Philip's posts with tag: israel
_By MATTI FRIEDMAN, Associated Press Writer Tue May 6, 2:11 PM ET _JERUSALEM - As Israel celebrates its 60th birthday, Israelis have their gaze set firmly backward. In this photo released by the Government Press Office, female members of the Hagana underground.. Turn on the TV and you'll see grainy archive footage and old-timers reminiscing about desert wars and pioneering days on the kibbutz. Radio stations are busy with musical retrospectives and the hottest new CD features contemporary singers covering Israeli favorites from decades past. The love affair with the past comes at a time of unease — Israelis have much to be proud of but aren't sure what they have to look forward to. "It's no secret that in our country the present isn't great and the future is always scary, so if you want to feel good, it's more fun to look back and ignore the problems," said Shaanan Streett, frontman for the Israeli hip-hop group Hadag Nahash. The name roughly translates as "the fish is a snake." "It's just like when people turn 60," he said. "Their relatives throw a party and show slides of them when they were younger and better looking." In one typical anniversary project, a newspaper and television station decided to pay homage to photographs from Israel's history by recreating them with their original participants. One 1949 shot of soldiers jubilantly hoisting an improvised Israeli flag against a backdrop of barren hills became a color photograph of a group of elderly men around a flagpole. The new photographs — deflated, drained of traces of heroism and myth — came across to many as an unintentional tribute to the country's current state of mind. As it celebrates its 60th birthday Thursday, Israel has never been richer or stronger. It has weathered assaults that would have crippled some societies and has even thrived. But Israelis are increasingly alienated from a political system that suffers from deadlock and corruption and seems devoid of leaders able to garner the public's respect. An end to Israel's conflict with its Arab neighbors, which appeared around the corner a decade ago, is now widely seen as a naive dream. And having jettisoned its Spartan, socialist ideals, the country has yet to agree on a positive vision to replace them. "The nostalgia exists because we have an emptiness today — that's the root," said lawyer Eliad Shraga. Shraga, a reserve paratroops officer, fought in Israel's Lebanon invasion in 1982 and then in Israel's war with Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon two years ago. For nearly two decades, he has headed a group called the Movement for Quality Government in Israel. "When I see what's happening with my prime minister, I miss people like David Ben-Gurion and Menachem Begin, like Golda Meir, people who lived in two-room apartments and made do with very little," Shraga said. "Even if you didn't agree with them, you knew they were ethical." Less than a week before the anniversary, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was questioned by police on corruption suspicions. The new inquiry is the fifth into Olmert's activities since he took office. Embezzlement allegations forced his finance minister to step down, and another of his political allies was convicted of sexual misconduct. And that's an abbreviated list. "When we think about ethics and leadership, it's not just our imagination — things really were different once," Shraga said. The failure of peace talks with the Palestinians in 2000 and the violence that ensued have left Israelis deeply cynical about prospects for resolving the conflict. Olmert is holding talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, but polls have shown that a majority of Israelis doubt anything will come of them. "Today, most Israelis don't believe in peace anymore. This wasn't the case when the country turned 50," said historian Tom Segev. While they indulge in nostalgia, most Israelis don't really long for a return to the past, Segev says. They live better today than they ever have, he said, adding: "Anyone can leave the country if they want to, but they don't." "People don't believe in politicians, they're not interested in the news or in ideology, but in life," he said. "There isn't anything more normal than that, and that normalcy is precisely the Zionist dream." In an anniversary poll published in the daily Yediot Ahronot, 91 percent of Israelis said it was "fairly good" or "very good" to live in Israel. Those who said life in Israel was "fairly bad" or "very bad" numbered only 9 percent. The poll, carried out by the Dahaf Institute, included 500 respondents and had a 4.5 percent margin of error. Ruth Gefen-Dotan was 23 when Israel was founded, and remembers men on her kibbutz fashioning mortars out of irrigation pipes to battle Arab forces. Over the years, her son and a half-dozen members of her extended family have died in the military. Now 83, she lives at Ayelet Hashachar, a kibbutz in northern Israel. If there is something that has changed for the worse, she said, it's that "people put 'me' first instead of 'us.'" "We have to understand that things are in our hands. Everyone must give what they can," she said. But that's as nostalgic as Gefen-Dotan allows herself to be. "I look at my kibbutz — it was destroyed in the fighting in 1948, and everything here was yellow and dead. Today I'm sitting in a flowering garden full of children and young people," she said. "What am I supposed to miss?"
The importance of the creation of the State of Israel Posted on Monday 5 May 2008 It is not really possible to exaggerate why David Ben Gurion’s declaration – 60 years ago this May, of the independence of the State of Israel for the people of Israel – is one of the most important historical happenings ever to impact the world. Stan Goodenough Why was the creation of Israel on May 14, 1948 so significant? It was important on many levels for the Jews themselves, but not only for the Jews: It marked the arrival of the Jewish people at a – for them – long-feared unreachable milestone in their millennia-old history – the end of their worldwide Diaspora or dispersion. It signified the total failure of Adolf Hitler – and the myriad antisemites before him: the Vatican, the Crusaders, the Inquisition, the Cossacks, the rulers of Austria, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Belgium, Slovakia, The Netherlands, France, England, Poland, Bohemia, Russia and all the other nations that expelled their Jews – to do away with God’s Chosen People. It established a port of safety – a haven – for a nation whose people for 2000 years had been denied acceptance and lived precariously virtually wherever they sought to dwell among the gentiles. It gave a long-scattered people a single address – a home of their own in which they were reconstituted and could once again build themselves up as a nation in their own right. Within that homeland the Jews, who had been always at the mercy of their host nations, could organize their own defense and victoriously withstand, as they have often had to do, the onslaught of millions of their foes. Ask the Jew living in Israel today why the creation and existence of his or her homeland is so important to them, and you will receive these and perhaps a few other, similar, answers. Of as great significance as all these reasons and, in the thinking of millions of Bible-believing Christians around the world of even greater import, is Israel’s rebirth for the following reasons: It underscores and proclaims aloud for all the world to hear, God’s faithful keeping of His covenant and His word. It heralds the approaching end of this age, the coming of Messiah and the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth. Apart from the coming of Jesus, Israel’s rebirth – an event without precedent in the history of nations – is the most dramatic fulfillment of prophecy ever to have taken place. It adds enormous weight to the veracity of the Bible. Perhaps the most important thing for Christians about Israel’s rebirth and preservation is the message it sends about the absolute and unshakeable faithfulness of God. Conversely – those Christians who will not see modern-day Israel as the fulfillment of that prophecy, and as a nation whose future is guaranteed by God, cannot themselves be very secure in their own salvation. For if God could change His mind about who should be His Chosen People, then He surely can change His mind about who is saved and who is not? Accurately speaking, what took place 60 years ago was not the creation of the Jewish nation but its resurrection in its ancient homeland, as foretold by its ancient prophets. Questioning one of those prophets concerning the future of His people, God says: “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “I see a rod of an almond tree.” Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it.” (Jeremiah 1:11-12) The Land of Israel, the Bible further tells us in Deuteronomy 11:12, is “a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year.” He has, indeed, been jealously guarding His Word concerning this land, and His intention to restore its people to the land, and to Himself. Although the return of the Jews to their land began in serious a little over a century ago, the restoration of the land to the Jews really only took place with any sense of certainty 60 years ago.  And during these past 60 years the Jews have continued to come back to their land from literally the four corners of the earth even as, for 60 years, the forces of hell have been working to reverse and so thwart this process of restoration.
