues were low, impossible to access, and remained closed. Will they have to go a Shabbat without reading the Torah?

Luckily, there was one building which was high and accessible: the Kabbalist Bet El Synagogue (Yeshivat haMekubalim). Rabbi Yom Tov Elgazi, the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem and head of the Bet El Yeshiva, managed to get together 2-3 minyans and read the Torah.

Rabbi Meyuchas says that he himself lived far from the 'street of the Jews'. He had a Torah scroll at home, but could only get together eight men, not enough for a minyan. They had to pray the morning Shabbat prayers without reading the Torah. They then sat down together for the Shabbat morning meal.

However, later in the day, sometime around noon, Rabbi Meyuchas got a heaven-sent gift: two golden Torah ornaments. He used the ornaments to complete the minyan, and the group read the Torah.

[This post is based on the story as told by Rabbi Moshe Yosef Mordechai Meyuchas in his book "Brachot Mayim". For those interested in the Halachik aspects, Rabbi Meyuchas discusses his reasoning in the book. The story of the snow storm was copied in easier-to-read Hebrew by Rabbi Avner Afgin in his book "Divrei Shalom".]

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Chronic Palestinian Lying.

2012-02-16T19:42:00.006+02:00

There was a tragic bus accident this morning near Jerusalem -- a Palestinian school bus hit a truck, causing the bus to flip over and catch on fire. The Palestinian Red Crescent hasn't made up its mind yet about the number of casualties, but between 6-8 children were killed and dozens injured -- some seriously.

Yet immediately after the tragedy, the Palestinian Authority's Health Minister, Dr. Fathi Abu Morley called a press conference in Ramallah, blasting Israel for "not responding in time"

Israel rejected all claims of the Palestinian Minister of Health that Israel did not immediately attempt to save the children is this morning's bus accident north of Jerusalem. The Palestinian minister, Dr. Fathi Abu Morley, announced at a news conference in Ramallah that the accident was in the area controlled by Israel and that it was possible to intervene immediately to save lives. Magen David Adom noted that many teams were dispatched to the accident, immediately upon receiving the report. Israel's Deputy Health Minister Litzman stressed that the Israeli rescue assistance was immediate and without hesitation. Israel Channel B Radio

The Palestinian's lie is simply and absolutely disgusting.

As a first responder medic for both Magen David Adom and United Hatzalah emergency response medical services, I received a MDA emergency pager message at 9:13 AM this morning, that a school bus had flipped over and a mass casualty incident was declared. Moments later I received an SMS from United Hatzalah, calling on all emergency medical personnel in the area to respond. I switched to channel 1 on my United Hatzalah cellular radio, and heard dozens of first responders announcing they were on their way to the scene of the accident. No one even mentioned that it was a "Palestinian school bus" -- since that was completely irrelevant.

Israel's emergency medical services respond 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to every car accident and medical emergency -- regardless of who is in need. Israel provides the best professional, emergency medical support, period.

Yet the Palestinian Authority's Health Minister can't contain himself, and he has to lash out at Israel, as he lies and lies.

Coincidentally (or not), yet another symptomatic chronic Arab lie was debunked today.

The French Supreme Court on Wednesday acquitted an Israeli doctor accused of slandering a Palestinian man who claimed he was injured by the IDF during the second intifada.

The Palestinian man, Jamal al-Dura, and his 12-year-old son Muhammad, became the symbol of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, when the two were caught in a fire exchange in the Netzarim Junction. The boy was killed in the incident, triggering a blame game: The Palestinians accused Israel for Muhammad's death, while Israeli officials claimed he was hit by Palestinian fire.

The father, who survived the ordeal, relayed his version before the media, showing the scars that he incurred in the incident. The claim prompted Dr. Yehuda David of Tel Hashomer Hospital to reveal that the scars were actually a result of a surgery the father had performed years earlier, after al-Dura was attacked by Hamas operatives who suspected him of collaborating with Israel.

Al-Dura decided to sue David, and last year a Paris court ruled against the doctor due to the fact he released information from al-Dura's medical records. He was ordered to compensate al-Dura with €13,000, but decided to appeal the ruling at the French Supreme Court.

"It couldn't have turned out better," David told Ynet after the ruling was overturned. "It means that I spoke the truth, and the father just lied.

"We managed to deconstruct their false statements. All the scientific evidence that we collected for the past 12 years proves that the incident was staged and fake. They made up the father's injury, and the IDF troops never shot the boy."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Dr. David on Wednesday and praised him for his determination. "You are an example for the battle for the State of Israel's truth and to sticking to the righteousness of our people's way," the prime minister told him. (ynetnews)

To understand more of why Palestinians and Arabs are chronic liars, I suggest you read yesterday's post, "An Arab like Me"...in which an Arab stands up, and has the guts to spell out the truth.

Not the Palestinian Narrative.

The Truth.

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Donate a Year of Your Life for R' Elyashiv...

2012-02-16T17:31:00.007+02:00

In a fascinating article, published on the Kikar Shabbat website, a man, "Aharon" announces that he has decided to donate a year of his life, to the great Torah scholar, R' Elyashiv, who is currently very ill.

"I discussed this with the Torah Giants of our generation, and they told me to ask my wife and children." This is a very unusual gesture and Aharon explained what brought him about to make this decision. "We are in an era when the great Torah leaders of Israel are the backbone of our existance, and without them, we would not be able to watch over our lives."

The serious medical condition of the "posek hador", R' Yosef-Shalom Elyashiv, is causing many to lose sleep. In addition to the prayer vigils held almost every night, there are those who took upon themselves, as a personal project, additional Torah study, so that in the merit of their study, R' Elyashiv will have a full recovery.

Aharon B from Jerusalem said that when he asked him wife and children, his
children agreed immediately. Rabbis encouraged me to accept this upon myself through prayer, without a special ceremony.

And this is how it happened: "Last Shabbat, I accepted upon myself to donate a year of my life to R' Elyashiv -- for his health and a long life. I immediately felt a great joy...

During the Torah reading, a chassid in a shtreimel asked me whey I was smiling, and when I explained to him why, he asked it was his Rebbe, the Satmar Rebbe, would I also be willing to donate a year of my life?" I replied, "Obviously! I would give a year for every one of the Torah giants...Rav Kanievsky and Rav Ovadia [Yosef] who are the guardians of our generation. " (source)

Questions:

Is there a refund, if R' Elyashiv doesn't have a complete recovery?
Is there are Jewish source for such a deal?
Does G-d approve of such deals?

In the future, I can imagine a PONZIE scheme -- people donating a year of their lives to the person a level above them, so that the person at the top of the pyramid attains the life span of thousands of years, while those on the bottom are left having given away years of their lives?

May R' Elyashiv have a complete recovery, even without this "donation..."

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The Arab Like Me.

2012-02-15T17:51:00.004+02:00

The following Op-Ed piece really resonates right. Lee Habeeb writes about Arabs...and about Israel without prejudice, without political correctness. Worth a read. Too bad he will probably be bashed by liberals for being a "self-hating" Arab.

There are two kinds of Arabs in this world. Those who hate Jews, and those who don’t. And in my life, I have met more of the former than the latter.

I am not proud to say that. Arabs will not like me for admitting it. But it is true. And it is something I wish the Obama administration understood. It is something Americans should know as the “Arab Spring” enters its second year.

I didn’t know much about any of this as a Lebanese kid growing up in New Jersey. But I found out about it when I wrote my first pro-Israel column for my college paper as a young student journalist.

I defended Israel on some point I’ve long forgotten, but what I’ll never forget is the backlash I received from fellow Arabs. Some were Americans, others were students from Arab countries, many of whom I counted as friends.

First came the letters to the editor, then the personal insults. It was as if I’d broken a secret code I didn’t know existed. Some secret blood oath, which goes something like this: Arabs don’t speak unkindly of Arabs in public, or kindly about Israel.

The backlash stunned me. I pondered the pounding I had taken, and floundered a bit. I even thought for a short time of writing something negative about Israel the next time I had a chance, just to balance things out and reestablish my Arab bona fides.

One friend accused me of being a self-hating Arab. He explained to me that I was exploiting my ancestry to ingratiate myself with white America and the Jews who controlled white America.

I explained to him that I was white. And that I was an American. And that I didn’t believe that Jews controlled America. The Jewish men I knew had a hard enough time controlling their own families! But nothing I said helped relieve the tension, not even my stab at humor.

I also explained that many of my Jewish friends did not like my column. Most were liberals from New York or northern New Jersey who assumed I was with them on the politics of the Middle East, that I was in agreement with the governing thesis that drives most Arabs and liberal Jews: that it is Israel that is the problem in the region, not the Palestinians, and not the Arab world itself.

He goes directly to the point, explaining how seemingly intelligent Arabs lose their marbles when it comes to Israel.

An Arab American friend of mine who works for a large NGO is a case in point. He is Jordanian, he’s well educated, and he speaks five languages. But mention the word Israel, and watch his blood boil immediately. He will go into a lengthy diatribe about the injustices perpetrated against the Palestinians by Israel. When Prime Minister Netanyahu’s name is mentioned, I worry that he will have a seizure on the spot.

Why is this? Why is all of his passion, all of his anger and rage, directed at this one country, this one people?

Why is it not directed at Syria, I ask him? By all accounts, the Syrian government orchestrated the assassination of one of the Arab world’s great men of peace, former Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri. And President Assad continues to terrorize his own people.

Why not at Hezbollah, which orchestrated the takeover of Lebanon?

Why not at Hosni Mubarak when he was in power? Or Saddam Hussein?

Why not at the ways in which Islam degrades women in the Middle East, trapping them in a life of servitude?

Why not at the ways some Muslims are persecuting Christians throughout the Middle East, as reports pour in about atrocities upon atrocities?

Why not a critique of the Koran itself, which regrettably finds little separation between mosque and state, thus relegating the majority of Arabs to life under theocratic regimes?

Two reasons: fear, and envy.

Read it all here. Maybe one day there will be more people like him.

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Israeli Bingo

2012-02-12T13:47:00.002+02:00

On Tu Bishvat we were visited by a youth group who came to plant trees. One of the groups had been playing Israeli Bingo on the way, with each card listing important people from Israeli history.

Not surprisingly, 99% of the names on the bingo cards were either pre-Exile or Zionist-era people.

Therefore, I thought I'd use the opportunity to list some of the more well-known Israeli writers, scholars and leaders throughout the ages. Maybe next time I'll find their names on school-children's bingo cards.

Rabbi Yochanan (3rd century) - laid the foundations of the Jerusalem Talmud

Shimon ben Lakish (Resh Lakish) (3rd century, ) - leading Talmud scholar
Rabbi Tanhuma bar Abba (4th century) - leading Aggadah scholar
Our early poets (4th-10th centuries) - Jose b. Jose, Yanai, Eleazar Kalir. Wrote many of the religious hymns in Ashkenazi prayer books.
Aaron ben Asher (10th century) - Bible Masorah authority. Added the masorah notes to the Aleppo Codex, the basis for all our Bibles today.
Judah Halevi (12th century) - poet and philosopher, author of the Kuzari, believed that true religious fulfillment is only possible in Israel.
Benjamin of Tudela and Yehuda Alharizi (12th century) - travelers who visited the land and described its Jewish communities
Samson ben Abraham (Rash of Sens, 12th century) - one of the leading French Tosafists, led the first wave of the Tosafist Aliyah in the early 13th century.
Nahmanides (Ramban) (13th century) - reestablished the Jewish community in Jerusalem, following Crusader rule
Rabbi Ishtori Haparchi (14th century) - studied the geography and plant life of the land, lived in Beit Shean
Rabbi Obadiah of Bertinoro (15th century) - author of the popular commentary on the mishna, helped rejuvenate the community of Jerusalem
Dona Gracia Mendes Nasi (16th century) - the 'first Zionist', leased the area of Tiberias to create an autonomous Jewish region.
Rabbi Isaac Luria Ashkenazi (The ARI) (16th century) - founder of the Kabbalist movement of Safed
Rabbi Jacob Berab (16th century) - reintroduced Semichah (rabbinic ordination)
Rabbi Joseph Karo (16th century) - author of the Shulchan Aruch
Rabbi Israel ben Moses Najara (16th century) - poet, kabbalist and chief Rabbi of Gaza
Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz (Shelah ha-Kadosh) (17th century) - Mussar (ethics) scholar who greatly influenced the Hassidic movement.
Rabbi Judah HeHasid (17th century) - led mass aliyah movement to Israel, built the Hurva synagogue
Sar Shalom Sharabi (Rashash, 18th century) - head of the Kabbalist Bet El Yeshiva in Jerusalem
Haim Farhi (18th century) - adviser to Ottoman rulers in the Galilee
Rabbi Hayyim Abulafia (18th century) - restored the Jewish community of Tiberias
Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (RAMCHAL, 18th century) - author of the "Messilat Yesharim" which became the basis for the Mussar Movement
Yisroel ben Shmuel Ashkenazi of Shklov (19th century) - student of the Vilna Gaon, Wrote the "Pe'at Hashulchan" on the laws of the land, helped rebuild the Hurva synagogue.
Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Zoref (19th century) - founder of the Solomon clan, renewed the Ashkenazi Jewish community in Jerusalem
Israel Beck (19th century) - First Israeli printer in the modern era, established the first Jewish agricultural village (on Har Meiron).
Rabbi Akiva Yosef Schlesinger (19th century) - Aliyah activist, believed Jews can only be redeemed by turning to productive work and agriculture
Rabbi Yechiel Michal Pines (19th century) - one of the fathers of religious Zionism.

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Yet another "mysterious" explosion in Iran

2012-02-09T15:57:00.004+02:00

4:12 PM Arab sources are reporting a mysterious explosion in the Iranian town of Mashab. An "experimental" facitiliy has been serious damaged, and source are reporting that no civilians are allowed to enter the area. (initial source)

Don't look to this commerical for clues...

The Muqata hereby announces that it cannot confirm or deny any Israeli involvement in today's explosion in Iran. And we also adopy the same policy with regard to this HuffPo article from today.

Deadly attacks on Iranian nuclear scientists are being carried out by an Iranian dissident group that is financed, trained and armed by Israel’s secret service, U.S. officials tell NBC News, confirming charges leveled by Iran’s leaders.

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Education in Israel: When "English Class" Aims Higher

2012-02-06T17:22:00.007+02:00

On Saturday night, my 6th grade daughter notified me she was going over to a girlfriend's house for the night, to study for an upcoming exam in English. As the daughter of "Anglo" parents, she studies English in a special class -- 'English for English Speakers."

Over the years, my kids have been in this advanced class, yet they still (unfortunately) lag behind their counterparts in the US. While their English is excellent from an Israeli point of view, they aren't on the same level as if they lived abroad. A small price to pay for living here.

Yet when I asked my daughter about what was on her upcoming exam, her reply came as an unexpected, refreshing shock.

