Esser Agaroth - The Politically-Incorrect But True Story Of Hanukkah

The Politically-Incorrect But True Story Of Hanukkah

Erev Shabbath Qodesh Parashath Wayeshev/Hanukkah 5770

In a nutshell, here is the prelude to the valiant war fought by the Hashmonaim (Makkabim) about 2,165 years ago:

The powers that be at the time offered "the honor" of performing an act of avodah zarah to Mattithiyahu ben Yohanan, the High Priest.

He refused.

The powers that be offered it to another, who accepted.

However, before he had a change to perform this act of avodah zarah, he was killed by Mattithiyahu.

As one could imagine, the powers that be were not at all thrilled the prospect of having their authority threatened. Sound familiar?

And so, Mattithiyahu, his sons, and increasing number of followers retreated, plotted and planned, and fought on of the most spiritually important wars, Israel has ever fought. Well, they were all important.

But who was it that they fought?

Do most Jews, inside or outside of Israel, even know the answer to this question?

Examples of attempted answers to this question include:

1. Syrians
2. Greeks
3. Syrian Greeks
4. Selucid Greeks

How about Jews? That's right. Jews. Jews were among those the Hashmonaim fought and killed.

Assimilated, Hellenized Jews.

"Oh, but that was then; this is now." (Huh?)

"No, the Westernized Jews of today have a different status now." (Why?)

"No, you don't understand. There aren't really any rasha'im (evil people) today. It's not their fault. We have to show them, and bring them back to Torah." (Even though the Gemara says otherwise. Uncensored Rav A. Y. says otherwise as well.)

And these responses are coming from religious Jews! I do not even have to complicate matters by listing some of the responses from the non-religious, or so-called "liberal" ones!

Now, I am by no means, suggesting the we go around killing people that we don't like, let alone try to sort out all who I think is evil or who you think is evil.

No. What I am suggesting is that we remember a very important detail behind the holiday most popularly celebrated by your average American Jew, and not allow it it to be edited out of our history.

We Jews were never afraid of a fight. It was only living in galuth (diasporah) and the need to kowtow to the goyim, so they wouldn't beat us up, try to convert us, kidnap us, or kill us, which has tamed us.

Today, now that we have begun the process of taking back our Jewish Homeland, there are actually plenty of Jews out there who do not hesitate to talk about "those who want to kill us" (Yishma'elim/Arabs) and "those who want to steal our souls" (Esau/Christians). There are even those who are willing to talk about the various traitors in our midst (Erev Rav).

Yet, there are very few Jews out there who have any clue as to what to do about combating any of these threats. We must learn Torah AND be physically strong and courageous.

It is high time we rediscovered the righteous, Jewish warrior of old, he who recognized evil, and following one with authority, did not hesitate to stamp it out. This is this Jew we need today, along with the hakham (scholar).

This is the Jewish image we must rediscover and develop within ourselves, and convey to our children, if we are going to survive as a people.

Esser Agaroth - The Politically-Incorrect But True Story Of Hanukkah

Esser Agaroth: The Price Of "Arab" Olives

The Price Of "Arab" Olives

7 of the Eighth Month 5770

I have written about Jews getting pushed around over the masiq (olive harvest) so many times, I have decided to add an "Olive Harvest" label to Esser Agaroth.

Each fall, Jews are kicked out of their homes, have their movements restricted, separated from their families and jobs, for fear of interference in the Yishma'eli (Arab) harvest of olives on Land which is not even theirs.

Army Bans Land of Israel Activists From Home
Hillel Fendel 24 Tishrei 5770/12 October 09 04:41

(IsraelNN.com) In response to the abrupt announcement that three activists may not return to their homes in Samaria for six months, residents say leftists have taken over the army’s Central Command.

Early Monday morning, IDF Central District Commander Maj.-Gen. Gadi Shamni issued orders banning two prominent Land of Israel activists from returning to their homes, or anywhere in the Shomron (Samaria), for the next six months. The two are Ariel Gruner and Akiva HaCohen, both fathers of four children and residents of Yitzhar in the Shomron.

