Given Current Reality, Peace in Middle East is a Fantasy

I have written previously many times about Israel being the world's punching bag.  Whereas other countries committing atrocities are more or less ignored, Israel is publicly and vociferously blamed for everything evil and the fact that there is no "peace" in the Middle East.

There is currently no peace between Israel and her neighbors, and the reason is because her neighbors want to annihilate her.  The Arabs (so-called "Palestinians") don't really want 'peace,' they want Israel gone forever.  David Solway gets it, in his article entitled "Is Peace Possible in the Middle East" on Pajamas Media.

Basically, everything is wrong there.  The Arabs speak out of both sides of their mouths; they say to the world they want peace with Israel, and to their people and in their schools they promote murdering Jews and destroying the Jewish Nation--which they refuse to recognize as such.  The same tactics and 'peace negotiations' are tried, in different incarnations, over and over again, like the fool who keeps beating his head against the wall, hoping each time that the outcome--his head breaking--will be different.  Nobody wants to see the truth, not even many Israeli  leaders.  Nobody is facing the facts on the ground.  This 'peace' promoted by liberals and leftists is really a fantasy,  a myth, pie-in-the-sky.

In order for peace to happen, the Arabs would have to agree to certain points which are anathema to them.  As Solway delineates:

• The Palestinians would have to agree that a Palestinian state would be no more Judenrein than Israel would be, let’s say, Muslimrein; there are one and half million Arabs resident in Israel, most of whom will not surrender their Israeli citizenship. Why then should 300,000 Jews living in Judea and Samaria be evicted from their homes?

• The Palestinians would have to realize that their insistence on the “right of return” to Israel of seven million so-called “refugees” is a complete nonstarter, and must be dropped from their negotiating position. Israel is not about to commit demographic suicide.

• They will be required to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

• They will have to accept Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and Ramallah as the capital of Palestine.

• They will need to be reminded that the “green line” is not an officially ratified international border but merely a temporary armistice line, allowing for adjustments that ensure Israel’s retention of strategic depth. For the Palestinian Authority to assume that its proposed or unilaterally declared state would abut the pre-1967 borders is a violation of UN Resolution 242. Moreover, Clause 5(2) of the Rhodes Armistice Agreement of 1949 stipulates that “In no sense are the ceasefire lines to be interpreted as political or territorial borders” and that they do not affect “the final disposition of the Palestine question.”

• They will consent to cease promulgating anti-Jewish hatred in media and mosque and to erase anti-Israeli incitement from textbook and classroom.

• Given Israel’s meager territorial scale and the volatility and inherent violence in the region, especially the aggressive meddling of Iran in local affairs, the smuggling of rockets and other armaments threatening Israel, and the inroads made by al-Qaeda and its offshoots, the Palestinian Authority will be compelled to permit a defensive Israeli presence in the adjacent hill country.

 Even if they agree to these conditions, we would be talking about the Palestinian Authority--Fatah--not Hamas or Hezbollah, which are committed to the destruction of Israel.  How can this work? It is not a viable situation.  Solway sites an article by Jonathan Rosenblum in which he calls the Palestinian strategy not a two-state solution, but rather a "two-stage solution."  In his view (and mine as well), 'peace' is just a step in the eventual disappearance of the Jewish State (emphasis mine):

There can be no peace at the present – and perhaps ever – because the Palestinians have pursued not a two-state solution, but a two-stage solution, of which the second stage is inevitably the establishment of a unitary Palestinian rule from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River. Even those Palestinians who profess to support a two-state solution, make clear to pollsters that they do not see it as a final solution, but merely as a stage to a takeover of the Jewish state, which they will never, in any event, recognize as such.
The first and greatest obstacle to peace, writes historian Benny Morris, “is one that American and European officials never express and—if impolitely mentioned in their presence – turn away from in distaste, is that Palestinian political elites, of both the so-called “secular” and Islamist varieties are dead set against portioning the Land of Israel/Palestine with the Jews. They regard all of Palestine as their patrimony and believe that it will eventually be theirs.”

