What's Going On???

"It's The Degradation, Stupid!"

Everywhere I go I talk to Israelis. For the last 16 months since making Aliyah, I try to connect with real Israelis (that would be home-grown Sabras and people living here for more than 30 years) and ask them all the same question: ma karah (what happened)?
What happened in the last 30-something years since I was an American Jewish teenager living in the Ramat Eshkol neighborhood of Jerusalem with an Israeli family? What happened to the legendary Israeli spirit, the Israeli pride, the Israeli strength, the Israeli can-and-must-do attitude?
I ask everyone - haredi, hiloni, national religious, gay hairdressers, taxi cab and bus drivers, the clerk at the market, the vendors at the shuk, teachers, children...everyone who I can get to pay a moment's attention: I ask them - What happened to Israelis, MY Israelis? Why is everyone so defeated? I ask and ask and can't get a good answer, an answer that rings true.
Finally, a thoughtful young lady listened to my story about living here in the '70's and answered my question. "So, what happened here? Ma karah po?”
“It’s the degradation,” she said simply. A year’s worth of other answers – long and short, bitter and philosophical, resigned and resentful – rolled away in a moment and I saw it all clearly. It’s the degradation, stupid! Israelis have been systematically degraded from without AND from within, and it all started with Oslo and the "presumptive close," that we would give away land for "peace," that we came upon our land in some illegitimate way, that we owed the court of world opinion some sort of answer and worse yet, some sort of compensation for our crimes. Little by little, day by day, editorial by editorial, speech by speech by left-leaning self-hating Jews inside and outside The Land, politician by politician who have raped this country over and over again...it's the degradation, stupid.
Degredation leads to depression, a sense of hopelessness, the "ma la'asot" ("what can you do?") attitude that you find everywhere. We sit and watch it all happen to us, and say, "ma la'asot," becoming victims of our own listlessness and overwhelming exhaustion.
WE HAVE BOUGHT THE BIG LIE ABOUT OURSELVES - NOT ONLY DID WE BUY IT, BUT WE CONTINUE TO PAY FOR IT - WITH INTEREST - EVERY DAY.
How can a degraded people fight? How can a degraded people re-discover their strength and self-respect? How can a degraded people rise up against the elements within our own society bent on our own self-destruction???
First things first - Come out of denial!!! As HaShem led us out of "de Nile" (ha), may He also wake us up and lead us out of the denial we are living in - and once denial has been overcome, one must have a new reality to attach one's self to. How about trying this one on for size - this is OUR LAND, anyone who dosen't like it can leave now, and anyone who lives here who works to undermine the Land and the People of Israel is a traitor and should be treated like one - from the Prime Minister to the garbage collector and everyone in-between. Screw the court of world opinion and the horse it rode in on.
Wake up my Israelis! Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights - as that other prophet, Bob Winston Marley sang - don't give up the fight! Remember WHO you are and what WE are and for the sake of everything we've all been through from the beginning until now - STOP ACCEPTING THE DEGRADATION!

This $52 BILLION Dollar Bud's for YOU, USA!

Et tu, Anheuser- Busch?

I suppose the next thing that goes to the highest foreign bidder is NASCAR.

(AP):The maker of the King of Beers has agreed to go to work for the Belgian brewer InBev SA.
Anheuser-Busch Cos. said early Monday it had agreed to a sweetened $52 billion takeover bid from InBev, creating the world's largest brewer and heading off what was shaping up as an acrimonious fight for the maker of Budweiser and Bud Light beers. Inbev brands include Stella Artois, Beck's and Bass.
The combined company will be called Anheuser-Busch InBev. As of the end of last week, InBev said it would be the world's third largest consumer products company by market capitalization after Procter & Gamble of the United States and Nestle SA of Switzerland.
The Anheuser-Busch board accepted the higher takeover offer Sunday night from Belgian-based InBev, according to a joint press release. The deal is expected to close by year-end.
"What consumers care is that their Bud will always be their Bud, and that's what we're committed to, not only the product, the quality, the beer ... but also the heritage, the breweries, who brews the beers, and everything that's connected to the breweries," InBev CEO Carlos Brito said in a media conference call.

Bad for the Jews!

No matter how you slice it, this is going to be bad for the Jews!

AP: This illustration provided by The New Yorker magazine, the cover of the July 21, 2008 issue by artist Barry Blitt, shows Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama dressed as a Muslim and his wife as a terrorist. The magazine says the cover is meant to satirize the use of scare tactics and misinformation in the presidential election to derail Obama.

Everybody knows the Jews control the New Yorker. Perhaps that is why both the Obama camp and the Palestinian Authority proudly announced today that Barak Obama will be meet with PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on July 23rd.

