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June 30 [Modia] Nouvelles significatives d'Israel et liens d'étude - Lun, 30/Jui/08[Modia] Nouvelles significatives d'Israel et liens d'étude
Sur cette page
http://www.modia.org/infos/israel/bulletin6.08b.html beaucoup de nouvelles significatives d'Israel et de sa region. Attention, Modia ne vous livre pas en vrac des suites de nouvelles comme les journaux et sites mais ne retient que les nouvelles - ayant une importance significative - et vous presente une analyse des composantes de ce en quoi cette nouvelle est significative et a besoin d'etre confrontee à la Torah. - Cela pour que vous en fassiez un exercice de creativite personnelle en liant votre etude à votre reflexion dans la vie. - Il est alors evident que la demarche de chacun peut etre tout a fait differente. Mon texte tend seulement a vous permettre de reflechir ainsi. En plus, sur cette page, les liens avec les nouvelles etudes et la paracha et des informations utiles et fructueuses pour vos vacances en Israel ou sur le net si vous n'y viendrez pas. Yehoshua Rahamim Yerouchalayim Salute the Danish Flag - It’s a Symbol of Western Freedom (by Susan MacAllen)Salute the Danish Flag - It’s a Symbol of Western Freedom
by Susan MacAllen In 1978-9 I was living and studying in Denmark. But in 1978, even in Copenhagen, one didn’t see Muslim immigrants. The Danish population embraced visitors, celebrated the exotic, went out of its way to protect each of its citizens.. It was proud of its new brand of socialist liberalism one in development since the conservatives had lost power in 1929 - a system where no worker had to struggle to survive, where one ultimately could count upon the state as in, perhaps, no other western nation at the time. The rest of Europe saw the Scandinavians as free-thinking, progressive and infinitely generous in their welfare policies. Denmark boasted low crime rates, devotion to the environment, a superior educational system and a history of humanitarianism. Denmark was also most generous in its immigration policies - it offered the best welcome in Europe to the new immigrant:generous welfare payments from first arrival plus additional perks in transportation, housing and education. It was determined to set a world example for inclusiveness and multiculturalism. How could it have predicted that one day in 2005 a series of political cartoons in a newspaper would spark violence that would leave dozens dead in the streets -all because its commitment to multiculturalism would come back to bite? By the 1990’s the growing urban Muslim population was obvious - and its unwillingness to integrate into Danish society was obvious. Years of immigrants had settled into Muslim-exclusive enclaves. As the Muslim leadership became more vocal about what they considered the decadence of Denmark’s liberal way of life, the Danes - once so welcoming - began to feel slighted. Many Danes had begun to see Islam as incompatible with their long-standing values: belief in personal liberty and free speech, in equality for women, in tolerance for other ethnic groups, and a deep pride in Danish heritage and history. An article by Daniel Pipes and Lars Hedegaard, in which they forecasted accurately that the growing immigrant problem in Denmark would explode. In the article they reported: Muslim immigrants constitute 5 percent of the population but consume upwards of 40 percent of the welfare spending. Muslims are only 4 percent of Denmark’s 5.4 million people but make up a majority of the country’s convicted rapists, an especially combustible issue given that practically all the female victims are non-Muslim. Similar, if lesser, disproportions are found in other crimes.’ ‘Over time, as Muslim immigrants increase in numbers, they wish less to mix with the indigenous population. A recent survey finds that only 5 percent of young Muslim immigrants would readily marry a Dane. Forced marriages - promising a newborn daughter in Denmark to a male cousin in the home country, then compelling her to marry him, sometimes on pain of death - are one problem.’ ‘Muslim leaders openly declare their goal of introducing Islamic law once Denmark’s Muslim population grows large enough - a not-that-remote prospect. If present trends persist, one sociologist estimates, every third inhabitant of Denmark in 40 years will be Muslim.’ It is easy to understand why a growing number of Danes would feel that Muslim immigrants show little respect for Danish values and laws. An example is the phenomenon common to other European countries and Canada: some Muslims in Denmark who opted to leave the Muslim faith have been murdered in the name of Islam, while others hide in fear for their lives. Jews are also threatened and harassed openly by Muslim leaders in Denmark, a country where once Christian citizens worked to smuggle out nearly all of their 7,000 Jews by night to Sweden - before the Nazis could invade. I think of my Danish friend Elsa - who as a teenager had dreaded crossing the street to the bakery every morning under the eyes of occupying Nazi soldiers - and I wonder what she would say today. In 2001, Denmark elected the most conservative government in some 70 years - one that had some decidedly non-generous ideas about liberal unfettered immigration. Today Denmark has the strictest immigration policies in Europe. (Its effort to protect itself has been met with accusations of ‘racism’ by liberal media acros Europe - even as other governments struggle to right the social problems wrought by years o too-lax immigration.) If you wish to become Danish, you must attend three years of language classes. You must pass a test on Denmark’s history, culture, and a Danish language test. You must live in Denmark for 7 years before applying for citizenship. You must demonstrate an intent to work, and have a job waiting. If you wish to bring a spouse into Denmark, you must both be over 24 years of age, and you won’t find it so easy anymore to move your friends and family to Denmark with you. You will not be allowed to build a mosque in Copenhagen. Although your children have a choice of some 30 Arabic culture and language schools in Denmark, they will be strongly encouraged to assimilate to Danish society in ways that past immigrants weren’t. In 2006, the Danish minister for employment, Claus Hjort Frederiksen, spoke publicly of the burden of Muslim immigrants on the Danish welfare system, and it was horrifying: the government’s welfare committee had calculated that if immigration from Third World countries were blocked, 75 percent of the cuts needed to sustain the huge welfare system in coming decades would be unnecessary. In other words, the welfare system as it existed was being exploited by immigrants to the point of eventually bankrupting the government. ‘We are simply forced to adopt a new policy on immigration. The calculations of the welfare committee are terrifying and show how unsuccessful the integration of immigrants has been up to now,’ he said A large thorn in the side of Denmark’s imams is the Minister of Immigration and Integration, Rikke Hvilshoj. She makes no bones about the new policy toward immigration, ‘The number of foreigners coming to the country makes a difference,’ Hvilsh�j says, ‘There is an inverse correlation between how many come here and how well we can receive the foreigners that come.’ And on Muslim immigrants needing to demonstrate a willingness to blend in, ‘In my view, Denmark should be a country with room for different cultures and religions. Some values, however, are more important than others. We refuse to question democracy, equal rights, and freedom of speech.’ Hvilshoj has paid a price for her show of backbone. Perhaps to test her resolve, the leading radical imam in Denmark, Ahmed Abdel Rahman Abu Laban, demanded that the government pay blood money to the family of a Muslim who was murdered in a suburb of Copenhagen, stating that the family’s thirst for revenge could be thwarted for money. When Hvilshoj dismissed his demand, he argued that in Muslim culture the payment of retribution money was common, to which Hvilshoj replied that what is done in a Muslim country is not necessarily what is done in Denmark. The Muslim reply came soon after: her house was torched while she, her husband and children slept. All managed to escape unharmed, but she and her family were moved to a secret location and she and other ministers were assigned bodyguards for the first time - in a country where such murderous violence was once so scarce. Her government has slid to the right, and her borders have tightened. Many believe that what happens in the next decade will determine whether Denmark survives as a bastion of good living, humane thinking and social responsibility, or whether it becomes a nation at civil war with supporters of Sharia law. And meanwhile, Canadians clamour for stricter immigration policies, and demand an end to state welfare programs that allow many immigrants to live on the public dole. As we in Canada look at the enclaves of Muslims amongst us, and see those who enter our shores too easily, dare live on our taxes, yet refuse to embrace our culture, respect our traditions, participate in our legal system, obey our laws, speak our language, appreciate our history… we would do well to look to Denmark, and say a prayer for her future and for our own. http://www.israpundit.com/2008/?p=1437 NEWS ALERT: ISRAEL 27th of Sivan 5768 - Mon, Jun/30/08NEWS ALERT: ISRAEL 27th of Sivan 5768
Monday 30 June 2008
IRGC: Iran reserves right to determine response to any threat Egypt to reopen Gaza border 16 hurt in anti-barrier scuffle Iran convicts man for spying for Israel Iran makes oil threats agaist US and Israel Palestinians disappointed PA prisoners won't be included in swap Hamas emboldened by Israel-Hezbollah swap McCain hails Iraq progress as Obama visits war veterans Markets to wade further into uncharted territory Report: Iran's Revolutionary Court sentences Iranian to death for ...
