Yiddishe-Kop 2.0

Rosh Hashana

2006-09-22T12:26:00.000-05:00

As most of you already know, Rosh Hashana starts this evening at sundown. A new year is upon us, and I hope it brings us all health and peace.

Looking back on everything that's happened since last Rosh Hashana, I realize just how difficult it's become to believe that things are going to get better anytime soon. In fact, I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine who told me that all of the bad news about Lebanon and Iran was seriously making him lose his faith both in G-d and in humanity.

While it may seem like there's no end in sight to all of the evil in the world, never lose faith in what the future has in store for us. Our enemies may be powerful than we are, more numerous and much more influential, but G-d has chosen to show his strength through us and not them, and as long as we have the will, we're the ones who will prevail. It has happened before, and it will happen again.

On a lighter note: a bit of Rosh Hashana humor.

Shana tova u'metuka, everyone. I hope you all have an awesome new year.

Remembering the Fallen: Yuji Goya

2006-09-11T00:00:00.000-05:00

I'm sure none of you need to be reminded that, on this date five years ago, terrorists flew commercial planes into the World Trade Center's Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and an open field in Pennsylvania, and in the process took 2, 996 innocent lives as well as their own. Remembering what happened that day, we often forget that each of the fallen was an individual who loved and was loved. Each one of them has his own story.

I'm privileged to share what I know of Yuji Goya's.

Goya, of Rye, New York, was a 42-year-old Japanese national, vice-president of Mizuho Capital Markets Corp., and, most importantly, a husband and the father of two children.

We all remember where we were, what we were doing, who we were with when we heard the news that a plane had crashed into Tower One just before nine that morning.

I was in school learning about prepositions and tangents while Yuji Goya was saving lives.

He was the one who gave the initial order to evacuate Mizuho's 150-plus employees from its offices on the 80th floor of the South Tower. Goya, along with company president Takashi Kinoshita, and managers Masaru Ose and Keiji Takahashi, who had stayed to help him, wasted no time in urging others to leave, making sure his co-workers found the correct exits. They died when the second plane --United Airlines Flight 175-- struck the South Tower at 9:02.

Reading through the first-hand accounts of Yuji's courage, I can't help but wonder whether I would have acted as selflessly as he did. He didn't abandon his employees in some last-ditch effort to save himself; he stayed behind and did what he could to make sure everyone else knew how to leave. How many of us would have been as willing to save the lives of others if it meant having to give up our own?

Think about it.

I obviously didn't know Yuji, but just looking at some of the tributes to him makes me wish I had:

Yuji Goya was a business school classmate of mine. Although I had not seen him in many years, I was deeply saddened to hear of his untimely death. In business school he was a decent, pensive, and level-headed student and classmate.The world has lost a good man.
--Tim Goodell (Stamford, CT )

Mr. Goya was a firm, but fair boss, he worked hard, and played hard. He liked ski or sail on his vacations, and came back refreshed and ready to work hard again. He leaves behind a wife and 2 daughters who have moved back to Japan. My heart goes out to them. My family and I will be eternally greatful for his clear thinking and actions on 9/11. God Bless You.
--Tom Lochtefeld (Darien, CT )

Though there wasn't much information I could gather about his life, and there's still so much I wish I knew about him, I don't think I'll ever forget the things I do know. And I guess it's in this capacity that his memory lives on.

Yuji Goya should be an inspiration to all of us, not only because of the way he lived, but also because of the way he died. I consider it an honor to be a small part of making sure his heroism and bravery on that day aren't soon forgotten.

"Whoever saves one life, it is as if he has saved the entire world." [Sanhedrin 4:5]

...Think about the love inside the strenght of heart.
...Think about the heroes saving lives in the dark.
...Climbing higher through the fire-- time was running out.
...Never knowing you weren't going to be coming down alive.
...But you still came back for me,
...You were strong and you believed.

...Everything is going to be all right. Be strong, believe.

...Think about the chance I never had to say
...thank you for giving up your life that day.
...Never fearing, only hearing voices calling out.
...Let it all go, the life that you know, just to bring them down alive.
...And you still came back for me,
...You were strong and you believed.

