FINISH THE WAR!

Two years ago on July 12, 2006, a little after 8am, the Hezbollah terror organization launched rocket attacks on northern Israel sending its civilians screaming and running to their bomb shelters.  As this deadly diversion was taking place, the Hezbollah orchestrated their other intent - a raid across the Lebanese border into Israel to kill and kidnap.  See video below of Arabic news showing the footage of the attack and kidnapping.

Slide needle up to:
2:57 seconds - Hezbollah soldiers race towards Israeli border with cover fire against Israel.
3:11 seconds - Hezbollah soldiers bomb gate at border to enter Israel.
4:41 seconds - Hezbollah loading the kidnapped soldiers into their truck and then driving into Lebanon.

Two Israeli armored Humvees that were patrolling on the Israeli side when the Hezbollah fired rockets at them.  All in all, 8 IDF soldiers were killed.  IDF Master Sergeant Ehud Goldwasser and First Sergeant Eldad Regev were kidnapped, and carried off into a waiting vehicle on the border, where they were loaded and driven away.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert proclaimed this an 'act of war' and  Israel's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, told Israel's Channel 10, "If the soldiers are not returned, we will turn Lebanon's clock back 20 years."  Is there supposed to be a laugh track inserted here?  But this is anything but funny.

Olmert took Israel to war for the explicit purpose to free Israel's kidnapped soldiers, and eliminate the Hezbollah and its ability to strike at Israel's population centers.  It failed in both attempts.
It was with disgust as I watched the footage on the news today of happy celebrations of the Hezbollah, and the hero's greeting that convicted murderer Samir Kuntar (yimach shmo - may his name be erased) received.  At the same time in Israel, a convoy of trucks and security cars somberly and slowly traveled to an army base where the parents of the dead IDF soldiers were waited for the coffins with the remains of their sons. Little did they know how mutilated the bodies of their sons were. The news kept switching between scenes, Israel and Lebanon, comparing the two diametrically opposed emotional reactions.

In a more perfect world, Israel would have gotten their pilots into jets, loaded with bombs, and flown over the terrorist's celebratory welcome , annihilating the whole Hezbollah army, including Samir Kuntar (yimach shmo), and all their supporters. 

How good that would have felt for the Israeli people to instill a little bit of pride back into their hearts. Our soldiers who were fighting 2 years ago in Lebanon told Olmert that they didn't want him to make a  deal with the Hezbollah.  They said they wanted to continue fighting until the Hezbollah was defeated and could not launch attacks against Israel and our people anymore.  Olmert didn't let them. And so, the war is still not over.  Our enemies are just re-arming. 

Israel would be justified in bombing the Hezbollah/Kuntar celebrations.  The West is supposedly involved in fighting a war on terrorism for goodness sake!  So who could complain?  Iran?  Syria?  Saudi Arabia?  So flippin what!

Hezbollah soldiers salute.

All those who attended the celebrations were the Hezbollah and their supporters. We had thousands of Hezbollah supporters and soldiers in one place, as well as Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Hizbullah.  A better invitation could not have been given. The Israeli government could and should have bombed, bombed, bombed their celebrations.  The thousands of Hezbollah soldiers who will soon be fighting us again, could have been eliminated in one major fell swoop.  It would have been a blessing for the world. 
It's been 2 years and 4 days since the war started. Finish the war!

BUILD, BUILD, BUILD!

As the whole world condemns Israel and tries to tell us where we can live and where we can build, and the naysayers of aliyah trash Israel, her people, and our future, the 'salt of the earth Jews' continue on. 

We have been through many difficult times in our long history.  We have had many bad kings who worshipped idols or leaders who sold out to be hellenists, but it was always the 'salt of the earth Jews' who modestly & quietly continued on.  They continued.  They continued to live in Israel through corrupt king-ships, continued to live on through occupation by foreign powers and continued to live on through other 'tough times'.  They stayed.  They had children.  They built homes, established towns, schools, and commerce.  They kept this country alive with Jewish life.  They didn't throw in the towel and all voluntarily leave to go and live in other host countries, to plant their futures there.  It is because of our ancestors that stayed here and continued life and built for the future, that we had a home to come back to.

                                                The Land of Israel waits for you!

It is in this altruistic and faithful measure that we see the wondrous and miraculous light shining forth from Israel.  Her people today continue on, marry, have children, work in the sciences, agriculture, and other fields that lay the foundation for the future, and the coming of Moshiach (Messiah) - may it come speedily in our days.

