galileeblog

Outpost

2006-03-05T04:38:00.000+02:00

Outpost:

" AFSI CHAIRMAN STRONGLY CRITICIZES EHUD OLMERT FOR THE UNPRECEDENTED VIOLENCE AGAINST JEWISH DEMONSTRATORS
It has been reported that the violence against a group of demonstrators in Amona resulted in over 144 wounded who were evacuated to hospitals in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Eleven people were evacuated by IDF helicopters and six are in serious condition. Close to 300 others were treated in a medical tent giant tent nearby.
One injured protestor said, 'We were standing in the front line, with no intention of using violence or anything, and all of a sudden the police just rained down on us with horses and clubs...�
AFSI chairman, Herbert Zweibon states: �Olmert�s use of violence against the demonstrators in Amona was unprovoked and brutal.�
�Ehud Olmert apparently believes that he impresses his supporters with this violence and that his election bid will be strengthened. That is yet to be seen. It is more likely that his brutality will backfire. The images of police brutality may be the beginning of the end of Olmert�s career - especially since what happened in a Amona seems a clear message that Olmert would �unilaterally disengage� from all of Judea and Samaria in spite of Hamas� victory - turning the heart of Israel into Hamastan.�
'The victory of jihadists in the recent Arab elections has given pause to almost all Western leaders, but Olmert�s response has been callous and brutal disregard for patriotic Jewish citizens of Israel. The body politic of Israel will react with sorrow and the imperative for new leadership.' "

Secret Saddam Tapes on ABC 'Nightline'

2006-02-15T21:55:00.000+02:00

This is going to be a big story. Perhaps even biggeer than the cartoons and the hunting accident -- IF the MSM COVERS IT.

Secret Saddam Tapes on ABC 'Nightline'
This article by reporter Sherrie Gossett originally appeared at CNSNews.com
Secret audiotapes of Saddam Hussein discussing ways to attack America with weapons of mass destruction (WMD) will be the subject of an ABC 'Nightline' program Wednesday night, a former federal prosecutor told Cybercast News Service.
The tapes are being called the 'smoking gun' of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The New York Sun reported that the tapes have been authenticated and currently are being reviewed by the U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
The panel's chairman, Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., declined to give the Sun details of the content or context of the recordings, saying only that they were provided to his committee by former federal prosecutor John Loftus.
Loftus has been tight-lipped about the tapes, telling the Sun only that he received them from a 'former American military intelligence analyst.'
On Tuesday night, Loftus told Cybercast News Service that ABC's 'Nightline' would air an 'extensive report' on the tapes Wednesday night. Loftus also described an ABC News teaser, which reportedly contains audio of Saddam Hussein discussing ways to attack America with WMD. 'Nightline will have a lot more,' said Loftus.
The tapes are scheduled to be revealed to the public Friday morning at the opening session of The Intelligence Summit, a conference which brings together intelligence professionals from around the world.

Rest of story:
http://www.newsmax.com/scripts/printer_friendly.pl?s=pf&page=http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/2/15/90950.shtml

Muhammad by Ann Coulter - Feb 8, 2006

2006-02-09T03:34:00.000+02:00

Townhall.com :: Columns :: Calvin and Hobbes -- and Muhammad by Ann Coulter - Feb 8, 2006:

Just some of it ...

"In order to express their displeasure with the idea that Muslims are violent, thousands of Muslims around the world engaged in rioting, arson, mob savagery, flag-burning, murder and mayhem, among other peaceful acts of nonviolence.
Muslims are the only people who make feminists seem laid-back.
The little darlings brandish placards with typical Religion of Peace slogans, such as: 'Behead Those Who Insult Islam,' 'Europe, you will pay, extermination is on the way' and 'Butcher those who mock Islam.' They warn Europe of their own impending 9/11 with signs that say: 'Europe: Your 9/11 will come' -- which is ironic, because they almost had me convinced the Jews were behind the 9/11 attack.
The rioting Muslims claim they are upset because Islam prohibits any depictions of Muhammad -- though the text is ambiguous on beheadings, suicide bombings and flying planes into skyscrapers.
The belief that Islam forbids portrayals of Muhammad is recently acquired. Back when Muslims created things, rather than blowing them up, they made paintings, frescoes, miniatures and prints of Muhammad. "

Great Pictures From Rally

2006-02-08T03:00:00.000+02:00

Looks like Olmert is history. This is a huge rally. Check out the pictures.

Arutz Sheva - Israel National News

Olmert Looks Ridiculous

2006-02-07T18:07:00.000+02:00

"Residents of Gush Etzion, upon learning that Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert planned a visit to the area, wrote him a letter asking him not to come."

Story:
Arutz Sheva - Israel National News:

That's Right!

2006-02-07T16:02:00.000+02:00

This poll by the ZOA confirms what I wrote last night. Olmert crossed the line at Amona following the Hamas victory. His refusal of an investigation only made it worse. See ya Jihad.

"A poll by a leading Israeli agency shows a majority of Israelis oppose more withdrawals under the current circumstances and reveals that a third of the country is still unsure who to vote for.

The poll shows that the Israeli public, including a large percentage of Kadima voters, does not support additional significant unilateral withdrawals if it becomes clear that the PA will not fight terror and that US President George W. Bush's Road Map Plan is therefore impossible to implement.

The Maagar Mochot poll, carried out by Professor Yitzchak Katz this past Sunday and Monday, also revealed a startling public-opinion trend glossed over by other pollsters in recent months - that the nation is not convinced that Kadima or Likud deserve their vote. Analysts say that this leaves room for the Nationalists and Religious Zionists to attract votes on an anti-withdrawal platform -one-third of the population refused to reveal who they would vote for, or otherwise said they were undecided when questioned by pollsters.

The survey also demonstrates that the lack of support for further withdrawals in the current political climate is even present within Kadima voters, with 46% unwilling to vocalize support for such withdrawals and 32% of self-proclaimed Kadima voters denying that a vote for Kadima is a vote for further retreats. These results illustrate the confusing message of the Kadima Party, whose leaders, Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz both advocate further unilateral withdrawals in response to the victory of Hamas. Kadima's spokespeople and election campaign, however, consists of ambiguous statements and pictures of comatose Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

The poll was commissioned by the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) and consisted of a representative ..."

Complete story:

Arutz Sheva - Israel National News:

Smooth Stone: View the Muhammad Cartoon Gallery

2006-02-07T07:49:00.000+02:00

Smooth Stone: View the Muhammad Cartoon Gallery

Ehud Jihad Olmert has lost his grip.

2006-02-07T07:04:00.000+02:00

He actually thinks he can win the election in March? Everybody already knows that the polls are cooked and that the media is backing his party of criminals and losers at levels of propaganda and distortions as yet unseen in the New Middle East. It’s not really his party though. I should point that out. It is the guy in a coma who hangs on banners the size of buildings behind Jihad as he speaks – like Mao or Stalin.

It’s true that he has the SUPREME COURT and the ATTORNEY GENERAL and the POLICE and the JEWISH ESTABLISHMENT in America – acquiescing silently to his pogrom -- besides the MEDIA on his side, but the people are just not that dumb to vote in a man and a party whose platform is more and more HAMASTAN.

Of course, there are many voters who are so disgusted with what they have seen over the last few years that they don’t want to even acknowledge the system that despises, humiliates and robs them – but that might all have changed at Amona – to be replaced by righteous anger, some real deep down hatred, and a conviction that anything is better than going forward (kadima) with Jihad.

Yes, Jihad Olmert crossed the line in Amona and it won’t take a lot to get the people out to end his pathetic career before it has even begun. What we need now is a little unity on the right to get the ball rolling.

The rally of 100,000 in Jerusalem is just the beginning.

Major Anti-Semitic Motifs in Arab Cartoons

2006-02-06T22:23:00.000+02:00

Essay and cartoons on subject:

Major Anti-Semitic Motifs in Arab Cartoons - Jo�l Kotek

Good Coverage on Amona:

2006-02-06T20:06:00.000+02:00

Olmert has shown he is not a pacifist after all -- when it comes to Jews that is.

See video and pictures here:

Sultan Knish

TheRaphi.com - Amir Peretz' Master Plan to Destroy Israel

2005-12-08T08:13:00.000+02:00

Great column by Steven Plaut:

TheRaphi.com - Amir Peretz' Master Plan to Destroy Israel

Hazit: The Jewish National Front -- By Prof. Paul Eidelberg

2005-12-07T11:26:00.000+02:00

Hazit “The Jewish National Front” joined by the Yamin Israel Party, stands for three basic principles: (1) Am Yisrael, (2) Torat Yisrael, and (3) Eretz Yisrael.

Here is how Hazit, armed with the institutional reform program of Yamin Israel, plans to promote these principles.

1. To promote Am Yisrael, power must be shifted from political parties to the people. Studies indicate that an increasing majority of the people feel powerless. What makes them powerless? Simple: Members of the Knesset (MKs) are not individually elected by, and accountable to the people in regional or constituency elections.

Here are three shameful and disastrous consequences:

a. Shortly before the 1999 elections, 29 MKs hopped over to rival parties, thus betraying their supporters. They were seeking a safe slot on their new party’s list.

b. In 2004, 23 Likud MKs voted for “Disengagement” contrary to their campaign pledge in the 2003 elections. (Would they have done so if they had to go back to a regional constituency where they would have to compete against a rival candidate?)
c. A loser like Shimon Peres “author of Oslo” has been in office for more than four decades! Why? Because he has a safe slot on his party’s list.

Note: Regional elections are consistent with Deut. 1:13: “Select for yourselves men who are wise, understanding, and known to your tribes and I will appoint them as your leaders.” After the Second Temple, the areas of the tribes were called “districts.” Thus, to empower Am Yisrael, MKs must be personally elected by the voters, the practice of all democracies, many smaller in size and population than Israel. This is the position of Hazit, a position opposed by National Union, the National Religious Party, and the Likud.

2. To preserve the Jewish heritage or the concept of Torat Yisrael, we advocate enactment of a law that affirms the Jewish essence of the State as the State’s paramount principle to which all other principles are subordinate. This does NOT entail any theocracy, a term foreign to Judaism. To preserve Israel as a Jewish state, Hazit endorses Yitzhak Rabin’s warning of May 6, 1976:

“We must prevent a situation of an insufficient Jewish majority ....There is room for a non-Jewish minority on condition that it accepts the destiny of the State vis-a-vis the Jewish people, culture and tradition. The minority is entitled to equal rights as individuals with respect to their distinct religion and culture, but not more than that.”

Accordingly:

a. Hazit will insist on enforcement of Basic Law: The Knesset, which prohibits any party that negates the Jewish character of the State.

b. To stop the decline of Israel’s Jewish majority, we must increase aliya dramatically by raising the dignity of the Jewish State.

This necessitates reform of Israel’s undemocratic and unJewish political and judicial institutions, which foster corruption as well as contempt for the Jewish heritage.

c. Hazit advocates amending the “grandfather clause” of the law of Return to limit the influx of non-Jews into the State of Israel.

d. We must also increase and improve the content of Jewish education in the public schools.

Note: Hazit has a purely democratic program to deal with the demographic problem, which, in the final analysis, is NOT a demographic problem. Hazit’s goal is to cultivate Jewish national pride, the mainstay of Eretz Yisrael.

3. The ONLY way to safeguard Eretz Yisrael is to adopt a non-compromising position on the territorial issue. This position need not be based solely on religious grounds. It can be justified on strategic grounds, provided one has the courage to face the truth about the implacable hostility of Israel’s enemies, the so-called Palestinians: the vast majority is committed to Israel’s destruction.

a. A generation of Arab children has been educated to emulate suicide bombers. (Middle East expert Daniel Pipes has warned it would take at least two generations to undo this brainwashing.)

b. The retreat from Gaza has already resulted in Gaza’s becoming the world’s capital of international terrorism.

c. The erroneous and even unlawful ruling that Gaza, Judea, and Samaria constitute “occupied territory” magnifies Arab demands and reinforces their commitment to Israel’s truncation and eventual destruction, as indicated by former IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Ya’alon.

Note I: One of the greatest Talmudists of the 20th century, the renowned Rabbi Dr. Chaim Zimmerman (z’’l), wrote a 10,000 word halachic discourse on “The Prohibition of Abandoning Land in Eretz Yisrael” a discourse that took fully into consideration the principle of pekuach nefesh, the saving of Jewish life. Hazit stands by this halachic conclusion.

Note II. To maximize its ability to maintain a non-compromising position on Eretz Yisrael, Israel must replace its inept and unstable system of multi-party cabinet government. Needed is a presidential system of government whose cabinet consists not of rival party leaders competing for a larger slice of the national budget, but of PROFESSIONALS who support the principles and program of the nationally elected president. Hazit is the leading exponent of this reform.

If you want to empower the Jewish people, if you want your children and grandchildren to live in a Jewish state in the Land of Israel, Hazit is your party.

For further details about Hazit’s program, contact Prof. Paul Eidelberg (eidelberg@foundation1.org).

Press Release

The Merger of Yamin Israel and the Jewish National Front

The Yamin Israel Party, under the present leadership of Prof. Paul Eidelberg, Eleonora Shifrin and Prof. Israel Hanukoglu, is happy to announce its merger with the Jewish National Front (Hazit) under the chairmanship of Baruch Merzel.

Prof. Hanukoglu, a former chairman of Professors for a Strong Israel, and a former science adviser to prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will head Hazit’s election campaign. Prof. Paul Eidelberg, Eleonora Shifrin and Yamin Israel board member Yakov Segal will join the leadership of Hazit.

We are especially pleased that Hazit has enthusiastically adopted Yamin Israel’s comprehensive program of institutional reform. Together we offer an alternative to Israel’s existing system of government, whose political and judicial institutions violate basic democratic as well as Jewish principles.

The purpose of our merger is to serve as a foundation for a broad coalition of Jewish nationalist groups that will offer “for the first time” a real representation to the nationalist camp in the Knesset.

Together we are committed to an uncompromising position regarding Eretz Yisrael, Am Yisrael, and Torat Yisrael.

Respectful of our heritage, we shall fight to transform Israel’s unJewish and unrepresentative system of government whose policies are leading to Israel’s demise as a Jewish state.

We call upon all extra-parliamentary Jewish groups to join Hazit, the one and only Jewish National Front.

Posted by Ted Belman at December 5, 2005 03:59 AM

Israpundit: Hazit: The Jewish National Front: "Hazit: The Jewish National Front

Good Broadcast News

2005-12-05T17:35:00.000+02:00

(IsraelNN.com) ABC Radio's nationally-syndicated "John Batchelor Show" will broadcast live Monday night from the Arutz Sheva Radio "War Wagon" alongside Israel's border with Gaza.

Arutz Sheva, IsraelNationalRadio.com and leading US website WorldNetDaily.com (WND) join in hosting John Batchelor for the next three days in Israel.

In an exclusive interview with Arutz-7, Batchelor explained the purpose of his trip to the Middle East: "This is where the war is. The bad guys are in every direction. I'm going to talk to the bad guys and make it very clear to my audience back home, who the threat is." After a pause, Batchelor added, "And it ain't Israel."

Arutz Sheva - Israel National News

Achdut?

2005-12-02T15:43:00.000+02:00

The article below was published in September 2004:

HOW A POLITICALLY IMPOSSIBLE UNION CAN SAVE ISRAEL

BY PROF. PAUL EIDELBERG

Mr. Tsvi Kukenheim of Beitar Illit, Israel, approached the present writer with an elaborate plan called “Achdut Beit Yisrael”—which may be translated as the “United House of Israel.” Although I did not regard the plan as politically feasible, its logic prompted me to draft a one-page scenario which might be sent to a few nationalist Knesset Members as a preliminary to face-to-face meetings. Accordingly, appointments were made with two MKs known to be utterly opposed to uprooting Jews from Gaza. Their reaction to the Achdut Beit Yisrael plan could be informative; and even if we failed to elicit support for the plan, no one could accuse us for not trying. In any event, the following scenario was sent to our selected Knesset Members:

1. The historical record indicates that the formation of a joint party list tends to produce a number of Knesset seats exceeding the total of those previously won by the individual parties forming that list.

2. To form a joint list, the participating parties must have at least one issue which they regard as of paramount importance—enough to override their differences. That issue is and must be opposition to the Sharon Plan to uproot Jews from their homes in Gaza and, ultimately, from Judea and Samaria, to establish a Palestinian state.

3. A joint list—call it Achdut—consisting of Ichud Leumi, Shas, Mafdal, and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) would have 29 seats: Shas – 11; Ichud Leumi – 7; Mafdal – 6; UTJ – 5.

a. 29 seats far exceed the 19 won by Labor-Meimad in the 2003 elections.
b. Since Likud is split on the Sharon Plan, it will lose perhaps 7 or 8 seats in the next election. These seats will go to Achdut. Since Achdut will then have at least 36 seats, while Likud will have no more than 33, Achdut would be called upon to form the next government! This would constitute nothing less than a political but bloodless revolution, one that would save Israel.
c. If Achdut divides its 36 seats based on the 2003 percentages, the result will be:

Shas (38%) — 14 seats
Ichud Leumi (24%) — 9 seats
Mafdal (21%) — 7 seats
UTG (17%) — 6 seats

4. These proportions can be adjusted before future national elections by means of a primary election with all four parties competing.

5. Achdut’s coalition partner would obviously be the Likud. Achdut’s 36 seats plus an estimated 34 for Likud would yield a total of 70.

6. Problem: Who will be the prime minister? This depends on who is chosen as Achdut’s chairman.

a. If the chairmanship goes to Shas, this would make Achdut a non-starter. The question is whether Shas would forgo the chairmanship in view of the ministerial positions it would receive under an Achdut-led government? (Obviously each of the four parties will receive ministerial posts, which of course will have to be negotiated with Achdut’s coalition partner, the Likud.
b. We favor a religious prime minister, and for many reasons.

7. Other issues on which the four parties of Achdut can agree:

a. Legislation to reverse the declining Jewish majority of the state.
b. Enforcement of Basic Law: The Knesset, which prohibits any party that negates the Jewish character of the state.
c. Enforcement of the 1952 Citizenship Law which empowers the Interior Minister to revoke the citizenship of any Israel national that commits an act of disloyalty to the State. (The term “act” should be defined to protect freedom of speech and press.)
d. Amending the method of appointing Supreme Court judges.
e. Ending the fascist suppression of freedom of speech directed against religious and rightwing opponents of disengagement, meaning the uprooting of Jews from Jewish land.

8. The formation of Achdut is a tacit admission that it was a serious mistake for Ichud Leumi and Mafdal to join the Likud government, especially with Shinui, if only because the Likud and Shinui chairmen (respectively, Ariel Sharon and Tommy Lapid) favor a Palestinian state. This mistake must be publicly acknowledged. Therefore,

a. Each of the four parties of Achdut must publicly state that it will NOT join a Likud government.
b. The four parties must then proceed to work out the details of a joint list agreement. □

November 30, 2005 (14 agonizing months later):

The above plan was sent to Effie Eitam as well as to Benny Elon and Arieh Eldad. We spoke with the latter two, but without results.

