Homophobia, Islamophobia and more nonsense

Shavuah Tov! Shabbat has just ended and it's time to blog.
Yours truely is honoured to be the subject of a post on another blog, however, this particular disertation is a ridiculous diatribe that accuses me of being a homophobe, islamophobe, an anti-semite (?) and a mean poopy head. Let's look at these claims one by one:
1) Anti-semite:
Bar Kochba wants the Jews in Israel to continue getting themselves killed under the retarded leadership of rich statesmen who send young men and women to die daily. Has the estimed Baron ever read my blog? Why would I, as a Jew, want other Jews to be killed? What I advocate is for Israel to harshly retaliate against its anti-semitic genocidal foes and wipe them out, thereby preventing more Jewish blood being spilled.
2) Homphobe:
What prompted this serious charge? A comment on a post about the "Pride" Parade parade. An abomination... So sad that people are perverting the holy gift of sexuality that G-d gave them. It's a Shame Parade is G-d's eyes. Hardly hateful... If saying that I oppose homosexual behaviour is hateful, the I guess that I must be a bigot. Homosexual behaviour is against the Torah, against Hashem and is absolutely immoral- pick up a Bible. I don't hate homosexuals though, because there is no such thing as a homosexual, just people who engage in homosexual activity. People are more than just their sexual preferences and gays are people, created in G-d's image, who unfortunately happen to pervert G-d's holy gift of sexuality. I stand by my comments. Homosexuality is wrong- the Torah is reason enough for me. Gays, though, are just people deserving compassion and guidance.
Here are some excellent sites:
- People Can Change
- Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality
- National Association for the Research and Treatment of Homosexuality
3) Islamophobe:
How many times do I have to repeat that not every single Muslim is a terrorist? Just like not every Jews keeps kosher, not every Muslim wages Jihad. If you claim that Jihad means 'internal spiritual struggly', fine, but the onus is on you to prove it. How did Osama bin Laden, Hamas, Ahmadinejad, get to be such Misunderstanders of Islam? What about Islam's violent past and violent Scriptures? Any Muslim who rejects Jihad and Islamic supremacism is fine by me and I welcome him in the fight against hatred and intolerance. These Muslims who feel that al-Qaeda is "hijacking" Islam need to stand up, denounce terror, and prove to other Muslims why al-Qaeda and Hamas are wrong theologically, using the Qur'an and the Ahadith. Denying that there is a problem will not solve anything and will not make jihadis go away.
I would love nothing better than for Israel to live in peace with its Muslims neighbours, for democracy and tolerance to flower throught the Dar-al-Islam. I believe that most Muslims women would like a life that does not begin with a clitorectomy and end with being stoned to death for being raped. The real Islamophobes are those who deny that there is any such basis for this in Islam, thereby allowing for the greatest of savageries to be perpetrated in Allah's name. Baron, you are the real Islamophobe as you would like for Muslims to continue to live in abject poverty, be raised in a culture that worships death and continue to be at the mercy of despots and dictators. There certainly is a flaw in the Islamic and Arabis cultures. It is no coincidence that the UN reported that more books are translated into Greek, which has 25 million speakers, each year than Arabic which has 400 million speakers. The UN also reported that more books are translated into Spanish each year that into Arabic in the past 1000 years. Clearly there is something deficient in this culture.
Baron, it is the easiest thing to call someone a bigot or a racist without listening to them. Please, listen and you might just learn something.

P.S. BHG, I'll respond to you tag later, I'm tired.

Parshat Balak- A Lonely Nation

From the Canadian Jewish news:

The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted by “consensus” a number of measures critics says unfairly target Israel and makes condemnation of the Jewish state a permanent feature of every future council meeting.

The measures will see Israel’s “human rights violations” placed on the agenda at all future council meeting – no other country is so treated – and will make permanent a special rapporteur to investigate Israeli human rights abuses. Ten other special rapporteurs have mandates that lapse and must be renewed.

The measures were part of a reform package that is meant to set out the mechanisms and procedures that will govern operation of the council, which was established a year ago to replace a largely discredited Commission on Human Rights.
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Why is condemnation of Israel a permanent feature of UN meetings? Why single out Israel rather than China, Saudi Arabia or Iran? Why is the world fixated on a little country that amounts to .000001% of the Earth's landmass? How come a little country in the Middle-East, whose people amount to such a small percent of the world's population, gets so much media attention?
Israel was created with the purpose of giving the Jewish People a state like every other nation. The secular Zionist ideal was a secular state, devoid of Torah and religion, which would be like every other people. Even today, Israel's elite is attempting to transform Israel into a country without Yiddishkeit, with a complete seperation of Church (or in this case Synagogue) and State. Israel's PM, Ehud Olmert, has repeatedly stress that Israel is fighting for its right to normalcy.
It is ironic that Israel tries so hard to fight in and "claim its spot among the nations" while the UN and the rest of the world continue to reject her. In order to please the Nations, Israel's leaders have given up Jewish land, allowed Jewish blood to be spilled, armed our enemies and declared war against those who keep G-d's Torah, by expelling and demonizing them. As Israel attempts to transform itself into a secular California on the Mediterranean, complete with pepperoni pizza, McDonalds and Gay Pride Parades, the Nations whom Israel tries to emulate continue to ostracize her. 'Maybe if we compromise some more or if we uproot the Jews from the West Bank, the world will accept us', Israel's secular leadership believe. 'All we have to do is give the Arabs more land, more rights, more concessions, there will be peace'.
The Jewish People are unique among all other peoples and the nations of the world know it. In the Mincha prayer for Shabbat, we say: "Who is like Your people Israel, a unique nation in the world?" We were not chosen by G-d to be like everyone else, to assimilate and to emulate the gentiles. Hashem did not bring us back to Israel after 2000 years of exile so that it should become a Western multicultural country or that we should fill it with nightclubs and Pride Parades. The nations know that we are different, something that we fail to comprehend. That is why the UN has devoted 45% of her condemnations to Israel. That is why Israel is singled out by anti-semites, even as they deny the Choseness and Uniqueness of Am Yisrael.
In this week's Parasha, the Children of Israel are getting ready to conquer the Land and they approach the borders of the land of Moab. The king of Moab, Balak, sends for the heathen soothsayer, Bilaam, that he should curse the children of Israel. When Bilaam attempts to curse G-d's people, he is unable to. G-d turns Bilaam's curse into a blessing. Bilaam climbed a mountain peak and say the camp of Israel. Amazed by the holiness and purity that he found there, a people completely immersed in Torah and mitzvot, and was in awe. How goodly are they tents, O Jacob, and thy dwellings, O Israel! He realized then, something that the Nations have always known, that we are am levada yishkon ubagoyim lo yitchashav- an people that dwells apart and among the nations is not reckoned.
G-d has other plans for us, a different destiny that that of the Nations, who also have their role in Hashem's plan. He has great things in store for us. Why should we run away from our Jewish destiny? The State of Israel was not created to be just another country, a secular paradise. As the Rav Kook, the father of religious Zionism wrote:
"A normal country is like a large insurance company. It is not the source of its citizen’s supreme joy. Ideals, which are the crowning glory of mankind, hover above a country and do not touch it.
“Not so a country founded on ideals and inherently based on the most lofty message. Such countries truly constitute their citizen’s greatest joy. Therefore, the State of Israel is truly the most supreme on the scale of joy, and it constitutes the foundation of G-d’s throne on earth. Its entire purpose is that G-d should be one and His name one, truly the greatest source of joy.” (see Orot 160). He wrote "The State of Israel is the foundation of G-d’s throne on earth.” How far have we strayed from this awesome task!
May Hashem send us real leaders who are not afraid of carrying out our Jewish destiny, Jewish leaders who will Sanctify G-d's Name in the world, by building a state based on Torah, holiness, justice and righteous. May we merit the day 'when Hashem will be King over the entire world and on that day, He will be One and His Name will be One.' Amen!