"I need to know about the 3 branches of the American Government, the preamble of the US Constitution, the 5 freedoms in the first amendment, and the first 10 amendments of the "Bill of Rights."

I don't remember having to know that in 6th grade in the US...maybe in 7th grade or later. I was thrilled to be able to review with her the system of "checks and balances" of the US government, explain what a "jury of peers" is, and the importance of the freedoms granted by the "Bill of Rights." "Bearing Arms" and "quartering soldiers" were new words and concepts that she had never heard of before.

Since it wasn't easy for a non-native English speaker like my daughter to memorize all of the above, I found "Schoolhouse Rock" videos from youtube that help explain the above in song form. We made up a rap song called "RAPPS" -- for the 5 freedoms in the first amendement, "Religion, Assembly, Press, Petition and Speech"

Kudos to my daughter's English teacher who aims higher when educating our kids in Israel -- there is so much to learn and appreciate from the USA's democracy, government and legal system. Its a shame that Israelis who aren't in my daughter's "English for English Speakers" class are never formally exposed to such concepts -- Israel has a long way to go before we can match the freedoms and democracy in the US.

Maybe we'll get there one day.

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What was the Jewish Press thinking?

2012-02-06T10:32:00.004+02:00

The JewishPress.com has been taking some very controversial positions lately, but what were they thinking with this cartoon?

That is very un-PC.

Yet, I admit there's a logic to it.

The Arab Spring is turning into an Arab Winter. The Arab states which were stable (to the West) but killed and mistreated their citizens, are now unstable, and will continue to kill and mistreat their citizens, this time under the guise of Moslem Fundamentalism, rather than Secular Dictatorship.

But this cartoon implies approval that Russian and China put stability first before the basic rights of Syrian citizens to choose their own oppressors.

Here at the Muqata, we said removing the dictatorships was a good thing, but most likely we'd get Muslim fundamentalists in return and that would be a bad thing.

Maybe this JewishPress.com cartoon isn't so far off after all.

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Tu Bishvat: A holiday rooted in Israeli tradition

2012-02-05T13:57:00.005+02:00

Tu Bishvat (the 15th of Shvat), the holiday celebrating the fruit of Israel, has ancient Israeli roots, though we wouldn’t know about them if not for the Cairo Genizah.

The date itself is first mentioned in the Mishnah, as the “New Year of the Trees”. This “new year” was not a holiday; rather just a date for determining when the year starts for the purpose of tithing the fruits.

A mosaic from the Rehov Synagogue (5th-7th centuries)
listing the areas of the land and its produce in a Halachic ruling
This is the oldest known sample of Halacha literature
(click picture to enlarge)

The day became a holiday by the Jews of Israel sometime in the Muslim period (7th-11th centuries). Manachem Zula’i, a scholar of the ancient Israeli Piyyut (religious hymn), found three Tu Bishvat Piyyuts written by Rabbi Yehuda Halevi ben Hillel (Reprinted in Tehilla Le-David).

In those days the prayer service was flexible and the piyyut was added on to the basic prayer format. Two of the piyyuts found in the Genizah are Shmone Esre prayers, meant to substitute the regular texts during the chazzan’s repetition.

One piyyut mentions an alphabetical list of Israeli plants, which includes various nut trees (almonds, walnuts, chestnuts), grapevines, olive, pomegranate, carob and various herb plants like myrtle and lavender.

In the Israeli-Babylonian schism, the Jews of Ashkenaz continued the traditions of Israel, while the Sephardi Jews upheld the Babylonian tradition. Indeed, the tradition of celebrating Tu Bishvat as a holiday continued on in Ashkenaz. For example, one of the earliest Ashkenazi rabbis, Rabbeinu Gershom (early 11th century), wrote that the public may not fast on Tu Bishvat.

This tradition was accepted by the Sephardi community in 16th century Safed (Zfat), and codified by Rabbi Yosef Caro in the Shulchan Aruch.

Another Ashkenaz holiday tradition is described by Rabbi Issachar ben Mordecai ibn Susan, a 16th century Sephardi Jew who lived in Safed. He wrote that the local Ashkenazi Jews had a tradition of eating fruit on that day. This tradition was also mentioned in a European book of customs from that era.

This tradition was quickly adopted by the local Sephardi community as well. Rabbi Moses Galante, the Safed-born Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem in the 17th century, and other rabbis would celebrate the occasion with a ceremonial meal: eating fifteen different types of fruits, learning a Mishnaic passage over each, and by praying that this year will be a blessed one for both the children and fruit of the land. This tradition is described by his grandson, Rabbi Moses Hagiz.

This ceremony was popularized in the early 18th century, by the Kabbalistic work “Hemdat Yamim” [1]. "Hemdat Yamim" formulated a Tu Bishvat ‘Tikkun’ ceremony, which emphasized the reciting of numerous blessings and verses on a variety of fruit. This ceremony was based on the Kabbalistic writings of the students of Rabbi Isaac Luria, the ARI, on the spiritual categories of the different fruits, and that in turn was based on the ancient Israeli midrash.

This tradition later evolved into the ‘Tu Bishvat Seder’, which celebrates the fruit of the land and was accepted by Sephardi Jews worldwide.

The holiday further developed in the late 19th century: In 1890 Zev Yavetz, teacher and historian, proposed to make Tu Bishvat a national tree-planting holiday. The idea was widely accepted and is still practiced today all over Israel.

This article is based on Avraham Yaari’s article in Machanayim, vol 42, 1960.

[1] “Hemdat Yamim” was published in 1731 based on a manuscript from Safed. The author is unknown. There are various theories as to who it might have been, and which place him in the late 17th or early 18th century.

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"Rabbis for Human Rights" refuse to condemn the PA which praises the murderers of the Fogel Family

2012-02-02T17:23:00.009+02:00

The following is a translation from an article in the Makor Rishon newspaper (seen on right), with additions by Jameel.

The organization "Rabbis for Human Rights’ knows exactly how to condemn the State of Israel and its authorities for any action against a Palestinian. Yet, when it comes to a letter which condemns the actions of the Palestinian Authority, the Rabbis for Human Rights would prefer not to be in conflict with Palestinian activists.

In a terrifying broadcast on Palestinian Authority official TV, the family of the convicted terrorist Hakim Awwad [murdered of the 5 members of the Fogel family] was interviewed. One after another, the family members were interviewed, each one praising the "hero and the legend" for his barbaric acts.

Mother of Convicted Murderer: Mother of Hakim Awad, killer of 5 Fogel family members:

"My greetings to dear Hakim, the apple of my eye, who carried out the operation in Itamar, sentenced to 5 life sentences" (video and article/comments from Palestinian Media Watch)

The broadcast created a storm within the Israeli media. Even Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned this to Ireland's Foreign Minister, Eamon Gilmore and said he hopes the Palestinian Authority will decide to restart the talks with Israel and abandon the path of terror and praising murderers.

Yariv Mohar, the spokesperson for Rabbis for Human Rights was outraged at the broadcast, and decided with other members of his organization to start a Facebook page which condemns the Palestinian Authority’s broadcast and the initiative started to gain popularity.

The activists wrote "To our dear friends, the Palestinians, we turn to you in pain because of the need to clearly announce that there are things which may never be part of a struggle." Unfortunately, other "Human Rights" activists refused to join the initiative. For example, a member of the "GISHA" organization, Blogger Itamar Goldstein asked his organization to join the initiative, signing a petition which condemns the action of the Palestinian Authority, yet he received a negative reply that [joining the petition] was outside the mandate of the organization.

Yariv Mohar turned to the organization he is spokesman for, "Rabbis for Human Rights" -- led by Rabbi Arik Asherman [pictured on right], and asked for them to join the initiative. It was explained that such an action [as joining the petition] could possible negatively impact the organization’s relationship with the Palestinian Authority, and Palestinian activists -- and therefore the organization refused to cooperate.

In response, the "GISHA" organization announced that their organization does not sign any petition outside its mandate which encouraging "freedom of movement." "Unfortunately, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict creates harsh statements on a daily basis which incite, and are in contradiction to basic moral ethics and human rights. We abhor them all, yet as an organization; we have chosen to focus all our energy -- not in condemning statements, but in progressing commerce, education, and family life. In our opinion, this is the best way to a better, different future for everyone."

Jameel adds: Arik did condemn the actual murderer when it happened:

We send our condolences and pray that God will send consolation to the surviving members of the Fogel family.

Life under the Israeli occupation may be difficult, but in no way can that justify the murder of a family including three children sleeping in their beds. (source)

Yet, he finds it ethically and morally challenging to condemn the Palestinian Authority which broadcasts programs which praise the same murderers. I guess educating Palestinians to hate is a good thing...despite his initial objection.

Not very rabbi-like.

Not very human-rights-like, either.

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The Last Day of Israel (Video)

2012-02-01T16:49:00.002+02:00

The following appocolyptic video has been making the rounds (was only uploaded 3 days ago to youtube).

The Video's Bio is as follows:

Description: In February 2013 the Republic of Iran opened a combo attack culminating in the dropping nuclear bombs on Israeli territory and the environment.

This is one of many records that survived from that day that changed the world.

The video is fiction, and it's incredibly unlikely that Iranian warships will be bombing Israel. Yet the possibility that such an attack could happen still exists. Imagine showing a movie like this the week before Yom Kippur in 1973. Everyone would call it stupid, fear-mongering propoganda.

So, is this film today, also stupid, fear-mongering propoganda? Iran outwardly calls for Israel's destruction, and is progressing their nuclear program.

Does Israel's leadership have the foresight to prevent this?

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"Palestinian Children are Fertilizer."

2012-01-31T18:12:00.003+02:00

Kids are "created to be fertilizer for land of Palestine, to saturate the land with their blood." -- PA TV, January 24, 2012

Dying for the sake of "Palestine" as an ideal, even for Palestinian children and youth, remains part of Palestinian discourse.

This week, official Palestinian Authority TV reported from a Fatah celebration in a refugee camp in Lebanon and chose to focus on the following slide shown at the celebration. Fatah's message was that children are created so that their blood will be "fertilizer" to saturate the land:

"Our children are our glory and honor, they were created to be fertilizer for the land of Palestine, and for our pure land to be saturated with their blood."http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Earlier this month, a PA-Fatah celebration in Ramallah featured a performance with the same message. In front of senior PA leaders, including Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, young children and youth performed a song that included the following words:

"My pure land, I shall saturate you with my blood...redeem you with my life." (Palestine Media Watch)

I know, its simply a cultural thing. They don't really mean they want their children to be fertilizer -- that would be insane. And Palestinians can't be insane, because that would be politically incorrect.

And we can't argue with political correctness.

Update: To prove my point, Shimon Peres extolled the virtues of the PA President TODAY at the Herziliya Conference...

Within the Palestinian Authority leadership and its ruling Fatah party, the president explained, there are leaders like PA President Mahmoud Abbas who are ready to make peace, unlike Hamas, which denies peace and rejects negotiations. (JPost)

The only difference is that Peres actually believes what he is saying. Ready for peace...and ready to fertilize the land with Palestinian children's blood.

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The Splitting of the Med

2012-01-30T13:34:00.000+02:00

This Shabbat, the 11th of Shvat, we'll be reading about the splitting of the Red Sea. Four centuries ago the Jews who lived here witnessed firsthand how "The sea saw it, and fled; the Jordan turned backward. The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like young sheep." (Psalms 114).

A major earthquake hit on a Thursday, the 11th of Shvat 5306 (Jan. 14th, 1546), with a magnitude of 6-6.5. The epicenter was apparently the northern Jordan Valley.

The Mediterranean Sea drew back a along the southern coast. In Yaffo (Jaffa) a crowd rushed onto the suddenly dry seabed, unaware of the impending danger. Many died when the waters came rushing back. A tidal wave was reported in the Dead Sea. For several days the Jordan river dried up, as did rivers in the Gush Dan region. When water started flowing again, they were said to be fiery-red.

A Jew writing about the earthquake describes how in Jerusalem the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock were damaged, and yet the synagogue was left whole. The upper rows of the new city walls built by the Ottomans, finished just 4 years earlier, crumbled.

All across Israel buildings fell. Shechem (Nablus) was hit the worst, with about 500 people killed (including 3-4 Jews). In Jerusalem and Hevron there were about a dozen fatalities each, but no Jews were killed. These reports were written shortly after the earthquake, before the full effect of the calamity could be fathomed.

To end on a more hopeful note, may we never suffer such calamities again.

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Death Threats Against Female Arab.

2012-01-26T13:21:00.008+02:00

"A," a female Arab living in the "Triangle" Area of Israel expressed her support on the Migron hilltop community facebook page, writing that in her opinion, Jews are entitled to settle and live anywhere in Judea and Samaria (West Bank).

"You may be surprised, and might even curse me, but I wanted to express my opinion. Yes, I am an Arab and despite that I love the Jewish people and the Land of Israel. I believe in the responsibility of Arabs to be loyal to the State of Israel and I believe that Jews should be able to settle everywhere in Israel, including Judea and Samaria [the West Bank]. After I have read many sources, I have reached this conclusion. My conclusion is that Migron, and all the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria are a Jewish asset [to Israel]. I am willing to offer support if you want [articles] translated to Arabic or from Arabic to Hebrew. Thank you, and I fully support your struggle."

Unfortunately, as the Srugim website reports, within hours of posting her opinion on the Migron Facebook page, "A" was forced to cease all her facebook activity....due to death threats against her life, ostensibly from other Arabs in her community. Such a shame.

I would hope that all the advocates of Rights for Arabs in Israel, including NIF, 972 Mag, Haaretz and Richard Silverstein will all condemn these death threats against this brave Arab woman, and advocate that she be allowed to freely voice her opinion that Jews should be able to live freely, anywhere in the land of Israel.

Don't hold your breathe.

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Red Cross hides Hamas Terrorists for 1.5 years

2012-01-23T15:48:00.004+02:00

Two Hamas terrorists set up shop in the International Red Cross building in Jerusalem over a year and a half ago. YNETNews reports:

The Jerusalem Police and Shin Bet arrested Muhammad Tutah and Khaled Abu-Arfa – both Hamas activists from east Jerusalem.

The two hid for a year-and-a-half in a Red Cross building in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah after their Israeli ID was revoked by the Interior Ministry due to their involvement in terror activities. (Yair Altman/YNET)

While I thought this was something new, its been reported on for months by CBN (why they are reporting this and not mainstream Israeli news is disappointing)

Israel suspects these three Hamas legislators had a role in the 2006 kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. It ordered them to be deported from Jerusalem last summer.

Instead, the three found refuge at the Red Cross, where they've set up a tent and held court on a daily basis, with no protest from their hosts.

The three Hamas officials have been living there since July. During that time, they've held a number of press conferences and met with foreign dignitaries, including former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. Every Friday, dozens of East Jerusalem residents gather at the Red Cross to hold prayers as a show of support.

