Tzedek-Tzedek

UNESCO's outrageous revisionist proclamations, denying the historical link between Jews and Temple Mount, cries out for an appropriate response. Israeli Governments since 1967 have claimed Israel's rights to sovereignty on the Mount, but have then consistently refused to implement these same rights. Indeed, the current regulations forbidding Jewish prayer or ceremony on the Temple Mount, and the hostile & suspicious reception dealt out to Jewish visitors by the Israeli security forces, play directly into the hands of UNESCO and other re-writers of history. If we the Jews do not exhibit and implement our deepest bonds to Temple Mount, why should the gentiles care any more for this connection than we do? Instead of actively discouraging Jews from going up to Temple Mount, the Israeli Government should be encouraging, educating, promoting, and protecting a massive Jewish presence there. Today, only a few thousand highly committed Jews venture onto the Mount each ye...

There is a saying that a man holding a hammer is looking for a nail. I was saddened to hear that Barry Chamish died this week, at 64. I had a brief encounter with Barry probably around 1999, shortly after the publication of  Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin? (1998). I admired Barry's courage in publicising his detailed theories about the Rabin murder, at a time when the left wing purge and harassment of the right wing was in its hey-day. I invited Barry to my home in the still-young Ramat Beit Shemesh, and held a parlour meeting for the public to hear his presentation. We (literally) had a packed house with (I guess) nearly 100 people crammed into my salon. Barry arrived extremely late. This was in the days before cellphone were ubiquitous, and so we only heard the reason for his mysterious delay after Barry arrived, flustered and upset, at our house. Barry had arrived by taxi, which he ordered after dumping his car at a gas station somewhere on the Route 38. The ...

Chabad regularly astound me with their remarkable mission to provide Jewish services absolutely wherever Jews may be present on the globe. I had the privilege and pleasure of visiting Chabad in China recently, during a business trip. The rabbi there explained how they operate - in a grey area, under the radar. On the one hand, China's constitution upholds freedom of religion. On the other hand, there are just five religious organizations which are officially recognised; these are (see Wikipedia)  the Buddhist Association of China , Chinese Taoist Association , Islamic Association of China , Three-Self Patriotic Movement  (ie Protestantism) and Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association . Judaism, with a tiny minority following in this vast country, understandably, is off the list of five. Therefore, by the letter of the law, any Jewish organized religious activity is officially banned. This is why the Chabad locations are outwardly discrete - no signage, banners, ...

Me in Shanghai, with a backdrop of some of the world's tallest buildings I spent the past week in China, traveling for business in Shanghai and Chongqing. It is my second visit, the previous being about a year ago. Both times I was struck by the counter-intuitional lack of bargains available in the shops in China. The first visit, I came with a wish-list of gadgets requested by members of my family. I returned with some not-cheap phones, tablets, bluetooth speakers etc. The bill was not dissimilar to what one might pay after some bargain-hunting in Israel and on the internet.  Furthermore, there were problems using this equipment in Hebrew and in Israel. This time, I didn't take a shopping list. Indeed a Chabad Rabbi in Shanghai told me that he doesn't buy anything anymore in China - but rather stocks-up on everything he needs on his occasional visits to the USA. He told me that, even if the goods are made in China, their quality and price will be better ...

I have recently returned from a trip to visit my family in England. They are still all a-chatter about Brexit, and the consequences. Following Britain's lead, I propose that Netanyahu also calls a referendum in Israel. The question should be: Should Israel remain in the Middle East?  Otherwise known at MExit. If MExit carries the day, as I'm confident it will, Israel will remove itself from our current nightmare neighbors of Lebanon, Syria (RIP), Jordan, Egypt, and Gaza. Quite where we, or our current neighbors, will relocate, will be thrashed out following a MExit majority.

Yet another baby died yesterday in an oven-hot car. This time it was the baby's grandmother; a social worker. Totally regular, level minded lady. No different from me and you. Simply forgot. According to Israel's child safety organization (I heard the interview on the radio this morning), these incidents tend to happen when people break their routine. In the case of the grandmother, she wasn't used to routinely picking up and dropping off this baby. It is natural and powerful that our minds go into auto-pilot, which is usually fine. But not when there's an added non-routine factor - in this case a baby on your back seat. There is potentially life-saving gadget is available in Beit Shemesh from Keren Yosef and also from Yad Sarah throughout Israel. See the attached video. There are also apps, tips (like leaving your cellphone on the baby's seat) and gadgets (pressure cushion activated etc). The time to act is NOW, rather than simply returning to each of...