Simulteniously, the Obama campaign backtracked on his statement about Jerusalem, as reported by Israel National News:

(IsraelNN.com) Barack Obama, the Democratic party's nominee for U.S. President, retracted the statement he made at the AIPAC Convention in June, about the need for Jerusalem to remain Israel's undivided capital. Obama had already qualified the statement the day after he made it, but in a new CNN interview he effectively retracted it, blaming "poor phrasing" and careless syntax. Interviewer Fareed Zakaria asked: "One area where you're outside the international consensus -- and certainly, perhaps, some others -- is the statement you made in a recent speech supporting Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel. Now, why not support the Clinton plan, which envisions a divided Jerusalem, the Arab half being the capital of a Palestinian state, the Jewish half being the capital of the Jewish state?"
Obama replied: "You know, the truth is that this was an example where we had some poor phrasing in the speech. And we immediately tried to correct the interpretation that was given.
"The point we were simply making was, is that we don't want barbed wire running through Jerusalem, similar to the way it was prior to the '67 war, that it is possible for us to create a Jerusalem that is cohesive and coherent.
Sin of syntax"I was not trying to predetermine what are essentially final status issues. I think the Clinton formulation provides a starting point for discussions between the parties.
"And it is an example of us making sure that we are careful in terms of our syntax. But the intention was never to move away from that basic, core idea that they -- that those parties are going to have to negotiate these issues on their own, with the strong engagement of the United States.
"And if you look at the overall tenor of that speech and what I've said historically about this issue, you know, Israel has an interest not just in bunkering down. They've got to recognize that their long-term viability as a Jewish state is going to depend on their ability to create peace with their neighbors."

WELL ISN'T THAT SPECIAL?

Heart to Heart in the Holy Land

Ahmadinejad's Penis Envy

Poor, poor Iranian President Ahmadinejad has so much latent anxiety about his apparently monumental masculine shortcomings that he has spent the last two days furiously firing his toy missles into the Persian Gulf in his own personal version of male penis envy. Wikipedia states: While not the same kind of penis envy as that typically referred to in psychoanalysis, the phrase "penis envy" or "small penis syndrome" is also sometimes used to describe the envy of a male over another male's penis. Although this subconscious or conscious envy may solely be based on the idea that a larger penis is universally more satisfying and appealing to a sexual partner, other implications arise from the fact that a large penis has been seen in many cultures as a symbol of high masculinity, dominance and power. While this whole matter has probably always been a part of human psychology, recent developments have made the issue slightly more public in the western world."

Note to Iran - normally when a group of women watch a guy drive by in a hot red sports car we shake our head and say, poor guy. He must have a really tiny penis.

Et tu, Mahmoud?

Tractor Terrorism in Jerusalem

In Jerusalem today a "Tractor Terrorist" hijacked one of the dozens of tractors used for the ongoing construction of the Light Rail and rampaged down Jaffa Street between the Central Bus Station and the Shuk, killing (as of this writing) 4, and wounding dozens more. A bus was overturned, several cars crushed, others lay smoking on their sides as over 50 ambulences rushed to the location, helicopters hovered overhead, swarms of journalists, photographers, and just regular Jerusalem folk like myself descended upon the scene.

In what has to be a kind of tragic karmic irony, The Jerusalem Post reports: An off-duty soldier took the gun from an elite policeman at the scene and shot the terrorist dead. The soldier, Moshe Klessner, 18, is the brother-in-law of IDF officer David Shapira, who killed the terrorist in the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva attack on March 6. ...Police added that the terrorist, Jabr Duwait, a 32-year-old father of two from Jebl Mukaber, was carrying an Israeli identity card. The Mercaz Harav attacker was from the very same east Jerusalem town.

How Our "Big Kahunas" Dress For Success

Yesterday at The Temple Institute's headquarters in the Old City of Jerusalem, history was made as the first set of "Bigdai Kahuna" (Priestly Garments) was unveiled to the public and press. Modeling the garments was
The Temple Institute's own haberdasher (מלביש) Aviad Jeruffi, pictured here measuring Rabbi Nachman Kahane, who was officially the first Cohen to be measured for his own custom-made set of Priestly Garments. Also pictured is Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, Chief Rabbi of The Temple Institute, measuring Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, Chief Rabbi of Ephrat and #2 Cohen to be measured for his own set "bigdai Kahuna." As Rabbi Kahane joked during the unveiling, "It IS a big day for the Cohanim" (play on words in Hebrew / English as "bigdai" ("bigdai Kahuna") means "clothing"). Rabbi Ariel measured Rabbi Riskin's head with the comment, "Azeh Rosh Gadol!" and everyone laughed in agreement, including Rabbi Riskin. Also present and pictured above was Rabbi Moshe Azman, Chief Rabbi of the Ukraine, whose presence represented the anonymous donor from Ukraine whose generosity helped finance the creation of the incredibly fine hand-made materials whose fabric makes up the beautiful garments, to be worn by all Cohenim (the Priests of the Jewish People) when the Holy Temple is rebuilt (may it be speedily and in our day). In the mean time, Cohens world-wide can order their very own hand-made customized Priestly Garments and keep them ready for the day - which G_d willing will be at hand soon - by contacting Yehuda Glick, Director of the Temple Institute in Jerusalem at (052) 476-7495 (from within Israel) or from the U.S. at 972+524767495.

