From: Janet Lehr <janetlehr@israellives.org>
Date: Tue, Dec 15, 2015 at 4:02 PM
Subject: ISRAEL LIVES Dec. 15, 2015 3rd of Tevet, 5776. CHAZAQ CHAZAQ CHAZAQ
To: faigerayzel@gmail.com
ISRAEL LIVES Dec. 15, 2015 3rd of Tevet, 5776. CHAZAQ CHAZAQ CHAZAQ
Rabbi Leibel Baumgarten lighting the Seventh Candle in Herrick Park East Hamption NY
CONGRADULATION TO CHABBAD OF EAST HAMPTON on reaching their funding goal for 5776. Spurred on by three donors that pledged to multiply by 4xs all gifts received within a 24 hour period - ON AN ALL OR NOTHING BASIS. Rabbi Leibel Baumgarten announced victory about 20 hours into the challenge - raising an additional 10% in the final hours.
CNN 8pm debate tonight
WILL THE CANDIDATES STANCE ON ISRAEL BE QUESTIONED?
BIBI SAID HE WOULD NOT BE 'AVAILABLE' - THE 'DONALD' POSTPONES HIS PLANNED TRIP TO ISRAEL - JUST DAYS AFTER THE 'DONALD' PLACED THE ONUS ON ISRAEL TO MAKE A DEAL WITH THE PA. LET'S HOPE A DIRECT QUESTION TO ALL THE CANDIDATES FORCES THEM TO STATE THEIR POSITION ON ISRAEL TONIGHT!! AT THE VERY LEAST DEMANDING RECOGNITION FOR JERUSALEM AS THE CAPITAL OF ISRAEL AND THAT SECURE BORDERS BE INSURED FOR THE STATE OF ISRAEL
USEFUL INFO. from: Amb. Yoram Ettinger
6 minutes on Israel's contributions to the USA: http://bit.ly/16FP01N
IMPORTANT FOR TRAVEL TODAY: TO ARRANGE FOR Security and personal concierge services while in Israel: www.barhomessecurity.com
TRAGICALLY ON GOING Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow: A comprehensive list of Terror attacks on Israelis (here)
DID YOU KNOW?
SOME OF THE ARAB STATES HAVE ADMITTED MANY FROM SYRIA The population of Syrians living in the Gulf states jumped by more than 1.1 million from the beginning of the civil war through 2013.
The basis of Douglas J. Feith's op-ed "An Obvious, Unused Home for Refugees" (Dec. 1) is that the Gulf states haven't accepted any Syrian refugees. A more detailed look reveals that the population of Syrians living in the Gulf states jumped by more than 1.1 million from the beginning of the civil war through 2013.
World Bank data show that before the outbreak of violence 241,000 Syrians were living in the Gulf states. By 2013 that number increased by 470% to a total of 1.4 million. The number of Syrians living in Saudi Arabia alone rose from 111,764 to a million in three years-an 800% increase. Many are likely on work visas.
These Syrians aren't legally considered refugees because the Gulf states haven't signed the U.N. refugee conventions. Regardless, the increase in Syrian migrants in the Gulf states has helped alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe in Syria. Alex Nowrasteh, Cato Institute, Washington DC (Wall Street Journal Letters Dec. 9/15)
CHRISTIANS UNITED FOR ISRAEL (CUFI) CANADA IS GRAVELY CONCERNED OVER THE APPOINTMENT OF MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT OMAR ALGHABRA TO THE POSITION OF PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY TO THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS BY PRIME MINISTER TRUDEAU. >Omar Alghabra was once refused entry to the US by American officials. He actively supports anti-Israel events in Canada as well as the boycott of Israel and has repeatedly condemned Israel as a "brutal" country favouring instead Hamas and Hezbollah, renowned terrorist groups. >Omar Alghabra used to head the Canadian Arab Federation which lost Federal funding because it promoted anti-Canadian values in programs it was running for new Canadians >Mr. Trudeau's elevation of Omar Alghabra to a senior government position appears to herald in a new era in Canada-Israel relations. Placing him in Foreign Affairs seems a reversal of the Prime Minister's own promise to not change the substance of Canada's relationship with Israel. >In addition in his new portfolio he may be instrumental in having input in influencing the security criteria that will be used to flush out terrorists and radicalized families and individuals in the rapid processing of refugees to Canada. This possibility is causing much consternation among Canadians concerned with national security.
