The real story about the internal struggle taking place within the Likud party
For those of you who follow current events in Israel and dabble in trying to understand Israeli politics, then keep on reading. For those of you don't have time for this, then just press delete now and don't waste your time reading about events that will have an impact on determining the future of Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael and Torat Yisrael.

Your decision......

I'm including in this email some background information to the real story of what is happening within the Likud party right now. I'm party to this information because I'm an activist of Manhigut Yehudit, the faction within the Likud Party that is trying to take over the leadership of the Likud.

The Israeli media has wrongly portrayed this last week's Likud convention as a central event because Sharon dared to introduce his diplomatic plan to the members of the Likud's central committee, the Likud organizational body that decides upon the party platform upon which the party is supposed to act upon in the government.

The real story of the convention is that it was a public showing of the internal struggle taking place among the party faithful over the soul of the party and its activities in the government. On the one side of the struggle there is Sharon and his followers and on the other side is Moshe Fieglin, of the Manhigut Yehudit faction of the Likud and other Likud party factions.

The struggle
Sharon: He wants to lead the party the way he decides even though his policy decisions go against the party platform.

Feiglin: He wants the party to be led according to the party platform, since the government representatives of the party were sent to the goverment to determine policy according to the party platform. Those MKs or Ministers who make policy decisions against the party platform should not be allowed to run on the Likud party list but should find another political home.

It is obvious that this step is meant to place a roadblock before Sharon in his quest to receive the support of Likud MKs and Ministers to vote for any diplomatic plan that includes the establishment of a Palestinian state or dismantling settlements since they contradict the Likud party platform.

This struggle was the main struggle that took place at the Likud convention. The Manhigut Yehudit faction proposed an amendment to the Likud constitution (titled section "19 gimmel") which states the following (paraphrased) - any Likud MK or Minister that votes against the party platform can not be on the party list for official government sponsored positions (MK, Minister, head of government run organization etc) for a 5 year period of time. This amendment to the party constitution was introduced at the convention and it will be voted upon at the next convention meeting in early February.

This amendment has great support among the Likud Central Committee members who make up the convention participants because a majority of them are against the way Sharon has hijacked the party and turned into his own personal fiefdom, disregarding the party platform and instead making it into a Labor/Meretz party.

This amendment is a threat to Sharon and his diplomatic agenda.

This is the crux of the battle that is taking place within the Likud and it is within this context that Limor Livnat, the Likud Education Minister, gave an interview to the media on the day of the convention delegitimizing the jewish Leadership faction and Mosh Feiglin as people who do not belong in the Likud and who are trying to take over the Likud party un-democratically. She further delegitmized the faction by mentioning "criminal elements taking over the Likud" in the same sentence when delegitimizing the Jewish Leadership faction. Yesterday a Sharon advisor went even further by associating the steps taken by Manhigut Yehudit by proposing this amendment as being identicle to how the Nazis came to power in Germany (this was written in yesterday's Haaretz by journalist Yossi Verter - http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/379731.html). Hard to believe but this is Israel 2004! This is proof that Sharon and his power brokers within the Likud are threatened by the Jewish Leadership faction.

This is the issue that will be taking place within the Likud for the future until Manhigut Yehudit takes over the leadership of the Likud and returns it to its path according to its party platform. Manhigut Yehudit is in this struggle until it is victorious because the alternative is not an option.

Please read the following links of official documentation from the party, including a TV interview with Moshe Feiglin on Israeli TV (with English subtitles) that took place before the Likud convention.

I also included a letter to the editor that appeared in yesterday's Jerusalem Post that sheds some light on the issue as well.

Avi

Letter to the Editor of the Jerusalem Post 1/6/04

Dear Sirs:



Limor Livnat rants and raves about "phony Likud activists," when in fact she and others who agree with her are the real "phonies." The goals of Likud, according to its own Constitution (section 2: Goals), are "preserving the right of the Jewish people to Eretz Israel, as a perpetual right that cannot be questioned, constant settlement and development of all parts of Eretz Israel, and imposition of the State's sovereignty over them." It's pretty clear, therefore, that the activities of the Manhigut Yehudit faction in the Likud are actually the closest thing we've got to the REAL Likud and its basic nationalist philosophy.



Contrary to her comment that Manhigut Yehudit's members only just joined Likud's ranks, I for one - and I'm certain I'm not alone - have been a member since just after I made aliyah over eight years ago, and I joined Likud specifically because its goals were my goals.



Perhaps Minister Livnat needs a brush-up course on her own party's ideals. Far from being a danger to the party or the state, in fact what we need are central committee and general members with strong ideological interests - in a word, activists. I suppose thanks are due her, for providing an opportunity to explain to her and to all others who seem to have forgotten, what the real Likud is and what it stands for.



Deborah Buckman

Beit Shemesh

Manhigut Yehudit Beit Shemesh

See www.manhigut.org



A Letter from the Director of Manhigut Yehudit to the Likud Central Committee members in preperation for the Likud convention: http://www.zionet.co.il/manhigut/en/view_article_manhigut_en.php3?article_id=320
TV Interview with Moshe Feiglin on Israel Channel 10 pre-convention: http://www.manhigut.org/hebrew/video/FeiglinChn10.asf

Article about Manhigut Yehudit's focus on the fundamental need to mold Israel into becoming a Jewish state: (This article is important to read and a good introduction to part of the ideology that is behind Manhigut Yehudit and why it is called Manhigut Yehudit - Jewish Leadership)

http://www.zionet.co.il/manhigut/en/view_article_manhigut_en.php3?article_id=293

A picture of Moshe Feiglin speaking about the proposed amendment (19 gimml) at the Likud convention:

http://www.zionet.co.il/manhigut/he/view_friends_manhigut.php3?article_id=439


You can sign up for Manhigut Yehudit by either calling the office at:
09-792-9046

or by visiting the website below and sending a request form.
http://www.manhigut.org/english/getmsg.html

Together, with focused hishtadlut, patience and emunah we will bring about change for the betterment of Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael and Torat Yisrael.

Please pass this on.

Sharon's delegitimization campaign of Manhigut Yehudit is just beginning

In yesterday's Haaretz, journalist Yossi Verter wrote an article titled "PM's Associates Warn 'It's How the Nazi's Came to Power' (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/379731.html) where he is clearly refering to Manhigut Yehudit.

This short article proves how threatened Sharon feels by Manhigut Yehudit!!!
Can you believe it, to go so low as to use the term Nazi's when refering to Jews loyal to the Land of Isreal. Disagree, ok, debate, great, but call us Nazi's???

It shows that Manhigut Yehduit has chosen the right playing field... the Likud's own backyard.
Manhigut Yehduit is hitting a nerve of theirs and this is only their opening shot. They will probably not stop there.

Manhigut Yehudit is the only political force that has succeeded in making Sharon feel pressured. Not the Mafdal and not Ichud Haleumi.

This is only the beginning of the process to create a change to our political reality. But in order to truly succeed Manhigut Yehudit needs our public support. Now is the time to join.

You can sign up for Manhigut Yehudit by either calling the office at:
09-792-9046
or by visiting the website below and sending a request form.
http://www.manhigut.org/english/getmsg.html

The process to change the political landscape of Israel will take time and with many obstacles. Manhigut Yehudit might lose some battles, big and small, on the way to taking over the leadership of the party, but in the end it will be victorious. The alternative is to allow our current Leumi leadership - that has began to slander loyal Jews and Israelis as Nazis!! - to continue to lead us - and that is not an option!

Together, with focused hishtadlut, patience and emunah we can bring about change for the betterment of Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael and Torat Yisrael.

The Real Story About the Internal Struggle Taking Place Within the Likud Party

For those of you who follow current events in Israel and dabble in trying to understand Israeli politics, then keep on reading. For those of you don't have time for this, then just press delete now and don't waste your time reading about events that will have an impact on determining the future of Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael and Torat Yisrael.

Your decision......

I'm including in this email some background information to the real story of what is happening within the Likud party right now. I'm party to this information because I'm an activist of Manhigut Yehudit, the faction within the Likud Party that is trying to take over the leadership of the Likud.

The Israeli media has wrongly portrayed this last week's Likud convention as a central event because Sharon dared to introduce his diplomatic plan to the members of the Likud's central committee, the Likud organizational body that decides upon the party platform upon which the party is supposed to act upon in the government.

The real story of the convention is that it was a public showing of the internal struggle taking place among the party faithful over the soul of the party and its activities in the government. On the one side of the struggle there is Sharon and his followers and on the other side is Moshe Fieglin, of the Manhigut Yehudit faction of the Likud and other Likud party factions.

The struggle
Sharon: He wants to lead the party the way he decides even though his policy decisions go against the party platform.

Feiglin: He wants the party to be led according to the party platform, since the government representatives of the party were sent to the goverment to determine policy according to the party platform. Those MKs or Ministers who make policy decisions against the party platform should not be allowed to run on the Likud party list but should find another political home.

It is obvious that this step is meant to place a roadblock before Sharon in his quest to receive the support of Likud MKs and Ministers to vote for any diplomatic plan that includes the establishment of a Palestinian state or dismantling settlements since they contradict the Likud party platform.

