Geviha ben Pesisa

Our own Worst enemy...

2005-08-11T11:15:00.000+03:00

Food for Thought

Bye for Now

2005-04-11T21:21:00.000+03:00

As you might have noticed, I've not posted in over two weeks. Circumstances beyond my control prevent me from keeping up with my usual pace. I've, therefore, decided to suspend blogging until later this spring. Stay Tuned.

God Save the State of Israel ('cause the World won't!)

Food for Thought

2005-03-28T21:24:00.000+02:00

So, I've been thinking about this for a long time. It won't make a difference, but it makes me feel good. So....

The Arabs claim that our presence here is illegitimate. They deny the fact that Israwel was given by God to the Jews (though it says so in the Quran). They claim we must dismantle the State of Israel because we conquered them. OK. How did they get here? Well, the Arabs conquered Byzantine Palestine at the Battle of Yarmuk in 636 CE. The Byzantines, of course, were merely the Eastern Roman Empire. The Romans conquered Israel from the Hasmoneans in 63 BCE. The Jews, of course, had had autonomy under the Persian Empire, which conquered the Babylonians in 539 BCE. The Babylonians conquered Judaea from...the Jews, who had taken it (by divind mandate) from the Canaanites. So, if conquest is illegitimate, so is theirs. If we move backwards, the only people who are identifiably original inhabitants and who were conquered are...the Jews.

So, no matter how you cut it. Eretz Yisrael belongs to us.

Requiem for Gush Qatif

2005-03-28T20:51:00.000+02:00

Well, it's over. Sharon and Company have managed (with dictatorial efficiency) to bury the initiative to hold a referendum before driving 8,000 Jews from their homes in July. The festivities in Tel Aviv can commence and the Left can celebrate the downfall of the Jews. After all, the Jews are their misfortune. The Jews insist on having a Jewish State. The Jews insist that the right of Israel to exist is based upon an act of God. The Jews insist that they should be allowed to live anywhere they wish, just as Arabs are. The Jews embaress the Tel Aviv brunch clubs, because they're so....Jewish. Why can't they be normal? Like Madonna, like Aki Avni, like asi Dayyan's kid who dressed up as Hitler for Purim.

What did my grandmother used to say? Don't worry. Mir vellen zey iber leben. We'll outlive them too.

Sharon, keep in mind who it iis that will write the history you're so hot to make with your friend Peres. It will be those of us who decided to stay Jewish (and stay here).

We Love You, Boogie!

2005-03-23T20:44:00.000+02:00

For those of you who haven't been following the news, the Defense Minister, Shaul Mofaz, recently sacked the Chief of Staff, Moshe (Booggie) Ya'alon. The term of a COS is three years, but tradition has it that the term is extended. Not extending a term is a slap in the face. Now, not only did Mofaz not extend his term, he announced it first to the media (which is where Ya'alon heard about it). Rumor has it that Ya'alon opposed the retreat from Gaza and thus was canned (i.e, at the order of Il Duce, Sharon).

The cause, though, is quite beside the point. The issue is the ignominious way he was retired. Boogie Ya'alon commanded the army during the last war (aka Intifada). In fact, it was his mixture of leadership and determination that beat back Palestinian terror, wiped out the higher echelons of the Al-Aqsa Brigade, Hamas and Islamic Jihad and essentially won the war for Israel. Doesn't he deserve better? Doesn't he deserve more dignity? Mofaz was himself COS. He should no better. Unfortunately, he's become a little politician who serves at the beck and call of his master.

So, for all of us whose lives were saved by Boogie Ya'alon, whose country was saved by Boogie Ya'alon, whose Jewish pride was saved by Boogie Ya'alon..Todah Rabbah mi-Qerev Lev! Thank you for everything, from the bottom of our hearts. We salute you!

2005-03-16T10:29:00.000+02:00

Kofi Annan and Friend

Go Away, Kofi Annan

2005-03-15T11:15:00.000+02:00

So Kofi Annan, one of the most corrupt and persistently anti-Israel Scretaries-General ever to head the UN, is here today for the dedication of the new museum at Yad VaShem. Everybody's thrilled. I can't figure out why. Who the hell needs him? The man does everything he can to cover for everybody who the US (and Israel) puts on the list of bad guys. OK, you"ll say, his wife is Raoul Wallenberg's niece. I say, so what? Does that make him Raoul Wallenberg? Not only that, but it now seems that the Wallenbergs sold out Raoul to the Soviets in order to do business with the USSR after World War II.

So, Kofi-man. As far as I'm concerned, you're a U(nwanted) N(obody). Go take your hypocrisy and your crocodile tears somewhere else.

[Thanks to Dave at Isreallycool for posting the picture in the above box, which wouldn't cooperate)

Bury Archaeology!

2005-03-13T12:55:00.000+02:00

I feared this would happen. No, I actually was sure this would happen. Once Arabs get control of areas that contain Jewish archaeological remains, they destroy them in order to obliterate any physical proof of the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel. That's what the did by destroying Joseph's Grave in Shechem. That's what they are doing on the Temple Mount. Now, it appears that they have also destroyed the famous Jericho Synagogue, 'Shalom al Yisrael.'

If, God forbid, Sharon gets his way and the rest of Yesha is transferred to the Arabs, we may be looking at that largest campaign ever seen to eradicate the traces of Jewish settlement here. Think of it! Shiloh, Susya, Ma'aleh Levona, Bet Knesset Avraham Avinu (for the second time!), Har Ebal's altar, the synagogue in Na'aran etc. etc will al be smashed to smithereens.

I know it sounds crazy, but like the Essenes who his their library two millenia ago, I think we need to rebury all of these sites in order to save them. If they're not in the Arabs' faces, may be they won't bother diggingh them up to destroy them...

Back at the Keyboard....

2005-03-12T19:34:00.000+02:00

I can't believe that it's been three weeks since I last posted. Work just got the better of me. I also decided that my writing has gotten a little hysterical. My screaming about the evils of the Left will not make them less evil, but it might give me an ulcer.

Anyway, I heard two interesting stories today, both rrelating to the retreat from Gaza. First, there's a guy in Gush Katif who was expanding his house but ran out of money. In order to finish it off, he sold an apartment in Jerusalem! When asked why he would do something so obviously against common sense, he replied that he does not belive the expulsion will occur.

Second story. An inspector from the education ministry came to visit a school in another town in Gush Katif. When she arrived she was in shock. She saw houses, schools, stores, and community centers. She had thought that Gush Katif was a few mobile homes in the middle of Gaza city. So the so-called 60% who support the expusion don't even know what they're talking about.

An Incredible Blog

2005-02-23T21:03:00.000+02:00

My site was recently visited by a promising young journalist named Eitan. The son of refusenik parents, he's studying journalism at Tel Aviv (though how he survives there is a good question). I highly recommend his blog, Hear Oh Israel.

(Hatshepsut, for your reference.)

Jews are still stupid...

2005-02-22T08:55:00.000+02:00

So the government passed its bill of expulsion....It turns out that Sharon is giving the Palestinians, on a platter, more of Eretz Yisrael than Barak did (sic!). Barak, in return for full peace wanted to hold on to 9-10% of Yesha. Sharon is handing over 94% without receiving anything in return! Yes, folks, you read it hear. Sharon, the George III of contemporary Israel, has unilaterally decided: 1) what the borders of Israel should be 2) Ignored Democratic process 3) Unilaterally exposed Israel to future demands on the remaining parts of Eretz Yisrael 4) Condemned over 175,000 Jews to expulsion. That's more than the number expelled from England (1290) and France (1306, 1394) combined.

Stunningly, not only is most of the country quiet- some are even cheering. No, I'm not referring to the Arabs. The idiots in Tel Aviv who know no history, read no books (except those written by their friends) and know no Arabs, think this is great.

...Until the Kassams fall on Sheinkin. Then they"ll say: 'What happened?'

Don't Bother Me with Facts...

2005-02-14T19:34:00.000+02:00

While Israel is making 'Peace' with its Palestinian Muslim neighbors, the Islamic bus keeps on chugging along preaching the exact same message it's maintained since 622, the year of the hijra.

Haaretz (of all places) reports today that the Saudi government is distributing a guide to visiting infidel countries, in this case the United States. There is really nothing new in this guide-if you are familiar with Islam. Typically, though, Haaretz is surprised (as are the Americans, for that matter).

Some gems:

...the Muslim believer avoid friendships with the infidels, be careful not to imitate their customs (e.g. not to wear a cap and gown at a graduation ceremony), and try not to remain in the country any longer than required. The Saudis feel that a good Muslim can stay in America only for two reasons: acquiring knowledge and capital to promote the objectives of jihad, and lobbying the infidels to accept Islam.

The main message of the material examined in the study is one of hatred toward any non-Muslim. "[I]t is basic Islam to believe that everyone who does not embrace Islam is an unbeliever, and must be called an unbeliever, and that they are enemies to Allah, his Prophet and believers," one handout distributed at a San Diego mosque said. Another document, found in the Great Mosque in Washington, D.C., explains to Muslims that they must keep their distance from non-believers: "To be disassociated from the infidels is to hate them for their religion, to leave them, never to rely on them for support, not to admire them, to be on one's guard against them, never to imitate them, and to always oppose them in every way according to Islamic law." A book was distributed in another mosque containing questions and answers on matters of religion. Regarding whether it is permitted to curse Christians and Jews, the author answers it is not only permitted, but also obligatory.

