Summary of Recent Posts http://www.zionismontheweb.org/blogs/index.php/all Blogs about Zionism and Israel en-US http://backend.userland.com/rss 60 Opera in Tel Aviv food court http://www.zionismontheweb.org/blogs/index.php/Ginosar/2010/09/06/opera_in_tel_aviv_food_court Mon, 06 Sep 2010 19:36:14 +0000 Current Commentry 841@http://www.zionismontheweb.org/blogs/ This short fun show reveals some of Israel strength. These few minutes of joyful music in Tel Aviv food court will show you also the large variety of foods available, I am getting hungry just looking at these foods from all over the world, the casual way regular Israelis dress, and the fun they have despite the security pressure. Matania Some 30 singers from the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, mingling with the crowd in the Friday morning Food Market at Dizengoff Centre, all at once started singing a much-loved chorus piece http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNqosHRbWog This short fun show reveals some of Israel strength.

These few minutes of joyful music in Tel Aviv food court will show you also the large variety of foods available, I am getting hungry just looking at these foods from all over the world, the casual way regular Israelis dress, and the fun they have despite the security pressure.
Matania

Some 30 singers from the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, mingling with the crowd in the Friday morning Food Market at Dizengoff Centre, all at once started singing a much-loved chorus piece

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNqosHRbWog

]]> http://www.zionismontheweb.org/blogs/index.php/all?p=841&c=1&tb=1&pb=1#comments Should I criticize Israel? http://www.zionismontheweb.org/blogs/index.php/Ginosar/2010/08/17/should_i_criticize_israel Tue, 17 Aug 2010 20:58:35 +0000 Current Commentry 840@http://www.zionismontheweb.org/blogs/ Some may say I have a right to criticize Israel when I feel it has done something wrong. After all, they say, you helped create Israel; you joined the Lechi, most dangerous underground against the British, at 15 and served almost five years until liberation. Instead of enjoying your youth, sport and fun you chose to risk your life. You were arrested, twice. You helped start a new border kibbutz near Gaza while several of your friends were murdered there. You served in the Israeli Air Force too. All true, but then I left Israel to study electronics in the US. I continued my love of Israel but after ten years here I decided that to preserve my family I would stay and become an American citizen. My right to criticize Israel as an insider stopped with this difficult decision. I was no longer an Israeli. I was not subjected to the same risks and same conditions Israelis were facing. My sons were not facing active military duty and my home was not facing rocket attacks I continued to love Israel deeply but it was a distant love affair, an affair that does not give direct benefit to Israel. I was here while Israel needed me there to contribute to its growth and the defense of the country. I do not say I have no right to my feelings and ideas about Israel. I may disapprove and even be angry at some of the misdirection I see there sometimes. I can say what I want and scream too, but I have no special right to claim that since I was an Israeli I have the right to pressure Israel or oppose decisions by the people of Israel. I am an outside observer. I also have no special right because I am a Jew. I am not facing the dangerous situation there and I am not risking any skin of mine when Israel decides on one course of action or another. Obviously American Jews or non-Jews have no moral right to dictate to Israel how to behave. Just one example of how different it looks from here than from Israel. And how different is our reaction and that of the Israelis. In 2004 I was in Israel when the Palestinians destroyed two Israeli armored vehicles and played football with the heads of the dead Israeli soldiers. And they showed it with glee on their TV. Israel was in shock, how could they defile the dead with joy? All Israeli radio and TV were concentrated on this desecrating "football game." But the Israelis did not want to show the Palestinian TV movie that celebrated that macabre football game. I felt very strongly that it should be shown globally so people could grasp the joy of killing that Palestinian terrorists demonstrated on their TV to great applauds of their Arab audience. The Israelis, however, decided not to show it in respect for the dead and their families. Yet, every American Jew I have discussed it with said they never heard about this case and Israel should have shown it to explain the mentality of Palestinian extremists and their supporters. . It has puzzles me for many years how some good, caring liberal American Jews [and non - Jews], have set a very high moral standards for Israel and do their upmost to hold Israel to these standards, while holding all other countries, including the US itself, to minimal moral standards. For example, the amount of mistaken civilian killing by UN and US forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan is many times the unintended civilian deaths that Israel had. I wonder what is it that drives these caring, good, moral people to concentrate almost all their attention on Israeli collateral deaths? Why they forget that Israel is responding to relentless attacks by Palestinian terrorists? Not only that, Israelis are defending their OWN civilians while the US and UN civilians are NOT under continuous and direct attacks? When a Jew feels he/she has the right to organize pressure on Israel, or to attempt to reduce US support of Israel, or even send money to organizations whose sole aims are to weaken Israel, I wonder what is driving that person? There is so much anti-Semitism who is disguises as anti Israeli propaganda around the world. These anti- Semite use the extreme critical views of some Jews to justify their attacks. "You see, even their Jewish brothers condemn Israel." Are these Jews expecting Israel to risk its future to satisfy their own dreams of a peaceful world? Are they carrying some guilt? Are they trying to be more religious than the Pope? I never heard a reasonable answer to this question. What is this compulsion to attack Israel? Matania Some may say I have a right to criticize Israel when I feel it has done something wrong. After all, they say, you helped create Israel; you joined the Lechi, most dangerous underground against the British, at 15 and served almost five years until liberation. Instead of enjoying your youth, sport and fun you chose to risk your life. You were arrested, twice. You helped start a new border kibbutz near Gaza while several of your friends were murdered there. You served in the Israeli Air Force too. All true, but then I left Israel to study electronics in the US.
I continued my love of Israel but after ten years here I decided that to preserve my family I would stay and become an American citizen. My right to criticize Israel as an insider stopped with this difficult decision. I was no longer an Israeli. I was not subjected to the same risks and same conditions Israelis were facing. My sons were not facing active military duty and my home was not facing rocket attacks

