BOTCOTT AM:PM

Did this happen in Alabama? No. Idaho? No. Where in the world would Jews be forced to work on Yom Kippur?

Why, Israel of course!

From Yeshiva World News:

In a move that will most likely increase the boycott against AM:PM convenience stores and its affiliates, it has been learned the company compelled Jewish employees to work on Yom Kippur.

The story was covered in the secular media as well, as there too, the move was condemned, with the explanation that Yom Kippur was until now an understood day on which the Jewish People refrained from work.

Employees of AM:PM apparently were compelled to work for fear of losing their jobs as the stores continue to celebrate their total disregard for Shabbos and other Jewish holy days.

According to secular media reports, in Tel Aviv, at least two AM:PM stores compelled Jews to work, stocking shelves and cleaning the store. They were paid 300% overtime for their efforts.

Degel HaTorah MK Moshe Gafne turned to the Ministry of Industry & Trade, demanding the ministry use the full authority of the law against the company. Minister of Industry & Trade Eli Yishai (Shas) has ordered a full investigation into the incident.

Over the past months, the AM:PM chain has opened three additional Tel Aviv stores on Shabbosim. AM:PM is owned by the parent company as Shefa Shuk.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel – This article written after the first day Sukkos in Eretz Yisrael)

YOU can make a difference. Boycott all AM:PM stores whether in America or Israel.

Am Yisrael Chai!

See Rav Amnon Yitzchak Shlita!

Film of his Nassau Coliseum appearance is: HERE

My dream

I dreamed a few nights ago and in it I was shown a large scorpion. I understood in the dream that that meant that Mashiach will arrive during the sign of the scorpion (Scorpio). I was then shown a building that didn't rest on earth, it rested on the ocean. I was shown a beautiful apartment that was huge inside and filled with clarity and beauty. The walls were lined with seforim and a Jew sat at a dining room table learning. I was to understand that this was NOT to be my apartment. I was then shown a very humble and mediocre apartment where I was to dwell.

Then I was taken to an auditorium where all of Klal Yisrael was seated. We were all waiting for Mashiach to appear. The usher took me to the left side of the auditorium in the middle (not the front or the back). I wanted to sit up front but was not permitted. The Jews sitting in my row were talking sheker and divrei chol like some do on Shabbos in shul. I was very embarassed.

May Hashem reverse my gezeiros kashos and accept my teshuvah. May we strive to have the best in Olam Ha-Ba and not in Olam Ha-Zeh.

Ain Od Milvado.

Birkat Kohanim from the Kotel! New for Sukkot!

What a fabulous turnout! May we ALL be in Yerushalayim: Kohanim, Leviim and B'nei Yisrael by Hoshana Rabba, greeting Mashiach Tzidkeinu!

Mass March in Jerusalem, Holy Temple Laver to be Unveiled

Arutz Sheva:

Despite the intermittently heavy rains, close to 10,000 people have showed up for the traditional Sukkot holiday march in Jerusalem.

They set out from two different points outside the capital - the Kastel near Mevaseret Zion, and the Sataf brook not far from Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital - as well as from the Armon HaNetziv neighborhood in southern Jerusalem. All three spears will meet in Sacher Park near the Knesset, from where they will set out in the afternoon towards Liberty Bell Park.

Very many downtown roads have been or will be closed in the city, adding pressure to the expected traditional holiday traffic jams. The list of closed streets reads like a Who's Who of Jewish history and culture, and includes Rabbi Akiva, Jabotinsky, Ramban (Nachmanides), Hillel, Shammai, Nathan Strauss, Ben-Yehuda, Ben-Tzvi, Betzalel, Shmuel HaNagid, Eliezer Mapu, Mendeleh Mocher Seforim, HaMatmid, Histadrut, Kakal (Jewish National Fund), Gaza, Shalom Aleichem, Achad HaAm, Keren HaYesod, HaAri, Saadiah Gaon, Benjamin MiTudela, and more.

Among the marchers are or will be some 3,000 tourists from abroad who have arrived to show solidarity with Israel. Labor unions will also take part, including from Israel Aircraft Industries, government offices, banks, Israel Electric Company, the Postal Authority, and more.

A relatively new arrangement is being instituted in Jerusalem, whereby motorists can park their cars for the day and receive bus tickets for travel around the city for only 15 shekels. The parking lots are located at or near the Supreme Court and downtown Safra Square. Free parking and bus rides begin at the Teddy Stadium and Ammunition Hill parking lots.

Thousands more people are expected to descend on the capital for the various holiday activities, including the Hak'hel reenactment in the Old City at 4:30 PM. The event is sponsored by the Temple Institute and the Jewish Quarter Reconstruction and Development Company. It will feature public Torah readings by leading rabbis, the sounding of Holy Temple-type silver trumpets, a short film describing the Sukkkot water pouring festival, and the unveiling of the just-completed Kiyor HaNechoshet (brass laver), which the Temple Institute hopes will be used in the Holy Temple when it is rebuilt.

Hundreds Visit Temple Mount

An unprecedented 400 people were allowed onto the Temple Mount this morning, though only in separate groups, and the police allowed them - for the first time in memory - to read Biblical verses aloud. Another group is scheduled to visit Judaism's holiest site for 12:30 PM. All the visitors followed the precautions prescribed by those rabbis who allow ascent to the Temple Mount, including immersing in a mikveh (ritual bath), prior to and during their visit.

Rabbi Chaim Richman of the Temple Institute explained the significance of the unveiling of the laver at this point in time: "The kiyor is the first thing used by the Priests in the Temple every morning, when they sanctify their hands and feet before beginning their daily service. Essentially, they are washing their hands of the misconceptions of G-d and of life that they had yesterday, and are beginning the new day with a new slate. The laver is thus all about looking forward. We ourselves must do the same thing; in this generation, we have to cleanse ourselves of mistaken conceptions regarding the Temple, such as that we need to stand by passively as it is brought down from Heaven. We must be proactive, constantly working, praying and thinking towards the rebuilding of the Temple and its restoration to its proper place as the central pillar of Jewish society."

Oy lanu...

It has been many months since I have posted. On one hand I felt like I was letting everyone down. On the other I was just physically, mentally and spiritually unable to. So much has happened in the past month... I there any question that the Geulah is near? Everyone I know is is going through one or more of the following:

Financial problems
Health problems
Marital problems

I have seen friends and family lose their homes, go off the derech, be diagnosed with major health problems like cancer. It seems everyone is suffering. My own healing of my broken leg is going much slower than expected.

Iran, Russia, Syria, Lebanon... the collapse of our economy... war... panic... fear...

Were that these were our biggest problems! Why am I frightened? I am frightened becuase Mashiach Tzidkeinu is here and ready to reveal himself very soon. Oy lanu! We were warned for centuries! We were told to prepare! The Chofetz Chaim wrote that all Kohanim must learn the Avodah and be ready. We hold each of his precious words about Lashon HaRa as sacred, but when it comes to this... everyone disregarded it! I am trying to up my learning and trying to understand the complexities that I need to know... but how can I? I am an am ha-aretz. I am nothing. And I have no leader or teacher to help me. Who knows these intricate halachos? Who will step up and teach B'nei Aharon?

I tremble with fear. The Melech sits in judgement and my merits are few. Oy lanu!

I publically ask forgiveness of anyone I have hurt or offended and I forgive anyone who has ever hurt or offended me. May no person be punished on my account.

Enjoy your bonfires!

Israel hit by Bible burning row - BBC NEWS

Messianic Jews in Israel say they want an inquiry into the burning of hundreds of copies of the New Testament by Orthodox Jews in Or Yehuda last week.

The books were given to the town's Ethiopian Jews by the Messianic Jews, who believe in Jesus as a saviour.

Or Yehuda's deputy mayor says he received complaints about the books, and arranged for them to be burnt.

He has now apologised after his actions have been compared to those of Nazis who burnt Jewish holy scriptures.

Proselytizing to Ethiopian Jews is sensitive because historically they were the target of missionaries who converted many to Christianity in Ethiopia - though they later argued the conversion was forced and they had never really abandoned their Jewish faith, the BBC's Frances Harrison says.

The dispute is revealing growing tension between Messianic Jews and their Orthodox opponents who do not recognise them as Jews, our correspondent adds.

'Dumped and burned'

Many of the details of exactly what happened in Or Yehuda are now disputed.

But the deputy mayor says Messianic Jewish missionaries had targeted an area of the town where many Ethiopian Jews live, distributing packages containing New Testaments and pamphlets.

He says he received complaints and then drove around the area with a loudspeaker urging people to hand over the material to Orthodox religious students who went door-to-door collecting it.

The books were then dumped in a pile and burned.

Messianic Jews complain of institutionalised discrimination and are demanding all those involved be put on trial.

Meanwhile, Orthodox Jews are applauding the destruction of texts they say urge Jews to convert.

me: Happy Lag B'Omer everyone!

BOYCOTT URBAN OUTFITTERS!

This disgusting tee shirt is the latest in Urban Outfitters propaganda. It glorifies terrorism, martyrdom and child abuse and paints the "Palestinians" as victims rather than aggressors.

