A Paradox In Gaza

Check this out. Reuters propogandist correspondent Nidal al Mughrabi explaining the Gaza "protests against violence" which feature men toting rifles and RPGs:

“It is very common here to have armed men in Gaza rallying against internal violence or against anarchy, while it may appear to be odd in the world outside Gaza. We see rallies here including armed men firing into the air, urging the restoration of law and order. It is some kind of paradox but it is Gaza and it is happening all the time.”

Gaydamak: The Next Mayor Of Jerusalem?

Word is out that Arcadi Gaydamak wants to be our mayor:

Russian-Israeli billionaire Arcadi Gaydamak announced Monday that he plans to run for Mayor of Jerusalem. “I have no doubt that the entire city will vote for me,” he said. Gaydamak said he plans to turn Jerusalem into “a symbol of peace and Judaism.”

Gaydamak has gained popularity in Israel through a series of highly publicized projects such as funding vacations for residents of the north during the Second Lebanon War, granting a free vacation in Eilat to children from Sderot, and holding a large party in honor of Independence Day with several famous singers.

Sources close to Gaydamak said he made the decision to run just days ago, when Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski criticized the annual march held in the city by Russian veterans of World War II. Lupolianski said that the march, funded by Gaydamak, disturbs city workers.

Well Mr. Gaydamak, yours truly does admire some of your charitable projects. However, your chances of getting my vote are very slim. Before you officially throw your hat into the ring, I recommend that you check in with Rabbi Elyashiv, the Gerrer Rebbe, and Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef and see what they think.

HH #114

Here!

The Protocols Of The Garbage Of London

I got this one from LGF. The one good thing I can say about Mr. Abu Izzadeen as he talks about the Islamic "Mein Kampf" is that he is honest about his beliefs. Are the the Dhimmis listening?

Jerusalem Pine Trees

These are some pine trees that my daughter photographed. They remind me of the famous Joyce Kilmer poem, "Trees":

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

Independence Day Exhibit At Machon Meir

Did you see the Independence Day Exhibit at Machon Meir? I did! The exhibit includes relics, newspaper clippings and more from the "way back when". For instance, this is how people did their laundry sixty years ago(click on picture to enlarge):



A phonograph that I estimate is from about 1965 played a record of IDF marching tunes. This was a real eye opener for my children, members of the cassette/CD generation:



Here's a picture of the Lehi wall-newspaper HaMa'as:



There is a lot more to see. I recommend it.

Some Jblogoshere Notes

6th Edition of Jpix. Don't Miss it.

The JIBs got hacked but they are back.

Better late than never: HH #113

Interesting post from Smoothstone.

Why my children will not attend Yeshiva University...

Post Yom Ha'atzmaut Blues & YouTube Strikes Down The French Hill

The Era Of Redemption

Listen to this lesson (in Hebrew) by Rabbi Uri Sherki. Below is a picture of the Knesset as seen from Givat Ram:

The Joke's JIB's On Me!

Somebody out there has a sense of humor. After posting this with regards to the JIBs, someone nominated this blog in the category of "Slice of Life in Israel Blog". What's even funnier, some people actually voted for this blog. Okay, I'm flattered and honored, but my opinion about the matter hasn't changed.

Adding Strength And Not Weakness When Remembering Israel's Fallen

Rabbi Eliezer Melamed teaches us the proper way to remember our fallen:

ואם רוצים לקיים יום זיכרון, הרי זה בתנאי שהוא יוקדש לחינוך לעניינו ותפקידו של עם ישראל, ולערך מסירות הנפש למען כלל ישראל. ולא כפי שעושים בשנים האחרונות בתקשורת החילונית, שמשמיעים בעיקר דברי צער וכאב על הנופלים, בלי לדבר על העם ועל הארץ ועל הערכים שלמענם מסרו את נפשם. בדרך זו אין מכבדים את הנופלים אלא מבזים את זכרם, שכאילו נפלו לשווא, כי אין שום דבר שמצדיק מסירות נפש. אבל האמת היא שאלה שנפלו במלחמה על הגנת העם והארץ נתעלו למדרגת קדושים, ואין בריה יכולה לעמוד במחיצתם בעולם האמת. כל זה מושתק בתקשורת החילונית.

