There are more books being published now than ever before, and I mean the paper ones. Still, the most urgent forum for public discussion, the central Agora, if you will, is the electronic media, and the Internet is a major part of that. Which is why the urge to repress information, to ban understanding, and thereby to control knowledge and power, is most obvious there. Burning books, even if one were to try, would be futile, since so long as one copy remains to be scanned, it can be put online for everyone everywhere to see. (Well, most everyone, most everywhere. China and Iran come to mind, don't they).
It may no longer be worth the effort to burn books, but the impulse is still there, obviously: human nature doesn't change just because human technology does. It merely adapts. The good folks at Powerline are onto the unfolding story of how the book burners of yore are now doing their worstest in a concerted effort not to let anyone see what the Israelis are doing in Gaza unless it be through the authorized version of the Moral Idiocy Brigades (in earlier ages it was called the Index, and was run by the Inquisition).
Specific relevant posts are here, here, here, here and here, but since the story isn't over you should be visiting Powerline periodically. (Now, and always).
taken from : Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations (http://yaacovlozowick.blogspot.com/)
If your son was ordered to shoot a bound and blindfolded prisoner in the foot, what do you think he would do?Ibrahim is the false name chosen by a Lefty fellow from Rosario, Argentina, who realizes that his obsession with Israel's wrongdoing and mostly with what he perceives as its wrongdoing, must be cast as coming from an Arab; otherwise the only explanation can be that he's an antisemite. Like many of his fellow antisemites, most of what he has to say is foolish, silly, or otherwise unserious; the main reason to give him any attention at all is not for the content of his rants but for insights into his impulses and rationalizations. Still, as some readers will have noticed, from time to time I use him as a useful foil.
And, perhaps more importantly, what do you think he should do?
-- may He bless the fighters of the Israel Defense Forces
He Who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob -- may He bless the fighters of the Israel Defense Forces, who stand guard over our land and the cities of our God, from the border of the Lebanon to the desert of Egypt, and from the Great Sea unto the approach of the Aravah, on the land, in the air, and on the sea.May the Almighty cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down before them. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, preserve and rescue our fighters from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness, and may He send blessing and success in their every endeavor.May He lead our enemies under our soldiers' sway and may He grant them salvation and crown them with victory. And may there be fulfilled for them the verse: For it is the Lord your God, Who goes with you to battle your enemies for you to save you.Now let us respond: Amen.
taken from B'NAI ELIM (http://bnaielim.blogspot.com/)
SHIR HASHIRIM BESHA'ASHU'IM
Im yishakeni min'shikot
pihu, mah yagid li?
al ken mikol ha'alamot
shar shirim hu li.
Im chavatzelet hasharon
la'amakim koret li
im yismachuni ba'ashishot
el shadai, shmor li.
Shir hashirim besha'ashu'im
shineicha eder ktzuvot
bli chor ustimah ban.
Shir hashirim besha’ashu’im
shir hashirim b’gil urenana
shir hashirim besha’ashu’im
tamtanainainai!
Eineicha osher ledorot
barak tzochek le'or ben
al mishkavi sham baleilot
ka'avti mibeten
Umi elai, elai yavo
im lo atah harchek sham
elai tid'har kesus par'o
atah li mikulam
Al mishkavi sham baleilot
ka'avti et kulan
tz'rur hamor hafach li mar
kshedodi amar bashir
sus par'oh shekvar avar
et panav mazkir
Shir hashirim besha'ashu'im...
Kol dodi hineh zeh ba
medaleg s'vevah
kol dodi hineh zeh ba
ba be'ahavah.
Az bo n'linah bechramim
bli chov umishkanta
bo nohav k'zug yonim
kach bli de'agah
Shir hashirim besha'ashu'im.
THE SONG OF SONGS IN AMUSEMENT
If he shall kiss me with the kisses
of his mouth, what shall he tell me?
Indeed of all the virgins
he sings songs to me.
If the tulip of the Sharon
calls upon me to the vallies
if they shall let me lean against the stout trunks
the Almighy God, guard me.
The song of songs in amusement
your teeth are a numbered flock
without a hole or filling in them.
The song of songs in amusement
the song of songs in joy, and joyful music
the song of songs in amusement
tamtanainainai!