This struggle was the main struggle that took place at the Likud convention. The Manhigut Yehudit faction proposed an amendment to the Likud constitution (titled section "19 gimmel") which states the following (paraphrased) - any Likud MK or Minister that votes against the party platform can not be on the party list for official government sponsored positions (MK, Minister, head of government run organization etc) for a 5 year period of time. This amendment to the party constitution was introduced at the convention and it will be voted upon at the next convention meeting in early February.

This amendment has great support among the Likud Central Committee members who make up the convention participants because a majority of them are against the way Sharon has hijacked the party and turned into his own personal fiefdom, disregarding the party platform and instead making it into a Labor/Meretz party.

This amendment is a threat to Sharon and his diplomatic agenda.

This is the crux of the battle that is taking place within the Likud and it is within this context that Limor Livnat, the Likud Education Minister, gave an interview to the media on the day of the convention delegitimizing the jewish Leadership faction and Mosh Feiglin as people who do not belong in the Likud and who are trying to take over the Likud party un-democratically. She further delegitmized the faction by mentioning "criminal elements taking over the Likud" in the same sentence when delegitimizing the Jewish Leadership faction. Yesterday a Sharon advisor went even further by associating the steps taken by Manhigut Yehudit by proposing this amendment as being identicle to how the Nazis came to power in Germany (this was written in yesterday's Haaretz by journalist Yossi Verter - http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/379731.html). Hard to believe but this is Israel 2004! This is proof that Sharon and his power brokers within the Likud are threatened by the Jewish Leadership faction.

This is the issue that will be taking place within the Likud for the future until Manhigut Yehudit takes over the leadership of the Likud and returns it to its path according to its party platform. Manhigut Yehudit is in this struggle until it is victorious because the alternative is not an option.

Please read the following links of official documentation from the party, including a TV interview with Moshe Feiglin on Israeli TV (with English subtitles) that took place before the Likud convention.

I also included a letter to the editor that appeared in yesterday's Jerusalem Post that sheds some light on the issue as well.

Avi

Letter to the Editor of the Jerusalem Post 1/6/04

Dear Sirs:



Limor Livnat rants and raves about "phony Likud activists," when in fact she and others who agree with her are the real "phonies." The goals of Likud, according to its own Constitution (section 2: Goals), are "preserving the right of the Jewish people to Eretz Israel, as a perpetual right that cannot be questioned, constant settlement and development of all parts of Eretz Israel, and imposition of the State's sovereignty over them." It's pretty clear, therefore, that the activities of the Manhigut Yehudit faction in the Likud are actually the closest thing we've got to the REAL Likud and its basic nationalist philosophy.



Contrary to her comment that Manhigut Yehudit's members only just joined Likud's ranks, I for one - and I'm certain I'm not alone - have been a member since just after I made aliyah over eight years ago, and I joined Likud specifically because its goals were my goals.



Perhaps Minister Livnat needs a brush-up course on her own party's ideals. Far from being a danger to the party or the state, in fact what we need are central committee and general members with strong ideological interests - in a word, activists. I suppose thanks are due her, for providing an opportunity to explain to her and to all others who seem to have forgotten, what the real Likud is and what it stands for.



Deborah Buckman

Beit Shemesh

Manhigut Yehudit Beit Shemesh

See www.manhigut.org



A Letter from the Director of Manhigut Yehudit to the Likud Central Committee members in preperation for the Likud convention: http://www.zionet.co.il/manhigut/en/view_article_manhigut_en.php3?article_id=320

TV Interview with Moshe Feiglin on Israel Channel 10 pre-convention: http://www.manhigut.org/hebrew/video/FeiglinChn10.asf

Article about Manhigut Yehudit's focus on the fundamental need to mold Israel into becoming a Jewish state: (This article is important to read and a good introduction to part of the ideology that is behind Manhigut Yehudit and why it is called Manhigut Yehudit - Jewish Leadership)

http://www.zionet.co.il/manhigut/en/view_article_manhigut_en.php3?article_id=293

A picture of Moshe Feiglin speaking about the proposed amendment (19 gimml) at the Likud convention:

http://www.zionet.co.il/manhigut/he/view_friends_manhigut.php3?article_id=439


You can sign up for Manhigut Yehudit by either calling the office at:
09-792-9046

or by visiting the website below and sending a request form.
http://www.manhigut.org/english/getmsg.html

Together, with focused hishtadlut, patience and emunah we will bring about change for the betterment of Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael and Torat Yisrael.

Please pass this on.

In Response to A Supportive Email in Response to My Gooood Morning Am Yisrael Email

Thanks a lot for your supportive reply.

As for Sharon's plan - the good thing about it is that in a sort of official way the Israeli politic (and public) is finally being told that the peace process is almost over. All the rest, removing of settlements and such is horrible - but I believe that not much of that will actually happen. Some maachazim might come down and some small inhabited yishuvim, but nothing more than that. Sharon can't, his government won't last, and he is not keen on being totally reliable on Peres and Labor as partners.

In anycase, changes are slowly happening here. I'm very involved with Manhigut Yehudit and it is a major force within the Likud party right now trying to take over the LIkud and force Sharon's hand from the inside of his party, because the small right wing parties have virtually no influence on Sharon's polcy decisions.

I'm very optomistic. It is only a question of how many more Jews will have to be killed before we Jews realize that we need a proud Jewish leadership leading Israel according to Jewish values when forming social and foreign policy that will effect our families and our future.

I highly suggest you start reading up on them, because I'm certain that little by little more will be written up on them in the press because of the changes that they are causing within the Likud. Better you be informed about them from the source rather than from the lies you will hear about them in the media.

Shabbat Shalom,
Avi

A response to the Editorial Column of the Jewish Week edition for Shabbat 12/21/03

http://www.thejewishweek.com/top/editcolcontent.php3



Letter to the Editor:



Dear Gary,



I would like to disagree with your editorial. How can we expect American college students to feel proud about Israel, regardless of what we teach them, if Israelis do not feel proud about Israel???!!!



Today’s war in Israel is not about borders, as the media makes it out to be, rather at its core it is a war about an idea – the idea that the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people. The Arabs have always fought against this idea and we see today that they have succeeded in convincing most of the world, most of the Jews and many Israelis too!



In order to win this war, we need leaders who can stand up for the right of the Jewish people to live in all of the land of Israel, anything less is a symbolic gesture to the Arabs that we are wrong and they are right

!

In the Madrid conference, it is said that a Syrian official confronted an Israeli official and asked him if he believes that the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people and the Israeli official answered yes. The Syrian official then responded to the Israeli that obviously he doesn’t believe it because he is in Madrid talking about giving away parts of the Land of Israel to others!

In our eyes we might see practicality, but in the Arabs eyes this is a symbolic weakening of the Jewish people that has continued until this day!



When we have Israeli leaders who stand up for our right to live in all of Israel, regardless of the pressure, then Israelis, Americans, and even American college students will feel proud of Israel. Until then, we will all be embarrassed by Israel’s existence, because it is not standing up for us, actually, it is barely standing at all.



May we soon experience the type of pride in the Land of Israel that world Jewry felt after the 1967 war, operation Entebbee and the bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor. Pride based on the knowledge that the Land of Israel is a proud country that stands up for itself and for the Jewish people.



Avi

Goooooood Morning Am Yisrael!!!!!!!!!!

Hello one and all and Erev Chanukah Sameach!



It is time to wake up!! Time to wake up to reality.



Please tell me when will we wake up, when? When will you wake up?



We all spend our days and nights trying to make a parnasah, trying to be good Jews, doing what we were taught to do. What else should we be expected to do? Life is hard and busy and few of us have the guts, the time or the energy to really do what is necessary to stand up for the right of the Jewish people to live in the Land of Israel. (This message is for everybody, those living in chutz laaretz and those living in Israel).



Nobody prepared us for this moment, not our Rabbis, not our teachers and not even our parents.



What moment, do you ask?

G-d couldn’t be more of clearer about the moment we are up against, if only we begin to open up our hearts and minds a little and realize the holiday we are about to celebrate. A true sign from heaven.



How ironic that we are about to celebrate the holiday of Chanukah, where the few beat the many, the righteous ones beat the evil ones, where our fiercest enemies were our own brothers who wanted to assist in eradicating the Judaism of the Jewish people, allowing the takeover of the land of Israel with the impure Greek culture of the time.



Now wake up to reality!!! Don’t you get it? This whole peace process is a scam. There is no peace and there will be no peace. There is nobody to talk to from our enemies (because “you only make peace with your enemies” – remember that propagandist line that got Oslo started?), yet we must constantly make gestures for our enemies to prove our sincerity for peace. Hmmmm…



The Antiochus of our time, the Haman of our generation, the Hitler who lives in our own backyard, Arafat, - is a known terrorist, the father of airplane hijacking and essentially a mass murderer, and an “obstacle to peace”. YET, he is the most protected person on this planet. Unlike Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, we don’t have to look all over the world and in holes in the group to find Arafat, we know exactly where he is. But he is a VIP, protected by the great world leaders free from receiving justice from the Israeli people. Again, Hmmm…..



And yet, in this comical reality, our own leaders seem to be bending to the pressure to transfer Jews from their homes. You got to love the moral compass of the Left – transfer of Arabs is immoral, but transfer of Jews is moral. (If you fell for that moral inequivalence, I’ll sell you the Brooklyn bridge tomorrow)



The Israeli government is planning on transfering the Jews from Migron, in the Shomron, 10 minutes from Yerushalayim. Migron is a settlement of 43 families, with a playground, a library and a kupat cholim (health clinic). Families have set up their homes there, their children were born there. And you fell for the argument that, no matter how painful, it is moral to transfer them from their homes???



