Current Events: Israel Shall Rise Again
Monday, December 08, 2008
While Obama is "is "feigning" a centrist position on some issues so he can ultimately push through a radical agenda" the IDF is "drawing up options for a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities that do not include coordination with the United States" according to the Jerusalem Post. In the meantime, Bibi Netanyahu is preparing for the February elections in Israel. Many worry that Bibi will seek to form a more left-leaning coalition, possibly to make his ticket more palatable to Israelis worried about working with an Obama administration. Of course, it is well known that there is no love lost between Netanyahu and the right wing Moshe Feiglin of the Manhigut Yehudit party, who is running for a seat in Likud. Feiglin gave a patriotic interview, detailing his Torah-based outlook regarding Israel and Jewish identity to the Jerusalem Post, in which he said:
The watershed dividing Israeli society today is not territorial. Nor is it a question of Right vs Left, religious vs secular or security vs peace. It is a question of Jewish identity. Do we want to connect to our Jewish identity on a national and cultural level? Do we want it to be fundamental - the national wellspring - or do we want to escape it and treat it as some kind of burden?and,
The point is that we can explain to the world over and over again how Western, modern and enlightened we are, and how we do everything in our power not to hurt women and children, etc., but it makes no difference. Because the other side says, “It’s mine,” and we are unable to say that. And if we’re not able to say that, we will lose it all - not Judea and Samaria, but Tel Aviv, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Sderot. So, we have to educate the younger generation on the source of our right to live here at all. That source has to be based on Judaism. Basing it on the past 100 years is not enough. We have to base it on our history that goes back 4,000 years. We have to base it on the Book of Books from which the entire world derives its moral base. If we don’t do that, we’re lost.Which I totally agree with. However, the Manhigut Yehudit platform advocates extremely strong Rabbinical views, including:
The Jewish leadership that we strive to establish is not the Messiah. But it is an immensely important step in the right direction. It is the forerunner of the Messiah and clears the way for his arrival.and:
In order to address these issues [of Jewish Justice], the Torah directs us to appoint a king. The king institutes and presides over laws to govern his people in the areas not addressed by the Torah. The caveat of this principle is that any law passed by the king must be in strict accordance with Torah law. The Sanhedrin presides over rulings dealing with the laws of the Torah.Which are more Rabbinic than they are Biblical in nature (Torah does not "direct" Israel to appoint a king. In fact, the reality is the complete opposite. Deuteronomy 17:14-15 states: "When you have entered the land Adonai your G-d is giving you, have taken possession of it and are living there, you may say, "I want to have a king over me, like all the other nations around me.' In that event, you must appoint as king the one whom Adonai your G-d will choose."
Later, in Deuteronomy 28:36, this king is referred to as, "your king whom you have put over yourselves".
In fact, the only time Israel is praised for having a king in Torah is in Numbers 23:21 which states, "...Adonai their G-d is with them and acclaimed as King among them...".
So, how is appointing an earthly king a Torah commandment? It isn't. G-d is pretty clear in I Samuel 8:6-9 about what He thinks about Israel's desire for a "king like other nations":
Adonai said to Samuel, "Listen to the people, to everything they say to you; for it is not you they are rejecting; they are rejecting Me; they don't want Me to be king over them. They are doing to you exactly what they have been doing to Me, from the day I brought them out of Egypt until today, by abandoning Me and serving other gods. So do what they say, but give them a sober warning, telling them what kinds of rulings their kings will make.and, let's not forget I Samuel 10:19, "But today you have rejected your G-d, who himself saves you from all your disasters and distress. You have said to Him, 'No! Put a king over us!'"
Feiglin's Jewish Leadership party wants to pave the way for a Jewish monarchy because their Rabbinic-informed vision relies on the belief that Torah commands a King. They believe their actions will pave the way for the Messiah's arrival. How can enthroning a Jewish monarch pave the way for Messiah?
You tell me.
Labels: Feiglin, Iran, Israel, Netanyahu, Obama
posted by Shoshana @ 7:53 PM
The DNC, Obama, and Filthy Collaborators Everywhere
Thursday, August 28, 2008
I suppose I should say something about the DNC. Okay, here goes: YUCK.
Victor Davis Hanson on Hussein Obama's acceptance speech @ National Review:
Let me get this straight: Obama goes to Europe, does a garish outdoor extravaganza before thousands, returns to find himself dubbed a publicity-seeking celebrity, analogous to Paris Hilton—and abruptly begins a tailspin in the polls. And now in reaction, at the greatest moment of his life, he transfers his acceptance speech to an open-air stadium to handle tens of thousands of frenzied fans, replete with Greek temple (Olympian Zeus or Parthenon?) as the backdrop stage, and outspoken rock stars?Hezbollah opens a regional office in Venezuela Latin American Jews beware....as Carl in Jerusalem writes,
Venezuela is also too close for comfort to the US. One can only hope that as Americans become aware of the gathering threat to their south, they will tighten entry into the United States to keep the terrorists out. Unfortunately, so far, there has been no sign of any tightening on America's borders.As for Joe "Proud to Serve Obama" Biden, apparently he's not too crazy about us Joos:
At Commentary, John Podhoretz posts an excerpt from a 1992 JPost article in which Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Joseph Biden threatened to cut off aid to Israel over 'settlements.' The confrontation between Biden and then-Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin occurred during the 1982 Operation Peace for Galilee (the 'First Lebanon War').The Excellent Ken Timmerman Outlines Biden's Own Iranian Connections over at Israpundit.
