Wednesday 19 August 2009

UNIVERSAL TORAH: SHOFTIM

UNIVERSAL TORAH: SHOFTIM


By Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum

Torah Reading: SHOFTIM, Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9.
Haftara: Isaiah 51:12-52:12.

The annual cycle of Torah readings is so arranged that parshas SHOFTIM, "Judges", is always read on the first Shabbos of the month of Elul, season of compassion and repentance, when all hearts yearn to come back to the Source. The opening words of the parshah -- "Appoint judges and police for yourselves in all your gates" -- contain a personal message for all of us. The key step in coming back to G-d is when we "appoint judges and police" for OURSELVES -- in the gates of our own minds and souls. We must examine our traits, activities and behavior and consider carefully whether they accord with G-d's Torah and how they could be improved. Then we must find ways to "police" ourselves so as to enforce our good resolutions and carry them out, taking the next steps forward to greater holiness in all the different areas of our lives.

Together with its personal spiritual advice for each one of us, parshas SHOFTIM contains the blueprint for a Torah state in Israel ordered under its judges, its supreme court, its king, priests and prophets. Parshas SHOFTIM is at the center of the "trilogy" of parshiyos in which Moses sets forth the intricate details of the mitzvos making up the "Mishneh Torah", his repetition of Torah law prior to his departure from the world. Following the opening parshiyos of Deuteronomy, which brought us the basics of faith, love and fear of G-d, last week's parshah, RE-EH, set forth the blueprint for a blessed country cleansed of idolatry, where people's minds are constantly focussed on the service of G-d in the Temple. The blueprint in RE-EH is for a nation cultivating the land, giving tithes to the priests and Levites, caring for widows, orphans and proselytes, giving loans and charity to those in need... The annual cycle revolves around the three pilgrim festivals when everyone comes up to Jerusalem to "appear before G-d", experiencing the awe of the Temple, partaking of sacrifices and the second tithe in holiness and purity, and learning to revere G-d.

Next week's parshah, KI TETZE, the third in this "trilogy", focuses more upon the commandments that relate to the particulars of our daily lives in the world -- family, property, how we build our houses (with a parapet), our clothes (tzitzis), personal morality, who we admit into our communities and many others. Thereafter, parshas KI TAVO will complete the "repetition of the law", concluding with the blessings and curses over which Moses struck the Covenant with the Children of Israel in the Plains of Moab prior to their entry into the Land.

Our present parshah of SHOFTIM, which is at the very center of this "trilogy" of parshahs containing Moses' "repetition of the law", sets forth the necessary order of leadership and government through which the Torah nation can thrive in the Land of Israel. The parshah gives us the commandments relating to those who are the key to living successfully in the Holy Land: the judges and police, the Supreme Court (Sanhedrin), the king, the priests and the true prophets. It is these leaders and officers who are to lead and guide the nation in following the path of the Torah. SHOFTIM also sets forth the laws of murder and manslaughter, whose purpose is to ensure personal security within the country, and the laws of warfare, whose purpose is to bring security from external enemies.

* * *

JUDGES AND POLICE

"Justice! You must pursue Justice -- in order that you may live and inherit the Land." (Deut. 16:17). According to the Midrash, "This teaches that the appointment of judges is to give life to Israel and to let them dwell on their land and not to cause them to fall by the sword" (Sifri Shoftim 144). A Torah judiciary with police to enforce Torah law is the very key to life and security in the land.

According to the blueprint, the true judges of Israel are not to be an aloof elite with responsibility to no-one. The legal system is not to be a tangled jungle rife with corruption and special protection for the rich and powerful.

The entire judicial system of the Torah nation is predicated upon universal study and knowledge of the Torah, making regular working citizens capable of serving as members of a Beis Din -- a "house of law" ("court") of three judges (for non-capital) or twenty-three (for capital) cases. A true Torah Israel is one so blessed that those earning their living through the labor of their hands are able to complete their work in less time, so as to be able to study the Torah assiduously as well, as in the case of many of the outstanding sages of the Talmud. According to the blueprint, the minimum town of one hundred and twenty male residents must contain a Beis Din of 23 together with an additional three rows of twenty-three students listening to and learning from their elders (Sanhedrin 17b). In this way, justice is at hand and quickly available every day, without the aggrieved parties having to submit themselves to a protracted, expensive, grueling struggle with slick lawyers and a heaving, endlessly complex legal system.

