NZ: Israeli quake victims were Mossad agents

New Zealand media is reporting that the Israelis killed in the Christchurch Earthquake in February were Mossad agents. The Israeli ambassador in New Zealand, Shemi Tzur, has completely dismissed the nearly baseless claims. Reports claiming that Ofer Mizrahi and his friends were in the country to download sensitive information from New Zealand intelligence servers are based on the mere fact that they fled shortly after the earthquake and thzt Mizrahi had several passports on him when found dead.

In 2004, a New Zealnad court ruled that two Israelis who tried to issue fake New Zealand passports were Mossad Agents. The prime minister of New Zealand declared sanctions on Israel following the affair.

Now and then: Forced Jewish conscription and the Volga River

The Volga River in Kazan, where 1,000 Jewish children did
a monumentous act of Kiddush Hashem in 1836

On Sunday a boat carrying 182 people sank in the Volga River near the city of Tatarstan. News agencies are reporting one dead and at least a hundred people missing.

In the auspicious week of Yud Bes - Yud Gimmel Tammuz, the holiday of the liberation of the Freideker Rebbe (1880-1950) from Russian prison, we learn that the Volga River has not forgotten. Upon being released from Soviet prison, the Friedeker Rebbe made sure to emphasize the significance his release for all of am yisrael for generations to come: "It was not myself alone that the Holy One, blessed be He, redeemed on Yud-Beis Tammuz, but also all who love the Holy Torah and observe its commands, and so too all who bear the name ‘Jew’."

The Rebbe's imprisonment as well was a direct result of his mesiras nefesh (self-sacrifice) for the Jews of Russia and the Torah. Despite persistent surveillance by the Russian secret police, the Rebbe continued to strengthen Torah observance through establishing clandestine Torah schools for children, mikvahs, and yeshivas. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05, the Friediker Rebbe made great efforts to provide kosher food and supplies for Jewish conscripts of the Russian army in the Russian far East year-round and during Passover.

In the 19th century the Russian army essentially began abducting Jewish boys from the age of 12, placing them in six-year military schools, and requiring them to serve for 25 years after their studies. Between 1827 and 1856 between 30,000 and 70,000 Jewish boys served as compulsory conscripts, comprising 20% of conscripts in Riga and Vitebsk and as much as half of conscripts in Kazan and Kiev. During the Crimean War (1952-1856) these the Jewish percentage of recruits tripled.

The first draft of 1827 called for 1,800 Jewish conscripts, half of whom were children. Whereas other populations were called to provide conscripts between 18 and 35, Jews were required to provide conscripts between 12 and 25. All conscripts were institutionally malnourished, and kosher food far from available. By Russian policy conscripts were encouraged to convert to Orthodox Christinaity, and Jews boys were forced into baptism. Estimates are that one third of Jewish forced conscripts, or cantonists, underwent conversion between 1827 and 1844.

In Cantonists: Jewish Children as Soldiers in Tsar Nichloas' Army, by Adina Ofek (Modern Judaism: 13:3, Oct. 1993, p. 286), the author retells an account of a group of around 1,000 Jewish children recruited to be conscripts in the Russian army, who were ordered to be baptized in the Volga River in the city of Kazan during a visit by Tsar Nicholas in the summer of 1836. All the children, some as young as nine, were marched into the river together. Yet to the Tsar's astonishment, the children held on to each other, waded deeper into the river and drowned themselves in an unfathomable act of kiddush Hashem.

Hashem does not forget his people. Imagine the pure and holy mesiras nefesh of one Jewish boy who walked into the river by his own will in order to glorify God's name for eternity, the preciousness of that soul is not forgotten, the memory has not faded, every tribulation that every Jew throughout history faced is recorded and calculated, every detail precious and ever relevant to the Almighty, whose merit shines upon all future generations. May Hashem's love for his people overflow upon His middot and His people and may He usher in the geulah in the merit of the tefilos of these holy souls.

נצח ישראל לא ישקר

See map below for the proximity of Kazan (A) and Tartastan (B)



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The fight against San Francisco's proposed circumcision ban

San Francisco's top lawyer has declared that the proposed ban on circumcision as a religious ritual in the city is unconstitutional. In light of a lawsuit which may result in a ban on circumcision for religious reasons, but not medical circumstance, Chief Deputy Attorney Therese Stewart said: "San Franciscans cannot be asked to vote on whether to prohibit religious minorities from engaging in a particular religious practice, when the same practice may be performed under nonreligious auspices."

Last night, after davenning at the Kotel for all my own problems =0), I decided to open Rebbe Nachman's Likkutei Tefilot once more and say whatever prayer appeared on the page to which I turned. As a matter of fact, I opened to Reb Nachman's holy prayer on circumcision. I was reminded by the prayer how crucial circumcision is in the Jewish people's mission in the world, to reveal godliness through shemiras habrit and keeping all of Hashem's commandments:

