AHMADINEJAD OFFERS GIFT TO ISRAEL

JEWLARIOUS SATIRE: After he announced an "Easter gift" to England, releasing 15 naval officers illegally captured in Iraqi waters, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced a "Pre-Shavuous Gift to Israel" - a new peace initiative for the Middle East. Calling his plan a "trial balloon which we offer the vermin and infidels in the spirit of true brotherhood and understanding," Ahmadinejad offered, in his words, "a plan which Israel must accept or face complete annihilation."

At a Tehran-based Press Conference, Ahmadinejad unveiled his central tenet: "Israel must withdraw to the 586 B.C.E. borders when they were exiled from the land by our Babylonian cousins, and must allow all of the native sheep and goats displaced in any conflicts and their offspring to return."

Seated beside Ahmadinejad, UN Envoy to the Middle East, Alvaro de Soto, immediately applauded the plan, stating, "We see this as a constructive way forward. We admire the Iranian President's courage and his boldness in offering fresh and untested ideas." A testy Ahmadinejad continued, "I am not done yet and if you interrupt again, I will break your arm. We demand that as part of the peace process, Iran be allowed to make its nuclear weapons program operational and will use such weapons on any Israeli who returns." A cautious De Soto called the proposal, "reasonable and workable - ideas which will not change the daily life of any Israeli citizen." He then paused and added, "Please don't break my arm."

Rounding out his plan, Ahmadinejad added, "We demand that all the locusts and pestilence currently living in the land of Mohamed convert to Islam and stop pretending that the Holocaust happened. We require the country of Lucifer's children to change its name to 'Iran' and absolve itself of democracy. We insist that the Iron Shiek be recognized as the greatest WWF wrestler of all time and be placed on all coins and stamps circulating in the region." When pressed Ahmadinejad conceded that, if Israel met his conditions, Iran would consider normalizing relations with "Satan's earthly messengers of hell and damnation" within five to ten years.

In response to the Ahmadinejad Plan, Israeli Government Spokesman, Mark Regev, declared the plan, "absurd as can be" and added, "even the recognition of the Iron Shiek - the most logical point of the bunch -- is really a non-starter."

Danish President, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, then criticized Israel, stating, "This narrow-mindedness is typical of Israel. Why won't Israel change its name to Iran and give up all democratic rights for peace?" Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg added, "This could be an Iranian Oslo, but Israel just can't see the mutual benefits herein."

Embracing the plan, former President Jimmy Carter called for, "universal recognition and acceptance" and called on the Nobel Committee to award its Peace Prize to Ahmadinejad immediately. Carter added, "If they gave one to Arafat, how hard would it be to get Ahmadinejad one?"

Contacted in Syria, Bashar Assad added, "This plan is just crazy enough to work."

The original, and more funny stuff, can be found at: http://www.aish.com/jewlarious/

POOR OLD MUSLIMS

I received the following by email. After an unsuccessful search for the original author, I decided to publish it here anyway without recognition. It is too good to pass up and gives pause for thought.

TWISTED LOGIC - POOR OLD MUSLIMS - THEY GET INSULTED - WE GET BEHEADED

The Pope says that jihad violence is against God's nature, and officials fear that in response, Muslims enraged by this insult will commit... jihad violence.

Muslims murder 3,000 innocents in New York and expect no criticism.

Muslims murder 202 tourists in Bali and expect no criticism.

Muslims murder 333 schoolchildren and their teachers in Beslan and expect no criticism.

Muslims murder 292 innocents, mainly Kenyans and Tanzanians at two US Embassies and expect no criticism.

Muslims murder 241 US and 58 French peacekeepers in Beirut and expect no criticism.

Muslims fire 4,000 Katyusha rockets into Northern Israel killing over 50 innocent civilians and expect no criticism.

Muslims murder 52 in London and 191 in Madrid and expect no criticism.

Muslims murder 200 in Mumbai and expect no criticism.

