A Test of True Zionism, Yerushalayim

 

The true test of a Zionist and of Zionism generally lies with the answer to a single question, where does your heart lie when you think of a Jewish State. There is but one acceptable answer, ‘My heart lies with Jerusalem and with the building within of the Temple, the Throne of G0d.’ This is true as we proclaim every year at the end of our Passover Seder in every Jewish home, “Next year in Jerusalem.” The final truth lies within Psalms in the powerful words within the lines to the “Song of Babylon” written in Psalm 137 which reads:

1) By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
2) Upon the willows in the midst thereof we hanged up our harps.
3) For there they that led us captive asked of us words of song, and our tormentors asked of us mirth.
4) How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a foreign land?
5) If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
6) Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I fail to count Jerusalem the greatest of all my joys.
7) Remember, O LORD, against the children of Edom the day of Jerusalem; who said: ‘Raze it, raze it, even to the foundation thereof.’
8) O daughter of Babylon, you will be destroyed! A blessing on anyone who pays you back for the way you treated us!
9) A blessing on anyone who seizes your babies and smashes them against a rock!

This is the test which the new Israeli government led by Prime Minister Netanyahu as there will be calls from much of Europe and the Western World with a few notable exceptions; Canada will oppose such a demand be lain upon Israel for as long as Stephen Harper remains their Prime Minister and likely carried on for as long as his Conservative Party holds on to power in the Canadian elections. There is also a strong possibility that Great Britain will also not favor the division of Jerusalem providing the Israelis put forward a strong face of determination to never allow the dividing of their Capital City or the loss of the Temple Mount and all the importance which that holds. Other than these two it would fall to any conservative or traditional party to take the lead for any other nation to oppose such a demand. The crux of why this may become an immediate crisis belongs to President Barack Obama who as the leader of the United States will be left to direct and dictate the manner that United States Ambassador Samantha Power will vote and whether or not she would utilize the United States veto power to block any Security Council Resolutions which would call for Israel to return to the Green Line which describes the armistice lines from the 1948 – 1949 War launched by over a half dozen Arab States to annihilate the nascent State of Israel which divided Jerusalem. Many wish to demand that Israel grant Eastern Jerusalem to the Arabs to use as the capital for their state, ignoring the fact that Israel annexed the entirety of Jerusalem after reuniting the two halves of Jerusalem in 1967 and by doing so included all the Arab residents who had resided under the Jordanian occupation permanent resident status which makes the individual to hold all rights as an Israeli citizen with the exception of political rights. The Israelis actually are only required to grant any Arabs or other non-Jews all rights but withhold political rights according to the San Remo Conference and the British Mandate, both included as valid by the United Nations Charter in Article 80. Israel went as far as to grant the former Jordanian citizens who were included in the reunification annexation of Eastern Jerusalem partial political rights when they were permitted voting rights in Jerusalem city elections. This one further indication proving that all of Jerusalem belongs to Israel and it will never be permitted peaceably to be torn in half; to this too do we say “Never Again!”

 

Any government which would permit the division of Jerusalem will find itself on the wrong side of the people of Israel who in polling have supported and demanded that Jerusalem remain unified and the Capital City of Israel for this time and forevermore into the future and never ending usually surpassing 75% and even reaching over 90% in numerous local polling. Thus we can easily conclude that any platform which supports the division of Jerusalem as one of their main planks in their platform can forget gaining a majority no matter what their social programs or other money promised to particular groups in order to convert their opposition to splitting Jerusalem muted while they are a part of the coalition such a party might manage to make. The problem is that such a government would be extremely unstable for as soon as a vote came to permit the splitting of Jerusalem or the making of Jerusalem an ‘International City’ presumably managed and run by an agency of the United Nations the promises made not to vote against such a resolution brought before the Knesset would probably not be honored by a significant number of Ministers from such parties who would vote against any such resolution. Furthermore, the Israeli Supreme Court has recognized the annexation of Jerusalem and thus they also might step in to invalidate anything passed through the Knesset and signed by the Prime Minister making any such deal void and without support by the government without opposing the Supreme Court and facing dissolution of the government and new elections. This would place the central issue of the ensuing campaign the division of Jerusalem and losing any possibility that the rights of Jews to visit holy sites in the Old City and around and on the Temple Mount as once the Arabs have control over Eastern Jerusalem such attempts by Jews to visit these sights would result in their death as soon as they were identified. This situation itself, and such extremes required to visit other holy sites described above, are sufficient to reject any proposal for peace which would preclude access by any Israeli to the Temple Mount or the numerous holy sites of Judea and Samaria.