MOST IMPORTANT: NOVEMBER 30TH WAS THE MEMORIAL FOR JEWS FROM ARAB/MUSLIM COUNTRIES. This is only the beginning of long-overdue recognition of the 850,000+ Jews who were forced to flee their homes & communities of 2,000+ years by the Muslims of those surrounding Arab/Muslim countries (including Iran which is Muslim but not Arab). Please stop for a few minutes & view the excellent documentary by The David Project: ada4567 / YouTube.
The Ministry for Social Equality has been documenting the revoked rights, stolen property and lost heritage of communities hailing from Arab countries and Iran since October 2009, before the commemoration was legislated. It falls under the Pensioneers Ministry seniors@msd.govt.nz Minister Gila Gamliel named the new Social Equality minister after Pensioner's Ministry expanded. Clearly Gila and Miry Regev are Ministers representing Israel's future.
WOMEN IN GREEN HAS PUBLISHED THE 6TH EDITION OF SOVEREIGNTY CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE: or email ribonut@gmail.com to request SOVEREIGNTY Edition #6. Here is a sample of SOVEREIGNTY Edition #1 It began with an illuminating article on sovereignty: Housing Minister Ariel related his vision, "Sovereignty must be applied, although possibly in stages; initially, in Israeli-controlled 'C' areas - which comprise most of the area and have a few tens of thousands of Arabs - and then move forward towards full sovereignty."
Following is a list of Edition #1 articles, as valuable then as now.
· Every Day Without Sovereignty Advances the Palestinian State Geula Cohen, Israel Prize Laureate · Apply Sovereignty Without Fear of the Demographic "Demon" Minister of Housing Uri Ariel · Sovereignty in our Homeland Rabbi Gideon Perl, Gush Etzion regional Rabbi · The Leftist Vision is Not the Only One Rabbanit Shulamit Melamed, Arutz 7 · Land of Israel Loyalists Don't Have to Present an Alternative Dep. Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin · 'Occupied Territories'? There is no Historical or Legal Basis for That Alan Baker, Foreign Ambassador, Expert in International Law · In Praise of Normalcy Adv. Betsalel Smotrich, Regavim · We Succeeded in Settlement, but Failed in Diplomacy Israel Harel · Israeli Sovereignty in Judea and Samaria Will End an Ongoing Injustice Yossi Dagan, Deputy Chairman of the Samaria Regional Council · Excerpts from the 2013 Sovereignty Conference in Jerusalem · The Call that Arises from Shdema - SOVEREIGNTY
Rabbanit Henkin has written: "We must take advantage of the present wave of knife attacks and
anti-Semitism to apply sovereignty over the Land of Israel, because only when we declare once and for all that this Land is ours and that we will never surrender it, will we cut off the hopes of the enemy,
the hope that expands the circle of the Arab terrorists who dream of having their own state in the heart of our Land."
A bit of wonderful AFSI history - SOVEREIGNTY was first distributed in 2013 at AFSI's annual fall Chizuk Mission. It was a celebratory moment, which I gratefully shared.
For online donations to Women in Green http://www.razoo.com/story/Women-In-Green
The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution condemning anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incitement in the Palestinian Authority.
Also this week, the House passed a resolution (418-0) calling on European governments to enhance security efforts protecting Jews from anti-Semitic attacks
FOXTV 11/17 7:32am: Louis Golmert (R-TX) introducing his comments on President Obama's lecture on 'morality' began: "THE EU DECLARED WAR ON ISRAEL" (labeling of products from Israel to be divided into produce from within or without the 1967 line)
Continuing his brief, spectacular thoughts on Pres. Obama's feckless 'support' of France and the free world in our fight against ISIS (ISLAM), Cong. Golmert held US leadership to its task of "providing for the common defense, domestic and foreign"; a direct interpretation of the Preamble to the Constitution: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. ("On issue after issue, we cannot rely on a rule-book written for a different century," President Barack Obama to the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 24, 2014 (full text)
FROM MADONNA- DEC. 9, 2015
Im singing some songs in place de la republique. Meet me there now #Paris . #rightnow
WHAT'S IN A DATE? From Terror Trends Bulletin: On November 13, 1918 the Allied troops occupied Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire was the Caliphate, the Islamic State of its day.
ISRAELI BACKBONE 151114 OVERNIGHT, SECURITY PERSONNEL DEMOLISHED THE RESIDENCES OF YAHIA MUHAMMAD NAIF ABDULLAH HAJJ HAMAD, SAMIR ZAHIR IBRAHIM KUSAH, AND KAREM LUFTI FATAHI RAZEK, IN NABLUS AND THE RESIDENCE OF MAAD HAMED IN SILWAD, in accordance with directives of the Minister of Defense, Moshe Ya'alon. On October 1st, Yahia Muhammad Naif Abdullah Hajj Hamad, Samir Zahir Ibrahim Kusah, and Karem Lufti Fatahi Razek plotted and executed the lethal attack on Naama and Eitan Henkin. The terrorist shot and murdered the two parents in front of their four children on the main route between the communities of Alon Moreh and Itamar. On June 29, Maad Hamed shot and murdered Malachi Rosenfeld on his way back from a basketball game. (IMRA)
A FORMER NYPD OFFICER WHO CLAIMS HE WAS THE VICTIM OF CONSTANT ANTI-SEMITIC HARASSMENT at the hands of his fellow officers is speaking out, describing the relentless torment he was forced to deal with on an every-day basis. The NYPD says it is conducting an internal investigation into this case, and disciplinary charges have been filed against three officers. TO FILE A COMPLAINT OF ANTI-SEMITISM THIS LINKS TO THE FORM
NEWS REPORTS:
1- SUFFRAGETTE - Films can matter . It is wonderful for a film to spark a broad discussion of women's rights and legal protections afforded in democratic nations, protected by state and national laws. This discussion has broad implications to present events, internationally.
2- laws mandating abortionists show women an ultrasound image of their unborn baby before performing an abortion, have already been passed in 25 states
3- REGAVIM SUPPORTING THE RIGHTS OF JEWS IN ISRAEL : WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATE OF THE AYELET HASHACHAR SYNAGOGUE IN GIVAT ZE'EV? The Supreme Court called for its demolition. The State said it would pay $5 million NIS to relocate it. Nothing has been reported recently. We rely on Regavim to keep attention on the fate of the Jewish People in the Land of Israel. Donate here
4- GAIL WINSTON:MAKING OF AN ACTIVIST I GOT MAD November 10, 1975 (the anniversary of Kristallnacht) the U.N. notoriously voted that "Zionism is Racism". Israel's then Ambassador to the U.N. Abba Eban (& later Israel's President) tore up the document & tongue-lashed the U.N. members for their stupidity & cruelty. Finally, this subversive Resolution was repealed on December 16,1991.but it is still causing harm.
5- THE JEWISH DEMOGRAPHIC HEADWIND OF YOUTHFUL EMIGRATION from Jerusalem, based on few jobs and high rents and empty 'Holiday' apartments owned by wonderful Jews living most of the year outside Israel, is ERODING THE CURRENT 66% JEWISH MAJORITY OF ISRAEL'S CAPITAL.
6-THE MUSLIM REFORM MOVEMENT PLAYS FANTASY ISLAM - Fantasy Islam: a game in which an audience of non-Muslims wish with all their hearts that Islam was a "religion of peace," and a Muslim strives to fulfill that wish by presenting a personal version of Islam that has little foundation in Islamic doctrine
1> (New Film) SUFFRAGETTE - Films can matter .
DON'T LET THE LEFT DICTATE U.S. POLICY. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IS A COUNTRY FOUNDED ON LAWS EMBODIED IN ITS CONSTITUTION, GRANTING LIFE AND FREEDOM TO ITS CITIZENS IT IS DUTY OF THE GOVERNMENT TO KEEP US ALIVE, SAFE AND FREE.
As a history buff and one well grounded in historic photography, I only needed to read Frank Marshall's review, "the primary acting role by Carey Mulligan is a stellar performance, who brings the audience into the heart of the issue, suffering, losing her marriage and her child, to follow an ideal that ends up successful." He went on to mention amateurish camera work. (I can live with that) - The story of the Suffragettes in England explored in SUFFRAGETTE, had its parallels worldwide - Women, and men, persevered. The United States history of Women's Suffrage is succinctly reviewed at http://www.suffragist.com/timeline.htm. in a timeline from 17th-20th cen. Heroines and Heros, small legal successes collectively lead in 1919 to the passage of the 19th Amendment of the United States Constitution. It is wonderful for a film to spark a broad discussion of women's rights and legal protections afforded in democratic nations, protected by state and national laws. This discussion has broad implications to present events, internationally.