וּתְרַחֵם עַל כָּל יַלְדֵי עַמְּךָ בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל הַנִּכְנָסִין לִבְרִיתוֹ שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ, וְתַזְמִין לְכֻלָּם תָּמִיד מוֹהֲלִים כְּשֵׁרִים וַהֲגוּנִים וְאֻמָּנִים וּזְרִיזִים בֶּאֱמֶת, בְּאפֶן שֶׁיְּקַיְּמוּ מִצְוַת מִילָה וּפְרִיעָה בְּתַכְלִית הַשְּׁלֵמוּת כִּרְצוֹנְךָ הַטּוֹב, כִּי אַתָּה קִדַּשְׁתָּ יְדִיד מִבֶּטֶן וְצֶאֱצָאָיו חָתַמְתָּ בְּאוֹת בְּרִית קדֶשׁ, וְצִוִּיתָנוּ בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ, לָמוּל אֶת בָּנֵינוּ, בֶּן שְׁמוֹנַת יָמִים, לְהַכְנִיסָם בִּבְרִיתוֹ שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ עַל כֵּן זַכֵּנוּ וְעָזְרֵנוּ וְתַזְמִין תָּמִיד מוֹהֲלִים כְּשֵׁרִים וַהֲגוּנִים וְאֻמָּנִים וּרְאוּיִים לַעֲסֹק בְּמִצְוָה נוֹרָאָה הַזּאת, וְתַעֲמד עַל יְמִינָם וְתִסְמְכֵם, שֶׁיִּזְכּוּ לְקַיֵּם מִצְוָה זאת בִּשְׁלֵמוּת הָרָאוּי, בְּאפֶן שֶׁלא יְקַלְקְלוּ חַס וְשָׁלוֹם לְהַתִּינוֹק הַנִּמּוֹל עַל יָדָם רַק יְתַקְּנוּ אוֹתוֹ בְּכָל הַתִּקּוּנִים וְהַקְּדֻשּׁוֹת שֶׁצְּרִיכִין לְתַקֵּן וּלְקַדֵּשׁ אֶת הַתִּינוֹק עַל יְדֵי מִצְוַת מִילָה, וְיִהְיֶה נִמְשָׁךְ עָלָיו צֶלֶם אֱלהִים, צֶלֶם דְּמוּת תַּבְנִיתוֹ, וְיִזְכֶּה. לִהְיוֹת שׁוֹמֵר הַבְּרִית בֶּאֱמֶת וְלא יִפְגּם בִּבְרִיתוֹ לְעוֹלָם, וְיֵלְכוּ יוֹנְקוֹתָיו, וְיִזְכֶּה לְהוֹלִיד בָּנִים וּבָנוֹת חָיִּים וְקַיָּמִים לַעֲבוֹדָתֶךָ וּלְיִרְאָתֶךָ וְיֵצְאוּ מִכָּל אֶחָד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל דּוֹרוֹת הַרְבֵּה עַד סוֹף כָּל הַדּוֹרוֹת, וְכֻלָּם יַכִּירוּ וְיֵדְעוּ אֶת שִׁמְךָ הַגָּדוֹל, וְיַעֲשׂוּ רְצוֹנְךָ בֶּאֱמֶת כָּל יְמֵיהֶם לְעוֹלָם, לְמַעַן יִתְגַּלֶּה אֱלהוּתְךָ בְּכָל הָעוֹלָמוֹת עַל יְדֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עַמְּךָ אֲשֶׁר בָּהֶם בָּחָרְתָּ

And have mercy on all the children of your people, the House of Israel, who enter the covenant of Abraham our father, and arrange for all of them at all times kosher, fit, skilled and agile mohelim in truth, in a way that they will fulfill the mitzvah of milah and priya with perfection as it is Your good will, because you sanctified your comrade from the womb, and his offspring you affixed with the sign of the covenant, and you commanded us with your Compassion to circumcise our sons of eight days, to enter them into the covenant of Abraham our father, therefore help us and give us merit, and arrange for us always kosher, fit, skilled and worthy mohelim to take part in this awesome mitzvah, and stand by their right and support them, that they will benefit and not harm G-d forbid the circumcised infant, only perform all the tikkunim and holiness that they need to perform and sanctify the infant through the mitzvah of milah, and that there be drawn upon him the image of God (tzelem elohim), the image of His character, and that he merit to guard the covenant in truth and not damage his covenant ever, and that his infants will go on and merit to give birth to living sons and daughters who exist to serve and fear You, and that out of every one of Israel come many generations until the end of all the generations, and that all will come to know your Great Name and will do Your will truthfully, all the days of their life, forever, so that Your godliness is revealed in all the worlds by Israel Your people, who you chose from among all the worlds

--

Also, I wanted to add that the San Francisco/East Bay Jewish community was blessed by a holy, humble tzaddik who was also a mohel, Rabbi Chanan Feld. Rabbi Feld performed hundreds (if not thousands) of brises around the state for many years, and was a unique phenomenon like none other. He was at once steeped in Torah and mitzvot and a student of revealed and hidden Torah, and also a presence that inspired appreciation and respect for Judaism among the extremely diverse and largely assimilated Jewish community of Northern California. Shortly before his eldest bore his first son, Rabbi Feld fought a rough battle with cancer, and at the end of 2009, a gem was lost to both his family and the entire Jewish community. I can't help but think that the fight against circumcision is related in some way to the loss of this tzaddik, a figure whose sweetness and love of Hashem poured into his interactions with all Jews, and demonstrated the true spirit of milah, so far from how it is being portrayed in the recent campaign. May the soul of Chanan Velvel Simcha ben Eliyahu be bound up in eternal life with Hashem, and may he pray along with us in shamayim, that in the wake of their troubles that all yidden from the area consider making aliyah, and that all enemies of the Jewish people vanish!

עצו עצה ותופר דברו דבר ולא יקום כי עמנו אל

  
Contrive a scheme, but it will be foiled; conspire a plot, but it will not materialize, for G-d is with us (Isaiah 8)

See also The Threat of Children to Haman-Amalek

 

On San Fran-sicko and Circumcision

San Francisco burns after the 1906 earthquake

It's no coincidence that San Francisco, CA, the decades-old capital of sexual lawlessness, is the first U.S. city in which circumcision will appear on the ballot in November. Although experts doubt the bill will survive a public vote, the anti-circumcision movement has picked up momentum in past weeks, and with it, its cousin, anti-Semitism has not forsaken an opportunity to lash out yet again in the guise of liberalism.

According to Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, the foreskin represents the complete immersion of the human spirit in sexual desire, to the extent that this desire then eclipses higher realms of a person's being. According to Rav Kook, the question of circumcision concerns whether sexuality can be harnessed as an essential component of a full-fledged human being, or whether the human experience can be detached from its supernal root and left to rot in decaying bodily desire.

The following is a translation by Yaacov David Shulman at ravkook.net. The original passage appears on p. 300-301 of Rav Kook's Orot HaKodesh (Lights of Holiness), Volume 3. 

The precious reason for circumcision, which decreases sexual desire, encompasses broad principles of wisdom. The covenant-"to be a God to you and to your children after you"-offers knowledge of God's oneness, which is connected to circumcision. The covenant and circumcision are intimately intertwined.

