Zionists didn’t Wait for the Messiah
by Uri Pilichowski
It surprises many to learn that Theodor Herzl, largely considered the father of modern Zionism, wasn’t the first activist to encourage the Jewish people to return to the Land of Israel.
Before Herzl, there was Rabbi Yehudah Alkalai who worked alongside Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalisher to promote Zionism, even publishing about the need for the Jews to return to Zion. Herzl, whose grandfather was friends with Alkalai, was influenced by Alkalai’s writings. Even before Alkalai and Kalisher, there were the Baal Shem Tov and the Vilna Gaon; two rabbis who sent their students to settle in the Land of Israel.
Even before them, there was a famous religious community in Safed. While most of the leaders of the modern political Zionist movement weren’t religious, the Zionists that kept the Zionist ideology alive over the two-thousand-year Jewish exile were almost exclusively religious Jews.
Zionism was a revolutionary (Jewish) national liberation movement. Like many liberation movements, Zionism drew its inspiration from religious ideals.
There is a significant difference between seeing Zionism as a secular movement and a secular takeover of the Zionist movement with a complete lack of understanding of religion and religious people’s contributions to Zionism and the founding of the State of Israel.
The Jewish people has always struggled within themselves. Internal strife and struggle are unfortunate features of the Jewish people. In fact, many people explain the name Israel to mean to struggle with God.
The partnership (unity) between religious and secular Jews that created Israel and built the State of Israel is the model that the Jewish state should follow going forward. Israel’s future depends on ensuring the rightful place of all Jews, irrespective of their political and religious positions.
300 Senior Israeli Academics Supporting Judicial Reform
Food for Thought. by Steven Shamrak
For many years the US administrations deliberately pressured Israel not to destroy Iran’s nuclear weapon program. Playing the same game, the UN was making 'the Historic Deals' with Iran to ensure that the program is and remains exclusively peaceful. However, Iran has completely ignored all the deals it has made with the US, the UN and the EU! As a result, Iran is just a small step away from creating an A-bomb. Iranian leaders have stated many times their intention to annihilate Israel using a nuclear weapon. Israel must not wait any longer. The time to strike Iran is now, hopefully, this will help the Iranian people to remove despotic regime!
Iran and Saudi Deal Brokered by China
Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after years of tensions between the two countries. The deal represents a major diplomatic victory for the Chinese as Gulf Arab states perceive the United States slowly withdrawing from the wider Middle East. Israeli leaders have for years considered Iran an existential threat, viewed Saudi Arabia as a potential partner and hoped that shared fears of Tehran might help forge formal relations for the first time with Riyadh. (This deal is clearly due to the Saudis realizing the US will not protect them against Iran, and push Israel to also not attack Iran. Is this deal a game changer? Will it bring forward Israel's action against Iranian nuclear program?)
The terrorist responsible for the murder of two Israeli brothers was released from an Israeli prison just months before the attack, over the objections of intelligence officials. Abd al-Fattah Hussein Ibrahim Gharusha, the Hamas terrorist who shot and killed 21-year-old Hallel Yaniv and 19-year-old Yagel Yaniv in a shooting attack in the Arab village of Huwara in Samaria on February 26th. (Israel needs to change the rules how it deals with terrorists. Removing them and the families who raised them, would be a good first step!)
Saudis are Selling out Fake Palestinians
Saudi Arabia is seeking security guarantees from the United States, help with developing a civilian nuclear program and fewer restrictions on US arms sales as its price for normalizing relations with Israel. Riyadh’s ambitious request offers President Biden the chance to broker a dramatic agreement that would reshape Israel’s relationship with the most powerful Arab state. (Arab/Muslims states never actually cared about fake Palestinians. They have been using them as a pawn in a global political and economy game. Since the signing of the Trump-era Abraham Accords many ME and African states are looking for new opportunistic ways to use it.)