"If there are police, there are judges; if there are no police, there are no judges" (Sifri). If there are no police to enforce the law, the judges may judge all they like, but to no effect. In addition to study, the effective rule of Torah law is also predicated upon police who are subject to the authority of the Torah judges. Some may smile at the above suggestion that the first resort for justice should be the local Beis Din of Torah scholars, wondering how many of today's yeshivah alumni would be capable of acting as judges, let alone having police under them. It should be remembered that one of the reasons why the study of Talmudic law often appears detached from life in the rough and tumble of the actual world is because during most of the past two thousand years, rabbinical courts everywhere have been stripped of all meaningful sanctions with which to impose and enforce Torah law. The result is that the Torah has authority only over those who give it authority in their lives. Indeed, contemporary "political correctness" is appalled at the idea of rabbis "interfering" in areas that are considered in the realm of personal conscience, such as whether a person worships before a statue or image or violates the Shabbat, or what he or she does with another consenting adult. Yet under Torah law all of these may involve capital punishment, as we find in the case of idolatry in our parshah (Deut. 17:5). Many other sins that the wider society does not consider "criminal" can render a person liable to 39 lashes, such as wearing a forbidden mixture of wool and linen or eating meat cooked with milk.

The wider society obviously has some way to go in order to accept the law of the Torah. Those who yearn for the rule of Torah law and the blessing that it will bring can learn from our present parshah of SHOFTIM that constant study of study of the law is the foundation of the entire system.

While every layman is expected to be versed in the law, the commandment to "pursue Justice! Justice!" is interpreted to mean you should go to a "beautiful" Beis Din and seek out the best judges: the true sages and guardians of the Torah.

Our parshah instructs us that "when a matter of law is to wondrous for you. you shall rise up and go up to the place which HaShem your G-d will choose." (Deut. 17:8). If the local scholars and maveens do not know the correct answer, we are instructed to search out the wisest and most profoundly learned. It is evident from our parshah that the spiritual source of the wisdom of the Torah lies on Mount Moriah, "the Mountain of Teaching" -- the Temple Mount. In Temple times, there was a hierarchy of three courts that were in constant session on the Temple Mount: one at the very entrance and one inside, while the Supreme Court, the Sanhedrin, sat immediately adjacent to the inner Temple courtyard (Azara), in the Lishkas HaGozis, ("Hewn Chamber").

The teachings of the sages of the Sanhedrin in Temple times constitute the oral Torah tradition handed down from teacher to student going back to Moses and Joshua. This is incorporated in the Mishneh and Talmud, which are the core of the study of Torah law today. Obedience to the oral law as handed down by the true sages is itself one of the commandments of the Torah in our parshah: "According to the Torah that they will teach you and the law that they will tell you shall you do: you shall not depart from the word that they tell you right or left." (Deut. 17:11). Even an outstanding sage who deviates from the majority opinion of the sages of the Sanhedrin is liable to the death penalty as a "rebellious elder" (ibid. v. 12-13). It is noteworthy that the punishment of the rebellious elder is one of those cases (like that of false witnesses) that is to be loudly publicized among the people. Here is another respect in which the blueprint for a Torah state differs widely from the present-day reality, in which media controlled by narrow interests can put anyone they like on public "trial", while the quest for true justice is like trying to grasp a phantom. In the Torah state, it is from the Temple that the announcement goes forth about who is truly evil, "and all the people will hear and be afraid, and will not act in insolent defiance any more" (ibid. v. 13).

* * *

THE KING

For some people the very word king is associated with images of contemporary "royalty" that render it somewhat misleading as a translation of the Hebrew word MELECH. The Hebrew word refers to the ruler who has power over a sovereign political entity. Our parshah teaches that such a ruler is part of the Torah blueprint for the successful state (Deut. 17:14-20). Yet the Torah conception of the MELECH could not be further away from the kinds of rulers who have power in states throughout the world today including those who still bear royal titles.

As exemplified by David Melech Yisrael, the Torah MELECH is first and foremost a saintly student and lover of the Torah. While every Israelite is commanded to write his own Torah scroll, the king is commanded to copy another scroll from the authoritative Temple text and to take it everywhere he goes. He is to read from it constantly -- this is what gives him his life and power (see Likutey Moharan I:56). King David testified that he would nightly rise before midnight in order to meditate on the Torah (Psalms 119:148). Yet he did not flinch from getting involved in the rough and tumble of the actual world. "My hands are filthy from from blood and aborted tissue in order to purify a woman to permit her to her husband" (Berochos 4a).

The Talmud instructs us even to go to see the kings of the nations -- in order to understand the difference between them and the true kings of Israel (Berachot 9b). Surviving non-Israelite monarchies have, with the complicity of the media, fostered a fairy-tale image of royalty whose vanity and emptiness have become starkly visible through an endless succession of scandals. The present heir to the throne of Britain has publicly declared that if he becomes king, he will abandon the historic title of Defender of THE Faith, and instead declare himself Defender of Faith - as if it does not matter what you believe, so long as you believe in something.