.......--Yellowcard, "Believe"

(This tribute is a part of the 2996 project; those for other 9/11 victims can be found here.)

Tags: 9/11, terrorism

One Small Step For Man...

2006-04-27T18:32:00.000-05:00

Muslim Nations Urged on Space Exploration:

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Malaysia's ambition to send an astronaut to space next year should inspire other Muslim countries to embark on space exploration, an Islamic professor said Tuesday.

However, Muslims who travel to space must tackle religious challenges such as performing prayers at zero gravity and ensuring their meals fulfill Islamic dietary conditions, said Saiyad Nizamuddin Ahmad, a United Arab Emirates-based university professor in Islamic studies.

"We are all very hopeful that the efforts by the Malaysian government will inspire other Muslim countries to inaugurate space initiatives," Ahmad said on the sidelines of a conference in Kuala Lumpur to discuss Islamic perspectives on space expeditions.

The only Muslim who has flown into orbit so far is Saudi Arabia's Prince Sultan bin Salman, who went aboard the U.S. shuttle Discovery in 1985, Ahmad said.

A Malaysian might be the next Muslim in space, as the government plans to send a citizen on a Russian-led scientific mission to the international space station in October 2007. Three of the four finalists in the country's astronaut program are Muslims, while one is a Hindu.

It is unclear whether the Saudi prince encountered any problems in determining the direction of the Saudi holy city of Mecca — toward which Muslims are expected to pray five times a day — while orbiting the earth aboard Discovery.

Mazlan Othman, director general of Malaysia's National Space Agency, voiced hopes that Muslim nations could consider technical cooperation to send more people on similar expeditions.

"Muslim countries so far are not able to send an astronaut to space on their own, because we still need to partner with countries such as the U.S., China and Russia," Mazlan said.

Malaysia, which chairs the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference, is among Southeast Asia's wealthiest and most industrialized countries. More than 11,000 people in the nation of 26 million people applied for the astronaut selection process in 2003.

Ahmad, the university professor, said funding for space programs would not be a problem for rich, oil-producing Middle East nations, especially if OIC members pool resources and expertise.

"The Muslim world suffers plenty of problems, especially with its image because of issues like terrorism," Ahmad said. "We should have an inspiring example that comes from our own, instead of looking to the U.S., England or Europe all the time."

Officials estimate Malaysia's program will cost around US$25 million (euro20 million), but it will be offset in a defense deal struck with Moscow to buy Sukhoi fighter jets.

Riiiight. We all know what their real intentions are: the Intergalactic Muslim Space Corps is attempting to stop the illegal Zionist occupation of the universe. Low earth orbit is sacred Islamic territory, you know.

But seriously, do these Muslim nations honestly expect us to believe that a group of people who haven't given us anything useful since the number zero is suddenly going to make something that doesn't involve either violence, death, or fanaticism a priority of theirs?

I think I'm going to need some convincing on this one.

Meme-ness.

2006-04-23T22:47:00.000-05:00

I've apparently been tagged by Stevin, of Ionetic fame. So this is my first meme. How cool is that?

The mission: Come up with ten of life's simple pleasures I appreciate the most and then tag ten more people to do the same. The only drawback is that I can't list things someone else already has. That's going to be a little hard, since a lot of Stevin's answers happened to concide with my own. Oh well.

Anyway, here goes...

--School: I know I spend an awful lot of time griping about UIUC, but I do I love being surrounded by people who actually want to learn... even if I don't agree with them most of the time.

--Spending time with the parental units. Being away from them for months at a time has made me appreciate them a little more. Who'd have thought?

--Thunderstorms... when I'm inside, of course. They frighten and fascinate me at the same time.

--Sunrises.

--Two words: Snail mail. I love getting letters. Even junk mail.

--Homework. I'm a shameless nerd.

--Going to the library. Especially when I get so involved in what I'm doing there that I lose track of time.

--Spoken Hebrew: One of my favorite sounds in the whole world.

