Beam Me Up, Scotty!

What in the world is going on in Scotland?

The European Jewish Congress spoke out on Tuesday against reports that Israeli books and products have been banned or distinctively marked in several districts in Scotland, near Glasgow.

According to reports, the ban was initiated two and a half years ago, shortly after Operation Cast Lead. At the time, the West Dunbartonshire Regional Council, located west of Glasgow, approved a bill that called to boycott goods produced in Israel. West Dunbartonshire was later joined by the large Scottish city Dundee, which decided to issue a recommendation to boycott all goods produced in Israel.

Legal advisers instructed Dundee’s mayor to refrain from legally enforcing the boycott in order to avoid future lawsuits. Instead, the municipality now plans to distribute posters throughout the city, in which they call on its approximately 150,000 residents to refrain from buying Israeli goods. The municipality will also apply a special mark on Israeli products in order to make them easily identifiable.

Dave at Israellycool seems to be having an interesting dialog with a member of the West Dunbartonshire Regional Council. Check it out.

Well, I'm going to boycott the Scots in return. I'll never buy another kilt or bagpipe again!

Netanyahu in Congress

I did not hear his speech. However, from all reports, he really wowed the crowd:

Interrupted dozens of times by standing ovations, after minutes-long applause as he entered the chamber, Netanyahu also said that there are 300 million Arabs in the MIddle East, but the only ones who are free are Israeli citizens.

I saw some excellent analysis in the jblogosphere:

Netanyahu’s Job Well Done

Israel: My Land, and that of the Jewish People

So, Bibi, Let Me Get This Straight...

The More Israel Offers, The More The Arabs Demand

Personally, I do not agree with everything that Bibi said. What is good is that he is not willing to give anything until all of the issues with the Arabs have been resolved. The "land for terror" policy of past Israeli administrations has been put to rest.

It seems to me that President Obama cannot ignore the great support that Bibi enjoys in the Congress. I think that he also understands that what he said in the Cairo speech, in retrospect, was an error:

Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust. Tomorrow, I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich. Six million Jews were killed – more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. Denying that fact is baseless, ignorant, and hateful. Threatening Israel with destruction – or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews – is deeply wrong, and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve.

On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people – Muslims and Christians – have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than sixty years they have endured the pain of dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead. They endure the daily humiliations – large and small – that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.

This disgusting attempt to equate the suffering of the "Palestinians" with the holocaust is fraudulent on so many different levels! Among them being is that if the Arabs did not try throwing the Jews into the sea, they would not have been dislocated! Most Israelis understand English. When the heard such outrageous demagoguery from Obama, they wrote him off as a friend of Israel. His attempt to give legitimization to the pathetic J-Street lobby was also a blunder.

I think that Obama also understands that forcing Bibi to impose a "building freeze" and the bellicose reactions of Mrs. Hillary Clinton every time that Israel wants to build an apartment building in Jerusalem did not win him any friends here. What's more, it did not cause any flexibility on the side of the Arabs: it only increased their appetite for more.

The Republicans seem to be having trouble fielding a serious candidate for President of the United States. We could likely end up with four more years of Obama. Let's hope that the President has learned from his mistakes. Let's hope that he understands that Jews in the land of Israel are neither occupiers nor colonialists. We are an ancient nation that has returned to its homeland! Let's hope that he has learned to differentiate between the friends and the foes of the American People.

HH #317

You can find this week's issue here.

The Obama Plan Not Grounded in Middle East Reality

U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama has finally made his long awaited policy speech. Here are the relevant parts to us Israelis according to Arutz 7:

So while the core issues of the conflict must be negotiated, the basis of those negotiations is clear: a viable Palestine, and a secure Israel. The United States believes that negotiations should result in two states, with permanent Palestinian borders with Israel, Jordan, and Egypt, and permanent Israeli borders with Palestine. The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states. The Palestinian people must have the right to govern themselves, and reach their potential, in a sovereign and contiguous state.