Now the 25 Jewish communities of Gaza and northern Samaria are gone. Their loss has split the Likud, from which Sharon disengaged to form the Kadima party. Since Kadima explicitly advocates a Palestinian state, some may think the Achdut Beit Yisrael plan may now be viable, that it might unite on that crucial issue. I don’t think so. Disengagement has revealed that neither Shas nor UTJ has taken an unambiguous stand against a Palestinian state, or at least against abandonment of other parts of Eretz Yisrael. The same may be said of both Ichud Leumi (National Union) and the shrunken Likud.

Furthermore, neither Shas nor UTJ will unite with Mafdal, which abandoned them when it joined the Sharon government; and one can be morally certain that Shas and UTJ will not form a joint list with any secular party.

The reader will therefore understand why the present writer’s Yamin Israel party has merged with Hazit, the Jewish National Front, which takes a non-compromising position on Eretz Yisrael. However, if my assessment of Shas and UTJ is incorrect, then the Achdut Beit Yisrael plan, slightly modified, may be viable. In that case, the parties involved, animated by the spirit of Hazit, should be able to unite around the five issues enumerated in section 7 above.

Jewish Roots of the American Constitution by Paul Eidelberg

2005-11-16T19:09:00.000+02:00

Nov 15,2005

A. Historical Background

1. No nation has been more profoundly influenced by the "Old Testament" than America. Many of America's early statesmen and educators were schooled in Hebraic civilization. The second president of the United States, John Adams, a Harvard graduate, had this to say of the Jewish people:

The Jews have done more to civilize men than any other nation... They are the most glorious Nation that ever inhabited the earth. The Romans and their Empire were but a bauble in comparison to the Jews. They have given religion to three-quarters of the Globe and have influenced the affairs of Mankind more, and more happily than any other Nation, ancient or modern.

2. The curriculum at Harvard, like those of other early American colleges and universities, was designed by learned men of "Old Testament" persuasion. Harvard president Mather (1685-1701) was an ardent Hebraist (as were his predecessors). His writings contain numerous quotations from the Talmud as well as from the works of Saadia Gaon, Rashi, Maimonides and other classic Jewish commentators.

3. Yale University president Ezra Stiles discoursed with visiting rabbis on the Mishna and Talmud. At his first public commencement at Yale (1781), Stiles delivered an oration on Hebrew literature written in Hebrew. Hebrew and the study of Hebraic laws and institutions were an integral part of Yale's as well as of Harvard's curriculum.

4. Much the same may be said of King's College (later Columbia University), William and Mary, Rutgers, Princeton, Dartmouth, and Brown University. Hebrew learning was then deemed a basic element of liberal education. Samuel Johnson, first president of King's College (1754-1763), expressed the intellectual attitude of his age when he referred to Hebrew as "essential to a gentleman's education."

5. This attitude was not merely academic. A year before the American Revolution, Harvard president Samuel Langdon, declared: “The civil polity of Israel is doubtless an excellent general model[of government]."

6. The Higher Law doctrine of the Declaration of Independence is rooted in the Torah, which proclaims “The Laws of Nature and Nature’s God,” and appeals to the “Supreme Judge” and “Providence”—terms lacking in Israel’s Declaration of Independence.

7. During the colonial and constitution-making period, the Americans, especially the Puritans, adopted and adapted various Hebraic laws for their own governance. The legislation of New Haven, for example, was based on the premise that "the judicial laws of God, as they were delivered by Moses, and as they are not ceremonial, shall generally bind all offenders …” Thirty-eight of the seventy-nine statutes in the New Haven Code of 1665 derived their authority from the Hebrew Bible. The laws of Massachusetts were based on the same foundation.

8. The fifteen Capital Laws of New England included the "Seven Noahide Laws" of the Torah, or what may be termed the seven universal laws of morality.

9. Now, without minimizing the influence of such philosophers as Locke and Montesquieu on the framers of the American Constitution, America may rightly be deemed the first and only nation that was explicitly founded on the Seven Noahide Laws of the Torah. It should also be noted that the constitutions of eleven of the original thirteen states made provision for religious education. Some even had religious qualifications for office.

B. The Institutions Prescribed by the American Constitution

1. The House of Representatives represents 435 districts of the United States, where the people of each district elect one person to represent their views and interests. The idea of district elections is implicit in the Torah. We read in Deut. 1:13: “Select for yourselves men who are wise, understanding, and known to your tribes and I will appoint them as your leaders.”

a. Exodus 18:19 states: “seek out from among all the people men with leadership ability, God-fearing men--men of truth who hate injustice.” Similar qualifications are prescribed in the original constitutions Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.

b. Each tribe was to select the best men to be their representatives. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch comments that “each tribe (shevet) is to choose out of its own midst men whose character can only be known by their lives [hence whose character] is known only to those who have associated with them.” This is the biblical source of residential requirements for Representatives and Senators in the United States. Also, what is here called a tribe was called a district (pelech) after the Second Temple.

c. Finally, it is a principle of Jewish law that “No legislation should be imposed on the public unless the majority can conform to it” (Avoda Zara 36a). This requires legislators to consider or consult the opinions of their constituents. Hence representative democracy can be assimilated to Judaism by adding that representatives must be “men who are wise and haters of bribes.” This would make for an aristocratic democracy, or a universal aristocracy—a kingdom of priests, of noblemen.

2. The Senate. The Senate represents the 50 states of the Federal Union; it therefore represents the Federal principle. But the idea of federalism goes back to the Torah and the twelve tribes. Each tribe had its own distinct identity, its own governor and its own judicial system.

3. The Presidency. Unlike Israel, which has a Plural Executive or Cabinet consisting of a prime minister and other ministers representing different political parties in the Knesset, the United States has a Unitary Executive, namely, the President. Of course the President has a Cabinet, but its members cannot hold any other office and they are wholly responsible to the President, not to any political party.

a. Now it so happens that a Unitary Executive is a Torah principle! Thus, when Moses told Joshua to consult the elders when he was about to lead the Jews across the Jordan, God countermanded Moses: there can only be one leader in a generation. And if you look at tractate Sanhedrin 8a, you will see that Jewish law opposes collective leadership. Nor is this all.

b. Just as a President of the United States must be a native-born American and not a naturalized citizen, so a king of Israel must be born of a Jewish mother and not a ger or convert.

4. The Supreme Court. Just as the American Supreme Court is the final interpreter of the American Constitution, so the Great Sanhedrin is the final interpreter of the Jewish Constitution, the Torah.

So we see that the original American Constitution was very much rooted in Torah Judaism.

C. Brief Comparison with Israel’s political and judicial institutions

1. The Knesset: MKs are not individually elected by the voters in constituency elections—hence there is no accountability. In fact, MKs can ignore public opinion with impunity, as 23 Likud MKs did when they voted for Disengagement, contrary to their pledge to the nation in the January 2003 election.

2. The Government: The cabinet is collection of rival party leaders competing for a larger slice of the national budget. This undermines national unity and national purpose. The average government last less than two years, which makes it impossible to pursue a consistent and long-range national strategy.

3. The Supreme Court: The Court is a self-appointed oligarchy. It refuses to enforce the Foundations of Law Act 1980 which would make Jewish law first among equals. Chief Justice Aaron Barak writes: “It should never be said that a particlar legal system has the primary claim to interpretive inspiration.” Imagine a US Supreme Court justice teaching Americans: “It should never be said that the American legal system has the primary claim to interpertive inspiration.”

Israel’s Supreme Court is the only court in the world that scorns the legal heritage of its own people. It has repeatedly handed down decisions that violate the basic beliefs and values of the Jewish people.

D. Conclusion: The political and judicial institutions of the so-called Jewish State are less Jewish than the political and judicial institutions now operating in the non-Jewish democratic world!

Netanyahu Warns Gaza Deal Endangers Israel

2005-11-16T15:13:00.000+02:00

Arutz Sheva - Israel National News

07:38 Nov 16, '05 / 14 Cheshvan 5766

(IsraelNN.com) In an address before the Knesset Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee, former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu slammed the agreement reached between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) regarding the Rafiah border crossing in Gaza and a travel link to PA areas.

Regarding reports of bus service from Rafiah to PA autonomous areas in Judea and Samaria, the former prime minister stated such a reality will pose a serious danger to the national security interests.

Citing an example, Netanyahu explained that Strella missiles could easily be transported from Gaza to an area near Ben-Gurion International Airport, and then used to down a commercial flight. He warned the travel link will serve as a conduit for the transport of weapons and ammunition, adding PA leaders may not be trusted at this stage.

Among the objections mentioned by Netanyahu was Israel�s permitting the construction of a port, which he explained would once again serve as a link for terrorists to the outside world, thereby facilitating terrorist operations."

Israel in Real Danger

2005-11-16T14:45:00.000+02:00

From Debka:http://www.debka.com/

US secretary Rice forced the accord through in a diplomatic blitz Tuesday Nov. 15

The protests came from the top levels of Israel’s armed forces, the Shin Beit and all other intelligence services and the police. Rarely before have so many expressions of alarm been rushed to the head of government by all of top security agencies.

By this extreme step -

1. Each of the branches submitted separate warnings to prime minister Ariel Sharon and defense minister Shaul Mofaz. They were alerted to the grave hazards in store when the crossings are reopened later this month and the rest of the accord goes into effect, shorn as they have been of appropriate security controls.

2. Each branch placed its reservations in writing to clearly record where responsibility lies for the worst possible contingencies.

DEBKAfile’s security sources report gloomy forecasts from all the leading officials responsible for Israeli national security and the war on terror. The accord signed Tuesday caught them in the middle of constructing a new security system designed to safeguard the country after Israeli troops were pulled out of the Gaza Strip. The new accord threatens to push this system aside. Israel is divested of the means of keeping terrorists from making free use of the crossings which reopen Nov. 25 and the Palestinian convoys driving from Gaza to the West Bank and back from Dec. 15.

There is no longer any barrier to Palestinian terrorists bringing shoulder-launched anti-air missiles any time to the point from which they can turn Israel’s international airport into a disaster zone and paralyze international air traffic to and from the country.

Our sources reveal that the prime minister’s office made sure the six-page accord left by Rice was not translated into Hebrew. Israeli television and radio audiences were therefore not exposed to its contents.

Israel is denied any veto power over the arrival of terrorists from Sinai to Gaza or from Gaza to the West Bank in both directions. A wanted terrorist can simply board a bus in Gaza and commute to Hebron or Ramallah without restraint. Israel officials may not stop and search it the vehicle, albeit on Israeli soil, let alone make an arrest. They can only gnash their teeth in frustration.

Equally freedom of control is promised the merchandise and container trucks. The

American and European inspectors at the Gaza-Israeli crossings will not allow the Israeli officers free rein to effectively search them for hazardous freights lest the 150-per-day quota be slowed. The Palestinians will thus be quite free to move as many terrorists and as much water material and explosives as they like between the Gaza and the West Bank.

Therefore, when Israeli security leaders saw with dread the collapse of their painfully wrought war on terror – a NATO military mission arrived in Israel as Rice left to study Israel’s tactics and techniques – circles close to Palestinian minister Mohammed Dahlan in Ramallah were crowing with delight. They praised Condoleezza Rice for helping them break down Israel’s regime of crossings and barriers. At last, they said, we can enjoy full freedom of movement.

DEBKAfile - Rice Secures Rafah Package Stripped of Adequate Counter-Terror Safeguards

2005-11-15T17:36:00.000+02:00

The White House ordered Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to stay over in Jerusalem until the deal for the Gaza Strip’s international crossings was in the bag. She was almost there – “an accord is within sight” – Monday, Nov. 14. But she delayed her departure to join President Bush in South Korea until it was settled down to the last detail at issue between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

The breakthrough was announced after she met defense minister Shaul Mofaz Tuesday morning. It was achieved after Israel backed down from virtually all its demands for security safeguards against terrorist incursions.

DEBKAfile’s political sources analyze some of the agreement’s salient features.

The Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt will reopen on November 25 as a Palestinian-Egyptian facility with a European presence. Video images will be transferred to a control center at the Kerem Shalom crossing which is on Israeli soil. It will be manned by Israelis and Palestinians with a European presence.

Israel will not be entitled to demand that suspected terrorists be kept out or detained. The Palestinians will only be required to report on the arrivals of VIPs, diplomats and humanitarian cases – no one else. Mofaz lauded this as “another stage in Egypt’s involvement.” He made no reference to the failure of Egyptian border police’s failure to secure the Philadelphi border enclave against the massive smuggling of arms and terrorists since the withdrawal of Israeli troops.

As for the crossings from Gaza into Israel, Israel surrendered the prerogative to shut down them down to secure personnel against terror alerts, although these facilities are notoriously prime terrorist targets. Jerusalem has undertaken to first notify the US embassy in Tel Aviv and back up its “request” with specific information, thus parting with its intelligence secrets. It must then wait for permission from Washington – or its refusal - to the closure.

Effective preventive action may well be held up by this delay.

By surrendering this point, Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon relinquished a key element of Israel’s sovereign right to self-defense and agreed to hamstring its own army’s freedom to combat terror. The presence of Palestinian customs inspectors at Kerem Shalom makes an additional inroad on Israeli sovereignty.

From Dec. 15 to January 15, “secured Palestinian convoys” will start rolling across southern Israel from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank. The Palestinians want their own forces to secure the trucks. All that has been settled is that the Americans and Europeans will determine the procedures for their passage through Israeli territory.

There is no sign of the Sharon government standing up to Washington’s demands on that point either, so it is more than likely that Palestinian “forces” will be let loose on a wide swathe of southern Israel to escort 150 trucks a day bound for Hebron, Ramallah, Jenin and Nablus.

The provisions for the Rafah crossing will also be applied to Gaza’s deep sea port construction of which begins without delay. Israel has therefore forfeited control and oversight over incoming goods and people to Gaza by sea as well as overland.

DEBKAfile - Rice Secures Rafah Package Stripped of Adequate Counter-Terror Safeguards

Column: The Lost Princess

2005-11-15T13:02:00.000+02:00

Last week I was reading Rabbi Nachman’s story, “The Lost Princess” and I understood it in a way that I never did before and I write about it in the hope of giving honor to Rabbi Yisroel Ber Oddesser, whose yartzeit is on the 18th of Cheshvan and whose insights and teachings brought me to mine.

The story starts like this (the whole story can be found here http://www.breslov.org/princess.html):

“The Rebbe spoke up and said, "While on my journey I told a story. Whoever heard it had a thought of repentance." (And this is the story):

There was once a king who had six sons and one daughter. This daughter was very precious to him and he loved her very much. He spent much time with her. One time, he was alone with her on a certain day and he became angry at her. He inadvertently said, "May the Evil One take you away!" At night she went to her room. In the morning, no one knew where she was. Her father was very upset, and he went here and there looking for her. The viceroy realized that the king was very upset. He stood up and asked that he be given a servant, a horse, and some money for expenses, and he went to search for her. He searched for her very much, for a very long time, until he found her. (Now he tells how he searched for her until he found her.)”

So what was my insight?

It starts with a question -- who is the Lost Princess?

Rabbi Yisroel Ber, in his book of letters, Ebay ha Nachal, gives small and passing hints, keys if you would, into seeing the stories as he understood them. The English translation of Ebay ha Nachal, Blossoms of Spring, can be found here:

http://www.moharan.com/pages_album/texte_livres/ibe-entier1.pdf.

I find a subtle hint through Rabbi Yisroel Ber’s choice and juxtaposition of the first two teachings of Rabbi Nachman’s discussed in Ebay ha Nachal. First, the relevant part of the first letter:

“On the Last Rosh Hashanah before his passing, Rabbi Nachman, of blessed memory, said the awesome teaching in Likutey Moharan II, 8, which says that one must seek and search very much for the holy and prophetic spirit of the True Tzaddik and Leader and that the main perfection of faith, which is the essence of Judaism, is through him specifically.”

Now, what could this have to do with the story?

Stated most simply, Rabbi Nachman is the Lost Princess – whose spirit must be searched out by all of us, we being represented by the viceroy.

Two questions on this come to mind. One has to do with the fact that one of the standard interpretations of the story is that the Lost Princess is the shechinah, or divine presence, and so there seems to be a contradiction here with that standard interpretation. The other is the question of gender, why would Rabbi Nachman represent himself, if he indeed was speaking of himself here, in the feminine?

The second source discussed in Ebay ha Nachal (in the Hebrew version) that I mentioned earlier answers these questions in a way that I find more than satisfactory.

That source is from Likutey Moharan I, 70. It speaks of the humility and humbleness of the True Tzaddik and how, since he makes himself as dust and ashes, he has the power to draw everyone towards him, as the earth has gravity that pulls everything towards it. This quality of the True Tzaddik is why he is called the Tzaddik Yesod HaOlam, or the Tzaddik that is the foundation of the world – the one with the power to draw to him that resembles the power of gravity. His humility also draws the Divine Presence, or the shechinah, down, as Moshe merited through is humility which exceeded all men. Rabbi Nachman also speaks there about how the word Mishcan, or the tabernacle, the place where the shechinah rests, is of the same root as the word Mishcon, which means a guarantee -- a Mishcanta being the Hebrew word for a mortgage. He teaches that we see from the root of the word Mishcan that Hashem promises us that he will be with us in every generation – even in the depths of the exile when there is no physical Mishcan or Beit HaMikdash – and that the shechinah is found by the True Tzaddik who makes himself as dust and ashes and draws the shechinah down.

Both questions on my interpretation are answered. First, there is no contradiction between the seeing the Lost Princess as the shechinah and as Rabbi Nachman because they are interrelated as explained. Secondly, the use of the feminine is not problematic because when he speaks of himself he is also speaking of the shechinah, as explained, and the shechinah is described as feminine.

Perhaps I should have prefaced all of this by saying that while we are told to search for meaning in the stories we are at the same time warned not to limit their meaning – which in their deepness and secrets are completely beyond us. Still, the insights of Rabbi Yisroel Ber are to be given special attention and respect and I hope that my attempt to interpret in his fashion does honor to him and to Rabbi Nachman.

Column: France and Geneva

2005-11-08T13:06:00.000+02:00

According to Debka, al Qaeda is in Europe in very large numbers. This means that the escalation of violence in France is almost certain. Debka also reports that al Qaeda has a “massive” and growing presence in Sinai, and Gaza.

How significant is the presence of al Qaeda in Europe?

On February 20, 2004, Debka claimed that French intelligence statistics estimated that:

“al Qaeda had recruited in France between 35,000 and 45,000 fighters and was organizing them in military-style units. They meet regularly for training in the use of weapons and explosives, combat tactics and indoctrination and are controlled from local and district command centers under the organization’s national French command. In Germany, Al Qaeda’s numbers are estimated at 25,000 to 30,000 men.”

Debka sees evidence of the influence of al Qaeda in France over the last days in the following incident:

. “On Nov. 6, the Union of Islamic Organizations in France, UOIF, issued a fatwa forbidding Muslims to seek “divine grace” by blindly attacking private and public property and urging meditation and calm. The following night, bands of marauding Muslim youths extended their areas of attack from outlying city districts to urban centers and started shooting at police officers.”

That the bands of Muslims are ignoring a fatwa by the UOIF, shows, according to Debka that there is another, more important, and far more dangerous player involved behind the scenes:

“The controlling hand, far from being legitimate Muslim authority, is beginning to emerge as the very organization that has for several years been recruiting young fighters in French Muslim ghettos to fight al Qaeda’s wars against the West in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Iraq and other sectors.”