As If We Didn't Already Know...

NASA confirmed the fact that water has been "found" on MARS, which furthers speculation that there may have been (may still be?) "life" there....as if we didn't already know that! Hello, Marvin! Anyone with a 3rd-grade education and a background in cartoon classics could have told you.

David vs. Goliath - The View from Tel Azekah

On a half-day field trip with
"Tanach
Tiyulim"
this morning, my cell phone rings and it's a friend from America on the line.
"Where are you?" he asked.
"I'm somewhere in Chapter 17 of 1st Samuel," I replied, "Where David beat Goliath, you know!" Geographically speaking, it's easier to describe my location in "Chapter and Verse" Bible-Speak than to say, I'm walking to the top of Tel Azekah, to view the Elah Valley, the battleground where Goliath, the champion of the Philistines, challenged the newly-united monarchy under the rule of King Saul to do battle. From the top of Tel Azekah, one can see from the hills of Jerusalem to the cities of the coastal plains, known now in the Silicon Age as they were known then in the Iron Age- Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, Ekron, and farther south, Gaza.
The Philistine army was aggressive and well-armed, the newly united tribes of Israelites (whom only a few "chapters" earlier, at the end of the Book of Judges, had been at war with each other) had only two suits of armour and an insecure monarch - but it had something else - David, the shepherd boy, seventh son of Jesse the Bethlehemite...a ruddy-faced poet, musician and keeper of flocks who couldn't have been more unimpressed with the Philistines "technology" and array of armaments.
"You come out against me with sword and spear and javelin," said David to Goliath, "But I come against you in the Name of the LORD of Hosts, the G_d of the ranks of Israel, whom you have defied!"
The rest, of course, isn't just history - it's legend, archetype, an eternal template of what faith and courage look like for the soul of the Jewish people ourselves.
Oh where is our David, son of Jesse? Where is David HaMelech, King David, when we need him today? Where is the one who will face our enemies and perceive not their strength, their numbers, their weapons of mass destruction or their infernal alliances - but will perceive only one thing - that they have defied the Living G_d, the LORD of Hosts, the G_d of Israel - and having done so, must and will be defeated?
Oh that the souls of our people would yearn for the Son of David today!

Smoke 'em if you've got 'em, boys!

Just saw the following news story on Arutz Sheva - I KNEW this was true all along!

Scientists: Ketoret Calms

(IsraelNN.com) Researchers at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem have discovered that the scent of the biblical Ketoret (Temple incense) may have powerful anti-stress and anti-depressant properties. Using mice, they discovered that a chemical compound in frankincense (an aromatic tree sap component of the ketoret) – inositol acetate – can act as a powerful agent against depression and anxiety.
The findings indicated a new biochemical pathway which may be used in treating anxiety and depressive disorders. The researchers stressed, however, that additional experimentation would be necessary before active drugs can be produced.
Frankincese is one of the major components in the biblical Ketoret, the incense offered in the Temple service.

Jerusalem Only

In front of the Post Office on Jaffa Road are two mail slots.
One says:
For Any Place
Except Jerusalem
The other one says:
Jerusalem Only
What else is there to say? It's perfectly obvious there are only two possible locations upon the inhabited earth: either Jerusalem, or anywhere else in the entire world.

Jerusalem Day 5768

So many things to do, so little time in 24 hours of "Jerusalem Day!" Although many tempting activities city-wide beckoned, nothing beats parading down Jaffa Road with hundreds of thousands of our closest friends, walking around the Old City singing "Am Yisrael Chai," entering through Damascus Gate and marching to the Kotel, where we met up with hundreds of thousands more of our Jewish (and Jewish-supportive "Christian Zionist" and "Noahide" friends) and we were ALL TOGETHER (albeit often in a stifling, too-close-for-comfort and somewhat oxygen-deprived way).
Walking - no, marching - into the Old City via Damascus Gate, past closed Arab-owned stalls and stores, young Arab men stood on balconies, rooftops and through windows looking at us - and by "us" I mean the huge crowd of flag-waving, kippah-wearing Jews singing songs about rebuilding the Beit HaMigdash (Holy Temple, whose site in currently occupied by their Dome of the Rock ).
Yes they were looking at us, and smoking, waiting and thinking. One lone late middle-aged Arab woman stood alone in a doorway and our eyes met. "Sorry for all the noise," my eyes said to hers, "But that's what you get when you live in the middle of the world's most contested piece of real estate."
"I hate you and all your kind, and we will eventually get you," her eyes replied.
"No you won't, and you'll only bring more misery on yourself and your people by trying. Can't we all just get along?" My eyes pleaded with hers.
"No," she narrowed and spat me a glance. "Never."
"Sorry to hear that. See you."
"Yes you will."
All this happened in a moment, in the blink of an eye - literally. Then, carried along by the immense jostling crowd, we moved on.

