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Monday, October 31, 2011

UNESCO's Vote-Yes to "Palestinians"

Nadene Goldfoot
UNESCO granted full membership to the "terrorists of Hamas and Fatah who call themselves Palestinians" in their vote today.  The United States voted against it.  This comes at a time when southern Israel has been bombarded by missiles and rockets from Gaza.  The city of Ashkelon has even decided to close school for another day on account of the bombardment. 

“It is most unfortunate that UNESCO, along with the millions of people around the world benefitting from its programs, now will become victims of the Palestinians’ counterproductive effort to isolate Israel internationally,” said JCPA Chair Dr. Conrad Giles. “The Palestinians knew full well that pushing the UNESCO vote would result in an automatic cutoff of significant US funding for the institution (22% of the budget) under a law passed in the 1990s. They persisted anyway, as though joining the UN’s cultural body were a landmark step towards statehood.  Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu consistently has expressed his readiness to enter unconditional talks leading toward two states for two peoples. President Abbas should immediately take him up on this invitation.”


"Dr. Giles continued, "President Abbas has continually failed to acknowledge the Jewish people's deep historical and religious connection to its historic homeland, Israel. This occurred again in his September 23 speech to the UN General Assembly, which only referred to Muslim and Christian attachment to the land. We are concerned that Palestinian membership in UNESCO will be used to advance this hurtful denial of reality.”
 
Resource: Jewish Council for Public Affairs; JCPA

The Seven Ghosts That Have Protected Safed

                      A katusha rocket fired from the Golan Heights by Syria  hit this kibbutz school and destroyed the kindergarten.  This is the first picture of the Yom Kippur War showing Nathan Fendrich of Eugene, Oregon with a child looking at the damage. 

Nadene Goldfoot
 I lived in Safed, Israel  from 1981 to the very end of 1985 and taught English at the local jr. high.  The Lebanese border is only 14 kilometers  or 8 miles away as a bird flies.  Kiriat Shimona lies the closest to Lebanon and has the department store that I loved which reminded me a little of Meier & Franks.  We drove up there occasionally and also visited the "Good Neighbor gate."

The terrorists periodically had fired Russian katusha rockets from Lebanon.  They almost always would fall short and explode in the wadi.  One time there was a direct hit on an abandoned warehouse, and another time one hit an electric pole.  As I was driving up to Safed for the first time, I learned that a katusha rocket had fallen just two weeks before behind one of the apartment buildings we had just passed by.  It was then I realized that I was in dangerous territory. 

During the Yom Kippur War from October 6th  to 25th in 1973, the katushas  landed a direct hit on the fuel pumps in the central bus station on the 2nd day of the war.  There was no fire, no gas tank explosion and the pumps remained workable.  The rocket had entered the air shaft in the only unoccupied apartment house in the block of 10 new buildings.  It damaged 2 apartments but nobody was injured. 

The legend is that the 7 sons of Hannah, who were killed by the Greeks at the beginning of the revolt of the Maccabees slow down the rockets so they fall into the wadi without causing any damage.  They are buried with their mother on the side of the hill over which the katushas pass. 

In 167-166 BCE The 7 sons of Hannah refused to commit idolatry when ordered by Antiochus Epiphanes to eat pork.  This was the time of the Macabees who rebelled at the time this happened.  Because they refused, they were terribly tortured and then executed.  Hannah had a chance to save her youngest son but didn't, and then died after he was executed. What they died for was the preservation of Judaism.  This story has become a favorite of Christians as well, who have built shrines in many parts of the world in their memory and that of their mother, who they called Salome, but Hannah in Hebrew.

Living in Safed, I was so grateful for having these wonderful 7 sons and their mother protecting us.  I knew they would stop any bombs coming our way.    The cemetery in Safed dates back 2,000 years.  A very old book with a map in it of the ancient burial ground was found in 1945.  The site had been covered over by rubble from an earthquake.  The Ari, Caro, Alkabetz and others are also buried there.  Who could not be protected with such souls in our cemetery? 

We remember the Maccabee revolt with our holiday of Chanukah. 

Resource: Legends of Safed by Dov Silverman page 73
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur_War
Jewish Encyclopedia p. 615
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0008_0_08365.html

Saudi Arabia Taking Advantage of Gilad Schalit's Release

Nadene Goldfoot
Sheik Awadh al-Qarani, a prominent  Saudi Arabian cleric,  has offered $100,000 to anyone who captures an Israeli soldier again so that the Palestinians can repeat a swap for Palestinian prisoners that Israel holds. 

Now Prince Khaled bin Talal, a brother of billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who holds no official government position but one of Saudi Arabia's royal family, has increased the reward to $1 million dollars.

This puts every IDF soldier's life in peril even more.  When Sgt. Gilad Schalit was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists, the thought may have been to hold him for ransom which he was.   Hopefully, the thought only arose as the condition appeared. He was held for more than 5 years, and when freed was gaunt and pale, looking like he had been through a horrible ordeal.  None of the prisoners Israel holds have been held under such horrible conditions.  While Gilad was simply kidnapped while doing guard duty, the prisoners Israel holds are there for murderous attacks.  Israel got Gilad back by deciding to free 1,000 prisoners.  It was a hard decision as it has led to this. 

Israel has argued the merits and dangers of such a decision.  Everyone wanted Gilad freed but feared the cost.  So they now also have two rewards of $100,000 to anyone who kills a Palestinian released in the Schalit deal if the Palestinian killed Israelis.  Since almost every citizen serves in the army,  everyone will be aware of lurking terrorists anyway, knowing that 1,000 of them have been freed. 

My thought would be to insert some sort of chip such as used for American pets in case they are lost into these freed killer-prisoners as they were not freed over due course of time as decided by a court system, but to save the life of Gilad.  This chip could alert people that they were lurking in the vicinity and warn Israelis. 

The Oregonian  newspaper got it wrong this morning when they assumed that "the prisoner swap might improve relations between the bitter foes".  It was done for one reason only; to save Gilad.  The government knew that freeing 1,000 prisoners was dangerous.  But to Israelis a life is precious, and they knew he could not last much longer.  That was the only deal the terrorists would go for.  It was, after 5 years of trying, the only way Gilad could be saved. 

That lives are precious means that Israelis will do all they can to stop terrorists from trying to take more of theirs.  When terrorists attack, Israel will retaliate, not in kind but stronger.  There seems to be no other way to deter such attacks.  Talking doesn't help.  Reasoning doesn't help. 

Personally, I think that was a once in a lifetime proposition.  Israel isn't about to fall for that again, now knowing what it can lead to.  The attacks of Hamas over the weekend on Israel with a volley of 39 or more rockets and missiles demonstrates that the terrorists who rule Gaza are out for blood.  Don't forget that this followed a recent attack the preceding week.  They even had a newer type of missile launcher this time.  Well, why not, with Saudi Arabia footing the bills.  This is and has always been an attack of war on Israel. 

Resource:  Oregonian newspaper 10/31/2011 page A4

Thursday, October 27, 2011

UFO's Over Israel Reported

Nadene Goldfoot
Tonight I watched the Biography Channel (Bio-129 on Frontier) 7:30pm in Portland, and discovered that this program on  UFO's:  The Best Evidence Caught on Tape, showed a section about UFO's that have been visiting Israel.

Evidently they have had sighting over the last 12 years.  They even had a video showing the Israeli Air Force plane chasing one.  The UFO seemed to be playing with the plane.  One such sighting lasting for 3 nights happened over Kfar Saba and again over Kibbutz Hatzor.  Over 100 people have seen these sightings.  A gentleman interviewed about it had been a former Air Force member, Barry Chamish, the leading UFO researcher in Israel.  . 

Speculation was that the Bible records such a sighting in the section about Ezekiel 1: 1-23, which was Ezekiel's version of seeing the Merkavah/Chariot.  Ezekiel was among his people who were exiled to the River Chebar in the land of the Chaldeans. He talks about something that happened during the exile of King Jehoiachin to Babylonia when he said the heavens opened up and he saw visions of G-d.  Ezekiel was the son of Buzi, the Kohen.  He describes in this vision supernatural concepts in human terms, but they cannot be understood literally. This is why people today think of the chariot as a spaceship as that is something within our concept but not his.   It was mentioned that people thought UFO's visited Earth as long ago as 12,000 years.  If that had happened, the only thing worthwhile seeing would have been the Fertile Crescent as most of Earth would have been under ice then. 

Here's another reason to visit Israel.  You might catch a glimpse of a spaceship checking out the land, so bring your video camera.  Let's hope these aliens are friendly.  We have enough terrorists stalking our tiny country as it is.  Do you suppose they were looking for a good place to find some bagels and cream cheese? 

