Holy Exposures

It’s always gratifying and refreshing to hear Arab pundits and experts admit the cracks in their political foundation.

The whole world it seems would be a much better place if Israel and the Palestinians could just get along.  The western world, led by US President Obama, believes that the two-state solution would be the best way to solve this century-long conflict.  Israeli PM Netanyau will be cajoled, then pressured, then threatened to accept a solution that gives the Palestinians a USA embassy.

Now comes the rub…  Where will be the capital of this new Arab state?  Hamas and their terrorist allies will insist on Gaza City to be the seat of government.  Whereas, Abbas and his Fatah terrorists (don’t be deluded to think they are moderates) will stake claim to Ramallah as the new capital.

Political scientist Mkjaimar Abusada, a professor at Al-Azhar University in Gaza said, “It is hard enough to see how peace talks will succeed anyway.  Maybe we’re headed for a three-state-solution:  Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.”

This is getting harder to score than a credit rating for AIG. Do the Palestinians really want a state right now, or do they want to continue arguing with us. Let’s say we can come to an agreement… To whom do we give the keys?

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1086115.html

This headline would come as a shocker in any other country, in any other context, in any other time.
However, here in Israel in 2009, I was only surprised that the percentage was less than half.

The survey shows that Holocaust denial among Israeli Arabs has become more prevalent in recent years. In 2006, 28 percent of Israeli Arabs polled denied that the Holocaust occurred.

That didn’t surprise me either. Why do Arab children in Israel get such a different education than their Jewish counterparts?

Moreover, only 53.7 percent of the Israeli Arab public believe Israel has a right to exist just as an independent country, according to the poll, down from 81.1 percent in 2003.

Is there a solution to all this? Someone? Anyone?

This tattoo reads “If I had two souls, I’d give them both to you (Macabi Haifa – A football team).
I guess this was part of Herzl’s dream.

Source – Walla

I read an interesting interview yesterday with a Rabbi from a program that specializes in keeping religious soldiers on the path of learning Torah _after_ they leave the army. I can’t remember the Rabbi’s name, but this was the gist of his argument on why Hamas and Palestinians seem to be gaining so much of the world opinion against us. Here’s his point in a nutshell:
The Arabs, and particularly the Palestinians, have locked horns with Israel since 1948 using three distinct methods. The first phase was conventional war – army to army. That tactic failed them miserably. The second phase was terror. It’s nascent steps of hijackings and international staged terror events began in the late 60′s and continued through two intifadas in the 80s and 90s. This phase failed as well, since despite all the terrible pain inflicted on us, we are a stiff-necked nation (?? ??? ????).
We’ve been in the third phase in the past couple years as Arab nations build mock trials and judicial hearings and use the soft tongue of Arab diplomacy to assure the world that everything would be better if there just wasn’t Israel. Putting it bluntly, they couldn’t beat us by force, so they are trying to gain in the world forums by persuading world leaders, including newly elected Obama, and European Nations (with their own Islamic population problems) to join together against Israel.
–End of the Rabbi’s hypothesis–and on to my analysis:
The early indications show that Phase three is potentially the deadliest.
When Ahmadinejad in Iran threatens, we listen, and we respond. When President Obama tells us to lighten up and accept the Fatah as our partners, we say “well at least we’re better off than with Hamas. Remember the so-called ‘moderate’ Fatah. In 1995 we gave Fatah assault weapons (as part of the Nobel Prize winning Rabin and Peres’ Oslo Accords). In 1996, they turned their weapons on the Israeli checkposts.
It was the Fatah who butchered the two Israeli reservists who ended up unfortunately in Ramalah and were dragged to a Fatah controlled Police Station to meet their untimely demise. By the way, this was during our ‘period of peace’. It was the Fatah who danced on their rooftops for joy when the twin-towers fell to Osama Bin-Laden’s deadly attack.
Today’s headline: ?????: ???? ???? ???? ???????? ???? The Russian Foreign Minister met with Khaled Mashal (Hamas Terrorist #1) in Syria, and then told the world that Hamas is “ready to share it’s responsibility in Gaza” and that we (e.g. the western world) should be speaking with Hamas and not shunning them.
As much as we’d like to think that world opinion couldn’t possibly make a difference, it does. Have a look a this article from the well-respected political affairs magazine Commentary – Israel Today, Tomorrow the West. Very depressing stuff…
I suppose the question we need to ask ourselves is, are we ready to fight the third phase?

