Friday, November 14, 2014

Rabbi Meir Kahane hy"d and the Temple Mount

ערב שבת קודש פר׳ חיי שרה תשע״ה

Rabbi Kahane hy"d
This week, we commemorated the 24th Anniversary of the murder Rabbi Meir David Kahane (ben Yehezqel HaKohen) hy"d.

Contributing to a discussion on Facebook regarding Har HaBayith (Temple Mount), and whether to ascend it or not, vis-à-vis recent Arab terrorist attacks and fantastical claims, I wrote the reply below. I could not help, but be sarcastic, when invoking Rabbi Kahane's name, as most people who demonize him are either completely oblivious to Torah, or to its relevance to our lives in contemporary times. Others, believing themselves to be Torah-observant or Torah-oriented, have simply never read any of his works, yet seem to think themselves qualified to criticize him anyway.



Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Who cares what "they" (non-Jews) think? There is only one truth. Rabbi Kahane hy"d (OOOOH! There's that scary name again!) once said [jokingly?] that we should not bother knocking down the Mosques on Har HaBayith, because the Israeli government would just build them bigger and better ones.

Then one participant in this discussion asked, "Don't we have to be pragmatic?"

What we need is emunah (faith). It is fine to say that such and such is not a good strategy for the time being. However, to mince words, and worry about censoring the truth for the sake of the goyim is unacceptable. Rav Kahane hy"d (There's that name again!) said "Say the truth and do the truth, which is Torah, and everything which comes out of that is min HaShamayim." (From Heaven/God's Will) He also said [paraphrase] that one who speaks only 90% of the truth is actually hiding 10% of the truth. We need to continue discussing the truth, and not being afraid to say the truth.

"Eretz Yisrael was given to Am Yisrael. The Temple Mount will be the home of the Third Temple."

See? That wasn't hard, was it? No "hasatah" either. If that's considered incitement, then we're in big trouble, and need many mosrei nefesh (self-sacrificers).

If lives are lost because of words, in other words, stating the truth, then the problem is not the words; the problem is how the Israeli government isn't as Jewish of a government as everyone wants to believe.

Being whiny, nebachy Jews does not work, when dealing with Yishma'elim (Arabs/Muslims). It will only get us killed. This strategy was only marginally successful in Western exile, and then, only some of the time.

We are no longer in exile. Or rather, we no longer have to be in exile, but many of us still choose to be, either physically, or spiritually, or both.

*********

*Hasatah/הסתה - Heb.: incitement. Various forms of incitement are illegal in the State of Israel, such as the incitement to racism and the incitement to violence. Personally, I believe that these laws are excuses to curb free speech in the deMOCKratic State of Israel.

Incitement to commit avodah zarah (foreign/forbidden worship), incitement to profane Shabbath, incitement to defame the Torah appear to be well within the "rights" of citizens of the State of Israel.

*********

Related Posts:

Does Rabbi Kahane Need Defending?

Does the Government of Israel have the Authority of a King?

At Least one [more] Rabbi Knows that the Torah Comes First

Thursday, November 13, 2014

U. S. State Department's Double Standards toward Israel Spread to the NBA

כ׳ לחודש השמיני תשע״ה

IsraelUSA.net: US State Department Kills Visa for Israeli NBA Player Gal Mekel
Eric Miller, November 12, 2014

A petty new low…

As the Obama administration is contemplating a sweeping amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants to the United States, the US State Department is refusing to extend a simple P1 visa currently held by Israeli basketball star Gal Mekel of the NBA. The State Departments actions have prevented the NBA’s Indiana Pacers from signing Mekel.

Gal Mekel (right)

Gal Mekel was recently dropped by the Dallas Mavericks as part of a deal to free up space on the team while helping the Indian Pacers sign a badly needed point guard. Multiple injuries have left the Pacers with only one point guard and they are desperate to sign Mekel.

Now apparently, Indiana has been forced to back out of the deal with Mekel after the US State Department has refused to renew his visa without explanation.

Breitbart News reports that:
Normally, visas for foreign-born players in the NBA are automatically transferable with the players to whom they are issued. More than 100 foreign-born players are currently in the NBA. This is the first instance many basketball analysts can recall where a foreign-born player was prevented from signing with a new NBA team because a visa could not be transferred.
Gal Mekel is one of only two Israelis in the NBA; the other is Omri Caspi of the Sacramento Kings.

(Tip: The Kalashnikover Rebbe)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
I can certainly understand wanting to excel in ones profession, in order to reach the top, even besides the opportunities for fame, glitz, and glory which can be found in an American professional athletics organization. With the exception of soccer, the U. S. has really outdone itself in this regard.

But, professional athletes, Jewish athletes, cannot be exempt from reading the writing on the wall. Players from Europe, Asia, and elsewhere are having trouble their visa renewals?

Gal, have you ever thought that maybe, HaShem does not want you to be in America?

It would not be the first time that HaShem (The Almighty) has sent messages through nasty, evil people. Pharoah of Egypt comes to mind. This time, though, Jews do not have to wait around until it gets go bad in exile, to have to scream out to HaShem. Nowadays, you can just get on a plane,...for now anyway.

Omri Caspi
I guess that playing professional basketball is as good a reason as any to have diggs in Sacramento. To us native Californians, Sacramento, California's capital, is not know to be a terribly exciting place. I have overheard state politicians talk about dreading their trips "back there." Apparently, even former Governor Arnold Schwartzenagger never spent any more time in Sacramento than he had to. You get the point. Omri Caspi must really love basketball, if he is willing to live in, or even close to, Sacramento.
David Blatt

And speaking of basketball, although Head Coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers David Blatt is a U. S. citizen, I wish that he would get the message, too, and return to Israel. As the former coach of the Maccabbee Tel-Aviv Basketball team, he I am sure that he would not have too much trouble getting a job in the field he loves. Better yet, why not Israeli Minister of Culture and Sport?

My Brothers, it's time to come home.

אחים שלי, הגיע הזמן לחזור הביתה.

