Perverted Values

Amidst the increasing attacks on Israel, US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, has called for Israel to show restraint in dealing with Qassam rockets, suicide bombings and deadly terrorism. Israel's legendary restraint has led some to call the IDF the most moral army in the world. I beg to differ. Israel's restraint is an example of perverted values, of fighting according to Western standards of "turn the other cheek" and not Jewish morals.

"When you go forth in battle to your enemies" (Deut. 20:1)... What is meant by against your enemies? G-d said, 'Confront them as enemies. Just as they show you no mercy, so you should show them no mercy" (Tanchuma, Shotim 15). When Israel provides the Arabs with electricity, water, goods, etc., it is violating the command of the Midrash. The Arabs who fight against us are our enemies and not our friends. "You are going to war against your enemies and not your brethren. It is not Judah against Simeon or Simeon against Judah such that if you fall captive they will have mercy on you... It is against your enemies that your are waging war. If you fall into their hand, they will show you no mercy." (Sifri, Shoftim 192) The time for mercy is long over. It is time to put all pity and consideration aside and repay those murderous thugs "seven-fold", and eye for an eye.

Some may protest that such collective punishment is immoral and yet the Torah differs on this. We learn from Sotah 11a that Job was punished for not speaking out against Pharaoh's decree. Silence means assent. "Whoever is capable of protesting and does not do so will be punished" (Avodah Zara 18a). All Arabs in Gaza have the right to prevent their homes from being used as a launch-pad for terror, to leave or to suffer the consequences. In the same vein, the silence and impotence of Israel's leaders makes them collaborators in the death of Roni Yechiyeh HY"D and all those who have been slain al kiddush HaShem in Sderot and all over Israel.

After the massacre of Shechem, Ya'akov rebuked Shimon and Levi. To this, they answered "Shall our sister be treated like a harlot?" (Gen. 34:31), Ya'akov accepted their argument with silence, recognizing the necessity of their deeds. They performed a great mitzvah and for this reason the city of Shechem became Shimon's tribal banner. Today we must ask, "shall our brothers be treated as disposible?", will Jewish blood be considered cheap, expendable, worthless? Will the perpetrators of thiese heinous acts be brought to justice?

When the brothers answered Ya'akov, he remained silent. R. Yehuda bar Shimon (Bereshit Rabba 80:12) said: [They said] The water was muddy and we made it clear. 'Shall he treat her like a harlot?'. They treated us as though our lives had no value'. The medieval commentators justify the massacre of Shechem. Rambam (Hilchot Melachim 9:14) wrote: "A descendant of Noach who violates one of these seven [Noahide] laws shall be killed by the sword. Hence, all of the residents of Shechem incurred a death, beause Shechem stole and they saw and knew yet they did not put him on trial." Ramban on Gen. 34:13 differs from the Rambam: "Because the people of Shechem were evildoers whose blood they considered like water, Ya'akov's sons wished to smite them all with an avenging sword. They killed the king and all the people of his city, because they were his slaves and under his charge." The people of Gaza have allowed terrorists to rain missiles on Sderot, violating the prohibition against murder. There is no alternative besides sending the stern message that the Jewish people will not be trifled with.

" For He that avengeth blood hath remembered them; He hath not forgotten the cry of the humble."

כִּי-דֹרֵשׁ דָּמִים, אוֹתָם זָכָר; לֹא-שָׁכַח, צַעֲקַת עֲנָוִים

Cross-posted to Jewish Vengeance and Goat's Barnyard

Dayenu- No More!

Golda Meir once said that she could forgive the Arabs for killing our children, but never forgive them for making us kill their children. While this statement may play well with bleeding-heart liberals, it should be profoundly disturbing to every self-respecting Jew. Why should we be able to forgive the Arabs for the murder of fellow Jews? It seems that we, having been victims for so long, prefer to be losers than victors and would rather the world cry crocodile tears for murdered Jews than for them to condemn a strong Israel.

Within the past day or two, 60 Kassam rockets have rained down on Sderot and the surrounding areas. 15 people have been injured and Roni Yahya, 47, father of 4, was killed. He is just one of the many casualties of the incessant Arab terrorist rocket fire on Sderot, and last week a young child lost his leg when a Kassam hit him when he was on the way to a store. Thousands upon thousands of rockets have rained down on Sderot and the people there live in a constant state of war.

It should be apparent to anybody who has eyes to see and ears to hear, that Sderot is at a critical situation. No sovereign country can tolerate a constant attack on its citizens by an enemy entity. And still, the Israeli government sits quietly and refuses to punish the perpetrators of these heinous attacks. Why? Why are some Jews so uncomfortable with the idea of force, of asserting ourselves instead of acting like poor shlemiels who will take terrorist attacks lying down? Our leaders are cowardly dhimmis who cannot take a stand for Jewish rights. The only solution now, despite its unpleasantness, is for return the Arab favour 'seven-fold', an eye for an eye. No Arab terrorist leader should be safe and Gaza's electricity should be immiediately cut off. Israel should begin a harsh campaign of pulverizing any site used as a base for rocket attacks and a clear message should be sent that such attacks will not be tolerated.

Israeli soldiers Gilead Shalit, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, are still sitting in Hamas and Hizbullah captivity. An Israel governed by true Jewish values would never tolerate such an affront to its national pride and to the basic human rights of its soldiers. Close to 2 years after their capture, their whereabouts are still unknown. PM Olmert and his collaborators have their suffering on their hands, as well as all the Jewish blood spilled because they refuse to punish Arab terrorism.

Assertiveness and national pride are nothing to be ashamed of. We need not compromise and appease endlessly. Only a people mirred in self-doubt cannot proudly stand up for its own rights. Will we become the Jews of Silence once again? Israel must not be ashamed to unleash hell on the Arab terrorists and ensure that no more Jewish lives are lost. No more kaddish, no more yarzheits, no more teary obituaries. Like the great Rabbi Kahane said, I would prefer an Israel that is hated than an Auschwitz that the world loves. Let us take to heart G-d's promise to Joshua: "Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid neither be thou dismayed: For HaShem your G-d is with you wherever you go". Amen v'amen.

