Two-State Solution's Viability: Give Peace a Chance

Nadene Goldfoot
Netanyahu says to President Abbas, all Israel is saying is, "Give Peace a chance."  It's like John Lennon said in his hit song of 1969, possibly  realizing that 1967  brought  about such a definitive  war in the Middle East.  It's when all the neighboring Arab states ganged up together and attacked one very small Israel to drive it into the sea.  To everyone's astonishment, Israel won out against this onslaught, setting the future for themselves with continual problems anyway, but the main point is that they did survive.

Abbas, pressured by Hamas and Iran, no doubt along with the Muslim Brotherhood's dogma, has not been willing to talk to Netanyahu.  I don't blame him.  His defense of wanting outlandish demands is unacceptable to the lifeblood of Israel, who has already gone through the hoops of establishing their state legally through the UN back in 1948 through enough bloodshed.  What Abbas is asking for is the highest most ridiculous price of the shuk.  He wants Israel to step back to the already proven 1967 indefensible borders they had had; free all murderous terrorists, no matter what crimes they have committed, and stop all construction again which would be the second time that Israel has gone along with this demand which led to nothing towards peace negotiations at all.  Israel had stopped for 10 months with the carrot being peace discussions.  It didn't happen.  Again, empty and deceiving promises.

Netanyahu is about to give away the baby for the sake of peace, meaning going along with what they have already deemed necessary, a two-state solution, for this is far better than losing Israel's reason for being in the first place, the one and only Jewish homeland.  A one-state condition would overwhelm Jews completely, just like Lebanon's Christians did.  I see such dangers even for the two-state situation, but if...if...if the Palestinians would see that to live in peace is far superior to live in war and hatred...if they could see that hatred eats up their well being and shortens their life anyway, without the help of bullets....if they would only give peace a chance....I suppose Netanyahu thinks it could be.

For those of you who are against an established religion to be part of the democratic framework of the constitution of a state, Israel's creation is the result of not being accepted in all the other countries of the world since the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE  who do happen to have an established religion in their country.  For example, Jews had been ousted from England in  1168, 1275, 1290, with a few Sephardic merchants living dangerously there in 1656, and again in 1753, a country with the Christian Episcopal religion as its own.   Now there are at least 300,000 Jews living there which makes England the 2nd largest population of Jews outside of Israel in the world. With such a history, for how long will this go on, we wonder?  Things are becoming bad again for Jews there.

 The USA is one place where all religions are accepted and is  made up of the few remaining  native Americans who were here to begin with and all the immigrants from other countries.  It is unique. It's a stew pot that has been able to blend all these people together into one tasty American flavor.  Israel is surrounded by 22 Moslem states, guided by their own religion. There are 48 Muslim majority states in the world but only one Jewish and very teeny one in the world; Israel.  We are one people who have survived out of all that have disappeared from bible days, and we do plan to continue.

All we are saying....is Give Peace a chance.  Written for the USA and very popular in the 70's, but is so appropriate for Israel and the Palestinians.  How can one listen to this song and not feel the power of this plea?    I was floored with Netanyahu's offer this morning.   Take advantage and make the right decision; not just Abbas alone but all.

Resource: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Subscribe "Netanyahu to Abbas, "Give Peace a Chance" by Gabe Kahn
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Give_Peace_a_Chance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkZC7sqImaM John Lennon, "Give Peace a Chance"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_England

What Happens If Iran Does Get Nuclear Weapons?

Nadene Goldfoot
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has said that if Iran gets nuclear weapons, they will do the same thing.  He told Dennis Ross this back in 2009.  Though Abdullah has heard the argument against such things, he would most likely have to out of fear of a take-over himself.  Riyadh would start a twin-track  nuclear weapons program if Tehran showed they had ambition in getting this for their country.  This is the main reason that our Washington DC government is quite interested in halting Tehran's nuclear program.  Everybody will get into the act.

The USA has talked with Iran for only two rounds, but Dennis Ross, former senior US diplomat,  said they should set a deadline for the conclusion of diplomatic contacts and let Iran know of it.  First off, most people see Tehran leading the talks.  They seem to have dreams of reviving the Persian Empire and controlling the region once more.  This is based on Shiite expansionism and using past history as a reason for their expansionist policy.  They are backing their neighbor's resistance against Israel which gives them the insurance of control over the so-called "Shiite Crescent."  This is only a prelude to what will eventually evolve.

Netanyahu of Israel said on Tuesday that Iran needs to stop uranium enrichment.  They need to then get rid of what they have produced and dismantle the means to make more to assure the world that they had no nuclear weapons project going on.  The people meeting with Iran need to strengthen their demands from Iran .  That's why they have imposed sanctions on them.  Instead, what the talks are producing are more time for Iran in which to work.  They've already received another 3 weeks or so until the next meeting in Moscow.

Edhud Barak, Israel's Defense Minister, said that the Iranian nuclear threat is "a sword on the neck" of the Jewish state..  After they do build it and deploy it, then it's entirely too late.  Israel doesn't have another option to ignore this challenge.

Iranian scientists and technicians are not the only busy people in Iran.   In the meantime, their Shabiha militia group  have been aiding and abetting the massacre of women and children in Syria by supporting the Syrian militia who are doing the slaughtering in Houla.  They have clearly supplied support and training and advice to the Syrian army, who in retrospect is also backed by Russia.  This Shabiha thug force reflects the same force that the Iranians use and have used on their own civil rights protesters. One can remember the march of protest in Iran where a beautiful woman, Nadia, was killed before our eyes.   The White House appears to be most reluctant to repeat their move that they made on Libya.

We need an educated guess as to just how long the window of opportunity will be open.  Some Americans are guessing that Israel will make their move in an air strike before it slams shut. In the meantime, we're at an impasse.  Ahmadinejad won't stop his 20% enrichment program and says he isn't dangerous.  He doesn't believe the West will do a thing about him.

Resource:http://www.aish.com/jw/me/Irans_Delay_Game.html
http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=272064
 Daily Alert:
 Al-Watan-Saudi Arabia, Middle East Mirror, 20 Maya 2012
Reuters-Chicago Tribune
Washington Post
Guardian, UK
AP-Boston Globe
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303901504577462470699064112.html

Warning of Future Anti-Semitic Attacks in Germany

Nadene Goldfoot
Germany's chief of Intelligence, Heinz Fromm has warned us about  the Salafist Muslims who have clashed with  the German police since April 2011.  They   have come into enough  clashes  to make him feel that it's possible there will be an attack on Jews similar to the Toulouse school attack in France.

Germany has 4 million peaceful Muslims living in their country.  Salafists numbering 4,000 have lately been causing problems and have been a  threat to the Jewish population, which in 2005 numbered 115,000. In 2004  there had been 50 anti-Semitic attacks.  Evidently it's getting worse.

There are about 81,880,000 people living in Germany.  It is the 15th most populous country in the world.  The area of Germany is only 357,093sq. km  which is 137,847 square miles.   That is about the same size as Montana which has 147,046 sq. mi or New Mexico with 121,593 sq mi.

That makes a very dense population.

Altogether in our 50 states, we only have about 5 million Jews (about 5,128,000), living mainly in New York and California.  There are about 2.8 million Muslims living in America.
Israel has a population of 7,881,000 with 5,931,000 being Jewish and 1,623,000 Arabs while 327,000 are Christian and other groups.

Resource: http://www.ejpress.org/article/news/58340
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Germany
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_American_state_is_Germany_closest_to_in_size
http://www.ejpress.org/article/news/58340
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Society_&_Culture/newpop.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Jews
http://judaism.about.com/od/jewishhumor/f/jewry_german.htm

Let Us Not Lose Sight Of: Israel: Leaders in Science, University Graduates

Aish.com has come up with some great facts about Israel's accomplishments these past 64 years.
"Innovation:
 Israel leads the world in the number of scientists and technicians in the workforce, with 145 per 10,000, as opposed to 85 per 10,000 in the U.S. More, it has the highest ratio of university degrees to its population, the highest per capita ratio of scientific publications and patents filed, and proportionally the largest number of startup companies in the world. Israelis among other things:

*designed the most impenetrable flight security, and advise the U.S. re: airborne security threats.

*developed the first fully no-radiation, diagnostic instrumentation for breast cancer treatment.

And: *The cell phone, Windows NT software, voice mail technology, AOL’s instant messenger program, and the Pentium MMX Chip were designed in Israel." 

This is just the tip of the iceberg in inventions that help people worldwide.  

