sRepliesHTML = "";iReplies = 82;mReplies = iReplies;iDiv = 8883
AddReply(462486,"Why?","PithfromPinhas","Jerusalem","07/10/09","Would somebody tell me why Arutz 7 even published this article?");
AddReply(462083,"To Michelle, \"vitriol\"","Aviva","Jerusalem","07/09/09","Michelle, the title of your article is hateful, and then you have the chutzpa to write, \"I\'m a bit concerned that the vitriol here will keep people who would otherwise might consider aliyah from making aliya.\" \n\nA few people write talkbacks not to your liking, and you write an article, that is actually a rant. Better to devote your energies to defending Israel than attacking fellow Jews.\n\nIt is understandable that Jews who have sacrificed so much to live in Israel do not always take kindly to being preached at from their brethren sitting pretty in the golden medina. \n\nMichelle, I said to you in a previous comment, that you should be show greater sensitivity to Jews in Israel, I\'ll add humility to that.");
AddReply(462079,"To Michelle, \"lost in the comments\"","Aviva","Jerusalem","07/09/09","\"However, the whole point of my article has somehow been lost in the comments.\"\n\nThe point of your article would appear to be that the opinion of a Jew outside of Israel has as much validity as a Jew who lives in Israel, not the importance of aliya, and that is mainly what the comments discussed.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n");
AddReply(461950,"Larry from Silcon Valley, part 2","sk","USA","07/09/09","Those German, Polish, and Spanish Jews did NOT base their views on the kind of evidence that I muster.  Rather, they used a methodology comparable to yours.\n\nHey but Larry, if you believe in your \"methodology\" (or in the alternative \"methodology\" of bar hopping), by all means high tail it to Israel, where you will be jailed if you defend yourself, where your daughter will be groped or worse by \"holy\" Yassam, etc., and where your vote will mean absolutely nothing.\n\nWhen Israel becomes a safe place for Jews, with the robust economy and First World living standards that are easily within its reach, there will be no aliyah bullies.  For then, Israelis will not be so defensive because they will no longer have a reason to be defensive.\n\nAnyway, I\'m getting bored.");
AddReply(461943,"Larry from Silicon Valley, part 1","sk","USA","07/09/09","Sorry, Larry, but I do not \"constantly posit \'thinking\' as if only it were objective, and [I]... have the market on objectivity.\" What I object to is fuzzy and irrational \"analysis\" based on \"data\" that are certain to be inadequate, all used to manipulate others to move to Israel.  It\'s sleazy.  If one is to analyze emotions, one should analyze them in, yes, scientifically respectable ways. It is unfortunate that this idea seems novel to so many readers. Blame the low quality of social science education.\n\nYour selective reading of selective history and your yakking with nonrandomly selected people about their own nonrandomly collected impressions all count for little with me.\n\nYour mention of Germany, Poland, and Spain is completely irrelevant, except to show that your own methodology is unsatisfactory.");
AddReply(461626,"75 sk","sam","israel","07/08/09","Wow you\'ve sunk low!  Yes I know what a Gallup poll is, that its a company (not an organization like you claim). Because you have no argument whatsoever you resort to exploiting typos.  And no, no hatred towards a group can be accurately gauged by a poll. If you had a modicum of intelligence you\'d know that.  ");
AddReply(461318,"Sam, part 2","sk","USA","07/07/09","He thinks that people who are confident of anonymity will unload on Catholics or gays in this survey (as they do) but be deceptive when it comes to Jews, feigning support or indifference while secretly harboring intense hatred.  That makes a LOT of sense.\n\nI have no doubt that the Big Guy could turn all of America into raving anti-Semites.  The fact is that He hasn\'t.  I wonder if this is deliberate, as he expects Israel to be destroyed shortly.\n\nSam, you have exhausted my limited patience.");
AddReply(461315,"WARNING:  if you move to Israel, you\'ll be just like Sam (73).","sk","USA","07/07/09","You\'ll swagger--what a tough guy!--but meekly become a pawn for some group of elites, religious or secular.\n\nOur tough guy doesn\'t even know how to spell \"Gallup\" as in \"Gallup Poll.\"  He doesn\'t understand that Gallup is a polling organization, not a type of poll; he does not understand that I am referring to completely different academic survey data that are the backbone of political science related to public opinion and elections.  While dismissing such important data, he defends, as an alternative, bar hopping as a \"methodology.\"\n\nEvidently, our hero thinks that anti-Jewish feelings cannot be measured by the same means that anti-union, anti-Catholic, anti-gay, etc., feelings can be measured.");
AddReply(461214,"SK","Larry","Silicon Valley","07/07/09","Polls are irrelevant. People hide their hatreds in polls. The hatred of Jews springs forth in places where Jews have had it \'made\' - truly Jews have had it made in Spain, Poland, post-WWI Germany. They were just as convinced as you; and just as shocked by what came after. This does not \'make America Germany\' - true enough. My own opinions are based on reading history, talking to people who have been in the fire, and my experiences with Jew-hatred in the US. You constantly posit \'thinking\' as if only it were objective, and you imply you have the market on objectivity. Hatred is not objective, and when Jew-hatred raises its head, it ignores thinking and the contributions of Jews. Israel remains our only true home.");
AddReply(461139,"#69","Sam","israel","07/07/09","You\'re right, there\'s no substitute for thinking, which is why you should employ it.  Do you honestly think asking people with a gallop poll if they like or dislike Jews you will get anything approaching an accurate answer?  If you do you have my pity.");
AddReply(461136,"70- typical lack of thought","sam","israel","07/07/09","This is the non-answer zombies of the haredi persuasion (and Im not implying all haredim are, but there certainly are many) give to try to bolster the insanity they spew out.  I would suggest learning what EVERY other rabbi said in regard to this matter, because not one gives the answer Rav feinstein did.  But obviously #70 cannot, because he doesnt want to.  He chooses what he likes and then justifies it afterwards.  Pathetic.");