I continued to love Israel deeply but it was a distant love affair, an affair that does not give direct benefit to Israel. I was here while Israel needed me there to contribute to its growth and the defense of the country.

I do not say I have no right to my feelings and ideas about Israel. I may disapprove and even be angry at some of the misdirection I see there sometimes. I can say what I want and scream too, but I have no special right to claim that since I was an Israeli I have the right to pressure Israel or oppose decisions by the people of Israel. I am an outside observer. I also have no special right because I am a Jew. I am not facing the dangerous situation there and I am not risking any skin of mine when Israel decides on one course of action or another. Obviously American Jews or non-Jews have no moral right to dictate to Israel how to behave.

Just one example of how different it looks from here than from Israel. And how different is our reaction and that of the Israelis. In 2004 I was in Israel when the Palestinians destroyed two Israeli armored vehicles and played football with the heads of the dead Israeli soldiers. And they showed it with glee on their TV. Israel was in shock, how could they defile the dead with joy? All Israeli radio and TV were concentrated on this desecrating "football game." But the Israelis did not want to show the Palestinian TV movie that celebrated that macabre football game. I felt very strongly that it should be shown globally so people could grasp the joy of killing that Palestinian terrorists demonstrated on their TV to great applauds of their Arab audience. The Israelis, however, decided not to show it in respect for the dead and their families. Yet, every American Jew I have discussed it with said they never heard about this case and Israel should have shown it to explain the mentality of Palestinian extremists and their supporters.
.
It has puzzles me for many years how some good, caring liberal American Jews [and non - Jews], have set a very high moral standards for Israel and do their upmost to hold Israel to these standards, while holding all other countries, including the US itself, to minimal moral standards. For example, the amount of mistaken civilian killing by UN and US forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan is many times the unintended civilian deaths that Israel had. I wonder what is it that drives these caring, good, moral people to concentrate almost all their attention on Israeli collateral deaths? Why they forget that Israel is responding to relentless attacks by Palestinian terrorists?
Not only that, Israelis are defending their OWN civilians while the US and UN civilians are NOT under continuous and direct attacks?

When a Jew feels he/she has the right to organize pressure on Israel, or to attempt to reduce US support of Israel, or even send money to organizations whose sole aims are to weaken Israel, I wonder what is driving that person?
There is so much anti-Semitism who is disguises as anti Israeli propaganda around the world. These anti- Semite use the extreme critical views of some Jews to justify their attacks. "You see, even their Jewish brothers condemn Israel."

Are these Jews expecting Israel to risk its future to satisfy their own dreams of a peaceful world? Are they carrying some guilt? Are they trying to be more religious than the Pope?
I never heard a reasonable answer to this question.

What is this compulsion to attack Israel?

