Twitter Agrees to Remove Anti-Semitic Posts

Twitter Agrees to Remove Anti-Semitic Posts

Twitter agrees to remove anti-Semitic posts in France, a day after blocking a neo-Nazi account in Germany.

 

By Elad Benari, Canada

Israel National News

First Publish: 10/19/2012

 

 

A day after saying it blocked a neo-Nazi account in Germany in a global first, Twitter on Friday agreed to remove anti-Semitic posts in France, a lawyer said, according to AFP.

The company did not immediately confirm the move, but the lawyer for a French Jewish student union said that after it threatened legal action, Twitter agreed to take down many of the offending tweets that have recently flooded the site.

UEJF lawyer Stephane Lilti said after a meeting with Twitter's lawyer in France that his client had scored an "important victory" over the micro-blogging site.

The student union on Thursday threatened to seek an injunction against Twitter to try to make it remove the offending tweets which proliferated in France with the hashtag #unbonjuif (#AGoodJew).

The tag has been one of the top trending words on French-language tweets and is often followed by comments such as: "#AGoodJew is a dead Jew".

UEJF leader Jonathan Hayoun welcomed Twitter's "swift reaction in removing racist and anti-Semitic tweets that we had pointed out to them."

Earlier this week, anti-racist groups MRAP and SOS Racisme joined the CRIF, the umbrella group representing French Jewish communities, in denouncing the hateful messages and vowing to sue those sending anti-Semitic tweets.

MRAP said in a statement that Twitter should "take the appropriate measures" to end what it called a "flood of anti-Semitism" and said it was proposing to meet with executives from the firm.

The reported deal with Twitter comes a week after France's SPCJ Jewish security watchdog said anti-Semitic acts surged by 45 percent since the start of the year and were given new impetus by attacks by terrorist Mohamed Merah, who went on a shooting rampage in March in and around the southern city of Toulouse, killing a rabbi, three Jewish children and three French paratroopers before being shot dead in a police siege.

On Thursday, Twitter said it had blocked a neo-Nazi group's account at the request of German police.
The move was the first time that the U.S. firm had applied a policy known as "country-withheld content" which allows it to block an account at the request of state authorities.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/161118
 

Netanyahu under pressure regarding Israel's biblical heartland

Netanyahu under pressure regarding Israel's biblical heartland

Friday, October 19, 2012 | Ryan Jones, Israel Today magazine

 

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finds himself under increasing pressure both for and against adopting a recent study concluding that the Jews have a legal and historical right to resettle Judea and Samaria.

Judea and Samaria are, of course, the biblical heartland of ancient Israel, a region central to the Jewish faith and heritage in this land. But it is also what the world calls the "West Bank" and what the Palestinian Arabs claim as their own independent state, which they insist must be Judenrein - free of Jews.

The international community has for the most part sided with the Arab position,and been harshly critical of the several hundred thousand Jews who have made their homes in Judea and Samaria over the past 35 years. These Jewish "settlers" are often labeled an obstacle to peace for daring to rebuild the cities and villages of their forefathers.

During the summer, Netanyahu commissioned a panel of jurists, including one who had been involved in formulating the so-called "Oslo Accords", to produce a study on the legality of Jewish settlement activity in Judea and Samaria.

Drawing on "international, Jordanian, Israeli and even Ottoman laws" the Levy Committee concluded that "from the point of view of international law, the classical laws of 'occupation' as set out in the relevant international conventions cannot be considered applicable to the unique and sui generis historic and legal circumstances of Israel's presence in Judea and Samaria, over the course of decades."

The Geneva Conventions define "military occupation" as the seizing of another nation's land, and the fact is that no nation legally controlled Judea and Samaria following the fall of the Ottoman Empire, which itself had ruled the area for over five centuries.

Additionally, the Jews cannot be considered an outside force in Judea and Samaria, but rather the historic founders of the territory as a unified nation-state. Jewish archeological finds dating back millennia abound in the "West Bank."

Right-wing Israeli lawmakers have been angered by Netanyahu's subsequent reluctance to adopt the Levy Committee's report. Voice of Israel Radio reported this week that with early elections looming, Netanyahu will now recommend that the government adopt part of the report.

Netanyahu still will not throw his weight behind increased Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria, but does support those parts of the Levy report that call for an end to discrimination against the "settlers" and for Israel to reject the world's description of the Jewish presence in these areas as "occupation."

Israeli lawmaker Yisrael Katz (Likud) said Netanyahu is doing the right thing, and that his position will "deliver a clear message to residents of Judea and Samaria that they can live a normal life like everyone else in the country."

Not everyone was pleased by the decision.

Opposition leader Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) appealed to Israel's attorney general to stop Netanyahu from adopting the report, arguing that doing so would obligate the next government to adhere to its findings, which left-wing Israelis reject. Mofaz said that with elections just months away (January 22), now is not the time to be making such controversial policy decisions.

Mofaz's Kadima Party was in power prior to Netanyahu's election victory less than four years ago, and was keen to surrender large swaths of Judea and Samaria to the Palestinians and to uproot the Jews living there.

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23441/Default.aspx


 

A Cave under the Temple Mount's Foundation Stone?

