Tikkun Olam

After writing on how awful I felt about the Rachel Corrie event so many years ago, and how no good has come from it on any side: her family bereft, the Arabs still terrorizing, and Israel still being vilified--I came across this, stating that CNN's photos of Rachel Corrie before and after being run over by a bulldozer might have been manipulated .  As has happened in so many previous so-called "news reports" on incidents in Israel, one cannot assume that they and their accompanying photographs, are TRUTH. Much has been written about how the Rachel Corrie case was handled in the courtroom. Yet all the while, a more subtle judgment has been taking place in the court of public opinion. So while the Israeli court ruled that Corrie’s 2003 death was an accident – given that the bulldozer driver was unable to detect Corrie’s presence – that ruling did not stop CNN from promoting the canard that Corrie was “intentionally murdered.” In describing the verdict, a CNN vi...

Okay. This has got to 'take the cake.' Thanks to my illustrious, industrious sister-in-law's sister-in-law (thanks, A.!) in sunny Flawriduh, you are privileged to view this video news report (as seen on WeJew) about Kosher Gasoline, er--Gefilte Fish with Gas (as in, "I'll have some gas with that fish , please). What's really cute, is people in the know can see immediately that the "reporter" (yeah, right) hasn't a clue of what she is reporting about. Unfortunately, the interview-ees don't seem to, either. But, hey--just geeve ah keek , and enjoy. (let's hear it for Borough Park!)

I recently discovered (hat tip, my friend Neil) that Benjamin Netanyahu, the current Prime Minister of Israel had an audience with the Lubavitcher Rebbe (ztz"l) Rav Menachem Mendel Schneerson , twenty-five years ago, when he was Ambassador to the United Nations. The Rebbe ztz"l spoke with him for 40 minutes, and told him that when he speaks to the United Nations, a bastion of lies and eternal darkness, he should always "light one candle of truth." In this video (video is in Hebrew with English subtitles) Netanyahu is speaking with the Israeli media who asked him if he thought he had legitimized Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, by addressing the issue of the Holocaust. Bibi is telling the interviewer about his meeting twenty-five years ago with the Rebbe and what the Rebbe told him to do; and how telling the truth repeatedly with dignity and strength transcends time.

. . . to CNN for it's brilliant, one-sided histrionic reporting-again- with their article entitled In Gaza, Living with Anger and Fear . I've got an idea: let's subsitute the word "Sderot, Ashkelon or Gedera in the same paragraphs, use Jewish names and paraphrase it, something like THIS: "Listen, listen to this!" shouts Fida Qishta Re'ut as the crackling of rockets is heard over her phone receiver. "It's difficult for anybody to imagine that in a second, maybe when I am talking to you on the phone, maybe something [will] happen to me or to my family," the Palestinian blogger Israeli mother told CNN from her home in Gaza Sderot, [or Ashkelon, or Gedera, or the rest of Southern Israel]. She has gotten little sleep during the past 10 days as Israel Hamas continues its attacks on her homeland, prompting the [defense] attacks the Jewish state says are designed to stop months years of rocket strikes on southern Israel by Hamas militants t...

I know this is old-ish news; you've probably seen it already on Jameel's blog. But the truth is, I intended to post this last week (do intentions count?). I intended to post lots of things last week, but being true to my title as Queen of the Procrastinators, I procrastinated. This video of the interview of Bar-Ilan University's lecturer in Arabic Dr. Mordechai Kedar on Al-Jazeera just warmed the cockles of my heart, and gave me strength to hope. Would that our 'fearless' leaders (doesn't matter which country-you name it) had the courage to speak with such conviction, about such a Truth: May we go from strength to strength.

I heard the news on Friday, erev Shabbat, on NPR, and thought I was' hearing things.' Tim Russert, host of Meet the Press , had died of an apparent heart attack, at 58 years old. I used to be an avid watcher of Meet the Press , which aired Sunday mornings. I loved the direct, hard questions he asked of the guests on his show, whether they were media people, CEOs or Presidents. He wasn't afraid of dissent, he wasn't concerned about political correctness, and he wasn't afraid of offending his sometimes exalted guests: He always held them accountable for past statements. I was always excitedly looking forward to hear whom he was going to show up, to force to "clarify," "explain," or backtrack from their current or previous statements, stands and comments on the issues, whatever they might have been. After I heard the news, I read about and listened to the story of his life, and I learned that 'off the job' he was a truly religious man (he ...

Another phony attempt at so-called "peace-talks" is coming up at Annapolis this week. I say 'phony' because it is Israel who is offering concessions while the Arabs have not stopped the kassam attacks coming from Gaza and are basically not offering anything, just demanding more and more. Arlene Peck says it so well. It just angers me so much, that I am beside myself. I find myself repeating myself to friends, in letters to the editor in newspapers, on my blog, and it falls on deaf ears. I could be sending this to the State Department; and it would still fall on deaf ears. What kind of stupidity is this, Israel 'getting together 'with Arab nations who hate her, some of whom won't even change their charters to acknowledge that she exists or has a right to exist-to conduct talks for 'peace?' When the basic premise hasn't even been met yet? And have you noticed that the world doesn't acknowledge Israel's contributions, to anything? The few...

