Israel's Arab Housing Crisis

י' לחודש השני תשע״ה

Ha'Aretz: Thousands protest Arab housing crisis in Tel Aviv rallyOrganizers say that holding the rally in Tel Aviv signals that the Arab population is not giving up on its citizenship. 

By Jack Khoury | Apr. 28, 2015 

Several thousand people, mostly Arab citizens, gathered in Tel Aviv’s Rabin square on Tuesday afternoon to protest housing shortages and the policy of house demolitions in Arab communities across the country, from ‘the triangle’ in central Israel to the Negev, the Galilee and in mixed cities. The protest was held under the slogan “Fighting for our homes.” (cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Not giving up on its citizenship?

Then I have a few questions for these "Arab Israeli citizens:"

Arab Housing Protest, Rabin Square, Tel-Aviv
April 28, 2015

1. Why is the PLO flag being flown at this protest, and not the Israeli one?

2. Why were chants of “With blood and fire we will redeem Palestine!” heard at the protest? (Arutz 7)

3. Why didn't the Arab local councils, "who have been trying to resolve the issue of master plans for many years," enforce Israeli law, by allowing structures to be built without building permits?

4. Would these "Arab Israeli citizens" support the Israeli Government's policy decisions to grant permits to building in Yehudah and Shomron (Judea and Samaria)?

“A family which loses its home, built on its own private land, is shattered.”
-MK Ayman Odeh (Joint Arab List)

5. Would these "Arab Israeli citizens" join in the protests against the demolition of Jewish homes, some having stood for as many as 13 years already, and which were built with permits?

And one final question for the Ha'Aretz news daily:

Why weren't any of these questions answered, or even asked in the above report?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Will the World Heed Israel's Warning?

י' לחודש השני תשע״ה

On Tuesday, Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Ron Prosor protested the infiltration of its territory by terrorists originating from Syria, and warned the international community of the Iranian backed threat from Hezbollah,...for the umpteenth time.

Prosor’s letter to UN regarding attack in Golan

On Sunday night, 4 terrorists originating from Syria infiltrated Israeli territory and attempted to plant an IED in the Israeli Golan Heights. Fortunately, the IDF disrupted the operation.

04.28.2015

​

Amb. Ron Prosor

I am writing to alert you to dramatic events unfolding in our region. On Sunday night, four terrorists originating from Syria infiltrated Israeli territory and attempted to plant an IED in the Israeli Golan Heights. Fortunately, the Israel Defense Force disrupted the operation and avoided an escalation that could have further destabilized an already volatile region.

Israel holds the Syrian government responsible for all attacks originating from its territory. In recent months, the Syrian government has allowed terrorists to use its territory as a launching base to plant roadside bombs, fire rockets into Israel, and open fire on IDF forces inside Israel.

I have repeatedly warned about the growing threat in northern Israel. In my remarks last week to the Security Council, I described how Hezbollah, backed by Iran, is openly operating in the Golan Heights and preparing for a violent confrontation with Israel.

The international community can no longer ignore the warning signs. The threat to our region is very real. Israel will not accept any attacks on its territory and it will exercise its right to self-defense and take all necessary measures to protect its population. I urge the Security Council to immediately and unequivocally condemn this attack and demand that the Syrian Government abide by its obligations under international law.

I should be grateful if you would have this letter distributed as an official document of the Security Council. I wish to inform you that an identical letter has been sent to H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations. Allow me, Excellency, to renew to you the assurances of my highest consideration.

Esser Agaroth (2¢):

Ambassador Prosor gets points for effort,...but only a few.

No doubt he is simply following the government's guidelines as to how to address the so-called "international community." However, the Israeli Government is still in denial over the "international community's" refusal to recognize the Golan Heights as part of Israel. Even though Israel annexed  the area ages ago.

And Jews wonder why the same Israeli Government will not be annex Yehudah and Shomron (Judea and Samaria), obtained in 1967/תשכ״ז, along with the Golan, all territory originally promised to Am Yisra'el by The Almighty, an acquired by Yehoshu'a Bin-Nun over 3,300 years ago.

