Chutzpah! Jewish shekel from 66 CE Claimed by PA Authority as "Palestinian"

Nadene Goldfoot
How can the PA ever be trusted and respected with all the shenanigans they pull?  One of the most galling ones is calling a recently discovered silver Judean Shekel coin a "Palestinian" coin!  They try to reinvent history with their lies.

The coin is from May 66 CE, the first year the Jews rebelled against Rome.  Jerusalem fell in 70 CE.  It is a shekel, the coinage Israel today calls its coins and paper bills, like the USA has dollars.  This coin was sold for $1.1 million this week at an auction in New York.  On it are the words in Hebrew "shekel of Israel and the year in Hebrew on the front and "Jerusalem the holy" on the back. 

The PA Authority daily wrote about it  in Al-Hayat Al-Jadid, March 4, 2012, and calls it an "ancient Palestinian coin" and as being part of the "Palestinian cultural tradition."  I guess they're hoping that their audience is ignorant to the fact that Judea  wasn't called "Palestine" until 135 CE when a brave Judean named Bar Kochba held a rebellion against the Romans and  lost.  The result was that the Romans changed the name of  Judea to Palestine as punishment for the Jewish rebellion. 

The PA has been busy trying to erase any evidence they can of the Jewish presence in Israel, Judea, Samaria and Gaza.  They try to claim all for their "Palestinian" heritage.  It's just amazing chutzpa at the utmost and is part of the problem of making peace.  It's a sign of the utmost animosity that prevails between the two  that is so hard to bridge.  The PA does not even recognize Israel's right to exist and calls any archaeological findings showing Israelis ancient past in the land a "political agenda."  Well, besides "The Bible" telling of our history, it is nice to find physical proof!  What will it take to make headway with Fatah and Hamas to prove we have returned home?  Whoever should be living in an ancient  Jewish land but the Jews themselves? 

Resource: http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157;doc_id=6541 PA historical revision:  Judean shekel coin from 66 CE is ancient Palestinian coin" and part of the "Palestinian cultural tradition" by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik

To Build or Not to Build; Decision Made For Shiloh

Nadene Goldfoot
Shiloh is a very important modern Israeli community in Judea-Samaria's mountain ridge which covers several miles of the densely populated coastal plain.  This mountain ridge is indispensable to Israel's defensibility according to American military studies.  In 1967 a study said that in Judea and Samaria Israel should "control the high ground running north and south."  A study done in 1974 by the US Army's Command and Staff College said the same thing.  Therefore, to defend itself in attack, this ridge must stay in Israel's hands.

An attack happened, but from the US State Department's spokesman, Mark Toner.  He's complaining that Israel is planning to build in Shiloh by putting up 500 housing units and said-it's not constructive.  Of course, just like he's speaking for the Palestinians instead of the USA's friend, the Palestinians want this land so don't want Israel to build.  I personally don't see the Palestinians making any effort to come to peace terms, and until such time, I see Israel going ahead with life.   Leave it to the State Dept to get all in a dither with Israel's building plans instead of zoning in on problems with Iran, Iraq, Syria and Egypt, real hot-spots.  Instead, it's always Israel who gets the pressure.

If peace ever does come, which isn't likely, such a place as Shiloh must stay in Israel's hands.  It's a living viable community and people from there serve in the Israeli army.  67.1% of the draftees from such communities serve in combat roles, of which only 10% of the population does. 16% of the residents are officers compared to the average of 8.3%.  It doesn't help the USA to make Israel a weak army.  In fact, Israel's army helps the USA a great deal.  The USA has never had to come with its army to fight for or with us as they have in other countries. 

The orginal Shiloh lay where the tribe of Ephraim (of the 12 tribes) lived in Judea-Samaria.  It was the religious capital of the Jews for 300 years before Jerusalem was built by King David when Israelites came into the land with Joshua.  .  It's even mentioned in "Judges" in the Bible.  So it was south of the ancient city of Tirzah, which was the capital of Samaria before the time of King Omri, and now is said to be where Khirbet Seilun is today in Judea-Samaria, or 10 miles north of Beth El. Bethel was also an ancient Israelite city, 10 miles north of Jerusalem and called Luz formerly.  This is where Abraham erected an altar and later was where Jacob had his dream.  It was after the dream that it was named Bethel.  (House of G-d).   It was a temporary capital of Israel before the First Temple was built.  We had an amazing history right in Judea-Samaria.  The town and the Tabernacle were destroyed by the Philistines after the battle of Aphek in 1050 BCE when the Ark was captured.

Life goes on.  People in Shiloh are marrying and having children.  The city is growing.  Hillary Clinton had once complained about "natural growth" in Israel's cities.  That is quite a shunda to tell people who lost 6 million of their ancestors in the Holocaust to not allow their cities to grow and be repaired.  At least Jews only have one wife, unlike Muslims who have 4 or more and dozens of children. 

The "Palestinians," already inhabiting Gaza, plan to take all of Judea and Samaria as their "Palestine" as well and will have no Jews living there as they will have no enclave of Jews.  That's not acceptable to Israel and hasn't been in any past negotiations.  The more they plan their greedy takeover, the more Israel builds.  Why is the USA making such extreme demands on a friend? They're not looking at the whole picture.  They want a quick fix to a problem to get the Palestinians off their back.  It's like having a check list and wanting to check this problem off.  It's not showing that they care about Israel's welfare or future. 

Resource: http://frontpagemag.com/2012/02/24/israel-builds-obama-administration-squirms/?utm_source=FrontPage+Magazine&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=22058884c6-Mailchimp_FrontPageMag
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiloh_(biblical_city)
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

Judea-Samaria Planned Attacks and Syrian Hot Spots

Nadene Goldfoot
The Emir of Qatar had been involved in the overthrow of Libya's Muammar Qaddafi, and saw that that endeavor was a success, so now he's involved in another section of Muslim uprising.