 

That brings up the other point which is often claimed about the universality of the holy sites and their access being guaranteed for all peoples. This was part of the claim made when the IDF was pulled from Hevron and the majority of the city was relegated to Arab control. This required the strong presence of Israeli security personnel to keep the Cave of the Patriarchs, the Cave of Machpelah, in order to make it safe for Israelis to visit this holy site. The worst case scenario comes from Joseph’s Tomb, Kever Yoseph (Hebrew: קבר יוסף) which is located in the outskirts of Nablus and is completely within Arab areas of control, as they enjoy an almost completely autonomous region within the parts of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) of Area A and B, which according to all agreements is a place of holy pilgrimage or visitation for prayers and other religious purposes and is set apart as to be made available and safe passage to and from this holy place of great importance to the Jews. The reality is something completely different. There is one visit permitted each month, with permitted being very loosely defined, which is arranged by the IDF were one or two busses, heavily armored made bullet proof and strongly reinforced to withstand mines, and a convoy of IDF troops fully armed for security who escort the few fortunate visitors to the tomb somewhat after midnight and steal away back to the safety of Israeli governed lands making very sure they have left at least an hour before sunrise. Even with this covert action there have been times when the convoy was set upon and for reasons of security the trip is cancelled and a retreat to safety becomes the main objective. The trip can be cancelled right before they were to depart if IDF intelligence reports that trouble such as an ambush is a definitive probability. Part of the time spent at each visit is used to cleanup and repair as much of the destruction done to the tomb since the previous month’s visit, whether it was a single month or three or more months since the last visit. The tomb is violated every time after the Israelis try to make it presentable and given the honor it deserves and the Arabs apparently do similarly but have little respect or honor felt towards Kever Yoseph.

 

The manner and security required for visits to Joseph’s tomb, Rachel’s Tomb, Kever Rachel (Hebrew: קבר רחל), which is a place where women will visit for special prayers the first of each Hebrew calendar month and also require heavy security as it is located northern outskirts of Bethlehem which is within the disputed areas and under shared Arab and Israeli security and Arab semi-autonomous rule and this often leads to the Jewish women being assaulted with rocks and other items hurled at them which most often do not strike within the high walls placed around Rachel’s grave and the women are completely safe within the rebuilt dome which grants them freedom from assault as they pray and neaten the area making the tomb a more honored place. This would be the requirement and limitations placed on the Temple Mount and the Western and other walls of the Temple Mount, the final point of defense in days which are hopefully permanently behind us as Jerusalem deserves a future free of strife and sacking as has been its unfortunate history and may Jerusalem never again feel deserted by her faithful servants whose hearts are gladdened by a visit to her ancient walls and its grasping for a degree of modernity. Israel must demand that all of Jerusalem remain under complete Israeli rule as it has only been since June 1967 that every religion is permitted their rights to visit the Temple Mount and witness the city, both its centuries old buildings intermixed in areas with modern structure thankfully mostly in a style which has them more blend than clash with their surroundings. Let us end with the most remembered lines from Psalm 137 lines 5 and 6 as they speak strongly and resonate at least in this Israeli’s heart, mind and especially and primarily my soul.

If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I fail to count Jerusalem the greatest of all my joys.

