Is Israel Ostracized?

By Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger

The elitist media outlets of Israel, Western Europe and the USA are wrong! Israel is increasingly appreciated and embraced - not ostracized – by the global community.

In defiance of the BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) movement in Britain, and despite the Gaza War, Israel's exports to Britain, and the Israel-Britain trade balance, surged by 38% and 28% respectively from January-August, 2014, compared to the same period in 2013, expanding employment in both countries.  In addition, 37 Israeli-British mergers & acquisitions and British stock market IPOs occurred during the same period.

The swelling Israel-Britain trade balance highlights Israel's special capabilities in the global market, generating cutting-edge technological and scientific developments which have given rise to unique medical, healthcare, agricultural, software and defense technologies and products. Moreover, most of Israel's export is business-to-business-based, supplying leading international businesses with critical components and technologies, which enhance the quality and reduces the cost of their own products, revolutionizing quality of life, in general, and commercial/defense performance, in particular.  The Israeli exports provide American, European, Russian, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, South Korean and additional global giants with a competitive edge in the global competition. 

Israel's unique niches in the area of healthcare were underlined in the June 2014 Forbes' list of ten health companies changing the world, five of them were Israeli. "It's amazing that Israel – a country of only eight million people – produces so many leading health technology companies," David E. Williams, president of the US-based Health Business Group, told the Grapevine.  According to Williams, "Israel's highly educated technical and medical workers are reared in a society that prizes problem-solving and innovation, placing tremendous value on curing illness and saving lives."

Barbara Opall-Rome, the Israel Bureau Chief of Defense News, sheds light on the global added-value of Israel's defense industries and Israel's rising weapon exports, which have grown since the Gaza War. The war revealed the potency of Israel – the world's largest and most advanced battle tested laboratory - especially in the area of shielding civilians from the wrath of short-range missiles and defending tank crews against guided missiles. According to Opall, "over the past five years, Israel has had military sales of around $7bn annually, and it puts Israel in the top five of the world's arms-exporting nations.... India is one of Israel's biggest customers, buying everything from ship and air defense systems to anti-tank missiles and drones."

Bloomberg News reported, following the Gaza War, that Shite Azerbaijan is the leading supplier of oil to Israel and a major buyer of advanced Israeli military systems, in spite of criticism from its neighbors, Iran and Turkey.

The California-based Entrepreneur suggests that "One country that stands out from the rest of the rest when it comes to research and development (R & D)  is Israel.  In fact, it ranks second only to Silicon Valley for startups…. The pool of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) talent in Israel is huge.  There are 140 scientists, technicians and engineers for every 10,000 Israeli employees, compared to 85 per 10,000 in the USA.... Israel is flush with entrepreneurs, second in numbers only to Silicon Valley.  The country is filled with people with courage, drive, creativity, boldness and tenacity, who will move mountains to achieve their goals and dreams…."

Israel's educational standing in the world was noted by the recent OECD's 2014 Education at a Glance study, published by Yahoo Finance on September 11, 2014: Israel ranks fourth in the world as far as post-high school educated population (46.4% of the population), trailing Japan (46.6%), Canada (52.6%) and Russia (53.5%), ahead of the USA, Korea, Australia, Britain, New Zealand and Ireland. 

The respectable, growing slate of more than 250 high-tech global giants, with R & D centers in Israel, clarifies how integrated Israel is in the global  economy: Intel, Microsoft, IBM, Apple, Motorola, Computer Associates, Qualcomm, HP, EMC, GE, AT&T, Xerox, Dell, AMD, Marvell, Cisco, GM, Google, Oracle, Paypal, McAfee, Polycom, Telefonica, Ebay, AOL, Yahoo, SanDisk, SAP, Siemens, Philips, Deutsche Telekom, Samsung, etc.  A recent arrival in Israel is the Russian Internet Security giant, Kaspersky Labs, which will inaugurate its first Israeli R & D center in Jerusalem.

2014 is shaping up to be an Israeli record year for raising capital, with Israeli IPOs on Wall Street surpassing $3.5bn. Two of the top ten Wall Street IPOs were Israeli companies, Mobileye ($890mn) and Israel Chemicals ($507mn).Intercontinental Exchange, the global network of exchanges and clearing houses, acquired Israel's SuperDerivatives for $350mn, as its R & D center.  Pulse Secure acquired Israel's cyber company, Mobile Spaces, for $100mn.

On September 22, despite the Gaza War and because of Israel's brain power and cutting edge and game-changing technologies, Intel announced an additional $6bn investment in its existing Israeli arsenal (four R & D centers and two manufacturing plants), which will develop  the next generation of Intel's chips.  

Intel's substantial investment constitutes a resounding vote of confidence in the long-term, geo-strategic and economic viability of Israel, as confirmed by Moody's credit rating, sustaining Israel's investment grade at A1 – a low credit risk.

And where does that leave the anti-Israel DBS movement, the Gaza War and other conventional and terrorist threats? Based on Israel's track record, they are bumps on the road of unprecedented growth and acceptability.

Control, don't 'contain' (from Israel HaYom)

Dror Eydar

We know the rules of the Middle East. The fear of "setting off riots" led to "restraint" on our side, which led to escalation by the Arab rabble rousers who turned the holiest place to the Jewish people into a den of iniquity -- a description by the prophet Jeremiah that perfectly characterizes what a group of familiar Muslims are doing on the Temple Mount, with almost no objection. The ones who control the Temple Mount control the country. Local Arabs understand that better than we do. They aren't gathering on the Temple Mount because they were seized with an attack of piety. Even there, when they pray, they turn their backsides to the Dome of the Rock, the place of the Holy of Holies of our Temple. Well-known Islamist groups goad Arab rioters, who regularly humiliate Jewish visitors and threaten a "firestorm" and other old jihadist favorites from the Gaza school of propaganda. If Jews cannot visit the Temple Mount in peace, Muslims shouldn't be able to, either. The police can absolutely enforce total quiet on the mount. A few dozen rioters aren't a reason to close the site. It's possible to break into the mosque and get control of the bunch of bullies who have barricaded themselves inside. If the Muslims don't respect their own house of prayer and turn it into a bastion for attacks, why should we respect them? And not only on the Temple Mount: Groups of Jerusalem Arabs are seeking to attack the vision of a united city, and are using the "policy of acceptance" to damage the light rail train and the city's public buildings and government edifices. If the police hesitate or choose to "accept" the situation, it is the job of Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch to bang on the table of Insp. Gen. Yohanan Danino and demand decisive action. And if the minister is busy arguing with the inspector general, then the prime minister should give them a dressing down, as he did. We cannot demonstrate weakness. In our region, we've already learned that anyone who shows "understanding" of violence and "accepts" small-scale disturbances will get a war. Anyone who chooses not to fight the Islamic State group while it is relatively small, and preferring to bomb them from the air instead of confronting them, will be drawn in to a broad holy war. Anyone who doesn't dismantle arrogant Islamist organization on the Temple Mount and in east Jerusalem will be forced to deal with much bigger riots. Today is Sukkot. Our ancestors used to take to the streets of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount on the holiday to pray for world peace and a rainy winter. We must eradicate the disgrace to our people and do away with the absurdity of a Jew not being able to murmur prayers in the place about which it is said: "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations" (Isaiah 56:7).

The Israeli Government Will Ultimately Invite Jews to Pray on Temple Mount

By Moshe Feiglin

“This morning”, MK Moshe Feiglin wrote on Monday,  “I had the merit to ascend to the Temple Mount. For the first time since the Sukkot holiday began, the police pushed the Arab rioters inside the El Aktza mosque, blocked additional rioters from accessing the site and cleared the Temple Mount for Jewish visits.”

“The ascent to the courtyards of our Temple should be accompanied by joyous song, drums and musical instruments,” Feiglin noted. “Instead, we heard small explosions and shots being fired into the air by riot police, who were blocking the rioters from exiting the mosque. The Temple Mount must be thoroughly cleared of the wild rabble. They should not be allowed to step foot on the Mount and should not be able to seek refuge in their ‘holy’ places,” Feiglin asserted.

“Despite these issues – which must be addressed immediately – hundred of Jews finally, joyously ascended to the Temple Mount today,” Feiglin continued. “In their merit, exclusive sovereignty on the Mount will be restored to the Nation of Israel and the State of Israel will invite all the Jews to come to the Temple Mount to pray.”

Deputy Speaker of Knesset Moshe Feiglin Response to Closure of Temple Mount to Jews

For the fourth day in a row, Hamas and ISIS have taken control of the Temple Mount. The PM’s words about Israel’s victory of Hamas in the south and deterrence of Hizballah in the north have shattered upon the rocks of reality on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Hamas and ISIS activists have managed to hole up on the Mount, and Internal Security Minister Aharonovitz does not allow Israel’s Police to arrest the terrorists in the heart of its capital and free the Mount. For all four days of the Sukkot holiday thus far, the police have not allowed Jews to ascend to the Temple Mount. This is a resounding defeat for Israel at the hands of the terror organizations. The price of this defeat may be very dear on Israel’s southern and northern borders.

The person responsible for this state of affairs is the Prime Minister. I call upon PM Netanyahu to order the immediate removal of all Moslems from the Temple Mount on Sukkot to make it possible for the Jews to ascend freely and securely on their holiday.

The Universal Message of Sukkot

By Moshe Feiglin

“And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of Tabernacles.” (Zecharia 1`4 – From the Haftarah on the first day of Sukkot)

The holiday of Sukkot is universal. It is the holiday of the seventy nations of the world who come each year to bring their offerings to the Temple in Jerusalem. The final, eighth day of the holiday is dedicated to the offerings brought to the Temple by the Nation of Israel. It is an intimate ‘after-party’ made by G-d for the chosen nation.

Sukkot is the holiday in which the Nation of Israel dwells under the wings of the Divine Presence. A special holiness encompasses the sukkah. We do not put our trust in the power of mortals. We know that technology or international treaties will not save us. We are servants of G-d alone. In the sukkah, we are truly free. I wholeheartedly recommend turning off your cell phones and other screens when in the sukkah. Take a deep breath, free yourself of all the things to which you are enslaved, serve G-d alone, be free.

We are not there yet, however. The message of Jewish liberty, the perfection of the world under the Kingdom of Heaven – the personal, national and universal message – is challenged by strong forces that oppose it. On the national plane, the religion (and culture) of servitude and blind obedience that is conquering the world is at the forefront of those forces.

Before universal recognition of the message of liberty that emanates from Zion, the prophet Zechariah forsees a major battle. On the very deepest level, the struggle against the connection between the Nation of Israel and its city and message from Jerusalem is the battle between liberty and the enslavement of the entire human race.

Every Jewish home that is built in Jerusalem enrages the POTUS and even some forces in our midst. It is no coincidence that the Biblical elements in the US, who cling to the original American values of liberty, always wanted to move the US embassy to Jerusalem. This was even reflected by a decision passed by the Congress. Unfortunately, however, those elements met Israeli leadership that attempted to evade the message that Israel is supposed to herald. The American values became irrelevant when they did not meet the source of those values in Israel. Deep down, humanity is waiting for the message from Jerusalem. But Israel is not yet the sukkah of the world.

It is going to end with a serious batlle, the prophet tells us. Specifically on the holiday of Sukkot. In the end, we will be here – and the remnants of the nations - every one that is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem. They will also internalize the message of liberty in the shadow of the Kingdom of the G-d Who dwells in Zion.

