Stop calling it Zionism, already.

 3 Sivan 5785 | ג' סיון ה'תשפ"ה

 

 This video from some time ago gives all of us a clue on how to understand how to treat our enemies.
Dr. Anjuli Pandavar, ex-Muslim and retired college professor, said, at that time, this was "a great start" on Israel's part. We could do more. Much more.

***

 It's not Zionism, at least according to the plain definition, the obvious application being to, and about, Zion, which is synonymous with Jerusalem. See HERE for more on that. It's STATISM, as applied to all the other countries of the earth; in this case, to the Jewish state. 

I wonder, is it just my wild-and-crazy imagination, or is "Zionism," according to our governance system, actually meant to invite disgrace upon our Holy Land, and especially its capital? 

***

My post from back in February 2025 suggested that we think about the Kingdom that is the nation of Israel's native governance. I can hear the laughter now, from far, far away and long, long ago...

...because we haven't had any resemblance to a real Jewish Kingdom for a couple thousand years; and the one we had back then was corrupt, and therefore disgraceful. In the 21st century of the 'common era' we find ourselves in, we might have a clue if we lived in the British Isles, or one of the other nations, small or large, that has any type of monarchy (a list of the various kinds can be found HERE). Only a clue, however, because we'd actually have to read our Tana"ch (the Jewish canonized scriptures that don't include the Xian ones or any others) and find the many passages that describe it (or use an artificially 'intelligent' program to find them, which I do not prefer.).

But since the way it is presented to us in the current State of Israel, a so-called democracy since 1948 CE, we would find it hard to imagine what living under the properly Jewish monarchy would be like. After all, democracy, at least as I as a former American understand it and heard it recently, essentially means each of us is our own royalty. This means, if going by results means anything, that evil royalty versus good royalty could end up making the whole country subject to evil leadership, and therefore, become evil. The American founding fathers warned the world about this in their day.

Apparently, Israelis are not nearly as free as we think we are. Consider Rabbi Michoel Green's new series on Zionism (the series intro begins HERE). No one who lives in a democracy — or any other form of government — really enjoys freedom, according to Rabbi Green. See part 1: Conspiracy of Modern Statism and part 2: The Lie of Zionism. The rest, you can read on your own, either by free or paid subscription. There are many parts to it.).

I also think we need to read this article about how some of us are fighting back in an effective way. And more from it, about behind-the-curtain stuff going on regarding "OCTOBER SEVENTH" and the lead-up to it, starting with "Who Dare Point Fingers at Those Who Spied for Iran??!!" and all the links to related material there. We ordinary Israelis are seriously "being played" for fools, even in the situation we find ourselves in today. Thanks to Myrtle Rising for these two articles, and much more.

***

I wrote the first draft of this post during the day the Bibas family was brought back in coffins: Thursday, 20 February 2025 (22 Shevat 5785). I didn't cry because I had gone into cold anger. The way the whole presentation of the coffins was done — I didn't watch the videos or other media that displayed it, but I heard about it — makes me wonder whether our enemy (Hamas is the tip of the iceberg, so to speak; the whole Muslim world is our enemy; I mention dhimmitude in my writings sometimes, but the Muslims were past that many years ago, and want us all dead...) thinks that the most manipulable people in our country are the leftist supporters of the system we live under; they would be correct. But the fact that their counterparts in the government are the de facto rulers here makes us all the more vulnerable. 

At least one person, writing on Arutz Sheva,  recognizes this and is able to write about it clearly. I would say, watch for more like that.

Israelis remember when, just before this war began, there were protests in parts of the country against judicial reform. So, it seems, not only did they give our enemies the impression that we were vulnerable, ripe for the picking; but they also find us vulnerable enough that when the hostages' families protest openly, few oppose them. (One of these groups doesn't protest against our government, however. The Tikvah Hostages' Families Forum (ENG) addresses the correct parties, Ham-ass and the rest of the enemy entities. See a good example HERE of why I wish the mainstream media here would focus on them, rather than the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which focuses the blame on Israel and thus weakens us.)

I hear all the groups' pleas and their cry; however, they aren't the only ones suffering. How about the fallen soldiers whose families are mourning, the injured, whose families are with them in their pain and loss of limbs? How about the people who are driven from their homes from the periphery? 

And how about the baby who was born from his shot-to-death mother as SHE WAS IN LABOR. He died two weeks later. How many of these have we not heard about? Search for Ravid Haim ben Tze'ela.

I would like to be with all of that. However, being openly vulnerable in a time like this is just making things harder for the whole country, making it harder to win. 

Perhaps this latest offensive, Gideon's Chariots, will be our last chance? I hope not...Gideon (Gid'on) wasn't allowed to have chariots in his own time; now, we have at least their equivalent, be"H.

Just in case some readers still think that the government oppresses the judicial system here, I would like to disabuse you of that notion: For the past 30 years it has been the other way around. When was the last time you read or heard in any news source about the Knesset passing any laws without having the Israeli Supreme Court (in those days, translated the High Court of Justice) annul them? 

In Israel, it seems as though the governance system (including all branches, but especially the unelected portion of them) calls itself a democracy, but acts like a dictatorship that favors a certain group over all the others. (Ironically, it was mostly people from this very group that was targeted on "OCTOBER SEVENTH." Fortunately, some of the hostages, that we know of, got the message and are passing it on to others.)

What is referred to as "the government" consists of those who are elected — the legislative and executive branches, while the judiciary, which appoints its own replacements, is its own branch. 

Furthermore, it appears that the elected branches have no power over this one whatsoever, making it impossible to stop the judiciary from overreach. Even coming up with a way to stop this overreach can be annulled, as we just saw. As Jonathan S. Tobin (JNS) summed up in this article  (emphasis mine):

Israel’s legal problems stem from a judicial revolution that began in the last 30 years under the aegis of former Supreme Court President Aharon Barak. He arrogated to the judiciary almost unlimited powers to overturn virtually any measure undertaken by the country’s government.

Rather than defending a stable system of checks and balances, Barak’s judicial revolution created a system in which there is no check on the court, giving its permanent liberal majority the ability to override governmental decisions...

