Ein Shalom אין שלום

Temple Mount Awareness Live Program

tzofiya — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 15:24:37 +0000

Watch live streaming video from bethereisrael at livestream.com

Gaza Attacks on Israel Bring Opportunity to Arab NGOs

tzofiya — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 06:06:27 +0000

Mona El Farra of MECA and the Gaza Red Cresent sent out this letter this weekend, asking her American supporters to pressure the government to make Israel stop killing terrorists in Gaza. She says there’s practically no medicine or fuel in Gaza, which means of course that lots and lots of children are dying. One [...]

Arab Attacks on Jews Rising Rapidly in Israel, Police Do Little About it

tzofiya — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:52:43 +0000

From Mattot Arim Lieberman Please Help ליברמן — בבקשה לעזור Mattot Arim calls on all who are concerned about the quickly deteriorating security situation in Israel, including those living outside Israel, to email Avigdor Liberman, head of Yisrael Beytenu party. Below are links to recent examples of Arab attacks on Jews, on Israeli roads. On [...]

Interactive Map of the Mexican Drug War

tzofiya — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:24:48 +0000

Pan and zoom, and make sure and look up north at Juarez… See the original by Diego Valle

Children of Oslo

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

A Debate Worth Listening to

tzofiya — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 16:36:42 +0000

From Yishai Fleisher at Eye on Zion: A lively and interesting debate on Fox News, with representatives of three major views on the subject of Israel and Palestinians: negotiated two states, unilateral Palestinian state and Israel annexing Judea and Samaria.

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

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

Against the Tide

tzofiya — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 00:32:17 +0000

In the US, as in all countries and societies, there are the power structures, the “good ol’ boys”, the “patrons”, the parties, the organizations, the societies, the establishment. This in itself is not a bad thing, it is simply a fact. Most of these structures were built, at least in their origins, for a beneficial [...]

For your Pre High Holidays Viewing Pleasure

tzofiya — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:27:56 +0000

High Holidays are almost here…the Aish HaTorah bochurim are taking a break!

Israel Law Center Sends Caution Letters to Prominent US Universities

tzofiya — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 19:23:25 +0000

Shurat Ha Din has sent a caution letter to many prominent US Universities regarding harassment against Jewish and Israeli students on campus, a university's responsibility to prevent a hostile climate, the fact that harassment against Jewish and Israeli students is covered by US anti-discrimination law, and university responsibility to make sure that student funding is not used by student groups to commit illegal actions, such as fund-raising for organizations related to Hamas, the flotillas, or summer trips to Israel in order to break Israeli law (or similar activities in any other nation). Below is the letter sent to Columbia University: (if the pdf doesn't display properly for you, you can download it here)

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 [...]

Magical Misery Tour

tzofiya — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 21:28:56 +0000

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.

Business as Usual in Bilin

tzofiya — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 16:33:11 +0000

Very interesting translation of an Israeli interview, from IMRA Some Bilin Protestors Earn NIS 4,000 A Month Translation by Dr. Aaron Lerner – IMRA Date: 15 April 2011 “It is hard to say that we are friends, but it is like the experience of a bunch of guys who play soccer on Fridays. Everyone comes [...]

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

Tshunka

tzofiya — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 05:30:46 +0000

Tshunka is my dog, and she died on Purim 2011. Many people died on Purim, including Rabbi Guttman at our congregation, who was about 100, and a holocaust survivor. I didn’t know Rabbi Guttman well enough to write an article about him, but I wish I had. That day there were wars, riots and disasters [...]

In Florida, Judge Orders Muslims to Follow Sharia

tzofiya — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 15:39:07 +0000

This is an outrageous case, which will hopefully be overturned on appeal. Judges in America, at whatever level, should make their rulings based on local, state and US laws only. That’s what they’re sworn to uphold. International and religious law are not part of American law. Arbitration is available for those who would like to [...]

Iranium Showing in Albuquerque on Purim

tzofiya — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 21:36:07 +0000

The Israel Alliance and ZOA NM will show the documentary Iranium at the Guild Cinema on Purim, Sunday, March 20, at 12:30 pm. Free! The doors open at 12 pm. Come early to talk and have refreshments. We celebrate our deliverance in Persia back then. Will we be able to celebrate our deliverance from the [...]