This is not the first time for either of them: In July 2006, Gruner - whose youngest son is now ten days old - was placed in prison for seven weeks under administrative detention orders generally employed against Arab terrorists. He was then placed under “caravan arrest” in a small Jordan Valley community for three months, followed by a three-month ban on entering Judea and Samaria. In August 2008, HaCohen was banned from the Shomron, where he lives, for four months.

A Third Expellee
Several hours later, Shamni issued similar orders against a third Yitzhar resident, Eliav Eliyahu, 19, who has been married for less than a year.

The official explanation for the latest orders: “Information has been received of their involvement in violent and illegal activity… and in light of the genuine danger foreseen from them to security and public order.” (Read more...)

"Information?" What the hell is THAT supposed to mean?! Where's the "evidence?" Oh, that's right they don't have any, and they don't need any.

MK Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) criticized what he called the “thought police,” and asked why it is that pro-Arab activists and anarchists in the Bil’in and Naalin protests “who throw rocks at soldiers” never receive such orders.

MK Ben-Ari, I believe have the answer to that. "They" (the Israeli Government) side with Yishme'el (Arabs) and Esau (The West/Christians), and have forsaken the Land of Israel, for they have no connection to it. "They" are Erev Rav.

"They" have no clue and no connection with the Torah, which clearly predicts...

דברים ו
י וְהָיָה כִּי יְבִיאֲךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, אֶל-הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב--לָתֶת לָךְ: עָרִים גְּדֹלֹת וְטֹבֹת, אֲשֶׁר לֹא-בָנִיתָ. יא וּבָתִּים מְלֵאִים כָּל-טוּב, אֲשֶׁר לֹא-מִלֵּאתָ, וּבֹרֹת חֲצוּבִים אֲשֶׁר לֹא-חָצַבְתָּ, כְּרָמִים וְזֵיתִים אֲשֶׁר לֹא-נָטָעְתָּ; וְאָכַלְתָּ, וְשָׂבָעְתָּ.

Deuteronomy 6
10 And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land which He swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee--great and goodly cities, which thou didst not build, 11 and houses full of all good things, which thou didst not fill, and cisterns hewn out, which thou didst not hew, vineyards and olive-trees, which thou didst not plant, and thou shalt eat and be satisfied--

No, we are prevented from fulfilling our destiny, not only to take full possession of the heart of our homeland, but also to reap its benefits.

After living in Binyamin and the Shomron, I can attest to the fact that 100 percent of the olives never get picked. Even if I approved of sharing with the Yishma'elim, which I most certainly do not, there are plenty of olives to go around.

Ideally, Jews would go into the groves in full force, harvest everything, and have an amazing stockpile of organic olive oil for food, medicinal purposes, cosmetics, and for export.

Instead Jews are removed from their homes, families, land, and jobs, while Yishma'elim are given free reign to harvest the olives on our Land, in contradiction to countless sources in Jewish Law.

*********

Ariel at The Torah Revolution has this to say: Just Look At Him.

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It has been suggested that if you think there's something wrong here, then contact every Israeli politician you know, including Ehud Barak, Minister of Defense: (dover@mod.gov.il) fax: 011 972- 2-649-6545; Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu: memshala@it.pmo.gov.il, Fax: 011 972 -2- 563-2580; the Israeli Embassy in Washington: Tel: 202-364-5500; Deputy Chief of Mission: Dan Arbell, Fax: (202) 364-5560; Defense and Armed Forces Attaché Major General Benjamin Gantz Tel: (202) 364-5403 Fax: (202) 364-5503.

Esser Agaroth: The Price Of "Arab" Olives

Esser Agaroth - To Reclaim Jewish Property

How To Reclaim Jewish Property

27 of the Fourth Month 5769

Reclaiming Jewish Property in Jerusalem
Hillel Fendel 27 Tammuz 5769/July 19, 2009

(IsraelNN.com) With the Obama administration turning the corkscrews upon Israeli sovereignty in its capital, the spotlight focuses once again on the growing Jewish presence in neighborhoods such as Shimon HaTzaddik. Arab squatters face eviction this week.

