Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Susie Dym "attack" to Tzvi Hersh Weinreb of OU. clarification

 
 
bs"d
 
Dear Friends, amv"sh
 
When I used the word " attack" in the subject line (The subject line read OU Take Cover! "Only Goodness will Pursue me".Susie Dym of Mattot Arim attacks)  I thought that this subject line was funny because anyone that knows Susie Dym, knows that she is a real gentle soul.  She is so careful not to attack anyone. In my family, when my big ones start screaming "watch out!  S is attacking"  you know that they are being sarcastic.  (S is my skinny 38lb 6 year old who is very sweet and always trying to do the right thing and if she tries to fight back it usually feels like a tap .  That's why I prefaced with "Ach Tov Vechesed Yirdefuni", Only good should pursue me. Dovid Hamelech uses that phrase in Tehillim and asks Hashem that only good and kindness pursue him.  So even if  Susie Dym is "attacking" it's only an attack that represents that which is good and kind. I hope that no one will take it as a real attack.  This "attack" is really an attack between brothers.  Better that THW be attacked by us, those in his family, then at one point of his life be attacked by his conscience after realizing the damage his actions or rather inactions caused.  It is for the good of THW to do the right thing. This is definitely not a malicious attack. Susie and like minded people are  simply Goodness and Kindness pursuing Rabbi Weinreb to do the right thing.
 
Subject: OU Take Cover! "Only Goodness will Pursue me".Susie Dym of Mattot Arim attacks
 
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רוצה להימחק מרשימת התפוצה? ראה בסוף
באופן חריג המייל הזה מופיע באנגלית בלבד בגלל הנושא, דוברת עברית להתראות בפעם הבאה
  

WHAT RABBI WEINREB DOES NOT KNOW...

 

Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, the chief non-honorary officer of the largest Orthodox Jewish group in the USA (the OU - Orthodox Union), recently gave a revealing interview shedding light on his organization's policies toward Israel: www.jewishactivistnetwork.com

 

The OU's Israel policies first became an issue when the OU failed to come out against the unprecedented  forced deportation of the 9000 Jews of Gush Katif.  These policies remain a central issue because if the OU and like bodies maintain them, the joint US-Israel plan to establish an Islamist terror state a mere bike ride away from Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem, and Ben-Gurion airport, is practically assured.  It is urgent for all of us to convince Rabbi Weinreb and his like-minded colleagues to rethink these policies quickly. It seems they have not yet internalized that  the following political chain is going to determine whether Israel is still here in  5 years time:

 

* Israel's continued survival depends -- among other factors -- on its ability to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria.  This is because this Palestinian state will be a terror state, of course, located just a bike-ride away from Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem, and Israel's sole international airport.   It will be yet a fourth major threat on Israel -- in addition to Gaza in the South, Hizbullah in the North, and nuclear Iran. But it will be far more serious than either Gaza's threat on the southern town of Sderot or Hizbullah's threat to Israel's northern towns during the Second Lebanon War: Protecting thousands of people in Israel's sparsely populated South and North from bombardment has been a terrible financial drain, but protecting millions in Israel's densely populated central region  which is right next to the planned Palestinian state is simply unaffordable. This is why a Palestinian state is an existential risk for Israel.  If this were not enough, the new terror state -- as recently acknowledged by Tony Blair -- is also expected to rain rockets onto Ben-Gurion airport. And since Israel is isolated from all surrounding states,  her economy is totally dependent on that airport.

 

* Preventing the establishment of the proposed new terror state requires Israel to rapidly persuade the American administration not to support establishment of such a state. 

 

* Israel desperately needs the OU and similar American Jewish organizations  to urge Washington and Congress not to support establishment of the Palestinian terror state. These organizations' involvement in fact counts two-fold -- because the level of American Jewish opposition to a Palestinian state is the upper bound for the level of involvement of the powerful neo-Conservative and evangelical camps.

 

The heart of the American Jewish (wo)man in the street, by the way, is in the right place: the 2007 AJC poll of American Jews clearly showed that there is no longer a majority supporting Palestinian statehood.  The problem is at the leadership level So, this brings us directly to the Orthodox Union and to  Rabbi Weinreb who, within the OU, is supposed to be leading the struggle against establishment of a new Palestinian terror state.  Why then is he not doing so?

 

Here is an analysis of the 4 arguments which Rabbi Weinreb uses in the interview to justify NOT taking part in the struggle to prevent establishment of a Palestinian terror state:

 

1. "Jerusalem is enough...."

