Interest In Buying Judea and Samaria Land ?

israelAM

Nadene Goldfoot                                          

This is Eretz Yisrael with Judea and Samaria in brown.  The names come from Jewish history.  Judea was one of the 12 Tribes of Israel, the Israel under Kings Saul, David and Solomon, and Jeroboam (933-912 BCE) who was not Solomon's son but the superintendent of labor who rebelled for the pittance they were earning, and divided the country.  Solomon's son, Rehoboam took the remaining state of Judah, Benjamin and Simeon and became their king under Judah's name, being it was the largest and included Jerusalem, the capital and most important.  Samaria or Shomron was the name of  the Capital of the Northern  kingdom of Israel, founded in about 880 BCE by King Omri, king of Israel (887-876 BCE) on a hill bought from Shemer as documented in I Kings 16:24.   

King Omri of Israel purchased the hill from Shemer for two talents of silver (approx. 150 pounds or 68 kg) to establish his new capital city, Samaria (1 Kings 16:24). Omri built the city on this hill around 880–870 BC, naming it Shomron (Samaria) in honor of Shemer. 

 The site, 7 miles NW of Shechem-now Nablus, was on an isolated elevation dominating a wide countryside.  It city was on 25 acres.  It had withstood the siege of the Syrians but fell in 721 BCE to Sargon II of Assyria who resettled it with Cutheans who intermarried with the former population left behind.  Cutheans (or Cuthites) were a group of people from Cutha (or Cuthah), an ancient Babylonian city, who were forcibly resettled into Samaria by the Assyrian king in the 8th century BCE to replace the exiled Ten Tribes of Israel. They were largely identified with the Samaritans in Jewish tradition, often acting as opponents to the returning Jews during the Second Temple period. 

They became the ancestors of the Samaritans..  

 Until now, Jews were prohibited from purchasing land directly and had to do so through locally registered companies. Under the new framework, most barriers to land purchases are removed, with transactions requiring only basic professional registration rather than approval from the Civil Administration.   The cabinet canceled a law banning land sales to foreigners and abolished the requirement for special transaction permits. 

Jewish buyers will now also be able to look up owners in land-owning registries and approach them directly with purchase offers. The government summarized the measures as allowing Jews to “purchase land in Judea and Samaria just as they purchase in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.”

[Sounds fair. If an Arab wants to sell his property and a Jew wants to buy it, and they both agree to make the transaction, what could be wrong with that? Unless, of course, you believe that Jews should be discriminated against and be prohibited to buy real estate??]

Also, planning and construction authority for the Jewish settlement in the city, including at the Cave of the Patriarchs, will be transferred from the Hebron municipality, which is under the Palestinian Authority, to Israeli authorities. Similar steps were approved for Rachel’s Tomb, located within Bethlehem’s municipal boundaries, including the establishment of a dedicated Israeli municipal administration for the site and an adjacent yeshiva.

The measures also authorize Israeli enforcement bodies to act against illegal Palestinian construction even in Area A, a move that until now had been largely restricted to Area B. The policy would allow demolitions and land expropriation in cases involving damage to archaeological or heritage sites.                          

Well, knock me down with a feather!!!  In a rare joint statement, the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan condemned what they described as “illegal Israeli decisions and steps aimed at imposing illegitimate Israeli sovereignty, entrenching settlements and creating a new legal and administrative reality in the West Bank.” The EU also criticized the move. [So much for fairness and free economies.]

So much for buying your own land back, land that holds the indigenous Jews' ancestors' bones and memories.  The problem is these Arabs cannot admit that Jewish history started in Canaan which became their Israel.  It's known how most Arabs refuse to accept the fact that Jews were here first and have the Bible for proof.  It is unfortunate that Jews lost the land to many empires and countries, like England who held a 30 year mandate-like a lease, sort of, life with them for 30 years of their police/soldiers under their rule. We had family living under this that had returned.                                      

Where fools rush in, Angels fear to tread.  It's not a GOLD RUSH.  We had a lot of Angels buying land from Arabs who couldn't pay the taxes to the Ottoman Empire owners and were all too happy to find buyers who were Jews willing to pay their high prices.  

                             Baron Edmond de Rothschild

Key individuals and organizations facilitating Jewish land purchases from Arabs before and after 1920 included Zionist leader Arthur Ruppin, the Jewish National Fund, and philanthropists like Baron Edmond de Rothschild (1845-1934). The early Jewish Pioneers appealed to him in the early 1880s to save the land for the Jews.  He helped to protect their new settlements and visited the land in 1887, 1893, 1899, 1914 and 1925.  He bought 125,000 acres in Palestine and its to be credited with the settlement of Galilee and Samaria.  He and his wife,  Adelaide Rothchild are buried in Israel.  

