A Wise Governor

Arutz Sheva reported yesterday that Indiana Governor Mike Pence, while visiting Israel with his family, declined a dinner invitation from Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Governor Pence was also in Israel to discuss expanding economic ties between Indiana and the Jewish State.

Governor Pence has been a long-time supporter of Israel.

The article quotes some of the Governor’s statements in 2010 about Israel:

“I believe the Obama administration is the most anti-Israel administration in the modern history of the state of Israel and our relationship with her. Israel is our most cherished ally. The American people support Israel’s right to self-defense. The American people support the Jewish state of Israel, and the American people expect the American president to unambiguously do the same.”

“I’ll be honest with you: I never thought I’d live to see the day that an American administration would denounce the Jewish state of Israel for rebuilding Jerusalem,” Pence added. 

It is wonderful to see a state wanting to do business with Israel. Governor Pence obviously understands that Israel lives in a dangerous neighborhood and does need to defend itself. There is no other country in the world that would put up with rockets continually being fired at their civilian population and not respond forcefully. Israel has consistently tempered its responses.

Why People Don’t Trust The Government

Right now most Americans are very concerned about the risk of the Ebola virus in America. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) does not seem to have a consistent message regarding how to prevent the virus from spreading, and meanwhile although caution is being recommended, there have been some mistakes in dealing with the virus that are simply the result of a lack of caution.

The Daily Caller posted an article today that stated:

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the federal government’s Models of Infectious Disease Agency co-funded a September 2 analysis on the threat of Ebola’s spread to countries including the United States, Israel’s Arutz Sheva reported. The analysis was circulated among federal government officials prior to its September 2 publication date.

The analysis found a nearly 25 percent “probability of Ebola virus disease case importation” to the United States within 3 to 6 weeks.

On September 16th, the President stated that according to ‘experts across our government’ the risk of Ebola in America was very low. Either President Obama was unaware of the report, or he was lying. Either way, there is a problem. Hopefully, the Ebola virus in America will be contained, but even if it is, the lives of three people and their families have been impacted in a very negative way because America had been lulled into a false sense of security. Common sense says we should make an effort to stop people from coming into America from places where the virus is active, but so far the President has not been willing to do that. We need to apply some common sense to this problem. For some reason that is not currently  happening.

Iran’s Nuclear Program Seems To Be Dealing With Itself

The Israel National News is reporting today that there has been an explosion at Iran‘s Parchin nuclear plant. The explosion has killed at least two people, among them an unnamed “nuclear expert”, according to Iranian media reports.

The article reports:

Iran has refused to allow International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to access Parchin since 2005, and both opposition figures and others have accused the regime of using the site to house an illegal nuclear weapons program.

Last month, Israel‘s Internal Security Minister Yuval Steinitz said he had “reliable information” that Parchin was being used for secret tests of technology that could be used only for detonating a nuclear weapon.

The latest development comes as talks between Iran and world powers remain deadlocked over Iran’s illegal nuclear program, as a November 24 deadline for a permanent deal.

I regret the loss of life, but Iran’s nuclear program needs to be stopped. Allowing Iran to become a nuclear power will create a very unhealthy balance of power in the Middle East and put Israel in jeopardy. One does wonder whether this explosion was an accident.

 

Irony At Its Best

Arutz Sheva is reporting today that a Hamas rocket fired at Israel has knocked down a major power line that supplies Gaza with electricity.

The article reports:

As Operation Protective Edge enters its seventh day, many Israelis are demanding that the country take more aggressive action against Hamas in order to put a halt to the seemingly endless missile attacks from Gaza. One suggestion that has come up numerous times – including from MKs and Ministers like Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon – is cutting off electricity to Gaza,which Israel is still supplying. The Hamas missile, which hit one of the high tension wires that move power from Israel to Gaza, apparently made that a moot point, at least partially.

The Palestinian Authority currently owes the Israel Electric Company NIS 1.5 billion ($525 million) in unpaid bills for electricity. An examination of that debt by business daily Globes shows that the relative amount owed by Gaza was NIS 220 million ($62 million).

Last month, the IEC filed a petition with the High Court demanding to be allowed to shut off electricity to the Palestinian Authority until the debt was paid – or to allow the IEC to seize customs and aid payments collected on behalf of the PA to pay off its debt. That case is still pending.

