New Rabbi For the IDF?

Arutz 7 reports that DM Ehud Barak decided not to renew the appointment of Rabbi Avi Ronsky as the IDF's Chief Rabbi:

Defense Minister Ehud Barak has taken the unprecedented step of not renewing the appointment of Rabbi Avi Ronsky as the IDF's Chief Rabbi. IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi accepted the Defense Minster’s decision despite his known respect for Rabbi Ronsky, military sources told Arutz 7.

The refusal to renew the appointment of a Chief Rabbi or Chief of Staff follows by four years the equally unprecedented move by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to refuse to renew the term of IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon because of his doubts over the policy of destroying Jewish communities in the Gaza area and withdrawing the military.

Who will replace Rabbi Ronsky? According to the same article:

Two probable candidates to succeed him are Rabbi Duki Ben-Artzi, a combat pilot, and Rabbi Rafi Peretz, who heads the pre-army Torah academy (mechina) in Yated, which was part of the destroyed Atzmona community in Gush Katif.

The Anti Torah Libel

Here's an abridged English version of the article I linked to last Friday.

Here you can see a video of the Hesder Rabbi Convention that was held today.

Rabbi Melamed: Standing Courageously for the Truth of Torah

1 Tevet 5770

If you have been following the controversy surrounding Ehud Barak's decision to remove the Har Bracha Yehshiva from the hesder program, you must read this article by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed. There is no substitute for a man's own words.

By the way, it is raining in Jerusalem!!!

Barak Removes Har Bracha From Hesder Program

Ehud Barak does an own goal: Barak Ousts Rabbi Melamed’s Yeshiva from ‘Hesder’ Program:

Defense Minister Ehud Barak announced Sunday night he is throwing out the Har Bracha yeshiva, headed by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, from the Hesder yeshiva program. Barak charged the rabbi with “undermining democratic principles” and “inciting” students to refuse IDF orders to expel Jews from their homes.

The Hesder yeshiva program allows young men to service in the IDF for up to two years, instead of the usual three, and to learn at yeshiva for at least three years. The organization of the Hesder yeshivas has not commented on the historic decision by the Defense Minister, who also is chairman of the Labor party.

The move harms the army, an only strengthens Rabbi Melamed's claim of corruption in the upper echelons of the army.

Jpost Lies

See how the jpost editorial lies:

Radical settler Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, of the Har Bracha hesder yeshiva pre-army academy, instructed national-religious recruits to disobey orders that run contrary to the Land of Israel ethos. Though his institution is funded by the Defense Ministry (and Diaspora donors), Melamed let it be known that government officials would have to come to his mountain if they wanted to parlay; he would not come down to them.

Of course anyone familiar with Rabbi Melamed knows that he instructs his students to disobey any order that is contrary to Jewish law. The Rabbi has explained many times that the Torah has commanded us to settle the land of Israel. What's more, destroying Jewish towns in the land of Israel is a very serious sin. The silly editors of jpost are simply not telling the truth. The issue at hand is not "Land of Israel ethos". Shame on them for lying! Shame on them for making fools out of themselves!

Even Ha'aretz had to integrity to report that we are dealing with Jewish law and not "Land of Israel ethos":

Melamed has repeatedly urged troops to refuse to obey orders during the evacuation of settlements, and he reiterated this in his book.

"A simple halakha [law] is that it is forbidden for any person, whether a soldier or an officer ... to participate in the strictly forbidden act of expelling Jews from their homes and handing over any portion of the Land of Israel to enemies," he wrote. "Those who violate this violate several commandments of the Torah ... Moreover, anyone who considers the situation realistically knows with certainty that any such action encourages those who hate us and endangers the lives of many in Israel."

In another part of the book, Melamed wrote in favor of serving in the IDF, "in order to carry out the extremely important commandment of defending the nation and the land. However, we must reiterate that an order that facilitates an expulsion must be refused."

In response to the question, "What if many soldiers refuse; will that not cause the army to collapse?" Melamed wrote: "If many refuse, no such order will be given. At most, senior commanders will have to resign. On the contrary, it would be good if this happened. The majority of the senior officers are contaminated by politics. They are not commanders who can lead the army to victory, as was shown in the Second Lebanon War."

A Public Service Message

Channuka is almost here...do you know where your Menorah is?

The Hasmoneans Ruled Gaza and the Negev

Just in time for Channuka:

Israeli archaeologists have made a stunning historical discovery: a Hasmonean king conquered Gaza and the Negev, and for decades prevented the Nabateans of 2,000 years ago from using the Incense Road.

It was the Incense Road that the Nabataeans used to transport precious spices such as myrrh and frankincense to the Mediterranean Sea and Egypt.

According to Dr. Tali Erickson-Gini of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Hasmonean King Alexander Jannaeus (Yannai) conquered Gaza in 99 BCE, and built a fortress with four towers inside an earlier Nabataean caravanserai (roadside inn). With the aid of this fortress, Yannai thus blocked all Nabataean activity along the Incense Road, and in effect forced them out of the Negev.

Alexander Yannai was the great-grandson of Matityahu, the Jewish High Priest who led the Hasmoneans in fighting for Jewish religious freedom and autonomy from the Seleucids (Syrian Greeks), as marked by the holiday of Chanukah.

IAA researchers are currently processing finds from archaeological excavations at sites located along the Incense Road that were previously exacavated by the late Dr. Rudolph Cohen of the Department of Antiquities. One such site is Horvat Ma'agurah, located on a ridge 3.4 kilometers west of Sde Boker. The site is situated at a strategic point overlooking Nahal Besor, where the Incense Road was located, connecting Petra with Gaza.

"We are talking about a revolutionary discovery that will redraw the maps of the region which describe that era and greatly increase the territory governed by the Hasmoneans," said Erickson-Gini, who serves as scientific editor of the excavation.

"Despite the evidence of the historial Josephus, according to which King Alexander Jannaeus conquered the southern coast of the Land of Israel and the harbor in Gaza -- which was of paramount importance to the Nabataeans -- and even further south, no clear archaeological proof of this has been found in the field. And it was because of this lack of proof that historians were inclined to dismiss the possibility that the Hasmoneans did indeed control the Negev," he said.

It is now clear that the Hasmoneans kept hold of the fortress located on the Incense Road -- the principal trade route of their Nabataean enemies -- until the year 66 BCE, thus blocking any enemy movement along the road between Halutza and the Northern Sinai. This cut off trade between Petra and the ports, dealing a death blow to trade throughout the Negev for decades.

The discovery also validates the claim that another Nabataean site -- Nessana, where a multitude of coins of Alexander Jannaeus were discovered -- was actually ruled by the Hasmonean king.

The Nobel Farce Prize

The Nobel farce prize: Obama Receives Nobel Peace Prize:

U.S. President Barack Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway on Thursday after having spent less than a year on the job. "I accept this honor with gratitude and humility," Obama said at the presentation ceremony. "I have no clear solutions to conflicts around the world... What I do know is that we need to think differently and work hard. To find new ways to instill the vision of a just peace."