Land was often purchased from absentee landlords through entities like the Palestine Land Development Company. We were organized for just such an occasion.  land-purchasing company of the world zionist organization.

Established in 1908 by Arthur Ruppin, a German Jew, as part of the World Zionist Organization, the Palestine Land Development Company (PLDC) used Jewish National Fund and private monies to purchase and populate tracts of land with Jewish immigrants. It acquired extensive holdings in northern Palestine (Galilee), particularly in the 1920s and 1930s.

The PLDC bought nearly 90 percent of its land from large landowners, rather than individual peasants. Many of the transactions created controversy, such as the PLDC's purchase of 240,000 dunums (144,000 acres, 60,000 ha) of fertile land in the Jezreel valley between 1921 and 1925, its purchase of 30,000 dunums (18,000 acres, 7,500 ha) at Wadi Hawarith in 1929, and its assumption of the Lake Huleh concession in 1934. 

Oh yes, the Arabs were only too happy to sell their holdings and get out of the there.  They went on to Damascus and Paris, places like that.  Our angels found out what they bought;  land of mosquitoes and swamps, and had a lot to do to turn it into what it has become today.  

 People born and ancestrally native to a land are typically referred to as Indigenous peoples, original inhabitants, or natives of that region. They share deep, generational, and cultural connections to their ancestral land, often predating colonization or written history. Jews are such people.  

Abraham himself had walked with his family; ,Sarah and the rest, all the way from the 

city of Ur to Canaan and settled there.  Saul was our first King with the 2nd king being

David who reigned from 1010 BCE to 970 BCE.  That's over 1,000 years before

Jesus was born and like 2,000 before Mohammad was born.  

     Announcing the birth of Israel:  May 14, 1958

Israel never was barren of Jews;  there were always a certain amount of Jews living here;  

just not enough to win over an empire who didn't bother to live here, only to rule it.  

Once that 30 year period was up in 1948, Israel was born once again, on May 14, 1948 with 

high hopes.  .  

Along with our Jewish beliefs, from Torah, Talmud, etc, Frank Sinatra reminds us: and our 

friends the young Revolutionaries of Iran, not to give up...

Next time you're found
With your chin on the ground
There a lot to be learned
So look around

[Verse 1]
Just what makes that little old ant
Think he'll move that rubber tree plant
Anyone knows an ant can't
Move a rubber tree plant

[Chorus]
But he's got high hopes
He's got high hopes
He's got high apple pie in the sky hopes

[Post-Chorus]
So any time you're gettin' low
'Stead of lettin' go
Just remember that ant:
Oops, there goes another rubber tree plant
Oops, there goes another rubber tree plant

Iran's Foreign Minister Serves a Hot Potato To USA

 Nadene Goldfoot                                              

                                      Abbas Araghchi (b: Dec 5, 1962, age 63)

With good intentions, the combo of Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff seems to me to have been wasting their time in Oman on Friday trying to debate with hardened Foreign Minister of Iran, Abbas Araghchi. Jared and Steve also have the Ukraine-Russia War to deal with. Now on the sea the air carrier issue with the Abraham Lincoln; 

Is this subject a hot potato?   A "hot potato" subject is a highly controversial, sensitive, or risky issue that people avoid discussing or dealing with because it causes strong disagreement and discomfort. Originating in the mid-1800s from "dropping something like a hot potato," it signifies a topic "too hot to handle," such as intense political debates, layoffs, or divisive social issues.

 Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner’s hours-long talks with Iran in Oman ended Friday with Tehran refusing to budge on nuclear enrichment.

The US responded by immediately ratcheting up sanctions to deliver economic pain to Iran and flexing its military might by flying fighter jets in the Arabian Sea above the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group. 

President Trump has been threatening a military bombardment of Iran for weeks after the brutal murder of thousands of anti-regime protesters. The talks on Friday were a chance for diplomacy, but Iran didn’t want to address its ballistic missile stockpile and the regime’s brutality on protesters.

That's my hot potato.  Why isn't Trump addressing the Revolution going on in Iran of the young people who find themselves with no water, so unable to grow their own food, have no jobs, nothing to live for under the Ayatollah regime, now holding the last chance they have of rebelling in this Revolution.  The Iranian government cut out their internet as well, so it's hard for our ABC, NBC, CBS, but Newsnation seemed to get info about what's happening now. There sat ships giving hope to the people of being supported that did nothing but sit there while 40,000 or more were slaughtered, and Trump proudly bragging how he saved 800 from the hangman.Maybe true, but he could do a heck of a lot more;  especially on Friday.  What Iran does is shoot to kill people of the Revolution.  Israel has been said to be there helping the Revolutionaries.  

