Saturday, April 22, 2017
Fwd: Shalom, update on recent activities from Im Tirzu doing amazing work on Israel
From: "מתן פלג" <matan.p@imti.org.il>
Date: Apr 22, 2017 6:01 PM
Subject: Shalom, brief update on recent activities
To:
Cc:
Shalom Friends,
With Pesach now behind us, I wanted to send a brief update on Im Tirtzu's most recent activities and developments.
At first glance, this update might appear to be a list of media items – but to me it is much more. This update captures IMTI's ability to maintain intense and ongoing pressure in a number of areas, all with one goal in mind: to defend the identity of Israel as a Zionist (Jewish and democratic) state.
Continued work with wounded IDF vets and reservists
Last week, Im Tirtzu was contacted by a group of wounded IDF veterans and reservists who were livid after learning of the city Tira's plan to create a "Nakba monument" in honor of the Palestinian Arabs who died fighting against the IDF during Israel's War of Independence.
Encouraged by our success on a similar matter several weeks ago (when we removed a street named after arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat), IMTI immediately brought the story to the media and social media and pushed it to the forefront of public discourse. At the same time, we sent a letter to Interior Minister Aryeh Deri who announced that the ministry will look into the matter. It is unthinkable for an Israeli city to erect a monument in commemoration of those who tried to destroy the State of Israel, and we will see to it that such a disgrace never occurs.
We believe that we will again succeed here.
Read more here: Walla News (Hebrew)
Strengthening the voices of IDF reservists against theft from IDF bases
Last week, IMTI's Haifa branch coordinator Alon Malik returned from a stint in reserve duty and by his own initiative, started a petition of reservists calling on the IDF to act on the situation in the Negev where Bedouin steal IDF equipment from soldiers training in the field. While soldiers are in the middle of training, Bedouin approach them on ATVs and brazenly steal equipment (knowing full well that the IDF forbids soldiers to use force against them).
As of now the petition was signed by over 2,000 reservists (!) and Alon was interviewed by several radio stations, including IDF Radio (Galei Tzahal), Israel's most popular radio station. We will soon send the petition to the Chief of Staff and proceed from there.
Read more here: NRG News (Hebrew), IDF Radio (Hebrew), Radio Israel (Hebrew)
Radical Left and Arab students crash IMTI lecture featuring Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat
This past Wednesday, a number of radical anti-Zionist and Arab students hostilely disrupted a lecture from Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, given in the framework of IMTI's Seminars for ZionistThought at Hebrew University. The protesters shouted at the mayor using derogatory and offensive language, and refused to allow him to deliver his lecture.
Despite the rioters' intention, the results of their disruption were positive for both IMTI and Mayor Barkat. First and foremost, it exposed the true anti-democratic and ugly face of the radical anti-Zionists for everyone to see. In addition, our Hebrew U activists received a lot of support as did the movement as a whole (especially on social media). It also presented us with a good opportunity to talk more about IMTI's Seminars. The Mayor also received a lot of support.
It is important to note that this event was also a testament to the effectiveness of our Seminars. The program imparts Zionist knowledge to hundreds of students per semester, so much so that it changes the campus atmosphere and causes the anti-Zionists to view it as a threat.
Read more here: Israel National News, Algemeiner, Jerusalem Online News (Channel 2)
"Hachi Yisraeli" Video Contest
Im Tirtzu's exciting "Hachi Yisraeli" video contest is currently in the voting stage, where the participants are trying to rack up as many votes possible for their videos.
Check out all the video submissions here (many of which are truly amazing and touching).
Also, our "Hachi Yisraeli" video is continuing to spread throughout social media, and thus far has been viewed by over 300,000 people and shared by thousands more! The video was even translated into Spanish and was also shared by large organizations, including the World Jewish Congress and The Jewish Standard.
We are very thankful to the sponsors of the contest who chose and enabled Im Tirtzu to run this great contest.