Here's the unusual fact.

"Israel accounts for less than 1/1000th of the world's population, and is the 150^th smallest country, yet is a world leader in many areas.

Humanism, Politics, and Culture. Israel is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East where Muslims, Christians, and Jews may vote in free and fair representative parliamentary elections. It also has the highest average living standards in the Middle East. Israel's $100 billion economy is larger than all of its immediate neighbors combined."

It's the only successful state in the area and thus the object of ridicule and hatred by the surrounding neighbors.  I've seen this happen even in classrooms.  The nerd or student actually studying gets teased and beaten up by the bullies.  It's pretty disgusting how success is often viewed.  

Resource: http://www.aish.com/j/f/WouldJew_Believe_Israel_Edition.html

Middle East Cyber Attack: Espionage Worm Invasion

Nadene Goldfoot
Iran delving into producing atomic energy brings to mind the atomic bomb.  Combine that with their constant diatribes against Israel, calling them pigs, lowlife and such, and that they needed to be wiped off the face of the earth gives one the feeling that they really don't like Israel or Jews and really want to do them harm.

Along came the Stuxnet worm virus saving the day temporarily getting into their 16,000 centrifuges and destroying them in these past two years.  It was like a decree from up high saving the day for us all.  Who needs such a malicious threat?  Whoever caused it should be blessed.  Shame on whoever invented atomic bombs in the first place!

A 2nd virus then appeared called Duqu.   It was a virus of reconnaissance. It came about because Iran was dealing with Stuxnet and overcoming it.  They were thus able to plod on with their intentions of needed atomic energy to create some medical tools, as they said, or perhaps it was because they had a shortage of fuel?  

Now that Iran has been making progress in their goal of controlling the world through fear of their atomic capabilities, another virus has appeared on the scene.  It is "Flame."  It has been infecting computers in not only Iran but according to the Oregonian newspaper through the New York Times News Service, Israel right along with Lebanon, Sudan, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.  Chana Ya'ar, reporter for Arutz Sheva lists the same countries only listed the Palestinian Authority of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and Gaza instead of Israel, which is interesting.

What the virus does is it grabs images of the users' computer screens, records their instant messages, turns on their microphones and records their conversations and also monitors keystrokes and network traffic.  So if they're getting into porn, it's recorded!  It's one of the most complex threats ever discovered.  The majority of computers that are infected with Flame are in Iran.

Whoever would think that viruses could save the day.  At least maybe it can prolong the utter destruction of human life and give our leaders a chance to come to their senses in stopping such an eventuality.  Thank goodness for these creative scientists who came up with this preventative cure.

Arutz Sheva by Chana Ya'ar
Oregonian newspaper  May 29, 2012 page A 10: Report:  virus steals information by Nicole Perlroth

Israel: Swamped By Invasion From Africa

Nadene Goldfoot
As dangerous a place as Israel may seem to be to American tourists, people in Sudan and Eritrea, Africa evidently see it as a haven.  Israel has been bombarded with illegal African immigrants who are making up 25% of the population in the southern part of Tel Aviv, a city right on the sea.  In Eilat, a resort town in another part of the sea, they make up 10% of the population.

Israel, however, is not a solution for Africa's poverty, but they have been streaming in over the border with Egypt.  Right now about 70,000 illegals have come into the country.  Israel has given them visas to be in the country.  Unlike other states, they have not stopped them by sending them back or pushing them back over the Egyptian border.  I just wonder if they were helped along with a little push.  For them it must feel like being let loose in Disneyland.

In the past generation, Israel took in tens of thousands of black Jews from Ethiopia when I lived there from 1980-1985. Then Israelis had a chance to get prepared and to know what to do.  First off, most all had to spend months in the hospital and then were finally cleared.  The empty apartments available at that time just happened to be in Safed where I lived.  People set up one apartment as a clothing center, as they came to us dressed in white sheets and barefooted.  They went through a planned education learning Hebrew for at least 3 months.  There was an art show where they showed off their creations.   That involved Jewish ancestors and culture identity.

 Judaism's traditions are to care for the homeless and the stranger and this has the Israelis in great sympathy for the African migrants, but while they can take in small numbers, the rate is up to 1,000 per month and it's out of hand for the tiny country, even being as high as 2,000 in some months.    They cannot care or hire that many people.  This is really just a sudden surprising invasion.

Because these immigrants have no ties or heart for Israel, there have been a large number of rapes and thefts in public areas and on Tel Aviv's beaches which are frightening the permanent residents.

Yet, it wasn't but a few days ago that I read that the USA was coming down on Israel for being racist.  Hardly!  We all know the problems in the United States with illegal immigration coming in from Mexico.  Hasn't Israel enough problems at the moment to not have to hear such outbursts which come from their good hearts of having care for these people?

Note that Israel just hasn't created detention camps for them, camps such as the Palestinians found themselves in created by their own people.   I'm waiting to hear PA leadership  criticized for doing that for the past 64 years. They are used as pawns in a political fight with Israel.   Those who live in Palestinian camps  have been unable to become part of the working population.  .Israel does  have on the agenda some sort of camp for these illegals to live in temporarily.

This is the tiny state where men till they are 55 years of age must spend a month in the army like our National Guard does in the states.  When that happens the wives take over the jobs the husbands had to leave usually, or if unskilled, that job remains vacant till the man returns.  Needless to say, they are not yet equipped to handle this surprise event to meet USA expectations.  Give them a few more days.

This is also a state where every able bodied man and woman has military training and all people are used to watching for suicide bombers and such things, where everyone is everybody's parent and acts quickly.  They are getting riled up as to what has become another problem for them to solve and without outside help as usual, just mouthing off criticisms.  .

Resource: Arutz Sheva news@israelnationalnews.com
Oregonian newspaper, 5/29/12 page A10 Report:  Virus steals information by Nicole Perlroth

Anti-Semitism Prevention in Scotland

Nadene Goldfoot
It doesn't take much to find anti-Semitism crawling out of the woodwork.  Throughout the ages, these people have used all kinds of silly reasons, like a flu epidemic in the city.  "It's the Jews fault," they'd say when less Jews became ill, no doubt because of their stringent hygienic rules of cleanliness.  Now, they find Israel to be ample reason to hate Jews voraciously.  We've felt this type of attack  for the past 2,000 years, but Facebook only gives these hate mongers a new avenue to demonstrate in.

The largest Jewish community in Scotland is the Giffnock community in Glasgow where the largest synagogue is located.   Rabbi Moshe Rubin has been there since 1990 and is from the USA.   Scotland's policemen did not let this situation ride as they have in Malma, Sweden, however.  They got busy and arrested 6 people over horrid remarks on Facebook mocking the Jews of Giffnock, the BBC reported Wednesday.  As I have seen on many sites, they had posted offensive remarks with 1,000 likes, and then were shut down.  Jews were called "scum" to "F the Jewish Zionist", saying Jews have gold-plated Bentleys, etc.  I've tried to dialogue with these ranters on the Malma newspaper website but it does no good except to let others know there's someone who doesn't agree.  As for the ranter himself, he doesn't let facts enter into the stand he has taken.  Unlike a real debater, he never presents the other side, only wants to be involved in throwing the arrows of hatred like "scum."

The police were to be commended showing their community that they will not tolerate hate crimes of any kind.  They are taking anti-Semitism seriously.  Anti-Semitism is spreading along with all types of hatred on social networking sites and is a huge problem.  I've noticed that a lot of the ranting and raving is nonsensical, the style of writing and what they say show a very sick mind.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giffnock_Synagogue
Arutz Sheva http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Controls/SendFriend.ashx?print=1&type=0&item=155904 

IAEA's Latest Report on Iran's Enrichment: Viewing Iran's Growing Progress

Nadene Goldfoot
Iran has raised its potential capacity of making nuclear material.  Iran has put in hundreds of enrichment machines at an underground site, Fordow, claims traces of uranium particles enriched up to 27%.  They had been producing at 20%.  They refuse to halt their activity.

Nuclear bombs need enriched uranium of 90%, but after getting to the 20% level, it's evidently easier to do.It takes the greatest effort to get to the 20%.  That should be the alert red-light sign.  The question is, just how long does it take to reach the 90%?

Fordow also now has a 50% increase by hooking up 368 new centrifuges.  They hadn't yet received material to enrich.  Their stockpile now is at 145 kg from 110 kg of 3 months ago.  So they have been busy enriching their stockpile.