"From his flesh does a man see God." If you have the power to harness all the abilities of your soul and all your drives to an enlightened and ethical goal, you will see unity in your internal world. The unity of the outer world will become increasingly clear to you. But if your abilities are splintered, if you cannot conceive of overall control of your drives and desires, you will conclude that the entire world, like you, is splintered, and that no unity can be found in existence.

Sexual desire in its essence-and in related expressions, physical, imaginative and spiritual-comprises the basis of all drives. If you experience sexuality in a way that your exalted spirit can rise to it and surround it, can unify it with all the wealth of human abilities (physical and spiritual), leading it to one integrated ethical and supernal goal, then that unity, in its power, is revealed. the revelation of Godly unity will appear in your flesh.

The total immersion of the human spirit in sexual desire to such a degree that the ideals and ethics in its realm are silenced has brought about the substance of the foreskin. This pathological state expresses itself physically as a powerful sexual drive that has left the realm of ideals and the transmission of the ultimate ethics.

Pessimism corresponds to ethical decline. It gives urgency to the divorce of sexual desire from idealism: since existence in general is such a great evil, how can the procreation of miserable creatures be ideal? This doctrine teaches that the sexual drive is not rooted in idealism, but merely demonstrates the eruption of desire.

How different is the outlook of general goodness, of optimism: "God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good." This view permits idealism to extend even over the sexual drive.

The nature of flesh and the inclination of one's heart can descend to the degraded state of the foreskin. But with circumcision, you rectify the holy covenant and stride on an exalted path. All your abilities are directed toward a goal that is all-inclusive, ideal and holy. From your flesh will you see God. You will sanctify the Holy One of Israel, the one God.

Often those who oppose circumcision, although they are usually atheists, challenge supporters: If God wanted circumcision, why did he not create babies that way? The rabbis anticipated this question and wrote the following in Midrash Tanchuma (Tazria, 5):

Turnus Rufus the wicked asked Rabbi Akiva: "Whose deeds are better—Those of God or those of humans?" Rabbi Akiva answered, "Those of humans are better."...Turnus Rufus asked, "Why do you circumcise yourselves?" [Rabbi Akiva] replied, “I knew you would ask me about that, which is why I pre-empted and told you that things made by humans are better than things made by God.” Rabbi Akiva then brought Turnus Rufus two items: stalks of wheat and baked rolls. Rabbi Akiva said: "These [the stalks of wheat] are the deeds of God, and these [the baked rolls] are the deeds of humans. Are these [baked rolls] not more beautiful?

It's worth noting that the Rambam disputes the notion that circumcision reveals a lacking in God's creation, and emphasizes that circumcision comes to fix something on the human end of the spectrum, by curbing sexual desire. Either way, the above passages remind us that circumcision has always been revolutionary, and the debate over it brings up a society's deepest convictions concerning creation and the responsibility humans are given to take part in the creation of the next generation - the bridge between humanity and eternity. Circumcision involves a level of temimus - wholeness and simplicity of the Jewish soul before its Creator, both our best weapon and our culprit in the face of enemies of the Jewish people and the spirit of sinfulness and impurity polluting the otherwise relatively clean air of San Fran-sicko.

Keep in mind: Even though hatred towards anything related to God is flung at the Jews these days (and always, for that matter), the anti-religion tone of the bill and the media surrounding it nationwide are in effect a reaction to Christian ethics concerning sexuality, and their modern-day conflation with Judaism. As demonstrated in Rav Kook's passage above, Judaism affirms life and in this affirmation affirms sexuality. In recognizing the power of this drive in human nature, it seeks to provide boundaries and guidelines to ensure it does not eclipse all parts of one's life and of a society, so as to not nullify its own purpose - re-creation.

The threat of schoolchildren to Haman-Amalek

In Esther Rabbah, a story is recounted about the threat that Jewish children posed to Haman-Amalek:

When Haman and his accomplices saw that Mordechai was looking for the Jewish children,  they pursued Mordechai to find out what he was asking them. When Mordechai reached the children, he asked of one of them: Tell me a pasuk (verse). The first responded:

אל תירא מפחד פתאום ומשואת רשעים כי תבוא

 Do not fear sudden terror, nor the havoc of the wicked when it comes (Ecclesiastes 3)

The second continued: I read this today in school:

עצו עצה ותופר דברו דבר ולא יקום כי עמנו אל 

Contrive a scheme, but it will be foiled; conspire a plot, but it will not materialize, for G-d is with us (Isaiah 8)

 The third said:

ועד זקנה אני הוא ועד שיבה אני אסבול אני עשיתי ואני אשא אני אסבול ואמלט

Until your old age I am [with you]; until your elderly years I will sustain you; I have made you, and I will carry you; I will sustain you and deliver you (Isaiah 46)

When Mordechai heard this, he laughed and had great joy. Haman said to Mordechai: What is this joy that you have at the children's words? Mordechai responded: On the good news that they reported, that I shall not fear the evil schemes you scheme against us. Immediately Haman was infuriated and said: I will strike these children first.

 (Esther Rabba, 7)

Rav Mordechai Elon, in his booklet Techelet Mordechai on Parashat Vayikra says:

The breath of the these schoolchildren is what frightens Haman. Their pure and holy breath, ripe with emunah and bitcahon, manages to awaken his rage and upset his ease. He too, deep inside, senses their power and their emunah, the great joy of the three children who are bound to the Eternal and read their pesukim. 

On Shabbat Vayikra, which marks the parsha that children begin to study Torah, three children were murdered in the hands of our present-day Haman-Amalek.

Haman-Amalek knows our great power and where it originates, but the holy utterances of the children stands true: Contrive a scheme, but it will be foiled; conspire a plot, but it will not materialize, for G-d is with us. 

May the souls of Yoav, Elad, and Hadas, the three children stabbed to death on Friday night, be bound in the bond of everlasting life, along with their parents, Udi and Ruth. Tehiyeh Zichram Baruch la'ad.




Also, listen to the amazing response of Chaim Fogel, father of Ruth Fogel z"l, to the tragedy (via Israel Matzav)

San Francisco = Soviet Russia?

