Standing with Israel

The conspiracy to divide Jerusalem

2007-12-18T15:51:00.000-05:00

By Mike Evans

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – In the pre-dawn hours, my car winds its way down the streets of this historic city toward the Naval Academy and the Annapolis summit. Precious fathers, mothers and grandmothers shiver in the cold darkness of the morning. Some of the men blow shofars and pray openly. Most hold signs printed with their pleas: "Don't touch Jerusalem." "Don't touch the Bible land." "Don't touch prophecy."

Unbidden tears slide down my cheeks, for I sense how desperate and hopeless they must feel. These who love Jerusalem are overshadowed by the high and mighty of the world: President George W. Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and foreign ministers from many Arab states. Among those are known terrorists who are being treated as honored diplomats.

This is the first international peace conference since the U.S. organized-Madrid Peace Summit at the end of Operation Desert Storm in 1991. It was during that debacle that I openly challenged former Secretary of State James Baker over Jerusalem. The names change, but the desire to offer up Jerusalem as the sacrifice to appease terrorists is as passionate as ever.

The Madrid Summit destroyed the economy of Israel. It caused the overthrow of the government as literally tens of thousands of Russian Jewish immigrants were forced to sleep in tents. Why? The U.S. froze $10 billion in loan guarantees that would have provided housing for these destitute men, women and children. Israel was ultimately forced to give up more than 80 villages and towns, i.e., Jericho, Hebron and Bethlehem.

Today, the vultures gather again, sensing that more of the City of David will be laid on the altar of sacrifice. President Bush has agreed to what is being called "The Final Status Plan" to divide Jerusalem before the end of his term in 2008. He has also demanded that Israel halt construction in the settlements for refugees. The plan is to turn those settlements over to the PLO.

The Saudis, of course, want the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon to be able to move into Israel, not into the Palestinian Authority land holdings. The plan calls for Palestine to be a state within one year, with East Jerusalem as the capital. This "Final Status Plan" calls for vigorous, unceasing, aggressive negotiations that would end in the creation of a two-state region by the end of 2008.

It seems that the participants of the summit are trying to breathe life back into the Road Map plan introduced in 2003. When Abbas refused to implement the very first clause of the plan – to disarm the terrorist organizations – the plan died in utero.

The Saudis, of course, were overjoyed to hear President Bush's comments during the summit. The Road Map, an invention of Saudi Arabia and the Arab League, was designed to force Israel to the bargaining table. Then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon related to me that he had asked for 14 amendments. Secretary of State Colin Powell flatly refused to include any of Sharon's amendments. Phase Two of the plan as outlined was the dismantling of all terror organizations and their infrastructure. Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, to name a few, would have been forced to turn over all illegal weapons and stop terror incitement.

Needless to say, Phase Two was not implemented by Abbas. Quite the opposite occurred: Hamas took over Gaza; Abbas' own terror organization, Fatah and Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades continue to kill Jews. (The latest murder was that of a 29-year old father of two from the village of Shavei Shomron, just days before the summit in Annapolis.)

The acceptance of this vile plan would turn Israel into a living hell. The Jewish people would be forced to live next door to a state controlled by Islamic fanatics such as Hamas. I am reminded over and over of the Scripture in Psalm 83:2-5:

For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; and those who hate You have lifted up their head. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and consulted together against Your sheltered ones. They have said, "Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more." For they have consulted together with one consent; they form a confederacy against You. …

I stand here now with this document in my hand – this "Agreement of Joint Understanding" to which both parties have pledged acceptance. This document, if followed, will result in the division of Jerusalem. I've asked myself how the U.S. government could partner with a terror organization responsible for thousands of terror attacks worldwide. How could President Bush cavalierly shake hands with the man responsible for the Munich massacre?

Is George W. Bush so consumed by his legacy that he would sacrifice Jerusalem and hundreds of thousands of innocent Jews to attain his goal? Israel would have to give up the Temple Mount and the Western Wall in East Jerusalem and evacuate most of the strategic West Bank, which would leave it vulnerable to rocket attacks in Tel Aviv and at its international airport.

What does the future hold for Israel? President Bush has indicated that Israel had "painful compromises" to make during the negotiations that were to begin immediately. I can tell you that Israel seemed very alone during the Annapolis summit. It greatly concerns me. Why? President Clinton attempted to divide Jerusalem in January 2001, before the end of his term of office. He almost succeeded. I believe those negotiations and Arafat's subsequent rejection of Clinton's offer led directly to the events of 9/11.

Now, President Bush is attempting to follow in Clinton's footsteps. Bush's advisers are likely telling him that this agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority will affect his legacy in a most positive way. How wrong can they possibly be? Only time will tell.
Can the Palestinian crisis be resolved? YES!

I believe that the first action that must be taken is a rehabilitation package calling for the dismantling of the 59 U.N.-maintained refugee camps. The Arab world needs to provide resettlement, employment and housing for the refugees. This would be similar to what happened to the Jewish refugees throughout Europe and the Arab world in 1948.

Secondly, I would do everything to help Jordan grant citizenship to Arabs in the West Bank. I believe that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan should serve as their representative body. Jordan granted citizenship status to West Bank Palestinians until the late 1980s.

The Palestinians do not need more land; they need a life free of Islamic kindergarten camps that continue to instill hatred for the Jews into children at an early age.

Jacob's Flight and has Vision at Mariah

2006-12-05T12:33:00.000-05:00

by Ron Wexler

Jacob had left his parents to begin his personal exile that, unknown to him at the time, would include 20 years at the home of Laban, a mendacious rogue, who as the Passover Haggadah says, attempted to uproot the Jewish people. Before going to Haran, Jacob spent 14 years at the academy of Shem and Eber, a fact the sages deduce from the chronology of the period. Surely, as great a man as Jacob did not need more years to study to become a scholar. He went there for a different reason.

Rabbi Kamenetsky explained that the first 63 years of his life, he studied Torah with his father, in an atmosphere insolated from the corruption of Canaan. Now he would be living in Haran, among people who were Laban's comrades in dishonesty. To survive spiritually in such an environment, he needed the Torah of Shem and Eber, so they too had been forced to cope with corrosive surroundings. Shem had lived in the generation of the flood and Eber had lived with those who built the Tower of Babylon. Jacob's 14 years in their tutelage made it possible for him to emerge spiritually unscathed form his personal exile. That was his personal preparation of the coming ordeal. Then, God prepared him further with the vision of the Angela and the divine promise with which his portion begins. God's promise sustained him, but it was his won efforts that earned him the prophesy.

In Portion, Rabbi Bressler depicts on Jacob begins a journey to find himself a wife, and essentially begin his life. But when he sleeps and dreams of God telling him that the land he's sleeping on is Holy, he is compelled to bring sacrifices, and promises to give a percentage of what he has back to God as tithe - which we still practice today. In the Torah, however, it says that "Jacob woke up from his sleep and said 'Surely God is present in this place and I did not know'" (28:16), and shortly later it says that "Jacob woke up early in the morning and took the stone that he placed around his head and set it up as a pillar" (28:18). Did Jacob go back to sleep? It seems that he woke up twice.Furthermore, why did he suddenly feel compelled to promise to give a percentage of what he earns?

One way to answer these questions is by examining the dream Jacob had. In the dream, God told Jacob that the land he was sleeping on would be his, for his children, that He would protect Jacob, and eventually return him to his land. Why would the land, which is the least spiritual thing in the world, be so important that God had to assure Jacob thatit would be his, and that he would be returned to it? The answer to this question is also the reason Jacob 'woke up' the first time...He didn't physically wake up, but merely realized how much potential land had! As Jacob put it...."This is the gate to heaven". Through working on the land, and through using it to fulfill God's will, we can create a gate to heaven. Land is no longer just land, but has now become more spiritual, simply because it gives us more opportunities to do positive deeds, thereby becoming more spiritual. Giving a percentage of what we earn to charity is ALSO a way of using a very earthly item (money) for a higher purpose, which is why Jacob saw it necessary to commit to it right then.

