Dear Rabbi Melamed, You Made your Bed, so now You'll have to Sleep in It.

ה׳ לחודש השביעי תשע״ה

I used to have a great deal of respect for Beth-El's Rabbi Zalman Melamed. That's right. "Used to," as in distant past.

Rabbi Zalman Melamed

Rabbi Melamed and his wife being a force behind Arutz 7's founding was enough in and of itself to gain my respect. The founding of Arutz 7 alone made the profound statement that the Labor Zionist, State of Israel's mainstream media was, in fact, insufficient for the needs of the Religious Zionist public.

Standing up against the raids by police, and the time spent in jail by Mrs. Melamed, David Shapira (French A7), and others only served to increase my respect for him.

For years, Rabbi Melamed, along with Merkaz HaRav Kook classmate Rabbi Dov Lior (Hevron-Qeriyath Arba) and Merkaz HaRav Kook Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Avraham Shapira ztz"l, was one of the very few to remind the Religious Zionist public that the State of Israel was not always in line with Torah, and that the Torah took precedence.

In fact, Rabbi Melamed has done quite a few things, which have impressed me, not the least of which was that he was one of the last Jews to leave Azza (Gaza), at the end of then Prime Minister Sharon's "Disengagement" Jewish Expulsion plan in 2005/תשס״ה. Along with Rabbi Lior and many Jewish teens and young adults, he remained barricaded on the roof of the K'far Darom synagogue, until the last possible moment.

But, now, this has all changed. What happened exactly? Perhaps something as simple as Rabbi Melamed not taking the statement ושנא את הרבנות ("despise the government"- Avoth) to heart. I cannot say for certain. Why is my respect for him buried deeply in the past? Read on.

PM Netanyahu

In the report below, not so ironically from Arutz 7, Rabbi Melamed complains that Prime Minister Netanyahu went back on his word, and that the Jewish Home Party has taken no action to try and reverse the housing freeze in Yehudah and Shomron (Judea and Samaria), which has been in effect for the last six months. He also criticizes the Jewish Home Party, because it "keeps on retreating, going on the defensive and compromising – instead of attacking and strengthening the Jewish character of the state."

Naftali Bennett
Jewish Home Party Leader

However, this is not the first time Rabbi Melamed has expressed his feelings of being deceived, including by the very Jewish Home Party he has so strongly supported: Rabbi Melamed Claims Deception.

Below, Rabbi Melamed expresses concern over the destruction of another housing structure. Yet, the last time around, in the end, whose followers were the ones helping to throw Jews out of their homes?

It seems to me that when you make a with people who have proven their reliability, not to mention their sneakiness, time and time again, then you deserve exactly what you get.

In the report below, Rabbi Melamed insists that “the public will not agree to this [destruction of more housing]," and that "there will be a really harsh war over this. There will be people who are willing to be hurt, to be injured and even worse than that, and not allow the destruction of these buildings that are in the very heart of the community. We cannot agree to this thing.”

A word of advice: After the last debacle, in which there were accusations made of Rabbi Melamed's people involved in doing the "hurting," I suggest that Rabbi Melamed lead the way himself, just like he did in K'far Darom, and just like his own teacher Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook ztz"l did in Shavei Shomron, over 30 years ago. It will at least take this much to break though the State loyalist indoctrination, creaping in, let alone have any effect on those Jews on the other side of Beth-El, following its other "rabbi."

Oh, and, Rabbi Melamed, if you feel that the Israeli Government has turned on you, and that your fellow Religious Zionists have turned on you, then stay tuned, and keep an eye of those Christian donors of yours.

Arutz 7: Beit El's Rabbi Melamed: Netanyahu Cheated Me
Rabbi Zalman Melamed says there will be 'a real war' over government's intention to raze a building in the community.

By Uzi Baruch, Gil Ronen, September 22, 2014

Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed, Rabbi of Beit El and one of the leading religious Zionist rabbis of this generation, accused Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of cheating him, when he promised to build 300 housing units in the community in exchange for the destruction of the Ulpana neighborhood.

Beth-El Ulpana Neighborhood apartment buildings, standing 13 years, before being destroyed.
"Settlement" or suburb? You be the judge.

The High Court recently decided to tear down a building constructed by contractor Meir Dreinof, which holds numerous housing units. But according to Rabbi Melamed, Netanyahu promised him – during the negotiations over the Ulpana neighborhood – that the building would remain standing.

“The public will not agree to this,” said the rabbi about the court decision. “There will be a really harsh war over this. There will be people who are willing to be hurt, to be injured and even worse than that, and not allow the destruction of these buildings that are in the very heart of the community. We cannot agree to this thing.”

Asked if he would be willing to calm the spirits as he did during the Ulpana controversy, Rabbi Melamed said that he could not, after the prime minister deceived him as he did.

The rabbi added that the prime minister's reneging on his promise harms him, Rabbi Melamed, personally. “When 30 housing units and the yeshiva building are built, the public says that the rabbi took care of his own business, and that he does not really care about the 300 houses that the prime minister promised. This is a very grave affront to me and I will not be able to interfere and tell people to avoid this struggle.”

The rabbi added that he is disappointed with the way the Jewish Home is conducting itself on this matter and others. “There is an onslaught of laws that detract from the state's Jewish character, and the Jewish Home keeps on retreating, going on the defensive and compromising – instead of attacking and strengthening the Jewish character of the state.

"As regards the Land of Israel, there is a freeze [on Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria] for the past six months, and the Jewish Home is not taking any action to prevent this situation, so it is little wonder that the public is frustrated.”

The Jewish Home should demand that Netanyahu press ahead with the promised 300 housing units, the rabbi added. “I do not like to say words of criticism on the eve of Rosh Hashana,” he explained, however, “and I wish that the Jewish Home and the Prime Minister will carry out their duties next year – Shana Tova to everyone.”

(Tip: Kalashnikover Rebbe)

Jewish and Israeli Blog Round-Up: Rosh HaShannah 5775!

ה' לחודש השביעי תשע"ה

Founded by Soccer Dad, Haveil Havalim is a carnival of Jewish blogs -- a weekly collection of Jewish and Israeli blog highlights, tidbits and points of interest collected from blogs all around the world. It's hosted by different bloggers each week, jointly coordinated through our Facebook Group. To find out how to submit your posts or to offer to host an edition, see the information provided on our Hosting Calendar. The term 'Haveil Havalim,' which means"Vanity of Vanities," is from Qoheleth, (Ecclesiastes) which was written by King Solomon. King Solomon built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and later on got all bogged down in materialism and other 'excesses' and realized that it was nothing but 'hevel,' or in English, 'vanity.'

Tzivia at Adventures In AliyahLand will be hosting next week's edition. Send her your submissions by e-mail: tzivia@aliyahland.com.

Rosh HaShannah
Rabbi David Bar-Hayim talks about Rosh HaShannah: One Day or Two?

Avraham Ben Yehuda enlightens us with The Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur Services According to the Vilna Gaon. I doubt that you were expecting this, but it is an important read.

Shmuel Sackett writes on What to Pray for this Rosh HaShanah.

Tomer Devorah brings us an important message in "Go Up to the Island and Don't Come Down."

Ben-Tzion Spitz writes about The Holidays, Again.

A Jewish Israel brings us Praising the Holy Land in the Holy Month of Elul.

Monitoring The Land
Donny Fuchs wakes us up to the Spiritual War In Samaria.

Tomer Devorah tells us that It's That Time Of Year (for the onslaught of avodah zarah in Eretz Yisrael).