The Americans, French, and other Western nations may very well be concerned about the threats various Muslim factions pose to them. However, to believe that Israel is high up on their list of concerns, is a big mistake, one which Israel has repeated, over and over again.

Sure, there was a time when it was in the interest of the West to support Israel, with words, arms, and additional funds. But, the interests of the West have long since shifted to the Muslim world and its oil. Allowing Israel to serve as its guinea pig to test its Iron Dome defense system, instead of allowing Israel to wipe out the threat of rockets once and for all, should be all the proof of this that we need.

The Isareli Government insists on raising the banner of U. S. support, but this banner only serves to keep the Israeli public in the dark. Israel insists on continuing on its co-dependent path, wasting precious time and energy, in its attempts to find favor in the eyes of the rest of the world.

It is high time for Israel to stand on its own two feet, and finally stop expecting any sympathy from the outside, let alone any military support.

Netanyahu vs. Israeli Courts

ט' לחודש השני תשע"ה

JPost.com: Netanyahu prepared to crush High Court, undermine foundations of democracy, Gal-On says

Lahav Harkov, April 27, 2015

PM Bibi Netanyahu

PM determined to pass bill that would allow the Knesset to pass laws vetoed by the High Court on grounds that they defy Basic Laws.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is determined to pass a bill that would allow the Knesset to re-legislate laws declared unconstitutional by the High Court, he told Meretz leader Zehava Gal-On Monday.

The bill in question is part of a judicial- reform package meant to fight judicial activism, which Likud and Bayit Yehudi hope to make part of the next coalition’s guidelines and Kulanu chairman Moshe Kahlon opposes.

The proposal would allow the Knesset to pass laws vetoed by the High Court on grounds that they defy Basic Laws, which are meant to eventually form a constitution. The laws would have to be voted in by a full majority of 61 MKs and would have to be renewed every four years.

This “override clause” is already part of Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation passed in 1994 following a demand by Shas to pass a law prohibiting the import of non-kosher meat. Likud and Bayit Yehudi seek to have it apply to all Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty.

The other judicial reform the parties want to implement is to increase the number of politicians on the Committee to Appoint Judges from four to six, thus decreasing the proportion of judges to elected officials on the panel.

Kahlon cosponsored a bill to the same effect in the 17th Knesset, but opposed it in coalition talks.

Gal-On said Netanyahu emphasized the judicial reforms, especially the override clause, in their meeting Monday afternoon.

“The cat is out of the bag. The prime minister is serving the extreme Right,” Gal-On said.

According to Gal-On, the override clause undermines human rights, and the prime minister “is prepared to crush the High Court and undermine the foundations of democracy for political interests.”

The Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment on the matter.

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Oh, MK Gal-On! If only if were so!

This is just a guess, but I believe that Gal-On's perception of human rights means... same-gender marriage, assimilation, removal of security restrictions on individuals with suspicious histories (aside from Jews), pork sales, and citizenship for foreign workers. In other words, the gradual elimination of anything authentically Jewish.

The Israeli judiciary is one of the major forces behind achieving these goals. There isn't anything in the least bit democratic about it, let alone anything at all related to the concept of "checks and balances." In fact, it gives "legislation from the Bench" a whole new, expanded meaning.

Unfortunately, I do not believe that Gal-On has anything to worry about. Either Netanyahu will cave in to Kahlon's demands, or he will find some other excuse to bow out of this policy.

Serving the extreme Right, indeed.

Arabs, Please Tell Us What You Really Think!

ח׳ לחודש השני תשע״ה

Palestinian Media Watch [PMW]: PA depicts a world without Israel

"Palestine" replaces Israel

Popular Palestinian song misrepresents Israeli cities as Palestinian‎ 

Winner of Arab Idol song contest 2013

Muhammad Assaf: "If you ask about folk ‎songs that have affected me, there are plenty, but the most prominent one is 'Oh flying ‎bird.‎'"

PA TV host:‎ "Your version became famous.‎"

Muhammad Assaf:‎ "It is a folk song... The young know it by heart as well as the ‎old. The song is about the Palestinian towns and villages. I sang a small part of it. It ‎includes Palestine from the northern end to the southern end... ‎