Yesha (Biblical Samaria & Judea) Update

The Quarterly Update of Mishmeret Yesha ("Guardians of Yesha")

MISHMERET YESHA

25 King George Blvd

Jerusalem 94261

Israel Tel: 02-625-1548

guards24@zahav.

IYAR 5768/May 2008 QUARTERLY UPDATE - LAG BA'OMER SPRING 2008

It is now 12:45 Thursday nite, Lag Ba'omer 5768. I returned a shortwhile ago from a long day in the Shomron. This day began with a phone update from Rabbi Hager-Lau who on Wednesday met with the IDFCommander of the Central Command, General Gadi Shamni, about the snowballing deteriorating security situation, specifically the opening of the major crossings along Route 60 throughout Yehuda. There is a déjà-vu Kissufim, Gush Katif-type situation, developing very quickly along the only road that travels North/South through Yehuda, joining Jerusalem with Bersheva. These four major crossings-Yatta, Sheiuch, Sair and Chalchul, hold the key to all major Jewish traffic in Yehuda.These junctions are about to become major nightmares for our people as the IDF continues full steam to disengage from the communities beyond the wall.

At the same time, the PA has been allowed to re-introducefully armed Arab soldiers into the B+ Villages of Tekua and Seir inEastern Gush Etzion. The Tekua T junction controls the traffic toeight communities in the Eastern Gush. I personally travel on thisroad several times a week and have seen the transfer of these forces twice in the last week.

Make no mistake about it, the deadly cancer of an Arab army is growing daily in the heart of our country. By ten o'clock we had a meeting in Barkan, Shomron, with the new Mayor of the Shomron region, Gershon Masika, and his new activist staff. By the way, did you know the Shomron municipality, the largest in the country, covers 11% of the land mass of today's Israel between the Mediteranean and the Jordan river? Definitely something to think about.

We visited a number of outposts that have been phoning over the last week asking for help to deal with the deteriorating security situation. They have been attacked in every way possible in the lastweeks, from vandalism and theft to outright assaults by gunfire all hours of the night. We finished the day at the outpost of Yad Yair in Western Binyamin. Does the outpost named Yad Yair ring a bell? Apparently Condoleeza Rice knows where this outpost is and felt it is important enough to have asked the government of Israel to remove it during her recent visit here.

Yad Yair was to become a small community that was established after the Oslo accords on a winding slope on the old Dolev-Bet-El road afterthe ambush/murder of Yair Mendelsohn, a father of three, while driving from Dolev to Bet-El on a Saturday night 17 years ago. After the murder, an initial attempt was made to settle the hill where the attack took place. To prevent any large civilian presence and yet provide basic security at a strategic point on an important road, theIDF set up a small base above the 12 ft stone erected on the spotwhere Yair Mendelsohn was murdered. Eventualy a small synagogue was built to serve the soldiers and the civilians who drove by and visited and prayed, perpetuating Yairs name. This place was named Yad Yair("yad" translates as a hand, but also, a goal).

As security deteriorated and the city of Ramallah enveloped this area,the IDF began restricting travel on this road, finally closing it down after Sept 2000. Sensing the eventual abandonment of this area threeyears ago, friends and family of Yair Mendelsohn purchased nine dunams of land around the monument at a cost of $580,000.00. Although theroad was closed, groups would come to study and and pray at differenttimes of the month.

During the last year as the army began reducing its presence, Yeshivat Yeshuat Mordechai from Nachliel traveled to Yad Yair, everyday, before dawn, to pray with a minyan watching the sun rise. They study there until noon, pray Mincha, and return to Nachliel for lunch. Four months ago the army, without notice, picked up and removed all IDF presence.What began as vandalism – spraypainting, gouging out the letters of the monument and damaging of water and powerlines, progressed to cannibalism – tearing out of the ground water, sewage and electric lines, which eventually led to arson and burning the synagogue to the ground. All that remained from Yad Yair was the 12 foot stone bearing his name.