--Halva.

--Playing guitar, or just hearing someone else play one.

--Reading new posts from some of my favorite bloggers ... And it's just as nice seeing their comments on my own page. :)

Okay, that's actually more than ten. Guess I got carried away.

Now I'm supposed to tag ten other people, but I doubt that any of the other people who read me actually do memes. I could be wrong, though. So, does anyone want to be tagged?

Anyone?

"Palestine Awareness Week"

2006-04-17T19:56:00.000-05:00

For those of you who didn't know, April 17th - 21st is Palestine Awareness Week here at the U of I. Or, "Israel, Palestine, and the New Apartheid Regime", if you'd rather use the Arab Student Association's name for it.

Amomg the many events planned to supposedly commemorate the plight of the poor, oppressed Palestinians, most seem to do little more than demonize Israel.

Take the lecture scheduled for Thursday evening, for instance: "Israel and South Africa-- The Apartheid Connection", given by Francis Boyle, who in addition to being a "scholar" in international law and human rights, also happens to teach law courses here. Or, "From Ethnic Cleansing to Equal Rights: On Conflict Resolution", given by a Poli. Sci. professor at ISU. Or, "Resisting the New Apartheid: Divestment and Solidarity", led by Fayyad Sbaihat, head of the Palestine Solidarity Movement and its Divestment Campaign.

These events don't help make the case for Palestinian statehood. They simply divert attention from the fact that the Palestinians have done absolutely nothing worthy of our support. But, I suppose the Palestine Awareness Week calendar would look quite empty if the ASA and other groups sponsoring it had actually decided to focus on Palestinian contrubtions to the peace process instead of promulgating anti-Israel mythology.

What bothers me is knowing that lots of people will flock to these lectures and blindly accept everything they hear there as fact becaue professors and other "intellectuals" tell them it is. That they'll believe all of the lies they're told about Israel and the Palestinians because, if Francis Boyle and Jamal Nasser say that Israel's an apartheid state and engages in ethnic cleansing against Arabs, then it must be true.

Okay, that isn't the only thing that really gets me about PAW. It annoys me to no end that Israel doesn't receive as much support here on campus as the Palestinians do, simply because victimhood sells, even if it's made-up. It almost seems as if people would rather believe that the IDF eats innocent Palestinian kids for breakfast and that Israel makes its Arab citizens drive cars with different license plates than accept the more prosaic reality that the Palestinian have primarily been the victims of their own actions. And anyone who disagrees with the myth of the Oppressed Palestinian People is generally considered a hater of some sort.

The truth is that the Palestinians have never been a nation, and, given their current rate of self-destruction, probably never will be. Israel does not engage in either apartheid or ethnic cleansing against its non-Jewish citizens or the Palestinians. Any statements to the contrary are lies, and to know that these lies are being espoused by the very people we're supposed to be entrusting our intellectual futures to seriously scares me.

In all honesty, Palestine Awareness Week appears to be much more of an anti-Israel hatefest and exercise in academic antisemitism than a call for pro-Palestinian solidarity and peace with Israel. And everyone seems to be okay with it. I can't believe how blind people can be sometimes. Especially after things like this.

But no one's asking me.

Pesach

2006-04-12T12:09:00.001-05:00

Lame seder joke:

Q. What do you call someone who derives pleasure from the bread of affliction?

A. A matzochist.

I crack myself up.

Chag sameach, everyone. :)

Hopefully Not A Sign Of Things To Come

2006-03-15T21:48:00.000-06:00

Today I took part in a mock Israeli election sponsored by a local Israel advocacy group. Anyway, before the election, a "debate" was held, and much to my disappointment, only the leaders of the three "most important" parties (Labor, Likud, and Kadima) were represented in it, so the entire debate had a decidedly secular slant to it. It's like religious Zionism didn't matter. To be honest though, I didn't really expect it to. Not here anyway. Given the setting of this event, I guess I should be glad enough that Bibi Netanyahu, and right-wingers in general, were actually portrayed as sensible people with valid points. And that minor parties were included on the ballot.