As for security, every state has the right to self-defense, and Israel must be able to defend itself – by itself – against any threat. Provisions must also be robust enough to prevent a resurgence of terrorism; to stop the infiltration of weapons; and to provide effective border security. The full and phased withdrawal of Israeli military forces should be coordinated with the assumption of Palestinian security responsibility in a sovereign, non-militarized state. The duration of this transition period must be agreed, and the effectiveness of security arrangements must be demonstrated.

These principles provide a foundation for negotiations. Palestinians should know the territorial outlines of their state; Israelis should know that their basic security concerns will be met. I know that these steps alone will not resolve this conflict. Two wrenching and emotional issues remain: the future of Jerusalem, and the fate of Palestinian refugees. But moving forward now on the basis of territory and security provides a foundation to resolve those two issues in a way that is just and fair, and that respects the rights and aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians.

Let's take a look at the major points:

"The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps"

This has been rejected by the Arabs many times in the past. Why would they agree to it now? As for our security:

"As for security, every state has the right to self-defense, and Israel must be able to defend itself – by itself – against any threat. Provisions must also be robust enough to prevent a resurgence of terrorism; to stop the infiltration of weapons; and to provide effective border security. The full and phased withdrawal of Israeli military forces should be coordinated with the assumption of Palestinian security responsibility in a sovereign, non-militarized state. The duration of this transition period must be agreed, and the effectiveness of security arrangements must be demonstrated."

This is also a joke. Even now, where the "Palestinians" are autonomous without a state, they have violated all agreements with regards to security. Weapons are being smuggled through the Egyptian border as well as other places. Who is going to prevent this after they have a state? Who will keep this state "non-militarized"? The phrase "resurgence of terrorism" is also inexact, to say the least. It implies that the terror has ceased, and we have to prevent a resurgence. The truth is that the terror has not ceased even for a minute. And finally:

"Two wrenching and emotional issues remain: the future of Jerusalem, and the fate of Palestinian refugees. But moving forward now on the basis of territory and security provides a foundation to resolve those two issues in a way that is just and fair, and that respects the rights and aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians."

Are we really going to give up our land only to leave the Arabs with two excuses, Jerusalem and "the right of return" to continue terror? Sorry, I don't buy it!

It is about time that Mr. Obama gets to know exactly who he is dealing with:

The Super Nakba is Coming

Who knows what V-E Day is?

Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day or VE Day) commemorates May 8, 1945 (in Commonwealth countries; May 7,1945), the date when the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. The formal surrender of the occupying German forces in the Channel Islands was not until May 9, 1945. On 30 April Hitler committed suicide during the Battle of Berlin, and so the surrender of Germany was authorized by his replacement, President of Germany Karl Dönitz. The administration headed by Dönitz was known as the Flensburg government. The act of military surrender was signed on 7 May in Reims, France, and ratified on 8 May in Berlin, Germany.

This was a very happy day for those that fought Nazi Germany:

In the United Kingdom, more than one million people celebrated in the streets to mark the end of the European part of the war. In London, crowds massed in Trafalgar Square and up The Mall to Buckingham Palace, where King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by Prime Minister Winston Churchill, appeared on the balcony of the Palace before the cheering crowds. Princess Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth II) and her sister Princess Margaret were allowed to wander anonymously among the crowds and take part in the celebrations.

In the United States, President Harry Truman, who turned 61 that day, dedicated the victory to the memory of his predecessor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had died of a cerebral hemorrhage less than a month earlier, on 12 April. Flags remained at half-mast for the remainder of the 30-day mourning period. Truman said of dedicating the victory to Roosevelt's memory and keeping the flags at half-staff that his only wish was "that Franklin D. Roosevelt had lived to witness this day." Massive celebrations also took place in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and especially in New York City's Times Square.

However, Germany's unconditional surrender, along with the death of the Fuhrer, was a Nakba, a tragedy for the Nazis.