CBN News spoke exclusively Muhammed Totah, one the three Hamas officials, who denied involvement in Shalit's kidnapping, but refused to recognize Israel's right to exist.

"The Israelis have come in 1948 to our historical Palestine," Totah told CBN News. "They have occupied 78 percent of our land. And in 1967 they have occupied the other 22 percent."

Red Cross spokesperson Cecilia Goin told CBN News that hosting the wanted Hamas officials is in line with the organization's humanitarian mission -- despite Hamas' long track record of terrorism.

"Under international humanitarian law, East Jerusalem is considered occupied territory," Goin said. "So the Palestinians living in East Jerusalem are considered protected people."

Goin, who refers to Israel as an "occupying power" in East Jerusalem, said politics are not involved in the Red Cross's decision. CBN News Senior Editor John Waage, who's long analyzed the Middle East, believes otherwise.

"I think it's a thinly veiled, in your face statement to Israel that East Jerusalem is part of a future Palestinian state," Waage said.

"The Red Cross has asked repeatedly to see Gilad Shalit," he added. "They've never been allowed to see him, and yet at the same time, they're housing three members of Hamas."

The Red Cross said it will not prevent Israeli authorities from arresting the Hamas officials. The Israeli government had no comment on the situation. (CBN)

Donate now to the Red Cross and help shelter wanted Hamas terrorists!

The question remains, what does Magen David Adom gain by affiliating itself with the Red Cross...

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As Modern Orthodoxy is led astray...

2012-01-22T16:30:00.003+02:00

Every Synagogue in Israel is inundated every weekend with over a dozen flavors of "parsha sheets" that addresses almost every possible segment of Israel's multifaceted Jewish community.

One of the "mainstream" publications is the veteran "B'Ahava uv'Emnua" (With Love and with Faith), published by the Machon Meir Yeshiva.

Machon Meir for over the last 35 years has been a place for all of Am Yisrael to come and learn more about their Jewish roots. It is a place to get a deeper understanding of what it means to be part of the Nation of Israel and the importance of living in the Land of Israel. Machon Meir

What made this Shabbat's edition so unique, is that this mainstream publication has adopted an ugly custom which was rather shocking for this center of the road, family parsha sheet.

The publication's front page displays an ad -- a memorial for the Fogel Family who were brutally slaughtered by Palestinian terrorists.

What makes the ad so shocking is that the face of Ruth Fogel is blurred out..."for reasons of modesty"

R' Haim Navon of Modi'in even refused to allow this edition of the parsha sheet into his community shul.

What I found even more incredulous was the R' Shlomo Aviner says that blurring the photo of Tamar Fogel is the right thing to do! (Original Link)

כבוד הנרצחת
כ"ו טבת ה'תשע"ב
הרב שלמה אבינר

Question:

Shalom, Respected Rabbi. Should the face of Ruthy Fogel be blurred in a memorial ad in the "Behava uvEmuna" newspaper?

Answer: Of course! It is to her honor. Just because she died doesn't mean we shouldn't respect her. If she would have been asked when she was live, then this is what she would have wanted. Just because a person is dead doesn't mean thehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifir photo should be "hefker"...

The Dati Leumi / National Religious movement in Israel has long been affiliated with "Modern Orthodox" -- even if the National-Religious tent envelopes a wider swath of Judaism that Modern Orthodox does (on both edges).

My friend Treppenwitz wrote today in a blog post, Sliding into darkness, not striving for enlightenment:

As I've previously noted here, Israel is as egalitarian and progressive a society as exists anywhere on earth, and the whole exclusion of women thing is a completely fabricated non-issue designed to vilify the religious community. In any place where women are being physically excluded in Israel, it is a criminal matter and can/should be dealt with under the perfectly ample body of existing Israeli law.

I use the modifier 'physically' above because there are others way that women can be excluded from our day to day lives.

I have recently begun to notice that the creeping (and in my opinion, insidious) trend by certain extreme segments of Orthodox Jewish society to eschew pictures of women in advertising (and even news stories) has led to the practice of cropping and photoshopping women out of photos in just about every form of media that serves those communities.

I fear that Orthodoxy is being led astray. Decades ago, devout, pious, and very religious women were not blurred out of pictures. Women were photographed at weddings and those photos appeared in wedding albums. Chareidi Orthodoxy has gone down the route of hyper-tzniut. It's distressing to see that Modern Orthodoxy is being led astray as well.

By blurring the face of Ruth Fogel, the Machon Meir ""B'Ahava uv'Emnua" publication shows it has no love and no faith.

How can we possibly strive for an integrated Israeli society, if a tactful photo of a murdered woman, a mother sitting with her husband and children is considered too immodest for a parsha sheet?

Update 4:45 PM: Machon Meir has issued an apology on their website:

מכון מאיר מביע בזאת את התנצלותו הכנה על פרסום בלתי ראוי של תמונתה של רותי פוגל הי"ד.

המכון מתנצל בפני משפחות בן ישי , פוגל ובפני הקוראים שנפגעו מן הפרסום.

הרב דב ביגון - ראש המכון
צבי ארזי - מנכ"ל
מערכת עלון "באהבה ובאמונה"

Machon Meir hereby apologies for the improper publication of a photo of Ruthy Fogel, HY'D.
The Machon has apologized to the Ben-Yishai and Fogel families, and the readers who were hurt by the publication.

Rav Dov Begun - Head of the Machon
Tzvi Arazi -- General Manager of "BAhava uvEmuna"

Why did they apologize, if R' Aviner said this was totally appropriate and the right thing to do?

Food for thought.

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The Persian Promise

2012-01-22T14:31:00.001+02:00

We recently celebrated Hanukkah, commemorating the revolt led by Judah the Maccabee and his glorious brothers against the Greeks. Throughout our history there were other revolts, minor and major, in Israel and abroad. Here in Israel Jews continued to yearn for national and religious redemption, and when they thought the time was right, took steps to achieve it.

More than 750 years after the Hasmonean revolt, the Jews again rebelled against foreign conquerors: the Byzantines, ruled by Emperor Heraclius.

The story of the Heraclius Revolt starts in the early 600s, when the Persian (Sassanid) army invaded their old enemy, the Byzantine Empire. By 614 the Persian army was approaching Israel. The Jews, who suffered greatly under the Byzantines, realized this was a 'now or never' moment and rose in rebellion.

The Persians did not have any specific interest in helping the Jews, but they needed local support in order to conquer the Byzantines. Also, in order to reach the capital Caesarea they had to go through the Galilee, which was a Jewish stronghold. And so a pact was made, Jewish support in return for national autonomy. The Jews believed history was repeating itself, as in the days of Cyrus (Koresh).

Once the Persian army reached Israel, they were joined by the local Jews. The Jewish battalion was led by Nechemia ben Hushiel, reputedly the son of the Exilarch. Additionally there were many Jews in the Persian army itself.

Together they conquered Jerusalem and the Persians gave the Jews control over the city. The Jews prepared to resume Temple worship, like their Maccabee ancestors they purified the city, and according to one Jewish source, restarted offering sacrifices.

The Persians continued on in their conquests, and the Jews set to help out by conquering the cities along the coast: succeeding with Acco, then failing miserably in Tyre.

The Jews ruled Jerusalem for about three years, until 617, but victory was short-lived. Once the Persians conquered the land, they realized they did not really need the Jews anymore. The Jews made up just 10-15% of the total population and could not rule the country. The Persians got to the conclusion that they would be better off striking a deal with the Christian majority, and so, betraying their former ally, they agreed to make Jerusalem a Christian city and kick out the Jews. The Jews did everything they could to reverse the decree, but to no avail.

Ten years later the Byzantines reconquered Israel, but their days here were numbered, since very shortly afterward the Arabs arrived on the scene.

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Our Dark Ages

2012-01-19T15:25:00.003+02:00

An old joke asks: What's the difference between ignorance and apathy? Answer: I don't know and I don't care.

That's in general the attitude towards the period of Israeli history which starts in the early 3rd century, when the Mishna was edited, and ends in the late 19th century, with the Zionist aliyahs.

Isn't that what we all learned? The Mishna was written in Israel, and after that the focus of Judaism moved to Babylon for the Talmudic and Gaonic periods. Whatever few Jews remained in Israel during this period were forcibly converted to Islam and finished off by the Crusaders. In Exile, Jews continued to yearn for Israel, but the land was empty, waiting for its rightful owners to come back.

Turns out the truth is quite different. During those "Dark Ages", Jews not only lived here, they set the foundations for almost every aspect of Jewish life today. Whenever we daven in shul, read the Torah, look up a Rashi, sing around the Shabbat table or light the Hanukkah candles, we connect to the Jews who lived in Israel during the Exile. We just have no idea that's what we're doing.

Some of this ignorance is due to the fact that we really don't know much about this period. Before the discovery of the Cairo Genizah in the late 1800s we didn't know how much of our cultural heritage was composed here in Israel under Christian and Muslim rule. Take for example the recent discovery of a Menorah stamp near Akko (Acre): We now know about an entire Jewish community we had no idea existed!

But what of all we do know about this period?

Several months ago I wanted to prepare a clip about Jewish longing for the Land of Israel. I started by collecting materials about Jewish praise for Israel. The more I read, the more I realized Jews didn't just long. They didn't just praise Israel from afar. They came, and they were here all along. My clip fell apart. At some point, the shock of these new discoveries turned to anger. Why wasn't this common knowledge? Zionist romanticism aside, shouldn't a nation know its own history?

It certainly wasn't part of my school's curriculum. My history classes ended with the Second Temple and picked up again with the advent of Zionism. In literature we studied the Spanish Piyyut, not the extensive Israeli work. Although it was a religious school, I never heard of the many Israeli Midrash books.

This is our heritage, our culture, and our identity. Sheik Jameel graciously agreed to host my posts in this corner of the Muqata, and so I hope in future posts to shed some light on this little known but very influential era of our history.

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The US Administration refuses to meet Israel's Foreign Minister...but not with terrorists and dictators.

2012-01-18T11:10:00.000+02:00

"I said early in this campaign I would meet not just with our friends, but with our enemies. Not just with those we like, but those that we don't...Senator Clinton said, 'oh no, that'd be naive, that'd be irresponsible.' I said, 'remember what John F. Kennedy said, he said 'you should never negotiate out of fear, but you should never fear to negotiate.'" --Barack Obama, Florence, SC, Jan. 25, 2008.

President Obama is more interested for his administration to meet enemies of the USA, but refuses to allow Secretary of State to meet with Israel's Foreign Minister?

Israel Channel 2 TV reports last night:

The Americans are ignoring Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman

Israel's Foreign Minister is expected to make an official visit in Washington in a few weeks, yet to date no meeting or discussion has been scheduled by the American administration.

US Administration officials referred to Lieberman as a "hostile" force, and continue to refuse the offers of the Israeli foreign minister to meet him. Their excuses range from "Hillary Clinton is out of town", to more more explicit explanations.

"Lieberman is an obstacle to peace, we do not want to be photographed with him and what he stands for," said one senior American officials to Israel Channel 2 TV, in tones usually reserved for terrorist organizations.

It should be noted that the strategic dialogue is conducted with Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, which required the intervention of Prime Minister because [not meeting with the Foreign Minister] was directly impacting the relationship between Israel and the US.

The Foreign Ministry said in response: "Just last week, Lieberman met with senators and talked on the phone with U.S. Secretary of State on a variety of topics. The schedule for the trip will be finalized close to the FM's departure to the United States and will be publicized to the media." (Israel Channel 2 TV)

The US Administration has a problem meeting with Israel's foreign minister.

Other formal individuals they have no problem meeting with have included:

President Obama meeting African dictator Ali Bongo who has ruthlessly plundered billions of dollars from his own country. (source)

President Obama meeting Hugo Chavez (source)

President Obama meeting Gaddafi (source)

The list is endless. It's just unfortunate that the US Administration is ignoring the huge segment of the Israeli population which elected Lieberman, while having no problem meeting with some of the world's worst vermin.

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Why Noam Shalit will make an excellent MK

2012-01-16T14:22:00.005+02:00

(courtesy JewishPress)

Joining the political rat-race in Israel, Noam Shalit -- famous for being the "Father of Captured IDF Soldier Gilad Shalit (tm)" has decided he has what to offer Israel in terms of leadership and vision. For the record (which you won't easily find), Noam's wife was ~~is?~~ an active member of the anti-IDF "Machsom Watch" organization.

So why would Noam Shalit, make an excellent MK? Because MKs in Israel are notorious for not accepting responsibility for their actions. Oslo Accord leading to the deaths of thousands of Israelis -- make you eligible to become Israel's President. Yank the IDF out of Lebanon resulting in the second Lebanon war -- you become Defense Minister. Evict 8000 Jews from their homes, leading to thousands of rockets on Israel's Negev heartland (and terrible conditions for the Jewish refugees) and you end up leading the biggest party in Israel.

Noam Shalit may be a dedicated father who stopped at nothing to get his son released -- regardless of who may be killed as a result, and ignoring the terrible injustice of releasing terrorists from imprisonment. Yet that has nothing to do with leadership or proving one is worthy of making difficult choices needed to lead Israel. He had no difficult choices to make -- his only choice was to support releasing Gilad at all costs.

Shalit also managed to elicit the anger of those orphaned by the terrorists freed for his son -- "A Letter to Noam Shalit" from Meir Schijveschuurder.

Welcome to politics Noam Shalit.

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A Million NIS to anyone proving that the Migron Settlement is on "Stolen" Land.

2012-01-16T13:14:00.006+02:00

The Migron Community sits atop a mountain overlooking Highway 60 -- the main North-South traffic artery in the Binyamin region of the West Bank/Shomron and Yehuda territory.

The US Administration and Peace Now are both pressuring Israel to dismantle the small Jewish community of 50 families. Calling it an illegal settlement...an "occupation" settlement...a thorn in the side of the Palestinians...this community has been slated for destruction by numerous Israeli governments.

An excellent op-ed piece was presented in the JPost a few months ago, summarizing the injustices heaped upon the Jewish residents.

Despite extensive media coverage of Migron’s legal battles to survive, judicial edicts by a few members of Israel’s Supreme Court, and misrepresentations by those who oppose Migron’s presence, the facts concerning this Jewish community have not been presented fully, or fairly.

A small community of 50 families a dozen kilometers north of Jerusalem, Migron is a test case for all Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, and its fate may affect many within Israel’s “Green Line” as well.

The controversy revolves around two main issues: (1) who owns the land, and (2) if there was government negligence, who was responsible and who should be compensated. Despite the trauma of expelling 9,000 people from Gush Katif and the northern Shomron, Israel seems on the verge of repeating its mistakes.

Built more than a decade ago, Migron received the active support of the prime minister, the defense minister, the IDF commander, the civil administration, the housing and construction, transportation and communications ministries, the electric, water and telephone companies, as well as other government agencies. In other words, because of Migron’s strategic location, it was established with de facto government approval.