2>PLANNED PARENTHOOD DIRECTOR ABBY JOHNSON WHO, WHEN ASKED TO ASSIST WITH AN ULTRASOUND-GUIDED ABORTION, LOOKED ON IN ABSOLUTE HORROR, WATCHING THE 13 WEEK BABY FIGHT, BUT ULTIMATELY LOSE ITS LIFE. Twenty-five states have now passed laws mandating abortionists show women an ultrasound image of their unborn baby before performing an abortion.
The momentum is growing to do the same thing nationally. Click here to sign your petition in support of the Ultrasound Informed Consent Act.
3< REGAVIM is SUPPORTING THE RIGHTS OF JEWS IN ALL ISRAEL : WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATE OF THE AYELET HASHACHAR SYNAGOGUE IN GIVAT ZE'EV? THEY ARE FIGHTING THIS BATTLE WITH MINIMUM FINANCIAL RESOURCES. Donate here
AFSI's fall mission rallied at the Ayelet Hashachar Synagogue in Givat Ze'ev lending our voice to the many Israelis already protesting the pending demolition of this Sephardic Synagogue. Givat Ze'ev is a short distance North of Jerusalem, the town has a population of almost 15,000 and is the fifth-largest West Bank settlement.
MICHAEL FREUND wrote in the Jerusalem Post 11/11/15
AT A TIME WHEN PALESTINIAN TERRORISTS ARE ON A STABBING SPREE, WE HAVE A RIGHT TO DEMAND THAT OUR GOVERNMENT FOCUS ITS EFFORTS ON PROTECTING US. This report specifically cites an offer by congregants to pay again for the property. You can see from the following photograph that it is a beautiful, well used House of Worship and of Study. Freund continues: In the next few days, barring a last-minute reversal, the Israeli government will dispatch soldiers and bulldozers with a terrible task on their hands: to demolish a synagogue in Givat Ze'ev, north of Jerusalem.
Congregants gather in Ayelet Hashachar synagogue in Givat Ze'ev?
2 days later: JPOST 11/17/15 ANNOUNCED- "THE STATE TO SPEND NIS 5 MILLION TO RELOCATE GIVAT ZE'EV SYNAGOGUE. The original plan was to demolish the synagogue, located in a settlement just outside of Jerusalem. The High Court of Justice partially accepted the state's offer to spend NIS 5 million to relocate Givat Ze'ev synagogue Ayelet HaShachar, rather than forcibly demolish the one-story stone structure. There is a dispute as to whether the Synagogue was in fact located on private Palestinian property, as the Jews contending ownership of the property were able to produce a recent deed to said property; not an historic Ottoman Empire deed so often proffered by palestinean claimants.
Known as Ayelet HaShachar, the Sephardi synagogue has served the local community for more than 15 years and accommodates over 300 worshipers, many of whom are veterans of IDF combat units who risked their lives in defense of the state.
But now, that very same state is poised to carry out a disgraceful ruling issued last week by Israel's Supreme Court, which declared: "[W]e rule that the destruction shall take place no later than November 17, 2015."
The razing of the Givat Ze'ev synagogue cannot be allowed to come to pass. We must all raise our voices and protest, and use every legal means possible, to bring about the negation of this unjust and immoral decision.
Consider the following: The land upon which the synagogue is built was purchased legally for $70,000 from its Palestinian Arab owner. Several years later, another Palestinian Arab came forward, with the encouragement of a left-wing Israeli organization, asserting that he is the real owner and demanding that the synagogue be torn down.
A petition was filed with the Supreme Court to this end. And despite the fact that the Israeli Civil Administration was unable, after three years of checking, to determine who the rightful owner was or is, the court nonetheless ordered the synagogue's destruction.
For various reasons the implementation of the decision was delayed, but in light of the court's ruling last week, it now appears that time may be running out.
Adding to the absurdity is the fact that the members of the synagogue have expressed their willingness to pay the second alleged owner of the land just to remove any shadow of a doubt regarding the title to the property. But even this gesture has been rejected.
To be sure, the synagogue itself was originally built without a permit. Nonetheless, there are plenty of precedents in which such structures were retroactively approved, so there is a way to solve this without turning a synagogue into a heap of rubble.
The court's handling of this case is just the latest example of its decidedly left-wing bias, which was on full display in recent weeks when it delayed the demolition of homes belonging to terrorists who carried out lethal attacks against Israelis over the past year.
Does it make sense to any clear-thinking person that the Supreme Court in the Jewish state would delay the destruction of terrorists' homes while pressing forward with knocking down a synagogue? Five months ago, the Regavim organization published an eye-opening study about the court's handling of petitions regarding unauthorized construction in Judea and Samaria. It lays bare for all to see just how one-sided and unjust the Supreme Court can be.
