Former MK And Cabinet Minister Gonen Segev AdmitsTo Drug-Smuggling

See the story at Arutz Sheva and Haaretz. Not surprisingly, Haaretz does not mention Segev's immoral behavior of betraying his party and voters by supporting the Oslo Accords. After all, anything and everything is permitted to further the left's political agenda. It is interesting to note that Sharon is following the Segev/Goldfarb tradition of betraying his party and voters.

Being a product of the '60s and '70s, I had no idea what Ecstasy pills are. A quick search on Google brought up, among other things, this. It is amazing that Segev, who is a medical doctor, would be involved in the smuggling of dangerous drugs. But then again, he is the same Segev that imported murderers from Tunisia.

Mr. Segev, may you utilize your time in jail to do teshuvah for all of your sins against the Jewish People.

The Bus (Part 2)

Busses are probably the main form of transportation in Jerusalem. Even one who has his own automobile will often prefer using the bus if he has to get to the city center. Why? Because any time he saved by driving downtown will be more than made up for looking for a parking spot.

You'll meet a good cross-section of Jerusalemites on the busses: Secular, religious, and ultra-Orthodox Jews, Arabs, soldiers, tourists, foreign workers. If you keep your ears open you can hear many languages: Hebrew, Arabic, English, French, Yiddish, Filipino, and more. Another thing that you are sure to hear is a variety of ringing sounds from the cellular phones that they are carrying.

It's interesting to see how people spend the 15-40 minutes that they are on the bus. For many this is the time to take out the cellular telephone and make important arrangements, or pass the time talking to a friend. Others will stare out the window, taking in the sights of Jerusalem and its people. Saying Psalms is the way a lot of religious women will spend the ride. In the morning some men will finish parts of the prayer service that they missed in their minyan while others will close their eyes to get a few more minutes of sleep before a hard day's work. The Torah scholar will have the tractate that he is learning open on his lap, striving to make sure that the precious time for learning Torah is not being wasted. A high school student may review his notes for an upcoming test, or joke around with his friends in a raucous manner.

The bus rolls down Jaffa Street, passing the places where other busses just like it were blown up and turned into fiery death traps. The bus stops: An old man with bags full of produce from the shuk boards the bus. A young woman gets up to give him her seat. Suddenly two men that haven't seen each other in years will notice that they are on the same bus and will greet one another loudly and warmly, oblivious to the stares of the other passengers. A woman starts yelling "nahag, rega!"(Driver wait a minute), as the bus leaves the bus stop before she had a chance to get off.

If all goes well and the bus does not get blown up by an Islamofascist, everyone gets of at his stop and life in Jerusalem goes on as usual.

Update: Read more about Israel's busses at Shiloh Musings.

What Would Moses Do?

The Israeli Government's plan to destroy settlements and make the Gaza Strip judenrein is in my mind a crime against the Jewish People as a whole and the brave Jews who built their homes there in particular. How is a Jew supposed to act when he sees such a great injustice being perpetrated?

It behooves up as People of The Book to open up The Book and see what is expected of us in such situations Exodus (2:11-17):

11 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown up, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he smote the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. 13 And he went out the second day, and, behold, two men of the Hebrews were striving together; and he said to him that did the wrong: 'Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?' 14 And he said: 'Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? thinkest thou to kill me, as thou didst kill the Egyptian?' And Moses feared, and said: 'Surely the thing is known.' 15 Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well. 16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. 17 And the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

Moses, our teacher, did not sit idly by in the face of iniquity and let the wrongdoers do as they pleased. He got up and took action. I believe that we, as Moses' pupils, must also get up and act. We have to explain to every soldier and policeman the unlawfulness in the law that was passed, and his duty as a human in general and as a Jew in particular not to expel Jews from their home in the Land of Israel. We have to be willing to physically prevent the implementation of this law. This includes the possibility of being beaten by soldiers and/or policemen and sitting in jail. We have to risk our freedom in order to preserve our freedom.

It is well known that the commandments that the Jewish People were willing to die for are the ones that are still being practiced meticulously today (see Tractate Shabbat 130A). We say Shema Yisrael twice a day. Do we really mean it when we say "with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might"? When we say kedusha do we really intend what we are saying "nekadesh et shimcha baolam"? Are we students of Rabbi Akiva or are we Pappus Ben Yehuda's students ( see Tractate Brachot 61B)?

