Another Pride Parade in Jerusalem?

The Gays are at it again. After their last 3 attempts to hold their Immorality Parade down the streets of Jerusalem- each time they were cancelled "coincidentally" by a renewed danger and threat to Israel- the Jerusalem Open House, center for GLBTs, have planned another Pride Parade for June 21. The Parade that was set for 2 summers ago was cancelled since the IDF and Security Forces were busy expelling Jews from their homes in Gaza and N. Samaria and there weren't enough guards to protect a parade of such an inflamatory nature. It was then reschedueled for last Summer, when the Lebanon War broke out and it was then postponed for a few months, until Hamas issued renewed threats of suicide bombings and security was a concern.
(Hmmm.... seems very coincidental that the last three parades were cancelled by threats to Israel's existence or to Jews. Maybe Somebody's trying to send us a message, you know, like what's written in that book lying abandonned on your shelf, the Tanakh, Bible, about how if the Jews immitate the ways of the Canaanites, who were known for thei homosexual and heterosexual promiscuity, the Land would vomit them out?)
Anyways, the Pride Parade is symptomatic of a far worse problem- the moral degradation of Israeli and Jewish society. Israel has lost its Jewish moral compass that will guide it in the world. That is why it cannot take a decisive stand against the existential Arab threat. Imagine a very suggestive and sexual parade marching down the holy streets of Jerusalem, brazenly marching to the Kotel! It shows how far Israel has strayed for its moral role of being a "Light Unto the Nations" and of its covenant with G-d. Most Israeli gays are extreme leftists and many previous parades have been coupled with pro-Arab, anti-Jewish signs and slogans. Such a people have no connection to and care little for Jerusalem but only seek to infuritate the minority of the Jewish People who actually care about that little thing called the Torah! In opposition to the last attempted Abomination Parade, there were stormy protests, outside prayer vigils, a petition which managed to get tens of thousands of votes... but it seems that the a small minority of Gay militants's rights are more important than those of the Jewish majority. Last time, a Modesty Parade was arranged to counter-march the Gay-Priders.
If security was a concern last time, we should remember that Hashem promised to be with the Jewish People in war only if our camps are pure. If we indulge in immoral sexual acts, we will be expelled from the Land!

Support- yes; Missionizing- no

Over two weeks ago, a rabbinic ban was placed on the controversial Knesset Christian Allies Caucus Women's Council Summit. According to the Summit's organizers, the goals of the summit are:
To bring to the attention of the people of Israel the unqualified support Christians have given, and continue to give, to Jewish aspirations in the Land of Israel.

To provide Christian and Israeli leaders with a Knesset forum where they can meet face-to-face, and so enhance communication and co-operation between them.

To reach out to all Christians in order to mobilize support for Israel

*****
That sounds all good and nice but many of the organizers of the Summit see it as a good opportunity to spread the "Word" in Israel. The co-chairwoman of the summit, Kay Arthur of Precept Ministries, is on record for having proclaimed on 60 Minutes that, "The Jews need conversion." The moderator of the event sees Jews for Jesus as a future participant.
So what should the Jewish reaction to Evangelical support of Israel be? Can we accept support, help and love while forbidding missionization? Won't that make us a look like users? Three months ago, Evangelical radio host Jannet Parshall expressed concern that Israel's position would essentially be "We'll take your aid, your support and your tourist dollars, but we won't take your Jesus." Parshall eventually withdrew from the conference because she found that its anti-missionary policy was unacceptable.
We Jews are again caught between a rock and a hard place- or in this case Katyushas and "Kosher Christians" ready to spread the "Word". We are faced with the physical threat of Arab missiles and bombs while at the same time, an equal threat of sprirital destruction. With hundreds of missionaries proliferating throughout the Land and converting at-risk Jews, can we risk giving strength and legitimacy to these spiritual terrorists? On the other hand, can we reject the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews coming to the rescue with a NIS 6.5 million donation to Sderot?
My answer to Evangelical supporters of Israel is thank you very much, your help is very appreciated. If you are motivated by your faith to help the Jewish People, then thanks. However, if you hide behind a garb of friendship and seek to love us to death, I say to you: "I am a Jew. I have my own faith just as you have yours. I do not need any Christian deity to make me complete or saved. My Judaism is kosher without any salvation from you. I have a Torah and a religion and I demand that you respect it just as you would expect that I would respect yous."
If you come to trick me by telling me, as many missionaries do, that I can be Jewish and Christian at the same time, then I answer with the Prophet Elijah's words: 'How long will you hesitate between two beliefs? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.' In other words, either you are a Christian or a Jew; you can't be both. If you, Evangelical Zionist, wish to help Israel, help us physically. In matters of religion, over 4000 years of Jewish survival and continuity shows that we can more that handle ourselves.