AddReply(460997,"Well at least they\'re not attacking Tzipi","Name","City","07/07/09","Palin resigned.  \n\nSeems to be a pattern at hand.\n\nThing is; antagonists can spam a pov.  They can spam a comment thread, especially where religious Israelis frequent, especially in Israel.  \n\nThey can spam in parallel to boycott regimes, protest marches, student exchange bans, search engine bias, photo ops, accords, initiatives, the list goes on.\n\nAnyone screaming about Islam?  NKorea?  Nope.\n\nIn other words; the meconflict/process is highly promoted and Israeli Jews are criticized as part of that hype.  It\'s not armageddon but it does encourage specific abuse.  \n\nIsrael is well established, that won\'t change.  Unfortunately, meconflict/process officialdom rhetoric implies militarization (and remapping) for decades.\n\nWe\'re still best to view totality as movement between positive, negative and neutral. ");
AddReply(460950,"#66 sounds like \"SAM HAMAVET\"","","","07/07/09","Were it not for diligent students the teachings of the Rav or for that matter the Torah thru Yehoshua would not have been propogated.As for your disrespect of Rav Finestein,come back and blog after you learn 1% of this mans Torah.We just finished reading parshas Korach. Have you not learned anything about not attacking the most learned man of the generation? Does God need to have the earth swallow up the rebellious in every generation to refresh our memory? Wasn\'t the holocaust an elaborate reminder containing six million chapters enough for you? For those who elevate the mitzva of \'living in the land\'above all others then convienantly forget their \"Derch Eretz\", ie #4,#43 & #54, all I can say I\'m glad your not my neighbor.");
AddReply(460949,"sam (68)","sk","USA","07/07/09","So I don\'t bring any evidence at all?  In fairness, I didn\'t do anything particularly statistically sophisticated, as I just wanted to get a quick picture.  But I did not just offer \"a poll,\" but a series of validated measures (\"feeling thermometers\") for a multitude of groups.  Comparisons across groups do indeed count as evidence.  The survey data are from the American National Election Study, and, unlike the dreck published most places, these data are about as good as opinion data get.  Google it if you wish.\n\nThen you channel R. Kahane by saying that the proper approach to gauge anti-Semitism is to visit a bar.  R. Kahane was a great man and a political scholar; however, it is ridiculous to claim that bar hopping provides adequate evidence of anything.  That is why it is not an accepted scientific methodology.\n\nThere is no substitute for thinking.");
AddReply(460867,"#67 sk","sam","israel","07/06/09","You dont bring any evidence at all, even on that website link you provide. But even if you had, which you dont, the fact is you can\'t gauge antisemitism with a poll. If you want to know how much antisemitism there is, go to a bar in town and here what people think of Jews.  ");
AddReply(460833,"Notice how Shifra/SHUVA (61) illustrates my point.","sk","USA","07/06/09","I have provided evidence that Jews are not generally hated in America:\n\nhttp://my.opera.com/skZion/blog/2008/03/05/jews-are-not-hated-in-america\n\nShifra knows about this, as I have repeated it several times.  But, like so many other Israelis, she cannot think.  So, she cooks up scary stories about Jewish peril in the US to induce people to descend to Israel.  The truth is that Jews are far more in danger in Israel, both from the Moslems and from the government.  However, because R. Kahane once detected anti-Semitism in the US, Shifra cannot see anything other than this.  Her views are locked into the past, never being adapted to new evidence.");
AddReply(460575,"# 62 yonatan","sam","israel","07/06/09","That inane post shows how people like you, ie those who hold the troglodyte haredi position of being indifferent about the land that HKBH loves, are nothing more than lilliputians who bring nothing to a debate except for rebbe worshiping, like yours for rav feinstein. ");
AddReply(460502,"Thank you!","Michelle Nevada","","07/06/09","B\"H\n\nWell, I was hoping that people would actually talk about what I said, and, to some respect they did.\n\nHowever, the whole point of my article has somehow been lost in the comments.\n\nI never said I didn\'t think Aliyah was important.  It is very important. \n\nAnd Shifra--I have known and respected you for years.  Do you really think that the way to make people want to make aliyah is to attack them?  I don\'t believe you ever thought that!\n\nI\'m a bit concerned that the vitriol here will keep people who would otherwise might consider aliyah from making aliya.  I don\'t want that to happen.\n\nNo, I haven\'t come YET.  That doesn\'t mean I won\'t, but it does mean I can\'t right now.\n\nM");
AddReply(460475,"#62 and others","rivkas","","07/06/09","Bad language and insults are ususally a cover for lack of content.  If you have a valid point to make, it should stand on its own.");
AddReply(460406,"AUTHENTIC COMMENTOR","AUTHENTIC COMMENTOR","AUTHENTIC COMME","07/06/09","How do I know that opinion authors aren\'t manipulative?  I assume propaganda exists (psyops).  There are obviously spam commentors.  What am I reading!?! \n\nNow tell me something good about Charedi.  Tell me something good about Iran, ButlerNC, Arabs, NKorea. ");
AddReply(460381,"Reb Moshe Feinstein ruled there is no obligaion to live in Eretz Yisrael","Yonatan","Los Angeles","07/06/09","The visionary godol Reb Moshe Feinstein Z\"L ruled that while it is permissable for a Jew to live in Israel and even possibly a MItzva, it is certainly not an obligation. Even in his time he understood that Israel is not the place for the Jewish people.\n\nIsrael is a corrupt, degenerate, goyish, anti-Torah, anti-Jewish state that does everything to rid itself of decency and holiness.\n\nI grew up in Israel on a Yishuv as a Zonist and served in the army and I\'m proud to say I made Yerida.\nIsrael is no place for Jews and these moronic an arrogant \"Aliyah bullies\" are just another part of why Israel is so messed up.\n\nWe here in America know better than you brainwashed fools in Isrel so if you don\'t like hearing what we have to say just shut up!\n\nOh, and don\'t try your \"10 spies\" BS on me, it ain\'t gonna work. I know better.\n\nKudos to Michelle Nevada");