A fourth-grade textbook written in Saudi Arabia that was handed out at a New Jersey mosque states that Israel is "a thorn in the back of the Muslim nations, and a window through which colonialism can sneak up among the ranks of the Muslims to work on dividing them, and light the fire of hatred between them." The book explains to pupils that "the Muslims will not rest until they cut off this disease, and purify the land of Palestine from the plague of Zionism."

Some will dismiss this as 'merely' Wahabbism. What they forget is that Wahabbism is "merely" a more focused form of Islam They also forget that Wahbbism is the leading form of Islam today, especially among Palestinians.

Back in the USSR

2005-02-14T13:36:00.000+02:00

I think that any student of totalitarian regimes will find the Israeli plunge into the abyss most enlightening.

Let's review the facts.

1) Democracy is Government by the People- The Likud (not Sharon) was elected on a specific platform that did not include the unilateral withdrawal from anywhere. The Likud rejected that position in a plebiscite. Sharon rejected the voters. He knows better. Hence, he bulldozed democracy and pushed through the retreat.

2) Democracy guarantees freedom of Speech- According to a new law going through the Knesset, passive resistance to the retreat from Gaza is punishable by jail. Anyone who opposes Sharon/Peres is delegitimized as a potential murderer of ministers or of Sharon, himself. Anyone yelling at a minister will soon be incarercerated in Administrative detention. I wish I could plead with all the hotheads not to give the thought police ammunition to further delegitimize themselves and us. The Pravda/Izvestia reporters at Haaretz and ITV are just waiting for you. Don't act out!

3) Democracy Can Self-Destruct- The USSR and PRC were both legal governments that were elected (once) and from then on knew better than the people what the people needed.

I've been a Likud member for many years. Next week, I'm resigning.

I've been a Zionist all my life. Now, I don't know why I bothered.

I"ve been an Israeli for many years. For the first time in those many years I realize that in the game called Democracy, the United States of America wins, hands down. Israel, in its suicidal march of folly, wouldn't know democracy if it fell on it.

Musings

2005-02-13T05:32:00.000+02:00

There's an old saying that one is supposed to do everything you possibly can to achieve your goals, only to teach that effort (hishtadlus) really makes no (or, at least, very little) difference. Ultimately, it's all up to God.

I"ve been mulling that saying over and over again all week, unable to write-vacillating between tears and anger and back to tears. The settlers of Gush Qatif are doomed. Their lives will be bombed, while their fellow Jews shrug it off as- sometimes you need to move. (Of course, noone ever asked them to move!)

The same fate of expulsion and rebuilding is probably awaiting tens of thousands of others, as Israel surrenders to the Palestinians. This time, as opposed to Oslo, the Arabs have learned their lesson. Shut up, act nice and let the Jews buckle under. Behave while they destroy their synagogues, strip their national identity of meaning, beat up other Jews and jail those who dissent. There will be plenty of time to return to the sword and finally return all Falastin to to the Dar al Islam.

Allahu Akbar! The Jews are finally learning to return to their natural state as weak-kneed, pliant dhimmi. Cassandra-like, those who cry to the Jews to open their eyes tell the truth but are dismissed as raving lunatics.

Forgive us, Father! We must have sinned grievously in Your sight. Otherwise, why do You visit such a decree, such a gezera, upon us?

Don't Believe it.....

2005-02-09T01:13:00.000+02:00

So they declared that the war was over....You think we should believe them? Not for a nano-second! Did they suddenly re-educate the Palestinians? Did Abbas suddenly stop denying the Shoah? The whole thing is a fraud. No one turns colors overnight that way (except for Sharon). They'll be quiet until we run 8,000 Jews out of their homes. When the Qassams start flying again we'll look in the mirror and ask: "What happened?'

I swear. Jews are the stupidest, most gullible people on earth!

Spes Omnia Vincit!

2005-01-27T01:36:00.000+02:00

Zev Jabotinsky ז"ל

Ariel Sharon and Shimon Peres are proceeding with their plan to drive Jews from their homes and hand over parts of the Jewish patrimony to an enemy who has never hidden his desire to drive the Jews into the sea. The nihilist Left is cheering them on, as it indulges its lust for self-destruction and self-loathing. Those who love Eretz Yisrael are stunned by the absurdity of Sharon's plans, and amazed at the fact that nothing seems to be able to stop it. Indeed, it may be that nothing will stop it.

What should we do? Hope. Hope kept the Jew alive through his exile. Conviction of the rightness of his cause led him to survive the Church and the Anti-semites and the Nazis and the Communists and the assimilationists. Jewish hope appears absurd. But, to borrow a phrase from Tertullian, its absurdity testifies to its veracity and to its tenacity. He who holds on to his firm belief that Eretz Yisrael is ours, will one day see his dream fulfilled.

This was one of the key lessons bequeathed to us by Vladimir Zev Jabotinsky, (and Menachem Begin) whose words have recently been so distorted by Sharon and the weakly heirs of Revisionist Zionism like Olmert, Livni, Meridor and co. As he wrote in 'The Left of the Jordan': 'If my land has been grown smaller, it is mine from its top to its furthest border.' If we continue to believe it, it will come true. When 'peace' was made with Jordan, the media hailed the death of the hope for 'both banks to the Jordan.' They were wrong! They still belong to us, nothing the Left says or tries to force feed an ignorant public can ever change that fact.

Long Live Eretz Yisrael! Long Live the Jewish People! Tel Chai!

Our Own Worst Enemies

2005-01-27T01:25:00.000+02:00

Hatshepsut posted one of Caroline Glick's most trenchent columns. It addresses the phenomenon of the contemporary form of the jewish anti-semite. It's a must read.
Thanks Maria!

The Arab Demographic Bomb...is a Dud!!!

2005-01-19T15:12:00.000+02:00

Caroline Glick reported in last Friday's Post that according to an independent study carried out in the US, the much touted Demographic threat to Israel is overblown. Indeed, even if no teritory changes hands, Israel will retain a Jewish majority. Her report was confirmed by another study, reported to the Foreign Relations and Security Committee of the Knesset, that found that there are 1.5 million less Arabs between the Jordan and the sea than had been reported. Furthermore, their birth rate is lower than anyone thought.

It's all a bluff, people! Sharon and the Left want to drag Jews out of their homes for nothing!!! Now, I think that Avigdor Lieberman is right and we should draw the Arabs out of Israel by redrawing the borders. Let's be honest, though, the media and the government have been trying to bluff us. Now the cat is out of the bag.

Of course, as is true in every Orthodox socialist country, please don't bother me with the facts. MK Ran Cohen rejects the numbers presented to the Knesset committee as a bald attempt to continue the so-called 'occupation.' At least he responded. Maariv covered the story. Haaretz, however, won't mention it (after three hours that the radio is dealing with nothing but this story). Why inform the public and confuse it?

The Israel Policy Forum (for Greater Palestine)

2005-01-16T18:23:00.000+02:00

The Israel Policy Forum is a Labor Party/Yosi Beilin Front Organization that is made up of well-meaning, liberal Jews who are convinced that if only Israel would give more tyo the Palestinians, destroy the settlements, divide Jerusalem and allow a symbolic number of 'refugees' to pre-1967 Israel, peace would come at once.

Of course, in their self-importance and bleeding hearts, these people are not alone in their self-delusions. Neither are they unique in their all-wise, condescension toward anyone so primitive as to disagree with them. Where they are both unique and dangerous is in the political and financial clout they hold in circles of the Democratic Party (thank God, Bush won). They represent themselves as an alternative to AIPAC, which means that with the latter under investigation, IPF might become an important address for politicians interested in addressing (what they think) is the Jewish Community.

Wanna know where these guys are at? Get a load of their statement about the PA elections:

We are heartened by Mr. Abbas’s repeated condemnations of the militarization by some Palestinians of their conflict with Israel, and by his and Prime Minister Sharon’s statements that they will very soon seek a meeting. And we are especially encouraged by President Bush’s statement today that he was ‘heartened by the elections and that he would like to welcome Mr. Abbas to Washington ‘if he chooses to come here’.
As co-host of a meeting between Mr. Abbas and leaders of the American Jewish community during his visit to Washington in July 2003, we at Israel Policy Forum know his sincere desire to achieve peace between Palestinians and Israelis.
And, of course, we appreciate President Bush’s vision, to which he recommitted himself last November 12, of a ‘peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict based on two democratic states – Israel and Palestine – living side-by-side in peace and security’.
As many foreign policy experts and newspaper editorials have noted in recent days – and Israel Policy Forum emphasizes, the new, moderate, democratically elected Palestinian leadership has opened a window of opportunity to attain this vision..

They LOVE Abbas. The guy who is trying to coordinate the missiles flung at Sederot and who is calling for the greater Jihad against the Zionist Enemy. PLEASE IPF, go play golf or whatever it is rich, bored intellectuals do when they're bored. Leave us alone. Let us live.

Collective Insanity

2005-01-11T21:17:00.000+02:00

Welcome to Coo-koo country. Today: 1) Sharon's new government started wobbling because Yahadut HaTorah split 2) The Likud Rebels are intent on brining Shatron down 3) The army announced that 48 Negev towns will be bombarded by Kassam rockets the minute we leave Gush Qatif 4) The head of the GSS, Avi Dichter, warned that leaving the northern Shomron will expose Afula to Bombardment 5) Abu Mazan, the 'moderate' new PA Chairman, is different from Arafat in tone only. In content he's more extreme 6) A US study says that THERE IS NO ARAB DEMOGRAPHIC THREAT TO ISRAEL AS A JEWISH STATE!!! and 7) Olmert says we"ll need to drive more Jews from their homes...