Defaming Ashkenazim

I've really had enough of anti-semites maligning Ashkenazim, European Jewry (I've had enough of them hating all Jews but they reserve a special hate for Ashkenazim). According to them, Ashkenazim are just white European invaders, unrelated to true Jews. Most of them are the descendants of the Khazars, a nomadic people that converted to Judaism, and as such have no place in the Middle-East but belong in Europe.
Time for a little family history:
Paternal Grandparents- from Dorahoi, Romania
Maternal Grandmother- father from Austria and mother from Birabijan, Russia
Maternal Grandfather- Spanish descent, his family has lived in Israel since the Spanish Inquisition, 8 generations ago. Actually, I'm related to one of the officials who signed Israel's Declaration of Independence, the Chief of Police, Bekhor Shalom Shitreet.
***
According to the hateful rhetoric of anti-semites, my paternal family and my maternal grandmother are simply Europeans and therefore less Jewish, if at all, than my Sephardic grandfather. This is one of the most oft repeated myths about Jews and Israel.
Why is this wrong?
1) Ashkenazim are not related to their European gentile neighbours and are more closely related to their Sephardic and Mizrahi (Spanish and Arab Jews) than Arabs and other semitic peoples are. The Ashkenazi genepool, actually, is not related at all to the Turkish genepool. This contradicts the claim that they are descendants of the Khazars. The most recent genetic research consists of obtaining DNA samples, and doing laboratory analysis and comparison of the DNA markers on the Y-chromosome -- which is passed from father to son, and on the mtDNA (mitrocondrial DNA) -- which is passed intact from mother to son and daughter.

"Despite their long-term residence in different countries and isolation from one another, most Jewish populations were not significantly different from one another at the genetic level. The results support the hypothesis that the paternal gene pools of Jewish communities from Europe, North Africa and the Middle East descended from a common Middle Eastern ancestral population, and suggest that most Jewish communities have remained relatively isolated from neighboring non-Jewish communities during and after the Diaspora."
(M.F. Hammer, Proc. Nat'l Academy of Science, May 9, 2000)

2)DNA and descent is not the most important thing. The Torah makes it very clear that very convert becomes a full fledged memeber of the Jewish nation, irregardless of their race or origin. King David's grandmother was a Moabite convert, Ruth, yet she merited tobe the ancestor of royalty. Her nationality is as unimportant as her hair colour.

The Jews today are the exact same Jews as in the Bible, whether they may originate from Poland, Russia, Germany, Morocco, Iraq, Ethiopia or even India. I put on tefilin each day; so did King David. I keep kosher just like our Father Abraham did. We celebrate the same holidays that Moses celebrated. In short, we are the descendants (genetically and spiritually) of the Biblical Hebrews and therefore G-d's promises to them are still valid. We Ashkenazim (I'm 3/4) are not European conquerors but are just as Jewish as Moses or King Solomon.
The most amazing thing, however, is that the Jewish people, despite all of their years of exile, retained its genetic identity, religion and culture. Even more amazing as that all of these different exiled communities have returned to Israel, together. Remember G-d's promise:

And God shall return your captivity and be merciful to you, and will return and gather you from all the nations whither God has scattered you. (Deuteronomy 30:3)

As the natural laws are set before Me, so shall the seed of Israel never cease from being a nation before Me, forever. (Jeremiah 31:36)

Israeli Films

This is the third year that I have gone to the Montreal Israeli Film festival. I've bought tickets to go see 6 shows throughout the week. Last night, I went to go see 2 amazing movies, Aviva Ahuvati (Aviva, My Love) and Shalosh Imahot, Three Mothers.
Here is a plot description from the Jerusalem Film Festival:
Aviva Ahuvati:
Aviva, a hard-working hotel cook in the small northern Israeli town of Tiberias, is on the brink of finally fulfilling her lifelong dream. For years she kept her remarkable writing abilities under wraps, until her sister, Anita, introduces her to Oded, an accomplished novelist. Immediately recognizing Aviva's talent, Oded takes her under his wing, promising to help her achieve greatness. But the journey to greatness effects her life and the lives of her family - her unemployed husband, her trouble children, her unstable mother, and primarily her sister, a funny and sensitive woman who have her own dreams. When Aviva discovered that Oded has other plans for her work, her world collapses.

