The Many Shades of Modern Orthodox

The scene in my 10th-floor East Campus apartment was hardly unusual. It was Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, observed from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday every week. Some sported suits and dresses, the more casual wore button-downs and cardigans. Seventeen of us crowded round two tables, sitting on folding chairs, desk chairs, and couch arms. Most had just returned from the basement of the Columbia/Barnard Hillel, where Orthodox prayer services attract up to 250 people each Friday night.

It was a potluck meal, a truly communal effort. There’s the junior responsible for the broccoli at every Shabbat meal he attends; a group of shy, kitchen-less first-years who added soda, cutlery, and a tablecloth to the mix; the sophomore girl who brings a deli salad every time; a guest from another college who provided the grape juice for kiddush (a Sabbath blessing), and challah, the braided bread that is traditional Shabbat fare. My suite members and I spent Friday afternoon cooking chicken.

Just below us, on the eighth floor, the same scene unfolded. And four doors down, another group of members of Yavneh, the Orthodox Jewish community on campus, were marking Shabbat with another festive meal, as we do every week. Because Shabbat is known as a “day of rest,” there are no cell phones present. There are also no writing utensils, wallets, or electronic appliances. Some carry a newspaper or a textbook to review for an upcoming exam, but observant Jews generally put away their computers or e-readers for the duration of those weekly 25 hours.
I invited a friend, who is not a member of the Jewish community, to our Shabbat dinner. 

After witnessing the scene in my apartment, and afterward migrating downstairs to another Orthodox suite after dinner, she returned wide-eyed. “There’s this whole world in EC,” she said, “that I never knew existed.”

 What is Modern Orthodox?


Many Shades - Read More

Old Poland, New Nationalism

We have grown accustomed to neo-fascists at soccer stadiums, yelling abuse at black players and chanting their anti-Semitic tribal refrain. But now the phenomenon seems less marginal then we liked to think.

This present surge in extreme nationalism began three years ago, on Independence Day 2010, fueled by supporters of Lech Kaczynski, the president of Poland, who died in an air crash earlier that year. On April 10, the president and nearly 100 senior officials were on their way to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre, when Stalin’s secret police, the NKVD, murdered thousands of Polish officers. But as the delegation constituting the entire Polish establishment neared the Russian city of Smolensk, their plane crashed on approach, killing all on board. 

Katyn is a deep wound in the Polish memory. It has festered for decades partly because, in the Communist era, it could not be spoken of in public. In the official Soviet version, the Nazis were blamed for the massacre. 

For the dead president’s supporters, the coincidence of the air crash with what was to have been a historic joint commemoration by Polish and Russian leaders of the Katyn massacre made it a potent symbol. Some of Mr. Kaczynski’s supporters — inflamed by right-wing politicians and Mr. Kaczynski’s identical twin brother, Jaroslaw — began to talk of a “second Katyn.” The country was riven in two: Some called the crash an accident; others believed it was an assassination. 

Poland - Read More

First Olympics - The Jewish Olympics

by Mark Miller

The Jewish Olympics. That's right, you heard me - the Jewish Olympics. And, no, I'm not talking about the Maccabiah Games, the quadrennial Jewish Olympics, held in Israel each year following the Olympic Games. Those are fairly modern, having begun in 1932.

No, I'm talking about the original Jewish Olympics. Never heard of 'em? Neither did I until my great-grandmother Rivka clued me in. I started researching it and what I found was so illuminating that I decided to write a book. I'm proud to let you know that my book has been accepted for publication by Manishevitz Publishing. So here's an excerpt from the "Complete History of the Original Jewish Olympics."

3732 B.C.E.

Two Jewish cavemen, Ogstein and Zubowitz, can't stop fighting for the affections of the lovely Moogberg. The mischievous Moogberg, sensing her power over them, suggests a competition: The first one to run a mile to the dinosaur watering hole and run back to her with a dinosaur tooth will win the right to have her as his girlfriend. The good news for Zubowitz is that he's a faster runner and so gets to the watering hole first. The even better news for Ogstein is that in the process of attempting to extract the tooth, Zubowitz is killed and eaten by the dinosaur. For their first date, Ogstein and Moogberg roast small, slow, overweight, easy-to-catch dinosaur chunks over a romantic fire singing "Ogstein, Row the Boat Ashore." This same event is repeated annually for the next 20 years as new suitors continue challenging Ogstein for the right to date Moogberg.

777 B.C.E.

The first Olympics games started by the Greeks was in 776 B.C.E. Were they inspired by the actions of the Jews a year earlier? Judge for yourself. This time it was two hill-dwelling women, Shirleyavros and Maxineastotle, who provided the inspiration. As they walked down the narrow, winding road to the market, they were disturbed to find cows and oxen asleep in the middle of the road, blocking their path. What to do? Shirleyavros jumped over one and challenged Maxineastotle to do the same, which she did. Before long, the two friends were jumping over increasingly larger beasts of burden, from greater distances away and even placing bets on their jumps. Now you know why today's hurdles are referred to as "oxen." OK, they aren't really called oxen, but think how flattered Shirleyavros and Maxineastotle would be if they were.

1500 A.C.E.

Jews lived in Asia Minor for 2,400 years, where Turkey proved to be a safe haven for them. It was there that Jews flourished and contributed to the Ottoman Empire when upholsterer Otto Shmuelowitz, lacking enough fabric and wood to create a full sofa, inadvertently invented the Ottoman, a low-cushioned seat without backs or arms. Within two years, Otto's cousins, Sippy and Bobo Shmuelowitz, aspiring athletes, came up with the idea of stacking ten Ottomans on top of one another and having a tall Polish man fling Bobo over the top of the Ottomans. Despite Bobo suffering a concussion during one such workout, the "Pole-Vaulting" caught on like wildfire and before long, every major Turkish city had its own Olympics featuring the more politically correct "pole" vaulting. Descendants of the Shmuelowitz's today receive a percentage of sales for every ottoman and pole on the market.


1865 A.C.E.

The contribution of Jews to the life and culture of the American Wild West has been well documented, but for our purposes here we will focus on two brothers, Mordechai and Yitzchak Earpstein (no relation to Wyatt). They were gold prospectors who theorized that the largest mother lode of the precious substance would most likely be found, not in the streams where their fellow prospectors were panning for it, nor in the mines, but rather up in the mountains themselves. Moderately successful exploring their theory, the brothers' connection to the Olympics comes into play with their method of getting their gold and themselves down the mountain. A series of connecting troughs wide enough to carry gold and humans quickly down - is now acknowledged as the inspiration for today's Olympic sport, luge. As a side note, Mordechai Earp years later originated the idea for combining lox, eggs and onions, which is why you can find it on some deli menus as the Mordechai Special.

All right, I know what you're thinking - "Mark, what with your obsession with finding the perfect cherry cheese blintz, how were you even able to find the time and focus to write a book like this?" Multi-tasking. But the other thing you're thinking is - "Mark, we thought this was supposed to be about the Original Jewish Olympics. All we see here is a selection of various Judaic Olympic events throughout history." Hey, the Jews kept getting kicked out of one country after another, so they had to take their Olympics with them. That's right, they were portable Olympics.

Finally, when you consider the obstacles and challenges the Jewish people have faced throughout history, and how we have triumphed and contributed to society, is it not fair to say that each of us Jews carries an Olympic flame in our heart and soul? Or it could be heartburn. Either way, we have much to be proud of. Next year in Jerusalem. Or better yet, 2012 in Jerusalem.

Obama, Israel...the World

I was a life long Republican. I mailed out my application to switch to the Democratic party to the Board of Elections 8/29/08. Primarily because I have had enough of the appearance of Republican indifference. I still walk a fine line between not believing in trickle down economics and curbing social programs. Strangley though....I voted for the old man and the idiot....Republicans, because I knew Obama was completed incompetent to be POTUS.  Little did I realize the wealth redistribution and removal of US exceptionalism programs were his primary goal.