This is the precise opposite of MELECH YISRAEL, who is the uncompromising Defender and Champion of the Torah of Truth. The true kings of Israel today are the humble sages and Tzaddikim who live modestly, without Mercedes, mansions and villas, artwork, jewelry and the other trappings of "royalty". Their wealth is the true, enduring wealth of their Torah wisdom and holiness, and the merits they have accumulated through their strenuous efforts and exertion on behalf of the community.

In the Torah state, the king himself must subject himself to the authority of the Sanhedrin and the prophets. While the king has responsibility for the internal and external security of the state, he must submit weighty matters of state, such as whether to go to war, to the sources of holy spirit: the priests and the prophets. Thus parshas SHOFTIM presents commandments relating to the status and privileges of the priests in the Torah state, and to the qualifications of the prophet and how true prophecy is to be distinguished from false prophesy and divination.

* * *

SECURITY

The greatest scourge of contemporary society has become the cheapness of human blood, which is being shed daily without scruples in the rampant criminality and terror that have spread all over the world. The abhorrence of the Torah for bloodshed appears in many places and is prominent in our parshah, which contains the laws of murder and manslaughter and the cities of refuge for unintentional killers. We have already encountered some of these laws in precious parshiyos (MISHPATIM, Exodus ch. 21, MAS'EI, Numbers ch. 35, etc.)

Some are under the impression that the Torah requirements for valid testimony to convict a killer are so demanding that in practice it would be impossible to bring criminals to justice. For example, in a Beis Din, the witnesses must be Torah-observant, and their testimony must withstand rigorous investigation, while circumstantial evidence is inadmissible. It is true that the Torah requirements for valid testimony are very stringent, yet Torah law also provides the MELECH with sanctions with which to make sure that Torah leniency does not lead to social chaos. Thus the lawful MELECH of the Torah state can impose prison sentences and even capital punishment where necessary even in cases where a Beis Din could not impose such sentences.

The laws of warfare contained in parshas SHOFTIM show that from the Torah standpoint, the critical factor in the wars we face are not our numbers, arms and equipment as against those of our enemies. The critical factor is our faith in HaShem and the courage with which we are ready and willing to fight for our convictions. The "pep talk" to the troops is given by the priest. His opening words are: "SHEMA YISRAEL" (Deut. 20:3) -- alluding to the words with which we declare our faith twice daily.

The Torah commands us not to loose our sensitivities even in time of war. Even when fighting our enemies, we are not allowed to wantonly destroy property. It is in the context of the laws of warfare that the Torah gives us the law of "BAL TASHCHIS" ("Do not wantonly destroy." Deut. 20:20). If this law applies to our enemies' property even in time of war, how much more it applies to our own property and to public property in time of peace. We are to value that which has value, and not to needlessly waste and destroy. This applies to the natural wealth and resources of the earth, which are being mindlessly exploited and destroyed for the sake of immediate gain without a thought for the long-term.

The closing mitzvah of parshas SHOFTIM is that of the heiffer whose neck is broken in a ceremony that comes to atone for an unsolved homicide - a case in which a body is found in the open but the killer is unknown. It is noteworthy that the judges of the town nearest to where the body is found require atonement. It is their responsibility to see that their town is properly organized to take care of visitors and the needy, so that no-one is forced to take to the roads in search of hospitality, thereby exposing himself to the attendant dangers from roaming killers.

"Atone for Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, Hashem, and do not put innocent blood among Your people Israel, and let the blood be atoned for them" (Deut. 21:8).

* * *

Shabbat Shalom!!! Chodesh Tov Umevorach!!!

Avraham Yehoshua Greenbaum

--
AZAMRA INSTITUTE
PO Box 50037 Jerusalem 91500 Israel
Website: www.azamra.org

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Israel Matzav: Oh my! Boogie Yaalon allies with Moshe Feiglin

Oh my! Boogie Yaalon allies with Moshe Feiglin

Many of you know that my interview with Moshe Feiglin six months ago convinced me that his head is on straight and that he is just completely different than Israel's politicians. Many of you may also recall that Feiglin won the 20th spot in the Likud primary and that Netanyahu, who has an irrational hatred for Feiglin, used unfair tactics to force Feiglin down the list and out of a realistic spot on the Likud's Knesset slate. Some of you may even recall that Feiglin was the real winner of the Likud primary, with the people that he recommended reaching high positions on the Likud's list.

