Saturday, March 30, 2002

Want to understand the background for the recent events in Israel? Here is a commented pictorial record.
Daniel Pearl was a Jew, an Israeli (though he did not tell people about that). He died a Jew, and proud of it.
Why would anyone stay in Israel? On one short page, you can read a powerful answer.
Sharon says, 'We aim to defeat the terrorist organizations.' This is a good aim, to be sure. But if we are to judge by recent history, Sharon cannot possibly mean what you or I would mean if we made this statement. I know that I can't know what is happening behind the scenes--the pressures, the deals, the threats, the promises.

So I continue to puzzle over the situation as a "black box" problem--to try to predict the behavior of the "black box" of the government of Israel (or any government, for that matter) on the basis of inputs and outputs.

On that basis, I am still mystified.
Terror Victims Association is an excellent site to find out more about how those most directly affected by the terror are dealing with it.
Bush perhaps realizes the public inconsistency of any other position...
We are our brothers' keepers. Please visit this site, home of the Israel Emergency Solidarity Fund, which helps the families of the terror victims in Israel. You can send a consolation card to any family, and of course donate money to the fund. Full of information and heartbreaking news.

Thursday, March 28, 2002

CNN.com - Arab summit adopts Saudi peace initiative - March 28, 2002: ""It has been shown that when the United States pushes Israel toward a compromising position, they will listen even if public opinion is affected by what the United States is doing," al-Faisal said. "This is the time where sense must be talked into (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon. The war and the conflict is in his head. This has to be removed...." [It's wonderful how lack of knowledge of the language brings out truth: a "compromising position" is just what the prince wants. And how comforting to know that the conflict is all in Sharon's head, which must be removed...]

"The Saudi foreign minister condemned the deaths of 20 civilians in Wednesday's suicide attack in the Israeli coastal town of Netanya, but placed blame on the Jewish state for inspiring the attack." Truer blame was never placed: Israel inspired the attack - by its existence.

Wednesday, March 27, 2002

Find Bin Laden a home in the US? Click to read more.
A note worth thinking about from Rebecca Holzman
Director of Community Relations
Jewish Community Council of Ottawa/ Vaad Ha'Ir
(613) 798-4696 ext. 234

I know everyone receives jokes and junk mail and tends to forward nonsense through their mailing lists. Although this may not change the world but it will remind us of the depth of our souls and the pains we have suffered, unfortunately we still do.

I am chairperson of the Holocaust Awareness Month (April) at my middle school and I hope that this small effort will serve as a reminder that we are very much alive and we will never forget.

This message asks you to do one small act to remember the six million (6,000,000) Jewish lives that were lost during the Holocaust.

Send this message to everyone you know who is Jewish.

If we reach the goal of reaching six million email names before Yom Hashoah we will fulfill and give back to G-d what He gave to us: 6 Million Jews who are alive today who remember those who perished.

Please send this message to as many Jews as you know.

Ask them to send it to others.

Toda Raba and Shalom

Ayala
American Red Cross Calls for Recognition of Israel's Magen David Adom Society, and has been doing so for five years. (Where were they before?) The International Red Cross will do anything to avoid seeing Jews as people; now they are proposing changing their symbol altogether. If the issue were only symbols, they could have accorded full status to Magen David Adom years ago. They haven't.

Although the International Red Cross claims its cross has no religious meaning, but was simply a reversal of the flag of Switzerland, to bespeak neutrality, one does wonder what the person who made the cross so famous would think.
Chabad.org has a lot of fascinating and useful information about Pesakh--Passover, to English speakers. This feast is known as, "the time of our freedom." My wish is that we all might realize the full significance of this holiday!