According to the analysis at Debka, the leaders in Europe are out of touch with the reality of al Qaeda’s influence. Preferring to maintain that the riots are economic and social in nature they are ignoring what they fear most and are appealing to moderate Muslims while facing their own intifada:

“France’s leaders, like the British and Dutch, are clinging to the hope that sympathetic dialogue with moderate Muslims will calm the street, despite all the evidence that radical, activist Muslims do not heed established Islamic authorities.”

In a recent article titled “Jihad in Europe?” which appeared on Frontpagemag.com, Robert Spencer, director of Jihad Watch, asks the relevant question:

“As is becoming increasingly well known, Osama bin Laden and others all over the world want to unify the Islamic world under a restored caliphate, reestablish the rule of Islamic law, and extend the hegemony of that law, Sharia, to the rest of the world also. Does that play any role in the French riots?”

Spencer questions, almost to the point of rejection, the socio-economic spin that the media and Europe have put on the riots and brings a long list of evidence pointing to Jihad.

One of the more revealing pieces of evidence he brings is from a Muslim blogger:

“The cops are petrified of us, everything must burn, starting Monday, the operation ‘Midnight Sun’ starts, tell everyone else, rendezvous for Momo and Abdul in Zone 4 ... jihad Islamia Allah Akhbar.” Another added: “You don’t really think that we’re going to stop now? Are you stupid? It will continue, non-stop. We aren’t going to let up. The French won’t do anything and soon, we will be in the majority here.”

Anti-Semitic attacks and the hands off approach to Muslim businesses by the rioters also weigh against the socio-economic spin according to Spencer.

Ynet reported the following anti-Semitic incidents:

“Arsonists threw at least two Molotov cocktails at synagogues in Pierrefitte-sur-Seine and Garges, leaving worshippers unhurt and elsewhere, near the synagogue of Stains, about 40 rioters confronted police forces who were braced for an attack.”

Meanwhile, in what would appear to be a bizarre juxtaposition of events, Israel's inner cabinet voted on November 1st to request the European Union to monitor and secure the Egyptian-Gaza border. Sylvan Shalom, Israel's foreign minister, told Haaretz, "Our objective is for the Europeans to have enforcement capabilities in the field, and not just a symbolic presence".

Enforcement capabilities in the field? Count on Europe to keep out the hordes? Maybe later, as a reward, become a part of the EU by adopting the Geneva Accord? Give up everything to the 67’ borders and expel another 100,000 Jews from their homes? Give up half of Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount? Extend the “right of return” for “Palestinians” to within the 67’ borders?

All of this and more is the price Israel would pay to be part of the EU via Geneva. Yet, unless something changes fast – and the intifada in France might be just the right catalyst – this is the “peace plan” that heaven forbid will be blindly and tyrannically forced upon the Jewish people by a handful of Europhile “leaders.”

Who is The Century Foundation?

2005-11-08T12:00:00.000+02:00

And why do they support the Geneva Accord? Read this. It's pretty scary stuff:

Israel and the EU: A Path to Peace Printer-Friendly
Michael Shtender-Auerbach, The Century Foundation, 11/3/2005

Israel's inner cabinet voted on November 1st to request the European Union to monitor and secure the Egyptian-Gaza border. Sylvan Shalom, Israel's foreign minister, told Haaretz, "Our objective is for the Europeans to have enforcement capabilities in the field, and not just a symbolic presence".

That Israel would rely on the Europeans to help guarantee any dimension of a developing Israeli-Palestinian peace is a significant shift. It certainly presents a major foreign policy challenge for the EU, which has offered itself in many roles but not as an enforcer. But it also shows Israel's underlying desire for a stronger relationship with Europe.

The new reality is growing interest in the possibility for Israel to become a full member of the EU. Historical, cultural, and most importantly economic elements continue to bind Israel to Europe, and the EU relationship can be critical for the Israeli economy in coming decades. As a result, Europe now has an unprecedented opportunity to step up to the plate, restart the stalled "road map," which is set to expire in December, and act as a peace broker to clear the biggest obstacle to Israel's ascension into the Union-Israelis' unresolved conflict with Palestinians.

As far back as 1946, David Ben-Gurion imagined Israel as a part of the British Commonwealth, with a status similar to that of New Zealand and Australia. Politicians as diverse as Simon Peres, Benjamin Netanyahu and Sylvan Shalom have all supported the idea of Israeli membership in the EU. Clearly, interest exists in Israel. But while both Spain and Italy have expressed interest, the process has never been taken seriously by the majority of European nations or their citizens.

This latest request of Israel for the EU to play a major role in Israel's security should come as a welcome recognition in Brussels. It hands this 25-nation confederacy an unprecedented opportunity to play a decisive role in brokering peace between Israel and Palestine. The Israeli leadership has demonstrated time and again that it fears a univocal European policy that could hold both sides' feet to the fire of reform. This fear is a potent symbol of the new power that can be wielded by Europe in the interests of international peace.

For Israel, EU membership would not only provide a strong security guarantee, but would afford them all of the economic advantages of the vast EU market. For the security establishment, it could possibly mean even opening the door to membership in NATO. The EU and Israel already have a formal Cooperation Agreement—ratified five years ago by the Knesset, Israel's parliament— and this relationship has influenced economic, political and cultural exchanges. As recently as last week, the Council of European Ministers voted in favor of allowing Israel to join the Euro-Mediterranean cumulation of origin zone, which will have enormous financial benefits for the Israeli textile industry.

The European consensus on what Israelis and Palestinians need to do for peace is well known. To gain entry into the EU, Israel would need to negotiate a peace agreement with the Palestinians largely consistent with Security Council resolution 242-almost certainly similar to the terms proposed in the Geneva Initiative—and to settle its border dispute with Syria in the Golan.

In addition, Israel will, like every other candidate member, have to comply with the majority of the Copenhagen criteria for the EU member candidates. The common legal basis exists: Israeli governing bodies, legal and economic systems are all modeled on the British system. As an EU member at peace with its neighbors, Israel would bolster Europe's status as a world leader and international power broker. This would also provide Israelis with the security and membership in a community of nations that accept and protect them and to give the Palestinians their best hope for statehood in the long battle for sovereignty.

Israel should do all it can to reach toward the stability and economic vitality promised by closer ties with Europe. The EU should seize this opportunity to step fully into its new role as a major power and use that influence to facilitate the long awaited final status resolution of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

Michael Shtender-Auerbach is a public affairs officer at The Century Foundation.

Israel and the EU: A Path to Peace

Rivlin States Obvious -- Aharon Barak in Denial

2005-11-03T17:38:00.000+02:00

"'The Israeli public feels the Israeli democracy's police and legal mechanisms are designed to serve their own political goals,' Rivlin continued.

'I don't know if the High Court will be able to win the confidence of those who don't have a stake in what the court has come to represent,' Rivlin concluded.

High Court President Aharon Barak maintained at the gathering that 'in the courthouses in Israel there are professional judges, who work without political influence, and before them everyone is equal.'

'Israeli legal judgement is apolitical. This is how we have been since the first day of the state, this is how we are now, and this, I am sure, is how we will be in the future as well,' Barak said.

'The struggle against terror has to be carried out within the boundaries of the law, not in violation of the law. Individual rights have to be guarded in times of fighting as in times of peace. This is a war carried out with human rights in mind.'"

Full Story:
Haaretz - Israel News:

Abdul Hadi Palazzi - Fiaccolata per Israele

2005-11-03T16:29:00.000+02:00

Tonight, Abdul Hadi Palazzi tells, there will be a huge pro-Israel demonstation in front of the Iranian Embassy in Rome.

90 % of Italian politicians are joining, including - for the first time - most of the leftists. They accepted to demonstrate with Israeli flags and with panels saying "WE ARE ALL ZIONISTS!" Never happened before...

Abdul Hadi Palazzi - Fiaccolata per Israele

Jihad Watch: Muslims in Paris riot for sixth night

2005-11-02T22:44:00.000+02:00

Riots Plague Paris Suburbs for Sixth Night," from AP, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

PARIS — Unrest spread across troubled suburbs around Paris in a sixth night of violence Tuesday as police clashed with angry youths and scores of vehicles were torched in at least nine towns, local officials said.
Police in riot gear fired rubber bullets at advancing gangs of youths in Aulnay-sous-Bois — one of the worst-hit suburbs — where 15 cars were burned, said the prefecture that runs the Seine-Saint-Denis region. Youths lobbed Molotov cocktails at an annex to the town hall and threw stones at the firehouse. It was not immediately clear whether there were injuries from the clashes.

Four people were arrested for throwing stones at police in nearby Bondy where 14 cars were burned, the prefecture said. A fire engulfed a carpet store, but it was not immediately clear whether the blaze was linked to the suburban unrest.

Officials gave an initial count of 69 vehicles torched in nine suburbs across the Seine-Saint-Denis region that arcs Paris on the north and northeast.

The area, home mainly to families of immigrant origin, often from Muslim North Africa, is marked by soaring unemployment and delinquency. Anger and despair thrive in the tall cinder-block towers and long "bars" that typically make up housing projects in France.

No trouble was immediately reported in Clichy-sous-Bois, where rioting began Thursday following the accidental deaths of two teenagers hiding to escape police in a power substation.

Nota bene: when moderate Muslim leader Dalil Boubakeur, head of the Paris mosque, tried to restore calm, his car was pelted with stones and he had to rush away.

See comments here and full story:

Jihad Watch: Muslims in Paris riot for sixth night

John Fonte Discussed by Daniel Pipes Back in 2002

2005-11-02T20:09:00.000+02:00

[Leftist] Globalthink's Perils
by Daniel Pipes
New York Post
September 24, 2002

In the debate over Iraq, the Democrats and most allied governments are demanding United Nations Security Council endorsement of a military campaign - or they are against it.

This is a strange position. The U.S. government, with an over two-century record of forwarding human rights and defeating tyrants, is to defer to the United Nations? The duly elected leaders of the United States should step aside and let assorted dictators make key decisions affecting American national security?

There is a reason for this strange idea, John Fonte of the Hudson Institute reveals in an eye-opening article in the current issue of Orbis magazine. In recent decades, the "progressivism" rejected by America's democratic institutions - the executive branch, Congress, the courts, state and local governments - has been gaining at the United Nations and other undemocratic international institutions. And many Western elites - even more so in Europe than here - have so internalized this change that they now see the United Nations & Co. as more legitimate on these issue.

This attempted end-run around American democracy, Fonte argues, represents a significant movement, which he dubs "transnational progressivism." I prefer the name "bureaucratic leftism," but whatever one calls it, Fonte establishes that, in the tradition of fascism and communism, this effort constitutes a significant "challenge to liberal democracy."

Fully to absorb its threat requires reading Fonte's article in full. In summary, unable to achieve their goals through the ballot box, law professors, political activists, foundation officers, NGO bureaucrats, corporation executives, and practicing politicians now seek to achieve those goals by denigrating the two central pillars of modern liberal democracy, the individual citizen and the nation-state.

Bureaucratic leftism diminishes the role of the individual in many ways:

* The group over the individual: A person's unique capabilities and outlook have less importance than his membership in the ascriptive groups (racial, ethnic or gender) into which he is born.

* Victim vs. Oppressor : The world divides into good and bad groups, with nonwhites, women, immigrants and homosexuals by their very nature in the former category.

* Fairness requires group proportionalism: "Victim" groups should be represented in all facets of life (executives, prisoners) proportionate to their percentage of the population.

* Democracy as power sharing by groups: Democracy ceases to mean majority rule and becomes a matter of dividing the spoils among those ascriptive groups.

* Victims' values rule: Institutions must shed the outlook of the "oppressor" culture and adopt that of the nonwhite, female, immigrant and homosexual victims.

* Out with national narratives and symbols: Traditional notions of history "privilege" the oppressors and must be discarded. In the American case, for example, the conventional emphasis on European settlers is jettisoned in favor of a multicultural "convergence" of three civilizations - Amerindian, West African and European.

Then bureaucratic leftism weakens the nation-state:

* Denigration of state sovereignty: States should cede their powers to higher bodies, such as the European Union or the United Nations. In this spirit, Israel's Foreign Minister Shimon Peres has called for a de-emphasis on sovereignty in his region and argued for a Middle Eastern version of the European Union.

* Citizen of the world: Instead of giving ultimate allegiance (defined as who you would die for) to the state, a vague loyalty goes to some form of global membership.

* Immigrant rights prevail: Immigrants should be able to relocate freely, impose their cultures on and offer only ambiguous loyalty to their new countries of residence. Long-established peoples in a region should accept "multiculturalism" with a smile.

Although forwarded by progressives and garbed in post-modern lingo, Fonte shows that bureaucratic leftism represents a throwback to a pre-modern age in Europe when rulers were unelected. Today's bureaucrats effectively fill the role of yesteryear's kings.

Predictably, the left's newest project is having more success in Western countries other than the United States - Canada, France, Israel and New Zealand come to mind. Fonte implies that Americans will end up with the main burden of fending off this ugly system, just as it did fascism and communism - and is now doing with militant Islam.

Only by recognizing bureaucratic leftism for what it is can it be stopped before its malign ideas have a chance to do real damage.

[Leftist] Globalthink's Perils - article by Daniel Pipes

Paul Eidelberg - The Hidden Agenda of Ariel Sharon and Aharon Barak

2005-11-02T19:28:00.000+02:00

In February of this year, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told his cabinet, “Anyone who speaks or writes against the Disengagement Plan is guilty of incitement”—a criminal offense.
With this fascist decree, Sharon laid the foundation for the countless abuses of civil rights perpetrated by the police and the judiciary against those who protested against the forced expulsion of 10,000 Jews from Gaza and northern Samaria.

Sharon’s arch collaborator in this immoral and unlawful expulsion was none other than Aharon Barak, President of the Supreme Court, otherwise known as the High Court of Justice. Their hidden agenda: to hasten the demise of Israel as a Jewish state.

Ponder the following: The Israel Center and Honenu Legal Defense Association has just issued a report entitled “Israeli Government Violations of Disengagement Opponents’ Civil Rights.” Passages of the report have been cited in The Jerusalem Post (November 1, 2005).

The authors of the report, Itzhak Barn, Yitzhak Klein and Shmuel Medad, contend that “Israel’s law enforcement authorities engaged in widespread and systematic abuses of the civil rights of opponents of disengagement and of due process in prosecuting those accused of violating the law.” They state that “the phenomenon documented in this report did not occur in a vacuum, were not the acts of rogue cops, rogue prosecutors or rogue judges, but were the consequence of Israel’s law enforcement and judicial systems.”

The authors charge that “official directives, judgments of the Supreme Court and public statements by the heads of the legal system” encouraged the view that “civil and due process rights of opponents of the government’s policy deserved short shrift, and to signal to the police that these rights might be violated with impunity.”

The report avows that Attorney General Menahem Mazuz and the courts were the prime culprits in violating the rights of the protesters. The authors claim that “The state prosecution service and the judiciary chose to see protest as a form of rebellion and authorized harsh measures against those taking part in it. Police were all but promised immunity from punishment for violation of the rights of disengagement’s opponents, and accordingly gave those rights little respect.”

The report charged, that “in the early rulings, the Supreme Court [headed by Aharon Barak] set the tone for the attitude of the lower courts throughout the disengagement process by referring to acts of protest as ‘ideological crimes.’” (This accords with Sharon’s statement to the cabinet cited above.)

The report also accused the courts of violating “the terms of the arrest law by improperly holding protesters in detention after their arrest.” “Pretrial detention was imposed not in a few or in exceptional cases, but massively and systematically”—surely to intimidate and deter the protesters.

The Post concludes, saying that the report cited case studies of different types of human rights violations “including extended detentions and police brutality toward minors, police brutality in other situations, false arrest and violations of prisoners’ rights and of due process, the allegedly unjustified involvement of the GSS [General Security Service] in fighting the protest movement and suppression of legal dissent.”

No one should be surprised by this report. Did not Knesset Speaker Ruby Rivlin candidly declare, in an interview with Ha'aretz (June 5, 2003), that Israel is ruled by a “gang of law”? Did he not indicate that Prime Minister Sharon and Supreme Court President Aharon Barak are the leaders of this gang?

Has not Mr. Sharon been called a “dictator” by various members of the Knesset? Has not the Supreme Court repeatedly handed down rulings that violate the abiding beliefs of the Jewish people? Is it not the case that these rulings are intended to transform the Jewish state into “a state of its citizens”—the agenda implied in the March 2003 coalition guidelines of the Sharon government?

As the present writer has elsewhere demonstrated, Sharon’s adoption of the Left’s territorial withdrawal plan, which was criticized by Israel’s highest military and intelligence officials, has no strategic and no diplomatic justification. That plan is ideologically motivated. This could have been discerned from the Barak court’s bald statement that protests against disengagement are “ideological crimes.”

Barak’s agenda is clear. He ruled that even though the expulsion of Jews from their homes violates Basic Law: Human Dignity and Freedom, their expulsion may be justified in cases of national security—as if IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen Moshe Ya’alon and a dozen other experts had not testified that the Sharon withdrawal plan would undermine Israel’s nation security. What animates Judge Barak?

Consciously or unconsciously, he must be aware that withdrawal from any part of the sacred Land of Israel—all of which is identified with the teachings of the prophets and sages—will gradually shrink the historical memory of the Jewish people.

Hence it is my contention that territorial withdrawal is intended to undermine Jewish national identity and thereby prevent the eventual political ascendancy of the prolific religious community—of Jews like those of Gush Katif.

Therefore, not the Arabs, not terrorism, but as indicated in the above report, the hidden agenda of Ariel Sharon and Aharon Barak is to emasculate Jews and erase Israel’s Jewish character! This is the overriding challenge confronting the Jewish people.

*****
Prof. Eidelberg, special to TheRaphi.com, is a political scientist, author and lecturer; co-founder and president of The Foundation For Constitutional Democracy and is the President of the Yamin Israel movement.

TheRaphi.com - The Hidden Agenda of Ariel Sharon and Aharon Barak

ABSOLUTELY LAST CALL FOR AFSI TRIP TO ISRAEL

2005-11-02T16:43:00.000+02:00

WE ARE REACHING OUT TO ALL WHO ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE REFUGEES FROM GUSH KATIF & THE N. SHOMRON
& THOSE WHO MAY FOLLOW, IF THE CRUEL AND DANGEROUS SHARON PLAN FOR CONTINUED EXPULSIONS IS REALIZED.

AFSI’s itinerary on this November mission includes visits to the refugees wherever they may be scattered. At this point it is still nebulous since the Sharon government, which conducted a brilliant military action against its own people, neglected to use that same efficiency and organizational skills to arrange for the aftermath of the expulsion – the basic humanitarian needs of the evacuees. They have not yet received the promised compensation, and indeed, are still compelled to pay the mortgages on their destroyed homes. Employment, homes, schools, synagogues, graveyards, yeshivot, farms, greenhouses, hothouses and more, have all been taken away from them.

At this writing, many of the communities are in the western Negev in tent cities or temporary caravans. Some of the refugees now being housed in hotels in Jerusalem may be moving to caravans in the Negev. Others may be in hotels in Ashkelon. Still others may be in existing Shomron or Gush Etzion communities. Our guides will lead us to meet with the people in their temporary homes, and we will learn from them about what actions we can take to hasten the day when the Sharon government will assume its responsibilities to its forcibly expelled citizens, as promised.

In addition to concentrating on the refugees, we will visit our friends in Judea and Samaria, explore Jewish east Jerusalem, visit the Temple Mount, go home to Mother Rachel, and spend the Shabbat in Hebron celebrating Chaye Sarah, the reading of the portion of the Bible where Abraham buys the burial plot for his wife, Sarah.

Our flexible itinerary is as follows:

Sunday, Nov. 20 – Depart Newark airport on El Al flight LY028 from Newark airport at 1: 30 PM. Everyone should plan on being at the airport by 11 AM when tickets will be distributed. Please pack your belongings in one bag, so that the two bag allowance will permit you to bring along warm clothing and toys for those we’ll be visiting.

Monday, Nov. 21 & Tuesday, Nov. 22 – We are scheduled to arrive in Israel at 7 AM., meet our guides and good friends, Dror Vanunu and Izzy Danziger, and depart immediately for the Negev to visit the refugee communities. We will stay over Monday and Tuesday nights at a hotel near BeerSheva. Udi Zinar, spokesman for Netzarim, will guide us on Tuesday. Evening events will include prominent speakers. The mountains of the Negev highlands reach high altitudes, creating a special kind of desert habitat of stark desert landscapes, canyons, hidden springs and oases. We hope to explore some of these beautiful natural attractions.

Wednesday– Nov.23 – Drive north east towards Sussya, where we hope to lunch with Dalia Har Sinai in her unique cave restaurant. Continue on through Maon, Carmel and visit the Gush Etzion area on our way to Jerusalem where we will check into the Kings Hotel. An important guest speaker will address us in the evening.

Thursday–Nov. 24 –Drive north for visits to threatened hilltop and Shomron communities. Visit Bet-El, Ofra, Shilo, Kfar Tapuach, and Yitzhar. Meet with the residents and hear their stories. In Shilo we will meet with Chaya and Moshe Belogorodsky and representatives of Honenu, the organization that provides legal services to soldiers and civilians arrested because they are “ideological criminals.”

Friday–Nov. 25 –Leave for Hebron, stopping in Bethlehem at Kever Rachel. Arrive in Kiryat Arba/Hebron early enough to participate in the distribution of toys with Alan Hirsch. We will be housed in Yeshivat Nir where Rav Waldman, recently expelled from Sanur, is Rosh Yeshiva. Inspirational Kabalat Shabbat Services at the Maarat HaMachpela will be followed by dinner at the Yeshiva.

Shabbat – Nov. 26 – Chaye Sarah services at Maarat HaMachpela with thousands of participants from all over Israel and the world. Tour of Hebron during the afternoon with our friend, David Wilder. All Shabbat meals at the Yeshiva. Return to Jerusalem and the Kings hotel at the conclusion of Shabbat. Evening free for shopping and personal plans.

Sunday, Nov. 27 – Full day in Jerusalem. Optional ascent to the Temple Mount in the early morning. Tour Jewish east Jerusalem and the Old City with Chaim Silberstein of Uvneh Yerushalayim and Dan Luria of Ateret Cohanim. Gala farewell dinner and departure for the airport at 8:30 PM for midnight flight to Newark, arriving early Monday morning, Nov. 28. Those wishing to arrive at JFK must notify us.

This is a very popular mission, unique in its travels to the disputed areas of Israel. As in the past, Rabbi Bruce Rudolph is overseeing the travel arrangements, and Helen Freedman is the tour coordinator. The cost of the trip is $2000 plus airport taxes of $77, and additional $100 costs for non-AFSI members, single occupancy, and other personal travel changess. (AFSI membership is only $50 per year, so there is a $50 saving for joining the organization.) Air, bus travel, guides, hotels, all breakfasts and dinners and most lunches are all included. Those wishing to make their own flight arrangements may do so. AFSI will charge $1000 for land only. It DOES NOT include tips for hotel chambermaids, waiters, bus drivers and guides. Please plan accordingly. We encourage those who wish to rent cell phones to do so in the U.S. Arutz Sheva, Amigo, and Travel Cell all supply phones at competitive prices. Those wishing travel insurance information should contact AFSI.

Full payment is due immediately. All reservations will close on Nov. 10. You may make your check out to AFSI or call in with your charge card information. Please consult the www.afsi.org website for detailed reports and photos of previous Chizuk missions. Contact AFSI at 212-828-2424; afsi@rcn.com. We look forward to welcoming you to the AFSI traveling family.

Scheme to Give Up David's Tomb

2005-11-02T13:30:00.000+02:00

This issue is starting to get a lot of attention in spite of efforts to keep it out of the public eye.

The Mt. Zion Situation - Vatican - Toledo, Jerusalem, etc.

Column: Railroad to Hell

2005-11-02T10:09:00.000+02:00

Shimon Peres has a new project to help bring “peace’ to the Middle East following on the “success” of the “disengagement.” It’s a railroad from Gaza to the “West Bank” that would enable the “Palestinians” to transfer some of the huge cache of weapons they have gathered in Gaza to Judea and Samaria. It will also provide a route for terrorists to reach the heart of Israel.

Can you believe this? Is there no end to the insanity of this appeasement? Nothing ever deters Peres from pushing forward towards his goal of what appears to so many to simply be the destruction of Israel.

But how can it be that someone would want to destroy his own country? Could such a thing really be?

Sadly, the answer is that such a thing can certainly be and it is a phenomenon that is not solely found in Israel. Look at the European Union. Was national sovereignty of the member nations not, to a great extent, given up to the EC? And look no further than America and see how the far-left has embraced the Jihadists and hope for the downfall of America as David Horowitz has exposed and explained so well in his book, “Unholy Alliance – Radical Islam and the American Left.”

Lately, I have drawn from the writings of John Fonte of the Hudson Institute who sees the upcoming two decades defined as the struggle between the nation-state and transnational-progressivism, or the push for an expansion of what we have seen in Europe on a global scale.

So, if you want to understand what looks like complete insanity on the part of Israel’s leadership, or on the contrary, if you wish to have the blind faith some Americans place in Israel’s ‘leadership” put under a light that makes it understandable and open to scrutiny, then enter the mind of Shimon Peres and his New Middle East – a world where there is nothing to fear as huge funds are raised and great powers orchestrated to bring about a utopian dream which will be shared by both Jews and Arabs – turning the desert green and standing as a beacon of hope for the whole world to admire. All that is needed is true belief and the willingness to make concession after concession to Israel’s sworn enemies to keep the dream alive, the funds flowing and the nations involved.

How’s that for a railroad?

And where does the security of Jews rank in this utopia? Where do values of Jews rank in this utopia? Where do the rights of Jews to the Land of Israel and their own homes and lives rank in this utopian vision? Where does the idea of a safe haven for the Jews rank in this mind? I don’t know if they rank at all. What evidence have we seen that they do? We are in the post-Zionist era and Shimon Peres wants to cut Israel in half with a railroad that will bring missiles and suicide bombers brought from what is now the worlds greatest terrorist base in Gaza to within striking distance of the population center of Israel – not to mention the threat to those Jews living in Judea and Samaria whose already dangerous situation will turn hellish.

Is this a time for American Jews to sit quietly and trust Israel’s “democratically elected leadership” on faith that it is built on an idea of Jewish nationalism that the “leadership” has self admittedly “grown out of” or is it time take a good hard look and ask what am I supporting when I support them blindly – saying they know best? Do they know better than the people of Israel? Is it the place of American Jews to take the side of these leaders in the name of “democracy?” Who are these “leaders” that have forced an Israeli public that has rejected this “process” over and over again to live in the nightmare that is their dream and why should they be supported when the people are suffering and the people say NO! What is their crime that their “leadership” should betray them? Is Jewish nationalism so repugnant that it is not worthy of a place in this world?

The story of the railroad I found on Debka. There were some interesting points made there and it is worth reading. The first point is a debunking of the stated purpose of the road or railroad – that without it Gaza will be a Palestinian prison.

“The Gaza Strip is no prison without this link: wide open to the neighboring Sinai region and Egypt to the south. But the Palestinians, including the Palestinian Authority, have made no productive use of their unrestricted access. Aside from a few family visits, this opening is used for nothing but the accumulation of a mountain of war materiel and the passage of terrorists.”

The rest of the article warns of the dangers involved.

ScrappleFace: Iraq Constitution Approval Another Setback for Bush

2005-10-26T09:42:00.000+02:00

ScrappleFace:Iraq Constitution Approval Another Setback for Bush: "

(2005-10-25) --

In yet another setback for the Bush administration, Iraqi electoral officials announced today that voters have approved the new Iraqi Constitution by a margin of 78-to-21 percent.
This new bit of bad news will likely drive President George Bush's popularity ratings into the single digits, according to an unnamed expert from a non-partisan, progressive political think-tank.

'The Bush foreign policy continues to be fatally-wounded by clarity of purpose, dogged persistence and a pathetic failure to capitulate in the face of opposition,' the source said. 'At a time when a real leader would be paralyzed with self-doubt over the meaningless deaths of 2,000 American troops, Bush continues to act as if freeing 25 million Iraqis from decades of oppression, torture and death is somehow worth the price paid by those who volunteered to fight.'

'It's sad to watch our international credibility crumble like this,' the anonymous policy expert said. 'In 2008, I'm afraid you're going to see voters leaving the Republican party in droves, desperate to find a leader who provides a stronger sense of nuance and ambiguity.'"

Bush Reads Abbas the Riot Act

2005-10-22T19:35:00.000+02:00

DEBKAfile - Bush to Abu Mazen: The Palestinians Must Start Helping Themselves:

The Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas did not get much chance to lay down his usual list of demands and gripes in his talks at the White House with US president George W. Bush Thursday, Oct. 20. Instead, in contrast to the jovial mood of their joint news conference, Bush crushed his visitor’s hopes of a Palestinian state in the foreseeable future. “Not during my term,” the president declared firmly, according to DEBKAfile’s Exclusive sources Washington.

Abu Mazen is described as coming out of the meeting pale and shaken, with nothing to show for his Washington trip. Most of their 45-minute conversation was one-sided. Bush scarcely let Abu Mazen get a word in edgeways, cutting him short several times.

According to our sources, the US president laid down a new set of rules, unfamiliar to the Palestinians. In a word, no one will help the Palestinians if they don’t help themselves – and that goes for me, the US President, too. If you think you can disarm Hamas by letting them take part in elections, go ahead, but you are on your own. We think you are making a big mistake, but we don’t interfere. But there is a price to pay. A regime dominated by terrorists cannot expected to be treated as a democracy.

He reminded Abbas that he was the first American president to envision an independent Palestinian state and make it a strategic goal of his foreign policy, but the Palestinians had not risen to the challenge. He informed Abbas that to achieve statehood, they must meet three categorical conditions:

A. A Palestinian state must live in peace with Israel.

B. Peace alone is not enough. The Palestinians must demonstrate they are capable of being good neighbors.

C. The Palestinian state must be clean of terrorism.

As matters stand now, said Bush, I see no prospect of Palestinian statehood coming into existence before I leave the White House.

The US president said he continued to support the Palestinian leader. However, his terms were the reverse of what Abbas wanted to hear.

1. Final-status negotiations must not begin yet. (This knocked on the head Abbas’ most cherished goal which is to skip the road map preliminaries and jump to the final stage.)

2. Washington is holding back the timeline for progress towards Palestinian independence. (This was a stunning setback for Abbas’ plans and his standing at home.)

3. The Middle East road map for peace will not for now be activated. It will remain on paper as long as Palestinian “armed gangs” are in charge.

Abu Mazen tried to put in a word on Palestinian demands, such as the unresolved status of the Egyptian-Gaza border crossings, a direct, sovereign Gaza-West Bank link, a halt on the Israeli defense barrier and various complaints, but Bush brushed him off, saying he is familiar with the problems and he leaves them to advisers – “Jim Wolfensohn,” or “General Ward.”

He gave some ground on the Palestinian demand for weapons and ammunition to arm their security forces, but said this would have to wait until a new military coordinator takes over from General Ward. The US president said he was still looking for a suitable candidate, a military man with the right intelligence background who worked well with the CIA. He also agreed to raise the granting of more economic concessions with Ariel Sharon.

All in all, the meeting ended without results or decisions.

Outside, when they both faced reporters, President Bush took advantage of a question put by a Palestinian correspondent to drive home his new message. Asked if a Palestinian state would come about during his term as president, he replied: My purpose is to lay the foundations for a state. Whether it comes about or not is not my problem; is up to the Palestinians.

Clearly the US president has taken several steps back from his first concept of Palestinian statehood as a top American policy goal. He is leaving it to the Palestinians to make the running. For the first time, they have been put clearly and firmly on notice that as long as they harbor terrorists, they can forget about attaining their own state.

Column: Regarding the Harriet Miers Nomination

2005-10-19T09:38:00.000+02:00

Do a search for Harriet Miers on the web sites of The Jerusalem Post, Ha’aretz, and Arutz 7, and you find nothing. That’s interesting considering that her possible appointment to the Supreme Court may have a considerable impact on the direction America takes over the next decade or more -- no doubt greatly impacting the world and Israel.

What’s my opinion? I am with those that hope she withdraws, forcing President Bush to nominate someone who has a record of originalist opinions that can be relied upon. Another Blackmun, Kennedy or Souter – Republican appointments gone astray – would be bad for America and bad for Israel. Judicial activism that pushes for progressive causes and the looking towards international law and precedent not only dilutes American sovereignty, it is a great encouragement to the Judicial Imperialism of the High Court of Israel which in its post-Zionist drive to become part of a transnationalist and post-democratic EU/new middle east would be greatly encouraged by the subjugation of the American Constitution to those diluting forces. Not only would I hate to see that happen, I am greatly concerned about it.

On the other hand, a truly conservative appointment would mean that the Supreme Court’s activism would be reigned in and looking to international law and precedent would end – or be consigned to dissenting opinions. For the Israeli High Court, this could make the difference between having a co-traveler in the legal deconstruction of the nation-state or the opposite – a contrasting and disturbing reminder that the Israeli High Court is choosing a course of its own will, not born of American pressure and example, and a clearer perspective, through contrast, of what just exactly it is doing. That perspective, and an example set in America resisting the swallowing up of sovereign law into the progressive transnationalism of international law, precedent, and tribunals, might even help bring public awareness in Israel to the point where real change to the old-boy network of internal Israeli judicial appointments of leftist elitist judges might become possible through reform of the apparatus of appointments. That change is one that is recognized as needed by a vast majority of Israelis who know that the High Court is completely out of touch with them.

So, while the appointment of Harriet Miers might seem of little interest to Israel, I think the opposite is true and while it may be, as president Bush assures us, that Harriet Miers is a true conservative in the spirit of Justices Rehnquist, Thomas, and Scalia, the president’s assurances of “trust me” shouldn’t be enough for conservatives who have been working long and hard towards this opportunity to fill the next vacancies on the Court.

At stake for America in the long run may be American sovereignty itself. International law applied to the United States in the way that Justices Breyer, O’conner, and Kennedy have advocated would clearly be a blow to American sovereignty just as John Kerry’s election eve proposal of a “global test” for the use of American forces would have been had he been elected.

I know that I am sensitive to these issues as a result of living here in Israel, a country where post-nationalist elites have taken control of the country and moved it in a direction that follows the direction the EU has taken – a transnational one where unelected buerocrats in the EC hold great power over legislation and unchallenged power over economic and foreign policy matters. The EU has set the trend and it is attractive to elites on both the right and left that seek to amalgamate power but in the end it means the end of the nation-state as a truly sovereign entity and with it American Exceptionalism or a Jewish state, as the case may be. So it is, that I see Israel as a canary in the coalmine for America because Israel has gone further down that road, being as it is, unprotecting of the will of the people due to the lack of constitutional restraints, a fault laden party system that lacks seperation of powers and truly representative government, and a High Court full of elites that appoint themselves.

And so, I would much prefer that America returns to original intent, protects its sovereignty, and holds off the transnational horde. There is a lot at stake for America and the world and the nomination of Harriet Miers is at the very heart of it.

Chag Samayach!

Column: Ushpizin

2005-10-14T11:52:00.000+02:00

Read a blurb like this on the movie “Ushpizin” and you might ask yourself why you should see it all:

“In the customarily closed world of ultra-Orthodox Jews, Moshe and Malli, a married couple, are suffering through a financial crisis. They pray for help, but instead of a miracle two suspect strangers with criminal pasts appear on their doorstep.”

Ignore this and the reviews (I read one by Le Apprenti) as well.

Instead, listen to me and hear a bit about the depth of this movie and how it speaks to each and every one of us.

As I understand it, the old criminal friends (they are not strangers) that show up, Eliyahu and Yoseph, represent beautifully one of the major obstacles, and in fact the first one that everyone faces, in learning how to pour out ones heart to Hashem – (see “Outpouring of the Soul” by Aryeh Kaplan). That obstacle is the inner voice that says, “Who do you think you are to talk to G-d?” That question seems reasonable and correctly humble and brings most of us to answer, “It’s hopeless.”

But that answer is wrong. In truth, Rabbi Nachman tells us, the question is merely an obstacle and a test to keep us from drawing near to Hashem. It is false humility that comes to tempt us to despair from being heard by the Almighty -- a powerful obstacle that is difficult to overcome if one lacks the knowledge to ignore it, trust in the great mercy of G-d, and speak to Him.

Overcoming this temptation (as per Rabbi Nachman’s advice) is the major theme of the film. Eliyahu and Yoseph represent the physical manifestation of that question -- that obstacle. Moshe, who desperately wants to have a child, purchases an etrog for a great sum of money, showing his faith in G-d that he would be rewarded for this effort with a child by his wife Malli. What happens? Eliyahu and Yoseph show up and remind him of what he used to be before he gave up his criminal ways – but more than that – they tell him that they know who he really is behind what they see as a charade. They succeed in bringing him to doubt that he really has changed, that he has any real connection with and hope in Hashem, and they succeed in bringing him to anger and nearly to violence -- which they remind him are at the very heart of his “true nature.”

But Moshe catches himself and is not brought down by his guests. Reaching deep inside to the place where the very essence of his most essential nature is being questioned and tested, he screams out to Hashem with all his heart for help and faith and miracles -- and he is answered – restoring his faith in himself and in Hashem.

Later, Moshe and Malli are blessed with a son and Eliyahu and Yoseph, in the last scene,at the brit milah, show that they also have been touched in a deep way as they recognize that Moshe truly is a changed man and that Hashem has indeed heard his prayers and blessed him as a reward for his faith. One even gets the sense as the film ends that their restored friendship with Moshe may very well be a new beginning for them.

Some of you may recall that I wrote briefly about the film a week ago and then switched subjects to talk about an essay by John Fonte, called “The Ideological War Within the West.”