Tonight, there is word that Moshe (Boogie) Yaalon, the IDF's former chief of staff who resigned over the Gaza expulsion, and who is now number 3 on the Likud's list, has openly allied himself with Feiglin. And Binyamin Netanyahu is not pleased about it.
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Israel Matzav: Oh my! Boogie Yaalon allies with Moshe Feiglin

Israel Matzav: CNN's Fareed Zakaria channels the Obama view of Iran

CNN's Fareed Zakaria channels the Obama view of Iran

On Tuesday, I ran a videotape of CNN's Fareed Zakaria's interview with Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Oren. For those who did not watch that interview, it is here. Even for those who did watch it, I'd like to suggest that you go back and re-watch the part where they discuss Iran. It runs between about 3:00 and 8:30 in the video. Once you've watched it, you will understand what's got George Jonas' dander up about the interview.
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Israel Matzav: CNN's Fareed Zakaria channels the Obama view of Iran

Israel Matzav: Irony alert: Bibi scoring points for standing up to Obama

Irony alert: Bibi scoring points for standing up to Obama

How's this for timing? The day after Housing Minister Ariel Atias admits that the government has placed a de facto freeze on housing starts in Judea and Samaria since March, the Washington Post (the Washington Post!) praises Prime Minister Netanyahu for resisting the Obama administration's pressure to freeze construction in the 'settlements.'
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Israel Matzav: Irony alert: Bibi scoring points for standing up to Obama

Israel Matzav: Report: IAEA hiding evidence that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons

Report: IAEA hiding evidence that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons

The International Atomic Energy Agency, and its feckless leader Mohamed ElBaradei (pictured) are hiding information that shows that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons according to western diplomats.

The officials and diplomats said that the International Atomic Energy Agency under Director General Mohamed ElBaradei was refraining from publishing evidence obtained by its inspectors over the past few months that indicate Iran was pursuing information about weaponization efforts and a military nuclear program.

ElBaradei, who will soon vacate his post, has said that the agency does not have any evidence that suggests Iran is developing a nuclear weapon.

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Israel Matzav: Report: IAEA hiding evidence that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons

Israel Matzav: 'Palestinian academic' denies Jewish connection to Western Wall

'Palestinian academic' denies Jewish connection to Western Wall

A Palestinian Authority university lecturer is the latest PA academic to rewrite history and deny Jewish history in Jerusalem - in particular, the Jewish people's connection to the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) of the Jewish Temple.

Shamekh Alawneh, a lecturer in modern history at Al-Quds Open University, says the Jews invented the connection to the Wall for political purposes, to convince European Jews and Zionists to come to "Palestine."

"It has no historical roots," he said on a television program called Jerusalem - History and Culture. "This is political terminology to win the hearts and the support of the Zionists in Europe, so they would emigrate and come to Palestine. Nothing more!"

The show's interviewer also refers to the "Judaization" of Jerusalem, and to Jewish plots to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Denying Jewish history in Jerusalem and the existence of the Jewish Temple is a central component of PA political ideology. This denial started with Yasser Arafat and continues to be reiterated by academics, politicians and religious leaders.
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Israel Matzav: 'Palestinian academic' denies Jewish connection to Western Wall

Israel Matzav: Why Turkey cannot be a go-between for Syria

Why Turkey cannot be a go-between for Syria


The break the last couple of hours was brought to you by a quick trip to Beitar. The next time I drive out there in the daytime, I will try to get someone else to drive back so I can take a picture of the Bethlehem soccer stadium for you. Once you see it, you'll never use the words 'poor Palestinian' together again.
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Israel Matzav: Why Turkey cannot be a go-between for Syria

Israel Matzav: IDF worried: Soldiers may refuse orders to expel Jews from their homes

IDF worried: Soldiers may refuse orders to expel Jews from their homes

During the Gaza expulsion four years ago, the IDF was successful in minimizing the number of soldiers who refused to obey orders. Although the IDF did not say so, for the most part, if soldiers felt that they could not take part in expelling Gaza's Jews, they told their commanding officers and they were reassigned. Some soldiers were reassigned out of combat units as a result. There was only one highly publicized incident of a soldier refusing to obey orders (pictured). Many soldiers were too shell-shocked to think on their feet, and given what was deemed broad support for the expulsion, most rabbinic and lay leaders erred on the side of obeying orders.
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Israel Matzav: IDF worried: Soldiers may refuse orders to expel Jews from their homes

Israel Matzav: Sweden has a long history of funding anti-Semitic NGO's

Sweden has a long history of funding anti-Semitic NGO's

Gerald Steinberg reports that Sweden has a long history of funding anti-Semitic NGO's (non-governmental organizations).

An NGO Monitor research report on Swedish government funding, published on June 29 2009, documented this pattern in detail, and warned of the incitement and anti-Semitic language being used routinely by these organizations. This systematic study examined over 20 major NGOs funded through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Diakonia, the multi-national NGO Development Center (NDC), and the Swedish Mission Council (SMR).

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Israel Matzav: Sweden has a long history of funding anti-Semitic NGO's

Israel Matzav: Swedish writer 'not sure' his blood libel is true

Swedish writer 'not sure' his blood libel is true

The Swedish reporter who penned a story in the Aftonbladet tabloid that claimed Israel is harvesting 'Palestinians' organs for resale abroad says that he is 'not sure' the story is true.

