The renowned psychiatrist, Carl Jung, explained the phenomenon of why and how aggressors justify attacking a selected victim – individual or collective.  The aggressor first plans and assembles itself and cohorts for the attack.  But, it needs an excuse to attack and conquer.  That is accomplished by a propaganda campaign, claiming that “it” – the aggressor – is the intended victim.   That is, the victim is the provocateur who plans on attacking the aggressor.

         Generally, the excuse is that the intended victim is going to do exactly what the aggressor has planned.

         The Muslim-Arab-Islamists are successfully moving in this direction as they claim “victimhood” wherever they are or have migrated to.  As they grow more aggressive when they reach “critical mass”, they incite their followers, claiming that any resistance by a defending nation or people to their takeover is an act of hatred and war against Islam.

         This charge supposedly justifies recruiting more Muslim Jihadists who are told that they are hated and under attack.  It is a well-entrenched system, used time and again through the centuries to justify hostile expansion of Islam.   Conquest and Islam are interchangeable, descriptive titles coupled with a parasitic looting of those they succeed in conquering in the name of Allah and the great Global Caliphate which will rule the world under Sharia Law.

September 4, 2010

According the renowned Torah philosopher and Talmudist, the late Rabbi Dr. Haim Zimmerman, the Halakha is not merely a vast body of laws and rules having only practical significance.[i]  Underlying these laws and rules he discerns a logic conceptually comparable to that of mathematical physics.  This means that the Halakha is a thoroughly axiomatic system of law which determines the logical status and comparative value of the concrete variables coming under its purview. 

(Israelnationalnews.com) Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, speaking Sunday as if he had never met with American and Israeli leaders in the White House last week, conditioned more direct talks with Israel on an extension of the building freeze. 

His statement turned back the clock to pre-White House rhetoric that had precluded face-to-face discussions with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu until last week. Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu, after individual meetings with U.S. President Barack Obama in a day of carefully choreographed discussions last Thursday, spoke with each other for over two hours behind closed doors and gave President Obama the opportunity to say he brought them together.

U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell said they even agreed to meet next week for a fresh round of talks, but Abbas said on a visit to Libya Saturday night, “If the freeze period is not extended by the end of the month, there will be no negotiations."

(Israelnationalnews.com) More polls point to a GOP tidal wave of victory in November’s Congressional elections and U.S. President Barack Obama facing the humility of being a one-term president.

Just when Democrats thought ”things could not get worse,” even surveys from center-left media such as CNN show that the president may repeat former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s embarrassment of being dumped after one term. An Associated Press report posted on YouTube states that Americans do not believe President Obama’s optimism.

The thunderbolt that struck the Democratic party last week was a Gallup Poll that gave the Republican party a record 10-point margin over the Democrats in a survey that simply asked respondents if they prefer a Democratic or Republican candidate. The GOP edge is the largest in 68 years, dating back to 1942, when the first similar poll was taken.

Similar result in polls by CBS, reflecting dissatisfaction with President Obama’s handling of the economy, health care and the oil spill, indicate that his efforts to impose an agreement on the Palestinian Authority and Israel will not turn the tide.

The CBS “pop poll” last Thursday revealed that two-thirds of Americans give President Obama a “failure” rating for mis-managing the economy, while nearly 60 percent also fail him for foreign policies. On health care, the failure rating soared to more than 78 percent, and 57.5 percent failed him for what used to be called the war on terrorism.

Enough! (spit)

Enough anger, enough cursing out, and enough blaming others for 'the situation'.  Yes, I am referring to the latest gruesome terror attack near Hebron, and most of our reactions to it.

So bottom line... what is to be done?

We are not the Prime Minster of Israel or the President of the United States.  We can't send out armies to go after the terrorists, we can't set foreign policy, we can't send orders to security forces.  Again, we must ask ourselves the question, 'What CAN we do?". 

Anger, justified anger, is important, it has a purpose.  But it is not the complete answer, and it does not absolve us of taking responsibility.  Some think, because they got angry, because they shed some tears, because they talked to people about the horrible attack, that they are now patur (absolved) of doing anything else.  This is wrong.  This is futile.  And I believe that the victims of the terror attack would want us to move forward, to take the anger, the tears, the frustration of 'the situation' and DO something about it.  "Don't let us die for nothing!" their voices cry out from the grave.

         Jews have always been ready for peace all the way back to the time the Jewish Quraish (alternative spelling: Koreish or Qurayzah) tribe in Mecca agreed to Mohammed’s 10 year Hudaibiya Peace Treaty.  But, Mohammed broke that treaty in 2 years when he was stronger militarily.  He massacred the Quraish tribe, decapitating the men, selling the women and children into slavery.

         The Arab Muslims have always used the ploy of “Hudna” (temporary peace) to trick their adversaries with an offer of a false peace and then come to kill them.