HELLO! Can we please get some Psych-tropc drugs put in our water, please. How else can we beat this general insanity?

Hebrew Blogs

2005-01-11T21:09:00.000+02:00

One of the advantages of Anglo-Israeli blogging is the opportunity to let it all hang out in our native tongue. Face it, no matter how great one's Hebrew gets, the gut emotions will best pour out in English.

That having been said, Anglo-Israeli blogging ignores the fast growing Heblog universe that deserves attention and comment. There are, for example, some strikingly interesting blogs at the Kipa website. In particular, I'm inpressed that MK Shaul Yahalom has time to set up his own blog. He's a very intelligent, moderate person and his postings deserve thought. Mosey over and check the sites out. Time to break out of the Anglo ghetto!

Disengagement Blues...Living in La La Land

2005-01-03T22:35:00.000+02:00

I wish I had a dollar for every time things in this country defy logic...Sharon has no government, no argument for unliaterally pulling out of Gaza- nevertheless Olmert (whose revisionist parents are rolling over in their graves) starts screaming about the need to abandon more Jewish towns to save ourselves...Huh? Hello? Reality check. Why not just adopt the Lieberman plan by which the borders of the country would be redrawn. The Arabs go to Palestine (Bye Bye Uhm al Fahm!) and Yesha stays Jewish.

Nah! Can't do that...it would make too much sense.

Well, at least one thing that Olmert got right is that there is never going to be a Palestinian partner for peace. Check out this great post by Go Blog and Multiply:

The Fools Prayer

Dear God, please allow me to continue doing thingsthe exact same way I have been doing them for the whole of my lifeand somehow magically I will get a different result.

This is directed to anyone who believes that Mahmoud Abbas will somehow be a moderate partner for peace should he win the Palestinian presidency.As I posted below, Abbas met with and praised several of the more notorious "armed factions" within Palestinian society during the last few days of campaigning. I was ready to cut him some slack as I imagine that as a politician seeking support, he realizes that you draw more flies with sugar than with vinegar.Then again, if the following represents his true beliefs, peace is a long way off.

My Guest Map

2004-12-26T07:55:00.000+02:00

Blogging is fun but lonely. Please take a moment and pin my guest map. t least I'll get an idea of who the almost 1000 people are that read my ramblings. Just click on Guest Map at the bottom of the right-hand corner.

Thank you.

Islam(ism)=Nazism, Hitler says so... Update

2004-12-26T07:19:00.000+02:00

I just finished a chilling review by Professor Omer Bartov in the recent New Republic (and now available here) of the English edition of Hitler's unpublished sequel toi Mein Kampf. In it, Bartov shows that while Hitler may be dead, his ideas are alive and well in the anti-globalization movement, on the European Left and especially among Muslims (he calls them Islamists. I don't think there's a big difference).

His bottom line is that it's time to call a spade a spade. There is a tide of genocidal anti-semitism threatening the Jewish People throughout the world. Furthermore, it's time we stopped deluding ourselves.

What we are witnessing today is a broad front of opinion, spanning the entire spectrum of the political and religious scene, whose criticism of American and Israeli policies, and whose fears and phobias about present conditions, utopian dreams of a better future, and nostalgic fantasies of a mythical past, all converge in a bizarre and increasingly frightening way on a single figure, a single cause: "the Jew." I have long believed that it is pointless, and dishonorable, to debate anti-Semites. Such an exchange of "ideas" only confers legitimacy upon them. But there are times when absurdities become political facts and cannot be ignored. They must, instead, be directly challenged--not by explaining their violent ideas and feelings away, but by putting limits to them through all available means, political, judicial, and, if necessary, by the use of legitimate force. For these are people who mean what they say. If you do not destroy them, they will destroy you. There are precedents for this.

He closes his piece with an important warning:

So Hitler is dead, but there is a Hitlerite quality to the new anti-Semitism, which now legitimizes not only opposition to Zionism but also the resurrection of the myth of Jewish world domination. And those who foolishly think that doing away with Israel, not least in a "one-state solution," would remove anti-Semitism had better look more closely at the language of these enemies. For they--I mean the enemies--insist that the Jews are everywhere, and so they must be uprooted everywhere. Their outpost may be Israel, but their "power center" is in America, and their synagogues and intellectuals are in Germany and France, and their academics are in Russia and Britain. Since they are the cause of all evil and misfortune, the world will be a happier place without them, whether it is dominated by the Aryan Master Race or by the ideological soldiers of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Hitler taught humanity an important lesson. It is that when you see a Nazi, a fascist, a bigot, or an anti-Semite, say what you see. If you want to justify it or excuse it away, describe accurately what it is that you are trying to excuse away. If a British newspaper publishes an anti-Semitic cartoon, call it anti-Semitic. If the attacks on the Twin Towers were animated by anti-Semitic arguments, say so. If a Malaysian prime minister expresses anti-Semitic views, do not try to excuse the inexcusable. If a self-proclaimed liberation organization calls for the extermination of the Jewish state, do not pretend that it is calling for anything else. The absence of clarity is the beginning of complicity.

This Land is MINE...

2004-12-22T22:14:00.000+02:00

My Obiter Dicta published a quote from the book of Maccabees ((IMacc. 15, 33-34) that deserves to be noticed. This is his posting:

When Antiochus VI demanded that Simon hand over territory to the Seleucid Crown, Simon replied:

"We have neither taken foreign land nor seized foreign property, but only the inheritance of our fathers, which at one time had been unjustly taken by our enemies. Now that we have the opportunity, we are firmly holding the inheritance of our fathers."

Irrespective of what happens practically and what policy is adopted for the future of the Jewish State, it behooves all sides to remember that the point of departure is that noted by Simon. If he's not right, then Jews have no right to live anywhere in Eretz Yisrael.

To Shoah or Not to Shoah....

2004-12-22T22:03:00.000+02:00

All of Israel is churning over the plan to have opponents of Sharon's 'disengagement from Gaza' wear orange Jewish Stars. (Orange is the color of the pro-Gush Qatif campaign.) Some are formany supporters of Gush Qatif are against. Personally, I oppose the use of Holocaust imagery in political debates. That having been said, the prospect of Jews driven out of their homes under Jewish guns while the low lifes ( check that, the self-hating bastards) on the Israeli Left (which is really the Palestinian Right) cheer is downright traumatizing. Someone forwarded the following to me from one of the lists serving Yesha. It makes the point very well. Wake up Israel!

Unless the evil decree is averted, we will all be subject to horrific scenes in a few months time of Jews being carried out screaming from homes thathave been the centre of their lives for many years; children and babies whohave never known any other place as home will be traumatized by having theirparents loaded into vans to be incarcerated in some far-off detentionfacilities, while they are being separated from them; Jewish furniture,Judaica, artworks will be carried off by soldiers and police to be stored"somewhere"; the loudspeakers will blare messages in the middle of the nightgiving Jews one final opportunity to come out peacefully or face theconsequences; bulldozers will be parked with their engines running waitingfor the order to wipe out traces of Jewish physical and spiritual life. Electric saws will be busy cutting through chains that tie Jews to poles,trees, concrete blocks. And the scenes of temporary homeless Jews, housed in makeshift camps, Jews who refused or were unable to make plans for their lives after disengagementwill haunt us all.Wake up all.Whether or not the orange badge is worn or utilized now, all the above willevoke Holocaust-type trauma in our nation. The Holocaust was not only gaschambers and extermination camps. The Holocaust was also all of the above -the degraded Jew, the evicted Jew, the humiliated Jew, the uprooted Jew. TheJew who believed that in the national home of the Jewish people he would besafe.

My Obiter Dicta on the Supreme Court

2004-12-05T13:16:00.000+02:00

At the suggestion of Hatshepsut, I checked out a blog called My Obiter Dicta. The blog is run by a lecturer at Bar Ilan University, and has some interesting stuff. His latest posting is about the Israeli Supreme Court, a dictatorial institution that's been going further and further to turn this country into whatever the radical chic think it should look like (if it has a right to live at all.)

Anyway, this guy has some interesting articles to suggest. He forgot to mention the books and articles by Prof. Ruth Gavison. She's Aharon Barak's biggest critic (and someone he works VERY HARD to keep off of the bench.)

Pogo Was a Patriotic Israeli!

2004-12-02T21:18:00.000+02:00

Of all the Pogo cartoons, this is the one I remember best. It is also the one that haunts me everyday of my life in Israel. The Rabbis punned on a verse from Isaiah that 'Your Destroyers and Demolishers will come from within you.'

Pogo says:

Pogo Lives!

Thanks to Six Day War for publishing it.

Hatshepsut's Birth Day

2004-12-02T21:11:00.000+02:00

My buddy Hatshepsut has asked the world to figure out her Hebrew Birthday. Happily, she was born on April 10, 1979. Using the HebCal Date Converter it was a cinch. Hatshepsut was born on the 13th of Nisan 5739 (or the 14th, if she was born after sunset). A Pesah Baby! Mazal Tov!

Hatshepsut: Contemplative Mode

Toys Make the Child....

2004-11-29T15:17:00.000+02:00

What to give for Eid al Adha.