Shleimut HaAretz - Territorial Integrity

Here the words of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, one of the greatest Jewish leaders of the century, explain why Israel cannot surrender any land to the Arabs.

Cross-posted to Goat's Barnyard

Christians for Allah

I am founding a new organization, Christians for Allah. Our goal is to make the prophethood of Muhammad a unavoidable issue for Christians.

We Qur'anic Christians believe in the Newer Testament (Qur'an) to be the innerant word of Allah. We recognize the value of traditional Christian literature, but only where it is supported by or conformable to the Word of Allah. We regard it as in no way binding upon life or faith.

We believe that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad, peace be upon him, is His final prophet, though there were many before him such as Ibrahim, Yukub, Musa or Jesus. Jesus was a great prophet although Allah begets none and is not begotten. His death upon the cross was only an illusion, Judas dying in his place.

We Qur'anic Christians are dedicated to sharing the Word of Allah to our Christian brethren, who missed the good word when the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, preached Allah's word.

We follow the Newer Testament (Qur'an), worship in a Qur'anic church, and believe that Muhammad provided for us the path to salvation, in accordance with the Old, New and Newer Covenant.

One can be Muslim and Christian at the same time. Allahu Ackbar!


*****

Sounds ridiculous, eh? Read this, and tell me if you see Jewish or Christian writing.

Look at the Scoreboard

Interiour Minister Sheetrit is planning to build a modern Arab city in the Galilee. (I would suggest to him that he first deal with our enemies cities in Gaza before building them new ones.) What exactly does an "Arab city" mean though? Are there "Jewish cities" in Israel? Let's take a look at the scorecard:

Jerusalem: 30% Arab

Haifa: 15-25% Arab

Tel-Aviv: 4.2% Arab

Arabs are equal citizens in Israel with the same political rights as Jews. Arabs can live anywhere they want in Israel without restrictions. Even illegal Arab construction in Jerusalem is rarely contested.

Shechem (Nablus): 0% Jewish
Shechem is the burial place of the Biblical patriarch Yosef. In the early days of Oslo, when Israel handed Kever Yosef over to the Arabs, it was desecrated by a fanatical mob. Now, Jews are forbidden from going to Kever Yosef to pray.


Bethlehem: 0% Jewish
Rachel Imeinu is buried in Bethlehem and King David's line originated there. It is currently judenrein and Kever Rachel is frequently harassed by Arabs. Jews who go to pray there are severely inconvenienced as reaching the kever requires heavy security, passing fences and walls, and hiring armed guards.


Hebron: 0.004%
There are about 400 Jews living in Hebron around Mearat HaMachpela, the tomb of the Patriarches. They live under siege in severe conditions with heavy army presence. Thousands of Jews are able to pray at the gravesites of our nation's founders only because of the perseverance of these handful of Jews.

No Jews live in any Arab-majority city. Entire swaths of the country are judenrein. A Jew could not walk into Ramallah or Nazareth without being stoned, beaten or lynched. 7 000 Jews were thrown out of Gaza at the behest of the Arabs and hundreds of thousands more are set to be expelled in Judea and Samaria (G-d forbid). What could possibly by gained with the creation of a new terrorist camp, an Arab city, which will certainly become a hotbed of anti-Israel activity and hatred, as have all other Arab cities?

Cross-posted to Goat's Barnyard and Jewish Vengeance

Anti-Zionism's Acceptability

Anti-semitism has been a feature of humanity ever since the Mount Sinai Event. Our Sages taught that the Torah was given on a mountain called Sinai because of the deep sinah, hatred, that emanated from that moment. In the TaNaKh, there are two recorded incidents of attempted genocide: Pharaoh and Haman's Final Solutions. The Talmud declares firmly that Esau soneh et Yaakov, Esau hates Jacob.

60 years after the Holocaust which destroyed two-thirds of European Jewry, anti-semitism is only an alarming rise. It is frightening not only in its exponential increase but in its acceptablitily in polite society and its blatent nature. When a white supremacist rants about "big-nosed Jews" controlling Wall Street at the annual neo-Nazi conference, one hardly raises an eyebrow. White supremacists exist on the extreme fringes of society and their ideas are summarily dismissed. When a slick-sounding, highly articulate left-wing intellectual gives a lecture about "Israeli apartheid" and condemns Zionism, Jews and non-Jews everywhere should be alarmed. These notions of Zionism being racist or of Jews intentionally killing Arab children, are slowly creeping into polite society. At dinner parties and uniivsity campuses all over the country, anti-semitic incidents are commonplace and it is not hard to hear condemnation of Israel, while students cheer on Islamofascism. When "Israeli Apartheid" week came to Canadian campuses a few weeks ago, comments like "death to big nose Israel" were proclaimed loudly, without fear of rebuke or stigma. Of course, why should anybody be ostracized for such views when the leader of a country who called for Israel to wiped off the map and who is developping nuclear technology to do so, gets invited to speak at a major American university? Sadly, anti-semitism has been the norm in many cases.

Anti-semitism has proven to be a most resilient virus which finds new forms in every age. While in the past Jew-haters opposed Jewish morality, or the Church preached the humilation and death of the "C-killers", modern day anti-semitism exists in the latest form of anti-Zionism: the delegitimization, demonization and application of double standards to the Jewish State, Israel. One need not look to far to find such examples. If it were not for public outcry, UN Human Rights High Commissioner, Louise Arbour, would have signed a pan-Arab human rights declaration equating Zionism, the Jews' natural and G-dgiven right and desire for a homeland, with racism.

