Category Archives: Israel

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The Politics of Power

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I’m miffed at Bibi Netanyahu at the moment, AND Danny Dannon. In fact, I’m so miffed at them, I’m not going to answer their emails! Just on the off hand chance they have a clue who I am and they would actually email me in the first place. As you may be well aware, Bibi is the Prime Minister of Israel. He is from the Likud party, as is Danny. Danny is even more right wing than Bibi, This is not a bad thing to my way of thinking.

Campaign clip depicts Danon as a sheriff bringing the “real Likud” back.  This is pretty clever, you should watch it. Subtitles in English. Zoabi is suing Dannon over saying she supports terrorism. Shoe fits Zoabi. 

 

So right wing is good, right? Supporting actual Israelis against the likes of someone like Haneen Zoabi.

 

A couple of years ago I did an interview with a Navigation Unit Commander for a tank battalion. Of course the topic of Israeli politics came up. That’s one of the nice things about doing interviews, you get to ask what you want to know. I remember him saying that in the Knesset you will have some of the members saying things like Israel should be bombed off the face of the earth. I’m sure I looked appalled when I asked “WHY on earth would you let someone like that be in the Knesset? They should be arrested for treason!” He looked equally appalled and informed me “Everyone has a voice, everyone gets a say”. I remember thinking, with MK s like this, who needs to worry about obama or the other muslims? I understand what he’s saying, but yesh! One of those type of MK s is the Zoabi mentioned in the video. She has done such notable things as side with those on the illegal flotilla a few years ago, she also sided with the rioters on the Temple Mount, and the cowards that kidnapped and murdered three Israeli teenagers in the summer of 2014. She stated “They are not terrorists, even if I do not agree with their actions, these people do not have any escape, any escape.” Precious isn’t she? In March 2009 she stated that she was not worried about the prospect of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. She suggested that a nuclear-armed Iran would act as a counter-power to Israel. Yep, a real peach.

 

I can well understand why Danny and Bibi wouldn’t want someone like Zoabi or her Balad Party (left wing) having a lot of influence in the Knesset. So Danny and Bibi are strong, conservative, pro-Israeli, right? Welllllll, that’s probably a loaded question, and here we go.

 

Ever heard of a political party called Manhigut Yehudit? It means “Jewish Leadership”. It would be the political party I would most wish to be a part of. The irony here, is they would most likely have nothing to do with the likes of me. I’m not Jewish or Israeli, at least by most people’s definition. Ever hear of Moshe Feiglin (hope your Hebrew is better than mine)? These guys are RADICALS! They believe in the Jewish state that Jews should be allowed to pray at the Holiest site in Judaism! Can’t you just hear the sound of air being sucked in through teeth? I know! They also believe things that are an anathema to left wingers, such as, gasp, religion in schools! Yes, Jewish education for Jewish children in a Jewish state! And a modern and open economy based on Jewish values, and transferring power to local governments, less taxes! Oh the shock and horror! But more astounding is Israel needs to defeat its enemies not to flee them. WHAT? Minorities Must Abide by the Law, why that’s RAAACIST! Why, folks, I believe what we have here is the Israeli version of the Tea Party. Well, except Manhigut Yehudit was formed in 1998.

So, it would seem natural that Manhigut Yehudit would fit right in with the Likud, wouldn’t it?

Well, imagine my shock and surprise to find out that Bibi and Danny Dannon along with some others conspired to keep Moshe from returning to the Knesset! Now is where I hit the deep water. I read that Moshe and another MK I really like, Tzipi Hotovely had been given unrealistic seats. Moshe at #27 and Tzipi at #26. People like me maybe shouldn’t have Israeli news feeds on their phones, I dunno. So when I read this

Hotovely is the only religious female MK on Likud’s roster. In any case, the Likud’s “leading woman” is shaping up to be Miri Regev – who is also an advocate for Jewish rights on the Temple Mount. Regev is in the fifth spot, after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, and ministers Gilad Erdan and Yisrael Katz. The former leading woman in the party, Limor Livnat, has bowed out of politics.Gila Gamliel, who is currently Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, is in the 10th spot.Meanwhile, Deputy Knesset Speaker Moshe Feiglin is out of the realistic zone for election to the 20th Knesset. Former MK Ayoub Kara has outflanked him and pushed him to the 36th spot.

My first thought was “huh?” What does this mean? So I did what I always do when I’m in over my head, and I know it, but I don’t want to back off. I picked up my phone. “Can we talk about Israeli politics and the elections? I’m confused and I don’t understand some of this stuff”. I think I heard a deep sigh, which wouldn’t be all that remarkable except I had sent a text message, not made a phone call. But the answer was “Of course”.

Some of my first questions were HOW can a person like Tzipi Hotovely not be wanted in the Knesset when she makes sensible statements in March 2011 about

Israeli Author Amos Oz being naive, after he sent a Hamas leader a copy of his auto-biography, writing that Oz would lack even the instinct to distinguish between Mordechai and Haman.In July 2011, Hotovely met with Glenn Beck. She told him that “this [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict isn’t territorial…This is a religious battle led by Islam. We can’t ignore this basic truth.”

