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| Thursday, Sep 3 '09, Elul 14, 5769 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
1. ‘Obama to Netanyahu: 'Freeze Building and I Will Be Your Friend’ by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu  U.S. President Barack Obama has offered Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to be his friend in return for a freeze on building for Jews in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem, according to Politco.com editor Ben Smith. The website is a multi-million dollar Washington-based operation that focuses on the White House and Congress. The relationship between the two leaders has been termed as chilly even before they met in Washington earlier this year. "Netanyahu’s at a pivotal moment,” a senior U.S. official told Smith. “Depending on what he decides, he could wind up with a very strong relationship with President Obama and potentially become a historic figure in Israel." Ron Dermer, spokesman for the Prime Minister, declined to comment on the report. President Obama and Israel have sharply differed over whether the issue of building for Jews is a significant issue for an agreement between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. However, the Obama’s administration’s insistence on backing the PA demand for a building freeze has made it a de facto condition for the resumption of talks, which the U.S. has been trying to engineer. Suffering a severe drop in support on his health reform plan, the war in Afghanistan and the issue of torture of prisoners, President Obama is anxious for a breakthrough in the stalled Middle East peace process. Although there apparently will not be any formal invitation, a trilateral meeting is being arranged between President Obama, Prime Minister Netanyahu and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas when they attend the opening of the United Nations General Assembly later this month. "President Obama will chair it, and I think that at least there is a chance that they will decide they are going to reopen negotiations,” President Shimon Peres told Fox News Monday. Smith wrote that the U.S. may agree to allow Israel to complete construction that already is underway but will refuse to agree to a thaw in the building freeze if negotiations sputter. President Obama also is demanding that Prime Minister Netanyahu agree to end demolitions of illegally-built houses in eastern Jerusalem, Smith said. “The Israelis have asked for us to let them finish existing construction,” a U.S. official told Smith. “We’ve made clear that we need some commitments on evictions and demolitions in Jerusalem.” Even if talks resume, they only will be the resumption of a long and drawn-out process, said Aaron David Miller, a former American peace negotiator and a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars. “This is going to be like a thousand days of root canals, every day, because it’s going to be excruciatingly painful to move this forward,” he stated. Comment on this story 2. PA Anti-Israel Incitement Ignores American Demands by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu  The Palestinian Authority continues to ignore American demands that it halt anti-Israel propaganda and incitement, and instead it continues to teach children that all of Israel belongs to Arabs. Palestinian Media Watch translated a PA television children’s program aired this past Saturday and Sunday, in which children “passed quizzes by answering questions, such as "what is the PA’s largest port?" [weJe The Obama administration has repeatedly stated that the PA must halt incitement against Israel as it seeks to create a new Arab state in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, including eastern Jerusalem. The U.S.,as well as the European Union stresses the principle of "two states for two peoples," but the PA educational system teaches a new generation of Arabs that all of Israel belongs to the PA. In the latest of dozens of documented violations of the American and Israeli demands, which are part of the U.S. Roadmap plan for a PA state, the television host asked the children, "Where is Palestine's most important port, in Haifa, Jaffa or Acre?" The child answers "Jaffa" and receives a round of applause for the “correct” answer. In another quiz, the host asks, “There's a Palestinian city whose walls are very high and strong, where Napoleon, whom we all know, stopped his battle, because he was unable [to breac the solid walls. “Which city is it, Jaffa, Acre [Ak or Tiberias?" More applause breaks out when the child answers "Acre.” In the PA school system, textbooks still teach that "Palestine has a long coast facing the Mediterranean Sea and a short coast on the Gulf of Aqaba. The Tiberias Lake [Sea of Galilee i in Palestine." Previously reported children’s television program included quizzes for children who answered that Tiberias is the "Palestinian city” named after the Roman ruler and that Nazareth is the “Palestinian city [tha is called the flower of the Galilee.” Dozens of U.S. Congressmen learned about the incitement, which has been documented for years, during a visit to Israel last month, and said they would press the Obama administration to insist that the PA stops the practice. Comment on this story  3. 'New Math' Based on 2,000-Year-Old Talmudic Methods by Hillel Fendel  Teachers at Orot College in Elkanah wish to alleviate Israel’s math problems by imparting algorithms and pedagogical techniques developed by Jewish Sages over the generations. The reason for the new course is to help improve Israeli students’ dwindling math achievements and motivate new Torah-oriented math teachers. Dr. David Zeitun, head of Orot’s Mathematics Department, says that Israel’s low math scores in international terms stem from the use of faulty teaching methods, which are suited neither to Israel’s population nor to the knowledge being transmitted. In addition, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports that Israel faces a growing shortage of trained math and science teachers. The lack is expected to reach into the hundreds in the coming years, and the Education Ministry says it is having trouble finding math teachers even now. Dr. Zeitun, who made Aliyah from France, told Israel National News of the three topics he plans to feature in the new course: “Traditional Jewish teaching methods, various scholarly books written by Jewish Sages on math calculations and the like, and many Talmudic passages having to do with math.” He said he “cannot understand why the Education Ministry is bringing in new methods of teaching math from Singapore, when many of the elements therein have been the bread-and-butter of rabbis and Jewish teachers for generations.” These include repetition of verses and Mishnayot (which can be applied to multiplication tables), the extraction of the ‘bottom line’ law from amidst complex argumentation (and avoiding the long and confusing explanations that are often found in new math books), the use of stories, and more. The Orot College is “dedicated to education and representing academia in the spirit of Torah,” its website says, and wishes to train new math teachers among the religious public. “We would like the young religious public to view teaching math - and not just Bible and Talmud – as an important mission,” Dr. Zeitun says. Dr. Zeitun noted that many Jewish scholars, such as Maimonides (Rambam), Gersonides (Ralbag), the Maharal, and others, wrote scholarly treatises on math topics, and these should be recognized today. In addition, the Talmud is replete with math calculations such as figuring out the area of a round Sukkah, the circumference of Jerusalem, astronomical calculations that predict with pinpoint accuracy when the new moon will appear hundreds of years in advance, and more (including on today’s daily page, Bava Batra 13). It was noted that the great German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss has been credited with discovering, when he was a boy over 200 years ago, a quick way of summing up numbers in an arithmetic series - which has become the accepted method for doing so. In fact, however, the method appeared hundreds of years earlier in a popular Talmudic commentary by the Tosafists in Tractate Sukkah. Dr. Zeitun noted that the famous French number theorist Fermat studied under Gersonides. Having recently merged with Moreshet Yaakov College, Orot is now the largest and most diversified of all religious academic teaching colleges in Israel. A total of some 1,500 students are registered this year for full-time undergraduate studies, with another 150 M.A. students. Comment on this story 4. Hareidi Leader Calls for Halt to Violence at Protests by David Lev   During the protests we are conducting for the honor of heaven against those who attempt to breach the wall of religion, we must act properly and according to the rule of Torah. We must not undertake any violence.  After weeks of unrest, the leader of Jerusalem's Eidah HaHareidit, Rabbi Yitzchak Tuvia Weiss, has called for an end to violence.Disturbances erupted this week during demonstrations against the opening of the Karta parking facilty on the Sabbath and by hareidi religious activists in the Geulah neighborhood of Jerusalem who tried to prevent police from carrying out an autopsy on a stabbing victim. In a letter that has appeared on posters distributed throughout hareidi religious neighborhoods in Jerusalem, Rabbi Weiss calls for caution during protests, with demonstrators ensuring that neither persons nor property be damaged. The letter, titled "A Message and a Warning," says that "during the protests we are conducting for the honor of heaven against those who attempt to breach the wall of religion, we must act properly and according to the rule of Torah. We must not undertake any violence, such as throwing rocks, setting fire to trash bins, spitting at officials, and damaging property." This is the first letter against violence that the Haredi leadership has issued since the beginning of the latest round of mass demonstrations by the community several months ago. According to sources in the hareidi community, what prompted Rabbi Weiss to publicize the letter was the Tuesday night "lynch" attack by several hareidi youth on an Arab taxi driver in Geulah. Approximately 20 youth surrounded and attacked the taxi that had just dropped off a passenger, and they used an axe, smashing its windows and dragging the driver out of the vehicle and beating him. The driver was treated in a local hospital for head injuries, and the vehicle was badly damaged. According to witnesses, the youths had drifted from a protest in Kikar Shabbat, Meah Shearim's large public square, after the conclusion of a protest against the attempted autopsy of the stabbing victim, who was killed by an Arab worker of the rooming house he was living in on Sunday night. As the level of violence at protests has increased in recent weeks, more hareidi religious leaders have been speaking out against the damage resulting from the rioting in their own neighborhoods. On one call-in radio program geared to the hareidi community this week, for example, a large number of callers decried the rioting and the "lynch" incident, blaming the trouble on "wayward youth," who neither learn in Yeshiva nor work. Former MK Yisrael Eichler, a prominent hareidi religious radio host and community activist, blamed the violence on police incitement of naïve youths, who were being manipulated by political and media forces for their own interests. He condemned the violence, calling on parents to ensure that their children do not participate in the violence. However, he said, the protests were necessary, because as hareidi Jews, the community had an obligation to stand up for Torah principles that were being "trampled upon" by the secular powers that be. Speaking to Ha'aretz, one hareidi community leader said that the youths were "street thugs, not 'our people.' It's up to the police to deal with them, we have problems with them throughout the year. They cause much damage to our neighborhoods and attack Arabs in our neighborhoods at every opportunity," he said. Comment on this story  5. Israeli Initiative: UNRWA Has Never Helped, and Never Will by Maayana Miskin  