We can take back our sovereignty

by Victor Rosenthal

Every time Tzipi Livni opens her mouth, the word “democracy” comes out. According to Livni, the government and the Knesset that were democratically elected by the people are constantly “endangering” it, “undermining” it, “imperiling it,” and so on.

Nothing contradicts her more powerfully than the fact that her bloc is consistently defeated at the ballot box in elections that are probably the most free and fair in the world.

There is, however, another word that she does not say – and unfortunately, that our supposedly “right-wing” government doesn’t utter often enough either. That word is “sovereignty.”

Sovereignty is far more important than democracy, because if you don’t control what happens in your own country, then you don’t have a country, democratic or otherwise.

Israel is the one country in the world whose people’s sovereignty over their own land is regularly disputed, and I am not talking only about Judea and Samaria. Indicators of disagreement with the very existence of a Jewish state include support of BDS or a right of return for “Palestinian refugees,” both of which are widespread throughout the world.

One of the most hostile entities to Israeli sovereignty is the UN, which tries to inject itself into internal Israeli matters on a regular basis. For example, there is the Temporary International Presence in Hevron (TIPH), established after the Baruch Goldstein massacre when the Palestinian Authority requested that something be done to “guarantee the safety and protection of the Palestinian civilians.” Initially the mission was staffed by Norway alone, but today it includes representatives from Norway, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.

The observers are supposed to be impartial and report all “breaches of the agreements between the Palestinian Authority and Israel on Hebron, as well as on violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law,” but in fact are highly partisan, ignore Arab terrorism and report only Palestinian complaints against Israel. They take part in anti-Israel propaganda events, and harass Jewish residents of Hevron. Two recent high-profile incidents include an observer slapping a Jewish child, and another puncturing the tires of a vehicle belonging to a Jewish resident.

There is a simple solution to the problem: the government of Israel initially agreed to their presence, and the government can revoke its agreement. The PM should announce that they have 48 hours to pack up and go. I doubt that even Tzipi Livni would claim that that would be “undemocratic.”

Then of course there is UNTSO, the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization, which squats rent-free in the beautiful Armon Hanatziv, the former palace of the British High Commissioner, located on some of the most expensive real estate in Jerusalem. UNTSO was established in May, 1948; when the British moved out, the Red Cross and then the UN moved in. Probably the idea was that the UN would govern the international corpus separatum that it intended Jerusalem to become from that lovely spot. UNTSO’s mission today is to supervise truce agreements, most of which are long since gone.

Miri Regev, one of the few Israeli politicians that seems to care about our sovereignty and national honor, tried to kick them out last year, but didn’t succeed. She argued that their presence in Jerusalem was unnecessary (since all they have left to supervise is the 1974 disengagement resolution with Syria) and that they were engaged in anti-Israel activities. Quelle surprise! There are 376 UN employees there, and they should rent office space like anyone else – or better yet, move to Damascus.

There are countless other impingements on Israeli sovereignty, including the huge sums of money funneled to subversive NGOs from Europe; unwritten American restrictions on building in Judea, Samaria, and eastern Jerusalem; EU funded and directed illegal Arab building in Area C of the territories; and UNESCO resolutions declaring various parts of Israel – including the Western Wall – to be “Palestinian heritage sites.”

But all of these things pale in comparison the biggest, most blatant, most humiliating impairment to our sovereignty of all, the continued Arab occupation of the Temple Mount.

Judging by the imbalance between the rights of Muslims and Jews on the Mount, one could be excused for thinking that it was located in an Arab country, and not in the heart of Israel’s capital. Jews are not permitted to pray (even to move their lips silently) or to use the water faucets, while Muslim children may play ball on the grounds, and teams of Muslim provocateurs scream at Jewish worshippers. Restrictions are enforced by Israeli police officers. Just last week, Israel’s Supreme Court upheld the use of metal detectors on the only entrance to the Mount that Jews are permitted to use, while such detectors were removed from Muslim entrances, despite the fact that weapons that were used to murder police officers were smuggled in through those entrances.

The Temple Mount, following what is called the “status quo,” allows the Jordanian Waqf to govern and maintain the area. But since 1967, the quo hasn’t been static, with more and more restrictions placed on Jews. The Waqf has engaged in large construction projects while violating understandings that require archaeological supervision for such things, resulting in the destruction or loss of priceless artifacts. Many believe that there has been a deliberate attempt to destroy evidence of Jewish history at the site. Attempts by Israel to replace a dangerous bridge that leads to one of the gates to the Mount have been met by riots. The bridge has been in “temporary” form since 2004.

What is being endangered, undermined, and imperiled is not democracy. We have plenty of democracy, sometimes so much that the government is unable to get anything accomplished – such as solving the problem of illegal migrants – without being stymied by stupid internal politics, as well as the “guardians of democracy,” the subversive European-funded NGOs and the Supreme Court. What is at risk is our sovereignty – in the territories, in Jerusalem, even in the burning lands surrounding the Gaza strip, where we seem to be unable or unwilling to protect our own population.

Sovereignty is precious – and delicate. It can be strengthened or eroded by precedents that we allow to be established. Because of the typical Israeli attitude that “symbolic stuff doesn’t matter,” and the desire to avoid any form of conflict at all cost, we allow important principles to slip away, and soon “symbolic stuff” turns into irreversible facts on the ground.

Our government could take a lesson from Donald Trump. You can’t recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, he was told, there will be unrest. You can’t move the embassy, they said, there will be riots. You can’t cut funding to UNRWA or demand that the PA stop paying terrorists. You can’t kill the Iran deal and re-impose sanctions. But he did all those things and the sky didn’t fall.

We can take back our sovereignty – around Gaza, at the Temple Mount, and from the UN and the EU. It won’t make everyone love us – nothing could do that in today’s world – but it might get us some respect.

Escaping Exile and Aliya to Eretz Yisrael

by HaRav Mordechai Greenberg
Nasi HaYeshiva, Kerem B'Yavneh

"Yaakov departed from Be'er Sheva and went toward Charan." (Bereisheet 28:10) What would be lacking had the verse simply said, "Yaakov departed from Be'er Sheva toward Charan?" Clearly, if he left Be'er Sheva he went to some other place!

When a person leaves one place and goes to another, there can be two motives for going. Sometimes he wants to leave his current place, and sometimes his goal is the place towards which he is going.

"They traveled from the mountain of Hashem" (Bamidbar 10:33) Chazal comment: "Like a child who is running away from school." Where did they know this from? The pasuk emphasizes, "They traveled from the mountain of Hashem," and does not identify where their destination was. Chazal understood that it made no difference to them where they go - they just wanted to travel from the mountain of Hashem.

Yaakov was commanded by both his parents to go to Charan, but each one had his own reason. Rivka said to him: "So now, my son, heed my voice and arise; flee to my brother Lavan, to Charan ... until your brother's wrath subsides ... Why should I be bereaved of both of you on the same day?" (Bereisheet 27:43-45) Her main concern was that Esav intended to kill Yaakov, and therefore it was important for her that Yaakov should leave. On the other hand, his father Yitzchak said to him: "Do not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house of Betual your mother's father, and take a wife from there from the daughters of Lavan your mother's brother." (28:1-2) His main goal was that Yaakov should go to Padan and marry there.

Yaakov obeyed both of them; "Yaakov listened to his father and his mother." (28:7) This means, to his father who told him to go to Padan, and to his mother who told him to escape from Eretz Canaan. This is what the pasuk says: "Yaakov departed from Be'er Sheva" – as Rivka commanded; "and went toward Charan" – as per Yitzchak's command.

This idea is true also in regards to the relationship of Jews to Eretz Yisrael. There are those who go to Israel in order to escape persecution in their dwelling place out of Israel. There are others who understand the special quality of Israel – that it is "the land of the living," and that there is the "Sanctuary of Hashem," as the Ramban writes – and leave exile in order to reach Israel.

This explains the verses in the beginning of Parshat Masei. "These are the journeys of Bnei Yisrael, who went forth from the land of Egypt ... Moshe wrote their departures according to their journeys at the bidding of Hashem, and these were their journeys according to their departures." (Bamidbar 33:1-2) Why is the concluding phrase repeated in reverse order? Some of Bnei Yisrael did not go out willingly, but were chased out forcibly, and had no interest in going to Eretz Yisrael. Others knew its value and looked forward to going to the Land and understood that Israel's redemption depended on this. Therefore, Moshe wrote their departures according to their journeys – their departure was for the purpose of the journey to Eretz Yisrael, and this was the true purpose of the Exodus. However, "These were their journeys according to their departures" – many traveled only to depart from Egypt, or were chased out from there.