The U.S. State Department has made an unprecedented demand upon its ally Israel to stop lawful construction in its capital – specifically, at a property owned by activist Dr. Irving Moskowitz in the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. The municipal housing plan calls for the site of the Shepherd Hotel to become a 20-unit apartment complex. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and other government ministers have categorically rebuffed the American ultimatum, as did Ambassador Michael Oren when he was called to the State Department to hear the U.S. demand.

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Esser Agaroth - How To Reclaim Jewish Property

Intermarriage: Great Mourning Among The Jews

Intermarriage: Great Mourning Among The Jews

21 of the Fourth Month 5769

No, the title is not a reference to the recently invented concept of mourning practices during the "Three Weeks" between the Fast of the Fourth Month (17 b'Tammuz) and the Fast of the Fifth Month (9 b'Av).

Clinton’s Top Muslim Aide to Wed Jewish Congressman
Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu, 21 Tammuz 5769/July 13, 2009

(IsraelNN.com) Brooklyn, New York Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner will marry outside the Jewish religion to Huma Abedin, a Muslim woman who is considered one of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s top aides, the New York Daily News reported.

The intermarriage rate in the United States is estimated to be approximately 50 percent and has been one of the strongest forces that has diluted Jewish identity and support of a strong Israel.

This report immediately brought to mind a verse from Megillath Esther. During the chanting of the this megillah on Purim, many Ashkinazim have the custom of chanting the last part of this verse using the mournful ta'amei hamiqra* (music) used to chant Eikhah (Lamentations) on the Fast of the Fifth Month, to emphasize the gravity of what is taking place at this point in the story.

אסתר ד,ג
אֵבֶל גָּדוֹל לַיְּהוּדִים, וְצוֹם וּבְכִי וּמִסְפֵּד; שַׂק וָאֵפֶר, יֻצַּע לָרַבִּים...

Esther 4:3
...there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

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EsserAgaroth: Intermarriage: Great Mourning Among The Jews

Esser Agaroth: Good Zionists, Bad Zionists

Good Zionists, Bad Zionists

Yoel Meltzer, 18 Tammuz 5769/July 10, 2009

"Arabs don't make such trivial distinctions."

One of the unwritten laws of war is that the winning side is allowed to do as it pleases after the cessation of hostilities. This law is even more relevant when the victor turns out to be the side that didn't initiate the war, or didn't want the war to occur in the first place.

Thus we find Israel, after its victory in a war that it initially tried to avoid in 1948, utilizing its victory to expand its territory. For several years after this war, new communities started to appear on the map, such as Ashdod in 1956, Karmiel in 1964, Dimona in 1955 and Arad in 1962 (to name just a few).

Then, nearly 20 years later, and faced with the prospect of an Arab onslaught, Israel was forced to fight another war in 1967. Like the war in 1948, that war resulted in a decisive victory for Israel. Then, once again, as it had done after its 1948 victory, Israel utilized this victory to embark on a campaign of expanding its territory. New communities started to dot the map, such as Kiryat Arba in 1972, Kedumim in 1975, Karnei Shomron in 1977 and Efrat in 1983 (to name just a few).

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Esser Agaroth: Good Zionists, Bad Zionists

Arab “night sweats ”

Arab “night sweats ”

The Arab World's New Conspiracy Theory

July 6, 2009 6:30 AMby Dan Diker Journalist

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s recent policy speech at Bar Ilan University in which he underscored Israel’s character as a Jewish State and beseeched the Palestinian Authority to recognize the Jewish State has triggered a fast spreading rumor in Arab capitals. They are convinced of an Israeli government plot to cancel the Israel’s Arab minority right to vote as part of a larger plan to transfer Arabs eastward to the West Bank and even to Jordan.