As far as Israel, my future home....it may seem non-humanist, but I think Kassam rockets should be answered by return fire each time, 10 X in response.

When the enemy fires weapons at us , we should return each rocket with a
larger response in the general direction they came from (careful not
to hit ourselves of course). Perhaps when their villages and and schools are bombed the Gaza Arabs will blame the source of their war ...themselves.

Why on Earth should we care , this is war...kill the people who are out to kill you...first.

Hamas said they will only step up the bombing after any future "disengagement".
Why does Israel protect the Refugee Arab Human Shields? The USA is the
official world police not Israel. After all .. the entire Arab
population in Gaza etc are all terrorists or relatives of the terrorists that stand
watching & cheering.

Were the Residents of Dresden in WW2 all military ...No. The US did what was necessary! There is no reason not to strike and then expel the enemy.

The world is against Israel, the entire world with few exceptions.
Regardless of what Israel does..in their eyes it will be wrong (See the resolutions of the Racist, anti-Semitic UN).
So Israel: Protect the Jews first and only.

Israel has the weapons and control. Yet Israel does not want control for fear of negative world opinion...from those who hate us anyway. Perhaps quietly the USA wants
Israel to to sweep in and sweep them out & set up permanent borders and annex what they want. Then the issue for the USA would become helping refugee Arabs return to Jordan etc.

The disengagement was the start of a slow suicide, but you already know that.

Rabbi Meir Kahane was right.
Israel must proactively create their destiny. Hashem will only allow what he wants.

Born with little interest in Torah or Shul, a place where they would not display the Israeli Flag , they wanted to be "Jews" but not be identified with Israel. I knew no better.

My Brother in Law went to Israel in 2003 and told me of the digs he
went to and something clicked. A connection was made. Now I
understand. I went back and reread Torah and am very, very slowly teaching myself
Hebrew. It is a very slow road because I can't find a Carob tree to study under...

I feel the connection. Hashem is always there.


I am a member of the Religious right - Orange Jews. I favor Manhigut Yehudit to
lead Israel. My Hope & Prayers are with all the Jews in Israel.

Lets Go Israel!

Crazy? Who would travel to China?

Who would travel to China?
It is clearly a place where you may simply disappear.
The types of places you would be taken and the "work" you would be forced to perform would be enough to guarantee that I would never go near China.

But some people will and do. Who and what are they?
Are they simply humanists that believe all are good until they prove otherwise?
Are they Leftist Liberal humanist?

Or are they simply out of touch with reality?
Westerners that travel to China are taking to large a risk simply for the sake of their own children.

That they risk making their children ophans!
The Chinese government is made up of very dangerous people!

Israeli's that travel to China are leftists too?
Why would Israeli's go there?
Why would they march in the opening ceremonies (Olympics) of such a vile people with a record of massive child and adult abuse?

Why would they lend any validation to this Communist country that kills their own female babies because ...

Would you buy anything from China?
It is full of lead, they export as much of their waste by products as possible...TO YOU.

Avoid China...stay alive and well

2 Jews, Three Opinions

Jewish history -

has been repeated by countless Jews all over the Earth. The SAME story is said over and over, because it has been passed down through the generations. The story is about
600,00 souls at Sinai.

It is pretty much impossible for all of these different Jews from many Countries to make up the same story. If it were changed through history, we would not all know the same story.

Exodus, Sea Splitting, Manna, The Torah at Sinai, Israel's wars, Gaza's Fruit, the desert blooming, and just the existence of Israel herself are certainly incontrovertible miracles.

All experienced by Jews from many Countries.

Was Torah passed down word for word? No way to know. Faith would allow to me believe it. Was Torah passed down with any interpretations by our Sages with hands guided by HaShem....sure, I like that.

Hashem has proved he cares for and about us...now it is our turn to show him the same.

Collect the sparks and spend every day in awe that we exist and try to help all Jews and then we will go from there.

Meir Kahane:

"Never, ever deal with terrorists. Hunt them down and, more important, mercilessly punish those states and groups that fund, arm, support, or simply allow their territories to be used by the terrorists with impunity".


"One of the great problems with Americans is that - being a decent people - they assume that everyone else is equally decent".


"The banding together by the nations of the world against Israel is the guarantee that their time of destruction is near and the final redemption of the Jew at hand".

Rabbi Meir David Kahane

Rabbi Meir David Kahane - leader, philosopher, visionary, revolutionary, scholar, warrior, activist, fighter, hero, Rabbi, writer, speaker, Rosh Yeshiva, father, grandfather, husband, teacher, author and statesman. (Kahane Tzadak)

Rabbi Meir Kahane was born Aug. 1, 1932 (29th of Tamuz) and assassinated Nov. 5, 1990 (18th of Heshvan 5750).

As a youth he was active in Betar. He met Jabotinsky, who was a guest at his parents home, and a close friend of his father, Rabbi Charles Kahane.

Rabbi Kahane resided with his wife Libby in Jerusalem, Israel. They lived there from the time that they immigrated to Israel from the U.S. with their four children in 1971.

All of his children have been active in preparing and publishing his books, writings and manuscripts along with his wife Libby. Before his youngest son Binyamin Zev Kahane was murdered with his wife Talya on December 31, 2000 (May G-d avenge their blood), he headed the yeshiva founded by his father and also served as the former director of the Kahane Chai Movement.

Rabbi Kahane received his smicha - ordination as Rabbi - from the world famous Mirrer Yeshiva in Brooklyn, NY.

He earned an International Law degree from New York University.

Rabbi Kahane served as a pulpit Rabbi and teacher in NY in the early and mid 1960's. During that time he also was one of the editors of the Jewish Press, which was the biggest English speaking Jewish newspaper in the world. He worked as a correspondent for the Jewish Press until his tragic death.

Rabbi Kahane was the author of many books on Judaism, Israel, Torah and politics. He wrote books in English and in Hebrew.

Rabbi Kahane was well known for his electrifying speeches in Israel, on U.S. campuses and in synagogues throughout the world. He was viewed as an eloquent, dynamic spokesman and orator, appearing frequently on radio and TV talk shows.

Rabbi Kahane founded the militant Jewish Defense League in 1968 to combat the rampant growth of anti-Semitism in the inner cities. At that time, the poor and elderly Jews were easy targets for Jew hating thugs. Rabbi Kahane rescued these abandoned Jews and changed the image of the weak and vulnerable Jew to one of a mighty fighter who strikes back fiercely against tyrants. Jew-haters around the world soon began to respect and fear the wrath and retribution of Kahane's Chaya Squad, a group within the JDL, which succeeded in instilling fear in the hearts of the would-be criminals against Jews.

The JDL went on to conquer other local issues and problems as well as global Jewish problems. The JDL was the first group to really bring world attention to the plight of Soviet Jewry. They did so by engaging in unconventional and often violent tactics which succeeded in highlighting the plight of millions of oppressed Jews, suffering behind the Iron Curtain. The JDL succeeded in moving the issue off of the back pages and on to the front pages, where it belonged. Kahane was the "Moses" for Russian Jewry. It wasn't long before the major Jewish establishment organizations were embarrassed and forced into action, after so many years of apathy and indifference.

Russian Jews started to flow out by the hundreds of thousands, thanks to Rabbi Kahane's dedication and vision. But as Rabbi Kahane said, "More than what we did for Russian Jewry was what they did for the young and lost American Jewish youth who finally had a Jewish cause to fight for, and boy did they fight, without sleep and at a risk to their freedom they did that which their parents never did for their Jewish brothers and sisters who perished during the Holocaust."