It is time for the silent majority in Israel to stand up to our corrupt government, just like the Ukrainian people stood up to their corrupt government. The mobsters in the Knesset are doing what they are doing only because they think that they can get away with it. They have to know that we will not sit silently in the face of their iniquity.

Questioning Krauthammer

The Big Trunk over at Power Line has dared to ask questions about Charles Krauthammer's support of Sharon's disengagement + fence policy. Krauthammer's position is indeed misguided and The Big Trunk touches on a few of the questions that could and should be raised. I have already linked to an important article at the Jewish World Review which is a must read for anyone who really wants to know the truth about "disengagement."

In a later post The Big Trunk quotes from "several thoughtful messages" that he had received in response to his column. The first was an anonymous post which was absolutely ridiculous and full of factual errors(see UPDATE 2 on that post where a correction is made). This first response also repeats something which has been proven over the years as totally false:

"It is oversimplification to say he is falling back to a defensible perimeter. He is creating and defining it as we speak. He will allow for the creation of a Palestinian nation state precisely because, when it is created, it will be an entity against which one can wage conventional war. By explicitly creating its borders, Sharon is ensuring Israel's ability to defeat it in the event Palestine chooses to wage war."

This is what Rabin and Peres told us would be true if we gave them autonomy! “"If they dare to shoot rockets at us, we'’ll show them who is boss”", the Israeli public was told. Yeah, right. What's more, if we, G-d forbid have to deal with a sovereign state, military actions are going to be much more problematic.

The next "thoughtful" response posted is from Carol Herman, who reveals incredible ignorance about the Israelis living in Gaza:

"The 8,000 civilians in Gaza are not holding back the tides of terrorism. They're just a costly interference. Using up taxpayer money, to sport small enclaves, where, surprise to no one, the settler's(sic) HATE the IDF! (Settler's(sic) don't join the army. Most get the "gift" of a religious pass. And, the real problem is that Israel has yet to figure out how to separate church from state, effectively.)"

The truth is that these settlers are very productive, and are not a burden. What's more, they serve in the army, many of them in the most elite units. They "hate" the IDF so much that they set up a pre-military academy in Atzmona. This is not only ignorance, this is libel.

The third response is from Greg Rich. He claims that the lack of accountability is a product of the Israeli political system. This is partly true. Another important factor is the failure of the Israeli MSM, dominated by secular leftists, to do their job. They are the ones who have given those responsible for the Oslo fiasco a free pass.

In short, the original article was more thoughtful than the responses.

Update: Power Line readers weigh in on Carol Herman's remarks.

Baptists Against Disengagement

The following was received from Women In Green:


(Pastor Jim Vineyard, who has a very large Baptist Congregation in Oklahoma City in the U.S., submitted a letter to the Jerusalem Post for Friday, February 25, 2005, to be published as a paid AD in the local and international editions of that newspaper. As was done to him previously, this AD was also rejected. The complete text of his letter is reproduced below.)


Open Letter to Prime Minister Sharon


Christian-Zionist greetings to you Sir on this "black-day" in the history of the nation of Israel! I call it a "black day" Sir, as an observer from Oklahoma, because of your arrogant and jubilant boast to your cabinet that "Gaza will be 'Judenrein' (my words Sir) by Rosh Hashanah. " I call it a "black day" Sir, because your personal plan is a reversal of your "campaign platform" you had against Amram Mitzna. I call it a "black day" Sir because your concept of democracy now says "anyone who speaks or writes against the disengagement plan is guilty of incitement".

I call it a "black day" Sir, because your five thousand Druze, Bedouin and Jewish jerks, raised in a non-faithful environment, "storm-trooper deporters", will not have to wear name tags, hence no accountability. I call it a "black day" Sir, because a Hatzofe article noted that many of your storm troopers will be Druze and Bedouins, who are "looking forward" to manhandling Jews. I call it a "black day" Sir, because the entire storm trooper machine, which is now known as the "State of Israel" had reneged on its Abrahamic Covenant, to adopt a new, sick and macabre venture, all in an effort to secure the "silly approval" of the European Union and the Bush Administration. I call it a "black day" Sir, because your "storm trooper school for deportation", established in Beit-Govrin [Lak'hish area], now promises a cool $5,000 bonus to the "storm trooper" deporters. With five thousand storm trooper deporters receiving $5,000 each, that is a cool $25,000,000 (million) the American tax payers will be giving your storm troopers to deport Jews.