         Yassir Arafat told his Arabic audience on the day that the Oslo Peace Accords were signed September 13, 1993 that Oslo was a “Hudaibiya Treaty”.   His speech to them in Arabic was taped and translated.

         Clearly, it is not up to Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu or Defense Minister Ehud Barak to accept a “Hudna” in the name of the Jewish people.   They would have to surrender Israel’s sovereignty over the heart of her ancient Jewish homeland to secure even a “Hudna”.

By Matthew M. Hausman
ISRAPUNDIT
September 3, 2010

The proposed Islamic center near Ground Zero has prompted passionate debate about freedom of religion and the open nature of American society. Defenders of the project solemnly intone that the terrorists will win if the mosque is not permitted, although they cannot credibly articulate why. Through all sanctimony, responsibility for tolerance is placed solely on the American public, never on the religious ideology that spawned the 9/11 terrorists. Secular liberals ignore the significance of shrine building at sites of victory over the “infidel” and demure on whether there is any obligation to accommodate non-Muslim sensitivities. They also fail to acknowledge that the conflict between Islamist goals and western culture constitutes a clash of civilizations or recognize that jihad seeks to supplant democratic values with theocratic rule. Omitted from the debate is that freedom of religion is not absolute, and that the rights of one may be limited when they infringe upon the liberties of many. These are the real issues informing the mosque controversy, which liberals – and even some conservatives – refuse to address.

Those who purport to preach tolerance never hesitate to condemn conservative Christians for their views or observant Jews for their supposed formalism. Yet, they refuse to challenge an Islamist ideology that is antithetical to the social ideals they claim to hold dear. Though secular liberals often cite the Constitution to justify their perverse political correctness, the First Amendment does not mandate acquiescence to religious extremism or support for dogmatic institutions. As with other Constitutional rights and privileges, freedom of religion is not absolute, and government has a legitimate interest in monitoring and controlling supremacist ideologies that threaten the rights and liberties of others.

By defining the controversy simply as a dispute over religious freedom, the mosque’s advocates and their secular allies deflect the underlying issues. Through all the charges and accusations, no critic of the mosque has denied that Muslims are free to worship in America. The real issue is one of sensitivity, of respecting the norms and priorities of a host society that throughout its history has welcomed and accommodated a diverse array of religious communities and institutions. Because cries of racism are often used to denigrate those who criticize militant Islam, it is important to recognize that Islam is a religion – it is not defined by race, ethnicity or national origin, and should be accorded no greater rights or privileges than any other belief system in American society. The race card is also used to quell any discussion of the history of Islamist conquest, colonialism and subjugation of non-Muslim peoples. However, such discussion is necessary to determine whether and when government intervention is warranted.

When discussing the Israeli Palestinian dispute, some Palestinian supporters who like to point to a history of Jewish abuses against innocent Arabs over the last six decades sometimes refer to a particularly infamous battle during the War of 1948 that took place in a small town on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem Hwy called Deir Yassin. For many reasons, not the least of which concerns political infighting between the major factions of the Israeli body politic, Deir Yassin has taken on a life of its own over the last 61 years.

By Yaakov Katz and Yaakov Lappin
Jerusalem Post
August 28, 2010
  
Seven Israeli Arabs affiliated with al-Qaida and Global Jihad have been arrested for allegedly murdering a taxi driver last year, and carrying out a series of terrorist attacks, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) revealed on Monday.

(Israelnationalnews.com) The Hamas terrorist group declared Saturday that Jews in Judea and Samanaria are “legitimate military targets” and vowed to continue its attacks in the region.

Hamas spokesman Azat al-Ghashek told the London-based Arabic language Al-Hayat newspaper it is “natural” to hurt Jews in the region because they are “the reserve force of the occupation army on Palestinian land.”

He praised last week's murderous attack by Hamas operatives near Kiryat Arba / Hevron that left four Beit Hagai residents dead, saying it proved the Palestinian people's desire to wage war against “the Zionist enemy.” The four victims included two men, one a newlywed, and two women, one of whom was nine months pregnant.

“Hurting Zionist settlers is a natural thing... they now constitute an actual army, in the full sense of the word,” al-Ghashek told the newspaper. “They have more than a half a million automatic weapons, in addition to the basic protection granted them by the occupation army.”

On Thursday, the Reuters news agency reported that 13 Gaza terrorist groups have allegedly teamed up to launch a new round of attacks against Israeli civilians.

(Israelnationalnews.com) Ashkenazi Jews began reciting the Selichot prayers on Saturday night – the prayers asking G-d for forgiveness – a ritual that will be performed each night for the next week, until Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

Sephardic Jews began doing this nearly a month ago, at the beginning of the Hebrew month of Elul. Many Jews also have the custom of blowing the shofar each day in the month of Elul as well, to awaken Jews to the importance of repentance.

