The Israel Situation

A Look Back at Tisha B’Av

Eric — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:00:33 +0000

A friend of mine, Michael, sent out this touching note on Tisha B’Av, and I asked for permission to share it with all of you. While we are about a week and a half after Tisha B’Av, this is still a very relevant letter.

Friends and Family, there is a serious problem facing the Jewish Nation, and I wanted to put my own 2 cents on the situation.

Today is Tisha B’Av. The day the Jewish people remember all the tragedies that have happened to the Jewish people, and ask why? Every country, every religion, has holidays and remember all the good that has happened to their people. How many of them, take a day off, look at the bad, and ask why? It is important as a people to have times of joy, and the Jewish calendar is full of them, but we also must take an accounting for what has gone very wrong for our people, and how can we fix it.

Tisha B’Av or the 9th of the Hebrew month of Av has seen many tragedies take place on this very date. The 1st temple destroyed(568 BCE), the 2nd temple destroyed(70 CE), Spanish Inquisition culminates with expulsion of Jews (1492 CE), World War 1 starts (1914), Mass Jewish transportation to from Warsaw to Treblinka (1942) all this on one day. Holocausts, Inquisitions, pogroms, exiles every 100 years or so the Jewish people are woken up by such horrors. What is the message we are supposed to get from this?

Before we can ask this question, we should ask, how are we not disturbed and saddened by these horrors, why are we not crying? Even today we are faced with similar problems both physical and spiritual. Physically, Israel is surrounded by enemies at all borders with her future and security threatened, Radical Islam tells us day after day we are at war and want us dead, Iran is building a nuclear weapon with little doubt for their purpose and we choose to not take these issues seriously. When Adolph Hitler and the Nazis were gaining power, no one believed they were serious even though they said the intentions out front. After the Holocaust we preached “Never Again”. I ask, what do these words mean now?

Spiritually we are facing a bigger Holocaust. More Jewish lives are being lost generation to generation because of intermarriage, organizations such as Jews for Jesus, and just not caring to keep it going. Statistics show that after 4 generations Conservative, Reform and secular Jews out of 100 people only 29, 10 and 7 will remain respectively. These are our grandchildren who will never be able to continue the tradition that 100 generations before us, our grandchildren who will never light a menorah or have a bar mitzvah. Millions of Jews lost. Is this not something that we can cry over?

I was told many times as a child, “marry Jewish”, without understanding why it is important, rather than just being told to keep the line going, I didn’t understand why I should change my life for such ideals that I don’t believe in. This is the major problem with the Jewish Nation today. We don’t understand why it is important to keep these ideals alive.

Two important quotes, that I think exemplify the day.

“If one man can kill 6 million Jews, one man can save 6 million” -Rav Shach

“Can we, become as serious and motivated in our mission as those Germans were about their message?” -Rabbi Noach Weinberg

I think in the spirit of Tisha B’Av we should use 15 minutes of today and reflect about these tragedies and why we are not being woken up.

A Look Back at Tisha B’Av is a post from: The Israel Situation

Israel is the 8th Happiest Country in the World

Eric — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:50:14 +0000

A report released by Gallop has found that Israeli citizens are the 8^th happiest of any country in the world. This is great fuel for aliyah, as it proves that people can move to Israel and be happy.

Israel tied for 8^th with Canada, Switzerland, and Australia. The survey results were collected by Gallop from 2005-2009 and had tens of thousands of participants in 155 countries.

The happiest countries were all located in Scandinavia and the least happy were generally all in Africa. This shows that economic prosperity and freedom has a lot to do with happiness. I was also fascinated to see that the countries with the largest public services were the happiest. Scandinavian countries are known for having the most robust public health care, retirement, maternity/paternity, and public services in the world.

The United States came in 14^th and the Palestinian Authority ranked 88^th, which is better than Israel’s neighbors Egypt and Syria, whom tied at 115^th.

