Saturday 27 June 2009
Israel Matzav: Why Hillary Clinton has it wrong about the 'settlements'
Why Hillary Clinton has it wrong about the 'settlements'
On Thursday, I blogged an article by Elliott Abrams (pictured) in the Wall Street Journal, in which Abrams recounted the history of the US - Israeli understandings relating to 'natural growth' of the 'settlements' and the eventuality that the 'settlement blocs' would end up in Israeli hands.Mrs. Clinton has largely been supported by Dan Kurtzer, the former US ambassador to Israel (whose brother lives in a 'settlement bloc'). Steve Rosen explains why Abrams got it right and Kurtzer got it wrong.
Israel Matzav: Why Hillary Clinton has it wrong about the 'settlements'A little history here will help to explain the contradiction
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Israel Matzav: Spanish courts to lose most extraterritorial jurisdiction
Spanish courts to lose most extraterritorial jurisdiction
You may recall that I reported in January that a Spanish court had opened a 'war crimes' investigation against seven IDF officers and Israeli politicians who were involved in planning and carrying out the targeted assassination of Hamas terror chief Salah Shehadeh (pictured) in 2002.This week, a law passed the Spanish parliament, which is expected to pass its senate quickly, that would drastically curtail the Spanish courts' jurisdiction.
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Israel Matzav: Spanish courts to lose most extraterritorial jurisdiction
Israel Matzav: Whom we should support in Iran
Whom we should support in Iran
In case any of you are still thinking that Mousavi and Ahmadinejad are the same, here are some reasons to think otherwise. This is from Natan Sharansky (who was named the Chairman of the Jewish Agency this week, four years after being denied the position because he opposed the expulsion of Gaza's Jews from their homes): Israel Matzav: Whom we should support in IranWith all their sympathy for peoples striving for freedom, Western governments are fearful of imperiling actual or hoped-for relations with the world's ayatollahs, generals, general secretaries and other types of dictators -- partners, so it is thought, in maintaining political stability. But this is a fallacy. Democracy's allies in the struggle for peace and security are the demonstrators in the streets of Tehran who, with consummate bravery, have crossed the line between the world of double-think and the world of free men and women.
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Israel Matzav: The vast gulf between American and Israeli Jews
The vast gulf between American and Israeli Jews
Caroline Glick looks at the vast difference in the way that Jews in Israel and in the United States perceive President Obama. Israel Matzav: The vast gulf between American and Israeli JewsWith Israeli distrust of Obama so apparent, and so easily explained, two questions arise: How has Obama managed to maintain American Jewish support despite his unprecedented unpopularity in Israel? And what is the likelihood that when push comes to shove, American Jews will stand with Israel against the president they so admire?
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Israel Matzav: Obama's Iran negotiation is gone
Obama's Iran negotiation is gone
This has been sitting on my browser for two days, but it's too good not to share. Jonah Goldberg simply nails it.
Israel Matzav: Obama's Iran negotiation is goneAccording to many analysts, Obama is still clinging to his hope of talking Iran out of its nuclear program. That's why he initially said there was little difference between Mir Hossein Mousavi and Ahmadinejad, and why his recent denunciations only followed similar rhetoric from the Europeans and our own Congress. He just doesn't want to let go of the diplomacy option. Obama has also made it clear that he sees the elimination of Iran's nuclear problem not as a stand-alone priority but as part of his Middle East two-step. His inseparable goal is to also push Israel into a peace settlement with the Palestinians.
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Israel Matzav: G8 jumps on the 'settlement freeze' bandwagon
G8 jumps on the 'settlement freeze' bandwagon
In a statement issued on Friday, the G8 foreign ministers called for Israel to agree to a 'settlement freeze.' Israel Matzav: G8 jumps on the 'settlement freeze' bandwagonOn the Middle East, the G8 called on all parties to "re-enter direct negotiations on all standing issues consistent with the roadmap" and it called for a freeze in Jewish settlement construction on the occupied West Bank.
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Israel Matzav: 'Palestinians' opposed to 'settlement freeze'
'Palestinians' opposed to 'settlement freeze'
Many 'Palestinians' are opposed to a Jewish 'settlement freeze' in Judea and Samaria as demanded by the Obama administration. Their opposition can be summed up in two words: economic necessity.
"I don't care what the leaders say and do," al-Najjar told The Jerusalem Post at one of the new construction sites in Ma'aleh Adumim. "I need to feed my seven children, and that's all I care about for now."
The phenomenon of Palestinians building new homes for Jewish settlers is not new. In fact, Palestinian laborers have been working in the construction business from the first day the settlements began in the West Bank.Read All at :
Today, Palestinian Authority officials estimate, more than 12,000 Palestinians are employed by both Jewish and Arab contractors building new homes in the settlements.
Israel Matzav: 'Palestinians' opposed to 'settlement freeze'
Israel Matzav: Lieberman slams Obama on Iran and 'settlements'
Lieberman slams Obama on Iran and 'settlements'
In an interview that's not likely to win him any friends in the White House, Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman has slammed American President Barack Hussein Obama for his policies on Iran and on Israeli 'settlements' in Judea and Samaria. He lambasted the West for not giving more support to Iranian reformists. "This really fanatic extremist regime is still in power, and the young people who are ready to fight and die for change are not getting any real support from the West," he said. "The fact that this regime continues to be an acceptable partner for dialogue is really a bad message. It shows the bad guys are winners."
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Israel Matzav: Lieberman slams Obama on Iran and 'settlements'
Israel Matzav: UNIFIL uncovers launch-ready Katyushas
UNIFIL uncovers launch-ready Katyushas
JPost reports that UNIFIL, which has recently begun operating within villages in southern Lebanon for the first time, uncovered 20 launch-ready Katyusha rockets in that area. Israel Matzav: UNIFIL uncovers launch-ready KatyushasIn one recent successful operation in the eastern sector of southern Lebanon, UNIFIL peacekeepers uncovered close to 20 Katyusha rockets that were ready for launch.