"The cancerous growth Israel will soon disappear," Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps commander Muhammad Ali Jafari wrote to Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the FARS news agency reported Monday. In response to the assassination of Hizbullah terror chief Imad Mughniyeh, Hizbullah vowed to attack Israeli and Jewish targets in the Diaspora. This is not the first time that Hizbullah has made its genocidal intentions known. Hassan Nasrallah has said: "The Jews are a cancer which is liable to spread again at any moment," and that “if they [the Jews] all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide.” Nor is this pushing for the Final Solution to the Zionist Problem unique to Hizbullah. The Hamas charter quotes an Islamic hadith whcih affirms that "the prophet, prayer and peace be upon him, said: The time [of judgment] will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews and kill them; until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!" (Sahih Muslim book 41, no. 6985). Its charter say that “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it”. In light of these statements, where is the community of nations? Where are the loud cries of "Never Again"? Instead of denouncing these Islamofascist neo-Nazis, the world demands that Israel give up Jerusalem, its eternal capital, and continues to call arch-terrorist Abbas a "moderate".

Its seems that the world would prefer, rather than fighting the growing wave of anti-semitism, to write a big check for a museum and memorial for the planned Islamic Holocaust (G-d forbid). Islamic anti-semitism and hate-mongering must be condemned at every opportuniy and given no platform to speak. Anti-Zionism legitimizes the murder of Jews by painting Israel as a colonialist entity, entailing Arabs to resist such occupation. It is the pathway to the ovens, to the gas chambers. Hopefully, the world will wake up before it is too late and save itself the trouble of building a new Yad VaShem.

Cross-posted to Goat's Barnyard and Jewish Vengeance.

Haveil Havalim #154- Jewish Blog Carnival

Founded by Soccer Dad, Haveil Havalim is a carnival of Jewish blogs -- a weekly collection of Jewish & Israeli blog highlights, tidbits and points of interest collected from blogs all around the world. It's hosted by different bloggers each week and coordinated by Jack. The term 'Haveil Havalim,' which means "Vanity of Vanities," is from Qoheleth, (Ecclesiastes) which was written by King Solomon. King Solomon built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and later on got all bogged down in materialism and other 'excesses' and realized that it was nothing but 'hevel,' or in English, 'vanity.'

Check it out at Esser Agaroth. There's a post by yours truly.

The Silent Holocaust

Coservative rabbis are drafting a resolution to condemn the revived Latin prayer backed by the Pope which asks for G-d to "lift the veril of blindness" from the eyes of the "perfidous Jews", that they should accept Christianity. The draft could go to a vote as early as Monday, when 400 members of the Rabbinical Assembly, representing Judaism's conservative movement, will be in Washington for their annual meeting.

Rabbis, get real. This new prayer will do nothing. Unlike other Christians, the Catholics are takers and not doers. They are not going to dress up like yeshiva students to go missionize to Jews, as other sects do. The Latin text will convert no Jews and the only result will be Catholics screaming to nothingness in a language that they can't understand. If the Conservative rabbis are really concerned, they could start with condemning the alarming +50% assimilation and intermarriage rate in the United States.

During the Holocaust, 6 million of the world's 18 million Jews were murdered by the wicked Nazi regime and their collaborators. 60 years later, there are barely 13 millions Jews worlwide. With the exception of Israel, there is practically no Jewish population growth. In fact, in the past 10-20 years, the Jewish population of the United States has declined by almost a million Jews! In a certain sense, this is more tragic than the European Holocaust since the Jews had their Judaism (and lives) forcibly taken away and yet today, whereas Jews have given everything never to give up their faith in the past, many Jews are simply opting out of their destiny. An ancient and royal line, starting all the way at Avraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov Avinu, is being abruptly cut voluntarily, and too many Jews will have no Jewish children or grandchildren to say kaddish over them. What we have on our hand is at Silent Holocaust.

Consider the following statistics*:

Jewish identity is declining sharply.

Of 5.6 million Jews, 2 million American Jews live in households identified as non-Jewish

60% of Jews below 40 years of age live in households identified as non-Jewish

20% of Jews over 60 years of age live in households identified as non-Jewish

Intermarriage rates are increasing dramatically.

Before 1965, 10% of Jews who married, did so outside the faith.

Since 1985, 52% of Jews who married have done so outside the faith.

Children are being raised as non-Jews.

1 million, or 54% of all American Jewish children under the age of 18 are being raised as non-Jews or with no religion.

Fertility Rates are not high enough to replenish the religion.

The average fertility rate of American Jewish women is 1.4 children per household. The replacement level is 2.1 children.

Less emphasis is being placed on a Jewish education.

In 1962, 540,000 Jewish children were attending afternoon weekend schools, and 60,000 were enrolled in day schools. By 1990, fewer than 240,000 Jewish children attended afternoon /weekend schools and 140,000 attended day schools.

NET LOSS -- 220,000 Jewish children.

Traditional Shabbat observance is extremely low.

Only 36% of Jewish households light the Shabbat Candles.

Of the population that consists of people who were born Jewish and are Jewish by choice, only 11% attend synagogue weekly.

* All Statistics taken from Council of Jewish Federations' 1990 National Jewish Population Survey. This is the most comprehensive source of American Jewish data available

Where are the Conservative rabbis on this? Why are they so worried about a Latin prayer that calls for Jews to become Christians, which will affect or convince no one, while they are silent about the greatest danger facing world Jewry: assimilation? Did the Conservative rabbis ever ask themselves why Jews have no desire to be Jewish? Could it be that today's Reformed, Reconstructed and horrible Conserved "Judaism" bears little resemblance to the faith of our grandparents, the faith for which they sacrificed everything, but is simply a pick-and-choose free-for-all held together by High Holiday visits to the "temple", by bubbie and chulent, by afternoon Jewish education which ends at Bar Mitzvah and interfaith talks? This is not Judaism!

Judaism was only able to survive a hostile world simply because it was mandated by G-d Himself from Sinai. A young Jew cannot be expected, after a lifetime of eating like a goy, dressing like a goy and living like a goy, to not marry a goy! This is beyond hypocritical. The poor Jew living in the Pale of Settlement, cramped in the ghettos of Europe or the melachs of Morocco, was happy and complete because he lived according to the ways of the Almighty. This is what today's Jewry is lacking. Judaism is not about ethics, not about Yiddish culture or eating bagles and lox. It comes from a real authentic connection to the Torah, to the Talmud, to the laws of Israel. And this is what the Conservative "rabbis" should be in an uproar about.