A Cave under the Temple Mount's Foundation Stone?
More Mysteries Documented in Ancient Pictures

 

 

Descent under the "great rock" on Mt. Moriah (under the Dome of the Rock).
Woodcut in explorer Col Charles Wilson's book, Picturesque Palestine, Sinai
and Egypt. (1881, New York Public Library)

For centuries, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem has been the focus of worshippers, scholars and explorers.

But few archaeologists have explored history's secrets hidden in the caves, tunnels and cisterns beneath the Hiram el-Sharif -- controlled by the Muslim Waqf.

Interior of Mosque of Omar (Dome of the Rock) and the
Foundation Stone. (circa 1870, Bonfils, Library of Congress)
See also photo from American Colony Collection (circa 1900).
According to Jewish tradition the stone was the site for Abraham's
"binding of Isaac" and the location of the Temples' Holy of Holies.
Muslims believe it was from where Muhammad ascended to heaven.

The Israel Daily Picture site provided last week photos from the Library of Congress archives taken after a 1927 earthquake destroyed parts of the el-Aqsa mosque.

We were very curious when we discovered additional photos in the American Colony and Felix Bonfils collections showing the entrance to a cave beneath the "foundation stone" (even hashtiya in Jewish tradition) on which the Jewish Temples and the Mosque of Omar* were built.

The Temple Institute in Jerusalem provided details on the cave:

Beneath the rock is a hewn cave [some claim the cave is natural] seven-by-seven meters wide. In the cave's ceiling is a hole approximately half-a-meter in diameter, a sort of chimney going up.

Entrance to the staircase to the cave beneath the Foundation
Stone (Bonfils, circa 1870). See also American Colony photo



"Solomon's Prayer Place" can be
seen in the above woodcut to
the left of the staircase

A feature in National Geographic suggested that the beneath the cave may be another chamber hiding the Ark of the Covenant: "Knocking on the floor of the cave under the Muslim Dome of the Rock shrine elicits a resounding hollow echo, [but] no one has ever seen this alleged chamber....Famed 19th-century British explorers Charles Wilson and Sir Charles Warren could neither prove nor disprove the existence of a hollow chamber below the cave. They believed the sound reportedly heard by visitors was simply an echo in a small fissure beneath the floor."

The cave under the Foundation Stone today (with permission
of Ron Peled, All About Jerusalem)

 

The American Colony photos include a picture taken in the cave captioned "Solomon's prayer place under rock of Mosque of Omar [i.e., Dome of the Rock]." The prayer niche is more likely an ancient Muslim Mihrab pointing to Mecca.

*According to National Geographic, "the dome, called Qubbat as-Sakhrah in Arabic, is not a mosque. Rather, it is a shrine built over the rock."

 

 

 

 http://www.israeldailypicture.com/2012/10/a-ave-under-temple-mounts-foundation.html?

Billy Graham Ad Encourages Voting Biblical Values

CBNNews.com

October 19, 2012

 

The latest version of Adobe Flash Player is required to watch this video. Please click on the link below to download the latest version. Thanks!

 

 

Rev. Billy Graham is encouraging people to vote based on biblical values, in a full page ad in Thursday's Wall Street Journal.

"We are at a crossroads and there are profound moral issues at stake," Graham said in the ad. "I strongly urge you to vote for candidates who support the biblical definition of marriage between a man and woman, protect the sanctity of life, and defend our religious freedoms."
 

"The legacy we leave behind for our children, grandchildren and this great nation is crucial," he continues. "As I approach my 94th birthday, I realize this election could be my last. I believe it is vitally important that we cast our ballots for candidates who base their decisions on biblical principles and support the nation of Israel."
 

Graham also urged voters to pray that America remains one nation under God.
 

Political experts say a push to support biblical principles usually appeals to the Republican party. But it's unlikely to sway voters who already have their minds made up.
 

"I personally am a Christian and like to vote based on my spiritual beliefs and values, and I would tend to vote for a candidate that values that as well," Romney supporter Tom Duzan said.
 

"You're being very sneaky and insidious about endorsing a candidate without saying the actual words," Emery Anderson, an Obama supporter, said.
 

During the next few weeks Graham's ad will run in USA Today and several other newspapers in as many as a dozen states.

 

Video:  http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2012/October/Billy-Graham-Ad-Encourages-Voting-Biblical-Values/

Middle East Update - Dov in Jerusalem

Largest US-Israel missile defense drill to kick off

By YAAKOV LAPPIN, Jerusalem Post

10/17/2012

Patriot, Iron Dome, Arrow missile defense shields to be tested; forces to simulate Unmanned Aerial Vehicle intrusion.

Photo: REUTERS/Havakuk Levison

US military forces have begun arriving in Israel to take part in the largest joint missile defense exercise of its kind, which will begin next week.

One thousand American soldiers will arrive on Israeli territory and a further 2,000 US troops in Europe and the United States will take part via remote defense computing systems. An equal number of Israeli soldiers will be involved.

During the drill, named Austere Challenge 12, Israeli air defense systems, such as the Iron Dome anti-rocket shield and Arrow 2 anti-ballistic missile batteries, will be deployed, as well as US and Israeli Patriot batteries. American naval ships carrying the Aegis combat system, which can intercept missiles, will take part, and at least one US Navy ship will dock at Haifa.

The IDF and the US military’s European Command will set up missile defense batteries across Israel. Most of the drill will involve computer simulations of incoming rockets, though in the last stage, a Patriot will be fired at a mock enemy projectile.

“Anyone can take away any message they want from this,” said the IDF’s Brig.-Gen. Nitzan Nuriel, who is heading the Israeli side of the exercise. “The fact that we are working together is a strong message by itself.”
Nuriel defined a successful program as “the interception of all incoming missiles to reduce damage to Israeli infrastructure.”

US Air Force Lt.-Gen. Craig Franklin – the senior American officer in Israel for the exercise – said Washington will be spending $30 million on the drill. Nuriel said Israel would be spending the same amount.
“This is a defensive exercise for missile-defense capabilities in Israel,” Franklin said. He stressed that the drill had no relation to any real world events. “It’s not there to send a message, but to prove a defensive missile capability for Israel,” Franklin said.

All threats to the Israeli home front would be included in scenarios, from long and short-range ballistic missiles to rockets and mortars, he added.

“It’s to prove defense interoperability between our two nations.”

Nuriel said scenarios would include missile attacks from multiple fronts involving more than one salvo per day.

“We need [the soldiers] to work at a high tempo, to prepare them for real scenarios if they are coming,” he said.

Nuriel confirmed that the air defense forces would also practice dealing with the threat of a hostile drone, such as the one sent by Hezbollah into Israeli airspace earlier this month.

A senior Israeli defense source added that the scenarios took “near and far threats” into consideration.
“When we look at the cooperation among our enemies, we understand that our national home front has turned into a target. A joint drill significantly strengthens our operational capabilities,” the source said.
“We welcome our American partners to Israel,” he added.

Throughout the exercise, military traffic on the country’s roads will be greater than usual, and some disruptions could occur to civilian traffic due to army convoys.

Earlier this week, Air Force chief Maj.-Gen. Amir Eshel appointed a new head to the Air Defense Command this week.

Brig.-Gen. Shahar Shohat replaced Brig.-Gen. Doron Gavish after the latter completed his term as head of the force.

“The combination of new regimes and terror organizations armed with advanced weaponry, which were once reserved for militaries alone, creates a threat to the heart of our state and way of life,” Eshel warned during the ceremony.

“The Air Defense Command has a vital role in all of the components that make up [our] security concept – defense capabilities together with attack components enable victory,” he said.

Gavish noted that Israeli air defenses intercepted 109 enemy rockets fired at southern Israel from the Gaza Strip in recent years.

“This is a first-time operational achievement on a global scale,” he said.

http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=288275

Catholics from Nigeria, Poland Among Top Tourists to Israel

Catholics from Nigeria, Poland Among Top Tourists to Israel

A study released by the Tourism Ministry contained some surprises as to who comes to Israel to visit, and why

 

By David Lev, Israel National News 

First Publish: 10/18/2012

Airplane landing at Ben Gurion - illustrative

 

 

With all the places in the world for Western tourists to visit, why choose Israel?

A study released by the Tourism Ministry indicates that for many people, it's the positive experience friends and relatives had in a previous visit to Israel. When asked about what the most influential factor was in their decision to visit Israel, 49% answered family and friends, while only 20% attributed the decision to the recommendations of a travel agent.

The results, said Minister of Tourism, Stas Misezhnikov, “strengthen the basic assumption behind the new campaign “Invite a Friend”, in which friends and family are the main factor in deciding on a visit to Israel. Everyone can be part of this effort to bring tourists to Israel and thereby contribute to the economy, job creation and Israel’s image in the world.”

The Ministry started the campaign last year, and the study released Thursday was part of the annual accounting of the tourism industry in Israel. The data were part of the recently-published 2011 Inbound Tourism Survey reveals new statistics related to the characteristics of incoming tourists to Israel.  The survey was carried out by the Tourism Ministry among 25,000 families (representing about 42,000 people) and is a representative sample of the survey population.

According to the survey, the average length of time for a tourist to stay in Israel (among those staying for up to 30 days) is 8.2 nights, a slight increase over 2010. Most tourists stay in hotels or vacation resorts (71%), accounting for the majority of their spending in the country. On average, a tourist to Israel spends $1,497, the survey said.

The largest number of people visiting Israel are not Jewish, but Christian; and the largest number of Christians coming to Israel are Catholic, not fundamentalist Protestants. Fifty eight percent of visitors in 2011 were Christian, while only 25% were Jewish; 1% were Moslem. Among the Christians, 52% were Catholic, and 21% Protestants.

The highest proportion of Christian tourists came from Nigeria, Poland, Portugal and Italy, while for Jewish tourists, the largest proportion based on Jewish population in the respective countries were from France, Argentina, Belgium and England.

Most of the tourists arriving in Israel were between the ages of 25-44 (41%), with 12% of all tourists from the younger age groups. 22% of all tourists are aged 55 and over, particularly those arriving from Portugal and Austria or those arriving for pilgrimage purposes.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/161073

The 2 Spies: Ein Gedi

Ein Gedi - David's Falls

The 2 Spies: Ein Gedi: One of The 2 Spies went hiking on Yom Rishon (Sunday) As long as I have lived here I have never hiked Nahal David ( Ein Gedi). Not sure why ...

http://the2spies.blogspot.co.il/2012/10/ein-gedi.html



 

Ukraine Unveils $60 Million Jewish Center, Holocaust Memorial

Ukraine Unveils $60 Million Jewish Center, Holocaust Memorial

Some 300 guests and dignitaries marked the grand opening of Jewish Community Center and Holocaust Museum in the Ukraine.

 

By Rachel Hirshfeld, Israel National News

First Publish: 10/17/2012

A visitor looks at an exhibition at the holocaust museum in newly opened Jewish Menorah Center

Reuters

 

 

Some 300 guests and dignitaries attended a ceremony on Tuesday in advance of the grand opening of the Menorah Jewish Community Center and Holocaust Museum in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine.

The complex hosts an Institute for Jewish Culture and a gallery that features photographs of 40 major synagogues in Dnipropetrovsk before the Nazi occupation, as well as video footage about the Holocaust.

The ceremony was attended by, Israeli Minister for Diaspora Affairs Yuli Edelstein; Chief Rabbi of Dnepropetrovsk Shmuel Kaminezki, Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel Shlomo Amar, President of the Federation of Jewish Communities in the CIS Lev Leviev, and, Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky of Lubavitch World Headquarters.

Edelstein praised efforts to revive Jewish heritage and culture in Dnipropetrovsk.

"The real achievement will be when we get here in a year from now, in two years from now, and we will see this place full of kids, full of different Jewish activities, full of different organizations working here," Edelstein said. "I think that this will be the real answer to what Nazis and communists tried to do to Jewish communities in the Ukraine and in the former Soviet Union."

The seven-tower, twenty-story museum and center multiplex, which was built at an estimated $60 million, will officially open Oct. 21
.
The opening exhibition, “Wanderings of the Children of Israel,” will elucidate the story of the Jewish Diaspora in Ukraine by artists from Ukraine, Germany and Israel.

According to museum organizer and curator Marina Shelest, the exhibition’s theme of Jewish wandering is essential to the story of its featured artists.

"Wanderings, voluntary or forced, are the biography of every Jew, and the artists that are represented in this show are no exception,” she said, according to Lubavitch.com.

While the center will help fill the spiritual and physical needs of Dnepropetrovsk’s 50,000 Jews and the broader Jewish community, the Holocaust memorial will serve as an important educational medium, teaching visitors about the region’s Jewish history.

In a 2008 interview with Lubavitch.com, Zelig Brez, executive director of the Jewish Community of Dnepropetrovsk, expressed his excitement for the role the museum will play for the entire population of Dnepropetrovsk. “The [museum] ... plays an important role in the development of the entire city. Today’s generation [of Ukrainians] has a very limited understanding of the Holocaust, and we must change that,” she said.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/161023

U.S. and Israel Sign Telecommunications Trade Agreement

U.S. and Israel Sign Telecommunications Trade Agreement

The U.S. and Israel signed a trade agreement that is designed to stimulate trade between the two countries.

 

By Rachel Hirshfeld

First Publish: 10/16/2012, Israel National News

hand shake (illustrative)

Reuters

 

The United States and Israel signed a trade agreement on Monday that is designed to stimulate trade between the two countries and make it easier for American companies to export telecommunications equipment to Israel, The Hill reported.

The agreement aims to streamline the process used by American and Israeli companies to certify that their telecommunications equipment meets the technical requirements and regulations set by each country.

As a result of the agreement, American-produced telecommunications equipment can enter the Israeli market if a recognized U.S. laboratory has deemed that the product meets the Israeli technical requirements, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).

Israeli regulators will honor the tests performed by recognized U.S. laboratories, "rather than requiring additional testing by Israeli laboratories," USTR said, according to The Hill.

U.S. authorities, in turn, will accept the tests performed by recognized Israeli laboratories.

“This agreement will save American manufacturers money and time," Miriam Sapiro, deputy U.S. trade representative, said in a statement. "It will facilitate trade by allowing for product testing and certification only once, in the United States, prior to exporting the product to Israel."

Sapiro and Shalom Simhon, the Israeli Minister of Industry, Trade and Labour, signed the agreement on Monday. It will go into effect after the U.S. and Israel "have completed all internal legal requirements," according to USTR.

The agreement upholds the Federal Communication Commission's authority to set the technical and safety requirements for the U.S. market.

Trade between the U.S. and Israel totaled over $31 billion in 2011, according to USTR.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/160971

America: No Jews in Judea and Samaria

America: No Jews in Judea and Samaria

Tuesday, October 16, 2012 | Ryan Jones

Israel Today magazine

The Obama Administration on Tuesday reiterated its position that Jews must not be allowed to build and live on their ancient biblical heartland for the sake of peace in the region.

Speaking before the UN Security Council, US Ambassador Susan Rice stated that the White House "does not accept the legitimacy of Israeli settlement activity [sic], and will continue to oppose any efforts to legalize [Jewish] outposts."

Though technically the territories of Judea and Samaria are disputed, the US and other Western powers set no such limits on the Arab population's rampant construction.

Rice went on to suggest that the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria, which the world calls "the West Bank," is a detriment to the international community's plan to solve the conflict by birthing a Palestinian Arab state.

Some Israelis are concerned that an Obama win in the upcoming US presidential election will result in significantly increased pressure on Israel to meet Arab demands.

Many of the same Israelis have been urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to quickly adopt a legal study that he commissioned that justifies the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria.

"After years in which, unfortunately, a question mark hovered over the question of the right of the state of Israel to settle in Judea and Samaria, a panel of senior jurists...determined that Israelis have a legal right to settle [there]," Erdan was quoted as saying by Israel National News. "Let us not leave this report in the desk drawer."

Erdan was referring to the Levy Committee that Netanyahu himself established to look into the legality of Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria under international law.

The committee was comprised of three senior Israeli jurists, including an international law expert who was party to the formulation of the "Oslo Accords."

The committee made public its findings early in July, noting that the standard accusation that Israel is militarily occupying Judea and Samaria is inaccurate under international law.

"Our basic conclusion is that from the point of view of international law, the classical laws of 'occupation' as set out in the relevant international conventions cannot be considered applicable to the unique and sui generis historic and legal circumstances of Israel's presence in Judea and Samaria, over the course of decades," the judges wrote.

In other words, the Geneva Conventions define "military occupation" as the seizing of another nation's land, and the fact is that no nation legally controlled Judea and Samaria following the fall of the Ottoman Empire, which itself had ruled the area for over five centuries.

Additionally, the Jews cannot be considered an outside force in Judea and Samaria, but rather the historic founders of the territory as a unified nation-state. Jewish archeological finds dating back millennia abound in the "West Bank."

The committee based its findings on "international, Jordanian, Israeli and even Ottoman laws," all of which led to one inescapable truth: "Israelis have the legal right to settle in Judea and Samaria and the establishment of settlements cannot, in and of itself, be considered to be illegal."

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23433/Default.aspx

Mitt Romney meets with Rev. Billy Graham

By Kasie Hunt on October 11, 2012

BusinessWeek

 

Mitt Romney, Billy Graham, Franklin Graham

 

 

MONTREAT, N.C. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is visiting the Rev. Billy Graham at Graham's home in North Carolina.

Romney on Thursday went to see Graham and his son, Franklin, at the elderly evangelist's mountaintop home near Asheville while in the area for a campaign event. The 93-year-old Graham is in frail health.

Romney told the Grahams that, quote, "prayer is the most helpful thing you can do for me."
The Republican nominee has faced some difficulty making inroads with evangelical voters, in part because some believe his Mormon faith means he is not a Christian.

Romney also once supported abortion rights, and raised questions again this week when he told a newspaper he would not pursue abortion-related legislation as president. He later said he would be, quote, "a pro-life president."

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-10-11/mitt-romney-meets-with-rev-dot-billy-graham

Messianic responses to Church vandalism in Israel

Messianic responses to Church vandalism in Israel

Thursday, October 11, 2012 | 

David Lazarus, Israel Today magazine

 

 

A right-wing religious group has left it’s mark once again on a Jerusalem church. “Jesus, son of a bitch” was found on the front door of the Franciscan monastery on Mount Zion less than a month after the same group vandalized the Latrun Monastery. Some Christians in Israel are getting concerned.

Similar acts of vandalism have occurred around the country by the group known as “price tag” gang, but only recently did they begin to target churches. The group from Judea and Samaria are known to be frustrated with government policies in the disputed territories. In July 2008, a small group of settlers refused to allow the Israeli army to tear down their illegal outpost. After a violent struggle with soldiers, the group sprayed the label “price tag” on IDF bases. They want people to understand that there will be a “price to pay” for uprooting Jewish settlers from the area.

The group has also been responsible for acts of violence against Arabs. These have come in response to Arab attacks on Jews, particularly in Judea and Samaria. For years Jewish settlers have expressed their frustration with the lack of army protection and poor security in in the area. The price-tag group felt it was time to take matters into their own hands and committed a number of violent attacks on Arabs and vandalized mosques.

Since January of this year the group has been targeting churches, including a Baptist Church and Orthodox and Catholic church properties around Jerusalem. The motivation for these attacks is unclear. Most likely the group are trying to draw attention to themselves by stirring up religious tensions in the city. This kind of vandalism provokes strong reactions.

The Vatican’s top official in Israel, Rev. Peirbattista Pizzaballa, called the attack a result of Israel’s derogatory attitude towards Christians. “When you say Christianity to Israelis they immediately think of the Holocaust and Inquisition,” he said. Though Israeli Shimon Peres immediately condemned the attacks and police are searching for the perpetrators, church officials have said Israel is not doing enough.

A Franciscan representative in Jerusalem said that Israel must do more to eliminate the “price tag” phenomenon. "The attempts to damage monasteries and the spray-painting of inflammatory graffiti against Christianity, which have occurred repeatedly recently, are an insult to the hundreds of millions of Christian faithful throughout the world, and the State of Israel cannot allow such grave acts to occur," he said, according to a recent statement published in Israel's Haaretz newspaper.

Messianic Jews in Israel also responded to the incidents. “It is true that our government is not protecting the settlers,” said a Messianic leader in Jerusalem. “People are frustrated and angry, but these acts of vandalism on the church are crude and childish,” he said, noting that “these are minor provocations from a tiny group only looking for attention.” One expert said that the graffiti was clearly the handwriting of a very young person.