Many have pointed out that how ridiculous it is to receive a prize for "good intentions".

The article quotes a poll that indicates that the public doesn't buy it:

According to a survey conducted by the University of Kinifk, only 26 percent of Americans, and only 35.9 percent of Norwegians believe that Obama deserved to receive the award.

A Wild Ass of A (Wo)Man

This is what we are up against:

A Gas Chamber Named Chelsea Clinton

You've probably heard that Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of Bill and Hilary of White House fame, got engaged to a nice Jewish boy named Marc Mezvinsky:

Former U.S. president Bill Clinton and current Secretary of State Hillary are due their version of a "mazal tov" on the announcement that their only daughter, Chelsea, has become engaged to her longtime boyfriend, 31-year-old Jewish investment banker Marc Mezvinsky.

An e-mail sent following the Thanksgiving holiday confirmed reports Friday, with the interfaith pair aiming for a summer wedding.

While it does not appear that Chelsea will be converting to Judaism, she was seen accompanying Marc to Yom Kippur prayer services in September at the Conservative movement's Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. She was raised a Methodist, though her father is a Southern Baptist.

If indeed Chelsea does not convert, any children born to the couple will not be Jews. In this way Marc Mezvinsky will part with thousands of years of Jewish history and tradition. In this way Chelsea will serve as a private gas chamber for Marc. After him his family tree will be Judenrein.

Don't get me wrong. I imagine that Chelsea is a fine lady. I have nothing at all against her. I have nothing against Marc either. He probably received the kind of upbringing that "makes Bernie run". However, intermarriage is death. Yes, death! It does not matter how common it is. After all, death is also common!

Some Jews are happy that Marc is going to marry a celeb. However, this wedding is really a funeral. Funerals don't make me happy.

Azmi Bishara: There is No "Palestinian" Nation

Translation: “Well, I dont think there is a Palestinian nation at all. I think there is an Arab nation. I always thought so and I did not change my mind. I do not think there is a Palestinian nation, I think its a colonialist invention - Palestinian nation. When were there any Palestinians? Where did it come from? I think there is an Arab nation. I never turned to be a Palestinian nationalist, despite of my decisive struggle against the occupation. I think that until the end of the 19th century, Palestine was the south of Greater Syria.”

HH #244

Here!

Special Melave Malkah in Honor of Anti-Evacuation Soldiers

Last night I went to a special Melave Malka. It was in honor of the soldiers that waved the "Shimshon will not evacuate Homesh" sign. These soldiers were sentenced to 20 days in military prison. They finished serving their sentence, and a party was made for them.



Outside the hall where the party was held, a small group of demonstrators from the Labor Party. Their signs say, "On the right and on the left insubordinate people we will not tolerate", "No to insubordinate people rightists and leftists", "When protesting leave the uniform on the side", "We have one army". I guess that means that when Michael Ben Ari becomes Defense Minister they will faithfully obey orders and evacuate Arab villages. ;-)>




Inside the hall a mechitzah separated the men from the women. Cake and soft drinks were served to a crowd that I estimate numbered about 300. There was a pretty decent band and even I, with my two left feet, danced a little bit. I also took some pictures of the event. At a certain point in the evening the organizers stated that the event was closed to the press, and that they requested not to take pictures. I respected their request and even what I photographed inside the hall before they requested I am not publishing.

The first featured speaker was Rabbi Dov Lior of Kiryat Arba (Hebron). He spoke about the fact that for a Jew, the laws of the Torah supersede any other obligations that he may have. "There is no need to say that if the king decreed to negate a commandment of the Torah that we don't listen to him" (Rambam, Laws of Kings 3:9).

Rabbi Dudi Dudkewitz of Yitzhar talked about two different instances of "refusing orders" in the Torah, and what the results were. If I remember correctly one was when Shaul requested that his servants kill the Priests of Nob. The servants refused. Then Saul commanded Doeg the Edomite to kill the Priests, which he did (see 1 Samuel Chapter 22, 2 Samuel Chapter 21). The second case was when David commanded Yoav to conduct a census. Yoav tried to get out of it, but in the end he did it. In both cases the orders were fulfilled. However, in the first case, where there was a clear cut refusal, the house of Saul was held responsible and not the nation of Israel. In the second case, where Yoav kind of fudged the orders but did not refuse outright, the entire nation of Israel was held responsible and punished (see 1 Chronicles Chapter 21).

One of the soldiers that held up the sign and spent time in prison also spoke. He mentioned that many other soldiers in the unit took part in the act.

The crowd itself was interesting. It was a mix of Kachniks, Chabadniks, and Chardalim (although not of the mamlachti type). Moshe Feiglin was also there.

Pidyon HaBen in Kibbutz HaHotrim

This is very nice. Only in Israel!

From the Department of Weird Statistics

Every so often I see something in my stats that makes me scratch my head. Here's an example (click on the pic):



Who in Kuwait is interested in the kashrut of Israeli Army kitchens?
Any ideas?

HH #242: Jack takes Responsibility

Here.

Some Pics From the Kahane Memorial

Dudu Elharar was a hit:



MK Dr. Michael Ben-Ari in the Knesset addressed the crowd:



Kahane books, shirts, stickers, etc. were on sale:

Dudu Elharar Tells It Like It Is

I saw this video at the Kahane memorial this evening. Dudu Elharar tells it like it is, much to the chagrin of the Israeli Left and the Israeli MSM. Enjoy!

Kahane Memorial and the Israel Press

There is something about the late Rabbi Meir Kahane that makes the journalists go nuts. Posters announcing this year's memorial inspired this amazingly pathetic sentence in jpost:

Just a day after the arrest of alleged Jewish terrorist Ya'acov Teitel, and less than a week after the anniversary of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin by a right-wing activist, Jerusalem has been plastered with posters in support of another controversial figure - the late ultra-nationalist orthodox rabbi Meir Kahane.

The journalist that wrote the sentence, or one of the editors over at jpost, just couldn't resist connecting the Kahane posters to the Rabin assassination and the alleged acts of Ya'acov Teitel. All this in the first sentence of what is supposed to be a news article.

At the end of the article there is a nice quote from MK Michael Ben-Ari:

Ben-Ari declared staunchly that Kahane "was not a racist... he loved Israel and if that means he was a racist, he was a racist... People who call him racist are the racists."

Bullseye!

In the meantime, Voice of Israel government radio proves again that they support free speech, that is as long as you are a leftist:

Voice of Israel government radio, which is part of the state-regulated Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA), banned on Tuesday commercials urging attendance at memorial services for murdered former Knesset Member Rabbi Meir Kahane. His family said it will sue the government.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, a Knesset aide to MK Dr. Michael Ben-Ari (National Union), warned that if the IBA does not cancel the ban, he will demand that it also prohibit commercials calling on the public to attend memorial services this week for former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin.