 

Beyond the Cusp

Netanyahu Coalition is Ungovernable

 

Prime Minister Netanyahu was able to form a government, but with just a bare bones, slim and minimum sixty-one Ministers. The numbers break down as such; Likud is the predominant party by a mile with their thirty Ministers followed by Kulanu, a new party with ten Ministers along with Shas with seven Ministers and United Torah Judaism with six Ministers and the last party joining at the eleventh hour, Jewish Home with their eight Ministers. Tallied up that is

30 + 10 + 7 + 6 + 8 = 61

The minimum number necessary to hold a majority of the one-hundred-twenty seat Knesset. Having the minimum numbers Netanyahu will likely make some deals to secure three or four additional Ministers who will agree to bolster the coalition though unspoken as their Party did not accept joining the coalition for whatever reasons, some strictly political and others purely tactical and still others a combination of reasons including posturing. There are some still waiting for Yisrael Beiteinu headed by Avigdor Lieberman to potentially join or offer to be the saving cushion with its six Ministers able to make-up for some wayward coalition members on certain votes thus threatening the coalition. Needless to point out, Prime Minister Netanyahu has cobbled together a coalition which as it stands cannot govern for very long before any single party or even an internal faction within Likud could force a crisis and bring down the government. Should the coalition fail then President Reuven Rivlin could call for snap elections to be held again giving an even shorter campaign cycle bringing Israelis back to the polls yet another time so quickly. The turnout for another government would likely have a lower turnout potentially changing the mix of parties as Israelis would measure their votes against the results of the recently past elections where many Israelis were less than thrilled with the results.

 

Still, do not expect overt changes but rather a refining of the vote with the potential for increases in the portions for Jewish Home, Kulanu and Yisrael Beiteinu. On the other hand, the protestations and self-important tantrums thrown by Yair Lapid could affect the numbers received by his Yesh Atid Party placing some of his eleven Ministers vulnerable to lost support. New elections might bring into play the joint parties of Yachad and Otzma Yehudit which missed making Knesset by the slimmest of margins. New elections could produce a far stronger Jewish Home which was on the mend in the final days of the election but never did quite make it all the way back to the high-points it had hit earlier in many polls. Additionally, one might expect to see Yachad and Otzma Yehudit make it past threshold which would bring a change in the end total results as Yachad and Otzma Yehudit would easily reach four and potentially higher as they would be able to prevent some of the rumored destruction of their ballots and also such simple things as swapping out their ballots with others and other such tricks and deceptions. It could also be predicted that the Zionist Union Party would split back to their two parties, the Labor Party and Tzipi Livni’s Hatnuah Party. While Hatnuah Party would likely not come even remotely close to breaking the minimum and would not make the Knesset, the split might make the Labor Party cleaner and without Tzipi Livni it would potentially garner two or three additional seats. Meretz and the Joint Arab List would each remain the same of gain or lose a single seat.

 

The question of the hour is how long the slender coalition can hold together when all it would take is a protest by the single Minister protesting to bring down the coalition. There have already been some rumblings of discontent within Likud by some of the Ministers who had their hearts set on gaining some of the Ministerships which ended up being given to the joining coalition members as they demanded those Ministerial positions from which they could wield the power of the department which would have the greatest and most direct influence in addressing their promises from the elections. The coalition coming out of the gate will likely be tested potentially by opposition members. Yair Lapid has already threatened to take the current coalition to court as it has more Ministerial positions which is one item which always seems to grow and is fortunately cut back every so often; after all, do we really want these politicians thinking they are more important than they actually are? This government is inherently unstable which will make for a wild ride while watching for what will be the defining moment when it becomes obviously impossible to hold the coalition together any longer. Sometimes it is the most fragile of coalitions which end up holding together for the longest amount of time as the members realize exactly how fragile their rule is and treat it as the vital but fragile thing as it really is. Still, there are going to be a good number of members of the opposition who see this tight race where the Prime Minister was only capable forming the most delicate of beast of a coalition.

 

The one item such a coalition, constantly under threat of collapsing, gives the Prime Minister a perfect reason to state that this is not the time to rock the boat and press through any peace initiatives from the outside world. All it would take to shoot down any demands for Israel to make additional sacrifices for peace is a single person threatening to leave the coalition should such a proposition even be introduced, let alone actually forced through the Knesset. This is already understood by even the most ignorant and blind fool, yet I might bet that such a proposition will not prevent the Europeans and President Obama from making just such demands as it does not cost them any lost sleep if the Israeli government should collapse as the sole purpose there is an Israeli government, according to too many people both within and outside of Israel, is to make sacrifices before the Arab Palestinian Authority as such sacrifices are the sole item expected from Israel and thus from her government no matter the size or opposition to such demands. The simple and obvious fact that there are members of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s own Likud Party who have threatened to vote against or resign from their positions, not to mention the entirety of the Jewish Home delegation would hopefully bolt from the coalition if such a vote in favor of such were demanded from them.