Similarly, the founding of the State of Israel was a Nakba for the local Arab population along with the neighboring Arab countries. They started a war with the newborn Jewish state and lost. As former Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy remarked, the Arabs are like a child that murdered his parents. Afterwards at his trial, he pleads to the judge for mercy since he is an orphan! The Nazis started a war in 1939, and the Arabs in 1948. Both the Nazis and Arabs lost, but not before causing misery everywhere they had trodden. The barbarity of the Arabs and the Nazis brought tragedy upon themselves and others.

The so called "Palestinian narrative", their ridiculous claim to victim-hood, is a bizarre combination of lies, fantasies, and half-truths. The ability to put forth such a narrative and keep a straight face is a sign of evil. Lies are evil and those that spread them are evil. This includes Mr. Barak Hussein Obama, the president of the United States of America. He officially adopted the "narrative" at his infamous speech in Cairo and made it the cornerstone of American policy in the Middle East. In doing so he put himself in the same league as the "truthers" and the "birthers" . He is smart enough to know better (or is he?).

The vast majority of Germans have given up Nazism. The dream of the Third Reich has vanished, except in the minds of a few skinheads. In contrast, the vast majority of Arabs are entirely unrepentant. The opposite is true: they have become bolder in words and in actions. The violence associated with this year's Nakba day is evidence that the dream to destroy Israel still ferments in the depraved Arab psyche.

Perhaps "...the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full" (Genesis 15:16), but it must be getting there. My guess is that the Arabs' perpetuation of lies, acts of theft, murder and sexual assault, here in the land of Israel and abroad are setting the stage for Divine retribution. The "Arab Spring" will heat up and become the Arab Hell. Get ready for the Super Nakba.

Update!: What an appropriate clip![Hat tip]

Itamar Yeshiva: Remembering the Massacre, Continuing to Build

This Week's HH

Here!

Danny Rosen's Frivolous Lawsuit Gets Dismissed

This was expected:

The Haifa District Court rejected a lawsuit by Danny Rozen, husband of late Haifa police chief Ahuva Tomer, filed against Interior Minister Eli Yishai.

Rozen sued the state and Yishai for NIS 3 million in January, and demanded Yishai's resignation over what he said was criminal negligence of the Israel Fire and Rescue Service.

In its reply to the law suit, the state said Tomer had lost her life while carrying out her police duties, and that the law grants the state immunity from paying damages sustained during police service.

The State's reply expressed "understanding for the pain over this tragic disaster. At the same time ... the lawsuit should be rejected because of the state's immunity to damages ... and the police service of the deceased [Ahuva Tomer]."

Tomer died in December, four days after suffering burns over 90 percent of her body when she rushed to save lives of prison wardens in a burning bus during a fire that consumed the Carmel forest.

Eli Yishai, chazak ve'ematz!

Parashat Kedoshim: You are What You...See

The expression, "you are what you eat" is well known. If you want to be healthy, you have to eat fresh and nourishing food. Where did the phrase come from?:

Ger. Mann ist was Mann isst, man is what man eats; cf. the philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-72) in Jacob Moleschott Lehre der Nahrungsmittel: Für das Volk (1850) ‘Advertisement’: Der Mensch ist, was er isst, Man is what he eats. The saying is sometimes attributed to the French gastronome Anthelme Brillat-Savarin who wrote in his Physiologie du Goût (1825): Dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es, Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.

The Torah prescribes a strict diet for the Jewish People. According to the "The Path of the Just", we are dealing with a spiritual version of "you are what you eat":