The radio network yanked the ads after receiving complaints from listeners, including Peace Now, and explained its decision by saying that the issue of Rabbi Kahane is too “controversial.” The commercial featured a one-sentence statement by MK Dr. Michael Ben-Ari, who urged people to attend the services on the 19th anniversary of his death this Thursday. There was no reference in the ad to the history, life or political views of Rabbi Kahane.

By the way, the memorial will be on the 18th of Marcheshvan, Nov. 5th, at 6:00 PM at Heichal David Hall, 14 Oholiav Street in Jerusalem. Hope to see you there!

Settler Teens Form Yaakov Teitel Fan Club

Okay, I admit it. The headline of this post is total nonsense. But I decided that I would publish this "scoop" before Ynet, Jpost and Ha'aretz.

Another Reason to Pray for Rain

The Kinneret is low, the price of water is high and the land is thirsty. If that is not enough, here is another reason to pray for rain:

The main memorial observance for assassinated prime minister Yitzchak Rabin, which was scheduled for Saturday night at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, has been postponed for a week.

Organizers said the event was pushed off "because of weather constraints and the constant rain that is expected to fall this weekend."

Rock 'n' Roll Rabin

[From THE CHURCH OF RABIN AND PEACE]:

Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We're gonna get in my supercharged Subaru,
and head down Highway 1.
Gonna go up to Mt. Herzl,
and have ourselves some fun.

Gonna light some candles for Yitzchak Rabin,
and sing a song of peace.
At night we'll go to the Russian Compound,
and drink a couple of beers.

Rock,rock, rock 'n' roll, rock 'n' roll Rabin. (4x)

Then we'll head on out to Talpiot,
and disco the night away.
Let's dance!

Rock,rock, rock 'n' roll, rock 'n' roll Rabin. (4x)

The Rabin Rap

[From THE CHURCH OF RABIN AND PEACE]:

November 4th 1995,
the last day Rabin was alive.
It was Saturday morning when the busses came
to take us to Tel Aviv.

This is the Rabin Rap, Rabin Rap, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra..........

We went to the mall to do some shopping,
man that place was really hopping.
Then we went to good old Kikar Malchei Yisrael.

This is the Rabin Rap, Rabin Rap, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra..........

You see Rabin was real low in the polls,
With his peace agreement that was full of holes.
It was a real sad situation if you know what I mean.

This is the Rabin Rap, Rabin Rap, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra..........

We needed money for the kibbutzim,
The Histadrut and Kupat Cholim.
If the government falls the well will be dry.

This is the Rabin Rap, Rabin Rap, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra..........

So we organized a demonstration,
In order to make a big sensation.
"Yes to peace, no to violence," was the motto of the day.

This is the Rabin Rap, Rabin Rap, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra..........

We sang about peace, we sang about love,
With pictures of an olive branch and a dove.
A beautiful production, Disney would have been proud.

This is the Rabin Rap, Rabin Rap, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra..........

Then that guy shot his gun,
And it was all over son,
The police and the GSS were swaying to the beat.

This is the Rabin Rap, Rabin Rap, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra..........

You might think that this sounds lame,
But the rabbis and the settlers are to blame,
Or maybe the opposition, let the brainwashing begin!

This is the Rabin Rap, Rabin Rap, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra..........

So let's talk about love and practice hate,
Start right away, please don't wait,
This is the way to power, no time to hesitate.

This is the Rabin Rap, Rabin Rap, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra..........

My Computer Has Been Wacked By The Winxp.exe Virus

I don't know how I got it. Probably from the mp3 of one of my kids. It's a nasty one.

Kapparah! God has taken his wrath out on bits and bytes.

May you all have a Gut Shabbes. Shabbat Shalom!

Obama Playing With Fire

I just saw this at The Muqata. Hilarious!

What's New in Lebanon?

Olmert is out of politics, Livni is in the opposition, but the legacy of the bungled Second Lebanon War lives on. From the IDF Spokesperson's Unit:

On October 12, 2009, there was an explosion at a Hezbollah weapons storehouse in Tayr Filsay, in southern Lebanon. This aerial footage, taken shortly after the explosion, shows Hezbollah operatives closing down the area around the warehouse, driving in two trucks and removing weaponry from the site. They then took the weapons to a known weapons storage facility in the center of the village of Dir a-Nahar about four kilometers away. Only after Hezbollah removed the weaponry did they allow UNIFIL and the Lebanese Army to enter the site of the explosion. The IDF has sumbitted the footage to UNIFIL to aid in their investigation of the incident.

(Hat tip)

Recent Keywords

Recently people have arrived at my blog looking for:

amnon yitzchak
2009 Kahane Memorial Yahrzeit
matisyahu warrior tab
Secret of the Brit - Torah, Sex, and Kabbalah
mt. gilboa israel
matisyahu live at stubbs "guitar" tabs warrior
Petah Tikva controversy
aish.com parshat noach
cosmicx.blogspot.com
obama nobel peace prize humor
machon meir shabak
Mitzpe Hoshaya
Matisyahu warrior chords
shmuel shkedi
ethiopia june 2009 unveiling
warrior tab matisyahu
guitar dani maman
matisyahu acord
blogging from jerusalem
cosmicx sukkah
matisyahu warrrior chords
where do lamb chops come from
jerusalem sukkahs
ein kerem israel
rabbi scheinberger
Jerusalem Pine
cheaperkol
substance abuse site:blogspot.com
torah in english
Zalli Jaffe
parshat noach 2009
11 January 2008 9 day visit George Bush visit to Israel, rabbis met
Obama calls for end of Israeli occupation
hot pic.blogspot
muli peleg peace now
rabbi shlomo aviner
www.bambili.com/asp.
jewish/englsh torah
motorcycle death israel moshe
amnon yitzchak karta
Sukkahs in Jerusalem
fancy hijab
ariel sharon joke
אמא לא הכירה את יונתן שפירא
David Hatuel
Parshat Noach 2005
jerusalem calatrava construction
cosmic israel
"lawrence Joffe" cosmic
edison convention blogspot
hijab x
heimische
michael jackson rabbi shmuely
bass tab matisyahu warrior
matisyahu warrior tabs
"pollard did nothing wrong"
AHARON KAROV
genius from vilnius
obama called israel an occupation of land
"matisyahu in jerusalem" 2009
'Ariel Sharon jokes'
rav avior
matisyahu in jerusalem
dani maman
picture of rabbi leo deutschlander
crosscurrents grossman kalb blog*
Aluf Benn
jewish multitude
malfunctions of the Reproductive system
warrior matisyahu tab bass
‎‎"really hot pics‎‎"‎‎‎
RABIN WINS NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
cosmic x
arab guy stabbing his wife
hh215
advantage of using zaatar
the grateful dead concerts in jerusalem 2009
bais yakov girl blog
rabbi shmuely
boama oy
israel agriculture accomplishments 1948
hebrew song mache mache mache aiy yai yai yai yai
דרוקמן
obama nobel peace prize
israel rain october 2009
political situation in jerusalem
temple of israel mosquito
fancy hijab for sale
machon meir jerusalem
cosmic motorcycle photos
commute from tel aviv to jerusalem
synagogue hamaapil
ilovethebeACH complete

Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize became a joke ever since it was awarded to Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzchak Rabin in 1994 for the ill fated "Oslo Agreements". The Norwegians continue to prove that they have a poor sense of humor by awarding the prize to Mr. B.O. I am not laughing.