Your eyes are bliss to generations
a laughing thunder to their light
By night there on my bed
I hurt from my stomach
And who shall come, come to me
if not you, there afar
you shall ride to me like Pharao's horse
you from among all
By night there on my bed
I hurt for all
bundle of myrrh turned sour on me
when my lover said in song
that the Pharao's horse already passed
reminds of his face
The song of songs in amusement...
The voice of my beloved, behold he comes
leaping around.
The voice of my lover, behold he comes
he comes in love.
So come let us lodge in vineyards
without a loan and without a mortgage
let's love like a pair of doves
so, without a worry
The song of songs in amusement...
MISHE'HU TAMID HOLECH ITI
Hayu yamim chamim yemey batzoret
Panai yavshu kesedek adama
Sadi kamel velo notar liktzor
Sha'alti lachashti bishvil ma
Hachoref shuv hika bi kar kacherev
Vehamabat ko sagriri bishtey enai
Umisidkey kirot nibat ha'etzev
Sha'alti lachashti ad matai
Ach le'et ere vim ru'ach erev
Ale nosher lo al gag beti
Ani yoda'at ani shoma'at
Mishehu holech tamid iti
Ani zocheret bdiduti zo'eket
Alit panai bishtey kapot yadai
Et tza'ari chilakti im pat lechem
Sha'alti ha'omnam ve'im kedai
Et tfilotai esa kach hal'ha hal'ha
Od lochashot sfatai mitoch on'yi
Ani yoda'at mishehu lema'ala
Ro'e or ashashit bachaloni
SOMEONE ALWAYS WALKS WITH ME
Hot days, drought days
My face was dry like a crack in the soil
My field withered, nothing left to harvest
I asked, I whispered: what for?
Winter hit me again, cold as a sword
The glaze in my eyes, so cold and rainy
Sadness stares from the cracks in the walls
I asked, I whispered: until when?
But when evening came, with the evening wind
A leaf falls on the roof of my home
I know, I hear,
someone always walks with me
I remember my screaming loneliness
I will cover my face with my two hands
I have shared my sorrow with a piece of bread
I asked: is it all worth it?
I will carry my prayers on and on
My lips whisper out of my poverty
I know, someone up there
Will see the lamp light in my window
THE STORY
All of these lines across my face
Tell you the story of who I am
So many stories of where I've been
And how I got to where I am
But these stories don't mean anything
When you've got no one to tell them to
It's true...I was made for you
I climbed across the mountain tops
Swam all across the ocean blue
I crossed all the lines and I broke all the rules
But baby I broke them all for you
Because even when I was flat broke
You made me feel like a million bucks
Yeah you do and I was made for you
You see the smile that's on my mouth
Is hiding the words that don't come out
And all of my friends who think that I'm blessed
They don't know my head is a mess
No, they don't know who I really am
And they don't know what I've been through like you do
And I was made for you...
All of these lines across my face
Tell you the story of who I am
So many stories of where I've been
And how I got to where I am
But these stories don't mean anything
When you've got no one to tell them to
It's true...I was made for you
Oh yeah, it's true... I was made for you.
For 2000 years, during our horrible exile, whenever a Jew was insulted, beaten or tortured, all he could do was put down his head in shame. For 2000 years, if a Jew ever tried to defend himself, he would be confronted to a system which excluded any possible defense for him and would get punished of any attempted to defend himself. He was forced to “turn the other cheek”, even when that meant letting his relatives be maimed, raped, tortured or killed.
And what did we do?
In our constant, extreme, characteristic, blinding and sometimes problematic hope for peace, we did not do anything. We had a few minor operations here and there, in which we tried shooting at the launchers of the Kassam rockets, but those were never successful because by the time we could respond, the launchers of the rockets were already gone from the scene of the launch.
So, instead of responding, we kept on asking for calm. We kept on requesting a ceasefire. One day, as the limit to our unexplainable patience was obviously coming closer, and as Hamas was obviously in a need for a time of calm in order to renew its arsenal and better attack us in the future, we agreed to a ceasefire. Yes, everyone knew that a ceasefire would be detrimental to Israel because everyone knew that while we would try to use this time to plant the seeds of peace, Hamas would use it to regroup in order to better attack. Still, what can you do - we continued to hope!