Research: TV program Biography Channel.  Bio.com.shop
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s9sVDaWCYk  Kibbutz Hatzor video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Drsz5mn8kx4 Jerusalem: Dome of the Rock/Temple area/hoax
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Drsz5mn8kx4 Barry Chamish
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10698-merkabah
Tanakh, the Stone Edition; Torah/Prophets/Writings: 24 Books of the bible; Rabbi Nosson Scherman

American Professor Calling for Annihilation of Israel

Nadene Goldfoot
Way back in February of 2007, Kent State University's Professor Julio Pino was found to be running a Jihad website.  He was a Muslim convert, and also had a blog.  He was calling for Hamas (terrorists in Gaza who overtook Fatah) to be taken off Europes terrorist organization list.  This is when they were coming on strong and attacking Israel.  Pino has been accused of having terrorist ties.  In fact, his home was raided by the U.S. Secret Service in 2009. 

Professor Pino has not wavered in his stance nor has be been dismissed from Kent State.  He has tenure.  This insulting man attended a CAMERA-sponsored event on Tuesday, October 25tha in a university hall on campus, featuring  Ishmael Khaldi, an Israeli who happens to be a Muslim Bedouin.  Khaldi is a former diplomat and the current advisor to Israel's foreign Minister. 

During the presentation, Dr. Pino was standing in the back of the auditorium and handing out material encouraging students to boycott Israel.

There was a question and answer session, Pino  charged Israel's government with killing children and babies.  He and Khaldi yelled at each other in a verbal altercation ending with Pino storming out and yelling "Death to Israel!" 

Pino violated all sorts of codes of conduct in his fiasco.  They have an Employee Code of Conduct saying that every employed person must respect the well being of others, maintain a professional demeanor and respect the differences of people, ideas, and opinions.  When he verbally attacked Ishmael Khaldi and called for the annihilation of the Jewish state, he violated every one of those principals.  He was also violating the solicitation section oin the employee code of conduct. 

After all this, Kent State Associate Vice President Thomas Neumann defended Pino.  No one has yet commented about his breaking the university employee mandate.  Is there no justice for such treatment in a university with rules?  Where is their backbone-or have they become jellyfish?  My first thought is that: Who are the big financial contributors to Kent State these days? 

Kent State University became very well known in May 1970 when they had protests about the Vietnam War when the USA went into Cambodia.  Shooting on campus started with the anti-war protests as well as burning the ROTC building.  It looks like they have lumped Israel into that same philosophy as well by allowing Pino to break all their own rules and attack a spokesman for Israel verbally, even someone who was Muslim but speaking in defense of  Israel.  This professor didn't even bother to listen to his presentation.  A place of learning and the professor doesn't want to learn. 

Resource: http://www.jihadwatch.org/2007/02/professor-at-kent-state-university-running-jihad-web-site.html
Camera Alert: alert@camera.org Professor calls for "Death to Israel"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_University

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

7 Billion Humans; 13 Million are Jews

Nadene Goldfoot
There will be 7 billion humans on this earth by next week.  In the year 2025 it is predicted that there will be 8 billion:  that is, if they can improve our planet's water purity, food and jobs issue.  There's not much we can do about the scattered earthquakes that take a toll in the population. 

In 2010 there were 5,275,000 Jews in the United States  which was 1.7% of the population.  American Jews comprised 39.3% of the world Jewish population.  At the same time, there were 5,703,700 Jews in Israel making 75.5% of Israel, which is a Jewish state.  They made up 42.5% of the total world Jewish population  There are a  few scattered in other countries. For instance, South Africa had 70,800 Jews which was 0.1% of their population.  They made up 0.5% of the total world Jewish population.   Worldwide, we had 13,421,000 Jews.  This is less than 1% of the total world population or 0.2%  . 

Way back in the 11th Century CE, Ashkenazim Jews made up only 3% of the total Jews in the world.  Most were Sepharim and Mizrakhim. 

There were only about 50,000 Jews living in Europe in  the 15th Century but by the start of the 19th Century there were 5 million. By 1931,  92% of the Jews were Ashkenazim.  We know that 6 million perished in the Holocaust of the 20th Century, basically all Ashkenazim. Today Ashkenazim make up 80% of the Jewry of the world. 

We may not have a large population, but we make up for it in having outstanding people. 

Reference: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/25/EDEI1LLJBV.DTL&feed=rss.opinion
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/25/EDEI1LLJBV.DTL&feed=rss.opinion
http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100603/full/news.2010.277.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jews

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

UNESCO Voting on New member of "Palestine" Today in Paris

Nadene Goldfoot
The state of Palestine has not been accepted through the U.N. as yet.  Even so, UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has its general conference today in Paris.  It is scheduled to vote to admit "Palestine" as a member today by having the 193 country members vote.  If this passes, our US law mandates cutting off its $70 million dollar contribution to UNESCO, which is 22% of their total budget. 

The situation is that if and when these Hamas-Fatah terrorists become a UNESCO member, they will gain international support to continue erasing the history of Jews in Eretz Israel.  To do this they will have holy sites, such as 'the Cave of the Patriarchs' in Hebron, 'Joseph's tomb' in Nablus, 'Rachel's tomb' in Bethlehem, and 'the Church of the Nativity' in Bethlehem  declared as just Palestinian heritage sites. 

The Palestinian plans with UNESCO are part of the heavy-handed political campaign in many UN agencies for a state led by Mahmoud Abbas to openly refuse to acknowledge Israel as a Jewish State.  Their plan is to deny our 3,000 year old connection to our Holy Land.  Why?  It's their idea of politics in their zeal to take over the land from us. 

Reference:  Simon Wiesenthal Center enewsletter@wiesenthal.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/06/world/middleeast/palestinians-win-initial-vote-on-unesco-bid.html
http://www.unesco.org/confgen/press_rel/251001_culture.shtml
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/palestinians-nearing-unesco-membership/

Jewish Financiers Helping USA Treasury

Nadene Goldfoot
In early colonial times a few individual Jews in America had the occupation of being money brokers, like Asser Levy who lived in New York City in the 2nd half of the 17h century.  Isaac Moses was one of the founders of the Bank of New York.

A Jewish broker , Haym Solomon/Salomon was the friend of Robert Morris, Superintendent of Finance under George Washington for the 13 colonies.  Morris turned to Solomon for help in raising needed money to carry on the Revolutionary War and save the emerging nation from financial collapse. 

Salomon advanced direct loans to the government and also donated his own money to pay the salaries of government officials and army officers. From 1781-1784 there were 75 transactions between Morris and Solomon.  On September 3, 1783, the Revolutionary War ended with the Treaty of Paris but Solomon managed to raise the money to bailout the debt-ridden goverment time after time. 

In 1939 Warner Brothers made the movie: Sons of Liberty: with Claude Rains as Salomon.  In WWII, the US liberty ship SS Haym Salomon was named in his honor.  Haym was born April 7, 1740 and died January 6, 1785.  He was an immigrant from Poland but was Sephardic, being Spanish and Portuguese.  Arriving in New York during the American Revolution, he was impressed with the Patriot cause and joined the Sons of Liberty in NY.  In Philadelphia he continued his profession as broker. 

Solomon spoke 8 languages, useful in those days of dealing with other countries and finances.  The sum owed to Solomon was about $800,000, which in 1785 was like $40 billion today.  He was not paid back.

During the Civil War, Uriah P. Levy offered Lincoln his entire forture for the USA, but Lincoln refused it.  So Levy bought Federal bonds to help the nation.  Joseph Seligman and August Belmont helped to get loans and sell bonds.  Lincoln then said, no class of citizenship in the US was superior in patriotism to those of the Jewish faith. 

Judah Benjamin was in the Davis cabinet and worked hard to get European financing for the South.  He worked out a deal to get European credit with Emile Erlanger, a Jewish banker who headed the most distinguished banking house in France.  Other Jews helped in the war offering their own resources and knowledge.  Despite their patriotism, anti-semitism was still alive.  Jews were used like before, as scapegoats for the present problems. 

The total assets of Jewish firms were small compared to those of the American banking system as a whole.  They have been the focus of antisemitic agitation from the 1890's in particular on,   The fiscal policies of their banks tended to be conservative and they exercised their profits with a high degree of social and fiscal responsibility.  The rest of the commercial banking in the USA remained relatively closed to Jews despite Jews in related fields as stock brokerage, investment analysis and corporate management.  In 1939 a study was done which found that out of 93,000 bankers in the USA, only 0.6% were Jewish.  Even in New York City, Jews formed only 6% of banking executives as compared to 28% of the general population.  Discrimination against Jews in major banks throughout the country continue.  In 1968 the AJC filed a complaint with the Human Right Commission of NYC charging the banking system with job bias against Jews.  Senator William Proxmire in a 1978 interview with the financial columnist for Esquire magazine stated that the USA banks are controlled by the most Waspish elements....with no Jews, no Catholics, and no blacks running the show.  It's completely one-sided, too much Anglo-Saxon." 

After the 1st Crusade in 1096, Jewish merchants had to take long journeys and had no security.  In Western and Central Europe, especially Spain, people tried to drive out Jews from commerce and crafts.  Jews had to turn to loan-banking in order to make a living.  Between the 12th and 15th centuries,  Jews were the main people  involved in this occupation because Christians were prevented from this livelihood by their own cononical prohibitions like the 4th Lateran Council of 1215.  Therefore it's not surprising that the few Jewish men that have survived have gone into their ancestors' professions. 

Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" aided and abeted anti-semitism with his villain being a money-lending Jew.    At the time he wrote the play, no Jews had lived openly in England for 300 years, and throughout Europe Christian banking houses were the principal moneylenders-finally. 

Anyone in those days associated with the business of money during the early days of feudalism changing into capitalism ran the risk of being mistrusted and hated, even the Christians such as the Lombards.  There were so many Christians ignoring or defying the prohibition of being moneylenders that in 1179, the 3rd Lateran Council had to reiterate the position against the practice, but Jews still were a smaller group as Christians managed to continue.  Jews had it even rougher due to  the financial connotations connected with the New Testament towards Jews.  The Christians actually preferred the Jewish usurer.  "Christians were worse than Jews", a left handed compliment for Jews was known. 

The bankers of the feudal age were the moneylenders involved with manufacturers and international commerce that was rapidly growing.  The world had an increasing need for loans.  Yet, when Jews earned any kind of wealth, they found most of it was taxed, fined, or taken away in the form of "contributions."  Often a ruler simply declared a moratorium on debts to Jewish moneylenders.  Crusaders had the interest on their loans from "Jew-usurers rescinded by special dispensation.  Often Jews were imprisoned or murdered at the request of influential debtors.  Violent attacks on Jewish moneylenders grew and debtors incited pogroms as their way to default on loans from Jews. 

The anti-semitic slurs keep repeating the fiction that Jews control the banks and "all Jews are rich."  Some well known bankers are the J.P. Morgans, the Rockfellers and the Mellons, and they are not Jewish.  Sammy Davis Jr, a black entertainer, had converted to Judaism.  He said, " After I decided to become a Jew, only then did I learn the Jews don't really have all the money.   When I found out Rockfeller and Ford were goyim, I almost resigned."  A majority of the Jews today fall under the middle and upper middle class.  They came poor but were able to raise their standard of living faster than many immigrant groups to America.  They have believed in hard work and education for their children, and denied themselves to reach the American dream. They had the lowest rate of alcoholism.   Typical of this was my father. 

We have a Jewish lady who wrote a poem to help raise money for the Statue of Liberty.  Emma Lazarus wrote: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..."  This land was for those who had been denied freedom and opportunity in their native lands.  And here Jews are still hearing accusations of being the cause of financial woes today  in the latest " occupation USA, rolling out from some organizers". 

Resource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haym_Solomon
http://www.acjna.org/acjna/articles)detail.aspx?id=42
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0003_0_01978.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-proclamation-jewish-american-h
Book: Just Because They're Jewish by M. Hirsh Goldberg p. 179-197

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Where Were Our Jewish Ancestors 13,800 years ago?

Nadene Goldfoot
The Last Glacial Maximum happened about 21,000 years ago.  It was thought that mammoths became extinct in Britain 21,000 years ago, but recent discoveries find they were still roaming around 14,000 years ago there.  This kept humans living in warm lands like Egypt and what is now Spain. 

The ice age happened from 14,000 to 20,000 years ago.  An enormous Northern glacier invaded Wisconsin and caused an ocean of ice 160 stories tall. 

The glaciers finally began to melt about 14,000 years ago on North America.  Wooly mammoths, mastodons and saber-toothed tigers roamed this land.  People had began to inhabit the land about 16,000 years ago. 

A 13,800 year old mastodon rib was found 35 years ago near Sequim, Washington here in the Northwest.  It had a sharpened bone projectile sticking out from it in the left center of the bone.  A new high-resolution CT scan showed it was piercing the rib and helped to prove that NW hunters might have been the earliest Americans to arrive here.  These Stone Age hunters had arrived earlier than we thought.  The projectile was clearly shaped to a tip.   This makes this area a pr-Clovis site. This Clovis culture began about 800 years later.   The spear point was probably about one foot in length before it broke off in the mastadon's rib.  It had to penetrate more than 10 inches of muscle and tissue before it got to the rib.  This was a high velocity impact.  The spear point was made from mastodon bone.  They may have used a spear-thrower, or atlatl to hurl with a lot of force.  Mastodons weighed 4 or 5 tons, and stood about 8 to 10 feet tall at the shoulder.  The land then was marshy and treeless. 

This would take us back to the year of about 11,500 BCE.  What was going on then in other parts of the world? 

The ancient Egyptian dynasties go back to 1479 BCE to Hatshepsut and King Tutankhanun, before these hunters ventured out.  They were already highly skilled artisans. 

Many Jews have the Ydna haplotype or clade of J1.  This haplogroup arose 10,000 to 15,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent.  This is the area mentioned in the Bible including Egypt, Assyria and Mesopotamia.  13,800 years ago would take us back to about the year 12,211 BCE, right at the time of J1's rising.  This is considered as the Cohen gene of Aaron and Moses.  

Q's originated in Central Asia 15,000 to 20,000 years ago and men migrated through northern Eurasia of the Altai Mountains of Mongolia, Siberia and parts of Turkey  into the Americas as our native Americans.  Another branch that became Q1b1a  and is 5% of present day Jews who must have left at a different time to get to the Middle East and onto Eastern Europe. 

G and G2 haplogroup may have originated along the eastern part of the Middle East or India or Pakistan 30,000 years ago and dispersed into Central Asia, Europe and the Middle East.  G with a P15 mutation is found mainly in the Caucasus, Balkans, Italy and the Middle East.

R, R1, R2, R1a and R1b haplogroups may have originated in NW Asia 30,000 to 35,000 years ago.  R1 is common in Europe and W. Eurasia where R2 is rare, found only in Indian, Iranian and central Asian populations.  R1a is found among E. European Slavs and India and central and W. Asia.  It is suggested in some Egyptian journal that King Tut was of an R1b clade.

A drawing on a small rock made 13,600 years ago was found in a cave in Northern Spain.  The stone had a landscape drawn on this hand-sized rock.  It may have been drawn by Magdalenian hunter-gatherers. 

E3b is considered a major paternal line of humanity and originated about 22,400 years ago.   is found in the Lemba Tribe of South Africa in 2.9% of this group.  It evolved in the Middle East, then went into the Mediterranean during the Pleistocene Neolithic expansion.  It's also in Arab populations and in areas around the Mediterranean and in East and North Africa, and SE Europe. 

Abraham, father of Judaism, didn't come along till much later and lived at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE or about 4,000 years ago.

The Jewish Calendar marks this year as the year of 5772.  The months are of Tishrei and Cheshvan at this time of the October 2011 calendar.  Today is Tishrei 25.  This starts with our Jewish historical knowledge of the birthday of the world, covers the Adam and Eve beginnings and onto the Flood as well as getting into the line of Abraham. 

From what I can gather, most of the world was experienceing a land of melting ice 13,800 years ago while the warm areas on earth had been  producing  civilizations. What a diverse planet this was. 

Resource on Mastadon: Oregonian newspaper, front page and A5, October 22, 2011, NW mastodon wqas speared 13,800 years ago.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighteenth_dynasty_of_Egypt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_E1b1b_(Y-DNA)
http://www.stonepages.com/news/archives/003431.html
http://blog.chron.com/sciguy/2011/10/reimagining-the-lost-world-of-north-america-14000-years-ago/
http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=32914 Wisconsin glacier
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertile_Crescent

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Jewish Spy Treated Differently than American in Russia

Nadene Goldfoot
The United States has had many spies.  Francis Gary Powers was one in a U2 spy plane that was shot down over air space of the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960.  He was sentenced to 10 years, 7 of which was to be hard labor, but was exchanged for a Russian spy after serving only 1 year 9 months on February 10, 1962.  The situation was very embarrasing for Eisenhower's administration.  Khrushchev was not happy with us.

Yet, our fumbling Mr Bean type spy for Israel is still serving time.  Jonathan Pollard, not a member of Mossad but an American  Jew, tried to help Israel get information that should have been willingly passed to them,  but it hadn't happened and he was concerned.   He was a U.S. naval intelligence clerk who was arrested in 1986.  He received the maximum sentence of life imprisonment in 1987.  Caspar Weinberger came down very hard on him, and since then our Vice President, Joe Biden,  has been most harsh when approached about it. 

