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Monday, February 28, 2005

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.

Sunday, February 27, 2005

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.

Thursday, February 24, 2005

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.

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

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.

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

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.

Monday, February 21, 2005

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.

Sunday, February 20, 2005

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!

Thursday, February 17, 2005

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!!!

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

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.

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Kuwaiti Daily and Al-Manar TV Recycle Forged Nazi Document

The Islamofascists have no fear of a "Rathergate", so they use forged documents with impunity. It is a good thing that MEMRI is around so that the world will know what these Arabic speaking creeps are up to.

Bret Stephens' Credibility Takes A Nose Dive

Bret Stephens attempted to throw a life preserver to Eason Jordan but ended up getting pulled into the water. Poor Bret!

Monday, February 14, 2005

Israeli MSM Hysteria

Arutz Sheva has a page by page documentation of the hysteria that Israel's MSM is trying to create. Here is a snippet:

Maariv newspaper's blaring front-page headline is, "Suspicion: Extremists will Attack the Temple Mount from the Air." The sub-headline is flanked by two other similar items: on the right, a headline regarding a threat against Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz, and on the left, the first paragraph of an editorial by Editor Amnon Dankner, entitled, "The Next Murderer." The snippet reads,
"The next murderer knows that he is not alone... He reads in the papers and hears talk of fear of all sorts of murderous violence: mass murder of Arabs, attacks against the Temple Mount mosques, murder of police and army officers. He doesn't only hope. He knows that there are many like him."


Read the rest of the article here.

The current situation in Israel is giving Biur Chametz a bad case of deja vu.

Turning Light Into Darkness And Darkness Into Light

Bertrand Pecquerie, Director of the World Editors Forum, has a very wierd take on Easongate. His post is so ridiculous that I think he wrote it just to get attention.

And Now For Something Completely Different

Is disengagement getting you down? Does the Israeli MSM make you want to vomit? Cheer up, it's Adar!




Thanks to my son Eliyahu for the graphic!

Sharon's Dogs In Israel's MSM Hard At Work

Listening to Kol Yisrael or reading Israel's MSM newspapers makes me nauseous. They are a pathetic lot, doing their best to promote government sponsored hysteria. They make CNN look like little George Washington. These unprofessional losers are actively broadcasting lies in order to help Sharon implement his plan to destroy Gaza's Jewish communities. Read Israel Insider for more.

Israel's MSM Staging News

CNN may be biased, but I do not know if they stage events. In Israel, our journalists are sometimes theater directors:

Journalist Amnon Abromovitz, who exposed Avishai Raviv as an agent of the General Security Services code-named "Champagne" revealed tonight on Israel Television Channel Two that the headline making incident in which Minister Netanyahu was "attacked" was staged for the media.

Abromovitz reported that the entire incident involved two youngsters who yelled at Netanyahu "you are a bunny, Jewish blood isn't valueless" at the behest of a reporter. After the performance the reporter sent an SMS message "great job."

Raviv's primary function was as an agent provocateur to provide incidents that would defame Oslo opponents. Many of the favorite anti-Oslo opponent film footage still shown to this day, including the Rabin in SS uniform photo-montage, were produced thanks to the work of this GSS agent.

Sunday, February 13, 2005

The Deceit At CNN Continues

There are those at CNN that are having a problem coping with reality. Instead of dealing honestly with Eason's fables, they opted to put a deceitful spin on the whole issue. When will they ever learn?

Moonbat Watch

Revisionist "historian" Teddy Katz will be touring North America in the second half of March and the first half of April according to Gush Shalom. Don't forget to bring your barf-bag!

Explaining The Disengagement Plan

Sharon's disengagement plan makes no sense at all. No reasonable explanation has been offered by its proponents. Here is an article by Rabbi Baruch Kahane that attempts to explain what has so many of us scratching our heads:

What Do They Want?

By Rabbi Baruch Kahane

We are in the midst of a bitter struggle against the disengagement plan. And sometimes you just stand flabbergasted at the attacks by the government and media against the nationalist camp, and wonder: what is their obsession? Is the government stupid enough to think that expelling the Jews from Gaza and northern Samaria will bring some kind of benefit to the country? Everyone knows the truth: it won't solve the demographic problem (there are hardly any Arabs in the areas they want to evacuate); it won't bring a reduction in terror (the terrorists see the evacuation as a victory for them); it won't take pressure off the IDF (they will have to return to those areas in reaction to missiles being launched on Israeli cities); it won't ease the international pressure (from countries who will only expect more concessions); etc, etc.

