By David M Weinberg, ISRAEL HAYOM
I salute Ari and Naomi Zivotofsky for tenaciously pursuing the American government to have their son registered as having been born in Jerusalem, Israel — a case which they are now taking for a second time to the U.S. Supreme Court.
But the real struggle over Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is underway every day in Jerusalem itself. At present, Israel is evincing a weak hand and losing the battle.
Last Friday, Tova Richler of New York arrived in Israel to attend her father’s funeral in the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives in eastern Jerusalem. En route to the burial site, near the Gethsemane Church junction, her car was pelted with rocks and bricks by 10 Arab youths, smashing the windows. She escaped, but missed the internment.
In recent years, such attacks have become commonplace in and around the hallowed cemetery, and many people are afraid to travel to funerals and memorial ceremonies there.
The French Hill neighborhood, which borders the Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital, has also become unsafe. Residents are harassed by Arab youths from nearby Arab neighborhoods, and there have been many robberies, repeated arson attacks and car stonings, a firebombing, and a stabbing.
Anybody who has traversed the new road from Benzion Netanyahu junction through Beit Hanina also knows the dangers. Stoning is not uncommon, and red traffic lights are apparently mere decorations to the neighborhood’s Arab residents.
The greatest affront of all has been playing itself out almost every day this month on the Temple Mount in the Old City, where Arab youths regularly accost Jewish visitors to the site, and have taken to almost-daily stoning of Israeli police. The Arabs have even been caught stocking stones and other riot gear inside the mosques. Outrageously, the police response to these attacks has been to close the site to Israeli-Jewish visitors and tourists, instead of closing it to Arab visitors.
And of course, illegal Waqf excavations continue on the Temple Mount without Israeli archaeological supervision. We know that over the past decade the burrowing-out by the Wakf of the underground “Solomon’s Stables” has wantonly destroyed thousands of years of Jewish relics and history.
It seems that the Palestinians are neither willing to countenance live Jews on the Temple Mount nor dead Jews on the Mount of Olives.
The radical Arab imams behind these disturbances and provocations have the full backing of Mahmoud Abbas’ supposedly moderate Palestinian Authority. PA Religious Affairs Minister Mahmoud Al-Habbash and Mufti Muhammad Hussein constantly propagate lies about Israeli plans to undermine and destroy the Muslim shrines on the Temple Mount.
The former Chief Justice of the PA’s Religious Court, Sheikh Tayseer Al-Tamimi, recently declared that the PA’s Islamic belief and political position is that Jews should not only be prohibited from praying on the Temple Mount but at the Western Wall of the Temple Mount too, since the wall is part of the “blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque” and not part of any “alleged” ancient Jewish temple.
All the while, Arab residents of greater Jerusalem enjoy the full gamut of Israeli civil rights and privileges, including freedom of speech without threat from Abbas’ goons, full Israeli national insurance and health coverage, and municipal social services. Arab Jerusalemites can also be found by their thousands shopping happily in every mall in the city and picnicking in every park, free of threat.
Undoubtedly, the troublemakers are a minority of Arab Jerusalemites. But Israel’s hesitancy in dealing toughly with the provocateurs and their PA government sponsors leaves us with a deleterious and deteriorating net result: Israel’s control (never mind sovereignty) over the united city is fraying.
Government caution in managing Jerusalem’s delicate political and security affairs is understandable, given the tinderbox status and contested future of the city. Yet it seems that the Netanyahu government has let things slide too far. It has become too accepting of Palestinian violence in the city and too tolerant of Waqf chutzpah on the Temple Mount.
Like his political party boss, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch (Yisrael Beytenu) is good at talking, but has taken little action. Why aren’t the Israel Police, for which he is responsible, decisively enforcing law and order in the city? If Aharonovitch and the police commissioner can’t muster the determination to tackle the string of security incidents, they should be replaced. Safety and security on all roads and at all sites in the city is a basic right of Israeli citizens of all religions and ethnicities, and the state has an elementary duty to provide this, even in Jerusalem — especially in Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s responsibility goes further. Beyond beefing-up Israel’s security presence in the trouble spots and ending Palestinian violence, the Netanyahu government must act proactively to cement Israel’s hold in the city, to signal the world that we are serious about keeping Jerusalem united under Israeli sovereignty. The government should move to establish a (long-overdue) Jewish prayer facility alongside the Muslim mosques on the vast Temple Mount plaza, and to build the strategic E1 quadrant that connects Jerusalem to its eastern security anchor in Maaleh Adumim.