By Allah, oh traveling [bird], I burn with envy.‎
My country Palestine is beautiful.‎
Turn to Safed, and then to Tiberias,‎
and send regards to the sea of Acre and Haifa.‎
Don't forget Nazareth, the Arab fortress,‎
and tell Beit Shean about its people's return.‎"

Note: Different versions of this song misrepresent the following places in Israel as ‎‎"Palestine": Jaffa, Ramle, Safed, Tiberias, Acre, Haifa, Nazareth, Beit Shean, Be'er ‎Sheva
and mention the following places in the PA:‎
Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarem, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron, Jericho, Gaza.‎ 

Official Palestinian Authority TV     Apr. 13, 2015    (1 min)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):

Mahmud Abbas's "Pseudostine"

Arafat's shoulder emblem

This born in Lybia, "Gazan" singer's beliefs should come as no surprise to anyone. Yet, I am positive that most of you are gasping, in jaw dropping disbelief.

Most of you are still unwilling to believe that the Arabs want all of Israel. But, even this is just a euphemism. The Arabs have absolutely no connection to our Land. They simply want it, because it is here, and as an excuse to annihilate us.

Mahmud Abbas's Map of "Pseudostine"

This Arab rock star is simply stating the party line.

It's time to wake up.

Russian Presidents, Russian Rabbis, and Russian Jews

ז׳ לחודש השני תשע״ה

JTA: Senior Russian rabbi: Putin ouster would endanger Jews
April 25, 2015

MOSCOW — A senior Russian rabbi warned of grave danger to Jews if Russian President Vladimir Putin is swept from power.

Pres. Vladimir Putin and Rb. Alexander Boroda

Alexander Boroda, head of the Chabad-affiliated Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, made the warning Friday during a talk at Moscow’s 9th annual Jewish learning event organized by Limmud FSU.

“The Jews of Russia must realize the dangers inherent in the possible collapse of the Putin government, understand the rules of the game and be aware of the limitations,” Boroda said at a sessions, according to a translation provided by Limmud FSU.

The Moscow conference, which drew 1,400 participants, opened Friday at the state-owned Klyasma resort just outside the Russian capital.

Boroda’s Federation is among several Russian Jewish organizations that credit Putin for facilitating efforts to re-consolidate Russia’s Jewish community of 350,000 after decades of communist repression.

Under Putin, dozens of synagogues have been renovated with government support and a massive Jewish museum was opened in Moscow with state funding.

“In Russia, there is virtually unlimited freedom of religion and the Jewish community must ensure this situation continues,” Boroda said. “The support for religious institutions is wider than in the United States and defense of Jews against manifestations of anti-Semitism is greater than in other European countries. We do not have the privilege of losing what we have achieved and the support of the government for the community.”

All Russian Jews and especially those considering action against the Putin administration, Boroda said, “must understand the grave dangers that they take upon themselves and the potential consequences.”

Such endorsements of Putin by Jewish leaders have exposed them to criticism by liberal Jews and Jews in Ukraine, who oppose Putin’s crackdown on civil liberties and rivals, annexation of Ukrainian land and perceived nationalism.

Viktoria Mochilova, a Limmud FSU participant and social activist, dismissed Boroda’s message as one-sided and unrepresentative. While appreciative of government support for Jews, they, “similar to other Russian citizens, [desire] to improve the situation of the state and to strive to make it more democratic and honest,” she said.

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
All those mentioned in this report, Rabbi Boroda, his critic Viktoria Mochilova, so-called Jewish "leaders," liberal Jews, and Ukrainian Jews, are ALL wrong.

Not one mention of Israel. Not one mention of the only, true homeland of the Jewish People, and where a Jew's investment of time, energy, and money should be focused. Just more of the same old, "let's assimilate, and participate in the lands of our exile."

Do I really need to mention anything at all about Putin or the conflict in the Ukraine? No. It is all irrelevant.

Whether Jews are in physical danger or not, is irrelevant. Whether they are in spiritual danger or not, is irrelevant. Whether the Israeli Government or regime is good, bad, or ugly, is irrelevant.

