The Scribbler

(Courtesy Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, Nearly 62 years ago, the United Nations recognized the right of the Jews, an ancient people 3,500 years-old, to a state of their own in their ancestral homeland. I stand here today as the Prime Minister of Israel, the Jewish state, and I speak to you on behalf of my country and my people. The United Nations was founded after the carnage of World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust. It was charged with preventing the recurrence of such horrendous events. Nothing has undermined that central mission more than the systematic assault on the truth. Yesterday the President of Iran stood at this very podium, spewing his latest anti-Semitic rants. Just a few days earlier, he again claimed that the Holocaust is a lie. Last month, I went to a villa in a suburb of Berlin called Wannsee. There, on January 20, 1942, after a hearty meal, senior Nazi officials met and decided how to exterminate the Je...

Anyone who has come out of the last three weeks, taking the (Jewish) religious element to heart will know how I feel right now. In the past, I haven't really treated the Three Week period of mourning for the destruction of the Temples that seriously. Yes, I did the basics, such as not cutting my hair or attending a wedding (not that there were any of those to go to), but I still went out to the cinema and even attended some concerts (I was not going to miss Simon and Garfunkel's unique concert in Hyde Park for anything !). What makes this year different is that I made a conscious effort to get into the spirit of the thing. Admittedly, I didn't stop listening to music until Rosh Chodesh Av , but that's because to me, music is so much more than just simple entertainment - it is the oxygen for my soul. I did however make a point of not going out to the cinema or buying new clothes (not that I do this much anyway). Still, it was a question of internalising the period and...

Oral Testimony of Noam Shalit, Father of Kidnapped Israeli Soldier Gilad Shalit Delivered to UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, Geneva, 6 July 2009 My name is Noam Schalit and I am the father of the kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit. Honorable members of the Mission – I thank you for giving me the opportunity to address you today. I thank you, also, for allowing me to make my testimony public. I know that this Mission is determined to give the victims of the recent conflict in Gaza an opportunity to make their voice heard. So - with your kind permission - I would like to use this distinguished forum – the United Nations – first to address you and then to address the people of Gaza and, in particular, the people holding my son Gilad. Honorable Members of the Mission, a few weeks ago you were in Gaza. You met the Hamas hierarchy. According to the Ma’an news agency – Mr. Ismail Haniyya welcomed your mission deploring what he viewed as Israel’s grave violat...

I was sitting in Synagogue ( Shul ) yesterday morning listening to the weekly recital from the Torah. On this occasion, as on many others, we read about the continuing wanderings (and indeed " wonderings ") of our forefathers as they trundled their way around the desert for four long decades. As you may or may not be aware, at one point, they came across a rather nasty character called Bilaam (or Balaam as he is strangely referred to) who despite his best efforts to curse the nation, ended up blessing them and in the process, realising that he'd bitten more than he could chew by not exactly making himself a mate of the good Lord above. One of the utterances he mouthed gave me food for thought. Looking over the encamped tribes, he stated majestically : "I see them as mountain peaks, and I behold them as hills; it is a nation that will dwell alone, and is not reckoned (or counted) with the other nations" (Hebrew- Hen Am levadad yishkon uva - goyim lo yitcha...

Machon Ohr Aaron and Betsy Spijer Thoughts to Ponder 240 Nathan Lopes Cardozo To President Barack Obama I am a Jew. I stand at the Western Wall. How long do I stand here? Nearly 4000 years, since the days of my grandfather Abraham when he nearly sacrificed his son at Mount Moriah . I see the Wall with its frozen tears, and passing clouds with many sighs. I read millions of names: Born in Egypt , Babylon , Rome , Poland , Spain , Hungary , America and South Africa . But that was only in a dream. In reality we Jews were all born in Israel , and then exiled by Titus. Although most of us began our childhoods in foreign countries, we merely camped in these places, but never dwelled in them. And at the end of our lives, Though our tombstones may stand in Exile, our bodies are buried in the dust of Israel . *** The return to Zion is unprecedented. It is sui generis . The State of Israel is a surprise, a shock, for it is the story of a nation in exile which never had...

I have vivid memories of Pesach 1987. As usual, our family was staying in the Grand Beach Hotel in Tel Aviv, enjoying the luxuries being offered to us by the then manager, a very amenable chap called Benny who had befriended my parents. My dad bought the Jerusalem Post every day and I read the biggest news in Israel at that time - the ongoing trial of John Demjanjuk, under charges that he was Ivan the Terrible, a notorious SS guard who had committed the most indescribable savage atrocities at the Treblinka Concentration Camp between 1942 and 43. I'm not exaggerating that Israel was gripped by the events. This being before the onset of the first Intifada that December. It was without a doubt, the biggest news story of the day. This was the closest experience I could have of an Eichmann type trial, seeing that I hadn't been born when the former took place. I read the reports, watched the TV footage of the proceedings and continued to follow events when I got back to London and i...

I have come to the conclusion that often, our Arab cousins have a much better understanding and appreciation of our position than our so called "friends" in the West. This is no more powerfully demonstrated then when reading the following excerpt from MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute) which you can also access here . In an article posted April 21, 2009 on the liberal Arab website www.elaph.com , reformist writer Basem Muhammad Habib condemns the Holocaust denial in the Arab world. He states that this trend, which is unreasonable and inhumane, is motivated by political agendas, and by a false belief that empathy for the victims of the Holocaust amounts to a betrayal of the Palestinian cause. He calls on the Arabs to separate these two issues, and to join the world in commemorating the Holocaust, for it was an attack on the very essence of humanity. Following are excerpts: There Is No Connection at All Between the Reality of the Holocaust and What Has ...

Argentina is kicking out Richard Williamson, the shmuck of a bishop who denies the Holocaust took place. Maybe Iran or Syria would like to take him in, I'm sure that he'd be a popular draw for the multitude of radical Arabs who buy his crap by the bucketload. I have an even better idea. Let Hamas take him into Gaza, so Israel can include him on their next round of targeted assassinations. He could then try explaining his pathetic ideas to the six million souls waiting to rip him apart when he goes upstairs....or in his case,whilst making his way back to the Netherworlds.

Over the last few months, you will have no doubt noticed that I have used this blog to republish articles by a number of notable writers/journalists. The point of doing this is not to appear lazy, but to give more space to others whom I believe can express my feelings in a more professional or subtle way that I could ever aspire to do. I am but a simple writer who does not pen articles for a living, unlike the venerable individuals whom I wish to promote on this site. In this spirit, I present a superb little piece by the incomparable Alan Dershowitz, which you can find here . Put Hamas, Not Israel, on Trial By Alan M. Dershowitz For the Criminal Court to work, the worst must come first. There are efforts now under way to try to bring Israel before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on charges of alleged war crimes. Neither Israel nor the United States has signed on to this court, primarily out of fear that its power would be used against democracies that try the...

by Yair Lapid, Israeli Journalist I am a Zionist. I believe that the Jewish people established itself in the Land of Israel, albeit somewhat late. Had it listened to the alarm clock, there would have been no Holocaust, and my dead grandfather - the one I was named after - would have been able to dance a last waltz with grandma on the shores of the Yarkon River. I am a Zionist. Hebrew is the language I use to thank the Creator, and also to swear on the road. The Bible does not only contain my history, but also my geography. King Saul went to look for mules on what is today Highway 443, Jonah the Prophet boarded his ship not too far from what is today a Jaffa restaurant, and the balcony where David peeped on Bathsheba must have been bought by some oligarch by now. I am a Zionist. The first time I saw my son wearing an IDF uniform I burst into tears, I haven't missed the Independence Day torch-lighting ceremony for 20 years now, and my television was made in Korea, but I ...

PARIS, France (CNN) -- France bears responsibility for deporting Jews to their deaths in concentration camps during World War II, the country's highest court ruled Monday. Jews and foreigners are rounded up in Paris in May 1941. But, the Council of State said, "measures taken since the end of the Second World War have compensated for the damage." Northern France was directly occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II while the south of the country was ruled by the Vichy government that collaborated with Adolf Hitler. France's role in the deportation of its Jews was a taboo subject for decade...

Arutz7 News IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi paid a visit to the Western Wall on Sunday night to offer prayers of thanksgiving for the miracles and successes in the recent Cast Lead operation in Gaza. Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, entrusted with rabbinical supervision of the holy sites on behalf of the government, hosted Lt.-Gen. Ashkenazi and took part in the prayers. Afterwards, a festive thanksgiving meal was held in the Hashmonaim Hall, to the left (north) of the uncovered section of the Western Wall. Additional prayers and songs of thanksgiving and praise were recited there. Lt.-Gen. Ashkenazi also prayed for the speedy return of captive soldier Gilad Shalit, who has been held in Gaza for 2.5 years. It was noted that many prayers had been recited at the Western Wall by parents, soldiers, and Jews all over during the war, and that the time had now come to express thanks for the successes the offensive had reaped. Ashkenazi stated that he was there as a representat...

It appears that Lord Ahmed has a problem with British Jews going over to Israel and fighting in the IDF . Apparently, he considers them to be "war criminals". Well, I have a confession to make, I too am a war criminal. Well, to be more exact, a wannabe war criminal. Throughout my life, I have wanted to make aliyah - to go to live in Israel. The fact that I haven't (yet) is more a testament to my refusing to leave my immediate family, than any wish to avoid living in Israel. When I was 17, I was on kibbutz and I called my folks to tell them I wasn't coming home. A telephone battle ensued with my mother which I eventually lost (as usual), because my mother convinced me to go back to the UK and finish off my studies. Not an unreasonable argument, but one that cost me the chance to get to Israel. Now, zillions of years later, I'm all ready to go but neither my wife or daughters are upstairs packing their bags. If I do make the plunge, I'll be going out there on my...

