Sometimes
life throws you a curve ball and sometimes a laugh comes your way. I got an
application for the Jewish Conversion Group this week from a Jamal who writes
and put on pictures of Yeshu in Arabic. I figured ISIS might educate him a bit as
to attempts to convert people as for Conversion to Judaism there is not much I
can do for him or him for the group.
Parsha Mishpatim Part 1
Although the Torah hints about laws in Yisro that Moshe was
judging the people from the morning to the evening, we only begin to learn laws
and judgements in this Parsha. Similar to teaching the Talmud to our students
we start out in Seder Nezekim or the laws of damages. Today Shulchan Aruch
Choshen Mishpat says that we cannot really judge properly compensation. We also
don’t take the Torah literally but by Oral Torah. An eye for an eye, tooth for
a tooth or a burn for a burn is paid by compensation. The Torah later on at the
end of Sefer Vayikra gives the value for a man. However, our society does not
evaluate men like slaves anymore and the value of an expert in a field at 59
years and 364 days will not diminish at the age of 60 or possibly 70 or 80 and
even 91 year old Henry Kissinger attended a conference last week or Rabbi Shach
up to the age of 108 was asked questions. For five things we give compensation:
Pain, loss of employment, embarrassment, healing and various other losses from
the injury. How can we judge a College student who injures a Wall Street
executive he may never earn in his life the lack of employment he causes or if
he is looked over for a raise due to his down-time? Can our Rabbis judge pain
today or the type of health care? Also regarding embarrassment how to we judge
if a dress is ripped off of a Rebbitzen or Frum Jewess vs. a movie star who
shows off her flesh to millions. Finally the threshold of pain is different for
different people.
21:1 Now these are the ordinances which thou
shalt set before them.
And these are the ordinances: Wherever it says, “these” [in the
Torah,] it [(this word) is used to] separate from what has been stated
previously. [Where it says,] “And these,” [it means that] it is adding to what
has been previously stated (Tanchuma Mishpatim 3). [Thus] just as what has been
previously stated [namely the Ten Commandments,] were from Sinai, these too
were from Sinai. Now why was the section dealing with laws juxtaposed to the
section dealing with the altar? To tell you that you shall place the Sanhedrin
adjacent to the Beth Hamikdash (other editions: the altar). — [From Mechilta] That you shall set before them: The Holy
One, blessed is He, said to Moses: Do not think of saying, “I will teach them
the chapter or the law [both terms seemingly refer to the Oral Torah] two or
three times until they know it well, as it was taught, but I will not trouble
myself to enable them to understand the reasons for the matter and its
explanation.” Therefore, it is said: “you shall set before them,” like a table,
set [with food] and prepared to eat from, [placed] before someone. — [From
Mechilta, Eruvin 54b] Before
them: But not before gentiles. Even if you know that they [gentiles]
judge a certain law similarly to the laws of Israel, do not bring it to their
courts, for one who brings Jewish lawsuits before gentiles profanes the
[Divine] Name and honors the name of idols to praise them (other editions: to
give them importance), as it is said: “For not like our Rock [God] is their
rock, but [yet] our enemies judge [us]” (Deut. 32:31). When [we let] our
enemies judge [us], this is testimony to [our] esteem of their deity. — [From
Tanchuma 3]
2 If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years he
shall serve; and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
Why would a man become an Eved
(slave or servant)? There were two types. An Eved Evri (Hebrew) or an Eved
Canaani or non-Israeli slave. The first either sells himself to the rich man as
a servant who will get food and board and at the end of his servitude monetary
compensation to start his own life. The first can be freed to marry the man’s
daughter or redeemed by his family. The Eved Canaani can be freed by the master
and upon freedom become an ordinary ben Yisrael. Both can marry a slave woman
non-Jew but not a Jewish female servant girl who will either marry the master,
his son or go free upon maturity (maximum 12 years old unless puberty comes
early). The Torah does not view marrying a female sold by her father or an
orphan under the age of 12 as pedophilia as the western world views it. As a
person born in a western country and a grandfather I view this with different
eyes than the Torah views it. Throughout the east and in the times of Rome and
Greece such marriages were and in some places are acceptable. Considering the
promiscuity among teens in the west and high school pregnancy and abortions, I
wonder how civilized are the civilized countries? In Judaism we have the laws
of non-touching until marriage which works in a large number of cases in the
Orthodox World but not all cases.
3 If he come in by himself, he shall go out by
himself; if he be married, then his wife shall go out with him.
He had a Jewish wife which he
brought into the servitude with him.
4 If his master give him a wife, and she bear
him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he
shall go out by himself.
This is the Canaani slave girl and
she can be given to the next slave or whomever her master will think will be
good for her. The freed Jewish servant can purchase his wife and children from
the master and have a full Jewish family unit but he will not be considered
having children as they are Gerim. Rather he must now produce more children.
5 But if the servant shall plainly say: I love
my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free;
He loves his wife who is a
non-Jewish slave according to Rashi. However, I think we have to understand
that if he sold himself on his own free will then perhaps times are hard or
harder than when he sold himself. Example if he lost his job in 2008 with the
economic down turn and in 2014 we started Shmita but in his expertize there is
next to no employment, wouldn’t it be logical for him to continue on a steady
job with the rich man who pays for him, his wife and kids and is treated quite
well. However in the next Pasuk there is a catch.
6 then his master shall bring him unto God,
and shall bring him to the door, or unto the door-post; and his master shall
bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.
To the
judges: Heb. אֶל-הָאֱלֹהִים, to the court to
consult his sellers, for they sold him [the slave] to him [to his master]. —
[From Mechilta] To the door or to the doorpost: I might think that the doorpost
is [a] qualified [place] on which to bore [the servant’s ear]. Therefore,
Scripture says: “and you shall thrust it into his ear and into the door” (Deut.
15:17), [meaning] “into the door,” but not “into the doorpost.” What then does
or to the doorpost mean? [The text is] comparing the door to the doorpost. Just
as the doorpost is upright [i.e., attached to the house; otherwise it is not
called a doorpost], so is the door upright. [A detached door may not be used
for the ritual of ear boring.]-[From Mechilta, Kid. 22b] And his master shall
bore his ear: [I.e.,] the right [ear]. Or perhaps it means the left one?
Therefore, the Torah states אֹזֶן “ear,” here and אֹזֶן [elsewhere] for [the purpose of making] a גְזֵרָה שָׁוָה, [which means two places having similar
wording, which indicates that the rulings pertaining to one situation also
apply to the other]. It is stated here: “and his master shall bore his ear,”
and it is stated regarding the mezora [person with the disease of zara’ath]:
“the cartilage of the right ear of the one who is becoming pure” (Lev. 14:14).
Just as there the right [ear] is specified, here too the right [ear] is meant.
Now, why was the ear chosen to be bored out of all the organs of the body?
Rabban Jochanan ben Zakkai said: The ear that heard on Mount Sinai, “You shall
not steal” (Exod. 20:13) and [then] went and stole, shall be bored. And if [the
text is referring to] one who sold himself [into servitude, the reason is that]
the ear that heard, “For the children of Israel are slaves to Me” (Lev. 25:55)
and [then] went and acquired a master for himself, [this ear] shall be bored.
Rabbi Shimon used to interpret this verse [in a beautiful manner] like a bundle
of pearls [or a great amount of perfume in this way:]-why were the door and the
doorpost singled out from all the fixtures in the house? The Holy One, blessed
is He, said: The door and the doorpost were witnesses in Egypt when I passed
over the lintel and the two doorposts, and I said, “For the children of Israel
are slaves to Me; they are My slaves,” but [they are] not slaves to slaves, and
[yet] this one went and acquired for himself a master-[his ear] shall be bored
before them [for everyone to see]. — [From Kid. 22b] And he shall serve him
forever: Heb. לְעֹלָם, until the Jubilee
year [the fiftieth year of the cycle]. Or perhaps it means literally forever,
as its apparent meaning? Therefore, the Torah states [in reference to the
Jubilee year]: “and each man to his family you shall return” (Lev. 25:10). [This]
informs [us] that fifty years are called עֹלָם.
But [this does] not [mean] that he must serve him [his master] the entire fifty
years, but he must serve him until the Jubilee year, regardless of whether it
is near or far off. — [From Mechilta, Kid. 15a]
Rashi first deals with the slave
sold for thievery and then with the volunteer slave who should have accepted no
other master than I AM THE L-RD YOUR G-D WHO BROUGHT YOU OUT OF THE HOUSE OF
BONDAGE. But let us not judge a man for he might have been down to his last
garment and staving.
7 And if a man sell his daughter to be a
maid-servant, she shall not go out as the men-servants do.
Now
if a man sells his daughter as a maidservant: Scripture is referring [here] to
a minor girl. I might think that even if she develops signs [of initial
puberty, the father may sell her]. [But] you must agree that a kal vachomer
[the inference of a major rule from a minor rule] applies here namely if she
who is already sold goes free with signs [that is, when she has signs of
initial puberty], as it is written: “she shall go out for nothing, without
money” (Exod. 21:11), which we interpret as referring to the signs of initial
puberty, does it not make sense that she who is not sold [and has initial signs
of puberty] should not be sold [at all]? -[From Mechilta, Arachin 29a] [At the
moment when a female has two pubic hairs, usually when she is twelve years old,
she is no longer considered a minor. She is then called נַעִרָה.