Thursday, November 06, 2014

Can a Rabbi Get Fired for Criticizing the State of Israel?

י״ג לחודש השמיני תשע״ה

I have previously criticized the infusion of Hellenist democracy, or in Israeli's case deMOCKracy, into the Rabbinate, as one of the various strategies employed to chip away at the Torah.

The following is a report on yet another way in which the deMOCKratic State of Israel is attempting to chip away at the authority of the Torah,...and WE have been allowing it!
Life In Israel: Proposed Law: Firing a city rabbi
Yesterday the Knesset passed the first reading of a law that will allow a city rabbi to be fired.

According to the law, if it should pass into law, will allow the Minister of Religious Affairs to fire a city rabbi if he is not performing his duties and responsibilities properly. The firing would have to go through a committee that will be made up of dayan appointed by the Minister, a city rabbi appointed by the head of the Rabbanut Religious Council, a legal adviser of a government ministry. If the committee will investigate and deem the suspicions valid, they will be able to recommend to the Minister to fire the suspected rabbi.

Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan says this is necessary because there are such rabbis in the system but the system has no ways or tools to deal with them. This law will increase the level of trust the public has in the rabbis. Ben-Dahan also said this law was prepared in coordination with Chief Rabbi Dovid Lau.

The Haredi parties do not like the law proposal. They don't like the possibility that a rabbi will be fired by a politician. MK Uri Maklev asked if judges have a similar system by which they can be fired. MK Yitzchak Cohen compared Habayit Hayehudi to Titus who destroyed the Beis Hamikdash. MK Aliza Lavie is dissatisfied for another reason - the committee is made up of men and they will protect other members of the club. Lavie wants the committee to include women.

Ben-Dahan responded to the Haredi MKs saying that during the rule of Shas, there was a decrease in rabbis, while he, Ben-Dahan, has appointed 69 new rabbis, to date. As well, Ben-Dahan asked them why they are concerned to protect and defend rabbis who don't fulfill their responsibilities but continue to take payment.

The first reading of the law passed by a vote of 54-11.

source: Kikar and Srugim
Esser Agaroth (2¢):
At first I just thought this was another chipping away at the Torah, in favor of Hellenist, Erev Rav-controlled deMOCKracy.

Of course, I still do. In fact, I believe it to be a major attack on an already ransacked and unrecognizable "Torah style" of the State of Israel. We all know what "kosher style" means,...not in the least bit kosher. So, you should easily be able to determine exactly what I mean by "Torah style."

However, I also believe that this law contains the additional intention of increasing the "divide and conquer" as is suggested by the paragraph I have highlighted above. Or in the case of the Israeli Government, "keep divided and keep conquered."

Rabbi Yitzhaq Yosef and Rabbi David Lau
Israel's Chief Rabbis
Rabbi Ben-Dahan
Ben-Dahan apparently thinks that more is automatically better. In reality, though, this is just a continuation in the same ol' Religious Zionist vs. Haredi, "us vs. them" power struggle.

What Ben-Dahan appears to fail to realize is that the real "them" in the "us vs. them" is the Erev Rav controlled government. The "us" should be those who stand by the Holy One, Blessed Be He, and His Holy Torah. That is, those who stand by the authority of the Torah, even in the face of Israeli laws which contradict it.

Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu
Chief Rabbi of Tzfath
Rabbis, such as Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu of Tzfath, have been called "extremist," and demonized for this not only recognize the authority of The Almighty's Torah, but dare to declare this fact publicly, and encourage support for it. Rabbi Eliyahu's critics have not only included Justice Minister Tzippy Livni, as one would expect, but also Mamlakhtim (diehard, religious State loyalists), and the ever "nosing into Israeli affairs from the diaspora" Rabbinical Council of America [RCA].

Apparently, someone forgot to tell the RCA that...
אין תורה כתורת ארץ ישראל - בראשית רבא.
There is no Torah like the Torah of the Land of Israel. - Bereishith Raba
But, I digress...

Will Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu be the first to fired by a government committee, for not "not performing his duties and responsibilities properly?" Apparently, this clause was authored by the Supreme Council of Vagueness.

Or, perhaps, "they" will go after Ashkenazy Chief Rabbi Dovid Lau for daring to suggest that aliyah, immigration to Israel, be reserved for only those who are permitted to do so, according to the Torah,...Jews, according to the Torah definition of Jews, which flies in the face of the Israeli "Law of Return," which currently allows all those with at least one Jewish grandparent to immigrate.
(Tip: The Torah Revolution)

Surely, the only rabbis the Erev Rav controlled government is willing to tolerate are those rabbis not only willing to tow the government line, but those who actually delusional enough to believe in it.

For now, that is.

Stay tuned!

Wednesday, November 05, 2014

On the Anniversary of Rabin's Death Another Terrorist Attack at a Jerusalem Light Rail Station!

י"ב לחודש השמיני תשע"ה

Ironically, possibly on purpose, on the anniversary of former Prime Minister Yitzhaq Rabin's death, there was another attack at a Jerusalem light rail station. Today was the anniversary in the both the Hebrew (12 Heshwan) and Western calendars.

Prime Minister Rabin was one of the main forces behind the Oslo "Death" Accords. Another major force behind the Accords included former President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres.

Over one thousand Jews have been killed since the acceptance of the Oslo "Death" Accords.

YNET: Terror attack in Jerusalem; six woundedCar rams into pedestrians at Tomb of Simeon the Just in East Jerusalem, exits car and continues attack with metal bar until police shot dead by police; after violent morning clashes on Temple Mount. 
Noam (Dabul) Dvir Published: 11.05.14, 12:23 
A pickup truck rammed into a group of pedestrians waiting for Jerusalem's Light Rail, wounding a number of people, in what seems to be an additional terror attack on Wednesday. The suspected terrorist was identified as a Hamas operative from the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Shuafat. 
According to the police a "a vehicle struck a number of people in Jerusalem. Emergency units (are) at two scenes treating injured." Initial reports say that a terror attack has taken place at the Tomb of Simeon the Just (or Kever Shimon haTzadik) Light Rail train station. 

