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Shevat 28, 5767, 2/16/2007

A Child Understands

by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz

Do I tell him or not? Will he hear about it from some other source or not? And if I do tell him, what do I say? Do we discuss his feelings?

That was part of my internal debate when I heard about Arabs (and perhaps non-Arab supporters) uprooting thousands of trees planted by children from the B'nei Akiva youth movement in honor of Tu B'Shevat. My son, you see, had been part of that nationwide B'nei Akiva tree-planting campaign.

I realized that the trees that were targeted by the anti-Semitic vandals were not those my son had planted, for they were in a different part of the country, but they may as well have been. The Arabs who uprooted trees planted by Jews in the Hevron Hills would just as easily have uprooted trees planted by Jews in the Sharon Plain or in the Galilee, if they had the opportunity.

To the Arabs, those trees represent Jewish sovereignty, Jewish attachment to the land and Jewish continuity - especially when the tree saplings are themselves placed in the earth by young Jewish "saplings" growing free in the Land of Israel.

And you know what? They're right. That is exactly what they represent.

In my son's school and in B'nei Akiva, the kids learn about the origin of Tu B'Shevat in Jewish agricultural practices and Jewish law from the period of the First and Second Temples. Aside from the technical legal aspects gleaned studying the Mishnaic and Talmudic sources, there is a more subtly derived lesson: if Jews were discussing agricultural religious laws some 2,000 years ago, then that means that Jews were (and are) integral to this land.

Those trees represent Jewish sovereignty, Jewish attachment to the land and Jewish continuity.

A child educated in our ancient Jewish sources doesn't ask "why would they do that" when he hears about Arabs ripping up trees planted in the Hevron Hills; rather, he asks, "How dare they do that?"

A child educated in our ancient Jewish sources isn't fooled by imaginary "green lines" of relatively recent vintage.

So, I decided to let my son read the news reports on the incident. I believe that he already understands the situation much better than our current government ministers.

(But how do I explain to him that Jewish leaders are calmly planning - with Arab and American chieftains - the uprooting not of trees, but of thousands of our people from over that imaginary line?)

Shevat 26, 5767, 2/14/2007

Las Vegas Odds On Israel

by Jack Engelhard

In Vegas, they bet on everything; dogs, horses, and even the weather. A smart man would open a betting line on Israel. If it were me, I'd make a fortune. I'm always right. I'm not smart. I'm merely a pessimist and, according to my figures, pessimists, especially when it comes to Israel, are correct and on the money 99.8 percent of the time. Here's the scenario. The Arabs protest, the Israelis stand firm, and then, cave in, always, and I do mean ALWAYS. When Arabs rioted against the new pathway nearby the Temple Mount, I knew Israel would chicken out and give in. This happens every time. If only I could make money on these predictions of mine.

THUGS AT THE SUMMIT

The question of the moment is about that SUMMIT between Olmert and Abbas - will it or won't it take place? But that is not the real question, which is, since when is a thug, like Abbas, part of a SUMMIT? When Roosevelt met Churchill, that was a SUMMIT. Even when Harry met Sally, that was a SUMMIT. When Olmert (whatever you think of him) meets Bush, that is a SUMMIT. But when Olmert meets Capone (nee Abbas), that is MUD WRESTLING.

CUDDLE UP WITH HITLER

Some people ought to quit while they're ahead. Norman Mailer spent a lifetime building a reputation as a first-rate man of literature - but now there's this as reported in the NY Post: "It's impossible not to identify to some small degree with the protagonist [Hitler], so the book is going to be offensive to a lot of Jews." Thus spoke Mailer about his new novel, "The Castle in the Forest." How about you, Norm? You're a Jew, no?

A RELIGIOUS SCIENTIST? OXYMORON?

I said scientist, not Zionist. According to the NY Times, a paleontologist named Marcus Ross wrote a paper for his dissertation at the University of Rhode Island that got high marks from fellow scientists. Ross played by the scientifically correct rules BUT, he does not believe that the universe JUST HAPPENED - BOOM -- while the rest of us were asleep. No, this man Ross "believes the Bible is a literally true account of the creation of the universe." Ross's peers don't know what to do with this guy.