However, all is kosher for that elusive peace, oh yes, no wrong can be done if it is in the name of peace. Peace, the new religion of the modern world, THE pinnacle of morality. This is the poppycock that we all have internalized, hook, line and sinker!



Wake up!! The Greeks are coming, the Greeks are coming and we are caving into their pressure??!!!



You know there is a famous quote about honor that I want to share with you. It goes like this “he who runs after honor chases it away, yet he who runs away from honor, is chased by it”.



I think it is about time we start to realize that the same formula also exists vis a vis peace --- he who runs after peace chases it away, yet he who runs away from peace, is chased by it. Read these few lines again, internalize it and think. Now continue...



Chanukah was one of our finest moments as a people because we stood up for ourselves, against our own brothers, for our religion, for our holy places…..against all odds, and especially against the greatest power of the world at the time. It is not just ok to stand up for our beliefs, it is a must because that is our purpose in the world as Jews. Don’t you see, we can only become an ohr lagoim if we are true to ourselves and to our beliefs. And that is hard work!



That is why we are the “chosen people” - chosen to struggle against all odds to bring light into this world of darkness, to align the moral compass of the world according to the moral compass given to us by Hashem. We are not doing our duty if we give up on our beliefs because of the pressure of the many – that is failing ourselves, and failing humanity.



So let’s not go through this upcoming Chanukah as robots – lighting the candles, singing the songs, and eating latkes – because that is what we always do, reflecting upon it only as a part of our history. This year, realize that it is not just our history, it is also a sign of our present and a ray of inspiration for our future. This Chanukah internalize the greatness of our beliefs, the valor of our virtues as a nation, the greatness of the Maccabbees and their actions and the guts it takes to be part of a nation that stands up for itself against all odds - and begin to act the way we are supposed to act.



Then think if your mundane life really encompass what it means to be a Jew.



We are living in a historic time, a time where we in Israel are coming to realize that we must be inspired by the Maccabees to resist our own elected leadership, who have been blinded and bribed by the modern Greeks, to stand up for our right as a people, to live freely in our own country.



Migron is only the test of our will. But it is the beginning of the battle over our right to live here, not just in YESHA, but in all of Israel. (If you think I’m exaggerating then just pay more attention to the details of all the so called peace plans promoted by the world - not the media reports, but the details!)



May we all wake up, be inspired by our history and do what we must for Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael and Torat Yisrael.



On that note….



Boker Tov to reality and have an inspiring Chanuka,

Avi

Beilin is a Trojan Horse for the EU in Israel

By: Avi Abelow

The following should be spread as far and wide as possible:

In practicallity, all support for Beilin, his ideas, his agreements and his new party is support for the European Union running Israel and Israeli policy.

Investigative reporter Yoav Yitzchak reported in the February 8th, 2002 issue of Ma'ariv
that
former Labor Party MK Yossi Beilin is drawing an annual salary of NIS
350,000 - NIS 400,000 from The Economic Cooperation Foundation (ECF), a
Tel
Aviv based organization that he formed with Yair Hirschfeld at the end
of
1990.

Yitzchak notes that the bulk of the ECF budget is covered by the
European
Union. In addition to the salary, ECF covers Beilin's heavy travel
expenses - including meetings with Palestinians overseas.

For all practical purposes, Yitzchak writes, the European Union is
paying
for Beilin to negotiate with the Palestinians.


For the original investigative article in hebrew (at the bottom of the article):
http://images.maariv.co.il/cache/cachearchive/08022002/ART245622.html

For other articles (in english) on the direct involvement of the European Union in Israeli politics:

http://israelvisit.co.il/cgi-bin/friendly.pl?url=Jun-27-01!EU - Another investigative article by Yoav Yitzchak from Maariv

http://www.jcpa.org/jl/vp418.htm - A Jerusalem Center Public Affairs Article by Gerald Steinberg

http://www.cdn-friends-icej.ca/medigest/may99/midwife.html

http://www.ourjerusalem.com/news/story/news20010719a.html

Please pass this email on in all directions.

Remember - G-d helps those who help themselves,
Avi

The Abelow Elul Update

Shalom to all!!

Note: The following email update ( below) was written 2 days ago, before the twin suicide bombing attacks that killed more innocent Israeli Jews - killings that continue to take place thanks to the planned or unplanned incompetence of the world powers to stop the murderers -(somewhat similar to WWII - when it comes to the lives of Jews). So, I wanted to add in some thoughts about the latest happenings.

It is at times like these that me must remind ourselves that this world is but a corridor to the next world. We cry and scream out to G-d over our losses and question his actions/inactions, as this "matzav" continues, as we should. Yet we should also hold on to our belief that we live our lives according to the Torah so that when we do leave this world, however we do, we move on to the "world to come", and we leave all the pain and suffereing of "this world" behind. Our physical bodies are only the phyiscal cases to house our souls while we travel through this world, but they are not needed in the world to come. Although the above is the "emet", it is still no comfort to all of us left behind who must deal with the losses of our loved ones, acquaintenences and fellow Jews as they are taken from this world.

May "this matzav" come to a quick conclusion, and may we all assist in bringing about the redemption of AmYisrael, Eretz Yisrael and the world, quickly...

Abelow Update

Well the new year has begun!!!
Yakir has officially begun the Israeli school system by going to a public school gan in Efrat! (Note: in Israel, most schools are public schools, and many public schools are religious - this is the gadlut of Israel). Tachlis, that means that Yakir is in a gan with 34 other children and 2 gananot!!
Of all the ganenets in the system his ganenet is one of the best. So we are very thankful that he got her for a teacher. She is childcentered and friendly to the children. The assistant is very disappointing. If it wasn’t for the head ganenet we don’t know if we could’ve started him in the public system yet.
Rachel, the professional ganenet, with an MA in early childhood education, is having a tough time dealing with this new educational reality of such large classes.
Yakir is doing really well adjusting and likes his new gan and Ruti, the head ganenet. He says to Rachel in the morning, “Imma, play with me for a minute and then you can go.” He is doing better than Rachel is! He is such a big boy and developing really nicely.
As for little Itai, he is doing fabulously. Growing bigger and bigger by the day. He has the biggest smile and laughs when tickled! We look at Yakir’s baby pictures and they look exactly alike, it’s unbelievable! We are enjoying him a lot. Yakir loves being a big brother and takes very good care of Itai. He always runs over to give him kisses! Today Itai gave a real hearty laugh when playing with Yakir. It was very exciting! He loves his big brother!

The yamim noraim are upon us and our goal is to unpack as many boxes as possible before the chagim start. Wish us luck.

As for me and Rachel, B"H, we are enjoying now being parents of two beautiful little boys....and that says it all. That is what life is all about, enjoying our kids and growing with them, and we are loving it.

America is changing - beware and be cautious

Right now America is being squeezed from the "right" and from the "left" and the future of America looks very sketchy.

Today, I read a few interesting articles, describing different aspects of the changes that the USA is going through currently, and neither one, unfortuanately, is good for anybody who considers America the land of the free.

One article describes the depth to which the democratic party is failing Americans and America in exchange for a more liberal/unAmerican America.
This article is written by Dennis Prager, an American Jew who is very much respected by many, Jew and non-Jew alike, for defending Judeo-Christian values in America.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=34492

The other articles I read off of various media pulications (MSNBC, Yahoo news etc) on what is scary about where the American administration, (Republican administration under Bush), is taking America with the US Patriot Act (and the steps that the administration wants to take to expand the government powers under this act, allowing more and more intrusive government authorities on personal information and activities - erasing little by little the privacy that Americans think they cherish).
http://www.msnbc.com/news/963214.asp
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/02/16/Columns/If_you_liked_Patriot_.shtml
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1802&ncid=1802&e=2&u=/washpost/20030909/ts_washpost/a45434_2003sep8

Each article alone might not sound so scary, but reading them together paints a scary picture about the direction that the USA is heading.

Personally, it is quite scary to see America moving in both of these directions. To me these two different "programs " are a sign of the fragile state that the USA is in right now, and a road map (sorry for using this now cursed term) to the direction that the USA is heading.

There are many, many Americans active in fighting against one or both of the above "programs", trying to stop the dangerous slide the USA is falling into (i.e. a liberal un-American America and a police state), but momentum is not on their side. On the one hand the fear of terror is allowing the Bush administration to gain more and more federal powers, to the detriment of the citizens privacy, and on the other hand, the liberalness of America is growing and expanding as we speak - making America less and less the melting pot it used to be and more and more a free for all country where anyone can do anything, and where citizenship doesn't even matter! It is hard to see either of these "programs" come to a halt and reverse themselves.

On the one hand I fear for the changes that America is going through, because America has been very, very good for the Jews and it has been a light unto the nations in many ways. However, I do not believe either of the above mentioned "programs" are good for Americans or for Americans Jews and ultimately they both will change America into a much scarier place to live. I'm more scared for Ameica's future than hopeful. I see these "programs" as a strong sign that is becoming stronger and stronger, a red flag, so-to-speak, for American Jews to leave the USA and come home to Israel. Here we have plenty of other problems and issues that are scary, but at least Israel is our homeland, where in one shape or form, we are impacted by living here in very positive ways.