Rabbi Kahane coined the phrase "Never Again" which did not mean that a Holocaust could never happen. It meant that never again would Jews stand idly by while their brothers cry out for their help.

Rabbi Kahane was jailed many times and was sentenced to prison terms for his actions related to the campaign on behalf of Soviet Jews.

Other famous causes which Rabbi Kahane fought for included Jewish identity and continuity. Far before the Jewish establishment realized that there was a problem - Rabbi Kahane was demanding that Jewish funds go for Jewish causes, primarily for Jewish education. He spoke out against intermarriage and assimilation among Jewish youth. He saved thousands of lost Jewish souls from spiritual destruction.

Aliyah to Israel was another key campaign launched by Rabbi Kahane. In fact, he was assassinated lecturing at an emergency Z.E.E.R.O. conference calling for the mass Aliyah of American Jewry. He directly convinced hundreds of Jewish families to make Aliyah.

After Rabbi Kahane immigrated to Israel he formed the Kach movement. Kach was most famous for its platform calling for the removal of the hostile Arab population from Israel, the annexation of all of the territories liberated in 1967, and to have the right of unlimited Jewish settlement there. He believed that settling the land without removing the hostile Arab enemies would be counter productive. He predicted autonomy and retreat far before Likud ever signed the Camp David Accords and before the Oslo Declaration of Principles were dreamed up.

Rabbi Kahane was despised by many for quoting Jewish sources about Jews being a chosen nation and the exclusive owners of Eretz Israel. Many hated him for pointing out the contradiction between authentic Judaism and Western style democracy. "Judaism is not Thomas Jefferson and the Middle East is not the Mid West, Kahane would say." Kahane made "comfortable" Jews feel uncomfortable for forcing them to deal with the painful truth and painful answers to problems they refused to think about.

Rabbi Kahane was jailed and imprisoned many times in Israel by both Labor and Likud governments. Rabbi Kahane was the first Jew to be held under administrative detention without charges or due process. He was also the first Jew charged with sedition for his population exchange proposal.

Rabbi Kahane also pioneered the campaign to save Syrian and Ethiopian Jewry as well as the battle against cults and missionaries in the Holy Land. Rabbi Kahane dreamed of creating an independent Israel which would no longer fear the Gentiles. He dreamed of a state of Israel that would sanctify G-d's name through Jewish power and faith in G-d.

Rabbi Kahane was elected to Knesset in 1984. He headed the quickest growing party in Israel's history. Polls predicted him receiving as many as 12 seats in the 1988 elections. If he would not have been banned from participating in the elections he would have turned in to the third largest party in Israel, on the way to becoming its next Prime Minister. Likud and Labor joined together and banned Kahane from the 1988 elections.

Two years later, he was killed. Never in Israel's history was there a bigger funeral. Never before did so many different types of Jews stand side by side together. All of the enemies of Israel celebrated his death. Many of the leftists in Israel happily predicted the death of Rabbi Kahane's yeshiva and programs in editorials published in the Israeli press, shortly after his death. Much to their amazement and disappointment, Rabbi Kahane's yeshiva and programs lived on. Some have even grown and expanded despite the governments continued harassment and the outlawing of the Kahanist movements.


Debate - Rabbi Kahane VS Ehud Olmert

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

Eight days of Chanukah, Why not Seven?

Eight days of Chanukah.  That is the, length of the holiday as pronounced by the rabbis and the reason is known to every child:  The Maccabees, having liberated the temple, found oil that was sufficient only for one day but having lit the candles with it, the oil continued to burn through eight days, by which time more pure oil had been made.

And centuries ago, the rabbis asked the question:  Nevertheless, why eight days?  Since the oil was naturally sufficient in itself to burn for one day, the miracle was actually only in the additional seven days that it continued to burn.  In reality, therefore, in order to commemorate the miracle, the rabbis should have established a holiday of seven days.

And the rabbis, particularly the Beit Yosef, give various and varied reasons.  It appears to me, however, that there is a fundamental reason, one that goes to the very heart of the holiday of Chanukah.

It is clear that the essential miracle of Chanukah, its real central theme, is not the miracle of the oil.  Indeed, the special Chanukah prayer, Al Hanism, coined by the rabbis, does not even mention the miracle of the oil.  The theme and heart of the Chanukah commemoration is the concept mentioned in Al Hanisim, of rabim b’yad m’atim, “The many (Syrian Greeks) who fell into the hands of the few (Jews).”  This is the heart of Chanukah.

And the very miracle of the oil represents that concept, i.e. the little oil able to “overcome” the many days and continue to burn.  The oil symbolizes the real miracle of Chanukah, the real theme, that of the few Jews who, thanks to the miracle of G-d, were able to overcome the many enemies.

But if that is so, there is a miracle within that miracle.  For given the fact that the few Jews were able to miraculously overcome their many awesome enemies, prior to that miracle they surely did not know that the almighty would perform the miracle for them.

And nevertheless, the few went out to battle with immense faith and belief in the Almighty.  Not that they knew that He would perform miracles for them, for that is not the meaning of faith.  One does not go to battle in a milchemet mitzvah, a war of obligation, because one knows that G-d will help.  The Jew hopes for that; he prays for that; but there is no guarantee.  If there were, then there would be no faith.  Then the victory would be assured and in such a case and everyone would have “faith.”

No, the Hashmonaim, the Maccabees, did not know whether G-d would perform miracles for them.  The only knew that they were obligated to fight and sanctify the Name of the

L-rd, G-d of Israel, through fighting the gentiles and Hellenists who desecrated and humiliated Him.  That in itself was an act of immense courage, a miracle within the miracle.

And so, since the candles lights represent the miracle of the many who fell before the few, they must also represent that act of the few who – not knowing that the miracle would take place – nevertheless went out to battle to sanctify G-d.  And so, while the lights from the second day onward represent the miracle of the many who fell in the hands of the few, it is just as important to commemorate the few who went out to battle with faith and readiness to give of themselves.  That is represented by the first light.

What a lesson of Chanukah!  What a lesson for all Jews “in this time” whose fear of Washington and the gentiles makes a mockery of the faith and belief that is the heart of Chanukah and Judaism.

Why are the Jews called the "Chosen People"?

The Short Answer:

The Torah - which is an all time bestseller and studied by the world’s three major religions - recounts how the Jews were chosen by G-d to carry the responsibility of being His ambassadors to the world and mankind1 .

The Askmoses Answer:
Being chosen begins with choosing.

There was a time when no one in G-d’s world wished to recognize G-d, much less so obey His commands. After all, it is much easier to live in accordance with your own will, than to live in strict obedience to G-d’s word.

Then one day a man chose to recognize G-d. He chose to teach others about G-d. And most importantly, he chose to follow G-d’s directives, regardless of what they were.

G-d reciprocated. G-d chose to enter an eternal covenant with this man and his future descendents, regardless of who and where they were. This family would eternally be responsible to recognize G-d and obey His will, and in turn G-d would eternally recognize them and hold them dear to Him.

That man was Abraham, and his descendants are known today as the Jews.

Living chosen comes with responsibilities as well as privileges.
Whilst people of the world may eat just about anything they wish, the Jewish People were chosen to have a restricted diet, albeit a diet designed by G-d: Kosher. Whilst mankind may work any day of the week, the Jews were chosen to be forbidden to do any work on one day of each week, albeit a day G-d didn’t "work": Shabbat.

Whilst other cultures pick a language to call their own, the Jews will always be associated with one language, albeit G-d’s language: Hebrew. Whilst other peoples choose to settle where they please, the Jews will always have just one Homeland, albeit a land G-d chose for them: Israel. And whilst literature experiences fads, Judaism will always have one central book, albeit the book G-d chose to give them: the Torah.

For the Jew, being chosen means that G-d ought always be a factor - nay, the factor - when you make your choices. Being chosen is the awesome responsibility and tremendous privilege of introducing the world to its Creator and inviting the Creator to live amongst His creations.