 

The OU (like haredi Agudath Israel) has taken an explicit position against dividing Jerusalem.  That ought to be enough, says Rabbi Weinreb.  But a Palestinian state is also on the table--not just Jerusalem.  Forcible deportation of 80,000 Jews, termed a crime against humanity by Nobel Prize laureate Prof. Israel Aumann -- is also on the table--not just Jerusalem.  Can 6 million Israeli Jews all squeeze into a single city--Jerusalem--if the Palestinian state idea explodes onto all of Israel's big cities as the Gaza idea has exploded all over Sderot?  If not, then how can the OU speak out only about Jerusalem, implying that the rest of the Annapolis deal -- chiefly the notion of a new Palestinian terror state -- is OK?

 

b. "The democratic process in Israel is enough..."

 

Rabbi Weinreb insists that defeating the proposal to establish a new terrorist state just a bike-ride away from Israel's population centers should be dealt with through the democratic process in Israel.  But the 'democratic process' has no role in Israel when territorial concessions are on the table.  For example -- and this is not the only example -- when the Israel Government initiated an official referendum on the disastrous Gush Katif deportation plan, to be held in the 300,000-member ruling Likud party, the joint plan, although approved both in Jerusalen and in Washington, was voted down by a defiant Likud public. But the disastrous plan proceeded anyway; the voice of the people was unabashedly ignored.  Rabbi Weinreb does not understand the ground-down nature of Israel's democracy and its inability to overcome longstanding, massive Arab and European infusions of support for the Palestinian "cause". His reliance on the Israeli democratic process in this connection is a terrible error in judgement.

 

c. "How can we possibly lobby the US Congress against the Israeli government?"

 

"We as a Diaspora organization have no right at all to speak out against the Israeli government," Rabbi Weinreb says, as if that were the OU's only option.  It is not.

 

The OU can cleverly oppose the prospect of a new terror state -- by actually encouraging Israel's timid government. The OU can, for example, lobby in Congress on behalf of Foreign Minister Livni's recent comment that "Nobody wants to see another terror state". The OU can urge Congressmen to pledge support for Prime Minister Olmert's half-hearted promise last year to Nobel Prize Laureate Prof. Israel Aumann, according to which the Jews of Judea and Samaria will never be subjected to forcible deportation.  Finally, the OU can also be vocal in its support of the official Israel government decision according to which terror, violence, and incitement on the Palestinian side must cease completely, before the Government even considers razing crucial Jewish outposts in Judea and Samaria. 

 

d. "It's not my [Rabbi Weinreb's] fault..."

 

Rabbi Weinreb suggests that the rank and file in the OU and in Israel rise up and replace or overrule their political leaders.  But this process is slow and uncertain, particularly pitted against the fast-moving terror organizations trying to get control of the areas overlooking Israel's big cities and airport.  The faster option, and therefore the correct option, is for leadership to act like leaders and solve the problems facing Israel rather than waiting for a clumsy uncoordinated army of cleaning ladies, housewives, garbage collectors and kindergarten teachers to somehow do it for them.  Rabbi Weinreb must act like a leader, initiating and fostering support in Congress and in Washington for any reasonable option for Judea and Samaria other than establishment of a terror state next-door to Israel.  Policies for Judea and Samaria are born of two parents: the Government of Israel, and the US Administration.  Rabbi Weinreb must work tirelessly to influence the latter, while being tactful toward the former as only he knows how; that is how he can and should save Israel.

 

If you are concerned about what you are reading here, please forward this email to Rabbi Weinreb at execthw@ou.org and ask for his response.  Even better, write to him politely in your own words. Yes, it has been rumored that Rabbi Weinreb does not appreciate getting lots of e-mail. If true, this is symptomatic of the problem.  We are at a critical time for Israel and world Jewry.  The Palestinians are moving very fast:  their spear-head Hamas movement captured Gaza in a single day, and they moved a quarter of a million people from Gaza into Egypt, also in one day. In worrying contrast, leaders of major American Jewish organizations are still getting huffy about the state of their inboxes.

 

If you are reprimanded by OU staffers for writing directly to Rabbi Weinreb, respond immediately. Bring to their attention that just a few days ago, on 30 January, hundreds of Israeli citizens dialed Minister Eli Yishai's home telephone number, late at night, regarding an issue pertaining to Judea and Samaria.  Yishai is a senior minister with the additional responsibility of presiding over a huge and needy political movement, Shas, with 600,000 mostly destitute voters. But Eli Yishai did not complain even once about all the phonecalls because he -- unlike many American-Jewish leaders -- understands that the situation is grave.  Jewish leaders in the US have to understand this as well.  It is time for them to wake up.