There I wrote about how in explaining a term that is key to his piece, transnational progressivism, Fonte identifies eight characteristic key concepts. One of them is “Deconstruction of national narratives and national symbols of democratic nation-states in the West.” I noted that this concept is of particular interest to us because it speaks of what is happening in Israel as an example:

“In Israel, a "post-Zionist" intelligentsia has proposed that Israel consider itself multicultural and deconstruct its identity as a Jewish state. Even Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres sounded the post-Zionist trumpet in his 1993 book, in which he deemphasized "sovereignty" and called for regional "elected central bodies," a type of Middle Eastern EU.”

I go back to this now because of the critique of my last week’s piece by a good friend of mine who is an anthropologist. He said that he liked my piece but that I should have tied the two parts together – that is the part where I briefly discuss the film and the part where I shift to Fonte and the threat of transnational progressivism to the nation-state. I was confused. “What do you mean?” I asked. “You could have shown how the life and culture so well expressed in the film is within the crosshairs of the post-Zionists – and what a loss it would be if in the name of some utopian transnational dream a culture as rich as this would be lost.” How right he was.

Chag Samayach!

Column: Just After Rosh HaShana

2005-10-07T12:23:00.000+03:00

I was at the Western Wall in Jerusalem for Rosh Hashana and it was great. Many of my friends were in Uman, Ukraine, at the site of Rabbi Nachman’s grave. This year there were 40,000 people there. This is incredible -- the numbers are doubling at least every two years. Interestingly, many non-religious Jews made the trip as well, including some pop stars. This has become a phenomena that is hard for many to understand – it usually takes a trip to Uman to get it, but some of the lure of going to Uman can be understood by reading Rabbi Nachman’s books, some of which have been translated into English. For moviegoers, there is now even a chance to get a glimpse of what it is all about by seeing the movie “Ushpizin” which recently opened in NYC.

The film, which is a great hit here has brought many orthodox people to the theaters who have never been before, but it is not only a hit amongst the orthodox, it is a hit with the secular as well who are inspired by some of Rabbi Nachman's most important teachings brought to life in a modern story set in Jerusalem. The film is about the struggles of a newly religious couple and how they break through the difficult realities of their lives with prayer and then miracles and in the process learn to believe in themselves too.

Written by Shuli Rand -- an accomplished actor who became orthodox and a follower of Rabbi Nachman and who also won Israel's best actor award for his part in the lead role -- the film is the first made by orthodox Jews in Israel, offering a window into a world that some viewers would be hard pressed to find access to, and perhaps, as well, some insight into why Uman has become such a magnet. Additionally, the film is set during the holiday of Sukkot, and so now is a particularly good time for it to be released and seen.

To a different subject:

Looking at the desire of the Israeli Left to dismantle the state and have it swallowed up into the EU or the New Middle East or what have you – some post-Zionist entity devoid of its Jewish nature as a nation-state -- has brought me to some interesting reading.

“The Ideological War Within the West” by John Fonte, a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, describes the struggle on a global scale of what we have witnessed in the post-Zionist microcosm of Israel, where unfettered by a constitution, balance of powers, and a bill of rights, the Left, and I now include Sharon, has embraced what many of us have come to recognize as program of national suicide.

Fonte describes the conflict as one between the liberal democracy of nation-states and the transnational progressivism of post-nationalists.

He describes what is at stake in the struggle:

“Thus, it is entirely possible that modernity—thirty or forty years hence—will witness not the final triumph of liberal democracy, but the emergence of a new transnational hybrid regime that is post-liberal democratic, and in the American context, post-Constitutional and post-American. This alternative ideology, "transnational progressivism," constitutes a universal and modern worldview that challenges both the liberal democratic nation-state in general and the American regime in particular.”

In explaining the meaning his term, transnational progressivism, Fonte identifies eight characteristic key concepts. One of them is “Deconstruction of national narratives and national symbols of democratic nation-states in the West.” It is of particular interest to us because it speaks of what is happening in Israel as an example:

“In October 2000, a UK government report denounced the concept of "Britishness" and declared that British history needed to be "revised, rethought, or jettisoned." In the U.S., the proposed "National History Standards," recommended altering the traditional historical narrative. Instead of emphasizing the story of European settlers, American civilization would be redefined as a multicultural "convergence" of three civilizations—Amerindian, West African, and European. In Israel, a "post-Zionist" intelligentsia has proposed that Israel consider itself multicultural and deconstruct its identity as a Jewish state. Even Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres sounded the post-Zionist trumpet in his 1993 book , in which he deemphasized "sovereignty" and called for regional "elected central bodies," a type of Middle Eastern EU.”

To say that Fonte’s essay was an eye opener is an understatement. He explains clearly what we have been witnessing but have had such a hard time understanding. He also shows that the struggle is global – one in which the nationalist camp in Israel is not as isolated as the Left would have us believe.

G’mar Chatima Tova

From Hebron

2005-09-29T22:50:00.000+03:00

1. The Case of the Stolen Goat

Late this afternoon a Hebron boy, in sixth grade, was walking on the main road between the Avraham Avinu and Beit Hadassah neighborhoods He had with him a goat, one of several the family owns. When passing by the 'tarnigolim street' where there are concrete barriers and barbed wire, preventing Arabs from reaching the road from the Kasba, a group of Arab youth, who had cut the wire, attacked the Hebron boy, hitting him, throwing rocks, and stealing his goat.

The boy complained to nearby soldiers, who did nothing.

In reaction, a group of Hebron youth entered the Kasba to search for the goat. Others arrived, as well as security forces. A short time later one of the Arab youth who had participated in the initial attack was identified and apprehended by soldiers. A little while later, as police and riot police arrived, an Israeli army officer told the Arab youth to leave, and go home. He took off just as the police arrived. With that, Arabs started throwing rocks at the group of Israelis. Hebron youth and others tried to run after suspect, but were stopped by the police and soldiers. The police then declared the gathering as 'illegal' and ordered everyone to leave within 5 minutes. Four people were arrested, including a 7th grader who was injured when a rock was thrown at him, a sixth grader and two women.

So, it winds up that the Arab attacker and thief was freed, the Jews were arrested and the goat is still missing. Totally absurd!

Column: A Disgrace and a Disaster

2005-09-29T14:09:00.000+03:00

Ariel Sharon’s victory in the Likud Central Committee vote was a national disgrace and a national disaster. Those are the words of Prof. Paul Eidelberg and Prof. Israel Hanukoglu of Yamin Yisrael and may I say that I wholeheartedly agree.

Here is their statement in full:

"The Likud Central Committee vote once again confirms our claim that this
party is so corrupt that there is no hope of salvaging it! Yesterday the Likud extended the mandate of Ariel Sharon despite his corruption; despite his betrayal of the Likud party platform; despite his betrayal of the voters in the January 2003 election;
despite his rejection of the Central Committee vote against his "Disengagement Plan" and despite the deadly and vivid consequences of that Plan—the transformation of Gaza into the largest terrorist base in the world!

With this vote of its Central Committee it is now clear that the Likud is only interested in maintaining its hold on power at any price. The Likud has no attachment to any ideology.

The Likud is no longer a party that respects its own principles, its campaign promises, or even its own decisions—for example, when it decided against bringing the Labor Party into the government. The Likud should no longer be considered a party in the so-called National Camp, since it is pursuing a policy of the extreme left, indeed, of Israel's enemies.

The Likud and Mr. Sharon surely deserve the congratulations of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Fatah, al-Qaeda … and the American State Department.

Therefore, anyone within the Likud—including the so-called Jewish Leadership faction, Manhigut Yehudit—that supports this party is doing a great disservice to our nation.”

Ex-minister Avigdor Lieberman, of Yisrael Beiteinu, know for his outspokenness, echoed what the professors had to say when asked to explain how it occurred that the same Likud Central Committee that was 'trampled upon by Sharon several times of late,' voted to keep him in power:

'What interests them is not ideology, not Judea and Samaria, not loyalty to principles, but only power. The delegates come with demands upon the Prime Minister and the ministers, and they apparently get something in return... These delegates were drafted not because of their loyalty to ideology; in this Central Committee, there is no room for a nationalist personality. That chapter in Likud history is now over. What we have to do is convince the right-wing public that they have to make a switch in their minds, realize that the Likud is now Meretz, and vote for a true right-wing party. We stand enforced in our judgment that a National Jewish Party committed to electoral reform and institutional change is essential to return Israel to a path of sanity."

These responses, normal and sensible as they seem to me, were barely audible following the fiasco. I thought to myself, “Better check the pulse of the nation. How can it be that this vote would be accepted so passively following all that has happened?”

I asked Prof Eidelberg what he thought. I said,” I have been searching the internet for sites that posted your Likud Party statement. With the exception of the Freeman Center, and my blog, I found it nowhere. Is everyone so broken that they have stopped caring or are they just too numb to think? What's going on here? Are Likud and Sharon to get off the hook so easily?”

Professor Eidelberg responded, “There is a great deal of spiritual fatigue, and surely the tragedy of Gush Katif has demoralized many Jews. But like some of my colleagues, I thank God that I never learned how to quit. ;Besides, we Jews were born not to live, but to fight.”

The question remains for all of us, whether we are in Israel or New York, as to whether we have the will to fight. I see the dearth of reaction to the vote in the Likud Central Committee as almost a death knell. Without a real change in leadership that will deliver what it promises in terms of security, fighting terrorism and ending territorial rewards for terror, I am not only concerned that Israel will continue on its insane march towards assisted national suicide – a march justified by delusional utopian dreams of a new middle east – but I am concerned that the national spirit that has been so battered will roll over and die.

This is a possibility that should concern all Jews whether they are religious or not and whether they embrace Zionism or not. We need to look back at our history over the last 2,000 years, all the enemies that have risen against us and continue to rise against us and ask ourselves some very serious questions about our future as a people.

I say this not to discourage or to frighten – the situation is discouraging and frightening enough – but to awaken in us heartfelt prayers for salvation during the High Holy Days. As we say in our daily prayers, “Look, please, upon our affliction and defend our cause.”

Avigdor Lieberman: Likud is no longer a nationalist party

2005-09-28T23:47:00.000+03:00

"Ex-minister Avigdor Lieberman, busy trying to re-establish his right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party for the next national elections, hopes to capitalize on PM Sharon's victory this week.

Lieberman feels that Sharon's victory in the Likud Central Committee on Sunday proves that the Likud is no longer a nationalist party - and he hopes to fill the void that has been formed.

Speaking with Arutz-7's Amatziah Eitan today, Lieberman warned that Sharon means to make additional very painful concessions: 'The latest declarations by the Prime Minister's advisors show clearly that his gimmick of unilateral disengagements is now trickling down towards Judea and Samaria as well. It could be that we will hear news of this soon, first in the outposts, and then in full-fledged communities.'

'Secondly,' Lieberman said, 'it is clear that the recent developments show that the Likud is turning into a twin of Meretz and Yossi Beilin. This leaves a vacuum in the right-wing camp, and I hope that we will be able to fill it.'

Lieberman was an influential figure in the Likud when he served as then-Prime Minister Netanyahu's Bureau Director from 1996 until 1998 - yet he all but eulogized the party today. 'The Likud is turning its back on the ideology set out by Ze'ev Jabotinsky that gave the party its backbone,' Lieberman said. 'I think it's grotesque that we see Jabotinsky's giant picture hanging on the wall at the Likud conventions, while in reality there is no longer anything in common between the Likud and his teachings.'

Asked to explain how it occurred that the same Likud Central Committee that was 'trampled upon by Sharon several times of late,' voted to keep him in power, Lieberman's response was scathing:
'What interests them is not ideology, not Judea and Samaria, not loyalty to principles, but only power. The delegates come with demands upon the Prime Minister and the ministers, and they apparently get something in return... These delegates were drafted not because of their loyalty to ideology; in this Central Committee, there is no room for a nationalist personality. That chapter in Likud history is now over. What we have to do is convince the right-wing public that they have to make a switch in their minds, realize that the Likud is now Meretz, and vote for a true right-wing party."

Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party ran together with the Tekumah and Moledet parties on the National Union ticket in the previous elections. He said he does not see such unity occurring again, however. "Artificial unity that does not lead to a clear victory will do more harm than good," Lieberman said."

Arutz Sheva - Israel National News:

Duck Now Mascot Pic

2005-09-27T16:07:00.000+03:00

Click Here: Dusko.net - Daffy Duck Pics

ALERTING THE U.S. CONGRESS TO JUDICIAL HUMAN & CIVIL RIGHTS ABUSES IN ISRAEL

2005-09-27T14:57:00.000+03:00

On Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2005, Herbert Zweibon, Chairman of Americans For a Safe Israel/AFSI, and Helen Freedman, AFSI Executive Director, escorted Chaya and Moshe Belogorodsky through the halls of Congress in Washington, DC. The two leaders of AFSI believed it was very important to introduce the Members of Congress to a father and daughter who have been victims of the “judicial imperialism” that exists today in the Israeli courts, encouraged by the Sharon government’s disregard for the will of the people. Robert Bork, American legal scholar, describes the Israeli Supreme Court as one that “is gradually producing an Israel that is neither Jewish nor democratic.” Chaya, 14 years old, was arrested by the Israeli police for standing on the sidelines in a protest against the expulsion, and then speaking rudely to a policewoman. She was kept in solitary confinement for five days, without permission to call her family or a lawyer, denied water and basic needs for periods of time. After the five days, she was moved out of solitary and kept in jail for an additional 35 days. All of this was prior to any trial, the date of which must still be set. At the trial, should she be found guilty of her “crime”, the penalty for this would be a monetary fine, without any jail time. But for this, she has already served 40 days in jail. Her father, Moshe, tried desperately to get her released, going from one court to another, until he reached the Supreme Court. There the judge ruled that Chaya was an “ideological criminal” and therefore more dangerous than drug dealers, murderers, rapists, and even terrorists, who are released as good will gestures to other terrorists. It was only public opinion pressure that finally secured her release.

As Chaya and Moshe told their stories to Congressman Jim Saxton, and aides for Senator Inhofe, Congressmen Mike Pence and Tom Tancredo, they received overwhelming interest and concern. It is expected that action will be taken on the part of those who heard the Belogorodsky story to inform Prime Minister Sharon that such civil disobedience actions as taking part in demonstrations is part and parcel of the democratic process, and jailing minors for long periods of time for such offenses is intolerable.

As Freedman, Zweibon, Chaya and Moshe spoke in the halls of Congress, they also told about the hundreds of other cases where minors are sitting in jail for similar offenses. The case of Shimshon Cytryn, presently being held for “attempted murder” in a clearly trumped up case, and eleven new cases of arrests of minors, illustrates that the “judicial imperialism,” producing egregious violations of human and civil rights in Israel, is running out of control. Honenu, an Israeli Jewish civil rights organization that defends the legal rights of minors and others caught in such cases needs the support of an informed public. Call AFSI, 212-828-2424, or write: afsi@rcn.com, for additional information.

Of Supreme Courts and Judges

2005-09-27T14:43:00.000+03:00

Another Tack: Judicial jealousies by Sarah Honig for the Jerusalem Post

To hear John Roberts define judges as "servants of the law, not the other way around" could only trigger acute envy in those Israelis who watched the televised Senate Judiciary Committee sessions in which his candidacy for America's chief justice was painstakingly scrutinized. No Israeli justice-designate is ever thus compelled to reveal his intellectual identity, discuss his predispositions and earn trust.

Most jealousy-generating was Roberts's assertion that "Judges are like umpires. Umpires don't make the rules; they apply them. Nobody ever went to a ballgame to see the umpire."

Nothing like this in Israel's ballpark.

Whatever boners America's Supreme Court may pull, it's at least not irreversibly monolithic. It may occasionally exude liberal temperament but alternately embrace conservatism. Frequently it's undecipherable, even surprising. Its members hail from diverse backgrounds and base their outlooks on divergent sociopolitical orientations. They hardly comprise a closed exclusive clique, empowered to veto the admission of new members who don't fit the mold.

Israel's Supreme Court justices definitely do. Nominees to our highest court are never vetted and must only secure the approval of sitting justices. If they curry favor with those who matter, they've got it made.

A nine-member panel – which consists of three serving justices, two Bar Association representatives, two ministers and two MKs – elects Israel's justices. Unwritten tradition, however, effectively allows the panel's justices to keep out any candidate not to their liking, for whatever reason.

Whomever they nix has no prayer. Former Tel Aviv University rector Prof. Nili Cohen is said to have been blackballed personally by Justice Dorit Beinish, soon to succeed Aharon Barak as chief justice. Prof. Ruth Gavison, independent-minded and highly esteemed, is yet another remarkable candidate who failed to get the justices' nod. She's not of their chummy crowd and couldn't be counted upon to toe their line.

IN OUR system where "a friend brings a friend," the only way to reach the Supreme Court is to have staunch allies there. Consequently justices are invariably recruited from the ranks of the prosecution or academia. There's a glaring absence of justices who made their mark in private practice.

Nominees may be rejected because of ego considerations, rivalry, nonconformity, or any attributes that could conceivably inject new blood, spirit, variety or originality to the uniform court, which obsessively replicates itself. The justices ascertain that those who join them are cast in their own image, products of the same law faculties, adherents to the same philosophies and subscribers to ideologies with which they concur.

Roberts's elevation to the position of chief justice – before serving one day on the supreme bench – would have been impossible in Israel's cozy bailiwick, where connections alone count and candidates never undergo any public review process like those interminable confirmation hearings to which Roberts was subjected in order to win ratification by representatives of the citizenry.

Veteran justices here might likely have altogether barred his appointment.

The very idea of challenging these haughty justices is met by proponents of the status quo with scorn, including intimations that skepticism as such is undemocratic. Our supreme court regards itself as above reproach, evincing egregious intolerance to any murmur of dissent and theoretically delegitimizing the very notion of reform.

Perhaps the greatest harm is wrought by the pretence that our top-level jurisprudence is perfect, while the public – in the throes of a grueling existential struggle – perceives the court as increasingly out-of-touch and imperious. Its rulings, moreover, are eerily predictable like the unanimous decision on the security fence near Alfei Menashe – hardly the first instance Arab property claims were preferred to Israelis' safety.

THIS REPETITIVE pattern made it a foregone conclusion that all anti-disengagement petitions would flop. Equally there was never much doubt that all petitions to reroute the life-saving fence would be mind-bogglingly successful, signifying that Arab convenience is worth the endangerment and/or sacrifice of Jewish lives.

These history-changing decisions are taken with detachment that defies fundamental fairness. The justices declined to visit the Gush Katif communities whose destruction they rubberstamped and they never set eyes on terrains the fence traverses. They thus could hardly comprehend the impossibility of protecting passengers on roads within the fence perimeter, dominated by hills beyond and above it. This is patently unreasonable, to say nothing of recklessly uncaring.

Israel's Justice lifts its blindfold, peeks out and tips its scales – always in one direction, always dictating to policy-makers and directing the affairs of the state, while usurping the executive's prerogatives and overriding the legislature.

Our overreaching ultra-interventionist court is precisely the sort Roberts objects to. It's the sort Robert Bork, perhaps the most prominent critic of judicial activism, decries in his book, Coercing Values: The Worldwide Rule of Judges.

"The pride of place in the international judicial deformation of democratic government," he argues, "goes not to the US, nor to Canada, but to the state of Israel. The Israeli Supreme Court is making itself the dominant institution in the nation, an authority no other court has achieved."