"I have a personal opinion, it concerns me that it's true," Donald Bostrom, who penned the story, told Israel Radio en route to an emergency meeting at the editorial offices Aftonbladet, presumably to discuss the aftermath of the report.

"I was [present] during the interview that night, I was a witness. It concerns me to the extent that I want it to be investigated," Bostrom told the station. "But whether it's true or not - I have no idea, I have no clue."

He was referring to a Palestinian witness who recounted an incident where a Palestinian was allegedly taken by the Israeli military and his body returned several days later - lacking some internal organs.

Unfortunately, the only people named in the story are the man who was arrested in New York and the 'Palestinian' who told the story. Otherwise this would make one heck of a libel suit.

Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon called on the Swedish government to condemn the story:
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Israel Matzav: Swedish writer 'not sure' his blood libel is true

Israel Matzav: What Americans think of Obama's meeting with Mubarak

What Americans think of Obama's meeting with Mubarak

UPI does a 'man in the street' survey about President Obama's meeting with Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak:

President Obama is meeting today with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to discuss issues related to the Middle East. What would you like to see them accomplish in this meeting? Past administrations have questioned Egypt's human rights record. Should Obama work to recast Egypt as a key Arab ally? Do you think Obama can make significant progress on Israeli-Palestinian peace by speaking to leaders of Middle Eastern countries?

See Video at :

Israel Matzav: What Americans think of Obama's meeting with Mubarak

Israel Matzav: Video: Obama's press conference with Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak

Israel Matzav: Video: Obama's press conference with Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak

Israel Matzav: Landing on the Temple Mount

Israel Matzav: Landing on the Temple Mount

Israel Matzav: Swedish tabloid publishes claim that IDF harvested 'Palestinians' organs

Swedish tabloid publishes claim that IDF harvested 'Palestinians' organs

A few weeks ago, a group of American Jews of (mainly) Syrian origin was arrested in the New York area as part of a more widescale investigation into political corruption in New York and New Jersey. The investigation included one charge that didn't fit in with the rest. It claimed that one of the Jews charged had obtained kidneys from Israel and resold them on the black market in the United States.

On Tuesday, the Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet introduced an anti-Semitic libel more vicious than anything we have heard in a long time. The tabloid claimed (with photographs - see below) that the IDF had harvested organs from dead 'Palestinians' and sold them to this particular Jew. The two pictures below are screenshots from Aftonbladet - the rest of the story follows them:
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Israel Matzav: Swedish tabloid publishes claim that IDF harvested 'Palestinians' organs

Israel Matzav: Reminder: New immigrants' arrival ceremony

Israel Matzav: Reminder: New immigrants' arrival ceremony

Israel Matzav: Obama pockets the concession, looks for more

Israel Matzav: Obama pockets the concession, looks for more

Improving Life for Palestinians

Improving Life for Palestinians

By all accounts life for the West Bank Palestinians is improving dramatically. And, to put it mildly, it's not improving in Gaza. This, in spite of the fact that in Gaza there are no settlements, and no Israeli presence. Meanwhile, the IDF is still present in parts of the West Bank, the settlers are still there, and to a very limited extent they're even still growing.

Just saying.
taken from Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations

Hatred Masquerading as Law

Hatred Masquerading as Law

Irwin Cotler, a world famous professor of law and a previous Canadian Minister of Justice and Attorney General has a two-part article about the Goldstone commission which is preparing a report on the Gaza operation for the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
Part one is here. Part two is here.

Given the client for whom the report is being written, it's no surprise to learn that the verdict was written before the investigation, and enshrined in the mandate of the investigation.

Indeed, the mandate that was handed over to Goldstone was deeply one-sided and flawed, by his own admission. For the resolution of the UNHRC creating the mandate already served as a direct indictment of Israel - it began by "strongly condemn[ing] the ongoing Israeli military operation… which has resulted in massive violations of the human rights of the Palestinian people and systematic destruction of Palestinian infrastructure." Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom - among others - accordingly refused to support it.

The a-priori flaws of the investigation are so glaring, that Mary Robinson - Mary Robinson, she of Durban infamy! - refused to head it:

Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson stated that "the resolution is not balanced because it focuses on what Israel did, without calling for an investigation on the launch of the rockets by Hamas. This is unfortunately a practice by the Council: adopting resolutions guided not by human rights but by politics. This is very regrettable." Asked to head up the mission before Goldstone, Robinson refused.