After the ceasefire expired, Hamas had effectively regrouped. They refused to extend the ceasefire and started, once again, shooting rockets at Israel. Yes, the ceasefire actually gave them more strength! Some of their rockets could now hit Ashdod – one of the bigger cities of Israel!
Finally, after months – no, years!- of staying back, Israel decided it was time to defend itself. Over the weekend, Israel has started an operation in the Gaza strip. However, even after those years of attacks which make this response more than justified, there is a sense of shock at the numbers coming out of Gaza. Over 280 dead. Wow! 280 human beings were killed. For people who hate death, this is, honestly, a horrible tragedy. So, how are we to react to that?
In today’s world, there is an underlying pressure for Jews, and Zionists, to put their heads down in shame after seeing these numbers. Yes, even the strong Zionists are afraid to switch their facebook status in support of the Gaza operation. Yes, even the strong Zionists are afraid to scream their support for the State of Israel in such a time of bloodshed and conflict.
The Torah does tell us that we cannot, we are forbidden, to rejoice in our enemies’ suffering. So, we should not rejoice in their death. However, let’s make no mistake: I am not, in the slightest way, ashamed of the State of Israel. I am proud of the State of Israel for finally standing up and defending it’s citizens. Yes, every single death is a tragedy – a HUGE tragedy. I cannot express how annoyed I am that people need to die. However, the most basic moral duty of a government is to ensure it’s citizen’s safety. Finally, after many years of holding back, the State of Israel has regained its moral standing by once again ensuring the safety of its citizens. We should not rejoice in our enemy’s suffering or death but we should rejoice that the State of Israel is finally defending its citizens and that the Israelis living in the south will, hopefully, finally be able to start living a normal life again!
Let us not be blinded by the reports which have gone out in the past few days. The Israeli attacks are not an aggression – they are a legitimate response in self defense.
They are not in response to a few rocket attacks which came out in the past few days – they are in response to 10 046 missiles which have been launched on Israel in the past few days.
They are not un-proportional: Can someone tell me what the proportional response to 10 046 rockets would be? Can someone tell me what the proportional response is to years of living in fear where every few hours you must go hide under a desk because there is an alarm going off signaling an incoming rocket? Please! Let me know! What would be more moral than ensuring that the rocket attacks end!
The Israeli attacks are not targeting civilians but rather the Hamas infrastructure. While 100% of the rockets fired by Hamas have been targeting civilians, out of the 280 people who have been killed in Gaza in this past weekend, only 15 were confirmed to be civilians. Trust me, I know that 15 civilian deaths is a tragic number. It is huge. However, let us not forget to put things into perspective. Let us not forget that, as we see numbers of dead climbing in the news media, we can also rest assured that Israel is doing its best to ensure the safety of civilians while Hamas is doing its best to ensure the death of civilians.
Yes, I am shocked at the number of deaths in Gaza. Yes, I am appalled at that number. Yes, I mourn those who died innocent. Yes, I mourn the fact that those who deserved to die did not decide to live a better, more productive, more peace loving, life. However, I put the blame of every single one of those deaths on one organization – Hamas. If legitimate self defense causes death, the responsibility of that death must rest on the shoulders of the original attacker. I am angry at the number of deaths but I know, having studied the situation, that my anger must be direct towards Hamas and the other terrorist organizations who have constantly attacked the peace loving Israel.
As the attacks continue, I will not bow down my head in shame. I will raise my head up high in pride for a country who is not afraid to defend its citizens, after having tried for the longest amount of time a peaceful route. I will raise my head up high in pride for a country who is targeting the infrastructure of terrorist organizations in order to ensure the rocket attacks on Israel will finally stop. I will raise my head up high and say: “Thank You Israel, I support you!”
It is precisely in this time where moral relativism is pushing Jews to go in hiding, and hide their support for Israeli actions in shame, that we must stand up and scream with pride that we support Israel. We must stand up, and break the moral relativism, to show that there is clearly only one moral actor in this conflict between Israel and Hamas and that actor is Israel. I encourage all of you to express your support for Israel in any possible way – on blogs, on Facebook, on twitter, by email, by phone, etc…
May this conflict which we never wanted bring about the peace which we have always yearned for.
taken from :Tzipiyah.com (http://www.tzipiyah.com/)
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