Just a Thought

This story is related by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch and can be found on Chabad.org

A Chasid, Reb Yosef Yuzik once asked his Rebbe, "Rebbe, what is a Chassid?"

Replied the Rebbe: "A Chassid is a lamplighter. The lamplighter walks the streets carrying a flame at the end of a pole. He knows that the flame is not his. And he goes from lamp to lamp to set them alight."

Asked Reb Yosef Yuzik: "What if the lamp is in a desert?"

"Then one must go and light it," said the Rebbe. "And when one lights a lamp in a desert, the desolation of the desert becomes visible. The barren wilderness will then be ashamed before the burning lamp."
Continued the Chassid: "What if the lamp is at sea?"

"Then one must undress, dive into the sea, and go light the lamp."

"And this is a Chassid?" Reb Yosef Yuzik asked.

For a long while the Rebbe thought. Then he said: "Yes, this is a Chassid."

"But Rebbe, I do not see the lamps!"

Answered the Rebbe: "That is because you are not a lamplighter."

"How does one become a lamplighter?"

"First, you must reject the evil within yourself. Start with yourself: cleanse yourself, refine yourself, and you will see the lamp within your fellow. When a person is himself coarse, G-d forbid, he sees coarseness; when a person is himself refined, he sees the refinement in others."
Reb Yosef Yuzik then asked: "Is one to grab the other by the throat?"

Replied the Rebbe: "By the throat, no; by the lapels, yes."

How to end Islamophobia

Thanks to Jihad Watch
Tawfik Hamid gives us a plan to end islamophobia:

To bring an end to Islamophobia, we must employ a holistic approach that treats the core of the disease. It will not suffice to merely suppress the symptoms. It is imperative to adopt new Islamic teachings that do not allow killing apostates (Redda Law). Islamic authorities must provide mainstream Islamic books that forbid polygamy and beating women. Accepted Islamic doctrine should take a strong stand against slavery and the raping of female war prisoners, as happens in Darfur under the explicit canons of Shariah ("Ma Malakat Aimanikum"). Muslims should teach, everywhere and universally, that a woman's testimony in court counts as much as a man's, that women should not be punished if they marry whom they please or dress as they wish.
We Muslims should publicly show our strong disapproval for the growing number of attacks by Muslims against other faiths and against other Muslims. Let us not even dwell on 9/11, Madrid, London, Bali and countless other scenes of carnage. It has been estimated that of the two million refugees fleeing Islamic terror in Iraq, 40% are Christian, and many of them seek a haven in Lebanon, where the Christian population itself has declined by 60%. Even in Turkey, Islamists recently found it necessary to slit the throats of three Christians for publishing Bibles.

Of course, Islamist attacks are not limited to Christians and Jews. Why do we hear no Muslim condemnation of the ongoing slaughter of Buddhists in Thailand by Islamic groups? Why was there silence over the Mumbai train bombings which took the lives of over 200 Hindus in 2006? We must not forget that innocent Muslims, too, are suffering. Indeed, the most common murderers of Muslims are, and have always been, other Muslims. Where is the Muslim outcry over the Sunni-Shiite violence in Iraq?

Islamophobia could end when masses of Muslims demonstrate in the streets against videos displaying innocent people being beheaded with the same vigor we employ against airlines, Israel and cartoons of Muhammad. It might cease when Muslims unambiguously and publicly insist that Shariah law should have no binding legal status in free, democratic societies.

It is well past time that Muslims cease using the charge of "Islamophobia" as a tool to intimidate and blackmail those who speak up against suspicious passengers and against those who rightly criticize current Islamic practices and preachings. Instead, Muslims must engage in honest and humble introspection. Muslims should--must--develop strategies to rescue our religion by combating the tyranny of Salafi Islam and its dreadful consequences. Among more important outcomes, this will also put an end to so-called Islamophobia.

Erez's Song

Here is a song by the holy and saintly Erez Levanon tz"l who was murdered by Islamic terrorists while in the midst of prayer. It is called Or Balev- Light in the Heart. The refrain is: "Don't give up and don't despair. You have greatness in you, you have a fire inside. Do what you can, do it with passion because the Supreme Heart is alight within you."
Yehi Zichro Barukh- May his memory be a blessing!

US Ambassador: At least we didn't execute him!

From Arutz-7 news:

US Ambassador Jones: 'Be Happy We Didn't Execute Pollard'

by Hillel Fendel


(IsraelNN.com) Pollard supporters are enraged at US Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones for his remarks Monday morning, implying that Jonathan Pollard committed treason or sold US secrets to Israel.

Speaking at a conference at Bar Ilan University on Israeli-American relations, Jones said, "Pollard took money and sold out his country... The fact that he wasn't executed shows that he was treated mercifully."

