Thanks -- Milestone 50K visitors.

Just wanted to say thanks to all of you, and those of you that link to me...sometime on Friday my blog received its 50,000th visitor.

As of tonight, motzei shabbat, the Muqata blog has had a total of 50,258 visitors and 84,508 page views since I started blogging last July.

You guys rock - the drinks are on me! (Or as we say in Ramalla, You guys drink, the rocks are on me)

Thanks!

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Prelude to the Most Amazing Thursday Night Ever.

Shavua Tov -- A good week to you all.

It's late but wanted to mention a few important items you'll be reading about this week.

1. The reason I will never eat 7 pizza slices (in a row) again without calling my wife first, is that when I arrived home after my meeting with my accountant on Thursday night, there were 3 IDF officers eating in our front yard. Apparently, my wife made a BBQ for them, and had I called in advance, I would have know that my wife was preparing this BBQ...and it would have tasted alot better than 7 slices of pizza. You never know when someone will be preparing a BBQ, so its best to call home before gorging yourself on pizza. (And Kol HaKavod to my wife -- the soldiers were totally in awe of her...as they should be).

2. More to come this week as I explain WHY I was meeting with my accountant. Be prepared for alot of important advice for ALL US olim on IRS tax filing. I wish it had to do with the one ad I got so far... but I'm still happy I met with my accountant.

3. I didn't diss the ad on my blog as some commenter wrote. Go ahead - see the movie! It's supposed to be funny. Let me know if it is - and we'll give it an even bigger and better review.

4. To the commenter that said I "sold out" by putting ads on this blog -- if they don't conflict with the message of this blog, AND it HELPS out Jews living in Israel (like me), then what the heck's the problem? Halevai that all olim in Israel could get some extra cash. Please explain why you think it's selling out.

And Finally...

5. In honor of Parashat Shlach (which we read in Israel today, and you in Chutz LaAretz will only be reading next week), this past Thursday night, the IDF opened up access to the grave sites of Yehoshua Bin Nun, Calev ben Yefuneh and Nun (the father of Yehoshua). What makes this extra ordinary is that the graves are in the middle of a nasty Palestinian village Timnat Hares. Nasty? Well, most of the flags I saw were that of Hamas, and the graffiti on the walls were that of the Terror Group DFLP. Not the sort of place for a Sunday after noon stroll. In fact, the fun all started Thursday night, when I get a beeper msg from the IDF:

Good evening: Tonight there will be access to "Kivrei Tzadikim" in Timnat Chares from 00:00 to 04:00.

The IDF rarely sends out this info more than a few hours in advance to prevent terrorists from planning an attack. By allowing access only in the middle of the night, it reduces friction between the Palestinians and Jews (since the locals are asleep).

I'm off to bed, but I will say it was one of the most amazing tiyulim I can recall. Pictures and a full description coming soon.

A quiet and peaceful week to us all.

Jameel.




Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

A Tormented Jameel.

A few weeks back I was contacted by Steven Weiss about joining the Jewish Blogs ad network. I was flattered to be asked to join such a prestigious group of big name bloggers, including Canonist, Orthomom, DovBear, Serandez and others -- the whole idea had me tickled pink that someone would advertise on blogs, let alone mine!

If you notice the "Hamsa" graphic on the right-hand side of my blog, you'll see what I'm talking about...and clicking through it will lead you to the list of blogs associated with the JBlog ad network.



And then...yesterday...I was notified that someone wanted to place on ad on my blog!

Was I excited!

I danced around my office and immediately called the Mrs. @ The Muqata!

I'd make vacation plans for all us at the Inbal Hotel in Jerusalem!

I'd buy Momopolitan drinks for all my blog friends (regardless of the calories)

This was great...financial self sufficiency for an oleh like me? A dream come true!

It all came crashing down a few minutes ago when an email arrived from the Mrs:

To: Jameel
From: The Mrs.
Date: Today, a few minutes ago.

Did you see what your ad is for??

Err, actually, not really. I just glanced at it -- it said something about a Jewish Comedy.

Come see the insanity that ensues when a Jewish daughter brings home her new Palestinian boyfriend!

Uh oh.

