Purim, Obama and the Jews

Tuesday, February 19, 2013 |  David Lazarus 

Israel Today 

 

 

Once again, another inexplicable, perhaps even divine spin of events, will bring President Obama to Israel around Purim. Some see this is an opportunity for Obama to press for a renewed peace initiative on the newly elected Knesset. Others, a politicized Obama trying to get himself into the spotlight for some lame foreign policy legacy.

Whatever the reason, the timing of this sudden and rushed decision of the American leadership to visit Israel cannot be ignored. Who can forget their meeting on Purim one year ago when Prime Minister Netanyahu put a magnificent, hand-written manuscript of the Scroll of Esther into the hands of President Obama? With Mordechai-like clarity, Netanyahu declared to Obama, “Mr. President, we must stop Iran, before they destroy us!”

For the Jewish Prime Minister, it is a no-brainer; Israel is facing a modern-day Haman. In his speech to the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a pro-Israel lobbying group, Netanyahu described Haman as "a Persian anti-Semite who tried to annihilate the Jewish people."

Netanyahu explained that “In every generation, there are those who wish to destroy the Jewish people. In this generation, we are blessed to live in an age when there is a Jewish state capable of defending the Jewish people.”

This time, even more than ever, Netanyahu’s message must remain clear, and not only to Obama. Purim must be a reminder to all of us, women and men, that we must take action to save ourselves. It is not enough to just allow events to take their course. We must not wait passively for some divine intervention.

That is the message in Esther’s Scroll. Purim is the assurance that the divine hand of intervention will turn the tables on Israel’s enemies, when someone is willing to stand up for what is right.

The hero of Purim is neither fate nor consequence. It is the young girl, who with a good sense of woman’s intuition and gentle feminine persuasion convinces a King listen to her plea. It is about the “coincidences” that happen when a faithful Uncle risks everything to stand up for what he believes and does not hesitate to warn his people of impending danger.

While Purim is a constant reminder that Jews have enemies dedicated to our destruction, we learn from the Scroll of Esther that we also can, and should, do something about it. When the chips are down, and it seems like the cards are stacked against us, it is not time to sit around and brood. It is time to remember Purim, a celebration to shake us out of our apathy. It is a call to do something, something we can do, something we should do. Something that could turn the tables on an enemy, foil a foe by his own foolishness, or hang a Haman on his own hemp.

While Netanyahu is said to be considering military action against Iran, Israeli Author Yossi Klein Halevi believes that Netanyahu’s reading of the Purim story is understandable. “Tradition emphasizes that the Book of Esther is the only sacred text in the Hebrew Bible without God’s name in it, and that’s understood as an indication that this is a story that requires human initiative, that saving oneself requires human initiative, and that God’s help is implicit,” he said. In that sense, Netanyahu is reading the Purim story correctly when he calls for active Israeli self-defense against our existential threats.

This year as we approach Purim with a nuclear Iran ticking, killer chemicals floating over the Syrian border, Hezbollah missiles stockpiled in Lebanon, Al Qaida wannabes tunneling under Gaza’s sand hills and civil wars raging on our doorsteps, the stakes have been raised. Long ago the die was cast in the Middle East and we have long since crossed the Rubicon of diplomatic solutions for Israel’s security. Israel cannot and will not risk her survival to rhetoric and wishful thinking.

The only question remaining is whether or not President Obama and the United States of America will cast their lot in time to make a difference.

Perhaps this Purim Netanyahu should highlight with a yellow marker for President Obama the passage in Esther that reads, “If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place… And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23686/Default.aspx?hp=readmore

Jewish owners of Nazi-looted art sought by France

By BLOOMBERG

02/19/2013, Jerusalem Post

France launches search for Jewish owners of some 2,000 pieces of Nazi-plundered art that hang in museums such as Louvre.

Alexander Archipenko painting stolen by Nazis Photo: REUTERS

France launched a search for the Jewish owners of about 2,000 pieces of Nazi-plundered art, from Monets and Rubens to Renoirs, that hang in museums such as the Louvre and the Musee d’Orsay in Paris.

Almost 70 years after World War II, France is making one of its biggest efforts to trace the Jewish owners of artworks stolen by the Nazis, recovered by the Allies and sent to the country after the war. President Francois Hollande’s government is setting up a group of historians, regulators, archivists and curators to actively track down families, instead of waiting for claimants to come forward. The group starts working in March.

“It may be one of our last chances to find the owners,” said Jean-Pierre Bady, a former director at the culture ministry, who’s a member of a 1999-created Commission for the Compensation of Spoliation Victims and who was instrumental in the formation of the group. “Seventy years is a long time, but it’s never too late to make things right.”

The Nazis seized hundreds of thousands of works of art from Jewish private collections between 1933 and 1945 as part of their policy of racial persecution in what has been seen as the biggest such heist in history. Much of the art was returned to national governments, with unclaimed pieces landing in museums.

In France, the Hollande government’s plan would mark the first effort to reach out to victims of the Nazis since 1995 when former President Jacques Chirac for the first time recognized France’s responsibility for collaborating in anti- Semitic persecutions during the country’s occupation by the Germans, acknowledging the deportation of Jewish people.


Latest push follows Senate Report

The new push follows a French Senate report last month that called on the government to be more proactive and transparent.