 

Susie Dym, spokeperson, Mattot Arim

Mattot Arim is an Israeli grassroots organization working toward peace for peace since 1992.  The assistance of Aryeh, Ira, Jon, Mike, Moish, Rosalie, Sara and many others who generously provided valuable input, is gratefully acknowledged.

 

Please email Rabbi Weinreb at execthw@ou.org and politely express your concern. We will be grateful if you send us a copy: to mattot.arim@gmail.com. Finally, please forward this email to others.

Thank you very much -- from Israel.  

 



OU Take Cover! "Only Goodness will Pursue me".Susie Dym of Mattot Arim attacks

 unsubscribe info -- see below

רוצה להימחק מרשימת התפוצה? ראה בסוף
באופן חריג המייל הזה מופיע באנגלית בלבד בגלל הנושא, דוברת עברית להתראות בפעם הבאה
  

WHAT RABBI WEINREB DOES NOT KNOW...

 

Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, the chief non-honorary officer of the largest Orthodox Jewish group in the USA (the OU - Orthodox Union), recently gave a revealing interview shedding light on his organization's policies toward Israel: www.jewishactivistnetwork.com

 

The OU's Israel policies first became an issue when the OU failed to come out against the unprecedented  forced deportation of the 9000 Jews of Gush Katif.  These policies remain a central issue because if the OU and like bodies maintain them, the joint US-Israel plan to establish an Islamist terror state a mere bike ride away from Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem, and Ben-Gurion airport, is practically assured.  It is urgent for all of us to convince Rabbi Weinreb and his like-minded colleagues to rethink these policies quickly. It seems they have not yet internalized that  the following political chain is going to determine whether Israel is still here in  5 years time:

 

* Israel's continued survival depends -- among other factors -- on its ability to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria.  This is because this Palestinian state will be a terror state, of course, located just a bike-ride away from Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem, and Israel's sole international airport.   It will be yet a fourth major threat on Israel -- in addition to Gaza in the South, Hizbullah in the North, and nuclear Iran. But it will be far more serious than either Gaza's threat on the southern town of Sderot or Hizbullah's threat to Israel's northern towns during the Second Lebanon War: Protecting thousands of people in Israel's sparsely populated South and North from bombardment has been a terrible financial drain, but protecting millions in Israel's densely populated central region  which is right next to the planned Palestinian state is simply unaffordable. This is why a Palestinian state is an existential risk for Israel.  If this were not enough, the new terror state -- as recently acknowledged by Tony Blair -- is also expected to rain rockets onto Ben-Gurion airport. And since Israel is isolated from all surrounding states,  her economy is totally dependent on that airport.

 

* Preventing the establishment of the proposed new terror state requires Israel to rapidly persuade the American administration not to support establishment of such a state. 

 

* Israel desperately needs the OU and similar American Jewish organizations  to urge Washington and Congress not to support establishment of the Palestinian terror state. These organizations' involvement in fact counts two-fold -- because the level of American Jewish opposition to a Palestinian state is the upper bound for the level of involvement of the powerful neo-Conservative and evangelical camps.

 

The heart of the American Jewish (wo)man in the street, by the way, is in the right place: the 2007 AJC poll of American Jews clearly showed that there is no longer a majority supporting Palestinian statehood.  The problem is at the leadership level So, this brings us directly to the Orthodox Union and to  Rabbi Weinreb who, within the OU, is supposed to be leading the struggle against establishment of a new Palestinian terror state.  Why then is he not doing so?

 

Here is an analysis of the 4 arguments which Rabbi Weinreb uses in the interview to justify NOT taking part in the struggle to prevent establishment of a Palestinian terror state:

 

1. "Jerusalem is enough...."

 

The OU (like haredi Agudath Israel) has taken an explicit position against dividing Jerusalem.  That ought to be enough, says Rabbi Weinreb.  But a Palestinian state is also on the table--not just Jerusalem.  Forcible deportation of 80,000 Jews, termed a crime against humanity by Nobel Prize laureate Prof. Israel Aumann -- is also on the table--not just Jerusalem.  Can 6 million Israeli Jews all squeeze into a single city--Jerusalem--if the Palestinian state idea explodes onto all of Israel's big cities as the Gaza idea has exploded all over Sderot?  If not, then how can the OU speak out only about Jerusalem, implying that the rest of the Annapolis deal -- chiefly the notion of a new Palestinian terror state -- is OK?

 

b. "The democratic process in Israel is enough..."

