Sitting with folded hands won't stop Hamas, Fatah and Islamic Jihad from attacking the Jewish state
Talk about a bombshell revelation.

Speaking at the UN the other day, Israeli Ambassador Dan Gillerman let the international community in on an amazing little secret.

To the astonishment of those in attendance, and the surprise of those who live here in Israel, Mr. Gillerman declared, "There is a limit to Israel's restraint".

Gosh.

Mr. Gillerman's announcement will come as news to those of us who have been following the events of the past few months with increasing concern, apprehension and dismay, as Israel has failed to respond to numerous Palestinian terror attacks.

These have included suicide bombings, stabbings, shootings, attempted kidnappings of Israeli soldiers, and the bombardment of the Negev with mortar shells and rocket fire.

Pardon me for sounding cynical, but in recent months it has begun to seem that there is in fact no limit to Israel's restraint – and that is precisely the problem.

By failing to hit back at the terrorists, Israel's leadership has demonstrated unpardonable weakness, which only serves to invite further violence and aggression.

Sitting with folded hands won't stop Hamas, Fatah and Islamic Jihad from attacking the Jewish state – launching a major, counter-terror operation aimed at uprooting the terrorist infrastructure is clearly the way to go, and such a move is long overdue.

So while I am glad to hear that "There is a limit to Israel's restraint", I'll be more convinced when those words are translated into action.
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I am proud to say that this blog - "Fundamentally Freund" - has been nominated for three awards in the annual "Jewish & Israeli Blog Awards". 

If you have a moment, please go to the following 3 links and cast your ballot for "Fundamentally Freund":

1 - Best Overall Blog category: http://www.jibawards.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=101

2 - Best Right-Wing Blog category: http://www.jibawards.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=143

3 - Best Pro-Israel Advocacy Blog category: http://www.jibawards.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=138

thanks,

Michael Freund

"Master of the Universe, may I yet merit to raise the flag of Israel over a high place in the Land of Israel."
Sometimes, amid the rush of events here in Israel, it becomes easy to lose sight of the significance of the rebirth of the Jewish State.

We often get so caught up in the headlines, with its political intrigue, diplomatic challenges and security threats, that we fail to keep things in their proper perspective.

So here is a true short story that should jar us into appreciating just how fortunate we are to live in an era of renewed Jewish sovereignty and independence:

"The righteous Rabbi Avraham Yaakov, the late Rebbe of Sadigora, who lived in Tel Aviv, would customarily attend the city's Great Synagogue on Israel's Independence Day and recite the Hallel (prayer of thanksgiving) in public. And when the worshippers danced in the plaza in front of the synagogue, he joined them in the circle and danced with great enthusiasm. And there was a feeling that the Rebbe experienced a special sense of joy on this day. Subsequently, when one of his Hasidim (followers) went to speak with him, the Rebbe told him about the time when he had lived in Vienna, during the period when the Nazis entered the city. Their first order of business was to persecute and humiliate the Jews. And since the Rebbe was considered the leader of the Vienna's Jews, the Nazis chose him to sweep the streets of the city, and they gave him a large broom. While doing the work, the Rebbe turned his gaze heavenward and said, "Master of the Universe, may I yet merit to sweep the streets of the Land of Israel." The Nazis then handed the Rebbe a Nazi flag, and forced him to raise it over a large building in the city. And while he was doing so, the Rebbe again turned to G-d and said, "Master of the Universe, may I yet merit to raise the flag of Israel over a high place in the Land of Israel." Subsequently, after the war, the Rebbe emigrated to the Land of Israel, and wanted to fulfill his promise.... So what did he do on Israel Independence Day? He arose at 3:00am, took a large broom, and went out to sweep the streets. And then he would take an Israeli flag and hoist it high on the roof of the building with great excitement and enthusiasm, for G-d had accepted his prayer. And this was the source of his joy on this day - the day of the establishment of the State of Israel."

(Excerpted from the book Alei Tamar by Rabbi Yissachar Tamar zt"l)

So the next time you find yourself down in the dumps, reading the newspapers and wondering about this country and its leadership - think back to the Rebbe of Sadigora, with a broom in one hand, a flag in the other, and a heart full of gratitude to G-d for the miracle that is the modern State of Israel.