Some Messianics are more concerned about the price tag group targeting churches. “Our young people are not taught to respect minorities,” said a Messianic youth leader, “especially in some of our right-wing religious schools. Some of these religious schools are not under supervision from the government.”

“It is time the Israelis understand that the Church is no longer our enemy,” said Yaacov, a Messianic Jewish leader at “Yad b’Yad,” the German and Israeli youth exchange program. “The days of the Inquisition and Crusaders were a long time ago. It is time we break down the old prejudices between Christians and Jews. Targeting Jerusalem churches with anti-Christian graffiti is foolish but it does stir up these old wounds.”

While Christian churches in Israel enjoy a privileged status, tensions still exist, and groups like the “price tag” gang easily exploit these tensions to their own advantage. As one Messianic leader suggested, it would be better to simply ignore these childish provocations. “The more attention we give them,” he said, “the more harm they can cause.”

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23426/Default.aspx?ref=newsletter-20121011

 

Holocaust Memorial in Boston, MA

The Holocaust Memorial in Boston, MA.

 

The six glass towers (photo by Steve Martin)

 

While on our 35th marriage anniverary trip to Boston Oct. 5-8, 2012, Laurie and I went to the Holocaust Memorial right across the street from the Bell-in-Hand historical tavern, in the heart of Boston. After returning home, I wanted to share this with each of you, along with the more detailed articles I found on the Internet, printed below.

 

We appreciate the people of Boston having this memorial to the six million Jews murdered in World War II, so that we too can remember.

 

Steve Martin

 

 

From the New England Holocaust Memorial website (http://www.nehm.org/intro.html):

"Look at these towers, passerby, and try to imagine what they really mean - what they symbolize - what they evoke. They evoke an era of incommensurate darkness, an era in history when civilization lost its humanity and humanity its soul . . ."

"We must look at these towers of memory and say to ourselves, No one should ever deprive a human being of his or her right to dignity. No one should ever deprive anyone of his or her right to be a sovereign human being. No one should ever speak again about racial superiority...We cannot give evil another chance." - Elie Wiesel

The New England Holocaust Memorial was built to foster memory of and reflection on one of the great tragedies of our time, the Holocaust (Shoah). The effort was begun by a group of survivors of Nazi concentration camps who have found new homes and new lives in the Boston area. Dedicated in October, 1995, over 3000 individuals and organizations from across the community joined in sponsoring the project.

The Freedom Trail location, in downtown Boston, is near Faneuil Hall and many other treasures of America's history. The site offers a unique opportunity for reflection on the meaning of freedom and oppression and on the importance of a society's respect for human rights.

 

Floor of one of the towers. Smoke is emitted from the grates.

(Photo by Steve Martin)

The design utilizes uniquely powerful symbols of the Holocaust. The Memorial features six luminous glass towers, each 54 feet high. The towers are lit internally to gleam at night. They are set on a black granite path, each one over a dark chamber which carries the name of one of the principal Nazi death camps. Smoke rises from charred embers at the bottom of these chambers. Six million numbers are etched in glass in an orderly pattern, suggesting the infamous tattooed numbers and ghostly ledgers of the Nazi bureaucracy. Evocative and rich in metaphor, the six towers recall the six main death camps, the six million Jews who died, or a menorah of memorial candles.

Entrance (photo by Steve Martin)

 

 

 

A collaboration of government and non-profit agencies participate in the Memorial's operations. The Boston National Historic Park maintains the site. The Jewish Community Relations Council coordinates programming. The Combined Jewish Philanthropies assists in management issues. Facing History and Ourselves developed a valuable study guide. Survivors of the Holocaust and volunteers serve as educators.

Educational and interpretative assistance and materials are available for groups planning visits to the Memorial. Speakers and tour guides can be scheduled to meet with groups. A study guide, suitable for teachers and youth group leaders, helps prepare young people for trips to the Memorial and is available upon request. Additional resources are available to assist groups wishing to use the Memorial as a forum to present their own programs.


From the Wikipedia website (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England_Holocaust_Memorial)

The New England Holocaust Memorial is a memorial in Boston, Massachusetts. It is dedicated to the Jews who were killed in the Holocaust.

Designed by Stanley Saitowitz and erected in 1995, the memorial consists of six glass towers under which a visitor may walk. Engraved on the outside walls of each tower are groups of numbers representing the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust. Inscribed on the inner walls are quotes from survivors of each camp. Underneath the towers, steam rises up through metal grates from a dark floor with twinkling lights on it.

Glass tower

(Photo by Steve Martin)

 

 

Treblinka tower

(Photo by Steve Martin)



Each tower symbolizes a different major extermination camp (Majdanek, Chełmno, Sobibor, Treblinka, Bełżec, and Auschwitz-Birkenau), but can also be taken to be menorah candles, the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust (one million per column), and the six years that the mass extermination took place, 1939-1945.

Six million numbers inscribed in the glass

(Photo by Steve Martin)



Each tower consists of twenty-four individual panels of glass. Twenty-two of the panels are inscribed with seven digit numbers and two of the panels are inscribed with messages. In total there are 132 panels from the six towers inscribed with numbers, however each panel is identical. A single panel contains 17,280 unique numbers which are subsequently repeated throughout the memorial. Numbers are arranged in eight by ten blocks, with each block consisting of sets of six numbers arranged in a six by six grid. In total there are 2,280,960 non-unique numbers listed on the 132 panels.

