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Emor

Fri, 09 May 2008 07:34:00 -0500

It is with love and thanksgiving to our G-d, that I feel honored to share ideas and lessons from this weeks parsha, which coincides with Israel at 60 celebrations. It is indeed an honor to be given the privilege by G-d to live during these historic times. Just over 60 years ago, European countries joined forces with Nazi Germany to murder Six Million of our fellow Jews. And while this took place, the rest of the world did nothing. In the Middle East, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem met on many occasions with Hitler to plan a program of exterminating the Jews there. The Holocaust ended in 1945, and many Jews who survived that hell found the strength and determination to travel to Israel, and fight for an independent Jewish State. These survivors were driven by the memory of the chimneys from the concentration camps. And they joined with other Jews, determined to put into practice the title of Theodore Herzl's book, The Jewish State. And in 1948, David Ben-Gurion proclaimed to the six hundred thousand Jews in Israel and Jews throughout the world, the birth of the State of Israel. Shortly after that historic proclamation, the Arab world -- with their millions -- went to war against Israel. And the Jewish People won! But the victory came with great sacrifice. This week's parsha is called Emor. The basic translation for the Hebrew word emor is "say." The Sages point out that G-d told Moshe to emphasize to the Kohanim rules of conduct. The Kohanim were to represent the Jewish People to G-d. They were the ones to perform all the sacrifices and offerings in the Temple. The Parsha says, "They shall be holy before their L-rd, and they shall not desecrate the name of their L-rd, for the sacrifices of G-d, the bread of their L-rd do they bring, and they shall be holy" [Lev.21:6]. . . . The Sages explain "they shall not desecrate" as follows: "The Torah indicates that a Kohen who falls short of holiness is guilty of descreating G-d's Name. This is a reflection of the axiom that more is demanded from people of eminence. Because a Kohen is the servant of G-d, he must be scrupulous in his behavior; when he sins, it is regarded by onlookers as a desecration of the One against Whom he transgresses. A similar responsibility applies to all Jews. G-d's chosen People -- and especially those who are privileged to be Torah scholars -- must hold themselves to high standards of behavior and ethics." The State of Israel is ruled by a corrupt government. This government has given weapons to the so-called Palestinian Authority. These same weapons have been used by Hamas to murder Jews. The current Israeli government is talking about giving away parts of Jerusalem and destroying Jewish towns and empowering the PA even more than they already have. With dailly proof that "land for peace" will never work, the Olmert government continues this policy. The glue that keeps this government intact is the Shas Party. Consider this recent headline in the Jerusalem Post: "Shas head comes to Olmert's defense." The article continues, "With calls mounting on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to step down pending the result of the latest police investigation against him, Shas chairman and Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Eli Yishai broke a silence among government ministers regarding the subject and came to the premier's defense. " The Jewish Defense League of Canada supports new elections for Israel. It is against Jewish Law to empower the PA. The Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish People. No other people have a valid claim to the Land of Israel. Angry calls should be made to all groups associated with the Shas Party, demanding that the Shas Party withdraw support for this corrupt government. Parsha Emor addresses the issue of how a Jewish leader is to conduct himself/herself. No Jewish leader has the right to negate the Jewish right to any part of the Land of Israel. Such a negation is a "descration of the One against Whom he transgresses." There are countless festivities for Israel at 60. And there is also a massive campaign to deligitimize the Jewish claim to Israel. Although, the Jewish People defeated a massive attack from five Arab Countries in 1948, the Arab world, still seeks its destruction. On May 10 in Toronto (and other cities through out the world that day and throughout the week), there will be events called the Nakba, which means the so-called "catastrophe." The Jewish Defense League of Canada will hold a counter protest at Queens Park, to draw attention to the over 850,000 Jews that were expelled from Arab Countries and had all their assets stolen. Join JDL on Saturday May 10, 2008 at 12:00 P.M. at Toronto's Queen�s Park. Be sure to meet us at the northwest corner of University Ave. and College St. We will counter-protest and hold our own march for the almost one million Jewish refugees from Arab lands who had all their properties and assets stolen by Arab countries. They were forced out of those countries with only the shirts on their backs. They found refuge in the only Jewish state in the world. We demand justice for them! There is no 2-state solution. JDL is working for a 23-State Solution: 1 Jewish State & 22 Arab-only countries Call our office at 905-474-0555 or 416-736-7000 for Information & Shabbat arrangements Consider these uplifting words from my former Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Dov Begun, from Machon Meir Yeshiva in Jerusalem: "Today, as we set out to celebrate sixty years to the State of Israel, we must ponder and observe with our own eyes the reality in which we live, through the vision of the prophets of Israel, in general, and the vision of Ezekiel specifically. How fortunate we are to be at the height of the ingathering of the exiles � millions of Jews are already living in the Land, and, G-d willing, millions more will come home. "The Land is flowering and developing in gigantic strides, economically, in terms of infrastructure and the building of cities and towns. And all of this is preparation for the next stage: investing spiritual content into our national home, which will come about, as stated, by way of a purification process, 'a new heart and a new spirit,' these being expressions for the enormous repentance that will characterize the coming generations. "The first buds of this process we are already seeing in our own generation, by way of the arousal and the respect shown for the Torah and for Jewish tradition. This thirst will increase more and more as we advance upward on the path to complete redemption. The return to Torah and to faith will bring also a change in the demographic situation in this country. The Jewish People will increase, as we are literally seeing, especially amongst religious families. Those families cut off in the Holocaust will be privileged to see how they will increase remarkably (families of survivors that have dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren are already not a rare sight in our streets). As we know, six hundred thousand left Egypt and with six hundred thousand we established the State of Israel. Soon we will merit to have six million Jews in Israel. That number will constitute a majority of the Jews living today, and "in the majority of the people is the King's glory" (Proverbs 14:28), referring, of course, to G-d, the King." The Jewish Defense League is leading the battle against hatred for the Jewish People and Israel. We need your support to spearhead an effective campaign. Give us that support and become a partner in a movement that advocates the sanctification of the Jewish People. We will give no rest to any groups or persons that seek to degrade and destroy the lives of the Jewish People. Visit our new web site at jdlcanada.ca With Love of Israel, Meir Weinstein National Director Jewish Defense League Of Canada