According to the article, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has asked the IEC not to risk the lives of its employees in trying to restore power.

The Temple Mount Sifting Project

Tonight I had the privilege of hearing Dr. Gavriel Barkay speak at the Ahavath Torah Congregation in Stoughton, Massachusetts. Dr. Barkay spoke about the Temple Mount Sifting Project. The project takes mounds of Temple Mount material from the Kidron Valley dump to the Tzurim Valley National Park and sifts through the mounds for archaeological finds.

The website of the Temple Mount Sifting Project explains some of what the sifters have learned:

Early in the Sifting Project, we already noticed that there were differences in the frequencies of certain types of finds from different areas. Moreover, similar finds, and sometimes fragments of the same object, were discovered within short periods of time. This suggested that these similar objects were originally next to each other. But the full significance and value of dividing the material at the dump into different areas was discovered only last summer, during the processing of quantitative data for the Third Preliminary Report which we recently published. We found that artifacts which we assume to be from the same context were also distributed in a similar manner. Another example is that we found that artifacts which can be identified with the Horses of the Crusader era Templar Knights were distributed in a similar way among the dump areas.

The soil involved in the Temple Mount Sifting Project was illegally removed from the Temple Mount, resulting in the loss of much archaeological information. It is encouraging to know that the volunteers of the Temple Mount Sifting Project are recovering valuable information despite the illegal removal of the dirt from the Temple Mount.

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Because Land For Peace Has Worked So Well In The Past…

President Obama is scheduled to visit Israel this month. Those of us who support Israel and her right to exist had hoped that the President would bring an olive branch to make peace after his anti-Israel actions and cabinet appointments. Unfortunately, those hopes have no relationship to reality.

Arutz Sheva reported today that the reason for President Obama’s trip to Israel might have more to do with setting a timetable for an Israeli withdrawal from Judea and Samaria. This information is based on an unconfirmed report by World Tribune.

The article at Arutz Sheva reports:

According to the report, Obama, who is scheduled to arrive in Israel on March 20, wants Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to present him with a detailed Israeli withdrawal plan during his visit to Israel. The sources said the Israeli plan “would be considered in what could be an imminent U.S. initiative to establish a Palestinian state in the West Bank in 2014.”

 “Obama has made it clear to Netanyahu that his visit is not about photo-ops, but the business of Iran and a Palestinian state,” a source said. “The implication is that if Israel won’t give him something he can work with, then he’ll act on his own.”

Bad things happen to America when we pressure Israel to do things against their national interest. Giving up Judea and Samaria is definitely not in Israel’s best interest. This is Biblical land that is sacred to the Jews (and to Christians).  Based on the state that now exists in Gaza, Israel should not give up any land until the Palestinians prove that they can establish a state that is not a threat to the existence of Israel and that they are willing to provide the infrastructure a state needs. Giving more land to the Palestinians in their present form would be like giving a fourteen-year-old boy a driver’s license and a Lamborghini–it might be fun for the first thirty seconds, but it would go downhill quickly.

President Obama is not a friend of Israel.

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Why The Two-State Solution Will Not Work

Arutz Sheva posted an article regarding a speech PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas gave today when he returned to Ramallah after the United Nations granted Palestine status as a nonmember observer state.

The article quoted the speech:

“We were threatened with punishment and sanctions from various sides,” Abbas continued, in a reference to attempts by the United States and Israel to dissuade him from proceeding with the application.

“And if we had listened to those threats we wouldn’t have gone to the U.N.

“One day, a young Palestinian will raise the Palestinian flag over Jerusalem,” he vowed, “the eternal capital of the state of Palestine!”

There was a time when some people believed in a two-state solution. There are some people that still do. The problem is that the Palestinians believe in a one-state solution–they want Israel destroyed. You cannot make peace with people who want to destroy you.

This is the equivalent of living next to a neighbor who keeps threatening to kill your family and take over your house. The appropriate behavior would be to notify the authorities, get a restraining order, and arrest the man if he sets foot on your property. Unfortunately, Israel is the only country taking the neighbor’s threats seriously.

