21 Av 5779
22 August 2019
Quote of the Day
“Why don’t parents prevent their children from hearing this messianic bunch of idolaters.”
Left wing leader Zahava Gal-On, referring to the fact that many young Jews attend lectures by the members of the Temple Mount Foundation.
Hmm. So let’s understand this. Orthodox Jews who look forward to the coming of the Messiah are now “a messianic bunch of idolaters.”
Really? Belief in God makes one an “idolater”?
Statements like Gal-On’s show just how wide the unfortunate schism between the ultra-secular and the orthodox has become in Israel. There is no civil discourse from the extreme left anymore.
The News on the Israeli Street
Palestinian terror in the last 24 hours . . .
On the Gaza border:
It has been a night of violence which began with terrorist missile launches into southern Israel which exploded in an “open area” near Sha’ar Hanegev. This was followed by Israel bombing empty buildings and sand dunes. After this, there was an intermittent exchange of gunfire, until Palestinians launched a mortar (or mortars) at Nahal Oz. Following this attack, the IAF struck a Hamas Naval Commando base in Gaza. Of course, the base was empty—this was the 7th time this year that the base has been attacked.
According to residents on the ground, a total of 5 missiles and mortars were fired at southern Israel. No warning alarms were sounded for any of them.
In Judea and Samaria:
*A Palestinian attempted to strangle an IDF soldier at the Allenby Bridge using a cellphone charger cable. He was overpowered and arrested.
*Palestinian terrorists once again carried out “rock” and Molotov attacks at Beit Anun, between the Giti Avishar and Ariel Junctions, near Hawara, and at various locations in Gush Etzion.
Here in the Ashdod area:
As all of us here in Ashdod know from the continuing missile attacks from Hamas Gaza, the IDF does not report all missile attacks. In the 2014 war, we saw explosions less than 200 meters from our house here on the coast that were never reported. The terrorists in Gaza were either trying to hit the port of Ashdod or gas wells just off the coast.
For the last two days, we have heard unmistakable, loud, concussive missile impact explosions within a half mile of our house. Obviously, others here in Ashdod have reported the same explosions; however, there has been no word about these whatsoever from the IDF.
Ironically, and this is plain to everyone who travels the coastal highway, the IDF removed Ashdod’s Iron Dome battery just prior to the latest bursts of missile fire.
South Korea and Israel sign the trade agreement . . .
Several days ago, we wrote on israelstreet how Israel was essentially going to boycott itself by excluding areas of Judea and Samaria and the Golan from this agreement.
There was no talk of that yesterday as South Korean trade minister Yu Myung-hy waxed metaphorical about the agreement:
“Through the Talmud you are portrayed as a nation blessed with original and entrepreneurial thought. Israel is not a small country – but a powerful startup nation and an inspiration for innovation around the world. There are a lot of resemblances between South Korea and Israel.We are the winning couple of innovation in the world. Thanks to the new agreement, I foresee highly productive collaborations in the fields of artificial intelligence, big data, biotechnology and more. Our goal is to double the volume of trade to $5 billion within five years.”
Minister Yu’s comments about the Talmud may seem strange until you realize that chavruta Talmud-based academies (that focus on debates between students rather than teacher-based learning) have swept the country as South Koreans yearn to find out the secret to Israeli (and Jewish) creative success. These institutions use Talmuds translated into Korean.
A South Korean mother teaching Jewish values to her daughter via the Talmud.
The news from Iran:
The large number of prostate fluid is need during sex life. http://deeprootsmag.org/2013/10/28/a-tortured-chronicle-severn-documents-keatss-last-days/ commander cialis All of the Health related Attributes find my storefront buy tadalafil cipla of Valerian Valerian is certainly best known because of its calming benefit, which makes that herb popular sleep support and even anxiety relief. Disruption this process, generic purchase viagra may leave the man with limpness of his genitals during lovemaking. You may have often heard of the term erectile dysfunction tadalafil without prescriptions http://deeprootsmag.org/2013/10/11/the-kiowas-sacred-longhorn-mountain-under-siege-in-oklahoma/ and what are its implications.