Matania

]]> http://www.zionismontheweb.org/blogs/index.php/all?p=840&c=1&tb=1&pb=1#comments We Owe the Jews- from England http://www.zionismontheweb.org/blogs/index.php/Ginosar/2010/08/09/we_owe_the_jews_from_england Mon, 09 Aug 2010 05:34:23 +0000 Historical Notes 839@http://www.zionismontheweb.org/blogs/ by Andrew Roberts The most precious possession of mankind. What follows is an edited version of a speech delivered by historian Andrew Roberts to the Friends of Israel Initiative in the British House of Commons on July 19. From Morocco to Afghanistan, from the Caspian Sea to Aden, the 5.25 million square miles of territory belonging to members of the Arab League is home to over 330 million people, whereas Israel covers only 8,000 square miles, and is home to seven million citizens, one-fifth of whom are Arabs. The Jews of the Holy Land are thus surrounded by hostile states 650 times their size in territory and 60 times their population; yet their last, best hope of ending two millennia of international persecution -- the State of Israel -- has somehow survived. When during the Second World War, the island of Malta came through three terrible years of bombardment and destruction, it was rightly awarded the George Medal for bravery. Israel should be awarded a similar decoration for defending democracy, tolerance and Western values against a murderous onslaught. Today Israel should be awarded a similar decoration for defending democracy, tolerance and Western values against a murderous onslaught that has lasted 20 times as long. Jerusalem is the site of the Temple of Solomon and Herod. The stones of a palace erected by King David himself are even now being unearthed just outside the walls of Jerusalem. Everything that makes a nation state legitimate -- blood shed, soil tilled, international agreements -- argues for Israel's right to exist, yet that is still denied by the Arab League. For many of their governments, which are rich enough to have economically solved the Palestinian refugee problem decades ago, it is useful to have Israel as a scapegoat to divert attention from the tyranny, failure and corruption of their own regimes. The tragic truth is that it suits Arab states very well to have the Palestinians endure permanent refugee status; whenever Israel puts forward workable solutions they are stymied by those whose interests put the destruction of Israel before the genuine well-being of the Palestinians. Both King Abdullah I of Jordan and Anwar Sadat of Egypt were assassinated when they attempted to come to some kind of accommodation with a country that most sane people now accept is not going away. "We owe to the Jews," wrote Winston Churchill in 1920, "a system of ethics which, even if it were entirely separated from the supernatural, would be incomparably the most precious possession of mankind, worth in fact the fruits of all wisdom and learning put together." Although they make up less than half of 1% of the world's population, between 1901 and 1950 Jews won 14% of all the Nobel Prizes awarded for literature and science, and between 1951 and 2000 Jews won 32% of the Nobel Prizes for medicine, 32% for physics, 39% for economics and 29% for science. This, despite so many of their greatest intellects dying in the gas chambers. Yet we tend to treat Israel like a leper on the international scene, threatening her with academic boycotts if she builds a separation wall that has so far reduced suicide bombings by 95% over three years. Her Majesty the Queen has been on the throne for 57 years and in that time has undertaken 250 official visits to 129 countries, yet has not yet set foot in Israel. She has visited 14 Arab countries, so it cannot have been that she wasn't in the region. No people in history have needed the right to self-defense and legitimacy more than the Jews of Israel. After the Holocaust, the Jewish people recognized that they must have their own state, a homeland where they could forever be safe from a repetition of such horrors. Since then, Israel has had to fight five major wars for her existence. Radical Islam is never going to accept the concept of an Israeli State, so the struggle is likely to continue for another 60 years, but the Jews know that that is less dangerous than entrusting their security to anyone else. I recently visited Auschwitz-Birkenau. Walking along a line of huts and the railway siding, where their forebears had been worked and starved and beaten and frozen and gassed to death, were a group of Jewish schoolchildren, one of whom was carrying over his shoulder the Israeli flag. It was a moving sight, for it was the sovereign independence represented by that flag which guarantees that the obscenity of genocide will never again befall the Jewish people. No people in history have needed the right to self-defense and legitimacy more than the Jews of Israel, and that is what we in the Friends of Israel Initiative demand here today. This article originally appeared in the National Post This article can also be read at: http://www.aish.com/jw/me/99934014.html by Andrew Roberts

The most precious possession of mankind.

What follows is an edited version of a speech delivered by historian Andrew Roberts to the Friends of Israel Initiative in the British House of Commons on July 19.