The report also calls for the government to make the archives on looted art at the foreign ministry and the Louvre museum more accessible, including the scanning of thousands of relevant documents still sitting in cartons.

Corinne Bouchoux, a Green Party senator and the author of the report, said museums should also provide more information on the origin of art they’ve added since the war.

Recent research by an art historian showed three paintings at the modern art museum Centre Pompidou in Paris came from a looted collection and were marked as being “anonymous gifts.” They’ve since been re-classified.

Following the Chirac speech, France set up a group in 1997 called the Matteoli Mission, which created the Commission for the Compensation of Spoliation Victims for all sorts of casualties of Nazi excesses. The mission searched for owners of looted goods for about two years.

Latest return

“It was too short but it was a start, especially after decades of nearly no work,” Muriel de Bastier, the art historian member of the Commission.

Restitutions have not halted in the past decades. Victims or their relatives have contacted the Commission or France’s museums to recover their paintings.

The culture ministry will soon be returning seven paintings looted by the Nazis from two Jewish families.

Bruno Saunier, who heads the art collections at the National Museums’ Agency said on Feb. 14 that it was “the largest number of paintings returned to Jewish families in over a decade.” He said the state returns about one painting on average every year.

The artworks by painters including by Alessandro Longhi, Gaspare Diziani and Pieter Jansz van Asch were to have been displayed in the private museum Adolf Hitler had planned with looted art from great European collections. The two families had been demanding their restitution for several years.

Special list

The paintings are part of the 2,000 artworks that France wants to return to victims. The Pieter van Asch painting once belonged to Josef Wiener, a banker from the former Czechoslovakia.

The six Italian art pieces were from Richard Neumann’s collection in Vienna. With Nazi troops advancing, Neumann moved with his art collection and family to France. He sold much of his art at fire-sale prices to be able to leave France, demanding aid from the French government after the war to get them back. He failed. His octogenarian grandson, Thomas Selldorff, took over the effort in 2001.

The seven paintings were on a special list of 163 pieces considered to be “with certainty or with strong belief” among Nazi-looted art objects. They’re on the ministry’s website.

The list will be the priority of Hollande’s new group searching for descendants of victims.

Most work believed to belong to families in central Europe

“We believe that most of the major works that we will seek to return belong to families from Central and Eastern Europe, like Poland, the former Czechoslovakia, Austria or Hungary,” Saunier said in an interview.
The Nazis looted art across occupied Europe as well as from Germany. The Allies assembled the plundered objects they found at the end of World War II at central collecting points in Germany, and sent artworks whose owners couldn’t immediately be found to the national government of their origin. It was up to governments to trace the owners of the works and return them.

Four years after the end of the war, the French government had returned three-quarters of the 61,233 art pieces that had been sent to the country. Of the remaining 15,792 pieces whose owners hadn’t been tracked down, about 13,500 with little art value were auctioned off while about 2,000 have exhibited in France’s 57 museums since the 1950s.

After 1954, the search for the rightful owners of the art came to a near standstill with only 79 restitutions between then and 1999. The Commission has since 1999 returned nine artworks and handed out 33 million euros ($44 million) in compensation for lost pieces. Its compensation is based on the estimated value of the paintings during the war.

http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishNews/Article.aspx?id=303742

Israeli hospital treats Syrian rebel fighters

Israeli hospital treats Syrian rebel fighters

Sunday, February 17, 2013 | Israel Today Staff

  Israel on Saturday came to the rescue of seven Syrian nationals found wounded along the border fence in the Golan Heights. The men turned out to be Syrian rebel fighters who were injured in clashes with government forces.

One of the men was found in critical condition with shrapnel wounds to his abdomen. He and several of the others underwent surgery at Ziv Hospital in the northern Israel city of Safed overnight. All seven are listed in stable condition, though the most badly wounded is still in the Intensive Care Ward.

An Israeli Defense Ministry spokesman said that despite the official state of war between Israel and Syria, "these men asked for humanitarian aid, and we provided it."

While it is still unclear how long their treatment will last, once the seven Syrians are well, protocol dictates that they be returned to Syria via a UN-staff border crossing.

But, local Druze leaders in the northern Golan are urging Israel not to send the men back to face what they said would be certain death.

Village leaders and local attorneys from the larger Druze towns in the Golan sent a letter on Sunday to Defense Minister Ehud Barak requesting that they be allowed to "adopt" the seven Syrians.

"I hope the Israeli authorities will act according to the values of the Jewish people in this matter," attorney Fuad Safdi told Israel's Ma'ariv daily newspaper.

Another likely outcome of this episode is that the regime of embattled Syrian dictator Bashar Assad will play even harder on the unsubstantiated angle that the rebellion in his country is a "Zionist plot."

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23683/Default.aspx?hp=readmore

 

Japan: Hitler comics OUT, Bible comics IN

Japan: Hitler comics OUT, Bible comics IN

Sunday, February 17, 2013 | Yossi Aloni

Israel Today magazine            

 

 

 

Israeli Ambassador to Japan Nissim Ben Shetreet was recently shocked to find the shelves of a popular bookstore at a Tokyo subway station stocked with comic books (Manga) providing an illustrated look at the life and actions of Adolf Hitler.

After doing some minor investigating, Ben Shetreet found that the book was actually a version of Hitler's Mein Kampf illustrated for children as a comic book.