...During that committee hearing, at the height of the Lebanon War, Sen. John Biden (Delaware) had attacked Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria and threatened that if Israel did not immediately cease this activity, the US would have to cut economic aid to Israel.
When the senator raised his voice and banged twice on the table with his fist, Begin commented to him: “This desk is designed for writing, not for fists. Don’t threaten us with slashing aid. Do you think that because the US lends us money it is entitled to impose on us what we must do? We are grateful for the assistance we have received, but we are not to be threatened. I am a proud Jew. Three thousand years of culture are behind me, and you will not frighten me with threats. Take note: we do not want a single soldier of yours to die for us.”
Biden’s election campaigns “have been financed by Islamic charities of the Iranian regime based in California and by the Silicon Iran network,”And, Of course, More Proof of Obama's Arab-Muslim Funding Connections thanks to Carl in Jerusalem.
I'm reading Saul Bellow's book, To Jerusalem and Back. It's an account of the author's year in Jerusalem in the late 1970's. If you want to understand anything about why we are in the place we are in now, read this book. It is an excellent account of politics; communism versus liberal democracy; capitalism versus socialism; the West versus the East; the remarkable character makeup of Israel. If you want to understand who you are and where you stand, read this book. It may have been written over 30 years ago, but his points are as relative today as they were then. Read this book.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, completing a visit to the region today, has been pressing Israel to sign a document by the end of the year that would divide Jerusalem by offering the Palestinians a state in Israel’s capital city via Israpundit...
This world is absolutely insane. Were one to take a completely broad, pragmatic view of things, they would be forced to come to one concluding question that begins and ends not with "If" but "When?"
Labels: Biden, Condi Rice, DNC, Iran, Israel, Jerusalem, Obama
posted by Shoshana @ 9:29 PM
Bits & Pieces-- and a Look at Things to Come
Monday, August 18, 2008
Iran Satellite is a Dummy [Israel National News] <~~~ Because, if it was real, and if they truly had that kind of technology, and if they really thought they could, they would have sent a missile Israel's way by now. Duh.
The West’s Islamist Infiltrators [NetWMD]
Aafia Siddiqui, 36, is a Pakistani mother of three, an alumna of MIT, and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Brandeis University. She is also accused of working for Al-Qaeda and was charged last week in New York City with attempting to kill American soldiers.And people wonder why I dislike academia.
Seriously. Take a look at the curriculum posted on the English Department websites of major American universities. English departments, where students supposedly learn how to take a critical approach to literature and, in some cases, media of all sorts. Check out, for instance, UPenn, where they're teaching Marx and American Studies this semester, or UCal San Diego where this Fall's classes like "ISLAM MODERNITY" explore "A survey of developments in the Islamic world during the period of European colonial domination and its aftermath, with special attention to the works of leading Muslin thinkers (e.g. Sayid Ahmed Khan, Muhammad Abduh, Hasan al Banna, Ruhallah Khomeini, among others)." Do you wonder why American students walk into college naive and leave brainwashed?
Postmissionary Messianic Judaism, Three Years Later
Mark Kinzer, the author of the controversial text Postmissionary Messianic Judaism (about which I have commented on previously, to a slight degree) has recently delivered a 27-page paper reflecting on the reactions to his book, the full text of which can be found by clicking on the link above. Needless to say, I plan on reading the paper and commenting on it in the near future. Stay tuned!
Labels: America, College, Iran, Islam, Israel, Mark Kinzer, University
posted by Shoshana @ 5:45 PM
Dropping the Bomb
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Today, Iran tested 9 Shihab medium-to-long range missiles that could easily be equipped with nuclear material (for peaceful purposes). CNN was all over the story. During the noon-time report, Ben Wedeman, the Senior Jerusalem Correspondent, made a special point of "putting things in perspective" by noting that 2 of the prime-time news broadcasts in Israel did NOT carry the Iran missile test as their lead story. See? The Jews aren't worried, so why should the US care?
Somewhere over an ear piece I can hear a CNN producer screaming, "Because it makes for good ratings, Ben. Hello? The reason we're on-air 24-7 and charge ridiculous advertising rates to stay that way, maybe?"