Jerusalem Pulse Radio
Despite the incessant battle for survival and the overwhelming international prejudice against the Jewish state, in May 2008 the Jews of Israel will be able to proclaim as they sing and dance once more on the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv: “Am Yisrael chai.” (“The nation of Israel lives.”) And those of us who love Israel, who prefer Zion above our chief joy and who pray for the peace of Jerusalem, will sing and rejoice with them.
And now the Disengagement of Judea and Samaria is on. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) will be abandoning 40 villages, leaving in its place, rent-a-cops. And ten villages won't even get private guards. They are on their own. Don't ask why the residents pay taxes for protection. It's gone. And for this we can thank the Pipes Plan of '05. Why use the army to pull the Jews out of Gaza when all the army has to do is leave? http://israelirevolutionary.blogspot.com/2008/04/insanity-front.html
http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/287 - Should the [Israeli] government go ahead with the forcible removal of Jewish residents of Gaza, intra-Israeli violence appears to be a distinct possibility. Which in turn makes me wonder why the Israeli authorities do not take quite a different track and merely stop providing security for them.
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- Faced with the withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces, Israeli residents of Gaza can make up their own minds about what to do. Presumably, they will peacefully leave their houses. This should be done with much advance notice: "On some date in 2005, the IDF will be withdrawn from Gaza. Make your decisions accordingly."
The author of the ghastly plan is Daniel Pipes, a neo-con member of the Council On Foreign Relations, who got his money and influence not through any talent, he has little enough of that, but because his daddy Richard was head of the CIA's Soviet Office.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/125978In the latest in a series of decisions making Jewish life in Judea and Samaria more difficult, the army is leaving 40 towns.
The IDF is transferring the responsibility for protecting 40 Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria (Yesha) to private firms, and withdrawing protection altogether from ten others. The Yesha Council's Security Officer, Shlomo Vaknin, says, "The government is privatizing our security."
Recent decisions affecting the personal and communal safety in Yesha towns include the following: - Cancellation of Mivtzar program, in which a local emergency response team is trained by the army, to be utilized in case of a terrorist infiltration or other such crisis. "Mivtzar was the ideal response to the threat on our towns," Vaknin explains. "The fighters know the area, are well-trained, and their presence here was permanent and binding. The towns near Gaza and in the north want to copy this program - yet here the army is cancelling it..."
- Collection of weapons from the communities. The army explains that weapons had been stolen from residents, and that any trained resident who wishes to obtain a gun can do so.
- Cancellation of subsidies for enforcing private cars' windows from rock attacks.
- Withdrawal of National Service girls from security headquarters in the towns.
- Cancellation of budgeted funding for protecting school buses for special-education and handicapped children against shooting attacks. "We will not be able to open the school year next year if a solution is not found," Vaknin warns.
- Cancellation of budgeted funding for running security vehicles. "Some towns simply cannot use their security vehicles anymore," Vaknin says.
Of the neo-con agenda, Israelis were given a one evening course of their deranged thinking by one John Loftus in '03. Loftus was a member of the board of the Root And Branch Association, I add, my favorite lecturing ground in Jerusalem. And when he was scheduled to speak, chairman Arye Gallin invited me to watch his speech and present Loftus with my books. I did this but I wouldn't sign the books. I used to be a top drawer, getting up to 100 for my speeches. One DVD I sell, The Vatican's New Campaign For Jerusalem, was recorded at Root And Branch. But for Loftus, the crowds were around the block outside the building. Close to 300 were there for him. And did he disappoint! He began well, giving an overview of the oil cabal he described in the book co-written with Mark Aarons, The Secret War Against The Jews. The villains were the likes of J.D. Rockefeller, Prescott Bush, the Dulles brothers, John Foster and Allen, etc. When I asked him why he just didn't say that ALL his secret warriors were initial members of the CFR, he turned flush with anger and said, "Anyone who associates the CFR with the oil cartel is nuts. The President is his own man and takes no advice from his father." And then he added, "The Oslo Accord was good for you and you should not retaliate for attacks against it." Finally, the audience awoke. "Not retaliate?" one asked. "We've suffered 2,000 casualties since Oslo." I add, it's past 10,000 now. "Don't worry," he added. " WE have everything in control. Saddam Hussein snuck out his weapons of mass destruction at night by truck when our satellites couldn't see them, into the Bekaa Valley of Syria. After Iraq, we'll take them from Syria." Stunned crowd! Sitting next to me is Gemma Blech, the photographer of my book Bye Bye Gaza. She observes, "He's giving away the New World Order plan." And then, continued Loftus, "We'll sweep into Iran and polish them off." Loftus returned to America and to his commentator job at Fox-News. Twelve of the audience met at a Kosher Italian restaurant down the street to digest the insanity we had heard. We agreed, this was the Bush, neo-con battle plan. And whatever you may think of the Iraqi resistance, without out it, the Pipes-Loftus-Cheney-Rumsfield et al gang would have had their way with ease. But back in Israel today, the water will be a trickle by late July and the IDF is taking Pipes at his word.