Kansas is no longer the home Dorothy felt comfortable in - the USA is changing in very scary ways and there truly is no place like home, and that true home is in Israel.

May Hashem look after all of us on this blessed earth that he created, especially in todays topsy turvy world filled with terrorism and hypocrisy, and may we look after ourselves by accepting the scary reality around us and acting accordingly, instead of ignoring it and living life as usual - even though the reality is staring us right in the face.

Israel

I don't have optomistic thoughts on where the world is leading our puppet leaders with regards to the future of the State of Israel. Even though it is scary, it ultimately doesn't bother me, because hakol biday shamayim chutz m'yirat shamayim, and ultimately, everything will end up good. Good for Am Yisrael and for Eretz Yisrael. We still will probably have some very painful bumps in the years ahead, but ultimately, Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael will come out whole (whatever that means). I can't see how we will get there, but that's why I have faith in the one above and that is why I'm active in trying to bring to that future good about and not passive. But for now, the ikar for me is living and growing as a Jew and as a person in this special land we Jews call our inheritance and our homeland. May we take the steps to earn this inheritance and keep it!

With Teshuva, Tzedakah and Tefilah may we all be redeemed.
Elul Tov.
Avi

Great News amongst an Ugly Reality

We finally named our new born son.....Itai Yisrael.

The meaning:
"Itai"
1. One of King David's warriors
2. Hebrew word for friendly/compasion

"Yisrael" - named after my great-uncle Irving who was a gem of a human being - caring, sweet, gentle, friendly and loved by all.

May our Itai Yisrael grow up and develop the wonderful attributes that made my great-uncle Irving the wonderful person that he was.

At the brit I mentioned that Itai's bar Mitzvah parsha is parshat shelach and one major lesson I hoped he would internalize from that parsha is the lesson not to say dibah (the sin of the spies is that they spoke "dibah", or complained, about the land of Israel).

Just focusing on the bad and complaining is not good for one's personal development and not good for one's spiritual development. Rather, the world before us is imperfect, our own people (Am Yisrael) is imperfect and the land of Israel is imperfect, IN ORDER FOR US TO WORK TOWARDS MAKING THINGS BETTER. To focus on the bad, to complain about people, Am Yisrael, or Eretz Yisrael, regardless if it is true or not, means taking oneself out of being actively involved in improving the situation.

Am Yisrael has its problems, but instead of complaining about it, do something about it.

Eretz Yisrael has its problems, but instead of complaining about it, come here and do something about it.

So my bracha to our little Itai is that he hold on to his emunah in Hashem and dedicate himself to deal with the problems and challenges facing Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael instead of running away from the issues and only complaining about them.

That is the good news.

The ugly reality is that the Israeli Prime Minister together with the Bush administration have recently taken concrete steps that will endanger the whole state of Israel in the coming weeks or months ahead. The question isn't IF the palestinians will use terrorism again but WHEN they will begin to use terrorism again? (even the first question is a stupid thought considering that terrorism is still going on, and wasn't totally stopped - a continuation of the successful palestinain game they play with international politics)

However, even with this ugly reality, we, in Israel, will continue to have children, continue to build and move into communities all over Israel, including YESHA, and continue to act upon our beliefs that will ultimately bring about true peace to Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael - regardless of the dangerous games that the politicians play with our lives.

We will not stop and complain, rather we will continue to do what we are supposed to do; and that is the type of life we bless our children to take upon themselves as well.

L'taken Olam B'malchut Shakai,
Avi

A Response to a Road Map Related Issue

I always look foward to your responses, and this time you did not disappoint me. As with all of your responses, your words ring true, very true. And they hurt like hell, because you say it like it is.

You picked up on the one piece of information that I purposefully left out of my email and that is, even though G-d works in strange ways, filling in for our weakness as a people, the price we will continue to pay for our weakness is with our own lives.

I do not know if you heard but upon hearing that the approval of the road map was final, Minister Uzi Landau said something to the effect of "The Jews also led themselves to be slaughtered in the Holocaust", commenting that we, as a people, have throughout history had the power to willingly bring about our own destruction. It was true then and it is once again true now.

However, you raise the question why Israeli Jews or Efrat Jews aren't in the streets protesting. How can it be that we oursleves are allowing this to happen. Well, in my opinion there are a number of reasons for this.

1. Israelis have learnt that Israel is not goverend by a democracy, it is governed by an autocracy. A Prime Minister can do whatever the hell he wants, without even consent of his own fellow party parliramentarians!
2. Israelis have so many economic woes just trying to make ends meet, they have no time or luxury to protest, which in anycase makes little to no difference on the decision makers.
3. Israelis are tired. They just went through 10 years of illusions and tragedy and they just want it over. Even though many people think the road map is bad, they secretly hope that it will help.

But do not be decieved. Even though the above analysis describes the masses, there are a number of people who are working for a revolution. But, like any revolution, it takes time to develop the infrastructure for the revolution to succeed. Because a revolution is based upon public support and as long as the masses remain indifferent, the revolution won't go anywhere. But it will happen.

I'm both an eternal optomist and a realist. Though the current situation pains me to no end, to know that Jews will continue to be killed, with our own "consent" to another useless political plan to reward the terrorists. I know that sometime soon- definately not soon enough - this geopolitical game of rewarding terrorists will come to an end, and a political revolution in Israel will take shape.

Again, my perspective is that, even though we the Jews, aren't doing enough to bring about our own salvation from this geopolitical mess, G-d, in his strange ways, will bring it about through occurences that to our untrained eyes will look totally natural.

Until better days,
Avi

The Road Map - What We Can Learn From it?

Well friends, it is official, the first Israeli government in history has officially accepted the political establishment of a Palestinian state. Not only that, but it is a right wing government to boot! Go figure.

Well, I'm not surprised and I'm not worried about our future either and I will tell you why.

THE lesson that I have learnt from this whole peace process is that G-d works in strange ways. That, in my eyes, says it all.

So what, ANOTHER Israeli government has just approved ANOTHER plan to AGAIN reward the Arab terrorists who terrorize us, in the name of some made up nation called the Palestinians.

That says it all. We have enough proof of the past 10 years to know that promoting plans that reward the Arab terrorism doesn't entice them to stop, it actually entices them to continue.

We had Oslo.....we had terrorism.
We had Camp David....we had terrorism.
We had Tenet, Mitchell, Zinni.....we had terrorism.
Why should we think that now it will be any different with the Road Map? Whoever thinks that it will be different is relying on the same false sense of hope that Oslo brought us. Well, wake up already - start using well based facts, history and your own logic, not false feelings of hope.

No, in my eyes, there never will be a Palestinian state, so we do not have to worry. Not because us Jews didn't try our best to give them one on a silver platter, but because the truth is that they don't want a Palestinian State. What they really want is to get rid of the Jews. Only with that subtle difference can we explain the perceived irrationalities of the Palestinians. Abba Eban is quoted as saying about the Palestinians that "they always take advantage of the opportunity to miss the opportunities given to them". Well, to our naive thinking yes, they are missing every opportunity possible to have their own state, but to them, they are not missing any opportunities, because they are not fighting for a state, they are fighting to get rid of us, and so far they are the ones who have continuously had full/partial backing from the world to continue their "struggle" against us, regardless of all the good faith deals we were/are willing to make with them.

So, what is my conclusion?
My conclusion is that the Arabs themselves will deny themselves the existence of their own 28th (I think) state in the Middle East because they can't stop themselves from killing us. Plain and simple.

That is G-d's strange way of working. Even though we the Jews don't have enough strength to stand up to the world and fight for our rights to live in our WHOLE homeland, which is g-d given even in the words of the Koran. It will end up happening because the Arabs just won't give up their fight until they lose it all.

So, the road map is just another rung on the ladder to prove to all of us that no matter what "political horizon" the Arabs have, they will never give up their real fight, which is not for another Arab state, but really a fight against the Jews.

Think I'm off my rocker? Well, don't believe me now, but 5,10,15 years down the line, come visit me for coffee in Jewish Beit Lechem, the urban suburb of Efrat, and tell me how right I was.

Avi

Long Overdue Update

Chag kasher V'sameach to all,

The other "big" change in our life is that we bought an apartment!! Yup, we now own a piece of property in Eretz Yisrael! It is very exciting. It is one thing to live in Israel and it is another thing to own real estate in Israel, but the biggest zechut is to live in Israel in your own real estate!! So, B"H, we are blessed to be in the midst of preparing for our upcoming move to our new apartment in Efrat up the block from where we are currently renting.

Chutz me ze, it is wonderful being in Israel for our second straight Peseach in a row. It is hard to believe that we have already been in Israel for a year, wow!

This Pesach was a very deep one for Am Yisrael and the world. As a world, we all saw a type of "Slavery to Freedom" story unfold right before our eyes in prime time television (Iraq) and as a jewish people we got to all internalize and understand the famous Hagaddah saying that in every generation there is a people that wants to destroy the Jewish people (The Palestinians).

Personally, as a child growing up, I always read that line in the Hagaddah thinking of the Holocaust as my reference to the closest time to my life that the Jewish people ever tried to be destroyed. But I never thought it would happen again. "Never Again" was the saying repeated time and time again by jew and non-jew alike. Never again would jew or non-jew, the world over, allow innocent jews to be killed for no reason other than being jews. Well, my time of innocence has ended. Has yours? Many jews and non-jews alike stood by (and continue to stand by) excusing the killings of jews/israelis by the palestinians. Ad ma-tie?