Then there's the matter of who was chosen to sit on the commission:

Notably, one Professor Christine Chinkin accepted the appointment. Now Chinkin joins Goldstone in an inquiry that bears the hallmarks of bias and politicization that he supposedly shunned. Indeed, before the mission began - as if to add insult to injury - Chinkin notoriously signed her name to a public letter that was titled "Israel's bombardment of Gaza is not self-defence - it's a war crime." Why she feels qualified at this point to hear witness evidence along with the rest of the commission - without triggering a reasonable apprehension of bias - is not entirely clear.


Cotler, being who he is, has no problem with inverstigations into Israel's actions. So long as they're reasonable.

None of this is intended to suggest, nor would I wish to have it inferred, that Israel is somehow above the law, or that Israel is not to be held accountable for any violations of law. On the contrary, Israel is accountable for any violations of international law or human rights like any other state. The Jewish people are not entitled to any privileged protection or preference because of the particularity of Jewish suffering.

But the problem is not that Israel seeks to be above the law; it is that Israel has been systematically denied equality before the law in the international arena. The issue is not whether Israel must respect human rights, but that the human rights of Israel and its people have not been respected. The discrimination emerges not from suggesting that human rights standards should be applied to Israel - which they must be - but from the fact that these standards have not been applied equally to anyone else.


There's a lot more in there. I recommend reading the whole thing. And of course, bookmark it for the near future, when the report gets published to international fanfare of the antisemites.
taken from Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations

Hatred Masquerading as News

Hatred Masquerading as News

From the description, it sounds like the Swedish version of The Guardian:

A leading Swedish newspaper reported this week that Israeli soldiers are abducting Palestinians in order to steal their organs, a claim that prompted furious condemnation and accusations of anti-Semitic blood libel from a rival publication. "They plunder the organs of our sons," read the headline in Sweden's largest daily newspaper, the left-leaning Aftonbladet, which devoted a double spread in its cultural section to the article. (Click here for the original article in Swedish).

A rival Swedish newspaper attacked the report for what it is. Pure and unadulterated (and ancient) antisemitism. Still, the paper that published the story felt confident enough to publish it, probably knowing there's a public out there that likes such fare.

Gerald Steinberg, whose business is to know all about NGOs, explains why this is standard fare in Sweden these days.

Update: Barry Rubin has dug up the interesting fact that the editor at the Swedish newspaper responsible for this libel is no innocent bystander. When asked earlier this year what she would wish for more than anything she responded "That's easy. I'd wish for a free Palestine".

So would I, tho it's not at the very top of my list, merely in the upper third, say. But I don't live in Sweden. Also, I'm aware the top culprit for the Palestinians not having a free Palestine is their preference for a no-Israel. Somehow I don't think that's what Ms. Linderborg had in mind.
taken from Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations

Planeload of Jews Land and Declare Israel Their New Home - Jewish World - Israel News - Israel National News


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Planeload of Jews Land and Declare Israel Their New Home - Jewish World - Israel News - Israel National News

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Huckabee in Jerusalem: No PA State in Holy Land - Politics & Government - Israel News - Israel National News

Huckabee in Jerusalem: No PA State in Holy Land - Politics & Government - Israel News - Israel National News
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Jerusalem US Consulate is De Facto Embassy to PA - Defense/Middle East - Israel News - Israel National News

Jerusalem US Consulate is De Facto Embassy to PA - Defense/Middle East - Israel News - Israel National News
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Prime Minister's Office Denies Reports of Building Freeze Agmt. - Inside Israel - Israel News - Israel National News

Prime Minister's Office Denies Reports of Building Freeze Agmt. - Inside Israel - Israel News - Israel National News
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Honest Reporting - Outrage: IDF Accused of "Harvesting Palestinian Organs"

Outrage: IDF Accused of "Harvesting Palestinian Organs"

A Swedish newspaper publishes disgraceful accusations.

Charging a mainstream media outlet with anti-Semitism is not something that we do lightly. Sometimes, however, an article appears that is so outrageous that we have to question the motivation or agenda behind the writer and the media that chooses to publish it.

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Outrage: IDF Accused of "Harvesting Palestinian Organs"

The Torah Revolution: Israeli Settlements and International Law

The Torah Revolution: Israeli Settlements and International Law

Who murdered Raphael Miriashvili (Zohar) and Leonard (Arik ) Karp? By Yekutiel Ben Yaakov

Who murdered Raphael Miriashvili (Zohar) and Leonard (Arik ) Karp? By Yekutiel Ben Yaakov

B"H

Who murdered Raphael Miriashvili (Zohar)and Leonard (Arik ) Karp? By Yekutiel Ben Yaakov


***YET ANOTHER TWO JEWS MURDERED IN AV***

Throughout Jewish history the Hebrew month of Av has been a month of mourning and tragedy for the nation of Israel. It was in the month of Av when Jewish leaders – heads of the tribes (the spies sent by Moses in the wilderness to report on The Land) – brought the curse of Exile to all future Jewish generations for their lack of faith in G-d and fear of the Gentile inhabitants of the land. It was the month of Av when Judaism’s holiest site and Temples were torched. It’s in the month of Av that Jewish law advises Jews not to engage in court cases with non-Jews, lest they become ensnared in Av’s “bad luck”.