Link: http://ilenvironment.multiply.com/journal/item/28 by jpost.com April 27, 2008
The water level in the Sea of Galilee, Israel’s largest reservoir and freshwater source, has dropped by six centimeters (2.36 inches) over the Passover holiday, the Water Authority announced.
"...Israeli-Jordanian Peace Treaty.... ... the Kinneret will disappear in a generation."
May 1, '08 (IsraelNN.com) On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day and Israel's 60th anniversary, a new survey of Israeli teenagers issued by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) found that most do not believe another Holocaust against the Jewish people could take place. But a majority thinks Israel is under threat of destruction. 82% of the youths surveyed answered in the positive when asked if Israel was under threat of destruction – down 1% from last year's poll result. However, a larger percentage of those polled said they believe that "Israel is under a serious threat of destruction" this year: 30% compared to 24% in 2007. The others said they believe Israel is under "a certain threat of destruction." On the question of whether "a second Holocaust of the Jewish people is possible or not," 9% said there was a real possibility, compared to 6% in 2007; 30% said there was a certain possibility and 59% said a second Holocaust was not possible. While most teens still relate to anti-Semitism as an historic event, there was a significant increase in awareness of contemporary anti-Semitic manifestations, to include current issues such as "Iran, Arabs and terror" -- 27%, compared to 9% in 2007. "Israeli teenagers understand anti-Semitism in the context of history and not as something they might encounter in their daily lives. Yet there is a growing awareness of contemporary anti-Semitism and threats to Israel's existence," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "As the YouTube generation, they are much more aware of attacks on Jews and the Jewish State."
| Start: | May 5, '08 3:45p | | Location: | On the internet |
The HaTikva Project: Live HaTikva, aimed at uniting Jews around the world prior to next week's celebrations celebrating 60 years since the re-establishment of the Jewish state. President Shimon Peres will kick off the singing in Tel Aviv, and one satellite will feed will be set up in front of the United Nations in New York. The full live broadcast of HaTikva will last 90 minutes. The event is scheduled to take place next Monday night at 10:50 p.m. (3.50 p.m. EDT). I don't know how to participate or view. I will post more info or anybody else can who finds out something.
Link: http://hlincarchive.multiply.com/journal/item/17I read Barry Chamish's latest newsletter, titled, "FROM YOM KIPUR 1973 TO PASSOVER 2008" late last night. It cost me a lot of sleep, especially when I linked it to a report earlier the evening about 6,000 Druze in the north of Israel demonstrating about their land being dispossessed for a gas pipeline. It reminded me of a conspiracy some years before to get Israel off the Golan so that an oil pipeline could be built over it from Iraq. Here is the info about that: Why The Golan Squeeze? By Barry Chamish
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| 50,000 visit Hebron during Passover holidayThe Jewish Community of Hebron
April 25, 2008
 Over 50,000 tourists from around the world visited Hebron during the Passover holiday. Some 30,000 participated in the Hebron Music Festival on Tuesday. Thousands of children took advantage of the special children's events outside Ma'arat HaMachpela, while tens of thousands toured the Jewish neighborhoods and holy sites. Hebron leaders expressed tremendous satisfaction at the holiday turnout. "The Jewish People recognize their roots and are voting with their feet. Hebron, the city of our Forefathers, will remain an integral part of the State of Israel forever."
See Passover in Hebron:
Slideshow Photo page Video - Hebron Music Festival 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hebron children's play (hebrew) Noam Arnon speaking at music festival (hebrew) Web: www.hebron.com Ma'arat HaMachpela: www.machpela.com
Gift shop:www.hebrongifts.com | |
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Friday, April 25, 2008 Jerusalem Institute for Justice The following is a press release issued by Jerusalem Institute for Justice co-founder Calev Meyers: In a landmark decision this week, the Supreme Court of Israel ratified a settlement between twelve Messianic Jewish believers and the State of Israel, which states that being a Messianic Jew does not prevent one from receiving citizenship in Israel under the Law of Return or the Law of Citizenship, if one is a descendent of Jews on one's father's side (and thus not Jewish according to halacha). This Supreme Court decision brought an end to a legal battle that has carried on for two and a half years. The applicants were represented by Yuval Grayevsky and Calev Myers from the offices of Yehuda Raveh & Co., and their legal costs were subsidized by the Jerusalem Institute of Justice. All twelve of the applicants were denied citizenship solely based on grounds that they belong to the Messianic Jewish community. Most of them received letters stating that they would not receive citizenship because they "commit missionary activity". One of the applicants was told by a clerk at the Ministry of Interior that because she "committed missionary activity", she is "acting against the interests of the State of Israel and against the Jewish people". These allegations are not only untrue, but they also do not constitute legal grounds to deny one's right to immigrate to Israel. This important victory paves the way for persons who have Jewish ancestry on their father's side to immigrate to Israel freely, whether or not they belong to the Messianic Jewish community. This is yet another battle won in our war to establish equality in Israel for the Messianic Jewish community just like every other legitimate stream of faith within the Jewish world.
Link: http://www.hebrewtoday.com/1.pdfFor those of you who know a little Hebrew and want to learn more and practice.
In the beginning years of the USA Hebrew was the language of learned people. Hebrew will for sure be the common language among men at the time when Japheth will live in the tents of Shem and the nations will have to go up to Jerusalem to attend the Feast of Tabernacles. So you can only benefit from learning Hebrew. A Pastor who was the authority on Hebrew in Jerusalem Past. Robert Lindsey of the Narkis Str. Baptist Church (of blessed memory), used to joke that Hebrew is spoken in heaven...!