In his view "Israel has set a standard for judicial imperialism that can probably never be surpassed and one devoutly hopes will never be equaled elsewhere."

In Roberts's baseball idiom, our court is an extraordinarily hyperactive player impersonating the umpire in order to ensure one team's victory. This pseudo-umpire fiddles with the rules while feigning impartiality. He doesn't dispassionately observe – he gets right in there, knocks down some players, then pitches, bats, catches and steals bases for others.

Column: Shana Tova

2005-09-27T13:54:00.000+03:00

First of all I want to wish everyone a Shana Tova and share a teaching of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. Each year I remember this teaching and tell it over to friends because I feel it is so important. It goes like this, and I am writing from memory.

Rabbi Nachman teaches that while Rosh Hashana is a day of judgment, the main judgment is not whether or not we were able to improve ourselves, overcoming some bad character trait, but rather whether or not we beseeched Hashem during the year to help us overcome it and become a better person. This approach recognizes both the great difficulty we face in improving ourselves – for the sages say that it is easier to learn the whole Torah than to fix even one character trait – and the power of personal prayer which Rabbi Nachman teaches us is central to our drawing near to Hashem.

So, for example, if we are prone to anger and find ourselves struggling to overcome it but failing continually, we should know that the judgment on Rosh Hashana is not on whether or not we succeeded in overcoming it, because this is extremely difficult, but rather whether we turned in simplicity and with true intention and prayed for help to be freed from that defect. Along with this practice, our faith grows as we see that HaShem hears our prayers and that very slowly, over the years, we begin to improve little by little.

This teaching of Rabbi Nachman’s, along with another and very famous one, Azamra, reveals some of the real sweetness of Rosh Hashana. Azamra speaks about how the Tzaddik looks only at our good points and thereby raises us up spiritually and builds the Mishcan, or Tabernacle (first spiritually) with our good points. This relates to and is made clearer by Rabbi Nachman when he refers, in another one of his teachings, to the writings of the Ari Hakadosh, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, who explains that at the time of the blowing of the shofar on Rosh HaShana, there is an angel who goes around and collects all the good points of all the Jewish People and brings them before Hashem – sweetening all the judgments.

This relates to yet another teaching of Rabbi Nachman on our subject. It speaks as to how, according to the Midrash, Hashem originally created the sun and the moon the same size. What happened then was that the moon approached Hashem and complained, saying that it was impossible for two rulers to reign over the same kingdom. Hashem then diminished the size of the moon as a punishment for its complaint.

While this might seem harsh, Rabbi Nachman teaches that for us it is actually a great blessing, for the sages say that Hashem regrets what he did to the moon and the He Himself repents over having done it. When does he repent? He repents at the new moon, when the moon disappears from sight and is completely diminished. Now, since Rosh Hashana always falls on the new moon (it is the only holiday that does), and this is the day of Hashem’s own repentance, so to speak, he certainly has mercy on us when we come before him and repent ourselves – sweetening all the judgments as we pass before him, one by one.

Furthermore, the Midrash concludes by telling us that Hashem gradually restores the moon by allowing the stars to shine at night and enhance its reduced size. Rabbi Nossan, Rabbi Nachman’s student and scribe, explains that the stars represent the mitzvoth and good deeds of the Jewish People which comfort the moon and restore it to its glory. It is known, as well, that the moon represents the Jewish people and that its diminishment represents the exile – may it end soon.

I guess there is not much room left to discuss current events here in Israel. I wasn’t planning to wax spiritual for so long but I suppose it’s for the best. There are times when we need fix our gaze heavenward and focus on the lofty. Rosh HaShana is definitely one of those times and so while there are crucial events occurring every day, and our enemies give us no rest, l wanted to share with you some of the ideas and teachings that make Rosh HaShana such a source of renewal and hope for me. Shana Tova to all.

The Likud Party: A National Disgrace and a National Disaster By Prof. Paul Eidelberg and Prof. Israel Hanukoglu

2005-09-27T13:46:00.000+03:00

"The Likud Central Committee vote once again confirms our claim that this
party is so corrupt that there is no hope of salvaging it!

Yesterday the Likud extended the mandate of Ariel Sharon

despite his corruption;
despite his betrayal of the Likud party platform;
despite his betrayal of the voters in the January 2003 election;
despite his rejection of the Central Committee vote against his "Disengagement Plan" and
despite the deadly and vivid consequences of that Plan—the transformation of Gaza into the largest terrorist base in the world!

With this vote of its Central Committee it is now clear that the Likud is only interested in maintaining its hold on power at any price.

The Likud has no attachment to any ideology.

The Likud is no longer a party that respects its own principles, its campaign promises,or even its own decisions—for example, when it decided against bringing the Labor Party into the government.

The Likud should no longer be considered a party in the so-called National Camp,
since it is pursuing a policy of the extreme left, indeed, of Israel's enemies.

The Likud and Mr. Sharon surely deserve the congratulations of Hamas,Islamic Jihad, Fatah, al-Qaeda … and the American State Department.

Therefore, anyone within the Likud—including the so-called Jewish Leadership faction,Manhigut Yehudit—that supports this party is doing a great disservice to our nation.

We stand enforced in our judgment that a National Jewish Party committed to electoral reform and institutional change is essential to return Israel to a path of sanity."

Ducklings Visit -- Leave Messy Trail Behind Them

2005-09-26T17:56:00.000+03:00

(IsraelNN.com) A group of sixteen Jewish and Christian delegates from the United States returned home this week from a week-long trip to Israel. An official statement of the group - signed by, among others, delegates representing the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the Religious Action Center of the Union of Reform Judaism and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism - expressed recognition for 'the historic links [of]... the Palestinian People have to the land,' and advocated a Palestinian State.

The statement said, in part:

'As representatives of mainline Protestant Churches and the American Jewish community, we have demonstrated that Christians and Jews can work together to seek peace even when there is disagreement on specific policies and solutions. As a result of these days, we will now be even more effective advocates for a secure, viable and independent Palestinian state alongside an equally secure State of Israel, affirming the historic links that both the Jewish People and the Palestinian People have to the land.

'Upon our return, we are committed to... Effectively support those Palestinians and Israelis who are courageously working for reconciliation and a two-state solution with concrete actions that will help sustain their work.'"

Arutz Sheva - Israel National News:

Duck Now Endorses Geneva/UN Blog

2005-09-26T16:36:00.000+03:00

Keep up to date with latest duck steps:

The Cycle of Conferences - Geneva Accord/UN Reform: Geneva Accord

Duck Now Endorses Geneva Accord Web Site

2005-09-26T16:34:00.000+03:00

Duck Now recommends this link to learn to duck step in time. "The time for waddling is over," said Quick 2 Duck. "We shall duck step into the future."

Geneva Initiative - Israeli Palestinian Conflict Peace Agreement

Photos From "The City of Faith" -- New Home for Refugees from Gush Katif

2005-09-26T14:08:00.000+03:00

mishkaegli2: Ir Emuna � The City of Faith � was found

Saudi Prince Buys Large Share of Fox News

2005-09-26T12:57:00.000+03:00

"(IsraelNN.com) Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal has purchased 5.46 percent of the Fox corporation, according to Gulf Daily News, raising concern that the conservative Fox News may soften its anti-terror stance due to the views of the new shareholder.

Al-Waleed, the nephew of the late Saudi King Fahd, was in the news when he visited the World Trade Center's remains just after the September 11th attacks and offered then-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani a $10 million check for relief efforts. Al-Waleed then released a statement blaming US foreign policy and support for Israel for the attacks.

Giuliani returned the prince's check with a statement that, 'There is no moral equivalent for this attack. The people who did it lost any right to ask for justification when they slaughtered . . . innocent people ... Not only are those statements wrong, they're part of the problem.'"

Arutz Sheva - Israel National News:

Duck Now Praises Yossi Beilin -- Recognizes Him as "Big Duck" Challenger

2005-09-26T12:43:00.000+03:00

Duck Now has learned that Yossi Beilin has been selling the Geneva Accord to Likudniks and Rabbis. Duck Now spokesperson, Quick 2 Duck, had this to say," Yossi Beilin is a tireless crusader for all that Duck Now stands for. Even his hairdo has that ducky look. We support him and his EU sponsors in all their efforts to turn Israel (whatever might remain of it after Geneva) into a true dhimmi-state based on the European model. Beilin, in his own quiet way, is moving in on Shimon Peres and challenging him for the title of "Big Duck." Q2D also heaped praises on those Likud members and Rabbis who have drunk the Geneva Koolaid: "These leaders have recognized that the peace between Israel and the Arabs is but a duck away."

Real Story:

"The small convoy, three cars in all, moves quickly through the clean, empty and burning hot streets of Netivot. The stickers on the cars 'Yes to an agreement,' give them away: Yossi Beilin and his troupe, the Geneva Initiative people, have come to town. Each week they visit a different city, and like old-time peddlers, they try to market their dubious, forgotten wares, and to open people's eyes to their unique qualities.

Working slowly and diligently, the long-suffering group meets week after week, winter and summer, with heads of local authorities, local council members, high schools students and factory workers. Almost a year and a half of Sisyphean work, lacking any media coverage, is taking place entirely in the paralyzing shadow of the disengagement plan, which is neutralizing thoughts of anything else.

About 45,000 people have met Beilin and his people during these encounters, but the trip last Tuesday was different for two reasons: This is the first time the program has included rabbis - Rabbi Baruch Abuhatzeira, the 'Baba Baruch,' in Netivot, and Rabbi Yigal Shriki in Ofakim. And the second reason was Yehiel Zohar, the mayor of Netivot. The Geneva people have had the opportunity to meet quite a number of elected officials and wheeler dealers in the Likud, who have expressed openness, interest and supportive curiosity regarding the model for a permanent status agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, which was developed in the Swiss city in November 2003. But what they heard from Zohar, a veteran Likudnik, left them speechless. And they're not accustomed to that.

He greeted them in his office in the morning, in City Hall, which looked quite deserted for that hour. They came in a small delegation"

Full Story: Yossi Beilin Sells Geneva Initiative to Likudists, Gets Advice from Rabbi:

Duck, Duck, Duck!!!

2005-09-23T01:06:00.000+03:00

:) Duck Now is pleased with the immediate results of the Gaza ethnic cleansing. "The groundwork has been laid for waddling forward in our complete capitulation to terror and degradation of our people," the new progressive/submissive party spokesman, Quick 2 Duck, said. "We applaud the PA Foreign Minister's remarks, deplore whatever he deplores and support whatever he desires as we pursue a truly just and fairly negotiated settlement."

Real Story:

"Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Nasser Al-Kidwa said Thursday that Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip could lead to peace or could obstruct a final settlement and a pullout from the West Bank.

In a tough speech to the UN General Assembly, Al-Kidwa expressed pessimism about Israel's intentions in the West Bank. He demanded an immediate halt to the expansion of settlements and construction of the separation barrier, which he said is destroying the livelihood of tens of thousands of Palestinians.

While Al-Kidwa recognized that the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza was an important development, he accused Israel of leaving the strip 'completely devastated' and called its occupation of Gaza 'one of the worst injustices in recent history.' "

Full Story:

Jerusalem Post | Breaking News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World:

Cartoon Update From Iraq War

2005-09-23T00:37:00.000+03:00

Click here: Cox & Forkum: Tal Afar

Jay Leno a Couple of Nights Ago

2005-09-22T20:19:00.000+03:00

"As you know Hurricane Rita is headed toward Florida, Texas and Louisiana. Another hurricane! It's like the ninth hurricane this season. Maybe this is not a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance. "

Surrender Monkey PA Stamps

2005-09-22T20:10:00.000+03:00

Click here for pics of PA stamps featuring chief SM, Chirac:

Dhimmi Watch: Well done, good and faithful dhimmi: Chirac honored on Palestinian stamps

Got This Email Today

2005-09-22T01:00:00.000+03:00

[Gaza City]

After relief groups have successfully ended negotiations with the U.S.
about assistance for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, Palestinian
spokesperson for the Red Crescent Society, Farouk El-Farouk has
confirmed their nation's participation in the relief effort. It was
confirmed that at 9:15am this-morning, 4 plane-loads of volunteers from
Gaza and the West Bank left Amman International Airport, bound for the
New Orleans to assist with the looting!"

Back to the Bunnie Farm?

2005-09-22T00:15:00.000+03:00

DEBKAfile’s political sources report that private opinion polls conducted by his team indicated that all critical Likud votes would go against him. Monday, the central committee will decide to bring forward the leadership primary from April to December, as demanded by his rivals Netanyahu and Landau.

He is not expected to fight this decision or respond by setting up a new party alliance. Our Washington sources add that President Bush has been informed of Sharon’s plan to retire.

Duck Now Applauds Hamas

2005-09-22T00:02:00.000+03:00

:) Duck Now, the new progressive/submissive party in Israel praised the Hamas for saying that there would be no more parades. "In truth, the parades are not in line with Duck Now's agenda," said one Duckling. "The exhibition of the weapons in parades detracts from our ability to push our Duck Now platform and convince the Israeli public to join our party -- it just makes things more difficult for us and is an obstacle to peace."

Real Story:

(IsraelNN.com) Hamas terrorist leaders told Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) Wednesday night Hamas terrorists would stop holding armed parades as of next Sunday. Hamas spokesman Sayid Siyam emphasized that Hamas did not agree to disarm.

"There was an agreement not to exhibit arms on the street," he said after the meeting between 13 armed groups and the PA. Earlier in the day, American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Time Magazine that Hamas should turn in their weapons.

Arutz Sheva - Israel National News

Duck Now Gets Ahead

2005-09-20T23:34:00.000+03:00

:) New progressive/submissive political party, Duck Now, has praised statements of Uzi Dayan calling for the destruction of another 32 Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. "Dayan has endorsed completely the platform of Duck Now," said one progressive/submissive. "More than ever we can hold our heads low."

Real excerpts:

"Giving the reason for his plan, Dayan said that "the disengagement from Gaza has brought about the collapse of two fundamental concepts of Israeli politics, the end of retaining the entire land of Israel, and the end of the idea of territories for peace. Both concepts could not stand up to the test of reality."

Dayan said that some blocs of communities in Judea and Samaria, such as Ma'ale Adumim, Ariel, Kiryat Arba, and Bet El, would be retained by Israel under his plan.

Dayan said Israel would be "stronger" without Gaza and without Shechem. Withdrawing from those places strengthens "Israel's national essence, eliminates ruling another nation, and provides an opening for co-existence."

Dayan estimates the expulsion and destruction of an additional 32 towns would cost Israeli taxpayers NIS 16 billion."

Full Story:

Arutz Sheva - Israel National News:

Column: Borderline Crazy

2005-09-20T14:02:00.000+03:00

The Aspen Institute, the Peres Peace Center and the World Economic Forum have been complaining to the International Herald Tribune about the lack of corporate interest in investing in the new utopian Gaza – at least they were a couple of weeks ago -- before the final pullout, the open border with Egypt and the birth of Hamas-Qaedastan.

Not that they have retracted their pleas to corporations and complaints to the media following the burning of the synagogues, the mass influx of weapons and terrorists and the destruction and looting of the Zuckerman, Wolfehnsohn, Stern et al, hothouses.

Meanwhile, Debka reported on Tuesday about the latest investment ideas in Gaza:

“The influx of Palestinian long-range Qassam, anti-tank, anti-air missiles and terrorists entering Gaza from Sinai swelled on Monday, a week after it began. Weapons transfers expanded most in the Rafah area where two battalions of the Palestinian Authority’s crack Force 17 troops charged a hefty toll in cash which they pocketed for letting the weapons through. On orders from Jerusalem, the IDF continues to bide its time as though expecting the Egyptian and Palestinians to assert control over the lawless traffic transiting the Egyptian-Gazan border unchecked.”

Now let’s take a look way back to August 24 and the pre-pullout agreement reached for Egyptian control of the Gaza border. The BBC reported on the agreement which was to guarantee border security.

"Gen Amos Gilad said both sides had reached a 'very detailed agreement down to the last pistol'. Some 750 Egyptian troops will patrol the border after Israel pulls soldiers out of the area, scene of frequent clashes with militants.
Israel has insisted for months that Egypt must boost its security presence at the border, along the so-called 'Philadelphi [sic] route' buffer zone that divides Gaza from Egypt. The deal came after Egypt promised not to transfer weapons to the Palestinian Authority after the pullout. "

Fast forward to a few days ago and here is Amos Gilad again:

"Amos Gilad, an adviser to Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, blasted the current border situation.

‘The infiltration of Palestinians constitutes a potential threat to Egypt's security, and the Egyptians are aware of this,’ Gilad to Israeli radio. ‘Some take advantage of the situation along the border to smuggle arms and ammunition into the Gaza Strip, which will be used to carry out attacks, but also to defy the Palestinian Authority.’

Amos continued, "Egypt is a big country which claims to respect the agreements it signs. It is inconceivable that Egypt as a sovereign state does not control its frontiers." (WND)

Gilad’s words remind me of something that David Frum wrote a while back in a piece called “The Secret of Gaza” where he flew a theory about why Sharon was really, really pushing the expulsion plan. Here is the secret:

“The world wants a Palestinian state? Very well let them have it. And the result, as we are seeing, is something close to panic in the foreign ministries of the West. Not just the West: the Middle East too. The Egyptians do not want a Hamas state on their borders. They had expected Ariel Sharon to place a cordon between Egypt and Gaza. He has said he will not do so that he is leaving the job up to the Egyptians. And indeed last month Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz announced that 750 Egyptian soldiers would soon arrive to replace the Israeli Defense Forces.

Is this Egyptian role on the border a precursor to a larger Egyptian role within Gaza? Egypt after all remains far more vulnerable to Islamic extremist ideology than Israel. The Egyptian authorities have crushed the extremist movement within their borders. Do they wish to see a jihadist state emerge on their borders? It seems unlikely.”

Did Frum get it right about Sharon only to be completely blind to what Sharon, Mofaz, and Gilad were blind to -- the fact that for Egypt, the prospect of destroying Israel might be well worth having a jihad state on its border?

So what’s the IDF doing now besides idly standing by, watching the birth of this Islamo-utopia and worrying about Egyptian security? They are educating. WorldNetDaily reported this on Monday:

"With many Israeli Negev towns within firing range of the Gaza Strip – now completely under Palestinian control – the Israeli Defense Forces is preparing Jewish children in the area to get used to attacks, teaching them about Qassam rockets and terrorist infiltrations. ‘Gaza is armed and the terrorists there have already started firing Qassams into [the Negev towns],' a spokesman from the Home Front Command, a division of the IDF, told WND. 'We're trying to condition the children to get used to attacks so they have some sort of secure feeling when they start to hear that all these bad things might happen to them.’

Feeling a bit dizzy?

Not surprised -- maybe you want to hear about a good investment?

From Buchenwald to American War Hero -- The Story of Ted Rubin

2005-09-20T00:04:00.000+03:00

"When the White House called Corporal Tibor 'Ted' Rubin to tell him he was to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor he thought it was one of his friends playing a joke. President Bush has called the 76-year-old Korean War veteran 'one of the greatest Jewish soldiers America has ever known.' But Ted is characteristically modest. 'I was just a country boy,' he told me, 'but next week I'll be honored with the country's highest award. This is unbelievable.'"

