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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

CHINA BUILDS UP MILITARY, NAVAL, AIR, AND EXTRATERRESTRIAL CAPABILITIES, WHILE FEEDING WARS ALONG THE HIMALYAS AND SOUTHEAST ASIA.

TIBET, SIANKIANG, AFGHANISTAN, PAKISTAN, KASHMIR: DANGEROUS TIMES AHEAD.

What does this have to do with Israel? Only that Israel must raise a voice of warning and not remain solely focused on it's own neighborhood.

This is not to trivialize the significance of what is happening in the Middle East. There is so much happening in the Middle East, what with the Arab "Awakening" [as it is now being called] and the threats from Iran and Turkey.

Perhaps it is time to pluck out China's "eye(s) in the sky" and to punch a few holes under North Korean and Chinese naval vessels (especially China's new atomic aircraft carrier) -- just enough "accidental" damage to encourage China to scale down it's imperialism and persecutions.

Tibet and Siankiang especially have suffered too much already. I pray (and Israel should) pray for increased spiritual strength to the Dalai Lama, who every day seeks to prevent full-scale violence from erupting in Tibet. Tibetan monks are immolating themselves, an alarm projected similarly decades ago by Buddhist monks in Vietnam as Vietnam was being torn apart. Caught between a relentless China and the prospect of full-scale war, Tibet deserves the spiritual and political attention of the world to prevent worst-case scenarios from occurring to Tibet -- and to China.

At the close of World War Two, the USA, Britain, and France should have protected Vietnam from China and Russia. Instead these Allies forced Vietnam into civil war and fully into the arms of Russia and China, simultaneously leaving China free to invade Tibet. Today the great "Wall" of China is the Himalayas, which are aflame in a circle of war from Korea to Siankiang to Afghanistan to Pakistan to Kashmir to Nepal to Southeast Asia. These are largely proxy wars between China and the West. These wars may come to a swift conclusion -- even the AF-PAK crisis, if China realizes that it has already overcooked it's own rice.

China has much to learn and much to gain -- spiritually and materially -- from Tibet. If China takes it's cue from the Dalai Lama and lays down it's war mongering, then full-scale war may yet avoid both Tibet and China.


Sunday, November 27, 2011

WILL LIBYA BE THE FIRST ARAB NATION IN HISTORY TO INCLUDE EQUAL JEWISH PARTICIPATION IN GOVERNMENT?

JONATHAN POLLARD HAS BEEN IMPRISONED IN THE U.S.A. FOR MORE THAN 27-YEARS AND SHOULD BE FREED.

Only today on the third anniversary of the horrible massacre at the Chabad House in Mumbai, India, did I become aware that Raphael Luzon, the leader of the exiled Libyan Jews of Great Britain, had been contacted by Mustapha Abdul-Jalil, a Libyan rebel leader, to return to Libya and seek office, that Jews may have a political voice in the new Libya.

This offer was made in August (see the article "Rebels ask leader of UK's Libyan Jews to run for office," published in the Jerusalem Post on 08/23/11). Luzon said he would consider this request based on it's historical significance, that it would be the first time in history that an Arab State would permit and invite equal Jewish participation in government.

Qadaffi is now gone, Mustapha Abdul-Jalil is now interim President, and a new government is forming in Libya; we have yet to hear any additional news from Luzon. Nu? After 1600+ years of Muslim domination, we can wait a little longer....

It is worth remarking that Jonathan Pollard is in his 27th year of captivity in the USA. Guilty of treason or not (depending on point of view based on morality v. technicalities of law) punishment of Pollard has far exceeded any crime he may have committed. Pollard should be freed.

Monday, November 7, 2011

HOSTAGE POPULATIONS TO IRAN'S TYRANNICAL, MEGALOMANIACAL REGIME AND SUBJECT TO IRAN'S TICKING NUCLEAR "TIME CLOCK".

WILL AHMADINIJAD'S HOSTAGE POPULATIONS SUFFER, WHEN IRAN'S NUCLEAR "TIME CLOCK" IS STOPPED BY MILITARY INTERVENTION FROM ISRAEL AND/OR THE WEST?

There are many distinct populations at risk in Iran under the present regime of Ahmadinjad and the Mullahs. While 90% of Iran's population are Shia, 8% are Sunni; of the remaining 2%, some 300,000 are of the Bahai faith, some 40,000 are Jews, there are some thousands of Christians, and others. All of these minorities are persecuted, and all of these minority populations have shrunk due to emigration in the face of persecution (the Jewish population numbered more than 100,000 only a few decades ago). As well, within the majority Shia population there are westernized and secularized populations that are not at all secure under the present regime.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps has effectively muzzled up internal efforts at regime change against Ahmadinijad and the Mullahs.

The world probably has no accurate picture of the scale of persecutions in Iran nor of the sufferings endemic there.

What kind of pressures can be employed against the current regime that will create opportunity for internal resistance, minimize persecutions against minorities, protect minority and resistance populations, and terminate Iran's potential nuclear threat?

Under the present regime Iran has steadily built up it's military (especially it's missile and naval capabilities), and it's intelligence services terrify not only Iran itself, but, operate internationally, having a sphere of influence well beyond Iran's borders, notably and obviously in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, and Iraq.

Therefore the question must be, "Is a well-informed, well-planned, well-coordinated strike against Iranian nuclear facilities both necessary and sufficient in order to bring about change in Iran and in order to de-fang Iran's nuclear threat?"

The world must keep in mind that Israel has none of the luxuries of time, distance, and tolerance that other nations may have. The world must also keep in mind that it's own perceptions of luxuries of time, distance, and tolerance may be dangerously false and even delusional.

Hostage populations make for deterrence against attack on at least two counts: as objects of sympathy and as objects of bait for traps. These populations may also exist on the surface of subterranean enemy facilities, such that attack on those enemy facilities requires attack on sympathetic populations.

There is no simple solution, only a best effort at damage control in the face of inevitable war.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

SHOULD ISRAEL CHALLENGE U.N.E.S.C.O. IN THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE (ICJ) AT THE HAGUE? THE IDENTITY THEFT OF ISRAEL BY "PALESTINE" ...