April 22, '08  Al-Qaeda: Yes to More Attacks in the West; No Hudna With Israel
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
(IsraelNN.com) In an audio recording released Tuesday, Al-Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, said that his organization is intending to strike targets in the West, and that Islam forbids an agreement of any kind with Israel. He also called Lebanon a forward position in the jihad against the Jewish state. The two-and-a-half-hour recording was the second installment in a series of replies to questions from the public, submitted through sympathetic Islamist websites. The Al-Zawahiri tape was released by Al-Qaeda's media arm, As-Sahab, through a website known as an outlet for the organization's publications. Reacting to the Palestinian Authority's negotiations with Israel - and to reports that the Islamist Hamas might agree to such an agreement - Al-Zawahiri said that Hamas "spoke of putting it to a referendum despite considering it a breach of Sharia [Islamic law]. How can they put a matter that violates Sharia to a referendum?" Lebanon is a Forward Outpost of Jihad
In the Islamic front with the Jews, Al-Zawahiri said, "Lebanon is a Muslim forward outpost. It will have a pivotal role, Allah willing, in future battles with the Crusader forces and the Jews. I call upon the jihadists in Lebanon to prepare to reach Palestine." The senior Al-Qaeda leader further called for the Lebanese to evict United Nations troops, which he called "the invading Crusader forces," from their country. In late March, Al-Zawahiri issued an audio recording entitled "Rush to Support Our People in Gaza," in which he called on Muslims to "strike the interests of the Jews, the Americans and all of those who participated in the attack on the Muslims." He went on to threaten, "No one can say today that we should fight the Jews in Palestine only." In a recording of Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin-Laden issued less than a week earlier, he vowed to increase his group's efforts to "free Palestine, all of Palestine, from the Jordan to the sea." 'Iraq Heralds an Imminent Victory'
In answer to a question if Al-Qaeda is planning more attacks within those Western countries involved in the ongoing war in Iraq, Al-Zawahiri replied: "My answer is: Yes! We think that any country that has joined aggression on Muslims must be deterred." In any event, he noted, it is against Islamic law for Muslims to live "under the laws of the infidels" for an extended period of time. Regarding all the many fronts in the global jihad, Al-Zawahiri said, "I call upon the Muslim nation to fear Allah's question about its failure to support its brothers, the mujahideen, and not to withhold men and money, which is the mainstay of war. "I urge all Muslims to hurry to the battlefields of jihad, especially in Iraq," he said, adding, "The situation in Iraq heralds an imminent victory of Islam and the defeat of the Crusaders and those who stand under their flag." Zionsake Comment posted at the article: The claim that Muslims are not allowed to make peace treaties with Israel is another example of Satan applying a rule of Israel's Almighty, the King of kings, in a reverse way. The Israelites were commanded in no uncertain way not to make peace treaties with the people they find in the land - that still applies. That is why the Bible says about the efforts of latter day bad shepherds, such as the liberals in the Likud, Labor, Meretz and Kadima, etc., to attain peace, "THEY WILL SAY PEACE PEACE, BUT THERE WILL BE NO PEACE!" Along comes Satan, calling himself by the name of the moon god Allah, that Muslims are not allowed to make peace with Israel - because they need to be destroyed and their land taken to discredit their GOD! Elohim of Israel, the ONE who is able to keep his covenants with Israel! - and Others called by His Name!
So, How Diverse Is Israel? Posted: 15 Apr 2008 08:30 AM CDT (Hat Tip: IsRealli.org)  (Image Credit: IsRealli.org)In the US, Jews are often perceived to be mostly religious, Caucasian and wearing black hats with curls hanging from the side of their head. But when it comes to reality, Americans may find Israel to be a place of diversity that rivals (if not surpasses) New York City itself. (Haaretz.com) But there is a fairly significant paradox involved in defining the Jewish people as an ethnic group. The Zionist view of a people that includes all Jewish communities around the world (an outlook that merits trendy opposition from the left) is certainly one of the most multiethnic and multicultural national attitudes in history. When you see the Jews of Poland and the Jews of Yemen, the Jews of Germany and the Jews of Morocco as members of one people, and establish a country based on this national view, that is essentially a multiethnic and multicultural enterprise, whether or not the participants think in those terms. After being fortunate enough to visit the holy land years ago, the item that struck me most about the Jewish state was how diverse it was. While I did encounter Jewish citizens who wore both the hats and the curls, they were often a rarity, unless of course one was able to visit the Old City of Jerusalem. In Jerusalem I met Ethiopian Jews, European Jews, and yes, even Chinese Jews! This encounter helped break down my previous perception of Israel, as I noticed how friendly the people were, regardless of their national, religious and/or ethnic background. Hopefully more Americans will be able to visit Israel in the future, as it is a multicultural testament on how people from different backgrounds can live together in relative peace.
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| | Forty Years in the Desert David Wilder
April 15, 2008 In a few nights we will participate in one of Judaism’s most ancient ceremonies, and certainly one of the year’s most treasured events. We sit around a table and conduct a Seder – the annual recitation of the story of Israel’s redemption from Egypt. Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak HaKohen Kook, Israel’s first Chief Rabbi, writes that that exodus had a two-fold purpose. On the one hand, it was a goal in and of itself, that being liberation from Egyptian bondage. However, he teaches that the exodus was also a means to an end, that end being the reception of the Torah at Mount Sinai, and eventually, observance of that Torah in Eretz Yisrael. The exodus as a stand-alone event was momentous, but its real significance came to pass only years and decades later. We are currently marking the sixtieth anniversary of Israeli independence. The Jewish people have made tremendous leaps and bounds over the past six decades. Who could have expected, in May of 1948, the power and prestige a Jewish state would command at the beginning of the twenty-first century. This is especially notable considering the fact that the Jewish people, coming out of a 2,000 year old exile, had to virtually recreate its national being from scratch, having been totally removed from exercises in sovereignty for two millennium. On top of this we can never forget that Israel was reborn from within the ashes of Auschwitz. Jews have prayed, day in and day out for thousands of years for not only a return to Zion, but also for Techiat HaMetim, the revival of the dead. Israeli independence is no less than revival of the dead. For this, we rejoice and give thanks to the L-rd for have granted us this most magnanimous gift of national life. That’s the up side. The down side is all too well known. From the very beginning there was a concerted effort made to oppress the foundations of Jewish being. The founding fathers, or most of them, were not great fans of observant Judaism. The kidnapping and forced resettling of over 1,000 Yemenite children is perhaps the quintessential example of attempts to eradicate Judaism from the Jews. Yet Ben Gurion was known to have answered, in reply to a question about Jewish legitimacy to settle in Eretz Yisrael, that the source of Jewish rights to the Land is the Bible.
