Your Israel Column

Netanyahu proves that he is not only the Prime Minister of Israel, but is also the Prime Minister of the Jewish People

2011-05-22T09:15:00.001-04:00

Prime Minister Netanyahu, speaking to President Obama and the press in the oval office, took charge against Obama’s assertions that Israel should acquiesce to among other things Palestinian demands for 1967 borders and said very plainly that it’s “not going to happen.”

Here are links to the video on YouTube, as well as a transcript of the exchange.

Israel on the verge of energy sector revolution

2011-03-11T12:02:00.001-05:00

New data suggests Israel may not only have much larger gas resources than believed, but also the 3rd largest deposit of oil shale in the world.

The Tamar field, which should begin production in 2013, is expected to supply all of Israel’s domestic requirements for at least 20 years. The Economist suggested in November 2010 that the recently discovered Leviathan field, which has twice the gas of Tamar, could be completely devoted to exports.

All the undersea gas fields together have about 25 trillion cubic feet of gas, but the potential for further discoveries is considerably greater, given that the US Geological Survey estimates that there are 122 trillion cubic feet of gas in the whole Levant Basin, most of which is within Israel’s jurisdiction.

After the Leviathan discovery these numbers could go up further. Perhaps for that reason, Greece has been talking to Israel about creating a transportation hub for distributing gas throughout Europe from the Eastern Mediterranean that will come from undersea pipelines.

What is less well-known, but even more dramatic, is the work being done on this country’s oil shale. The British-based World Energy Council reported in November 2010 that Israel had oil shale from which it is possible to extract the equivalent of 4 billion barrels of oil. Yet these numbers are currently undergoing a major revision internationally.

A new assessment was released late last year by Dr. Yuval Bartov, chief geologist for Israel Energy Initiatives, at the yearly symposium of the prestigious Colorado School of Mines. He presented data that our oil shale reserves are actually the equivalent of 250 billion barrels (that compares with 260 billion barrels in the proven reserves of Saudi Arabia).

See How Israel could revolutionize the global energy sector from the Jerusalem Post

Love Without Peace: Accepting Israel For What It Is

2011-02-19T11:43:00.001-05:00

The question for all concerned observers should now be whether or not American Jews are capable of resting their affections for Israel on the more solid footings of the 3,000-year connection of the Jewish people to their ancestral homeland and their natural right to modern self-determination within it. As supposedly informed observers like Remnick should be able to easily grant, even in the most ideal projections a lasting peace between Israel and the Arabs remains years in the distance. But no one ever claimed that national independence would be easy, or that a lack of peace should turn anyone away from his people’s homeland.

Love Without Peace: Accepting Israel For What It Is | The Jewish Week

Israeli economy booms in fourth quarter

2011-02-16T18:52:00.001-05:00

Israel's GDP rose at an unprecedented pace of 7.8%,on an annualized, seasonally adjusted basis, in the fourth quarter of 2010, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today. GDP rose by an annualized 5.4% in the second half of last year, after rising 5% in the first half, and 3.4% in the second half of 2009.

Israeli economy booms in fourth quarter - Globes

The hope of two thousand years – A speech for Yom HaAtzma’ut, Israel Independence Day

2011-02-09T22:28:00.001-05:00

The hope of two thousand years,

Lih'yot am chofshi be'artzeinu

Eretz tzion viyerushalayim

To be a free people in our land

The land of Zion and Jerusalem

Yom HaAtzma’ut is the day that we celebrate the reestablishment of the State of Israel, the day we became am chofshi be'artzeinu, a free people in our land.

Hatikvah ^[¹^] speaks of the two thousand year longing for freedom and return to the land, but it does not speak of peace. Maybe it’s implied, or maybe the writers were just being realistic. Looking at the long Jewish history it must have been clear that once you are living in your own land, whether you live as a free and democratic people is up to you. But living in peace often depends on others.

Our history over the last two millennia is largely one with neither freedom nor peace. It’s easy to summarize its repetitiveness. Limitations on the practice of Judaism, often done in hiding. Pogroms. Forced labor. Inquisition. Forced conversion. Repeated expulsions. Limitations on where we could live. Mass murders by governments and by our neighbors. Even during what is called the Golden Age of Islam, when Spain was ruled under Sharia law and Muslims, Christians and Jews are said to have lived in peace, we were third class citizens known as dhimmi. If we avoided the punishment of torture or death under rules that make Jim Crow look like the Bill of Rights, then there was peace. It was said that we ate the blood of Christian children. And In what I’m sure is one of history’s greatest ironies, we were accused as killers of Christ, when it was us who died century after century, by the thousands and by the millions, because of the sins of the world.

In 1948 the river of our history changed course. In a miracle we prevailed over the onslaught of our neighbors. We were free to govern ourselves as a sovereign nation. The timeless dream became reality. We were finally am chofshi b’artzenu, a free people in our land.

But we must remember that at that same time Jews were not free everywhere. There were still Jews living in displaced persons camps in Europe, unable to return home or recover their property, let alone their families. A million of us would be expelled from our homes in Muslim countries ^[²^], waiting in the night to be rescued in dramatic airlifts to Israel ^[³^{] [}⁴^]. Millions of other Jews became locked behind the Iron Curtain for decades more ^[⁵^]. In the US we were still restricted from places like universities and exclusive clubs. We can only speculate about how things would have continued for us around the world without the reestablishment of Israel. Who knows how the world would have dealt with its Jewish problem.

The more our enemies fought to get rid of Israel the more miracles occurred. In 1967 “next year” finally came. Colonel Motta Gur of the IDF said: “The Temple Mount is in our hands!” ^[⁶^] and Jews returned to Jerusalem, where we are still rebuilding from the destruction of Jewish sites by the Jordanian army ^[⁷^]. Each time Israel was attacked it was able to push the enemy armies farther and farther away. The West Bank, Golan, Sinai, southern Lebanon. It was through victory that Israel achieved a modicum of peace.

But the peace is cold. Egypt allows weapons to be smuggled into Gaza for use against Israeli civilians ^[⁸^]. Jordan revokes Jordanian citizenship from Palestinians to keep them pressed against Israel ^[⁹^]. Other countries fund terrorist armies bent on the killing of Jews and the destruction of Israel. Their reach has extended to attack Jews around the world as we’ve seen in South America and Europe and India. I think it’s fair to say that a good portion of the world, including the 57 nations that belong to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, still will not accept that the Jewish state is here to stay. They have changed the point of their spear, but land for peace is like the emperor with no clothes. The only thing concessions have done for Israel since the treaties with Egypt and Jordan is return enemy armies to its borders. The still freshly gained freedom of Israel and the freedom of Jews everywhere must not be dealt away for a false peace.

Israel has gone and continues to go to extraordinary lengths for peace. The question is not whether Israel wants peace. It’s so called partners refuse to return to the negotiating table.

The real question is this: do we believe things have changed so much that if we let them put the blade to our neck they won’t cut off our heads? If the world has changed, why is Israel the only nation that cannot have a seat on the UN security council ^[¹⁰^]? Why are dictators that deny freedom to billions allowed a seat at the table but not Israel? Why is Israel the focus of condemnation by the UN human rights council when there is so much oppression in so many countries? Why are there over one hundred UN resolutions that speak of Arab refugees but none that speak of the nearly one million Jewish refugees who were forced out of the Muslim countries where their communities lived for 2,000 years? Why must lands that Israel turns over to its enemies in the name of peace immediately become Judenrein, cleansed of Jews? Why have anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism become chic again? Why is Israel held to high standards when others are held to none? Why do President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton, who both once told voters they believed that Jerusalem must forever remain the undivided capital of Israel^[¹¹^{] [}¹²^{] [}¹³^{] [}¹⁴^{] [}¹⁵^]now say that Jews should not build homes in Jerusalem^[¹⁶^{] [}¹⁷^{] [}¹⁸^]? Why is Jerusalem the focus of their Middle East policy when there are real barriers to peace like rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and the funding of Hamas and Hizbullah? Why is Israel under increasing attack by our President, who now says that Israeli policies are responsible for the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan^[19] ? Why is Mahmoud Abbas referred to as a moderate without ever a reference to his PhD thesis in which he denies the holocaust ever happened, or to his follow-up book titled “The Other Side: The Secret Relationship Between Nazism and the Zionist Movement,”^[²⁰^] which purports to refute “the fantastic lie that six million Jews were killed” in the Holocaust. Abbas wrote that the German gas chambers were never used to kill Jews, but only to disinfect them. And to the extent that Jews did die in World War Two Abbas wrote that this was a joint effort between Jewish leaders and the Nazis. These were the result of three years of study for his PhD. Why is someone like that called “a man of peace”? Why is no other country treated like Israel? Why, why, why. The list is as endless as it is shameful.

I was going to read from parts from Israel’s Declaration of Independence tonight but I decided instead to read something else. These are the words of one of America’s founding fathers which speak so well for the state of affairs facing Israel today. He said:

“We have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned with contempt. If we wish to be free we must fight!

I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp of experience. What terms shall we find which have not already been exhausted? The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?”

He went on to say:

“Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!”

The words of Patrick Henry.

If we are serious about the Jewish people remaining free then it is the responsibility of each of us to protest the current state of affairs loudly and clearly. We must write and call our senators and representatives, our secretary of state and our president, and let them know that the singling out of Israel as the Jew among the nations is unacceptable. We must let them know that our support for them is conditional based on a change of treatment and policy toward Israel. Silence is acquiescence. If we do not speak up now we are enabling a potentially fatal assault on the security of the Jewish state. We are now bearing witness to the beginning of that assault. A generation from now Jews will be asking, “what did you do to protect Israel?” I pray we all have a good answer.

Coming just off of Passover and Yom HaShoah, we must also remember everything in between and everything since as if we ourselves went forth. Our present and our future are illuminated by the light of our past. We must never forget our history, we must never forget our connection to all other Jews, we must never forget our connection to the land of Israel. We must never forget to tell our children.

Because we are still finding our way out of mitzrayim. Because Amalek is still attacking. Because in every generation there really are those who rise up to destroy us. Because the security of Israel is the security the Jewish people the world over. Because the freedom of Israel is the freedom of our children and our grandchildren. Because the world shows us week after week that after 2 millennia and a Holocaust we must still wait for change we can believe in.

That is why I pray, that Israel and all Jews, will always love freedom more than peace, so that we will forever remain am chofshi b’artzenu, a free people in our land, and a free people everywhere.