She is, however, still under her father’s jurisdiction until six months later,
when her breasts have developed to a certain stage. Then she is called בּוֹגֶרֶת, a mature girl. In the case of a Hebrew
maidservant, the father may sell her only when she is a minor, not after she
has become a "NA'ARAH". She shall not go free as the slaves go free:
[I.e.,]-like the emancipation of Canaanite slaves, who go free because of [the
loss of] a tooth or an eye. [See below, verses 26, 27.] This one [a Hebrew
maidservant], however, will not go free because of [the loss of] a tooth or an
eye, but she will work for [her complete] six years or until the Jubilee year
or until she develops signs [of initial puberty]. Whichever comes first will be
the first [event] to effect her emancipation, and [her master] will reimburse her
for the value of her eye or the value of her tooth. Or perhaps this is not so
[i.e., the intention of the verse], but “she shall not go free as the [male]
slaves go free” [meaning] after six years or in the Jubilee year? Therefore,
the Torah states: “Should your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, be sold
to you…” (Deut. 15:12). This compares the Hebrew woman to the Hebrew man in
regard to all the ways he can be emancipated: just as a Hebrew man goes free
following six years [of service] or in the Jubilee year, so too does a Hebrew
woman go free following six years [of service] or in the Jubilee year. What
then is the meaning of “she shall not go free as the slaves go free” ? [This
means] she shall not go free with [the loss of] the tips of her limbs, as do
the Canaanite slaves. I might think [then] that [only a Hebrew maidservant does
not go free due to the loss of the tips of her limbs, but] a Hebrew man does go
free with [the loss of] the tips of his limbs. [Therefore, the Torah] compares
the Hebrew man to the Hebrew woman: just as the Hebrew woman does not go free
with [the loss of] the tips of her limbs, neither does the Hebrew man go free
with [the loss of] the tips of his limbs. — [From Mechilta]
8 If she please not her master, who hath
espoused her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed; to sell her unto a
foreign people he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with
her.
Marriage was contracted in those
days even at any age but usually people waited to puberty. The poor man sells
his daughter to a rich man to live in his house, learn manners and culture and
perhaps elevate herself to a rich man’s wife. This was a status if one saw
“Fiddler on the Roof”, the poor fellow dreams that his wife would become a
“rich man’s wife with a proper double chin”.
9 And if he espouse her unto his son, he shall
deal with her after the manner of daughters. 10 If he take him another wife,
her food, her raiment, and her conjugal rights, shall he not diminish.
One thing is
being rich enough to take a second or third wife but the Halacha guarantees the
rights of the first wife. Nowadays, the Halacha is clear: Eben HaEzer Siman Aleph
Se’if 9: According to the
Torah, a man can take more than one wife, if he can support them. However, the
Rabbis advised a limit the number of wives so that he can meet his marital
obligations to each one (There is a custom that may not marry another wife
without the permission of his current wife). If it is the custom to only have
one wife in the place where he lives, he is forbidden to marry another woman. Of
course there are exceptions if the wife is disabled gone stark raving mad or
refuses to give a GET then the Rabbis can give a Heckshir to remarry.
11 And if he do not these three unto her, then
shall she go out for nothing, without money.
One does not acquire a female
Jewish Servant but to have her as a Shidduch for himself or his son upon
reaching puberty. If he finds that she has a bad personality or lack of
intelligence or lazy that is not worthy of being a wife, he sets her free and
back to her parents. Now you might ask who her parents are. They are most
likely a poor, Cohain, Levy or Talmud Chacham who does not have much money and
they are looking out for their daughter to marry into high society. Although
usually a Talmud Chacham will marry within the family of a Talmud Chacham,
still the rich man or his son might be very learned or have great Midos (for
example Chessed, Tzeduka, Gevurah, etc.)
12 He that smites a man, so that he dies,
shall surely be put to death.
This is capital murder of the
first degree but two witnesses and a warning had to be there and issued.
13 And if a man lie not in wait, but God cause
it to come to hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he may flee.
This is the case of an axe flying
off the handle or the man himself dropping something from a ladder or falling
down on the other accidently causing a manslaughter.
14 And if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbor,
to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from Mine altar, that he may die.
But
if… plots deliberately: Why was this said? Because it said: “One who strikes [a
man so that he dies shall surely be put to death]” (verse 12), I [may]
understand [this to apply to] a physician [who killed a patient], the agent of
the court who killed by [administering] forty lashes, the father who strikes
his son, the teacher who disciplines his pupil, and the unintentional [killer].
Therefore, the Torah states: “But if [a man] plots deliberately,” but not the
unintentional [killer]; “to slay him with cunning,” but not the agent of the
court, the physician, or the one who disciplines his son or his pupil, for
although they are intentional [in striking], they do not act with cunning.
-[From Mechilta] [even] from My altar: if he were a Kohen and wanted to perform
the [sacrificial] service, you shall take him to die. [From Mechilta, Yoma 85a]
15 And he that smites his father, or his
mother, shall be surely put to death.
He is a danger to society and
there were no special mental institutions at the time so he had to be put to
death.
16 And he that steals a man, and sells him, or
if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
Today he can steal some poor man,
tomorrow somebody else until he endangers you. This blight on Judaism must be
weeded out and stopped in its tracks.
17 And he that curses his father or his
mother, shall surely be put to death.
He knows that he wants to smite
them but wants to live so he starts cursing with G-D’s name example Yud should
strike you dead. Such a person is a blight on society, law and order and has to
be killed. Today he would be institutionalized next to the man who had proofs
that he was the Moshiach, G-D a reincarnation of Mohammed etc.
18 And if men contend, and one smite the other
with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keep his bed; 19 if he rise
again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit;
only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be
thoroughly healed.
He shall make restitution for
pain, loss, embarrassment, etc.
To be continued in Part 2
On Monday I wrote
the following Status which is a spiritual guide too: Good Morning up in the
north it might be raining but here not a cloud in the sky today. On one hand my
water bill wants rain on the other I like the sunshine and warmer day. That is
the conflict that we all have nothing is smooth except for the wicked in this
world for one who has a place in the world to come must over-come obstacles. That
is our job in this world to earn a place in the next for there is no free ride
through life we must meet certain criteria to improve our souls.
Why the Reed Cutter
Didn't Die Talmud, Shabbat 156b translated by Esther Rabi
Shmuel and Avlet, a Persian
astrologer, were sitting together watching people go to the pond to cut reeds.
Avlet said to Shmuel, “That man over there is
going to go to the pond, but he won’t come back. A snake is going to bite him
and he’ll die.”
Shmuel said, “If he’s Jewish, he’ll come
back.” Sure enough, as they were sitting, the man came back.
Avlet stood up and took the man’s bundle of
reeds off his back. Inside, among the reeds, was a snake that had been cut in
two.
Shmuel asked the man, “You must have done
something good to be saved from death like that. What was it?”
The man answered, “Every day, all of us put
all our food together and then share it. Today, one man had nothing to share
and he was embarrassed, so I told everyone, ‘Today I’m going to collect the
food.’ When I got to him, I pretended to take something from him so that he
wouldn’t be embarrassed.”
Shmuel said to him, “That was very charitable
of you.” and then explained the phrase “Charity saves one from death” (Proverbs 10:2) to mean not just that it saves from an unnatural death, but
that it saves one from death itself.
The Praying Thief as told to me 46
or 47 years ago by Mr. Geller
As I started to become religious, I started attending the closest
Synagogue. It was the Sunnyside Jewish Center. Most of my friends had been Bar
Mitzvah there. My mother did not like it because they prayed in Hebrew with
English Translations (Also the Orthodox Schuls do this in the States). She
wanted me to travel a long distance to a Reform Temple (also Hindus have
Temples) with organ music, mixed seating and a choir in English.
Becoming a believer in G-D vs. the atheistic ‘Rabbis’ of the Free
Synagogue of Flushing or the trip to Steven Wise was too ridiculous for me. One
of the congregants in the Jewish Center was Mr. Geller. He had been a member of
the Shomer (Watchman) Organization. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashomer Mr. Geller told me the following
story which is appropriate for this section of the Torah last week “You shall
not steal” and this week “If a thief comes”.
There was this one Arab Gangster Abu-? I shall call him Abu Ganav.
He roamed the areas of northern Israel from the Galil to the Emek and stole
Jewish property. He prayed that he would not be caught. The British Police
could never find him. Mr. Geller was sent to round him up by the Shomer. Mr.
Geller put on his Tephillin and Tallis said his prayers and added an extra
Tehillim or two that he would catch Abu Ganav. He succeeded and when Abu Ganav
was caught he said “How could this be? I always prayed that I would succeed and
get away. How could you catch me red handed?” Mr. Geller replied: “I simply
prayed that I would be able to capture you!”