JWR TODAY: Monday, June 30, 2008http://www.JewishWorldReview.com/
The intersection of faith, culture and politics Monday, June 30, 2008 *:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:**:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:* PUTTING THE SPIRIT BACK INTO SPIRITUALITY, CONTINUES Our latest Godcast series, delving into an ancient philosophical work, examines a famous analogy that reveals a fundamental secret of a satisfied spiritual life JUST 5 MINUTES! http://jewishworldreview.com/jwisdom/gross.php3 COMMENTS WELCOME **<>**<>**<>**<>****<>**<>**<>**<>** [ J E W I S H L I V I N G ] ---> light of a life Remembering the architect of Torah Judaism for the modern world By Jonathan Rosenblum The enduring legacy of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch http://www.jewishworldreview.com/jonathan/rosenblum_hirsch.php3 ---> the talkies Hulk: Still a Jew? By Abe Novick It's no secret that Hulk, like his fellow comic book cronies were all born of Jewish creators and like the Golem, were molded to protect us. Hulk was born years after Jerry Siegel and Joel Shuster created Superman and the superhero genre. He came to life in the 60s and at a time of change for Jews. Israel at that time, already nurtured out of the desert, again had to do battle against an army of Arabs, who were bent on destroying it. Seeing the latest version of Hulk in today's context, I couldn't help wonder how germane the tale still is today http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0608/novick_hulk.php3 *:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:**:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:* [ D A I L Y I N S P I R A T I O N ] NEW SERIES! "Thank You/ Gratitude: Formulas, stories and insights" By Rabbi Zelig Pliskin Few of us realize that cultivating a genuine sense of gratitude will impact on our happiness, our marriage, even on our sense of self-worth. Being ungrateful for the many blessings in our lives distances us from our Creator and spoils our relationships with other people TODAY: Blessings Before and after eating http://jewishworldreview.com/inspiration/thank_you.php3 [ Godcast --- Uplifting Downloads ] TODAY: Putting the Spirit Back into Spirituality, Part 2: The Abandoned Child For too many, religion has become little more than empty ritual performed on "auto-pilot". In this new series, a master teacher mines a thousand-year old holy book -- originally written in the Holy Tongue -- in an effort to help the contemporary believer to imbue faith with thought and, perhaps more importantly, emotion. New vistas will open. How you view yourself, the Divine and the world around you will be forever changed. Rigid need not be synonymous with religious RUN TIME: 5 minutes http://jewishworldreview.com/jwisdom/gross.php3 <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> [ W O R T H 1 0 0 0 W O R D S ] * The Wizard of Id http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/wiz/wiz.asp * Andy Capp http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/a_capp/a_capp.asp * 9 to 5 http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/9_to_5/9_to_5.asp * Baloo http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/baloo/baloo.asp * Bottom Liners http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/bottomliners/bottomliners.asp * Bliss http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/bliss/bliss.asp * The Born Loser http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/born_loser/born_loser.asp * Bound and Gagged http://jewishworldreview.com/strips/bound_and_gagged/b_and_g.asp * Flo & Friends http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/flo/flo.asp * Frank & Ernest http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/frank_and_ernest/frank_and_ernest.asp * The Grizzwells http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/grizzwells/grizzwells.asp * Herman http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/herman/herman.asp * Mallard Filmore http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/mallard/2000/mallard1.asp * Moderately Confused http://jewishworldreview.com/strips/moderately_confused/mc.asp * Momma http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/momma/momma.asp * One Big Happy http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/obh/obh1.asp * Prickly City http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/pc/prickly_city.asp * The Other Coast http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/toc/toc.asp * Shoe http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/shoe/shoe.asp * State of the Union http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/sou/sou.asp * Robert Arial http://jewishworldreview.com/toons/arial/arial1.asp * Chuck Asay http://jewishworldreview.com/toons/asay/asay1.asp * Chip Bok http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/bok/bok1.asp * Lisa Benson http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/benson/benson.asp * Chip Bok http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/bok/bok1.asp * Brian Duffy http://jewishworldreview.com/toons/duffy/duffy.asp * Bob Gorrell http://www.jewishworldreview.com/toons/gorrel/gorrell1.asp * Joe Heller http://jewishworldreview.com/toons/heller/heller1.asp * Jerry Holbert http://jewishworldreview.com/toons/holbert/holbert1.asp * Jimmy Margulies http://jewishworldreview.com/toons/margulies/margulies.asp * Rick McKee http://jewishworldreview.com/toons/mckee/mckee.asp * Scott Stantis http://jewishworldreview.com/toons/stantis/stantis1.asp * Dana Summers http://jewishworldreview.com/toons/summers/summers.asp * Kirk Walters http://jewishworldreview.com/toons/walters/walters1.asp * Kevin Siers http://jewishworldreview.com/toons/siers/siers.asp * Wayne Stayskal http://jewishworldreview.com/toons/stayskal/stayskal1.asp * Gary Varvel http://jewishworldreview.com/toons/varvel/varvel1.asp * Michael Ramirez http://jewishworldreview.com/toons/ramirez/ramirez1.asp * " "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" "¤" [ PoliticalMavens.com H I G H L I G H T S ] * Rachel Raskin-Zrihen: All that springs eternal is not hope http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2008/06/26/all-that-springs-eternal-is-not-hope/ * John J. Pitney,Jr.: An Un-Beautiful Mind http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2008/06/26/an-un-beautiful-mind/ * Monica Crowley: Wishful Thinking http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2008/06/26/wishful-thinking/ * Julia Gorin: Hey --- Don’t Mess with a Dhimmi! http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2008/06/22/hey-dont-mess-with-a-dhimmi/ * Judith A. Klinghoffer: Rice to Obama's aid http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2008/06/25/rice-to-obamas-aid/ <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> [ T O D A Y I N H I S T O R Y ] On this day in … * 1859, French acrobat Blondin (born Jean Francois Gravelet) crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope as 5,000 spectators watched * 1934, Adolf Hitler, ym"s, began his "blood purge" of political and military leaders in Germany * 1936, the novel "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell was published in New York * 1958, the U.S. Senate passed the Alaska statehood bill by a vote of 64-20 * 1971, the 26th Amendment to the Constitution, lowering the minimum voting age to 18, was ratified as Ohio became the 38th state to approve it. ALSO: A Soviet space mission ended in tragedy when three cosmonauts aboard Soyuz 11 were found dead inside their spacecraft after it had returned to Earth * 1985, 39 American hostages from a hijacked TWA jetliner were freed by their captors, practitioners of that "religion of peace", in Beirut after being held 17 days * 1998, officials confirmed that the previously unidentified remains of a Vietnam War serviceman buried in the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery were those of Air Force pilot Michael J. Blassie * 2000, an Arkansas Supreme Court committee sued President Clinton to strip him of his law license. (Clinton later agreed to pay a fine and give up his law license for five years.) * 2004, a federal appeals court approved an antitrust settlement Microsoft had negotiated with the Justice Department. ALSO: The Iraqis took legal custody of Saddam Hussein and 11 of his top lieutenants, a first step toward the ousted dictator's expected trial for crimes against humanity. After nearly seven years of travel, the international Cassini spacecraft entered Saturn's orbit * 2007, two practitioners of that "religion of peace" rammed a jeep loaded with gasoline canisters into the main terminal at Glasgow Airport in Scotland, failing to set off an explosion, but seriously burning one of suspects; the attack came a day after two cars rigged as bombs were found in London. <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> [ I N S I G H T ] * Paul Johnson: How to fill a lecture hall, and how to empty it http://jewishworldreview.com/0608/pjohnson.php3 * Argus Hamilton skewers politics and contemporary "culture" http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0608/hamilton063008.php3 * Dave Barry: Toilet water as a weapon? That idea really stinks http://jewishworldreview.com/dave/barry.php3 * Jack Kelly: Energy fantasies: 'Independence' is impossible, but we need to develop new sources http://jewishworldreview.com/0608/jkelly063008.php3 * Michael Goodwin: Hillary's veep stock is rising http://jewishworldreview.com/michael/goodwin063008.php3 * Michael Barone: Why Veeps Now Matter (SMART!) http://jewishworldreview.com/michael/barone063008.php3 * Kathryn Lopez: McClintock leads Republican revolution http://jewishworldreview.com/0608/lopez063008.php3 * Nat Hentoff: The great censorship wall of China http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/hentoff063008.php3 * David Broder: Dumbing Down the Presidency http://jewishworldreview.com/david/broder.php3 * Jeff Jacoby: A silver bullet for Obama? http://jewishworldreview.com/jeff/jacoby063008.php3 * John H. Fund: No, McCain Isn't 'Doomed' (THOUGHT PROVOKING!) http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/fund063008.php3 * Dick Morris: Why is Bush entertaining Abu Dhabi Crown Prince? http://jewishworldreview.com/0608/morris063008.php3 * Bill O'Reilly: Obama's Advantage http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/oreilly.php3 <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> [ L I F E S T Y L E S ] * Next Steps: Elder Matters: Stay ignorant of your rights and nursing-home rules to your detriment http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0608/nextstep063008.php3 * Clinical trials begin this week on new cancer therapy that cured test mice http://jewishworldreview.com/0608/cancer_mice.php3 * Dr. Peter H. Gott: Coping with Alzheimer's patient http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/gott1.asp * Frugal Living by Sara Noel: Readers' wisdom http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/frugal_living.php3 * Bruce Williams on JWR: Retiree searches for housing strategy; more http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/bruce1.asp <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> http://www.JewishWorldReview.com/ Want to drop us a note? You may send it to JWR's editor in chief: mailto:blj@jewishworldreview.com EVERY letter is read and valued! ENJOYING THIS NEWSLETTER? WE NEED YOUR HELP AND WE NEED IT NOW! Please help us keep on keeping on. To make a tax-deductible donation, please go to: https://www.kerenyehoshuavyisroel.com/keren/jwr/donate.cfm NOT COMFORTABLE DONATING ELECTRONICALLY? We can arrange for you to send your gift through CONVENTIONAL MAIL. Make your request by pressing reply. © 2008, JewishWorldReview.com: Permission to distribute this newsletter -- NOT articles' text -- is not only granted, it's also ENCOURAGED, as is using the "e-mail a friend" option! <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> DER SPIEGEL INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER - Monday June 30, 2008
Urgent Food Crisis in Israel
June 29 [Modia] nouvelle étude: le Livre d'Isaie - Dim, 29/Jui/08[Modia] nouvelle étude: le Livre d'Isaie
Etude nouvelle: toutes les bases pour comprendre le livre d'Isaie, si beau et si important dans notre situation aujourd'hui
http://www.modia.org/tora/nakh/isaie.html Vous elargissez ainsi votre connaissance au dela des livres de la Torah dans le Tanakh, la Bible. Vous avez deja aussi sur Modia... L'etude du livre de Yehoshua http://www.modia.org/tora/nakh/yehoshua.html L'etude du Cantique des Cantiques http://www.modia.org/tora/nakh/chirachirim.html L'etude des livres des Psaumes http://www.modia.org/priere/lespsaumes.html Ceux qui ont recu en double ce bulletin m'excuseront, cela est du a une panne dans la procedure d'envoi. Bonne etude Bonne semaine, chavoua tov Rav Yehoshua Rahamim Dufour (Dipour en hebreu, qui n'a pas le son u) Yerouchalayim Aish.com New Articles - June 29, 2008
[Front Page Magazine] The Kurds, Israel, and the Future of Syria (by Joseph Puder)The Kurds, Israel, and the Future of Syria