According to initial reports, the terrorist first hit a group of security forces that were waiting at a crosswalk and then headed for the train station and continued driving down the street, hitting cars. 
He then rammed into a group of pedestrians with his car, leaving one is in serious condition, two with serious wounds, two others in moderate condition and one in light condition.
The driver then continued to drive hitting a number of cars and then stopped, exited the car holding a metal bar and proceeded to attack additional pedestrians. Border Patrol forces then shot and killed him. (cont.)
Esser Agaroth (2¢):
YNET's report in Hebrew did not even use the word "terror."

In English it was, but this crap about Shu'afat being in East Jerusalem has got to stop. Shu'afat clearly lies on the west side of the so called "Seam" between west and east. The "Seam" was a happenstance creation, resulting from Israel's War of Independence in 1948/תש"ח. Just because Shu'afat is [currently] as Arab neighborhood, does not magically make it part of the east, when it is in the west.

Furthermore, the report on YNET in Hebrew names the neighborhood in which the Shimon HaTzadiq Neighborhood sits as "Sheikh Jarra," The light rail company's error in name the station in Arabic aside, it is not. What the Arabs call "Sheikh Jarra" lies further north than this neighborhood of Shimon HaTzadiq, a neighbor which has a long history of being Jewish.

One of the results of the War of Independence was the lost of Jewish homes on the eastern, Jordanian-controlled side of the "Seam." In fact, the late, past Sephardi Chief Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef z"l and his family have always had a strong connection to this neighborhood. As a teen, Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef was one of its regular Torah readers.

One of his grandsons, Yehonatan "Yoni" Yosef, so of the late Rabbi Ya'aqov Yosef z"l gives tours of the  , recounting the history of the area, from ancient times until now (video).


The tomb is the flashpoint Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem. Jewish settlers recently moved into a number of houses in the area, heightening tensions in the already volatile capital. According to initial reports the car hit a Light Rail train station.

YNET's reference is to the recent, purchase of properties in the Silwan neighborhood.
The Jewish Press: Jews Enter Six More Buildings in Silwan Secretly Bought from Arabs Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu, September 30th, 2014 
More than two dozen Jews under heavy police escort moved into six more homes purchased by a Jewish investment company in Silwan Valley, including the City of David complex, in eastern Jerusalem Monday night. 
A group of Arabs hurled firecrackers and stones at police in a failed attempt to enter one of the buildings, and one policeman was treated at the scene for head wounds. 
Three of the homes are located in the City of David complex, located on the road opposite the Dung Gate that is the entrance to the Western Wall Plaza. At least one of the other homes is situated near the ancient Silwan Pool. 
The Jewish Press has learned that approximately two dozen youth moved into the newly-purchased homes as part of a strategy to show an immediate presence prior to families moving in... 
...All other questions to Segal and Orenstein were met with a wall of silence, which is the smartest strategy because anything they say will be held against them by Peace Now, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and anyone else who cannot stand to see Jews violating the sacred principles of the holy ”peace process” that demands the expulsion of Jews from the same neighborhood from which the British once expelled them. (cont.)
It is a misswah, a Torah Commandment, for us to take possession of the Land of Israel, whether or not the Israeli government stands in the way, or not (Num. 33:50-55).

PA President Mahmud Abbas (Abu-Mazen) Vision of "Piece."

By now, you should all know that Arabs put out a "hit" an any Arabs selling their property to Jews. How about that for a "peace partner?"

The Yishma'elim do not want peace; they want "piece." They want a very large piece of Israel. In fact, they want it all.

Tuesday, November 04, 2014

Do Jews Consider "Right-Wing" to be a Dirty Word?

 י״א לחודש השמיני תשע״ה

These are two words actually, but no matter.

"Right-wing" does not comprise two little dirty words. The term is simply imprecise.

Much better questions to ask, when considering how to identify Jews, would be...

Are you pro-Torah? Or are you anti-Torah?

However, there are many Jews with vastly different points of view who claim to be pro-Torah. So who is, and who isn't?

We all need to ask ourselves if we have the halachic (Jewish legal) sources to back up our positions, which we claim are "pro-Torah."

MK Moshe Feiglin is not the only Jew who believes that he has such halachic backing to ascend the Har HaBayith (Temple Mount). Neither is Yehudah Glick, Har HaBayith activist, and the target of a murder attempt only last week.

Rabbi Moshe Tendler, Rabbi Yosef Elboim (Belz), and Rabbi Yisra'el Ariel are among them as well.



Can Ma'aleh Adumim Rabbi Mordechai Negari, a fierce critic of Jews ascending Har HaBayith, back up his position that ascending Har HaBayith is a provocation? I would like to see him try.

Appeasement can be shown to be a Torah position. However, anyone with some sekhel (reason) can see from history, beginning with events recorded in the Tana"kh (Bible), that this has never worked with Yishma'elim (Arabs/Muslims), and so it is dead in the water. It is high time that we return to the strategies which have historically worked for us against the Yishma'elim, again, beginning with the events recorded in Tana"kh.

Is it that those ascending Har HaBayith are provocateurs? Or is it that their critics lack emunah (faith) that The Almighty is on our side?

The term "right-wing" is used to demonize those Jews with the "hutzpah," the gall (sarcasm) to expect that they should be able to visit, and even pray, on Har HaBayith. Those throwing this term around may want to take a good, hard look at themselves, and ask themselves what they are so afraid of? What is making them so insecure?

Har HaBayith is either ours, or it is not ours.

You can decide. Just remember that whether you agree with MK Feiglin or Rabbi Negari, you need to back up your position with halachic sources. "Feelings" about the issue are irrelevant. Using "feelings" as a primary reason behind our actions is a remnant of the influence of the foreign lands in the West, in which we once [and, unfortunately, some of us still] dwelt.

Is it either within our capabilities to take control of Har HaBayith or not? This is a strategic question.

However, the opinions of those outside of Israel should be considered absolutely irrelevant.

Unfortunately, our prime minister apparently believes that such opinions of our non-Jewish, global neighbors take precedence over those of his constituents, not to mention that of The Holy One, Blessed Be He, Himself.