Sending Israel a Greeting from the New Frontier

Thu, 08 May 2008 11:46:00 -0500

The following has just come off the JTA wire service: "American astronaut Garrett Reisman sent a greeting from space to Israel for its 60th birthday. "Reisman, 40, a mechanical engineer from Parsippany, N.Y., is the first Jewish crew member on the international space station. He has been in space since March 11. "'Every time the station flies over the state of Israel, I try to find a window, and it never fails to move me when I see the familiar outline of Israel coming toward us from over the horizon,' Reisman said." There have been other Jewish astronauts, most notably Judith Resnik, the first American Jewish astronaut in space. She died in the 1986 Challenger disaster. The first Jewish astronaut was Soviet cosmonaut Boris Volynov, who flew in two Soyuz missions in the 1960s. Other American Jewish astronauts are Scott Horowitz; Jeff Hoffman, who took a Torah into the heavens with him; and David Wolf, who brought along a menorah and dreidl to celebrate Chanukah. . . The Jewish Defense League salutes and will always remember these brave Jewish heroes!

My Jewish Nakba: For Israel's 60th Anniversary By Avrom Ben Gershon

Tue, 06 May 2008 21:48:00 -0500

The following piece is one of the best I have read on the new Arab phenomenon of "Nakba." Please read it closely and carefully. Please copy and send it to everyone you know. Be sure to give credit to author Avrom Ben Gershon. And please tell people where you read it first. -- Shelley

As Israel Independence Day approaches, so does the anguish of the Palestinians. Nakba: The Catastrophe. As Israeli Jews celebrate, Moslem Palestinian Arabs cry. In 1948, as the modern State of Israel was born, hundreds of thousands of Arabs left their homes and became refugees in the bordering Arab states. Whole arab towns got emptied. Five hundred Arab villages were abandoned. What a horrible disaster! Catastrophe! Nakba!

On their Nakba anniversary Palestinians living in Israel hold marches to their former villages, carrying keys from destroyed homes, old British property deeds, Turkish durmans. Palestinian flags fly over their heads. Little children carry posters with names of the villages stolen by wicked Zionists. They cry. They fast. They complain to reporters. Their Jewish leftist friends join the procession. They cry and mourn together.

Poor Arabs. Before May 1948, they were the majority in Palestine. They wanted British to leave, so that they would create a Moslem Arab State. Instead, Israel got created with a despised and powerless Arab minority, called "Palestinians." Truly, a Nakba!

Me, being a criminal racist �kahanist,� I still have a bleeding Jewish heart. I feel for poor oppressed Palestinians. I feel their pain. I admire their sense of history and remembrance. Let me imagine jumping in the procession too. Please, don�t kick me! Don�t shoot me! Don�t call me a Nazi! As you imagine your grandparents leaving their homes, let's visualize together. . . . Scene 1: Palestine in 1880�s under Turkish Ottoman rule. Land is desolate. Desert. Few trees. Malaria marshes up north in Galilee. Wind-swept desert of the Negev. Few fishing villages on the seashore. Few thousands live in Jerusalem, Acco, Jaffa. As early Zionists build their kibbutz, Arabs surround it with their settlements. Word spreads out among the starving fellahim around the Arab Middle East & North Africa: "Jews in Palestine pay wages." So the families are put on donkeys or walk on foot for a better life in Palestine. They come by the thousands -- desperate Arabs from Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, from as far away as Morocco, Iraq and Yemen. Even Cherkess, Bosnians and Gypsies come. There is no immigration policy, there is no border or passport control. Ruling Turks (and later, British) are only happy to see land being developed and the population growing.