Not being chosen gives you the ability to choose.
If one feels slighted by the fact that others are chosen, he need not be upset, he too can choose to be chosen. Through authentic conversion, i.e. through accepting all the responsibilities of Judaism, he too can be privy to its privileges.

More importantly, he can choose to remain "unchosen". He can choose to remain who he is. He can remain free of the responsibilities and forego the privileges of Judaism. Because in reality he has his own responsibilities and his own privileges. Birth is a testimony that G-d created you for a specific mission: namely the awesome responsibility and tremendous privilege of perfecting the world He created.


http://www.askmoses.com/en/article/174,2172022/Why-are-the-Jews-called-the-Chosen-People.html

Is it better to be an observant Reform Jew or an occasional Conservative one?

Is it better to be an observant Reform Jew or an occasional Conservative one?

Answer:

It is better to be a better Jew!
In other words: a Jew should never restrict him/herself to a human definition or movement. 

Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, these are names of movements. But a Jew is not a movement; s/he is a Jew chosen by G-d to represent Him in this world. Every Jew received the whole Torah at Sinai, and every Jew should at every moment try to fulfill as much of that Torah as s/he can.

If today s/he was good, and tomorrow s/he has an opportunity to be better, by all means be better. What will be the next day? S/he will deal with that when it comes.

So a Jew should simply strive to be better, rather than try to fit into a definiton. 

 http://www.askmoses.com/en/article/174,2253066/I-am-not-sure-to-what-form-of-Judaism-I-belong.html

The Enemy Has a Name

Prof. Paul Eidelberg  Jun 19, 2008


It is not sufficient to classify the enemy as "Islamism." Islamism is nothing less than Islam. The Quran, the Hadith, and Islam's murderous history make this crystal clear. But consider the judgment of two astute scholar-statesmen of uncommon urbanity:

Alexis de Tocqueville:

I studied the Quran a great deal. I came away from that study with the conviction that by and large there have been few religions in the world as deadly to men as that of Muhammad. So far as I can see, it is the principal cause of the decadence so visible today in the Muslim world and, though less absurd than the polytheism of old, its social and political tendencies are in my opinion more to be feared, and I therefore regard it as a form of decadence rather than a form of progress in relation to paganism itself.

Winston Churchill said as much in 1899, but with chilling significance for Europe today:

How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries, improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities, but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome. (Emphasis added.)

Unlike Americans and Europeans, Muslim leaders name their enemies. They call Christians the "Sunday people," and Jews the "Saturday people." Ahmadinejad of Iran calls for a world without the United States and Israel, meaning a world without Christianity and Judaism. The same murderous hatred is preached in innumerable mosques in the United States financed by Saudi Arabia.

Muslims do not speak of "moderate" Christians or of "moderate" Jews—no more than we ever spoke of "moderate" Nazis. Intellectually liberated Muslims like Nonie Darwish and Wafa Sultan are strategically irrelevant. Indeed, the more we appease the enemy by refraining from calling him by his true name, the more so-called moderate Muslims will manifest their violent Mohammedan heritage. Even secular Muslims supported Saddam Hussein.



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

Why and when was the MYTH of al-Aqsa created?

By Dr. Mordechai Kedar

When the Prophet Mohammad established Islam, he
introduced a minimum of innovations. 

He employed the hallowed personages, historic legends and sacred sites of Judaism and Christianity, and even paganism, by Islamizing them. Thus, according to Islam, Abraham was the first Moslem and Jesus and St. John (the sons of Miriam, sister of Moses and Aron) were prophets and guardians of the second heaven. 

Many Biblical legends ("asatir al-awwalin"), which were familiar to the pagan Arabs before the dawn of Islam, underwent an Islamic conversion, and the Koran as well as the Hadith (the Islamic oral tradition), are replete with them.

Islamization was practiced on places as well as persons:

Mecca and the holy stone - al-Ka'bah - were holy sites of the
pre-Islamic pagan Arabs. The Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and the
Great Mosque of Istanbul were erected on the sites of
Christian-Byzantine churches - two of the better known examples
of how Islam treats sanctuaries of other faiths.

Jerusalem, too, underwent the process of Islamization: at
first Muhammad attempted to convince the Jews near Medina to join
his young community, and, by way of persuasion, established the
direction of prayer (kiblah) to be to the north, towards
Jerusalem, in keeping with Jewish practice; but after he failed
in this attempt he turned against the Jews, killed many of them,
and directed the kiblah southward, towards Mecca.

Muhammad's abandonment of Jerusalem explains the fact
that this city is not mentioned even once in the Koran. After
Palestine was occupied by the Moslems, its capital was Ramlah, 30
miles to the west of Jerusalem, signifying that Jerusalem meant
nothing to them.

Islam rediscovered Jerusalem 50 years after Mohammad's
death. In 682 CE, 'Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr rebelled against the
Islamic rulers in Damascus, conquered Mecca and prevented
pilgrims from reaching Mecca for the Hajj. 'Abd al-Malik, the
Umayyad Calif, needed an alternative site for the pilgrimage and
settled on Jerusalem which was then under his control. In order
to justify this choice, a verse from the Koran was chosen (17,1 =
sura 17, verse 1) which states (trans. by Majid Fakhri):

"Glory to Him who caused His servant to travel by night
from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque, whose precincts We
have blessed, in order to show him some of Our Signs, He is
indeed the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing."

The meaning ascribed to this verse (see the commentary in
al-Jallalayn) is that "the furthest mosque" (al-masgid al-aqsa)
is in Jerusalem and that Mohammad was conveyed there one night
(although at that time the journey took three days by camel), on
the back of al-Buraq, a magical horse with the head of a woman,
wings of an eagle, the tail of a peacock, and hoofs reaching to
the horizon. He tethered the horse to the Western Wall of the
Temple Mount and from there ascended to the seventh heaven
together with the angel Gabriel. On his way he met the prophets
of other religions who are the guardians of heaven: Adam, Jesus,
St. John, Joseph, Idris (=Seth?), Aaron, Moses and Abraham who
accompanied him on his way to Allah and who accepted him as their
master. Thus Islam tries to gain legitimacy over other, older
religions, by creating a scene in which the former prophets agree
to Mohammad's mastery, thus making him Khatam al-Anbiya' ("the
Seal of the Prophets").

Not surprisingly, this miraculous account contradicts a
number of the tenets of Islam: How can a living man of flesh and
blood ascend to heaven? How can a mythical creature carry a
mortal to a real destination? Questions such as these have caused
orthodox Moslem thinkers to conclude that the nocturnal journey
was a dream of Mohammad's. The journey and the ascent serves
Islam to "go one better" than the Bible: Moses "only" went up to
Mt. Sinai, in the middle of nowhere, and drew close to heaven,
whereas Mohammad went all the way up to Allah, and from Jerusalem
itself.

What are the difficulties with the belief that the
al-Aqsa mosque described in Islamic tradition is located in
Jerusalem? For one, the people of Mecca, who knew Muhammad well,
did not believe this story. Only Abu Bakr, (later the first
Calif), believed him and thus was called al-Siddiq ("the
believer"). The second difficulty is that Islamic tradition tells
us that al-Aqsa mosque is near Mecca on the Arabian peninsula.
This was unequivocally stated in "Kitab al-Maghazi" (Oxford
University Press, 1966, vol. 3, pp. 958-9), a book by the Moslem
historian and geographer al-Waqidi. According to al-Waqidi, there
were two "masjeds" (places of prayer) in al-Gi'irranah, a village
between Mecca and Ta'if, one was "the closer mosque" (al-masjid
al-adna) and the other was "the further mosque" (al-masjid
al-aqsa), and Muhammad would pray there when he went out of town.
This description by al-Waqidi which is supported by a chain of
authorities (isnad), was not "convenient" for the Islamic
propaganda of the 7th century. In order to establish a basis for
the awareness of the "holiness" of Jerusalem in Islam, the Califs
of the Ummayad dynasty invented many "traditions" upholding the
value of Jerusalem (known as "fadha'il bayt al-Maqdis"), which
would justify pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the faithful Moslems.
Thus was al-Masjid al-Aqsa "transported" to Jerusalem. It should
be noted that Saladin also adopted the myth of al-Aqsa and those
"traditions" in order to recruit and inflame the Moslem warriors
against the Crusaders in the 12th century.