I picked this up from HassidicGentile, after seeing it on Hatshepsut's inimitable site. (She doesn';t miss ANYTHING!). Anyway, I don't think we realize how insidious this kind of toy is for the Arab (in this case, Palestinian) street. Kids love their toys. They remember them fondly their entire lives. Having things like this around is not just brainwashing for child suicidem bombers. It guarantees that it will NEVER be possible to wean Arabs from mass murder and terror.

Bye Bye Poruz!

2004-11-29T11:37:00.000+02:00

Haaretz just had a flash:

Referring to PM`s intention to fire ministers who vote against budget, Poraz says he will no longer be interior minister.

Shinui is opposing transferring funds to the Haredim in return for their support of the budget. Now, I am no fan of the Haredim. I deeply resent their draft-dodging. I think that people should word for a living and learn Torah as well. (So you sleep a little less). I think that they do an incredible job making Judaism unpalatable.

Nevertheless, if getting rid of Poruz as Interior Minister, the man who styles himself as a Jewish Anti-semite, it's well worth the price. Bye Bye, Avraham Poruz! Good Riddance.

Yasser's Roommate- Insh'Allah

2004-11-28T15:00:00.000+02:00

Speaks for Itself.

Arafat- The Last Word

2004-11-13T21:38:00.000+02:00

Alison Sommer Kaplan has a great post with appropriate words of departure for Arafat (may his bones be ground to dust). It's entitled: He's Still Dead: All Arafat, All the Time. The best quote she has there is from Lairs:

"If Arafat died of AIDS, my opinion of AIDS has greatly improved."

'Nuff Said.

God Bless America

2004-11-12T10:12:00.000+02:00

If one ever needed proof of the health of American instincts. get a load of this. It appeared on FoxNews (the only network to admit that Arafat was a murderer).

CBS Apologizes for Breaking With Arafat News
Thursday, November 11, 2004
NEW YORK — CBS apologized Thursday for breaking into its prime-time drama "CSI: NY" for a special report on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's death, blaming an "overly aggressive" producer. The 10:55 p.m. EST report on Wednesday cut off the ending of the popular forensics drama, prompting a cascade of viewer complaints. The network said the "CSI: NY" episode would be repeated in its entirety 10 p.m. EST Friday. The report came just five minutes before local news broadcasts in the East and Midwest. ABC and NBC waited until the local news to break the story; in the West, NBC ran a "crawl" with the news at the bottom of the screen.
"An overly aggressive CBS News producer jumped the gun with a report that should have been offered to local stations for their late news," the network said in a statement. "We sincerely regret the error."

At least the average American has his priorities straight. CSI is clearly more valuable than Arafat.

Frankenthal, For God's Sake-SHUT UP!!!!

2004-11-11T20:35:00.000+02:00

There is a rule in Israel that one doesn't take bereaved family members to task for mean and/or stupid things that they might say. It's a holdover, I think, from giving a lot of leeway to Holocaust survivors for, what might be taken as, inappropriate behavior. The idea is that if you'd been through that, you might not be 100% either.

The approach has merits, especially in the immediate aftermath of a terrorist attack or of a young soldier's death. However, there are some who 'lose it' permanently and harm the rest of us as a result. Such a one is Yitzhak Frankental. His step-son was kidnapped and murdered by members of Hamas, early on in the Oslo Peace. Ever since he's made hay about how evil the Israelis are and how wonderful are the peaceloving Palestinians. Nothing can shake the man's conviction that when Jews are murdered, it's their own damn fault. If we only: withdrew from Judaea and Samaria, gave the Arabs Jerusalem, resettled the refugees...there would be peace.The man is a blithering idiot, who robotically lives in a world of slogans.

He is, however, a rarity. He's religious and uses that fact to get on the radio and TV. Now, guess what? He's going to Yasser (Yimch Shemo's) funeral! As Maariv reports:

Frenkental, whose son was murdered in 1994 while serving in the IDF, told NRG Maariv, “I asked to take part in Arafat’s funeral because I think it would contribute to an Israeli-Palestinian dialogue and express empathy towards the Palestinian people”.
“Arafat is no longer alive and the gesture is towards the Palestinian people. I am sure many Israelis sympathize with the Palestinians today. I met Arafat many times and saw in him a man who wanted to reach a long-lasting peace. But again, I say, there was no partner on the Israeli side”, he added.

Please. Get thee to a psychiatrist. Free yourself of Stockholm Syndrome! Join the PA and move to Ramallah with Moshe Hirsch and the Neture Karta. But Go Away! Thousands of Jewish men women and children who were murdered in cold blood by this two-legged animal and his henchmen cry out: 'ENOUGH! SHUT UP!'

How do You Spell AIDS?...Arafat

2004-11-06T17:56:00.000+02:00

Well, here's something to enhance the joy over the imminent departure of Arafat. There are clear signs he has AIDS. Yup, Suha's hubby was close to his bodyguards in more ways than one. That's what World Net Daily reported, based on a report by National Review columnist, David From:

Speaking of media bias, here’s a question you won’t hear in our big papers or on network TV: Does Yasser Arafat have AIDS?
We know he has a blood disease that is depressing his immune system. We know that he has suddenly dropped considerable weight – possibly as much as 1/3 of all his body weight. We know that he is suffering intermittent mental dysfunction. What does this sound like?
Former Romanian intelligence chief Ion Pacepa tells in his very interesting memoirs that the Ceaucescu regime taped Arafat’s orgies with his body guards. If true, Arafat would a great deal to conceal from his people and his murderously anti-homosexual supporters in the Islamic world.
Before airlifting Arafat to Paris, French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier promised to “stand by” him. Was that why Arafat chose to be treated in France rather in any of the fraternal Arab countries that supposedly support his movement – because he could trust the French to protect his intimate secrets?

I tell you, if there's anything that will not only kill him but kill his reputation among Arabs, that's it. Way to go Yasser! Straight to Arab Hell.

Hello? He's a MURDERER!!!!

2004-10-31T18:16:00.000+02:00

I understand why we're all so interested in whast happens to Arafat. I understand that who takes his place is important. What I can't figure out is how any Israeli can have sympathy for him. Haaretz, as usual, leads the pack. Get this:

Arafat's image in Israeli eyes became that of the artful betrayer, a discreet coddler of suicide killers, a versatile instrument finely attuned to, if not dragged along behind, the upheavals and impulses of the Palestinian street.

'Coddler'?

So united have Israelis of all stripes become in their antipathy toward Arafat, that even as he lay near death, headlines in major newspapers were flippant, comedians - who might well have respected him prior to the Intifada - merciless.

Of course they're merciless. He's a damned murderer of Jewish men, women and children. The bastard has more Jewish blood on his hands than anyone else since Hitler. I hope they forget to give him painkillers and that he is in agony for every minute of the rest of his miserable life.

Deja Vu-Again!

2004-10-28T00:30:00.000+02:00

The fact that Sharon got his disengagement was no surprise. The fact that the Left and the media are once again villifying all settlers, all religious Jews, all rabbis-anyone who disagrees witrh them, is no surprise. It's one big damned rerun...

So what's a surprise? The fact that after ten years of terror and four years of war, the Israelis have once again embarked on a massive land giveaway, with no breaks, no controls, no idea where the hell it will lead. And why? Well, some say demography. Hello? Afraid of an Arab majority? Have more children! Others say, it doesn't belong to us. So the Right responds, but that leaves Haifa and Tel Aviv open. The Left responds, that's demagogy. True. But it's also what the Arabs say.

Israelis are just plain dumb. Their leaders are dumber.

It will take a Divine kick in the caboose, once again, to wake them up. See Deuteronomy 32.

The Decree and America's Arm Chair Religious Zionists

2004-10-22T11:21:00.000+02:00

In a recent interview, MK Yisrael Eichler (Agudat Yisrael) observed that there is no political logic behind the fact that Ariel Sharon is still the Prime Minister of Israel. He has broken his own word, abandoned his principles, ignored the will of his party and yet, he is still Prime Minister. He is still rushing pell mell to throw 7,500 Jews out of their homes, without getting anything in return, while rewarding the Palestinians for four (now five) years of war and murder. The only explanation, he offered, is that it's a gezerah, a Divine decree, an expression of God's inscrutible Will.

I'm beginning to agree with Eichler. How many times have we buried Oslo, only to see the Golem rise up to attack us? How many times did it look like the Temple Mount was in our hands, only to see it crumbling as we allow the Waqf to destroy it, and every trace of Jewish connection to it? Even when building the wall, we could have stood up to world pressure and given ourselves more of our own Homeland. We didn't. It all makes no human sense. It must be a gezerah.

So who's responsible? We can blame the Left, with every bit of justification. For over a decade they have waged an unceasing war against Jews, Judaism and Zionism. Their positions of power and influence in government, the courts, the media and academia have wreaked havoc on theIsraeli Jewish body politic. But they have lost the war against the Torah. The polls show that after four years of war this is a much more Jewish country than before. So what is it?

Well, certainly the rabid nature of religious and settler leaders is partly at fault. These guys are incapable od civilized discourse. They rant and rave and wave verses and citations, like someone cares. The average person is not impressed. The settler and rabbinic leadership of the settler community is essentiallty bankrupt. The pseudo-ruling on refusal to serve bears this out.