"Malicious incitement against both Jonathan and Israel" is how an infuriated Esther Pollard, Jonathan's wife, described it.

"For one thing," she told Arutz-7, "the U.S. has no death penalty for the charge on which Jonathan was accused or convicted. It has a death penalty only for treason - and Jones knows that Jonathan was never accused of treason. It is merely because Israel seems to have abandoned its agent in the field that the American Ambassador feels he can get away with talking like this."

"And where is Israel?!" she asked. "How can it be that the US Ambassador says that an Israeli agent deserved to be executed, and Israel is silent?!"

Arutz-7 contacted the Foreign Ministry for its response, and was told that the matter would be checked. The Ministry later issued a statement to the effect that Ambassador Yoram Ben-Ze'ev, the head of the North American Division of the Foreign Ministry, had asked for a meeting with Jones, "in which Ben-Ze'ev reiterated the Ministry's well-known policy on Pollard." Asked to elaborate on the details of this policy, the Ministry spokesman told Arutz-7, "It is well-known."

Such a reaction did not mollify MK Uri Ariel, the head of the Knesset lobby for Pollard. MK Ariel demanded that Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni herself demand an immediate apology from Jones. "For spying for a friendly country," Ariel wrote to Livni, "no one has ever received a sentence even close to the sentence that Pollard has served thus far - 22 years! ... The remarks by Jones border on anti-Semitism and a hostile attitude towards Israel..."

"Israel was forced to employ Pollard as its agent," Ariel continued, "only because America betrayed our trust and hid critical information from us regarding chemical weapons and anti-Israeli terrorist plots in Arab nations, in blatant violation of agreements we had with the US which we kept in full... The fact that Israel does not demand his release even after 22 years is endangering an agent that Israel sent on a mission - and also paves the way for statements like those made by Jones."

Mrs. Pollard said, "The remarks by Ambassador Jones fly in the face of former CIA director James Woolsey's opinion that Jonathan should be released already. He is also contradicting former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, who said that the charges against him were inflated to begin with
******************************
Jonathan Pollard has served 22 years for giving Israel information that it deserved according to a treaty that both countries had signed. The information was vital to its security. Pollard is a Prisoner of Zion and we must do everything in our power to fulfill the mitzvah of 'pidyon shvuiim'- Redeeming the Captive.

Portent of Things to Come?

Police in Denmark have found the famous Hans Christian Anderson Little Mermaid statue garbed in Islamic clothing including a full body burka. Is this a sign of the coming Eurabian Night?

Chag Sameach- Shavuot

Over 3000 years ago this day, the entire People of Israel stood at the foot of Mount Sinai and received the Torah. The Jewish People were the only ones to accept it willingly, declaring "We will do and then we shall listen". Previously, G-d had gone to every nation on Earth and asked them to accept the Torah. He went to the Children of Ishamel at Mount Padan and asked them if they would accept his Torah. The Ishmaelites asked what the Torah contained. G-d said that it taught not to murder. The Ishmaelites kindly declined.
Next G-d went to the Children of Esau at Mount Seir and asked them to accept the Torah. G-d told them that the Torah taught not to steal. They also politely declined. G-d went on to every single people in the world and they all refused, except the Jews. Thank G-d that we did.

Shechem will never be Judenrein

7 years ago, at the beginning of the tragedy that is the Oslo Accords, Islamic terrorists desecrated the tomb of Joseph the Righteous, Forefather of the tribes of Menasseh and Ephraim and vice-monarch of Egypt. Brazenly for all the media to see, these murderers took sledgehammers and smashed the tomb, painted it green and then declared it a mosque. The Israeli governement decided to take immediate action- and retreat!
Monday night, on the 41st day of the Omer, one thousand Jews returned to pray at the tomb of their righteous forebearers in Shechem, also know as Nablus. Amid intense security and absolute secrecy, these Jews came illegally to pray at this holy spot. Many Breslover chassidim recited the Tikun Haklali, ten psalms that supposedly rectify the soul and the world. Many blew trumpets, lit candles and even recited prayers to aid the war against the enemies of the Jewish people. The trumpets symbolize the shofar blasts that will herald the day when the Jewish People will be able to walk freely in the Entire Land of Israel in peace, security, holiness and sovereignty.

Solution to Terror: Give 'Em Weapons!

Haaretz:

The United States is pressing Israel to help bolster security forces in the Gaza Strip that are loyal to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
Major General Keith Dayton, the U.S. security coordinator, recently discussed the function of the pro-Abbas Presidential Guard and National Security forces with senior Israeli officials.

The Americans believe that strengthening Abbas loyalists and deploying them in friction points along the north of the strip and Philadelphi route in Rafah will eventually improve the security situation.