Chag Sameach

Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA) launches initiative to inform Reform Jews about efforts to delegitimize Israel

2011-02-06T07:59:00.001-05:00

ARZA, the Union for Reform Judaism’s (URJ) Zionist arm, is launching an initiative to make members of Reform synagogues aware of the war without guns that is being waged against Israel, and the details of particular anti-Israel efforts.

It will begin distributing a series of articles to its congregations that describe efforts to delegitimize Israel including boycott, divestiture and sanctions (BDS) campaigns.

This follows on other recent ARZA and URJ statements supporting Israel. Just last week ARZA and the URJ called on its members to write to President Obama to urge him to put an end to a proposed UN resolution condemning Israel and its building on disputed territory.

In January URJ President Eric Yoffie and ARZA President Rabbi Robert Orkand, along with over five hundred “religious and communal leaders representative of the broad spectrum of the American faith community” signed their names to a letter to President Obama seeking clemency for Jonathan Pollard.

Two months ago ARZA issued a statement criticizing UNESCO’s declaration that Rachel’s Tomb is a mosque and a PA study denying the Jewish history of the Temple Mount.

Israel offers Gaza help with development of offshore natural gas and other economic projects, Blair praises “important breakthrough”

2011-02-06T07:43:00.001-05:00

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the offer along with other steps to help improve the overall economic well-being of the Palestinians.

Mr. Netanyahu also outlined new electricity, water-desalinization and sewage projects intended to make Gaza's 1.5 million people independent of Israeli utilities.

"Clearly there are many items to be worked out, but this is an important breakthrough for the Palestinian Authority, the people of Gaza and the broader region," said Tony Blair, the international peace envoy.

Read more at The Wall Street Journal and Reuters.

Read the full published statements by Netanyahu and Blair.

Opposition to Proposed UN Security Council Resolution Condemning Israeli Settlements Grows, Union for Reform Judaism and ARZA Issue Statement Urging Opposition to the Resolution

2011-01-29T08:26:00.001-05:00

Following on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s opposition to Palestinian efforts to have the UN Security Council condemn Israeli settlements, the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) and it’s Zionist arm the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA) have issued a statement opposing passage of the draft resolution, which was submitted by Lebanon.

The URJ and ARZA “support the official statement by the United States that the UN Security Council is not the proper forum for discussions of the peace process, and that the proposed resolution would not be a "productive step." The URJ and ARZA call upon the United States to stop this proposed resolution from being brought to the Security Council for a vote and, if this fails, to use veto power to prevent passage of this resolution.” The statement goes on to say:

“Our collective voice may be strong, but it is stronger when backed up with the voices of people in the pews! Send President Obama a message from the contact page on the White House website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact. Please make the following points:

Thank you for standing up for Israel

Please continue to prevent the proposed Lebanese Resolution condemning Israel from coming to the UN Security Council

If the resolution does get to the Council, please use our veto to prevent passage of the resolution”

In an editorial published on January 26th in the Wall Street Journal, Alan Dershowitz writes the following about the proposed resolution:

“There is a big difference between a government action being unwise, which the Israeli policy is, and being illegal, which it is not. Indeed, the very Security Council resolution on which proponents of the condemnation rely makes it clear that the legal status of Israel's continued occupation isn't settled.”

Dershowitz continued:

“The current draft of the proposed resolution condemns "all Israeli settlement activities." Read literally, this condemnation would extend to the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem, the Western Wall, and those areas that even the Palestinian Authority concedes must remain under Israeli control. Israel will not, and should not, return "all" such territories. The U.S. does not believe it should, nor do reasonable Palestinians.

So what then is the purpose of the utterly unrealistic resolution now under consideration? It simply gives cover to those Palestinians who do not want to sit down and negotiate directly with Israel. It is also a stalking horse for the Palestinian effort to secure a further U.N. resolution unilaterally declaring Palestinian statehood—a result that neither Israel nor the U.S. would recognize.”

Other groups calling for opposition to the proposed resolution include Stand With Us, which has published a sample letter for use in writing to President Obama and other elected officials.

Intel increases investment in Israel

2011-01-26T22:12:00.001-05:00

Intel has confirmed plans to invest $2.7 billion to upgrade its Kiryat Gat facility in southern Israel to produce new technology for semiconductors. The investment will boost the facility's workforce by approximately 1,000 jobs over the coming year. Intel currently employs over 7,000 people in Israel. Kiryat Gat is about a 20 minute drive from Sderot, Ashkelon and Ashdod. Click here for more details.

Israel in your next computer

2011-01-21T17:21:00.000-05:00

Intel released the next generation of its computer chips (Core i3/i5/i7) that will power new laptop and desktop computers. Much of the development took place at Intel’s facilities in Haifa in a project that at its peak included more than 1,000 software engineers. This is the second time that the capabilities of Intel's Israeli development center has been at the heart of a strategic development of such a scale. Click here to read more.

Sign up and speak out for Gilad Shalit

2011-01-20T17:20:00.000-05:00

Magen David Adom has launched a series of initiatives worldwide to gain Red Cross access to Gilad Shalit. It has set up an online petition to highlight his plight and demand the basic human right, as set out in the Geneva Convention, for Shalit to be visited immediately by the International Red Cross. Sign the petition and forward it to as many people as possible.

Rocket fire from Gaza on Israeli civilians continues

2011-01-19T17:19:00.000-05:00

By the second week of 2011 more than 20 rockets, missiles and mortar shells had been fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel's southern communities. During 2010, over 235 Grad missiles, Kassam rockets and mortar shells were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

Help Israel recover from its worst forest fire

2011-01-19T04:22:00.000-05:00

Always a time for planting in Israel, the Jewish New Year for the Trees, Tu B'Shvat, served as a symbolic start to bringing the devastated Carmel forest back to life after the early December fire that led to 44 deaths and destroyed about five million trees along with many plants and creatures. It will take massive manpower and money to restore the nature reserve, fix damaged buildings and infrastructure, and care for residents traumatized or left homeless by the worst forest fire in Israel's history. Israel needs your help with this effort. The JNF is collecting funds to help with the recovery.

UN Votes for Durban III

2011-01-17T17:09:00.001-05:00

In the ongoing campaign to delegitimize Israel the UN voted to authorize Durban III with a General Assembly session planned for September 2011 to commemorate the original Durban conference. The Israeli government issued an official response. The first conference in 2001 titled the “UN World Conference Against Racism” became a focus for hateful anti-Jewish rhetoric and anti-Israel political agendas, prompting both Israel and the United States to withdraw their delegations from the conference. Participants revived the charge that "Zionism is Racism" and copies of the anti-Semitic work The Protocols of the Elders of Zion were sold on conference grounds. Read more about the original conference here. Canada and Israel have announced that they will boycott Durban III. There were 22 other countries that voted against having the conference. Among the countries abstaining were Austria, Belgium, France, Greece, Hungary and Spain. To help understand the international campaign to delegitimize Israel read FAQ: The campaign to defame Israel.

Israel: Best Economy in the West

2010-12-31T10:25:00.001-05:00

Israel's Gross National Product grew by 4.5% in 2010, compared with only 2.7% in the other 33 countries of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). Israel became an OECD member this past September.

Israel’s unemployment rate, at 6.7%, is also lower than other OECD countries.

More details at Arutz Sheva.

Leviathan gas field is largest find in Israel’s history

2010-12-30T23:42:00.001-05:00

The natural gas reserves in the Leviathan field total 16 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, based on preliminary results of the production tests. The find could turn Israel into an exporter of natural gas and serve the country’s own needs for decades to come.

More about this important development at the Jerusalem Post, Globes and The Wall Street Journal.

The find, combined with an earlier discovery in the Tamar field, could impact Israel’s project to convert 100% to electric cars with Israeli company Better Place by providing the resources necessary to increase electricity generation without importing the fuel to do so.

ARZA Statement Criticizes UNESCO Declaration that Rachel’s Tomb is a Mosque and PA Study Denying Jewish History of the Temple Mount

2010-12-11T21:28:00.001-05:00

UNESCO has called Rachel’s tomb a mosque. The Palestinian Authority is denying that the Western Wall is part of our Temple Mount. ARZA has issued the following statement on these subjects:

"If there is ever to be true peace in the Middle East, the shrines of each of the three Abrahamic religions must be respected by the political bodies in the region and by the United Nations. Referring to Rachel's tomb as a "mosque" is both factually and historically inaccurate. Similarly statements by the Palestinian Authority that the Western Wall in Jerusalem is not the retaining wall of our Temple Mount ignores established historical fact. Both of these references are disrespectful of Judaism and of the generations of Jews who have consistently venerated these sites; one from the time of Genesis and the second from before the Christian era to the present. Accordingly, we call upon UNESCO, the Palestinian Authority and upon all people and all nations of good will to cease referring to Rachel's tomb as a mosque or the Western Wall as anything other than a treasure of the Jewish people.”

There is an excellent article in The New York Jewish Week titled "Rachel’s Tomb Is Now A Mosque — Who Cares?"

Stand for Freedom in Iran

2009-09-21T20:47:00.003-04:00

Join thousands of Americans who stand for human rights and freedom at the "Stand for Freedom in Iran Rally" as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses the UN General Assembly.

Thursday September 24th at Noon
Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, 47th Street and Second Avenue

Click here for more information.

Iran and nuclear weapons. Don't let it happen.

2009-09-21T20:43:00.002-04:00

Obama in Egypt meets Jew hater Egyptian archeologist Hawass who says that Judaism is a “false faith” calling it “the faith that they forged and contaminated with their poison, which is aimed against all of mankind.”

2009-06-05T00:41:00.002-04:00

How could they do it? Obama travels to Cairo, Egypt, for a world beating speech and his handlers set him up to meet with none other than Jew hating Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt. Hawass is a familiar face to millions who have seen him reveal secrets of the past on TV programs about Egyptian archeology. In February he revealed a secret about himself and his innermost beliefs. In an Egyptian TV interview Hawass said this about the Jews:

“For 18 centuries they were dispersed throughout the world. They went to America and took control of its economy. They have a plan. Although they are few in number, they control the entire world.”

The interviewer continued, asking Hawass how it is possible that Jews “have taken control of the entire world.” In response Hawass explained:

“The reason is that they are always united over a single view. They always move together, even if in the wrong direction. We, on the other hand, are divided. If even two Arab countries could be in agreement, our voice would be stronger. Look at the control they have over America and the media.”