Chaos followed as an anti-Netanyahu “resistance” took to the streets to prevent any change. Though it was presented to the world as an effort to save democracy, the truth was just the opposite. The goal of the demonstrators was to prevent democratically elected governments with which they disagreed from being able to truly rule. 

This includes passing laws that would strengthen the stability of the citizenry and the Land itself. Only now, when even the army and the judiciary find themselves within easy reach of our enemies, are the elected branches able to reach out for parts of our land that anyone with a Tana"ch, Bible or  Quran in their hand can verify is ours to begin with.

It would seem that the best way to ensure that law gets enforced is...to enforce it. But since the people running "the system" don't like what our law is meant to be, we-the-people aren't allowed to decide what to enforce and what not to enforce.

I sympathize with anyone who really can't imagine what living in the Biblical vision of The Kingdom would be like. I have been working with myself for a long time to even accept the idea, since I have been neither a subject nor a citizen of even a modern kingdom at all. However, I think it's pretty obvious by now that to keep things as they are, or even try to improve them while staying in "demockracy" mode, will leave us far from solving our multitude of problems. Participating in elections that end up with us running in place, almost constantly under fire again and again and again ad nauseam, is not a good thing. 

An improperly-run kingdom, as occurred after King Solomon's time, isn't the answer either. That's why we need to make sure it's the real Biblical one, with Biblically-mandated leadership and proper supervision to insure proper fulfillment. 

Maybe that's why the post was delayed until the weekend before Shavuot, when we once again have the opportunity to understand what our nation is all about?

Here's an interesting article that just might give us a good clue about whether or not our current system is serious about solving problems...or are they more interested in political manipulation?

Shabbat shalom; and may our upcoming Shavuot bring us understanding and merit! 

***

More reading:

 Amb. Tzipi Hotoveli to British broadcaster Piers Morgan: Would you accept Hamas on your doorstep? | First One Through: The United Nations' adoption of Palestinians enables it to only find fault with Israel - original HERE | JPress: How to give to universities without supporting Jew-haters | VisionMag: Trump demands Israel relinquish claims to most of the west bank Also: Jerusalem should prepare for major Trump betrayals | JPress: 'Every terrorist has a name': Government to publicize identities of all prisoners freed in hostage deal[s?] Also:  Israeli intelligence missed gender-based violence as a strategic tool on October 7 Also, by Tzvi Fishman: One Homeland, NOT Two | HDG protests 2025 'pride' parade in Yerushalayim by linking to Myrtle Rising: Publicly protesting the desecration of Yerushalayim & Eretz HaKodesh  Also Tomer Devorah: My public protest + Rabbi Richter | JNS: Israel eliminationism: A single ideology with multiple tentacles | JPress: R' Elie Mischel: The calvary isn't coming. It's time for Jews to save themselves Also: David Israel: Shkoyach: Financial Times editorial accuses Israel of undermining future palestinian state Also: Yonatan Daon: This is NOT a war with 'Hamas' — it's a war with Palestine | The modern Jewish prophet who predicted France's two-state betrayal | Israel doesn't owe you an explanation! |

 

HUMOR: A7's one and only R' Prov. Dov Fischer: Persona non Greta  | This would be funny...except it's not. Elder of Ziyon (who never made aliyah AFAIK): According to the UN, I — an American — am a violent Jewish settler |

 

More viewing: 

 Syrian Jew [Abraham Hamra] BLOWS pro-Palestinian MINDS with the truth about Muslim countries | VisionMag: A common misunderstanding of the Torah by R' Yehuda haKohen | Presented by Eylon Levy and 10-year-old Ben Carasso: Horton Hears a Jew! | Pulse of Israel: From DC Terror to Gaza War: The war on Jews has no borders |

 

Now, it's time to think about The Kingdom!

12 Shevat 5785 | י"ב שבט ה'תשפ"ה

No such thing as Palestinians?

Dear Fellow Israeli,

Now that you're seeing our government in action during the crisis of a lifetime, what do you think of it? Many of you think of democratic governments in a different way than I and others like me, as former Americans, do. Not that I'm proud of that, by the way. I have seen how much negative influence the USA has had on Israel, especially during the last 30 years or more. And newly-re-elected President Trump, despite his intentions, whether for good or for bad, will not be able to complete the job he intends. 

It's not his, or America's, to do, but ours. Israel's. Guided by God. HaQadosh Baruch Hu, whose name we do not pronounce.

I tend to think of a democratic government as made up of three parts that were designed with equal powers that don't conflict with one another (called "checks and balances"): the executive, legislative, and judicial.

I was about to say that the military isn't part of this system; however, that's not entirely true. The President, who has about 5 million people working for him according to the Harry S Truman Presidential Library and Museum, is the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces (which isn't stated that way there. The quote at the other end of the Executive Branch link immediately before these words between parentheses is "leads our nation in times of war." Wikipedia states it clearly, under "Chain of Command.") in addition to his other presidential duties.

Here's an even easier way to explain the three-branched American democratic system, if the one above confuses you.

 I suspect that about now you're thinking that I intend to advocate a closer adherence to the American system. No, I do not; look up at the title again. Rather, the opposite. America, for her role in how we're getting our hostages back from the depths of Gaza at the possible cost of many, many innocent Israeli citizens' lives — especially Jewish ones — due to the many proven murderers we have complied with greater powers than us to release — directly into the population yet — to get them, is going to pay. Big Time. 

(Although, I have noticed that some of those released prisoners who were guilty of actual murder have gone immediately back to terrorism, with intent to murder again — another word for this is "recidivism" — have been eliminated as a result. That helps, somewhat. Would that all of them had died before they could be released.)

And that's not the only time this has happened. I was here visiting during the process of the expulsion of Jews from Gush Katif, which was in Gaza, back in 2005. You may remember what happened to America on the heels of her arm-twisting then: the great flood of New Orleans. That was water-based; what is happening because of the price America is forcing from us this time is fire-based. See Los Angeles.

Does this look or sound familiar?

And there are many other things, between 1967, when America accepted Israel and began supporting her with a full heart (or so it seemed), and when she decided that she must aim to control Israel instead...or, maybe, intended all along. That might have been around 1975, when our neighbors started to speak with people in the American government about keeping us down. I cannot find it on the internet now; it's possible that it was just in a paper magazine (which was all we had in 1975, if I remember correctly.).