Joseph Puder, the author of this article used to be PR person for M. Begin. Here he is interviewing Sherkoh Abbas who heads the American Kurdish Friendship League, I am on its Board of Directors. Ted Belman Front Page Magazine - By Joseph Puder Israel has a longstanding relationship with the Kurdish people. In the early 1960’s, Mustafa Barzani and his Peshmerga fighters received training and support in the Jewish State. David Ben Gurion, then Israel’s Prime Minister, possessed an acute vision and understanding of the regional geopolitics – so lacking in today’s realities. He reasoned that Arab hostility encircling Israel necessitated alliances with the leadership and people of non-Arab states like Iran, Turkey and the Kurds (understanding that the Kurdish connection needed to be somewhat secretive, as it continues to be today for fear of upsetting the Turks.) Israel’s military and diplomatic establishment is heavily invested in Turkey and trade relations are of growing significance. Turkey represents, as far as Israel and the U.S. are concerned, a model for a “secular” Islamic democracy. It is the Turkish model that is competing with the radical Islamist model of the Islamic Republic of Iran throughout Central Asia’s Islamic states, and for that matter, in the larger Muslim world. But the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (since 2003), leader of the Justice and Development Party has been accused by the secular military establishment of attempting to appoint Islamist judges. He has also gravitated closer towards the Muslim world as negotiations regarding membership in the European Union have dragged on since 1987. It is precisely for this reason that Israel must not place all its chips on a continued strong relationship with Ankara. Masoud Barzani, the current president of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Northern Iraq, has expressed his government’s positive feelings towards Israel and relations with the Jewish State. Similarly, Kurds elsewhere have attempted to establish channels of communications with Israel. Israel, mindful of the reactions from the Turks, has refrained from open expressions of support for Kurdish rights. Elsewhere around the region, democratic opposition parties in Syria have indicated their interest in ties with Israel and hopes that Israel would be less protective of the Baathist regime. Israel, fearful that the removal of Bashar Assad’s Alawite minority/Baathist regime would unleash radical Islamist (Muslim Brotherhood) forces from the majority Sunni-Muslim community, has preferred to see the status quo in Damascus remain in tact. It appears as if Washington shares the Israeli fears. Are such fears real and justified? Sherkoh Abbas, President of the Kurdistan National Assembly of Syria has a different view. Joseph Puder (JP): Should Israel fear a Muslim Brotherhood takeover if the Assad regime were to fall? Sherkoh Abbas (SA): It depends, if the status quo remains or if there is sudden change, the Islamists might take over with the backing of Sunni-Arab countries. Alternatively, if the U.S. and the states in the region including Israel support the Syrian democratic opposition and the idea of a federated Syria, where all stakeholders share power, it might prevent the Islamists from taking over. I mean to say that a decentralized federal Syria would boost the power of ethnic and religious minorities. After all, almost 50% of the Syrian population is comprised of Kurds, Druze, Alawite, and Christians. JP: Could Syria transform into a democracy with a federal system that would provide increased powers to various regions within the country, as well as cultural, and political autonomy to the Kurds, Alawite, and Druze? SA: A federal democratic Syria is a realistic option. Syria under our envisioned system would have five regions or states, with increased power for each state over legislative, political, and economic affairs. The central government in Damascus would be limited to foreign affairs, monetary and national defense policies. JP: You mentioned five regions, could you name them? SA: In the South, bordering Israel would be the Druze State or region. In the North and Northeast, the Kurdish region East of the Euphrates River, and the Turkish border in the North. Aleppo, Arab region would be the third. Damascus would be a separate Arab region as well. The fifth region would be Alawite along Syria’s Mediterranean Coast. JP: Why do you think Syria requires a federal system, what was wrong with the Baathist system? SA: Syria is comprised of Sunni Arabs, Kurds, Druze, Alawite, and Christians. We must have a system that provides protection for minorities and satisfies all the stakeholders in the nation instead of just a select group at the expense of all the others. The Baathists are not much different from the Muslim Brotherhood. The Baathists conceal their pan-Arab nationalistic ideology in a secular form, while the Muslim Brotherhood conceals its pan-Arab nationalistic ideology in an Islamic form. Both the Muslim Brotherhood and the Baathists are a threat to the region and to the world. Consider what the Baathist parties did in both Iraq and Syria over the last three decades, and you will notice that the Baathist regimes supported radical terrorist groups, caused wars, denied people freedom, human rights, and democracy, and used WMD on their own ethnic populations. JP: Do you believe that Assad’s Syria can detach itself from Iran? SA: Absolutely not. Iran has positioned itself in Syria and Lebanon to such a degree that even if the Assad regime wanted to separate itself from Tehran it could not. Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the spread of Shiaism in Syria as well as the over 100,000 Iranians who gained citizenship in Syria, would not allow such a separation. Also, the Iranians have developed alliances with the Syrian elites that guarantees their continued presence in Syria and influence over Syrian policies. JP: In the context of an Israeli-Syrian peace deal, how do you see the future of the Golan Heights? SA: We know that the current governments in Damascus and Jerusalem are not serious about peace. They simply need each other to stay in power. In the context of a real peace the Druze would have the right to settle with Israel over the Golan. Of course a federal Syria will be involved, but the Druze must approve such an agreement. JP: How do you see the relationship between Israel and the Kurds? SA: The Kurds are Israel’s natural allies. They are moderate Muslims and tolerant towards other minorities. For Kurds, religion is not as important or emphasized as ethnicity. The Kurds geographic location and acculturation makes them a barrier to the spread of radical Islam-whether Shia or Sunni. The Kurds also aspire to become a democratic society modeled after Israel. A democratic Syria would be less of a threat to both Israel and Turkey, and a Kurdish region in a federal Syria would be no more of a risk to Turkey than the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq is today. Israel’s fear of a regime change in Syria should be mitigated by the realization that the current regime in Damascus allied with Iran and Hezbollah, and harboring radical Palestinian terrorist groups while promoting terror against the U.S. forces in Iraq and Israel, is as bad as it gets. http://www.israpundit.com/2008/?p=1430 The Media is aiding and abetting the terrorists. (by Melanie Phillips)The Media is aiding and abetting the terrorists.
Faking a Killing MELANIE PHILLIPS [I reversed the order in this article. In the blockquotes I have put Melanie’s conclusions. Then her evidence.] The implications of this scandal are enormous, going far beyond a disgraced journalist and his TV station. For France itself, it raises a century-old spectre. In 1894, a Jewish French army captain, Alfred Dreyfus, was convicted for treason on fabricated evidence that he was a spy, in an atmosphere of institutionalised state antisemitism. The al-Dura libel is being seen in some quarters as a second Dreyfus affair — but with Israel playing the role of the defamed army captain. It’s not just the French media that is in the frame here. Over the years, Shahaf’s findings made their way into a handful of newspaper articles, TV documentaries and on to the internet; yet this evidence was studiously ignored by the rest of the media.[..] It is the most egregious example of the animosity towards Israel of much of the Western media, which routinely reports Palestinian or Hezbollah propaganda as fact and refuses to correct the record whenever these falsehoods are exposed. One thinks of the Jenin “massacre” that never was, or the evidence revealing that alleged Israeli atrocities during the 2006 Lebanon war were either staged by Hezbollah or significantly embellished. Indeed, the presentation of theatrical fictions as Israeli atrocities has become so widespread that the practice has been dubbed “Pallywood” — a grotesque new genre of terrortainment. Why do Western journalists go along with such deadly fabrications? The answer lies in a combination of their dislike of Israel, professional self-preservation, and the fafct that they depend on local stringers who are virtually all partisans of the Arab and Islamist cause. According to Danny Seaman, director of the Israel government press office, almost every stringer now delivering local copy and images from Gaza to Western journalists answers to Hamas. Western journalists know that if they cross Hamas, their lives will be in danger — and British journalists, Seaman says, are the most compliant of all. Palestinian stringers in general, he says — who all see their role as propagandists for the Palestinian cause — have virtually taken over foreign media offices. The result is that footage from Gaza has long been routinely fabricated or doctored, to which practices Western media organisations turn a blind eye. “These were good pictures, -always getting on the front pages and eliciting an emotional response,” says Seaman. ‘Bad Jews, poor Arabs’ sold papers. Then it became so much the reality that no one ever challenged it.” What Western dupes fail to realise is that Pallywood is a key weapon in the asymmetrical warfare being waged against Israel and the West. Realising they cannot achieve victory by conventional military means, the Palestinians and Islamists use psychological warfare — psy-ops — as a key strategy both to recruit their army of terrorists, and to demoralise, confuse and suborn their victims. Israel fails to grasp that it is in a psy-ops war — hence its ineptitude in reacting to the al-Dura claims. Within hours, the Israeli army assumed it must be responsible for the boy’s “death” — and said so without even questioning the commander on the ground. It then set up an investigation, which concluded that its soldiers could not have been responsible. But it left it at that for seven years, despite Shahaf’s discoveries. Although Seaman said repeatedly during that time that the boy’s “killing” was a fabrication, he was slapped down by Israel’s foreign ministry. It decided that the al-Dura image had taken on a life of its own, and so anything that reminded people of that image would be bad for Israel. It failed to grasp that if left unchallenged, that life of its own would cause the deaths of untold numbers of Israelis and other innocents. Even after the startling developments in the French appeal court, Israel’s government has said nothing (although it has now quietly let it be known that it agrees with its own spokesman Seaman). Similarly in Britain, at time of writing, no daily newspaper has reported any of this; and around the world, only a handful of papers has done so. So the public is unaware that images that have convinced such a lamentable number of them of Israel’s iniquity are false, and that the iniquity belongs -instead to the Arabs and the Western media. In medieval times, the Christian blood libels led to the annihilation of Jews. Today, al-Dura and other similar libels are promoting the annihilation of the collective Jew in the form of the state of Israel. The Western media have shown themselves once again to be the Islamists’ most powerful weapon against the free world on what few realise is the real battleground of the mind. On September 30 2003, two days after Ariel Sharon, then the leader of Israel’s opposition Likud Party, went for a walk on Temple Mount, Palestinians mounted a demonstration at Gaza’s Netzarim Junction. A 55-second piece of video footage of that demonstration, transmitted that day by the French TV station France 2, was to cause unprecedented violence in the Middle East and throughout the world. The footage, with a voice-over by France 2’s Jerusalem correspondent, Charles Enderlin, showed what was said to be the killing of 12-year-old Mohammed al-Dura by Israeli marksmen. Viewers saw the child crouching in terror behind his father, Jamal, as they sheltered next to a barrel under what Enderlin said was Israeli gunfire, and then slumping to the ground as Enderlin pronounced that he was dead. That image of the boy screaming in terror before being killed was uniquely incendiary. It portrayed the Israelis as diabolically gunning down a child in cold blood, even as he cowered for his life. It ignited the Arab and Muslim world with apparent proof that the Israelis were deliberately killing their children, inciting a murderous frenzy. Al-Dura became a poster boy for the Palestinian and Islamist war against Israel and the West. The day after the France 2 broadcast, the