Egypt's Popular Soap Opera "The Jewish Quarter"

י״א לחודש הרביעי תשע״ה

Arutz 7: Israel Lauds Egyptian TV Show on Jews, then Regrets It
Show tries to overcome local Jew hatred by presenting love story of Muslim man and Jewish woman, but airs hostility to the Jewish state.

Arutz Sheva, June 26, 2015

With scenes of religious coexistence and vintage elegance in a more cosmopolitan era, an Egyptian soap opera aims to dispel prejudice towards the country's long-vilified and nearly extinct Jewish community - but even as it does so it exhibits hostility towards the Jewish state.

AFP reports that "The Jewish Quarter" shows life inside Cairo's Haret al-Yahud district during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, depicting an almost idyllic portrait of a society where Muslims, Christians and Jews lived side by side.

"I wanted to present this cosmopolitanism bringing together all religions" and to "show how Egypt used to be, and how it is today," said screenwriter Medhat al-Adl.

He said he wanted "to break the taboo and prejudice" by presenting "normal Jewish characters," in contrast to the derogatory representation of Jews in recent decades in movies and television shows.

The series initially won praise from Israel whose embassy in Cairo said it was pleased to see "for the first time, Jews represented according to their true nature, as human beings."

The show is openly anti-Zionist, however, and the Israeli embassy later criticized what it described as a "negative turning point" in the series and "attacks against the state of Israel," reports AFP. (cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Just what we need, another Muslim man (fighting against UN sanctioned, Israeli independence) seducing a Jewish woman into a physically, sexually, and emotionally, abusive relationship!

The plot revolves around the love story of Aly, a Muslim officer in the Egyptian army fighting in the 1948 war, and his Jewish neighbor Leila, an elegant francophone saleswoman working in one of Cairo's upscale department stores, which were owned by influential Jewish businessmen.

And the pathetic, assimilationist, Israeli government lauds it, because it is not as Jew-hating as usual?!

No surprises here.

The Israeli Government eventually does criticize the television series for "attacks against the state of Israel," apparently unphased by the issue of interfaith, romantic relationships.

This is definitely one of those times when I get very confused when Jews, and non-Jews alike, called the State of Israel a "Jewish" State.

One scene shows Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna encouraging supporters to stage attacks, saying: "The war is not only in Palestine. Jihad here is no less important than it is there."

Well, at least the Egyptian producer got something right.

The Excuse America has been Waiting for to Invade Israel

י״א לחודש הרביעי תשע״ה

Arutz 7: ISIS in Jerusalem Threatens Christians
For the first time ever 'ISIS Palestine' publishes fliers in eastern part of the capital city threatening 'revenge' against Christians.

Ari Yashar, June 26, 2015

A flier published by the brutal Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organization was put up around eastern Jerusalem on Thursday, in what is thought to be the first ISIS announcement in the Israeli capital.

The flier threatens Christians in the area with "revenge," and is signed by the organization "ISIS Palestine," reports Channel 10.

ISIS has been rapidly gaining a foothold in Israel, with dozens of Arab citizens of the state leaving for Syria and Iraq to fight for the jihadist organization after ISIS members took part in Hamas's terror war against Israel last summer.

A cell of the group was nabbed in Hevron in Judea last November showing their presence in the region, while in Gaza the group has clashed with Hamas and repeatedly fired rockets at Israel to spark fighting between Israel and Hamas.

Perhaps as a result of that threat to Hamas presented by ISIS, Palestinian Arab commentator Halad Ameira who is considered to be a follower of Hamas's terrorist ideology told Channel 10 the group should hold talks with Israel.

"A negotiation between Muslims and non-Muslims is something that should be taken into account," said Ameira. "Enemies negotiate when they're killing each other. What is forbidden according to religious law is concessions undercutting the key principles."

Hamas's charter calls for a genocide against all Jews, although unlike the Palestinian Authority (PA) that it signed a unity deal with last year, it tends to pursue its anti-Israel agenda through physical violence rather than "peace talks" meant to force the Jewish state into dangerous concessions.

Ameira claimed that even if Hamas were to sign a ten-year "tahdiya" or temporary lull deal with Israel, it would not be a breach of key principles.

"Jihad is not a goal in and of itself but rather a means to achieve peace," he claimed, asserting that the terrorist violence aiming to destroy Israel was meant for "peace."

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
This report reminds us of the true differences between Hamas and Abbas's Fatah, overt violence vs. patience and trickery, both strategies intending on the destruction of Israel.

But, this is not the reason I am commenting on it. Rather, I would like to suggest a possible connecting of the dot.

ISIS on the Temple Mount
Tip: Jews News

I could easily see the U. S. and possibly other nations "offer assistance" to Israel in battling their "common enemy," ISIS. The United States of America, the defender of oppressed minorities, even if they are Christians.

If the U. S. plays its public relations cards right, it could sell such an operation to both its left-wing and its right-wing citizens. The left would support defending "oppressed minorities," whether Christian or Kurdish, from ISIS, whom it believes is different than other Arabs, particularly Palestinians Pseudostinians.

The right would support a military action to defend Christians against anyone, not to mention the opportunity to bring theoretically Christian forces into the Holy Land. The seeds were already planted by a left-winger, too, Secretary of State John Kerry proposed the stationing of American troops in the Jordan Valley, in order to allay the Israeli Government's security concerns over a nascent, Pseudostinian state's border with Jordan.

Outrage has already been gaining momentum on social media, regarding the violence toward Christians, Kurdish, Yazdi, and other ethnic minorities by the hands of ISIS. The key would be portraying any military actions differentially, depending on the target community.

Before you know it, Israel will be stuck in the middle of the next stage in the war between Esau (The West) and Yishma'el (Arabs/Muslims), both with a final objective of stealing our Land, Jerusalem in particular (Zech. 12-14).

With the Israeli Left collaborating with Yishma'el, and the Israeli Right collaborating with Esau, instead of banding together to resist the infiltration of both of them, I am afraid this is going to be a very grueling period in our history.

Arab Democracy Equals Hypocrisy

ז׳ לחודש הרביעי תשע״ה

Arutz 7: Abbas: 'No Place' for Hamas in New Government
PA chairman tells France's foreign minister that any new Palestinian unity government should not include Hamas.

Elad Benari, 6/22/2015

Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday told visiting French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius that any new Palestinian unity government should not include Hamas, AFP reports.

The remarks came on the eve of a key meeting of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to discuss forming a new cabinet. The unity government between Hamas and Fatah collapsed last week as Abbas decided to dissolve it amid a deepening rift between the sides.

"(Abbas) told me this government of national unity could only include women and men who recognize Israel, renounce violence and who are in agreement with the principles of the (Mideast) Quartet," Fabius said at a press conference in Jerusalem after holding talks with Abbas in Ramallah.

Noting that those conditions ruled out Hamas, Fabius added, "And that suits us perfectly." (cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
The U. S. praised elections in the "Palestinian Authority," until Hamas won overwhelmingly.