They, however, are here in Israel. I am disgusted by the armchair Zionists (especially the religious zionists) of Teaneck and Scarsdale, Manhattan and Brookline, Shaker Heights and Beverley Hills. They"ll fight to the last Israeli. They"ll celebrate Yom HaAtzma'ut with Falafel provide by Yordim. BUT THEY WON'T COME HERE! Not for me, they say. Too hard, too expensive, too God knows what. Oh. Too dangerous. Yes, as Phil Ochs once said, (in 'Love me, I'm a Liberal') we"ll send all the money you ask for, but don't ask me to come on along!

Well, they didn't come. If they had, if they would, there would have been a critical mass of Jews in Yesha that noone would have thought to expel. There would, moreover, be no (or much less) of a demographic problem. Self-satisfaction is a Jewish affliction. It's a dealy affliction. In this case, I sense that it contributes to, and justifies, the Gezerah.

I have no illusions. They won't come. They will learn though, that their existence depends upon us, and not vice versa.

Conversion Betrayal!

2004-10-19T09:06:00.000+02:00

Today's Haaretz contained a bombshell that has me reeling. I am so angry, so disappointed that I don't know what to do with myself. Let me explain.

The Russian Aliyah, which has generally been a blessing, has one serious drawback. About 300,000 non-Jews have been admitted to Israel under the criteria of the 'Law of Return.' Many of these are the children of Jewish fathers who married non-Jewish women under communist rule, suffered as Jews and then came here. A minority are frauds, who forged papers to show allow them to fit the legal criteria and to get out of Russia. An even smaller minority are Provo-Slav anti-semites. Most of these non-Jews, however, are simply the tragic results of of seventy years of communist oppression.

Ever since their arrival, the rabbinical courts have done nothing but put up obstacles to prevent those who wish to regularize their Jewish status through conversion. The rabbis are all too often obnoxious, officious and pedantic. (I've experienced this in a different context.) Meanwhile, the lack of resolution has created an existential threat to the body politic of Israel. This is because, like it or not, the Jews of Israel are a family, a tribe. Keeping us together is the knowledge that at the end of the day, we're all brothers and sisters and can marry one another.

Over the past few years, there were very encouraging signs that legitimate Halakhic ways were under way to convert those Russians who wish to regularize their status. Things kept looking better and better. Recently, R. Haim Druckman was put in charge of the entire conversion apparatus. He's a first rate scholar and is well aware of what needs to be done, and his religious integrity is unquestioned.

Now comes the bomb! The Sephardic Chief Rabbi has issued directives changing all the rules. Not only has he made it harder to convert, for the first time he'sd authorized the nullification of conversions that he doesn't like. Now, there is plenty of precedent for being both stricter and lenient in conversion criteria. The issue is a very long, complex one. However, I am stunned at the nerve of R. Amar to call the work of other courts into question (which is a legally suspect action). I am enraged by his presumptuous dismissal of the efforts to keep the Israeli Jewish body politic whole. If he keeps this up, he will open the door wide to independent Conservative and Reform conversions.

R. Amar may be a Rav. He has shown that he is not a Hakham!

[Update: I penned this a long time ago. I have tightened the formulation to be clearer.]

An Arab Voice for Justice-And for Israel

2004-10-17T19:40:00.000+02:00

Hatshepsut calls attention to the impassioned speech of a Lebanese Christian woman, Brigitte Gabriel, against Arab terror and in defense of Israel. She's a brave woman who calls it as it is. While Europe's Christians are letting their hearts bleed for Muslim suicide bombers, the Arab Christians in the Palestinian Authority are being slaughtered and fleeng for their lives. Frontpage Magazine has a summary of the talk, while Phyllis Chesler provides the entire video. Required reading and viewing.

YU Plans the Jewish Future-And Israel's Part of It

2004-10-17T15:20:00.000+02:00

Hirhurim just published the following item.

RIETS in the News II

Now it's official:

Oct 15, 2004 -- Yeshiva University President Richard M. Joel today announced the appointment of Rabbi Kenneth Brander of Boca Raton, FL, as the inaugural dean of the Center for the Jewish Future, effective July 1, 2005.The Yeshiva University Center for the Jewish Future (CJF) will serve as the nucleus and central focus of YU’s educational and human-capital efforts to impact the Jewish future. The CJF will work with the university’s colleges, schools, and affiliates to shape programs--within and without the institution--that will train Jewish lay and professional leadership, develop initiatives and strengthen existing ones, create interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary synergies, as well as deliver services to its students and the broader Jewish communities...

Very Timely. Unfortunately, Simcha missed the most important part. The article continues...

CJF is the first of a series of envisioned multidisciplinary centers at YU that will utilize the rich resources of its colleges and faculty, and focus on an array of guiding principles, including ethics, leadership, community, and Israel. The CJF will be a think-tank for Jewish public policy, leadership and partnership strategies, community strengthening in Israel and throughout the Diaspora, and lifelong Jewish education.

Is it possible that YU has finally woken up to the fact that they (and the rest of American Orthodoxy) will rise (or, G-F) fall with Israel and not vice versa? 'Let it BE'

A Sense of Humor is a Gift....

2004-10-16T23:32:00.000+02:00

What more is there to say at this hour?

The Temple Mount is Falling Part II

2004-10-16T22:18:00.000+02:00

So this is the latest. After undermining the Temple Mount for years (with Sharon's complicity), the Police decided that they should limit the number of Arabs to go up during Ramadan. The Arabs screamed bloody murder and said they would handle it. Sharon and the police said ok, 'We trust you' (Right!). So what happened? Haaretz reports:

Some 90,000 worshippers attended prayer services on the Temple Mount on Friday, the first of the month-long Muslim holiday of Ramadan. Chief of Police Moshe Karadi said police would increase their presence on the Temple Mount to prevent disruptions and regulate the passage of worshipers during Ramadan....

Hello?! There are usually 250,000 Muslims on Har HaBayit on Fridays of Ramadan. Noone stopped them from coming. Yet only 90,000 came! Think they know something we don't?

Al Hayyat al-jedida, oops, I mean Haaretz, continues:

The decision could help defuse the latest row to flare over the shrine. In the period leading up to Ramadan the northern branch of the Islamic movement published a manifest entitled "A new plot against Al-Aqsa," calling on all Muslim citizens of Israel to participate in mass prayers at Al-Aqsa during Ramadan.It called Israel's warnings about the alleged danger of collapse at the site an attempt on the part of "the Israeli occupation" to banish Muslims from the precinct. "Since 1967 until today Israeli governments are waging a holy war bent on destroying the Al-Aqsa mosque," it says.

I guess the bastards from the northern branch of the Islamic movement needed to cover themselves just in case their colleagues did get them all killed when the mount collapses.

On Refusal to Serve- Words of Wisdom from Ben Chorin

2004-10-16T21:48:00.000+02:00

Ben Chorin posted an excellent response to R. Abraham Shapira's call for Religious soldiers to refuse to obey orders if ordered to evacuate Jews froom Gush Qatif. I share his conflcts. It's well said.

When once Rabbi Akiva, the greatest halachic authority of his time, tried his hand at aggadah, his colleagues responded Akiva, mah lecha etzel aggadah, klach etzel nega'im ve-ohalos! which very roughly translates as "What business do you have with agaddah? Stick to the technical stuff!" (Sanhedrin 38b). Their point was that even the greatest expert in halachah is not necessarily a master of all disciplines. Rabbi Akiva's foray into politics also did not end well. (He was the leader of the Bar Kokhba Revoly,-GbP)

I mention this because it has been reported that former Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Avraham Kahana-Shapira and about 50 other Rabbanim in the Kooknik wing of the dati-leumi camp have called on their numerous students serving in the IDF to refuse orders to evacuate Jews from Azza. Now, I have posted earlier that I am convinced that all the reasons proffered by the government for evacuating Azza are bogus. It's a bad idea. But for influential Rabbis to call for mass refusal to obey orders is a way worse idea. Mass refusal will cause an irreparable rift within the IDF and within the country. Everybody with a gripe will refuse to serve. And even if not, commanders will no longer have the luxury of assuming compliance, which itself is debilitating enough to render an army ineffective.

Here are the arguments offered in favor of, nevertheless, calling for mass refusal (along with my skeptical comments):

1. The offense being committed is severe enough to justify risking the consequences of refusal.Indeed, were the expulsion simply an ideologically-motivated attempt by a vengeful oligarchy to sacrifice a minority they don't care for, this argument might have merit. Such things happen around here, but I don't think this is the case now. Of course, those who believe that any withdrawal is by definition an ideological offense, regardless of the circumstances, view things differently.

2. That this is a bluff designed to force the government's hand; it isn't intended to be realized.What if it fails? Worse, what if it succeeds?

3. The left started.This is oh so true. Amos Oz and Yossi Sarid swore that they'd lie in front of the tanks if Arabs were ever expelled. Refusal to serve in Judea and Samaria receives ongoing favorable coverage in the mainstream media. They're a bunch of bastards and they asked for it. Now they're getting it. BUT, spite is a privilege of those who don't wish to wield true power but rather to play the role of kibitzers or, at most, spoilers. If the religious right aspires to more than that, it needs to act responsibly, not just score debating points.

That having been said, what a lousy position to be in!

Dershowitz Does it Again!

