Welcome to Jerusalem's Christian Café!

י' לחודש התשיעי תשע"ד

Well, one of them, anyway. Yes. There are more.

YNET: Kosher permit lost for 'missionary activity'
Jerusalem Rabbinate revokes kashrut of local café, claiming visitors encouraged to convert to Christianity. Manager says although restaurant owned by Evangelical Christian businessman, no missionary activity taking place there

Moshe Heller, November 10, 2013

The Jerusalem Rabbinate has informed a café in the city center that its kashrut certificate is being revoked following a complaint about activities preaching Christianity.

According to the Rabbinate, the Forte café stands to lose its kosher permit due to "a serious incident of preaching and attempting to hand the New Testament to the kashrut supervisor."

The Rabbinate's decision follows a complaint from the Yad L'Achim organization, which fights missionary activity in the State of Israel. According to the organization members, the café hosted activities preaching Christianity and visitors were served with Christian propaganda material in a bid to persuade them to convert. (cont.)

(Tip Credit: Jews News)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Good news, right? Well, of course, it is!

However, we cannot get complacent. Israeli, secular courts have been invading the Rabbanuth's territory for years, chipping away at the boundaries between the two further and further, even ordering the Rabbanuth to certify establishments kosher, even after its investigations and subsequent conclusions that they are not.

Let us not forget the "messianic"-owned bakery in Ashdod. Whatever did happen to its status??

The not so new buzz phrase "freedom of religious expression" is the key here. This is also why the Left is only lukewarm, if that, against Western Christians' shenanigans in Israel.

The left has been successfully convinced that once Christians and messianic pseudo-Jews have their secular, Israeli "rights" eroded, then they're next. I say secular, Israeli rights, because under the Torah, these anti-Jewish groups have absolutely no rights.

Yad leAchim: Café Owners Try to Give Mashgiach Missionary Material
October 15, 2013

Yad L'Achim flyers warn Jerusalem residents to stay away from Café Forte

The letter from the head of the kashrus department in the Jerusalem Religious Council notifying Yad L'Achim that the kashrus certification is being removed from Café Forte

Evangelical Christian owned Café Forte

Café Forte, located in the Clal Building on 97Jaffa Road, Jerusalem, doesn't bill itself as a missionary center, but, according to Yad L'Achim, that's exactly what it is.

The café belongs to a large missionary cult of the "Messianic Jews" that is active in the heart of Jerusalem, Yad L'Achim charges, adding that it had obtained an internal missionary notice announcing that "Café Forte has opened its gates." The same notice made it clear that the goal was to acquaint Jewish students with "that man" and encourage them to go in his ways, R"l (cont.).

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Well, no surprises here. Three months ago, I wrote about the Klal Building turning into the Jerusalem Christian Center. On the same floor as this Café is an auditorium, used as a church,...excuse me, "worship center" (Saturday nights), and youth activity center (Thursdays), and "messianic" art school.

As I said, we cannot become complacent, and continue to fight against avodah zarah,...a positive misswah, incidentally.

It ain't over until the fat Christian lady sings. Actually, it's only over when she stops singing, and finally runs away.

B'nei Akiva Rabinfest 2013!

ח' לחודש התשיעי תשע"ד

Although Rabinfest 2013 is officially over,...I think, I believe it important to review a few highlights, for the sake of Rabin's "legacy." And, everyone seems to be talking about his "legacy." So, let's take a look at exactly what that "legacy" is.

First, a report...

Times Of Israel: ‘You owe us peace,’ Yitzhak Rabin’s grandson tells Netanyahu
Organizers say 33,000 mainly young people attend Saturday night rally in Tel Aviv marking 18th anniversary of assassination — according to the Hebrew calendar – of the assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.

October 12, 2013

Over 30,000 people gathered in Tel Aviv Saturday night for the main annual memorial event marking the 18th anniversary — according to the Hebrew calendar – of the assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.

"Remembering the murder. Struggling for democracy."

As if democracy, or in Israel's case deMOCKracy, has any place in an authentically Jewish state kingdom...