We too must realize that there is NOTHING in this world that can't be used to elevate us spiritually, and it's our job to find ways to do just that. So we use Email to read Shabbat Shalom messages and other spiritual "reading material", which is great, but it shouldn't stop there. We must use food, clothes, money, and even nice scenery to bring us closer to the "gates of heaven". The sooner we realize how much potential there is for us to grow spiritually in this world, the sooner we can "get growing".

Shabbat Shalom!

The First War of the Twenty-first Century

2006-11-28T10:57:00.000-05:00

By: Dr. Michael D. Evans

America is fighting for its life in the first war of the 21st Century. The battle is, indeed, for the soul of America, and Ground Zero in this battle is Iraq.

According to the Koran, it was on a Tuesday that Allah created darkness. It is not necessary to consult a calendar to see what the date was when Islamo-fascists, with the cry “Allah Akbar,” crashed commercial planes into crowded buildings in New York City. Darkness cast its shadow across America that day...all in the name of attacking the “Crusaders and Zionists.”

The secular humanists and the liberal Left were at work in an instant, demonizing anyone that dared acknowledge the doctrine of the terrorists. Thus began the war against Christians and Jews.

The insults, verbal abuse and attacks were so severe that anyone who contradicted them was labeled “ignorant, evil, racist and bigot.” The dumbing-down of America had begun, and all in the name of political correctness.

These same Leftists then began a campaign to blame the Jews (Israel) and Christian fundamentalists for the attack on America. A lethal dose of false guilt was forced down the throats of the American public. When the beliefs of the attackers were defended by those avowing that Islam was a peaceful religion, it signaled an instant victory for the Islamo-fascists.

Since that time, America has continued to fight the war on terror, with Iraq as Ground Zero, but the war is being lost from within. While our troops are in harm’s way, the God-haters are saying and doing everything possible to side with the enemy. None dare call it treason, yet they do all in their power to destroy anyone who stands in their way.

These weak, self-righteous, spineless peddlers of weapons of mass deception have only one goal in mind...to break the will of the nation and force America to surrender to these Islamo-Nazis. They think that leaving Iraq will convince the terror cartel that we wish to be friends.

The battle is, indeed, for the soul of America. These liberal, appeasing God-haters attack our President and every conservative that dares raise a voice with moral clarity, blaming them, not the enemy, for our problems. The lie is that a Right-wing President Bush has squandered the nation’s moral authority. It has been told so many times, that now great numbers of Americans believe it, and are in a state of denial.

Christians are being attacked from within by secular humanists. It began with an attack on family values during the 1960s, and continues to attempt to undermine the freedoms that protect our very lives.

The God-despising, liberal Left has called our President a liar, a warmonger, Hitler, a terrorist, a greater threat than Osama bin Laden. The root of their rage springs from his faith and moral values. The seed was sown when President Bush entered the political arena and declared that Jesus Christ was his greatest hero.

No longer are terrorists called “terrorists.” Quite to the contrary, Christians are rapidly becoming the new group people love to hate, and are now labeled “fundamentalists” and “extremists,” the same terms used for a terrorist. The liberals are more tolerant of terrorists than they are of God-fearing Americans. Democrats are more focused on defeating Bible-believing Christians than the terrorists that want to kill us.

Their plan is to destroy the resolve of the American people and to convince them that the troops in Iraq are not actually fighting a war on terror. These peddlers of perversion are waging psychological warfare which costs them nothing, while our troops daily risk their lives for our freedom.

The goal is to protect the rights of the oppressed; and terrorists are considered to be the oppressed. The liberal Left is more concerned about the humpbacked whale and the spotted owl than winning the war on terror. They have no moral code, and therefore, no criteria by which to identify the real enemy.

These demented New Age humanists blame America, not the terrorists, for 9/11. They consider themselves intellectual superiors. Their pro-choice agenda is a top priority when it comes to killing the unborn; but not when it comes to killing terrorists. They are hostile to everything that is morally right.

Voices such as these brought down the Greek and Roman Empires, fomenting decay from within. It is the cancer that eats at the soul of America. These political appeasers have only one goal: to produce social paranoia which will break the will of the American people and cause Christians to stand down. The cry, “Get out of Iraq,” if heeded, will allow an Iranian Shi’ite Islamic revolution to spread like an Ebola virus from Iran through Iraq, Syria and Lebanon to the borders of Israel and beyond.

Every segment of American society has been penetrated by this liberal influence – arts, education, media, government, etc. Partisan politics has been elevated above national security, while the liberal media has adopted the word “insurgent” to define the terrorists in Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, etc. The word means “a political activist who is not necessarily defiant.” This term was coined by Daniel Webster during the American Revolution to describe such men as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, who fought for freedom from oppression, not for the right to oppress. Now, the fanatical Islamic suicide bomber is no longer a “terrorist,” but rather a misunderstood and maligned “insurgent.”

No one will admit that the vast majority of our troops killed in Iraq are killed by terror states and regimes outside of Iraq. To do that would be to admit that this really is a war on terror.

The awesome devastation wrought on this nation by Osama bin Laden and company is as nothing compared to the knock-out blow that secular humanist liberals in Hollywood, the media and universities are delivering. This will endanger our very lives and the lives of our children.

This is, indeed, a conspiracy, but a Left-wing conspiracy. “He who defines the terms controls the debate.” Osama Bin Laden, wrote a famous letter to Al Zawahari when he was still alive in Iraq and pointed out to him that this was a battle in the media, and that it was more than half the battle. Currently, bin Laden is winning that war by destroying the resolve of the American people. Every opportunity is taken to elevate the terrorists and denigrate a patriotic American public.

The goal of the Left is to drive America out of the Middle East. This will mean surrender to the terrorists. In the terrorist mind, this will mean that they, then, have won the battle and will declare that it’s time to take the war to the streets of America, the Great Satan; just as they have been doing for years against Israel, the Little Satan. Their ultimate aim is to kill not thousands, but millions of Crusaders and Zionists. Why? They believe that a world conspiracy between these two groups is the root cause of all the poverty and other problems in the Arab world.

As these Leftists fight to defend the rights of terrorists, they howl with liberal hysteria over Christians that are pro-American and pro-Israel. Terrorists are rejoicing because the liberal Left in America is doing their job for them by undermining American national security and aiding our enemy.

There was a time when a nation’s military was the decisive factor in any war. That is no longer true. Battles are now fought, and won, in the media. Modern-day pundits in the form of politicians, preachers, producers and the press hold enormous sway over public opinion.

Unlike the engagements in World War II, today battles, and indeed, wars, are no longer fought to a final conclusion, i.e., Korea, Vietnam, Operation Desert Storm, etc. Tactics revolve around incursions, intifadas, insurgents, jihads, and suicide bombers. Superpowers that engage in combat are constrained by the Geneva Convention and accepted rules of engagement; the enemy, on the other hand, is free to break all the rules while pointing a finger of blame at the opponent.

Loyalty to one’s mother country is no longer a given when engaged in combat situations. Americans are no longer willing to sacrifice for the good of the nation. The truth is: Had the “greatest generation” of World War II had the mindset of today’s generation, we might well be speaking German as our mother language.