You can read the transcript and watch the video of Hawass’ outrageous statements over at MEMRI. http://tinyurl.com/akugv7 and http://tinyurl.com/c8277p.

What else does Hawass have to say about Jews? In an article for the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, which is distributed around the world, Hawass wrote that:

"The concept of killing women, children and elderly people... seems to run in the blood of the Jews of Palestine. [In fact,] it seems to have become part of the false faith of this people, who is tormenting us in our [own] homeland.

When I speak of the Jewish faith, I do not mean their [original] faith, but the faith that they forged and contaminated with their poison, which is aimed against all of mankind... The only thing that the Jews have learned from history is methods of tyranny and torment - so much so that they have become artists in this field. They have done to the Palestinians what Pharaoh and Sargon [of Akkad] did to the Jews..."

So there we have it. Obama meets with a world famous Egyptian archeologist who also happens to be a hater. A hater of Jews, a hater of history and a hater of the truth. Oh, the irony. How could Obama meet with him? Didn’t he know? Didn’t his people check out the background on Hawass?

In the speech he delivered in Cairo, the President had this to say about Jews:

“Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust. Tomorrow, I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich. Six million Jews were killed -- more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. Denying that fact is baseless, it is ignorant, and it is hateful. Threatening Israel with destruction -- or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews -- is deeply wrong, and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve.

On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people -- Muslims and Christians -- have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than 60 years they've endured the pain of dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead. They endure the daily humiliations -- large and small -- that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: The situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. And America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.”

Wait. What? What do you mean “on the other hand?” There is no “on the other hand” about the Holocaust. The rights of the Palestinians is not “on the other hand” of the worst genocide in history. It is not “on the other hand” of the Final Solution, the plan to wipe the Jewish people off the face of the earth.

There is no moral equivalence to the Holocaust. There is no “on the other hand.”

And truth be told, while we’re speaking plain truth to the world, the plight of the Palestinians has more than anything else to do with the fact that they have been used as pawns by the Arab Muslim countries in the battle to wipe out Israel. The Arabs have refused for decades to allow the Palestinians to become citizens or work in their countries. They force them to stay in refugee camps. And let’s not forget the UN with its UNRWA, the only UN body ever devoted to maintaining one people as permanent refugees. When a million Jewish refugees were forced out of Arab lands not a finger was lifted to help by the UN. There was no special UN agency for them. About 600,000 of them settled in Israel with help only from other Jews.

The President is on the way to visit the remains of concentration camps in Germany. Perhaps we will hear more about “the other hand.”

The Writings of Michael Oren, New Israeli Ambassador to the US

2009-05-17T14:53:00.001-04:00

Michael Oren was born in 1955 in upstate New York and raised in New Jersey. He moved to Israel in 1979 and is currently a professor in the Jewish civilization program at Georgetown University. Oren is a well known author and his writing can tell us much about what to expect from this new Israeli ambassador, especially in the wake of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s meeting with President Obama. Oren is the author of the highly regarded books Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East and Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present as well as a number of articles about Israeli foreign policy.

One of Oren’s most recently published articles is “Seven Existential Threats” (http://tinyurl.com/ccwpsa), in which he writes about the unique condition of the State of Israel and the confluence of threats to its existence that it is forced to consider and confront on a daily basis. Oren leads the article with the threat of the loss of Jerusalem. This section is reminiscent of Natan Sharansky’s article published a couple of years ago in Haaretz titled “The Temple Mount is more important than peace” (http://tinyurl.com/chhja). Oren goes on to write about the threats of demographics, delegitimization, terrorism, a nuclear-armed Iran, the failure of Israel to exercise sovereignty over large sections of its territory and population, and corruption.

In another article, titled “Jews and the Challenge of Sovereignty” (http://tinyurl.com/qfubl9), Oren examines whether the phrase “Jewish state” is a contradiction of terms.

Other articles by Oren include “The Second War of Independence” (http://tinyurl.com/db9e3t), “Did Israel Win the Six Day War” (http://tinyurl.com/pc4tcm) and “Zohan and the Quest for Jewish Utopia” (http://tinyurl.com/qn6arc).

Israel… is a miracle. Yom Ha-atzmaut, Israel Independence Day 2009

2009-04-24T15:37:00.001-04:00

It is painful to remember all of this on such a happy and momentous occasion as this 60th anniversary of the founding of the modern State of Israel. But we are commanded to remember. It is part of our collective and individual history. In a world where the old blood libels are raised anew, in a world where children are taught that it is their duty to die killing Jews. In a world where Israel is treated like the Jew among the nations, we must remember, because Israel is still today the embodiment of our hopes and our dreams and our future.

What does Israel mean?

Israel means challenge. It challenges every single one of us to play a role in our history, to be active instead of passive. It challenges us to do something, anything, instead of nothing. It challenges us to defend ourselves and to save ourselves. It challenges us to stand up for our rights to live in a world that has time and again denied us the right to live. It challenges us to keep ourselves from falling into another 2,000 years of living at someone else’s pleasure. For every single one of us, it challenges us to survive, not just individually, but as a people.

Israel means courage. It gives us courage and it demands courage from each of us. Courage to travel to Israel. Courage to live in our place in history. Courage to speak out against a growing voice questioning Israel’s right to exist and questioning our rights to have a say in our government here in the United States. It means courage to be angry when Jews are the victims of suicide bombers and gunmen, or assaulted or killed on the streets of Europe. Courage to be angry when synagogues and cemeteries are attacked or defaced. Courage to speak out for the release of kidnapped Israeli soldiers. Courage to speak out against rocket attacks on homes and schools in Sderot. Courage to cry for the last words of Daniel Pearl. Courage to refuse to be a victim. And it demands the personal and individual courage to act.

Israel means being chosen. To quote from an article in the March issue of Commentary Magazine [1]: “What it is about this strange little people that continually finds itself at the center of international attention, repeatedly on the front lines against totalitarian forces of evil—Nazism, Soviet Communism, now jihadism—all of which have marked the Jews as their primary obstacle to achieving world domination.” But…here we are…living with the miracle of a resurrected and thriving Israel. “We live in an age when one might think that the chosenness of the Jews had become impossible to doubt.”

Israel means home. A refuge for the tired, the poor, the oppressed Jews of Europe, South America, the Arab world, Russia, Ethiopia, and yes it is even home to Americans who have chosen to make it home. It means home to Bedouins, Arabs, Muslims, Armenians, Christians, B’Hai and other minorities who have the right of citizenship, the right to vote for elected representation and the freedom to practice their religion. Israel means home to Holocaust survivors, who even after the war faced displacement, pogroms and death at the hands of their neighbors. Israel means home to people who could live elsewhere but who choose to live there. It means home for our people and it beckons us to come home.

And Israel means hope. Perhaps more than anything else…hope. Hope that our future is better than our past and our present. Hope that our people endure. Hope that each of us will see and act on our role in history. And it means hope that we will teach our children to do the same. With moral clarity and courage our actions will define the future. As Herzl said: If you will it, it is no dream.
May Adonai cause a new light to shine over Zion, and may we all soon be worthy of that light.

Am Yisrael Chai

1: Soloveichik, Meir. “Mysteries of the Menorah.” Commentary Magazine. March 2008: 37-42

Yom Ha'atzmaut - Israel Independence Day 2009

2009-04-24T15:23:00.001-04:00

For almost 2000 years the idea of the re-establishment of the Jewish State was only a dream. Efforts to re-establish Israel took hold with the First Zionist Congress, called by Theodore Herzl, on August 29, 1897 in Basle, Switzerland. Herzl wrote in his diary after the congress, “In Basle I founded the Jewish state . . . Maybe in five years, certainly in fifty, everyone will realize it.”

Fifty years and nine months later, on May 14, 1948, approximately six months after the UN General Assembly voted in favor of the plan for the partition of Palestine, just a few years after 6 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis and European Jewry looked down the shaft of extinction, and while Egyptian fighter-bombers flew overhead, David Ben Gurion proclaimed the independence of the State of Israel. One day later the armies of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon invaded the Jewish state. Thousands of Jewish soldiers died defending their reborn country. For a summary of the events leading up to and after independence, titled Israel's War of Independence, visit http://isracast.com/articles/548.aspx.

In reaction to the establishment of Israel over 1 million Jews in ten Arab countries and Iran, whose communities existed in the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf region for more than 2,500 years, were expelled from their homes. (The population of Jews in those areas today is estimated at 27,000.) Approximately 600,000 of these refugees sought refuge in Israel, including more than 100,000 Iraqi Jews who emigrated in 1951 in a dramatic airlift. The Jewish refugees were forced to abandon virtually all of their property, especially as they fled from the most hostile countries of Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Libya. (See http://tinyurl.com/2ukwe7 and www.justiceforjews.com/jjac.pdf.) They were gradually absorbed and integrated into Israeli society without any assistance from the United Nations.

Their story is told in a film titled The Forgotten Refugees. A few years ago the film was shown at the Jewish Film Festival, sponsored by the American Jewish Committee, at the Jacob Burns Film Center. It is currently available on DVD. After the film there was a discussion with two of these refugees. One gentleman told the story of his family, how they secretly traveled from Syria, hid in Lebanon, lived under threats against their lives and of their desperation to leave. He was unable to contain his emotions as he told how his family learned on Passover that they had received permission to enter Mexico, living their own personal Exodus. You can learn more about this film and the Forgotten Refugees at www.theforgottenrefugees.com.

There have been several hundred resolutions on the Middle East conflict adopted by U.N. General Assembly including over 120 resolutions referring to Palestinian refugees. During that same time, there were no U.N. resolutions, there was no U.N. recognition and there was no U.N. assistance for Jewish and other refugees from Arab countries and Iran. (See http://tinyurl.com/c6gt6d, http://tinyurl.com/2gpoz5, http://tinyurl.com/2ofl9v and http://tinyurl.com/2vz2b6.) Today efforts are underway to catalogue the loss of their communal and individual assets and document the mass human rights violations committed against them (www.wojac.com and www.justiceforjews.com).