So, if you live in the United States or United Kingdom (17^th) and you need a little more happiness in your life, consider moving to Israel. I can vouch for Israel on this. I was just there and it made me happy.

Thanks to Dan Illouz for sharing this with me.

Israel is the 8th Happiest Country in the World is a post from: The Israel Situation

Jihad Meets German Engineering

Eric — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:49:31 +0000

Jihad Meets German Engineering is a post from: The Israel Situation

Despite David Cameron’s Comments, Gaza is Pretty Nice

Eric — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:42:38 +0000

British Prime Minister David Cameron, while speaking to officials in Turkey, referred to the Gaza Strip as a giant prison camp. Rather than be one of the many who called him an idiot for thinking this, I prefer to correct him using facts. Gaza is far from a prison, and any conditions that may appear to be prison-like are imposed by Hamas, not Israel.

For example, in a report by MEMRI, quoting an Egyptian journalist, Gaza is actually a very nice place to live. It is filled with ample living supplies, fair prices, and resorts easily accessible to the middle class. In this July 28th report, MEMRI quotes Ashraf Abu Al-Houl of Al-Ahram. He found the water parks and mall grand opening to be newsworthy, though you probably did not read about it in either the United Kingdom or North America.

Abu Al-Houl says that the resorts are expensive for many residents, charging an admission fee of about 20 shekels (about $5 USD) per day. However, it is attainable for many people.

“Several months ago, Gaza had only one luxury resort, Zahrat Al-Madain. Today, another one opens up every day, such as Crazy Water, Aqua Park, and Al-Bustan. Most of them are owned by members, or associates, of Hamas.”

Firas Press, a Palestinian news agency, goes on to discuss the opening of a new shopping mall in Gaza. This is the first mall to open in the territory. You wouldn’t guess Israel is keeping Gaza under siege as a giant prison if residents have the ability to open a new mall and new stores for the first time ever.

“This week, Gaza’s first mall opened. The inaugural ceremony was attended by Hamas ministers and officials, along with merchants and investors. Hamas Welfare Minister Ahmad Al-Kurd said, “The mall will participate in meeting the basic needs of the population, against the backdrop of the siege, with merchants bringing in [goods] via the border crossings and the tunnels.”

Even Hamas ministers acknowledge that the majority of commerce can be easily met by working Israel. So, Mr. Cameron, I urge you to fact check before you go off talking about how bad Israel treats the Palestinians. After all, you have only been Prime Minister for two months. I will call this PR blunder inexperience, but please don’t do it again. The blogosphere, and mainstream media, can be increasingly unforgiving.

Despite David Cameron’s Comments, Gaza is Pretty Nice is a post from: The Israel Situation

My Trip to Israel

Eric — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:44:54 +0000

I just returned from a wonderful trip to my favorite country, and I want to share my experience with you. For the first time, I was in Israel with a member of my immediate family, and it was great to share my trip with my mother. She had not been to Israel for 35 years.

Day 1 – I landed in Israel at about 1:30pm local time at Ben Gurion International Airport. As with every other trip, a chill went down my spine when the plane touched down. After a quick trip through customs, I met my mom and cousins just past the baggage claim and grabbed a Kosher burger from McDonald’s before hopping on a sheirut to Jerusalem. I spent Friday night with cousins in Arnona, a Jerusalem suburb.

Day 2 – Shabbos in Jerusalem is the most wonderful experience I have ever had, and spending it with family was a good as I remembered. We ate, relaxed, and took a walk to both Kibbutz Ramat Rachel and the Old City. I was at the Kotel for Mincha and took a long, slow walk around the Jewish Quarter. I walked back to Arnona in time for Mariv and Havdallah. After Shabbat, I went to the King Solomon hotel with my mom and talked into downtown. We enjoyed the sights and sounds of Kikar Tzion and Ben Yehuda Street. We went to a bar not far from Gan Atzmaout where I enjoyed a Goldstar and hookah before heading to bed.