I see too many comments from people on news sites like Arutz 7 and Jerusalem Post looking forward to "the next election." Please, my fellow Israeli Jews, look around you. I also hear complaints about the judicial system, the police, the huge difference between how people "behind the Green Line" and "the settlers" in front of it are treated. But, contrary to the perception from outside, a majority of Israelis recently polled have come around to the idea of taking sovereignty over Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley. If a referendum is called on the current system, a similar response, if not greater, is absolutely called for.

The corruption within the system stinks to high heaven, everyone knows it, but we're still looking forward to elections? It's not as though we have no alternative.

In every generation there has been someone designated Mashiah — the son-after-son scion of King David, from him down to our own day — but we have not been worthy, has v'shalom.

There's a whole system under the Kingdom too, but it won't be like the other kingdoms of the earth, most of which are figureheads and not real royalty.

And if, when it becomes revealed who Mashiah is, few will believe it, because of his reputation, and because of the severe charges that were laid against him prior to the revelation...please remember the corrupt government system we have now. No exception was made in this case. In fact, it was overemphasized. 

This system, with its servants, does not want to be replaced. But it must be, if we want to WIN THE WAR.

The first thing we need to do is call for a public trial for all those elite military officers, and those above them, who were responsible for allowing the Simchat Torah Massacre (aka "October Seventh" among other names) to occur without opposition for a long period of time before responding!

P.S. Israel Realtime, this evening, 19:50/7:50 PM:

❗HAMAS DECLARES A PAUSE ON RETURNING HOSTAGES - the handover of the Zionist prisoners who were supposed to be released this coming Saturday, corresponding to 02-15-2025, will be postponed until further notice, and until the occupation commits and compensates for (supposed ceasefire violations) in the past few weeks.

HDG: Really??? I hope that, whether we return to war or not, we will not release any more MURDERERS from our jails! AND NO MORE AID!!!

***

 Scriptural backup from Chabad.org; emphases mine — HDG. 

Samuel haNavi anoints David when HaShem rejects Shaul haMelech  (most of I Samuel chapter 16)

HaShem promises David that his kingdom will last forever (II Samuel 7, esp. vv. 12-16 - that's why we say that Mashiach could have come in every generation). And, BTW, it's also why JC could NEVER qualify for being Mashiach: he's not from the SEED of DAVID.

[26-3-25 I have to also question whether the Lubavitcher Rebbe could ever be Mashiach, even if he were from the seed of David, which as far as I know, no one discusses. The Rebbe had no children, and according to the Scripture references above, he would have to have a living heir, since David's kingdom is meant to last FOREVER. HDG]

 Anything about the Messiah has to be based on the two sections of the Tana"ch above. Like this one, from Isaiah:

"For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us, and the authority will rest on his shoulders...To him who will be great in authority, and have peace without limit upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to establish it..." Isaiah 9:5-6  

No one has been sitting on David's throne for the last couple of millennia...

more on the way, be"H...

***

Reading (all emphases mine unless otherwise noted — HDG):

Prof. Phyllis Chesler: Note to Israel and the world: Take off the gloves | Doña Gracia Center for Diplomacy: Why Vardanyan and other Armenian prisoners aren't hostages | Forest Rain: We need to talk about being ANGRY | Point of No Return: Trump's plan has been tried against Middle Eastern Jews (!) | Dr. Anjuli Pandavar on A7: Dear Israelis, you have it completely the wrong way round | URGENT: Hillel Neuer: Petition to replace UNRWA at the UN Monday, 17 FEB 2025 | Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA): Most Palestinian families come from immigrants from the past two centuries | Taking a stand at City Hall: Brooklyn [NY] Councilwoman Inna Vernikov quits women's caucus over anti-Israel and woke agenda | Myrtle Rising:  3 points regarding the stabbing attack against Israeli Jews in Athens | Israel Realtime: BIBAS CHILDREN AND MOTHER WERE MURDERED IN CAPTIVITY. [BIG TIME WAR CRIME. Is this real or a psyop for dhimmis? Israel MUST have confirmation. And we'd better call on HQB"H, then show some courage. We are NOT DHIMMIS. / 20250220: We have the coffins. Now it's time to confirm...or deny. -HDG] / 20250219, Israel HaYom: Bibas family confirmed dead | David M. Weinberg in the Jewish Press: 9 MILLION hostages | Dr. Inna Rogatchi: A time of tolerated crimes against humanity | Giulio Meotti: Underneath Gaza, there is a concentration camp. | JPress: A deep state doesn't get any deeper than this | Myrtle Rising: "There's going to be a balagan on Succot" — how much and what kind of information did the Gaza Division and other military and security elites know before the INVASION? | Vision Magazine: Is Yair Lapid Trump's new Israeli stooge? | JPress: Shocking: You won't believe what the Israeli High Court is actually busy with | Israeli MK NOT NOTIFIED about release of HER HUSBAND'S KILLER in H*M*S Hostage deal | JPress: Released abductee Agam Berger prays at Kever Yosef in Sh'chem | Bet El Friends: The mistakes of October 7 go back...32 years | Times of Israel: After doctors accuse Israel of shooting Gazan kids, experts see need for a second opinion |

 

For, or about, PURIM: JPress: On Purim, celebrate Jewish self-defense, NOT self-loathing | VIDEO: Shurat haDin: How Mordechai outsmarted Haman and changed history | Vision Mag: The Loss of Kingship & Cessation of Prophecy on Purim |

 

Video:

 The Jewish right to Palestine under international law | What do Rebbe Nachman's teachings say about US President Trump? | H/T Tomer Devorah: PROPHETIC WARNING FOR AMERICA!! by R' Yehuda Richter [Arab nations should also take heed! - HDG] |

The Jewish People Needs a Whole New System!

light of 15 Kislev 5784 | אור ט"ו כסלו ה'תשפ"ד

 

The Truth about Israel...Cutting Through the Psyops and Lies 

"When the Jewish People are willing to stand up and say the truth, that God gave us this Land, in public, we will not need to go to war; we will not even need weapons..." —Shifra Chana Hendrie, quoting Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson

Warning: Men, if you're careful about guarding your eyes, you may want to listen rather than watch the video.