The original page can be found HERE

I urge you to contact the company and protest. Their contact page is HERE

Little Green Footballs brought this to my attention. Check out their post and the reply that was received from Urban Outfitters.

Please pass this on to as many people as you can. My wife would like to organize a flier distribution outside the local store.

A Navi?

My dream on Shabbos.

I had a dream that my wife was pregnant and quickly gave birth to a boy named Michael. He had long hair like a Nazir and looked about two to three years old. Suddenly I was standing at the bima reading from the Torah and a Mohel came and did a bris on him. I had a feeling in the dream that the baby represented the Angel Michael. Not knowing much about him, when I awoke I looked up where he was mentioned and found this in Sefer Daniel:

"13. And the prince of the kingdom of Persia has been standing against me for twenty-one days, and behold Michael, one of the first princes, has come to help, and I remained there beside the kings of Persia (Iran)."

14. And I have come to enable you to understand what will happen to your people at the end of the days, for there is yet a vision for those days."

"1. Now at that time (the end of days), Michael, the great prince, who stands over the children of your people, will be silent, and it will be a time of distress that never was since a nation existed until that time, and at that time, your people will escape, everyone who is found inscribed in the book.

2. And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awaken-these for eternal life, and those for disgrace, for eternal abhorrence.

3. And the wise will shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who bring the multitudes to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.

4. And you, Daniel, close up the words and seal the book until the time of the end; many will run to and fro, and the knowledge will increase."

Nava does it again!

Two excellent posts from Dreaming of Moshaich.

The first one deals with the Tzadik Rabbi Meir Ba'al HaNess. My wife and I named our last child after him. May we all see miracles in the Zchus of the Tzadik Rabbi Meir Ba'al HaNess! She writes: "...a tradition has remained that when a Jew finds himself, in any sort of crisis, he gives charity, and dedicates the charity in memory of R' Meir Baal Haness. He then says, “God of Meir - answer me! God of Meir - answer me! God of Meir - answer me!” and in that merit will hopefully have salvation from his crisis." Please visit her site and please donate in the zchus of the Holy Rabbi Meir Ba'al HaNess.

The second article is about the end of Al-Qaida (yemach shemam). Interestingly enough, she quotes the Zohar about the descendants of Reuvain going against Israel. As many may not know, the prevailing Taliban rulers are from the Pashtun Tribes of Afghanistan and some of them trace their lineage back to Reuvain! In fact, they call themselves Bani Rabani (B'nei Reuvain).

She writes:

"On the above, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, zs'kl, wrote 2,000 years ago in the Zohar HaKadosh in Parshat VeYechi...

אמר רבי שמעון, זמינין אינון בני ראובן לאגחא תרין קרבין בגו ארעא כחי , וראשית אוני , יתר שאת , ויתר עז

The people who fight these wars are the sons of Reuven; descendants of Reuven. This does not mean that they are Jewish because these descendants lives in these areas for hundreds of years and during the long exile, lost their path and religion.

They will make 4 wars during certain periods of history but the last one will be excessively daring 'יתר עז' - and the last war will be during our period of time.

יתר עז : לזמנא דמלכא משיחא יתער בעלמא אינון יפקון ויגחון קרבין בעלמא וינצחון ויתתקפון
על עמממיא , ובני עלמא ידחלון קמייהו וירתתון מנייהו .

During the time that Moshiach will be revealed, they will go out and organize battles and wars thruout the world. Their wars will succeed and the nations of the worlds will fear them very much.

זמינין אינון לאגחא קרבא בארבע סטרי עלמא, ולמשלט בקרבייהו על כלא, וינצחון עממין סגיאין וישלטון עלייהו.

Their wars will not be in one or two positions like regular wars, rather it will be decisive and rough in all areas of the world. They will succeed in their wars and take control.

ויחשבו לאתגברא במלכותא...

The success of their gain thru their war against the nations of the world will cause them and the world to believe that they are controlling the world, but...

ולא ישתארון ביה, הדא הוא דכתיב פחז כמים אל תותר. מאי טעמא לא ישתארון ביה, ואפילו בסטרא חד דעלמא, בגין כי עלית משכבי אביך, דזמינין לאעלא ולאגחא קרבין בגו ארעא קדישא, משכבי אביך דייקא זו ירושלם.

In the end, their strength will dwindle and they will be extinguished from the world*, till not even one of them will live anywhere in the world."

Here are some interesting links on the Israelite origin of the Pashtun (Pathans):

CLICK
CLICK

"There is interesting evidence about the preservation among the tribes of family trees on their origin, and on their relationship to the fathers of the Israeli people. These family trees are well preserved. Some of them are penned in golden lettering on deerskin. The names of the tribes speak for themselves: the tribe of Harabni (in the Afghan tongue) is the tribe of Reuben, the shinwari is Shimeon, the Levani – Levi, Daftani – Naftali, Jaji – Gad, Ashuri – Asher, Yusuf Su, sons of Josef, Afridi – Ephraim, and so on."

"Even though the Pathans accepted Islam voluntarily and forcibly, they maintain Jewish customs preserved from the recesses of their past. The book contains considerable evidence taken from Jews of Afghanistan who lived in the neighbourhoods of the Pathans and had contact with them. The evidence doesn’t relate to all the Pathans or to all the tribes and places. However, it does prove the existence of Jewish customs among the Pathans. The research on this subject still requires completion, both quantitative and qualitative. Let us note the customs in headline form only: sidelock, circumcision within eight days, a Talith (prayer shawl) and four fringes (Tsitsit), a Jewish wedding (Hupah and ring), women’s customs (immersion in a river or spring), levirate marriage (Yibum), honouring the father, forbidden foods (horse and camel food), refraining from cooking meat and milk, a tradition of clean and unclean poultry, the Shabbat (preparation of 12 Hallah loaves, refraining from work), lighting a candle in honour of the Shabbat, the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) prayer (some of them pray turned in the direction of Jerusalem), blood on the threshold and on the two Mezzuzot (in times of plague or trouble), a scapegoat, curing the ill with the help of the Book of Psalms (placing the Book under the patient’s head), a Hebrew amulet (Kamia), Hebrew names (also. for neighbourhoods and villages), Holy Books (they especially honour ‘the Law of Sharif’ which is the Law of Moses), and rising when the name of Moshe is mentioned.

As for the Pathan law, they have laws similar to the Jewish law. The Magen David symbol is found in almost every Pathan house on an island in the Pehshauor district. The rich make it of expensive metals, the poor from simple wood. The Magen David can be seen on the towers of schools and on tools and ornaments."

I'll stop here. Fascinating stuff, though!

Thank you, Nava for continuously inspiring and educating!

Sick Chilul HaShem.

Just stumbled upon this woman's blog. She is a self-described "Crunchy kosher parent..." from Beverly Hills.

She is also an Obama supporter.

The other day she found the pictured note on her windshield.

Really? Is this what some of us have become? This woman is exercising her first amendment rights by publicly stating her political opinion and someone who disagrees calls her names and leaves her a hate message?

To that coward who left the note: No, sir or madam, shame on YOU! YOU are not a Jew! Jews do not terrorize fellow members of Klal Yisroel when they disagree with them.

I am certainly no Obama(nation) fan. Regardless, this is a free country and this woman has the right to have a bumper sticker on her car without the fear of hate mongers leaving threatening messages.

Wonder how he or she will defend themselves when they stand in front of HaShem.

She writes regarding the note:

"Thank you.

When my children reach the age to ask, "Ima, why do all these bad things happen?" I'll have this great teaching tool. I'll be able to show them this note and tell them that when we say these types of things to other people we are still in need of learning compassion. So Hashem lets horrible things happen to teach us to care for our fellow humans and share in their grief.

I don't mind if you disagree with my political opinions (like my husband does). However, using hate and fear-mongering is not right on any level. And to do so anonymously is just plain childish.

And, I find it slightly ironic that the bumper sticker under the Obama one is "Lo Loshon Hara." (Roughly, "No Evil Speech.")"

Please visit the original post HERE

Incredible. It just keeps going.

Is anyone really going to say that thing aren't getting scary?



Chinese earthquake.



Tornadoes.





Cyclones.

Please visit a great new site.

Bar Kochba has once again shown his love and devotion to Am Yisroel with his new site The Truth About Moshiach.

Please check it out!

New Birkas Kohanim Video!

What I'm listening to to make me feel better...

Ha Rav HaGadol Amnon Yitzchak Shlita

Worth Seeing.

Happy Pesach!

Chag Kasher V'Samayach!

May we all be redeemed in Nissan and see the Geulah!

Please daven for me.

I have seen many miracles happen through prayer. Last Friday, erev Shabbos, I was cleaning for Shabbos ands Pesach when I slipped on something left on the floor. I fell forward and broke my right leg.

Though I am in pain and I cannot help my wife prepare for Pesach, I do see miracles. When I fell, I was convinced I had broken both my legs as I couldn't move either and I have a history of fractures. Secondly, when I do fall and break my legs, I usually need surgery.

Well, it turns out I only fractured my right leg and I do NOT need surgery (B'IH). There is light within darkness and I don't know why this had to happen to me, but I thank HaShem that it wasn't worse.