Day 3 – Jerusalem was still great. We took time to walk through the new (to me) Mamilla mall and through the Old City. I went on the Kotel tunnel tours, which were wonderful and I recommend to anyone of any religion interested in Middle East or Jewish history, and toured the new Aish HaTorah building. The view from the roof was spectacular! We went from there to grab a quick Shwarma before heading to the Central Bus Station and taking the 400 bus to Alouf Sde, where I met my cousins in the Tel Aviv area. We went with my cousin (adult age) and her daughter (in her 20s) to a fun bar on Tel Aviv beach where I was able to enjoy the fruits of the budding Israeli Micro-brewing scene. We spent the night with the family in Kiryat Ono.

Day 4 – We walked all over the areas around Tel Aviv beach and the old neighborhoods of Tel Aviv and the Shuk and the shopping area on Dizengoff Street. My Mom proved her shopping skills and I enjoyed the “scenery” of the beautiful girls of Israel.

Day 5 – Took an organized tour of the northern Israeli coast starting in Tel Aviv. We visited Cesearia, the Ba’hai Gardens of Haifa, the Midevil fortress of Akko, and the grottoes of Rosh Hanikra before heading back to my cousin in Tel Aviv.

Day 6 – Woke up early and went to the new Palmach museum. It is a video and live re-living of the time leading up to and shortly following the founding of Israel in 1948 with a focus on the Palmach, one of Israel’s fledgling armies in the 1930s and 1940s. Again, I highly suggest this to Israelis or tourists who have never been. We then decided, on the drop of a hat, that we should go to Eilat and Petra, Jordan. We stopped by a nice hotel where the concierge arranged our two night visit down south. We took a bus around 3:30pm to Eilat and arrived around 8:30pm. We walked around the mall and boardwalk and had a late dinner in a restaurant attached to the Isrotel. I had my first fillet since I started keeping Kosher about five years ago. It was wonderful.

Day 7 – Woke up very, very early and had a quick breakfast before taking a van to the Israel-Jordan border. For the second time (I never thought I would go back after the first), I crossed through the Arava crossing and into Jordan, where we were met by a tour guide. We took the 2 hour ride up to Petra (I slept most of the way) and spent the afternoon hiking through the park. The ruins are truly epic, and even on my second trip I marveled at the scale of the work created thousands of years ago by the Nabateans. We ate at a hotel in Wadi Musa before going back to Israel via a drive through Aquaba. Spent another night in Eilat and walked the entire length of the boardwalk.

Day 8 – We woke up early (see the pattern) and took the bus back to Jerusalem. We got off on Har Hatsofim (Mount Scopus) and walked by my old dorm and through the campus of Hebrew University. After waiting about an hour and a half due to traffic near the Old City, my cousins made it to the mountain and took us to their home in Arnona. We showered, visited, and prepared for Shabbos and headed to a prominent Jerusalem family’s home in the neighborhood between the King David Hotel and the Old City. We had a wonderful Erev Shabbos at the Kotel and an equally wonderful dinner with new friends. We took a long walk back to Arnona and enjoyed the quiet of Shabbos in Eastern Jerusalem.

Day 9 – I pretty much slept all day. We went to my friend’s house in Meah Shearim for a visit after Shabbat and followed that with another visit to the hookah bar to end our last night in Israel on a fun note.

Day 10 – Woke up and headed to the Machane Yehuda (the shuk/market) for some shopping. I got a great Beitar Yerushalayim jersey (YALLA BEITAR!) and some great Jewish stuff. We then took a bus to our cousin’s in Kiryat Ono for a goodbye and ride to the airport. I had an 11:35pm flight to Atlanta (that didn’t leave until 3:00am).

Now I am jet-lagged, so excuse any typos. Also, English spellcheck is pretty useless when writing about Israeli cities, so I am sorry about those spelling errors too. Overall, it was an amazing trip and I am already looking forward to the next one.