The defense establishment is undecided about helping to bolster the pro-Abbas forces and enabling Abbas to pay their wages. Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh is the main advocate for helping to strengthen the Abbas loyalists.

"The idea is to change the balance, which so far has leaned in Hamas' favor. Well-trained [pro-Abbas] forces could help tip the balance," Sneh told The Washington Post.

"We don't give them operative orders, that's Abbas' business," he added.

The head of the research division of Military Intelligence, Brigadier General Yossi Baidatz, on Friday told the diplomatic corps that the Hamas modus operandi in Gaza was identical to that developed by Hezbollah in South Lebanon. "Hamas is taking over Fatah and Abbas' properties and equipment that the international community is bringing into Gaza," he said in an intelligence briefing at the Dan Hotel.

*********************************************
Are you so sure that Abbas is a moderate? The same Abbas who wrote his doctoratw thesis on Holocaust denial? The same Abbas who told fighting Palestinians to 'raise their rifles against the Occupation'? A brilliant strategy for the War on Terror: Let's give terrorists weapons! I'm off to Afghanistan to fight the Taliban. I'll get them real good- by giving them American nuclear secrets! That doesn't sound right? Then why does giving Arab murderer thugs weapons to kill Jews acceptable?

Parshat Bamidbar

Parshat Bamidbar begins with G-d's commandment to Moses to count the Children of Israel. Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo ben Yitzhak) comments: " Because they were dear to Him, He counted them often. When they left Egypt, He counted them (Exod. 12:37); when [many] fell because [of the sin] of the golden calf, He counted them to know the number of the survivors (Exod. 32:28); when He came to cause His Divine Presence to rest among them, He counted them. On the first of Nissan, the Mishkan was erected, and on the first of Iyar, He counted them." G-d counts all of us by name and knows and loves us all.
The Kabbalists comment that YISRAEL-Israel- stands for Yesh Shishim Ribot Otiot LaTorah- There Are Six Hundred Thousand Letters in the Torah. 600 thousand is also the number of Jews that left Egypt and represent the entire Jewish nation. Since a Torah is unkosher if even one letter is missing, clearly the Sages are trying to teach us that every Jew counts and is important. We each have a role to play in G-d's plan.
On a global level, each nation has a mission to carry out and each one matter, no more than the other. Remember, every single Jew and every single person have a task in perfecting the world for the Coming of the Moshiach.

Blame the Jews!!

From the Jerusalem Post:
The international community, Israel and Arab countries are to blame for the current inter-Palestinian fighting in the Gaza Strip for failing to life an economic siege on the Palestinians, a senior Hamas official said Wednesday.
"The Israelis are behind all these events," Abu Marzouk said. "It's illogical that the Arabs stand idle watching the Palestinian arena while it's on the verge of explosion under the siege. ... This is a constant pressure that has led to a real explosion."
It's like what Menachem Begin said: "Goyim kill Goyim and Jews get blamed." Well you know what, good for Israel! I truly hope that the PA civil war is caused by Israel and that Israel does everything in its power to exacerbate the problem. If they're busy killing each other, then they can't be killin us!

Our Deed to the Land

I think that this article describes MK Moshe Feiglin of the Manhigut Yehudit- Jewish Leadership, wing of the Likud completely.

The Jerusalem Knock Out: By Moshe Feiglin

Translated from the Makor Rishon newspaper.

28 Iyar, 5767
May 16, 2007

"Shalom, this is Gideon Levi from the Ha'aretz newspaper," said the voice on the other end of the phone line. "On Sunday, I will be moderating a symposium on the topic of Jerusalem. Health Minister Yuli Tamir will be there, Faisal Husseini from the Palestinian Authority will speak, and I will be happy if you would also come," he says.

The Jerusalem Theatre is filled with Jerusalem Leftists -- all sorts of "human rights" types. A film depicting the suffering of Jerusalem's Arabs under the Israeli occupation is screened. At the end, the audience is palpably angry.

"I am honored to present the Jerusalemite who holds the Education portfolio in the Palestinian Authority, Dr. Faisal Husseini," says Gideon Levi. Loud applause accompanies Husseini as he ascends the steps to the stage and seats himself near the small coffee table at center stage. "Our second guest is Health Minister Professor Yuli Tamir." The honorable minister also enjoys loud applause as she sits next to Husseini. "And our third guest, Mr. Moshe Feiglin." I don't hear any catcalls, but the absolute silence shouts even louder. I walk between the rows of seats to the stage. But before I could ascend the stairs, Husseini gets up, stands at the top of the steps and greets me with his outstretched hand. His hand remains in the air. I ignore him and seat myself next to Yuli Tamir.

