Rabbi Yisrael Salanter said, "On Judgment Day, I will not be afraid of the question why I was not great like Moses. The question I need to keep in mind is why I was not everything that Yisrael Salanter could have been!"
Love Yehuda Lave
I went on this trip--here are the pictures below:
Monday, October 12
DAY TRIP TO HIRIYA SHARON PARK & HOLON DESIGN MUSEUM - Ariel Sharon Park and Hiriya recycling center, 60 feet high and offering a grand view of the Mediterranean across the cityscape of Tel Aviv and as far at the Judean hills. The Holon Design Museum has been celebrated for " . . . . . . a unique, sinuous steel ribbon facade and a prime example of wondrous design." it has been named one of the new wonders of the world by the prestigious Conde Naste Traveler.
https://youtu.be/yFNnrzqvvVw
Jews singing at the Kotel
https://www.facebook.com/yona.lunger/videos/10206620253699325/
Finally the truth is admitted by our Prime Minister
Netanyahu: Root of terrorism is that Palestinians don't want Israel to exist
Israel will be here forever and overcome terrorism, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in his address to the Knesset at the opening of its winter session Monday.
"After 100 years of terrorism and 100 years of attempts to destroy the Zionist enterprise, our enemies still have not learned," he said.
"Suicide terrorism was not victorious over us in the '90s and '00s, and the terrorism of knives will not defeat us now. What always wins is the recognition that this is our home and our homeland."
"Our will to live trumps our enemies' desire for death. There is no way to stop the Zionist enterprise," the prime minister added.
Netanyahu said the "courage of our security forces and our citizens, and the mutual responsibility that characterizes our nation" are what will help Israel overcome terrorism, combined with new laws to stiffen penalties for rock – and firebomb-throwers.
The prime minister pointed out that now is far from the first time libels about the Temple Mount were used to provoke violence against Jews, specifically mentioning lies by the former mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini that sparked the 1929 massacres of Jews in Israel.
Netanyahu read from a Wakf Muslim religious trust-published pamphlet from several years prior to the pogrom that says Haram al-Sharif, the Arabic name for the Temple Mount, is "beyond dispute" at the site of King Solomon's Temple.
"There are some who still say today that Jews have no connection to the Temple Mount.... They say that Jews make the Mount dirty and impure. They repeat the lie over and over again that we want to destroy al-Aksa Mosque or change the status quo in the place. That is a total lie," he said.
Netanyahu repeated several times that Israel seeks to maintain the status quo on the Temple Mount and protect the holy places of all religions.
He said that lies are being disseminated by Hamas, the northern branch of the Islamic Movement of Israel – which the prime minister is seeking to outlaw – and the Palestinian Authority.
Netanyahu urged PA President Mahmoud Abbas to denounce terrorism as Netanyahu did hate crimes by Israelis against Arabs.
Netanyahu said that Abbas constantly refuses to negotiate, because he knows that would mean declaring an end to the conflict, giving up on the right of return and recognizing Israel as the Jewish state.
"[The Palestinians'] refusal to recognize a Jewish state in any borders is and has always been the root of the conflict," he said.
MKs from the Joint List demonstratively walked out when Netanyahu took to the podium, so they were not present when the prime minister accused some of them of incitement.
"We want coexistence, and we are investing in the Arab sector as no government has before, but there is a member of this House who said 'the Henkin family [killed by Palestinians in front of their two children] are settlers. You cannot treat them as innocent civilians.' What does that mean? That you're allowed to murder them?" Netanyahu said, referring to MK Basel Ghattas (Joint List).
The prime minister said MK Haneen Zoabi (Joint List) "did not limit herself to settlers. She justifies acts of terrorism everywhere. She said, with great concern, to a Hamas newspaper two days ago that 'actions by individuals are not enough, 'you need a full intifada.' It's unbelievable. An MK in Israel is calling for mass terrorism against Israeli citizens. There is nothing more justified than a criminal investigation against her.
"Whoever calls for murder or justifies it is not worthy of being a member of this House," he said.
Netanyahu called on Israeli Arabs to choose between incitement or coexistence and peace.
"You cannot... enjoy all the rights and at the same time undermine the state. I ask you to choose the right way," he said.
The other speeches, by Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, President Reuven Rivlin and opposition leader Isaac Herzog (Zionist Union) called on MKs and the public to be responsible and not incite.
Edelstein spoke very briefly, deciding not to give his planned remarks. "I think that what is expected from us at this time is different, and so my request is that everyone go to a mirror, look at himself in the eyes and say... maybe this is the time for which I was elected," Edelstein said. "As a public leader I will tell the people who chose me, things they may not want to hear, because if we do not do that, no one else will," Edelstein said. "That is my only request from MKs at this time."
Rivlin urged MKs to avoid referring to career military people as burdens and to approve an IDF budget that would allow for long-term planning.
