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Wednesday, September 26, 2007

AHMADINIJAD WOULD BE FUNNY (IF HE WEREN'T SO SERIOUS....)

Tonight begins the first night of SUKKOTH. Our eight Israeli MIA's are neither at home, nor making kiddush in a SUKKA. Such respect and courtesy will not come from their captors. Here in the USA, America has been treated to the visit of IRAN's Ahmadinijad. According to Ahmadinijad all the problems in the MIDDLE EAST including America's warring are caused by the influence of "The Zionist Entity" and the "American Jewish Zionist Lobby". This would be funny, if it weren't so serious. The PROTOCOLS OF THE ELDERS OF ZION is the most popular book in the Muslim world (next to it's predecessor, the KORAN, of course). Jimmy Carter's version of the Protocols (his recent PALESTINE: PEACE, NOT APARTHEID) puts him square in the company of Ahmadinijad. Being a peanut farmer, perhaps Mr. Carter will consider manufacturing his own brand name peanut butter, naming it "AHMADINIJAD - The Peanut Butter of Jihadi's Everywhere, Even on the Sunni Side of the Street", and featuring a photo of Ahmajinidad embracing Hezbollah's NASRALLAH and Hamas's HANIYEH in a Three Stooges theme of some sort, tinkering with a nuclear warhead, perhaps. It would all be so funny, if it weren't so serious....

Saturday, September 22, 2007

MOTZEH YOM KIPPUR - "I HAVE POURED OUT MY HEART...."

Yom Kippur services conclude with the repeated plaintive cry, "I have poured out my heart...." Although any one individual may or may not feel that they themselves have in fact poured out their heart, as all are one, and as there are those, who without a doubt have poured out their hearts almost to the point of expiration, it is not dishonest to say that in participating in a Yom Kippur service, one has poured out one's heart. And one may in fact have poured out one's heart in a non-traditional way. One may or may not have fasted, one may or may not have attended a formal service.

In June of 2006 Gilad Shalit, Ehud Goldwasser, and Eldad Regev were kidnapped into captivity by HAMAS and HEZBOLLAH. These Israeli soldiers are still in captivity, and their captivity is still fresh in our minds. Not quite so fresh are the memories of Zvi Feldman, Zachary Baumel, and Yehuda Katz, missing since the Battle of Sultan Yacoub in Lebanon in 1982. Missing as well is Ron Arad, since 1986, captured in Lebanon by AMAL, a Shiite Militia answering to IRAN. Missing too is Guy Hever, who mysteriously disappeared in 1987, last seen in the Golan at Katzabiya Junction near the Syrian-Israeli border.

This Yom Kippur we remembered all eight Israeli soldiers during our services. This BLOG will correct a sin of omission and will remember all eight from now on. It is more than a year since the most recent kidnappings occurred. These most recent kidnappings are no longer "fresh"; they are "rancid". The previous five captivities have lost their "scent" and yet they still stink, as the enemies of Israel do stink, who keep the nation of Israel in a state of alarm, making war on Israel every day, and personalizing this war of annihilation against Israel by artfully managing the power and secrecy of these captivities.

In a few days the seven day festival of SUKKOTH will commence, capped off by SHEMINI ATZERET and SIMCHATH TORAH. It is the custom of Israel to remember the USHPIZIN on SUKKOTH in fact entering the SUKKAH each day and performing the special BRUCHA "SEDER USHPIZIN", as each day we name all the USHPIZIN and each day, according to MINHAG, is specifically associated with one of the seven USHPIZIN. This year this writer will remember the eight captive Israeli soldiers, incorporating their remembrance into the SEDER USHPIZIN. [May these eight men be immediately released and therefore make such a remembrance unnecessary.]

Thursday, September 20, 2007

SPLITTING THE "BABY" - MINISTER RAMON TO GIVE AWAY YERUSHALYIM

So finally it is public - a Minister of the Government of the State of Israel is publicly floating the idea of splitting Jerusalem, relinquishing hegemony of East Jerusalem into the hands of the Palestinian Authority. Presumably Minister Ramon is the mouthpiece of a hidden "genius", who doesn't realize, that it is only the careless harlot, who agrees to split the "baby"....

If the USA is forcing this dilemma, presuming to be Shlomo HaMelech... THEN HOW STUPID IS ISRAEL TO EVEN MOMENTARILY THINK TO AGREE TO SPLIT THE "BABY" !!!!!!!!!! If Israel agrees to split the "baby", then the Arabs take Yerusalayim either way - by insisting on having the whole, or by refusing the split and then receiving the Eir HaKadosh by their demonstration of moral superiority over Israel (their moral superiority is a fundamental belief of Islam). [Of course some of Christian theology requires that Yerushalyim be split and fall into bloody warfare at the bloody expense of the Jews in order for the Christian Messiah to come [again]....]