Please daven for me and paa my name on. It is Yehudah Tzvi Ben Elisheva.

I would greatly appreciate your tefillos and I humbly ask you to pass my name on to the refuah shelaima list in your shul.

Thanks you so much and may we see complete healing and Redemption before Pesach.

Best,

JHK

Know who you really are.

Mmmmmmmm... Kohainlicious

Yee ha!





Just got my DNA results back.

Turns out I am "J1" which is the Kohain Modal Haplotype. Even cooler... I happen to share exact DNA with my neighbor and friend who is also a Kohain!

Small world, small tribe.

Learn more about the DNA project HERE

I am an "armchair" Kohen.

At least this is what Reuven Prager calls me. Here's his response to my valid inquiry:


RP: Shalom from Jerusalem!

JHK: Greetings. Judah HaKohain here from http://hamikdash.blogspot.com

RP: Never heard of you. I checked your link above, read its pretensions, and wonder why this is the first time you have contacted me. I have served as a Levite on Duty for 25 years, researching and restoring ancient Israelite customs in preparation for rebuilding the Holy Temple; restoring Beged Ivri, Biblical weddings, broken the taboo against wearing Techelet, identified and made available the 11 original ingredients of the Ketoret and 4 ingredients of the Shemen HaMishchah, and restored the mitzvah of netinat machatzit hashekel, establishing the criteria for the machatzit hashekel for this and future generations. And this filth is what you initiate contact with me for?

JHK: Would you please comment on why you are appearing at a messianic convention in Chicago in August?

RP: I was invited to speak. They agreed to my conditions for speaking; namely that I am to be respected for who I am; I am not to be subjected to any attempts to change my religious beliefs; and I am to be protected by staff from any zealous participant who cannot control the urge to 'witness' to me, so I am not left to defend myself from assault. I do not speak about religion or politics, only about the work taking place in Jerusalem to restore ancient Israelite customs in preparation for rebuilding the Holy Temple.

JHK: Do you endorse "messianic" judaism?

RP: Chas V'chalilah. You are obviously an armchair Kohen otherwise you would know me, my work, and the inanity of asking me such a ridiculous question.

JHK: Are you yourself "messianic" in that you consider the Christian god (aka Jesus) the Jewish Messiah?

RP: Are you insane? No.


Well, there you go. Perhaps I was wrong to question him.

The Levite doth protest too much, methinks.

These were legitimate questions. People are known by the company they keep. "Al tifrosh min hatzibor." Speaking to and thereby legitimizing these people are clearly separating yourself from the Klal. Hashem forbids socializing with idol worshippers. Simple.

As to "this filth" (aka my honest inquiry), I am still perplexed why "messianics" would be his choice of audience. Wouldn't a "Levite on Duty" want to distance himself from idol worshipers and those who prey on Jewish souls? Why give their "movement" credence by speaking to them?

Personally, this "Kohain on Duty" would not have anything to do with these people as they harm Jews. THAT'S where we differ. Sorry if that's filth.

Nowhere does Mr. Prager denounce "messianics" on his site. That would be a great first step. I would also love to see a haskama from Rabbis proclaiming his work with them as kosher. Would they give it if they knew the bulk of his time was speaking to "messianics?" Would Ha-Rav Ha-Gadol Amnon Yitzchak Shlita say this was a positive endeavor for Klal Yisrael?

It is time that we choose sides.

Please chime in, people!

I cannot say it any better.

I cannot say it any better, so I am reprinting Bar Kochba's latest post verbatim. He is to be commended for reaching out to the Klal. Many brachos to him~

On the Brink

Brothers, Am Yisrael is in dire straits. The sword of heavenly judgement is on our necks. Our people is in grave danger and our lives literally are held in the balance.

- The Hezbollah have around 30,000 rockets (according to the minister of security advertised on the news) and Iran and Syria are continuing to supply them with weaponry.

- Among the weapons are advanced, long-ranged Iranian rockets that are a threat to all major populated areas in Israel; power stations, airports, harbors, etc. the range extends all the way to the nuclear plant in Dimona ("Ha'aretz", March 2, 2008).

- There is an even greater threat from Iranian and Syrian missiles carrying biological or chemical weapons, something for which Israel is completely unprepared.

- Syria is boosting up forces along its northern border and calling up reserves in anticipation of a possible conflict with Israel. On Wednesday, the London-based Al-Quds al-Arabi reported that Damascus was preparing for a large-scale Israeli attack against Syria and Hizbullah and has begun increasing its presence along its border with Lebanon, as well as calling up reserve forces.

- Al-Qaeda No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahiri, pledged Wednesday night to do his utmost to strike Jews all over the world and to extend the Jihad to Jerusalem. "We promise our Muslim brothers that we will do the best we can to harm Jews in Israel and the world over, with Allah's help and according to his command," he said.

- Israel's leaders are still exhibiting suicidal tendencies in a misguided "peace" process, wanting to tear tens of thousands of Jews out of Judea and Samaria and to bring Arab rockets even closer to Israeli cities.

What can we do? How can we save ourselves from these threats of destruction?

Let us recognize that we have no one to rely on except HaShem. The US cannot save us, and neither can the Israeli army. Our only strength and protector is the Rock of Israel, HaShem.

We are taught that whenever evil decrees are upon Am Yisrael, we must all don sackcloth and ashes, fast and most importantly, pray for salvation and do teshuva. We must immediately return to HaShem, do complete teshuva, confess our sins and recommit to HaShem's Torah. The sword is upon Israel's neck, slated for destruction, G-d forbid, and nobody has any answers. The government has admitted that Israel is completely unprepared for an Iranian or Syrian biological or chemical attack. Our lives are in danger! There is no time to lose!

Simulataneous prayer services are being help in 40 cities in Israel and in Monsey, NY, Thursday. Traditionally, whenever the Jewish people have suffered tremendous tribulations, we have put on sack and ashes and fasted. The Patriarch Jacob, Moses, the nation as a whole several times during the period of the Judges, Mordechai and Esther- these are but a few examples of the proper response to divine judgement.

This is also what is written in Shulchan Aruch:

"All the people [of Israel] gather together, covering themselves in sacks… one of the people takes the ashes… each and every person takes from the ashes and places it upon his head. After that they bring one of their older wise men… and he says capturing words (words that capture the hearts of the listeners and arouse them to teshuva)… until their hearts surrender (to HaShem) and they then do complete teshuva."

Please my brothers, we have no time to lose. We have tried every secular option- of surrendering 'land for peace', of fighting the terrorists, of negotiating, of bombing our enemies- yet all have failed. We cannot make peace without HaShem.

"Oh that My people would hearken unto Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their adversaries." (Psalm 81:14-15)

While most of us cannot pick up a weapon and fight against our enemies, there is something that we each can do. The strength and weapon on Israel is prayer and mitzvot. The Arabs may have tilim (rockets) but we have a far greater power: tehillim (Psalms). A mitzvah, a G-dly deed, has the power to reach deep into the core of our being--where we are all one, and the physical distance between us is of no consequence. At this core, a positive deed on our part will help bring salvation to a brother and sister in distress. As the Rambam taught, a single good deed is enough to tip the scale in our favour and turn the tide.

Here are some suggestions. You can make a difference.

- Torah Study: The Torah is our true strength. HaShem promised that if we study and follow the Torah, our enemies will have no power over us. (Daily study)

- Heartfelt prayer: Say some Tehillim, pour out your heart and beg HaShem to have mercy on His people. "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses;
but we will make mention of the name of the LORD our God." (Psalm 20:8)

- Charity and acts of kindness: Put a coin in a charity box, give a gift of money to a fellow in need or to a charitable cause, or extend a helping hand to someone who needs it. G-d loves nothing better than Jewish unity.

- Tefillin: The Torah promises that in the merit of the mitzvah of tefillin, "all the nations of the world will see that the name of G-d is called upon you, and they will fear you" (Deuteronomy 28:10). Every Jewish male must don tefillin every morning when praying.

- Mezuzah: If you have not placed mezuzot on your doors, do so. As our Sages have said: "A human king sits inside his palace and his servants guard him from the outside. But you sleep on your beds, and G-d guards you (i.e. through the Mezuzah on your doorposts) from the outside." (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Avoda Zara 11a.)

- Shabbat candles: We are told by HaShem: "If you kindle for me the lights of shabbat, I will kindle for you the lights of Zion". Before sunset on Friday nights, every Jewish woman must light candles in honour of the holy shabbat.

"Bring us to Zion, Your city, with joy and to Jerusalem, Your Holy Temple with the joy of the world."

Naziism and Arab Antisemitism

'nuff said.

Judah's Hashgacha

Dear blogging brothers and sisters:

I am so sick and tired of the infiltration by the so called "messianics" that I have decided to put up or shut up. I have created my own hechsher for sites that do not tolerate J4J's, messianics, evangelicals or the like. Feel free to use it ONLY if you agree to the following:

1. to check out your links and make sure they are "kosher" and not "messianic" in any way shape or form.
2. to delete all comments that are proselytizing in nature to Jews.
3. to not blindly accept "Zionism" as a common ground with those whose ultimate goal is to convert us and bring us to idol worship.
4. to actively speak out against evangelizing of Jews by any religion and to try to mikadesh your site as a tool for kiruv (bringing Jews back to the faith).