Jewish Israel warns us that a Christian missionary and his family were able to "make aliyah." Gee. I always thought that this was reserved for Jews!

Jewish Israel also exposes the ICEJ's Colaboaration with an Israeli Messianic Missionary Leader!

I write about how Israel's Chief Rabbinate Understands the Real Threat from Christians.

Ariel at The Torah Revolution reports on The New and Terrible High Court.

I do the same in New Israeli Supreme Court Justices, Same Worthless Court. Then I criticize The "Unbreakable" New Israeli Sheqqel, in particular the new 50 sheqqel note.

Shemita - Sabbatical Year
Wondering how your garden and house plants are, and are not, affected during the coming shemitah year? Rabbi David Bar-Hayim vlogs (video blogs) on these very topics: Shemitah and Your House Plants and Shemitah and Your Garden.

Rafi at Life In Israel reports on Hetter Mekhirah done differently this year. Hey, maybe they finally got it right this time. Check it out, and you decide.

Batya at Shiloh Musings writes on Shemitta, Jewish Land Sabbatical, The Pros and Cons.

Life In Israel
Avraham Ben Yehuda teases us with A Strange Historical Trend.

Batya at Me-Ander brings us Scenes from Tefillat Chana, Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh, 5774.

The Jewish Libertarian believes that Moshe Feiglin Makes a Mistake on Zero VAT, and elaborates in Why sales taxes do not affect prices directly.

Rafi at Life In Israel writes on Rejecting the Rule of Law.

And finally, we finish off this edition with A Soldier's Mother's Ending and Beginning Again...or...Their Aim Was True.

New Israeli Supreme Court Justices, Same Worthless Court

ערב ראש השנה תשע״ה

Arutz 7: New Supreme Court Judges: Mazuz and Baron
Menachem Mazuz was Attorney General during the Gaza Disengagement and the Katzav case.

Gil Ronen, September 21, 2014

The Committee for Selection of Judges has picked former Attorney General Menachem (“Menny”) Mazuz and Judge Anat Baron to serve as Supreme Court judges.

They will replace Edna Arbel, who retired three months ago, and current Supreme Court President Asher Grunis, who will retire in January upon reaching age 70.

Judge Miriam Naor will become the new court President. She is considered very leftist, and her term as president is viewed with trepidation by nationalists.

Mazuz was appointed attorney general in 2004, as Ariel Sharon's government was preparing the Gaza Disengagement. At the time, nationalists suspected that the appointment was conditional on Mazuz's cooperation with the legally problematic Disengagement, but no collusion could be proved.

He was also criticized by women's organizations for agreeing to a plea bargain with disgraced president Moshe Katzav, who had been accused of sexual offenses. Katzav, who insisted upon his innocence, eventually rejected the bargain but was found guilty and sentenced to seven years in prison.

Baron was appinted to the Tel Aviv Magistrates' Court in 1991 and was promoted to the District Court 11 years later.

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
There really aren't any surprises here. The court is continuing on the same ol', Erev Rav, anti-Torah, assimilationist path it has always been on.

The court is the primary Erev Rav force behind the chipping away at the Torah, the chipping away at our status as a separate and distinct, Jewish people, and the chipping away at any and all boundaries, between genders, between peoples, between religions, between Torah and foreign concepts.

The erasing of borders has also been occurring right under our noses. Shimon Peres and his "Post-Zionist" protege Yossi Beilin have alluded to 

All of this goes above and beyond the "double standards," decried by the right, double standards which favor secular over religious, "Reform" over Orthodox, State over Torah, and the ever present and daunting, Arab over Jew.

Of course, the court has taken the opportunity to throw us an occasional bone, fooling the religious mamlakhtim (diehard State loyalists) into their ever renewing "faith in Israeli democracy."

Current Justices
Israeli Supreme Court
with former President Shimon Peres
(Photo Credit: Orel Cohen)

However, even if the Israeli Supreme Court had not been doing all of the damage which it has been doing, it still lacks any Jewish authority to rule on Jewish matters. Um,...excuse me, but I thought that Israel was supposed to be a Jewish state.

Women are not qualified to serve as witnesses before a [proper] Jewish court, under most circumstances, and are disqualified from serving as judges. I imagine that some of you have already thought of the example of Devorah (Judges 4-5). Devorah was a prophetess who taught the judges, and gave advice, not to mention one of the few women in our history who knew Torah sheb'al Peh. Leadership was thrust upon her, when the men failed to step up to the plate.

I await the feminists' hate comments, accompanied by their crazy "logic" and rationalizations, with baited breath.

Goyim are disqualified. Do you really have to ask why?

Jews who are not Torah observant are disqualified from serving as well.

Oh, yes, and regarding the token (are there more than one?) justice with a kippah, I will let you do the research, and decide for yourselves

"Oh, but Israel is a democracy!!" you cry!

(eyes rolling)

Well, actually, if you have been paying attention over the years, you would have realized by now that Israel is a not a democracy, but rather, a deMOCKracy. Furthermore, what does democracy have to do with proper, Jewish (ie. Torah) governance?

Not a whole heck of a lot.

*********

For more information on Jewish Governance, see Governance of a Jewish State and Jewish Torah Governance.

Israel's Chief Rabbinate Understands the Real Threat from the Christians

ערב ראש השנה תשע״ה

Arutz 7: Chief Rabbis Decry Mass Christian Prayers Near Temple Mount
For first time since liberation of Old City, mass Christian prayer at southern wall of Temple Mount planned for Hoshana Rabbah.

Shlomo Pyotrkovsky, Ari Yashar, September 22, 2014

The Chief Rabbinate of Israel, together with rabbis of the Derech Emuna organization rabbis of Jerusalem's Old City, have launched a campaign against a new mass Christian prayer initiative at the southern wall of the Temple Mount.

For the first time since the liberation of the Old City in the 1967 Six Day War, the Christian groups are reportedly poised to hold a prayer service for the "return of Jesus" on the morning of Hoshana Raba, the last day of the Sukkot holiday, which falls on October 15 this year.

The prayer service, which is to be open to all, will be held at the feet of the Hulda Gate on the southern wall of the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism.

Derech Emuna rabbis point out that the prayer service is part of a recent troubling trend of expanding control by the Christian Church in the Old City.

That expansion has most notably included a secret deal revealed in July in a Knesset Interior Committee, by which Christians received permission to hold fixed Mass prayers in the David's Tomb Compound in a breach of the status quo of the site, and a breach of the law regarding holy sites.

"For those responsible for giving the permit for this: prevent the gathering," the Chief Rabbinate demanded in a statement responding to the prayer service.

The Chief Rabbis likewise called on Jews not to join the prayers, saying "to our brothers in the house of Israel, it must be said not to join a prayer meant to prevent the true redemption of Israel."

"The goal of the organizers is to get their hands on the (Old) City and the Holy Land, and to disconnect our brothers the house of Israel from the Land of the Living," added the Chief Rabbis in a reference to the Torah. "According to our holy Torah we must distance from this event, and it forbidden under any circumstance to join them."

Esser Agaroth (2¢):

Rabbi Yitzhaq Yosef and Rabbi David Lau
Israel's Chief Rabbis

To those of you who still want to claim that Christianity is not avodah zarah, not the same as the Christianity during the time of HaZa"L, not avodah zarah for them, but just for us, Catholics are different that Protestants, Evangelicals shun paganism, etc., etc., let me tell you that this simply doesn't not matter. Nor does it matter that many of you ignore the shared texts and the shared mythology, doctrine, and shared belief in a final outcome, which is the antithesis of Torah.