second intifada erupted in its full fury; according to the 2001 Mitchell report, the two events were directly connected. Twelve days later, a mob of Palestinians shouting, “Revenge for the blood of Mohammed al-Dura” lynched two Israeli army reservists and dragged their mutilated bodies through the streets of Ramallah. When al-Qaeda decapitated the journalist Daniel Pearl, the video of this atrocity was punctuated with references to al-Dura. After -September 11 2001, Osama bin Laden said: “Bush must not forget the -image of Mohammed al-Dura.” Several Arab countries issued postage stamps with his picture. On Palestinian Authority TV and in its school books, al-Dura’s example is used to encourage other children to emulate his spirit of “sacrifice”. But we now know that this whole fiesta of violence and incitement was based on a lie. For whatever people think they saw in those 55 -seconds, it was not the death of that boy. He was not killed by Israeli bullets; he was not killed at all. At the end of France 2’s famous footage, he was still alive and unharmed. The whole thing was staged, a fantastic piece of play-acting, an elaborate fabrication designed to blacken Israel’s name, and incite the Arab and Muslim mobs to mass murder. It was, in short, a modern-day blood libel, an updated version of the medieval calumny that the Jews target gentile children for murder — which itself caused the murder of thousands of Jews over the centuries. How do we know the footage was a lie? Because many of us have seen the evidence for ourselves in a French courtroom. Ironically, this blood libel was only exposed to public view because France 2 and its correspondent Enderlin brought a libel suit against a French media watchdog, Philippe Karsenty, for saying that the “killing” was “pure fiction” and that al-Dura wasn’t dead at all. To begin with, a Paris court ruled in favour of the TV station. But in May this year, the appeal court ruled that Karsenty had every right to say what he said in the light of the evidence. This included the “inexplicable incoherence” of footage, whose images did not correspond to Enderlin’s commentary; the “inexplicable inconsistencies and contradictions” in Enderlin’s explanation; and the lack of credibility of France 2’s Palestinian cameraman Talal Abu Rahma, upon whose -account of the events at Netzarim Enderlin — who was in Jerusalem at the time — had depended. Denis Jeambar, the director of L’Express, and TV producer Daniel Leconte saw the untransmitted rushes and subsequently wrote in Le Figaro: “In the minutes that precede the gunfire, the Palestinians seem to have organised a staged scene. They ‘play’ at war with the -Israelis and simulate, in most of the cases, imaginary injuries.” At the moment when Enderlin declared the boy to be dead: “Nothing permitted him to affirm that he was really dead and even less that he was killed by Israeli soldiers.” The implications for France 2 are shattering. The state-funded TV station is now appealing to the highest court in France. Enderlin has blustered that Karsenty is backed by US and French “right-wing”, pro-Israel organisations. This is the desperate flailing of a journalist whose reputation now lies in shreds. For he never imagined that his attempt to silence Karsenty would lead the court to order France 2 to produce the evidence it had hitherto refused to make public — the untransmitted 27 minutes of footage that Abu Rahma claimed he had filmed. I was in the Paris court on the day France 2 reluctantly complied and I saw the footage (minus a few minutes that Enderlin had excised and which are said to be even more explosive). This showed clearly that the whole thing was a set-up from start to finish. The cameraman said the Israelis had fired continuously for 45 minutes. Yet the footage did not show people falling under fire. It showed instead Palestinians demonstrating, throwing rocks and so forth, in a positively carnival atmosphere. Youths strutted about, giving declamatory interviews and grinning at the camera; boys rode by on bicycles. And no one showed any sign of injury. There were no wounds; there was no blood. From time to time, demonstrators were pushed on to stretchers and into ambulances — but with no evidence of any disturbance to their anatomy. Enderlin said he had cut out the scenes of al-Dura’s actual death agony because “it was unbearable”. But when the footage was shown, it became clear no such scenes existed. There was no agony and no death. Al-Dura and his father showed no sign of any wound or injury throughout. Supposedly riddled with bullets, their bodies remained totally unmarked. There was no blood anywhere. A red stain on the child turned out to be a piece of red cloth, which suddenly materialised. You see the boy slumping to the ground. But before he does so, while he is still hanging on to his father and screaming, a voice shouts in Ara bic: “The boy is dead! The boy is dead!” Asked to explain this astounding prescience, Enderlin’s team replied that the Arabic in fact meant: “The boy is in danger of dying.” At this, the courtroom laughed out loud. After Enderlin pronounces the boy to be dead, the corpse mysteriously assumes four different positions. You see the cameraman’s fingers making the “take two” sign to signal the repeat of a scene. And then you see the lifeless martyr raise his arm and peep through his fingers — presumably to check whether his thespian services are still required or whether he can now get up and go home. This extraordinary footage was first uncovered by Nahum Shahaf, a physicist in Israel’s defence establishment, who was at the centre of the Israeli army’s own investigation of the incident. Shahaf analysed frame by frame the untransmitted rushes from many TV crews. He observed, from pictures of al-Dura’s autopsy, that the state of the body suggested he had been dead for at least a day; that this boy was older than 12; and that although there were bullet holes in his forehead, there had been no blood on the ground nor on the wall behind him. He also noted, from pictures of the boy’s funeral on the day of the shooting, that shadows indicated this took place around midday. He was told by two doctors at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital that al-Dura’s lifeless body was brought to them before 1pm. But the incident at Netzarim had not started until 3pm. Shahaf then discovered from al-Shifa’s records that a dead boy named Rami Jamal al-Dura had been brought into the hospital the day before. According to Palestinian TV and the earliest accounts of the incident, the full name of the boy who was killed at Netzarim was -Mohammed Rami Jamal al-Dura. Shahaf concludes: “It was just lie after lie after lie.” He also found several short films shot in the Netzarim area on and around the day of the incident. “They used directors, cameramen and volunteer actors,” he said. “You can see them shooting little horror scenes. Often the director scolds the volunteers for their bad acting. The wounded get up and go back for another take; Palestinian bystanders laugh and applaud.” http://www.israpundit.com/2008/?p=1431 Evangelizing the Jews: The New Techniques (by Rabbi Tovia Singer)Evangelizing the Jews: The New Techniques
by Rabbi Tovia Singer
To bring about the Second Coming, fundamentalist Christians believe they must convert the Jews. Having failed in the past, they are now armed with a new arsenal of deceptive techniques.
No Sunday services take place here; this congregation meets only on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings. You will never see a cross or an altar; there is an Aaron Hakodesh (holy ark) with a star of David adorning its velvet cover, and a Bimah (stage for prayer services) in the center of the sanctuary. The majority of the men who worship here wear kipot, and their tzitzit hang down the sides of their pants. This congregation's rabbi, among many other functions, reads from the Torah and makes Kiddush every Shabbat. Most of the women are modestly dressed. Joyous shouts of "Shabbat Shalom" and "Baruch Hashem" can be heard as young couples greet each other. The sanctuary pulsates to a modern Israeli musical beat.
If this sounds like a description of a traditional Jewish house of worship, think again. The above is actually a description of any one of the hundreds of Messianic "synagogues" which flourish throughout the world.
Confused? Many are.
Such congregations are designed to appear Jewish, but they are actually fundamentalist Christian churches which use traditional Jewish symbols to lure the most vulnerable of our Jewish people into their ranks. Messianic "rabbis," many of whom are Jewish by birth, are committed to bringing the Jewish people to know Jesus. Their agenda is to make Christianity more palatable to the uneducated Jew, and to the astonishment and horror of the Jewish community, their marketing ploys are proving to be successful.
Twenty-two years ago, twelve Messianic congregations existed in the United States. Today, more than 300 actively attract and recruit Jews who, because they lack a sound Jewish education and support system, are buying the manipulative rhetoric and persuasive techniques of the Hebrew-Christian missionary movement.
Additionally, there are over 600 Christian missions dedicated to converting the Jewish people. It is estimated that there are more than 200,000 Hebrew-Christians in North America and Israel. As an exit-counselor who works with families to reclaim their Jewish family members from these churches, I can testify that the cost in terms of Jewish souls is dear.
WHO ARE THESE MISSIONARIES? In order to understand the dynamics of the missionary problem, we must first understand who exactly these missionaries are.
To the Jewish community, the word "missionary" is a charged word, with a multitude of misconceptions attached to it. Typically, the word "missionary" is associated with those people who stand on street corners, annoyingly and ubiquitously distributing literature that tries to persuade individuals to believe in Jesus.
When we think of missionaries we might think of an organization with members, mailing lists, secretaries, and buildings to which we can point and say, "You see that building on 31st street, between Lexington and Park (New York headquarters of Jews For Jesus)? They are the missionaries."
This is merely one of a variety of misconceptions we have about missionaries and how they operate.
A number of years ago I lectured at a large university campus in Ohio. In my conversation with a dean we began to discuss the work I do. He immediately reassured me that at his university, they did not have a missionary problem. He recalled how years earlier there were indeed missionaries on his campus who distributed pamphlets and misused traditional Jewish symbols for the purpose of evangelizing. "But we don't have that here anymore," he insisted.
"Tell me, are there any fundamentalist born-again Christians on your campus?" I asked.
He quickly snapped, "What? Are you kidding? This is the Midwest! We're packed with them!" I then told him that indeed he had a serious missionary problem on his campus because, in reality, fundamentalist, born-again Christians are dedicated to the idea of bringing every Jew to a belief in Jesus.
Our second mistake is that we tend to view the Christian world as a monolithic group of gentiles who all essentially believe the same thing. In fact, the Christian world -- with hundreds of variant denominations that differ on numerous fundamental theological issues -- is far more diverse than the Jewish world. At a baseball game, it is sometimes difficult to know who the players are without a scorecard. Let's break down the Christian world for a moment so that we know precisely to whom we are referring.
THE COMPLEX CHRISTIAN WORLD The Roman Catholic Church is by far the largest denomination in Christendom. Yet despite its past often-bitter relationship with the Jewish people, today Catholics are for the most part not interested in converting Jews. I need not worry that a Catholic priest is going to evangelize any of my patients at a hospital. If anything, he is one of the people who will show me where I can secure a kosher meal.
Another significant segment of the Christian world, especially in North America, is the Protestant community. For our purposes, we will over generalize and divide the Protestant world into two groups.
One group, the mainline or liberal Protestants (Methodist, Unitarian, etc.), is not at all interested in converting Jews. Liberal leaning Protestant denominations tend to shy away from any form of Jewish evangelism. It is, however, the other highly motivated and vocal segment within the Protestant community -- the fundamentalist, born-again Christians -- who are unyielding in their staunch commitment to convert the Jews.
There are two rules about Jewish evangelism that must always be kept in mind.
In essence, the central role that Christian missions like Jews for Jesus plays is to act as a clearinghouse and support system for evangelical churches around the world. As a result, these "Jewish missions" spend much of their resources and manpower teaching lay missionaries in gentile churches.
How serious a problem are these Protestant fundamentalist Christians? How many born-again Christians are there in the United States?