As the Hebrew saying says, a lie doesn't have legs. Sooner or later the lie will be revealed. Obama's rhetoric is out of touch with reality. Chances are that it will bring much more bloodshed than peace.

Update: More from some jbloggers:

The Weekend Roundup - The Nobel Peace Prize Jumps the Shark

Why Obama?

This isn't a joke - Obama wins Nobel Peace Price

Declining - the prize

Kahane Was Right

I saw this on the way to work one morning. Somebody has a sense of humor, putting this sticker on the sign at the entrance to the court. I imagine that it didn't stay there too long:

Jew Hatred in Edison, N.J.

This is pretty sad. I used to live in Edison/Highland Park. There is a fantastic Jewish community there. Hang in there sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! Don't give in to the knuckle-draggers!

מחר יהיה האות הזה

9 Tishrei 5770

Lots of things to do before Yom Kippur. Gmar Chatimah Tovah to all!

Three Terrorists Bite the Dust

I've Got That Selichot Feeling

Two weeks of selichot and I've got that selichot feeling...kind of dazed from not getting enough sleep. But it's worth it!

It's time to link to one of my favorite posts, original posted here and later on at Beyond BT.

Rabbi Amnon Yitzchak vs. Neturei Karta

I say this video on Rafi's blog. He finds the best stuff!

Obama calls to 'End the Occupation'

That was the headline here. I guess he wants to give America back to the Indians. I'm not sure if the Lenape want New Jersey back.

Okay, this is what he really said:

United States President Barack Obama issued a stinging condemnation of the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria on Wednesday in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly. The U.S. “does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements,” Obama announced.

Using unusually harsh terminology, Obama called to "end the occupation that began in 1967" - referring to Israel's control of Judea and Samaria.

What Obama is saying is that he thinks Judea and Samaria should be judenrein. Sorry Mr. BO, but Jews have more of a right to live in the land of Israel than you have to live in the United States. As far as I am concerned, Obama the fake messiah can take his racist policies back to Kenya.

5770 is Here!

And now for the first link of the year!

Rosh HaShannah is Coming!

Last day of the year 5769

Can you feel the excitement? I hope and pray that the coming year will be a good one:

A year of good health,
A year of good livelihood,
A year with lots of rain,
A year with lots of Torah learning,
A year with lots of Teshuvah,
A year of settling the land of Israel,
A year of peace (real peace, not piece),
A year of happiness.

לשנה טובה תיכתבו ותיחתמו

Today's Links

The Goldstone Report: Rewarding Palestinian Terror

Coffee and chemo - jpost has a video featuring jblogger RivkA. I met her at last year's blogger convention. She's a lady who projects happiness and faith.

NGO: Obama's Israel Policy Violates International Treaties

Committee Approves Street Naming for Adir Zik

Arabs Refute the Big Lie of "Israeli Apartheid"

English Torah

26 Elul 5769

At first glance it would seem that the proliferation of Torah literature in English is a blessing for those lacking a background in Jewish learning in general and the Hebrew language in particular. One can find books in almost every area of Torah learning in English. You can even learn Gemara in English.

When I became acquainted with Torah Judaism, about 26 years ago, there were not nearly as many Torah oriented books available in English as there are today. I can tell which English books I used the most. They are the ones that fell apart: the Ganzfried-Goldin Abridged Shulchan Aruch, "A Tzaddik in our Time" (about Rabbi Arye Levin zt"l), the Chabad Siddur, and Art Scroll Zemiroth.

Looking back, I am glad that there were not that many books in English. It forced me to work hard to learn Hebrew and Aramaic! I had to look up words in the dictionary, I had to ask a lot of questions. Little by little, word after word, my vocabulary grew. The entire gamut of classic Torah literature, in its original Hebrew or Aramaic, is now accessible to me. How much I am able to learn and understand is a matter of how much time and effort I devote to learning and how much help I receive from Above.

Today I see people that have been learning Torah for years but have not weaned themselves from the English translations. Personally I think this a pity. While these English versions of Torah classics are an important first step for the beginner, one must move onward. The authors of these works never intended them to be a substitute for learning the originals. I would venture to say that without a good understanding of Hebrew, it is impossible to really understand Torah, it is impossible to really understand Chazal.

This dependency on English translations is particularly disturbing here in the land of Israel. The Hebrew language lives here! Even one who chooses to surround himself with English speakers cannot remain totally unaffected by his surroundings. Hebrew is everywhere! Hey guys, wake up and smell the Hebrew!

On the other hand one can understand those that prefer their mother tongue. If I see a street sign that is written in both Hebrew and English, even today my eyes are usually drawn to the English. People naturally prefer to remain within their comfort zone. Breaking one's teeth learning a new language is not easy. However, one must understand that when it comes to Torah learning, those that stick to English are paying a very high price for their lack of effort.

Second International Jewish Bloggers Convention Links

Unfortunately I missed the conference this year. Since I cannot blog about the conference, I'll post some links from jbloggers who were there:

1

2

3

4

5

HH is Up

Click here for this week's edition.

The Nefesh B'Nefesh Second International Jewish Bloggers Convention

Arutz 7 is going to cover the conference:

Jewish bloggers will meet in Jerusalem on Sunday for the Second International Jewish Bloggers Convention, organized by the Nefesh B'Nefesh aliyah organization. Hundreds of bloggers are expected to turn out for the event, and dozens more will take part online.

Israel National News will feature live footage of the event on Sunday.

I really enjoyed last year's conference. This year I won't be there in person. Regards to all.

It's Been Eight Years Since...

The barbarity of the perpetrators of this atrocity is mind boggling.

Send A Greeting Card

22 Elul 5769

Arutz 7 has a nice way of sending New Year's greetings through email, featuring original works by Israeli youth. Check it out!

Not All Collections are Equal

When I was a kid I used to collect baseball cards. Later on I collected records, mostly by the Beatles. Now I guess you could call me a collector of Sifrei Kodesh.

What kind of collection would you expect from someone working for Human Rights Watch? Omri has the answer.

It's Time For Some Really Hot Pics

Here!

Secret IDF Report Warned: Oslo Will Lead to Rockets on Ashkelon

This comes as no surprise:

A secret IDF Intelligence (AMAN) assessment warned as early as 1993 that the Oslo Accords would likely end with rocket attacks on Ashkelon, according to former AMAN Maj.-Gen. Yaakov Amidror. The politicians, however, were not interested. Amidror leveled the charges during a lecture at the Netanya College on Monday.

According to Amidror, who headed the IDF's Research and Assessment Division responsible for preparing the National Intelligence Assessment, the decision to go ahead with the Oslo agreements between Israel and the PLO terrorist organization was made without taking into account the military implications. The Rabin government "completely ignored" IDF assessments, Amidror claimed.