Full Story:James S. Robbins on Ted Rubin & Congressional Medal of Honor on National Review Online:

Duck Now

2005-09-19T11:22:00.000+03:00

:) Israel's new moonbat strategy -- DUCK!

Israelis are learning new ways of hunkering, ducking, running, and hiding after the expulsion proved to be the beginning of HamasQaedastan. "The lessons learned in Gaza are being used to move forward with the "peace process," said one Peace Moonbat. "Soon all of Israel will benefit from the lessons we learned there." It is reported that a new political party is forming. It is called Duck Now.

Real, Full Story:

By Aaron Klein

"With many Israeli Negev towns within firing range of the Gaza Strip – now completely under Palestinian control – the Israeli Defense Forces is preparing Jewish children in the area to get used to attacks, teaching them about Qassam rockets and terrorist infiltrations. Gaza is armed and the terrorists there have already started firing Qassams into [the Negev towns],' a spokesman from the Home Front Command, a division of the IDF, told WND. 'We're trying to condition the children to get used to attacks so they have some sort of secure feeling when they start to hear that all these bad things might happen to them.'
With the Israeli withdrawal complete, over 40 Negev communities are now on the front lines, some just a stone's throw from the border with Gaza. All area communities are vulnerable to mortar and rocket attacks, and terrorist infiltration. Some, including farming communities on the outskirts of Gaza, are within sniper firing range.
In July, a local woman was killed when a Qassam landed directly above her.
The Home Front Command is going from school to school this week offering sessions to kids on the new realities on the ground.
'We teach them about the threats and how to defend against them. Like reporting suspicious objects and finding shelter from gunfire,' said the spokesman.
As part of the lesson, the kids are asked to draw a Qassam rocket and are shown a diagram that explains the makeup and firing qualities of the Palestinian rocket.
The kids are told not all Qassam attacks are deadly, the spokesman explained.
'The majority of rockets land in open fields, that's a statistical fact. Those attacks, if one is inside or not near, won't kill or physically hurt anyone.'
The children are also given a booklet that asks them to write their feelings about different kinds of attacks, and tests their preparedness for specific attacks.
Palestinian terrorists have already fired mortars and Qassams at several Negev towns, including Sderot and Yad Mordechai.
Last "

Link:
WorldNetDaily: Rocket lessons for kids: 'This is a Qassam': "

Flashback: August 24: Egypt Gaza Border Patrol Agreed

2005-09-15T15:22:00.000+03:00

"Gen Gilad said both sides had reached a 'very detailed agreement down to the last pistol'.
Some 750 Egyptian troops will patrol the border after Israel pulls soldiers out of the area, scene of frequent clashes with militants.
Israel has insisted for months that Egypt must boost its security presence at the border, along the so-called 'Philadelphi route' buffer zone that divides Gaza from Egypt.
The deal came after Egypt promised not to transfer weapons to the Palestinian Authority after the pullout. "

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Egypt Gaza border patrol agreed:

Fast Forward to Today:

"Amos Gilad, an adviser to Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, blasted the current border situation.

"The infiltration of Palestinians constitutes a potential threat to Egypt's security, and the Egyptians are aware of this," Gilad to Israeli radio. "Some take advantage of the situation along the border to smuggle arms and ammunition into the Gaza Strip, which will be used to carry out attacks, but also to defy the Palestinian Authority.

Amos continued, "Egypt is a big country which claims to respect the agreements it signs. It is inconceivable that Egypt as a sovereign state does not control its frontiers."

Full Story:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=46328

What went wrong!?!

WorldNetDaily: Clinton-Soros initiative at U.N. summit

2005-09-15T13:32:00.000+03:00

Clinton looking to do to whole world what he said he didn't do to Monica. George Soros lends a hand along with a host of other would be global kings, tyrants and emperors.

Full Story: WorldNetDaily: Clinton-Soros initiative at U.N. summit:

Look Who Really Controls Gaza

2005-09-15T12:11:00.000+03:00

DEBKAfile, Political Analysis, Espionage, Terrorism Security:

"Heavily armed Palestinian terrorists jumped on the stage, fired in the air and broke up the Palestinian Authority's "national" celebration of Israel's withdrawal in Neve Dekalim.

September 14, 2005, 8:38 PM (GMT+02:00)

Some 2,000 arrived, some masked, carrying weapons of all kinds and their own flags. The general public stayed away, as did the PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Before he was interrupted, PA secretary Tayeb Abul Rahim declared: Ariel, Maaleh Adummim and Gush Etzion will all be evacuated "

lgf: Pallywood

2005-09-15T10:22:00.000+03:00

See the film that exposes media manipulation in the propoganda war against the Jewish state. Read the comments on LGF from those that viewed it.

Link to LGF and the film:

lgf: Pallywood

Why Bother to Print This Crap? The border is closed. Rest easy. Right -- Sure Thing.

2005-09-15T09:45:00.000+03:00

Arutz Sheva - Israel National News:

"Egypt Has Closed Down Border Crossing
09:00 Sep 15, '05 / 11 Elul 5765

(IsraelNN.com) Egypt has closed its border to Gaza and is enforcing border regulations, Israel Radio's Reshet Bet reported early Thursday morning.

The announced Egyptian move comes after days of chaotic lack of border control during which times masses of Arabs freely crossed the border, and brought much weaponry into Gaza for future terrorism, defense establishment officials report."

Schmucks

2005-09-15T09:37:00.000+03:00

With the Egyptian border wide open with weapons and Al Qaeda pouring in, Left wing surrendermonkey paper, Am Haaretz, has switched from a pro-expulsion propaganda machine into a reporter of the news.
If you read this story:Haaretz - Israel News - IDF nabs 20 Gazans trying to enter Israel from Sinai you will find not a trace of anything that resembles accountability or responsibility -- not for them and not for any of the political machine that did this. Schmucks is too nice a word.

Egyptian Border Wide Open

2005-09-15T09:08:00.000+03:00

DEBKAfile, Political Analysis, Espionage, Terrorism Security:

"Hamas gunmen blew a hole in the concrete border wall dividing Gaza from Sinai to ease the free surge of Palestinians between the countries.
September 14, 2005, 5:05 PM (GMT+02:00)
The gunmen first cleared people from the explosion site. Egyptian border police posted there to stem illegal passage meekly stepped aside on Hamas orders. Local Hamas chief Abu Atiya warned Egyptian guards not to seal the border. "If you close this hole, we'll open 10 others."

Forget About a Closed Egyptian Border

2005-09-14T23:45:00.000+03:00

Get ready for HamasQaeda-stan. Egyptian border is open.

DEBKAfile, Political Analysis, Espionage, Terrorism Security

Will a Gaza "Hamas-stan" Become a Future Al-Qaeda Sanctuary? - Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror and David Keyes

2005-09-14T19:15:00.000+03:00

Read this article. The answer seems clear and it is a strong YES . With the Egyptian border already open and Peres overseeing the airport and seaport, it has probably already begun. Welcome to HamasQaeda-stan.

Some of the Article:

Implications for Gaza Disengagement

Today, al-Qaeda is increasingly decentralized and in disarray. As President Bush often notes, two-thirds of al-Qaeda's known leadership has either been killed or captured.45 As al-Qaeda attempts to rehabilitate itself, a danger exists that Hamas will provide a Gaza safe-haven for international terrorist organizations, specifically al-Qaeda. Time, money, and persistence transformed al-Qaeda into the massive terror network it had become - despite its humble beginnings fighting the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Hamas' trends indicate a greater emphasis on anti-Western rhetoric and increased collusion with al-Qaeda. While Israel continues its fight against Palestinian terror, Hamas is undoubtedly looking for more sources of money, recruits, and training. They are fueled by the same Wahhabi sheikhs, mostly from Saudi Arabia. Significantly, they are also often funded by the exact same people.
Clearly, a dangerous mix of conditions exists for the potential aid of al-Qaeda to Hamas and vice versa. Though the operational cooperation between the two groups may only be intermittent today, in the global fight against terror it is prudent to maintain a global outlook. As Israel prepares for its disengagement, a grave threat exists that Gaza will become an international terror base. Just as lawlessness and terror rule in the Afghan-Pakistan border region, conditions may be similar given Israeli disengagement from Gaza. Without an effective anti-terror network with freedom of movement in Gaza, conditions would be ripe for a bin Laden/Hamas-based network in Gaza. And, just as Coalition forces have found it difficult to enter the viper's nest of terrorism - the Afghan-Pakistan region - so too would it be difficult to enter a terrorist-ruled Gaza.

Such was the case in Lebanon in the early 1980s as well. Terrorist groups worldwide, from the German Baader-Meinhof faction to the Japanese Red Army, found refuge in Lebanon. From that safe haven, dozens of terror organizations aided one another without interference from abroad. It was only the full-scale Lebanon war of 1982 that eradicated that international terror safe-haven.

The Strategic Envelope of Gaza and the Threat of a Security Vacuum

To prevent a safe haven for terrorism from emerging in Gaza, Israel must maintain control over the strategic envelope around Gaza even after its disengagement, particularly air, land, and sea access to the territory. For example, unless Israel controls the ports, weapons ships such as the Karine A, that was sent from Iran to the Palestinian Authority with 50 tons of illegal arms including a ton and a half of C-4 explosives, would become commonplace. Israeli military control over the Philadelphia corridor along the Gaza-Egyptian border is an imperative to stop the flow of heavy weaponry to a myriad of Palestinian terror factions. Continued Israeli control of air-space is also necessary to prevent massive smuggling of weapons through Gaza's airport. In the past, the PA has proven itself to be totally incapable, or more likely totally unwilling, to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure.

The extent to which the Gaza Strip has unimpeded access to the outside world without Israeli security controls will determine whether a post-disengagement Gaza becomes a sanctuary for global terrorist groups like al-Qaeda. Historically, insurgencies and terrorism campaigns have succeeded wherever they have been able to maintain external lines of supply. Conversely, insurgencies have been defeated when they have been isolated. IDF control over Gaza's access routes is imperative in order to isolate the terrorist infrastructure.

Full article:

Will a Gaza "Hamas-stan" Become a Future Al-Qaeda Sanctuary? - Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror and David Keyes:

Leftists Get Their Due and Kvell

2005-09-14T18:43:00.000+03:00

:) One Left wing moonwoman claimed deep satisfaction over the attention given. "This makes it all worth while. Knowing that we were not overlooked fills us with hope for the future. I'm simply kvelling. Kvelling with nachus."

Real Story:

"PA leader Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) publicly thanked Arafat, other Arab terrorists, and the Israeli left on Tuesday for their contributions to 'this first step in the liberation of all our lands.'

In a televised address, his first speech to his compatriots since Israel's retreat from Gaza, Abbas said that all of the above had contributed greatly to Sharon's Disengagement Plan.

'I thank all our people and everyone who assisted us, including Israeli peace forces, allied countries, Arab countries,' he said, adding, 'I thank the martyrs, headed by the greatest martyr, Yasser Arafat.'

'The Palestinian nation must not view our rule over Gaza as the end of the story,' Arafat's successor said. 'This is just part of the process that will lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state on all of [Judea, Samaria and Gaza]. We still have a long way to go to get there... The struggle is not over.'

'Today Gaza, tomorrow the West Bank and Jerusalem,' Abu Mazen stated."

Full story:

Arutz Sheva - Israel National News:

More Fruits and Moonbats

2005-09-14T16:22:00.000+03:00

:) In a surprising move, the border between Egypt and Gaza is wide open and Israeli moonbats are cautiously hopeful. " This is a good first step. Once we get the border between Israel and Gaza as open as the border between Gaza and Egypt, tourism will surely flourish like never before. We are on the verge of a New Middle East," said one Leftist.

Real Story: "Contrary to Egyptian commitments, the border between Gaza and Egypt has been wide open for two days, with unmonitored movement of personnel and weapons between the two areas.

Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz said Tuesday that Egypt's failure to close the border "could have serious repercussions," but stopped short of threatening an IDF re-entry to the Philadelphi corridor, instead opting to file a complaint with US Ambassador Dan Kurtzer.

As of Wednesday at noon, PA Arabs and Egyptians were still crossing the border freely, carrying large packages, goods and unknown quantities of weapons and ammunition that until Monday had been smuggled through underground tunnels. The main IDF activity along the route up until withdrawal was uncovering the elaborate tunnel system through which weapons and drugs were transported."

Full story:
Arutz Sheva - Israel National News

Of Moonbats and Fruits

2005-09-14T12:40:00.000+03:00

"Hirchson said Wednesday morning 'these are the fruits of peace. We will be acting together to show the world we can do business here like anywhere else and that this will be to the benefit of all the people of the region.'"

Full story:
Haaretz - Israel News - Israel, Jordan, Egypt and PA to promote tourism in region:

galileeblog: Sharon's Quest for Love

2005-09-14T11:04:00.000+03:00

I posted this a few days ago and here it is again. The border has already been breached so it's dated but you get the idea.

galileeblog:Sharon's Quest for Love:

:) "The main threat that the international community is holding over Sharon's head in its effort to secure free terrorist passage from Egypt to Gaza is the withholding of their love for him at Sharon's upcoming UN appearance. The international community however, is sure that Sharon will come through. 'More than any other Israeli leader who has squandered the security and future of his people for his own personal interests, Sharon has shown a proclivity towards national and self abasement that can be counted on. We love him dearly already and will love him even more dearly in short order. He is a true leader who has shown his people the train tracks back to international endearment,' said one European admirer."

Where are the Investors???

2005-09-14T10:56:00.000+03:00

Common you guys! Time to step up! Where are you????

This from DEBKA:

Gazan Palestinians ravaged their own fledgling economic infrastructure. Looters made off with the greenhouses, supposed to have given 14,000 Palestinians a living

September 14, 2005, 12:57 AM (GMT+02:00)

Vandals dismantled the Erez industrial and workshop center, which had jobs for another 12,000. The Peres Peace Center and international coordinator James Wolfensohn raised $14m to buy the greenhouses from the Israeli farmers and so keep the Palestinian workers in their former jobs after their Israeli employers left.

In Erez, the former joint Israeli-Palestinian ventures were ransacked and torn down or vandalized, power centers were smashed and electric wiring pulled out of walls and stolen.

galileeblog: Still No Investors?

2005-09-13T23:45:00.000+03:00

Things picking up yet on the investment end?

Recycling a good post:

galileeblog: Still No Investors?

The Sacking of Gush Katif in Pictures

2005-09-13T23:40:00.000+03:00

Click here:
Sultan Knish

Sharon to UN for Victory Lap

2005-09-13T16:30:00.000+03:00

:) Lap watchers were reported to be lining up outside the UN. "What's a lap watcher?" -- one self proclaimed lap watcher on hand was asked. "I watch laps and Sharon has a particularly interesting one. When he sits it really is hard to identify for obvious reasons. It's a challenge but I think I'm up to it." But other self defined lap watchers had a different take on it. "Lap watching is about watching someone lap something up, like water from a bucket. It is the cousin of licking and the brother of kissing up. This is an historic occasion for us lap watchers." A third take was considered the most conventional. "Sharon is going to run around the UN and high five all his friends there." Still, one dissenter said that while this take is essentially correct, Sharon might roll instead of run."

Real story: Jerusalem Post | Breaking News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World:

Party Time and Unity in Hamasland

2005-09-13T15:51:00.000+03:00

:) Israeli Leftists were encouraged by signs of unity emerging from Hamasland. One moonbat was heard to say, "Abbas is showing real leadership by bringing the factions together and avoiding civil war. Sharon avoided a civil war in Israel just recently and now Abbas has followed suit -- Abbas has done what Lincoln failed to do -- Gaza is safer than New Orleans."

Real story: Arutz Sheva - Israel National News:

(IsraelNN.com) Armed PA factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, are holding victory celebrations in Gaza's former Jewish communities.

Speaking to an Italian newspaper, Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) announced he will not attempt to disarm Hamas, stating he sees Hamas as a significant future political entity in the PA. Abbas adding that efforts to disarm the organization would not be productive and such a move may lead to civil war."

Column: Prisoners of Zion

2005-09-13T13:15:00.000+03:00

A friend of mine said jokingly the other day that she needs to write a book, but never will, called “Prisoners of Zion.” Understanding what she meant, I laughed, but suggested, for the sake of clarity, that she add something to the title like, “Jews of Faith Trapped in a post-Zionist Nightmare.”

What’s so funny?

Good question. Now that I think of it, it’s not funny at all. Is there a rule of humor out there somewhere that says that if you have to explain a joke it's no good? I have to do some research. Anyway, suffice it to say that it’s not easy to keep your sense of humor living in Israel today unless you believe that the Arabs are utopian Europeans who are just disguising themselves as Hamasnikim and that all will be well if we only give up Judaism and adopt the faith of Shimon Peres in the “transvaluation” of the Middle East.

By the way, what is transvaluation? I don’t know. On the inside flap of his book “The New Middle East,” you can find that word: “Peres has called for nothing less than a total transvaluation of our thinking about the future of the Middle East. Peace, he has argued eloquently, is the only alternative for Jews and Arabs poised on the verge of a new century, and a new millennium.”

This is helpful. At least now I now what the Left is trying to do to me. They are trying to transvalue me. I knew something strange was going on. I guess the folks from Gush Katif and the Northern Shomron got a crash course in transvaluation. Does the burning down of shuls in Gaza represent a promising sign of reciprocal transvaluation on behalf of the Arabs? I might support transvaluation if it was reciprocal. That’s what we need, reciprocal transvalutation. How does that sound?

Still not funny? I didn’t think so, so back to the Prisoners of Zion.

It’s like this. You love the land of Israel, the Jewish people, the Torah, the Tzaddikim, and the blue, blue sky and so you don’t want to be anywhere else in the world. You know that here your prayers are heard like no place else in the world and believe that at any moment your prayers and those of your fellow Jews might break through and flip the whole situation around and that the redemption might really come. On the other hand, you recognize that Israel is controlled by people who are post-Zionists – people who want to destroy the state as a Jewish state and melt it somehow into Eurabia – a dhimmi utopia that exists only in the figment of the imagination of the transvaluationalists and the blood lust dreams of anti-Semites and modern day Hitlerites.

So, stuck between this and that, you are a Prisoner of Zion.

Some friends have tossed in the towel and are already Stateside. One buddy left a month ago, headed for what turned out to be the extremely unfortunate destination of New Orleans. He was missing for five days until we found out that he was shattered but doing ok in Mississippi -- say a prayer for Aryeh Leib ben Leah. Now his wife, who was going to join him there with their three kids, doesn’t want to leave. She’d rather deal with a familiar mess after seeing that.

Another friend is going back to Florida next week. He’ll be back at a good paying job and in his condo on the beach in no time. I can’t say I blame him but at the same time I have told him, and he agrees reluctantly, that as much as he will be relieved to escape the post-Zionists, he will sorely miss, sooner or later, the holiness of the Land of Israel.