This is statement of Yechezkel, "I will separate from among you those who rebel and those who transgress against me; I will take them out of their sojourning, but they will not come to the soil of Israel." (Yechezkel 20:38) Israel will become so low during the time of the exile, that even if their persecutors will chase them out and they will be forced to leave – going to Israel will not be primary in their eyes, but rather the escape from the lands of persecution. Therefore, Yechezkel concludes, "but they will not come to the soil of Israel."

In this same vein Rav Kook zt"l explains the verse, "Who are these, who fly like a cloud, like doves to the cote-windows?" (Yeshaya 60:8) The clouds are driven by the wind from place to place, without a specific destination, but the doves return to their home, to their cote-windows. So, too, there are Jews who are led against their will like clouds from place to place, and by chance reach Eretz Yisrael, and others know that coming to Israel is returning home.

Similarly, in Yirmiya, G-d comforts Rachel: "Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears; for there is reward for your accomplishment ... and they will return from the enemy's land. There is hope for your future ... and your children will return to their border." (31:15-16) There are Jews who reach Israel as a result of escaping the enemy's land, from a land of persecution, where they cannot live as Jews. However, there are those who understand that aliya to Eretz Yisrael is not escaping from another place, but rather the return of children to their original home, "your children will return to their border."

Ya'akov's Home

by HaRav Zalman Baruch Melamed
Rosh HaYeshiva, Beit El

(Adapted from the dvar Torah delivered by the rabbi to a gathering of residents and guests at "Shabbat Beit El")

THE GATE
"How awesome is this place. This is surely the House of God, and the Gate to Heaven."

Welcome to Bet El. This holy, awesome place perhaps best epitomizes Ya'akov Avinu, the prime figure among the Avot, our forefathers. Ya'akov reaches the highest level of holiness of all of the patriarchs, and his place is here - in Beit El. This spot is the top of Ya'akov's "ladder," - which, according to some opinions, is spiritually "parallel" to the geographical location of Beit El.

From here, one is able to view the greatest "heights," get a glimpse of the "Gate to Heaven." It's crucial to know where the Gate to Heaven is, since the entry to Heaven is only by way of that gate.

This concept - that there is a specific path to come closer to God - is apparent in the verse in Tehilim (Psalms 118:19) that reads: "Open for me the Gates of Righteousness, I will enter them, and give thanks to God. This is the gate to God, Righteous people are permitted to enter it." The Torah is a spiritual passageway, and Bet El is its material, earthly, point of entry. It is here, in Beit El, that, with the help of Hashem, Ya'akov discovers the Gate to Heaven.

BOUNDLESS BOUNTY
Rabbi Yossi once said: "Anyone who makes his Shabbat pleasurable is rewarded with a boundless inheritance, as it says in the book of Yeshaya (Isaiah): 'Then you shall derive pleasure from Hashem; He will, in response, lift you up to the highest places in the land, and feed you the inheritance of your father Ya'akov.'" The rabbis elaborate: "Not like Avraham, with regards to whom it was said: 'Rise up, and tour the land, its length and breadth.' [The Torah here describes Avraham's relationship to the land as being limited to certain boundaries] Not like Yitzchak, with regards to whom it was said: 'To you and your seed I am giving all of these lands...' But like Ya'akov, with regards to whom it was said: 'And you shall spread out to the west, east, north and south...'"

"You shall spread out to the west" is a modern-day reference to our very own Arutz Sheva radio station, whose ship is still at sea; it is anchored some 20 kilometers off the coast of Israel, and 67 kilometers from where we are now, Beit El. God-willing, we will eventually move eastwards, and then further north and south...

DRAWN TO YA'AKOV'S HOME
In the Tractate of Pesachim, our sages quote Rabbi Elazar, who asks "What does the verse in Yeshaya (Isaiah) refer to, when it says: 'Many nations will (in Messianic times)say, Let us go up to Hashem's mountain, to the home of the God of Ya’akov.' Is Hashem the God of Ya'akov and not the God of Avraham and Yitzchak? No! Rather, the verse seeks to distinguish between Avraham, who is identified with a mountain: 'As it will be said, on the Mountain of God he will appear,' and not like Yitzchak, who is associated with a field, as it says: 'Yitzchak went out to pray in the field.' Rather, like Ya'akov, who is associated with a home, as it says, 'And Ya'akov called the name of that place Beit (House of) El (God)...'"

Earlier, we cited a verse that predicted that many of the world's nations will ultimately declare, "Let us go up to the Hashem's mountain." In the future, the world's nations will not simply be drawn towards God, (Who dwells on this mountain) - they will seek out the House of the God of Ya'akov. The non-Jewish nations will not be drawn by Yitzchak, who is identified with a field, a wide-open field that could potentially accomodate host thousands...They will be attracted - by the home symbolized by Ya’akov. A home is a framework, a place that serves as a dwelling, gives a structure to, contains within it, the infinite Divine bounty present within a Jewish family. When the Jewish people reaches its potential, returns to itself, ties into its unique internal essence, then the nations of the world will be attracted, will be driven to ascend the Mountain of God, to reach the house of the God of Ya'akov.

There are times when we must look inward, and by way of an insular approach, later influence others... This is reflected in the commandment to Ya'akov: "And you should spread out to the west, east, north and south." The approach of Ya’akov Avinu is dual: He first turns inward, builds his private home; he then reaches out, moving in all directions - with an eye to positively influencing even distant corners of the land and of the globe...

REFLECTING ON THE PRESENT
I would like to say a few things about the situation in which we find ourselves at present. We are all busy struggling with how to respond to the events that have befallen us, how to perceive them. What does God want from us?

I think that what is happening now is akin to that which our teacher and master, Rav Kook, said during that awful period known as the Holocaust, although obviously not on the same scale as the Shoah. He said that the Holocaust marked the destruction of the "Galut," of the exile... In other words, the Shoah was a painful, awful period, but it was like a surgical procedure - a type of surgery of transition, in which God transplanted us from the diaspora to the Land of Israel. He uprooted us in a very painful fashion but - did so, so that he could bring us here.

I think that we can even look in the same way at our present crisis, our current suffering, at the weakness of spirit that has overtaken the country, its leaders and decision-makers. We are witnessing the crisis of secular Zionism. It is disintegrating. True, it is a very painful, even overwhelming proces - a literal "Hurban," or destruction; the process is bringing about many serious rifts both in the Land and in the nation. What is happening here, however, is not an overall, wholesale destruction of Jewish life, but the destruction of the particular, superficial secular path that has guided modern Israel until now. This is destruction for the sake of rebuilding. It is bound to bring about the crystallizing of the inner, spiritual, essence of our nation.

Of late, several new concepts have been broached in response to the crisis, like "a leadership of faith," "Jewish leadership," and the like. These are positive developments, but any such movement must be careful to view the Jewish experience broadly, not narrowly. A religious leader is not simply someone who dons a kippa (skullcap) on his head. True Jewish leadership means leadership built upon the solid foundation of Torah. An internal, spiritual strength must be its message; it must reflect the deeply-rooted beliefs of Jewish sources; it must be moved by a desire and ability to elevate the nation.

LAYING THE GROUNDWORK
Our country's present political actors - a leadership not guided by the great ideals of Torah - is crumbling, and this disintegration is surely affecting us, too...

Nevertheless, we must see in the latest events - the peeling away of an external, superficial approach that has fulfilled its previous mission. The time has now come for a great spiritual revolution. We have to already see in this crisis the groundwork for the next phase of our growth, of the blazing of a new, spiritual trail within our nation. A revitalized nation will be led by a true Torah-true leadership, a leadership of people of faith, a leadership that actualizes all of those God-given powers within us...

On behalf of the entire community, I wish to thank all the guests who have come here for "Shabbat Beit El." All of you are flesh of our flesh, our brothers. Many of you have relatives who live here. Yet it is not only the people who live here in Bet El, but many many people all over the land who are connected to us here, and who hear, from here, the resounding voice of Ya'akov Avinu. Today, we saw the ladder standing firm on the ground, with its head reaching heaven. Let us all jointly climb that ladder and ascend to even greater heights. If we do so, we will surely soon merit the building of our Beit Elohim - God's Home - the Bet Hamikdash - in all of its splendor and glory, in our Holy City of Jerusalem, speedily in our days...

Learning Values From Yaakov

by Rabbi Dov Berl Wein

Our father Yaakov leaves his home, he who is accustomed to study, tranquility, and to "dwelling in tents," and immediately finds himself alone and endangered in a hostile world. A rock is his pillow and he must erect barriers at night to protect himself from wild animals (both four and two footed) as he sleeps on the ground. Though he is reassured by Heaven and by his grand dream and vision it is clear to him that his future is still uncertain and fraught with dangers, peril and challenges.

When he finally arrives close to his destination he encounters the neighbors and daughters of Lavan who are unable to water their flocks because of the great rock that seals the opening to the well of water. The Torah then describes for us in great detail how Yaakov greets the people and the family of Lavan and in a selfless gesture of help and compassion to others - who he has just met - singlehandedly removes the rock from the mouth of the well.