In fact, as Amidror recalled, then-Foreign Minister Shimon Peres ejected the IDF representatives from the Cabinet meeting when the ministerial vote on the Oslo Accords took place. In Amidror's view, it was symptomatic of efforts by the political echelon to close their ears to warnings from the military regarding the fateful agreement to establish an autonomous Palestinian Authority.

The secret Oslo-era AMAN report stated that the accords contained several clauses that were clearly militarily unenforceable, Amidror said. These included the right of IDF "hot pursuit" into Palestinian Authority areas in the event that the PA leadership refuses to cooperate. In the assessment of the AMAN analysts, PLO failure to uphold its end of the agreements with Israel would end with PA rockets fired at Ashkelon.

Right-wing politicians at the time echoed these very same specific concerns regarding rocket attacks from Gaza, but were dismissed by government spokespeople as "fear mongers." In the interim, thousands of PA rockets have exploded throughout southern Israel, including Ashkelon and areas to the north and east of the port city.

In Amidror's view, the political leadership knew the IDF position on the inherent dangers of the Oslo Accords, but simply chose to disregard them once the principles of the accords were agreed upon with the PLO.

Shhhh! The Murderer is an Arab!

Update: The murderer was not an Arab! Read the update at the end of post.


For some reason the Jerusalem Post didn't want do publicize that the murderer was an Arab:

A man suspected of stabbing his former boss in a Ramat Gan store following an argument gave himself up to Tel Aviv police on Monday evening.

According to an initial investigation of the Monday afternoon incident, the killer arrived at a photocopying store on Arlozorov Street where he used to work as a courier. A discussion between the owner and former worker led to a heated argument, following which the former employee stabbed the man a number of times in the torso.

Children who were near the store and witnessed the stabbing yelled out 'a man has been stabbed!' and the owner of a restaurant located near the scene of the crime called the police.

A Magen David Adom intensive care unit evacuated the man in serious condition to Tel Aviv's Ichilov Hospital, where he died of his wounds.

Before he gave himself up, police were scouring the area for the man, and issued a gag order on his identity and picture. On Tuesday, he will be brought for a remand extension hearing.

The stabber is a known criminal with a history of violence, police said. He was arrested several times in the past for possessing a knife.

He's a killer and a criminal with a history of violence. The fact that he is an Arab is not important. Imagine what the Post would have written if the guy was a Hareidi!

In stark contrast, Israel National News doesn't want us to forget that the murderer is an Arab:

The Arab who stabbed his former Jewish employer to death because of a financial dispute on Monday has turned himself over to the police.

The murderer entered Dyo Nati (Nati’s Ink), an office-supplies store in Ramat Gan where he worked until recently as a delivery man, in the early afternoon hours, stabbed Netanel Mangami several times, and escaped. The victim was rushed to the hospital after resuscitation efforts on the scene, but died there of his wounds.

The murderer, an Arab living in Jaffa, arrived at the Dan Region police station at 11 PM, and will be brought before a judge for extension of his custody on Tuesday. He claimed that his victim had owed him 380 shekels.

Netanel, 32, was one of eleven siblings in a Chabad-Lubavitch family, and studied in a yeshiva in Lod. His wife is in her sixth month of pregnancy with twins, and the family has two other children, 3.5 and 2 years old. Family members described Nati as a “genuine man of kindness.”

Other recent cases of Arab violence against Jews – not including outright terrorism - include:

* The stabbing murder of a man in a Jerusalem hostel

* The gang murder by five Israeli-Arabs of a man in front of his wife and daughter in northern Tel Aviv

* An armed robbery of a Postal Authority office in an Arab town in the Galilee

* An accident caused by an Arab ambulance driver who hit an oncoming car near Beit El. A Traffic Police investigator told Israel National News that even though the ambulance was on its way to another accident, “he still has no authority to drive wildly or to hit another car, as he did and we will probably put him on trial.” Beit El security officer Menachem Tzur said the ambulance driver sounded his siren against the guidelines, and that “this is not the first time that PA ambulance drivers take advantage of their position to carry out dangerous overtakings and pass through checkpoints, even when not on urgent missions.” The driver said that the ambulance did not stop after the accident to offer help to the injured.

Asked what measures the police are taking against the reckless driving habits, particularly of Arab drivers, on Judea/Samaria roads, the officer said, “Just yesterday, we had a special blitz on Highway 60, between Eli and Adam, in which we gave out 150 tickets and revoked 12 licenses.” In answer to a question, he acknowledged that most of the tickets were to Arab drivers, “but Jewish drivers are also not entirely innocent; they barely ever drive with seat belts within their communities, and often drive with too many children in the car, and sometimes too fast as well.” He admitted, however, that on the highways, Arab drivers often pass slower cars with total abandon.

Also on Monday, a gang of 15 hooded Christian youths attacked a Jewish teenager in the Old City, beating him for no apparent reason.

Update: Israel National News got the story wrong here. If you click on the link to the original report you get a "404 - Page Not Found". I found the following on their web site:

A resident of Yafo (Jaffa) suspected of murdering a 34-year-old Chabad Chassid during a dispute Monday afternoon over payment worked last year as a security guard in the bureau of Ramat Gan Mayor Tzvi Bar, according to a report broadcast Tuesday night on Channel 2 TV. Oren allegedly turned himself in to police Monday night after fleeing the scene.

Assaf Oren, 20, is suspected of stabbing to death Nati Mangami, a resident of Bnei Brak, who owned the Nati Dyo Printing Press company. Oren was a former employee of Mangami, who was married and the father of two young children.

Jpost got the story right. Mea Culpa. I've been blogging long enough to avoid making posts like this!

Hadassah Ein Karem Accused of Abuse

The other day I found a pamphlet in the Beit Midrash where I learn entitled "Blood Libel 2009" (volume 2), published by "The Association for Curbing the Harassment of the ultra-Orthodox Community". The pamphlet defends the mother accused of starving her child, and purports to document various abuses that were allegedly committed by the staff at the Hadassah Ein Karem University Hospital.

The pamphlet accuses the hospital of using patients as guinea pigs in experiments without their knowledge, performing tests that the patient did not need, neglect, euthanasia, etc.

With regards to the stories presented, they are probably in the category of Lashon Hara which one is forbidden to believe, but on the other hand one is obligated to be wary/concerned that they may be true.

Hadasah's claim that the mother accused of starving her child suffers from "Munchausen By Proxy Syndrome", is apparently also in this category of Lashon Hara. However, if you ask me the claim doesn't make sense, as the lady four other children bli ayin hara who seem to be just fine.

It seems to me that everybody is a loser in this case. Hadassah will probably suffer financially, as many people will avoid going there. "The Association for Curbing the Harassment of the Ultra-Orthodox Community" claims to have received 467 complaints that have been sent to a well known lawyer abroad, who is considering suing Hadassah in the International Court in Hague. If the ultra-Orthodox community boycotts Haddasah, where will they go? How many people can Bikur Cholim and Sha'arei Tzedek take care of?