My Trip to Israel is a post from: The Israel Situation

Bibi’s Surprise to Jordan

Eric — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:35:59 +0000

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took a surprise trip to Jordan to meet with King Abdullah on Tuesday, according to many sources. The AFP reports that the main purpose of the trip is to urge Abdullah to pressure Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas into direct peace talks with Israel.

Israel has removed all of the stops in current attempts to work toward a more permanent peace with the Palestinians. Even after construction freezes, open attempts to talk, and United States pressure, the Palestinians are doing everything possible to block peace talks.

I am constantly baffled by the world’s responses to Israeli actions while ignoring Palestinian terrorism and resistance to peace. The status quo is simply too good for the Palestinians, and at the expense of Israel. While British Prime Minister called Gaza a giant prison today, he is ignoring the constant threat of terror and continued rocket attacks from the area. He also ignored Israel’s opening of all shipments into Gaza that cannot be used for military purposes.

What can Israel do to wake up the rest of the world? The Palestinians are slowly chipping away at Israeli credibility and land. Even unilateral moves, such as the horrible withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, are quickly forgotten by the United Nations, United States, European Union, and other major players in the international community.

Netanyahu is doing everything in his power to continue working toward peace with the Arab world, starting with the Palestinians. His trip to Amman is proof of Israel’s commitment to peace. Even the “hawkish right wing” Prime Minister is giving peace his best efforts.

What do you think Israel has to do to get the world to recognize Israeli efforts and rights? Please give your thoughts in the comments.

Bibi’s Surprise to Jordan is a post from: The Israel Situation

6 Israeli Air Force Servicemen Missing After Copter Crash in Romania

Anthony Reich — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 20:05:27 +0000

Six Israeli Air Force (IAF) personnel and one Romanian serviceman were reported missing on Monday afternoon after an Israeli helicopter crashed in the Romanian mountains in bad weather. The helicopter was flying at low altitude while taking part in “Blue Sky 2010″, a joint Israeli and Romanian aviation exercise which was due to last 11 days.

Israeli and Romanian rescue craft were finding it difficult to locate and reach the crash site due to the bad weather and mountainous terrain. The six IAF soldiers on board the CH-53 transport helicopter were four pilots and two mechanics, representing two complete crews.

6 Israeli Air Force Servicemen Missing After Copter Crash in Romania is a post from: The Israel Situation

Not Learning the Lessons of Tisha B’Av

Anthony Reich — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 14:39:41 +0000

Tisha B’Av (the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av), which we marked last week, is one of only two full fast days in the Jewish calendar. The other is Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day. This gives some indication of the level of importance attached to Tisha B’Av.

At the most simplistic level, the reason for fasting on each of the two days is very different. The fast on Yom Kippur is about atonement and seeking forgiveness. It is a day when Jews seek to atone for their sins of the past year committed against G-d and their fellow man, and to undertake to be more holy in the year ahead. The act of fasting on this day is an attempt to separate oneself from the physical, material world and to draw closer to the spiritual world. In contrast, the fast on Tisha B’Av is about mourning a number of disasters that have befallen the Jewish people on this date over the ages. Most notable amongst the catastrophes attributed to this day, is the destruction of the first and second temples, both of which were destroyed on this unluckiest of dates 656 years apart. The day is dedicated to mourning these disasters and numerous others, and the fast is part of the mourning ritual.

The fast on Tisha B’Av, however, goes further than the simple act of mourning historical events. Significant introspection has taken place to try to understand why the temples were destroyed, and to understand the significance of why these events having taken place on the same date on the Hebrew calendar. It is commonly accepted that it is not pure coincidence that so many disasters share the same date. There is a widely-held view that the common date is a message, with a lesson that needs to be learned about human behaviour that was taking place at the time of each calamity.