If you agree to these terms, please email me at judahhakohain[at]yahoo.com and I will gladly send you a copy.

(For those looking to steal a copy and put it on their site without my express permission, it is registered and therefor not for public use. I have the ability to track it and I will prosecute to the fullest extent allowed by law.)
Enjoy.

Please welcome Tomer Devorah!

Welcome to Tomer Devorah! Please visit this great site of emmes and chizuk by clicking on the palm tree or visiting the side links.

Quote of the month!

From the LA Times: Delicate decision: To circumcise or not?

"Freedman faced the decision in his own home. He's Jewish and his wife is not. She wasn't for circumcision. In the end, they agreed to circumcise their son, and he performed the procedure. "I didn't make any excuses that this was to avoid a UTI, or for medical reasons. My rationale was this: As a Jewish male in a long line of tradition, I didn't want to be the link in a chain that broke."

ed. G-d forbid he should be the broken link of tradition by not circumcising his non-Jewish son born of an intermarriage. Way to go!

New Hamas Brainwashing.

Sick.

Click HERE

Wait a second!

Take a gander below at the "messianic" Chicago "ResTORAHation" 2008 convention.

You will notice that "Beged Ivri" founder Reuven Prager is slated to appear. Why exactly is Mr. Prager cavorting with so-called messianic Jews and why in G-d's name is Arutz Sheva promoting him on their Tuesday Night Live program?

He is also listed as a link on the Tree of Life messianic Assembly. His fault? No. But where is the repudiation of apostate Judaism and evangelical groups who support them? Perhaps they're the "Biblical lifestyle's" bread and butter? That's no excuse.

What's more "Biblical" than uprooting idol worship and preventing other Jews from falling into it's sticky, fetid trap? Isn't idol worship one of the reasons we were expelled by G-d from Eretz Yisrael (ironically making us give up the biblical lifestyle for 2000 years)? There can be no excuse for targeting these groups for profit if it endangers Jewish Neshamot.

It's not as bad that he's listed on all these messianic sites as it is what's missing from his own: a statement denouncing these soul thieves and their underhanded tactics. Achdut and Kol Yisrael Arevim Zeh l'Zeh is what will bring the Redemption, not biblical garb.

Answers please.



















The following email was sent to Mr. Prager:

"Would you please comment on why you are appearing at a messianic convention in Chicago in August? Do you endorse "messianic" judaism? Are you yourself "messianic" in that you consider the Christian god (aka Jesus) the Jewish Messiah?"

I await his reply.

Tacheilis... yes or no?

Interesting video from Arutz Sheva regarding the wearing of tacheilis (blue thread). Watch it HERE.

(note to A7: Your videos do not embed properly. Please fix)

From Reuven Prager's website:

In addition to my briefcase I came with a bag, containing the first Beged Ivri tunic I had ever produced - from Tallith material - wool with the horizontal black stripe, dingle balls along the front bottom, tzitzith with Radziner Techelet and the finest black satin gartel (sash). It was the most stunning Beged I had ever made. Rav Sheinberg is the 'Tzitzith Rebbe', and he wears layers upon layers of Tzitzith. As I packed up to leave - I figured - go for it - what do I have to lose? I walked up to the Rebbe and held out the corner of the tunic I was wearing, with the Tzitzith and Techelet, and he immediately grasped it from my hand and held onto it. I took the garment I had created with him in mind, and slid it out of the bag and held it up and said "I want to make a trade with you; I want to trade you this Beged for all the tzitzith you are wearing." His son, who also serves as his Gabbai (assistant), came rushing over and said "Put that away before my mother sees it!" (The rebbe wears so many tzitzith that the last thing his wife or doctor want is for him to take on additonal tzitzith.) I noticed though that the rebbe had come alive. The rebbe responded "What? You want to trade that one Beged for all these Tzitzith?" and I replied "Yes, your doctor and your wife will love it!" By this time his son was a full participant in the discussion. He said "But abba (dad) it has sleeves - you won't wear it!" I turned to the rebbe and seeing in his eyes that he wanted it said, "so don't wear it - hang it on the wall and look at it as you walk by." His son came back with "but eema (mom) will freak out" and at that point I turned to him and said, "don't argue with your father" (lovingly and definitively.) Now I turned to the rebbe who was weighing my offer, and I saw in his eyes that he was considering trading one, two, maybe even three of the tzitzith he was wearing, but all of them? He said to me, "Are you kidding?" Now of course I wasn't really looking to trade one garment for 60, I was looking to trade concepts, and I said "those are tzitzith for Galut (exile) - this is tzitzith for Geulah (Redemption), and asking if he would like to have it, he nodded to his son to accept it.

I won. The rebbe got his garment.

First of all, all kavod due a Gadol Ha-Dor, Rav Sheinberg is not a "rebbe" but a Rav. He is Rosh Yeshiva of Torah Ore in Yerushalayim and a prominent posek. To quote wikipedia: "A rebbe is distinct from a 'rav' or 'rov' (a word usually translated as rabbi, who is a leader of an Orthodox Jewish community, either hasidic or non-hasidic) in that a significant function of a rav is to answer questions of halacha (Jewish law). It is not uncommon for a hasidic Jew to have a rebbe as a spiritual guide and to go to a (another) rav for a ruling on an issue of religious law.

Chasidim use the term to denote someone that they perceive not only as the religious leader of their congregation, but as their spiritual adviser and mentor. A rebbe is someone whose views and advice are accepted not only on issues of religious dogma and practice, but in all arenas of life, including political and social issues."

That being said, I had my own encounter with Reuven Prager many years ago in Jerusalem. He told me that tacheilis is the way to go and he insisted that the big poskim would agree. I did not believe it, so he challenged me to go to Rav Sheinberg and ask him. Here is the kitzur of the dialogue:

Me: "Can I wear tacheilis?"
Rav Scheinberg: "Don't do it."
Me: "Is it mutar to wear tacheilis?"
Rav Scheinberg: "Don't do it."

So I have been tacheilis free since (not that I wore it much to begin with).

Let's open up some debate and dialogue. I would love to hear comments and opinions on this subject. Feel free to chime in!

The Last Shout

Thanks to Nava at Dreaming of Moshiach for the link.

Jew Hatred alive and well in Galus.

Rabbi Attacked by Muslims in NYC

Oriah Ohana, a 25-year-old Israeli rabbi from Kfar Chabad, was attacked by a group of Arab men in Brooklyn, New York City, Tuesday evening.

An 18-year-old Arab man grabbed the yarmulka (kippa) off Rabbi Ohana’s head at the 4th Avenue and 9th Street train station in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn, while his friends kicked and punched the victim and screamed "Allahu Akbar" [Arabic: Allah is Great].

Rabbi Ohana chased the man who grabbed the yarmulka. The attacker ran out of the subway station and was hit by a passing car.

ed. No, Hashem hu Akbar

The attacker’s friends then beat the rabbi, claiming he was the cause of their friend’s misfortune. They escaped before police arrived – abandoning their friend, whose broken legs precluded his escape.

Read the full story from Aritz Sheva HERE

I am ashamed.

Clearly high on crack, the US Ambassador to Israel wants Jews to move out of Jerusalem.

From One Jerusalem

US Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones suggested during a tour of overcrowded Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem on Monday that many Jews will just have to move out of the capital rather than expand into parts of the city claimed by the Palestinians.

Jones told said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post that Washington is growing increasingly displeased with Jewish housing projects on the eastern side of Jerusalem, which are certain to hinder efforts to conclude a peace deal along the lines of US President George W. Bush's vision for the region.

The American envoy said he is well aware of the lack of Jewish housing in Jerusalem, but in a remark betraying a lack of understanding regarding Jewish historical and spiritual connection to the city Jones concluded that "sometimes people do have to move to a different location. They cannot always stay close to their families."

He insisted that more important than the Jews' restoration to their biblical capital and heartland is Israel's implementation of commitments made as part of the US-driven Road Map peace process, even if unreciprocated by the Palestinians.

Jones ended the interview by all but justifying the Palestinian Authority's ongoing failure to meet its primary obligations to curb anti-Israel violence and incitement by stating that "it is not easy for either side to move ahead when they see the provocative behavior of the other side."

ed. I will concede that Jews must leave Jerusalem when the good Ambassador agrees to evacuating Americans from Indian, Mexican, Polynesian and Eskimo areas. Below is a map of the disputed territory:

Not a great comparison, I know. After all, we Jews are the indigenous population.