This year, two families in Israel add to the long list of Jewish national tragedies their own personal tragedy, which will be commemorated annually for the rest of their lives. This year, 5769, on the last Sabbath (Re’eh) in the Hebrew Calendar month of Av, the Karp and Miriashvili households were informed that missing relatives had been found murdered. In both (unrelated) cases, the murderers were members of violent gangs composed of young Arab criminals who had Jewish girl friends. In both cases the families of the young Jewish girls had beseeched and implored police and government agencies for help in saving their daughters, and in prosecuting the Arab gang members. In both cases police ignored their appeals.

These are not isolated cases. There are tens of thousands of young Jewish girls in Israel who fall into the trap of intermarriage with Arab criminals who openly wander the beaches and streets of Israel preying on Jewish teens.


ARABS CONQUERING THE LAND AND JEWISH GIRLS

Young Arabs who do not have to partake in any form of national service, who have time and cash and are armed with hatred and contempt for Israel and Jews, have no opportunity to “have a good time” with local Arab girls from their villages. They would simply be killed together with their lovers if seen drinking and/or kissing publicly. Arab communities still enforce strict codes of family honor and modesty. On the other hand, the Arab boy who brings home a Jewish girl to produce “Muslim” babies (according to Islamic law) is accepted with joy and pride. The girls, we know, will not be welcomed as equal citizens, but by the time they realize this it’s far too late.

Islam and its believers seek world dominance, and this is simply another means of achieving that goal: conquer Israel buy conquering its women. The scene is all too familiar in hundreds of public “hang-outs” from Ashqelon to Arad, Beer Sheba to Acco, Haifa, Lod, Ramla and Tel Aviv. Young Arab men with striking, new cars and cash introduce themselves to Jewish girls, most of whom come from poverty, and the relationship is struck. New clothes and jewelry give way to drugs and alcohol and then criminal activity of every stripe. And then murder.

The girls end up in Arab villages, kept under lock-and-key, abused and beaten and frightened either to open their mouths or risk running away from the violence that now pervades their lives.


CURRENT ISRAELI LAW RENDERS FAMILIES AND POLICE HELPLESS

Israeli families and youth who witness these gangs roaming the beaches and forests of the country dare not speak out unless they’re prepared to fight an armed mob. Moreover, any Jew who dares publicize the issue, either through the media or by arranging public meetings risks being tried and jailed for sedition and/or incitement to racism. The end result is that Arab criminal gangs have dominion over the country’s beaches, shopping centers and public parks.

Miriashvili and Karp fell victim to Arab gangs, according to current police suspicions. As I write these words, the Miriashvili case is still being censored from the press, but enough facts are known which, when added to accounts circulated at his midnight funeral on Monday, all point in the same direction. The Karp case is already known to all.


THE KARP MURDER THAT SHOCKED THE LAND

Last Friday night, Leonard Karp took an evening stroll on the Tel Aviv beach with his wife and 25-year-old daughter, when they were attacked by a savage gang of Arab youth out partying with their two Jewish girlfriends. One of the girls is a 19 year-old IDF soldier, the other a 17 year old minor. Leonard Karp begged them to leave his 25 year old daughter and wife alone. But the Arabs were out for blood and they continued to beat the entire Karp family until Leonard was able to divert the gang to him, in the direction of the beach, while his wife and daughter fled in the opposite direction towards their home.

Karp was found floating dead in the water Saturday morning where he had been dumped after succumbing to the beating, according to autopsy reports. Several of the Arab gang members have already confessed.


THE MIRIASHIVILI MURDER TO SHOCK THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH

Who was Raphael Miriashvili, found with his hands bound in an empty building near Beit Dagan, just a stone’s throw from Zarafin and other, massive Israeli military installations?

Raphael was a 25 year-old Torah student of Chabad from Lod, who was reported missing one month ago. But it was four years earlier that Miriashvili’s name first hit the press, when he was indicted for kidnapping “M.N.” an Arab and “K” the Arab’s pregnant Jewish girlfriend in Tel Aviv.

In December, 2004, Miriashvili heard an emotional radio interview with Rachel Shemesh on “Radio 2000”. In it, Rachel, the mother of ‘K’, a Jewish girl who was being held captive by her Arab criminal husband, could not hold back tears when describing her daughter’s plight.

‘K’ was the second daughter of 5 in a poor, orthodox Jewish family who found financial security and attention with her then boyfriend, ‘M.N.’ Both were 17 when they jointly rented an apartment in Tel Aviv’s “Hatikva” neighborhood. ‘K’ was pregnant.