REGAVIM reviewed 54 cases heard by the court between 2005 and 2013, 29 of which were filed by the Left against Jewish construction and 25 by the Right against Arab building, and examined how each one was handled.
The cold hard facts, and the partiality they reveal, are difficult to dispute. It turns out that on average, it took the court more than twice as long to issue an initial response to petitions filed by the Right than to those by the Left, 52 days versus 23 days. The first court hearing on left-wing petitions took place, on average, within eight months of the petition being filed, while those emanating from the right took over a year.
Left-wing suits were not only addressed more rapidly, but also garnered more of the court's attention, with more than twice the number of court discussions, a far longer lifetime for the petitions and a lop-sided number of interim and conditional injunctions issued. And while the chief justice took part in 62% of the Left's petitions, just 32% of right-wing appeals merited such treatment.
Clearly, something needs to be done to restore some balance, and equity, to the court and its procedures. It is too important an institution to be allowed to devolve into an arm of one side of the political spectrum.
Should it come to pass, the flattening of the synagogue in Givat Ze'ev would deal a grave and demoralizing blow to the morale not only of its members, but to all those who expect the Jewish state to respect and safeguard the sanctity of a synagogue.
At a time when Palestinian terrorists are on a stabbing spree, we have a right to demand that our government focus its efforts on protecting us, rather than tearing down a symbol of our return to this land.
AS OF DECEMBER 15, THERE ARE NO FURTHER REPORTS.
4>GAIL WINSTON:MAKING OF AN ACTIVIST
Posted: Dec. 2, 2015
November 10, 1975 (the anniversary of Kristallnacht) the U.N. notoriously voted that "Zionism is Racism". Israel's then Ambassador to the U.N. (& later Israel's President) tore up the document & tongue-lashed the U.N. members for their stupidity & cruelty. Finally, this subversive Resolution was repealed on December 16,1991.but it is still causing harm.
I got mad. I was then a housewife & mother of 3 children in a northern suburb of Chicago. My husband, Manny & I had first tried to make Aliyah in 1962. During the Yom Kippur War of 1973 we again flew to Israel to volunteer as best we could. Manny was driven to the front by a friend, Sol (Shalom) Baskin, an artist of war scenes & a Mahal member (volunteer soldier from America). Manny took an awe-inspiring photo-logue of his days there. I still have the 11x14 color enlargements ready to offer for a traveling or permanent exhibit showing our brave soldiers & their commanders - including Gen. Ariel (Arik) Sharon - who broke the Egyptian hold on the Sinai & won the war - miraculously!
So, later November 10, 1975, Zionism=Racism made me mad! Israel had no effective 'Hasbara' (now called "Public Diplomacy") mechanism or staff or money for either. The Arab/Muslim oil giants quadrupled the price of oil, blamed the crash of the world's economy on Israel & the Jews & poured millions into their propaganda which was very excellent at telling outrageous lies about Israel & the Jewish people in our Jewish State.
So, I invented M.E.I.R., Mid East Information Resource, a Jewish Speakers' Bureau to fight Arab Propaganda. I created a series of Seminars to teach (me) & my new scared population of Jewish suburbanites how to defend themselves & Israel, their Jewish State. We had professionals who volunteered to teach us: The Israeli Consul for Press & Information; Prof. David Banayan, an Iranian Jew who escaped; several American Professors who had fought in Israel's 1948 War of Independence; Joan Peters, author extraordinaire of "From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict Over Palestine".and more. After 3 months I had my first speaking engagement. Joan gave me the 16mm film: "The Dhimmi: To be a Jew in Arab Lands". So, when I viewed the above YouTube [ada4567 / YouTube], I knew most of those great speakers who lived that early history of escape & rebuilding their lives here in Israel. Some of them appear, quite young, in my film: "The Dhimmi".
I carried my precious film, a 16 mm projector & big screen, plus lots of written information - some by me - AIPAC applications, Save Soviet Jewry, addresses of whom to write, Save Ethiopian Jewry.. I showed the film & led a group discussion for all kinds of organizations.mostly Jewish, some Christian. I wore a large Button that I had made on my button machine: "I am a Zionist. Ask me Why". Judy Siegel wrote a wonderful story with picture about me for the Jerusalem Post. I invented Media Monitoring & inaugurated several Media Monitoring organizations, including CAMERA in its very early days. My newsletters in the last part of the 1970s & 1980s were quite good - especially before the computer. Mail by Post Office - not Email.Or by FAX to media outlets & influentials. I went to many of the National & International Jewish Conferences. I liked being where Jews are - & still do.