Shalosh Imahot:
Rose, Flora and Yasmin were born as a triplet sixty something years ago in Alexandria, Egypt. Their well-off parents gave them names of flowers, and King Farouk of Egypt gave them his blessing. Today, in Israel, they live together in an apartment without men and without children. Flora has just retired from her work as a midwife, Yasmin awaits a kidney transplant, and Rose, once a successful singer, is wrapped in silence since the death of her husband. One after the other, the three sisters come to "This is your life," a place where people recount their memoirs, in order to tell their life story to Rucha (Rachel), Rose's only daughter, and talk about their symbiotic relationship. They are also searching for the long lost son of one of them who was given away for adoption under mysterious circumstances. During this period their lives and that of Rucha will change dramatically. Hidden ghosts will slowly appear, forcing the three sisters to confront the secrets and lies, and seek forgiveness. At the end of the journey into the past, after they redeem themselves, the sisters will embark on a new journey, to Alexandria, where Yasmin will undergo her kidney transplant and Rucha, who regained her own memories, will be able to start a new life.
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These are two fantastic movies and they both won awards in Israel and internationally, at the Cannes festival in Paris. I'm going back tonight to go see 2 more. I'll tell you about it afterwards. I would highly recommend these two movies if you can see them somehow.

Academics for Dhimmitude

Here are the Anti-Defamation League's ads against the British academic boycott of Israel. It bears repeating that while criticism of Israel is not necessarily anti-semitic (all democracies must be criticized to keep them in check), demonizing Israel and holding her to a double standard is pure antisemitism.

Secular Fanatics

Here is a great article by Rabbi Shmuel Boteach, from the Jerusalem Post. He writes about his debate with world-famous atheist Richard Dawkins. Dawkin's contempt of faith has led him on a secular crusade to missionize his scientific Truth. One question for Dawkins to ponder: Would the world be a better place if people sought comfort in the words of The G-d Delusion, or Christopher Hitchen's G-d is not Great, rather than the Torah?

From the Jerusalem Post:

I participated in two debates this week, and between them learned a great deal about the nature of science and religion in our time. The first debate, on the subject of religion, was with Richard Dawkins, the famous evolutionary biologist and atheist, in Toronto. The second, in New York, was with a leading Jewish-Christian missionary on whether Jesus died for our sins.

What startled me was how, in the religion debate, although my adversary and I challenged each other's most sacredly held beliefs, there was no offense taken on either side. Less so was there any acrimony directed toward me from the approximately 1000 Christians who were in the audience. Religious people are by now so used to having their faith challenged that being on the defensive is no big deal.

Not so science, which has enjoyed hegemony for so long that it has become its own orthodoxy and dare never be questioned, as the following experience demonstrates.

I had already either directly participated in or moderated five previous debates that featured Richard Dawkins, the Oxford Professor of the Public Understanding of Science. Through the debates, Dawkins and I had become friends and he even attended Shabbat lunch at my home in Oxford.

But the warmth of our former relationship was not in evidence as we sat waiting to be called to speak at the Idea City Convention at the University of Toronto. I detected a hardening in Dawkins' position and perhaps an inability to distinguish between religion and religious people, such that his disdain for the former led to his contempt for the latter.

DAWKINS BEGAN by arguing that he did not care whether or not religion had any positive social advantages. The only thing that mattered was whether not it was true. And it was his firm belief that religion was a canard. He was therefore inspired to crusade against it. He proceeded to argue for the logical and mathematical impossibility of God's existence and the truth of evolution.

When it was my turn I began by questioning Dawkins' point on his humanitarian crusade to awaken the world to the lie that is religion. Why, I asked, was religion the only "lie" that seemed to bother Dawkins. After all, he is an Englishman and lives in a country that promotes the "lie" that one human being is born royal while another is born ordinary.

Surely, as part of a modern egalitarian society that rejects the divine right of kings, Dawkins ought to be inveighing as much against the British royal family as he does against vicars, rabbis, and priests! Unless, of course, he has decided that, even though the idea of royalty is a fictitious man-made construct, it was OK to keep it around given that it is a thousand-year-old British tradition and has positive social value.

But religion is more than a useful myth. For me, my faith is true. I believe that God created the world. And yes, I said, I understood that modern science replaced creation with evolution. But the theory still had much explaining to do and many holes to fill.

I mentioned that I had participated in debated evolution with prominent evolutionary theorists, such as the late Prof. John Maynard-Smith of the University of Sussex at Brighton. In those debates, in the same way that the scientists who participated raised reasonable objections to religion, the other side had raised reasonable objections to evolution.

There are massive inconsistencies in the theory of evolution, which is why it remains just that - a theory. Foremost among these unresolved issues is, first, how evolution contradicts the second law of thermodynamics, the law of entropy increase.

Second, genetic mutation, the very engine of modern neo-Darwinism, is almost always catastrophically destructive to an organism, which severely challenges the notion that mutation with natural selection ultimately leads to higher complexity.

Third, after 140 years of digging up the earth, there still remain enormous holes in the fossil record, the missing links that account for tens of millions of years of evolution, which is why many leading paleontologists, most notably the late Stephen Jay Gould of Harvard, argued for punctuated equilibrium - giant leaps - in evolutionary development, rather than the slow and gradual ascent argued for by scientists like Dawkins.

Indeed, Darwin makes it clear in The Origin of Species that evolution was not developed as a theory to explain the origin of life but as a theory to explain the fossil record. Thus, the theory had to accord with existing fossil finds.

I mentioned that, from my experience, scientists responded to these objections by saying that, given sufficient time, all evolutionary obstacles could be surmounted. Billions and billions of years of accidental evolution could surmount the seemingly impossible mathematical odds that complexity and life could evolve from an amorphous cosmic soup.

Yes, mutations are nearly all harmful and life-threatening. But with infinite time enough of the beneficial variety could still be had. And with more time the missing fossils links will finally be found.

So, I concluded, what separates religion and science is seemingly semantics. What religion calls God science calls time.

For scientists, time had an almost divine quality and could provide for the miraculous materialization of near mathematical impossibility.

WHEN I finished, I received a warm ovation from the audience, that is, until I alighted from the stage. I was immediately set upon by an angry, world-famous physicist who told me that evolution was a fact and could not be questioned. I responded that I was not denying it was so, but rather thought it was the purpose of science to question everything.

A few reporters watched our exchange. One told me that it seemed that he had witnessed a role reversal. He would have expected the religious person to say that faith could not be questioned.

A few hours later, at a cocktail reception, a Harvard professor of physics and I were having a pleasant conversation. She suddenly interjected, "I find it curious that someone as smart as you does not believe in unaided evolution."

I thanked her for her backhanded compliment and told her, "Imagine if I said to you, 'I find it curious that someone as smart as you doesn't believe in God. You would probably think that I was a close-minded, condescending, ideologue."