When will we, the Jewish people, learn to stop putting our faith in governments, people and written agrrements with signatures and start putting our faith in the only rightful place - HKB"H - and in our own deeds/actions that can make a difference?

Until then, may we all strive to improve ourselves - our deeds, our thoughts, our words, our faith - and may we all return to our homeland soon.

Chag kasher V'sameach!

Avi

An Idea to Help Bring About a True Peace in the Middle East

THE IDEA

My idea is to consistently and forcefully promote a diplomatic plan that calls upon the world leaders (United Nations, United States and Europe) to work with the Arab Countries (that attacked Israel in the Independence War) to resettle the Palestinian Arab refugees because they have direct blame for them becoming refugees.

The reason I think this diplomatic idea is a good one is because it:

1. Allows the Leumi camp to alter the issues being discussed about the conflict

2. Places the responsibility for the Middle East conflict on the Arab countries

3. Allows the true reasons for the Middle East conflict to come to the fore

4. Allows the public (world, Jewish, especially Israeli public who sway Israeli public opinion) to begin to question the validity of the accepted solution (A Palestinian State)

5. Places the Leumi camp in a positive light with a positive diplomatic plan

This is different than a diplomatic plan for Transfer, because even the idea of transfer, coming from us, means that we take responsibility for the Palestinians. The idea that I propose diplomatically takes the responsibility of dealing with the refugees away from us and puts it where it belongs – with the Arab countries.

WHY THIS IS A GOOD IDEA

Fact – ‘No to a Palestinian State’ did not work in the elections. (Much of the public has already accepted this as a fait accompli – they just want to end the matzav).

Fact – The real war behind the Oslo war is the war over the facts of the Middle East conflict.

Fact - As of now we have LOST the war over the facts almost totally – the world and most of the Jewish/Israeli people have accepted the version of the conflict that the Arabs created. (Even if they haven’t accepted the version of the conflict, they have accepted the solution of a Palestinian State, i.e. Donald Rumsfeld.

Fact – Nobody speaks about or deals with the historic reasons behind the conflict. (A Palestinian State is the accepted solution to the issue).

Also, now that the Arab world is the “sights” of the world community, and not immune to criticism, I think this is the opportune time to promote such as idea.

I would really like to hear your feedback and advice about what I wrote as well as advice on how to bring this idea before the right wing camp in general.

Thank you in advance for your help.

I have already prepared an online petition to help promote this idea that I put it up on the web two days ago. Any advice you can give me on publicizing the petition would be helpful as well.

The online petition can be found at:

http://www.petitiononline.com/justice9/petition.html

I put time and effort into this idea because I can’t sit idly by watching the facts of the situation become irrelevant and our horrible matzav contine. I believe that as long as the real reasons behind the conflict are not dealt with, our matzav will continue. I would really appreciate any help you can give me on this. Thanks again.

Avi Abelow

In Response to the Question - What is a Moderate?

Take the settler/religious/non-religious sectors out of this discussion. It has nothing to do with sectors of people and everything to do with one whom acts/thinks moderately regarding today's matzav.

What is a moderate? you ask.

Here is my definition:

A moderate is one who has accepted the "reality of the Israeli/Palestinian situation" as the liberal world has created it to be (pushed by many years of disinformation by the Arab world) and has adjusted his/her opinions of what we should do according to that mis-reading of reality. The point is that when you try to solve a problem that does not represent the true problem, the solution that you implement just won't work!

A moderate is a Jew, any Jew, who thinks that it is ok for negotiations with our enemies to involve negotiations over parts of the Land of Israel, believing that any such negotiations will really solve the issues of the Middle East (hence the real issue - and not the Israel/Palestinian issue).

A moderate is one who disagrees with the fact that the negotiations with our enemies should START off at the point that the Land of Israel belonging to the Jewish people is an indisputable fact that is NOT negotiable and that any negotiations must start with how the WORLD, including the Arab world, will help solve the Palestinian refugee issue. That is the real issue at stake that has everything to do with the Arab world and world powers.

In closing, a moderate is a Jew, any Jew, who thinks that he/she believes that by being pragmatic he/she is working towards the betterment of Am Yisrael in Eretz Yisrael.

That is my opinion and you are more than welcome to disagree with me.

Regarding the one unpleasant fact you mentioned, all I have to say is that regardless of that issue, we should be screaming at the top of our lungs the above argument. So long as we don't, and the longer it takes us to do it, the longer our situation will continue.

Regardless, in my world view, even if the worse case scenario comes about and we ourselves give away parts of the Land of Israel, our conflict will not end, it will only continue, thanks to the stupidity of our cousins who will never stop their crusade against us. That means, that one day, we will end up in all of Eretz Yisrael once again.

So, what situation do we want? a situation where we are forced to leave in order to return once again, with many more years of pain, anguish and mourning?

Or a situation where we try to end the lies of today's reality once and for all and stand up for ourselves as we should, right now.

Avi

The Myth of the Moderate Religious Settler

I have always tried my best to portray myself as the moderate religious settler, in effect trying to blunt the "damage" the more extreme settlers have on all of us; Explaining my beliefs together with pragmatic reasoning (which obviously toned down the _expression of my true beliefs) to garner some understanding, if not agreement, with the people who I communicated with.

However, today's two year matzav has clarified quite a lot for me, and one of the most important lessons of them all is that our horrible matzav continues, and will continue, so long as we, Jews/Israelis, don't admit to ourselves and to the rest of the world what we truly believe in, which is that Eretz Yisrael is the land of the Jewish people, period - whoever can accept that and live peacefully with us, great let's live in harmony, whoever can't accept that and acts accordingly will have to face extremely stiff consequeces. Once this is accepted, all the specifc issues can be resolved, but as long as we ourselves don't wholeheartedly scream the above message out loud, we will continue to pay for our silence.

For good or for bad, the above argument is totally based on faith and belief, and flies in the face of the pragmatic liberal world we live in. (Even though I believe that the pragmatic liberal - pascifist ideology flies in the face of true reality and pragmatism.)

So, I'm left with believeing that I no longer should portray myself as a moderate religious settler, because I'm not, and the longer we, as a community, continue to delude ourselves that such a thing exists, by hiding behind the true belief of our own religion, the longer we contribute to our horrible matzav to continue.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Avi

Israeli Democracy?

***I write the following harsh words about Israeli democracy because I believe that true change can only come about when we, en mass, start saying the naked truth about the situation loud and clear. Otherwise, we continue to play according to the rules of the undemocratic ruling elite. ***



Israel’s Democracy Must Be Changed!!



Yitzchak Rabin was quoted as saying that he had to try the Oslo accords because Israel couldn’t fight the Arabs anymore because of the Israeli Supreme Court.



Today we were provided further proof of that unfortunate fact.



The decisions made today in the Supreme Court allowing Tibi and Bashara to run for the Knesset had nothing to do with the law and everything to do with executing a particular ideology, (an immoral-European one, I might add, that appeases the ruthless, and directly & indirectly hurts the innocent).



As the symbol and executor of “authentic” Israeli Democracy, the Supreme Court further provided proof for me that this type of democracy must be changed.



My vote will go to the political party that earnestly and constantly communicates the messages below loud and clear to the Israeli public:



**Israel’s laws of democratic conduct must be changed.

**It is undemocratic for Supreme Court Judges to pick fellow Judges.

**A vote for Labor/Mitzna is a vote for politicians who support enemies of Israel to sit in the Knesset.

**We can’t totally win the war against the West Bank/Gaza Arabs and their Israeli Arab supporters if our own Supreme Court continues to take steps to defend their undisputed evil words and actions.



Following Rabin’s logic we should act towards changing Israel’s Supreme Court/laws of Democracy so that we can be allowed to win the war against the Arabs. We can not continue the dangerous Oslo path of land for peace towards more bloodshed.



Food for thought:



What is more immoral?

Expelling an Arab (Israeli, West Bank/Gazan) that supports the enemies of Israel and/or the killing of Israelis
OR

Allowing the bloodshed of innocent Israelis to continue.


I believe that it is time we use our true Jewish Kup and not our Jewish-galut kup.



No, this is not the only challenge that we face in fighting out enemies, but this is one thing that we have the power to change if we start telling ourselves and the public the truth.

Here are my thoughts on today’s situation in Israel

The So-called Reality
First of all, I’m totally against a Palestinian state and it disturbs me greatly to hear that the leader of the Likud party, Arik Sharon, no less, is now talking about an eventual State for our terrorist supporting cousins. However, if a so-called terrorist State is inevitable, I much prefer the Likud to work towards that agreement than the Labor and Left, who have proven themselves to be way past delusional.

That’s what I have to say with regards to how “other” people interpret the “reality of the situation”.

The Truth About Reality
Now I want to awaken people to the true reality of today’s situation. The Arab world in general, and the Palestinians in particular have showed us, in no uncertain terms, that they want to rid Israel of the Jewish people and they want to get rid of Israel. That is the painful reality, and whoever denies this well proved fact, is himself/herself in denial.