AddReply(460303,"The other side of the coin","SHUVA (Return)","JERUSALEM ","07/05/09","BS\'D\n\n To:  Michelle and all who\n     agree with her article\n         * * * * * *\n    YOU MAY SOON FIND GOOD    \n    REASON TO BE GRATEFUL TO \n    THE \'ALIYAH BULLIES\"  \n    WHO CHALLENGE YOU TO LIVE\n    IN THE JEWISH HOMELAND!!!\n       \n        With love of G-D \n          and Eretz Yisrael\n       SHIFRA HOFFMAN\n       Exec.Director \n SHUVA(Return) the Israel\n  Emergency Aliyah Movement\n    See website:www.shuva.net)");
AddReply(460285,"Ruvy (53):  the real issue is risk?","sk","USA","07/05/09","Ruvy, you are surely right that the number of galut Halachically Jewish people who blather stupidly about Israel is high.  Alas, the number of Israeli Halchially Jewish people who do so is even higher.  There might be three or four people in the English-language Israeli press who actually know something.\n\nYour elite stratum does not share most of the risk.  First, it is not all that attached to Israel and will leave when things get tough. (E.g. Olmert\'s family, Burg, etc.) Second, most of them do not live in the high-risk areas.  Third, a disproportionate number of them do not have kids.  So, risk down the road is not very relevant.\n\nMay I suggest that rather than throwing out nonsense about the need to descend to the goyishe state of Israel, Jews everywhere insist that so-called experts actually reason well and use evidence appropriately?");
AddReply(460223,"Ruvy, she\'s a public figure","disgusted","Israel","07/05/09","By choice Ms. Nevada has decided to put herself in the spotlight. Her reasons for not making aliyah are \"not for public consumption\" at the moment? If that\'s the case,then she should keep more of her opinions away from public consumption.");
AddReply(460207,"Well stated Michelle from Vancouver","","","07/05/09","");
AddReply(460061,"Part 3:  Why do we still write comments on A7 - And a sad irony","Michelle","Vancouver ","07/05/09","So why do we still offer our uunwanted opinions?\n\nPerhaps because we see the alarming signs. Just as there were signs of impending catastrophe in the 1920s and 30s, there are signs today that point to the dismantling of Israel – at best. It could be worse. We see the signs and write talkbacks on A7, and some even write columns, because it’s here where there is greater awareness of danger and of government errors, and therefore hope for some effective action to avert disaster. \n\nAND THE GREATEST IRONY of all is that while we are told to mind our own business, Israelis are quietly submitting to a PM that takes orders from a foreign government. Caroline Glick recently wrote about a parallel government being set up by Mitchell in Jerusalem, with US deputies supervising and managing your ministries and security agencies, and answerable to Obama. But there\'s been no reaction by Israelis.");
AddReply(460054,"Part 2 ","Michelle","Vancouver","07/05/09","-  And why Israeli Jews of the left and center continue to favor Arabs over Jews, impervious to their insults and threats of annihilation and the fact that they’d be lynched were they to stray into Ramallah.  Very bizarre.\n\n-  And why there was never support for a viable Israeli Peace Plan after 1967, only passive acquiescence to western calls for repeated retreats and surrenders.  \n\n-  And why there are desperate calls for the US to respect some minor side deal between Bush and Olmert, but there’s not even the most timid mention of the powerful legal documents that attest to Israel’s right to all of Judea and Samaria and more on the still valid Balfour Declaration, the League of Nations Mandate, and other agreements to which the US is signatory. (I wrote about it on Tamar’s blog on July 1, with some interesting links.)\n");
AddReply(460053,"Part 1: One thing is certain: Some of us do not understand","Michelle","Vancouver","07/05/09","-  We don’t understand how a country and a people in such danger can be so divided and so harsh to one another.\n\n-  And how it can present such puzzling voting patterns in face of such danger.  Why so many voted for Likud in spite of Bibi’s track record of betrayal of principles, and his despotic behavior against Feiglin during the campaign.  And why so many average voters chose Kadima, in spite of their disastrous term in office.  To say nothing of the terminally self-deluded still voting for leftist parties.\n\n-  And why it took so long to form a right-wing coalition, which was mostly dismissed by voters, in spite of the Hatikva option which offered a platform that included both secular and religious interests.  \n");
AddReply(460050,"Waa, Waa, Waa, Poor Michelle","Nitzevet","Israel","07/05/09","If you want to be treated like an \"equal\", put your money where your mouth is.  Taking a ZOA tour and realizing that Judea and Samaria is Jewish doesn\'t make you the front lines of Jewish activism, no offense - lots of nice non-Jews do that and more.\n\nEveryone wants to put in their two cents. Everyone wants to proudly wear the \'Zionist\' label.  But that label is exclusive, and it costs.  Buy in!\n\nThe Gemara says that people living outside of the Land of Israel are as if they have no G-d.  So think twice before you say who can claim possession of the Jewish title.");
AddReply(459979,"Michelle and the \"Aliya Bullies\"","Ruvy","Ma\'ale Levona","07/05/09","Generally, I take the view that if you do not share the risk or danger that we do in Israel, and you are a Jew overseas, you should keep your trap shut.\n\nI make exceptions here and there to that general rule; however, the vast majority of \"experts\" on Israel think that because they are missing a bit of foreskin, they are experts.  But the real issue is risk.  Someone sitting in his livingroom in Monsey can afford to blow off his temper.  It costs him nothing.  It can cost us our lives.\n\nHowever, this writer is one of the exceptions to my rule.  Leaving the issue of foreskin aside, she indeed would prefer to immigrate here and cannot at the present time - for reasons that are not for public consumption.\n\nAnd since she has \"shared the risk\" - albeit not directly - she is entitled to an opinion  and her opinions ought be paid careful attention.  She knows what she is saying.");