After Michael Oren, Ambassador to the USA from Israel,  visited him he was operated on for gallbladder and kidney problems that still exist.  His wife is very worried.  This is a humanitarian disgrace.  She has asked for his release after all these years as he is a sick and nondangerous man.  The Obama administration has been pleaded with by Israel, to no avail. 

Biden became quite angry when approached about freeing him. He was heard to say, "over my dead body!" It looks like this Catholic is a man without compassion, even though a priest was in favor of it.   Why is it that our administration is so adamant about this one person?  When Obama was stumping for president 4 years ago he was supporting Pollard's cause for freedom.  They are not treating him like our spy was treated by Russia.  Even there, Powers only had to serve in  total  ten years whereas this mild clerk was given life.  Was it because he was Jewish?  Is that what gets Biden's ire up? 

I keep hearing stories about how our government has been so careful about not affronting Muslims, and yet one Jewish person is treated with malice.  It's not fair at all, and gentlemen, I notice the difference.  It's time Obama shows he has some sincerity and freedom from hypocrisy and gives up Pollard before he passes away. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_U-2_incident
http://jewishfactsfromportland.blogspot.com/2011/09/whatever-happened-to-jonathan-pollard.html
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/jonathan-pollard-undergoes-medical-operation-as-health-deteriorates-1.376606
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Letters/Article.aspx?id=240582
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=qtjfMjjce2Y




Friday, October 21, 2011

Anti-Semitic Gadafi and the Libyan Jews

Nadene Goldfoot
Moammar Gaddafi was finally killed in his own hometown of Sirte.  Even Sadat of Egypt had called him a madman for his reckless, violent behavior.  He was an extreme anti-Jewish dictator, which prompted the minority population of Libyan Jews to flee.  Today, there are none living in Libya.

Jews had been in Libya since the 3rd Century BCE.  The country became very anti-semitic from the presence of fascist Italians in the country.  Then they were deported by the Germans in WWII. 

He came into power in 1969 when there were few Jews remaining in Libya after being treated so horribly. He turned on them and conviscated all Jewish property.   Many had immigrated to Israel, where 100,000 live  in Netanya today.  The last Jew in LIbya was 80 year old Rina Debach who left the country in 2003. 

One of these people in Netanya, Gita Boaron, claims to be related to him.  She said that his grandmother is her grandmother's sister, thus her father's grandmother is the connection.  She had married the town sheik and then converted to Islam.  Since there is a lot of intermarriage in the USA between Jews and Christians, I see no reason why this couldn't have happened in Libya as well, but I think it's rarer.  Looking at his pictures, he was a good looking man when he was young.  He sure changed in looks as well as in personality as he got a little older.  He was one crazy and dangerous person. 
Here's one very good reason why Abraham and Sarah left Ur.  One's environment is most important when bringing up children.  They are affected by their peers and the culture they live in.  It's almost impossible to teach your values to your children if they cannot see others practicing it as well. 

Gaddafi called his enemies vermin, but it was he who was caught in a sewage tunnel. 

Resource: http://www.neontommy.com/news/2011/10/gaddafi-s-violent-death
http://dailycaller.com/2011/09/12/could-muammar-gaddafi-be-jewish/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Libya

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Anti-Semitism in "Occupation of "Wall Street"

Nadene Goldfoot
Nancy Pelosi and Obama support the Occupation of Wall Street demonstrators.  They have now been joined by Gaza Hamas terrorists who are blaming Jews with their anti-semitic comments by trying to connect Jews and big banks and the Federal Reserves.  Besides that, they're saying that Jews need to be run out of the country.  So now Hamas is hitting at American Jews as well. 

One of the organizers of "Occupy Wall Street" is Kalle Lasn, 69 year old Canadian author, magazine editor of Adsense, and activist  who perpetuates conspiracy theories saying that Jews control America's foreign policies.  "Lasn has been accused of anti-Semitism by members of the media for his self-published 2004 article "Why won't anyone admit they're Jewish" establishing a link between Jewish groups who do not explicitly announce their religion and ultimate control of the United States financial community." Wikipedia on Kalle Lasn. Hey, Lasn, I"m Jewish and proud of it. 

Someone should tell this guy that Jews are less than 1% of the world population.  We're not all in the financial community, like he would like to think.  His type of thinking dates back to Mein Kampf.  Does he realize that it was the actions of anti-semites that kept Jews from owning land and only allowing them to be in finances, a terrible profession and looked down on  for the gentiles, that got some Jews into economic professions in the first place?  At one point the Ottoman Empire actually re-invited Jews to return from Eastern Europe who could help them out of their financial woes.  Oh yes, Albert Einstein was Jewish and an excellent mathematician, but not into banking.  Surely there are a lot of bankers out there who are not Jewish. 

Well, Hamas terrorists.  What kinds of economic situation are you going to begin other than being paid by the UN? since 1948?  You sure destroyed the floral business left for you by Israel when they all departed for the sake of peace that they didn't get.   I think that was one of our worst ideas.   I see Israel has more start up business than most countries.  Israelis use their minds, and what are you using other than missiles, mortars  rockets and slander against them? 

I wonder if these people in tents in the middle of Portland occupying some of Portland's beautiful parks realize that they are being used in such a way.  Their demonstration has turned very ugly. 


Resource: http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/wall-street-protests-antisemitism/2011/10/18/id/414817?s=al&promo_code=D488-1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalle_Lasn

Gilad Shalit Made It Home:

Nadene Goldfoot
Gilad Shalit is finally home after more than 5 years of being held captive after being kidnapped by Hamas.  He showed up thinner and very pale.  His voice was faint and he seemed to have difficulty concentrating.  He shows signs of malnutrition and a lack of exposure to sunlight which would mean having a vitamin D deficiency. 

Before he got home Egypt interviewed him on their TV station which was not part of the bargain.  He was brought by a Hamas gunman belonging to the Qassam Brigade, the military wing of Hamas who was wearing a black face mask and green headband.  I suppose he didn't want to be identified by Israel.   He was carrying his video camera.

The TV interviewer asked a stupid question in that she asked why he only gave one interview while held a captive.  She then ignored the fact that Hamas had barred everyone from visiting him including the Red Cross while he was held.  Unlike Palestinian prisoners, he has been in isolation the whole time.  It was only after this questioning that Gilad got a physical checkup.

Yonit Levy in Israel, an Israeli TV anchor, said she thought the questioning in Egypt amounted to boarderline torture.  Israel will not talk with him about his experiences for the next 10 days.  He deserves a break.

PS:10/18/11 The problem is that Israel is freeing mostly 1,000 murderers for one 19 yr old kidnapped solder of theirs who hadn't done anything except to be a part of the IDF (Israel Defense Force).  Hamas and Fatah are already talking about how they'll kidnap others in order to get back their killers.  It's an imbalanced swap that is liable to cause more harm for other Israelis, but I can understand Israel doing this.  Every mother and father in Israel saw in Gilad their own son or daughter in the service.  Life to Israelis is precious.  They're lucky I was not in charge.  I would have put a chip in every Arab freed, especially the killers.  I would then have some sort of system that would allow me to know when they approached in my vicinity so that I could be prepared and defend myself.  We have chips in our pets so that they can be identified.  It's terrible to free known killers who are anxious to do it again. 

Resource: http://news.yahoo.com/israel-shocked-egypt-tv-schalit-interview-145741250.html
http://www.oregonlive.com/today/index.ssf/2011/10/israeli_prisoner_freed_in_swap.html

Monday, October 17, 2011

Anti-Semitism Found in "Occupations of Cities": By Product of Wall Street Problem

Nadene Goldfoot
ADL reports that some of this occupying of cities by dissidents has been found to be anti-semitic and or anti-Israel in their blaming.  They have found anti-semitic communications and rabid anti-Jewish ravings on internet.  A Russian TV station has been running anti-Israel essays from Arun Gupta, who is very anti-Israel.  Also they have been showing essays of Noam Chomsky, Rashid Khalidi of Chicago, and Norman Finkelstein, whose material was so anti-Israel that he is no longer welcomed in Israel. 

They found information that the Wall Street accusations could have originated by a far left anti-Israel magazine called Adbusters.  Let's say they at least must have contributed to the blame.   The editor is Kalle Lasen.  Right or wrong, what's horrid is that it comes down to putting the blame on Jews. 

It seems to me that anytime there is a problem in the world, we Jews get the blame.  For being less than 1% of the world's population, we seem to be the tiny population that everyone uses as a scapegoat.  It's time that the other 99.5%  start accepting responsibilty for their own messes. 

Resource: http://blog.camera.org/archives/2011/10/occupy_wall_street_protests_an.html

What's Happened to Christians in Bethlehem and Gaza ?

Nadene Goldfoot
Bethlehem is only 5 miles or 8 kilometers from Jerusalem.  Even so, it happens to lie in the Central "West Bank" or as we continue to  call it, Judea and Samaria-the original names of the land.  The Arabs now claim the city as a Palestinian city.  The population is mainly Arab Muslim today.  80% of the population used to be  Christian before 1994, made up mostly of Christian Arabs.  It was in 1994 that the Palestinian Authority was established who took control over these people.  Today the population of Christians is less than 20%.  Now it has become the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestine National Association.  It has become the hub of their Arab culture.  They have taken over the tourism that comes there because of it being one of the oldest Christian communities in the world. 

In 1948 Bethlehem had a population of 10,000. and 7,500 were Christians, 2,500 Muslims.  From 1948 to 1967 it was under Jordanian rule.  In the Six-Day War it was captured by Israel.  In 1968 it had a population of 32,000. 

For Jews, Bethlehem is important as Rachel's Tomb is at the Northern entrance of the city.  It is an important Jewish holy site.  This would also bring tourists who wish to pray there. 

Gaza was taken over by the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas terrorists came into control in 2007, winning over Fatah, the original PLO of Arafat, the major Arab terrorist.  Gaza did have some 3,000 Christians living in this Muslim area, but since their takeover have seen their Christian materials burned, their people assaulted and killed.  In 2007 they numbered 2,000 among 1,3 million Muslims, being less than 1% of the population.  They were made up of Catholic Greek Orthodox and Evangelical Christians, with the Gaza Baptist Church.  It's membership numbered only 150-200 people.      In May 2009 Pope Benedict XVI visited Israel and was approached by Christians about it, but nothing was said.   Many "Palestinians" have entered the USA under Obama, but I have no idea if they were rescued Christinians or Muslims. 

Gaza remained under Egyptian control after 1948.  It was captured by Israel November 1956, but Israel returned it in March 1957 when Egyptians took control again but with the UN emergency Force along the border with Israel.  In May 1967 Egypt had the UN force withdraw leading to the 6 Day War after which Gaza came into Israel's control.   The 1967 census showed 352,260 in the Gaza Strip of whom 172,520 were considered refugees. 

Palestinian Christian Arabs came to Detroit, Michigan after 1948 and 1967's wars.  The majority of the Arabs in this large American city are Christians from Judea-Samaria.  The countries these Arabs came from were Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen mostly.  In the past, Henry Ford's automobile manufacturing used Lebanese labor there.

In January 2009 Obama issued an appeal for $613 million to aid Palestinians in Gaza.  Nothing was mentioned about rescuing Christians and getting them to the USA.  At the same time he issued a Presidential Determination for Unexpected urgent refugee and migration needed related to Gaza not to exceed $20.3 million.  Again, nothing I read showed preferring help for Christians who needed it over Muslims or in even immigrating to the USA. 

By law the USA cannot count people belonging to any religion, though our census was not shy about listing "Hebrew" on the census naming Jewish immigrants. 

Reference: Arutz Sheva, The forgotten Christians of the East by Caroline Glick
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethlehem
Standard Jewish Encyclopedia Bethlehem, Gaza
http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=42133 Christians in Gaza
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/palestinians.asp
http://www.arabdetroit.com/arabamericans.php
http://www.cis.org/articles/2002/back802.html Muslim immigration

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Economics Hitting Jewish Review Newspaper

Nadene Goldfoot
I just received my October 15th semi-monthly newspaper whose headline was: Jewish Review to cease publication.  Their last publication will be Jan. 1, 2012's edition.  Then  my Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon won't be able to post the announcements of our meetings with the topics in it.  Many people probably rely on news concerning Portland's Jewish community as well as what's happening in Israel and will have to find other resources if they care to find out anything.  The Oregonian certainly does not print such things.  The newspaper is from the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland. 

However, the federation plans on sending out an email newsletter detailing upcoming events in the community.  One must have a computer these days, or very thoughtful children who will print and deliver the news.   

The Federation explained that over the past 6 years, they have spent more than 1 million dollars in operation of the paper.  6,000 homes get the paper. Marc Blattner said the paper has lost about $190,000 per year over the past 6 years.   In stopping the paper, they will have about $100,000 per year to fund other things.  Also, there is a new publishing group , the MediaPoort,LLC, that will be launching a new monthly magazine in January about  Jewish lifestyles in Portland that is competition for them.  This would limit their advertisers, which is where money comes from to pay for publishing the paper. 

Portland started with "The Scribe" a Jewish paper, which stopped in 1953. It was a very Zionistic newspaper whose founding editor was Rabbi Johah Wise in 1926.  Beth Israel's Rabbi Berkowitz came on board. 

I remember learning that Ben Padrow was the first editor of the Jewish Review, and a volunteer one at that.  He started with an 8 page paper published 6 times a year. The paper started January 1, 1959.    He was my neighbor when I grew up in Ladds Addition.  Then he was my Speech professor at Portland State way back in about 1958.  His parents had been born and raised in Tel Aviv, and their passports read : from "Palestine."  They had been our neighbors since at least 1940, maybe before.  I played with Joan, Ben's little sister, almost daily. She had the highest IQ that Abernethy School ever saw.  Joan was about 3 years younger than me.  Mimi, their mother,  would always walk over to visit with my mother.  Ben's father was not only a dentist but owned the corner pharmacy and was the pharmacist.  What a brilliant fellow he was. He even scrubbed their huge kitchen floor for Mimi every week. 

Back in 1957 we had 7,892 Jews in Portland.  Half of them were self employed with their own businesses, like my father who had Lincoln Wholesale Meats at that time.  Later he expanded and owned Silver Falls Meat Packing Co.  46% of the Jews were foreign born like my grandparents. 
 
I have a feeling we'll be getting another Jewish newspaper one of these days.  I hope so.  Our Jewish Review only used JTA ( Jewish Telegraphic Agency) for their world news information. they also have some terrific reporters.   Maybe the next paper can present other viewpoints as well.  There is the WJNA (World Jewish News Agency, and the EJP (European Jewish Press, and of course there are the different newspapers that are from Israel as well which are online. 
 
http://www.jewishreview.org/local/50-years-of-the-jewish-review
Jewish Review Newspaper October 15, 2011
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6389/is_3_86/ai_n28720917/pg_5/

Getting Tough to be a Jew in Jerusalem

Nadene Goldfoot
This is the Sukkot holiday period.  For 20 years, Samarian spokesman, David Ha Ivri has been going to the Temple Mount to say a prayer.  This is a big mitzva for Jews to do at this time.  So as not to anger the Arabs who claim the Temple Mount, Jews know not to carry any prayer books.

Sunday,  David went to the Temple Mount in the company of 25 friends and 2 Arab policemen arrested him for bowing down and praying there.  He was in shock.  There were also 2 Muslim Temple guards there who were not incensed and had not done a thing, only these Arab policemen.  In the past 20 years he had been arrested for praying only once before, long ago. 

I wonder about this bowing down.  I've never known us to bow down to anything.  We sway forwards and backwards in prayer, but "bowing"?  We bend the knee in synagogue at the mention of one word, but I doubt if these men were at that point in a prayer. 

My gosh, such silliness; being arrested for praying!  What is the world coming to?  The Muslims sure do have a warped sense of religion. 

Resource: Arutz Sheva online newspaper: 7. Arab Policemen Arrest Jews for Bowing Down on Temple Mount, by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/148783
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydwxy9yqhzM&feature=player_embedded Jews in Israel









Friday, October 14, 2011

Gilad Shalit's Release: Trading Terrorists for Young Soldier

Nadene Goldfoot
About 6 years ago, a 19 year old soldier, Gilad Shalit, was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists.  Israel didn't know if he was alive or dead.  Nobody like the Red Cross could get to him.

Finally a deal has been made and Israel is trading 1,027 Hamas prisoners for Gilad.  Included in the terrorist's number are some 450 terrorists who had murdered Israelis. 

Netanyahu must have had nightmares over making this decision, as it releases potential killers again to be able to strike civilians.  The value of life to Jews is immense, whereas life is cheap to our enemies, considering how quick they are to become walking bombs, or how quickly their parents are ready to sacrifice them for political gains.  Like Golda Meier stated, "when the Arabs love their children as much as we love ours, then there is a chance for peace".  Netanyahu knows that there has been so much pressure put on his government to get Gilad free that he must do this even though logic may argue.

Gilad has been handed over to Egypt by Hamas by having been driven through the Rafah crossing in a black car.  He's not in Israel yet. 

Of course Hamas thinks this is a big victory over Israel and now feel that kidnapping is a working plan.  Moshe Yaalon of Israel said he felt the deal was a "capitulation to terror" which could result in hundreds of murdered Israelis in the years to come.  Hamas "proudly summarized the day and said Israel had promised peace, while they had promised terrorism." I ask how they can be proud of themselves as a people for thinking that. 

Resource: Arutz Sheva  news@israelnationalnews.com  Report: Shalit Transferred to Egypt
http://jewishfactsfromportland.blogspot.com/2010/06/gilad-shalit.html

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Anti-Semitism from Seattle to Sacramento

Nadene Goldfoot 
A US district court judge ruled against  the group suing King County and the Metro Bus Co because they refused to run an anti-Israel ad on their buses in Seattle, Washington.  What chutzpa this group has.  Seattle has already felt the attack on the Jewish Federation office where workers inside were injured.  They knew such ads would only bring on more attacks.

Now we have a white supremacist couple right here in Portland, Oregon who killed  2 family members. David Pedersen shot his own 56 year old father and his girlfriend, Holly, slashed the neck of his 69 year old stepmother for him  and then they came across a 19 year old Cody Myers.  Thinking he was Jewish by his surname, they also killed him with the intention of going on a hunt to kill more Jews  in Sacramento, California.  Before they got there they killed their 4th victim.  David Pedersen, 31 and Holly Gigsley, 24 have been caught. 
Update: 10/15/11 The 4th victim was a 53 year old black man, Reginald Alan  Clark of Eureka, California.  The killings "were part of a mission to further white supremacist beliefs," stated 24 year old Holly Grigsby, held in jail in Marysville, California.  She had gone to high school in Portland, attending Parkrose High.  Now she's up for 4 murders.  Within a month she and her killer boyfriend, David Pedersen, 31, will be returned to Washington for the first two murders.  . 

http://news.yahoo.com/white-supremacist-said-couple-wanted-kill-more-jews-211135650.html
Northwest@StandWithUs.com
Oregonian Newspaper 10/155/11 front page: Suspect:  Myers a 'civilian casualty', A5

Monday, October 10, 2011

Egypt's Going to Heck in a Handbasket: Turning Nasty Towards Christians and Jews

Nadene Goldfoot
This morning's TV news started off with rebellion in Egypt and the Coptic Christians that are being persecuted there that has blown into rioting against their army and everyone is fighting against everyone.

They've also turned against Jewish tourists who have wanted to pay their respects at the Tomb of Rabbi Yaakov and Yisrael Abuhatzeira, the famed Baba Sali, who is buried in Netivot, Israel, a substantial city of 26,700 plus.  Netivot is in the southern Negev part of Israel south of Sderot, which has taken so much bombing from the Hamas Arabs of Gaza.  The Baba Sali was a Moroccan  Rabbi involved in bringing the Jews from there to Israel.   He was a Tzaddik and kabbalist who died in 1984.   The Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt had tried to stop these visitations back in 2009 but Mubarak made sure that Jews could visit there. 

This shows the immense closeness of Israel to neighbors that have had the possibility of being as hateful as the Hamas and Fatah terrorist groups of Arabs.  Now Egypt is actually interferring with the life and livelihood of an Israeli city.  Whoever said that the Muslim Brotherhood was a good force in Egypt?  It looks like their influence has grown towards the violence of their charter that the West was blind to accept as the reality. 

The Egyptians now say that they are identifying with the Arabs calling themselves "Palestinians", and along with that and the fervor of Jew hating we see Salafi Islam rising.   This means their religion recognizes violent jihad and can use it against civilians as a legitimate expression of their concept of Islam.  They're certainly showing this force today. 

The Sinai  has also become dangerous.  This was an area that Israel had given back to Egypt in trade for peace, which we had up until now.    Coptic Christians have been recently persecuted, leading to rioting in Cairo with everyone hating everyone else.  Egypt is a poor country with an immense population.  They must be destroying what little they do have. 

Resource: Arutz Sheva, by Maayana Miskin, Islamist Winds in Egypt? 'No Jews Allowed' at Holy Site

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salafi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_Sali
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netivot

Friday, October 7, 2011

Muslims Stealing Jewish Traditions

Nadene Goldfoot
Jonathan Tobin wrote a great article for jewishworldreview about the Hamas-Fatah Arabs of Gaza and Judea-Samaria protesting that Israel is "Judaizing" its capital, Jerusalem!   They have even demanded that Israel stop all archeological work in the the Old city section of Jerusalem.  Last year they had the chutzpa to say that Rachel's Tomb and the Tomb of the Patriarchs were "Muslim mosques."  They believe that research or renovation projects "reinforce Israeli occupation."  This is so disgusting to me.  Heaven help us if people do not remember that Jerusalem was the city King David, our Jewish king,  established as our Jewish capital about 3,000 years ago in 1,010 BCE.  It's been a Jewish city forever!   We were there and we have never left.  All these years we have had a Jewish presence there. 

Now we have the problem with UNESCO,  which stands for the executive board of the United Nations made up of representatives of 58 nations.  It stands for Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.  They did it.  They actuallly voted to admit Palestine in as a full member.  This is what Abbas wanted and got.  UNESCO's motto is "Building Peace in the Minds of Men and Women."   All I see is that they have built up hatred for their member state of Israel.  There are 193 member nations and 7 associate nations that belong to UNESCO.  Will all these 193 natons vote to deny Israel's Jewish rights?  Can it actually be that they will deny the rights of the one and only Jewish state in this whole world?  For this is the only fact that the Muslim states have against Israel; that and that they are so successful and inventive.  To make peace the Muslims cannot bring themselves to recognize this one Jewish state and that it has a right to exist. 

The USA voted against doing this and Obama is to give his veto.  This is to come up as a vote to be finalized in the UN's full membership later this month.  If we fail to stop it and we remain in UNESCO, it will be illegal.   UNESCO is a center of anti-Israel behavior and thinking already due to their high membership of Muslim nations who do nothing but hate Israel and Jews. 

The history I have discovered is that Mohammad was an illiterate man in Saudi Arabia and used to listen to stories from the Torah being told orally by Jewish people in the city he lived in.  He wanted to be from a people of the book also like the Jews and the Christians.  He went on to finally create his own version, taking stories he had heard from Jews but inserting his own version to fit his people, like changing the names here and there.  Now the Muslims are stealing Jerusalem's past and making it theirs!  Jerusalem has no place in their Koran except for Mohammed going to heaven from there on his horse.  Their holy place is Mecca and Medina.  This is just a ruse to take land, the site of our most holy city. 

When you get right down to it, all the Jews living in Eretz Israel before May 1948 were called "Palestinians" along with any Arabs living there as well.  This was due to the renaming of the land by the Romans, and the name remained during the Ottoman Empire days.  By teaming up with the Germans, the Ottoman Empire fell at the end of World War I, and that's why the British were given the mandate to oversee the land and decide what to do with it.  It looks to me like they are still practicing Hitler's theory of telling a lie so much that people will eventually believe it.  Yes, Mahmoud, Jerusalem is a  Jewish city.  Get used to it. 

The USA has put a lot of money into UNESCO , and in these days of trying to recover money being wasted to improve the national budget, this money may be cut off to both the Arabs calling themselves "Palestinians" and the UN over this statehood of Palestine.  Obama and Clinton may want to remain in the group but the law is quite clear.  The USA" must withdraw from any group that offers "full membership as a state to any organization or group that does not have the internationally recognized attributes of statehood."  USA money makes up 22% of their funds. 

Hani al-Masri, writer, called Washington's blocking the UN recognition of Palestine "an act of aggression."  I wonder what he calls the decades of shelling Israel by Hamas?  Now that's real aggression. 

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1011/tobin100711.php3?printer_friendly
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/about-us/
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/10/06/international/i000842D61.DTL

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Russian Jews Get the Blame For Provoking Arab Attacks in Israel


Nadene Goldfoot
Yossi Klein Halevi recently wrote:   Perhaps the most bitter moment of this bitter week was provided by Bill Clinton, precisely because he’s a friend "Clinton  blamed the one million Israeli citizens who came from the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s. “You’ve had all these immigrants coming in from Soviet Union, and they have no history in Israel proper, so the traditional claims of the Palestinians have less weight with them.” "

What Bill Clinton doesn't understand about Israel is this is exactly what the purpose of Israel is all about.  It was to be a place where Jews that had been persecuted could come and live, at the time of creation in 1948, now and in the future-G-d forbid that there will continue to be this need.  Jews in Russia are just as Jewish as Jews in Israel or anywhere else.  They had not been allowed to practice their religion under USSR dogma.  Many were put in jail for doing so.  Synagogues were closed. 

I met many Russian Jews ins Israel when I made aliyah in 1980.  I was in a teaching program with them to teach English, of all things.  They had been teaching English in Russia.  We went through a 10 month training program together to learn Hebrew and teaching skills for Hebrew speakers to learn English.  My Hebrew teacher was a very famous lady who not only was the author of the two books we used but  had been corresponding with Russians secretly and teaching them Hebrew through the mails.  They were intent to learn Hebrew well and the political facts going on in Israel.  Russians embarrassed me and other Americans by learning Hebrew so much faster than we were.  Studying languages was something they all did in Russia whereas we are English centered and many do not learn other languages.  They knew exactly what to do to study.  Their English was usually lousy, but they certainly could pick up languages easily. 

There were programs for them to learn about their Jewish religion.   I remember Passover there.  We were in a very large dining room.  Russians were given the Hagadah in Russian and Hebrew.  Truly, it was the return of exiles to Israel as having been prophesized.  I guess the Clintons hadn't heard about this. 

My own ancestry is that  my father's parents were born in Lithuania.  Grandfather was from Telsiai and Grandmother was from Lazdijai, Suwalki.  We have distant ancestors who were related to the Vilna Gaon, a very famous Rabbi in Lithuania.   This was part of the Pale of Settlement, a section of Russia  where Jews were forced to live.  You had to have a special pass of importance to enter the mainland of Russia. 

Russian Jews were involved in the First Aliyote to "Palestine" in the 1800's and before that in 1808.  There are many Russian Jews who carry the J1 dna haplogroup showing that they are from the Cohen line of Aaron and Moses, and are Cohens, first to be called to the bimah to read from the Torah.  In fact, I just helped a relative of a cousin check on his dna who was a Cohen but not by surname.  He turned out to be a J1, just as I predicted.  His family came from the Ukraine, another place in the Pale of Settlement.
Hillary, Bill's wife, is adamant about not recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which to Israelis, it is.  Jerusalem as been in our religion since King David made it his capital.  There is nothing about Jerusalem that says it is a part of importance in Arab history other than they have built a Mosque over the site of the First and Second Temples of Jewish history-most likely on purpose.  Arab empires have come and gone in Zion but have never been a country, only overseers.  They just trampled over it and it became wasted.  Because Mohammed happened to go to heaven on his white horse from Jerusalem is not enough reason to give away the whole eastern section as a capital for Abbas's Palestine. 

We know now that Abbas has not been serious about making peace with Israel.  The goal has always been the one stated in 1948, to drive Israel into the sea.  They have ignored many chances to make peace and have their own Muslim state, but they won't recognize the already created Jewish one and plan to take it over by bringing in millions of Muslims.  If Hamas started hammering Israel in the 1990's, this doesn't mean it's because of new Israeli immigrants,  They weren't even the orthodox Jews who were living in Judea and Samaria.  They settled in Tel Aviv.  They were used to culture.  This is what Israel is all about. 

I think it's out of line to blame the Russian immigration to Israel for causing any political problems involving the Arabs.  Good grief, those that were able to get out felt so lucky to do so.  It had been a nearly impossible endeavor for many.  I do wish that people in government, when dealing with foreign countries and are deeply involved in their existence would study in depth about the history of that country first before making such contrary statements.  Not only does it show their level of stupidity to many of us, but shows they are not really capable of making serious decisions. 

Bill Clinton went on to mention the "traditional claims of the Palestinians".  I'd like to know what those are.  Hamas and Fatah have been so busy trying to destroy any Jewish connection to Jerusalem and the land and ingraining their shaky connections that this traditional claim depends so much on the source of the claim.  As Reed College in Portland, Oregon has aways taught, "what's your source?"   I would like to see the Clintons  take a class that Netanyahu would validate  to learn some real Jewish history.  I would even suggest using some of Abba Eban's work.  Has Bill ever read Joan Peters "From Time Immemorial" ?  She's not even Jewish.  That is a must. 

http://www.tnr.com/article/world/95356/un-general-assembly-obama-clinton-abbas-netanyahu-israel-palestine  by Yossi Klein Halevi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_of_Settlement

Monday, October 3, 2011

Assyrians Wanted the Land of Zion and What Happened to Them


Nadene Goldfoot                                      

Isaiah said that a Jew can only know himself through his Judaism and his past.  He felt that the great majority of Jews are ignorant of the ideals of their faith, their scripture , their Sacred  Language and the story of Israel.  "My people doth not consider.  But Israel doth not know!"   Here is some of our ancient history. 
                                                    

The Assyrians coveted the land of Zion and finally took it. In these ancient days the way an empire financed themselves was to take over other countries.  They didn't need the land for their population to expand and live in.  They just wanted what it possessed.  The people in these lands were seen as potential slaves.  Who didn't need help in cooking and cleaning and tilling the ground?   "Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727 BC) initiated a renewed period of Assyrian expansion; Urartu, Persia, Media, Mannea, Babylonia, Arabia, Phoenicia, Israel, Judah, Samaria,  Nabatea, Chaldea and the Neo-Hittites were subjugated, Tiglath-Pileser III was declared king in Babylon and the Assyrian empire was now stretched from the Caucasus Mountains to Arabia and from the Caspian Sea to Cyprus." Wikipedia  This is when many of the 10 tribes of Israel were taken away. 

The Assyrians were a Semitic Akkadian Kingdom in existence from the middle 23rd Century BCE to 608 BCE.  It was on the Upper Tigris River in Northern Mesopotamia, which would have been the area Iraq is in today.  It is no longer in existence, but its people can be found as the Christians in Iraq, NE Syria, SE Turkey, and NW Iran.  It was an earlier home to a Neanderthal culture.  This is thought because of remnants of Neanderthals were found in the Shanidar Cave.  Usually we have been told that Neanderthals were only found in Europe. 
                                                    

Once there were two Jewish kingdoms; the Northern kingdom of Israel and the Southern kingdom of  Judah.  They had been one nation, but were divided in 933 after the death of King Solomon, King David's son.

 Israel fell first in about 740 BCE and Judah was left. Judah was a poor and less important state compared to Israel.   Israel's people were deported.  This deportation method was practiced by many cultures upon taking a land.  Isaiah tells about the fall in 721 BCE. Isaiah, a major prophet,  was the son of Amoz and  lived from 740 to 701 BCE.    The wild Assyrian soldiers had ruined the land.   27,290 people were deported from the capital city, Samaria. Samaria had been a city of great strength and beauty situated on a hill overlooking a rich valley. It had become the capital of Israel by King Omri who reigned anywhere from 888-876 BCE to 880-869 BCE. 

Judah's  wall around Jerusalem had managed to keep out the Assyrian expansion in 701 BCE However, large numbers of captives were again taken and deported by the Babylonians in 597 BCE, 587 and 582, this time from Judah.  The Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar II (604-561 BCE) inherited the Assyrian Empire and after his conquest of Judah (597, 586), exiled many Jews to Babylon. 

Jerusalem was the capital, captured by King David in 1,000 BCE and the 1st Temple was built by Solomon there in 900 BCE.  It was destroyed by the King of Assyria in 700 BCE.  Then the 2nd Temple was built over it and was totally destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE.  Today the Al-Aqsa Mosque sits over the site of the Temple.  All the Jews have left is the Western Wall.  The Assyrians had overrun Judah and took Jerusalem.These barbarian enemies claimed to have captured 46 cities of Judah.  The Jews later found good living in Chaldea and had homes and land as well as their own government by the Elders under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar.  Chaldea was a small territory in Southern Babylonia, which would now be Iraq. 

The leaders of Judah had done the unforgivable in seeking an alliance with Egypt in order to fight off the Assyrians.  Egypt did promise to help  them in rebelling against Assyria and Babylon but failed at the critical hour to redeem her promise.  This is when Jews of today remember this fiasco with the Fast of Gedalia.  Jeremiah wrote about this when he had advised not to seek out Egypt's help and his own people forcibly took him there where he died.  Jeremiah had been born in 650 BCE when Josiah was king of Judah. 

In 620 this prophet saw Nineveh, the capital of the new Assyrian empire fall.  It was built from 1100 BCE .  The Assyrian Empire fell in 606 BCE.  Josiah died in 605 BCE.  Then the Persian conquered Babylon and Cyrus the Great gave permission to the Jews to return to Judah and rebuild the Temple in  537 BCE.  40,000 were thought to return. 

The Assyrians had left a garrison in Judah. The Assyrians had to leave it as the Persians attacked Babylonia and soldiers were needed there.   However, Jerusalem was said to have become so deserted and forsaken that grass and boughs were growing in the streets where cattle grazed.  The people left there were people of no understanding.  This may have been said because the elite, which would have also included educated people had been taken away. 