"Tag Mahir is an erosion of the
foundation of democracy"
(Photo: banner reconstructed)

Beitar Movement
Commemorative Stamp

Organizers, who put the attendance at 33,000, said this year marked the first time that all Israeli Zionist youth movements — including the Orthodox Bnei Akiva and the rightist Beitar — sent representatives to the gathering. (cont.) 

*Hmm,...Not too "orthodox," not too "rightist," huh? The brainwashing seems to be working, thanks to mamlakhtim (undying State loyalists) such as B'nei Akiva Head Danny Hirschberg.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):

Altalena
L: Stunned Jews look on; R: Jews being shot in the water, not allowed to come ashore
(Click image to enlarge)

Rabin's "legacy" was basically comprised of giving the order to kill Jews, heroically bringing arms into Israel on the Altalena, to fight for its liberation....

Click image for list of victims:
1,236 since Rosh HaShannah 5761 (2000)
up until the time of this post.

...and implementing the Oslo "Death" Accords, which were barely approved by the K'nesseth, with the aid of Sha"S Party's abstentions, not to mention two cars, "gifts" to two other MK's. The secretly, and illegally, negotiated the Oslo "Death" Accords condemned thousands of Jews to be killed through acts of Arab terrorism and aided by the weapons he gave to them, albeit President Shimon Peres denies that these particular weapons had nothing to do with these deaths.

So far Rabin's "legacy" appears to be...

Guns for Jews to fight for Israel

NO

Guns for Arabs to kill Jews

YES

Israeli President Peres
Looking like the cat
who swallowed the
canary.

Of course, I would be remiss if I were to omit Rabin's periodic alcohol-induced vomiting and temporary unconsciousness. But, this is not the problem to I am alluding, nor would his denial of a problem nor apparent failure to seek help. Far be it from me to hit an [alleged] alcoholic below the belt, dead or alive. Rather, a problematic element of Rabin's "legacy," in addition to those elements mentioned above, was that his issues with alcohol made him an easy target to be manipulated. Whether he actually was or not, well,...perhaps one day those details will be revealed to us.

In a nutshell, Rabin's "legacy" is a hell of a lot of Jewish blood on his hands,...or on the hands of whoever was behind the scenes pulling his strings.

And we are supposed to be proud of all this? Make a saint out of this guy, just because he was killed?

In the U. S. at least the veneration of Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., and even John F. Kennedy is based on something.

Even worse, B'nei Akiva, a supposedly Religious Zionist Youth Movement is so disconnected with the Left's battle against Torah, it just keeps repeating the same "We'll love you until you love us back" mistake over and over again, expecting different results.

B'nei Akiva and Beitar "sheeple"

The truth is, though, that B'nei Akiva, and Beitar and both just two of the various conduits for the indoctrination of our children into undying State loyalty, of which Rabin is the quasi-patron saint.

(Photo: Jameel @ The Muqata)

The joke about B'nei Akiva is that it's B'nei Akiva,...before Rabbi Akiva turned 40....

מי שמבין יבין.

Jewish/Israeli Blog Carnival, Vayeitei Edition Is Up!

ז' לחודש התשיעי תשע"ד  

This week's Jewish/Israeli Blog Carnival Is Up at Shiloh Musings.

It's the Vayeitzei, Let's Go Out to Meet Some Blogs, aka Havel Havelim edition.

Eye On The Prize: The Temple Mount

ה' לחודש התשיעי תשע"ד

JPost.com: Tensions continue to escalate over prayer rights at Temple Mount
Daniel Eisenbud, November 6, 2013

Arab protesters react during clashes with police on the Temple Mount.
(Photo: Ammar Awad/Reuters)

"Let them threaten us with a third intifada – we cannot give up our rights to Muslim intolerance."
Amid the backdrop of a pronounced spike in Jews being detained at the Temple Mount for illegal prayer – coupled with a rancorous Monday Knesset meeting regarding Jewish prayer rights there – Judaism’s holiest site remains the epicenter of profound discord between Jews and Muslims.

According to police, in the last two weeks there were at least 10 detentions of Jews openly defying prayer restrictions at the contested area – by bowing, moving their lips to pray, and in one instance, defiantly lying on the ground – far exceeding detentions during previous weeks.