In addition, the president said some political leaders, and others, are trying to turn the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into a religious one, adding that "anyone who does such a thing has our blood on their hands."
"The Jewish people and the State of Israel do not have, nor ever will have, a war with Islam.
The horrible lie that depicts the State of Israel as seeking to change the status quo on the Temple Mount is not only a blatant falsehood, but also a dangerous plot that has cost innocent lives...
"Israel is not trying to prevent Muslims from praying in their holy places, as Israel would never harm the mosques on the Temple Mount. And I believe that the disseminators of this lie know this fact well."
Rivlin recounted that, as a child growing up in Jerusalem, one could have been sent to jail by British soldiers for blowing the shofar by the then-tiny Western Wall plaza, and that as a nation that experienced violations of its freedom of worship, Israelis would never act in such a way.
"The attempt to play on our most primal fears, the attempt to ignite the messianic fundamentalist imagination, will not only cost lives, but deepen the grip of despair," the president added. "Unleashing the specter of religious zeal, is to attempt to undermine any positive effort being made here to establish trust between Arabs and Jews....
"Specifically during these tense days, we must remember that building trust between Jews and Arabs within Israel and outside, it is not just an option – it is a necessity."
Rivlin called for public leaders to support cooperation and trust, and not hatred and enmity.
In his speech, Herzog said: "We are destined to live together in this country, Jews and Arabs together. We are fated to respect one another, despite the difficult reality," and that Jewish MKs are as responsible to do so as Arab ones, and vice-versa.
Herzog called for MKs to stop inciting and lying and denounce anyone who raises a knife or a stone against a Jew or anyone who hurts an Arab just for being an Arab.
He suggested Israel outlaw the northern branch of the Islamic Movement, as well anti-Arab groups Lehava and La Familia.
Herzog accused Netanyahu of not doing enough to stop terrorism.
"Jerusalem is being divided on your watch," Herzog said.
"The writing was on the wall [about the wave of violence], but you are like the three monkeys. You don't hear, don't see, don't speak," Herzog said.
He called on Netanyahu to negotiate with Abbas even if "his hands are not clean," because Israel must separate itself from the Palestinians, or the Jews were liable to become a minority in the country.
"THIS MUST GO VIRAL"
Dear friends,
I did not intend to post today, but – as has happened before – I realized that I must.
Yesterday, I wrote about Sheikh Mohammad Abu Rajab, who, during a sermon in the Al Abrar Mosque in Rafah, Gaza, demonstrated the way to stab a Jew.
I knew there was a video of his "sermon," but it seemed to be unavailable – I couldn't access it and so put up a still photo. Bad enough, to see a member of the Muslim "clergy" brandishing a knife from the pulpit.
Now I have located the video, which comes from MEMRI. It was broadcast via Internet, and Abu Rajab himself makes note of this, because the message goes far and wide this way. Internet, and social media, have been used extensively in inciting during the current violence by the Arabs who call themselves Palestinians.
Here is the video from MEMRI.
http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/5098.htm
I truly hope you can access it. I watched it, not once, but twice. I was stunned and shaken, for the hatred he expresses is so obscene.
You must watch it to the end, my friends, to understand what we are dealing with.
We should all be indebted to Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik for their tireless work in exposing the Jew hating crime family that is known as the Palestinian Authority.
With the growing and lethal murder spree by Arab Muslim thugs against Israeli Jews – clearly instigated by Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mamzer) – the October 8, 2015 bulletin in Palestinian Media Watch is particularly instructive.
As Marcus and Zilberdik point out, for these Arabs who call themselves Palestinians, the grisly picture of a young Israeli couple – Naama and Eitam Henkin, murdered in front of their four children last week – is "most significant" and "brings joy to Palestinians who see the killing as heroic."
Marcus and Zilberdik reveal again and again how the Islamo-Nazi Arabs, who call themselves Palestinians, revel in an orgy of perverted joy when they are murdering Israeli Jews.
But so many Israelis are justifiably questioning the policies of Israel's leadership, from the Prime Minister down, which appear lacking in effective measures against fatal Arab thuggery; to put it mildly.
No doubt, the rules of engagement imposed upon the police and border guards are having no real deterrent effect upon the knife wielding Muslim murderers.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has urged Israelis to carry their concealed weapons, but so few Israeli civilians are allowed to even apply for such self-defense means. For both the government and the Jerusalem Mayor, it would seem that the old expression applies:
"Actions speak louder than words."
Because of current official policy, with respect to owning a self-defense weapon, I am amazed therefore that Israeli Jews do not at least take it upon themselves to carry a kitchen knife or a pocket knife, even a fork, to help ward off Arab thugs who attack them. Yeshiva students, in particular, please take note.
If most Israelis are currently unable to obtain guns for self-defense, at least have a knife, screwdriver – anything that can be used to defend oneself and hurt the Arab monsters who seem able to walk the streets of Jerusalem and elsewhere freely armed with lethal knives.