I call it a "black day" Sir, because of the fact that it would seem that the only true friends of those people whom you supposedly lead, the apple of God's eye, are the faithful Jews and Christian Zionists, who believe that God meant what he said, and said what he meant, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

I call it a "black day," Sir, because it is like that day, when Israel's first King, King Saul, as the Holy Bible tells us in 1 Samuel 13: 13-14, when Samuel said to Saul: "thou hast done foolishly, thou has not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which He commanded thee .... But now thy kingdom shall not continue. The Lord hath sought him, a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee."

I call it a "black day," Sir, because it is like that day, when Israel's king, King Ahab, had Elijah tell him that King Ahab had acted immorally in deporting faithful Naboth from his home. God never changes His morality. You too, are acting illegally and immorally when you remove Jews in Gaza and Shomron in 2005 from their homes. As the Bible states: "has thou killed, and also taken possession ... in the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine." [1 Kings 21:19]. I call it a "black day," Sir, because it is a day in which people in democracies worldwide need to know that Israel now has a fascist dictatorship endowing Israel in its ruling elite with legitimacy. I call it a "black day," Sir, because American Christians and Jews need to know that Israel's Prime Minister must presently be exposed as a dictator. I call it a "black day," Sir, because Americans need to know that you are utterly ruthless and will stop at nothing - not even bloodshed - to deport Jews from their homes in Gaza and northern Samaria.

I call it a "black day," Sir, because I am going to have to involve all the resources I can, in money and people, to let Americans know what you, Sir - a man who reminds me of Haman, mentioned in the Bible in Esther's day - are going to do to the innocent Jews in Israel.

I call it a "black day" because America is complicit with you in this endeavor.

A true yedid and haver to the Jews,

Jim Vineyard, Baptist pastor in Oklahoma City, U.S.A.

The Bus

I take the bus to work every morning. This morning I noticed an abnormally high presence of special public transport security officers. They patrol the bus stops, and sometimes stand in the entrance of the bus surveying all those who board. Often they will wish you boker tov (good morning in Hebrew) to see if you know Hebrew or if you speak it with a suspicious (i.e. Arabic) accent. Once I toyed with the idea of answering these guys with sabah al-nur (the Arabic response to "good morning"). Of course I did not do it. They have enough on their mind without having to deal with leitzanut (somebody clowning around).

Sometimes I wonder: When is the last time that one of the proponents of concessions to the Arabs (i.e. giving them land, sovereignty, and guns) took a bus? When Benny Begin was a minister in the government he took the bus to work. He was strongly opposed to the various agreements that were signed with the PLO. He was a man of principle who left the Likud after it became a hapless imitation of the Labor Party. I do not know of any other politician who uses/used public transportation.

When one boards a bus in Jerusalem he does not take it for granted that he will get off the bus alive. He could be the victim of an oversexed Islamofascist, eager to receive his reward for murdering infidels: 72 black-eyed virgins. Don't get me wrong; I do not live in fear. I live with the knowledge that nothing is to be taken for granted, even getting off the bus in one piece.

Igeret LaShoter

Here is a letter (in Hebrew) that every Israeli policeman should read. Send the url to your favorite policeman or print it out for him. Thanks.

He Has No G-d

I davenned(prayed) at the 6:30 minyan this morning. After davenning I walked out into the pleasently cool Jerusalem air. Suddenly I hear two men (let's call them Reuven and Shimon) walking behind me, holding their tallis and tefillin bags and talking to each other:

Reuven: I can't believe what this guy is doing! And the way he's doing it - in the most evil and corrupt way! He has no G-d!

Shimon: Right.

I turn around and said,"You guys must be talking about Ariel Sharon."

They just smiled.

Enumerating The Idiocy

David at Israellycool enumerates two of the many reasons why the Gaza disengagement plan is a bad idea.

A Must Read

Don't miss David Wilder's take on MJ Rosenberg: Self-Hating Horror.

Caught On Tape

Congressman Maurice Hinchey is obviously a graduate of the Eason Jordan School of Unfounded Accusations.

Clarity and Resolve *********

"Clarity & Resolve: The ability to see reality clearly and rationally, even when one might rather not; and the will to acknowledge it for what it is, to confront it when necessary, and to work towards changing it for the better of all mankind."