Or Moshe Feiglin,

“Why should non-Jews have a say in the policy of a Jewish state?… For two thousand years, Jews dreamed of a Jewish state, not a democratic state. Democracy should serve the values of the state, not destroy them….””Israeli citizenship to Jews only [and] the immediate expulsion of any person of another people who claims any sort of sovereignty in the Land of Israel.””We are busy fighting for Yesha, and refuse to recognize the more dangerous front against the fifth column inside Israel.” “We established a state so that we could stop being different and start being normal. If only Jews can be Israelis, then we will never be normal. . . .The fundamental solution is leadership that is not looking for normalcy. The solution is leadership that emphasizes our Jewish identity. Paradoxically, it is only when the Arabs understand that the Israelis do not need them to help them to forget that they are Jews – will we be able to live here in peace with non-Jews who unequivocally accept the fact that Israel is a Jewish state.”It appears that the Israeli Arabs identify with our enemies. There are laws in this country that deal with treason and they should be applied when required. If Israeli Arabs are found helping our enemies, they should be stripped of their citizenship. In addition, if they are citizens, they should not be exempt from paying taxes; they should serve in the IDF, or at least in Sherut Le’umi, the National Service. . . . .If they are against us, we must make every effort to ensure that they leave. If they collaborate with our enemy, they must be removed.

WHO wouldn’t want him in the Knesset? Well, while I’m admitting right up front, I have an as yet imperfect understanding of Israeli politics, the short version is people don’t vote for a person after the primaries, they vote for the list the party puts up. Sometimes the party will change the list they publicized after they are elected. On top of that, to get a majority number of 61 seats, sometimes the party with the most seats will form collations with other parties to get the 61 out of 120 seats. To do this there are payoffs usually involved. You want the “Pirate party” (kid you not) to join your collation of “We are all Friends” or “Meretz” to make it to the magical 61 seats? You will probably promise their people posts. Now these are all Left Wingers. But what if someone from the Pirate Party is appointed to a position in finance. And what if the Pirate Party appointee turns out to be like Ragnar Danneskjöld from Atlas Shrugged and supports lower or no taxes and full unfettered capitalism. Think how betrayed the big government, more control, less Israel first voters are going to feel. And apparently there can be all kinds of machinations that take place. Reminds me of a caucus I went to a few years ago. The Ron Paul people had the 2nd most amount of people turn out, and yet that candidate received not a single delegate when the deals were done. The list appears to have been made up by Karl Rove types. Moshe & Tzipi would be a threat, they believe in Israel and Israelis first and foremost. They believe they should be allowed to pray on the Temple Mount. So, since they (Likud leadership) view them as a threat to getting the votes of the “moderates” and “independents” they put those troublemakers further down the list. Much like in America when we see “Moderate” candidates like John McCain and Mitt Romney put up as viable “conservative” candidates. And the Karl Rove, talking head types tell us they are the only type of candidates that can win. Similar to Republican attacks on the Tea Party.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/12/16/this-is-how-far-rush-limbaugh-thinks-the-republican-establishment-may-go-to-get-rid-of-the-tea-party/

http://news.firedoglake.com/2013/10/24/republican-establishment-planning-attack-on-tea-party-in-2014/

So, the Tea Party, like Moshe, who thought he could change Likud from within, are finding out, maybe not so much. Moshe is planning on forming a new political party. I think our Tea Party is going to have to begin to stand on their own. I don’t know that they can afford to keep trying to work from within to reform a party that elects John Bohner as speaker of the house. Bohner has proven time and again he will not fight barrry. He is lots of hot air, all hat and no cattle. Both Bibi and the Republican Party talk about being “inclusive” and the “big tent” and wanting to have more groups of people brought in, unless of course, they are true conservatives. Then, um, well, no. they want no part of that!

But this isn’t only a National problem, look at just a couple news stories out of Missouri in the last few days.

HB 188 which would be very harmful to grassroots issue based groups, say for example Second Amendment rights groups. This bill would require groups to disclose their membership lists. Kind of a lousy political environment for making a list of Second Amendment supporters available to the government isn’t it? Especially when you have a sort of Governor like Jay Nixon.

A bill introduced by Rep. Caleb Rowden to force more disclosure of political spending received a significant endorsement last week when incoming House Speaker John Diehl said it is a priority for inclusion in a package of changes to state ethics laws.Rowden’s bill would require corporations or other entities formed under state business laws to report the sources of their funds when spending to influence elections exceeds 25 percent of their annual budget. The bill, said Rowden, R-Columbia, is intended to exempt entities with a wide range of activities from disclosure while putting a spotlight on those with a primary purpose of influencing elections.

And this abomination is brought to you by freedom loving Repub, er RINOs.

Yep, the US and Missouri at least show a flair for the same nonsense.

But what about a Zoabi type character, is there such? Why, yes, yes there is! Missouri has State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal. Little Maria recently said on Twitter

“LET ME BE CLEAR. When you exercise your #WhitePrivilege, don’t think I’m not going to remember. I will use it for the future. Uncomfortable?”

No, she’s not the anti-gun Senator that was arrested for being drunk and carrying at the “peaceful” Michael Brown protest. That was Jamilah Nasheed.

 

Missouri sure has some “special” politicians. But I bet if you dig around and turn over some rocks you can find the same type of politicians in every state.

 

What is the end result of all the “specialness”? Well, you get laws that prohibit Jews from praying at the holiest site in Judaism in a Jewish state. You get laws that are horrid, and then the Police who are charged with enforcing the laws get stuck enforcing crap laws. Because these morons were elected by “We The People”. Although I will admit there could well be vote fraud.