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Israel Matzav: NBC reporters link murder of Iranian icon to al-Dura case
NBC reporters link murder of Iranian icon to al-Dura case
On Saturday June 20, 27-year old Neda Agha Soltan (pictured with her fiancee Caspian Makan) was murdered by Basij thugs on the streets of Tehran. Soltan has become an icon for the dissidents in Iran and her cold-blooded murder has galvanized support for the revolutionaries around the world.Read All at :
Israel Matzav: NBC reporters link murder of Iranian icon to al-Dura case
Israel Matzav: Iranian dissidents seek Israeli technological help
Iranian dissidents seek Israeli technological help
Iranian dissidents have appealed to Israelis to help them break the technological stranglehold that the Islamist regime has attempted to place on their country. Israel Matzav: Iranian dissidents seek Israeli technological help"Dear Israeli Brothers and Sisters," writes Iranian dissident Arash Irandoost, "Iran needs your help more than ever now. And we will be eternally grateful. Please help opposition television and radio stations which are blocked and being jammed by the Islamic Republic (Nokia and Siemens) resume broadcast to Iran. There is a total media blackout and Iranians inside Iran for the most part are not aware of their brave brothers and sisters fighting and losing their lives daily. And the unjust treatment and brutal massacre of the brave Iranians in the hands of the mullah's paid terrorist Hamas and Hizbullah gangs are not seen by the majority of the Iranians. Please help in any way you can to allow these stations resume broadcasting to Iran.
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Israel Matzav: Hillary Clinton is wrong (again)
Hillary Clinton is wrong (again)
Hillary Clinton is wrong. There was a deal between George Bush and Ariel Sharon on continued construction of Israeli 'settlements' in Judea and Samaria. Moreover, in order to get that deal, the Bush administration forced Sharon to go much further than he wanted to in leaving Gaza and four towns in Samaria. Sharon did not want to abandon the Philadelphi corridor (the border between Egypt and Gaza, which is full of weapons tunnels today) - the Bush administration forced him to abandon it. And the expulsion of Jews from four towns in Samaria was the Bush administration's idea, just to show it could be done.Read All at :
Israel Matzav: Hillary Clinton is wrong (again)
Andrew Sullivan, Isolationist
Andrew Sullivan, Isolationist
A reader writes:
I just glanced at the clock and realized it's 5pm and I've done almost nothing related to my job today -- I've been clicking through link after link, reading and watching all I can from the reports trickling out of Iran. I am so overwhelmed with emotion I can't find the words to properly describe it. My heart reels for these people -- at the same time, I am almost dumbfounded by their courage and bravery and ideals. It's an incredible thing to watch history unfold in real time. I feel confident that one day my children will see these photos and read these accounts in their history books, and I take some solace in the fact that history is on the side of these protesters. But as the day winds down, I find that the emotion I feel most vividly is frustration.
I can't stop thinking about my visit to a concentration camp in Germany a few summers ago and the raw emotion I felt walking slowly down the hall in to the gas chambers. I have some German-Jewish heritage so the moment was especially poignant for me, but you didn't have to be a Jew to appreciate the significance of the surroundings. I remember asking myself over and over again how the world let something like this happen - how good people could stand by and watch as people were slaughtered. I know the comparison isn't fair -- and I know that it's oversimplifying the situation to say that good people are standing by doing nothing. Still, besides turning my twitter avatar green and donating money to tehranbureau.com (god, those sound even sillier writing them out) I don't know what I can do. I know the answer is nothing. It just doesn't seem like enough.
I understand the feeling. My own sense of helplessness is abated by blogging manically. It's all I know to do. But watching a boot come down on a human face in real time is ... well more than frustrating. But this is the fallen world we inhabit in which power always trumps freedom if it is ruthless enough in the short term. What we look for is the long term, the arc of history, and the rightness of the cause. Our job cannot be to end tyranny or evil, for that is impossible and the attempt can be counter-productive. But we can expose it, explain it, witness it and through the march of time chip way at it.
So that's what it has come to. The American Left, traumatized by the Bush years, has receded to the cynical and egotistical isolationism of the American Right in the 1930s. Yes, there's lots of evil out there, but no, there's nothing efective we can do about it, so we'll live our fine lives over here and pity the poor folks over there.
I'm not saying one should always set out to slay whatever dragons can be seen on the horizon. Yet it seems to me the story of American policy between 1939 and 2004 was an attempt to find the right balance between effectively promoting freedom and destructively not suceeding. No longer, if it depends on the people in Andrew's camp. They'll have compassion, yes, and green tweets, but don't expect much more from them.
taken from Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations
Andrew Sullivan Misses Some Points
Andrew Sullivan Misses Some Points
Andrew Sullivan doesn't allow comments on his blog.The best you can hope for is that he'll cut a section from a letter you send him, and post it annonymously, as "A reader writes".
Well, yesterday I wrote him, not something I often do. While my readership is but a tiny fraction of his, you folks can see it, no censorship here.
Hi Andrew –
Your link to Mark Lynch is a bit problematic.
Yes, it's likely American pressure is causing Israel to open many roadblocks.
No, it didn't start with Obama. No conceivable American pressure would have made any difference if opening roadblocks had immediately enabled terrorist attacks, as was the case for much of this decade. There has been significant improvement in the PA's ability – and WILLINGNESS – to combat their own thugs; this has enabled Israel to open roadblocks without endangering innocent lives. This Palestinian change of tack should be attributed to their fear of Hamas taking over the West Bank, and also to the efforts of the Bush administration. I realize it will be hard for you to accept that the Bush administration did anything right, but this is a clear case, and it has been discussed in the Israeli media repeatedly over the past year or 18 months – long before Obama was president.