Happy Sukkot

HaRav Nachman Kahana on Sukkot 5775

BS”D  For Sukkot 5775 Two excerpts from my book “With All Your Might” dealing with the holiday of Sukkot 1- An allegory relating to Jewish life in the galut when the gate to Eretz Yisrael is open. Reb Yisrael and his sons erected their succah adjacent to the kitchen door, as they had done for many years. But this year was different. Reb Yisrael had just learned from his rabbi that one of the reasons for residing temporarily in a succah is in case one’s destiny was to be expulsion into galut on Rosh Hashana, then the departure from the comforts of home into the succah should be considered to be that galut. Reb Yisrael, his wife and children left the warm comforts of their beautiful house and entered the succah with the knowledge that by taking up temporary residence therein, they would be absolved of any galut-related sins. As the family continued to reside in the succah, they got quite used to the pleasant smell of the schach and the pretty pictures on the walls and the overhanging decorations and were content to remain there even after the chag! They were able to peer into their permanent home with its luxurious amenities, electrical gadgets, state-of-the-art under-floor heating units, thick hanging drapes, lush carpets and much more, but entertained no interest in returning there. As odd as it may seem, the family became accustomed to the crowded cold interior of the succah. Their relatives and neighbors tried to point out the irrationality of what they were doing, but the very idea that this was galut did little to encourage them to return to their spacious home. When their rabbi came to visit, it was surprising that he encouraged them to remain in the succah rather than to return home; because it was in the succah that the family felt comfortable and closely knit. In the meantime, several strangers noticed that the previously brightly-lit home was vacant, and they decided to move in as if it were indeed their own! Reb Yisrael and his wife and children saw the strangers living in the house; but in veneration for the succah, they stubbornly bonded with the thin walls and dried-out schach and refused to leave. The whole thing was so absurd. To leave such a beautiful home for the feeble, fallible construction of the succah, despite the fact that their beautiful home was beckoning was beyond the understanding of any rational person. Then came the stones thrown by the local anti-Semites who wanted to rid the neighborhood of this eye-sore, but Reb Yisrael and his family dodged them one by one and steadfastly remained in their fragile dwelling. Then came the terrible night when one third of the succah was torched by the local bullies. Reb Yisrael and his family were aware of what was happening, but their minds had become so warped that no amount of reasoning could move them. To them the succah was home and their home was galut. Eventually the succah came crashing down, killing Reb Yisrael and his entire family – in their beloved galut! 2- The testimony of this incident that occurred during the Shoah was brought to the attention of Dr. Shlomo Zalman Kahana, who established the Holocaust Museum on Mount Zion, by a survivor of one of the extermination camps. The survivor related that once a week the Germans would inspect the prisoners; those who could still work were given one more week to live, and those who were too sick were sent to be gassed. And he continued, “One day I came upon my close friend, Reb Aryeh, who was crying. ‘Are you crying because of tomorrow’s inspection?’ I asked. Reb Aryeh replied that sadness overcame him because tomorrow will be Sukkot and ‘…we don’t have a sukkah to sit in, nor the four species to hold (lulav, etrog, hadassim and aravot’). The following morning Reb Aryeh came to me with a happy look. He cried out ‘Thank HaShem, we have a sukkah and the four species to hold.’ I thought Reb Aryeh was losing his mind. ‘Where are we to get a sukkah and the four species in this hell-hole?’ I asked. Then Reb Aryeh took my hand and said very slowly, as a teacher would to his student. ‘The Gemara says that one of the reasons for sitting in a sukkah is to recall the clouds which covered the Jewish camp in the desert. Look! A cloud is covering our camp. It is the cloud of smoke ascending right over us from the crematoria. We shall sit under that cloud and it will be our sukkah. And the Midrash states that the four species parallel the major organs of the body. The etrog represents the heart; the lulav the spine; the hadassim the eyes and thearavot the lips. So I will hold you and you will hold me and we will fulfill the mitzva of the four species while under the cloud of the crematoria.’ That day Reb Aryeh was taken away to the gas chamber.” This is to love HaShem “with all your might.”   Chag Sameach! Nachman Kahana

The Solution for Israel’s Housing Shortage

By Moshe Feiglin

It is becoming more and more difficult to attain housing in Israel. Here are some interesting statistics: In 1984 – thirty years ago – Israel’s GNP was 30 billion dollars. Today, it is 300 billion dollars. Back in 1984, the average income per person was $7,000, while today it is $38,000.

Sounds wonderful.

But take a look at the next statistic: In 1988, approximately 60 average salaries were needed to buy an average 4 room apartment in Israel. For the same apartment today, one would need 144 average salaries.

In other words, we are producing 10 times more than in the 80’s. We earn 5 times more and nevertheless, we must work more than twice as much in order to buy an apartment.

Why?

First of all: Lack of Space

The first reason for the housing crisis is because in the early nineties, Israel stopped building in Judea and Samaria. Land reserves in Israel’s pre-1967 borders are practically depleted. Those who think that there are land reserves in the Negev are mistaken. Although the Negev looks large and empty, it is mostly occupied by the army, illegal Bedouin settlement, infrastructure and green areas. With the current (blessed!) population growth trend, Israel needs 70,000 new housing units annually. That is more or less like a new Ramat Gan every year. Add to that the million and a half new olim (immigrants) expected to arrive in Israel over the next decade, with G-d’s help, and we have a serious shortage on our hands. There is nowhere to put all of this new housing, and there is already talk of building into the sea…

At the present pace and the existing construction plans, our children will have nowhere to live. We can close the country in two decades, or choose the Hong Kong option and live in one-room apartments in skyscrapers, which would only put the problem off for a short while.