Two Arab diplomats spoke separate meetings this past week of their fear that Netanyahu’s determination to ensure Israel’s Jewish character would result in Israel’s renunciation of the political rights of Israeli’s Arab minority. A Middle East based US diplomat confirmed the Arab fears, noting he has received emails and phone calls. The roots of this complete Arab misconception of Israel’s Jewish character may reveal less about Israel and more about Arab and Muslim political culture.

Arab colleagues noted that the Islamic Republic of Iran, and not their own Sunni Arab Muslim states, was the model for what they estimated Israel would emulate to ensure its Jewish character. Netanyahu, they reasoned, would surely not have mentioned Israel’s Jewish character half a dozen times in the June 15th Bar Ilan speech had he merely intended to refer to its current identity as a Jewish and democratic state. Rather, they asserted, he would necessarily sacrifice Israel’s democracy to assert its Jewish “DNA”, just as Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s “mullocratic” enforced Sharia law as the shaper of Iran’s Islamic character.

It was a virtually impossible task to explain to Arab friends that Netanyahu’s emphasis of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state reflects the continuation of the state as it is today, and does not foretell radical changes to its free and democratic character. Israel is, in fact, the only state in the Middle East whose laws guarantee democratic freedoms and civil rights for all minorities.

“That is the point!” they retorted. “Israeli government ministers have spoken recently of Israeli Arab civil rights and purposely ignore mentioning Arab political rights. To them, this meant that Israel was about to rescind the Arab Minority’s right to vote. The election fraud in Iran provided the recent psychological context. The growing Arab suspicion is that the apparent focus on civil rights and omission of “political rights” in statements by Israeli leaders prophesied another looming disaster- a political Nakba -for Israeli Arabs. Add to this Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s demand for all Israelis to pledge allegiance to the flag, and his suggestion that Israel redraw its map and swap heavily populated Arab towns in northern Israel for Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria (West Bank), and fears are fed of a larger Israeli conspiracy to carry out a major population Arab transfer.

While all this may seem silly, it is gaining traction in Arab circles; moreover, Israeli leaders have been completely unaware of what is percolating. This week Arab fears were inadvertently ratcheted up a notch. In an off-record briefing, a senior Israeli government official spoke of protecting Israel Arab “civil rights” in the Jewish state while denying Arab “national” rights such as supporting enemy groups such as Hizbullah in Israel.

The senior official also neglected to mention the notion of Arab political rights. When pressed on the omission, he clarified that these clearly included political rights to vote and participate in Israeli Arab political parties that Arab and Druse citizens of Israel have long enjoyed in Israel. In fact, an Arab MK Ghaleb Majadle, served as Minister of Sport and Culture in the previous Olmert government while Arab MK Dr Ahmad Tibi, a former advisor to Yasser Arafat, served as a deputy Knesset speaker.

But Arab diplomats have remained unconvinced that Israeli Arabs are politically secure in Israel. And now they believe the Israeli plot has a new dimension. They have begun to weave the Jewish State conspiracy against Israeli Arabs to a larger Israeli plan to transfer West Bank Arabs to Jordan.

As proof, they point to Israel’s erection of the anti-terror fence in the West Bank as well last month’s Knesset’s approval of a preliminary agenda item brought by Dr. Arye Eldad of the conservative National Union party that proposes Jordan as the Palestinian state.

The proposal passed by a healthy margin of 53 to 7. The surprise approval relied on Likud and right wing votes but also included support from Defense Minister Ehud Barak and five other members of his Labor party. Even five members of Kadima, the main opposition party, also voted in favor of the “Jordan is Palestine” proposal. The resolution had no legislative meaning; it was merely raised as part of the day’s call to order. Analysts further attributed the unexpected support by left wing parties to the result of reigning confusion in the plenum due to the scores of bills up for vote.

However, this did not help Israel’s Ambassador to Jordan, Yaakov Rosen, who was immediately summoned to the Jordanian Foreign Ministry to explain why it appeared to Jordan that Israel is still embracing the “Jordan is Palestine” solution as the alternative homeland for Palestinians.