From Morocco to Afghanistan, from the Caspian Sea to Aden, the 5.25 million square miles of territory belonging to members of the Arab League is home to over 330 million people, whereas Israel covers only 8,000 square miles, and is home to seven million citizens, one-fifth of whom are Arabs. The Jews of the Holy Land are thus surrounded by hostile states 650 times their size in territory and 60 times their population; yet their last, best hope of ending two millennia of international persecution -- the State of Israel -- has somehow survived. When during the Second World War, the island of Malta came through three terrible years of bombardment and destruction, it was rightly awarded the George Medal for bravery.

Israel should be awarded a similar decoration for defending democracy, tolerance and Western values against a murderous onslaught.

Today Israel should be awarded a similar decoration for defending democracy, tolerance and Western values against a murderous onslaught that has lasted 20 times as long.

Jerusalem is the site of the Temple of Solomon and Herod. The stones of a palace erected by King David himself are even now being unearthed just outside the walls of Jerusalem. Everything that makes a nation state legitimate -- blood shed, soil tilled, international agreements -- argues for Israel's right to exist, yet that is still denied by the Arab League. For many of their governments, which are rich enough to have economically solved the Palestinian refugee problem decades ago, it is useful to have Israel as a scapegoat to divert attention from the tyranny, failure and corruption of their own regimes.

The tragic truth is that it suits Arab states very well to have the Palestinians endure permanent refugee status; whenever Israel puts forward workable solutions they are stymied by those whose interests put the destruction of Israel before the genuine well-being of the Palestinians. Both King Abdullah I of Jordan and Anwar Sadat of Egypt were assassinated when they attempted to come to some kind of accommodation with a country that most sane people now accept is not going away.

"We owe to the Jews," wrote Winston Churchill in 1920, "a system of ethics which, even if it were entirely separated from the supernatural, would be incomparably the most precious possession of mankind, worth in fact the fruits of all wisdom and learning put together."

Although they make up less than half of 1% of the world's population, between 1901 and 1950 Jews won 14% of all the Nobel Prizes awarded for literature and science, and between 1951 and 2000 Jews won 32% of the Nobel Prizes for medicine, 32% for physics, 39% for economics and 29% for science. This, despite so many of their greatest intellects dying in the gas chambers. Yet we tend to treat Israel like a leper on the international scene, threatening her with academic boycotts if she builds a separation wall that has so far reduced suicide bombings by 95% over three years.

Her Majesty the Queen has been on the throne for 57 years and in that time has undertaken 250 official visits to 129 countries, yet has not yet set foot in Israel. She has visited 14 Arab countries, so it cannot have been that she wasn't in the region.

No people in history have needed the right to self-defense and legitimacy more than the Jews of Israel.

After the Holocaust, the Jewish people recognized that they must have their own state, a homeland where they could forever be safe from a repetition of such horrors. Since then, Israel has had to fight five major wars for her existence. Radical Islam is never going to accept the concept of an Israeli State, so the struggle is likely to continue for another 60 years, but the Jews know that that is less dangerous than entrusting their security to anyone else.

I recently visited Auschwitz-Birkenau. Walking along a line of huts and the railway siding, where their forebears had been worked and starved and beaten and frozen and gassed to death, were a group of Jewish schoolchildren, one of whom was carrying over his shoulder the Israeli flag. It was a moving sight, for it was the sovereign independence represented by that flag which guarantees that the obscenity of genocide will never again befall the Jewish people.

No people in history have needed the right to self-defense and legitimacy more than the Jews of Israel, and that is what we in the Friends of Israel Initiative demand here today.

This article originally appeared in the National Post

This article can also be read at: http://www.aish.com/jw/me/99934014.html

]]> http://www.zionismontheweb.org/blogs/index.php/all?p=839&c=1&tb=1&pb=1#comments When the Messiah comes, we could argue http://www.zionismontheweb.org/blogs/index.php/Ginosar/2010/08/07/when_the_messiah_comes_we_could_argue Sat, 07 Aug 2010 19:20:16 +0000 Current Commentry 837@http://www.zionismontheweb.org/blogs/ There are some Jews who do not like to accept the generous hands our Christian friends give Israel. These Jews suspect that Christian support is tied to some messianic expectation. Who cares? It is like a drowning man asking the religious affiliation of a potential rescuer before accepting his hand. There are millions of Christians in the US who stand with Israel. These generous Christians who love and support Israel are the main reason why the US supports Israel, not the political acumen of some Jewish organizations. There are tens of million more Christians world wide who support Israel. They deserve our thanks, our embrace, not suspicion. Noam Bedin say it well- below: When the Messiah comes, we could argue In a world that turned its back to Israel and push us to the wall, we do not have the privilege or time to discuss some theological nuances of our Christian friends. They are almost our only friends who stand with us even in the most difficult times and clearly understand the importance of spreading the truth about Israel across the world. Noam Bedin, Sderot media Center. There are some Jews who do not like to accept the generous hands our Christian friends give Israel. These Jews suspect that Christian support is tied to some messianic expectation. Who cares? It is like a drowning man asking the religious affiliation of a potential rescuer before accepting his hand.