And on we march!

Scene 2: A 1920�s Socialist Party meeting in Jewish Tel-Aviv. Various speakers: "Arab proletarian workers are much closer to us than parasitic Jewish religious fanatics who study Talmud all day. . ." and "So even Arab workers get agitated by mullahs and nationalists and start bloody pogroms. . . do not overreact. . . proletarians of all nations, unite!" and "The day will come when we will get rid of Judaism and will live as one nation with our proletarian Arab brethren!"

Applause from the audience.

And on we march!

Scene 3: Here we come to our destination: Heap of stones on the hillside. Crowd sits on the grass. Speakers get emotional on the podium. Inte bahka aravit? Men cry. Ladies wail and tear at their hair. Kids yell. Here comes an Israeli Jew. He tells how sorry he is for what his grandpa had done to poor Palestinians. Everybody nods. He cries, his girlfriend embraces him.

Now I stand up. Dead silence.

AsSalyam, Palestinian Arabs! This Land is given to Jews by G-d as stated in Holy Torah. That is where Our Nation was born 4,000 years ago. That is where Jewish kings ruled. This is where our Temples stood, where our cities were built. We, Jews, worked This Land long before Arab People left Arabian Peninsula on the jihadi conquest. We were exiled from This Land by armed force 2,000 years ago. But now we are back. We never forget Our Land. In exile, every Jew prayed 3 times daily for return to Zion. We are commanded to live on the Land of Israel. We can not live outside of it. Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish People. Remember that.

Now, dear Palestinian Arabs, lift up your old rusty keys that you clinch in your fists. These keys you bought in the shuks not long ago. And let�s see your old property deeds that are made up for 20 dinars in forgery shops. Look at them. Don�t yell, don�t throw tomatoes at me, you missed anyway. Insh� alla you know I speak the truth.

Now, dear Palestinians, tell me: What if Roman Emperor Hadrian, 2,000 years ago, had not renamed Judea into Palestina? What would you call themselves? Judean Arabs? Or, maybe, native Judeans, Jews? Let�s be honest and admit it. There are no �Palestinians." You are Arabs, part of the Arab Nation. Arab nationalism, combined with fanatical Islam does not let you sleep at night. Israel is the dagger in your heart, the thorn in your side. Your grandfathers came to Israel not too long ago. They settled and told you stories of how they lived here for thousands of years. But you know that even Arafat�s family came from Egypt. And in 1948 young Yassir went back to Egypt. And Farouk Kaddumi did not come from Kedumim. He came from Syria. And many of you with names like Masri and Al-Saudi and Fez and Suri and Mugrabi? Whom are you trying to fool? No, my friends, you, yourself, are being fooled. You are fooled by Arab nationalism and by fanatical Islam. And even Israeli socialists fool you.

Dear Arabs, squatting on the Land of Israel, you terrorize my land! You start wars; you murder and maim innocent people just because they are Jews. You do not let us live in peace. You have this wicked hope that some day you will be able to steal Jewish homes and wealth that we -- Jews -- created. You are mistaken, Arabs. You are fooled. Because of that, your children will live in misery; so will their children.

And that is what the real Nakba is. My Jewish Nakba. For as long as there is an aggressive Arab minority on the Land of Israel, we have a Jewish Nakba.

Dear Arabs, spare yourselves suffering! Throw away your rusty keys. Let the winds blow away your forged deeds. Say goodbye to your Jewish socialist friends who use you to accomplish their own goals. Spit in the face of your mullah who fooled you for so long. Punch out that sorry loser, the pan-Arab nationalist. Go. Go home. Go live in any of the 22 arab states that are yours. Go live in America, Canada, Sweden or Australia. Establish an honest humanistic Islam that you will be proud of. Develop your great Arab art and culture that we admire so much. But get away from my Land. Live happy. There is no need to cry for Nakba.

What is happening in Durham NY

Mon, 05 May 2008 09:04:00 -0500

http://www.topix.net/city/durham-ny This is a link to a blog in Topix on a local area of Durham. I was taken back when I saw this poll and read some of the comments. Read the comments and the poll Why everyone hates the Jews. Will it ever end?

Kedoshim

Sun, 04 May 2008 09:31:00 -0500

This weeks Parsha is called Kedoshim. G-d told Moshe, "Speak to the entire congregation of the Children of Israel and tell them, 'Be holy, for I, your G-d, am holy'" (Vayikra 19:1-2). To be holy means to be special and separate. It means that we have a message to deliver to the world.