Their numbers are not small. According to most estimates, there are well over 50 million Americans who identify themselves as born-again Christians. That is, approximately one in five Americans is part of this army of lay people dedicated to "share" their faith with a Jew. When I spoke in Nashville a number of years ago, an Assemblies of God minister bluntly told me that he would rather convert one Jew than 50,000 gentiles.
WHY THE JEWS? A question that naturally comes to mind is: Why the Jews? Why are these fundamentalist Christians so consumed with bringing the Jewish people to "know Jesus?" Why has the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, the Southern Baptist Convention, passed numerous resolutions encouraging more than 15 million American members to target and evangelize the Jewish people?
There are several reasons.
Firstly, the New Testament specifically prioritizes Jews for conversion. In the book of Matthew (10:5), when Jesus is instructing his apostles, he warns them, "Go not into the way of the gentiles ... but only go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." The Apostle Paul echoes the identical sentiment in the first chapter of the book of Romans when he declares, "Go to the Jew first, then to the Greek (i.e. gentile)." We find a recurrent and unique emphasis on reaching the Jews in the New Testament, especially in the Gospels, almost to the exclusion of the gentiles.
A second reason for this obsession relates to the Church's fascination with eschatology, the study of the End of Times. Fundamentalist Christians are consumed by the prophecies surrounding the end of days. They want to know when the Messiah will come/return. How will this take place? To which nations did the prophet Ezekiel refer when he described how apocalyptic nations would wage war against Jerusalem before the final hour leading to the messianic age (Ezekiel 38-39)? Christian bookstores typically set aside an entire section dedicated to eschatological inquiry.
How does all this apocalyptic speculation and discussion relate to our subject?
At the end of the book of Matthew (23:39), Jesus is quoted making a very important statement. He says, "I will not return until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'" Because Jesus was speaking to a Jewish audience at the time he made this statement, Christians have always understood this statement to have one meaning: Jesus will not make his second coming until the Jews are converted.
The Jews, therefore, are holding up the show.
Fundamentalist Christians also believe that Jesus is going to make his second coming in or about the year 2000 (counting from Jesus' birth); therefore, the Jews must be converted by then, en masse, in order to enable Jesus to return.
(Bear in mind that there remains considerable controversy among Christians as to the year of Jesus' birth. Many Christians -- largely based on Luke's narrative -- place the 2,000th year from Jesus' birth in the year 2007).
Finally, the most significant reason for the church's preoccupation with the Jews stems from the credibility problem that the faith of a Jew presents to Christendom.
THE MESSIAH COMPLEX Jesus was a Jew and Christians claim that he is the promised Messiah about whom the prophets spoke. The idea of the Messiah -- who will come at the end of days to usher in a utopian society of love, peace, and the universal knowledge of God -- is exclusively Jewish. Fundamentalist Christians insist that if the Jews would only look in their own Hebrew scriptures they would find Jesus literally bouncing off every page. It, therefore, stands to reason that the Jews should have been the first to embrace Jesus and his teachings, if in fact Jesus was the prophesied Messiah. Yet, the Jews were the very people who did not accept Jesus.
This has always been a troubling reality to the Christian Church since its inception. It is for this reason that only the conversion of a Jew to Christianity can lend credibility -- never the conversion of the gentile.
Peering back into world history, it would probably be quite difficult for any of us to think of another program that has been a more miserable failure than the church's persistent effort to convert the Jews to Christianity.
Bear in mind that Christianity swept through Europe almost overnight. The same is true for Latin America. Yet the Jews, with all their problems of persecution and forced exile, still would not convert.
With the approach of the end of the second millennium, evangelicals were faced with a serious dilemma: How were they to finally bring the Jewish people to accept Jesus?
This quandary was no small theological challenge to the church. With the year 2000 in sight, two critical conferences were convened a little more than a quarter of a century ago. The first was held in Switzerland and the other in Thailand. The main questions that were asked at those two symposiums was: Why has the Church been so unsuccessful in their past efforts to convert the Jews, and what new techniques can be employed to attract masses of new Jewish converts to the church by the turn of the century?
It was at these two unlikely locations that devout evangelists placed the Jewish people under a microscope. Indeed, it was at these symposiums that those Christians understood that the church had a number of serious challenges with respect to converting the Jews.
PUBLIC RELATIONS PROBLEM The first problem they discovered was that the church had a significant public relations problem. They concluded that Jewish people historically tend to equate Christianity with persecution. Jewish people often feel somewhat uncomfortable just hearing the words "Jesus Christ," and when they see a cross or a church icon, it rarely conjures up warm, affectionate feelings. On the contrary, whereas Christians tend to feel quite comfortable in synagogues, or observing Jewish ceremonies, Jewish people tend to feel alienated by churches and their icons.
Taking this public relations problem head on, these evangelists initiated a unique approach. It goes something like this, "You're Jewish? We Christians just love the Jewish people! Persecution? Oh, no! Any Christian who persecuted a Jew in the name of Jesus couldn't be a real Christian. A real Christian only loves the Jewish people!"
This novel technique enables Christians to freely evangelize Jews by distancing themselves from their Christian forbears. In this way, potential Jewish converts will not feel alienated by Christendom.
These evangelists realized, however, that simply smothering us with love could not in itself be totally effective. Jews would not simply start converting to Christianity en masse because evangelicals loudly condemned anti-Semitism. They understood that the essential reason why Jews do not convert is because they do not want to stop being Jewish, and Jews view Christianity as antithetical to Judaism.
With this realization, these highly motivated missionaries developed an entirely new and remarkably simple approach to Jewish evangelism. It goes like this, "When you're becoming a believer in Jesus, you are not converting to another religion. On the contrary, you're becoming a 'fulfilled Jew' or a 'completed Jew.' After all, Jesus was a Jew and his followers were Jewish; therefore, believing in Jesus must be the most Jewish thing you can do."
Messianic "synagogues" do not observe Christian holidays. You will never find a Christmas tree or blinking colored lights around December in a Messianic congregation. Instead, these missionaries celebrate Jewish holidays with a "Christological" spin. Throughout the world, Messianic congregations hold elaborate and well-publicized Passover Seders.
A MESSIANIC "SEDER" At first glance, a Messianic Seder table appears quite traditional, with all of the customary essentials: Seder plate, matzah, and wine. Once the ceremony begins to unfold, however, even the most uninitiated will immediately realize that something is askew. Participants are told that the wine at the Seder table represents the blood of Yeshua/Jesus, and the matzah represents his body. Do you know the real reason why Jews have three matzoth at the Seder table? To represent the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Do you know why the matzahs are perforated? Because Jesus was pierced through when he was crucified. Why does the matzah have stripes? Because Jesus had stripes across his back as a result of the beating he endured during his trial. Why is the middle matzah broken? Because Jesus was brutally broken on the cross. Why is the matzah wrapped in a white towel? Because Jesus was wrapped in a white burial shroud. Why is this middle matzah hidden? Because Jesus was hidden away in the tomb following his crucifixion. Why is the matzah brought back at the end of the meal? Because Jesus will return in the Second Coming at the End of Days.
Messianic congregations will never be listed in the Yellow Pages under churches. They are always listed with the synagogues. Additionally, the Messianic movement has created a remarkable tool for Jewish evangelism called a "communications card." This card carefully guides evangelicals on how to talk to a Jew in a manner that will not alienate them as potential converts. A two-column card which is usually wallet-sized for easy transport and access reads:
In essence, the Messianic movement's fundamental approach seeks to blur the distinctions between Judaism and Christianity in order to lure Jews who would otherwise resist a straightforward Christian message. To the horror of the Jewish world, it is a tactic that has achieved remarkable success with the most vulnerable segments of our community -- the very young, the very old, and our Russian brethren.
Author Biography: This article can also be read at: http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/jewishsociety/Evangelizing_the_Jews_The_New_Techniques.asp Isn't Water Kosher? (by Aryeh Zev Narrow)Isn't Water Kosher?
by Aryeh Zev Narrow
Kosher symbols are everywhere: on sugar, coffee... even spring water. Do these products really need kosher supervision?
Ever notice how kosher symbols end up where you least expect them? Take apple juice. How could pressed apples not be kosher? Do you really have to worry that someone squeezed a little pig juice in that bottle before it was sealed?
Or, what could go wrong with, say... a bag of pretzels? Water, flour, salt. Sounds pretty kosher to us. How about a can of peas? Peas, water, salt. How much more kosher could you get? What about bottled water? Is there anything more kosher than water? Why does my Dasani need that little OU on the label?
Is every kosher symbol needed? No. Many everyday foods are perfectly kosher with no supervision whatsoever. But since the kosher market is worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year, some manufacturers invest in kosher certification for pure marketing reasons.
But commercial food production is nothing like what happens in your kitchen. You'd be surprised to find that lots of ordinary foods can become un-kosher quite easily. For example: spring water. In the U.S., almost all bottled beverages must be pasteurized. Your spring water may run through the same bottling facility as non-kosher grape juice or drinks with non-kosher flavoring. Without a kosher symbol, your Perrier could be perilously close to non-kosher. Pretzels? Canned peas? Not so simple at all (see below).
We spoke with Rabbi Moshe Weiner at Flatbush's Kashrus Information Center to learn more about why lots and lots of ordinary foods really do require competent kosher supervision.
Commercial Production
Keeping kosher at home can be a challenge. Keeping kosher in the factory can be a nightmare. What can go wrong in a food factory? Lots. And the use of cooking utensils constitutes some of the most common kashrut problems:
The Torah prohibits not only non-kosher food, but also the flavor of non-kosher food. Flavor, as defined by the Torah, can be transferred back and forth between food and utensils. So a pot or spoon might absorb flavor from a non-kosher product, then transfer it to an otherwise kosher product. In short: any food that has been cooked in any way whatsoever is suspect.
Commercial food factories are often shared by numerous manufacturers. The assembly line that today is baking your kosher biscuits might yesterday have been baking someone else's pepperoni pizza. Without an intensive cleaning in between, each biscuit is about as kosher as bacon.
Some banana chips are fried on the plantation where they are picked... in the same utensils the workers use to fry their burgers and ham. One kosher manufacturer once used a non-kosher facility to produce a run of margarine, only to discover after the fact that some of the equipment had never been kashered. Result: a three-month supply of kosher margarine that wasn't kosher.
Additionally, many foods are transported before packaging. For example, milk might be brought by truck from the dairy farm to the bottling plant. Trucks that have been used for non-kosher foods might render the milk non-kosher. Cooking oil is often transported in heated shipping containers. The containers require kosher supervision.