On a personal note, my own experience with Haddasah Ein Kerem has been mostly good. Once I brought my son to a doctor there who checked him and refused to receive payment. What a Tzaddik! Another time I brought my father there for tests. With the help of an askan was able to do all the tests he needed in one day. (I blogged about that experience here.) The fact that my father payed in dollars must have helped.

A not so good experience happened when me and my wife were newlyweds. My wife needed to have a tooth pulled, and we heard that you can get it done at Haddasah at a relatively low price. What happened was that a dental student worked on her, while an experienced dentist supervised. My wife said that several times during the procedure the doctor told the student, "hafuch, hafuch" i.e. do the opposite of what you are doing. That is not the best feeling for the patient being worked on! In the end the tooth was removed. I imagine that student is a professor by now.

HH #233

JoshuaPundit does Haveil Havalim.

Ethiopian Student Controversy in Petah Tikva

Rabbi Eliezer Melamed tells us the truth about the uproar.

Some Links Before Shabbat

15 Elul 5769

Just before shopping for Shabbat:

"Surely, the introducer must have had me tested and evaluated..."

Badatz Shmadatz - Hevron Wines are not approved

Shiloh Looking Up

Porn in the Pocket

Don’t let the facts get in the way

אחרי מות - קדושים אמור

I was never a fan of Dudu Topaz. I am certainly against one taking his own life as this is a grave sin. However, "even the empty ones among them are full of mitzvot like a pomegranate". Amazing!

Moshe Plesser, The Amazing Private M.

Once upon a time we couldn't publish his name. Now he has been honored by the army:

IDF Northern Commander Gadi Eisenkot presented an award Wednesday to Moshe Plesser, an off-duty Golani soldier who stopped a terrorist attack in Jerusalem in 2008. Plesser, a resident of Kiryat Moshe, risked his own life to shoot the rampaging attacker, who used a bulldozer to kill three people near the downtown area.

Eisenkot said at the ceremony: "What was special about Sergeant Plesser's deeds was that this was a soldier who was just beginning his military path, who chanced upon a [terror] event when he was on leave, showed initiative and resourcefulness and kept his cool, strove for contact with the target and thus saved human lives. In his deeds, Sgt. Plesser offered a personal example of how IDF soldiers are expected to act.”

Plesser was riding his bicycle through Jerusalem's streets when he saw the attack unfolding. He got off the bicycle and raced towards the bulldozer as the terrorist attempted to continue his attack while still unarmed. Once he reached the bulldozer, he grabbed a gun from a nearby guard and fired on the terrorist, killing him.

An IDF committee found that Plesser's act was noteworthy, and that he had demonstrated initiative and bravery.

After the attack, Plesser credited his yeshiva education, his IDF experience, and his brother-in-law David Shapira with giving him the courage and the ability to stop the attack. Shapira had similarly risked his life to stop a terrorist attack one month earlier, shooting an Arab gunman at the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva as police hesitated to intervene.

Plesser had to fight to gain the IDF experience he noted as crucial to stopping the attack. For years, he was unable to enlist in a combat unit due to his history as a protester against the 2005 Expulsion from Gaza.

Plesser was accused of disturbing police in connection with an incident in which he photographed fellow anti-Disengagement activists as they blocked a road. Plesser, then 17, was beaten by officers during the demonstration. Despite his record, he eventually succeeded in enlisting and was accepted to an elite unit, in which he was serving at the time of the attack.

100 Years Since the Passing of the "Ben Ish Chai"

Learn about this great rabbi.

Check Your Tzitzis!

As if we haven't had enough of cheap, low quality imports from China:

Jewish media are warning consumers that "treif" or non-kosher tzitzit, made in China, have been flooding the Israeli market. The non-kosher tzitzit sell for only NIS 10, making them considerably cheaper than the regular retail price.

Tzitzit are ritual fringes worn on the four corners of a garment and are intended to remind a Jew of G-d and the commandments. For tzitzit to be kosher they must be tied by Jews. Many tzitzit today come with kosher certificates.

Lightning Strikes Cosmic X

A funny thing happened to me, or should I say to my blog, yesterday. Yahoo News linked to this post (who knows why?) and the result was much more traffic than I usually get in one day: over 1000 page views.



There are over twenty comments there as of this time. Those leaving comments included a knuckle-dragging Nazi ("you people deserved what hitler gave you in ww2"), the typically misinformed consumer of the MSM ("decades of Palestinian suffering, malnutrition, and bullying by Israel"), the banal ("Anti-Semitic? How is supporting Palestinian people against oppressing anti-Semitic? Arab people like Jews are Semitic people"), someone who is distressed that I am not a lunatic (I find it distressing that there is an actual blog that thinks there should be no two-state solution"), a guy that creates God in his own image ("Lunacy is thinking that god promised land to JEWS.. This would make god a racist"), a thief that wants to steal the land of Israel from the Jews and give it to Arabs ("Lunacy is stealing arab land"), and some supporters as well.

I particularly liked what this guy wrote:

In keeping with "fighting on the 'net is akin to Special Olympics - even if you win you are still "challenged"...

Here also wrote:

Solution? I don't have one. Neither does O'Bama. But blaming the Jews, who have suffered enough for 2000 years, ain't going nowhere except for the folks on her who spell phonetically.

Thanks to everybody that left a comment, including the knuckle-dragging Nazi. It's important that the world see your true colors.

Quiet has returned to this corner of the blogosphere since the link disappeared from Yahoo News. I wonder: can lightning strike twice in the same place?

Ha'aretz Reaches a New Low

Just when you thought that they couldn't sink any lower. Check out http://brit.haaretz.com/:



They even have a "pledge" which is total lunacy:

Dear President Obama,

Please know that I share your sense of urgency to bring peace to the Middle East.

Therefore, I pledge:

* to back your committed and persistent leadership in support of a negotiated two-state solution

* to work within my communities to build the political will that will enable you to take decisive and bold steps -- and to urge Congress to support you in this endeavor

* to make it known that an American President who dedicates himself to establishing a durable Israeli-Palestinian peace acts in the best interests of Israelis, Palestinians, the United States and our allies

* to support you in staying the course through difficult times and to celebrate your successes

In Hebrew, the words for wind and for spirit are one and the same -- ruach. As you work for peace, I promise that the ruach of the American Jewish people and our friends in the pro-Israel community will be at your back.

It's a shame to see that these people are supporting someone who openly speaks falsehood and has adopted the Arab narrative with regards to the Middle East. It's funny to see how agenda driven Ha'aretz has become.

זכות הצדקה

Seen on Ido the Prophet Street near Meah Shearim(Click on the pic for an enlargement):

Israelis Smell a Rat and His Name is Obama

8 Elul 5769

Jpost reports:

The number of Israelis who see US President Barack Obama's policies as pro-Israel has fallen to four percent, according to a Smith Research poll taken this week on behalf of The Jerusalem Post.