Rabbi Meir Kahane, the founder of the Jewish Defense League, stated the following which applies to this parsha: "What is the Jew? Thanks to the Exile, we have lost sense of the original, authentic, Divinely ordained and ordered concept of what is a Jew. On the one hand, there are those who have rejected the authority, let alone the Divinity, of Torah and mitzvot. For them, the Jew is a 'people,' a 'nation.' On the other hand, thanks to the destructive nature of the Exile, and because events cut the Jew off from his land and from national existence, other Jews -- who clove unto the Torah and the mitzvot -- made Judaism into a 'religion.' Both are cripples, one limping on the foot of 'nationalism' and the other on the foot of 'religion.'. . . "But the Jew is not a cripple. G-d made him with two legs, and the authentic healthy Jew walks on both of them. The Jew is neither a mere "nation," nor a "religion," but rather a religio-nation, a holy people. The Jew is a nation and a people with ties to a specific land but which was chosen to be special and holy and cleaving unto G-d's Law and mitzvot. That is what the Jew is and that is what has been changed and warped, due to the Exile.

"That is what the Talmud tells us when it decrees a blessing over the land, a thing that ordains nation and land, and then insists that one must include in it the Covenant and Torah. One who skips the blessing over the land has surely not fulfilled his obligation. But one who says the blessing over the land and does not mention Torah or the Covenant, fails just as much in his obligation.

"One looks about the camp of Jewishness -- the 'nationalists' and the 'religious' and sees why the Almighty regrets having made the Exile. It is the Exile and its immutable influence on the Jew within it, that corrupted and counterfeited authentic Judaism and Jewishness. It has created warped and false concepts of Judaism that the Almighty never created and wholly rejects. The land, the nation, Torah. That is what the Jew blesses."

To be holy also means to take a stand for justice. While Jews are preparing to honor "Israel at 60," there will also be countless protests against Israel. These events are called the "nakba." There will be calls for the so-called rights of the so-called "palestinian refugees." There will be events held in ever major city in the world attacking the right of Israel to exist.

One such event is taking place in Toronto on Saturday, May 10. JDL is organizing a counter protest and a protest of our own. We will stand up for the almost one million Jewish refugees from Arab countries who had all their property and assets stolen by the Arabs when the modern State of Israel came into existence 60 years ago. These Jewish Refugees demand justice now! We will assemble at Queens Park at 12:00 noon Shabbat May 10th. Call our office 905-474-0555 for further details and Shabbat arrangements. This will be the begining of our call for a TWENTY-THREE STATE SOLUTION -- One Jewish State among twenty-two Arab-only countries. We demand justice for Israel and the Jewish People!

For further information on how the Jews were forced out of their homes and banished from the Arab countries where they lived for centuries, visit the official website of Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries.

This parsha reminds us of our purpose in life. That is to be a holy people. It is time to stop the slander and defamation campaigns against our people. Take a stand for Justice and join the JDL. Call our office at 905-474-0555 and give us your full support.

With Love of Israel,

Meir Weinstein
National Director
Jewish Defense League of Canada

The Indiana Congressional Candidate the GOP Wishes Would Go Away

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:06:22 -0500

About a Hitler lover/Neo Nazi. The full article can be found at: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,353536,00.html. There, you can see what he looks like, but I'll post the story below. On the face of it, Tony Zirkle looks like the perfect candidate for Congress: He attended the Naval Academy, he has a degree from Georgetown, and he went on to be a top prosecutor in Indiana, crusading against Internet pornography. There�s only one problem � or maybe more than one, as far as the Indiana Republican Party is concerned. Zirkle, who is seeking the GOP nomination for the state�s 2nd Congressional District, believes � among other things � that whites are victims of a "genocide," that the races should be segregated into different states and that pornography is a Jewish plot against women. "We�d love for him to disappear � not for the sake of our party but for his own sake," said Jay Kenworthy, communications director for the Indiana GOP. On top of all that, Zirkle accepted an invitation to address a group of swastika-wearing, Sieg-Heiling Nazi party members at a celebration of what would have been Adolf Hitler�s 119th birthday on April 20 in Chicago � birthday cake and all. Click here for more election coverage from FOX News. The personal-injury lawyer says he�s running for Congress to combat "the genocide of the white race" that pornography is causing � an "unholy pornocaust" against white Christian women. "We now have a small army of male black porn stars that are sifting through five, ten, fifteen thousand women," he said. "One man can now genocide the wombs of thousands of women," infecting them with sexually transmitted diseases that leave them barren. He calls it "Porn mule womb slaughter . . . the most effective weapon of mass destruction." In an interview, Zirkle told FOXNews.com he doesn't think he is too far out of the Republican mainstream. He believes the solution to STDs and out-of-wedlock births is to separate blacks and whites into segregated states, but he says that's fully in the tradition of the party. "The original Republican party" felt the same way, he said. "Abraham Lincoln called for African-Americans to be deported back to Africa." Not unpredictably, the Republican Party wants nothing to do with him. "We don�t consider him a member of the party," Kenworthy said. "His views are not in any way, shape or form a reflection of the Republican party�s views." But Zirkle captured 30 percent of the Republican primary vote in 2006, when he ran against an incumbent who went on to lose to a Democrat (Joe Donnelly) in November. With three candidates but no incumbent in Tuesday's Republican primary, some wonder if Zirkle will perform better this time around. Zirkle, said he "just spoke off the top of [his] head" at the Nazi gathering, where he addressed the crowd in front of a giant portrait of Hitler. He insisted he had no prior connections to the group and that he�s not a member of the Nazi party. "What most people don�t know about me is that I�m the father of three beautiful Jewish Christian children," he said, explaining that his wife had converted from Judaism to Christianity. "I�m obviously not going to be out for gassing innocent Jews." Yet he blames Jews for much of the plight of white women in America. "The massive number of Jews in the [pornography] industry basically brag about it," he said, asserting that "most of the early porn stars were Jewish men." Zirkle said he doesn�t expect to win on Tuesday, but "winning is not my primary objective. My primary objective is to educate and inform." For its part, the Republican party has officially endorsed Luke Puckett, the owner of a small business who is running against Zirkle. "We fully expect Luke Puckett to win with an incredible majority," Kenworthy said. "We think the rest of District 2 would be loath to vote for [Zirkle]. We don�t expect it to be close."

