Jordan Valley Settlement: Winners and Losers

ב' לחודש האחד עשר תשע"ד

Jordan Valley must remain part of Israel 'for all eternity,' Gideon Sa'ar says

Times Of Israel: Hours before Kerry visit, senior minister helps build settlement
Accompanied by entourage of parliamentarians, Sa’ar says Israel must maintain its civilian, military presence on eastern frontier

Raphael Ahren, January 2, 2014, with Mitch Ginsburg and Times of Israel staff 

Gid'on Sa'ar
Interior Minister

A top Israeli minister on Thursday led a delegation of parliamentarians to the Jordan Valley, where he helped inaugurate a new neighborhood in a settlement and vowed to maintain a military and civilian presence in the territory “for all eternity.” Gideon Sa’ar’s statement came mere hours ahead of the arrival in Israel of US Secretary of State John Kerry, who is slated to present a “framework” for a peace deal to Israeli and Palestinian leaders, including a proposal for security arrangements in the valley, which borders Jordan.

“We are here in the Jordan valley out of a recognition that during these days one of the most crucial issues to Israel’s future is at stake,” Sa’ar, the interior minister, told journalists at a lookout over the Jordan Valley named for the late IDF general and Labor Party politician Yigal Allon.

Sa’ar was accompanied by an entourage of deputy ministers and other MKs, including Likud’s Ze’ev Elkin, Tzipi Hotovely, Yariv Levin and Reuven Rivlin [and Miri Regev]; the Jewish Home party’s Eli Ben-Dahan, Orit Struck and Ayelet Shaked; and Yesh Atid’s Dov Lipman and Ronen Hoffman.

The “crucial” issue is where Israel’s border is going to be drawn: whether it will be the Jordan River or, “God forbid,” somewhere near Netanya and Kfar Saba, Sa’ar said, noting that Israel would become a “state with no strategic depth” if it withdrew from the valley.

“The presence of the IDF in the Jordan Valley can’t be a temporary thing; it needs to be for all eternity,” he added, linking Israel’s military presence to the ongoing presence of settlers in the area.

Sa’ar noted that all Israeli governments since the 1970s had built settlements in the Jordan valley, including Labor-led governments, and added: “It needs to be entirely clear that where there will be no settlements, there will be no IDF. Where there will be no IDF there will be no security and there will be terror instead.”

Ze'ev Elkin
Foreign Affairs
Deputy Minister

After the impromptu press conference at the lookout, the group continued to the Jordan Valley community of Gitit, where Sa’ar and his companions lent a symbolic hand to efforts to construct a new settlement neighborhood, taking turns hoisting buckets of cement and pouring them into the foundations of a new building.

Thursday’s event was “the right action at the right time,” said Elkin, the deputy foreign minister, evoking the late diplomat Abba Eban’s comparison of the 1967 lines to “Auschwitz borders.” He added that in light of Kerry’s visit and the security arrangements proposed by the Obama administration, the ministers were presenting to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Israel’s “sole possible response” to the demands made of it.

MK Dov Lipman

Lipman, the MK from the centrist Yesh Atid party, told The Times of Israel that his presence and the presence of his fellow party member Hoffman was no indication that Yesh Atid was in favor of recent efforts by some Likud ministers to legislate the annexation of the Jordan Valley. Rather, he said, he was there to “discuss the issues.”

The event was organized by the Caucus for Eretz Israel, a Knesset caucus dedicated to fortifying Israel’s presence in all parts of the West Bank. The minister and the other MKs are also to visit other communities in the Jordan Valley, including a meeting with farmers in the settlement of Tomer.

Israel's "Fearless Leader?"
(Photo Credit: YNET Archives)

The West Bank border region has become a sticking point in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, with Jerusalem demanding the long-term presence of Israeli troops in the area, a proposal the Palestinians reject.

On Sunday, a bill to annex the Jordan Valley passed a key ministerial committee, drawing condemnations from both Palestinians and Israelis, who said it threatened the future of the talks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) is expected to thwart the bill becoming law. (cont.)


Esser Agaroth (2¢):
OK. Whatever....

...Symbolic settlement cementing supposedly signifies something.