Part of the land on which Migron was built was registered to Arabs who left the region and cannot be found; this land thus came under the jurisdiction of the Custodian of Abandoned Property (apotropus) – a government agency established to manage land and property that is uninhabited and unclaimed. Another part of Migron was allegedly purchased by Jews, but not registered as such for fear of exposing the Arabs who sold it to the PA’s death penalty for such ‘crimes.’ (read the rest of this here, at the JPost)

To this day, except for legal battles being led by Peace Now, there is no one who contests the ownership of the land. Not one Arab has come forward to claim the settlers have "stolen" it.

To make the matter even more absurd, Israel's High Court has even adopted the position that Jews may be evicted from their homes even if no opposing land ownership claims are presented.

Of course, such a position is not held when it comes to Arab land claims in the West Bank, Arab land claims in pre-67 Israel, or Jewish land claims in pre-67 Israel.

To highlight the insanity, the Migron community has offered a 1 Million NIS reward (about $270,000) to anyone proving they own the land that Migron is built on. They aren't holding their breath that someone will come forward. (Walla)

In a normal society, if "Peace Now" didn't show up within a few days attempting to claim the million NIS, they would be humiliated and the slated destruction would be halted.

The problem that Migron faces, and Israel faces in general is that negative campaigning is more effective. It's so much easier to throw words into the wind that Migron needs to be destroyed, and watch Israel's media and Supreme Court pick it up and run with it, than to build.

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Never a Dull Moment in Israel Edition

2012-01-09T15:23:00.003+02:00

1. Media Personality Yair Lapid announces he is entering politics to run for the Knesset. Lapid's party immediately polled-in at around 20 seats....mostly at the expense of Tzippi Livni's Kadima party.

Lapid's father Tommy Lapid founded the "Shinui" party which lasted for some time and was based on advancing the secularity of Israel.

2. The Knesset is so much fun these days -- today, Labor MK Raleb Majadele verbally insulted Yisrael Beiteinu MK Anastasia Michaeli...who responded by throwing a cup of water at him.

Lets see it on video...

3. Kadima MK Nachman Shai makes surprise visit to the Temple Mount (after going to the mikva, and wearing sneakers).

MK Shai was accompanied by MK Uri Ariel. Ariel summed up the meeting: "There is great importance to increase love and unity among Israel, and specifically the Temple Mount in United Jerusalem. I am happy that MK Shai agreed to be part of this enterprise and I hope that others participate as well.

MK Shai said: I came to the Temple Mount, one of the holiest places to Judaism and Islam to learn about its religious, historical and polticial importance. Obviously, the Temple Mount is a very sensitive site, and I also enjoyed myself here. (Datili)

4. Channel 2 News scoop: One of Yair Lapid's senior advisors...none other that squeaky clean ex-Kadima party hack (and previous Prime Minister of Israel), Ehud Olmert.

5. Noam Shalit -- father of abducted and released IDF soldier, Gilad Shalit, announces he is entering the Knesset political race, and is joining....the Labor party. (JPost)

6. Reports that Karnit Goldwasser, widow of abducted and murdered IDF soldier, Ehud Goldwasser is considering entering the Knesset political race....(scoop -- waiting for formal announcement)

7. So much more...will update soon.

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Wave of Violence Against Chareidi Population

2012-01-03T19:51:00.008+02:00

As if the violence against the Orot Banot schoolgirls isn't bad enough, now some self-styled revenge vigilantes have been attacking Chareidi/Ultra-Orthodox school children...and adults.

1. From the Israel HaYom news-site:

Ultra-Orthodox girl attacked by secular passenger on bus

A young man reportedly got on a bus in Jerusalem, shouted "the cursed ultra-Orthodox," and threatened a 10-year-old girl • The man allegedly kicked the young girl from behind and warned her not to ride the bus again.

A 10-year-old ultra-Orthodox girl was apparently attacked by a secular passenger on a bus in Jerusalem on Monday, according to a report by Army Radio.

The young man reportedly got on the bus, shouted "the cursed ultra-Orthodox," and threatened Bluma [Spitzer]. He also allegedly warned her not to ride on the bus again. Shimon Moses, a Jerusalem-based businessman and friend of the Spitzer family, said, "When the bus arrived at her stop, she started to get off and the man kicked her in the back, causing her to stumble out of the bus. Secular people on the bus yelled at her to 'get off the bus, it's ours.'" (Yisrael HaYom)

2. From the Kikar Shabbat website:

Boy attacked by secularists says, "I'm afraid to walk in the street"

David L. aged 11, was attacked this morning by 2 secularists. In a "Kikar Shabbat" exclusive interview, the 11 year old said, "they threatened me, slapped me and screamed at me. I couldn't stand up."

The mother said, "the boy was attacked by 2 thugs. They caught him at the bus stop, and then punched him in his face and from behind, all while screaming at him."

The mother also said that her son is now traumatized, and she has filed a formal police complaint. According to the mother, "the cause of the attack was due to the anti-Chareidi incitement by the media"

Kikar Shabbat: is your son now afraid to go to school?

Mother: Yes, but first and foremost, my son wants his attackers caught. (translated from Kikar Shabbat)

3. Burning cigarette thrown at Ultra Orthodox man; burning his beard. (source)

Enough is enough.

Instead of trying to resolve the tension, idiots are now actively calling for a civil war, and getting press time in Israel's idiotic leading newspaper.

Update: In response to the commenter as to the accuracy of the above reports, the JPost also reports on the anti-Chareidi violence in its breaking news section, though they basically paraphrase the news from the Kikar Shabbat website (as I did, before them).

Ultra-Orthodox report attacks against children
By JEREMY SHARON
01/03/2012 19:44

At least two incidents of abusive attacks against ultra-Orthodox children have been reported to the police this week, in the wake of the recent storm surrounding several incidents of haredi extremism and the intense media attention that has followed.

According to a report from the haredi news website Kikar Hashabbat, on Tuesday morning an 11-year old boy, referred to as David L, was physically assaulted by two secular men.

While waiting at a bus stop in the ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem neighborhood of Sanhedriah, David was approached by two men he described as “big, and without yarmulkes or pe’ot (sidelocks).”

According to the boy’s mother, Malka, the two men began shouting at him, and struck him in the face several times. They also attempted to prevent him getting on to his bus although he eventually succeeded on boarding by sticking close to a group of people also getting on the bus.

Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said the boy and his mother came to the police station and filed a complaint later that day. The police opened an investigation into the matter.

The Israel HaYom newspaper is not any more unreliable than Haaretz, NRG, YNet or the JPost.

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Exploiting Holocaust Imagery

2012-01-02T16:19:00.006+02:00

This past Saturday evening, there was a ultra-Orthodox protest in Jerusalem against the media's ongoing blistering attacks on the entire Chareidi population of Israel.

Raising people's ire was the use of Holocaust imagery, as demonstrators wore "Jude" yellow stars -- similar to those that Jews were forced to wear in the Nazi era of the Holocaust, and others wore concentration camp prison uniforms.

Every media outlet in Israel reported on it the following day; how outrageous and wrong it was for Holocaust imagery to be used. The NY Times grabbed the story and ran with it (the image above is from their website)...

Israel’s defense minister, Ehud Barak, described the scenes at the protest as “shocking and appalling.”

“The use of yellow patches and small children raising their hands in surrender crosses a red line which the ultra-Orthodox leadership, who are largely responsible people, must not accept,” he added in a statement.

Avner Shalev, chairman of Yad Vashem, Israel’s official Holocaust remembrance authority, condemned the use of symbols of the Holocaust, telling Israel Radio that it was “unacceptable.” NY TIMES

Haaretz got into the act and quoted every politician they could find who would slam the imagery.

And yet...the truth is, there's only one reason everyone is upset. It's because the demonstrators are Ultra Orthodox.

When the "social justice" (tzedek chevrati) movement used the exact same imagery this past summer, no one batted an eyelash.

Opposition Leader Tzippi Livni didn't crawl out from under a rock to blast the sacrilegious usage of a yellow star. Defense Minister Ehud Barak was strangely silent. IDF Radio, Haaretz, YNET, TV Channels 2 and 10 overlooked it.

No one cares. Social Justice trumps all. And the Ultra Orthodox will be blamed no matter what they do.

Photo of Social Justice Protestor from this past summer in Tel-Aviv.

The NY Times, Haaretz and YNET forgot to make a big deal out of it. (source)

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The Taliban Geniza?

2012-01-01T09:48:00.004+02:00

Everyone is familiar with the concept of the "lost tribes" of Israel that were scattered to the ends of the globe. This has led many over the past few hundred years in a quest to find them; India, China, Japan...(even organizations like Shavei Yisrael that are dedicated to finding these tribes and bringing them home to Israel).

This past Friday, Israel Channel 2 news reported a startling discovery; a cave in Afghanistan, with buried scrolls, manuscripts and fragments -- of Jewish origin.

The importance of this find could even rival that of the Cairo Geniza. (The earliest example of Yiddish writing was found in the Cairo Geniza).

The JPost has the scoop:

The scholarly world is abuzz over the discovery of ancient Jewish scrolls in a cave in Afghanistan’s Samangan province.

If the scrolls are authenticated, they may be the most significant historical finding in the Jewish world since that of the Cairo Geniza in the 19th century, Channel 2 Arab affairs correspondent Ehud Ya’ari reported Friday.

“We know today about a couple of findings,” Haggai Ben- Shammai, professor emeritus of Arabic language and literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was quoted as saying.

“In all, in my opinion, there are about 150 fragments. It may be the tip of the iceberg.”

The scrolls, which were part of a geniza – a burial site for sacred Jewish texts – date from around 1,000 years ago and are in Arabic, Judeo-Arabic and ancient Persian.

One scroll, a replica of which was shown to the cameras, was apparently a dirge written for an important person whose identity has not been determined.

“Where has he gone?” reads the text. “His family members are now alone.”

Other texts said to have been found include an unknown history of the Kingdom of Judea, passages from the Book of Isaiah and some of the works of 10th-century sage Rabbi Sa’adia Gaon.

In addition, rings with names such as Shmuel Bar-Yosef inscribed in Hebrew on them have surfaced.

The area in which the scrolls were discovered is on the Silk Road, a trade route that connected eastern Asia with the Middle East and Europe, and that Jewish merchants often traveled.

Ya’ari quoted sources as saying the scrolls had first been moved to Pakistan’s Peshawar province, and from there been sold to antiquities dealers in Geneva, London, Dubai and Jerusalem. (JPost)

The analysis of the scrolls and remnants will help determine in what time frame they were buried -- is this the work of lost tribes? Travelers along the silk route to the Orient? Where did the Jewish community that buried those fragments end up?

View Larger Map

Great way to start the week - Shavua tov!

Indiana Jones Hat-tip to AS, who pointed me to this

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Fighting for the Soul of Beit Shemesh

2011-12-27T10:33:00.008+02:00

There is an ongoing war in the Beit Shemesh/Ramat Beit Shemesh municipality, as the "Sirikim" (Ultra Orthodox Chareidi Extremists) have been targeting a national-religious girls elementary school "Orot Banot" which is at the edge of a religious neighborhood and at the edge of a Chareidi neighborhood. The "sikrikim" thugs have been spitting at the school girls (1rst graders!) and calling them all sorts of names: prutzot (sluts), zonot (whores), and more.

(map courtesy of Reb Akiva at MysticalPaths)

The following heartbreaking video report was broadcast last week, and has been subtitled into English by the Mom in Israel blogger. I highly suggest you find the time to watch it.

(updated video with slower subtitles)

Or, if you want an English language update (that's only 4 minutes long, here's another video update)

Tonight, there is going to be a demonstration outside the "Orot Banot" school in Beit Shemesh. While the initial organizers of the demonstration are from rights groups that I don't always see eye to eye with, I understand that many more mainstream organizations will be attending as well. I have even heard reports that moderate Chareidim plan on attending to express their outrage at the violence directed at the school children.

I will update this post a bit later with more thoughts on the issue -- and how its imperative for moderate Chareidim to vocally express their outrage at the behavior of the sikrikim.

95% of the Ramat Beit Shemesh Chareidi population are offended by the behavior of the sikrikim. Not actively expressing their disgust, no matter what the reason (the Gedolim didn't tell us to demonstrate, Chareidi politicians are taking care of it, the demonstration is too political, the demonstration will lead to Lashon Hara, etc.) are all excuses that are tantamount to "Shtika k'Hodaa" -- or silence is admission (agreement with the sikrikim).

Update on the Hafgana here.

Details: Starting at 6 PM is the big hafgana against violence and extremism. The hafgana will be on the street outside the OROT Banot girls school on Herzog Street in Beit Shemesh.

People will be going from all over the country -- be there and make a difference! Stand up and be heard and counted!

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Who Said This Nationalistic Statement?

2011-12-26T18:37:00.003+02:00

Having grown up in the yeshiva educational system in the United States, I was a bit surprised that I had no clue who said the following:

הארץ אשר שבנו לרשתה אחוזת אבותינו היא, ואין לאיש זר חלק ונחלה בתוכה. כי אויבינו שדדו נחלתנו ויאחזו בה בעון ובעוול, ועתה כי הצליח ה' את דרכנו לקחנו את נחלת אבותינו וישבנו בה

The land which we have returned to, to inherit, is the legacy of our fathers, and no foreigner can have a part in it. Our enemies have stolen our legacy from us and have unjustly taken it, and now G-d has made our path successful, we have retaken our fathers' legacy and we have settled in it.

Who said this, in what context, and what party were they from?

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The Way G-d Intended Jews to Live.

2011-12-25T16:53:00.002+02:00

This isn't the first time I've seen such ideas articulated -- but this is the first time I've seen them so disconnected from traditional Judaism that views Israel as a central theme in the religion.

The following is a letter from a Jew living in the USA who can't fathom moving to Israel because its not nearly as spiritual as living in the United States, where she gets to keep 2 days of every holiday instead of 1. She addressed to letter to Shmuel Katz, and it was published in the 5tJt

“I recently read an article of yours in which you list reasons for making aliyah. While your reasons are quite compelling, there was one reason listed that our family always considers the one sad thing about making aliyah and that is the less yom tov days celebrated.

“While we look forward one day to live in Eretz Yisrael, during every yom tov that we celebrate in galut, we end up mentioning how if we would already be in Eretz, we would have a day less and we can’t imagine how hard it would be.

During Pesach, we cannot imagine only having one Seder. While we often enter the first Seder quite tired from all the preparation, we are always thrilled to know that we will have a second one the next night, which, after our yom tov naps, we enjoy even more.

“We cannot imagine Shavuot being one day. Our first day of Shavuot is spent half asleep, as the men (and sometimes the girls) have spent the whole night learning. We can’t imagine the loss of not having a second day when everyone is more awake to enjoy the yom tov meal and shiurim that take place that day.

We can’t imagine how the seriousness of Shemini Atzeret and the joyfulness of Simchat Torah have to be combined into just one day.

“Please do not be upset with me for my suggestion that perhaps your yom tov celebration is missing something if you conceive that less yom tov is a wonderful advantage.

“May all your yomim tovim be an inspiration and a source of spiritual growth and may we meet soon B’eretz HaKedoshah.

Shmuel Katz has a decent answer for her in his article. I just wonder if this woman would also be offended by billboards calling on yordim to move back to Israel.

Why would mashiach bother coming, when he can stay in Monsey and continue having 2 sedarim for Pesach (without kitniyot or gebruchts)

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Chanuka Special: Biblical Archeology Second Temple Artifact Found

2011-12-25T15:01:00.004+02:00

In a rare Second Temple (Bayit Sheyni) period archeological find, Israel's Antiquities Authority announced today that a small, yet significant artifact was found as part of the City of David archeological dig.

The artifact apparently served as authorization that a particular item or food was considered ritually pure for use in the Temple. The item was found underneath the Robinson Arch, 15 meters North of the Southwest corner of the Temple Mount. The item was located in the layers of dirt which covered the foundations of the Western retaining wall of the Temple Mount -- which was the primary road during the second Temple period.

The excavated dirt was carefully sifted through by 3,500 volunteers, mostly Israeli high school students in the Emek Tzurim national park. The 2 cm artifact is made from tin, with the Aramaic words on it, "-daka" and "-leh" Daka in Aramaic means "pure" and "Leh" is part of G-d's name.

According to the directors of the Antiquities Authority, archeologists Dr. Eli Shukrun, and Professor Roni Reich from Haifa University, the words mean, "Holy to God." The artifact was a type of "bag check" for items brought to the Temple, ascertaining that it was holy and could be used.

The Mishna (Oral Torah) in Shekalim, Chapter 5, uses the word "Chotam" -- or signet seal. The Mishna lists 5 different types of signet seals, and this particular one is not listed -- thereby adding an additional historical fact not detailed in the Mishna. (sources)

Happy Chanuka!

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Chol HaMoed Chanuka

2011-12-22T22:58:00.003+02:00

The following poster appears on the Kiryat Bialik mall -- it is not a photoshop.

On the bright side, at least they have a clue of the concept of "chol hamoed" (and that Chanuka is pretty close to it from a practical point of view)

h/t: Gee a Moron

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Shlissel (Key) Challah: The Loaf of Idolatry?

2011-12-21T13:13:00.004+02:00

JUDAIC STUDIES ACADEMIC PAPER SERIES, Authored by Shelomo Alfassa:
The Origins of the Non-Jewish Custom Of "Shlissel Challah" (Key Bread) “The Loaf of Idolatry?”

You can read it all here, or see the following key point from the research paper:

- Every year Jewish women, young and old, partake in the Ashkenazi1 custom to place a key (such as a door key to a home), inside the dough of a loaf of bread that they bake.2 This custom is known as shlissel challah—shlissel from the German language shlüssel (key) and challah or hallah from the Hebrew for bread.

- The baking of a key inside a bread is a non-Jewish custom which has its foundation in Christian, and possibly even earlier, pagan culture. At least one old Irish source tells how at times when a town was under attack, the men said, ―let our women-folk be instructed in the art of baking cakes containing keys.

- Keys were traditionally manufactured in the form of a cross, the traditional symbol of Christianity, a physical item all Christian commoners would posses in their home. On Easter, the Christian holiday which celebrates the idea of Jesus "rising" from the dead, they would bake the symbol of Jesus—the key shaped like a cross—into or onto a rising loaf.

- The modern Jewish custom of baking the symbolic shlissel challah, annually takes place on the shabbat immediately following the holiday of Pessah, when tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of religiously observant Jewish women11 practice this observance.

- In Christianity, baked goods associated with keys are commonly called "Easter breads," and in Europe they are also known as ‗Paschals,‘13 as the holiday of Easter in the East is known as "Pascha" or "Pascua." This is most likely the reason Christians often call Easter breads baked with keys Paschals.

- While the custom is said to be mentioned in the writings of Avraham Yehoshua Heshel (the ―Apter Rav‖ 1748-1825) and in the Ta’amei ha-Minhagim (1891), there is no one clear source for shlissel challah. And while people will say there is a passuq attributed to it, there is not. And, even if there were, a passuq that can be linked to the practice is not the same as a source. Micha Berger, founder of the AishDas Society, [orthodox] calls this type of logic "reverse engineering," it‘s like drawing a circle around an arrow in a tree, and subsequently declaring the arrow is a bullseye. The idea of baking shlissel challah is not from the Torah; it‘s not in the Tannaitic, Amoraitic, Savoraitic, Gaonic or Rishonic literature.

- Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim19 of Mesora.Org [orthodox] teaches that:

The Torah teaches that Hashem punishes the wicked, and rewards the righteous. It does not say that challah baking or any other activity will help address our needs…When the matriarchs were barren, they did not resort to segulas, but introspected and prayed…Nothing in Torah supports this concept of segula; Torah sources reject the idea of a segula…baking challas with brachos cannot help…segulas are useless, and violate the Torah prohibition of Nichush [good luck charms]. It does not matter if the charm is a rabbit‘s foot, a horseshoe, a challah, key or a red bendel. The practice assumes that forces exist, which do not, and it is idolatrous.
- On the far end of the scale, it can be said that shlissel challah observance is a nothing less than "the way of the Amorites." It is precisely this type of behavior and observance which Jews are supposed to separate themselves from, so it doesn't go on to influence our thoughts and deeds. Am Yisrael was not created to lose itself in such folklore, and Judaism without disciplined study is nothing but folklore. Judaism allows and encourages the use of our minds. It‘s never too late to realign our path with Torah sources, not blind faith practices which are trendy, in, or cool.

- Educated Jews should help to promote Torah sources to our friends and neighbors, not false practices which are of non-Jewish origin and have nothing to do with Judaism.

100 Amens to that!

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Maybe it's time to move to Israel?

2011-12-21T12:06:00.006+02:00

Now's the time to move to Israel...before your kids start asking questions like "What tefillin does Santa wear?"

For the story on Santa wearing tefillin...its from here

Yakov Jacobson was doing pre-Chanukah mivzoim in Laguna Beach, CA, when he happened upon a familiar character who - he was surprised to find out - is a Jew! The man had never put on tefilin before, a 'Karkafta,' and Yakov helped him do the mitzvah for the first time in his life.

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What would Israel's Liberal Left Sacrifice for Peace?

2011-12-19T11:08:00.002+02:00

Israel's liberal-left is constantly stating we need to make "sacrifices" for peace. At least stating "sacrifice" implies taking away something of value, of something near and dear to us...such as land. Netanyahu has gone farther and stated "painful" concessions...(meaning even more land, and uprooting Jewish communities).

The Palestinians don't only hate the Zionist entity of Israel because of "the occupation", but they also hate the secular aspects of Zionism. The original Zionist pioneers, men and women dancing the hora on a kibbutz (while wearing shorts) infuriated the religious sensibilities of Islam, and they viewed secular Zionism with disgust.

I wonder if Israel's liberal-left would be willing to make a sacrifice for peace, in that they would need to adopt a more modest-dress lifestyle, in public. Would this far-reaching attack on one's personal space be an acceptable "price for peace"?

Just a thought.

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Great Reading

2011-12-18T19:54:00.003+02:00

Here's some great links to read:

Everyone's heard about the YU's "The Beacon" scandal story -- even the JPost reported on it. For a very thoughtful take on the story, even comparing it to the parashat hashavua, I recommend you read R' Pruzanky's take on it.

"How do we discuss sensitive, delicate, even prurient matters? In fourth grade, we just skipped over the story of Yehuda and Tamar; that’s one approach. It doesn’t work well. How can you transmit values when the subject matter, or the application of those values, are taboo, and unmentionable? Granted, despite the anonymous author’s best efforts, the average commercial on television is more risqué and suggestive than this short story; and granted, I can see why the “Yeshiva” side of the YU ledger was offended.
But there is, unfortunately, a seamy corner of the Jewish world that we would do well not pretending that it does not exist. It exists – it exists because the culture is that decadent, and because young people looking for love, attention and respect often seek it in the wrong places and in the wrong activities – and they wind up without love or respect, although they do capture the attention, temporarily at least, of the exploiters and predators."

R' Yitzchok Adlerstein over at Cross-Currents titles his post A Grand Theory of Halachic Everything. He reviews a fascinating article by Dr. Moshe Koppel, which I highly recommended, "Judaism as a First Language"

Judaism, in a way, is not that different from English—or any other language, for that matter. In fact, Judaism is a language of sorts; its internal dynamics, the manner in which it evolves, and the powers through which it is fashioned are all startlingly similar to those of the linguistic process. Now, one can treat this comparison as a mere intellectual exercise, an interesting metaphor at most, but I believe its potential implications are great and far-reaching. It can shed light on some of the problems that keep many contemporary Jews—myself included—up at night: If Judaism, as it is currently practiced in certain circles, has gone off the rails, how would we know? Is there some Archimedean point from which we could decide the matter? And, if this is indeed the case, is the founding of a Jewish state likely to get us back on track? The answers to these questions, I will attempt to show here, are all inextricably connected, and the key to finding them may perhaps lie in understanding Judaism as language.

And President Obama's Remarks at the 71st General Assembly of the Union for Reform Judaism. (White House transcript)

And if there’s one thing I’ve learned from her[President Obama's daughter, Malia] it’s that it never hurts to begin a speech by discussing the Torah portion. It doesn’t hurt.

That was cute.

In fact, I am proud to say that no U.S. administration has done more in support of Israel’s security than ours. None. Don’t let anybody else tell you otherwise. It is a fact.

And that is a fact, you may not let anyone tell you otherwise. It IS A FACT.

Last year, when raging fires threatened Haifa, we dispatched fire-fighting planes to help put out the blaze. (Applause.)

Well, it wasn't dispatched by the US Government -- the Israeli government paid for the super tanker...whatever.

Thank you, God bless you, God bless the United States of America.

Amen. Had this been said by an Israeli Prime Minister, the media would be in an uproar over the religious intolerance of Israel's growing anti-democratic character.

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Netanyahu vs. Advocates of Civil War

2011-12-15T13:02:00.006+02:00

In perhaps one of the most important decisions in the past few weeks, Israeli PM Netanyahu has proven that he has the ability to make clear and decisive decisions, despite a cacophony of hatred from the ideological children of Ben-Gurion's decision to use deadly force against fellow Jews.

In 1948, Ben-Gurion ordered Yitzchak Rabin to open fire on the Irgun's Altalena ship carrying much needed weapons for the security of Israel, as it approached the shores of Tel-Aviv. Rabin then brutally ordered his troops to fire at the unarmed Jewish survivors swimming to shore, many of whom were Holocaust survivors. 19 Jews were murdered. Rabin never expressed any remorse for his actions -- in fact he relished in the murder, proudly saying in Washington DC when he was Israel's Ambassador to the USA, "we screwed them on the boat, and then we screwed them as they swam to shore." (source)

The proverbial artillery cannon which shot at the Altalena was named the "Holy Cannon"...and became a central theme in Ben-Gurion's legacy.

In response to the violence in the Shomron a few days, the ideological children of Ben-Gurion's "Holy Cannon" have called for shooting settlers.

"Too bad the IDF didn't arrest anyone; too bad they didn't shoot; too bad they didn't react." --MK Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor) Wednesday, 14/12/2011

Where is he, the Holy Cannon, when we urgently need him? Where are those who claim to be the students of Ben-Gurion, and those who carry on his legacy? --Yossi Sarid Haaretz, Thursday, 15/12/2011

Defense Minister Ehud Barak Wednesday morning said the legal possibility of classifying the "hilltop youth" group of young radical settlers as a terrorist group, saying "as far as their behavior is concerned, there is no doubt that we are talking about terrorists." (JPost)

And why do Ehud Barak, Ben-Eliezer or Yossi Sarid never call the weekly violent protests by Israeli leftists and anarchists are Biyalin or Yaalin, in which over 110 IDF soldiers and border policemen have been wounded -- the work of "terrorists"... and they reserve the use of their holiest of canons, and reserve the use of deadly force, only at settlers?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's response:

He accepts the recommendations of the internal security minister and the justice minister for dealing with far-Right activists rioting in the West Bank -- that they be tried in military court, but rejected a recommendation to define the Hilltop Youth as a terror organization. (YNET)

Defining "Hilltop Youth" as a terror organization is ludicrous (there is no such organization called the "hilltop youth"), yet the statement is clear: Jewish ideological violence against Jews is not terrorism. Violence is wrong and should be punished to the full extent of the law, but it is not terrorism. You don't shoot to kill other Jews because that leads to a civil war.

Netanyahu learned one lesson right from Menachem Begin, who said there should never be a civil war in Israel.

Unfortunately, Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak and MKs from the Labor party would be more than happy to mow down settlers with Ben-Gurion's "Holy Cannon."

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Settler Violence; Wrong, Damaging and Depressing

2011-12-14T13:15:00.006+02:00

In response to the planned IDF demolition of a Shomron region outpost, "Ramat Gilad", dozens of Israeli teenagers broke into the nearby IDF Efrayaim Battalion HQ, puncturing tires on jeeps and lobbing paint-filled balloons at IDF jeeps. Earlier in the evening, a rock was thrown into the jeep of the Battalion commanding officer, Ran Kahana, which injured his deputy.

The above cartoon, by Shay Charka says it all. The teenagers who attacked the IDF fail to realize that they are first and foremost, hurting themselves. Their behavior is wrong and the violence is wrong. It damages our unity, it damages the IDF, and most depressing of all, gives our enemies reason to rejoice and point fingers at the violence and increases the likelihood of the destruction of Ramat Gilad.

The background: Ramat Gilad is a 10 year old, small community of about 10 families and 30 children located on a hilltop in the Shomron region -- on a clear day you can see from Hadera to Ashdod. The buildings of Tel-Aviv are clearly visible almost any day. The community was founded in memory of Gilad Zar, the security officer of the Shomron Regional Council, who was murdered by Palestinian terrorists -- shot at point blank range in 2001.

Gilad's father, Moshe Zar is a well-known and colorful character. Moshe is a longtime friend of former Israeli Prime Minister, Arik Sharon, when he served under him in the legendary "Unit 101." Moshe was wounded in the 1956 Sinai Campaign and lost his left eye as a result of his injuries. In 1983 he was attacked and stabbed by a group of Palestinians but survived.

Moshe purchased thousands of dunams of land in the Shomron from the local Arabs.

In 1982, Moshe Zar purchased 2 parcels of land from an Arab resident of Jinsafut. In response, the seller's neighbors beat him brutally. As a result, the seller refused to hand over the documents concerning the second parcel of land despite the fact that Moshe Zar had already paid for it in full.

He asked Moshe Zar not to back out of the deal and promised that he would not oppose cultivation of the parcel by Moshe Zar. This parcel has been cultivated by Moshe Zar since then, as evidenced by aerial photographs and by testimony of an Arab worker who plowed the land on behalf of Moshe Zar.

To this day no one else has ever claimed ownership of the land or contested the land's cultivation. No complaints were filed with the police, army or civil administration despite the fact that the area is clearly visible from Jinsafut.

In 2000, the largest Israeli flag ever created was unrolled on the hill, which then began being called Givat HaDegel. The flag was later burned by local Arabs.

Shortly after the murder of Gilad Zar in 2001, Ramat Gilad was founded. The first two caravans plus a double caravan for a Bet Knesset were placed with the approval of then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his advisor for settlement affairs, Yossi Vardi.

In 2003, a plan for 185 units on the slopes of Ramat Gilad was approved by the Housing Ministry. The plan received all the necessary approvals except for that of the Defense Minister, for whose approval we've been waiting for eight years.

In 2004 "Peace Now" petitioned the court to require the government to destroy Jewish settlements that were built on private Arab land. Moshe Zar was not invited to the proceedings. No one else claimed ownership. No Arab has any claim on the land.

The only complaint that has been presented to the Supreme Court, for Jews living on a hilltop in the Shomron is from "Peace Now." As a result of the petition, the government committed itself to destroying Ramat Gilad by the end of 2011.

MK and Government Minister Benny Begin recently visited the hilltop to discuss its fate with Moshe Zar.

Moshe Zar, has stated that he agreed to negotiate with the State after being assured that no hasty demolitions would take place during negotiations. "During the negotiation we weren’t informed what would be demolished, when we suddenly heard about demolition forces on their way to Ramat Gilad contrary to the promises made. Then, the Defense Ministry claimed untruthfully they knew nothing of the forces approaching Ramat Gilad." (INN)

Who gains from this violence? Peace Now and Ehud Barak gain from the settler violence, as it makes it far simpler to destroy Ramat Gilad.

The tiny minority of violent settlers fell right into a perfectly laid trap...and have made it far more difficult for the rest of us.

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Supreme Court Representation: The Danger to Israel's Democracy

2011-12-07T14:45:00.005+02:00

Almost everyone is jumping on the bandwagon these days, saying that the evil MKs that comprise the (elected) government in Israel are doing their best to destroy the "Democratic Character" of Israel.

What has enraged them the most by far, is the proposal to allow the people of Israel, via their elected officials to actually decide who will comprise the makeup of the Supreme Court, rather than giving exclusive veto power to the existing Supreme Court justices.

In effect, the Supreme Court today ensures there is no representation of "the people" on the court, rather they decide in their own exclusive, infinite wisdom who may join them in ruling over Israel.

I suggest you view the following short (2 minute) video, which is captioned into English, for a clear, concise explanation of why democracy is allegedly endangered by letting the people of Israel have a say who should be on the Supreme Court.

If you don't like the video, and do believe that Israel's Democracy is truly in danger by allowing the Supreme Court justices to be actually representative of the people of Israel -- you are in good company. I'm sure you'll enjoy this unbiased article (written by an Israeli) on the same subject at Al-Jazeerah's Cross-Cultural Understanding section, entitled: Zionist Terrorists in the Knesset Threaten Remains of Democracy in Israel.

hat-tip: RRW

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The Ad that Won't Offend American Jews

2011-12-07T14:01:00.002+02:00

Also referred to as the Magen David (David’s Shield) or the Six Point Star, the Star of David bears various religious and cultural meanings in addition to its traditional association with Judaism. Historically, the star has been used as a symbol in Islam, Christianity and Judaism alike. Made up of two superimposed equilateral triangles, the six points of the star point in all directions, symmetry and balance. Thus, the star exemplifies an equilibrium existing within ourselves and our surrounding universe.

Whether you are looking for an ornament to top a Christmas tree, Hanukkah bush, or a tree that has a different meaning to your family, the Star of David tree topper is a perfect symbol and gift for your home or that of a loved one. (ad site)

Many proud American Jews were extremely upset by the "return home" ads that Israel has been running which targets expat Israelis. Some bloggers found the ads, "...as a whole are disgusting. They insult the intelligence of Israeli citizens, while also assailing the character of American Jews." Jeffrey Goldberg from the Atlantic stated that, "I don't think I have ever seen a demonstration of Israeli contempt for American Jews as obvious as these ads." The bottom line from Goldberg is this:

Don't imply, directly or otherwise, "that America is no place for a proper Jew, [the idea] that a Jew who is concerned about the Jewish future should live in Israel, is archaic, and also chutzpadik"

Days later, PM Netanytahu capitulated to the pressure and ordered that the ad campaign be shelved immediately.

Some intelligent thoughts on why this ad campaign is not the embodiment of Satan:

David Hazony's "Dissenting Opinion on 'Aba-Gate'"
Yishai Fleischer's "Dear American Jews"
Chana Rivka Poupko's "Dear Mr. Goldberg, That's Right. America IS No Place For A Proper Jew"
Laura Ben-David's Ad campaign to bring Israelis back is right on-target

However, I'm sure that none of those who were extremely offended by Israel's message to it's expats to return home, will be offended in the slightest by the ad campaign shown above at the top of this post, now catching steam all over the USA...reported by the JPost.

NEW YORK – Two Jewish-born entrepreneurs are a somewhat unlikely source for some equally unlikely holiday hits: the Hanukkah Tree Topper and Star of David Tree Topper.

Those looking to top their Christmas trees with a Jewish star can find such ornaments online, and between evangelical Christians and people in interfaith relationships, the tree toppers are selling like hot cross buns.

Morri and Marina Chowaiki have sold “thousands” of their Hanukkah Tree Toppers, a Star of David “menorahment” intended to be placed on top of a Christmas tree.

Morri Chowaiki was raised Jewish in Los Angeles, and Marina was raised in Melbourne, Australia, by a German Jewish mother and Greek Orthodox father. While Marina grew up celebrating Christmas, Morri did not. The couple decided to decorate their home for Christmas in 2005, and trimmed their Christmas tree with blue and silver decorations, including dreidels, as a tribute to both their faiths.

“She decorated a tree and put a five-pointed star on top,” Morri recalled.

“I asked with a bit of a chuckle, ‘Couldn’t you put a Jewish star on it?’ She said she couldn’t find one. I said I would, and I couldn’t. That’s how the idea was born.”

He filed for a patent for his six-sided silver Star of David and started selling it on Amazon in 2009. Since then, he says, his Hanukkah Tree Topper has become the site’s No. 1 selling tree topper, as well as its No. 1 selling Hanukka item.

The Hanukkah Tree Topper is also now sold on SkyMall, the in-flight shopping service, as well as online at Home Depot and Sears. Thousands of units have been sold in the US, Canada, the UK, Austria, Ireland, Australia and Mexico.

For some strange reason, these Xmas-tree/Chanuka-bush Mogen Dovid tree toppers aren't selling like hotcakes in Israel. I guess we're just not as enlightened.

I'm happy to keep it that way.

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Taliban Burqa Women Raise the Bar: Concealing the Human Form

2011-11-30T13:35:00.005+02:00

Hyper-modest, Hyper-Orthodox Taliban Burqa-clad Jewish women in the Mea-Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem have raised the bar on their attempts to hide themselves when going out in public.

MyNet/Yediot Yerushalayim reports that a new trend is emerging in which the Burqa women place a cylinder on their heads beneath their burqa, to further conceal their human form. (see photo below of the Burqa woman on the left)

MyNet Reports:

According to a source, close to the group of Burqa women, "the more stringent of the women decided that the burqa veil is not enough, because it still shows the shape of the face. The solution found is a tube that they wear over their heads under the veil so you can not identify the shape of their face."

Israel's Ultra-Orthodox rabbis and even the most stringent in the Orthodox community have came out against Burqas. "We warn the wives and daughters of Israel, that they should not be drawn into this. These customs spell doom and destruction, G-d forbid," reads the letter issued. "This is a group of women who have uprooted "Daas Torah" from Israel -- their behavior is against the Torah and is uprooting Jewish education and Torah from Israel. They are endangering the health of their offspring, as well as placing them in danger and the fear of death".

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Breaking: Explosion Rocks Iranian city of Isfahan, home to key nuclear facility

2011-11-28T18:47:00.006+02:00

7:29 PM Update Channel 10 Israel TV reports of another huge explosion in Ishfahan -- this time in a Shahab-4 Ballistic missile facility.

Iran: Keep up the good work!

Reported by FARS (Iranian News Agency) and others...first reports emerged at 6:15 PM, Israel time.

A explosion rocked the western Iranian city of Isfahan on Monday, the semi-official Fars news agency reported, adding that the blast was heard in several parts of the city.

The reported incident occurred about two weeks after Gen. Hasan Tehrani Moghaddam was killed together with 20 other Guard members Nov. 12 at a military site outside Bidganeh village, 40 kilometers southwest of Tehran. (Haaretz)

(more at Elder of Ziyon)

The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) updates us on nuclear facilities in Esfahan, Iran:

The Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF) at Esfahan contains process lines to convert yellowcake into uranium oxide, uranium metal, and uranium hexafluoride. It began operations in June 2006.

According to information provided to the IAEA, Iran carried out most of its experiments in uranium conversion between 1981 and 1993 at the Tehran Nuclear Research Center (TNRC) and at other facilities at Esfahan. In 1991, Iran contracted to purchase a turn-key, industrial scale conversion facility from China. This contract was eventually canceled as a result of US pressure, but Iran retained the design information and built the plant on its own. Construction of the UCF began in the late 1990s.

Iran declared that it began construction of the UCF without building and testing a pilot scale plant. After extensive analysis, the IAEA accepted this declaration.

The UCF consists of several conversion lines, including the line for the conversion of yellowcake to UF6. The annual production capacity of the UCF is 200 tonnes of uranium in the form of UF6. The UF6 iis slated for the uranium enrichment facilities at Natanz. The UCF is also able to convert yellowcake, LEU and depleted uranium into UO2 and depleted uranium metal. Iran has told the IAEA indicates that they plan to build conversion lines for the production of natural and enriched (19.7%) uranium metal for research reactors, and natural UO2 for use in the heavy water reactor. Suspicions remain that the line to produce 19.7% uranium metal was originally intended to produce HEU metal for nuclear weapons.

Fuel Fabrication Laboratory (FFL)
In 1985, Iran began operating a Fuel Fabrication Laboratory (FFL) at Esfahan that it commissioned from a foreign supplier. Iran informed the IAEA of the FFL in 1993 and provided design information in 1998. It is still in operation. According to the IAEA, the FFL is suitable for producing small amounts of fuel pellets.

Uranium Chemistry Laboratory (UCL)
In the early 1980s, Iran commissioned from a foreign supplier the construction at a Uranium Chemistry Laboratory (UCL). According to the IAEA, in 1998, Iran declared that UCL had been closed down since 1987.

Zirconium Production Plant (ZPP)
Iran has built a Zirconium Production Plant which, when completed, will be able to produce 10 tonnes of zirconium tubing per year for nucler fuel cladding. Construction started in 2004. The ZPP, according to Iranian officials, will be able to produce zirconium sponge, zirconium alloy strip and bar, magnesium, hafnium, 99.99 percent pure magnesium, zirconium alloys, titanium and titanium alloys, and can do ferrous and non-ferrous metal casting.

Lastly, YNET (coincidentally) reported the following today:

The IDF intelligence community on Monday commented on the explosion in a military base in Tehran two weeks ago, which killed one of Iran's missile project heads.

"The blast in the site where surface-to-surface missiles were developed can delay or bring to a complete halt the production of the missiles at that site," said head of the Directorate of Military Intelligence Research Section Department Brigadier General Itai baron at a briefing in the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

"However," Baron cautioned, "It must be emphasized that Iran has other development sites other than the one that was destroyed." (more here)

Here's to more "accidents" -- L'Chaim!

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Israel's Attorney General: Nothing wrong with Bibi in SS uniform

2011-11-27T20:08:00.008+02:00

Everyone knows that one of the key events of incitement that led to Prime Minister Rabin's assassination was the infamous poster of Rabin in an "SS" Nazi uniform. I was even present at the demonstration in Zion Square when they were being handed out -- and the orchestrator of the hand-out was Shabak agent provocateur, Avishai Raviv.

Granted, that was many years ago, and since then, we've all been educated that words and posters kill. We're reminded annually that had the national-religious camp demonstrated their dislike of the government's politics in a more civil way, everything would be different today.

Reminding us that there's nothing wrong for a center-right wing Prime Minister of Israel to be photo-montaged into a similar SS Nazi uniform, a left wing blogger created such a display this past summer.

MK Ophir Akunis (Likud) filed a police complaint Tuesday morning against a blog that published photomontages depicting Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in a Nazi SS uniform. The Likud's Legal Adviser, Attorney Avi HaLevi, accompanied Akunis to the police station and also signed the complaint.

The blog is named HaOtzer HaEzrachi ("The Civilian Curfew"). It went offline Monday after the press discovered the photos, and news of their existence began to circulate.

The blog featured a demand that Netanyahu and members of his government be put on trial. It showed a caption that read "The Main Suspect: Binyamin Netanyahu," and beneath it three photomontage pictures that show Netanyahu in Nazi uniform. At least one of the pictures also has Netanyahu giving a Nazi salute.

Akunis and HaLevi noted that the bloggers identify themselves as citizens of Israel who represent "the heart of the Israeli protest against the policies of the capitalist-piggish Netanyahu government" and refuse to talk to Netanyahu.

The bloggers compare the Prime Minister to a drunk who has cruelly murdered a loved one. In such a case, they ask their readers, "would you try to create a 'solution' or would you consider continuing to live with the same vile murderer?"

Netanyahu is labeled "the main suspect" and the bloggers demand that he and his ministers be brought to a "field trial" and call on the public to take action in this direction. (INN)

Today, MK Ofir Akunis shared on his Facebook page that he was informed that a photo montage of Netanyahu in an SS uniform is not "criminal incitement" and his complaint will be shelved. He announced that Shai Niztan has ordered the police to close their investigation into the blog which created the photo montage of Netanyahu in an SS uniform. (also reported in Hebrew, here)

Interestingly enough, I found the following in Haaretz's archives from 2005.

The Jerusalem Police have foiled plans by right-wing extremists to distribute posters with pictures of Yitzhak Rabin in an SS uniform to coincide with the 10th anniversary of his assassination, the police said yesterday.

One suspect, a 15-year-old boy, was arrested Saturday night on suspicion of planning to distribute the posters, which police say violate the laws against incitement and slander.

The posters bear the slogan "rejoice in the downfall of the wicked" and say they are being distributed in honor of the anniversary of the death of "a hater of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, may his name be erased."

Yesterday, the boy was remanded for two days by the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court, and police are searching for a second minor whom they also suspect of involvement in the affair. (Haaretz)

Note that 2 minors were remanded for two days due to posters with Rabin in an SS uniform...due to "incitement"...(against a person who was already dead).