Does anyone really think that Adam Lambert wouldn’t have won American Idol had it been voted on by talent judges,  rather than as a popularity contest?

Well, here’s another reason to like Adam.  Aside from his incredible talent, he’s also a member of the Tribe (MOT – the Tribe of Jews that is…).

Here’s Adam singing a heart-warming rendition of Shir Lashalom (Song for Peace) in Hebrew. ??? ?????

Adam Lambert Singing Shir Lashalom

Here’s a beautiful duet with Nora Dori singing “The Prayer” – what a voice!

I am sure he will go on to tremendous success with his great talent.

Actual footage of the Israel Defense Forces entering and capturing the Temple Mount in the Six Day War.

??? ??????? ???

http://tinyurl.com/pkxoul

1967 Temple Mount Jerusalem Captured

I went to the local electronics store yesterday to pick up a new bread machine.  The owner keeps the store open in the late afternoon and early evening hours.  He learns Torah during the day and then opens the store to sell appliances to locals.

This is Ramat Bet Shemesh in 2009.  The owner of this shop is a young man, late 20′s at most.  He answers all questions and even offers extra information honestly, even when it leads you not to buy his merchandise.

So as I’m paying for the bread machine, (which he tried to talk me out of buying until we’d baked a loaf or two with a neighbor’s machine to make sure we were really going to use it), I asked him if the economy has affected his sales.  He asked me what I was refering to.  I told him about the economy and stock market in the USA and the world downturn, etc…  He had no idea what I was talking about.  No TV, no radio, no newspapers.  He doesn’t listen to or read the news.

However, he’s very knowledgeable about all his products.  He knows the appliances industry.  You want to buy a stove or a refrigerator? He’ll tell you what importer is unloading stock they couldn’t sell in France, and what products have the best repair record.  He doesn’t go by the adage that you must sit and learn Torah and do nothing else.   Part of his service to the community is to sell quality products at a fair price, and then back them with solid service should something go wrong.

He learns Torah by day and night, and sells appliances by afternoon so that he can continue learning Torah.

For a second, I thought he was kidding about not knowing the news. But then it became apparent that not only was he serious, but truly the happier one.  Quite refreshing.

A visit to Israel should include a stop at the Ramat Gan Safari & Zoo. Located just minutes from the airport, it’s a great place to spend a day. The kids will love seeing wild animals such as Hippos, Rhinos, Lions, and more in natural settings. They’ll also love seeing the 3 meter tall Ostriches that bend down to peek into your car to see if any snack food is available.
FYI – feeding the animals is a strict no-no and could be dangerous, even life-threatening to the animals. however, many of the visitors seem not to care. Hopefully, someday the park authorities will crack down on these miscreants.

Here’s the stately Baboon perched upon his stoop looking at all us silly humans:

Baboon at Ramat Gan Safari, Israel

I was in synagogue the other day and the chazan (the one who leads the prayer service) is going along at a fine pace. His diction was good. He sounded typical middle-of-the-road ‘pareve’ Israeli Ashkenaz Hebrew. Then, he gets to a bracha, and says Hashem’s name with a Eastern-European pronunciation “Adee-Noy”.

The second syllable was said like an “e” to rhyme with tree.

“Baruch atah Adee-Noy.” What the heck was that???

I can (sort of) understand the Polish Jews and Chasidim, who anyways have different pronunciations for everything. I’m not sure from where their masoret (tradition) comes, but at least they are consistent.