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Miracles Among The Rockets

As an American, it’s easy to forget what life in Israel is like. Incoming rockets have been a way of life in Israel since Gaza was turned over to the Palestinians.

Sderot, Israel is one of the cities that has been subject to ongoing rocket attacks for years. The city has a unique way to protect its children.

YouTube posted the video and the commentary below:

Sderot, Israel is located less than a mile from Hamas controlled Gaza. It averages about two rocket attacks a day and sometimes as many as 40 or 50. When sirens go off, residents have an average of less than 15 seconds to get to shelter before the rockets hit. In an attempt to keep their children safe, playground equipment serves as bomb shelters.

Today Arutz Sheva reported on a missile attack Tuesday night near Be’er Sheva. Thanks to a bus driver who kept calm and knew what to do, there were no fatalities.

The article reported:

A Hamas terrorist missile hit next to a bus in Be’er Sheva shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday, but passengers escaped serious injuries except for shock. The bus driver person suffered light shrapnel wounds and was rushed to Soroka Medical center.

He was cited as hero by following instructions and urging passengers to get off the bus when he heard the early warning siren. Thirty seconds later, the missile hit next to the bus, leaving it a heap of shredded metal and broken glass. Another rocket hit a building, causing extensive damage, and one parked vehicle also was damaged.

Peace between Israel and Gaza is elusive. One reason for that might be the fact that Hamas (which currently controls Gaza) states in its charter that its goal is to eliminate the State of Israel. Until that changes, there will be no peace in the region.

 

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The Proper Use Of Technology

April 10, 2011 Pictured here is the Iron Dome ...

Image via Wikipedia

Yesterday Arutz Sheva posted an article about the Iron Dome Israel has deployed to deal with the Kassam rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip aimed at southern Israel. So far, the Iron Dome has stopped 90 percent of the rockets from getting through. Unfortunately, each Iron Dome anti-missile missile costs Israel $50,000. The Kassam rockets only cost the terrorists a few hundred dollars.

The article further reports:

In addition to the defensive action of deploying the Iron Dome, the IDF also has taken the offensive against terrorists.

It targeted two members of the Popular Resistance Committee terror organization on Friday. The squad was responsible for planning a combined terror attack that was to take place via the Sinai Peninsula and the Israel-Egypt border.

In response to the ensuing rocket and missile bombardment from Gaza, the Israel Air Force targeted several weapons manufacturing facilitates and terrorist cells preparing to launch missiles.

Where is the outcry from the United Nations about the rocket barrages aimed at Israel?

Another interesting fact from the article:

Its (the Iron Dome) deployment this past weekend appears to have defeated Hamas, at least for the time being. The terrorist organization has been talking with the new regime in Egypt for another ceasefire after failing to inflict mass casualties or property damage on Israel.

This is ridiculous. Israel gave up ‘land for peace’ and kept the agreements made with the Palestinians. All Israel got in return was that Hamas had closer places to launch rockets. It’s time for the world to stand together and tell the Palestinians that they cannot have a state until they learn to behave like a civilized nation. Admittedly, a lot of the so-called civilized nations are not acting like civilized nations, but the constant terrorist and rocket attacks on Israel are not something that a supposedly civilized world should allow to continue.

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Highland Park And New Brunswick Were Targeted By Anti-Semites On Tuesday Night

Arutz Sheva today that at least five Jewish-owned businesses in Highland Park, New Jersey, were attacked on Tuesday night.

The article reports:

Vandals hurled bricks through the plate glass windows of a kosher restaurant, a kosher pizza shop, two Judaica stores, and a Jewish-owned hardware store.

At least three other Jewish-owned business in nearby New Brunswich were also targeted. Tuesday was the anniversary of the 1947 United Nations Partition Vote to create the Jewish state of Israel.

Local police issued the following statement:

“We would also like to briefly address the fear that these are acts motivated by anti-Semitism or that these are bias crimes,” the statement said. “The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office has been notified, but it is too soon to reach a conclusion.

“All of our officers are aware of the sensitivity of this situation and we will make every effort with patrols and surveillance to keep everyone safe. We would like to encourage you to communicate with your congregants and urge them to avoid speculation which could lead to unnecessary anxiety.”

Anyone care to guess if that statement would have been made had the victims been anything other than Jewish?

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