For some reason Iran won't let the inspectors into Parchin, which is also a military base.   Differences still remain on the table where Amano of IAEA is dealing with Iran.  Are they trying to remove incriminating evidence from the eyes of inspectors?  They say they're not trying to make weapons.  They also said that attaining a higher level could happen out of technical reasons beyond their control.  How interesting.

Resource: http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=271473
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47575005 Iran has enough uranium for 5 bombs 

Shavuot, the Dairy Holiday This Year in Portland

Nadene Goldfoot
What a special week-end this is to be!  Sunday is the first day of Shavuot which is a special Jewish holiday commemorating the giving of the Ten Commandments, G-d's revelation to Israel which turned out to be a list  of 613, and Israel's acceptance of the Torah (5 books of Moses).   One thing about our religion, you can't hardly turn around without preparing for the next holiday.  These holidays are all centered around teachable historic events that we are not to forget, and this is emphatically etched into our minds with food.  For Shavuot there are the favorite  dairy products, like cheese blintzes.

The whole theme of this holiday is centered around the fact that the release from physical bondage-which went on in Egypt for 400 years-and the political freedom that is represented by our holiday of Pesach "Passover", does not constitute complete freedom unless it culminates in the spiritual restraints, disciplines and duties represented by Shavuot.  I take it then that we just shouldn't go off the deep end with our basic carnal values but keep the restraints at least of 10 commandments, which is hard enough in our lives. Even those who only expect to keep 7 of them are doing well.  

We are to eat at least one dairy meal during these 2 days.  This may come from remembering that Israel is "a land flowing with milk and honey."  I like the commandment of  "You must not boil a kid in its mother's milk", which is the prohibition of eating meat and milk together in the laws of kashrut (kosher).  Of course a kid was a goat, not your child, heaven forbid!  Here, the meaning is very deep.  It has to do with the unity of the verse and the authenticity of our Oral law as well.  It is also something that gives us pause to reflect the very feelings of a cow for her calf, and that this cow has given us milk for our dairy products and we are not to hurt her feelings by eating her child in that very milk she herself had produced.  It is to give us feeling for all of humanity, not just for animals, but people, too.  As a result, Jews are not big on hunting.  We'll buy  meat preferably from a kosher butcher where animals allowed to us were killed as humanely as possible.  We don't dine on all animals, however.

In the states we also have Memorial Day to celebrate on the very next day, Monday the 28th which of course is the 2nd day of Shavuot.  Already many people here in Portland are driving to the coast to spend a 3 day weekend, prodded by the sun that actually shone this morning without rain clogging up the streets.  . It's a celebration of barbecuing and potlucks.  This commemorates what we used to call "Declaration Day", which was remembrance after the Civil War of the Union soldiers.  It's extended now to all fallen military men and women  in service to our country.  What with the thought of a vacation,  I wonder if people remember or honor the original meaning of this time off from work. There always are organized groups whose duty it is to do such things, however.   .  

Resource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day
Book:  To Be a Jew by Donin

Are Western Appeasers Following in Chamberlain's Folly?

Nadene Goldfoot
One of the things the Oregonian newspaper didn't report to us this morning was that Major General Hassan Firouzabadi, Iran's military chief of staff,  said that the Iranian nation is standing for its cause and that is the full annihilation of Israel.  He said this to a defense gathering in Tehran.  He continued in saying that the world should recognize the dangers imposed by the Zionist regime of Israel and the idea that Khamenaei considered defending Palestine as a religious imperative.  This is the religious leader defending the Muslim Arabs against Israel, who has had to fight since 1948 to keep their territory and not be driven into the sea, a territory that was declared a state by the U.N.  We conclude that if Iran gets a uranium capacity to manufacture nuclear weapons, they will no doubt use them first on Israel.  Persia had once been the Jews' arch foe from the days of Queen Esther and King Ahashueros when Haman plotted to kill all the Jews everywhere.  The ending of that story was that the tables were turned and Haman and his 7 sons were hung instead.

The UN's IAEA went through the motions of doing something to solve the problem by holding meetings in January and February 2012 in Tehran, Iran.  Then they met in Vienna, Austria on May 14th and 15th.  They said the atmosphere was "upbeat."  They talked about fighting cancer, food safety and security, water needs and other applications of nuclear technology.  Their main agenda was supposed to be  over Iran's disputed uranium enrichment program.  This is to be followed up with another meeting in Baghdad tomorrow, Wednesday, May 23rd.

Yukiya Amano, the director-general is the spokesman for this International Atomic Energy Agency  had visited Iran in 2009.  He said the meeting had been very useful.  His job has been to get Iran to allow inspections of a site they suspect has done secret tests for the detonation of a nuclear weapon which of course Iran ridicules.  They're talking about Parchin, which they had inspected back in 2005, 12 years ago.  They haven't even reached an agreement on a framework of the beginning of a compromise where Iran would stop enriching uranium to 20% purity.  In a trade-off Iran could produce their own fuel at a much lower rate which would not be usable for nuclear weapons.  Will they ever reach a compromise?

Look at the Ayatolla's goal in life.  The group is talking to an apocalyptic regime with leaders who believe it is their religious duty to bring in the 2nd coming of the Hidden Iman who plan to not be deterred from their sacred mission.  I ask again, what are the chances of compromise?

As for the United States, their invasion of Iraq is now being held against them as far as being in the negotiating business by Iran.  IAEA must have been a holdout at the time as Iran thinks they are independent of the USA so is going through the motions of bartering with them as if they were in a shuk (open market).  Saeed Jalili, Iran's top nuclear negotiator mentioned that his country was a "serious supporter of global disarmament and didn't want nuclear weapons to be spread about in the world either.  No, of course not, as long as they are the only ones who have them, I imagine.  He threw in that member states should use it for peaceful nuclear technology, but then they won't even go for inspections!  How weird can they get?

People do like deluding themselves as British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain did in his 1938 declaration that he had achieved "peace in our time."  Then the Nazis marched right through Europe and exterminated six million Jews.  Netanyahu said "I don't think Iran is serious about ending its nuclear program.  Iran is "very good" at buying time."  He was speaking in the Czech Republic with 6 other ministers to sign cooperation agreements who will give Israel their support.

What is all this meeting each other doing for Iran's cause?  Giving them time to finish what they have been building.  That's what Israel fears. Netanyahu said that Iran could be using talks as a game where they agree to something but do not do it, or agree to do something that wouldn't stop his own goal of making nuclear weaponry.  It's like a chess game and so far they are winning.   When they say, "know thy enemy, " take it to heart.  I might ask why the newspapers only give us the upbeat side of the story?  Doesn't any reporter on the wires understand Farsi?  Reporters in Israel understand and are not misquoting.

Resource: frontpagemag.com/2012/05/22/renewed-iranian-calls-for-israeli-annihilation/print/
Oregonian newspaper 5/22/2012  page A5 on uranium enrichment:  U.N. nuclear boss makes visit to Iran
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=4388
Update: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/05/21/senate-passes-bill-imposing-sanctions-on-iran/

Israel-Seven Minutes to Prevent Extinction

Nadene Goldfoot
President Obama has two major problems before the elections in the states; oil prices which could affect economic recovery  and Israel's attacking Iran.  It's not good for gathering in the votes.

In the meanwhile, Israel is shvitzing rightly over the fact that it will only will take 7 minutes for a nuclear headed missile to get to Israel from Iran.  Since Israel is obviously the first target Iran would aim at, no one else is really shook up about it.

Decisions in Israel are not made alone, however.  A think tank made up of nine deeply intelligent and mature men who are very serious-minded sit on the country's highest policy making forum, "The Institute for National Security Studies."  Amos Yadlin, head,  is one who was formerly Israel's chief of Military Intelligence with Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.  He spoke earlier this month at a conference of the Washington Institute in Virginia and said that Iran had a sophisticated strategy to get nuclear weapons that was working.  He also was for exhausting all other options before using military strength  but they had to consider realistic facts asking themselves,  which is more dangerous?

        They have been mulling over some  Imperative Considerations.  
Consider: Which is more dangerous all around?  A nuclear Iran or attacking Iran.
Failure to contain Iran now without nuclear weapons created or when they do have nuclear weapons
Iran's possible miscalculations and lack of stability causing the  launching of a nuclear missile impulsively
Huge temptation due to hatred of Israel and the United States
Are diplomatic words working well enough to halt creation of weaponry?
Does Israel of all nations have nothing to worry about when they are 7 minutes away from Extinction?

