The Implications and Consequences of Expulsion for the Jewish People
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On Thursday, this blog commented on a Ynet opinion piece entitled “We Lost Our Killer Instinct.”
The piece dealt with what many have perceived for some time; How Israelis have become more “I”, “me”, individual-oriented and how this orientation change relates to an IDF basically controlled by the Attorney-General and the so-called “Justice (sic) Ministry, by fear of the media, by fear of parents and the streets of Tel Aviv rather than by the chief of staff and defense ministry.
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Commentary;
It used to be that the spirit, the credo of the IDF was unity, was “follow-me” commanders and command structure, was the collective security of the nation — in all of its regions and sectors. It used to be that the pain felt in the Negev, in Galil, in Jerusalem was felt in Tel Aviv, Haifa, or for that matter, Beit Shemesh. Ynet’s Guy Bechor writes of the change for the worst saying;
“We see excess of individualism, whereby only the individual is of interest to us, rather than the State or the army.”
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LAF Reportedly Defuses Seven Katyusha Rockets Aimed at Israel
Rocket Explodes Near Ashkelon, No Injuries
Kassam Lands Near Ashkelon Beach
Kiryat Gat Gets Geared for Gaza Attack
Rocket Explodes Near Yad Mordechai, No Injuries
Rocket Attack on Kfar Aza, No Injuries
Kassam Rocket Lands Near Sha’ar Hanegev Kibbutz; None Hurt
Mortar Shells Fired by Terrorists Backfired
Two Mortar Shells Hit Open Area in Kibbutz Sha’ar Hanegev; None Hurt
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Commentary;
Readers may wonder why this blog has stuck pretty much to three topics in recent days; Bibi, Likud and Feiglin, Jonathan Pollard and the daily Gaza (and Yehuda, Shomron) war news.
The reason is basically because these three issues most closely focus in on the ongoing political/spiritual (or lack thereof) war between the forces of darkness, apathy and stagnation and the forces of light and Jewish self-pride and spirituality for the minds, hearts and souls
of masses of Israelis.
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Emergency Level Raised [Result of Kassam Bombardment]
Third Wave of Kassam Rockets [Launched Towards Ashkelon]
Second Wave of Kassams [at Ashkelon, Netivot and Sderot; Four Rockets Landed]
Kassam Barrage on Negev [Kassams in Ashkelon Fell in a Factory, House]
Kassam Launched [The Rocket Fell Near Miflasim]
Israel Cancels Plan to Open Gaza Crossings Due to Hamas Attacks, by Hana Levi Julian (Israel National News)
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The White House numbers;
In Israel 077-566-4305
Commentary;
President Bush officially leaves office and turns the mantle of the US Presidency over to Barrack Hussein Obama on the 21th of January.
In the meantime, efforts aimed at Presidential clemency are being redoubled on Jonathan Pollard’s behalf.
Please note: The legal term is not “pardon” as pardon denotes expungement of charges or conviction. The correct terminology is to ask for clemency — to commutation of prison sentence to time served and Jonathan’s release from incarceration.
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Gaza Terrorists Resume Rocket Fire [4 Kassams] on Negev After Brief Hiatus
Repeating Failure in Gaza [Hamas Doubled Kassam Range, Failed Aim in Gaza: “International Community” to Intervene in Gaza to Protect Israel from Terrorism], by Caroline Glick (The Jerusalem Post)
FM Livni to Meet with Egyptian President Mubarak [“Livni Implies Israel Not Concerned by Weapons Smuggling, etc.” — Dr. Aaron Lerner] (Communicated by the Foreign Minister’s Bureau)
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Palestinians Fire Kassam Rocket at Western Negev; Several Suffer Shock
ISA Chief: Hamas’ Rocket Range Extends to Be’er Sheva, Yavneh, by Gil Ronen (Israel National News)
Several in Shock as Kassams Continue [14 Kassam Rockets, 1 Mortar Shell]
Arabs [Sniper] Fire at Fence Workers Near Kissufim
2 Rockets Explode in Western Negev, Without Casualties
Rocket Attack Towards Kibbutz Alumim
Stones Thrown at Bus [North of Hevron], No Injuries Reported
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In previous years, this author has written about Yosef’s being thrown in a bor (pit) seething with snakes and scorpions — yet emerging unscathed, his being sold and ensuing journey to Mitzrayim and his slavery, his imprisonment and his liberation and ascendency to the position of Viceroy, second only to Pharoh. And this author wrote a vort based on Jay Shapiro’s book “Almost Midrash.” Shapiro encorporated the story of Yosef into a fictional story entitled “Duaf of Memphis” and this author dealt with the contrast of Yosef in Mitzrayim, the years after Yosef and the other brothers were niftar, the ensuing long period of cruel bondage; and persecution and the dialogue of Page 13 A & B of Gemora Megillah Esther (the dialogue between Achashveirosh and Haman resulting in the evil decree against the Jews). The point of the Torah Vort at that time was that with longevity in Shushan and throughout Achashveirosh’s Empire, as in Mitzrayim, the Jews were disparaged as either useless or too powerful. In both cases, the antagonists conveniently forgot about Yosef and the Jews got comfortable, complacent, sought to own property and saw where they were at the time as home and forgetting and losing track of who and what they are.