These Politicians think theirs is the power, they believe in the Politics of Power. And that’s who they choose to represent. They have forgotten that they were elected to represent “We The People”. And as long as we continue to tolerate people that run on campaign promises of what the people are asking for and then sell out at the earliest opportunity, this is what we will have.

I’ll end with this music video of Moshe Feiglin, partly because I just like it. I love looking at the scenery and thinking did I walk down that street? And partly because I like the message, we need to stand together. Where politicians seems to be doing nothing but dividing us, we need to force them to unite to accomplish what “We The People” are telling them we want.

 

 

 

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duty, Israel, Jewish history, Political philosophy, resistance, Sellouts and traitors

The Backstory of Chanukah: Clarity of Purpose Secured and then Lost

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beit hamikdosh

Just who was this hotheaded man who just killed a fellow Jew and started a war, this Matityahu ben Yonatan?

First and foremost, he was a Kohen, a member of the priestly line, tracing his lineage all the way back to Pinchas, the third High Priest of Israel. Pinchas was grandson to Moses’ brother, Aaron, and whose painful devotion to principle, in order to stave off the anger of G-d, gave birth to the duties of a Kohen.

Since the Exodus from Egypt, and subsequent Revelation at Sinai, the job of a Kohen is to carefully and scrupulously conduct the prayer and sacrifices in adulation, praise, thanksgiving, and as pleas for the forgiveness of sin, before Hashem Elokeinu, the G-d of Israel.
Along with their tribal kinsmen, the Leviim (who are in charge of the facilities and ritual objects) these duties have been passed from father to son since the time of the Mishkan (the portable Tabernacle).

The Mishkan was, after Sinai, the special place where G-d dwelled on Earth with his Jewish People. It traveled with them in the desert and for nearly four hundred years sat at Tel Shiloh. King David then established his capitol at Yerushalayim, but the permission from G-d to build the Beit HaMikdash, a fixed and permanent Temple, was withheld from King David and given to his son, Shlomo (Solomon).
Although the obligations were great, and generally the Kohanim and Leviim earned the great respect accorded them, just as with Kings, they were subject to human frailties, and on occasion a Kohen was simply corrupt.

As an example, the Prophet Eli, High Priest at Shiloh, sadly concluded that both of his sons were such evil men, that they could not succeed him. They were so bad that when they led the Ark of the Covenant in a military campaign against the Philistines, G-d provided a harsh lesson and withdrew this favor in battle. Many died and the Ark was carried off by the enemy. Fortunately, G-d had provided a righteous young man, a Levi placed in Eli’s care and instruction, by his parents. He was Shmuel ben Elkanah (Samuel), the last of the Biblical Judges.

Up until this time, the Jews had lived as a confederacy, with spiritual leadership by the Kohanin / Leviim, and secular affairs run by the Tribal Elders. In time Samuel learned to his dismay that he too had two bad sons. Seeing this, the Elders, lacking in emuna (faith), and envious of the foreign nations, then begged Shmuel to anoint a King to judge (rule) over them. G-d plainly declared this as a rejection not of the Prophet but of G-d Himself. G-d told Shmuel to leave them to their folly (a very hard lesson from a stern, but loving father), but to warn them of what would come of it. He did so, saying:

“This will be the manner of the king who will reign over you; he will take your sons, and appoint them to him for his chariots and for his horsemen, and they will run before his chariots. And he will appoint them to him commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and to plow his plowing and to reap his harvest, and to make his weapons and the equipment for his chariots. And he will take your daughters for his perfumers, for cooks, and for bakers. And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive trees, and will give them to his slaves. And he will tithe your grain crops and your vineyards, and he will give them to his officers and his slaves. And he will take your male and female slaves, and your handsomest youths and your asses, and put them to his work. And he will tithe your flocks, and you will be slaves to him. And you will cry out on that day because of your king, whom you will have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not answer you on that day.”

The Tribal Elders, nevertheless insisted. Shmuel went to anoint Saul ben Kish as the first earthly King of Israel, and subsequently King David. All subsequent, legitimate, anointed Kings of Israel are from the House of David, as will be, it is believed, the final (earthly)King; Moshiach ben David (see 2 Shmuel, Chapter 7: Verses 3-29)

And therein lies the rub…

Initially, Matityahu ben Yonatan, High Priest at Modi’in, and his sons; Yehuda, Elazar, Shimon, Yochanan and Yonatan enjoyed the favor of G-d. They demonstrated pure faith in Him, and were rewarded with many truly amazing victories. Recapturing the Beit HaMikdosh, cleaning it of the filth and degradation, restoring it to its purpose was a tremendous victory. Matityahu died in battle in the first year. Driving out the Syrian-Greeks and their assimilationist Jewish allies from the immediate neighborhood took four years. Their true mission had been accomplished.

Then, Yehuda Maccabee’s brother Shimon assumed the throne as King. He was not of the Davidic Line. Neither was he of the tribe of Yehuda. The Hasmoneans could certainly continue their duties as Kohens, but Kingship was improper. Nonetheless, a reign of Hasmonean monarchs followed from 140 BCE to 27 BCE, concluding with Antigonus II Mattathias.

Jewish land was retaken. Other revolts against the Seleucid Empire as far away as Persia were inspired. Palace intrigues were executed. Alliances were made. The trappings of Kingship and Empire ate away at the nobles, the people, and even the land. A civil war was afoot. Once again, a very harsh lesson from G-d was brewing… at the hands of the Roman Empire.