It is interesting to note that the Torah lavishes a great deal of space and detail to this incident at the well while the Torah tells us nothing about the fourteen years of Yaakov’s life that passed between his leaving home and arriving at the house of Lavan.

Rashi, quoting Midrash, tells us that Yaakov spent these fourteen years in spiritual study and personal growth at theyeshiva academy of Shem and Ever. So, if this is in fact the case, why does the Torah not tell us of this great feat of spiritual challenge and self-improvement – fourteen years of sleepless study - while it does seem to go into mystifying detail regarding the incident at the well of water?Certainly, it would seem that the years of study would have a greater impact on the life and persona of Yaakov than rolling a rock off of the mouth of a well would have had.

As we see throughout the book of Bereisheet if not indeed regarding all of the Torah generally, the Torah places utmost emphasis on the behavior that one exhibits towards other human beings. Not everyone can study for fourteen years in a yeshiva day and night. Yet everyone has the ability to care about others, to demand justice for the defenseless and to provide to the best of one’s abilities help to those who so obviously need it.

Though Yaakov, like all of the great figures and founders of our people that appear here in Bereshith, is unique in spiritual stature and blessed with Divine visions and revelation, he is also essentially everyman. His actions are meant to be atemplate of attitude and behavior for his descendants and the people who bear his name.

The Torah, while making it clear that we can never personally be the equal of our ancestors in their exalted spiritual state and accomplishments, we can and should attempt to emulate their values and behavior. We can all help those in need to roll the rock off of their wells and thereby to nurture an environment where the Yaakov within all of us can grow and expand.

Learning and Dreaming

by HaRav Shaul Yisraeli zt"l

Yaakov had two preparations for his life with Lavan – 14 years of study in the yeshiva of Shem and Ever, and the dream of the ladder. These helped him survive the period successfully.

Although Yaakov already obtained the berachot that ensured his ultimate success, including financially, he was not satisfied. After all, fortune can cause its owner’s downfall (Kohelet 5:12). For a meaningful life of activity, he needed to be a talmid chacham, who could study in his free time in a significant way. He entered a life of intensive study in the ancient yeshiva. The beracha Yaakov received from his father was literally, "from the dew of the heaven and the fats of the land, and a multitude of grain and wine." However, he understood it like the midrash – referring, respectively, to Tanach, Mishna, Talmud, and aggada (Bereishit Rabba 66:3). When Yaakov put in long hours on Lavan’s flock (see Bereisheet 31:40), he contemplated Torah ideas while at work.

Even this was not enough to deal with such a long stay in a struggle with deception that his father-in-law forced him to enter (see Rashi, Bereisheet 29:12). Although everything Yaakov did was after determining it was morally proper, thinking in terms of "outsmarting the rival" can corrupt. That is why Yaakov prayed that he would "return in peace – free of sin" (ibid. 28:21). Should he turn into a conniver, all the Torah he learned could be wasted and even turned into a source of chillul Hashem. 

To help in this regard, Hashem sent him a special dream – a ladder upon which angels travelled to and from the heaven. Yaakov saw himself as one who was kav’yachol to support the Divine Presence (Bereishit Rabba 69:3). Yaakov realized the greatness of his role in the world, to coronate Hashem through his actions. This helped him succeed in keeping 613 mitzvot while in Lavan’s home (Rashi, Bereisheet 32:5). His involvement with Lavan and his tricks turned into a side point that did not overly impact him. Yaakov knew his purpose and saw the light that guided him, as the material world is just a guise that allows Hashem’s blessing to take hold.

Our patriarch Yaakov set the example for his descendants. We, like him, went through three stages in our history. This started with a yeshiva-learning stage before exile, with the development of Talmud Bavli, which stays with us wherever our nation travels.

Yaakov was in an open isolated place, exposed to wild animals, just as our nation has been exposed to dangerous nations. While possessing just a stick, he went to sleep protected by some stones, and merited his dream. Instead of focusing on dangers, he focused on the beauty of the spiritual world, and the dream gave him long-lasting strength.

Then he came to Lavan, who was so warm, but also demanded that Yaakov enter his world. We have found such treatment in our exiles as well. And we have to remember that the most rewarding approach is that of truth. We had to draw strength from the years of yeshiva learning and the dream that shows us that the world is a stage upon which the spiritual ministers of the world go up and down. We have always awaited the great day "when Hashem returns the returners to Zion" (Tehillim 126:1) We remain, due to the power of the dream, and because we prepared ourselves in the "the study halls of Shem and Ever."

Rav Kook's Ein Ayah

Melacha - Quality, Not Amount of Force

(condensed from Ein Ayah, Shabbat 7:10)

Gemara: One who tightens the thread of fabrics [that were already sewn together but became loosened – Rashi] on Shabbat, requires a chatatoffering [for atonement for violating Shabbat]. 

Ein Ayah:The character of melacha(forbidden work on Shabbat) does not depend on its external form, i.e., the amount of force that a person must expend to complete it. Rather, it depends on its internal character, or its spiritual form, i.e., the qualitative improvement to the object to which it relates.

It is true that the two elements are usually interconnected. In other words, melachathat brings some significant embellishment also requires significant physical action by a person. However, this correlation is coincidental. If it turns out that an activity has the qualitative requirements of a melachawithout involving significant physical action, nothing is detracted from its status in regard to the laws of Shabbat. Indeed the consequences for one who does a melachaon Shabbat are a function of the melacha’squalitative, even spiritual, quality of that which is accomplished.

When one tightens a thread that forms the stitches in fabric, he rarely has to use noteworthy force. Nevertheless, it contains a full status of melacha, as it improves a garment, whose various fabrics start separating from each other if the thread has not been tightened. That is why there is a need for a chatat offering.


The Impact of a Morally Corrosive Source of Information

(condensed from Ein Ayah, Shabbat 7:11)

Gemara: One who learns even one thing from an amgosh (a negative person, whose specific fault is the subject of a subsequent gemara) is deserving of death.

Ein Ayah: When the human spirit delves, with all its depth, thought, feelings, desires, and imagination, into the depths of animalistic coarseness, it sets many and deep paths of darkness. The general approach that the paths of darkness employ is to bring the desired “peace” between a person’s evil and lowly tendencies and between his good and lofty tendencies by “killing” the positive tendencies and having the negative ones take control over all of a person’s totality. From there darkness takes over the world.

The phenomenon of the amgoshsets the stage for idol worship, and his ways are very complex. Sometimes such a person has positive things to offer and can teach things that are useful. However the characteristic of the amgoshimprints on everything in which he is involved with venom. Thereby, anything that comes within his domain will cause an increase of darkness and allow a person’s lowly animalistic elements to cause him to be brash and have his side of chutzpa prevail. Even the smallest measures of intellectual attainment that come from such a destructive source have venomous impact. They strengthen a person’s excitement with that which his evil inclination presents in a way that grows and grows in severity. One who learns from an amgoshthus leads himself away from the proper paths of life.

Israel: Quit UNESCO, Um-Shmum, Make Ben-Gurion Proud!

Bus load after bus load brought Jewish spiritual tourists into Hebron-Kiryat Arba last Friday afternoon. You could feel the electricity, this Shabbat was going to be different. A quiet excitement filled the air. Soon tents were sprouting up on the lawns between buildings, like mushrooms after a good rain. Homes were filled with guests. Schools and gymnasiums turned into makeshift hostels. Separate sleeping arrangements were set up for yeshiva guys and seminary girls, sleeping on mattresses on the floor. Cars at first filled the parking lots, then overflowed into double parking, and finally onto the sidewalks.

In the end, over 40,000 Jews voted with their feet, coming out to Hebron-Kiryat Arba in Judea, more than quadrupling the Jewish population, including Jerusalem Affairs Minister Ze’ev Elkin and Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, who was also acting prime minister, while Netanyahu spent the weekend in Europe. For more than a day, Hebron-Kiryat Arba became a city of over 50,000 strong.

What caused this vast human migration? The annual, Shabbat Hevron! Jews came to connect to their forefathers and foremothers, their roots and the roots of the Davidic kingdom.

This past Sabbath Torah reading, was Parshat Chayei Sarah (the life of Sarah). In it, we learn that the matriarch Sarah, has died in Kiryat Arba, which is Hebron (Genesis 23:2). Then, Abraham buys a burial place for his dear wife Sarah and buries her there (Genesis 23:16-20). That place is called today, the Tomb or Cave of the Patriarchs, or Ma’arat HaMachpelah. One of the most fought over holy sites in the world, and the second holiest place in Judaism, after the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

But, why should it be fought over? The Bible clearly tells everyone, that Abraham purchased it. The cave and surrounding field, became the Jewish homestead and family burial plot. Abraham’s purchase included the land around the cave, and we find all the patriarchs living in Hebron. Abraham and Sarah are buried there. So, too are Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob and Leah. Its well documented (Genesis 49:29-32, 50:12-13). Who could contest it?