Muslims behead Western hostages in Iraq, Buddhist monks in Thailand and Christian schoolgirls in Indonesia and expect no criticism.

Muslims murder 500,000 in Darfur and expect no criticism.

Muslims regard Jews as 'sons of pigs and monkeys', and vow to nuke Israel and expect no criticism.

Muslims force women to wear hideous sacks, they stone to death women for getting raped and for leaving the home unescorted (the woman in the picture is being partially burried before being stoned to death), engage in honor killings of sisters and daughters for unapproved dating, and expect no criticism.

Muslims danced in the streets and handed out sweets to their kids to celebrate the 9/11 atrocity, and still expected no criticism.

Since 9/11 Muslims have killed over 26 ,000 and wounded over 50,000 in terrorist attacks worldwide and expect no criticism.

Since 9/11 Muslims have committed terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, Algeria , Bangladesh, Belgium, Chad , Chechnya , Dagestan , Denmark , East Timor , Egypt , England , Eritrea , Ethiopia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ingushetia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Jordan-Iraq, Kabardino-Balkans , Kenya , Kosovo , Kuwait , Kyrgyzstan , Lebanon , Mauritania , Morocco, etherlands, Nigeria , Pakistan , Gaza-Palestinian Authority, Philippines , Qatar , Russia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey , United Arab Emirates , United Arab Republic , United States , Uzbekistan and Yemen, and still expect no criticism.

Muslims have carried out over 5,800 fatal terrorist atrocities since 9/11, and countless thousands since Islamic conquest began in 623 AD and expect no criticism.
But if a Pope dares to tell the truth about Islam or Danes publish cartoons about Mohammed, then let the outpourings of Islamic hate and outrage begin.

And, by some twisted reach of logic, these arrogant ______ demand the Pope issue an apology.

HOLOCAUST LEGACY - Lost Generations

HOLOCAUST LEGACY

Papa, where are my uncles and aunties?
Why weren’t they here for Chanukah?
Where were they at Pesach?
Will they come for Sukkot?
Why don’t I have cousins to play with?
Where is Savtah and Sabba?
(Grandmother and Grandfather)
Momma, why is our family so small?

As a child, a small family was normal. However, growing older I began to notice other families, especially during holidays and special occasions, had aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents crowed into houses and spilling out onto front lawns. As an adult I tried to trace my family roots in Poland but always hit dead ends.

Running into dead end after dead end was discouraging. There was only one place where I could find results, Holocaust victim’s lists. Inputting our family name into Holocaust Internet sites produced several pages of those, with our family name, who were murdered in the camps. This is my legacy. Unfortunately, this situation is not uncommon in the world Jewish population.

There has been much written about the children of Holocaust survivors but relative little about descended, and extended, families of Holocaust victims. The absence of family, especially around holidays and special times, is a real loss. Listed below is a small list of some of the resources available on the Internet. From these resources, links to others may be found.


http://www.geocities.com/athens/delphi/7279/
ONE-STOP site to find all other Second and Third Generation Holocaust Survivor Groups

http://www.judymeschel.com/cosh.htm
Resources for Children of Holocaust Survivors

http://www.missing-identity.net/
Missing Identity Website

http://www.judymeschel.com/coshorgs.htm
Resources for Children of Holocaust Survivors

http://remember.org/children/tracing.html
Tracing Family Members Lost in the Holocaust

Google Searches
Children of holocaust survivors
Descendants of holocaust survivors

Yom Hashoah - Teaching New Generations

Hall of Names, was inaugurated March 15 2005, at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, in Jerusalem


This coming Sunday and Monday, April 15 and 16, Jewish communities around the world will gather to mark Yom Hashoah, the day set aside as Holocaust Remembrance Day. Why do we want to remember one of the most terrible chapters in human history when over 11 million people were murdered, 6 million of which were Jews, by the Nazis? We remember so that it will never happen again.