Emblem of the "moderate"
Fatah

The naive U. S. President and his Government had more egg on their face than ever before. Hamas was quickly demonized more than before (not that I disagree), and the U. S. wriggled out of its "democracy argument," no doubt with the help of news media manipulation.

Mahmud Abbas holds up
his vision of "palestine."

Suddenly, it was not OK for the people to vote for leadership of which the U. S. did not approve. Hamas was feeding its people,...just enough, building hospitals and midrasas with some of the Iranian money it receives. But, it was enough to voted into power.

Those Arabs in Yehudah and Shomron (Judea and Samaria) who voted for Hamas must not have been getting enough of what they wanted from Abbas's Fatah Party either.

Meanwhile, denial by both the Israeli Government and the West, of the Arabs' desire to take over all of Israel, one way or another, frustrates the heck out of me.

I am no longer willing to say that the West has been naively, or stupidly, trying to hammer the square, Arab peg into a Western circular slot. Rather, the "piece process" (spelled correctly) which has been dragging on and on, and has been responsible for the murders of countless Jews appears more and more as the foundation for an excuse for the West to swoop in to "rescue" us, and occupy Israel in the process,..."for our own good."

Esau and Yishma'el will be going at it with each other, just like during The Crusades, the Gates of Vienna in 1683), Iraq since 1991, Afghanistan since 2001, and every other conflict in between. Meanwhile Persia (Iran) is crouching on the side, getting ready to pounce, and who knows what Russia will decide to do.

Israel will be the center of it all, some of us crying out to The Almighty, while others may still hang on to hopes that the goyim, the U. S., the UN, the Evangelicals, will save us, or even run away.

I have still have faith in The Almighty. But, I do not have much faith in those still hanging on for their dear lives, to the "piece process" (spelled correctly), and to deMOCKratic governments and their often misdirected, military might.

Unfortunately,  I somehow think that even if the Yishma'elites destroy each other with their ridiculously hypocritical deMOCKracy, and take Persia with them, there will still be Jews talking about democracy as a modern manifestation of Torah (חו״ח), and perhaps even about setting up a memorial for their lost Yishma'elite brethren, while others will be finding plots of Land for Esau to move in next door.

I have faith that The Almighty will not let it get that far. However, that may mean an even bigger kick in the pants than we have been getting already, in order for Jews, both on the "left" and the "right," to "get it."

I am afraid that it is not going to be very pretty either. In fact, I am afraid it will get very ugly and messy.

Debunking Israel's "Indigenous Argument" (Revised)

ו' לחודש הרביעי תשע"ה

There are those on the so-called “right,” who have been employing the “indigenous” argument a lot lately. The "indigenous argument" is that Jews have a right to live in Eretz Yisra'el (The Land of Israel), and to have sovereignty over it, because we are indigenous to it.

I would like to refute this argument, but Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaqi z”l (RaSh”I) already did the job for us almost a thousand years ago, in his commentary on the beginning of the Torah.

אמר רבי יצחק: לא היה צריך להתחיל [את] התורה אלא (שמות יב ב) מהחודש הזה לכם, שהיא מצווה ראשונה שנצטוו [בה] ישראל, ומה טעם פתח בבראשית, משום (תהילים קיא ו) כוח מעשיו הגיד לעמו לתת להם נחלת גויים, שאם יאמרו אומות העולם לישראל לסטים אתם, שכבשתם ארצות שבעה גויים, הם אומרים להם כל הארץ של הקב"ה היא, הוא בראה ונתנה לאשר ישר בעיניו, ברצונו נתנה להם וברצונו נטלה מהם ונתנה לנו:

“Said Rabbi Yitzhak: Shouldn’t the Torah have begun with “From this month, for you…” (Ex. 12:2), which is the first mitzvah which Israel was commanded. So what is the reason that the Torah opens with “In the beginning…?” – Because “He has told the power of His works to His people, to give them the inheritance of nations” (Psalms 111:6). So if the nations of the world would say to Israel, “You are robbers, because you have conquered the lands of the seven [Canaanite] nations!” – they say to them, “The entire world belongs to The Holy One, Blessed Be He. He created it and gave it to whomsoever he saw fit. According to His will, He gave it to them, and according to His will He took it away from them and give it to us.”

The text of the Torah specifically states that not only were we Divinely promised Eretz Yisra'el, but that in order to do this, Eretz Yisra'el had to be Divinely taken away from its previous owners.

יח בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא, כָּרַת יְהוָה אֶת-אַבְרָם--בְּרִית לֵאמֹר: לְזַרְעֲךָ, נָתַתִּי אֶת-הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת, מִנְּהַר מִצְרַיִם, עַד-הַנָּהָר הַגָּדֹל נְהַר-פְּרָת. יט אֶת-הַקֵּינִי, וְאֶת-הַקְּנִזִּי, וְאֵת, הַקַּדְמֹנִי. כ וְאֶת-הַחִתִּי וְאֶת-הַפְּרִזִּי, וְאֶת-הָרְפָאִים. כא וְאֶת-הָאֱמֹרִי, וְאֶת-הַכְּנַעֲנִי, וְאֶת-הַגִּרְגָּשִׁי, וְאֶת-הַיְבוּסִי. (בראשית טו,יח-כא)

In that day the Lord made a covenant with Avram, saying: 'To your seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.' the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.' (Gen. 15:18-21)

That’s right. The Canaanites were here before us.

Some would argue that the Jewish People is indigenous based its inheritance from No’ah’s son Shem, through Ever, and his descendant Avraham.

But, neither Shem nor Ever was born within the current borders of Eretz Yisra’el. Nor did either of them ever had control over Eretz Yisra’el. Actually, I have yet to hear that anyone has bothered to make this claim.

Incidentally, Avraham was not born in Eretz Yisra’el either. He never had control over Eretz Yisra’el, nor did his son Yitzhaq, nor did his grandson Ya’aqov, who eventually left, and went down to Egypt, although they were all well-respected while residing here.

Avraham purchased a plot of land in Eretz Yisra’el, now known as Ma’arath HaMakhpelah (Cave of the Patriarchs) in Hevron. Ya’aqov purchased the city of Shchem, which the Romans called Neopolis, in bastardized Arabic. King David purchased land as well, Har HaBayith (the Temple Mount).

Of course, it is a misswah (Torah commandment) to redeem Eretz Yisra’el. One may even have a non-Jew prepare a document of sale on Shabbath, a day on which Jews are forbidden to conduct commerce. Such was done with K’far Ivri, now Jerusalem’s northern neighborhood of Neweh Ya’aqov.

Eretz Yisra'el (Joshua, Judges)
(Click to enlarge)

A qinyon (acquisition) for the purchase of Land may be made be on Shabbath, as was done in the acquisition of the Haredi Jerusalem neighborhood of Me’ah She’arim. The home of many opposed to Zionism, many are surprised to hear of Me’ah She’arim’s acquisition,…before the arrival of Mashi’ah. There is no conflict here.

