Do you have any idea how offensive that is?

Found on Facebook.

I think Islam's religious tolerance can be more than appreciated by the way the Palestinians burned down and destroyed all the synagogues in Gush Katif after Israel left Gaza in 2005.

Or the way they burned down Kever Yosef / Joseph's Tomb in Shechem.

Or the way they can't even be bothered to do maintenance work on Islam's third "holiest" site, in a way without desecrating the rock of the "Dome of the Rock."  Instead, Muslims think (or behave) as if the gold dome is more important and holy than the rock itself, and place scaffolding ON THE ROCK.

Or the way they routinely play football/soccer on the Temple Mount.

Bottom line is that the Islamic world is far more upset over a silly film than the routine, daily slaughter of Moslems (by Moslems) in Syria or anywhere else in the world.

From Daryl Cage, Facebook

Or as in the words of Thomas Friedman, who I rarely agree with:

"..an insult — even one as stupid and ugly as the anti-Islam video on YouTube that started all of this — does not entitle people to go out and attack embassies and kill innocent diplomats. That is not how a proper self-governing people behave. There is no excuse for it. It is shameful"

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With Liberty and Social Justice for some

As the "social justice" and "apolitical" tent protests in Tel-Aviv continue to rail against the Israeli government (and of course, the previous governments were all pro-social-justice, its only the current one which is the embodiment of all evil), I'm reminded of another protest tent, erected 6 years ago in Tel Aviv.

After 8000 people were forcibly evicted, and their homes destroyed (all in the name of democracy, and for their own good), the homeless refugees of Gush Katif erected a protest tent in Tel Aviv, to express their anger and frustration at the lack of social justice in the State of Israel.

Demonstrating the noble values of social justice, the Tel Aviv municipality ordered the eviction of the tent protests in the name of "the law." The Tel Aviv municipality announced that: "The Municipality of Tel-Aviv acts according to the law, and will act this time as well if the settlers do not willingly leave [their protest tents]." (Ynet in Hebrew, google translated into English)

Answering an article that reports the above in YNET from August 24rth, 2005, the talk-backers cheered the forced removal of the settlers, repeating the lie, "there is a [housing] solution for each settler." The same sentiments (and total apathy to outright cheering) were echoed on all the same websites and people who are endorsing the "social justice" tent protests today.

6 years ago, the Gush Katif refugees weren't even allowed a tent protest for more than a few days. Most still don't even have permanent housing solutions, their unemployment is still over 50%, but all of that is irrelevant.

How ironic that Yair Lapid, who said the evicted settlers needed to be taught a lesson and needed to be thrown out of their homes, is today an advocate of the "social justice" protest.

Perhaps the current tent protestors need to be thrown out of their protest tent, to teach them a lesson in social justice...how they ignored (and continued to ignore) the plight of the Gush Katif refugees.

The utter hypocrisy of the social justice protest tent is a perfect example of why they are a danger to Israel. When they rule the country, there is only social justice for some...provided they are on the (apolitically) correct side of the spectrum.

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Israeli police open fire on Jewish civilians

Updated with Jameel and Jameel's daughter.
(updates will be throughout the post. Pictures from the farm will be inserted soon).

Police opened fire on civilians at Gilad Farm. JPost reports that 15 civilians are wounded by police gunfire.

Jameel saw the Yassam troops gathering there this morning, closing off roads. Jameel's daughter is SMSing us with updates.

3 structures destroyed so far on this Jewish-owned private land owned by Moshe Zar.

Police shot Jewish civilians in the back with rubber bullets as they were running away, after police told them "you better start running".

Video of policeman pulling the trigger on a woman from a few feet away. Walla

75 year old woman and children among the injured.

Police shot civilians at point blank range, many in the back.

Pictures: KolYehudi

Moshe Zar's son Etai is among the wounded who was shot.

MK Michael Ben-Ari (Ichud Leumi) was attacked by policemen and knocked down.

The community is named in memory of Gilad Zar who was the security officer for the Shomron Regional Council and was murdered by Palestinian terrorists in that area.