The challenge isn't to establish what happened during those terrible times. We know what happened, we know the facts. Today's challenge is to educate a world of Holocaust deniers and to educate new generations. By knowing our human capacity for great evil, and knowing what has happened because of it, perhaps we can stop it before it happens again.

And yet it is happening again all around the world. In Darfur, Bosnia, Rwanda, in the call of Jihad by some to wipe Israel off the map and eliminate the Jewish population of the world, and in other small ways. In the U.K., schools are dropping Holocaust education for fear that Britain's rising Muslim population will take offense. If indeed it is true that "those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it," we have very real cause for alarm today - making observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day all the more important.

6 million people were brutally murdered during the Holocaust just for being born as Jews. It is an abomination when any group or ideology determines to commit genocide on another group. We must not forget and we must continue to teach it, complete with depictions of the gore and atrocities that occurred.

If you are a teacher, whatever you teach, I invite you to take some time this Monday, April 16, to talk about it to all of your classes, to take a moment of silence in "remembrance." I invite everyone to ask this question: Can we really sit back in our comfortable lives and do nothing when atrocities are happening, or about to happen, in different places around the world? I challenge you to discuss, or think about, ways in which you can make a difference. I invite you to forward this to colleagues, friends and family so they may also participate.

Bush Threatens Sanctions Against Ahmadinejad

I've written before that the news never changes. One might go so far as to say a great deal of it is 'cookie cutter journalism." That, of course, is not to put down all of the fine journalists out there who work so hard to get truly objective nonbiased news. However, I think for much of the news, one just needs to pull something out of archives, almost anything really, change a few names, a few places, a few "facts," and amazingly there is today's latest.

That said, I was in deep contemplation of this when the following floated across my computer screen. Falling down, down, down into the pit of my deep seated feelings that there is not enough laughter in the world, I had to share this with you. Enjoy!












Bush: Ahmadinejad Must Dismantle Last Name
Threatens Sanctions Against Polysyllabic Leader

The war of words between the United States and Iran heated up today as President George W. Bush demanded that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismantle his last name or face serious sanctions.

Speaking from the Rose Garden at the White House, Mr. Bush made it clear that he believed Mr. Ahmadinejad’s possession of a difficult-to-pronounce, polysyllabic last name was a provocative act that the United States was not prepared to tolerate.

“The time has come for the Iranian president to make a choice,” Mr. Bush warned. “Does he want to continue down this dangerous, polysyllabic path, or does he want to join the community of peace-loving, monosyllabic world leaders?”

Under a plan being floated through diplomatic channels, Mr. Ahmadinejad’s last name would be subject to U.N. inspections and then dismantled syllable by syllable, ultimately
to be stored in a secure U.S. military facility in Tennessee.

Mr. Bush’s warning to President Ahmadinejad predictably garnered the support of several of his monosyllabic counterparts, such as Britain’s Tony Blair, South Korea’s Roh Moo Hyun and the Czech Republic’s Václav Klaus.

But his strong rhetoric was less warmly received by members of the so-called “polysyllabic movement,” led by Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.

“We in the polysyllabic movement were offended by the president’s remarks,” Mr. Mbasogo said. “If Mr. Bush can pronounce the word ‘polysyllabic,’ he should have no problem with ‘Ahmadinejad.’”

Elsewhere, U.S. software mogul Charles Simonyi said that he agreed to pay $25 million to travel on board the Russian Soyuz TMA-10 spaceship only after repeatedly failing to travel on JetBlue.

From: Borowitzreport.com/

THE GREATEST LIE - DENIAL

In the Old City of Jerusalem I spent some time speaking with the owner of one of the shops in the Christian Quarter. He was a Palestinian Arab who spoke excellent English and seemed well educated. I was curious to know what the pulse and beliefs of the common people there were concerning world issues. What I heard was astounding. He believed, this well dressed educated man, in what he told me.