The Land is ours, but at this point, we not going to succeed in completing the conquering and settling of the Eretz Yisra’el, through hasbara (PR), and certainly not through the indigenous argument.

At one point, Arafat ysh”w attempted to claim that his Pseudostinian people were Jebusites, one of the seven nations (Gen. 15:21, Num. 33:50-56), in an attempt to make the same indigenous argument, Jews are trying to make now. But, as soon as he realized that this lie was not working, he quickly changed his tune.

The only, I repeat only, justification for any claims on Eretz Yisra’el by the Jewish People is that The Almighty promised it to us, as recorded in His Holy Torah.

Any beliefs and feelings of non-Jews are irrelevant, and thus so are any efforts to convince them of one thing or another, is also irrelevant, and a waste of time.

Esau (The West) and Yishma'el (Arabs/Muslims) both want Eretz Yisra'el for themselves. They all want a piece. The Vatican, the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches, the Evangelicals and Christian Zionists, the U. S., and one does not need to say, the Arabs, all want a piece (Zech. 12-14). Nothing has changed since Esau and Yishma'el fought each other for control over it, during The Crusades.

They only care about their own interests. They certainly do not give a damn about any argument, indigenous or other otherwise, which conflicts with their interests.

It simply does not matter if Jews are indigenous to the Land of Israel, or not. Some make the claim that certain Bedouin clans and even some of those Arabs identifying themselves as "Palestinians," are also indigenous.

But the ONLY thing that matters that The Almighty promised it to us, the Jewish People, and not to any other people, indigenous or otherwise.

The IDF's Good Decisions!

ה' לחודש הרביעי תשע"ה

David Adamov
(photo: facebook)

Arutz 7: David the Nahlawi' Becomes an IDF Officer
Nahal Brigade soldier who gained fame over arrest after cocking gun against Arab terrorists completes officer's course with flying colors.

Ari Yashar, 6/16/2015

IDF soldier David Adamov of the Nahal Brigade, who gained fame as "David the Nahlawi" last year when he was arrested and then released after cocking his gun when attacked by Arab terrorists in Hevron, became an officer on Tuesday. (cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Although many have already commented on this news item, I will add my 2¢ worth, as a few significant details seem to have been missed.

David Adamov (AKA: David HaNahlawi) received an unprecedented amount of support, expressed on social media last year, when he was arrested for defending himself.

Here is a video of last year's incident:


The Israeli news media never put as much effort into announcing Adamov's release, as they did when he was arrested, if they put any effort into it at all.

Arutz 7 seems to be the only site which posted anything about Adamov's successful complete of his officers course in English, the language most viewed by the "international community." Most of you know by now, that I try not to cite Arutz 7 if I can possibly avoid it.

So, even though the IDF made the right decisions by releasing Adamov, and by admitting him into the officers course in the first place, the Israeli news media fail once again.

Dance, Asaf! Dance!

ד' לחודש הרביעי תשע"ה

This video of Asaf Goren's audition for the television reality show, "So You Think You Can Dance" has already been cruising around the internet. But, I wanted to add my take on it.

While I often criticize being like the goyim, seeking acceptance and validation from goyim, I have to say that one of my weaknesses is dance and choreography. We all have them. You give me a break, and I'll try to give you a break about yours.

Although Asaf Goren is a "break" dancer, there is no pun intended here.

And, no. I do not believe that there is any Qedushath HaShem here, or anything like. However, he is wearing a talith (kosher, fringed garment), which is misswah mid'Oraitha (Torah commandment), and thus a good example to be setting in front of the Jewish American public. Just very good skill, and suitable entertainment for weddings, bar-misswah parties, and some holidays.

Whether you or I like it or not, these kinds of events do have the potential to wake up a Jewish American kid or two to his heritage, and to an exploration and discovery of its importance.


Incidentally, the video also features Paula Abdul. Most know about her singing career, highlighted by her skill as a dancer. But, what many of you do not know is that she is also quite an accomplished choreographer. A Jewish choreographer. Plus, the last I heard, this Los Angeles native was moving in the direction of Shabbath observance, at least to some degree.

When Abdul announced on a televised Chabba"d event that she lit Shabbos candles, I believe that was another positive

Here are some locals, break dancing in Jerusalem, off of Ben-Yehudah Street at "The Chess Board." You will see at least one of these kids wearing a talith qatan, with the tzitzith (kosher fringes) hanging out here, too.

I have to say that as low as we have gotten spiritually, I would rather have my son break dancing on a Thursday or after-Shabbath evening, than doing a heck of a lot of other things, I can think of, and/or that I actually did myself as a kid.
Extreme situations often call for extreme measures.

Terrorist Shooting: Another Strike Against Israeli, "Jewish" Education

ד' לחודש הרביעי תשע"ה

YNET: West Bank terror attack investigation inconclusive
IDF finishes the last of its major manhunt operations in villages surrounding site of Friday's terrorist attack; investigation passed to Shin Bet; several leads being pursued. 

Yoaz Zitun and Itai Blumenthal,  06.20.15

The day after a deadly terrorist attack near the settlement of Dolev in the West Bank, which claimed the life of Danny Gonen, IDF forces have finished their searches in nearby Palestinian villages with no conclusive findings. The center of the operations was focused on scanning the area, and questioning locals from the villages of Kinya and Dayr Ibzi, which are adjacent to the site of the attack. The Army has reopened the access roads leading to the villages. The focus of the investigation will now shift to the intelligence realm, and will be led by Shin Bet investigators. 

A primary inspection of the victim's vehicle shows that the assailant fired at least 10 rounds, four of which hit the car, and ran away. Shin Bet investigators collected 9mm shell casings, which where found near the vehicle, which suggests the shooter fired from point blank range. The casings have been passed on to forensics. Additionally, the investigators had questioned hikers who where in the area prior to the attack...

..Yesterday, an initial investigation of the attack showed that around 4pm, Gonen and his friend finished swimming in a spring, located in a mountainous area between the settlement of Dolev and the Palestinian village of Dayr Ibzi. They drove back toward the main road, and where flagged down by a Palestinian on a nearby dirt road. The man seems to have asked for help, and when the two stopped their car, the man asked "is there water in the spring." He proceeded to immediately shoot them from point blank range, and run away... 

...An investigation of the scene led the IDF to believe the attacker acted as a 'lone wolf', without the support or instruction of one of the terror organizations. This was contrasted however by a statement from a cell claiming to be related to Hamas' military wing, which took responsibility for the attack. The name of the cell is "The Marwan Kawasme and Amar Abu Isa cell", the names of the two men responsible for kidnapping the 3 teens in Gush Etzion last year. 

In the statement they released, the group said the attack was carried out after a long period of observation at the site, and that one of the groups members waited for the car to approach and shot them upon confirming they where Israeli. The statement continued to say that the group's members returned home safely... 

...The official Hamas response "praised" the attack, however did not claim responsibility: "We and all our people respect the pure hands which focus on resistance, and aim the rounds towards the occupation, despite all the challenges in the West Bank. Israel's crimes won't go without reaction from the resistance."