The “Palestinians,” and Arab/Muslim world, for one. And, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for another.

“Um-Shmum,” as David Ben-Gurion said. In 1955, the Israeli cabinet discussed Defense Minister Ben-Gurion’s plan to take over the Gaza Strip from Egypt, because of increasing terror attacks originating from there. PM Moshe Sharett, worrying about the UN response, pointed out that if it hadn’t been for the UN resolution of 1947, the State of Israel would not have been founded. Ben-Gurion shouted, “Not at all! Only the daring of the Jews founded this country, and not some Um-Shmum resolution.”

UM is Hebrew for United Nations, and Shmum, is a term of belittlement. You get the point, Ben-Gurion didn’t think much of the UN. And, neither should Israel today…

There they go again, “Um-Shmum,” UNESCO, with new anti-Israel resolutions, denying Jewish rights, as usual.

For example in 2010, a report by UNESCO, labeled Kever Rachel or Rachel’s Tomb, a mosque. Imagine that? Its clearly documented that Rachel died and was buried by Jacob “...On the road to Efrat, which is Bethlehem. Jacob set up a monument over her grave; its the tomb of Rachel’s grave until today” (Genesis 35:19-20). And, Jews have been going there to pray for millennia.

And, in October 2016, UNESCO passed a resolution denying Jewish ties to holy sites in Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount (site of two Jewish temples) and the Western Wall. The resolution referred to the area using only their Arabic names, stating their importance to Islam. The resolution passed 10 to 2, with 8 abstentions. Tunisia and Lebanon proposed the resolution on behalf of the Palestinian Authority and Jordan.

At the time, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon castigated UNESCO for the move, “The absurdity continues, and UNESCO has adopted yet another ridiculous decision that is completely disconnected from reality. UNESCO embarrassed itself by marching to the tune of the Palestinian pipers. All attempts to deny our heritage, distort history and disconnect the Jewish people from our capital and our homeland are doomed to fail.”

Then, in July 2017, UNESCO's World Heritage Committee declared the old city of Hebron (where King David ruled before Jerusalem, I Kings 2:11), and the Tomb of the Patriarchs, “Palestinian” heritage sites.

In December 2017, Israel announced that it intended to withdraw from UNESCO, after the US made a similar announcement, primarily because of UNESCO’s continuous anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli behavior.

PM Netanyahu in September 2018, explained why he would not attend a UNESCO sponsored conference on anti-Semitism, “Since 2009, UNESCO has passed 71 resolutions condemning Israel and only two resolutions condemning all other countries combined. This is simply outrageous. Anti-Semitism once discriminated against and defamed the Jewish people. Today it distinguishes against and defames the Jewish state.”

Then at the beginning of October 2018, the PX Commission of the Executive Board of UNESCO, adopted the following resolution:

III. The two Palestinian sites of Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi/Tomb of the Patriarchs in Al-Khalil/Hebron and the Bilal Ibn Rabah Mosque/Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem

13. Reaffirms that the two concerned sites located in Al-Khalil/Hebron and in Bethlehem are an integral part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and shares the conviction affirmed by the international community that the two sites are of religious significance for Judaism, Christianity and Islam; [“Occupied Palestinian Territory?” Liars, its liberated Judea, tribe of Judah, belongs to Jews, get it.]

14. Deplores the ongoing Israeli excavations, works, construction of private roads for settlers and of a Wall inside the Old City of Al-Khalil/Hebron which are illegal under international law and harmfully affect the authenticity and integrity of the site, and the subsequent denial of freedom of movement and freedom of access to places of worship and asks Israel, the occupying Power, to end all violations which are not in conformity with the provisions of relevant UNESCO conventions, resolutions and decisions;

15. Regrets the visual impact of the Wall on the site of Bilal Ibn Rabah Mosque/Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem as well as the strict ban on access of Palestinian Christian and Muslim worshippers to the site, and demands that the Israeli authorities restore the original character of the landscape around the site and lift the ban on access to it;

Anything Israel does do, are security precautions, to protect Jews from ongoing Arab attacks.

The resolutions were submitted by Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and Sudan, and were approved several minutes after the beginning of the commission’s meeting, without much discussion or debate, rubber-stamping the Palestinian’s request.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, responded to the resolution, saying “This is further evidence, for anyone who did not understand why the United States and Israel withdrew from UNESCO, that again proves that UNESCO is a body based on lies and biases, and is deliberately acting against us. The State of Israel will not be a member of an organization that is trying to rewrite history and willing to be manipulated by our enemies.”

Issuing a Press Release in response, in late October, The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), “...expressed concern about two resolutions recently adopted by a commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).”

“On October 10, 2018, the Programme and External Relations Commission of UNESCO’s Executive Board adopted Resolutions 28 and 29 concerning religious sites in the Holy Land. USCIRF appreciates the Commission’s efforts to affirm, correctly, that these sites ‘are of religious significance for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.’ At the same time, Resolution 28 describes holy sites in Hebron/al-Khalil and Bethlehem solely as ‘Palestinian sites’.”

“Commissioner Gary Bauer cautioned, ‘The idea that there’s a question about the Jewish historical presence in the Holy Land and specifically at these sites is unacceptable and diminishes the religious rights of the Jewish people. UNESCO has no business pronouncing on territorial sovereignty or arbitrating territorial disputes.’”

The new French Jewish Leftist Director General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, appointed in November 2017, has claimed to be trying to “reform” the organization. When she was brought in, she said she would try to eliminate the endemic culture of anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism at UNESCO. She has been working hard, to prevent the withdrawal of the US and Israel, which is to take effect at the end of 2018. But since this latest resolution was passed on her watch, she seems largely ineffectual.

If the members of UNESCO don’t know how to open up a Bible and read about Abraham’s purchase of the Ma’arah, Sarah’s burial there, and later, how it becomes the family burial tomb; If UNESCO members hate Jews and Israel so much, and want to deny their rights in the Land of Israel, then Israel doesn’t belong in UNESCO. Don’t subject Israeli diplomats to associate with a bunch of illiterates, filled with hatred and lies.

About Hebron, Ben-Gurion wrote in 1970, “...we will make a great and awful mistake if we fail to settle Hebron, neighbor and predecessor of Jerusalem, with a large Jewish settlement, constantly growing and expanding, very soon.” Like Ben-Gurion, the over 800,000 visitors annually to Hebron-Kiryat Arba, and to the Ma’arah, know the truth.

Israel: Quit UNESCO, Um-Shmum, make Ben-Gurion proud!

Ariel Natan Pasko, an independent analyst and consultant, has a Master's Degree specializing in International Relations, Political Economy & Policy Analysis. His articles appear regularly on numerous news/views and think-tank websites and in newspapers. His latest articles can also be read on his archive: The Think Tank by Ariel Natan Pasko.

(c) 2018/5779 Pasko

Rabbi Ari Kahn on Parashat Toldot: Family Dynamics

Duma: The False Accusation

by Moshe Feiglin

The cynical abuse of Roman Zadarov, serving a life prison sentence for a murder that he apparently did not commit, is nothing compared to what is happening now with Amiram Oliel.

These are the main points of the story:

On the 15th of Av 5775 (July 2015) two homes in the Arab village of Duma were set on fire. A couple and their son were killed. Graffiti saying “Revenge” and “Long live the king Mashiach” were found scrawled on the buildings.

The President and Prime Minister immediately determined that this was an act of Jewish terror, the media was ecstatic and the GSS energetically embarked on a manhunt after “hilltop youth” to apprehend the guilty party. When no evidence was found, the media began to criticize the Defense Minister at the time, Bogi Ya’alon, saying that when it came to Jewish terror, Israel’s security services were dragging their feet. Bogi publicized an announcement, bragging that the security services knew who the murderers were, but had not yet arrested them in order not to reveal hidden sources.

Following that, a complaint was filed with the High Court to obligate him to arrest the criminals. Bogi had to provide an answer, the system was under pressure and began arresting young ‘hilltop youth’. These boys, arrested with no evidence against them, were interrogated under torture and were not allowed to see an attorney. Obviously, this torture had no legal justification – these boys were not ticking time bombs – but when give an excuse to justify torture of hilltop youth, the media and High Court - the ‘guardians’ of democracy- turn into the Dobermans of dictatorship. In this way, human rights in Israel deteriorated to an unprecedented low.