Although he had a lot to say when he decided I was really interested in his opinion, he elaborated on three main things. First, "... it is a known fact that on the morning of 9/11, 4000 Jews did not show up for work at the Twin Towers." Second, "9/11 was a joint plan carried out together by the Israelis and Americans." And third, "Yassar Arafat had offered peace and both Israel and America refused it." Use you imagination just a little and you will begin to see the problem here.

It is absolutely amazing that those people fully believe these things. Now, one of the newer lies to surface is Holocaust Denial on a large scale. While it has been around since the end of WW II, it is now being perpetrated on a world wide basis... and people believe it.

Of course, we know about the recent conference in Iran that met to deny the Holocaust. There was a tiny outcry, almost a whimper, immediately following the conference. Now, however, the world had gone mostly silent. WHAT IS WRONG WITH US THAT WE DO NOT SPEAK UP?

When people hear their professors, politicians, holy men. news commentators, and many others all saying the Holocaust is a lie they believe it. Here is just a brief taste of the lies they are telling. Please give this video feed a short time to load before watching it.

Holocaust Memorial - You Can Make A Difference

Hajj Amin el-Husseini, a personal friend and ardent supporter of Adolph Hitler, was appointed as Grand Mufti of Jerusalem by the British prior to WW II. He organized the 13th Waffen SS division, known as the Hanjar division. These Muslims were trained in Germany and officered by Germans. Husseini was the uncle of Yasser Arafat.

“Adolph Eichmann's deputy Dieter Wisliceny testified during his war crimes trial in 1946 that ... "The Mufti was one of the initiators of the systematic extermination of European Jewry and had been a collaborator and adviser of Eichmann and Himmler in the execution of this plan... He was one of Eichmann’s best friends and had constantly incited him to accelerate the extermination measures.” In his memoirs after the war, Husseini noted that "Our fundamental condition for cooperating with Germany was a free hand to eradicate every last Jew from Palestine and the Arab world. (From Wikipedia)

Arab association with Nazism did not die at the end of WW II. Adolph Hitler’s Mein Kamph is a top seller for Palestinian Arabs and surrounding Arab countries. The photograph below shows ranks of Hezbollah looking very similar to the ranks of Waffen SS during WW II. President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has been very vocal about three things: development of nuclear capability, the annihilation of Israel, and denial of the Holocaust.

There have been a few voices, very few, that call for the world to not forget the Holocaust and, to not let it happen again. As happened prior to WW II, the politicians and world leaders are doing a lot of talking but are unwilling to commit to much else. And like WW II, this my be our downfall as we sit home in front of our TV sets with the thought, “It doesn’t concern me.”

We are dealing with people who feel it is a religious duty to cause war and devastation in order to bring about the coming of the Mahdi who is prophesized as an Islamic messiah who will cause the world to come under the rule of Islam. Can we sit while Hezbollah and Hamas arm themselves with deadly weapon so they can use them against Israel while hiding behind babies and civilians? Can we sit while Iran develops the nuclear capability to bring terrible destruction on much of the world?

Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Memorial Day) is on April 18 this year. If, between now and then, everyone with a computer floods the Internet with web sites, blogs, emails, and so on, with pictures, art work, poems, stories, thoughts, multi-media presentations, and what ever else the imagination can think up, along with contacting government representatives, we might make a difference. If nothing else we will raise awareness. The subject of course is the holocaust and our concern about Iran. Iran is not only a direct threat to the world but also is the main supplier of arms to Hezbollah and Hamas.

Please, please, please don’t let this pass. Begin writing and creating and, when you finish something, begin again. Contact everyone you know with an email address. Send a link to this blog or put your own spin on it. Do things at work. Have presentations at school. Put up posters at your synagogue or church. It doesn’t matter what you do, just do it.