These initiatives will engender Palestinian (and American) resistance, but with both resoluteness and sensitivity Israel can succeed and overcome the opposition. The initiatives will also give Israeli and Palestinian diplomats something to talk about besides the release of Palestinian terrorists and other outrageous, never-ending Palestinian demands.
Only when Israel acts in concrete fashion to shore up its stake in Jerusalem can the city be secured.
yamit82 Said:
Because of the division of assets!!!!!!
Romania is one of my favorite songs thank you. From your little Pastrami. xxoo
honeybee Said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lhi4NFlKmY
honeybee Said:
Why do couples who hate each other stay together?????
It’s a beautiful day. I have things to do, people to see and places to go…..later….:-)
@ honeybee:
You are totally missing my point woman.
@ dove:
” If Iam not for myself, who will be for me”. Hillel
@ honeybee:
I have no idea what you mean by that. Darned if I do, darned if I don’t eh?
@ dove:
Why??????????? False modesty ?????????????
@ the phoenix:
You know us Jews…..we like credit where credit is due. That is something fairly new for me as I hate it when Jews have to put their names and accomplishments up in neon lites – I usually let others ‘notice’ if I have done or said something worthwhile.
@ the phoenix:
The Ladies are after you’re sweet, pink backside again.
@ the phoenix:
@ the phoenix:
Watch the rattlesnake.
@ dove:
Oops…
😉
@ the phoenix:
Good morning phoenix
@ honeybee:
http://youtu.be/wVBiRqKj6j8
@ the phoenix:
listening to Gov. Hucklebee speak on Fox. I like that man!!! A firm supporter of Israel.
@ the phoenix:
W hat ever makes you happy tickle me plum to death !!! The orthodox do not wish to join the IDF for training, this is their reward. Texans like Israelis because they feel a philosophical kinship. Liberal Easter and West Coast Jew are the very Bain of myexistance. Forever being ask ” why do Jews vote democratic, when Obama hates Israel”.
@ honeybee:
@ honeybee:
Hmmm…. Funny you should mention that….
Earlier, you wrote:
Bravo, bravo!!! ( clapping hands)
You watched yamit’s video (#. 28)
In fact, on another thread (which now I cannot find) YOU have posted +/- the same video and said “no Jewish child should have to endure this”. (And I agree with that 100%).
I am just pointing out, that there is simply NO COMPARISON.
@ yamit82:
Remember the scene from ” The Last of Just” when the Grandfather and the Grandson leave a Synagogue , in Germany. and are confronted by a howling mob. The Grandfather say to the Grandson ,” now you know what it means to be a Jew”.
the phoenix Said:
I come at you with an automatic under-over shotgun.
yamit82 Said:
This the best I can do for you. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxoooooooooo
@ yamit82:
@ honeybee:
http://youtu.be/banXd6R8uvE
honeybee Said:
I can always use a “Little Sugar,” Always!!!!!!!
Arabs Assault Jewish Children on Temple Mount (Video)
The overwhelmed police made sure the Arab mob didn’t snatch any of the Jewish children during the attack.
Police create a human fence around a group of children, after an Arab mob began to assault them during a visit to the Temple Mount.
Police create a human fence around a group of children, after an Arab mob began to assault them during a visit to the Temple Mount.
On Tuesday after Pesach, a group of Haredi children went up to visit the Temple Mount with their chaperons. The Temple Mount is the Jewish nation’s holiest site.
The children were violently assaulted by a mob of Arabs who were waiting there to attack Jewish visitors.
In the video, you can see the police are practically overwhelmed as they try to create a human fence around the children.
Repeatedly in the video you hear the police checking if all the children are still there, and haven’t been snatched away by the Arab mob.
One of the adults in the video can be heard telling the children, “The police are here, don’t be afraid.”
The Arabs threw objects at the children, and in a classic anti-Semitic act, yanked their payos (sidelocks).