The efforts of the Obama administration, so far, are peculiar. True, pressure on the Netanyahu government is yielding some results. Yet the potential of this pressure, at its greatest, will be to bring the Israeli positions back to where they were when President Clinton dictated his final terms for peace on December 24th 2000, which Israel accepted; probably even that is no longer achievable, since the experience of this decade has taught a broad consensus of Israelis never to accept any significant Palestinian right of return. Meanwhile, even if the Obama administration pushes Israel all the way back to December 2000, the Palestinians – as we all remember, even if you've forgotten – rejected Clinton's diktat. Unless the Obama administration puts massive pressure on the Palestinians to change their fundamental positions, no peace is possible. So far, such pressure is not in evidence.
A comment on the 600 roadblocks Lynch mentions. They don't exist. I wrote about this recently here, but you should look at my post only so as to reach the United Nations report behind it. Even according to their own data, the 600-roadblock story is counterfactual. Or put in simpler language: it's a lie. A widespread lie, true, one repeated so often that many gullible people repeat it thoughtlessly since "it must be true", but it's still a lie. And the propagators either know it (Palestinian and UN), or should know better (Andrew Sullivan).
Finally, I see you're deeply troubled by the claims of the Iranian regime that the CIA shot Neda. I can understand why you're troubled, but I'm mystified by the surprise in your voice. Since when it is news that regimes that are willing to murder people are also willing to lie about it? Isn't that one of the main stories of our age? Yet why should we castigate only the vicious regimes, when even you, Andrew Sullivan, participate in dissemination of a Big Lie about Israel?
Well, yesterday I wrote him, not something I often do. While my readership is but a tiny fraction of his, you folks can see it, no censorship here.
Hi Andrew –
Your link to Mark Lynch is a bit problematic.
Yes, it's likely American pressure is causing Israel to open many roadblocks.
No, it didn't start with Obama. No conceivable American pressure would have made any difference if opening roadblocks had immediately enabled terrorist attacks, as was the case for much of this decade. There has been significant improvement in the PA's ability – and WILLINGNESS – to combat their own thugs; this has enabled Israel to open roadblocks without endangering innocent lives. This Palestinian change of tack should be attributed to their fear of Hamas taking over the West Bank, and also to the efforts of the Bush administration. I realize it will be hard for you to accept that the Bush administration did anything right, but this is a clear case, and it has been discussed in the Israeli media repeatedly over the past year or 18 months – long before Obama was president.
The efforts of the Obama administration, so far, are peculiar. True, pressure on the Netanyahu government is yielding some results. Yet the potential of this pressure, at its greatest, will be to bring the Israeli positions back to where they were when President Clinton dictated his final terms for peace on December 24th 2000, which Israel accepted; probably even that is no longer achievable, since the experience of this decade has taught a broad consensus of Israelis never to accept any significant Palestinian right of return. Meanwhile, even if the Obama administration pushes Israel all the way back to December 2000, the Palestinians – as we all remember, even if you've forgotten – rejected Clinton's diktat. Unless the Obama administration puts massive pressure on the Palestinians to change their fundamental positions, no peace is possible. So far, such pressure is not in evidence.
A comment on the 600 roadblocks Lynch mentions. They don't exist. I wrote about this recently here, but you should look at my post only so as to reach the United Nations report behind it. Even according to their own data, the 600-roadblock story is counterfactual. Or put in simpler language: it's a lie. A widespread lie, true, one repeated so often that many gullible people repeat it thoughtlessly since "it must be true", but it's still a lie. And the propagators either know it (Palestinian and UN), or should know better (Andrew Sullivan).
Finally, I see you're deeply troubled by the claims of the Iranian regime that the CIA shot Neda. I can understand why you're troubled, but I'm mystified by the surprise in your voice. Since when it is news that regimes that are willing to murder people are also willing to lie about it? Isn't that one of the main stories of our age? Yet why should we castigate only the vicious regimes, when even you, Andrew Sullivan, participate in dissemination of a Big Lie about Israel?
taken from Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations
Israeli Concessions, American Ones, and no Palestinian Ones
Israeli Concessions, American Ones, and no Palestinian Ones
The New York Times has a reasonable article about the steps Israel is taking to improve conditions for the Palestinians on the West Bank. Reasonable, in that at least the article doesn't pretend it all happened because of Obama. No more than reasonable, however, because the article somehow manages not to mention the efforts of the Bush administration, personified by General Dayton, who has been mentoring the PA security forces for quite some time and who must bear at least some credit for their growing abilities; without that happening Israel wouldn't be lifting its own hand.
The part I most liked was this:
The part I most liked was this:
But Palestinian officials said that the Israeli measures did not go far enough. The prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, Salam Fayyad, told reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday that they did not meet Palestinian expectations, and that “what is required is a full cessation of military raids in Palestinian Authority areas.”
It was always thus: Israel doesn't meet Palestinian expectations.
At the bottom of the NYT piece is a link to Elliot Abram's op-ed at the Wall Street Journal. According to Abrams, who was there, the Bush administration did reach understandings with Sharon's government recognizing that the largest settlements near the border would remain in Israel (implying there might be land swaps for them). Abrams thereby contradicts Hillary Clinton who says such understandings never happened.
What surprises me about the whole issue is the assumption - nay, certainty - that no-one's keeping track so people, even the American Secretary of State, can say whatever they wish because no-one knows enough to call them on their fibs. I mean, we're talking about 2004-2005, not the twelfth century. The day before yesterday. Some of us are old enough to remember what was happening four years ago, and we don't need Elliot Abrams to write in the newspapers to know that Hillary Clinton is not telling the truth, unless it might be in some lawyerly-hairsplitting meaning.
The funny part, of course, is that Hillary's husband Bill, once President of the United States, had the same position when on December 24th 2000 he dictated his terms of peace to the Palestinians and Israelis: That the large settlements near the border stay put. Buy hey, that was a very very long time ago, almost nine years, and it's too much to expect that anyone know facts that old.