I, by the way, voted NU-NRP. Not that it made any difference in the end.

Guess who won? Labor (duh), with ten votes to Kadima's nine, Likud's three, and Meretz's one. There was, oddly enough, also a vote for Shas.

Go figure.

Adar

2006-03-01T21:45:00.000-06:00

Adar is considered the most joyous month in the Jewish year, with good reason: among other things, the completion of the Second Temple, the birth of Moshe Rabeinu, the plague of darkness on the Egyptians, and, most importantly, the victory of Persian Jewry over Haman all happened during the month of Adar. The Talmud says that when Adar arrives, our joy is increased.

To be honest though, it doesn't really seem like there's much to be joyful about this Adar. Every generation has its own Haman, and ours is is no exception. This time it's potential-nuke-wielding Iranian psychopath president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who wants to eradicate the Jewish state. And then there's Hamas and the Palestinians: A group of people everyone's forcing Israel to make "peace" with just chose to have terrorists head their government. And instead of presenting a united Jewish front against these threats and others, we've decided to fight each other (sometimes literally, like at Amona) and create more divisions among us like it'll do any good.

Hopefully this Adar, Hashem will perform a miracle once again and turn the tables on our enemies and bring us closer together. We need it.

Chodesh tov.

Tags: Adar, Judaism, Israel

For The Record

2006-02-27T19:56:00.000-06:00

I didn't think I'd have to do this yet, but it seems I have to set the record straight regarding a certain misconception about me. As you can see, the first comment on my tagboard (from someone other than me) came from a person who seriously believes I've been brainwashed and wants to know who filled my head with hate.

Well:

First off, I'm not a hater. Not of the Palestinians, or the French, or Muslims, or Arabs, or... It's just not my thing and it wouldn't do anyone a bit of good if I did hate all of those people. There's no point to it.

Sure, I'm very critical of the Palestinians. I don't think their claims to statehood are legitimate, they made the conscious decision to let terrorists represent them, and they'll ultimately suffer because of their actions. But does that mean I hate every single one of them? Definitely not. In fact, I go to school with them and work with a few of them on a daily basis and I wouldn't ever decide not to be friends with any of them just because they're Palestinian.

I think the Muslim community has been wrong in using violence and terrorism in the name of Islam to protest people who accuse them and their religion of being violent and conducive to terrorism. And they're hypocrites for decrying the publication of anything casting them in a less-than-positive light while using their own media outlets to broadcast their venom against my people. I support anyone's right to make incendiary statements or publish offensive material, whether it's the European press regarding the Mohammed caricatures or David Irving's lies about the Holocaust. Free speech works both ways.

And yeah, I really do believe the Europeans are making a tragic mistake as they ignore reality and pretend there's nothing wrong with their Muslim population, and that if they don't pull their heads out of the sand soon and meaningfully address the issue, things will only get worse.

I don't get how my views on any of these issues make me a hateful person. Call me blind, but I'm just not seeing it.

So, Wagstalf from London, whoever you are, just because I don't agree with you, it doesn't make me a bigot or a hater. And, some advice: In your position, I'd worry a little less about who talks to me at school and much more about why you think it's okay to pass judgement on someone you don't even know.

But that's just me.

What's Up With France?

2006-02-23T20:47:00.000-06:00

Last week, a Jewish man was tortured and burned to death right outside Paris. Many people immediately suspected that antisemitism played some sort of role in Ilan Halimi's kidnapping and murder, but I wasn't so sure. I wanted them to be wrong; I was hoping the fact that Halimi happened to be Jewish had nothing to do with what happened. It was already a sad enough story. Well, it turns out they were right.

His captors knew he was Jewish and killed him because of it. They targeted Ilan because they think all Jews are rich, that we all have thousands of dollars stashed away somewhere in case someone kidnaps us, and that Ilan's family would pay the 500,000-Euro ransom the were demanding. Or that if they couldn't come up with it themselves, someone in the Jewish community would. And antisemitism motivated at least one of the captors to tortue Halimi.

Yet, the prosecutor in charge of Halimi's case had the audacity to insist that there were absolutely no antisemitic undercurrents to the crime, even thought it was obvious that there were. Why wouldn't he admit it? Probably because he was afraid of sparking the sort of violence from the Muslim community there that left Paris in flames late last year. I guess that's understandable, but you have to wonder what lengths the French (and the rest of Europe, for that matter) won't go to in order to avoid the wrath of radical Islam.

Instead of confronting the Muslim community head-on, France has chosen to let its Jewish community suffer. And this is yet another chapter in France's long history of ineptitude when it comes to confronting antisemitism. It helped the Nazis wipe out France's Jewish population in the '40s, let Saddam's Iraq build a nuclear reactor on its dime before the Israeli Air Force turned it to dust, enthusiastically backed a ridiculous amount of rabid anti-Israel resolutions at the U.N., treated Arafat like a hero, and then blasted Ariel Sharon for daring to suggest that France wasn't a safe place for Jews while it coughed up legislation intended to bar Jewish kids from wearing anything that might identify them as such. And now, the French law-enforcement system won't even call a spade a spade and suggest that Muslims with antisemitic motives might be involved in Halimi's murder because they think it'll stop Muslims with antisemitic motives from doing the same in the future. Nice logic.

Before I end this post, I'd like to point out to everyone that, upon hearing about what happened to Ilan Halimi, there were no acts of wanton violence by Jews against France or French interests elsewhere. We didn't torch anyone's embassies or go around killing people in protest. And the murder of an innocent man is much worse than someone publishing some stupid drawing in a newspaper.

Tags: antisemitism, France, French Jewry, Ilan Halimi

G.I. Jews

2006-02-22T20:36:00.000-06:00

There's a good article by Lt. Laurie Zimnet at the Aish site about her thoughts on serving in Iraq.

From "In My Boots":

"I am honored to serve our country, proud to wear the cloth of our nation, and mine is an exciting job... I do feel like I'm doing good for God, especially since these same people we go after not only harbor a disdain for America and all she holds dear, but not surprisingly, they abhor Israel as well, and most especially the Jews.
...I implore you to appreciate your uniform in God's army -- your kippa and tzitzis, your modest dress, your holy speech, your Shabbos table, your children's cheder, your Jewish life, your yiddishkeit. You don't need world travel, adventures, or medals on your chest to feel a life fulfilled. You're already a hero. "

Also, check out the latest post from the Jews in Green blog: The "J" Word (on proselytizing in the military).

Semper chai. :)

Tags: Jews, U.S. military

Let Them Eat Sand Cake!

2006-02-21T19:49:00.000-06:00

I've been hearing an awful lot of people slam the U.S. and Israel for refusing to aid the Palestinian people until Hamas renounces terrorism and recognizes Israel's right to exist. These are pretty reasonable demands we're making, no? So what's with the severe criticism?

It's not about trying to undermine the Palestinian government, which we don't have the right to do. It's about making sure our money isn't used to fund suicide bombings and hate media when Hamas has made it clear to us that they won't put an end to either. Many believe that we're only doing this to punish the Palestinians for they way they chose to use democracy, and that, by halting our funds to them because they voted for Hamas, we're actually discouraging it. Well now, I don't know; I'd say that the Palestinians are doing a fine job doing curbing democracy without our help.

Why? Because democratic elections don't ensure that the winners of the election are going to abide by basic democratic principles once they're in power, and by electing an Islamic fundamentalist group to head their government, the Palestinians have also limited their own liberties. When Hamas assumes complete control of the Palestinian government, what do you think is going to happen to the rights of women living there? Or Palestinian Christians, for that matter? Israel and the U.S. can support the use of democracy in the "Occupied Territories", but that doesn't mean we have to support the terrorists and oppressors elected because of it.