This guy, typical blue and white flag waving Israeli is perhaps trying to sound ‘stylish’? Where else could that e sound have come from? Saying G_d’s name is a very serious thing. As a matter of fact, so serious that it’s one of the Ten Commandments (Not saying God’s name in vain ?? ??? ?? ?? ?’ ????).

I know I’ve heard of a psak (Rabbinical ruling) that says this is not acceptable, and that you can’t even say Amen to a bracha that is uttered other than in the way the word is spelled. I just can’t find the source. If you know of the source of this ruling, please let me know ASAP so that I can bring it to the attention of this well-meaning soul.

The Stock Market, Economy, and the Jewish Blessing on the Sun.

The Jewish religion has a tradition that the sun rotates on a 28 year cycle that corresponds with the creation of the world. At the end of each 28 years, on the precise day, the sun returns to the position it first appeared at the beginning of creation 5769 years ago.

This 28 year cycle comes to completion on ?”? ????? ?’???”? which corresponds to April 8, 2009.

Here’s the Wikipedia article on this subject  Hebrew English

What does all this have to do with the world economy and stock market?

In the 20th Century, the Blessing on the Sun was made in 1925, 1953, and 1981. On January 2, 1929 the Dow Jones Index reached its peak of 307 before the crash.  It took all the way until 1953 to regain the peak after the depression of the 1930′s. The market returned to its pre-crash high in 1953 after the 28 year sun-cycle completed.   Is this the ultimate market cycle?

Is this a coincidence? What do you think?

My cousin was visiting in Sderot last week. He is a Rabbi and sofer (Biblical scribe), and often travels to places in Israel to check religious articles to see if they need to be repaired.

He shared with me this absurd and truly ‘unreal’, but very real story:

Last week, he visited a few houses in Sderot to check their mezuzot (Jewish families are required to place mezuzot on the doorways of their home). During one of his inspections, a nine year old girl from the home was following him and watching his work. Suddenly, the sirens went off. He froze. What to do? Where to go?

The 9 year girl very calmly said, “quick, follow me to the corner of the sealed room and bend down like this.” Fifteen seconds later he heard a big BOOM outside the house. The girl then said, “wait a little longer, there’s usually another boom or two.” Again, seconds later, BOOM, BOOM.

Shaken and disturbed, my cousin completed his tasks in Sderot and hurried home to Jerusalem. He then realized that the other family members were busy doing other tasks around the house and had deliberately sent their girl to watch over him in case of an attack.

This is Israel, a modern first (or second) world country, with a strong economy, lauded hi-tech sector, and yet our border towns have been afflicted with this absurd ritual for as long as Gaza has been in the hands of the terrorist Iran-backed Hamas.

Imagine that you are visiting your friends in Florida. Miami Beach is nice this time of year. During your visit, sirens start whaling and your friend’s 9 year old child (that’s a 3rd grader) tells you that you now have 15 seconds to run to the corner of the sealed room, where the missiles are less ‘likely’ to penetrate.

What if this scenario was played out in France? Would Sarcozy listen to the world opinion that the French government should show restraint and not fire back against the aggressors? Yes, Israel has the capabilities to fight back, and usually only after many blows does Israel finally takes steps to end the aggression against it.

The world media has always run roughshod over the tiny State of Israel. AP and Reuters have Arab journalists managing and writing stories on Israel. They often make feign attempts to show both sides of the story, but usually the venomous words are directed at the Jewish State. Other media organizations, such as the BBC and The Guardian make no attempts to hide their disdain for Israel. Such tendentious reporting helps to skew the already tainted view of Israel.

When you read Yahoo News about Israel (the world’s number 1 website destination), you are often reading AP’s Ibrahim Barzak, a Palestinian Arab, giving you so-called unbiased accounts of Israel’s fight for freedom against daily terrorist attacks.