The sin which comes third after theft and illicit relations in respect to desire is that of forbidden foods - whether thos; that are ritually unclean, or an admixture containing them, or a combination of meat and milk, or suet, or blood, or food cooked by gentiles, or the utensils of gentiles, or the wine used in ther libations, or their drinking-wine. Cleanliness in relation to all of these requires great scrutiny and self-strengthening because there is a lust in the heart for good foods and because one must sometimes suffer a monetary loss as a result of admixtures and the like. The prohibitions concerning forbidden foods also involve many details, as is reflected in all of the commonly known laws that are treated in the Halachic writings. One who is lenient in relation to these laws when he has been instructed to be stringent is destroying his soul. As is stated in the Sifra (Shemini), " `Do not sully yourselves with them, becoming unclean with them' (Leviticus 11:43) - if you sully yourselves with them, you will, in the end, partake of their uncleanliness." Forbidden foods carry uncleanliness itself into a person's heart and soul until the holiness of the Presence Blessed be He departs and withdraws from him, as is also stated in the Talmud ( Yoma 39a), " `...becoming unclean with them' - do not read `becoming unclean with them,' but `becoming dull with them.' " For sin dulls a man's heart in that it causes to depart from him true knowledge and the spirit of wisdom that the Holy One Blessed be He gives to the Saints (as it is said [Proverbs 2:6], "For God gives wisdom"), and he remains beastly and earthy, immersed in the grossness of this world. Forbidden foods are worse in this respect than all other prohibitions, for they enter into a person's body and become flesh of his flesh. In order to instruct us that this applies not only to unclean beasts or to earth creatures, but also to those animals, which, though in the "clean" category, are ritually unclean, Scripture tells us (Leviticus 11:47), "To distinguish between the unclean and the clean," upon which our Teachers of blessed memory comment (Sifra ad loc.), "There is no need to point up the distinction between an ass and a cow. What, then, is the meaning of `between the unclean and the clean'? - between what is unclean to you and what is clean to you; between the cutting of most of the windpipe and the cutting of half. And what is the difference between most and half ? - a hairs-breadth." The reason that they concluded in this manner ("And what is the difference between `most' ... ") is to show how amazing the power of the mitzvoth is, that a hair's-breadth constitutes the difference between uncleanliness and cleanliness itself.

Anyone possessed of sense will regard forbidden food as poison, or as food with which some poison has become mixed. Would anyone allow himself to partake of such food? If there were any room for suspicion or even the slightest doubt, he would certainly not permit himself to eat of it; and if he did, he would be regarded as an absolute fool. Forbidden food, as we have explained, is poison itself to the heart and soul."

I claim that "you are what you see, what you hear, and what you read". Whatever your mind is dealing with, that is "you" at that very moment. This is perhaps one of the reasons that our sages said, "Thoughts of sin are worse than the sin itself (Yoma 29A)". The sin itself may be performed by one's hands, mouth, or whatever. This is a serious matter in and of itself which requires teshuvah. However, "thoughts of sin" go much deeper, entering the intimate recesses of one's inner being.

This is why it is so important to be close to Torah scholars, to invest time in learning Torah. Then one's mind is occupied with positive things: mitzvot, ethics, midot, holiness (Leviticus 19:1-2):

1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them: Ye shall be holy; for I the LORD your God am holy.

Of course, the opposite is also true: If one hangs around with fools, scoffers, and/or slanderers, takes part in their conversations, and reads their books (or blogs), one fills his mind with filth and vulgarity. That is what his mind is occupied with, and to a certain degree that is "him" at that very moment. Holiness and impurity cannot dwell together.

God has clearly put two paths before us. We shall chose holiness and life.

The Liquidation of Osama Bin Laden: US Army Kills Human Shield

Cheers! The evil Osama Bin Laden bites the dust!

"When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth; and when the wicked perish, there is joy.(Proverbs 11:10)"

Today is a happy day for the civilized world, and a sad one for Muslim extremists.

Readers, please take note. The U.S. Army has no problem when it comes to human shields. If they are in the way, just kill them!:

U.S. troops were at the compound for less than 40 minutes. In addition to bin Laden, three adult males were killed, including bin Laden's adult son and two couriers.

Bin Laden did not go peacefully, according to officials. He resisted arrest and was killed in a firefight as U.S. troops entered the compound. One woman was killed when she was used as a human shield, U.S. officials say, and two women were injured in the raid.

It seems to me that we have a pretty high rate of collateral damage here. Assuming that all the men killed were terrorists and that the woman were civillians, 20% of those killed were civilians.

Remember this the next time that the hypocrites Obama and/or Hillary complain about collateral damage caused by the IDF.