Cross-posted to Jewish Vengeance

Putting the Infidel in His Place

Islam is different from all other religions in that it is the only religion that has an established doctrine of warfare towards nonbelievers and that it believes in its eventual military domination of the world and the subjugation of non-Muslims. As the Qur'an commands, Muslims are to fight against Infidels until "they pay the jyziah tax out of hand and they feel themselves subdued"; the Infidel is not necessarily to be exterminated, but humuliated and humbled.

This is at the heart of the Muslims rejection of Israel. No proud Muslim, committed to the Islamic principle that "Islam dominates and is not dominated", can accept Infidels, especially the hated Jewish sons of pigs and monkeys, ruling over a land once occupied by Islam. When Muslims see strong Jewish soldiers resisting the armies of Allah, their blood boils at rage at this provocation. In the same way, Muslims in Western countries seem to be attacking Infidel cultural symbols in order to establish Islamic superiority. Consider the desire to erect a 70 000 seat mosque in London at the site of the Olympic Village, for the sole purpose of sending the message that Islam is above the Infidel.

In the medieval English city of Oxford, Muslims are agitating to broadcast the muezzin's call to prayer on loud speakers. This is nothing but a provocation to impose Islamic dominance on a Christian-cultured community. The towering minarets and the muezzin's loud wail of Allahu Ackbar serve to remind the Infidel that they exist on Islamic turf. This same confrontational tactic is being repeated all over Europe, like in Spain where Muslims are demanding the use of an ancient church which was once a mosque, or in France where one can see the slitting of the throats of sheep in honour of Eid-al-Fitr. The reason for this has little to do with tolerance or respect for diversity but to strike fear in the hearts of the Infidel, to terrorize them psychologically that they should be aware that Islam is the law of the land.

The corrupt dhimmis of the Israeli government have announced plans for a new Arab city in the Galilee, an area with a significant Arab population. While construction of Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria has been frozen and Jews have forcibly been evicted from Gaza and more expulsions are planned, illegal Arab construction in Jerusalem goes unabated. The Dome of the Rock and the Mosque of Umar sit triumphantly on the ruins of the Holy Temple (and on the site of the Third Temple, may it be rebuilt speedily in our days, amen), while Jews are forbidden from "offensive" gestures such as prayer. The Jordanian government plans to build a new minaret on the Temple Mount, even though a similar call to build a synagogue at Judaism's holiest site has been rejected. Jewish sites that have been transfered to Arab control have been desecrated since they belong to jahiliyya, the pre-Islamic age of ignorance. Archaeological finds on the Temple Mount have been systematically destroyed by the Islamic wakf, and Kever Yosef, Joseph's Tomb, was burnt by a fanatical mob in the early days of the Oslo disaster, and sits despoiled. A week ago, when a group of Breslover chassidim decided to go to this holy site to pray, they were scene as a threat by the IDF, although evidentally Arab rockets raining down on Sderot do not classify as such.

Islam's goal is to humiliate, debade and disgrace non-Muslims in an attempt to achieve dominance. This dominance can be achieved militarily, as Muslims attempt to do in Israel or against Western forces in Iraq or Afghanistan, or culturally by erecting minarets to tower over Infidel cities. If the West hopes the win this latest conflict in the long history of jihad and Islamic aggression, it must vehemently oppose Islamic encroachment and expansion, and Islam's powerful campaign of forcing the Infidels to compromise. Israel's government must declare the entire Land ready for Jewish settlement, allow Jewish prayer on our holiest site and guarantee Jewish security and sovereignty over every inch of the Holy Land. Any signs of Islamic dominance or anything that migh suggest Islamic superiority or supremacism must be banned. Minarets with intrusive calls to prayer cannot be allowed in Western countries and neither should Muslims be permitted to fragrantly violate the laws of the Infidel countries in which they reside. If they have a problem with this, there are always other like-minded countries where they could reside.

Cross-posted to Goat's Barnyard

How Goodly Are Your Tents, O Jacob?

An outsider to Judaism could be forgiven in thinking that the Synagogue plays that same role in Judaism as the Church plays in Christianity. Nothing could be further from the truth. The central address of the Jewish nation is not in the synagogue or in the batei midrash, but in the home. One can be a perfectly good Jew without visiting the synagogue except on occassion, but one's Judaism would be severely lacking unless they keep a Jewish home- a home that observes the laws of kashrut, shabbat and is a center of kindness, hospitality and Torah study.

Throughout the ages, it has been the Jewish home and family that gave our people strength to endure the harsh persecutions. While the goyyim got drunk and beat their wives, Jewish husbands treated theirs with respect as mandated by halakhah. Instead of spending their nights getting drunk and taverns, Jews drank at smachot, or when making Kiddush Friday nights. The Jewish home was known to be a place of holiness, of G-dliness, and of kindness. When the Jews were in the Desert, the wicked king Balak hired the sorcerer Bilaam to curse Israel. Climbing to the summit of a hill overlooking the Jewish encampment, Bilaam found himself unable to curse the Holy Nation. He exclaimed in praise: "How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, thy dwellings, O Israel!" (Num. 24:5). Bilaam saw that the doors of the homes never faced the entrances of their neighbours, to prevent invasions of privacy. Since our wandering at Sinai, the Jewish family unity, the basic unit of our people, has been a source of strength and a place to innoculate core Jewish values such as respect, monotheism, ethics and morality.

Needless to say, the recent ruling by Attorney General Menachem Mazuz allowing homosexuals to adopt children serves only to erode the strength and stability of the Jewish family. This first step towards recognizing same-sex marriage is completely contradictory to the Jewish family which emphasized traditional values, Jewish learning, Torah, the bond between parent and child. Like in other Western countries (though thank G-d not yet as widespread), non-traditional relationships have become the norm in many cases, with the numbers of divorces skyrocketing, and incrases levels of teenage pregnancies, single-parents and other non-Jewish lifestyles.