I couldn't care less what motives the Palestinians had in choosing Hamas to lead them anymore than I care that the Germans elected the Nazis because of the nifty parades. I'm not going to overlook the fact that Hamas spews their antisemitic vitriol against my people 24/7 just because they also happen to distribute soup and toilet paper to the poor. I don't care if Hamas finds a cure for cancer, they still have the blood of hundeds of innocent people on their hands and I don't want my hard-earned tax dollars paying for their suicide vests.

I don't see it happening anytime soon, but I think that, one way or another, Palestinian terrorism is going to come to an end. Either Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the general Palestinian public will finally cross the line and force Israel's hand or the Palestinians are going to get sick of starving and recognize Israel.

Until then, let them eat sand cake.

Tags: Hamas, U.S.-Palestinian relations, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, terrorism, democracy

In Case You Didn't Know...

2006-02-15T21:40:00.000-06:00

America is overwhelmingly pro-Israel. And not just in a "We support its right to exist" sense, either, according to a recent Gallup poll. Almost half of us don't think the Arab world will ever accept any sort of peaceful co-existence with Israel, and our opinions of the Palestinians are near an all-time low.

This should come as a surprise to no one but those deluded enough to believe that Israel has no friends. Most of us here understand that Israel's war against terrorism is synonymous with our own, and that we have a common set of values and a common commitment to democracy and equality among our citizens.

And we realize that the Islamic world is obviously dead-set against those values. Non-Muslims unfortunate enough to live there are considered second-class citizens, and no one is able to voice his opposition to the government without putting their own lives at risk. Women are treated like dirt and children are encouraged to martyr themselves and take the lives of lots of innocent people in the process. This flies in the face of everything we stand for.

Most of us are disgusted with the Palestinians and their opposition to peace. We sense the injustice present in the current situation, where Jews are spilling each other's bloood in the name of peace with people who've just chosen to be led by a group who wants Israel wiped off the map. We want nothing to do with the Palestinians until they give up their delusions of Israel being part of a greater Islamic waqf... and we can only hope that the rest of the world soon comes to the same conclusions.

Tags: Israel, Palestinians, Hamas, Islam, U.S.-Israel relations

Iran's Holocaust Drawing Contest

2006-02-06T19:24:00.000-06:00

from the Jerusalem Post:

Iran's biggest-selling newspaper has chosen to tackle the West's ideals of "freedom of expression" by launching a competition to find the 12 "best" cartoons about the Holocaust, the Associated French Press reported on Monday.

Farid Mortazavi, graphics editor for Tehran's Hamshahri newspaper, said that the deliberately inflammatory contest would test out how committed Europeans were to the concept freedom of expression.

"The Western papers printed these sacrilegious cartoons on the pretext of freedom of expression, so let's see if they mean what they say and also print these Holocaust cartoons," he said.

...Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made comments about the Holocaust over the past few months, including suggestions that European countries give Jews some of their land in order to solve the Palestinian problem.

"If your newspapers are free why do not they publish anything about the innocencof the Palestinians and protest against the crimes committed by the Zionists?" the Mehr news agency recently quoted him as saying.

Now, I'm a little confused:

How does Ahmadinejad expect people to come up with drawings about an event he's quite sure never even happened in the first place?

Tags: Israel, Iran, Holocaust, antisemitism

Outrage and Hypocrisy in the Muslim World

2006-02-06T15:48:00.000-06:00

The escalating riots over the Mohammed caricatures in European newspapers only go to further illustrate the illogic of the Muslim world.

Let me start off by saying that I do understand why Muslims would find those drawings offensive, and if I were a Muslim, I'd probably be angry too. But if I didn't want to be stereotyped as violent and terroristic, I sure as heck wouldn't go around killing people and torching public property to prove it.

And even as it decries the way its been portrayed by others, the Muslim world continues to add fuel to its own antisemitic propaganda mill. According to the European-Jewish Press, the Muslims of Europe have come out with a few drawings of their own:

A Dutch Jewish organization has filed charges with the public prosecutor after a Belgian-Dutch Muslim political organization, the Arab European League, posted several anti-Semitic cartoons on its website last Saturday.