Arab violence on the Temple Mount has been escalating as of late.
After watching this video you need to ask, why are Arabs allowed on the Temple Mount art all?
Jewish children terrorized by Arabs on Temple Mount
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04gsDf8qTAI
yamit82 Said:
Yidvocate Said:
I thought you would miss the point whether intentionially or through gross ignorance it’s all the same. You don’t have a clue and there’s the problem.
The mitzvah Yishuv Eretz Yisrael overrides all other commandments, because a Jew cannot observe most of the mitzvot outside of the Land. They are meaningless and our sages afford them no merit except for the purpose of keeping them familiar so that when a Jew returns to the Land they will not seem strange and need to be learned from scratch, even your prayers in the Galut will not be heard. (Rashi)
In the Ten Commandments, it says, “Honor thy father and thy mother, in order that thy days be long upon the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” The Land mentioned in the verse isn’t America, nor Germany, nor South Africa, or even Canada. The Land means the Land of Israel.
What is the connection between honoring one’s parents and the Land of Israel? The verse promises that if you honor your parents, you will be rewarded with living in the Land of Israel? Why? What’s the connection? What does one thing have to do with the other? Because if you honor your parents by doing what they teach you, then you will live in the Land of Israel, because every Jewish parent has the duty to teach his children that they are supposed to live in the Land of Israel.
All Jewish parents, for all time, in all generations, no matter where they live, are to teach their children that they should live in the Land of Israel. That’s what the Torah is telling us in this verse, and the instructions of the Torah are forever. In order to keep the Torah in the way it is meant to be kept, you have to live in the Land of Israel.
The Torah is the Constitution of the Nation of Israel, a Nation with religious laws that cover all aspects of life, both the private, and the national, including laws of government, judicial laws, military laws, economic laws, agricultural laws, laws of war, and laws for the king. You can’t have a Jewish army, and Jewish government, and Jewish agricultural laws which only apply to the Land of Israel in Canada, America, or France. So Jewish parents are to teach their children that they should live in the Land of Israel, and Jewish children are to honor their parents and perform the commandments which they are taught, and that way they will fulfill the intention of the Torah that the Jewish People live in the Land of Israel and not anywhere else.
In Judaism National Mitzvot trump personal Mitzvot in order of importance.
yamit82 Said:
They are only spoilers if you allow them to be!
yamit82 Said:
They convert to Texan quickly.
@ yamit82:
The Lone Ranger keeps his mask on my dresser. Tonto is some where Ariz.
yamit82 Said:
Lone Star Bakery. My Father’s beloved Plymouth blew a rod in Corsicanna. No one told me cars need oil.
honeybee Said:
I thought the Lone Ranger was Dead? Tonto told me he was.
honeybee Said:
No I haven’t.
honeybee Said:
HOUSTON, TEXAS–Texas is expected to out-produce every OPEC nation except Saudi Arabia in 2014,
according to leading energy exploration officials with Houston-based ConocoPhillips.
Spoilers: EPA. State and Local restrictions??????
Liberals migrating to Texas from NY and Ca.??????
NY says No Fracking Way
yamit82 Said:
We have more oil then opec, Sweetie read Breitbart Texas!!!! Buba
@ Yidvocate:
BUCK-UP
yamit82 Said:
Have you ever tried a fruitcake from Corsicanna,Texas.
yamit82 Said:
the phoenix Said:
I have faith in the Destiny of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel. Every time the Jews stray from the divine plan we are put right by internal or external forces. It’s up to us whether the price is heavy or moderate full of pain and anguish or Joy and happiness. The destiny of the Jew is a guaranteed one.
There is a guarantee, a solemn oath, a surety, a divine bond that the Jewish people cannot be ever destroyed.
The Jew has come home for the third and last time. “But the third shall be left therein” (Zecharia 13:8). “The first redemption was that from Egypt; the second, the redemption of Ezra. The third will never end” (Tanhuma, Shoftim 9).
Ma Yomru Hagoyim? Who gives a damn!
honeybee Said:
We got more trees than Texas has cattle. We got Lumber-Jack Towns even the State Police are afraid to enter.