From Gail Yad LeAchim 6 Weddings and a Bris
The Yad L'Achim anti-assimilation organization announced that
six invitations to Jewish weddings have been received at its offices over the
past few weeks – & all from women whom the organization helped rescue from
Arab villages.
In addition, a seventh woman announced that
her son – born to an Arab father – will be circumcised in accordance with
Jewish tradition – & Yad L'Achim was able to help there as well.
The organization offers help to women who
have become entangled in relationships with Arab men. The general pattern is
that the man is kind & caring at first, & becomes hostile & violent
after marriage – & the woman often finds herself unable to leave the Arab
village to which she had been taken. If she is determined & lucky enough to
make contact with Yad L'Achim, the organization often helps, via covert &
dangerous means that it does not like to publicize, to extricate her – &
her children. The organization then goes further & helps her find her way
again in Israeli-Jewish society.
Yad L'Achim's most recent success occurred
just a few days ago, when a 25-year-old woman clandestinely rescued from an
Arab village celebrated the ritual circumcision of her new-born son. However,
her joy was marred by the absence of her family, which had cut off contact with
her when she began her relationship with an Arab. The Yad L'Achim social worker
responsible for her case took the initiative, & called the family
herself. She explained the situation, including their daughter's
suffering, regrets, rescue, longings for her family, & birth – & was
successful: The family showed up in full, & the baby's grandfather filled
the honored role of Sandak (holding the baby during the brit). Not an eye was
left dry.
In the weeks prior to that, six different women
sent invitations to their upcoming weddings to the Yad L'Achim offices. The
weddings took place, or will take place, all over Israel, from Haifa in the
north to Ashdod in the southwest. The excitement among the organization's
workers was palpable - & especially among the social workers who accompany
"their" women & help them & their children readjust after
their traumatic experiences. In some cases, the social worker was the one to
"walk down the aisle" with the bride.
Hundreds of cases of women who seek
"escape" from abusive relationships with non-Jews are reported each
year to Yad L'Achim. In most cases, a Muslim man (Arab or Bedouin) is
involved, but there are also instances of such relationships with foreign
workers or others.
From
Dennis why Hitler wished he could have had Jihadists with him. http://www.wsj.com/articles/book-review-ataturk-in-the-nazi-imagination-by-stefan-ihrig-and-islam-and-nazi-germanys-war-by-david-motadel-1421441724
This week the worst sand storm in Israel in 5 years brought
pollution to 20 to 40 times the normal level and in Arad to 60 times with its
large Asthmatic Community it must have been horrible. Magen David Adom treated
more breathing problems than it normally does. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4625804,00.html
Rabbi
The White House has repeatedly sought to undermine
and embarrass Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before his scheduled
address to Congress on March 3rd. Democrats and the Obama administration have
tried shaming Netanyahu into canceling his visit - citing everything from it
being too close to the elections in Israel to the invitation not following
diplomatic protocol.
All of this is just a distraction from the
only thing that matters - a nuclear Iran. And before Obama makes a bad deal
with the mullahs in Tehran, Bibi wants to make his case to the American public
and the world one final time. The United States - as Israel's strongest ally -
and our elected officials in Washington should welcome the opportunity to hear
from Netanyahu.
Sign our “Stand with Bibi” petition
to show your support for the Prime Minister and Israel. http://www.rjchq.org/stand_with_bibi?utm_campaign=bibi_petition&utm_medium=email&utm_source=rjchq
The choice is clear for Members of Congress -
attend Bibi's address to Congress and stand with Israel against a nuclear Iran
or decide not to attend, thereby putting partisan politics ahead of principle.
We hope Members of Congress will choose principle and refuse to stand with
President Obama, J Street and the liberal base of their party.
The RJC is committed to making sure the Jewish
community knows what’s at stake with this speech and Iran. But we need your
help. Please circulate our “Stand with Bibi” petition to your friends and join
the RJC in standing side-by-side with Israel and standing up to Iran.
- Matt Brooks
RJC Executive Director
RJC Executive Director
P.S. You can follow live updates of which
Democrats are planning to skip Netayahu's address to Congress here. http://thehill.com/homenews/house/232160-whip-list-dems-skipping-netanyahu-speech
Yeshai, we
will not sit in a government that expels Jews or endangers Kfar Saba or Ranaana
with rockets. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/191205#.VNuZKU39nIU
From
Satmar to the IDF: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4625076,00.html
I knew
whom he was before he became Chief Rabbi. Politicians elected him Chief Rabbi
not Rabbis. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4625057,00.html
Many
thousands of Jews were slaughtered by Islam and the Crusades here is a bit of
history with an active map. We can skip the bottom of Yeshu vs. Mohammed as we
have nothing to do with either of them except one was a Jew turned into a
god-like character. Received from Shona: http://religiopoliticaltalk.com/the-crusades-vs-the-three-caliphates-moral-equivalence/
HERE IS THE ARTICLE WHICH THE MISSIONARIES WANTED CENSORED with a
few spelling words changed to distinguish between Kadosh and Chol: Written
by Diane Weber Bederman sent me this missionary
alert: blogs.timesofisrael
-/we-want-all-of-the-6-million-jews -and-i-million-arabs-to-come-to-jezeus I broke the link because Diane was just
contacted by the Times of Israel that my article "We want all of the 6
million Jews and 1 million Arabs to come to Jezeus" has been removed.
Calev Myers, the man in Israel behind the push to open the Law of Return to
Jews for Jezeus lodged the complaint. I am saddened by this. I stand by all my
quotes about Calev Myers in that article. I believe this speaks to the power of
those in Israel who want to legitimize Messianic Jews and change the face of
Israel.
We
want all of the 6 million Jews and 1 million Arabs to come to Jezeus.
America: the not so beautiful.
The majority of Jews in Israel are against proselytizing. They consider it
“tantamount to religious harassment.” I know this because the US Department of
State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor http://www.state.gov/j/drl/ International Religious
Freedom Report for 2013 Israel and the Occupied Territories http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm#wrapper said so. Please note the
Americans call Judea/Samaria occupied
rather than disputed.
Despite our strongly held
views, the Evangelistic ministries like Jews for Jezeus are encouraging more
proselytizing in Israel.
The “spiritual openness of
Israelis to gospel demands that missions to the Jews make Israel their No.1
priority.” http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/standing-with-israel/47005-where-your-israel-donation-really-goes "God is calling you and
me to carry on the legacy of God’s heart for the Jews. We are to acknowledge
and seek after the blessing God promises to those who will bless
Israel, and to refuse to silence the life-changing Gospel of the Lard
Jezeus Heist to the ends of the earth." http://jewishisrael.ning.com/profiles/blogs/christian-zionist-leaders-unite-with-messianic-christians
February 4-6 the Israel Summit
Stand Firm, devoted to “ministry among the Jewish people” took place in Loveland
Colorado http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2015/February/Christians-Urged-to-Stand-Firm-with-Israel-at-CO-Summit/ with a new mandate
"to unite a global fellowship of biblically sound believers committed to
cultivating Messiah-centered relationships that work to bless the inhabitants
of Israel and the worldwide Jewish community." http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/standing-with-israel/48017-a-sense-of-urgency-compels-new-ministry-to-stand-firm-with-israel
Calev Myers of JIJ,( Jerusalem
Institute of Justice in Israel) and Wayne Hilsden of KKCJ, (King of Kings
Community, ministry in Jerusalem) “a compelling, Messiah-centered,
Spirit-empowered, disciple-making community that reveals the true face of
Yeshua (Jesus) to Israel and the nations” were featured speakers along with
other missionaries http://api.ning.com/files/li0jpfi0h9nPI7vQ6WLlCXE54djJb2QT2gZMlDD1wrELfjqTuia*DQbh50V0-GOsVBJeKt2Au3K7fdoDPD0*wEBHU6*DmD1h/2015IsraelSummitBios.pdf who are determined
to preach to and convert the Jews.
That determination includes
fighting the Law of Return in Israel that “provides the right for any Jew, or
any child or grandchild of a Jew, to immigrate to Israel from a foreign country
with his or her spouse and children…While Jews who are atheists or who state
their adherence to other religions are conferred immigration benefits” I know
this because the Americans tell me. http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm#wrapper
Calev Myers(http://daattorah.blogspot.ca/2008/05/messianic-jews-are-accepted-as-jews-for.html ) has attempted to
change the law because “Messianic Jews are routinely excluded, despite the
Supreme Court repeatedly upholding their right to citizenship. Descendants of
Jews qualify for immigration under the Law of Return regardless of their religious
beliefs.”
In 2009 The Jerusalem
Institute of Justice in Conversions and the Religious Gestapo accused
Israeli Jews of religious ethnic cleansing. http://jewishisrael.ning.com/page/jijs-appalling-piece-of-hate “Although Israel is a
democratic nation, groups which refer to themselves as
"anti-missionaries" are freely allowed to advance an agenda of
religious-ethnic cleansing in the Jewish homeland.”