There was, of course, good reason to examine other motives and directions, such as the fact that four homes in Duma were burned in the months preceding this incident and another home was burned in the month following the incident. But for some reason, nobody investigated those acts of arson. The residents of Duma seem to have a hobby of burning their neighbors’ homes and it is possible that they had already learned how to write graffiti in Hebrew (as was the case, for example, in the Hassan Bek mosque and in other places).

But let us return to the story.

The parents of the tortured youth and many people from the Religious Zionist public began to rebel against the bits and pieces of information about the youth being tortured. There were public protests, angry articles in the sector publications – things began to sizzle. And then, with great “courage and responsibility”, the leader of the Religious Zionists, Naftali Bennett declared:

“Do you want the roof to fall in on us? Who do you believe? Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked? Or rightist attorney Itamar Ben Gvir?”

Bennett did not want to stand up to the evil winds blowing from the media and defend his constituents. Instead, he allowed the gang rape to proceed – and even joined in.

But Bennett is not the story.

The story is that nothing came of all the ‘ticking time bombs’ and severe torture. The only person indicted in the Duma incident was Amiram Ben Oliel, who is now in his third year of incarceration under conditions reserved for terrorists.

Under unspeakable torture, the GSS extracted a ridiculous confession from Ben Oliel – so ridiculous that the court refused to accept it. Nevertheless, those who know that it would be impossible to leave the GSS and the prosecution empty-handed, employed a legal trick in which the court accepted the same confession made by Ben Oliel 36 hours after his confession under torture. Just that this confession, which according to the court was made of his free will, was made – according to court records – only after the representative of the GSS entered the interrogation room. It is easy to understand that the GSS man’s threatening presence was what ‘convinced’ Ben Oliel to confess of his own ‘free will’.

But that is not the end of the story. The GSS got stuck with a confession that is illogical and does not fit in with any of the testimony in the Duma file. According to witnesses, there were at least two people at the scene of the crime. There was also a car, about which some of those arrested were interrogated. All of that disappeared from the indictment. According to the indictment, Amiram Ben Oliel is a superman, performing amazing feats all by himself. He sets two homes ablaze at the same time, writes two different graffiti slogans on the two homes and perhaps even dresses up as two different people. In the end he runs away on foot, without leaving any evidence at all that connects him to the crime.

Just like Zadarov, it is impossible to free Ben Oliel because that would be an admission of the system’s evil. But it will also be very difficult to convict him, as Chaim Levinson wrote in the extreme Left Ha’aretz newspaper, because nothing in the indictment connects to anything else.

So, like Zadarov, Ben Oliel will continue to rot in prison – with two differences: One, Oliel underwent severe torture and now he is also being abused in unbearable conditions. He is in solitary confinement, his wife and four-year-old daughter meet him once a week for half an hour from behind a glass partition. He is allowed to hug his daughter for only a few minutes.The second difference is that Zadarov was already convicted. Amiram Ben Oliel’s trial will be starting this month. Public pressure may bring about a retrial for Zadarov and may not. By contrast, public pressure for Amiram may prevent a severe verdict, which would have no basis other than an illogical confession extracted under torture.

Is President Trump bad for the Jewish People?

The Yishai Fleisher Show: Let's Get Ready to Rumble

The titanic twin forces of Jacob and Esav begin their epic battle which rages till today. Three times does Jacob nip at the heal of Esav his brother - at the birth, at the soup, and at his father's blessings. Is Jacob a trickster, or does he learn a thing or two from his hunter brother? Rabbi Yishai is in Brooklyn, on the way to Toronto, on the way to the Land of Israel. Join him on the road for the war's play by play!

A Father’s Legacy

by Rabbi Ben-Tzion Spitz

I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection. -Sigmund Freud

Isaac is perhaps one of the more saintly characters in our history. He was willing to be sacrificed on Mount Moriah. He steadfastly continued his father’s work, following in Abraham’s footsteps in serving God and bringing the teachings of Abraham to the next generation.

When God speaks to Isaac and tells him that he will inherit the land of Canaan, he warns him against leaving the land and tells him that he and his progeny have received the land in Abraham’s merit.

The Berdichever wonders why the saintly Isaac wasn’t told he would receive the land on his own merit. Isaac was righteous. Isaac was diligent in following his father’s path. Isaac is one of the three founding Patriarchs of the Jewish nation. Did he not have enough divine “credit” like Abraham did, to merit the Promised Land in his own right?

The Berdichver explains that a major part of Abraham’s mission was to “raise the sparks” of the world up to God. In order to accomplish the mission, Abraham needed to travel far and wide and interact with the world outside of the Promised Land. Abraham was able to gather these far-flung sparks and bring them back with him to Canaan.

However, once Abraham had gathered these spiritual sparks to Canaan, Isaac was able to “raise the sparks” from Canaan to Heaven. There was no need for him to leave Canaan. Abraham had passed on to Isaac the power to raise these sparks. Abraham’s gathering of the sparks somehow empowered Isaac to be able to conduct this unique spiritual function. Isaac had what is called “Zchut Avot” – merit of the fathers, which Abraham himself didn’t have.

Because Abraham lacked a father who was able to pass on to him this spiritual power and legacy, he needed to roam the world and develop his own merit. However, Isaac, who did have the merit of being born to and raised by the spiritually developed Abraham, didn’t have to reinvent the wheel. He didn’t have to go on his own geographically challenging journey of spiritual discovery and development. He was able to continue where his father left off in the Promised Land. He was able to take the work his father had done and elevate it higher.

It is due to Abraham, the trailblazer, who came from a spiritually humble upbringing, in whose merit Isaac is told that he and his progeny will receive the Promised Land. While Abraham may have been the trailblazer, it was Isaac who followed, elevated and passed on the trailblazer’s trail.

Both the trailblazer and the one who continues the trailblazer’s work are vitally important. No development of importance can endure without both. It was that spiritually powerful father-and-son team that led to Jacob, to the tribes of Israel and to the eternal Jewish people.

In the end, we are told, that we have received the land in the merit of all three Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Shabbat Shalom.

Government Sanctioned Culture? Zehut's Solution (vid; Eng subs available)

Jealousy and Slavery

BS”D
Parashat Toldot 5779
by HaRav Nachman Kahana

Two conspicuously significant statements in the parasha regarding our father Yitzchak. The first is HaShem’s command to Yitzchak never to leave Eretz Yisrael (Bereishiet 26,2):

(ב) וירא אליו ה’ ויאמר אל תרד מצרימה שכן בארץ אשר אמר אליך:
And HaShem appeared to him and said, ‘do not descend to Egypt; dwell in the land which I will tell you.

The other when Avimelech king of the Philistines went to Yitzchak after expelling him from the area under Avimelech’s control (Bereishiet 26,28). Yitzchak asks the king why he came? To which Avimelech replied:

ויאמרו ראו ראינו כי היה ה’ עמך…..
Because we have observed that HaShem was with you”

Two dominant features regarding Yitzchak: HaShem does not permit him to leave Eretz Yisrael and HaShem is with Yitzchak.

The statement that HaShem is with an individual appears again regarding David (Shmuel 1 16:18):

ויען אחד מהנערים ויאמר הנה ראיתי בן לישי בית הלחמי ידע נגן וגבור חיל ואיש מלחמה ונבון דבר ואיש תאר וה’ עמו
One of the servants (Do’eg the Edomite) answered to King Shaul: “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the LORD is with him.”

Do’eg the Edomite sought to arouse the jealousy of King Shaul towards David by enumerating David’s unique qualities, and hence the danger that David might usurp the monarchy from Yehonatan, Shaul’s son, after Shaul’s demise.

“David has musical aptitude,” says Do’eg.” Shaul is unimpressed, because Yehonatan has this quality too. That David is “a brave man and a warrior” does not impress Shaul, because Yehonatan is equally brave and a warrior. David is handsome, but so is Yehonatan.

Then Do’eg says to Shaul regarding David: “And HaShem is with him.” This impacts upon Shaul, who says that even he, the King, cannot say “the Lord is with me”. At that moment, jealousy and hatred fill Shaul’s heart towards David.

The obvious meaning is that David is successful in all that he does. The Gemara (Sanhedrin 93:b) explains that in addition to the implicit meaning of the words, the underlying intent is to state that in halachic disputes David’s view was always accepted.

After 2000 years of exile, we today in Eretz Yisrael merit the unique quality of “The Lord is with us”. When we must fight, our army is victorious. We have, with the help of HaShem, turned the desert into a garden. Our currency is among the strongest in the world and our real estate is real and not a bubble; our scientific achievements continue to make serious contributions to mankind, in this city of Yerushalayim alone, there is more Torah learning than in all the other parts of the world combined.

And, above all, in the world of Torah when a serious halachic matter arises it is always brought before the rabbis in Medinat Yisrael.

Indeed “HaShem is with us” – the people who have chosen to return to HaShem’s holy land in this world. Regarding the Jews who choose to remain in foreign lands, HaShem watches over them but from afar; for after the establishment of the State of Israel, no one today in the galut can say “HaShem is with us.”

