Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Contemptuous Positions of USA Concerning Israel

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                     
Nathan Lewin, Author, Lawyer, Harvard Law School, fighting for the right to have Israel on your USA passport as place of birth

Who knows where the city of Jerusalem is?  I hope you said "Israel."  You'd be right.  Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.  The United States is not about to accept that fact.  Truth is, it's been the capital of Israel since King David's time  who lived from before 1010 BCE to 970 BCE;  In fact, the city came into his hands in 1010 BCE, which was 3025 years ago, and became the capital again for the past 67 years in 1948.
Tower of David in Jerusalem
                                                                         
Praying at the Wall in Jerusalem
The problem we have lies in that the Palestinians want Jerusalem as their capital of their future state and our president will therefore not recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
                                                                                                       

Politics play into this problem of having American citizens born in Jerusalem having it displayed in their American passport.  Many of us have duel citizenship, and if a young couple lives in Jerusalem and their child is born there, they want to  show that this was where they were born.

However, Our American president seems to have more powers than the judicial and Congress offices do not have.  What had happened was that in 2002, Congress passed a law granting American citizens born in Jerusalem the right to have their passports show "Israel" as their place of birth.

Then, a 6 to 3 Supreme Court voted to invalidate it .  Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Scalia and Alito had agreed with  Nathan Lewin's constitutional arguments and comprehensive summary of American history as to whether the president has the exclusive power to recognize foreign sovereigns or not.  If you were born in Jerusalem, you were not to be listed as born in Israel.
                                                                           
Chief Judges of the Supreme Court 
"On April 21, 2014, the Supreme Court granted Lewin's certiorari petition in the follow-up case of Zivotofsky v. Kerry, which concerns the question whether a federal statute that directs the Secretary of State, on request, to record the birthplace of an American citizen born in Jerusalem as born in "Israel" on a Consular Report of Birth Abroad and on a United States passport is unconstitutional on the ground that the statute "impermissibly infringes on the President's exercise of the recognition power reposing exclusively in him."   If an American mother gave birth to her child in Paris, they would have no such problem.  My nephew was born in Amsterdam.  No problem at all.  It's on his passport.  Only one person is keeping this from happening to babies born in Jerusalem.  This sounds like double-talk to me.                                                                    
IDF entering Jerusalem at Wall for first time since 1948; Awesome moment

                                                                             
1967 Dancing at the Wall for the first time since 1948 as Jordan had illegally taken east Jerusalem.  Then Jordan lost the attack against Israel in 1967 and Israel got it back.  

Justice Elana Kagan, Jewish herself, during oral argument of the case, called it a "tinderbox."  
The outcome is that only the president can constitutionally declare, on behalf of the US government, that Jerusalem is in Israel, even though the horrible war that Israel had to fight against all odds in 1967 freed Jerusalem's eastern section  to be part of Israel which then made Jerusalem whole again since 1948. Israel didn't start that war, but Egypt and the Arab armies had formed a war pact against Israel.  Jordan, Iraq and Syria concentrated their forces along the frontiers with Israel, and the Jordanian Army was under the command of the Egyptians.  Israel had waited for 3 weeks from 15th of May for international action to stop this escalation and remove the threat from their frontiers, but you know no one  came to their side.   On the 5th of June, war broke out and Israel defied all odds and won.  Israel even destroyed the armies that had massed along its frontiers and menaced its vital centers.  So what does Israel get to show respect?  Their "friend" state not capable of allowing Israel on someone's passport to show their birth when it's a fact, let alone Jerusalem!  And the USA president has no desire to do so now.
                                                                       

Congress can disagree with the President in many ways over this.  They have aspects of foreign policy apart from the solitary act of recognition.  

What is the problem?  Why is it unconstitutional to say that Jerusalem is in Israel?  
The Court majority of the 9 Judges said that designating Israel in a passport as the place of birth of a citizen born in Jerusalem is unconstitutional because it would force the President himself to contradict his earlier statement.  The 2002 law mandated that the Executive contradict his prior recognition determination in an official document issued by the Secretary of State.  You see, the president cannot tell a foreign government in a US passport that Jerusalem is in Israel because then he is contradicting his declaration that Jerusalem is not in Israel.  

Yet the president can change his mind about same sex marriages one year and this year he was gung ho for it.  No problem.  He evolved, but evidently he can't evolve in his knowledge about Jerusalem being Israel's capital.  

There is a boy about to become 13 in October,  Menachem Zivotofsky .  A nice bar mitzvah gift would be if the Supreme Court would give him his USA passport declaring he was born in Israel, which he was.  Do you think they could accomplish that-ever?  The parents hate to give up their US citizenship.  