AddReply(459915,"Aliyah Bullies","Soulsista#1","Baltimore","07/05/09","B\"H I will be saving you a seat @ my table for the day when we will all be together in Israel.");
AddReply(459907,"Michelle is wrong?????","Bernard","Lansing","07/05/09","Michelle is at the recieving end of a problem. She sees it her way and many of you people\nare telling her she is wrong. That sounds like the thought police in America. My thoughts are that she is right and has the right to say so. Those who say she is wrong have the right to say so  but think about this, you are trying to do her thinking and decision making for her. Now who is wrong. Children think like children but liberals think like no one else. I am glad that curse words are not alowed in here. That saves me from saying anymore.");
AddReply(459888,"Analogies to marriage and child rearing are silly. part 2 of 2","sk","USA","07/05/09","But there\'s something even more basic at issue.  The party that got the most votes last election was KADIMA.  Even worse, 95% of voters--including most olim--voted against National Union.  Is this the special insight that is provided by aliyah? I\'d say that Israeli citizens are as qualified to discuss Israel as the parents of three children, all of whom became violent criminals, are qualified to discuss child rearing.\n\nOlim have a personal stake in being right in their decision to move.  This means that they must convince themselves that they can succeed in Israel, and that the country they moved to deserves their support and even love.  This makes them unable to see Israel for what it is, and it makes them furious when someone outside the country points out, in detail, certain problems.");
AddReply(459883,"Analogies to marriage and child rearing are silly. part 1 of 2","sk","USA","07/05/09","People without children are almost by definition not very interested in them; ditto for people who are single regarding marriage. Furthermore, relevant knowledge in these two areas includes handling experiences that cannot be systematized into books or articles.\n\nUnderstanding Israel-related goings on depends on SYSTEMATIZED knowledge.  That is because one is NOT trying to understand every detail but the general political and social relationships. Most Americans know very little about American politics; most Israelis know very little about Israeli politics.  In addition, much of what Israelis opine about is international affairs; if you believe you must live somewhere to comment about it intelligently, Israelis cannot comment intelligently about relations with other countries because THEY DON\'T LIVE THERE.\n\nmy.opera.com/skZion");
AddReply(459823,"#39 is right","Aliyah Bully","Kochav HaShacha","07/05/09","A family member gave me some parenting advice once which I ignored, explaining to him why: because he himself is childless and therefore knows NOTHING about parenting. He insisted, as you do, that \"caring\", \"perspective\" and of course, having been a child once, was enough to make him as knowledgeable on the subject of child-rearing as me, mother of 8! To be authentic you must \"walk the walk\" not just \"talk the talk\". You are entitled to an opinion. You are even entitled to express it anywhere you want, including Arutz 7 if they are willing to print it. But WE, the Jews of Eretz Yisrael, are entitled to ignore your opinion, and to tell you why. You are not authentic enough for us because you don\'t live here. Anybody who writes articles for publication opens him/herself to criticism of all kinds, valid or not and it\'s not lashon hara. As another TB wrote, if you have thin skin don\'t write.");
AddReply(459798,"Infighting Is Normal","Sam Spam","","07/04/09","Charedi, or ultra-Orthodox, are used to portray Israeli intransigence.  A dirty little secret?\n\nIsraeli intransigence plays to Arab victimhood.  Arab victimhood is the sustained official explanation for sustained militarization.\n\nSpecial treatment, military exemption, isolates a group. Special treatment encourages specific behavior.  \n\n(Arabs, \'called Palestinian,\' are also isolated.)\n \nThis is the long haul of the newcoldwar.  Major tenets, such as Arab/Muslim strength/mania vs. Western weakness, have been established.  Infighting is typical after a level of authority has left the stage.  \n\nWe\'ve returned to relative normalcy.  Uneventfulness can cause panic because people aren\'t getting the queues of the recent tumultuous past.  ");
AddReply(459791,"excellent point","to #16","","07/04/09","");
AddReply(459739,"WHOOAH MICHELLE, internet perspective needed","JTP","USA","07/04/09","Most commentors are fake.  \n\n\"You don\'t live here so don\'t..\"  That\'s an adolescent, amatuer and cliche rebuttal.  An antagonist or joker will use such.\n\nRegardless of legitimate and thoughtful argument, we must take comments with a big grain of salt.\n\nTake a look at JPost comments which read like a half mad literati republican from LA, or leftist posing as rightwing.  (wink wink.)  Very similiar to A7 comments.  Seems to be some at Vosizneias also.\n\nLook at Twitter, constantly people are faking celebrities.    \n\nBetter to wait for rebuttal via another persons\' published opinion piece or from an established \'known\' blogger.\n\nIn other words; if you want to debate in the virtual world, you must have enormous patience for the arrival of ideas and sincerity. ");
AddReply(459725,"Aliyah bullying is epiphenomenal.","sk","USA","07/04/09","The real reason that the aliyah card is played so often is that those playing it have no real explanation and solution for the serious problems in Israel and therefore grab onto an \"explanation\" for why these problems exist--insufficient aliyah.  They then displace their frustration and anger over their impotence on Jews living outside of Israel.\n\nMany A7 bloggers are aliyah zealots without being bullies. They too have no ideas, but at least they do not inspire hatred.  (One blogger, Fishman, is a bully, and he DOES inspire hatred.)");