Former Mosad chief Meir Dagan and former Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin were for waiting and not going it alone but to get the USA to lead the charge if this was the decision.  Yadlin, as head of the think tank,  spoke up saying that they mustn't make media waves by publicly trashing Netanyahu and Barak's Iran policy and painting them like extremists or messianic men.  The think tank is made up of serious men who can express themselves straightforwardly with much integrity and professionalism.   There is much to consider and  lives of a whole nation are at stake and they are not about to go off half-cocked.

Holding off because of  November voting for personal gain does not hold a candle to their possible extinction.  I don't think that the think tank is all that impressed with  the international diplomats' positive outlooks in dealing with Iran.  The decision is in the hands of this rational  think tank and not one person alone.

Therefore, Yukiya Amano, head of the UN nuclear agency, was in Tehran on Sunday with the focus on finally getting an agreement from the Tehran government on terms that will allow the agency to resume investigating whether or not Iran secretly worked on nuclear weapons.  They don't even know and have to barter to get permission to investigate!  No wonder Israel is shvitzing.

Israel was shunned, even by the USA,  by not being invited to Chicago's NATO summit where France is talking about anti-missile defense systems, something Israel is indeed involved with being they are the country most threatened daily in this world and happen to be one of the usual friends invited.  All the 28 member nations and their friends were invited, however.  They should ask Israel how much faith they put in their system and how it is working, but Israel won't be there to ask.  Israel will put their faith where they always have in the past for help, not in fair-weather friends.

Reference: frontpagemag.com/2012/05/21/ex-israeli-spy-chief-backs-netanyahu-on-iran/print
Oregonian newspaper 5/21/12 , AP, wire reports- page A3, A4
Update: 9:22am http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=270875  

Pray At Temple Site and Risk Arrest

Nadene Goldfoot
My 3rd cousin, Stanley Goldfoot (1914-2006),  was a major leader and spokesman  for The Faithful of the Temple Mount or Ne'emanei Har Habayit  in Jerusalem.  They were planning the 3rd Temple.  Jews weren't allowed to get into Jerusalem until after they liberated it in  the war of June 1967 when they were attacked by all the neighboring states.  King David (1,000-960 BCE) made Jerusalem his capital and his son, King Solomon (961-920 BCE) built the 1st Temple which was on Mt. Moriah. It was a shrine for the ark, the sacred vessels and offerings with a court for worshippers.  Jerusalem was captured by the Babylonians in 597 BCE and the Temple was  then destroyed in 586 BCE in the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.  It was rebuilt by Zechariah in 520 BCE.  The 2nd destruction of Jerusalem occurred in 70 CE with the attack of the Romans.  The Romans then built on the site and during the Moslem period a mosque has stood there, the Mosque of Omar.

I have the two page spread  of Sunday, March 6, 1983 in the Jerusalem Post by Haim Shapiro on the group.  In it Haim relates that many Christian fundamentalists in America especially see Israel as the fulfillment of biblical prophecy and are the real Zionists in the US.  They feel we are coming closer to a critical period in history and they want to help the Jews to fulfill prophecies and hasten the 2nd coming of the Messiah.  They are ones that feel that Jews must hold all the Land of Israel besides the Orthodox Jews.

According to halachic restrictions, today many rabbis forbid Jews to set foot on the Temple Mount now though others permit it and regard it as an obligation.  We're not ready for the 3rd Temple yet but are planning for it.  Jerusalem is the very center of Jewish life and it does mean "The Temple."   You can believe that on the day Jerusalem was liberated that head rabbis went to the Temple Mount.  Visiting it has nothing to do with Islam.  It's that today in our state Jews are "unclean" but must first purify themselves in a mikve and remove their shoes in order to visit the site. For that reason they had  stationed a guard at the gate to warn Jews against going in.

Moshe Dayan set the policies, saying that Jews hold the keys to the Moghrabi Gate, and the Moslems hold the keys to the other gates.  Though the site is still held by the Moslems,  it is open to those who wish to visit it.  After a few terrible incidents committed by Michael Rohan and Alan Goodman, the wakf closed the Temple Mount to non-Moslem visitors after 11 am, before only closed during prayer hours.

Which brings us to the present and Jerusalem Day.  Michael Ben Ari, Knesset Member and friends celebrated by going to the Temple Mount and asked to pray on the site.  Ben Ari was really into his praying and threw himself down full length on the ground in prayer.  The nearby Arabs understood that they also had a right to pray on the Mount, but not the Arab security force on the site.  They tried to arrest Ben Ari and two others who were uncooperative.  Ben Ari said he had diplomatic immunity and claimed his right to pray.  They and others had previously explained that going to the Mount was to bring loyalty to "the holiest site in Jerusalem"  It was once the center of Jewish life in the city.

Jerusalem Day will include seeing thousands of people march around  Jerusalem past the Muslim Quarter  in the traditional flag march marking reunification of the ancient capital.

What Stanley Goldfoot went through to liberate Jerusalem was remarkable.  He was the Chief of Intelligence for the Stern Group and played his part.  I met him and visited his home in Jerusalem on Dor V'Dor Street (generation to generation).  He had arrived in "Palestine" at age 18 on a ship that had hoisted the swastika flag, coming from South Africa.  He was an investment adviser, publisher and former Lehi member (Stern Group).  He realized that rebuilding the Temple could be a long-term aim and they didn't know where or when it could happen.  In the meantime, he and his group often tried to pray at the Temple Mount as well.

Resource: Jerusalem Post 1983
Arutz Sheva:   news2@israelnationalnews.com
Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
Pentateuch and Haftorah Chronological Table
Jerusalem of Gold - Yerushalayim shel Zahav -Ofra Haza- with English Lyrics on Y tube and CD's 

Gabriel, An Angel to All Three Religions and More

Nadene Goldfoot 
 The Archangel Gabriel appears to all three religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  He first appeared in the Jewish Book of Daniel around 300 BCE by explaining Daniel's visions.  Here he is a messenger of G-d (YHWH) a way of spelling the unspoken special name for our higher power by using the Hebrew alphabet letters of Yud, Hay, Yud and Hay again.  There is no W in Hebrew. Daniel was a Jewish captive who was taken to Babylon along with most of the best of the men in Jerusalem and had been praying and fasting.  Gabriel is also then mentioned in the Talmud.  His description given is "the man in linen."  He's again in the Book of Ezekiel and this time his role was to destroy Jerusalem for its wickedness and idolatry in the time of the kingdom of Judah.  He would separate the few righteous Jews that would not be killed and would exile them from all the wicked ones who failed to return.  In the Kabbalah, he appears as one of G-d's archangels.  He works with Michael, another angel.  People didn't pray to him directly but  to G-d who answers prayers and might send an angel down as an agent.  Gabriel was the leader of 4 angels and was sometimes referred to as the "angel of the presence."

Christians know of Gabriel through Zacharias, a priest and father of John the Baptist(1st century. CE) .  People were praying and Gabriel appeared, frightening Zacharias who told him not to be afraid and that his wife Elizabeth would have a son and he was to name him "John."  He will be a son that:  will not drink  wine or any other strong drink and shall be filled with the "holy ghost" and that many will listen to him in order to get ready for "the Lord".  His proof was that he told Zacharias he was sent to speak to him and that from that moment on Zacharias would not speak until the baby was born because he didn't believe him.  Gabriel also tells of the birth of Jesus.  Catholics refer to him as Gabriel the Archangel.

The Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormons)  believe that Gabriel lived a mortal life as the prophet Noah.  They regard them as the same individual with Noah as the mortal name and Gabriel being his heavenly name.

For Islam, Gabriel had an even bigger job.  He is the angel that revealed the Quran (Koran) to the prophet Muhammad (570-632 CE ) and also told other prophets what their obligations were.  His name appears many times there.  "Who is an enemy to Gabriel!  For he it is who hath revealed (this scripture) to thy heart by G-d's leave, confirming that which was (revealed) before it, and a guidance and glad tidings to believers.  He's also mentioned in the Hadith of Gabriel where he quizzes Muhammad on the core tenants of Islam.

 Gabriel is also in the Koran with Mary where it says that "And mention, (O Muhammad), in the book (the story of) Mary, when she withdrew from her family to a place toward the east.  And she took, in seclusion from them, a screen.  Then We sent to her Our Angel, and he represented himself to her as a well-proportioned man.  So here we have the Mary and Joseph story written in the Koran.

Jewish tribes lived in Mecca and Medina after 70 CE when Jerusalem fell.  They had been taken away as slaves before that at the fall of the first and 2nd Temples and may have entered the land then as well.  Both people to become Christians and Muslims were exposed to a Jewish culture and learning this way.

Additional:4/16/14  In LDS (Latter Day Saints or Mormons) theology, Noah was also known as the angel, Gabriel.  They also believe that the angel Michael was Adam, the first man.  The Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith, taught that Noah stands next to Adam in authority and in holding the "keys of salvation."  They believe that Noah was a 2nd Adam given the job of repopulating the planet.  The flood was to them a baptism of the earth.  They teach that North and South American continents became a choice land after the flood waters receded (Ether 13:2).  They teach that Noah was ordained as a priest by his grandfather, Methuselah when he was 10 years old (Doctrine and Covenants 107::52).  They believe that Noah was already a Christian and was teaching faith in Jesus Christ, repentance and baptism to his peers.
.
Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel
New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
http://www.jewishjournal.com/jews_and_mormons/item/why_russell_crowe_should_play_a_mormon_noah by Mark Paredes

A Slap in the Face from NATO

Nadene Goldfoot
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO is having a summit conference in Chicago on May 20-21.  It has an outreach program with 7 friendly nations including Israel besides dozens of others.  Thirteen of these nations have been invited to Chicago but not Israel.  Why?  Israel is being snubbed!  Even the USA blocked their invitation!  They have a weak excuse, something like it's because Israel is not in on the war in Afghanistan.  Are the 13 others that have been invited?

NATO has 28 members in this North Atlantic Alliance who are Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Rep., Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, UK and USA.  

They have partner countries.  Their Mediterranean Dialogue Countries consist of:

1. Algeria, -99% Sunni Muslim

2. Egypt, -90% Sunni Muslim

3. Israel,   80% Jewish 20% Muslim, Christians (1.4 million Muslim citizens)

4. Jordan, 95% Sunni Muslim

5. Mauritania, 99.99% Sunni Muslim

6. Morocco  -99% Sunni/Sufi Muslim

7. Tunisia.  -98% Sunni Muslim

Israel just happens to be a key link to the US missile shield made for NATO which Russia is angry about, and are the Israeli navy partners of NATO forces in securing the Mediterranean and Red Seas as well as being in on other important military and intelligence contributions to Western security.  Israel is using a missile shield to ward off many of the incoming missiles aimed at them from Gaza, so would surely be useful in reporting on quality of style, prevention, etc.    

I ask, who has the Moxie out of these seven ?  They're shunning Israel?  Without Israel, I wonder if they're capable of coming up with additional aids in security or any useful ideas.  It looks to me like Israel is a kingpin in this decision-making, a country who they plan to milk out of ideas and contributions but not to be counted as one of the gang.  So Israel hasn't been invited inside the country club.  Well, who wants to be a member, anyway?  

Resource: Debka@thejmg.com Debka newsletter May 18th
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57432583/israel-not-invited-to-nato-summit-in-chicago/

http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/nato_countries.htm
http://news.yahoo.com/russia-threatens-aim-natos-missile-defense-shield-161859267.html
http://www.sdjewishworld.com/2012/05/18/u-s-goes-along-with-natos-snub-of-israel/

Why is Jordan Not Palestine?

Nadene Goldfoot
Jordan is that neighbor of Israel on the east side with  75% of their population of 5,568,565  calling themselves Palestinians who happen to be the Muslim ones.  Remember that before 1948, both Jews and Muslims called themselves "Palestinians."

It's become a joke to think that these Palestinians with their Hamas and Fatah leaders will ever recognize Israel and live in a two state solution  and in peace at that!  Ever since 1948 they haven't signed any peace treaty that practically guaranteed them the moon.  They were the biggest holdouts who wanted all the land, not the responsibility of creating a state-G-d forbid!

The Palestinians have cancelled their treaties with Israel which they had signed where both sides agreed that their conflict would be solved through negotiations and not through unilateral actions.  They want to turn their issue of Palestine over to the UN, so Israel is not bound anymore to these accords.  On the table in the USA is the idea of a one state solution and the question of the fact that Jordan, with their king married to a Palestinian already and with a population where 75% is Palestinian, actually is Palestine using a pseudonym of Jordan.

The British Mandate did weaken and created Jordan through the pressure of Emir Abdullah (1882-1951), who wanted his own state, who said he wanted it as a country for his own  bedouin tribesmen. This is the 2nd son of Hussein, sherif of Mecca and later king of Hejaz who supported Britain during WWI and who had negotiated with Chaim Weizmann in 1922.

 Both Abdullah and Weizmann thought the land had been promised to them without knowing about the dealings with the other.  So Abdullah changed from being a moderate to invading Israel in 1948 along with all the others.  The land was called Transjordan back then in 1921and he ruled his area that was detached from the original land.  Then in 1948 he annexed the eastern part and proclaimed his Kingdom of Jordan.

His grandson,Hussein,  born in 1935,  took over in 1952.  He was defeated in his aggressive attack in 1967 and Israel was able to then govern Judea and Samaria.  In 1970 he expelled the PLO from his country because he had a major showdown in September where many were killed but later reconciled with Arafat and acted like the protector of Arabs.  In 1988 he left it all to the PLO to handle.   Today it is #30 highest  Muslim population size with 5,568,565 population of which 95% are Sunni Muslims.  Islam is the state religion, of course.

Israel has 1.4 million Arabs living in it as citizens with full rights.  If ever a Palestine is created in Gaza on the West and in Judea-Samaria on the East, Israel will be sandwich fodder for a shooting gallery as this would come about without recognition of Israel as a Jewish state with peace.  Israel would be worse sitting ducks than they already are.

The goal of Hamas-Fatah is to ethnically cleanse Palestine of any Jews!  How Democratic can you get!  This amounts to the expulsion of about 675,000 Jews from their home in Judea, Samaria and EASTERN  JERUSALEM because they are Jewish.  All this can come about with Arab pressure through the UN.

What's most irksome to me is it's not like these places haven't been home to Jews before.  They amount to our ancient homeland, land with archaeological evidence and memories.  We've got our stamp on it.  That was to be part of the Jewish Homeland decided at the end of WWI.

US Congressman Joe Walsh has put the bee in Netanyahu's bonnet to give up on the two-state solution and go for one state by applying its sovereignty to Judea and Samaria, but I see he has a newly formed government and is again approaching the PA to sit down and talk turkey.  Do you have the Champagne bottle handy?  I agree with Walsh, but it would be like hitting the hornet's nest with a stick right now.  We're not all at the level of Dr. Spock and his rational thinking.

So far, 680 missiles, rockets and mortars fell into southern Israel in 2011.  More continue to fall because they feel powerful and are backed by Iran and their brothers.    Wouldn't it be wonderful if a miracle happened and the UN actually told them to knock it off and that they have to behave like civilized people and not solve their issues with power and death?

Resource:  Caroline B. Glick's essay, Embracing dangerous delusions and not our friends through gerardrobins@sbcglobal.net
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-05-17/news/sns-rt-us-usa-israel-irondomebre84g10p-20120517_1_palestinian-rocket-salvos-short-range-rocket-shield-rockets-and-mortars
New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

Iran's Tenacles Reaching into Syria

Nadene Goldfoot
Right now the UN is meeting to discuss how to handle Iran, and it's taking many meetings to decide how they should act about this country's production of uranium enrichment which can be turned into atomic warfare.  While they are meeting, Iran continues to produce freely.

The Iranian army also continues to ship arms to Syria which is in violation of the UN Security Council.  Just this past year 3 shipments are known to have been made from Iran, 2 of which went to Syria and the other to the Taliban terrorists in Afghanistan.  Syria is going through their own Civil War fighting against the autocratic regime of Bashar Hafez al- Assad, 47 year old doctor.  Syria is the 17th largest country of Muslim population with 90% being Sunni and Shi'a with 22,505,000 people.  Their "Free Syrian Army" (FSA) is fighting against the Shi'a Hizbullah as well as the nation's army who remain loyal to their president. Hizbullah is the terrorist organization out of Lebanon from 2006 who are armed by Iran through Syria.   Assad had taken over from his father, and has already run twice and won. He doesn't believe in democracy and hates the USA and Israel.  Don't they all.

Once a long time ago, about 330 BCE,  King Ahasuerus of Persia stopped the plot of killing all the Jews made by Haman.  It was Queen Esther who helped to save her people.  Since the fall of the Shah, Israel has had reason to again be wary with the entrance of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, born in 1902 who made a splash in 1979.  

 For years Israel has cautioned countries about the nuclear ambitions of Iran.  Ali Khamenei, born in 1939,  told the Spanish president in 2000,  Jose Maria Azner,  that Israel must be burned to the ground and made to disappear from the face of the Earth, and he meant it literally. He is the one who endorsed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.   He also called Israel a historical cancer and an anomaly.  Russia wasn't worried about what Iran was up to and figured that Israel would take care of it.

I see that Israel certainly is a threat to these large monarchies.  It's the only democratic state in the Middle East, and is the light to all those under subservience living in such a state.  It is dangerous.  They see Western democracy being practiced and other Muslims living under it and enjoying freedoms they never had.  The United States has also been seeping ideas into peoples heads through music and movies and maybe even "facebook".

The anomaly is that these states are allowing the Muslim Brotherhood to take the place of the dictators.  The problem is that the population is conditioned to be of one mind, to do as they are told.  They haven't learned to think for themselves as we have in a democracy.  They're trading one misery for a worse one.  When you have a dictatorial father, you obey and just learn to take orders and not think beyond the scope.  .

Jews in Israel come from not only Israel as natives or "Sabras" but from all over the world.  They've had exposure to life and have still been able to maintain their religion and culture.  That is indeed an anomaly.  Along the way they've also picked up a lot of facts and survival skills as well.  They bring about competition in fields the surrounding nations have not even thought about.  This teeny country has the sting of bees, but they also produce honey.  After all, Israel has always been the land of milk and honey.  When attacked, they have the audacity to finally attack back when complaints go unheeded.  When treated properly, it is more than reciprocated.  We await the results of the UN meetings.  Is Israel going to be backed and defended?  More than that, will its attackers ever realize that they need not wipe out Israel to live an enjoyable life?

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bashar_al-Assad
dailyalert@list-dailyalert.org of Arutz Sheva
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhollah_Khomeini
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Khamenei
http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/khamenei-vs-khomeini

Anti-Jewish Propaganda Against Israel: How It Is Created

Nadene Goldfoot
Videos have been made to make Israel look like the "Evil Empire" and gullible people fall for them, probably because they want to believe that Israel must be evil to back their own emotions.  Here's a situation where one video  fanned the flames of the 2nd Intifada against Israel. It  started September 2000 and didn't end till about 2005 with continued shelling ever since in which  5,500 Palestinians, 1,100 Israelis as well as  64 foreigners died in this Intifada.   The sad part is that such filming has often been made by Jewish video makers who have taken the side of the Palestinians and who have stooped to make false propaganda against Israel.

I remember seeing this scene on TV.  The Muhammad al-Durrah incident took place in the Gaza Strip on September 30, 2000, on the second day of the Second Intifada, amid widespread rioting throughout the Palestinian territories. Jamal al-Durrah and his 12-year-old son, Muhammad, were filmed by Talal Abu Rahma, a Palestinian cameraman freelancing for France 2, as they sought cover behind a concrete cylinder after being caught in crossfire between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian security forces. The footage, which lasts just over a minute, shows the pair holding onto each other, the boy crying and the father waving, then a burst of gunfire and dust, after which the boy is seen slumped across his father's legs.(Wikipedia) 

Charles Enderlin, a French journalist, with Bn'ai Brith, who has made the film "The Road to Jenin"  helped to publicize this  infamous but discredited video of the "set up" shooting, resulting in death, of Muhammad al-Durrah, Palestinian.  Perre Rehov and Phillippe Karsenty, both French filmmakers, worked to debunk the video.  I'm glad someone was on the ball.  They are independent documentary filmmakers, and Enderlin has found there is a lot of rigging, manipulation and misinterpretation of facts in making this film.  In fact, someone had approached him with the plan to actually kill a child for the sake of a video to make Israel look bad so as to advance the Palestinian cause.  They would also arrange for a Palestinian woman's false testimony for the filming.

It all happened from September 2000 to January 2001.  Participants involved were politicians in Gaza and Druze soldiers of Magen Shaloch who were accused of the "murder" of al-Durrah, but they had never even been interviewed.  False news was spread which caused public disturbances which brought about the shouting on Paris streets the very next day of "Death to Jews!"  As it turns out, a Jewish filmmaker had indirectly been responsible for the deaths of many innocents on both sides because of the rioting and fighting that ensued.  He had bought into listening and believing the nephew of one of the founders of the PLO, Talal, who was a favorite friend.

As Enderlin mentions in a letter that Anti-Jewish propaganda has developed in the world like a virus.  The Muslims have a lot of money and power to back it and he finds that there is little enthusiasm to do the same, nor the time to implement it on the Israeli side.  I think he doesn't realize that Israel is still a state into telling the truth and isn't about to sink to the level of making up propaganda.  Both men realize that the Palestinian leadership and Arab dictatorships have one purpose, the destruction of Israel and that because they have failed to bring it about by force, are now using demonization.

The point of what is happening is that filmmakers may be more interesting in getting a video produced which will be sought after than in producing honest facts.  We cannot even trust videos now days.  The same things are essential in accepting this report of history as with books; who made it, what is their viewpoint, why did they make it, what's in it for them.

This is just like a photo uploaded May 5th that has gone viral going around the web right now of a so-called Palestinian hunger striker which turns out to be a fake.  It is actually a picture of a Moroccan prisoner named "Azzedine al-Rouissi from an Arab country, probably Morocco.  In the picture, the fellow looks like a Holocaust prisoner who is as emaciated as can be.  No, he's not in an Israeli prison.

People that know nothing, read nothing have no background;  going out and believe another's lies without checking facts and then make films that teach hatred and lead to death and destruction must be one of the lowest forms of humanity.  That's what we're fighting against.  This is the era of Photoshop.  We can't believe whether photo or video  is fact or fiction today.  

Reference: http://www.israellycool.com
http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/05/15/viral-photo-of-palestinian-hunger-striker-a-fake-photo/#
http://frontpagemag.com/2012/05/16/an-open-letter-to-a-palestinian-propagandist/print/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Intifada

Celebrating Jerusalem May 20, 2012 and Every Day

by Eliezer ben Yisrael (Stanley Goldfoot)    The thoughts of my cousin in 1969 are still prevalent.  
Stanley left South Africa in 1932 after graduation at age 18 and sailed to 'Palestine"  on a ship that hoisted the Swastika flag in the middle of the ocean.  He wondered if he'd make it.  After landing he was approached by a member of the Stern Group and joined, becoming the Chief of Intelligence later.  Stanley was also a journalist and editor and wrote this letter which certainly has made it around the world several times.  It has also been set to audio/video which moves too fast for me.  These words are serious and are not to be rushed.  
Nadene Goldfoot
                                               Letter to the World                
 I am not a creature from another planet, as you seem to believe. I am a Jerusalemite-like yourselves, a man of flesh and blood. I am a citizen of my city, an integral part of my people. I have a few things to get off my chest. Because I am not a diplomat, I do not have to mince words. I do not have to please you or even persuade you. I owe you nothing. You did not build this city, you did not live in it, you did not defend it when they came to destroy it.

And we will be damned if we will let you take it away. There was a Jerusalem before there was a New York. When Berlin, Moscow, London, and Paris were miasmal forest and swamp, there was a thriving Jewish community here. It gave something to the world which you nations have rejected ever since you established yourselves- a humane moral code.

Here the prophets walked, their words flashing like forked lightning.

Here a people who wanted nothing more than to be left alone, fought off waves of heathen would-be conquerors, bled and died on the battlements, hurled themselves into the flames of their burning Temple rather than surrender, and when finally overwhelmed by sheer numbers and led away into captivity, swore that before they forgot Jerusalem, they would see their tongues cleave to their palates, their right arms wither.

For two pain-filled millennia, while we were your unwelcome guests, we prayed daily to return to this city. Three times a day we petitioned the Almighty: "Gather us from the four corners of the world, bring us upright to our land, return in mercy to Jerusalem, Thy city, and swell in it as Thou promised." On every Yom Kippur and Passover, we fervently voiced the hope that next year would find us in Jerusalem.

Your inquisitions, pogroms, expulsions, the ghettos into which you jammed us, your forced baptisms, your quota systems, your genteel anti-Semitism, and the final unspeakable horror, the holocaust (and worse, your terrifying disinterest in it)- all these have not broken us. They may have sapped what little moral strength you still possessed, but they forged us into steel. Do you think that you can break us now after all we have been through? Do you really believe that after Dachau and Auschwitz we are frightened by your threats of blockades and sanctions?

We have been to Hell and back- a Hell of your making. What more could you possibly have in your arsenal that could scare us?

I have watched this city bombarded twice by nations calling themselves civilized. In 1948, while you looked on apathetically, I saw women and children blown to smithereens, after we agreed to your request to internationalize the city. It was a deadly combination that did the job- British officers, Arab gunners, and American-made cannon. And then the savage sacking of the Old City-the willful slaughter, the wanton destruction of every synagogue and religious school, the desecration of Jewish cemeteries, the sale by a ghoulish government of tombstones for building materials, for poultry runs, army camps, even latrines.

And you never said a word.

You never breathed the slightest protest when the Jordanians shut off the holiest of our places, the Western Wall, in violation of the pledges they had made after the war- a war they waged, incidentally, against the decision of the UN. Not a murmur came from you whenever the legionnaires in their spiked helmets casually opened fire upon our citizens from behind the walls.

Your hearts bled when Berlin came under siege. You rushed your airlift "to save the gallant Berliners". But you did not send one ounce of food when Jews starved in besieged Jerusalem. You thundered against the wall which the East Germans ran through the middle of the German capital- but not one peep out of you about that other wall, the one that tore through the heart of Jerusalem.

And when that same thing happened 20 years later, and the Arabs unleashed a savage, unprovoked bombardment of the Holy City again, did any of you do anything?

The only time you came to life was when the city was at last reunited. Then you wrung your hands and spoke loftily of "justice" and need for the "Christian" quality of turning the other cheek. The truth- and you know it deep inside your gut - you would prefer the city to be destroyed rather than have it governed by Jews. No matter how diplomatically you phrase it, the age old prejudices seep out of every word.

If our return to the city has tied your theology in knots, perhaps you had better reexamine your catechisms. After what we have been through, we are not passively going to accommodate ourselves to the twisted idea that we are to suffer eternal homelessness until we accept your savior.

For the first time since the year 70, there is now complete religious freedom for all in Jerusalem. For the first time since the Romans put a torch to the Temple, everyone has equal rights (You prefer to have some more equal than others.) We loathe the sword- but it was you who forced us to take it up. We crave peace, but we are not going back to the peace of 1948 as you would like us to.

We are home. It has a lovely sound for a nation you have willed to wander over the face of the globe. We are not leaving. We are redeeming the pledge made by our forefathers: Jerusalem is being rebuilt. "Next year" and the year after, and after, and after, until the end of time- "in Jerusalem"!

Stanley Goldfoot

Founder Editor

The Times of Israel

August 1969
Resource: Panorama from another cousin, Denise Bremridge who received this photo from her good friend who was lucky enough to have just returned from Jerusalem.   

Jews Persecuted With Rockets and Missiles Today

Nadene Goldfoot
While we Jews are enjoying our morning coffees and plans for the day safely in the United States, we have cousins living in southern Israel who face rockets and missiles interrupting theirs.  During the past two months 145 rockets and missiles have been aimed and have fallen into southern Israel.  One would be enough to ruin my whole month if not the next five years!  Roughly that means 72 fell in one week or 10 a day!  When does one have time to do anything!   PTSD is becoming prevalent among the children.  It's no wonder.

When the bloodcurdling siren goes off, people have less than 15 seconds to run quickly to a bomb shelter if one has such a luxury.  the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) ,with Rabbi Eckstein's plea,  has donated Fellowship bomb shelters to many places and is taking donations.  Israel hasn't been able to get this done through the state to all places and needs help in this.

I remember living in Israel from 1980 till almost 1986 in Haifa and Tzfat and living in a government apartment building on David Eleazar Street of many stories high that had a bomb shelter in it.  My German shepherd wasn't allowed entrance, though.  Most all buildings were built this way.  I lived on the very bottom floor and had metal bars over the windows in case of terrorists trying to break in.  The apartment came like this.

When I say cousin, I am not theorizing.  In DNA studies, we're finding that we Jews might have a common ancestor if we go back about 5 generations with the same person we are married to if that person is also Jewish.  We're one big family!  Besides these close cousins, I personally am finding a few distant cousins from way back that are from Pakistan and Afghanistan and even Saudi Arabia as well! Finding that we are on the same haplogroup or of the same haplotype (twig off the same branch of the tree of man) is pretty exciting.   That certainly gives me a new perspective on our relatives.  Our extended family is growing!

Now, if we could just convince our neighbors to stop using those living in southern Israel as target practice and converse like our group does in talking about our DNA, life would be much cheerier.

Research: http://www.ifcj.org/site/PageNavigator/eng/USENG_homenew

CUFI Presents Erick Stakelbeck at Portland State U.

Nadene Goldfoot
Erick Stakelbeck spoke at Portland State U. in the Smith Ballroom tonight on current events in the Middle East, presented by Christians United For Israel (CUFI).   He covered the threat of extreme Islam in the USA and in regards to Israel.   He just happens to be an authority on terrorism and on our USA security issues with extensive experience in TV, radio, print and digital media.  That comes from being a correspondent and terrorism analyst for CBN News and host of their weekly program, Stakelbeck on Terror.  He also is one of the people who feeds Glenn Beck information on his GBTV network where he also is a guest and provides in-studio analysis and investigative reports.  His book, "The Terrorist Next Door:  How the Government is Deceiving You About the Islamist Threat" came out on May 2, 2011.  His articles have appeared in Wall Street Journal Europe, Weekly Standard, Washington Times, New York Post, Jerusalem Post, and National Review Online among others. He was an excellent speaker.

The first thing that happened before he even arrived was that last Thursday someone put a swastika over a Star of David on a poster advertising his coming appearance. There are some Jewish students attending Portland State who of course are filled with dread when they see things like this, at least all did except one mouthy gal who yelled at us all who must have been a relative of Finkelstein.   Then every poster of advertising his coming was torn down.  They called him a " racist and islamophobic."  The Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights and AUPHR had organized well.

Josh Ahrens, former president  of CUFI on Campus at PSU introduced him.  He hoped that the audience would notice a difference between love of the pro-Israel movement and the intimidation tactics of the anti-Israel activists.  I sure did.  Right on the dot at 7:35pm a whole group of protesters with their mouths taped shut with bright colored tape walked in as a group.  They had organized a "silent protest."

Erick told the audience the facts of life about Hezbollah, terrorist group from Iran, who have rockets and missiles now that can reach all of Israel.  They continually compare Israel to Nazis and people buy into that concept.  At 8:00pm the silent protesters all stood up together as one and left the room.  Erick had told them he welcomed honest debate, but not name calling.  They really didn't come to hear facts, only to protest anyone standing up for Israel.

Erick continued with his presentation.  He was in Israel, as he is an investigative  journalist, and saw the rockets that had been collected that were shot into southern Israel from Gaza.  Many of course had Arabic writing found on them.  Then there were others with another type of script.  It turned out that the writing was in Farsi- the writing from Iran.  What is happening is that terrorists are receiving ammunition from Iran

Then there's Jordan which is becoming more hostile with a king who is losing control.  Erick recalled seeing both the USA flag and Israel's together on the ground being trampled by the Jordanians.

 How about the 9,000 people already killed in the Syrian unrest?  This Arab Spring is more like an Arab winter.  The regime of Mubarak may not have been terrific, but what looks like the replacement is far worse, for the Muslim Brotherhood has a charter that is absolutely scary, and this happens to also be in the Hamas charter as well. The Muslim Brotherhood is gaining a foothold everywhere, led by Qaradawi, religious leader in Qatar who follows the rule that all Jews everywhere must be killed.  This wouldn't shake me up so much except that the Muslim Brotherhood is welcomed in our White House and touted as a moderate.  What is one man's moderate is another man's awaiting killer, panting for the chance.

 Then there's the old saying from Iran that America is the Big Satan and Israel is the Little Satan.  Erick isn't being cruel or nasty in telling us what has been going on.  One young gal in the front row couldn't take it and thought he was being very mean and hurting the Muslims in the audience's feelings.  She just couldn't understand how he could say these things.  If he were telling lies, that would be different, but what he said tonight I have already said in my blogs in relating the news of the day for a long time now.  For me and others who follow events, most of this was "old hat."  Evidently our protesters don't care.