It's been 48 years since the Six Day War of 1967.  Still, the USA will not accept Jerusalem as Israel's capital.  The Palestinians have not stopped attacking Israel.  The USA won't even stand up for Israel with the UN today.  We're not closer to having a 2 state solution.  But the USA doesn't like Israel building in land designated belonging to Israel and doesn't like Israel written on American passports as a place of birth. 
                                                                          

Remember the tunnels from Gaza going into Israel?  

That brings in my remarks about standing with Israel against the UN.  Ms. Psaki made remarks against Israel that differ from Israel's report and will be a potential grist for the UN Human Rights Council's report.  It was only last November when General Martin Dempsey said that Israel "went to extraordinary lengths to limit collateral damage and civilian casualties in this type of conflict where you are held to a standard that your enemy is not held to.  Israel is then the brunt of the civilian casualties anyway, no matter what they did to prevent them from happening other than throwing down their weapons and retreating back to Israel.  Israel had been given the green light to defend themselves, after all.  My questiion is, has the USA always done as well in their trips into the hinderlands with their soldiers?  How about Viet Nam?  Hmmm?  To that, there is no comparison between Israel's enemy actions and the Viet Con's actions and willingness to waste their own people.  A general would know more than laypeople like Obama and Psaki who ask for the impossible.  

Resource:  The Jewish Press, page:  front page and 91 (inside back page) The Jerusalem Passpsort Case:  Where do we go from here?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Lewin
http://www.jewishpress.com/author/nathanlewin/
The Jewish Press, pages 7 and 75, Israel, Gaza, and the war crimes Issue 

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Ambassador From USA Against Ambassador From Israel; Indyk and Oren on CNN

Nadene Goldfoot    
       
Dr. Martin Indyk b:July 1, 1951
                       
Fareed Zakaria
                                      
Dr.Michael Oren b: May 20, 1955

CNN had a heated discussion between Martin Indyk and Michael Oren this Sunday morning on the Fareed Zakaria TV program about Israel.  Indyk , born in London, England to Jewish parents had taken leave from the Brookings  Institution to serve as the U.S. Special Envoy for Israeli–Palestinian Negotiations from 2013 to 2014. Indyk served as United States ambassador to Israel and Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs during the Clinton Administration

Oren is an Israeli.  He is  an American-born Israeli  to Jewish parents, Goldstein and Ornstein; historian, author, politician, and former Israeli ambassador to the United States (2009-2013).  Today he serves in the Knesset.  New Jersey born,.  Oren's education came  from Princeton and Columbia.  

The two were sparring over Oren's newest book,  Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide was published by Random House on June 23, 2015.  Indyk disagreed wholly with it as Oren criticized the Obama administration in their dealing with Israel and Indyk is an Obama defender.  Oren had asked the publisher to get it out quickly as he wanted it to be read before the Iran nuclear deal was signed.  

Indyk spoke over Oren when Oren had the floor on the program and rattled away, making it hard to hear Oren, but I did.  They both had kept their cool, being the professionals that they are, but it was most rude for Indyk to do this.  By the way, Indyk still has a very strong English accent. His education came from  the  University of Sydney (B.A., 1972) and Australian National University(Ph.D., International Relations, 1977) as he was  raised in Australia. 

I note that this was the 2nd  time I've written about Indyk being interviewed on CNN's Fareed Zakaria's program.  He was on March 22nd of this year criticizing Israel    I wrote an in depth piece about him on May 17, 1914 because he was highly critical of Israel and was siding with John Kerry and the Obama administration in his dealings with Iran, which definitely was not favorable towards Israel.  He was strongly against settlements in land that was deemed to be in Israel's hands by the ABC divide, so was always on Netanyahu's case about it.  

I note that Oren made aliyah in 1979, a year ahead of me.  He joined the paratroopers and saw action in 1982, the time of the Lebanon-Israel War when Israel went into Lebanon to stop the Palestinian terrorists from bombing the Galilee.  I was living in Safed, in the Galilee.  My favorite department store, so like Meier & Franks, was close to the Lebanon Israel border and was in danger of getting hit. I remember that the population, which included many Americans, were forced to stay in bomb shelters at that time 24/7.  A friend of mine was stuck there having gone to visit during our Spring Break from the Ulpan.  

Indyk  "is known as the framer of the U.S. policy of dual containment which sought to 'contain' Iraq and Iran, which were both viewed as the United States' two most important strategic adversaries at the time. He is the author of Innocent Abroad: An Intimate Account of American Peacemaking Diplomacy in the Middle East."