I won't knock the MK's who went out to pass cement and plant trees, symbolically or not. Interestingly enough, this event took place on the first of the Eleventh Month in the Hebrew calendar, Sh'vat, the day which Beth Shammai believed was the New Year of the Trees, which, of course, we celebrate on Tu (15) b'Sh'vat.

...באחד בשבט, ראש השנה לאילן, כדברי בית שמאי; בית הלל אומרין, בחמישה עשר בו. (משנה ראש השנה א,א)

...on the first of Sh'vat, the new year of the tree, according to the school of Shammai; the school of Hillel says on the fifteenth. (Mishnah Rosh HaShannah 1:1)

Another significant event occurred on this day, and is mentioned in our Holy Torah.

But, the big loser today is Rb. MK Dov Lipman, whom I have already declared is a spy,...in the Book of Numbers sense. There to “discuss the issues,” huh? And, when the annexation of the Jordan Valley becomes law, then you can say that you were there?

If we have to wait for Mashi'ah, in order to conquer the Land thoroughly, then what are you doing, sitting in the government of a conquering force? Next, we will start hearing the "O" word out of your mouth?

Shawn Is Not A Jewish Name

מוצש"ק פר' בשלח/ערב ראש השנה לאילנות תשע"ג

The Jewish Press: Shawn, Amit, Agam and Alicia
Yori Yanover, January 25th, 2013

Our photo agency, Flash90, presented this morning a few obligatory Tu B’Shvat images, to be used by harassed editors looking for a quick filler with their eyes still half closed and their lips touching the day’s first cup of coffee out of many.

Each image is always accompanied by a suggested caption, providing as much background information as possible, for the same half-awake editor to pick from for his/her readers.

Here’s the caption that accompanied the above image:

“Shawn, Amit, Agam and Alicia plant a tree on January 24 2013 celebrating the Tu Bishvat holiday. Tu Bishvat is a Jewish holiday that marks the “New Year of the Trees.”

(snip)

What got my attention instead were the names of these sweet, Israeli children: Shawn, Amit, Agam and Alicia.

Two out of the four are foreign! And the Israeli ones are very much not your run of the mill Yitzhak and Rivka.(cont.)

Yeah, Shawn isn't in the least bit Jewish.  It's a shame being in Israel, and not having a Jewish name.  Alicia I suppose can be played around with to fit it into Hebrew, albeit pushing it.

What I'd like to know is if "Shawn" is even Jewish.

If he isn't, then why is he here in Israel?

Why is he in my child's gan (Kindergarten), and why is he in a photo in a supposedly Jewish newspaper?

I leave the debate over mixed vs. separate ganim for another time.

And, if you're clueless as to what I am referring,...I am referring to gender.

But, that will have to wait until another time.

Haveil Havalim #347: The Post Tu b'Shevat/Post Primaries Edition

20 of the Eleventh Month 5772

It has become increasingly difficult for me to create new and exciting names for the editions of Haveil Havalim I host. If you have any suggestions for how you continue to keep the spark in edition names, then BY ALL MEANS leave them below as comments.

Founded by Soccer Dad, Haveil Havalim is a carnival of Jewish blogs -- a weekly collection of Jewish & Israeli blog highlights, tidbits and points of interest collected from blogs all around the world. It's hosted by different bloggers each week and coordinated by Jack. 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.'

This name came from the obvious Tu b'Shevat of last week. Last week was also filled with party primaries. In Israel, the Mere"tz and Likud Parties held their primaries. Zahava Gal-On was elected as the new leader of Mere"tz, and, well, in the words of one Likud Party member, "We will never know the actual results of the Likud Primaries." Although, Binyamin Netanyahu appears to have retained his power leadership of that party.

Meanwhile, in the U. S., Republicans were battling out. I have yet to take a close look at this week's submissions, so I have yet to know if anyone covered any of the primaries. Let's take a look....

But, first, I just wanted to let you know that I did not receive that many submissions this week. We have been operating a bit differently lately, communicating primarily through our new Facebook Group, and allowing each carnival host to choose the method(s) for receiving carnival submissions. So, that must be why I only received a handful of submissions.