Sefirot HaOmer

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 08:20:00 -0500

We are in a period called Sefirot HaOmer. During this time, we count the days from PeSach until Shavuot. It is a period of seven weeks. "You shall then count seven 'perfect' weeks after the day following the (Passover) Holiday when you brought the Omer as an offering, until the day after the seventh week, when there will be a total of fifty days" (Vayikra / Leviticus 23:15). And the Midrash comments, "Seven perfect weeks." When will they be perfect? When the Jews do the will of G-d (Medrash Rabbah 28:3)!

Shavuot is when we remember the giving of the Torah to the Jewish People. It was the climax of our preparation for the giving of the Torah. Every day leading up to Shavuot, we are to work on ourselves. To be better Jews. More worthy and more committed. This is what G-d demands from us, his chosen people. And this period is called Sefirot HaOmer, the counting of the Omer. And we should look forward to improving ourselves.It has recently come to the attention of the Jewish Defense League that the Muslim Students Association, the largest and most respectable Muslim Student group in North America will be having a teleconference with a man who advocates an intifada in North America. This is from their web site:

Upcoming Conference Calls

April 30, 2008 at 10pm EST: "The Etiquettes of Voting: Key Lessons for the MSA Worker" with Dr. Hatem Bazian

RSVP today by e-mailing msaconferencecall@msanational.org. Please note due to limited capacity RSVPs will be on a first come, first serve basis. Callers will receive the dial-in information on the day of the call. . . . This man, Dr. Hatem Bazian, recently stated durring a speech to students, �Are you angry? [Yeah!] Are you angry? [Yeah!] Are you angry? [Yeah!] Well, we�ve been watching intifada in Palestine, we�ve been watching an uprising in Iraq, and the question is that what are we doing? How come we don�t have an intifada in this country? Because it seem[s] to me, that we are comfortable in where we are, watching CNN, ABC, NBC, Fox, and all these mainstream... giving us a window to the world while the world is being managed from Washington, from New York, from every other place in here in San Francisco: Chevron, Bechtel, [Carlyle?] Group, Halliburton; every one of those lying, cheating, stealing, deceiving individuals are in our country and we�re sitting here and watching the world pass by, people being bombed, and it�s about time that we have an intifada in this country that change[s] fundamentally the political dynamics in here. And we know every � They�re gonna say some Palestinian being too radical � well, you haven�t seen radicalism yet!�

The Muslim Students Association has chapters throughout the USA and Canada. This threat to the Jewish People is magnified when understood in the context of the recent report pubished by the JTA -- Official anti-Semitism is on the rise in Muslim countries of the Middle East, fueling long-term hostility to Israel.

Israel's Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center published a study this week arguing that in Iran and Arab states -- even those that have recognized the Jewish state -- officially sanctioned statements of anti-Semitism with a Muslim slant are increasing, often as a means of diverting internal dissent from the government.

One salient example is Holocaust denial twinned with allegations that Israel is practicing a "real" holocaust against the Palestinians. Anti-Semitism tends to rise in parallel to progress in diplomatic rapprochement between Arab regimes and Israel, calling into question the long-term efficacy of such accords. The study singled out Iran as a country whose anti-Semitism poses a potential threat to Israel's existence, given Tehran's supposed nuclear program.

"Anti-Semitism supported by a state which publicly adheres to a policy of genocide and is making efforts to arm itself with non-conventional weapons which will enable it to carry out that policy is unprecedented since Nazi Germany," the study said.

The fact is, that the Jewish Population in the Diapora is in sharp decline and the Muslim Population is on the rise. When one considers the recent report from Israel about the rise in anti-Semitism from Muslim countries and respectable Muslim Student groups providing a platform for a man that advocates an intifada in North America, this demands a response!