Oren tried to tell Indyk that what was  important was for the ambassador  to make Israel feel safe, and this he had failed to do.  Indyk came back with the argument that Oren didn't know everything that had occurred.  Oren said that of course he didn't, but as ambassador he knew certain things.  This was true of all ambassadors. None are privy to everything.   Oren defended Israel well and had such limited time to do it against a non listening Indyk.  Zakaria just sat back and let them have at it.  

Resource: CNN-Zakaria Sunday morning program, 7:00am.  
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Oren
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Indyk
http://jewishbubba.blogspot.com/2015/03/obama-and-netanyahu-discussed-on-cnn.html-Indyk on program 
http://jewishbubba.blogspot.com/2014/05/martin-indyk-former-usa-ambassador-to.html
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Michael_Oren.html

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Israel's Future President's (The Moshiach) Requirements

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                        
 
A question on many minds is, "When is the Moshiach coming?"   I'll give you the prophesies found in our "Old Testament" or Tanakh. תנכ.   There were certain requirements needed to tell if a person was the right one waited for.

A future president of Israel will see to it that  the 3rd Temple will be built, so maybe he will be an engineer.    The plans for it have been finished since before 1980.  It just hasn't been brought about as being the right time to do it. East Jerusalem went back into Israel's hands by winning against the huge assault of the 1967 Six Day War.  Through Moshe Dayan, the Temple Mount remained in the hands of Jordan who police it.   This president will rebuild but the spot has yet to be decided.   It's been foretold by Ezekiel in 37:26-28.  That this is on the agenda for the future is enough to make the Muslims of the Middle East a little nervous.
                                                                     
 It's because the Mosque of Omar, built in 738 CE,  sits over the remnant of the Jews' 2nd Temple on the Temple Mount.  It's been their custom to do this as they took over land.  
                                                                                 
  He will be the sitting president when all the Jews have made aliyah to Israel.  This has been happening without him, so I imagine he will be a president when more Jews from the USA and those scattered in Europe and elsewhere will feel the need to return.
                                                                                 
El Al , Israeli line of air travel
As anti-Semitism is hitting harder in certain countries like France with 37% of the population being anti-Semitic,  many are returning to Israel right now because of it.  It's seen happening from Isaiah 43:5-6.  This sounds like anti-Semitism will become worse, and it's already hit a zenith close to that in 1939;  or Jews will become more religious and feel the need to return.  There are 1.09 billion people in the world today that harbor anti-Semitic attitudes as found in a survey between 2013 and 2014.  It's probably grown since then, as it's not getting any better.  It's running at 74% in the Middle East and North Africa.  Eastern Europe was at 34%.  USA was  at 19 %, 20% in Ireland but 8% in UK.

 With so many falling away from our belief, I really wonder how many more will be returning. Christianity is losing ground as well lately.   The Jewish Homeland had been planned to have been much larger, as it was in the ancient days, and today is only made of 8,000 sq miles.  We were given the broom closet instead of the whole house that we had paid dearly for at the time of the drawn up deed.  .With 6 million Jews living there now along with 1.7 million Arabs, the future is forecast by " the Minister of Aliya and Absorption in the Knesset  that  expects a million and a half Jews to make Aliyah within the decade, as all the conditions are right for it."
                                                                         
The UN will do a turnabout in the future.   This Israeli president  will usher in a time of world peace.  All hatred, oppression, suffering and disease will be wiped out.  This seems to be in the very far future, for that isn't the situation right now, although much disease has been wiped out.   How will this  ever happen?  It's possible as Europe and the USA have gone through a lot of changes already in their attitudes, but Islam hasn't brought this about with their people. IS is trying to create their own Islamic state,  and in order to do that, they are slaughtering all those not meeting up to their standards.  Right now they have threatened to kill the Christian Arabs in Jerusalem.  "ISIS explicitly threatened to kill the Christian Arabs if they don’t leave eastern Jerusalem by the end of Ramadan."  This information was on a flyer.  
ISIS letter on Jerusalem ChristiansPeace is not an item on their plate.  The logic of the UN has been turned inside out as well.  They honor those that sneer at peace.  In this future period, "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall man learn war anymore."  Isaiah foretold this one in 2:4.  This means the armies won't even be training soldiers after this president presides over Israel and peace is a sure thing.  Today the UN appeases terrorism which only feeds into it more.