... WESTERN FAILURE TO PERCEIVE THE TRUE NATURE OF THE ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT, WESTERN FAILURE TO PERCEIVE THE TRUE NATURE OF THE GREEK FINANCIAL CRISIS, AND WESTERN FAILURE TO PERCEIVE THE GERMANY-TURKEY-IRAN-CHINA AXIS.

THE FUTURE IS NOW AT THE U.N.

UNESCO is the United Nations Educational and Cultural Organization. The World Heritage Committee is one of the bodies of UNESCO and it names international world heritage sites. Can a State be a world heritage site? So, by admitting the "State of Palestine" to be a UNESCO Member, is it UNESCO that has authority above and beyond the UNGA and the UNSC to recognize and grant Statehood at the UN? Therefore, alternatively, for example could UNESCO rant the historical Land of Israel status as both a world heritage site and as a State? Is "Palestine" actually Israel (precedent of history says, "Yes")? Or is "Palestine" a budding Arab State with a Capitol in "Palestinian East Jerusalem (UNESCO says, "Yes")? Is history a reality decided by whim of UESCO? How ironic it is, that UNESCO, which is the UN body established to advance the world through knowledge, is now politicized to the extent that it's mission and legacy are in jeopardy.

NULLIFICATION: THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE is the proper venue by which to put and end to this insidious move by the PAL and the UN General Assembly via UNESCO. The State of Israel has standing to go to the ICJ and seek nullification of the presumably illegal decision of UNESCO to admit the PAL as a full Member. The PAL is not a State having UNGA or UNSC (UN Security Council) recognition. It should be legally undeniable at the ICJ to establish the profound presumption by UNESCO to grant Membership to a body (e.g. PAL or any such body) that is not a Member Nation of the UN.

"Palestine" already exists at UNESCO and has the status of Permanent Observer. Now is the time for Israel not only to seek judicial means for the nullification of the ill-fated decision by UNESCO to unilaterally elevate the PAL to the status of Member State, but, to also strike down the prior UNESCO decision to grant the PAL the status of Permanent Observer.

IDENTITY THEFT BY THE ARABS OF THE NAME "PALESTINE".

It is also long overdue for Israel to petition the UN and/or to seek an ICJ decision to nullify the PAL from all use of the designation "Palestine" or "Palestinian" as the formal designation by which it is recognized in the world and in world governmental bodies. Such usage constitutes
denial of the historical identity of Jews as Palestinian and of the State of Israel as the historical territory of Palestine. Palestine is the specific name imposed on Israel under ancient Roman Occupation. Certainly the PAL and PLO do not seek the liberation Jews, and their usage of the word "liberate" is a euphemism for the word "steal". By allowing the Arabs to usurp Israel's other name -- Palestine -- the world (including Israel) enables the identity theft and ultimately the territorial theft of Israel by the Arabs.

Also, by allowing the Arabs to usurp from Israel the name "Palestine", the world (including Israel) falsifies the Arab-Israeli Conflict into an Israeli-"Palestinian" Conflict. With the exception of the fragile recognitions of Israel by Egypt and Jordan, no other Arab States recognize Israel. In fact many of these Arab States are still in the same formal "state of war" with Israel that they have waged against the State of Israel since 1948. These Arab States have neither recognized Israel since it's inception nor have they ended their warfare against Israel.

If the world has failed to speak about this, if the world therefore is unconscious of the fact that the 1948 War of Independence is not yet ended, if the world fails to hold the Arab States responsible and culpable for their incessant efforts to annihilate Israel, if the world fails to regard the actions of the PAL, Hamas, and Hezbollah, etc. as the tip of the Arab War of Annihilation Against Israel, then the world fails to perceive the enormity of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, and the world fails to perceive the enormous insidiousness of the UNESCO decision to admit the PAL as a Member State.

UNESCO (PROXY FOR THE UNGA) THUMBS IT'S NOSE AT THE USA AND EUROPE.

Failing to perceive or acknowledge the true nature of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, the world also fails to perceive or acknowledge the abuse of Israel [by the anti-democratic, anti-Western forces at the UN, notably China, Africa, Arabia, Muslim Asia, and Latin America] designed to (a) drive a wedge between Israel and the the West, and (b) diminish the influence of the West and most especially of the USA at the UN. By this vote at UNESCO THE UN General Assembly has thumbed it's nose at the West and at the USA.

The UNGA has thumbed it's nose at Western political and financial influence. This is huge. And the conversation in the West fails to perceive and acknowledge this reality, even as the West fails to perceive and acknowledge that the Greek Financial Crisis is the fulcrum for the Neo-Ottoman aspirations of Turkey.

Chinese money, material resources, and political resources have well-funded and well-ordered the anti-Western political alignments that plague Western integrity, stability, and security. Look at any map of Europe and the Middle East, and one may perceive by simple geography and by the exposure and centrality of Germany and Turkey, that Greece is being squeezed by the Germans and the Turks, both backed by Chinese money.

IRAN

It is no accident that Iran is now in the cross-hairs of Western military sights and that Israel will likely deliver the "message". Nor is it accidental that the West is being quite public about this imminent action. Unlike Israel's unilateral and secretive action in 1976 in which Israel destroyed Iraq's nuclear reactor, the current mission against Iran's nuclear facilities will be public and no surprise to anyone, and it will have the tacit and perhaps even the official backing of the West (or at least of the USA).

Iran is the primary transfer point between China and Turkey. Turkey is the primary transfer point between China and Germany. This Axis Alignment must be dealt a permanent blow.

The dual threat of Iran, as an hostile nuclear power and as the linch pin in the Germany-Turkey-Iran-China Axis, may not stand, if the West is to survive and to flourish.

World problems in Africa and in Latin America also stand no chance of reasonable resolution, as long as the growing GTIC Axis is not broken up.

Cogent action now is more likely to be effective and less costly in every way than action in the future, as the goal for the future is to stabilize influences for peace in the world and to enable the world to focus on the larger issues of international economic and environmental security.