 

Rabbi Weinreb insists that defeating the proposal to establish a new terrorist state just a bike-ride away from Israel's population centers should be dealt with through the democratic process in Israel.  But the 'democratic process' has no role in Israel when territorial concessions are on the table.  For example -- and this is not the only example -- when the Israel Government initiated an official referendum on the disastrous Gush Katif deportation plan, to be held in the 300,000-member ruling Likud party, the joint plan, although approved both in Jerusalen and in Washington, was voted down by a defiant Likud public. But the disastrous plan proceeded anyway; the voice of the people was unabashedly ignored.  Rabbi Weinreb does not understand the ground-down nature of Israel's democracy and its inability to overcome longstanding, massive Arab and European infusions of support for the Palestinian "cause". His reliance on the Israeli democratic process in this connection is a terrible error in judgement.

 

c. "How can we possibly lobby the US Congress against the Israeli government?"

 

"We as a Diaspora organization have no right at all to speak out against the Israeli government," Rabbi Weinreb says, as if that were the OU's only option.  It is not.

 

The OU can cleverly oppose the prospect of a new terror state -- by actually encouraging Israel's timid government. The OU can, for example, lobby in Congress on behalf of Foreign Minister Livni's recent comment that "Nobody wants to see another terror state". The OU can urge Congressmen to pledge support for Prime Minister Olmert's half-hearted promise last year to Nobel Prize Laureate Prof. Israel Aumann, according to which the Jews of Judea and Samaria will never be subjected to forcible deportation.  Finally, the OU can also be vocal in its support of the official Israel government decision according to which terror, violence, and incitement on the Palestinian side must cease completely, before the Government even considers razing crucial Jewish outposts in Judea and Samaria. 

 

d. "It's not my [Rabbi Weinreb's] fault..."

 

Rabbi Weinreb suggests that the rank and file in the OU and in Israel rise up and replace or overrule their political leaders.  But this process is slow and uncertain, particularly pitted against the fast-moving terror organizations trying to get control of the areas overlooking Israel's big cities and airport.  The faster option, and therefore the correct option, is for leadership to act like leaders and solve the problems facing Israel rather than waiting for a clumsy uncoordinated army of cleaning ladies, housewives, garbage collectors and kindergarten teachers to somehow do it for them.  Rabbi Weinreb must act like a leader, initiating and fostering support in Congress and in Washington for any reasonable option for Judea and Samaria other than establishment of a terror state next-door to Israel.  Policies for Judea and Samaria are born of two parents: the Government of Israel, and the US Administration.  Rabbi Weinreb must work tirelessly to influence the latter, while being tactful toward the former as only he knows how; that is how he can and should save Israel.

 

If you are concerned about what you are reading here, please forward this email to Rabbi Weinreb at execthw@ou.org and ask for his response.  Even better, write to him politely in your own words. Yes, it has been rumored that Rabbi Weinreb does not appreciate getting lots of e-mail. If true, this is symptomatic of the problem.  We are at a critical time for Israel and world Jewry.  The Palestinians are moving very fast:  their spear-head Hamas movement captured Gaza in a single day, and they moved a quarter of a million people from Gaza into Egypt, also in one day. In worrying contrast, leaders of major American Jewish organizations are still getting huffy about the state of their inboxes.

 

If you are reprimanded by OU staffers for writing directly to Rabbi Weinreb, respond immediately. Bring to their attention that just a few days ago, on 30 January, hundreds of Israeli citizens dialed Minister Eli Yishai's home telephone number, late at night, regarding an issue pertaining to Judea and Samaria.  Yishai is a senior minister with the additional responsibility of presiding over a huge and needy political movement, Shas, with 600,000 mostly destitute voters. But Eli Yishai did not complain even once about all the phonecalls because he -- unlike many American-Jewish leaders -- understands that the situation is grave.  Jewish leaders in the US have to understand this as well.  It is time for them to wake up.

 

Susie Dym, spokeperson, Mattot Arim

Mattot Arim is an Israeli grassroots organization working toward peace for peace since 1992.  The assistance of Aryeh, Ira, Jon, Mike, Moish, Rosalie, Sara and many others who generously provided valuable input, is gratefully acknowledged.

 

Please email Rabbi Weinreb at execthw@ou.org and politely express your concern. We will be grateful if you send us a copy: to mattot.arim@gmail.com. Finally, please forward this email to others.

Thank you very much -- from Israel.  