Loyalty may be decided by op-eds, news clips, advertisements or the latest spin-doctor on the nightly talk show. It may be tied more to political interests, i.e., liberalism, conservatism, Islamism, etc., than to patriotism. America is no longer “one nation under God,” we have become fragmented and polarized.

Victory in the war on terror will remain elusive as long as the liberal factions deny that America is engaged in a war for its very survival, and continue to embrace the lie that the response to 9/11 is merely a “police action.” The liberals refuse to believe that there are millions of would-be Osama bin Ladens waiting for the opportunity to attack. Rather, they have a simple solution to the war on terrorism; give the terrorists what they want, and they will leave us alone. Neville Chamberlain believed that, as did the world during the 1930s.

These crazed liberals believe that you only need to show love and understanding and the Islamo-Nazis will leave you alone. These lies are no different than those told by Hitler during the 30s. At the time, no one believed he really meant it when he said he wanted to rule the world and exterminate the Jews. Six million Jews in Europe thought the same thing; and died because of it, as did 55 million people worldwide.

Terrorists for Tea

2006-11-27T12:01:00.000-05:00

by Mike Evans

The mid-term election celebrations have just begun in the Middle East. Iranand Syria, terror states that "harbor, aid and fund terrorists," are hostingthe parties. These same countries are responsible for almost 100 percent ofthe improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that are used to blow up Americantroops in Iraq and for proxy terrorists entering Iraq from other countries.

Suleiman Hadad, a member of the Islamic fascist cartel, articulated the truefeelings of the terrorists worldwide, "Bush deserves a Saddam-like deathsentence." A tape released by a terrorist group on November 11, threatened:"We haven't had enough of your blood yet." The speaker, purported to be AbuHamza al-Muhajir, also claimed that he had "12,000 fighters under hiscommand who have vowed to die for God's sake." Al-Muhajir boasted that histerrorist army would not rest until the White House had been blown up andJerusalem occupied.

The anti-war Democratic Party of the '90s considered terrorism simply a"police action." They believed in a doctrine of containment, neverpre-emption. It was all about tolerance and understanding. In their minds,terrorists were simply "freedom fighters" expressing their displeasure withAmerica. Their belief in the '90s was that America was the problem; theybelieve that more today.

John Kerry's bad "joke" was, in reality, no joke. He, like other liberalLeftists, are anti-war platinum members of the Neville Chamberlain academyof appeasement. No wonder, Yasser Arafat, the Nobel Peace Prize winninggodfather of world terrorism was outraged when Bill Clinton handed him acheck for $30 billion and his own state, with one-half of Jerusalem as thecapital. He considered Clinton's offer simply to be "chump change." He believed the achievements of his terrorists were worth much more.

It is no wonder that all the terrorist organizations emerged from undertheir rocks the day following the mid-term elections, when the announcementwas made that Donald Rumsfeld was being replaced by Robert Gates. Gatesopposed the Iraq war, and is part of the Iraq Study Group headed by formerSecretary of State James Baker, and former Representative Lee Hamilton. Itis common knowledge that the report to be release in December includes aphased withdrawal of American troops in Iraq. Another suggestion is toinvite Syria and Iran to join the talks in order to secure their assistance.Under no circumstances would either of those two countries join the U.S.without demanding that Israel be punished in some fashion. These twoJew-hating countries would never agree to anything that would not includefurther "land-for-peace" concessions from Israel.

This is the same James Baker that said, "F--- the Jews!" The same JamesBaker that forced Israel to a Madrid Peace Conference to demand moreland-for-peace concessions from Israel, and appease Arab rage. This was ameans to reward Israel for not attacking Iraq when that nation brutalizedthe State of Israel during the Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991. Israel's"reward" included the freezing of $10 billion in loan guarantees. You canbe sure, if Baker has his way, Israel will be again be coerced to pay theappeasement bill for Arab rage.

The Baker plan to partition Iraq into three states would, in essence,accelerate the Sunni and Shi'a ethnic cleansing with Saudi Arabia on theside of the Sunnis, and Iran on the side of the Shi'a.

This liberal outrage over Iraq is a theater of the absurd and a festival ofhypocrisy. Why did America go into Iraq? Why did the President call Iraqthe "central front in the war on terror?" Simply because the plan was tofight the war on terror from Iraq. So, what's the problem? Is it that Iraqdoes not have a stable democracy, and has not been liberated? When you invite terrorists worldwide to fight you in Iraq, not New York City orWashington, D.C., can you expect a stable democracy?

What in the world does stability and democracy in Iraq have to do withwinning the war on terror? Indeed, Iraq is worse, not better, since we wentthere, but that was the plan. A global swamp full of terrorist alligatorscannot be drained without expecting to be bitten. He that defines theterms, controls the debate. The best sign of victory in fighting the war inIraq, is chaos. In the simplest terms, it means that al-Qaeda and theterror networks of the world are there fighting. The U.S. is staring intothe crosshairs of two of the most diabolical terrorist states destabilizingthe Middle East, Syria and Iran, and both know it.

How do you define success or failure in Iraq in the global war on terrorism?Did anyone really believe that the weapon of choice, the intifada, inLebanon would not become an intifada in Iraq? Israel has never beenpermitted to win a war on terror despite over 20,000 attempted suicideattacks on the nation. Every time Israel attempted to fight a war, the U.S.State Department constrained the Israelis, asking Israel to feed theterrorists, not fight them.

The big mistake made by President Bush was declaring that democracy was thesilver bullet that would defeat Islamo-fascism. It is not, not in thePalestinian Territory where HAMAS is the government; not in Lebanon whereHezbollah is part of the government; and it certainly is not in Iraq whereIran's personal Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army has 32 seats inparliament, five cabinet posts, and 20,000 terrorists. They are turning Iraqinto a living hell with the aid of Iran. And, by the way, Prime MinisterNouri al-Malaki, a former Shi'ite radical won the top government post lastSpring, thanks in part to the support of al-Sadr. Al-Sadr is afundamentalist Shi'a cleric whose father, the Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Fadiqal-Sadr, was the most powerful Shi'a cleric in Iraq in the 1990s. Hisuncle, Ayatollah Mohammad Baqar al-Sadr was the leading Shi'a radical beforehis execution by Hussein's forces in the '80s. Al-Sadr's plan is to becomethe president of Iraq under the leadership of Iran.

There is no democracy in Iraq, and there will not be one with a Shi'apopulation of 60-65 percent. The Shi'as and Sunnis in Iraq are the problem,not the solution. Their support from Gulf rich oil states is enormous dueto the fear they will be next in line. Al-Maliki is harboring, aiding andeven funding terror. A prime example is his intervention when the U.S.government attempted to arrest a notorious death squad leader, Abu Deraa, orhis demanding that America accelerate funding and training of the very sameIraqi security forces that moonlight as death squads.

Not only is al-Sadr part of the government, so is Badr, an Iraqi Shi'aterrorist that was trained in exile by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. HisBadr Brigade is a powerful terrorist armed wing for the supreme council ofthe Islamic Revolution in Iraq, SCIRI, a political organization that wasestablished and financed by the theocratic regime in Tehran. It is Iraq'slargest Shi'a political organization and holds the largest number of seatsin the parliament.

America has a war to fight, and ground zero is Iraq. The terrorists have tobe fought regardless of whether or not they are members of the Iraqigovernment . Like a marriage for better or worse, America cannot divorceitself from the war on terror, and leaving Iraq would not only be as big avictory as the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan, but would create an IslamicShi'a caliphate from Tehran to the border of Israel, destabilizing theMiddle East and the world.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah al-Khamenei, called President George Bush'sdefeat in the mid-term elections a "victory for Iran." In fact, it is.The belief that America can build Iraq's security forces and mediate itssectarian division while conducting a phased withdrawal is totally absurd."Stay the course" has not run its course. It's time for President Bush totake the battle to the American people. They are willing to support a longwar in Iraq, but they will not support nation-building and a democracy inIraq. They are intelligent enough to know from their Sunday School lessonsthat Arabs have been fighting with Jews for thousands of years, and willcontinue to do so.