Removing government advertising in Haaretz
As is well known, Haaretz newspaper is a radical media outlet representing the anti-Zionist elite in Israel. But over Passover the newspaper sunk to a new low when it published an article saying that Israel's national religious community is worse than the terrorist organization Hezbollah.
In response, Im Tirtzu penned a letter to Culture Minister Miri Regev, who is in charge of the government's advertisements, to cease all government advertisement in the newspaper. Haaretz's anti-Israel hate has no business being funded by the Israeli taxpayer.
Read more here: Channel 20 (Hebrew)
Sincerely,
Matan
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ארץ ציון וירושליםמתן פלגמנכ"ל תנועת אם תרצו052-3582213For ZionMatan PelegCEOIm Tirtzu – Building the Zionist Dream
Friday, April 21, 2017
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Parashat Shmini / פרשת שמיני Candle Lighting in Jerusalem 6:32 PM, April 21, 2017, 25 Nissan 5777
5777 - תשע"ז May it be the year of"The City - Jerusalem" עיר of Gold זהב May G-d's City - Yerushalayim Shel Zahav, be rebuilt and restored to its previous glory for the Jewish People. May it be a year of עז- strength for Jerusalem and Am Yisrael. Next year in a united Jerusalem with a flourishing Jewish life centered around religious educational institutes. | |||
Jerusalem Divrei Torah
The centrality of Jerusalem to the Jewish People is indisputable and is the core of our mission. Our Divrei Torah by Rabbi Yosef Bronstein focus on Jerusalem and its connection to the weekly Torah portion. For a pdf to discuss at the Shabbat table, please click here. To sponsor a Dvar Torah please click here
The Suprarational Service of Yerushalayim
Our haftorah describes the bringing of the Aron to Yerushalayim. After the first unsuccessful attempt which tragically ended in the death of one of the transporters, Dovid HaMelech is careful to execute the transport perfectly. The Navi emphasizes that during the journey from the house of Oved-Edom to Yerushalayim, Dovid “danced with all of his might before the Lord.”[1] Then, when they finally enter the city of Dovid, his dance intensifies: And [as] the ark of the Lord came [into] the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul peered through the window, and she saw the king David hopping and dancing before the Lord; and she loathed him in her heart.[2] Two questions need to be asked regarding these descriptions. First, in the few terse verses describing this momentous occasion, why does the Navi underscore the joy and dancing of Dovid? Second, why does Dovid’s dancing intensify upon his entry into Yerushalayim? The Lubavitcher Rebbe[3] explained that a true experience of the Shechinah is associated with the quality of bittul – complete self-nullification. The presence of Hashem engenders the realization that we are not truly independent entities. Rather, the only true entity is the one and indivisible God. As long as this level of bittul has not yet been attained then one’s service of Hashem is necessarily conducted within the framework of the rational human mind. Within this mindset, I perform mitzvot due to the fact that they, individually or as a system, make sense to me as an independent thinking person. Such a mentality will perforce engender a service that is limited by the outer confines of rational thought. For example, one’s sense of self will never allow one to embarrass themselves in the context of the service of God. It is only one who, like Dovid, serves Hashem from a state of bittul that will “foolishly” act with abandon and embarrass themselves in the context of their service. It is for this reason that the pesukim emphasize Dovid’s “reckless” dancing in front of the Aron which houses the Shechinah as it is this service “above reason and thought” that epitomizes the proper bittul reaction to the appearance of the Shechinah. This also explains why Dovid’s dance intensified as he entered Yerushalayim. The ultimate experience of the Shechinah can only occur in the “place that God has chosen.” Being in Yerushalayim necessarily increased the extent of Dovid’s bittul, which caused him to dance with even more fervor, not caring that his wife was looking on askance. This haftorah, then, challenges each of us to be sensitive to the Shechinah that exists in Yerushalayim. Similar to Dovid, we must behave differently when we are within the confines of our holy city. We must train ourselves to be attuned to the stirrings of the spiritual world and recognize that being in Yerushalayim should engender a more complete and suprarational service of Hashem, one that stems from the quality of bittul to He that resides in Yerushalayim.
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