This is the definition that Patrick O'Brien, a self-described American atheist of Irish descent gives to his weblog. Why am I, an orthodox Jew from Jerusalem, a big fan of Mr. O'Brien's web log? Because his blog, IMHO, is the best Israel advocacy in the blogosphere.

Let's start with content: Patrick O'Brien decided to learn a little about Islam after 9/11 . I must admit that he knows more about Islam than I do, even though I have been living for the last 20 years in a city where the muezzin's call can clearly be heard. What's more, he, unlike many Israelis, Europeans, and Americans, does not try to sweep the dirty Islamic dirt under the rug. He confronts the ugly Moslem monster for what it is, and does not deal with it according to fantasies of what he might like it to be. He exposes what the Islamic plan for global domination(Jihad) and the Muslim practice of deception(taqiyya) for what they are. Clarity and Resolve is a great source for keeping up to date on the worldwide jihad and the other activities of the "religion of peace.”

Style: Mr. O'Brien, who sometimes refers to himself as jokingly Al-kafir (the infidel), has a fantastic command of the English language and a great sense of humor. After twenty years living in Israel, my English has become somewhat rudimentary. I really enjoy seeing how the language can be used. Here's an example of one of Patrick's recent posts:

"I was going through my referral logs, when I noticed a hit from a hitherto unknown (to me) site. Imagine my irrepressible joy when I found that it was from the web log of a skulking moonbat who has written a scholarly, well-informed, and factually backed critique of Clarity & Resolve! Apparently she saw something I'd written elsewhere about the death cult, and she took issue with it. So, rather than go the mature and logical route of sending me an email to establish direct dialogue, she went with the spectacle of a battered Edsel of entrenched leftism rolling down ten miles of bad multicultural road route, and got off in Assumptionville. I often find it remarkable how resistant to facts and reason we can be. Sometimes that miniscule space between the frontal lobes and the rest of the brain may as well be a vast, impassable chasm."

Now that's good writing! (I'm so jealous). Here is another example:

"Disclaimer: If you can't handle Islam being criticized and even ridiculed here and there, if you adhere blindly to far left ideology, if you take offense with politically incorrect—but honest—realism, or if you have no sense of humor, please leave the glossary now and proceed to IslamOnline, Indymedia, the nearest "peace" rally, or the neighborhood mosque where you will be in your element. Thanks."

Appearance: The blog looks great, with many of the posts accompanied by original graphics.

Openness: Allows comments and “trackbacks”.

Clarity and Resolve: Exactly what the Israeli government is lacking. I rate it nine stars on the cosmic scale of ten.

Special Bonus For Disengagement Cops

According to Makor Rishon, Israeli policemen who will take part in the crime of expelling Jews from their homes will receive special bonus: 18,000 shekels to be paid over a period of six months. Did the Gestapo also have to offer special incentives for such operations?

Dear Israeli Policeman

Dear Israeli Policeman,

I see you every day on my way to work. You direct traffic, check busses for suicide bombers, and keep the order in general. I appreciate what you do, even though I never stopped to say "Thank you."

Rumors have it that it is you who will be called upon by the Israeli government to implement its "disengagement" plan. This will require you to forcefully evict Jews from their homes in the Land of Israel. These Jews that you will violently evict from their homes have done no wrong. They paid for their homes in full. They work, pay taxes, serve in the army, and are in general model, law-abiding citizens.

The disengagement law may have been passed by a democratically elected parliament, but that does not make it moral. Bona fide governments have passed many evil laws. Most of Israel's leading rabbis adamantly oppose this law, because of the many Torah prohibitions that it involves. This particular law is a outrage, an act of iniquity that cannot be justified. Are you willing to be the one to execute this wickedness?

Before you answer I would like to remind you of a concept in Jewish law: Ein Shaliach LiDevar Aveirah. There is no emissary for sinning. In other words, if someone tells you to sin, and you listen to him and sin, you are the one that is liable before the L-ord! If G-d tells you not to sin, and a man tells you to sin, whom are you going to listen to? We all know that Adolph Eichmann claimed at his trial "I was just following orders." Are you going to try to claim the same thing when your children ask you, "Daddy how could you throw those widows and orphans out of their house?"