The New England Holocaust Memorial is located near the Freedom Trail, and is only a few steps off the trail, making it a popular tourist attraction.

The site is maintained by the Boston National Historic Park and is located in Carmen Park, along Congress and Union Streets, near Faneuil Hall. Carmen Park was named in recognition of William Carmen's service to the community and his vision and leadership in creating the New England Holocaust Memorial.

The Memorial was targeted for destruction in a 2002 white supremacist terror plot.



Walkway (Photo by Steve Martin)

 

 

To Dance Again: Second Hakafot Around Israel

To Dance Again: Second Hakafot Around Israel

To dance in celebration of the Torah, and then to dance again: the People of Israel were out in force Monday night for Second Hakafot.
 

By Hana Levi Julian, Israel National News

First Publish: 10/8/2012

Second Hakafot in Talmon

Michal Avior, Matzpit

 

To dance in celebration of the Torah, and then to dance again: the People of Israel were out in force Monday night for Second Hakafot.

Israelis danced at locations all around the country to join together with Jews in the diaspora who had only just begun to observe the Simchat Torah holiday.

The "Second Hakafot" event marks the conclusion of the holiday of Simchat Torah and Sukkot in Israel, and is a tradition that is held to show solidarity with Jews in the diaspora, who celebrate two days of the holiday, with Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah observed as two separate holidays. The two are celebrated as one in the Holy Land. It is also an opportunity to dance to the sounds of musical instruments, forbidden on the holiday itself.

In Jerusalem celebrations were held all over the city. Thousands participated in the Second Hakafot at Liberty Bell Park, led by the Israel's Chief Rabbis, Rabbi Yona Metzger and Rishon LeZion Rabbi Shlomo Amar, and with President Shimon Peres as a special guest. The main event was sponsored for the 31st time by philanthropist Eugen Gluck, a New York-based Holocaust survivor who supports many projects in Israel, including the Talmudic Garden in Beit El.

Similar observances were held in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square and by the budding Torah community in Jaffa (Yafo) in Kfar Chabad as well as elsewhere around the country. In the northern Negev community of Arad, numerous diverse synagogue groups sent representatives to take the stage and lead the joyous dancing in the city's Kiryat HaOmanim.

 

In Samaria (Shomron), Second Hakafot took place in the Jewish communities of Yakir and Shaarei Tikvah, as well as in the community of Givat Assaf - whose continued existence is threatened by the Supreme Court - next to the town of Beit El, and elsewhere.

 

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/160629

 

Simchat Torah

Simchat Torah is a celebration symbolizing the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simchat Torah is a part of the Biblical Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret which follows immediately after the festival of Sukkot in the month of Tishrei that is in mid-September to early October as per the Gregorian calendar. Simchat Torah means "rejoicing with the torah". The holiday of Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah, falls on the Hebrew calendar dates of 22-23 Tishrei-Shemini Atzeret on the former date, Simchat Torah on the latter. Keeping this in view this year in 2012, Simchat Torah will fall on October 9. Simchat Torah Celebration The celebration of Simchat Torah takes place in the synagogue during evening and morning. In many Conservative groups, this is the only time of year on which the Torah scrolls are taken out of the ark and read at night. In the morning, the last parashah of Deuteronomy and the first parashah of Genesis are been read in the synagogue. When the ark is opened, all the worshippers leave their seats to dance and sing with all the Torah scrolls in a joyous celebration that lasts for several hours. The morning service is also uniquely characterized by the calling up of each male member especially in orthodox congregations of the congregation for an aliyah, whereas for children there is a special aliyah.In the 20th century, Simchat Torah became a symbol of Jewish identity especially for the Jews of the Soviet Union. http://www.365celebration.com/simchat-torah

Celebrating Our 35th Wedding Anniversary

A few highlights...

 

Steve & Laurie Oct. 8, 1977

 

Jerusalem in 2007 - Laurie, Avraham and Steve

 

Home grown - Charlotte, NC Nov. 2010

 

Charleston, SC  June, 2011

 

Being together...as we lead in worship

of our Lord Jesus...

through the years. (Photo from 2012)

 

 

 

We give thanks to the Lord for the 35 years of marriage He has given us. We have been able to share our love with our children (Josh, Ben, Hannah and Christen), our daughter-in-law Chelsie and son-in-law Andrew, and grandkids Daniel, Logan, Dylan, Jensen, and another in April, 2013.

 

Joys included leading worship along with several church worship teams; traveling to Israel on many tours, and enjoying holidays with our parents, my seven siblings and families, and Laurie's two sisters and families.

 

Living in five states (Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Florida and North Carolina) has given us the opportunity to see the new and appreciate the old.

 

For all this and more, we give thanks for 35 years together as one.

 



 



Christians flock to Jerusalem for Feast of Tabernacles

Christians flock to Jerusalem for Feast of Tabernacles

Tuesday, October 02, 2012 | Ryan Jones

Israel Today

Jerusalem is once again flooded with Christians supporters from around the world who have come up to the holy city to mark the annual biblical festival of Sukkot - the Feast of Tabernacles.