In contrast to the experience of the Jewish refugees, refugee camps were established for the approximately 600,000 Palestinian Arabs who fled their homes during war for independence. The camps were set up and maintained, and are still maintained today, primarily by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which is dedicated solely to the welfare of the Palestinians. Not the Holocaust before nor subsequent genocides or ongoing world strife since have warranted the creation of another relief agency dedicated to the continuous maintenance of a single people as refugees. They are still denied citizenship and basic rights by their Arab hosts including the right to work and own property.

New York Times ♥ Zahi Hawass

2009-04-19T14:53:00.001-04:00

Leave it to The New York Times to come to the rescue of world famous Dr. Zahi Hawass, Egyptian archeologist and secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt, with a textbook whitewash defending his reputation. Hawass is a familiar face to millions who have seen him reveal secrets of the past on TV programs about Egyptian archeology aired on the Discovery Channel, the History Channel and PBS. Now he has revealed a secret about himself and his innermost beliefs. In an Egyptian TV interview Hawass said this about the Jews:

“For 18 centuries they were dispersed throughout the world. They went to America and took control of its economy. They have a plan. Although they are few in number, they control the entire world.”

The interviewer continued, asking Hawass how it is possible that Jews “have taken control of the entire world.” In response Hawass explained:

“The reason is that they are always united over a single view. They always move together, even if in the wrong direction. We, on the other hand, are divided. If even two Arab countries could be in agreement, our voice would be stronger. Look at the control they have over America and the media.”

What else does Hawass have to say about Jews? In an article for the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, which is distributed around the world, Hawass wrote that:

"The concept of killing women, children and elderly people... seems to run in the blood of the Jews of Palestine. [In fact,] it seems to have become part of the false faith of this people, who is tormenting us in our [own] homeland.”

"When I speak of the Jewish faith, I do not mean their [original] faith, but the faith that they forged and contaminated with their poison, which is aimed against all of mankind... The only thing that the Jews have learned from history is methods of tyranny and torment - so much so that they have become artists in this field. They have done to the Palestinians what Pharaoh and Sargon [of Akkad] did to the Jews..."

Hawass issued a “clarification” on his web site complaining that his statements are being widely “misrepresented.”

Where does the The New York Times enter the picture? On Saturday April 18th in a 1,251 word article titled “Egypt’s Tomb Raider – Off and (Mostly) On Camera,” author Michael Slackman, with contributing reporter Mona el-Naggar, wrote about Hawass’s “star” status as an all-round archeology superman. There is no reporting about Hawass’s statements or writings about Jews. But there is one indirect reference in this whitewashing, reputation defending, article published the world’s newspaper of record:

“…and he has been taken to task for his critical statements about Jews. He insists, though, that he is not anti-Semitic and that his remarks were aimed only at Israeli Jews and their treatment of the Palestinians.”

The reader is left to wonder about those “critical statements” without any hint of how vile they were. Indeed, how interesting the phrase “critical statements” is itself. What does it say about the writers, the editor and the publisher? Was Hawass only critical of Jews? Isn’t he really perpetuating the same old lies that have been used for centuries as the basis for hatred and murder of Jews? On the same page, one column to the left, is an article titled “Palestinians Urge Envoy to Press Israel on Statehood”. One is reminded of Laurel Leff’s Buried by the Times.

Here are links to the articles and videos cited above. Take a look for yourself.

MEMRI TV: “Renowned Egyptian Archeologist Zahi Hawass: Jews Control the Entire World”

Video (http://tinyurl.com/akugv7)
Transcript (http://tinyurl.com/c8277p)

MEMRI: “Antisemitic Statements and Cartoons in Wake of Gaza War” (search the page for Hawass or scroll down to the 12th paragraph) (http://tinyurl.com/d2jo4v)

The New York Times: “Egypt’s Tomb Raider – Off and (Mostly) On Camera” (http://tinyurl.com/cwx6et)

Yom Yerushalayim - Jerusalem Day: the anniversary of the liberation and reunification of Jerusalem

2009-04-12T10:30:00.000-04:00

At sundown on May 21st we celebrate Yom Yerushalayim, the anniversary of the liberation and reunification of Jerusalem in 1967. For the first time in thousands of years the entire city of Jerusalem, the holiest city in Judaism, came under Jewish sovereignty. The destruction of Jerusalem began thousands of years of mourning and longing for Jerusalem, as we were reminded just a few weeks ago when we concluded our Seders with the words “Next year in Jerusalem.” Living in a time of the reunification of Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state should be a joyous celebration countering thousands of years of destruction and exile. (http://tinyurl.com/2mowqa)

You can listen to the historic and dramatic sounds of Israeli Defense Forces entering the Old City of Jerusalem and reclaiming the Western Wall on June 7, 1967, including the sound of Army Chief Chaplain and Brigadier General Shlomo Goren sounding the shofar, soldiers saying prayers, including the shehechianu, singing HaTikvah and crying. A transcript is also available. Visit http://tinyurl.com/23a4ej.

Under Jordanian occupation between 1948 and 1967, Jews were refused entry to the Old City and Jewish monuments were systematically destroyed. In 1967, Egypt provoked another pan-Arab war against Israel (the Six-Day War) by ordering UN peacekeepers out of the Sinai Peninsula and blockading the Straits of Tiran. When Israeli soldiers recaptured Old Jerusalem a few days later, they discovered that the Jordanians had not only dynamited synagogues. They had used Jewish tombstones to pave roads and built latrines (http://tinyurl.com/3x6lqs).

Yet, soon after the victory of 1967, Israel unilaterally gave control of the Temple Mount to the Islamic Authority of Jerusalem — the Waqf. Jewish prayer is still forbidden on the Temple Mount and the battle in Israeli courts to allow Jews the freedom to pray on the Mount continues. In 1996 the Waqf changed the accepted status quo that was kept for generations. Without oversight of archeologists or assessment of damage to the Temple Mount and its history, the Waqf converted two ancient underground Second Temple Period structures into a new large mosque. The two structures, known as Solomon’s stables and the Eastern Hulda Gate passageway, were never mosques before. The new mosque extends over an area of 1.5 acres and is the largest mosque in Israel. It is able to accommodate 10,000 people. Thousands of square-meters of the ancient Temple Mount were dug up by tractors, paved and announced as open mosques. In November 1999, the Waqf opened what it called an “emergency exit.” The exit expanded into a gaping hole, 18,000 square feet in size, and up to 36 feet deep. Thousands of tons of the ancient fill from the site, subsequently found by Israeli archeologists to contain artifacts dating as early as the First Temple Period, were dumped into the Kidron Valley.

What has been found in the crushed rubble discarded by the Waqf? Arrowheads shot by Babylonian archers 2,500 years ago, coins from the Jewish revolt that preceded the destruction of the Second Temple by Roman legions in 70 CE, and a bulla, or seal impression that bears the name Gedalyahu Ben Immer Ha-Cohen, suggesting that the owner may have been a brother of Pashur Ben Immer, who is described in the Book of Jeremiah as a priest and temple official.

You can learn more about the archaeological destruction of the Temple Mount at www.har-habayt.org and about the Temple Mount Antiquities Salvage Operation at http://templemount.wordpress.com.

Vilified - new hard-hitting AJC video that highlights three malicious lies about Israel

2009-03-26T22:12:00.001-04:00

Via the AJC web site:

New York - March 24, 2009 - AJC's hard-hitting short film Vilified: Telling Lies About Israel has received more than 20,000 views since being uploaded onto YouTube just two weeks ago.

"Vilified shows how Israel has been subjected to more lies and libels than any other democracy," said David Harris, AJC Executive Director. "We produced the film in order to empower the many people who want to defend Israel from these libels with the means to do so. We're delighted that the audience for the film has been so large and we've had many messages of appreciation from inside and outside the Jewish community."

The video has been pulled from YouTube but can be watched below by clicking the control on the lower left corner of the video:

You can also see the film at the following link: http://wejew.com/media/3922/Villified_Telling_Lies_About_Israel_Expose_Shocker/

Israel cited as one of three “lands of opportunity”

2009-03-24T21:04:00.001-04:00

Via Globes Online at http://tinyurl.com/dkdsft.

Israel was cited as one of three "lands of opportunity", along with Denmark and Singapore, by the Economist magazine. The report notes that governments of all three countries enthusiastically endorse entrepreneurship, though, "the Danes and the Singaporeans regard it as their ticket to success in a global economy and the Israelis as a matter of survival". The magazine lists innovations developed in Israel, including the Pentium chip by Intel, voicemail developed by Comverse Technology, firewalls developed by Check Point Software, and the Pillcam developed by Given Imaging.

The report notes that Intel and Microsoft, among others, opened development centers in Israel, and that many Israelis study in the US and return to Israel to develop their careers and ideas. "Many Israeli entrepreneurs yo-yo between Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv; almost 70 Israeli companies are traded on NASDAQ.”

The complete report from the Economist can be read at http://tinyurl.com/atm597.

Join the Salute to Israel Parade in New York on May 31, 2009

2009-03-23T10:52:00.001-04:00

Be sure to organize your local and synagogue groups to march in the Salute to Israel Parade (http://salutetoisrael.com/parade/) on May 31, 2009. Or join in the fun with the many thousands of spectators along 5th Avenue. The Parade will take place from 11 AM to 5 PM, rain or shine, beginning at 57th Street and 5th Avenue continuing to 79th Street. This is the largest event in the world celebrating the anniversary of Israel's independence. This year’s parade celebrates the 61st anniversary of the independence of the modern State of Israel.

The parade will be joined by community leaders, American and Israeli dignitaries, celebrities, floats and marching bands.

What does Gilad Schalit have to do with you?

2009-03-16T19:31:00.001-04:00

Read it on The Jerusalem Post http://tinyurl.com/chgkav.

The following came in from the AZM http://tinyurl.com/djqub7.

Bring Gilad Home Now

This coming Shabbat, March 21, 2009, Gilad Shalit will mark his 1,000th day in captivity by HAMAS.

As Gilads parents, friends, and family are holding a vigil outside the Prime Ministers office, solidarity events and other events are also being held in cities across the national and the globe.

Join the efforts on behalf of Gilad. Here's what you can do:

RABBIS: Organize a vigil and read prayers for Gilad this coming shabbat and every shabbat until he is returned home.

LEADERS:
Encourage local, organizations and congregations to come together for a community vigil for Gilad.

Visit the AZM website for ideas and materials http://azm.org/vigil.shtml.