You may view here below, something that I believe is exciting and wonderful that brought tears of joy to my eyes.  As we trudge through the daily drudge of politics, the people of Israel are working towards the future by preparing the way for the third Temple. In this video below, you will see the Temple Institute headed by people such as Rabbi Ariel and Rabbi Chaim Richman (who has a radio show on Israel National Radio called TEMPLE TALK) making the clothes for the Priests who will (soon?) be serving in the Temple. Even the secular media turned up for it. You will see a woman in a cap-sleeved Tshirt asking questions about what they are doing.

It is very exciting to see, and if you take the time to check out the website of The Temple Institute, you will see they are also in the process of re-creating the vessels of the Holy Temple. 

This is a very exciting time, and we must not lose faith and hope in these dirty political days.  We have been through worse and have come out of it.  We can surely get through Olmert and Co. and believe our prophets when they say we WILL have a third Temple and we WILL merit the Moshiach.  All we have to do is what G-d tells us: possess the Land, be fruitful and multiply, keep the commandments, and Love Thy G-d with all they heart, with all they soul and with all thy might.

ON THE AFTERNOON OF THE 27TH OF SIVAN (JUNE 30TH), the Temple Institute and enthusiastic guests celebrated the Inauguration of The Institute’s New Workshop for Priestly Garments. The shop has been equipped with a cutting table for spreading and cutting the fabric according to pattern and size of each individual kohen. (Each garment will be custom designed and fitted.) Industrial strength sewing machines have also been purchased, and ironing equipment for ironing and blocking the finished garments. The shop will be overseen by the Institute’s chief haberdasher, Aviad Jeruffi. The ceremony included the taking of measurements from the first two kohanim, (priests), to be outfitted since the destruction of the Holy Temple 1,938 years ago, the distinguished Rabbis Nachman Kahane and Shlomo Riskin.

To learn more about the bigdei kehunah, and to view photographs, please visit these pages:
The Inauguration Ceremony.
Manufacturing the Priestly Garments, Part I.
Manufacturing the Priestly Garments, Part II.
The Priestly Garments.                                                                                             For more photos and info click HERE.

Credentials of a Terrorist

Was he just a misunderstood Arab that was involved in a traffic accident, a crime of passion, or was he a monster of a man coming from a monstrous family?

According to this news report from Al Jazeera as well as an article from the Jerusalem Post, we see a picture is painted of a very bad man and a family to match. 

It seems that Husam Taysir Dwayat, the terrorist driver of the tractor that murdered 3 innocent people was:

1) A rapist

2) A drug addict

3) A wife beater

4) A man who committed statutory rape -He apparently married a (14 years old?) child and got her pregnant soon after.

5) A short tempered and violent individual.

6) His mother, an Arab from the eastern part of Jerusalem stood on her roof top after her son committed this terror attack and proclaimed him a  'shahid', a martyr.

According to a couple of different articles from Israeli newspapers, the terrorist was convicted of raping a Jewish woman and got two years for that violent crime.  The woman he raped was his former girlfriend.  She is reported to have stated that he smoked a lot of drugs and that they broke up "because Dwayat became abusive. ...He would really hit me hard, but I still loved him. I was willing to convert to Islam for him," she said. 

Sick.

As well, it is reported that he has/had a wife in his village who is only 20 years old, but has two children by him, a 3 year old and 5 year old, which would have made him marry her at the young age of 14 or 15.

Sick.

His father and brother are saying this was all a mistake, that he was not a terrorist.  But of course, if you didn't want your home bulldozed down, you would probably sing the same song.  The mother of the family though yodeled out "Shahid, Shahid, Shahid!"  (see 2 minute + video of mother shouting from her home)

Something isn't in sinc here.  Either it was a crime of passion, or he was a shahid.  What conversations went on in that household, that the son would one day go out and kill innocent people, and the mother would go in public and proudly proclaim her son to be a martyr? A family that justified terrorism and sympathized with terrorists.  See this new update: "Muslim Clerics Told Tractor Killer to Act": Muslim clerics visited the home of the tractor terrorist in the weeks before the attack and convinced him to carry out a "heroic act," .  Shahid! Shahid! Shahid!

So was Husam Taysir Dwayat a misunderstood Arab, or a monstrous terrorist?  I believe he answered this question with his last words.  They were, "Allahu Akbar!" - "Allah is the greatest".