Ben Shetreet immediately set a meeting with the book's local publisher and the two illustrators. The Israeli explained why the book was so offensive, and both the publisher and illustrators apologized profusely.

[Ed. Note - We have reported before on how in many Asian nations Hitler is still viewed with great respect for being a strong leader, while most are unaware of the enormous tragedies he visited on the Jews and other minorities.]

The publisher informed Ben Shetreet that the comic version of Mein Kampf had already sold tens of thousands of copies. Given that it was already too late to prevent its distribution, Ben Shetreet asked for an opportunity to "even the odds."

After discussing several options, the Israeli ambassador, the publisher and his two illustrators agreed that the comic version of Mein Kampf would be discontinued and in its place would be distributed illustrated stories from the Bible.

It was agreed that the first trio of Japanese-language Bible comics would be "Genesis", "Kings", and "Prophets (Messengers)". These comics featuring heroes of the Bible recently made their first appearance on Japanese bookshelves.

"When I first saw those illustrations of Hitler and his swastika I was enraged. It is inconceivable that young, impressionable minds be exposed to the story of Hitler," said Ben Shetreet. "Fortunately, the book was discovered and can now no longer be found in bookstores. I hope that now Japanese youth will seek out the heroes of the Bible."

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23682/Default.aspx?hp=readmore
 

Kumi Ori (Arise, Shine)

St. Valentine, The Real Story

St. Valentine, The Real Story

By David Kithcart
The 700 Club

Flowers, candy, red hearts and romance. That's what Valentine's day is all about, right? Well, maybe not.

The origin of this holiday for the expression of love really isn't romantic at all -- at least not in the traditional sense. Father Frank O'Gara of Whitefriars Street Church in Dublin, Ireland, tells the real story of the man behind the holiday -- St. Valentine.

"He was a Roman Priest at a time when there was an emperor called Claudias who persecuted the church at that particular time," Father O'Gara explains. " He also had an edict that prohibited the marriage of young people.

This was based on the hypothesis that unmarried soldiers fought better than married soldiers because married soldiers might be afraid of what might happen to them or their wives or families if they died."

"I think we must bear in mind that it was a very permissive society in which Valentine lived," says Father O'Gara. "Polygamy would have been much more popular than just one woman and one man living together.

And yet some of them seemed to be attracted to Christian faith. But obviously the church thought that marriage was very sacred between one man and one woman for their life and that it was to be encouraged.

And so it immediately presented the problem to the Christian church of what to do about this."

"The idea of encouraging them to marry within the Christian church was what Valentine was about. And he secretly married them because of the edict."

Valentine was eventually caught, imprisoned and tortured for performing marriage ceremonies against command of Emperor Claudius the second. There are legends surrounding Valentine's actions while in prison.

"One of the men who was to judge him in line with the Roman law at the time was a man called Asterius, who's daughter was blind. He was supposed to have prayed with and healed the young girl with such astonishing effect that Asterius himself became Christian as a result."

In the year 269 AD, Valentine was sentenced to a three part execution of a beating, stoning, and finally decapitation all because of his stand for Christian marriage. The story goes that the last words he wrote were in a note to Asterius' daughter. He inspired today's romantic missives by signing it, "from your Valentine."

"What Valentine means to me as a priest," explains Father O'Gara, "is that there comes a time where you have to lay your life upon the line for what you believe. And with the power of the Holy Spirit we can do that -- even to the point of death."

Valentine's martyrdom has not gone unnoticed by the general public. In fact, Whitefriars Street Church is one of three churches that claim to house the remains of Valentine. Today, many people make the pilgrimage to the church to honor the courage and memory of this Christian saint.

"Valentine has come to be known as the patron saint of lovers. Before you enter into a Christian marriage you want some sense of God in your life -- some great need of God in your life. And we know, particularly in the modern world, many people are meeting God through his Son, Jesus Christ."

"If Valentine were here today, he would say to married couples that there comes a time where you're going to have to suffer. It's not going to be easy to maintain your commitment and your vows in marriage. Don't be surprised if the 'gushing' love that you have for someone changes to something less "gushing" but maybe much more mature. And the question is, is that young person ready for that?"

"So on the day of the marriage they have to take that into context," Father O'Gara says. "Love -- human love and sexuality is wonderful, and blessed by God -- but also the shadow of the cross. That's what Valentine means to me."

https://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/churchandministry/churchhistory/st_valentine_the_real_story.aspx

Understanding the Threat to Israel's Biblical Heartland

By Erick Stakelbeck

CBN News Terrorism Analyst

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

 JUDEA AND SAMARIA -- The world calls it the West Bank. But the 350,000-plus Israelis living here use the region's biblical name: Judea and Samaria.

According to a recent United Nations report, international law calls for Israel to evacuate all existing settlements and dismantle Jewish communities in the eastern half of Jerusalem.

The U.N. considers all the neighborhoods in Judea and Samaria "illegal" settlements that will one day be included in a Palestinian state.

Global pressure to hand this territory over to the Palestinians is mounting against Israel by the day, including tough words from the Obama administration.

A Thriving Community

Yet on a recent tour of Judea and Samaria, CBN News found a much different picture than what is often portrayed in the media and world forums.

"The Jewish communities here in the Shomron are thriving, are building, are growing," David Ha'ivri, spokesman for the Shomron Regional Council in Samaria, told CBN News.

"The population is growing. We're growing at four times greater, five times greater, than the national average in Israel," he said.

Haivri said a growing number of Israelis are relocating to the area for the same reasons Americans move from the city to the suburbs: family friendly communities, fresh air, and land at affordable prices.

"Young families who wish to establish themselves and raise children look around and say, 'Where are we going to get a good standard of living?'" Ha'ivri said. "It's beautiful scenery. We're out here on the mountains. It's great weather. It's cool in the summer."

"But aside from that, and even more important, there's a godly process of fulfilling prophecy that's beyond explanation," Ha'ivri told CBN News. "The prophets promised that the children of Israel would return to these mountains and rebuild these Jewish cities and Jewish towns. And that's what happening."

While Ha'ivri, like many here, is an observant Jew, 60 percent of those living in Samaria are secular.

Ariel University is the region's educational hub and its 16,000 students come from all backgrounds. Arab students here are free to wear Muslim religious attire and they study alongside Jews.

CBN News found a similar story at the nearby Barkan Industrial Park, home to some 150 businesses where Israelis work side-by-side with their Palestinian neighbors.

An Arab working in these businesses makes double or three times as much, in some cases, as he would make working for the Palestinian Authority in the Palestinian areas.

Palestinian workers at Barkan also receive full benefits, full vacation time and the ability to move up the ladder into a supervisory or management position.

Targets for Terror

Life here is not without its challenges. The Jewish communities of Samaria are frequent targets for Palestinian terror attacks.

The 2011 massacre of Udi and Ruth Fogel and three of their small children in the Samarian town of Itamar was one horrific example. They were murdered in their sleep by two local Palestinians.

Further south, in the Judean city of Hebron, the situation is also difficult.

"There are security threats, security problems we have to deal with here," David Wilder, spokesman for Hebron's small Jewish community, told CBN News.

"During the second intifada [armed Palestinian uprising], we were shot at for two and half years here. There are still terrorist attacks here," he said.

Hebron, which is mostly Palestinian Arab, is home to Judaism's second holiest site: the Cave of the Patriarchs, also known as the Cave of Machpela. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Rebecca, Sarah, and Leah -- the patriarchs and matriarchs of the Land of Israel and of the Bible -- are all buried in Hebron.

It was also the city where King David ruled for seven years before moving his kingdom to Jerusalem.

"You cannot let terrorism determine how you live and where you live if you know that this is your home and this is where you are supposed to be. What can be more normal for a Jew than living in the city of Hebron?" Wilder said.

In withdrawing from Judea and Samaria, Israel would not only be giving up a huge part of its past, it could be harming its future.

"God forbid, Palestinian terrorists, Hamas terrorists, would be standing here," Yuli Edelstein, Israel's minister of Public Diplomacy, said. "They would basically be in total control. And they won't need long-range missiles. They could reach basically to every town and city in this area."

Edelstein, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet, lives not far from Jerusalem in the Judean town of Gush Etzion, another area the U.N. wants cleared of Jews.

"I know that strategically, many things have changed in modern war," Edelstein told CBN News. "But on the other hand, without our total control here in these areas, I don't think we'd be able even to run a normal country."

A Warning for the US

Edelstein told CBN News some of the same forces that oppose Israel's presence in these areas are also hostile to the United States.

"If the bad guys can do it to Israel as a democracy and turn us into demons and apartheid and fascists, you name it -- basically, they can do it to every democracy, United States included," Edelstein said.

President Obama will make his first presidential visit to Israel in March. Discussions over the future of Judea and Samaria are sure to be on his agenda with Israel's prime minister.

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2013/February/Understanding-the-Threat-to-Israels-Biblical-Heartland/

Israeli flag will be planted on moon, company vows

Wednesday, February 13, 2013 |  Israel Today Staff  

 

 

 

SpaceIL, an Israeli foundation established in response to a contest Google started two years ago to challenge innovators around the world to advance private space exploration, is coming very close to meeting its goal of landing a craft on the moon.

The founders and directors of SpaceIL told The Times of Israel that they intend to launch a pod and land it on the moon in 2015.

Once there, the Israeli craft will explore the moon's surface and plant an Israeli flag. The means of transmitting its mission in high definition video, as well as the flag, are contributions made toward the project by Bezeq, Israel's national phone company.

SpaceIL hopes the entire exercise will encourage a fresh wave of enthusiasm for science among Israeli children, as well as advance Google's goal of ushering in a new era of space exploration led not by governments, but by private ventures.

Read the whole article here: http://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-goo-tells-all-on-planned-lunar-landing/

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23677/Default.aspx?hp=readmore

Israelis, Palestinians sorry to see Pope Benedict XVI go

Tuesday, February 12, 2013 |  Israel Today Staff  

 

 

 

Israelis and Palestinians were united on Monday in lamenting the announced resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.

The 85-year-old pontiff stated that after eight years at the helm of the Catholic Church, his deteriorating physical condition simply would not permit him to adequately continue performing his duties.

Born Joseph Ratzinger of Bavaria, Germany, Israelis and Jews worldwide were initially wary of his adolescent Nazi affiliations.

But Israeli political and religious leaders on Monday hailed Benedict XVI for having faithfully continued efforts toward Jewish-Christian reconciliations began in earnest by his predecessor, Pope John Paul II.

"I greatly appreciate him for his immense activity to interfaith connection that has contributed greatly to the reduction of anti-Semitism in the world," said Israeli Chief Rabbi (Ashkenazi) Yona Metzger.

President Shimon Peres added that under Benedict XVI's leadership, "the Vatican has been a clear voice against racism and anti-Semitism and a clear voice for peace. Relations between Israel and the Vatican are the best they have ever been and the positive dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people is a testament to his belief in dialogue and cooperation."

Palestinians, too, were sorry to see Pope Benedict XVI go, but for different reasons.

"We want the representative of the Holy See to be supportive of the marginalised, of the downtrodden and in this case, the Palestinians who are living under a brutal Israeli occupation [sic]," a Palestinian Christian political activist told The Sydney Morning Herald.

For most Palestinians, Benedict XVI was that pope. Especially after the Vatican openly supported last November's bid by the Palestinian Authority to upgrade its status at the UN to that of a non-member observer state, the same status enjoyed by the Holy See.

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23674/Default.aspx?hp=readmore

Pope Benedict to become first pontiff in 600 years to resign

Published February 11, 2013

FoxNews.com

• 

In a sudden announcement that caught Catholics around the world off guard, Pope Benedict XVI said he will resign at the end of February, becoming the first pontiff to step down in nearly 600 years.

The 85-year-old pontiff made the announcement Monday, saying he no longer had the strength to carry out his papal duties.

"After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry," the pope said according to a statement released by the Vatican.

"After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry."

- Pope Benedict XVI

He said he is aware of the "seriousness" of his resignation, but that he did so in "full freedom." He will live out his days on Vatican grounds, according to officials.

The last pope to resign was Pope Gregory XII, who stepped down in 1415 in a deal to end the Great Western Schism among competing papal claimants. The sudden announcement sets the stage for the Vatican to hold a conclave to elect a new pope by mid-March, since the traditional mourning time that would follow the death of a pope doesn't have to be observed.

There are several papal contenders in the wings, but no obvious front-runner, according to Vatican watchers.

A Vatican spokesperson told "Fox & Friends" that Pope Benedict "will not take part in conclave" to choose his successor. Officials hope to have a new pope in place in time for the start of Holy Week, on March 14. Although there has been much speculation about Pope Benedict's health, a Vatican spokesman said he is not in any immediate danger.

"There's nothing immediately serious or grave," the Vatican spokesman told ABC.

The pope's 89-year-old brother, Georg Ratzinger, told a German news agency that the pope has had difficulty walking recently and has considered stepping down for months.

“His age is weighing on him,” Georg Ratzinger said. “At this age my brother wants more rest.”

Born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, Pope Benedict became the 265th pope after being elected by his fellow cardinals on April 19, 2005, at the age of 78 following the death of the popular John Paul II. The ninth German pope and first in nearly 500 years, Benedict was ordained in 1951 and was a major figure at the Vatican stage for decades before his ascension.

Ratzinger chose the name Benedict, which comes from the Latin word meaning "the blessed," in homage to Pope Benedict XV, who was pope during World War I, and Saint Benedict of Nursia, who established the Benedictine monasteries.

During his papacy and in the years prior, Benedict was a key figure in the church's efforts to address widespread instances of sexual abuse of children by priests. In 2001, then-Cardinal Ratzinger convinced John Paul II to put the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which he led, in charge of investigating cases and setting policy regarding what he termed "filth" in the church.

As a cardinal, Ratzinger pushed through important reforms, including making Internet offenses against children a violation covered by canon law, extending child abuse offenses to include the sexual abuse of all under 18, waiving of the statute of limitation and speeding the process of dismissing guilty priests.

Even before becoming pope, Ratzinger had experienced health problems and attempted to resign from his role as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith several times, only to stay on at the behest of Pope John Paul II. In 1991, Ratzinger suffered a stroke, according to reports.

After becoming pope, Benedict, who predicted a short tenure for himself, suffered another stroke in May 2005, according to the Vatican. He is also believed to suffer from a heart condition.

As pope, Benedict embraced technology. In December, he began using Twitter, wher
e he has 1.5 million followers.

"We must trust in the mighty power of God’s mercy," read his most recent tweet, posted yesterday. "We are all sinners, but His grace transforms us and makes us new."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/02/11/pope-benedict-xvi-to-resign-at-end-february/#ixzz2KbCxTrAt

Get it straight: Hamas does NOT accept Israel!

Friday, February 08, 2013 |  Ryan Jones  

Israel Today

 

 

 

Every once in a while, world leaders and diplomats try to spin a certain piece of news to make it appear that even Hamas is willing to compromise and accept Israel's existence for the sake of peace.

The goal is obvious - to paint Israel and its policies as the sole obstacle to peace.

But every time, Hamas wastes no time clarifying what everyone already knows: that it, the group which won the last Palestinian general election, does not and never will accept Israel's right to exist in this region.

The most recent example of this phenomenon took place late last month when Jordan's King Abdullah reportedly informed US President Barack Obama that Hamas was ready to accept a two-state solution that guaranteed Israel's future existence.

Abdullah met with Hamas leader Khaled Mashal in Damascus, where the latter was said to have expressed a sincere change of attitude toward the peace process.

It took no time at all, and zero fact checking, for Western media, Israeli liberals, and international diplomats to adopt the story and begin shouting for Israel to return to peace talks with concessions in hand.

Two days later, Hamas put the lies to rest. The reports of Mashal making peace overtures in his meeting with King Abdullah were completely baseless, Hamas officials said in a statement released to Palestinian media.

"Hamas will not change its position" regarding Israel's existence, senior Hamas official Yahya Moussa told Bethlehem's Ma'an news agency. "We will never agree to giving the Zionist state one inch of the land of Palestine."

Moussa stressed that Hamas remains committed to the "liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea."

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23668/Default.aspx?hp=readmore

Unlikely Library Archive Contains Rare Pictures from the Galilee

Unlikely Library Archive Contains Rare Pictures from the Galilee

 

In the near future we hope to publish newly found antique photos and details of a collection of pictures we found in a European archive.  The pictures show another aspect of Jewish life in the Holy Land over 100 years ago.

Meanwhile, here's a tasty morsel from the collection, a picture taken almost 120 years ago.

The caption reads "Sea of Galilee [Scots] Mission Hospital. A peek at a corner of the Male Ward 1894." 

The picture shows care being given to Jewish and Arab patients. The orderly (?) on the right appears to be a religious Jew.

 

http://www.israeldailypicture.com/2013/02/future-feature-unlikely-library-archive.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IsraelsHistory-APictureADaybeta+%28Israel%27s+History+-+a+Picture+a+Day+%28Beta%29%29

The Palestinians and The Middle East Conflict (THE TRUTH)

Love For His People - our new blog header

    LOVE FOR HIS PEOPLE - our new blog header
    (designed by Ben Martin)

Obama Planning First Visit to Israel as President

CBNNews.com

Wednesday, February 06, 2013

 

 

 

President Obama is planning his first trip to Israel since taking office in 2008.

 

The visit is planned for this spring but the White House hasn't released the dates or itinerary.

Obama last visited Israel when during his 2008 campaign. But his lack of visiting the Jewish state during his first term as president has drawn criticism from some pro-Israel groups who say the administration isn't supportive of the United States' closest ally in the Middle East.

The president did visit Arab countries in the region during his first term, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2013/February/Obama-Planning-First-Visit-to-Israel-as-President/

Sample Reel for 'Above and Beyond: The Birth of the Israeli Air Force' - Playmount Productions

To see full video "Above and Beyond - The Birth of the Israeli Air Force: http://vimeo.com/54400569

Hungarian Jews flee to Austria

Hungarian Jews flee to Austria

Leader of Vienna's Jewish community says anti-Semitism in Hungary is causing influx of Jewish immigrants

jn1.tv

Published:  02.05.13, 14:51 / Israel Jewish Scene

VIDEO - The leader of Vienna’s Jewish community says anti-Semitism in Hungary is causing an influx of Jewish immigrants to Austria.

Oskar Deutsch said he was pleased people were coming, but that the circumstances forcing Jews to leave Hungary were deeply troubling.



Video courtesy ofjn1.tv


Austria’s Jewish community numbers approximately 8,000 people and is being joined in recent years by some 150 families annually fleeing from Hungary.


Hungary, which has a Jewish population of approximately 90,000, has been experiencing a wave of anti-Semitism after the ultra-nationalist party Jobbik picked up 47 seats in parliaary elections in 2010.

The party provoked outrage when it recently called for a list of the country’s Jews to be drawn up as a matter of national security.


The party has also labeled Israel a "Nazi state" and accused Jews of controlling Hungary’s media and being responsible for the central European country’s economic woes.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4341151,00.html

Israel declares water crisis is over

Monday, February 04, 2013 |  Israel Today Staff  

 

 

 

Israel's Water Authority on Monday officially declared the national water crisis to be over, and lifted its "severe drought advisory."

"The water crisis is over" and the situation is stable, but Israelis must not become complacent lest the nation find itself in a drought situation again, stated Water Authority Head Alexander Kushner.

Israel has suffered from dryer than usual winters for the past seven years, resulting in an overdraft of its national reservoirs, in particular the Sea of Galilee.

But, heavy winters rains and snow this year, combined with increased desalination efforts and conservatory behavior on the part of the public, has brought the Sea of Galilee to within two meters (six feet) of its capacity.

Experts believe the lake will fill the rest of the way when the winter snow atop the Golan Heights melts later this year.

Over the past seven dry years, Israel established three large desalination plants along its Mediterranean coast that today provide the nation with nearly half of its drinking water. Two more plants are scheduled to come online in the near future.

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23658/Default.aspx?ref=newsletter-20130204

Hungary orders Holocaust denier to visit Auschwitz

By NISSAN TZUR JERUSALEM POST CORRESPONDENT

02/03/2013, Jerusalem Post 

 

Court orders Gyorgy Nagy, Hungary's first convicted Holocaust denier, to visit Yad Vashem or Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Train to Auschwitz Photo: REUTERS

 

KRAKOW – A court in Hungary ordered a Holocaust denier to serve a most unconventional punishment. He was instructed to visit either the Budapest Holocaust memorial center, the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp or the Yad Vashem memorial in Israel.

Gyorgy Nagy, a 42-year-old unemployed computer technician, is the first Hungarian convicted under the country’s Holocaust denial law, which came into effect in February 2010. The court also gave him an 18- month suspended jail sentence.

If Nagy chooses to visit the local Holocaust memorial center, he will have to visit the place three times, and write down his thoughts and observations after his visits in order to complete his sentence.

Nagy was arrested at a political rally in Budapest in 2011 when the local police read on the banner he was holding: “The Shoah didn’t happen.”

Holocaust denial is a crime in Hungary punishable by a maximum three-year sentence.

The law criminalizing it was submitted by Attila Mesterhazy, chairman of the Hungarian Socialist Party. The law passed two years ago 197-1 with 142 abstentions.

Earlier attempts to ban Holocaust denial were rejected by the Hungarian courts for infringing on freedom of speech.

Despite the new law, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been sharply criticized recently by many world Jewish organizations for pandering to nationalists and tolerating anti-Semitism. In one of the most notable cases, Orban’s government was accused of approving the naming of a park in Gyomro, a small town on the outskirts of Budapest, after Miklos Horthy, the country’s wartime leader and a close ally of Adolf Hitler.

Orban was also accused for not condemning the anti-Semitic statements made in recent months by some members of the far-right Jobbik party, including a call to count the number of the Jews living in the country “and who represent a hazard for national security” and the demand for the resignation of Hungarians MP’s with both Hungarian and Israeli citizenship.

Last June, Elie Wiesel, Nobel peace laureate and Holocaust survivor, returned Hungary’s highest state honor, the Grand Cross, accusing Hungary of “whitewashing” its history and its collaboration with the Nazis.

'Shema Yisrael' to be Engraved on Koch's Gravestone

'Shema Yisrael' to be Engraved on Koch's Gravestone

Former New York Mayor Ed Koch's memorial stone will include a Magen David (Jewish Star) and the first portion of the Shema prayer.

By David Lev

 

First Publish: 2/3/2013

Israel National News

 

Former New York Mayor Ed Koch

Reuters

 

Former New York Mayor Ed Koch's memorial stone will include a Magen David (Jewish Star) and the first portion of the Shema Yisrael prayer. A report in Ha'aretz Sunday said that Koch had made the request in his will.

In addition, Koch's stone will feature the last words of Jewish journalist Daniel Perl, who was murdered by radical Muslim Pakistani terrorists. Perl's final words -- “My father was a Jew, my mother was a Jew, I am a Jew” -- will be inscribed on the stone as well. Koch passed away Friday, February 1, eleven years to the day of Perl's murder.

Koch's funeral will take place Monday. Services will be held at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan, and “shiva” will be held at Gracie Mansion, home of New York's mayors. Koch served three terms as New York City mayor, from 1978 through 1989, helping to shepherd New York through financial crises, transit strikes, and a period of very high crime. Many commentators attribute the city's prosperity and growth over the past two decades to the “grunt work” Koch did in developing new institutions and methods of government.

Current New York mayor, Michael Bloomberg, praised Koch, who passed away at age 88, as a "tireless, fearless and guileless civic leader" for his role in pulling New York back from the brink of financial collapse in the late 1970s."Ed helped lift the city out of its darkest days and set it on course for an incredible comeback," Bloomberg said, ordering flags to be lowered to half-mast.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/164852

Super Bowl suspense: Will Jewish NFL owner join Hall of Fame?

Baltimore Ravens’ Semitic supporters anxiously await Shabbat announcement about former team leader Art Modell

By Chavie Lieber January 31, 2013

Times of Israel

Art Modell and Ray Lewis

NEW YORK (JTA) — Every Sunday during the football season, a group of 30 diehard Jewish Baltimore Ravens fans suit up in purple pants, jerseys, socks, face paint and special Ravens tzitzit to watch the game together.

If the game falls on a Saturday, the club gathers for a “purple Shabbos,” when they wear Ravens jerseys under their suits, eat Ravens-inspired food from a purple menu and go into lockdown mode once the game starts so they don’t accidentally discover the final score before they can watch the recorded broadcast post-Sabbath.

“Yes, we’re all absolute Ravens nuts,” said Noam Heller, a 25-year-old Baltimore native. “We’re not just casual football fans like some other states. Everyone who knows our crew knows we’re crazy.”

The group has been reveling in the Ravens together for about five years at the homes of its members. Wives and kids come along now, too.

With their beloved squad slated to face off against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII on Sunday, Heller and company no doubt will get even crazier than normal.

Supporters see Modell as a brilliant businessman instrumental in the creation of ‘Monday Night Football’

The showdown comes just six months after the death of former owner Art Modell, the Jewish Brooklyn native who moved the team to Baltimore from Cleveland in 1996. Ravens players dedicated this season to Modell, wearing a patch with “Art” on their jerseys.

And even more poignancy: The Pro Football Hall of Fame will announce whether Modell will be inducted Saturday.

“Honestly, I’m kvelling over this game,” said David Modell, one of the late owner’s two sons and a former president and CEO of the Ravens. “I’m not praying for results; I’m praying for the strength and courage of this team, and the rest will take care of itself. But a Super Bowl victory and a place in the Hall of Fame would be an incredible way to honor my father’s memory.”

Modell’s legacy is something of a touchy subject for football fans. Supporters see him as a brilliant businessman best known for his role in negotiations with the ABC television network leading to the creation of “Monday Night Football” in 1970, and for his support for community charities in Cleveland and Baltimore.

In Cleveland, Modell isn’t remembered as fondly. After 34 years as owner of the Browns, Modell took the team to Baltimore in 1996 and renamed them the Ravens. Many Cleveland fans remain bitter over the loss of their team and say it would be wrong to honor Modell with a spot in the Hall of Fame.