Israel cannot survive long if it allows the Jewish family to weaken and disappear. The Jewish homes is where family life revolves, meeting on holidays where they share Jewish historical experiences and seeing Torah practically applied. The Jewish family is an organic unit, a mutually created and momentous work of art, a microcosm of the Holy Temple and a vessel for G-d's Divine Presence. In the Jewish family, husband and wife are two halves of one persona, the expression of one, unified will. The Torah directs the family with strong morals and values. Its invaluable guidance nurtures a happy, serene and unified family. A strong Jewish upbringing in a Torah-home is essential for a healthy Jewish society. As we see, Israel suffers from an existensial crisis in which it cannot justify its own claims to the land and therefore cannot adequately protect itself. The only rectification for this is the return to a strong Jewish home infused with Jewish values to imbude children with moral integrity.

Demographic Demon Exposed

From Arutz-7:

Demographer Yoram Ettinger tells Arutz-7 that Palestinian Authority data about its growth spurt are distorted, untrue, and wildly contradict World Bank figures. He says there are 2.6 million Arabs in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, and not the 3.8 million reported by the PA.

The PA's Central Bureau of Statistics released over the weekend the results of its 2007 census, showing that its population increased by more than 30% over the course of the past ten years. Ettinger doesn't buy it.

"It is very astonishing," he said. "The census that was ostensibly carried out in 2007 has findings that are almost exactly the same as the predictions made by the PA's CBS ten years ago - even though over this period there were many dramatic and unexpected developments politically, economically, militarily, and sociologically. There was a war against terrorism, a Fatah-Hamas war, a great increase in unemployment, more planned parenthood, fewer teenage pregnancies, more divorces, more people going abroad to work - and yet still there were no changes from the forecast of ten years ago. This is very hard to accept."

"Moreover," Ettinger continued, "the PA's findings directly contrast with what the World Bank has found. The World Bank says there have been both a great drop in fertility and a great increase in emigration. For instance, there is a full 32% disparity between the PA's prediction ten years ago of how many 6-year-olds there would be now and those there actually are; instead of a growth of 24%, there was actually a drop of 8%... The '97 census even counted Jerusalem Arabs twice - once as Israeli-Arabs by Israel, and once by the PA's CBS as if they lived in the PA... The PA's numbers are exaggerated by approximately 53% over the true numbers."

Ettinger's conclusion? "I would say that not only is there no room for fatality or fear that the Arabs are close to a majority, but there is actually a solid and large Jewish majority of 67% in the area between the Mediterranean and the Jordan (not including Gaza), and the momentum is growing in our favor... The demographic issue is no longer a 'problem,' but a 'strategic asset.'"

Another example provided by Ettinger concerns the birthrate during the period from 1995 to 2007: "Israeli-Arab births during this 12-year period remained stable at around 39,000, while at the same time, the Jewish birthrate grew by 40% - from 80,000 to 112,000 a year. This is a pretty good indication of what can be expected here in the next one or two generations."

The true numbers, Ettinger says, are as follows: "Within the Green Line [pre-1967 Israel], there are currently 1.4 million Arabs, compared with almost 6 million Jews. In Judea and Samaria, there are 1.5 million Arabs, and not 2.3 million, as they claim. In Gaza, there are 1.1 million, and not 1.5 million."

Similar to CAIR's unsubstantiated claims of a 9 million strong Muslims voting bloc in the US, the PA intentionally distorts the true number of Arabs in Judea, Samaria and Gaza to terrify Israel. This is contrary to the facts. As Ettinger said, there has been a drop in Arab fertility and a huge increase in emigration from the Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Earlier this year, the Mufti of Jerusalem issued a fatwa against emigration from "Palestine", in the hopes of styming the flood of migrants.

As we saw a week or two ago, about a quarter of the population of Gaza rushed out to Egypt the second that the security wall was destroyed. Clearly, the population wants to get out of that hellhole. Israel has a golden opportunity here. How fast do you imagine the Arabs running out if they would be provided with compensation and plane tickets to the other Arab states or to the West?

Israel's military leaders are already calling for a full-scale invasion of Gaza, and yet, this seems eerily deja-vu. The IDF will sweep into Gaza, do its utmost to prevent civilian casualties by putting its soldiers in needless danger, and after the loss of tens of good Jewish boys (G-d forbid), the mission will be declared completed and the IDF will sail out. Israel will invade and pull out, invade and pull out. (Didn't anybody ever tell Israel that pulling out before the job is done leaves both unsatisfied?) This is because the corrupt anti-Jewish leadership has no solutions. Because Israel tries its hardest to run away from its Jewish identity and act Western, it is stuck in an existensial crisis where it cannot properly defend itself. If Israel believed in its own right to the land, it would have no problem telling the Arabs that they had better ship out. Gaza's population is extremely young and most would like the chance at a better life than rocket attacks, terrorist thugs, electrical shortages and lack of basic civil infrastructure. Most of them would jump at the chance to leave.

It is plain to all except the leaders of the US and Israel that there will never be peace between Israel and the Arabs, especially since they are motivated by their bloodthirsty, warmongering religion to slaughter every Jew that they can find. The only solution is separation. Israel spends billions of dollars each year on useless "defensive" equipment like fences, bunkers, security guards at every entrance, etc. That money would be much better spent if it were used to create a fund for Arab emmigration.

"And ye shall drive out the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein; for unto you have I given the land to possess it." -Numbers 33:53. There is no alternative.

Cross-posted to Goat's Barnyard

You Are My Witnesses

I have a little while before Shabbat starts, so I'll share some thoughts.

"You are My witnesses, says the LORD, and My servant whom I have chosen; that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He; before Me there was no God formed, neither shall any be after Me." (Isaiah 43:10)

When HaShem created the world, He intended for all of man to recognize and worship Him. After the failure of Adam and the generation of the Flood, HaShem realized that He needed a special nation that would belong directly to Him through which He could spread His truth. "When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the children of men, He set the borders of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel. For the portion of the LORD is His people, Jacob the lot of His inheritance." (Deut. 32:8-9). HaShem chose our Father Avraham so bring the message of monotheism and ethics to the world. Avraham was a revolutionary, smashed his father's idols and upset the social order. When brought before the wicked tyrant Nimrod, Avraham chose to have himself thrown into the fiery furnace rather than betray HaShem his G-d, setting a precedent which so many Jews would later follow rather than forsake the faith of their ancestors.