And, this time the lesson would last two thousand years.

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authoritarian swine, Inspiration, Israel, Jewish history, resistance, self defense, spirit of rebellion

It’s The Most MACCABEE Time of the Year!

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I am pretty much, without a doubt, the least qualified on the team to write a column about the Maccabees. That is not stopping me.

I first learned about the Maccabees a couple years ago doing a study on the book of Daniel. I was so humbled and impressed by this group of people that loved their G-d so much that rather than submit to what was being demanded of them, that they offer sacrifices to anyone other than the G-d of Israel, or to eat unclean food, they would spark a revolt.

I ask a girlfriend of mine who knows me pretty well, if she knew about the Maccabees. Well, of course she did. “HOW could you know about the Maccabees and NOT tell me?”. She said she figured I learn about them in time. And so I did, and I fell in love.

 

The first thing that captivated me was Mattathias and his response. When he was told by the king’s officers that he was honored, a leader and to come be the first to sacrifice as all the Gentiles, people in Judah and those LEFT in Jerusalem had done(seeing as how Antiochus’s troops had slaughtered 40,000 and sold another 40,000 into slavery when he defiled the temple), he refused. He didn’t form a committee, he didn’t have an emergency conference with is sons, they didn’t do a feasibility study of defeating Antiochus, debate if he would be called racist, islamophobic, homophobic, hoplophobic, xenophobic. He just said

“Though all the nations that are under the king’s dominion obey him, and fall away every one from the religion of their fathers, and give consent to his commandments : yet will I and my sons and my brethren walk in the covenant of our fathers. G-d forbid that we should forsake the law and. the ordinances. We will not hearken to the king’s words, to go from our religion, either on the right hand, or the left.”

And, he really meant it.

As some Jews had been happy enough about blending in with the king’s people (they picked the WRONG king) they had also become his enforcers. They were already breaking the Torah themselves, so what’s a little selling out of your fellow Jews who are trying to hold to the correct King’s law? So while Antiochus was determined to wipe out Judaism, he was perfectly willing to use the religious leaders to  convince the people that the horrible idea of turning away from their G-d was a GREAT idea. Not much has changed today has it?

When an appeasing Jew stepped forward, the kind of person that tries to appease a tiger, hoping it will eat them last, Mattathias killed him. He would NOT tolerate a sacrifice to a pagan idol, a false G-d in HIS name. None of it. He then killed the king’s officer that was forcing the people to do this wicked thing. He recognized evil for what it was. He didn’t try to rationalize it away, make it better or listen to national leaders that didn’t have the people’s best interests at heart. How can I say that? I wasn’t there? Because the people weren’t being allowed to worship THEIR G-d as they had been commanded to. They were being prevented from it, forbidden. In the most horrific of ways. Where in the beginning, perhaps they chose to assimilate, not wanting to be “intolerant” before long, it became mandatory. Horribly mandatory. Convert or Die.

One of the things those that who chose to rebel with Mattathias soon faced was the king’s army attacking them on Shabbat. When word reached the army at Jerusalem they rode out into the desert to stomp out these upstart Maccabee Partisans. The army commanded them to come out. But rather than profane their Sabbath, they chose to die, around a thousand of them, with their wives, children and livestock. They were faithful even unto death. Unfortunately, as my team mate Y.B. has pointed out,

Dying Kiddush Hashem (in sanctification of G-d’s name) is far too big a habit for Jews. We do it all the time. We’re really good at it. We have a backlog of those who have so died good for the next few thousand years, don’t you think?

The Maccabee Partisans then held a discussion and decided

“If we all do as our kinsmen have done,” they said to one another, “and do not fight against the Gentiles for our lives and our traditions, they will soon destroy us from the earth.” On that day they came to this decision: “Let us fight against anyone who attacks us on the sabbath, so that we may not all die as our kinsmen died in the hiding places.”

I don’t think Satan and the king’s army needed any help trying to wipe Judaism off the face of the earth. They were doing well enough on their own.

Other soon joined the Maccabees, and the rebellion grew. They went after all that were breaking the law. And it was about G-d, Torah and his law. There was none of this, “well, you have friends in high places”, or “they know people” or__________. It was very simple, and very fair. It was a Jewish land, and these were Jewish laws.

Lest you think that the people were converting and violating G-d’s laws because of something taught in Antiochus’s Common Core school, I will relate just a bit of Hannah and her Seven Sons. They deserve Capital letters. The first son made it plain that he would not violate the Torah by eating pork. What followed was having his tongue cut out, he was scalped, his hands and feet cut off, and while he was still breathing he was fried alive. In view of his Mother and Six Brothers, who all encouraged each other to die bravely but not give in. And NONE did, the Mother, after watching all of her sons suffer the same fate, was killed. Many of the Sons informed the king that though he had earthly power over them now, there was a Power greater, and he had NO power over that king. That the king should make no mistake, he absolutely would be called to account for his mistreatment of them and their nation. But that king was as arrogant or perhaps even more than rulers we see today. The battle was arrogance against the courage of their convictions and faith in their G-d. They perceived the horrors that had befallen their nation as punishment for having turned away from him.