Many thought that we could not fend off the Yishma'elim who wanted to annihilate us in 1948/תש״ח, as we dared to declare our independence within our God-given Homeland. But, we did.

Many thought that we could not fend off the Yishma'elim who wanted to annihilate us again in 1967/תשכ״ז. Not only did we succeed, but we also succeeded in pushing back the Yishma'elim even farther than before, retaking even more of our God-given Homeland, which included the unification of our eternal capital of Jerusalem.

Many thought that we could not fend off the Yishma'elim who wanted to annihilate us, yet again, in 1973/תשל״ד, as we dared to declare our independence within our God-given Homeland. But, we did. This time, we even took land extending beyond our God-given boundaries, as in the time of Shlomo HaMelekh (King Solomon).



Har HaBayith belongs to the Jewish People, as does the rest of Eretz Yisra'el (Land of Israel), not because we say so, not because of history, who was here first, or happens to be in control of it currently.

Har HaBayith belongs to the Jewish People because The Holy One, Blessed Be He, says that it does.

If people want to call me "right-wing" for this strong belief of mine, then so be it.

Now, what are we going to do about it?

What are YOU going to do about it?

Monday, November 03, 2014

To Ascend the Temple Mount, or Not to Ascend? That is the Question.

י״א לחודש השמיני תשע״ה

ערוץ 7: "להפסיק את העליות להר הבית"
רבה של מעלה אדומים קורא להפסיק את מה שהוא מכנה "פרובוקציה". לדבריו, "הם מבעירים את ירושלים".

בני טוקר, ד' בחשון תשע"ה, 28/10/14

רבה של מעלה אדומים, קורא בשיחה עם ערוץ 7 להפסיק מיד את העליות להר הבית, לאור הבעיות הביטחוניות וההלכתיות שנגרמות כתוצאה מכך.

לדבריו, "מדובר בפרובוקציה שתבעיר עוד יותר את מזרח ירושלים, מה החכמה שאתה עולה ומחר תושבים יהודים חוטפים בקבוקי תבערה?"

הרב נגארי מזכיר, כי תופעת העלייה להר הבית יוצרת בעיות הלכתיות רבות, "מה עם כל אותם אלה שעולים ללא טהרה? זאת בדיוק הסיבה שזקני הדור החל מהרב קוק זצ"ל אסרו לעלות להר".

"הם ראו את כל המכלול של הבעיות כולל את העובדה שאנחנו לא יודעים בדיוק מהם המקומות המותרים. זקני הדור כולם אסרו כולל הרבנות הראשית, אלה שמתירים זה רבנים צעירים", טוען הרב נגארי.

הרב נגארי סבור שמי שעולה היום להר הבית יוצא נפסד, "אתה רואה את כל היהודים שעולים היום להר הבית ומתבזים, צועקים עליהם והם אפילו לא יכולים לפתוח סידור".

Esser Agaroth (2¢) Translation:
Arutz 7: "Stop the Ascensions to the Temple Mount."

Benny Toker, 7 Heshwan 5775, Oct. 18, 2014

Rb. Mordechai Negari
In a conversation with Arutz 7, the Rabbi of Ma'aleh Adumim, called for an immediate cease to ascensions to Har HaBayith (Temple Mount), in light of the security and halachic (Torah legal) problems caused as a result.

He said, "This is a provocation that will further ignite East Jerusalem, what is the wisdom in your ascending [Har HaBayith] and grab tomorrow Jewish residents [of Jerusalem] having Molotov cocktails thrown at them?"

Rabbi Negari mentions that the phenomenon of ascension to the Temple Mount creates many halachic problems, "What about all those who ascend without being in a [proper] state of purity? This is exactly the reason why elders of the generation, beginning with Rabbi Kook ztz"l, forbade ascension to the Temple Mount."

"They saw the whole gamut of problems including the fact that we do not know exactly which places are permissible. The Elders of the Generation, all of them forbade it, including the Chief Rabbinate, those who have permitted this are Rabbanim Tze'irim (young rabbis)," claims Rabbi Negari.

Rabbi Negari is of the opinion that whoever ascends the Temple Mount today comes out losing, "You see all Jews ascending the Temple Mount today are abasing themselves, being yelled at, and they can not even open a prayer book."

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Interesting use of the term "Young Rabbis," perhaps a reference to the Ramba"m's employment of the term. It is not a nice thing to call someone; it is an insult. Does Rabbi Negari really have the hutzpah (gall) to call rabbis such as Rabbi Moshe Tendler a rav tza'ir?



Perhaps, instead, he should sit down with such individuals, with whom he has objections, and discuss the issue, sharing each others halachic justifications for their respective stances regarding Har HaBayith. But, no, for that might risk giving their positions legitimacy.

Rb. Yisra'el Ariel
If Rabbi Negari cannot respect that MK Moshe Feiglin, or for that matter, Yehuda Glick has done the necessary research regarding the permissibility of ascending Har HaBayith, then perhaps he could see his way clear to melamed zekhut (give the benefit of the doubt) regarding Rabbi Tendler and Rabbi Yisra'el Ariel, head of the Temple Institute..

Nope. Probably not. because by such an act, Rabbi Negari would be granting legitimacy to the "other guy's" position. And we can't have that, can we?

The Mamlakhtim (diehard State loyalists) have been traditionally against ascending Har HaBayith, but not for any reason other than the Israeli Government would prefer that we did not.

Minister Naftali Bennett
Rabbi Negari's concerns for any stragglers risking the bringing of impurity to Har HaBayith, mainly secular Jews, touring Israel from abroad, can be easily prevented. The government's Religious Affairs Ministry simply has to require Jews to immerse themselves in an approved miqwah* before ascending. Since the Israeli Police seems to be so readily available when it comes to surveilling Jews, police officers standing at the gates can check their receipts signed by the miqwah attendant. Of course, since the Ministry of Religious Affairs is currently headed by Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home), so I am not holding my breath.