Babylon was about 600 miles away as the crow flies.  Jews deported to there must have had to walk all the way, which would have been horrible.  I think of the Trail of Tears, a  forced relocation of Native Americans in the United States when the Cherokee, Muscogee, Seminole and Choctaw  Indian Nations were forced to walk  2,2,00 miles to Oklahoma; men, women and children in 1830 CE.  Not all made it.  Such a long walk caused them to suffer from exposure in cold weather, disease and starvation.  Out of just the Cherokees that numbered 15,000, 4,000 died on the trail.  It must have taken the Jews and Assyrian army at least two months to get to Babylon.  The walk to Babylon from Judah happened about 2,733 years ago and though it was a shorter trek, could have been deplorable at that.  Lions prevailed in the area as well as other predators.  Being they were captured people, would not have been able to carry their bows and arrows for protection.  Their lives were at the mercy of their captors. 

Assyria, from 20 century BCE had expanded rapidlly in the 13th and 10th centuries.  Then it had declined rapidly after King  Manasseh of Judah 692-638 BCE was exiled to Assyria in 652 BCE and Assyria was succeeded by Babylon.  King Manasseh, who became a king at age 12 taking over from his father King Hezekiah, was thought to be Judah's worst king.  He had introduced pagan practices.  People figured that the destruction of the Temple was his fault.  It is thought that his pagan innovations were the result of Assyrian pressure. 

Abraham and Sarah had come from Ur, which was in the Chaldees.  The Chaldees was the Babylon area.  He had migrated to Canaan, probably on a camel, and then his descendants had to walk back there again.  The Babylonian exile lasted for 70 years. 

600 years later in 70 CE, Jerusalem fell to the Romans.

Resource: Pentateuch and Haftorahs by Hertz
The New Standard Jewish Encycloopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_of_Tears
http://jewsandjoes.com/history-and-timeline-of-israel-and-judah.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaria
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omri
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_in_Jerusalem
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Temple
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaldea

Sunday, October 2, 2011

What Happened When the First Temple Fell to Nebuchadnezzar: Today We Remember: Fast of Gedalia

Nadene Goldfoot
Judaism contains many holidays commemorating periods and events of our history.  That's why we know our history so well.  Today is a special day to recall an important event which is called "The Fast of Gedalia".  Since this is a sad remembrance, fasting is done.

The first temple was destroyed 2,500 years ago, and the Jews were exiled to Babylonia by Nebuchadnezzar, the conqueror.  He did finally ease up his thinking and allowed some Jews to remain in their land.  He even appointed a good Jewish man, Gedalia, to be the administrator of the territory.  In time some Jews were able to return.

One day Yishmael ben Netaniah, a rebellious sort, who was still angry about the King of Babylon having taken his family and neighbors away, rose up and killed Gedalia, who was the closest he could take revenge on.  This happened on the 3rd of Tishrei, which is today.

The people were frightened that because the administrator had been killed, Babylon would again attack the people, so their first thought was to hide in Egypt.  At the time Egypt was a morally corrupt society, and Jeremiah, the prophet and advisor did not want his people to go there.  The Jews asked his advice which was to stay calm and remain and that Babylon would just send someone else.  This didn't set well with the people who were sure they would seek revenge for Yishmael's act, so they all went into Egypt.

A few year later, Babylon conquered Egypt and in doing so killed tens of thousands of Jews.  Somehow, Jeremiah survived the attack.  We have learned quite a lesson from this episode and that is to trust in G-d.  The people had just not been ready to completely do so.  "No matter how far away you are, you can return and God will forgive you", is another lesson we learn from this story. 

Resource: http://www.aish.com/h/hh/rh/guide/Fast_of_Gedalia.html

How Israel Came From Judea and Israel

Nadene Goldfoot
Los Angeles County, California has a population of 9,818,605 as of the 2010 census.  Israel now has a population of 7,797,400, including all of Jerusalem.  Therefore, Los Angeles County is bigger by 2,021,205 people, which is about the population of Houston, Texas.   Of that number, 5,874,300 in Israel are Jewish with 20.5% of the population being Arabs with 1,600,100 people. 

70CE saw the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans.  In 132CE the Jews had a leader, Bar Kochba, who revolted, and when he lost the fight  against the Romans, many of his people fled or had been forcibly taken away into slavery. At this time the population numbered 3 million according to Dio Cassius' writings. In 1785 Constantine Francois Volney described the ruined and desolate country. Alexander Keith wrote 60 years later that the land had not fully reached its last degree of desolation and depopulation. 

This land of Palestine was not a country.  It was merely a name for part of the Ottoman Empire that was originally called Judea, Israel, and Samaria given in 135 by the Roman Emporer Hadrian as Palaestina  to de-Judeaize the land.  They had even changed the name of Jerusalem to Aelia Capitolina.  "To claim that Palestinians are the original people of Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel) is not only against secular history but also against Islamic history! "

Jews living in the land were poor and remained mostly in Jerusalem. Joining them were about 500 Jews from Lithuania under the Vilna Gaon in 1808 and again with Menachem Mendel of Shklov, Lithuania in 1809. They settled in Safed, Tiberias and Jerusalem and formed the basis of the Ashkenazi Jewish communities.

In 1835 Alphonse de Lamartine wrote of not seeing any living object outside the gates of Jerusalem and that it was all like a tomb. Mark Twain in 1867 wrote a travel-guide calling it a desolate country with the ground full of weeds, desolation and never seeing a human being on the whole route. He hardly saw a tree or shrub anywhere, even olive and cactus were but few in number. "Palestine sits in sackcloth and ashes." "Palestine is desolate and unlovely"... Evidently the Jews from Lithuania, divided in three different areas were not noticed.

In 1847 a Jewish visitor made a pilgrimage to Palestine and reported the sorry situation and that his fellow Jews seemed conditioned to their plight because they had no protection and were at the mercy of policemen and the pashas who treated them as they wished.  They paid many taxes every now and then.  They had property but it was not at their disposal and they couldn't complain about any injury for fear of the Arabs' revenge.  Their lives were at stake and subject to  daily danger of death.  March 1949 did record a complaint from a Jew of being assaulted and stabbed by a soldier while his house was searched and his females beaten.  This all was able to happen because the land was in the hands of the Ottoman Empire. 

Then, the 1st Aliyah of Jews from Russia came later in 1881-1882 and continued in successive aliyote till 1903, which meant the arrival of between 25,000 to 35,000 more Jews. These are the ones who attracted Arabs looking for jobs.

2,000 years of wandering in other lands after losing theirs resulted in being subjected to pogroms in Russia and being kept on the Pale of Settlement of Russia while not being allowed into other parts of it and anti-semitism in them all.  Jews living in Arab countries were considered as dhminnis, or 2-3rd class citizens.  Finally in 1948 Israel was declared a state through the U.N. In 1948 there were 806,000 residents in Israel. Fighting occured before and after the announcement. 

All this time of 63 years hence Israel has been attacked by the Arabs.  Israel is always having to fight a defensive war to protect what little land they have.  All this time the Arabs have been offered land for peace to create a Palestine  but the offer has been snubbed. 

With Netanyahu again at the helm in the Knesset, Jews show that they are onto the motives and actions of their cousins, the Arabs. Not only is there an Arab Spring, but perhaps there is also a Jewish Spring as well in that the Arabs have hardened the hearts of Israel who understand their motives quite well, finally. The Arabs are also not finding favor in the eyes of the Israelis by their actions. This business of desiring peace, which Israel favors, is not reciprocated by their neighbors. We have to wait. It just may take the Messiach to bring it about.  There is no purpose in negotiating if the prize does not deliver a proper peace. 

Resource: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Society_&_Culture/newpop.html
http://www.levitt.com/essays/palestine.html
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0763098.html
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090627213016AAGA9bW
From Time Immemorial-the Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict Over Palestine by Joan Peters

USA Froze AID to Palestinians

Nadene Goldfoot
Since August, 1/3 of aid from the USA has been frozen since August, which is a response to Abbas going to the UN in a bid for statehood.  The US Congress put a block on transferring $200 million to the Palestinians. 

The Palestinians think this is unfair.  They're crying that this is unjustified. They are saying that the money was to go to humanitarian and development projects and are calling it a collective punishment.  They really don't live in the real world realizing that the USA is almost bankrupt and that money should be used at home for their own humanitarian and development projects.  The Palestinians were begged not to go to the UN to declare their state without recognizing Israel as a Jewish state.  That would mean stopping the attacks of missiles and mortars upon it.  Money is wasted on the Palestinians as it just goes for these weapons to use on Israel.  No, the Palestinians thumbed their noses at the USA, so they can expect no money. 

Reference: http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=240095