Two months before Passover the Yad Yair memorial committee asked us to build a new synagouge out of plate steel; walls, roof, windows and doors, resembling a huge safe. This we did. Six days before the holiday of Passover in an operation that went on for 48 hours using a truck with a crane, generator, high powered lighting and several armedworkers, this 64 section synagogue was welded together under the nose of the Arabs of Beir-Zeit, Ramallah. Not realizing at first what was going on (all the workers wore IDF unifoms and had wooden M-16s) the Arabs over the first days of Passover finally woke up, organizing a massive demonstration from Beir-Zeit University on Chol Hamoed. The building of the synagogue and the violent Arab response served as a catalyst to finally wake up the Jews of Western Binyamin. Since that day, the Jews of that area, specifically Yeshivat Yeshuat Mordechai,have maintained a permanent presence around the clock, with classes, minyanim and families.

Today, Erev Lag Ba'omer, closes 30 days of permanent presence at Yad Yair. Every spot we visited requires different levels of assistance. All of them are in need of high powered communications systems like the type we are now putting in Yitzhar, covering the central commmunity and all their surrounding hilltops. They require state-of-the- art night vision goggles, and many other important items to help secure our land. This is the part we need to turn to you. We have just completed the revamping and equipping of the Rapid Response Teams of the communities of Kochav Hashacher –Binyamin, Beit Chagai-Har Chevron, Rotem-Jordan Valley, Ariel University-Shomron,Tekoah-Eastern Gush. We have also completed the equipping and began the training program of Rabbi Steinzaltz Yeshivat Hesder-Tekoah.

By the time I finished writing this update it was past two o'clock in the morning. Most of what I have written about and seen in the last few days is survival related to the very life of this country and cover more issues then most people deal with in a lifetime. When I stopped for a moment to feel the silence of the early morning and the beautiful cool air blowing in the wind of Gush Etzion, I heard in thedistance the singing and shouting of children in the dark. Having forgotten for a moment that it was Lag B'omer, I suddenly realized thesounds were children dancing and singing around bonfires on all thehills around the Gush. For a few seconds I reflected on how wonderful it is that kids of all ages can and do walk around all hours of the night (my own kids came home at four) without fear in their own country and celebrate Lag B'omer as we did in Bibical Israel. This is no small thing, where in the world today or at any time could Jewish children feel free to walk around at all hours of the night without fear? Once again, this was a powerful reminder of how important it is to put today's situation in perspective. Not in context of the last 60 years, but in the perspective of the last 3,500 years. Throughout history the Jews have been the scourge of wherever they have been and gouged out of every corner of the earth, wherever they were, theysimply were no more. So, yes, as it is written "there is reward foryour endeavor. " (Israel Danzinger)

Hadrian's Curse Exposed!

Tsafrir Ronen, a "secular" Israeli media personality from kibbutz Ein Charod, who served in the elite army unit, Sayeret Matkal, and was one of the founders of the Nahalal Forum has issued a clarion call to the entire world to wake up and smell the truth.
Ronen frames the invention of 'Palestine' as a psychological weapon to destroy Eretz Yisrael as "Hadrian's Curse."

What is Hadrian's Curse?

Almost 2,000 years ago, the Roman Emperor Hadrian cursed the Jewish People and decreed that Judea should be henceforth called “Palestine” after the Philistines, an ancient enemy of Israel that had disappeared from the world’s stage more than 600 years earlier. It was his final twist of the knife and legacy after wars, massacres, persecutions, and exiles that had largely extinguished the Jewish presence from Judea. Today, the modern enemies of a resurrected Jewish Nation have dusted off Hadrian’s curse and are attempting to pull off a monumental theft: the Arab world have reincarnated “Palestine” to steal Israel’s heritage and the Land of the Jewish People.

Tsafrir Ronen's 6-part feature about Hadrian's Curse is being published in the Jewish Press as "Hadrian's Curse: The Secret All Arabs Know."

To read Part 2, Click Here

Check back in the Jewish Press each week to continue reading!

Mazel Tov Mr. Fischmann!

Hans Fischmann - what a great guy. He's "the new me but better" at Charter Media, hired after I spent a few hours interviewing him to replace me and continue building the Advanced Media Department while I ran off to Israel to make Aliyah.
"Hire him now!" I sent a desperate email to my boss (cc-ing his boss), and thank G_d they did.
On the phone this evening, Hans informed me that he won Sales Manager of the Year award at CAB (the Cable Advertising Bureau's annual trade & award show). "So what's new with you?" he asked. "Oh, we just got out of Shabbas, it was the end of Sefer Vayikra, next we we start B'Midbar," I replied.
For those uninformed readers let me mention that Sale Manager of the Year is like the Oscar of the Television Ad Sales industry. I am very, very proud of Hans and he deserves this great honor.
From a Jerusalicious point of view, I'm eternally grateful NOT to be in the Galut, but to be in Eretz Yisrael, cleaning up after half a dozen plus Shabbat guests, listening to the Nachlaot dumpster cats howl...Baruch HaShem!