AddReply(459533,"real chutzpa","sam","israel","07/03/09","How dare you, michelle, how dare you guilt trip and attack people who live in israel and didnt serve and then get upset when they respond to you (rightly) that if you\'re going to tell them what they should be doing then they will tell you what you ought to do.  Its cheap hypocrisy and chutzpah to do that, and even more pathetic to call them \"bullies.\" Want a \"bully\"?  Look in the mirror!");
AddReply(459489,"the only reason",",",",","07/03/09","to stay behind is a relative who absolutely cannot be moved physically.  People use the excuse of children with special needs etc. Well here\'s a clue, Israelis also have children with special needs and they got help. It is not like it was 20 years ago, which was truly awful. Things have gotten much better for such populations.  In contrast if you look at the leftist blogosphere in the US where these sickos are attacking Trig Palin and implying he should have been aborted.  The posts are truly appalling. Obscenity isn\'t always about sex. If you have a disabled family member, you are in danger in the US. If you  have a disabled family member and are Jewish, you are in GRAVE danger in the US.  The doors will close soon. What are you waiting for?  NO excuse. Just realize if you can\'t leave that immobile family member, your future may not be a happy one. Don\'t assume that  you will escape.");
AddReply(459481,"Not every Jew owns Eretz Yisrael","Tuvia Schertzman,MD","Betar Ilit","07/03/09","Someone born a Jew does not necessarily equate him with a Jew who accepts the yoke of hashem according to the shema and halacha.  The same is with Eretz Yisrael.  One does not automatically acquire rights to.  He must be here and sacrifice and be ready to sacrifice everything for this mitzvah according to the Torah.  People may have equal opportunity but do not necessarily have equal reward and rights.  ");
AddReply(459479,"kadima eema ","Amir Katz","tel aviv","07/03/09","Much respect for your article from this young Ole who supports you whole heatedly.  I\'m sure you understand though, that the \"you don\'t live here argument\" does hold weight and water when it comes to arguing with whiny liberal abroad, Jewish and goyish alike who bombast us for use, and often misuse of power in the region.  I will always support my home, but reserve the rights to criticize it\'s character when it takes on a twisted, sinister stance.  That criticism is harder to hear from those who live in the comforts of galut, rather than my downstairs neighbor.  That\'s just the way it is, and is why your article is so important, at the same time.  I hold no monopoly of opinion, but I enjoy my, \"you don\'t live here trump card\" all the same.  It wouldn\'t be Israel without a sense of Irony.  \nCome to Burning man, we\'ll chat then. \nLove from the homeland");
AddReply(459458,"Attack?","zevhill","Everywhere","07/03/09","I have a friend who tried to become a marriage counselor as an older, never-been-married single. She had a very hard time getting clients. Can\'t imagine why. I know someone who wrote a book on parenting although he had no children. I kind of read it with a grain of salt. Objectivity has an advantage but a severe disadvantage - you don\'t really KNOW a subject until you\'ve experienced it. I don\'t know why you feel under attack when people make that point to you.");
AddReply(459437,"YOU ARE ABSOLUTEY WRONG","Shmuel","Shomron","07/03/09","1. You do not chose to make aliya but are chosen. Only those few worthy of this land come and only those worthy stay. Otherwise, the LAND spits you out,\n2.The anti-religious army does not want chareidim. There was a whole group of chareidim who had experience in picking up body parts and blood and doing proper burials and the Army refused to take them. \n3. Neither the The Army or Israeli government is holy. After the disengagement and AMona, I cannot see anyone wanting to serve. Once drafted you have no choice, but you can legally seek deferments.\n4, If your skin is so thin, you should not be writing here.");
AddReply(459358,"There Are Israeli Opinions & Opinions","Mike","Los Angeles","07/03/09","Ms Nevada\'s position is an incorrect interpretation of the Torah.\n\nAnother Jew with a non-Torah opinion or worse yet an incorrect interpretation of the Torah Israel doesn\'t need.\n\nThe fact that she is not following the Mitzva of making Aliyah makes her incorrect interpretation of the Torah just typical diaspora chutzpah and total traif.\n\nI think she has gotten undeserved Jewish mother sympathy with her Kvetching.\n\n\n");
AddReply(459302,"Aliyah","Worried","Israel","07/02/09","The Arabs here have a much higher birth rate than we do.They also have a much higher percentage of young people. If many, many Jews do not make aliyah, we may lose Eretz Yisrael again, G-d forbid.");
AddReply(459295,"to 29 and 30 and 26","Aviva","Jerusalem","07/02/09","29 - excellent comment\n30 - partly true, but Jews outside of Israel are also brainwashed by cnn, fox, bbc etc. So it is irrelevant where one lives, in that sense. \n26 - \"aliyah bullies\" is a terrible term, as is the whole article, that has fomented division and illwill towards Jews in Israel in response to a few talkbacks. \n\nTo anyone who has a problem with being told to make aliya, then your problem is with the whole Torah. A Jew has a mitzvah (cneged col haTorah) to live in Eretz Yisrael. \n\n\n\n");
AddReply(459266,"Tour the Land of Israel","edu","Jerusalem","07/02/09","The Mishna Brura says that even walking 4 cubits in the land of Israel is a mitzva.\nInstead of taking an all or nothing approach, I encourage you to at least try to make periodic tours of the land of Israel.");
AddReply(459261,"Does Israel belong to all of us?","ora","Israel","07/02/09","As for Israel belonging to all Jews -- in halacha, in order to complete a purchase, one must physically take possession of the item. Perhaps Israel belongs to all Jews, but not all Jews have \"completed the transaction\" by accepting the divine gift through taking physical possession of their own little corner of the land.");
AddReply(459248,"#30 isn\'t the same Jew from Israel","Yerushalmi","Israel","07/02/09","#30 isn\'t the same Jew from Israel as the previous comments by the same name.\nI do agree with him or her. I picked a more distinctive name now, which reflects my viewpoint, not my place of residence.");