MY (MIS)TAKE ON CARTER

Maybe you did and maybe you didn't read my piece (two pieces actually) on Jimmy Carter in A-7. I'm never sure if my friends read me - enemies? oh yes, guaranteed. I'm on some 20 websites blasting my take on Jimmy. At least I thought it was 20 until I found that the language is all the same, which means, that they have one website only go under 20 different names, to give the impression of universal condemnation. These people are smart.

WHO SAYS JEWS ARE SMART?

When it comes to advances in research, medicine, technology and everything else that needs brain, we're right there, but on public relations, welcome to Chelm.

JEWS ARE NOT PERFECT - THEREFORE

USA Today carried a piece by Rev Oliver "Buzz" Thomas that pretty much apes Jimmy Carter word for word, only condensed but just as hateful against Israel. CAMERA takes him apart chapter and verse. But what gets me is this man's call for fellow US Christians to more or less (more actually) abandon Israel. Because Israel is regarded as G-d's Chosen people, according to Thomas, "America turns a blind eye to her (Israel's) shortcomings."

Israel has SHORTCOMINGS? The Jews are not PERFECT? Something must be done to teach these people about perfection, right reverend?

Let's start with you, Mr. Thomas. Teach us.

If you only knew how many people throughout the ages punished us for being less perfect than you. Now you want to teach us again. Thank you

WHY ISRAEL?

Because G-d said so - and because of the millions (billions) of people like Rev Thomas.

Shevat 26, 5767, 2/14/2007

Epiphany Time

by Ellen Horowitz

The revelations are anything but uplifting - rude and frightening awakenings may best describe the sort of moments of truth that many of us are experiencing. It's like we can suddenly and accurately piece together the shards of a shattered national and international picture into a vast panoramic view which weaves together and connects our past, present, and future. Our devastating choices and mistakes are startlingly delineated and everything is connected.

For me, the eerie feeling started at the Madrid Conference which followed the first Gulf War. By the time the toxic trio shook hands on the White House lawn in 1993, I was quite sure that the dye had been cast. The earth shook for my husband years earlier when Israel relinquished Sinai to the Egyptians. Others felt it as far back as 1967 when Moshe Dayan pulled the valiantly idiotic gesture of handing the Temple Mount - which was in our hands - over to the Muslim Wakf. Still some woke up to the nightmare a little late in the game, as their world crumbled during the incomprehensible 2005 expulsion from the Jewish communities of Gush Katif. And last summer in Lebanon did it for others.

For Richard Landes, a history professor from Boston University, the apocalyptic pattern emerged when he viewed the rushes of an incident which kicked off Intifada 2000 and an unprecedented eruption and era of global terrorism.

Over the last six months I've had the honor and pleasure of working as a research assistant for Professor Richard Landes. As part of my responsibilities I've spent significant time combing through damning material from the photo and film archives of the various international press agencies.

As a creative person, one of my greatest fears is that of wasted efforts and potential. So as I tirelessly perused this disturbing material, I kept wondering if, when, and how the pictorial data and evidence would be used. I¹m pleased to see that Professor Landes and his production staff masterfully pieced together an epic chapter in global history.

Now it¹s the concerned public¹s responsibility to disseminate this film and insist that it be viewed.

Please download, view and distribute to the online public:

ICON OF HATRED

http://seconddraft.org/movies.php

This is the third part of of series which started with PALLYWOOD and continued with THE BIRTH OF AN ICON. It's recommended that these first two parts be viewed in order to have a full understanding of the important issues highlighted in ICON Of HATRED.

Comments and questions regarding the documentaries or the Professor's work should be directed to Richard Landes at <rl.seconddraft@gmail.com> or comment via his blogsite at http://www.theaugeanstables.com

It should be noted that this film was first screened on Hannukah at a forum held in conjunction with 7th Annual Herzliya Conference, entitled: The Media as a Theater of War, the Blogosphere, and the Global Battle for Civil Society.

The Blogosphere does offer all of us an immense opportunity to critically challenge MSM outlets and their proclivity towards misinformation and propaganda. Arutz 7 is to be congratulated for staying on the cutting edge of Internet development and for enabling writers like myself to express ourselves honestly and accurately via a channel which upholds Jewish values and moral standards - and which has a full understanding of Israel's ethical obligations towards the world at large.

Looking forward to sharing and exchanging views and information with a concerned and accountable online community.

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