The real answer is: The need to rule. The Israeli elite hold all major focal points of power in this country - media, education, judiciary, economy - and they have grown accustomed to this power, seeing it as their natural birthright. As they sense the rise of the religious population in Israel, they feel their seat of power shaking beneath them, and do all in their power to fight it. Their way of fighting it now comes in the form of disengagement from Gaza and northern Samaria, which they hope will lead to the full evacuation of Judea and Samaria. Their plan is to break the spirit of the religious sector so they do not reach power.

This is the way the Israeli elite have always operated, ever since the establishment of the state. In consistent fashion, they have always done everything possible to remain in power, even if it came at the expense of what was good for the state. As our teacher Rabbi Kahane explained several times, the founding fathers of the state spiritually destroyed the Sephardic Jews, because they were worried that if these Jews would remain religious, they would not vote for the secular and leftist parties. This is the same reason they opposed Rabbi Kahane's initiative to pay Israeli Arabs to leave the country, for the Arab vote is what gives them electoral strength. After all, no Arab will vote for a religious or right-wing party. And it is also the reason they allow huge numbers of gentiles from Russia to enter the country today - they, too, will certainly vote for non-religious parties. To remain in power, everything is permitted!

More than this: the world view of the elite is a cosmopolitan one: "a country of all its citizens" - something that totally negates anything Jewish. One may ask: why, then, do they remain in the country? Why suffer the terror attacks, army reserve duty, high taxes? Can't they find some "enlightened" European country to live in? The reason they remain in Israel is the same reason we have mentioned all along: the lust for power. Nobody in Europe will let them be judges, ministers, CEO's, etc. And so, they remain in Israel, trying to create us in their image. Everything in order to rule.

And so, never say: "we musn't channel all of our energies on the struggle over Eretz Yisrael, because the most important thing is unity." Because if we give in to them, they will find another way to stomp on us. If the Torah-based population would, for example, take up the cause of "social justice", the judiciary would criminalize civilian interference in the justice system. If they would campaign for social equality, the media would lambaste this attack on the status quo. If we tried to champion the cause of a "clean environment", they would excoriate us, claiming that this hurts the economy, the judges giving strict fines to those who clean the streets too meticulously. All this out of a fear that the public at large will support the religious sector, bringing it to power.

And so, the problem is not the Arab enemy, but rather how to put ourselves in position to lead the country. It is either us or them. This is what should be guiding us in our struggle.

Another One Bites The Dust: Eason Jordan Resigns

Easongate came to a climax on Friday as chief news executive Eason Jordan resigned from CNN. Once again, the blogosphere forced the MSM to take responsibility for their actions. Congratulations to all the bloggers out there!

Thursday, February 10, 2005

DISENGAGEMENT or DISASTER?

Here is an important link to an article that Shiloh Musings brought to my attention. It deals with the same issues that I brought up in my "Prevarications of Disengagement" series only it does it more eloquently and in more detail.

Idiotarian Sighting In Jerusalem

(This was a conversation that took place recently. The names have been changed to protect the guilty.)

Cosmic: Hey Rafi, do you still have to do reserve duty?

Rafi: Yeah, but I don't want to. If the army wants me to report to reserve duty to kick people out of their homes I won't go.

(Tzippi the loud-mouthed idiotarian enters the room.)

Tzippi: My son is an officer in the army. If the army calls him to do reserve duty in Gaza to protect the settlements he won't go, and I as a mother support him!

Rafi: Gaza is part of the land of Israel. Your son does not want to protect the land of Israel?

Tzippi:
The holiness of human life is more important than the holiness of the land.(This is a catch phrase that the Israeli MSM drills into the heads of the idiotarians. In Hebrew: Kedushat HaChayim Yoter Chashuva MeKedushat HaAretz.)

Cosmic: That means that your son won't risk his life to defend Jerusalem either?!

Tzippi has no answer. She changes the subject like Israeli idiotarians usually do when the fallacies of their arguments are exposed.

Wednesday, February 09, 2005

Does CNN Lie?

Easongate drags on. Captain Ed has revealed that Chris Cramer, the managing editor of CNN's International news division, has made similar allegations about the military targeting journalists.

CNN has never been especially popular here in Israel. I remember a protest at the CNN offices here in Jerusalem a few years ago. I do not have a television at home for ideological reasons. I am not personally familiar with CNN’s televised reports.

Does CNN lie? Here is what an old bumper sticker has to say(this bumper sticker was popular in Israel a few years ago):


I will remain neutral on this issue!