2004-10-14T22:28:00.000+02:00

Leave it to Alan Dershowitz to show up the world's hypocrisy. In the latest edition of Jewsweek, he has an article called End the Occupation! Of course, when I first saw the title I started getting upset. Ugh!, I thought, he's trying to 'balance' his pro-Israel act. Boy was I wrong. But why report second hand. Here's his ipsissima verba:

When is the last time you heard about a demonstration on a university campus calling for the end of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon? Syria has been occupying Lebanon by force of arms for more than 20 years. Its 20,000 foreign soldiers and hundreds of "intelligence officers" rule that Muslim-Christian nation with an iron fist. No longer a democratic state -- as it was for decades under joint Christian-Muslim leadership -- Lebanon has become a terrorist state in which Hizbullah and other terrorist groups have a free hand to operate against Israeli and American civilians.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yet those who shed crocodile tears for the Palestinians -- whose leaders turned down statehood and the end of occupation of Gaza and some 96% of the West Bank in 2000-2001 -- remain silent over the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. Some, including the Palestinian leadership, even support it. This should not be surprising because many of those same hypocrites also support the continuing occupation of Kurdistan by Turkey, Iraq and Syria, as well as the continuing occupation of Tibet by China.

'Hypocrites" - I like that. Read 'em and weep!

Two Nations, One State- Israeli Suicide!

2004-10-13T17:42:00.000+02:00

Michael Tarazi, PLO Legal adviser and propagandist, got the New York Times to publish an OpED article that calls for the dismantling of the State of Israel in favor of a Bi-National Secular State (right!). For those who don't know, this has been the PLO line all along, and shows that its damned covenant is still in effect. The article is so devious, that David Meir-Levi wrote:

Michael Tarazi must think that Americans never read newspapers (especially Front Page Magazine) or watch TV. His Op-Ed piece in Sunday’s NY Times (cf. infra, “Two Peoples, One State”, 10.3.04) presents readers with a masterpiece of mendacity. Almost every sentence is a distortion, de-contextualization, obfuscation, or outright fiction….and painfully transparent ones at that.

I'm never that relaxed. So, anyone who wants to fight this kind of screed, read how Leon Wieseltier, Barry Rubin and Caroline Glick replied both the Tarazi and to the Times for advocating genocide (again).

Gideon Levy- Yok!

2004-10-12T23:14:00.000+02:00

FINALLY! Someone called a spade a spade. Not a Fish posted a piece by that Anti-Semite from Der Sturmer (excuse me, Haaretz), urging people to visit Sinai and ignore the Security warnings. Why? Because anytime he can mock any part of Israel's Defense Forces, Gideon Levy does. As Not a Fish notes, 'his hateful vitriol against the Israeli establishment may have cost lives. Today we get an idea of just how dangerous Gideon Levy can be.'

And this is what Levy had to say, just a few weeks ago:

This is not the first time in the past four years that the anti-terrorism unit, with its panoply of officers, has issued similar warnings, though this time the warning is said to be "graver than usual." If Israelis decide nonetheless to spend the holiday in Sinai, as would indeed appear to be the case, it will mark the continuation of a very unusual phenomenon here: Israelis are ignoring the warnings of the defense establishment, casting doubt on its considerations and not being automatically persuaded by its rationale.[…]Even if the defense establishment has solid information about Sinai, the timing of its warnings is problematic, after four years of warnings in which not a hair of the tens of thousands of Israelis who went to Sinai was harmed. After all, it's always easier to frighten people, even if it's not certain that it's necessary - what's known popularly as "covering your ass." No one pays for false warnings here, not for the scare campaign about Iraq's chemical and biological weapons, and nor for the warnings about Sinai.

Scary huh?

Who are you, Arik Sharon?

2004-10-12T13:16:00.000+02:00

I used to be a supporter of Arik Sharon. Not anymore. I just don't know who the hell he is any more. Witness this piece by Caroline Glick.

Caroline Glick:The Assault on Democracy by Sharon
The Jerusalem Post

During his address at last month's Likud Central Committee meeting, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said repeatedly that the Likud must accept its role as the ruling party and act with national responsibility. The odd thing about Sharon's insistent assertion is that it is he, through his policies since the start of his first term as prime minister in 2001, who has done more than anyone to prevent the Likud from exerting national leadership that befits the national ruling party.It was Sharon, in collusion with Shimon Peres who prevented general elections from taking place in 2001 for the sole purpose of blocking Binyamin Netanyahu's return to the Prime Minister's Office. Using a legally dubious interpretation of the elections law as it stood at the time, Sharon and Peres connived to prevent general elections to the Knesset, keeping the fractured 1999 Knesset, in which the Likud had in place only 19 MKs versus Labor's 26, and enabling the public to vote only for the prime minister. This Sharon did despite the fact that opinion polls from December 2000 projected that Likud stood to win more than 40 Knesset seats while Labor would be decimated, dropping to a mere 15 seats. The devolution of the Oslo process into the Oslo War had brought about a complete rejection of Labor with this appeasement based ideology by voters and a clarion call for national leadership by the Likud.Yet Sharon refused to listen. What interested him was being prime minister and this he could do only by preventing voters from exercising their right to choose their representatives in the Knesset. So Sharon's first government, with Shimon Peres serving as foreign ministerand Binyamin Ben-Eliezer as defense minister was completely non-representative of the public will. The public wanted a government reflective of its sentiments - that is a right-wing government led by the Likud. Instead it had a left-wing government led by Sharon. When, in 2003, the public showed that its sentiment had not waned and the Likud won 38 Knesset seats to Labor's 19, it was clear again that the public had asked Likud to take on the mantle of national leadership and move forward with its anti-appeasement, pro-Israel agenda. But Sharon again balked. RATHER THAN leading the country on the basis of his platform, within a year he was in open warfare with his own party as he first accepted the Quartet's so-called road map, in my view the most anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian document ever brought before the Israeli government for approval, and then adopted the Labor's election-losing platform of unilateral surrender of territory to Palestinian terrorists that had just months before been completely rejected by Israeli voters. In an effort to silence criticism of his policies, Sharon has repeatedly stated that "what you see from here [the prime minister's chair] you can't see from there." The meaning here is obvious: As prime minister, I am privyto information that you - mere citizens of Israel, members of the Likud,members of Knesset and government ministers don't know. And therefore, youcan't question my judgment because of my unique perspective.Sharon's protestation of special knowledge which delivers him from the needto debate and defend his policies is matched by his insistence of viewingany opposition to his policies as a personal attack. By dismissing allopponents as either "self-serving hacks" or "extremists," Sharondelegitimizes not simply the notion of policy debate, but also the idea thatpeople can have political and even moral convictions that outweigh theirloyalty to the head of their party. So it is that every government minister who opposes Sharon's policies is criticized by Sharon and his allies assubversive, untrustworthy, self-serving and disloyal. In so doing Sharon has dumbed-down public discourse to the point where the virtues of politicians rather than the virtues of policies that will impact the lives of every Israeli for years to come has become the only acceptable focus of discussion.In behaving as he has for the past three and a half years, Sharon has harmed not only his party - which he has systematically demonized - he has harmed Israeli democracy. It is not just that on every significant political and military issue he has ignored the advice of his party members, MKs and government ministers, preferring Labor policies instead. It is that in his assertion that it is all about him, and not his policies, he has served to undermine the legitimacy of the very notion that democratic governments' policies must reflect the wishes of the voters as they made them clear on election day, not those of the politicians who serve at their consent.

Episcopalian Hypocrisy- Betraying Christian Arabs

2004-10-05T20:00:00.000+02:00

If there were ever proof of the fact that twenty years of so-called dialogue between the establishment churches and Jewish representatives aren't worth a plug nickel, just consider the latest report from the New York Jewish Week. The Episcopalian Church, prodded by Palestinian Christians (who are stooges of Arafat), is considering divesting investments from any country dealing with Israel. Why?

Reverend Grieves cited other countries that have been the target of Episcopal Church economic sanctions, including China, Myanmar and Sudan. He said the search for more aggressive actions to change Israeli policy have been spurred by the deterioration of conditions in the Palestinian territories. There is a deliberate kind of meanness and humiliation of the people that I find very distressing.

And how does this genius know that?

The divestment buzz began after a recent Mideast mission by the Anglican Peace and Justice Network, representing 23 provinces of the Anglican Communion worldwide, including the Episcopal Church in this country. After that eight-day visit, the group issued a statement squarely blaming Israel for the current crisis. We conclude from our experience that there is little will on behalf of the Israeli government to recognize the rights of the Palestinians to a sovereign state to be created in the West Bank which includes East Jerusalem and Gaza, the panel reported. Israel, with the complicity of the United States, seems determined to flout international laws, whether they are the Geneva Conventions, United Nations resolutions or the most recent decision of the International Court of Justice in declaring the separation wall illegal. The panel recommended an immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces to the 1967 borders and a compete halt to settlement building, both new or expanded, to be followed by a process of phasing out settlements altogether. It also demanded the dismantling of the separation wall and the introduction of an international peacekeeping force, and expressed dismay at the use of United States-made weapons and aircraft provided to Israel and being used for attacks on civilian targets, which occur with increasing frequency.

By their own admission, the Anglicans didn't meet with any Israelis! No mention of Arab terror. Know why? Because, like their ancestors, murdering Jews isn't a crime. Know why? Jews aren't people. It's really very simple. Check it out.

Asked if Palestinian suicide bombers had played a role in the current violent impasse, Rev. Grieves said, Suicide bombings are a reaction to the continuing occupation. Israel does bear responsibility for the occupation.