Albert Einstein once commented on the co-existence of faith and reason by saying, "Science without religion is blind; religion without science is lame." But in our time, many scientists who harbor an unreasonable objection to faith are making science into a new religion.
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The Fakestinians

A few questions that everyone who claims to support "Palestinian" statehood should answer:
1) Who was the leader of the Palestinians before Arafat, may his memory be accursed?
2) What was the currency of Palestine before the Jews stole it?
3) Jerusalem was the capital of which Palestinian empire?
4) Which Palestinian kings are buried in Jerusalem?
5) What are some of the technological advances that the world owes the Palestinians?
6) What are some of the cultural gifts of Palestine?

Don't worry if you can't answer any of the questions; you weren't asleep during World History during high school. The "Palestinians" are a made up people who only came to exist after Israel's liberation of Judea and Samaria in '67. When they were OCCUPIED by the Jordanians and Egyptians, they never seemed to raise even a nationalistc peep. Palestine never had a currency because there was never a such country as Palestine. The name Palestine was coined by the Romans in honour of one of the biblical inhabitants of the Land, the Philistines, in, ironically, an attempt to remove the Jewish connection to Eretz Yisrael. Jerusalem was never the capital of a Palestinian empire, which never existed. It was always a backwater, neglected city when under the Arabs. It was never the capital of any Arab or Muslim empire. The only kings buried in Jerusalem and Israel are Jewish kings: King David, Solomon...
In reality, there is absolutely no difference linguistically, culturally and religiously between an Arab in Cairo, Damscus and "Palestine" because the Fakestinians have no history, no past and are simply an articial entity created to demonize Israel.

I'm outraged, again!

Off the top of my head, these are some recent events which caused Muslims to riot, be outraged and get offended. Feel free to add others if I have forgotten:
- Salman Rushdie being knighted
- The Pope quoting a 500-year old text which suggested that there is a connection between Islam and violent; Muslims proved him wrong by shooting an Italian nun in Somalia and firebombing churches in Gaza
- The infamous Muhammad cartoons
- A German production of Idomeneo which featured Muhammad's severed head
- A Quebec town, Herouxville, signing a constitution outlawing stoning woman and burning them alive, among other things
Here's a list of some things that have never seemed to upset Muslims much, despite the clear "hijacking" and "distortion" of their faith:
- Flying planes into skyscrapers and murdering over 2000 innocent people
- Blowing up London buses and metros
- Blowing up Madrid trains
- Launching rockets on Sderot
- Arab Muslims murdering over 400 000 Black Muslims in Darfur
The list simply goes on and on. Muslims, my message to you is very clear:
Shut the hell up! If you're not going to protest the "distortion" of your faith by terrorists and murderers, and will not raise our voice against the hatred being perpetrated in the name of Allah, shut up. There are far more important things than the Queen of England knighting (what does that even mean today?) an author who wrote a book about an embarrassing event in the Qur'an. How about speaking up against the constand bombardment of Sderot for example, or the genocide in Darfur? Maybe you're just too offended to protest...

The War of Gog and Magog

I know that this video is long, 45 minutes, but please, it is well worth it. This is the most inspirational and insightful video that I have seen in a very long time.
"BaYom Hahu Yehiyeh Adonai Echad Ushmo Echad"- On that day, Hashem will be One and His name will be One!

There is nothing new under the sun...

From Times Online:

ISRAEL’s new defence minister Ehud Barak is planning an attack on Gaza within weeks to crush the Hamas militants who have seized power there. According to senior Israeli military sources, the plan calls for 20,000 troops to destroy much of Hamas’s military capability in days.

The raid would be triggered by Hamas rocket attacks against Israel or a resumption of suicide bombings.

Barak, who is expected to become defence minister tomorrow, has already demanded detailed plans to deploy two armoured divisions and an infantry division, accompanied by assault drones and F-16 jets, against Hamas.

A source close to Barak said that Israel could not tolerate an aggressive “Hamastan” on its border and an attack seemed unavoidable.

“The question is not if but how and when,” he said.
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Barak, if he continues to follow the same strategy that Israel has always followed, will accomplish nothing. Israel will invade Gaza and destroy some terrorist bases and bomb-making facilities. Israel will send its soldiers to fight door-to-door like in did during Operation Defensive Shield, so that "innocent" Palestinian civilians will not get hurt and, G-d forbid, Israeli soldiers will be killed. After a little while in Gaza, Israel will leave and the destructive cycle will start again.
It is absolutely useless for Israel to go into Gaza if it does not expel the hostile Arabs and resettle Gush Katif. Unfortunately, the Israeli army is ruled by the dangreous Western belief of "turn the other cheek" and will do all in its power to protect hostile civilians at the risk of Jewish soldiers. Before Israel does anything, it has to rid itself of the perverted Western Christian ideology that guides its foreign policy and adopt Jewish values. A true Jewish value is the Talmudic dictum that one who is merciful to the cruel will end up being cruel to the merciful.
From our Sages (Tanchuma, Shoftim 15): "When you go forth against your enemies" (Deut. 20:1) What do the words 'against your enemies' add? G-d said, "Go forth against them as enemies. Show them no mercy, just as they show you none."
There is only one solution to the Gaza conflict and it does not involve repeatedly invading, pinpointing and killing only terrorist leaders and then simply leaving. During WWII, the West didn't content itself to simply finding Hitler and his henchmen. The US and Britain bombed and wiped out entire cities. Well, during WWII, the US was a continent away from the enemy. Israel's enemy is right next door, a rocket's distance away from its national airport. The only solution is to drive out our enemies, through expulsion and carpet bombings, and to settle the entire Land. This is a Milchemet Mitzvah- Commanded War. For the sake of our future in Israel, we must not show mercy to out enemies.
Chazak Ve'Ematz Ki Ata Tanchil- Be strong and courageoues because you will win!

A Ceasefire with Hashem

Will there a war this summer? It's out of our control. The only thiing that we can control is ourselves, whether or not to do tshuva. The rest is up to Hashem.

We can all strengthen our Torah commitment. Here are some suggestions:

-Torah study

- Pray Tehillim (Psalms). Say a special prayer for the State of Israel and the soldiers of the IDF.

-Charity and acts of kindness: Put a coin in a charity box, give a gift of money to a fellow in need or to a charitable cause, or extend a helping hand to someone who needs it.

-Tefillin: If you already put on tefillin every day, encourage a friend to do so. If you don't yet, now is a good time to start! The Lubavitcher Rebbe taught that in the merit of the mitzvah of tefillin, "all the nations of the world will see that the name of G-d is called upon you, and they will fear you" (Deuteronomy 28:10).


