Ein Shalom אין שלום » Israel

Children of Oslo

tzofiya — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 18:58:17 +0000

The Main thing to Recall, is Not to be Afraid at All

tzofiya — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 17:38:14 +0000

Another Kind of Peace Deal

tzofiya — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:30:57 +0000

Very interesting news report here–Thanks to IMRA for reporting this. Druze MK Ayoob Kara says that Muammar Qaddafi approached him through friends of his son Saif al-Islam Qaddafi to get Gilad Shalit released, and sign a peace treaty with Israel (no land required!) in exchange for Israel prevailing upon the US and NATO to stop [...]

Righteous

tzofiya — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 03:28:48 +0000

I have a friend named Isabel, who is a righteous gentile. She isn't a Christian Zionist-although many Christian Zionists fill that bill. She didn't think that much about Israel or Jews through the years. She was raised Catholic in New Mexico and still gives up something each Lent. She says she has her own beliefs that are private. And so they are...we became friends at work. At one pro-Israel event I put on at the UNM Law School after work, a movie about the forced Jewish Exodus from Arab lands after Israel was established, Isabel stopped by the room on her way home to see how it was going. It wasn't going well. I was trying to get the sound working. The audience was all there, a pretty good turnout for such an event, and they were getting a little restive at the delay. I called over to Isabel and told her the problem, and she came over to help me out with it. Dressed in work clothes and heels, she tripped on a step on the way down to the podium and fell hard on one knee. People gasped and asked if she was alright, and she quickly got up and said she was fine. She stayed to cover the podium and reassure people as I hurried off to find someone to help get the sound working. She stayed through the changing of rooms and through the movie. The movie stirred her sense of justice. The Arab and world treatment of the Jews reminded her of the US treatment of Indians. Afterwards I thanked Isabel and she showed me her skinned knee, which was bleeding some. I told her that she had "shed blood" for Israel, and that made her a righteous gentile. We both laughed a little. But it comes up sometimes still, because beneath the joke was the truth. Isabel is a righteous gentile, not only because she's "good people", but specifically because unbeknownst to either her or me when we first became friends, she is willing to "take a hit for Israel". She would do it knowingly and by choice. You don't see Isabel's name on event flyers and she doesn't join groups, but she is there, on the good side, ready to move when called. Thank G-d for all the people like Isabel. Some will object to talking about "sides", but really, there are only two sides now. Everyone is on one side or the other, even if you don't think about it or believe it. If you haven't thought about it, chosen for good and acted for good, then you are probably a pawn of the other side. This is an unhappy position to be in, because the other side is not your friend. As they say, the devil breaks his tools. What is the dividing line, the watershed, in the world today? It's Israel. Looking at it objectively, that's strange, but the prophets said it would be like that. Some little country far away from most places, populated by a group of people who are a small number among all the peoples, yet all the weight of the world powers sits on this country to try to force it to do their will; to force it to surrender and cease to be. Why should it matter, objectively speaking, what Israel does or doesn't do? Why should it matter what anyone in Albuquerque, New Mexico thinks about Israel? Yet it does. There is no middle ground any longer, and every person is choosing their side.

Rabbi Chaim Richman Speaking in ABQ, July 5, 2011

tzofiya — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 03:26:33 +0000

Rabbi Chaim Richman of the Temple Institute in Jerusalem spoke in Santa Fe and Albuquerque on July 5, 2011. In his Albuquerque talk, Rabbi Richman taught about the power of Torah to transform individuals, societies and world events. He talked about that week's Torah portion, dealing with Bilaam, who tried tried to curse Israel, but ended up giving one of the most beautiful blessings, and about the 12 spies who slandered the Land of Israel, and how that sin is still playing out today, especially at this time of year, during the Hebrew months of Tamuz and Av. He explained how these events tie in and affect what we see happening today, and talked about current events and Israel, and about the good and evil forces at war in the world today, and of course about the Third Temple, may it be built speedily and in our days.

For the talk in Santa Fe at Kol BeRamah Beit Midrash, people came from as far as Taos and Arizona, as well as Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Rena Richman had been scheduled to give a class for women, but the Richmans' flights were held up in Dallas and Houston due to mechanical difficulties, and they arrived early Tuesday afternoon rather than the intended Monday night. The day's schedule was compressed, a planned interview on the Son Broadcasting TV network had to be cancelled, and the Kol BeRamah talk was moved up 2 hours, from noon to mid-afternoon. That didn't discourage the Santa Fe people, and there was a full house for the talk. The Richmans had to leave immediately after the talk to go back to Albuquerque.