 
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Letter writing Campaign for T a young girl still in prison from Women in Green

LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN

Supporting 18-Year-Old Girl Political Prisoner
and
Calling to Account Her Religious Settler Jailers

The young girls who were arrested and detained for three and a half weeks in the Neve Tirza prison were recently released.  As will be recalled, the 13 and 14-year-olds were arrested for being found in an outpost near Beit El.  When they informed police that they had done nothing wrong and would not cooperate with the (in)justice system by identifying themselves, they were made to undergo shocking humiliations and abuse by a system threatened by their refusal to be intimidated.  The girls persisted in their stance and, in the end, they prevailed and were released.

Not all of them, however.  There is another girl who is still in prison.  She asks that her name not be publicized and so I will call her T.  This girl, whose story is told below, is standing alone against the entire system, undergoing endless rounds of daily harassment and small cruelties intended to break her.

Although T. is strong, it is important that we strengthen her and show her that she is not alone.  The public is asked to send her  supporting letters.  The letters (preferably in English) can be faxed to the Honeinu organization which is representing her at  972-3-7256213. If you can't send a fax and/or if you want to write in English, please email us your letter and we will make sure to print it and hand it over.
Email: nmatar@netvision.net.il
Honeinu will ensure that she gets them.

Below is the story of this girl together with the names of disloyal Yesha residents who are among those in the justice system who have been mistreating and persecuting the girls:

T. lives in Elon Moreh in the Shomron.  Shortly before Hanukah, Arabs entered the municipal boundaries of Elon Moreh to harvest olives with a police and army escort.  The girl and a friend of hers saw the Arabs on the land within the yishuv and yelled at them to leave.  The security forces arrested her.

She told her interrogators that she had broken no law nor engaged in any criminal behavior, and refused to sign any documents or in any way recognize their authority.  Since her arrest on the eve of Hanukah she has been imprisoned in the infamous Neve Tirza women prison!  They detained her (i.e. imprisoned her) until the end of all legal proceedings against her and indicted her on all kinds of false and fabricated charges.

Usually when a person is detained until the end of trial, the prosecutors must do everything in their power to speed up the proceedings because they are detaining someone who may well be innocent.  In this case, however, they're doing the reverse: they're doing everything in their power to delay and stretch out the trial.  When the trial started, instead of setting subsequent hearing dates to follow closely upon one another, they wait man weeks between every hearing.  For weeks on end, T. sits in prison, undergoing state sanctioned torments, while she awaits the next hearing.

This judicial persecution doesn't suffice our anti-Jewish (in)justice system, this girl must also be tormented within the prison itself:

*When she first arrived at Neve Tirzah, T. refused to undergo a strip search.  'I'm not a criminal, you have no reason to search me,' she correctly reasoned.  She was punished for her refusal with three days in isolation.

*When the arrested girls from the Bet El outpost arrived at Neve Tirza, they were put together with T. for a very short time.  But the prison authorities quickly severed all connection between T. and the other girls simply to distress T. and to break her.  When rabbis came to visit the Beit El girls, they were not always allowed to see T.  So that she would feel totally alone.  The other girls wanted to give T. their Telecards ­ the prisoners' only connection to the outside world ­ but the prison authorities refused, in order to cut her off completely from the outside world.

Because the girl refuses to get up for roll call in prison ("I'm not a criminal, why should I get up for roll-call?," she correctly reasoned.), she is punished with long stretches in isolation.  And isolation means isolation: A small cell. No electrical outlet.  Which means there's no possibility of heating the space.  They won't allow her books.  She had no visits from her family for the last month.  Alone.  Alone.  Day and night.  Night and day.

Afterwards they put her in the "separation" ward, which is a semi-punishment ward.  There, books are allowed, but she wasn't allowed them.  'Submit a request,' they told her.  When she submitted a request and her mother came from far away to deliver the books, they allowed her to see her mother in a room with a thick window separating them where one could talk only by telephone.  When her mother wanted to give her the books the prison authorities told her that they wouldn't permit it.  Her mother replied, 'I'm not moving from here until you give my daughter her books.'  After some commotion they finally gave T. her books.

These are just a few small examples of the abuse against innocent Jewish girls who are sitting in prison for only one reason: the system is A-F-R-A-I-D of Jews whose primary loyalty is to the Torah of Israel and the Land of Israel and not the system.

In contrast to the young girls who are willing to defy a system that has betrayed its purpose of promoting and protecting Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel in favor of destroying the Jewish presence in Biblical Israel, there are Yesha residents and religious residents from around the country who are aiding and abetting the persecution of the religious Zionist activists.