The next time you read a story about Israel’s aggression and attacks on Gaza, remember the fifteen seconds you will have to follow your nine year old guide to safety.

Israeli animated feature film Waltz With Bashir won the prestigious American National Society of Film Critics honor for Best Film of 2008.

This is a great accomplishment for the Israeli movie industry and follows in the heels of Beaufort, the Israeli film that was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 2008 Academy Awards.  What’s more amazing is that the film won for Best Film, and not for Best Foreign Film.

Waltz with Bashir has received praise at several film festivals, including the prestigious Cannes Festival in 2008, where it was met with a standing ovation.

Waltz With Bashir (???? ?? ?????) directed by Ari Folman, is an animated documentary of the memories of the director was a 19 year old soldier during the 1982 Lebanon War and deals specifically with his memories of the Sabra and Shatila massacre. For all film lovers who are interested in this genre, this is a must see film.

Waltz With Bashir – Movie Trailer

Interview with Director Ari Folman

15 seconds is all that it takes for a rocket fired from the Hamas-controlled Gaza to land in the nearby Israeli town of Sderot. It will probably take you longer than that to read this blog post.

Imagine that you are in your living reading a book, watching TV or having a bite to eat, your kids are in the next room playing, and then you hear the sirens sounding that another mortar or rocket is heading your way. You now have 15 seconds, FIFTEEN SECONDS, to run as fast as you can to your shelter and hope that the rocket goes somewhere else.

Gaza Under Fire (AP)

This is the life that has been determined for the residents of Israeli towns near by Gaza the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist organization. Israel has suffered much damage, including loss of civilian lives, damage to buildings, destruction of local economies, and emotional scars to the local residents for eight years.

Israel’s decision to finally (hopefully) put an end to this suffering of its innocent civilians, and to rid the Palestinians of their Iran-backed terror state, was met with mixed responses by the world community. We didn’t expect praise from the Arabist U.N., nor from our ‘so-called’ friends in Europe, but let’s see how any country, democratic or otherwise, would respond to these similar circumstances.

The State of Israel is fighting the same war it has always fought, since it’s inception in 1948. This is a war of “kiyum”, being able to remain a sovereign nation. This is a war we must win.

Classic Photos of Israel Collection:

Back to Classic Photos Part 1

Many of our photos have won awards and/or have been published. You may also use them under the terms of Creative Commons License. Click on images to see larger resolution. Please rate the photos and add your comments below. Enjoy!

Independence Day Memories – Yom Haatzmaut Jerusalem Convoy Remnants

Olive Trees Near Beit Jimel Monastery

Boganvillas

Dawn of a New Day

If Trees Could Talk

Flora at Park Brittania

Open and Shut in Old City Jerusalem

Back to Photo Collection – Part 2

Yesterday was the 30th annual Bet Shean Half Marathon (21.1KM) which I ran and completed in 1:49.  It was my first time running in Bet Shean.  What a great event!

This race is considered a favorite among Israeli running clubs since the terrain is mostly flat and the organization is top-notch.  It is also considered a great warm-up to the Tiberias Marathon to be held in a few weeks from now (Jan 8).

The Author at the Beit Shean Half Marathon

Yesterday, Dec 11, 2008, over 1,200 runners participated on a windy day.  The course is generally fast, the organizers make every effort to get runners off on a good foot.  There were many registration tables, free coffee, crackers and fruit to make things go smoothly.

The only downside came after the race.  Runners were required to return their timing chips and then receive a free race shirt along with a bag of ‘goodies’.  The lines were incredibly long, and I waited over 20 minutes just to return the chip.  Failing to return the chip would cost I think a 200 NIS fine (~$50 USD).

Official photos from the event can be seen here.

Our club, The Beit Shemesh Running Club, sent a record 29 runners to the finish line.  Our fastest runner completed the race in 1:25.

The Author on the run

Happy running, and onwards to Tiberias and other great runs in Israel.