The relationship between Israel’s leadership and our Land has been overtly problematic. Eretz Yisrael was almost viewed as a ‘card’ to be dealt at the proper time. This was explicitly felt both prior to and following the 1967 Six Day war, when Israeli leaders attempted to refrain from liberating Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, and following their liberation, expressed a desire to abandon them at the first possible opportunity. So it was that Israeli paratroopers, having captured the Old City of Jerusalem and Judaism’s most sacred site, Temple Mount and the Kotel (The Western Wall) were told to prepare to leave only a short time after the victory.
Yamit, Oslo, Hebron, Gush Katif and the northern Shomron all speak for themselves. Other words are superfluous.
Where does this leave us, after sixty years? In my humble opinion, the state of Israel isn’t really sixty years old. Yes, if we count from 1948, to 2008, the result is sixty. But in reality, we couldn’t really call ourselves a full-fledged sovereign entity while our heart was still in captivity. That heart being Jerusalem and Hebron. They go hand-in-hand, together. David began in Hebron for seven and a half years before moving up to Jerusalem. Hebron was lost in 1929; Jerusalem in 1948. Jerusalem was liberated on the 28th of Iyar and Hebron the following day. Hebron was chopped into two parts in January, 1997. Ehud Barak offered Arafat 90% of Jerusalem only a few years ago. The fates of these two eternal, holy cities are inextricably combined and cannot be separated.
Following the Six Day war former Jerusalem residents, expelled during the 1948 War of Independence were repatriated. Moshe Dayan, then Minister of Defense, refused to speak to former Hebron Jewish homeowners who had lost their property to Arab marauders following the 1929 riots and massacre, and subsequent final expulsion in the spring of 1936. Only in 1968, exactly forty years ago this Friday, did Jews return to the first Jewish city in Israel.
As with many such stories, from close-up they seem almost ordinary. In reality, not only a physical reality, but also a metaphysical truth, such events are earthshaking, or perhaps better put, ‘heaven-shaking. ‘ The return of a small group of Jews, that 1968 Passover in Hebron, with the guidance of Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda HaKohen Kook, with the participation of Rabbis Waldman, Druckman and Levinger, was the forerunner of a massive awakening, a returning to the heart of our land throughout Judea and Samaria. But this awakening too was not only a corporeal return to the land; rather, it was, primarily, a spiritual arousing, the voice of the Jewish people bursting through the ages, an almost primal expression of the faith buried so deep inside the souls of the Jewish people, who for centuries had cried out ‘next year in Jerusalem,’ whereby ‘Jerusalem’ was the keyword representing all our land, Eretz Yisrael. Without Jerusalem, without Shechem, without Hebron, we were as a body without a soul, a golem, whose bodily movements were predefined, perhaps classified as ‘natural.’ But the spirit, the inner essence, the heart, the soul, was missing. Only with the liberation of Jerusalem and Hebron and with them the rest of Judea and Samaria could we really and truly say, ‘we are back home – we have returned.’
That Passover, forty years ago, was the breaking of the ice – the trailblazer, the results of which are the authentic rebirth, physically and spiritually, of the Jewish people. As Jews began returning to their physical roots, so too did they commence the return to their spiritual roots; the numbers of Jews who have ‘returned,’ who have come back to observant Judaism in the past 40 years is beyond numbers. And that homecoming, as such, began with, and was initiated by our return to our land, our return to our heart – to Jerusalem and Hebron. The group of Jews who initiated and participated in that ‘Seder’ in Hebron in 1968 might not have known it then, and maybe some of them are still unaware of it today, but they were the sparks that set the fire of the return of the Jewish people to themselves after two thousand years.
Just as the exodus from Egypt had a double goal; one immediate and the other long-term, so too did our statehood in 1948 have a double agenda; one immediate – announcing before all the world, we, the Jewish people have not died out, we have escaped the bondage of galut, of exile, you have not been able to extinguish us; and also long-term – to bring the people back to all their land, to all their land and to all their heart and soul, physically and spiritually.
So as we celebrate sixty years and forty years, we can conclude that really, only now, are we beginning. The Jewish people spent forty years in the desert before entering the Land, forty years fraught with problem and crises. Now, we too have finished forty years, also filled with unimaginable predicaments. And just as then, when we came into the land the problems didn’t come to a swift end, we too, today, may still face unbearable situations. But those aren’t the key. The key is, we are home, we are in Israel, we have returned to Hebron and to Jerusalem, we have rediscovered ourselves, we have been granted the Divine gift of life, we are here to stay. Happy Passover, Happy 60, Happy 40! | |
April 16, '08  Arab man leaves Gaza.
by Gil Ronen
(IsraelNN.com) Four fifths (80 percent) of the residents of Gaza find it difficult to cope with the situation there and are considering emigration, a survey by the Gaza-based Institute of Development Studies has found. Gazans are finding it progressively more difficult to deal with the economic situation there, according to the institute, and 44 percent said explicitly that they want to leave Gaza. Blame Israel The institute presented the survey as part of a request to the international community to protect Gazans from Israel's wrath and to pressure Israel to enable economic development in Gaza. The research also shows that since Hamas took over Gaza in June 2007, economic conditions in Gaza have worsened considerably. According to the report this is primarily due to the closure of border crossings into and out of Gaza, including the crossing into Egypt at Rafiah. The Karni crossing was closed for 107 days and the total number of trucks which crossed into Gaza in 2007 was 8,397. The exports totaled 1,695 trucks. Hamas Responsible
Saudi newspaper Ukaz, meanwhile, interviewed Dr. Mahmoud al-Hebash, a "minister" in Salam Fayyad's government in Judea and Samaria, who said the Hamas government was responsible for the Gaza crisis. Hamas is making efforts to grab control of the aid sent to Gaza from "the legitimate government" in Ramallah, al-Hebash explained. He claimed Hamas is giving Israel excuses to continue "the policy of blockade," as he termed it. Al-Hebash called upon the Hamas government to recognize its responsibility for the crisis in Gaza following its military takeover. He accused it of trying to export the crisis to neighboring countries, meaning mostly Egypt. Economy 'Significantly Worse'
The findings of a Near East Consulting poll released Tuesday showed that some 94 percent of Gaza residents believe their economic situation under Hamas rule is significantly worse than it was before the terrorist organization took over the region. Hamas ousted the rival Fatah faction in what amounted to a civil war. Now Hamas controls Gaza; Fatah controls the PA areas of Judea and Samaria. In elections before the military coup a majority of the Arabs who live in those areas voted for Hamas. The survey, which polled 900 Gaza residents, found that 64 percents of respondents live under the poverty line. More than two out of every five, (41 percent) said they would leave Gaza immediately if they could. Half of those polled feel less security since Hamas took over the region in June 2007 and 18 percent feel no change in the level of security. Some 32 percent said they feel more security since Hamas took control of Gaza.