Would you advertise for anything? How about for cigarettes?

Oh man. Busted.

After criticizing religious newspapers for years for printing ads from cigarette companies, here I was, with an ad on "The Muqata" promoting...assimilation and intermarriage? A Jewish woman going out with a Palestinian?! I'm all in favor of coexistence, but intermarriage is OUT!

I can't take down the ad because it's contractually supposed to run for 2 weeks.

Having thought about the issue very seriously, I have come up with the following steps for all future ads (which I hope are many!)

1. I will only post ads for which I have read through their entire content.

2. I will post ads which do not conflict with my hashkafic outlook on life, conflict with halacha, or harm the interests of the Jewish People, Israel, or Aliya.

3. Under no circumstances will I ever again eat 7 slices of pizza on my way home from Ramat Beit Shemesh after meeting with my accountant, UNLESS I CALL MY WIFE FIRST. (more on that in the upcoming post).

Look, I hope this movie doesn't actually advocate assimilation. It could be funny...

I sincerely apologize in advance if anyone is offended by the ad.

In any event I hope that by the end of the movie, the Jewish woman breaks up with her Palestinian boyfriend, returns to the Derech, marries her true bashert, makes aliya, has healthy and happy kids, and starts a successful aliya advocacy blog.

Then again, she could make aliya first and find her bashert here in Israel -- the order doesn't really matter.

Bimheira Biyameninu

Amen.

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

PA Fires Moslem Cleric for Admitting Mosque built on Jewish Temple Ruins

Every Moslem knows that no Jewish Temple ever existed. Let alone two of them, and let alone on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where the Al-Aksa Mosque is located.

Yasir Arafat reminded President Clinton that no such Temple ever existed in Jerusalem, as did Saib Erekat during the Camp David talks..

In the Monday night meeting [at Camp David], for instance, Erekat took issue with Ben-Ami's contention that Solomon's Temple, the Jewish sacred site built 3,000 years ago, had really once stood on the Temple Mount. As the two negotiators debated, Clinton looked on amazed.

"I don't believe there was a temple on top of the Haram, I really don't," said Erekat.

Ben-Ami, stunned, pulled down a volume from a bookshelf and looked up Temple Mount, showing Erekat dozens of references to Solomon's temple and its successor that stood until it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D.

Hours after their exchange, the summit collapsed. Both sides declared it was up to the other to show more flexibility. Clinton said Arafat's intransigence on Jerusalem was largely to blame.

So what happens? One cleric quietly tells people that obviously there used to be one...even two...and the Mosque is built on top of it.

In a classic move, the (US taxpayer funded) Hamas (and also Fatah) Palestinian Authority fires the cleric for spilling the beans.

Contradicting most of his colleagues, a former senior leader of the Waqf, the Islamic custodians of the Temple Mount, told WorldNetDaily in an exclusive interview he has come to believe the first and second Jewish Temples existed and stood at the current location of the Al Aqsa Mosque.

The leader, who was dismissed from his Waqf position after he quietly made his beliefs known, said Al Aqsa custodians passed down stories for centuries from generation to generation indicating the mosque was built at the site of the former Jewish Temples.

He said the Muslim world's widespread denial of the existence
of the Jewish temples is political in nature and is not rooted in facts.

Read the rest of it here at YNetnews

If a Moslem cleric now comes along and says that Jews are NOT descended from pigs, you can be sure he'll not only lose his job, but his pension as well.



Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Jameel @ The Shrink (The Anti-SoccerDad)

Out of the entire JBlogosphere, there's only ONE blogger...one particular blogger who has decided that I'm neurotic about my hatred towards the World Cup. He leaves comment after comment that imply I have way too many issues with it...and should get over it already. He must be among the 2 billion people that take offense to the Simpson's video I posted. (BIG hat-tip to Mike M. for it :-)

Normally, I'm thick skinned enough to ignore such comments. But he irked me...I thought about what he said...and then thought about it some more.

Therefore, I've decided to break with blog protocol and discuss something very, very personal on my blog...why I can't stand spectator sports...specifically soccer, or "footie" as that blogger calls it.

