October 31, 2008

Obama Voted Against Iraq's Opposition To Granting Amnesty To Terrorists


McCain and Obama - On Iraq's Opposition To Granting Amnesty To Terrorists

In 2006 the U.S. Senate debated an amendment, Vote 177, that commended the
government of Iraq for affirming its position of not granting amnesty to
terrorists who attack U.S. armed forces.

This occurred at a time when the situation in Iraq was bleak and terrorist
activity high, in the year prior to the onset of the "surge" and the new
counterinsurgency strategy successfully executed by General Petraeus.

For the Iraqi government, during this time, to affirm its position that
terrorists who attack U.S. armed forces should not be granted amnesty, was a
commendable act of courage by Iraqi leaders. This courage deserved our
support.

John McCain voted FOR this amendment. Barack Obama voted AGAINST this
amendment, as did his running mate, Joe Biden.

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/109/senate/2/votes/177/

Amendment details from Library of Congress :

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SP04272:

Obama at Khalidi bash: Israelis commit “genocide”, have “no God-given right to occupy Palestine”


Award-winning blogger Doug Ross reports that a reliable source has provided an eyewitness account of what he saw on the videotape of the Rashid Khalidi farewell bash that the LA Times is suppressing.

The paper used the tape as the basis for its watered-down story about the event and has been suppressing ever since, despite massive appeals — including an official request by the McCain campaign — to release indisputably newsworthy evidence that could inform voters about where Barack Hussein Obama really stands.

The eyewitness source, who Ross calls “a person who has provided useful, accurate and unique data from LA before” writes:

Saw a clip from the tape. Reason we can’t release it is because statements Obama said to rile audience up during toast. He congratulates Khalidi for his work saying “Israel has no God-given right to occupy Palestine” plus there’s been “genocide against the Palestinian people by Israelis.”

It would be really controversial if it got out. That’s why they will not even let a transcript get out.

The eyewitness’ use of the word “we” suggests that he is a Times staffer.

In a separate development, a European financier, cited by the Atlas Shrugs blog, has offered a $150,000 reward for provision of the tape.

After four days of hemming and hawing, and trying out other excuses for the suppression, the LA Times’ editor Russ Stanton came up with the following “reason”: “The Los Angeles Times did not publish the videotape because it was provided to us by a confidential source who did so on the condition that we not release it.”

Ross retorts: “How frickin’ stupid do they think we are?” Someone gave the Times a videotape so it wouldn’t be released? And they can’t publish a transcript?”

Now we may know why not. At the very least, the leak of the quotes may compel the paper to release a transcript, or the Obama campaign to confirm or deny their veracity.

Ted Belman

October 30, 2008

Look who's rooting for Obama


By Michael Freund

What do Iran's ayatollahs, Hamas terrorists, Louis Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson
and Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi have in common?

They are all pulling for Barack Obama to win the US presidential election.

When Israel's disparate foes manage to rally behind a single candidate, it
should set off alarm bells for anyone who cares about the Jewish state.

If you think this is just Republican scaremongering, consider the following.

Last week, Ali Larijani, the hard-line speaker of the Iranian parliament,
told a press conference in Bahrain that "we are leaning more in favor of
Barack Obama because he is more flexible and rational" (Agence France
Presse, October 22).

And then there is the October 19 endorsement that Obama received from Hamas
spokesman Ahmed Yousef, who told WABC radio host John Batchelor and World
Net Daily's Aaron Klein that "we as Palestinians are thinking that we might
have better luck with a new administration, maybe, if Obama wins the
election... I do believe he will change the American foreign policy in the
way they are handling the Middle East."

There you have it. Two clear expressions of preference for Obama from two of
the leading anti-Israel and anti-Western forces in the Middle East. Both the
Iranian regime and the Hamas terrorist organization view Obama in a positive
light and hope he will be elected.

Their enthusiasm for the senator from Illinois is shared by a number of
other long-time enemies of the Jewish state on both sides of the Atlantic.

On June 11, Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi, in a speech broadcast on
Al-Jazeera, spoke glowingly of the Democratic nominee. According to a
translation provided by MEMRI, Gaddafi said, "His name is Obama. All the
people in the Arab and Islamic world and in Africa applauded this man. They
welcomed him and prayed for him and for his success, and they may have even
been involved in legitimate contribution campaigns to enable him to win the
American presidency."

Back in the US, anti-Semitic firebrand Louis Farrakhan earlier this year
labeled Obama "the hope of the entire world" and compared him to the founder
of the Nation of Islam, the group Farrakhan heads (Associated Press,
February 25).

Normally, one would expect that such a motley collection of rogues would be
enough to send shivers down the spine of even the most spineless of voters.
In the end, who wants to be cheering for the same outcome as Gaddafi and
Farrakhan?

Nonetheless, if two recent polls are to be believed, Obama seems poised to
capture a significant majority of the Jewish vote.

A SURVEY released last week by Quinnipiac University found that Jews in the
battleground state of Florida are backing Obama by a margin of 77 percent to
20%, while a Gallup survey revealed that nationwide, Jews favor him over
Sen. John McCain by 74% to 22%.

While that is less than the 80% that Democrats Al Gore and Joe Lieberman
garnered in the 2000 election, it is similar to the 75% that John Kerry
captured four years ago.

One can only shake one's head in bewilderment at such a predilection,
particularly in light of Obama's flip-flop on Jerusalem back in June, when
he told the annual AIPAC policy conference that he supports the city
remaining Israel's united capital, only to back-track from that position the
following day.

If Obama can't stand firm on the campaign trail on such a basic issue of
fundamental importance to Israel and its supporters, how can he be counted
on to do so if given the keys to the White House?

Any pro-Israel Jews and Christians still sitting on the fence, wondering how
to cast their ballot on November 4, would therefore do well to bear in mind
the revealing comments made recently by Jesse Jackson.

Speaking at the World Policy Forum in Evian, France two weeks ago, Jackson
promised that the "Zionists who have controlled American policy for decades"
will lose influence once Obama is in charge, as he will stop "putting
Israel's interests first."

"Obama is about change," Jackson observed, "and the change that Obama
promises is not limited to what we do in America itself. It is a change of
the way America looks at the world and its place in it" (New York Post,
October 14).

If that type of change scares the daylights out of you, and it darn well
should, then think long and hard about whether you want to throw your
support behind such a person.

The bottom line is that Obama makes Teheran, Tripoli and Gaza convulse with
excitement, and that alone should make the rest of us shudder with fear.

First exit poll of actual American votes from Israel shows big McCain win

Within the last hour, the first exit poll of 817 Americans in Israel, who attended U.S. election voting events in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening to vote by absentee ballot, has been released.

A startling 76 percent of those polled said that they had voted for John McCain. This contrasts sharply with pre-election polls of American Jews in the U.S., which indicate a strong preference for Obama.

The exit poll findings of American voters in Israel are all the more surprising because less than one in four were registered Republicans, and 46% of registered Democrats living in Israel said they had crossed party lines to vote McCain. By contrast, the Republican crossover to Obama was minimal – just 2%.

The votes are significant as almost half of the 42,000 registered U.S. voters living in Israel come from key swing states including Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

In the 2000 and 2004 elections, Israel had the third-largest group of American voters abroad, after Canada and Britain.

The exit poll was commissioned by Votefromisrael.org, an independent, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting voter registration and participation amongst American citizens living in Israel.

Obama's Mansion, Saddam's Money


Barack Obama appears to have personally benefited from funds originating in Saddam Hussein's regime. It's a complicated connection, but one that deserves the consideration of Americans voters.

Two similar figures, Nadhmi Auchi and Antoin S. "Tony" Rezko, served as the intermediaries. Both are Middle Eastern males of Catholic Christian heritage who left Baathist dictatorships for Western cities (Auchi from Iraq to London, Rezko from Syria to Chicago). Both became successful businessmen who hobnobbed with politicians and promoted Arab interests. Both have been convicted of taking kickbacks and both stand accused of other shady dealings.
Auchi, born in 1937, is the more successful. When young, he joined Saddam in the Baath Party. He founded his main financial instrument, the General Mediterranean Holding SA in 1979 – revealingly, while still in Iraq. A year later, he emigrated to the United Kingdom. GMHSA now describes itself as a diverse group of 120 companies with consolidated assets of over US$4.2 billion. The Sunday Times (London) recently estimated Auchi's personal wealth at £2.15 billion, making him the 27th richest person in Britain. He garnered many honors along the way.

On the dark side, a French court in 2003 convicted Auchi of taking kickbacks in the Elf Affair and handed down a suspended jail sentence and fine. One analyst, Hector Igbikiowubo, calls this "probably the biggest political and corporate sleaze scandal to hit a western democracy since World War II." Also in 2003, one of Auchi's firms was accused of taking part in a price-fixing cartel of prescription medicines. In 2004, a report by the Pentagon's International Armament and Technology Trade Directorate found "significant and credible evidence" that Auchi organized a conspiracy to offer bribes to win mobile telephone licenses in Iraq. He was barred from entering the United States in 2005.

Rezko, born in 1955, arrived in the United States in 1974 to study civil engineering. After some work on road construction projects, he went into the fast-food business, then into real estate, with help from Auchi. His political involvement began in 1983 with a mayoral campaign, after which he acquired a taste for cultivating up-and-coming politicians, notably Obama and the current governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich.
Rezko too has extensive legal problems, starting with a June 2008 conviction on sixteen counts of taking kickbacks from companies wanting to do business with the State of Illinois. He also stands accused of evading Las Vegas gambling debts and using false information in the sale of his pizza businesses. In contrast to Auchi's wealth, Rezko is said to be over $50 million in debt.

In three steps, these corrupt businessmen tie the Democratic Party presidential candidate to the executed Iraqi tyrant:

Saddam Hussein made use of Auchi: Auchi's fortune largely grew through his Iraq government connection, much of it sub rosa. In the 1980s, he procured Italian military ships. By 1993, the Italian banker Pierfrancesco Pacini Battaglia testified about Auchi bribing Iraqi officials for an Italian engineering company and called Auchi "one of the most important intermediaries in the affairs of Middle Eastern countries." Auchi is also a major shareholder in BNP Paribas, the French bank deeply implicated in the U.N.'s corrupt Iraq oil-for-food program.

Auchi made use of Rezko: Rezko lobbied for Auchi to be allowed into the United States. A wholly-owned GMHSA subsidiary, Fintrade Services Inc., transferred a loan of $3.5 million on May 23, 2005 to Rezko.

Rezko cultivated Obama: Rezko offered Barack Obama a job in 1990, which Obama declined. Still, Rezko persisted, hiring him for legal work and hosting in 2003 an early fundraiser that, writes David Mendell in Obama: From Promise to Power, proved "instrumental in providing Obama with seed money" for his nascent U.S. Senate campaign. Then, on June 15, 2005, just twenty-three days after receiving Auchi's $3.5 million, Rezko partnered with Obama in a real estate deal: while Rezko's wife paid the full asking price, $625,000, for an empty adjoining lot which they then improved, subdivided, and partially sold to Obama, Obama acquired a mansion for $1.65 million, $300,000 under the asking price.

Summing up: Barack Obama's house purchase depended on favors from Rezko, flush with a "loan" from Auchi, whose fortune derived in part from Saddam Hussein's favor.

When seen in the context of Obama's other dubious connections (Ayers, Davidson, Wright, Khalidi, et al.), this network is all the more alarming.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oct. 29, 2008 update: WorldNetDaily.com has published an unsigned article, "Did Saddam bagman help Obama purchase mansion? Photo confirms Rezko financier in bed with late Iraqi tyrant," that asserts many new points salient to the Barack Obama-Saddam Hussein connection. Concerning Auchi, it asserts that:

Auchi and Saddam Hussein were cousins.

Auchi joined Saddam Hussein's regime as an official in the Ministry of Oil in 1967.

Auchi began bankrolling Rezko's real estate deals in the 1980s.

The 2004 Pentagon report quoted in my article also: (1) Called Auchi someone "who behind the facade of legitimate business, served as Saddam Hussein's principle international financial manipulator and bag man." (2) Stated that "significant and credible evidence has been developed that Nadhmi Auchi has engaged in unlawful activities," such as bribing "foreign governments and individuals prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom to turn opinion against the American-led mission to remove Saddam Hussein." (3) Accused him of helping to "arrange for significant theft from the U.N. Oil-for-Food Program to smuggle weapons and dual-use technology into Iraq."

Concerning Rezko:
Rezko personally toured with Obama the house that Obama bought and advised Obama on the negotiations to purchase the house.
In 2005, at the time of his empty lot purchase, Rezko was "virtually bankrupt."
Obama attended two events hosted by Rezko honoring Auchi in 2004, one at the Four Seasons Hotel and another at Rezko's house; Michelle Obama also attended the latter occasion.
Comment: These additional pieces of information significantly confirm my conclusion that Obama "personally benefited from funds originating in Saddam Hussein's regime."

PLO Acknowledges: Still at War with Israel

by Daniel Pipes
Hudson Institute
October 28, 2008

Yasir Arafat may have shook Yitzhak Rabin's hand in 1993 and signed solemn declarations about ending the war to eliminate Israel, but late last month, in a New York City courtroom, the Palestine Liberation Organization formally confirmed that it still sees terrorism against Israelis as legitimate acts of war.

The lawsuit, Sokolow v The Palestine Liberation Organization, brought by the intrepid David Strachman, alleges that the PLO carried out two machine-gun and five bombing attacks in the Jerusalem area between January 2001 and February 2004. The plaintiffs allege, in the words of U.S. District Judge George Daniels, that the PLO did so "intending to terrorize, intimidate, and coerce the civilian population of Israel into acquiescing to defendants' political goals and demands, and to influence the policy of the United States and Israeli governments in favor of accepting defendants' political goals and demands." The attacks killed 33 and wounded many more, some of them U.S. citizens; the victims and their families are seeking up to US$3 billion in damages from the PLO.

To this, the PLO, represented in part by none other than the appalling Ramsey Clark (who in a distant age, 1967-69, was attorney general of the United States), replied that the attacks were acts of war rather than terrorism. As Daniels summarizes the PLO argument: "defendants argue that subject matter jurisdiction is lacking because this action is premised on acts of war, which is barred under the ATA [Antiterrorism Act of 1991], and further is based on conduct which does not meet the statutory definition of ‘international terrorism'."

This response is noteworthy for two reasons: (1) Fifteen years after Oslo supposedly ended the state of war, four years after Mahmoud Abbas took over and supposedly improved on Arafat's abysmal record, the PLO publicly maintains it remains at war with Israel. (2) The PLO argues, even in the context of an American law court, that blatant, cruel, inhumane, and atrocious acts of murder constitute legitimate acts of warfare.

Judge Daniels rightly slammed the PLO's argument: "the Court finds that the attacks, as alleged to have occurred in the amended complaint, do not constitute acts of war nor do they, as a matter of law, fall outside the statutory definition of ‘international terrorism'." He went on to point out that civilians, not soldiers were the intended victims of these assaults:

There has been no showing that the situs of the attacks were in any combat or militarized zone, or were otherwise targeted at military or governmental personnel or interests. Rather, plaintiffs allege that the attacks were intentionally targeted at the civilian population. They were purportedly carried out at locations where non-combatants citizens would be known to congregate, such as in the cafeteria on the Hebrew University campus and on a commercial passenger bus.
Daniels went on, rising to an eloquence not frequently heard in district court decisions:

Additionally, the use of bombs, under such circumstances, is indicative of an intent to cause far-reaching devastation upon the masses. The "benefit" of such weaponry is its merciless capability of indiscriminately killing and maiming untold numbers in heavily populated civilian areas. Such claimed violent attacks upon non-combatant civilians, who were allegedly simply going about their everyday lives, do not constitute acts of war.

That the PLO justifies "merciless capability of indiscriminately killing and maiming untold numbers" suggests it remains the terrorist organization it has always been since its founding in 1964.

When will the diplomatic bright lights in Jerusalem and Washington figure this out?

Obama's Link to Terror..

Daniel Pipes lays plenty of it out!

http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2008/10/more-on-the-links-between-obama-and.html

http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2008/09/i-win-apologies-retractions-and-corrections.html

http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2008/08/bibliography-my-writings-on-barack-obamas.html

Rant for Israel!



So it is October 30, 2008

Look at who supports Obama!

Gilad Shalit is still not released although Pharoh Mubarek says he is still alive.

Olmert/Livni Government is still leading Israel.

The security wall is not finished.

The UN still is made up of Arab blocs that use oil to blackmail other members into being anti-Israel.

The people expelled from Gush Katif have still not been taken care of.

The people "removed" from Amona has no coverage in the media.

The Dead sea's water level is dropping.

The Golan Heights are still in jeopardy from George W Bush trying to give it away.

Hezbollah and Hamas are enjoying the current Hudna to reload.

Mubarek wants Israel to come negotiaite and refuses to come to Israel.

The Olmert/Livni Government still plans to withdraw fro Judea & Samaria

The impending Obama Presidency looms over the future of the "negotiations" between Israel and the murderers.

Israel still has no Death penalty for terrorists.

Israel has still not started to expel the non citizen Arab and Muslim terrorist from any portion of Israel.

Israel has still not notified the US that it no longer requires any aid package and thanks them for their "past" help.

Israel needs to step up the call for Aliyah with more planned English speaking communities.

Israel needs more nuclear power plants, water desalination plants and solar power.

Israel needs to forge stronger connections with US Jewry, regardless of their being R, C or C.

Israel needs to target many more assasinations of "Iranian leaders"

Israel - - - Iran - Bomb Nuclear power plant....NOW

Israel needs to connect to all Bar/Bat Mitvah students in the US by offering them the opportunity to have the ceremony by the Kotel,
at the expense of the State of Israel...completely...plane, hotel, etc...for the lucky child only.

US Jews need to show support for a strong Religious Israel that is patterned after the Torah, not a secular Western Style
Government that makes Israel weak and vulnerable.

The checkpoints in Israels need to be increased and made so difficult for non Israeli citizens that nobody will want to come.

Jews in Israel should not hire any Arabs or Muslims....no matter what!

Israel needs to take over complete control of the Temple Mount and throw the Muslims out! At any cost.
The site must be protected from any further desecration.

The Supreme Court in Israel must be elected by its citizens, not appointed!

Israeli diggers find Hebrew text in ancient town


Five lines of faded characters written 3,000 years indicate powerful Israelite kingdom existed during King David's time, archaeologist says

Associated Press
Published: 10.30.08, 11:43 / Israel News

An Israeli archaeologist digging at a hilltop south of Jerusalem believes a ceramic shard found in the ruins of an ancient town bears the oldest Hebrew inscription ever discovered, a find that could provide an important glimpse into the culture and language of the Holy Land at the time of the Bible.

The five lines of faded characters written 3,000 years ago, and the ruins of the fortified settlement where they were found, are indications that a powerful Israelite kingdom existed at the time of the Old Testament's King David, says Yossi Garfinkel, the Hebrew University archaeologist in charge of the new dig at Hirbet Qeiyafa.

Other scholars are hesitant to embrace Garfinkel's interpretation of the finds, made public on Thursday. The discoveries are already being wielded in a vigorous and ongoing argument over whether the Bible's account of events and geography is meant to be taken literally.

Hirbet Qeiyafa sits near the modern Israeli city of Beit Shemesh in the Judean foothills, an area that was once the frontier between the hill-dwelling Israelites and their enemies, the coastal Philistines. The site overlooks the Elah Valley, said to be the scene of the slingshot showdown between David and the Philistine giant Goliath, and lies near the ruins of Goliath's hometown in the Philistine metropolis of Gath.

A teenage volunteer found the curved pottery shard, 15 centimeters by 15 centimeters, in July near the stairs and stone washtub of an excavated home. It was later discovered to bear five lines of characters known as proto-Canaanite, a precursor of the Hebrew alphabet.

Carbon-14 analysis of burnt olive pits found in the same layer of the site dated them to between 1,000 and 975 B.C., the same time as the Biblical golden age of David's rule in Jerusalem.

Scholars have identified other, smaller Hebrew fragments from the 10th century B.C., but the script, which Garfinkel suggests might be part of a letter, predates the next significant Hebrew inscription by between 100 and 200 years. History's best-known Hebrew texts, the Dead Sea scrolls, were penned on parchment beginning 850 years later.

The shard is now kept in a university safe while philologists translate it, a task expected to take months. But several words have already been tentatively identified, including ones meaning "judge," "slave" and "king."

The Israelites were not the only ones using proto-Canaanite characters, and other scholars suggest it is difficult _ perhaps impossible _ to conclude the text is Hebrew and not a related tongue spoken in the area at the time. Garfinkel bases his identification on a three-letter verb from the inscription meaning "to do," a word he said existed only in Hebrew.

"That leads us to believe that this is Hebrew, and that this is the oldest Hebrew inscription that has been found," he said.

Other prominent Biblical archaeologists warned against jumping to conclusions.

Hebrew University archaeologist Amihai Mazar said the inscription was "very important," as it is the longest proto-Canaanite text ever found. But he suggested that calling the text Hebrew might be going too far.

"It's proto-Canaanite," he said. "The differentiation between the scripts, and between the languages themselves in that period, remains unclear."

Some scholars and archeologists argue that the Bible's account of David's time inflates his importance and that of his kingdom, and is essentially myth, perhaps rooted in a shred of fact.

'I'm on the front lines'

But if Garfinkel's claim is borne out, it would bolster the case for the Bible's accuracy by indicating the Israelites could record events as they happened, transmitting the history that was later written down in the Old Testament several hundred years later.