And, of course, it is long past time to inflict utter horror upon the Muslim miscreants who cannot wait to murder Jews and be guaranteed a place in Islamic paradise; replete with the usual 72 re-cycled virgins.
That ultimate horror for Muslim terrorists is to be struck with bullets soaked in lard and pork grease. U.S. General John Pershing did this when fighting Muslim terrorists and it worked. The British did this when fighting Muslim fanatics in India and again it worked.
Let Abu Mamzer know that though this is not official Israeli policy, nevertheless Israel cannot guarantee that many Israeli citizens will not be carrying their own knives and screwdrivers coated in you know what.
Think outside the box!
Victor Sharpe is a prolific freelance writer and author of several published books including the trilogy, Politicide; The attempted murder of the Jewish state.
www.lulu.com and www.amazon.com
MEMRI October 11, 2015 Special Dispatch No.6182
Palestinian Bar Association Awards Honorary Law Degree To Killer Of Two Israelis In Jerusalem
http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/8791.htm
The Palestinian Bar Association, whose heads are Fatah members and which receives funding from the European Union and the United Nations, announced yesterday that it would award an honorary law degree to Muhannad Al-Halabi, a Palestinian law student who was killed after he stabbed two Israelis to death in Jerusalem's Old City on October 4, 2015. The association's announcement said: "The Palestinian Bar Association decided in its meeting today [October 10] to award an honorary law degree to the martyred hero Muhannad Al-Halabi and to hold its next [bar] swearing-in ceremony in [his] honor." The announcement also noted that "the martyred hero Al-Halabi was an outstanding student at the faculty of law," and that the head of the association and members of its board had visited his family to convey their condolences and inform them of their decisions.[1]
The announcement on the Palestinian Bar Association's website (Palestinebar.ps, October 10, 2015)
Palestinian Bar Association Receives Funds From EU, UN
The Palestinian Bar Association receives substantial funds from the EU, as stated on the former's website. For example, in 2010, the EU allocated €4.7 million for developing the association and supporting the Palestinian judiciary and general prosecution;[2] in 2012 it allocated €1.4 million to support the association and train attorneys in the PA territories,[3] and recently it allocated another €1 million to the association.[4] The Palestinian Bar Association also receives funding from other bodies, such as the UNDP, UN Women and others.[5]
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| |  by Nechemia Coopersmith | |  Cardinal O'Connor Was a Jew Does it really matter? | |
So it turns out the Cardinal John Joseph O'Connor, the Catholic Church's top official in New York for 16 years until his death in 2000, was a Jew.
Mary O'Connor Ward, the cardinal's 87-year-old sister, recently discovered that their mother was Jewish, a daughter of an Orthodox rabbi, while digging into her genealogical roots. Their Prussian-born maternal grandparents were Gustave Gumpel and Tina Ruben, who are buried in a Jewish cemetery in Fairfeld, Conn.
According to the New York Times, Gustave Gumpel was the rabbi of B'nai Israel and a butcher in the late 1800s. His first wife died in 1890, and his second wife, Tina, died 10 years after coming to the United States, leaving Rabbi Gumpel to raise a large blended family on his own. Cardinal O'Connor's mother, (Deborah on her 1887 birth certificate, Dora in the 1900 census, and Dorothy when she converted to Catholicism in 1908) was a toddler when her mother died. She was raised by two half sisters in difficult circumstances and fled from home as soon as she came of age, never to come back. Apparently two other sisters also left the family and their Jewish heritage behind.
My gut reaction to reading about Cardinal O'Connor's Jewish roots was one of sadness (different than the JTA who wrote, "Is this really a big deal? Let's say the cardinal really was Jewish. It runs in the family, because so was his boss"). This is not a "cool" story. It's a human tragedy: a young girl, bereft of her mother, flees from her home. And it's a Jewish tragedy: a Jewish girl abandons her religion and people.
Cardinal O'Connor was a powerful leader who was a staunch defender of the Jewish people. He spoke often about what he had seen at Dachau as a Navy chaplain, fought for Soviet Jewry, and played a role in the Vatican's recognition of Israel. Upon his death the New York Times wrote that he was a "towering presence, a leader whose views and personality were forcefully injected into the great civic debates of his time, a man who considered himself a conciliator, but who never hesitated to be a combatant."
Just imagine what the Cardinal would have accomplished for the Jewish people if his mother would have remained committed to Judaism and given her son, Yochanan Yosef, a strong Jewish education. Of course we can't judge his mother, but we can mourn the loss to the Jewish nation. The reality of assimilation isn't fully expressed through statistics alone. Every Jew is an entire world. The toll of assimilation is more acutely felt when you think about the mindboggling loss of Jewish individuals, families and future descendants who could have made enormous contributions to the Jewish people.
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