My translation:

If someone wants to observe a Day of Remembrance, this should be on the condition that it is devoted to teaching about the matter and role of the nation of Israel, and to the value of giving one's life for the community of Israel. And not as they have been doing in recent years in the secular media, that they mainly air words of sorrow and distress about those that died, without speaking about the nation or the land or the values that they sacrificed their lives for. In this they are not honoring the fallen, rather they are desecrating their memory, as if they fell in vain, because there is nothing that justifies sacrificing one's life. But the truth is that those that fell in defense of the nation and the land ascended to the level of martyrs, and other mortals cannot stand in their exclusive place in the World of Truth. All this is silenced in the secular media.

Hallel On Independence Day

Here.

Jerusalem Calatrava Bridge Update

It's starting to look like something:

Ami Ayalon: Har-Shefi Did Not Know Of Rabin Murder Plot

This is truly an amazing revelation:

(IsraelNN.com) Former Chief of the General Security Service (Shabak) Ami Ayalon, now a Knesset Member, revealed Thursday night that Margalit Har-Shefi did not realize that Yigal Amir intended to assassinate Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin. She was convicted in 1998 of failing to prevent the murder. In 2001, she began a serving a nine-month prison term, which was terminated by President Moshe Katzav after six months.

Ayalon made the disclosure at a meeting with Labor party supporters in Ashkelon, but he did not explain why he kept silent until now. "Har-Shefi did not know that Yigal Amir wanted to murder the Prime Minister," MK Ayalon said. "I know this from intelligence and was head of the intelligence agency."

Ynet has a lengthier quote from Ayalon:

"הר-שפי לא ידעה שיגאל עמיר רוצה לרצוח את ראש הממשלה. אני יודע את זה מודיעינית, אני הייתי ראש השב"כ. היא שילמה מחיר על הבריחה של המנהיגות החברתית ושל הרבנים שלא שמו קווים אדומים, אותם רבנים שהוציאו דין רודף לא עמדו לדין. אני יודע שהיא לא העלתה על דעתה שהוא יהרוג את ראש הממשלה. הר-שפי היתה חלק מהמציאות המטורפת".

My translation:

"Har-Shefi did not know that Yigal Amir wanted to murder the Prime Minister. I know this from intelligence and was head of the intelligence agency. She payed the price of the fleeing of the social leadership and the Rabbis that did not lay down red lines, those Rabbis that applied din rodef were not prosecuted. I know that she never thought that he would murder the Prime Minister. Har-Shefi was part of the crazy reality."

Crazy reality indeed! I remember in the days following the Rabin assassination how the Israeli MSM reported that Margalit Har-Shefi was the "mastermind" behind the assassination! The web was still in its infancy in 1995, but I was able to find this quote from Time:

Intelligence sources say that only three of the suspects--Yigal, his brother Hagai and their friend Dror Adani--made up a self-appointed cell of executioners and will be charged with plotting to kill Rabin. Margalit Har-Shefi, 20, a female student at Bar Ilan University, was the latest suspect to be arrested. When she was taken to court, police described her as a "central and dominant figure" and part of the "inner circle" with the other three. But intelligence sources say Har-Shefi, a friend of Amir's, was most likely to be guilty only of teasing him to follow through on his boasts about killing Rabin.

Those four and the others in custody shared the mind-set of Jewish extremism, and made plans to attack Arabs. But security officials believe the suspects outside the inner circle may have known only generally about the assassination plot and failed to stop it. Last week Avishai Raviv, the acknowledged leader of the secretive extremist group Eyal, was released under house arrest, indicating he was probably not involved in the assassination itself. It is thought he may have turned state's witness. But investigators are not finding it easy to crack all the suspects. While some, like Hagai Amir, quickly told police what they wanted to know, Yigal has offered only intermittent cooperation aside from his confession, and others are not breaking down as hoped. The investigators have long experience successfully grilling Palestinians, but they cannot apply the same harsh psychological and physical methods to Israelis: the law forbids many such techniques except to prevent an imminent act of terror. Meanwhile, the milder pressures--sleep deprivation, no clean clothes, no visits with attorneys--have failed to elicit all the information police are seeking. Investigators, "are still in considerable darkness," says an intelliegence source.