Esser Agaroth (2¢):

Danny Gonen (25) hy"d

It is no coincidence that Danny Gonen hy"d was shot and killed, with Netanel Hadad remaining in critical condition, after their car stopped to help an Arab, on the same day, 2 Tammuz, that the bodies of the three boys, who had also helped an Arab with his car in Gush Etzion, were found last year.

Were Arabs interested and smart enough to look at the Jewish calendar? Probably not. Just the annual Ramadan rampage? Maybe. But, it does not matter anyway. The Arabs are just being used as tools for The Almighty's Will. Unfortunately, we continue to fail to see this, and so do our "rabbis."

Our "Jewish" education system, here in Israel, and around the globe, insists that helping our sworn, lying enemies, is a "Jewish" value.

Eyal Yifrah (19), Naftali Frenkel (16), Gil'ad Sha'ar (16) hy"d

The reality is that "Jewish" values continue to be confused with Western values and sensibilities from galuth (exile), and even projected onto the Torah.

Although we have the Ben-Gurions, Rabins, Pereses, Beilins, and the rest of the Labor Zionist leadership to blame for this. The "rabbis," including those who insist that it is permissible to show kindness to the Arabs in the above manners, are culpable.

The Torah is set aside, or rationalized away, not unlike the so called "liberal movements," and instead, democracy is held in high esteem.

משנה תורה, הלכות עבודה זרה פרק י,א
...ואסור לרחם עליהם, שנאמר "ולא תחונם" (דברים ז,ב). לפיכך אם ראה גוי עובד עבודה זרה אובד או טובע בנהר, לא יעלנו; ראהו לקוח למות, לא יצילנו. אבל לאבדו בידו, או לדוחפו לבור, וכיוצא בזה--אסור, מפני שאינו עושה עימנו מלחמה.

Mishneh Torah, Laws of Avodah Zarah 10:1
...and it is forbidden to have mercy on them, as it is said, "do not show mercy" (Deut. 7:2). Therefore if one sees a goy being lost or drowning in a river, one does not raise him up; one sees him being taken to death, one does not save him. But to kill him by hand, or to push him into a pit, and actions like these--forbidden because he is not making war with us.

The only justification for showing any mercy to goyim within Eretz Yisra'el (Land of Israel), as the Ramba"m states later on in this set of laws, is the belief that יד הגוים תקיפה, "the goyim have the upper hand." If the same "rabbis" above truly believe this, then they should teach us to sit and learn and pray and do nothing else, because we really have no business being here in Eretz Yisra'el, doing a half-ass job "settling the Land."

These "rabbis" wave the flag of the Ramba"n's misswah count, which includes the settling the Land...

במדבר לג
נב וְהוֹרַשְׁתֶּם אֶת-כָּל-יֹשְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ, מִפְּנֵיכֶם, וְאִבַּדְתֶּם, אֵת כָּל-מַשְׂכִּיֹּתָם; וְאֵת כָּל-צַלְמֵי מַסֵּכֹתָם תְּאַבֵּדוּ, וְאֵת כָּל-בָּמוֹתָם תַּשְׁמִידוּ. נג וְהוֹרַשְׁתֶּם אֶת-הָאָרֶץ, וִישַׁבְתֶּם-בָּהּ: כִּי לָכֶם נָתַתִּי אֶת-הָאָרֶץ, לָרֶשֶׁת אֹתָהּ. נד וְהִתְנַחַלְתֶּם אֶת-הָאָרֶץ בְּגוֹרָל לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתֵיכֶם, לָרַב תַּרְבּוּ אֶת-נַחֲלָתוֹ וְלַמְעַט תַּמְעִיט אֶת-נַחֲלָתוֹ--אֶל אֲשֶׁר-יֵצֵא לוֹ שָׁמָּה הַגּוֹרָל, לוֹ יִהְיֶה: לְמַטּוֹת אֲבֹתֵיכֶם, תִּתְנֶחָלוּ.

Numbers 33
52 then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images, and demolish all their high places. 53 And you shall drive out the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein; for to you have I given the land to possess it. 54 And you shall inherit the land by lot according to your families--to the more you shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer you shall give the less inheritance; wheresoever the lot fall to any man, that shall be his; according to the tribes of your fathers shall you inherit.

Yet they fail to pay any regard to the second half of the misswah - להוריש, to remove the non-Jews, in order to complete the inheritance process.

נה וְאִם-לֹא תוֹרִישׁוּ אֶת-יֹשְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ, מִפְּנֵיכֶם--וְהָיָה אֲשֶׁר תּוֹתִירוּ מֵהֶם, לְשִׂכִּים בְּעֵינֵיכֶם וְלִצְנִינִם בְּצִדֵּיכֶם; וְצָרְרוּ אֶתְכֶם--עַל-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם יֹשְׁבִים בָּהּ. נו וְהָיָה, כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּמִּיתִי לַעֲשׂוֹת לָהֶם--אֶעֱשֶׂה לָכֶם.

55 But if you will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those that you let remain of them shall be as thorns in your eyes, and as pricks in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land wherein you dwell. 56 And it shall come to pass, that as I thought to do unto them, so will I do unto you.

Meanwhile,...

(YNET) The defense establishment is not expected to take punitive action against the Palestinian population, due to the free movement in the area, and easing of restrictions for Ramadan, which are meant to continue.

peusdostinian passengers shuttled from Anatot Airport in north Jerusalem, to the mosque on Har HaBayith

Shuttles take "pseudostinians" to Har HaBayith (Temple Mount) to desecrate it for Ramadan celebrations.

How much do you want to bet that murders will be praised during their celebrations?

Even if it were permissible to help goyim in Israel, is it really worth risking one's life for the one or even two goyim out there who do not intend to kill a Jew?

I suppose that for some, it is. Martyrs for the sake of the fruitless seeking of love, validation, and acceptance, from the non-Jewish, "international community."

I blame Israel's, "Jewish" education system, and by extension, the "rabbis" behind it.

So, the next time, you see an Arab on the road, who is thirsty or who needs help starting his car, what will you do?

Renunciation of U. S. Citizenship: The Final Chapter

ראש החודש הרביעי תשע״ה

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

American, No More

Disclaimer: I am not an accountant. I am simply relaying my own personal experiences, and what I did. I am not giving tax advice. You would do well to consult a Certified Public Accountant [CPA].*

On Monday, I sent in the last forms to the U. S. Government, I will ever need to send it. At least, I hope this the case. In the spring of last year, I renounced my U. S. citizenship. I did so, not for tax reasons, but for ideological ones. You can about the saga of my renunciation up until now, by clicking here.

As a single person, with only one source of income, and absolutely no investments, nor any other assets, and never more than a few thousand shekels in a checking account and very small pension fund, the forms I had to file included a 1040 (not a 1040A or 1040 EZ), plus the foreign earned income exemption. In my case, this was a 2555-EZ form. I also filed Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts Report [FBAR], for one year in which my combined bank account and pension fund actually reached above the $10,000 threshold.