Don’t mess with upstate New Yorkers we ain’t like the fruitcakes from NYC.
the phoenix Said:
What I like about Texas and Texans. They look forward, they do what needs be done, they don’t ruminate over every action . They don’t bellyache all darn day long because their not understood or appreciated. The national motto of Texas is ” Screw you Iam from Texas”. No explanations no apologies. Now adios I got chores to do !!!!!!!!!!
the phoenix Said:
@ yamit82:
THIS, is just BURNING ME as I am sure, it is burning you as well.
HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR SANITY???
@ yamit82:
Everything you say Yamit is tragically correct. That’s why you in Israel is in galus almost as much as I am in Canada despite all your protestations to the contrary.
@ honeybee:
Got all that assorted Viking blood too !!!!!! Dagmar is my Viking name it means day maid, Got dust ????
Yidvocate Said:
DEVOLUTION OF THE JEW
by Mark Rosenblit
We are not what we once were. Once we were members of a religio-nation — Am Yisrael (the People of Israel) observing Torat Yisrael (the Torah of Israel) in Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel) — which accepted the yoke of the national as well as the personal mitzvot (commandments). But alas, after 2000 years of Exile, we look in the mirror and see, not a nation anymore, but only a religion. All of the national mitzvot are forgotten and only the personal mitzvot remain. Unlike the national mitzvot, which are tethered to, and can only performed in, the Land of Israel under Jewish sovereignty, most of the personal mitzvot are portable. We have deceived ourselves into believing that, precisely because these are portable, their performance outside the Land of Israel pleases God. We have learned to accept this truncated form of Judaism, and we are content.
We are not what we once were. Once we possessed the Aron Brit HaShem (Ark of the Covenant), our holiest relic, which rested on Har HaBayit (Temple Mount), our holiest spot, in Jerusalem, our holiest city. Sometime during the First Temple period, the Aron Brit HaShem disappeared. When we returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian Exile to rebuild the Temple, we accepted without anguish that the Aron was no longer among us. We have learned to live without it, and we are content.
We are not what we once were. Once we possessed Har HaBayit, our holiest spot. When the Romans destroyed the Second Temple they left a portion of its western retaining wall intact. In the millennia that followed, one empire after another took possession of Jerusalem and Har HaBayit. Although we finally have the power to regain possession of Har HaBayit, we have long since transferred our allegiance and our prayers to that retaining wall — the Kotel HaMa’aravi (Western Wall). A gentile people, who hates us and denies the primacy of the God of Israel, now controls Har HaBayit, and we have accepted this without tearing our garments and without putting ash and sackcloth upon ourselves. We have learned to live without it, and we are content.
Those of us who stubbornly remain in the Diaspora have learned to live out our lives and to practice our “Judaism” without Eretz Yisrael, and we are content.
No Aron Brit HaShem, no Har HaBayit, and no Eretz Yisrael.
Sadly, we are not what we once were.
But what, pray tell, are we becoming?
yamit82 Said:
Up-state NY ??????????????
yamit82 Said:
I am my Father’s daughter, the police would have had a fight on their hands.
honeybee Said:
I have been condemned by some Jews because my Mother was not born Jewish. In spite of their attitude, I was never ashamed to call myself a Jew. I have been ashamed of the behavior of some Jew [ Bernie Madoff, Sarah Silverstein, Rahm Emanuel] ,but never the Jewish people.
honeybee Said:
Answer: Any place in Israel where there are no Arabs and the Government is not needed for protection.
_____________________________________________________
The problem with Arab violence and virtual takeover of Jerusalem is not new or a recent phenomenon it’s been going on for many years even before Oslo agreements….
Jews may have left the ghettos of Europe and Morocco but the ghetto mentality still is ingrained in the Jewish Israeli psyche. We are a schizophrenic people in need of a national couch. When the Arabs riot on the Temple Mount the Israeli police punishes the Jews. And the Jews accept it with little complaint.
A True story:
Forgive me the chutpah but I think G-d was mistaken in restoring us to Israel. We are simply not worthy. We’ve have slapped G-d in the face for the miraculous restoration that is the third Jewish commonwealth in our G-d given land. It’s come down to that I am ashamed to call myself a Jew.
If Jews are not safe in Jerusalem, where will they be safe???