An now a word from Presidential hopeful Barak Hussein Obama

Express Yourself with Gizmoz Video Clips

Top Ten Signs of Mashiach's Arrival

10. Turns out Barak Obama's actual middle name is Herschel.
9. Natural gas discovered in Monsey, NY, dropping prices to ten cents a gallon. Large, ugly wood-paneled station wagons suddenly back in fashion.
8. Chabadniks and Satmars seen playing golf together.
7. You could hear a pin drop in my shul during davening.
6. Bush announces his "No Yid Left Behind" program: Free Yeshiva education for everyone.
5. The New York Times runs thirty years worth of corrections for their Israel coverage.
4. Muslims in Hevron suddenly realize that they aren't related to Sarah, Yitzchak, Rivka, Yaakov and Leah and quickly abandon Maarat HaMachpela with their sincerest apologies.
3. Omri Sharon has a vision of the Rebbe while on laundy duty in prison.
2. Turns out the Dead Sea Scrolls was actually comedic material that didn't make the final draft of an ancient Purim shpiel.

And the number one sign of Mashiach's imminent arrival:

1. The sanctity of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount is universally accepted... by the Knesset.


Happy Purim, everyone!

Extry! Extry! United states is slanted!

'cause all the nuts roll to LA.

Unfortunately the bottom picture is no less extremist then the top two.

Get ready for a bumpy ride, folks. You're about to be kicked in the crotch by "change."

And let me ask... why wasn't the person in the first picture arrested for incitement to violence? She is advocating the murder of the President of the United States! Is this the agenda of the radical left? If a Republican were to carry a sign saying the same thing about Hillary or Obama they would be labeled extremists and hate mongers.

Photos are from Ringo's Pictures. Please click above to visit his site.

Rav stabbed near Damascus Gate.

IsraelNN.com) Rabbi Yechezkel Greenwald, father of four, is in Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital after being stabbed in the neck by an Arab terrorist near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City on Tuesday morning.

The 49-year-old Beit El resident is a teacher at the Ateret Cohanim Yeshiva in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem. A student who was accompanying the rabbi reportedly fought off the terrorist, preventing the rabbi from being more seriously hurt.

Rabbi Greenwald was treated by Hatzalah-Ichud medics on the scene, and was evacuated to the hospital by a Magen David Adom ambulance. His condition improved as the hours passed, and by early afternoon he was reported to be in light condition. The Greenwald family has asked that people pray for Rabbi Yechezkel ben [son of] Zahava.

Full Story HERE

Seems like it's time for Jews world wide to prepare for attacks. We need to be comfortable enough to defend ourselves and fight back. If this can happen in OUR city, it can happen anywhere.

Barack Obama's Mentor, Jeremiah Wright - Anti Israel Sermon

Wow. Jewish Gold Scroll found in Austria

Archaeological sensation in Austria. Scientists from the University of Vienna unearth the earliest evidence of Jewish inhabitants in Austria

Archaeologists from the Institute of Prehistory and Early History of the University of Vienna have found an amulet inscribed with a Jewish prayer in a Roman child’s grave dating back to the 3rd century CE at a burial ground in the Austrian town of Halbturn.

The 2.2-centimeter-long gold scroll represents the earliest sign of Jewish inhabitants in present-day Austria.

This amulet shows that people of Jewish faith lived in what is today Austria since the Roman Empire. Up to now, the earliest evidence of a Jewish presence within the borders of Austria has been letters from the 9th century CE. In the areas of the Roman province of Pannonia that are now part of Hungary, Croatia and Serbia, gravestones and small finds attest to Jewish inhabitants even in antiquity. Jews have been settling in all parts of the ancient world at the latest since the 3rd century BCE. Particularly following the second Jewish Revolt against the Roman Empire, the victorious Romans sold large numbers of Jews as slaves to all corners of the empire. This, coupled with voluntary migration, is how Jews also might have come to present-day Austria.

Child’s grave
The one or two year old child, which presumably wore the silver amulet capsule around its neck, was buried in one of around 300 graves in a Roman cemetery which dates back to the 2nd to 5th century CE and is situated next to a Roman estate ("villa rustica"). This estate was an agricultural enterprise that provided food for the surrounding Roman towns (Carnuntum, Györ, Sopron).

The gravesite, discovered in 1986 in the region of Seewinkel, around 20 kilometres from Carnuntum, was completely excavated between 1988 and 2002 by a team led by Falko Daim, who is now General Director of the Roman-German Central Museum of Mainz, with the financial backing of the Austrian Science Fund FWF and the Austrian state of Burgenland. All in all, more than 10,000 individual finds were assessed, most notably pieces of glass, shards of ceramic and metal finds. The gold amulet, whose inscription was incomprehensible at first, was only discovered in 2006 by Nives Doneus from the Institute for Prehistory and Early History of the University of Vienna.

The inscription on the amulet is a Jewish prayer

ΣΥΜΑ ΙΣΤΡΑΗΛ ΑΔΩNΕ ΕΛΩΗ ΑΔΩN Α
Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one.

Greek script, Hebrew language
Greek is common with amulet inscriptions, although Latin and Hebrew and amulet inscriptions are known. In this case, the scribe's hand is definitely familiar with Greek. However, the inscription is Greek in appearance only, for the text itself is nothing other than a Greek transcription of the common Jewish prayer from the Old Testament (Deuteronomy, 6:4): "Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one."

Amulet to protect against demons
Other non-Jewish amulets have been found in Carnuntum. One gold- and three silver-plated amulets with magical texts were found in a stone sarcophagus unearthed west of the camp of the Roman legion, including one beseeching Artemis to intervene against the migraine demon, Antaura. Amulets have also been found in Vindobona and the Hungarian part of Pannonia. What is different about the Halbturn gold amulet is its Jewish inscription. It uses the confession to the center of Jewish faith and not magic formulae.

Visit the site of Öffentlichkeitsarbeit Universität Wien

First-Temple Building Remains Found Near Temple Mount

(IsraelNN.com) The Israel Antiquities Authority announces the first time in the history of the archaeological research of Jerusalem that building remains from the First Temple period have been exposed so close to the Temple Mount – on the eastern slopes of the Upper City.

A rich layer of finds from the latter part of the First Temple period (8th-6th centuries B.C.E.) has been discovered in archaeological rescue excavations near the Western Wall plaza. The dig is being carried out in the northwestern part of the Western Wall plaza, near the staircase leading up towards the Jaffa Gate.

The Israel Antiquties Authority has been conducting the excavations for the past two years under the direction of archaeologists Shlomit Wexler-Bdoulah and Alexander Onn, in cooperation with the Western Wall Heritage Foundation. The remains of a magnificent colonnaded street [i.e., lined by columns] from the 2nd century C.E. were uncovered; the street appears on the mosaic Madaba map, and is referred to by the name Eastern Cardo. The level of the Eastern Cardo is paved with large heavy limestone pavers that were set directly atop the layer that dates to the end of the First Temple period. This Roman road thus “seals” beneath it the finds from the First Temple period, protecting them from being plundered in later periods.

The walls of the buildings found in the dig are preserved to a height of more than two meters.

Ring Seal Found, Inscribed with Owner's Name
Another impressive artifact found in the salvage excavations is a personal Hebrew seal made of a semi-precious stone that was apparently inlaid in a ring. The seal is elliptical and measures approximately 1 by 1.4 centimeters.

The seal's surface is divided into three strips separated by a double line: in the upper strip is a chain decoration comprising four pomegranates, and in the two bottom strips is the name of the owner of the seal, engraved in ancient Hebrew script. It reads: "[Belonging] to Netanyahu ben [son of] Yaush." Though each of the two names are not unfamiliar, no one with that name is known to scholars of the period.

A vast amount of pottery vessels was also discovered, among them three jar handles that bear similar stamped impressions. An inscription written in ancient Hebrew script is preserved on one these impressions, reading "Belonging] to the King of Hevron."

S'lach lanu Avinu ki chatanu.

This post is part of my teshuvah process. Recently there has been a ton of machlokes in the shul in which I daven. Last Shabbos the lashon hara was flying from all sides and I found myself getting sucked in. I cannot imagine the damage done to my neshama (chv'sh). I fully understand how awful lashon hara can be and how its effects spread like a virus.

Information was unclear, passions got inflamed and the flood gates of accusations and anger spewed forth. Again, I was caught up in it and I should have just walked away. I have made amends, but the words are still out there hanging like a toxic cloud.

I have decided to try and do tikkun for this by studying Shmiras HaLashon and encouraging others to do so. I found a great blog which lists daily lesson from the Chofetz Chaim's work. Below are other links as well:

Shmiras HaLashon
Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation Shmiras HaLoshon Yomi
The Ten Proper Rules of Speech
Stopping Lashon Hara
A Letter from Rebbitzin Kanievsky
Hilchos Lashon HaRa with illustrations

The time of Redemption is drawing closer. More tsuris, more machlokes, more infighting is infecting us. We need achdus and forgiveness and to up our learning. These will help bring Mashiach. Don't be caught unprepared.

Thanks for listening.

The real martyrs.

People who kill and maim innocents are not martyrs. They are cowards. The so called Palestinians weep over the victims of Baruch Goldstein but dance in the street when Jews are slain.

Interesting: a Jew kills - both Arabs and Jews are sad. An Arab kills - Jews are sad and Arabs rejoice.