The Torah demands that these are to be "seven perfect weeks." These are days of reflection and understanding. The goal is to be better and stronger Jews. We can not ignore the threats that surround our people. The Jewish Defense League is now accepting donations. Give to our worthy cause in order to confront those that seek to harm our people. We have confronted the lies from many groups that spread "Israel apartheid," and we will continue to confront any group that spreads hate and threatens the safety of our people. The security of the Jewish People is our number one priority.

With Love of Israel,

Meir Weinstein
National Director
Jewish Defense League of Canada

Short Takes

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:14:00 -0500

I hope everyone is having a happy and kosher l'pesach. I want to thank Albertson's supermarket and other markets that have made kosher for Passover products available and financially reasonable during these hard economic times. Albertson's literally gave away a five pound package of matzo -- that's right, FREE -- with a purchase of only $25 in regular purchases. Those of us on a budget (not all Jews are rich, although I wish we were) really appreciate the consideration!

If you live in or plan to be in the Los Angeles area on Sunday, May 18, please make plans now to attend the big Israel Festival in Van Nuys. As usual, JDL will have a booth, but our presentation will be different this year. The festival is a beautiful day of Jewish pride and celebration of the State of Israel. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the modern state of Israel. And this year marks the 40th anniversary of the Jewish Defense League. So please come to the Israel Independence Day Festival at Woodley Park and look for JDL's booth. The special of the day will be a SECOND YEAR of dues FREE with payment of regular membership dues (renewals OK, too) at the fair. JDL members will be there to celebrate and shmooze with you, too. . . . Next, please give your attention and support to a wonderful new pro-Israel blog, Watching Israel. Although the name sounds ominous (done so on purpose by its webmaster), Watching Israel is filled with the latest news about Israel and its enemies -- with special emphasis on things going on in the United Kingdom. I encourage you to visit and sign up!

When will the left ever learn? Israeli love-and-peace advocate/singer Achinoam Nini, aka Noa, dreams of one day performing at an Israeli-Palestinian concert. Ah, doesn't that make you feel all nice and fuzzy? At a recent sold-out concert in Tulsa, Spain, Noa was the target of the rants and ravings of a pro-Arab demonstrator who waved a PLO flag and screamed anti-Israel slogans at the beautiful but naive Noa. Back in 2002, Noa was the object of an assault on stage at an appearance in London. There anti-Israel demonstrators rushed the stage and took the microphone out of the frightened singer's hands. Her producer, Ofer Pesanzon, said he tried to talk to the demonstrators, but "it was impossible to communicate with them." And six years later, the Arabs are still attacking their "friends." Noa, you silly girl, what have we been telling you for so many years???

PeSach

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:35:00 -0500

Tonight, April 19, the Jewish People will celebrate Passover. The correct Hebrew is PeSach, which is really two words joined together. Pe means mouth and Sach means to discuss or to give over something learned. On the Seder night, we are to discuss the meaning of being Jewish. Rabbi Benyamin Kahane wrote a very deep commentary about PeSach:

It is clear that the major goal of the Seder night is to recite the Hagaddah and to fulfill the mitzvah, "and you shall tell your children." That is, by recounting to our children and to ourselves as well, the Exodus from Egypt, we actualize in our minds these events of history, and as a result strengthen our emunah (faith). But no matter how convincing one tells the story about the PAST redemption, he misses the point if he ignores the discussing the subject of the FUTURE redemption. . . . Rabbi Menachem Kasher, ZT"L, in his book HaTkufa HaGidola (The Great Era) brings down an important chidush (revelation). He says that during the night of the Seder, one is obligated to include thanks to G-d for the miracles that we have witnessed in our generation. As proof he brings the words of the Rashba, who says that the mitzvah of remembering our Exodus from Egypt is to glorify G-d's Name and to teach trust (Bitachon) in G-d. This being the case, these same lessons can be learned by the miracles we have recently witnessed in our times -- miracles of the Final Redemption.

The Hagaddah recites a story that sharpens the point: "It happened that Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Elazar Ben Azariah, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarphon were reclining (at a Seder) in B'nei Berak. They were discussing the Exodus all that night, until their students came and told them: 'Rabbis! It is time for the morning prayer Shma!'"

The obvious questions, which have already been asked, are: How could the rabbis not have paid attention by themselves that the time for the reading of the Shma had arrived? In addition, what were these rabbis doing sitting together on Seder night, when each had a family and a yeshiva of his own in different parts of the country? Why were they sitting in B'nei Berak, the place of (the student) Rabbi Akiva?

Before giving the answer, some historical background is necessary: Only a few years had passed since the Destruction of the Second Temple, and the Land of Israel was controlled by the Romans. But secretly, the planning of the revolution had begun -- a revolution which saw Rabbi Akiva play a central role as the "arms-bearer" of Bar-Cochba (see Rambam, Hilchot Milachim). The rest of the Rabbis were also quite active in the rebellion, as the Rambam writes: "and he (Rabbi Akiva)and ALL THE RABBIS OF HIS GENERATION thought that he (Bar-Cochba) was the Messiah."