It also would mean that the settlement _ a fortified town with a 30-foot-wide monumental gate, a central fortress and a wall running 700 meters in circumference _ was probably inhabited by Israelites.

The finds have not yet established who the residents were, says Aren Maier, a Bar Ilan University archaeologist who is digging at nearby Gath. It will become more clear if, for example, evidence of the local diet is found, he said: Excavations have shown that Philistines ate dogs and pigs, while Israelites did not.

The nature of the ceramic shards found at the site suggest residents might have been neither Israelites nor Philistines but members of a third, forgotten people, he said.

If the inscription is Hebrew, it would indicate a connection to the Israelites and make the text "one of the most important texts, without a doubt, in the corpus of Hebrew inscriptions," Maier said. But it has great importance whatever the language turns out to be, he added.

Saar Ganor, an Israel Antiquities Authority ranger, noticed the unusual scale of the walls while patrolling the area in 2003. Three years later he interested Garfinkel, and after a preliminary dig they began work in earnest this summer. They have excavated only 4 percent of the six-acre settlement so far.

Archaeology has turned up only scant finds from David's time in the early 10th century B.C., leading some scholars to suggest his kingdom may have been little more than a small chiefdom or that he might not have existed at all.

Garfinkel believes building fortifications like those at Hirbet Qeiyafa could not have been a local initiative: The walls would have required moving 200,000 tons of stone, a task too big for the 500 or so people who lived there. Instead, it would have required an organized kingdom like the one the Bible says David ruled.

The dig is partially funded by Foundation Stone, a Jewish educational organization, which hopes to bring volunteers to work there.

"When I stand here, I understand that I'm on the front lines of the battle between the Israelites and the Philistines," said Rabbi Barnea Levi Selavan, the group's director. "I open my Bible and read about David and Goliath, and I understand that I'm in the Biblical context."

While the site could be useful to scholars, archaeologist Yisrael Finkelstein of Tel Aviv University urged adhering to the strict boundaries of science.

Finkelstein, who has not visited the dig but attended a presentation of the findings, warned against what he said was a "revival in the belief that what's written in the Bible is accurate like a newspaper." That style of archaeology was favored by 19th century European diggers who trolled the Holy Land for physical traces of Biblical stories, their motivation and methods more romantic than scientific.

"This can be seen as part of this phenomenon," Finkelstein said.

Archaeologists Uncover King Solomon's Copper Mines


by Hana Levi Julian

(IsraelNN.com) An international team of archaeologists may have uncovered the copper mines owned and operated by the biblical King Solomon during a dig at Khirbat en-Nahas, an ancient mining and metallurgy district of more than 450 square miles in southern Jordan.

The study, supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Geographic Society, is led by Thomas Levy from the University of California at San Diego and Mohammed Najjar of Jordan's Friends of Archaeology. The researchers reported their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Levy is also collaborating with the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature in Jordan and other organizations to declare the area a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Such a move would protect the site from possible mining in the future, as well as preserve "its spectacular desert landscape and rare, ancient character."

According to a report published in the October 28 issue of the prestigious international journal, ScienceDaily (http://www.sciencedaily.com ), the team excavated through more than 20 feet of slag down to virgin soil at the ancient copper production center.

The findings from the 2006 produced new artifacts, as well as new data that give evidence to the Biblical chapters on the monarchies of King David and his son King Solomon and challenge the timeline of previous data, creating a discrepancy of some 300 years. The area of Khirbat en-Nahas – which means "ruins of copper" in Arabic – is located in what the Bible identified as the Kingdom of Edom, near the southern tip of the Dead Sea. The Edomites were one of the enemies of the People of Israel.

The site, which spans an area of more than 24 acres, is comprised of some 100 ancient buildings, includes a fortress, and it is covered in black slag. Its face, as seen by Google Earth's sensitive satellite photography, is pocked by mines and lined with miners' trails.

The depth of waste at the site, which Levy said equaled more than 20 feet, provided a convenient means by which the team measured social and technological changes in the history of ancient Israel and Edom from 1200 to 500 BCE on the Gregorian calendar.

High-precision radio-carbon dating, carried out by Thomas Higham of the University of Oxford, was used on date seeds, tamarisk sticks and other wood used for charcoal in smelting that was found at the site.

An ancient Egyptian scarab and amulet were also found in a layer of the excavation associated with a disruption in production at the end of the 10th century BCE. The event is thought to have been connected with a military campaign by the Egyptian Pharaoh "Shishak" that took place that followed the death of King Solomon.

Future research is expected to focus on the environmental impact of the ancient smelting, as well obtaining more specific information about the lucrative copper industry in the region.

1st Annual International Best-Looking Sukkah Contest.


A sukkah is a tabernacle that Jews dwell in during the holiday of Sukkot, which falls on Oct. 13 – 22, 2008.
You are invited to browse through and rate the sukkahs below. Fill out the brief site registration form (free) in order to vote. Contest winners will receive:
First prize – 1,000 NIS
Second prize – 500 NIS
Third prize - 250 NIS

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Special/Sucot/Default.aspx/0

Iranian Nuke Scientist: Weekend Quake was a Nuclear Test


by Hillel Fendel

(IsraelNN.com) A weekend 5.0 Richter earthquake in Iran was actually a nuclear bomb test, says an Iranian nuclear scientist claiming to be working on the project.

The report is an Israel Insider exclusive.

This past Saturday night, southern Iran experienced what was reported as a significant earthquake - a seismic event measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale. Its epicenter was just north of the strategic Straits of Hormuz, which separates Iran from Abu Dhabi and Oman and which is the gateway to the Persian Gulf.

The report quotes an Iranian nuclear scientist who claims to be working in uranium enrichment for the project, and who said that the "quake" was acutally an undergound nuclear bomb test.

Israel Insider adds that the test/quake was actually the second in a series. Nine days ago, a 4.8 Richter scale event occurred, with its epicenter only five kilometers away from the weekend tremor.

The Israel Insider source reports that two nuclear bombs are currently ready - and are intended for use against Israel in the coming months.

If the report is correct, it would belie previous speculation that Iran would not begin testing until it had more nuclear-bomb production capability.

The site of the test has several advantages. It is exposed to significant seismic activity, which could serve to mask nuclear tests; it is believed to be close to the nuclear development facility; delivery and transport of material and personnel can be effected easily through the Hormuz Strait; and Iranian enemies would hesitate to bomb the area because this would threaten the flow of a substantial percentage of the world's oil.

Reuters reports Thursday morning that Iran has begun building a line of naval bases along its southern coast and up to the Straits of Hormuz.

October 29, 2008

Message To Egyptian President Mubarak



Avigdor Liberman addressed the Knesset and stated that Israeli leaders have traveled to see Mubarak in Egypt dozens of times, while Mubarak has never once returned the gesture. Avigdor when referring to Mubarak said "He wants to talk to us? He can come here. If he doesn't want to come here, he can go jump in a lake"
Avigdor is right. Israel needs to act like it has a right to exist.

Shortly after Lieberman's speech, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President Shimon Peres rushed to apologize to Mubarak for his remarks. Both Olmert and Peres called Mubarak and apologized personally in the name of the state of Israel.


The government is weak and feels totally inadequate and so grateful that Egypt would
give us the time of day. Shameful, that kind of weakness beckons an attack!

"We must understand that peace is derived from security, and not the opposite"

October 24, 2008

Students face punishment for 'Hit a Jew Day'

Associated Press 10.23.08, Israel News

Pupils from a suburban St. Louis middle school allegedly hit Jewish classmates. District spokesman: There is a mix of sadness and outrage

At least four students from a suburban St. Louis middle school face punishment for allegedly hitting Jewish classmates during what they called "Hit a Jew Day."

The incident happened last week at Parkway West Middle School in Chesterfield.

District officials said Thursday they believe that fewer than 10 children of the district's 35 Jewish students were struck.

District spokesman Paul Tandy said that in most cases, the students were hit on the back of their shoulders but one student was slapped in the face.

It began with an unofficial "Spirit Week" among sixth-graders that started harmlessly enough with a "Hug a Friend Day." Then there was "High Five Day."

Soon, though, the days moved from friendly to silly. Next there was "Hit a Tall Person Day" and, finally, "Hit a Jew Day."

District officials believe a handful of children were directly involved. Those who actually struck classmates could face suspension and required counseling, Tandy said. Others who weren't directly involved but taunted Jewish students or egged on classmates could face lesser penalties.

"There is a mix of sadness and outrage," Tandy said. "The concern is a lot of kids knew about it and they didn't take action or say anything."

Karen Aroesty, St. Louis regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said this was more than a case of bullying. Officials from the group plan to discuss the matter with school leaders.

October 22, 2008

America the Weak

Mr Peters seems to think that the Obama Presidency will be an unmitigated disaster!
Do you agree?

America the weak
By RALPH PETERS, NY POST

IF Sen. Barack Obama is elected president, our public will survive, but our international strategy and some of our allies may not. His first year in office would conjure globe-spanning challenges as our enemies piled on to exploit his weakness. Add in Sen. Joe Biden - with his track record of calling every major foreign-policy crisis wrong for 35 years - as vice president and de facto secretary of State, and we’d face a formula for strategic disaster. Where would the avalanche of confrontations come from?

* Al Qaeda. Pandering to his extreme base, Obama has projected an image of being soft on terror. Toss in his promise to abandon Iraq, and you can be sure that al Qaeda will pull out all the stops to kill as many Americans as possible - in Iraq, Afghanistan and, if they can, here at home - hoping that America will throw away the victories our troops bought with their blood.

* Pakistan. As this nuclear-armed country of 170 million anti-American Muslims grows more fragile by the day, the save-the-Taliban elements in the Pakistani intelligence services and body politic will avoid taking serious action against “their” terrorists (while theatrically annoying Taliban elements they can’t control). The Pakistanis think Obama would lose Afghanistan - and they believe they can reap the subsequent whirlwind.

* Iran. Got nukes? If the Iranians are as far along with their nuclear program as some reports insist, expect a mushroom cloud above an Iranian test range next year. Even without nukes, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would try the new administration’s temper in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf.

* Israel. In the Middle East, Obama’s election would be read as the end of staunch US support for Israel. Backed by Syria and Iran, Hezbollah would provoke another, far-bloodier war with Israel. Lebanon would disintegrate.

* Saudi Arabia. Post-9/11 attention to poisonous Saudi proselytizing forced the kingdom to be more discreet in fomenting terrorism and religious hatred abroad. Convinced that Obama will be more “tolerant” toward militant Islam, the Saudis would redouble their funding of bigotry and butchery-for-Allah - in the US, too.

* Russia. Got Ukraine? Not for long, slabiye Amerikantsi. Russia’s new czar, Vladimir Putin, intends to gobble Ukraine next year, assured that NATO will be divided and the US can be derided. Aided by the treasonous Kiev politico Yulia Timoshenko - a patriot when it suited her ambition, but now a Russian collaborator - the Kremlin is set to reclaim the most important state it still regards as its property. Overall, 2009 may see the starkest repression of freedom since Stalin seized Eastern Europe.