AddReply(459217,"While the door is open","Donna Paschal","Rochester, MN","07/02/09","Michelle, I REALLY do not qualify to comment(being an American gentile Christian)..but I won\'t let that stop me.  After reading all the comments to your article, it seems to me that the wisest advice came to you from #17, to come while the door is still open.  It is not a remote possibility that demands (by one world leader after another) limiting where Jewish citizens should be allowed to live within their own country of Israel could very soon be followed by an outcry to limit ALL Jewish population growth in Israel, including those desiring to make Aliyah.  How very very blessed you are to have a country filled with your brothers and sisters welcoming you.  America needs your voice of reason and truth too...but I could not keep from repeating to you those words of wisdom and welcome:   \"Come while the door is still open.\"   G-d will show you the way.  Bless you.");
AddReply(459211,"Mike in LA #3 is WRONG","Jew","Israel","07/02/09","Mike boy, you couldn\'t be more wrong when you say that someone who is outside Israel is more likely to be incorrect about what Israel should do than those who are inside.\n\nThose inside are influenced by the Israeli media & mind-control systems that promote land-for-peace & other fantasies/myths.  For example, at different points in time, a majority of Israel\'s citizens mistakenly supported a \"2 state\" final solution for various reasons we won\'t get into right now.  This couldn\'t be more foolhardy or more mistaken.  And they are INSIDE Israel.   \n\nSometimes it requires the PERSPECTIVE of someone on the outside, who can approach things with a more sane & rational mind to assess correctly the situation without certain inclinations and confusing/obfuscating influences.\n\nAs to your questioning her allegiance to rabbis & Torah, the Rambam & rishonim explain milchemet mitzvah clearly!");
AddReply(459208,"hypocrisy","ora","israel","07/02/09","Michelle, while I disagree with you on the extent to which non-Israelis should have a say in internal Israeli affairs, I still appreciated your view and your well-written article.\n\nUntil I read the article that got the talkbacks that offended you. Then I could only roll my eyes.\n\nReally, you expect us to sympathize with you because you\'re being judged for supposedly not doing what you should to help the Jewish people -- in response to an article in which you judge others for supposedly not doing enough to help the Jewihs people? Come on. Some of your detractors may be \"aliyah bullies,\" but you\'re an \"IDF bully.\" You are perfectly convinced that you\'re right in staying outside Israel - but it doesn\'t occur to you that the hundreds of rabbis and tens of thousands of young men who don\'t serve in the IDF might have valid reasons as well?\n\nBTW, my husband and family all served.");
AddReply(459201,"Also glad someone finally addressed this issue...","Tali","Israel","07/02/09","Michelle, We all know Hillel said that the main thing is to love your fellow as yourself and the rest of the Torah is commentary. This includes settling the Land. If it brings us to love other Jews, then perfect. If it brings aliyah bullies to despise other Jews, than settling the Land isn\'t doing much for them, and their hatred cancels their merit for settling the land.\n\n");
AddReply(459191,"Allen, do you yearn to live in Israel?","Jew","Israel","07/02/09","There is NO halachic obligation to wait for the Mashiah to move to Israel. If you are yearning to live in Israel and are facing difficulties, may HaShem grant you the merit of fulfilling the mitzvah of aliyah.");
AddReply(459183,"\"Aliyah Bullies\" - Great new term!","AS","","07/02/09","I love it, Michelle.  \"Aliyah Bullies\" is quite accurate and very cleverly descriptive.\n\nKeep up your good work.");
AddReply(459178,"thanks for speaking for us","Allen","Lakewood","07/02/09","There are thousands of diaspora Jews who yearn for the redemption along with you.\nTitchazek!");
AddReply(459149,"Gary, I\'ll speak to her face to face and anonymous, #8","Jew","Israel","07/02/09","I\'ll even ask her which rabbi says that she has a valid reason for not moving to Israel now. If she posts an email address I\'ll write to her personally.\nAnonymous your comment does not agree with Jewish law. There is a mitzvah to live in the land of Israel no matter what. Even if the land is full of idolaters, the mitzvah still holds.\nGermany was good to the Jews also. When it started not to be good to the Jews it was too late for many to leave. We do not owe the secular government of Israel anything. We owe the LAND of Israel and we owe the G-d of Israel.");
AddReply(459145,"Mike, Michelle isn\'t obligated to live in Saudia Arabia","Jew","Israel","07/02/09","She is obligated to to live in Israel. That is the difference between between giving opinions  about Israel and other countries.");
AddReply(459136,"Soon","Mark","ZA","07/02/09","Soon there will be no place for a Jew to run to and the USA will be the vortex of anti-Jewish hatred. Find yourselves a haven for survival.");
AddReply(459113,"Thanks for writting article: Truth needs airing: Kudos DACON9","","","07/02/09","I\'ve ceased to divulge my name and new city of residence as the Aliya Bullies discredit any opinion a Chutz Laaretz Jew has to share.My Aliya was a no go from the get go, but we stuck it out for seven years.Bitter experience has taught me that these bullies are just the tip of the iceberg.If you choose to make Aliya,remember it IS your decision 100%,you will find that Israeli Jews not respecting your personal bourders or privacy. How can they being invaded so many times.To even the playing field with the prolific muslims populace, Aliya shlichim have been pressured to turn up the rhetoric on inducing Jews to emmigrate.Lies,distortions & half truths are their tools of the trade. The newby potential Israeli taxpayer won\'t be told of double taxation!People just scratch your eyeballs out in Israel over money & petty matters.I.E. apartment Vaad,parking and customer service,noise.LOTA CHUTZPA");