And so the rabbis with Rabbi Akiva were sitting together on the SEDER NIGHT to learn and discuss the FUNDAMENTALS OF THE REDEMPTION AND TO MAKE PREPARATIONS FOR THE REBELLION. They were learning in secret, covertly, perhaps in the famous Caves of Bar-Cochba. If so, it would be clear why their students would need to inform them that morning had broke. (It is worth pointing out a nice explanation for "the time for 'Shma' has arrived : "Shma Yisrael" is a symbol for "Kiddush Hashem," and the students were saying to their rabbis: OUR RABBIS! THE TIME FOR KIDDUSH HASHEM HAS ARRIVED! - REBEL AGAINST THE ROMANS AND BRING THE REDEMPTION!)

Here is the crucial lesson: The rabbis understood that the purpose of the Seder night was not just to retell a story that once was. The Exodus from Egypt is the source and inspiration for the Future Redemption as well, and that is why our sages tell us that the first redemption is a sign for the Final Redemption. Since the rabbis believed that there was a real possibility then to bring the Final Redemption (and that Bar-Kochba was a feasible candidate for Messiah), they sat on the Seder night to plan the tactics and natural stages of the redemption, which they hoped would come through this planned rebellion.

This generation has merited to see what our ancestors did not merit since the Destruction: A rebuilt Land of Israel, the ingathering of the exiles, and miraculous victories over our enemies. Surely we are not more worthy than our ancestors and somehow deserve it, but rather it was done for G-d's Holy Name which had been so desecrated during a 2,000 year exile. Unfortunately we witness a redemption that is not one of "Achishena" (swiftly and with glory) but rather one of "Bi-Eta" (slowly, in its time), which is a redemption accompanied by great suffering and pain. It is the type of redemption that G-d brings upon us against our will, since we refuse to participate in it. Moreover, Israeli leadership has only worked to toss a monkey wrench in the works. . . .

There are issues that we must discuss at our seder tables. They involve recent trends. According to the Canadian census reports, the Jewish population in Canada is in sharp decline. This report from UPI explains the results of the Canadian census. This week's Canadian census shows a decline in the number of people identifying themselves as Jews. The Statistics Canada report said Jews dropped to 25th in terms of the largest groups defined on the basis of ethnic origins from 17th in 2001, which researchers conceded could be a self-reporting issue.

"The problem with the ethnic-origin data is that it depends on people's perception of where they come from, and with Jewish people there's confusion over whether Jewishness is a religion or an ethnicity," Statistics Canada analyst Claude Yelle told Montreal's Gazette newspaper. The census figures showed 315,120 Canadians identified their ethnic origin as Jewish, "either alone or in combination with one or more other ethnic origins," the Gazette said.Toronto ranked highest among those identifying themselves as Jews, with 141,685 people, followed by Montreal with 68,485 and Vancouver at 21,465, the census said.

Only a few short years ago, in 2003, Daniel Pipes reported another alarming trend. He wrote about the Jewish population being not in decline but stable and the Muslim population on a dramatic rise. [Just-released Canadian census figures for 2001 show that the Muslim population increased by 129 percent in the prior decade, from 253,000 to 580,000. As the Globe and Mail points out, the country's Jewish population remained basically static, at 330,000; it also noted some of the likely policy implications of this fact. And for those used to the inflated numbers thrown around by American Muslim groups, these figures are worth special attention, given that they result from the official census (which asks a religious-affiliation question).

The recent results of the Canadian census shows the Jewish population in Canada in sharp decline which should set off major alarm bells. The reasons for the decline is very simple to understand. (1) An older generation is disappearing. (2) The younger generation chooses to either marry Jewish at an older age and have one to two kids. (3) There is a high amount of Jews who marry people who are not Jewish. (4) A younger generation who chooses not to even marry.

These are the main reasons why we lost 10% of the Jewish population of Canada in six short years. This is the most basic proof that I can present to demand a change in Jewish leadership. Because, as assimilation begins to take such a hold of our people, we lose numbers and therfore become weaker. The significance of a Muslim increase in population should concern our people because many of the Islamic faith come from countries that do not recognize Israel and support Hamas's goals.

There is another trend that should be discussed. This trend involves Israel. Recent PA polls in Gaza report that the majority of the Arabs in Gaza want to emigrate to some other country. There's finally some good news from Gaza this evening: A survey by the Gaza-based Institute of Development Studies has found that 80% of Gaza's residents find it "difficult to cope" with their situation are considering emigration. Better yet, 44% percent said explicitly that they want to leave Gaza.

We must continue to demand a Twenty-Three State Solution. One Jewish State among Twenty-Two Arab Countries. Every Jew should proudly proclaim that the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish People.

The Jewish Defence League is prepared to go out to our youth and restore their Jewish pride. We will confront any group that seeks to threaten our people. We will embark on a major Jewish educational campaign to expose the hate and lies taught about Israel and our people. We will work to reverse the trend of assimilation.