Usually, I have to remind bloggers to keep their submissions to a maximum of three. Now, I am happy to remind you that you may, indeed, submit up to three, and should feel limited to only one submission. I suppose that lately you have been wanting to go easy on the carnival hosts, until we get the kinks worked out. Actually, there did not seem to be any kinks at all this week, save for the usual lack of enough hours in a day.

Well, that's enough chit-chat from my end. Let's get on with the show!

Torah

Joshua Waxman at the Parsha Blog brings us a collection of posts on last week's parasha, Yisro.

Yoel Meltzer presents Thoughts On The Sh'ma.

Tu b'Shevat

"I am the Lorax! I speak for the trees! I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues!"

-from The Lorax by Theodore "Dr. Seuss" Geisel

Sharon at The Real Jerusalem Streets presents Tu b'Shevat In Jerusalem.

Samantha at The Israel Situation provides us with A Zionist Perspective On Tu b'Shevat.

I provide my Esser Agaroth in The Legend Of Dried Fruit On Tu b'Shevat.

Israel

Baruch Dov Bear at Israel, Jews, and Judaism brings us The History Of the Words "Palestine" And "Palestinians."

Has anyone been keeping track of the "Iran Situation?" Tomer Devorah has been. See her Fallout From Iran, as well as a Special Guest Post.

Ruti at Ki Yachol Nuchal! has been, too. Check out Iran And The Bomb -- What, Me Worry?

Elder Of Ziyon asks "Why Is Gaza Running Out Of Fuel?"

Rivka at Bat Aliyah asks "Is Aliyah Really A Personal Choice?"

Ricki's Mom at Beneath The Wings recounts her unique and inconvenient experience, dealing with the Israeli Army in The Next Soldier (Obsessing Over Options).

My Esser Agaroth and I take you to The Most Dangerous Wedding In The World.

Jewish Israel attempts to warn us, and especially "right-wing" Jews friendly with Christians, of the dangers of so-called "Messianics" and Christian Evangelists in The Ultimate Desecration of the Torah performed by messianic Ralph Messer (Warning: Obscene). Shiloh residents are warned that this nut is on his way to visit you!

Batya at Me-Ander brings us a Reflecting Lucky Shot.of the Kotel, then at Shiloh Musings, she tells us of Settling On "Second Best," A Visit To The Kotel.

Robin at Around The Island presents Making History Come Alive In Jerusalem's Jewish Quarter.

Sharon at The Real Jerusalem Streets brings us Finds In The Old City.

Yocheved invites us to check out her blog It's My Crisis And I'll Cry If I Need To, which includes the post Here's How to Minimize the Pain, Embarrassment and/or Fear of Your Medical and Disability Life!

Last, but definitely not least, Jacob Richman from Good News From Israel submitted this link to 20 Hebrew Language Funny Videos.

Outside Of Israel

Susan at to Kiss A Mezuzah tells us about the classes she is taking to train to be a volunteer at the Jewish Home in San Francisco in Bay Area JHC Kol Haneshama - Class 1.

Ariel at The Torah Revolution believes that Nothing Is By Accident. Daled Amos provides the background information here in Why Does EU Impose Austerity On Greece, But Give Millions To Palestinians?

Sultan Knish tells us about A Farce In Syria.


Well, that's a wrap!

Connect with the Haveil Havalim community through our Facebook Group! There, you can find out how to submit posts to the carnival, and even volunteer to host. It's really not that hard!

Next week, Susan at To Kiss A Mezuzah will be hosting Haveil Havalim.

The Legend Of Dried Fruit On Tu b'Shevat

13 of the Eleventh Month 5772
In memory of Eliyahu z"l ben Avraham on the occasion of his 18th yartzeit.

Why do Jews eat dried fruit on Tu b'Shevat?

Beats the hell out of me.

Actually, that's not entirely true. The drying of food if an ancient way of preserving food, along with salting and picking. Dried figs, raisins, and other foods are mentioned throughout the Tana"kh (Bible).

But, where did this concept of eating dried fruit on Tu b'Shevat come from?

Well, rabbis from Europe wanted to eat, or felt it was important to eat, fruit from Eretz Yisrael on Tu b'Shevat. Before refrigeration, and current systems of transportation, dried fruit was the best bet for obtaining edible fruit from such a distance.