ANTI-SEMITISM IN FRANCE

ONCE AGAIN, the real news in France is conveniently not being reported as it should. To give you an idea of what's really going on in France, where there are now between 5 and 6 million Muslims, and about 600,000 Jews. This email came from a Jew living in France. Please read! Lest the world remain silent, AGAIN! - As it did in Hitler's time?

He writes, "I AM A JEW -- therefore I am forwarding this to everyone on all my e-mail lists. I will not sit back and do nothing." Nowhere have the flames of anti-Semitism burned more furiously than in France:
In Lyon , a car was rammed into a synagogue and set on fire. In Montpellier, the Jewish religious center was firebombed; so were synagogues in Strasbourg and Marseilles ; so was a Jewish school in Creteil - all recently. A Jewish sports club in Toulouse was attacked with Molotov cocktails, and on the statue of Alfred Dreyfus in Paris , the words "Dirty Jew" were painted. In Bondy, 15 men beat up members of a Jewish football team with sticks and metal bars. The bus that takes Jewish children to school in Aubervilliers has been attacked three times in the last 14 months. According to the Police, metropolitan Paris has seen 10 to 12 anti-Jewish incidents PER DAY in the past 30 days. Walls in Jewish neighborhoods have been defaced with slogans proclaiming "Jews to the gas chambers" and "Death to the Jews." A gunman opened fire on a kosher butcher's shop (and, of course, the butcher) in Toulouse , France ; a Jewish couple in their 20s were beaten up by five men in Villeurbanne , France. The woman was pregnant. A Jewish school was broken into and vandalized in Sarcelles , France . This was just in the past week. So I call on you, whether you are a fellow Jew, a friend, or merely a person with the capacity and desire to distinguish decency from depravity, to do, at least, these three simple things:

First, care enough to stay informed. Don't ever let yourself become deluded into thinking that this is
not your fight. I remind you of what Pastor Neimoller said in World War II:

"First they came for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up, because I was a Protestant
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me".

Second, boycott France and French products. Only the Arab countries are more toxically anti-Semitic and, unlike them, France exports more than just oil and hatred. So boycott their wines and their perfumes. Boycott their clothes and their foodstuffs. Boycott their movies. Definitely boycott their shores. If we are resolved we can exert amazing pressure and, whatever else we may know about the French, we most certainly know that they are like a cobweb in a hurricane in the face of well directed pressure.

Third, send this along to your family, your friends and your co-workers. Think of all of the people of good conscience that you know and let them know that you and the people that you care about
need their help. The number one best selling book in France is "September 11: The Frightening Fraud," which argues that no plane ever hit the Pentagon

Truths We Cannot Deny

HOLOCAUST - NEVER FORGET - IT REALLY HAPPENED

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says it didn't happen, and the world sits in apathy. He has stated over and over that he wants to nuke us, wipe us off the map, and the world is silent. Some boast that the bushes will cry out, "There is a Jew hiding behind me. Come and kill him." and the world shrugs.

Hitler said he only wanted the Rhineland, and the world sat back. He said it was for unification and peace and the world let him take Austria. The world was willing to believe anything for peace and gave him Czechoslovakia. The Palestinian Authority says, "Give us your land and we will think about discussing peace." The world agrees. Does the world learn nothing from history.

WAKE UP WORLD! Today they come for us. Tomorrow they will come for you. NEVER FORGET!

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says there are no pictures.

Please give this a few minutes to load.

Hillary Clinton Blasts 'Hate-Filled' Palestinian Textbooks

From the NewsMax.com Staff
For the story behind the story...

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., on Thursday called for a rejection of new Palestinian textbooks that portray a world without Israel, refer to Jews as "Zionist gangs" and rewrite the Holocaust to ignore atrocities committed against Jews.

"We must stop the propaganda to which Palestinian children are exposed," Clinton said in a news conference in Washington, D.C. "These children deserve an education that instills respect for life and peace instead of glorifying death and violence."

Clinton, a candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, called the conference to release a report by Palestinian Media Watch, a Jerusalem-based group that monitors Palestinian media for anti-Israel bias. She said the books "do not give Palestinian children an education, they give them an indoctrination." To read the complete article go to:
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/2/9/115448.shtml?s=al&promo_code=2D35-1

Hillary has been a big supporter of a two state system. Unfortunately that whole concept isn't going to go away no matter how much we might like it to. I have not been a big supporter of Hillery in the past but my opinion of her just went up a few notches. However, textbooks have always been an issue and, while Israel keeps its part of the bargain, Palestinian schools just continue to pump out more and more hate. Having hope that things will change is great but the reality of the situation says different. When will our leaders wake up and say enough is enough - and mean it?

The Train

clickity clack clickity clack clickity clack
clickity clack clickity clack clickity clack

ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding
ca lak ca lak ca lak ca lak ca lak ca lak

clickity clack clickity clack clickity clack
clickity clack clickity clack clickity clack
Mama clack clickity clack clickity clack
I’m cold and hungry clack clickity clack
clickity clack clickity clack clickity clack

ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding
ca lak ca lak ca lak ca lak ca lak ca lak ca lak

Rest little one clickity clack clickity clack
The soldiers said clickity clack that we would have
clickity clack showers clack clickity clack
and hot soup clack clickity clack when we arrive
clickity clack clickity clack clickity clack
clickity clack clickity clack clickity clack

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Slams Israeli Scientific Breakthrough

International World Jewish News, Tel Aviv, Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, while being interviewed by the press late last night, let it slip that doctors in Israel have just made the scientific breakthrough of the ages. However, world reaction was swift. Muslims around the globe are rioting and burning effigies. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in his visit with EU leaders, is reported to have shouted that it was for things like this that the Zionist Entity must be wiped off the map. E.U. scientists attending a conference in Jerusalem were quick to distance themselves from the Israeli scientific community. The U.N. Security Council released a statement condemning Israel and the P.A. put out a jarring attack through PA Radio saying they had always suspected Israel's role in the death of their beloved leader Yassar Arafat and that this is direct proof. In Rome this morning when the Pope was given the news, he just nodded his head and said he expected as much while in Washington President Bush decided he wanted rice for dinner after all.

In Jerusalem the Knesset went into emergency session, many pointing fingers relating this new situation to Olmert's inept handling of the recent war in Lebanon this past summer. Labor party members are saying this new slip of the tongue is not good for the country and are threatening to call for a vote of no confidence.

International World Jewish News was able to catch Dr. Shmuel Jabinsky, the lead researcher, near The Technion, which is the Israel Institute of Technology, in Haifa earlier today. The following interview took place.

IWJN: Dr. Jabinisky, What lead to this amazing discovery?
Dr. J: Well we have always expected this was the case and the more we studied geriatrics the more convinced we became.
IWJN: Can you elaborate?
Dr. J: Well yes, um, to put it in layman's terms, well, you read about all those in scripture of this person begat so and so who then begat someone else and so on. There was a lot of begatting going on. Yes, well, but if that is true then where is everyone? The world should be a lot more crowded.
IWJN: Dr. Jabinsky, are you saying...
DR. J: Yes of course, our theory has been proven as fact without doubt.
IWJN: And that is?
Dr. J: The infinite structure of the molecular and cellular genome has been proven to be the antithesis of ad infinitum.
IWJN: Can you restate in words our readers can understand Doctor?
Dr. J: Yes, of course, well, um, life is terminal my dear, terminal.

Note: Due to some of the comments I have received on this I need to say that this is satire. Unfortunately it isn't far from the truth.

International Day Of Prayer For Israel

Terrorism and war have threatened Israel since its founding in 1948. Her birth and continued existence has been paid for with fire and Jewish blood. Israel has always been able to prevail through the mercy of God, blessed be He, and the prayers of many.

After the war with Lebanon this past summer, it has become evident that Israel's enemies have re-armed themselves with more lethal weapons and renewed shouts of Jihad. With her enemies gathering and shouting to wipe Israel off the map, prayer is one of the most important things that can be done.

" Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. Gather the people, Let them say, "Spare your people, LORD. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?' " ( Joel 2:15-17)

"This Sunday, January 28, on The Fellowship's 2007 International Day of Prayer and Solidarity for Israel, we as Jews have an opportunity to unite with Christians worldwide in raising a chorus of prayer to God for Israel's security, well-being, and protection. In the face of these grim realities, it is especially comforting and encouraging to know that, in just a few days, Christians in churches around the world will pray for Israel. They will gather in churches of all sizes, from suburban megachurches with thousands of members to small rural congregations, and in countries as far-flung as Tanzania, Kenya, Malaysia, India—and, of course the U.S. But, wherever they are, and whatever language they speak, their appeal for God's blessing and protection upon Israel will be heard by Him." (Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein)

As we gather to send our prayers to God, or even if we just pray alone, we cry out for His help one more time and then we remember the promise in Joel as it says, " Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the LORD your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed."

Morning News from Israel

JERUSALEM BREAKING NEWS

With auto sales down, soaring prices at the pump along with a future possibility of fuel rationing, Israeli auto companies are adjusting with the introduction of the Desert Glider. Although slower on the straight stretch, the Desert Glider, with all terrain drive, has top fuel efficiency and is able to go where no one has gone before. See your local dealer to arrange a demonstration today.

IDF LOOSES AMERICAN FUNDING

In a surprise visit to inspect IDF retraining efforts to overcome last summers balagan, government officials landed right in the middle of heavy training exercises. They wanted to see first hand the new equipment the Americans had left after their most recent disengagement of aid and arms shippments to Israel, and what the pull back of American aid actually looked like.

Freezing in the dark.

As if getting up in the middle of the night isn’t insult enough to my poor rest starved body, my eyes popped open a half hour before my alarm. 4:30 AM Oy Vey. Let’s see, “Modeh ani,” ummmm something about my soul being restored. At this early I think it must still be wondering around where ever it goes.

The sun doesn’t even come up for another several hours, 9:44 this morning. Wow, it’s coming up earlier than 10 AM now, then down again at 4:43 PM for a grand total of 6 hours and 53 minutes of daylight today. Go to work in the dark, come home in the dark, dress like the marshmallow man to stay war, no wonder I feel like a lump of something. If you see a little lump of something just oozing along with a tiny little Kippah, that’s probably me.

We tried to take the dog out for a walk last night, or perhaps it was afternoon, oh well, it was dark whenever it was. The dog didn’t want to go and tried running to hide.

Life on the last frontier. We’ve done 1000 mile sled dog trips, driven down a frozen river in a Land Rover (I guess they really do go everywhere), journeyed 60 miles over the tundra by snow mobile to the next town that actually had a restaurant (what a treat), sat in Eskimo steam houses, and much more.

Every now and then, when I don’t particularly want to kvetch about anything, or enlighten the world with earth shattering statements, or when my brain gets too frozen to think, (alright I know what you’re going to say on that one), I’ll slip in a true life adventure of living on the Last Frontier.

That’s Alaska in the middle of winter. I always tell people, especially those new to the north, never ever make life decisions in Alaska between December and May. You will regret it later. Just work on keeping your sanity.

BEAUTY OF OUR PEOPLE

Memories of Bubba are few
But her face was beautiful
In the candle light
With the beauty of our People.

Remember the Shabbat
And keep it Holy
Six days we are given to work
On the seventh we rest.

You shall love the Lord your G-d
With all your heart
With all your soul
With all your strength.

Six million
Blessed are You O Lord our G-d
You raise the poor from the dust
And lift the beggar from the ash heap.

Sound the shofar in Zion
And the children laugh in Hebrew
In the candle light
With the beauty of our People.

To Kvetch Or Not To Kvetch

BARUCH HASHEM!!! That says it all. If we only look at the majesty of creation, I mean really look, how can we help but be awed. From the tiny microscopic to the universe itself, everything fits, has its place, works together. What a beautiful system.

As human beings, and especially as Jews, we have a responsibility of Tikun Olam (making the world a better place). When we fit into our place as we were meant to we cannot help but say, "Baruch HaShem!" Why then, as human beings, are we so good at moaning, groaning, complaining ... in short, kvetching.

In the last years my mother was living she learned to see HaShem in all things, even the lowliest of human beings. I am proud to say that one year she received the Volunteer of the Year Award for all British Columbia. However, there was a time she was an accomplished kvetcher. She was so accomplished that, when going to visit her, I would start feeling guilty about the time the pilot announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have just begun our descent and will be landing in approximately 20 minutes." By the time I arrived at her house I was willing to confess to anything and even sign a statement that the world was indeed falling apart. She would then say something like, "You really didn't have to come to visit and I don't want to trouble you to fix my lamp. I am very happy being alone and sitting in the dark." May HaShem bless her.

Taking example of the new joy my mother had in her last few years, I try to see the hand of HaSham in everything while endeavoring to surround myself in a "No Kvetching Zone." I'm not entirely sucessful yet but I am happy and full of joy most of the time when I'm in the "zone."

You know those catalogues that aren't wanted but stuff your mail box anyway? While looking through one the other day I found a coffee cup that I simply must send for. It has the greatest thing written on it, "No Kvetching."

This afternoon, as I came from Shul, I saw a woman standing by the side of the street with a sign that said, "Peace." She had a big smile and was waving to all who went past her. That brought a big smile to me and the exclamation of, "Baruch HaShem." She was doing her bit for Tikun Olam. Alaska gets so cold sometimes that I almost freeze my.... well I almost freeze my toes off. It's dark, snowy, cold, and winter last for eight months. Baruch HaShem ... I opened my eyes this morning and my soul was in my body. Even though my body hurts I must say, Baruch HaShem ... my heart is beating, muscles working, and brain functioning (although depending on who you ask that might be debatable). As we each say, "Baruch HaShem," we each begin to participate in Tikum Olam.

So ... let's end where we began ... BARUCH HASHEM!!!

The News Is Like A Soap Opera

My gosh, it's late and I'm just waking up. How do I know it's late? Because it's light outside. That's life in Alaska. If you wake up and it's light then it must be the middle of the day. I was just having a dream about being in a class learning how to feed babies and change diapers. Yikes! Been there, done that, have the T-shirt, don't want a repeat. OK... "Sh'ma Israel.... " Get up, get coffee, look at the news.

Is the world still there? You would never know by reading the local paper. At our synagogue in Anchorage we call ourselves "The Frozen Chosen." It's an Alaskan thing. In this state of of being frozen I think the editors of our local newspaper all have brain freeze, at least when it comes to anything besides local news. So, take my coffee to the computer and check out Internet news.

Ah, everything is as it still was, nothing has changed much. Israel is still there, Olmert is still talking about giving away land, the U.S. is stopping arms shipments to Israel but still giving weapons to the P.A., Gush Katif people are still getting hammered, the IDF must not fire at the terrorist launching rockets at Israelis, Syria is still a growing threat, Iran is still threatening to wipe Israel off the map and no one is doing much about it, and so on. I read about a recent poll that says Israelis are tending more and more toward apathy. Well duh! Who wouldn't with news like this.

I learned once how the news is like a soap opera. The only thing that changes is the names. When I lived in a tiny village in bush Alaska (that's 400 miles from the nearest road) I used to go several weeks without seeing a newspaper. When one came in, the headlines were all the same, nothing had changed. With our local (actually state wide) newspaper, at least you might know some of the people. Then everyone can sit around and talk about how good Aunt Sarah's apple pies are. Perhaps the editors don't have brain freeze after all.