The Victims Of The Rainstorm

Jerusalem has been blessed with rain in the past few days. For those who do not know, rain does not fall all year round in Israel. The rainy season starts approximately in October and ends approximately in April. During the summer rainfall is very rare. The winter rains are very important in that they supply the water that we use in Israel all year round.

But the last rainstorm has not been without its victims. If one walks around Jerusalem, the victims can be seen every so often abandoned and lying on the ground near the sidewalks. I’m not talking about the homeless. I'm talking about the umbrellas that could not stand up to the Israeli mountain winds. I do a lot of walking and I usually have to replace my umbrella every one to two years. You walk down the street with the top of the umbrella pointed head on into the wind. Then of a sudden the wind changes direction and comes under the umbrella. It would be nice if at that moment you would lifted up into the air and spirited across the puddles like Mary Poppins, but that just does not happen. The untimely gust of wind turns your umbrella inside out. The average umbrella will survive this trauma several times, but sooner or later the fabric will tear and the arms will bend. It is not suave to walk around Jerusalem carrying an umbrella that looks like a television antenna. Of course this is not an excuse to litter. I guess the people who threw down their umbrellas were too worried about getting wet to find a dumpster to throw their umbrella into.

It has been said, “If you build a better mousetrap, the whole world will beat a path to your door.” Who will build the better umbrella that can handle Jerusalem’s winds?

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Eason's Fables

Captain Ed is not letting Eason Jordan off the hook for claiming that US and Israeli military forces deliberately target journalists. Kol HaKavod to Captain Ed!

Accuser of 'Confirmed Kill' IDF Captain: We Lied

Do you remember the story about the "confirmed-kill" of 13-year-old Arab girl Iman al Hams? Turns out it was a big lie. Read the story at Arutz 7. Cosmic X wishes Captain R. a hearty mazal tov. Did the soldiers who concocted the story realize that they were libeling not only their commander but the IDF and the State of Israel as well? I think that they deserve to sit in jail for a long time.

Monday, February 07, 2005

Adir Zik z"l

Adir Zik z"l was an inspiration, a man with guts. I'll never forget that during the Oslo period how his broadcasts on Arutz 7 went against the grain of the broadcasts on Israel's MSM. He and a few others at Arutz 7 were the only ones to tell the truth about the Oslo Agreements. The broadcasters on Voice Of Israeli radio, as well as the writers at Israel's major newspapers, failed in their jobs as the "watchdogs of democracy." They suppressed reports about the anti-Israel incitement in the PA media and about Arafat's active role in the continuing terror. Instead of being the watchdogs of democracy, they were the dogs of the Rabin/Peres government. They hid the truth from the Israeli public in order to further their own political interests.

Among the broadcasters at Arutz 7, Adir was my favorite. I remember listening to him on Friday morning while helping prepare Shabbat in the kitchen. His voiced was usually mixed with static. The reception was bad since Arutz 7 broadcasted from the sea. We preferred to hear the truth from Adir amidst crackling reception, than to hear the crystal clear broadcasts from the false prophets at Kol Yisrael(the Voice of Israel) and Galei Tzahal(Israel Army Radio). Ever since the Bolsheviks forced Arutz 7 to cease broadcasting Friday morning has not been the same.

Adir took a lot of flack for his views. He was wrongly accused by Israel's idiotarians as inciting Rabin's murder. He never wavered in his dedication to the truth even when this hurt his livelihood.

His waged his battle with cancer bravely. I along with many prayed for the recovery of Adir Ben Bracha. G-d had other plans. I will miss him very much.

Sunday, February 06, 2005

Another Law Suit Against The Israeli MSM

Noam Federman sues Yair Lapid. Read all about it!

Israeli Bloggers Please Take Note

We all like to complain about the Israeli MSM. I propose that we do something about it! The world has changed. The MSM no longer has a monopoly on the flow of information. Bloggers can play a part in keeping the Israeli MSM honest. Rathergate was a good example of how bloggers forced the MSM to take responsibility for their stupidity. Another example is the current Eason Jordan scandal. Check out Captain Ed's blog and the vigilant way he is pursuing the story. At Power Line Hindrocket has an interesting prediction:

"If the Jordan story parallels what happened with 60 Minutes, there will be a tipping point when one or two major news organizations tiptoe into the story. Then the rush will be on, as everyone else concludes they will be left out and will look silly if they don't cover the story. That sound you hear is cracks forming in the dam."

If we work hard enough the cracks will form in the Israeli MSM dam. "If you will it it is not a dream."

Insomnia On Friday Night

Lately I've been suffering from insomnia. I awake after only three or four hours of sleep, without the ability to fall asleep again. It happened again on Leil Shabbos, in spite of me being satiated from a fine Shabbos meal. "Not again," I thought to myself in agony.

I remembered that earlier in the week snow was forecast for Leil Shabbos, so I went to the kitchen to see if in fact the streets of Jerusalem were covered with snow. It does not snow here very often, and I wanted to get a glimpse. Who knows, by the morning it may melt? From the kitchen window I could see that it was raining "cats and dogs", but apparently the air was not cold enough to turn this precipitation into snow. The wind outside howled, and I thanked G-d that I had a warm house to be in during such inclement weather. Then I recalled my days as a soldier where guard duty and patrols took place 24 hours a day seven days a week no matter what the weather. I thought of the soldiers that were on duty now, protecting my family and the rest of the people of Israel from the Islamofascists. I was very thankful to them as well.

"It was worth waking up just for those two thoughts," I thought to myself. I went back to my bed and slept well until the morning.

Thursday, February 03, 2005

Amiragate: Israel's Rathergate

We are all familiar with "Rathergate", the tragic saga of how two veteran journalists (Dan Rather and Mary Mapes)relied on obviously forged memos in their CBS broadcast that cast President Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard in a bad light. When questions about the authenticity of the memos arose, a period of stonewalling commenced. Only after continuous public pressure (especially from the bloggers) CBS admitted that the memos were "probably" not authentic. Mapes got fired, and Rather's reputation suffered greatly.

A few years ago a similar incident occured in Israel. Amira Hass, a journalist for Israel's left-leaning Haaretz newspaper, published a story that smeared Hebron's Jewish community. According to CAMERA's Andrea Levin, Hass wrote that the Jewish residents there had abused the corpse of a dead Arab shot by Israeli Border police in a violent incident. Arutz 7 was more explicit:
"She wrote that the residents kicked, spat on, and danced atop the body of a dead Arab terrorist, who had just been shot and killed by soldiers shortly after he threw a grenade at them."
The source of Hass' story is unclear. Was it her own imagination or the imagination of local Islamofascists? What is absolutely clear is her source was about as reliable as CBS's Killian memos. Arutz 7 reported that "the IDF spokesman at the time asserting that the Jewish residents did not abuse the body in any manner." Andrea Levin added that the "allegations were disproved by multiple televised accounts of the event."

Hevron's Jewish residents demanded a retraction or an apology, which Haaretz did not provide. They sued the paper for 250,000 shekels, and Haaretz did not even submit a defense. In June 2001 the judge Shalev Gertel awarded the full sum to the Hevron community, in addition to 20,000 shekels for legal expenses.

Cosmic X contacted the spokesman of Hevron's Jewish community, David Wilder, to find out if Haaretz every payed or apologized. His answer (from Feb. 2, 2005) was shocking but not surprising:

"Concerning the suit against Haaretz - the original decision was based upon the fact that the newspaper didn't send anyone to court to answer the charges - so the judge awarded us the decision. Haaretz appealed, saying they didn't know about the case ... and their appeal was accepted and the original verdict was voided. Since then, nothing has happened - the judge still has not heard the case - I'm not clear as to exactly why - however, it is still in the courts."


The wheels of Israeli justice move slow, very slow. Almost four years have passed. But the Jewish community has not forgotten, and neither have I. If what Andrea Levin wrote, that the "allegations were disproved by multiple televised accounts of the event," is true, it is just a matter of time before Haaretz is going to have to pay up or apologize. What are they gaining by stonewalling? CBS's crediblity certainly suffered from using this tactic. Haaretz should learn from Rathergate, and end Amiragate as soon as possible.

An ending note: A Google search on "Amira Hass" reveals that she is the darling of Eurodhimmi and Islamofascist web sites. I'm so surprised!

Captured G.I. Update

As a follow-up to Holy Warriors vs. GI Joe: Check this out at Clarity and Resolve!

Bush Still Dreaming About a Palestinian State

Personally I did not hear Bush's "State of the Union" speech. I read a summary of it at Power Line and it included among other things:

8:46--A democratic Palestine living side by side with a democratic Israel--a goal that is within reach. Well, maybe. My own guess is that the reform of the Arab world will have to be very far advanced before anything good will happen with the Palestinians.


It's funny how a smart guy Hindrocket perpetuates the myth of "Palestinians." There are Arabs, many of them Islamofascists, living in the land of Israel. As long as they exist there will not be peace. Period.

Wednesday, February 02, 2005

Arab Kills Arab, Israel Gets Blamed

Check this out at Josh Harvey's Middle East. Be sure to read the original AFP story to see the Abu Mazen's and UNRWA spokesman Paul McCann's deceit.

Update Feb. 3, 2005: Al Reuters also got into the act(Hat tip: honestreporting.com):


Israel's Ultra-Secularists Run Rampant

Check out this important post at Biur Chametz. The State of Israel is slowly but surely losing its Jewish character, against the will of most of the electorate. Who will put Israel's minority of ultra-secularists in their place?

Fathers and Sons

A trend in Israel today among the orthodox Jews is the creation of Avot Uvanim(fathers and sons) study groups. There are over 800(!) such study groups in Israel. My 8 year old son and I joined one of these groups a few months ago and we really love it. Once a week all the members of the local Avot Uvanim branch meet for an hour of learning in a neighborhood synagogue. It is a truly beautiful sight to see all the fathers and sons sitting together and learning, fulfilling the mitzvah of "veshinantam levanecha"(and you shall teach them diligently to your sons(Deuteronomy 6)). The racket created by the father-son chavrutot produces a festive atmosphere. At the end of the learning session, the children receive a prize: usually some kind of sweet. The fathers also receive prize: The joy of spending quality time with their sons in this world and the reward of learning/teaching Torah in the next world.

If you are interested in joining or starting a branch you can call 1-700-500-613 in Israel or 212-5615877 in the United States.

Holy Warriors vs. GI Joe

Don't miss this hilarious post at Little Green Footballs. LOL!!!

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

A Funny Thing Happened To Me On The Way To The Kotel(The Last of Three Parts)

Click here to read Part One
Click here to read Part Two

I was so happy that the car was at home that I did not get upset at my wife for not calling me! I took her advice and started heading up towards the Dung Gate on the way to the Kotel. Then I remembered the security guard. I walked back down and informed the security guard that the auto was found and that everything was okay. He seemed genuinely happy for me now as he was genuinely concerned earlier.

Passing through the Dung Gate I saw an abundance of soldiers. The Givati brigade was going to hold a military ceremony near the Kotel in honor of the end of boot camp. These ceremonies are a real nuisance for the regular worshippers at the Kotel.

I went around the area cordoned off for the ceremony, washed my hands, and headed for the Kotel. On my right a bearded man dressed in white offered to bless the soldiers standing near him. The soldiers enthusiastically accepted his offer and answered "Amen" after his blessings. I headed inside the roofed area. I grabbed a chair, shtender, and tehillim and found a quiet place to sit under Wilson's Arch. I entered a different world where all mundane concerns are naught. Here near the Western Wall, the material world meets the spiritual. The words of David's Psalms start flowing. These Divinely inspired words are so special in that they reflect man's greatest sorrows and highest ambitions. The words keep flowing chapter after chapter. The pain of the destruction at the foot of the Temple Mount stand in sharp contrast to the great future that G-d has promised the Jewish People on top of the mountain. May our eyes merit to see it.

After finishing all the Psalms for the fifth day(i.e. Thursday), I left the Kotel. The military ceremony was in full swing. "Ani Nishba, Ani Nishba, Ani Nishba," shouted the soldiers, swearing to follow orders even unto death. Will these soldiers, so young, innocent, and beautiful, fulfill the Mitzvah of protecting the Land and the People, or will they be the tools of a tyrant to commit the grave sin of destroying Jewish communities in the Land of Israel?

Pikuach Nefesh Rabbis Agree With Cosmic X

Yesterday I posted the reasons why I was not at the demonstration. Today Israel National News reports in a story headlined Rabbis Debate Whether to Call for Referendum on Withdrawal the following:
The demand for a referendum on Jewish rule over the Land of Israel, the Pikuach Nefesh [Saving Lives] rabbis explained, is anti-Jewish and even inhumane. Rabbi David Druckman wrote in the statement that "the people" have no moral right to decide to uproot Jews from the Land of Israel, which G-d gave to the Jewish people. The Pikuach Nefesh director further wrote that Torah law forbids taking the security risk inherent in uprooting Jews from the lands of Gush Katif.

No "democratic" law, the letter states, "can uproot even a single comma from our holy Torah.... Just as a 'democratic majority' cannot repeal brit milah (ritual circumcision) or move the Sabbath to Sunday, neither can a 'democratic decision' legitimately uproot Jews from their land."


Aren't we saying more or less the same thing? They just said it a lot better than I did.