The concept of one G-d will be spread over all the world by then, but this is to be a uniting force for humanity as one.  Islam believes in one G-d and so does Judaism, but their messages have not been the same. Islam says they have replaced Judaism   Christianity discarded the Torah at it's origin and many of us have a hard time accepting their view of the trinity and its concept of Jesus and G-d being one as a type of monotheism which must be their concept of religious algebra where 3x=1.  . Our basic math counts 3 gods instead of 1.    These differences have kept us all from being a united religion believing in one G-d, period. It's where Christianity had separated from Judaism.
                                                                         
This future president of Israel will be born from earthly  parents and be normal physically like any other person.  He will not be any type of demi-god and will not have any supernatural qualities.  His father's line will come from the ancient King David (1010 BCE-970 BCE).  and through  his son, King Solomon (961-920 BCE.)   This is stated by II Samuel 7:4; 1 chronicles 17:11-14, 22:9-10, 28: 4-6.

Ten generations from Solomon and he would have 1024 descendants.   According to the fact that his line was directly from Abraham, just like Isaac and Ishmael were, the fathers of Judaism and much later, Islam, this has been decided today to bear the Y dna haplogroup of J1, called the Cohen gene. Or, it could be from one of the more common haplogroups found coming from Judeans.  A question arises being that a person can have a genetic tree and a genealogical tree.  We get a maximum of 44 genetic ancestors, and the probability of being related to any particular ancestor N generations ago is 1-(1-0.5 N-1)22.  We'd have about 43 genetic ancestors out of 1024 genealogical ancestors after 10 generations. A generation is figured at 25 years.

 I'll figure that from 931 BCE to 2015 CE is 2,946 or 3,000 years.  Divide that by 25 and you have 120 generations.  There will be ancestors but none will carry much of Solomon's DNA, though we do carry Neanderthal genes still.  I personally have 2.9% Neanderthal genes.   Other Haplogroups  have crept in such as certain types of E and G and Q and R.  Perhaps genetics will advance even further by then to pinpoint the haplogroup directly from King Solomon as there should be enough descendants that carry a few segments of his genes living in Israel.

  This fact has been seen by at least 3 prophets and mentioned right in Genesis 49:10 where it says: " The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a scholar from among his descendants until Shiloh (peace-the coming of the Moshiach) arrives, and his will be an assemblage of nations" The Ark and Tabernacle from the days of Moses were kept in Shiloh which was 25 miles north of Jerusalem in the mountains of the tribe of Ephriam.  The town was destroyed by the Philistines in about 1050 BCE.  They captured the ark.    This means that when this happens, the world will recognize that Israel does indeed belong to the Jews and all the nations will acknowledge this and pay homage to Israel instead of trying to tear it apart.  It will be a time without anti-Semitism. Oh, that will be the day!
                                                                         
RASHI
 I like the part about scholars coming from the tribe of Judah.  Yes, we have produced many outstanding scholars from the remnant of the tribe of Judah numbering about only 14 million today.  My line of Ashkenazis had gathered with RASHI in Worms, Germany where many rabbis-scholars got together to hash over the meanings in the Torah.  He was a wonderful biblical scholar with his line going back to King David through Solomon.  His descendants are finding each other today through science-DNA testing and genealogies that have survived.  As Jews today, we have many scholars of other subjects too numerous to list here, but Einstein was one.  Go to this website to read a long list of names of Jewish scholars and what they did.  This list was compiled by a Muslim, suprisingly. https://ibnmahadi.wordpress.com/2009/01/12/why-are-the-jews-so-powerful-by-dr-farrukh-saleem-the-writer-is-a-pakistani-an-islamabad-based-freelance-columnist/
                                                                           
Anyone who tries to tear down the Torah is to be recognized as a false prophet, and the president will be a follower of the Torah and a leader of it, so there is no chance of Israel losing its Jewish standing.  All the mitzvot will be there and binding forever.  This must be that the religious political parties of Israel will be in good standing.
                                                                         
From Tribe of Menashe, made aliyah already
All 12 tribes will be gathered up at this time by him from around the world and this is prophesied in Ezekiel 37.  This project has already started and is still happening.

Christians have identified the prophecy that calls for this leader to enter Jerusalem on a donkey and they say that Jesus did that.  To Jews this was not a unique event.  Donkeys at the time of Jesus were like the automobiles of today.  Everyone traveled by donkey.  This simply placed the event of a very special king (Moshiach) in that era, the end of the BCE period.  It was also read about in the synagogues so that everyone had heard of this pronouncement and could use it to establish their argument that they were the Moshiach..  This was, then, not a unique item on the list of qualifications. Today one still sees a camel or two  in Jerusalem.
                                                                         
As I look into the future, I wonder about our future president riding in on a donkey.  Does this mean we are living without oil in the future?  Without the usual transportation?  Or are we, like so many movies who show the aftermath of a nuclear attack, find ourselves living as in ancient days, without all the creature comforts we Americans are used to today, such as a car in every garage, even to the point of contemplating buying some flying transportation and wham!  Life changes?