The radical Islamic fundamentalists are the same group that feel theydefeated the Soviet Union in Afghanistan which caused the collapse of the"evil empire." America's fall in Iraq would be perceived as the same,emboldening the terrorists beyond comprehension. I ask you, since when isdemocracy the answer? The Germans elected Adolf Hitler by a landslide. Weare fighting a global war on terrorism with Iraq as the central front. Itis time to stop playing politics. A committee needs to be established tomove innocent Iraqis to other countries so that the war on terror can befought and won in Iraq.

President Bush needs to go back to the "T" word, terrorism, and stop callingterrorists "militia" and "insurgents." There are no George Washingtons, Benjamin Franklins or Thomas Jeffersons running around Iraq. War is hell;it has never been heaven.

Nancy "Alice in Wonderland" Pelosi needs to have her tea party under herdesk. You can be sure that tens of millions of Islamic fascists that wishto kill us because we are "infidels" will be more encouraged to attack theGreat Satan now, while our soft underbelly is exposed.

Iran has threatened to wipe Israel off the map, has threatened to send52,000 suicide bombers into the U.S., is responsible for the majority of U.S. troop deaths in Iraq, and we offer to have tea with them. Syria is thepipeline for terrorists into Iraq to kill Americans with impunity, and weoffer to have tea with them.

Israel, the only true democracy in the Middle East, must be allowed tobecome a true partner in the war against terrorism. They can do more tohelp the U.S. in the Middle East than anyone. They have proven that fordecades.

I find it strange that the very terrorists killing American troops in Iraqare parroting al Gore's political theme, "one man, one vote." They knowthat the Shi'a are the vast majority in Iraq, and a true democracy wouldguarantee a Shi'a revolution. It is disingenuous to say that instead offighting a war on terrorism in Iraq, we need to spend our time playingpolitics and appeasing Arab rage.

Christian's Show Israel their Solidarity Part I

2006-10-27T14:36:00.000-05:00

In the past year, much has happened. Iran has increased its nuclear program and increased its threats to Israel. Hezbollah has invaded Israel and now there is an uneasy cease-fire in Israel.

I believe the battle for Jerusalem has already begun. In January I published a book by Pastor John Hagee called “Jerusalem Countdown” which has sold more than 750,000 copies. It chronicles in chilling detail the serious threat that Israel faces at this time and why Christians must stand with Israel as never before.

In the past year something very wonderful has happened in the Christian community with thousands of Christian Zionists banding together in the newly formed Christians United for Israel. I serve as director of Region 6 including Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

Last November, something historic happened in Orlando. We had our first ever “A Night to Honor Israel”. About 1,000 Christians and Jews turned out to stand in solidarity with Israel and to begin to appreciate the common bond we have as people who serve the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

We patterned it after Pastor Hagee’s events that he has held annually since 1981 in San Antonio.

I attended his event in the fall of 2004. That night his church was packed. The building was charged with electricity. Heaven came down and kissed the earth.

I longed for such an event in my city. I asked Pastor Hagee to help me and he agreed.

During Central Florida’s inaugural “A Night to Honor Israel” we sang “Ha Tikva” and also the “Star Spangled Banner.” We were blessed by rabbis and heard wonderful speeches from the Israeli Counsel General Dr. Itzak Ben Gad from Miami. We enjoyed a wonderful black choir that sang Christian songs from the Bible. One rabbi told me he was inspired but regretted that every Jew in the area wasn’t there.

Pastor Hagee’s electrifying speech reminded us why Christians support Israel. God said to Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse” (Gen. 12:3NKJV).

This is God’s foreign policy statement concerning the Jewish people.

And then he walked us through the pages of history to remind us of the nations that persecuted the Jews that have been crushed by the mighty hand of God.

I can almost hear him now with his deep baritone voice and Texas accent saying:

“Pharaoh’s army was drowned in the Red Sea. The first born in every Egyptian home died. Where are the Babylonians? Where are the Greeks? Where are the Persians? Where is the Ottoman Empire? Where is that lunatic Adolph Hitler and His Nazi hordes? All are historical footnotes in the bone-yard of history.
Where is Israel? Where are the Jewish people? (They are) alive and well, ruling the only democratic society in the Middle East, and America’s only friend in the region.”

That night was very special. We collected $30,000 for Magen David Adom to buy an ambulance. With money from some local churches and from the readers of Charisma magazine, we collected a total of $120,000.

There was so much love in the room that night. People laughed and cried. Strangers hugged each other. Bridges were built between Christians and Jews like nothing ever held before. One rabbi called it “historic.”
Our message that night was this: Israel, you are not alone. This year two nights to honor Israel will be held in the state of Florida. One will be held in Jacksonville on Nov.13 and the other in Orlando on Nov. 14, Pastor Hagee will speak at both. For more information or to register for “A Night to Honor Israel” go to http://www.nighttohonorisrael.org/register.php.

Iran is Winning the War in Iraq

2006-10-27T09:36:00.000-05:00

by Michael D. Evans

Where were you on the fifth anniversary of 9/11? In a televised address to the nation, President Bush was praising Iraq as “a young but hopeful democracy.” Iraq’s leader, Nouri al-Maliki was cozying up to the leaders in Iran, in particular the Supreme Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, who Maliki called “a good friend and brother.”

Maliki was not the first Iraqi leader to court Iran; his predecessor Ibrahim al-Jaafari also paid homage to the Iranians. Of course, there is also the Shi’ite firebrand, Moqtada al-Sadr, whose Iranian-backed terrorist militia is intent on destabilizing Iran and driving the hated American troops out. Al-Sadr is, literally, getting away with murder.

If the U.S. does not change course in Iraq, Iran will win the war!

Ninety-three Americans have died in Iraq this month, many killed by powerful improvised explosive devises. These are not “home-made” bombs, thrown together with a handful of ingredients from the kitchen; these are powerful, military-grade IEDs imported directly from Iran. Lt. General Moshe Ya’alon, former IDF Chief of Staff reported that 85 percent of the IEDs used in attacks on the U.S. military in Iraq were imported from Iran.

Iranian-funded death squads roam the streets of Baghdad and other hot spots in Iraq waiting for the precise moment to wreak the most death and destruction and create the most havoc among the Iraqi citizens. It is a blatant attempt to discredit the U.S., and to foment the atmosphere for civil war among the Sunnis, Shi’ites and Kurds.

Not only is Iran winning the war in Iraq, it is winning the media war in the Western world. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s seemingly mad ranting is, in reality, the perfect plan to keep Iran in the forefront of American politics during this crucial mid-term election process. He understands how important the media is. Perhaps he learned that from Osama bin Laden’s second-in-command, Al-Zawahiri.

In a famous letter from bin Laden to Al-Zawahiri, Osama wrote that this was “a battle in the media, and that’s more than half the battle.” The liberal media is, by and large, aiding the enemy by rewarding them with free PR and not holding the terrorists responsible for their acts. The terrorists manipulate the media to glorify martyrs, recruit members, raise money and exhaust the soul of democracies, so the determination to fight to achieve their political objectives is lost.

Iran’s intent is to take the Islamic Revolution sparked by Ayatollah Khomeini through Iraq and Syria to the very borders of Israel. Ahmadinejad is a student of Khomeini who said: “war is a blessing for the world and for every nation. Islam is a tree that needs the blood of martyrs to grow.”