Fifty-one percent of Jewish Israelis consider Obama's administration more pro-Palestinian than pro-Israel, according to the survey, while 35% consider it neutral and 10% declined to express an opinion. The poll of 500 people representing a statistical model of the Jewish Israeli population had a margin of error of 4.5%.

A much-cited Post poll published on June 19 that put the first figure at 6% had been cited by top officials in both the White House and the Prime Minister's Office as the catalyst for recent American efforts to improve the American-Israeli relationship. But the new poll proves that those efforts have not improved Obama's reputation among Israelis.

Who are those four percent?

A Heimische Pic

8 Elul 5769

Yet another pic from Me'ah She'arim:



And now some posts to read while your wife cooks the cholent:

Guest Posting By Chabakuk Elisha - Yichus

In Defense of the Cheating Husband

Enough blah, blah, blah, blah, blah....

The Ghosts of Chappaquiddick

Shabbat Shalom!

Jews are not Zionists and Zionists are not Jews

Of course this is nonsense! I saw this in Meah Shearim:

I wish that I knew Yiddish

I do know a bit, and sometimes I can understand what people are saying. Yitz learned Yiddish and he tells us how he learned it here.

Shoemaker in Meah Shearim

3 Elul 5769

Chodesh Tov!

1 Elul 5769





Here's a link to some posts on Elul: [click]

Poll: Only 12 percent of Israelis believe Obama supports Israel

The radical left wing newspaper Ha'aretz reports:

Only 12 percent of Israelis believe U.S. President Barack Obama's policies are supportive of Israel, according to a poll released on Thursday.

The poll was conducted jointly by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Police and Survey Research and the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. It was conducted between August 9 and 15.

I wonder who those 12% are.

Dusk in the Galilee

Tu Be'Av

A graphic from emlking:

Cosmic X in the New York Times

I still get a kick when the New York Times links to my humble blog, even if the link was created in a random computerized fashion:

HH #228

Frum Satire has it!

Crazy Graffiti

Translation: One who thinks that he is not crazy is super crazy.

For the record, I don't agree with the guy. I am also against graffiti.

Obama’s ‘Hit Man’ Emanuel Splitting US American Jewry

You all know by now that I think that BO stinks. Here's an interesting article which describes how Obama achieved his low rating here in Israel and increasingly among American Jews as well. A taste:

President Obama revealed this week that his White House advisor Rahm Emanuel, whose father was an Israeli and part of the underground resistance movement under the British Mandate, tells him everything he needs to know about Israel.

Emanuel also is the man who choreographed the handshake between former President Bill Clinton, former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin and Yasser Arafat on the White House lawn.

He has pushed the president into a head-on collision with the Netanyahu government, but there is a growing opinion that he has also left the president out on a limb. Emanuel’s strategy was to demonstrate that the pro-Israel lobby American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) no longer speaks for American Jewry.

Mondoweis Blogger Philip Weis, who continually attacks a Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria and eastern Jerusalem, wrote last month, “Obama's game is to defeat the Israel lobby from within. He could not defeat the lobby from outside it…. But now he is cracking it like a nut, and counting on Jews to do the cracking.”

That strategy has turned into a wall of opposition, both in Israel, where the president’s popularity rating is near-zero, in the U.S. where Emanuel has simply ignored opposing views of major Jewish organizations, and in the normally anti-settlement American press.

Israeli General: Disengagement Was a Mistake

I knew that! What he said:

The 2005 disengagement from the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria was "utter nonsense" from a security perspective, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yiftah Ron-Tal, at the time OC Ground Forces, said Thursday.

Speaking to Army Radio, Ron-Tal said: "Today it's obvious to everyone - at the time it was perhaps under debate - that this was an event that, besides being rough, was simply utter nonsense from a security perspective."

Ron-Tal further described the pullout as a "terrible event." He said he had opposed the plan "in the deepest sense of the word," security-wise, belief-wise and on the national level, and that he had let this opposition be known.

The So Called "Child Starving" Mother Case

This should be interesting:

Deputy Health Minister Ya'acov Litzman instructed the Health Ministry ombudsman for dealing with complaints about medical professionals, Prof. Chaim Hershko, to conduct a broad investigation into the affair of the haredi mother suspected of starving her child, Israel Radio reported on Wednesday. The probe is to examine alleged shortcomings in the medical system's conduct in the case, including of medical officials and those around the mother's psychiatric assessments.

Perhaps we'll get to know the truth. Personally, I do not buy the Hospital/Police/Israeli MSM version.

BTW, check out this blog (in Hebrew) that has lots of info on the case.

Thoughts on the Ninth of Av

"The three weeks", "the nine days", "the week of", with their various prohibitions, will soon culminate with the fast of the Ninth of Av. The various customs of mourning reach their zenith tomorrow. If not getting a hair cut, not eating meat, not listening to music, and the other customs of mourning have not made an impression on us, have not made us consider the depth of our tragedy, perhaps the fast, reading the Book of Lamentations, and the reciting of the Kinot will.

The corpse is laying in front of us. The Temple Mount is in ruins. The commandments that deal with the sacrifices, which comprise such a large part of the Torah that God has commanded us, are not being performed. Do we understand the scope of our catastrophe?

Tomorrow is our chance to contemplate not only the lack of the Holy Temple, but also the other tragedies that our generation is witness to. How can we not lament about the widespread ignorance of Judaism among the Jewish People? How can we not cry about the fact that the gates of the land of Israel are wide open and so many Jews despise the Desirable Land and choose to cling to their surrogate mother? Is it not a calamity that the wicked nations of the world, along with a few rotten, dangling grapes in the vineyard of Israel, are trying to limit Jewish settlement in the land of our forefathers? Shouldn't we tear our clothes in mourning over the plague of intermarriage and assimilation? Are we not witnessing a silent holocaust, sans death camps and gas chambers but a holocaust nevertheless?

If the Temple is not built in the meantime, may tomorrow's fast be a meaningful one. May we do our best to improve our ways in order to merit seeing the rebuilding of the Temple.

Seen in Jerusalem

This armchair seems to be out of place:

I've Never Seen Anything in the Israeli Press Like This!!!

Check out this site's take on the tragic murder in Batzra. OMG!!!

HH #227

You can check it out here.

Obama is Despised in Israel

Amnon Lord got it right:

Thus Obama, who initially was much admired by many in Israel, has failed in his attempt to create a political crisis here and instead reaped a harvest of hatred. These days he is despised in Israel, with his lack of moral fiber regarding Iran and the elections putsch there adding fuel to the fire. Both his policy toward Iran and that regarding Israel have exposed US weaknesses.

This blogger did not pay too much attention to the elections in the U.S.A. Obama revealed himself as a sleaze bag to me and others here is Israel during his Cairo speech. His racist policies with regards to where Jews are allowed to live are just a continuation of his sleaziness. BO stinks!