Suffering was an item on the list.  Thousands of Jews were placed on the cross when the Romans occupied Judah.  For any little infraction of Roman rule, they were hung there.  So actually, all Jews of that period were suffering; whether on the cross or from this ruling from the enemy that was trying out wipe out Judaism. Again, this item on the list was not a unique qualification to be the president or king of Judah.  When being occupied by Rome, and the Romans were very touchy about any cause to end their rule from any Jews, they caused the whole population of Judah to suffer.
                                                                                 ישראל
In regards to suffering, prophecies were written in the singular form because the Jews were written as "Israel" and were regarded as one unit, as they are looked upon today in the writings.  So when you read the word "Israel," it means The Jews.  Throughout Jewish scripture, Israel is repeatedly called, in the singular, the "Servant of God."  This can be seen in Isaiah 43:8.  In fact, Isaiah states no less than 11 times in the chapters prior to 53 that the Servant of God is Israel.
                                                                           
Husseini (Grand Mufti) and Nazi in Germany
When read correctly, Isaiah 53 clearly and ironically refers to the Jewish people being "bruised, crushed and as sheep brought to slaughter" at  the hands of the nations of the world.  This, one can see, graphically describes the suffering of the Jewish people.  We can read Psalm 44 to understand their suffering.  Here Israel had vividly been portrayed in the recurring oppressions and persecutions of exile.  Israel plead for strength to endure this until they could be  redeemed.  So up to 1948 there was suffering and there has been continued suffering from war and attacks since then as well as from an uncaring uninterested world.
                                                                       
We suffered enough in the Holocaust by losing 6 million lives to Nazi hatred.  Today, Jews in Israel are suffering because the world has turned against them since their win  in 1967 which allowed them to reach 2015 as the only Jewish state in the world.  Iran wants so badly to wipe them out, and is threatening nuclear bombing to do it.  In about 10 years, they will have gained the wherewithall to do that according to a deal presented by world powers.  Israel has been suffering since their inception in 1948, and Israel was meant  to be a haven to get away from persecution.

Even a large element of Christians today feel that they have replaced Jews totally, so they see no use for us in their religious studies, which must have been how the Romans also felt being they strung up thousands on crosses, their method of handling every act against their government policies from robbery to killing to political incitement.  These Christians see anything promised to "Israel" means them.  It's their "REPLACEMENT" theory.  They are not proponents for the state of Israel today, either, but have joined the BDS movement which is a political act be used to force Israel to conform to their political ideas.

"Isaiah 53 ends with the fact that when the Jewish people are redeemed (during this future president's time), the nations will recognize and accept responsibility for the inordinate suffering and death of the Jews". Germany did, but I see the Nazi dream and reading material as something still followed in the Middle East.
                                                                       
Jerusalem, capital of Israel in King David's day and today
Jerusalem is a hot contention among the nations even today.  In this future time, all the world will call Jerusalem the Center of Religion.  Today I imagine the world looks upon the Vatican as the center, or Muslims considering Mecca as their center.
                                                                           
Yet both have shown acts of coveting it.  
                                                                           

                                                                         
 The nations of the world will finally stop thinking evil thoughts that lead to their imagination gone wild in their treatment of other people such as IS is behaving.  Today, Jerusalem is still being coveted by everyone.  Islamic radicals think of it as the first place they hope to take over.  It was that way back in the days when the Mosque of Omar was built  on the Temple Mount where the 2nd Temple had stood.  As it had been the Jewish center, it was to then become the Islamic center.
                                                                     
       
Why do Jews put trust in the Prophets?  Moses was our prophet and leader.  Our prophets after Moses  were guiding the fledgling nation in times of difficulty.  As we gained leadership by having a monarchy starting with Saul, then David and his son, Solomon, their role was as a fighter for social morality, and would rebuke our leaders when they had moral lapses such as social corruption.  They foresaw national disaster and warned of it and would be right on.   Thousands of religions have been started by one person who said they had a revelation.  Today we even find psychotic experiences of someone hearing a voice or voices as a mental problem, not a truth in most cases.  So we never did put our trust in one  leader for the beginning of our religion.
                                                                             