Why Electing Hillary Could Save The World

Al Jazeera (the English-language satellite news channel broadcasting world-wide) LOVES Barak Obama.
While that fact comes as no surprise (and should be kept in mind by American votes when they step inside the comfort and privacy of their polling booths), what is telling is that Al Jazeera can barely contain it's hatred of Hillary Clinton. That should give one pause before casting a vote. If the enemy of my enemy is my friend, than... who's your daddy, America?
My theory about the Arab world's unmasked hostility towards Mrs. Clinton is that the idea of a WOMAN...an irrational, possibly demon-possessed unclean thing such as a female - would be the most powerful leader in the Western World and have her hormonally unbalanced and yet perfectly manicured finger ("Fire engine red!") on the literal button - the one that can blow up the world, yes that button, profoundly disturbs them. Profoundly. Almost to the point of distraction.
The best thing America can do to win the War on Terror is to elect Hillary Rodham Clinton to the U.S. Presidency. The Saudis, the Iranians, Al Quida, Hamas and Hezbollah will be unnerved beyond their ability to conceal revulsion, confusion and the misogynistic chauvinism which permeates Islamic fundamentalist societies like the smell of rancid cooking oil on a hot day in Damascus. It is at that moment of exposure and vulnerability we may be able to strike the fatal blow against the terror and darkness they are determined to inflict upon the entire world - don't be mistaken dear readers, the ENTIRE WORLD, not just the Middle East, Far East, Africa and Europe - they're coming for you in Atlanta, St. Louis, Topeka and Carson City too.

The Presumptive Close

From my rear balcony in Nachlaot I watched the helicopters fly from the east across central Jerusalem to the Knesset. Following high in the sky, the security blimp (not pictured here for security reasons) which follows President Bush everywhere he goes.
On TV I watched President Bush address the Knesset, live on Israeli TV, International CNN, Fox News and Al Jazeera. His strong admonition to not allow Iran, "the principal sponsor of terrorism in the world," to develop nuclear weapons received a standing ovation. His easy use of Biblical quotes ("light unto the nations") and characters ("Abraham Issac and Jacob") combined with a stunningly spot-on ability to ignore the obvious (Prime Minister Olmert about to be indicted on fraud and bribery charges) made his delivery of the presumptive close all the smoother: the creation of a Palestinian State on Jewish land is a pre-supposed conclusion, a done deal - "would you like fries with that?" He never deviated for even a moment from the presumption that a two-state solution is the universal desire of all "Democratic" and "free" peoples.
Meanwhile the Attorney Generals office conducted more raids on Jerusalem's city hall to uncover documents relevant to the Olmert investigation. Al Jazeera criticized George Bush's speech as ignoring the "suffering of the Palestinian people" and accused him of picking on Iran unfairly.
In Ashkelon workers are still digging through the rubble of the mall which was hit by a Grad missile (or is that rocket? Rocket or missile?) yesterday. The family of a 70-year old woman killed by a Katusha rocket earlier this week are still sitting Shiva for her at their home on the kibbutz where she was blown to bits.
The presumptive close - is it a done deal? Are we sold just because we're told the sale has already been agreed on?

IDF Flyover - WOW!

Watching the awesome might of IDF air power strafing the skies of Jerusalem with tearful pride as a new Israeli , and as a Jew, with deep humility at HaShem's grace, kindness & mercy to us at this hour in our national history. Weapons of war we have a-plenty, brave soldiers and heroes abound, we are the best of the best surrounded by a sea of hostility so vast that only G-d's hand can prevail. G_d bless the IDF and G_d in the merit of every soldier & civilian lost and the millions of Amidah prayers recited daily throughout the centuries - "SIM SHALOM" - Establish peace upon us!

Tanach Tiyulim!

There is nothing as fun as taking a "Tanach Tiyule" in the Land of Israel!
Here I am standing on the site of Ein Dor, where King Saul came to ask the "Witch of Ein Dor" to call up the Prophet Samuel from the grave to tell him what to do about the war against the Philistines.
Note to Classic TV Enthusiasts: could the writers of the '60's sitcom "Bewitched" have been Tanach students? After all, Samantha's mother - the biggest witch of them all - was named "Endora."

Barbie May Yet Save Western Civilization!

In what may be the biggest clue yet as to the inherit weakness of world-wide Islamo-Fascism, the government of Iran has revealed that they are very, very afraid of BARBIE.

The Jerusalem Post reports:

A top Iranian judiciary official has warned against the "destructive" cultural and social consequences of importing Barbie dolls and other Western toys.
Prosecutor General Ghorban Ali Dori Najafabadi said in an official letter to Vice President Parviz Davoudi that the Western toys was a "danger" that needed to be stopped.
Iranian markets have been inundated with smuggled Western toys in recent years partly due to a dramatic rise in purchasing power as a result of huge increase in oil revenues.
In Monday's letter, Najafabadi called for a crackdown on the smuggling of these toys which threatened Iranian culture.