* Georgia. Our Georgian allies should dust off their Russian dictionaries.

* Venezuela. Hugo Chavez will intensify the rape of his country’s hemorrhaging democracy and, despite any drop in oil revenue, he’ll do all he can to export his megalomaniacal version of gun-barrel socialism. He’ll seek a hug-for-the-cameras meet with President Obama as early as possible.

* Bolivia. Chavez client President Evo Morales could order his military to seize control of his country’s dissident eastern provinces, whose citizens resist his repression, extortion and semi-literate Leninism. President Obama would do nothing as yet another democracy toppled and bled.

* North Korea. North Korea will expect a much more generous deal from the West for annulling its pursuit of nuclear weapons. And it will regard an Obama administration as a green light to cheat.

* NATO. The brave young democracies of Central and Eastern Europe will be gravely discouraged, while the appeasers in Western Europe will again have the upper hand. Putin will be allowed to do what he wants.

* The Kurds. An Obama administration will abandon our only true allies between Tel Aviv and Tokyo.

* Democracy activists. Around the world, regressive regimes will intensify their suppression - and outright murder - of dissidents who risk their lives for freedom and justice. An Obama administration will say all the right things, but do nothing.

* Women’s rights. If you can’t vote in US elections, sister, you’re screwed. Being stoned to death or buried alive is just a cultural thing.

* Journalists. American journalists who’ve done everything they can to elect Barack Obama can watch as regimes around the world imprison, torture and murder their foreign colleagues, confident that the US has entered an era of impotence. The crocodile tears in newsrooms will provide drought relief to the entire southeastern US. Sen. John McCain’s campaign has allowed a great man to be maligned as a mere successor to George W. Bush.

The truth is that an Obama administration would be a second Carter presidency - only far worse. Think Bush weakened America? Just wait.

October 21, 2008

Debate: Rabbi Meir Kahane Vs. Ehud Olmert



Incredible as it seems their is a recorded debate between Meir Kahane and Ehud Olmert.

youtube has it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0v1To8B4_A

October 20, 2008

Focus, People A life-or-death election - By Anne Bayefsky


(From Naomi Ragen)

Since the time of Hitler, civilization has never been so close to the brink
of total catastrophe. This American election will decide whether
civilization as we know it will survive. As much as economic questions are
currently front and center, with blame to go all round, this is not an
election primarily about corporate greed, or individuals living beyond their
means, or government neglect of economic oversight. Nor is it about whether
we should have gone into Iraq where, like it or not, American boots on the
ground have begun to create an emerging democracy. This election is about
whether there will be a nuclear holocaust.

Alarmist? I sure hope so. Isn't it about time that we got to the point about
the stakes in this election? How many more pundits do we have to watch
talking about the minutae — a candidate's look, an accent, a stumble, a
slogan? We have four weeks to talk about the thing that matters most: a
nuclear-armed Iran, and which candidate will prevent it.

The question that must be put point-blank to both presidential and
vice-presidential candidates is: "Will you authorize the use of force in
time to stop Iran from acquiring the capacity to make nuclear weapons — yes
or no?"

Wouldn't your beliefs for and against abortion fade if you thought nobody
would be born into a world fit for living things? Wouldn't your worries
about health care pale if you thought the mutilation, cancer, and death of
millions upon millions, sure to follow nuclear war, would occur in your
lifetime? Wouldn't your concerns about affording a college education fade if
you thought your children will have the grim task of fighting a war of
horrifying devastation instead of going to school?

Wake up. There is a genocidal maniac on the verge of reaching the point of
no return in his ability to make a nuclear weapon. A fanatic with the stated
ambition to murder five million Jews living in Israel — to start. A villain
who has already funded and armed a terrorist war against the Jewish state
that in 2006 forced one-third of Israel's population to live underground for
almost a month. In other words, an individual who is ready, willing, and
able to give the nuclear trigger to a terrorist group — to terrorists who
cannot be bargained with because they prefer their death to your freedom. As
for the suggestion that the Mullahs are more powerful and nicer guys, the
millions brutalized and subjugated in Iran tell a different story.

I don't know why it is possible after the Holocaust, to have such widespread
denial of man's capacity for evil. Nor do I understand why Ahmadinejad's
virulent anti-semitism and call for the destruction of Israel are dismissed
as irrelevant factoids when calculating the Iranian threat. Time has a story
about
"experts" who believe that Iran seeks an atomic bomb not because they have
any interest in using it or passing it to others who will, but to deter, to
ensure its security. According to Thomas Fringar, chairman of the U.S.
National Intelligence Council: "Iran's biggest strategic concern is
obtaining security assurances and accords," and it is the United States
"which the Iranians consider a mortal threat." These "experts" have it
exactly backwards. If Iran were really driven by such security concerns,
these concerns could be alleviated without spending a nickel — by stopping
its nuclear-weapons campaign and its funding of terrorists.

No amount of ignorance, stupidity, or wishful thinking will change the
reality that there are people who are prepared to kill you and your family
for no good reason at all. Not because of poverty, or envy, or
discrimination or because of anything you've done. But because they hate you
— whether you live in Jerusalem, Washington, London, or Paris. They hate
everything you stand for — liberty, tolerance, equality. And their minds are
made up. Closed — period — to the entreaties of naïve foreign diplomats or
would-be presidents and vice presidents.

During the vice-presidential debate, Joe Biden denied the undeniable fact
that Senator Obama said he would sit down with the Iranian President without
preconditions: "Barack Obama, he did not say 'sit down with Ahmadinejad.'"
Perhaps he should read Barack's website: "The Obama-Biden Plan: Obama
supports tough, direct presidential diplomacy with Iran without
preconditions."

So let's look at the differences between the presidential tickets on what to
do about the nuclear weapons ambitions of a would-be mass murderer.

On the one side:

Vice-Presidential Debate

DEBATE MODERATOR: "Let's move to Iran and Pakistan….Senator Biden. What's
the greater threat, a nuclear Iran or an unstable Afghanistan?"

SENATOR BIDEN: "…I always am focused…I have been focusing on for a long
time, along with Barack, on Pakistan….Iran getting a nuclear weapon would be
very, very destabilizing…[T]hey are not close to getting a nuclear weapon
that's able to be deployed."…

SENATOR BIDEN: [on Iran] "Our friends and allies have been saying, Gwen,
"Sit down. Talk. Talk. Talk."…And if we don't…what makes you think the
allies are going to sit with us?"


Ask yourself: does preventing a nuclear holocaust involve winning a
popularity contest?

First Presidential Debate

Senator Obama [on preventing a nuclear Iran]: "Now here's what we need to
do. We do need tougher sanctions. I do not agree…that we're going to be able
to execute the kind of sanctions we need without some cooperation
with…Russia and China…[W]e are also going to have to…engage in tough direct
diplomacy with Iran and this is a major difference I have with Senator
McCain."

News flash: Russia and China have told us to take a hike on tough sanctions,
Barack. Any other ideas?

Obama Website:

If Iran continues its troubling behavior, we will step up our economic
pressure and political isolation.


"If" it continues? Anybody in Iran trembling?

And on the other side:


Vice-Presidential Debate


DEBATE MODERATOR: "Governor, nuclear Pakistan, unstable Pakistan, nuclear
Iran? Which is the greater threat?"

GOVERNOR PALIN: "An armed, nuclear armed especially Iran is so extremely
dangerous to consider. They cannot be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons
period."


First Presidential Debate

Senator McCain: "If Iran acquires nuclear weapons, it is an existential
threat to the State of Israel and to other countries in the region…[W]e
cannot [allow] a second Holocaust. …Have no doubt about the ultimate result
of them acquiring nuclear weapons…What Senator Obama doesn't seem to
understand that if without preconditions you sit down across the table from
someone who has called Israel a "stinking corpse," and wants to destroy that
country and wipe it off the map, you legitimize those comments. This is
dangerous. It isn't just naive; it's dangerous. And so we just have a
fundamental difference of opinion."



Barack Obama isn't just inexperienced. It isn't naiveté that drives him. I
take him at his word. He and his vice-presidential candidate believe in
"talk, talk, talk" regardless of the hourglass or the stakes or the
intentions of the person across the table. No amount of learning on the job
is going to change their way of thinking. Approving the use of force to
prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons is a Rubicon they will not cross
— before civilization as we know it comes to an end.

So when you cast your ballot this election, make no mistake: you are voting
for or against a nuclear holocaust. Not because Barack Obama wants such a
horror, but because he will not prevent it. He will still be talking when
the point of no return in Iran's nuclear program is reached. And the balance
of power in the world will — with terrible consequences — have changed
forever.

— Anne Bayefsky is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute
and at Touro College. She is also editor of
www.EyeontheUN.org .

October 18, 2008

GW Bush - Worst President ...EVER!


Mr Bush is perhaps the worst President ever. The list of his gaffes are not worth mentioning, we have all seen them.

His policies and actions from lying about the Iraq war to the recent easing of restrictions on Visa's are just a misunderestimation of his ability to destroy the US as we know it.

The fact that he remains President of the USA and is attempting to destroy Israel proves to me that he was not even able to succeed as Gog and that these actions of his seem to have no other explanation.

The fact that there has been no real organized backlash is astounding.

So as we move on to the next President Obama, the scenario gets more interesting.
If you believe the Torah Codes as deciphered By Joel Gallis and Dr. Robert Wolf (http://www.redemption5768.com/radiobroadcasts.html), then you know that Obama is listed as the real Gog. Check it out!

This will make the bizarre events of the last few years begin to make sense.

B*H*

Bush to Assad: Sever Ties with Iran and Take the Golan Heights


by Hana Levi Julian

(IsraelNN.com) U.S. President George W. Bush offered Syrian President Bashar Assad a secret deal to pull Israel out of the Golan Heights in exchange for Damascus breaking off ties with Tehran, according to a report published Friday in the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Jarida.

A Palestinian Authority (PA) source quoted in the report said Bush reportedly proposed "a quick and satisfactory solution" to Syria's dispute with Israel over the Golan Heights. The "solution" was to be finalized "within several weeks, before the U.S. presidential elections, in order to push the Middle East peace process, an achievement the president will be able to proudly present before leaving the White House in January," according to Cairo-based journalist Abdel-Wahab Al-Nasser.

The offer allegedly came in a letter sent via PA Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, who arrived in Damascus for meetings with Assad and other Syrian officials beginning last Saturday.

Abbas's visit was billed at the time as an attempt by Abbas to shore up his political position within the PA due to the fact that his current term in office ends on January 9, 2009, and as part of his effort to reconcile his Fatah faction with the rival Hamas terrorist organization that took over complete control of Gaza in June 2007.

According to the PA source, the real purpose of Abbas's visit, however, was to deliver the secret letter, the knowledge of which was kept secret from the American Ambassador in Damascus and the members of Abbas's entourage. It was delivered personally by Abbas to Assad, said the source, who added that "the United States stressed the importance of this confidential letter outside the usual official channels."