Predictably, the folks from the Palestinians-are-always-right brigade are linking to a rebuttal of Abrams. It's over here, should you be interested. It left me unconvinced, but maybe you'll be swayed. In any case, the key point to remember is the distinction between outposts and far-flung settlements, on the one hand, and large settlements near the line, on the other. The first two ultimately have no future as even Netanyahu's government implicitely admits; the second type will never be dismantled, as even the people of the Geneva Accord recognized in writing. How President Obam and Secretay Clinton, two highly intelligent people, have managed to lose sight of this, I cannot say.
taken from Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations
A Booming Economy!
A Booming Economy!
I've been reading the Economist, off and on, for 40 years. While they often have interesting things to say on many topics, their primary interest is economics. More often than not, when their reporters file stories about places there will be a noticable emphasis on its economics.
Not when it comes to Israel, of course. While I have no doubt that they have reported on Israel's economy once or twice in the past half century, I can't offhand remember ever having noticed. When they report on Israel they talk about politics.
So it remains for others to do. Here's a nice article in Haaretz. Synopsis: While much of the world economy and world's economies are sagging groaning and creaking, Israel's is doing admirably well. The country's economic leadership has mostly got things right, and its entrepreneurs and businessmen are taking fine advantage. True, the political leadership of the country is a disaster (it's the same people, by the way), and the crushing burden of being at war for a century doesn't help - but apparently it doesn't harm much, either. Israel's GDP per capita ranking is about 20th worldwide as is.
Remove the need for that gigantic army and everything that goes with it, and we'll shoot to the top of the table within 5 years, if you ask me: move over Norway.
Next time you hear the boycott-Israel brigade enthuse about the tomatos they aren't buying, you might want gently to tell them Israelis are largly a hard-working bunch who've faced far worse adversity without blinking.
Not when it comes to Israel, of course. While I have no doubt that they have reported on Israel's economy once or twice in the past half century, I can't offhand remember ever having noticed. When they report on Israel they talk about politics.
So it remains for others to do. Here's a nice article in Haaretz. Synopsis: While much of the world economy and world's economies are sagging groaning and creaking, Israel's is doing admirably well. The country's economic leadership has mostly got things right, and its entrepreneurs and businessmen are taking fine advantage. True, the political leadership of the country is a disaster (it's the same people, by the way), and the crushing burden of being at war for a century doesn't help - but apparently it doesn't harm much, either. Israel's GDP per capita ranking is about 20th worldwide as is.
Remove the need for that gigantic army and everything that goes with it, and we'll shoot to the top of the table within 5 years, if you ask me: move over Norway.
Next time you hear the boycott-Israel brigade enthuse about the tomatos they aren't buying, you might want gently to tell them Israelis are largly a hard-working bunch who've faced far worse adversity without blinking.
taken from Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations
Geneva vs. Haifa
Geneva vs. Haifa
Remember that giant atomic contraption built under the Swiss-French border that cost gazillions and didn't work? Well, I don't profess to understand any of this article, but the first two paragraphs were fun:
WHEN the Large Hadron Collider, a giant particle accelerator near Geneva, was switched on last September, the press was full of scare stories about the risk of it producing a tiny black hole that would, despite its minuscule size, quickly swallow the Earth. In fact, the first test runs could never have made such an object. And, just over a week later, the LHC broke and has not yet been repaired. But it is true that one of the things its operators would like to create, if and when they get it going again, are miniature versions of those fabled astronomical objects whose intense gravity means no light can escape them.
Among their reasons for this aspiration is a wish to examine Stephen Hawking’s famous but untested prediction that, despite their famous blackness, black holes do actually emit radiation, including light. But if they do not get the LHC running pronto, they may find themselves beaten to the prize of producing this so-called Hawking radiation by an experiment being carried out on a desktop in a laboratory in Haifa.
taken from Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations
Save the Planet the Human Way: Forward
Save the Planet the Human Way: Forward
Lots of the more vocal Cassandras insist we must dramatically impair our standards of living so as to Save the Planet. (The Guardian, predictably, is a hotbed of these folks). True, human nature being what it is, this is both impossible and vicious. Impossible because it contradicts human nature - never an obstacle to the millenarians, but still true. Vicious because even if it were somehow to happen, most of the suffering would inevitably be bourn by the poor; the poor in the developed world, and the poor in the rest of the world. Not a problem, say the Cassandras: we'll have to force the rich to ante up.
Which is why it will never happen, of course. Even if it would save the planet, which is debatable.
The traditionally human way of doing this is by moving forward, into technologies that impact the world less while offering more.
Building a smart electric grid, for example, which will probably reduce the use of electricity by 10% while bringing vast benefits.
Which is why it will never happen, of course. Even if it would save the planet, which is debatable.
The traditionally human way of doing this is by moving forward, into technologies that impact the world less while offering more.
Building a smart electric grid, for example, which will probably reduce the use of electricity by 10% while bringing vast benefits.
Once these issues are ironed out, though, the smart grid could provide the platform for a huge range of innovation and applications in energy, just as the internet did in computing. “I think that an open, standards-based network could give birth to a thousand new companies,” says Eric Dresselhuys of Silver Spring Networks, a firm based in California that works with utilities to implement smart-grid networks. A smarter grid will not only help people save energy or use it more efficiently, but will also promote the adoption of all kinds of green technologies, including wind, solar and plug-in vehicles. “It’s the platform that allows for the transformation of one of the largest and most important industries in the world to take place,” says Mr Dresselhuys.
taken from Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations
Our Rabbi, Ha-Tzvi Yehudah Ha-Cohain Kook, on Jerusalem, the Temple Mount and the Temple
Our Rabbi, Ha-Tzvi Yehudah Ha-Cohain Kook, on Jerusalem, the Temple Mount and the Temple
[From Sefer Le-Mikdashech Tuv, pp. 11-14 unless noted otherwise]
A student related: When I asked our Rabbi the well-known question whether the content of the prayer "Nachem," which is recited on Tisha Be-Av [in the Shemoneh Esrei in the prayer for rebuilding Jerusalem,] is speaking falsely in our time because of the passages of the "bitterness of our situation," he responded: "Jerusalem is still scorned and desolate, since the essence of Jerusalem is the Temple. Furthermore, the Old City of Jerusalem is in a state of desolation without inhabitants. It is impossible to approach the Old City and see piles of stones of synagogues and not burst into weeping!" (Sichot Ha-Rav Tzvi Yehudah, addendum at the end of the talk "U-le-minim al tehi tikvah - And for the slanderers let there be no hope").