We should be AIRDROPPING BARBIES into Iran every day until the little girls rise up against their evil oppressors and demand freedom - "ACCESSORIES NOT INCLUDED!!!"

Gushalicious

In the shade of the old oak tree of Gush Etzion, on "Tanach Tiyuleem" from Hevron to Jerusalem, "In the Footsteps of the Olei Regalym" (Pilgrims). We explored parts of the Derech Avot (Highway of the Fathers)and Roman roads in the Gush, as well as the Tell of Hevron, where King David hung out when he "reigned in Hebron for seven years."
The Land of Israel is delicious. Our tour guide, Aryeh Routenberg (Kfar Etzion Field School) is considered by many as the pre-eminent
tour guide of tiyulei eretz yisrael. He rarely guides in English his tiyulim are truly works of art.

"A Crime by One Jew is a Crime by All Jews"

My grandfather David Lieberman (of blessed memory) wrote in a letter to me in 1972 the following: "If a newspaper tells of a rape, a murder, a theft, a hijacking or any act contrary to recognized good social behavior, I hold my breath till I can't find a name that sounds Jewish. A crime by one Jew is a crime by all Jews. That's the way it has been, that's the way it will always be." He wrote that to me in the context of how the Gentile world views us. It's as true today as it was when he wrote it in 1972. This accusation of Ben Ami Kadish (pictured here), a U.S. Jew who worked for the U.S. Army, spying for Israel only goes to the heart of the question - to whom do we (American Jews) owe our loyalty? As an American Jew who has made Aliyah and now lives in Israel, I advise any U.S. Jews who want to "help" Israel - move here. That's the only way you are going to help. Espionage, spying, treason and subterfuge in the name of "helping" Israel will only hurt us.
I have to agree with what my Grandfather wrote to me 35 years ago. A crime by one Jew is a crime by all Jews - in the eyes of the Gentile world. I cringe at what I know American Gentiles are saying today about this accusation. Remember the Rosenbergs.

Burning Our Chametz - Right Outside My Bedroom Window!

When Pesach falls on Saturday night as it does this year, there are some complications regarding the search for and burning of chametz (anything with leaven). This morning (Friday) we burned all the chametz we found in our search last night - and when I awoke to the smell of fire, I realized that YES INDEED, the main chametz-burning station in my Jerusalem neighborhood (Nachlaot) is RIGHT OUTSIDE MY BEDROOM WINDOW... a.k.a., "The Dumpster."

Everyone knows "The Dumpster." It is famous for being ground central for recycling stuff as well as the home of at least a hundred feral cats and the dumping area for almost everything (including trash). Well, now I know that it's also chametz burning headquarters in this part of town. These pictures were taken from my back balcony.

Controversy - whether or not to recite the bracha annulling all possession of chametz? At least seven Ashkenazi rabbis have walked by and admonished the crowds NOT to recite the bracha until tomorrow after Kiddush (before 11:30am) as we still "need" bread (pita or something with chametz in it) to make Motzi AFTER Shul but BEFORE the halachic hour when all chametz must be burned and annulled.

However the Timini (Yeminite) Orthodox are saying VERY long recitations of something from their Siddur which sounds fantastically Kabbalistic when they are burning their chametz. The Ashkenazi Haredeem are shaking their heads "no" but the Timini are doing it anyway. As far as the regular run-of-the-mill Sephardi, some of them seem to be reading something from their siddurs but not all of them. And the poor people like me who became observant as adults and were not raised FFB - "Frum From Birth" - are just trying to figure out WHAT TO DO WHEN.

Note to "Anonymous"

FYI - no one named "Anonymous" gets to have his / her comments published on my blog. If you have something to say, have the courage to use your name.
But I will respond to "Anonymous" 's accusation that I "hate Muslims." Far from it. I love them like I love everyone created in G_d's image. What I hate is radical fundamentalist Islamic Jihad-ism and what it has done / is doing / intends to do to our world. YOU should hate it too, unless you're someone with a death wish - in which case I recommend becoming a heroin addict which will get you there quicker and leave less of a mess behind.

Orthodox Jew Booted from Plane for Praying

This just in ... and it would have never happened if it had been a Moslem man saying his prayers at the rear of the plane!
FYI for uninformed readers...this Orthodox Jewish man was reciting the Shemona Esrei of Maariv, and it is forbidden to move from the place you begin the prayer until you finish the prayer, which is why he couldn't return to his seat until he finished his recitation.
Halacha (Jewish Law) states that Maariv can't be recited until 3 stars are visible in the night sky, which is why he couldn't have done it any earlier (like in the airport itself while waiting for the plane). Because the plane was flying WEST (towards San Francisco) he couldn't have done it while the plane was in-flight because it would be lighter not darker the more west-ward the plane went, and by the time it would be dark enough it would be too late to say the prayer.