Now, I'm here for real - after 127 commuting trips - I made my final Aliyah in August, 2012. Now my voice is through my computer (let my fingers do the talking) & sometimes at Conferences. Email is invaluable.
So, that's my biography in brief. My M.O. - my Modus Operandi.
5>DEMOGRAPHS AND THE FATE OF ISRAEL
Oy Jerusalem
Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, "Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative"
"Israel Hayom," September 4, 2015, http://bit.ly/1QdocYE
Yoram Ettinger, Jerusalem, Israel, "Second Thought: US-Israel Initiative,"
www.TheEttingerReport.com, Facebook Twitter
For speaking engagements and media interviews: YoramTex@gmail.com
While the Jewish State benefits from the robust Jewish demographic tailwind of fertility and immigration, Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, is burdened with a Jewish demographic headwind of emigration, which is eroding the current 66% Jewish majority.
The growing, youthful Jewish emigration from Jerusalem is driven by the scarcity of jobs as well as costly and limited housing. It was triggered - beginning in the 1990s - by Israeli Prime Ministers, who have relegated Jerusalem to a lower national priority, in sharp contrast to preceding Prime Ministers.
Simultaneously with a litany of "O Jerusalem" boasting statements, they have demonstrated "Oy Jerusalem" feeble action, reflecting limited capability to withstand opposition, by US Presidents, to Jewish construction beyond the pre-1967 armistice line. Moreover, succumbing to US pressure has yielded more, and rougher, pressure. Thus, they have constrained the development of Jerusalem's infrastructure of transportation, housing and employment - which constitute a prerequisite for transforming Jewish emigration into robust Jewish immigration - since it requires construction on substantial, state-owned land, available within the largely unpopulated boundaries of reunited Jerusalem, not in the limited parameters of pre-1967 Jerusalem.
The smaller the effective boundary of Jerusalem, the larger is Jewish emigration; the larger the effective boundary, the greater is the potential for Jewish immigration.
Thus, recent Prime Ministers have sacrificed the significant upgrading of Jerusalem's infrastructure of growth on the altar of the supposed peace process with the Palestinian Authority, which seeks to annul Jerusalem's reunification, worships suicide bombers and operates the most effective assembly line for manufacturing terrorists: a K-12 destroy-Israel-education system.
This peace process-driven policy has also led to physical and administrative disengagement from some Arab neighborhoods in reunited Jerusalem, and the construction of walls and fences, separating these neighborhoods from the rest of the city. As a result, parallel to the increasing Jewish emigration from Jerusalem, some 50,000 Arab residents of these neighborhoods - possessing Israeli ID cards - immigrated over the walls and the fences deeper into Jerusalem, lest they lose Israeli social and welfare benefits. Thus, at a time when parity has been reached between Jewish and Arab fertility rates (number of births per woman), this Israeli policy of disengagement has induced Arab immigration into Jerusalem, at a rate twice as high as the rate of Jewish emigration from Jerusalem.
In this regard, contemporary Israeli Prime Ministers have strayed away, dramatically, from their predecessors. For example, in 1950, in defiance of brutal US and global pressure to internationalize Jerusalem (which is still the policy of the US Department of State!), Prime Minister David Ben Gurion proclaimed Jerusalem the capital of the Jewish State, relocated government agencies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, settled a massive number of Olim (Jewish immigrants to Israel) in Jerusalem, upgraded the transportation infrastructure to Jerusalem, and erected new Jewish neighborhoods along Jerusalem's cease fire lines, providing the city land reserves for long term growth. Ben Gurion's actions spoke louder than the current bravado statements about the "indivisible Jerusalem."
In 1967, Prime Minister Levi Eshkol adopted Ben Gurion's statesmanship, fended off severe US and global threats, reunited Jerusalem and established the foundation of satellite Jewish neighborhoods well beyond Jerusalem's "pre-1967 lines."
In 1970-1, Prime Minister Golda Meir resisted heavy pressure, by the White House and the Department of State, refusing to rescind the reunification of Jerusalem and to transfer Jerusalem's Holy Basin to the auspices of the three leading religions (these demands were embraced, in 2010, by former Prime Minister, Olmert). Defiantly, Golda Meir laid the groundwork for additional neighborhoods beyond the "pre-'67 lines": Gilo, Ramot Alon, French Hill and Neve' Ya'akov, significantly expanding Jerusalem's infrastructure of growth.