Just as we must support the faithful, we must censure the disloyal Jews who oppress them.  Below is a very partial listing and accounting of these collaborators:

The officer in charge of inmates  in Neve Tirzah is a settler from Talmon by the name of Yoram Shriki.  From information that the Beit El girls gave to Etty Medad of Honeinu, Shriki singled them out for harsh treatment and continues to be particularly harsh and cruel towards T.  For example: for a long time the girls weren't allowed to use the telephone.  When they were finally allowed to call their families, the prison authorities gave each girl only a minute or a minute and a half to speak before severing the connection.  Yoram Shriki could have prevented these kinds of abuses.  Whoever knows this Yoram or whoever has acquaintances and friends in Talmon should ask for an explanation for this behavior.

We cannot remain silent when Jews who are supposedly "one of us" aid and abet the anti-Jewish (in)justice system.  Most reprehensible are the religious state prosecutors and judges living in Yesha, who allay their feelings of inferiority by proving to their Leftist masters that they can be cruel to their brothers and sisters who step out of line.

In the many trials Women in Green have undergone, we have personally experienced a good many of this type ­ unfortunately we never got their names.  As for the girls, we were told that the state prosecutor in T's case is a man by the name of Yehuda Shaulzon from Elkana.  In another hearing, the prosecutor is a religious woman from Beit Shemesh by the name of Shir Laufer.  Whoever might know them, please ask them not to abuse innocent Jewish girls and other political prisoners whose faithfulness to the Land of Israel is being punished.

If settlers and religious Jews are going to join the mud of the Israeli judicial system, they should remember that their loyalty should be to their people, their land, and to the Torah, and not to the Leftist Bolshevik regime.  At the very minimum, these state prosecutors should end the cruel prolongation of T's trial by setting hearings dates close together instead of stretching it out endlessly over months and months.

In conclusion, we cannot remain silent.  We must strengthen T., and call those who deprive her of her basic civil and human rights to account.  Please write to T. and send your letters to the fax number and email address provided above.





Support Mishmeret Yesha, They prevented serious terrorist attack!

What is Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz's life worth?

Dear Torah Supporters!

Our community recently had the honor of hosting Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
here in San Francisco. This world recognized scholar is the author of
a new edition of Talmud that makes the central text of the Jewish
people universally accessible in the original Hebrew and has been
already translated into English, Russian and French.

We must sadly inform you that two armed Hamas terrorists recently
attacked his Mekor Haim Yeshiva in Kfar Etzion. This is not a yeshiva
consisting of college-age students studying after their IDF training.
These are high-school students without any combat experience.

Instead of entering student dormitories at 9:30 PM, the terrorists
entered a room where four counselors were meeting. As providence would
have it, two of these counselors were recently trained in
anti-terrorist combat techniques and practical weapons handling by
Mishmeret Yesha. Rather than obey the terrorists' command to "stand
against the wall", one counselor engaged in hand-to-hand combat
allowing the other to shoot both terrorists dead.

This event has been widely publicized in the Israeli media, see one
example at: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/948272.html

Over 70% of terror attacks directed at Israel and the Jews occur in of
the mountainous territories of Yehuda and Shomron. From Hadera to
Ghadera, a mere 9-mile-wide stretch of land, the entire coastal
population of Israel depends on the brave men and women of Yesha to
fend off terror for its survival. Often we hear only about attacks
resulting in injuries or deaths, but the majority of attacks are where
Israelis succeed in defending their businesses, land and families from
terror generally go unreported. This high rate of success is almost
entirely due to Mishmeret Yesha training programs and equipment
assistance.

The media has not given credit to Mishmeret Yesha for training and
organizing the security detail for Mekor Haim Yeshiva.

While the IDF approves and supports Mishmeret Yesha's work, they have
no budget to support the over 4,000 volunteers that are trained and
equipped by Mishmeret Yesha.

We urge you once more to support Mishmeret Yesha's work, and to help
save Jewish lives by donating to Mishmeret Yesha today.

Basic Facts:
- OVER 100 communities benefiting
- 4000 Rapid Response Team members trained
- 2000 armored protective and combat vests designed, fabricated &
distributed
- OVER 500 protective vests & helmets for men, women & children
purchased and distributed throughout Yesha
- 32 security g'machim (loan committees)
- 45 medical g'machim (loan committees)
- 300 combat vests and assorted tactical equipment distributed to IDF
units
- HUNDREDS of women trained in use of firearms and other self-defense
skills

SAVE A LIFE TODAY!

Support Mishmeret Yesha with your tax-deductible contribution!

_____ $5,000 (US) - Fully Equip One Rapid Response Team Member
_____ $1,500 (US) - Sponsor One Day 12-hour Training Session
_____ $1,200 (US) - Single Motorola Communication Unit
_____ $1,050 (US) - Armored Lightweight Combat Vest "CHASHMONIA"
_____ $250 (US) - Armored Polyethylene Plate
_____ $250 (US) - Ballistic Helmet

I WANT TO SPONSOR EQUIPMENT
FOR THE SECURITY G'MACH (FREE LOAN COMM.)
_____ $1,000 (US) - Men's Armored Vest
_____ $800 (US) - Women's Armored Vest
_____ $500 (US) - Children's Armored Vest

Please make & mail your tax-deductible contribution to:
MISHMERET YESHA
1412 Avenue M, Suite 2363
Brooklyn, NY 11230

or

MISHMERET YESHA
25 King George Blvd.
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Sunday, February 03, 2008

re: Kol Korei of Moetzes Ged. Hatorah in USA and EY(Degel Hatorah) and Shemittah

bs"d

Dear Esteemed Rabbanim of Moetzes Gelolei HaTorah of America and Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah Degel Hatorah, amv"sh

When we want someone to get married is it sufficient to simply davan and say tehillim?  Isn't actually meeting a potential partner a necessary step as well?  Hishtadlus (let's do our part and Hashem will respond in kind).

When a  gun is pointing at our heads and we are capable of removing the gun aren't we obligated to get rid of the gun (and if we are able to davan and say tehillim at the same time then we davan and say tehillim as well.).

Why doesn't Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah come out with a Kol Korei stating that the Roadmap is against the Torah and then daven and say Tehillim that such a statement will be well received?  In America, let it be known, that each and every Jew has an achraiyus, an obligation, to write to the White House and let them know the Torah's Position (Daas Torah)  is against the establishment of  a Palestinian State in the heartland of Eretz Yisroel. 

Let us not be afraid to tell President Bush that the Land of Israel is promised exclusively to the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and we must keep the commandments.  Will the Palestinians keep Shemittah (Sabbatical year)?  Shemittah demonstrates that the Land of Israel belongs to G-d.

Is President Bush aware that the Torah position is against a Palestinian State whether or not it is a Democratic State?????

Sure, the Moetzes has many considerations.  $$$ and more $$$.  Money for Torah institutions and for children allowances and in America for wonderful Special Ed programs and insurance for fertility treatments and job training etc. etc... and results in lots of employment opportunities for our community.  These considerations are not greedy.  They are addressing our bread and butter.  

BUT, this is the Shemittah year.  In the Shemittah year we do things that on the surface seems to take away our Parnassah, our monetary sustenance, yet Hashem promises much blessings.  It is in the same spirit as Shabbos.  In the Shemittah year we rely purely on Hashem for our sustenance.  

So how does one survive you ask?  Won't we all starve?  Hashem promises that peace and security and blessings will result.  How does this work?  It works because in the spirit of Shabbos,   we share our resources.  On Shabbat we all grab at the Kiddush? Why?  Are we so malnourished?  It's because we want the Kedusha that is inherent in that shul chulent.

Let's take the plunge and say, we'll risk our job to make that statement for all of Eretz Yisroel.  And if Chas Vechalila, G-d forbid,  I will lose my job, my honorary position,  then let's rely on this year being a Shemittah year.  Patoach Tiftach  is the very special Mitzvah of the Shemittah year.  Loaning money with dignity even with witnesses and openly and not even secretly as we would do for a poor person, is the special Mitzvah of Shemittah.  Yet the recipient, if unable, is under no pressure to repay the loan since the loan must be released assuming there was no Pruzbul.  Of course we have good faith when people borrow they sincerely wish to repay the loan. 

Farmers that do not have an income because they keep the commandment not to work the Land will need good faith loans.  So will the Rabbinic Leader that speaks out for Eretz Yisroel and gets replaced for being so forthright.  If Chas Vechalila that happens, this courageous soul will also need a loan.  But this courageous soul can be counted on to repay the loan when funds becomes available to him. 

The point that I am making is that we must be courageous and speak up and let's put our faith in Hashem to provide for all our needs.

What's the alternative?  Another Gush Katif?  Another War in Lebanon? These were perfect example of pooling of resources.  A perfect model of the Shemittah year. The entire country was involved with sharing their resources, providing for each others needs and making sure that no one lacks.  A third of the residents living in the North in Israel were forced to flee their homes when the rockets started flying.  The people of Gush Katif will tell you of all the wonderful people that took them in and provided for them (and I don't think they will be talking about the gov't).  So will the escapees of the North.  

Maybe Hashem wishes us to share our resources this year and if it doesn't happen by keeping Shemittah it can happen in a variety of ways. Much worse ways.   Katrina is another example of a situation where people were displaced overnight and at the mercy of the goodwill of their brothers.