It would be correct to assume that the two pesukim in our parsha – that Yitzchak was prohibited to leave the holy land and that HaShem was with him – are interdependent. HaShem wishes to be with Yitzchak therefore he must remain here. There are 4 other Biblical personalities regarding whom it says that the HaShem was with them: Gideon, David, Shlomo and King Chizkiyahu – all five never left Eretz Yisrael.

That HaShem is with the Jewish nation is a glaring fact compared to other communities that underwent similar slavery experiences. Afro-Americans experienced slavery for about the same number of years that we were slaves in Egypt. Blacks number about 47 million in the US and halachic Jews in the world are about 10 million. According to all human parameters Jews have succeeded in throwing off the slavery stigma and reaching heights in all fields of human endeavor only because HaShem was with us from the day He chose us at Mount Sinai and commanded us with his Torah.

Serious Questions

This past Succot while observing the mass of people crossing the square in front of my home in the Old City, questions passed through my mind that measure the degree to which one has internalized the spirit of Eretz Yisrael.

With whom does a normative religious Jew in galut feel a greater affinity – with a scrupulously-religious Jew in Monsey or Lakewood, or with a secular pilot of an Israeli F-16, who twice daily takes to the skies to protect the Jews of Eretz Yisrael?

After spending over $200,000 per child for 12 years of Torah education in the USA, how does a parent feel when visiting Eretz Yisrael and realizing that the Torah knowledge of his 18-year-old yeshiva high school son or daughter is on a par with that of a fifth grader in any decent religious school here?

How does one feel, knowing that the Arab of Israel speaks, reads and writes the language of the Torah, while his rabbi can barely create a sentence of three words in the holy tongue?

Serious questions for serious people; my reply:
I am quite certain that the average religious Jew in galut feels a greater affinity to his fellow religious Jew there rather than to the pilot of an Israeli F-16. But I state without hesitation that I feel a greater brotherhood and love for the Jew who risks his life in the defense of the Holy Land. I am a brother to the F-16 pilot and the Golani private who are the messengers of HaShem. One who does not feel bound to, and indebted to, the fighters of Israel is one who does not know what freedom is all about.
If the realization of the wasted time and hard-earned resources invested in producing a child whose Torah knowledge is so imperfect does not commit the parents to leave the galut as soon as possible, then they are not dedicated Jewish parents.

Language creates associations with other people, with similar cultural forms and national mores. To speak a language is to live it. The Arab clings to the land here, because he feels a part of it and its language. If you don’t live the language, you remain on the periphery of the society. That is why our rabbis taught that the Jews of the Egyptian bondage maintained the language of their fathers.

Hashem is with us

The “mother of all ills” affecting the Jews in the galut – including their spiritual leaders – is their uncertainty that HaShem can or will protect and provide for them in Eretz Yisrael.

The prophet Yishayahu (54,17) sees the future Jewish nation in the holy land:

כל כלי יוצר עליך לא יצלח וכל לשון תקום אתך למשפט תרשיעי זאת נחלת עבדי ה’ וצדקתם מאתי נאם ה’
No weapon forged against you will prevail,
And you will refute every tongue that accuses you before the gentile courts.
This is the heritage of the servants of HaShem, and this is their vindication from me, declares HaShem.

We see this happening now before our very eyes in Eretz Yisrael. It is the miraculous protection of HaShem over his loyal children.

It is “HaShem is with us” in all its glory as Am Yisrael shakes off the shackles of the galut to continue our journey towards the unique destiny that HaShem has determined for us.

Shabbat Shalom,
Nachman Kahana
Copyright © 5779/2018 Nachman Kahana

Left-Wing Jews: a Jewish and American Tragedy

by Dennis Prager

It is probably impossible to overstate the damage left-wing — not liberal but left-wing — Jews are doing to Judaism, Jews and America. Of course, the same can be said of the damage left-wing Catholics are doing to Catholicism and America, other left-wing Christians are doing to Christianity and America, and, most obviously, the damage the secular left-wing is doing. But since anti-Semitism is in the news, and given the prominence of many left-wing Jews, I will focus on them.

The damage done to Jews by left-wing Jews is not new. It began at the beginning of the left with Karl Marx, the grandson of two Orthodox rabbis (his parents had undergone pro forma conversion to Christianity). He wrote one of the most anti-Semitic tracts of the 19th century, “On the Jewish Question,” published in 1844. In it he wrote, among other things:

“What is the worldly religion of the Jew? Huckstering …”

“What is his worldly G od? Money …”

“Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist …”

“In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.”

In the early 20th century, another left-wing Jew, Leon Trotsky, who, along with Lenin, led the Bolshevik Party in Russia, was a catastrophe for Jews and for humanity. In 1920, when Trotsky was head of the Red Army, Moscow’s chief rabbi, Rabbi Jacob Mazeh, asked him to use the army to protect the Jews from pogromist attacks in which tens thousands of Jews were murdered. Trotsky is reported to have responded: “Why do you come to me? I am not a Jew,” to which Rabbi Mazeh answered: “That’s the tragedy. It’s the Trotskys who make revolutions, and it’s the Bronsteins who pay the price.”

That is the story of the many Jewish leftists to this day: Jewish leftists make revolutions, and all the Jews (among millions of others) pay the price.

Thus, many of the leaders of the movement to economically strangle Israel — the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions (BDS) movement — are left-wing Jews.

A few years ago, I was invited to the world’s most famous debating forum, the Oxford Union, to debate the farcical question of whether Israel or Hamas is a greater obstacle to peace in the Middle East. One of my two adversaries was a Jewish former professor at Oxford. He argued that Israel was a greater threat to peace than Hamas.

Another prominent left-wing Jew, MIT professor Noam Chomsky, has devoted his life to writing and speaking against two countries: the United States and Israel.

The security of the world’s only Jewish state is by far the greatest security issue for world Jewry. Yet many left-wing Jews attack Israel, support many of those who wish to destroy Israel or, at the very least, do nothing to strengthen Israel’s security.

In America today, leftism has poisoned so many non-Orthodox synagogues, they differ only from the American Civil Liberties Union or the Democratic Party in their use of Hebrew liturgy.

Many non-Orthodox synagogues sat shiva — Judaism’s seven days of mourning after the death of an immediate relative — when Donald Trump was elected president. This perversion of Judaism is an example of what leftism does to every religion it infiltrates. I suspect none of those synagogues sat shiva after the murder of 11 Jews in Pittsburgh. Why? Did the election of Donald Trump bother them more? Left-wing Jews are ethnically Jewish, but their values derive from leftism (just as the current pope is Catholic in his identity but his values derive from leftism).

The current charge that the Pittsburgh massacre was caused by President Trump is one of the greatest libels in American history. Virtually every left-wing columnist and commentator has spread this lie, most of them written by left-wing Jews such as the Washington Post’s Dana Milbank. One of their lies is that attacks on George Soros are anti-Semitic.

I think George Soros is a malevolent force. Am I an anti-Semite? (To answer that, let’s compare what I have done for Jews and Judaism with what any of these left-wing Jews have done.) But left-wing Jews have always done this. They attributed the execution of the Rosenbergs — who, immoral leftists that they were, passed on the secrets to the atom bomb to Stalin — to anti-Semitism. The judge in the Rosenberg case was a Jew. But to left-wing Jews, that didn’t matter. Ever since Stalin labeled Trotsky a “fascist,” leftists have always depicted their opponents as “Nazis,” “racists,” “anti-Semites,” “fascists,” “haters” and “bigots.” That is their modus operandi.

Many of these left-wing Jews base this libel about President Trump’s “role” in the context of an equally libelous claim that there has been a great rise in American anti-Semitism in the Trump era — resulting in the Pittsburgh massacre — based on an Anti-Defamation League study. The study’s mendacity is fully exposed by David E. Bernstein, a professor of law at George Mason University Law School and a Trump opponent , in two devastating reviews (one on Reason.com and one in Tablet Magazine ).

Read them and you will understand one of the most important things you need to know about the left: Truth is not a left-wing value. The ADL, which at one time was preoccupied with fighting anti-Semitism, is now preoccupied with fighting Donald Trump and fighting on behalf of the American left.

In 1970, a Harris study showed that 23 percent of Jewish college students termed themselves “far left” versus 4 percent of Protestants and 2 percent of Catholics.

Many of those college students are now many of the non-Orthodox rabbis and lay leaders in American Jewish life. Given the rule that whatever the left touches it ultimately ruins (the universities, for example), the Bronsteins will continue to pay the price for the Trotskys’ revolutions.