Prime Ministers Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir sustained the position of Jerusalem at the top of Israel's national priorities, reinforcing - through construction and growth - the historical, national and religious status of reunified Jerusalem as the exclusive, non-negotiable capital of the Jewish State.
In order to dramatically expand Jerusalem's 66% Jewish majority, and retain the graduates of the Hebrew University (Israel's largest university), while improving the quality of life for Jews and Arabs, Israel should embark upon a fast-track, dramatic enhancement of Jerusalem's transportation infrastructure, which would pave the road for a flow of Israeli and international entrepreneurs and investors. For example, the largest Israeli city (2.5 times larger and more populated than Tel Aviv!) needs an airport, located in the ample, unpopulated area in eastern Jerusalem, which would be a most effective engine of growth. The only two freeways to Jerusalem from the coastal plain (#1 and #443 which stretches along the Land of the Maccabees beyond the 1967 lines) must be expanded, and a third one (#45 which was shelved by Prime Minister Sharon) should be constructed, for commercial, safety and national security reasons. The internal Begin Road should evolve into the Jerusalem Loop, which would be a game-changer for commerce and quality of life. A similar surge should apply to the infrastructure for high tech, telecommunications, electricity, water, education and housing.
Will Israeli Prime Ministers embark upon an "O Jerusalem" policy - initiated 3,000 years ago by King David - which would drastically enhance Jerusalem's quality of life and expand its Jewish majority? Or, will they sustain the "Oy Jerusalem" policy, which could doom Jerusalem to a Jewish minority?
6>THE MUSLIM REFORM MOVEMENT PLAYS FANTASY ISLAM -
Fantasy Islam: a game in which an audience of non-muslims wish with all their hearts that Islam was a "religion of peace," and a Muslim strives to fulfill that wish by presenting a personal version of Islam that has little foundation in Islamic doctrine
Dr. Stephen M. Kirby
December 11, 2015
Dr. Stephen M. Kirby is the author of three books about Islam. His latest is "Islam According to Muhammad, Not Your Neighbor."
http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/261067/muslim-reform-movement-plays-fantasy-islam-dr-stephen-m-kirby
DR. STEPHEN M. KIRBY: WELCOME TO A PERSONAL VERSION OF ISLAM THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ISLAM
In December 2015, a small group of "Muslim reformers" met in Washington DC to discuss the reform of Islam. They stated they were "Muslims who live in the 21st century" who were "in a battle for the soul of Islam." They proclaimed that they stood for "a respectful, merciful and inclusive interpretation of Islam." They called their meeting the Summit of Western Muslim Voices of Reform and named themselves the Muslim Reform Movement. On December 4, 2015, fourteen "founding authors" from this movement signed the Declaration for Muslim Reform, laying out their beliefs.
At the conclusion of the event, two participants posted a signed copy of this Declaration on the door of the Islamic Center of Washington DC (a la Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Castle church in 1517). The document was quickly removed, and so far there has been little, if any, support for this reform movement from the greater Muslim-American community.
Here is the reason for that lack of support: the Preamble and Declaration are only two pages in length. But in those two pages these "founding authors" fundamentally rejected the commands of Allah in the Koran and the teachings of Muhammad in an effort to create their own Fantasy Islam that is more compatible with Western, Judeo-Christian values. Let's examine some parts of that Declaration for Muslim Reform.
We reject interpretations of Islam that call for any violence.
So starts out the second paragraph of the Preamble. But the commands of Allah in the Koran and the teachings of Muhammad are rife with violence.
The Koran commands Muslims specifically to kill non-Muslims (9:5), specifically to fight against Jews and Christians (9:29), and generally to fight against and be violent toward non-Muslims (e.g., 2:216, 4:74, 5:33, 8:12, 8:39, 8:57, 9:14, 9:73, 9:111, 9:123, 48:29, and 66:9).
Muhammad was proud that he had been made victorious through terror and fear (e.g. Sahih Al-Bukhari, No. 2977; and Sunan An-Nasa'i, No. 432). He even said, "My livelihood is under the shade of my spear" (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Book 56, Chapter 88). "Under the shade of my spear" means war plunder.