Now, I want to make clear that I am not Chabad (nor am I affiliated with any specific Jewish group, for that matter); I'm just citing a source as I know I should, for such a quote! The truth is that no matter what the results, we should state loud and clear, "in front of God and everybody" the truth about the land the Jews of Israel live in. 

"It is a nation that will dwell in solitude and not be reckoned among the nations." BaMidbar/Numbers 23:9

If you don't like the above, I guess you shouldn't follow any religion that states this truth in their primary source, whether it be the Torah, the Christian bible or the Quran.

We see the results of having given physical and moral support to our neighbors, the Arabs who surround Israel and live within her. Not very nice, is it, to say the least.

The system we have lived under for more than 75 years has failed, having ended up in (hopefully, the last) war. We will not allow this to take us out...WITH THE HELP OF GOD!!!!!

Along with Him, we are JEALOUS OVER THE LAND HE GAVE US, and thankful for His choice of us as HIS PEOPLE!!!!! Our enemies, on the other hand, are envious of us and have been trying to divest us of any desire to cling to the Land for over 75 years. The Muslims who front for them have their own rule from the Quran that if they conquer a land and a people, they own them forever (they say "the Jews are our dogs"...sound familiar?), while Israel's leadership has done everything they can to keep certain Jewish population groups down and unsuccessful, even resorting to name-calling. 

God told us that some lands aren't ours until He says so, but that the lands we hold now are part of the lands He told Moshe Rabbenu are ours. It is up to Him and to us whether we get the rest or not.

We shall see whose rules stand the test of time, and whether the Muslims really believe in God, or in opposition to Him. For that matter, will Israel's leadership believe enough in God and the Torah (let alone the Talmud) to even desire to hold on to what we have, by the hand of God?

(It wouldn't surprise me if I were to see evidence that Israelis' tax monies are being used to support the Arabs' takeover of the Holy Land, in the name of "peace." It's bad enough that US, Canadian and European money is being passed to them, but for us to fund our own demise — What???!!!)

Watch this video (over an hour) for the surprising details:

Growing Arab Muslim Antisemitism Due to Internal Israel Issues

or click on the video on the top of the sidebar on the right, as long as it's there.

***

The rest of the post features a few of the many enablers of Israel's physical and psychological woes.  One thing to keep in mind:

The more the nations condemn Israel for striking back and even overdoing it (as they perceive it), the more they are pushing us to consider changing over to Torah law, rather than what passes for law now. Do they have a clue as to the significance of the changes in many Jews, both in Israel and among the nations, due directly to the worldwide antisemitism that has manifested in the most virulent way ever, in collective living memory?

 The more you force us back together, the more clarity there is in the collective punishment you are imposing on us (but see below, it seems the Muslims have also been imposing collective punishment on all Jews!). Therefore, you should expect collective punishment of our enemies from God Almighty, whether through our hands or not!

***

A note to PM Netanyahu: The government has a deadline with the proposed global government (the WHO) of 1 DECEMBER 2023 (this is true of all the governments in the world, by the way). You may want to check this out independently, pronto (here's a shortcut) if you haven't already. LAST CHANCE NOW! Since we're in a war for our survival literally on our soil, with more threatened to come, the country really can't be bothered with deadlines that might divert our attention from...let's just say...more important things.

***

One of my pet peeves for decades is the women's rights movement that doesn't really seem to fight for women's rights. I noticed this when I saw that they didn't put up any fuss when it became known that Arab women are really in desperate need of advocates for their rights, back in the '90s. Not that there wasn't anything against Jews going on, see below.

I don't often have the opportunity to express it, as we do now. I have a message today for the UN WOMEN...

UN WOMEN, YOUR SILENCE IS UNFORGIVABLE.

Whether you, dear reader, are a woman or a man...I've joined many others who signed THIS PETITION. I encourage everyone to stand up for the women, girls and baby girls of the Israeli border of Gaza who were victims of the SIMCHAT TORAH MASSACRE in many nightmare-making ways. Kindly let me know in the comments if you do, or have already signed. 

I've been slow as usual, having this post in editing over a month. Sorry about that.

I also recognize that the men, boys and baby boy victims deserve the same attention. Justice for all! 

You know what? Sign the petition even if you advocate only for the male victims' rights. The site is named "me too--unless you are a jew" for a reason. And no, I'm not part of it in any way. I just received an email from a friend, that's all.

***

You should know that Israel did not plot to massacre all "Palestinian" Arabs, never mind all Arabs. They struck first! We live "next door" on all sides to neighbors who keep trying to murder us. We were forced to accept them (at least on the physical level) since that was one of the conditions of our having a state. Thus, we must have firm boundaries between us and them in order to get along at all. Since the boundaries were breached, we say: NO MORE, THIS HAS TO STOP! As far as I am concerned, THEY CAN NO LONGER LIVE NEXT TO US.

What would you do if you had a murderer for a neighbor, but the rest were good? A pedophile? Would you be the one to leave the neighborhood, or would you insist that the murderer or pedophile leave?

What would you do if...you had an alternative in your back pocket the whole time and didn't use it because our people didn't want it even during the period of the Kings of Israel. We call it "politically incorrect" nowadays; it seems that Bibi EITHER promised to adopt the Hebrew calendar and make the court system based on Talmudic law OR Israel will not be governed by Talmudic law. (Both from Times of Israel! Horrible and hilarious at the same time!)

Our primary source document is called the Tana"ch; it stands for Torah, Prophets and Writings. In English, it's called the Bible (I think my readers know this, but it's always good to have a reminder.). I'd like to see all the Israelis I've heard about who returned their thoughts to God since the Simchat Torah massacre looked more closely at what's involved in having a unique Jewish government, and find out what they think, in the light of this latest attempt at genocide in our homeland. 

I think we need to consider how our current system is failing us miserably, even as we try to get our hostages back, including children aged 4 and 8 (who I think turned 9 in captivity, if it was Emily Hand they were referring to) in exchange for Arab teenage boys 14 years old and up caught attempting murder by shooting, stabbing and more. (This reminds me of about ten years ago, when throwing stones and boulders wasn't considered a crime in Yehuda and Shomron. These things, used as weapons, kill, and I hope by now that our system recognizes them as such, anywhere remotely resembling Jewish soil and certainly within "recognized" Israeli territory.)

What could be worse than giving our enemy (freeing) actual criminals who were serving jail time in exchange for our kidnapped hostages, and three times as many of their guilty ones as of our innocent ones? 

There is a HUGE difference in quality between people taken hostage, as opposed to criminals caught attempting murder. Attempted murder is a serious crime anywhere else, and people who did this are being released as though they're the same as people taken captive. 

It seems as though Israel is sending the message that they are the same here. This cannot continue if we intend to survive anywhere in the world, never mind as Jews in our homeland after a couple thousand years in exile. And so I ask...

WHERE IS KFIR, THE BABY BOY LESS THAN A YEAR OLD???
HOW IS HE THE SAME AS AN ATTEMPTED MURDERER???
WHAT DID HE DO TO DESERVE BEING KIDNAPPED AND IN CAPTIVITY???

These are serious violations of derekh eretz, common decency, not to mention current law. Don't you think it's about time we searched our own primary sources for the replacement of our current governance, since it has proven it can be, and has been, influenced by the evil of the world?

***

I got an email recently from an organization that claims it has been raising money to provide defense materials for the periphery of Israel (the "Gaza envelope", Judea and Samaria, northern Israel) for the last 30 years. Here's what I wrote back:

I understood that all the weapons were taken away by the army BEFORE the massacre in Otef Aza, and have been (and maybe still are being) taken away from the towns of Judea/Samaria. Wouldn't you want to check out whether the weapons you gave the border communities, as well as Yehuda and Shomron, were taken away as well?

I was visiting Israel in August 2005, when Gush Katif was about to be expelled by the army from what we know as Gaza today, I was here on the very day they were expelled,  and I made aliyah in 2007. I do not trust the government when it comes to these sorts of things. It would seem that the money people donated to your organization might have been a waste back in 2005.

I like your idea very much, but I think somebody should be making sure that anything (in this case, weaponry) provided by the public's money donated for defense purposes should be left with the citizens that are holding it. It is a weak hope I hold that this was the case back in 2005, and even weaker that it was the case before the current Arab war against the Jews, supported by governments around the world and, it would seem, even Israel itself, began on Simchat Torah 5784.

***

The Zionist Organization of America (I have always understood them to be referring to Zion which is Yerushalayim, not as the stolen term of the erev rav) demanded recently that Al-Azhar University revoke their all-encompassing fatwa against the Jewish People in Israel. This fatwa (decree) is evidence that the Muslims here are ordered to WIPE US OUT. It would be embarrassing for them to have to deny its existence, since they're so proud of their Jew-hatred and especially their hatred of Israel and Israelis, including non-combatant women and children (sound familiar?). I also wonder from whom the "University" received the order to make their fatwa against us. More about sharia law: books by Andrew Bostom.

ZOA also published a report: Children as young as 10 took part in Hamas' Oct. 7 Terror Attack, survivors say

  Please read it. It should speak for itself. You don't need me to tell you whether or not Gazan civilians participated in the massacre.

***

The last thing you should know: "hamas" חמס is biblical Hebrew for robbery (Bereshith/Genesis 6:11), injustice (Bereshith/Genesis 6:11 and 16:5; Tehillim/Psalms 25:19) and fraudulent (Shemoth/Exodus 23:1) according to Artscroll's supercommentary on Rashi there. Rashi also notes that in the passage in Jonah 3:8, the word hamas is used in the last phrase in the verse ("...and from the robbery that is in their hands") to indicate that the people of Nineveh had stolen goods in their possession. 

Hamas (the thing the organization is named after) is the sin that tipped the scales and made God decide to wipe the earth nearly clean of mankind and Creation itself. Fortunately for us all, God has been patient and kind, allowing the world to develop these last several thousand years; but now, we must choose the side we'll be on for eternity.

Choose wisely, Official Israel (whether in the current government coalition or in the opposition). Do you want to be identified with the evil of the rest of the world's leadership? I for one don't want to be dragged down with you, should you so choose.

Let's pray that our leadership doesn't make a mockery of our upcoming Hanukkah!

Dear World: I Don't Care, by Avi Lewis

light of 17 Heshvan 5784 | אור י"ז חשון ה'תשפ"ד

 

Dear World: I Don't Care, by Avi Lewis.
Used with permission.

 

Dear World: I don't care

I don't care that you sympathize with Hamas

I know you wouldn't tolerate any of the things they did to us if they would've done it to you

I don't care that you're outraged by Israel's response to the massacre more than the massacre itself

I know you would do everything to eliminate such pure evil if you experienced it yourself

I don't care that this doesn't fit neatly into your carefully constructed narrative of 'Israel as aggressor' and 'Palestinian as victim'

The truth hurts sometimes, but hey, don't let the facts get in the way of your feelings

I don't care if you think we are at fault, that we had it coming, that Hamas' actions didn't occur in a vacuum (or to deny they ever happened)

If you feel that the poster of a kidnapped child hurts your cause, maybe yours is a lost cause

I don't care about your calls for a premature ceasefire, about your demand that we provide them with electricity, that we stop fighting for 'humanitarian reasons'

What of a humanitarian gesture to release our 230+ hostages — elderly, children, babies snatched from their cribs?

I don't care that you've rallied for Palestine as part of your march for LGBTQ rights, trans rights, workers' rights, socialism, climate change, intersectionality, Black Lives Matter, fighting Islamophobia and 'all forms of racism'

Your gullibility would be laughable if it wasn't so hypocritical. None of those things exist under Hamas

I don't care that you 'love Jewish people — just hate Israel', that you have some friends that are Jewish, that maybe you're ethnically Jewish yourself — and therefore you're entitled to levy every libel in the playbook against us

Words matter. They lead to actions. When a lie is repeated often enough it's accepted as truth. You are laying the groundwork for more attacks against us

 I don't care that you wave the flag of 'human rights', that you've become overnight experts in international law, that you shout fancy slogans you don't understand such as proportionality, occupation and apartheid

Your humanity is selective. In your mind, human rights don't apply to us because we are undeserving. You didn't speak up when our women and children were horribly assaulted

I don't care if you think we are colonialists, imperialists, and settlers and that we should just go back to where we came from

We are back to where we came from

I don't care if you believe in a one state solution, a two state solution, a federation, an internationalized Jerusalem or any other theory drawn up in your ivory tower

We won't readily hold out our necks and endanger our lives in order to satisfy your thought experiments and placate your conscience from afar

I don't care if you consider yourself anti-Zionist but not antisemitic

We've seen enough Jews around the world attacked over the last 3 weeks under the guise of 'anti-Zionism'

I don't care that you think we are too powerful, too technologically advanced, too sophisticated

If we didn't build ourselves up to this point, we'd get eaten alive by Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, Iran and Palestinian terrorism

I don't care that you blame us for 1948 refugees, for the fact that they have no state, for the keys that they wave in their fantasy of 'right of return'

Three weeks ago we got a glimpse of that 'return' looks like and what it means for our children

I don't care if you think we aren't real Jews, that Zionism has nothing to do with Judaism, that Jews are a religion and not a nationality and so we deserve no state

Your denials have zero impact on the strength of our ideals and the self-affirmation of our identity

I don't care that you accuse us of flaunting the myriad of UN resolutions, inquiries and statements

They reflect more on the institutional decay of the UN than on us

I don't care about your media coverage, the lies, the equivocation, the acceptance of Hamas talking points and statistics

Your echo chamber is just another weapon in their strategic arsenal

I don't care that you accused us of bombing the Al Ahli hospital

It was only a matter of time before you found a symbol for Israel's wickedness. The subsequent retractions were a fig leaf once the truth emerged that Islamic Jihad was responsible and that the hospital is still standing

I don't care that you see us as a criminal state, a terror state, usurpers, baby killers, Christ killers, Khaybar Jews or any other depravity that exists in your mind

Your libels lay the groundwork for our dehumanization. Rings a bell. We will fight it

I don't care that you've inverted the truth by accusing us of genocide

If positions were reversed and Hamas held the power we do now, you'd see what a genocide looks like

I don't care that you're angry, boiling and outraged

I don't care that you're glued to your TV screens and Telegram channels

I don't care that you're mad

I don't care if you're out on the street, waving your flag and chanting your slogans

We won't die silently the way you want us to

For the first time in 2,000 years we are organized, we are motivated, and we will defend ourselves

We fight for light over darkness

Morality over evil

Not that it matters to you — but we will stick to the rules and hold the high moral ground not because you expect it from us, but because they are a value for us

We will do so ethically and thoughtfully, for we are the People of the Book

Our power and strength are our necessity, because the alternative for us is:

Be'eri, Kfar Aza, Pittsburgh, Toulouse, Farhud, Hebron, Birkenau, Belzec, Babi Yar, Kristallnacht, Kielce and Kishinev

Do you think for a moment that we would return to that reality just to make you feel a little better?

You are deeply mistaken

World,

For so, so long, I really, deeply cared

I cared about fitting in

I cared about what you think

I cared about being a model citizen

I cared about setting a personal example of how a tiny people in a tough neighborhood could still be a Light unto the Nations

How the world's oldest minority — now a majority here — could treat its own internal minorities par excellence amidst the complicated and messy reality of ethnic conflict

How we could painfully dismember parts of our homeland and offer them on the platter of peace to Palestinians that want neither peace nor some parts (they want all of it)

How we could dazzle you with USB sticks, drip irrigation, operating system kernels, Nobel Prize winners, swallowable medical cameras, deep tech, quantum mechanics, generative AI and cures for disease

But now I'm finally accepting that you don't care

You never did

You don't see and you don't hear

And because I cared about what you think so much, that so deeply hurts

...but you don't have my best interests at heart

You take issue with my base identity, with what I represent

Don't expect me to wait for your approval this time

It doesn't matter what I do, you're not going to change

It doesn't matter how I act, because your issue is with who I am

Now I'm going to block out your noise, and do what it takes to win this war

Today
Finally
I no longer care

***

Suddenly, real war is thrust upon us...

 26 Tishrei 5784 | כ"ו תשרי ה'תשפ"ד

 

 War - the Temptations (the original version, 1970)

If songs like this one had changed the world, we wouldn't be having this war now.
My beracha (blessing) is that our enemies will end up singing this song,
and the more shortly, the better!

 ***

The Eternal God of the Jews is a Jealous God, and He does not change, despite what others may tell you.

It won't be easy to explain to people who were taught that jealousy and envy are one and the same, synonymous. It wasn't always that way, and since this is a time of sorting things out and coming to clarity, I would like to contribute to that effort, even if only a little bit, by explaining why we need to separate them again in people's minds so that each has its own meaning, even though they usually refer to the same issues.

What does jealousy mean? What is different about it from envy? 

I'd like to share my studies on how and why God dealt with our "rubbing Him the wrong way" (my expression; our Torah example can be found in the Book of BaMidbar/Numbers, chapters 25 and 31, in parashioth Balak and Mattoth, respectively...) long ago, and how that relates to what's going on now.  

Of course, the offense back then was really much worse than a brush of another's hair in the wrong direction; part of the reason is because we don't fully understand God's prerogatives as the Creator, as opposed to our rights as human beings. Some have though that what God does is an example for them to follow, with disastrous results. Misunderstanding this, and many other things, has led to many mistakes, and even criminal actions, on the part of humans the world over.

We do have courts of justice to settle these things...or do we?

The work may be difficult if not impossible, but that doesn't mean we desist from hard questions. I am writing further about this topic, and how it applies to God and our relationship with Him. The war between Israel and Hamas (which might turn out to be between Israel and the "Palestinians" and even more) is a good place to use as an example before we start. I think that God allowed this war because we in Israel especially haven't been paying attention to His role in keeping it relatively peaceful here. Because our leadership is always blocking Him and His ways regarding how the country should be run, He cannot defend it fully. But He will, eventually, when enough of us say, "ENOUGH!"

I should not have to remind my readers that if we had done things the way He wanted them in 1967, when we had just won the Six-Day War, there would be total peace here (I'm looking at you, Moshe Dayan, who made the mistake of letting the wrong people have the Temple Mount at the worst possible moment, and a few others as well, for being all too generous after the war.).

Stay tuned. We may be in for a rocky ride here. Or — and this is what I'm hoping and praying for — a better way up and out of this situation and into the culmination of geulah shlemah for us and for all the good and decent people in the whole world.

***

More reading:

New prayer for the soldiers, translated to English | "I can't believe I'm alive," Rachel Edry told the news site Walla after her release | The "Settler" [Judea-Samaria Jewish Homeland] Heroes Saved Tel Aviv from a Katyusha Holocaust 2.0 | 50 Israeli Supreme Court Decisions...see why Israel needs judicial reform. | Al-Jazeera doesn't want you to see this video about the Temple Mount [Har haBayit]! |

It's time for elections. Where's Mashiah? Who is he?

 17 Tevet 5781

My first words for this article were: 

If haShem expects me to vote for Mashiah, he has to show up and be identified, even if he doesn't say a word. His actions will speak for him.

Well, we in Israel have been on a roller coaster for the last month or so, between the announcement of new elections, the killing of a young settler by police who drove the car he was in off the road (I'm tempted to call him our George Floyd, but there is a lot of difference between the two, so it is hard to put them together...even though someone made a cartoon of Ahuvya Sandak, z"l, with a policeman's knee on his neck; rabbis have called for an investigation)...

...and now the return to Israel of Jonathan and Esther Pollard just yesterday. Does he want to be in politics? An emphatic no! "I've suffered enough."  Welcome home, Jonathan and Esther!

Not to mention that we are in the midst of a grand worldwide experiment called the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine (none of the choices are officially approved by any health agency; in the US all approvals have been for emergency use only (EUA) and instructions explicitly state that nothing is promised in terms of benefits.) Germany (co-creator of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine) is jealous because we got ahead of them to deploy vaccines. Apparently we paid twice what Europe paid per dose, so we received it sooner, that's all. I only hope our prime minister's concern is not misguided. He called Pfizer's CEO personally (same link as the one immediately above).

Just before that, the three girls who were in prison in Bulgaria were freed just after Jonathan Pollard's onerous parole was declared over. I look forward to seeing other Jewish prisoners who are on the receiving end of punishments that are highly inappropriate for the crimes they committed, or who are innocent of them because others committed these crimes using them for bait, go free.

My head is spinning. Too much is going on, my computer hasn't been working and I am typing on another one for now. It has slowed me down on the blog, among other things. I hope the links are enough to explain and give substance to this article, so that my precious readers understand that it isn't just my opinion.

Happy secular new year 2021. I hope it won't be as scary as some are predicting, and that we'll see Mashiah ruling Israel instead of the crazy, immature organization that poses as our government!

(Ahuvya z"l's mother actually had to cry out, "Have you no shame?" when summoned by telephone to testify at the police station! And where is our government's response to that?)

 

I'm finding this "new normal" confusing. Do you? Perhaps R' Alon Anava can help us...

Purim: Why Drink Wine?

14 Adar Bet 5776

Blogger's note: I, among many others, have wondered for years just exactly what drinking wine on Purim is supposed to accomplish. I found the best answer in the article below.

In addition, this article addresses the controversy of a man who only posthumously entered the spotlight because, as is not so well-known or considered, as the physician of the area, he had been in an emergency meeting where then-IDF General Shaul Mofaz shared news that the Arabs in Hevron were planning to wipe out the Jews there. Because the IDF left the situation alone even though, as the Megillah was being read, Arabs could be heard shouting "Itbach al Yahud!" - "Slaughter the Jew!" - what happened the next day is still a subject of great argument, since he isn't around to testify or defend himself as a result. His name: Baruch Goldstein, M.D.

Read on...

PURIM — DRINKING FOR CLARITY (1998)

The Writings of Rav Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane HY"D

Republished with permission from Barbara Ginsberg; emphases are mine. -CDG

The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 695:2) brings down as law the words of our sages' in Megillah (7b): "A man is required to mellow himself (with wine) on Purim until he cannot tell the difference between 'cursed be Haman' and 'blessed be Mordechai'". Many fine Jews have pondered this somewhat bizarre utterance, and have given different explanations.

Is the phrase teaching us that we should get absolutely "plastered" on Purim, to the point where our minds cannot distinguish properly? It seems odd that the sages would encourage such a thing. After all, Purim, like any other holiday, is intended to convey to the Jew certain IDEAS. Since one of the central ideas of Purim is the struggle between good and evil; between Mordechai and Haman - why would the sages want to muddle and obscure these concepts? Furthermore, the expression, "to mellow oneself" does not connote that one should be "rip-roaring drunk," and certainly it is not likely the sages would endorse such a state of mind.

Our teacher, Rabbi Kahane, HY"D, offers a powerful explanation to this question. The point is not that one should drink until he becomes confused and says, "Cursed be Mordechai", G-d forbid. Rather, he should understand that there is no difference between blessing Mordechai and cursing Haman, between blessing the righteous man and cursing the evil one. Both are mitzvot. It is a mitzvah to FIGHT and CURSE the evil-doer precisely the way it is a mitzvah to BLESS the righteous man. The two are equal, complementing one another.

 

JEWISH COMPLEX: THE MERCY OF FOOLS

Let us develop this idea. It would not be a shocking revelation if we said that Jews in our generation, as well as in past generations, have a serious problem with the concept of cursing and hating evil. Despite the fact that this subject is a central part of Judaism, permeating the Tanach, Mishnah, Talmud, and halacha, for all kinds of reasons it is difficult for Jews to internalize the need for the burning out of evil, and the hating of the evil-doer. It is a hang-up we are familiar with from the days of King Saul (who in his misguided mercy spared Agag the Amalekite, which eventually brought upon us the episode of Haman!!!!!) - until this very day, where mercy on enemies and murderers has brought us to the brink of tragedy.

For the record, Queen Esther did not fail in this area. After the first day of Jewish vengeance against their enemies, Achashveirosh asked her if she had another request. She answered: "If it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews who are in Shushan to do tomorrow also according to this day's decrees, and let Haman's tens sons be hanged upon the gallows." In other words, Esther did NOT have the galut complex of taking pity on a fallen enemy. On the contrary - she requested that the Jew-haters be killed one more day.

 

DRINKING STRAIGHTENS OUR THINKING

When the sages tell us that we should not distinguish "between cursed is Haman and blessed is Mordechai", they are coming to tell us: You are required to mellow yourselves with wine, so that you will not hesitate to come to the full understanding that the concept of "Blessed is Mordechai" is EQUAL to the concept, "Cursed is Haman". That is, HATRED OF EVIL IS NO LESS IMPORTANT OR FUNDAMENTAL THAN LOVE OF GOOD, AND THERE IS NO ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER. Purim is the time to elevate ourselves in our thinking. Precisely by getting a little tipsy on wine, we can remove the usual inhibitions and hesitation, which commonly prevent us from cursing and hating evil!

The Rav has taught us something tremendous. Purim is NOT a holiday of drunken confusion and chaos, or for casting off our heavenly yoke. On the contrary. Purim is the day to cast off the HYPOCRISY of our everyday lives, and to sever ourselves from the phony self-righteousness which causes us to not want to condemn the wicked. Getting mellow or tipsy on wine straightens us out. If foreign, un-Jewish concepts permeate our thoughts all year round, on Purim we reveal our authentic, uninhibited selves. Without apologies, without "the mercy of fools" (as termed by the Ramban); without being "more righteous than our Creator" (as the midrash depicts Saul when he refuses to kill Agag).

 

IN CONCLUSION, A WORD ABOUT DR. GOLDSTEIN

At this juncture, let us mention that this Purim is the fourth* annual Yahrtzeit for the holy Dr. Baruch Goldstein, HY"D. In all his deeds, we remember Dr. Goldstein as a man, who in his life and his death, was a symbol of "not knowing the difference between cursed is Haman and blessed is Mordechai." On one hand, he was the epitome of good. His dedication as a doctor to heal his patients was incredible. "Ahavat Yisrael" conquered his heart. From this aspect, he was "blessed is Mordechai." On the other hand, this love was not "out of control." He knew that just as it is an obligation to love the good, it is also a "mitzvah" to hate the wicked. This is the "cursed is Haman" aspect. May we merit to be whole in our attributes, and to internalize our understanding that the war against evil is part and parcel to the goal of bringing good to the world.

*Today, in 2016, is the 22nd yom neshamah, or yahrzeit: both mean death anniversary.

Purim Torah by Rabbi Ephraim Sprecher, 

from the OU Center, Yerushalayim

Purim Sameach!

More reading:

Purim Appeal 5776

33 Hours for 33 Jews Murdered in 'Terror Wave'

20 Adar Alef 5776

Yesterday the Women for Israel's Tomorrow ("Women in Green") and friends began a 33-hour vigil in front of the Prime Minister's residence because, in the words of Nadia Matar and Yehudit Katsover,

It is impossible to continue this way. 

We must put an end to the routine, in honor of the memory of those who have been murdered. 

We must stop the stuttering, first of all in the matter of our ownership of the Land. 

We must, once and for all, cut off the hope of the enemy. Yes. The hope. It is not despair that drives the enemy, but hope. The hope of establishing a Palestinian state in the heart of our Land. This is what they are fighting for. And this hope must be cut off by the application of Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria and the implementation of sovereignty in our entire Land. 

There must be a final resolution of the most basic question regarding our existence and when the enemies see our government's determination, they will understand that they must accept reality. This is what we will say today and tomorrow to the prime minister near his residence in Jerusalem for 33 hours. Join us!

When they wrote the email, they had just visited the home of Eliav Gelman, hy"d, from Karmei Tsur, the 33rd fatality in this most recent terror wave, which began on Rosh HaShana 5776 (Sept. 13, 2015). The sign above refers to the way the nations order us around — and our leadership obeys, telling us that this the path to being a normal nation. Many of us Israelis disagree with that explanation because the results speak for themselves. Or, rather, they shout loudly. Because we are a nation of returnees, a large percentage of us remember how a normal nation is supposed to behave, and we are not fooled. Above all, we believe that Israel is to be a normal nation on its own terms, and not those of the rest of the world.

I was at the vigil yesterday, and I am still clarifying until when they will be there today. By my reckoning, ending at 6 PM (18:00) will fulfill the whole 33 hours because they started at 9 AM (9:00) yesterday. Israelis are invited to attend while it is still happening.

CORRECTION: Nadia Matar wrote me that they started at 6am yesterday, so they will end earlier than I had thought.

More videos are forthcoming. The ones I had access to from yesterday are in Hebrew, below. Each one is less than 5 minutes long.

MK Moti Yogev (Bayit haYehudi)

Binyamin Council head and Yesh"a leader Avi Ro'eh

Jerusalem City Councilman Dov Kalmanovich

More reading:

'We can't get used to terror - this is Israel 2016!' | Activists begin vigil against terror | Yesh"a Council Head: 'Annex Judea-Samaria now to defeat terror' | 33-Hour Vigil Near PM's Residence In Light of Continuing Terror | 

More Videos: Nashim BeYarok You-Tube Channel

The Families of "Our Boys": We are growing through the pain...

21 Tammuz 5775

Last Erev Shabbat (the day before Shiva Assar b'Tammuz, when we would have fasted except that it was Shabbat), a ceremony took place honoring the first year's existence of Oz v'Ga'on, built in honor and memory of Naftali Frankel, Gil'ad Sha'ar and Eyal Yifrah, who were murdered last year and dumped not far from Hevron. Here is the video, in Hebrew with English voiceover:

I was not there. I'm just reminding my dear readers that people here in Israel still think of them, even if it's long over as far as the rest of the world is concerned. For that matter, we think of all our murdered ones...removed from the world just because they were Jews. May HaShem Boreh Olam (G-d, Creator of the World) rid the world of evil and those who cling to it, thinking it to be good, and bring justice and peace to the world through the crowning of our righteous Mashiach for the sake of these martyrs, who died al kiddush haShem, "על קידוש ה.

For more, go to Women in Green.