When there is no land, the price of available land rises. That is very simple. As soon as we admit to ourselves that this is our Land and once again build in Judea and Samaria, the housing market – particularly in Israel’s central region – will regain its sanity. A large city like Modi’in that would be built in the foothills of the Talmonim region, 10 minutes from the Ben Gurion Airport, would relieve the pressure from greater Tel Aviv and lower housing prices. Israel must immediately plan and build these types of cities all along the western foothills of Judea and Samaria.
The second problem is that within Israel’s pre-1967 borders, the situation is fundamentally flawed. The State of Israel owns approximately 90% of the land reserves within those borders, an effective monopoly. It makes no difference that it is the State that holds these lands and not a private company. The monopoly dramatically raises the price of land for construction. The solution is to privatize, or more precisely – to return – the land to the nation. (To the nation – not to controlling interests!) Israel must introduce a process of registration of parcels of land to its citizens, (by lottery according to criteria to be established) and to allow the market forces to determine the price.

The third problem, of course, is the bureaucratic monster that stands in the way of anybody who requires a building permit. The wait for the permit can take as long as 15 years!

Until now, Israel had focused its attention on the third problem or on magic solutions like 0% VAT. As important as these solutions may be, nothing will fundamentally reduce the price of housing without solving the land reserves and state monopoly issues.

The solution for the housing problem is to restore the national lands to the nation on both the personal and national level.

The Enemy of my Enemy is my Enemy

By Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger

"The enemy of my enemy is my potential ally" underlies the 2014 Western policy toward Iran, the enemy of ISIS.  It underlay US policy toward Iraq's Saddam Hussein – the enemy of Iran - until Saddam's occupation of Kuwait on August 2, 1990.   

The 1990 reckless policy toward Iraq triggered a conventional conflict, a $1.25 trillion cost to the US taxpayer, 4,500 US military fatalities, a surge of anti-US Islamic terrorism and a dramatic destabilization of the Persian Gulf. The 2014 mischaracterization of Iran could produce a nuclear conflict, a mega-trillion dollar cost to the US taxpayer, an unprecedented level of fatalities, a tidal wave of global anti-US Islamic terrorism and tectonic eruptions of insanity throughout the globe.

During 1989-1990, upon the conclusion of the Iraq-Iran war, the US Administration portrayed Iraq's Saddam Hussein - the enemy of America's enemy, Iran – as a potential ally, enhancing Baghdad's strategic capabilities through an intelligence-sharing agreement, supplies of sensitive dual-use systems and the extension of $5bn loan guarantees. Instead of constraining Saddam's regional maneuverability and inherent, violent, megalomaniac expansionism, the US Administration chose to ignore Saddam's core, imperialistic, rogue, radical, anti-US ideology, which triggered the Iraq-Iran war.  

The larger, historical, ideological, complex context was overtaken by a narrowly and simplistically-designed policy-de-jour.  

The recklessness of "the enemy of my enemy is my potential ally" was underlined by an intense US-Iraq diplomatic traffic. For example, Saddam's meeting with Ambassador April Glaspie on July 25, 1990, which convinced Saddam that he could invade Kuwait with impunity.  Thus, an erroneous US policy led to Iraq's plunder of Kuwait, and consequently to the First Gulf War (1991), the devastatingly costly Second Gulf War (2003-2010) and possibly the Third Gulf War (2014-).

The victory of wishful-thinking over reality, also, undelay Israel's 1993 policy toward the PLO - the enemy of Hamas – which was gullibly expected to align itself with Israel's war on Palestinian terrorism, in return for the unprecedented Israeli territorial concessions of the Oslo process. Instead, since 1993, Israel has been a victim of an unprecedented wave of PLO/Hamas anti-Israel terrorism, reinforced by daily hate-education and incitement in Mahmoud Abbas' schools, mosques and media, as well as a surge of terrorism from 2000-2003, the 2006 Hamas takeover of Gaza and the 2008/9, 2012 and 2014 wars against Palestinian terrorism in Gaza.

The assumption that "the enemy of my enemy is potentially my friend" underestimates the following endemic, unique features of Iran's Ayatollahs and Mullahs: the compulsive, core, Islamic/Shite, supremacist, megalomaniac, anti-infidel, anti-US ideology; the perception of the US as the "Great Satan" and the chief obstacle to an imperial Islamic Iran; the intimate military ties with America's enemies and adversaries; the sponsorship of global anti-US Jihadist terrorism, including in Iraq and Afghanistan; a thirty year track record of non-compliance and deceit in their negotiation with the West; President Rouhani's key role in misleading the West; the clear and present danger posed by a nuclear Iran to the survival of Saudi Arabia and other pro-US oil-producing Arab regimes and to global and homeland security, national security and economy; the impact of Iran's occupation of Iraq's Shite section upon the stability of the Gulf; the egregious violations of human-rights by Iran's minority, tyrannical, ruthless regime which sent 500,000 children to clear minefields during the Iraq-Iran War; and the ineffectiveness of sanctions, and any diplomatic option, when applied to rogue regimes, bent on domination, and the rejection of peaceful-coexistence.    

"The enemy of my enemy is my potential ally" worldview has been nurtured by the same foreign policy establishments that have systematically misread the Middle East: misjudging the rise of ISIS; overestimating the US Arab allies' will to fight and the capabilities of Iraq's military; underestimating the developments in Syria; welcoming the "Arab Tsunami" as an "Arab Spring" transitioning toward democracy; crowning the Palestinian issue as the core cause of the Middle East turbulence and the crown jewel of Arab policy-making; encouraging the toppling of pro-US Mubarak and the rise of the anti-US Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood terror organization; turning a cold shoulder toward Egypt's President General Sisi; jumpstarting the 2006 Hamas takeover of Gaza; legitimizing Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas in 1988 and embracing them as a messengers of peace in 1993; underestimating Palestinian/Iranian hate-education as the most effective manufacturing line of terrorism and the most authentic reflection of the respective leadership; courting Saddam Hussein in 1990; punishing Israel for destroying Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981, which spared the US a nuclear confrontation in 1991; the abandonment of the pro-US Shah of Iran, and welcoming the rise of anti-US Khomeini; initial opposition to Prime Minister Begin's 1977 direct peace negotiations with Egypt; etc.  

