Draw your own conclusion

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday called invalid a press release by the White House alleged to be the text of the nuclear agreement struck by Iran and the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany) in Geneva on Sunday.

The above was reported by:

Iran's FARS News Agency - http://tinyurl.com/jwu62de

Israel's Ynet in Hebrew - http://tinyurl.com/psxa46b

Israel HaYom - http://tinyurl.com/p2ma5e6

Arutz Sheva - http://tinyurl.com/qapwdwa

Washington (DC) Free Beacon - http://tinyurl.com/nyvbadr

The FARS hed reads: "Iran Strongly Rejects Text of Geneva Agreement Released by White House"

According to Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham on Tuesday, “What has been released by the website of the White House as a fact sheet is a one-sided interpretation of the agreed text in Geneva and some of the explanations and words in the sheet contradict the text of the Joint Plan of Action (the title of the Iran-powers deal), and this fact sheet has unfortunately been translated and released in the name of the Geneva agreement by certain media, which is not true."

She said that the four-page text under the name of the Joint Plan of Action (which has been released by the Iranian foreign ministry) was the result of the agreement reached during the Geneva talks and all of its sentences and words were chosen based on the considerations of all parties to the talks. In fact one of the reasons why negotiations between Iran and the G5+1 took so long pertained to the accuracy which was needed for choosing the words for the text of the agreement, Afkham said, explaining that the Iranian delegation was much^sic rigid and laid much emphasis on the need for this accuracy.

The full text of the agreement, at least as FARS has it, is displayed on the FARS website (ibid.).

GRANTED, any agreement among people having different first languages is open to some interpretation, but apparently what John Kerry told his boss and what Iran's participant told the ayatollah are two different things.

For all that, given the Moslems' respect for truth and honoring agreements, the claims by Iran's spokeswoman come as no surprise.

Many people apparently have said it: Treaties are just pieces of paper.

Certainly Oslo has no value.

Except for the most left wing and a few Jew and Israel bashers, everyone has to admit that the Muslims breeched every one of the Oslo agreement's articles.

It would appear that the U.S. Secretary of State failed to learn from recent history, or perhaps he is a Pollyanna who believes, as apparently his boss believes, that appeasement a la Neville Chamberlain will win friends for the U.S. and spare it from the Muslim goal of a global caliphate.

Of course Kerry's boss understands Muslims. Although he claims to be something other than a Muslim, he did attend a madras as a youngster and while his Chicago church is not a mosque, its preacher spews hate for all not like him; it seems safe to think POTUS does understand the Muslim mentality.

It would be nice if the Muslims could be trusted to honor agreements, but - correct me if I am wrong - doesn't the Koran permit lying to achieve a Muslim purpose? - so far there is NO indication that Muslims as a group CAN be trusted; certainly Israelis are painfully aware than a treaty with the so called Palestinian Authority is worth less than the paper on which it is printed.

TO BE FAIR, despite internal turmoil, Egypt has kept, more or less, its treaty with Israel, much to the benefit of both countries. Likewise Jordan. Turkey and Morocco are a different story if recent reports from Morocco are correct.

MEANWHILE, the Hurriyet Daily News, which bills itself as the "leading news source for Turkey and the region" ( http://tinyurl.com/lqauly7), reports under the hed "Turkey, Iran to become backbone of regional stability: Davutoğlu" that "A growing partnership between Turkey and Iran will enhance the region’s stability," Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoğlu said in Tehran, where he is attending the Economic Cooperation Organization 21st ministers’ meeting, on Nov. 26.

“In my point of view, when Turkey and join hands, this will not only benefit both countries, but also become the backbone of regional stability,” Davutoğlu said, pointing to the potential of further cooperation in energy.

“Turkey’s annual energy demand is $60 billion. Turkey is a corridor country, is a producer country. If we fuse both potentials, Turkey could become the corridor of energy provider Iran,” Davutoğlu said. He also added that closer ties would also have a major impact on the sectarian divide in the Middle East."

I'm not certain what Davutoğlu means by "sectarian divide in the Middle East." Sectarian divide as in Shia vs. Sunni or as in Muslim vs. all others, in particular the Jews of Israel.

Turkey used to have civil relations with Israel and its national airline carried many Jews to and from Israel. Naturally, the split is Israel's fault; it had the nerve to enforce a legal blockade of Aza; although it offered an alternative port (Ashdod), the organizers of the trip - including an Israeli MK ! - refused the offer.

The Iran Deal

 

Different perspectives

 

POTUS:Some 53 percent of the American public believes that U.S. President Barack Obama is neither honest nor trustworthy, a CNN poll conducted last week has found. The CNN/ORC International survey, released on Thursday, also found that just 40% of Americans believe Obama can manage the government effectively, a fall of 12 percentage points in the president's approval ratings since June.

According to the report, Obama scored lowest for honesty out of nine personal characteristics tested in the poll.

http://tinyurl.com/kw99lru

A deal NOT done: “There is actually no deal yet,” a senior Republican aide told The Hill. “Apparently, they now need to negotiate an implementation agreement — the framework didn't actually compel any action by any side. No idea how long that could take.”

The deal would loosen sanctions in exchange for Iran freezing its nuclear program for six months during negotiations toward a final agreement. The six month clock only starts ticking once the implementation framework is agreed to.

The White House says the deal was the heavy lift, while the details of how to make it work are a technicality. Not all such agreements have implementation agreements, but in this case Iran and its six negotiating partners — the United States, Russia, China, France, Great Britain and Germany — wanted to have arrangements in place regarding nuclear inspectors, the joint monitoring mechanism of Iran's program and the details of sanctions relief for Iran.

http://tinyurl.com/l8frtgx

http://tinyurl.com/k885roo

The EU view: "It's important that both sides of the bargain are implementing this agreement, so we would coordinate timing-wise also with the Iranian side," EU foreign affairs spokesman Michael Mann told reporters in Brussels

Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague put the total estimated value of sanctions relief at $7 billion over a 6-month period, but stressed it would not all come at once.

"They do not receive 7 billion on the first day and then decide if they want to implement their side of the agreement," Hague said, calling the amount of sanctions relief "a very small proportion" of the total frozen assets and value of sanctions applied to Iran.

"The way we're doing sanctions relief leaves Iran with a huge incentive" to go for a comprehensive agreement since Tehran wants complete sanctions relief, Hague said.

http://tinyurl.com/muxm6lf

Jerusalem:Israel will continue to act in the “diplomatic arena” and “in other areas” to ensure that Iran does not get nuclear weapons, a senior Israeli official said Sunday night as Jerusalem braced for continued battle over the Iranian nuclear issue.

“The ball is still in play,” the official said, as Israel digested the significance of the agreement signed in Geneva in the early morning hours that legitimizes Iran’s enrichment of uranium, but freezes the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program for six months in exchange for sanctions relief estimated at $7 billion.

The official said Jerusalem would continue to make its case to “relevant people, we are not giving up.”

http://tinyurl.com/owwkxf9

In the U.S.: Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), estimated this weekend would ultimately amount to roughly $20 billion. Dubowitz and FDD senior fellow Orde Kittrie today outlined how "the agreement greatly weakens Western economic sanctions" inasmuch as "Iranian sanctions-busters will be in position to exploit the changing market psychology and newly created pathways to reap billions of additional dollars in economic relief beyond those projected by the Obama administration."

http://tinyurl.com/m8ryn4v

According to the NYT: President Obama’s biggest critics — in Congress, the Arab world and Israel — argue that he has the strategy entirely backward. By changing the psychology around the world, they argue, the roughly $100 billion in remaining sanctions will gradually be whittled away. Wily middlemen, Chinese eager for energy sources and Europeans looking for a way back to the old days, when Iran was a major source of trade, will see their chance to leap the barriers.

http://tinyurl.com/me9ad88

Others in Israel: “If in another five or six years a nuclear suitcase explodes in New York or Madrid, it will be because of the agreement that was signed this morning,” Naftali Bennett, Israel’s economy minister, declared on Sunday. According to a poll commissioned by the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom, three-fourths of Hebrew-speaking Jewish Israelis don’t believe Iran will halt its nuclear program as a result of the accord, which places limits on the Iranian program over the next six months in exchange for sanctions relief.

But not all Israelis are opposed to the deal. Israeli leaders like President Shimon Peres and former military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin have expressed cautious optimism about the diplomatic breakthrough, and some in the press have thrown their support behind the initiative as well, including some prominent commentators for Channel 2, Israel’s most-watched television network.

http://tinyurl.com/k367zm8

Choice: Advertise Hanukah? Or risk a conflagration

CAVEAT: I am not a rabbi and I don't play one on tv.

The Question: If you live in a high rise building, high enough that people on the sidewalk in front of the building cannot see anything in your window, where do you put the hanukiah?

What's a "hanukiah?" It is Hebrew for the Hanukah menorah.

According to the late leader of extreme haridim in Israel, Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, there is no value in placing a hanukiah in the window since he determined that no one at street level can see the hanukiah or the flames.

The late leader of Shas, Ovadia Yosef, agrees with Elyashiv and rules in one of his books, Yalkut Yosef, that the proper place for the hanukiah is opposite the mezuzah on the front door. This was the traditional position of the Hanukah lights in the days of yore.

There are other opinions that DO say to light in the window to advertise the miracle to the folks across the way who can see the high rise apartment's window.

Since Hanukah, like Purim, is "post-Torah" the only rules for where to place the hanukiah are "d'rabbanan" - by the rabbis.

The whole idea of the hanukiah is to advertise the miracle.

While causing a fire in a high rise building would most assuredly make people aware of Hanukah, I seriously doubt that it the type advertisement the rabbis of old wanted. Besides, in most high rises, a real fire, especially an unattended fire, in a hallway would be discouraged at best and likely illegal in any event.

Rabbis Elyashiv and Yosef not withstanding, it seems safer and more sensible to put the wicks on the window ledge where there is a chance they will be seen without endangering anyone.

It should go without saying that curtains and anything else flammable must be kept far aware from the flames, but in a time when a cautionary label on a sleeping pill must state "May cause drowsiness," maybe the obvious isn't quite so obvious to all.

The minimum height from the floor for a hanukiah is roughly three handbreadths. According to the rabbi of Nahar Shalom in Dania Beach Florida, a hanukiah sitting so low shows that the lights are only for the holiday; the flames are too low to be useful for any function other than to look at and enjoy. The only problem with that is unless the building has floor-to-ceiling windows, no one passing by will see the lights.

Where I live - Hollywood FL - we are expecting continued winds of 20 mph, with gusts to 35-40 mph. Unless I can build a wind-proof hanukiah (maybe 8 lanterns with a hurricane lamp as the shamash), the flames of an across-from-the-mezuzah hanukiah would stay light about 3 seconds - 29 minutes and 57 seconds too little to satisfy the rabbinical requirement.

In any event, the south Florida minhag for mezuzot are to put them inside the door, rather than outside. The reason: thanks to hurricanes, Florida requires that doors open outward - hurricane winds will force doors closed. We don't normally have storm doors or mud rooms protecting the entrance doors. (See Minhag "Florida" elsewhere in this site.)

The bottom line: The hanukiah and the lit wicks have two purposes:

One: To advertise the miracle to the world, to both Jews and non-Jews alike.

Two: To give us some visual pleasure, "us" meaning everyone in the family, including the women who traditionally do no work while the flames remain.

חג חנוכה שמח

There will be Peace in our time

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry & his European buddies are all aglow over a "no nukes" treaty with Iran.

It is the first of a two-part treaty that might mean Iran won't develop nuclear weapons IF if agrees with Part 2.

This truly must remind all thinking people who know anything about history of Britain's Neville Chamberlain and his infamous "There will be peace in our time" after his "successful" session with the nazi's leader, may his name be erased forever, that took the Sudetenland from what was then Czechoslovakia.

It might be well to note that Czechoslovakia was not invited to the meeting, just as Israel, Iran's primary target for nuclear destruction was not invited to the confab with the so called P5 + 1 ( United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom, and France, plus Germany) and Iran.

But would Iran's representative from the Supreme Ayatollah have been allowed to sit in the same room with an Israeli or even an acknowledged Jew?

Interestingly, of the P5 + 1, none of the countries has been threatened by Iran, although the U.S.,UK, France, and Germany are being overrun by Muslims many of whom would like to see the pseudo-democracies replaced by the caliphate.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Mediterranean, not only is Israel concerned with the continuing Iranian threat but likewise Saudia.

According to Arutz Sheva Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the UK has declared the kingdom would not “sit idly by” if world powers fail to halt Iran’s nuclear program," reports Al Arabiya.

Ambassador Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, who was speaking to the British Times, called the Obama administration’s “rush” to embrace Tehran “incomprehensible.”

“We are not going to sit idly by and receive a threat there and not think seriously how we can best defend our country and our region,” Prince Mohammed, who is Saudi King Abdullah’s nephew, said.

Meanwhile, in Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu said "For the first time, the world's leading powers have agreed to uranium enrichment in Iran while ignoring the UN Security Council decisions that they themselves led. Sanctions that required many years to put in place contain the best chance for a peaceful solution. These sanctions have been given up in exchange for cosmetic Iranian concessions that can be cancelled in weeks."

"Implications of this agreement threaten many countries - including, of course, Israel. Israel is not bound by this agreement," Netanyahu affirmed. "What we achieved last night in Geneva is not a historic agreement; it is a historic mistake."

Naftali Bennett said "We awoke this morning to a new reality. A reality in which a bad deal was signed with Iran. A very bad deal," Bennett stated on his Facebook page. "This bad deal gives Iran exactly what it wanted: a significant easing of the sanctions while retaining the most significant parts of its nuclear program

"It is important that the world knows: Israel will not be committed to a deal that endangers its very existence," Bennett concluded.

What makes Kerry & Friends think the Iranians are any different then their cousins the so-called "Palestinians" - Jordanians in Israel. Not once have the leaders of the "Palestinian Authority" kept their agreements with Israel. Not at Camp David, not at Oslo, never.

The Iranian ayatollahs have proven, time and time again, that their promises are only words; there is no worth to them.

There is more similarities between Chamberlain and his meeting the the chief nazi and the P5 + 1 meeting with Iran' representative.

In neither case did the German nor the Iranian have any intent to honor an agreement. The German and the Iranian gained time to advance their agendas - just as the "Palestinians" gain time to gain theirs -- at the expense of the fools who are party to the agreement - and that most certainly includes Netanyahu.

Peace in our time?

Not likely with enemies such as Iran and the PA.

Could Obama Bring peace To Mid-East?

From The Israel Project daily email for Novermber 21, 2013:

The Associated Press describes a burgeoning "strange alliance" between Israel and Saudi Arabia, the latest development in what has become a cascade of regional adjustments by traditional U.S. allies concerned that Washington is ceding its traditional role as a regional power. Jerusalem and Gulf nations have reportedly been shaken by the Obama administration's decision-making in Egypt, where the White House vacillated and then eventually punished Cairo over the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood-linked Mohammed Morsi government; in Syria, where the White House vacillated and then failed to attack after its "red line" against chemical weapons use was crossed; and Iran, where the White House is widely seen as vacillating on its pledge to only strike an interim deal with Iran that prevents Tehran from making progress in pursuing a nuclear weapons capability. The AP tersely noted that "the stepped-up anxieties on Iran could bring new space for the Gulf-Israel overlap." CNN yesterday carried analysis by Barak Seener, Associate Middle East Fellow of the Royal United Services Institute, describing how "GCC States and Israel have increased their intelligence sharing to counter an Iranian threat."

Can Obama's bungling and mishandling of foreign affairs have accidently led to - if not peace in between Israel and its neighbors - at least recognition of Israel by the leading powers in the Muslum world?

Could he win a second Peace prize? Stranger things have happened.

"Golden" Rule Ignorance is bliss

 

Almost everyone knows the so-called "Golden Rule." It is attributed to Jesus by at least two of his apostles Luke (6:31) and Matthew (7:12)

Most of Jesus' followers believe this is the first time this idea saw the light of day.

Ignorance is bliss.

But the Internet provides an education.

Almost everyone knows that it is easier to tell someone to avoid doing something than to do something. It doesn't work on children. "Don't leave your clothes on the floor" works no better than "Put your clothes in the hamper," but "Don't hit you sister" may work better than "Give your sister a hug."

Still, Leviticus, about 1400 BCE writes in Chap. 19, V. 18: “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” That's about as "positive" as it gets.

Shamai's partner, Hillel, told a potential convert to Judaism "Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you." (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/rabbi_hillel.html#H57kgDwaHQEl04C5.99). Hillel already was established as a leading scholar when Jesus was born.

The Chinese philosopher Confucius, who lived from 551–479 BCE., is said to have written, "Do not do to others that which we do not want them to do to us." A Hindu text written in about the same time period, the Mahabharata, includes the phrase, “Do not unto others which would cause pain if done to you.” Similar concepts are expressed in Taoism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism and many other religions and philosophies. (http://www.wisegeek.org/ what-is-the-golden-rule.htm) As Solomon is credited with saying: אין שום חדש תחת השמש – there’s nothing new under the sun.

Jesus allegedly said the same thing in the positive and his followers are convinced this is the first occurrence of the philosophy, certainly as a positive. The philosophy, however, hardly was new; it can be accurately dated to 1400 years prior to his birth when Leviticus, about 1400 BCE. tells us in; Chap. 19, V. 18 states: “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” Ignorance is bliss.

Both Hillel, and later Jesus, opined that this philosophy was the centerpiece of the law; Hillel, however, told the convert to "go and study." Since Hillel was senior, one suspects Jesus of plagiarism, knowingly or otherwise.

I am not trying to convince Jesus' followers to abandon their beliefs. What I am attempting to do is to convince them that theirs is not the "correct path" for all people. In other words, DON'T TRY TO CONVERT ME or any other "non-believers."

Proselytizers are not welcome. (Try proselytizing a Muslim in Saudia and see what happens!)

It is enough that my tax dollars go to fund city decorations for Christmas and Easter. Easter especially which in Europe was accompanied by pogroms. Still, I don't complain.

My largely Jewish complex pays for holiday lights - and one small hanukiah in the gate shack - and I don't complain. I don't think any of the other Jewish residents complain either.

But don't try to convince me I'm doomed to eternal damnation if I don't believe in Jesus-as-god. It is a waste of time and I hate to waste my time. Actually, I don't want to waste a proselytizer's time either. (I show such people the mezuzah on the doorpost and explain when they see anything similar, to just keep on keeping on; there is no ROI stopping at a house with a mezuzah on it.)

I'm retired - before I was just tired - so I don't have the at-work interaction I once had; consequently I am spared people who want to spread the "good news" (gospels) and insist on everyone sharing their beliefs. Younger people aren't so fortunate.

Maybe Jews should once again seek converts.

It's a hard sell though, especially for some men. Paul, nee' Saul, gained converts to his religion by telling potential converts that while Jesus was a Jew - and by some accounts a knowledgeable one - they (the potential convert) didn't have to become Jewish and suffer all that "Jewish stuff" - the dietary laws, the modesty laws, the ban on incest, circumcision."Accept my god and have life everlasting; accept my god and no matter how much you sin you are forgiven." In other words, dear pagan, keep doing what you're doing but at least pay lip service to my god and you're good to go.

Sounds good, but I'm not convinced and I cannot be convinced. The one thing of which I AM convinced is that I don't abide proselytizers.

I know you mean well, but if you are trying to sell Jesus-as-god to me, you are wasting your time and my time and certainly NOT "winning friends and influencing people."

When missionaries come recruiting

Recently several Jews told me they have had their religion challenged by Jesus' followers.

Neither the challenged Jews nor I are sufficiently knowledgeable about Judaism's responses to the "Jesus story."

But, the World Wide Web (WWW) to the rescue.

There is a wealth of Jewish experts who have written pamphlets and books, both brief and lengthy. There are, likewise, a plethora of videos.

None of the ones I would recommend attack Jesus' followers' religion. Rather they take what the missionaries - be they actual proselytizera or simply friends and acquaintenances - typically say as proofs and they debunk the proofs using the same document, the Tanak, that the proselytizers carelessly cite.

Note that I carefully do NOT suggest that Jesus started a religion for himself.

Not even his apostles seem to have made that claim in any of their gospels - all of which were scribed well after Jesus' demise.

The Jesus-is-god comes from a fellow formerly known as Saul, later renamed as Paul.

No matter what you think of Jesus, you have to give Paul credit as the world's greatest PR man; he single-handedly created, and spread, the Jesus-as-god belief across the Mediterranean; his greatest successes were with the pagans of southern Europe; less so in the Arab - but not yet Muslim - lands, and least of all Judah and Israel.

When I was much younger I used to ride the bus. There were a couple of drivers with whom I was friendly. Neither were Jewish and our conversations on occasion would turn to "being saved" and - to them, that meant first, last, and always acceptance that Jesus is god.

I usually terminated these chats with "Well, you're waiting for the second coming (of your messiah); I'm waiting for his first coming."

These two gentlemen were certainly not anti-Semites or anti-Israel or anti-anything else; they were simply pro-Jesus and could not understand how anyone could reject their Jesus-as-god belief. They are entitled, and I never tried to disabuse them of their convictions.

The bottom line: In looking for "How to answer missionaries," I came across a number of what I think are valuable resources, including

Video resources

• How to Answer a Christian Missionary
  Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=EvpD3FFa_0Y
  Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Chb8g3S3g38
  

  The Jews for Judaism ( http://www.jewsforjudaism.ca) site has a great many audio, video, and paper/PDF documents that may be freely downloaded. A visit to Jews for Judaism should be on the "Things to do, Places to go" list of all readers of this blog.
  

• A Six-Minute Counter-Missionary Course http://www.youtube.com./watch?v=49l-g_TtGhI

Books and pamphlets

• Far and away the best starting point is Jews for Judaism (ibid). Some worthwhile titles for the subject at hand include:
  The Jewish Response To Missionaries: Counter-Missionary Handbook
  Missionary Impossible: Counter-Missionary Survival Guide
  Choose Life: A Counter-Missionary Study Guide and
  The Real Messiah? A Jewish Response to Missionaries.
• Their Hollowed Inheritance, by R. M. Drazin at http://www.drazin.com/

On the WWW

Some Web sites to visit re "What Jews Believe" include:

• What Jews Believe, http://www.whatjewsbelieve.org/
  
• Ask the Rabbi, http://ohr.edu/ask/ask00j.htm

In order to refute missionary misinformation, and perhaps to enlighten a few as well, it behooves us to know why Jesus is not the messiah, at least not for us.

And how is it that a religion of love threatens everyone who believes differently with an afterlife of eternal damnation? Is that really the way to "win friends and influence people?"

Who gave America the right To interfere in others' affairs?

Israel HaYom carried an "op ed" by Elliott Abrams, "a senior fellow for Middle East Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations" that takes Secretary of State John Kerry to task for failing to interfere in Saudi domestic policies.

"On the move for Saudi women to be allowed to drive, Kerry was careful not to appear to take sides. Noting that while the United States embraces gender equality, 'it is up to Saudi Arabia to make its own decisions about its own social structure and choices and the timing of whatever events.'

Whether women may or may not legally drive in Saudia is a matter for the Saudis, not the United States.

U.S. citizens may look askance at a country so "backward" that it severely restricts women's "rights" (if driving by anyone can be considered a "right"), but that does not give them the right to tell the Saudis what they should - or should not - do within their borders. Had Kerry publicly sided with the Women of the Wheel he would be representing the United States of Chutzpah.

If anyone wants to condemn the Saudis, there are lots of serious issues to raise.

Corporal punishment - unlike Judaism's maximum of 39 lashes, Islam has no limits.

Lack of Religious freedom - try and bring a non-Islamic holy book into Saudi and end up in jail; non-Muslims are banned from Mecca and Medina.

Slave trafficking - pre-teen and teen age girls are bought in - correct, bought in, not simply brought from - India and Pakistan to satisfy Saudi men.

A woman's right to drive pales in comparison to the real issues, yet few Americans seem as upset over these issues as they are about women behind the wheel of cars. Saudi women can't travel outside the country without permission from their husband or guardian.

Meanwhile, another Israel haYom columnist, Zalman Shoval complains that Obungler allegedly said America no longer wants to be the "world's policeman," and his national security adviser, Susan Rice -- to justify the lethargic stance against Syria and Iran -- says "there is an entire world where the U.S. also has interests and opportunities."

For once I whole-heartedly agree with POTUS; too bad he failed to live up to the words he uttered. America has enough problems of its own; we don't need to be either policeman or nursemaid to the world. We cannot afford it financially or politically.

Is it America's problem that there is a civil war in Syria? By the way, look up the definition of "civil war" and you'll see it doesn't concern the U.S.

If it's NOT "America's problem" and if it MUST be someone's problem, let it be the Arab League of which Syria is a member.

Sudan a U.S. problem? No. The human suffering in the wars of Africa is tragic, but the U.S. has no role to play or right to inject either its politics or its military into - here's that word again - "civil" strife.

Ditto Egypt.

What Obungler HAS done, with his interfering in other nation's domestic political issues, it to make the U.S. what China called us long ago, a paper tiger. The U.S.' reputation would be far better around the globe if Obungler HAD been an isolationist.

Long ago a wiser man occupied the White House.

In President James Monroe's seventh annual message to Congress on December 2, 1823, Monroe basically told the European powers du jour that the U.S. would not interfere in Europe's affairs and that, in return, European monarchs need to keep their politics and political systems out of our hemisphere.

In a pointed statement, he noted that "It is impossible that the allied powers (i.e., Europe) should extend their political system to any portion of either continent (i.e., North and South America) without endangering our peace and happiness; nor can anyone believe that our southern brethren, if left to themselves, would adopt it of their own accord. It is equally impossible, therefore, that we should behold such interposition in any form with indifference."

Madison clearly recognized that installing a political system foreign to the indigenous population was clearly contra-indicated.

That reasoning remains valid today; the only difference is that the U.S., in the person of John Kerry and his staff, are attempting to impose a U.S. political mentality on people who cannot accommodate that mentality.

That is NOT to say different cultures and mentalities are inherently wrong, only "different."

Bottom line: America needs to fix its own problems before even considering other's problems. If that makes the U.S. isolationist, so be it.

We know, from decades of experience, that rarely does our interference win friends for America.

Whether or not women drive in Saudia is not a U.S. concern. If Americans want to pressure Saudis to let women drive, that's fine, providing this is not clothed as official U.S. policy.

Phrasing it out?

CAVEAT: I am not a rabbi and I do not play one on tv.

We are rapidly approaching Hanukah - also Chanukah, but assuredly חנוכה.

My Moroccan sedurs - וזרח השמש and אבותנו - tell me to say

מזמור שיר-חנובת הבית לדוד

before starting ארוממך.

The place where I make minyan uses a Ben Ish Hai sedur. This sedur specifically states NOT to include the Mizmor Shir Hanukat HaBiet for David even during Hanukah.

Like Popeye, "I yam what I yam" - stubborn and curious or perhaps curious and stubborn - so I started pulling down the sundry sedurs on the shelves in the synagogue. There are a variety.

The result: Mixed bag.

IN GENERAL, Mizrachi sedurs; those from Iran, Iraq, Syria, omitted the phrase. Ashkenazi sedurs tend to include the phase every time the song (mizmor) is recited. Because North African Sefardim are peaceful people willing to compromise, the phrase is recited only during Hanukah.

Chabad's תהלת השם includes it with each occurrence. Likewise the Ashkenazi sedurs חיים ושלום, יצחק יאיר, and סדור שמחת יהושע.

On the Mizrachi side, sedurs קול יעקב (Syrian with English translation), עוד יוסף חי , ספרדי השלם, and עת רצון all omit the phrase.

What I don't know is WHY.

Psalm 30 clearly starts off with the phrase מזמור שיר-חנובת הבית לדוד

Psalm 100 includes (מזמור (לתודה.

Rarely are things done sans some reason, even a far-fetched reason.

According to Hakham Yosef Messas, ע''ה, writing in הוד יוסף חי, the reason we add/include מזמור שיר-חנובת הבית לדוד is because adding the opening line enhances awareness of the miracle of Hanukah

כי בימים אלה דוקה חניחו הפסוק להתגדל בו משום פרסומי ניסא, ורהבת הכוונות וספירת התיבות לא תכריע לדלג פרסוקים ותיבות

A "word" about the blessing before lighting the hanukiah (Hanukah menorah).

According to R. Ovadia Yosef, ע''ה, the blessing is:
להדליק נר חנוכה. The North African tradition, according to דברי שלום ואמת is to add the word של in להדליק נר של חנוכה.

A few additional Hanukah traditions from North Africa from the book ילקות שמ''ש:

Hanukiah lighting time: When stars appear; but, if it's impossible to light the wicks as soon as the stars appear, they may be lit until the morning with the blessing. The hanukiah should not be lit before the stars appear; HOWEVER, the wicks MUST be lit before the Shabat candles, but AFTER evening services on Motzi Shabat. (See How long must the flame last?)

Light first or evening prayers? The Hanukiah wicks may be lit before evening prayers.

Blessings first, then kindle the wick: All the relevant blessings are recited before the first wick is lit. On the first night, the blessings are:

   צונן להדליק נר של חנועה
(that commanded us to light the Hanukah wicks))

   שעשה נסים לאבותנו
(Who performed miracles for our fathers)

   שנחיינו
(that brought us to this time)

שנחיינו is said the first night only.

One hanukiah or many? In most Sefardi and Mizrachi homes, only the father lights the hanukiah; all others are included in the ceremony. This includes a son who, although having his own residence "takes his meals" at his father's house. Many Ashkenazim have the tradition that everyone in the family lights their own hanukiah.

Don't mix and match: Either EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) or candles may be used for the Hanukah lights, however, they may not be mixed; either all candles or all oil. I have heard that some authorities are allowing electronic hanukiahs in areas (hospitals, motels, etc.) where flames are forbidden.

How long must the flame last? At least 30 minutes; longer is better. On erev Shabat (Friday night) the candles must last 30 minutes after the stars come out which means the wicks should burn 48 minutes are more - Shabat candles normally are lit at least 18 minutes before kabalat (accepting) Shabat - add 18 to 30 and by my math that's 48 minutes.