In the past few weeks there have been a number of reports of police cocking their weapons and pointing them at Jewish civilians in the Shomron.

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Disengagement: Worst Human Rights Violation in Israel's History

Israel's government created a blue-ribbon investigatory panel in 2009, headed by retired supreme court justice, Eliahu Mazza, entitled "The State Commission of Inquiry into the Handling by the Authorized Authorities of the Evacuees from Gush Katif and Northern Samaria."

Today, they released their findings in a scathing, nearly 500 page report.

"Five years following the evacuation and a very grim picture emerges on the ground," the report concluded. "Most of the evacuees still reside in temporary trailer parks; the construction of most of the permanent residential buildings has yet to commence; the vast majority of the public buildings have yet to be built; the unemployment rate among the evacuees is double that of the general public; some of the evacuees' financial state is dire and there are those who are in need of welfare support; there are those who still hold legal battles opposite the State regarding the amount of compensation."

The committee has therefore reached the conclusion that "the rehabilitation of the evacuees is far from complete." (ynetnews)

The JPost reports:

The findings showed that the government had expected most evacuees to take compensation and was caught out when 85 percent of the evacuees elected to relocate as a community. However the inquiry found that the government was inadequately prepared to resettle whole communities, resulting in mishandling of the evacuees.

About 1700 families, from 21 different settlements, were evacuated from the Gush Katif settlements as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement from Gaza in 2005.

The report went on to say that the settlers had subsequently "become refugees in their own country" and "faced major bureaucratic hurdles" in rebuilding their lives.

Five years after the evacuation, unemployment levels among the former settlers were found to be twice the national level, and many were still living in temporary accommodation. Public buildings have not been erected for their use, despite the fact that many evacuees have now moved to their final destinations.

The most telling comment of all came from Professor Yedidya Stern, who at a press conference organized by the comittee members themselves, said: "The Disengagement caused the greatest violation of Human Rights in the history of the State of Israel. We are speaking of approximately 9,000 people, and the violation was multi-dimensional, and deep. Those evacuated from their homes, are the "salt of the land" and the committee members are impressed that they are "true pioneers." (ynet, Hebrew)

On the first year anniversary of the Disengagement, publicist Yair Lapid refused to apologize to those evicted from their homes. He even had the gall to state that reason for the Disengagement was the pioneers, themselves. (ynet)

It did not happen despite of the settlers, but because of them.

It had nothing to do with the Palestinians, demography, the desire to make peace, the relative feebleness of the IDF, or any other explanation that was given. There was a totally different motivation behind the disengagement.

The Israelis merely felt that the settlers should be taught a lesson in humility and perhaps in democracy too. The Gaza Strip was not chosen by accident either.

It is a region devoid of any major religious importance, its Jewish inhabitants were more national-religious that ultra-Orthodox fanatics, and Israel can rid itself of it without causing a rift between the state and 250,000 of its residents.

And so, 5 years later, as they live as refugees in caravan shacks, after thousands of Qassam rockets from Gaza's Hamastan have killed and wounded dozens of Israelis, a year and a half after the Cast-Lead operation, 4 years since Gilad Shalit was kidnapped to Gaza, 2 weeks after the Flotilla as the world comes to pay homage to Hamas, and a few hours since the government's report on Israel's greatest Human Right's failure of all time, maybe its time for an arrogant Yair Lapid to apologize?

I'm not holding my breath.



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Shavua HaSefer: National book week, for people of the book

Just the other night, my wife said it would be a good idea to take the kids to the "Shavua HaSefer" nation-wide book week fair, at our nearest local city. Every minor city in Israel has offerings of books for all ages, and all topics, and I plan on taking my kids tomorrow.

I received the following on the same subject:

Former Gush Katif Resident Turns Shipping Container into Book Store

This week celebrates Hebrew Book Week, where many towns and cities in Israel host discounted book fairs and events celebrating new publications.

Ein Tzurim, a religious kibbutz that opened its doors to many families from Gush Katif, is also celebrating Hebrew Book Week …in a shipping container. Why a shipping container, you ask? Here's the story:

Many of the former residents from Gush Katif who now live in temporary caravillas in Ein Tzurim have large shipping containers sitting next to their homes. These containers hold their life's belongings that don't fit into the tiny caravillas. These belongings once decorated their spacious homes in Gush Katif.