To convert your shekel amounts to U. S. dollars, use the IRS’s Yearly Average Currency Exchange Rates Table for current and previous years.

In addition, I filled to fill out an 8965 form claiming an exemption from this for the year 2014. Would you imagine that the U. S. Government was considering obligating U. S. citizens living abroad to pay for ObamaCare coverage, even someone like me, who has not set foot on U. S. soil, save for embassies and consulates, since 1997?

Such hutzpah!

U. S. citizens living abroad do receive an automatic extension of the normal April 15 deadline for income tax reporting, making it June 15. My main concern, though, was the last form I had to file, as one who renounced citizenship in the previous year, was the 8854 form. As far as I know, the penalty for submitting an 8854 form, with a postmark after June 15, 2015, is $10,000, if it is determined that filing late was avoidable.

I might add that the 8854 form was never, I repeat never, mentioned to me, certainly not by any U. S. Government official involved in the processing of the renunciation of my citizenship.

I used to laugh at various individuals, both U. S. and non-U. S. citizens, who have criticized the U. S. for its imperialistic policies. Well, I do not know if I would call the U. S. Government’s far reaching, financial policies toward U. S. citizens, present and former, imperialistic. However, the U. S. does appear to assert control over them for as long as it can. Apparently, among all of the nations of the world, only the U. S. and Eritrea tax their citizens, who are living abroad (Isaac Brock Society).

The U. S. Government can, theoretically, still intrude into my life. Does that sound crazy and paranoid? Is that redundant?

If IRS officials do not believe in what I have reported to them, from what I understand, they can audit me, and request information and even request that my Israeli, as in foreign to the U. S., bank account be frozen, if I do not comply. Quite frankly, I believe this would be silly on their part, since I do not owe them any money, do not have any money, and it would cost them one heck of a lot more to audit and investigate me, than they would eventually be able to claim from me, which would be nothing, since that’s what I owe, and that’s what I have. Nothing.

Of course, if the U. S. Government decides to make an example out of me, as one of those ungrateful individuals who has dared to spend the required $450, now $2350, fee to renounce his precious U. S. citizenship, then they may do just that. But, the U. S. Government would never do anything like that. Or would it? For what? My 2¢ blog? Now, if you ask me, that would be just plain silly.

Did I fill out the forms correctly? I certainly believe that I did. I sure studied the procedures long enough.

Well, there is nothing I can do about it now.

*********

Israeli Post Office Information:
If you are worried about making it to the post office on time, in order to get your document filled envelops postmarked with a specific date, you should know that the pot office does have branches which are open later than 5:00pm. Agrippas and the main Yaffo St. branches are open until 6:00pm, and the Menta convenience store at the Pat Junction gas station is open until 10:00pm. Make sure to double check that they offer international registered mail during its late hours of operation. I guess people who had previously complained about picking up their mail at a gas station (link) won’t be complaining now, huh?

Of course, if you are really running late, you can always make the trek out to Ben-Gurion Airport, where you will find a branch open until 11:59pm.

I recommend sending any forms and supporting documents by registered mail. This way, you can not only prove that you sent them on time, but you also track and trace them.

*Note:
I have mixed feelings about recommending consultation with a CPA. I feel that I am darned if I do, and darned if I don’t. In order to get things done correctly, and thus keep the U. S. Government off of our backs, it would to our benefit to obtain professional assistance. On the other hand, are CPA’s, in their own way, passive collaborators with the U. S. Government?

Think about it. The more complicated tax regulations become, the more we need them, and thus, the more money they make.

On the other hand, even how supposedly simple my reporting obligations were, I cannot possibly imagine how I could have completed the process on my own, as I did, without the assistance of the two CPA’s who were kind enough to answer my questions without charging me.

Additional Resources:

IRS Out Of Israel

Isaac Brock Society

Hamas's Five Year Ceasefire Proposal

ל׳ לחודש השלישי תשע"ה

YNET Report: Hamas discussing 5-year truce
Senior members said to be in Qatar to weigh accepting deal that would provide Gaza with a seaport in exchange for a halt in fighting. 

Elior Levy, 06.16.15

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
Emir of Qatar

Leading members of Hamas are meeting in Qatar to discuss a proposal for a long-term ceasefire with Israel, the Palestinian Al-Quds newspaper reported Monday.

The truce proposal, which is backed by both Qatar and Turkey, is based on an outline formulated by UN special envoy to the Middle East Nikolay Mladenov, according to Israel Radio.

Israeli media reported that leading Hamas member Abu Marzouk arrived in Doha from Gaza on Saturday and held a series of meetings with Hamas leader Khaled Mashal, who lives in Qatar, as well as other senior officials in the organization.

Turkish Pres. Erdoğan

The truce proposal is said to stipulate that Israel allow the construction of a floating sea port off the Gaza coast, to be subject to Israeli or international supervision. 

In return, Hamas would agree to cease fire for five years, with the possibility of extending it.

UN envoy Mladenov warned the Security Council last month that Gaza residents have become desperate, and that Israel and the Palestinians bear responsibility to prevent a collapse. 

He also said Gaza residents were furious about the Israeli blockade, the closure of Rafah Crossing to Egypt (although it has been temporarily opened since), Hamas itself, and the international community that has failed to follow through on its commitments to help rehabilitate the Strip.

Khaled Mashal

About a year since Operation Protective Edge, the UN's report on its events is imminent. Diplomatic sources in Jerusalem suggested that the report will be released later this week. 

Concerned that the Palestinians would leak the report, the Foreign Ministry released its own version of events on Sunday. It claimed among other things that Hamas forced Palestinian civilians to stay in battle zones.

The Israeli line of defense is that Hamas committed war crimes and that half of Palestinian fatalities were militant terrorists.
The calm that has settled over southern Israel since last summer was recently broken. Sporadic rocket launches were attributed by Gaza authorities to a radical Salafi organization opposed to Hamas. 

The truce idea has come up in the past, at least since the Aug. 26 ceasefire that ended last summer's 50-day war between the sides, but Israel has strenuously objected to the Hamas demand for an airfield and sea port, fearing these would be used to bring in weapons.

Esser Agaroth (2¢):

During so-called "ceasefires," while Israel was fortifying its bomb shelters and replacing outdated gas masks for the next time, Hamas was restocking its arsenal, digging tunnels for smuggling, training its next generation of Jihadists, otherwise known as "summer camp."

And, of course, the Hamas proposal would not cover its rivals', the Salafis', rocket launching endeavors.

So, are we really going to be stupid enough to fall for that one again (...and again, and again, and again)?

Yeah. Probably.

So, what does that say about us?

Jews Want to Flee Turkey! Good!

כ"ג לחודש השלישי תשע"ה

Arutz 7: Turkish Jews Hopeful After Elections, But Fear Crackdown
Chairman of Turkish Jewry org says 'people with whom I am in touch say that because of the situation, they want to flee the country.'

Nitsan Keidar, June 9, 2015

President Erdoğan

The Turkish elections ended Sunday, leaving an uncertain political future in their wake, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to struggle to form a coalition.