As per my previous post stating that I have no energy to write, I am basically pointing my finger to the blog on the Israel National News (called "Arutz Sheva" or 'channel seven' in Hebrew) website by Tamar Yonah (click on the title link to read the article) and saying, "yes, that is exactly my view. Right on !" I just don't have the energy to write about it myself right now: too much to do, too little time. . . It's ok, read about it there. Since to date, Israel is not going about it's affairs in the direction I want it to go to achieve "The Isaiah Plan," I am sure that I'll have plenty of opportunity to write about it later. I hope I'm wrong.

Over two dozen US newspapers including the Washington Post last weekend decided against publishing a cartoon depicting a couple where the girlfriend just converted to Islam. Apparently the cartoon, prior to the decision, was shown to several Muslims working there who may have expressed their concern, after which the decision not to publish was made. Was this the right decision? What about the first amendment to the constitution providing for freedom of speech? Are we "running scared" of Muslims, but Jews and Christians are fair game? Is this the ultimate in political correctness? Here is the video on MSNBC. Click on or copy and paste the address in a new browser, go to "Editor's Picks," and search the pages for "Is Islam Off-Limits in Comic Strips." http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?f=00&g=64e9ad4e-b6ea-48d3-a321-adb1e5e71900&p=News_Editors%20Picks&t=m5&rf=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/&fg = Here is the link to the actual cartoon: htt...

I was depressed. But I shouldn't be. My depression is due to a combination of factors, some personal, some national. In this post I am addressing the national: the Likud primaries, which were held yesterday in Israel. Bibi Netanyahu ("same old, same old") won. My candidate (even though I am not eligible to vote...yet...), Moshe Feiglin, lost. Or did he? He garnered 23% of the vote, which was approximately double that of the last election. A full quarter of Likudniks are fed up with the politcal-existential situation in Israel and see Moshe Feiglin as different, as not-afriad-to-speak-the-truth-about-the-real-situation, and as a real, tangible hope for the future of Israel's survival as a Jewish State. For yet another example of his lack of fear of 'political correctness,' just read this article he wrote which I found on Arutz Sheva, about young Israeli men evading the draft. It is like spraying ice cold water with a high pressure hose on anyone who refuses to ...

So apparently the DSL Forum , in their study of broadband growth in the Middle East, is redrawing the global map to one without the State of Israel. That's not nice (and it would get an F in geography). Instead they only list "Palestine," which by the way when last seen was actually not a recognized country--as the intrepid investigative reporter-cum-blogger says in his piece on Telecomweb . But for some reason, some people will go to great lengths to appease the bully, as I've said many times in previous posts (see labels arabs, media, politics ) which of course is why the bully gets cockier and cockier, strutting about posturing and threatening and often acting out on his threats--committing murder and mayhem, kidnappings and beheadings--and not one nation (let alone the so-called 'moderates' of their own people, if such a thing even exists-except for a precious few like Wafa Sultan and Brigitte Gabriel- again, see my previous posts) has the guts to stand u...

First, I hope you clicked on the title link in my last post; it went to a blog on Telecomweb about daylight saving time (the title pun was that writer's, not mine!). In (click on link here:) more pressing matters , because I put off cleaning for Pesach until today, I am in a panic, since my original 'plan' was to be pesachdike by Shabbat Hagadol. Don't know if that will happen now. I thought it would be easier with the kids not home, and maybe it is, to a degree: they're not here to mess things up! But on the other hand, I've been using my daughter Toodles' room as an office, with my computer, a new computer desk, with two sets of those new plastic file drawers on either side of it. And, worse--I confess--I've been eating at my computer (shh-hh-don't tell anyone.). So it's not the kids' mess I have to clean up, but my own. And they are not here to help me, to boot. It's just my husband and I by our little lonesomes, to do all the work, ...

My kids are in Israel; Our youngest already called to "send money", so I know that (b'ezrat Hashem) everything is ok! I'm missing them so much; the Chagim are coming up, and we won't have family with us, and we can't afford to go there , so I am feeling a bit pensive, and decided to post these quotable quotes, musings and Great Moral Principles gleaned from various sources (including The Simpsons , a very astute, informative source on our society today) which don't necessarily have anything to do with each other. Credit is given where known. So reflect, ponder, and snicker a little: "Democracy involving Israel and its neighbors is two wolves and a lamb voting on what's for lunch. And the agressor is a heavily armed lamb." Don't know to whom to attribute that to (my husband found the quote), but how true it is. From the JewishVirtualLibrary : "In 1937, a local Arab leader, Auni Bey Abdul-Hadi, told the Peel Commission, which ultimate...