Most American Christians – regardless of their denomination and background – say they feel a "moral and biblical obligation" to support the State of Israel, according to a new survey conducted by a D.C.-based evangelical organization. Enlarge this Image  (Photo: Epicenter08.com) More than 2,000 evangelical Christians from around the world attend the "Epicenter" Conference on Thursday, April 10, 2008, at the Christian Friends of Israel Headquarters in Jerusalem. Though figures released this week by the Joshua Fund differed among Catholics, Protestants, Evangelicals and non-Evangelicals, the new figures confirmed that American Christians as a whole believed that a “biblical obligation” exists behind their support for the State of Israel. According to the survey, evangelical Christians were the most supportive of Israeli causes; nearly 90 percent said they felt a “moral and biblical obligation” to back Israel, and 62 percent said that Israel alone should posses control of Jerusalem. Evangelical Christians also had the largest number of respondents who said they opposed a Palestinian state, believing it would give rise to terrorism. Non-evangelical Protestants and Catholics were also revealed to be very pro-Israel, though their support was slightly lower. Eighty-four percent of Protestants and 76 percent of Catholics said they felt a “biblical obligation” to support Israel, the survey results revealed. A majority of Protestants also said they agreed that Jerusalem should remain Israel’s undisputed capitol, while a lower but still high number of Catholics agreed. Compared to Evangelicals, a plurality of non-Evangelical Protestants said they were not opposed to an independent Palestine, believing that it would be a moderate state, with half of Catholics agreeing. Among all American Christians, however, support for Israel was high across the board, and a full two-thirds said they believed that a nuclear armed Iran would be a threat to the security of the State of Israel. The Joshua Fund released the new results to coincide with the “Epicenter 08” conference in Jerusalem, a major gathering between Christian and Jewish leaders that was held on Thursday.
April 9, '08 Israel Facing Severe Leadership Crisis by Sarah Morrison  (IsraelNN.com) Former Director General in the Prime Minister’s Office under then-Prime Minister Yitzchak Shamir, Yossi Ben Aharon, recently discussed current leadership in Israel with IsraelNationaRadio's Yishai Fleischer. Ben Aharon, who has served in almost every Israeli government, believes that Israel is facing a "very severe crisis of leadership."  "It is for the simple reason that previous leaders have failed time and time again [at peace]," Ben Aharon said. "Current leaders fail to understand the lessons derived from failures in the past. They don't study the reasons for the failure. Therefore, they fail to adopt the policy that will take Israel into a new reality that has hope and some kind of prospect for a better life for our people."
  Ben Aharon is not looking for a Messianic type of peace, but a peace that won't allow things such as the Sderot crisis to happen. "A major township is being attacked day in and day out," Ben Aharon said. "We have the power to put an end to this shameful situation, but the leadership has pretexts. They look into defensive measures of strengthening the roofs of buildings... it's an utter inability and a bankruptcy."
Ben Aharon believes that the challenge for Israelis today is to truly understand the political issues of the day and avoid the strong media angles that influence their decisions. He stated that the media needs to present the hard facts and let the listener reach his or her own conclusion.  "I have faith in our people," Ben Aharon said. "So many times, the people are wiser than the leadership... We have, unfortunately, a media that is failing in its mission... but apparently [Israelis] are marching in the same direction. There is a kind of paralysis. They're all under the same kind of influence. They believe constantly that this leadership and the previous leadership is the only one that is capable of providing solutions that are vital for our existence."
Ben Aharon also said that the media and the leadership "go hand in hand." He said that they provide intellectual support for each other, and "they are all sitting in musical chairs. They all change their opinions. They think everyone is listening to them and that they're providing counsel to the people, but they don't realize that they are only providing it to each other." Ben Aharon attributes the public’s disappointment in failed peace treaties to a "false diet of peace" that Israelis are fed to trick them into believing that peace is just around the corner. "The people of Israel look to the leadership. They thought that they were capable of bringing this about. They thought Prime Ministers would bring peace, and they were disappointed. However, they refused to believe that their leadership failed. They were brainwashed. They were made to believe that peace was obtainable. These politicians came one after the other and promised that they could provide. I think we have reached the end of the tether to this approach. Hopefully, the current leadership will step down and will be placed in a corner of history that will be completely marginal."
ARE NORTH KOREA AND AHMADINEJAD'S IRAN TO PUTIN WHAT JAPAN AND MUSSOLINI'S ITALY WERE TO HITLER? The French say: 'L'Histoire se répète' (history often repeats itself), and it certainly looks that way as we observe Vladimir Putin's ever-closer ties to the immensely dangerous leaders of North Korea, Kim Jong II, and Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Joel Rosenberg, author and strategic insider, writes the following: Since taking office in 2000, former KGB chief-turned Russian President Vladimir Putin has built strong personal, political and military ties to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il. Putin has sold Iran and North Korea billions of dollars worth of arms and even nuclear technology. He is arming America's worst enemies for war, and in so doing, Russia has joined the "Axis of Evil." Yet on this critical issue, official Washington seems to be in a true state of denial. Russia is building nuclear facilities for Iran, has trained over 1,000 Iranian nuclear scientists, and running political interference for Iran at the U.N. to prevent us for imposing economic sanctions that could slow down Ahmadinejad's feverish bid for nuclear weapons. But that is not all. Consider Putin's dangerously close ties to Kim Jong Il: - On July 19-20, 2000, Putin became the first President of Russia ever to visit Pyongyang. He met with Kim Jong Il and explored ways to rebuild the once-close relationship between Russia and North Korea.
- In December 2000, the Kremlin announced its desire to dramatically increase military sales to North Korea.
- In April 2001, the Kremlin announced an official agreement to modernize North Korea's military.
- In August 2001, Kim Jong Il visited Russia and met with Putin in Moscow.
- In 2003, the Kremlin refused to rule out further arms sales to North Korea, despite increasingly dangerous and provocative moves by Kim Jong Il.
- In 2003, Asian intelligence services became increasingly concerned that "North Korea and Iran are in talks over a plan to export Pyongyang'sTaepodong-2 long-range ballistic missiles to Tehran and to jointly develop nuclear warheads ....The two countries have been negotiating the deal for about a year and are likely to reach an agreement in mid-October," according to defense sources "familiar with North Korean affairs."
- In 2004, the CIA estimated that North Korea had "at least" six nuclear weapons and by 2007 could produce enough highly enriched uranium to produce six new nuclear weapons a year
- In August and September 2004, U.S. intelligence officials and analysts began worrying openly about the threat of North Korea and Iran firing nuclear missiles at American cities off the back of commercial container ships, giving us little or no warning before impact and detonation. Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld said one Middle East nation already has "launched a ballistic missile from a cargo vessel," referring to Iran. "They [took] a short-range, probably Scudmissile, put it on a transporter-erector launcher, lowered it in, taken the vessel out into the water, peeled back the top, erected it, fired it, lowered it, covered it up. And the ship that they used was using a radar and electronic equipment that was no different than 50, 60, 100 other ships operating in the immediate area." Air Force Gen. Ralph Eberhart, commander of the U.S. Northern Command, said at the time that the danger of ship-based missiles is growing. "I believe it's just a matter of time until the terrorists try to use a...maritime attack against us. I believe that attack could come in terms of bringing a ship into port, whether it's [carrying] high explosives or whether it's weapons of mass destruction." Asian affairs analyst Richard Fisher told the Washington Times: "Should North Korea adopt this strategy, it would have the option of trying to infiltrate and pre-position its missiles in Canada, Central America or even the continental United States. U.S. missile defenses do not currently defend against either launches from the south of or within the contiguous 50 states."
- In 2005, Putin actually personally awarded a medal of honor to the North Korean dictator who is starving his own people and threatening the world with nuclear war.
- In August 2006, a Russian newspaper reported that U.S. officials are increasingly concerned that North Korea is laundering money through Russian banks and in the process helping North Korea sell ballistic missile technology to Iran, Syria and Pakistan. "The American Center for Nonproliferation Studies released a report yesterday claiming that North Korean authorities, with the help of private Russian companies, are providing ballistic missile to third countries, Iran, Syria and Pakistan in particular," reported Kommersant.
A red storm is rising Mr. Putin gave a speech last year calling the collapse of the Soviet Union the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century. He wants to rebuild the glory of Mother Russia. He is increasing Russia's military budget. He is arming our worst enemies. He is suppressing dissent inside Russia and centralizing power to himself in the Kremlin. Vladimir Putin is a New Czar in the making and he is building a new anti-democratic alliance against the United States and the West. Thus far, Washington has done little to confront Mr. Putin effectively over Russia's increasingly dangerous ties to North Korea and Iran. But the Bush administration must immediately make it clear that Russia is becoming a real and growing threat to American national security. The President and top Congressional leaders from both parties must lay out the consequences of Russia continuing down this path. And they must do so immediately. The urgency and the stakes could not be higher. (From "Red Storm Rising" by Joel C. Rosenberg) Amazingly the Bible sounds a similar note of warning about these times in which we live through the prophetic words of the prophet Ezekiel. That at a time when there will be an outbreak of war, a world war, during which God will allow fire to be cast upon the demoralized "coastlands which dwell carelessly" the prince of Rosh (Russia) will have made an alliance with Persia (Iran) and other nations. (See Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39) May we all be aware!
Jan Willem van der Hoeven, Director
International Christian Zionist Center
iczc@iczc.org.il israelmybeloved.com
The video shows the leading role of Israel in technology and Israelis' role in disaster relief and intervention in humanitarian crises in different parts of the world.
On tech level Japheth is for sure already living in the tents of Shem. It will eventually become a general phenomenon. They will both care for Ham. Import.flv (13.8 MB)
April 1, 2008 Exposed: Israel is negotiating Jerusalem PM Olmert repeatedly denied holy city discussed with Palestinians By Aaron Klein Illegal Arab construction in Jerusalem (WND)
JERUSALEM – Israel is negotiating with the Palestinian Authority regarding “all core issues,” including the status of Jerusalem, PA President Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday. “[Talks deal with] all the core issues without exception: Jerusalem, refugees, settlements, borders and security. We hope to achieve a settlement in 2008; there are many obstacles but we hope they will be removed. We are all pressing to reach a settlement by the target date,” Abbas said. His statements fly in the face of recent claims by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who repeatedly has denied Jerusalem is being discussed. The ultra-Orthodox Shas party, a key member of Olmert’s coalition, has pledged to bolt the government if Jerusalem is negotiated. Shas has denied Jerusalem is being discussed during regular weekly Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, which commenced after last November’s U.S.-sponsored Annapolis summit.
“Nobody is talking about Jerusalem. The moment Jerusalem is being discussed, Shas will leave the government – period,” Shas spokesman Roi Lachmanovitch told Israel National News.