This intensive cleaning process -- kashering -- must render the equipment spotless and flavor-neutral. Only then may kosher production begin. The kashering must be performed properly by knowledgeable people. Then you have to worry about...
Secret Ingredients
Commercial food production involves stuff you'd never find on the shelves at the Stop-and-Shop: stabilizers, conditioners, clarifiers, enzymes and more. That's just the stuff you don't notice. Natural flavors and colors could be made from anything, and they're used everywhere.
Imported honey has been found adulterated with up to 30% corn syrup, a concern for Ashkenazim on Pesach. Some candies are made with shellac, a shiny resin that comes from lac bugs. Not kosher. "Natural" flavors could come from animal fats. Not kosher.
Flavors can contain as many as 1,500 sub-ingredients, any one of which might by non-kosher and compromise the whole product. As a rule, flavors are never considered "nullified" -- even in the tiniest quantities. This even extends to food products not meant for consumption, such as grease used on baking pans, or gum meant for chewing only. Some unlikely (and unappetizing) sources of common flavors: sperm whale intestines (ambergris), cat guts (civet), beaver glands (castorium), pig pancreas (alpha amylase) and blood (albumen). Natural colors can be derived from dried insects (carmine).
With Israeli products, it's even more complicated. The Torah laws of Shmita, Orlah, Trumah and Ma'aser limit how Israeli produce may be used. If any part of your dinner was imported from the Holy Land, it probably needs special attention to be kosher.
<BI>Common Problems
What follows is a list of common foods that probably show up on your shopping list every week. But when it comes to kashrut, none of these "common" foods are commonly kosher:
• Canned goods: Canned peas contains peas, water and salt. Sounds kosher. But that can was cooked in the same factory where non-kosher canned goods may have been cooked just hours before. For example, cans of baked beans and cans of baked pork-and-beans often come off the same production line. Also, foods canned abroad (in China, for example) often contain non-kosher additives.
• Produce: Many leafy greens (lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.) are infested with tiny insects that are not kosher. If you can't or won't examine the vegies yourself, purchase packaged produce that has been pre-checked or produced in an insect-free greenhouse... and has reliable kosher supervision. Produce can also be coated with wax made from animal oils. Beware of fruits or vegetables sprayed with oleo (animal-based waxes.
Furthermore, Rabbi Weiner says that kosher supervision is recommended for frozen produce, which is blanched (lightly boiled) before packaging.
• Candy: May contain oils, flavors, glycerides or colors of non-kosher origin. Milk chocolate has the same concerns as other dairy products. All require adequate supervision.
• Bottled beverages: Juices may be treated with enzymes. Juice and beer may be filtered through glycerin or gelatin which are clarifiers. Many juices and sodas contain flavorings. Many beverages are transported by truck or shipping container before bottling. Nearly all are pasteurized. All require supervision.
• Coffee & tea: Unless flavored, generally do not require supervision.
• Spices: Spice companies generally use a single oven to dry all their products. Paprika could be side-by-side with the bacon bits. Look for a reliable kosher symbol.
• Vinegar: Often made from non-kosher wine; requires supervision. Note that vinegar is a common ingredient in dressings, sauces, pickles, etc.
• Dish detergents: Though they're not edible, detergents can contain colorings or scents of non-kosher origin. You don't want you dishing soaking in them! Use detergent with a reliable kosher symbol.
• Aluminum foil, plastic wrap & paper towels: Although these often bear a kosher symbol, they normally do not require supervision.
• Oils: These undergo a purification process similar to pasteurization. Imported oils from the Far East are especially problematic. All oils require supervision.
• Potato chips: Raw potatoes? No problem. But when it comes to flavorings, oil and baking/frying -- supervision is required.
• Baked goods: Pretzels, cookies, cakes, etc. often contain oils, conditioners or glycerides that could be non-kosher. All require supervision. Bagels are commonly made from mixes which include dough conditioners and "release agents" (a baked-in non-stick ingredient); both ingredients could be animal-based and non-kosher.
• Gelatin: This is made from the dried bones of animals that are non-kosher. Kosher gelatin is made either from fish bones, or from bones of kosher-slaughtered animals.
• Dairy products: Milk requires pasteurizing and bottling in a kosher plant. Yogurt often contains flavors which might be non-kosher. Enzymes used for making cheese must come from a kosher source (in kosher cheese production, most curdling agents are derived from plants or chemicals).
• Toothpaste & mouthwash: Generally do not require supervision (except for Pesach).
• Dry beans, grains & rice: These generally do not require supervision. However, parboiled rice has been pre-cooked; enriched rice has vitamins added. Both require supervision.
• Sugar & sweeteners: Sugar does not require supervision. Sweeteners do. Aspartame is made with phenylalamine, which can be derived from eggs or blood. Other sweeteners may contain cream of tartar, made from residue of (non-kosher) wine production.
• Honey & maple syrup: Not only pasteurized, these may also be adulterated. Requires supervision.
• Meat & poultry: Requires kosher slaughter and proper salting to remove the blood. Also requires proper packaging, so it cannot be confused or switched with non-kosher products.
• Fish: You need to verify that indeed the fish is of a kosher species -- i.e. that the skin is still intact, with the scales attached. There is an additional concern that the fish was cut with a non-kosher knife. Pickled or salted fish may only be purchased with rabbinic supervision.
Rogue 'K' Symbol
One final word about kosher symbols: Just because a product is labeled with a "K" does not necessarily mean it's kosher. In America, there is no law barring a company from putting any letter they want on a label -- whether ice tea or pork rinds.
One rabbi says that he was supervising a kosher bakery in Florida, and they wanted to start using a non-kosher ingredient. So the rabbi told them, "If you use that ingredient, I will have to remove the certification." They replied, "That's okay, we'll just continue putting a 'K' on our packaging anyway."
A handful of national kosher agencies are widely accepted to be reliable and responsible. When it comes to shopping for kosher food, the consumer can take almost nothing for granted. Even the simplest foods can become quite complicated when produced commercially. If you spot a kosher symbol where you'd least expect it, chances are it's there for a reason. Ask your rabbi which kosher symbols to rely on in your home.
But don't let all this scare you. No matter whether you're in New York or Nebraska, your local supermarket is packed with products bearing a reliable kosher symbol. Fortunately, it's never been easier to find kosher food.
Reprinted with permission from Community Magazine, the most widely circulated Sephardic monthly in the world. Author Biography: This article can also be read at: http://www.aish.com/literacy/mitzvahs/Isnt_Water_Kosher$0.asp Biblical Archeology: Prophet and the Earthquake (by Rabbi Leibel Reznick)Biblical Archeology: Prophet and the Earthquake by Rabbi Leibel Reznick
The historicity of Balaam, the non-Jewish prophet.
One of the more enigmatic Biblical figures is the prophet Balaam. The Bible first introduced him to us as the Israelite nation was encamped in the Plains of Moab, on their way to the Promised Land. The Moabite king, fearing an attack by the Israelites, summoned Balaam to come and curse the Children of Israel. In the end, Balaam does not curse the Israelites but bestows blessings upon them. [1]
The Talmud [2] tells us that earlier Balaam had been an adviser to the pharaoh who enslaved the Children of Israel and sought to destroy their male children. In fact, the plan to destroy the Israelites was masterminded by Balaam. The third century BCE Greco-Egyptian historian, Manetho, also mentions that it was the prophet-adviser to the pharaoh who instigated the enslavement of the Jewish People.[3] (Do I mean to say that there is an ancient extra-Biblical source that refers to the enslavement of the Israelites? Yes, but that issue deserves an article all by itself.)
Not only did Balaam reside near the land of Moab and in Egypt, but Midrashic sources also place him in Aram[4], modern-day Syria, and in the Aegean isles[5], and in Cush, modern-day Ethiopia [6]. Balaam was an itinerant prophet with a far-reaching reputation.[7] Due to Balaam's renowned preeminence, we would expect that some mention of Balaam would be found in some ancient nation's records. And indeed, our expectations will not be disappointed.
An expedition led by Professor Henk J. Franken of the University of Leiden was excavating in Deir Alla in March of 1967. The workers were cleaning up some debris from the day's work when someone noticed what seemed to be traces of lettering on fragments of plaster that littered the floor. For archaeologists, the most exciting find is not gold or silver, but writings! Professor Franken was overjoyed at this unexpected discovery.
The weather during that time of year was capricious. One day heavy rains fell; the next day a drying wind filled the air. Neither of these was good for the fragile pieces of plaster. Hastily, a tent was erected to protect the area from the elements. There were still two more weeks of excavation work that had been planned, but all digging stopped. All attention was focused on the writing.
It took approximately ten years to assemble the piles of plaster fragments, jigsaw puzzle style, into a coherent text. Eventually, a chilling prophecy emerged. It reads:
Inscription of Balaam son of Beor, And Balaam arose in the morning, And he said to them: The gods have gathered together, [...] hawk, swift, bat, In order to date the inscription, the fragments were subjected to radio-carbon dating tests. The results indicated that the inscriptions were to be dated circa 800 BCE, plus or minus 70 years, with an accuracy probability of 66%. [11] The probability rate of only 66% of a 800 BCE. date is not very reassuring. Initial paleographic studies, based on the shapes and forms of the letters, seemed to support this general time period. [12] However, recently, scholars have lowered the date closer to 600 BCE. [13] This suggestion is based on a connection between the handwriting style of the Deir Alla inscription and certain Ammonite inscriptions of the seventh century BCE.
Admittedly, there is a 500 year gap between the time the Biblical Balaam is assumed to have lived and when this inscription was written; yet the inscription can easily be seen as a demonstration that the memory of Balaam the seer survived long after his demise. It is likely that his prophecies were written and handed down for generations, in much the same way the epics of Homer were written and transmitted for hundreds of years. There are a number of other important factors of the Tel Deir Alla inscription that coincide with the Biblical and Midrashic texts:
The "international, freelance prophet," Balaam, prophesied in Moab, among other places. The Tel Deir Alla inscription was found in Moabite territory.