Moshe and Etti Shalva, formerly of Neve Dekalim, decided to turn their shipping container into a business. With assistance from JobKatif, the Shalvas, parents of 12 (!), have re-opened Shalva's Book Store in their shipping container. They plan on launching a real store once again when they move into permanent housing in Israel's Lachish region.

For those of you in Israel, please come down to Ein Tzurim for Hebrew Book Week & support the Shalva Book Store. As you can imagine, the numbers are pretty limited just in the kibbutz alone, so a trip to Ein Tzurim will be values added this week when you make a purchase at the Shalva's book store. Anita Tucker has offered to show guests around the caravilla community & update you on their building plans. She can be contacted through www.netzerhazani. org.

To help JobKatif continue to assist more former business owners from Gush Katif, donate today at www.jobkatif.org ! Your donation will be matched by the Israeli government!

Disengagement Shipping Container Now a Book Store.

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Tisha B'Av - HomeGame

As we approach the 9th of Av, and the mourning of many catastrophes that have befallen the Jewish people over the millennia, we will be posting through Friday on this theme.

To start, the following film entitled "HomeGame" is available for (free) online viewing through the end of Tisha B'Av. (Its a 67 minute movie, so plan your time accordingly)

I highly recommend the film -- its about teenagers from Gush Katif during the 2005 Disengagement from Gaza.

It took 19 years for the refugees of Gush Etzion to return and rebuild their homes destroyed in 1948. We hope that already next year, Gush Katif will be in the process of being rebuilt.

The film starts off with a "trailer" and then continues a few seconds later automatically to the film.








Tisha B'Av evening Wednesday, July 29 - join the Women in Green as they March around the Walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. But first the reading of Eichah will take place in front of the US Consulate on Agron Street at 8:00pm.

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד

The Lost Sandal - 1000 days have passed.

The Palm Beach Hotel at the Neve Dekalim beach,
days before it was bulldozed in 2005.

As the Jewish communities of Gush Katif commemorate 1000 days since their eviction and the destruction of their homes by Israel, the "Sela Disengagement Authority" issued the following statistics this past Sunday at a press conference in Ashkelon:

40.2 percent of the Gaza evacuees are still waiting for lots on which to build their new homes.

43% - 586 families - have received housing lots and can now [May 2008] start construction.

Ex-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the Israeli government promised that the resettlement process would take up to two years, and promised on the SELA eviction website [though not anymore] and in paid advertisements that there was a "solution for each settler."

The blatant callousness of the Israeli government and of Disengagement supporters who do not spend every second of their days trying to help the solve the refugee problem they created is simply mind-numbing.

One thousand days have passed.

Helping children cope is a new book, "Eyal's Sandal," written by Ruth Etzion, previously from the Katif community of Morag and illustrated by Sarit Stern. A young boy, Eyal loses a sandal when playing on the sand dunes near his home in Gush Katif. His faithful sandals always waited as a pair for him while he played in the sand dunes, so it can't be far. However, the Disengagement dashes his hopes to find his lost sandal, as he and his family are removed from Gush Katif and his sandal.

The book poignantly describes the difficulties in living in Gush Katif prior to the Disengagement, the trials of a child trying to come to grips with a difficult future, "Abba, are the same soldiers who I love so much going to be the ones throwing us out of our home?"

Despite it all, the book ends optimistically. Even if your family didn't go through the Disengagement, this book is a must for every Jewish family to understand what their fellows Jews went through, and are going through today.

I translated the Hebrew from a page of the book -- the Hebrew rhymes and is extremely well written. My translation does not rhyme and is for those who can't read Hebrew at all...

הִתְחַלְתִּי לִשְׁמֹעַ כָּל מִינֵי דִּבּוּרִים לֹא טוֹבִים,
עַל תָּכְניִּוֹת לַהֲרֹס אֶת הַגּוּשׁ, וּלְפָרֵק אֶת כָּל הַיִּשּׁוּבִים.