Let's not forget the chemical, biological and nuclear capabilities in the hands of our enemies. The World Trade Center tragedy was caused by a simple airplane. Heavens and earth is Hashem's witnesses and agents.

BeDamyich Chayii.  With Blood Shall You Live. We can live with the blood of the Korban Pesach, the Paschal Sacrificial lamb or the blood of the Bris Mila, circumcision, or alternatively, G-d FORBID, by the sacrifices of human blood.  We can get our sustenance from the graciousness of the Israeli gov't or the United States gov't or directly from Hashem through the good will of our brothers. 

Do we choose blood money to buy our Silence at the expense of the lives of our Brethren Acheinu Beis Yisroel?  How many terrorists with blood on their hands have been released into Israeli society with no  protest?  How many rockets have been fired on Sederot with our Silence? How many young Jewish girls have been harassed for desiring a judicial system based on Torah?  What is the value of the "pure" chinuch of our children when it is based on such blood money.  What lessons will our children learn from this chinuch?

What do we choose???? Ubechartem Bachayim.  Let us choose Life! Life of Torah, and life for our Brethren in Eretz Yisroel and a life for ourselves.

 

From: Rabbi Shmuel Bloom [mailto:news@agudath-israel-of-america.ccsend.com] On Behalf Of Rabbi Shmuel Bloom
Sent: Friday, February 01, 2008 11:46 AM
Subject: Moetzes Kol Koreh

 

Kol Koreh Banner

Below is the text of a kol koreh issued by the Moetzes Gedoleh Hatorah of Agudas Yisroel and the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah of Degal Hatorah in EY, calling upon jews where ever they may be to say special tefillos, including tehillim and seder yom kippur kotton, this coming Tuesday Feb 5, erev rosh chodosh adar 1, in light of the extremely serious current matzav in EY. As you will see, The American Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah has also joined in this urgent call.

 

 

An Announcement from Gedolei Yisroel in Eretz Yisroel, shlit"a

 

TO OUR FELLOW JEWS LIVING IN ERETZ YISROEL AND TO JEWISH COMMUNITIES EVERYWHERE

 

The difficult situation of the Jewish community in Eretz Yisroel fills us with trepidation.  No one knows what the new day will bring.  In our sins, we see the fulfillment of the posuk "Behold Your enemies are in uproar and those who hate You have raised their head.  Against Your nation they deviously plot, and take counsel against those whom You protect."  Our eyes are lifted in prayer to the Creator, that all of the goings-on in the world turn for the good.

 

From both within and without the crisis mounts.   The danger threatens both body and soul.   During these days, items are on agendas that could place entire populations of Jews into grave danger, G-d forbid - including those in the Holy City of Yerushalayim.  Further, there are constant attempts to undermine the foundations of pure chinuch in Eretz Yisroel and to cause harm to the holiness of Klal Yisroel.  Therefore it is incumbent on us to fortify ourselves with Torah, tefilla and good deeds, to awaken the mercy of Heaven.

 

Dear brethren, awaken and inspire yourselves to pour out prayer before the Creator of the world, that He have pity and protect His nation from all who stand up against us, that He abolish the intentions of those who hate us and nullify the plottings of our enemies, and that the eyes of the misguided be opened to the realization that their path is foolishness and they should leave Hashem's nation to guard its path and faith, without hindrance or interference.

 

We therefore call on members of Hashem's holy nation in all the places they reside, men, women and children, to gather in tefilla on Tuesday, Erev Rosh Chodesh Adar Rishon, 5768, to recite chapters of Tehillim and the order of Yom Kippur Koton.

 

May Hashem hear our pleas, and turn His face to us so that we may be saved with a permanent salvation soon.  And let us merit to see, quickly, the redemption of Yisroel, and gaze upon the building of the Beis HaMikdosh, quickly in our days, omein.

 

Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah

Agudas Yisroel                                                                                           Degel HaTorah

 

 

23 Shevat, 5768

 

A Statement from the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of America

 

We hereby join in the statement of the Gedolei HaTorah in Eretz Yisroel and call on our fellow Jews here in this country to gather and be unified in public tefilla on Tuesday, Erev Rosh Chodesh Adar Rishon, Yom Kippur Koton, to pour out prayer to Heaven over the situation in Eretz Yisroel.  May HaKodosh Boruch Hu accept our tefillos in mercy and hurry our redemption and ultimate salvation.

 

Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of America

Agudath Israel of America
42 Broadway 14th floor
New York, New York 10004
212-797-9000