But despite the uncertainty for the country's overall stability, figures involved with the Turkish Jewish community are convinced that the change will probably be positive.

"Anything that will reduce the power of the person who is trying to avoid freedom and democracy [i.e. Erdogan - ed.] is good for every citizen, whether he is Jewish or not," Eyal Peretz, chairman of the Turkish community organization in Israel, Arkadas, stated in a special interview with Arutz Sheva on Tuesday. "Certainly the Jews are the first to suffer from his rule."

However, Peretz tempered his praise with a note of caution: anyone against Erdogan's rule may face an even greater crackdown following the election results.

"The Jews [in Turkey] rarely make statements about politics, because they feel threatened," Peretz warned. "But there is a huge portion of the Turkish public which is secular, [and] people with whom I am in touch say that because of the situation, they want to flee the country."

Peretz added that, while there is no specific data on the phenomenon, there is a huge trend for young Turks to emigrate due to the rise of Islamic religious extremism.

Meanwhile, he predicts, Opposition parties will refuse to cooperate with Erdogan no matter what - out of self-preservation.

"Erdogan is going to be a ruler like Assad, Gaddafi or Saddam Hussein," he said. "Is there a party that, in exchange for power, would risk the possibility that the president would eliminate the possibility of future elections? In Turkey, I think the answer is 'no."

Erdogan has a long and seasoned history of anti-Semitism, and he recently accused the New York Times of being critical of his rule due to "Jewish capital."

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Jews in Turkey need to get out of there.

Jews in Turkey, or anywhere else for that matter, who think they can depend on any human leader to save them, have got another thing coming.

Although living in a Muslim country, many Jews in Turkey have some of the same difficulties holding them back from leaving their country of birth, not unlike those of Jews in the U. S. and South Africa. It is very comfortable for them.

Those Jews wanting to get out of Turkey should be encouraged. I would not even call it "feeling,..." yet.

Remember, a Jew is not "quitting," nor "letting them win," by leaving their country. Rather, such Jews are simply finally getting the message, and picking up and moving to their only Homeland, and that Homeland is Israel.

Avigdor Liberman Strikes Again!

כ״ג לחודש השלישי תשע״ה

Arutz 7: Bennett to Liberman: Stop the Nonsense, Join the Coalition
Jewish Home chairman urges Yisrael Beytenu head to “stop the nonsense” and join the coalition.

Hezki Ezra, June 10, 2015

Education Minister Naftali Bennett, head of the Jewish Home party, on Tuesday called on Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman to “stop the nonsense” and join the coalition.

Bennett’s call to Liberman was made on Twitter, and it came after Liberman welcomed Bennett’s announcement that he would cut state funding for a play by an Arab theater about a terrorist who murdered an IDF soldier.

Liberman suggested that Bennett dismiss the committee that had allowed the play to receive state funding to begin with and appoint a new committee that "understands the significance of Israel as a Zionist state and knows that supporting terrorists, allegedly in the name of artistic freedom, is crossing a red line.”

Bennett then tweeted in response, "Evet, my friend, this is a good national government. Stop the nonsense, join the government. There is no reason to stay outside with the other parties. We will do good things together.”

Liberman dropped a bombshell last month when he announced he would not join Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s coalition, and later predicted that there would be new elections by 2016.

The former foreign minister has since that time criticized the new government, resulting in Netanyahu accusing the Yisrael Beytenu chairman of joining the leftists.

Liberman responded by saying that Netanyahu is the “master of zigzagging” and claiming he “abandoned the national camp and no longer belongs to the Israeli right-wing.”

Esser Agaroth (2¢):

Avigdor Liberman
(Yisra'el Beitenu)

Naftali Bennett
(Jewish Home)

Liberman has been criticized and even teased for some of the silly things which have come out of his mouth.

But, once in a while, Liberman lets his intelligence shine through, and this is one of those times.

In a nutshell, not only is he probably right about elections by 2016, but he has got Netanyahu and Bennett, and the Israeli Government as a whole, by the proverbial...horns.

Where Does Shimon Peres Get His Information?

כ"ג לחודש השלישי תשע״ה

JPost.com: Peres says 'clear majority of Israelis back two states,' urges immediate resumption of talks
Peres spoke at the World Economic Forum confab which attracted numerous statesmen and leaders from across the region.

Staff, May 22, 2015

Peres spoke at the World Economic Forum confab which attracted numerous statesmen and leaders from across the region.

Shimon Peres, Israel’s nonagenarian former president and forever elder statesman, told a gathering of Middle Eastern leaders in Jordan on Friday that “a clear majority of Israelis favor a two-state solution” to the conflict with the Palestinians.

In a news conference during which he fielded questions from dozens of journalists from the Arab world, Peres said that “arriving at a diplomatic resolution is possible, necessary, and urgent.”

Peres was at the Dead Sea confab which attracted numerous statesmen and leaders from across the region, including the host, King Abdullah of Jordan, and Egyptian President Abdel Fatteh al-Sisi.

“I believe that peace talks could resume and we must do this as quickly as possible,” the former president said. “What is clear is that nobody can freeze the situation as is, and the status quo is not an option.”

Peres said it was premature to write off the two-state solution as the basis for Israeli-Palestinian peace.

“There were times when it seemed that peace with Jordan and Egypt were a pipe dream,” the former president said. “It is by virtue of the peace treaties with those countries that we live alongside our neighbors and overcome the complex challenges of the Middle East.”

When asked if the chances for a two-state solution had disappeared, Peres replied: “The new government in Israel has only started to work, so it’s too early to judge.”

“But I can say that there is a clear commitment to two states just as there was during the previous government,” he said. “The importance of negotiations is to solve the disagreements. There’s no need to get carried away or give up in light of existing gaps.”

Peres said that the calculus in the region has changed thanks to Islamic State and the ascent of radical organizations.

“Terrorism has claimed many lives,” Peres said. “It has turned many people into refugees, destroyed families, and spilled a great deal of blood. Irrespective of religion, we must say in a loud voice that decapitating is not a religious or moral edict. It’s a sin, not a prayer. The Middle East today knows that terrorism is the real enemy.”

“The moderate forces in the Middle East must stand shoulder to shoulder and cooperate for the sake of progress and hope and against any escalation and bloodshed,” Peres said. “Together we can turn this region into one that flourishes.”

Esser Agaroth (2¢):

Shimon Peres

Over the years, countless polls have been taken. Who is the average Israeli? No matter the results in the most recent, national elections, the results have always been the same.

The average Israeli is:

1. Right of center
2. Traditional, if not religious
3. Against giving away any Land.

So, where does Shimon Peres get his information from?

I'll tell you where Shimon Peres gets his information from,...out of thin air. He has sure gotten many of us fooled, but not all of us.

Shimon Peres, John Kerry, Mahmud Abbas

As far as Peres's “Terrorism has claimed many lives,” and “It has turned many people into refugees, destroyed families, and spilled a great deal of blood," just watch the following video.