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokesman David Baker said in response to a call from Israel National News, "We have nothing to comment regarding that report."

October 16, 2008

Thousands Gather for Temple Congregation Ceremony


by Hillel Fendel

(IsraelNN.com) The Temple Institute in Jerusalem's Old City succeeded on Wednesday in arousing a spirit of longing for the Holy Temple amongst a crowd of thousands that gathered for a re-enactment of the Hakhel ceremony.

Of the two once-every-seven-years Biblical commandments - Shemittah and Hakhel - the first lasts for a whole year, while Hakhel takes only an hour or two, but packs a great burst of inspiration into that short period. Binding only when the Holy Temple is standing, it involves a public Torah reading by the King of Israel for the entire nation - men, women, and children - for the purpose of rousing all to stand in awe of G-d and follow the Torah's statutes.

The word Hakhel (pronounced Hock-hel) literally means, in fact, "Gather the people together" (Deut. 31, 10-12).

The Temple Institute held a smaller-scale re-enactment of the event in an Old City park on Wednesday, the first day of the Intermediate Days of the Sukkot holiday following the Shemittah year. Though only 500 people had been expected, several times that amount arrived. The event began with a procession of Kohanim, wearing priestly garments of the type used in the Temple and sounding of silver trumpets of the type sounded in the Temple, making their way through Old City streets until their arrival at the central stage.

Following the afternoon Mincha prayer, Rabbi Yehuda Glick of the Temple Institute introduced the rabbi-priests who were to read from the Torah. Among them were Rabbi Shlomo Riskin of Efrat, Rabbi Menachem Cohen of Jerusalem's Nachlaot neighborhood, and Rav Avi Kahane, as well as Rabbi Azariah Ariel - the head of the Temple Institute's kollel - and Yeshivat Shilo head Rav Araleh Harel.

The passages read aloud included Deut. 1 ("Behold, I have given you this Land; come and inherit this Land promised to your forefathers to give their descendants"), Deut. 11 (about the rewards for fulfilling the Torah and the negative consequences of not doing so), and others.

New Temple Vessel Serves 12 Priests at Once
The ceremony also featured the unveiling of the just-completed Kiyor HaNechoshet, the water source to be used for washing by the Priests several times a day. Built to replicate the Kiyor used in the Holy Temple, it is about nine feet high, weighs two tons, and is made mostly of copper. It comes complete with a computerized system that enables heated water to be used on weekdays, and non-heated water on Sabbaths and festivals, when heating the water is not permitted. Twelve priests can wash their hands and feet at once; each one presses one of two buttons to indicate whether he wants a large amount of water, such as after completing preparing an animal offering, or a small amount to merely purify his hands and feet.

The kiyor was built by Moshe Buchbut, a budding Torah scholar and a member of the family that owns Buchbut Metal Industries in the city of Akko (Acre). He repeated his explanations countless times to the many excited vistitors who asked how he built it and how it works. The Buchbut's decided to build the kiyor during the Second Lebanon War. "From the moment we made the decision," a family spokesman said, "we have been blessed, both in terms of Katyushas that seemed to stop hitting us during the war, and financially."

The actual faucets are expected to be installed in the coming weeks. The kiyor is now standing in a plaza in the Jewish Quarter, and is expected to be placed inside a protective glass container, as is the Temple Institute's Menorah. It had been hoped that the kiyor would be placed in the Western Wall Plaza, but this will apparently not occur in the near future.

A short film describing the Simchat Beit HaShoevah water pouring festival - a mainstay of the Sukkot ceremonies in the Holy Temple - was also screened. The film was prepared, as were the Temple vessels and clothing, by the Temple Institute.

Not Consecrated
Rabbi Glick explained that though the vessels were prepared in fulfillment of the Biblical commandment to fashion them - "we even recited the blessing 'He Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to fashion the tzitz [Priestly headplate],' for instance" - the vessels have not been consecrated to the Holy Temple and may therefore be used for other purposes, such as education.

October 15, 2008

Aliyah or move to a Jewish Suburb....


Golden years are approaching and we have no parachute and figure we will work....
But where? I prefer not to fall and break something.

I asked my wife where she thought we should move to escape the nothingness and bad weather of the Upstate NY area. She mentioned a lot of people were going to NC. I said NC? What the heck would draw me there? More moderate temperature...that's all?
Below the Mason-Dixon line...I don't think so!

I complain because I (we I hope) want to move to a place with less Winter and more Jews and more Jewish life. The Jewish life is offered here, but very few participate.

Am I to old to make Aliyah? Is the weather to hot or we will love it as the circulation begins to slow down? Will I lose touch with my kids if they want to stay here?

Is this simply the beginning of the end of days? Is the redemption coming?
Is Moshiach guiding the events we see unfolding before our eyes?

Eric Clapton was in Blind Faith and perhaps I now understand where the name of that band came from. Of course the name was temporary.

My heart says we need to go to Israel, my mind tells me we need to go before it is to late!

I take for granted that Aliyah will always be allowable by the US or Israel.

The first steps will be the hardest and perhaps the last steps will rival them.

Why stay? Anti-Semitism remains in all US locations and the only place it may not exist is in Israel!

Torah said if you can't bring all of your possessions to Jerusalem for the pilgrimage...to sell them and then come and buy food...

The real issues are older family members and children that are not yet on their own.
Torah also said to always listen to your crying children even over Torah..

So I wait........

American Gothic


They keep telling us that this economic meltdown could be a replay of the 1929 stock market crash, so it was only natural that the image of the farm couple in Grant Wood’s fantastic "American Gothic" came to mind. But every attempt to draw the painting was a gross and grotesque failure, The piece was almost too holy for me to parody with taste.

I gave up, talked myself into believing that only the "real" image would work, and worked up a version of the cartoon with the real painting pasted in ...sort of like a captioned photograph. I showed it to a friend who said "Nice, but I'd like to see a Dry Bones version of the painting." So I gave it another try.

But I only succeeded in freeing my mind when I saw a Disney version called "Homegrown".

Hey if Disney could play with the image so could Dry Bones!
-Dry Bones- Israel's Political Comic Strip Since 1973

The Great Schlep


I was really offended by Sarah Silverman's shocking scare tactic message that "if Obama doesn't get elected I'm going to blame the Jews". The idea of the Great Schlep is to send Jewish kids to Florida to talk (urge, frighten?) their old Jewish Grandparents into supporting Obama.

To fight back, the Republican Jewish Coalition spoke to those Florida Jews in an accent they understand. Here's Jackie Mason, turn up your speakers and click on the play arrow:

http://drybonesblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/big-schlep.html

October 14, 2008

Torah Quiz ..for fun

Fun, easy way to learn Torah facts or to just
test yourself after each Parshah to see if you got the main points.

Excellent, Fast and easy to use online...

http://www.bible-quiz.co.il/quiz/index.php?8ae4fb4195f186bcc2c91330f11db9f8

The Jewish Case Against Barack Obama

(From Naomi Ragen)

There are those Jews who have already made up their minds about their vote
in the Presidential election. Some will vote for Barack Obama, some for
John McCain. From experience, it is impossible to change the mind of
someone who is a true believer. They scorn facts, and are not open to

information that is contrary to their beliefs. They blindly take
endorsements from respected Jewish public figures, who, like Deborah
Lipstadt, are admirable in their field of expertise, but clueless
politically.



I guess this e-mail is meant for the undecided, those who are searching for
the truth, and who have not been played like a violin by propaganda. It is
for those who want the facts. If you are one of those people, please read
what I've written below, then GO TO THIS WEBSITE:



http://benshapiromedia.blogspot.com/

To Build a True Jewish Society


The Torah as a guide for the ideal national life.

Learning to Condemn Evil
In order to condemn evil, we will have to review in depth the laws of slander and gossip. We will have to learn that we are obligated to relate the disrepute of evil people or people with evil opinions who bring evil upon the public.

Our precious, honest religious-Zionist community is not accustomed to behaving in such a manner. Many of us saw corrupt ministers, or senior officers acting with extreme crudeness, or wealthy individuals cheating the poor. Due to naivete, we tried to interpret these sins in a positive manner.

We must now learn to take a more honest look at reality. It is entirely possible that on a personal level, in many cases, an individual may be judged favorably. However, when the corruption takes its toll upon the "vineyard of Israel," we must condemn it.

Preparing an Alternative
Employing criticism will allow us to think creatively and come up with fresh ideas for building an original Jewish society according to the illumination of the Torah. The Almighty gave us His Torah, and it contains advice and instruction for ideal life. However, it is necessary to delve into its teachings in order to illuminate and rectify creation.

For two thousand years, the Torah accompanied us in our exile, and due to its power we succeeded in surviving the most difficult situations. However, we did not accustom ourselves to deriving from the Torah instructions for all aspects of life. This is our task today, to pave a path for national life based upon the Torah.

Our sages teach us to "embrace the wisdom of the nations," and a Jew who sees a wise man from one of the nations must bless: "Blessed are You, O Lord... who has imparted His wisdom to His creatures." Therefore, we must occupy ourselves with secular wisdom, for it too is "His wisdom." However, only the Torah can provide us with life's moral content.

Despite all of the technological advancement in recent generations, man's distress has remained as it always was. Only the Torah can give true meaning to life. We must learn one discipline after another, the humanities and the natural sciences alike. We must unravel the difficulties and problems in each field, and search the Torah for advice and direction in order to arrive at solutions.

Foreign Relations
For example, let us look at the field of foreign relations. We, the nation of Israel, live amongst the nations of the world, and our task is to be like a heart for the organs. The question is, how should we be managing our relations with the countries of the world today? In what manner should we be establishing relations with friendly nations? How should we respond to the animosity of our Arab neighbors? How shall we sanctify God's name amongst the nations?

To answer these questions, we must examine the foundations of Jewish faith and the role of the nation of Israel in the world. We must learn history and political science, familiarize ourselves with the various nations of the world, and think about how we can earnestly bestow upon them the sort of goodness that contains both spiritual truth and practical benefit.

Economics and Education
In the field of economics, too, we face weighty questions. How is it possible to create an economic system which provides maximum autonomy for free enterprise on the one hand, while preventing the rich from taking advantage of the poor on the other? How can we transform commercial transactions into something with moral value? How can we build a social system which, while aiding the weak, does not legitimize joblessness at public expense?

The Torah points us in certain directions, however, in order to realize the vision, we must delve into both the Torah and economic and social sciences. We need both of these ingredients if we wish to apply Torah values to modern conditions.

But dealing with theoretical economic questions is not enough; we must also cope with practical questions. How do we go about preparing a national program to reduce traffic accidents? How do we build safer roads? How do we create a system of punishment which will be less burdensome and more effective?

How do we improve the educational system and also reduce the burdensome expenses which fall upon parents? And how do we, at the same time, preserve the conditions of the teachers? These problems appear difficult, but I am certain that if we wrestle with all of the questions, without accepting the present norms as sacrosanct, we will succeed in greatly improving the educational system.

