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| Week ending Shabbat, September 30, 2006 |
08 Tishrei, 5767 |
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'You Saved Twenty People':
In the course of ongoing activity designed to pressure terrorist groups in the area, and in the wake of intelligence warnings regarding preparations for an imminent terrorist attack, Israeli forces entered the Balata slum neighborhood of Shechem [a.k.a. Nablus], [the city long described as the terror capital of the "Palestinian" Authority] Tuesday night. They surrounded a particular building, from which terrorists inside soon began firing and hurling explosives at the forces. The Israelis returned fire, identifying 3-5 hits; our forces were unhurt.
The joint Israeli Defense Force [IDF] and General Security Service [GSS] forces then combed the area, finding a powerful twenty-two pound explosives vest hidden among garbage bins outside the building. Two wanted terrorists were arrested. "I told my soldiers afterwards, 'You just saved 20 people in Netanya, or possibly more if it [the bomb] would have been used in a more populous area,'" said the commanding officer later. Explosives vests of this type have been used by "Palestinian" terrorists in dozens of suicide bombing attacks in Israel over the past several years, murdering hundreds of people.
Battle to Pray:
A situation erupted on Rosh HaShannah when Eliyahu Kleiman was arrested for blowing the shofar at the Western Wall. Immediately there was a dispute over the facts between the participants themselves and the Jerusalem police. The police claimed that Kleiman blew the shofar following the prayer service, refused to stop even when told to do so by a policeman, and that this led to an "illegal" gathering. A police spokesman said, "He had already blown long enough." But participants said this version had little to do with the truth.
"... We then started the silent prayer, and after a while, Eliyahu started blowing the next set of ten [in accordance with Sephardic custom to sound the shofar during the Silent Prayer]. At that point, a policeman came in and started yelling at him; Eliyahu continued blowing, in order to finish the set, and certainly didn't answer him in the middle of prayer. The policeman then called on his radio and said that [Eliyahu] was in the middle of praying and that they would arrest him afterwards - but the order came back to arrest him right then. So then the policeman tried to drag him, more policemen came in to help and started dragging him away - the whole time, of course, his feet were together and he didn't move; he fell down, and they dragged him some more. We couldn't do anything because we were in the midst of praying ourselves. They took him out - I understood that they finally let him complete his prayers - and when we got there, we saw him praying, but the police had taken the shofar ..." said one eyewitness.
Kleiman was taken to the police station in the Old City and told that he would be charged with attacking a police officer, interfering with a police officer in the line of duty, and disturbing public order. He was also banned from walking freely around the Old City for 15 days. Attorney Daniel Robbins, one of the 600 Jewish residents of the Moslem quarter [Old City], quickly volunteered his services, and requested that the restrictions be removed. The court session was held Friday, and the restrictions were in fact removed. Robbins informed the court that other shofar-blowing prayer services have been and will be held at the site (a lesser-known section of the Wall known as the Kotel HaKatan [the Small Wall]). The police did not object.
Rabbi A.Y. Kook Documentary:
Renouned Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook (1865-1935 CE) served as the first Chief Rabbi of the Land of Israel and was one of the most profound thinkers of our time. More than anyone else, Rabbi Kook spoke of the essence of Zionism. He was the first to coin a phrase that at that time seemed to be but a far-fetched dream - "The State of Israel." He was the great soul of religious Zionism. He saw in it the process of redemption and the anticipation of the mashiach (the Messiah). Thirteen years after his death, the State of Israel was established, and it is his teachings which serve as the moral foundation of thought for the Jewish State.
Rabbi Kook built bridges of understanding between all Jews and all streams of Judaism. His own life was an inspiration and an example of love for his fellow Jew, no matter what differences of belief or practice separated them. Under his leadership, a unique generation of Torah scholars grew up. They were men not only devout and learned, but also active in the national revival of the Land and People of Israel. They shared Rabbi Kook's intense love for every Jewish soul - an optimistic and creative love which their teacher likened to the spinal cord of the nation, linked with every part of the body.
The teachings of Rabbi A. Y. Kook have influenced an entire generation. His son, Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook, of saintly blessed memory, took over the helm of the yeshiva his father founded - Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav - and educated many of today's leading Roshei Yeshivot (Yeshiva Deans) and Chief Rabbis of Israeli towns. See the Documentary
Israel Brings Home Citizens from Remote Indian Tribe:
The Jewish Agency will help bring 216 members of the Menashe [Manasseh] tribe from India to Israel. The immigrants will be sent to absorption centers in Carmiel and Nazareth where they will undergo a conversion process by Israel's Rabbinate authority. This is the largest group of that tribe that has been moved to Israel. This project was largely funded by the "Friendship Fund" headed by Rabbi Yehiel Eckstein which allocated 1.5 million dollars for the project.
New Aliyah Campaign:
The Israeli Ministry of Immigrant Absorption has launched a new campaign encouraging Israelis who previously emigrated from Israel to the United States and Canada to return home. In recent years the Ministry has been running a unique program to encourage Israelis to return with the purpose of helping them assimilate easily back into Israeli society. This campaign is designed to reach broader audiences and to encourage their return using active methods.
Currently there are 700,000 Israelis living outside of Israel, sixty percent of them reside in North America, twenty-five percent in Europe, and fifteen percent in the rest of the world. During 2005, 4,200 Israelis returned to Israel, most of them from the United States, which has the largest Israeli community in the world. Absorption Minister Zeev Boim said that "encouraging the return of those Israelis living abroad to return home is one of the central goals of the Immigrant Absorption Ministry."
The campaign is a year-long program using a wide variety of media, including leading websites, Israeli newspapers abroad, and television ads in the Israeli Satellite channel in the US at a cost of 1.5 million shekels. The first campaign among the advertisements to be aired will carry the slogan, "your dream of opportunity is now open" and will focus on employment opportunities in Israel. The campaign will encourage participation in career and employment conventions that will take place in North America and expose the Israelis abroad to a range of employment opportunities and plans to make their return as easy as possible. The ministry will assist those who return to Israel to integrate into the employment market, in opening small businesses, and in absorbing research and development personnel into academic institutions.
Tour Israel for Hanukkah:
Join us as we explore Israel from a genuine Biblical Zionists perspective. Meet the people who are continuing the Biblical narrative in the Land today. See for yourself how ancient prophesies are being fulfilled. Discover how you too can participate in the ongoing process of Biblical Redemption. Join us for an opportunity of a lifetime, to see the real Israel from the viewpoint of those who are living the Bible today. The experience will change your life.
The tour has been coordinated and will be guided by Associate Pastor Jon Klein [pictured left].
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