If the 'Palestinians' want a state of their own, they already have one--in Jordan, which has always been part of Palestine.  But of course, the Jordanians (as every other Arab country) don't want them.  But Jordan could be split into two states--it is vastly bigger in area than Israel--and the state immediately on the east side of the Jordan river, the natural geographical boundary--can be that Palestinian state.  There is one logical possibility.  Do you think the Arabs in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, or any Muslims in their twenty-two Muslim countries--would ever agree to this?

Now that notion, is truly pie-in-the-sky.  But I still believe in miracles (-my personal "pie").

A Rant: Sick, and Haveil Havalim #301 (not sick of)

I hate being sick.  Actually, who likes being sick?

But I remember, when I was little (now I'm...bigger), still in grade school, I hated and feared school so much that I wanted to be sick, so that I could just stay home and feel the comfort and security of my mother (a"h) puttering around in the kitchen.

I remember how I panicked on a Saturday night, and then felt so relieved when I realized that I still had another day of reprieve--Sunday--as I was prone to anxiety attacks the night before school days, and on school mornings, too.  I was afraid of...everything: not getting up on time and being late for school.  Being the 'outcast' in school and ignored, or worse--being laughed at and humiliated.  Failing tests. Being called on in class and not knowing the answer to the question, and thus being laughed at again, by my classmates.

Well, as I mentioned above (take that, English teacher; "never begin a sentence with 'well'"), I am sick.  Now, there is no mother to take care of me (D. H. tries. I have to hand it to him), and I feel deep guilt every time I have to take a sick day from work--as I am today.  I know I shouldn't feel that guilt, as all I am doing is taking care of myself; yet, I do.  It's a vestige of the past embedded in the present: I am not important.  I have to accomplish.  I have to be responsible.  I have to do what is my duty, to parents, school, The World.  Where does "to myself" figure in this?

So this past night I had a difficult time, coughing up...never mind.  The piece de resistance was at 4 a.m. when I had to...get up; and then stayed up to make myself hot water, lemon and ginger.  My D. H. had gone out yesterday specifically to get chicken to make chicken soup for me, and I added fresh ginger to the list--a natural cold remedy, very good, they say.  Actually, even if ginger does nothing at all to cut this bronchitis-type-cold short, it tastes so strong that it feels as if it's doing something. Totally psychological.

So I figured, I'm up already, in a lousy mood, why not to over to the PC and write about the latest Haveil Havalim, and blog? Logical, right?

So I will end this rant (because that is what it is) with the link to the latest Jewish Blog Carnival, the weekly HH #301, which Jack kindly took over because the scheduled host was...sick!

Misery loves company? Nah.  Get better, F.S.

Israel Within International Law in Actions Against Turkish Flotilla

An Israeli probe into the raid of a Turkish "peace" flotilla last May concluded that Israel was within its bounds in the manner in which it boarded the Mavi Marmara, although it resulted in nine Turks on the ship being killed.  A good part of the European community had censured Israel for what it called its use of excessive force in the boarding of the ship.

What Israel had actually encountered when boarding were members of the Turkish IHH on board who attacked the Israeli soldiers with guns, knives and metal bars.

The commission said Israeli troops "encountered extreme violence" when they boarded the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara, a ferry carrying around 600 people that led the six-ship flotilla.
A group of activists from the Turkish Islamist IHH organisation on board the ship "used firearms against the soldiers during the hostilities," the report said, repeating an allegation denied by the activists.

As if Israel can do anything right in the eyes of the world.  Repeating myself again, and again (after all, I am the Dept. of Redundancy Dept., right?).

Tu b'Shevat and the Holiness of the Land of Israel

The upcoming holiday of Tu b'Shevat, on the 15th day of the month of Shevat--"Tu" being an acronym for the letters 'Tet' and 'Vav' adding up to 15 (falling this coming Thursday, January 20th, 2011)--celebrates the New Year for the Trees.  It was mentioned in VaYikra (Leviticus 19: 23-25) relating to calculating the age of trees for tithing.  It had been considered a minor holiday and not really marked by any special ceremony or much celebration for many, many years.