MOTHER RACHEL WEEPS

Rachel had literally nowhere to turn. The police would do nothing. The Rabbis had no answers. And so she turned to the public, literally crying for help while repeating her telephone number to the show’s radio host. Raphael Mirashvili, described by friends as a “golden angel”, who helped any and all who needed him, and who regularly visited the elderly and terminally ill, immediately made contact with Rachel.

Before long, Raphael learned the young couple’s address. He then contacted Oriyah Kadosh and Shneur Zalman Yifrach, childhood friends, to help him with the rescue. Oriyah rented the vehicle. Shneur, who was serving with the Border Police at the time, dressed in uniform and brought along his gun. The three, pretending to be police, knocked at the couple’s door, ‘arrested’ them and drove off.

Problems arose when “M.N.” sensed they were not police and escaped by jumping out of the car, later filing a police report. The three Jewish “kidnappers” were arrested together with mother Rachel. “M.N.” lied in his testimony, claiming initially that mother Rachel was in the car at the time of the rescue. She was released under house arrest after spending 6 days in jail. Raphael, who was considered the ringleader, sat with Oriyah and Shneur for a month until released under house arrest for the duration of the trial.

On 12 February, 2006, Raphael was sentenced by judge Uri Shoham in Tel Aviv District Court to 36 months prison, of which 18 were suspended and 18 were to be served. A year later he was released with one third off for “good behavior”. Oriyah was sentenced to 9 months active prison, and Shneur Zalman to a year. Each was fined 3000 shekels to pay for damages to ‘M.N.’, who was injured jumping from the car.

On July 19th, 2006, mother Rachel was also sentenced to 17 months in prison, of which five was spent in jail with the possibility of community service.

Raphael is Murdered

Raphael was released approximately one year ago. His three year probationary period ended approximately now. Police reported finding a handcuffed body that had been decaying for several weeks at least.

We may never know the whole story of the torture Raphael suffered in his last hours. Just as we find it hard to imagine the pain and torture of Leonard Karp at his end. What we do know is that in both cases the same hapless police who provided no assistance to families begging for the rescue of their daughters will now likely be impotent in convicting the suspected Arab murderers of two Jews. Moreover, in the case of Raphael Mirashvili, his two accomplices remain in danger of being hunted down in the same way Raphael was.

G-d only knows what happened to ‘K’. If she remains alive, does she live in fear? If her Arab lover could have those who came to rescue her, including her own mother, arrested and jailed, and if he could have Raphael Mirashvili killed, is there any doubt what he would do to her if she opened her mouth or tried again to leave? Was she forced to lure Raphael into that building? Did she play some other role?


THOSE WHO CALLED KAHANE A RACIST

NEED TO EXPLAIN THEIR SOLUTION

Twenty-one years ago, the late Rabbi Meir Kahane was banned from participating in national elections after polls showed him about to receive between fifteen and twenty seats at the ballot. He was banned as a racist for attempting to pass legislation that would adopt the halachic prohibition against Jewish and Gentile intermarriage and associated legislation to remove hostile Arabs from Israel. In 1990 Kahane was murdered, and again in 1991 his son, Binyamin Zev, was banned from running for Knesset for the very same attempt at legislating halacha into (Israeli) law.


THE REAL MURDERERS ARE KNOWN TO ALL

Who murdered Raphael and Leonard?

The very same lawmakers who defy G-d’s Torah and all the laws of logic by allowing Arab criminals to rule the streets of Israel; the very same courts that indicted and convicted mother Rachel, Raphael, Oriyah, and Shneur Zalman for an ‘unlawful’ attempt to rescue ‘K’ and who continue to permit known Arab criminals to seduce Jewish girls throughout the Land of Israel, will never be able to say their hands did not shed this blood. How many more Jews will die spiritually and physically at the hands of Arab murderers with the consent of our Israeli ‘leaders’?

Last week’s Torah portion, Re’eh, asked us to “See and look at the blessing and the curse.” And for those with eyes to see, both are clear. But for those others who refuse even to open their eyes – for them we all continue to suffer the curse, G-d forbid. How fitting to close the month of Av with this portion.

In contrast to this, Parashat Shoftim, which we will read, B”H, this coming Shabbat, and which is always read on the first Shabbat of Elul, the month of repentance, explains to us the laws of the Egla Erufa, which we must all take to heart. There we learn that when a dead body is discovered between two towns, the Rabbis must come to the site and “state that their hands did not spill that blood.”

Let us pray that our current Rabbis and leaders understand their role in the current rash of murders that have plagued the land and begin to take appropriate action against the real enemies of Israel, both from without and within.
taken from The Torah Revolution

Israel Matzav: The man who brought Herzl home

Israel Matzav: The man who brought Herzl home
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