The deficient threat assessment of a nuclear Iran has crowned Teheran's Ayatollahs and Mullahs as the top beneficiaries of the confrontation with ISIS, rewarding them with their most precious resource: the additional timerequired to obtain nuclear capabilities.

Reality-checks and common sense document that the US does not have a potential ally in the battle between Iran and ISIS.  Both are sworn enemies (amenable to tactical, provisional negotiations and truces) bent on Islamic supremacy, terrorism and "Death to America." Therefore, the nature of the Ayatollahs and Mullahs on the one hand, and the assumption that they are potential allies of the US on the other hand, constitutes a self-destruct oxymoron, which could entail a devastating nuclear cost.

What did the iPhone Teach me about Faith?

By Rabbi Yisrael Rosen Dean of the Zomet Institute

"Know what is above you: An eye that sees and an ear that hears, and all your actions are recorded in a book" [Avot 2:1]. "I Learned Three Things" Masters of ethics (mussar) and Chassidut were able to draw deep insights from everything in the world around them. An example is what is written, "If the Torah had not been given we would have learned about modesty from the cat, robbery from the ant, and incest from the dove" [Eiruvin 100b]. Another example is the following statement by Reb Moshe-Leib from Sassov (others attribute this to Rebbi Zusha from Napoli): I learned three things from a baby – (1) He is never idle, not for an instant, he is always busy. (2) When he misses something he immediately starts to cry, without feeling any shame. (3) When his demand is satisfied he is happy and no longer sad and bitter. The discerning eye of the Masters of Chassidut did not even avoid using a thief as an object for lessons. The Maggid of Mezerich learned proper behavior from the traits of a thief: (1) He does not rest at night, and what he did not accomplish one night he puts off to the next one. (2) He is faithful to his colleagues and will not break their trust. (3) He is willing to put himself in danger in order to accomplish his goal, even if it does not have any great significance. I remember hearing a similar statement about lessons to be learned from getting into a car. (1) It is necessary to bend down, it cannot be done with the head held high. (2) One must remove his high hat, as a symbol of submissiveness and capitulation. (3) Anybody who wants to make himself very comfortable will always take away something from the others. There are also lessons to be learned from a train: (1) Man is confined within time and is not beyond the time. (2) Whoever doesn't pay will be forced to leave the train. (3) It is okay to be early for a train, but one is not allowed to be late... The source for this format of listing three elements in a lesson can be seen in the Talmud, "At that point I learned three things from him. I learned that one should not enter a ruin, I learned that one can pray while on a journey, and I learned that on a journey one should pray a short prayer." [Berachot 3a]. In Eiruvin (see above, learning modesty from a cat, etc), this approach was derived from the verse, "Who gives us more knowledge than the beasts or is wiser than the birds in the sky?" [Iyov 35:11]. In this vein, and in the spirit of Yom Kippur, when mankind stands before the Creator, let us look at three things that I have learned from the realm of electronic communications media – the iPhone, the internet, and the computer, with everything surrounding them. As is quoted above, "An eye that sees and an ear that hears, and all your deeds are recorded in a book." An Eye that Sees The question of the Holy One, Blessed be He, "Where are you?" [Bereishit 3:9], a reference to physical position, seems at first glance to have been solved in our modern era. No person is free to hide from the "Big Brother" or from the intelligence gathering services of the 8200 Unit in the IDF, and certainly not from the Holy One, Blessed be He. A person can be found far beyond the dark mountains and in the intricate wilds of the jungle. He leaves behind a digital trace, and using the chip beating away in his pocket he gives out the news: "Here I am!" (In the next generation it will probably also be possible to receive position signals from a living heart.) "If a man hides, can I not see him, G-d asks" [Yirmiyahu 23:24]. "There is no hiding from its heat" [Tehillim 19:7]. And I would like to suggest an idea for a startup that will help limit surfing in sites that would be included in the prohibition, "Do not follow your eyes" [Bamidbar 15:39]. A program (which will be installed voluntarily) which will allow human oversight of the computer screens from a distance, with the ability to break in with a "STOP" sign (perhaps accompanied by a siren). There is no need for legions of secret watchers who will broadcast the warnings continuously. It will be enough that a random possibility for such interruptions exists... An Ear that Hears The heading above this paragraph represents the positive side of the media. Even a person who lives in solitude or is confined to a sick bed can communicate with the outside world – family, friends, radio broadcasters, or assorted advisors. The "listening ear" is also characteristic of an interactive address that is available on internet media, one that is open for two-way interaction. By taking advantage of the communications keys and a keyboard any person – in a city, in the desert, in prison, in an old age home, in a military foxhole, on top of or underneath a table – can express his views. "Will my voice be heard??" You bet it will! Actions Recorded in a Book From my earliest memories I was always amazed and impressed by wondering how the Holy One, Blessed be He, can know at one and the same time every "action of a man and all his wants" and "remember everything that has been forgotten" [from the High Holy Day prayers]. "'He tells a person what he has said' [Amos 4:13] – at the time of death, even extraneous conversations between a man and his wife are repeated to him" [Chagiga 5b]. Is there no limit to the capacity of knowledge? To the capacity of recording? Of memory? And then, what about interpretation? And what about retrieval? But now the internet "cloud" has come to the rescue. And if man-made computer servers can have an infinite capacity (as it were), together with a fantastic ability to retrieve and interpret – then certainly the Holy One, Blessed be He, who gave mankind the ability of understanding, has no limits to His powers.      * * * * * * The Mishna quoted above about eyes and ears begins with the statement, "Know what is above you." That is, pay attention, think about the higher level reality that is above you. Rabbi Mendel of Kotzk, the brilliant Rebbe, hears in this statement another emphasis: "Know what is above!" If you want to know what is happening in the upper worlds, know that the answer lies "with you!" Man in his behavior and his abilities establishes what happens there, high above... It all stems "from you!"