You see, when they murder us, it's our fault! The real kicker, though is the fact that while they're supporting Palestinian terrorm, the same terrorists are murdering Arab Christians. There are hardly any Christians in Bethlehem because the Muslims are raping and murdering Christians. So they left for the US and South America. Dobn't confuse these guys with facts though.

The Anglican Communion has a number of partner churches in Jerusalem and the West Bank. The Presbyterians dont, but they have a strong, longstanding presence in the region, she said. We do know that American Christian leaders listen to their Palestinian Christian partners. She said that strong Christian advocacy on behalf of the Palestinians is necessary to balance overwhelming administration and congressional support for Israel.

The only Christians who care about their co-religionists are the Evangelicals. Period. They were here this week, to march in support of the only other people who protect Christians in the Middle East. Israel.

Congratulations Hatshepsut!

2004-09-27T15:51:00.000+02:00

Hatshepsut was so upset about her neighbors that she didn't notice that she'd passed the 4,000 hit mark.

Way to go Hatshepsut!

More Ignorance: Arik Ascherman Strikes Again

2004-09-27T01:44:00.000+02:00

A friend of mine once taught at City College in NY. It's not in a great neighborhood. Once a colleague of his was mugged and had the crap beaten out of him. Faint from the beating and bloody to boot, he was carried into his office. As they carried him in he muttered over and over: 'It's all our fault!'

Arik Ascherman is that guy. Israelis get murdered and we should bleed, not fight back unless it's by the Marquess of Queensbury rules. In today's Haaretz he does it again. The man is a blatant ignoramous. I'm not just name calling. He's a Jewish illiterate, and he uses his lack of literacy to put our soldiers at risk. Why? Because even when we have to fight back, it's our fault.

But why get carried away? What does he say? Well, Rabbi Yuval Sherlo wrote that if somebody comes to kill you, kill them first. Common sense? One might think so. Not for Arik, however. He comes up with a caveat from the Talmud that if you can avoid te attack by wounding him, that's preferable. As a result, this genius writes: The injunction does not permit an attack on a terrorist when he is not a "pursuer," when he is not endangering life concretely and in practice. Certainly it does not permit becoming involved in a situation in which one is constrained to kill innocent people who are near the pursuer.

In other words, you can only take out a terrorist if he's got his hand on the detonator! So, no more hitting Hamas. No preventative strikes. Wait! You know what according to our friend Ascherman, Israel would have lost the Six Day War. The Egyptians were planning an air attack on us, similar to he one we pulled off first. Oh. I forgot. We're not allowed to strike first. I guess that would have worked out for Arik. No Israel. No problem.

Then there is the question of civilians. No army on earth tries to avoid civilian casualties the way that ours does. Dozens of soldiers were kllled and wounded in Jenin in order to minimize civilian casualties. Looters were arrested. However, when the terrorists are hidden by the population, supported by the population, fed and clothed by civilians then a choice must be made. It's painful. But war is hell. That was first said by William Tecumsuh Sherman, the man who invented modern warfare. Oh, but maybe Arik would have preferred that the Union settle with the Confederacy. That way, there would still be Black Slavery in North America.

The Temple Mount is Falling!

2004-09-26T19:34:00.000+02:00

So now it's official (as if we didn't know before). HaAretz reports that the illegal creation of a mega-mosque under the Al-Aqsa Mosque included moving support beams. (Never mind the criminal destruction of invaluable archaeological finds.) So, if nothing's done. the Al-Aqsa mosque will collapse on the prayers underneath. Thousands may be killed. And you know who they"ll blame? The Jews, the evil Israelis, the Zionist devils, the occupation...who knows. So thirty seven years of kowtowing to the Waqf, of denying Jewish rights on Har HaBayit, of allowing the criminal destruction of the remnants of three millenia will result in a disaster that will take its price in lives.

And who will they blame? Us. And you know what, they"ll be right. Because in 1967 we let them keep Har HaBayit when they offered it to us on a platter.

Worldwide Jihad

2004-09-25T23:47:00.000+02:00

I just came across an interesting site called Internet Haganah. It documents all sorts of jihadist activity in the US and elsewhere. I found it referenced as a 'Great Satan' by some guy named 'Allah is in the House. I figured, if he thinks it's bad, it must be pretty good. I wasn't wrong.

In Defence of the Non-Golus-Jew

2004-09-23T18:13:00.000+02:00

Ben-Chorin has a post today, which is MUST reading.

A number of comments on my previous post argued that Israel is "losing its humanity" and such as a result of the "occupation". Such cliches are often used by enemies of Israel who wish to weaken Israel by holding it to a higher standard of "humanity" than they hold the rest of the world. Such people are best ignored. However, some of those who responded to my post struck me not as enemies but rather as sincerely concerned Jews. I owe them a response....

Swedish Anti-Semitism I

2004-09-19T16:04:00.000+03:00

The indefatigable Hatshepsut just posted part of an article about Swedish anti-semitism and Swedish anti-Zionism that appeared in Honest Reporting. It's absolutely required reading.

Unfortunately, it's only the tip of the iceberg, as Hatshepsut notes. In fact, a few months ago, Amnon Lord published an article in Makor Rishon in which he discusses Roland Huntford's, The New Totalitarians. Huntford is a professor at Oxford who blew the cover off of Swedish neutrality. He showed that the press in Sweden is government subsidized and therefore reflects only what the government thinks. What that government thinks is terrifying. According to Lord's article, since 1967 (at least) Sweden has been devoted to the dissolution of the State of Israel, and its substitution by a Palestinian State. So, really, there's nothing surprising about the Swedish papers. They only reflect their masters' voice.

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

2004-09-19T15:30:00.000+03:00

Paternalism is really an illness. You know about paternalism. That's when you say something you truly believe in and the person you tell looks at you with this sickeningly all-knowing look and says something like: 'You really don't believe that. Do you?" Or, 'I know better than you how you should feel.' It's creepy beyond belief, because when you say something from your gut, you're exposed. You took a chance and put aside your defenses and WHAM! the other guy dismisses you like you were some kind of drivelling idiot.

You don't like that kind of treatment? Well, neither does anyone else. Yet that's exactly the way PC Liberals and Leftists treat Muslims. When Muslims say they oppose what the West represents because it's corrupt or immodest, or blasphemous they mean it. What do Liberals say? 'You really don't mean that. Jihad can't be against pluralism. You're just responding to Jewish and American injustices. If these were removed you"ll be fine.' What does 'fine' mean? It means just like us. The argument seems to go: Anyone who's human has a mind. Anyone with a mind will be a PC Liberal. Therefore, humans are PC Liberals.

Is it any wonder that Muslims recoil in the face of Western disrespect? I have news for the orthodox PC'ers. Most Muslims relate to reality differently than you do. Mostr Muslims believe that Jews and Christians should be second class citizens, or dhimmi. If you want an, unfortunately, representative portrayal of what American Muslims think of Jews , especially the liberal kind, try Aisha's ideas on for size.

Useful Idiots: Israel Style II

2004-09-11T23:19:00.000+03:00

About ten years ago I got a ride from a friend who's a famous scholar at Hebrew University. At the time, it was becoming very clear that the debate over the Oslo accords was really a debate over whether Israel should be a Jewish State.

[Let me explain, Beilin and Company are adamently against Israel being tangibly Jewish. If you read anything written in the last ten years by Beilin, Aloni, Pundak, Savir, Peres, Gideon Levi, Daniel Ben Simon etc. you"ll see that Judaism (of any stripe) is not part of the plan. Hence, Meron Bevenisti caled for changing the flag, the anthem and God knows what else in order to have peace.
Amos Oz, who's been doing Teshuva for years because Dr. Joseph Klausner was his uncle, has always wanted Judaism tossed out. He sees Jews as living in a museum, a bunch of fossils.

Anyway, I asked him if he thought there was historical precedent for what was going on. He said that there was. The program of the Hellenists in the period of Antiochus IV Epiphanes was a principled agenda of assimilation an cultural self-immolation. That's what IMacc. 1, 11 means: "Let us go and make an alliance with the Gentiles all around us; since we separated from them, many evils have come upon us." So, he continued, we're at the stage where Menelaus is the High Priest, the Tobiads are ruling the country, the Jews are in deep trouble, the Torah's attacked by all of the 'enlightened' elements of society, and there's no Mattathias on the horizen.

This week reminded me that things have gone from bad to worse. Justice Barak and his co-horts are on a roll undermining anything Jewish here. A judge in a district court is forcing a couple to do DNA testing to determine a baby's parentage, even though it will prove mamzerut, Poraz (in his role as Menelaus) is regularizing the status of goyyim born here but refuses to recognize converts, Eretz Aheret magazine is publishing articles supporting intermarriage ('Love conquers All") etc etc etc.

Ignorance is Hardly Bliss: On Rabbis for Human Rights

2004-09-07T16:30:00.000+03:00

This morning, the Israeli papers and radio reported that a group of rabbis had called on the government to be less concerned with collateral casualties in fighting terror. In that context, they invoked the principle of 'If someone comes to kill you, kill him first.' The impression was, that these rabbis wanted the army to indiscriminately bomb civilians, if it meant getting terrorists too. The impression was, apparently, confirmed by the signators who were cited. Chief among them was Rabbi Dov Lior of Qiryat Arba who once said that it was better to kill an Arab than allow a Jew to be scratched.