Or is the Israeli Government attempting to somehow be both the careless harlot and yet be Shlomo HaMelech simultaneously? By broaching the idea itself, as if Israel itself were agreeable, is Israel anticipating that the Arabs will agree to this split, proving themselves in fact to be the careless harlot? Fantastic! Then the world has two bonifide careless harlots, and control of Yerushalayim can be relinquished to the International Community to operate as an International City! Why, then the United Nations could be moved to Yerushayim! Wonderful!

As the Qassam rockets harass Sderot, as 67 Israeli recruits contemplate their injuries from Qassam's, as GILAD SHALIT and EHUD GOLDWASSER and ELDAD REGEV contemplate their own individual captive terrors -- has it even entered their thoughts that at this very moment, Israel is apparently ready and willing to give away Yerushalayim? And if their freedom would be bought by such a deal, would they say to Israel, "Give away Yerushalayim! It means nothing!" This writer doubts it....

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

ISRAEL'S HIGH COURT SUBVERTS THE I.D.F.

Last week Israel's high court ordered the military to move a one-mile section of the SECURITY FENCE, which separates and protects Israeli settlements from the Arab village (and surrounding land) of BIL'IN. As an American, raised in a governmental culture premised on a separation of powers into three governmental branches - executive, legislative, and judicial - it is difficult to stomach that the Israeli military will respect and accomodate this ruling. Just as in America it is repugnant, when Congress presumes to legislate strategy and tactics to the military; so it ought to be repugnant in Israel, when a court gives a ruling that usurps strategy and tactics from the military. On what basis does the Israeli high court presume to know more about realizing Israeli security requirements than the military? The time for the luxury of a civilian ruling, about the SECURITY FENCE in terms of the rights of Israel's enemies, should be after the achievement of the cessation of terror against Israel, not before. The Israeli military is insane to accomodate such a self-destructive ruling! The people of Israel should find a way to overturn or stay or otherwise mitigate this destructive court ruling!

Will subverting the IDF (Israel Defense Force) by such a court ruling hasten the day that fewer terrorist actions will occur against Israel? Will subverting the IDF by such a court ruling bring home Gilad Shalit, Ehud Goldwasser, and Eldad Regev even one day sooner? Will subverting the IDF by such a court ruling end the Qassam rocket attacks against SDEROT? Will subverting the IDF by such a ruling inspire HAMAS, FATAH, and HEZBOLLAH to make peace with Israel? Will subverting the IDF by such a ruling inspire IRAN, SYRIA, and LEBANON to make peace with Israel?

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

SELICHOT

This week of SELICHOT the news is all a-buzz about the daring Israeli Airforce, which bombed nuclear facilities in Syria on September 6, one week before 9/11. This was smart timing: hit the terrorists before the 9/11 anniversary date, and making clear that all versions of Islamic Terror ultimately mean the same thing to ISRAEL and to the civilized world. This is the kind of action that necessarily puts the world on alert.

The obviously justifiable action, both in terms of preventive action against SYRIA and in terms of sending a "message" to IRAN [and to KOREA, the nuclear supplier], is the kind of action that puts SYRIA in a position of needing to make some kind of face-saving response. As well, the entire MUSLIM world, SUNNI and SHIITE, can be expected to be grumbling, cursing, and planning against ISRAEL.

To those, who live in a media dreamworld, ISRAEL was on the brink of peace with the PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY. How will this excursion of the Israeli Airforce impact this dreamworld? What will CONDOLEEZA RICE be saying at the SUMMIT? To those, who pay attention to the facts on the ground, ISRAEL is always on the brink of war in every direction, outwardly and inwardly, the "canary in the coal mine" in the defensive war against Islamic Terror.

In this never ending war there are at least three Israelis still captive for more than a year: Gilad Shalit, captive and alone in GAZA; Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, captive in Lebanon. In SELICHA 81, line LAMED, the author says, "HASHEM - kidnap me from the captivity of my oppressors...." May HASHEM hear these words and save alive and bring home these three young Israeli men, speedily, soon, even in time to break the hearts of ISRAEL with tears of joy before YOM KIPPUR.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

THE WEEK BEFORE YOM KIPPUR 5768

In this week before YOM KIPPUR we remember that in the previous week leading into ROSH HASHANNAH the big news stories in ISRAEL did not include the release of Gilad Shalit, Eldad Regev, and Ehud Goldwasser; nor was there a cessation to the QASSAM rockets hitting SDEROT and other locations in the NEGEV. In fact there were 67 new Israeli army recruits wounded by such a QASSAM attack hitting an Israeli military base (first reports were that 40 were injured). But also in that week an important senior HAMAS official was captured by ISRAEL; a gang of Israeli NEO-NAZI's was exposed and captured (if awards were given for oxymoronic realities, surely "Israeli neo-nazi's" would win that award); and SYRIA was hit by the Israeli Airforce, as ISRAEL took out a Syrian nuclear installation. It is good to see that ISRAEL is not doing nothing. As we prepare to Fast this coming YOM KIPPUR SHABBATH, let us hope that this is the week that the three kidnapped Israeli soldiers will miraculously be returned safely home to ISRAEL.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

EREV ROSH HASHANNAH AND 9/11 IN THE U.S.A. AND IN ISRAEL

It is EREV ROSH HASHANNAH. The day leading into EREV ROSH HASHANNAH was 9/11. We commemorated the terrible destruction in 2001 of lives on this infamous day due to terrorism. In ISRAEL on 9/11/2007, as we commemorated 9/11/2001, forty new recruits to the IDF were wounded by QASSAM rockets launched jointly by ISLAMIC JIHAD and at least one other terrorist group. It is reported that there is a buildup of weaponry in GAZA supplied to the terrorists by IRAN through EGYPT, a weapons buildup the likes of which has not been seen before. It looks as though the new year will bring war to ISRAEL. This buildup of weapons amongst the terrorists should ring bells throughout the world, that the daily "relatively harmless" terror of QASSAM rockets launched at SDEROT from GAZA has not been "merely an irritant" nor an indicator of pathetic weakness of both mind and technology in GAZA. The QASSAM rockets are a strategy, saying to ISRAEL, "Sooner or later, we are going to get you...." HAMAS is quoted to have said about this 9/11/2007 wounding of forty young ISRAELI's, "This is a wonderful thing that ALLAH has done this day." [This "quote" is a paraphrase of a news report heard 9/11 on the CBN News.]

At this moment, GILAD SHALIT is sitting in a tiny basement cell in an undisclosed location in GAZA, prisoner for more than a year to these same terrorists.... if he is still in fact even alive... and in what condition is he? And EHUD GOLDWASSER and ELDAD REGEV are in the hands of HEZBOLLAH still in LEBANON or SYRIA or even in IRAN perhaps?

May HASHEM have mercy on us all this New Year....

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

BLOW THE SHOFAR SOFTLY...?

In eight days it will be ROSH HASHANNAH and our three soldiers are not home, nor has the rocketing of SDEROT come to an end; if anything, as ROSH HASHANNAH approaches, there has been a slow, steady crescendo of more rockets into ISRAEL. Just yesterday a SDEROT schoolyard was directly hit, and today the children will be kept home from school. What does it take for ISRAEL to perceive that it has been subjected to an act of war - again, and again, and again, and again!

Of course it can also be said that there has been a stady crescendo of Israeli action in GAZA....

In the past week HAMAS stated that negotiations to free Gilad Shalit broke down due to ISRAEL's failure to release 350 HAMAS prisoners from ISRAELI jails. ISRAEL responded that many of the 350 on the HAMAS list were guilty of direct, terrible violence against ISRAEL. Let us analyze the salient details:

(1) HAMAS could have freed Gilad Shalit unconditionally and thus made either (a) a profound symbolic statement of good will towards ISRAEL, or, (b) an humanitarian gesture towards ISRAEL [while continuing to ask the world for humanitarian gestures favoring GAZA].

HAMAS failed on both accounts.

(2) Israel could have unilaterally released 350 HAMAS prisoners to GAZA to match the 350 EL FATAH prisoners that ISRAEL released to SAMARIA/JUDEA, and in so doing, could have chosen to release to HAMAS only the least murderous; ISRAEL could have done so, thereby making a profound gesture of good will towards HAMAS [upon the announcement by HAMAS seeking to arrange for Gilad Shalit's release in the same way British journalist Alan Johnston was released].

ISRAEL did not and therefore failed as well on both possible accounts of simple good will and simple humanitarianism.

Now both HAMAS and ISRAEL can go on blaming each other!!

Or, perhaps in the mirroring of each other, HAMAS and ISRAEL can perceive the potential for positive communication!!

On ROSH HASHANNAH all ISRAEL should loudly blow the SHOFAR. There are eight days yet, till then. Much can happen.... Does ISRAEL have a reason to blow SHOFAR this year? There are four reasons ISRAEL should perhaps blow softly or not at all: SDEROT, GILAD SHALIT, EHUD GOLDWASSER, and ELDAD REGEV. On the other hand if ISRAEL resolves to do what is good to justify blowing the SHOFAR, then let ISRAEL blow loudly, and seal it's intentions on YOM KIPPUR!!