The only relevant issue is where the Jewish People belong, and we belong in our own Land, fighting for, and investing our lives in our own Land, not in another people's land.

Russia, the Ukraine, and every other land, including the United States of America, belong to other peoples, not to us.

Regarding the Limmud organization, I'll just say that I'm not surprised, and we'll leave it at that.

Google it for more information. I can't be bothered right now.

Hungary: Not a Good Place for Jews.

כ״ז לחודש הראשון תשע״ה

Arutz 7: Hungary: Thousands of Jews March in Memory of Holocaust
WJC president denounces anti-Semitic Jobbik party at annual "March of Life" commemorating the Holocaust.

Elad Benari, April 13, 2015

Thousands of people on Sunday joined Hungary's annual "March of Life" commemorating the Holocaust, as World Jewish Congress president Ronald Lauder denounced the country's surging far-right Jobbik party as "extremist", AFP reported.

Over 10,000 people took part in the march.

In a speech at the end of the procession, Lauder called Jobbik an "extremist party that promotes hate".

Condemning a Jobbik deputy who recently spat on a Holocaust memorial in Budapest, Lauder said the party damaged Hungary's image abroad.

"Jobbik may think they are true Hungarians trying to save Hungary, but Jobbik hurts Hungary," he said, adding, "The Hungarian Jewish community is not going anywhere. We march today to say: We are here. We are alive. And here we will remain.”

Condemning acts of anti-Semitism, Lauder said, “There are statues of shoes along the Danube. They are there as a memorial to the Jewish people who were murdered there. No one has the right to spit in those shoes. No one. In this great city we send one clear message to the entire world: The Hungarian Jewish community is alive and well.”

Around 600,000 Hungarian Jews perished in World War II. Only 100,000 survived the Holocaust, mostly in Budapest. (cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Sure, it is important to remember. But, do we have to pour money into a foreign economy, in order to do so? I think not.

Furthermore, let us not forget the collaborating role of the Labor Zionists in the demise of Hungarian Jews.

Perfidy is a book written by Ben Hecht in 1961. The book describes the events surrounding the 1954–1955 Kastner trial in Jerusalem.

The book draws heavily on transcripts from the trial, and concludes that in 1944 Rudolf Kastner deliberately withheld from the Jews in Hungary that the trains the Nazis were putting them on were taking them to death by the gas chamber, not to a fictitious resettlement city as the Nazis claimed, and that Kastner then lied about it under oath. One of the supporting facts presented is that, in the Supreme Court appeal of the original verdict implicating Kastner, all five Supreme Court Judges upheld Judge Halevi's initial verdict on the "criminal and perjurious way" in which Kastner after the war had testified on behalf of Nazi war criminal Kurt Becher. Judge Silberg summed up the Supreme Court finding on this point: "[respondent Malchiel] Greenwald has proven beyond any reasonable doubt this grave charge."

Most still do not have a clue about such shenanigans, and those who do, still refuse to believe that their fellow Jews could ever have done such a thing.

Last summer, at the height of Israel’s counterterrorism Operation Protective Edge in Gaza, a town mayor linked to Jobbik was filmed ordering the hanging of effigies of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and former president Shimon Peres in protest against the conflict.

What on earth are Jews thinking, remaining in a country like this?

WJC President Lauder goes on to say... 

"The Hungarian Jewish community is not going anywhere. We march today to say: We are here. We are alive. And here we will remain.”

Physical danger or not, since when does a "Jewish leader" encourage Jews to remain in the land of their exile, when the gates to their only true Homeland have been thrown wide open for years now?

He doesn't.

What kind of Jewish "leader" forsakes his Divinely promised Homeland, and encourages his fellow Jews to do the same?

None.

Lauder is no Jewish leader.

Young people, said Lauder, have been flocking to Jobbik, which specifically rejects Jewish and Israeli investment in Hungary, but the party's supporters are not necessarily all anti-Semitic themselves, he said.

In other words, the goyim are doing for us, what we are supposed to be doing ourselves,...separating from each other.