If anything is more pre-fabbed than the media coverage of the Obama campaign (Access Hollywood, anyone? That's right, let's give them the real hard-hitting Maria Menounos to dish out some of those tough, still-unanswered questions about healthcare reform, the future of Social Security, the failing economy, diplomacy with Iran, and where Michelle finds such cute evening wear!) it's their sweeping, hard-hitting, rip-your-guts-out-with-a-Pulitzer coverage of the nuttiest guy in a monotone wardrobe since Hitler, aka, Ahmadinnerjacket. (I don't have to spell his name correctly, not because I'm an ignorant American, but because he's an idiot.) What a joke. Casually ignore all of his mega-televised speeches rife with Holocaust denial and proclamations about wiping Israel and America off the map, then get all blitzed over his soldiers test-firing missles that have been around since 2004. Thank G-d the prophets had a better source than Ted Turner.
And the whole "will they or won't they" endless barrage that has taken a nose-dive into the blogosphere regarding whether or not Israel will bomb Iran (or, shall I say, whether or not America will "permit" Israel to bomb Iran) has a drama-quotient that is truly Brangelina-worthy. America "permit" Israel-- to bomb a nation-- that seeks her destruction-- and happens to be rather nearby? Wait, no. Let me reason this out even more succinctly-- America PERMIT Israel? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. That's cute. You just watch-- one day, you'll turn on the news and Ben Wedemen will be diving for cover, because suddenly, without warning, Iran's nuclear facilities will be blasted to allah and all he'll be able to get for the story is a rousing "No comment" from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, Sheeba Farms to Elat. The US will go crazy with paranoia. The Arab nations will be enraged. Ahmadinnerjacket will be holed up somewhere in a spider-hole tighter than Saddam's. And a year later, the CIA will issue a benignly-worded press release giving Israel the credit for it all. And what will Israel say? Tell me, what's Hebrew for, "Duh"?
Why do I know this? Why am I so confident? Why do I not shake in the face of missile tests? See ref. note under "Elijah" that reads: Our G-d Always Wins.
Labels: Bomb, Iran, Israel, Zionism
posted by Shoshana @ 6:18 PM
Time is on our side...so we'd better start using it
Sunday, December 16, 2007
The Most Pathetically Un-Jewish Comment of the Week:
When asked about Israel's ability to strike Iran on its own, [Minister of Public Security Avi] Dichter voiced doubt: Israel's status as the world's fourth largest defense exporter notwithstanding, he said, it is not a world power. "It is a state, and it can only be a power for a few hours. The fight against Iran has to be led by a world power."
-Dichter: U.S. Report Could Lead to Regional 'Yom Kippur' [Israel National News]
I make a habit of reading a lot of Israeli news and Israel-focused blogs every week, and I have to say, I'm getting really bored with this whole "point the finger" attitude I'm seeing here. John Bolton says George Bush needs to put Condi Rice in her place. Condi Rice needs to start respecting our friendship with Israel. Blah, blah, blah. When are we going to get off of our tuchuses and start acting on behalf of ourselves, instead of blaming others for not doing the job?
When Ezra and Nehemiah led a remnant of Jews back to Jerusalem, most of the exiled Judeans remained in Babylon, reasoning that the Messiah would eventually come and they'd all be taken care of miraculously, no effort required. Yeshua, on the other hand, informed His people--our people, literally speaking, "us," that He would not come again until we proclaimed, "Baruch haba b'Shem Adonai". Greeks think that time is this mysterious third person, but Jews know better. We know that time, zman is marked and measured by the actions we take, whether it is celebrating the feasts or fighting against our enemies, our time is measured by our choices, and as far as I'm concerned, we need to stop referencing a second-hand watch, lest we weep by the rivers of Babylon for yet another generation.
Somewhere in the peanut gallery, I hear one smartnik shouting, "Well, then, what do you suggest we do about it?" To him, as well as to all of those listening I suggest that you read the Torah and find out.
Labels: activism, Iran, Israel, Judaism, Messianic Judaism, Zionism
posted by Shoshana @ 2:44 PM
Hitler and Mussolini Walk into a Bar...
Monday, December 03, 2007
...and order an atom bomb straight up, Chavez on the side.
By the way, the bar is next door to that Naval Academy in Maryland.
U.S. Intelligence suddenly "uncovered" that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program four years ago, rendering Iran a non-threatening entity, one that can, therefore, be approached in terms of talks rather than military action.
This discovery, of course, was made in exchange for Chavez's loss of the referendum vote that would have made him Venezuela's leader for life by two lousy percentage points. (And don't tell me that's because Chavez's people don't know how to stuff ballot boxes the way Putin's army does.)
It's amazing what can be won and lost in a friendly game of poker at Annapolis. Suddenly, the two greatest up-and-coming dictators since Hitler and Mussolini are rendered non-threatening entities in the same day. We have truly achieved peace in our time.
Just ask Vladimir Putin. If you can get him to crack a smile, there's an extra twenty in the pot for you.
Labels: America, Annapolis, Chavez, Iran, Israel, Putin, Russia, Venezuela
posted by Shoshana @ 9:22 PM