Happy Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israel Independence Day)!!

 

 

It is simply astonishing that despite its ongoing export of extremism, the Saudis continue to get a free pass from Washington and the West
There were two particularly disturbing bits of news this week regarding Washington's continued kowtowing to the Wahabist extremists in charge of Saudi Arabia.

First, as I reported exclusively in the Jerusalem Post (here) on Monday, the Saudis continue to violate the pledge they gave over a year and a half ago to the Bush Administration to drop the Arab boycott of Israel.

It was based on that promise that the Saudis were granted entry into the World Trade Organization in December 2005, but once they succeeded in joining, they back-tracked on keeping their word. And yet, Washington has done little to call them to account.

And now, there are reports in the media (here) that despite Israel's objections, the US has agreed to sell advanced, satellite-guided smart bombs to the Saudi regime. This, despite the danger of such weapons falling into the hands of Islamic fundamentalist terrorists, and the fact that such a sale will dilute Israel's qualitative edge over its enemies.

It is simply astonishing that despite its ongoing export of extremism, the Saudis continue to get a free pass from Washington and the West. For far too long, they have overlooked the dictatorial desert kingdom's mischief and misbehavior.

But as recent years have shown – and particularly the events of September 11, 2001 – such an approach is not only short-sighted, but dangerous too. Instead of strengthening the Saudi regime, the West should be aiming to reform it and replace it.

Efforts to appease the Syrian regime only serve to encourage its bellicosity and belligerence
Well, it looks like all that Western pandering to Syria in recent weeks is already bearing fruit.

Despite high profile visits of late to Damascus by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, the Syrian regime has once again openly threatened to wage war against the Jewish state.

Speaking at a press conference in the Syrian capital on Monday, Syrian Information Minister Mohsen Bilal told reporters that if Israel does not go along with the Saudi peace initiative, then his country would not hesitate to take the Golan Heights "by way of resistance."

Similarly, last fall, Syrian President Bashar Assad made a series of public statements in which he threatened military conflict with Israel and expressed his desire to retake the Golan Heights by force.

In an interview with the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anba on October 6, Assad said that Damascus was ready for war with the Jewish state, and prior to that he insisted that the Golan would be "liberated by Syrian arms," warning Israel to "seek peace or face the threat of defeat."

And so, once again, we see how efforts to appease the Syrian regime only serve to encourage its bellicosity and belligerence.

Instead of talking tough to Damascus, various Western leaders have preferred the path of appeasement. Not surprisingly, this is viewed as weakness by the Syrian leadership, which takes comfort in the fact that they can continue to act with impunity.

Will Solana, Pelosi, et al ever learn?

VARIOUS JEWISH historical relics, such as ancient Hebrew manuscripts, incunabula and religious items, now grace the galleries and storehouses of museums worldwide, when their rightful place is here at home, in the Jewish state. Yet hardly anything is being done to retrieve them.
As Israel and the Jewish people commemorate Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), it is worth recalling that various European governments and institutions shamelessly continue to profit from assets and property that were seized from Jews.

In recent years, countries ranging from Egypt to Italy and from Kenya to Greece have been stepping up their own efforts to recover stolen national and cultural artifacts from abroad.

In the column below, I suggest that it is time for Israel and world Jewry to do the same, and to seek the return of priceless Jewish relics stolen by the Vatican and others over the centuries.