The Conclusion
Therefore, any State given over to the Arabs as a prize for their terror is and will be a prelude to a continued and prolonged fight to destroy the State of Israel. Any “realist” who denies this is in deep, deep denial and I feel very bad for them.
Any signed papers of security agreements that try to ensure the security of the State of Israel from a State of terrorists, will be disregarded, as all other signed agreements we have made so far with the terrorists. (Another reality that “realists” tend to forget when promoting dialogue with/a State for the terrorists.)

This Part Hurts The Most
Now I will turn to the topic that hurts me the most about this whole issue. As a G-d fearing Jew, I try to limit my thoughts concerned with “the reality of a situation”. I have come to believe that any argument that the word “reality” is used, is a tool of the rationalists in this world to convince the rest of us that our beliefs are wrong. Before WWII, “reality” did not convince the world that a Holocaust was about to occur. During WWII, “reality” didn’t convince the world that a Holocaust was occurring. During and after WWII , “reality” didn’t convince the world to help Jews get to the land of Palestine. After WWII, “reality” didn’t convince the Jews that they the UN would declare the State of Israel. During the pogroms of Europe “reality” didn’t convince the Jews that one day they would have a State of their own. During the Golden Age of Spain “reality” didn’t convince the Jews that they were about to be force to convert or leave Spain. Etc. etc. etc……………..

There is A Greater Power Our There That We Are Supposed to Believe In
The argument of “reality” and rationalizing ones thoughts with rational reasoning regarding world events has been proved wrong again and again. And we the Jews know this the best. We know there is a greater power out there that guides the ways of the world, whether we like the results or not. We are SUPPOSED to believe that that greater power guides the ways of the world, regardless of what “the reality of the situation” is.

The Lesson
The personal lesson I learn from all this is that we, as G-d fearing Jews, are supposed to act according to our beliefs of what we believe is true and how we believe things should be and not according to the “reality of the situation”. Otherwise, we would not be Torah abiding Jews, making sure we abide by, sometimes, meticulous, Mitzvot that go against the rational explanation of human nature. Therefore, every G-d fearing Jew should be in total shock at today’s situation when he/she hears that a nationalistic leader of Israel might establish a State for terrorists.

The Clincher
According to our beliefs we are supposed to return to the Land of Israel and be
.לתקן עולם במלכות ש-די
This will only happen sooner rather than later, and I repeat, only happen (And I will explain why) if we do not help establish a State for Terrorists. Only by holding onto to the whole State of Israel will we be showing ourselves and the world that we stand up for our Jewish beliefs, which would be a gateway to establishing ourselves as an אור לגויים in every other capacity possible.

However, by giving into “reality”, the rationalists among us, the World and the Arabs into creating a State for terrorists on the Land of Israel, we will be showing the world and the Arabs that we lost our beliefs and we ourselves will be prolonging the conflict even longer until we will finally be able to be
.לתקן עולם במלכות ש-די

We Must Believe in God, Not in Reality
God works in strange ways and we must believe in G-d, not reality. That’s my motto, and I just wish other people would take upon that motto instead of the motto that says “rationalism” must be right because logic says so. Haven’t we lived long enough to know that that is just plain stupid?!!!

When will we G-d fearing Jews have the strength to stand by our beliefs and not let the rationalists of the world convince us otherwise? As we say in the Israli Army ….עד מתי??

Don’t Even try to Rebut
I already know the response I will receive to these thought – How can I say that we should ignore reality when the Rabbis themselves proved that we must take reality into account when they asked the Romans for Yavneh at the price of the destruction of Yerushalayim.
My answer to you is simple – there is no comparison. Israel today is in a very different position then it was then. And the geopolitical situation is very different. No comparison, so don’t even try.

The bottom line is not that we should ignore “reality”, rather that we should stand up for our beliefs, and not give up on them, while dealing with “reality”. There are plenty of forces out there in the world today who would stand by us if we stood up for ourselves based on our beliefs against a State for the terrorists. But why should they stand up for us when we ourselves sit back quietly and accept what the “rationalists” dictate to us? Why should they if we ourselves don’t?

Avi



Here is a fascinating article that appeared in the Jerusalem Post last week, READ IT…………


Truth for peace

Nov. 14, 2002

The only hope for peace is to compel the Arab world to give up its illegitimate weapons: terrorism and the denial of resettlement to Palestinian refugees
The United States, American presidents often remind us, is Israel's greatest friend in the world. This is certainly true, and the contrast between American sympathy and European hostility has only become clearer during the current conflict. But if the US is serious about promoting peace in the wake of the expected war in Iraq, it has to start doing something simple: the US must tell some basic truths that it knows, but does not state out of deference to Arab opinion.
Until now, America has been giving Israel protection from international pressure without challenging the false premises on which that pressure is based. By doing this, the US encourages Israel's enemies to hope that someday the US will stop protecting Israel. They can believe that the US support for Israel results from the "Jewish lobby" or other political considerations and contradicts the requirements of justice and peace, or international security.
West Europeans, Arabs, and Meretz regularly call on the US to become more involved in reaching a "solution" to the Israel-Arab conflict. They assume that if the US is more involved it will force Israel to accept an agreement more favorable to the Palestinians than the offers Israel made at Camp David and Taba. Presumably they believe that such an agreement would satisfy the Palestinians' just demands and preserve Israel's security as a democratic Jewish sovereign and therefore solve the conflict.
It is natural to assume, based on the traditional diplomatic discussion, that a major US peace effort would involve pressure on Israel to go beyond its previous offers. But that standard discussion is far removed from reality and cannot lead to peace.
A major component of a new approach that the US requires is to speak the truth to Arab governments - instead of diplomatically avoiding the truth in order to avoid offending them. There are two reasons for the US to switch to a revolutionary truth-telling policy: It is the best way to pursue peace. And it meets the needs of the current US fight against militant Islam.
The truths that the US have not been willing to say clearly to Arab governments include: Israel is a legitimate state based on law and justice.
The Jewish people have ancient roots in Palestine
The League of Nations established the international authority for a Jewish homeland in Palestine - and its decision was formally endorsed by the US and never superseded by the UN.
UN Security Council Resolution 242 does not require that Israel relinquish all territory acquired in 1967. Since 1967 Israel has stood ready to negotiate a division of the West Bank and Gaza as envisaged by Resolution 242.
Israel is not occupying Palestinian land. It is occupying disputed territory to which it has a substantial claim and which was never under Palestinian sovereignty, while trying in good faith to negotiate about the disposition of that land as required by Resolution 242.
Israeli neighborhoods and settlements in Jerusalem and the disputed territories are not illegal. Nor are they in violation of any Israeli agreement or understanding with the Palestinians (unlike many Palestinian "settlements" in the territories).
There are arguments for and against the separate position that new settlements, even though legal, made it more difficult to make peace. It is not clear whether the positions the US has taken against settlements represent a genuine judgment on the question or merely a diplomatic decision that disagreeing with the Arabs on this issue will hurt either US interests or the cause of peace.
Palestinian refugees do not have a "right of return." The Arab interpretation of UN General Assembly Resolution 194, which is the supposed source of this "right," is incorrect. They must be resettled like all other refugees in the world. Most Palestinian refugees should be on their way to permanent resettlement in Arab countries as a prelude to realistic peace negotiations.
Jerusalem as a city is central to Israel and to Judaism; it is primarily a negative concern for Muslims. Israel should not be expected to agree to any arrangement for Jerusalem that threatens its ability to continue to be a successful working city as it is today and the capital of Israel.
The claims and interests of Palestinians and Israel in Jerusalem are profoundly asymmetric; therefore reasonable agreements between the parties should not be expected to provide equality or symmetry between the rights of Israel and the rights of Palestine in Jerusalem. This does not speak to the question of whether there can or should be a Palestinian capital in Jerusalem, nor to the question of protection of Muslim interests in holy places.
The deliberate killings of innocent Israelis is terrorism. The Palestinian/Arab position that anything done to "resist occupation" is not terrorism cannot be accepted. This definition undercuts the fight against international terrorism.
The PLO is an organization that supports and harbors terrorists. Therefore although it also does other things, it is a terrorist organization.
Israel has been exercising its right to self-defense with remarkable restraint. There certainly are a large number of cases where Israelis made deadly mistakes or deliberately inflicted more harm on the Palestinians than necessary to pursue Israel's security requirements. But in comparison to the way any other Western democracy would act in response to such attacks, Israel has shown great concern, and taken great risks to avoid civilian casualties on the Palestinian side.
THE CURRENT approach is to attempt to achieve peace without publicly establishing any of these truths, which American diplomats would privately not deny, as a basis for diplomacy. The current approach cannot work, because it is based on an attempt to satisfy the Arab world, without confronting the Arab belief that Israel's very existence is unjust and essentially illegal.
If the Arab world succeeds in fooling or pressuring the US and Europe to impose an agreement on Israel, there will not be peace, because they will believe that they can use the same measures to take the next step to destroying Israel. (Just as Hizbullah's success in inducing Israel to leave southern Lebanon convinced Yasser Arafat that similar measures would induce Israel to leave the West Bank and Gaza.)
The result of an imposed agreement will be more war, in more difficult circumstances for Israel, quite possibly requiring Israel to be less constrained than it is today.
The only hope of peace is to go in the opposite direction: to help the Arabs to recognize that Israel cannot be removed, and compel them to give up their main weapons, which are terrorism and the cruel denial of resettlement opportunity to Palestinian refugees, because both weapons are illegitimate and stand in the way of peace.
Fundamental peace obviously requires that the Arab states and the Palestinians accept Israel's presence as a Jewish state in the region. This suggests that a policy intended to achieve peace should be designed to induce the Arab states to change their current position. And a big step in this direction is for the US to state the facts that Israel's enemies refuse to recognize.
Instead, the US has been following the theory that either the Arab states really do accept Israel now, or that they would do so if Israel only retreated to the 1967 borders and made an accommodation on Arab refugees that would save face for the PLO and the Arab countries.
While perhaps there was some chance in 1992 that this policy might have worked - although even then there was much evidence that this was wishful thinking - it is now clear that playing along with the pretenses of Arafat and some Arab states set back the cause of peace. But this failed policy had the "advantage" of allowing the US to avoid challenges to the assumptions of the Arab states and their supporters, including much Western European diplomacy and opinion.
Now the "advantage" of avoiding the need to contradict Arab governments has become a disadvantage, because now the US needs to demonstrate its power over the Arab countries and the hopelessness of violent Muslim challenges to US power. To fight international terror, the US must show that it cannot be fooled or pressured into accepting false or illegitimate Arab positions. In particular, the US has to demonstrate that it is willing to confront Arab governments that use lies or special definitions to deny that they harbor or support terrorists.
Until Saddam Hussein is removed there is no way that the US can convince Arab governments that they have to pay attention to US unhappiness with their continuing support for terrorists. If Saddam can get away with what he does they can get away with diddling the US about terrorists.
When Saddam is removed there will be a new page in regional political calculations and the US will have a chance to show that it will do what must be done to protect itself and others from international terrorism.
The argument will be made - by the US State Department among others - that after its show of power in Iraq, the US should balance its strong demands on Arab countries to stop harboring terrorists by continuing to accommodate their views on Israel. Some may even argue that to make up for the insult of overthrowing Saddam, the US should avoid pushing too strongly against continued Arab protection of terrorist organizations.
These arguments should be rejected because they misunderstand Arab politics and society. Telling the Arabs the truth about their conflict with Israel will be a twofer. It is the beginning of a realistic pursuit of peace, and it shows that the US has the understanding and the will to eliminate governmental support for international terrorists.
The writer is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies of Bar-Ilan University.