Abbas’ statement yesterday was specifically referring to the weekly meetings between chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. The PA leader’s comments are sure to result in increased pressure against Shas to leave the government, a move that likely would send Olmert’s government into crisis and could result in the prime minister’s downfall. Last week, WND reported the son of the Shas spiritual leader demanded his father’s party immediately bolt the government amid rampant media reports Jerusalem is up for negotiations. Rabbi Jacob Yosef accused the Shas party of “selling Jerusalem” for 478 million Israeli shekels, or $138 million. Yosef’s father, Rabbi Ovadye Yosef, serves as the spiritual leader of Shas, where he is also considered the party’s most important and revered figure. Earlier this month, the Knesset’s Finance Committee approved $138 million in government funds to Shas’ educational institutions as part of the party’s coalition agreement with Olmert.
“How dare you sell out Jerusalem for 478 million shekels. Jerusalem is worth more than all monies in the world,” said Jacob Yosef, rabbi of the Givat Mordechai neighborhood in Jerusalem, addressing his father’s party. Jacob Yosef is also a member of the Rabbinical Congress for Peace, a coalition of more than 350 Israeli rabbinic leaders and pulpit rabbis. Yosef accused his father’s party of staying in the government until a formal announcement regarding dividing Jerusalem is made, by which time, the rabbi said, it will be too late. “When someone brings a rope to hang your child, will you say, ‘Oh, it’s nothing, he only brought a rope?’ Or if a killer is only sharpening the knife, will you say, ‘It’s nothing, he’s only sharpening the knife?’ You will stop him right at the beginning, because by the time the knife is on the throat it will be too late. What is Shas waiting for? It must leave the government right now,” Yosef exclaimed. Olmert’s government has hinted a number of times it will divide Jerusalem and reportedly has halted all Jewish construction permits for eastern sections of the city. In December, Israeli Vice Premier Haim Ramon said the country “must” give up sections of Jerusalem for a future Palestinian state, even conceding the Palestinians can rename Jerusalem “to whatever they want.” “We must come today and say, friends, the Jewish neighborhoods, including Har Homa, will remain under Israeli sovereignty, and the Arab neighborhoods will be the Palestinian capital, which they will call Jerusalem or whatever they want,” said Ramon during an interview. Positions held by Ramon, a ranking member of Olmert’s Kadima party, are largely considered to be reflective of Israeli government policy. Olmert himself recently questioned whether it was “really necessary” to retain Arab-majority eastern sections of Jerusalem. Israel recaptured eastern Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount – Judaism’s holiest site – during the 1967 Six Day War. The Palestinians have claimed eastern Jerusalem as a future capital; the area has large Arab neighborhoods, a significant Jewish population and sites holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. About 231,000 Arabs live in Jerusalem, mostly in eastern neighborhoods, and many reside in illegally constructed complexes. The city has an estimated total population of 724,000. Olmert to blame for dividing Jerusalem? Ramon listed population statistics as the reason Olmert’s government finds it necessary to split Jerusalem. But WND broke the story that according to Jerusalem municipal employees, during 10 years as mayor of Jerusalem, Olmert instructed city workers not to take action against hundreds of illicit Arab building projects throughout eastern sections of Jerusalem housing over 100,000 Arabs squatting in the city illegally. The workers and some former employees claim Olmert even instructed city officials to delete files documenting illegal Arab construction of housing units in eastern Jerusalem. Olmert was Jerusalem mayor from 1993 to 2003. As mayor, he made repeated public statements calling Jerusalem the “eternal and undivided capital” of Israel. Jerusalem municipal employees and former workers, though, paint a starkly contrasting picture of the prime minister. “He did nothing about rampant illegal Arab construction in Jerusalem while the government cracked down on illegal Jewish construction in the West Bank,” said one municipal employee who worked under Olmert. She spoke on condition of anonymity, because she still works for the municipality. One former municipal worker during Olmert’s mayoral tenure told WND he was moved in 1999 to a new government posting after he tried to highlight the illegal Arab construction in Jerusalem. He also spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing for his current job. Aryeh King, chairman of the Jerusalem Forum, which promotes Jewish construction in Jerusalem, told WND an investigation by his group found Olmert’s city hall deleted files documenting hundreds of illegal Arab building projects throughout eastern sections of Jerusalem. He said he forwarded his findings to Israel’s state comptroller for investigation.
King also claims Olmert told senior municipal workers not to enforce a ban on illegal Arab buildings. “Ehud Olmert gave the order not to deal with the problem and not to put Israeli security forces to the duty of taking down the illegal Arab complexes,” said King. “Senior municipal workers told me Olmert said not to bother with the illegal Arab homes, because eventually eastern Jerusalem would be given to the Palestinian Authority.” King’s report alleges Jerusalem municipal officials erased the files, which detail over 300 cases of Arab construction in eastern Jerusalem deemed illegal starting from 1999. The illegal buildings reportedly were constructed without permits and are still standing. According to law, they must be demolished. Local media reports investigating King’s charges alleged the files were erased by Ofir May, the head of Jerusalem’s Department of Building Permits, with the specific intention of allowing the statute of limitation on enforcing the demolition of the illegal construction to run out. The Jerusalem municipality released a statement in response to the allegations claiming the threat of Arab violence kept it from bulldozing the illegal Arab homes. “During the years of the intifada, the municipality had difficulty carrying out the necessary level of enforcement in the neighborhoods of eastern Jerusalem due to security constraints,” the statement read. King said the hundreds of buildings allegedly detailed in the deleted municipal files house more than 20,000 illegal units. “We’re talking about perhaps 100,000 or more Arabs in eastern Jerusalem living in illegal homes with the government doing nothing about it,” King said. Posted by Jerusalem Posts @ 7:50 am |
Link: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/125751 (IsraelNN.com) The Jabotinsky Heritage House in Tel Aviv recently completed a study on the psychological training given to IDF soldiers before the 2005 “Disengagement” and its effect on subsequent IDF operations. The psychological training given to soldiers had a serious impact on soldiers’ performance in later conflicts, researchers found. Dr. Gadi Eshel said the research team managed to collect a vast amount of material on the mental preparation for the eviction and the eviction itself. The material showed that the army put a great deal of effort into creating terms that would help soldiers to feel that they were doing the right thing, said researcher Ruthie Isakovich. Isakovich labeled the training given to soldiers to mentally prepare them to evict Jews “brainwashing.”
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