These two courses together - "abandon evil" and "adopt good"; i.e., criticism of evil on the one hand and the proposal of a worthy alternative on the other - will gradually allow us to replace the controlling elites "for the good of our nation and the cities of our God." (see 2 Samuel 10:12)

Inward Strengthening
The principal that underlies all of this depends upon an intensification of the inner strength of those who are loyal to the Torah, the nation and the land. We must solidify the spiritual stance of a sector which has had a tendency to be dragged to the right or the left, forward or backward.

It is not because we admire the generals or because we wish to please the secular public that we enlist for army service. We enlist because it is a Torah obligation. Therefore, we shall not be deterred from criticizing security policies, because voicing criticism in order to improve things is also a Torah obligation.

We do not uphold the laws of the state in order to prove to somebody that we are loyal to the state; rather, we uphold them because Jewish law demands this of us. However, we shall not uphold laws which run counter to the words of the Torah. We shall continuously remember that we must strive to "restore our judges as in earliest times" (from the Amidah prayer), and that in order to achieve this we must critique the courts which are estranged from the Torah, the nation, and the land.

Freedom
This inner strengthening is connected to the attribute of freedom, which is the only vehicle for critiquing and creating. By freeing ourselves from alien influences, we will be able to strengthen family life and educate our children as admirably as possible. By freeing ourselves from luxuries, we will be able to economize and establish ourselves financially. This will allow us to reach that ideal state wherein money is a vehicle for performing good deeds and realizing ideals - not an end in itself, an end which is never satisfactorily achieved.

When we finally merit living according to the Torah, living with a mission of mending the world, living with a proper balance of ideals and actions, a family life rich in love and faith and mutual fertilization, financial stamina, and joy of life - when this is achieved, all will know that those who follow the path of the Torah "merit life." Then, all of Israel will chose life, return to God, and inherit the goodly land, and God shall act benevolently towards us in accordance with that which he swore to our forefathers.

Week-Long Sukkot Holiday Begins Monday Night


by Hillel Fendel

(IsraelNN.com) The seven-plus-one Sukkot holiday, which begins Monday night, features temporary dwellings, Four Species, and much rejoicing. As per Biblical law, it lasts for seven days, and is followed immediately by a one-day holiday known as Shmini Atzeret-Simchat Torah. The first and eighth days are full-fledged holy days, while on the Six Intermediate Days most work activities are permitted.

Outside Israel, however, due to uncertainty regarding the precise dates during Talmudic times, the holiday lasts for nine days: Two full-fledged holidays from Monday night until Wednesday night, four Intermediate Days, and then two more holiday of Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah.

The four days between Yom Kippur and Sukkot are replete with diligent and enthusiastic preparations for the various commandments and customs of the Sukkot holiday:

* Building the Sukkah - a temporary dwelling in which to eat, sleep and essentially live for most of the holiday - and collecting and placing the s'chach (branches or the like with which to cover it);
* Decorating it;
* Finding, examining and purchasing the Four Species - lulav (palm branch), etrog (citron), hadassim (three myrtle branches) and aravot (two willow branches);
* Celebrating and commemorating the traditional Simchat Beit HaShoevah (Water Drawing Festival) ceremony of the Holy Temple;
* Studying the many facets of the Sukkot holiday, such as the Seventy Sacrifices for the Nations, visiting Jerusalem, and - this year - re-enactments of the dramatic Hak'hel (Gather the Entire Nation) ceremony;
* Completing the year-long cycle of the public weekly Torah readings on Simchat Torah;
* General rejoicing.

Learning the Hard Way


by Naomi Ragen

I tried to see the world through their glasses.

Sitting here in Jerusalem reading the American poll numbers, I have a feeling of déjà vu.

There was a time in Israel when the Oslo Accords and the sincerity of Yasser Arafat were, believe it or not, controversial subjects. More than that, anyone who was against Oslo, who believed Arafat was a terrorist and a
liar, and that land for peace was a deception that would lead to terror and war, was vilified. What didn't they call us realists? War-mongers. Partners with Yigal Amir. There was no debate, just hysteria and vilification. I have to say that even my own family felt we should "give peace a chance" and watched the handshake on the White House lawn (which I refused to watch and which made me ill) with hope. I was informed that since I wasn't going to be serving in the army, I had no right to suggest that signing this peace agreement was a bad thing.

You know what? It intimidated me. I started to think: How could it be that everyone was so happy and enthusiastic, and I was miserable and depressed? How could they see doves and handshakes, and all I could see was terrorist bombs and dead bodies?

So, I tried to see the world through their glasses. I tried to be hopeful too. And when it came time to vote, I even voted for a Peace Now candidate, not because I thought there would be peace, but because I thought that it was better for the country to at least put into practice its wrong ideas, and to experience first hand how badly it was all going to work out. That there was no other way to have unity, because if they didn't get that chance, then they would never shut up, and would always blame the opposition for not giving them a chance. I stopped speaking out. I went along.

What we got, of course, was hell on earth. Thousands were killed, thousands more were injured as Arafat unleashed unbridled terrorist attacks, using the guns our government had given him to kill Israelis, many of them women and children; using the free access into Israel to blow up pizza parlors and discos and Bar Mitzvah celebrations.

And then came my turn, sitting in the Park Hotel with my family, including my child and political opponent, who was all in favor of Oslo, when the building blew up.

When I came out of that alive with my husband and children, I swore never to be intimidated again. I swore that next time when know-nothings asserted political beliefs that were blatantly wrong, and would lead to disaster, I would oppose them openly, come what may. I would also never again suspend my disbelief that other people knew better, including high level academics, intellectuals and other elites. Including my closest family members. I would keep my common sense.

The presidential election of the most liberal and inexperienced politician in America - a man with strong Muslim ties and a strong Muslim background; a man who is linked to domestic terrorism through Bill Ayers, and to numerous pro-Islamic and anti-American advisors, all of whom side with Israel's Leftist enemies (including Israelis), as well as to anti-American anti-Semites like Reverend Wright, a man whose supporters are among the same people who brought down the American economy with their 'liberalism' in money-lending - is just about a fait accompli. I have no idea what has happened to the America I knew. I have no idea what happened to the American Jewish community's support for Israel, how it has been washed away by deceptive self-interest and propaganda lies. But when I think what is in store for the America which is doing this to herself, and the American Jewish community that thinks by selling out Israel it will somehow achieve "change" that will benefit it, my heart aches.

I know that I am helpless to stop this juggernaut towards disaster. Perhaps it is America's turn to experience first hand what we in Israel experienced: the consequences of electing a leadership which does not have the best interests of the country in mind; which has an agenda that has nothing to do with those interests. Sometimes people have to make horrible mistakes in order to learn that they are horrible mistakes. In Israel, this included over 25,000 terrorist attacks. Children dying in the streets. Being afraid to walk to the bus stop or enter a store.

Americans have had a wonderful life in a wonderful country. Everybody in the world wants to live in America. Now, Americans want "change." They are about to get it.

May God watch over them. Maybe this is how G-d intends to get them all to make Aliyah? I wonder how they'll feel when they are sitting here with the rest of us, Obama in the White House, and Iran with an atom bomb.

October 13, 2008

N.Y. synagogues feel holiday pinch as financial crisis wears on congregants

By Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondent

NEW YORK - "I did not need to ask for quiet during the long Musaf service on Yom Kippur," the rabbi of a large Reform synagogue in Manhattan said Sunday. "The worshipers sat withdrawn inside themselves and they looked contemplative and worried."

The rabbis of other large New York synagogues offered similar impressions of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services. Most of these are well-known, long-established synagogues - mainly Reform, some Conservative and a few Orthodox. They are located in an area between 60th and 90th Streets that is known for its wealthy synagogues.

"People said the U'Netane Tokef prayer seriously this year," said Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch of the Reform Movement's Stephen Wise Free Synagogue on West 68th Street in Manhattan. "The words 'who will be impoverished and who will be enriched,' and 'who will be laid low and who will be raised up' resounded throughout the synagogue this year."
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And during the rabbis' Yom Kippur sermons, the phrases Days of Awe, repentance, accounting for one's acts all seemed to take on added significance in Manhattan synagogues.

The financial crisis and the stock market collapse clearly set the tone for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur this year. Many of the worshipers at these synagogues are leading brokers and bankers at Wall Street's most respected financial institutions. Others are known for the millions they made from their local businesses.

"In those synagogues, everyone was invested in the stock market," one rabbi said.

Just a short while ago, these peoples' names routinely starred in the business pages of New York newspapers, and everything they said was quoted as gospel. Manhattan synagogues were proud to show off the lists of their congregants. But now, these same people star in the news for the size of their losses and their critical financial situations, which merely highlight the severity of the crisis.

About 2,000 people attended Yom Kippur services at the Stephen Wise Synagogue. Hirsch said the 100-year-old synagogue was at the center of the financial storm, and almost everyone was harmed by the stock market crash, including Hirsch himself. The synagogue is now in the process of establishing a program that will offer psychological support to members who lost their fortunes, or their jobs. A synagogue is a communal framework for helping each other not only in times of joy, but in difficult times as well, Hirsch explained.

Ultra-Orthodox rabbis in Brooklyn, in contrast, were reluctant to talk about the effects of the financial crisis on their congregants. "At least half of the neighborhood's residents were invested in stocks," said one community leader, "but you will not hear a word of complaint or fear to the outside world."

Nevertheless, ultra-Orthodox rabbis in New York fear that the losses will lead to a drop in the contributions that finance their communities' religious education systems, including their flagship yeshivas.

Sukkot Continuity




-Dry Bones- Israel's Political Comic Strip Since 1973

October 8, 2008

Torah Sparks: Yom Kippur


On Yom Kippur the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies to offer incense as an emissary for every Jew. This service still exists in a spiritual sense even today. For now that we do not have the holy Temple in Jerusalem, every Jew is himself a “High Priest”; he himself “enters” “the Holy of Holies” and “offers incense.”

(Lubavitcher Rebbe)

Learning to Listen: By Moshe Feiglin

Tishrei, 5769
Oct. '08

The following article is translated from Moshe Feiglin's Hebrew article on the NRG website. The article was written just before Rosh Hashanah, but is certainly just as pertinent to the holy day of Yom Kippur.

I believe that G-d speaks to us through reality. We simply have to learn how to listen. Sometimes, it is not easy to know what He is telling us. But sometimes G-d's involvement in the details of our lives is glaringly obvious. We all experience this throughout our lives. I would like to share a few such stories with you.

A wealthy American Jew told me that a few years ago, at the height of the terror attacks in Israel, he and his wife decided to travel to Israel for Shabbat. Everybody told them that they were crazy to go to Israel in the midst of the near-constant terror. But despite all the dire warnings, they came. They landed in Israel on Thursday and proceeded to the King David hotel. The hotels in Jerusalem were empty. Tourists were keeping far away from the city after scenes of exploding buses and bombed-out Jerusalem cafes were broadcast throughout the world.