Moses bringing the Ten Commandments 
Yes, we are followers of Moses, but in our experience, G-d didn't speak to just Moses.  Moses had gathered up all the slaves out of Egypt.  I guess he didn't leave that country any at all, because no matter who they were, they went along with the crowd to get out of there.  He had 600,000 with him and the experience they witnessed on Mt. Sinai where they had all gathered was G-d speaking to the entire nation.  It was a national traumatic event that must have affected every cell in their body.  G-d made himself known to all those present, not just to one person who may have been hearing voices, all right.
                                                                         
The 600,000 were at the Revelation on Mt. Sinai and they saw with their own eyes and heard with their own ears.  It is written, "Face to face, G-d spoke with you on the mountain, from amid the fire."  Moses said to the people, "I was standing between G-d and you at that time, to relate the word of G-d to you--for you were afraid of the fire and you did not ascend the mountain--....and "God did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us----who are all here alive today."  this is found in Deut. 5:3.

So Moses was the interpreter for G-d to his people.  What he had been telling them stands today as things most logical;  too logical for his time as they are so logical today.  The voice he heard and understood was not something telling him to pick up swords and kill adults or babies.  The voice was telling these people who had been held in slavery for almost 400 years a way of living for the betterment of all, a timeless rule of living.  It made sense then and now, even more so today.

Jews did not put their trust in miracles that Moses performed.  One always doubts magicians today, don't we?  There's always some trick, our eyes do not pick up  the slight of hand.  Anything Moses did was out of necessity, not as proof of his prophecy.
                                                                       
What is G-d, anyway?  The Jewish concept is that G-d is incorporeal.  He will assume no physical form.  He is something eternal and above time limits.  He is infinite, beyond space.  He cannot be someone born and he cannot die.  He would never assume human form as that is what people had been accepting as a G-d all along in history.  Greeks and Romans were known for this belief.  They believed in g-ds even consorting with humans producing half-gods.  We love those stories so much they have been made into movies.  Today religious stories are being replaced as aliens from outer space theories.  Now this leads to no morality or concept of morality other than mankind being brought ideas from outer space planets more advanced than ours, therefore more enlightened.  It does away with the question of how our planet and universe came into being in the first place.  So Jews had hit upon the concept that G-d cannot be a mortal.

So now you know.  A future president of Israel will be the much awaited Messiah that Jews feel has not ever made an appearance and Christians say will be coming a 2nd time.  It seems that the time is near according to all our religious leaders, and then again, how are such high standards ever going to be met in this crazy world we now live in?      
                                                                       
Jewish victims of terrorism in Paris
                                                                             
Charleston Church's Bible group of 9 killed and killer
We're living in the midst of world war; either bloody battles or verbal battles harming economies and life in general.  People are going mad, slaughtering whole groups, such as the Black church slaughter of innocents gathered together in Bible study!  It's as if somebody had opened Pandora's box and let out a virus affecting the whole world.  It reminds me of the alcoholic who knows logically that he can't drink but cannot stop himself from doing so.  It's a world of drinking and drugging and hating where religion is being cast out of people's lives according to research.  We're going towards the Russian format of life-aetheism and communism.  Even the American standards are being ignored though we have written guides called a constitution.  It's being ignored.

What makes me believe that this new President will really come about?  I just read Psalm 44 in total.  We have outlasted many nations of ancient days.  We have outlived those persecuting us.  We have been delivered before.  G-d has not died.  As long as the universe exists, G-d exists.  We will be delivered from Iran and the rest of our present day foes once more if there is any pattern in life.  What shakes up most of the inhabitants of this world are the prophecies that have come true already.  Nobody ever thought that would happen.  Jews have returned to Israel.  That's huge.  The 12 tribes are returning, not forced to, but of their own volition. They are returning to a land my own family members are afraid of spending 10 days of vacation in due to all the possible surrounding dangers, and people of the Lost Tribes are returning to live in Israel. .  Israel is surrounded by enemies, yet it exists and is flourishing.  L'Chaim!  To Life!  We concentrate on life, not death.  Our religious concepts are all about how to live and treat each other.  We were the original rainbow group.  It will be a beautiful future for all.

Resource:  http://www.aish.com/print/?contentID=48892792&section=/jw/s
You take Jesus, I'll take God, by Samuel Levine
http://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-told-jordans-king-to-take-reins-at-temple-mount-report/
Tanakh, The Stone Edition, The ArtScroll Series
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/18/us/charleston-south-carolina-shooting/
http://global100.adl.org/
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/feiglins-law-1-5-million-more-jews-making-aliyah-soon/2014/06/11/
https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/1101-who-is-the-mysterious-shiloh
FamilyTree DNA Forum:  How Many Ancestors share Our DNA?
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/isis-in-jerusalem-threatens-christians/2015/06/26/
History 2 TV program-aliens from outer space theories.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/12814#.VY9_qxtViko
Update: 6/28/15 ***http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/44124/hints-final-redemption-israeli-agricultural-exports-jewish-world/#lGDr6xYhgvgI78oj.97





Friday, June 26, 2015

Muslims Behead Frenchman in France

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                                   
Who does beheading?  IS has been the only one.  