Another aim of the Islamization of Jerusalem was to
undermine the legitimacy of the older religions, Judaism and
Christianity, which consider Jerusalem to be a holy city. Islam
is presented as the only legitimate religion, destined to replace
the other two, because they had changed and distorted the Word of
God, each in its turn. (ghyyarou wa-baddalou). On the alleged
forgeries of the Holy Scriptures, made by Jews and Christians,
see the third chapter of: M. J. Kister, "haddithu 'an bani
isra'il wa-la haraja", IOS 2 (1972), pp. 215-239. Kister quotes
dozens of Islamic sources).

Though Judaism and Christianity can exist side by side in
Jerusalem, Islam regards both of them as betrayals of Allah and
his teachings, and has always done, and will continue to do, all
in its power to expel both of them from this city. It is
interesting to note that this expulsion is retroactive: The
Islamic broadcasters of the Palestinian radio stations
consistently make it a point to claim that the Jews never had a
temple on the Temple Mount and certainly not two temples. (Where,
then, according to them, did Jesus preach?)

Arafat, himself a secular person (ask the Hamas!), is
doing today exactly what the Califs of the Umayyad dynasty did
1300 years ago: he is marshaling the holiness of Jerusalem to
serve his political ends. He must not give control of Jerusalem
over to the Jews since according to Islam they are impure and the
wrath of Allah is upon them (al-maghdhoub 'alayhim; Koran 1,7,
see al-Jalalayn and other commentaries; note that verse numbers
may differ slightly in the various editions of the Koran). The
Jews are the sons of monkeys and pigs (5,60). (For the idea that
Jews are related to pigs and monkeys see, for example, Musnad
al-Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, (Beirut 1969) vol. 3, p. 241. See also
pages 348, 395, 397, 421, and vol. 6, p. 135.) The Jews are those
who distorted the holy writings which were revealed to them
(2,73; 3,72) and denied God's signs (3,63). Since they violated
the covenant with their God (4,154), He cursed them (5,16) and
they are forever the inheritors of hell (3,112). So how can
Arafat abandon Jerusalem to the Jews?

The Palestinian media these days are full of messages of
Jihad, calling to broaden the national-political war between
Israel and the Palestinians into a religious-Islamic war between
the Jews and the Moslems. READ THEIR LIPS: for them Christianity
is no better than Judaism, since both "forfeited" their right to
rule over Jerusalem. Only Islam - Din al-Haqq ("the Religion of
Truth") - has this right, and forever. (shaykh 'Ikrima Sabri, the
mufti of Jerusalem, in Friday's khutbah 4 weeks ago, "Sawt
falastin", the PA official radio).

Since the holiness of Jerusalem to Islam has always been,
and still is no more than a politically motivated holiness,
Arafat would be putting his political head on the block should he
give it up. Must Judaism and Christianity defer to myths related
in Islamic texts or envisioned in Mohammad's dreams, long after
Jerusalem was established as the ancient, true center of these
two religions which preceded Islam? Should UN forces be sent to
the Middle East just because Arafat decided to recycle the
political problems of the Umayyads 1250 years after the curtain
came down on their role in history?


Dr. Mordechai Kedar, Lecturer

Dept. of Arabic

Bar-Ilan University

52900 Ranmt-Gan, Israel

Phone+Fax: 972 9 7449162

email: mkedar@mail.biu.ac.il

Jewish....Goyish....

Paintings of your ancestors is Goyish - Finding your ancestors is Jewish. 

Sweaters worn over shoulders as scarves is Goyish - Scarves worn over hairdos as rain bonnets is Jewish.

Sketches of the children are Goyish - Sketches by the children are Jewish.

Cattle is Goyish - Cows are Jewish

The Practice was Goyish - Boston Legal is Jewish

Skippy-your son's name, is Goyish - Skippy- your dog's name, is Jewish. 

Tupperware is Goyish - Waxed paper is Jewish

Gatorade is Goyish - Ice tea is Jewish

The Outer Limits is Goyish - The Twilight Zone is Jewish

Olive loaf is Goyish - Liverwurst is Jewish

Duck hunting is Goyish - Bargain hunting is Jewish

Shake 'n Bake is Goyish - Breadcrumbs is Jewish 

Crew teams are Goyish - Chess teams are Jewish

Shirley (Laverne and Shirley) is Goyish - Laverne is Jewish

Collecting ceramic ducks is Goyish - Collecting duck sauce packets is Jewish.

"The New Yorker" is Goyish - "New York Magazine" is Jewish.

Riding lessons are Goyish - Piano lessons are Jewish.

Chow mein is Goyish - Lo mein is Jewis.

School cheering squads are Goyish - School newspaper staffs are Jewish.

Area rugs are Goyish - Wall-to-wall carpeting is Jewish.
 
Black pepper is Jewish, Wasabi is Goyish.

Blue is Jewish, Spirit is Goyish.

George (on Seinfeld) is Jewish, Kramer is Goyish.

Marie Barone (Everybody Loves Raymond) is Jewish, Evelyn Harper (Two and a Half Men) is Goyish.

Black and White Cookies are Jewish, Twinkies are Goyish.

Star Trek (original Series) is Jewish, Babylon 5 is Goyish.

ShopRite is Jewish, Acme is Goyish.

Hellman's Mayonnaise is Jewish, Miracle whip is Goyish.

Particularism before universalism

By Ted Belman

Everyone is familiar will Hillel's quote, loosely translated,

"If I am not for myself, who am I? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when?"


I have always understood this to mean that an individual must make the case for his particular before making the case for the other. Particularism before universalism. Neither should be to the exclusion of the other, but the former, according to Hillel, comes first. One might add that it is only natural to fight for yourself before fighting for others.

The twentieth century witnessed within the Jewish community a flight from the Jewish particular in favour of the universal. As the Jews came out of the ghetto, they shed religion for secularism. They became Communists in Russia, socialists in Europe and liberal Democrats in America.

The Jewish Right wishes to follow Hillel's dictum by emphasizing the Jewish particular first and then addressing the "other". Thus, it chooses a Jewish Israel even if it offends the Western notion of democracy. On the other hand, the Jewish Left wishes to do the opposite. It stresses the rights of the other, particularly the "Palestinians", at the expense of Jewish rights. A case in point is the fence decision by the Israel's High Court of Justice. The Jewish Right wants Israel to be a Jewish state whereas the Left argues that Israel should be a state like other states or of all its citizens. Binyamin Netanyahu got it right when he said, "Israel is the state of the Jews and not of its citizens."

In my recent article "It pays to be Jewish", I argued that Israel, to be a Jewish state, must give pre-eminence to Jewish Civil Law, which flows from the Torah. I implied that freedom of speech should not protect anti-Israel incitement and that persons not loyal to Israel as a Jewish state should have their citizenship revoked and should not be allowed a Knesset seat.

This raised howls of racism from some. But to deny your enemies certain rights is not racism, because it is not based on physical characteristics. It is self-defense, because it is based on their stated intention to destroy you.

Paul Eidelberg, in his important book Jewish Statesmanship, stands against a loyalty oath as the solution,

"It is the height of impudence, of conceit and even of stupidity to grant equal political rights to Arabs in the expectation that they will renounce their religion and 1,300 year old civilization for a ballot box.