We Jews have unfortunately become attuned to being at the sharp end of numerous individuals' desires to blame someone for their misfortunes. Even before we got blamed for the Palestinian problem, we were still held responsible for just about every other catastrophe that happened in the world. Jews are still being blamed by some for the death of Jesus. We were accused of spreading the Black Death in the Middle Ages and every time a child met his untimely death, this had to be as a result of our religious need to drink Christian blood or use the globules to add that special zesty taste to our matzos. The latest incarnation of Antisemitic hate has just taken place in Venezuela where Hugo Chavez, who previously blamed us for the death of Christ, has decided that Israel, the demon state that it is must be cursed at every opportunity and shock horror, we Jews are less than honourable if we don't share in his psychotic worldview (he is mates with Ahmadinejad which tells you about wh...

It is no secret that I used to work in a Church school. I can't say that I ever felt comfortable going into a church or for that matter, being in an assembly where prayers were recited. I knew that for me personally, Jesus wasn't my saviour and he hadn't died so that I could live. However, the school were employing me (through the Local Authority) and paying for the house I came home to as well as countless other things and therefore, out of respect, I was very careful to keep my opinions of Church related issues to myself. Over the two years of working at the school, I kept shtum about the hypocrisy of the Church of England preaching peace and at the same time showing a very partisan and one-sided approach to the State of Israel. I didn't say a thing about the new Pope, even though I could see that he wasn't a patch on his predecessor. I said nothing. If anything, I tried to instill in the kids the common beliefs that all three monotheistic religions hold so dear ...

I come from a generation that wears its Judaism with pride for all to see. For as long as I can remember, I've made sure that everyone knows I am a Jew. I do this by wearing my Kippah ( skullcap ), wherever I go (unless I know that doing so would put me in harm's way) irrespective of the kind of comments I am likely to receive from others. When I started teaching, I made a point of showing off my Hebraic allegiances in a school that was about 70% Muslim - and not an inconsiderable number of students had a real problem with my brethren. I reasoned that if they could go around wearing their religious garb, why the hell should I be precluded from doing so. In showing my affiliation in such a manner, I did get some stick from a number of prejudiced students, which included spitting as I walked past them and hearing the delightful "kill the Jew" comment, but I preserved , precisely because I knew that showing these kids who I was and what nation belonged to, was an imp...

Over the entire period when the war in Gaza was taking place, I deliberately avoided obtaining my news from the British Media. On the one occasion that I happened to see the BBC news headlines, when the presenter casually mentioned that "x" number of Palestinians had been killed whilst "x" number of Israelis has also died (as a result of being hit by a Kassam - because people blown by rockets obviously don't get killed, they only die), I knew why I had taken this course of action. That said, CNN wasn't much better, but at least they pretended to care what the Israelis were thinking. I very stupidly let my defenses slip last night whilst watching Channel 4's particularly mendacious programme named "Unseen Gaza". This vicious documentary was basically an excuse for journalists who had been kept out of Gaza during the war, to get their own back on Israel, by showing the precise reasons for Israel's decision to keep them out in the first place...

by Rabbi Jeremy Rosen I am emotionally raw at the moment. The chorus of hatred I see, read, and feel throughout Europe directed at a state struggling, however bluntly, to defend its citizens just reeks of irrational hatred. Yes, there have been tragic errors, failed opportunities, oppressive occupation. And I completely approve of criticism and free speech, even when it hurts. It is the irrational hatred, the use of terms like 'genocide', that convince me beyond doubt that we are not dealing with honesty or logic but deep visceral hatred that has festered for hundreds of years. It constantly finds differing excuses to emerge from its filthy subterranean recesses to inflame and ultimately try to destroy, before burning itself out and returning to hide underground. Genocide takes a plan, design, and system. Even if, as Hannah Arendt claimed, many of the perpetrators of the Holocaust were simply banal, nevertheless the design and the plan grew with public support. Criticism and op...

Please pray for the injured IDF solders Dvir ben Laya - seriously injured; Noam ben Aliza - one leg amputated; doctors fighting to save the other; Li'el Hoshea ben Miriam - serious head injury; Neriya ben Rivka - serious head injury; Yitzchak ben Navah - moderate shoulder injury; Netanel ben Navah - moderate shrapnel wounds to a lower extremity; Maxim ben Olga - light lower extremity injury; Yisrael ben Ilana - light shrapnel injury to an ear; Yo'ad Ido ben Frieda Rivka - light shrapnel injuries; Idan ben Liora - light shrapnel injuries; Nadav ben Miriam - light shrapnel injuries; We also pray for Gilad ben Aviva (Gilad Shalit) A prayer from the Orthodox Union in America: He Who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob -- may He bless the fighters of the Israel Defense Forces, who stand guard over our land and the cities of our God, from the border of the Lebanon to the desert of Egypt, and from the Great Sea unto the approach of the Aravah, on the land, in the air, an...