Of course, Peres was not talking about Jews. Why would he do something like that?

“Together we can turn this region into one that flourishes.” can only mean one thing, total assimilation of the Jewish People into Western values and sensibilities, in other words, disappear, the ultimate goal of the Erev Rav, Labor Zionists.


Shimon Peres is the only one who wants a two-state solution.

Those of us not fooled by Shimon Peres know that the only final destination a two-state solution will lead to is a one-state solution.

One state = an Arab state.

Mikvah Tragedies Exploited

כ״א לחודש השלישי תשע״ה

Although the following incident happened over two weeks ago, it is still worth making some comments on it.

YWN: Bnei Brak: Fatal Drowning in a Mikvah
(Thursday, May 21st, 2015)

Ichud Hatzalah reported on Thursday morning 3 Sivan that a young man in his 20s drowned in a Bnei Brak mikvah on Breuer Street. When EMTs arrived on the scene they began CPR.

Ichud EMT Yair Amar explained “When I arrived on the scene, the young man was in cardiac arrest after he was found lifeless and pulled from the mikvah. We began CPR along with Magen David Adom paramedics and he was transported to Beilinson Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead”.

Police are investigating the incident, as there is a possibility of foul play involved in this tragic incident.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
This was not the first tragedy of its kind. As recently as תשע״ד/2013, a four year old girl drowned in a mikvah on Yom Kippur, when it was left unlocked.

Foul play, or not, I expect that this tragedy will be used, along with other tragedies, by the anti-Torah PTB to demonize the mikvah, and its associated customs, in its attempts to go after the Torah, on piece at a time.

This may be just an educated guess, but sort of strategy has been employed before, and it will be employed again.

Another Jerusalem Post Whitewash!

כ״א לחודש השלישי תשע״ה

I already wrote about the recent JPost Conference, and the hope I experienced upon hearing the jeering of U. S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew by some of those in attendance.



As expected, JPost white-washed the jeering of Secretary Lew.

JPost: Lew, Israel’s friend
By JPOST EDITORIAL \ 06/07/2015

...Unfortunately some are unable to distinguish between a close friend of Israel and the temporary impasse over the Iran issue. The animosity and anger directed toward Lew by a minority of the conference audience reflected not only the passion raised by the issue, but the blindness and misguided hatred that rigid ideology can bring to the table....

What a bunch of bologna!

Please! Please! Fire Rockets At Us!

כ״א לחודש השלישי תשע״ה

YNET: Top IDF officer: Israel won't launch operation over a few rockets
GOC Southern Command Sami Turgeman tells mayors in towns bordering Gaza that Israel will respond appropriately, as with recent rocket strikes by Islamic State supporters.

Matan Tzuri, Elior Levy, 06.07.15

GOC Southern Command Sami Turgeman on Sunday night told mayors of towns bordering Gaza that Israel won't launch a military operation in Gaza in response to sporadic rocket fire from the Strip that lands in open areas.

Turgeman did stress however, that the military would respond accordingly in such instances, most likely with targeted air strikes - as seen in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Hamas, claimed Turgeman, is working hard to prevent sporadic attacks like the three instances seen in the last several days - rocket strikes for which Islamic State supporters claimed responsibility.

The general added that great effort was going toward increasing the IDF's defense capabilities against such attacks from rockets and tunnels dug by Hamas. (cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):

Gen. Sami Turgeman
IDF Southern Command

For goodness sakes! Who cares if the rockets are sporadic, and landing in open areas?! We're just going to look the other way, when our sovereign territory is breached?

Teach those bastards a lesson!

Hell, it's even politically correct to target ISIS. Iran does it. So, what's stopping Gen. Turgeman?

It's almost as if we are begging ISIS, Hamas, or whomever else, to fire rockets at us...

...and brings to mind a famous scene from the movie, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."

JPost Conference: There is Hope for American Jews Yet!

כ״א לחודש השלישי תשע״ה

Nope. I am not talking about "hope for the Jewish People," due to the JPost Conference itself. As most of you know, I cannot stand the Jerusalem Post.

Christian News? I mean, seriously?

Well, I cannot stand Arutz 7 either, but slightly less than JPost. And in this case, Arutz 7 reported on an incident at the JPost Conference, which I believe JPost itself is still trying to figure out how to report.

Arutz 7: Treasury Secretary Lew Jeered, Embarrassed at US Jewish Event
President Obama has Israel's best interests at heart, Lew tells JPost conference - but unprecedented heckling ensues.

By Yaakov Levi, Gil Ronen, June 7, 2015



U.S. President Barack H. Obama has Israel's best interests at heart, believes his Treasury Secretary Jack Lew – but attendees of the Jerusalem Post Conference taking place in Washington this week weren't buying it.

As Lew proclaimed that “no administration has done more for Israel than the current one,” and that “we do not at all assume that Iran intends to act with innocent intentions,” a large number of audience members began hooting, booing, and yelling “nonsense,” as well as intoning sharper invectives.

Lew continued, saying that the U.S. “strategically assists Israel daily, and we stand against those who question Israel's legitimacy and right to exist.” This, too, earned audience opprobrium.

At one point, Lew was forced to stop speaking and address the audience response, saying that “I understand that we do not agree on everything, but there is no doubt of the commitment of President Obama to the State of Israel.”

President Obama

Lew, who is an Orthodox Jew, told the audience that he, too, was concerned over Israel's future and security. “We can never allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons,” he said to cheers this time. Even louder cheers came when he invoked the name of Israel's Prime Minister, saying that “Binyamin Netanyahu does not believe we can trust Iran.”

But Obama does, apparently, which was why the audience reacted so negatively, said one observer. “This was the worst I have ever seen a U.S. official ever treated in front of a pro-Israel audience,” he added.

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Hmmm... Maybe I spoke too soon.

You see, after viewing this video, I felt there was still hope for American Jews, due the jeering of U. S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew.

However, Secretary Lew happened to be tuned into the displeasure of the audience, and realized that he would not be able to convince them of the absurdity of U. S. President Obama's love and friendship of Israel. So, he changed his tune, and as a result, the jeers turned into cheers.

So, questions remain. Are American Jews waking up? Is there hope for them?

Dancing at a Kavkazi Jewish Wedding

כ״א לחודש השלישי תשע״ה

I bumped into this video on Facebook...

StandWithUs How to dance at a Kavkazi Jewish wedding...you're up next!

Only in Israel do you see such a beautiful and diverse blend of cultures!

h/t הצינור

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Apparently, there were some Americans who were unable to relate to the style of dancing, presented in the video, and so they made some rather unattractive comments.

Now, I would be the first to criticize anything galuthi (related to non-Jewish exile), but I do not believe I would have done so with such negative comments. At least I hope not, and at least not to dancing.

This is how I responded to those who made the disparaging comments (which I will not repeat here):

Seriously?

If you knew just how difficult this footwork is, I sincerely doubt that you have would have called this dancing "******."