Yes (sigh), we are dealing with pure evil here. I feel like hitting the world over the head with a baseball bat. They don't see it? They don't care? They wait until it's coming to a theatre near you? Problem is, it already came; they saw the film and didn't get the message. Am I referring to Harry Potter (Voldemorte=Hezbollah)? Not really; it's a metaphor for Israel , the * Islamo-Fascist Evil , and the world's lack of response). (*credit for this term goes to Michael Savage, conservative talk-show host.) Ok, folks - the comedy hour is over for now, although I might post some jokes here again some day. Israel is now into a so-called 'cease-fire' (- translated into Arabic it means 'time to re-arm.') after not really having 'won' anything (despite what our illustrious Mr. Malaprop-er, President said) and suffering terrible losses of outstandingly good and exceptional soldiers and civilians. These soldiers, such as Roi Klein (zichrono livrac...

This is a longer post than usual. It is a compilation of links and articles which a friend sent me and which I edited somewhat and am posting here for your edification. These are important. Please read and click on at least some of them. I promise you, you will not regret it. (Hat Tip to my friend Maddy in London, UK, who did all the compilation work). Firstly, I would like to thank all my readers who come from כל רחבי העולם - the far reaches of the world, including Bourg-la-Reine, Ile-de-France; Ratingen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, Haifa, Israel, Washington, D.C. , Sunnyvale, CA, Villawood New South Wales, Australia and Brooklyn, New York - to name just a few. You are the reason I continue blogging, and I thank you so much for your visits - keep 'em coming (and bring your friends, if you have any) :- ) Now for the subject of this post; below are various links to articles and videos illustrating the side of this war which you rarely see in the media: The Truth of what is happeni...

Until this morning I had never heard of Brigitte Gabriel . It happened while I was washing the dishes (left over from two days ago) which were piled up in the sink. I figured this would take me a while to do, so I decided to distract myself by turning on the Laura Ingraham Show , a conservative radio talk-show ( ok, I confess - I have a serious talk-show addiction). What I heard was an eye-opener: a phone interview with a lady named Brigitte Gabriel, the founder of The American Congress for Truth . This was an interview which the world at large should have heard (hopefully, Ms. Ingraham had a wide listenership this morning). I made a mental note to go to the Laura Ingraham website to get the full scoop. What I found was the story of a Lebanese-born woman, now living in the United States, who has a horrific tale to tell. She relates, from personal experience, the truth about the radical Islamists the world is in denial about. In addition she states in her own words what many Jews, and ...

Folks, this is not directly about Israel (and the war to eradicate the scum enemy threat to its existence), but in a way, it is. Mel Gibson, the actor, and director of the film The Passion , was recently arrested on a drunk driving charge - DUI, to be exact. We knew of his father being shall we say, not the greatest lover of the Jewish people. Well, the apple does not fall far from the tree. However, I have to give Mr. Gibson (the son) some credit, in that he did admit that he made inappropriate disparaging remarks about the Jewish people, and he apparently has asked for forgiveness. Hmm-mm, do you think he is on the road to Tshuvah ? I am almost ready to give him the benefit of the doubt. It sounds as if he is going through a very personal inner conflict now. Let's see where this leads. Meanwhile, why don't you click on the title link and enjoy the article by Michael Ventre - gezuntahait !

Some of you might have already seen this widely circulated video of the discussion on Al Jazeera with Wafa Sultan and Dr. Ibrahim Al-Khouli on the Clash of Civilizations theory of Samuel Huntington . In light of the biased so-called 'news reports' and the partial-and-mis -information (e.g., Kofi Anan implying that Israel 'delibirately targeted' the UN observers) which is being bandied around by the mainstream media, I consider this video - which very plainly states the horrific behaviors perpetrated in the name of the Muslim religion for decades - very relevant today. Click on the title link to see and hear a lone voice in the wilderness (Hat Tip to my friend Ruti in the Golan for pointing this out to me.)

A short short post: "It's time for Israel to make humus out of Hamas" -- Joseph Farah, WorldNetDaily (how's that for a quote?! - shukran Joseph!!)

Shalom u'Vrakhah, Everybody! I apologize in advance. This blog's intellectual level is about to drop to the depths...of a baby and pre-schooler's! You see what happens when one goes to visit one's married daughter and grandchildren? One's life COMES TO A COMPLETE HALT! I have not been as exhausted as this since my kids were little. I am running around doing a little cleaning, laundry, helping take care of, drive to camp, cooking a bit and feeding and bathing my grandkids - not to mention changing stinky diapers (sorry, mentioned them!). Suddenly, I don't have a life. Actually, in truth? I didn't have a life before I came here; NOW I have a life: Being involved in my daughter's & to a lesser extent, son-in-law's life (and he is like a son to me), getting to know my grandkids and instilling in them (I hope) a bit of Yiddishkeit -"B. V. G." - 'before visiting grandkids' - THAT'S when I didnt' have a life; I just looked ...