A suicide car rammed into the gates of a gas factory at 10:00am located in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier which is about 25 miles from Lyon, France's 2nd largest city  in eastern France Friday.  This gas factory is owned by an American group:  Air Products.  The company employs 400 staff in France to supply gases, chemicals and equipment for products from TVs to running shoes.  None were found missing, so the person beheaded has not been yet identified.  The driver's act was accompanied by a long banner-type flag written in Arabic.  It most likely wasn't  a lone terrorist doing this purposeful act, but that wasn't the half of it.

He had pinned a decapitated head to the gates.  He  had explosive devises, possibly within the car which went off and wounded at least 2 other people on the premises.  He may not have been alone.  Police did find the body as well.
                                                                     
 The town of Saint-Quentin-Fallavier is small and has this large industrial zone.  No one was prepared for such an act.  The population seems to be in shock even though France has been on high alert since January 7th.

What the investigation showed was that he or they drove into the factory where an explosion took place.  the decapitated body was found nearby the factory but officials don't know how it got there.  Was it transported to the place?  A flag with Arabic writing on it was found on the scene.

The terrorist is thought to have been already arrested and had been known to the security services.  He is refusing to speak and had no identity papers on him.

This happened almost 6 months after the Paris attacks that killed 17 people in January where they started with shooting people at the satirical magazine office of Charlie Hebdo, killing the 12 they found there.  Then they went to a kosher supermarket where they shot and killed 4 Jewish hostages and a policewoman.  Since Muslim terrorists seem to have a vendetta against Jews, most likely the kosher market was selected as a target on purpose, being it was not too far from the magazine office.

There has been a high population of Muslims living in France.  A high proportion of these have gone to fight alongside Islamists in Iraq and Syria causing France to wise up and be on alert for possible attacks.  Evidently this terrorist is an IS representative leaving his calling card.

A witness to the act, Patrice, also told BFMTV that a group of men carrying Islamist flags forced their way into the factory, beheaded a person and targeted gas tanks.  The driver had been under surveillance several years ago and then taken off the list,  as the police had not caught him doing anything to allow them to arrest him till now.

It could have been coordinated with attacks that happened at the same time in  Tunisia and Kuwait.  Terrorists there hit a Shiite mosque.  It was IS who did this terrorism.  Police slipped out the name, Yassin Salhi/Sahli  as the terrorist they believe this one to be.  I believe this whole attack was as the witness related, done by a group.  After the beheading and pinning it on the fence, they then turned on the motor of the car and put the gear in motion to hit the gates to cause the explosion as no body was mentioned found in the car.  

None of the gory beheading facts were mentioned on CNN's news last night here in the states,  only that someone had rammed the gates of the complex and an explosion was heard and a banner was discovered left there.  Why is it that the newscasters are hesitant to give us these crucial facts?  The fact that Arabic was on the flag wasn't even considered until later.  It's distinctive style is so easy to spot.  What did they think other possibilities could have been?  The French should be very used to witnessing  Arabic by now.  

Resource:  Arutz Sheva: news@israelnationalnews.com Muslim Terrorist Beheads Man in France Attack
http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/26/europe/france-attack/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/explosions-hit-french-factory-terrorist-probe-opened/2015/06/26/442b08da-1be7-11e5-93b7-5eddc056ad8a_story.html
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/26/air-products-the-us-firm-targeted-by-suspected-islamists-in-france

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Gaon of Vilna's Plans For Israel

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                       

The Gaon of Vilna, AKA Rabbi Eliyahu  ben Shlomo Zalmen of Vilna (1720-1797)  of Lithuania was about the most famous of rabbis in our history.  He set the world in motion for Jews to return to Eretz Yisrael.

He was an expert in understanding the Torah, all our literature, had a possible photographic  memory, expert in science, math and  music.  He disagreed with the Rambam and Rabbi Yosef Caro, author of the Shulkhan Arukh of Safed.  His idea of Redemption differed from rabbis of his day.  Redemption was the start of the Messianic era.

Other rabbis had the opinion that they could not bring Redemption on with any actions.  They thought it would arrive by a miracle. This meant they told people not to carry out any actions against the Gentile civil authorities, an idea the Satmar group seem to follow.   He didn't believe in any restrictions from his understanding of the Torah.