He has established an army called the Sunni Arab Intervention Force which is training in Turkey.  It is made up of what they call the Free Syrian Army of 20,000 islamist terrorists and is all funded by the Emir.  They are to drive out the Syrian President Bashar Assad. 

Being that Syria is next door to Israel, this is frightening as they can just jump over the border and attack Israelis as well. 

This along with Abbas giving into Hamas's Khaled Meshaal  in a situation that can bring Hamas into Judea and Samaria is also alarming.  Nidal Dokhan, Military Intelligence Chief Major General ,  is replacing a fired former Fatah personnel who will help carry out an anti-Israel resistance campaign.  They plan mass demonstrations and will try to smash through any barriers, and thus break into Jewish towns and villages in Judea and Samaria.  Of course Abbas has not informed the USA of his new plans. 
I believe they are striving for a 3rd Intifada. 
Resource: http://www.debka.com/article/21602/
http://www.debka.com/

Israel: Standing Alone in the World or With Friends

Nadene Goldfoot
Rosh Hashana (on the 28th-29th) and Yom Kippur (Oct 7th-8th) are almost upon us at a time when again Israel stands almost alone in the world.  We will find out just how alone we are when Netanyahu stands before the U.N. in defense of Israel on the 23rd of September.

 We have our own Jewish writers who continue to condemn their brothers in Israel for not listening to their advice and if Israel did, everyone would be getting along just fine.  They say this as armchair generals from their safe abodes in the USA while in their easy chair.  They may have stayed long enough in Israel to write a book, but G-d forbid they should remain to live there and help out and see what it really is like. 

Some say that they worry so about Israel, but continue to deride her and her decision-making.  They forget that Israel is a democracy and the people have chosen their leadership.  Netanyahu replaced  Ehud Olmert of the Kadima Party who had also offered everything but the kitchen sink of every Jewish mother in Israel to Arafat, as in 2005,  who continued to refuse his chance of creating a "Palestine."  The offer did not subside the attacks on Israel's lives at all.  In fact, they seem to add fuel to fire that Israel was an easy mark. 

These writers remind me of the two brothers who killed their parents and then bewailed to the courts that they were just orphans.  Constructive criticism is great and happens all the time in Israel itself.  No one is harder on Israel's leaders than their own people.  But the kind of criticism I've been reading is destructive and shows a complete lack of understanding of issues.  It's adding fuel to the fire coming from Israel's enemies. I have a feeling these writiers could not sell their essay unless they were tearing Israel apart. 

Jews are not sheep.  They started life as the herders of sheep, like Kind David did.  The old joke is that if you have two Jews stranded on an island, they will build 3 synagogues; one for each of them and one that neither would set foot into.  Each man is king of his own household and a master thinker.  We have a lot of creative thinkers in our midst, but unfortunately not all have great political bents; more likely scientific or legal minds.  You have to be a modern day Solomon and Israel has chosen Netanyahu for this role.  I personally think he's doing a great job.

 I sure couldn't take being in his shoes.  Israel has bounced back and forth between Labor and Likud, from left to right since Begin, with Kadima thrown in for good measure.  It has its "Peace Now" crowd and those more realistic.  It has its aetheists and its religious.  For 5 1/2 million Jewish people, it's quite an assortment coming from all corners of the world. 

This is our season for self-examination.  It is the birth of the world and then the time we ask for forgiveness from G-d for anything we did wrong.  As I examine Israel's decisions, I feel she has made the best possible under more stressful conditions than any country has ever faced on this earth.  I keep saying, Dayenu (enough already) and then I see her facing another challenge to solve. 

As far as the decision to build in Jewish cities in Judea and Samaria, I feel they had the perfect right to do so, and evidently Israel agrees with me.  According to Abbas, he doesn't even want a balcony built on a Jewish home.  He had his chance.  Netanyahu gave him 10 months to come around to the peace table and he didn't take him up on it.  Israel wasn't about to freeze their lives forever because the Palestinians wanted them to.  That wasn't the issue, anyway, only something to pin the blame on.  The real issue was that for 63 years the Palestinians have shown that their interest is not in building a state but destroying ours. 

Israel has spent 63 years offering everything imaginable and it worked with Egypt for the past 44 years, but now may be in jeopardy.  Israel gave up a lot to get that peace treaty.  Look what giving up Gaza got us; a firing range for terrorists to terrorize Israeli citizens. 

Having lived in Israel for 5 1/2 years, I came to realize that there is so much that goes on that never ever makes the papers in the USA, and most likely not in other papers as well.  The  bombs planted in tooth paste cartons on the street near schools, the threats from near-by countries, the bomb shelters in every apartment building that must be kept in good repair are just not a part of American culture.  Never mind the shekel that varied from minute to minute in the world economy dependent on the dollar that guides businesses in the 80's.  How about doing Civil Guard duty every month even if you're a grandmother with 18 year old boys who are off duty from the army and spend their free time helping their city out this way?  Such a life was so different from what I experienced in the USA. 

With all this surrus (problems) life goes on and Israel has been able to be more creative than countries without a care in the world, except maybe the economy.  How many others can handle the condemnation of the world, the threat of extinction and still think up ways to contribute a better way of living to this strange planet? 

Reference: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/opinion/sunday/friedman-israel-adrift-at-sea-alone.html?_r=2&pagewanted=print
http://www.tnr.com/article/world/95020/un-palestine-israel-security-council-statehood
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Prime_Ministers_of_Israel