When Yaakov's family descended to Egypt to escape the famine, they eventually settled there and were enslaved by Pharaoh. True to His word, HaShem redeem the Children of Israel, removed the degraded rabble from the humiliation of slavery, and gave them the Torah at Mount Sinai, the very reason for their freedom. Throughout this Torah, HaShem gave His beloved children myriads of mitzvot to bear witness to their Creator and to His redemption. The Jews were to wear tzitzit, fringed tassels on the corners of our garments that "ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye go not about after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go astray; that ye may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy unto your God." (Num.15:39-40) Upon every doorpost, Jews were to inscribe G-d's commandments and place mezuzot in memory of the blood that the Jews placed on their doorposts that G-d could pass over their homes in Egypt. As soon as the Jews left Egypt, they were commanded on several occasions to teach their children about the miracles that G-d performed for them their and to keep the holidays in commemoration of the events of their redemption. The Jew, upon waking up and going to bed, and before he leaves this world, was to proclaim proudly "Hear O Israel, HaShem is Our G-d, HaShem is One!" This was to be his testimony. The Jew was G-d's witness to His Oneness, to His Truth and to His Grandeur.

The entire Jewish people, from old to young, men and women, stood at Mount Sinai and heard G-d's voice declare “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. You shall not have any other gods beside Me.” This is how God demonstrated to His people who it is they are to worship. At the same time God was teaching the people whom they are not to worship. Worship of anyone other than the God who brought the nation out of Egypt, is idolatry. The Jewish scriptures testify that the Sinaitic revelation was an all-inclusive demonstration. After the revelation at Sinai there can be no room for doubt. Concerning this revelation Moses tells the Jewish people “To you it was demonstrated in order that you know that the Lord is the God, there is none beside Him.” It was engraved upon their hearts from that moment when HaShem bought their eternal allegiance that it was the duty of the Jewish people to worship only the G-d that brought us out of Egypt and no other. HaShem identified the idols quite clearly, by saying "that which I have not commanded" or "that which you do not know" (Deut. 13,18). Anything that HaShem did not specifically command to worship at Sinai is an idol.

The Jewish people were exiled across the world, just as the Torah predicted. Also in accorance to the Torah, many Jews left Judaism and they served gods of wood and stones which their fathers knew not (Deut. 28:64), converting en masse to Christianity, which worships a man nailed to wood, or to Islam, whose adherents bow to a black stone in Mecca. The majority of the Jewish people, however, remained faithful to the G-d that took them out of Egypt and continued bearing testimony to His name. Despite all of the attempts to wean them off of their Torah, the Jews knew that no god could claim the same allegiance as HaShem who saved them from the oppression of Egypt. This nation was never moved to reject the testiony of the ancestors, the ones who acted as G-d's Witnesses.

Jews, do not forget your calling, to bear witness to HaShem's Unity, to His Glory. Do not be discouraged at the tauntings of the nations that we are forsaken, that we are in error, that we are dejected. HaShem, who has been with us through the long exile, has never abandonned us. He will redeem us soon, again, like in the days of the Exodus from Egypt. The nations are in error and despite their claims, someday soon we will be vindicated. "In those days it will happen that ten men, of all [different] languages of the nations, will take hold, they will take hold of the corner of the garment of a Jewish man, saying, 'Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you!" (Zech. 8:23). Truth has never left the Jewish nation because we still practice the same ways as we did over 3500 years ago. It is not us who are wrong, but the nations who refuse to listen to G-d's Witnesses or to their tesimony.

"O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and [things] wherein [there is] no profit. Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they [are] no gods?" (Jer. 16:19)

Shalom over Emet

The Talmud teaches us that HaShem's seal is emet, Truth, and that His name is shalom, Peace. His name is certainly closer to His essence that His seal. That means that although Emet is important, one must be prepared to compromise and not antagonize for the sake of peace.

My decision is that I will refrain from posting overt criticisms of Christianity. I will post about Torah and if that contradicts a Christian belief, so be it. I invite any discussion as long as it remains civil. I will continue to comment and argue at Messianic "Jewish" sites, although more calmly. No more name-calling, although my opinions remain unchanged.

I will take a cue from the rabbis who said: "Be a disciple of Aaron; Love peace and pursue peace, love the creations [man] and draw them close to the Torah."

May we all grow strong in the Torah.

Mipnei Darkei Shalom?

I have a question for all of my readers. In light of recent controversies, divisons and discord sown by discussion of Judaism and Christianity, I am considering not posting on Christianity anymore. I think that this is most unfortunate since, in the words of the Talmud, a disagreement for the sake of Heaven is meant to endure. I find it ridiculous that Christians post to their heart's content very theologically anti-Jewish statement, about the Torah being completed by JC, and yet, when I try to refute these posts, I get irate comments from angry Christians. What's a poor yid to do? Not to mention that there are tons of Jews lost in cults and drinking from impure waters form forein wells.

Should I:

a) Brave angry comments and discord to defend the Torah and set the record straight about the Moshiach?

or

b) Refrain from posting about Christianity for the sake of peace and ignore Jews who desperately need a Torah lifeline?

I am sorry for any anger or hatred.


"Rabbi Eleazar said in the name of Rabbi Chanina: 'Torah Scholars increase peace in the world, as it is said: 'And all your children will be students of G-d and your children will have abundant peace' - do not read `your children (banayich)', but `your builders (bonayich)', for there is an abundant peace for the lovers of Your Torah, and there is no stumbling block for them. May there be peace within your walls, serenity within your palaces. For the sake of my brethren and my comrades, I shall speak of peace in your midst. For the sake of the House of G-d, I will request good for you. G-d will give might to His nation, and G-d will bless His nation with peace." (Berachot 6A)

Yigdal- Exalted

This is the Yigdal prayer. In the video, it is sung according to the Yemenite tune, which is less common than the more widespread Ashkeniza tune (with which I am much more familiar.)