The plaster inscription in Tel Deir Alla came from a wall of a building that was destroyed by an earthquake. [15] How can an archaeologist tell if a city or building was razed by an invading army or if it was due to an earthquake? There are several telltale signs. An invading army will knock down walls in all directions, haphazardly, smashing them in sections to demolish them. Stones of a wall that was toppled by an earthquake will generally tumble in the direction of the force of the tremor, and they will fall as a complete unit, almost as if the wall was constructed whole, horizontally upon the ground. Moreover, an invading army will destroy buildings without knocking down every wall entirely. Damage alone suffices to vanquish a city. Earthquakes are less forgiving, collapsing the buildings almost entirely. If a circa 600-650 BCE date is correct for the collapse of the plaster inscription at Tel Deir Alla, the earthquake that destroyed the building was, in fact, recorded twice in Tanach (Books of the Prophets): 1) The book of Amos begins with, "The words of Amos, who was one of the herders of Tekoa, who saw visions concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake." (1:1) 2) In the book of Zechariah, the prophet says, "...and you will flee as you fled from the earthquake that was in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah." (14:5) According to Biblical chronology, Uzziah reigned from 645 BCE - 593 BCE and Jeroboam reigned from 647 BCE - 607 BCE [16] The earthquake occurred when both Uzziah and Jeroboam were kings. That would be between 645 BCE - 607 BCE. The date fits perfectly with the latest paleographic analysis of the Deir Alla inscription. The Deir Allah inscription not only attests to the historicity of Balaam but is also dramatic evidence of the earthquake in the days of Uzziah and Jeroboam. Two for the price of one.
Endnotes [1] See Numbers 22. [15] André Lemaire Editor, "Fragments from the Book of Balaam Found at Deir Alla, BAR 11:05 (Sep/Oct 1985), Biblical Archaeology Society [16] based on Shlomo Rottenberg's Author Biography: This article can also be read at: http://www.aish.com/societyWork/sciencenature/Biblical_Archeology_Prophet_and_the_Earthquake0 First World Noahide Conference Begins (by Hillel Fendel)First World Noahide Conference Begins
by Hillel Fendel 
The 1st World Conference of the Noahide Nations is underway in Florida. The conference is taking place at the Ft. Lauderdale Airport Hilton Hotel, and is designed to bring Jews and Noahides together. The organizers stated that for this purpose, the location was specifically chosen for its proximity to a large Jewish populace. [audio:123287] The seven Noahide laws, by which Gentiles are bound according to Torah law and which are being accepted by increasing numbers of non-Jews, are the following: At the Florida conference, Pettersen presented Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight with the Zedekah Award for his charitable efforts and public support for the State of Israel, and Vendyl Jones received the Noah Award for his lifetime of work in spreading Torah and the Seven Laws of Noach. Other speakers include Rabbis Y. Hollander, Joel Bakst, and Michael Katz, as well as Dr. Andrew Goldfinger, Judge Rabbi Sander Goldberg, Jim Long, and more. PM Harper receives international human rights awardPM Harper receives international human rights award
Bnai Brith advises Prime Minister Stephen Harper today became the first Canadian to receive the B’nai Brith International President’s Gold Medallion, in recognition of the Government’s efforts to fight discrimination and uphold human rights in Canada and around the world. The Prime Minister received the award at B’nai Brith International’s Board of Governors meetings, held in conjunction with the B’nai Brith Canada annual Policy Conference, the first time such a joint meeting has been held outside the United States. “The award of the Gold Medallion generously acknowledges that the actions of our Government are guided by the principle that hate and discrimination have no place in a civilized society,” Prime Minister Harper said. “It’s a special honour to be so recognized by one of the world’s largest and oldest human rights organizations.” [Go here to listen the Harper’s acceptance speech] http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/media_gallery.asp?media_category_id=2&media_id=2181 Previous recipients of the Gold Medallion include United States’ Presidents Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy, as well as British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Israeli Prime Ministers David Ben-Gurion and Golda Meir. In presenting Prime Minister Harper with the award, B’nai Brith International President Moishe Smith, a resident of Ottawa who is the first non-American president of the organization, cited a number of actions the Prime Minister and the Government have taken to advance human rights and oppose discrimination, including: # Unequivocally supporting Canada’s role in the UN-sanctioned mission in Afghanistan; # Refusing to sign a resolution denouncing Israel’s right to self-defence at the 2006 Francophonie Summit; # Suspending relations with the then Hamas-led government in Palestine, for its refusal to renounce terrorism; and # Delivering a heartfelt apology acknowledging the overtly discriminatory Indian Residential Schools program. “Prime Minister, whether in opposition or in government, you have always portrayed a leadership style that speaks of principle and honesty,” said Mr. Smith. “Our decision to award you the Gold Medallion reflects the esteem the world Jewish community holds for you.” http://www.israpundit.com/2008/?p=1429 NEWS ALERT: ISRAEL 26th of Sivan 5768 - Sun, Jun/29/08NEWS ALERT: ISRAEL 26th of Sivan 5768
Sunday 29 June 2008
Israel agrees prisoner exchange with Lebanon Iran: Israel no match for our defenses Israel approves prisoner swap with Hezbollah Official: Israel OKs Hezbollah prisoner deal Israel reopens crossing for goods to Gaza Hamas arrests man who claimed rocket attack on Israel FM: Israel not in position to threaten Iran Israel reopens Gaza border, Hamas looks to truce France, US and UK reject UN condemnation of Israel settlements Israeli building seen as threat to peace
[THE JERUSALEM POST] View from America: Real friends, and real enemies (by Jonathan Tobin)View from America: Real friends, and real enemies
Jun. 25, 2008 Jonathan Tobin , THE JERUSALEM POST Two years ago, American Jewish community relations groups were busy patting themselves on the back for achieving a signal victory in turning back the attempt by anti-Israel radicals to hijack the Presbyterian Church USA. After the Presbyterians became the first Protestant church to embrace divestment from companies doing business in Israel in 2004, Jewish groups worked hard to overturn the decision. When the church voted to back away from this stand in 2006, it was rightly seen as a triumph not just for friends of Israel, but for the tactic of outreach itself as years of tenacious diplomacy paid off. The celebrations seem to have been premature. The release of a document by the church last month titled "Vigilance Against Anti-Jewish Bias in the Pursuit of Israeli-Palestinian Peace" was supposed to help its members guard against anti-Semitic rhetoric when discussing the Middle East. Instead, it is a compendium of charges aimed at delegitimizing the Jewish State. The church release avoids discussing Arab support for terrorism and, rather than serve as a warning against bias, it serves as a justification for anti-Israel invective since it places the sole blame for the conflict on Israel, rather than on those attempting to destroy it. If anything, it should serve to reinvigorate those who have been pushing for divestment, which is nothing less than a declaration of economic war on Israel and the Jewish people. In itself, this should justify the outrage and the feelings of betrayal that have been voiced by a wide spectrum of centrist and liberal Jewish denominations and organizations that worked to reverse the previous Presbyterian stand on Israel. BUT ALSO buried in the document is a strand of thought that is relevant not only to this battle for the soul of a powerful mainline liberal Protestant church, but to the mindset of American Jews themselves. Amid a laundry list of anti-Israel measures in the Presbyterian statement - including opposition to the security fence that effectively ended the Palestinian suicide bombing campaign - was the assertion that "Christian faithfulness, as well as the policies of our church, demands that we maintain our commitments … to criticize forms of Christian Zionism." That meant that in the same document in which they urged its members to avoid couching their attacks on Israel in ways that could be labeled anti-Semitic, the Presbyterians specifically attack fellow Christians who have lent their support to the idea that the Jewish people have a right to sovereignty over their historic homeland. In particular, they singled out Evangelicals such as Pastor John Hagee, who was flogged out of the camp of Republican presidential candidate John McCain for saying the Holocaust was caused by the Jewish sin of failing to make aliya. To support the contention that Christian Zionists are wrongheaded, the Presbyterian document cited Rabbi Eric Yoffie, the leader of the Union for Reform Judaism, who in a December 2007 speech warned Jews to avoid alliances with the pro-Israel Christian right. Yoffie, whose Reform movement joined the coalition of Jewish groups that condemned the Presbyterian reversal, is not happy about this. He told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he is "infuriated" about the Presbyterians "embedding" his words in a "doctrine that is so hostile to Israel." WHILE SOME of Yoffie's criticisms of Hagee are not completely off-target - particularly his reaction to Hagee's foolish talk about the Holocaust, for which the pastor has since apologized - the Reform leader is right to be embarrassed. But rather than merely being annoyed by the church's chutzpah, he ought to be rethinking his own bashing of right-wing Christian Zionists. Indeed, the Presbyterians' renewed flirtation with anti-Zionism should serve as a wake-up call for the vast number of American Jews who have clung to their prejudices about Evangelicals, despite the sea change in the Protestant world that has occurred in the last generation. In the past, Jews instinctively looked to mainline liberal Protestant churches, like the Presbyterians, the Methodists, Lutherans and Anglicans, who have all been debating divestment measures against Israel in recent years, as allies. At the same time, Jews generally assumed that Evangelicals, who generally lived outside the coastal urban enclaves where Jewish life has thrived in America, were liable to be anti-Semitic. But in the America of 2008, it is precisely the Evangelicals of the Christian right who are instinctively supportive of Israel, while our traditional allies on the Christian left are flirting with a theology that demonizes Israel and the Jews. Though the gap between the Christian right and most Jews on domestic issues is still vast, when it comes to the life-and-death questions of Israeli survival and opposition to terror, it is the people who look to the Hagees of the world for leadership, rather than to the Presbyterians, who stand with Israel. Unfortunately, that isn't good enough for many Jews who never tire of making unsupported and utterly false accusations that the Evangelicals actually hate Jews and want to destroy us. It is little surprise that this has only encouraged the Presbyterians to use this issue to bolster their own attempt to isolate Israel. The point here is not to claim that the Christian right has become Israel's only American friends, though they are among the most active and effective. The fact is, most of the rank-and-file members of the mainline churches who are dabbling in anti-Zionist rhetoric and considering divestment don't support the campaign against Israel. Indeed, it is doubtful even after all of the controversy of the past few years, that most are even aware of the fact that their spiritual home is being hijacked by radical left-wing elements. As frustrated as many Jews are with the Presbyterian betrayal, the outreach campaign carried out by Jewish community relations councils across the country must continue. Most American Protestants rightly see Israel as sharing common democratic values with the United States and want nothing to do with the sort of anti-Zionism that has won a foothold among mainline church activists. They need to understand that their silence will be taken as complicity with the actions of these radicals. They must understand that their churches cannot pretend to be friends with their Jewish neighbors while supporting an economic war on the Jewish state. And they must be prodded to take action to rescind such measures enacted in their names. But, at the same time, American Jews must cease living in the past when it comes to understanding the contemporary religious and political landscape of America. At a time when Hamas, Hizbullah and their Iranian sponsors are plotting a new Holocaust for Israel and its six million Jews, treating those Protestants who actually love Israel as hateful pariahs is a strategy devoid of truth or sense. The writer is executive editor of the Jewish Exponent in Philadelphia. jtobin@jewishexponent.com This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1214132686907&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull [THE JERUSALEM POST] Column One: Not a personal affair (by Caroline Glick)Column One: Not a personal affair