When I came to request permission and a blessing from our Rabbi (see Sanhedrin 5b, Eruvin 63a and Rambam, Hilchot Talmud Torah 5:3) in order to establish a yeshiva in the heart of the Jerusalem, he rejoiced with great joy and encouraged me.
In the twilight of his years, when I asked him - in the name of my colleagues - if we should request that the guarding of the gates of the Temple Mount be placed in the hands of Tzahal and not in the hands of non-Jews, he did not see this as a pressing matter; he responded: "Slowly, slowly [Redemption arrives]" (see Jerusalem Talmud Yoma 3:2).
When I continued and asked if should we request the presence of our army on the Temple Mount, he again cooled with his glance what he considered as an impure burning desire and said sternly: "Slowly, slowly [redemption arrives]."
At the same meeting, when I mustered the courage, I asked - in the name of my colleagues who greatly pressed me to do so - if should we request that the flag of the State of Israel be flown on the Temple Mount, he looked at me with a dreadful glance of pain and amazement that I had sunk so low to the point of asking such questions, and he said forcefully: "We will raise a banner in the Name of our G-d!" (Tehillim 20:6). Despite this, "It is Torah and I need to learn it" (Berachot 62a), I therefore asked again, "Certainly, we will raise a banner in the Name of our G-d, but won't it be by way of the flag of the State of Israel?" Our Rabbi patiently repeated: "I told you: we will raise a banner in the Name of our G-d," with his absolute rejection of all the comparisons between any infringement of the holiness of the Temple Mount and the building of the Land of Israel.
At the end of this meeting, I told our Rabbi how we are continuing with the acts of redeeming the heart of Jerusalem, house after house, and then the stern and dreadful facial expression disappeared, and a full smile of eternal kindness enlightened his face. When I detailed the names of the streets, he said that I need not bother, because all of these places were etched in his memory from his youth.
A student was one scheduled to give our Rabbi a ride but was late because all of the traffic and expressed to distress. Our Rabbi said: On the contrary, I am happy that Jerusalem is filled with people.
When a Torah scholar brought to our Rabbi researchers of the Temple Mount, whose purpose was to identify the boundaries of the Temple, (since in their view it was permissible to enter there without fear of harming the sanctity of the Temple), our Rabbi said to the scholar: "What is all this for?!" He compared this to a rabbi who gathered many proofs for the existence of G-d, and the Aderet ztz"l [Rav Eliyahu David Rabinowitz-Teomim, former Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem and father-in-law of Maran Ha-Rav Kook], said about this rabbi’s book: "For what do we need proofs? (and he quoted the words of our Sages, "Any matter which is not clear, bring sources from the Talmud for it" - Jerusalem Talmud, Berachot 2:3, Eruvin 10:1). We believe in Hashem above all proofs" (Sichot Ha-Rav Tzvi Yehudah, sidra 2 Tazria, Parashat Ha-Chodesh 3-4; Emunah, sichah 15, 8). And so too in our matter: Behold, the Temple Mount’s boundary is surrounded by a wall. We do not traverse it, and we have no need for researchers.
After the liberation of the Old City during the Six-Day War, there were extensive excavations of the Kotel Tunnels, which extend under the Temple Mount. Ha-Rav Meir Yehudah Getz, Rav of the Kotel, asked our Rabbi, is it permissible to excavate under the Temple Mount to find the Temple implements? Our Rabbi answered, "No, do not dig." Our generation is still not ready to merit discovering the treasures of the Temple. (The book "Rav Ha-Kotel" p. 306)
When a Torah scholar mentioned to our Rabbi the custom of placing notes in the Kotel, our Rabbi said that one should not do this, and one should even refrain from putting one’s fingers into the Kotel [since it is forbidden for an impure person to enter the air of the Temple Mount in even the slightest way]. The Torah scholar said to him, but this is the custom of Israel [minhag Yisrael]. Our Rabbi responded, the word "minhag" [custom] contains the same letters as "gehinom" [purgatory].
When it became known to our Rabbi that archeological excavations were being performed under the Temple Mount, he responded with great distress: "What is all this for?! For what purpose should one fuss there?"
When they asked our Rabbi if there is a need to organize tours which encircle the Temple Mount in order to strengthen the fact that it belongs to us, he responded: "The Temple Mount is in our hands - there is no need for tours." They said to him that not everyone knows that the Temple Mount is ours. To this, he responded that if this is so, there is positive value in the tours in order to strengthen the proof of our ownership.
After the Six-Day War, when a Torah scholar and professor came to our Rabbi and asked him why he did not then begin to build the Temple, he responded, "The mitzvah of building the Kingdom of Israel takes precedence, according to the ruling of the Rambam at the beginning of the Laws of Kings" (Sichot Ha-Rav Tzvi Yehudah, chapters of Messiah 4, Talmud Torah 1 addendum 2). Later, this was extensively explained by our Rabbi in the article "From Behind the Wall" (Mei-Achar Kotleinu) in which he said that only after great improvement in the building of the Nation, both physically and spiritually, can we enter into the holiness of rebuilding the Temple (see Le-Netivot Yisrael vol. 1, #23).
When a delegation of public figures came to our Rabbi with the request to work as forcefully as possible against the threatened agreement which the Government of Israel was prepared to sign with the Country of Jordan, which included surrendering the Temple Mount to their control, our Rabbi reacted: "What about the entire Land of Israel?" They repeated their words many times, as did he.