Is San Francisco turning into Soviet Russia?

From INN:

Jewish groups in San Francisco have banded together to fight off the possible inclusion of a law on an upcoming ballot that, if passed, would ban male circumcision from taking place in the city. The ballot effort is being organized by a person named Lloyd Schofield, who says he currently has about half of the 7,000-some signatures he needs to include the provision on the ballot. Calling circumcision a “violation of human rights,” Schofield has said in several interviews that circumcision is “essentially a form of culturally accepted genital mutilation.”

Jewish efforts are working to prevent the inclusion of the law on the ballot, said San Francisco Anti-Defamation League director Daniel Sandman. “This is hurtful and offensive to people in the community who consider this a coveted ritual,” he said. Attorneys for the ADL said that they were examining the possibility that the law could violate the First Amendment right to Freedom of Religion. If the ban is approved, anyone caught circumcising infants or minors could face a $1,000 fine and up to a year in prison.

While the cornerstone of Jewish peoplehood for the past four millenia is being brought into question, locals are more sympathetic than ever to the rights of fish and other wildlife in the San Francisco bay:

From Yahoo:

A publicity stunt intended to advertise upcoming shooter Homefront ended up backfiring this week when 10,000 red balloons, released by publisher THQ into the San Francisco skies, wound up in the waters of the Bay itself, angering local environmentalists.

Scheduled for release on March 15, Homefront takes place in 2027, and sees a belligerent and heavily armed North Korean army invades the mainland of the United States. The balloons were released in a mock protest against the game's fictional North Korean regime, and coincided with this week's Game Developers Conference taking place in downtown San Francisco.

But what goes up, must come down -- and thanks to San Francisco's notoriously dreary weather, it didn't take long for the thousands of balloons, weighed down by windy, rainy conditions, to wind up touching down in the Bay. Pictures of balloon-covered waters flooded the Internet, and local residents took to Facebook to express their outrage.

The balloons carried the name of retailer Gamestop, but in a statement the retailer denied responsibility, saying it had no prior knowledge of the stunt and pointing the finger at publisher THQ instead.

And THQ? In a statement, the publisher's vice-president of corporate communications, Julia MacMedan assured concerned San Franciscans that the balloons wouldn't be troubling them for long.

"The balloons that were released are completely biodegradable," she told Cnet. "They start the process of biodegrading as soon as they're blown up with the helium. There should not be any environmental concerns." Regardless, the publisher has hired a clean-up crew to deal with the mess.

Local environmentalists weren't impressed, pointing out that, biodegradable or not, the latex balloons could still pose a threat to wildlife while they undergo the decomposition process -- and Cnet further observes the culprits could face prosecution under anti-littering laws.

Edom: the last exile

Flight of the Prisoners, depicting the Babylonian exile (James Tissot)

 The following is taken from weekly e-mail from George Friedman, head of STRATFOR, a global intelligence company. In summarizing his new book, The Next Decade, he has some extremely interesting insights about the challenges facing the US empire and the similarities between ancient Rome and the contemporary US.

The first is the idea that the United States is an unintended empire of vast power, deeply interlocked with the affairs of most of the world. It is not a question of whether Americans want this empire; it is impossible to let go. The question is what to do with it. Like a child you did not expect and may not have welcomed, it is still your responsibility.

The second concept is what I call the Machiavellian Presidency. I consider three presidents exemplary: Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt and Reagan. Each possessed a deep moral core. Each fully understood the uses of power, lying and violating the Constitution and human rights to achieve the respective moral necessities of the abolition of slavery, the destruction of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, and the destruction of the Soviet Union. When we recall that Roosevelt allied with Stalin to defeat Hitler, we capture the Machiavellian President.

The United States has stumbled into empire. It now faces the crisis of Rome that the empire will annihilate the republic. I argue that of all the institutions of our Constitution, it is the president who can preserve the republic while managing the empire. I also argue that the greatest threat to the republic is living in denial about what the United States has become. The issue, then, is how to manage the unintended and unwanted in the next decade.

Many interpretations which link Jewish prophecies to contemporary geopolitics rest on a connection between ancient Rome, called Edom in the Bible and rabbinic thought, and contemporary Western civilization. The Jewish people experienced four exiles: Egypt, Bablyon, Persia (Iran), and Edom--the last and longest one, which characterizes the present state of Jewish exile: material abundance, subordination to Western values, assimilation, a seeming sense of freedom and success that totters between spiritual depravity and messianic potential. As far as the forces of Egypt, Persia and Bablyon, we await to see the complete annihilation of their influence over us. However, when it comes to Edom, which is represented by Jacob's brother Esau, we anticipate the day when Edom will do teshuva (return). Edom's negative aspects are redeemable, and with the proper orientation, Edom is the last step and therefore a springboard to geulah (redemption).

On this note, it is interesting that this week has been full of news of anti-Semitic outbursts: Assange, Galliano, Sheen...The 'Jewish conspiracy' threorists are alive and well. On the one hand, these malicious outbursts are abominable and worthy of punishment, and Dior should be commended for immediately firing their top designer. On the other hand, the deeper truth is that Edom and all of its success has everything to do with the Jewish people. The world was created for Israel, and we have a role to serve. Before God reveals himself to the Jewish people at Mt. Sinai, He tells Moses that the Jewish people were chosen to be a nation of Kohanim, or priests. Just as the role of a priest a the Temple was to bring God down to the people, and to raise the people to be closer to God, so the role of the Jewish people is to bring God into the world and to bring the world to God.

And every being will know that you brought it into being, and every creation will understand that you are the one created it, and all that has breath in his nostrils will say, God of Israel is King, and his kingdom rules over everything.

Al-Qaradawi returns to Cairo

The man in the video above, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, has been described as the spiritual leader of the "peace-loving" Muslim Brotherhood. On Friday, al-Qaradawi returned to Cairo after 50 years away, to tell the millions in Tahrir Sq "Don't fight history...You can't delay the day when it starts...The Arab world has changed." Muslim Brotherhood beepers have gone off worldwide: Egypt is leaderless, and its people are hungry for a new identity, revenge on forces that have kept it back, and power and position on the world stage. Not to mention, a state-of-the-art military straight from the U. S. of A. is desperately seeking new ownership. (But let's keep this quiet while US aid continues to stream in, k?)