Likud MK Feiglin Accuses Authorities of Covering up Murder of Jews by Arabs

http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Likud-MK-Feiglin-accuses-authorities-of-covering-up-murder-of-Jews-by-Arabs-376754

In aftermath of revelation that falling death of Nathaniel Roi Arami may have been a nationalistically-motivated murder, Feiglin accuses Public Security Minister Aharonovitch of cover-up.

Likud MK Moshe Feiglin called for the dismissal of Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch (Yisrael Beytenu) on Wednesday, claiming that Israeli law enforcement had tried to cover up the murders of Jews by Arabs on a number of occasions.

Feiglin’s comments came a day after police revealed that a death originally reported as an accident was now being investigated as a possible nationalistically-motivated murder.

On September 16, Nathaniel Roi Arami, 26, fell to his death while rappelling down from the 11th floor of a building at the construction site where he worked in Petah Tikva. It remained unclear, however, how the married father of two, who was expecting a third child, had lost control.

During an initial investigation into the case, police questioned an Arab co-worker, but released him after he denied any wrongdoing.

Yet according to members of Arami’s family, the fall was no accident.

After the gag order was lifted, the family held a press conference, during which they accused the police and government of a cover-up and demanded that the killer be brought to justice.

In an interview to Galei Israel radio, Feiglin said Wednesday that “what we have here is a long chain of events in which the authorities, the police, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) are trying to cover up the murder of Jews by Arabs for various reasons.”

He said Aharonovitch, “who stands at the head of the pyramid, should have been gone long ago.”

Feiglin said Arami’s death was “a murder which was no less shocking than the decapitations of ISIS – a man plummeted to his death from the fifteenth floor, or whatever it was.”

The Likud MK stated the death of Arami was not essentially different than the kidnap and murder of Naftali Fraenkel, Gil-Ad Shaer and Eyal Yifrach by Hamas terrorists in June, “which eventually led to Operation Protective Edge.”

“So who needs this headache,” Feiglin said, suggesting a cover-up. “Now we will have riots , and again we’ll have to check our policy on employing Arab workers. Let’s cover it up , let’s pass the buck to someone else.”

Attacking Aharonovitch, Feiglin said, “Every Israeli citizen needs to ask himself how he feels as far as interior security is concerned, especially those living in mixed neighborhoods.”

He accused Aharonovitch of exacting a double standard toward Jews suspected of price-tag vandalism attacks and Arabs.

“When someone is suspected of writing “price tag” in Hebrew, then the feeble public security minister is quick to say we must erase from the map an entire community in Israel, a Jewish community. Imagine if he would say that now about the community that the Arab workers who murdered [Arami] came from,” he said.

Daniel K. Eisenbud contributed to this report.

Within Our Reach: A Yom Kippur Message from Deputy Speaker of the Knesset MK Moshe Feiglin

May You be King, Hashem, our G-d, over all of Your creations, speedily, on Mount Zion, the dwelling place of Your glory and in Jerusalem, the city of Your Temple. (From the Yom Kippur prayers).

One of the climaxes of the Rosh Hashanah prayers is when we fully prostrate ourselves before the Creator in the Aleinu prayer. This year I also put my towel on the floor and when we got to the words of the prayer I bowed down as did all the others around me. But the prostration left me empty. I was anticipating the sense of exaltation that is borne of feeling as nothing before G-d. But all that I could think of was the feeling that encompassed me when I prostrated myself in G-d’s courtyard, on the Temple Mount just a few years ago. There, with nothing between me and the Creator, in the royal palace.

And suddenly, the prostration that had always been a climax, tasted bland. A faint reminder of the genuine experience that we can already touch. If we choose to.

I wish all of our friends, readers and supporters a gmar chatimah tovah. May our deeds and prayers find favor in G-d’s eyes. May we merit to sanctify His Name and to make our will His will. May we restore the honor of Israel this year by actualizing our sovereignty over the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and by making Israel a moral lighthouse for all the peoples of the world.

Gmar Chatimah Tovah

Barack Obama Bans Flights to Israel, But Not Flights From Ebola Affected Countries

By Erick Erickson (from RedState)

“If you like your Ebola free United States, you can keep your Ebola free United States” could be another Barack Obama promise. Just another in the long time of promises with, as Jim Geraghty of National Review has noted, comes with an expiration date. This one set on September 20, 2014, when the Ebola patient arrived in Dallas carrying the disease.

Since then, the Obama administration has been asked about stopping flights into West African countries where Ebola is a problem. Their position is to keep the flights going. But don’t worry. We are taking people’s temperature before they board the flights.

Compare this to the Obama administration banning flights to Israel back in July. It turned out to be a political stunt quickly cancelled after Senator Ted Cruz threatened to block State Department appointments unless questions were answered. The administration claimed that rockets fired by Hamas put flights in jeopardy despite none of the rockets coming close to the airport.

Now, however, we have a person in the United States who flew back from Africa with Ebola. The White House neither wants to stop flights to Africa nor does it want to more closely monitor people coming into the United States from Africa via other countries.

At least this administration is consistent. It will let every one and every thing, including pestilence, cross our border. I bet, if we are patient, the administration will even place Ebola with a nice family somewhere in Middle America and given it government benefits.