There Is No Political Solution for Gaza

by Prof. Hillel Frisch

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The claim that an agreement among the US administration, the Palestinian Authority, and the Egyptians to allow the PA to turn the financial screws on Hamas would culminate in the PA’s reassertion of control over the Gaza Strip could not be further from reality. In the Middle East, only armed force prevails.

According to Tzipi Livni, the MK for the Zionist Camp and Leader of the Opposition, not only is there a political solution to Gaza, but this solution could have been achieved as early as in 2009. She claims forcefully that at that time, there was widespread agreement among the Obama administration, the Palestinian Authority, and the Egyptians to allow the PA to turn the financial screws on the fledgling Hamas government, which would have culminated in the latter’s capitulation to disarm as the PA’s security forces took over the Strip they had lost two years earlier.

So great was the consensus among these actors, Livni claims, that this strategy would have resulted in a Security Council resolution. In her view, the only impediment to implementing this strategy was, and remains, Benjamin Netanyahu and his (allegedly extreme) right-wing government.

The obvious questions that spring to mind when listening to Livni are: 1) since when does consensus among outside powers (not backed by facts on the ground) in the Middle East ever matter? And 2) since when was any Security Council resolution worth more than the paper it was written on?

A good place to begin to answer these questions would be the Syrian civil war, the worst outburst of violence to occur in the Middle East in three decades. Countless security resolutions and at least five rounds of intensive negotiations took place between the opposition and outside forces. To what avail? None.

What decided the outcome? Military force: Russian air power, Hezbollah fighters, and Iranian-backed militias for Syria; and 2,000-3,000 US special forces operating with the Kurds as well as Turkish military intervention that allowed the rebels to remain in the Idlib enclave. This is why President Assad is winning but only partially victorious.

Let’s look at Lebanon. There were countless security resolutions calling for the disarming of Hezbollah (not specifically, but in intent), and a democratically elected government led by Saad Hariri, who demanded the same. What was the result? In May 2008, Hezbollah fighters fanned out all over Beirut and encircled the elected government in Government House. The government capitulated to Hezbollah demands, the most important of which was to refrain from moves that would circumscribe the Islamist terrorist group as the most powerful violent force in Lebanon.

Livni could also have learned this lesson from Egypt. How was a government that had been democratically elected during the “Arab Spring” removed? Mainly by Egyptian tanks, personnel carriers, and sharpshooters, and peripherally by a minority of citizens who backed the army. Obama criticized the counter-coup, as did the EU, but General Abdel Fattah Sisi is still firmly in power. The deposed president is languishing in jail, largely forgotten.

Some would argue that former President Morsi’s fate is far more benign than that of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Rhetorically and on paper, there is an international consensus against Riyadh, but it seems that the many words of condemnation will hardly matter and Muhammad bin Salman, the real power behind the throne, will come out of the crisis stronger than before. Why? Because he has learned the lessons of the Middle East that Livni find so hard to accept. This is a region where the exercise of power, usually in very brutal form, prevails.

Could Hamas and the Palestinian Authority be different from the Syrians, Iranians, Egyptians, and Saudis? Well, consider the way Hamas fighters threw Fatah operatives from the rooftops of apartment buildings as a sign of victory after taking over Gaza from the PA, or the brutal treatment both governments mete out against their opposition, or the psychological punishment Hamas inflicts on the families of Israelis dead or alive in Gaza. None of this demonstrates an inclination to turn the other cheek.

Livni would retort that Hamas would be forced to disarm and allow the PA’s security forces to take over Gaza. The question is, who would force them, and with what? Financial pressure? Iran, Qatar, and Turkey will come up with the necessary funds to maintain Hamas’s violent control of Gaza.

Could the PA security forces (with Israeli permission to transit through its territory) conquer Gaza? If 70,000 Israeli forces were only able to penetrate three kilometers into Gaza in 2014, how realistic is it to expect that a few thousand PA soldiers will take over the whole of Gaza and then maintain it? After all, the PA ruled Gaza in 1994-2007, only to be ruthlessly expelled by Hamas, which has since massively consolidated its power. Rest assured that Hamas has already dug tunnels under potential PA military bases in Gaza, just as it did against Israeli forces during the Palestinian war of terror of the early 2000s (euphemized as the “al-Aqsa intifada”). The PA military’s fate in Gaza is sealed.

What about outside powers? How likely is the US to send forces into Gaza? How likely are the Europeans, who have to deal with Putin, Erdoğan, the fallout of the Libyan crisis, and a good deal more, to do so?

The answers to these questions are obvious.

And finally, can the Israeli public be expected to want the IDF to enter the fray on behalf of octogenarian Abbas, who alternates between deriding the Jewish state at every turn and financing the families of terrorists – and whose behavior reveals a determined and full-throated denial of Jewish peoplehood and Jewish history, notably the Holocaust? Israelis are hardly likely to once again countenance being the “victims of peace” they were asked to be during the failed Oslo project.

With Israeli elections looming, Livni should be urged to come up with more realistic strategic thinking that places military deterrence at center stage. The Israeli public will not be fooled again by delusional wishful thinking.

Palestinian Threats to Arab Normalization with Israel

by Khaled Abu Toameh 

• "There's no place for the [Israeli] enemy on the map." — Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas leader, October 29, 2018.
• A number of senior Fatah officials, including Munir al-Jaghoob and Mohammed Shtayyeh, have condemned Oman for hosting Netanyahu. They have also condemned the UAE for allowing Israelis to participate in the judo competition.
• So, Fatah and Hamas cannot agree to pay their workers, they cannot agree on supplying electricity to the Gaza Strip, and they cannot agree on providing medical supplies to hospitals there. They do agree, however, on inflicting more harm and damage on their people. If they go on like this, the day will come when the Palestinians will discover that their friends and brothers have become their biggest enemies.

Recent statements issued by Hamas and Fatah have strongly condemned Arab countries for "rushing" to normalize relations with Israel before the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved. Pictured: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shakes hands with Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said, during Netanyahu's official visit to Oman, October 26, 2018. (Image source: Israel PM's Office)

For more than 10 years now, Hamas and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's ruling Fatah faction have been at war with each other. Attempts by their Arab brothers, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, to solve the power struggle between the two rival Palestinian groups have thus far failed and are unlikely to succeed in the foreseeable future. The gap between Hamas and Fatah remains as wide as ever: the two parties despise each other. Fatah wants to return to the Gaza Strip; Hamas says it out loud: no. Fatah wants Hamas to disarm and cede control over the Gaza Strip; Hamas says no.

On one particular issue, however, the two sides lay aside their differences and see eye to eye. When it comes to Israel, one would be hard-pressed to distinguish between Fatah and Hamas.

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Lies to Power

by Rabbi Steven Pruzansky

Rav David Lau, the Chief Rabbi of Israel, was our guest this past Shabbat, and his Friday night talk made abundantly clear his passionate love for every Jew regardless of station in life or level of observance. Of course, one would have naturally thought the opposite based on the tendentious, fanatical and demonstrably false story peddled by the media in the wake of the massacre of the Pittsburgh Jews HY"D, since retracted but for which no apology has yet to be offered. It is an object lesson in the current low state of the fourth estate. (i.e., the press).

The lie emerged from a misreading of an interview in Makor Rishon, utterly distorted by a writer for Haaretz known for her rabid anti-Orthodox and anti-Torah biases, and peddled by a gullible media conglomerate in America all-too-willing to besmirch rabbis.

The headline – “Rav Lau refuses to call Pittsburgh synagogue a Bet Knesset” – was simply false. As Makor Rishon reported, when its reporter tried to induce negative comments about Conservative Judaism in the wake of this horror (and how absolutely inappropriate was that?), Rav Lau responded, seemingly in shock, “Mah zeh meshaneh b’aizeh Bet Knesset oh nusach haim mitpallelim?!” – What does it matter what synagogue or text they were praying? There it was, the words "Bet Knesset," hiding in plain sight, one might say.

The reporter persisted, trying then to extract another headline, “so you’re saying it is a Bet Knesset?” To which the follow-up question would have been: “so why doesn’t the State recognize them? Why aren’t they recognized as legitimate according to the halacha?”

This was an appalling attempt not to solicit Rav Lau’s thoughts and feelings on the murder of Jews but to focus the inquiry on the nature of the religious observance of the victims. The line of questioning was so inappropriate that Rav Lau protested – and pointed out its rudeness and irrelevance, reiterating that these people were Jews, in a publicly-identifiable Jewish place, engaging in all the formalities of prayer and seeking “closeness with G-d.” His answer was right on key to media questions that, in context, were so discordant and tasteless: taking a moment that symbolized Jewish unity and our common fate and trying to exploit it to stoke the flames of controversy and division.

But how can it be that a heartfelt identification with the murdered Jews of Pittsburgh became a dismissal of this synagogue as a synagogue and supposedly an insult to the victims?