In our time--and I believe it is prophetic and totally related to the return of the Jews to the Land of Israel--this chag celebrating the importance and yes, holiness of the trees and of the Land itself is now experiencing a renaissance, and is being celebrated by more and more Jews each year.

For hundreds of years in the diaspora Jews were not permitted to be landowners, and so many became moneylenders, and the art of agriculture and farming became, shall we say, dormant.    In the nineteenth century Jews began re-establishing agricultural settlements in the Land of Israel (then called Palestine), returning to their Promised Land and fulfilling the two-millennial old Zionist dream of rebuilding and resettling the Land.  As a result, Tu b'Shevat has been transformed.

In the diaspora (where I currently live, temporarily...) it is hard to envision blossoming trees and budding fruit, as it is still the dead of winter.  But in Israel, it is towards the end of the rainy season, and the almond trees begin blossoming.  One feels a revival of life, and spring is in the air.  Our family had begun celebrating Tu b'Shevat years ago with a Tu b'Shevat "seder," similar in idea to the Passover seder, in that it has a format, with readings and songs, celebrating the Seven Species for which Israel is known in the Torah.

Kabbalistically, Tu b'Shevat rectifies the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  We do this Tikkun--repair or rectification--just by eating the fruit which G-d created for our pleasure.  For, contrary to the asceticism of some other religions, Judaism values life, and physical--yes, physical--pleasure, of which eating is one!

I leave you with a video from Ohr Chadash by Rabbi Trugman on the holiness of all the land of Israel. This year,  I don't know if we will be able to make a seder for Tu b'Shevat, because we are in our temporary little apartment without our things, and feeling displaced. 

But G-d willing, if not this year, then next year.  In Jerusalem, with our children and grandchildren.

Already the Next HH...

I can't believe I haven't posted since the last Haveil Havalim, but it's true--I have not had the time, nor the energy, and it's already time to announce the next HH, #300.  It is up and running at To Kiss a Mezuzah, and one post of yours truly is in it.

Don't get me wrong--working is great, but it has its perils.  And one of the more serious ones is...not blogging! 
Somehow I will have to rectify that...

HH #299 is LIVE

The latest and greatest Haveil Havalim (the Jewish Blog Carnival) is up and running at Esser Agoroth, so in order to get your two cents worth, be there or be square!

(One of these days I'll have the time and the courage to try my hand at hosting; right now with our unstable living situation it is not the right time...).

Squeeze Left - Think Better (aka: Weird Science)

In today's Wall Street Journal's Ideas Market under the sub-heading "Intelligence":

An Israeli research team at the Brain Research Center of Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel including Dr. Abraham Goldstein and three others have discovered through controlled testing that squeezing a ball with your left hand can increase creative thinking.

In a study entitled  Unilateral Muscle Contractions Enhance Creative Thinking, the researchers have concluded, after asking the 40 subjects to squeeze a ball with their left hand--which controls the brain's right hemisphere--in advance of their taking a complicated cognitive test, that the advance activation of the right hemisphere increased their creative thinking and their correct answers on the test. 

Participants attempted to complete the Remote Associates Test after squeezing a ball with either their left or right hand. As predicted, participants who contracted their left hand (thus activating the RH) achieved higher scores than those who used their right hand and those who did not contract either hand. Our findings indicate that tilting the hemispheric balance toward the processing mode of one hemisphere by motor activation can greatly influence the outcome of thought processes.

So, my friends, in advance of your next big exam or nerve-wracking job interview, practice squeezing a ball with your left hand.  You might just be surprised at the positive results!  Leave it to Israel (it's that improbable "Yiddishe Kopf" in action again).

Click here to read the complete abstract.

KCC Up and Running

The latest KCC (Kosher Cooking Carnival) is up and running, here.  I wish I could contribute to it, but I think I've forgotten how to cook!  That's what happens when you have a built-in chef in the house (my D. H.).