“I don’t care how much money he gave to either community or how well Baltimore is doing,” said one disgruntled Jewish Clevelander who asked that his name not be published for fear of bad football karma. “Art Modell stole our pride in Cleveland, and stealing in football should not be praised.”

Modell ‘wasn’t the type of man who wore his spirituality on his sleeve, but he was a quietly religious and very spiritual Jew’

David Modell said that many Cleveland fans wrote to him and his brother, John, to offer condolences after their father passed away. It seemed they forgave Modell, who sold the Ravens in 2004, for abandoning Cleveland and now remember him mainly as a football legend.

Although Modell’s two sons are Catholic, children from the first marriage of his wife Patricia Breslin, David Modell said his father made sure to teach them the basic Jewish traditions of the religion he loved.

“My father wasn’t the type of man who wore his spirituality on his sleeve, but he was a quietly religious and very spiritual Jew,” David said. “We knew that he carried around a piece of paper with God’s name in his pocket every day of his life. Every year he would light memorial candles for his parents’ death. He always attended temple on High Holidays. And Hanukkah candles were so important to him that my brother in California and I skyped together this year to light candles and recite the prayers.”

Modell had a special relationship with football players as well as fans, specifically with Ray Lewis, the Ravens’ All-Pro linebacker who is retiring at the end of this season. Modell watched his team practice every day and had a father-son relationship with Lewis.

Unlike his former boss, Lewis did wear his spirituality on his sleeve — or at least on his chest. Following a 24-9 playoff victory over the Colts earlier this month, Lewis removed his game jersey to reveal a T-shirt that read “Psalm 91,” which concludes with the line, “With long life I will satisfy him, and show him my salvation.”

Heller and his friends responded by getting together for a communal reading of the psalm and to pray on the Ravens’ behalf.

“We’ve loved the Ravens since Art Modell first brought them to Baltimore in 1996,” Heller said. “We all looked up to him as kids. And this Super Bowl is going to be ours.”

http://www.timesofisrael.com/for-jewish-fans-fateful-football-decision-comes-a-day-before-super-bowl/

Messianic ministry continues to reach Israelis via Internet

Friday, February 01, 2013 |  Ryan Jones  

Israel Today 

 

 

Israel Today has for years been covering the Internet-based evangelism efforts of One For Israel, a team of young Israeli Messianic new media professionals.

One For Israel's latest newsletter reveals that not only has the ministry remained active, it is growing considerably both in activity and reach.

As an example, One For Israel noted that over just the past seven days, "we were contacted via our websites by 6 different people around Israel who stated an authentic desire to learn more about the Lord Yeshua (Jesus)."

Among those who made contact were two teenage girls doing a report on Messianic Judaism for their school and a young man who identified himself as a homosexual eager to learn more about Yeshua.

"Three out of the six who contacted us asked to be connected with a local congregation/church as soon as possible," according to the newsletter.

As a reminder of the growing curiosity (and hunger) among Israelis for information regarding faith in Yeshua, One For Israel published statistics showing that every month 18,000 Israelis search Google for the term "redemption," and over 22,000 search for "Yeshua."

On their own series of websites, One For Israel offers a free copy of the New Testament in three versions: MP3 (audio), hard copy and an app for smartphones.

A hard copy New Testament is requested once every 35 hours, and the MP3 and smartphone versions are downloaded as much as five times every day.

The ministry recently moved to new facilities at Israel College of the Bible, a Messianic college located in the coastal town of Netanya. One For Israel hopes to increase their already impressive efforts with the new television and audio recording studios now available to them.

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23654/Default.aspx?hp=readmore

Expert: Netanyahu in good strategic position

Thursday, January 31, 2013 |  Ryan Jones 

Israel today 

 

 

Professor Gideon Rahat

 

The right-wing powerhouses of the Israeli political scene might not have done as well as many hoped in the recent election, but that doesn't mean Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to achieve his goal by calling an early vote.

Professor Gideon Rahat, an expert on Israeli politics at the Israel Democracy Institute and the Hebrew University, told Israel Today that "Likud lost the election, but Netanyahu won."

Asked why Likud and its partner Israel Beiteinu Party lost so many mandates, Prof. Rahat said Israelis have been searching for a viable centrist option since at least 1977.

That's why Yair Lapid's centrist Yesh Atid (There is a Future) did so well, at the expense of both the right and left.

When it comes to economics, "most Israelis want socialism over capitalism," said Rahat. But Israelis also realize that unrestrained socialism means most of their taxes go to support sectors of society that largely fail to contribute - namely the ultra-Orthodox Jews and the Arabs.

When it comes to security and the peace process, "most Israelis see that [the Palestinians] don't want real peace, but Israelis also don't want to rule over the Palestinians," Rahat continued.

These two factors drive voters to centrist options like Yesh Atid, which ran on a platform of sensible socialist economic policies and a cautious approach to peace-making with the Palestinians.

All that said, Netanyahu still came out as "the only real option for prime minister," explained the professor.

"Netanyahu is in a very good strategic position," said Rahat. "He can make a coalition with Yesh Atid and the center, but threaten to pull out and form a new coalition with the right if his partners don't go along with him.He has several options."

 

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23652/Default.aspx?hp=readmore