-Mezuzah: If you don't yet have a mezuzah get one now! As our Sages have said: "A human king sits inside his palace and his servants guard him from the outside. But you sleep on your beds, and G-d guards you (i.e. through the Mezuzah on your doorposts) from the outside."

- Light Shabbos Candles: 18 minutes before sunset on Friday night, light shabbat candles and say a prayer for peace and strength. G-d promises the Jewish People that this simple act will usher the era of global peace: “When you will observe the lights of Shabbat, I will reveal to you the lights of Zion.” —Yalkut Shimoni


For non-Jews, accept the 7 Noahide commandments that Hashem gave to all of the Nations of the World. They are:
1. Don't worship idols G-d runs the world. He is an Absolute Unity and does not have any equals.
2. Don't Blaspheme Hashem's your Creator, respect him.
3. Do not murder Human life is precious. If only our enemies understood that...
4. Do not steal Respect other people's belongings and rights.
5. Don't be sexually immoral That means no casual sex, beastiality, homosexuality...
6. Don't eat limbs from live animals That essentially translates into an injunction against animal cruelty.
7. Establish courts of justice Help build a more just and righteous world.

You can find out more at http://www.asknoah.org or http://www.noahide.org

Hashem only chastises those whom He loves. He wants us to return to Him. Don't disapoint him.

Do Teshuva. Bring Moshiach Now!

Good Luck

I would like to wish both Fatah and Hamas hatzlacha rabba, good luck. Go get 'em tiger!

Death to Zionists- not Jews

I guess Hamas has mastered the art of doublespeak and denial that many other anti-Zionists have, including our own occasionnal commenting Judeophobe. Obviously hating the Jewish State and supporting those who murder Jews indiscriminately doens't make you an anti-semite...

Behold Palestine

From Israel National News:

In a pitched gun battle in Gaza on Tuesday night at least 21 members of rival Arab militias were killed. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Israel was not going to get involved in the Palestinian Authority's civil war, which he described as being "between pragmatic and extremist Palestinian forces."

PA sources said that 11 of the dead from the most recent clash were members of the Islamist Hamas terror organization, while the other 10 belonged to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's veteran Fatah terror organization. The battle broke out in Jabaliya Tuesday night as armed Hamas and Fatah members vied for control of a local building belonging to an official PA militia.

With the latest carnage in Jabaliya, the number of fatalities in the last 24 hours of PA internecine fighting rose to at least 43. Senior terrorists in both Hamas and Fatah said Tuesday that their loyalists are prepared for an all-out war for control of the PA.

PA Chairman Abbas (Abu Mazen) characterized the series of violent clashes between Hamas and his own Fatah militias as "an attempted coup." The Fatah-run Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades went on high alert, with the leadership calling on all members to go out into the Gaza streets armed and prepared to challenge gunmen from the Hamas.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday, "The situation in Gaza is worrisome and problematic insofar as the ability of the pragmatic forces in the Palestinian Authority to withstand the activities of the extremist forces." He made the comments during a meeting with Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen. Olmert went on to explain that he sees the potential fall of Gaza into the hands of Hamas as an event with regional repercussions.

"Israel defends itself and will defend itself and its citizenry from any aggression by terrorist organizations, as it deems necessary. We cannot enter the Gaza Strip in order to fight the battle of the Palestinian pragmatic forces against the extremist forces," the Prime Minister added.

Earlier today, the "pragmatic forces" of Fatah, as Olmert called them, issued a threat to exterminate the entire Hamas membership in Judea and Samaria. A spokesman for the Fatah's Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades, Abu Udai, declared to the Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency, "If the Hamas movement continues to assassinate Fatah activists in the Gaza Strip - as it killed the northern Gaza Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades commander Jamal Abu Al-Jidian and his family - then we will wipe out the entire leadership and all the activists of Hamas in the West Bank."
***
In the summer of 2005, PM Ariel Sharon expelled 7000 Jews from their nads in a unilateral disengagement from the Gaza strip. The move was supposed to be a concession for peace. The Palestinians returned the favour with rockets, suicide attacks and kidnappings. Behold the Palestine that the Quartet, Bush and Condie want to create. Behold a state in ruins, its "political" parties busy killing each other. The Palestinians were given another chance for a state and since 2005, they have had a de-facto Palestinian country in Gaza, free from any Israeli "Occupation" or interference. If they would have wanted, they could have shown the world how they deserve a state, how they would build a peaceful democratic society. Instead, they have continued in their hatred and murder. They are busy fighting a civil war and issuing fatwas against the other while they could be sitting down in peace talks with Israel. Olmert, along with his Quarter puppet-masters, wants to give the rest of Judea and Samaria to the Palestinians, this time evicting 100 000 Jews! Look how well trusting the Arabs with their own state went last time. Every single Arab country in the world is a dictatorship, a repressive autocracy. All of them are bases for jihad and murder, whether they are secular tyrannies or a mullahocracy. They are all full of hatred towards Infidels, Jews and Christians. Is there any reason to believe that Palesitne will somehow be a liberal democracy or will be magically transformed into Switzerland? Behold Palestine! A run-down, backwater, murderous hide-out for terrorists and other jihadist scum. This is what Olmert, the US, the EU and the UN want for Judea and Samaria- terrorist camps where productive Jewish settlements now stand. Behold the failed experiment of a Palestinian state! Let's not let that travesty occupy any more of Eretz Yisrael.

Thank Allah for Wafa Sultan

If an Arab has the courage to say this, why can't Jews and Christians be so open?