After the Six-Day War, students approached our Rabbi and quoted the words of Rav Tzvi Hirsch Kalisher in the introduction to his book "Derishat Tzion" which repeats a tradition recorded in the name of the Vilna Gaon that if we will only leap and sacrifice one lamb, then everything will be ready for Redemption. They asked: perhaps it is proper to sacrifice one Pesach sacrifice? When our Rabbi heard this he became enraged: "We need to strengthen the Kingdom of Israel and return the Torah to those who learn it in Israel; to bring great repentance, and we will then ascend to the Temple Mount from the midst of this prophecy." He said these words emphatically and forcefully. (Le-Mikdashech Tuv, p. 180)
Blowing up the Dome of the Rock
After the Six-Day War, the Minister of Defense, Moshe Dayan, evacuated the non-Jews from the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. A few young men, who fought in the Jerusalem Brigade, felt that it was not enough, and they prepared explosives to blow up the mosques on the Temple Mount. They nonetheless went to take counsel with our Rabbi, who rejected the idea: This must come from the entire Nation, and not a part of it. They went to Reb Aryeh Levin, thinking that since he supported Etzel and Lechi before the establishment of the State, he would response positively; but he also rejected it for the same reason that there is a need for National agreement. He related a story, which our Rabbi would also relate, that a certain preacher would travel to different cities and encourage belief in false messianism, and he had a major influence. When Rav Chaim of Volozhin was informed that he was scheduled to speak on Shabbat in a particular community, he sent two messengers, who were to violate Shabbat to stop him, since it was a matter of life and death. They were successful. A rich non-Jew asked Rav Chaim if he had heard about the preacher and if, in his opinion, he was the Messiah. Rav Chaim responded: And what do you say? He answered: This has nothing to do with me. Rav Chaim said: You are wrong. When the Messiah comes even you will feel it.
The young men asked Reb Aryeh Levin, half in jest: If so, the building of the Temple also depends of the decision of the Knesset? He answered: It may be. (Iturei Cohanin #57 from Ha-Rav Avraham Remer)
A student related: When I asked our Rabbi the well-known question whether the content of the prayer "Nachem," which is recited on Tisha Be-Av [in the Shemoneh Esrei in the prayer for rebuilding Jerusalem,] is speaking falsely in our time because of the passages of the "bitterness of our situation," he responded: "Jerusalem is still scorned and desolate, since the essence of Jerusalem is the Temple. Furthermore, the Old City of Jerusalem is in a state of desolation without inhabitants. It is impossible to approach the Old City and see piles of stones of synagogues and not burst into weeping!" (Sichot Ha-Rav Tzvi Yehudah, addendum at the end of the talk "U-le-minim al tehi tikvah - And for the slanderers let there be no hope").
When I came to request permission and a blessing from our Rabbi (see Sanhedrin 5b, Eruvin 63a and Rambam, Hilchot Talmud Torah 5:3) in order to establish a yeshiva in the heart of the Jerusalem, he rejoiced with great joy and encouraged me.
In the twilight of his years, when I asked him - in the name of my colleagues - if we should request that the guarding of the gates of the Temple Mount be placed in the hands of Tzahal and not in the hands of non-Jews, he did not see this as a pressing matter; he responded: "Slowly, slowly [Redemption arrives]" (see Jerusalem Talmud Yoma 3:2).
When I continued and asked if should we request the presence of our army on the Temple Mount, he again cooled with his glance what he considered as an impure burning desire and said sternly: "Slowly, slowly [redemption arrives]."
At the same meeting, when I mustered the courage, I asked - in the name of my colleagues who greatly pressed me to do so - if should we request that the flag of the State of Israel be flown on the Temple Mount, he looked at me with a dreadful glance of pain and amazement that I had sunk so low to the point of asking such questions, and he said forcefully: "We will raise a banner in the Name of our G-d!" (Tehillim 20:6). Despite this, "It is Torah and I need to learn it" (Berachot 62a), I therefore asked again, "Certainly, we will raise a banner in the Name of our G-d, but won't it be by way of the flag of the State of Israel?" Our Rabbi patiently repeated: "I told you: we will raise a banner in the Name of our G-d," with his absolute rejection of all the comparisons between any infringement of the holiness of the Temple Mount and the building of the Land of Israel.
At the end of this meeting, I told our Rabbi how we are continuing with the acts of redeeming the heart of Jerusalem, house after house, and then the stern and dreadful facial expression disappeared, and a full smile of eternal kindness enlightened his face. When I detailed the names of the streets, he said that I need not bother, because all of these places were etched in his memory from his youth.
A student was one scheduled to give our Rabbi a ride but was late because all of the traffic and expressed to distress. Our Rabbi said: On the contrary, I am happy that Jerusalem is filled with people.
When a Torah scholar brought to our Rabbi researchers of the Temple Mount, whose purpose was to identify the boundaries of the Temple, (since in their view it was permissible to enter there without fear of harming the sanctity of the Temple), our Rabbi said to the scholar: "What is all this for?!" He compared this to a rabbi who gathered many proofs for the existence of G-d, and the Aderet ztz"l [Rav Eliyahu David Rabinowitz-Teomim, former Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem and father-in-law of Maran Ha-Rav Kook], said about this rabbi’s book: "For what do we need proofs? (and he quoted the words of our Sages, "Any matter which is not clear, bring sources from the Talmud for it" - Jerusalem Talmud, Berachot 2:3, Eruvin 10:1). We believe in Hashem above all proofs" (Sichot Ha-Rav Tzvi Yehudah, sidra 2 Tazria, Parashat Ha-Chodesh 3-4; Emunah, sichah 15, 8). And so too in our matter: Behold, the Temple Mount’s boundary is surrounded by a wall. We do not traverse it, and we have no need for researchers.