EVERYONE Join the more than 3,000 people attending the Facebook "Virtual Rally" for Gilad entitled: Free Gilad Shalit VIRTUAL RALLY; 1,000 Days of Captivity. Invite your friends and colleagues to join. http://tinyurl.com/c6nx5

Read the article: An Open Letter to Jews in the Diaspora, which appeared in the Jerusalem Post to understand why this is relevant to you.

Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israel Independence Day), Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers) and Yom HaShoah (Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust and the Heroism) 2009

2009-03-11T18:28:00.001-04:00

Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israel Independence Day, begins at sundown on April 28th. This is the 61st anniversary of the founding of the modern State of Israel. It is preceded by Yom Hazikaron, Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers, a reminder that Israel owes its independence and existence to the many soldiers who sacrificed their lives. Observance of Yom HaShoah (Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust and the Heroism) begins at sundown on April 20th, one week after the seventh day of Passover.

Fifty years and nine months later, on May 14, 1948, approximately six months after the UN General Assembly voted in favor of the plan for the partition of Palestine, just a few years after 6 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis and European Jewry looked down the shaft of extinction, and while Egyptian fighter-bombers flew overhead, David Ben Gurion proclaimed the independence of the State of Israel. One day later the armies of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon invaded the Jewish state. Thousands of Jewish soldiers died defending their reborn country. For a summary of the events leading up to and after independence, titled Israel's War of Independence, visit http://isracast.com/articles/548.aspx.

Their story is told in a film titled The Forgotten Refugees. A few years ago the film was shown at the Jewish Film Festival, sponsored by the American Jewish Committee, at the Jacob Burns Film Center. It is currently available on DVD. After the film there was a discussion with two of these refugees. One gentleman told the story of his family, how they secretly traveled from Syria, hid in Lebanon, lived under threats against their lives and of their desperation to leave. He was unable to contain his emotions as he told how his family learned on Passover that they had received permission to enter Mexico, living their own personal Exodus. You can learn more about this film and the Forgotten Refugees at www.theforgottenrefugees.com.

Grenade explodes at Jewish centre in Venezuela

2009-02-28T08:28:00.001-05:00

A grenade was thrown at a Jewish community centre in Venezuela's capital on Thursday, stoking fears of anti-Semitism less than a month after a synagogue was ransacked. http://tinyurl.com/bcjb85

Royal seal impressions from the First Temple period discovered south of Jerusalem

2009-02-23T18:19:00.001-05:00

Archaeologists have discovered many royal seal impressions that date to the reign of Hezekiah, King of Judah (end of the eighth century BCE) at an excavation in southern Jerusalem. Four “LMLK” type impressions were discovered on handles of large jars that were used to store wine and oil in royal administrative centers. These were found together with the seal impressions of two high ranking officials named Ahimelekh ben Amadyahu and Yehokhil ben Shahar, who served in the kingdom’s government. The Yehokhil seal was stamped on one of the LMLK impressions before the jar was fired in a kiln and this is a very rare instance in which two such impressions appear together on a single handle.

Another Hebrew inscription, 600 years later than the seal impressions of the Kingdom of Judah, was discovered on a fragment of a jar neck that dates to the Hasmonean period. An alphabetic sequence was engraved with a thin iron stylus below the vessel’s rim in Hebrew script that is characteristic of the beginning of the Hasmonean period (end of the second century BCE).

The pottery vessels that were recovered from the ruins of the building indicate it first dates to the end of the Iron Age (the First Temple period) in the eighth century BCE. Following its destruction, along with Jerusalem and all of Judah during the Babylonian conquest, Jews reoccupied it in the Hasmonean period (second century BCE) and it existed for another two hundred years until the destruction of the Second Temple. During the Byzantine period the place was reinhabited as part of the extensive rural settlement of monasteries and farmsteads in the region between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. (source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Also see this article from Haaretz. http://tinyurl.com/cnr63l and http://tinyurl.com/b8vu84

Anti-Semitism: Jews Under Attack

2009-02-07T07:58:00.001-05:00

Abraham H. Foxman, National Director, Anti-Defamation League delivered a speech entitled Anti-Semitism: Jews Under Attack. To quote Foxman "In all my years at the Anti-Defamation League -- monitoring exposing and combating anti-Semitism -- I have never been so worried about the safety and well-being of Diaspora Jewry as I am today." Read the speech here. http://tinyurl.com/bfpqdq The ADL is also making available Global Anti-Semitism: Selected Incidents Around the World in 2009. http://tinyurl.com/d5gxrn.

The Coordination Forum for Countering Antisemitism also monitors antisemitic activities throughout the world. It coordinates the struggle against this phenomenon with various government bodies and Jewish organizations around the world. It's report on Anti-Semitism in the wake of Operation Cast Lead can be read at www.antisemitism.org.il/eng.

Our own blog entry with links to articles reporting on attacks against Jews and synagogues around the world is available here.

Digg for Israel

2009-01-20T20:36:00.001-05:00

For the uninitiated, this has nothing to do with archaeology or a shovel. And it’s not a spelling error. So then, you ask, what does this mean?

Social news sites on the internet are the latest battle grounds for hearts and minds. They’re web sites where people share links to news articles and others find them. Users of social news sites often organize themselves into groups of like-minded individuals, who stay up-to-date on news and developments of interest to them by reading news that their “friends” submit to the site. In addition to becoming someone’s friend, users can also become a fan of other users and monitor the news they’re posting. News links are placed in loose categories and rise in prominence and attention when people vote for them. On one social news site those votes are called “diggs”, which harkens back to the good old days when friends would ask “can you dig it, man?” Users can also vote against a digg by clicking the “bury” icon, reducing the link’s ranking and even preventing it from showing up in topical listings. That particular site is called Digg, and it is one of the most popular and active social news sites on the internet.

In addition to digging articles, users can post comments and replies to the news links submitted by anyone else. Then the comments can be dug or buried, just like a news link.

Now you’re asking, how does this translate into a battle for hearts and minds?

Users can share links to almost anything and they can say almost anything they want in their comments. And this is exactly what they do. What this all adds up to are pro-Israel and anti-Israel diggs and comments. Some are blatantly anti-Semitic, some are plain lies, and others are inaccurate. Reminiscent of the four sons, the battle for hearts and minds lies among the uninformed readers, who may get a false understanding of the conflict from people with an anti-Israel and anti-Semitic agenda. The first line of battle, from afar, is the posting of links to news articles supporting a cause. The pitched battles take place on the comment-field, where writers contradict news articles and each other, often getting nasty and slinging mud. They also digg and bury each other’s links and comments.

This is where you come in. You can show your support for Israel and help shape public opinion by digging stories on Digg. Sign up for membership and search for links to articles containing the word Israel. If you agree with the article or feel that it supports or portrays the truth, click the digg button. If you feel the opposite you can click the bury button. The same goes for comments. Anti-Israel or anti-Semitic comments, or comments that are just plain lies, can be buried and hidden from future readers if enough people click the thumbs-down bury button. This is all very intuitive and once you get comfortable you’ll find yourself adding people to your friends list, digging news stories of your own and posting comments to other people’s posts. You can also find “friends” by looking at other people’s friend lists.

The result may just be that you’ve helped shaped someone’s view or understanding of Israel, or possibly changed someone’s mind. You’ll also feel the satisfaction of voicing your opinions to the world, fighting for the truth. Follow this link to Digg to get started.

Other sites such as reddit, deli.icio.us and StumbleUpon will also let you share your viewpoint and news to shape public opinion.

Digg

Del.icio.us

StumbleUpon

Start digging, and have fun!

Thank your members of Congress for supporting Israel's right to self-defense

2009-01-18T17:16:00.001-05:00

Thank your House member and your senators for voting in favor of resolutions that that back Israel's continuing search for peace and right to self-defense.

Record tourism to Israel in 2008, more than three million visitors

2009-01-18T16:26:00.001-05:00

2008 was all-time record year for tourism in Israel. More than three million visitors entered the country – 32 percent more than in 2007 and 13 percent more than the previous record year of 2000. http://tinyurl.com/7ypcrx

Tu B’Shevat is coming

2009-01-15T07:30:00.001-05:00

At times like this it is important to remind everyone that there’s more to Israel than fighting for self-defense and survival.

Tu B’Shevat, the “New Year of the Trees”, is celebrated on February 9th, the 15th of Sh'vat. After the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E. this holiday was a way for Jews to symbolically bind themselves to their homeland by eating fruits found in Israel. In the sixteenth and seventeenth century Kabbalists created a ritual for Tu B’Shevat similar to the Passover seder. The sweetness of the fruits alleviated the bitterness of life in exile and reminded Jewish people everywhere that the land of Israel awaited its children. The Jewish National Fund provides two Tu B’Shevat haggadot that you can download for free, as well as activities and other information, at http://tinyurl.com/8voc6f.

With the reestablishment of the State of Israel the holiday has found a new expression. It is no longer only the date when fruits of the Land of Israel are tasted. It embodies our dedication to the environment of Israel and has become a tree planting festival in which both Israelis and Jews around the world plant trees in Israel in honor or in memory of a loved one or friend. Read more from the Jewish Agency at http://tinyurl.com/6sdruo.

Anti-Semitic Attacks on Jews, Synagogues, Other Jewish Organizations, since Gaza operation Cast Lead

2009-01-12T03:24:00.001-05:00

Updated March 23rd, 2009

Op-Ed: Anti-Semitism: Combating a global pandemic, by Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League and author of “The Deadliest Lies: The Israel Lobby and the Myth of Jewish Control.” http://tinyurl.com/br9euy

Attacks against Jews and Jewish organizations around the world increased with the fighting in Gaza in December 2008 and have continued into 2009. Here is an updated list of anti-Semitic incidents:

Overseas

1	12/26/08	Yemen to build ghetto for Jews
2	12/30/08	Anti-Jewish vandalism in Paris is linked to Gaza.
3	12/31/08	London Jews under attack; Jewish man pulled from car and assaulted
4	01/01/09	Danish police have arrested a man for shooting two Israelis in a shopping mall
5	01/02/09	Hamas has threatened to attack Jewish targets around the world
6	01/03/09	Swastikas were found on Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial
7	01/04/09	The children of Yemeni Jews in Raida district of Amran province were assaulted by Yemeni Muslim students due to the Israeli attacks on Gaza
8	01/05/09	A major Ontario union proposes to ban Israeli academics at the province's universities
9	01/05/09	Fliers in Copenhagen call for the killing of Jews
10	01/06/09	Hamas leader says revenge for Israel's Gaza assault will be murder of Jewish children across the world
11	01/06/09	A Molotov cocktail was thrown at the liberal synagogue in Brussels amid a wave of anti-Semitic attacks against Jews across Belgium
12	01/06/09	Two cars with petrol bombs were launched in attacks on a synagogue in Paris
13	01/06/09	Anti-Semitic intimidation and violence surges in London and Manchester
14	01/06/09	Yemeni Jews demand to be relocated quickly following a recent increase in attacks and threats coming in the wake of Israel’s military action in the Gaza Strip
15	01/06/09	Unknown assailants set fire to the door of Brussels synagogue
16	1/06/09	Pro-Palestinian protesters shoved burning rags through the mailbox of a Jewish home in Antwerp
17	01/06/09	Anti-Jewish violence in Europe
18	01/07/09	Anti-Semitic graffiti in Hastings
19	01/07/09	Jews in Sweden under increasing threat
20	01/07/09	The hysteria that dare not speak its name
21	01/07/09	Edmonton synagogue windows smashed
22	1/07/09	Israeli basketball team forced to flee as Turkish crowd storms court
23	01/08/09	Anti-Semitic attack on teenage girl in Paris
24	01/08/09	Surabaya Activists Block Synagogue, Burn Israeli Flags
25	01/08/09	Vandals break windows at synagogue in Germany
26	01/08/09	Anti-Semitic incidents cross Australia
27	01/08/09	Italian trade union proposes to 'identify and boycott' Jewish-owned shops
28	01/09/09	Fears grow that hate-filled Islamic extremists are drawing up a “hit list” of Britain’s leading Jews
29	01/09/09	Spike in incidents against Jews in Canada, including harassment and death threats
30	01/09/09	“Kill a Jew” graffiti appear in Bosnia
31	1/10/09	Norwegian police used teargas and detained some 100 protesters Saturday after a protest against Israel's offensive in Gaza went out of control in Oslo
32	1/10/09	Anti-Israel protests turn violent across Europe
33	01/12/09	Nine firebombs thrown at synagogue in Paris suburb
34	01/12/09	Copenhagen police evacuated a city synagogue during a service over fears for the safety of the worshippers
35	1/13/09	Palestinian hits synagogue guard with iron bar in Berlin
36	1/13/09	Burial chapel of a Jewish cemetery in Sweden's third largest municipality was firebombed
37	1/13/09	London Starbucks is firebombed 'in protest against Israel'
38	1/13/09	Europe Reimports Jew Hatred
39	1/13/09	55 anti-Semitic attacks in France since Gaza
40	1/15/09	Arsonists have thrown petrol bombs at a Paris synagogue, the fourth such incident since Israel began its offensive in the Gaza Strip
41	1/16/09	Jew stabbed in Paris suburb
42	1/17/09	A synagogue in France's eastern region of Lorraine was the target of a Molotov cocktail attack
43	1/17/09	Explosive device found at Chabad in Florence, Italy
44	1/18/09	Swedish Cemetery Firebombed
45	1/19/09	Three Attacks on Synagogues in Netherlands
46	1/19/09	London man attacked ‘for Gaza’
47	1/19/09	Anti-Semitic Incidents in France
48	1/19/09	Security increased at Jewish buildings following attacks in Amsterdam
49	1/19/09	Maribor synagogue in Slovenia vandalized
50	1/19/09	Attacks on Jewish community in Netherlands
51	1/23/09	Wave of anti-Semitic incidents in Turkey
52	1/23/09	Romford, England, synagogue attacked by anti-Semitic vandals
53	1/25/09	Kosher warehouse in Paris hit in arson attack
54	1/29/09	Rise of anti-Semitic incidents in Latin America troubling
55	1/30/09	Anti-Semitic leaflets left at Ukraine synagogue
56	1/31/09	Synagogue in Caracas Venezuela attacked and vandalized
57	2/1/09	Shop owner in Reykjavik, Iceland posts sign stating “Jews not welcome here.” Also see this article on Iceland news site DV.is. According to this article on Wikipedia, the Jewish presence in Iceland is almost non-existent although the first lady of Iceland is an Israeli Bukharian Jew.
58	2/3/09	Explosive device found at Ukrainian synagogue
59	2/4/09	Austria: Innsbruck synagogue to receive more police protection after a wave of attacks by vandals
60	2/8/09	Spain: Ancient Barcelona synagogue, employee attacked
61	2/9/09	Anti-Semitism on the rise in Sweden
62	3/4/09	Vandals desecrate Transdniestr, Moldova, synagogue

Incidents in the US

1	12/29/08	In Chicago, a firebomb was thrown at one of the city’s oldest synagogues in an arson attempt
2	12/31/08	Protesters in Florida supporting Hamas hurled insults and hate speech
3	01/03/09	Two synagogues in Knoxville were struck by vandals
4	01/01/09	Jewish day schools in Chicago received a bomb threat
5	12/31/08	A San Francisco Holocaust Memorial was defaced with Anti-Semitic graffiti
6	12/30/08	Anti-Semitic signs were placed on a Dalton, TN, synagogue
7	12/31/08	Anti-Israel signs were placed at a synagogue in Irvine, CA
8	01/05/09	A preschool in Camarillo, California is hit by vandals with anti-Semitic messages for a second time in one week. This is the fourth time this year the school has been defaced with swastikas
9	01/06/09	At least six residents on the same street in Bethesda, Maryland have found anti-Semitic fliers in their driveways
10	01/06/09	Milwaukee protest includes anti-Semitic and anti-Israel expression
11	01/08/09	Anti-Semitic fliers distributed in Bethesda and parts of DC
12	01/10/09	Waiter serves fear at Jewish wedding in Woodbury
13	01/11/09	Four synagogues in Chicago, Lincolnwood, defaced by vandals
14	1/10/09	Gaza war protesters turn San Francisco into “Arab street,” label all Jews as terrorists, equate Israeli with Nazi Germany
15	1/16/09	Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue vandalized
16	1/23/09	Brockton shooter planned to end the shooting spree at a synagogue
17	1/26/09	Mobile, Alabama suspect who spray painted anti-Semitic graffiti on synagogue is believed to be a domestic terrorist
18	1/27/09	Historic Tulsa, OK, synagogue gutted, blaze under investigation
19	1/29/08	Anti-Semitic incidents in Madison, WI increased in 2008
20	1/30/09	Synagogue in Portland, Maine, vandalized with swastika
21	3/4/09	Rockford, Illinois, synagogue defaced (includes video)
22	3/17/09	Modesto Synagogue Defaced With Swastikas, Graffiti

Also see the CST (Community Security Trust) Antisemitic Incidents Report 2008 detailing incidents in Britain, and “The writing is on the synagogue wall - World depressions lead to a rise in anti-Semitism. All over Europe, the evidence is around us.”

What can you do? Be aware, maintain a heightened sense of awareness. The organization that coordinates security for North American Jewish institutions has advised Jewish organizations to reassess their security. And of course, advocate for Israel. Here are some ways you can support Israel:

Stay informed with the news from Israel:

Watch English TV news from Israel (may be preceded by a 30 second commercial in Hebrew). (http://tinyurl.com/6mxebp)
Listen anytime to the news in English from Israel Radio. (http://tinyurl.com/5z37ob)
Read the latest news headlines from the IBA, or listen to live IBA broadcasts in any of several languages. (http://tinyurl.com/8klucl)
Subscribe to the JCPA’s Daily Alert (http://www.dailyalert.org/)

Attend and promote pro-Israel rallies.

Urge your members of Congress to support Israel's right to self-defense

Support Israel’s right to exist (http://tinyurl.com/7ofjvg)

Advocate for Israel: A Guide (http://tinyurl.com/9snf23)

Israel Advocacy Resource Guide (http://tinyurl.com/9cmjsm)

Tools for Advocacy (http://tinyurl.com/89ljh6)

Resources from the American Jewish Committee
(http://tinyurl.com/2o6eza)

On One Foot (http://tinyurl.com/a68s8k)

GIYUS.org (http://tinyurl.com/esp9n)

10 Ways You Can Help Israel (http://tinyurl.com/9fc4dr)

StandWithUs (http://tinyurl.com/6kst6k)

Support Israel in Your Community – Attend a rally

2009-01-08T11:41:00.001-05:00

Israel solidarity rallies are scheduled for many areas around the country, including the following cities.

New York
Albany, NY
Northern New Jersey
Southern New Jersey
Bridgeport, CT
Boston, MA
Washington, DC
Harrisburg, PA
Philadelphia, PA
Pittsburgh, PA
Columbus, OH
Youngstown, OH
Miami, FL
South Palm Beach County, FL
Palm Beach, FL
Atlanta, GA
New Orleans
Austin, TX
Dallas, TX
Houston, TX
Chicago, IL
Detroit, MI
Minneapolis, MN
Nashville, TN
St. Louis, MO
Los Angeles
Peninsula, CA
Sacramento, CA
San Francisco, CA

Click here for more information about attending a rally, resources you can use to help support Israel, groups on the ground in southern Israel that need your support and online activities to show your support (http://tinyurl.com/7ckhae).

Rockets Fired from Lebanon into Israel's North

2009-01-08T10:09:00.001-05:00

At least three rockets were fired into the north of Israel from Lebanon on Thursday, wounding two Israelis near the town of Nahariya. The Israeli Army said it "responded with fire against the source of the rockets." (http://tinyurl.com/6tw5mz)

New York area Israel Solidarity Rally on Sunday, January 11th at 11:00 AM

2009-01-06T19:44:00.001-05:00

Numerous organizations will join with the JCRC of NY and the UJA-Federation of New York , in cooperation with the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, to sponsor a New York metropolitan area community-wide rally in support of Israel.

The rally will take place near the Israeli Consulate at 42nd Street and 2nd Avenue.

Download the flier by clicking here. (http://tinyurl.com/9fgqa4)

Friends of the Israel Defense Forces Launches Emergency Campaign to Raise Awareness and Funds for Wellbeing Needs of Israel's Soldiers

2009-01-06T16:35:00.001-05:00

FIDF Asks Jewish Community to Show Support and Love for Israel's Brave Soldiers

Following the recent developments in Israel and the on-going IDF "Cast Lead" Operation, Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) has launched an Emergency Campaign, titled "FIDF Frontline Operation," aimed at raising awareness and funds to fulfill the immediate wellbeing needs of the IDF Soldiers on the frontlines of the Gaza Strip.

In response to an emergency request from the IDF to supply more goods and wellbeing services to the thousands of active-duty and reserve soldiers deployed in the Gaza Strip area, FIDF is accelerating its activities to help soldiers in the field.

To learn how you can help click here (http://tinyurl.com/7j6aas).

2008 – The year in rockets

2009-01-05T15:05:00.001-05:00

Of the 3,278 rockets and mortar shells that landed in Israel in 2008, the ones that made headlines were hits on shopping malls, schools and homes. Eight people were killed and 947 people were wounded. Thousands of civilians suffered from anxiety, shock, and various traumas. Once the "RED ALERT—TZEVA ADOM" sirens sound, they have 15 seconds to get to a bomb shelter before impact. The continuing fire of rockets and mortar shells has a severe, cumulative psychological effect on the population, causing severe damage to its social structure and severe damage to its feeling of safety.

With Hamas rockets from Gaza striking as far as Ashdod (http://tinyurl.com/82px49), Ashkelon (http://tinyurl.com/85zvlt) and Beersheba (http://tinyurl.com/9epuhh) nearly one million Israelis live within range. The IDF Home Front Command issued new instructions to citizens (http://tinyurl.com/879dte) and released a video showing how to react or prepare for incoming rockets (http://tinyurl.com/7t4yhm). Citizens as far as Tel Aviv have been ordered to prepare their private shelters (http://tinyurl.com/9t73q6).

For a summary of rocket fire and mortar shelling on Israel in 2008 download a report from The Intelligence & Terrorism Information Center (http://tinyurl.com/9wob3y).

Israel issues new instructions to citizens to prepare for rocket attacks from Gaza

2009-01-02T09:30:00.001-05:00

With rockets from Gaza striking as far as Ashdod (http://tinyurl.com/82px49), Ashkelon (http://tinyurl.com/85zvlt) and Beersheba (http://tinyurl.com/9epuhh) , and nearly one million Israelis living within range, the IDF Home Front Command has issued new instructions (http://tinyurl.com/879dte) to citizens and released a video (http://tinyurl.com/7t4yhm) showing how to react or prepare for incoming rockets. Citizens as far as Tel Aviv have been ordered to prepare (http://tinyurl.com/9t73q6) their private shelters.

Temple Mount Sifting Project Uncovers Rare Coins in Discarded Rubble

2008-12-21T20:38:00.001-05:00

The two coins were rescued from rubble discarded by Islamic Wakf officials from their illegal excavations on the Temple Mount. The rubble is carefully sifted by two archeologists and a team of volunteers at a Jerusalem national park.

One coin, a silver half-shekel, was apparently minted on the Temple Mount itself by Temple authorities in the first year of the Great Revolt against the Romans in 66-67 CE, said Bar-Ilan University Professor Gabriel Barkay, who is leading the sifting operation.

One side of the coin, which was found by a 14-year-old volunteer, shows a branch with three pomegranates, and the inscription "Holy Jerusalem"; the other side bears a chalice from the First Temple and says "Half-Shekel."

The second coin was minted during the Jewish rebellion against the Greek ruler Antiochus Epiphanes IV of the Chanukah story.

More details in articles from the Jerusalem Post (http://tinyurl.com/4eur9b), Arutz Sheva (http://tinyurl.com/95hqdq) and the web site of The Temple Mount Antiquities Salvage Operation (http://tinyurl.com/a7g2ev). The salvage operation site also provides information about how you can support its efforts to recover antiquities from the Temple Mount.

Tourism to Israel continues at record pace

2008-12-18T10:03:00.001-05:00

Despite the economic downturn tourism to Israel continued in November at a record pace. 260,000 tourists visited Israel ,a 25% increase compared to November 2007. From January to November, 2.8 million tourists visited Israel, an increase of 35% over the same period last year, and 10% more than the corresponding period in 2000. Visit http://tinyurl.com/3rcqxr for the complete story.

Pace of Rocket Fire from Gaza Increases with new hit on Sderot

2008-12-17T14:17:00.001-05:00

Three people were wounded on the afternoon of December 17th when a Kassam rocket fired by Gaza terrorists landed next to a Sderot shopping area (http://tinyurl.com/4ghp6r). The ongoing rocket fire has been increasing (http://tinyurl.com/6bm4nl and http://tinyurl.com/6236hl).

You can learn more about what’s happening in Sderot and the people who live there at the Sderot Media Center (www.sderotmedia.com). You can help support the people of Sderot and its surrounding area by shopping at the online Sderot Mall (http://sderotmall.com/).

2008-12-07T20:48:00.001-05:00

The UN and Israel

The UN is at it again. This time (in late November) the President of the UN General Assembly denounced the policies of a certain Middle Eastern nation. He said, “the world must unite against them”, demanding an “end to this massive abuse of human rights” with a punishing “campaign of boycott, divestment, and sanctions.” Of which country was he speaking? The General Assembly president, who served as Nicaragua's foreign minister during the Sandinista regime in the 1980s, was not referring to any of the Middle East's Muslim autocracies and dictatorships, virtually all of which discriminate against ethnic and religious minorities. He was speaking of the Jewish state of Israel, the region's lone democracy, and the only one that guarantees the legal equality of all its citizens - one-fifth of whom are Muslim and Christian Arabs. Read the Boston Globe editorial titled “The UN's obsession with demonizing Israel” at http://tinyurl.com/5cx2c8. Also see http://tinyurl.com/5g79wz and http://tinyurl.com/5gk6au.

Rare Hebrew Seal from the First Temple Period Discovered in Western Wall Plaza Excavations

In the northwestern part of the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem, a rare and impressive Hebrew seal was discovered that dates to the latter part of the First Temple period. The seal was found in a building that is currently being uncovered, which dates to the seventh century BCE – to the time when the kings Manasseh and Josiah reigned. Visit the web site of the Israel Antiquities Authority at http://tinyurl.com/5nb4hr for the complete article.

Israel takes part in NATO intelligence discussions

Israel's military cooperation with NATO is deepening: Israel took part in the formation of two intelligence reports prepared by NATO on missile development and the nuclear arms race in the Middle East. It is also extending its ties with NATO in order to prevent the smuggling of weapons in the Middle East (http://tinyurl.com/6fg7nk).

US Court Verdict Against Terror

A federal appeals court upheld a $156 million judgment Wednesday against three U.S.-based Islamic groups accused of bankrolling terrorism in a landmark civil case (http://tinyurl.com/5v4wgv).

Rocket Fire from Gaza Continues

Qassam rockets and mortar shells continue to hit the south of Israel around Sderot, Ashkelon and other Israeli towns in the Negev (http://tinyurl.com/6bm4nl and http://tinyurl.com/6236hl).

What is a Reform Zionist?

Is it simply a Zionist who happens to be a Reform Jew but who otherwise is kind of like any other Zionist? Or is there something uniquely Reform about our Zionism? And while we're at it, what's a Zionist? This thoughtful article at http://tinyurl.com/6ppae7 from ARZA (the Association of Reform Zionists of America) discusses what makes a Reform Zionist unique, and contains an invitation to join the conversation about Reform Zionism going on at http://www.reformzionism.net.

Good news from Israel - June 2008 part two

2008-06-01T09:21:00.005-04:00

About a week ago I sent a group of fellow Israel supporters a few links to articles (see below) about really good news from Israel. My favorite represents a model for peaceful cooperation between nations and hope for the future.

One of the recipients wrote back to me. “Great news all right” he wrote. “But what about...,” and then he went on to list some of the challenges facing Israel that we read about almost every day, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, the “brain drain,” public opinion polls, Lebanon, Israel’s relations with Europe, uncertainty about American support under a new administration, “etc. etc.”

My response was this:

Yes, there are many problems and there is much uncertainty. I'm sure there always will be. It is only some short weeks ago that we read "in every generation..." As you point out, there is so much in the news that is negative, so much in the news that can damage our confidence, so much to bring us down. Yet there is (in my opinion) not nearly enough in the news that gives us hope, strengthens our confidence, lifts us up, highlights the good, focuses on achievements and accomplishments and mitzvot.

These articles are about just a few of the great things happening in Israel that we don't hear enough about. That the country is strong both militarily and economically. That the international business community has confidence doing business in Israel and sees value in doing so. That tourists, many of them undoubtedly Jews, have greater confidence in traveling to Israel as well as the desire to make the trip and strengthen their personal connection to Israel and Israelis. And that mutual respect, acceptance, friendship, peace and cooperation among nations can overcome almost anything, including making the desert bloom and at the same time provide food and livelihood for people.

These are the things that will overcome terror and impact domestic and international opinion. These are the things that we work for and defend. Israel is a miracle and we are so lucky to be witnessing it!

I hope you agree! Here are the links to the articles I referred to.

A million Israeli olive trees will make Indian desert bloom for farmers

Tourists Flock to Israel

Israeli Economy Weathers Global Storm

Microsoft opens new R&D facility in Israel

Check the May archives to read my first posting for June publications.

Israel… is a miracle.

2008-05-03T07:50:00.005-04:00

It is the embodiment of 2000 years of hopes and dreams. The hopes and dreams of your parents, your grandparents, your great grandparents and your ancestors before them. It embodies the dreams of generations who were repeatedly forced to move across kingdoms and continents, of generations who were persecuted and exterminated over blood libel after blood libel. They were accused of killing Christ. Accused of using the blood of children in the baking of Passover matzos. Accused of blocking the path of the “master race.” Accused as enemies of the state. From Rome to the inquisition to the concentration camps to the gulags to the Arab street. Accused, hated and executed for lie after bloody lie.

It is painful to remember all of this on such a happy and momentous occasion as this 60th anniversary of the founding of the modern State of Israel. But we are commanded to remember. It is part of our collective and individual history. In a world where the old blood libels are raised anew, in a world where children are taught that it is their duty to die killing Jews. In a world where Israel is treated like the Jew among the nations, we must remember, because Israel is still today the embodiment of our hopes and our dreams and our future.

What does Israel mean?

Israel means challenge. It challenges every single one of us to play a role in our history, to be active instead of passive. It challenges us to do something, anything, instead of nothing. It challenges us to defend ourselves and to save ourselves. It challenges us to stand up for our rights to live in a world that has time and again denied us the right to live. It challenges us to keep ourselves from falling into another 2,000 years of living at someone else’s pleasure. For every single one of us, it challenges us to survive, not just individually, but as a people.

Israel means courage. It gives us courage and it demands courage from each of us. Courage to travel to Israel. Courage to live in our place in history. Courage to speak out against a growing voice questioning Israel’s right to exist and questioning our rights to have a say in our government here in the United States. It means courage to be angry when Jews are the victims of suicide bombers and gunmen, or assaulted or killed on the streets of Europe. Courage to be angry when synagogues and cemeteries are attacked or defaced. Courage to speak out for the release of kidnapped Israeli soldiers. Courage to speak out against rocket attacks on homes and schools in Sderot. Courage to cry for the last words of Daniel Pearl. Courage to refuse to be a victim. And it demands the personal and individual courage to act.

Israel means being chosen. To quote from an article in the March issue of Commentary Magazine [1]: What it is about this strange little people that continually finds itself at the center of international attention, repeatedly on the front lines against totalitarian forces of evil—Nazism, Soviet Communism, now jihadism—all of which have marked the Jews as their primary obstacle to achieving world domination. But…here we are…living with the miracle of a resurrected and thriving Israel. We live in an age when one might think that the chosenness of the Jews had become impossible to doubt.

Israel means home. A refuge for the tired, the poor, the oppressed Jews of Europe, South America, the Arab world, Russia, Ethiopia, and yes it is even home to Americans who have chosen to make it home. It means home to Bedouins, Arabs, Muslims, Armenians, Christians, B’Hai and other minorities who have the right of citizenship, the right to vote for elected representation and the freedom to practice their religion. Israel means home to Holocaust survivors, who even after the war faced displacement, pogroms and death at the hands of their neighbors. Israel means home to people who could live elsewhere but who choose to live there. It means home for our people and it beckons us to come home.

And Israel means hope. Perhaps more than anything else…hope. Hope that our future is better than our past and our present. Hope that our people endure. Hope that each of us will see and act on our role in history. And it means hope that we will teach our children to do the same. With moral clarity and courage our actions will define the future. As Herzl said: If you will it, it is no dream.

May Adonai cause a new light to shine over Zion, and may we all soon be worthy of that light.

Am Yisrael Chai

1: Soloveichik, Meir. “Mysteries of the Menorah.” Commentary Magazine. March 2008: 37-42

June 2008

2008-05-02T17:43:00.003-04:00

Arab and Israeli journalists share panel

Arab and Israeli journalists shared a panel during the American Jewish Committee's 102 Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. Correspondents from the New York Times, Channel 2 TV News (Israel), Al-Hayat and LBC Satellite TV (Lebanon) discussed the challenges of covering the Middle East. The session was aired on C-Span and can be watched on the internet at http://tinyurl.com/3jrpkz.

Israel's dilemma over opening hospitals to Gazans

The BBC, often criticized for unbalanced anti-Israel reporting, ran a story about Israel’s care for Gazans in Israeli hospitals and the challenges this presents for Israel. In addition to the crossing being bombarded over 200 times by mortars, rockets and sniper fire since last June, Israel’s care has been exploited by suicide bombers. The complete article is available at http://tinyurl.com/6fmylf.

Yad Vashem Launches YouTube Channels, puts 130,000 photos online

Yad Vashem, the Holocaust remembrance and education center in Jerusalem, has launched two YouTube channels, in English and Arabic. The English channel contains testimonies from Holocaust survivors, including archival footage, historians’ lectures on key issues related to the Holocaust, footage from visits to Yad Vashem, and human interest stories, such as family reunions. The Arabic channel has testimonies and archival footage about the Holocaust, with Arabic subtitles. You can watch the videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/YadVashem. Yad Vashem has also added 130,000 images to its Online Photo Archive at www.yadvashem.org.

Israel at Sixty Exhibit - Fulfilling the Dream

The American Zionist Movement has a new photo exhibit available for rent and display at community centers and synagogues. This special exhibit contrasts early scenes of the State of Israel with modern scenes using a hologram form of photography. For more information about renting the exhibit visit http://azm.org/exhibit.shtml.

Israeli Foreign Minister Livni visits Qatar

In a speech at a conference in Qatar, Livni extended Israel’s hand in friendship. She said "We hope that other Arab states will follow the example of Qatar, as a means for promoting co-existence, understanding and peace in the entire region....To the Arab states of our region, some represented in this conference, we extend our hand in friendship." Her entire speech is available at http://tinyurl.com/6axa6x.

Yom Yerushalayim - June 2008

2008-05-02T17:32:00.008-04:00

June 2nd marks Yom Yerushalayim, the anniversary of the liberation and reunification of Jerusalem in 1967. It marks the first time in thousands of years that the entire city of Jerusalem, the holiest city in Judaism, was under Jewish sovereignty. The destruction of Jerusalem was a watershed event in Jewish history that began thousands of years of mourning for Jerusalem; so, it follows, that the reunification of Jerusalem should be a joyous celebration that begins the process of reversing thousands of years of destruction and exile. (http://tinyurl.com/2mowqa)

You can hear the historic and dramatic sounds of Israeli Defense Forces entering the Old City of Jerusalem and reclaiming the Western Wall on June 7, 1967, including the sound of Army Chief Chaplain and Brigadier General Shlomo Goren sounding the shofar, soldiers saying prayers, including the shehechianu, singing HaTikvah and crying. A transcript is also available. Visit http://tinyurl.com/23a4ej.

Between 1948 and 1967, the Jordanians who had captured old Jerusalem refused to allow Jews to enter, and systematically destroyed Jewish monuments. In 1967, Egypt provoked another pan-Arab war against Israel (the Six-Day War) by ordering U.N. peacekeepers out of the Sinai Peninsula and blockading the Straits of Tiran. When Israeli soldiers recaptured Old Jerusalem a few days later, they discovered that Jordanians had not only dynamited synagogues; they had torn up Jewish tombstones and paved roads and built latrines with them. (http://tinyurl.com/3x6lqs)

Yet, soon after the victory of 1967, Israel unilaterally awarded control of the Temple Mount to the Islamic Authority of Jerusalem — the Waqf. In 1996 the Waqf changed the accepted status quo that was kept for generations and converted two ancient underground Second Temple Period structures into a new large mosque. Both structures, known as Solomon’s stables and the Eastern Hulda Gate passageway, were never mosques before. The new mosque extends over an area of 1.5 acres, thus being the largest mosque in Israel, able to accommodate 10,000 people. In November 1999, the Waqf opened what it called an “emergency exit” to the new mosque. The exit expanded into a gaping hole, 18,000 square feet in size, and up to 36 feet deep. Thousands of tons of the ancient fills from the site, subsequently found by Israeli archeologists to contain artifacts dating as early as the First Temple Period, were dumped into the Kidron Valley. Since the creation of the gaping hole and up until now, without any archaeological supervision, thousands of square-meters of the ancient surface level of the Temple Mount are dug up by tractors, paved and announced as open mosques. You can learn more about the archaeological destruction of the Temple Mount at www.har-habayt.org.

Yom HaAtzma'ut - May 2008

2008-05-02T16:05:00.011-04:00

Israel Independence Day: On May 8th we celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israel Independence Day. This year is the 60^th anniversary of the founding of the modern State of Israel. It is preceded by Yom Hazikaron, Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers, a reminder that Israel owes its independence and existence to the many soldiers who sacrificed their lives. For nearly 2000 years the idea of the re-establishment of the Jewish State was barely a dream. Efforts to re-establish Israel took hold with the First Zionist Congress, called by Theodore Herzl, on August 29, 1897 in Basle, Switzerland. Herzl wrote in his diary after the congress, “In Basle I founded the Jewish state . . . Maybe in five years, certainly in fifty, everyone will realize it.”

Fifty years and 9 months later, on May 14, 1948, approximately six months after the UN General Assembly voted in favor of the plan for the partition of Palestine, just a few years after 6 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis and European Jewry looked down the shaft of extinction, and while Egyptian fighter-bombers flew overhead, David Ben Gurion proclaimed the independence of the State of Israel. One day later the armies of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon invaded the Jewish state. Thousands of Jewish soldiers died defending their reborn country. For a summary of the events leading up to and after independence, titled Israel's War of Independence, visit http://isracast.com/articles/548.aspx.

During the war approximately 600,000 Palestinian Arabs fled their homes. Only Jordan offered them citizenship. Refugee camps for the Palestinians were set up and maintained, and are still maintained today, primarily by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which is dedicated entirely to the welfare of this one group. Not the Holocaust before nor subsequent genocides or ongoing world strife since have warranted the creation of another relief agency dedicated to the continuous maintenance of a single people as refugees. They are still denied citizenship and basic rights by their hosts including the right to work.

In 1944 there were over 1 million Jews in ten Arab countries and Iran. Today there are approximately 27,000. In reaction to the establishment of Israel, these Jews whose communities existed in the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf region for more than 2,500 years were expelled from their homes by Arab countries. Approximately 600,000 of these refugees sought refuge in Israel, including more than 100,000 Iraqi Jews who emigrated in 1951 in a dramatic airlift. The Jewish refugees were forced to abandon virtually all of their property, especially as they fled from the most hostile countries of Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Libya. (See http://tinyurl.com/2ukwe7 and www.justiceforjews.com/jjac.pdf.) They were gradually absorbed and integrated into Israeli society without any assistance from the United Nations. Since 1947 the U.N. General Assembly has adopted over 680 resolutions on the Middle East conflict, including over 100 resolutions on Palestinian refugees. During that same time period, there were no U.N. resolutions, nor any recognition or assistance from the international community for Jewish and other refugees from Arab countries. (See http://tinyurl.com/2gpoz5, http://tinyurl.com/2ofl9v and http://tinyurl.com/2vz2b6.) Today efforts are underway to catalogue the loss of their communal and individual assets and document the mass human rights violations committed against them (www.wojac.com and www.justiceforjews.com).

The story of these people is told in a film titled The Forgotten Refugees. After the showing of the film at a Jewish film festival a few years ago, there was a discussion with two of these refugees. One gentleman told the story of his family, how they secretly traveled from Syria, hid in Lebanon, lived under threats against their lives and of their desperation to leave. He was unable to contain his emotions as he told how his family learned on Passover that they had received permission to enter Mexico, living their own personal Exodus. You can learn more about this film and the Forgotten Refugees at www.theforgottenrefugees.com. It is currently available on DVD.