Iran's top diplomat said on Friday that nuclear talks with the US mediated by Oman were off to a “good start” and set to continue, in remarks that could help allay concern that failure to reach a deal might nudge the Middle East closer to war.

A regional diplomat briefed by Tehran on the talks told Reuters that Iran insisted on its "right to enrich uranium" during the negotiations with the US, but showed openness to discussing the “level and purity” of enrichment or alternative arrangements, including a potential regional consortium.

 Abbas has served as the foreign minister of Iran since August 2024. He previously served as the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as the Iranian ambassador to Finland and to Japan.  His father died when he was 17. As a teenager, he took part in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, after which he joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, where he served for almost ten years and fought in the Iran–Iraq War.

Araghchi acted as Iran's chief nuclear negotiator in talks with the P5+1, under president Hassan Rouhani leading up to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action between Iran and the United States. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal, was an agreement to limit the Iranian nuclear program in return for sanctions relief and other provisions. The agreement was finalized in Vienna on 14 July 2015, between Iran and the P5+1 together with the European Union.

 Araghchi holds a Ph.D. in political thought from the University of Kent with a thesis entitled The Evolution of the Concept of Political Participation in Twentieth-Century Islamic Political Thought (1996). Supervised by David McLellan, a scholar of Marxism, the thesis argues that modern Islamic political thought has attempted to reconcile the doctrine of divine sovereignty with the concept of popular sovereignty by incorporating aspects of Western democratic theory into Islamic principles, thereby developing democratic institutions within the framework of Islamic law.

He is fluent in Arabic and English. 

We need another PhD educated in political thought  with knowledge of nuclear Iran.  They need the same level of education from either Princeton, U of California-Berkley, Yale, U of Chicago, U of Notre Dame or Stanford to be good debators or holding their own in such discussions. 

Jared Kushner (b: January 10, 1981, age 45, son in law of Donald Trump;   Kushner graduated from the Frisch School, a Modern Orthodox yeshiva high school, in 1999 and enrolled at Harvard University in the same year.  At Harvard, Kushner was elected into the Fly Club, supported the campus Chabad house led by Hirschy Zarchi,and bought and sold real estate in Somerville, Massachusetts, as a vice president of Somerville Building Associates (a division of Kushner Companies), Kushner graduated from Harvard with honors in 2003, with a B.A. degree in government.

Kushner then enrolled in the JD/MBA dual degree program at the New York University School of Law and New York University Stern School of Business, and graduated with both degrees in 2007.  With his yeshiva work, he should be able to hold his own with debating Abbas.  

Steve Witkoff, b: March 15, 1957, 68 years old, Education from Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University (1983), Hofstra University (1980)which is a private university located in Hempstead, New York (on Long Island), approximately 25 miles from New York City. It is a suburban, 240-acre campus known for hosting presidential debates and offering a wide range of academic programs. Hofstra is listed as #570 in Best Colleges in America.  

Resource:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jared_Kushner

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbas_Araghchi

https://www.niche.com/colleges/hofstra-university/

https://www.google.com/search?q=Steve+Witkoff&sca_esv=75ec5d1badd44e05&sxsrf=ANbL-n7d0VoM4zYf0aAwKZ9qGPhjFHMpsQ%3A1770578163380&source=hp&ei=8-CIaYn9FPnA0PEP_IiSmQ8&iflsig=AFdpzrgAAAAAaYjvA6cwfu9OnLU

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Comprehensive_Plan_of_Action

The Effects of Hellenization on Jews

 Nadene Goldfoot                                   

                                   The Parthenon at Dusk in Athens, Greece

The Parthenon is an ancient Greek temple built between 447 and 432 CE/B.C. atop the Acropolis in Athens to honor the goddess Athena. Considered the pinnacle of the Doric architectural order, it served as a symbol of Athenian power and democracy. It was later converted into a church and a mosque. 

Hellenization (332–63 CE/B.C.) profoundly impacted Jewish society by introducing Greek language, culture, and governance, triggering intense conflict between reformers and traditionalists. While urban elites adopted Hellenism, causing social stratification, the rural peasantry largely resisted it. This period led to the Maccabean Revolt, the rise of Hasmonean leadership, and a blend of Jewish and Greek culture, particularly in the diaspora. 