Now, the above is a theory presented to me by a friend from Shiloh, who chooses to remain anonymous at this point. If you have another theory, please share it.

You are certainly welcome to eat dried fruit on Tu b'Shevat. The point is to remember that if you eat...

Dried figs from Turkey
Dates from Jordan
Olives from Greece
Olive Oil from Spain
Wine from France

...then you are defeating the purpose of eating fruit from Eretz Yisra'el,...because you aren't.

Rain Song (Teaching Tool)

14 of the Tenth Month 5771

Rain, rain, come and play.

Rain, rain, come to stay.

Come to water the fields, and so

All the trees and flowers will grow.

This is something I wrote while teaching elementary school English as a Foreign Language [EFL].

Often, EFL teachers write their own songs, chants, poems, and stories. Regardless of how good the available teaching materials are, this is done in order to fine tune the focus of the materials to the needs of students.

I introduce the above in the fall, as this is the time for Jewish prayers for rain.

I then remind the students of this song around Tu b'Sh'vat, the New Year of the Trees.

Reading and spelling wise, the words of this song contain several vowel pairs, and vowel-consonant pairs (e. g. ai, ay, ie, ow), including pairs which have different possible pronunciations and different pairs which have the same pronunciation.

One kind find many other examples in this song for reading and spelling words which are unique.

Most teachers do not like to explain grammar, especially at the lower levels. They do not see it to be terribly helpful.

However, one rule I find very helpful to tell students is the following:

יש הרבה כללים באנגלית. אבל יש גם הרבה פעמים כשאגלית לא הולכת לפי הכללים!

There are many rules in English. But there are also many times when English does not go according to the rules!

May our prayers for rain be answered, and may we succeed in passing on the importance of all prayers to our children.

Haveil Havalim #203 - The Real 203rd Edition

Erev Rosh HaShannah la'Illanoth 5769

This edition may be too long, I don't know. However, I have hopefully provided enough annotation, to that you will save in the long-run by clicking only those posts which seem of interest to you. What can I say? Sometimes I have difficulties saying no.

Of course, there are those of you gritting your teeth, and muttering under your breath, "I'm not going to get as many hits on my blog that way, gosh darn it" Well, my response to that is, offer to host. Not only will get to design and present Haveil Havalim your way, you will definitely get that boost in hits and exposure you were looking for. It's really not that hard,...once you have hosted a few times. If you have never hosted before, you can always try out the beta InstaCarnival function, to help you get started.

In the meantime, please enjoy this week's edition. Due the lack of sufficient explanation from Jack as to the edition numbering discrepancy which cropped up weeks ago, even after repeated inquiries from me, I have no choice but to entitle it The Real 203rd Edition. (No offense to Ima, who by no fault of her own, hosted the fake one last week.)

Founded by Soccer Dad, Haveil Havalim is a carnival of Jewish blogs -- a weekly collection of Jewish & Israeli blog highlights, tidbits and points of interest collected from blogs all around the world. It's hosted by different bloggers each week and coordinated by Jack. 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.'

Jews' News

Everyone must click now to read I'll Call Baila's post Venezuela, Venezuela On My Mind. You can come back to Haveil Havalim later. I'm serious! Click!

Mike at It's Almost Supernatural elaborates on this attack in Kristallnacht In Caracas.

Now, take a deep breath or sigh, express some gratitude that you're not there. Enjoy the rest of Haveil Havalim. Then do some research and contemplation about how you can help our brethren in Venezuela.

In other news, Ron at Likelihood Of Success mourns the loss of Rabbi No'ah Weinberg z"l.

The Israel Situation wonders what was accomplished in Azza (Gaza) in Another Rocket Attack. Yitz at Judeopundit lets us know about all the "victory" in the news today with his Triumphant Round-up.

Cosmic X in Jerusalem posted a video in Know Thy Enemy. It's, shall we say, a bit of an I-Rant, which is kind of like a J-Rant, but for Islam. No, not really....

Daled Amos also posts some video footage. It was of that thing that happened between those guys at that place that one time, discussing Israel's fate without any input the Israeli public, of for that matter, The Almighty. Such meetings happen all the time. I can get them confused. This one had that guy who calls himself HaNassi, what's his name? Oh, yeah, Shimon Peres, telling it like it is. DA also blogs on the UN's Defense Of Islam, Which Makes Conyers's Resolution Look Good.