I must mention first that bashing the world cup has its advantages. The Simpson's video I posted yesterday was picked up by my friend Jack for other's viewing entertainment...and then I even got a link to a blog I'd never heard of before..."The Streim" Apparently it's a German blog and it also liked my posting about the 2 billion dimwits watching the World Cup.

"Fußball ist… öde! Stimmt nicht? Dann mal schnell hier die “Simpsons” gucken: “Pass in den Flügel. In die Mitte. In den Flügel.” Oder, wie Homer S. sagen würde: “Boooooring.”

My German's a bit rusty, so I had to use the google (tm) language translation tool to figure out what he wrote:

Football is desert…! Isn't correct? Then times the “Simpsons” looks fast here: “Passport into the wing. Into the center. Into the wing.” Or, as Homer S. would say: “Boooooring.”

Football is desert?

Huh?

Like endless sand dunes, camels, blazing hot sun, and no water -- that kind of desert?

Whatever. Anyway - I got sidetracked with that German blog, but here goes:

Walking up to Dr. Mark's office, I knew I had to finally face the music. This was one of those life milestones that could not be avoided and it was about time to get some therapy for my intense hatred towards that awful spectator sport called...soccer football.

The pleasant looking secretary smiled at me. "Good Morning Jameel, Dr. Mark will be available shortly. Please take a seat."

A neat pile of magazines were piled up on a coffee table near the couch. Let's see..."Soccer Daily"...hmmm. Let's put that at the BOTTOM of the pile.

Newsweek Magazine - looks good. Huh? World Cup on the cover? I'm starting to sweat a bit.

I look up and there's a cool 32 inch plasma TV on the wall....and its a World Cup game? England vs. Micronesia? And Micronesia is winning? Good for them. My heads starts to spin...and Dr. Mark calls me to his office.

I lie down on his couch and it all starts to unravel. My psyche burts out through our conversation...and it was awful....all those pent-up latent memories...

When I was 14 months old...my babysitter (could it have been my older brother?) dropped me on my head when Pele missed the goal of the game. I'm screaming in pain and STILL get no attention as my caretaker dejectedly slumps on the couch. Hello?! I'm in pain here? Doesn't anyone care?

Kindergarden. My dad didn't attend my kingdergarden (please note corrected spelling) graduation ceremony because he was too busy watching the World Cup. All the other kids had parents there. Not me. The parents of the girl I never got along with drove me home as we sat in the back seat sticking out our tounges, and making obnoxious faces at each other.

1982. I was all excited about the upcoming World Cup. I went out and purchased pennants, soccer balls, posters of my favorite players...everything was set. My older brother's girlfriend started laughing at me saying that soccer was stupid and for wimps. She said ice-hockey was so much more interesting. Since then I shy away from soccer and play hockey on motzei shabbat.

Attempting to get back in the groove, I partied during college at a post World Cup championship party. Unluckily for me, I overslept the following morning and missed the infamous MBAT exam AND my Economics Final exam. Soccer and the World Cup lower my GPA to 3.49, ruining my chance to go to Med School.

Sophmore year. First serious girlfriend I ever had...she was a fan for Estonia. I was rooting for Argentina. We broke up after Argentina won and I did a victory dance at Shmulka Bernsteins giving a high-five to all the Chinese waiters....she was not impressed.

After I dropped her back at Stern, she told all her friends that only a loser would root for Argentina. We haven't spoken since. But I could never get rid of the amazing world cup kippa she crocheted for me. Maybe I should sell it on ebay?

My first summer job. Belcore. Mega cool radar system for submarines. I was fired for encouraging my fellow lab partners to run practice drills through the hallway. I couldn't control myself as I screamed, "GOOOOOAAAAAL"

I was so much better than them anyway.

My kids were soccer freaks -- till they smashed a soccer ball through my neighbor's bay window, breaking the 7th century Ming dynasty vase. That was the last straw.

I was now the scourge of the neighborhood...everyone hated me...and I decided that never again would I watch soccer...european football...call it what you want.

And never as a spectator. It ruined my life.

That was years ago.

Now I'm a fully functional member of society, and I control my psyche by raging out on my blog against all the idiots watching the world cup. All Two Billion of them.

There, I feel much better now.

Now we can back to business.