After the liberation of the Old City during the Six-Day War, there were extensive excavations of the Kotel Tunnels, which extend under the Temple Mount. Ha-Rav Meir Yehudah Getz, Rav of the Kotel, asked our Rabbi, is it permissible to excavate under the Temple Mount to find the Temple implements? Our Rabbi answered, "No, do not dig." Our generation is still not ready to merit discovering the treasures of the Temple. (The book "Rav Ha-Kotel" p. 306)
When a Torah scholar mentioned to our Rabbi the custom of placing notes in the Kotel, our Rabbi said that one should not do this, and one should even refrain from putting one’s fingers into the Kotel [since it is forbidden for an impure person to enter the air of the Temple Mount in even the slightest way]. The Torah scholar said to him, but this is the custom of Israel [minhag Yisrael]. Our Rabbi responded, the word "minhag" [custom] contains the same letters as "gehinom" [purgatory].
When it became known to our Rabbi that archeological excavations were being performed under the Temple Mount, he responded with great distress: "What is all this for?! For what purpose should one fuss there?"
When they asked our Rabbi if there is a need to organize tours which encircle the Temple Mount in order to strengthen the fact that it belongs to us, he responded: "The Temple Mount is in our hands - there is no need for tours." They said to him that not everyone knows that the Temple Mount is ours. To this, he responded that if this is so, there is positive value in the tours in order to strengthen the proof of our ownership.
After the Six-Day War, when a Torah scholar and professor came to our Rabbi and asked him why he did not then begin to build the Temple, he responded, "The mitzvah of building the Kingdom of Israel takes precedence, according to the ruling of the Rambam at the beginning of the Laws of Kings" (Sichot Ha-Rav Tzvi Yehudah, chapters of Messiah 4, Talmud Torah 1 addendum 2). Later, this was extensively explained by our Rabbi in the article "From Behind the Wall" (Mei-Achar Kotleinu) in which he said that only after great improvement in the building of the Nation, both physically and spiritually, can we enter into the holiness of rebuilding the Temple (see Le-Netivot Yisrael vol. 1, #23).
When a delegation of public figures came to our Rabbi with the request to work as forcefully as possible against the threatened agreement which the Government of Israel was prepared to sign with the Country of Jordan, which included surrendering the Temple Mount to their control, our Rabbi reacted: "What about the entire Land of Israel?" They repeated their words many times, as did he.
After the Six-Day War, students approached our Rabbi and quoted the words of Rav Tzvi Hirsch Kalisher in the introduction to his book "Derishat Tzion" which repeats a tradition recorded in the name of the Vilna Gaon that if we will only leap and sacrifice one lamb, then everything will be ready for Redemption. They asked: perhaps it is proper to sacrifice one Pesach sacrifice? When our Rabbi heard this he became enraged: "We need to strengthen the Kingdom of Israel and return the Torah to those who learn it in Israel; to bring great repentance, and we will then ascend to the Temple Mount from the midst of this prophecy." He said these words emphatically and forcefully. (Le-Mikdashech Tuv, p. 180)
Blowing up the Dome of the Rock
After the Six-Day War, the Minister of Defense, Moshe Dayan, evacuated the non-Jews from the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. A few young men, who fought in the Jerusalem Brigade, felt that it was not enough, and they prepared explosives to blow up the mosques on the Temple Mount. They nonetheless went to take counsel with our Rabbi, who rejected the idea: This must come from the entire Nation, and not a part of it. They went to Reb Aryeh Levin, thinking that since he supported Etzel and Lechi before the establishment of the State, he would response positively; but he also rejected it for the same reason that there is a need for National agreement. He related a story, which our Rabbi would also relate, that a certain preacher would travel to different cities and encourage belief in false messianism, and he had a major influence. When Rav Chaim of Volozhin was informed that he was scheduled to speak on Shabbat in a particular community, he sent two messengers, who were to violate Shabbat to stop him, since it was a matter of life and death. They were successful. A rich non-Jew asked Rav Chaim if he had heard about the preacher and if, in his opinion, he was the Messiah. Rav Chaim responded: And what do you say? He answered: This has nothing to do with me. Rav Chaim said: You are wrong. When the Messiah comes even you will feel it.
The young men asked Reb Aryeh Levin, half in jest: If so, the building of the Temple also depends of the decision of the Knesset? He answered: It may be. (Iturei Cohanin #57 from Ha-Rav Avraham Remer)
taken from Torat HaRav Aviner
Jewish Defence League Parsha and Weekly Update
Jewish Defence League Parsha and Weekly Update
This weeks Torah Parsha is Korach.
And Moshe said to Korach, “Listen please, son of Levi! Is it a small thing that the G-d of Israel distinguished you to sacrifice to Him and to perform the work of the Temple of HASHEM, and to stand before the congregation as their servant, and He brought you close and all your brothers, the children of Levi and you also quest the Kehuna (priesthood)? (Bamidbar 16:8-10) The evil inclination is likened to a fly… (Brochos 61A)
How could such a great man as Korach could have fallen so far so quickly? He was endowed with extraordinary wealth and charisma. How could he have allowed himself to be brought literally over the edge? Let us pause to appreciate just how fatal a flaw can be.
* * *
The Anti Jewish/Israel Conference sponsored by York University is over. The JDL led the battle and has received wide spread support. It was important to expose and confront this hate fest. I had an opportunity to speak with some of the 'Jewish' speakers from the conference. The main issue or shall we say, "fatal flaw" in their presentation is their eagerness to internalize and accept the false Arab claims of a 'Palestine Nation'. The false Arab claim is that some 400,000 - 600,000 'Palestinians' lived in a 'Palestine Nation' for thousands of years and the 'Palestinian' birth rate was not high. The truth is that there was no 'Palestine Nation' and that the Arab Population in the Land of Israel was extremely small. When the Zionist Project started in the 1880's, jobs were created and Arabs immigrated for work. As a result of a huge Arab birth rate, the Zionist Movement leaders agreed to accept a Jewish State in a small part of the Land of Israel, which was discussed in the Peel Commission of 1937. The Arab Settlers and Arab Countries would not agree to a small Jewish State.