OF CHINESE WATER TORTURE, THE "STATE OF PALESTINE", AND "PALESTINIAN FREEDOM FLOTILLAS".

FREEDOM FLOTILLA" INTERCEPTED BY ISRAEL -- NO PHYSICAL VIOLENCE ...

... and yet the incident is one more propaganda exercise that the ignorant world weighs in favor of the Arabs. As long as the world (including Israel) accepts the terminology referring to Arabs exclusively as Palestinians, then analogous to Chinese water torture, each time the name "Palestine" is solely applied to the Arabs -- controverting the historical synonymity of Palestine with Israel -- then the Jewish right to it's homeland is undermined and Israel's rightful existence is called into question. Each time a "Freedom Flotilla" makes it's way towards Gaza and is intercepted by Israel, this propaganda "water torture" against Israel continues. Chinese water torture is the method by which a prisoner is immobilized and drop by drop and then stream by stream, water is applied to the prisoner's forehead, driving the prisoner insane. In this case Israel is the prisoner.

"DEUTSCHE WELLE" SPEAKS OF "PALESTINIAN EAST JERUSALEM".

Today's "Deutsche Welle" Broadcast on NPR (National Public Radio) reported on the subject of the UNESCO vote to recognize and include "Palestine". The reporter concluded her report by saying, "Reporting from Palestinian East Jerusalem...." Here again we see the propaganda effectiveness of the misuse of the designation "Palestine" by which Arab East Jerusalem will more and more be spoken of in the media as "Palestinian East Jerusalem".

This is a most perverse application by the Arabs of the universal wisdom, "From Thought, to Speech, To Action". Failure to intelligently meet this perversion grants ultimate victory to Israel's enemies.

Friday, November 4, 2011

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME

Subsequent to the recently gained freedom of Gilad Shalit...

* ILAN GRAPEL IS FREE FROM HIS CAPTIVITY IN EGYPT;

* TWENTY-FIVE ARAB CRIMINALS ARE NOW FREE IN EXCHANGE FOR ILAN GRAPEL'S FREEDOM;

* DISGRACING ITSELF AND THE WORLD, U.N.E.S.C.O. HAS VOTED TO RECOGNIZE AND GIVE MEMBERSHIP TO THE P.A.L.;

* THE U.S.A. WILL HONOR IT'S LEGISLATION REQUIRING THAT THE U.S.A. CUT OFF IT'S SHARE OF FUNDING FOR U.N.E.S.C.O. [OR ANY OTHER U.N. BODY THAT MAY GIVE SIMILAR RECOGNITION AND MEMBERSHIP TO THE P.A.L. PRIOR TO A NEGOTIATED PEACE BETWEEN ISRAEL AND THE P.A.L.];

* A BRIEF YET DEADLY PERIOD OF CROSS-BORDER ROCKET-FIRE FROM GAZA INTO ISRAEL AND AIRSTRIKES IN RESPONSE FROM ISRAEL HAS COME AND GONE ;

* WAR AGAINST IRAN IS A CRISP NIP IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AIR, MUCH AS WINTER IS ALREADY A CRISP NIP IN THE NORTH AMERICAN AUTUMN AIR ;

* AND TWO "FREEDOM FLOTILLA" VESSELS ARE NOW MAKING THEIR WAY ACROSS THE MEDITERRANEAN FROM TURKEY TOWARDS ISRAEL IN AN ATTEMPT TO VIOLATE ISRAEL'S RIGHTFUL BLOCKADE OF GAZA, SEEKING PERHAPS TO PROVOKE ISRAEL INTO VIOLENCE.

There must be a joke in all this somewhere, but, I sure don't see it....

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

GILAD SHALIT IS FREE!

MAY HE TRULY BE GILAD SHALIT. AND MAY THE WORLD NOTE THAT THE 1939 DAYS OF GILAD SHALIT'S CAPTIVITY SHOULD REMIND US THAT WORLD WAR 2 BEGAN IN THE YEAR 1939 A.D. MAY THIS EVENT HARBINGER THAT A FULL SCALE WW3 IS AVERTED.

Joyous morning! At 6am EST it is not yet daybreak. Even so, the news from Israel is that Gilad Shalit is free and on Israeli soil. May his freedom harbinger peace everywhere in the world, give hope to all suffering and hopeless persons in the world, and transform the consciousness of every evil minded person everywhere in the world!

May this event harbinger that it is still possible that the other Israeli MIA's are yet alive and may be returned alive....

Zeev Rotshik MIA 1973

Yehudah Katz MIA 1982

Tzvi Feldman MIA 1982

Zachary Baumel MIA 1982

Ron Arad MIA 1986 Presumed Dead 1988

Guy Hever MIA 1988

Majdi Halabi MIA 2005

Eldad Regev DEAD 2006

Ehud Goldwasser DEAD 2006

and all the unnamed....

Eight days ago I sent a letter by e-mail to PM Netanyahu. There is no way to know, if he or if any of his staff read my letter. And yet, by some miracle, the very next day PM Netanyahu announced that a deal had been reached with Hamas for the freedom of 1,027 Arabs from Israeli jails in exchange for the freedom of Gilad Shalit. It would be a grand delusion for me to think that my letter made any especial or decisive impact with respect to Israel's decision to make the prisoner exchange deal. And while it would be nice to know, the important thing is that Gilad Shalit is now safe and home in Israel and that there is a window of opportunity for peace to be established between Israel and the Arabs. It is true that some of the released Arabs committed unspeakable atrocities (may those evils be transformed through the grace of HaShem into goodness). Let their freedom be a downpayment towards a peace deal.

Below is a copy of the letter I sent to PM Netanyahu.


ATTN: PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU


DATE: 12 TISHREI 5772


THIS IS MY PRAYER AND REQUEST TO HASHEM, TO PRIME MINISTER BENYAMIN NETANYAHU, TO THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT, TO ISRAEL, AND TO THE WORLD ON THIS YOM SHEYNIE ACHAREI YOM KIPPUR V'LIFANEH SUKKOTH 5772.