Exalted be the Living G-d and praised, He exists - unbounded by time in His existence. He is One - and there is no unity like His Oneness. Inscrutable and infinite is His Oneness. He has no semblance of a body nor is He corporeal; nor has His holiness any comparison. He preceded every being that was created - the First, and nothing preceded His precedence. Behold! He is Master of the universe to every creature; He demonstrates His greatness and His sovereignty. He granted His flow of prophecy to His treasured splendorous people. In Israel none like Moshe arose again - a prophet who perceived His vision clearly. G-d gave His people a Torah of truth, by means of His prophet, the most trusted of His household. G-d will never amend nor exchange His law for any other one, for all eternity. He scrutinizes and knows our hidden most secrets; He perceives a matter's outcome at its inception. He recompenses man with kindness according to his deed; He places evil on the wicked according to his wickedness. By the End of Days He will send our Moshiach, to redeem those longing for His final salvation. G-d will revive the dead in His abundant kindness - Blessed forever is His praised Name.

Parshat Teruma- Unidolatry

I found this beautiful dvar Torah written by Tzvi Freeman over at Chabad.org. I think that it is extremely appropriate in light of our discussion abouts idolatry and intermediaries.

Unidolatry

By Tzvi Freeman

There is nothing more bizarre: G-d tells us He despises idols -- and He wants us to despise them, as well. He says, "Don't even think of making idols. If idols come to your hands, burn them, destroy them, uproot them. Give your lives rather than give any credence to those idols."

Then, in the innermost chamber of His temple, the place He calls "Holy of Holies," there He tells us to make two golden figurines with wings, one a male, the other a female.

And when we would be at odds with G-d and He with us, these two would face away from one another, back to back. But when the two of us would be in harmony, the temple priests would open the curtains and show us the two figurines entwined in embrace. And they would say, "See how cherished you are by your G-d."

Meaning that one angel represented us and the other...

We must say that it is not images in and of themselves that He wishes us to despise. After all, wouldn't that just make us into another type of idolater -- idolizing the smashing of idols? So when He tells us, "Make two golden angels," we do that, too. Whatever He says -- because it is to Him we are connecting.

Rather, what He so much despises is anything we might place between Himself and us. And that is idolatry -- the acknowledgment of anything or anybody else in our relationship.

So that the image of these two figurines, in effect, are the opposite of idolatry. They are un-idols. With them, He is saying to us, "If you have a problem, if you want to talk, whenever you are wrestling with your world -- don't come to anyone but Me. Not to the moon, not to the sun, not to an angel, not even to the CEO of your corporation. For I cannot bear that there should be anyone or anything between us. I want to embrace you --you wherever you are and you alone. And I want to be embraced by you as though there is nothing else that exists but you and I. For, in truth there is not."

For such a union, there is no other metaphor in all the physical world but the metaphor of the physical union of two lovers.

As the words of Genesis, "G-d made Adam in His image, male and female He created them."

Based on Ohr HaTorah of the Tzemach Tzedek (Chassidic master Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch, 1789-1866), Parshat Trumah.

Messianic Musings

Friends, I proudly state that I am a Messianic Jew. In fact, it is one of the Thirteen Principles of Judaism: "I believe in perfect faith in the coming of the Moshiach, and even though he may tarry, I await his coming ever day." I also know that the Moshiach has not arrived yet and the many pretenders to this claim have all failed or not fulfilled the requirements of the Moshiachood. It's important in these discussions to clarify what the Jewish belief in Moshiach is. After all, the Jews were the ones to whom the concept of Moshiach was originally given, at a time when the rest of the world was praying to sticks and stones. It goes without saying that the Jewish people possess the true knowledge of the Moshiach as opposed to descendants of pagans.

What is the moshiach? The Jewish tradition of "The Moshiach" has its foundation in numerous biblical references, and understands "The Moshiach" to be a human being - without any overtone of deity or divinity - who will bring about certain changes in the world and fulfill certain criteria before he can be acknowledged as "The Messiah". The criteria are:

- He must be Jewish- "...you may appoint a king over you, whom the L-rd your G-d shall choose: one from among your brethren shall you set as king over you." (Deuteronomy 17:15)

- He must be a member of the tribe of Judah- "The staff shall not depart from Judah, nor the sceptre from between his feet..." (Genesis 49:10)

- He must be a descendant of King David and King Solomon- "And when your days (David) are fulfilled, and you shall sleep with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who shall issue from your bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will make firm the throne of his kingdom forever..." (2 Samuel 7:12 - 13)

- He will redeem the Jewish people and ingather the exiles -"And he shall set up a banner for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." (Isaiah 11:12)

- He will rebuild the Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple, in Jerusalem- "...and I will set my sanctuary in their midst forever and my tabernacle shall be with them.." (Ezekiel 37:26 - 27)

- He will bring world peace - "...they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore." (Micah 4:3)

- He will bring the Jewish people back to perfect observance of the Torah - "My servant David shall be king over them; and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall follow My ordinances and be careful to observe My statutes." (Ezekiel 37:24)

- He will spread the rule of G-d and belief in Him around the world, to all peoples - "And it shall come to pass that from one new moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, says the L-rd" (Isaiah 66:23)

All of these criteria are best stated in the book of Ezekiel Chapter 37 verses 24-28:

And David my servant shall be king over them; and they shall all have one shepherd. they shall also follow My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Yaakov my servant, in which your fathers have dwelt and they shall dwell there, they and their children, and their children's children forever; and my servant David shall be their prince forever. Moreover, I will make a covenant of peace with them, it shall be an everlasting covenant with them, which I will give them; and I will multiply them and I will set my sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore. And my tabernacle shall be with them: and I will be their G-d and they will be my people. Then the nations shall know that I am the L-rd who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary will be in the midst of them forevermore.

Judge for yourself: Has any man fulfilled all of these requirements? Keep in mind that the Torah says that the Moshiach will accomplish his task in one try. The Moshiach "shall not fail nor be crushed, till he have set the right in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his teaching" (Isaiah 42:4).