Myers accuses Yad L’Achim of
“systemic discrimination” and “submitting a list of more than 60 recent
converts to Judaism who continue to believe that Yeshua is the Jewish Messiah”
to the Chief Rabbinate. Myers adds “Yad L’Achim regularly monitors such
individuals through undercover informers. These acts are eerily similar to
methods employed by the KGB and the Gestapo…Woe to the tourist who mentions the
name of any known Messianic Jew upon their entrance into or out of the country.
They are likely to be kicked out of Israel on the first available flight.” http://int.icej.org/news/headlines/israeli-believers-alarmed-campaign-anti-messianic-incitement
In 2011 when Messianic Jews in Israel were
alarmed over a “wave of incitement” ICEJ the International Christian Embassy
Jerusalem wrote about “Calev Myers, a prominent Messianic Jewish legal
advocate” when he took up the sword and accused Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of
Ashdod, Yosef Sheinin of and members of Yad L'Achim of “ violating Israeli laws
banning incitement to racism and violence.”
Rabbi Sheinin said that unlike
in the past, Christians can no longer use blood libels against the Jews and now
do it by inventing a new religion - Jewish believers in Jesus. "They want
a final solution, [like] what Hitler wanted, but they have no tools of
destruction, so they go with the tools of annihilation."
Myers wrote. "We believe
the day is coming, friends, when Jezeus once again will reveal himself to
Israel, to the Jewish people," http://daattorah.blogspot.ca/2008/05/messianic-jews-are-accepted-as-jews-for.html and is using Israel’s openness
to all people of all faiths against her to promote Messianic Jews. And he turns
to the Americans to help him.
He went to the Americans for
help in his fight in ISRAEL. They added his appeal to their International
Religious Freedom Report for 2013 which says the Ministry of Interior continues
“to deny citizenship or deny or delay services such as child registration and
issuance of social benefits, identity cards, and passports to some citizens
based on their religious beliefs, according to the Jerusalem Institute of
Justice, an NGO. This included cases of individuals who immigrated under the
Law of Return as Jews but were discovered to hold Messianic or Christian
beliefs.” The report states “Messianic Jews and Jehovah’s Witnesses were
reportedly harassed regularly by Yad L’Achim and Lev L’Achim, Jewish religious
organizations opposed to missionary activity and intermarriage.” http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm#wrapper
Since when does Israel, the
Jewish State need America’s stamp of approval regarding the definition of
religious freedom?
Richard Landes, professor of
History at Boston University and Director and co-founder of the Center for
Millennial Studies wrote “Given that the US began as an overwhelmingly
Christian nation, and Christianity is a quintessentially missionary faith, it
would have been hard for American notions of religious freedom not to have
included the right to missionize.
Since Jews have rarely if ever
been a missionary religion (preferring example to preaching as a means to
communicate religious values)…it is entirely within the rights and values of a
Jewish interpretation of religious freedom not to include the freedom to missionize.
Given that no other religion
has ever held sovereignty in Jerusalem and given all religions the
rights and freedoms to practice their religion there, it seems somewhat
inappropriate to be giving Israel lectures on the matter. And given that
Israel’s Muslim neighbors not only missionize aggressively, but punish with
death anyone who tries to convert Muslims and any Muslims who convert, it seems
entirely fitting and just that the US should, if it wishes to advance religious
freedom on this troubled planet, find another whipping boy than Israel.”
Keep this in mind: Messianic
Pastor Avi Mizrachi wants Israel’s entire population to accept and worship Jezeus
so that all of Israel will be saved. “We want all of the 6 million Jews and 1
million Arabs to come to Jezeus.”
Hear Oh Israel what they want
to do! http://www.youtube.com/embed/rD5JiDx24DA?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque
From
Joel: The craters are different on the other side of the moon: http://go.nasa.gov/1KcDj1C
& www.nasa.gov/lro
Lapid’s
Party one member likes bread on Pessach: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/191211#.VNtq4E39nIU
Latest
Public Opinion Poll: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/191303#.VN27x039nIU
One Jordanian Pilot burned and it enraged
a nation we stood silent for generations of abuse in France, Spain and eastern
Europe this was not the only burning of Jews. From Chabad.org Today in Jewish History viewed on line 20th Shevat?:
Jews of Basel Burned Alive (1349): With the Black Death raging throughout Switzerland, poison was reported to have been found in the wells at Zofingen. Some Jews were put to the "Dümeln" (thumbscrews) test, whereupon they "admitted" their guilt of the charges brought against them. This discovery was then communicated to the people of Basel, Zurich, Freiburg-im-Breisgau, and even Cologne.
The Jews of Basel were burned on an island in the Rhine on January 9, 1349, in wooden huts that were especially built for the occasion. Their children, who were spared, were taken and forcibly baptized.
Jews of Basel Burned Alive (1349): With the Black Death raging throughout Switzerland, poison was reported to have been found in the wells at Zofingen. Some Jews were put to the "Dümeln" (thumbscrews) test, whereupon they "admitted" their guilt of the charges brought against them. This discovery was then communicated to the people of Basel, Zurich, Freiburg-im-Breisgau, and even Cologne.
The Jews of Basel were burned on an island in the Rhine on January 9, 1349, in wooden huts that were especially built for the occasion. Their children, who were spared, were taken and forcibly baptized.
Author Joan Peters Passes away! Part 3 (last
installment)
This past Friday just before
Shabbos I received this correction from Gail who authored the obituary of Joan
Peters: JOAN PETERS KAPLAN CARO WAS A
BORN JEWESS. We would certainly honor her if she had been a Ger, but she
was a Jewess…always. I believe Peters was her first husband’s name.
We knew her when she was married to Stanley Kaplan & Dr. Bill Caro.
After the Arabs’ defeat in the 1948 war, their
positions became confused: some Arab leaders demanded the “return” of the
“expelled” refugees to their former homes despite the evidence that Arab
leaders had called upon Arabs to flee. (Such as President Truman’s
International Development Advisory Board Report, March 7, 1951: “Arab leaders
summoned Arabs of Palestine to mass evacuation … as the documented facts
reveal….”)
At the same time, Emile Ghoury, Secretary of the Arab
Higher Command, called for the prevention of the refugees from “return.” He
stated in the Beirut
Telegraphon August 6, 1948: “it is inconceivable that the
refugees should be sent back to their homes while they are occupied by the
Jews…. It would serve as a first step toward Arab recognition of the state of
Israel & Partition.”
Arab activist Musa Alami despaired: as he saw the
problem, “how can people struggle for their nation, when most of them do not
know the meaning of the word? … The people are in great need of a “myth” to
fill their consciousness & imagination….” According to Alami, an
indoctrination of the “myth” of nationality would create “identity” &
“self-respect.”[8]
However, Alami’s proposal was confounded by the
realities: between 1948 & 1967, the Arab state of Jordan claimed annexation
of the territory west of the Jordan River, the “West Bank” area of Palestine —
the same area that would later be forwarded by Arab “moderates” as a “mini-state”
for the “Palestinians.”
Thus, that area was, between 1948 & 1967, called
“Arab land,” the peoples were Arabs, & yet the “myth” that Musa Alami
prescribed — the cause of “Palestine” for the “Palestinians” — remained
unheralded, unadopted by the Arabs during two decades. According to Lord
Caradon, “Every Arab assumed the Palestinians [refugees] would go back to
Jordan.”[9]
When “Palestine” was referred to by the Arabs, it was
viewed in the context of the intrusion of a “Jewish state amidst what the Arabs
considered their own exclusive environment or milieu, the ‘Arab region.’”[10] As
the late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser “screamed” in 1956, “the
imperialists’ ‘destruction of Palestine’” was “an attack on Arab nationalism,”
which “‘unites us from the Atlantic to the Gulf.’”[11]
Ever since the 1967 Israeli victory, however, when the
Arabs determined that they couldn’t obliterate Israel militarily, they have
skillfully waged economic, diplomatic, & propaganda war against Israel.
This, Arabs reasoned, would take longer than military victory but ultimately
the result would be the same.
Critical to the new tactic, however, was a device
designed to whittle away at the sympathies of Israel’s allies: what the Arabs
envisioned was something that could achieve Israel’s shrinking to indefensible
size at the same time that she became insolvent.
This program was reviewed in 1971 by Mohamed Heikal,[12] then
still an important spokesman of Egypt’s leadership in his post as editor of the
influential, semi-official newspaper Al Ahram.
Heikal called for a change of Arab rhetoric — no more threats of “throwing
Israel into the sea” — & a new political strategy aimed at reducing Israel
to indefensible borders & pushing her into diplomatic & economic
isolation. He predicted that “total withdrawal” would “pass sentence on the
entire state of Israel.”
As a more effective means of swaying world opinion, the
Arabs adopted humanitarian terminology in support of the “demands” of the
“Palestinian refugees,” to replace former Arab proclamations of carnage &
obliteration. In Egypt, for example, in 1968 “the popularity of the
Palestinians was rising,” as a result of Israel’s 1967 defeat of the Arabs &
subsequent 1968 “Israeli air attacks inside Egypt.”[13]
It was as recently as 1970 that Egyptian President
Nasser defined “Israel” as the cause of “the expulsion of the Palestinian
people from their land.” Although Nasser thus gave perfunctory recognition to
the “Palestinian Arab” allegation, he was in reality preoccupied with the
overall basic, pivotal Arab concern.