Debbie Schlussel tells us why it's Time for a Top Jewish Republican to GOOOOOO.

Atlas Shrugs reports that the Director of J Street (Judenrein Strasse) Eric Alterman has been threatening people. (Tip credit: Sultan Knish)

Sultan Knish reports that U. S. President Obama Falsely Promoted an Islamic Golden Rule at the National Prayer Breakfast. Robert at Seraphic Secret brings us "They Let Us Out," but presumably, Michelle, you are the "they." Hmmm....

In The Lives Of Jews

Parshath HaShavu'a

Ari at Geulah Perspectives elaborates on the troubles we are currently experiencing, as birth pangs in Birthing Moshiach.

Yechezkel at Achas L'Maala v'Sheva L'Matta brings us The Miracle Of The Mahn - Then And Now. Through midrashim and an additional story, he explains how the miracle of the Mahn is still with us today. He also gives us 18 Ways To Find Your Beloved, found in Parshath Beshalah.

Ahava Ariel relates this week's parshah to where she sees herself currently in I Want The Direct Flight.

The Velveteen Rabbi combines this week's parshah, poetry, and current events in The Psalm I Sing, and transitions us into the poetry section.


Poetry

Ariel brings us "A Message" and "Mikvah" at The Edge Of Rain.

Brooklyln Habiru gives us my favorite post of this edition "Ata Ḥonen" at Secrets Of Redemption.


Family

Shorty's Adventure continues on with Interfaith Parenting - Initial Thoughts. As with the above poem, I would like to suggest that everyone read this post.

Paul posts Sibling Rivalry: Can't Kill 'em so Try to Love 'em on his Or Am I? blog, providing his take on "sibling rivalry and how to move our children toward partnership and love."

Lady-Light writes about her Kids in the IDF, and Thoughts on the War.

Tu b'Shevat

Who remembers this?

"I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues."

-From The Lorax by Theodor "Dr. Suess" Geisel

Leora starts us off with A Holiday For Trees, posted at Here In HP.and Batya at Me-Ander brings us Ahhhh, TU b'Shevat.

My guess is that there will more Tu b'Shevat-related posts in next week's edition. In the meantime, I have included a few pictures of the trees in this edition of Haveil Havalim, trees which I see in Israel on a daily basis. The almond trees really are in bloom right now,...and my neighbor's pomegranates turned out really good this past season. Don't YOU wish you lived in Israel???

Now, Batya is what? ...Preparing for Pesah already? Check out It's That Time Of Year, Again, and see what's up with that.


Jewish Thought

While The Occidental Israeli examines what it means to be Dati Or Torani, The Rebbetzin's Husband examines the components of Modern Orthodox Ideology.

Shira Salamone at On The Fringe is thoroughly disgusted by her shul's kashrut decision. She also examines Onan’s real sin and Kol Isha.

Good ol' Heshy at Frum Satire presents us with Ridiculous Halachic Questions.

In Letters Of Thought, Mottel reviews the book The Two Kings.

Lenny Ben-David of I*Consult updates us on the background and status of certain Vatican Manuscripts.

Schvach Yid treats us to a story,...well, there's a dog, some ducks, a catfish, and an alligator. Check out Fun And Games At Someone Else's Corral. He also comments on Jewish Bigotry and Jewish Pain.

Out With The Guys

The Real Shaliach reports on the Kinnus Hatmimim in Beis Rivka. Do you know what a "rocking farbie" is? Find out in What were they thinking?

Did anyone watch the Super Bowl? Benji at What War Zone? did. Hey, Lookee Here! recounts what happened when he innocently tried to "talkback" to a commentator.

Israel

The Struggle

Israelly Cool continues his Live Blogging of news items related to Azza. So does The Muqata. Both include video clips as well.

Tomer Devorah warns us that Everybody Wants Jerusalem. It looks like the Christians are still up to their old tricks.

Interference from the U. S. continues, but how will it be manifested next? Daled Amos suggests that Obama Is Being Advised To Pursue A Minimalist Approach In Israel-Palestinian Conflict.