Over 6,000 Christians are reportedly attending the main Feast event hosted by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem at the Jerusalem Convention Center, while many hundreds more are participating in celebrations put on by the International Christian Zionist Center and Vision for Israel.

With the current threats facing Israel, and an expected increase in pressure for the Jewish state to make sweeping concessions to the Palestinians, the focus of the Feast celebrations this year is decidedly more political than in recent years.

The annual gathering of Christians for Sukkot is a double blessing for Israel. First, it is a clear demonstration of the strong support Israel enjoys among hundreds of millions of Christians around the world. Second, it is the single largest injection of tourism revenue for Israel every year.

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23411/Default.aspx

Happy Succot! (Hag Sukkot Sameach - Happy Sukkot Holiday)

Israeli Archaeologists Unearth Solomon-Era Reservoir

By Julie Stahl and John Waage

CBN News

Monday, October 01, 2012

 

    Solomon-era reservoir

The latest version of Adobe Flash Player is required to watch this video. Please click on the link below to download the latest version. Thanks!

 

 

Archaeologists digging beneath Jerusalem's Old City have discovered a huge reservoir near the Temple Mount.

 

"One day we found an opening in the bedrock ," Eli Shukron, an archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority, said. "I put my hand inside to look to see what is going on and we found a huge water cistern."

 

The cistern dates back to the First Temple built by King Solomon and is one of the largest ever from that time found in Jerusalem.

 

It's situated close enough to the Temple Mount that experts believe pilgrims used the water for bathing and drinking.

 

It could have also supplied water for everyday activities on the temple itself. Shukron said the man-made reservoir shows that ancient Jerusalem needed more water than came from a natural spring.

 

"Not all the water coming from the Gihon Spring, a lot of water coming from water cistern that we found like this here in this area," he explained.

 

The cistern looks like a cavern dug into solid bedrock. It is about 40 feet long with a width and height of more than 15 feet.

 

Plastered from top to bottom, it could have held some 66,000 gallons of water.

 

"The water comes from a tunnel in the Tyropone Valley… and from the valley they move the water into the water cistern," Shukron said.

 

A small pool of fresh water still exists there today and each new discovery like this helps fill in the picture from thousands of years ago.

 

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2012/October/Israeli-Archaeologists-Unearth-Solomon-Era-Reservoir/

 

 

Bibi: Christian Zionists Vital to Israel's Rebirth

By Julie Stahl

CBN News Mideast Correspondent

Saturday, September 29, 2012

 

  

JERUSALEM, Israel -- The Christian bond with Israel grew stronger recently, but it didn't make international headlines. It did, however, lead Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to credit Christian Zionists with a crucial role in founding the modern State of Israel.

 

In the heart of Jerusalem overlooking the Old City, a windmill that has been a landmark for more than 150 years is working again, thanks to a team effort.

 

The Jerusalem Foundation, a group of Dutch Christians, and Israeli government ministries paid for the restoration work. That effort prompted praise for Christian Zionists from the prime minister.

"I don't believe that the Jewish state and modern Zionism would have been possible without Christian Zionism," Netanyahu said at the dedication ceremony. "I think that the many Christian supporters of the rebirth of the Jewish state and the ingathering of the Jewish people in the 19th century made possible the rise of Jewish Zionism."

 

Sir Moses Montefiore, a wealthy British Jew, established the windmill in the mid-1800s as part of the first Jewish settlements -- or suburbs -- outside the Old City walls.

 

Montifiore's great, great nephew Simon Montefiore, an historian and author, spoke with CBN News about the windmill's history.

 

"This is really the beginning of the new city, the modern city, the rebirth of Jerusalem," he said. "And so from this little windmill and these Montefiore cottages just outside the Jaffa Gate started all the suburbs around the Old City Walls and that grew into the huge modern city of Jerusalem."

 

During Israel's War of Independence, Jewish fighters used the windmill to defend the city.

In 1948, the British blew up the top of the windmill in what they called Operation Don Quixote. It was later repaired, but only for looks. It never worked again as a mill after that.

 

"From my Bible interest, I came [to] this country and almost every year I was here and I see the mill and I feel the pain of the mill and I think one day we have to give new life to the mill," windmill expert and Dutch Christian Gerrit Keunen told CBN News.

 

Keunen initiated the restoration project and got others involved. "And I believe with the help of God -- and I think it's the plan of God -- to repair to restore the windmill because it's more than windmill, it's a symbol," Keunen said.

 

Dutch millwright Willem Dijkstra (pronounced Dike-stra) studied old photos and materials for the restorations before starting work on the windmill, which took about for about three months.

"It's not like rebuilding; you do a reconstruction so you have to try to find the most closest way how it was in the early times," Dijkstra said.

 

A few months from now, shafts and machinery will be installed to grind flour as the mill did for its first 20 years.

 

"For me it's more than a mill," Keunen said. "My family for more than 100 years were millers," he explained.

 

"Personally I'm convinced that this mill is a sign of hope for the Jewish people here in Israel. It's connected to the resurrection of the State of Israel after 2,000 years," Keunen said.

 

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2012/September/Bibi-Christian-Zionists-Vital-to-Israels-Rebirth/