The names of the martyrs:

Doron Mehereta, 26, of Ashdod
Ro’i Rote, 18, of Elkanah in Samaria (Shomron)
Yonadav Haim Hirschfeld, 19, of Kokhav HaShachar (Shomron)
Yochai Lipshitz, 18, of the Old City of Jerusalem
Yonatan Yitzchak Eldar, 16, of Shilo (Shomron)
Neriah Cohen, 15, of Jerusalem
Segev Pniel Avichayil, 15, of N’vei Daniel in Gush Etzion
Avraham David Moses, 16, of Efrat, Gush Etzion
St. Sgt. Doron Asulin, 20 from Beersheba
St. Sgt. Eran Dan-Gur, 20 from Jerusalem

THIS is our peace?

JERUSALEM — A gunman entered the library of a rabbinical seminary and opened fire on a crowded nighttime study session Thursday, killing eight people and wounding nine before he was slain, police and rescue workers said. It was the first major militant attack in Jerusalem in more than four years.

Earlier reports said there were two gunmen and quoted a death toll of at least 10.

Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip praised the operation in a statement, and thousands of Palestinians took to the streets of Gaza to celebrate.

Read it HERE

May G-d avenge their blood. End all negotiations now!

Yee ha!

Eitam to Arab MKs: We'll Banish You from Knesset and Israel

(IsraelNN.com) "The day will come when we will banish you from this building and from the national home of the Jewish People," MK Eitam told Arab MKs during a Knesset session on Wednesday morning. Arab MK Jamal Zakhalka was thrown out of the plenum when he yelled repeatedly at Eitam in response.

Eitam, an IDF Brig.-Gen. in the reserves and currently a Knesset Member of the National Union party, was referring to an anti-Israel protest held in the Israeli-Arab city of Umm El-Fahm last night, at which Israeli-Arab citizens burned an Israeli flag, carried flags of Syria and the Palestinian Authority, and compared IDF soldiers compared to Nazis. Arab MKs who were present incited the crowd against Israel.

"We must expel you," Eitam said in the Knesset, directing his remarks specifically to Arab MKs Zakhalka and Taleb A-Sana, "as well as all those who took part in the traitorous and out-of-control event last night. We must expel you to Gaza."

Zakhalka started yelling uncontrollably, "You are a zero of zeroes! A racist! Shut up! Who do you think you are?! You killed babies in Gaza!"

Eitam continued, "You are self-declared enemies of the State of Israel." Zakhalka continued to shout, and was then ordered out of the plenum by the acting Speaker, MK Otniel Schneller.

"Just as you promised the shahids [holy martyrs, killed while trying to murder Jews - ed.] of Gaza that you intend to complete their work," Eitam said, "I tell you that the day will come when we will banish you from this building and from the national home of the Jewish People. You well deserve it... No democracy can tolerate the type of incitement that was heard last night in Umm El-Fahm."

[ed. of course I'm sure he'll be censored for incitement, unlike the behaimos waving Syrian and PLO flags.]

OU's stance is as treif as you can get.

Time for a boycott?

(IsraelNN.com) The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) endorsed last week, for the first time, a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict - and member-organization Orthodox Union (OU) abstained. A statement of explanation by the OU is due out in a number of hours.

Representing 14 national American Jewish groups and 125 local American Jewish community relations councils, the JCPA called for the American Jewish community to "affirm its support for two independent, democratic and economically viable states - the Jewish state of Israel and a state of Palestine- living side-by-side in peace and security.”

The abstention by the Orthodox Union, one of the 14 member national organizations, aroused great opposition in Israel's national-religious camp. Representatives of this camp who asked why the OU did not actively oppose the creation of a Palestinian state in the Land of Israel were informed by the OU that it had "informed the JCPA of our intention to file a formal, written dissent from the portions of the resolution with which the OU disagrees."

Statement to be Ready "in a Few Hours"
On Wednesday, a top OU official in New York informed Arutz-7 that a statement of clarification regarding the OU's position on a Palestinian state would be ready within a number of hours.

The OU also took pains to explain publicly that it had taken an active role in the JCPA's debate on the resolution, attempting to remove two of its more controversial calls: a call for support of the “two-state solution,” and the call for American Jewish support for Israeli negotiations over the re-division of Jerusalem. These two calls are included in the resolution, however.

The OU also said it succeeded in inserting two statements into the final resplution. The first statement was this: “Israel’s repeated offers to establish ‘two democratic states living side by side in peace and security’ have been met, time after time, by violence, incitement and terror.” In addition, a call for the American Jewish community to support Israel’s recognition by the Palestinian Authority as a “Jewish state” was included.

OU: Settlements not an "Impediment," But Shouldn't be Built
Finally, the OU explained, it succeeded in defeating a proposed amendment to the effect that the expansion of Israeli settlements is an “impediment to peace.” The final resolution, however, expresses approval of Israel's commitment "[not to] allow any new settlements or land acquisitions that are not in accord with the provisions of the Roadmap;" the OU did not state that it objected to this clause.

Read the full article HERE

Arab MKs Lead Rock-Throwing Demo Against 'ZioNazis'

Insanity strikes again. How long can Israel tolerate enemies in its midst, let alone in its government?

(IsraelNN.com) Several thousand Arabs led by Arab nationalist Knesset members participated in a procession through the Israeli city of Umm el-Fahm near Megiddo Tuesday evening. The demonstration was held in protest of Israeli military operations in Gaza and involved incidents of rock throwing at Israeli cars.

The crowd chanted "Israel, the mother of terror" and held a sign that read "Stop the Zionazi" in English. Additional slogans were "Rest, O martyr, we will complete the task," "Warm blessings to the rock children," as well as the standard "With blood and spirit, we will redeem Palestine." The participants held Syrian and PLO flags. Some of them covered their faces with keffiyehs, or traditional headdresses, in the manner of terrorist thugs.

Arab Knesset members from several factions spoke to the crowd and reviled Israel for what they called "the massacre in Gaza." The speakers also justified the rocket fire on Israel and insisted it was a reaction to Israeli actions.

Umm el-Fahm Mayor Sheikh Abd-el Rachman demanded that Mahmoud Abbas, chairman of the PA , and Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader in Gaza, stop fighting and join hands. He said that "resistance" (a code word for armed attacks) should continue alongside peace talks.

Towards the end of the rally, Arab youths threw rocks at passing Israeli vehicles on Highway 65. Police arrested two suspects.

No one was hurt in the rock-throwing incidents and no damage was caused..

An Arab source told Haaretz newspaper that the organizers had expected more people to take part in procession. "I would have expected twice as many people," he said. "Perhaps we have lost the momentum."

Arab MKs enjoy full rights as legislators yet regularly denounce Israel and side with its enemies. A former Knesset Member, Azni Bishara, fled from Israel after the intelligence services discovered he had held apparently treasonous contacts with Hizbullah during the Second Lebanon War. MK Ahmed Tibi is Deputy Speaker of the Knesset and has a large poster of PLO founder and terror master Yasser Arafat on the wall of his knesset office.

Kind of says it all.

"Palestinian" sheker

From Fox News:

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israeli troops turned heavy firepower on rocket squads bombarding southern Israel Saturday, killing 54 Palestinians in the deadliest day in Gaza since the current round of fighting erupted in 2000.

Two Israeli soldiers were killed and seven were wounded in the clashes, the military said.

The violence took a heavy toll on Gaza civilians. Moderate Palestinian leaders called the killings a "genocide" and threatened to call off peace talks.

"The response to these rockets can't be that harsh and heinous," said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. "It is nowadays described as a holocaust." [ed. bolding mine]

Here's MY response Mahmoud: Gey cocken afen yam.

My response to Anonymous (and a new addition)

Anonymous asks: "As for your hostility towards Christians, I don't know what has happened in your past for you to feel such angst towards them. I hope you have not hardened your heart too much to them."

Seriously? What has happened in my past?

Here's a sampling:

240 AD Origen of Alexandria writes that the Jews "have committed the most abominable of crimes" in conspiring against Christ, and for that reason "the Jewish nation was driven from its country, and another people was called by God to
the blessed election"

248 AD St. Cyprian writes that the Jews have fallen under the heavy wrath of God, because they have departed from the Lord, and have followed idols

306 AD The Council of Elvira decrees that Christians and Jews cannot intermarry, have sexual intercourse, or eat together

325 AD Conversation and fellowship with Jews is forbidden to the clergy by the Council of Nicaea

4th century AD Christian emperors of Rome decree that Christians converting to Judaism, and Jews obstructing the conversion of other Jews to Christianity, will incur the death penalty; Jews can not marry Christians, or hold public office, or own slaves

380 AD St. Gregory of Nyssa refers to the Jews as "murderers of the Lord, assassins of the prophets, rebels and detesters of God,... companions of the devil, race of vipers, informers, calumniators, darkeners of the mind, pharisaic leaven, Sanhedrin of demons, accursed, detested,... enemies of all that is beautiful"

380 AD St. Ambrose calls the synagogue "a place of unbelief, a home of impiety, a refuge of insanity, damned by God Himself"

388 AD A mob of Christians, at the instigation of their bishop, looted and burned the synagogue in Callinicum, a town on the Euphrates. The Emperor Theodosius wants those responsible punished and the synagogue rebuilt at the expense of the bishop, but St. Ambrose, the bishop of Milan, pressures him to relent and condone the action