As he continued candidly in the same sentence, Israel
was “a permanent threat to the Arab nation.”[14] Later
that year (May 1970), Nasser “formulated his rejection of a Jewish state in
Palestine,” but once again he stressed the “occupation of our [Pan-Arab]
lands,” while only secondarily noting: “And we reject its [Israel’s] insistence
on denying the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people in their country.”[15]
Subsequently the Arabs have increased their recounting
of the difficulties & travail of Arab refugees in the “host” countries
adjacent to Israel [e.g., the surrounding Arab nations]. Photographs &
accounts of life in refugee camps, as well as demands for the “legitimate” but
unlimited & undefined “rights” of the “Palestinians,” have flooded the
communications media of the world in a subtle & adroit utilization of the
art of professional public relations.[16]
A prominent Arab Palestinian strategist, AI-Haytham
Al-Ayubi, analyzed the efficacy of Arab propaganda tactics in 1974, when he
wrote:
The image of Israel as a weak nation surrounded by
enemies seeking its annihilation evaporated [after 1967], to be replaced by the
image of an aggressive nation challenging world opinion.* [17] [As
Rosemary Sayigh wrote in the Journal of
Palestine Studies, “a strongly defined Palestinian identity did
not emerge until 1968, two decades after expulsion.” It had taken twenty years
to establish the “myth” prescribed by Musa Alami.[18]
The high visibility of the sad plight of the homeless
refugees — always tragic — has uniquely attracted the world’s compassion.[19]
In addition, the campaign has provided non-Arabs with
moral rationalization for abiding by the Arabs’ anti-Israel rules, which are
regarded as prerequisites to getting Arab oil & the financial benefits from
Arab oil wealth. Millions of dollars have been spent to exploit the Arab
refugees & their repatriation as “the heart of the matter,” as the primary
human problem that must be resolved before any talk of overall peace with
Israel.
Reflecting on the oil weapon’s influence in the
aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Al-Ayubi shrewdly observed:
The nations of western Europe condemned Israel’s
position despite their guarantee of her security & territorial integrity.
They understood that European interests & their dependence upon sources of
energy precluded their allowing themselves to incur Arab wrath.[20]
Thus Al-Ayubi recommended sham “peace-talks,” with the
continuation, however, of the “state of ‘no peace,’” & he advocated the
maintaining of “moral pressure together with carefully-balanced military
tension …” for the “success of the new Arab strategy.” Because “loss of human
life remains a sore point for the enemy,” continual “guerrilla” activities can
erode Israel’s self-confidence & “the faith” of the world in the “Israeli
policeman.”
Al-Ayubi cited, as an example, “the success of Arab
foreign policy maneuvers” in 1973, which was so total that … With the exception
of the United States & the racist African governments, the entire world
took either a neutral or pro-Arab position on the question of legality of
restoring the occupied territories through any means — including the use of
military force.
As Al-Ayubi noted, “The basic Arab premise concerning
‘the elimination of the results of aggression’ remains accepted by the world.”
Thus the “noose” will be placed around the neck of the “Zionist entity.”
But the Arabs’ creation of the “myth” of nationality
did not create the advantageous situation for the Palestinian Arabs that Musa
Alami had hoped for. Instead, the conditions he complained of bitterly were
perpetuated: the Arabs “shut the door” of citizenship “in their faces &
imprison them in camps.”[21]
Khaled Al-Azm, who was Syria’s Prime Minister after the
1948 war, deplored the Arab tactics & the subsequent exploitation of the
refugees, in his 1972 memoirs:
Since 1948 it is we who demanded the return of the
refugees … while it is we who made them leave…. We brought disaster upon … Arab
refugees, by inviting them & bringing pressure to bear upon them to leave….
We have rendered them dispossessed…. We have accustomed them to begging…. We
have participated in lowering their moral & social level…. Then we
exploited them in executing crimes of murder, arson, & throwing bombs upon
… men, women & children-all this in the service of political purposes….[22]
Propaganda has successfully veered attention away from
the Arab world’s manipulation of its peoples among the refugee group on the one
hand, & the number of those who now in fact possess Arab citizenship in
many lands, on the other hand. The one notable exception is Jordan, where the majority
of Arab refugees moved, & where they are entitled to citizenship according
to law, “unless they are Jews.”[23]
Palestinian leadership will not let the refugee problem
be solved. In 1958, former director of UNRWA Ralph Galloway declared angrily
while in Jordan that: The Arab states do not want to solve the refugee problem.
They want to keep it as an open sore, as an affront to the United Nations,
& as a weapon against Israel. Arab leaders do not give a damn whether Arab
refugees live or die.[24]
[Reuters] Palestinians burned an effigy of Canadian
Foreign Minister John Manley on Thursday in a protest against Canada’s offer to
accept Palestinian refugees as part of a Middle East peace plan. Hooded gunmen
fired into the air during the protest in Balata refugee camp near the West Bank
[sic]
town of Nablus [Shechem] & hundreds of demonstrators shouted slogans
demanding the right of return to former homes. “We refuse resettlement of
refugees,” they shouted.
Manley told the Toronto Star newspaper in an interview published on
January 10, “We are prepared to receive refugees. We are prepared to contribute
to an international fund to assist with resettlement in support of a peace
agreement.” Manley said there had been no discussion on the number of refugees
to be resettled outside the Middle East.
Canada heads the multilateral Refugee Working Group, a
committee
Footnotes: 1. Habib Issa, ed., Al-Hoda, Arabic daily, June 8, 1951, New York; see Economist (London),
May 15, 1948, regarding “panic flight”; also see Economist, October 2, 1948, for British eyewitness
report of Arab Higher Committee radio “announcements” that were “urging all
Arabs in Haifa to quit.”
2. Near East Arabic Radio, April 3, 1948: “It must not be forgotten that the
Arab Higher Committee encouraged the refugees to flee from their homes in
Jaffa, Haifa & Jerusalem, & that certain leaders . . . make political
capital out of their miserable situation . . .” Cited by Anderson et al., “The
Arab Refugee Problem & How It Can Be Solved,” p. 22; for more regarding
Arab responsibility, see Sir Alexander Cadogan, Ambassador of Great Britain to
the United Nations, speech to the Security Council, S.C., O.R., 287th
meeting, April 23, 1948; also see Harry Stebbens, British Port Officer
stationed in Haifa, letter inEvening Standard (London),
January 10, 1969.
3. April 28, 1948; according to the Economist (London), October 1, 1948, only “4,000 to 6,000″ of the “62,000 Arabs who formerly lived in Haifa” remained there until the time of the war; also see Kenneth Bilby, New Star in the Near East (New York: Doubleday, 1950), pp. 30-31; Lt. Col. Moshe Pearlman, The Army of Israel(New York: Philosophical Library, 1950), pp. 116-17; & Major E. O’balance, The Arab-Israeli War of 1948(London, 1956), p. 52.
4. David Shipler, New York Times, October 23, 1979, p. A3. Shipler cites Larry Collins & Dominique Lapierre, O Jerusalem, & Dan Kurzman, Genesis 1948: The First Arab-Israeli War.
5. New York Times, October 23, 1979.
6. Yitzhak Rabin, The Rabin Memoirs (Boston & Toronto: Little, Brown, 1979), p. 23, pp. 22-44.
7. Peter Dodd & Halim Barakat, River Without Bridges:- A Study of the Exodus of the 1967 Arab Palestinian Refugees (Beirut: Institute for Palestine Studies, 1969), p. 43; on April 27, 1950, the Arab National Committee of Haifa stated in a memorandum to the Arab States: “The removal of the Arab inhabitants … was voluntary & was carried out at our request … The Arab delegation proudly asked for the evacuation of the Arabs & their removal to the neighboring Arab countries…. We are very glad to state that the Arabs guarded their honour & traditions with pride & greatness.” Cited by J.B. Schechtman, The Arab Refugee Problem (New York: Philosophical Library, 1952), pp. 8-9; also see Al-Zaman, Baghdad journal, April 27, 1950.
8. Musa Alami, “The Lesson of Palestine,” The Middle East Journal, October 1949. . Lord Caradon, “Cyprus & Palestine,” lecture at the University of Chicago, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, February 17, 1976. 9. Similar statement by Folke Bernadotte, To Jerusalem, p. 113.
10. P.J. Vatikiotis, Nasser & His Generation (London: Croom Heim, 1978), pp. 256-57.
11. Ibid. p. 234, quoting a speech by Nasser at Suez, July 26, 1956; in 1952, Sheikh Pierre Gemayel, then leader of the Lebanese National Youth Organization “Al Kataeb,” wrote: “Why should the refugees stay in Lebanon, & not in Egypt, Iraq & Jordan which claim that they are all Arab & beyond that, Moslem? … Isn’t it for that alone that these so-called nationalist elements are demanding to resettle the refugees in Lebanon because they are themselves Arab & Moslems?” Al-Hoda, Lebanese journal, January 3, 1952, cited in Schechtman, The Arab Refugee Problem, p. 84; also see Ibrahim Abu-Lughod, “Quest for an Arab Future,” in Arab Journal, 1966-67, vol. 4, nos. 2-4, pp. 23-29.