About 200 people came to the evening talk in Albuquerque, which was held at the UNM Anthropology building. The Rabbi's visit was sponsored by UNM Israel Alliance, Kol BeRamah, Yad B'Yad and ZOA NM, and by the generous donations of several private individuals. In the audience were young and old, Jews, Christians, non-religious people and young families. They came from as far as Roswell, Ruidoso and Socorro as well as many people from Los Lunas, Belen and Albuquerque.

Many think that support for building the Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem rests mainly with Christian Zionists, and the support is strong there. However, there is also considerable support in the Jewish community, not only in Israel, where a majority of Israelis want to see the Temple re-built, but also in the US. At the talk, the demographics were about 30% Jewish and 70% Non-Jewish. In the broader Jewish community, probably the majority and much of the leadership are afraid of people who say the Temple should be rebuilt, or that creating an Arab state within Israel is wrong and unworkable. Hillel, which often offers a guest room to visiting Jewish speakers, refused to host Rabbi Chaim and Rena Richman for the night for political reasons.

On the brighter side, NM State Representative Alonzo Baldonado and his wife, both strong supporters of Israel, came to the talk, and found it to be moving and worth the effort and the heat--the AC wasn't working in the lecture hall. Of several local politicians invited, only Alonzo accepted the invitation, because he cares about Israel. He declined the invitation to say a few words before the talk and wanted to be part of the audience, not singled out for recognition. We should strongly support our elected officials who strongly support Israel, especially if we happen to live in their district. They should know it matters to the people they represent.

Netanyahu Reaction to Goldstone Retraction and Other Matters

tzofiya — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 00:55:22 +0000

PMO 03/04/2011 http://www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng/Secretarial/Cabinet/2011/04/govmes030411.htm At the weekly Cabinet meeting today: 1. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the following remarks: “There are very few instances in which those who disseminate libels retract their libel. This happened in the case of the Goldstone Report. Goldstone himself said that all of the things that we have been saying all [...]

Wall of Lies

tzofiya — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 20:09:06 +0000

Who are the Palestinians?

tzofiya — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 03:56:35 +0000

Give Reality a Chance

tzofiya — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 23:07:23 +0000

Melanie Phillips on Israeli TV, talking reality. Below the video is the transcript of an excellent talk she gave on the same subject, at the Ariel Conference. January 3, 2011 The challenge of public diplomacy vis-a-vis the delegitimisation of Israel Address to Ariel Conference on Law and Mass Media, 30 December 2010 As we all [...]

The Contribution of Peace Now

tzofiya — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 06:34:29 +0000

Free Pollard

tzofiya — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 04:28:05 +0000

One State, Two States, Three States, Four

tzofiya — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 19:01:44 +0000

There will be a war whether Israel annexed Judea and Samaria or not, unless Israel simply surrenders and agrees to give up everything to Arab or Iranian entities. Short of surrender, there will be a war where there would be many casualties: Jews and even more Arabs. Since when has the Western or Muslim world really been concerned with the death of either Arabs or Jews, human rights, or peace and justice? It's all just politics.

Geert Wilders on Islam, the West, Israel and War

tzofiya — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 04:08:52 +0000

Eye on Zion Back in Albuquerque in February

tzofiya — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 05:59:41 +0000

In the cold of the winter, Feb. 11-13, 2011, warm up with a party at UNM! Yishai Fleisher will be in Albuquerque! Live music, free food, good discussions. You can't beat that. Yishai Fleisher's Eye On Zion Winter Tour 2011

Snapshot

tzofiya — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 17:43:34 +0000

For Israel vs. Iran, Israel vs. Lebanon, Israel vs. Gaza, Israel vs. UN, Israel vs. US, Israel vs. everyone, the world is waiting to see what will happen next.

Rabbi Richman in Roswell NM, June 2010

tzofiya — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 21:48:33 +0000

Better late than never! As always, Rabbi Richman's talk was thought provoking, challenging and good.

Remember Jonathan Pollard?

tzofiya — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 19:24:32 +0000

Is personal or communal comfort a good reason for a man to rot in jail for life when he didn't do anything to deserve it?

Yishai Fleisher to Speak in Santa Fe & Albuquerque

tzofiya — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 07:16:12 +0000

Do realpolitik and pragmatism conflict with idealism, nationalism, and patriotism? Is the United States helping or hindering Israel’s survival? What is the future of Jerusalem, Bethel, Hebron and Tel Aviv?

More About Proposed Conversion Law

tzofiya — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:34:29 +0000

On the other hand...

Home Game

tzofiya — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 23:21:12 +0000

Video About Netzer Hazani and Gush Katif, the uprooting and basketball tournaments, from Netzer Hazani youth. August, 2005.