Remembering Walter Cronkite

Check out this excellent article by Irv Kass. Here's a snippet:

When I walked into ABC News headquarters in New York City, in August of 1973, my goal was to become the next Walter Cronkite. It was my first TV news job. Having just graduated from NYU a few months earlier, I quickly learned that my own interests and talents were better suited to producing newscasts, and managing news operations. But, despite my change in career plans, it was still Mr. Cronkite who represented the ideals and positive reasons for wanting to work in the news business.

Haveil Havalim Has Been Hi-Jacked

Here.

The case against Obama

I don't agree with everything that Isi Leibler wrote but he does make some very good points:

President Obama's keynote Cairo address included effusive praise for Islam, highlighted Western shortcomings but omitted mention of global jihad and Islamic fundamentalism. It also legitimized the Arab narrative including its malicious and false historical analogies. By alleging that the State of Israel was a by-product of the Holocaust, the president of the United States denied 3,500 years of Jewish history and the central role of Jerusalem in Judaism. He endorsed the Arafat mantra that Israel had been inflicted upon the Arabs by the Europeans to compensate for the Holocaust, even hinting at equivalence between Jewish and Arab suffering. Obama ignored the rejectionism, ongoing wars and waves of Arab terror directed against the Jewish state since the day of its creation. He also compared the Palestinians to the US civil rights movement. When the president of the world's greatest superpower provides an imprimatur for such a false narrative it represents a major breakthrough for those seeking to delegitimize Israel.

Remember, B.O. stinks.

Truth Sprouts From the Land!

Shai Dromi Acquitted of Manslaughter:

Shai Dromi, a Negev farmer who shot and killed a Bedouin thief in January 2007, has been acquitted of manslaughter charges.

The ruling was handed down Wednesday morning in the Be’er Sheva District Court by a majority vote. He was convicted, however, on charges of illegal possession of weapons.

Dromi owns a small farm in the Negev outside Meitar, northeast of Be'er Sheva and just south of the southern border of Judea and the Hevron area. The area is constantly plagued by Bedouin thieves, with long-standing complaints by residents about police helplessness. Dromi shot at thieves in the middle of the night after seeing that his dog had been poisoned and was dying in front of his eyes, wounding two men; one of them bled to death, though Dromi said he tried to administer first-aid.

Court Orders Arab Squatters Off Jerusalem Property:

Yitzchak Herskovitz, 78, has won a critical battle in his 16-year legal struggle to regain control of his property from Arab squatters in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem District Court ruled in his favor that the contested property, in southern Jerusalem’s Givat HaMatos neighborhood, in fact belongs to him.

Herskovitz must now begin the complex process of having the illegal trespassers removed from the site. It appears clear that the police will have to be involved, and/or that the squatters will appeal the ruling yet again.

Hizbullah Weapons Depot Explodes in Lebanon:

Lebanese and Israeli sources confirmed Tuesday afternoon that a series of explosions that rocked the border area earlier in the day took place at a Hizbullah terrorist weapons depot.

The storehouse, located near the Lebanese village of Khirbet Salim, some 20 kilometers from Israel's northern border, was filled with Katyusha rockets, automatic rifles and ammunition.

The Lebanese Army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) immediately closed off the area and began an investigation into the incident. Journalists were barred from the scene.

Sources said the depot contained arms that dated back to the 2006 Second Lebanon War.

The ceasefire agreement that ended the war -- United Nations resolution 1701 -- stipulated that all militias south of the Litani River, including Hizbullah, be disarmed. However, the terrorist organization has categorically refused to comply.

"We have the right, the entire right to possess any weapon, including air defense weapons, and we have also the right to use these weapons when we need them," the group's leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah declared in a February 17 speech.

UNIFIL has refused to enforce the resolution, saying it is the responsibility of the Lebanese government to disarm the group.

The Lebanese government also refuses to disarm Hizbullah, which has a significant representation in the country's parliament, as well as in the cabinet. Although the Shi'ite terror organization has not won a majority in the government, it nonetheless wields significant influence there, as well as among the Lebanese population.

Israeli intelligence officials have estimated that Hizbullah possesses more arms, with longer ranges, than it had stockpiled prior to the war. According to the most recent reports, the group's arsenal includes up to 10,000 long-range rockets and 20,000 short-range rockets, all being stored in southern Lebanon within range of Israel.

Kiryat Arba Shooter off the Hook:

Jerusalem prosecutors officially withdrew their case against Kiryat Arba resident Zev Baruda Tuesday, a month after the Supreme Court ordered the prosecution to reveal key information or withdraw the case. Baruda had been caught on video shooting at an Arab, but he claims he did so in self-defense.

The defense had demanded the prosecution release security evidence that could have helped acquit Baruda. The prosecution claimed that releasing the evidence would damage national security interests.

כל האמת על ברק חוסיין אבמה - הסרט (Kippah tip: Yaak)

HH #225

Maya from How to Be Israeli does a great job of presenting posts from all over the jblogosphere.

Tammuz on the Blog

Here.

Yossi Sarid's Award to Niece's Book - Revoked

IsraelNN.com:

Israel’s National Lottery has revoked a prestigious prize after the Land of Israel Legal Forum found “irregularities” in the award process. The main complaint: Chief judge Yossi Sarid is the winning book's editor's uncle.

The Land of Israel Legal Forum last week asked the National Lottery, Mifal HaPayis, to nullify its Sapir Prize for Narrative Literature for this year. The prize had been awarded to Alon Hilu for his book The Dejani Plantation.

The reason for the complaint: The chairman of the prize-awarding committee, former Education Minister Yossi Sarid of the far-left Meretz Party, happened to be the uncle of the book’s editor, Rena Verbin. In addition, the Forum noted, Sarid and Hilu appeared together at several events sponsored by the book’s publisher Yediot Acharonot in honor of their books’ release.

Here's an interesting reaction to this blatant act of nepotism:

"I am shocked and surprised," one of the winners, former Ma'ariv editor Amnon Dankner, told Army Radio on Thursday morning. "I believe what has happened here, contrary to reports, is that the problem is that the editor [of the winning book] is the niece of Yossi Sarid. There was also a problem with another of the judges, Prof. [Ariel] Hirschfeld, because the book he backed was dedicated to him."

"I don't think we can hide behind the excuse of being a small country," he said.

"I didn't know about the relationship, though, and I think that really innocent people, like the contestants and the winner, have been harmed by the inappropriate conduct of the members of the judging committee," Dankner said.

"Even if they didn't have any bad intentions, the result is catastrophic and terrible. We all deserve an apology."

Even more telling is Ha'aretz's apologetics for the leftist that stumbled:

It is common knowledge in Israeli society that everything and everyone is corrupt to some degree, and it is just a matter of time and some digging until the sordid truth will be out. It has to be said that that notion is not entirely unfounded, and some of our first and best citizens contributed (and received contributions) for such a notion to prevail. The result is an atmosphere of a righteous hunt for possible miscreants, and each public deed is prone to public scrutiny by innuendos, investigative reports and complaints lodged with the State Comptrollers' office.