77th Havel Havelim: Read 'em and reap

Batya's gone plum crazy writing like a banshee (Ok. Not a banshee. Like a Me-ander-er) in this week's Havel Havelim.

Bring an appetite and soup spoon and prepare to dig into all that rich, creamy bloggingness...

...and thanks for the link:

"Read Dave's beautifully illustrated Quick Draw McGraw! You can sure get more with honey or a good laugh."

(from your mouth to You-Know-Who's ear, Batya)

Click and listen:
"77 Sunset Strip"

"Now what does that popular TV show from 45 years ago, 77 Sunset Strip, have to do with this edition of Havel Havelim? Very simple. This is the 77th edition of Havel Havelim, the Jewish-Israeli blogging carnival consisting of posts from blogs all over the world. It’s hosted by a different blogger each week and coordinated by Soccer Dad. The term “Havel Havelim” is from Kohelet, Ecclesiastes, which was written by King Solomon, who built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and later on got all bogged down in materialism and other “excesses” and finally realized that it was nothing but norishkeit, “havel” or in English 'vanities.'"

Where in Israel is this? (Bizarre signery contest)

Ok. If Ozzie Dave over at Israellycool can do it, so can I:

Where did I shoot this photograph (and possibly, why, fer' God's sake)?:

Spray-painted out inscriptions:
"Holy Place - Do Not Urinate"
(Photo: Dave Bender)

The top line says on both angles: "Holy Site." The sprayed out lower line: "Do Not Urinate."

Hint: No, it's not a pissoir. It's the doorway at the main entrance.

Comments are, umm, welcome. I think.
---
(Pssst. Dave? I repeatedly tried posting by you for your contest, but keep getting bounced by the logon. Is it my accent?)

Gaza, Sderot: IDF artillery fire after Kassam volley wounds civilians (UPDATE)

Kassam rocket collection at Sderot police station
(Photo: YNETnews)

From The Jerusalem Post:

"Four people were wounded on Sunday morning, one moderately, when one of two Kassam rockets launched from the Gaza Strip landed in a house in Sderot.

"The wounded included a male in his 40s who was hurt by shrapnel. All four were evacuated to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon.

"The second rocket landed in open territory in the city. No one was wounded and no damage was reported as a result of the impact. Following Sunday morning's rocket fire, the IDF resumed shelling Kassam launch sites in northern Gaza."

IDF denies artillery fire hit Palestinian family:

"July 9th 2006
IDF SPOKESPERSON UPDATE
The IDF is investigating reports regarding civilian casualties in a house in Sajaiya. The IDF denies claims of alleged tank or artillery fire; at the times of the incident there was no artillery or tank fire in the area. The Israel Air Force targeted a group of gunmen carrying anti-tank missiles in a street in Sajaiya, and identified hitting them.

"The IDF will continue to act with determination and to employ all means at its disposal to combat terrorists and their infrastructure, in order to ensure the safe return of Cpl. Gilad Shalit and to stop terrorist attacks and the launching of rockets at Israel."

Looks like another "Gaza beach story" is entering the news cycle. Bagel Blogger has a withering, extensively footnoted "Fisking" expose here.

IDF UPDATE 09:15:

"The Erez security crossing is currently open for the passage of foreign journalists. It will be open until approximately 12:00 noon, in both directions."

That's Armyspeak for, "You're that hot to trot to cover this story? Just remember "Duck and Cover," and please sign this here release form in triplicate saying we take no responsibility over your sorry butt, and don't come cryin' to us if you catch either an artillery shell or a Kassam there."

Oh yeah - and for the "mapographically" challenged, that's, oh, nearly smack dab between Kassam firing areas at the northern edge of the Gaza and their targets of Sderot and Ashkelon, and IDF artillery batteries trying to quell the Palestinians rocket crews by shelling back at them.

Just sayin'...

...And this via Israel Matzav:

"Knesset Member Wasal Taha, corresponding publicly with internet surfers on the Arabic-language IslamOnline site, said he repeatedly advised PA terrorists to battle and kidnap Israeli soldiers.

"MK Zevulun Orlev (National Religious Party), who last week submitted a bill to negate Knesset membership to MKs who support terrorists, said that Taha's "traitorous" remarks are further proof that Israeli democracy must protect itself."

Picturing Jerusalem (Original Photos)

(Thanks to the two previous posts, I'm in a visual mood as Friday draws to a close, and Shabbat fast approaches. Click pics for larger images.)

Patience & Change - Jerusalem 2005 (Dave Bender)

Delight lies at the core of heart and mind.

Deep within a father's soul, even the father who's face is stern and heart is cold, yet without doubt there lies the spark of the child, his innermost delight.

Within the child the spark lies as well, perhaps more dormant, quieter, without a flicker, yet there.

The Master of All Things sits in judgment over His world, awaiting the moment His children will call Him 'Father.'

(Courtesy: Chabad)

Jerusalem Sunset - 2005 (Dave Bender)

Picturing Jerusalem - 2005 (Dave Bender)

Shabbat Shalom. See you Saturday night.

Stunning original views of Israel (Photo essay)

Gilad Benari is, as far as I've seen, a stunningly original photographer covering Israel.

It's not the usual touristy stuff, or, "If it bleeds, it leads," pornojournalism, either.

Damn, I wish I had his skill and setup...

To see his work, go here, click on one of the packages, and the file will download, opening in PowerPoint (3.7 meg - no viruses or advert/spyware, as far as AVG antivirus and Adaware tell me).

(And, nope, I don't know him, and this isn't viral marketing)

Any of you out there think you've got really good content about Israel? Drop me a note, and I'll consider posting a link.

Oh, and Shabbat Shalom.

Navy jets arc over Lower Manhattan, as carrier trawls the East River (Photo slide show)

You must check out these hi-rez images of a Memorial Day airshow over Manhattan Island.

Breathtaking stuff...

Yeah, yeah, I know you're already fulminatin', "But this isn't about Israel!" But the views. Geez!

Victor Hanson: Double standards on Israel (Editorial)

Victor David Hanson

What explains most of the world's dislike of Israel?

Since Israeli settlers withdrew from Gaza in 2005, Palestinian terrorists have replied by consistently shooting homemade Qassam rockets at civilian targets inside Israel. Just recently, they've kidnapped a soldier and a hitchhiker (who has been killed) — and promised to do the same to others.

You'd expect these terrorist attacks on Israel to be viewed by responsible nations as similar to the jihadist violence we read about daily around the world — radical Islamists beheading Russian diplomats over Chechnya, plotting to do the same to the Canadian prime minister or threatening murder over insensitive Danish cartoons.

But that isn't the case at all. Israel is always seen as a special exception that somehow deserves what it gets.

Other states can retaliate with impunity, brutally killing thousands of Muslim terrorists, while Israel is condemned when it takes out a few dozen.

When in late 1999 Russians stormed Grozny, thousands of Chechnya Muslims died. Yet the press was mostly silent. Baathist Syria went after the Muslim Brotherhood in 1982, wiping out much of the city of Hama and killing perhaps more than 10,000. Not many U.N. resolutions or international refugee efforts there.

To this day, no one knows the horrific body count from the Islamic insurrection in Algeria. Darfur finally earns occasional airtime, but only after tens of thousands have perished.

But Israel's 2002 "siege" of the West Bank town Jenin, where less than 80 died on both sides, was evoked as "genocide" by those in the Middle East who often deny the real one that took 6 million Jewish lives. When Israel retaliates by air to terrorism, it is dubbed a "blitz" by the press — as if it were akin to the Nazis carpet-bombing London.

Israel's border fence is referred to as a "Berlin Wall," but you never hear Egypt's nearby massive concrete barrier to keep Palestinians in Gaza described that way.

Then there is the open sore of the West Bank "occupation." Even if you forget that a series of offensive wars to destroy Israel in part originated from "Palestine", or that Israel has given up land acquired by war in its perennial hope for "land for peace," what is so unique about the West Bank that drowns out all other crises over contested ground (from islands like Cyprus and the Falklands to entire countries like Tibet)? Why has tiny Israel alone earned more U.N. resolutions of condemnation than all those offered against all other nations of the world combined?

It is not as if Israel is a rogue state. For over a half-century, it's been the only liberal democracy in the Middle East. Israeli scientists have given the world everything from innovative computer software to drip-irrigation technology.

Oil explains some of the weird discrepancy in how the world views certain countries. It warps policymaking. Take away Iranian and Arab petroleum — and thus the risk of another oil embargo or rigged price hike — and Western fears of Middle East oil states would diminish. Naked self-interest determines the foreign policy of most nations.

The size of Israel factors in here as well. Israel has a population of not much more than 6 million and is surrounded by nearly 350 million Muslim Arabs. Most of the world counts heads — and adjusts attitudes accordingly.

The old anti-Semitism is, of course, another ingredient that accounts for the animus shown Israel. Even sensitive, multicultural Westerners care little that Arab "allies" often portray Jews as "pigs" and "apes" in their state-run media. Odious tracts like "Mein Kampf" still sell briskly in Palestine, and Iranian and Gulf money subsidizes a mini-industry of holocaust denial.

Finally, as we know from our own southern border, anytime a successful Westernized nation is adjacent to a poorer Third World country, primordial emotions like honor and envy cloud reason. Rather than concede that Western-style democracy, capitalism, personal freedom and the rule of law explain why a prosperous, stable Israel arose from scrub and rock, Palestinians fixate on "Zionism," "colonialism" and "racism."

No wonder they do. Otherwise they would have to grapple with intractable and indigenous tribalism, gender apartheid, militias and religious fundamentalism, while building an open society based on the rule of law.

In some ways, Israel's values and success most resemble the United States. And that raises a final question: Is Israel hated by the world for supporting us — or are we hated for supporting it? Or is it both?

(Courtesy of JewishWorld Review)

Eulogy for Eliyahu Osheri

Eliyahu Osheri, 18-year-old Jewish resident of the West Bank
community of Itamar, kidnapped and slain by
Palestinian terrorists last Sunday. (Reuters)

From Rebecca Strapp, Jerusalem (courtesy of Judy Lash Balint):

Yesterday I joined a group of several people who desired to pay a shiva call to the Osheri family, mourning their 18 year-old son, Eliyahu, murdered by Arab terrorists last week.

As we approached the Osheri house, we discovered the family sitting shiva in the yard outside. Apparently, the home was too small to contain the large numbers of friends, families, and strangers like myself. I joined the group surrounding Eliyahu's parents. I sat toward the back of the circle and listened and watched the bereaved mother and father. I glalnced behind me and saw a girl, Eliyahu's sister, the source of the horrifying wails at the funeral, who looked like she couldn't be more than ten or eleven, surrounded by a circle of her peers.

The woman sitting next to me reminded me that the town of Itamar (which is populated by around 100 families) has seen its share of tragedies. In the past five years, fourteen members of the community have been murdered in terrorist attacks. I cringed at the thought. And then the woman told me that one of those fourteen had been a dear friend of Eliyahu's. (please see the following link to the unspeakable tragedy of the Shabo family from Itamar: http://www.shechem.org/itamar/eshabo.html).

After sitting with the parents for a little while, I joined a group of three journalists who interviewed Eliyahu's father. The father agreed to speak with the press, for what ended up lasting about an hour. Mr. Osheri spoke of his son's development in the years leading up to his murder last week.

Apparently, Eliyahu was not much of a student in high school. He was not interested in the material being taught. Once he entered a "pre-military" mechina program, however, Eliyahu seemed to turn over a new leaf. His spiritual development progressed very quickly. As his mother had told us earlier, he asked penetrating, thoughtful and deep questions about belief and Judaism. He thrived at his yeshiva.

Mr. Osheri shared with us that Eliyahu's mother had given voice to concern several months back regarding Eliyahu's spiritual growth. His mother worried: "He' s so close to the Almighty now, I'm afraid the Almighty will take him." (How unfortunately prophetic her words were). I was told that when Eliyahu prayed the mincha, afternoon service, it was like watching someone pray the Yom Kippur service.

Eliyahu's father's words left an indelible imprint on me. I kept returning to the picture of Eliyahu smiling, emanating "chein," goodness and a deep spirituality.

After discussing Eliyahu for a while, the questions veered toward Mr. Osheri's own spiritual journey. He shared with us his own path to Judaism. As a non-Jewish child in Australia, he told us, he knew at the age of ten that Catholicism was not for him. He studied East Asian religions in college and found them engaging only on a cursory level. When he lived in New Guinea for two years, he met an architect whose wife happened to be Israeli. This woman encouraged Mr. Osheri to visit and spend time in Israel.

He did. He spent a year living on a non-religious kibbutz. Mr. Osheri explained that it was on that kibbutz that he sensed something special, unique about the Jewish people. The kibbutznikim possessed some sort of intangible spiritual, ethical quality. He asked them the source of that spark. Someone handed Mr. Osheri a pamphlet of "Pirkei Avot," "Ethics of The Fathers." Reading Pirkei Avot, for him, was like discovering a canteen of water in the middle of the desert. Subsequent to his stint on kibbutz, Mr. Osheri returned to Australia where he studied and learned for a year, culminating in his conversion to Judaism.

I was amazed at the quiet, humble and methodical manner in which Mr. Osheri shared such a personal and unbelievable story. Toward the end of the conversation, the Ha'aretz journalist asked him how he would respond to people who think that he should not be living in Itamar. Eliyahu's father softly, yet firmly, answered: "I would tell them to open the Bible and read very closely and discover that G-d gave this Land to only one people, the Jewish people."

On the bus ride back to Jerusalem, I thought about Eliyahu, his parents and his siblings. His parents, such salt-of-the-earth, gentle, spiritual people grieving over the loss of a son. I thought about the people of Itamar, their beautiful town, their idealism. I thought about the little children who were playing in their "gan," schoolyard when I walked through the town. I thought about Mr. Osheri, his spiritual journey and his son Eliyahu, and his own spiritual journey.I thought about Mrs. Osheri, who could not release my hand from hers when I blessed her upon my departure that G-d should comfort her.

These sights are difficult to understand and accept. I am left without words. Only with prayer. For Gilad. For the Osheri family. For the Jewish people. For the State of Israel.

Relatives of Eliyahu Pinchas Osheri during his funeral in Jerusalem,
Thursday, June 29, 2006. (Reuters)

Kassam slams into schoolyard (Video)

Police and security officials view Kassam rocket that hit an Ashkelon schoolyard Tuesday evening.

YNETnews has a brief film clip of the very moment the Kassam rocket fired from northern Gaza slammed into the schoolyard of the ORT Ronson High School in Ashkelon.

While the area the Kassam hit was unoccupied due to summer vacation, parents registering their children for the coming school year were in the immediate vicinity, and paramedics who rushed to the scene treated a number of individuals for shock.

While some residents said they heard the IDF's "red dawn," loudspeaker alert of the incoming missile, others said all they heard was the shreik of the rocket just before it hit.

Excellent commentary on this escalation by Arnold and Frimet Roth of Jerusalem, who lost their 15-year-old daughter Malki in the suicide bombing at the Sbarro restaurant in Jerusalem in 2001.

Isreallycool has a good roundup of events about the "Summer Rains" operation in Gaza.

Kassam rocket hammers Ashkelon schoolyard

Palestinians in Gaza fired a two-engined Kassam rocket into central Ashkelon at about 19:15 Tuesday evening.

There were no injuries in the attack, although several residents were treated for trauma at the
ORT Ronson High School, where the rocket punched a meter-and-a-half hole in the schoolyard.

Security forces say the projectile, reportedly fired from the ruins of the former community of Nisanit in northern Gaza, traveled some 15 kilometers to hit the major southern city, in the first such strike of its kind.

Between Gaza, on the far left and the major coastal city of Ashkelon, some 15 km distant on the right, lies a major power station, strategic national facilities, an oil farm, a national pipeline, chlorine tanks and military facilities. Kassam rocket fire in the last two years has already hit several of these locations.

More at YNETnews.

More at The Jerusalem Post.

More at Haaretz.