[...]From the Torah's perspective, a people is not a random or amorphous aggregation of individuals. The essence of peoplehood is particularism and not universalism – which is not to say that particularism precludes universal ideas and ideals such as ethical monotheism. A living people must have a revered past and a profound sense of collective purpose, embodied in national laws and literature and vivified by national holidays and customs. Such a people will experience similar joys and harbour similar thoughts conducive to friendship. They will feel responsible for each other and respond in righteous indignation to assaults on their national honour. Therein is the heart and soul of a people and the reason why their government will not bestow citizenship on foreign elements whose goals or way of life clashes with their own."


Thus, the question becomes, are the citizens of a country entitled to preserve their ethnic or religious makeup or their culture? And who is to decide? The Western model says "no". Multiculturalism reigns supreme, as does relativism. No one's values are better than the values of others. Everything and everybody is to be tolerated, even those who don't tolerate you. It is easy to see that this is the ultimate destination of universalism. It seeks to render valueless the particular, whether religious or national. It is paradoxical that the greatest opposition to universalism comes from Muslims, who are the largest intended beneficiary.

While the Left continually excoriates Israel for falling below a standard imposed by them on Israel alone, it totally ignores the reality of the Muslim world. You would think that since the Muslims are most in conflict with their tolerant world view that they should focus on castigating and reforming them. But no, they pick on Israel instead. Could this be anti-Semitism?

When Jews agonize over the survival of the Jewish people, invariably one asks, "Survive as what?" Obviously, if you give up what makes you Jewish, you, as a Jew, are not surviving. The resistance to assimilation is also often referred to as racism, but it isn't. It denotes love of self. This is healthy. It is the self-hatred of the Jewish Left who strive to deny the Jewish particular that is to be rejected, or at least recognized for what it is.

The same goes for Israel. If Israel would become a bi-national state, it would die as a Jewish state. Even the name Israel could be changed. The Arab Israelis would argue for the Law of Return to apply to them, also. And so on. It will also die as a Jewish state if it doesn't take steps to preserve its Jewish character. At a minimum, these should include restoring Jewish Civil Law as the supreme law of the land and creating a constitution that permits only Jews to determine its national purpose, character and defense.

I submit that a nation has not only the inherent right of self defense when its national existence is threatened, but also when its cultural essence is at risk. Israel's enemies deny it both rights. To assert these rights is not racism. Every nation has the right to determine who can emigrate, who can become citizens and what values in its society are inviolable.

Israel even more so. The Torah defines the People of Israel (Am Yisroel) and the Land of Israel (Eretz Yisroel), and the connection between them and G-d. The People of Israel have a collective responsibility and a mission and a birthright (Israel). Whether or not you believe in G-d, the fact remains that this is the essence of Judaism. This essence has survived for over three thousand years and should continue to survive.

Israel has not only the right to defend this culture, but the duty to do so.

Sharansky Called POTUS a Threat to Israel!

August 6, 2008

Natan Sharansky Called POTUS a Threat to Israel!
Says "there is no record" on Obama, while McCain "has an absolutely great record of supporting Israel"

August 6, 2008 (Fort Lee, NJ) - In an exclusive Shalom TV interview, Natan Sharansky, distinguished fellow of the Shalem Center in Jerusalem and chairman of its Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies, characterized a potential Barack Obama presidency as "a risk" to Israel, based on their being "no record" of his foreign affairs policy, experience, or actions.

Commenting on whether the visit of Senator Obama to Israel meant something to its citizens, Sharansky, a prolific author who was the world's most famous Soviet refusenik, acknowledged that the Democratic presidential candidate "said all the right things which Israelis wanted to hear."


"He spoke about the Iranian threat and gave to understand that, of course, he would do his best that Israel would not have to fight, but if, God-forbid, Israel will have to fight, it can be understood.

"He spoke with the mayor of Jerusalem and the mayor of Jerusalem understood that Obama is for a united Jerusalem.

"He said many good things, but it's very difficult to overcome the skepticism of Israelis by words. After all, we've heard so many good words and we know that the deeds are sometimes very different."

However, Sharansky was quick to point out that "everyone understands that it was a quick visit, with a lot of picture opportunities mainly for the audience--the electorate. And the electorate are American Jews, and Americans in general."

When asked by Mark S. Golub, host of Shalom TV's "World Jewish News," if he thought it would matter whether Senator McCain or Senator Obama was elected president in terms of the relationship and bond between America and Israel, Natan Sharansky offered a stark contrast based on the each candidate's record.

"In the case of McCain, we know exactly where his policy is," said Sharansky. "I know, personally, McCain for twenty years. He is a person of principle, and he's also a person who has absolutely a great record of supporting Israel.

"Getting to Obama, there is no record. Nobody can know for sure what will be. It can happen to be good. It can happen to be very bad. It's a risk."

A former Deputy Prime Minister of Israel, Sharansky also emphasized the extent to which Israel is ultimately in control of its own destiny, qualifying the impact on the Middle East of the next American president.

"After all," he concluded, "the main decisions which are made--whether it's about the Oslo agreement, whether it's about the disengagement, or to start this so-called 'Second Lebanese War'--these are decisions which are made in Israel, by Israelis, and they have great importance on our future."

Shalom TV, America's national Jewish cable television network, is available free of charge in eighteen million homes in cities throughout the US on Comcast, Time Warner, Bright House, MetroCast, Service Electric, and Blue Ridge cable systems. Additional information on the English-language service is posted online at www.shalomtv.com.

Middle East Peace Plan

The easiest solution to the conflict is to enable the vast majority of Arab/Muslim/Nazi's to emigrate. So, how do we encourage them to emigrate without a major war?

These Arab/Muslim/Nazi's are disgusted with the conflict and the fact that they don't really care. They prefer to start a new life elsewhere.
They simply do not have the financial capability to do so.
They would like to go  to the Gulf States and Canada.

Many Western states currently suffer from negative demographics - less than two children per family. They are anxious to absorb skilled immigrants such as these Arabs who have learned quite a lot from Israel over the past sixty years.
Unless they factor in the potential for importing terrorists and weeding them out ahead of time.

There are a very large amount of Arab/Muslim/Nazi immigrants that have engulfed the Western world in just the last 10 or 20 years.

This points to the fact that this solution is entirely possible.
Israel must make available to the Arabs all the resources necessary to encourage this trend.

Factor in Israels large waste of money, on these Arab/Muslim/Nazi's for welfare, security etc...and the money needed to "help" them leave is apparent.

So the question is exactly how much money can Israel give to each family to leave and some sort of system to determine the fair amount.

Understand is that this is our land - not theirs.
The question is if Israel really wants peace or if the "Peace Process" is just a euphemism for getting rid of the settlements that force Jewish identity on Israel's tiny "elite".

These are Feiglins ideas and I support them fully.

Israel Warns US: Iran Building ICBMs for YOU, Not for Us

Israel is openly opposed to the nuclear weapons deal the United States seems dead set on consummating with Iran.
 
The goal of that deal is the easing of international sanctions on Iran in exchange for Iran taking limited steps suggesting a possible shift away from its goal of acquiring nuclear weapons.

The disagreement between the U.S. and Israel about the wisdom of this deal has become what many are calling a significant strain between the two allies.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned against the deal last week, calling it "a bad deal, a very, very bad deal," and Israel remains steadfastly opposed. In turn, Secretary of State Kerry was quoted by senators as having told them to "ignore" what the Israelis were telling members of congress about the potential consequences of the deal.
 
Tuesday evening, Nov. 19, Israeli government spokesperson Mark Regev told CNN's Jake Tapper that it isn't just Israel in Iran's cross-hairs, but it is the U.S. itself that is an intended target of Iran's nuclear weapon.
 
The interview began with Tapper quoting the Iranians who said that Israel is "trying to torpedo the agreement."
Regev explained that Israel is certainly not opposed to an agreement that will end Iran's rush towards nuclear weapons. But, he explained, what Israel wants is a good agreement.

Regev suggested that the alternatives aren't between coming to an agreement and going to war.  To illustrate, he offered the nuclear weapons agreement with North Korea that was entered into by the global community with great fanfare and celebration, but which turned out to be a very bad deal, as everyone learned.




Iranian ICBM for the US

Islamic Operative in White House Scores Another Victory for Muslim Brotherhood

It is Nov. 25, 2013, just a bit more than 75 years ago, Oct. 1, 1938, when the Chamberlain PEACE IN OUR TIME deal was made between Britain and Germany.

That led to a devastating WWII and Holocaust that cost the lives of 12 million people, plus the disastrous and irreparable loss and destruction that ensued. 

Today, we are witnessing a comparable deal between Obama and Iran, which MUST lead to consequences too horrible to imagine and detail. 

This crossroads in history has been well documented today in excellent articles in the Wall Street Journal, the NY Post, Arutz Sheva, the Algemeiner Journal, and so many other media outlets. I've chosen to alert you today to something else, which has been going on covertly in the Obama White House, just as the Iran negotiations were going on behind everyone's back for months now. The message is that there is an Obama Imperial Presidency in Washington that seems to be deliberately sabotaging this country. see below:



Muslim Operative In white House - Read More

Spied on America...You Lnow..Like the NSA! (Pollard)

By Avi

Jonathan Pollard - November 21, 1985

By instruction of Israel, Jonathan Jay Pollard and his wife Anne went to Israel's embassy in Washington, DC. They were admitted, and after several minutes asked to leave. They were then arrested by waiting FBI agents.

Jonathan Pollard was charged - conspiracy to commit espionage
Anne Pollard was accused of unauthorized possession of classified documents.

Anne was released after serving three years of a five-year sentence.
Jonathan - sentenced to life without parole and remains in a federal prison.


1) Of course as Jews we support Jonathan and understand they tried to make an example of a Jew who seemed to value Israel over the US.

The truth is that the information Jonathan passed to Israel was supposed to be given freely under an agreement signed by both countries.
The Anti-Semite Casper Weinberger (I believe) put a block on this information EXCHANGE.

2) the real Jonathan was being made an example of was that he released US secrets of style on covert actions and that these "styles" were used regularly and that the US
felt this put agents at risk.

Regardless of the truth, his case was handled like a banana republic would handle a case or even like perhaps... China. His conditions have been deplorable and he has been treated as a traitor who gave state secrets to an enemy.

The time is way past the normal 3-5 year sentence that any other convicted party would serve.

Free Jonathan Pollard NOW!

http://www.jonathanpollard.org/

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/pollard.html

Europe or Eurabia? Looks Like Pipes Was Right!

by Daniel Pipes - The Australian - April 15, 2008

The future of Europe is in play. Will it turn into "Eurabia," a part of the Muslim world? Will it remain the distinct cultural unit it has been over the last millennium? Or might there be some creative synthesis of the two civilizations?

The answer has vast importance. Europe may constitute a mere 7 percent of the world's landmass but for five hundred years, 1450-1950, for good and ill, it was the global engine of change. How it develops in the future will affect all humanity, and especially daughter countries such as Australia which still retain close and important ties to the old continent.

I foresee potentially one of three paths for Europe: Muslims dominating, Muslims rejected, or harmonious integration.

(1) Muslim domination strikes some analysts as inevitable. Oriana Fallaci found that "Europe becomes more and more a province of Islam, a colony of Islam." Mark Steyn argues that much of the Western world "will not survive the twenty-first century, and much of it will effectively disappear within our lifetimes, including many if not most European countries." Such authors point to three factors leading to Europe's Islamization: faith, demography, and a sense of heritage.

The secularism that predominates in Europe, especially among its elites, leads to alienation about the Judeo-Christian tradition, empty church pews, and a fascination with Islam. In complete contrast, Muslims display a religious fervor that translates into jihadi sensibility, a supremacism toward non-Muslims, and an expectation that Europe is waiting for conversion to Islam.

The contrast in faith also has demographic implications, with Christians having on average 1.4 children per woman, or about one third less than the number needed to maintain their population, and Muslims enjoying a dramatically higher, if falling, fertility rate. Amsterdam and Rotterdam are expected to be in about 2015 the first large majority-Muslim cities. Russia could become a Muslim-majority country in 2050. To employ enough workers to fund existing pension plans, Europe needs millions of immigrants and these tend to be disproportionately Muslim due to reasons of proximity, colonial ties, and the turmoil in majority-Muslim countries.

In addition, many Europeans no longer cherish their history, mores, and customs. Guilt about fascism, racism, and imperialism leave many with a sense that their own culture has less value than that of immigrants. Such self-disdain has direct implications for Muslim immigrants, for if Europeans shun their own ways, why should immigrants adopt them? When added to the already-existing Muslim hesitations over much that is Western, and especially what concerns sexuality, the result are Muslim populations that strongly resist assimilation.

The logic of this first path leads to Europe ultimately becoming an extension of North Africa.

(2) But the first path is not inevitable. Indigenous Europeans could resist it and as they make up 95 percent of the continent's population, they can at any time reassert control, should they see Muslims posing a threat to a valued way of life.

This impulse can already be seen at work in the French anti-hijab legislation or in Geert Wilders' film, Fitna. Anti-immigrant parties gain in strength; a potential nativist movement is taking shape across Europe, as political parties opposed to immigration focus increasingly on Islam and Muslims. These parties include the British National Party, Belgium's Vlaamse Belang, France's Front National, the Austrian Freedom Party, the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands, the Danish People's Party, and the Swedish Democrats.

They will likely continue to grow as immigration surges ever higher, with mainstream parties paying and expropriating their anti-Islamic message. Should nationalist parties gain power, they will likely seek to reject multiculturalism, cut back on immigration, encourage repatriation of immigrants, support Christian institutions, increase indigenous European birthrates, and broadly attempt to re-establish traditional ways.

Muslim alarm will likely follow. American author Ralph Peters sketches a scenario in which "U.S. Navy ships are at anchor and U.S. Marines have gone ashore at Brest, Bremerhaven or Bari to guarantee the safe evacuation of Europe's Muslims." Peters concludes that because of European's "ineradicable viciousness," its Muslims "are living on borrowed time" As Europeans have "perfected genocide and ethnic cleansing," Muslims, he predicts, "will be lucky just to be deported," rather than killed. Indeed, Muslims worry about just such a fate; since the 1980s, they have spoken overtly about Muslims being sent to gas chambers.

Violence by indigenous Europeans cannot be precluded but nationalist efforts will more likely take place less violently; if any one is likely to initiate violence, it is the Muslims. They have already engaged in many acts of violence and seem to be spoiling for more. Surveys indicate, for instance, that about 5 percent of British Muslims endorse the 7/7 transport bombings. In brief, a European reassertion will likely lead to on-going civil strife, perhaps a more lethal version of the fall 2005 riots in France.

(3) The ideal outcome has indigenous Europeans and immigrant Muslims finding a way to live together harmoniously and create a new synthesis. A 1991 study, La France, une chance pour l'Islam (France, an Opportunity for Islam) by Jeanne-Hיlטne Kaltenbach and Pierre Patrick Kaltenbach promoted this idealistic approach. Despite all, this optimism remains the conventional wisdom, as suggested by an Economist leader of 2006 that concluded that dismissed for the moment at least, the prospect of Eurabia as "scaremongering."