When he arrived in Jerusalem, our friend approached a man dressed in Chassidic ultra-orthodox garb and asked him what time Shabbat would be starting. "At ten to five," the man answered, and hurried along his way. For some reason, when our friend entered the hotel, he asked about Shabbat candle lighting time once again. "At ten to four," the receptionist said. "But an ultra-orthodox man told me it would be at ten to five!" our friend countered. "He probably forgot that we are moving the clocks today," the receptionist answered.

Our friend started Shabbat on time. The next morning, he left the hotel to search for a synagogue. "The streets of Jerusalem were empty," he told me. "I felt an atmosphere of fear. I walked the desolate streets alone, all the while berating myself; 'How stupid can I be? I should have listened to my family and not come to Israel. Now, at any moment, a terrorist can turn up. Maybe he will be disguised as a soldier, maybe as an ultra-orthodox Jew. What will I do?' That's how I was walking up the empty Jerusalem streets, scaring myself to death."

"Suddenly, I spotted a man in ultra-orthodox garb walking in my direction. 'This is it,' I thought. 'Here is the terrorist who is going to get me.' I tried to melt into the background, but he spotted me and followed me. I didn't know what to do. I began to run and he ran after me. Finally, I ran out of steam and he grabbed me from behind. I braced myself for the stab of the knife or the explosion. But instead the terrorist said to me, 'Forgive me, forgive me, I am so sorry. I want you to know that this has been the worst Shabbat of my life. I didn't sleep all night. Even my wife can't find the words to calm me down.'

"I turned around and saw that it was the same Chasid that I had met the day before. 'You asked me what time Shabbat would begin and I told you ten to five,' the Chasid continued. 'I forgot that we were moving the clocks. You started Shabbat an hour late because of me. I am so sorry! And now, while walking down the street, I suddenly saw you and wanted to ask your forgiveness, but you started running!'"

Tell me, dear readers, what is the chance that these two people would have met again?
If you are not used to listening for G-d, you will probably classify the above story as coincidence. But for those people who listen for G-d, it is clear that the pure sorrow of the Chasid awakened heavenly mercy that brought about the second - improbable- meeting.

My grandfather, of blessed memory, inscribed the following on the siddur (prayer book) that he gave to me when I was 12: To our dear grandson Moshe Zalman - a gift from Grandfather Avraham and Grandmother Zelda. How many people in the world would know by that dedication that I was the recipient of the siddur? That siddur accompanied me through thick and thin. It is bloodstained. My grandfather has since passed away.

When I forgot my siddur at the Western Wall, I was deeply saddened. I tried looking for it, but to no avail. I knew that it would be nearly impossible to find a small siddur between the tens of thousands of prayer books and the hundreds of thousands of worshippers at the Western Wall. Three years later, one of the few people who know the identity of Moshe Zalman the grandson of Avraham and Zelda returned the siddur to me.

Again, if you are not used to listening, you will call it coincidence. But simple calculation shows that of the millions who visit the Western Wall, the chance that a person who could identify me by the dedication would actually pick up that siddur is almost nil.

The second tractor terror rampage in Jerusalem missed me by just a few meters. Early that morning, I had come to the Old City in Jerusalem for my monthly ascent to the Temple Mount. As I was searching for a parking space, a Jerusalemite said to me, "Don't bother searching, I'm leaving my parking space and you can have it." "Thank you," I said and then, before he drove off, he said to me, "You should know that I pray for you every day."

That night, after all the commotion over the terror rampage had calmed a bit, I suddenly remembered the Jerusalem Jew. Maybe I am alive because of his prayers? Thank you, dear Jew.

Everybody has many stories like these. I don't usually write about these topics, but the High Holidays are a unique time. Don't waste them. Don't let the noise from the outside world drown out your ability to listen for G-d. Even if you, like me, do not feel spiritually prepared for these lofty times, listen to your inner selves; listen for G-d and no matter where you are - pray. Pray from your home, from the synagogue, from the prayer book, from your heart and from all the above.

Someone above is listening and He understands. No prayer is for naught. Certainly not on these holy days.

October 7, 2008

"Never Give In"

Friends,

Geert Wilders is the person who made the AMAZING film FITNA (I think you
can still find it online.) in which he shows the Muslim takeover of Europe.

In a recent speech at the Hudson Institute in New York, he
said: "This is not the first time our civilization is under threat. We have
seen
dangers before. We have been betrayed by our elites before. They have sided
with our enemies before. And yet, then, freedom prevailed.

These are not times in which to take lessons from appeasement, capitulation,
giving away, giving up or giving in. These are not times in which to draw
lessons from Mr. Chamberlain. These are times calling us to draw lessons
from Mr. Churchill and the words he spoke in 1942:

"Never give in, never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large
or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.
Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of
the enemy". (See below for the entire speech. It's great!)

(Also, see my election blog for some new postings, including
"Obama, Rezko, Student Loans and Million Dollar Homes." Anyone who can't
get into my blog, just e-mail me and I'll forward it to you.
www.naomiragen.blogspot.com.)

Every blessing,

Naomi
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"In a generation or two, the US will ask itself: who lost Europe?"

Here is the speech of Geert Wilders, a Dutch Parliamentarian and chairman
of the Party for Freedom, the Netherlands, at the Four Seasons, New York,
introducing an Alliance of Patriots and announcing the Facing Jihad
Conference in Jerusalem (which I hope to be attending).

The speech was sponsored by the Hudson Institute on September 25.

Dear friends,

Thank you very much for inviting me. Great to be at the Four Seasons. I come
from a country that has one season only: a rainy season that starts January
1st and ends December 31st. When we have three sunny days in a row, the
government declares a national emergency. So Four Seasons, that's new to me.

It's great to be in New York. When I see the skyscrapers and office
buildings, I think of what Ayn Rand said: "The sky over New York and the
will of man made visible." Of course. Without the Dutch you would have been
nowhere, still figuring out how to buy this island from the Indians. But we
are glad we did it for you. And, frankly, you did a far better job than we
possibly could have done.

I come to America with a mission. All is not well in the old world. There is
a tremendous danger looming, and it is very difficult to be optimistic. We
might be in the final stages of the Islamization of Europe. This not only is
a clear and present danger to the future of Europe itself, it is a threat to
America and the sheer survival of the West. The danger I see looming is the
scenario of America as the last man standing. The United States as the last
bastion of Western civilization, facing an Islamic Europe. In a generation
or two, the US will ask itself: who lost Europe? Patriots from around Europe
risk their lives every day to prevent precisely this scenario form becoming
a reality.

My short lecture consists of 4 parts.

First I will describe the situation on the ground in Europe. Then, I will
say a few things about Islam. Thirdly, if you are still here, I will talk a
little bit about the movie you just saw. To close I will tell you about a
meeting in Jerusalem.

The Europe you know is changing. You have probably seen the landmarks. The
Eiffel Tower and Trafalgar Square and Rome's ancient buildings and maybe the
canals of Amsterdam. They are still there. And they still look very much the
same as they did a hundred years ago.

But in all of these cities, sometimes a few blocks away from your tourist
destination, there is another world, a world very few visitors see - and one
that does not appear in your tourist guidebook. It is the world of the
parallel society created by Muslim mass-migration. All throughout Europe a
new reality is rising: entire Muslim neighbourhoods where very few
indigenous people reside or are even seen. And if they are, they might
regret it. This goes for the police as well. It's the world of head scarves,
where women walk around in figureless tents, with baby strollers and a group
of children. Their husbands, or slaveholders if you prefer, walk three steps
ahead. With mosques on many street corner. The shops have signs you and I
cannot read. You will be hard-pressed to find any economic activity. These
are Muslim ghettos controlled by religious fanatics. These are Muslim
neighbourhoods, and they are mushrooming in every city across Europe. These
are the building-blocks for territorial control of increasingly larger
portions of Europe, street by street, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, city
by city.

There are now thousands of mosques throughout Europe. With larger
congregations than there are in churches. And in every European city there
are plans to build super-mosques that will dwarf every church in the region.
Clearly, the signal is: we rule.

Many European cities are already one-quarter Muslim: just take Amsterdam,
Marseille and Malmo in Sweden. In many cities the majority of the under-18
population is Muslim. Paris is now surrounded by a ring of Muslim
neighbourhoods. Mohammed is the most popular name among boys in many cities.
In some elementary schools in Amsterdam the farm can no longer be mentioned,
because that would also mean mentioning the pig, and that would be an insult
to Muslims. Many state schools in Belgium and Denmark only serve halal food
to all pupils. In once-tolerant Amsterdam gays are beaten up almost
exclusively by Muslims. Non-Muslim women routinely hear "whore, whore".
Satellite dishes are not pointed to local TV stations, but to stations in
the country of origin. In France school teachers are advised to avoid
authors deemed offensive to Muslims, including Voltaire and Diderot; the
same is increasingly true of Darwin. The history of the Holocaust can in
many cases no longer be taught because of Muslim sensitivity. In England
sharia courts are now officially part of the British legal system. Many
neighbourhoods in France are no-go areas for women without head scarves.
Last week a man almost died after being beaten up by Muslims in Brussels,
because he was drinking during the Ramadan. Jews are fleeing France in
record numbers, on the run for the worst wave of anti-Semitism since World
War II. French is now commonly spoken on the streets of Tel Aviv and
Netanya, Israel. I could go on forever with stories like this. Stories about
Islamization.

A total of fifty-four million Muslims now live in Europe. San Diego
University recently calculated that a staggering 25 percent of the
population in Europe will be Muslim just 12 years from now. Bernhard Lewis
has predicted a Muslim majority by the end of this century.

Now these are just numbers. And the numbers would not be threatening if the
Muslim-immigrants had a strong desire to assimilate. But there are few signs
of that. The Pew Research Center reported that half of French Muslims see
their loyalty to Islam as greater than their loyalty to France. One-third of
French Muslims do not object to suicide attacks. The British Centre for
Social Cohesion reported that one-third of British Muslim students are in
favour of a worldwide caliphate. A Dutch study reported that half of Dutch
Muslims admit they "understand" the 9/11 attacks.

Muslims demand what they call 'respect'. And this is how we give them
respect. Our elites are willing to give in. To give up. In my own country we
have gone from calls by one cabinet member to turn Muslim holidays into
official state holidays, to statements by another cabinet member, that Islam
is part of Dutch culture, to an affirmation by the Christian-Democratic
attorney general that he is willing to accept sharia in the Netherlands if
there is a Muslim majority. We have cabinet members with passports from
Morocco and Turkey.

Muslim demands are supported by unlawful behaviour, ranging from petty
crimes and random violence, for example against ambulance workers and bus
drivers, to small-scale riots. Paris has seen its uprising in the low-income
suburbs, the banlieus. Some prefer to see these as isolated incidents, but I
call it a Muslim intifada. I call the perpetrators "settlers". Because that
is what they are. They do not come to integrate into our societies, they
come to integrate our society into their Dar-al-Islam. Therefore, they are
settlers.