A good part of the "crazy reality" was a virtual reality created by the Shabak by means of their agent provocateur Avishai Raviv!

In any case those few sentences from the mouth of Mr. Ayalon prove that he is not worthy to be the Prime Minister of Israel. If he knew that Har-Shefi was innocent, why didn't he inform the police and/or the prosecution? Why did he let an innocent young woman go to jail? Why did he let her reputation be sullied? I know that I do not the next Prime Minister to be a coward, someone who bends over backwards to please the Israeli MSM and the so-called "elites". If Ami Ayalon knows of Rabbis that broke the law, why doesn't he name names so that they be prosecuted? And why should the non-prosecution of the alleged inciting Rabbis be an excuse for society to make Har-Shefi pay the price?

I hope that the Har-Shefi family will be able to sue the authorities for all the damage that they caused them. I also hope that Ami Ayalon will not be the next Prime Minister of Israel. Come to think of it, he is not worthy to have any position of responsibility.

See also: Batya, Joe, and Carl

Is Cho Seung-Hui A Success?

Ironically enough, Cho Seung-Hui is one of the most famous people on the planet today! This demented doodly-squat, who murdered innocent people in cold blood has made it! His "multi-media manifesto" is being broadcast all over the world. His plays 'Richard McBeef' and 'Mr. Brownstone' already have been performed on YouTube. He has become a true legend, a card carrying member in the pantheon of mass murderers, and a poster boy for gun control advocates.

However, the Torah never regarded publicity as a measure of success. The one and only measure of success is how well a person performs God's will. A person can be a total unknown but if is a Jew and keeps the Torah, or if he is a Gentile and keeps the Seven Noahide Laws, then he is a winner.

Another Picture From The Holy City Of Tel Aviv

I saw this on Y.L. Peretz Street in Tel Aviv. A Sabbath keeping shopkeeper urges others to keep the Sabbath as well:

When A Settler Becomes A Hilltop Settler

I've know Rabbi Menachem Listman for over twenty years, ever since we were both students at the Yeshivah in Beit El. Today Rabbi Listman is the director of the English speaking division of Machon Meir. I am honored to say that he is my friend.

Not too long ago I head that he moved to the Givat Assaf hilltop. Givat Assaf is named after Assaf Hershkovitz who was murdered by terrorists on his way to work, three months after terrorists murdered his father. You can see an arial photo of Givat Assaf at this radical leftist web site . I found the rumor hard to believe on one hand, and quite believable on the other. It was hard to believe, because the Listman family is a (bli ayin hara!) large one, and how in the world can they live in a caravan on an isolated hilltop? On the other hand, Menachem and his wife were were always idealists, and the apples (their children) did not fall far away from the tree.

Enough of my rambling! Click here to hear how a settler becomes a hilltop settler.

Liviu Librescu: Survivor Of The Deportation To Transnistria

First of all I must express my horror at what happened at Virginia Tech, my sympathies to the families of those murdered, and a speedy recovery to the wounded.

Much has been written, in the MSM and in the blogosphere, about the massacre at Virginia Tech. The heroic exploits of Professor Liviu Librescu were lauded by many, and rightly so. The man obviously loved his students, and was willing to put his life on the line to save them. May his memory be a blessing.

Something that touched me personally was the fact that Prof. Librescu was a survivor of the deportation of the Jews of Besserabia and Bukovina to Transnistria:

When Romania joined forces with Nazi Germany in World War II, he was first interned at a labor camp in Transnistria and then deported along with his family and thousands of other Jews to a ghetto in the Romanian city of Focsani, his son said.

According to a report compiled by the Romanian government in 2004, between 280,000 and 380,000 Jews were killed by Romania's Nazi-allied regime during the war.

"We were in Romania during the Second World War, and we were Jews there among the Germans, and among the anti-Semitic Romanians," Marlena Librescu told Israeli Channel 10 TV on Tuesday.

In the winter of 1941-1942 my great grandparents were exiled from their home in Besserabia by "Romania's Nazi-allied regime" to Transnistria. They were never heard from again.

Everyone knows about Auschwitz and the Warsaw Ghetto . The mass murder of Jews by the Romanians is not as well known. For more information see this web site.

Pic Of The Day

Isn't the land of Israel beautiful?

Wow! I Wish That I Wrote This!

Check this out. After reading many incoherent and illogical anti-Israel rants on the WWW, I could not help but notice that the style of the typical Israel basher is so similar to the classic antisemite. Art Levine eloquently explains the connection:When Does Criticism Become Bigotry? A snippet:

The new term "anti-Semitism" could be used comfortably in academic circles. The outlook was an unexceptional mindset in the mainstream of society. That changed after the Holocaust. As the reality of the death camps became known, anti-Semitism was rightly disgraced. Discrediting race-based Judeophobia did not eliminate Judeophobia any more than discrediting religion-based Judeophobia.

The current tenor of the times has made it necessary again to drape Judeophobia in new and socially acceptable clothes. Many people who would never consider themselves racists or prejudiced have no trouble identifying themselves as "anti-Zionists." Proponents have nothing against the Jewish religion, nor the so-called Jewish "race." Of course not. What they object to is the intolerable behavior of the state of Israel. Israeli behavior poses a direct threat to the security of the world. Anti-Zionists have no issue with Jews, but only with Israel, the Jewish state and those who support it. This line of reasoning would bring a smile to the lips of Wilhelm Marr.

Can there be legitimate criticism of Israel? Of course. But can that criticism be a socially acceptable cover for bigotry? Absolutely.

Some Pics From The Mosad HaRav Kook Book Sale

Outside Mosad HaRav Kook another book seller takes advantage of the crowds to sell his own wares. You can see Jerusalem Calatrava Bridge under construction in the background:



I like the guy who still has the orange ribbon attached to his knapsack. The crime of the "disengagement" is a wound that will only be healed when the settlements are rebuilt and repopulated.



The facade of Mosad HaRav Kook looks a little haggard with that leaning reish:



The sale brings Jews of many types together, as one would expect from "The People of the Book":

More Nachal Zin

Gib a kik:

HH At Yid With Lid

Need I say more?

Rot In The Heart

Today is Yom HaShoah. More than 50 years have gone by but nothing has really changed. The same hatred of Jews that permitted the massacre of six million still stirs in the hearts of many. If in the years following the Holocaust people were embarrassed to publicize that this hatred dwells in their hearts, today this is no longer true. Too bad for the Jew haters. The rot that dwells within them harms themselves most of all.

Speaking of rotten hearts, it seems that tree lovers all over the world (including in Israel) only get up in arms when they think that settlers cut down trees belonging to Arabs. However, when trees belonging to Jews get felled by Arabs they are silent.

Kurt Vonnegut Dies...But He Wasn't A Jew

I think Arutz 7 goofed here:

(IsraelNN.com) World-renowned Jewish author Kurt Vonnegut died Wednesday at the age of 84 after suffering brain injuries from a fall at his Manhattan home weeks ago.

Vonnegut was known for his black humor in novels such as “Cat’s Cradle,” “Slaughterhouse Five” and “Mother Night.” The latter two later were transformed into films.

Wikipedia gets it right:

Kurt Vonnegut was born to third-generation German-American parents in Indianapolis, Indiana.

When I was in high school Kurt Vonnegut was my favorite author. But then I grew up. That is to say that he had a great sense of humor, but his ideas were totally unrealistic.

So it goes.

And so on.

Links And A Pic

1) Jpix Carnival 5th Edition - The Baleboosteh does a tremendous job.

2) Yaak, the jblogosphere's resident redemption anticipater, blogs on redemption predictions that didn't pan out.

3) Akiva requested a link to JIB Awards, and I am more than happy to do his will. Perhaps this will bring him a hit or two over the next twenty four hours. Read what I think about the awards here.

And now for the picture. While the X family was down south we visited the ruins of ancient Be'er Sheva. There I saw the reptile you see below. I would call him a lizard but I'm afraid that Zman Biur will say that it is really an iguana, gecko or a lizardoid. In any case this reptile is quite content. He had just gobbled down some kind of flying insect which he had just hunted down. I must admit he demonstrated amazing speed and agility in making the kill.

Live From Ben Gurion's Tomb

Not really. This isn't a live blog. The X family was down south during the Passover holiday and one of the places we visited was Ben Gurion's tomb.





Why is it that Jews place stones on tombs?:

A very early reference to this custom is found in a commentary to the Shulchan Aruch, written by Rav Yehuda Ashkenazi (early 1700s) called the B'er Heitev. He quotes the Maharash, who explains that the custom of placing stones or tufts of grass on the grave is for the honor of the deceased person by marking the fact that his grave has been visited.

I must admit that I am not a big Ben Gurion fan. But I won't go into that now. Everyone has their good points and bad points. He's no longer with us and I admit that I also placed a stone on his grave, as did other members of the X family.

The "old man" as he was affectionately called sure chose a nice place to be buried. From his grave site there is this wonderful view of Nachal Zin:



This area of the country is simply beautiful. We didn't have enough time to really explore it. I hope to back there in the future.

Modesty In The IDF

I like this one from INN:

Modesty Enters Army Through Back Door

by Hillel Fendel

(IsraelNN.com) In light of recent charges of sexual harassment by officers of female soldiers, IDF officers are taking no chances. Private discussions are now off-limits, as are compliments on physical appearance and the like.

Though Col. P. was recently acquitted of verbal sexual harassment of a female soldier under his command, his fellow officers feel that steps must be taken to prevent miffed soldiers from making similar false accusations against them in the future. Among the new regulations they are informally adopting are: no more private closed-door meetings with female soldiers, and no compliments on haircuts or physical appearance.


One field commander told the Maariv NRG news website that he no longer takes female soldiers into his car when he leaves the base. He and others make sure not to hold private meetings with junior female soldiers - especially when the topic of discussion is a reprimand or the like, which might prompt feelings of vengeance.

Some officers feel that some female soldiers use the tool of harassment accusations when reprimanded, refused leave, and the like. "It has reached the point where we can no longer compliment a junior female officer or soldier on her appearance," one officer said.

Another senior officer said he has stopped asking about his female soldiers' personal lives: "Any question relating to her boyfriend or the like is liable to be misinterpreted," he says. "As an officer, I am supposed to take interest in my soldiers' personal lives, and it can even be harmful if I do not - but I refuse to take such a chance."

Increasing numbers of officers who have personal secretaries have begun requesting that they not be assigned female soldiers, but rather that their personal aides be males.

The case of Col. P. is particularly irksome, the officers feel, because "it was clear from the start that he was not guilty. Yet he lost six months of his life fighting it, as well as having his name dragged through the mud of sexual harassment charges."

It is felt that the new "regulations" will also help prevent those cases where charges of harassment are justified. An IDF Lieutenant was convicted last month, for instance, of harassing 12 female soldiers; in accordance with an agreement reached between the sides, he was demoted to the rank of private, must perform public service works in a hospital, and must compensate one of the soldiers financially.

This reminds me of something that I experienced in reserve duty. We were serving in Southern Israel, and the temperature was over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in the shade! A group of female soldiers arrived at our base in the framework of a course that they were taking. In the face of such scorching weather, some of these female soldiers took the liberty of walking around the base out of uniform, i.e. in just shorts and a tee shirt. No one said anything about this until one of these chayalot made a frivolous complaint to our commander that one of our soldiers "sexually harassed" her. Our commander, who was the highest ranking soldier on the base decided that these female soldiers would be required to appear in full uniform whenever they were in the public domain of the base (i.e. not in their tents). This of course dismayed the chayalot, but it put an end to the lightheaded "sexual harassment" complaints.