Boy,  I sure could use a bowl of chicken soup right now.  Guess it's going to have to be. . .

. . .the Instant variety!

What Was I Thinking??

NaBloPoMo? I must have been out of my mind. On January first, 2011 I signed up for National Blog Posting Month, committing to posting every day for the month of January.  My last post was January 2nd.  It is now January 8th. No posts in between.  I blew it.  Didn't even post on my daughter's (that's Toodles') birthday to wish her a happy birthday (January 7th). 

Good. Grief.  I'm a slacker.  A total failure.  There is no hope for me.  I have failed the course, wiped out, descended into the depths--and I'm duly beating myself up about it.

Why did this happen? No time, you say? Perhaps no energy? Unfortunately, the answer is actually D) None of the above.  I simply. . .forgot about it (you've heard of fahgeddaboudit? I did.)  Since January 2nd, I totally forgot to post.  I come home so exhausted from taking care of little two-year-olds by nurturing them, teaching them to be law-abiding social citizens by telling them to play nice and hands are not for hitting and use your words and singing to them, playing with them, wiping their little noses and changing stinky diapers* that I totally forgot to blog.  In fact, I almost totally forgot that I even have a blog.

Okay, this is it.  I'm a grown-up.  I'm gonna be fair and honest.  I am not waiting for my grade-school teacher to fail me, I am not waiting for my professor to throw my dissertation back in my face and say I'm not doctoral material, I am not waiting for the trial to have the jury judge me innocent -- I know I am guilty, period.  So I am hereby (this is...so hard) removing the January NaBloPoMo logo from my blog.  I am drumming myself out of the program.  NaBloPoMo, good riddance to you for January.  I am a total wipeout.  Maybe I'll have better luck in. . .February!



(*I really love my job.)

My Daily Blob...er...Blog, for January

Did a crazy thing just now (at 2:00 a.m.).  I signed up for NaBloPoMo again, for the month of January, 2011.  Why? Because I'm not thinking clearly.  But also because of the theme for this month, which is "Friends."  Why? Because without our dear, dear friends, we could not have made this move from our townhome to this temporary apartment.

I will write about this later, but for now, I just want to say to everyone who was there for us:

Thank you so, so much, and may you merit mitzvot - שתזכו למצוות!!  We could NOT have done this without you (-and you know who you are!)

Ok.  This takes care of my post for January 2.  Onward and upward.
(But for now, good night!)

What do the Talmud and...the Chinese Have in Common?

Here is a new take on a Yiddishe Kopf: the Chinese are trying to emulate Jewish business intelligence and ingenuity, by (of all things) studying the Talmud!

Jewish visitors to China often receive a snap greeting when they reveal their religion: “Very smart, very clever, and very good at business,” the Chinese person says. Last year’s Google Zeitgeist China rankings listed “why are Jews excellent?” in fourth place in the “why” questions category, just behind “why should I enter the party” and above “why should I get married?” (Google didn’t publish a "why" category in Mandarin this year.) And the apparent affection for Jewishness has led to a surprising trend in publishing over the last few years: books purporting to reveal the business secrets of the Talmud that capitalize on the widespread impression among Chinese that attributes of Judaism lead to success in the financial arts.

Han Bing, a Chinese author of the book "Crack the Talmud" said after attending a series on the Torah that Jews and the Chinese people have had similar problems, such as immigration and global isolation.  I read somewhere--wish I remembered where, so I could link it--that Chinese leaders met with Israeli leaders some time back and were marveling at the economic success of Israel in such a short span of 62 years of statehood.  They were under the impression that there were approximately "only" 100 million Jews world-wide.  Were they shocked when they were informed that the global Jewish population was only approximately 13.3 million (don't know if this is current).

As far as Jewish business acumen goes, however, I fear that this family didn't get its fair share of genes.  Maybe my kids will prove that wrong...

Orthodoxy or Secularism: Which is More Fulfilling?