It was Winston Churchill who said that the world lacked the “democratic courage, intellectual honesty and willingness to act.” Every time the terrorists kill a civilian they win. Every time the terrorists get the democracies to kill a child they win. It’s a win/win for the terrorists, it’s a lose/lose for the democracies, and it’s all because of the asymmetry of morality.

No one is willing to admit who the enemy is in Iraq; the enemy is Iran. The U.S. is fighting, not against the Iraqi people, but against Iran’s proxies, bombs, intel and money. And, Iran is winning the war.

Shabbat shalom!

2006-10-26T14:08:00.000-05:00

The ten generations from Abraham to Noah had ended in failure; mankind had stumbled into a downward spiral until God resolved that when all the inhabitants of the earth would be wiped out, with the exception of Noah and his family, and enough animals to replenish the earth after the destruction. Like Adam the father of the entire human race, Noah would become the father of mankind after the flood. Therefore, although the Torah had listed him previously as the last in the genealogy of his predecessors, it mentions him again now, since he and his children were to become the new ancestors of mankind.

"Noah was a righteous man" the verse began to introduce of Noah's offspring, but once he was mentioned, scripture praised him as a righteous man. According to the sages, the Torah means to teach that the primary "offspring" of the righteous are their good deeds, for the worthwhile things that a person does are his primary legacy.Rabbi Ressler asks in his "Dvar", has God proclaiming Noah as being both a "Tzaddik" (righteous), and "Tamim" (perfect). What's tricky about that is that the term "Tzaddik" denotes a person that has been accused of something and has been proclaimed righteous, while the term "Tamim" describes a person that required no defense or exoneration. So which one was Noah?Rabbi Moshe Feinstein explains that if you're an individual, working on yourself and no one else, your goal should be to perfect your actions and in using the guidelines of the Torah to achieve that perfection. However, if you're a leader, or in a position to influence others, many times that involves saying or doing things that evoke allegations and accusations. For this reason, many people would rather stay away from communal affairs, and lead a quiet life. However, God told Noah and us that although Noah could have kept to himself and become perfect, He prefers that we stand up for the Torah even if it means facing opponents because of it. The biggest scholars of our past weren't known as Tamim, but as Tzaddikim (righteous people), because they stood for something! And the best way for us to achieve this goal is to find ONE good deed that we're willing to embrace and stand up for. By becoming a "mini-Tzaddik" in this one aspect, may we grow in rank, and one day become Tamim (perfect) human beings!

Christians United For Israel "CUFI Leadership Update"

2006-10-24T10:10:00.000-05:00

This weekend was the grand celebration of the Feast Of Tabernacles at Cornerstone Church for the leadership and supporters of Christians United For Israel.

If you were here you know it was simply sensational. There was a powerful anointing on the very grounds where thousands came from all parts of America to celebrate our solidarity with Israel and the Jewish people.

Our celebration began Friday night with a powerful drama presented by Faith Bible Chapel of Arvada, Colorado. Mac Hammond and Gary Bauer were our Keynote Speakers. Every night there was food, fun and fellowship on the church grounds.

The Feast continued on Saturday with a Middle East Intelligence Briefing featuring James Woolsey, former CIA Director; Walid Shoebat, former PLO terrorist who converted to Christianity; Brigitte Gabrielle, a Christian Lebanese who suffered atrocities at the hands of radical Islam; Dr. Joseph Ginat of Netyana College and General Moshe Ya'alon Of Israel. We ended the day with a fireworks display.

Sunday night was the top of the mountain! The church was packed to the rafters. The spirit in the building was electrifying.

The Cornerstone Choir and Orchestra presented a magnificent musical program followed by a drama of the history of Israel. Malcolm Hoenlein of New York was our Keynote Speaker.
This magnificent night was climaxed by the presentation of our gifts to various humanitarian causes in Israel. We gave 7 million dollars to bless the Jewish people according to Genesis 12:3 and Romans 15:27.

OUR NEXT EVENT

We are now planning for CUFI's Washington DC Rally July 16-19. Last year we had 3500 people in Washington, which shocked the world. This year we want to set as our goal 7000 Christians to invaded Capitol Hill on behalf of Israel.

We can do it! It begins with every Regional and State Director beginning to rally their troops now! I guarantee you Washington DC 2007 is going to be over the top.

Blessings to you and those you love, as we work together to fulfill the Word of God concerning Israel and the Jewish people.

Sincerely, Pastor John Hagee
National Chairman,
Christians United For Israel

North Korea and Iran: States in Denial

2006-10-23T09:23:00.000-05:00

by Michael D. Evans

North Korea was quick to react following this week’s UN Security Council imposed sanctions in response to its first test of a nuclear weapon. According to a North Korean spokesperson, “The resolution cannot be construed otherwise than a declaration of a war.” White House spokesperson Tony Snow said it would be no surprise if North Korea attempted another test just “to be provocative.”

Among the U.N. resolution provisos, North Korea would be barred from exporting material related to its nuclear, ballistic missile, and unconventional weapons programs. Though aimed at preventing such North Korean arms from finding their way to terrorist groups or other rogue states, this may be too little and too late.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wasted no time in rejecting the sanctions resolution, which he said was an example of America using the Security Council as a "weapon". He also rejected as "illegal" a Security Council demand that Iran halt its efforts to enrich uranium, a necessary process in the production of nuclear weapons.

Ahmadinejad's statement echoed a threat by an Iranian nuclear official in March. "If Iran's nuclear dossier is referred to the UN Security Council, (large-scale) uranium enrichment will be resumed," Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, told a Teheran news conference.

America is deeply concerned over Iran's stubborn pursuit of nuclear capability in the face of North Korea's successful test of a nuclear weapon, not least because of the well established arms connection between Pyongyang and Teheran. As US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton told reporters last week, Iran’s leaders should take note of the Security Council’s treatment of North Korea. “I am sure they’re watching in Teheran what we do on this North Korea resolution, and I hope they watch closely.”

How closely does he expect Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to watch what the Security Council does, after he has repeatedly proclaimed at the UN and elsewhere that the Holocaust never happened and that Iran is committed to wiping Israel off the face of the earth?

Israel has no illusions about the danger of a now nuclear-armed North Korea sharing its devastating expertise with Iran. Its officials urged the passage of the resolution, fearing that a weak international response to Pyongyang would encourage Teheran to speed up its nuclear program.

America is rightfully worried about the North Korean nuclear test, because it means that North Korea is now a nuclear power. No UN resolution is going to persuade the North Koreans to give up their bomb. The task of sanctions will be eventually to help impose a combination of containment and deterrence, much like that of the Cold War, to keep the North Korean bomb on the Korean peninsula and to dissuade them from using it.

But God help the world if North Korea exports its nuclear genie to the Islamist extremists of Iran. Iranian nuclear terrorists would not have to launch ballistic missiles to threaten world peace, when they could dispatch legions of terrorists with suitcase-sized dirty nuclear bombs.North Korea has been supplying Iran since 1993 with medium-range missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons and poison gas, as well as warhead-guidance systems. A recent intelligence report cited in World News Daily notes that Iran has received enough plutonium from North Korea to assemble a nuclear weapon. The CIA first reported the North Korea-Iran plutonium connection in 1994, but it was unverified until recently.

As US Undersecretary of State Robert Joseph, in charge of arms control and international security, told the foreign press in Seoul recently: “I can say that the connections between North Korea and Iran are very strong, and North Korea has been, I think, the principal supplier to Iran of ballistic missile technologies.”