My first reaction was a stomach ache. Again, I thought, extremists have made us (and the Torah) look stupid. After I got off of my high horse, I read the full statement and saw that a) this statement was not made by 'the usual suspects' and b) it explicitly affirmed the quest for peace and for minimizing casualties among civilians. The poit that they wished to make was that if killing a teerorist will save human lives, then the mere possibility of civilian casualties should not be invoked to stop such an attack. Ok, I thoughy. That makes sense.

The statement was discussed on Reshet Bet this morning by Rabbi Yuval Sherlo, of Yeshivat Petah Tikva and Rabbi Arik Ascherman, from Rabbis for Human Rights. I was happy that the discussion did not degenerate into the usual Israeli scream-fest. Both acquitted themselves like gentlemen.

What really set me off, however, was Rabbi Ascherman's distortion of Jewish sources. He claimed that Rabbinic tradition has a consideration that balances the rule of 'kill him first.' That rule is 'Who says your blood is redder?' (Sanhedrin 74a). In other words, before killing you need to think that the other person is worth as much, if not more than you. Such a conclusion doesn't 'balance' self-defense, it delegitimizes it! Indeed, it would lead to the Christian position of 'turn the other cheek.' More importantly, Rabbi Ascherman is just plain wrong. There is absolutely no such rule in the present context! The words cited by Rabbi Ascherman are those of Rava. They refer to a situation in which a third party gives a person the choice between killing someone or being killed. It is in that case only that one is not allowed to save one's life at the expense of another. It has absolutely nothing at all to do with a situation in which a person must defend himself (even proactively).

I'm not sure what to make of this distortion. I am assuming that Rabbi ascherman either misunderstood the passage he cites, or that he lacks a basic background in rabbinic sources. I hope he's not simply using the Torah for his own ideological purposes. For, while he (and anyone else) has the right to his principled opinion, noone has the right to distort or misrepresent their sources. Such an action is both dishonest and deceptive. Understanding things honestly is also a human right.

Jewish Pathology: Mourning Sheikh Yassin II

2004-09-06T15:21:00.000+03:00

A person needs to admit he was wrong. I was stunned at our Professor from Stoneybrook for mourning Sheikh Yassin and thought that Israelis on the Left also thought that he (and Hamas) deserved what they got.

I was wrong. Danny Rubinstein, Arafat fan and biographer has today warned his readers that Al-Qaeda is worse than Hamas. Hence, he says:

Israel's government - which boycotts the Palestinians' national government and no longer views it as a partner for diplomatic dialogue, and is now also threatening to attack Hamas leaders in Syria - is thus liable to bring about a situation in which, on the ruins of these organizations, wild growths that are many times crueler and more dangerous will spring up

So, we should be nice to Hamas because Al-Qaeda is worse? What planet does this guy live on?

Useful Idiots: Israeli Style I

2004-09-05T20:23:00.000+03:00

The past few days I've been reading Mona Charen's book, Useful Idiots:How Liberals Got It Wrong in the Cold War and Still Blame America First. It's an amazing expose of the kind of ultra-orthodoxy of the Leftist and Liberal Left (communisants as Raymond Aron called them in The Opium of the Intellectuals). in the context of the Cold War. The upshot of Charen's book is that neither the Left nor the Liberals ever wanted the West to win the Cold War. Their passon is to bash the US, even as the communist bloc committed crimes next to which the failings of the United States blanche. Now the same geniuses are apologizing for Islamism and blaming the US for the rise of Islamic terror.

The book is a gripping and angering read. It also hits home here in the Holy Land, because this is exactly how the denizens of the State of Tel Aviv deal with the ongoing fight between us and the Arabs. Nothing Arabs do is wrong (or unjustifiable). Everything Jews do is racist etc. etc. blah blah blah. Now, there certainly are awful things we've done (or been forced to do). Yet even Benny Morris has admitted that we come out far better than they. But then, of course, Morris is no longer loved by the Left because it turns out that, at the end of the day, he's a Zionist. He dares to say that the Jewish People has a right to exist and to exist in its own country. That's too much for the Israeli Left, who Dan Margalit has called the Palestinian Right.

Anyway, from time to time I'm going to try to collect and post 'Useful Idiot' comments that come my way. Might even be worth a book. Meanwhile, read Charen's and Amnon Lord's The Israeli Left.

Jewish Pathology: Mourning Sheikh Yassin

2004-09-02T20:31:00.000+03:00

There's this great book by a professor at Bar Ilan named Barry Rubin, entitled Assimilation and its Discontents. Through a mixture of anecdotes, social and historical analysis, he brilliantly describes the pathology of Jewish assimilationism and self-hatred. It's a wonderful book and should be a required read. His upshot is that assimilationism is not just passive national suicide. It often manifests itself as support for the murder of Jews (or defending and assisting their murderers).

I was thinking about Rubin's book after I read an unbelievable piece that's been circulating around leftist websites. It's called We Are All Targets Now and it's by a professor who specializes (of all things) in medieval anti-Judaism and its artistic representation. She describes her shock, fear and rage at the killing of Sheikh Yassin. After hearing the news that Yassin had been taken out, she writes: My husband jumped out of bed and started to curse. Our visiting friend couldn't get over the evil of attacking an 80-year-old quadriplegic cleric. I'm afraid -- because I suppose it's a sign of how living here can deaden one's ethical senses -- that my husband and I were mostly overwhelmed by the sheer, massive, criminal, reckless stupidity of the thing.

I was so stunned by this that I had to read it three times before I believed it! Who are they kidding? This 80 year old quadriplegic ordered the murders of innocent people, including little children and people older abnd more infirm than he. As for being a cleric, need we recall who ordered the bombing on Seder Night of the Park Hotel in Netanya? Why even Yossi Sarid agreed that Yassin deserved to die for his crimes, and now we know that his liquidation, and that of Rantisi, have been partly responsible for the quiet we enjoyed until this week's bombings in Beer Sheva.

It's gotta be a pathology with some people. There's no other way to explain it. Rubin recalls one socialist theorist who believed that all nations and ethnic groups have a right to live except the Jews. They need to disappear, for the good of humanity. Hmmm...Dying for the salvation of mankind? As Rubin notes, wrong religion (though the idea originated with a Jew- Paul of Tarsus).

Oh, and if you want to read an amazing psychiatric study of this pathology, there's Sander Gillman's book, Jewish Self-Hatred: Anti-Semitism and the Hidden Language of the Jews.

Who is a Jew?- Again

2004-08-27T09:28:00.000+03:00

So once again, in the middle of a war, a coalition crisis, and what the Israelis call 'Cucumber Season' (aka August), Israeli government officials have decided to bring up 'Who is a Jew' again.
The Interior Minister wants to hand out Jewish status to the children of foreign workers. The Attorney General wants to recognize any conversions done in Israel as valid, or none at all. Basically, he wants to find the fabled status quo, by which issues of personal status are determined in accordance with the traditional interpretation of Halakha, unconstitutional. (Of course, Israel doesn't have a ratified constitution, but why trifle with details?) If they succeed, they'll undermine the Joint Conversion institutes that have finally gotten going and might solve a difficult problem. But then, hey, most of the Dayyanim involved in conversion would not allow most Orthodox Jews to convert because they're not religious enough. The implications of all of this is literally a schism
within the Jews of Israel, where the repurcussions are more severe than the hurban visiting the Jews back home in the USA.

The situation, like so many others, reminds me of something Rabbi Soloveitchik zt"l once said. If you notice, periodically in the Humash, an anonymous figure appears, known simply as the 'ish,' the man. It was an ish that wrestled with Jacob. It was an ish that sent Joseph to meet his brothers. Both encounters were momentous, unexpected and changed the course of Jewish history from its expected pattern. The Rov said that we learn from this that when events become absurd, when they go against the normal patterns of causality, it's a sign that Divine Providence, Hashgacha, is working in history.

Halevai!

Who is Geviha?

2004-08-25T18:40:00.000+03:00

The Talmud (Sanhedrin 91a) refers to an unassuming guy named Geviha ben Pesisa. The story goes that when Alexander the Great conquered the Land of Israel, a delegation of Egyptians came to him and demanded that the Jews return the wealth they took with them when they left in the wake of the Exodus (some nine hundred years before). The leadership in Jerusalem was at a loss as to what to do, until Geviha b. Pesisa offered to accept the challenge and answer them. Geviha was not a famous scholar, nor was he a powerful politician. He was simply an astute 'everyman.' He told the powerful in Jerusalem: 'Look. This is a win-win proposition. If I lose, you can say that all you managed to do was to beat a nobody. If I win, they"ll look like total idiots.' The leadership agreed and Geviha appeared before Alexander to answer the Egyptians.' He looked them straight in the eye and said: 'You want compensation? First pay us for the 430 (0r 206) years of bondage to which you subjected the children of Israel. Then we can discuss the rest.' The Egyptians were stunned. They asked Alexander for a continuance and that night fled.

I"ve always liked Geviha. He was able to talk straight in the face of challenges, when everybody else was paralyzed with fear, politics and ambition. This blog will deal with Israel, Judaism, and what not, as I see it. It's dedicated to Geviha's memory and uses his name because somethimes anonymity is still the way to go.

By the way, do you think that the story with the Egyptians is far fetched? Well, there's a lawyer in Cairo who plans to sue the State of Israel for the same money the Egyptians asked for in the fourth century BCE. He doesn't realize that by placing his suit, he's admitting that the Jews in Israel are the direct descendants of Biblical Israel, something Arab propaganda has been denying for years.