This is the view of most politicians, journalists, and academics but it has little basis in. Yes indigenous Europeans could yet rediscover their Christian faith, make more babies, and again cherish their heritage. Yes, they could encourage non-Muslim immigration and acculturate Muslims already living in Europe. Yes, Muslim could accept historic Europe. But not only are such developments not now underway, their prospects are dim. In particular, young Muslims are cultivating grievances and nursing ambitions at odds with their neighbors.

One can virtually dismiss from consideration the prospect of Muslims accepting historic Europe and integrating within it. U.S. columnist Dennis Prager agrees: "It is difficult to imagine any other future scenario for Western Europe than its becoming Islamicized or having a civil war."

But which of those two remaining paths will the continent take? Forecasting is difficult because crisis has not yet struck. But it may not be far off. Within a decade perhaps, the continent's evolution will become clear as the Europe-Muslim relationship takes shape.

The unprecedented nature of Europe's situation also renders a forecast exceedingly difficult. Never in history has a major civilization peaceably dissolved, nor has a people ever risen to reclaim its patrimony. Europe's unique circumstances make them difficult to comprehend, tempting to overlook, and virtually impossible to predict. With Europe, we all enter into terra incognita.

Germany - The Ultimate Racist People....

"The German Federation of Internal Medicine awarded Doctor Hans-Joachim Sewering the Guenther-Budelmann medal, its highest honor."

"Dr. Sewering was a member of the Nazi SS and witnesses have accused him of involvement in the intentional starvation and drugging of over 900 mentally and physically disabled patients during World War II."

This was done by a "reputable" Medical Association in Germany.This was not done a sole racist descendent.

Germany remains a blight on the world and should has been divided up post WW2 to save the rest of the world from having to deal with their murderous racism.

What do you think?

Exile, Galut...Temporary or Permanent?

Can we live in the Diaspora without wanting to go "home" and help build the 3rd Temple? Do we care?

What is the life plan? How are we taught?
Are we taught to Daven and Assimilate?

Are Orthodox Jews the ones that care about the Temple?

If so, why are there any Orthodox Jews in the US?

Do you believe that Jews built a Temple according to HaShem's wishes?

Do you believe that the Shechinah resided there? Hashem wanted and received sacrifices there?

Do you believe that it matters whether we keep Shabbat and if so to what letter of who's law?

When did we get to decide? Does the Mishna hold the answer?


What are your thoughts?

MK Feiglin: Iran nuclear deal is just like Munich Agreement

The deputy speaker of parliament, Likud MK Moshe Feiglin, said on Saturday the interim agreement signed between Iran and the Western powers was tantamount to the Munich Agreement of the late 1930s.

“Like Czechoslovakia at that time, which was not party to the discussions that effectively sentenced it to death, Israel today watches from the sidelines how its existential interest is being sacrificed by the Western powers,” Feiglin said.

“Any rational person understands that we are in the midst of a process leads to a nuclear-armed Iran,” he said. “For years I have warned about the dangers of the strategy adopted by Israel towards the Iranian nuclear threat.”

Feiglin said that entrusting foreign powers to secure Israel’s defense interests is “disastrous” and “much worse than that which led to the Yom Kippur War.”


 Nuke Deal - Read More

The Goal of Obama’s Foreign Policy

 
It isn’t surprising that the US and the other five powers signed a deal with Iran on Saturday. Over the past few weeks, US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry made it clear that they were committed to signing a deal with Iran as quickly as possible.


And it isn’t surprising that the deal these overeager leaders signed with the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism makes the world a much more dangerous place than it was before the agreement was concluded.

With the US and its allies far more eager to reach an accord with Iran on its illicit nuclear weapons program than Iran was, it was obvious from the outset that any deal ultimately reached, at least as long as these negotiating conditions remained in force, would facilitate rather than inhibit Iran’s quest to build a nuclear arsenal. And indeed, the sanctions relief that Iran has gained simply by signing on the dotted line will be sufficient to buffet the Iranian economy through a successful nuclear weapons test.

Iran will achieve nuclear capability while enriching itself through the deal because the deal gives Iran sanctions relief without requiring Iran to make any irreversible concessions. Indeed, Iran just received the international community’s permission to continue to enrich uranium, keep all its nuclear installations open and build new centrifuges.

While the deal isn’t surprising in and of itself, Obama’s decision to conclude it now makes clear the true goal of his foreign policy. To understand that goal, it is first necessary to consider an aspect of the deal that, on the surface, makes little sense.


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Rep. Louie Gohmert: The Intentional Betrayal of Israel

I was talking to a general who was the commander of an Air Force base in Germany.  And he’s been appointed by the President to his current position. I said — just curious, how long does it take to get from your base in Germany to Benghazi, Libya?  He said three and a half hours, and you make it there easy.  And I said — three and a half hours?  

And then he realized what I’m thinking about.  He said — oh, but listen, we had planes, and their ordinance wasn’t set up.  And it takes a long time to get our planes set up.  We had people on the Mediterranean, we had special forces, we had people that could’ve been there.  They didn’t send them.

And I did talk to a survivor of Benghazi back in February.  And I didn’t go public with it.  And friends at Fox wanted to talk to him.  He is a wonderful young man, army ranger.  His name has now come out, but not through me — David Ubben.  He was on the roof with Ty Woods and Glen Dougherty when they were giving cover for other employees.

And David — since some of this has come out, and I was asked by Catherine Herridge some questions; I emailed David, and I said — you mind if I answer?  I’ll follow your wishes.  And he said — use your own discretion.

Well, I asked David about the mortars that came in that killed Ty and Glen and took most of David’s right leg; they’ve been reconstructing for a year.  And he said — well, there were three rounds that came in.  For those of you that are been in the military, you know, they teach you if you’re using mortars or artillery shells, you fire three rounds.  Then it’s a very basic triangulation question.  But the fourth round, mortar or artillery round, should be right on top of the person that you’re trying to hit.

Course, when you’re in the infantry, they tell you if you have three rounds go off around you, you better get the heck out of Dodge, because the next one’s in your lap.  And so when David said that, I said — oh, they bracketed you.  And he said no no no, no.  They didn’t need to bracket us; they knew exactly where they were firing those rounds.  They knew.  They were prepared.  They knew exactly where they were firing them.


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Why Obama’s Iran Nuke Deal Is a Good Thing

Obama was never going to stop Iran from going nuclear, but his promises gave people who should have known better, including American Jewish leaders and the Prime Minister of Israel, the idea that he would stand firm.
 
“Iran’s leaders should understand that I do not have a policy of containment; I have a policy to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” Obama said last year. “Rest assured that the Iranian government will know our resolve and that our coordination with Israel will continue.”

Instead Obama reached a secret deal to relax Iran sanctions and accept an Iranian nuclear program while cutting Israel out of the loop.
Despite the anger and outrage, this isn’t the worst case scenario. The worst case scenario would have been if Obama had kept stringing everyone along, adding a little bit of sanctions here and there, while quietly eliminating them under the table, and playing for time until Iran actually detonated a nuke.
Now Obama has made it clear that he will do nothing to stop Iran from going nuclear.

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Fiasco in Geneva

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said that on Wednesday to a huge assembly of his Basij militiamen. The Times of Israel noted that “Footage of the event showed the crowd shouting ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel.’”


Slightly later the BBC gave this translation (find it here) of parts of Khamenei’s speech:
We are against the arrogance. We fight against the arrogance…. The government of the United States of America is on the top of the arrogance in the world. [The audience repeatedly chants: "Death to America."]

The Zionist regime is doomed to oblivion. The Zionist regime is an imposed regime which is formed by force. None of the formations or creatures which are formed by force is durable, and neither is this one…. Unfortunately, some European countries cringe before this creature which is not worthy of the name of a human being, before these leaders of the Zionist regime, who look like beasts and who cannot be called human.

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