EVERY EFFORT SHOULD BE MADE, PUBLICLY AND PRIVATELY, AND IMMEDIATELY, TO SEND LULAV AND ETROG, APPLES AND HONEY, AND A SIDDUR TO GILAD SHALIT!


Sunday this week was not merely Yom Rishon -- it was the first day after Yom Kippur on which we commence to erect our Sukkahs.

On Yom Rishon at Shacharith we say from Tehillim, "L'Dovid Mizmor, l'HaShem Ha'Aretz Oo'm'loo'aoh, Theybel v'Yoshvey Baooh...."


Monday this week is Yom Sheynie -- is the Sukkah progressing?

At Shacharith on Yom Sheynie we say from Tehillim, "Shir Mizmor Libneh- Korach: "Gadol HaShem Oo'm'Hoolal Me'od, B'Eir Elokenu, Har Kadsho...."


Tuesday this week is Yom Shlieshie -- is the Sukkah built and Lulavim and Etrogim en route?

At Shacharith on Yom Shlieshie we say from Tehillim, "Mizmor l'Asaf, Elokenu Nitzav B'Edath-Kel...."


Wednesday this week is not merely Yom Rivi'ie -- it is Erev Sukkoth. Is the Sukkah decorated, and Lulavim and Etrogim ready and delivered?

At Shacharith on Yom Rivi'ie we say from Tehillim, "El-N'kamoth HaShem, El N'kamoth Hofiye: HeeNoSeh Shofeth HaAretz.... "


Thursday this week is not merely Yom Chamishie -- it is Yom Echad, Sukkoth. Are Lulavim and Etrogim in hand for HaKofeh Aleph?

At Shacharith on Yom Chamishie we say from Tehillim, "Lamnatzeach El-HaGithith L'Asaf; Harneenu L'Elokim Euzinu...."


Friday this week is not merely Yom Shieshie -- it is Yom Sheni, Sukkoth. Lulav and Etrog in hand, we engage Hakofeh Beth!

At Shacharith on Yom Shieshie we say from Tehillim, "HaShem Moloch, Ge'Oot Lovesh, Lovesh HaShem Euz HeetAzar...."


HOW DARE WE THEN REST ON SHABBATH, IF WE HAVE NOT MADE EVERY EFFORT TO SEE TO IT THAT GILAD SHALIT IS SENT A SIDDUR, LULAV & ETROG, AND A FEAST OF APPLES AND HONEY, SO THAT IN HIS CAPTIVITY HE MAY ENJOY A TASTE OF THE NEW YEAR, KNOW THAT IT IS SUKKOTH, AND EMBRACE THE SYMBOLS OF HOPE IN HIS HANDS, THAT HE MAY PRAY, TOUCH, HOLD, WAVE, AND SMELL THE SWEET SCENTS OF LOVE AND FREEDOM!


(MAY GILAD SHALIT BE FREED TO DWELL IN THE SUKKAH OF HIS MOTHER AND FATHER AND IN THE CLOSE COMPANY OF THE USHPIZIN!)


MAY HAKOFEH GIMEL BE ENGAGED THIS SHABBATH FOR GOODNESS L'DOR V'DOR!


AHARON BENITZAK

Sunday, October 16, 2011

A MIRACLE BEFORE OUR EYES? GILAD SHALIT IMMINENTLY FREE? 1,027 ARABS FREE?

MAY THE U.S. GOV'T PARDON AND FREE JONATHAN POLLARD AND MAY THE ISRAELI GOV'T PARDON AND FREE YIGAL AMIR (AND POSSIBLY EVEN EXONERATE YIGAL AMIR).

May this past Tuesday's announcement that Israel will free 1,027 Arab prisoners in exchange for Gilad Shalit' freedom be only for good and not for evil. May all 1,028 freed prisoners be in good health, sound in mind and body, and may they all be spokespersons for peace in the world, whenever and wherever freedom may set their feet.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

AMERICAN AUTUMN AND THE YOMIM NORAYIM

UPWELLINGS OF CIVIL UNREST STIR AMERICAN STREETS

Economic inequality is stirringly real, though the extreme answers, tactics, and arguments from right and left leave much to be desired. There is much media hype, that the "Arab Spring" has found it's way to America's shores. Yet, it is true that the same generational influences are real in both places. Little of this self-absorption is based in real compassion for anything beyond selfish pain in private little goldfish bowls of self-centered life. Be this as it may, this too is a part of the developmental life of a volatile young generation in volatile times, and may not be ignored, and must be addressed warmly, wisely, and with more than whisperings of wishful thinking.

What is now a warning may grow far uglier and may manifest in violence between forces only too hungry to mix it up with each other in the ugliest of ways, which may tear our beloved USA apart, much as so many Arab nations are presently torn apart. No euphemisms, such as "spring", "flowers", etc. may truly substitute for the realities on the ground in so many nations.

Gaddafi's civilian supporters now face the same risks of revenge and annihilation that threatened Libya's upstart revolution only a few months ago. Yemen and Syria are being ripped apart. Egypt is in one moment promising to reform to allow greater democracy and to maintain peace with Israel; yet, persecutions of Egyptian Christians increase daily, the Israeli Embassy has been sacked, legal aid worker Ilan Grapel (an American-Israeli working in Egypt) has been accused of spying for Israel and has been jailed in Egypt; and we still hear nothing from Gilad Shalit: is he imprisoned in Gaza, in Egypt, in Iran???

In the US Vice-president Biden has spoken harsh, cruel, damning words with respect to Jonathan Pollard -- he does this during the Yomim Norayim! Biden must think he is G-d! May HaShem perceive the Chutzpah of this lump of flesh named Biden, damn up his mouth, and humble him! May HaShem do these things, unless by some miracle, He somehow inspires Biden to compassion!

The United Nations now considers the Petition of the PAL, should a "State of Palestine" be recognized by the world. Does the world need any additional Arab Terrorist States? No!!!!

Today we commence to build Sukkahs in which to dwell in exposure and yet to celebrate beneath the unpredictable heavens, having witnessed that HaShem has written and sealed The Book Of Life for the New Year 5772. We have tasted apples and honey on Rosh HaShannah, then fasted on Yom Kippur. What will be will unravel before our eyes, each moment full of promise, and no moment available to us as foreknowledge, as only HaShem knows, what we must discover.