The Talmud (a central text of Judaism in the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history) cites the reasons attributed to the destruction of the temples. In the case of the first temple, it was because the three cardinal sins were rampant in society: idol worship, licentiousness, and murder. The Talmud tells us that the reason for the destruction of the second temple was sinat chinam – hatred without cause – which we are told was rampant in society in 70 C.E. when the temple was destroyed. Sinat chinam is characterised as the baseless hatred by one Jew towards his fellow man, and not simply hatred in general.

Two conclusions can be deduced from these Talmudic references. The first is that the three cardinal sins associated with the destruction of the first temple, are equal to the baseless hatred said to have caused the destruction of the second temple. Interestingly, sins towards G-d (idol worship) are placed on an equal footing with sins committed by man to his fellow man, including sinat chinam. The second conclusion is that the temple will not be rebuilt until our present-day society rids itself of these sins.

For believers in Jewish law and the Talmud, these conclusions are a clear indication that there is still work to be done in our society to bring about the reconstruction of the temple. Although there is also the belief that the coming of the messiah is a pre-requisite for the reconstruction of the temple, it is understood that this will not happen until the evils in our society, that were the cause of the destruction of the previous two temples, are eradicated to create conditions that are conducive to the reconstruction of the temple. Mainstream Judaism includes many calls in its daily prayers for the temple to be rebuilt “speedily in our days”.

Given the strong desire for the temple to be rebuilt, and the understanding that baseless hatred could prevent this from taking place, it is surprising that this evil is so strongly perpetuated in our present-day society. It is even more surprising how much this behaviour is evident in the religious community. While they fast, beat their chests and prostrate themselves on Tisha B’Av, they seem to have no qualms about driving wedges in our society caused by baseless hatred. This is evident not only at the level of the individual, but is also obvious at a group and national level. Examples of this from the past few weeks alone can be seen with story of the Immanuel school, the arrest of a woman trying to read from the holy Torah at the Western Wall and the introduction of the conversion bill into the Knesset just to name a few. These are all instances of attempts to create religious tension where alternative solutions may have been sought.

The religious community responsible for initiating these antagonistic actions have defended their behaviour as being hatred with reason rather than sinat chinam, unjustified hatred. It is their contention that this is a fight to protect the strict application of Jewish law and practice in an environment where there is an attempt to dilute this. The battle over the school in Immanuel was billed as being the fight for G-d’s law against the law laid down by the High Court of Justice. When presented in these emotive terms, it is obvious that a showdown is inevitable. This was the case when hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews took to the streets of Jerusalem to defend the Immanuel parents who took on a hero status for their stand, and acts in insulting other law-abiding Jews. Following all the brinkmanship, it seems as if the Immanuel parents have finally found a working solution to their problem which will satisfy all parties, and show a little respect to those who hold a slightly different view or practice than their own.

It is not the fact that they are prepared to fight for their beliefs that I find so objectionable. I cannot accept that it is necessary to conduct the battle with such disdain for others who do not agree, or with such a confrontational approach that seems designed to create conflict. Although our ultra-Orthodox brethren are supposedly not exposed to the modern world of television, internet and other media, they sure do understand the value of creating news headlines in the interests of getting their own way. If baseless hatred is required to attract the attention, they seem not to hesitate to pursue this without even giving a second thought to the negative impact that this may have on our society.

Perhaps, our society has not yet understood that the opposite of sinat chinam is not simply to avoid baseless hatred. It is ahavat chinam, the act of loving without a cause. We very seldom see people finding reasons and ways to love and respect people, rather than finding reasons to hate them. This would be the true manifestation of avoiding baseless hatred. If we need to find a solution to the conversion bill or to the school in Immanuel, ahavat chinam calls for us to sit down and discuss possible alternatives showing some respect for other people’s positions, instead of demanding that there is only one solution to every problem. It would be wonderful to see more of this inclusive approach, particularly from the ultra-Orthodox community.