Iran’s much-touted Shihab-3 missile is simply the mullahs’ improved version of the Nodong, with a 1,000-mile range and a nuclear-capable payload of nearly one ton. Recent reports say North Korea and Iran are working to double the missile’s range by reducing the payload – to a smaller nuclear weapon of mass destruction.

Iran's target: 3,000 dead Americans by Nov. 7

2006-10-13T15:51:00.000-05:00

by Mike Evans

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's president, has given the order: Raise the American death count in Iraq to 3,000 before the Nov. 7 general election. This news came from a high-level Israeli leader.

The death count in the month of September was 65 and stands at 28 thus far for the month of October. The dead and wounded in Iraq to date number 23,212. The total number of dead stands at 2,744 – Iran is 256 body bags away from achieving its goal, which means it will have to accelerate the death count to approximately nine Americans per day in Iraq.

American and Iraqi forces are fighting various battles with Iran's Mahdi Army. Muqtada al-Sadr, Iran's personal envoy in Iraq, is receiving funding, intelligence and armaments from Iran. Al-Sadr is to Iraq what Nasrallah is to Lebanon.

According to Moshe Ya'alon, former chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Forces (and who also endorsed "Showdown with Nuclear Iran), 85 percent of all IEDs that kill Americans in Iraq are imported from Iran.

Iran has a definite purpose in trying to get the body count in Iraq up to 3,000; they believe that number will do enormous damage to President Bush during the mid-term elections Nov. 7.

Iran has expertise in influencing American elections. The 1980 campaign against then-President Jimmy Carter was very successful. The founder of Israeli intelligence, Isser Harel, told me in September of 1980 that Iran would take Jimmy Carter out of the White House by humiliating him and refusing to release the hostages until Ronald Reagan was sworn in as president. He also told me that America's first terrorist attack would be on New York City's tallest building. (This story appeared in the Jerusalem Post Sept. 30, 2001.)

Ahmadinejad's desire to influence U.S. elections is just another in a series of events this year that bear his imprimatur:

A year of lunatic threats against Israel and the West, including murdering Americans and Jews through his proxies in Iraq and Lebanon.
A May 9, 18-page "bow down" letter attempting to convert President Bush to Islam and warning him: "I see the towers falling and the glass shattering of your liberal democracy". (Lest we miss the message, Islamic law requires its adherents to warn their enemies and give them a chance to convert before they can blow them up).
Then there's his admission, in his "60 Minutes" interview with Mike Wallace, that he has 52,000 radical martyrs prepared to attack and kill Americans if necessary.

Pardon me if I feel compelled to ask a question: Wasn't all of America just grieving the fifth anniversary of 9/11?

The 9/11 Commission Report detailed evidence that eight of the 10 hijackers were given a "get out of Iran free" pass a year prior to the attacks on 9/11. According to the report, Iranian officials instructed border guards on Iran's western border with Afghanistan not to stamp the passports of Saudi citizens who may have been traveling to and from al-Qaida training camps in Afghanistan.

You can be sure the jihadists worldwide will be sitting tall on their Persian rugs. For them, the recent U.N. visit featured Mahmoud Ahmadine-jab, the heavyweight jihadist champion of the world. The American people had to sit by and watch him proudly strut around the U.N. like Hitler on steroids. And, he is moving full speed ahead with his nuclear enrichment program.

On Sept. 17, 2005, Ahmadinejad addressed the U.N. the first time with his occultist revelation:

Dear friends and colleagues: From the beginning of time humanity has longed for the day when justice, peace, equality and compassion envelop the world. ... When the day comes the ultimate promise of the divine human being who is the heir to all prophets and pious men. He will lead the world to justice and absolute peace.

Upon arriving back in Tehran, he told the mullahs:

When I spoke at the U.N. and began saying Bismullah Muhammed a green light came upon me and I was placed in this aura. … I felt it … the atmosphere changed and for 27 to 28 minutes all the leaders of the world did not blink. When I say they did not blink, I am not exaggerating. They were looking as if a hand was holding them there.

You can be sure he will continue to follow the green light … because he sees no red lights.

James Woolsey, former director of the CIA, told me in a recent interview: "Ahmadinejad thinks he is going to resurrect the 12th, or hidden, Imam. He goes every week or two to commune with the hidden Imam and get his instructions. A world, as he says, without Zionism or America is his ultimate dream."

Woolsey went on to say that Iran is exporting the terrorist technology, money, intelligence and explosives to Iraq that is enabling one person to kill our troops. Iran has helped him build one of Iraq's most powerful armies: The Muqtada Al-Sadr Militia.

You can be sure Ahmadinejad has a dog in the American mid-term election fight as well.

During the Iranian hostage crisis, President Carter took an involuntary 444-day Persian chess course. He found out that they not only invented the game; they knew how to play it expertly in American election years.

During our interview, I asked Woolsey how much nuclear material would be needed to make a bomb. His response:

"Twenty-five to thirty-five pounds … about the size of a volleyball or a basketball. I would expect that if they got within 100 miles of the city of New York and launched a Scud from an old tramp steamer, the Iranians would do everything they could to make it look like an al-Qaida attack. Or if al-Qaida actually accomplished it, they probably would do everything they could to try to make it look like it was Hezbollah."

Who, I wonder, will be preening in the halls of the United Nations next year? If Osama bin Laden has acquired the means to enrich uranium, perhaps he will be the one playing "Let's make a Deal" in September 2007.

Visit this link to Help Stop Iran: www.helpstopirannow.com

Daily News from the Unity Coalition for Israel

2006-09-29T08:47:00.000-05:00

Daily News from the Unity Coalition for Israel:
(from September 27, 2006)

Islamic Fascism 101, National Review Online, Victor Davis Hanson

Intimidating the West, from Rushdie to Benedict, New York Sun, Daniel Pipes

Silence of the Sheep, Freeman Center for Strategic Studies, Yashiko Sagamori

Was that really George W. Bush at the UN?, Fundamentally Freund, Michael Freund

Syria Aspires to Go Nuclear; Denies Ongoing Program, The Media Line

PA: 63% Support Hizbullah Tactics, Arutz-7, Nissan Ratzlav-Katz

Senator Santorum Expresses Concern Regarding the Growing Relationship between Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela, U.S. Congress, U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA)

Yom Kippur-- "Shabbat Shalom!" Weekly Teaching by Ron Wexler

2006-09-29T08:28:00.000-05:00

Yom Kippur

This is the Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – The Day of Atonement. This period between these two high holidays is known as the Days of Awe, time for good deeds, prayers and repentance. A time to reflect on our lives and our purposes, a time to ask for forgiveness and be thankful to the Lord, for “On Rosh Hashanah they (Souls) are inscribed and on the fast day of Yom Kippur they are sealed: How many shall pass away and how many shall be born; who shall live and who shall die? Who shall be tranquil and who shall be harassed; who shall enjoy well-being and who shall suffer tribulations; who shall be poor and who shall be rich; who shall be humble and who shall be exalted?

Repentance, Prayer and Charity, avert the severity of the decree!”

It is easy for us to understand the concepts of repentance and prayer; charity is different. The sages were able to distinguish between many levels of charity and philanthropic models. The emphasis is usually on the motives of the givers and the state of mind of the recipients. It is one thing to give; it is entirely a different story however, how you give and why. One may for instance embarrass the recipient and his/her family, if the charity is given in public and with much attention. Also when put in such situation, the recipient may feel uncomfortable and indebted to the giver.

The book of Ruth describes in a most beautiful way the custom of giving the opportunity to the needy (in accordance with the word of God) to harvest with the workers (Ruth 2:2). What a magnificent way to be charitable without making the needy have to beg and be embarrassed.