The Hair on Pharaoh's Head
By Michael Freund

Indiana Jones would be proud.
The mythical archaeologist of Hollywood fame undoubtedly would have smiled at the news last week that Egyptian authorities had succeeded in recovering a few strands of stolen Pharaonic hair offered for sale on the Internet by a French postal worker.
After Jean-Michel Diebolt advertised the whiskers in his possession at a sale price of 2,000 Euros, the Egyptian government lodged a furious protest with Paris, which promptly arrested Diebolt and oversaw the hairs' quick return to Cairo.
The fuzz in question had belonged to the mummy of Ramses II, whom some historians have identified as the Pharaoh from the Biblical account of the Exodus.
It seems that some 30 years ago, the mummy developed a fungal infection (you'll have to ask a dermatologist to explain that one…), so it was sent to Paris for analysis, where Diebolt's father relieved it of some of its hair, which has now thankfully been reunited with its original owner.
But this story is about far more than just Pharaonic follicles, for it shows how a nation, with just a little bit of feisty determination, can reclaim its stolen national artifacts and looted ancestral heritage. And it's time for Israel and the Jewish people to learn from Egypt's example in this regard.
VARIOUS JEWISH historical relics, such as ancient Hebrew manuscripts, incunabula and religious items, now grace the galleries and storehouses of museums worldwide, when their rightful place is here at home, in the Jewish state. Yet hardly anything is being done to retrieve them.
The Vatican, for example, is said to have the largest repository of Hebrew manuscripts in the world, accumulated over the centuries as a result of church-inspired pogroms and persecutions. These include early medieval copies of the works of Maimonides and Rabbi Jacob ben Asher, along with some of the earliest-known illuminated copies of the Bible.
These treasures are Jewish in content, in history and in origin, and many were ripped from the hands of their owners just moments before their massacre, forced conversion or expulsion. Why they should these stolen pieces of our heritage now sit abandoned in a Vatican basement rather than being returned to their rightful owners, the Jewish people? And how about the 14th century rimonim, the decorative silver ornaments known in English as finials which are placed on the wooden staves of a Torah scroll, that currently sit in the La Seu Cathedral in Spain's Palma de Majorca? What does it say about our sense of national pride that we allow these sacred religious objects to be displayed in a Catholic church?
Similarly, there is hardly a major museum in all of Europe that does not have a collection of Jewish artifacts, at least some of which were surely obtained through dubious historical circumstances. Shouldn't we be fighting to get them back? Egypt, by contrast, has not remained silent over the fate of its national heritage. Indeed, in recent years, Egyptian antiquities officials have been waging a vigorous campaign aimed at regaining the country's countless relics that were pilfered over the centuries by various European explorers, scientists, archeologists and museums.
In 2002, the Egyptian government's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) established a special department which was empowered by the state to locate and identify such objects with the aim of retrieving them.
As anyone who has ever walked through the British Museum in London surely knows, much of the Nile's ancient past was carried off overseas for study and display. These include items ranging from the famed Rosetta stone, which enabled researchers to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics, to various mummies, papyri, sculptures and other historical objects.
While Cairo does not always manage to convince foreign governments and museums to return the items in their possession, they occasionally do succeed, as the case of Ramses' hair recently demonstrated.
AND EGYPT is not the only country to be pressing such claims. As the Associated Press reported last June, "In recent years, Italy has become more aggressive about objects it believes were wrongfully taken from its borders." In February 2006, New York's famed Metropolitan Museum of Art agreed to return nearly two dozen historical artifacts that Italian officials said had been taken illegally from the country.
Other countries, such as Peru, Kenya, Turkey and Tajikistan, have followed suit, and have also started pressing to retrieve items that are part of their national and cultural birthright.
Just two years ago, Ethiopia succeeded in getting back a 1,700-year old obelisk that had been looted by Italian troops back in 1937. And last July, Greece concluded a deal with the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles regarding the return of two ancient Greek artworks to the Mediterranean country.
These cases all underline the fact that a country need not be economically or militarily powerful to pursue the justness of its cause. By standing firm on moral principle and historical truth, a nation can often bring about the return of its stolen goods.
Israel and the Jewish people need to begin addressing this issue in a far more concerted manner. Efforts should be made to locate and trace the origins of various Jewish historical and religious artifacts being held by foreign governments and institutions.
Israel's Foreign Ministry, and Jewish organizations worldwide, should then launch an international campaign to retrieve these precious parts of our heritage, using diplomacy, public pressure and other tools of persuasion to get them back.
A good to place to start would be with the Vatican, which more than any other institution is responsible for much of the horrors and tragedy experienced by European Jewry over the centuries. That Rome should now be sitting on so much ill-gotten Jewish property is both morally obscene and historically unjust, and needs to be corrected.
The Greeks, the Egyptians and others have managed to recoup at least some of their nation's stolen relics. With a little bit of collective resolve, there is no reason why Israel and the Jewish people can not do the same.

--- from the April 11 Jerusalem Post