There was a time when the primary role of journalists was to report the news. They attempted, often at great hardship, to ascertain the facts and provide those facts in a cogent narrative to the reader. That ended almost fifty years ago. Today, most journalists see their role not as reporting the news but as shaping the news. There is no objectivity; there is only an agenda that they seek to promote. They are not reporters but advocates, and the causes they advocate are so dear to them (in the Jewish world they include radical feminism, hatred of Torah, hatred of Israel, etc.) that reporting falsehoods that advance their agenda is seen as simply a means to serve the greater good, as they perceive it.

There was a time when journalists prided themselves on their courage in speaking truth to power. Now, too many pride themselves on speaking lies to power if their personal political or religious preferences are thereby served. This is causing untold harm to society for several reasons.

People tend to believe what they see in print even if experience – especially recent experience – should have taught us otherwise. The internet is an intellectual jungle and a moral swamp. The lies that are promulgated with astonishing frequency – here is one: “the Tree of Life Congregation that Shabbat was hosting a brit milah of the offspring of two men,” a lie that caused several fringe rabbinic figures to declaim sheer foolishness – are used as click bait, to grab the eyes but also leave a deleterious imprint on the mind and soul.

A reader has to be even more skeptical about what a journalist writes than the journalist is supposed to be when interviewing a politician or public figure. Or a better idea: simply stop reading outlets or individuals who traffic in falsehoods as a matter of course.

It is as if the laws of lashon hara (evil talk) have been repealed. Classically, lashon hara is defined as information (even true) that tends to disparage another person or will cause his or her reputation to be diminished in your eyes. The public’s “right to know” is not a Torah concept or value. There are a tiny number of general exceptions to this rule –allowances for averting danger or to alerting people to potential harm in shidduchim or business – but most modern journalism is an ethical free-for-all that sees ruining people as a sport and acceptable for the cause.

Indeed, two of the complainants against Brett Kavanaugh have in recent weeks recanted and admitted that they concocted lurid accusations in order to derail his nomination and gain attention for themselves. That is bad enough, and they should be prosecuted, convicted and imprisoned (which will never happen); what is worse is how the media breathlessly reported these allegations that smeared an individual only because it suited their agenda. That is a gross corruption of the freedom of the press; it is possible to have a press that is too free.

Today, it is agenda that governs, not news or facts. And the pursuit of an agenda has now induced several Knesset members to demand that the Israeli government formally recognize the non-Orthodox movements, elevate their stature, and deem them legitimate expressions of Judaism because of the events in Pittsburgh. Talk about striking while the iron is hot! But the grievous attack on our fellow Jews in Pittsburgh, one that has shaken all Jews to the core, does not change the truth of Torah one iota. There were intermarried Jews who were murdered by Nazis during the Holocaust; we do not then permit intermarriage in their memory. There were Jews who (rightly) saved their lives during the Holocaust by eating non-kosher food; that doesn’t mean we commemorate them by eating treif. It is an intellectual non sequitur but the agenda matters more than logic or the eternal truths of Torah.

The contention of these Knesset members is as farcical and publicity-driven as it is insincere. They supported recognition of the heterodox movements the day before the massacre just as much as they did the day after the massacre. So spare us the false piety, as if the murderer compels us to destroy the Torah even as he destroyed the lives of eleven Jews.

Is it possible that the halcyon days of journalism never existed? It could be that facts were always filtered through the reporter, and what was transmitted or omitted was always prejudiced by the reporter’s personal predilections. Maybe – but at least they tried to hide it and pretend they were objective. Perhaps a reporter’s byline should contain his or her top three favorite causes and voting preferences so their writings can be evaluated accordingly.

It is true, as the left often claims, that not every criticism of a leader is Fake News, but there are many criticisms that are clearly Fake News. The mere fact that the term Fake News resonates with the public reflects both its pertinence and its accuracy and underscores the problem of modern journalism.

There is a reason why many journalists (although I’m sure not all) are held in such low esteem today – lower than the President or even Congress. Most of us are still inclined to afford some credence to something that is in print (or on the screen) right in front of our eyes. But having experienced these lies myself, and having been present at events and then read media accounts that had little to do with the event I just witnessed with my own eyes and ears, I know that our initial instinct should be to doubt, disbelieve and then reject much of what we read or hear.

It will change when journalists just report the news and not try to interpret it for us. It will change when there is full disclosure of the journalists’ biases and pet causes. It will change when people stop reading, listening to or watching agenda journalism. It will change when people protest the shaming of good people and the propagation of lies, half-truths and distortions about them.

That is to say, it will not change anytime soon. So caveat lectorum. Reader beware.

Oslo Strikes Netanyahu Again

by Moshe Feiglin 

Netanyahu must go home!

From reports last week in Israel’s major newspapers, it appears that PM Netanyahu was willing to conquer Gaza on the condition that Abu Mazen would be willing afterwards to take it off Israel’s hands.

Our IDF soldiers are ‘lucky’ that even though their prime minister was willing to send them to risk their lives in an impossible war in the alleys and tunnels of Gaza, the terrorist from the PLO was not willing to take it from the terrorist from Hamas – after our sons would have shed their blood to conquer it for him.

Absolutely insane.

For years I have been warning of this bizarre – but unavoidable – Oslo-driven development. If these reports are correct, which they seem to be, PM Netanyahu has lost the moral foundation to continue to lead the State of Israel. It is our duty to send him and his ministers home.

Rightist Government Implementing Extreme Left Policies

by Moshe Feiglin

What turns a public group into an anger-driven mob is loss of path and leadership. Sometimes, we see it on the Right. On Saturday night at the annual memorial for PM Yitzchak Rabin, we saw it on the Left.

I was privileged to stand at the forefront of the struggle against the Oslo Accords. I organized the most effective protests that Israel has ever known against the catastrophe that the Rabin government had brought upon us. Concerned citizens tied their hands and sat down on roads throughout Israel, ready and willing to fill Israel’s prisons with their bodies.

An entire country stopped in its tracks in an amazing show of non-violent civil disobedience. It was the greatest hour of Israeli democracy in the face of the biting tyranny displayed by the Rabin government.

Our Zo Artzeinu protests had nothing of the incitement that we saw on Saturday night at the Rabin memorial demonstration.

The annual hatred and incitement show revolving around the Rabin assassination have become the campfire of a disappearing tribe. The problem is not the last remnants of the extreme Left. The problem is PM Netanyahu and the rightist government, which are fully implementing the Left’s policies.

When Netanyahu and his ministers surrender to the Hamas ultimatum and give it 15 million dollars per month, as it demanded, Oslo continues to triumph – by means of the Right.

Dear leftists, you do not have to demonstrate. You have won in a big way.

A Fruit and Its Husk

by HaRav Dov Begon
Rosh HaYeshiva, Machon Meir

“These are the chronicles of Isaac” (Genesis 25:19). Rashi explains that Isaac’s “chronicles” [toldot] were Jacob and Esau. Rashi is thus emphasizing that Isaac had two sons, one righteous and one evil, just as Abraham had two sons, Isaac and Ishmael, one righteous and the other evil. Only Jacob merited to have all his sons be righteous, as it says, “Your people are all righteous” (Isaiah 60:21).

The fact that Abraham and Isaac had wicked children teaches us an important foundation: All growth and development occurs in two stages. The first stage includes both good and evil, whereas in the final stage, occurring at the end of the growth and development, we merit to see that all was for the best.

To what may this be compared? To a fruit and its husk. When the fruit first appears, the husk envelops and protects it, yet that husk is bitter, and sometimes hard, like a nutshell.

Ishmael and Esau were bitter and hard for the Jewish People, but at the end of the process of growth, the sweet, pleasant fruit is revealed, once we remove the husk. Or, the husk itself becomes sweet (From orange peels one can make preserves).

It is the same with the history of the Jewish People. At first there are many complications and difficulties -- many “husks.” In the future, however, we will merit the sweet fruit. When all of Israel are redeemed, mankind, as well, will be redeemed together with them, as it says, “Liberators shall ascend upon Mount Zion to judge the Mountain of Esau, and dominion shall belong to the L-rd” (Ovadiah verse 21); “The L-rd shall be King over all the earth. On that day the L-rd shall be one and His name one” (Zechariah 14:9).

Today, we are at the height of a process in which the Jewish People are rising to rebirth. The sweetness and goodness of Israel, and their benevolence towards all of mankind, shall be more and more revealed.

At the same time, however, the hard, cruel husk is being revealed in the form of those evildoers who are fighting against the Jewish People. Yet the day is not far off when that bitter husk will disappear, and we will be privileged to see with our own eyes how “Judah shall remain forever; Jerusalem from generation to generation” (Joel 4:20). A new light will then shine over Zion, for us and for the whole world.

Looking forward to complete redemption,

Shabbat Shalom,

Chodesh Tov.