One more comment before I go. I again encourage everyone to become familiar with Professor Paul Eidelberg. He is interviewed every week on Arutz 7 and you can find both audio and text archives. He makes the same argument that he has been making for decades – that there needs to be an overhaul of the entire political system here to ensure representative government if we are to get out of the viselike grip hold of the Left. He is right and has been right for a long time. Without a complete change in the political system we will just see more of the same -- regardless of who wins the next elections.

Of Burning Shuls and Hot Air

2005-09-12T16:08:00.000+03:00

:) As shuls burn in Gaza and a rocket falls at Sderot, billows of hot air emitted by Mofaz.

"Without specifying, Mofaz warned that the Palestinians "fully understand that as of September 12, 2005, Israel's policy against Kassam rocket fire has changed." The IDF would respond to attacks with zero tolerance, Mofaz said. "We have no rules of thumb when it comes to our responses, but I recommend that we make use of the full tool-box available to the IDF," he added.

Hours earlier, however, Palestinians fired a Kassam rocket at the Sderot area, just as Israel was completing its final withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

The rocket landed in an open area, and no one was wounded in the attack, Israel Radio reported.

OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Dan Harel called the attack a violation of the Palestinians' commitment to ensure security."

Full story: Jerusalem Post | Breaking News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World

PEACE MOVEMENTS THEN AND NOW

2005-09-12T15:19:00.000+03:00

Hat tip to Eliyahu m'Tsiyon Emet m'Tsiyon for pointing this article out to me.

"President Roosevelt said of the peace advocates in his time: 'I do not charge these American citizens with being foreign agents. But I do charge them with doing exactly the kind of work that the dictators want done in the United States.'27

In fact, we note that the Peace Now Committee, like other peace organizations, was tied to German agents. An investigation on behalf of a congressional committee found that a man by the name of John Collett had inspired the founding of the Peace Now Committee.28 Professor Hartmann reported the same thing.29

It seems likely therefore that Collett invented or proposed the name 'Peace Now.' It ought to be pointed out that Collett was a Norwegian. He had left his country in 1940, several months after the German conquest. He carried a passport issued by the notorious pro-Nazi Quisling regime, at a time when Axis states did not simply issue passports to whoever asked for one. Collett arrived in the United States through Japan (before US entry into the war). The congressional investigating committee's report identified Collett as the 'leading spirit' in organizing the Peace Now group (founded in 1942).30

The secretary of the Peace Now Committee (Bessie Simon) had ties with pro-Nazi propagandists who worked in the United States, as well as ties with the America First Committee (which dissolved itself not long after US entry into the war).31

In the light of this background, it might seem to many that Collett was sent by the Nazis to organize opposition to American intervention against Germany in the war."

Read the whole article here:PEACE MOVEMENTS THEN AND NOW:

Gaza Withdrawal Sparks Hope for Peace

2005-09-11T19:03:00.000+03:00

:) In an unprecedented statement, ("We believe in peace, but on our terms."); Al Qaeda has begun speaking in terms of peace. Hopeful Leftists, peaceniks, surrender monkeys and moonbats everywhere are seeing this statement as a breakthrough. "Peace negotiations have finally begun! We have waited a long time for this but here comes the sun," one peacebat was reported to have said. One Israeli moonmonkey even saw a connection between the withdrawal from Gaza and the new Al Qaeda peace initiative.

(IsraelNN.com) Members of the Al Qaeda Islamic terror network have distributed a video threatening to attack Los Angeles, California and Melbourne Australia on the four year anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

The Al Qaeda spokesman stressed on the tape, that the reliability of the threat could be investigated but would be found to be credible. "The two cities will be attacked, Allah willing, and those attacked will not be shown any mercy," the spokesman said. "We believe in peace, but on our terms."

The Geneva Accord: A Strategic Assessment - Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror

2005-09-11T10:47:00.000+03:00

A very interesting assessment of the Geneva Accords -- the Solana, Beilin, Rabbo plan for Israel's assisted suicide. Implementation is now in full swing.

The Geneva Accord: A Strategic Assessment - Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror: "The Geneva Accord: A Strategic Assessment
Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror

Peres Positioned to Pull Plug on Israel

2005-09-07T18:07:00.000+03:00

IMRA - Wednesday, September 7, 2005 VPM Peres to be responsible for setting post-retreat security arrangements:

Israel Radio reports that the political-security cabinet has decided, per the recommendation of VPM Shimon Peres and Minister Chaim Ramon that VPM Peres will represent Israel's interests in setting arrangements for the passages between Egypt and Gaza as well as arrangements for the airport and seaport after the retreat from Gaza is completed next week.

[AL: That's not a typo - Shimon Peres.. ]

Under the arrangement Israel accepted, once the Rafah terminal is renovated under an amorphous arrangement of international observers with amorphous responsibilities and amorphous authority, people and their luggage will pass through Rafah without Israeli on-hand involvement while 'goods' would continue to move through an Israeli terminal.
Under these circumstances, until the airport and seaport open, assuming that the amorphous arrangements fail to stop weapons smuggling, smuggling will be limit to what can fit into 'luggage' (bombs, shoulder fired missiles, etc.)
.
Given VPM Peres' past record of concern regarding security as reflected in Oslo, it can be expected that this limitation will only interfere with weapons importation until the Gaza Airport opens in six months. At that time weapons smuggling may be limited to what can be loaded into a transport plane."

Still No Investors?

2005-09-07T17:10:00.000+03:00

You would think that the Aspen Institute, the Peres Peace Center and the World Economic Forum would step up and invest some big money in Gaza before the violence gets out of hand. They have been complaining to the International Herald Tribune about the lack of corporate interest in investing in the new utopia. Since the situation is spiraling quickly out of control and investment is the key to creating the utopia, these institutions should take the bull by the horns and put their money where their mouth is. Not a chance.

Arutz Sheva - Israel National News: "

Arabs Murder Son of Moussa Arafat
15:11 Sep 07, '05 / 3 Elul 5765

(IsraelNN.com) Government sources disclosed a short time ago that Arabs have murdered the kidnapped son of Moussa Arafat, whom they killed Tuesday night in an attack on his home. He was the former security chief in Gaza and was the cousin of Yasser Arafat and survived at least two previous attempts by Arabs to kill him.

His son was taken away during the mortar shell and gunfire attack. Hamas terrorists denounced the killing. However, several government sources said Hamas was behind the murders, which were carried out by a terrorist coalition calling itself the Popular Resistance Committees."

Am Ha'aretz Attacks America and Bush

2005-09-07T14:29:00.000+03:00

Leftist article reveals true face of Am Ha'aretz. What can one say? Gideon Samet has dropped the mask and shown us just how messed up these people are. They hate Bush but drool over Europe. America is stupid and Europe enlightened. These people are a menace.

Read it and weep:
Haaretz - Israel News - Bush is also wrong about the Israeli hurricane

The Selflessness of Sharon

2005-09-07T11:50:00.000+03:00

(IsraelNN.com) Likud Party membership dropped over 10% in August, with 18,000 members deciding to stop paying their party dues.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement from Gaza and party disunity are seen as the primary causes for the sharp decline in membership.
Arutz Sheva - Israel National News

:) 'Ariel Sharon's Leadership may prove to be the most selfless on record' said one supporter. 'Never before has a leader destroyed his own party and betrayed his own constituancy for the sake of something simply other.'

Yesterday's Jihadists by Chuck Morse

2005-09-07T11:27:00.000+03:00

It was on August 20, 1918, almost 75 years before Osama bin Laden launched his jihad against the Western democracies, that Bolshevik leader Vladimir I. Lenin issued his version of a fatwa against the same "Great Satan," the United States of America. In his "Letter to American Workers," Lenin called on his acolytes to "play an exceptionally important role as uncompromising enemies of American imperialism" by joining the "civil war against the bourgeoisie." Most Americans ignored the rant, but within immigrant anarchist communities it resonated with significant force.

April 28, 1919, saw the first fruits of the Bolshevik incitement, when a bomb was dismantled at the home of Seattle Mayor Ole Hanson. The next day, a Bolshevik bomb ripped the hands off of an employee of Georgia Senator Thomas Hardwick as he opened the deadly package; it also severely burned the senator�s wife. A few days later, on May Day, 34 bombs were intercepted before reaching their intended targets which included such leading figures as Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, North Carolina Senator Lee S. Overman, Utah Senator William H. King, Postmaster General Albert Berlson, and John D. Rockefeller. On the same May Day, coordinated, violent, seditious riots were launched in several cities, most notably in Boston, and a bomb wrecked a municipal building in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, on May 2.

On June 2, 1919, at virtually the same time of the day, eight American cities were bombed by anarchists who had already softened up the country a month earlier with a series of violent and coordinated riots unleashed on May Day, 1919.

Read the whole thing here:

FrontPage magazine.com :: Yesterday's Jihadists by Chuck Morse: "

Sound Economics?

2005-09-07T10:48:00.000+03:00

"(IsraelNN.com) , Prime Minister Ariel Sharon boasted credit for boosting the national economy in a statement made at a Caesarea economic conference on Tuesday night, saying that the disengagement plan was the single most influential factor towards pulling the nation out of recession. Arutz Sheva - Israel National News:

:) Moonbats concur:

'We have taken the first steps and have seen the results but this is just the beginning. Once Gaza has a seaport, airport, and free passage to Egypt and the West Bank, the economy will really start to explode. Then, with the full implementation of the Geneva accords, we will finally reach the only real solution -- peace.'

IDF Refuseniks Responsible for Moussa Arafat's Murder?

2005-09-07T09:30:00.000+03:00

:) Rumor has it that some moonbat Leftists are already claiming a link between the murder of Moussa Arafat Arutz Sheva - Israel National News: and the growing refusenik movement amongst Israeli youth following the expulsion. One moonbat was quoted as saying, ' There are far-right fundamentalist extremists out there talking about divine wrath and links between Gush Katif and Hurricane Katrina -- these people are dangerous -- they are trying to undermine the peace process. Those who seek to find links in current events would do better to look at the instability that the mutiny of the refuseniks has caused in Gaza. Moussa Arafat, the nephew/cousin of Noble Peace Prize winner Yasser Arafat, is dead. If Gaza turns into Beirut then I know where to place the blame.'

Column: Taking a Shot at Satire

2005-09-06T23:40:00.000+03:00

Galileeblog, my blog, is now loaded up with satire. I thought I would tell you that so that it would help you in deciphering my posts – if anybody ever reads them. I’m reminded of Jackie Mason’s opening to his impressionist bits. “OK, this is Shimon Peres, ha ha ha … when I do an impression I like to first tell you who it is.”

But it’s wrong to say that nobody understands my humor. I am actually cracking a couple of people up pretty good and that is a big mitzvah these days. Still, I hope to improve because some people don’t recognize that I am satirizing. They think that it’s really a news story I’m writing. I was concerned about that so I put little smiles at the beginning of each satirical post to give warning and even made a note of this device in the header. But still, it seems that reality is so bizarre these days that confusion reigns.

Here’s one example of a misunderstood satirical post of mine:

Modern Day Romeo and Juliet in Ramallah a "Hopeful Sign" According to Israeli Left

:) A modern day Romeo and Juliet murder and riot scene in Ramallah and Taibe (link) encouraged Israeli Leftists as to the future prospects of peace in the region. 'Seeing the love between this couple proves that there is hope for the future. It's true that this Juliet died a tragic death but our Romeo was spared, which is something to be hopeful about. All in all, one less person died in this love story. Could anyone think of a more positive sign for the future?'

The link there takes you to the blog, “Little Green Footballs,” which picked up the news story:

TAIBA — Efforts were under way on Sunday to calm the situation in this Christian village east of Ramallah after an attack by hundreds of Muslim men from nearby villages left many houses and vehicles torched.

The incident began on Saturday night and lasted until early Sunday, when Palestinian Authority security forces interfered to disperse the attackers. Residents said several houses were looted and many families were forced to flee to Ramallah and other Christian villages, although no one was injured.

The attack on the village of 1,500 was triggered by the murder of a Muslim woman from the nearby village of Deir Jarir earlier this week. The 30-year-old woman, according to PA security sources, was apparently murdered by members of her family for having had a romance with a Christian man from Taiba.

“When her family discovered that she had been involved in a forbidden relationship with a Christian, they apparently forced her to drink poison,” said one source. “Then they buried her without reporting her death to the relevant authorities.”

I had posted my satire on this story, thinking it clear that as far as the Israeli Left is willing to go this would surely be seen as an exaggeration. I was wrong. I received this email from a friend who keeps up very well with what is going on here:

“This is a ghastly story. Don't tell me the leftists are putting a positive spin on this. Horrific.”

Live and learn. Now it is not at all clear to me that what I wrote was obvious satire. I’m confused. I’ll try to do better.

Here is another one of my satirical posts – note the little smile!

Israeli Experts to Fly to New Orleans -- Recommend Disengagement from Gulf Coast

:) Israeli experts are on their way to battered Big Easy. Rumors have it that they have been conducting secret meetings in Brussels in order to come up with a solution to the situation. The details have not yet been released but sources say the Israeli experts are confident that their plan will succeed and bring a better, more secure life to Americans. One expert was quoted as saying: 'We have experience in running, disengaging, expelling and evacuating that is unmatched in today's world and as such we offer our assistance with full confidence that it is the best available.'

“What possesses him?” you may be asking yourselves, “to write such things?’’

I don’t know. “Sultanknish” has done some satire on Israel that was inspirational and I’ve become an avid reader of “Scrappleface” -- Scott Ott’s hilarious blog, but since Scott doesn’t cover Israel in depth, I thought I would take a shot at it. I’m finding it therapeutic if nothing else. Assisted national suicide is a tough process.

Yelena Bosinova: Her Story

2005-09-06T17:39:00.000+03:00

Yelena Bosinova is the woman who set herself on fire in Gush Katif in protest against the expulsion. Sultanknish tells the story of her life and death here:

Sultan Knish

Investors? I Don't Think So

2005-09-06T16:05:00.000+03:00

:) Looking to keep their jobs, corporate officers and management are avoiding like the plague the "investment opportunities" that pushers of the "peace process" see in their new utopia in Gaza.

Economic View: How big business could help advance the Mideast peace process - Business - International Herald Tribune:

"The Peres Center for Peace in Israel, the Aspen Institute in the United States and the World Economic Forum have tried to gain corporate support for the peace process. But why hasn't big business itself done more?" (Daniel Altman for IHT)

Why? Uh! Dunno.

'Wouldn't it be great if shareholders were as understanding as settlers?' was one comment heard somewhere in the Rockies.

Sharon's Quest for Love

2005-09-06T08:10:00.000+03:00

:) International pressure is building on Sharon to allow the free flow of terrorists and weapons from Egypt into Gaza.

Haaretz - Israel News - Int l community urges Israel to allow free movement via Rafah

The main threat that the international community is holding over Sharon's head in its effort to secure free terrorist passage from Egypt to Gaza is the withholding of their love for him at Sharon's upcoming UN appearance. The international community however, is sure that Sharon will come through. 'More than any other Israeli leader who has squandered the security and future of his people for his own personal interests, Sharon has shown a proclivity towards national and self abasement that can be counted on. We love him dearly already and will love him even more dearly in short order. He is a true leader who has shown his people the train tracks back to international endearment,' said one European admirer.

Sharon Wins Faint Hearts and Feeble Minds

2005-09-06T07:40:00.000+03:00

:) Building on the trust he gained within the Likud following his tyrannical seizure of power in the course of betraying all of his voters, his platform and his party's principles, Sharon has won the hearts and minds of the faint and feeble with promises of no more concessions. Arutz Sheva - Israel National News ' My confidence is restored,' said one man. ' Arik is a real confidence man.'

Israeli Peace Activists Calling for Weapons Training for Hamas in Gaza

2005-09-05T23:01:00.000+03:00

:) Following a "work accident" in a Gaza City weapons factory and an IDF denial of any involvement in the incident,

Haaretz - Israel News - Four killed when blast destroys Gaza City weapons laboratory:

moonbat peace activists are calling for increased IDF involvement and training in the handling of weapons and explosives. ' The IDF cannot so simply wash their hands of responsibility in this tragedy. The disengagement from Gaza will not be complete until these accidents stop. Until that time Israel is responsible for securing the success of the process to which the disengagement was only the first step.'

Link to Video Interview with the late William Rehnquist.

2005-09-05T16:56:00.000+03:00

BOOK TV.ORG:

Centennial Crisis:The Disputed Election of 1876
William Rehnquist

Description: Brian Lamb interviews Chief Justice William Rehnquist on his new book, Centennial Crisis: The Disputed Election of 1876' at the U.S. Supreme Court. The book is an examination of the disputed 1876 U.S. presidential election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden. The Chief Justice explores how Congress found a way to resolve the national impasse by creating a bipartisan electoral commission comprised of members of the U.S. House, Senate, and Supreme Court to decide who would become the nineteenth President of the United States.

Author Bio: William Rehnquist has been the Chief Justice of the United States since 1986. Prior to his nomination as Chief Justice by President Ronald Reagan, he served as an Associate Justice on the Court for Fifteen Years. He has previously served as an assistant attorney general at the Justice Department during the Nixon administration. He is the author of several other books on Supreme Court history."

Settler Rabbi Suffering from Stockholm Syndrome

2005-09-05T16:21:00.000+03:00

:) Rabbi Riskin of Efrat shows classic signs of Stockholm Syndrome -- writes opinion piece with virtually no Torah sources and much breast beating -- on the breasts of others.

Jerusalem Post | Breaking News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World

'While he may be completely wrong about what he says, nobody can say he has misunderstood or twisted the words of Torah or the Rabbis because he brings almost no meaningful sources,' one rabbinical student was heard to say... 'it's essentially meaningless from a Torah point of view but is warm and fuzzy in a way that makes people comfortable, docile, confused and guilty -- all at the same time.'

Solana and Beilin Channeling Chamberlain?

2005-09-05T15:03:00.000+03:00

:) In statements that reflect the true spirit of the Geneva accords, Javier Solana and Yossi Beilin have pointed the way for the next act of assisted suicide for the Jewish state.
Ynetnews - News - EU: Gaza deal needed to end occupation
A Leftist in the know is rumored to have said, ' There is a lot of channeling going on. Chamberlain is coming in loud and clear these days and the direction for Israel seems clearer than ever.'

Far Left Am Ha'aretz Contemplates its Navel

2005-09-05T14:26:00.000+03:00

:) Delving the depths of human conscience, the Leftist rag Am Ha'aretz questions the morality of the Unger decision.
Haaretz - News
In a touchy, feely, grasstoots question/survey they fish for moonbats to say what they wish they could about the decision of an American court to freeze PA assets. One Leftist has remarked on the Am Ha'aretz tactic that it is an 'intelligent way to attack those dark fascist forces which threaten the emergence of a just Palestinian state. Without openly criticizing the American legal system we can be as far Left as we need to while still preserving the impression that we are coherent.'

Clockwork Orange

2005-09-05T14:08:00.000+03:00

:) Like clockwork, the defeat of the Orange opposition and the expulsion of Jews from Gaza has been followed by some of the good old ultra-violence. Arutz Sheva - Israel National News
Israeli Leftists see promise in these developements, seeing it as part of the natural evolutionary process towards a utopian Palestinian state. 'These are the birth pangs and from it will emerge something, noble, peaceful, and everlasting -- a worthy neighbor for the new age.'