Unfortunately, it seems that we are destined to mourn the destruction of the temples for the foreseeable future, rather than rejoice in its reconstruction. While it may be possible to argue either way about the fact that poor behaviour patterns caused the destruction of the first two temples, there is no doubt in my mind that a third temple can never be built in a society which creates such conflicts amongst itself. If we cannot even manage to find a suitable compromise about the schools that our children attend, how can we hope to come to a consensus about the reconstruction of the temple?

Not Learning the Lessons of Tisha B’Av is a post from: The Israel Situation

UN Appoints Team to Probe Gaza Flotilla Raid

Anthony Reich — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:11:58 +0000

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) today announced the three names who will comprise the team to investigate Israel’s recent raid on the Gaza flotilla. The UN announcement stated that the fact-finding team will comprise three independent experts, namely Sir Desmond de Silva (Britain), Karl Hudson-Phillips (Trinidad and Tobago) and Mary Shanthi Dairiam (Malaysia).

Israel has already set up two inquiry panels to investigate the raid. One inquiry is an internal IDF investigation into the raid, headed by General (retired) Giora Eiland. This panel has completed the bulk of its work. The second panel is a government inquiry into the incident headed by retired supreme court Justice Jacob Turkel. This panel includes two international experts in the form of David Trimble, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Northern Ireland First Minister, and Ken Watkin, former head of the Canadian military judiciary. It was hoped by Israel that appointing a panel of inquiry including international names would convince the international community that an international inquiry would not be necessary.

It is well understood that the UNHCR is not well disposed towards Israel and has issued numerous anti-Israel resolutions. In fact, more resolutions have been issued against Israel than against any other country since the UNHCR came into existence in 2006. The recent Goldstone Commission into the Gaza War created an international outcry against the UNHCR, and against Justice Richard Goldstone who headed up the commission of inquiry.

Sir Desmond de Silva is a well-known barrister in the UK. He was the chief prosecutor in the Special Court for Sierra Leone following the genocide there. He brought about the arrest of Charles Taylor, former President of Liberia, who is currently on trial at The Hague. Karl Hudson-Phillips is a former member of parliament and attorney general in Trinidad and Tobago, and a former judge of the International Criminal Court. Dairiam has been active in gender equality issues, including serving on the gender equality taskforce of the UN Development Program.

The fact-finding team’s results are due to be presented to the UNHCR in September. The UNHCR previously criticised Israel’s “outrageous attack on aid ships attempting to breach a blockade on the Gaza Strip” during an emergency session in June. This has clearly set the tone for the fact-finding inquiry.

UN Appoints Team to Probe Gaza Flotilla Raid is a post from: The Israel Situation

Lebanon to Complain to UN over Israeli Spying

Anthony Reich — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 06:43:09 +0000

The Lebanese government plans to file a complaint with the UN Security Council after it claims to have uncovered an extensive Israeli spy ring. The complaint will focus on an alleged clandestine Israeli involvement in state-owned cellular phone company Alfa.

Two technical employees of the company have been arrested in the last month on suspicion of spying. If convicted, they could face the death penalty. One is accused of having spied for Israel since 2001. It is reported that he would leave Lebanon twice a month, each time returning with large sums of money. If convicted of spying, they could both face the death penalty.

Only yesterday, a former school principal was sentenced to death for spying for Israel in 2008. He was found guilty of providing information to Israel about Hezbollah and its leaders. Last week, another man was sentenced to death after being found guilty of providing information to Israel about military and civilian targets that were bombed during the Second Lebanon War. Since it began its wave of arrests more than a year ago, Lebanon has detained hundreds of suspects including a retired brigadier general from the general security directorate. So far, 20 people have been charged.

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah has accused the security services of not acting to arrest suspects after being aware of the Alfa spy ring for some time. The security services are now compiling a comprehensive report on spy networks and activities.

I find the fact that a complaint will be filed with UN somewhat ironic. This is because Lebanon continues a significant arms build-up in Southern Lebanon in contradiction of a UN Security Council resolution, and right under the noses of UN peacekeeping troops.

Lebanon to Complain to UN over Israeli Spying is a post from: The Israel Situation