Warmongering Zionist Neocon Crusaders

I'm often accused of being a beligerent warmongerer (ironically, this is usually by the same people who believe that an Arab sniper shooting a month-old toddler in the head is a legitimate act of resistance). Do I want war? Am I some evil aggressive facist?
I'm sorry but unlike our enemies, the Islamic jihadists and their dhimmi sympathizers, I do not wish for anybody to die. Why would I wish for war when that means that we would be left with more crying mothers, Jewish AND Arab? If we could get an absolute guarantee that if Israel gave up some lan, that there would never be another dead Jew, another orphaned child or a widowed mother, I would happily give over the Temple Mount. The most important Jewish law is Pikuach Nefesh, saving a life, and in order to save a life, one can desecrate 610 of the 613 commandments, including that of conquering and settling in the Land.
Unfortunately, such a thing is impossible as the Arabs have no desire for peace, as they have so often shown. In that case, the law of Pikuach Nefesh mandates that we not surrender even one inch of the Land of Israel, as that will only encourage the Arab barbarians. Maybe you think that I'm just an insane Zionist Jew and therefore hardly an objective source (I don't claim to be). Then listen to what Zuheir Muhsin, late Military Department head of the PLO and member of its Executive Council had to say to a Duth Newspaper:
"The Palestinian people [do] not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct 'Palestinian people' to oppose Zionism."
From the mouth of our enemy! I always appreciate when the Arabs are so candid and when they dispense with their foolish takiyya, religious deception.
Often, people who have no idea what Judaism entails, tell me that my ideas are "un-Jewish". They assume that Judaism is some hippy pacifistic peacenik religion and that Moses would have been the President of Peace Now. Judaism most fervently want peace but we are prepared and ready for war. What is the Torah view of 'Land-for-Peace'? The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains the Divine Verdict by quoting the Shulchan Aruch (Shulchan Aruch Admur, Orach Chayim 239:6). If a band of idolators have surrounded a Jewish City (on the Shabbat), if their intention is only to rob, we may not desecrate the shabbat to defend our property. If their intention is to kill, or even if their intention is unknown, but there is reason to suspect that it might be to kill, then, even if they have not yet arrived, but are only preparing their attack, we are to go forth against them with weapons and we may desecrate the Shabbat for this purpose. However, if the city in question is close to the coast, then even where their intention is only to rob 'straw and stubble', we desecrate the Shabbat to defend the city against them, for if we will not do so, they might capture this (strategic) city, and from there it might be easy for them to conquer the land.
Every concession puts millions of Jews in MORTAL DANGER. We cannot surrender even one inch of our Holy Land. Simply put, when will there be peace? In the words of Golda Meir, Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.

Return the Tanks to Storage

This was written by Moshe Feiglin, leader of the Manhigut Yehudit- Jewish Leadership-faction of the Likud. His website is www.jewishisrael.org

Return the Tanks to Storage: By Moshe Feiglin

15 Sivan, 5767
June 1, 2007

This article is translated from the Makor Rishon newspaper.

"And Moses said, 'Why do you transgress the word of G-d, and it will not succeed? Do not go up because G-d is not in your midst, lest your enemies smite you." (Numbers 14: 41-42)

Empty militarism, Moses explains to the Israelites, will not work. If you do not have a G-d, you will lose.

A population imbued with deep faith used to separate us from the enemy on our southern border. For years, they were the target of thousands of missiles, rockets and terror attacks of all kinds. Neither Guydamek nor Olmert scurried to help them. They also didn't really ask for help. They did not leave and they did not protest. They simply clung tenaciously to the Land of Israel, shielding Sderot and Ashkelon, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem with their bodies. They were armed with a decisive weapon -- their sense of justice.

This sense of justice kept them steadfast in the face of the Arab enemy. But their downfall came from an unexpected direction. Their love for their Nation and their Land blinded them to the new reality. They did not understand -- and many of them still do not understand -- that their own brothers exchanged good for bad, foe for friend. They did not understand that for the leadership of the new Israelis, they -- the believing pioneers -- became the enemy to be eliminated. They could not accept that he who marks you as his enemy is necessarily your enemy. They did not defend themselves, lost their homes, livelihood and life's dream and scattered in every direction.

"Don't look them in the eyes," the psychologists prepped the Expulsion soldiers. A huge and estranged army buried itself in the sands of Gush Katif, exposing Israel's southern border. "This army is now going to lose every battle against an external enemy," I said when I returned from Gush Katif. And that is what happened. In a precise replay of the past, the "Disengagement" once again proved that retreats do not give Israel the justification for a painful response to attack. On the contrary: They strengthen the justification of the enemies' claims, motivate them to continue to strike us and deny Israel the moral possibility to re-conquer the lost territory. If you are not a settler, you do not belong here. And if you do not belong here, then get out. Don't stop at any imaginary border. Just leave!

Militant voices are now emanating from all shades of the political spectrum. "There is a military solution," the generals explain. "Kill them without mercy," says Chich at the rally. "There is no way to escape a broad ground offensive in Gaza" former Chief of Staff Ya'alon explains. When the Left demands war, the Right rushes to the front lines first. It is a type of conditioned reflex.
Didn't anybody learn anything from last summer's war in Lebanon?

If the purpose for our return to Gaza is not for the sake of settlement, it will necessarily be for the sake of losing, dieing and running away from its sands. There is no reason for a large scale military operation there if we subsequently return to the international border. And it is impossible to remain in the midst of Gaza without the moral backbone of settlement there. Will Olmert rebuild Gush Katif after our children die in a new military misadventure in Gaza? Will Netanyahu?

So everybody can relax, and put their "War Now" signs back into storage. In the words of Moses, "It will not succeed."

What, then, is my solution? For those who want to live in a normal state with borders that offer the illusion of peace or safety, I have no solution. But that does not bother me, because I have a different goal. I am not looking for a normal state. I am looking for a unique state -- a vital and flourishing Jewish State. I want to settle Jews on every centimeter of land that falls into our hands. I want to establish an exemplary Jewish society that will be a moral model for the entire world -- an authentic "light unto the nations." I believe in G-d and I want to restore Him to our national consciousness. I want to liberate the Temple Mount. I want to take the sense of justice away from the Hamas and Hizbollah and return it to Israel's army. Simply put, I do not want peace. I want to defeat our enemies, drive them from our Land and fulfill our Jewish destiny. Peace will surely follow.

And what are the residents of Sderot supposed to understand for now? They
should understand what the Gush Katif residents refused to accept: The danger is not from Gaza.