"Before we begin our discussion," Levi says, "I must ask you a question, Mr. Feiglin. A respectable, mature person gets up in your honor and wishes to shake your hand. Why don't you respond in kind?" "Mr. Husseini is my enemy," I answer simply. "He wants my Jerusalem. Would you shake the hand of someone who demands your home?"
The discussion begins. Husseini speaks about his family who has lived in Jerusalem for 600 years. He speaks of the good neighborly relations between the Arabs and Jews, depicting the pastoral Garden of Eden that existed in Jerusalem before the Jewish conquest. "When the occupation will end," he concludes his words to the vigorous nodding of Minister Tamir, "we will once again live in peace."

"You know what, Faisal?" I turn to Husseini in a friendly tone. "We have something in common that nobody else in this auditorium shares." Husseini looks at me in surprise. The audience becomes alert, waiting for peace to break out in the hall. "I think that you and I are the only people in this entire auditorium that believe in G-d," I continue. "You do believe in G-d, isn't that correct, Mr. Husseini?" Husseini nods his agreement. "Now look," I continue. "I have brought a Bible with me. This is my holy book." I take a Bible out of my briefcase and place it on the coffee table. "Jerusalem appears in my holy book more than 800 times. You can count if you would like." Husseini nods his head, looking confused.

"I also brought another book," I continue as I pull a Koran that I had borrowed from the library out of my briefcase. "This is a Koran. It is your holy book. Is that correct?" Husseini nods his agreement. I place the Koran on the coffee table next to the Bible. "Can you please count how many times Jerusalem appears in your holy book? You will not have to work hard, because it doesn't appear at all. Now tell me -- to whom does Jerusalem belong? To the People of the Bible or the People of the Koran?"

To my surprise, the audience begins to applaud. This is the language with which we will retain our sovereignty over Jerusalem.

Honesty is the Best Policy

At leat no one can say that they are being dishonest... They, however are at odds with Muhammad's teachings that "War is deception" (Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 14, Number 2631). Next time that you hear a Muslim claim that Islam is a religion of peace, remember to ask how did OBL, Hamas and these guys in the pictures, come to be such Misundertanders of Islam. But of course, you must be an Islamophobic Zionist Crusader...

Let 'Em Kill Each Other!

Why should the US be upset that al-Qaeda is busy terrorizing Shia neighborhoods? Why should Dubya be concerned about Shia murder squads taking their revenge? If our enemies are busy killing each other, then they can't be fighting against the US!
Does anybody still believe that it will be possible to turn Iraq, an artificial country composed of three groups who hate each other, into a peace-loving, pacifistic Switzerland? So then what is the US still doing in Iraq? Iraq is NOT a source for terror, neither is Iran, Pakistan, Somalia or "Fakestine". The Qur'an and the Hadith are and no surge in soldiers, amount of jyzia tax disguised as humanitarian aid and relief or diplomacy is going to change that. How will sending soldiers to a G-dforsaken, wartorn country whose population are paralyzed by a totalitarian belief system, halt the demographic and religious advance of Islam in Europe? When the first shot is fired in the capture of Eurabia, will the US still be tied down in Iraq? It's not too farfetched to say that the European Union will collapse in about 25 years and that tourists will tour the Eifel Minaret and St. Peter's Mosque. 5+ years into the "War on Terror", we still do not even name our enemy! Terror is not an enemy; Islam is! We still mistake ourselves into believing that Saudi Arabia, Pakistan... are our allies. There are calls from the UN and EU to support the "moderate" Abbas, the same Abbas who called for Palestinians to 'raise their rifles against the occupation. Why can't the West realize that there are no moderates in the Islamic world and even if there were, they are irrelevant! In Nazi Germany, very few Germans actively supported Hitler and fewer still were actual members of the Nazi party, yet nonetheless, this 'small minority of extremists' caused the world some deep tzures, pain. The real battle will not be fought in Iraq or Afghanistan; it will be fought in London and Paris. As US soldiers die trying to bring peace and stability to an accursed and barbaric people, jihadist groups have pledged attacks on the bad dhimmis of France for electing the 'crusader and Zionist' Sarkozy.
So I say, let 'em kill each other! The only thing stopping Iraq from a complete civil war is the US. Why would it be an American defeat to leave behind a civil war that could potentially engulf the entire Dar al-Islam, reigniting the centuries of Shia-Sunni schism? Isolate their countries and don't allow any Muslims into ours. Let them fight it out and do out job for us, without the loss of American and Western life.