400 AD St. Augustine writes: "the Church admits and avows the Jewish people to be cursed, because after killing Christ they continue to till the ground of an earthly circumcision, an earthly Sabbath, an earthly passover, while the hidden strength or virtue of making known Christ, which this tilling contains, is not yielded to the Jews while they continue in impiety and unbelief, for it is revealed in the New Testament. While they will not turn to God, the veil which is on their minds in reading the Old Testament is not taken away... the Jewish people, like Cain, continue tilling the ground, in the carnal observance of the law, which does not yield to them its strength, because they do not perceive in it the grace of Christ"

400 AD Calling the synagogue "brothel and theater" and "a cave of pirates and the lair of wild beasts," St. John Chrysostom writes that "the Jews behave no better than hogs and goats in their lewd grossness and the excesses of their gluttony"

413 AD A group of monks sweep through Palestine, destroying synagogues and massacring Jews at the Western Wall

414 AD St. Cyril of Alexandria expels Jews from his city

425 AD Jews are required by law to observe Christian feasts and fasts and to listen to sermons designed to persuade them to convert

442 AD The synagogue in Constantinople is turned into a church

529-553 AD The Code of the emperor Justinian decrees that in Christian Byzantine society Jews cannot read their sacred books in Hebrew in their synagogues, and the Mishnah and other rabbinic interpretations are banned

538 AD The Third Synod of Orléans decrees that Jews cannot show themselves in the streets during Passover Week

591 AD Pope St. Gregory the Great decrees that Jews are not to be forced into baptism "lest they return to their former superstition and die the worse for having been born again"

600 AD Pope St. Gregory the Great decrees that Jews should not have excessive freedom, but also "in no way should they suffer a violation of their rights"

681 AD The Synod of Toledo orders the burning of the Talmud and other books

768 AD Pope Stephen IV decries ownership of hereditary estates by "the Jewish people, ever rebellious against God and derogatory of our rites"

830 AD Agobard, Archbishop of Lyons, writes anti-Jewish pamphlets in which he refers to Jews as "sons of darkness"

937 AD Pope Leo VII encourages his newly appointed archbishop of Mainz to expel all Jews who refuse to be baptized

c. 1010-1020 AD In Rouen, Orléans, Limoges, Mainz, and probably also in Rome, Jews are converted by force, massacred, or expelled

1050 AD The Synod of Narbonne decrees that Christians are not permitted to live in Jewish homes

1070 AD Pope Alexander II warns the bishops of Spain to prevent violence against the Jews because, unlike the Saracens, they "are prepared to live in servitude"

1078 AD The Synod of Gerona decrees that Jews must pay the same taxes as Christians to support the church

1081 AD Pope Gregory VII writes to King Alphonso of Spain telling him that if he allows Jews to be lords over Christians, he is oppressing the Church and exalting "the Synagogue of Satan"

1084 AD Rüdiger, bishop of Speyer, grants the Jews a charter allowing them to keep Christian servants and serfs, own fields and vineyards, and carry arms

1096 AD Massacres of Jews takes place in the First Crusade, destroying entire Jewish communities in Mainz, Speyer, Worms, Cologne and other cities. The Jewish chronicler reports: "The enemies stripped them naked and dragged them off, granting quarter to none, save those few who accepted baptism. The number of the slain was eight hundred in these two days." The chronicler Guibert de Nogent reports that the Rouen Crusaders said: "We desire to go and fight God's enemies in the East; but we have before our eyes certain Jews, a race more inimical to God than any other"

1182 AD Jews are expelled from France, all their property is confiscated, and Christians' debts to them are cancelled with the payment of one-fifth of their value to the treasury

1190 AD The Third Crusade, led by Richard the Lion-Heart, stirs anti-Jewish fervor and results in the mass suicide of the York Jews in Clifford's Tower on March 16

1198 AD Jews are allowed to return to France

1199 AD Pope Innocent III decrees that Jews are to be allowed to worship in their synagogues, they are not to be coerced into baptism, and that Jewish cemeteries are not to be mutilated

1215 AD The Fourth Lateran Council decrees that Jews are to wear distinctive clothing, and on the three days before Easter they are not to go out in public

1222 AD The Council of Oxford prohibits the construction of new synagogues

1227 AD The Council of Narbonne orders Jews to wear a round patch

1230 AD Jews in France are forbidden to lend money on interest

1234 AD The Council of Arles orders Jews to wear a round patch

1235 AD Thirty-four Jews are burned to death in Fulda on a blood-libel charge

1246 AD The Council of Béziers orders Jews to wear a round patch

1247 AD Pope Innocent IV defends the Jews: "they are wrongly accused of partaking of the heart of a murdered child at the Passover... Whenever a corpse is found somewhere, it is to the Jews that the murder is wickedly imputed. They are persecuted on the pretext of such fables... they are deprived of trial and of regular judgment; in mockery of all justice, they are stripped of their belongings, starved, imprisoned and tortured"

1254 AD The Council of Albi orders Jews to wear a round patch

1260 AD The Council of Arles orders Jews to wear a round patch, but not when traveling

1267 AD The Synod of Vienna decrees that Christians cannot attend Jewish ceremonies, and Jews cannot dispute with simple Christian people about the Catholic religion

1267 AD The Synod of Breslau decrees compulsory ghettos for Jews

1267 AD Pope Clement IV instructs the Franciscans and Dominicans to deal with the "new Christians" who had reverted to Judaism

c. 1270 AD St. Thomas Aquinas writes that the Jews sin more in their unbelief than do pagans because they have abandoned the way of justice "after knowing it in some way"

1272 AD Pope Gregory X defends the Jews: "It happens sometimes that Christians lose their children and that the enemies of the Jews accuse them of having kidnaped and killed these children in order to offer sacrifices with their heart and blood, and it also happens that the parents themselves, or other Christians who are enemies to the Jews, hide the children and attack the Jews, demanding of them, as ransom, a certain sum of money, on the entirely false pretext that these children had been kidnaped and killed by the Jews"

1275 AD Jews in England are forbidden to lend money on interest

1279 AD The Synod of Ofen decrees that Christians cannot sell or rent real estate to Jews

1283 AD Jews in France are forbidden to live in the countryside

1284 AD The Council of Nîmes orders Jews to wear a round patch

1289 AD The Council of Vienna orders Jews to wear a round patch

1290 AD Jews are expelled from England and southern Italy

1294 AD Jews in France are restricted to special quarters of the cities

1294 AD Jews are expelled from Bern

1298 AD The Jews of Röttingen, charged with profaning the Host, are massacred and burned down to the last one

1320 AD The "Shepherds' Crusade." A Christian chronicler records: "The shepherds laid siege to all the Jews who had come from all sides to take refuge... the Jews defended themselves heroically... but their resistance served no purpose, for the shepherds slaughtered a great number of the besieged Jews by smoke and by fire... The Jews, realizing that they would not escape alive, preferred to kill themselves... They chose one of their number (and) this man put some five hundred of them to death, with their consent. He then descended from the castle tower with the few Jewish children who still remained alive... They killed him by quartering. They spared the children, whom they made Catholics by baptism"

1326 AD The Council of Avignon orders Jews to wear a round patch, but not when traveling

1345 AD King John authorizes his subjects in Liegnitz and Breslau to destroy the Jewish cemeteries in order to use the tombstones to repair the city walls

1347-1350 AD During the Black Death, Jews are accused of poisoning wells in order to overthrow Christendom, and many thousands of Jews are killed. Pope Clement VI defends the Jews against these charges

1350 AD Jews are expelled from many parts of Germany

1367 AD Jews are expelled from Hungary

1368 AD The Council of Vabres orders Jews to wear a round patch

1381 AD Jews are expelled from Strasbourg

1394 AD The expulsion of Jews from France, begun in 1306, is completed with an edict promulgated on the Jewish Day of Atonement

1420 AD Jews are expelled from Mainz by the archbishop

1421 AD Jews are expelled from Austria

1424 AD Jews are expelled from Fribourg and Zurich

c. 1425 AD Pope Martin V denounces anti-Jewish preaching and forbids the forced baptism of Jewish children under the age of twelve

1426 AD Jews are expelled from Cologne

1432 AD Jews are expelled from Saxony

1434 AD The Council of Basel decrees that Jews cannot obtain academic degrees

1435 AD King Alfonso orders the Jews of Sicily to attach a round patch to their clothing and over their shops

1438 AD Jews are expelled from Mainz by the town councilors

1439 AD Jews are expelled from Augsburg

1453 AD Jews are expelled from Wurzburg

1454 AD Jews are expelled from Breslau

1456 AD Pope Callistus III bans all social communication between Christians and Jews

1462 AD Jews are expelled from Mainz following a conflict between two candidates for the archepiscopal seat

1467 AD Jews are expelled from Tlemcen

1471 AD Jews are expelled from Mainz by the archbishop

1475 AD The entire Jewish community in Trent, northern Italy, is put to death on the allegation that it had murdered a boy for religious purposes