Lady-Light posts part 3 of a 6 part video Interview With Joan Peters, in which she discusses the writing of her book From Time Immemorial (1984). This book reveals the truth about the geographical origins of the Arabs residing in Israel, among other things.

Jack posts The Inner Workings Of Hamas at Random Thoughts - Do they have any meaning?

The Occidental Israeli sums up the overall situation in Israel pretty well in Khaled Abu Toameh on “The Situation.”

Is Mahmud Abbas, president of a segment the Arab society calling itself "Palestinians," about ready to bail? Check out the "411" in GrEaT sAtAn'S gIrLfRiEnD's Everything Does Not Suck.

Elder Of Ziyon attempts to give everyone a history lesson in Jews and Arabs Living Peacefully Together. Unfortunately, I am afraid it will fall on death ears,...yet again. He also reports that the Arabs might want to learn how to live peacefully with each other first in Failing To Blow Up Israelis, Gazans Now Blow Up Each Other.

Yisrael at My Right Word reports on the "slimy behavior" of others who would prefer their own "truth" to the real truth in See How They Lie.

So sick of hearing about one blogger's Israeli "security fence" cheer leading, I decided to Unsubscribe from his e-mail notification list.

Hamas Officials Signal Willingness to Negotiate: Good news? Check out what Snoopy at Simply Jews has to say.


Life In Israel

West Bank Mama has compiled a round-up of posts about the Gaza War from olim hadashim (new immigrants), On The Outer Edges. Meanwhile, follow Israeli By Day, American By Night, for Danny's live-blogging of his experiences as a soldier in the IDF's Golani Brigade. Here's a sample of his Memorable Moments In The IDF.

Through Josh-Colored Glasses provides us with his first-hand experiences as a soldier in the Gaza War in Thoughts On The Operation.

Lady-Light at Tikkun Olam posts how LIBI Supports Our Kids--We Should Support LIBI (LIBI="For the Sake of Israel's Security"), and includes a video.

Before I read Mrs. S.'s Prepare For The Day Of Reckoning at Our Shiputzim, I never would have guessed what the post was about. Would you? I think a lot of olim will be able to identify with this post.

Ricki's Mom, writing at Beneath The Wings, describes how she handled a recent Shabbath, and mention of the word "Mongol." She also mentions a midrash in connection to teaching in Teaching Embroidery- Who Says That’s an “A”?

They're not all here, yet, but The Rebbetzin's Husband reports on Making Aliyah A Reality In Allentown. Maybe they'll want to live in the modern day town of Shiloh, adjacent to the site of the Mishkan. Shiloh just celebrated its 31st Anniversary. Yeah!


Israeli Elections

First off, if you did not get your voter information card, and just need to find out where your polling station is, visit the following website:

www.gov.il/FirstGov

Yes, it's in Hebrew. DO NOT PANIC! Scroll down a bit. You will see two empty lines to be filled in, the first with the numerical verification code found to the right, and the second with you te'udath zehuth (Israeli ID) number. Click the button to the immediate left. A new window will pop out and provide with the address of your polling location, and your polling station number.

You always just call 1-800-300-059, too.

The answers to your frequently asked questions [FAQs] about Israeli Elections can be found in English by clicking here.

Next, for this pre-Israeli elections edition, I attempted to gather the endorsements of Israeli bloggers for the table I created at the bottom of this post. But, alas, of the 50 bloggers I sent a request to, only 17 responded. (sad face)

Jacob Richman has also created a comprehensive, web portal for the elections. It includes links to political parties and additional resources.

I post my highly biased, "right-wing extremist" (your words, not mine) Guide To Israeli Political Parties. Some of my comments might just surprise you. But, whatever you do, please do not vote for the Jewish Home Party!

Natan at Lines Writing Lines has taken his own 2009 Knesset Straw Poll of the teen-agers he has encountered distributing campaign literature in Tel-Aviv.

Joe Settler posts an Imaginary Story, which includes a photo of Likud head Bibi Netanyahu and National Union head Ya'akov Ka"tz, and the potential conversation which might or might not go with it. Cosmic X points us to a Great Article About National Union Leader Ketzelah. Rafi at Life In Israel interviews National Union candidate Uri Bank., and coordinates a debate between representatives of the Likud and Israel Our Home Parties.

The Torat Yisrael Blog posts the National Union Party's Official Comic Book. I bet you didn't know they had one of those, huh?

Batya posts A Vote For Likud Is A Vote For Kadima.on Shiloh Musings. Avi at Tel-Chai Nation has some disturbing things to share about Kadima prime ministerial candidate Tzippy Livni.

If you intend to vote for a party considered to be "right-wing," then I believe the best Election Anayses For Voting are pointed out by Yisrael at My Right Word, and by Yoel Meltzer's Confusion On The Right.

A Voice Of Reason From Zion tells us why he has endorsed Avigdor Lieberman's Israel Our Home Party. Ya'ir Shalev, posting at Shiloh Musings, tells us why we should Beware Of Avigdor Lieberman, and his party.

Asher In Israland explains why he is Using His Vote Constructively by voting for The Greens.

Tomer Devorah tells us why she's not voting in The Dream Of Zion. Or is she? Check out her Last Word About The Elections.

Soccer Dad examines a disturbing article in Israeli Electorate Wants To See More Dead Civilians.


Sports

For those of you who still didn't know, American football is alive and well in Israel. According to the IFL Blog, "It’s not Football Unless it’s American Football." Follow this blog to receive updates and commentary about the current season. What DID ever happen to the Israeli Baseball League? Nya ha ha ha!

Meta-Blogging

Personal Experience and Observations

Fearless Leader Jack at Random Thoughts - Do they have any meaning? writes on how to Be A Better Blogger- Write More Frequently.

Cosmic X asks Are Most Israeli Bloggers Leftists?

Bloggers Beware

Gila at My Shrapnel would like to know if these things have happened to any of you in A Minor Rant.

And, according to A Soldier's Mother Anonymous Strikes Again.

Team Blogging

You already know about The Muqata, and Batya has recently expanded Shiloh Musings to include writer Ellen Horowitz, as well as several residents of the south to report on events there.

Do you write on a team blog? How is that going? How have you enjoyed it? Positives? Negatives? Let your fellow bloggers know through meta-blogging (blogging about blogging).

OK. I'll go first by making a shameless plug for the Stop Raping Israel blog, which was founded by veteran blogger Smooth Stone. Contributors include Planck's Constant, GrEaT sAtAn'S gIrLfRiEnD, Bar-Kokhba, and myself. I like writing for this as every contributes, and although we have a lot of similar points of view, we are actually a fairly diverse group of bloggers. Check it out!

If you would like to plug your team blog, please feel free to leave a link and a description in the comments section below.

Ads And Accessories

Toby at A Time of the Signs wants to know what you see when you look at the ad she posted in Books What are those for?

Blog Carnivals

Don't forget to submit your posts for February's edition of the Kosher Cooking Carnival. If you are interested in hosting sometime, please contact shilohmusings (at) yahoo (dot) com.

JPix is looking for bloggers to host its carnivals for April, May, and June 2009. If you are available to host any one of these months, please contact jpixcarnival (at) gmail (dot) com! In the meantime, don't forget to send in your submissions for next month's edition. And, don't forget to check out this month's edition hosted by Ilana-Davita.

Wrap Up

Ages ago, Jack told me that he has been continuing Soccer Dad's policy of giving discretion to the host.

The wrath of my discretion came down hard on one spam submission and one Christian pastor expecting that I would include a plug for his "teaching the Bible" method (Yeah, right!), among others.

Leora at Here In HP will be hosting next week's edition. Please send your posts to her via the Blog Carnival Submission Form. Personally, I find this to be the most helpful way to organizing your posts for an edition. If you're interested in hosting or receiving more information about the carnival, please contact Jack at talktojacknow (at) sbcglobal (dot) net.

Israel Blogger Endorsements

National Union Esser Agaroth Shiloh Musings Ze'ev Shemer Torat Yisrael Mr. Cosmic X Prof. Paul Eidelberg Bob Martin Avodah Ivrit Tomer Devorah Joe Settler Jacob Richman

Likud Life in Israel West Bank Mama Likud or NU Coffee And Chemo Israel Our Home A Voice Of Reason From Zion

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