Days of Awe (Yamim Nora’im) 5775; HaRav Nachman Kahana on Yom Kippur

Rabbi Nachman Kahana

BS"D  Days of Awe (Yamim Nora’im) 5775   This is being written on the fast day of Gedalya ben Achikam, the Babylonian appointed governor over the remnant of Jews in Eretz Yisrael after the destruction of the first Temple. Gedalya was assassinated by Yishmael ben Natanya, which caused the Babylonians to murder and exile most of the remaining Jews in Eretz Yisrael. Who, at that time, could have imagined that 2500 years later there would be Jews in the world, even Torah observant Jews, with over 6 million of us in the Holy land; and with no Babylonian to be found on the planet? Shofar Blasts & Akaidat Yitzchak The episode of Akaidat Yitzchak (the binding of Yitzchak) looms very high in the traditions of these holy days, to the extent that HaShem’s acceptance of our teshuva is linked to that episode. In fact many sources explain that the mitzva of sounding the shofar on Rosh HaShana is to bring forth before the Almighty the merit of Akaidat Yitzchak. The Gemara (Shabbat 89b) records that at some unspecified future time, HaShem will relate to Avraham Avenu "banecha chatu li" - your sons have sinned against me. Avraham will reply that they should be severely punished. HaShem will not be satisfied by his reply and repeats to Ya’akov that HIS sons have sinned against Me. Ya’akov, like his grandfather Avraham, will reply that they should be severely punished for their sins. HaShem is now displeased with Yaakov. He then will inform Yitzchak of the low spiritual state of HIS children, to which Yitzchak will counter with the claim that the episode of the Akaida is sufficient reason for HaShem to forgive the transgressions of Am Yisrael. What makes the episode of Akaidat Yitzchak so essential in our requests for forgiveness? I submit: The call to sacrifice YItzchak was made by HaShem to Avraham, not to Yitzchak. So, in fact, Yitzchak had the prerogative to refuse. And had he done so, Avraham would have been exempted from his obligation due to causes beyond his control, and Yitzchak could not have been held liable, because as stated he was not commanded. Yet Yitzchak agreed to be the sacrifice demanded by HaShem of his father Avraham, for one reason. That despite the fact that HaShem did not command Yitzchak to give up his life, Yitzchak knew that it was HaShem’s will that he be sacrificed on the altar on what was to become the Temple Mount, in Yerushalayim, By Yitzchak advancing the episode of the Akaida to counter HaShem’s implicit warnings that He has taken notice of our dire sins, Yitzchak is saying to HaShem: "You did not command me to relinquish my life at 37 years old under my father’s knife. Yet I agreed for one reason. I knew that that was your wish. We, the Jewish people, also have a wish. It is to be loyal sons to You, our Father-in- Heaven. But we are human beings, made of flesh and blood, distracted and bombarded by the yetzer hara (our corporeal instincts) which seeks to drive us away from the holy Torah. So just as I yielded to what I knew was your desire, so too, listen to the wishes of Your people Am Yisrael and forgive them for their sins. The shofar blasts are intended to bring forth before HaShem that we Jews seek to fulfill not only the implicit mitzvot of the Written Torah and Oral Torah, but that we run to carry out even Your implied, implicit and silent wishes.   Halachic Robots The principle of doing HaShem’s silent wishes is upon us every moment. A Jew who lives only according to the letter of the Halacha while ignoring the spirit of Halacha, is an halachic robot who does not come even close to what a Jew should be. The taking of that "one more step" which we call "lifnim mei’shurat hadin" (beyond the requirements of the law) is what defines a Jew as being God fearing. The Torah says we must give tzdaka (charity). So one can give money to a needy person like you throw a bone to a dog: or he can also speak to the person and give him hope that things in life have a way of turning around. The Zohar states that there are two kinds of Gehennom - one of fire and the other of ice. I believe that the fire is for those who have committed a sin in heated passion and the Gehennom of ice awaits those who have fulfilled a mitzva with lack of passion.   Stairway to Heaven I want to begin this new year with a call to my brothers and sisters in the galut. I am fully aware of the pilpulistic contortions and meanderings taken by some Halachic "authorities" in the galut to prove that there is no mitzva today to live in Eretz Yisrael. And it is to those Halachic "giants" that I am now turning. Open a Chumash to any parsha and you will not be able to escape Eretz Yisrael. Most learned Jews know that it is a Torah mitzva in every generation for every Jew to live in Eretz Yisrael when the gates to the Holy land are open. But even if you believe that the official mitzvah will only be incumbent when the Mashiach comes; stand in front of a mirror and ask yourself: "Is it HaShem’s desire that a Jew live in His Holy Land or is the issue absolutely immaterial to the Almighty?" HaShem indeed wants every Jew to be in the Land that He chose over all others for His holy Temple and declared to be the Stairway to Heaven. Now since it is HaShem’s desire that His children be in Eretz Yisrael, even if you believe that it is not an official mitzva today, wasn’t it Yitzchak’s decision to give up his life because he knew that that was the wish of HaShem?   Denying the Mitzvah Empowers Our Enemies On Shabbat I met a Jew from London who told me of an abomination and abhorrent event which occurred there several days ago. Thousands of Satmar followers holding PLO flags marched through the city streets screaming anti-Israel slogans, calling for the destruction of the State. If that was not bad enough, this gentleman said that in the area where he was standing, not one Jew protested what these pseudo Jews were doing, because these Satmar are violent fanatics. This scene could very easily be repeated in New York or any other place where the teachings of Satmar and Naturei Karta poison the Jewish mind. Perhaps this is what the prophet Zecharia is referring to in chapter 14,14 that Yehuda will join with the enemies of Yerushalayim. These people believe that it is the wish of Hashem that we not be here, but rather the Land should be under control of ISIS or anyone else besides the Jewish nation. The unfortunate conclusion is that every well-meaning Jew who stays in the galut, whether he intends it or not, contributes to these anti-Torah beliefs. Your very presence in the galut is understood as a declaration that it is not the wish of HaShem that His children return to the Holy land. And there is nothing further from the truth than this.   Urgent Plea: Save Your Children! I must repeat what I have written so often in the past 13 years that these weekly articles have appeared - but now with a greater sense of urgency. In the near future, the United States will revise its Selective Service Law (draft) to fill the ranks of the military and of the internal security services which are now being set into place. So instead of your young sons and daughters coming to study in Yeshivot with names like: Hakotel, Netiv Aryeh, Kerem Be’Yavne etc., and girls to the seminaries of Har Nof - or being accompanied by their parents under the chuppah, the dedicated Yiddishe mamas and tattes will be accompanying their children to the Port Authority Bus Terminal for their children’s trips to places with names like: Fort Knox, Camp Pendleton, Quantico, Lejeune and Parris Island. After basic training, they will be shipped to serve in the Middle East in Iraq, Syria, and the Gulf States - anywhere except in Israel. When the law becomes effective, children between the ages of 14 and 28 will not be permitted to leave the country, as was the case in the past. Send your children to live in Israel now, and then follow them as soon as possible. These are not empty words. Gemar Chatima Tova Nachman Kahana Copyright © 5775/2014 Nachman Kahana