The cartoons published on the AEL’s website feature anti-Semitic and inflammatory images including a scene where Anne Frank is in bed with Adolf Hitler. In the cartoon Hitler is pictured saying to Anne Frank “Write this one in your diary, Anne.”
Another has Steven Spielberg and Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson discussing making a film on the Holocaust with Jackson quoted as saying "I don’t think I have that much imagination."

Of all of the topics available and all the groups they could have chosen to offend while making their point, the fact that they aimed straight for the Jews with Holocaust revisionist material is hardly a coincidence. It's their way of exacting revenge, I guess. And it doesn't matter that we didn't do anything to deserve it. Why let the truth get in the way?

Which reminds me: I hope that those of you who claim that the Muslims are so ineffective whenit comes to standing up to terrorists committing atrocities in their name because they're "so poorly organized" get a clue and find a new excuse, as their behavior in the is past week has shown them to be quite the opposite. Sure, they can mobilize... whenever it's to their own advantage.

Topics/Tags: Europe, Islam, Holocaust, Propaganda, antisemitism

Amona

2006-02-01T17:31:00.000-06:00

For a while, I wasn't sure whether or not I should even write about what happened yesterday in Amona, because, to be honest, none of the words I or anyone else knows could accurately convey my horror.

They still cant.

Of all the things I never expected to happen in my lifetime, seeing Jews pulling other Jews from their homes, throwing stones and spilling each other's blood for the whole world to see definitely tops the list. Those events belong to an alternate universe. What kind of Jewish state does things like this? I was so sure that after what happened in Gaza last August, people in Israel would finally come to their senses, that they'd stop something like that from ever happening again. Looks like I was wrong.

Where are our Jewish leaders going to draw the line? How far are they ready to go and how much are they willing to give up before they finally figure out that the Palestinians don't want peace, that they never have and probably never will? What gets me more than anything about this is how unfair the whole situation is. When was the last time any of us saw the Palestinians making any sacrifices on the level of Israel's Disengagement? What have they given up for peace? Anyone?

Tovya is right: secular Zionism has been an absolute failure. But I guess that should've been obvious to all of us from the start, since Zionism without Torah is meaningless, and that it's hard for anyone to be an unfailing advocate of the Jewish state, and at the same time downplay G-d's role in what happens to us. It just doesn't work. Look at Olmert, who's using the violence at Amona for political gain, and wouldn't mind giving away half of Jerusalem to placate people who just voted for terrorists. Is this what the average Israeli is looking for in a leader, how many Jews he's willing to evict from their homes, and how many Jewish communities he's ready to destroy?

Too many of us are placing all of our faith in the U.S., Europe, and mankind in general to ensure Israel's safety, when the truth is that if the Jewish people had to depend on the rest of the world for its survival, none of us would be here today. We can only completely rely on Hashem to protect us, and Israel's government is obviously afraid to do that. Unless that changes and it chooses a real Jewish leadership willing to stand up for Israel and the Jews a whole --at any cost-- Israel is going to end up conceding itself out of existence.

G-d forbid.

Topics/Tags: Amona, Disengagement, Israel, Zionism, Palestinians

Oh, Those Palestinians....

2006-01-31T17:29:00.000-06:00

From Arutz-Sheva:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kassam Rocket Strikes PA Electric Line
20:00 Jan 31, '06 / 2 Shevat 5766

(IsraelNN.com) Interruptions in power are being reported in large areas of northern Palestinian Authority (PA) controlled Gaza, apparently the result of Kassam rockets which landed in PA areas, striking electric power lines.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

...Dear G-d, if You had to give us enemies, thank You for making them absolute idiots.

So, Hamas Won After All.

2006-01-26T13:30:00.000-06:00

I know I said I really didn't care who won the Palestinian elections, because terrorists are in control of Israel either way, but, to be honest, Hamas controlling the Palestinian government changes a lot more than I was willing to admit. This is much worse than Fatah winning. But at least the pretense of the "peaceful Palestinian majority" has finally been dropped.