The Dumb Mind of a Bigot

While surfing the blogosphere, I came across more anti-semitic rants about Israel, Zionism, the US and how those Jews are just plain evil. In response to a comment that I posted on a leftist Muslim "Americans" blog, one moron posted an ingeniously titled article: "Zionism Sucks".
Just to respond:

Let's get something quite clear: Anti-Zionism = Anti-Semitism
Every people in the world has a certain land to which it is tied. Every religion has some sort of religious center. Catholicism has Rome, Muslims have Mecca.
Israel is an integral part of Judaism. Many of the religius commandments of Judaism can only be performed in Israel. The Jewish holidays are calculated by the seasons in Israel. Jews are unlike any other people because they are at once a religious group and a national group. Israel and Jerusalem are central to Judaism. When the Jews were exiled by the Babylonians over 2500 years ago, they weeped "If I forget thee O Jerusalem, may my right hand lose its cunning". Three times a day, Jews pray to be returned to Israel and to Jerusalem. Jews declare at the end of every Passover seder "Next Year in Jerusalem!". The Jew has never forgotten his home.
Jerusalem is mentioned over 800 times in the Jewish scriptures. It is NEVER mentionned in the Qur'an. Islam is based in Mecca, that is why Muslims pray in that direction 5 times a day. Jews pray towards Jerusalem 3 times a day.
Why should Zionism be singled out amongst all of the nationalistic movements of all the various peoples in the world, for criticism and demonization? Is French nationalism racist? Can a person say that he loves the Chinese but believes that China should be destroyed and that the Chinese people have no connection to it? The Jews are entitled, as are evry other people, to have a homeland of their own. We deserve our land and we have the right to self-determination, a right that all peoples have. You don't have to be a Zionist- just don't deny that you are an anti-semite.
*****
He also said that Israel should respond to Arab shootings and murderer bombings with "love". This is what I have to say:

Anti-Zionist says:
It will only be solved through loving one's neighbor. And forget about "you can't fight the islamic terrorists with love", because you don't know that. It's never happened before.
*********
Actually, it has. Every time that Israel has extended the olive brach to the Arabs, it has received war and terror. Israel's declaration of Independence declares:
WE APPEAL - in the very midst of the onslaught launched against us now for months - to the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to preserve peace and participate in the upbuilding of the State on the basis of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its provisional and permanent institutions.

WE EXTEND our hand to all neighbouring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighbourliness, and appeal to them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help with the sovereign Jewish people settled in its own land. The State of Israel is prepared to do its share in a common effort for the advancement of the entire Middle East.
When Israel liberated the Gza Strip, Judea and Samaria, the quality of life drastically improved. Israel built schools, hospitals and a modern infrastructure which contributed to the Arab population boom.
Israel has repeatedly sought peace with its Arab neighbours. Israel signed the foolish and dangerous Oslo Accords which would have effectively led to a Palestinian State. Israel's generosity was met with suicide bombings, which only began after Israel offered up so much, and over 1000 dead Jews. The guns that Israel gave to Arab policement were in turn used to kill Israelis.
In 2000 Ehud Barack offered Arafat, may he burn in hell, over 95% of the West Bank and 100 % of Gaza for a Palestinian State. The Palestinians were offered a capital in East Jerusalem and compensation for the "refugees". Yasser Arafat refused this offer and was later blamed by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah for being the cause of the derailment of the peace process.
Israel's settlements in Judea and Samaria are not the cause of the Arab anger. The Arabs rioted in 1920-21 and in 1929 and then again in the couple years before the Rebirth of the State, in violent riots that left hundreds of Jews murdered and millions of dollars of property destroyed. What was the Arab anger then. Was it the Occupied land of '67? There will never be any peace because the Arabs want ALL of Israel and will not tolerate any Jews living there.

Preparing for War with Syria

From Haaretz:
The security cabinet decided Wednesday on the establishment of a ministerial forum, made up of 11 ministers, which would discuss the security threat posed by Syria. This forum will be briefed by the Israel Defense Forces on the army's operational plans to prepare for a possible conflict with Syria.

The security cabinet met Wednesday to hear Military Intelligence assessments on the situation on the Syria front.

The majority MI assessment is that while Syrian President Bashar Assad is well placed to carry out a surprise attack on the Golan Heights, seized during the 1967 Six-Day War, he is unlikely to initiate a conflict.

Housing Minister Meir Sheetrit opposed the formation of the panel, saying that the mere convening of such a panel contradicts the message Israel has been trying to convey to the Syrians, that it is interested in diplomatic negotiations and not in war.

The forum will include the seven officials who had the central roles during the Second Lebanon War in 2006, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Industry Trade and Labor Minister Eli Yishai, Vice Premier Shimon Peres, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz and Public Security Minister Avi Dichter.

Pensioner Affairs Minister Rafi Eitan, Minister for Strategic Threats Avigdor Lieberman, Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann and Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer will also participate in the forum.

At the end of the security cabinet meeting, Olmert said that he has so far not received any invitation to begin diplomatic peace negotiations from Syria, but expressed Israel's desire to conduct such talks. Olmert, answering a question posed by Sheetrit, said he is interested in direct talks with Syria, though in the past the minister have been told that the Syrians demand U.S. mediation.

During the security cabinet meeting, Olmert said that Israel is interested in peace with Syria, not war, and is acting on various diplomatic channels in order to deliver this message to Damascus.

"Israel does not want war with Syria... We must avoid miscalculations that are liable to lead to a security deterioration," Olmert said.

The prime minister imposed a blackout on any further details regarding the meeting, his media adviser said.

Olmert had earlier asked his cabinet to stop making statements on the possibility of a war with Syria, which he said threatened to increase tensions with Israel's north-eastern neighbor.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Defense Minister Amir Peretz told the local media Wednesday morning that while the Israel Defense Forces was preparing for any scenario, including war, the country must not give up on diplomacy with Damascus.

"The IDF has to be ready on all fronts, irrespective of intelligence reports on what is going to happen," Peretz told Army Radio. "But we have to relay to the Syrians that our exercises and preparations are a matter of course, and in no way reflect plans to attack Syria."

"Israel must probe any possibility of diplomacy with Syria," he told Israel Radio.

"A diplomatic process with Syria can change the situation on three fronts in an immediate and dramatic way," Peretz said, referring to Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinians. "We have to probe every opportunity for real negotiations with them. We cannot give up on this."

Asked if Israel might initiate a war in response to limited action by Syrian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas on the Lebanese border, Peretz told Army Radio that there is no such intention.

The MI assessments to be presented Wednesday show that the Syrian army is deployed along the Golan Heights with strengthened forces, having moved units of large-caliber rockets, similar to the ones Hezbollah launched against Haifa during the Second Lebanon War, up to the front.

The cabinet was also to hear reports on the growing strength of both the Syrian army and Hezbollah. Intelligence reports note that the Syrian army has improved its fortifications and has received modern, Russian-made antitank and anti-aircraft missiles.

The IDF, meanwhile, continued its preparations Tuesday with an attack on, and occupation of, a "Syrian" village during a major exercise in the Negev.