AddReply(459096,"Overreaction 2","Aviva","Jerusalem","07/02/09","\"Jews outside of Israel have two nations\".  Well, that is really sad. Some Jews remain outside of Israel on account of overriding circumstances (such as a sick relative), but the truth is that many do because they see their \"other nation\" as their home. \n\nHaving reread your article, it reads more like a rant. I think that you should be more sensitive to Israelis. However, much Israel is the spiritual heritage of every Jew, living here, changes a person. Jews in Israel are different,  \"non-religious\" Israelis have more faith than many religious Jews outside of Israel.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n");
AddReply(459089,"Overreaction","Aviva","Jerusalem","07/02/09","Michelle, I agree that everyone is entitled to their opinion, regardless of where they live. However, the fact that you were so angry and  wrote a whole column in response to a few talkbacks, is, in my opinion, an over reaction. You write as if you are being persecuted, which is hardly the case. And whilst you are entitled to your opinion, you also need to be sensitive, to Israelis, when non-Israelis are constantly involving themselves in our affairs. Jews outside of Israel have a spiritual heritage in Israel, and are free to express opinions, but policy itself should be decided internally.\n\nRegarding the substance of what you wrote, the issue of chareidim in the army is a complex one. For example, there are older hareidim who themselves served in the army but do not want their children to serve, on account of the widespread immodesty.\n\n");
AddReply(458992,"You must to do aliyah ","Bull Lee","Tel Aviv","07/02/09","Don\'t worry it will be all fine, just you come and it will be fine - perhaps my brother-in-law have job for you in mall toilet clean, free toilet brush!");
AddReply(458957,"Every Jew has a stake in Israel, like it or not.","CDG","Yerushalayim","07/02/09","I also read and posted a lot of opinions before I made aliyah. It helped me feel part of things here and encouraged me to think of aliyah when the time came.\n\nI agree with Go\'el (#1): we need more like you and your family. However, as I advised a friend of mine back in the States, keep your eyes and options open. You never know when the tipping point will occur, and you will be better off in Israel than in chu\"l (outside Israel); you will then need us too. The doors have been wide open for Jews for more than 60 years and I hope they remain so, but I wouldn\'t count on it -- not because the Israelis wouldn\'t permit it, but because other nations may make it difficult-to-impossible, may G-d have mercy on us all.");
AddReply(458950,"suggestion","Yaakov","","07/02/09","suggestion: consult with an orthodox rav and then you can site the gemarah about this.  the main point is that no jew is permitted to insult or belittle another jew, or another human being, especially \'publicly\'. this is strictly forbidden. and re aliyah we are supposed to \'encourage\' our brethren to come to israel, not castigate them or insult them when they don\'t.\n   to all commenters who do this: you are impeding the coming of moshiach ch\' v....so stop this kind of behavior. you should, instead, at every opportunity, encourage and mekarev people to come.");
AddReply(458947,"Michelle should learn there are some very stupid Jews in Israel","Lee Kaplan","Berkeley, CA","07/02/09","One need only visit the website\nwww.isracampus.org.il to understand that all Jews are not so smart. As Michelle says, Israel is there for all the world\'s Jews. We all know there are 300,000 Israelis living in America who say they are Israelis but may never return.  For 2,000 years we\'ve said at Passover ext year in Jerusalem and there are even Jews in Israel who don\'t understand that. Michelle, develop a thick skin. Some Israelis can be very rude, but a sabra is as sweet inside as he/she is prickly outside.");
AddReply(458930,"Sad truth","Choni Davidowitz","Omer","07/02/09","Having just made Aliyah after 76 years of exile, I do agree with your sentimints.\nWhat \"angers\" me, however, is the sad truth that there are certain orthodox groups in the Diaspora who have a very strong influence on hundreds of thousands of Jews, both ortodox and secular, not to make Aliyah.\nThey use slogans such as \"Mach doh Eretz Yisrael\", whether you live in Berlin or Brooklyn.\nThousand and thousands of Bochurim spread themselves all over the Diaspora,encouraging Jews that by simply doing another Mitzvah it is good enough.\nEretz Yisrael is merely a peripheral issue as far as Judaism is concerned.");
AddReply(458912,"LET ME TELL YA SUMTHIN\' ABOUT THESE BLOGGERS.","DACON9","","07/02/09","I AM FED UP WITH THE INSULTS, THE ARROGANCE AND IGNORANCE AND OUT RIGHT LIES THESE BULLIES PITCH TO JEWS TO MAKE ALIYAH..\nthat in itself is a transgression. That is what the xtians do to convert a Jew,They lie.and these bloggers and articles also lie about aliyah.\n\nThere is no halacha, there is no rabbi that will tell you  that you must make aliyah if your personal circumstances prevent you, yet these bloggers make us who disagree,with their aliyah lies..make us the heretics. How many Jews they turn off from making aliyah EVER!..giving no hope for a jewish life unless you do it NOW!\nMANY OF these people being conned returned because they cant make a living in.They are led to believe they will have gan eden ,tamar yonah said come we need the body count.NO YOU  NEED GD AND NOT DECEIT.I am sickened by the ARROGANCE and lies by these bloggers and many others feel like me also.\n\nDACON9");
AddReply(458903,"In the Hot Seat","David Silvern","Petah Tikva","07/02/09","Diaspora Jews have the right to voice an opinion and be counted - up to a point. It must be remembered that those Jews who did make aliyah are the ones whose fates are tied to those of the State of Israel.  Diaspora Jews need to understand however that they are junior partners in the Israeli enterprise until they pull up stakes, move here and partake of the good along with the bad that Israel has to offer.");
AddReply(458856,"Bless You Michelle!","Sarah","USA","07/02/09","It is about time somebody said what you just said.  Thank  you.  AND if the \"Aliyah Bullies\" think \nthat they are doing the EXTREMELY important \nmitzvah of loving ALL other Jews with their AWFUL behavior, then they have another thing coming!  Love your fellow Jews.  That\'s it in a nutshell, but they do not know how.");