Much of this street violence I mentioned is directed exclusively against
non-Muslims, forcing many native people to leave their neighbourhoods, their
cities, their countries.

Politicians shy away from taking a stand against this creeping sharia. They
believe in the equality of all cultures. Moreover, on a mundane level,
Muslims are now a swing vote not to be ignored.

Our many problems with Islam cannot be explained by poverty, repression or
the European colonial past, as the Left claims. Nor does it have anything to
do with Palestinians or American troops in Iraq. The problem is Islam
itself.

Allow me to give you a brief Islam 101. The first thing you need to know
about Islam is the importance of the book of the Quran. The Quran is Allah's
personal word, revealed by an angel to Mohammed, the prophet. This is where
the trouble starts. Every word in the Quran is Allah's word and therefore
not open to discussion or interpretation. It is valid for every Muslim and
for all times. Therefore, there is no such a thing as moderate Islam. Sure,
there are a lot of moderate Muslims. But a moderate Islam is non-existent.

The Quran calls for hatred, violence, submission, murder, and terrorism. The
Quran calls for Muslims to kill non-Muslims, to terrorize non-Muslims and to
fulfil their duty to wage war: violent jihad. Jihad is a duty for every
Muslim, Islam is to rule the world - by the sword. The Quran is clearly
anti-Semitic, describing Jews as monkeys and pigs.

The second thing you need to know is the importance of Mohammed the prophet.
His behaviour is an example to all Muslims and cannot be criticized. Now, if
Mohammed had been a man of peace, let us say like Ghandi and Mother Theresa
wrapped in one, there would be no problem. But Mohammed was a warlord, a
mass murderer, a pedophile, and had several marriages - at the same time.
Islamic tradition tells us how he fought in battles, how he had his enemies
murdered and even had prisoners of war executed. Mohammed himself
slaughtered the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza. He advised on matters of
slavery, but never advised to liberate slaves. Islam has no other morality
than the advancement of Islam. If it is good for Islam, it is good. If it is
bad for Islam, it is bad. There is no gray area or other side.

Quran as Allah's own word and Mohammed as the perfect man are the two most
important facets of Islam. Let no one fool you about Islam being a religion.
Sure, it has a god, and a here-after, and 72 virgins. But in its essence
Islam is a political ideology. It is a system that lays down detailed rules
for society and the life of every person. Islam wants to dictate every
aspect of life. Islam means 'submission'. Islam is not compatible with
freedom and democracy, because what it strives for is sharia. If you want to
compare Islam to anything, compare it to communism or national-socialism,
these are all totalitarian ideologies.

This is what you need to know about Islam, in order to understand what is
going on in Europe. For millions of Muslims the Quran and the live of
Mohammed are not 14 centuries old, but are an everyday reality, an ideal,
that guide every aspect of their lives. Now you know why Winston Churchill
called Islam "the most retrograde force in the world", and why he compared
Mein Kampf to the Quran.

Which brings me to my movie, Fitna.

I am a lawmaker, and not a movie maker. But I felt I had the moral duty to
educate about Islam. The duty to make clear that the Quran stands at the
heart of what some people call terrorism but is in reality jihad. I wanted
to show that the problems of Islam are at the core of Islam, and do not
belong to its fringes.

Now, from the day the plan for my movie was made public, it caused quite a
stir, in the Netherlands and throughout Europe. First, there was a political
storm, with government leaders, across the continent in sheer panic. The
Netherlands was put under a heightened terror alert, because of possible
attacks or a revolt by our Muslim population. The Dutch branch of the
Islamic organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir declared that the Netherlands was due
for an attack. Internationally, there was a series of incidents. The Taliban
threatened to organize additional attacks against Dutch troops in
Afghanistan, and a website linked to Al Qaeda published the message that I
ought to be killed, while various muftis in the Middle East stated that I
would be responsible for all the bloodshed after the screening of the movie.
In Afghanistan and Pakistan the Dutch flag was burned on several occasions.
Dolls representing me were also burned. The Indonesian President announced
that I will never be admitted into Indonesia again, while the UN Secretary
General and the European Union issued cowardly statements in the same vein
as those made by the Dutch Government. I could go on and on. It was an
absolute disgrace, a sell-out.

A plethora of legal troubles also followed, and have not ended yet.
Currently the state of Jordan is litigating against me. Only last week there
were renewed security agency reports about a heightened terror alert for the
Netherlands because of Fitna.

Now, I would like to say a few things about Israel. Because, very soon, we
will get together in its capitol. The best way for a politician in Europe to
loose votes is to say something positive about Israel. The public has
wholeheartedly accepted the Palestinian narrative, and sees Israel as the
aggressor. I, however, will continue to speak up for Israel. I see defending
Israel as a matter of principle. I have lived in this country and visited it
dozens of times. I support Israel. First, because it is the Jewish homeland
after two thousand years of exile up to and including Auschwitz, second
because it is a democracy, and third because Israel is our first line of
defense.

Samuel Huntington writes it so aptly: "Islam has bloody borders". Israel is
located precisely on that border. This tiny country is situated on the fault
line of jihad, frustrating Islam's territorial advance. Israel is facing the
front lines of jihad, like Kashmir, Kosovo, the Philippines, Southern
Thailand, Darfur in Sudan, Lebanon, and Aceh in Indonesia. Israel is simply
in the way. The same way West-Berlin was during the Cold War.

The war against Israel is not a war against Israel. It is a war against the
West. It is jihad. Israel is simply receiving the blows that are meant for
all of us. If there would have been no Israel, Islamic imperialism would
have found other venues to release its energy and its desire for conquest.
Thanks to Israeli parents who send their children to the army and lay awake
at night, parents in Europe and America can sleep well and dream, unaware of
the dangers looming.

Many in Europe argue in favor of abandoning Israel in order to address the
grievances of our Muslim minorities. But if Israel were, God forbid, to go
down, it would not bring any solace to the West. It would not mean our
Muslim minorities would all of a sudden change their behavior, and accept
our values. On the contrary, the end of Israel would give enormous
encouragement to the forces of Islam. They would, and rightly so, see the
demise of Israel as proof that the West is weak, and doomed. The end of
Israel would not mean the end of our problems with Islam, but only the
beginning. It would mean the start of the final battle for world domination.
If they can get Israel, they can get everything. Therefore, it is not that
the West has a stake in Israel. It is Israel.

It is very difficult to be an optimist in the face of the growing
Islamization of Europe. All the tides are against us. On all fronts we are
losing. Demographically the momentum is with Islam. Muslim immigration is
even a source of pride within ruling liberal parties. Academia, the arts,
the media, trade unions, the churches, the business world, the entire
political establishment have all converted to the suicidal theory of
multiculturalism. So-called journalists volunteer to label any and all
critics of Islamization as a 'right-wing extremists' or 'racists'. The
entire establishment has sided with our enemy. Leftists, liberals and
Christian-Democrats are now all in bed with Islam.

This is the most painful thing to see: the betrayal by our elites. At this
moment in Europe's history, our elites are supposed to lead us. To stand up
for centuries of civilization. To defend our heritage. To honour our eternal
Judeo-Christian values that made Europe what it is today. But there are very
few signs of hope to be seen at the governmental level. Sarkozy, Merkel,
Brown, Berlusconi; in private, they probably know how grave the situation
is. But when the little red light goes on, they stare into the camera and
tell us that Islam is a religion of peace, and we should all try to get
along nicely and sing Kumbaya. They willingly participate in, what President
Reagan so aptly called: "the betrayal of our past, the squandering of our
freedom."

If there is hope in Europe, it comes from the people, not from the elites.
Change can only come from a grass-roots level. It has to come from the
citizens themselves. Yet these patriots will have to take on the entire
political, legal and media establishment.

Over the past years there have been some small, but encouraging, signs of a
rebirth of the original European spirit. Maybe the elites turn their backs
on freedom, the public does not. In my country, the Netherlands, 60 percent
of the population now sees the mass immigration of Muslims as the number one
policy mistake since World War II. And another 60 percent sees Islam as the
biggest threat to our national identity. I don't think the public opinion in
Holland is very different from other European countries.

Patriotic parties that oppose jihad are growing, against all odds. My own
party debuted two years ago, with five percent of the vote. Now it stands at
ten percent in the polls. The same is true of all similarly-minded parties
in Europe. They are fighting the liberal establishment, and are gaining
footholds on the political arena, one voter at the time.

Now, for the first time, these patriotic parties will come together and
exchange experiences. It may be the start of something big. Something that
might change the map of Europe for decades to come. It might also be
Europe's last chance.

This December a conference will take place in Jerusalem. Thanks to Professor
Aryeh Eldad, a member of Knesset, we will be able to watch Fitna in the
Knesset building and discuss the jihad. We are organizing this event in
Israel to emphasize the fact that we are all in the same boat together, and
that Israel is part of our common heritage. Those attending will be a select
audience. No racist organizations will be allowed. And we will only admit
parties that are solidly democratic.

This conference will be the start of an Alliance of European patriots. This
Alliance will serve as the backbone for all organizations and political
parties that oppose jihad and Islamization. For this Alliance I seek your
support.

This endeavor may be crucial to America and to the West. America may hold
fast to the dream that, thanks tot its location, it is safe from jihad and
shaira. But seven years ago to the day, there was still smoke rising from
ground zero, following the attacks that forever shattered that dream. Yet
there is a danger even greater danger than terrorist attacks, the scenario
of America as the last man standing. The lights may go out in Europe faster
than you can imagine. An Islamic Europe means a Europe without freedom and
democracy, an economic wasteland, an intellectual nightmare, and a loss of
military might for America - as its allies will turn into enemies, enemies
with atomic bombs. With an Islamic Europe, it would be up to America alone
to preserve the heritage of Rome, Athens and Jerusalem.

Dear friends, liberty is the most precious of gifts. My generation never had
to fight for this freedom, it was offered to us on a silver platter, by
people who fought for it with their lives. All throughout Europe American
cemeteries remind us of the young boys who never made it home, and whose
memory we cherish. My generation does not own this freedom; we are merely
its custodians. We can only hand over this hard won liberty to Europe's
children in the same state in which it was offered to us. We cannot strike a
deal with mullahs and imams. Future generations would never forgive us. We
cannot squander our liberties. We simply do not have the right to do so.

This is not the first time our civilization is under threat. We have seen
dangers before. We have been betrayed by our elites before. They have sided
with our enemies before. And yet, then, freedom prevailed.

These are not times in which to take lessons from appeasement, capitulation,
giving away, giving up or giving in. These are not times in which to draw
lessons from Mr. Chamberlain. These are times calling us to draw lessons
from Mr. Churchill and the words he spoke in 1942:

"Never give in, never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large
or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.
Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of
the enemy".