Observing the exercise were Defense Minister Amir Peretz and Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi. Similar exercises in recent years had involved the occupation of "Palestinian" villages.

The structure of the village was similar to the ghost towns on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, which Military Intelligence maintain are being used by the Syrian army as defensive positions against the possibility of an IDF attack.

"We are preparing for the possibility of deterioration both on the Palestinian front and also, if we have to take action, on the northern front," Ashkenazi said after the exercise.

Israel is concerned that Syria might initiate a surprise attack in an effort to make rapid but limited gains on the Golan. The goal would be to capture a small piece of territory that could serve as a catalyst for a diplomatic process that would result in an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights.

Security sources say there is concern that the Syrian deployments enable the Syrian forces to embark on a sudden, surprise attack. Such action would be accompanied by a massive barrage of rockets from Hezbollah's positions north of the Litani River.

The Israeli concerns have been intensified by the flow of intelligence reports about improved coordination and joint operations among Iran, Syria and Hezbollah.

Commanders from all three forces held joint reconnaissance tours, and their arms procurement is similar, allowing Iran to supply Syria and Hezbollah with munitions and arms in time of war.

For their part, Palestinian militant organizations, such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, whose leadership is hosted by Syria, are not part of the joint military preparedness of Syria, Iran and Hezbollah, and there is no information involving them in a military operation along the northern border.

The dominant assessment of Military Intelligence, which has been laid out before the political leadership, suggests that in spite the improved capabilities of the Syrian army, and the risk of a sudden attack, Assad does not intend, at this stage, to start a war with Israel.

One of the scenarios that intelligence has put forth is that the Syrians and the Iranians are worried about an American attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, and they are preparing for the possibility of opening a second front against Israel on the Golan Heights and through Hezbollah in Lebanon in retaliation.

On the other hand, a minority view in Military Intelligence argues that the Syrian preparedness, the training and arms buildup signal Assad's readiness to carry out an offensive in a bid to restore the Golan Heights to Syria because Assad is convinced that Israeli public opinion rejects, at this stage, negotiations for a solution.

Senior IDF officers have put forth a third scenario, in which Syria will succeed in forcing Israel to negotiate the return of the Golan Heights, merely through the threat of military action.

*********

Israel gave the world the image that it was weak and without resolve last summer. Syria had built up troops along its border with Israel. Maybe it plans to attacks, maybe not. Nevertheless, if Syria does decide, G-d forbid, to start a war, Israel must make sure that Syria is not the one who finishes it. Israel's retribution should be swift and harsh.

Jews for Israel?

Today, there are many organizations that support Israel, such as Catholics for Israel, Evangelicals for Israel, even ARABS for Israel (www.arabsforisrael.com.) When there are so many courageous non-Jews standing up for truth and the security of Israel, why are so few Jews doing the same? Why are the staunchest allies of Israel, non-Jews (not that there's anything wrong with non-Jews supporting Israel- I appreciate your gratitude). The answer is that world Jewry still lives with the ghetto mentality of the exile that a good Jew is a quiet Jew. That's why world Jewry was silent during the Holocaust. As a Canadian Jew, an essential read is 'None is Too Many' byt Irving Abella and Harold Troper. It completely documents, along with the anti-semitism of the Canadian government that kept the Jews out during the war years, the complete paralysis and silence of the Canadian Jewish Congress. It was a similar case in the United States. When we say 'Never Again' we do not mean, never another Holocaust. We mean that never again will world Jewry stay silent when Jews are in danger or are being persecuted.
What does the world think when it sees that 60 years after the rebirth of the Jewish homeland, half of the world's Jews continue to live in the exile? Obviously, goes the world opinion, the Land of Israel doesn't really belong to the Jews, or they would go live there. As a side note, this week's Torah portion, Shelach, contains the sin of the Spies, where the Israelites are condemned to wander in the desert 40 years because they rejected the Land by listening to the evil report of the spies. World Jewry, come home. Israel has been waiting for her children for over 2000 years.

Showdown Imminent

By Dudi Cohen for Ynet News:

The countdown to Israel's destruction has begun, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a speech commemorating the death of Iranian revolution leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on Sunday.
"The arrogant superpowers and the Zionist regime invested all their efforts during the 33-day war, but after 60 years, their pride has been trampled and the countdown to the destruction of this regime has been started by Hizbullah fighters," the president was quoted as saying by Iranian news agency Mehr.

Ahmadinejad added that "with the help of all the Lebanese and Palestinian fighters, we will witness the destruction of this regime in the near future… Anyone who works for God and believes in the power of the people will prevail."...
He pointed out the Palestinians as an example of a people who draw encouragement from the ways of the Iranian people. "The Palestinian people have begun their movement out of oppression and the world's nations and the Zionist regime will be forced to bow down to the Palestinians and officially acknowledge this people."

Not commenting on the nuclear problem directly, the president hinted that "Khomeini believed that when a nation reaches a point where it makes a decision, no power can tackle it and this is the road Iran is taking."
Ahmadinejaed ended his speech by urging the nations of the world to believe in God, saying, "The final victory, the power of the people, and the destruction of tryants is near."
*********
What is Israel waiting for, as a madman openly incites war against it? How empty our promises of 'Never Again'. 'Never Again' does not mean never another Holocaust; it mean that the Jews of the world will stand idly by while they are being threatened. Israel must show the world its power, beginning with clearing away the terrorist scum from Gaza, Judea and Samaria. It must show the world its might. "The degradation of Israel is the desecration of the name of Hashem" (Rashi, Ezekiel 39:7. The fact that Israel allows itself to look weak is a desecration of G-d's name. Our enemies laugh at us and mock us. It's time to show the world our strength, our Jewish pride, our resolve.
'For Zion's Sake I will not be Silent!!!"

How about "Victory"?

Every day, kassams rain down on Sderot. As Israelis are being killed and homes destroyed, the government and people continue to debate what to do. One opinion is to bomb the locations from where the rockets are being launched in Gaza. Israel should send troops in an engage in door-to-door combat like in Operaiton Defensive Shield under Sharon. The other side believes that no military solution can be achieved and that Israel should sit down and chat with Hamas or Fatah.
I'm on neither side- I believe in "Victory". It is surprising that no Israeli leader talks about winning this war. Israel should bomb the kassam launch site, expell the inhabitants of the villages that allow their homes to be used as bases for terrorists, and settle Jews in their stead. Let the expellees of Gush Katif come home- on the site of a former Arab village.