• Cultural and Social Divide: A deep divide formed between the "Hellenizers" (often urban elites and priests) who adopted Greek customs, and traditionalists who sought to maintain Jewish law.
• In Greek mythology, demigods are beings born from one divine parent (god/goddess/nymph) and one mortal parent, acting as bridges between the human and divine worlds. Renowned for extraordinary strength, courage, and beauty, they often become legendary heroes, such as Hercules, Achilles, Perseus, and Theseus. Why not Jesus? 
• In 325 CE, Emperor Constantine I convened the Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical council, to resolve theological disputes regarding the nature of Jesus Christ and to unify the church. Meeting in Nicaea (Asia Minor), bishops overwhelmingly affirmed that Jesus was fully divine and co-eternal with God, rejecting Arianism. 
• This could have led to the followers of Christianity of such people later as Matthew, the first Jewish writer of the "New Testament."  Jews do not have any literature about him, since the later followers gave him "god-like qualities including worshipping him such as the Greeks believed instead of the Almighty unseen G-d spoken of by the Jews. 
• "Most scholars agree that the Gospel of Matthew was written approximately 50 to 60 years after the death of Jesus, typically dated between 80 and 90 C.E.. Assuming Jesus died around 30 C.E., this places the composition of Matthew about five to six decades following the crucifixion." 
• Language and Daily Life: Greek replaced Aramaic in many areas, changing public life, education, and social structure.
• Resistance and Conflict: The Hellenizing policies of Antiochus IV, which included banning traditional practices, led directly to the Maccabean Revolt (167–160 B.C.).   Sparked by Antiochus IV’s desecration of the Temple, the successful guerrilla uprising restored religious freedom and led to the rededication of the Temple, commemorated by Hanukkah.
• Influence on Thought: Hellenism influenced Jewish intellectual life, with some scholars attempting to merge Greek philosophies with Jewish tradition, such as presenting Moses as a philosopher.
• Material Culture: Greek-style cities were built, and even in rural areas, Greek pottery and tools were introduced.
• Theological Structure: The Trinitarian doctrine and other complex theological frameworks were shaped by Greek philosophical speculation and debate, used in Christianity.
• Sacred Sites & Symbols: Ancient Greek pagan temples were repurposed into Christian basilicas, often reoriented to face east.
• Iconography and Rituals: Some studies suggest that elements of Hellenistic mystery religions, such as Dionysian rituals involving consuming symbolic flesh and blood, may have informed early Christian sacramental practices, though this is heavily debated.

Despite these pressures, the Jewish population often maintained their core identity, particularly in rural areas, leading to a unique synthesis of culture known as Hellenistic Judaism. 

In 66 CE/AD, this discontent exploded into open rebellion of Jews. Four years later, the Roman army had crushed the revolt, but had also destroyed the temple. The sacred treasures were seized and shown off in a procession through the streets of Rome.This is the Arch of Emperor Titus, showing the Jews being forced to carry the Roman loot out of their own Temple.  

Destruction of the temple

The destruction of the temple fundamentally changed the nature of Judaism. Taxes that were once paid to the temple were now paid to Rome, and the Jewish tradition of worshipping in the temple was over. With only the Western Wall remaining of the temple in Jerusalem, the local synagogues now became the new centers of the Jewish religion.

By 70 CE/AD, Jerusalem was the site of a catastrophic siege and the destruction of the Second Temple by Roman forces, marking a pivotal turning point in Jewish and Roman history. This event was the climax of the First Jewish-Roman War (66–73 CE), resulting in the end of the Jewish state until May 14, 1948 when Israel was born once again and the transition of Judaism into a religion centered on study rather than temple sacrifice. 

 Jewish Temple sacrifices primarily ended in 70 C.E. when the Roman army, led by Titus, destroyed the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The practice was halted because biblical law requires sacrifices to be offered exclusively at the Temple, which no longer exists. Prayers and good deeds replaced these rituals. 

In my opinion, the sacrifices sealed the lesson in the people's hearts andmemories and made  sense to them at that point in time.  Today, people   advanced in their minds and understandings to a point wherethey do not need such but hunger for understanding of our prophets. 

  Isn't this similar to present day Judaism of dividing in Orthodox, Reform 

and Conservatism?  

Marrying practice of Jewish men marrying wives outside of Judaism started

breaking down the family structure unless the wife converted including

studying about Judaism and becoming zealous about it. As men traded in

other countries such as Africa and America, this took place.

Jews marrying non-Jewish individuals (gentiles) often leads to significant shifts in religious identity, with many families identifying as unaffiliated or adopting a blend of traditions. While intermarriage is generally forbidden in Orthodox Judaism, Reform and Reconstructionist movements may accept it, often encouraging the non-Jewish partner to convert or the children to be raised Jewish. In many cases, intermarried Jewish women tend to maintain their religious affiliation more than men, according to Jewish Women's Archive. Men are more involved in their work.  

Resource:

AI, 

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

https://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/jews.html#:~:text=Inthe%20first%20century%20AD,The%20temple%20in%20Jerusalem

https://www.britannica.com/video/did-you-know-Parthenon/-255379

https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net/demigod/#:~:text=Demigods%20were%20the%20offspring%20of,to%20ride%20the%20magical%20steed.

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