If the day comes, G-d forbid, when you are asked to throw people out of their homes or any other order that is against the Torah, I hope that you will have the moral strength to say no. If that means turning in your badge, then so be it. Have faith that your livelihood is from G-d, and that He will help all those that walk in the path of righteousness!

Two More Weigh In On Easongate And The Bloggers

Peggy Noonan gets it right (hat tip: Michelle Malkin) and Dan Abrams gets it wrong!

Knesset Approves Disengagement Bill

I probably should write something about the Israeli Parliament's decision to make the Gaza Strip judenrein, but words are not adequate to express my disgust. I'll just link to a couple of interesting posts about the subject:

Fundamentally Freund

Shiloh Musings

Bret Stephens' Credibility Resurrected

Captain Ed has retracted his claim of "conflict of interest" against Bret Stephens with regards to Easongate.

Journalistic Ethics

The strange reactions of journalists Bertrand Pecquerie, Bret Stephens and Mike Moran to Easongate left me puzzled. What exactly is wrong with these guys? Then I recalled an incident from long ago when I was a student in college.

It was the days of the Iranian hostage crisis, when Ayatollah Khomeini's Islamofascist thugs held the staff of the United States Embassy in Tehran hostage. All over America people tied yellow ribbons around the old oak trees, but at college we had a different way of expressing ourselves. My roommates and I put up a sign on the door of our dormitory room bearing an anti-Iranian slogan. The next day we found that someone scribbled on the sign something to the tune of "Who do you think you are to attempt to mold public opinion? Are you a communications leader?" After a while I caught the scribbler. He lived on our floor, and was a freshman majoring in communications. Apparently this communications student heard from one of his professors that they, and only they, are the ones fitting to shape public opinion. Anyone who is not one of them is a just plebeian who is to remain silent in front of the television or radio, and to listen attentively while the journalists pontificate. The fact that my roommates and I hung a sign on our door really peeved this guy, and he thought it perfectly legitimate for him, as a budding member of the journalistic elite, to deface the sign.

Perhaps this is what resides in the psyche of the "Morans" of the MSM. Who are these bloggers that dare to criticize us? Who gave permission to these amateurs to express their opinions? How dare those guys in pajamas infringe on our territory? Chutzpah!!!

Concepts Of Judaism

Among the important decisions that parents have to make in Israel is which school to send their children to. There are several different types of schools in Israel. The government runs a secular and religious school system. There is also an independent school system run by the ultra-Orthodox. The government schools are free, whereas the independent schools receive only partial support from the government. The rest of their budget comes from donations and from tuition that the parents pay.

My wife and I decided not to send our children to the government-run schools. These schools are often plagued by violence, teachers' strikes, and harmful meddling from certain elements at the Education Ministry. The financial burden of paying tuition is heavy, but we don't regret our decision at all. I am very happy to say that we are very pleased with the education that our children receive. The boys learn in Talmud Torah, and the girls learn in Beis Yaakov schools.

One of the rights of passage for a Beis Yaakov girl is the Musagim BeYahadut(concepts of Judaism) test. This is a test for seventh graders which requires them to learn more or less by heart 289(!) basic Jewish concepts. This of course requires several months of preparation. By us this was a family effort as almost everyone in the family took turns helping our seventh grader to prepare by testing her. Our son Eliyahu(a third grader) tested her a lot and as a result learned a lot of the concepts.

As the test date approached our daughter was under pressure to finish learning all of the concepts. The tension at home skyrocketed. Yesterday she finally took the test! When I came home from work I expected to see my daughter lying on her bed exhausted. Instead, I was surprised to see her sitting at her table doing homework!

Power Line Discovers Mike Moran

Mike Moran comes out swinging at the blogosphere for its role in causing Eason Jordan's resignation. Deacon at Power Line examines Moran's article and shows that Moran has no idea of what the First Amendment is all about.

As I was reading Deacon's post I thought to myself, "Where have I seen that name (Mike Moran) before?" A quick search at Honestreporting.com provided the answer. In 2002 Mr. Moran accused Honestreporting.com of "muzzling free speech." What did Honestreporting.com do to warrant such a harsh accusation? HonestReporting launched a campaign calling on the media to call Palestinian suicide bombers "terrorists." Read Honestreporting's response to Mike Moran here.

Three years have gone by and Mr. Moran has learned nothing.