There are millions of Christians in the US who stand with Israel. These generous Christians who love and support Israel are the main reason why the US supports Israel, not the political acumen of some Jewish organizations. There are tens of million more Christians world wide who support Israel. They deserve our thanks, our embrace, not suspicion.

Noam Bedin say it well- below:

When the Messiah comes, we could argue

In a world that turned its back to Israel and push us to the wall, we do not have the privilege or time to discuss some theological nuances of our Christian friends. They are almost our only friends who stand with us even in the most difficult times and clearly understand the importance of spreading the truth about Israel across the world.

Noam Bedin, Sderot media Center.

]]> http://www.zionismontheweb.org/blogs/index.php/all?p=837&c=1&tb=1&pb=1#comments Some responses to Israel Security is not assured http://www.zionismontheweb.org/blogs/index.php/Ginosar/2010/06/13/some_responses_to_israel_security_is_not Sun, 13 Jun 2010 03:44:22 +0000 Current Commentry 836@http://www.zionismontheweb.org/blogs/ Another well reasoned and expressed position. It has long been my position that the time is at hand when, in order to defend itself, Israel may no longer be more concerned about the safety of arab civilians than it does the saftey of the IDF and Israel's civilian population. I plan to begin to circulate our letter to selected people in my address book X Dr Ginosar, Again you have done an excellent job of disclosing the facts. I thank God for persons like you who will stand up and resist the "lamestream" media. One of the results of being outspoken is finding out, in many cases, where the support lies. I have found that many who I consider friends, are apathetic to the truth and would rather follow the easy routes. To see that you also have this reaction, and will still express yourself is very warming to this cold heart. Thank you again. C Thanks, Matania. Sadly Americans know more about their evening TV programs and celebrities than they know about what's really going on in the world. Worse, they don't seem to want to know. Those Jews who are attacking Israel should at least subscribe to Daily Alert to get a different view of what's going on in the middle east. I also monitor Military.com for another view. What's sad is that our own media is really letting us down. For example, they seem to still portray Turkey as our friend. Few mention how Turkey has been shifting from a secular regime to a Jihadist/Islamist regime. Turkey, China, Russia and even Brazil are now lining up with Iran. But, there's nary a mention in the press. And, our politicians seem to have their head in the sand. It's not just Israel that's in trouble here. I seems to me that we are heading down a treacherous road; and, nobody seems to care. Y Yes, you are correct-from one who lives here in Israel- D Another well reasoned and expressed position.

It has long been my position that the time is at hand when, in order to defend itself, Israel may no longer be more concerned about the safety of arab civilians than it does the saftey of the IDF and Israel's civilian population.

I plan to begin to circulate our letter to selected people in my address book
X

Dr Ginosar,
Again you have done an excellent job of disclosing the facts. I thank God for persons like you who will stand up and resist the "lamestream" media.
One of the results of being outspoken is finding out, in many cases, where the support lies. I have found that many who I consider friends, are apathetic to the truth and would rather follow the easy routes. To see that you also have this reaction, and will still express yourself is very warming to this cold heart.
Thank you again.
C

Thanks, Matania.
Sadly Americans know more about their evening TV programs and celebrities than they know about what's really going on in the world. Worse, they don't seem to want to know. Those Jews who are attacking Israel should at least subscribe to Daily Alert to get a different view of what's going on in the middle east. I also monitor Military.com for another view. What's sad is that our own media is really letting us down. For example, they seem to still portray Turkey as our friend. Few mention how Turkey has been shifting from a secular regime to a Jihadist/Islamist regime. Turkey, China, Russia and even Brazil are now lining up with Iran. But, there's nary a mention in the press. And, our politicians seem to have their head in the sand. It's not just Israel that's in trouble here. I seems to me that we are heading down a treacherous road; and, nobody seems to care.
Y

Yes, you are correct-from one who lives here in Israel-
D

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