The UN Special Coordinator ‘Appalled’ Again
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, issued a statement Wednesday condemning fresh settler attacks in the West Bank town of Huwara and demanding accountability from Israel. “I am deeply disturbed by the continuing violence and appalled by the attacks of Israeli settlers against Palestinians two days ago in Huwara, near Nablus,” he said. (The UN special coordinator has never been ‘appalled’ by terror attacks against Jews in Israel. Israel is the only state the UN has 'honoured' with the permanent special coordinator. He has never demanded that the Jewish "population (should be) protected, and perpetrators are held to account" after the PA/Hamas terrorists attacked Jews. The occupying power rules are not applicable to terrorists and their supporters – all population of fake Palestinians!)
Rocket Exploded in Gaza - No Condemnation
Rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, exploded in Gazan territory, after the IDF, Yamam, and Shin Bet forces eliminated four terrorists in Jenin, including Abd al-Fattah Hussein Ibrahim Gharusha, the terrorist who murdered Hallel and Yagel Yaniv in Huwara. (Hamas has been conducting war against Israel for many years. Israel has all rights, in accordance with international law, to respond seriously to the enemy attacks, and to remove enemies from the Jewish land, conducting a defensive war!)
Most Israelis Support Judicial Reform
The first two amendments of judicial reform will change the composition of the committee to elect judges, and prevent the High Court from revoking constitutional laws. And while the mainstream media outlets in Israel have been bombarding their audiences with reports on a massive, nationwide resistance to both bills, a total of 78% of Israelis support the judicial reform.
The US is not a Really Friend of Israel
The US State Department has been funding a left-wing organization in Israel, allegedly violating the US’s nonpartisan status, that is helping to promote anti-government protests aimed at bringing down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his judicial reforms. The Biden administration has suggested that it opposes the reforms, though many of the proposed changes simply parallel US law. (Most of the US presidents, and definitely the US State Department have always been hostile toward the Jewish state. At best, the relationship can be described as a 'marriage of convenience'.)
Attack in Tel Aviv is Only the Beginning
Hamas spokesperson, Abdul Latif al-Qanoua, pointed out that the terrorist who carried out the attack in Tel Aviv, 23-year-old Mutaz Salah al-Khawaja, was active in the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of the Hamas terrorist organization. He described the attack as "an initial response to the crimes of the Zionist occupation". (There is only one way to end Hamas terrorist attacks on Jews and it will not take long. Israel must remove all the hostile population of Gaza!)
National Guard - Jewish Self-Defence
Police have established what could be one of the first units of Israel's national guard proposed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in the central Arab-Jewish city of Lod. The unit – composed of several dozen civilians with military experience who would serve as a special alert squad – may be the first of several to be raised in mixed cities across the country. During Operation Guardian of the Walls in May of 2021, Lod and other mixed cities were the site of multiple violent clashes between Jews and Arabs, leading to multiple deaths and extensive property damage.
Quote of the Week:
"The Muslim world’s problem is not in the vineyards of the Judean Hillside, but in the demons fluttering around their own skulls. The Arab Street is angry, but it’s been angry even before it had actual streets. Perpetual anger is not righteous, it’s just plain mental. People who are angry all the time are not in the right, they are out of their minds. For too long the Arab Muslim world has solved all of its problems by blaming them on someone else. This hasn’t resolved a single problem, but it has led to most of the wars fought over the last 50 years." - Sultan Knish
Does the US Protect Iran's Nuclear Program?
by Isabel Debre
Long-running differences between the Biden administration and Israel over how to stop Iran’s rapidly accelerating nuclear program is exposed, as the US defense secretary visited Israel.
Trying to revive the landmark 2015 nuclear deal stalled for months, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that “diplomacy is the best way to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.” (How has it worked so far?)
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Austin: “We must take all measures necessary to prevent Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon.” He appeared to suggest that Israel could resort to military action to take out Iran's nuclear facilities.
“We must do everything in our power to ensure that the dreams of the ayatollahs are never fulfilled at any cost," Gallant said.
With Biden as his vice president, then-President Barack Obama spearheaded the 2015 nuclear accord, which gave Iran relief from economic sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bitterly opposed the deal, saying it did not contain sufficient safeguards and did not address non-nuclear Iranian aggression in the region.
Subsequently, Iran has enriched uranium to 84% purity, just short of weapons grade - only months away from being ability to build a weapon!