*We now know with certainty that Israeli F-35s have extended the war against Iran from Syria into Iraq where we are now regularly bombing the missile warehouses and bases of Iranian proxy militias.
Whether our F-35s are coming from Israel or are based at American AFBs in the Gulf is unknown.
*Meanwhile, the Iranian economy continues to plummet. 4 zeros were removed from the Iranian currency yesterday, and a new currency the “Toman” was created. One Toman is worth 10,000 Iranian rials.
*The Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 which was being held at Gibraltar is now asea again, apparently headed for Syria.
TODAY’S BLOG:
Trump: American Jews and “Disloyalty”
Let’s begin today’s blog by offering a few opinions and giving one very important fact.
Opinions:
1. President Trump is sometimes bizarrely unpredictable. We have to look no further than his plan to purchase Greenland this week and subsequent cancellation of his state visit to Denmark because the Danish Prime Minister called the purchase idea “absurd.”
2. President Trump is using Jews and Israel as campaign points for the coming election. In short, and very unfortunately, Israel has become a political football pitting “progressive Democrats” against Republicans.
In doing this, President Trump is following in the footsteps of many presidents before him, most recently President Obama who began his presidency by tossing AIPAC out the door and embracing “progressive” J Street–in an overt effort to drive a wedge into the Jewish community so that he could garner Jewish support for his Iranian initiative. Those Jews who supported the Iranian initiative were cast as “progressives”; those Jews against the initiative–led by PM Netanyahu in Israel–were labeled as “anti-peace.”
Obama was extremely successful, and that wedge remains stronger than ever today as “progressives” have become stronger. To listen to the “progressive” narrative, PM Netanyahu and every Israeli who voted for him or joined his coalition are “anti-peace.”
3. “Progressive Democrat” hatred of President Trump is so deep that anything he does for Israel is immediately discarded because for “progressive Jews”, Israel is just not that important any more. It is way down on the list of “progressive Jewish” priorities somewhere after peace, immigration, gun control, climate change, racism, and a hundred other items. For “progressive Jews”, Israel is an “apartheid eyesore” because they have bought into the fraudulent Palestinian narrative hook, line, and sinker.
Fact:
No president has stood up for Israel as has Donald Trump. Yes, other presidents have supported Israel in times of war, other presidents have stood up for Israel in venues such as the United Nations, and other presidents have signed onto the immense financial aid packages offered Israel by the U.S. Congress.
With the exception of war (because thankfully we have not had one), President Trump has done the above and he has had the courage to do what no other president has done in declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel, moving the American Embassy to Jerusalem, and recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
What is more, in fact much more, is the way the President Trump has taken on Iran by pulling out of the nuclear deal and putting sanctions on the Iranian economy. There are undoubtedly many other ways that President Trump has helped isolate and attack Iran that we do not know about.
Having said all of this, let’s review exactly what President Trump has said in the last few days.
On Tuesday, he sparked outrage among Democrats when he said in answer to a question that if American Jews vote for Democrats they are either showing “a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.”
Apparently, unlike many American Jews, we here in Israel immediately understood what Trump meant. We knew he did not mean “disloyalty to the United States.”
Yesterday, President Trump made that abundantly clear when he said this on the south lawn of the White House:
“If you vote for a Democrat, you’re being disloyal to Jewish people and you’re being very disloyal to Israel.”
Your humble servant knows full well that Jews who vote for Democrats in general because of their social and moral priorities are not being disloyal to Jewish people in general.
However, can the same be said for American Jews who vote for “progressive Democrats” who brazenly belittle the Holocaust and engage in rank anti-Semitism?
Your humble servant thinks not.
And as for being disloyal to Israel, if an American Jew votes for a “progressive Democrat” who supports BDS and wants to see the end of Israel, that is definitely being disloyal to Israel.
Enough said.
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.