The stealing of precious, Jewish souls and their corruption, is just a side benefit for those Christians who have decided to be patient, and to move on to the next stage in their agenda.

They want our Land.

They believe that they are entitled to it, that they are the true inheritors of The Almighty's favor, and thus, the Land of Israel as well.

Some Christians believe they will mingle with us, and take it all, our souls and our Land.

Some believe that they will inherit the northern kingdom, and re-institute Torah commandments (even though they had previously done away with them, due to rejection of the Oral Law), while Jews take the southern kingdom, and add Christian mythology to their belief and practice (חו״ח).

Christians have already been "volunteering" in the Shomron (Samaria) and Binyamin.

One hilltop near the town of Har B'racha, is now absent of any Jews. The town is filled only with Christian "volunteers." The last Jew "left," after various charges by the town were tripled. I don't call that "leaving;" I call that being run out of town!

Incidentally, the set up of a "worship tent" on this hilltop was recently approved by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed. Who exactly do you think they are worshiping, Rabbi Melamed?? Gimme a break! And, by the way, who exactly do you think they are worshiping in your vineyards??

Even Israel's Chief Rabbis appear to see the threat of Christian influence and objectives to usurp us, physically and spiritually, in our own Land. Through all of the Christian money, through the Members of K'nesseth, such as Danny Danon (Likud), with Christian friends, and through the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, Rabbi Yosef and Rabbi Lau were still able to recognize this threat, and had the courage to expose it.

Either way you slice it, in a forthcoming post, I will reveal why it does not matter whether Christians of the status of practitioners of forbidden worship or not. They still may not be considered B'nei No'ah, let alone become gerei toshav (resident aliens), and they still may not reside in the Land of Israel, even temporarily. 

Stay tuned!

In the meantime, I recommend that you read Spiritual War In Samaria by Donny Fuchs.

The "Unbreakable" New Israeli Shekel

כ״ו לחודש השישי תשע״ד

Wikipedia: New Israeli Sheqqel
The 20 sheqqel banknote is the first, as of April 2008, to be made of polypropylene, a polymer substrate, which is superior to the current paper note with a circulation life of a few months only. The polymer note is printed by Orell Füssli Security Printing of Zürich, Switzerland. 1.8 million of the new banknotes were printed with the writing "60 years [anniversary] of the State of Israel" (in Hebrew), in red ink.

Ripped 20 Sheqqel Note

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
When these fancy-shmancy polypropylene 20 sheqqel notes first came out, "they" were raving about how amazing they were, and that you simply could not rip nor cut them. Well, perhaps these polymer notes have a better circulation life than paper, but they are certainly not invincible.

The pattern of this tear may even suggest some sort of flaw, which has now been exposed.

Irregardless, it is still difficult for me to fathom that plastic has a "value" of 20 sheqqels, or even one sheqqel. Gold-backed, paper certificates were one thing. The gold backing was taken away, and the wool was pulled over our eyes. Now, here in Israel we are not only carrying around plastic, credit cards, but plastic currency as well.

It is no secret that Israel, and many other countries, have been forcing the move toward a completely, plastic, or electronic, economy, for our "safety and convenience," of course.. It is now almost impossible in Israel, to have ones salary paid by check which can be cashed or deposited into a third party's account, let alone receive cash, period!

It would be a welcome awakening and relief, if we were finally to realize that the value of paper or polymer currency is only an illusion, created by the banksters and their governmental pawns, and continually enabled by us, the masses over whom they want to maintain control.

Believe you me. There may very well come a time when a bag of rice will be worth more than a piece of plastic, a piece of paper, or even a piece of metal.

Speaking of "value," the new 50 sheqqel note is worth even than the 20 sheqqel note. Its value is equal to one big fat embarrassment plus a symbol for the annihilation of the Jewish People.

Arutz 7: 'The Symbol of Assimilation, Now the Symbol of Israel'
Netanyahu's brother-in-law Dr. Ben-Artzi calls on Israelis not to use new Tchernichovsky 50 shekel note; asks 'where is Jewish Home?'

By Uzi Baruch, Ari Yashar, September 19, 2014

A new 50 shekel banknote bearing the likeness of Russian-born Hebrew poet Shaul Tchernichovsky (1875-1943) entered circulation on Tuesday, but Dr. Hagai Ben-Artzi of Bar Ilan University refuses to use the new note and calls on others to follow suit.

Ben-Artzi, who is the brother-in-law of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and lectures on the Torah and Jewish Thought, told Arutz Sheva that the new banknote is a disgrace to the state of Israel.

The noted lecturer reminded that Tchernichovsky was married to a Christian woman his entire life, and refused the insistent pleading of former Chief Ashkenazic Rabbi Shlomo Goren to have her convert to Judaism as befitting the wife of a key Hebrew poet in modern Israel.

"Shaul Tchernichovsky became a symbol of assimilation - the ideology of assimilation. It cannot be that a man like this, even with all his importance as a poet, should become a symbol of the state of Israel," said Ben-Artzi.

The new note sends exactly the wrong message at a time when "in Europe there's an 80% rate of assimilation and in the United States 60% assimilation," argued Ben-Artzi. "The Jewish people are becoming annihilated due to assimilation; how can the state of Israel be capable of turning precisely Tchernichovsky into a symbol?"

Ben-Artzi also criticized the Jewish Home party for not speaking out against the committee recommendation to use Tchernichovsky in the new bank note; the criticism comes at a time of talk in the party of splitting due to fears of a changing focus away from religious Zionism.

"Where is the Jewish Home?" asked Ben-Artzi. "Where are the hareidi parties? Where is the Likud party that declares itself to be Jewish and nationalist?"

Calling for a boycott on the new banknote, Netanyahu's brother-in-law stated "each any every one of us is obligated to explain the problem with the note. We must not accept this miserable decision to push this man into every home in Israel."

"Is the state of Israel deriding us? We will turn the decision into a public discussion. In every street corner they will talk about the problem. If a million citizens will not use the note, the state will have no choice but to remove it from financial circulation," concluded Ben-Artzi.

(Tip: The Torah Revolution)

The New Israeli Sheqqel made be holding against the dollar and the euro, but it is truly broken.

Update:
A reader pointed out that...

American bills say "In God We Trust". The new Israeli ₪50 bill, the one featuring Tchernichovsky says "In Man We Trust," roughly translated. Don't believe it? Take a look for yourself. It's on the reverse side, right under the serial number. - Hillel Levin, Shiloh (red arrow)

Sure enough, on the reverse side of the new 50 sheqqel bill, there is a quote from one of Tchernichovsky's poems, אני מאמין (I Believe).

כִּי עוֹד אַאֲמִין גַּם בָּאָדָם, גַּם בְּרוּחוֹ, רוּחַ עָז

For I shall yet have faith in mankind, In its spirit great and bold

You can read the entire poem in Hebrew on Wikipedia, or in English translation on Ha'Aretz.

Would you believe that it has been suggested, and apparently a lot, that this poem replace HaTiqwa (The Hope) as the Israeli National Anthem? Not surprisingly former K'nesseth Speaker Avraham Burg (Labor), and an Arab MK are included with those in those in favor of this proposal.

The Last Haveil Havalim of 5774 Is Up!

כ"ו לחודש השישי תשע"ד

The last Jewish-Israeli Blog Round-Up, Haveil Havalim, of the year 5774 is up at Shiloh Musings!

The Last Haveil Havalim of 5774!

Scotland Fails to Regain its Independence. So, What?

ערב שבת קודש פר׳ נצבים-וילך תשע״ד

Algameier: Scottish Rabbi, Creator of Jewish Tartan Says Country’s Jews Oppose Independence (INTERVIEW)

Rb. Mendel Jacobs

Dave Bender, September 16, 2014

Scotland’s only local-born rabbi, and the creator of the only official Jewish tartan pattern, believes that, “From the Jewish perspective, we’re hoping for a ‘no vote,’ in the vote for independence,” from the United Kingdom on Thursday. “From my understanding, a majority of the Jewish community, or ‘the’ majority of the Jewish community wants a ‘no’ vote,” Rabbi Mendel Jacobs, told The Algemeiner Tuesday.

“I don’t think a nationalist country has ever been good for Jews,” Jacobs said of fears within the 10,000-member community, and stressed “that if [the vote] went yes, anti-Jewish sentiments would increase.” (cont.)

(Tip: Daled Amos)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
By now, we have all heard that Scotland will not be reclaiming its independence, anytime soon.

Still, I cannot help but comment on it, not because I have any feelings about Scottish independence one way or another. But, rather, since I have become quite jaded over the years when it comes to "major" news items, why they are being reported on, and why others are not.

What is the issue of Scottish Independence designed to distract us from? The Ethnic minorities in Iraq who are getting slaughtered? Financial shenanigans going on behind the scenes? The British Parliament or other government voting on something completely unrelated, as the same time, so that no one will notice their rights being chipped away?

Your guess is as good as any. But, what concerns me, is whenever there are Jews who have been sucked into the process, albeit unbeknownst to themselves.

Rabbi Jacobs might just be one of those Jews.

In all fairness to Rabbi Jacobs, I have no doubt that he cares very deeply for Am Yisrael, and does whatever is in his power to assist and support the Scottish, Jewish community, and to bring its members closer to Torah and to maintain an environment, conducive to Jewish, spiritual life.

In addition, he does touch upon the issue of aliyah (Jewish immigration to Israel),...

...unlike some Scottish Jews who have succeeded in resettling elsewhere, including in Israel, “some can’t leave – they’re stuck,” either due to age or infirmities. 

So, how about using any time and energy spent on dabbling in exile-related issues, such as goyshe designs to help Jews feel more comfortable in galuth (exile) and local referenda, on helping those who are "stuck" to get out, and resettle in Israel?

Another Jew from Scotland has a different take on the issue...

Nick Henderson, 26, was born and raised in Glasgow, and emigrated to Israel in 2004. While he’s friends with Jacobs – who is even sending him yarmulkes made with the “Chosen” tartan – Henderson, who holds an absentee ballot, told The Algemeiner on Tuesday that he has mixed feelings about Scottish independence, both as a Scot, and as one who left to make his life in the Jewish homeland.

While calling Scotland ”a safe place, a warm place, for Jews,” he pointed to unpleasant experiences, as an identifying pro-Israel Jew.

“You’re judged on your Judaism by how much you criticize Israel or not,” he charged.

“When I started at my previous job, the first thing my boss asked me was what I thought about Palestine and Israel,” adding that if Jews don’t hew to the popular anti-Israel tropes, “you’re seen as a Zionist, in a negative sense.”

He noted comments by Scotland’s pro-independence movement leader, First Minister Alex Salmond, who on Sunday equated Israel with ISIS, as exemplifying the hard left attitude towards Israel among some in Scotland.

The bottom line, either way you slice it, is clear. Which is better, an independent Scotland with an ignorant, Israel-hating First Minister, and citizens telling Jews they must possess anti-Torah beliefs, or be ostracized, or an United Kingdom with Scotland, already filled to the brim with potential murderers of Jews?

Nick Henderson, for whatever reasons, seems to have gotten the message somehow, left the country of his birth and exile, and came to live in his only true homeland, the Land of Israel.

One day, I pray, we will no longer see ourselves as Scottish Jews or American Jews, Russian Jews or Moroccan Jews (nor Ashekenazi, Sepharadi, Yemenite), but just Jews living in the Land of Israel.

The U. S. Government Wants to Tell to Psychotherapists how to do Psychotherapy

ערב שבת קודש פר׳ נצבים-וילך תשע״ד

WND: Pro-'gay' courts muck up meaning of 'free speech'
Rulings in change-therapy dispute sets up likely trip to Supremes

Two appeals courts have disagreed on how to define “speech,” setting up a likely challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court over “change therapy” counseling, which aims to relieve unwanted same-sex attractions.

It’s illegal now in California and New Jersey for minors to receive such therapy, but for different reasons, warranting intervention by the highest court, argues Liberty Counsel.

California was the first state to make such therapy illegal for minors. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded the therapy, which mostly involves talking, is “conduct” rather than speech.

But when New Jersey made the therapy illegal for minors, the 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals determined it is speech but concluded it is not protected by the First Amendment.

“The laws banning counseling in this area are simply unconstitutional violations of free speech,” asserted Mat Staver, chairman of Liberty Counsel. (cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
As a psychotherapist who is not a fan of "reparative therapy," I am still very much against any laws banning or limiting the providing of such treatment.

This is not because I believe that there are a few men and women out there who may benefit from working with psychotherapists, experienced in reparative therapy. (And I do believe this.)

Personally, my experience is that some such individuals, presenting same sex attraction [SSA] were never "gay" to begin with. The nature versus nurture debate, in other words, "why" a patient presents one sexual orientation or another, is irrelevant here. An experienced therapist, whether oriented (pun intended) toward reparative therapy or not, will know to be prepared for anything that a patient may bring into the therapy, and will also know to change his original, therapeutic strategy if necessary, or refer the patient to another therapist.

If reparative therapists want to claim such patients as "success" stories, then so be it.

Whether or not reparative therapists can any evidence to support the effectiveness of the form of therapy is a discussion for another time.

And, by the way, I do not see why any true GLBTQ activist would not want heterosexuals to be able to explore and discover their own, "true" nature, and through such clarity, self-understanding, and happiness, just as they expect to be allowed to "embrace" their own true nature, and to pursue happiness.

So, why fight reparative therapy at all? My guess is because it is unpopular and controversial, thus making it a prime target.

My fellow psychotherapists, the general public, and apparently, various officials in the U. S. Government are concerned that one form of therapy or another may actually be harmful to patients, a valid concern for certain. Where should the line be drawn? More importantly, who should be the one to drawn the line?

Even some forms of confrontational therapies used in prisons and in the military could be considered "abusive." Yet, some professions believe these to be the most effective and therapeutic approach toward the treatment of some character disorders (eg. sociopathy). The brick wall needs to be demolished, before a more flexible structure can be built back up in its place.

In my experience, damage to patients is done when professionals violate their own ethical guidelines, apply techniques which are not within their training and scope of practice, and, of course, those who are not professionals to begin with. As far as the last example on the list goes, the government can have at them, but only after the relevant professional organization(s) get the first crack at them.

The battle against reparative therapy goes beyond freedom of speech. This goes beyond the pushing of one agenda or another through the courts. This is about government chipping away at individual freedoms.

This is about government deciding what forms of therapeutic treatment will be made available to the public, and which treatments our not.

This is about government telling professionals what form of therapeutic treatment they are allowed, or not allowed to provide.

How is a government of non-therapists qualified to make such decisions? Even if it had countless professional consultants, is this the sort of decision a government should be making in the first place?

How will this be policed? Will records be subpoenaed?

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate my position.

I am not "pro"-reparative therapy. This form of therapy should continue to be scrutizied, and those who provide such therapy should continue to be encouraged to provide support for its continued practice, just like all other therapeutic techniques. Only in this way, can therapeutic techniques undergo continuous evaluation of their effectiveness, and prospective patients can receive the necessary information to make informed choices about psychotherapeutic treatment

I am against governments interfering with patients' choice.

I am against governments telling professionals how they should, or should not, practice their professions.

Let psychotherapists be guided by their peers, by their respective professional organizations, when it comes to forms of treatments, and, if need be, ethical challenges,...just like we have already been doing.

Dear JTA: No, I Will Not be Donating to you this year, nor any year...

כ״ג לחודש השישי תשע״ד

13th Anniversary of the fall of the Twin Towers (9/11)

New York, NY

Did any of you receive the following e-mail request, like I did?

Dear JTA Reader,

How are European Jews coping with the wave of hatred and violence against them sparked by the Gaza war? Is Hungary trying to whitewash its role in the Holocaust? Do Kiev’s Jews need self-defense groups? Will a right-wing surge in Europe undermine tolerance?

Jewish news doesn’t stop in the United States and Israel. JTA’s dedicated correspondents are tracking developments in dozens of countries.

It’s a massive job covering the global Jewish community – never-ending, sometimes dangerous and always costly. Can you please help us?

A contribution of $50 or $100 will support our global team of correspondents. They dig for facts, expose myths, reveal hidden truths and bring the full story to you and to the world.

I hope we can count on your support.
Thank you.

Be well,

Ami Eden
CEO and Editor in Chief

P.S. Your gift also backs JTA’s fast-growing online services including Breaking News alerts and the Daily Briefing. Click here to support JTA or mail your tax-deductible check to JTA, 24 West 30th Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10001.

Esser Agaroth (2¢):

Dear Ami,

No, I cannot help you, not this year, and probably not any year.

How are European Jews coping with the wave of hatred and violence against them sparked by the Gaza war?

Sparked by the Gaza War? Nothing was sparked by the Gaza War. Re-awakened, perhaps, but not sparked. It has also been there, since the birth of Yishma'el (Arabs/Mulims) and since Esau (The West) first went out to murder his brother Ya'aqov (us).

Is Hungary trying to whitewash its role in the Holocaust? 

What about how the Labor Zionists have tried to whitewash their tole in the Holocaust?

Do Kiev’s Jews need self-defense groups?

No, they do not. They just need to get out of there, and any assistance to do so.

Will a right-wing surge in Europe undermine tolerance?

Right-wing surge?! What about a left-wing surge, a middle-wing surge, or an upside-down-wing surge?

But, would a story or report with any of the themes I propose above ever make it into the JTA?

How is it that right-wing surge was mentioned, but there wasn't any mention of Muslims? Don't want to hurt anyone's feelings? Or just a little employing a little "creativity" to your letter.

Objective journalism, indeed!

And, you ask that I donate money to the JTA? For what? So that I can be a collaborator in keeping the Jewish People locked in their prison of co-dependent exile?

No thank you.

Britain Growing Increasingly Anti- Semitic: Really? You Think?

כ״ב לחודש השישי תשע״ד

Britain Growing Increasingly Anti- Semitic
Lloyd Levy, August 18, 2014

I actually never thought I would have to write an article like this, from the green and pleasant land of England. However it is becoming truly frightening to be a Jew in UK. What is so remarkable is how quickly it all appears to have happened. One can now start to experience what it must have been like in parts of Europe under Nazi threat, when friends and neighbours suddenly and without warning, turn on you because you are Jewish.

In the last week or so alone, we have seen the Tricycle Theatre banning the annual JEWISH film festival, which is one of the most important Jewish events of the calendar. The famous Edinburgh Fringe arts festival has also banned Israeli connected theatre groups.

We have the Parliamentary Member from Bradford, a large town in Yorkshire, announcing his town to be “Israeli” free, as well as reading that a leading Scottish Nationalist has apparently declared that an independent Scotland will be “Israeli free”. None of us are surely naïve enough to not understand that in practice it means Judenfrei, unless individual Jews renounce their loyalty to Israel.

Leading Supermarkets have been invaded and ransacked by anti-Israel terrorists, threatening staff and customers. The supermarkets have succumbed to this terrorism, with rumours swirling around that they are soon to stop selling all Israeli products. Only a day or two ago, a major supermarket in Central London, actually took all kosher products off the shelf. Think about that… all Jewish products banned, many not even from Israel at all. Over 100,000 people marched through London recently in an anti-Israel and anti-Jewish orgy of sheer hatred. I know people whose life-long friends are putting the most hideous anti-Semitic ranting on their “Facebook” pages.

Our Jewish so called leaders have let us down. I personally haven’t seen nor read any leading member of our Jewish representative bodies, or Rabbis, standing up in public for our community.

This is not a good time to be a Jew in Britain . Apparently in France it is far worse. We are being cowed and terrorised by home grown anti-Semites, and by imported oriental ones.

Only in the last few days have some of the leading Newspaper columnists begun to wake up to the hatred they have themselves stirred up by their coverage of Gaza, replete with its ancient Jewish blood libel of deliberate child sacrifice.

Natan Sharansky said recently that Europe is death to Jews, and he is so correct. History shows that anything can generate the hatred. If it wasn’t Gaza it would be something else.

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
What can I say? Natan Sharansky is right about at least one thing. Europe IS death to Jews.

The author of this piece, Lloyd Levy, is also right, and provides us with a comprehensive report of recent, Jew-hating events in England.

I am not in the least bit surprised by any of these events, and neither should any of the large number of religious British Jews. These attitudes and events are written all over the Tana"kh (Bible), and elaborated upon by Our Sages, may their memories be for blessings (HaZa"L).

What concerns me about Levy's piece is that he seems to write as if England being Judenfrei is a bad thing. Why is it a bad thing? Jews are not supposed to be living in England; we are supposed to be living in the Land of Israel.

Galuth (exile) is a punishment, a punishment which we have so easily forgotten is a punishment. It does not matter how well British Jews have survived oppression, and have battled against discrimination. It does not matter that British Jews have successfully contributed to British society, and have even produced a Jewish prime minister.

All that matters is that British Jews see the writing on the wall, read it, internalize it, and recognize that it is simply NOT going to go away.

"This is not your home!"

"Get out!"

When Levy says that our leaders have let us down, he is right for the wrong reasons. What would he expect them to do? Fight against Esau (The West) and Yishma'el (Arabs/Muslims) simultaneously?

"Our Jewish so called leaders have let us down. I personally haven’t seen nor read any leading member of our Jewish representative bodies, or Rabbis, standing up in public for our community."

Although correct in this regard, Levy fails to mention any solution to the problems faced by Jews in England and elsewhere, to which, of course, there is only one.

Attitudes such as "sticking around for the fight" and "not giving up" [on our countries of exile] are completely misguided.

Only recently, European Jewish Congress President Dr. Moshe Kantor expressed the same sort of sentiment. Kantor himself compared the current atmosphere in Europe with that of pre-World War II Europe, in other words, pre-Holocaust Europe. Kantor definitely appears to be one of those so called leaders which are letting British, and other European, Jews down.

Why are our so called leaders blind to this? Are they afraid of losing their power? Their positions? Their money? Haven't they thought about their lives? The families? Their future?

Is the answer to another Holocaust scenario really to stick around and fight? Fight for what? To continuing living in the Exile?

England is not the home of the Jewish People. Neither is France nor the U. S. of A. The Land of Israel is our home. However, even now that the gates to our Homeland have been opened, many of us are still stuck, unwilling to give up the lives that we know, in exchange for the unknown challenges of building a new life in Israel, which most of us still see as a foreign country, or at best, an historical tourist attraction.

And, before you get the chance to list the countless flaws of the Israeli Government, allow me to beat you to the punch. Whether we have the ideal people in charge, throwing orders around, or the ideal form of government controlling the Land of Israel, or not, is irrelevant. Either we will step up to the plate, and form a proper Jewish government, or wait around for Mashi'ah to do it for us. Either way, the Labor Zionist State of Israel is only temporary.

At the risk of being accused of being an alarmist and Apocalyptic nut job, I would like to suggest that it is only going to get worse. I would like to believe that The Almighty does not want to leave a single one of His People behind, and needs to get our attention somehow. As I said above, this should not come as a surprise. However, it does. This is the sort of thing which happens, after 2,000 years of being inundated by the influence of cultures, not our own.

Many of us, even rabbis, have gone so far as to internalize the confusion of Western, cultural values and sensibilities with our own. They are not one and the same.

Likewise, many of us, even rabbis, have internalized the confusion of Western lands of exile with our own true Homeland.

The thought of picking up and moving to Israel is the furthest thought from their minds!

And so, galuth is so deeply ingrained within us, that it have to take a particularly nasty kick in the pants to snap us out of it, and to get us ready, both mentally and spiritually, to come home.

May The Almighty have mercy on us!

Knesset Urged to Act Against Leftist Attorney General

כ״ב לחודש השישי תשע״ד

Arutz 7: Knesset Urged to Act Against Leftist AG
Yedidya Ben-Or, Ari Yashar, September 16, 2014

The Knesset has come under fire for its silence in the wake of an unprecedented court ruling last Wednesday by Judge Nava Bechor of the Kfar Saba Magistrates Court, in which she criticized Attorney General Shai Nitzan for his "scandalous" bias against the political right.

Bechor accepted in full the evidence presented by Attorney Adi Kedar of the Honenu legal rights aid organization, which showed that Nitzan, in Bechor's words, conducted an automatic selective enforcement of incitement laws.

The judge took Nitzan to task for letting leftists and Arabs off the hook for outrageous calls such as "death to the Jews" and "castrate the settlers," based on evidence from the years between 2008 and 2011 during his time as Deputy Secretary General.

Following the ground-breaking judgement, Honenu turned to numerous MKs with a request to take steps against Nitzan's crackdown on the right.

"After an exhausting case the court ruled clearly: Shai Nitzan and the State Attorney are negatively discriminating against the Jewish public," wrote Honenu director Shmuel (Zangi) Meidad in the letter.

Meidad elaborated on the meaning of the ruling, saying that "in essence, they (Nitzan and the State Attorney) are automatically cooperation with the enemy."

"Attorney Adi Kedar of the Honenu organization, who received important materials from Hani Luz of the Tadmit organization and from the Legal Forum, has already proved (the case), and the court has already seen it and ruled. So what else is needed?" Meidad asked the MKs.

"From here on starts your obligation to work as representatives of the public," wrote Meidad in a call to action. "We demand in the name of the many injured parties we have and are treating that you not wait any longer."

The evidence was presented in the trial of Uri Baram, who published videos against Nitzan. Bechor convicted him of inciting to racism and violence, destroying evidence and disrupting court procedures; it should be noted that Baram argued his provocative videos against Nitzan were meant "to expose the discrimination that Nitzan has in investigating complaints over incitement."

Meidad called on the MKs to "shake the state of Israel, so that it first of all immediately drops the charges against Uri Baram, and so that it starts investing its resources - our resources - in fighting the enemy and not in fighting us and itself. What is this silence?"

Sun Lion:

NILI
It seems that since the Treif Bird is officially unofficial, a lot of people have found the courage to speak up. Furthermore, a few thousand "Peace Presents" from Gaza also help to wake people up.

The vast majority of the nation has always been against the Oslo treason and the Sharon Pogrom. Time after time they have tried to elect people to stop the madness and time after time they have been betrayed by the servants of foreign money.

It seems that the latest flair up in the war to exterminate us was a turning point for the Jewish People, both in Israel and outside of Israel. We saw clearly that we have no one to rely upon other than G-D and ourselves. We also seemed to have realized that there are serious and dangerous enemies in our midst. Enemies that can no longer be ignored or tolerated.

Jewish-Israeli Blog Round-Up: "When you come into the Land..."

כ׳ לחודש השישי תשע״ד

Founded by Soccer Dad, Haveil Havalim is a carnival of Jewish blogs -- a weekly collection of Jewish and Israeli blog highlights, tidbits and points of interest collected from blogs all around the world. It's hosted by different bloggers each week, jointly coordinated through our Facebook Group. To find out how to submit your posts or to offer to host an edition, see the information provided on our Hosting Calendar. The term 'Haveil Havalim,' which means"Vanity of Vanities," is from Qoheleth, (Ecclesiastes) which was written by King Solomon. King Solomon built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and later on got all bogged down in materialism and other 'excesses' and realized that it was nothing but 'hevel,' or in English, 'vanity.' Submissions may be may through our on-line submission form on BlogCarnival.com, which requires you to log-in first.

Batya willing be hosting next week's edition both on Shiloh Musings and Me-Ander. Send her your submissions by e-mail: shilohmuse@gmail.com.

וְהָיָה, כִּי-תָבוֹא אֶל-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, נֹתֵן לְךָ נַחֲלָה; וִירִשְׁתָּהּ, וְיָשַׁבְתָּ בָּהּ. -דברים כו,א

And it shall be, when you come to the land which the LORD your God has given to you for an inheritance, and possess it, and dwell there; -Deuteronomy 26:1

Well, so why aren't YOU here yet?

Written 20 days after the toppling of the World Trade Center, Moshe Feiglin tells us why American Already Lost.

Debbie Schlussel remembers 9/11 on 9/11: Who Did it and Who Celebrated The Best PR Move by Muslims Ever.

The Absolute Truth brings us The Absolute Truth that Nobody Believes (or even knows).

And speaking of truth, and attempts to suppress it, Jewish Israel Contributed a Presentation at "Cancelled" Counter-Missionary Event in the Shomron (Samaria). Find out why one hotel canceled a contract to hold this conference on its grounds.

Arlene Kushner claims that one of her well connected sources in the PA says that the proposal of Egyptian President Al-Sisi to grant land in the Sinai for the formation of a "Palestinian" State Never Happened.

Michael Snyder asks ‘ISIL Is Not Islamic’? Is Obama Completely Insane?

I ask if Israel Should Fear Islamic State [IS]?

We get a historical geography lesson from Yeranen Ya'akov in From Tifsah Until Aza.

Batya at Shiloh Musings shares some Facts About Palestine, as well as her belief that If Convicted Arab Terrorists Want to Kill Themselves, Don't Interfere!!

Ariel at The Torah Revolution writes about Zionism as a New Religion.

Tomer Devorah warns us of The Coming World Religion. See Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Meanwhile, she lets us know about a False Messiah.

Esav Exposed introduces us to The Groat Family, Hayovel Volunteers. I think that you had better meet them, too.

I examine Freedom of Religious Expression in Israel.

Donny Fuchs at The Jewish Press warns us about The Cult Of Uman.

Rafi at Life In Israel reports on what appears to be an odd form of kleptomania in Notes he did Not Take from the Kotel.

Sarah Chandler writes about Shmita in the Diaspora: Release and Sharing for All.

Batya at Me-Ander shares about Real Rosh HaShannah New Year's Cards!

Jacob Richman tells us about some New Israeli Educational Stamps.

Freedom of Religious Expression in Israel

י״ג לחודש השישי תשע״ד

Almost daily, there have been reports in the news of Christians being attacked, kidnapped, raped, and killed in Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, and Bangladesh, all at the hands of Muslims.

Although Muslims have been notoriously abusive of their own, in "honor killings" around the world, as human shields and a terrorist trainees, have maimed, killed, and otherwise abused non-Muslims regardless of their religion, Christians have certainly been a sometimes favorite target, albeit not as popular as Jews.

Recent events reminded me of the following grafted, I had seen posted on Jews News, earlier this year.

(Avodah Zara censored out.)

This Christian praises Israel for the religious freedom it affords its citizens.

Actually, though, not only do Christians enjoy such religious freedoms in Israel, but so do Muslims, Druze, and several others, in probably the only country in the Middle East that allows it.

In a way, non-Jews enjoy more religious freedom than religious Jews.

Bedouins in the South practice polygyny, without fear of reprisal from the Israeli Government. Even though polygyny is "illegal," under Israeli law.

The thugs from Chicago, calling themselves the Black [Non] Hebrews do the same. And had did they even get into Israel, you might ask? Well, they started creeping in, after being kicked out of Liberia. That's right, kicked out. Then when threatened with deportation by the Israeli Government, they Black Non-Hebrews threatened back,...with mass suicide if they were not allowed to remain. Well, the Israeli Government certainly did not want that on its hands, and so now they enjoy defacto autonomy, funneling in whomever they want, whenever they want.

Of course, if a Jew dared to petition the government to marry one than one wife, he would be demonized as an oppressor of women. If he were to marry one woman on the the government's books, and have one on the side, all of the parties involved would be jailed for tax fraud.

Meanwhile, Muslims may pray on Har HaBayith (Temple Mount), yet Jews are still forbidden. Even Christian tourists seem to be afforded more leniencies than Jews. Anyone who says that Jews have control over Har HaBayith is blind, an idiot, or both.

Even if there truly were freedom of religious expression for all peoples in Israel, "all" meaning religious Jews, too, where is the basis for this in the Torah? How is the concept of allowing, even encouraging, the practice of religions other that Judaism supported by halakhah (Torah Law)?

Actually, it isn't.

Freedom of religious expression simply does not exist in the Torah, with possible exception of the diversity of our religious customs.

The phrase שבעים פנים לתורה (Seventy Faces of the Torah) which liberal Jews, in particular, like to throw around, refers to the diversity within halakhic (Torah legal) parameters. This phrase can refer to midrashic interpretations, as well as hashqafah. It does not, however, refer to doing whatever you want, and calling it Judaism, let alone "Torah."

Any "face" absent of halachic basis is no face of the Torah. In fact, it is forbidden to interpret the Torah contrary to halakhah.

משנה אבות ג,יד [יא]
רבי אלעזר המודעי אומר ... והמגלה פנים בתורה--אף על פי שיש בידו מעשים טובים, אין לו חלק לעולם הבא.

Mishnah Avoth 3:14 [11]
Rabbi Elazar of Modi'in said: If a man ... teaches meanings in the Torah which are not according to Halachah, even though he has a knowledge of the Torah and good works, he has no share in the world to come.

See also TB Sanhedrin 99a.

This covers the so-called "movements," claiming to be full fledged denominations of Judaism, albeit they are anything but. Although, they, too are gaining ground in the way of "rights," as they also serve the Erev Rav's anti-Torah agenda.

The so-called religious "rights" of Christians and Muslims serve the same agenda, assisting in the attempting chipping away of the Torah's influence. Keeping the Christian-aligned, right-wing pitted against the Muslim-aligned, Left-wing is just an added benefit, as in "divide and conquer."

There have been several debates recently regarding Christians and Muslims in particular. Are Christians to be considered practitioners of avodah zarah (foreign/forbidden worship) or not? Land be sold, rented, or even given away to Muslims? Can we currently accept either of these, or any other, religious groups as gerei toshav (resident aliens)? But, these debates are irrelevant.

Neither Christians nor Muslim could ever be considered B'nei No'ah, and thus candidates for becoming gerei toshav, as they have added and subtracted from the Torah. They have not accepted the Torah 100%, as the truth.

The Ramba"m says this more clearly, when he provides Christians and Muslims as examples of koferim (Hil. Teshuvah 3:17). However, since everyone's favorite comeback line these days seems to be "We don't pasqin like so-and-so!" So, I figured that I would keep it as simple as possible.


Non-Jews who are forbidden from residing with in Israel, remain here anyway, not only because of the beliefs that we are unable to resettle them elsewhere and that the international community would become enraged, but because of the belief, even of "rabbis," that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the non-Jews remaining.

And so, whether Christian or Muslim, Bahai or Hindu, non-Jews may enjoy religious freedom while residing within the State of Israel's deMOCKracy, it is without any sanction from the Torah, the only Law which should really matter to Am Yisrael.

Should Israel Fear Islamic State?

י״ג לחודש השישי תשע״ד

JPost: Former Intel chief: No Reason for Israel to Fear Islamic State
September 4, 2014

Amos Yadlin says IDF would have less trouble eliminating Islamic State terrorists than Hamas operatives hiding in Gaza hospitals.

Former military intelligence head Amos Yadlin on Wednesday downplayed the possibility of an infiltration into Israel by Islamic State terrorists, saying there was no need for the Jewish state to fear the extremist al-Qaida offshoot.

Yadlin appeared to try to quell heightened concern following the gruesome murder of the journalist Steven Sotloff, who held dual American-Israeli citizenship.

"There is no real reason to be afraid. ISIS is an expert at PR and intimidation. They murder their prisoners in a shocking way and thereby gain media attention," Yadlin said at an event held by the Ashkelon Academic College.

While the insurgent terrorists have captured territory in nearby Syria and Iraq as part of their stated objective to reinstate an Islamic caliphate, Yadlin stated that "they only succeed in areas that no one wants to go to - the neglected Sunni areas of northeastern Syria and the deprived areas of Iraq."

According to the former military intelligence chief, Islamic State insurgents will face superior armed forces if they reach Shi'ite-majority cities that are motivated to protect main population centers like Baghdad and Karbala.

Yadlin claimed that the Islamic State would be easier for the IDF to eliminate than Hamas terrorists who he said were hiding in hospitals in Gaza.

He added that the IDF "should not have a problem" dealing with the extremist organization.

On Wednesday, Israel officially banned the Islamic State and anyone associating with it.

The decree signed by Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon outlawed meetings of any kind between Islamic State members and declared the group an illegal organization.

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
"...they only succeed in areas that no one wants to go to - the neglected Sunni areas of northeastern Syria and the deprived areas of Iraq." 

I am certainly not an expert military strategist like Amos Yadlin. However, it seems to me that IS has been taking the easy pickin's first. IS may even pick up more volunteers using this strategy as well. But what do I know?

Yadlin also stated that "...there was no need for the Jewish state to fear the extremist al-Qaida offshoot." Really? Well, setting the questionable reliability of the mainstream news media aside for a moment, one American General seems to believe otherwise, at least where the U. S. is concerned.

U. S. General: Existential threat to America
Real threat? Or the U. S. Gov't keeping us convinced that we need it?

Of course, once such statements reach the mainstream media, and so quickly after the IS threat finally gained any attention, one should be suspicious. As far as I am concerned, we still do not know who is behind the creation of the current incarnation of the Islamic State, let alone who is funding it. What is clear is, though, is that the Islamic State is a threat.

When Amos Yadlin says that "...IDF would have less trouble eliminating Islamic State terrorists than Hamas operatives hiding in Gaza hospitals," he fails to mention that in order to eliminate IS terrorists, one actually has to make a decision to do so, which is not something we should hold our breath for, when we are talking about the Israeli Government.

Perhaps IS is a blessing in disguise, in very deep disguise. Perhaps this will be what is needed to wake up those Jews, in Israel, in the U. S., everywhere else, who are still asleep or in deep denial as to the various threats breathing over their shoulders in the Golah (the Exile).

Jews in France have been waking up more and more, but not just because of the Muslim violence and Jew hatred, but also because they have been seeing and experiencing first-hand just how insufficient the response to has been to the Muslims by the French Government.

Liberal Jews around the world and even the Israeli Government, still insists on differentiating between "These Arabs" and "Those Arabs." When IS starts to o after Shi'ite Muslims, such as Hezbollah, it will seem that it is doing us a favor. But when Hamas joins IS, when Jordan falls, and its "Pseudostinian" majority is forced to choose sides, and when "secular" Fatah in Yehudah and Shomron (Judea and Samaria) falls, it will be too late to surface from such deep denial.

May The Holy One, Blessed Be He guide and save Am Yisra'el from its enemies, and from its own [Western/"progressive"/assimilationist] galuth mentality! And may the Islamic State "kick in the pants" not hurt too much!

Haveil Havalim, Post-Ki Teitzei Steamroller Edition Is Up

י״ג לחודש השישי תשע״ד

Tziviah at Adventures In AliyahLand hosts this weeks Jewish-Israeli Blog Round-Up.

It's the Haveil Havalim, post-Ki Teitzei steamroller edition.

American, No More

כ"ד לחודש הרביעי תשע"ד

Toying with the Idea of Renouncing My U. S. Citizenship

Renouncing My U. S. Citizenship, Part 1

Renouncing My U. S. Citizenship, Part 2

Renouncing My U. S. Citizenship, Part 3

After arriving in Israel 17 years ago, I began doing, or rather redoing, my student teaching in Tel-Aviv.

I remember the time when my native Israeli, mentor teacher told me that even after living in Israel for 20 years, that I would still always be known in my neighborhood as "The American."

But she also said that I shouldn't worry, because even though I would always be seen as "The American," my children would be "Israeli."

Some consolation, huh?

I wonder what what this mentor teacher of mine would say now, that I am no longer an American. Well, no longer an American citizen, anyway. That's right. Shortly before Passover this year, I renounced my American citizenship.

Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the United States
(Click to enlarge)

This colleague of mine would probably stand by her original statement.

Sure, I am fluent in Hebrew, can write relatively well in Hebrew, and my accent, I have been told, is at least better than that of the average American living in Israel.

I have never lived in a predominantly English-speaking neighborhood, have rejected an American sense of personal space, in favor of an Israeli one, and have absorbed many other cultural sensibilities which would cause Americans to do a double-take.

I have not left Israel in 16 years, and have not returned to the U. S. since my departure from it.

But, she was referring referring to those outer elements of appearance and culture, rather than national status.

Still, I felt even more disconnected from galuth (exile), the land of my personal galuth, and the government which rules over that land.

Whether appalled, or applauding, or indifferent to my decision, the same question always the same out of the mouths of everyone I told: Why?

First, I will state that my decision was not made out of anger or some kind of quest for vindication. Nor was it made for financial reasons, to avoid paying taxes to two governments, instead of one. However, I do not believe I have ever made the annual salary threshold, even requiring me to report my income as a U. S. citizen living abroad, let alone making the minimum annual salary requiring me to pay taxes on it to the U. S. government, after already parting with much of it to the Israeli government.

Since moving to Israel, I have never received my absentee ballot on time, and thus have not voted in U. S. elections since. So, there was no loss in this respect. Funny, though, how I could very well have been I living example of taxation without representation, not to mention never receiving anything in return for my troubles. So, you can imagine why the number of Americans living abroad renouncing their U. S. citizenship has been on the rise, particularly in Europe.

So, why did I? The reason for my renunciation of U. S. citizenship was actually quite simple.

However, I anticipate that many American Jews reading this, both in and outside of Israel, will find some way to complicate and distort my reasons, and not only that, but find excuses to scream and yell at me for going through with it. Could it be that the truth behind such aggressive attitudes is nothing less than defensiveness?

Could it be that they feel the need to defend themselves against why they haven't renounced their own citizenships? ...Of finally letting go of their "home" in America?

In 1996, when I first met with the shali'ah in Los Angeles, I was told that 50% of all North Americans who made aliyah, "returned home" within five years. This was not a terribly optimistic statistic for me to hear.

Worse yet, the shali'ah's use of the word "home" was disturbing to my ears. Sure, he was using the vernacular. But, did he mean that those returning to North America were unable to see Israel as their "home," and returned to the only "home" they knew? Or was he himself suggesting that the exile was our "home," and that Israel was simply a destination for wannabe ex-patriots? If it were the latter, this would be disappointing to say the least, a representative of the Jewish Agency for Israel NOT emphasizing that Israel was a Jew's only true home, rather than the lands of our exile.

My hole-punched
canceled U. S. Passport

I never hated America while growing up. Although my parents made it very clear to me that as citizens, we had the right to be critical of the U. S. government, and that we should exercise that right regularly. My mother took me to my first demonstration at the age of four, and showed me first picket line at the age of five.

Say what you will about former U. S. President George W. Bush, but even he claimed that the war in Iraq was to defend the right of the American people to criticize the war in Iraq.

Throughout college, I was bombarded with stories of how difficult it was to be a Jew in the Former Soviet Union. Hebrew teachers were being arrested for being Hebrew teachers. Matzoth was produced for Passover by one of two machines in hiding. An urban miqwah (ritual immersing pool) was disguised as a public swimming pool during the day. The name Natan Sharansky was heard regularly in the same sentence with the word "hero," etc., etc.

How much "easier" it was for me to be a Jew than in the Soviet Union, communist Eastern Europe, and Arab nations was mentioned often during my childhood, by my parents or in schul.

Vandalism by shwastika on my family's house and anti-Semitic harassment in both elementary and high school, by students and teachers alike, aside, I appreciated all of the opportunities afforded to me, as your average second generation American, growing up in a middle/upper-middle class sector of Southern California. We had it much better than most.

I will not bother to mention how much this has changed in the past 20 years, even in the past 2 years, as most of my brethren still residing in the land of their exile, America, are still too much in deep denial to be confronted with the physical evidence, let alone the spiritual evidence.

However, I did not renounce my U. S. citizenship in a symbolic act of severing ties with a nation becoming increasingly dangerous for Jews, and  whose fall is inevitable

I chose to renounce my U. S. citizenship for a much simpler reason, in order to sever any remaining ties I still had with the government ruling over the land of my exile.
Unfortunately, Jews, and perhaps American Jews in particular, have so easily forgotten that exile is a punishment. It does not matter how much Jews have accomplished in battling discrimination and oppression, and have contributed to those societies in the lands of our exile.

It is still the exile, and it is still a punishment, and I wanted nothing to do with it.

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Renouncing My U. S. Citizenship, the Final Chapter