When Mattathias died, he appointed his son Judah military leader, and his son Simon as the one to go to for wisdom. Father must have known his children’s strengths. Judah won amazing victories. His speech I love is:

But when they saw the army coming to meet them, they said to Judah, “How can we, few as we are, fight against so great and strong a multitude? And we are faint, for we have eaten nothing today.” Judah replied, “It is easy for many to be hemmed in by few, for in the sight of Heaven there is no difference between saving by many or by few. It is not on the size of the army that victory in battle depends, but strength comes from Heaven. They come against us in great pride and lawlessness to destroy us and our wives and our children, and to despoil us; but we fight for our lives and our laws. He himself will crush them before us; as for you, do not be afraid of them.”

When he finished speaking, he rushed suddenly against Seron and his army, and they were crushed before him. They pursued them down the descent of Beth-Horon to the plain; eight hundred of them fell, and the rest fled into the land of the Philistines. Then Judah and his brothers began to be feared, and terror fell upon the Gentiles round about them.

Judah didn’t fight for fame, glory to meet some celebrity or get a video game name after him. He fought for G-d, for his way of life, and because it was the right thing to do. Some fights are worth having. He suited up, showed up ready to fight and leave the outcome to G-d.

Eventually Judah and the Partisans often using guerrilla tactics retook Jerusalem. They disposed of the desecrated alter, cleansed the temple and built a new alter, new vessels to be made and everything was to be done properly, according to the law. For the Menorah, unadulterated and undefiled pure olive oil with the seal of the Kohen Gadol, high priest was needed. The Menorah was to burn through the night, every night. And while only one such bottle, enough to last for one night, was all that could be found, it lasted eight nights, which was the amount of time it took for a fresh supply of oil to be available. Some doubt that miracle to be true. I do not.

But whether or not THAT miracle is true, I think making one bottle of olive oil burn for eight nights is no big thing, ein ba-ya, for the G-d that created the olives, the trees, the land. I think the amazing miracle is that three years to the day that the madmen of Antiochus pillaged Jerusalem and defiled the temple, it was back in Jewish hands, holy and rededicated from what began as a one man revolt. And that one man had raised really good and righteous sons.

Please know, this is the “Cliff Note” version of  the Maccabean Revolt, from a person who has been in love with them for two whole years because she has only known about them for two whole years. I believe you will get a far better column from someone far better qualified to write it.

I know that most people think of Hanukkah as a “Jewish holiday”, some think it’s the Jewish version of Christmas. But I’m telling you now, Christians NEED to learn about Hanukkah! They NEED to know WHAT and WHY it was! They NEED to understand it, and they need to learn it very, very fast. And some Jews need to re-learn some lessons too. Hanukkah is equally as important for all of us now. Why would I say such a thing?

Because in the beginning some of the Jews were fine with the new lifestyle that was being brought in by the Greeks, the new gymnasiums, the “freedom” from all those bothersome holy laws. Tolerance, acceptance, go along to get along. Love, joy, peace and kumbaya and all that. And then the gloves came off. They were forbidden to practice their faith, forbidden to serve G-d, to worship him. Defiance was costly. I consider dead to be very costly.

Mattathias didn’t start the trouble, he didn’t go to Jerusalem looking to right the wrongs when Antiochus and his crowd showed up in Jerusalem and said “Burn this Bitch Down”. But when evil showed up on his doorstep he knew it for what it was and he didn’t muck about sorting it.

This country was founded on Judeo-Christian principles. Yet, in the country there are cities that are being told they can not have a float that had a religious statement on it because ONE person complained to an atheist legal group. The Ten Commandments are removed from schools and government buildings (and if ever there was a place they NEED to be, it would be government buildings). Sometimes by legal action, threats of legal action, or just choice. Army Chaplains are forbidden to use the Bible in suicide prevention classes. Children are told they can’t meet to pray before or after school on school grounds and humiliated for choosing to read a Bible during “free reading” period. So, what can the kids learn about in school? Islam. Several states have had people beginning to talk on FaceBook and to the media about the children coming home with assignments that are proselytizing for Islam. Part of the new Common Core standards lessons. Pamela Geller has been all over this. Reports from Maryland, Massachusetts and North Carolina all detailing similar events. Apparently there will be no lessons in the classroom on Judaism or Christianity. Unable to practice our religion freely? Check.

Physical violence? Did you know there is a place in America where it’s not safe for a Christian or Jews to go? The Maccabees were Jews who were able to resist and fight back because they were ARMED. They didn’t win battles with Judah’s winning smile. They fought. Yet we have far too many in America that can’t wait to put us all in a position of being in the position of the Warsaw Ghetto again where only the “State” has the means to enforce either freedom or tyranny. In many countries in Europe there is an increasing rise in Anti-Semitism, and Jews are becoming unsafe and afraid to disclose their religion. These kinds of attacks are something Jews in Israel have been dealing with for a very long time. Author Professor Phyllis Chesler said after 9/11 and the attack on the twin towers she went over and typed in her computer “Now we are all Israelis.” And we are right back where we started out, in Israel. The land of Miracles.

The shape our country is in now, we need Maccabees, we need them badly. People that will not bow down to the false king of “Political Correctness” nor allow the sacrifice good people on the alter of “tolerance” by them being put out of business, or having their TV show canceled because they talk about the Tanakh or the Bible. Nor because they choose to talk about G-d. We need people who recognize evil and teach others how to recognize it. We must become the Maccabees of today.

You know, life has been beyond hectic for me these last couple weeks. Mind numbingly, over-overwhelmingly so. The interesting thing was, as I wrote this column, I began to have a sense of peace, and calmness. The first I’ve had in some time. It was as though G-d wrapped a warm quilt around me and said “My child, I’m still in the miracle making business. They may not be on your time table, or in your way, but I still make them. Every single day, I make them. Breath.” And I did.

Happy Hanukkah

Merry Christmas

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duty, Inspiration, Israel, Jewish history, Jewish philosophy, resistance, spirit of rebellion

Prelude to Rededication

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Matisyahu

Once again the Children of Abraham were in peril… but not for the reasons you might think.

The king of Babylon had allowed their return to Israel, and even allowed the rebuilding of the Holy Temple. One empire defeated another and soon Alexander the Macedonian came. His visit foreshadowed things to come.

An apostate sect known as the Samaritans had long challenged a core element of Jewish belief; the three-part revelation of Torah (Mystical, Oral, and Written). They had come to the point of militating for the destruction of the Holy Temple and the wholesale murder of the Priests and Levites. Alexander, on his way to leveling Gaza and engaging the Egyptians, was about to do their bidding.

Learning of this, a High Priest donned garments reserved for the holiest event of the year; conducting ritual sacrifices, on behalf of the entire people on Yom Kippur. He and a group of dignitaries went out to meet Alexander in a small town.

Upon their approach, even Alexander’s commanders expected the great slaughter to commence, but instead Alexander dismounted and bowed down to the Priest. Alexander explained that before commencing his long series of campaigns a man came to him in his dreams, looking exactly as this man, and had advised him in ways critical to his subsequent success.

The High Priest told Alexander that they had no intent to undermine him and only asked that the Jewish people be allowed to worship G-d in the ways they were intended and to live in peace. Alexander agreed and was taken on a tour of the Holy Temple, and all of the functions explained. The Samaritans had failed.

But, then Alexander, believing the panoply of gods to be essentially meaningless and interchangeable, and more than a bit impressed with himself, declared that he wanted a giant statue of himself erected in the Temple.

Horrified, but wise, the High Priest gently explained that they could not do that within the Temple, as it would deny the fundamental precept that Hashem Elokeinu is G-d and that there is nothing and no one else. Instead, the High Priest suggested that every male child born in to the Priests’ families during the next year be named Alexander. That way Alexander’s name would live on and be known even better than by a mere statue.

As was the practice, Alexander left administrative control of his conquered lands to his generals. These Syrian-Greeks came to be known as the Seleucids. They, in turn sought out local leaders to act on their behalf in day-to-day affairs. In Israel, the Seleucid Generals worked through the High Priest. There were a series of appointed Seleucid Generals, and a series of High Priests.

Sadly, this dual-loyalty relationship corroded the integrity of the Priesthood. Likewise, the material wealth, power, and sophistication of the Syrian-Greeks seduced the Jewish People, away from their Covenant with G-d. They increasingly emulated the Syrian-Greek, culture, appearance, and even worship. When a High Priest who might oppose this evolution arose, he was replaced, and/or murdered.

Ultimately, in greed and power-lust, a true madman arose to rule. He was named Antiochus. He styled himself Antiochus Epiphanes, seeing himself as a god in the form of a man.

A series of edicts followed. Observing the Sabbath was prohibited.  Possession, much less study from, of a Torah Scroll was a capital offense. Brit Milah (ritual entry into the Covenant of the Jewish People with G-d) , aka circumcision was banned. If a circumcised male child was found, both the child and its parents were put to death.

Temple sacrifices; the focal point of communal interface with G-d at his “place” on Earth, was banned. The Temple itself was defiled and filled with idols. The monies used to support the Holy Temple services and the families whose job it was to conduct them, not to mention the destitute, and infirm, had been seized.

These things were entirely approved of by the vast majority of now thoroughly assimilated Jews. A Greek gymnasium had been erected in Jerusalem. Nude athletics were commonplace. The veneration of physical beauty was now elevated and the purification of the soul, in service to G-d, was despised.

At towns throughout the land Jews lived as Greeks and worshiped as Greeks. The G-d of Israel was for bumbling rustics and dying old people.

Once, a Syrian-Greek patrol was out looking for renegades who continued to worship at tiny rural altars to Hashem Elokeinu, the True G-d. They found such a place and demanded that they both stop and that instead they worship as the Greeks. A young man rushed to abide and started to sacrifice to the Greek gods.

Witnessing this was one of those “old rustics”, a Hasmonean named Matityahu ben Yonatan. The weight of his world upon him, in an uncontrollable rage, he drew his sword, slew the young man and many of the Syrian-Greek patrol. He loudly declared, “All those who stand for G-d, follow me.”

A revolt against one of the mightiest empires on earth, and more importantly, against the spiritual suicide of his people, had begun.

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defense of others, guns, Israel, Jewish history, mindset, Politics, resistance, self defense, Sellouts and traitors

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I’ve been following the increase in attacks on peaceful citizens in Israel. It seems the Arabs cant’ throw a rock without hitting a Jew in Israel. This is because that is their aim, along with throwing firebombs, and fireworks being thrown at citizens, and now the “peaceful” muslims are adding in knife attacks.

What could be behind this? Well, perhaps the leader Mahmoud Abbas? With Abbas, the reward from terrorism is good.

A Hamas member used a van to mow down pedestrians at two points along the capital’s light rail line midday Wednesday, killing one and wounding some 14 others, several critically. The fatality, Cap. Jidan Assad, 38, a Border Police officer from the Druze village of Beit Jaan, and the wounded were crossing the street when they were hit by the speeding vehicle, according to police. Assad is survived by a pregnant wife and a three-year-old son, according to Ynet News.

Abbas, in a condolence letter to the family of a Hamas terrorist who shot and severely wounded an Israeli-American last Wednesday, called the return fire by police which killed Muataz Hijazi a “sickening crime,” and “assassination which was perpetrated by the murderous, terrorist gangs of the despicable Israeli occupying army…”

Nor are attacks confined to groups of people with 3 month old babies. People traveling home from work on routes they usually take are finding things far more dangerous.

A brave group of Arab boys attacked a menacing group of Jewish School girls on a field trip by throwing rocks at them injuring one student and a teacher.

And now we have the latest horrific attack on Jews in Israel at Har Nof Synagogue. It is a escalation of what has been going on for some time. I’m so cynical I don’t even ask “why” anymore.

Well, ok, I ask why a lot. In fact, that is kind of how the genesis of this column started last week. I was talking to someone Friday, and I think if he heard “aval lama”, “but why” one more time I was going to have a pair of socks in my mouth. I was asking about the Temple Mount.

The Temple Mount is the first holiest site in Judaism, the third holiest in islam, and they persist in calling it the al-aqsa mosque. It has always baffled me that the Temple Mount is located in Israel, the Jewish state, is the holiest site in Judaism and Jews are not allowed to go there to pray. For that matter Christians aren’t real safe there either I don’t think. And part of what keeps the Jews from being allowed to pray on the Temple Mount are the Israeli police. Huh? These are their own people, they keep them from praying? The Israeli Police it seems, are trying to keep a bad situation from erupting into riots. Too late! Although the lack of anything other than muslims on the Temple Mount has not stopped muslims from carrying out attacks on civilians. And using the Temple Mount as they have hospitals and schools in Gaza as a terror base. In October the Police were forced to lock rioters in a building on the Temple Mount as Jews were allowed in for Sukkot.

How can this be? On June 7th, 1967 Jerusalem was reunited and The Temple Mount came under Israeli and Jewish control from the first time in about 2,000 years. The Shofar was sounded at the Western Wall by General Rabbi Shlomo Goren of the IDF to announce the liberation. It was considered a gift from G-d.

“We have returned to all that is holy in our land. We have returned never to be parted from it again.”
–Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, upon reaching the Western Wall

Unfortunately, “never” is a very short time in Dayan’s world at that point. Within days he had unilaterally ceded control of the Temple Mount back to the Jordanian Waqf, I find just thinking of them as “wack-o” works.

So while Prime Minister Levi Eshkol envisioned a committee made up of the various religions overseeing the Temple Mount, from the moment Dayan ceded control to the Jordanian wack-o faction, the dream of all faiths being allowed to worship and pray at the Temple Mount basically died.

A prominent Israeli Rabbi and activist Yehuda Glick works to allow increased access for Jews to the Temple Mount and has been doing so for a number of years. The absurdity of the situation is in full display by his arrest with his goat by Israeli police. This year it lead to an assassination attempt on his life.

I would count Yehuda Glick as a leader.

Far from the Temple Mount being a place where all faiths can now come to pray, it is becoming yet another terror stronghold for muslims. Not because they treat and value it as a Holy place, but because Jews and Christians do.

And this fight is not about religion, although that is certainly an element of it. Muslims are commanded in the quran to give “infidels”, that would be non-muslims, a chance to convert before they kill them.

If this were only about the Temple Mount, you wouldn’t hear statements from Hamas and Hezbollah denying the right of Israel to exist, and that they want to drive them into the sea. Nor would you be seeing attacks like the horrifying one in Har Nof. This is about killing people, a blind hatred.

I respect and admire Bibi Netanyahu, but I think he is off the mark when he says they will maintain the status quo on the Temple Mount. Although what that is, is hard to say. It’s certainly not what it was meant to be.

But when there are terrorist attacks in Israel, Bibi does respond, and he does take action. The houses of the terrorists are to be demolished. And he calls it what it is, a terrorist attack.

I do think there is absolutely and element of Spiritual warfare going on here. If attacks like the one in Har Nof can prevent people from going to Synagogue to learn, pray and worship? Then evil wins. But those people were no where near the Temple Mount when they were butchered. This was an attack on people because of who they were. Part of what makes them who they are is what they believe.

Another source of terror is “infiltrators”. In America they are called “undocumented democrats”. The difference in Israel is that the “infiltrators” are looking for jobs. In America, not so much. The areas where there are large groups of infiltrators the residents of the area live in fear. Israel has passed an infiltrator law but the point has been raised that the solution is even simpler than that. And they do need a solution, one Synagogue has been shut down, and Holocaust survivors are afraid to leave their apartment building. Again, preventing people from worship.

“I think the law is like treating cancer with Tylenol,” Komash, who is active in Tel Aviv, where infiltrators have largely taken over the central bus station, said.

“Putting the illegal infiltrators in detention for three years, building facilities, investing so much money for 10,000 infiltrators or 5,000 – that’s just not the solution,” he added. “What will they do with the remaining 40,000?”