Many are hailing this election as a major breakthrough when it comes to democracy in the "occupied territories," and while I share those sentiments, I'm also viewing it as a major step backwards. Why? Because the Palestinians missed yet another opportuniy to prove to the rest of the world that they don't support terrorism or those who do, which is what Abbas and the rest of the PA claim whenever Palestinians kill innocent Israeli civilians. I guess they still haven't been able to find anyone to lead them who won't consider using wanton violence to get them a state. Go figure.

No matter how you look at it, the majority of Palestinians aren't really willing to take a stand against terrorists: Either opposition to terrorism wasn't even on the priority lists of most Palestinians who voted, and they'll readily overlook what groups like Hamas stand for as long as it gets them an honest, "ethical" government in return, or Hamas is being rewarded now because most Palestinians believe its campaign of violence against Israeli civilians is what forced Israel to leave Gaza, and they want to see more of the same. Unilateral disengagement encourages terrorism, and this is why I was so opposed to it.

Either way, democracy comes with responsibilities, and as a result, the Palestinians can no longer blame their statelessness on Israel, or leaders like Abbas and Arafat, alone. A vote for Hamas is a vote for terrorism and for Israel's destruction, and negotiating with terrorists is not an option. It should now be quite obvious to the Palestinians that they can no longer claim to be powerless and expect everyone else to believe them. Because they did use their collective voice and pretty much said-- "We, the people of Palestine, support those who want Israel's destruction, even if we don't want it ourselves."

As for Hamas, it can follow one of two roads: Lose its militant stance toward Israel and recognize its right to exist, which many are predicting will happen as it assumes reponsibility over civil functions in the areas under its control. Or rule as a theocracy, oppress those who don't fall in line with their fundamentalist Islamic policies, and continue to ally itself with Iran, in which case Israel, and the U.S. will be forced to take serious action against it. The latter option seems more likely. The Palestinians will be led even further down the road to self-destruction, and they'll only have themselves to blame.

Elections In "Palestine."

2006-01-25T18:41:00.000-06:00

To be honest, I really don't care who wins. Hamas and Fatah really aren't as different as we'd like to believe. The numbers speak for themselves.

Hamas and Fatah by the numbers:

Acts of Terrorism

Fatah (1968 - Present) :
Incidents - 231
Injuries - 1462
Fatalities - 463

Hamas (1968 - Present) :
Incidents - 545
Injuries - 2904
Fatalities - 595

Election results, so far

Fatah: 42 percent
Hamas: 35 percent

Well, at least we know for sure where the majority of the Palestinian people stand when it comes to terrorism, if it wasn't clear before.

...And, if Hamas does win, I suppose Mahmoud Abbas could always go back to his old job-- rewriting history.

Jordanian Benevolence in Action!

2006-01-19T23:26:00.000-06:00

According to an article on Yediot's website, Religious Jews have pretty much been banned from visiting Jordan.

Quoting extensively from the Big Book of Arab Illogic, according to which Jews are punished for the presence of antisemites, Jordan tried to justify its decision by claiming that it's only looking out for everyone's best interests. They, for some reason or another, can't ensure that they'll be able to protect Jewish tourists from the angry masses.

Yeah, sure.

So, using this line of reasoning, we can pretty much assume that Jordan won't have any problem at all with Israel should it ever decide to deport Israeli Arabs from Israel, just in case some irate Jewish settler might want to kill them. After all, it's just a safety precaution.

The Palestinian Leadership: Evolution in Progress?

2006-01-18T22:15:00.000-06:00

The Mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Amin al-Husseini:

Hitler's Arab connection; advocated the use of death camps against Jews living in the Mandate. Need I say more?

Yasser Arafat:

Not only was he a terrorist, he was the Father Of All Terrorists. His death is quite possibly the only positive contribution he ever made to humanity.

Mahmoud Abbas:

Not as militant as Terrorfat. In fact, intead of giving orders to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, like Arafat did, he takes orders from them. And then wonders why he has no control over his people.

Oh, and he wears a suit.

Given the above, I think it's quite reasonable to conclude that the Palestinans might actually find someone competent enough to adavance their cause.... In about a hundred generations or so from now.