The Gaon of Vilna considered the period he was living in was the end of the Diaspora and the beginning of the Messianic era.  That fits because many today of all religions feel this is the beginning of the Messianic era.                                                                                
Gaon of Vilna, another painting.  His ancestors were Rabbi Mohe Rivkas, and Rabbi Moshe Kremer, Chief Rabbi of Vilna.  Eliyahu married Khana, daughter of Yehudah Leib of Keidan about in 1738 at his age of 18.  She died in 1782 and he remarried  the widow Gittel, daughter of Rabbi Meir Luntz of Krezhe, Lithuania.  Her brother was also a rabbi, Rabbi Eliyahu Krozher.
The Gaon of Vilna believed in rebuilding the Land of Israel.  He felt the time had lapsed involving doing nothing.  The Diaspora (Jews outside of Israel) had come to the end of their existence.  Redemption had to be started by human actions.  The commandment to settle in Eretz Yisrael was the most important thing to do.
Safed, Israel, built on a mountain-this is in the Old city section, today has an art colony, galleries.  
                                                                           
Safed, Israel 
Rabbi Eliyahu had tried to immigrate to Eretz Yisrael.  His last will and testament included the admonishment to his students to make aliyah.  This would be Redemption by natural means.
                                                                         
Hurva Synagogue in Old Jerusalem
A group of his students did just this.  They wanted to rebuild Jerusalem.  They took ownership of the ruins of the Yehudah Hekhassid synagogue.  They rebuilt the courtyard of the Jews, with all the communal institutions, including a Beit Midrash, and a synagogue.   They saw this as a sign that soon, before their eyes, the beginning of the Redemption was set in motion.

One of the signs of this era was the restoration of judgment.  Those students who lived in Safed tried to restore the rabbinic ordination based on the line of divine authority given to the rabbis and the Sanhedrin--the great assembly of the sages that had Divinely authorized legislative power.
                                                                       
Yemenite Jew reading from Torah
 The head of the Safed community, Rabbi Yisrael of Shklov, sent an emissary to the Yemenite wilderness to find the Ten Lost Tribes.  "By means of the Yemenite sages, who had been ordained in an unbroken chain from Moses, it would be possible to ordain the Eretz Yisrael sages and restore the Sanhedrin.  "
                                                                         
Jerusalem in Old City 
                                                                                   
Haifa view
Another sign was the blossoming of the wilderness in the Holy Land.  This was based on "Hills of Israel, give your branches to the Nation of Israel--you have no better end to the Diaspora than that."   These early pioneers felt it was their duty to buy land during the reign of Muhamad Ali and to transfer some of the settlers in Eretz Yisrael to rural living.  This was carried out on the followers of the Gaon already living in the country.
  1. "Muḥammad ʿAlī, also called Mehmed Ali (born 1769, Kavala, Macedonia, Ottoman Empire [now in Greece]—died August 2, 1849, Alexandria, Egypt), pasha and viceroy of Egypt (1805–48), founder of the dynasty that ruled Egypt from the beginning of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th."
Another sign was that the nations of the world's reaction to aliyah of Jews to Eretz Yisrael.  These students living in Eretz Yisrael made close contacts with Christian emissaries who arrived in the country at that time. This was fearful to Jews in Europe as it spelled danger of Christians proselyting  or throwing them out.

By 1840 there was a congress in London and the nations of Europe debated the fate of Eretz Yisrael. The decision was to restore the Ottoman authority in Eretz Yisrael, and subject to British control.  This kept Eretz Yisrael open as an option for aliyah.

Thanks to the students of the Gaon of Vilna, British policy during the 19th century was harnessed into starting the Redemption and turning the land into a revived center for the ancient Jewish nation.
                                                                         
Immigrants to Israel 
Many Jews fleeing from the pogroms in Russia in 1882 wouldn't have had a safe haven to reach if the students of the Gaon hadn't put the idea to return in motion.  The first aliyah was at about this time.  The Zionist movement started a little later.

The Gaon attributes his skills, and his qualities of righteousness and personal isolation, qualities he inherited from his great-grandfather, Rabbi Eliyahu Khassid.

Vilna Gaon was buried in the Zaretsha Street cemetery in Vilnius/Vilna, Lithuania.  Other family members there are his father, Shlomo Zalmen and his son, Avraham Vilner.

Resource; Book:  Eliyahu's Branches-the descendants of the Vilna Gaon and his family by Chaim Freedman, article by Dr. Arye Morgenstern on Faculty of Jewish History of Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satmar_(Hasidic_dynasty)
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Muhammad-Ali-pasha-and-viceroy-of-Egypt