When will Moshiach Tzidkeinu (the Righteous Moshiach) appear? "Today, if you hearken unto His voice!" (Psalm 95:7). He can come today or tomorrow, and every righteous act, mitzvah or good deed accomplished brings his coming closer. Isaiah (60:22) says about G-d, "in its appointed time, I will hasten it". The Rabbis asked how could it be possible for HaShem to hasten the coming of the Moshiach, since he would no longer appear in his appointed time. They resolved this difficulty by saying that if Israel does teshuva and the world is worthy, the Moshiach will come via signs and wonders, miracles and great things, immediately, and if we are not worthy, he will come in his appointed time, through natural means.

How will we recognize the Moshiach? The Rambam in his Hilchot Melachim (11:4) writes:

If a king will arise from the House of David, who, like David his ancestor, delves deeply into the study of the Torah and engages in the mitzvos as prescribed by the Written Law and the Oral Law; if he will compel all of Israel to walk in [the way of the Torah] and repair the breaches [in its observance]; and if he will fight the wars of G‑d; - we may, with assurance, consider him Moshiach.

If he succeeds in the above, defeats all the nations around him, builds the [Beis Ha]Mikdash on its site, and gathers in the dispersed remnant of Israel, he is definitely the Moshiach.[3]

He will perfect the entire world, [motivating all the na­tions] to serve G‑d together, as it is written (Zephaniah 3:9), "For I shall then make the peoples pure of speech so that they will all call upon the Name of G‑d and serve Him with one purpose."

What will life be like? Again, we turn to the Rambam's Hilchot Melachim (12:4-5)

The Sages and prophets did not yearn for the Messianic Era in order that [the Jewish people] rule over the entire world, nor in order that they have dominion over the gentiles, nor that they be exalted by them, nor in order that they eat, drink and celebrate. Rather, their aspiration was that [the Jewish people] be free [to involve themselves] in the Torah and its wisdom, without anyone to oppress or disturb them, and thus be found worthy of life in the World to Come, as we explained in Laws of Repentance (9:2).

In that Era there will be neither famine nor war, neither envy nor competition, for good things will flow in abundance and all the delicacies will be as freely available as dust. The occupation of the entire world will be solely to know G‑d. The Jews will therefore be great sages and know the hidden mat­ters, and will attain an understanding of their Creator to the [full] extent of mortal potential; as it is written (Isaiah 11:9), "For the world will be filled with the knowledge of G‑d as the waters cover the ocean bed."

May HaShem send His righteous Moshiach speedily in our days. Amen, ken yehi ratzon.

The Final Solution to the Zionist Problem

1 woman was murdered and 39 wounded in a Hamas suicide bombing in the Negev city of Dimona, because they were Jews.



Jewish blood is not cheap.

Cross-posted to Goat's Barnyard

Parshat Teruma- Make For Me a House

This week's parsha, Teruma, records G-d's command to Moses to instruct the Children of Israel to donate freely as much wealth as they would like and to contribute to the building of G-d's House, the portable tabernacle known as the Mishkan. The Torah states that the purpose of the contributions of the Jewish people was that they should "make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst" (Exodus 25:8). G-d does not say that the Israelites should make Him a sanctuary so that He will dwell in it, but rather that He desires to dwell in our midst. The Hebrew reads "ve'shachanti betocham", G-d wants each and every one of us to build a home for Him that He should dwell in it.

The Midrash (Tanchuma, Naso 16) relates to us that HaShem's purpose in creating the world was to have a dwelling place for Himself in the lower realms, the physical world. G-d had created untold spiritual splendor in the highest of heavens, with myriads of flawless angels and attendants proclaiming before Him, "holy, holy holy is the Lord of Hosts, the entre earth is filled with His glory!" (Isaiah 6:3), and yet, this supreme and intense kedusha was simply not enough for G-d. Angels have no free will or evil inclination and have no choice as to serve G-d or not. HaShem desired something more, a creature that could choose between good and evil and willingly subjugate his heart in the service of the Almighty. For this reason, G-d created the physical world, and man within it so that he should elevate the mundane and make it spiritual. "The heavens are the heavens of the LORD; but the earth hath He given to the children of men," (Psalms 115:16) the heavens have already been prefected by G-d but it is our duty as human being to make the earth a fitting dwelling place for HaShem.

What a daunting task! How can one person even conceive of perfecting the entire earth for HaShem, the Lord of Hosts? And yet, HaShem never asks the impossible of us. HaShem said to the Children of Israel "Behold, unto HaShem your G-d belongs the heaven, and the heaven of heavens, the earth, with all that therein is... for HaShem your G-d is the G-d of gods and the Lord of lords, the great G-d, the mighty, and the awesome, who regards not persons, nor accepts bribes." (Deut. 10:14-17) And despite G-d's exalted status, His great awesome unknowable essence, "what does HaShem your G-d require of you, but to fear HaShem your G-d, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve HaShem your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul" (ibid. 12). All that G-d asks of us is that we should serve Him and to walk in His ways, that we should make ourselves worthy of His presence.

Whenever a Jew lays on tefillin or says a blessing, he brings G-d's presence down into the world. Whenever he proclaims the Sh'mah and serves as a witness to G-d's absolute unity, he perfects the world in the kingdom of the Almighty. Whenever a person performs a good deed or an act of kindness, they create a dwelling place for G-d in this world. Let us all commit ourselves to bringing heaven at least slightly closer to earth in our own special way.

Cross-posted to Goat's Barnyard

A Testimony for Generations

If a Mormon were to approach with news of the salvation that Joseph Smith brought to the world when the angel Moroni appeared to him, you would certainly roll your eyes. But how do you know that Moroni didn't give him the book of Mormon? How do you know that Gabriel didn't present Muhammad with the Qur'an, while he was in a cave.

Enter the mass revelation at Sinai:

"For ask now of the days past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and from the one end of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? Did ever a people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? Or hath God assayed to go and take Him a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before thine eyes? Unto thee it was shown, that thou mightest know that the LORD, He is God; there is none else beside Him. Out of heaven He made thee to hear His voice, that He might instruct thee; and upon earth He made thee to see His great fire; and thou didst hear His words out of the midst of the fire." (Deut 4: 32-36)