Jun. 26, 2008 Caroline Glick , THE JERUSALEM POST On Sunday Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will bring the matter of IDF reserve soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser before his cabinet. The two reservists, who are presumed dead, have not been heard from since they were kidnapped to Lebanon by Hizbullah on July 12, 2006. Olmert will instruct his ministers to vote on whether Israel should release Samir Kuntar and three Hizbullah terrorists from its prisons to secure the return of their bodies. On April 21, 1979, Kuntar and four other terrorists infiltrated Israel from Lebanon. Kuntar entered the Nahariya apartment belonging to Danny and Smadar Haran and their daughters, two-year-old Yael and Einat, a four-month-old baby. Kuntar forced Danny and Einat to the beach below. There he shot Danny in the head and then drowned him in the sea. He crushed Einat's skull on a rock with his rifle butt. Smadar evaded capture by hiding in a crawlspace of their apartment with Yael. While trying to keep Yael silent, Smadar inadvertently suffocated her. Kuntar has pledged that if released, he will join Hizbullah and continue his quest to bring about the destruction of Israel. He has no regrets. As the government ministers vote to release Kuntar and his associates in exchange for Goldwasser and Regev's bodies, Ofer Dekel, Olmert's point man for hostage negotiations, will be sitting in Cairo. There he is negotiating the price of releasing IDF soldier Gilad Schalit, who for two years has been held hostage by Hamas and its fellow terror groups in Gaza. Unlike Regev and Goldwasser, Schalit is presumed alive. His captors have forced him to send messages to his parents demanding that Israel release Palestinian terrorists in exchange for his freedom. According to the Egyptian media, Hamas is demanding 1,000 terrorists now in Israeli jails in exchange for Schalit. Most of them are convicted murderers. For its part, the government has expressed its willingness to release murderers for Schalit. But it is still unclear how many. Among the many killers whose release Hamas demands are the masterminds of the Seder massacre at the Park Hotel in Netanya where 30 people were murdered on March 27, 2002. According to the Arab media, most of the masterminds of suicide bombings in recent years are on Hamas's list. It is impossible to know precisely how many Israelis will be killed in the future if the deals now on the table are approved. But past experience shows that at a minimum, dozens of Israelis now innocently going about their business will be murdered by the terrorists Israel releases. And at a minimum, one or two Israelis will be abducted by Hamas or Hizbullah or one of their sister terror organizations. They will be abducted in Israel or while they are travelling abroad and they will be brought to Lebanon or Gaza and the cycle of blood extortion and psychological warfare will begin anew. That Israel will pay a price in blood if the deals go through is a certainty. That more families will meet the fates of Schalit, Regev and Goldwasser is a certainty. The only thing we do not know today is the names of the victims. They could be any one of us. Indeed, they are all of us. For all of us are equally targeted simply by virtue of the fact that we are Israelis. Given these certainties, it is obvious that the deals now on the table ought to be rejected completely. And yet, they will both almost certainly be approved. The fact that this is the case is yet another damning indictment of Israel's elected leaders and its media. In equal parts, they share the blame for the fact that Israel is about to accede to Faustian bargains that will bring untold suffering to the country. TO DATE, the only clear public call to reject these deals was made by former IDF chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. (res.) Moshe Ya'alon. At a conference on military leadership Tuesday, Ya'alon argued against the deals explaining, "In some situations, the price to pay as part of the deal is much heavier than the price of losing the captive soldier." Ya'alon's statement should have been a springboard for a reasoned debate. But the local media would have none of it. Rather than enable a responsible debate, the media called on Schalit's father, Noam Schalit, to rebut Ya'alon. Noam Schalit brutally and unfairly denounced Ya'alon as a political operative. In his words, "No politician or political operative has the right to determine the fate of an IDF POW, except a commander during battle. Ya'alon was an army commander, but today he is mainly a politician and a political operative. He and anyone else can determine a POW's fate only if it concerns their own son." Piling on, Goldwasser's father, Shlomo Goldwasser, said, "Such words can only be spoken by a man whose son is not held captive by the enemy. He would have spoken differently had the matter been a personal concern of his." The brutal truth is that the hostages' fathers have things precisely backwards. With all due respect, it is they that should not be listened to. Through no fault of their own, the Regev, Goldwasser and Schalit families have become the mouthpieces of Hizbullah and Hamas. This is as natural as it is tragic. The moment their sons were abducted, the Schalit, Regev and Goldwasser families also became prisoners. In constant agony over the fate of their sons, these families are incapable of acknowledging the cruel and devastating fact that the safety of three soldiers cannot be placed above Israel's national security. In their unmitigated suffering, they cannot come to terms with this horrible fact because for them the country, and indeed the world, is made up of their loved ones. This is the natural human condition. Each person's world is defined by the presence and absence of his loved ones. For the Goldwassers, Regevs and Schalits, Israel is a meaningless, cold, dark place when it doesn't include their sons Ehud, Eldad and Gilad. And it is precisely for this reason that they cannot be allowed to dictate policy. It is precisely for this reason that the only ones who can responsibly weigh Israel's options for releasing them are those who are not personally affected by their plight. IN 2005, then-prime minister Ariel Sharon had his ministers vote on a proposed deal in which Israel would release hundreds of terrorists in exchange for the bodies of IDF soldiers Benny Avraham, Omar Suweid and Adi Avitan, and for Elhanan Tenenbaum, an Israeli drug dealer held hostage by Hizbullah. Among the few ministers who voted against the deal was former Prisoner of Zion Natan Sharansky. Sharansky recalls that Sharon called him the evening before the vote in an effort to secure his support. "He told me, 'As a former prisoner, you above all should understand our moral responsibility to bring about their release.'" Sharansky responded that, indeed, "As a prisoner, it is important to know that your country is doing everything it can to secure your release. But it is also true that you are not willing to be released at any price. There are things that are more important than your personal survival." It is a stinging indictment of Israel's political and media culture that the debate about these life-threatening deals has been dominated by the impassioned and tragic pleas of the hostages' families. As Sharansky notes, if as the Schalit and Goldwasser fathers argue, issues of paramount national security are to be determined by the parents of soldiers, then no government can ever commit forces to battle. It is an abdication of national responsibility for Olmert to send the Goldwasser, Regev and Schalit families to his colleagues to beg them to vote in favor of these blood deals. And it is an abdication of responsibility by the media when they provide these terrified, victimized families with an open microphone to rail against our politicians for refusing to have mercy on them. Due to Hizbullah's and Hamas's deliberate, evil designs, the Goldwasser, Schalit and Regev families find themselves set apart from the rest of their countrymen. And since their personal suffering is easier to understand than the general suffering of the public if the murderers go free, it is difficult, but not impossible to understand what is at stake. Again, that the price is not clear is the fault of the media and the pandering politicians. Disgracefully, both have left the Israeli people as a whole unrepresented in this debate. AND THIS is not a unique situation. In recent years, led by the hydra of its media and self-interested politicians, the Israeli public has had next to no representation in the public square. This came across clearly in the politicians' handling and the media's coverage of the other major story of the week. That story of course was the backroom deal forged Tuesday night between the Labor Party and Kadima that torpedoed the opposition's plan to hold a preliminary vote Wednesday to dissolve the Knesset and move to general elections in November. The deal, in which Kadima committed itself to holding a primary for its leadership post in September, guaranteed the Kadima-Labor-Shas government another nine months in power. Olmert, Labor Chairman Ehud Barak and their surrogates have defended the deal by arguing that what Israel needs most now is political stability. The only one harmed by their decision, they proclaimed, is Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu. The media parroted their arguments, scoffing at Likud politicians for "sewing their ministerial suits too early." As with the hostages-for-terrorists deals, by personalizing the issue at hand, both the politicians and the media ignored the public. The reason that "stability" can only be assured by preventing elections is that for the past two years, public opinion polls have consistently shown that the public wants to replace the Kadima-Labor-Shas government with a Likud-led government. It is not the personal ambitions of Likud politicians that were scuttled on Tuesday night. It was the public's will. It may seem crass to conflate issues affecting Israel's national security with issues affecting the identity of Israel's national leadership. It can be argued that they are unrelated. But the fact of the matter is that in both cases, no one is representing the public interest. In their rush to treat general issues as personal stories, whether of victimized families or of ambitious politicians, both our media and our leaders behave as if there are no general consequences for their actions. Personal stories are always powerful. Whether they are tragic, titillating or irritating, they never fail to attract our attention. But their attraction must not dwarf matters of national concern. Looking ahead, Israel's troubles will not end until our leaders and our media finally accept that Israel's collective fate is not the personal affair of any one of us. This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1214492517226&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull June 28 NEWS ALERT: ISRAEL 25th of Sivan 5768 - Sat, Jun/28/08NEWS ALERT: ISRAEL 25th of Sivan 5768
Saturday 28 June 2008
Zahar pledges to arrest truce breachers Obama to meet with French, British, German leaders; also traveling ... Report: Iran to hit Israel if attacked Who's Planning Our Next War? Naive is thy name Israeli troops kill Palestinian teen Shays Stands With Israel On Iraq, Iran Livni: Israel should respond militarily Israel Will Not Attack Iran's Nuclear Facilities Israel Kills Palestinian Teen in West Bank
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Balaam was the grandson of Laban the Aramean. [8].The patriarch Jacob lived in Aram and married the two daughters of Laban, Leah and Rachel. Jacob shepherded the flocks of his father-in-law for many years. As Jacob and his wives were returning to the land of Canaan, they stopped for a while in the land of Moab in the settlement later to be called Succoth. [9] Archaeologists believe that the Jordanian hill called Tel Deir Alla is the site of Biblical Succoth. And, it was here in Tel Deir Alla that evidence of Balaam was found.
Reports of the discovery spread throughout the archaeological community. Scholars representing the United States, Jordan, France, Germany and Holland came to examine the fragments. One fragment had written on it in bold letters the words: "the prophet, Balaam son of Beor."
Rabbi Leibel Reznick has been a senior lecturer in Talmudic studies in Rockland County, New York for the past 25 years. He has authored three books (The Holy Temple Revisited, A Time to Weep, and The Mystery of Bar Kokhba) and over 100 magazine and newspaper articles on Jewish History, archaeology, and religious and social issues. |
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