Charity is God’s most favorite trait of mankind, he who is charitable and kind to others will never be forsaken!

The following is a true story I heard from my Rabbi that made me think real hard about charity, especially during these Days of Awe – charity and the way it relates to the faith in God.

In a small town in Poland lived a rich man who was known as the miser of the town. He was cheap; he never gave any charity or offered to help the needy and poor… And there were plenty of them in that town. He hardly had any friends or associates; no one wanted much to do with him, while many had a lot to say behind his back. The man had a daughter but no sons to carry on his name. When this man died, the Jewish burial society of the town decided to treat him in his death the same way that he treated others during his life. They buried him in the cemetery’s section that was designated for those who lived their lives among the wrong elements of society. In this part of the cemetery there were buried thieves and other undistinguished members of the community. No one seemed to have known what ever happened with the man’s wife and daughter who couldn’t stand the treatment they received from their neighbors and fled way.

In the weeks that followed the man’s death, the poor and needy of the town suddenly realized that the charitable portions of food that were always available to them were all but gone. The town’s butcher, the grocer and the fisherman that made sure that those who were in need could always come and collect from their shops, no longer had these portions available. Neither the clothing store owner, nor the shoemaker that also had their goods available to the less fortunate offered their help anymore.

The poor and the needy demanded to know why no longer the butcher, the grocer, the fisherman and all the others were helping as they had done before. The answer they got shocked them all; do you think the charity you received came from us, asked the merchants? You are all but wrong, it did not come from us, they continued, it all came from the man you buried in the bad part of the cemetery. This man you buried next to thieves and “low lives” came each and every week to all of us to buy the food and clothes that you all enjoyed while he was still alive.

The story caught the attention of one of the most righteous and famous Rabbis in Poland. Upon hearing the story, this great rabbi immediately declared that when his time comes, his wish was to be buried next to that man. Indeed when this Rabbi died in good age, he was buried in a grave next to the “miser of the town”.

This was not the end of the story. . .

Three generations later, a Baptist pastor from Tennessee decided to participate in an ecumenical conference. At the conference the story of the “miser” was told by the key note speaker who was an orthodox Rabbi. Following the Rabbi’s speech, the pastor, visibly shaken up, asked the Rabbi if he would repeat the story again for him in private. The Rabbi complied with this strange request and told the story again to the pastor, this time in one of the conference’s private offices. By the time the Rabbi finished telling the story again, the pastor’s face was washed with tears. This is my story said the pastor to the surprised Rabbi. You see the pastor continued, my mother was married to a Baptist pastor in Tennessee, and in fact it was his church that now I am the pastor of. I heard this very story from my mother over and over again, she used to tell me the story with tears in her eyes since I was a little boy. When my mother died, in her final moment she held my hand and said Shma Israel Adony Elohainu Adony Echad! (Hear, O’ Israel the Lord is our God the Lord is one) I am a Jew she said to me and so are you. Completely shook up by the experience, the pastor looked at the rabbi and said, I think that I am the grandson of the “miser of the town” who had no sons to carry on his name.

Years later, on a visit to Jerusalem, the Rabbi was standing in prayer next to the Western Wall, as he noticed a bearded man (like many others at the Wall) staring at him, as if waiting for him to finish. In fact, upon finishing his evening prayers, the man approached the Rabbi and asked, do you remember me? The Rabbi said no, he couldn’t place the face anywhere at all. I am the pastor from Tennessee said the man, I came to see you a few years ago, after you told the story of the “miser’s burial” in Poland. After our meeting, the man continued, I began an extensive search into my genealogy and I found out that I was right when I said to you then that . . . that was my story. I found out without a shadow of a doubt that this man in Poland was my grandfather! I live now in Jerusalem with my family as a Jew and I proudly carry his name.

“And, All living things shall forever thank you, and praise Your great Name eternally, for You are good, You are everlasting salvation, blessed are You Lord, Beneficent is Your Name and to You it is fitting to offer thanks.”

Shabbat Shalom!

Ron Wexler
President/ CEO
Ten Commandments Commission
www.TenCommandmentsDay.com

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you" (Psalm 122:6)

"Shabbat Shalom!" Weekly Teaching by Ron Wexler The "Shabbat Shalom!" weekly teaching is published every Friday and contains a short commentary by Ron Wexler, President/CEO of the Ten Commandments Commission on verses and teachings in the Old Testament, that are read in Synagogues during Sabbath services around the world.

Shabbat Shalom and a Happy Rosh Hashanah!

2006-09-29T08:01:00.000-05:00

Shabbat Shalom, Rosh Hashanah

This week’s Shabbat falls on Rosh Hashanah (the head of the year). Rosh Hashanah is known as the Day of Judgment, a day when all souls are being judged in the Supreme Court of heaven. Transgressions and sins are laid down on the scale of justice against good deeds and repentance, iniquities are measured against charity, slander and evil council are opposite sincere prayers and blessings to others.

On Rosh Hashanah Jews come before God in repentance and hope to be inscribed in the book of life, blessings, peace, deliverance and favorable decrees.

(Article continues on website)

To finish reading this article, click here.
Message from Ron Wexler, President/CEO of Ten Commandments Commission, www.tencommandmentsday.com

These messages from Ten Commandments Commission are sent weekly on Fridays and they contain very short commentaries on the portion of the Bible that is read in synagogues on the corresponding Sabbath services.

Renewal of the covenant

2006-09-15T14:07:00.000-05:00

"Shabbat Shalom!" Weekly Teaching by Ron Wexler

Renewal of the covenant

This week’s teaching is from a portion in the book of Deuteronomy, verses 29:9 – 31:30.

On the last day of his life, Moses gathered together every member of the Jewish people, from the most exalted, to the lowest, old and young, men and women, and initiated them for the last time into the covenant of God. What was new about this covenant was the concept of responsibility for one another, under which every Jew is obligated to help others observe the Torah and restrain them from violating it. This is why Moses began by enumerating all the different status of people who stood before him, and why he said that God would not hold him responsible for sins that had been done secretly, but that they would be liable for transgressions committed openly. This is essential to the world view of the Jew; for it explains why one may not be apathetic to the short comings of others and why public desecrations of the Torah are the concern of every Jew of good conscious.

According to the sages, when the people heard the frightening litany of the curses in the admonition, there seemed to have been a hopeless future for them. Moses comforted them, saying that despite all the sins of the past; they were still standing before God. Just as he had not discarded them before, so He would maintain them in the future. Fear of admonition would prevent them from sinning, and if they did sin, the punishments would bring them attainment, not destruction.

Rabbi Ressler in his “Dvar” commentary captured this moment in history: It was the morning of the 7th of Jewish month of Adar. No one has slept this past night knowing that this was to be Moses last day. All night long, in silent dread, we have stood waiting, crying, and wondering. What will we do? How will we go on? Moses our Teacher is about to die and there is nothing we can do about it! All night long we have been gathered around Moses tent as he instructed the great Joshua. Oh that we have reached this fateful day!

But wait! Joshua is coming out. Look at his face! It seems to glow with a light as bright as the shine of the moon in a dark starry night! What has happened? Where is Moses? Suddenly an expectant hush falls over all of us. There must be more than 3 million people here! Tribal heads, members of the Sanhedrin (Supreme Court), dignitaries, men, women and children.

The great Joshua turns to the tent's entrance and bows his head. There he is! It is Moses! The simple joy and love that emanates from his smile as he looks out upon all of us is magical. Each and every one of us feels the sadness and dread drain away. What regal bearing! What majesty! Even with the veil we can sense the celestial power of his radiance. We must remember this moment!