These latest Arab “night sweats ” over Netanyahu’s re-branding Israel’s Jewish identity suggest that his strategy may be a very appropriate one in the context of Middle Eastern political culture, where conspiracy theories between Arab states are as common as hummus and pita bread. That means Israel is back in the Middle East clubhouse. The upside for Israel of political conspiracy chatter is that it also inspires a healthy dose of fear and uncertainty among otherwise overconfident neighbors.

In hindsight, Israeli Concessions to Palestinians at Oslo I, Oslo II Camp David, the Road map, the Gaza withdrawal, and the Annapolis peace process have severely debilitated Israel’s reputation among other Arab neighbors. Since 1993 and Oslo, the Arab world has increasingly seen Israel as the “kid on the run,” weak, and unsure of its rights. Israel’s premature withdrawals from Gaza and Lebanon before winning those wars, launched upon it by Iran and its proxies, further intensified this view.

Netanyahu’s asserting Israel’s ancient Jewish identity, its rights and non-negotiable security requirements, while extending a hand of compromise to regional leaders, represents a firm step forward for Israel to recover its position of strength as a central regional player. Arab conspiracy chatter also indicates that they know well that the Jewish State is the only unofficial member of the Middle East Arab clubhouse that has been willing to get bloody fighting Iran and its proxies and if necessary, is prepared to do it again.

taken from B'NAI ELIM (Sons of the Mighty)

ESSER AGAROTH - Israel: Rise of the Right (Updated)

Israel: Rise of the Right (Updated)

7 of the Fourth Month 5769

Tonight, a couple of friends began alerting me about a film just released by Ilan Mizrahi, "Israel: Rise of the Right."

(AlJazeeraEnglish YouTube) Ilan Mizrahi has spent 16 years photographing and filming right wing Israeli settlers in the West Bank city of Hebron. His film, Israel: Rise of the Right, looks at the followers of Rabbi Meir Kahane, an American-born rabbi and politician who proposed the mass expulsion of Arabs from Israel before he was assassinated in 1990.

I immediately began asking around who this guy was, whether it was a hack job, or worth watching because [as has been said in Rabbi Binyamin Kahane's HY"D name] "We want everyone to think we are crazy. Then maybe they will leave us alone."

The answer I got from my friend, political activist, the "Kalashnikover Rebbe" was quite surprising:

There are a few facts wrong here and there, but it wasn't biased at all, shockingly so. He focused all on Baruch Marzel and Itamar Ben-Gvir. He did not acknowledge the other factions and Kahanists, but not to anyone's detriment.

Ilan Mizrahi has even given over footage which served to exonerate Jews in court. So, so it is clear he is not out to get us.

I think it was a nice job. He filmed us for years. He has even become a "part of the community," and a regular presence at all our "events."

The four parts of the film are embedded below, together totaling 46 minutes. The film is mostly in Hebrew with English subtitles, with narration in English. When I finish the entire series, I will issue an update with synopses and commentary.

In the meantime, whether you are religious or secular, right or left-identified, check it out, and judge for yourselves.

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ESSER AGAROTH - Israel: Rise of the Right (Updated)

Esser Agaroth: What's Doin' In Riyadh?

What's Doin' In Riyadh?

Yom Yerushalayim/Erev Shabbath Qodesh B'midbar 5769

Did you ever wonder what the heck someone from Riyadh, Saudia Arabia is doing reading your blog??

(The image is a segment from the May, 2009, Esser Agaroth ClustrMap.)

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Esser Agaroth: What's Doin' In Riyadh?

Esser Agaroth: The Writing On The Wall

The Writing On The Wall

Yom Yerushalayim 5769

After the failed plot to bomb the Riverdale Jewish Center, I really don't understand why my fellow Jews in the U. S. don't see the writing on the wall, and get out already.

This is not the first, and it won't be the last. Right now, attacks in Los Angeles (1999), Seattle (2006), and San Francisco (2006) seem like ancient history, don't they? They seem few and far between. There doesn't seem to be much of a pattern here, does there?

How long will that last?

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Esser Agaroth: The Writing On The Wall