Please do NOT go and look at the Haaretz link above, which contains the infamous photo-montage of Rabin in an SS uniform (for information purposes only). If you do, I'm afraid that Shai Niztan would have me and this blog investigated for incitement and we would be shut down for good. Therefore, please do NOT go there, please do NOT even think of Rabin in an SS uniform, since that is incitement.

PM Netanyahu in an SS uniform is freedom of speech and is the epitome of our democracy.

Bonus question: What do you think would happen had the photo montage been of someone else instead of PM Netanyau...like Attorney General Shai Niztan, for example?

Legal Disclaimer: The posting the above photo of PM Netanyahu is for informative purposes only, and I do not condone the photo montage. The "bonus question" above is not meant as a suggestion for anyone to actually go ahead and try it, because that would obviously be incitement. Please do not create any photo montages of anyone. Thank you.

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Israel ranked #7 in World's Life Expectancy...US is #25

2011-11-24T18:24:00.005+02:00

Need yet another reason to move to the Jewish State?

Israel is now ranked at #7 in life expectancy, coming at at 83.5 life expectancy years...with the USA lagging far behind at #25, with an expectancy of 80.6 years. (source)

I doubt the study took in account the stats of immigrants, who probably have higher blood pressure -- as a result of dealing with Israel's bureaucracy and idiosyncrasies. (Even though Israeli bureaucracy and customer service is far better than ever, and improving daily).

To your health! Labriyut (or Livriyut) -- to 120!

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Israel's Contingency Plan - An Alternative to the Palestinian Authority

2011-11-24T11:54:00.012+02:00

Exposé: Israel's Plan to Replace the Palestinian Authority
(translation from Makor Rishon by Jameel @ The Muqata Blog)

By Ariel Kahane, Makor Rishon Newspaper: The first exposure of Israel's contingency plan to replace the Palestinian Authority.

Under this plan, supported by some of the government's ministers, Israel will establish an autonomy or Arab autonomous regions in Judea and Samaria, in response to unilateral moves by the PA which breach existing agreements.

Possibilities [of breaching agreements] include [the PA] setting up a joint government with Hamas, or returning to the track of unilateral declaration, as threatened by the PA in September.

The linchpin of the plan is based on Hebron's Sheikh Mukhtar Abu-Khader al-Jabri, who had long challenged the PA and even controls security forces. In recent years, al-Jabari cultivated his contacts with Israeli officials, including settlers. In this context, three months ago, he participated in a secret meeting in Tel Aviv which discussed the possibility of alternative forces that could replace the PA. The meeting was held at the home of former minister Rafi Eitan, who has longstanding ties with al-Jabari clan and other independent forces in Judea and Samaria. Also in attendance were Cabinet Minister Yisrael Katz, a representative of the General Security Service, historians, experts in Palestinian society and figures close to al-Jabari.

At the meeting, Al-Jabri presented details of his worldview that rejects the establishment of a Palestinian State -- he outlined his support for the establishment of an autonomous region which would rely on the State of Israel, and would be free of terrorism. He clarified that he, his staff and especially the Palestinian population are interested in improving their financial situation which greatly deteriorated due to PA policy. As an example, he noted that the PA completely destroyed the Hebron-area marble industry, many of whom made their living from it in the Hebron mountain area, by taxing marble exports. He clarified that in addition to him, there are other area leaders that support his approach against the PA, if they knew that Israel would agree to cooperate with them. "I am not your collaborator. I am not Antoine Lahad or Bashir Gemayel, but I need to know if we act together, you will agree to recognize us and cooperate." To this end he asked that Israel will agree to issue identity cards to him and the rest of the population.

At this stage of the meeting, he passed the ball to the Minister Katz, who is considered close to Netanyahu. Those present at the meeting imply that Katz was represented Netanyahu's position. Katz made it clear that he would not in any way grant Israeli citizenship to residents because it contradicts the basis of the Zionist idea. However, he noted that in the event that the PA violated the agreements, Israel would be liberated from them. And so "if there will be a unilateral move, we will evaluate recognizing them."

Later in the session, other aspects of the idea were discussed. 'Makor Rishon' learned that details about the meeting were transferred to Defense Minister Ehud Barak, the GSS and the National Security Council. A senior official in Jerusalem revealed that at one point the idea started to wane under heavy pressure and explicit threats by PA to al-Jabari. With the process slowdown at United Nations [of unilateral statehood], options for alternatives are now off the table. However, the developments over the last days which show a serious effort by Abu Mazen to establish a joint government with Hamas, raises anew the need to examine alternatives to the PA. "If Abbas goes to Hamas, we can definitely establish an autonomy," the senior official said.

Minister Katz yesterday confirmed the information and expressed support for the idea. He said that "if there is a change in the current situation and the PA will break the dishes, I'll lead an Israeli initiative to recognize the autonomy of this kind. This seems a correct and realistic response."

In the context of "internal Palestinian unity", there is a significant meeting in Cairo taking place today between PA Chairman and Fatah member, Mahmoud Abbas, and the head of Hamas, Khaled Meshal. Abbas would like to establish a joint government with Hamas, but is under heavy pressure by the Americans and Europeans. European Union Ambassador to Israel, Andrew Standley, stressed yesterday that the EU "stands with its full weight on the demand that Hamas will fulfill the Quartet's conditions" (recognizing Israel, abandoning terrorism and recognition of agreements between Israel and the PA). He made it clear that any other publication [of an alternative EU policy] is a "fabrication", as he put it. At the same time the U.S. gave Abbas a clear threat that if he establishes a unified government with Hamas, he would lose the budgetary and political support of Washington. This was made very clear to him yesterday by deputy U.S. secretary of state, William Burns.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman made it clear yesterday that "if a Hamas and Fatah unity government is established, and it does not sharply and clearly, without reservations or vague statement, agree to the Quartet's conditions -- Israel will not recognize it, nor conduct any dialogue nor transfer it one shekel." Lieberman said that "PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, is trying to place lots of pressure on the international community - so that Israel will transfer money to the PA and at the same time he is working energetically to establish a government with Hamas -- which does not recognize the requirements of the international community to stop terror and respect the agreements signed between Israel and the Palestinians, and continues to call for Israel's destruction. Israel will not transfer funds to those interested in its destruction, and if Abu-Mazan wants to be a partner of Hamas, it is clear that he is not a partner for peace."

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The hypocrisy of it all.

2011-11-24T10:54:00.003+02:00

The Left are going nuts. Their latest mantra is “The Right is trying to Rule”. I’m not making that up. It’s really being said in the interviews.

While the Left are upset at the various laws and bills that are being passed, they are apparently even more upset that the elected Right is actually fulfilling the mandate given to them by the people.

Suddenly the Rules of Democracy and the Rule of Law are less important.

Now we’re being told that the majority needs to respect the wishes of the minority and not trample on them. (A true statement, but why is it only now that we here this from them).

Incredible.

Tell that to the former residents of Gush Katif, when the Left were saying the exact opposite of what they are saying now – that the minority must respect the will of the majority.

And let’s consider what laws the Left are so upset about.

1)A law that will limit how much money a foreign government (that right foreign government, not private donor) can filter into Israel to effect political change in our county.

2)A law that will align the Judicial election process with other democratic countries and limit the very undemocratic process where the Judiciary picks its own replacement members.

3)A law that will typically require some connection between a petitioner and the petition when petitioning the High Court. As well as requiring the petitioner to reveal to the court if they are receiving foreign funding for their activities.

Nothing here is undemocratic.

But what it does do, is limit the Left and foreign governments from using non-democratic means to override the will of the people.

I don’t like the phrase that a democracy needs to pass laws to protect itself. On the other hand, a democracy doesn’t need to allow itself to be undermined and overthrown either in the name of freedom and democracy.

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The Lord vs. the iPad

2011-11-21T11:18:00.011+02:00

Post removed due to clarification from Rabbi Sacks' Office.

Chief Rabbi: I admire Jobs and Apple and use my iPad daily (more here)

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Are you part of the 99% trying to destroy civilization?

2011-11-20T02:24:00.006+02:00

It’s like the world’s gone insane. Let’s ignore Egypt and Tunisia where there are real problems. I’m talking about these protests in the first world. Whether it’s the Students for Socialism here in Israel tenting it out all summer demanding that working taxpayers give them free housing; the Israeli Medical Residents in their two-faced war with the government; or the Communist wannabes attacking Wall Street demanding that capitalism and democracy be shut down unless (what exactly?).

It even reminds me of ISM tactics (which might explain the Anti-Semitism coming through too in a lot of these protests).

But there’s something funny here. Step back a second and take a look again. You’ll probably getting that feeling of déjà vu watching all these protest movements.

The rhetoric is the same. The claims of no central leadership is the same. The ambiguous yet anarchistic demands are the same. The theatrics, the antics and the tactics are the same: the drums, the human mics, the face masks, the tents.

The attempts to create crises are the same.

Sure, it’s easy to say that Social Media makes these protests spontaneous and it’s all part of the Facebook generation. But that’s not true. Facebook and Twitter are being used as the tools to make them seem spontaneous, but it hasn’t created this. These protests in no way feel spontaneous. They're organized. Undeniably very well organized.

There's a lot of money being spent to organize these protests.

So why are the people pulling the strings and behind the scenes trying to destroy modern civilization, capitalism and democracy, and dragging us down to anarchy, socialism, or worse?

Sometimes I think it’s just the nature of the Left to want to destroy things, to destabilize things, to constantly want to redistribute other people’s things.

On the other hand, perhaps there are those who expect to see profit (of one kind or another) from the chaos, and they’re taking advantage of the toolish/foolish nature of the Left to make that happen.

I don't know, but it's something worth contemplating.

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Israel's Rabbinate, Religious Coercion, Weddings and Tzohar

2011-11-17T12:00:00.000+02:00

Last week, Israel's "Tzohar" organization announced they were going to stop marrying Israelis because Israel's rabbinate wasn't providing them with marriage certificates.

Tzohar is an organization of Orthodox rabbis who perform Jewish marriage ceremonies according to Halacha, but in a manner than non-religious Israelis can appreciate, and without feeling that an archaic ceremony is being imposed on them. Many Israelis request "one stop shopping" at Tzohar, without any interaction with the State of Israel rabbinic authority, so that Tzohar handles marriage registration and the actual wedding ceremony.

Having personally gotten married in Israel, I was shocked at the insensitivity of the official "rabbinate" clerks who processed our request. I always thought that had I not been religious to begin with, I would have become vehemently anti-religious as a result of the process. Tzohar came about offer a friendlier, less bureaucratic, less imposing alternative.

Rabbi Riskin from Efrat wrote the following op-ed piece in the JPOST. I highly recommend you read it.

Has the Chief Rabbinate outlived its usefulness?
By SHLOMO RISKIN 11/12/2011 23:26

There is a profound distinction between the national and religious covenants: citizens of a nation-state are bound by laws promulgated by the legislative, judiciary bodies of that polity.

A number of weeks ago I read with great anguish that the renowned author Yoram Kaniuk wished to remain a citizen of Israel, but was resigning as a member of the Jewish religion. Two days after that a couple came to see me, requesting that I marry them in a religious ceremony, but insisting that their wedding not be officially registered within the Israeli rabbinic establishment.

Ironically, the very next day I was informed by Rabbi David Stav of the religious Zionist Tzohar organization that the Ministry of Religious Affairs would no longer allow couples to choose Tzohar rabbis to marry them, but was rather insisting that a couple can only be married by the rabbis of the community in which they live.

What are the origins of an official religious establishment in Israel, and what is causing the negative feelings towards the Chief Rabbinate and its judiciary system? The frustrating conundrum of Israel, as well as the secret of our eternity, lies in our hybrid personality as both a nationality and a religion. Our status as a nation was formed in the Biblical covenant between the parts when Abraham, the first Hebrew, was guaranteed eternal seed and was granted the geographical borders of a national homeland. It was forged in the Biblical insistence that every human being is created in the Divine Image, thereby guaranteeing the inalienable rights of human freedom and human inviolability. Hence our national narrative enjoins us to re-experience our formative servitude in and freedom from totalitarian Egypt, so that our national mission has been informed with spreading the ideals of loving the stranger, compassionate righteousness, and moral justice throughout the world.

Our status as a religion was formed at the covenant of Sinai. This gave concrete expression to our national mission in the form of ethical, moral and ritual laws, which would hopefully shape a God-fearing, sacred nation and kingdom of priest-teachers. Hence, our Torah and our Hebrew calendar – replete with panoply of feast and fast days with both historical and spiritual significance – serve as national as well as religious expressions. This is what makes a simplistic separation between “synagogue and state” in Israel a near impossibility, but this is what also gave us our ability to survive and recreate our national status after almost 2000 years of exile.

Our national covenant kept alive the dream of our return to Zion despite the destruction of our Temples and our worldwide persecution; and our complex legal system provided our nation with boundaries even though we had no geographical area to call our own.

There is, however, a profound distinction between the national and religious covenants: the citizens of a nation-state are bound by laws promulgated by the legislative and judiciary bodies of that polity, to which they must comply as long as they are residents within that nation-state. Religious law, on the other hand, which its adherents believe has its origins in Divine Revelation and its legal system interpreted by religious legal authorities in every generation, is dependent for compliance upon the free choice of the individual. As my revered teacher, Rabbi J.B.

Soloveitchik, was wont to say, the term religious coercion is an oxymoron; no truly religious act for the sake of heaven can be legislated by legal force and still retain religious significance for the one who performs it.

I BELIEVE with all my heart and mind that the State of Israel ought to feature a Chief Rabbinate as an official and revered representative of Israel before world Jewry and before humanity – for all the historical and existential reasons relating to our miraculous survival for the past 4,000 years. According to recent surveys, fully two-thirds of Israeli Jewry consider themselves to be on the spectrum of “traditional” Judaism.

Most Israelis have profound respect for and even personal involvement in our time-honored rituals of life-cycle passages such as circumcision, marriage under a nuptial canopy, burial in the ground and shiva, and festive occasions such as Friday evening familial kiddush and meal, Passover Seder, Shavuot Torah study and Chanukah menorah lighting. I do not believe that most Israelis are ready to join Yoram Kaniuk in adopting the Jewish nation but resigning from the Jewish religion.

They are not yet ready to join Yoram Kaniuk, that is, but the establishment rabbinate is doing everything in its power to bring them to the brink of doing just that. Once upon a time even so-called secular Israelis were proud of chief rabbis, men like Rabbis A.Y. HaKohen Kook, Isaac Halevi Herzog and Shlomo Goren (all of blessed memory) because these rabbis were inclusive rather than exclusive; they sought to embrace every Jew and bring him or her closer to tradition. These mighty individuals looked to halachah to solve questions of personal status, not to complicate them.