Even before I became truly religious, as a child I always wanted to be "Orthodox" (you might say that I grew up 'Conservadox').  There was a specialness to it.  In an Orthodox lifestyle, time became holy, and there was a purpose to living with transcended the physical.  In short, Orthodoxy just 'felt right' to me--it felt like the Truth.

Apparently I am not the only one who felt and still feels like this.  Many young, secular Jews are finding life's meaning in an Orthodox lifestyle.  An article in The Globe and Mail tells the tale:

Becoming Orthodox means more than just giving up bacon. From bans against driving and using electrical or electronic devices on the Sabbath, to dietary laws so strict that very few grocers, restaurants or butchers can meet their requirements, to a daily routine permeated by prayer and ritual observance, adopting Orthodoxy is more than an embrace of faith, it is a dramatic change in lifestyle.
Ezra Krybus made that change. He grew up in a secular Jewish home in Toronto where only the most important holidays were observed, and then only loosely, as a matter of tradition rather than faith. But near the end of his film degree at York University an Orthodox rabbi moved into his neighbourhood and began inviting him to the synagogue, and to Orthodox homes for the Sabbath meal.
“One thing that really struck me was the amount of passion these people had,” Mr. Krybus said. “And they were doing all kinds of things that I didn’t know what they were doing, or why they were doing them. But they had such a passion that had such a truth behind it.”

Being Orthodox is not easy, however.  Sometimes I wonder what exactly it is that pulls people to attempt to observe 613 mitzvot* from living a life where nobody is forcing them to observe anything at all, and  I am totally amazed when I hear of non-Jews converting to Orthodox Judaism (I have several friends who are converts), when all they had to do was observe the 7 Noahide laws.

I think it's the structure that a religious lifestyle adds to one's life.  It is the fostering of a tightly knit community--the antithesis of total individualism, of ego-centricism, ultimately of hedonism and anarchy.  Truly Orthodox people who follow the Torah--I am using this term in its wider sense to mean all the Holy Books, including those not included in the Five Books of Moses, such as the Shulchan Aruch, Pirkei Avot, etc.--in addition to learning and praying three times daily practice in their daily lives respect for others, honoring their wives, giving tzedakah* and generally doing acts of chesed--loving kindness.  Orthodoxy is the answer for those who feel lost in this world, who wonder why they ultimately exist.

Then again, Orthodoxy isn't for the faint-hearted.  Many leave, mainly from the Haredi or Ultra-Orthodox sects of Judaism.  This group is very insular and restrictive of any connection with a secular life.  In my view, Ultra-Orthodoxy is the opposite of what we Jews were placed on this Earth for--to bring goodness to civilization, to change it for the better, to right its wrongs.  One can be a religious Jew and still study in University, attain higher degrees, and work in the secular world while living an Orthodox lifestyle.

That is the way we can effect change: by demonstrating through the way we live but within the larger community what it is like to be ethical and moral, to value other people and respect them for who they are (while not relinquishing our way of life and values, and as long as they do not attempt to influence us negatively).

There may be flaws in Rabbinic interpretation of how to live an Orthodox lifestyle, but even imperfect, its fullnes and richness far surpasses a secular one. This is one Orthodox woman's opinion.
Shavua tov*.


*Mitzvot: Commandments, or 'good deeds.'
*tzedakah: literally, "righteousness," but often loosely translated as "charity."
*Shavua tov: traditional greeting at the end of Shabbat, from Saturday night on, meaning "[have a] good week."

Forgot to Even Mention that...it's 2011!

Well, that's New Year's for you.  Yesterday's post had no mention of the secular year-change.  That's because when it happens on Shabbat, it...doesn't happen!  I totally forgot that it was "New Year's Eve" on Friday.  To me, it was erev Shabbat.  New Year's Day? Shabbat.  The only difference is now I have to learn to write "2011" instead of "2010."

I did miss watching the ball descend over Times Square, though.  So for those of you who missed this too, here it is.  Happy 2011( just ignore all the smooching).