Praying passenger removed from plane at NY airport
(c) Associated Press
A passenger who left his seat to pray in the back of a plane before it took off, ignoring flight attendants' orders to return, was removed by an airport security guard, a witness and the airline said.
The Orthodox Jewish man, who wore a full beard, a black hat and a long black coat, stood near the lavatories and began saying his prayers while the United Airlines jet was being boarded at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Wednesday night, said Ori Brafman, a fellow passenger who spoke about the incident by phone from San Francisco, where he lives.
When flight attendants urged the man, who was carrying a religious book, to take his seat, he ignored them, Brafman said. Two friends, who were seated, tried to tell the attendants that the man couldn't stop until after he'd finished his prayers in about 2 minutes, he said.
When the man finally stopped praying, he explained that he couldn't interrupt his religious ritual and wasn't trying to be rude. But the attendants summoned a guard to remove him, said Brafman, a writer who had been visiting New York to talk to publishers.
The plane, Flight 9 to San Francisco, took off without the man. It landed at its destination as scheduled, Brafman said.
Robin Urbanski, a spokeswoman for United Airlines, a subsidiary of UAL Corp. with headquarters in Chicago, confirmed the man was taken off the plane and put on another flight Thursday morning.
Urbanski said flights cannot depart if all passengers are not in their seats, which risks a delay, and it is important that passengers listen to the instructions of the flight crew.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs area airports, and the Transportation Security Administration, which handles airport security, said Thursday they weren't involved in the incident.

Tyuleem Season!

First

"Tyule"

("field trip") of the season today with my Ulpan class, we went to Cesarea and Zichron Yaakov on what has been so far the hottest day of the year. At Cesarea all the "grown ups" were doing grown-up things, but I (and the one lone child who accompanied his mother) ran to the ocean to stick our poor tired very overheated feet into the wonderfully refreshing Mediterranean Sea.

At Zichron Yaakov (the 3rd of the "Moshavot," the "Mothers" of the Moshaveem from the first and second Aliyahs) we visited the cemetery, where our pioneers lay quietly waiting for their souls to be restored to their bodies. As one of the early pioneer mothers said when the Turks and then the British tried to drive them out:

"We'll eat the stones if we have to, but we aren't leaving."

Amen, sister!

Giving Directions

Only in Jerusalem can a couple of Russian women stop me on the street and ask, "Efo ha ohel Christos?" ("Where is the tomb of Jesus?") and I can reply: "Which one?"
We then discuss if they are looking for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (located inside the Old City) OR the Protestant alternative, "Gordon's Calvary," located outside the Old City walls just northeast of Damascus Gate.
Once we determine which way they want to go (in this case, they wanted to go to where the Russian Orthodox Christians think Jesus is buried, i.e. the Church of the Holy Sepulchre) I gave them directions and they went on their way.
I love living here.

"Dudu Dag" - The BEST FISH in the Shuk!

Nestled in Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda Shuk is "David Dageem" (David's Fish), which I call "Dudu Dag" ("Dudu" is the nickname for David and "Dag" is "fish" in Hebrew).
Pictured here is Yoseph, all of 22 years old and the expert in all things fishy - the cooking and cleaning and preparation of, as well as history, origin, etc. Buying fish for Shabbat at Dudu Dag is a weekly ritual I've come to love - everybody gathers at the counter and Yoseph, Dudu and the restof the Dudu Dag Gang proudly display their latest catches - pictured here is a whole GROUPER, part of which I'm cooking for dinner tonight (soaking it first in lemon water, then adding a bit of oil, salt and pepper and grilling it before it goes onto the blech....) There are many purveyors of fish at the Shuk but only ONE Dudu Dag! Enter through the Agrippas side where "Etrog Man" (the juice guy) is, between the Open & Covered Shuk entrances, go straight down and you'll find Dudu Dag right there. Shabbat Shalom!

From Long Beach to JTown - Shul By The Shore Reunion

A small but important meeting of "Shul by the Shore" in Jerusalem took place at Cafe Rimmon when SBTS Alumni Caroline Schlagel and her Israeli boyfriend Radik came to town to visit. Pictured here is Caroline (a fellow Sagittarian world-traveler) with me at Cafe Rimmon. Rabbi Abba Perlemutter - where are you when we need you?

Visit www.shulbytheshore.org to find out more about the best place in California (and probably all of the U.S. as far as I'm concerned) to connect to your Yiddishkite - and the best "connector" ever, Rabbi Abba Perlemutter!