I started to hear all sorts of bad things, programs to destroy Gush Katif, and dismantle all the towns.

בְּכָל יוֹם אַחֲרֵי הַלִּמּוּדִים הָיִינוּ מַגּיִעִים לְבֵית הַכְּנֶסֶת הַיָּשָׁן,
לַאֲמִירַת תְּהִלִּים וְלִתְפִלָּה (גַּם קִבַּלְנוּ מַמְתָּק קָטָן).

Every day after school we gathered at the old shul
to say tehillim and pray (we also received a candy)

לִי הָיְתָה תְּפִלָּה מְיֻחֶדֶת, רַק שֶׁלִּי, שֶׁהָיִיתִי מִתְפַּלֵּל עַל הַגּוּשׁ,
שֶׁנַּמְשִׁיךְ בּוֹ תָּמִיד לִחְיוֹת, שֶׁלֹּא יִהְיֶה גֵּרוּשׁ.

I had my own prayer, it was only mine, that I payed for Gush Katif that we would always live there, and that there would be no expulsion

הָיוּ הַפְגָּנוֹת וַאֲסֵפוֹת בָּהֶן אַבָּא וְאִמָּא הָיוּ עֲסוּקִים,
אֲבָל אֲנַחְנוּ, הַיְּלָדִים, הִמְשַׁכְנוּ כָּרָגִיל בְּכָל הַמִּשְׂחָקִים.

There were demonstrations and meetings which kept my parents busy, but we the children, continue as usual with our games

בְּדִיּוּק אָז גִּלִּינוּ דְּיוּנָה עֲנָקִית שֶׁל חוֹל לְיַד הַשַּׁעַר הָאֲחוֹרִי,
מֵאֲחוֹרֵי הַקָּרָאוָן שֶׁל הַתַּאיְלַנְדִּים שֶׁעוֹבְדִים עִם אַבָּא שֶׁל אוֹרִי.

It was then we discovered the giant sand dune next to the back gate, behind the Thai worker's caravan which worked with Ori's father.

מֵאָז מִדֵּי יוֹם הָיִינוּ גּוֹלְשִׁים וּמִתְגַּלְגְּלִים בָּהּ יְחֵפִים, מְאֻשָּׁרִים,
וּכְשֶׁסִּיַּמְנוּ לְשַׂחֵק, חִכּוּ לִי בַּצָּד, בְּנֶאֱמָנוּת, זוּג הַסַּנְדָּלִים הַשְּׁחוֹרִים.

From that day on we slid down it, rolled around on it barefoot and content
And when we would finish playing, always waiting faithfully for me, was my pair of black sandals.

This posting is not a paid advertisement.

Published by Beit-El for 39 NIS.


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8 Days of Destruction

As we conclude the second anniversary of the destruction of Gush Katif, YNET publishes pictures from Yisrael Bardugo, a 24-year-old freelance photographer working in Israel and abroad, who documented the evacuation and destruction of the Gush Katif settlements.

See them all here.

Don't forget the Kleenex.

And then, read this post below to help.

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Through Fire You Were Destroyed, through Fire you will be Rebuilt

Today at mincha, we put on tefillin and said in the Shmona Esreh:

כי אתה ה' באש הצתה ובאש אתה עתיד לבנותה,
כאמור: ואני אהיה לה, נאום ה', חומת אש סביב ולכבוד אהיה בתוכה
ברוך אתה ה' מנחם ציון ובונה ירושלים

And while it's hard to see in my head the image of the Beit Hamikdash and Yerushalyim burning, the images of burning shuls in Gush Katif came to mind.





Here are recent satellite pictures of the remains of Gush Katif...





And yet, the words of last night still reverberate:

תרחם ציון כאשר אמרת ותכוננה כאשר דיברת. תמהר ישועה ותחיש גאולה ותשוב לירושלים ברחמים רבים. ככתוב על יד נביאך: לכן כה אמר ה‘ שבתי לירושלים ברחמים ביתי יבנה בה נאם ה‘ צבאות וקו ינטה על ירושלים…"

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