Although the Supreme Court has upheld Jewish prayer rights there, the court severely restricts visitation hours for Jews and allows police to prevent any form of Jewish worship there if they believe such activities will incite a “disturbance to the public order.” (Read: "fear of the Arabs getting out of control") (cont.)

(Tip Credit: Settlers Of Samaria)

Arutz 7: Insults, Threats as Arab MKs Disrupt Temple Mount Session
Gil Ronen and Ari Soffer, November 4, 2013

A Knesset debate on the implementation of equal Jewish prayer rights at Jerusalem's Temple Mount degenerated into a shouting match Monday, as Arab Knesset Members used threatening words and aggressive body language to disrupt the meeting.

Chairwoman of the Committee of Interior, MK Miri Regev (Likud), appeared largely helpless in the face of an angry onslaught by radical Arab MKs, who were eventually removed by orderlies after launching a string of angry invective towards Regev and another female MK.

"I am proud to be Arafat's friend."

MK Ahmed Tibi

 According to a proposed law, tabled by MK Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan (Bayit Yehudi/Jewish Home), daily prayer hours would be set for Jewish groups visiting the Temple Mount, which is Judaism's holiest site.

Despite its supreme significance to Jews throughout the world, Muslim pressure has resulted in a raft of discriminatory measures against Jewish visitors by Israeli Police, including a total ban on Jewish religious activity there. Violators of the ban are arrested immediately, and often slapped with a ban from ascending the Mount altogether.

The laws, if passed, would be a monumental upholding of Israel's official stance of religious freedom. While Israel officially liberated the Temple Mount from Arab occupation during the 1967 Six Day War, the government controversially handed back control of the Mount to the Islamic Waqf foundation, which has been accused of implementing a campaign of Islamization, including the systematic destruction of Jewish artifacts, aimed at erasing all traces of Jewish history at the site.

During the stormy debate over the law, Regev explained the rationale behind it, saying that "We cannot have a situation in which a state cannot realize its sovereignty and people can't pray at sites holy to them."

Regev further stressed that "we don't want to go into Al Aqsa [mosque] or prevent you (Muslims) from praying there, but want to enable Jews to pray on the compound as well."

But MK Muhammad Barakeh (Hadash) warned that Arab MKs would physically prevent the implementation of equal prayer rights at the Temple Mount, shouting that "Whoever comes to defile the Al Aqsa Mosque will find us there!"

That remark prompted MK Regev to retort: "Is that a threat?”

MK Ahmed Tibi joined the fray, warning that: "The Second Intifada began because of Al Aqsa, and because of you it will erupt because of Al Aqsa... you are a pyromaniac."

"You say that as a friend of Yasser Arafat," said MK Orit Struk (Bayit Yehudi).

"I am proud to be Arafat's friend... his shoe is worth ten like you...", replied Tibi, who later called out at a female MK who was off-camera, possibly MK Struk, "You are a dangerous woman, a pyromaniac. You endanger your children, not just ours... You are a lowly settler.. on the land of others..."

In September, Tibi sparked controversy by declaring that the Temple Mount “is a place of prayer for Muslims alone," and accusing Jewish worshippers of "contaminating" it by visiting it.

MK Moshe Feiglin urged Regev to eject the unruly MKs for breaking Knesset protocol, after calling her a "pyromaniac" and accusing her of "chutzpah."

Obviously pleased with the way he had denigrated the Knesset, MK Tibi finally left the room as he said in Arabic: "Yalla, out, out, you... animals." It is not clear whom he was addressing.

The scene was typical of the way extremist Arab MKs have been behaving in the Knesset since the mid-1990s, when radical Arab leaders like Ahmed Tibi (Raam-Taal) and Azmi Bishara (Balad) entered the Jewish state's parliament. A decision by the Election Committee to disqualify the radical lists in 1997 was overturned by the High Court.

(Tip Credit: Comfortably Frum)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Is the Israeli government THAT afraid of the "international community's" reaction to its claim on the Holiest site of the Jewish People?

On the surface, this appears to be the case. Just barely under that surface, terrified MK's desperately want to prevent another Intifada. Even the Left fears this, and fears that this considerably weaken its case for defending the Arabs, no matter how much they cry "battered wives syndrome."

But, what is going on at a deeper level is twofold. First, taking control of the Temple Mount is the key to full control over Israel. Everyone knows it. But, of course, the Erev Rav does not want that. Otherwise, they will have the greatest obstacle to its nefarious plans to destroy Israel, both physically and spiritually, from within. In the above video, the total contempt of the Arab MK's for Israel and the Jewish People, appears to be an integral part of their plan. Thus it was no surprise that the Israeli Supreme Court overturned a lower court's ruling to allow such antitheses to Jewish sovereignty of the Land to be apart of its current governing body.

If the police are finally forced to intervene in order to enforce court orders and Knesseth legislation, the Erev Rav may have no choice but to start playing even dirtier.

Things are heating up around prayer on the Temple Mount. We shall see if any other MK's besides Feiglin, Regev, Ben Dahan, and  Struk step up to the plate.

Second, the Erev Rav is terrified of the day that building on the Third Beth HaMiqdash (Temple). For truly then, they will know that their days are numbered.

Jerusalem Knights

ד' לחודש התשיעי תשע"ד

The Jerusalem Knights Festival is almost over,...thank goodness. I first heard about this annual festival from my friend Eitan at A Jewish Israel. When first hearing about this event, while others might have thought about the romance of it all, or the fun they had at a Renaissance Fair in America, I immediately thought about the Crusades. After all, knights + duels + killing + attempts to conquer + Israel = The Crusades.

Sure, knights in shining armor, damsels in distress, quests, magic, Merlin and King Arthur, Robin Hood and Ivanhoe are fun, as are Renaissance fairs. I get that.

The Lord of the Rings and The Wheel of Time, two of my all time favorite series, are extensions of this, albeit not precisely the same time period.

But, what I cannot get my head around is the Christian claim to the Land of Israel, especially when they are still at it, infiltrating the Shomron, lobbying for "religious rights," and enlisting members of K'nesseth to aid them in their sneaky entrance into permanent residence status, and more.

The Crusades were also our first major taste of the wars between Esau and Yishma'el,...with Jews stuck in the middle, as always. This was later manifested in the control over Israel by the Ottoman Turkish Empire, then a change of hands to the British Mandate.

To most, Jerusalem Knights is just another one of those "exciting [non-Jewish] events," recently re-elected Mayor Nir Barakat has promised to inject into the city.

And so, I find it a bit disturbing that Jews are not only cheering for such an event to take place in the Old City of Jerusalem, but are inviting this kind of denial of history into the very city, which is still being fought over (See Zech. 12-14).

Two poor schlubs waiting to be executed.
Could they be Jews?

It would not bother me so much, if all those participating in the fantasy were not so numbed out to the reality and the symbolism of it all.

Acknowledge the bloody and sneaky history of Esau, then be my guest, and have at it.

Israeli Presidential Postal Protection

ג' לחודש התשיעי תשע"ד

A while ago, when I went to pick up the mail for work, I saw the following stamps on the personal letter addressed to my boss.

Front: "Checked, Dept. of Security"
Back: "Not connected to the Bureau of the President"

Israeli Prez. Peres

The post office box number on the letter had been crossed out. Apparently, the sender had mistakenly switched two of the digits, which turned the number into the post office box number of the Bureau of the President.

How the letter was "checked," is hard to say. X-Ray? Special dogs to sniff out anything suspicious?

If the letter had been opened, then it was done so, and resealed so I could certainly not detect it.

Anyway, you should all be happy that the President of Israel's security guys and gals are on the job to protect him?!

News Flash! Bulldozers on their Way to Bat Ayin! (Update)

ב' לחודש התשיעי תשע"ד

I just received a call from a friend from Bat Ayin, a town southwest of Jerusalem, after Efrat.

He was on the bus leaving the town, when he called. He said that bulldozers were on their way to the town, although he was not sure if they were on their way to Bat Ayin A' or Bath Ayin B'.

His understanding that home destruction is imminent, and/or is being expediated in retribution for an incident which took place yesterday.

Teens would allegedly involved in an incident with Arabs. The defended themselves with pepper spray, and some of that pepper spray made its way toward Israeli soldiers [IDF].

Many details are missing from this report.

I am asking for additional information to confirm or discount this report. Please leave your information in the comments section below.

And, if this is true, why doesn't the YeSh"A Council put out a call for assistance to protest this move on the part of the government?

Is Bat Ayin to be left hanging in a lurch because it is not considered one of those "undying State-loyalist" (mamlakhti) ie. "well-behaved" settlements?

Stay tuned.

Update:

דיוח כוחות גדולים פושטים על בת עין וחוסמים הכניסה זה כנראה תג מחיר של האירוא עם הגז מדמיע מקיפים בית בתפר בין א לב'. התושבים חסומים למעלה 2 אוטובוסים יס"מ ומספר שופלים.. הורסים התחלות בניה הרסו לפחות בית אחד בסיבוב לפני בת עין ב עדכון ממישהו בשטח: כ200 שוטרים ועשרים חברה. הרסו בית של מישהו מתקוע שעוד לא נכנס ומנסים להרוס את גבעת רחבעם שאחרי בת עין ב. אי אפשר להגיע עם טרקטור אז הורסים בידיים

It is reported that a great number of forces have raided Bat Ayin and have blocked the entrance. This is probably due to a "price tag" for what occurred with the tear gas attacked on a home between Bat Ayin A' and B'.

Residents blocked two buses filled with Yassamniks (riot police) and several power shovels. They have destroyed new building, and have destroyed at least one home outlaying Bat Ayin B'.

Update from someone in the area:

Around 200 police officers and 20 "hevreh" have destroyed one home of someone from Teqo'a, who had yet to move into it, and are trying to destroy Rechaboam Hill, which lies after Bat Ayin B'. It is impossible to get in with a tractor, so the destruction is by hand.

A Select Group of Jewish Leaders?

ראש החודש התשיעי תשע"ד

The Algemeiner: White House Calls Rushed Meeting With Jewish Leaders to Discuss Iran Sanctions

October 29, 2013

The White House has called a rushed meeting with a select group of Jewish leaders, to take place Tuesday, to discuss its approach towards sanctions against Iran, a Washington source with knowledge of the matter told The Algemeiner.

They are calling specifically on organizations which have taken positions on the issue Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the ADL, AIPAC and others, the source said.
of Iran including the

High level officials are expected to be at the meeting, including National Security Adviser Susan Rice. (cont.)

(Tip credit: Daled Amos)


Esser Agaroth (2¢):
"Jewish Leaders," huh?

I have written about these clowns before. They do not lead me, and they certainly do represent anything I believe it. At least I cannot think of anything off the top of my head.

You see I'm one of those "crazy extremists" (in the opinion of the COPOMJO, ADL, AIPAC, etc.) who actually believes in the Torah, and that The Almighty is in charge, not some silly court Jews, and that the Jewish People is supposed to live in its only true homeland, the Land of Israel ("Land of," not "State of").

The U. S., albeit filled with economic opportunities and other "toys," is not where the Jewish People is supposed to be.

The U. S. is not any less of a galuth (exile) that Yemen, India, or Syria.

Unfortunately, Jews in the U. S. (those who really ARE Jews, and not just products of a Jewish father, and/or falsely converting mother) have been fooled into believing the galuth is not the punishment it is.

Galuth can be a very powerful influence on ones mentality. The plight of American Jews is an excellent example of this. Unfortunately, most do not realize that they are in any kind of plight at all.

Groups like COPOMJO, AIPAC, ADL, and others are just part of the assimilation process, keeping the Jew down,...and out of his only true homeland.

No wonder why they were the "select group of Jewish leaders" selected.

ADL's Top 10 Anti-Israel Groups in the U.S.: Ammended by Esser Agaroth (2¢)

ראש החודש התשיעי תשע"ד 

Arutz 7: ADL Names Top 10 Anti-Israel Groups in the U.S.
Anti-Zionist Neturei Karta sect on the list of the ten most influential and active anti-Israel groups in America.

Elad Benari, October 22, 2013

The anti-Zionist Neturei Karta hareidi sect was named on Monday one of the top 10 most influential and active anti-Israel groups in the United States, in a list released by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

Each of the groups on the list, according to ADL’s research, is “fixated with delegitimizing Israel” and has demonstrated the ability to reach new segments of the American public with a hostile and misleading narrative about Israel, the organization said in a statement.

The top 10 anti-Israel Groups, as identified by ADL, are:

ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism)
American Muslims for Palestine
CODEPINK
Friends of Sabeel-North America
If Americans Knew/Council for the National Interest
Jewish Voice for Peace
Muslim Public Affairs Council
Neturei Karta
Students for Justice in Palestine
U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

“The Top 10 anti-Israel groups are the most significant players in the domestic anti-Israel movement today,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.

“The groups are fixated on delegitimizing Israel and convincing the American public that Israel is an international villain that deserves to be ostracized and isolated,” he added.

In compiling the list, ADL considered various criteria, including the groups’ ability to organize, sponsor and endorse Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns against Israel; their sponsorship of and participation in anti-Israel rallies, panel discussions or conferences; and their ability to pursue anti-Israel policy initiatives and lobbying efforts against Israel.

In addition to their national impact and influence, many of the groups included in the list are known to employ rhetoric that is extremely hostile to Israel, Zionists and/or Jews. Examples of this include: Allegations that Israel or Jews control the U.S. government or the media;

Offensive parallels to the Holocaust by comparing Israeli leaders to Nazis or describing Gaza as the “new Auschwitz;”

Calls for the dismantlement of the state of Israel;

Expressions of support for terrorist groups that seek Israel’s destruction.

“The list represents the worst of the worst anti-Israel groups,” said Foxman. “They lob any and every accusation against Israel, including charges of Nazi-like crimes, ‘apartheid’ policies, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and genocide. Their accusations are rarely, if ever, balanced with an acknowledgement of Israel’s repeated efforts to make peace with the Palestinians, or the legitimate terrorism concerns faced by Israeli citizens.” (cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
The ADL forgot one very important group on its list of anti-Israel groups in the U. S.:

The ADL

...which defends Muslims,...and which condemns a prominent Israeli rabbi for following the Torah, over State law.

Actually, it forgot several:

AIPAC -  American Israel Political Action Committee -Lobbies for a 2-State Solution. How is that "pro-Israel?"
Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations
The Israel Project - Israeli Gov't party line - front for a left-wing, two-state agenda.
USA/RA - The so-called "Conservative Movement" and its minyons
UAHC/CCAR - Union of American Hebrew Congregations (the so-called "Reform" Movement)
JRF - Jewish Reconstructionist Federation - The so-called "Conservative Movement's" ugly, loud-mouth, little sister - not terribly important, except that they think they are.
"Rabbis" For Peace - I put the word "Rabbis" in quotation marks, and "peace" should actually be spelled "piece," in their case. They are nothing but self-hating, Western-assimilated, Arab-loving Jews (many of them are probably Jewish), and distort the Torah.
CAIR - Council on American-Islamic Relations
CFR - Council on Foreign Relations
World Council of Churches (fill in any evangelical Christian group here)They want to be our friends now? (Read: in order to steal Jewish souls AND the Land of Israel, of which they believe the are the true inheritors.)

...and last, but not least...

The United States Government itself

The ADL is about pro-Israel as Neturei Karta, which is #8 on its own list of anti-Israel groups. At least Neturei Karta believes that Israel, all of Israel, is the homeland of the Jewish People, just not right now, and not in the way that the State of Israel was created in 1948. They also believe that the rule of law will be the Torah, a far cry from the typical "democracy" (ie. deMOCKracy) bologna, of these supposedly "pro-Israel," Jewish groups.

These groups are anti-Torah, anti-Jewish claims to the Land of Israel, do nothing to encourage aliyah (immigration to Israel), and thus, anti-Jewish, all because these Western-assimilationists are confused and full of themselves.

The Fate of the Iraqi Jewish Archive

מוצש"ק פר' תולדות תשע"ד

Tonight, Simply Jews sent me a link to a petition to sign. The petition, followed by an explanation, reads as follows:

Don't Let the Jewish Archive Go Back to Iraq!
(AVAAZ Community Petitions)
August 17, 2013

"I call upon the US government NOT to return the Jewish archive to Iraq. To do so would compound the injustice done to the Jews of Iraq, whose property it was before they were robbed of it through a deliberate state policy of persecution and ethnic cleansing. The archive should be returned to its rightful owners and assured of proper care and conservation. We suggest it should go to Israel, where the greatest concentration of Jews of Iraqi descent are to be found. "

Why is this important?

Ten years after the US military found a trove of Jewish books, records and religious artefacts in the flooded basement of Saddam's secret police headquarters in Baghdad, the US government is preparing to ship it back following restoration.

The archive contains holy books, including a rare Bible from 1568, Torah scrolls seized from synagogues, and personal and community documents and records.

Iraq's government, however, is insisting that the archive go back to Iraq: it points out that the US interim administration (CPA) signed a memorandum in 2003 promising its return.

The archive must not be returned. 

Here's why:

*The archive does not belong to Iraq, but was stolen from private homes, schools and synagogues in the 1970s. It is the cultural property of the Iraqi-Jewish community. *According to Jewish law, sacred objects such as Torah scrolls must be entrusted to a living Jewish community.

*The Jewish community in Iraq is virtually extinct. Jews of Iraqi origin and their descendants now live outside Iraq - in Israel and the West.

*When there were Jews in Iraq, the modern Iraqi state showed only contempt for them and their heritage. It did its utmost to persecute and destroy its ancient, pre-Islamic Jewish community. From 140,000, the community has dwindled to five people. To return the archive to Iraq will be to compound a crime: returning stolen property to those who stole it.

*Iraq itself does not have the resources to conserve and store the archive safely.

*Iraq's Jews and their descendants, 90 percent of whom are in Israel, will be debarred from access to original documents and history if the archive returns to Iraq.

*The memorandum drawn up between the US CPA interim government and Iraq in 2003 was signed on a flawed premise: that the archive is part of Iraq's national heritage.

It is not. Unless we challenge this erroneous idea, the return of the Jewish archive sets a precedent for all Arab countries who seized the property of 870,000 Jews to claim back as their national heritage any confiscated items that might have left the country. Indeed these states can claim as their own the property of all oppressed communities. Web: iraqijewisharchives.org 

THE ARCHIVE BELONGS TO IRAQ'S JEWS - NOBODY ELSE

Related Articles:
Fron Page: Why the Jewish Archive shouldn't go back to Iraq
Daniel Greenfield, August 26, 2013

Front Page:  Iraq wants Jewish Archive to prove ownership of the Tower of Babel
Daniel Greenfield, October 29, 2013

Schumer to Kerry: Jewish Archive ‘Should Not Be Returned’ to Iraq  
Zach Pontz, November 1, 2013


Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Although I certain agree with the principles set down in the petition, I do not believe in such petitions, no matter how "secure" they are.

John Kerry
U. S. Secretary
 of Snakes

The U. S. Government, and in particular, its Secretary of State John Kerry doesn't give a rat's tuchus for Jews, our property, our heritage, and certainly not our dignity. Neither will give a rat's tuchus about a petition. Sorry, but they just won't.

Furthermore, the U. S. Government will no doubt use its "signed agreement" as an excuse for carrying out the Jewish Archive's expected return to Iraq,...as if such a "signed agreement" has ever stopped it from doing whatever the heck it wanted before.

Iraq is the county whose newly formed, post-liberation government was quick to hand out compensation to every member of an oppressed minority group, claiming loss and suffering, caused by the regime of Sadaam Hussein,...except for one: Jews.

I still cannot figure this one out, especially since Jews had all of their proverbial i's dotted and t's crossed, on all of their documents which they smart enough to hang to. Gee, could it have been that they were applying from exile,...in Israel?

Iraq is just like every other Arab country. There are citizens, and there are citizens. Even before Sadaam Hussein, Iraq was just one more country oppressing and killing its Jews.

The Jewish Nakba النكبة

And so, it would nice for Jewish property to be returned to Jews, but I am too much of a realist to believe that it will ever happen,...at least not through a petition.