Again, there are three main issues to be discussed at the Seder Table. (1) The decline in Jewish population. (2) The rapid rise in the Muslim population. (3) The desire of huge numbers of Arabs in Israel who want to emigrate.

Be part of a true Jewish Activist Movement! Become part of a positive Jewish trend! Join the Jewish Defense League!

Wishing you all a warm PeSach.

With Love of Israel,

Meir Weinstein
National Director
Jewish Defence League of Canada

Hillary's Terrorist Ties

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 11:40:13 -0500

By Dick Morris And Eileen McGann 04.18.2008 Published on FOXNews.com on April 18, 2008. In this week�s debate, Hillary Clinton said all of her �baggage� has been �rummaged through� for years. But important features of her close relationship with known terrorist sympathizers and Hamas supporters are still opaque to the public view. Her relationship with terrorists began in the mid-1980s when she served on the Board of the New World Foundation, which gave funds to the Palestine Liberation Organization, at a time when the PLO was officially recognized by the US government as a terrorist organization. In 1996, the First Lady initiated an outreach program to bring Muslim leaders to the White House. But, as terrorism expert Steve Emerson noted in the Wall Street Journal �Curiously, nearly all of the leaders with whom Mrs. Clinton elected to meet came from Islamic fundamentalist organizations. A review of the statements, publications, and conferences of the groups Mrs. Clinton embraced shows unambiguously that they have long advocated or justified violence. By meeting with these groups, the first lady lent them legitimacy as �mainstream� and �moderate.��. . . Among these radical groups was the American Muslim Alliance (AMA) and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, both groups that support Hamas, who attended a White House reception hosted by Hillary in February, 1996. Emerson says that its leaders �have sanctioned terrorism, published anti-Semitic statements, and repeatedly hosted conferences that were forums for denunciations of Jews and exhortations to wage jihad.� The American Muslim Alliance was headed in the 90s by Abdulrahman Alamoudi who met with Clinton and Gore in 1995. Emerson notes that �Mrs. Clinton [allowed] the American Muslim Alliance to draw up the Muslim guest list for the first lady�s�White House reception.� Alamoudi, Emerson says was �the primary defender of Musa Abu Marzug, the Hamas political bureau chief responsible for creating the group�s death squads.� Marzug took �credit� when Hamas brigades sprayed machine gun fire into a crowded Jerusalem mall. But less than three days after Marzug was arrested by the FBI in July of 1995, Alamoudi said that Marzug �had never been involved in terrorism� and called his arrest �an insult to the Muslim community. Emerson reports that he �elicited contributions fro Marzug�s defense fund� and called him a �political prisoner.� Then, Hillary ran for Senate on her own and suddenly it was payback time. On June 13, 2000, the American Muslim Alliance�s Massachusetts Chapter held a very successful fundraiser for her candidacy. Tahir Ali, the chairman of the chapter, said �we must support all who have [Muslim] interests at heart.� Perhaps conscious of how controversial the contribution would be, Hillary or someone on her staff, tried to pull a fast one, recording the donation on federal filing forms as being from the �American Museum Alliance.� But alert observers weren�t fooled and Senate candidate Clinton was forced to acknowledge who the real donor was and, four months after getting the money, she returned it. But by then, a few weeks before the election, she had abjured the use of soft money in her Senate campaign, so the donation was, in practical terms, useless, since it was well over the limits for hard money contributions. The Palestinian terrorists know that Hillary hears their point of view. WorldNetDaily.com reported on October 7, 2007 that leading terrorists have publicly called for her election. Aaron Klein, WorldNet Daily�s Jerusalem correspondent, wrote, in his wonderful book Schmoozing with Terrorists, Ala Senakreh, West Bank chief of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorist group said �I hope Hillary is elected in order to have the occasion to carry out all the promises she is giving regarding Iraq.� Senakreh has high hopes for a Hillary presidency. He told Klein �I hope also that she will maintain her husband�s policies regarding Palestine and even develop that policy. Abu Hamed, leader of the Al Aqsa Brigades in Gaza, noting that �the Iraqi resistance is succeeding,� said that �Hillary and the Democrats call for withdrawal.� Then he added, helpfully, �Her popularity shows that the resistance is winning and that the occupation is losing. We just hope that she will go until the end and change American policy.� He explained that �President Clinton wanted to give the Palestinians 98 percent of the West Bank territories. I hope Hillary will move a step forward and give the Palestinians all their rights.� Clearly Barack Obama should not have stayed in Rev Wright�s church and his campaign should not maintain a �friendly� relationship with William Ayers. But what about Hillary�s service on a board that gave money to a terrorist organization? And her hosting of a terror supporting group in the White House? And her acceptance of a $50,000 contribution from that group? And the statements of terrorists that they are hoping for her to win. These are far more serious connections than have been established for Obama and either Wright or Ayers.