“I think we simply need to send them back to their country,” he said. “The left simply defends them because most of them are Muslims, Christians and the left wants a state of all its citizens. But there’s no connection here. They’re not refugees, they’re infiltrators. They say themselves that they’re looking for a job here. It’s a simple solution: Sudanese to Sudan, Zionists to Zion.”~~Avi Komash

I do not believe for a second that Bibi is a stupid man, I think he knows and sees what is going on.

I think Bibi is a good leader.

What could be some of the issues that are constraining him from perhaps taking action against segments of the population that are terrorizing and killing his citizens?

Well, one answer I would think would be obama. Look at how obama responded to the attack at the Har Nof Synagogue. His statements seemed to imply that both sides were responsible, and called for both sides to rein in extremists. I am unaware of any Jews or Christians breaking into mosques and slaughtering innocent people. This does not serve Israel well, in my opinion.

A long time ago, I learned in a class about “shark bumps”. A shark will bump prospective victim (dinner) before it attacks, to see what will happen. If it fights back, it’s possible the shark will move on to easier prey. If not? It gets out the BBQ sauce. It is the same with criminal sharks. The guy that puts the hair up on the back of your neck when he asks you for the time? Or wants you to come closer to his car so he can ask for directions? Or stares you in the eyes and makes you uncomfortable? Do not respond meekly. It’s probably your intuition trying tell you “shark bump”. There have been SO many “shark bumps” in Israel. And the violence is getting worse because they haven’t been addressed with a harpoon.

As this Times of Israel article points out, the response coming out of the obama administration seems to differ depending on who the victims of the crime are. I am afraid because of the close relationship Israel and America have had in the past, pressure from the obama administration may affect Bibi’s responses.

Let’s look at how obama handles these types of situations in America.

Because obama is consistent. When the muslim nidal hasan murdered 13 soldiers at Ft. Hood, obama deemed it “workplace violence” rather than a terrorist attack.

Just as all religions are not treated equally on the Temple Mount in Israel, the same double standard seems to apply in America.

Jews are afraid of muslims on the Temple Mount, and they are not to pray there. In America if you are Jewish or Christian, you are not to pray in school. A recent change that one is. I can get you quite a few more of those. On the other hand, let’s see how schools are handling the religion of peace. Well, it seems there was an exercise, shall we call it, where a Nation of Islam document was used in a classroom that portrayed the founding fathers as racist. And, as I suspect we will see this more often now that many of the states have sold out to Common (rotten to the) Core. The children were told not to take the handout home, or talk to their parents about the exercise. Or the assignment where 10th graders made up islamic pamphlets to be designed for 3rd graders. No one seems to be able to find which week the schools will be teaching about empathy for Christianity or Judaism. Or this delightful exercise in a California school where based on the information the 8th graders were given, they came to the logical conclusion that the holocaust was fabricated for political gain, another common core exercise that one. You really should read that story, but make sure you have something to settle your stomach and outrage handy when done.

They reached that decision based upon the information the teacher gave them, and they were denied access to check other sources. If you look at how CNN, a faux news station covered the murders in the Synagogue, not only once, but twice, you begin see the specter of Julius Streicher arising. Those headlines go so well with obama calling on both sides to restrain extremists. Sounds sensible except again, one side isn’t slaughtering anyone. One side is just trying to survive things like rockets being fired out of a hospital or school in Gaza.

So in Israel and America, I think we see quite a difference in how the different religions are treated. How and what the people are allowed to do. What the state will and will not allow differs for the different groups quite a bit.

What do we see that is similar? Well, at the top of this story, the section from the story on how Mahmoud Abbas handled the killing of a terrorist by sending a letter of condolence to his family is quite similar to how obama chose to deal with a similar situation. There was a muslim in Oklahoma that beheaded a co-worker and was attempting to kill another one when he was shot and killed by the business owner who had a CCW. Rather than sending someone to investigate the mosque that spawned the killer, the DHS sent a Director with a “Thank You” note from obama to the mosque. It read in part

“Your service is a powerful example of the powerful roots of the Abrahamic faiths and how our communities can come together with shared peace with dignity and a sense of justice.”….

Yes, well.

Obama is not a leader worth following. Obama has an agenda that he is trying to ram down the throats of Americans, and for that matter, to an extent, Israel. Abbas is leading, his people are following and CNN, MSNBC and probably most of the lamestream media refuse to show it for what it is. My question last Friday was answered with “Poor leadership”. How, why could these things happen. “Poor leadership, not a strong leader”. Why would we in America think that things will turn out differently for us? Do you not think that we will begin to see attacks like the one at Har Nof? Most Church, and Synagogues are gun free zones. I hope and pray that will begin to change, and soon. Both in America and Israel.

But for that to happen, we will have to have real leadership. The kind of leader that loves this country and her freedom and wants to ensure it. As my esteemed colleague Y.B. Ben Avraham points out, we must strive to be leaders. I would add we must confront evil, to confront it, we must recognize it. We must do these things if we wish to live in a free society, to worship and live as we choose. And again, Y.B. is correct. The fate of the world hangs in the balance.

This video was shot at Berkley in CA. These are potential future leaders. This lunacy is part of what we strive to confront and stop.

The future leaders of the muslim world? They were eating candy to celebrate the massacre at Har Nor Synagogue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOHJ06bsSow

 

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