The custom of entertaining the hathan (groom) and kallah (bride) is almost universal at Jewish weddings. The way to do this, though, is to use the customs and techniques with which the couple are familiar. I wonder what Kavkazim would have to say about American weddings, dancing, and their modes of entertaining the happy couple.

Northern Kavkaz (Caucasus) Region

Kavkazi Jews took great efforts over the years to maintain their Jewish identity and customs in the face of Soviet communist control. Kavkazim generally have Jewish names, and Kavkazi men have a brith milah (Jewish circumcision), and not only know what tefillin are, but have actually put them on. Can all American Jews say the same about themselves?

Most importantly, it is a misswah (commandment) to make the hathan and kallah happy.

Oh, yeah, and for future reference, I would like to tell the expression I learned while living with more than a handful of Kavkazim in the merkaz qelitah (new immigrant absorption center):

"A Kavkazi can be your most loyal friend, or your worst enemy."

Our Kavkazi brothers and sisters should be complimented and encouraged, not disparaged.

Soccer, Cell Phones, and the Jewish People

כ׳ לחודש השלישי תשע"ה

Although I am not at all anti-sports, nor anti-competitive sports, I must tell you about what is wrong with Israel's recent, and not yet finished, battle withing the Fédération Internationale de Football Association [FIFA].

Arutz 7: Rajoub: Israel Suspension from FIFA Still on the Table
Palestine Football Association head clarifies he plans to move forward with having Israel suspended from FIFA.

Ido Ben Porat and Elad Benari, 5/31/2015

A day after withdrawing his request to have Israel suspended from FIFA, the head of the Palestine Football Association, Jibril Rajoub, on Saturday clarified he intends to try to have Israel suspended again in the future. (cont.)

Some appear to claim that we have brought this on ourselves...

(YNET Op-Ed) It also means that the troubling issue of racism against Israeli Arab footballers is expected to echo in our ears. And it mainly means that the Rajoub-Eini-Netanyahu affair (with Abbas' encouragement) is holding a mirror up to our eyes: When there is no peace process, when we insist on building in the settlements and there are no voices of peace, the political game reaches the soccer fields – and it's not in our favor. 

- Smadar Perry, 31.05.15

This is just silly, especially since there was no mention of the "Israeli Arabs" at Israeli soccer games, yelling in Arabic, "With spirit, with blood, we will redeem the Aqsa Mosque!" and receiving absolutely no consequences, while Jewish soccer fans are demonized, and jailed.



This is not the first time, politics has been played out on the soccer field. Which was worse, a French soccer player's reverse Nazi salute, or Israeli fans fawning over the Qatari supported, Barcelona soccer team? I would say the latter.

And now, many are crying about the next threat to Israel's acceptance as a sovereign state, with a right to exist.

YNET: Israel's next battle will be over Olympics, diplomats say
After Palestinians withdraw proposal to ban Israel from FIFA, Foreign Ministry and sports officials warn Israel's deterrence is eroding, saying attempts to de-legitimize Israel will continue in other fields. 

Itamar Eicnher, Eldad Beck, 05.30.15 

While the fight over the Palestinian attempt to suspend Israel from FIFA has ended on Friday in Zurich, Israeli diplomats warn that the next battle is near – the Olympics.
"Rajoub has three roles - he's the head of the football association, the minister of sports and the chairman of the Palestinian Olympic Committee," a Foreign Ministry official said.

"The Olympics are in a year. Today it started with soccer, tomorrow it could be volleyball, handball or basketball," the official continued. "We have to stay on our toes and realize there is now a political dimension to Israeli sports." (cont.)

The fact that the Olympics originated from the same Hellenist empire, we fought against, culminating in the celebration of the first Hanukkah, was not mentioned. What can I say? The revisionist historians have gotten the best of us, when it comes to Hanukkah.

The more recent fact that the 1972 Munich Olympics will always be known to us as the "apolitical," international sports competition in which 11 Jews were kidnapped and murdered, was also not mentioned. (I'm not holding my breath.). Yet, the International Olympic Committee [IOC] refuses to allow even a moment of silence to memorialize their brutal deaths, insisting that the Olympics remain "apolitical."

The Arab terrorists who murdered these 11 Jews obviously did not care about the supposedly apolitical nature of the Olympics. Neither did U. S. President Jimmy Carter in his boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, in protest of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, and creating the Taliban in the process.

But, I digress...

Of course, the non-Jewish endeavor to separate us from them has been going on since our "liberation" from the ghettos. But, we Jews continue to battle against this, and by extension, battle against our status as a separate and distinct people.

Leaving the ghettos was supposed to be a victory, a blessing if you will. But, has it been? I suppose it has, in that we have had to learn how to maintain our Jewish identity in the face of galuth (exile), and threats of foreign cultures, while attempting to glean the permissible wisdom from the goyim (non-Jews), making us stronger, and gaining zekhuth (merit) for ourselves, as a result.

On the other hand, so many of us have failed at this miserably, that one could just as easily see leaving the ghettos in an opposite light, or at the very least, as one of the greatest challenges in our history.

The goyim continue to demonize us, and push us away, and we continue to fight against this.

YNET: The global boycott of Israel is growing silently
European banks are cutting ties with Israeli counterparts, while supermarkets across the world are appeasing violent protesters who attack their Israeli produce.

Navit Zomer, Itamar Eichner and Udi Etzion, 06.04.15

In April 2012, the Co-operative, Britain’s fifth-largest food retailer, declared it would no longer be importing agricultural produce from the territories or any Israeli supplier linked to produce from there. Five years earlier, retail giant Marks and Spencer announced that it was boycotting products from the West Bank, while the Tesco supermarket chain stopped marketing dates from the Jordan Valley.

And they are not alone: Over the past few years, numerous other companies from various countries around the world have announced some kind of a boycott of Israeli goods or companies. (cont.)

The latest supporter of the boycotts against Israel has been a partner company of one of Israel's own cellular phone companies.

(Arutz 7) If he could, Stephane Richard, the CEO of French mobile company Orange said Wednesday, he would “tomorrow” end his company's association with its Israeli partner.

Why hasn't anyone suggested a boycott of the Orange Company in Israel? There has been plenty of whining across the political spectrum, from Tzipi Hotovely, Aryeh Deri (Shas), and Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid), but as far as I know, no calls for a counter-boycott.

(Arutz 7) Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) on Wednesday night sent a letter to the CEO of the France-based Orange mobile company, Stephane Richard, urging him to take back his remarks regarding a boycott of Israel.

A protest on Facebook has been launched, but by any Israeli officials? Nope.

Orange in France apologized.

Orange in Israel says the apology is bologna.

I am surprised that Orange in Israel has not fallen already, with new, and much cheaper, competition on the scene, such as Golan and Rami Levy. But, that is another matter.

But, anyway, so what?

It is all the same, and it will all continue, until we let go of our desperate attempts to seek love from th goyim, and validation for our existence, instead of seeking both from The Holy One, Blessed Be He, the only love and validation and guidance we ever need.

The goyim are doing for us, what we are apparently unable to do for ourselves.

Let's stop caring, and let them.