12. “Mohammed Hassanein Heykal Discusses War & Peace in the Middle East,” Journal of Palestine Studies, Autumn 1971. Heykal thus joined the Arab chorus heard after the 1967 war.
13. Vatikiotis, Nasser, p. 257; also see Mohamed Heikal, The Road To Ramadan (New York: Ballantine Books, 1975), p. 56.
14. Interview with Nasser, Le Monde (Paris: February 1970), cited in Vatikiotis, Nasser, p. 259.
15. Charles Foltz, interview with Nasser, U.S. News & World Report, May 1970, cited in Vatikiotis, Nasser, p. 259; see also Le Monde interview, February 1970.
16. Contrary to the popular view … in the West,” a “great many refugees” were living out of camps “in comfortable housing outside,” in the beginning of the 1960s according to Fawaz Turki, The Disinherited: Journal of a Palestinian Exile (New York & London: Monthly Review Press, 1972), p. 41.
17. Al-Haytham A]-Ayubi, “Future Arab Strategy in the Light of the Fourth War,” Shuun Filastiniyya (Beirut), October 1974. AI-Ayubi, also called Abu-Hammam, has been military head of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Lieutenant Colonel in the Syrian army, & highly respected strategist on Israel. He perceived the “guerrilla” war against Israel as an ultimately successful one. 18. Rosemary Sayigh, “Sources of Palestinian Nationalism: A Study of a Palestinian Camp in Lebanon,”Journal of Palestinian Studies, vol. 6, no. 4, 1977, p. 2 1; see also Sayigh, “The Palestinian Identity Among Camp Residents,” Journal of Palestinian Studies vol. 6, no. 3, 1977, pp. 3-22.
19. In 1981, the Organization of African Unity’s executive secretary, Ambassador Oumarou Garba Youssoupou from Niger, reflected upon why the millions of displaced souls in Africa were not as visible: “We’re not getting the publicity because of our culture. No refugee is turned away from the host countries, so we’re not dramatic enough for television. We have no drownings, no piratings…. We don’t make the news … .. Aiding Africa’s Refugees,” by Gertrude Samuels, The New Leader, May 4, 1981.
20. AI-Ayubi, “Future Arab Strategy in the Light of the Fourth War.”
21. Musa Alami, “The Lesson of Palestine,” The Middle East Journal, October 1949.
22. Khaled Al-Azm, Memoirs [Arabic], 3 vols. (AI-Dar al Muttahida Id-Nashr, 1972), vol. 1, pp. 386-87, cited by Maurice Roumani, The Case of the Jews from Arab countries: A Neglected Issue, preliminary edition (Jerusalem: World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries [WOJAC], 1975), p. 61.
23. Jordanian National Law, Official Gazette, No. 1171, February 16, 1954, p. 105, Article 3(3). Between 1948 & 1967, 200,000 to 300,000 Arabs moved from the West Bank to the “East Bank,” according to Eliyahu Kanovsky, in Jordan, People & Politics in the Middle East, Michael Curtis, ed. (New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Books, 1971), p. 111.
24. Prittie, “Middle East Refugees,” in Michael Curtis et al., eds., The Palestinians: People, History, Politics (New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Books, 1975), p. 71.
3. April 28, 1948; according to the Economist (London), October 1, 1948, only “4,000 to 6,000″ of the “62,000 Arabs who formerly lived in Haifa” remained there until the time of the war; also see Kenneth Bilby, New Star in the Near East (New York: Doubleday, 1950), pp. 30-31; Lt. Col. Moshe Pearlman, The Army of Israel(New York: Philosophical Library, 1950), pp. 116-17; & Major E. O’balance, The Arab-Israeli War of 1948(London, 1956), p. 52.
4. David Shipler, New York Times, October 23, 1979, p. A3. Shipler cites Larry Collins & Dominique Lapierre, O Jerusalem, & Dan Kurzman, Genesis 1948: The First Arab-Israeli War.
5. New York Times, October 23, 1979.
6. Yitzhak Rabin, The Rabin Memoirs (Boston & Toronto: Little, Brown, 1979), p. 23, pp. 22-44.
7. Peter Dodd & Halim Barakat, River Without Bridges:- A Study of the Exodus of the 1967 Arab Palestinian Refugees (Beirut: Institute for Palestine Studies, 1969), p. 43; on April 27, 1950, the Arab National Committee of Haifa stated in a memorandum to the Arab States: “The removal of the Arab inhabitants … was voluntary & was carried out at our request … The Arab delegation proudly asked for the evacuation of the Arabs & their removal to the neighboring Arab countries…. We are very glad to state that the Arabs guarded their honour & traditions with pride & greatness.” Cited by J.B. Schechtman, The Arab Refugee Problem (New York: Philosophical Library, 1952), pp. 8-9; also see Al-Zaman, Baghdad journal, April 27, 1950.
8. Musa Alami, “The Lesson of Palestine,” The Middle East Journal, October 1949. . Lord Caradon, “Cyprus & Palestine,” lecture at the University of Chicago, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, February 17, 1976. 9. Similar statement by Folke Bernadotte, To Jerusalem, p. 113.
10. P.J. Vatikiotis, Nasser & His Generation (London: Croom Heim, 1978), pp. 256-57.
11. Ibid. p. 234, quoting a speech by Nasser at Suez, July 26, 1956; in 1952, Sheikh Pierre Gemayel, then leader of the Lebanese National Youth Organization “Al Kataeb,” wrote: “Why should the refugees stay in Lebanon, & not in Egypt, Iraq & Jordan which claim that they are all Arab & beyond that, Moslem? … Isn’t it for that alone that these so-called nationalist elements are demanding to resettle the refugees in Lebanon because they are themselves Arab & Moslems?” Al-Hoda, Lebanese journal, January 3, 1952, cited in Schechtman, The Arab Refugee Problem, p. 84; also see Ibrahim Abu-Lughod, “Quest for an Arab Future,” in Arab Journal, 1966-67, vol. 4, nos. 2-4, pp. 23-29.
12. “Mohammed Hassanein Heykal Discusses War & Peace in the Middle East,” Journal of Palestine Studies, Autumn 1971. Heykal thus joined the Arab chorus heard after the 1967 war.
13. Vatikiotis, Nasser, p. 257; also see Mohamed Heikal, The Road To Ramadan (New York: Ballantine Books, 1975), p. 56.
14. Interview with Nasser, Le Monde (Paris: February 1970), cited in Vatikiotis, Nasser, p. 259.
15. Charles Foltz, interview with Nasser, U.S. News & World Report, May 1970, cited in Vatikiotis, Nasser, p. 259; see also Le Monde interview, February 1970.
16. Contrary to the popular view … in the West,” a “great many refugees” were living out of camps “in comfortable housing outside,” in the beginning of the 1960s according to Fawaz Turki, The Disinherited: Journal of a Palestinian Exile (New York & London: Monthly Review Press, 1972), p. 41.
17. Al-Haytham A]-Ayubi, “Future Arab Strategy in the Light of the Fourth War,” Shuun Filastiniyya (Beirut), October 1974. AI-Ayubi, also called Abu-Hammam, has been military head of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Lieutenant Colonel in the Syrian army, & highly respected strategist on Israel. He perceived the “guerrilla” war against Israel as an ultimately successful one. 18. Rosemary Sayigh, “Sources of Palestinian Nationalism: A Study of a Palestinian Camp in Lebanon,”Journal of Palestinian Studies, vol. 6, no. 4, 1977, p. 2 1; see also Sayigh, “The Palestinian Identity Among Camp Residents,” Journal of Palestinian Studies vol. 6, no. 3, 1977, pp. 3-22.
19. In 1981, the Organization of African Unity’s executive secretary, Ambassador Oumarou Garba Youssoupou from Niger, reflected upon why the millions of displaced souls in Africa were not as visible: “We’re not getting the publicity because of our culture. No refugee is turned away from the host countries, so we’re not dramatic enough for television. We have no drownings, no piratings…. We don’t make the news … .. Aiding Africa’s Refugees,” by Gertrude Samuels, The New Leader, May 4, 1981.
20. AI-Ayubi, “Future Arab Strategy in the Light of the Fourth War.”
21. Musa Alami, “The Lesson of Palestine,” The Middle East Journal, October 1949.
22. Khaled Al-Azm, Memoirs [Arabic], 3 vols. (AI-Dar al Muttahida Id-Nashr, 1972), vol. 1, pp. 386-87, cited by Maurice Roumani, The Case of the Jews from Arab countries: A Neglected Issue, preliminary edition (Jerusalem: World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries [WOJAC], 1975), p. 61.
23. Jordanian National Law, Official Gazette, No. 1171, February 16, 1954, p. 105, Article 3(3). Between 1948 & 1967, 200,000 to 300,000 Arabs moved from the West Bank to the “East Bank,” according to Eliyahu Kanovsky, in Jordan, People & Politics in the Middle East, Michael Curtis, ed. (New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Books, 1971), p. 111.