It is believed that during this period, Moses ascended to Heaven and asked for mercy for the People of Israel – and 40 days later, on the Day of Atonement, his request was accepted.

There are only four days during the 10-day period of repentance (the period which falls between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur) in which one does not recite the Selichot prayer service. These are the two days of Rosh HaShanah, the Sabbath that falls in between (Shabbat Teshuva), and Yom Kippur.

Candle lighting time in Indianapolis for Friday, September 3, 2010: 7:56 PM
Shabbat ends in Indianapolis on Saturday, September 4, 2010: 8:54 PM
Click here for more on Shabbat
Click here for a complete guide to the High Holidays

Adapted from the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory
Lubavitch of Indiana 

Shabbat Shalom!

“We. Are. Family.”
 
This week we read two Torah portions, Nitzavim and Vayelech (Deuteronomy 29:9–31:30), beginning with the statement: “You are all standing together this day before G-d... the leaders of your tribes, your elders, your officers, all the men of Israel, your children and your wives, to pass into G-d’s covenant.”

When two individuals feel a powerful attraction to each other but realize that with the passage of time the attraction could wane, they establish a covenant. The covenant maintains their connection even at times when on a conscious level there might be reasons for distance and separation.

This portion of the Torah is read every year on the Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah – the Jewish New Year, because on Rosh Hashanah, the covenant between G-d and the Jewish people is renewed. On Rosh Hashanah we “are all standing... before G-d.” The essential G-dly core which every person possesses arises to the forefront of his consciousness, and the fundamental bond between G-d and humankind surfaces. On this basis a covenant is renewed for the entire year to come, including the inevitable occasions when these feelings of oneness will not be experienced as powerfully.

Shalom Friends,

We are all broken due to the horrible terrorist attack last night. The in-laws of the young man who was killed live in Efrat and one of the women killed in the attack was a teacher here.

May Am Yisrael merit true peace and complete redemption. 

Brandeis University’s Maurice and Marilyn Cohen’s Center for Modern Jewish studies is out with a survey on American Jewish attitudes toward Israel. The lengthy report is certainly worth reviewing in its entirety. I will highlight a few findings as well as some of the conclusions that the study’s authors draw. One caveat: the study as released does not break down responses by denomination (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform). I have e-mailed the center asking if such material is available and will certainly report back with the response I receive.

The study begins by telling us:

Yishai requested that Populations Registry head Amnon Ben-Ami act to relax conditions, including allowing settlers to acquire weapons without police approval, relying instead on professional opinions from the Interior Ministry, the Population Registry and the Immigration Authority.

Ames had been licensed to carry a weapon through his employment as a security guard. Approximately six months ago, Ames’s weapon permit was suspended, allegedly due to his involvement in public disturbances.

“I instructed to immediately relax the registration of weapons to residents of Judea and Samaria,” Yishai explained Wednesday.

Within a few hours of Tuesday night’s terror attack, in which Ames and his wife as well as two other residents of Beit Hagai were gunned down near Kiryat Arba by Palestinian terrorists, settlers’ advocates railed against the fact that Ames’s personal weapon had been seized in late 2009.

FROM THE DESK OF BARBARA GINSBERG
September 3, 2010

           “But if the watchman see the sword come and blow not the trumpet and the people be not warned; if the sword cometh and take from them a soul…his blood will I require from the watchman”.  (Ezekiel 33)

            I sit on the mountain with a trumpet in my hand.  We all sit on a mountain, each of us a watchman with a trumpet in hand.  Our mission is to sit and see the enemy.  Our mission is to see the danger, to search our own souls and to blow the trumpet and warn the rest – the rest of the Jewish people.

            I sit on a mountain as the sands slip through, the clock ticks away and the Almighty watches from above to see whether the sleeping Jew will awake on top of the mountain to see the enemy and blow the trumpet and save himself and all the rest and reclaim his greatness and his destiny before there are no more years left.

            We are all watchmen, we Jews.  We are commanded to know the danger, to see it approach, to blow the trumpet and save, both ourselves and our fellow Jews.

            How possible to sit on a mountain and behave like valleys! How incredible that we sit on high, seeing all that is below, and sees nothing!  How awful that the watchman sleeps even as the enemy grows bolder and comes closer and the clock that ticks, rings its alarm, shrilly, without pause, and he hears nothing.  We are a nation of watchmen on a hill and we sleep the sleep of the mediocre fool.  “Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest; so shall thy poverty come as one who travels and they want as an armed man.” (Proverbs 6) 

            I sit on the mountain and, behold, the enemy, the terrible dangers, are in full view.  There they are, there they approach, those who travel, as armed men.  Jew, can you not see them: