Oct. 4 to 10, 2024
2 Tishrei, 5785 • Rosh Hashana Shabbos Shuva • Ha’Azinu Vol. 23, No. 34
Reach the Star: Editor@TheJewishStar.com 516-622-7461 x291
Tova!
Ed Weintrob, Editor and Publisher Nechama Bluth, Jewish Star Associate Stuart Richner, Richner Communications
This is the text of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 27. I didn’t intend to come here this year. My country is at war, fighting for its life. But after I heard the lies and slanders leveled at my country by many of the speakers at this podium, I decided to come here and set the record straight — to speak for my people, to speak for my country, to speak for the truth. And here’s the truth: Israel seeks peace. Israel yearns for peace. Israel has made peace and will make peace again.
Yet we face savage enemies who seek our annihilation, and we must defend ourselves against these savage murderers. Our enemies seek not only to destroy us, but they seek to destroy our common civilization and return all of us to a dark age of tyranny and terror.
When I spoke here last year, I said we face the same timeless choice that Moses put before
the people of Israel thousands of years ago. As we were about to enter the Promised Land, Moses told us that our actions would determine whether we bequeath to future generations a blessing or a curse. And that is the choice we face today — the curse of Iran’s unremitting aggression or the blessing of a historic reconciliation between Arab and Jew.
In the days that followed that speech, the blessing I spoke of came into sharper focus. A normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel seemed closer than ever.
But then came the curse of October 7th.
Thousands of Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists from Gaza burst into Israel in pickup trucks, on motorcycles, and they committed unimaginable atrocities. They savagely murdered 1,200 people. They raped and mutilated women. They beheaded men. They burned babies alive. They burned entire families alive — babies, children, See Enough is enough on page 10
Orthodox Union Executive Vice President Rabbi Moshe Hauer posted this statement on motzei Shabbat.
“Halleluka!”
Our Sages noted that this rich word of praise was first used when David saw the downfall of the wicked (Brachos 9b).
With the assassination of the wicked and murderous Hezbollah terror chief Nasrallah, we must say “Halleluka,” giving praise to G-d. We are grateful to G-d and to the beloved and dedicated soldiers of the IDF who continue to fight to eradicate the vicious evil surrounding Israel.
We are grateful and we must express that gratitude, but we are in no mood of celebration.
We cannot celebrate because the war is not over and the men and women of the IDF continue to put their lives on the line while their families anxiously await their safe return. We cannot celebrate while tens of thousands continue to be refugees in their own land and while many more live under the constant threat of rocket fire. And we cannot celebrate while the hostages continue to languish in the tunnels of Gaza.
We cannot celebrate. But we can pray in the words of the prophetess Devorah: “Kein yovdu kol oyvecha Hashem (thus may all Your enemies perish, Hashem).”
As we approach Rosh Hashana, we must come together with love for each other and with a shared commitment to the downfall of our
true enemies. While joy may be warranted at the downfall of villainous antisemites, we must refuse to build enmity between Jews. We are one nation, and we need each other.
We pray that at this critical time, Hashem send His light and His truth to the leaders, ministers, and counselors of the State of Israel; that He put in the hearts of the leaders of the free world to deal kindly with Israel; that He strengthen the hands of the defenders of our Holy Land, granting them deliverance and crowning them with victory over evil; and that He deliver the hostages from darkness and the shadow of death.
Our Selichot prayers frequently invoke the image of the hostage pleading and yearning for freedom and conclude with the heartfelt plea to G-d:
We beseech You, in Your abundant mercy, heal our overwhelming pain, so that we are not annihilated in captivity.”
We thus pray for the fulfillment of the divine promise we read this Shabbos (Devarim 30:3):
The L-rd your G-d will bring your captives back and have compassion on you; and He will again gather you from among all those where He has scattered you.
Let us gather to express sincere gratitude to Hashem for the downfall of the wicked and pray to Him that He bring the hostages home, the soldiers home, the refugees home, and all of us together b’ahavat Yisrael.
President Joe Biden issued this statement on Sat-
Hassan Nasrallah and the terrorist group he led, Hezbollah, were responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade reign of terror. His death from an Israeli airstrike is a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians.
The strike that killed Nasrallah took place in the broader context of the conflict that began with Hamas’s massacre on October 7, 2023. Nasrallah, the next day, made the fateful decision to join hands with Hamas and open what he called a “northern front” against Israel.
The United States fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis,
and any other Iranian-supported terrorist groups. Just yesterday, I directed my Secretary of Defense to further enhance the defense posture of US military forces in the Middle East region to deter aggression and reduce the risk of a broader regional war. Ultimately, our aim is to de-escalate the ongoing conflicts in both Gaza and Lebanon through diplomatic means. In Gaza, we have been pursuing a deal backed by the UN Security Council for a ceasefire and the release of hostages.
In Lebanon, we have been negotiating a deal that would return people safely to their homes in Israel and southern Lebanon. It is time for these deals to close, for the threats to Israel to be removed, and for the broader Middle East region to gain great stability.
Analysis by Shachar Kleiman Israel Hayom
The elimination of Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah isn’t the final chapter in this conflict, but it’s a pivotal moment that will reverberate far into the future. In one swift stroke, the tide has turned in the northern arena.
Yet this isn’t merely about removing the mastermind behind the world’s most lethal terror network. After all, one individual can be replaced.
What we’re witnessing is the systematic dismantling of Hezbollah’s command structure. The precision strikes in its Beirut stronghold, targeting vital strategic assets, deliver an unprecedented blow to the very concept of “resistance.” This operation challenges the misguided notion that a network of terror groups could somehow push the Jewish state out of the Middle East.
By decapitating Hezbollah’s military leadership, Israel has simultaneously toppled the tyrant who held Lebanon in his grip. This was the man who transformed the land of cedars into an international pariah, scared off Gulf investors, and paralyzed Lebanon’s political system for nearly two years.
With no sitting president and a caretaker government dominated by Hezbollah and its allies, no decision could be made without the secretary-general’s nod, sometimes not even without Tehran’s blessing.
The weekend’s revelations showed Israel’s resolve extends beyond Nasrallah to his potential successors: Hashim Safi a-Din and Nabil Qaouk. This ruthless turn of events followed a week of mixed signals, with Israel hinting at “gradual escalation” or a “tempo-
rary ceasefire,” seemingly hoping Nasrallah would “see reason.”
Friday’s brilliant deception culminated in a seismic event. Syrian rebels called for Assad’s ouster, Iranian dissidents longed for Khamenei’s demise, and Saudi social media lit up with calls against the Houthi leader in Yemen. The vaunted Iranian axis cracked, inviting its foes to strike without mercy.
Israel faces challenging days ahead. There’s no guarantee international pressure will secure a ceasefire on our terms, especially after neutralizing strategic threats to our northern residents. The surviving Hezbollah leadership will likely try to honor their pledge to Nasrallah and “to continue the jihad and support Gaza.”
A ground offensive carries risks of a war of attrition, and we must brace for potential attacks on Israelis abroad.
The operation also claimed the life of Iran’s Quds Force commander in Lebanon, complicating Tehran’s response calculus. His predecessor’s elimination prompted Iranian missile strikes on Israel. However, Iran’s new leadership under the current Iranian president and his deputy seeks rapprochement with the West to lift sanctions.
A regional flare-up could derail their plans. Nonetheless, with proper preparation, we can weather these storms.
Ultimately, Hezbollah’s defeats send a clear message to Hamas. Sinwar and his cohorts, once banking on northern salvation, must now face reality: their only lifeline is releasing the hostages. Israel must seize this opportunity decisively.
Shachar Kleiman is a news editor and correspondent for Israel Hayom’s Arab Desk.
By Etgar Lefkovits, JNS
Visitors in the Old City of Jerusalem hoping to spend time at the Kotel must either descend 142 steps from the Jewish Quarter or take a substantial detour around the city walls.
A long-awaited project is underway to make the site more accessible with a much-need elevator. The construction follows seven years of archaeological excavations at the site, which unearthed millennia-old relics of Jewish history near where the ancient First and Second Temples once stood.
“This is the realization of the most important dream for me, because it is a project of kindness for people,” Herzl Ben-Ari, CEO of the Company for the Development and Renovation of the Jewish Quarter, told JNS during a tour last week.
“This project will make the Western Wall more easily accessible for all,” he added.
Construction is ongoing on a narrow sliver of undeveloped slope, between two yeshivahs and near an existing stairway on the eastern edge of the Jewish Quarter.
The elevators — each with a capacity of 30 people — will take visitors up and down the 85foot gap between the Jewish Quarter and the Western Wall, or Kotel.
We see the unequivocal connection between the Jewish people and Jerusalem come alive.
When the project is complete, organizers expect thousands to use the elevators daily. Visitors will be deposited at the entryway for the Western Wall plaza, past where buses and cars pull up, and before the requisite security check.
Like all such construction projects, it was necessary to conduct an archaeological excavation to ensure that the project didn’t threaten significant cultural heritage sites.
Scientists found an ornate, first-century villa with a Second Temple mikvah, which will remain on display on site. They also found ancient vessels and coins, which have been sent to the city’s archaeological museum for safekeeping.
“We see the unequivocal connection between the Jewish people and Jerusalem come alive,” Ben-Ari said.
When the United Nations and others question Jewish ties to the Old City of Jerusalem, “every single find here testifies to that very connection,” he added.
The Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage is overseeing the project, which is projected to cost about $20 million and is being funded jointly by state coffers and philanthropists. It is named for the late donors Byron and Dorothy Gerson, formerly of Detroit.
Some 70% of the budget has reportedly been covered to date, and it is expected to be done in two years.
“There really is a sense of mission working here,” Haim Yalouz, the site manager, told JNS, as a tractor cut into the slope in the work areas and thousands of worshippers flocked to the plaza for pre-High Holiday prayers. “Every day, people are asking when it will be ready.”
During these difficult times, I wish you a sweet and joyous Rosh Hashanah filled with health, happiness and the promise of new beginnings. Am Yisrael Chai!
By Amelie Botbol, JNS
Avi Leitner and his partner Avi Rosenfeld went to Mexico years ago and discovered the secret behind producing high-end tequila — the blue agave plant.
They identified similarities in weather conditions in Mexico and in the Negev Desert.
“We are Zionists and pro-Israel. We want to turn the Negev green and this looked like a way to do so,” Leitner, president of the Blue Agave Israel Group, explained.
Six years ago, they decided to make their dream a reality.
“It was a risk,” Leitner said. “We were bringing these plants in and we did not know if there were insects, wild animals, or bacteria in Israel that the plants weren’t immune to,” he said.
“The Agriculture Ministry didn’t let us bring in actual plants,” he clarified. “We had to import cell tissue, grow it in a greenhouse for one year and then bring it to the Negev. Those plants are now entering their fourth year in the field,” he said.
The pair have planted 350 dunams (86.5 acres) with 400 plants per dunam. They are expected to reach maturity over the next two years.
Leitner and Rosenfeld have encountered a few bumps on the road to their first harvest.
“COVID was a big problem. We were trying to bring in Mexican experts to help us grow the plants but Israel wasn’t allowing anybody to come in from there. Mexico was one of the countries red-listed. In the end, we
planted using Zoom,” said Leitner.
“Then there was the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on the Negev. We were horrified. A lot of the Thai workers that worked with us were killed, it’s been scary and tough,” he added.
Walking JNS through the fields near Kibbutz Alumim, Rosenfeld pointed in the direction of the border.
“This is pretty close to Gaza; you can see it from here. We didn’t consider moving the project because this is the only place where these plants can grow. We needed a certain temperature. If the temperature goes below zero, the agave goes bad,” Rosenfeld said.
Next year, the two will be building a distillery, and over the next year and a half look forward to having the first bottles on shelves. The distillery will also likely include a visitors’ center for
enthusiasts, similarly to the way it’s done in Mexico.
On its visit to the Gaza border, JNS met professionals from the wine and food industry including Alexander Lachnish, a restaurant consultant. “It’s very moving to see something local grow from the ground up, literally,” Lachnish said.
“There is no Israeli tequila, so that would be a first. Any new initiative that has to do with the food industry and the cocktail industry I enjoy seeing,” he continued.
Eran Braverman, a Kibbutz Alumim farmer in charge of growing the blue agave, spent many Zoom calls with experts from Mexico to learn how to grow the plants.
Braverman said that in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, 120 Alu-
mim families have returned, with only 15 still displaced.
“Everything works normally. There’s still a bit of noise from the war; We were most worried about the children but they adapted pretty fast,” he said.
“We lost 21 foreign workers, and soldiers as well. Members of the civilian defense squad were hurt but they all came back. We worked the entire time, we just didn’t work in areas close to the fence,” he said, adding that “once the military authorized us to do us, we worked there as well.”
The kibbutz has local workers “Bedouin from Arad and Thai workers who flew back to Thailand after Oct. 7 and have since come back,” Braverman added.
Domingo Garcia, an expert from Mexico who is part of the project, flew to Israel especially to inspect the plants.
“In Israel, we found the natural and climatic conditions not only to grow agave but to produce agave spirit. I might say that these conditions are close to the ideal,” he said. “We need a dry environment, some heat, a neutral pH soil and a good amount of clay,” he added.
“The people planting the agave plant, at the beginning, were not familiar with it. After what I saw, they are doing well. They are growing the plants fast and they are checking the sugar content. Hopefully, we will have fully mature plants in a couple of years,” he added.
According to Garcia, it is one thing is to grow agave, but another
to produce the spirit.
“You have to transform sugars into alcohol, but agaves have a particular kind of sugar, called fructans. Raw fructans is not edible. We have to transform the fructans into fructose using heat. We do it by a process called hydrolysis,” Garcia explained.
To produce liquor out of blue agave, one must harvest the agave, cook it, crush the cooked agave, ferment it and distill the alcohol spirit. After a double distillation process, one gets the final product.
“From harvest to distillation, the process can last for nearly a month if we do it the ancient way,” he said. “The craft way takes about a week, and if we employ the highly industrialized method which is the dominant production model in the industry in Mexico, it takes two days,” he added.
“The highly industrialized way is controversial because it uses high-end machinery like diffusers and when we talk about diffusers, we’re talking about chemicals and sulfuric acids. We accelerate the process but you lose the soul of the tequila,” he continued.
Garcia will be involved in the process in Israel. First, the stakeholders will have to set up a distillery and choose the equipment, which will depend on the amount of agave and the volume of production, among other elements.
“All in all, we found all the conditions to produce high-end, sipping, nice agave spirit here,” he said.
In the coming year, another 100,000 blue agave are expected to be planted.
• Obstetrics & Gynecology
• Maternal-Fetal Medicine
• Gynecology-Oncology
• Breast Surgery
• Urogynecology
• 3-D Digital Mammography
• Diagnostic Ultrasounds
• Breast Biopsy Procedures
• Bone Density Testing
• Nutrition Services
By Tal Ariel Yakir, Israel Hayom
Suddenly, Israel Defense Force Staff Sgt. (res.) S. spotted a woman in a long dress advancing toward the building from afar. S. reported to her commanders and awaited instructions.
According to messages IDF relayed to Gaza civilians, anyone approaching the area would be suspected of attempting to harm IDF troops.
“The decision was made to fire near the woman, to make her turn around and leave,” S. reveals for the first time about her conduct as one of the few female snipers in the Israeli military.
“When she continued to advance, I fired a second and third time close to her feet. The woman seemed determined and didn’t duck or move aside. She kept walking toward the soldiers.
“I shot her in the leg, and she fell. She didn’t cry or scream. Paratroopers approached her and provided medical treatment while I continued observing the area.
“Suddenly I saw an old Fiat approaching at top speed. I fired once at the vehicle as a warning. Through the scope, I saw the driver wearing black clothes, dark sunglasses and a baseball cap. He didn’t slow down for a second, and it was clear he was determined to harm the soldiers helping the woman.
“I aimed at his chest and fired once. The car stopped, and the driver crawled out and fell to the ground bleeding.
“I kept my eyes on him while combat engineers cautiously approached and blew up the car, which was rigged with explosives. I felt like I was in the movie ‘American Sniper’ in Iraq. Is this really me here now? I prevented a masscasualty attack.
“Afterward, I thought about the ruthlessness of Hamas terrorists, who sent an elderly woman as a human lure. These terrorists have no limits, and they don’t care about collateral damage. Let children and women die. The ones who saved the woman were IDF soldiers.”
Although about 20 female snipers currently serve in the mixed-gender Border Defense Corps battalions — Bardelas (Cheetah), Caracal, Lions of the Jordan Valley, and Lions of the Valley — this hasn’t received media attention and doesn’t appear in Wikipedia or on the IDF website.
Israel Hayom interviewed Bardelas snipers S. and Staff Sgt. L., who talked about their challenging role, their entry into Gaza, the elimination of terrorists, and moments when they were in danger.
“There’s not a second of quiet in Gaza,” L. says. “On one occasion, the terrorists eventually figured out our location and tried to hit us. It was clear to me that there was a chance I’d end my life there, but I was focused on the mission.”
When searching online for women who served as snipers, only the name of Lyudmila Pavlichenko comes up, who served in the Soviet army during World War II and single-handedly killed 309 Nazi soldiers.
S. (21) and L. (20) understand that they are unusual, but prefer to remain in the shadows
where it’s easiest to blend in and disappear.
The Bardelas Battalion’s role is to prevent infiltrations and thwart weapons and drug smuggling on the Egyptian border. Snipers provide backup from height and shoot at long ranges if necessary. When there’s no operational need for snipers, they also serve as regular soldiers and join pursuits and arrests.
This week the border looked quiet. No foxes or wild donkeys roamed near the Egyptian fence, and the yellow mountains gleamed under the scorching sun. One giant sign, partially peeled, warns in Hebrew, Arabic and English that anyone who crosses or touches the fence is risking his life.
Despite the heavy heat, S. and L. climb to an observation post with their heavy sniper rifles, which have a range of up to 500 meters (1,640 feet). They extend the bipods, insert the magazines, lie down on the sharp rocks without blinking, and get under a camouflage net covering their entire bodies. Only the barrel and their fingers with colorful nail polish stick out.
“It’s on purpose,” L. smiles. “The nail polish is the most obvious sign showing it’s a female fighter and not a male. With the uniforms, vest, helmets and face cover, you can’t tell it’s a female sniper. We’re left with our nails and also the braid in our hair, which isn’t always visible.”
Q: Did you know that female fighters in the Kurdish army wore heavy makeup and shouted “kololo” at ISIS terrorists in Syria so they’d know they were women? ISIS believers think that whoever falls at the hands of a woman loses his place in paradise.
“Excellent idea,” S. laughs. “Next time in Gaza I’ll trill ‘kololo‘ the moment I release a bullet.”
About a month and a half ago, S. was discharged from regular service, and the next day she enlisted in the reserves until the end of November. “As someone who grew up in the south, I looked up to the soldiers who protected my home even as a child,” she says.
“In high school, I knew I’d study architecture and interior design, so in the army, I looked for an experience that doesn’t exist in civilian life. It was clear that I wanted to be in combat, not sitting in front of a computer, so I chose the Border Defense infantry.”
Q: Were you accepted to the sniper team right from the start?
S.: “No. After basic training, I was allocated a marksman rifle, which is more accurate and has a longer range than a regular rifle. I connected with long-range shooting and wanted to switch to sniping, but there was no room. When the only two female snipers in the team at the time suffered from medical issues and could no longer do ambushes, I jumped at the opportunity.”
L., a resident of the north, also wanted to serve as a combat soldier. “I enlisted two years ago and was already interested in serving as a sniper during basic training,” she smiles. In November, L. joined the sniper course.
Q: When did you receive the notification that you were entering Gaza?
S.: “The day before we entered, in early December. I was very excited, but there were also concerns. In Bardelas we’re used to stones, sand and desert, not urban warfare.”
L.: “I received the notification a few hours before we left for Gaza. This was about a week after I finished the sniper course. I didn’t know what to pack, but it was important for me to take grooming products because the mission in Gaza doesn’t contradict my desire to remain a woman.”
Q: Did you want to join the fighting?
L.: “It was very important to me. At the beginning of the war, I lost one of my best friends, Sgt. First Class Aviel Melkamu, an Egoz [commando unit] solder who fell in Kissufim. I wanted to fight for him. I decided to dedicate the first bullet that would leave my barrel in Gaza to him.
“I knew this was also our moment as female fighters and snipers on the front lines. They didn’t always believe in women fighters in the IDF, until Oct. 7 came. Unfortunately, it was the war that proved our capabilities.”
Q: Did you shoot at terrorists?
“I shot two,” says S. “The first time was about a month after we entered Gaza. Suddenly I saw two suspicious figures approaching. They were walking confidently and seemed to know where they were going. We couldn’t see if they had firearms or knives. They could also be observers.
“They continued closing in on us. Another female fighter and I shot in their direction and we saw them fall. A team of paratroopers checked them. It turned out that one of them was carrying an explosive device on his body and the other was probably his assistant. We had no doubt he came to blow himself up among the soldiers.”
Q: Was this the first time you killed a person?
“Yes, but it didn’t stress me out. I acted on autopilot. It’s a terrorist, and there’s a reason why we entered Gaza. The lives of the soldiers are in my hands. It’s either the terrorist or them.
“Afterward, the realization that I had taken a life sank in, but I didn’t feel bad because he came to murder us. The terrorist with the boobytrapped Fiat, two weeks later, also came to kill soldiers. I don’t have nightmares at night because of them.”
L.: “I didn’t get to kill terrorists because they didn’t come during my shifts, and my main role was to locate and take down explosive drones in Gaza. However, I didn’t forget my promise. Every morning there’s a dawn readiness where terrorists come out, and we shoot and warn them not to approach. The first bullet was always dedicated to Aviel, may he rest in peace.”
As your State Senator for the past two years, I’m ghting every day to take back our State!
• While Radical Democrats applaud dangerous “Cashless Bail” laws, which freed killers & rapists, I’ve proposed common sense reforms.
• When the Governor tried to cut education aid to dump billions of dollars into migrant assistance in New York’s “Sanctuary City,” I stood up for our children and restored education funding.
• We’ve forced the Governor to postpone her $1 billion “Congestion Pricing” tax on Long Island drivers. Let’s make it permanent.
• I have been working to curtail anti-Semitism and all bigotry in our society.
• I join County Executive Bruce Blakeman in saying “NO” to a “Sanctuary County” in Nassau.
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parents, grandparents, in scenes reminiscent of the Nazi Holocaust.
Hamas kidnapped 251 people from dozens of different countries, dragging them into the dungeons of Gaza. Israel has brought home 154 of these hostages, including 117 who returned alive. I want to assure you, we will not rest until the remaining hostages are brought home too, and some of their family members are here with us today. I ask you to stand up. [The prime minister names several hostages and introduces members of their families.] … I again promise you, we will return your loved ones home. We will not spare that effort until this holy mission is accomplished.
Ladies and gentlemen, the curse of October 7th began when Hamas invaded Israel from Gaza, but it didn’t end there. Israel was soon forced to defend itself on six more war fronts organized by Iran.
On October 8th, Hezbollah attacked us from Lebanon. Since then, they have fired over 8,000 rockets at our towns and cities, at our civilians, at our children. Two weeks later, the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen launched drones and missiles at Israel, the first of 250 such attacks, including one yesterday aimed at Tel Aviv. Iran’s Shiite militias in Syria and Iraq have targeted Israel dozens of times over the past year as well.
Fueled by Iran, Palestinian terrorists in Judea and Samaria perpetrated scores of attacks there and throughout Israel.
And last April, for the first time ever, Iran directly attacked Israel from its own territory, firing 300 drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles at us.
I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran: If you strike us, we will strike you. There is no place — there is no place in Iran — that the long arm of Israel cannot reach. And that’s true of the entire Middle East.
Far from being lambs led to the slaughter, Israel’s soldiers have fought back with incredible courage and with heroic sacrifice. And I have another message for this assembly and for the world outside this hall: We are winning.
Ladies and gentlemen, as Israel defends itself against Iran in this seven-front war, the lines separating the blessing and the curse could not be more clear.
This is the map I presented here last year, it’s a map of a blessing. It shows Israel and its Arab partners forming a land bridge connecting Asia and Europe, between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Across this bridge, we will lay rail lines, energy pipelines, fiber optic cables, and this will serve the betterment of 2 billion people.
Now look at this second map. It’s a map of a curse. It’s a map of an arc of terror that Iran has created and imposed from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean. Iran’s malignant arc has shut down international waterways, it cuts off trade, it destroys nations from within and inflicts misery on millions.
On the one hand, a bright blessing, a future of hope. On the other hand, a dark future of despair.
And if you think this dark map is only a curse for Israel, then you should think again. Because Iran’s aggression, if it’s not checked, will endanger every single country in the Middle East, and many, many countries in the rest of the world.
Because Iran seeks to impose its radicalism well beyond the Middle East. That’s why it funds terror networks on five continents. That’s why it builds ballistic missiles for nuclear warheads to threaten the entire world.
For too long, the world has appeased Iran. It
In this battle between good and evil, there must be no equivocation.
turned a blind eye to its internal repression, it turned a blind eye to its external aggression. Well, that appeasement must end. And that appeasement must end now.
Nations of the world should support the brave people of Iran who want to rid themselves of this evil regime. Responsible governments should not only support Israel in rolling back Iran’s aggression, they should join Israel, they should join Israel in stopping Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
over 90 percent of their rocket arsenal, and eliminated the key segments of their terror tunnel network.
In major military operations, we destroyed nearly all of Hamas’ terror battalions — 23 out of 24 battalions. Now, to complete our victory, we are focused on mopping up Hamas’ remaining fighting capabilities. We are taking out senior terrorist commanders and destroying remaining terrorist infrastructure.
But all the while, we remain focused on our
In this body and the Security Council, we’re going to have a deliberation in a few months, and I call on the Security Council to snap back UN Security Council sanctions against Iran because we must all do everything in our power to ensure that Iran never gets nuclear weapons.
For decades, I’ve been warning the world against Iran’s nuclear program. Our actions delayed this program by perhaps a decade, but we haven’t stopped it. Iran now seeks to weaponize its nuclear program. For the sake of the peace and security of all your countries, for the sake of the peace and security of the entire world, we must not let that happen.
And I assure you, Israel will do everything in its power to make sure it doesn’t happen.
So, ladies and gentlemen, the question before us is simple: Which of these two maps that I showed you will shape our future? Will it be the blessings of peace and prosperity for Israel, our Arab partners, and the rest of the world? Or will it be the curse in which Iran and its proxies spread carnage and chaos everywhere?
Israel has already made its choice. We’ve decided to advance the blessing. We’re building a partnership for peace with our Arab neighbors while fighting the forces of terror that threaten that peace.
For nearly a year, the brave men and women of the IDF have been systematically crushing Hamas’ terror army that once ruled Gaza. On October 7th, the day of that invasion into Israel, that terror army numbered nearly 40,000 terrorists, it was armed with more than 15,000 rockets, it had 350 miles of terror tunnels — an underground network bigger than the New York subway system — which they used to wreak havoc above and below ground.
A year later, the IDF has killed or captured more than half of these terrorists, destroyed
for Hezbollah, ‘enough is enough’
Israel must also defeat Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hezbollah is the quintessential terror organization in the world today. It has tentacles that span all continents. It has murdered more Americans and more Frenchmen than any group except Bin Laden. It’s murdered the citizens of many countries represented in this room. And it has attacked Israel viciously over the last 20 years.
In the last year, completely unprovoked, a day after the Hamas massacre on October 7th, Hezbollah began attacks against Israel, which forced more than 60,000 Israelis on our northern border to leave their homes, becoming refugees in their own land. Hezbollah turned vibrant towns in the north of Israel into ghost towns.
So I want you to think about this in equivalent American terms. Just imagine if terrorists turned El Paso and San Diego into ghost towns. Then ask yourself: How long would the American government tolerate that? A day, a week, a month? I doubt they would tolerate it even for a single day. Yet Israel has been tolerating this intolerable situation for nearly a year. Well, I’ve come here today to say enough is enough. We won’t rest until our citizens can return safely to their homes. We will not accept a terror army perched on our northern border, able to perpetrate another October 7th-style massacre.
For 18 years, Hezbollah brazenly refused to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which requires it to move its forces away from our borders. Instead, Hezbollah moved right up to our border. They secretly dug terror tunnels to infiltrate our communities and indiscriminately fired thousands of rockets into our towns and villages.
sacred mission: bringing our hostages home, and we will not stop until that mission is complete.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, even with Hamas’s greatly diminished military capability, the terrorists still exercise some governing power in Gaza by stealing the food that we enable aid agencies to bring into Gaza. … If Hamas stays in power, it will regroup, rearm, and attack Israel again and again and again, as it has vowed to do. So, Hamas has got to go.
Just imagine, for those who say Hamas … has to be part of a post-war Gaza — imagine … allowing the defeated Nazis in 1945 to rebuild Germany. It’s inconceivable. It’s ridiculous. It didn’t happen then, it’s not going to happen now.
This is why Israel will reject any role for Hamas in a post-war Gaza. We don’t seek to resettle Gaza, what we seek is a demilitarized and de-radicalized Gaza. Only then can we ensure that this round of fighting will be the last round of fighting.
We are ready to work with regional and other partners to support a local civilian administration in Gaza, committed to peaceful coexistence.
As for the hostages, I have a message for the Hamas captors: Let them go. Let them go. All of them. Those alive today must be returned alive, and the remains of those whom you brutally killed must be returned to their families. Those families here with us today and others in Israel deserve to have a resting place for their loved ones, a place where they can grieve and remember them.
This war can come to an end now. All that has to happen is for Hamas to surrender, lay down its arms, and release all the hostages. But if they don’t, we will fight until we achieve victory. Total victory. There is no substitute for it.
They fire these rockets and missiles not from military sites — they do that too — but they fire those rockets and missiles after they place them in schools, in hospitals, in apartment buildings, and in the private homes of the citizens of Lebanon. They endanger their own people. They put a missile in every kitchen, a rocket in every garage. I said to the people of Lebanon this week: Get out of the death trap that Hezbollah has put you in. Don’t let Nasrallah drag Lebanon into the abyss. We’re not at war with you. We’re at war with Hezbollah, which has hijacked your country and threatens to destroy ours.
As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice. And Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their homes safely, and that’s exactly what we’re doing. …
We’re committed to removing the curse of terrorism that threatens all civilized societies. But to truly realize the blessing of a new Middle East, we must continue the path we paved with the Abraham Accords four years ago. Above all, this means achieving a historic peace agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
And having seen the blessings that we’ve already brought with the Abraham Accords — the millions of Israelis who have already flown back and forth across the Arabian Peninsula over the skies of Saudi Arabia to the Gulf countries, the trade, the tourism, the joint ventures, the peace — what blessings such a peace with Saudi Arabia would bring. …
Such a peace, I am sure, would be a true pivot of history. It would usher in a historic reconciliation between the Arab world and Israel, between Islam and Judaism, between Mecca and Jerusalem.
While Israel is committed to achieving such a peace, Iran and its terror proxies are committed to scuttling it. That’s why one of the best ways to foil Iran’s nefarious designs is to achieve the peace.
Such a peace would be the foundation for an even broader Abrahamic alliance, and that alliance would include the United States, Israel’s current Arab peace partners, Saudi Arabia,
Continued on next page
and others who choose the blessing of peace. It would advance security and prosperity across the Middle East and bring enormous benefits to the rest of the world.
With American support and leadership, I believe this vision can materialize much sooner than people think. And as the Prime Minister of Israel, I will do everything in my power to make it happen. This is an opportunity that we and the world should not let go by.
Israel has made its choice. We seek to move forward to a bright age of prosperity and peace. Iran and its proxies have also made their choice. They want to move back to a dark age of terror and war.
And now I have a question, and I pose that question to you: What choice will you make? Will your nation stand with Israel? Will you stand with democracy and peace? Or will you stand with Iran, a brutal dictatorship that subjugates its own people and exports terrorism across the globe?
In this battle between good and evil, there must be no equivocation. When you stand with Israel, you stand for your own values and your own interests.
Yes, we’re defending ourselves, but we’re also defending you against a common enemy that, through violence and terror, seeks to destroy our way of life. So there should be no confusion about this. But unfortunately, there is a lot of it in many countries and in this very hall, as I’ve just heard.
Good is portrayed as evil, and evil is portrayed as good.
We see this moral confusion when Israel is falsely accused of genocide when we defend ourselves against enemies who try to commit genocide against us.
We see this too when Israel is absurdly accused by the ICC Prosecutor of deliberately starving Palestinians in Gaza. What an absurdity. We help bring in 700,000 tons of food into Gaza. That’s more than 3,000 calories a day for
every man, woman, and child in Gaza.
We see this moral confusion when Israel is falsely accused of deliberately targeting civilians. We don’t want to see a single innocent person die. That’s always a tragedy. And that’s why we do so much to minimize civilian casualties, even as our enemies use civilians as human shields. And no army has done what Israel is doing to minimize civilian casualties. We drop flyers. We send text messages. We make phone calls by the millions to ensure that Palestinian civilians get out of harm’s way. We spare no effort in this noble pursuit.
We see yet another profound moral confusion when self-described progressives march against the democracy of Israel. Don’t they realize they support the Iranian-backed goons in Tehran and in Gaza, the goons who shot down protesters, murder women for not covering their hair, and hang gays in public squares? Some progressives!
According to the US Director of National Intelligence, Iran funds and fuels many of the protesters against Israel. Who knows, maybe some of the protesters or even many of the protesters outside this building now?
Ladies and gentlemen, King Solomon, who reigned in our eternal capital, Jerusalem, 3,000 years ago, proclaimed something that is familiar to all of you. He said: There is nothing new under the sun.
Well, in an age of space travel, quantum physics, and artificial intelligence, some would argue that’s a debatable statement. But one thing is undeniable: there is definitely nothing new at the United Nations.
Take it from me. I first spoke from this podium as Israel’s ambassador to the UN in 1984. That’s exactly 40 years ago. And in my maiden speech here, I spoke against a proposal to expel Israel from this body. Four decades later, I find myself defending Israel against that same preposterous proposal. And who’s leading the charge this time? Not Hamas, but Abbas, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
This is the man who claims he wants peace
with Israel, yet he still refuses to condemn the horrific massacre of October 7th. He’s still paying hundreds of millions to terrorists who murdered Israelis and Americans — it’s called “Pay for Slay,” the more you murder, the more you get paid.
And he still wages unremitting diplomatic warfare against Israel’s right to exist and against Israel’s right to defend itself — and by the way, they amount to the same thing, because if you can’t defend yourself, you can’t exist. Not in our neighborhood, certainly, and maybe not in yours.
Standing at this podium 40 years ago, I told the sponsors of that outrageous resolution to expel Israel: Gentlemen, check your fanaticism at the door. Today, I tell President Abbas and all of you who would shamefully support that resolution: Check your fanaticism at the door.
The singling out of the one and only Jewish state continues to be a moral stain on the United Nations; it has made this once-respected institution contemptible in the eyes of decent people everywhere.
But for the Palestinians, this UN house of darkness is home court. They know that in this swamp of antisemitic bile, there’s an automatic majority willing to demonize the Jewish state for anything. In this anti-Israel flat-earth society, any false charge, any outlandish allegation can muster a majority.
In the last decade, there have been more resolutions passed against Israel in this hall, in the UN General Assembly, than against the entire world combined. Actually, more than twice as many. Since 2014, this body condemned Israel 174 times. It condemned all the other countries in the world 73 times. That’s more than 100 extra condemnations for the Jewish state. What hypocrisy. What a double standard. What a joke.
So, all the speeches you heard today, all the hostility directed at Israel this year — it’s not about Gaza, it’s about Israel. It’s always been about Israel. About Israel’s very existence. And I say to you, until Israel, until the Jewish state, is treated like other nations, until this antisemitic
swamp is drained, the UN will be viewed by fairminded people everywhere as nothing more than a contemptuous farce.
And given the antisemitism at the UN, it should surprise no one that the prosecutor at the ICC, one of the UN’s affiliated organs, is considering issuing arrest warrants against me and Israel’s defense minister, the democratically elected leaders of the democratic state of Israel.
The ICC prosecutor’s rush to judgment, his refusal to treat Israel with its independent courts the way other democracies are treated, is hard to explain by anything other than pure antisemitism.
Ladies and gentlemen, the real war criminals are not in Israel. They’re in Iran. They’re in Gaza, in Syria, in Lebanon, in Yemen. Those of you who stand with these war criminals, those of you who stand with evil against good, with the curse against the blessing, those of you who do so should be ashamed of yourselves.
But I have a message for you: Israel will win this battle. We will win this battle because we don’t have a choice.
After generations in which our people were slaughtered, remorselessly butchered, and no one raised a finger in our defense, we now have a state. We now have a brave army, an army of incomparable courage, and we are defending ourselves.
As the book of Samuel says in the Bible: “The eternity of Israel will not falter.”
In the Jewish people’s epic journey from antiquity, in our odyssey through the tempest and upheavals of modern times, that ancient promise has always been kept and it will hold true for all time.
To borrow a great poet’s phrase: Israel will not go gently into that good night. We will never need to rage against the dying of the light because the torch of Israel will forever shine bright.
To the people of Israel and to the soldiers of Israel, I say: Be strong and of good courage.
“Am Yisrael chai. The people of Israel live now, tomorrow, forever.”
“Last
year, this year, and next, I am fighting against antisemitism and standing strong for our entire Long Island community, even when few on the other side of the aisle will join me, Together, we will not back down.”
- Assemblyman Ari Brown
t’s tradition! After Neilah services at my synagogue on Yom Kippur, there’s a surge to tables of light fare typically set out by the Sisterhood. Tired and hungry worshippers gather round to gulp down a glass of orange juice or sweet wine, along with a bit of sponge or honey cake. Then it’s back home for platters of fish, cheese, kugel and dairy dishes.
That’s a custom for American Jews in the United States. But for those from Russia — and this year, for so many from Ukraine — break-fast is a slice of sweet babka and a glass of lemon tea. Syrian and Iraqi Jews tend to nibble on ka’akim, round crunchy sesame cookies that look like mini-bagels. Turkish and Greek Jews break their fast with a sweet drink made with melon seeds. On the Shetland Islands where I grew up, my mother served homemade pickled herring and seltzer water — essential, she insisted, “to replenish liquids and salt lost during fasting.” And rightly so.
Close as Shetland is to Norway, my mother served the Norwegian herring salad yearround, not just during the High Holidays. Similarly, these break-fast recipes can be enjoyed all year long. A rib of celery adds a slight zest to Cool Peach Soup. Vegans will delight with an antipasto platter, Jewish-style, as supermarkets offer the makings of a bright palette of exotic and familiar items.
Seasons and Gefen offer briny items like pickled eggplant, baby corn, straw mushrooms and hearts of palm to name just a few. Open the cans, drain and arrange on a lettucelined platter. Add fresh veggies like sliced avocado (sprinkled with lemon juice to avoid discoloration), tricolored fresh pepper strips, sweet cherry tomatoes and pitted black olives. Toss sliced water chestnuts over top to add some crunch. No recipe is needed. What could be easier?
Keep in mind: •Have plenty of seltzer and orange juice ready to pull from the fridge. •Measure coffee and water into the percolator to plug in as soon as you get home from synagogue or set on a timer so it’s ready when the fast ends. •For a crowd, set up two percolators, one for decaf coffee and one for regular. If using only one, make it decaf unless you know guests definitely want regular coffee. •Split bagels ahead of time, arrange
on a tray and cover with a damp paper towel, then with plastic wrap to prevent drying out.
•Don’t hesitate to use paper and plastic; there are so many lovely designs these days. Heavyduty plastic flatware may be recycled. •Cook ahead and freeze.
L’Shanah Tovah! May we be inscribed for a sweet, healthy and happy New Year.
Serves 4 to 6
Cook’s Tips: •May use 4 small mangoes instead. •Kefir is fermented milk similar to a thin type of yogurt.
Ingredients:
• 4 large peaches, pits removed and sliced
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 Tbsp. fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup peach kefir
• 1 rib celery, sliced
• 2 Tbsp. finely shredded mint or 2 tsp. dried
Directions:
Place all ingredients except the mint into a
blender or food processor. Purée, stir in the mint and chill. Serve in small bowls or glasses.
Serves 6
Cook’s Tips: •May be prepared 1 to 2 days ahead and stored in fridge. •Top the bowl of herring salad with sliced hard-cooked egg.
Ingredients:
• 1 jar (12 oz.) pickled herring tidbits with onions, drained
• 1 small baked potato, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch chunks
• 1 sweet apple, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch chunks
• 2 to 3 Tbsp. plain yogurt
• 2 Tbsp. snipped dill, packed
Directions:
Snip the onions into 1/2-inch pieces. Place in a bowl with herring tidbits and remaining ingredients. Stir lightly to mix. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serves 8 to 10
Cook’s Tips: •Recipe may be doubled. Bake in a 13x9x2-inch dish.
Ingredients:
• 10 potato blintzes
• 1-1/2 cups frozen sugar snap peas, thawed (optional)
• 1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 3 Tbsp. butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup bottled pesto
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Arrange the blintzes in one layer in prepared dish. Scatter the snap peas (if using) and onions over the blintzes. Set aside.
See Breaking Yom Kippur on page 14
Continued from page 12
In a medium bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Add the pesto, eggs, sour cream, garlic and pepper. Mix well. Pour over the blintz mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until puffed and nicely brown.
Serve hot or at room temperature.
Serves 6 to 8
Cook’s Tips: •Fresh figs may be used for dried figs. No need to soak or microwave.
•Substitute 1 tsp. ground cinnamon for a cinnamon stick. •May prepare 1 to 2 days ahead and refrigerate. •Pomegranate juice is available in supermarkets.
Ingredients:
• 1 lb. dried figs
• 1 cup golden raisins
• 1-1/2 cups pomegranate juice
• 1/2 cup kosher white wine (Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc, for instance)
• 2 Tbsp. fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 3 Tbsp. water
• Cinnamon stick
• 3 thin slices of ginger root, about 1-inch diameter
• 2 Tbsp. honey or to taste
Directions:
Place figs in a bowl and cover with hot wa-
ter. Microwave for 3 minutes at high heat. Drain well.
Place in a saucepan with raisins, pomegranate juice, wine, lemon juice, water, cinnamon stick, ginger root and honey. Cover loosely. Simmer for 30 minutes or until dried figs are plump. Sweeten to taste. Chill. Remove cinnamon stick and ginger before serving.
Serves 6 to 8
Cook’s Tips: •Substitute for espresso, strong coffee with 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract.
•For a dairy showstopper: When chilled, chop mold coarsely, spoon into demitasse cups or wine glasses. Top with a dollop of vanilla yogurt or whipped cream and a sprinkling of shaved chocolate.
Ingredients:
• 2 (3-oz.) packages kosher peach gelatin
• 1-1/2 cups boiling water
• 1-1/2 cups cold espresso coffee
• 3/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup pareve chocolate coffee beans
Directions:
In a large bowl, thoroughly dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Stir in the coffee and wine. Pour into a 1-quart bowl or mold. Refrigerate until just beginning to jell. Stir in the coffee beans.
Return to fridge and chill until set.
Serves 15 to 18
Cook’s Tips: •This cake freezes well.
Freeze individual slices to remove as needed.
•Use kitchen scissors to snip plums and dates.
•Substitute diced mango for pear, apple or dates. •Make a batch of cinnamon sugar; equal amounts of cinnamon and sugar. Stir, cover tightly and store in a cool dry place. Do not refrigerate. •Note: 1 Tbsp. of baking powder equals 3 tsp..
Ingredients:
• 1 pear, core removed and coarsely diced
• 1 Granny Smith apple, core removed and coarsely diced
• 4 prune plums, pitted and snipped in 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup pitted dates, coarsely chopped
• 2 Tbsp. cinnamon-sugar
• 1 tsp. cardamom
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 5 eggs
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup orange juice (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, combine the pear, apple, plums, cranberries, dates, cinnamonsugar and cardamom. Set aside.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla and orange juice. Using an electric hand mixer, beat at medium speed, 3 to 4 minutes, until mixture is smooth and little bubbles appear. Spoon half the batter into prepared pan. Spread about 3/4 of the fruit mixture over. Top with remaining batter and fruits. Bake in preheated oven for 1-1/4 hours or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool slightly on a wire rack. Loosen sides and turn out onto a serving platter. When completely cool, slice with a serrated knife.
Jewish Star Torah columnists:
•Rabbi Avi Billet of Anshei Chesed, Boynton Beach, FL, mohel and Five Towns native •Rabbi David Etengoff of Magen David Yeshivah, Brooklyn
•Rabbi Binny Freedman, rosh yeshiva of Orayta, Jerusalem
Contributing writers:
•Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks zt”l,
former chief rabbi of United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth •Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, OU executive VP emeritus •Rabbi Raymond Apple, emeritus rabbi, Great Synagogue of Sydney •Rabbi Yossy Goldman, life rabbi emeritus, Sydenham Shul, Johannesburg and president of the South African Rabbinical Association.
Contact our columnists at: Publisher@TheJewishStar.com Five Towns Candlelighting: From the White Shul, Far Rockaway, NY
Wed Oct 2 / Elul 29
Erev Rosh Hashana Candles: 6:16
Thu Oct 3 / Tishrei 1
First Day Rosh Hashana (Tashlich) Candles: 7:15
Fri Oct 4 / Tishrei 2
Second Day Rosh Hashana, Erev Shabbos Shabbos Shuva • Ha’Azinu Candles: 6:12 • Havdalah: 7:20
Fri Oct 11 / Tishrei 9
Erev Yom Yippur (Yizkor) Candles: 6:01 • Havdalah: 7:09
Wed Oct 16 / Tishrei 14
Erev Sukkot
Wed Candles: 5:54 • Thu Candles: 6:53
Fri Oct 18 / Tishrei 16
Shabbos is Chol Hamoed Sukkot Candles: 5:51 • Havdalah: 6:58
This column was published in September 2014, at the end of a year — 5774 — during which Israel fought Operation Protective Edge in Gaza.
In the year that we are now parting with, it became dangerous once again to be a Jew.
Israel, subject to sustained missile attack, discovered how hard it is to fight an asymmetric war against a terrorist group ruthless enough to place rocket launchers beside schools, hospitals and mosques. It found itself condemned by large sections of the world for performing the first duty of any state, namely to protect its citizens from danger and death.
•The cry “Death to the Jews” was heard again in Paris, 120 years after the Dreyfus trial.
•Seventy years after the Holocaust, the call of “Jews to the gas” was heard in the streets of Germany.
There were times when it felt as if the ghost of a past we thought long dead had risen to haunt us. Many times I heard Jews say, “For the first time in my life I feel afraid.”
Let us stay with those fears and confront them directly. We are not back in the 1930s. To the contrary, for the first time in the almost 4,000 years of Jewish history, we have simultaneously independence and sovereignty in the land and state of Israel, and freedom and equality in the Diaspora. Israel is strong, extraordinarily so. The success of the Iron Dome missile defense was the latest in an astonishing line of technological advances — not just military but also agricultural, medical and commercial — designed to protect, save and enhance life.
Israel has lived with the disdain of
The unity Israel showed during the Gaza conflict reminded us that we remain one people.
the world for a very long time. Even the most lukewarm among us knows that it is infinitely preferable to have a state of Israel and the condemnation of the world than no Israel, no Jewish home, and have the sympathy of the world.
The unity Israel showed during the Gaza conflict was deeply moving. It reminded us that in a profound existential sense we remain one people. Whether or not we share a covenant of faith, we share a covenant of fate. That is a good state to be in as we face the Yamim Noraim, when we stand before G-d not just as individuals but as a people.
As for anti-Semitism, rarely has it been more self-evident that the hate that starts with Jews never ends with Jews. The most significant enemies of the Jews today are the enemies of freedom everywhere. Worldwide we may feel uncomfortable, anxious. But there are parts of the world where Christians are being butchered, beheaded, driven from their homes and living in terror.
As for Muslims, one prominent academic recently estimated that of the hundreds dying daily, at least 90 per cent were doing so at the hands of their fellow Muslims. Bahai are at risk. So are the Yazidis. So in other parts of the world are Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, and for that matter atheists. No historian looking back on our time will be tempted to call it the age of tolerance.
Which brings us back to the Yamim Noraim.
There is a note of universality to the prayers on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur that we do not find on other festivals. On other festivals the key section of the Amidah begins, Atah bechartanu mikol ha-amim, “You chose us from among all the nations.” The emphasis is on Jewish singularity.
On the Yamim Noraim the parallel prayer begins, “And so place the fear of L-rd our G-d, over all that You have made … so that all of creation will worship You.” The emphasis is on human solidarity. And human solidarity is what the world needs right now.
One message resonates through these days: life. “Remember us for life, King who delights in life, and write us in the book of life for your sake, G-d of life.” We sometimes forget how radical this was when Judaism first entered the world. Egypt of the Pharaohs was obsessed with death. Life is full of suffering and pain. Death is where we join the G-ds. The great pyramids and temples were homages to death.
Against that fear we say from the beginning of Ellul to Succot that monumental psalm of David: The L-rd is my light and my salvation. Whom then shall I fear? The L-rd is the stronghold of my life. Of whom then shall I be afraid?
•On Rosh Hashana we blow the shofar, the one mitzvah we fulfill by the breath of life itself without needing any words.
•On the first day of Rosh Hashana, the “anniversary of creation,” we read in the Torah and haftorah not about the birth of the universe but about the birth of Isaac to Sarah and Samuel to Hannah as if to say, one life is like a universe. One child is enough to show how vulnerable life is — a miracle to be protected and cherished.
•On Yom Kippur we wear the kittel, a shroud, as if to show that we are not afraid of death.
Never before have I felt so strongly that the world needs us to live this message, the message of the Torah that life is holy, that death defiles, and that terror in the name of G-d is a desecration of the name of G-d.
The State of Israel is the collective affirmation of the Jewish people, a mere three years after emerging from the valley of the shadow of death, that Lo amut ki echyeh, “I will not die but live.”
Anthropologists and social psychologists still argue today that the reason religion exists is because of people’s fear of death. Which makes it all the more remarkable that — despite our total and profound belief in olam haba and techiyat ha-metim, life after death and the resurrection of the dead — there is almost nothing of this in most of the books of the Bible. It is an astonishing phenomenon. All of Kohelet’s cynicism and Job’s railing against injustice could have been answered in one sentence: “There is life after death.” Yet neither book explicitly says so.
To the contrary, King David said in a psalm we say daily: “What gain would there be if I died and went down to the grave? Can dust thank you? Can it declare your truth?”
Almost at the end of his life Moses turned to the next generation and said to them: “Choose life, so that you and your children may live.” We take this for granted, forgetting how relatively rare in the history of religion this is. Why so? Why, if we believe the
soul is immortal, that there is life after death and that this world is not all there is, do we not say so more often and more loudly? Because since civilization began, heaven has too often been used as an excuse for injustice and violence down here on earth. What evil can you not commit if you believe you will be rewarded for it in the world to come? That is the logic of the terrorist and the suicide bomber. It is the logic of those who burned “heretics” at the stake in order, so they said, to save their immortal souls.
Against this horrific mindset the whole of Judaism is a protest. Justice and compassion have to be fought for in this life not the next Judaism is not directed to fear of death. It is directed to a far more dangerous fear: fear of life with all its pain and disappointment and unpredictability. It is fear of life, not fear of death, that have led people to create totalitarian states and fundamentalist religions. Fear of life is ultimately fear of freedom. That is why fear of life takes the form of an assault against freedom.
Israel chose life. Its enemies chose the way of death. They even boasted, as did Osama bin Laden, that the love of death made them strong. It did not make them strong. It made them violent. Aggression is not strength; it is a profound self-consciousness of weakness. And the main victims of Islamist violence are Muslims. Hate destroys the hater.
Today it is not just Israel or Jews whose freedom is at risk. It is the whole of the Middle East, large parts of Africa and Asia, and much of Europe.
Therefore let us approach the New Year with a real sense of human solidarity. Let us show, by the way we celebrate our faith, that G-d is to be found in life. The love of G-d is love of life. Let us take to heart King David’s insistence that faith is stronger than fear.
No empire ever defeated the Jewish people, and no force ever will. May G-d write us, our families, the people and State of Israel and Jews throughout the world, in the Book of Life. And may the day come when the righteous of all nations work together for the sake of freedom, peace and life.
More than what he was saying, it was his face that caught my attention. Flicking on the television absent-mindedly as I was getting dressed for a wedding, I came across the middle of a program with a story from the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
A young man was sharing what must have been an extremely difficult experience: The house his unit had taken refuge in was hit by a Hezbollah anti-tank missile, a number of his comrades had been killed and wounded, and he himself wasn’t sure he would make it.
He had lost comrades, yet there was no pain in his eyes, no tragic sadness in his voice. If anything, his eyes were animated; alive; and his
voice was full of hope and promise. He spoke of his plans for the future and how lucky he was to have made it through, how he had been given a new lease on life and now was determined to make it a life worth living. I was taken by how “at peace” he seemed.
The interviewer asked, “If you had the chance to do it over again, would you have made the same choices, would you have gone to fight?” He responded in the affirmative.
At which point the cameraman panned back to reveal that the speaker was sitting in a wheelchair and had with no legs. His battle injuries had resulted in a double amputation, from the knee down.
I was taken by the cameraman’s decision to focus for so long on this young man’s face. If I had seen the whole picture I probably would have been focused on the legs that weren’t there, instead of the person that was. But on a deeper level, I was struck by how a person who had been through so much could remain so positive.
‘I
had the privilege of serving as a Jewish soldier, in a Jewish army, defending the Jewish people in a Jewish state. After 2,000 years of dreaming, I had this privilege. Of course I would do it again!’
“You would do this again?” the interviewer asked, “even if you knew you would suffer the same injuries?”
His face took on a surprised look. “I had the privilege of serving as a Jewish soldier, in a Jewish army, defending the Jewish people in a Jewish state,” he said. “After 2,000 years of dreaming, I had this privilege. Of course I would do it again!”
Every year, on Rosh Hashana we read two different stories— of the expulsion of Yishmael, Avraham’s first son with his handmaiden Hagar, and of the binding of Yitzchak. Both are stories of the sons of Abraham, and both involved Avraham’s ability to be willing to sacrifice, or let go of, a son.
In the story of Yishmael, Avraham sends his son away, whereas in the story of Yitzchak, they come together.
From a Jewish perspective, Yishmael seems to be a failure, departing from Jewish tradition and establishing the Arab nation. Yitzchak, on the other hand, is one of our forefathers, the progenitor of the Jewish people. Why do these
It was advertised as a symposium at a major psychology conference, a discussion about memory and forgetfulness, but it turned out to be one of the most intense and instructive days that I ever witnessed.
The first speaker began by insisting that the fact that we remember things is obvious. What requires explanation, he argued, is why we forget.
The second speaker took a diametrically opposite position, stating it is only natural that we forget. It is one of nature’s wonders, he main-
tained, that we remember anything at all.
The third speaker took a middle of the road position. For him, the major challenge to the science of the psychology of memory was not why we remember. Or why we forget. Rather, it was why we remember certain things and forget others. And why we distort even those matters which we do remember, so that our memories are grossly inaccurate and unreliable.
It is the position of this third speaker that has kept my interest over the many years since that conference. And it was just recently, as we commemorated the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, that my interest in this subject was revived.
Many of my acquaintances were on or near the scene of the collapsed World Trade Center towers on that fateful day. To this day, some have clear recollections of every moment of their experiences. Others claim that they
only remember certain vivid episodes, fleeting ones, and can only draw a blank when it comes to the majority of the time they were exposed to the tragic scene.
Some have memories which are as accurate and as clear as the “flashbulb memories” that psychologists have studied as far back as World War II. For others, the memories have been partially, and sometimes substantially, repressed and can no longer be recalled. Their powerful and poignant emotional reactions have wrought havoc with the ability to accurately remember the events of that day.
Remembering and forgetting are major themes in our Jewish religious tradition. We are commanded, for example, to remember the Sabbath, to remember the lessons to be drawn from the life of Miriam, and not to forget the enmity of Amalek. In this week’s parsha, Ha’azinu,
there are at least two verses which relate to these themes. One reads, “Remember the days of yore, understand the years of generation after generation” (Deut. 32:7) and the other states, “You ignored the Rock who gave birth to you, and forgot G-d who brought you forth” (Ibid. 32:18).
Ihave always been intrigued by the notion of forgetting G-d. Earlier in Deuteronomy, we were admonished to be careful, lest “our hearts become haughty, and we forget the L-rd our G-d” (Deut. 8:14). I can understand agnostic disbelief, and I can empathize with those who have lost their faith, but I have always found it puzzling to contemplate forgetting G-d. Either one believes, or one does not believe, but how are we to understand forgetting Him?
Many years ago, I came across the writings of a psychologist named Robert Desoille that
The Torah reading on the first day of Rosh Hashana begins at the point when Sarah is remembered. The Talmud tells us in several places that Sarah and Rachel and Chana were all remembered on Rosh Hashana; in the same breath, the Talmud tells us in Meseches Rosh Hashana that Yitzchak was born at Pesach time. These dates, of course, are 6-1/2 months apart. So, barring any information coming to light that Yitzchak was born 3 months prema-
ture, we have a problem.
It is possible that he was a preemie. It is also possible that Sarah only noticed her pregnancy at the end of the firsts trimester because she hadn’t been menstruating anyway. Perhaps in this light she felt remembered at that specific time (on Rosh Hashana). And six months later, Yitzchak was born.
In Vayikra Rabba 29:12, we are told that on Rosh Hashana everyone is viewed as a new creature, with a new slate and, perhaps, with a new lease on life. The birth of Yitzchak turned Avraham and Sarah into people with a new sense of purpose.
Avraham and Sarah had been “old.” Now they were a young couple with a baby. She becomes like a tiger-mom, demon-
Apassionate British soccer fan was asked whether he considered soccer a matter of “life and death.” He said, “No. It’s much more important than that!”
I’d like to address what I would call some of the “more important” things in life.
Last Shabbat, we read two short but intense Torah portions, Nitzavim and Vayelech (togeth-
er, they comprise only 70 verses, but they are packed with powerful messages for life, particularly as we approach Rosh Hashana).
At the beginning of the first reading, Nitzavim, Moses addresses the nation as he prepares for the end of his life and prepares to pass the baton to Joshua:
You stand firmly today, all of you together, before G-d.
According to commentary, that opening line is a veiled reference to Rosh Hashana, which is always observed in the week following this reading. The Hebrew word hayom (today) is heard many times over Rosh Hashana, the Day of Judgment.
strating that no one will take advantage of her child.
There is one more piece to the puzzle — it’s at the end of Bereshit 21, when Avimelekh appears to make a treaty. He says, “Swear to me here by G-d that you will not deal falsely with me, with my children, or with my grandchildren. Show to me and the land where you were an immigrant the same kindness that I have shown to you.”
Why would he think otherwise? Because his reality has also changed. Until now, Avimelekh assumed that when Avraham died, his belongings would go to society; after all, he had no heir, and you can’t take it with you.
But now that Yitzchak was born and Avraham has an apparent heir, Avimelekh realizes
that a treaty is the only way he can secure the safety of his descendants.
Where does our new reality lead us? Are we adequately prepared for what is coming? Do we have a plan for the best, and for the worst?
In this coming year, many people will turn bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah. Do they understand the commitment and responsibility that accompanies coming of age?
Many people will get engaged and married. Do they know that the life to be lived after the wedding requires much more preparation and planning than does the wedding itself?
Many people will finish school. Do they know what they’re going to do with their de-
How are we to prepare for the Days of Judgment?
Firstly, we are encouraged to focus not only on necessary physical or culinary preparations but, more importantly, to get ourselves into a state of spiritual readiness.
Have you ever had the frightening experience of preparing for the wrong test, spending hours reviewing your history syllabus only to discover, when you arrived at school, that you’re handed the English exam?
What would happen if we arrived at the Heavenly exam and the questions put to us were not at all what we spent our lives preparing for? We’ve focused on our businesses, our health, our sports
and leisure activities — all necessary and natural. But what if we’ve forgotten about the other areas of life that are “more important?”
The Talmud (Shabbat 31a) shares some inside information about the questions we will be asked at the legendary Pearly Gates. Guess what? None of the questions pertain to our wealth, health, occupations, property portfolios, waistlines or athleticism.
We will be asked whether we conducted our business affairs faithfully with honesty and integrity, if we fixed regular times for Torah study, if we did our best to raise a family, and if we looked forward to the Final Redemption.
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An important, extraordinary and shattering film started screening last week.
“Surviving October 7th: We Will Dance Again” is about the massacre at the Supernova music festival during the Oct. 7 pogrom in southern Israel.
A preview was shown at the JW3 Jewish community center in London on Tuesday evening; it was subsequently being screened on BBC television and on Paramount.
Somewhere over 360 of the approximately 3,500 participants and staff at the festival were murdered and about 40 kidnapped into Gaza, where an unknown number are still being held hostage.
The film stuns because it shows us the events of that terrible day as they unfolded through the eyes of the young festival-goers — and of the Hamas terrorists themselves — through footage taken from phones, Go-Pro cameras and studio interviews with survivors.
We see the secular young Israelis dancing during the Friday night before the attack at what they called a “trance party” (with a disconcerting number of them high on drugs).
We watch with them as dawn rises — and in the sky also rise the first rockets from Gaza, which the festival-goers think is just a regular attack that will soon be over. We see their increasing alarm as the rockets keep coming.
We and they hear the shooting start, and they can’t believe what’s happening — disbelief accentuated by the effect of the drugs they’ve taken.
Shockingly, some of what we see unfolding is through the Hamas Go-Pro cameras as the Gaza stormtroopers, deliriously screaming Allahu akhbar, smash through the border fence and ride their motorcycles and vehicles into Israel and the festival. And then we watch as they systematically commit mass slaughter.
We watch the young Israelis being mown down as they run. They film themselves as they confide their terror to their iPhones and desperately chart what’s happening. Through the eyes of Noam, we watch them hide in a garbage-dumpster, which is then raked with bullets, killing her boyfriend David and leaving her wounded among a pile of bodies.
We hear the heartbreaking sound of these secular young Israelis crying out the words of the Shema as they realize they are facing their own death.
We see the astounding courage of Aner Shapira, who tosses out one by one no fewer than seven grenades thrown into the roadside shelter where he and a group, including his best friend, 23-year-old sIsraeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, are trapped, but who is finally killed by the eighth. Another young survivor, Eitan, takes over throwing out the grenades until he passes out after an explosion, only to recover to find himself among a mound of the dead.
Four of these survivors, along with Aner’s father, Moshe, spoke at the London screening. This took great courage because they clearly remain in the deepest possible trauma. But they came to deliver an urgent message:
Tell everyone to see this film, they said. Make people understand what happened that day.
Alas, we know that the people who most need to see it will refuse to do so. These are the people who deny what happened on Oct. 7, who say accounts of these atrocities are just Israeli propaganda, who say if they did happen it was Israel’s fault, and who obscenely support Hamas as a “resistance” movement.
And even if they do watch it, will it make any difference? How on earth can so many deny the obvious truth of what happened?
The reason is that, for many, nothing can be allowed to contradict the narrative that Israel is an illegitimate state that has colonized and oppressed the Palestinian Arabs who are the indigenous people of the land. Although
Progressives believe their support for the Palestinian cause defines them as moral people. Their thought system is entirely sealed against the truth and therefore, the fact that Palestinians committed bestial and sadistic atrocities cannot be believed.
every element of that is untrue, it constitutes the default belief in progressive circles which permit no challenge to it whatever.
That’s because such progressives believe that their support for the Palestinian cause defines them as moral and good people. The fact that the Palestinians have committed bestial and sadistic atrocities upon Israelis therefore cannot be believed — because it would mean the Palestinians are in fact the oppressors and the Israelis their victims. And that would place these liberals on the side of evil.
As a result, they put forward any explanation, however preposterous, to deny what actually happened. They are totally immune to demonstrable evidence, because they fear that accepting it would shatter their entire moral personality. When it comes to Israel and the Palestinian Arabs, their whole thought system is therefore entirely sealed against the truth.
The film was made by the BBC’s Storyville unit. Yet the BBC’s appallingly biased coverage of Israel is the prime reason the vast majority of the British public remain almost wholly unaware that Israel is being subjected to an eight-front Iranian war of extermination, and is why so many have viciously turned against the Jewish state.
So why has the BBC made this film?
Storyville’s commissioning editor, Lucie Kon, is herself a Jew with a courage and determination that are vanishingly rare in the BBC.
Even so, there were reportedly difficult negotiations to get the film on the air. Director Yariv Mozer told the Hollywood Reporter that the BBC forced him to agree not to describe Hamas as a terrorist organization if he wanted the film to be shown.
“It was a price I was willing to pay so that the British public will be able to see these atrocities and decide if this is a terrorist organization or not,” Mozer said.
In fact, the young Israelis in the film refer to terrorists in Hebrew on many occasions. The film itself states that “the IDF says that more than 3,000 terrorists breached the 40 mile-long border in around 30 places.” This apparently met the BBC’s distinction between using the “t-word” itself and reporting others doing so.
The problem with the BBC’s reporting of the Middle East, however, goes far beyond its perverse refusal to use the word terrorist. Day in, day out the British news outlet disseminates the malevolent falsehoods and distortions about Israel produced by Hamas and its fellow travelers in the international “humanitarian” establishment that wickedly portrays the IDF entirely falsely as human rights abusers and war criminals. Not once has the BBC — or any other media outlet —told the public that every correspondent in Gaza is forced to toe the Hamas
Two years have passed since the murder of Jina (“Mahsa”) Amini, a young Kurdish-Iranian woman, at the hands of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s morality police.
Amini was brutalized and killed for allegedly wearing her hijab, or head-covering, improperly — the sort of “crime” that sends a backward theocracy apoplectic with rage. Her death sparked the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement, the latest and perhaps most significant wave of protest among the millions of ordinary Iranians who have been clamoring for regime change for well over a decade, but who have so far been unable to dislodge the ruling mullahs.
Those ruling mullahs duly rolled into New York City last week to attend the UN General Assembly. Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, addressed a gathering largely dominated by Third World kleptocrats, and various Russian and Chinese stooges, on the same day as Turkey, Jordan, South Africa and Qatar did the same — all of whom delivered viciously anti-Israel speeches laced with antisemitic tropes from the General Assembly podium.
Pezeshkian’s remarks stuck rigidly to his regime’s talking points, among them the conspiracy theory that ISIS was created by Israel; that Iran’s proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi rebels in Yemen are “popular liberation movements”; and, most laughably
of all, the contention that Iran only “seeks to safeguard its own security, not to create insecurity for others. We want peace for all and seek no war or quarrel with anyone.”
The fate of Amini and the thousands of protesters who followed in her wake went unmentioned.
Rather inconveniently, around the time that Pezeshkian was extolling Iran’s peaceful nature, Reuters broke the story that the Iranians have been mediating secret talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime and the Houthis with the aim of supplying the latter with Russian-made Yakhont missiles to continue their attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. But this, too, passed unnoticed and unmentioned at the UN circus, where the only “rogue state” judged worthy of that appellation is the State of Israel.
Outside the environs of the General Assembly, the Iranian delegation conducted some public diplomacy, hosting a meeting of religious figures that included a smattering of Jewish attendees.
Contrary to the assessment of the correspondent of Israel’s liberal Haaretz newspaper, this wasn’t remotely “surprising.”
With the predictability of the earth revolving around the sun, at every General Assembly, a delegation of the anti-Zionist Neturei Karta sect dutifully meets with the Iranians at whichever Manhattan hotel they happen to be staying at. Whether we should consider Jews who traffic in Holocaust distortion, and who spend every Jewish Sabbath in the ranks of the Hamas mob that devotes its weekends to demonstrating in favor of Israel’s elimination, to be Jews in the sense that the vast majority of us understand the term is beyond the scope
Ruling mullahs duly rolled into NYC to attend the UN General Assembly, led by Iran’s new ‘moderate’ president, Masoud Pezeshkian.
of this week’s column. What matters for these purposes is that this year was no different from past years.
More noteworthy was the presence of an Israeli — Lior Sternfeld, a professor of history and Jewish studies at Pennsylvania State University — at that “dialogue.”
Sternfeld is hardly the first Israeli to have met with representatives of the Islamic Republic, despite the impression conveyed by the media coverage of this encounter; to cite one example, Moti Maman, a 73-year-old Israeli businessman who went on trial in Israel last week charged with plotting terrorist actions and assassinations on Tehran’s behalf, traveled to Iran on at least two occasions.
I’m not suggesting that Sternfeld was being recruited to carry out similar work, but whether he realizes it or not, he has become a
useful propaganda tool for the Iranians, gushing following his meeting with Pezeshkian, “Are there new faces in Iran? The answer is yes.”
Sternfeld would have us believe, on the basis of a choreographed encounter, that Pezeshkian is a genuine moderate who wants to orchestrate a deal that would secure the release of the 101 Israeli hostages still languishing in Hamas captivity in Gaza. But literally everything that Iran’s current rulers say and do — domestically, regionally and globally — flies in the face of that conclusion.
The overriding point is this: More than anything else, the UN General Assembly projects a worldview in which pretty much every member state is law-abiding, peace-loving and respectful of human rights
See Cohen on page 22
The United Nations was in high dudgeon in the aftermath of the pager and walkietalkie attacks against Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon.
According to the Associated Press, the UN’s human rights chief Volker Türk has said that “weaponizing ordinary communication devices represents a new development in warfare, and targeting thousands of Lebanese people using pagers, two-way radios and electronic equipment without their knowledge is a violation of international human rights law.”
“Those who ordered and carried out these attacks must be held to account,” he said.
Tellingly, the hypocrites at Turtle Bay never asked why one of the victims, Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, was carrying a Hezbollahissued pager.
As Sabbath ended, we got the news that the wicked wizard of the north, Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah, was flattened like a pancake in an IDF attack on his command center in a Beirut neighborhood. Admittedly, I’m still trying to understand how a country, Israel, that cannot reliably deliver mail to its citizens,
is able to develop the intelligence resources which allow it to detonate a bomb in a Tehran hotel room, compromise thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies to explode on command and know in which basement in which building complex where and when Nasrallah would be present.
Jews in Israel and in Jewish communities around the world were not rejoicing in the pager attacks but we did enjoy a sense of satisfaction in the attacks. While they appeared to be without equal in the annals of clandestine warfare, it’s not the first time that justice had been delivered via electronics.
Israel has killed Hamas terrorists in the past using a high level of sophistication. For instance, in 1996 Israel somehow managed to get a booby-trapped cellphone into the hands of Hamas bomb maker Yahya Ayyash, known as “the engineer.” The phone exploded during his weekly phone call to his father in the Palestinian Authority.
The following year, an attack using liquid poison was attempted and failed dramatically.
On Sept. 25, 1997, two months after a Hamas suicide bombing in Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda Market killed 16 people and injured over 160, Israel attempted to assassinate Hamas’ Khaled Mashaal in Jordan.
Mossad agents were to spray the terrorist with a poison in the street, an act that was to be disguised by the opening of a shaken soda
I won’t hold my breath, but might Nasrallah be succeeded by leaders less hell-bent on destroying Israel?
can giving the impression of an innocent accident.
The plan was carried out as Mashaal emerged from his car to enter his office. But the surprise calls of Mashaal’s daughter from the car led him to turn his head just as one agent sprayed him with the poison, while the startled second man did not open the can. The botched attempt led Jordan’s King Hussein to threaten Israel at the time that if Mashaal died, so would the agents who had been arrested. Israeli officials quickly provided the Jordanians with an antidote and medical advice as doctors in Amman fought for Mashaal’s life.
Israel has also used computer technology
to attack Iran’s nuclear program. Although credit was never claimed, it’s widely believed to have been behind the Stuxnet computer virus attack in 2010 which set back Iran’s development of nuclear weapons.
Ihave to admit to being a bit surprised by US comments on Nasrallah’s assassination.
President Biden said, “His death from an Israeli airstrike is a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians.”
Decapitating Hezbollah’s leadership has also sent a message to terror’s puppet masters in Tehran. So much so that news reports indicate that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has been taken to a secure location. (Wasn’t that hotel operated by Iran’s military where Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated a “secure location?”)
So, besides erasing an arch terrorist from the scene, what positive outcomes can arise from Nasrallah’s death?
Nasrallah was a key figure in Hezbollah’s military and political strategies including interventions in Syria and Iraq. His absence might create an opportunity for de-escalation and more diplomatic engagements.
Long considered a kingmaker in Lebanese politics, there might be a shift in Lebanon’s internal politics including reforms and a stronger push towards addressing the country’s economic and social issues.
Without Nasrallah at the wheel, Hezbollah’s operations will face disruptions, potentially reducing militant activities in the region. And while I won’t hold my breath waiting for it to happen, it could give rise to a new leadership that is not hell-bent on destroying Israel.
Are you stressed out? Feeling traumatized? Anxious? Depressed? Are friends, family and colleagues giving you a hard time about your support for Zionism and Israel? Maybe you need a therapist.
If so, there could be a problem with that.
As Sally Satel, a psychiatrist and fellow at the American Enterprise Institute noted: “More and more clinicians insist that psychotherapy is, foremost, a political rather than a clinical enterprise.”
Calling this approach “critical social-justice therapy,” she says, “Under a social-justice regime, therapists who have the ‘wrong’ politics — they might, for example, believe that Israel has a right to exist and to defend itself — must be kept away from vulnerable patients.
If, conversely, it is the patient whose politics are perceived to be misbegotten, revising their viewpoint must become the focus of the treatment.
“Currently, Jewish patients (deemed to be members of a privileged group) are finding themselves subject to attempts by activisttherapists to morally reeducate them; no support of Israel can be condoned as it is declared a ‘settler colonial’ state.”
Social-justice therapy is not a fringe phenomenon. In fact, the American Psychological Association (APA) has endorsed it. In a 2023 column titled “Psychologists must embrace decolonial psychology,” the group’s thenpresident, Thema Bryant, said that “highlighting decolonial psychology is one of my presidential initiatives.”
Psychologists, she said, “must choose to advocate for change.”
“This commitment,” according to Bryant, “includes a dedication to both dismantling systems of oppression and promoting liberation individually and collectively.”
Bryant didn’t mention Israel by name.
But as she certainly knows, and conveniently fails to acknowledge, Israel is the major focus of decolonial ideology.
The Jewish state is the only “colonial system of oppression” that could conceivably be “dismantled.” (The three big so-called colonial countries — the United States, Canada and Australia — aren’t going anywhere.) So when people like Bryant talk about decolonization, they’re talking about Israel.
Other professional groups, such as the National Association of Social Workers and the American Counseling Association, have also adopted the social-justice approach to psychotherapy.
In response to all of this, you might say, “No problem, I’ll get a Zionist therapist.” But good luck finding one. Zionist therapists are literally being blacklisted by their peers and cut off from sources of referrals.
For example, as Gabby Deutch has report-
ed in Jewish Insider, “When someone posted in a private Facebook group for Chicago therapists in March [2024], asking whether anyone would be willing to work with a Zionist client, several Jewish therapists quickly responded, saying they would be happy to be connected to this person.” (Therapists commonly rely on listservs and other online groups for referrals.)
“Those who replied, offering their services
to this unnamed client soon found themselves added to a list of supposedly Zionist therapists that was shared in a group called ‘Chicago Anti-Racist Therapists’,” Deutch said, adding that the purpose of the list, according to its author, Heba Ibrahim Joudeh, was to prevent referrals to therapists with “Zionist affiliations.”
According to Deutch, the administrator of
See Schneider on page 22
Continued from page 17 two vastly disparate stories comprise the Torah readings in our Rosh Hashana service, and what common theme is the message of their connection?
Abraham, against his natural instincts of loving-kindness, is forced by G-d to listen to his wife Sarah and send Yishmael and his mother Hagar away. The Torah tells us that this is because Yishmael is me’tzachek (literally, laughing at — or with — Yitzchak). And while the midrashim and commentators differ as to the exact meaning of this phrase, varying from lewd behavior to taunting, one thing is clear: Yitzchak, which literally means “he will laugh,” is juxtaposed with Yishmael, the me’tzachek, or one who laughs now.