Al-Qaradawi, a native of Egypt, has spent the last half-century in Qatar, where he is known for his hit Al Jazeera show "Shariah and Life". Al-Qaradawi is banned from the US (by Bill Clinton) and from Britain for supporting terrorist attacks in Iraq and Israel. In 2003, al-Qaradawi (y"s) told the BBC that he considered Palestinian suicide attacks evidence of God's justice. During his remarks at the Stockholm Mosque in Sweden, he called the fight against Israel a "necessary Jihad". In 2003, he issued a fatwa authorizing the use of women in suicide attacks. He is also the "spiritual advisor" for Hamas.

According to INN, prior to the ban, al-Qaradawi served as trustee of the Boston Mosque, which during his time featured teachings on its website on how to beat one's wife. Today, Al-Qaradawi is a trustee of the Oxford University Center for Islamic studies, and is chairman of the Board of Trustees of Islamic American Univesrity, a subsidiary of the Muslim American Society, the overt arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in America. Al-Qaradawi also heads the most influential fatwa in Europe, the European Council for Fatwa and Research.

The Western public prefers to stare googley-eyed at pictures of Arab Google Executives, supposed poster children of the Egyptian revolution, rather than stop to wonder why Tahrir Square is a place where the spiritual underpinnings of suicide bombings are enthusiastically cheered, where a female reporter was sexually abused by a 200-person mob, and where 2 million people on Friday chanted for the liberation of Jerusalem by martyrdom.

What would signify al-Qaradawi's influence in coming months? Here are his demands: 1) Free political prisoners (i.e. Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas terrorists, so they can be free to resume Jew-killing), 2) Dissolve the cabinet and transfer authority to a civilian government (which the Muslim Brotherhood will inevitably rule/influence and then rule), 3) and here's the key: Open Egypt's border crossing with Gaza (to feed Hamas with Egyptian military aid in its struggle against Israel, i.e. all the missiles too big to fit into the underground smuggling tuunels). 

The Egypt-Gaza border had been closed since Hamas, which Mubarak opposed, had taken force of Gaza in 2007. After the flotilla incident in May 2010, when Turkish activists ambushed an IDF, leading to the death of nine Turks, Mubarak began to ease the border under international pressure. After al-Qaradawi's remarks, and weeks of Hamas-Muslim Brotherhood behind-the-scenes pressure, the announcement came: On Tuesday, Egypt is opening the Gaza border in both directions, daily.

UPDATE (INN): Egyptian state television reported on Sunday that Egypt has released 108 political prisoners on the order of Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik, and that 222 prisoners would be released soon.

אין לנו על מי להישען אלא על אבינו בשמים . . .

Glenn Beck's Caliphate Theory

Glenn Beck from FOX News has been getting a lot of flack lately for his warnings about what lies ahead in Egypt. In truth, he is doing the research that the media should be doing - if the media itself wasn't dominated by the forces he describes.

Beck has emphasized on his nightly U.S. show that between military rule and democracy lies a key transition stage, which provides ideal conditions for radical Islam, which has been waiting at the sidelines for years, to jump in and take the reins.

In bringing about 'change' Islamists and Leftists have joined forces in the name of 'revolution' - the meaning of which will be debated, after the forces in charge are dissolved. Beck claims that the Leftist-Islamist alliance is an international phenomnenon, which Europe is waking up to, and which has its eyes on America as well. Beck views Obama as a positive ally of this 'change'.

On his radio show, Beck outlined three points of convergence of Leftists and Islamists that enable their temporary 'unholy alliance' (as printed on HuffPost):

1. Groups from the hardcore socialist and Communist left and extreme Islam will work together because they are both a common enemy of Israel and the Jew.

2. Groups from the hardcore socialist and Communist left and extreme Islam will work together because they are the common enemy of capitalism and the western way of life.

3. Groups from the hardcore socialist and Communist left and extreme Islam will work to overturn relatively stable countries, because, in the status quo, they are both ostracized from power.

In this video, Beck defends his theory to FOX News' skeptical Billy O'Reilly:

UK Philosopher Legitimizes Palestinian Terrorism

UCL Professor Ted Honderich:
"Palestinians have a moral right to their terrorism"

On the eve of International Holocaust Memorial day, in the wake of the Al Jazeera leaks, UCL professor Ted Honderich has published a letter in the Guardian granting legitimacy to mass killing of Jews, based on their 'greed' and 'lack of decency':

The revelations in detail (Report, 25 January) of the intransigent greed, the escape from decency, of Israeli governments in negotiation with our selected leaders of the Palestinians, serve one purpose among others. They provide a further part of what is now an overwhelming argument for a certain proposition. It is that the Palestinians have a moral right to their terrorism within historic Palestine against neo-Zionism. The latter, neither Zionism nor of course Jewishness, is the taking from the Palestinians of at least their autonomy in the last one-fifth of their historic homeland. Terrorism, as in this case, can as exactly be self-defence, a freedom struggle, martyrdom, the conclusion of an argument based on true humanity, etc.

Honderich makes a distinction between Zionism, defined as the creation of Israel in its original borders, and neo-Zionism, the expansion of Israel beyond its original borders, child of 1967, against which terrorism is legitimate.

Honderich's argument is seriously flawed. In 1967, it was Israel's enemies themselves who instigated war. Days before the Israeli strike, Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran, an move defined in international treaties as an act of war against Israel, and Syria began deploying its troops along Israel's northern border. Until 1967, Israel was content with the borders that resulted from the 1948 war--a war also instigated by its Arab neighbors.

If Israel's enemies sought its destruction in 1967, what makes Honderich think their hatred of Israel today is suddenly based on ethical grounds? This is the error of the left, eager to victimize and demonize, in disregard of historical fact.

Moreover, after the 1967 war, despite massive territorial gains, Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt for the sake of peace. Yet regarding the West Bank, the U.S. and Israel encountered the unflinching Arab rejectionist stance of the Khartoum resolution: "No peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with it." The Arab world, then and now, could not come to terms with the very existence of Israel, preventing any way forward that did not involve grounds for Israel's destruction in the future.

Honderich claims his arguments are not anti-Semitic. Yet despite his naive characterization of Israel's foreign policy predicament, he defends the West's attack on Afghanistan as moral and condems the 9/11 attacks. Only from Israel does he deny the right to self-defense.

Talmud to be translated into Italian

Today's Daf Yomi (Daily Page of Talmud) from e-daf.com

According to JTA, the Talmud will be translated into Italian for the first time in history, after Italian cabinet ministers and Rome's chief rabbi sign on to 'Project Talmud'.

The Italian government's recognition of the Talmud's cultural value is noteworthy, considering its legacy. On September 9, 1553, Rosh Hashana 5314, the Talmud was confiscated and burned publicly in Rome, Italy, under the auspices of Pope Paul IV and the backing of Pope Julius III. Following the incident, Talmud burning spread through much of Italy.

Psychologically unstable anti-Semite receives gun license in Australia

JTA reports:

A Holocaust denier who believes there is a Jewish conspiracy to eliminate other races received a gun license in Australia, despite being deemed a possible security risk.

Darryl Potts, an elevator technician at Parliament House in Canberra, had his pistol license revoked in 2009 by New South Wales police after he expressed white supremacy views.



But the New South Wales Administrative Decisions Tribunal ruled this week that even though Potts may hold offensive views, he is entitled to a firearms license -- despite a psychiatrist's assessment that he had the potential “to put public safety at risk.” Potts told the tribunal that he did not believe 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust.

Manny Waks, the president of the Jewish community in the capital, told JTA that “This is a concerning development for the Australian Capital Territory Jewish community. Based on the media reports, here we have a virulent anti-Semite who has been assessed by a psychiatrist as having the potential to put public safety at risk, possibly in legal possession of a firearm.

“It is no surprise that a number of community members, myself included, are concerned about this," he said. "We certainly view Mr. Potts as a potential threat to our community.”
Some 600 Jews live in Canberra.

Ricky Gervais makes a crack at Mel Gibson's antisemitism

Gervais: “Our first presenter is beautiful, talented, and Jewish apparently...Mel Gibson told me that. He’s obsessed. Please welcome Scarlett Johansson.” (5:00)

In 2008, Johansson said in an interview with Israel's Channel 2 that her mother is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent and brought her up with a basic observance of Shabbat and holidays. She identifies as Jewish.

Oprah's Biggest Career Failure

On tonight's premiere of CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight, Oprah is asked to describe her biggest career failure. Rather than use the opportunity to apologize for her controversial 1989 show on devil worship, parts of which are used today online by anti-Semitic hate groups, she uses her camera time to describe the depression she experienced after the flop of her movie 'Beloved', which led to a 'macaroni-and-cheese-eating tailspin'.

In 1989, Oprah had no shame in giving a platform to a Jewish woman, suffering from mental illness, who claimed her family had been involved in "human sacrifice rituals" and "worshiping the devil" in since the 1700's. "There are other Jewish families across the country, not just my own family," the woman said on broadcast television, completely unchallenged or fact-checked by the host, either during or after the interview.

When the show aired, the Anti Defamation League criticized Oprah for irresponsibly allowing a woman to broadcast the blood libel on the basis of "recovered memories."

Today, clips from the show are used on Twitter and YouTube by anti-Semitic hate groups.

Initially, the show's producer defended the show by pointing out the woman's mental illness, as recounted in sections from Kitty Kelley's Oprah: A Biography (Crown Archetype, 2010):

“We are aware that the show has struck a nerve,” said Jeff Jacobs, then COO of Harpo Productions. He pointed out to the press that Oprah had said on the air that “Rachel” was one particular person talking about her particular situation. “And she was identified at the top of the show as being mentally disturbed,” he added, not commenting on why such a person would be allowed on the show in the first place.

Dangers of a boycott surfaced, and Oprah eventually met with a select group of Jewish leaders to tame the uproar. Oprah eventually released the following statement:

“We recognize that The Oprah Winfrey Show on May 1 could have contributed to the perpetuation and historical misconceptions and canards about Jews, and we regret any harm may have been done. We are aware of community and group sensibilities and will make every effort to ensure that our program will reflect that concern.”

Nevertheless, Oprah refused to make an apology on her show or publicly comment on the program or the statements.

In the words of Phil Baum, associate director of the American Jewish Congress:

It’s an inadequate response to the harm that may have been done on that broadcast. It’s not our sensitivities she ought to be concerned about. It’s a question of the integrity of her show. This apology cannot possibly reach anything like the people [7,680,000 homes, according to the A.C. Nielsen Company] who were exposed to these statements.

Recently, during her 'Ultimate Australian Adventure', Oprah made comments referring to the larger-than-life power of her show:

"I have the biggest mouth on earth and the biggest platform, aren’t you glad I like it [referring to Australia]? When we do cooking shows and people might do something I don’t like, I just say I don’t like it."

Still, Oprah and her producers seems to think irresponsibly airing a message charged with centuries of bigotry does not deserve a formal apology.

Palin claims 'blood libel'

Sarah Palin: "America's Enduring Strength" from Sarah Palin on Vimeo.

In a video posted on her facebook page, Palin claims: "Journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn.”

Noam Neusner, former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, writes: “The term ‘blood libel’ is so unique, and so tinged with the context of anti-Semitism, that its use in this case -- even when Ms. Palin has a legitimate gripe -- is either cynically calculated to stimulate media interest or historically illiterate. It is therefore distracting to Ms. Palin’s underlying message, which is one of sympathy for the victims and outrage that she and others are being accused of inspiring a mass murderer.”

See Shirat Devorah for one take on the Sarah Palin phenomenon.

The Dark Legacy of the Shephard Hotel

The Shepherd Hotel in Jerusalem, 2010

The world should be celebrating the transformation of a Nazi collaborator's home to a synagogue; instead, it is attempting to cast a legal sale of land as Israeli aggression. Pitiful.

The dilapidated hotel was once home to the Nazi collaborator and Muslim leader Mufti Haj Amin Al-Husseini (y"s). In 1985, the hotel and surrounding area was legally purchased for $1 million by US Jewish philanthropist Irving Moskowitz. In the building plans, the untried Nazi's collaborator's home will be renovated into a synagogue in memorial of Holocaust victims.

Yet rather than atone for its past in protecting Al-Husseini, the world is decrying the delapidated building's transformation into a place of Jewish worship.

During WWII, Al-Husseini broadcast propaganda for the Axis Powers with the aim of influencing Arab public opinion. In 1941, he participated in efforts to convince Bosnian Muslim leaders that a Muslim S.S. division would be in the interest of Islam, and helped recruit Bosnian Muslims into SS units, one of which committed atrocities against Christian Serbs during operations in the Balkans in 1944.

Al-Husseini on Radio Berlin, March 1, 1944: 'Arabs, rise as one man and fight for your sacred rights. Kill the Jews wherever you find them. This pleases God, history, and religion. This saves your honor. God is with you.'

So Al-Husseini was a nut, but Europe must have condemned him after the war, right? Wrong. Europe's condemnation of Israel's renovation of this testament to crimes of humanity is hardly new. After WWII Al-Husseini fled to Switzerland, but was detained and sent back to Germany, where he was arrested by French troops in May 1945. Ah, the French. They'll put him to justice, right?

Wrong. Discussions with Mufti post-arrest were put in the hands of Henri Ponsot, a former ambassador of France in Syria. France sought status in the Arab world through Al-Husseini's wide connections, and ended up handing him benefits, priveleges, special detention conditions, and constant concern for the well-being of him and his entourage. Despite British requests for his extradition, and his presence on the list of names of war criminals, France considered him a political prisoner and denied British requests.

In September 1945, realizing they were holding a hot potato, France organized the transfer of Al-Husseini to Egypt. On May 29th, al-Husayni left France on a TWA flight for Cairo using a fake Syrian passport. Once in Egypt, the British could no longer arrest him.

In August 1947, Al-Husseini thanked French Foreign Minister Georges Bidault in a letter and suggested France continue its policy to increase prestige in the Muslim world. One month later, an Arab Higher Committee delegation proposed to Paris an neutral Arab position on North Africa in exchange of France's support in the Palestinian question. 

Catherine Ashton, British Labor Politiciana and EU Foreign Policy Chief, 2011, in today's statement: "I strongly condemn this morning's demolition of the Shepherd Hotel and the planned construction of a new illegal settlement. I reiterate that settlements are illegal under international law, undermine trust between the parties and constitute an obstacle to peace. Furthermore, we recall that East Jerusalem is part of occupied Palestinian territory."

Sources:
Mohammad Amin al-Husayni 
Tsilla Hershco, Le grand mufti de Jérusalem en France : Histoire d'une évasion, Revue Controverses, n°1, mars 2006

Anti-Semitic graffiti in Arizona predates shooting

On Friday, a day prior to the shooting of an openly Jewish congresswoman, anti-Semitic graffiti was discovered in Tartesso, AZ, 40 miles west of Phoenix. The shooting took place in Tuscon, AZ, 150 miles Southeast.

So far, no press is covering this story from Friday's The West Valley View, which was posted by the Canary in the Cole Mine blog. From the View, it sounds like police treated the graffiti as 'another case of those darn bored kids', rather than as a dangerous and serious hate crime, which happened one day before a deadly shooting of a Jewish congresswoman.

Where is the press?

The View reports: 

The resident, who asked that her name not be published because she fears retaliation, said she called police after unknown vandals "hit my neighborhood really hard" in late December.

"They broke street lights and several bricks in the wall," she said, claiming that police, in her opinion, have failed to give serious attention to the matter...

No suspects have been identified and criminal investigators have been assigned to look into the matter, Griffith added...

"Graffiti is a problem throughout the Valley and one the Buckeye Police Department has worked hard to overcome," he said. "This type of hate-based graffiti is particularly troublesome and will not be tolerated."

Griffith also conjectured the damage may have been sparked by juveniles who had too much free time because of the break from school for the holidays.

"Increased vandalism and other issues generally occur during times school is out of session," Griffith said.

Meanwhile, on Google News

Giffords: Outed her Jewish identity after a 2001 trip to Israel

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords

According to JTA, Giffords, who grew up in a mixed religious environment, took interest in her Jewish roots and identity after a 2001 trip to Israel. During her campaign she openly recounted her Jewish upbringing and Jewish tradition among her strengths for the job:

“If you want something done, your best bet is to ask a Jewish woman to do it...Jewish women — by our tradition and by the way we were raised — have an ability to cut through all the reasons why something should, shouldn’t or can’t be done and pull people together to be successful.”

JTA also points out that in one of her last photos, Giffords posed with the new U.S. House of Representatives speaker, Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) at her swearing in, with her hand on the  Five Books of Moses.

In October 2006, Giffords published an op-ed in the Arizona Jewish Post which celebrated her Jewish upbringing and identity:

My grandfather, Akiba Hornstein, was the son of a Lithuanian rabbi. My grandfather changed his name to Giff Giffords for reasons of anti-Semitism and moved to Southern Arizona from New York more than a half century ago. In the 1940s, he founded my family’s tire and automotive business, El Campo Tire, which grew into a successful and thriving business for 50 years, which I ran for several years before serving in the Arizona Legislature.

Growing up, my family’s Jewish roots and tradition played an important role in shaping my values. The women in my family served as strong role models for me as a girl. In my family, if you want to get something done, you take it to the women relatives! Like my grandmother, I am a lifetime member of Hadassah and now a member of Congregation Chaverim.

When I served in the State Senate in Arizona, I had the opportunity to visit Jerusalem. It was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I had the opportunity to meet with the then-mayor of Jeru­salem, Ehud Olmert, and I got to see firsthand the sacrifices that Israelis make in the name of security because of the dangerous state of affairs there.

I will always be a strong supporter of Israel. As the only functioning democracy in the Middle East, Israel is a vital strategic ally of the United States. I believe the United States must do everything possible to secure Israel’s long-term security and achieve a lasting peace in the region. The failure of the current administration to continue the peace process has been a loss to America and Israel. That is why we need a new direction in Washington...

We cannot forget our past. I have worked to protect the rights of Holocaust survivors in our state. In 2002, I sponsored legislation that was signed into law by Governor Jane Hull, and unanimously approved by the Senate, to allow victims of the Holocaust, or their heirs, to collect insurance claims (HB 2541). It re-opened the statute of limitations for these claims. My opponent, Randy Graf, was one of only 13 legislators to oppose this bill.

As a woman and as a Jew, I will always work to insure that the United States stands with Israel to jointly ensure our mutual safety, security, and prosperity.

Combine Giffords' public expressions of her Jewish identity, with the shooter's suspected ties to anti-Semitic hate groups, and it's hard not to cry wolf.

The American Radical Right and Anti-Semitism: The truth comes out

Yikes! Anti-Semitism is alive and well in 22nd America, hiding in the American Radical Right. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' shooters' Youtube videos and Myspace page reference the white nationalist group "American Renaissance" (aka New Century Foundation). While the group's founder may have mixed feelings, American Renaissance is a breeding ground for anti-Semitic hatred and rhetoric. According to the Southern Law Center (via HuffPost):

Since 1994, the New Century Foundation has also played host to American Renaissance conferences, suit-and-tie affairs that attract a broad spectrum of participants from the racist right, including neo-Nazis, white supremacists, Ku Klux Klan members, Holocaust deniers and eugenicists. The conferences even have an international presence. In 2002, for instance, speakers included Nick Griffin, leader of the neofascist British National Party, and Bruno Gollnisch, who was then second in command of Jean Marie Le Pen's immigrant-bashing National Front in France.

One issue that has proven problematic for Taylor and his foundation has been anti-Semitism. Taylor, unlike many on the radical right, is known for his lack of anti-Semitism and for including racist Jews in his events. He told MSNBC-TV interviewer Phil Donahue in 2003 that Jews "are fine by me" and "look white to me." At one point, he even banned discussion of the so-called "Jewish question" from American Renaissance venues, and, by 1997, he had kicked Holocaust deniers and neo-Nazis off his E-mail list. Despite these efforts, Taylor also has continued to allow people like Don Black, the former Klan leader who runs the neo-Nazi Stormfront.org web forum, and Jamie Kelso, a Stormfront moderator, to attend his biannual American Renaissance Conferences. The problem for Taylor is that many of the most active participants at the American Renaissance Conferences and the most committed members of the American radical right are openly and passionately anti-Semitic. To ban them would devastate Taylor's efforts to make his journal and conferences flagship institutions of American radical right.

Despite Taylor's best efforts to keep the internal peace, this long-smoldering issue finally burst into the open when David Duke, the former Klan leader and author of Jewish Supremacism, grabbed the microphone at the 2006 American Renaissance Conference and went on a thinly veiled anti-Semitic rant about "a power in the world that dominates our media, influences our government and that has led to the internal destruction of our will and spirit." In response, Michael Hart, a Jewish astrophysicist and long-time conference attendee, leaped from his seat and declared, "You f*** Nazi, you've disgraced this meeting." What ensued was a testy back and forth in which Duke supporters, including Black and Kelso, jeered Hart's comments and others, who backed Hart, denounced Duke. This incident set off a months-long battle of words, with each side declaring that the other was undermining the broader efforts of the movement.

"These are the makings of a major schism," wrote Shawn Mercer, co-founder and moderator of American Renaissance's AR List, an E-mail group, just after the conference. "If American Renaissance ultimately fails as a result of this donnybrook at the convention, it will be a sad, possibly fatal turn of events for the future of whites." In 2006, Taylor issued what was seen as a weak-kneed statement by his Jewish supporters condemning anti-Semitism but stating clearly that all would be welcome at his conferences regardless of their views and so long as they maintained the proper decorum. That was not enough for many of Taylor's supporters and collaborators, one of whom, Ian Jobling, left to start his own group, Inverted World, which is racist but not anti-Semitic.

Regardless of the dispute, the 2008 American Renaissance conference was well attended, missing from its audience ranks only some former Jewish supporters such as Michael Hart.

Yidden, it's time to make aliyah!

AZ shooter may be tied to anti-Semitic hate group

An internal memo put out by the Department of Homeland Security and obtained by Fox News suggests an anti-Semitic motive behind the AZ shooting.

As posted on Gretawire:

"suspect’s mother works for the Pima County Board of Supervisors* the suspect has multiple arrests ... But no criminal record? Intervention by someone?* no direct connection - but strong suspicion is being directed at AmRen / American Renaissance. Suspect is possibly linked to this group. (through videos posted on his myspace and YouTube account.). The group’s ideology is anti government, anti immigration, anti ZOG (Zionist Occupational Government), anti Semitic. Gabrielle Gifford is the first Jewish female elected to such a high position in the US government. She was also opposite this group’s ideology when it came to immigration debate..." (bold, italics added)

According to JTA, Giffords, who grew up in a mixed religious environment, took interest in her Jewish roots and identity after a 2001 trip to Israel. During her campaign she openly recounted her Jewish upbringing and Jewish tradition among her strengths for the job:

“If you want something done, your best bet is to ask a Jewish woman to do it...Jewish women — by our tradition and by the way we were raised — have an ability to cut through all the reasons why something should, shouldn’t or can’t be done and pull people together to be successful.”

JTA also points out that in one of her last photos, Giffords posed with the new U.S. House of Representatives speaker, Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) at her swearing in, with her hand on the Five Books of Moses.

Combine Giffords' public Jewish identity with the shooter's suspected ties to anti-Semitic hate groups, and it's hard not to cry wolf. This incident begs urgent follow-up questions, which we hope the media are asking: What role does anti-Semitism and Neo-Nazism play in the Tea Party movement? Why are we seeing an anti-Semitic shooting in 22nd-century America? And what is Obama going to do about it?