 

Hopefully this slim coalition can hold its own against all assaults from the entire spectrum starting from within the government and reaching as far as Turtle Bay in New York where the United Nations is located, and is just barely further than Washington D. C. and the White House. Perhaps the knowledge that the coalition is so fragile will force the Ministers within the majority to work together for the betterment of Israel. May such a government prove fortified against Israel making any sacrifices to entice the Arab representatives to come and grace us with their presence for as long as they are comfortable and then bolt from any further meetings where it is again demanded of Israel to sweeten the pot to get the Arab representatives to grace us with their presence for as long as they are comfortable and then bolt from any further meetings where it is again … No more climbing aboard the flight to the destruction of Israel and time for a new approach, annexing lands until Arabs honestly decide to enter into talks designed to end the conflict and make an agreement satisfactory with Israel otherwise Israel is satisfied with the terms and accepts granting the Arabs some adequate areas for them to have semiautonomous controls while remaining under Israeli security control and remain an integral part of Israel. There is no need or necessity which requires Israel to surrender any of the lands promised her in the San Remo Agreement and the fact Israel will permit a semi-autonomous defined region within the whole State of Israel living with in and with peace with Israel should be accepted and satisfy the world which can then go address real problems in the world. That is a stance for which this narrow coalition can unify and stand united demanding that their aspirations be included as integral to any final agreements.

 

Beyond the Cusp

Israel’s Peace Partner Face Revealed on Facebook Posts

 

The Palestinian Authority currently consists of what is euphemistically named Fatah Party, presumably just a political entity with no real documented terrorist activity and whose members have no terror history according to their communications with the western and world media. The reality is somewhat different as Fatah was simply a rebranding of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) which was tasked with the political management including direct control of the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, also referred to as the military arm of the Palestinians and the continued terror arm. Many of the officers in the Fatah Party were also commanders of the terrorist al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades and some al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades also belonged to the Fatah Party. Now the Fatah Party serves as one of the alternate aliases which Mahmoud Abbas, also known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mazen, can use as his title thus allowing for his sometimes, some might claim often, quotes which he uses when speaking to different Arab groups and does not actually desire to have those statements appearing in Print media or other news venues. Abu Mazen, or Mahmoud Abbas claims any number of titles which he can place before his chosen name for that hour including President of Palestine (used since the ruling making the Arab Palestinian observer’s status to representing a nonmember observer state instead of observer entity or other synonym), Chairman or President of the PLO or the Fatah Party, President of the Palestinian Authority or Chairman of the Palestinian Party. All these titles and different names are used to allow deniability by Mahmoud Abbas so when confronted with an actual quote of a statement made under one title he will simply state that he, as the President of the Palestinian Authority, President of Palestine, or any of his other titles other than the one used when making the quoted statement in question, never made such a statement and that he is personally hurt and offended that the media would try to put words in his mouth. This reply is then plastered all over the western media coverage thus putting to lie an actual statement made by Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) clearing his name and cleaning his reputation simply through the implementation of deceitful labeling of Abbas to avoid responsibility for actual words he has spoken.

 

Remains of Bus from March 11, 1978, Bus Bombing murdered 37 including 13 children and injured 70 Coast Road attack planned by Abu Jihad attack led by Dalal Mughrabi

 

This particular item appearing on the Fatah Facebook page pictured above was the work by two of the PLOs greater terror masters as the attack was planned by Abu Jihad attack led by Dalal Mughrabi. Dalal Mughrabi has been lionized by the Fatah, PLO, al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades as well as by the Palestinian Authority which has named a girls’ school after her, a park, numerous streets and thoroughfares, near countless events and is often taught as a role model for and Arab Palestinian girls to emulate and to be able to attain the great success Dalal Mughrabi had attained in this one spectacular assault on the hated and accursed Israeli Jews, though often the words substituted or used to embellish “Jew” would be inappropriate to relate here. The latest posting by Fatah on Facebook yesterday is not something that unusual as often terrorist attacks and their murderous martyrs are emblazoned across the Facebook pages with great flare and professional stylizing and embellishments aggrandizing their “accomplishments” and their “exemplary lives and martyring of their lives” in service to their people. There are often Facebook postings lauding terrorists and especially those who died in the commission of their acts of terror thus earning exultation as a result of murdering Israeli civilians and even tourists visiting Israel as by visiting they become legitimate targets according to the Arab framework of reasoning. Students are taught to hope to achieve such martyrdom status and it is shown how their attaining martyrdom in the service of the Arab Palestinian cause will also bring great honor to their families as well as wealth from a stipend paid to all families of martyrs. This stipend, just as the salaries of those incarcerated in Israeli prisons for committing terrorist acts are paid according to the numbers of victims of their actions and bonuses for any high level Jews or other Jews or Israelis of particular interest such as the terrorist attempted assassination of Yehuda Glick, a Temple Rights activist leader, (there are no such prisoners for the most part in the Palestinian Authority prisons as any terrorist if found guilty is given a sentence which is commuted within a few days or even as long as a couple of weeks before they are released to continue their work as terrorists). Thus are the actions of the Arab Palestinian society which are taught in their schools including the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) schools which the United Nations holds are pillars of virtue and teach only the basics same as any other school would with subjects like mathematics, Arabic reading and writing, the sciences and physical education. What the United Nations fails to report is that in Gaza the majority of the UNRWA teachers are active Hamas members and in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) the teachers are often officers from Fatah Party, the PLO, the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades officers, or other terror tied individuals. But such must not be reported and instead should be shielded from the light of day revealing the truth behind the all-encompassing wall of lies.

 

The remains of the bus pictured from that horrific raid which had one of, if not the highest toll of innocent civilians whose only crime was being Israelis and riding a bus, they did not necessarily need to be Jews as the bus very likely could have been carrying non-Jews on that fateful day of March 11, 1978. Those murdered in this attack had been on an outing of sun, fun, swimming, sightseeing and picnics before their day and many of their lives were hijacked and taken for a ride of horrors as this was a chartered bus carrying Egged bus drivers and their families on a day outing along the Coastal Highway. This is what Fatah posted on their Facebook page yesterday to celebrate this glorious event and martyrdom mission where nine of the thirteen terrorist murderers were dispatched to their martyrdom including the most widely celebrated woman of Arab Palestinian fame and history, Dalal Mughrabi. The title accompanying the picture stated “Take Your Dead And Get Out” and was obviously targeting the Jews of Israel. Within the accompanying article were the following quotes referencing for the Israeli Jews to leave Israel, and “take their dead with them.” The posting reported an inflated number of Israelis murdered putting it at eighty when the reality was that the terrorist assaults murdered thirty-seven injured eighty-five innocent civilian bus drivers and their families. The post credited Dalal Mughrabi, a usual inclusion as stated her name is used often to be an example for girls to emulate and for boys to try and at least equal the great achievement of the woman thus challenging their male egos, for leading the actions which, “declared the establishment of the Republic of Palestine in the occupied territories. The enemy admitted that 30 Zionists died in this action, but the number was reportedly over 80.” The original plan had been to storm and seize a luxury hotel in Tel Aviv and take visiting tourists so as to maximize their leverage as such would also threaten the Israeli tourist economy and internationalize the Arab-Israeli Arab Palestinian driven challenges against Israel and gaining support as the Israeli actions would likely cause the deaths of many of the hostages as well as any foreign ambassadors also taken hostage all with the aim to exchange them for Palestinian prisoners or take with them as martyred for the Arab cause. They landed forty miles north of Tel Aviv and never reached their intended area as Israeli forces and police blocked the road a full eleven miles north of the Tel Aviv city limits. This was where the Arab Palestinian terrorists murdered as many Israelis as they were able and completely destroyed the bus before nine of the eleven who made it this far, two drowned after falling from their rubber dingy during the trip down the coast from Lebanon, were killed and the two remaining were arrested.