Yitzchak’s life is about the future, while Yishmael is all about the here and now.
When Yishmael is cast beneath the bushes dying of thirst and calling out for water, G-d hears him, ba’asher hu’ sham, where he is.
The midrash, noting this unique phrase, has the angels in an uproar over G-d’s decision to save Yishmael. After all, they say, the descendants of this lad will one day slaughter G-d’s (Jewish) children, so how can G-d spare him now?
G-d’s response? I hear his honest remorse and pain now, and if now he is repentant then he should be saved, whatever might come later on.
The story of Yishmael, then, is all about the here and now. And the message is that whatever mistakes we may have made in the past, this moment is the beginning of the rest of our lives, and changing the now changes everything (a fitting message for Rosh Hashana).
Yitzchak, on the other hand, is about the future. The Torah tells us: “And it was after these things that G-d tested Avraham. And he said to him ‘Avraham,’ and Avraham said ‘hineni (here I am)’.” (Bereishit 22)
The word hineni means a lot more than a response to “knock knock.” This same word, used sparingly, is Moshe’s response to G-d’s calling at the Burning Bush, as well as Yaakov’s response to Yitzchak’s calling for a blessing.
Whenever this word is used in the Torah, it is indicative of an individual responding to a calling. Hineni means I am here, ready to serve; it is a moment of pure potential.
And it is in this moment of hineni that Avraham says to G-d: I exist because You created me, because You love me, whatever You ask of me, I live to do.
When Israeli reserve soldiers stop what they are doing and answer a call to battle, however painful and challenging that may be, they are essentially saying “here I am.” When we stop what we are doing when we encounter an opportunity for a mitzvah, we are essentially saying hineni. Avraham is responding to G-d before G-d has even told him what he wants. It is enough for Avraham to know he is called, for him to immediately respond “hineni.” This hineni is all about the future — whatever you ask of me, whatever today and tomorrow bring, hineni
And this, incidentally, sets the theme of the story of the binding of Isaac. Where the story of Yishamael was all about the here and now, the story of Yitzchak is all about what lies ahead. Indeed, where Yishmael is the metzachek, the one who laughs now, Yitzchak literally means “he will laugh” in the future. Yishamel is about being in the given moment; Yitzchak is about the moment that is yet to come.
Being in the moment of Yishmael and the readiness to serve in the future of Yitzchak are what Rosh Hashana is all about.
We have the chance to start over and learn to balance our ability to live in the present and be in the moment, while at the same time being open to whatever life’s next moment has to bring.
As we begin the New Year, may we all be blessed to appreciate the beauty inherent in every moment, alongside the challenges, and may we be blessed as well with the strength to change the future, so that the world as it is becomes the world as it could be. Previously published.
Continued from page 17
helped me come to grips with the notion of forgetting G-d.
Desoille coined the phrase “the repression of the sublime.” He argued that we have long been familiar with the idea that we repress urges and memories that are uncomfortable or unpleasant — memories of tragedy and impulses which are shameful or forbidden.
It was Desoille’s insight that just as we repress negative memories, we also repress positive aspirations. We are afraid to excel. There is a pernicious aspect to us that fears superiority and avoids the full expression of our potential. This is especially true in the area of religion and spirituality, where we dare not express the full force of our faith and, in the process, limit our altruistic tendencies. Perhaps it is a dread of coming too close to the divine or a false humility that prevents us from asserting our inner spirit. Or perhaps we simply we do not wish to appear “holier than thou” to our fellows.
However one understands the reasons for this phenomenon, for me, the concept of “repression of the sublime” explains the notion of forgetting G-d. It is as if we have faith in Him, but do not have faith in ourselves to express our faith in him in our relationships and life circumstances. We repress our sublime potential.
There are many impediments to thorough personal change and self-improvement. Desoille demands that we consider an impediment that never before occurred to us: We are afraid to actualize the inner spiritual potential that we all possess. We are naturally complacent, satisfied with a limited expression of our religious urges. We repress the sublime within us.
As we now have concluded the High Holidays and their truly sublime liturgy, we have allowed our spiritual emotions full range. We have dared to express the religious feelings that welled up within us during the moments of inspiration that we all have surely experienced during this sacred season.
Now is the season during which our faith demands that we loosen the bonds of the repression which limits us, take the risks of more fully expressing our religious convictions, and thereby no longer be guilty of “forgetting the G-d who brought us forth.”
May we be successful in our efforts to free the sublime within us, to act courageously upon our religious convictions, and thereby merit the blessings of the Almighty for a happy and sweet new year.
Continued from page 18
line under threat of death or expulsion, and so every piece of information from there has to be treated as unreliable or worse.
Its chief content officer, Charlotte Moore, attended the London screening. She introduced the film by referring to the “incredibly difficult year” for so many in the room and said: “I hope this film is a demonstration of the BBC commitment to telling stories fearlessly and fairly in pursuit of the truth.”
Well, no it isn’t.
The BBC has contemptuously dismissed all complaints about the shocking malevolence of its coverage as being without foundation. It is nevertheless deeply discomfited by the charge against it of systematic bias and antisemitism.
So while the commitment of Lucie Kon to the truth is not in doubt, it’s hard not to conclude that the BBC’s top brass are using this film to sanitize their coverage — a prime source of incitement to hatred of Israel and the Jews — by giving the impression that it is instead fair-minded.
The deeply perverse response to Oct. 7 goes far beyond one news organization. Mozer says he offered the documentary to multiple streaming platforms in America, but they were unwilling to pick it up due to “concerns about the political situation.”
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grees? How they’ll earn a living? Do they know that it is OK to pursue a trade (plumber, electrician) — as long as they’re doing something to earn a living?
Some people will get divorced. Is there a plan for how to make such a very difficult decision least difficult for everyone involved? If there are children, is there a plan for them? Has a pre-nup or post-nup agreement been signed, to assure the timely deliverance of a “get”?
Some people will die this year. Are burial plots already purchased? Have pre-need funeral arrangements been made? Does each spouse have the tools and abilities to function alone, or will the death of one inevitably lead to the death of the other (in one form or another)?
Some people will suffer injuries, car accidents, etc. Are there plans in place — health insurance, disability insurance, life insurance?
We never want to think things are out of our control, and hopefully the life changes that come our way will be on the positive side of the equation. But we learn from Sarah and Avraham — remembered on Rosh Hashana — that all kinds of changes can happen. How we choose to operate when those changes come will make all the difference in how our lives will turn out in the coming year.
Israel is battling not just against genocidal enemies but also against a tidal wave of lies in an epidemic of insanity which has consumed the West. This film is vital because, like Israel itself, it stands for truth and justice against a West that has simply lost its mind.
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— with the exception of Israel.
So it’s not exactly shocking that Iran slides with ease into those parameters, as do other states like Turkey, which over the last century has conducted genocides against Armenians and Kurds, and Qatar, where just 10% of the population are fully-fledged citizens, and the remainder are disenfranchised slaves and domestic servants imported from developing countries.
If some on the Jewish left aspire to be accepted in these circles, then that, frankly, is their funeral. Let them conduct their “dialogue.” Doing so won’t liberate a single hostage nor persuade Israelis that they are the wronging party and not the wronged.
After all, the vast majority of Jews who identify as Zionists and pray fervently for an Israeli victory in the present multi-front war also have partners and sympathizers:
•The Iranian people, who risk the death penalty every time they defy their regime by chanting that the cause of Gaza is not their cause.
•The Kurds, who know better than anyone the brutality of Arab domination and Arab colonization of their homeland.
•The other religious minorities of the Middle East — from the Yazidis of Iraq to the Christians of Lebanon and Egypt, who reject the misery of life in a state ruled by Islamic Shari’a law.
They are our partners in conversation and in the broader project of reconstructing the Middle East as an open society.
We don’t need to engage with Pezeshkian and his cohorts, nor do we seek their approval. What we seek is their overthrow. And I’m willing to bet, as we approach a New Year that will hopefully be kinder and gentler than the previous year, that a decade from now, Israel will still be thriving, and that it is the mullahs who are far more likely to have been consigned to the past.
With that in mind, as we gear up for the struggles and battles of the coming months, allow me to sign off with a heartfelt Shanah Tovah.
he eternal questions deal with the truly important things in life. Were you a worthy human being? Were you honest and upright? Did you dedicate yourself to studying Gd’s wisdom? Are you leaving a legacy of children and grandchildren who will learn from your fine example? Did you aspire higher and were hopeful of a better world for all?
Of course, health is important. Ask anyone who is suffering from illness. Wealth is a big one, too. We all want to live comfortably and be able to give generously. And to have a break from work and engage in sports, whether as a participant or spectator, has its merits, too.
But these are all means to a higher end. When the game of life is over, the truly important things, our value system and the legacy we leave top all other considerations.
A healthy and wealthy life is not as important as a worthy life.
At we enter Rosh Hashana, let’s be sure we’ve prepared for the right exam; let’s focus our on higher values and recalibrate our priorities in preparation for the new year. If we do this we be able to answer the questions more confidently. May we be prepared and be blessed.
I wish you all Shanah Tovah. May our prayers for our unfortunate hostages and our valiant defenders be answered positively.
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the Facebook group, the list was a good way “to be transparent about clinicians who promote and facilitate white supremacy via Zionism.”
“The only trait shared by the 26 therapists on the list,” said Deutch, “is that they are Jewish.”
Zionist therapists also face exclusion from professional groups that provide referrals. Deutch reports, for example, that anti-Zionism is now the price of admission to the private Facebook group, Therapists in Private Practice (TIPP). Since Oct. 7, prospective members have been required to respond to the following: “We examine privilege and engage in discourse related to dismantling oppressive systems in the field. We support BLM and are pro-Palestine. Are you open and willing to support this direction?”
TIPP moderator Nam Rindani has even removed a number of members who voiced support for Israel, stating in an online comment, “We as Admin call this is a Genocide.”
Then there’s the organization, Inclusive Therapists, which says, “Palestine is a moral litmus test for the world” and advocates ending the “mental-health field’s complicity to genocide.”
The group demands “accountability, immediate response and reparative actions for the perpetuation of accumulated trauma” suffered by Palestinians. Of course, there’s no mention of the trauma suffered by Israelis as a result of Hamas attacks and atrocities on Oct. 7. According to Inclusive Therapists, the expression of empathy for Israelis who have lost loved ones amounts to “framing the Palestinian people” as terrorists, thereby “reinforcing white-supremacist propaganda.”
Fortunately, therapists like Satel are calling out this bigoted nonsense.
“These prescriptions,” she writes, “are antithetical to the therapeutic project. According to the principles of responsible psychotherapy, a Zionist therapist should be able to treat a supporter of Palestine and vice versa, ever aware that failing to maintain a clear partition between one’s personal ideological commitments and one’s clinical work will inevitably distort the therapy and fail the patients they serve.”
She emphasizes that therapists should concentrate on “putting patients’ needs, not dogma and grievance, at the center of their practice.”
Let’s hope that view prevails.