Aliya anyone?



Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

There can't possibly be two billion idiots watching the World Cup...can there?

As I wrote yesterday (World Cup, Who Cares), "The Mondial" is a freaking waste of time. Someone wrote to me yesterday -- "Two billion people can't possibly be wrong"

Guess what? They are.




Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Conclusion: Hamas Bomb Caused Explosion on Gaza Beach

Israeli taxpayers continue to support the Israeli hospitalization of Palestinians wounded from this past week's false-allegation -- that Israel was responsible for the explosion on the Gaza beach. Shrapnel removed from the bodies of the wounded were clearly not from an Israeli IDF shell...and many other reasons prove that Israel had nothing to do with this. The JPost has the full story here.

This may sound callous, but why should Israel pay for the treatment of the wounded Palestinians? Is it really a humanitarian gesture? Is this the correct and moral thing to do?

Let's try to take the political drama out of the equation and look at the hard facts -- the way hospital administrators decide key issues. When a limited budget exists, how does one decide to buy an expensive piece of equipment for dialysis which only benefits certain patients vs. general equipment or medicines which could benefit more? These are sometimes very difficult decisions, but it does not make the administrators immoral people.

Israel is NOT made of money, and all day long we hear of financial issues here; poverty, unemployment, educational needs... Shouldn't our own problems come FIRST and foremost? I guarantee you that there are plenty of Israelis that could use the money currently being spent on the medical treatment of the Palestinians -- for their own medical treatment and operations.

Not a day goes by when people aren't knocking on my door trying to raise money for a desperately needed life-saving operation.

And now that it's clear that the Hamas were responsible for the explosion on the Gaza beach -- why are we still paying the bill?

At the end of the day, the expenses are coming out of the Israeli taxpayer's pocket, as well as all the negative PR being heaped upon Israel by our Gazan neighbors.

We get zero PR points, and even had the Israeli Prime Minister's daughter protesting against Israel's murdering of the Palestinians.

Is it too cruel-hearted to mention in the same breath that there are still hundreds of Jewish families, who were targeted by thousands of Palestinian rockets, kicked out of their homes, and not been compensated by the Israeli government?

Personally, I'd rather they get my tax money.

And I honestly and sincerely hope that all innocent, wounded civilians have a complete recovery.

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Ruling: Pork, Snickers and Tic-Tac are not kosher

The Kashrut industry is always a mystery -- and in Israel when imported foods with a hechsher get the additional rabbanut kashrut, I often wonder what that means. These are foods I never ate in the America, yet here they -- sold in every store, makolet and kiosk as kosher.

The Israeli Chief Rabbinate ordered to remove Tic-Tac mints as well as Snickers [J@TM: Apparently only the Snickers Ice Cream is problematic..Snickers bars are OK], Mars and Bounty ice-cream from shelves in stores. The reason: The Rabbinate found that the products, branded as kosher, are in fact non-kosher.

"The products are displayed as approved by Rabbi Ralbag and the Israeli Chief Rabbinate," wrote Thursday Rabbi Yaakov Sabag, head of Kashrut Department at the Rabbinate. "But when we checked the facts with Ralbag," he added, "We learned that he didn't approve the products. It's a serious forgery." (YNETnews)

I don't understand how it's a "forgery" if it's been on the shelves here for years. Are these kosher in the US? Britain? Anyone know?

What is interesting (as always) is that the triangle-K which (at least used to be) was always considered to be on the leftwing side of Modern Orthodoxy, is considered acceptable by the Israeli Chief Rabbinate. The only triange-K hechshered food I ever used to eat was seltzer.

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Amir Peretz - Israel's Dan Qualye

Amir Peretz -- Israel's Defense Minister attempts to explain Israel's defense policy of restraint as a means of bringing peace and quiet to southern Israel.

"No restraint is something infinite. The restraint in the past 24 hours is a restraint aimed at conveying a message. We demand peace and we have the ability to provide must more painful responses. At the moment the forces focusing their efforts, so I ask that no one delude themselves. I want to bring peace and quiet," he said." (YNetnews)

He said the above in HEBREW, and it was translated to English.

Good thing I don't live in Sederot. What an idiot.





Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael