China Bistro in Hollywood FL China Bistro Adds gratuity On TAKE-OUT!

CHINA BISTRO is a hole-in-the-wall restaurant at 5650 Stirling Road in Hollywood FL.

It used to be in Dade County, but the Waterways mall in which it operated was sold and the restaurant moved to Hollywood. My spouse and I had been to the much larger Waterways location twice: once with good results, once not so good; suffice that we would not make the trip to the Waterways again were the restaurant still there.

THE SPOUSE was checking the credit card statement with the receipt from the local China Bistro.
That’s when things “hit the fan.”
First of all, we noticed an 18 percent gratuity.

 

FOR TAKE OUT!

 

If truth be known, the food was only “so-so.” The Soho Asian Bar and Grill in Aventura is far superior; if I must drive into Dade County at least I know the food, service, and bill will be fair.

One of our sons was visiting and we wanted a “quick” meal. We had been to China Bistro’s Hollywood store soon after its grand opening — the few tables it has were filled and people were waiting to be seated. We left and ate elsewhere.

Because we now knew that the restaurant was probably crowded, we called in an order for take-out.

 

MY MISTAKE

 

In a hurry to return to Spouse and son, I signed the bill without paying close attention.

It turns out I should have paid “close attention” and challenged the 18% gratuity.

Why am I paying 18% of the $50-something bill for having a cashier hand me several boxes (not bagged, thank you).

How much “service” is required to a hand over several boxes of food — again, sans bag in which to carry them. (I walk with a cane and getting out of the restaurant and to my fliver was, at best, a challenge. Another customer did offer to hold the door for me; much appreciated.)

When the Spouse was checking the credit card bill — she matches bills with the statement, line by line — there was an explosion of less than ladylike language.

When I got up the courage to ask her what was the problem, she showed me the bill and the credit card statement.

Adding insult to injury, she now has been on the phone for roughly 30 minutes trying to reach a Customer Service Representative at the credit card company. She has a great deal more patience that this scrivener.

She also tried four times to call China Bistro. Twice she was put on “hold and forget”and twice she heard a busy signal. To be fair — difficult under the circumstances — she tried to call from 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on New Year’s eve.

 

FOOL ME ONCE, . . .

 

Will we return to China Bistro in Hollywood or any place else?

Not a chance.

Will we recommend China Bistro in Hollywood or anyplace else?

Likewise, not a chance.

If anyone believes an18 percent gratuity is appropriate for take out by all means order a meal from China Bistro.

SoHo also automatically adds the surcharge for “satisfactory” — read “nothing to write home about” — service, but at SoHo I dine in and the food always is enjoyable. It is a bit of a drive, but compared to other “Chinese” restaurants we’ve tried in Hollywood, it is well worth the trip.

And in the end, the Spouse was displeased with her meal. To its credit, it DID make my meal "spicy." The son's chicken soup — he was feeling poorly — was "OK."

 

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

 

Comments on Gratuities for take-out

Opuscula IDF innocent Of “targeting” Hamas "medic"

ACCORDING TO ISRAEL HAYOM, the New York Times, in its unmitigated arrogance, has decided ”After analyzing over 1,000 pictures of the incident in which Palestinian medic Razan Al-Najar was fatally shot on Gaza border,” that “while IDF snipers did not target her, using live fire on crowd of violent protesters was ‘reckless’."

IF THE NYT “concludes” after looking at “over” 1000 pictures that the IDF only was “reckless” in using live ammunition to prevent hordes of Gazans from invading Israel — after repeatedly being warned and after other, non-lethal measures had failed to move the invaders back — than that must be the way it was.

Israel HaYom’s article is at
http://tinyurl.com/y8tyqqat.

The NYT article, headlined, How Times Reporters Froze a Fatal Moment on a Protest Field in Gaza is at
http://tinyurl.com/yahhq9sm.

I’m left with more than a few questions.

Having been a real reporter and editor — as reporting rather than spinning it — my first objection to the NYT article has nothing to do with WHAT the NYT mucky-mucks “concluded,” but article author Malachy Browne’s — and his editor’s — misuse of the language. Browne wrote that We analyzed over 1,000 photos and videos . Over? Perhaps he meant to write “more than”? Granted, I am a grammar curmudgeon (and proud of it), but the NYT promotes itself as an authority on almost everything. Like the military — ANY military — there is a right way, a wrong way, and, in this case, the NYT’s way.

 

A LITTLE BACKGROUND

Browne writes that My colleagues Yousur Al-Hlou and Neil Collier had met Rouzan during a reporting trip three weeks earlier and were struck by her charisma and her determination to help the injured. We felt duty bound to investigate her death — and, along with The Times’s Jerusalem bureau chief, David M. Halbfinger, spent five months doing so. He adds on the NYT site that We interviewed more than 60 people (witnesses, family members, friends, teachers, acquaintances, members of the Israeli army, and medical, legal and ballistics experts).

Snide comment: At least Browne correctly wrote “more than 60 people” rather than “over 60 people.”

The bottom line: the NYT staffers had a personal agenda: they met Rouzan during a reporting trip three weeks earlier and were struck by her charisma and her determination to help the injured before making for the invasion jumping off point.

 

”OVER 1,000 PHOTOS”

Browne claims he and his NYT associates discovered that most of the day was documented in pictures by journalists, protesters, medics and bystanders taking selfies. Over months of reporting from New York and Gaza, we collected more than 1,000 videos and photographs directly from the cellphones and cameras of more than 30 key witnesses.

This makes me think of the propaganda events staged by the nazis — gather everyone with a camera to record a staged event as if is was spontaneous. Hamas learned the lesson very well. This is not the first time Hamas has staged a shooting. See http://tinyurl.com/bwzwzy7; also see http://tinyurl.com/y8hon9lr

Still, “more than 1,000 videos and photographs” — note how the writer changes from “over 1,000 photos and videos” to “more than 1,000 videos and photos” — and all from only 30 devices: cell phones and cameras of various types. I wonder if he is counting video frames or whatever each image is called.

Browne admits, on the NYT site, that we realized that some pictures were out of sequence because the time was incorrectly set on several cameras. So we compared each device against an accurate clock to recalibrate the metadata and create a precise tick-tock of events.. If the NYT crew manipulated the time sequences, that suggests other things also may have been “adjusted.”

I like the NYT’s use of “tick-tock.” It suggests the mental age of its readers.

 

THE DENOUEMENT?

The alleged victim of IDF gunfire, according to the NYT, had testified against her own grandmother in a homicide case in which members of her family had sought to keep quiet. While certainly not proof that the bullet that killed the woman came from the Gaza side of the fence, it does suggest the possibility. Remember, the “Palestinians” — if the woman was a Gaza resident, she more than likely was Egyptian, as are most Gazans — consider murder of non-conformists as, albeit an oxymoron, a fact of life.

Despite the NYT absolving the IDF of "targeting” the woman, its personnel determined that an IDF bullet DID kill her. According to the NYT, she was killed by shrapnel “severing her aorta.”

Naturally the NYT labels the death of the woman as “possibly a war crime for which no one has been punished.” (If it IS a “war crime” there should be a trial before anyone is punished. Apparently the NYT does not deem a trial a requisite before punishment takes place.

The NYT wraps ups its “research” article by claiming ”During our reporting we learned that by August, 60 to 70 Gaza protesters had been killed “unintentionally.”

Not one word on Hamas sending its citizens to the fence; not one word about Gaza civilians throwing rocks and other objects at the Israelis. Not one word about the rockets and kite bombs sent by Hamas into Israeli civilian centers. Not one word.

Not one word why Hamas only targets the Israeli border and not the Egyptian border that remains as tightly shut as the Israeli side.

The NYT claims to “print all the news that’s fit to print.” What is “fit to print” is obviously a point of disagreement between the NYT’s editorial board and writers’ bias and the readers’ right to the full truth.

As far as the NYT is concerned, even though the IDF did not “target” the “medic” she still died from an IDF bullet.

 

LAW IN THE U.S.

The law in most U.S. states is that if the police kill a perpetrator in the act of committing a crime, no murder was committed. If the police kill a bystander — collateral damage — the perpetrator is charged with the death since had the criminal not been doing what he or she was doing there would never have been gunfire.

To this former reporter’s mind, Hamas — NOT the IDF — should ace criminal charges for any injury and death of its captive population as it is pushed to the fence. Hamas should be held liable for the death and injury of ITS citizens.

It is obvious, at least to my mind, that Hamas sends its civilians to attack the fence on and off at will; these attacks on the fence are as “spontaneous” as the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi.

Did the NYT even consider that the citizens of Gaza had a choice? Are they, like the suicide murders from the PA, modern day kamakazis? Children indoctrinated from their earliest days to hate Israel and the Jews.

If the NYT REALLY wants to tell the story of Gaza, let it begin at the beginning, when Egyptians settled there. Let it continue to include what the Gazans did to the infrastructure left when the Israels were driven out — not by Hamas, not by Egypt — by Ariel Sharon and the IDF. (It also might ask why Egypt refused Gaza when Begin offered to return it.)

 

READ NYT ARTICLE IN FULL

Read the entire article. Go to the source: http://tinyurl.com/yahhq9sm

Israel HaYom’s headline got it right: NY Times probe: IDF reckless but did not target Gaza medic — the operative word is TARGET.

 

PERSONAL NOTE

I once was a military medic. (The image to the right is NOT this scrivener.)

Medics are supposed to be non-combatants and, consequently, are not issued weapons, not even "smoke" genades.

Medics were outfitted — in addition to extra heavy packs — with helmets and arm bands that clearly identified us a medics (corpsmen if you prefer). Our gear showed a large red cross. In Muslim-dominated areas, including the PA, medics are identified by a red crescent. In Israel, by a red “Jewish star.”

Apparently in Gaza, the only way to identify a medic is by a white coat which, as we are led to believe by the NYT, is the only identification Ms. Al-Najar displayed. (Can’t Hamas “borrow” red crescent ID from the PA? Or perhaps it does not WANT to identify its medics.)

According to Israel HaYom, she allegedly was seen throwing a (smoke) grenade at the IDF. The NYT was unable to find footage of this.

Image of medic emblems from http://tinyurl.com/y83xu5g3

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on NYT

Opuscula Until 120 No thanks

MY MOTHER-IN-LAW (MIL) IS IN HER 90s. Her health has been better.

She has a live-in helper who is a strain on her finances, but it’s either that or a mosod — a nursing home.

MIL is adamant: she will not abandon her home.

MIL has seven living children, of which five line in the same town as MIL. One lives a few hours away and the seventh lives in the U.S.

In many respects, MIL is as sharp as a tack. In some other ways, not so much. After all, the lady is in her 90s — no one knows for sure as there were no birth certificates in Morocco when she was born. She raised her children and many of her grandchildren.

In her mind, it now is the children's turn to care for her.

That’s how it was in Morocco — and many other places, too.

TIMES CHANGE

She’s right, but . . .

First, she won’t give up her home, a place she shared with her late husband for more than half a century.

Second, her children have their own children — and grandchildren.

Most either have two story homes or apartments on a second or third floor. MIL can barely walk; climbing stairs is an almost impossibility.

The children take turns bringing her to their homes for Shabatot and hagim; the one in Haifa comes to MIL and spends time at MIL’s home; the one in the U.S. comes once or twice a year to spend time with her mother, her daughter, and her grandchildren, as well as visiting her sisters and brothers. Be it two weeks or four, there never is enough time to do everything on her agenda.

MIL has a pension, but the live-in help takes a major chunk of it, and to hear MIL, the live-in does little to earn her keep. MIL’s children generally report a different picture regarding the help the live-in does, or does not, provide for her wages.

MIL’s only other option; one she absolutely refuses to consider, is to move into a retirement home.

The neighbors she once counted as friends have died. She is one of the last remaining original olim from Morocco. The town in which she lives remains largely North African, and Moroccan is still spoken, but by fewer and fewer people.

In a nursing home, MIL would be with others of her generation, probably others from Morocco. She would have full time, supervised, medical attention. The cost probably would be about the same as the live-in.

But, she won’t give up her home.

I can understand that. That’s like asking an American to give up his or her driver’s license. Even if the person no longer can drive, that license still represents “independence.”

As long as MIL has the house, she can think she is independent.

I see the life MIL is living and I am serious when I tell people who wish me
עד 120 — until 120 — that I really don’t want to live that long.

Maybe Moses was able to hike up a mountain at 120, but I can’t do it even now, and I’m decades younger than 120.

Yes, there is Medicare (for how much longer) and Social Security (also, for how much longer), and I do have a pension pittance, but what once took me 15 minutes to walk to “shul,” now takes me 15 minutes to walk to a minyan one-eighth the distance. It could be worse; I could have to “roll” to the minyan when walking becomes out of the question.

I’m not going to anything “foolish” to hurry my demise along, but I am telling the truth when I tell me who wish me עד 120 that I hope their wish, albeit well intentioned, is not something I want fulfilled.

It’s not in my hands, anyway.

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Until 120

Opuscula They steal Everything

JANUARY 1 IS, as few of Jesus’ followers know, the Feast of the Circumcision.

Anyone who can read should know that Jesus was a Jew and that Jews circumcise their sons on their eighth day — assuming all is well with the boy.

Anyone who can count also knows that January 1 is eighth day after the alleged birth.

Count’em.

December 25 = 1
December 26 = 2
December 27 = 3
December 28 = 4
December 29 = 5
December 30 = 6
December 31 = 7
January 1 = EIGHTH DAY!

Beside welcoming the boy into the family, mitzvoth, and chupah, what do we do?

We party.

Usually our parties are more or less (in Israel less or more) controlled.

Lots of food.

Something to drink.

Maybe some dancing.

Lots of smoozing with out-of-town kin we won’t see again until the boy becomes a Bar Mitzvah.

Many of the nokreem — non-Jews — copy at least part of the Jewish life celebration. (A number of Jews also ape the nokreem with the idea of

כל סיבה למסיבה

and, like their non-Jewish mentors, carry the celebration to the extreme, turning it into a bacchanalia.

That’s not to claim that Dod Yosie (Uncle Joseph) didn’t drink a little to much and behave badly, but as a general rule Jewish parties — even henna and chupah — are more restrained than a nokeer’s New Year’s event.

It’s not enough that the non-Jews celebrate the circumcision of a Jew who many hate simply because he’s Jewish (or “Palestinian” if you believe revisionist history out or Ramallah), but they “stole” the party aspect, too.

I suspect that many (most?) of the celebrants are
(a) Not aware that Jan. 1 relates to a Jewish event
(b) That their god was born a Jew (hard to admit for some)
(c) That surgery was performed on him at the eighth day.

I don’t know of any non-Jews who celebrate a circumcision on the eighth day with a party. I understand the Muslims, some of whom circumcise their sons around the age of 13 (remembering Ismael who was 13 when Abraham circumcised everyone in his camp [Genesis 17: 24-27] ) make a celebration.

Some of Jesus’ orthodox followers may actually realize the meaning of Jan. 1, but for most, I suspect any religious aspect has been as far removed from the day as it has been removed from December 25 and similar holy days.

(This is not an uncommon practice. Look at Americans on Memorial Day — find a paper poppy; veterans largely are forgotten. Go to the beach in Tel Aviv in Yom Kippor, but be careful of flying matkot balls.)

And then there is “Sylvester”

In Israel, and now elsewhere as Israelis relocate around the globe, many Jews celebrate Dec. 31 (and well into Jan. 1) as “Sylvester.”

Sylvester was a bishop in Rome who later was named pope and even later was upgraded to saint.

There is a story (Wikipedia, http://tinyurl.com/ybtxch4e) that Sylvester cured Constantine of leprosy and converts him, not from paganism, but from Judaism!

The Jerusalem Post (http://tinyurl.com/yc7462q8) makes no bones about Sylvester as an anti-Semite. According to The Jerusalem Post, Israeli New Years, most commonly known as Sylvester, is named after an anti-Semitic pope. Not exactly what you’d expect in a Jewish state.

Sylvester convinced Constantine to prohibit Jews from living in Jerusalem, the year before the Council of Nicea convened, and during the council, the Pope arranged for the passing of various anti-Semitic legislation. Some say he is one of the most anti-Semitic Popes of all time.

As for this scrivener, I’ll try to remember to write “2019” instead of “2018” on correspondence; that’s my big celebration — and it lasts all year long.

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on January 1

Opuscula Despite rabbis, Shamai is not Always the bad guy

I HAPPEN TO THINK SHAMAI, Hillel’s partner, gets a raw deal from the rabbis.

In Avot, Shamai gets one line that includes

מקבל את כל האדם בסבר פמים יפות

(Receive everyone with a cheerful face)

compared to Hillel’s many.

WHAT PROMPTS THIS umbrage?

Jos. Teluskin’s book Jewish Wisdom; specifically a discussion about commenting on a bride’s appearance. (Page 59).

Hillel’s school contends that even if the bride looks like something from a horror movie, the guests should describe her as a “beautiful and graceful bride.”

Shamai said describe her as she is.

(Babylonian Talmud 16b-17a)

Let’s consider.

The bride knows she is no beauty queen. Telling her she is “beautiful and graceful” obviously is insulting and hurtful to the bride. She knows better and she knows she's being lied to.

Teluskin’s book suggests, citing Tosafot, that Shamai probably intended to find something to praise about the bride — her eyes, her hands, her disposition.

That doesn’t satisfy Teluskin. He insists that “if instead of praising the brides overall beauty (which by all preceding accounts is a falsehood), praising one feature simply points out the ugliness of her other features."
For Shamai, it is a no win situation.

Putting down Shamai seems to be a major sport among the rabbis, both modern and not-so-modern.

Yet if anyone studies Shamai, they are likely to be disabused of that opinion.

Almost everyone knows the story of the heathen who insisted that Shamai teach him Torah while the heathen stood on one foot.

Shamai chased the man way. Shamai would not cheapen the Torah that way, and the heathen was impudent — at least in Shamai’s mind — to make such a demand.

Hillel, as we are told, accepted the heathen and told him not to do to his fellowman what he would not have done to himself. The rest is commentary; go study.

Did the heathen “go study?” Your guess is as good as mine, but I lean toward “no, he did not go study.”

Why, incidentally did Hillel use the negative approach: “Don’t do anything...”? It generally is believed it is easier NOT to do something than it is to DO something — except of course when it comes to eating desserts, when it can be very hard to not do something.

Shamai may have been a feminist. At least some of his decisions were pro-women.

*   *   *   

Jewish Women's Archive
(http://tinyurl.com/yc4h2hzr)

Bet Shammai views women as autonomous individuals possessing equal personal status, while Bet Hillel disregards women’s personal status.

Gittin 90a-b: Grounds for Divorce (http://tinyurl.com/ybnwpsy9)

Beit Shammai rules that a man can divorce his wife only if he found a devar erva – a promiscuous situation.

Beit Hillel permits divorce even in a case where the wife hikdihah tavshilo (literally “burned his food”).

Rabbi Akiva says that he can divorce her for any reason – even if he found another woman who he finds more attractive.

*   *   *   

I don’t doubt that Shamai was the stricter of the pair. Fathers often are stricter with their children than the children’s mother, but does that mean the father loves his children less? It may be he loves them more and wants to protect them from whatever dangers threaten. The children just may not realize it at the time.

If I was to put them into today’s terms, Hillel is ADL; Shamai is JDL.

Hillel would have been in Ben Gurion’s camp; Shamai in Began’s. (Remember who made the first peace deal?)

It takes all kinds — the Hillels and the Shamais — and Jews should learn more about these personalities before making blanket statements: Hillel was good; Shamai was bad.

That’s akin to the current politics in both the U.S. and Israel. Blinded by stupidity, neither the left nor the right can see any virtue in the other — to the detriment of the nations.

Shamai was not always the “bad guy,” nor was Hillel always the “good guy.”

Now if the rabbis will realize that, and treat Shamai with the respect due him, I’d be a happy camper.

* The Jewish Virtual Library (http://tinyurl.com/y8y8757t) sums up Hillel and Shamai in a short paragraph:

Both (Hillel and Shamai) lived during the reign of King Herod (37-4 BCE), an oppressive period in Jewish history because of the Roman occupation of the Land of Israel. Shamai was concerned that if Jews had too much contact with the Romans, the Jewish community would be weakened, and this attitude was reflected in his strict interpretation of Jewish law. Hillel did not share Shamai's fear and therefore was more liberal in his view of law.

Is there a modern comparison? The Romans are gone, but Jews still are tempted by the non-Jewish world.

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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Opuscula Something About camps To consider

I READ AN ARTICLE in World Israel News (http://tinyurl.com/ybyvhw7u) under the heading Analysis: Palestinian boy dies at hospital gates… in Lebanon that claims UNRWA and the Lebanese government failed to properly care for a dying child.

There are at least two sides to the story, and the article presents them all.

But I was left with some questions; questions for which I lack answers.

We know there are “refugee” camps in Israel. “Palestinians” can leave the camps whenever they wish to integrate into local “Palestinian” communities.

We also know that “Palestinians” — and that includes those in Gaza — regularly enter Israel for medical care, much of it funded by Israeli taxpayers. They get care at almost any “government” hospital, e.g., Hadassah, Rambam, Tel HaShomer, even if they are indigent.

They are treated by Israeli Muslim, Jewish, and non-Jewish doctors, nurses, and technicians.

“Palestinian” doctors intern at Israeli hospitals under world-class physicians.

The first question is: Why do the “refugees” stay in the camps sited in a Muslim country, e.g., Lebanon, Jordan, Syria?

Location of UNRWA refugee camps as of 1993
(Source: http://tinyurl.com/y7y2vgau)

Won’t the Lebanese, Jordanians, Syrians, et al allow the “refugees” to leave and be absorbed into the local Muslim communities?

Will UNRWA object? I can understand why UNRWA officials might object: after all, the organizations full name is United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. No “refugees” and a lot of UN employees might have to find new jobs. Unfortunately for UNRWA employees, there are no similar UN agencies for any other displaced persons. Every other ethnic group has absorbed its refugees — every group except the Muslims.

Yes, I understand that Muslim A and Muslim B hate each other because one is Sunni and the other is Shia. A black hat Jew may not accept a Reform Jew as a Jew — and the feeling probably is mutual — but neither wants to murder the other. Even most Democrats and most Republicans, while they may not want “to marry one,” don’t promote the other’s killing.

Yet the Shia-Sunni warfare continues as it has for several hundred years.

Worse than Sefardi and Ashkenazi.

There always is talk that “the Arabs want to keep the ‘Palestinians' in the camps." Maybe.

But I fail to see the political gain, especially since more and more Muslim countries are establishing diplomatic relations with Israel.

I write “Muslim” rather than “Arab” since many Muslim-dominated countries are populated by non-Arab peoples. Iranians are not Arabs — they are “Persians.” Just ask one.

On the contrary. Until recently many Arab countries poured money into the “Palestinian” coffers and supported UNRWA in New York. Many European nations also poured money into the “Palestinian” leaderships’, pockets. Even the United States taxpayers funded UNRWA.

Is camp life a good life?

Can life in the camps be so good that a “refugee” — actually the grandchild of a “refugee” would rather be on the UNRWA dole than integrate into the Muslim society?

On the other hand, will a Muslim society any place in the Middle East welcome, or even accept, a “Palestinian” who elects to leave the camps?

Jordanians who have long memories will recall how the “Palestinians” tried to assassinate King Abdullah. The mini-war between the PLO and Jordan’s military is known as “Black September.”

I have no idea what daily life in a UN refugee camp is like.

Kids may go to school — where they learn to hate Jews in general and Israel in particular, where text books incite against all infidels.

If the camp is in Gaza, there may be a water shortage (blame Israel) or a power outage (blame it on Israel), or a shortage of medicine (blame it on Israel) — never mind that the cause of most of Gaza’s woes is Hamas, not Israel.

Let’s not forget that Gaza also borders Egypt and that Egypt’s border often is closed to Gaza residents.

What really happened to that child in Lebanon may be debated forever.

The bottom line is that it once more brings to light the fact that the grandchildren of the so-called Palestinian refugees will not — cannot? — integrate into the host country’s Muslim population.

Israel cannot — will not — absorb them; that would change the county’s demographics and make it just another Muslim country and make it a scientific, technical, and humanitarian wasteland similar to its Muslim neighbors. In other words, the “refugees” would come “home” to a land with no future.

In case anyone wonders what the returning “refugees” would do to Israel, look at what they did when the Jews left Gaza. Growing export businesses were destroyed. Infrastructure was destroyed. Gaza’s future — if not destroyed — t was seriously delayed .

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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Opuscula No peace In our time

According to United With Israel (http://tinyurl.com/yc2jepru), Musa is the youngest patient to undergo heart transplant surgery at Sheba Hospital and the first Palestinian baby to received a heart from a Jewish child.

A gravely-ill six-month-old Palestinian baby is fighting for his life after receiving a heart transplant from a Jewish child.

The Palestinian boy, Musa, has a fighting chance at a long life thanks to Israeli generosity and medical care.

The same site also has an article headlined "Martyrs’ Killed by Jews Receive ‘Double Heavenly Reward,’ Says Palestinian Cleric" (http://tinyurl.com/y89pf8o8).

ISRAEL NATIONAL NEWS conveniently failed to note how the Jewish child died. Lousy reporting leaves the death open to speculation, not a good thing in this region.

It would be interesting — albeit it is doubtful anyone will remember this transplant in 16 years — to know if this Palestinian infant will grow up to hate Jews and Israel or will he grow up to be a peace maker.

Or even if he will be allowed to grow up.

When the child is surrounded by people such as Sheikh Nasser Maarouf, of the Palestine Islamic Scholars Association, who said that Palestinian “mujahideen,” or Islamic warriors, have the advantage of waging Jihad against the Jews, because a “martyr” killed by the Jews receives twice the reward of one who was killed by other infidels.

In Maarouf,’s world, a “martyr” is a Muslim killed by anyone defending non-Muslims. Every “Palestinian” killed by an Israeli in self defense or after the Muslim has murdered an Israeli (Jew, Muslim, or other), is a martyr.

MEMRI has translated the sheikh’s rant at https://youtu.be/Pa6_wnThyfM .

I am left with several questions:

*   Who paid for the heart transplant? Did Abu Mazen’s government pay? Did Israelis pay?

*   Did the parents of the dead child know their child’s heart would be implanted into a “Palestinian” infant? If they knew, did they hope this donation will foster peace, if not now, then later?

*   Will the child be treated differently by his fellow “Palestinians” who know his heart came from a Jewish child? Will he be tormented by his peers and by his religious leaders?

Only time will provide an answer to the last question.

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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Opuscula Commandment That’s Ignored By black hats

\

THERE IT IS, IN BLACK ON WHITE:

לא תעשה כל-מלאכה
אתה
ובנך
ובתך
ועבדך
וכל בהמתך
וגרך אשר בשערך

IN OTHER WORDS, HaShem tells us, in Dvarim/Deuteronomy 5 14, that Thou shalt not do any manner of work,
nor they son,
nor thy daughter,
nor thy man-servant,
nor thy maid servant,
(nor thy ox nor ass)
nor any of thy cattle,
nor they stranger that is within they gate. (Translation from Hertz/Soncino humash, 1996)

So how is it that almost every congregation, no matter HOW “observant” or “Orthodox” has a “Shabbos goy”?

To their credit, most Reform congregations do not have a non-Jew to do work prohibited to Jews. Many Conservative congregations also are “DIY” (do it yourself).

An aside: I have a serious problem with the word “goy.” I know I’m wasting bits and bites on the WWW, but “goy” means “nation.” HaShem promised the patriarchs to make us a “goy gadol” —. a “great nation.” Not once but several times. It’s time to “rethink” the word “goy” — and “midbar,” too.

The rabbis play games with this very straight-forward commandment.

Well, they opine, if you invite a non-Jew to your home or place of worship and it’s dark or too cold or too hot, maybe the non-Jew will volunteer to correct the problem.

If the non-Jew fails to “get the message,” the Jew, according to the rabbis, may “hint” that it would be”nice” if the non-Jew would do what the Jew is forbidden to do.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have more light? Don’t you think it’s too (hot/cold) in here?

Granted, life in our generations would be exceedingly difficult if we tried to live strictly by the Torah. The rabbis have been “finding ways” to “mitigate” HaShem’s commandments since at least Hillel and his decision on loans.

The thing that “kicked off” this screed was a question asked of a friend, who happens to be an Ashkenazi Orthodox rabbi.

The question was:

Is it OK to prepare coffee before Shabat — fill the coffee maker’s well with water, put coffee in the filter in the coffee holder, put the carafe under the coffee holder, and set a time to start the coffee making process early on Shabat morning.

The rabbi’s answer: He would not do it, BUT his father, a rosh yeshiva in Jerusalem, would.

The issue comes down to use of electronic controls.

*  Almost every observant Jew uses timers to control lights.

*  Heat and air conditioners go on and off according to thermostats.

*  Shabat ovens and refrigerators go on and off according to thermostats.

Basically, these are “hands free” devices. The Shabbos goy is out of the picture (unless, of course, if someone forgets to set the timers or the power fails and the timers no longer have the correct time).

I suppose the question could be: Is the non-Jew a “servant?”

I hold that the person need not be an employee the Jew. A server in a restaurant is not employed by the person dining in the restaurant, but as the name implies, the person is a server/servant.

If a Jew — for example a rabbi whose timer for whatever reason fails to turn on the lights in the shul — sends a congregant next door to ask the store owner to come over and turn on the lights, to my Winnie-the-Pooh mind, that’s forbidden. That person is serving the perceived needs of the rabbi. (By the way, I was witness to this on more than one occasion.) There was no question of “hinting” about the lights.

“Things” happen and we need to “make do.”

Some children messed up the A/C timer at a synagogue in Bet Shean Israel in the summer. Bet Shean is in the Jordan valley. High temperatures for June, July, and August commonly hit 35-plus degrees C (98-plus F). The typical LOW during those three months is 22-plus C (72-plus F). While there ARE a few non-Jews in Bet Shean, no one ran to find one; the congregants simply opened the windows. Not much help, but no one broke the Shabat. (Yes, Virginia, I was there.) Temperature conversions thanks to onlineconversion.com.

I’ll admit that in many places the 12 windows in a traditional synagogue are sealed closed.

I’m reminded of a story about fans.

The difference between a “penny fan” and a “nickle fan” is that you wave a nickle fan in front of your face; with a “penny fan” you move your face left and right.

Thinking about Hillel — I wonder if his rulings would be accepted if he lived today and poskened as he did in his day.

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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Opuscula Interesting Odds & ends About Hanuka

Hanuka — or Chanukah or any variation thereof, still is חנוכה — is different than most “popular” Jewish holidays in many ways.

It is not from the Torah; akin to Purim, it is “post-Torah.”

The full Hallel is recited after the morning Ahmedah.¹ On Pesach (Passover) the full Hallel is recited only on the first day. Shavuot, however, is similar to Hanuka in that full Hallel is recited all eight days.²

Hanuka also shares another trait with Shavuot. Both holidays are celebrated with dairy meals. My Moroccan Mother-in-Law recalls making a dairy cus-cus.
שלחו ערוך השלם מנקד (של הרה''ג מרדכי אליהו) הנוכה ,,,בת יוחנן כהן גדול (ע"מ 466))

As with everything Jewish, there are variations on a theme.

?מה עוד חדש

None of the above hanukiot are kosher; cute but not kosher for Hanuka

EVERYTHING “HANUKA” IS RABBINICAL.

Everyone knows that the main difference between the menorah in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem — built long before Mohamed was born and therefore preceding Islam and the so-called “Palestinians” — and the Hanukia is the number of wicks.

The Temple in Jerusalem had seven wicks — the shamash in the middle flanked by three on either side.

Was the shamash in the middle and higher or as some insist, in front of the other wicks?

Why “wicks?” Rather than write “candles or wicks in oil,” “wicks” covers both. Candles have wicks. Oil hanukiot also use wicks.

Some homes have a hanukia for each person — it makes a pretty sight and we are allowed only to enjoy the light — in other homes, there is one hanukia for the entire household. In multi-hanukia households, everyone who lights the wicks says the blessings. In a single-hanukia household, whoever lights the wicks says the blessing. The single-hanukia source is the Babylonian Talmud.³

Everyone says amen to the blessings:

להדליק ניר של חנכה

בימים ההם בזמן הזה

שהחינו

The last of the three blessings is “first night only.”

Everyone sings the songs, including:

הנרות הללו אנו מדליקים

מעור צור ישועתי

.

To help assure that everyone enjoys the light of the hanukia, work is prohibited while the wicks burn.

The commandment is to LIGHT the wicks. If the fire goes out, it is not necessary to re-light the wick.

The REASON the wicks are lit is to publicize the miracle of Hanuka.

While the only thing we can do with the light is to enjoy it, in order to publicize it we put the hanukia where it can be seen by passers-by.

On most nights the wicks must burn, at a minimum, 30 minutes. On Shabat, when the wicks are lit before the Shabat candles, the “no work” period is longer. (On the other hand, all work is permitted during Hanuka (except, of course, on Shabat Hanuka).⁴ Shabat is the only night when the wicks are lit before dark (since they must be lit before the Shabat candles).

The problem with the hanukiot in the image above is that the candles are at different levels. The only exception is the shamash. All eight candles must be at the same level.⁵

During prayers and at meals

In the morning prayers, both daily and Shabat, Moroccans add “A psalm, a song of dedication of the House of David, a/k/a the Temple, before “From your heights”

מזמור שיר-חנת הבית לדוד before ארוממך " כי דליתני⁶

In the Hanuka Ahmedah, we add “For the miracles” (על הנסים) and the paragraph beginning “In the days of Matatya” ( בימי מתתיה בן יוחנן) ⁷

In Berekat HaMazon (prayer following a meal with bread), the words we add “Because of the miracles” (על הנסים).⁸ All of the above apply to those who pray at home as well.

Many Moroccans also add “נר-לרגלי ואור לנתיבתי” just before “בריך שמיה” except on Rosh Hodesh when “יהי רצון” precedes “בריך שמיה”.

Hanuka song book

* Adam Sandler: http://tinyurl.com/y8j6ql56
* Songs for Teaching: http://tinyurl.com/y8h6ymod
* Chanukah Songs from Chabad: http://tinyurl.com/y8fllhjm
* Maoz Tzur & Oh Hanukkah: http://tinyurl.com/yafkh6e9
* Hanukkah Song and Music Guide: http://tinyurl.com/y7dkqc3a
* Hanukkah Songs and lyrics: http://tinyurl.com/y8rol623
* Hebrew songs (English lyrics): http://tinyurl.com/3esc7http://tinyurl.com/3esc7

Hanuka elsewhere on this blog

Hanukkah quiz http://tinyurl.com/ybuoggqw
A little bit of water keeps oil cups clean http://tinyurl.com/y9yscayu
Phrasing it out? http://tinyurl.com/yaxt3pow
Two thoughts - Hallel and Atheists http://tinyurl.com/y6wz93nx
Choice: Advertise Hanuka? Or risk a conflagration http://tinyurl.com/yb2hqolm
"Xmas not for Jews" said to be hate crime http://tinyurl.com/y75af53e
I don't understand http://tinyurl.com/y8kg7gqu

Sources

1. R. Israel Meir Lau, יהדות הלכה למעשה Page 241

2. Sedur Abotanu, Page 667

3. Israel Meir Lau, יהדות הלכה למעשה Page 239

4. R. Mordachi Eliyahu קצור שלחן ערוך השלם מנקד Page 466, Para. ג

5. R. Mordachi Eliyahu קצור שלחן ערוך השלם מנקד Page 467, Para. י

6. Sedur Abotanu, Page 134

7. Sedur Abotanu, Page 183

8. R. Israel Meir Lau, יהדות הלכה למעשה Page 238

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Hanuka Odds & Ends

Opuscula Jews bury heads Today; Will they Bury bodies next?

LEFTIST AMERICANS WHO happen to be Jewish are sufficiently enchanted with avowed anti-Semites to elect them to the nation’s congress.

Never mind that these people, including two Muslim women who openly express hate for Israel, represent districts in Minnesota and Michigan.

Minnesota, Hubert H. Humphrey’s home state, has long been a bastion of liberalism, but not antisemitism.

LEFT: Rashida Tlaib RIGHT: Ilhan Omar

JEWS HAVE HAD A LONG ROMANCE with the Democrat party and they have ignored what the party’s leadership has done to them.

For years, and for some, even until today, Franklin Delano Roosevelt is something of a minor god. Never mind that he condemned a boatload of Jews escaping Germany to return their deaths in nazi gas chambers.

LEFT: Refugees on board the St. Louis trying to escape nazi murderers. RIGHT: FDR concerned a nazi spy might be among the Jews fleeing for their lives.

The Jews in the Democrat party ignored Barack Hussein Obama’s flirting with notorious anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan. Nor were they bothered by Obama’s loyalty to the anti-American preacher, the “Rev.” Jeremiah Wright who called on his god to damn America.

LEFT: Obama and anti-Semite Farrakhan RIGHT: Obama and America-hater Wright

These same Jews closed their eyes when Obama, in his last day in office, gave millions of dollars to Abu Mazen — despite congress opposing the “gift.” (But then again, Obama frequently had his way with congress despite congress’ wishes.)

These are the Jews who think the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is a protector of Jews. The ADL is like a toothless old woman confined to a rocking chair.

What Jews need in America to counter the leftist is the Jewish Defense League, JDL.

Jews in America need to wake up and realize that antisemitism is not only “alive and well” but spreading like a California wild fire.

Burying our heads in the sand will not stop the spread of this disease in either the Democrat left or the skinhead “alt-right.”

I will stop short of urging Jews to take ball bats in hand or to arm themselves (as the JDL recommends), but Jews of all political points of view need to decide if they are Jews first or extremists first. “Accident of birth” Jews — those Jews who have little or no connection and knowledge of Judaism — already have decided that their fellow Jews, Israel, and Judaism will play no role in their lives. Worse, to distance themselves from Jews and Judaism, they often become strident antisemites.

This denial of their Jewishness is nothing new; for centuries, Jews who valued integration over peoplehood have gone to extremes to hide the truth, even going so far as trying to reverse a circumcision. (Never mind that Muslims and many non-Jews circumcise their sons.)

I’m not sure what can be done with Jew-hating Jews, but they must be politically neutralized. Jews need to run for office and Jews need to support moderate Jews-who-are-Jewish candidates.

Burying our collective head in the sand is NOT going to protect us.

Kowtowing to the antisemites — be they Jews or not &mdAsh; is NOT going to protect us.

Behaving like the Jews of Europe as Hitler pushed for power — “no one will left him take over the government” — will NOT protect us.

Leftist Jews need to make sure their candidates are not antisemites.

Conservative Jews need to put forward candidates who are our friends.

When antisemites are elected to congress it must be a wake-up call for Jews in America.

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out . . . (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came_...)

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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Opuscula Everyone can lose If Israel invades And deposes Hamas

Another Lebanon?

According to Israel HaYom’s English edition of 21 November 2018 (http://tinyurl.com/ybefj3p4), Public ‎Security Minister Gilad Erdan, a member of the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet, says Israel may have to retake Gaza "until ‎we eliminate terrorist infrastructure"

While hardly any Israeli would be sad to see Hamas obliterated, what can replace it?

Not Abu Mazen’s PLO that flip-flops on its relationship with Israel more than Benjamin Netanyahu flip-flops on settlements. The Gazans allowed Hamas to run the PLO out of the Strip.

Not Islamic Brotherhood, as bad for Israel and probably for Gazens, too, as Hamas.

Egypt won’t step it.

IF ISRAEL PUTS AN END to Hamas it will be “stuck” in Gaza trying to govern a people who for decades have been indoctrinated that the only good Israeli – or Jew – is a dead Israeli (or Jew).

What about the UN?

The UN is in bed with Hamas. It teaches hatred of Israel in its schools. It allows Hamas to use its facilities to launch rockets and mortars into Israel.

The UN is not capable of guiding Gaza toward peace with either Israel or Egypt.

Perhaps — just “perhaps” — given the improved relations with several Muslim-dominated countries, a coalition of Islamic nations no longer intent on driving the Jews to the sea could be invited to govern Gaza until the locals can create a viable, and acceptable to Israel, political infrastructure.

Israel could, and I suggest should, help the interim governors by loosening trade restrictions (both ways) and making it easier for Gazans to travel to Europe and other Muslim states – but NOT to PLO-controlled areas. (The PLO still harbors jihadists and its leader-for-life cannot be depended upon to honor yesterday’s agreements,)

Having a perhaps multi-national Muslim government in Gaza sans Israeli military presence would go a long way to “normalizing” relations with Gaza’s neighbors (Israel and Egypt). The government would need to be the same flavor of Islam as the residents of Gaza. (Iraq is a great example or NONcooperation between various Muslim sects.)

Don’t expect Gazans, especially young Gazans, to welcome Israeli tourists with open arms (at least they won’t be firearms); It took a while for Israelis to be “just another tourist” in Egypt and, even after all the years since Begin and Sadat met in Jerusalem, some tension still exists, but there is progress.

Gazans must learn that they cannot destroy whatever is left behind when a caretaker government is succeeded by a true Gazan government, unlike what happened when Sharon threw Israelis out in 2005 — the Muslims destroyed hot houses and other infrastructure that could have provided the Strip with a growing foreign trade.

The greatest risk Israel faces if it invades and deposes Hamas (and the Brotherhood standing in the wings) is to leave a vacuum that quickly will filled with anarchy.

Compare Gaza to Iraq — the allies defeated Saddam but failed to put a caretaker government in place to rule the country until a new government of Iraqis could be installed.

Compare Gaza to Germany. When Germany was defeated, the World War 2 Allies, sans the Soviet Union, established a German caretaker government that today rules a unified country. (The Soviets set up a puppet government in what was “East Germany.” Eventually that government fell and “East” Germany as absorbed into what was then “West” Germany.)

Unlike Iran under the shah, Gaza lacks a shadow government, even one in exile. When the shah was chased out, the ayatollah hiding out in Europe came back much like DeGaulle returned to Paris. (Whether the Iranians now regret his return is another matter.)

Invading Gaza sans a solid plan to install a Muslim caretaker government would be both foolish, a waste of Israeli lives, and a waste of time.

Lacking a Muslim caretaker government will allow a new Hamas to take over and nothing will be gained for Israel or the denizens of the Strip.

BOTTOM LINE: Israel needs to line up friendly Muslims to govern Gaza BEFORE it even draws up invasion plans.

It also needs to prepare its “hasbarah” (PR) to counter the howls of the world’s leftists who undoubtedly will castigate Israel for preventing Hamas, et al, to continue killing and maiming innocent Israelis.

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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Opuscula Native Americans Had war chiefs To lead warriors

AS MOST BOYS GROWING UP in the U.S., I was fascinated by Indians, a/k/a “Native Americans” in PC-speak.

Many Indian tribes had a special chief — leader — who was skilled in dealing with threats from outside the tribe.

The only time a war chief had authority was when the tribe was threatened. Otherwise, the war chief was just another member of the tribe.

ISRAEL HAS HAD “war chiefs.” Menachem Begin was a war chief, which is how he, and Egypt’s war chief, Anwar Sadat, managed to make a so-far long-lasting peace.

Benjamin Netanyahu is NOT a war chief.

In fact, he seems to have worked against the men who could serve Israel as a war chief.

Netanyahu kowtowed to Hamas several times. The last time, this week, he obliged Hamas and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman resigned.

According to Liberman, “I have tried to remain a faithful member of the cabinet and to make heard another view, even at a great electoral and political price,” Liberman said. However, Tuesday’s ceasefire with Hamas “cannot be interpreted in any way other than a capitulation to terrorism." ¹

Netanyahu claimed he had “secret” information; apparently so secret he could not, or would not, share it with his war chief. Granted, Liberman is not a Likudnik; he heads the Yisrael Beitenu (Israel [is] our home) party.

Liberman is a “hawk,” a man who was frustrated by Netanyahu’s constant flip-flopping on Gaza and the “settlements” and many other issues.

Another “hawk,” Naftali Bennnett, also of Yisrael Beitanu, wants Liberman’s old job.

Bennett’s demand for the defense minister position is opposed by fellow cabinet ministers Moshe Kahlon of the Kulanu (All of us) party and Aryeh Deri of Shas (the late R. Ovadia Yosef’s party). Deri was convicted of corruption before being named to Netanyahu’s cabinet.

Bennett told Netanyahu "There is something to do. I told the prime minister yesterday to appoint me defense minister so Israel can back to winning."¹ Bennett has long criticized the Netanyahu government’s reluctance to respond more forcefully to Gaza rocket attacks, and has advocated ground incursions into the Gaza Strip.²

Both Bennett and Kahlon threaten to pull their parties out of Netanyahu’s coalition; Bennett and Yisrael Bietnu if Netanyahu refuses to appoint Bennett as Defense Minister and Kahlon if Netanyahu appoints Bennett to the post.

Either way, the current government is on shaky ground.

Meanwhile, there is, or was, a bill in the Knesset that would allow Israel’s president, a largely ceremonial position, to appoint whomever the president wished to form a new government. Currently, the president is obliged to ask the leader of the party with the most seats in the Knesset to try to form a government. All governments, from Ben Gurion on, are formed as a coalition, usually by blackmailing the person named to head the new government.

Sources

1. http://tinyurl.com/yafx7j7y

2. http://tinyurl.com/ycwcs59p

3. https://www.haaretz.com/1.4705992

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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Opuscula Politicians Never learn Basic lesson

HAMAS WINS AGAIN! After sending nearly 500 rockets and mortars into Israel, killing at least one and injuring many, Hamas agrees to a cease fire.

“We’ve taken our toll on you, now we have a cease fire so you can’t fight back.”

What’s wrong with this picture?

APPARENTLY SOMETHING IS sufficiently “wrong with this picture” to cause Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman to resign his post.

Liberman announced his resignation in a press conference Wednesday afternoon (11/14/18) expressing dissatisfaction with Israel’s ceasefire with Hamas. He says he will call for immediate elections.¹

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defends ceasefire, cites secret information² that, apparently, is too secret to share with the country’s defense minister.

Meanwhile, opposition party members celebrated Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman’s announcement Wednesday that he was resigning his post.

Leader of the opposition and member of the Zionist Union Tzipi Livni said, “Liberman is right that the government revealed weakness against terror. Everyone errs who thinks the solution is with Liberman, Bennett or the rest of the slogan throwers. We’re the solution.”³

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It seems the more Hamas gets from, or via, Israel, the more it indiscriminately attacks Israeli civilians.

There WAS a brief cease fire, but Hamas broke it.

Does anyone believe Hamas will honor ANYTHING that is not to its advantage (and to Israel’s disadvantage)?

Didn’t Israel’s politicians learn ANYTHING from Oslo?

Netanyahu, “Bibi,” can’t seem to stick to a decision from one day to the next.

Allow settlements.

Bulldoze the same settlements.

Close the border to Gaza in retaliation for rockets, mortars, and fire bombs.

Open the border when Hamas offers a cease fire.

Close the border’s again when Hamas violates the cease fire.

Allow millions of dollars into Gaza for humanitarian use.

Let Israelis be shelled by Hamas again.

I don’t blame Liberman for resigning. The way Bibi is flip-flopping, it seems the inmates are running he asylum.

Unlike the opposition parties, I doubt they (the opposition) could do better.

One thing is beyond question: Likud 2018 is NOT the Likud of Menachem Begin, the man who forged, with Anwar Sadat, a long-lasting peace agreement.

Likud 2018 can’t seem to create a program and stick to it.

Is Likud — read Netanyahu — afraid of the Left?

Has Likud 2018 lost confidence in its military and its diplomatic corps.

Netanyahu is guiding Israel along a path that seems to be influenced by the former U.S. president, a man who diligently worked against Israel’s interests.

Or is Netanyahu simply a politician in mold of the Roman god, Janus.

What Israel needs today is another Jabotinsky or Begin or even Trumpeldor.

Sources

1. Liberman: http://tinyurl.com/yd98ytgf

2. Netanyahu: http://tinyurl.com/y7ycdd94
3. Livni: http://tinyurl.com/ydhosn2g

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Pols never learn

Opuscula Removing Hamas Leaves a vacuum

THE QUESTION BEING ASKED BY MANY in Israel and in the United States – and perhaps elsewhere – is:

If the IDF can eliminate Hamas, why doesn’t it do it?

Good question.

Simple answer: Who has an organization that can rush in and fill the role of government?

Image above shows map of Gaza Strip and surrounding areas

UNLIKE IRAN and some other nations with despotic rulers, Gaza lacks a shadow government, a government of people prepared to assume the duties of an overthrown government.

There may be a movement in Gaza able to take over the deposed Hamas role, but apparently it is a deep secret.

Egypt could step in on an interim basis, but so far it has declined to consider the possibility.

Menachem Begin tried to give Gaza to Egypt, but Anwar Sadat was too smart and refused Begin’s “gift.”

Israel ruled Gaza for a number of years. Israeli farmers set up greenhouses and an infrastructure to make the strip self-supporting. When Ariel Sharon forced the Jews out, the indigenous Muslim population quickly destroyed the greenhouses and infrastructure.

Israel, understandably, does not want anything to do with a Gaza government, even on a temporary basis.

When the nazis were defeated (and many escaped to Latin America and the U.S. or were “invited” to the then Soviet Union), the Allies set up governments in their sections.

After the bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Japanese sued for peace, the Americans established an interim government.

Both Germany and Japan today have viable, stable, independent governments.

When the U.S. and its allies overthrew Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi government, neither the U.S. nor its allies had the foresight – or perhaps hindsight – to establish an interim government to rule until the Iraqis could develop a cadre of politicians who would be sufficiently popular to run the country after the U.S. and its allies went home.

Iran was a different model.

When the shah was overthrown, a shadow government headed by the Ayatollah Khomeini filled the vacuum. Khomeini returned from exile in England and took control of the government.

When the nazis were chased out of France, the arrogant Gen. Charles de Gaulle managed to assume political power.

There are no De Gaulles in Gaza.

There are no leaders in Egypt or Israel willing to help Gazans set up an independent government.

The PA in Ramallah can’t govern its own areas, and although Abu Mazen would like to claim he is the president of Gaza as well as the PA, Hamas and the local population chased the PA government’s personnel out of Gaza. Mazen and the Ramallah government would not be welcome in Gaza.

Bottom line: Israel is “stuck” trying – and failing – to protect Israelis near the Gaza border.

If it eliminates Hamas, which it surely could do, what would replace it? The Islamic Brotherhood is the prime candidate, and it is no better – possibly worse for Israel and the Gaza population – than Hamas.

It is suggested that not all Gazans are happy with Hamas, but apparently few Gazans are prepared to make peace with Israel.

For Israel, the bottom line is to suffer Hamas until the Gazans develop a shadow government – even if that government is formed and waiting in exile – Egypt or Jordan, perhaps – ready to return and assume control of the strip with a little help from foreign sponsors – again, Egypt, Jordan, and possibly Israel.

The “fly in the ointment” is Iran, Hamas’ sponsor. Iran will not willingly give up its puppet on Israel’s southern border anymore than it will allow Lebanese to rule their country without its proxy, Hezbollah.

Unlike Gaza, the Lebanese could have a Hezbollah-free government in place in short order; the Lebanese have a great deal of experience in self-rule.

For all the aggravation and danger Hamas presents to Israel, there is nothing to replace it except anarchy.

Until Gazans decide they want a better government, if the choice is Hamas or anarchy, Hamas seems to be the lesser of two evils.

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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Opuscula Mideast politics Are very strange

AS MORE AND MORE OF ISRAEL’S ARAB neighbors recognize Israel or at least the reality of Israel, Abu Mazen and the PA are telling everyone the PA will no longer recognize Israel. (http://tinyurl.com/yaw2ckye ) Hamas – another story altogether.

Image above: Sports Minister Miri Regev listens as HaTikvah is played honoring Sagi Muki following his victory in the under-81 kg category at Abu Dhabi international competition. IJForg photo

In the UAE, Israeli judo wrestlers won two firsts in two events and, in a first, Israel’s national anthem was played as they stood on the podium. (http://tinyurl.com/y996kr4g )

On the same day, an Israeli gymnastics delegation was in Qatar for the beginning of the world championships being held in Doha.

Now, Oman calls for recognition of Israel. (http://tinyurl.com/y9c53nkj )

On Monday (10/29) Communications Minister Ayoub Kara was to travel to Dubai to represent Israel at an international internet security conference.

Out of the closet

Israel has for many years had quiet commercial relations with a number of its Arab neighbors.

At one point, Israeli made two-way radios were assembled in Iran and a Farsi label attached to the finished product.

Pragmatic Saudis installed air conditioners made in Israel, ignoring the manufacturer’s label.

But to hear HaTikvah played in any Muslim country other than Egypt or Jordan – never . . . until Abu Dabi.

When Israelis won medals at the Abu Dhabi last year, the Israeli stood on the podium, sans Israeli badge and HaTikvah was not heard.

To be fair, credit must go to the International Judo Federation which warned UAE organizers the competition would be canceled unless all athletes were allowed to participate on an equal footing.

Israelis are welcomed as visitors to a few Muslim countries, notably Morocco Yet there are so far no direct flights between Lod and Rabat, Casa Blanca or Marrakech on either El Al, Arkia, or Royal Air Maroc.

While Israel and its neighbors are “normalizing” relations, the PA’s Abu Mazen decided on Monday to end all commitments in the agreements the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has signed with Israel, to end security coordination and to revoke the Paris Economic Protocols which govern the economic cooperation with Israel.

Such moves mean the end of all peace protocols with Israel.

The Palestinian Central Council (PCC) alleged that “in view of Israel’s continued denial of the signed agreements,” it again recommends eliminating end all of the PLO and PA’s commitments under their agreements with Israel, as well as suspending their recognition of the state of Israel until it recognizes the state of Palestine on the June 1967 borders with the eastern portion of Jerusalem as its capital.

Although there has been cooperation in some areas, most formal agreements were abrogated by Abu Mazen and the PA before the ink was dry; the “Oslo Accords” signed by a Labor government as an example.

The PA is increasingly ignored by other Muslim countries and may find itself an island in a sea of Arab states and Israel. As far as Hamas is concerned, no one WANTS Gaza; Israel could eliminate Hamas at any time, but its absence would leave a political vacuum that could be disastrous for the people in the Strip.

With the exceptions of Iran, Hezbollah's Lebanon, and perhaps Syria, HaTikvah soon may be heard throughout the Arab world.

Nes gadol.

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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Opuscula Love is ok, but Defense is better To stay alive

THIS MORNING I OPENED AN EMAIL from Chabad that asked me What is the remedy to such senseless hatred?! What can we possibly do to eradicate it?

The answer: The Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory, answered this a number of times, with clarity and conviction:

Boundless love.

The rebbe za”l was a wise man, a great man and he did wondrous things for Judaism, fanning a failing spark in some who forgot – or never knew – anything about who they are.

But this time I think the rebbe, עה”ש, is wrong.

Love did nothing to prevent the shoah.

Love did nothing to prevent the slaughter in Pittsburgh.

What is needed, I believe, is more JDL than ADL.

JDL – the Jewish Defense League, http://www.jdl.org/ – takes a different stance.

It is a stance that most Conservative, Reform, and other non-observant Jews – read liberals – will refuse to even consider.

(That is not entirely fair. I know of at least one Conservative congregation where a few congregants are armed – and proficient with their weapons.)

JDL’s position is anathema to the liberals, be they Jewish or not. To quote from the JDL’s home page:

Image above JDL logo from JDL home page

There is a war being waged against Jews on all fronts.

The JDL is committed to stemming this tide and combating it with every legal tool available to us.

Therefore we are urging all Jews to become legal firearm owners.

Meet at your local synagogues, Jewish community centers, and places of gathering.

Practice gun safety, form gun range groups, apply for legal firearms permits.

Study Torah and the actions of our historic leaders who stood up to the anti-semitism of their times.

The battle is not new. It has been continuing for centuries.

The JDL is NOT suggesting Jews go on the hunt for Jew haters.

The JDL is NOT suggesting Jews become aggressors.

The JDL is NOT suggesting Jews become “quick draw cowboys” or that we should bring back the old west as portrayed by Hollywood.

What the JDL IS suggesting – no, what the JDL is telling Jews – is that we must take responsibility for ourselves.

My First Born is a policemen. He tells me that that there simply are too few police to be everywhere or even to respond within a minute or two. This is in the U.S. Things are worse in Israel vis-a-vis police to population ratio.

I think the LESSON of the JDL is appropriate: DEFENSE.

Defense and vigilance. Better, vigilance and defense.

Defense in proportion to the threat.

The Torah clearly states לא תרצח ¹ – don’t murder. (There is a different Hebrew word for “kill.”)

The Talmud, on the other hand, states clearly: If a man comes to kill you, kill him first.”

Basically, the Talmud is approving self-defense, even to the point of a “presumptive strike” if there is no question about the attacker’s intent, e.g., entering a synagogue with a rifle and pistols shouting that he “wanted to kill Jews”² is sufficient, at least in this scrivener’s mind, to establish the intruder’s intent.

The murderer published numerous posts about HIAS³ on the Gab social network, and appeared to ascribe to the anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that Jews were financially supporting an invasion of immigrants into the U.S. In particular, he frequently ranted about the caravan of Honduran migrants heading to the U.S.-Mexico border. He posted a list of HIAS’s partners on Gab, including Dor Hadash.

Congregation Dor Hadash is a member-led congregation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, an affiliate of the Jewish Reconstructionist Communities.⁴ Its members had been holding services in the Tree of Life synagogue.

The murderer had posted his feelings on the Gab blog site, a site that eventually banned him and, allegedly, informed the FBI of the man’s posts. WHEN the FBI was warned remains a question. (Did the FBI fail to prevent yet another massacre?)

HIAS, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, was founded as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society in 1881 to assist Jews fleeing pogroms in Russia and Eastern Europe, HIAS has touched the life of nearly every Jewish family in America and now welcomes all who have fled persecution. ⁵

BLAME IT ON TRUMP

Aljazeera reports that Jewish leaders in Pittsburgh, including the former president of the Tree of Life synagogue, said US President Donald Trump is not welcome in the city because of his rhetoric against minorities.

Above image from Bend The Arc "Who are we" web page

A letter published by Behind the Arc*, which describes itself as a movement for progressive Jews, said Trump would not be welcome until he distanced himself from white supremacists.

"For the past three years your words and your policies have emboldened a growing white nationalist movement," the letter read, addressing the US leader directly.

“Yesterday’s massacre is not the first act of terror you incited against a minority group in our country.”⁶

At the same time, NBC News⁷ reports that Jeffrey Myers, rabbi of the Conservative Tree of Life congregation, said he would welcome President Trump if he chose to come to Pittsburgh, while the synagogue's former leader, Lynette Lederman, said she felt strongly that he should not come. She said "He’s the purveyor of hate speech. The hypocritical words that come from him tell me nothing," Lederman continued. "We have people who stand by us who believe in values, not just Jewish values, but believe in values, and those are the not the values of this president, and I do not welcome him to Pittsburgh." It must be noted that Ms. Lederman was a lay leader and not a rabbi or authority on Jewish law.

The rabbi who was presiding over services at a Pittsburgh synagogue when 11 people were gunned down said Monday condemning hate isn't enough — those in power need to lead by example.

When asked what message he would like to send to President Donald Trump, Myers said, "We turn to the leaders of our country, and we’ve gotta stop hate."

"And it can’t just be to say we need to stop hate. We need to do, we need to act to tone down rhetoric," he said.

“Nationalist”

President Trump made a PC mistake when he described himself as a “nationalist.”

The leftist immediately decided he meant he was a “white nationalist.”

That is not what he said and clearly, at least clearly to anyone who listens to what he says and watches what he does, "white nationalist" is not what he meant.

He is a “nationalist” in that he is for the nation; another way of phrasing his campaign hat: Make America Great Again (MAGA).

According to CNN⁸, the president told a crowd that globalist is someone who "wants the globe to do well" at the expense of the country, Trump made it clear he's not one of those.

"You know what I am, I'm a nationalist. Use that word," he roared, as the crowd erupted in cheers of "USA! USA!"

According to Merriam-Webster⁹, when Trump said he was a “nationalist” he was claiming loyalty and devotion to a nation especially : a sense of national consciousness exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations or supranational groups

If anyone sees the word “white” or any other racial, cultural, or religious attribute there, their vision is different that mine.

---

Sources

* The organization is BEND THE ARC, not BEHIND THE ARC. Behind the Arc is a Facebook basketball site (https://www.facebook.com/behindthearcmag/) One more thing Aljazeera got wrong.

1. Exodus 20:13;

2. http://tinyurl.com/y8qh7hrl

3. Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society

4. http://dorhadash.net/

5. https://www.hias.org/history

6. http://tinyurl.com/ybxu7tnn

7. http://tinyurl.com/ycunselr

8. http://tinyurl.com/y7l25pt2

9. http://tinyurl.com/yagvawpv

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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