But wait! It looks like Moses is going to lift the veil. He's about to speak. His voice seems to be carried as if on the wind itself. It's an ageless voice that resonates with the echoes of Sinai. We must listen very carefully. There are his final words; today is Moses final day. And so this is how this reading portion begins... "Today you are all standing... your leaders, your law enforcers, every Israelite man, your children, your women, even your wood cutters and water carriers." (29:9)

Shabbat Shalom!

Ron Wexler
President/ CEO
Ten Commandments Commissionwww.TenCommandmentsCommission.org

First Fruits

2006-09-08T11:34:00.000-05:00

"Shabbat Shalom!" Weekly Teaching by Ron Wexler

First Fruits

This week’s teaching is from a portion in the book of Deuteronomy, verses 21:10 -- 25:19.

The Torah now gives the details of a commandment that was first mentioned in Exodus 23:19, after the land of Israel was conquered and allocated, farmers were to take the first ripened fruits to the temple and present them to the Cohen (priest), in a ritual that included moving declaration of gratitude to God for His eternal role as a guide of Jewish history. The Jew’s gift of his first fruits or “Bikkurim”, the Cohen symbolizes that he dedicates everything he has to the service of God. For a Jew to say that his every accomplishment, no matter how much sweat he invested in it, is a gift from God is one of the goals of creation.

Rabbi Shlomo Bressler depicts in comments on this reading portion that though we instinctively understand that being happy is an important emotion, this portion seems to take this a step further than we might have thought. The verse tells us that many curses will fall onto the person that "did not serve God amid gladness and goodness of heart when everything was abundant."

Maimonides (Rambam) uses this verse to explain that the only way for people to reach their maximum potential is if they're happy. The question is: Why would performing God's will without happiness cause terrible curses if after all they actually performed what was required of them?

The sages answer that a person that is unhappy while performing God's commandments indicates that they are not emotionally involved in those acts. As we see from King David (Psalms 128:2 and 100:2) and the Talmud; happiness is required for everything done in the Temple, for the Levites to sing and for the priests to perform their duties. It is clear that the emotions behind our acts are very much a part of the acts we perform. It's now clear that the Torah is sending us a warning:

Not being emotionally involved with your religious observance will result in meaningless acts of faith.

Beware and be aware!

Shabbat Shalom!

Ron Wexler
President/ CEO
Ten Commandments Commission
www.TenCommandmentsDay.com

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you" (Psalm 122:6)

Interesting Facts on Israel

2006-09-01T08:09:00.000-05:00

Source--Unity Coalition for Israel
B'nai Jehuda Bisseleh Bytes - June 28, 2006

…Israel, the 100th smallest country, with less than 1/1000th of the world's population, can lay claim to the following:

The cell phone was developed in Israel by Israelis working in the Israeli branch of Motorola, which has its largest development center in Israel.
Most of the Windows NT and XP operating systems were developed by Microsoft-Israel.
Both the Pentium-4 microprocessor and the Centrino processor were entirely designed, developed and produced in Israel.
Voice mail technology was developed in Israel.
Both Microsoft and Cisco built their only R&D facilities outside the US in Israel.
The technology for the AOL Instant Messenger was developed in 1996 by four young Israelis.
Israel has the fourth largest air force in the world (after the U.S, Russia and China). In addition to a large variety of other aircraft, Israel's air force has an aerial arsenal of over 250 F-16's. This is the largest fleet of F-16 aircraft outside of the U. S.
Israel's $100 billion economy is larger than all of its immediate neighbors combined.
Israel has the highest percentage in the world of home computers per capita
According to industry officials, Israel designed the airline industry's most impenetrable flight security. US officials now look (finally) to Israel for advice on how to handle airborne security threats
Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the world.
Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a large margin - 109 per 10,000 people - as well as one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed.
In proportion to its population, Israel has the largest number of startup companies in the world. In absolute terms, Israel has the largest number of startup companies than any other country in the world, except the U.S. (3,500 companies mostly in hi-tech).
With more than 3,000 high-tech companies and startups, Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech companies in the world - apart from the Silicon Valley, U. S.
Israel is ranked #2 in the world for venture capital funds right behind the U. S.
Outside the United States and Canada, Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ listed companies.
Israel has the highest average living standards in the Middle East.
The per capita income in 2000 was over $17,500, exceeding that of the U.K.
Twenty-four per cent of Israel's workforce holds university degrees, ranking third in the industrialized world, after the United States and Holland and 12 per cent hold advanced degrees.
Israel is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East…

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It's the Budget Stupid!

2006-09-01T07:57:00.000-05:00

By Mike Evans

What seems to have completely escaped the American press in their analysis of Ehud Olmert's acceptance of the UN cease-fire agreement is that without US willingness to continue to supply financial aid to Olmert's government they have no choice but to stop their pursuit of Hezbollah.

According to finance minister Avraham Hirchson, the war has cost Israel some $1.6 billion so far. He has indicated he will ask the government to cut $650 million from the 2006 state budget to help pay for the war.

With the US State Department's insistence that Israel honor a cease-fire agreement with the terrorist organization Hezbollah, Ehud Olmert understands clearly the implication. No cease-fire agreement, no more bullets.

Everyone seems to understand that the war that has filled the news reports is, in fact, a proxy war being waged between America and Iran. Iran is supplying Hezbollah through Syria. America is supplying Israel.

US aid to Israelfor the current fiscal year (FY ‘06) amounts to $2.28 billion in military and $240 million in economic grants, for a total of $2.52 billion. And this was before the war began.

With a third of the country unemployed as a result of Hezbollah rocket attacks and Israel's major source of income, tourism, effectively shut down since the intifada began, Israel simply cannot prosecute the war without America's tangible financial support.

Some in the press has made it look as though Olmert's government is vacillating. They have written of Israel's lack of focus. They have spoken in terms of a muddied mission with no clear sign of goal.

What they fail to recognize is that Israel is focused like a laser, willing to take the battle in the Middle East to Tehran itself if called upon, willing to spill the blood of young Israeli soldiers in the battle against terrorism. Israel is not vacillating.

America is.

The cease-fire brokered by a corrupt United Nations and a liberal US State Department is one more action birthed out of the moral confusion which seems to have gripped the American people in regards to the war on terrorism.

If it is true, as virtually all now agree, that the war being waged in Lebanon is in fact the front in a war being fought between two contrasting civilizations with Iran playing the role of tyrant and America playing the role of Western democracy... A question is raised.

Who just backed down?

In case you missed it, it wasn't Iran, Syria, or Hezbollah.

Nor was it Israel, though many in the press seemed to believe such as the case.

It was America.

By withholding our support from Israel and demanding that they agree to a cease-fire (Which amounts to a victory for Hezbollah and the radical government of Iran) the United States of America just blinked first.

And don't think the terrorists missed it.

Not only did America blink first, they did so at the worst possible moment. August 16, 2006 was the planned day for the repeat of a terrorist attack worse than 9/11.

August 31, 2006 is the deadline the UN Security Council has given Iran to suspend uranium enrichment. The same day the G-8 conference began, Hezbollah, at the direction of Iranian government kidnapped the Israeli soldiers and set the present hostilities into motion, thus effectively distracting world attention from their nuclear ambitions.

What would possess George W. Bush, Condoleezza Rice, and John Bolton to weaken their resolve, embolden their enemies and eviscerate their only democratic ally in the Middle East at the most critical moment in the conflict?

Midterm elections? Oil prices for votes? Moral confusion? World opinion? If the answer to any of these possibilities is "yes" then we have already lost the war on terrorism. It's only a question of time before freedom gives way to tyranny.

Be assured those who are devoted to the West's destruction are not moved by such petty concerns