 

It was from the two surviving terrorists that the Israelis learned of the full extent of the carnage wrought which included their initial meeting of American photographer Gail Rubin who was simply taking nature shots and who informed the terrorists of their location and the distance to Tel Aviv. After getting their desired information they murdered American Gail Rubin who was the daughter of then United States Senator Abraham A. Ribicoff. After proceeding south along the highway and opening fire at passing cars they hijacked a white Mercedes taxi murdering the driver and his fares taking this as their transportation. This is when they came across the charter bus and hijacked the bus and proceeded on towards Tel Aviv after having tied a number of passengers to their seats. They noted a car following them behind and began suspecting something was not right so after a while they pulled over and as the vehicle was passing they shot the car injuring the arm of the father driving and horrifying the mother in the seat next to him and a bullet passed through the front seat and struck their teenage son sleeping in the back seat in the head murdering him instantly. The terrorist bus continued south until reaching a roadblock where they destroyed the Bus and murdered as many of the passengers as possible while engaging the troops manning the roadblock. As noted, nine of the eleven terrorists including Dalal Mughrabi, who was identified as having shot American photographer Gail Rubin murdering her immediately.

 

These are the wonderful, caring, law-abiding and moral persons with whom the world desires that Israel provide an independent state which will sit perched on the heights of the Judean and Samarian hills overlooking Tel Aviv and the heart of industrial, residential and commercial Israel and a straight shot at the aircraft leaving and landing at Ben Gurion International Airport. These are the same people who sided with Saddam Hussein during the First Gulf War and were subsequently evicted with great prejudice by the people and government of Kuwait which revoked the work visas and other visas of over three-hundred-thousand Arab Palestinians, yet for reasons easily understood, nobody has ever demanded that the Kuwaitis rehire and give the jobs back to the Arab Palestinians, instead it was understood that they posed a threat that the Kuwaitis simply refused to live with. So, why is the world hoping, nay, forcing as best they can, that Israel either allow to live as neighbors overlooking the majority of Israeli economic heartlands and its residential heartlands or possibly accepting the majority of these Arab Palestinians within Israeli borders? What do these world powers and leaders desire, is it the end of Israel as the Jewish State and the slaughter of over six-million Jews in a second Holocaust? Well, as there had been little if any notice to this latest and the thousands, nay, hundreds-of-thousands of Facebook postings and Tweets on Twitter glorifying terrorists and celebrating the murders of Jews even including the horrific attack on leading Jewish Rabbis during their morning prayers in a Jerusalem Synagogue within the past year, all one can conclude is affirmation of these genocidal postings by the rest of the world who ignore these threats and continue endlessly to force Israeli appeasement of these savages and capitulation to their ever more expansive demands is due to their vile and spiteful hatreds which drive their desires for the complete and utter destruction of the Jews and their state of Israel with the caveat that the deeds be accomplished without any demands for actions from those forcing this tripe using passive support disguised as compassionate policies. Many who bother to watch these empowerments largely by the Europeans, other Arab entities, Muslim supporters, and the United States State Department and those holding animosities towards Israel and the Israeli Jews realize the truth behind these efforts are but accomplices before, during and after the fact though all is usually encapsulated in polite statements using generalities and acceptance of the facade put forth by Mahmoud Abbas and others to disguise their intentions behind numerous press statements, treaties, accords and other false fronts which facilitate their deceit and denial of hatreds which have deeply infected their societies for generations beyond counting. All that is requested is be a neutral entity standing at a distance ignoring all that transpires unless it directly affects you. Hopefully that does not prove to be all that difficult though I am assured there will be those who simply cannot stop themselves and there lies the real problem which amplifies a minor problem which has been intentionally allowed to fester into a major catastrophe of its own making and there are those who cannot but jump up and down screaming that it is the Jews fault that refugee camps in Syria have been overrun by ISIS and now nobody will be able to figure out which Syrian refugees deserve to be Arabs of Palestinian original residence. What is feared here is the world will simply demand that all the Syrian refugees be allowed to reside in Israel, why not just pile on a few million more refugees, it will make the end of Israel come all the quicker. We have a simple response to such haters, Never Again!!

 

Beyond the Cusp