1485 AD Jews are expelled from Warsaw and Cracow

1492 AD After forcing many Jews to be baptized and then referring to them as Marranos (swine), and after an Inquisition in which some 700 Marranos were burnt at the stake for showing signs of "Jewish" taint, Spain expels all Jews from the country

1497 AD Jews are expelled from Portugal

1519 AD Jews are expelled from Regensburg

1553 AD Cardinal Carafa instigates a public burning of copies of the Talmud and other Jewish religious works in a square in Rome

1555-1559 AD Pope Paul IV restricts Jews to ghettos and decrees that they are to wear distinctive headgear

1566-1572 AD Pope St. Pius V expels Jews from the Papal States, allowing some to remain in Rome's ghettos and in Ancona for commercial reasons

1592-1605 AD Pope Clement VIII includes a ban on all Jewish books in the expanded Index of Forbidden Books

1826 AD Pope Leo XII decrees that Jews are to be confined to ghettos and their property is to be confiscated

1858 AD Edgardo Mortara, 6-year old son of a Jewish family in Bologna, is abducted by the papal police and brought to Rome. He had been secretly baptized five years earlier by a domestic servant who thought he was about to die. The parents try to get the boy back, and there is a universal outcry, but Pope Pius IX rejects all petitions submitted to him

1904 AD In an interview with Zionist leader Theodor Hertzl, Pope St. Pius X says: "I know, it is disagreeable to see the Turks in possession of our Holy Places. We simply have to put up with it. But to sanction the Jewish wish to occupy these sites, that we cannot do... The Jews have not recognized our Lord, therefore we cannot recognize the Jewish people... If you go to Palestine and your people settle there, you will find us clergy and churches ready to baptize you all"

1919 AD Newly independent Poland passes a law making Sunday a compulsory day of rest in Poland. The law is intended to force Jews to observe the Christian sabbath in addition to their own

1921 AD Speaking for Pope Benedict XV, a Vatican spokesman informed representatives of the Zionist Movement htat they did not wish to assist "the Jewish race, which is permeated with a revolutionary and rebellious spirit" to gain control over the Holy Land

1925 AD at a conference of Catholic academicians in Innsbruck, Austria, Bishop Sigismund Waitz calls the Jews an "alien people" who had corrupted England, France, Italy, and especially America

1933 AD In a series of Advent sermons, Cardinal Faulhaber of Munich defends the Old Testament against Nazi attacks but emphasizes that it is not his intention to defend contemporary Jewry, saying that a distinction has to be drawn between Jews living before and after the crucifixion of Jesus

1933 AD In a pastoral letter on January 23, Bishop Johannes Maria Gföllner of Linz, Austria, declares that while the radical anti-Semitism preached by Nazism is completely incompatible with Christianity, it is the right and duty of Christians to fight and break the harmful influences of Jewry in all areas of modern cultural life. The Austrian episcopate condemns the letter in December for causing racial hatred and conflict

1933-1939 AD The general consensus among the Catholic papers in Poland is that Jewish influence should be reduced in all areas of life, that the Polish and Jewish communities should be separated as much as possible, and that the most desirable option is mass emigration of the Jews from Poland. St. Maximilian Kolbe is an active promoter of antisemitic literature

1935-1936 AD The Polish Catholic Church gives full support to a government policy encouraging Jewish emigration from Poland

1936 AD Cardinal August Hlond, the primate of Poland, issues a pastoral letter, stating: "I warn you against that ethical attitude that is fundamentally and uncompromisingly anti-Jewish. It is contradictory to Catholic ethics. It is permissible to love your nation more than others, but it is not permissible to hate anyone. Not even the Jews... You should close yourselves to the harmful influence of Jewry... But you may not attack Jews, beat them, hurt them, slander them. In a Jew you should also respect and love a human being and your neighbor"

1937 AD Austrian bishop Alois Hudal publishes a book defending Nazi racial ideology, supporting laws preventing a flood of Jewish immigrants, and criticizing the "Jewish" press for playing off Austrians against Germans. His book receives the support of Archbishop (later Cardinal) Theodor Innitzer of Vienna

1938 AD In a speech before Belgian pilgrims, Pope Pius XI denounces antisemitism and says: "Spiritually we are all Semites." His comments are reported in various newspapers but not in the Vatican's L'Osservatore Romano

1939 AD Josef Tiso, a Catholic priest with a doctorate in theology, became president of independent Slovakia. An extremist hater of Jews, he allied Slovakia with Nazi Germany and, with strong objections from the Vatican, deported most Slovakian Jews to their deaths in the camps. He declared: "It is a Christian action to expel the Jews, because it is for the good of the people, which is thus getting rid of its pests." Monsignor Tiso was executed after the war as a war criminal

1941-1945 AD The "Final Solution" takes place in Nazi-occupied Europe. This Holocaust, the killing of some six million Jews, "happened in the 'heartland' of Western Christian Europe... It happened with the passive acquiescence or active collaboration of most European Christians, and no decisive protest from church leadership, Catholic or protestant" (Rosemary Radford Ruether)

1941 AD In Croatia, Bishop Ivan Saric of Sarajevo appropriates Jewish property for his own use. His diocesan newspaper declares that "Jewish greed increases. The Jews have led Europe and the world towards disaster, moral and economic disaster. Their appetite grows till only domination of the whole world will satisfy it." Bishop Aksamovic of Djakovic teaches that "today it is the sacred duty of every citizen to prove his Aryan origins." Meanwhile, Archbishop Aloys Stepinac of Zagreb preaches in a sermon that "it is forbidden to exterminate Gypsies and Jews because they are said to belong to an inferior race"

1941 AD Provost Bernard Lichtenberg of Berlin's St. Hedwig Cathedral publicly declares that he will include Jews in his daily prayers. On October 23 he is arrested and sent to Dauchau, but dies on the way

1941 AD The German Bishops' Conference issues a pastoral letter secretly distributed and read from all pulpits. It outlines in detail the Nazi assault on the Catholic Church, but makes no mention of the Jews

1941 AD In Operational Situation Report USSR No. 54, the German Einsatzgruppen A reports from Kaunas, Lithuania: "The attitude of the Church regarding the Jewish question is, in general, clear. In addition, Bishop Brisgys has forbidden all clergymen to help Jews in any form whatsoever. He rejected several Jewish delegations who approached him personally and asked for his intervention with the German authorities. In the future he will not meet with any Jews at all"

1942 AD The French Assembly of Cardinals and Archbishops sends a letter to Marshal Pétain, head of the Vichy government, protesting against the mass arrests and cruel treatment of the French Jews

1942 AD Protest against the persecution of Dutch Jews is read from the pulpit of all churches in Holland

1942 AD In August and September, messages to be read out in their churches protesting the deportation of Jews from France are written by Archbishop Saliège of Toulouse, Bishop Théas of Montauban, Bishop Delay of Marseilles, Cardinal Gerlier of Lyon, Bishop Vanstenbergher of Bayonne, and Archbishop Moussaron of Albi

1942 AD Great Britain, the Polish Government-in-exile, Brazil, the United States, and Uruguay press Pope Pius XII to condemn the Nazi treatment of Jews. The Pope responds to this international appeal with his Christmas radio address, but does not specifically mention the Jews

1942-1945 AD Cardinal Adolf Bertram, Archbishop of Breslau and head of the German Bishops' Conference, opposes all public protest against the deportation and massacre of the Jews. He maintains a cordial relationship with Hitler, and in May 1945 he orders requiem masses for Hitler be offered in all his parishes

1943 AD At their annual meeting in Fulda, the German Catholic bishops debate whether to speak out about the Holocaust and confront Hitler with a direct accusation. They decide not to do so

1943 AD Slovakia's Catholic Bishops protest the deportation of Jews in a pastoral letter read in Latin from the pulpits. Many priests refuse to read it or insert their own negative comments

1945 AD Addressing the College of Cardinals after the end of the European war, Pope Pius XII speaks of the hundreds of priests and religious who died in Nazi concentration camps, but makes no mention of the Jews

This is just a smattering of Christian Love shown to the Jews. and yet... if I had a choice... I'd prefer the killing of our bodies instead of you trying to convert us and thereby kill our souls.

Hope this clears it up for you Anon. I'm going to bed.

Ed. Full disclosure: The above list is not mine but harvested from the web. I cannot and will not vouch for the original site or its content.

I would like to add the following. These posts came about due to proselyting by so called messianic Jews and evangelical Christians. I have no problem with individual Christians or their right to practice their faith. It is only, as it has always been, due to the fact that I do not tolerate evangelizing of Jews. My argument here is that there have been centuries of Christian persecution of the Jewish people. Now it is "love" and "zionism" that draws some Christians to try and convert Jews. We must avoid contact with these religious predators at all cost. Jewish souls are at stake. As for Christians in general, I say we have a bigger enemy that we both share: Radical Islam. The debate between Jews and Christian will be moot if we allow the USA to become hostage to Islamic extremism. If there are legitimate Christians out there (those who do not wish to convert me or my people) who were offended by my statements, I humbly apologize. I welcome dialogue and reconciliation. What I don't welcome is threats to the Jewish nation whether physical or spiritual.

Thanks for listening.