Sorry to burst your "signs and wonders" bubble, but countless sources teach us that, due to our current, chosen path, Ge'ulah (Redemption) will likely come through natural means. I will add to this, by subtle means.

It is our job to pay attention, close attention.

Our Jewish brethren have been stubbornly remaining in the lands of our exile. How exactly do you expect that The Holy One, Blessed Be He, will bring us back to Eretz Yisra'el?

On wings of eagles? Well, he has certainly been trying to do just that. Unfortunately, you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink. Likewise, you can bring a Jew a giant eagle, but you cannot make him get on board.

They are called "airplanes," people.

It seems to me that we are in desperate need of a Holocaust Prevention Day, rather than a Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Another Arab Murderer, Another Jew Murdered

כ"ז לחודש הראשון תשע"ה

YNET: Man injured by vehicle in Jerusalem dies
Two pedestrians waiting for bus struck by car; Arab driver lightly injured; police investigating possibility of deliberate attack.

Roi Yanovsky, April 16, 2015

Shalom Yohai Sharki, 25, who was struck by a vehicle in Jerusalem Wednesday night, succumbed to his wounds on Thursday morning. A woman also hurt in the incident remains in very series condition.

Sharko and the woman were seriously injured by the vehicle Wednesday night at the French Hill junction in Jerusalem as they waited for a bus. Magen David Adom rescue personnel treated the victims and the driver, an Arab man from north of Jerusalem, who was said to be in light condition.

It remains unclear whether the incident was an accident or a deliberate attack. (cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):

Shalom Yohai Sharki hy"d

Well, yet another Jew has been murdered by an Arab. Shalom Yohai hy"d was the son Rabbi Ouri Sharki, a prominent rabbi in the Qiriyath Moshe neighborhood of Jerusalem, and teacher at the Machon Meir yeshivah.

Interestingly enough, Rabbi Sharki was born in Algeria, and raised in France, before immigrating with his family to Israel at the age of 13.

The plight of French Jews, and the encouragement of them to immigrate to Israel, has been increasingly in the news over the past several years, particularly over the last year.

When it comes to the leftist, "mainstream," Israeli media, Jewish blood is cheap.

"It remains unclear whether the incident was an accident or a deliberate attack."

Seriously?!

If this was not a deliberate attack, then I do not know what is.

Israeli Religious State Loyalists: This is a Test!

ערב יו״ט השביעי לפסח תשע"ה

JPost.com: Rabbis issue ruling banning police, IDF from involvement in yeshiva seizure
Jeremy Sharon, April 1, 2015

Rabbi Dov Lior

A group of senior hard-line national-religious rabbis have called on police and military personnel not to involve themselves in any way in the use of the Od Yosef Hai yeshiva building in the settlement of Yitzhar, which was requisitioned by the IDF last year due to security considerations.

The yeshiva was seized by the IDF in April 2014, due to what the military said at the time was a series of violent incidents that had emanated from the institution against local Palestinian communities and IDF personnel in and around the settlement.

Rabbi Yisra'el Ariel

Since then a Border Police battalion has been stationed in the yeshiva, and the military seizure order has been extended several times, the last time in November 2014 for an additional six months.

The seizure of the yeshiva has evoked outrage in Yitzhar and among settler leaders, including some of the sector’s leading rabbis, who spoke out against the ongoing seizure on Tuesday.

In their letter, rabbis Dov Lior, Yitzchak Ginsburgh, Yisrael Ariel and Yitzhak Shapira, among others, said the seizure of the yeshiva and its use as an army base is disgraceful and “extremely upsetting.”

“According to the Torah of Israel, this deed is forbidden, because the structure was stolen from its owners; because of the desecration of what is sacred and the impingement upon the sanctity of the synagogue and study hall which never expires; and because of the Torah study that has been prevented by the closure of the yeshiva (as was said of the wicked among the kings of Judea),” the rabbis wrote.

Rabbi Yitzchak Shapira

“Therefore, according to Jewish law, it is forbidden for anyone to be involved in this deed, or to assist it, and any soldier or police personnel of any rank or position should avoid [such participation],” they decreed, citing a ruling by the 12th-century codifier of Jewish law, Maimonides, as the source for their decision.