Muhammad is the standard of conduct for Muslims. Muhammad supervised the beheading of 600-900 captured Jewish males, including non-combatants, and over the years ordered individuals killed for criticizing Islam. Muhammad even ordered poets to be killed. The following is a portion of a letter written shortly after the Muslim conquest of Mecca in 630 AD. It was sent to a non-Muslim poet who used to satirize Muhammad, from the poet's brother:
Allah's Messenger killed some men in Makkah who used to satirize and harm him, and the poets who survived fled in all directions for their lives. So, if you want to save your skin, hasten to Allah's Messenger. He never kills those who come to him repenting. If you refuse to do as I say, it is up to you to try to save your skin by any means.
The Sealed Nectar, p. 521
VIOLENCE AND ISLAM GO HAND-IN-HAND.
We reject bigotry, oppression and violence against all people based on any prejudice, including. sexual orientation.
We find this in A3 of the Declaration. But Muhammad cursed lesbians and gays (Sahih Al-Bukhari, No. 5886) and said that whoever is caught in a homosexual act should be killed (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Vol. 2, p. 402).
We.consider all people equal.
This is found in B2 of the Declaration. Muhammad felt differently. He said that Jews and Christians were worth only half of a Muslim (Sunan Ibn Majah, No. 2644). He said that women were deficient in intelligence and religion (Sahih Al-Bukhari, No. 304), and that it took the freeing of two female slaves to equal the virtue of freeing one male slave (Jami' At-Tirmidhi, No. 1547). The Koran forbids Muslim women from marrying a non-Muslim (2:221), but a Muslim man can marry Jewish and Christian women (5:5). And the Koran states that Jews and Christians are among the worst of people (98:6), while Muslims are the best of people (98:7).
We support equal rights for women, including equal rights to inheritance, witness.
This is found in B3 of the Declaration. But this statement is a specific rejection of two verses in the Koran. 4:12 states that a woman only inherits one half of what a man would get, and this means that if there is more than one wife, all the wives will have to share that one-half portion. 2:282 states that in property matters it takes the testimony of two women to equal that of one man. Are these verses not the words of Allah?
Sharia is manmade.
This is an amazing claim made in C1 of the Declaration. In reality, Sharia Law is Islamic Sacred Law based on the commands of Allah found in the Koran and on the teachings and example of Muhammad, who spoke for Allah. Does the word blasphemy come to mind?
Every individual has the right to publicly express criticism of Islam.
This is another amazing claim, found in C2 of the Declaration. After all, in the Koran Allah states that Islam was perfected during the time of Muhammad (5:3). How then can something that is perfect be criticized? And there are many verses that specifically prohibit criticism of Islam, Allah, or Muhammad (e.g. 4:59, 4:115, 9:63, 33:36, 33:57, and 59:7).
Muhammad did not like criticism. For example, he personally ordered the killing of certain individuals who had criticized him or Islam ('Amsa' Bint Marwan, Abu 'Afak, Ka'b bin al-Ashraf, and Abu Rafi'). And he gave retroactive approval to the separate killings by Muslims of three individuals who had earlier criticized him or Islam.
Apostasy is not a crime.
This statement is in C3 of the Declaration. These reformers are rejecting 4:89 of the Koran which commands the killing of those who leave Islam. They are also rejecting specific statements from their prophet Muhammad, who stated that death was the penalty for those who left Islam (e.g. Sahih Al-Bukhari, Nos. 3017 and 6878; and Al-Muwatta of Imam Malik ibn Anas, 36.18.15, in which Muhammad specified death by beheading for apostasy).
Conclusion
In an effort to "reform" Islam, a small band of aspiring Muslim reformers met in the capital of a non-Muslim country, proclaimed themselves to be "founding authors" (why not go all the way and say Founding Fathers?), created a document that rejected Muhammad's Islam in favor of Western, Judeo-Christian values, and then followed the example of an earlier non-Muslim who wanted to "reform" his own non-Muslim religion.
If folks are serious about religious reform, one thinks they would like to maintain some connection to their own religious traditions as a basis for that reform. But the Muslim Reform Movement has apparently decided otherwise and seems more interested in establishing a connection with the non-Muslim Western world as the basis for their reform. Such is the luxury of playing Fantasy Islam. And this is the reason why there seems to be little, if any, support coming from the greater Muslim-American community for this small group of aspiring reformers. It is only attention from the non-Muslim world that will sustain the Muslim Reform Movement.
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Janet Lehr If I am not for myself, WHO WILL BE?
IsraelLives If I am only for myself, WHAT AM I?
janetlehr@IsraelLives.org If not now, WHEN ?
Rabbi Hillel
Robin Ticker
Most of these emails are posted on Shemittahrediscovered.blogspot.com
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