24. Prittie, “Middle East Refugees,” in Michael Curtis et al., eds., The Palestinians: People, History, Politics (New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Books, 1975), p. 71.
Inyanay Diyoma
Ed-Op
from the left of center fair to Netanyahu: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4623841,00.html
When Don
Imus is surprised by the rapid and rabid rise of anti-Semitism it is time to
wake up and make Aliyah: http://www.rightsightings.com/don-imus-is-appalled-by-rise-of-antisemitism/
The man who
betrayed Mossad Agents to be Foreign Minister of Turkey: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/191031#.VNZHD8v9nIU
It is
probable that ISIS used this woman and when she was not submissive enough
killed her. http://debka.com/article/24387/ISIS-may-have-killed-the-American-hostage-Kayla-Mueller-while-blaming-a-Jordanian-air-strike
Close to
an election like less than 40 days the Administration does not want to meet
with Israeli Political Leaders - Obama. But Uncle Joe was just Biden his time
and met the opposition: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4623994,00.html
Jordan
pounds ISIS with heavy bombing and on target from ground intelligence. Egypt
cleans up pockets of Al Qaeda in Sinai: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/191041#.VNdrusv9nIU
From
Martin Sherman – Goofy generals galore: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Into-The-Fray-Goofy-generals-galore-390217
Terrorist
infiltration alert lifted: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/191075#.VNeosMv9nIU
Terrorists
shoot at IDF patrol, fire is returned but they escape. http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/IDF-soldiers-open-fire-on-vehicle-that-tries-to-hit-them-near-Bethlehem-390364
Body
Language of interviewer shows bias: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/191082#.VNhcWcv9nIU
Iran is
gaining strength like the Nazi and Communist Empires in the last Century world
watch out!!! http://debka.com/article/24389/Houthi-Yemen-coup-moves-Iran’s-Middle-East-hegemonic-ambitions-forward---upheld-by-Washington-
UK
anti-Semitic Incidents rose last year they are catching up to France: http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/UK-needs-to-take-urgent-action-over-anti-Semitism-lawmakers-say-390454
Iraq to
try a ground offensive to remove ISIS they will need more massive air support
than provided in the past: http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Ground-mission-against-ISIS-could-begin-within-weeks-390444
Arab
weapons stash found: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/191105
When I
patrolled there was no real fence and we knew they were smuggling but hard to
stop from time to time we got lucky but with the fence this was bound to happen
on the Egyptian Border especially with Hamas: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4624914,00.html
More on
the death of the prosecutor in Argentina: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4624869,00.html Just
Breaking news DNA found: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/191170#.VNpFcE39nIU
Down
under a terrorist attack was thwarted. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/191192#.VNrXX039nIU
Iran preparing for a bomb and a delivery system not only for
Israel but London, Paris, Berlin, NY, DC while the USA sleeps and makes a
fumbling agreement http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4625455,00.html
Thundering support for Netanyahu's speech: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/191216#.VNtrZk39nIU
Hezballah
and Syria: http://debka.com/article/24393/Syrian-army-tears-through-the-south-to-sweep-Iran-and-Hizballah-up-to-Israel’s-Golan-doorstep
Smugglers
from Gaza caught: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4625735,00.html
Military
Cooperation between Greece and Israel continue as Turkey hates both. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/191241
Netanyahu
not the best but only choice voters have: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/191247
Israel
not a rubber stamp for the left: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/191248#.VNxYv039nIU
Most
Jewish Congressmen will attend Netanyahu’s speech: http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Most-Jews-in-Congress-to-attend-Netanyahu-speech-390767
Hezballah, Iran, Syria: ED-Op http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4626144,00.html
vs http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Syrian-rebels-call-on-Israel-to-bomb-Hezbollah-Iran-Syria-positions-390896
Israel could hit Iran with Obama's and Europe's policies: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/191271
Obama's war on ISIS http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Obamas-war-against-ISIS-much-more-open-ended-than-meets-the-eye-390912
The fight
for votes between the Likud and the National Union is knocking people into the
Lapid Camp: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/191307#.VN288E39nIU
Now for M. Wolfberg’s Good Shabbos Story “A blessing in disguise”
Good
Shabbos Everyone. Everybody likes being treated nicely. So, when we treat
others kindly and with respect, we fulfill the mitzvah of: And you shall love
your neighbor as yourself. (Vayikra 19:18) It may sound obvious that must treat
our fellow Jews respectfully and with feelings of love. Why then did Hashem
give us a mitzvah to treat others with love and respect? The answer to our
question lies in the definition of a mitzvah.
Many people think that a mitzvah is a good deed. A good deed is optional; it is a nice thing to do. The implication of this definition is that if you want to do a mitzvah, fine. If not, that is also fine. In truth, mitzvahs are much more than just good deeds. Mitzvahs are an obligation. This is why we have a mitzvah to be nice to one another. If treating others kindly were just a good deed then one may decide that he does not feel like being nice to others because, for example, he was forced to wait too long in a line, or he was not feeling well or he did not have enough sleep. That is why we have an obligation to be kind to one another. It is not just a good deed to be kind to our fellow Jew. We must be kind to our fellow Jews.
The Torah discusses the importance of treating others kindly in our parsha this week Mishpatim. Hashem tells us: Do not oppress the widow and orphan. If you do oppress him, when he cries to Me, I will hear his cry. And I will become very angry and I will kill you with a sword, and your wives will be widows and you sons will be orphans (Shemos 22:21-23) Rashi explains that this warning not only applies to widows and orphans, rather, the verse applies to all people. This verse is quite amazing. Hashem so much wants us to treat our fellow Jews with love and respect, that Hashem actually threatens to kill us if we mistreat another Jew.
Besides reading the following beautiful and inspirational story, we will also learn some important tips on how to avoid hurting other people’s feelings. We begin with the following true story: Avigdor Ribicoff, a member of a kollel (a yeshiva for married men) in Tiberias, Israel, and his wife had been married many years and had unfortunately not been blessed with children. They sought medical help in Israel and abroad and had undergone various tests and procedures, but sadly, they still had no children. Despondency and desperation, heaven forbid, were beginning to gnaw at the young couple.
They both came from"Litvishe" families and had no connection with chassidic Rebbes. Yet, friends urged Avigdor to go for berachos (blessings) to various Chassidishe Rebbes. Avigdor listened to this advice and went for blessings, if not reluctantly. During the summer vacation, when Avigdor saw his colleagues taking their children on outings, the pain of emptiness was worse than ever. He had to do something. Avigdor decided that he would go to the Nadvorner Rebbe, Rav Chaim Mordechai Rosenbloom (1904-1978), a Rebbe in Bnei Brak. When Avigdor went in to speak with the Rebbe, he broke down and cried.
The Nadvorner Rebbe listened sympathetically and asked Avigdor where he would be davening (praying) on Rosh Hashanah. Avigdor said he planned to daven at a yeshivah near his home in Tiberias, where he enjoyed those he prayed with and felt comfortable with the pace of the prayer service. "Come daven with us," said the Rebbe warmly." The first day of Yom Tov, the Torah reading is, ‘And Hashem remembered Sarah [and blessed her with a child] (Bereishis - Genesis 21:1), and the haftarah is about Chanah (who finally had her long-awaited child, Shmuel) (I Shmuel 1:1). It's a segulah (omen) to have that maftir. Come here for Rosh Hashanah, and with the G-d's help, things can happen."
Avigdor had never heard that it was a segulah to be called for that maftir, but he knew that in many shuls the aliyos were usually sold for substantial sums of money on Rosh Hashanah. Did the Rebbe mean that he should buy that aliyah, or that he would receive the aliyah free of charge? He didn't have the courage to ask; he decided he would cross that bridge when he got there. Besides, if it meant having a child, he would pay anything, even if he had to borrow. Avigdor and his wife made plans to be in Bnei Brak that Rosh Hashanah. On the first night of Yom Tov, the Rebbe's shul was over-flowing with people and as Avigdor scanned the crowd, he wondered if the Rebbe would even remember him or his problem.
After davening, the warm ambiance in the shul was practically tangible. With radiant smiles everyone seemed to be wishing each other the traditional greeting: “May you be inscribed and sealed immediately, for a good year, good life, and for peace.” People stood on line, gradually making their way towards the Rebbe to receive his blessing. Avigdor stood back, allowing the "regulars" their chance to greet the Rebbe first. As he stood off to the side, he noticed another fellow his age, who also seemed to be a visitor. It appeared that the other fellow also knew no one, and he too was waiting for the "regulars" to clear the shul before greeting the Rebbe.
Avigdor approached the fellow and extended his hand in greeting. "Shalom Aleichem," he said. "My name is Avigdor Ribicoff. Are you from around here?" "Aleichem Shalom," came the reply. "I'm Yeruchem Lazar and I'm from Jerusalem. I am here to be with the Rebbe for Yom Tov." "Oh?" said Avigdor. "To tell you the truth," Yeruchem said, "I don't know how it's going to happen tomorrow, but I heard that the Rebbe said that if [I get] maftir, it's a segulah for children. Look at this crowd..." He let his words trail off.