AddReply(458840,"Another Alyiah BullyTestimonial","Marcel","Florida","07/02/09","\'Marcel, you have very strong views about Israel, her citizens and politicians. I suggest you make alyiah, join the IDF, and subsequently run for office. After all, those of us who live safely in North America or other parts of the world, have relatively little at risk. It\'s easy for us to tell Israelis what they ought to do.\'\n-----\nDear Hugh,\nIf it is so easy to tell Israel what to do than why are you sitting on your hands ? head ?\n\nThe marxist moslem in the White House not only has strong views about ISRAEL but actually interferes in Israel\'s internal affairs.He even sticks his long ears in Israel\'s personal business and tells them where they can and cannot live. It bothers me greatly when hypocrites like yourself do not tell Obama to do what you suggested I should do. \nI despise the people of the double standard,Hugh. Whats good for the goose is good for the Marxist.\n\n");
AddReply(458830,"What Mohse Really Said","","","07/02/09","Moshe\'s rebuked the tribes because they didn\'t want to make Aliyah into Israel and help participate in the war.  Not because they refused to fight in the military but because they refused like you Ms. Nevada to make Aliyah.\n\nThe Torah and Rabbis \'obm tell us who in Israel should fight and who in Israel should not fight.   People who believe that sitting and learning Torah does not help bring a blessing on those that are actually fighting with arms does not understand the Hashem and the Torah.\n\nSorry Ms. Nevada but your interpretation is traif.");
AddReply(458809,"Foolish woman","anonymous","","07/02/09","1) Anyone who lives outside Israel is not a true Zionist, but then again, no Jew should be a zionist.  We have no need to trade 4000 years of faith for some secular herecy invented less than 200 years ago by a bunch of assimilated apikorsim.\n\n2)A Jew has only one loyalty -- the Jewish People.  When there is a Jewish State this may change.  But we owe no more loyalty to the Israeli State than to any other goyshe nation.  In fact, after Amona and Gush Katif, we owe Israel far less than we owe the United States.  Loyalty is a two-way street when it comes to loyalty to the goyim.  America is good to the Jews, so Jews should be good to America.  Israel attacks the Jews.  Therefore, the Jews should attack Israel.");
AddReply(458794,"The last time my woman got that mad,","Gary","Monterey, CA","07/02/09","I had to sleep in the barn.  Anyway, these Aliyah Bullies simply flunked college.  They are taking their frustrations out on you.  If they were present in front of you, they would run like chickens, while you hit them on the head with your club.");
AddReply(458787,"Dr. Irandoost - The Iranians do need arms","Gary","Monterey, CA","07/01/09","and military intervention.  Power and victory are the only means for change.  You can give the people the cell phones while they call someone outside to explain how they suffer with a rope around their necks.  But with Obama, there is no hope for the Iranian people.  ");
AddReply(458779,"Finally, someone said it!","Ellie Katz","","07/01/09","");
AddReply(458771,"Do as I say not as I do?","Jew","Israel","07/01/09","Sorry Michelle, but we\'re very tired of armchair Zionists. We need Jews who live here, not who visit from time to time. If you need to sell your business, or your house, finish that last year of university, etc. fine. Make that known to the public. Be a No\'ah. That\'s what one woman said that her family had been. Their aliyah plans took longer than expected and of course during that time that spoke at great length with their friends about it. Unlike No\'ah, who wasn\'t able to convince others to repent while he was building the ark, many of their friends were convinced to make aliyah also.\nLiving in Israel is not the only test of Zionism, but it is an important one. Mitzvot performed outside of Israel are not the same as those in Israel, and in fact most can be kept only in Israel. And, though it is yours to inherit, you can\'t inherit the Land if you don\'t live in it. We\'re waiting for you!");
AddReply(458760,"Opinion About Israel","Mike","Los Angeles","07/01/09","Of course Ms Nevada is entitled to have an opinion about Israel.  She is also entitled to an opinion about Saudi Arabia, the global warming hoax or what ever else she wants to have an opinion about.\n\nThe thing of it is, is that unless someone has lived in Israel for at least several years most likely that opinion about Israel will be wrong.  It is simple the height of Chuzpah for any non-Israeli to tell Israel what it should do.\n\nAs far as Ms Nevada\'s article on serving in the military in Israel goes her interpretation of the Torah is wrong. I don\'t know who her rabbi is, or even if she has one or even if she has been ordained by non-orthodox rabbis.  Whatever the source of her thinking that led to opinion was, it is just plain ignorant and wrong.\n\n");
AddReply(458753,"Keep it up Michelle!","Akiva","UK","07/01/09","A7 is sadly plagued with a few talkbalk trolls who have precious little better to do than get involved in ad hominem and glorified lashon hara.\n\nI personally love your articles and hope you will continue to voice a strong opinion in support of Eretz Yisrael, Torah and HaShem. ");
AddReply(458735,"You Are Right","Go\'el Jasper","Bet Shemesh","07/01/09","Michelle - We want you living here, but if you can\'t right now, please continue to focus on doing what you can from there.  But please, ask yourself everyday whether you are now ready to come here.  We need people like you.  \n\nI only disagree with one point you made (although you were paraphrasing them, so it\'s not an issue I have with you). Aliyah is not the litmus test for Zionism.  I don\'t even know what Zionism is.  Instead, I see Aliyah as the ultimate commitment to Judaism.\n\nAs far as the \"Aliyah Bullies\" are concerned.  What can I say? They give the beautiful mitzvah of Aliyah a bad name.\n\nI look forward to welcoming you home ... whenever that may be! (Hopefully soon.)");

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