Lior is one of the most highly respected rabbis of the hard-line, pro-settler movement rabbis, while Ginsburgh is president of the Od Yosef Hai yeshiva and Shapira is the dean of that yeshiva.

Shapira, along with another rabbi, wrote the hugely controversial 2009 book on Jewish law, Torat Hamelech, which ruled that it is permissible during a time of war to kill non-Jews even if they are not involved in hostilities.

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Well, first off, if you haven't figured it out already, the supposedly right of center, JPost only likes certain "settlers" and "settlements," the ones with undying loyalty to the State of Israel.

The same goes for rabbis, calling some "hard-line," as if you could actually have too much Torah influence.

When I say loyalty to the State of Israel, I mean even in spite of the many times when such loyalty is in conflict with the Torah.

Of course, the undying State loyalist rabbis are the ones at fault, fostering loyalty to the State, over loyalty to Torah, claiming that violating State law = violating the Torah, one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard. And, yes, I have heard this quite a bit. Silly, isn't it?

Even sadder is that the numbed out masses, with a serious case of learned helplessness blindly follow these rabbis, hanging on their every word, lapping up the politically-correct tripe they desperately want to hear.

This JPost report concludes with a demonization of Rabbi Shapira, essentially sending the message that loyalty to the Torah over the State is something bad.

Far be it from the Jerusalem Post to comment on Jewish Law. It simply throws liberal, Western standards into its readers faces. It does not even bother to bring some makeshift refutation of Rabbi Shapira's opinion, such as "Rabbi So-And-So says...."

Jews have increasingly been forced to face the conflicts between the Torah and Israeli Law. Yet, most are holdouts, and refuse to see, let alone accept, that there are many such conflicts, and that they will eventually have to choose one over the other.

Which do you choose?

What are the Israeli Government's Real Plans for Judea and Samaria?

י"ב לחודש הראשון תשע"ה

JPost.com: Shin Bet arrests IDF soldier alleged to have passed classified info to far-right settlers
April 1, 2015

According to Army Radio, the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) last week took into custody Elad Sela, a resident of the Bat Ayin settlement, who is being accused of endangering national security.

Israeli military censors permitted media outlets on Tuesday to report that an IDF soldier from a West Bank settlement was arrested for allegedly passing classified information to far-right settlers.

According to Army Radio, the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) last week took into custody Elad Sela, a resident of the Bat Ayin settlement, who is being accused of endangering national security.

Army Radio reported that Sela, a conscript serving in the Etzion Divisional Brigade, is alleged to have passed secret information about plans that the IDF had prepared for West Bank settlements to far-right activists.

The alleged crimes were considered so serious that military censors banned the press from reporting details of the investigation, according to Army Radio.

(Tip Credit: Ya'akov Golbert)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Endangering national security?

I'm surprised they did not charge him with treason!

But, they could not possibly do that, because the negotiating of land giveaways is still listed as a treasonous offense. At least, that is my understanding.

Of course, the real question which should be on everyone's mind is...

What are these secret plans of the Israeli Government for the "settlements" in Yehudah and Shomron (Judea and Samaria)?

Oh, and another thing, how was this soldier privy to such information?

I know that the IDF is extremely careful regarding whom they allow even near to sources of such information. They know perfectly well which soldiers are from which town or "settlement," and which of those "settlements" are made up of undying State loyalists, and which are not.

They know who their soldiers parents are, which youth groups they were involved with, and even what religious and political views they have.

I should know. When I was living in K'far Tapu'ah, and my students, graduating seniors, were interviewing with the IDF to determine their units and positions, I was told just how much scrutiny they were put under.

They were never told that any of this information could not be shared, and as far as I know, it is common knowledge that the IDF, and any other reasonable military force on this earth does security checks of each and every individual, coming under their command.

As usual, we only have enough pieces of the puzzle to hypothesize the governments potential shenanigans. Or maybe this information, fed to the press, was designed only to distract us from something else which "they" really do not want us to discover.

We can only imagine what that could possibly be.