My Thoughts on Today's Reality


The So-called Reality
First of all, I’m totally against a Palestinian state and it disturbs me greatly to hear that the leader of the Likud party, Arik Sharon, no less, is now talking about an eventual State for our terrorist supporting cousins. However, if a so-called terrorist State is inevitable, I much prefer the Likud to work towards that agreement than the Labor and Left, who have proven themselves to be way past delusional.



That’s what I have to say with regards to how “other” people interpret the “reality of the situation”.



The Truth About Reality
Now I want to awaken people to the true reality of today’s situation. The Arab world in general, and the Palestinians in particular have showed us, in no uncertain terms, that they want to rid Israel of the Jewish people and they want to get rid of Israel. That is the painful reality, and whoever denies this well proved fact, is himself/herself in denial.



The Conclusion
Therefore, any State given over to the Arabs as a prize for their terror is and will be a prelude to a continued and prolonged fight to destroy the State of Israel. Any “realist” who denies this is in deep, deep denial and I feel very bad for them.

Any signed papers of security agreements that try to ensure the security of the State of Israel from a State of terrorists, will be disregarded, as all other signed agreements we have made so far with the terrorists. (Another reality that “realists” tend to forget when promoting dialogue with/a State for the terrorists.)



This Part Hurts The Most
Now I will turn to the topic that hurts me the most about this whole issue. As a G-d fearing Jew, I try to limit my thoughts concerned with “the reality of a situation”. I have come to believe that any argument that the word “reality” is used, is a tool of the rationalists in this world to convince the rest of us that our beliefs are wrong. Before WWII, “reality” did not convince the world that a Holocaust was about to occur. During WWII, “reality” didn’t convince the world that a Holocaust was occurring. During and after WWII , “reality” didn’t convince the world to help Jews get to the land of Palestine. After WWII, “reality” didn’t convince the Jews that they the UN would declare the State of Israel. During the pogroms of Europe “reality” didn’t convince the Jews that one day they would have a State of their own. During the Golden Age of Spain “reality” didn’t convince the Jews that they were about to be force to convert or leave Spain. Etc. etc. etc……………..



There is A Greater Power Our There That We Are Supposed to Believe In

The argument of “reality” and rationalizing ones thoughts with rational reasoning regarding world events has been proved wrong again and again. And we the Jews know this the best. We know there is a greater power out there that guides the ways of the world, whether we like the results or not. We are SUPPOSED to believe that that greater power guides the ways of the world, regardless of what “the reality of the situation” is.



The Lesson
The personal lesson I learn from all this is that we, as G-d fearing Jews, are supposed to act according to our beliefs of what we believe is true and how we believe things should be and not according to the “reality of the situation”. Otherwise, we would not be Torah abiding Jews, making sure we abide by, sometimes, meticulous, Mitzvot that go against the rational explanation of human nature. Therefore, every G-d fearing Jew should be in total shock at today’s situation when he/she hears that a nationalistic leader of Israel might establish a State for terrorists.



The Clincher
According to our beliefs we are supposed to return to the Land of Israel and be

.לתקן עולם במלכות ש-די
This will only happen sooner rather than later, and I repeat, only happen (And I will explain why) if we do not help establish a State for Terrorists. Only by holding onto to the whole State of Israel will we be showing ourselves and the world that we stand up for our Jewish beliefs, which would be a gateway to establishing ourselves as an אור לגויים in every other capacity possible.



However, by giving into “reality”, the rationalists among us, the World and the Arabs into creating a State for terrorists on the Land of Israel, we will be showing the world and the Arabs that we lost our beliefs and we ourselves will be prolonging the conflict even longer until we will finally be able to be

.לתקן עולם במלכות ש-די



We Must Believe in God, Not in Reality
God works in strange ways and we must believe in G-d, not reality. That’s my motto, and I just wish other people would take upon that motto instead of the motto that says “rationalism” must be right because logic says so. Haven’t we lived long enough to know that that is just plain stupid?!!!



When will we G-d fearing Jews have the strength to stand by our beliefs and not let the rationalists of the world convince us otherwise? As we say in the Israli Army ….עד מתי??



Don’t Even try to Rebut

I already know the response I will receive to these thought – How can I say that we should ignore reality when the Rabbis themselves proved that we must take reality into account when they asked the Romans for Yavneh at the price of the destruction of Yerushalayim.

My answer to you is simple – there is no comparison. Israel today is in a very different position then it was then. And the geopolitical situation is very different. No comparison, so don’t even try.



The bottom line is not that we should ignore “reality”, rather that we should stand up for our beliefs, and not give up on them, while dealing with “reality”. There are plenty of forces out there in the world today who would stand by us if we stood up for ourselves based on our beliefs against a State for the terrorists. But why should they stand up for us when we ourselves sit back quietly and accept what the “rationalists” dictate to us? Why should they if we ourselves don’t?



Avi

Chanukah Update

Chanukuh is just around the corner and we are now in Israel for almost 8 months!! It is unbelievable how time flys by so quickly.

Thank God we are all doing well. Rachel has already participated in 8 (I think) performances of Esther, with more on the way. She has been great with a lot of rave reviews. Check out this link to see pictures from the performances http://www.theesthershow.com/images.asp?Action=View

As for Yakir, he is unbelievable. I was lucky enough to have lots of time lately to spend with him. THis past week I was home sick for two days, so I had a lot of play time with him (I wasn't contagious). And last month I was in miluyim. Although it sounds like a paradox to have lots of time with him while I was in miluyim, what I mean is that during miluyim (that lasted the whole month of October) I had two leaves home each for 3 days and during those days that I was home I had a lot of play time with Yakir. I cherish those moments greatly, because when I'm at work, I really only get to see him on Friday and Shabbat, unfortunately. Anyway, he is really doing wonderfully. This past Friday he was "The Abba shel Shabat" for the shabbat party in Gan. He came home with this big sticker on his shirt that said "Abba shel Shabbat", it was very cute.

As for miluyim, B"H my whole unit returned home safely. I have to admit that even though there were some scary moments, over all I'm glad that I was able to partake in miluyim again. First of all, I have the opportunity to reconnect with a lot of old Israeli friends of mine who I served in the army with. But more than that, I got to feel that I was doing my part for Israel in today's ludicruis situation........

Talking about ludicruis situations, we are now in election season in Israel!! All I have to say about that is 'Hakol biday Shamyim chutz m'yirat Shamayim'. In the end we will elect whomever we will elect and regardless of who it is (Likud too) the sham peace process will somehow continue. However, I firmly believe that with all the idiotic geopolitics and anti-semitism, we will somehow come out on top. In today's new world of global terrorism, I have a hard time believing any sham "peace agreement" will ever happen. But, that won't stop our Israei politicians and the good intentioned White House with pressure from the misdirected State Department from pushing for it in anycase.

All we need is to hold on to a little emunah, and one day, I don't know when, but one day, this matzav i nIsrael will be over, B"H.

But, with it all, there is no place like Israel. This Chanukah will be our first family Chanukah in Israel, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world to celebrate.