Today is 11 TISHREI 5772 and it is Day 1930 in the Solitary Captivity of Gilad Shalit! May he be immediately granted freedom to dwell in the Sukkah of his mother and his father and in the ominpresence of the Ushpizin!

Lamah, Lamah Mah, Nikrah Moriah! Al Shem HaMor HaTov, Al Shem HaMor HaTov, Sheh Yeshno Sham!


Sunday, September 11, 2011

WATERFALL

A POEM FOR NINE-ELEVEN


WATERFALL

Waterfall of bejeweled souls,
Aflame in early morning sunlight,
Tumbling towards the center
Of the spinning molten earth;

Where by the Grace of God --
Engineer of All That Is, Was, and Will Be --
You rise in twin beams of light,
Beacons into the black of night,
Reaching outwards to the sparkling stars
From the twin footprints you have left behind you.

And, when in the dark of night,
Travelers seek out America's Harbor --
By air, by sea, by rail, by road, by foot,
Or even by ship of space,
Guided in by your twin beams
Of risen waterfalls of light --
I wonder, if as I do, they will hear
An old favorite tune,
Brought to earth for a brief moment
By a shooting star named Jimmy Hendrix,
A brilliant bard of my wartime youth,
Singing this song of Love and Solace:

"Waterfall -- Nothing may harm me at all;
My worries seem so very small by my Waterfall.

"I can see my rainbow calling me
Through the misty breeze of my Waterfall.

"... Waterfalll! Don't ever change your ways!
Fall with me for a million days! Oh, my Waterfall...."

AARON BEN EZRA
09/11/2011
12 ELUL 5771


Note: Today is Day 1902 for Gilad Shalit in his solitary captivity.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

DAY 1890 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY GILAD SHALIT....

SO ON YOM RISHON (SUNDAY) GILAD SHALIT CELEBRATED HIS TWENTY-FIFTH BIRTHDAY IN CAPTIVITY.

I was unaware of this on Motzeh Shabbath, when for several hours I experienced a deep and inexplicable sadness.

Sunday morning I awoke from an awesome dream in which my mother Gilda bas Sarah (may my mother and grandmother both rest peacefully in Shemayim) gave me solace and showed me a vision of the future -- may it be so (with the help and blessings of HaShem) -- and I will only say that both my mother Gilda and Gilad Shalit are both in my heart and in my mind as this Rosh Chodesh Elul is now upon us, may my mother in Shemayim somehow bless Gilad Shalit, that he shall soon be free.

Happy Birthday and CHodesh Tov, Gilad Shalit.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

BACK TO THE FUTURE: WILL TURKEY RULE SYRIA AND LEBANON? WILL EGYPT RULE GAZA? WILL JORDAY RULE JUDEA-SAMARIA? AGAIN???

AN ALL TOO LIKELY CONSEQUENCE OF THE SO-CALLED "ARAB SPRING" IS A "BACK TO THE FUTURE" SCENARIO IN TERMS OF MIDDLE EAST POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY.

Until the Brittish occuppied "Palestine" circa World War One, it was the Turks who ruled and called the territory inclusive of Israel, Lebanon, and Syria by the name "Syria".

In 1948 Jordan invaded and occupied Judea-Samaria, preventing a UN sanctioned call for a "State of Palestine" from being realized into existence alongside the newly recognized State of Israel. Also in 1948 Egypt invaded and occupied Gaza, some of which at the time was the legal property of Jews.

Egypt remained in Gaza until Israel kicked out the Egyptians in the 1956 Sinai Campaign, and Jordan remained in Judea-Samaria until Israel defeated the Jordanians in 1967 in the Six Day War.

If Assad and Alawite power (however cruel) should fail in Syria, then it must be considered that Turkey -- even while Turkey itself is in the midst of a Sunni shakedown/reformation of it's famed secular military -- could step in to stabilize the situation in Syria.

If Hamas and the various Gaza terrorist groups continue to terrorize Israel (simultaneously placing Egypt itself at risk, and using Egypt so blatantly and embarrassingly as an uncontrolled terrorist operations base), then it must be considered that Egypt -- even as it seeks to reform it's own Government amidst internal unrest -- could step in to stabilize the situation in Gaza.

If unrest causes the Palestinian Authority to lose it's grip in Judea-Samaria, then Jordan -- even while already struggling with it's own population's unrest, which includes two-million Iraqi refugees -- could step in to stabilize the situation in Judea-Samaria.

Is it "Back to the Future" for Israel -- a Turkish border to the north/northeast, an eastward inwards-denting Jordanian border including East Jerusalem and Judea-Samaria, and an expanded Gaza-inclusive Egyptian border to the south?

Will Israel be faced with Western pressure to surrender the Golan and the Sheva Farms in order to make a peace deal with an expanded Turkey?

Will Israel be faced with Western pressure to see Gaza completely under Egyptian domain?

Will Israel be faced with Western pressure to surrender East Jerusalem and Judea-Samaria to Jordan? There are already Israeli's. who favor such a deal with Jordan.

Today marks Five-Years-and-FIfty-Two-Days in the Captivity of Gilad Shalit.

Monday, August 15, 2011

TU B'AV - A SOLITARY SIX-DAY "WAR" SINCE TISHA 'B'AV WITH NO VICTORY OF RELEASE FOR GILAD SHALIT.

THE GOOD NEWS IN THE PAST FOUR WEEKS IS, THAT ON 17 TAMMUZ, ISRAEL'S NAVY TOOK CONTROL OF THE SOLITARY SEA-GOING VESSEL OF THE SO-CALLED "GAZA FLOTILLA 2". It seems that the world has come to understand and find fault with such provocative propaganda exercises as the "Gaza Flotilla". Even the Turks, Greeks, and Cypriots have cooperated in restraining the "Gaza Flotilla 2", so that only the symbolic passage of one vessel has taken place, and that vessel has been peacefully intercepted. And within the next week it is anticipated that the U.N. report on the "Mavi Mamara" incident (Gaza Flotilla 1) will favor Israel's action in self-defense.

No doubt the "Arab Spring" is making "waves" of a different kind. Uprisings throughout the Arab world, the downfall of Egypt's Mubarak, NATO's effort at Libyan regime change leading to the apparent alliance of Libya's Qadaffi with Al-Quaeda, repression in Assad's Syria and calls for Syrian regime change -- all of this is occurring widely and on such a large scale that the world must realize that there are more causative factors in the world of the Arabs than tiny Israel. Europe has seen horror in Norway (a "Christian" fascist massacre), the end of Holland's liberal attitude towards "multiculturalism", and a similar reconsideration of "multiculturalism" in France. It seems that Europe has had enough of "multiculturalism" (read: "Islam").

May this month of Menachem Av bring harbingers of peace to the world. May this coming month of Elul bring reconciliation between man and man and between man and HaShem. May Rosh HaShana see Gilad Shalit home, healthy, safe, and secure in the arms of his mother, father, sister, and brother. V'omerim, "Amen".

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

FIVE YEARS AND FORTY DAYS IN CAPTIVITY MARK TISHA B'AV 5771 FOR GILAD SHALIT.

ON THIS TISHA B'AV WE MEMORIALIZE THE DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL BY THE ROMANS FOR THE 2041'ST TIME IN OUR HISTORY AS JEWS IN EXILE. SUCH ANNIVERSARIES! AND WE REMEMBER OTHER DESTRUCTIONS, SUCH AS THE DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL BY THE BABYLONIANS, SUCH AS THE INQUISITION, SUCH AS THE SHOA ....

It is said that Moshiach Moshicheh will be conceived on Tisha B'Av. This in turn implies that Moshicach Moshicheh will be born at Pesach time... and then, how many years until Moshiach Moshicheh is an adult capable of fulfilling the role of Moshiach?

Gilad Shalit should not have to wait for the arrival of Moshiach Moshicheh to be set free from his captivity.

And if Moshiach Moshicheh should already be in this world, then may he wait no longer; may he free Gilad Shalit at this very moment, and may he free Kol Yisroel at this very moment, and may he free and heal the entire world this very moment!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

GILAD SHALIT -- FIVE YEARS OF SOLITARY CONFINEMENT IN GAZA.

SHABBATH MARKED FIVE YEARS OF CAPTIVITY IN SOLITARY CRUEL CONFINEMENT FOR GILAD SHALIT.

Ban Ki Moon -- UN Secretary-General -- is publicly lobbying Hamas to release Gilad Shalit.

Nicholas Sarkozy (President of France) and Angela Merkel (Chancellor of Germany) have jointly and publicly called on Hamas to release Gilad Shalit.

Throughout Israel marches and demonstrations have called for Hamas to release Gilad Shalit.

There are still efforts to press Israel to swap 1000 living murderous terrorists from Israeli jails in exchange for Gilad, even by those mentioned above.

Why is it that this is an acceptable equivalence in the eyes of the world?

Gilad Shalit's captivity -- utterly alone and forbidden visitation by his father, his mother, by even the Red Cross -- is a metaphor for the State of Israel. The humanitarian needs of Gilad Shalit are the humanitarian needs of Israel. Murderous Arabs would do to Israel, what they have done to Gilad Shalit and to every Israeli and Jewish prisoner they have held (which is reason to believe that Gilad Shalit may well already be dead).

AT THIS VERY MOMENT ANOTHER MUCH LARGER SO CALLED "PEACE FLOTILLA" IS TAKING SHAPE UNDER TURKISH AUSPICES TO PROVOKE ANOTHER INCIDENT OF VIOLENCE WITH ISRAEL AND TO TEST ISRAEL'S NAVAL DEFENSES AND POLITICAL ACUMEN.

AT THIS VERY MOMENT ISRAEL'S EILAT BEACHES ARE IN THE MIDST OF CLEAN-UP EFFORTS FROM A MYSTERIOUS DOUBLE OIL SPILL FROM TWO TURKISH VESSELS.

AT THIS VERY MOMENT DELTA AIRLINES HAS ENTERED INTO AN INTERLINE BOOKING AGREEMENT WITH SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES. SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES DISCRIMINATES AGAINST JEWS AND ISRAELIS AND AGAINST CHRISTIANS AND OTHERS AS WELL.

MAY THE WORLD WAKE UP FROM IT'S SLUMBER AND SEE THE TRUTH FOR WHAT IT REALLY IS, AND MAY THE WORLD CEASE IT'S EVILS -- WHETHER IT IS TURNING A BLIND EYE TO THE TRUTH, OR WHETHER IT IS GIVING DELIBERATE SUPPORT TO TERRORISM AGAINST ISRAEL.

MAY THE ARABS BE INSPIRED BY THE COMPASSION OF GOD AND COMMENCE A TRUE PEACE PROCESS BY UNCONDITIONALLY FREEING GILAD SHALIT TO A SAFE RETURN HOME TO ISRAEL.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

SUNDAY, MAY 22 BY THE JEWISH CALENDAR WAS LAG B'OMER 5771 AND MARKED DAY 1793 IN THE CAPTIVITY OF GILAD SHALIT.

This traditional Jewish Holiday marking relief from suffering -- which did not mark a day of relief from suffering for Gilad Shalit -- did mark a day of relief for myself; indeed on this day of Lag B'Omer I was discharged from hospital care, having healed adequately to return home after two major surgeries, the first, double-bypass heart surgery, and the second, clot-busting surgery due to a "saddle" embolism.

I marvel at my own good fortune, while I despair and pray for Gilad Shalit. On my birthday two days before Pesach I was admitted to hospital; on the first day of Chol Moed Pesach I underwent a double-bypass operation; less than two weeks later I underwent clot-busting surgery; a week before Lag B'Omer I gained strength to walk prodigiously; on Lag B'Omer I returned home. I "should" have been dead twice; HaShem took me "Between the Straits" on dry land!

May Gilad Shalit be free this Shavuoth!

DAY 1800 IN THE CAPTIVITY OF GILAD SHALIT MARKED ON SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2011;

TODAY IS DAY 1803....

Fifty Israeli's on motorcycles joined the now traditional Memorial Day Weekend Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally in Washington, DC - a rally calling attention to the plight of MIA soldiers - in order to remind the world about the captivity of Israeli MIA Gilad Shalit, kidnapped by Arab terrorists in June, 2006. Rally's in Israel and around the world called for Gilad Shalit's release by Hamas.

We, who are free today in the USA this Memorial Day weekend, owe our freedom to many. While we remember American soldiers, who gave the full measure of their devotion in order that we remain free, we owe it to the world to remember that there are many from other nations, who gave that same full measure for the same reason, and that includes the sacrifices of many Israelis, who have given far more than the world knows or recognized for the sake of peace and freedom.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

NOW IS THE TIME FOR ISRAEL TO FORMALLY AND PUBLICLY ANNEX (OR, REAFFIRM ANNEXATION OF) THE GOLAN, SHEVA FARMS, JUDEA-SAMARIA, AND JERUSALEM.

THESE ANNEXATION ANNOUNCEMENTS SHOULD BE GIVEN BEFORE THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY BY PREMIER BENYAMIN NETANYAHU THIS COMING TUESDAY, APRIL 5, WHICH IS ROSH CHODESH NISSAN 5771, AND SHOULD BE ANNOUNCED IN HONOR OF GILAD SHALIT, WHO HAS BEEN IN SOLITARY CAPTIVITY BY HAMAS NOW FOR 1,769 DAYS. THE DECISION TO PROCEED WITH THESE ANNEXATIONS SHOULD BE A PRE-EMPTIVE RESPONSE BY ISRAEL PRECIPITATED BY THE APPARENTLY INEVITABLE DECISION COME THIS SEPTEMBER BY THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO RECOGNIZE A "STATE OF PALESTINE" INCLUSIVE OF JUDEA-SAMARIA, EAST JERUSALEM, AND GAZA (AS REPORTED TODAY IN THE THE NEW YORK TIMES).

By ganging up on Israel, resolution after resolution, decade after decade, the UN has already waged war de facto on Israel; any decision by the UN to recognize a State of Palestine would represent an utterly outrageous, provocative, precipitous additional act of de facto war by the UN against Israel.

The United Nations presumes to act as a World Government. This is not it's purpose nor mandate. Similarly, the World Court presumes to world jurisdiction, which is also not it's mandate, nor is it so recognized, certainly not by the USA nor Israel. World Court decisions against Israel declaring the Security Fence illegal and defining specific territories as "Palestinian lands under Israeli occupation" form pretexts that favor Israel's enemies; these World Court decisions have no sustaining legal basis, nor do they serve the purpose of peace.

May Israel have the foresight, integrity, strength, and endurance to withstand the evils of the United Nations. May the USA and all free nations of the world come to full sensibility and means by which to return the United Nations to the mandate of it's chartered purpose: the encouragement between nations of civil discourse and of civil problem resolution.

20 MURDERS (INCLUDING 2 BEHEADINGS) IN AFGHANISTAN UNDERSCORE THE TERRIBLE SEVERITY BY WHICH JIHADISM DRIVES WORLD CONCESSIONS TO ISLAMIC TERROR

AND REGARDLESS OF THE LACK OF WISDOM IN THE DECISION BY A FLORIDA PREACHER TO BURN A KORAN, THE 'POT', HAVING CALLED THE 'KETTLE', "BLACK", HAS YET FINGERED THE INTRACTABILITY OF JIHADISM.

Not so long ago with respect to the proposal to build a Muslim Center merely two blocks away from Ground Zero, President Obama distinguished between the "right" to build the Center and the "wisdom" of actually building it. So, too, the Florida Pastor of the 'Dove Outreach Center' displayed a profound lack of wisdom in burning a Koran. His right to do so provides the bas relief by which to perceive the stupidity and precipitousness of his acting-out of that right.

And so an excuse was given to Afghani Jihadis -- be they Taliban, Al-Quaeda, or some other group or mob -- for the murders of UN staff in Afghanistan. This is the type of "justification" for hatred and murder that plays into Jihadi hands. Not that they would cease such hateful, murderous, extortive behavior; they themselves incite, provoke, and thrive on such activity by which in the realm of propaganda, they obtain the appearance of justification for their murderousness.

That Christianity also has it's "crusaders", who are just as intolerant and murderous as Jihadis, does not excuse nor justify nor mitigate the real and present danger to the world that exists so militantly in the form of Jihadism today. Perhaps it is the stunning daily failure of the media to vociferously report the extremes of terror perpetrated by Jihadism against all non-Muslims that enables Jihadism to spread and that pushes some preachers today to extremes they otherwise would not even entertain.

Whether it is the burning of Bibles, the tortures, rapes, murders, destruction of Churches, and forced homelessness of Christians; whether it is the destruction of statues of the Buddha, Buddhist Holy Places, and Buddhists themselves; whether it is the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit, the firing of rockets into Israel from Gaza, the bus bombings in Israel, etc.: the bottom line is that Jihadism has no room in it's mind nor heart nor soul for the peace of the world. It is long overdue that the world cease to make excuses for the evils of Jihadism; it is long overdue that the world deliver a quick and undeniable destruction to Jihadis and to Jihadism.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

ARABIA WILL MAKE PEACE WITH ISRAEL AT IT'S PLEASURE.

MANY WILL SAY THAT THIS IS A ROMANTIC NOTION...

... but, the many should consider that the Arabs are human beings, stereotyped in the West as "towel heads", "camel jockeys", and even more vulgar terms of reference; and this type of attitude towards Arabia serves to foment violence and hatred amongst the Arabs, playing into the hands of the worst elements in Arab society. It is one thing to be intensely critical and quite another to be arrogant, derisive, and disparaging. At bottom humanity can do well to take a step back from the "earthquakes, tsunamis, and nuclear meltdowns" (if I may make a metaphor based on the horrible triple catastrophe current in Japan) of decades of violence, propaganda, posturing, etc. and reconsider the realities.

There have been times in history that Jews have thrived in Muslim realms. This has not been true in recent history. Yet, recent history need not be the only barometer nor predictor of Jewish-Arab relations. As Arabs in Judea-Samaria and Gaza protest and call for unity between Hamas and Fatah in order to fight Israel -- a microcosm perhaps at the heart of much of the protests current throughout the Arab world -- it should be kept in mind that the Arabs and all Muslims need to be reminded of their own best teachings about the Peoples of the Book (Jews and Christians) and the Muslim obligation to be protective.

While it is true that in classic form this has meant second class status and special taxes for Jews and Christians, and that in history this obligation has been practiced both benignly and malevolently, it should be possible in todays world for an application of this practice to be developed by Muslims such that overt subjugation and denial of equality may be set aside. Even the ceding of land to enable Israel to live in peace inclusive of Judea-Samaria ought to be practicable and desirable -- as long as it is granted that this be done at the pleasure and free will of Arabia. Such generosity would necessarily include the paid resettlement and future security of up to two-thirds of the Muslim population currently under Israeli jurisdiction, as for reasons of language, culture, economics, and the upheaval of relocation, it would yet be preferable to this population to live under Arab jurisdiction, and may well be acceptable, if again such generous surrender of claim in Israel were voluntary in the name of Peace.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

ANOTHER ASSASSINATION IN PAKISTAN IN THE NAME OF JIHAD, AND UNREST AND REVOLUTION THROUGHOUT THE WORLD OF ISLAM.

TUNISIA, EGYPT, LIBYA, ALGERIA, JORDAN, BAHRAIN, OMAN, YEMEN -- NAME A MUSLIM NATION AND THERE IS PROFOUND UNREST AND INTOLERANCE, AS SYMBOLIZED ONCE AGAIN IN PAKISTAN, WHERE A SECOND MINISTER WAS ASSASSINATED FOR THE SAKE OF HIS COURAGEOUS STANCE AGAINST RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE.

At a most basic level the ubiquitous unrest has demographic. economic, religious, and political roots. all of which factor into uncertain outcomes. In the majority the ordinary people seek human dignity, meaningful lives, political, religious and economic freedoms -- ergo, they seek a future for themselves and for their families; they do this against a backdrop of religious intolerance, political dictatorship, and economic conditions that are as bleak as the endless desert sand dunes surrounding the limited arable land and fresh water that make possible any life at all.

Thousands of lives have already been lost in these upheavals, and more will continue to be lost. At question is: how many, for how long, and with what short term and long term consequences. As Winter commences to end and as Spring commences to break ground, will unrest in this vast desert of nations surrounding Israel lead to stable solutions soon enough and happily enough to avoid major wars and major warfare -- including another war against Israel in the heat of Summer? Conditions are ripe for unified scapegoat warfare against Israel as a means for these nations of unrest to seek blame and vent anger on Israel in order to divert attention from the domestic issues that severely challenge these nations.

May Peace break out in the world speedily and in our time!

ROSH CHODESH ADAR 2 5771 IN THREE MORE DAYS AND GILAD SHALIT IS STILL CAPTIVE AND ALONE IN THE HANDS OF HAMAS..

TODAY IS DAY 1738 IN THE KIDNAPPED, ISOLATED CAPTIVITY OF GILAD SHALIT.

Tu B'Shevat has come and gone, and Israel has lost a precious forest to a fire set by carelessness under environmental conditions of extended severe drought, depletion of fresh water resources, and lack of preparations to cope with such an event in an already arid part of the world, where each and every drop of water, tree, and blade of grass is precious.

Rosh Chodesh Adar 1 has come and gone, as has Purim Katan. Once again the World via the United Nations Security Council has ganged up on Israel such that once again the USA has been the only "protection" of Israel by virtue of the power of the veto vote against the resolution regarding Israeli Settlements. The pressure on Israel is profound to cave in to World demand that Israel curtail it's rights life and freedom. This pressure is not limited to political pressures. Russia has contracted to provide Syria with cruise missiles even as Hamas has renewed rocketing activity against Israel and as Iran, another military client of Russia, has with Egyprian permission sent a pair of heavily armed naval vessels through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel.

May Adar 2 commence and extend the hidden miracles of this season to bring true peace to the World and to bring Gilad Shalit home safely to his family.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

ROSH CHODESH SHEVAT 5771 -- DAY 1679 THAT GILAD SHALIT REMAINS CAPTIVE

ONE WEEK AGO ON THE GOYESHE NEW YEAR THE "MAVI MAMARA" RETURNED SAFELY FROM ISRAEL TO TURKEY, FINDING A WARM WELCOME AMONGST THOSE, WHO SEEK ISRAEL'S DESTRUCTION.

ISRAEL STANDS ACCUSED, EVEN AS GILAD SHALIT REMAINS UNSEEN, UNHEARD, UTTERLY ALONE IN HIS CAPTIVITY IN GAZA, BE HE ALIVE OR DEAD.

FOR THOSE OF YOU, WHO MAY HAVE FORGOTTEN, THE "MAVI MAMARA" IS THE TURKISH SHIP (FROM THE FLOTILLA OF SIX SHIPS THAT SOUGHT TO VIOLATE ISRAEL'S NAVAL BLOCKADE OF GAZA) THAT REFUSED SAFE NAVAL ESCORT TO ASHKELON, CHOOSING INSTEAD TO CARRY OUT PRE-MEDITATED VIOLENCE AGAINST THE INEVITABLE BOARDING BY ISRAELI NAVAL COMMANDOES. THE INCIDENT PROVED DEADLY AND OF COURSE ISRAEL WAS BLAMED, NOT THE TURKISH PERPETRATORS. TURKEY USED THE INCIDENT TO BREAK OFF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH ISRAEL AND TO PUBLICLY SHIFT POLICY TO MORE STRONGLY FAVOR SYRIA AND IRAN.

WHAT A WORLD! THE "OLAM HABAH" LOOKS BETTER AND BETTER ALL THE TIME.... SHABBATH SHALOM.