At a time when an unfriendly and inflexible Chief Rabbinate and its courts of law are driving young couples to Cyprus so as not to get married “in accordance with the laws of Moses and Israel,” thankfully the rabbis of the Tzohar organization have been finding user-friendly and welcoming halachic solutions to include them under the Jewish marriage canopy.

Now, in their infinite wisdom, the Chief Rabbinate and Ministry of Religious Affairs have closed yet another door (in addition to the doors of meaningful Jewish divorce and conversion) – the door of Jewish marriage – to a confused and disgruntled Israeli public. All “for the sake of heaven.”

I understand that the present controversy between Tzohar and the Ministry of Religious Affairs is on the road to resolution. But the general and underlying problem still remains in full force. Local religious councils are still setting up difficult roadblocks before well-meaning secular couples who have never heard of Tzohar but who want to be married by a rabbi – if it isn’t too much of a hassle to do so. The rabbinic courts remain extremely reluctant to force husbands to divorce their wives in accordance with halacha no matter the difficulties of their marital situations, and no matter how unreasonable the husband’s demands may be as his price for the giving the get.

Furthermore, close to 350,000 Israeli citizens from the former Soviet Union – “Kanukian” Israelis under the right of return but not halachically Jewish – are still awaiting the establishment of user-friendly ulpanim and courts for conversion devoid of small-minded bureaucracy and whose conversions will not be nullified later on by one of the Chief Rabbis’ court judges.

Our sacred Talmud and the Responsa of Jewish law have loving solutions for the overwhelming majority of problems engendered by these situations; “It din” the law is flexible, but “let dayan,” many of the judges are not, as the Talmudic saying goes. Let us only pray that until the proper changes in the system are put into effect, a disgruntled Israeli populace will not throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Postscript
The story is told of Rabbi Aryeh Levin, the famed tzaddik of Jerusalem, who once spotted a young soldier on a short furlough from the army. The rabbi knew the young man from the neighborhood in Geula, and so he crossed the street in order to extend his hand in greeting. “Shalom Aleichem,” said the venerable sage. “Please come to my home. I would very much like to drink tea with you and hear about your activities.”

The young soldier seemed uncomfortable.

“I don’t think it’s right for me to come visit you,” he said. “I don’t wear a kippa anymore.”

Rabbi Levin, in his black hat and black kaftan, smiled warmly at the young man and took his hand in his own.

“Don’t you see?,” he said, “I’m a very short man. I see you, but I cannot look up so high as to notice as to whether you are wearing a kippa. But I can see your heart – and your heart is big and kind, and that’s what counts.

You are also a soldier placing your life at risk for all of us in Israel. Please drink tea with me; your kippa is probably bigger than mine.”

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Flood Hits Modiin Mall

2011-11-14T22:33:00.001+02:00

Today's rains brought a flood to the Azrielli Mall in the city of Modiin.

Divine retribution for Xmas Caroling in the Modiin Park...Offensive Billboards in the mall...preventing Jewish youths from putting on tefillin....Missionary Activity...?

Of course not!

It was simply poor urban planning for rainwater and sewage drains...don't worry Modiin, we still love you at the Muqata!

(or, this could simply be proof that G-d approved of today's laws passed in the Knesset)

photo credit: rotter

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Google Maps Car Arrives in Meah Shearim

2011-11-14T15:13:00.003+02:00

As the Google maps car continues its trek of mapping street views of Israel's cities, the car paid a visit yesterday to Meah Shearim.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

The curious residents weren't hostile at all...and the question is who gawked more at the other. Soon, everyone will be able to view the streets of Meah Shearim via Google Street Views, no matter what your wearing, with no fear of reprisals.

More photos here.

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SETTLERS WIN BIG -- BIBI BATTLING PEACE!! READ ALL ABOUT IT AT HAARETZ!!

2011-11-10T12:45:00.002+02:00

Here's Haaretz's lead headline and lead op-ed as of 8:30 this morning:

Lead Headline:

Israel postpones demolition of illegal outpost, handing settlers a major victory

Initially, the government argued that it was conducting negotiations with the residents of the outposts to evacuate them willingly, which never happened.

Lead Editorial:

Netanyahu leading the fight against Israel's peace activists

Right-wing parties blame Israel human rights organizations for aiding what they call 'campaign to delegitimize Israel', and have turned them into a scapegoat.

Irrelevant Ha'aretz News pushed to back of page 37:

PA concedes defeat in statehood bid after failing to muster votes
Measure not likely to pass the Security Council, since U.S. plans to veto statehood bid, but Palestinians hoped to muster majority needed to trigger veto and embarrass the U.S.

hat-tip: RK.

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Katzav on Israel's High Court

2011-11-10T12:30:00.003+02:00

YNETNews: From the Presidential Residence to a jail cell: The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that former President Moshe Katsav's rape conviction and sever-year prison sentence stand, rendering Katsav the first president in Israel's history to be sent to jail.

The Honorable Edna Arble, Miriam Naor and Salim Joubran ruled unanimously against the appeal. The three are considered strict judges, who often favor severe sentences, especially for sex offenders.

The court has allowed Katsav one moth to put his affairs in order. He will begin serving his sentence on December 7.

Katsav arrived in court accompanied by his children and several other family members. His wife Gila stayed in the couple's Kiryat Malachi home. He reportedly "remained stoic" throughout the ruling's reading, but seemed distraught once the sentenced was reaffirmed.

Said Moshe Katzav:

"After a year of difficult struggles and penetrating discussions, the hour has come. You are obligated to respect the decisions of the institutions of the state: the Knesset and the government. It is a decision that has been examined even in the High Court of Justice, and once it has been decided, 'the law of the land is the law.' The Knesset is the symbol of sovereignty and it expresses the will of the people. 'The voice of the masses is like the voice of the Mighty One,' the voice of the Knesset is like the voice of the masses."

Oh, Katzav said that just prior to the "Disengagement" on August 10, 2005 (Erev Tish'a B'Av) in an address to the nation, informing the Jewish residents of Gush Katif and Samaria why they could have no criticism towards the state for demanding their expulsion. (link)

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The Green Prince Speaks

2011-11-10T10:32:00.000+02:00

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Jews: What does Obama say behind YOUR back?

2011-11-08T15:46:00.003+02:00

What Obama says behind our backs...

French President Nicolas Sarkozy reportedly told US President Barack Obama that he could not "stand" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that he thinks the Israeli premier "is a liar."

According to a Monday report in the French website "Arret sur Images," after facing reporters for a G20 press conference on Thursday, the two presidents retired to a private room, to further discuss the matters of the day.

The conversation apparently began with President Obama criticizing Sarkozy for not having warned him that France would be voting in favor of the Palestinian membership bid in UNESCO despite Washington's strong objection to the move.

The conversation then drifted to Netanyahu, at which time Sarkozy declared: "I cannot stand him. He is a liar." According to the report, Obama replied: "You're fed up with him, but I have to deal with him every day!" (YNET)

Hey Jewish voters in the USA - guess what Obama says behind your backs, every single day?

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The Boycott of Lod's Arab Taxi Drivers

2011-11-06T08:30:00.000+02:00

Found this interesting tidbit tonight...on Yediot Ayalon/MYNET.

There is a taxi company in the Israeli city of Lod, which employs both Jewish and Arab taxi drivers. Upon the release of the 1027 terrorists in the "Gilad Shalit" exchange, some of the terrorists were Israeli Arabs...who returned to their hometown of Lod. The Arab taxi drivers partied publicly, honking and celebrating in the streets of Lod at the heroic release of their terrorist-brothers, Mohammad Ziada and Mochlis Borgial.

Ziada and Borgial were convicted and sentenced to life in prison for throwing a grenade onto a bus full of IDF soldiers. Luckily, the grenade didn't explode.

The Jewish residents of Lod, were disgusted by this behavior and started a boycott of their own; when calling the aforementioned taxi company, they openly request a Jewish driver. As a result, for the past 2 weeks, the number of calls to this particular taxi company has decreased dramatically, almost to the point of many drivers sitting around all day, doing nothing.

It's probably illegal under Israel law for the Jewish residents to boycott the Arab taxi drivers, and I wonder how long before someone is brought up on charges for this.

The Arab drivers do not see anything wrong with their support for the released terrorists:

"In the recent weeks, people specifically request a Jewish driver," said an anonymous driver. Like all the taxi drivers in this article on MYNET, every single driver spoke only on the condition of absolute anonymity for fear of hurting their livelihood.

"We feel are significant drop of work in the taxi station, and currently I am searching for additional work. On the other hand, this is infuriating. Who are these people boycotting the taxi drivers and telling them how to behave? Drivers have the freedom to behave how they wish. Its true that some of the drivers went to visit [released terrorist] Mochlis, because they are friends of his family. What's the big deal?"

Another driver commented, "We went to visit Mochlis just to wish him well and say, "Welcome home to your city", we just wanted to see him. But now we are talking about our livelihood, and we don't deal in politics."

"We the driver respect Jews and Arabs alike, but when a customer requests only a Jewish driver, it is very humiliating.

One Lod resident saw on TV the tax drivers that she usually drivers with, when they were celebrating the return of the 2 terrorists. "Even if there is no other taxi available, I will never go into one of those [Arab-driver] taxi. It was extremely offensive to their joy and celebration [when the released terrorists returned to Lod....]"

Like her, there are many similarly-minded residents. "Should I need to worry then they drive me, because they lifted the released terrorists onto their shoulders as heroes?", said one of the residents who now refuses to use that taxi service.

"Why did they behave like that -- I thought they respected their customers...their neighbors..."

The taxi station manager replied: "We don't understand politics and don't want our drivers will be politically active. We live here in mutual harmony between Arabs and Jews and see no reason for this issue... (MYNET)"

It's pretty telling that the Station manager has no clue why the behavior his drivers giving a heroes welcome to convicted terrorists might be a turn off to some people. To say "its all politics" shows how little they really understand what terrorism really is...

Here's a short video clip of the day the terrorists were released in Lod (note all the Palestinian flags being waved by the Israeli Arab residents of the city).

So...would you boycott these taxi drivers?

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More Palestinian Moral Bankruptcy

2011-11-05T23:15:00.002+02:00

As if a society that supports terrorism isn't enough, the freed Palestinian terrorists who were exchanged by Israel for IDF solider Gilad Shalit, are now getting from the Palestinian Authority: Free Housing and Big Cash Stipends!

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has decided to build houses for the Palestinian prisoners who were released in the Gilad Schalit exchange deal between Israel and Hamas.

The new housing project will be funded by the Palestinian Investment Fund, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. The PIF was established in 2003 as an independent investment company with the aim of strengthening the Palestinian economy through key investments.

The announcement came during a meeting between Abbas and some of the released prisoners in his office in Ramallah on Saturday.

Earlier, Abbas decided to award the prisoners financial grants of several thousand dollars for each inmate.

The prisoners will receive up to $5,000 from the PA and $2,000 from the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip. (JPOST)

So where is the money coming from to build homes for the terrorists? The Palestine Investment Fund...(no corruption there). What are their goals (from their webpage):

PIF was established in 2003 as an independent investment company, which aims to strengthen the local economy through key strategic investments, while maximizing long-run returns for its ultimate shareholder; the people of Palestine.

PIF prudently invests through an investment strategy focused on long-term value creation. With an aim to generate high and stable returns through diversified strategic investments in partnership with international, regional and local partners, based on values of transparency, accountability, commitment and in line with its corporate social responsibility and sustainability objectives. PIF has a strong reputation across global markets as a trusted and responsible investment partner.

High and Stable returns by building homes for terrorists? Sounds like a solid investment...

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LatmaTV - Weekend Edition

2011-11-04T10:31:00.000+02:00

Their song in the middle is haunting.

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Yeshiva Expels Students for Getting Driver Licenses

2011-11-03T16:37:00.005+02:00

I found the following story rather bizarre.

The head of the prestigious Be'er Torah yeshiva has announced that he will expel 30 students from the institution after discovering that they hold driver's licenses.

The "expulsion letters" were issued a month ago, yet the yeshiva students refuse to comply with the demand.

A letter issued by yeshiva head, Rabbi Gavriel Yosef Levy, informed the students that as they breached the yeshiva's rules, they should find an alternate place to study in the winter term.

According to the yeshiva charter, holding a valid driver's license is forbidden. The charter's third chapter asserts: "A yeshiva boy shall not drive a vehicle and must not hold a driver's license."

According to the students, the institution's staff looked into the driver's license issue in cooperation with the Transportation Ministry. One of the expelled students told Ynet he was furious that his personal details in a government database were compromised.

The ministry issued the following response: "Entering the Transportation Ministry's database while pretending to be the owner of a license is an offense. The ministry is aware of the problem and seeks solutions that would prevent unauthorized parties from eliciting information about driver's license holders." (YNET)

On the one hand, the yeshiva is allowed to make whatever ridiculous requirements they wish for admission. If you don't like it, don't go there... (perhaps, similar to the weird requirements of certain yeshivot that require all their students to follow strict Ashkenazi customs, even the Sepharadim, even outside the yeshiva). Or perhaps, the Beis Yaakov school that expelled 9 girls for having non-kosher cellphones.

Is the yeshiva like the Belzer Chassidim, who forbid women to drive at all? Why doesn't the yeshiva want them to drive; is the process of learning to drive "bitttul Torah" (a waste of Torah time), is the yeshiva worried they will drive instead of being in yeshiva, or is it that yeshiva guys shouldn't be behind the wheel in the first place, because it's not befitting a Torah scholar to drive (and they should be driven around?)

Yet even more distressing is that the Transportation Ministry cooperated with the Yeshiva. In the USA, the ministry would have been sued. Here, there's not much that can be done.

Oh well.

Hoping the yeshiva guys find another yeshiva soon...on the bright side; they can drive there.

Obligatory Joke:

Many years ago, the Lubavitcher Rebbe was being driven to upstate New York to the catskills one Friday. Somewhere along the NY State Thruway, the Rebbe asked his driver if he could pull over. Obviously the Rebbe's driver pulled over at the first opportunity. The Rebbe sighed and said, "How I wish you would let me drive...I've always wanted to drive the car, but I'm always being driven around. Please let me drive the car...even if just for a few miles."

The poor chossid driver had no choice...and he got out, opened the car door for the Rebbe, and sat in the back seat. The Rebbe, gleeful as a child, got behind the wheel and started driving.

It was only minutes before the speedometer's needle crept past 80 miles per hour, as the Rebbe was excitedly, getting into the driving. And then, the siren's wail broke the excitement, as a NY State Trooper called for them to pull over.

The Rebbe's car slowly pulled over to the side of the road, and the trooper got out of his car, and walked over to the driver's side.

A minute later the trooper was back at his car, calling his local commander over his radio.

"We have a serious political problem here boss...I pulled over a mega-serious VIP for speeding, and I don't know how to let him go."

"Who's the VIP?" The commander asked over the radio.

The trooper replied, "I have no clue...but his driver is the Lubavitcher Rebbe..."

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