Israel’s Spoken Language and Body Language

By Moshe Feiglin

During Operation Protective Edge I explained that Hamas, Iran, Hizbollah, ISIS and other similar menaces are nothing other than different arms of the same octopus: Radical Islam.

“All the arms of the octopus are watching us now in Gaza,” I said. “If we do not eliminate the arm that is attacking us in Gaza now, it will become empowered, the octopus will perceive Israel as being weak and the temptation to strike and to keep Tel Avivians cowering on the ground with their hands covering their heads for months will intensify”.

I was pleased to hear similar statements in PM Netanyahu’s speech at the UN yesterday. The awareness that the various terror organizations and states are all part of the same enemy – radical Islam – was clearly delineated in the Prime Minister’s characteristically impressive speech.

Unfortunately, however, there is a fly in the ointment. The PM’s speeches, as on-target and important as they may be, do not make much of an impression on the world. That is because Israel’s body language – its diplomatic and military actions – belies the PM’s spoken language.

If Hamas is the ISIS, then why didn’t you destroy it when you had all the justification and opportunity to do so? Do you suggest that the world should now conduct negotiations with ISIS?

If Hamas is ISIS, why do you allow for the flags of both those organizations to be waved in the heart of your capital – the Temple Mount?

Why do you expect the world to remove the Iranian threat? Former PM Begin did not rely on the world when he bombed the nuclear reactor in Iraq. True, Shimon Peres was opposed to destroying the reactor and all the nations condemned Israel. But they also breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Israel is the country most threatened by Iran. Why does PM Netanyahu expect the world to solve the problem for us? Isn’t that precisely why we established the State of Israel? So that we would never have to turn to the British or American air force when we faced the threat of destruction?

And if we expect the world to defend us, won’t they think that the establishment of the State of Israel was a mistake?

Revolution in Hayarkon Park

By Shlomo Vile

Last week, Moshe Feiglin hosted a very special event in HaYarkon Park in Tel Aviv to toast the new year and to celebrate reaching 100,000 “likes” on his Hebrew Facebook page (a 125% increase in 3 months). Several hundred people came, mostly from the Tel-Aviv area, mostly kippa-less, in tank tops and tea shirts.  As I went around the crowd, I talked to people about their reasons for being there and what attracted them to Moshe Feiglin.  Several themes emerged:

• The old ideas aren’t working. Moshe is the only one with any real alternative.  Let’s give his ideas a try.
• Moshe is the only politician who speaks truthfully, who holds consistently to what he feels is right, and who doesn’t zig-zag based on the current political winds.
• Moshe is the only person in the political arena who makes any sense.
• Moshe’s plan offers the best real chance for peace.  (This was from a self-described “peace activist”)

I’ve spoken to a number of Manhigut Yehudit supporters in the last few weeks who have told me that their leftist friends no longer know what to make of Moshe.  They used to have him pegged as a right-wing extremist and an enemy.  Now they’re confused and curious and more and more are finding themselves surprisingly supportive of some of his initiatives. More and more of the true leftists are seeing Moshe as their champion for peace and for liberty.  This seems to be particularly true of those who are younger, in their 20’s and 30’s.

It feels like we’re on the cusp of a political revolution here in Israel, one that unites dati and non-dati, left and right, and Moshe Feiglin is the face of that revolution.  His vision is the only one that is broad enough to include all sectors of Israeli society.

It’s also becoming more than just a vision.  Since being elected to the Knesset, Moshe has succeeded in demonstrating the power of this broad vision to improve the daily life of Israelis.  His vision has become more concrete and is drawing us in closer to each other and closer to ourselves.

Shlomo Vile

Development Director, Manhigut Yehudit

Moshe Feiglin: Police Minister Aharonovitch Must be Dismissed.

“By lifting the gag order on the rappelling terror attack, in which Netanel Arami HY”D was murdered, the police admit that there is a significant suspicion that the murder was perpetrated because Arami was a Jew,” said MK Moshe Feiglin on Tuesday. ” Sadly, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The phenomenon of terror attacks perpetrated by those who live among us is intensifying.”

“The police policy of covering-up the murders of Jews by Arab terror is much more severe than monetary corruption,” said Feiglin. “Public Security Minister Aharonovitch must be dismissed immediately. I intend to continue to pressure the authorities on this issue. I will not let up – exactly as with the corruption I discovered at the Sarel Company (medical marijuana).”