The words 'Occupation' and 'Settlers' must be explained. The truth must be presented. Those that fall for the false Arab narrative of history, view the Hezbollah and Hamas as resisting 'occupation'. And that 'occupation' is the lands as discussed from the Peel Commission of 1937.
Why is Sderot being fired upon? Because it is seen as 'occupied' land.
* * *
The Jewish Defence League first learned of the anti-Jewish/Israel conference in October and discovered that a former President of the Canadian Jewish Congress was on the 'advisory' board and we spoke with him about the true intentions of the conference:
"Fight Bad Speech With Good Speech" -- Prof. Ed Morgan:
http://www.uslaw.com/library/
“My problem is that each of these conferences has demonstrated that, contrary to my preferred self-image, I can occasionally be wrong.”…
The organizers then tried to persuade the main legal advisor for the B'Nai Brith Canada to be a listed speaker on their web site. And so, David Matas's name appeared for a brief while and then was removed because we alerted him about the dangers of this conference. We warned all major Jewish groups and Jewish scholars about the danger of this conference. And the result was a Jewish Community united against this hate fest. This conference was exposed and confronted.
“JDL objects to ‘Israel/Palestine’ conference at York” -- The Canadian Jewish News
http://www.cjnews.com/index.
“The Jewish Defence League said it plans to hold weekly demonstrations at York University to protest an upcoming two-day conference called Israel/Palestine: Mapping Models of Statehood and Paths to Peace.”…
“JDL gets traction” - JBlog Central - The Jewish Blog Network
http://www.israelforum.com/
“The JDL, under Meir Weinstein, started a campaign six months ago to shut down the conference. His complaint was that it didn’t have a balanced agenda but was meant to demonize Israel and replace it with a bi-national state. He pointed out to the Government of Canada who had been duped into funding the conference its true nature. I am very happy to say he is getting traction.”…
“Second Guessing a Conference” - Inside Higher Ed
http://www.insidehighered.com/
“Meir Weinstein, national director of the Jewish Defence League of Canada, which has led the charge against the conference, said the event's advisory committee was full of academics whom he called "viciously anti-Israel." He said he believes the conference is "camouflaging" its true intentions, even though a formal statement about the event notes it will not tolerate "anti-Semitism nor any other form of racism." …
“Emerging from the wreckage” - The Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.
"York University deserves to be punished because it has allowed a proliferation of hate on campus, " says Meir Weinstein, national director of the Jewish Defence League of Canada.”…
“Panel addresses anti-Israel ‘crisis’ on campus” - The Canadian Jewish News
http://www.cjnews.com/index.
“Crisis on Canadian Campuses, a June 11 panel discussion sponsored by the Jewish Defence League of Canada and hosted by Chabad Lubavitch, was held in advance of a two-day conference called Israel/Palestine: Mapping Models of Statehood and Paths to Peace.”…
* * *
The Jewish Defence League will use the summer months to grow and expand our influence. It is important that chapters be established across Canada. Join the Jewish Defence League now as we continue to build, educate, confront and expose the many threats to our people. Stay focused on the Jewish Truth and never give in to the lies of our many foes.
Please …
Join us every Monday evening for our discussion and ideology classes at the Toronto Zionist Center 788 Marlee Avenue 8:00 pm.
Tuesday evening security classes has been cancelled for the next two weeks.
For more information
416-736-7000
*New* Blog: http://jdlcanada.wordpress.
Website: jdl@jdlcanada.ca
With Love of Israel,
Meir Weinstein, National Director
Jewish Defence League of Canada
**Please sign and forward this petition that calls upon the Government of Canada to withdraw sponsorship of York University's anti Israel Conference.
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/
taken from B'NAI ELIM (Sons of the Mighty)
Parshas Korach: Korach
The primary event in this week’s parshah is the revolt that is held against Moshe and Aharon. Led by a man named Korach, the rebellion stemmed from jealousy towards Moshe and Aharon because of their elevated status among the nation (Moshe was the nation’s leader and Aharon was the high priest). The following verse depicts Korach’s statement to Moshe and Aharon:
“… the entire assembly ¾ all of them ¾ are holy and Hashem (God) is among them, so why do you exalt yourselves over the congregation of Hashem?” [Numbers: 16: 3]
Korach believed that every individual in the entire nation was on the same spiritual plane, and that no one should be more privileged than anyone else. At first glance, his logic seems well in place. Everybody in the nation does have his or her part to play and no one should be considered superior in any way. But from the great divine punishment that befell these rebels, it is clear that Korach’s argument was indeed flawed. So what was the root of his error?
A Midrash (inherited teachings of Moses from Sinai) on this week’s parshah reveals different statements that Korach exclaimed towards Moshe as he was sparking the revolt. Korach used two different examples that conveyed the same message, intending to embarrass Moshe’s level of knowledge and, ultimately, his capability of leadership:
Korach asked Moshe “Consider a cloak made entirely of Tcheilet (See footnote); does the cloak require that one puts Tzitzit on it?” When Moshe responded “yes”, Korach laughed at him saying, “Regarding a cloak of a different type of material, placing only one thread of Tcheilet exempts it from the obligation of Tzitzit. This one, which is made entirely of Tcheilet, should it not exempt itself!?”
Korach then asked Moshe “A room full of Torah scrolls; does it require a Mezuzah (See footnote)?” Again, when Moshe answered “yes”, Korach laughed and said with amusement “Regarding an empty room, only one small parchment containing a few verses from the Torah is needed at its doorpost to exempt it from the commandment of Mezuzah. A room filled with scrolls containing the entire Torah, should it not exempt itself!?”
Continue Reading at :
Parshas Korach: Korach’s Flaw
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