Temple Mount

40 yeards after Jerusalem was united and liberated by Israel, Jews are still forbidden to ascend to their most holy place. 40 years after the triumphant call "the Temple Mount is in our hands", we are still without a Temple and cannot pray on Har HaBayit.
When Israel liberated Jerusalem and the Temple Mount in 67, Israel sadly transfered control over the Temple Mount to the Islamic wakf, religious council. In a sorry attempt to appease those Jew-hating rabid animals, Jewish ascent to the most sacred of sites is forbidden. Any Jew who is caught suspiciously moving his lips and swaying or suspected of praying is quickly escorted off the Mount. Guards search for any religious articles and confiscate them before allowing any Jews up. How is it possible in a time that Jews can pray in Russia, Iran and even on the MOON, they can't pray in Jerusalem, in the sovereign Jewish State on their most holy site?
30 great Jewish rabbis have just issued calls for Jewry to go en masse, in purity to the Temple Mount. Many ignorant people claim that it is forbidden under Jewish law to go since we are all impure however, the Rambam/Mainmonides, the great medieval rabbi, records that he ascended and prayed at a synagogue on the Mount!
Alo Naale! Let us Ascend! May our eyes behold You return to Zion is mercy! Amen

Jewish Longing

Rabbi Yehuda Halevi, the medieval Spanish rabbi and greatest Hebrew poet of all time wrote:

My heart is in the east, and I in the uttermost west--

How can I find savour in food? How shall it be sweet to me?

How shall I render my vows and my bonds, while yet

Zion lieth beneath the fetter of Edom, and I in Arab chains?

A light thing would it seem to me to leave all the good things of Spain --

Seeing how precious in mine eyes to behold the dust of the desolate sanctuary.

Yom Yerushalayim - Jerusalem Day

This Wednesday, the 28th of Iyaar, the entire Jewish World will celebrate Jerusalem Day, the day when, in 1967, Jerusalem was liberated by the IDF from the Jordanians and for the first time in over 2000 years, the Temple Mount was in Jewish hands. Jews have never forgotten Jerusalem. Thousands of years ago, when our ancestors were first exiled out of the Holy Land by the Babylonians, they cried poignantly: "If I forget thee O Jerusalem, may my right hand lose its cunning. May my tongue stick to its palette if I do not remember thee, if I don't exalt Jerusalem during my greatest celebrations." On the 28th of Iyaar, 1967, the Chief Rabbi of the Israel Defence Forces, R. Shlomo Goren, carried a Sefer Torah to the Kotel, blew shofar and recited Psalms. Yitzhak Rabin, Chief of Staff, described the scene: “We stood among a tangle of battle-weary men who were unable to believe their eyes or restrain their emotions. Their eyes were moist with tears, their speech incoherent. The overwhelming desire was to cling to the Wall, to hold on to that great moment as long as possible.” The overwhelming announcement came "The Temple Mount is in Our Hands".
The Jewish People have always prayed facing Jerusalem. Every Passover seder has concluded with the words "Next Year in Jerusalem!". During every Jewish wedding, a glass is smashed in memory of the destruction of the Temple.
It is said that once Napoleon was passing a synagogue and heard sounds of lamentation. "Why are the Jews crying., he asked. "They are mourning the loss of Jerusalem," one of his officers replied. "How long ago was that?." he asked. "More than seventeen centuries ago," the officer replied. "A people that can mourn the loss of Jerusalem for so long, will one day have it restored to them," Napoleon said. And so it was, we have returned.
Jews have never lost faith that one day, Hashem would return us to our ancestral land and that He would have mercy on us and redeem us. There is a story told in the Talmud of the Rabbis standing on Mount Scopus looking at the desolation and destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. One Rabbi burst out into tears as he saw a fox wandering through what was once the Holy of Holies. The rabbis wept. Rabbi Akiva smiled. "How can you smile?" they asked. "The place that was once the most sacred spot on earth is now laid waste and fox is walking across the Holy of Holies where once only the High Priest was allowed to enter, and only on the holiest of days. "I smile," Rabbi Akiva replied, "because the prophets prophesied that Jerusalem would be laid waste, and they prophesied that it would be rebuilt. Now that the one prophesy has been fulfilled, can we doubt that the other will be likewise?"
How can we doubt that the other will be likewise? Let us all raise up our voices and thank Hashem the Merciful for the great miracles that He has wrought for the House of Israel and pray for the time of the Final Redemption when 'nations shall not lift up swords against one another; neither will they learn war anymore'. Amen, Selah!

Parshat Hashavuah: Behar and Bechukotai

This week we have a double Parsha, Behar and Bechukotai. Parshat Behar speaks of the laws of the Sabbatical year, the Shemitah. Every seventh year, all farming, plowing, sowing... is forbidden in the Land of Israel. Can you believe that an entire nation, with an agrarian economy, took a collective vacation in every seventh year? Imagine the amount of faith that the Jewish People must have had to keep the Shemitah. Many people today tend to relegate G-d to the synagogue, holidays or study halls but when it comes to business, it's a different story. Judaism believes no such thing. It is impossible to claim to be a good Jew by keeping shabbos, kashurt etc. while being a dishonest person. The Talmud claims that the first question that one is asked in Heaven by Hashem is whether they dealt honestly in business.
In the second parsha, Bechukotai, Hashem promises the Jewish people peace, security, prosperity and longevity if they follow his commandments. In the second half of the Parsha, G-d wanrs the Jewish People of the horrendous punishments that we will suffer if we forsake his laws. G-d also warns us not to claim that our punishments are mere keri- coincidence. Leviticus 23-24: "And if despite these you will not be chastised towards Me, and you walk with me KERI- in happenstance; then I, too, shall walk with you B'KERI- in happenstance, and so I will strike you seven times your sins " Whatever befalls the People of Israel is a sign from G-d calling on us to do teshuvah and return to Him. Why is the madman Ahmadinejad clamoring to destroy Israel? King David in Psalms gives us an answer:
"But my people did not listen to my words; Israel did not obey me.
So I gave them over to hardness of heart; they followed their own designs.
But even now if my people would listen, if Israel would walk in my paths,
In a moment I would subdue their foes, against their enemies unleash my hand.
Those who hate Hashem would tremble, their doom sealed forever.
But Israel I would feed with the finest wheat, satisfy them with honey from the rock." (Psalm 81)

What Winograd didn't reveal

Here are some thing that the Winograd Report didn't reveal:
1. The Second Lebanon War was not fought to save the soldiers. If that was the case, then what was the point of attacking with artillery and airpower, to rescue two soldiers? The War was also not fought to stop Hizbullah rocket; the rockets only began when Israel deployed into Lebanon. As soon as the IDF stopped firing, so did Hizbullah. The War was fought, as Olmert said, to protect his disastrous Convergence Plan. Olmert wanted to show that Israel can remain strong while retreating from its borders, which it cannot do.
2. Every military strategist in the world knows that you win a war by conquering territory. No Israeli strategist would dare suggest such a thing because that would contradict the principle of retreat, withdrawal, Disengagement and Convergence. If Israel had annexed Southern Lebanon and expelled its population, Hizbullah would have soon got the message. When Israel conquered the Golan Heights, that was done and now it is one of the safest places in Israel.
3. Olmert is a proponent of the post-Zionistic collapse. He claims to fight for Israel's right to normality. He infamously said "It's going to be fun to live here". He also said that Israel is tired of fighting and tired of winning. Guess what? Israel has no right to normality! It is not just another country! The Torah says: "I separated you from the nations of the world to be mine" (Vayikra 20 2) Our Sages explain: "If you are separated, then you are Mine. If not, you belong to Nevnchadnezzar and his cohorts (meaning the enemies of Israel)." Olmert seeks to transfrom Israel into a secular nation without Torah, without Judaism, without Hashem. To do this, he must divorce Israel from Judea and Samaria, its biblical heritage. Israel must consist of the bubble of leftist secularism that is Tel-Aviv. Olmert has nothing in common with the ideologues who sacrifice themselves and live in Judea and Samaria in order to settle the land and protect it. Olmert's family connections are very telling. His wife used to be a member, while in college, of a leftist group that would harass soldiers at checkpoints. One of his sons lives in the States and is a draft-doger. His other son served in the IDF but now warns other not to. His daughter has called the Israeli Chief of Staff a murderer. The IDF has buried its sould in the sands of Gush Katif and will continue to be defeated as long as it follows non-Jewish values. "Turn the other cheek" is not a Jewish value; the Talmud says that we must kill whoever seeks to kill us. Israel was never meant to be a normal nation among the nations. The Jewish people are 'a people that dwells apart and among the nations is not reckoned'. Only once we return to authentic Jewish morals of Love of the Land, Torah and People, will the Israel be victorious.

Mickey accepts Allah; becomes Muhammad Mouse

Hamas has found a new ally in their fight againt the 'Zionist Occupation'; Mickey Mouse! Their Disney-clone appears on a Palestinian Children's show instructing kids to join in the 'resistance' and to pray for the day when Islam will dominate the world. Mickey, or Farfur, as he is called on the show, tells kids that they will have to answer to Allah as to what they did to liberate the Al-Aksa Mosque. “I remind you that Al-Aqsa and the prisoners are a responsibility on our shoulders, and Allah will ask us on Resurrection Day what we gave for their sake," he says.
In another example of Islamic love for children, an Autralian Muslim Sheikh Taj Din al-Hilali has told his students that it is "obligatory" for all Muslims to engage in jihad if an Islamic country is under attack, even if it means killing the enemy's children.
Wake up America! Wake up Israel! Wake up Canada! Wake up Europe! The Sheikh and Hamas are not part of a 'small group of extremists' but are well supported by Islamic law and juriprudence. Muhammad Taqi Partovi Samzevari, in his “Future of the Islamic Movement” (1986), sums up the Islamic worldview.

Our own Prophet … was a general, a statesman, an administrator, an economist, a jurist and a first-class manager all in one. … In the Qur’an’s historic vision Allah’s support and the revolutionary struggle of the people must come together, so that Satanic rulers are brought down and put to death. A people that is not prepared to kill and to die in order to create a just society cannot expect any support from Allah. The Almighty has promised us that the day will come when the whole of mankind will live united under the banner of Islam, when the sign of the Crescent, the symbol of Muhammad, will be supreme everywhere. … But that day must be hastened through our Jihad, through our readiness to offer our lives and to shed the unclean blood of those who do not see the light brought from the Heavens by Muhammad in his mi’raj {“nocturnal voyages to the ‘court’ of Allah”}. … It is Allah who puts the gun in our hand. But we cannot expect Him to pull the trigger as well simply because we are faint-hearted.

Who would Muhammad Kill?

Iraq: Light Unto the Muslim Nations?

The cause was noble, the mission was just. George W. Bush, after RIGHTFULL deposing a murderous tyrant, was and remains commited to building a democratic state in Iraq which should inspire the rest of the Islamic world to reform and to put aside hatred and aggresssion. This is a very nice and noble idea on the part ot the President yet it is so naively misguided. 6 years into the "war on terror" (we still cannot even name the enemy - Jihadist ISLAM! Not Radical Islam, Militant Islam, Islamism or Islamofascism but Islam as it has been practiced since the 7th century) the Bush Administration is still willfully ignorant about our enemies' motives. Could WWII have been fought while we insisted that Nazism is an ideology of peace that had been hijacked by extremists? Of course not! Islam has not been hijacked because that implies that Islam was headed to some pinnacle of human rights and was turned around and Air Koranistan suddenly became violent. 9/11 is a product of 1400 years of Islamic hatred and aggression. Read the Qur'an! "Fight against such of those tom whom the Scriptures were given as they believe neither in Allah nor the Last Day... and do not embrace the true Faith, until they pay the tribute out of hand and are utterly subdued." (Q 9:29)
Islam is a totalitarian belief system that believes that the power of legislature is in the hands of Allah and not of mere mortals. It cannot be reformed because that would contradict 1400 years of Islamic teaching and Muhammad's violent example. Democracy, where the sovereingty lies with the people, has no place in such a culture. That is why all attempts to bring democracy to Iraq are misguided.
The US owes the "Iraqis" nothing. (Iraq is an artificial country compromised of three distinct groups who want nothing to do with one another.) The Kurds should be given a state which would help fight Arabic imperialism- Islam. This would resonate well with other non-Arab muslims who are now beginning to realize that Islam is a tool of Arabic Imperialism such as the black Darfuris, the Berbers in Algeria... Let the Sunnis and Shias kill each other! Their hatred existed long before the US and the US hasd no responsibility to be a peacemaker between them. Our goal should be anything that will weaken the Dar-al-Islam, the Camp of Islam. We should exploit the ethnic (Arab vs. non-Arab), religious (Sunni vs. Shia) and financial (oil rich emirates vs. dirt poor shariastans) to create chaos across the House of Islam. We wouldn' need to fight jihad "over there" if we simply stopped them from coming "over here" by curtailing Muslim immigration. Then the Muslim world would quickly collapse from overpopulation and Europe would no longer be threatened with Eurabia. The West should stop sending the jyziah submission tax disguised as humanitarian aide to the Islamix world. The West should strike militarily and destroy any threats to Western civilization swiftly and harshly and quickly leave, letting the inhabitants sort out the mess in some cruel battleground. The West should isolate itself from the Dar-al-Islam and let it sink into even greater depravity. Muslims will either kill each other or make peace when they eventually realize that their moral, cultural, finanical and technological primitiveness stems from Islam itself and its teachings.

Parshat Hashavuah: Emor

Here's my new feature. Every week, I will post a little thought on the weekly Torah portion- the Parashat Hashavuah. This week's Parsha is Emor:
This week's parsha contains the commandment of counting the Omer- 50 days between Passover, the Exodus, and Shavuot, when the Jews received the Torah on Mount Sinai. What is the point of this counting? It teaches us that physical freedom is meaningless unless when use it for a constructive purpose, to serve Hashem. Pirkei Avot, the Ethics of the Fathers, says: "The tablets were the work of G-d and the writing was the writing of G-d, 'charus' (engraved) on the tablets." Do not read "charus" but "cherus," (freedom) for there is no free man except one who occupies himself with the study of Torah." We are all enslaved by something in life whether it is our job, an addiction, a hobby. The only person who is truly free is the one who serves his Creator because for this very purpose he was created.