Avigdor was crestfallen. He could not believe what he just heard. Hadn't theRebbe told him to come get maftir tomorrow? That was the only reason he and his wife had come to Bnei Brak for Yom Tov. How could both of them get maftir at the same minyan? For the last month and a half he was waiting for the next day’s Torah reading - and now this? Avigdor did not allow his disappointment to surface. Not wishing to hurt the feelings of another Jew, Avigdor was silent. He continued to make small talk with Yeruchem and wished him well.
That night Avigdor was in turmoil deciding what to do the next day. The next morning Avigdor, in deference to Yeruchem, prayed in another shul. And sure enough Yeruchem had maftir. And within a year Avigdor and his wife had a baby girl. The Rebbe had said that "things could happen." And they did -and all because of Avigdor's extraordinary character in his willingness to relinquish a potential blessing. (Echoes of the Maggid p.39, Rabbi Paysach Krohn, names have been changed)
Instead of arguing with the other Jew and making a fuss, Avigdor put aside his personal feelings and emotions and kept quiet. We can learn from this example to always put first the feelings of another Jew. One of the simplest ways to treat others right is the following: One should make it his business to find out what certain people like and dislike. He should then try always to do those things that the person likes, and not do the things that the person does not like.
We are all children of Hashem, as the verse tells us You are Children to Hashem your G-d. (Devarim 14:1) Every parent who has ever witnessed children fighting can testify to how difficult a sight it is. Every parent who has ever witnessed children treating each other properly can testify to how beautiful a sight it is. Similarly Hashem wants very much that his children get along and show love for each other.
Let us make an effort to treat others kindly and with respect. Often the father promises a reward to the children who behave. How much more so will Hashem, our Father in Heaven, reward us for getting along with one another. Good Shabbos Everyone. M. Wolfberg is sponsored by: In Memory of Leah Wolfberg, OBM, Yohrzeit this Shabbos, forever in our hearts. L'illui Nishmas Aryeh Leib ben Avrohom and Malka bas Tzvi Refuah Shleima to Reb Mordechai Mendel ben Tziporah Yitta
Many people think that a mitzvah is a good deed. A good deed is optional; it is a nice thing to do. The implication of this definition is that if you want to do a mitzvah, fine. If not, that is also fine. In truth, mitzvahs are much more than just good deeds. Mitzvahs are an obligation. This is why we have a mitzvah to be nice to one another. If treating others kindly were just a good deed then one may decide that he does not feel like being nice to others because, for example, he was forced to wait too long in a line, or he was not feeling well or he did not have enough sleep. That is why we have an obligation to be kind to one another. It is not just a good deed to be kind to our fellow Jew. We must be kind to our fellow Jews.
The Torah discusses the importance of treating others kindly in our parsha this week Mishpatim. Hashem tells us: Do not oppress the widow and orphan. If you do oppress him, when he cries to Me, I will hear his cry. And I will become very angry and I will kill you with a sword, and your wives will be widows and you sons will be orphans (Shemos 22:21-23) Rashi explains that this warning not only applies to widows and orphans, rather, the verse applies to all people. This verse is quite amazing. Hashem so much wants us to treat our fellow Jews with love and respect, that Hashem actually threatens to kill us if we mistreat another Jew.
Besides reading the following beautiful and inspirational story, we will also learn some important tips on how to avoid hurting other people’s feelings. We begin with the following true story: Avigdor Ribicoff, a member of a kollel (a yeshiva for married men) in Tiberias, Israel, and his wife had been married many years and had unfortunately not been blessed with children. They sought medical help in Israel and abroad and had undergone various tests and procedures, but sadly, they still had no children. Despondency and desperation, heaven forbid, were beginning to gnaw at the young couple.
They both came from"Litvishe" families and had no connection with chassidic Rebbes. Yet, friends urged Avigdor to go for berachos (blessings) to various Chassidishe Rebbes. Avigdor listened to this advice and went for blessings, if not reluctantly. During the summer vacation, when Avigdor saw his colleagues taking their children on outings, the pain of emptiness was worse than ever. He had to do something. Avigdor decided that he would go to the Nadvorner Rebbe, Rav Chaim Mordechai Rosenbloom (1904-1978), a Rebbe in Bnei Brak. When Avigdor went in to speak with the Rebbe, he broke down and cried.
The Nadvorner Rebbe listened sympathetically and asked Avigdor where he would be davening (praying) on Rosh Hashanah. Avigdor said he planned to daven at a yeshivah near his home in Tiberias, where he enjoyed those he prayed with and felt comfortable with the pace of the prayer service. "Come daven with us," said the Rebbe warmly." The first day of Yom Tov, the Torah reading is, ‘And Hashem remembered Sarah [and blessed her with a child] (Bereishis - Genesis 21:1), and the haftarah is about Chanah (who finally had her long-awaited child, Shmuel) (I Shmuel 1:1). It's a segulah (omen) to have that maftir. Come here for Rosh Hashanah, and with the G-d's help, things can happen."
Avigdor had never heard that it was a segulah to be called for that maftir, but he knew that in many shuls the aliyos were usually sold for substantial sums of money on Rosh Hashanah. Did the Rebbe mean that he should buy that aliyah, or that he would receive the aliyah free of charge? He didn't have the courage to ask; he decided he would cross that bridge when he got there. Besides, if it meant having a child, he would pay anything, even if he had to borrow. Avigdor and his wife made plans to be in Bnei Brak that Rosh Hashanah. On the first night of Yom Tov, the Rebbe's shul was over-flowing with people and as Avigdor scanned the crowd, he wondered if the Rebbe would even remember him or his problem.
After davening, the warm ambiance in the shul was practically tangible. With radiant smiles everyone seemed to be wishing each other the traditional greeting: “May you be inscribed and sealed immediately, for a good year, good life, and for peace.” People stood on line, gradually making their way towards the Rebbe to receive his blessing. Avigdor stood back, allowing the "regulars" their chance to greet the Rebbe first. As he stood off to the side, he noticed another fellow his age, who also seemed to be a visitor. It appeared that the other fellow also knew no one, and he too was waiting for the "regulars" to clear the shul before greeting the Rebbe.
Avigdor approached the fellow and extended his hand in greeting. "Shalom Aleichem," he said. "My name is Avigdor Ribicoff. Are you from around here?" "Aleichem Shalom," came the reply. "I'm Yeruchem Lazar and I'm from Jerusalem. I am here to be with the Rebbe for Yom Tov." "Oh?" said Avigdor. "To tell you the truth," Yeruchem said, "I don't know how it's going to happen tomorrow, but I heard that the Rebbe said that if [I get] maftir, it's a segulah for children. Look at this crowd..." He let his words trail off.
Avigdor was crestfallen. He could not believe what he just heard. Hadn't theRebbe told him to come get maftir tomorrow? That was the only reason he and his wife had come to Bnei Brak for Yom Tov. How could both of them get maftir at the same minyan? For the last month and a half he was waiting for the next day’s Torah reading - and now this? Avigdor did not allow his disappointment to surface. Not wishing to hurt the feelings of another Jew, Avigdor was silent. He continued to make small talk with Yeruchem and wished him well.
That night Avigdor was in turmoil deciding what to do the next day. The next morning Avigdor, in deference to Yeruchem, prayed in another shul. And sure enough Yeruchem had maftir. And within a year Avigdor and his wife had a baby girl. The Rebbe had said that "things could happen." And they did -and all because of Avigdor's extraordinary character in his willingness to relinquish a potential blessing. (Echoes of the Maggid p.39, Rabbi Paysach Krohn, names have been changed)
Instead of arguing with the other Jew and making a fuss, Avigdor put aside his personal feelings and emotions and kept quiet. We can learn from this example to always put first the feelings of another Jew. One of the simplest ways to treat others right is the following: One should make it his business to find out what certain people like and dislike. He should then try always to do those things that the person likes, and not do the things that the person does not like.
We are all children of Hashem, as the verse tells us You are Children to Hashem your G-d. (Devarim 14:1) Every parent who has ever witnessed children fighting can testify to how difficult a sight it is. Every parent who has ever witnessed children treating each other properly can testify to how beautiful a sight it is. Similarly Hashem wants very much that his children get along and show love for each other.
Let us make an effort to treat others kindly and with respect. Often the father promises a reward to the children who behave. How much more so will Hashem, our Father in Heaven, reward us for getting along with one another. Good Shabbos Everyone. M. Wolfberg is sponsored by: In Memory of Leah Wolfberg, OBM, Yohrzeit this Shabbos, forever in our hearts. L'illui Nishmas Aryeh Leib ben Avrohom and Malka bas Tzvi Refuah Shleima to Reb Mordechai Mendel ben Tziporah Yitta
Have a wonderful Shabbos and a peaceful one pray that HASHEM will
take care of our enemies that they will vanish like smoke and that the voters
in Eretz Yisrael make a wise choice to help bring the Moshiach immediately,
Rachamim Pauli