More than 1,500 Arab refugees from Iraq, descendants of Arabs who fled pre-state Israel in the 1940s, have recently been welcomed into the United States and Chile. According to the English-language Arab news site Khaleej Times, refugees who relocated to Chile have settled in to their new home, and have received a warm welcome from Chile's leaders. According to supporters of the Israeli Initiative, an organization promoting an alternative track to Israel-Arab peace, the U.S. and Chile's successful absorption of thousands of “Palestinian refugees” from Iraq proves that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency impedes Arab refugees from building a better future. Refugees living in Iraq have succeeded due to the fact that UNRWA is not currently working in their country, explained Gidon Yisrael. "Recently we've seen refugees from Iraq successfully integrate in Iceland, Slovakia, Norway, and the United States,” he said. “None of them are among those under UNRWA's care. UNRWA does nothing to rehabilitate the refugees, and the millions of Palestinians under its care are doomed to remain refugees forever – that is, as long as the State of Israel survives.” UNRWA is the UN agency tasked with assisting Arabs who fled Israel during the War of Independence and their descendants. The agency defines any descendant of an Arab who considered his or her primary place of residence to be pre-state Israel during the 23 months before the 1948 war as a “refugee.” It runs programs throughout the Middle East to provide refugees with housing, food and education; in Gaza, UNRWA gives aid to approximately 80 percent of the population. The Israeli Initiative has accused UNRWA of encouraging a rapidly growing number of Arabs to define themselves as “refugees,” and of preventing their successful repatriation, thus “introducing fresh generations into the circle of poverty, despair and hate.” UNRWA “is an agency that has yet to rehabilitate a single refugee, and will never do so,” says Israeli Initiative's head, former minister Benny Elon. “UNRWA was not created to serve the Palestinian population, but rather, to serve the Palestinian national narrative. As such, it perpetuates the conflict and offers the refugees conflict and blood instead of wellbeing and life.” Plenty of Countries Waiting with Open Arms There are many countries that would be eager to absorb refugees if UNRWA would allow such a solution to the “Palestinian problem,” Yisrael says. “In contrast to the myth that says nobody wants to take in the refugees, there are many countries eager for immigrants because their own population is aging, or because they need workers in certain professions, or for other economic reasons.” There are several countries currently absorbing refugees from around the world in coordination with UNHCR, the U.N. agency that deals with all refugees worldwide who do not trace their roots back to pre-state Israel, Yisrael said – proving that if the U.N. were to desire to successfully repatriate Arab refugees, it is capable of doing so. Studies show that the overwhelming majority of refugees under UNRWA's care would willingly repatriate if given the option of doing so, he said. “In the camps, they will never be able to create a new life for themselves,” he concluded. Comment on this story 6. Show: Why is it So Hard to Convert to Judaism? by IsraelNationalTV Staff  Broadcasting live overlooking the Temple Mount, Rabbi Tovia Singer & Jeremy Gimpel answer your questions on Israel and Judaism. Today's question: Why is it so hard to convert to Judaism? [weJe Email readers, click here to view the show! iTunes users, click here to catch the Singer & Gimpel podcast! The Singer & Gimpel Show is broadcast live Thursday 11PM Israel 4PM EST on www.IsraelNationalRadio.com. Call in with your questions at 1-800-270-4288. More from Singer & Gimpel What Does "The King is in the Field" Mean? Reacting to an enemy's downfall Where is America in the Bible? Why can't we give the Land back to G-d? How to relate to enemies in the Psalms? What is Israel's Future? What Exactly is the Day of Judgement? Is USA the Promised Land? Why does G-d punish us? Will there be war before redemption? Is Obama Destroying America? Should We Embrace Christian Zionists? Must Gentiles Keep the Sabbath? Judaism & Spirituality Does Hell Exist? Life After the Destruction of the Holy Temple Torah & Sacrifices Who is the Jewish Messiah - Part 2 Who is the Jewish Messiah - Part 1 Do we pay for the sins of our fathers? Bible - Can we rely on the translated version? Why don't Jews proselytize Comment on this story 7. Mainstream Media Mum after Druze Burn Down Police Station by Gil Ronen  MK Dr. Aryeh Eldad (National Union) attacked the Israeli media Wednesday for downplaying a violent attack Tuesday by Druze hooligans against the police station in Usfiyeh, on Mount Carmel. “Yesterday, fire bombs were thrown at the police station in Usfiyeh and the station was closed down for renovation,” he said. “The background is that arrest warrants were issued to two residents of [the Druze town o Beit Jan who carried out construction within the boundaries of the nature reserve. Imagine that settlers or hareidis would burn down a police station. What would happen in the media? “I looked for the item about the burning of the police station in Usfiyeh in the morning newspapers, and I found it on page 10 in Haaretz. It's on page 18 in Maariv, and in Yediot [Acharono – there was not even one line in the entire newspaper about this matter,” he complained. "What huge headlines of incitement and spilling of blood would have appeared if, G-d forbid, settlers would have burned down a police station at Ariel?” he asked. “Whoever thought that he could find objective reporting in the Israeli media should think again.” Comment on this story | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Everyday of Freedom is an Act of Faith for my writings ============> http://robertoscaruffi.blogspot.com for something on religions ===> http://scaruffi1.blogspot.com
Thursday, 3 September 2009
http://www.web-view.net/Show/0XFA093E69AFC5FDE6F667255883410172001E04F11E9434438186735DBD637488.htm