Maybe Americans will wake up to the realities of our threatened country when they realize that ICBM's that could be nuclear-tipped and will soon be able to reach the East Coast .  Terrorists are known to be trying to target our USA infrastructure.  Iran can  reach to 3 miles from New York City right now.  Iranian terrorists have tried to assassinate the ambassadors of Israel and Saudi Arabia right in Washington D.C.

Something I've written about before was finally mentioned.  Iran is really into the bringing about  their Moshiah and they are doing everything to bring in this 12th Imam.  The more havoc they can make, the closer he is getting.  He had gotten into the bottom of a well, and this will bring him up and then they will conquer the world .

Iran and terrorists have been getting very cozy with some of the South American leaders.  This can give them an opportunity to place their missiles so that they can reach all parts of the USA.  This is figured out from meetings that have been going on between leaders, but also from tunnels along the Mexican border that have been found.  They are so similar to ones in Gaza and from Hezbollah.

Lastly, the Muslim Brotherhood is operating in the United States, maybe much like Communist cells were many years ago.  In Northern Virginia in a sub basement, documents were found.  They would really like us all to be under their law, Sharia, which is not consistent with our USA Democratic laws.  Since this is America, one really must follow our laws when living here.  After all, isn't this why our soldiers have died since 1776?

So tonight we witnessed the extreme left teaming up with the extreme right, and they don't seem to mind a bit as long as the scapegoat is Israel and all the Jews.  It's not just the Jews living in Israel, who amount to almost the same number who died in the Holocaust, but everywhere.  Americans, too, no matter what religion they happen to be that isn't Islam, are also targeted.  After such depressing news given in an overly warm ballroom, we have one uplifting thought.  Read Ezekiel and find out that in the end, it will turn out all right.  Believers know that G-d is going to step in this mess.  It's going to take just that.  It's looking pretty sad to me.
Reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsRMFlZUvVc
http://www.koinlocal6.com/news/local/story/PSU-students-claim-hate-speech-after-swastika/ud7Jt47onUqn8epJUQAWKg.cspx
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/leftist-walkout-protest-against-racist-terrorism-expert-at-portland-state-fails-miserably/

Ahmadinejad Did It Again

Nadene Goldfoot
Ahmadinejad, that old Holocaust denier, who  has threatened to obliterate Israel and likes to call it a "cancerous tumor", tried to show how unruffled he is of the possibility that Israel might try to wipe out his little nuclear program. Both he and the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have been getting into the act.  Khamenei is angry with the US's words about Iran, mainly with Obama's saying that "all options are on the table."  Khamenei  bluffed with saying that the war will be worse for the USA than Iran.

Now Ahmadinejad is saying that Israel is nothing more than a mosquito.  Iran's leaders tell each other these things and then they believe it's true.  He says he doesn't need war to get Israel destroyed anyway.  He's counting on boycotts to destroy them, which is something the West is doing in moderation to Iran to get them to be open about what they are doing.

Amadinejad, after taking office in 2005, said that with G-d, they shall soon see a world without the USA and Zionism.  How nice of him.  Only Israel has taken him quite seriously.  The USA seems to be quite unruffled by his comments.  The only problem is that his comments are followed up by actions that do not look peaceful, like getting to the point of having the capacity to make atomic warfare.

The more nothing is really done by the big powers to prevent a state with a bad resume filled with warlike intentions, the more Israel feels that Iran's intentions could come to fruition.  So far there are a lot of meetings throughout the world.  That might be enjoyable for those attending, but it gives a lot more time for Iran to finish their deadly project.  So far they've met in Istanbul, Turkey which was "constructive and useful." according to Catherine Ashton, chief of EU foreign policy..  Iran will stall with more talks with the USA, Russia, China, Germany, France and Britain, the big P5+1.  They get to meet again in Baghdad on May 23rd.  Before that meeting, they will hold just "discussions" in Vienna, Austria.  They do get around.  I suppose they can take all this traveling off of their income taxes as well.  They don't seem to be in a hurry and meet the time limit of the "window of opportunity."

Amadinejad refuses to admit there was a Holocaust that slaughtered 6 million Jews and Israel has no intention to allow that to ever happen again.  When a country's political dealings consists of outright hatefulness like Ahadinejad has for Israel,  you have to beware. The heads of this country are radical fanatics.  We know what the world is capable of.doing.

Resource: http://www.aish.com/sp/so/70138567.html

Egyptian Islamists Attack Egyptian Army

Nadene Goldfoot
An extremely important neighbor of Israel is Egypt, and what goes on there always affect them.  Right now Islamists in Egypt are trying to overthrow their own country's army.  At least we are to learn that not every single Egyptian is favoring a Sharia rule in their country.  The Egyptian army has been very popular, and it is they who are now under attack.

Last week the extreme Islamic group of Salafi lost out in the presidential elections coming up the end of this month.  Abu Ismail was not very happy about being disqualified among others, so his cohorts started the Jihad slogan chanting while getting ready for a Million Man protest they had last Friday on the 4th.  It was an Islamist protest and not a general demonstration.  Leading the protest was someone just released from prison, Muhammad al-Zawahiri, brother of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

They're calling for Jihad against their own people and have been attacking Egypt's own soldiers. This was not a good move as the army holds a special, respected pace in Egypt, and they wound up killing one of the soldiers.   A news anchorwoman asked who they were liberating Egypt from when she heard their cries of "Alahu Akbar and Jihad!  Jihad!  and read banners carried that said, "Victory or Death!"   Many see  the Muslim Brotherhood, Salafists and others as Islamists  touting the same philosophy.  They're all against Israel.  Hopefully, an Islamist president will not be running who will bring "more chaos and oppression" to their people and hatred for Israel,  ready to break the peace pact we have with them.  .

At the beginning of the Arab Spring, I was afraid that the Muslim Brotherhood would gain all the power as they were said to be the best organized.  It looks like they've angered most of the Egyptian people.  It would be a shame for Egypt to lose tourism from Israel.  One thing I enjoyed while living in Israel from 1980 to the end of 1985 was being able to watch Egyptian movies on Israeli TV.  You get to know a people a little better this way.  Who wouldn't like to watch a film with Omar Sharif?

Resource: frontpagemag.com/2012/05/10/jihad-comes-to-egypt/print 

Lag B'Omer Holiday Tomorrow

Nadene Goldfoot
Long ago in the 2nd Century CE, there was a horrible plague that hit the pupils of Rabbi Akiva, who lived from 50 CE to 135 CE, a mystical rabbi. It is said that no rabbi of the talmudic period made a more profound impression on Jewish history and on the imagination of the Jewish people than this rabbi.

  It finally ended on the 18th of the month of Iyyar, which is tomorrow.  This also is in the period of "counting the Omer" and happens to be the 33rd day of counting this, which goes on for 49 days.   On the 50th day we will celebrate another holiday, Shavuot.  One nice thing about being Jewish is that we always have an abundance of holidays to celebrate, which for a woman means to get out the recipes for that holiday's special treats.  Lag B'Omer is considered the "scholars" feast.

During the 49 days of the Omer period, we are considered to be in mourning so there have been prohibitions of marriage, listening to music, shaving  and even cutting your hair.  On Lag B'Omer this is suspended.  Children get a holiday from school.  In Israel, the custom is to have bonfires and visiting the tomb of Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai in Mt. Meron, who died on this day.

An "Omer" was a measure of grain in bible days.  An omer of the new barley was brought to the Temple on the 1st day of Passover, and from that day on,  new grain was permissible to eat.  Our forefathers were told to count verbally 49 days or 7 full weeks, from the night following the barley offering (Leviticus 23).  The offering was brought to the Temple in the form of 2 loaves of bread.  The counting is a reminder of Israelites going from slavery in Egypt to Mt. Sinai to receive the Torah on Shavuot.  The meaning relates to barley, used mainly for feeding cattle, to wheat, used for us.

Today in the states everyone is so environmentally conscious that there won't be any bonfires, unless they're at the beach.  Even around Mt. Meron in Israel there may be an end to this custom as people are afraid to set off forest fires from bonfire sparks.  Parades will be held in Jewish communities around the world, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson said in encouragement.  I don't think so.  In Portland, this would be very difficult.  There is concern over terrorism, getting the police to go along with it, permits, etc.  We'd be lucky to be able to have a parade around our community centers or synagogues to show Jewish unity, which we also need badly.

The important thing, said Rabbi Amrousi to Arutz Sheva  is to love your fellow man as you would between people and between man and G-d.

Resource: Arutz Sheva news2@israelnationalnews.com  A call for ecological and spiritual Lag B'Omer by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
New Jewish Encyclopedia