Chodesh Tov,

Avi

Israel Today - Pre-elections



I do not agree with many things that Sharon has done to handle the current situation, actually it is more that I do not agree with many things he hasn't done or hasn't done enough of. However,I do believe he has done a good job changing the way the public discourse and expectations should be with the "Matzav", and he has done a fantastic job at almost destroying Arafat and the PA, but it still is not enough, not by far, (hence the almost). For all his retoric that the Oslo accords are dead, he is still playing the diplomatic game according to the 'spirit' of the Oslo accords, thanks to his own weak spine in not standing up enough to Bush, the most sympathetic President to Israel in this Middle East crisis.

However, I do not want him to be the next Prime Mininster of Isreal come election time, even though he probably will be. Why? Because, even with his history of championing the right, he is still a Mapainik, who will sell Israel short in a phony peace deal in the next few years.

Now, where does that leave me, the Israeli voter, someone who is just as right wing as you? Who do I vote for in the next elections?

Sharon is the most successful right wing prime minister, and the most accepted by the Nation, yet I already voiced my concern with him. Netanyahu is a proven failure as a Prime Minister, proven to be a leader without a spine to stand up to pressure. At least Sharon has stood up to pressure, unlike Bibi. That's it, those are the two options for the next Prime Minister of Israel, and neither of them will stand up to the world against a Palestinian State.

So how do we behave? How are we supposed to hold onto the optimistic thought that the Palestinians won't destroy us, that they won't get a State, that we won't have to evacuate Yesha?

How are we supposed to act knowing that no current Israeli political leader will be able to stand up to the world and the US in not allowing the Palestinians to get a State of their own on our land? Honestly, I ask you, how?

First of all, I have a deep belief that Hashem works in strange ways, and the above scenarios won't end up coming to fruition, against all the efforts of world leaders, including the efforts of Bush, and all Israeli leaders. Just look at what's going on today in the Middle East and the world. World terrorism is growing, whether at the hands of Al Qaida or others. A war with Iraq is almost definate, and a war between Israel and Lebanon/Hizballah/Syria/Iran (if not others) is almost definite (due to the water issue), just postponed due to the Iraq issue. Basically, if you ask me, the Middle East and the world is a powder keg that is waiting to burst in many places, not just in the Middle East. Even though the Palestinian issue is big news today, and probably will stay big, with the culmination of all the above issues, it will suddenly lose some of its importance and some of its world support. I therefore think, due to natural/godly occurences, a Palestinian state will not come about.

However, I do not rely on this belief alone. I'm a firm believer that G-d helps those that help themselvs, and faith alone is not enough, it needs action to back it up.

I therefore come to the biggest problem of all in Israel - the political system and the polticians. I'm a big follower of Moshe Fieglin's Manhigut Yehudit faction within the Likud, because it's aim is to infuse the Israeli political system with people who will lead Israel based on the belief that Israel is not a nation like any other, but rather a nation that is proud to be different, not better, but different. In a nutshell its aim is to transform israel with a true Jewish leadership that makes policies based on Jewish values, and not based on pure political greed, self-interest groups and pressure.

Change takes time. A revolution takes longer. I believe that with Manhigut Yehudit will succeed in revolutionizing the Israeli polical system, but it will take time.

Currently, the biggest enemy of Israel is the fabricated story of the Israel/Palestinain conflict that is accepted by the world and perpetuated by the media.

Until that version is changed, and the true facts are perpetuated by the political leaders and the media, I have to fight using arguments that they can accept. I therefore I sent out the article below. Even though I totally agree with your thoughts below. May the day come soon when people will laugh at such an article as superfluous, as it should be.

Kol Tuv,

Avi Abelow

A Tribute to JJ

I went to a funeral today, the funeral of JJ Greenberg.
Many of you might not have known JJ. I actually didn’t know JJ well, but the amazing thing about JJ is that one only had to meet him once, for a second to feel a bond with him and know how much of aspecial person he was. He was just that type of person, not one comes by too often. As his sister mentioned at the hesped, JJ was a a really cool Jew, who felt 100% comfortable who he was, and proud of it. More than that, JJ was a person who sucked the marrow out of life. There are many things I can learn from JJ, and I hope I put some of those lessons into practice.

For now I just wanted to pay tribute to JJ, and everyone else whose life was taken from them, whether by road accidents, terrorism or anything. My tribute to them all is to love life and to love living. I try to live by that and I’m sure JJ would agree with me.

Gemar Tov to all,

Avi

How Much Longer


As you all know by now, more Jews were killed today for being Jews. More Jewish children had their lives taken away from them..... because people in the world today are STUPID!!!

Stupid for thinking that logical, rational thinking will solve our problems with Palestinian terrorists.

Stupid for STILL thinking that any concession Israel would make would help bring peace to our region.

Stupid for thinking that the Palestinians deserve a state (even though they use terrorist actions and despite historical facts vs. myths of teh Middle East)

Stupid for thinking that terror and terrorists can be appeased.

Stupid for denying that what's going on today in Israel is due to pure hatred, hatred and more hatred, and has nothing to do with territorial claims! (hence, a hint to what the soluition should and should not be)

Stupid for swallowing hook, line and sinker the Arab propoganda that has become fact in today's international media and political circles.

How many more Jews have to die until world Jews and non-Jews alike awake from their slumbering stupidity???

I ask you HOW MUCH LONGER????

As we wait, here is a worthy article for all to read, especailly President Bush, Colin Powell and the whole American administration (because they are about to show us how much they take our cousin's opinions into consideration, even though many of them know what's really going on and what really should happen).

When will all people (jews, non-Jews et al) call a spade a spade, stand up to the hypocrisy of today's Western doplomacy with Arab countries and let us Jews in Israel live in peace and quiet (with or without a stupid piece of paper that says "peace", that will eventually be broken anyway by our cousins) without having to make everyone else happy by causing our own self-destruction?? I know the answer is never, but I at least have to scream about this hypocrisy once in a while because many of us still don't get it, unfortunately. When will logical, rational people realize that logic won't solve the problems of Israel and the Arabs?

With faith for a better future,

Avi



http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20020617-68280324.htm

Ramallah rabble-rouser


Clifford D. May

Twenty-one years ago, Karam Zohdy, leader of the Islamic Group, Egypt's largest terrorist organization, ordered the assassination of then-president Anwar Sadat. From his prison cell, Zohdy recently explained to Ben Barber, a reporter for The Washington Times, why he did it.
"We made the decision because some Islamists were arrested, and he made peace with Israel. We were young and frustrated."
Chances are that Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat doesn't have a subscription to The Times. But chances are he has long known why Mr. Sadat was gunned down and by whom.
And so the question should arise: Why would Mr. Arafat seriously attempt to arrest Islamic terrorists? Why would he make peace with Israel?
After all, there are still quite a few "young and frustrated" Islamists hanging around Ramallah, the Middle East and the world at large. Mr. Arafat may encourage Palestinian adolescents to become suicide terrorists. His wife may tell reporters taking tea at her Paris home that if she had a son, she'd be proud to have him detonate his explosives belt amid a crowd of Israeli children. But Mr. Arafat has always been very keen on his own survival and, therefore, we should expect him to avoid carefully following in Mr. Sadat's footsteps.
Understanding this, it really doesn't make sense for European and American diplomats to continue to recommend that Mr. Arafat be given another chance to do as Mr. Sadat did. Understanding this, it doesn't make sense — as former CIA agent Reuel Marc Gerecht has pointed out — for George Tenet, the director of central intelligence, to be again helping Mr. Arafat improve the skills of his intelligence and security apparatus, an apparatus that has itself been involved with terrorism.
But, you say, doesn't that make the situation hopeless? After all, if the instinct for self-preservation is among the factors preventing Mr. Arafat from eliminating the terrorists from the West Bank and Gaza, if fear of the Islamists is among the reasons Mr. Arafat will not consider seriously abiding by agreements with infidel Jews, what possible way is there to settle the conflict in the Middle East?
The answer requires turning conventional wisdom on its head: Instead of assuming that we can only win the war on global terrorism after settling the decades-long conflict over Israel/Palestine, it's time to recognize that we can only settle the Israel-Palestine question after we win the war against global terrorism.
What's more, it is time to acknowledge — as CNN's Lou Dobbs boldly did the other day — that the war against terrorism is really a war against Islamism, the ideology principally responsible for terrorist acts in the world today. It is the Islamists who have — in both word and deed — declared war on Jews, Christians, moderate Muslims (such as Mr. Sadat) and other infidels.
The next step will be to demonstrate that societies that support terrorism and militant Islam will inevitably go the way of the Taliban. Once it is apparent that Islamism hasn't the strength to annihilate Judeo-Christian civilization and hasn't a chance of restoring lost Islamic glory, the base of support for terrorism and Islamism will shrink to insignificance.
It is doubtful that, when this occurs, Mr. Arafat will still be in his crumbling compound in Ramallah. But whoever is leading the Palestinians at that point will understand that the world has changed — that the greatest threat to his survival no longer comes from his "young and frustrated" brothers but rather from the democratic societies of the world that, it turns out, do indeed have the will to defend themselves. And at that point, the prospect of sitting down with Israelis to negotiate a lasting peace will seem like a reasonable option.

Clifford D. May, a former foreign correspondent for the New York Times, is the president of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.