*Not all men's miqwaoth are suitable for immersing before ascending Har HaBayith.
Times of Israel: Rightist MK visits Temple Mount as police brace for unrest
Police say five Jewish visitors were detained for ‘disturbing the peace’

Times of Israel staff, November 2, 2014

Police prepared for possible violence Sunday morning as authorities reopened access to the Temple Mount to Jews after a ban of several days.

MK Moshe Feiglin
Flanked by riot police on the Temple Mount
November 2, 2014/ט׳ חשון תשע״ה
Ignoring a plea from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his coalition colleagues to calm tensions surrounding the Temple Mount issue, Likud MK Moshe Feiglin entered the compound along with a number of other Jewish visitors Sunday morning.
However, police said they detained five Jewish visitors for “disturbing the peace.” Israeli news outlet Ynet reported that one Jewish man was detained in the Temple Mount compound and four others were detained while trying to reach the site via the Lions’ gate.

Dozens of other Jewish visitors along with Feiglin were also allowed onto the site, which had been closed since Thursday in the wake of the shooting of an activist who campaigned for Jewish rights on the holy site [Yehuda Glick].

Feiglin was blocked from the area by police on Thursday as police shut the site to both Jews and Muslims for the first time in decades.

Feiglin spoke at a rally attended by several hundred people in central Jerusalem’s Safra Square on Saturday night to pray for the recovery of Yehudah Glick, who was severely injured in an attempted assassination on Wednesday night, and to back Glick’s demands for the right to Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount. (cont.)
Just like Rabbi Negari said, Jews are not even allowed to open a prayer book, let alone pray.
Netanyahu on Saturday called on all Knesset members to work to calm tensions surrounding the Temple Mount. The prime minister spoke with Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein and asked for his assistance in reining in MKs on this issue and helping ensure they display responsibility and restraint, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
Display responsibilty and restraint?

Translation: Continue to allow the rest of the world step all over us.

Fortunately, there is at least one member of the government who does not, and is more concerned about Am Yisra'el and Eretz Yisra'el, than about holding onto to job.

Sunday, November 02, 2014

Government Tracking: No More Free Pass in Israel!

י׳ לחודש השמיני תשע״ה

Israeli Law mandates that an employer pay some, if not all, of its employees' transportation costs. This translates into an employee living and working in the same city receiving a monthly bus pass. In Jerusalem, the pass includes light rail service. But, it is hardly free. The price is the reduction in privacy, as your whereabouts while on public transportation, can be monitored.

While for some of you, this is nothing new, it never hurts to attempt a wake up of those who are still unaware.

For the past few years in Israel, we have had the growth and development of the government’s ability to track the movement of its citizens. I have no indication whether the Israeli Government accesses its citizens' travel information. But, the potential is certainly there.

Rav Kav
with "chip"
The "Rav Kav," Hebrew for "multi-line," card can now be seen almost everywhere in Israel. Instead of printing out paper passes, tickets, and multi-ride punch cards, all you have to do is refill your plastic card with more rides, when you run out. Environmentally positive, right?

Some would say that this is a welcomed device, in addition to the highly theoretical reduction in paper. After all, the government can use this tracking system to monitor the movements of suspected terrorists and criminals.

C’mon! Do you really think a terrorist is going to bother using a Rav Kav? And even if he does, history tells us that he is on a one way trip! As far as plotters and planners of terrorist attacks go, you would think that they could afford  Sure, the “international community sees them as poor, helpless, and oppressed “freedom fighters.” But, the truth is that they are well funded, and well armed, either by Iranian-backed Hamas, or by Fatah’s “misplaced” funds received from donor countries, or from the co-dependent Israeli Government itself.

They can afford a non-discounted bus ride.

The back of an "Anonymous" Rav Kav
with a magnetic strip.
And, if you are like me, and do not believe that we need the government to protect us, as much as it wants us to think, then you will get stuck paying more (much more), using an “anonymous” Rav Kav. Bus and light rail monthly passes cannot be added to an “anonymous” Rav Kav, nor can multiple, discounted tickets for youth and seniors. Discounts on round-trips offered between cities are only available to those bearing a Rav Kav with photo identification.

So, if you are watching your budget, like most people in Israel, and all the world are, then the choosing the Rav Kav option, which includes your picture, name, and Israeli Identity Card number seems like it is worth its price. Not only that, but if you lose your Rav Kav, you have the added benefit of having the tickets and passes you had on your lose Rav Kav replaced. How helpful and convenient is that?

Most of us have bought into its “convenience” and “savings.”

Furthermore, if you choose the "anonymous" option, you will find that it might not be as anonymous as you thought. Each "anonymous" card is numbered, and you receive it in an office with surveillance cameras.

Do the math.

"Palestinians" Who Throw Molotov Cocktails at Israelis Are Not Terrorists

י׳ לחודש השמיני תשע״ה

Keep in mind that this report comes from the far left-wing, "Palestinian" sympathetic, Ha'Aretz news source. If Ha'Aretz, along with the Associated Press [AP] and Reuters, report that an Arab teen was about to throw a Molotov Cocktail at Israeli Defense Forces [IDF] soldiers, you can rest assured that he was.

Ha'aretz: Palestinian-American teen killed by IDF gunfire during West Bank protest
According to the military, the boy was about to throw a firebomb toward Route 60.

Gili Cohen , Jack Khoury, AP, and Reuters, October 25, 2014

A Palestinian-American teenager was shot dead by Israeli soldiers, Friday afternoon, during clashes that erupted in a protest held there weekly.

According to the military, the boy, 14, was about to throw a firebomb towards Route 60; an IDF unit positioned nearby opened fire after he had lit the firebomb's fuse, and was preparing to hurl it. (Palestinian officials denied these claims.)

A relative identified the teen as Orwa Abd al-Wahhab Hammad and said he was born in New Orleans and came to the West Bank at age six. Hammad's cousin Moath said he was among a group of Palestinians who were throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers.

An Israeli army spokesman told Reuters Israeli forces "managed to prevent an attack when they encountered a Palestinian man hurling a molotov cocktail at them on the main road next to Silwad. They opened fire and they confirmed a hit."

The military said it would investigate the shooting, which occurred amid other clashes in Arab areas in and around Jerusalem in which several people were lightly injured.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki called for a "speedy and transparent investigation."

"The United States expresses its deepest condolences to the family of a U.S. citizen minor who was killed by the Israeli Defense Forces during clashes in Silwad on October 24," Psaki said.

She added that U.S. officials would remain "closely engaged with the local authorities, who have the lead on this investigation."  (cont.)
Esser Agaroth (2¢):
If the U. S. government is so quick to claim an Arab teenager, who left the U. S. at the age of six, then why is it not just as quick to claim responsibility for the attempted terrorist attack?

Perhaps the following video clip will provide some insight into this question.


(Video Tip: Ben Shapiro's Truth Revolt)

Although I do not believe it to be quite as damning as Truth Revolt suggests, I do believe that the video is a clear indication of the U. S. Government's pattern of applying double standards toward Jews vs. Arabs. I agree with Truth Revolt's take, just not with the quality of evidence found in this particular video.

Ever since the U. S. State Department recommended against President Harry S. Truman's desire to recognize the State of Israel, it has continually proven itself to be the bane of Jewish sovereignty over Eretz Yisra'el (Land of Israel).

Ha'Aretz even reports the Molotov Cocktail thrower's terrorist family connections:
Residents of Silwad said that the teen was the cousin of Ta'er Hammad, who carried out a sniper attack that killed 10 Israelis in Wadi al-Haramiya, near the Shilo settlement in 2002. The teen's uncle, Nabil Hammad, is said to have been killed in the first intifada.
I lived in Ofra from 2002 - 2004. I remember the sniper attack mentioned above, as well as another one in the same area, resulting in the murder of Ofra teenager Erez Rond hy"d.

Perhaps the U. S. Government should be a bit more scrupulous as to whom it allows into its territory.



Unless you have lived in the Shomron (Samaria), you might not know that this Arab-American, thrower of Molotov Cocktails, is not the only one residing in the area. The above mentioned town of Silwad, which lies just to the north of Ofra, apparently has quite a few U. S. citizens living there.


I once heard a story from a neighbor of mine in Ofra. While he was visiting his grandmother in San Francisco, he bumped into an Arab who said he lived in the "palestinian territories." They spoke in English. My neighbor asked him where exactly he lived, because he also lived in Yehudah and Shomron (Judea and Samaria). It turns out that this Arab was from Silwad. Apparently, they got a kick out of being "neighbors." The young man from Silwad said that there were lots of U. S. citizens living there.

More than a few times I have heard the story of the Arab Americans roaming the aisles of the local (Sha'arei Binyamin) branch of the Rami Levi supermarket chain. With perfect American accents, from New York and elsewhere, they can be heard speaking in English, trying to figure out the food packaging labels, often only printed in Hebrew and Arabic. 

Yes, Arabs from the Palestinian Authority shop at the Jewish owned Rami Levi supermarket. Even though it is part of the "oppressive occupation." (sarc)

I have never obtained the full story about this phenomenon. Mansions around Ramallah, Sinjil (near the above mentioned Wadi al-Haramiya), and elsewhere aside, why would they prefer the living conditions here over those in the U. S.?

My friends and I have met plenty of Arabs, just north of Ramallah and Silwad, who want to get out, asking if we had family or friends in the U. S. willing to sponsor them to live there. Well, they were asking the wrong Jews. No such luck.

One American-Arab, who seems to prefer to live in Eretz Yisra'el owns the home circled in red below.

The entrance to the town of Ofra (Josh. 18:23)

How do I know that this home belongs to a U. S. citizen? Well, because years ago, a sniper shot up the ride catching area across the street (green) from this Arab's roof. When the Israeli Government announced its intentions to destroy this house as punishment for collaboration in a terrorist attack, the U. S. Government stepped in, and prevented it, claiming that the home belonged to a U. S. national. Go figure.

Former Israeli Prime Ministers Menachen Begin and Yitzhaq Shamir are still occasionally referred to as terrorists for their roles in the fight for Israel's independence from the British Mandate occupation. Arabs throwing throwing Molotov Cocktails at IDF soldiers are not. In fact, they are often called "freedom fighters."

American-Arabs are protected, but American-Jews living in Yehudah and Shomron are considered menaces.

One of these days, my fellow Jews will hopefully wake up to the fact that the U. S. Government is NOT our friend. Hopefully, before it is too late.

And before you start harping on Presidents Obama and Clinton, as nasty as they may be, let me remind that President George W. Bush was an advocate of the so-called "two-state solution," and his father President George "Iran Contra" H. W. Bush tried to pressure Prime Minister Shamir to stop building in Yehudah and Shomron.

Monday, October 27, 2014

Out of the Frying Pan and into the Fire: Israeli Emigration to Germany

ד׳ לחודש השמיני תשע״ה

On one hand, the left-wing, [Am] Ha'Aretz, Israeli news, source did not do a bad job addressing the issue of Israeli emigration. On the other hand, it could have gone after the "Berlin Aliyah" initiative on Facebook, and ripped it apart, while still remaining objective.

Am Ha'Aretz (Riff-Raff)

However, we cannot expect these journalists to be too openly critical of their allies in the battle against the Torah, including the elimination of the last remaining fibers of Jewish nature associated with the State of Israel, and in the battle for assimilation of the Jewish People into the global community of nations.

My Esser Agaroth (2¢) commentary is interspersed below, followed by my conclusion.
Ha'Aretz: Israeli emigration slowing down, despite fears of ‘Berlin aliyah’
Despite 'Milky scare,' only a few thousand Israelis living in Berlin.

Lior Dattel, October 14, 2014

Despite concerns over a wave of emigration from Israel, which was brought on by recent public debate over a Facebook page urging young Israelis to move to Berlin, figures show that the rate of emigration has slowed dramatically, and that in 2012 the rate was the lowest since the state was established.

Emigration is also low in comparison to member countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

According to the World Bank, most Israelis emigrate to the United States or Canada. Germany, while a popular choice, is a destination that attracts far fewer Israelis than does North America...
There is little comfort in the fact that delusions of a glitzy life in Los Angeles or a financial paradise in New York is more attractive to Israelis, than a return to the origin of gas chambers and cremation ovens.
...In 2012, a year after the wave of social protest broke out, the overall number of Israeli emigrants (defined as people who leave the country and remain abroad for more than a year) declined to approximately 15,900. According to border control figures from April 2014, approximately one quarter of the people who emigrated in 2012 returned or informed the authorities of an intended return date.

Figures also show that most emigrants are not Israeli-born; the majority came to live in Israel from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s. Only 5,700 Israeli emigrants who left in 2012 are Jews born in Israel.
Perhaps their ties to Eretz Yisra'el (Land of Israel) were tenuous in the first place. Perhaps, like many Jews from American I know, they confused the flaws in how the State functions with the importance of residing in Eretz Yisra'el. Plus, I wonder just how many of these immigrants from the former Soviet Union were actually Jewish. Those who aren't, good riddance. those who are, then it is a shame, and a reflection of both the poor education received while here, as well as the strength of the galuth influence with the former Soviet Union.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics: “The current decline in the balance of emigration constitutes, among other things, a response to the economic slowdown in various countries that in the past were desirable destinations for emigrants.”

Della Pergola concurs. The economic situation in Israel has a major effect, he says – the higher the employment rate, the lower the emigration rate. “The next influential figure is the income level. Despite the gap in incomes in Israel, all in all, income has gone up, he says. 
We Jews still do not get it. Many of us still think that it is all about the money. Well, it seems to me that we will soon have to learn the hard way (but hopefully not too hard), that it is not all about the money, but that money may be used as the tool to provide us with this crucial life lesson. The idea of a bag of rice being worth more than any artificial currency, or soap being a luxury item, may seem very foreign and farfecthed. Let us hope that are conditions never get to this point. In the meantime, I would suggest that we take a hard look at what is really important: A roof over our heads, a reasonably priced, Jewish education, and the opportunity to build a life, and raise our families in Eretz Yisra'el.
Nevertheless, although emigration figures are down, the profile of the émigré is still a source of concern: It is estimated that most Israelis who move abroad are young university graduates, whose skills make it possible for them to make a good living there. However, such a brain drain exists in many places around the globe, including Europe.
I would be very interested to learn if there is a pattern related to fields of study. Who has been emigrating? Those who studies the humanities and social sciences, in university or those who studied hard sciences. Israeli universities have become bastions of anti-Torah indoctrination. Do not be fooled by the graduates and professors wearing kippoth and other forms of religious expression.

In other words, a battalion of ultra-leftist, social workers, the State's front line soldiers in the culture war, would surely NOT be missed. I am not so sure that we will have to worry about any "brain drain." Do our brains really need anymore individuals cramming them with anti-Torah, "globalist" values and sensibilities, not to mention Hebrew University's "biblical criticism?" I think not.

Regarding beneficial brain content, so far, Israel has had enough sense to focus on high tech, keeping the hope of employment alive for those who studied physical sciences during their university tenure.

Did you notice how absolutely no mention was made regarding whether any Torah scholars were included in any of the emigration statistics? What would the Am Ha'Aretz news service care? For that matter, what would the State of Israel care?
The figures even count as emigrants Israelis who have relocated abroad for a specific period for work or study, with no intention of emigrating.
(Tip: JewsNews)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
I was pleasantly surprised that the far-left, anti-Torah, [Am] Ha'Aretz news site bothered to research and point out the inaccuracies of the reported statistics.

The Facebook page עולים לברלין "Immigrating to Berlin," encouraging emigration from Israel to Germany, specifically to Berlin, Only the [Am] Ha'Aretz Newspaper could possibly have the audacity to apply the term aliyah, "going up spiritually," to emigration from Israel to Germany.
עולים לברלין. כל העצות, ההסברים, הבירוקרטיה והטפסים שיעזרו לכם להחלץ מיוקר המחיה הבלתי אפשרי והאלים בישראל. olimleberlin@gmail.com

Immigrating to Berlin. All of the advice, explanations, bureaucracy, and forms which will help you to get out of the impossible cost of living and the"violence" in Israel. olimleberlin@gmail.com

The founders of this Facebook initiative are not entirely to blame.
The key factor behind possible emigration from Israel is the employment rate, according to the professor, who adds "the next influential figure is the income level. Despite the gap in incomes in Israel, all in all, income has gone up." 
Many have argued that the housing crisis in Israel that is cited in the recent Berlin protest as a reason to leave could be solved if Israel would only develop in Judea and Samaria, an area currently suffering from a silent Jewish construction freeze by the government despite being 90% unpopulated, and despite the full legality of Israel's presence in the region under international law. (Arutz 7)
I will hazard a guess that those leaving Israel for their convoluted "promised land" in Germany could not care less about developing Judea and Samaria. However, this does put some of the onus on the Israeli government.

Jews should never want to leave Eretz Yisra'el, and need not be concerned with "international law," when it comes to what The Almighty has already decided. However, the government could kill a few birds with one stone, if it would only annex Judea and Samaria, and develop its housing and economic potentials.

Even Jews supposedly flocking to Berlin would have second thoughts, and would be given an additional opportunity not only to remain in Eretz Yisra'el, but to be inspired by Israel's example, and witness first-hand what can come out of following what The Almighty wants for us, over what we believe we want for ourselves.

I can guarantee you that The Almighty does not want us to return to previous paths of self-destruction, which were possible, at least in part, by our desire to assimilate within the lands of our exile.

Dachau Concentration Camp Ovens

For those of you are offended by the allusion to the ovens of the Holocaust concentration camps, too bad.

When I say "out of the frying pan, and into the fire," I mean it literally.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Eric Yoffie and the Reform Movement: Delusional or Evil?

ג׳ לחודש השמיני תשע״ה

JPost.com: US Jews not threatened by anti-Semitism, former Reform chief says
"Anti-Semitism is not a threat to the security and well-being of the Jews of America," Rabbi Eric Yoffie wrote in Time.

JPost.com Staff, Maya Shwayder, and Sam Sokol, May 31, 2014

American Jews can feel reassured that they are safe from any physical threats motivated by anti-Semitism, said Rabbi Eric Yoffie, the former head of the US Reform movement.

World Jewry is trying to come to grips with last week’s shooting attack at the Brussels Jewish Museum, the resurgence of the European far Right and anti-Jewish rhetoric in the Muslim world.

Writing an opinion piece for Time magazine, Yoffie declared that “anti-Semitism is not a threat to the security and well-being of the Jews of America.”

He said that while there are worrying trends of escalating anti-Semitism in Europe and the Muslim world, American Jews can take solace in the fact that the United States remains safe and discrimination-free.

The rabbi was writing in response to the results of a recent survey released by the Anti-Defamation League, which found that negative attitudes toward Jews are “persistent and pervasive around the world.”

After surveying over 50,000 people in 102 countries in what it termed the “most comprehensive assessment ever of anti-Semitic attitudes globally,” the ADL came to a number of surprising conclusions.

The First International Resources poll determined that 26 percent of respondents were “deeply infected” with anti-Semitic attitudes, while only a little more than half of those polled have heard of the Holocaust. Twothirds of those asked stated that they have either not heard of the Nazi genocide or do not believe that accepted historical accounts are correct.

Those who responded positively to six or more questions out of a set of 11 questions based on common Jewish stereotypes were deemed anti-Semitic by the New York-based Jewish advocacy group. The ADL’s National Director Abraham Foxman said that they purposely set the bar high.

“We didn’t want to hype. We wanted to understate, rather than overstate, and to be careful that we’re only labeling those people who are really bad,” he said.

Yoffie countered that while he doesn’t doubt that millions of Americans do harbor anti-Semitic sentiments, it is far from being translated into anti-Jewish behavior.

“And by behavioral standards, it is difficult to see anti-Semitism as a factor of any consequence in American life,” Yoffie wrote. “Jews in America are able to live in neighborhoods where they want to live, work in businesses where they want to work, and gain acceptance to any universities that they are qualified to attend.

“This was not always the case in this country; even in the post-World War II period, discrimination against Jews in all these realms was commonplace.

But no more. For half a century, practical prejudice of this sort has essentially disappeared,” he added.

Yoffie wrote that while the Jewish community has witnessed acts of terrorism and vandalism motivated by anti-Semitism, they do not amount to any credible threat since “government officials and political leaders can be counted on to raise their voices in protest and activate the machinery of government to combat the forces of hate.

“There can be no excuse for seeing our situation as different from what it really is,” Yoffie wrote. “And our reality, as American Jews, is that we are not a community under siege. Let us say it plainly: the anti-Semitism that is festering elsewhere poses no danger to us.”

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Eric Yoffie
clown of our generation
So, what does Eric Yoffie want us to do? Wait around until the "anti-Semitic sentiments" harbored by "millions of Americans" do become "translated into anti-Jewish behavior?"

Because only a handful of Jews have been killed or injured, in shootings or "knock-down" attacks? Or perhaps because those Jews killed or injured do not matter? That they did not do enough to assimilate amongst the goyim, that they had it coming to them?

I am simply asking if this is what Eric Yoffie is really trying to say.

Are these "Jewish leaders'" fancy jobs, cars, and "acceptance" by non-Jews really worth risking the life of even one more Jew?

Are they pulling the wool over American Jews' eyes purposefully, thus preventing them from reading the writing on the wall, to keep them in Galuth (exile)?

This is the second time in a week, I am posting the following video here on site. The Jewish Voices on Campus video is well-worth viewing a second or third time. Perhaps it will give Eric Joffe some insight as to the Jew-hatred, university students, for example, have been facing on campuses across the U. S.


(Tip: Emergency Aliya Now Facebook Group)

Here, I will cite one of the Reform [Bowel] Movement's favorite lines in Jewish texts to pick-out of context and distort. They have applied it to non-Jews, left and right. But, when it comes to our own...?
תלמוד בבלי סנהדרין לז,א
...לפיכך נברא אדם יחידי ללמדך שכל המאבד נפש אחת מישראל מעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו איבד עולם מלא וכל המקיים נפש אחת מישראל מעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו קיים עולם מלא....

BT Sanhedrin 37a
...Therefore, man was created singly, to teach you that whoever causes a single soul from Israel to perish, Scripture considers him as if he had caused an entire world to perish, and whoever preserves a single soul from Israel, Scripture considers him as if he had preserved an entire world....
Such un-Jews love to completely ignoring the halakhah (Torah Law), which they find to be "no longer binding." But, what they really mean to say is that assimilation amongst the international, global community of humanity, is OK, if not preferred.

In all fairness, there are plenty of "Modern Orthodox," who have been guilty of picking and choosing, taking thing out of context, and distorting them.

But, I digress...

Judaism is a religion based exclusively on Torah, both the Written and Oral. Thus, Reformism is not Judaism.

מערבב
"mixer"
Rather than pursue what The Almighty's Will is for us, His People, rather than fitting our lives into the rubric of Torah, Reformists seek to fit bits and pieces of Torah into their lives when it is convenient, and "feels right." Often, these bits and pieces, often barely, if at all, recognizable as Torah.

Whereas the Torah instructs us regarding our separate and distinct nature, and commands us to maintain separation among various aspects of Jewish life; Reformists are hellbent on mixing such things together: Shabbath and the work week, Jews and goyim, including intermarriage, kosher and treif, pure and contaminated.

Of course. Think about what God wants? Why would any rational person do anything like that?

And so, I ask you again are Eric Yoffie and the Reform Movement delusional or evil? Well, I do not know about Eric Yoffie. He could simply be prideful, greedy, naive, or blind. But, the roots of the Reform Movement were put into motion by those notorious for mixing things, the Erev Rav (from the "mixed" multitude).