| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wednesday, Nov 4 '09, Cheshvan 17, 5770 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
1. Navy Intercepts Weapons-Smuggling Ship Off Coast by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu  The Israeli Navy intercepted a ship Tuesday night carrying camouflaged weapons apparently sent by Iran for Hizbullah terrorists. A special forces unit met no resistance and arrested those on board, approximately 100 miles off the Mediterranean Coast. It is not known if the crewmen on board knew that they were carrying weapons. The vessel was flying the flag of Antigua, an island in the West Indies, and the weapons were hidden in a civilian shipment located in the belly of the cargo ship. The Navy escorted the boat to the port of Ashdod. The weapons are suspected of having been sent from Iran and destined for Hizbullah terrorists in Lebanon. The interception of the ship followed what apparently was detailed intelligence information. Military spokesmen said the special forces and intelligence personnel worked together in the operation. Comment on this story 2. Knesset Law Keeps Consumer Purchases 'Kosher' by David Lev  A new Knesset law dealing with the consumer's right to cancel transactions concluded over the landphone, Internet or cellphone, is now "kosher," thanks to the intervention of MK Eliezer Moses (UTJ). He convinced members of the Knesset Economics Committee that the prohibition against accepting or charging interest was applicable to all Jews, not just religious Jews. The new law, which the committee prepared for its second and third reading, will allow customers who purchase services over the phone or Internet to cancel their order within 14 days from the time of the beginning of the service. The reasoning behind the bill is to ensure that consumers are satisfied with the service, which they may not have been familiar with before ordering, but the new change gives consumers only a partial refund so they will not be guilty of accepting what amounts to interest. The original draft of the bill provided for a full refund to consumers if they cancelled during the first two weeks of service. However, earlier this week the Jerusalem Badatz (High Religious Court) Committee on the Supervision of Finance and Investments issued a statement claiming that the change in the law would place Jews who cancel services in this manner in the position of accepting interest. Jewish law is very strict about the prohibition of giving or accepting interest, and in this case, the use of services by customers during the two-week period would constitute interest, if a full refund were made at the end of the period, the group's Rabbinical authorities ruled. The temporary holding of the money by the company would in essence be a loan on the part of the consumer, and the use of the service would be considered interest under Jewish law, the rabbis ruled. One way financial institutions, such as banks, are able to avoid the problem of interest, is by writing a special contract that reclassifies the interest payments as a partnership profit or loss, called a "heter iska." According to the rabbinical group, Jews who wanted to avoid interest issues under the new law would have to write such a contract with each company they did business with over the phone – an impractical, if not impossible solution. Instead, Moses lobbied for a change that would allow companies to charge a pro-rated fee for the period the service was used, that would be deducted from the refund amount. Thus consumers would pay for the time they used the service, turning the arrangement into a regular financial transaction. Moses explained to members of the committee that "Judaism belongs to the entire Jewish people, not just the religious, and the prohibition on taking or paying interest is incumbent on all Jews." The Committee accepted Moses' changes, and the new version of the bill will ensure that any such deals are "kosher." Comment on this story  3. Missionary Event for Teenagers in Ashdod by Hillel Fendel  A missionary seminar was held for teenagers in Ashdod ten days ago, teaching them how to “witness” to their friends – in violation of Israeli law. “If you want to change the world for Jesus, this meeting is for you,” states the invitation to the seminar, which reached the Yad L’Achim missionary organization. At the seminar itself, close to 200 teenagers received instruction on how to approach and persuade youngsters their age to believe in Jesus as the Messiah. The event was held on Thursday, Oct. 22, and included various musical performances. It was organized by the local Beth Hillel congregation; Yad L'Achim said it is not known if this Beth Hillel is affiliated with other Messianic congregations of the same name around the world. “Thanks to public apathy,” says Yad L’Achim Chairman Rabbi Shalom Dov Lifshitz, “the missionaries continue to act as they please, including breaking the law with abandon.” Israeli law forbids missionary activity amidst minors. It also forbids offering money or other benefits as an enticement to change one’s religion, but permits all other missionary activity. The invitation further states, “There will be study sessions in which you will be able to discover how to ‘witness’ in a creative manner to those of your own age in school.” Complaint Filed With Police Yad L’Achim says it has filed police complaints against the organizers for violating the law against missionary activity with minors. “Not all of those who participated in the seminar are already Jesus-believers,” a Yad L’Achim staffer told Israel National News, “and attempting to convince them is certainly illegal. In addition, having youths ‘witness’ to other youths in this manner is also illegal.” “The missionaries continue to do whatever they can to reach their destructive objective of converting as many Jews as possible,” Rabbi Lifshitz said, “even if it involves breaking the law that forbids just such activities.” Comment on this story 4. Three Jewish Neighborhoods Destroyed by Hillel Fendel  Large police, Border Guard and special unit forces destroyed buildings, tents and a synagogue in three Jewish start-up neighborhoods in Judea and Samaria on Wednesday. The forces first arrived in Maoz Esther, outside Kokhav HaShachar, on the western edge of the Jordan Valley. Dozens of local residents arrived at the scene in a failed attempt to thwart the demolition and eviction. The large demolition force arrived with two tractors and dozens of police vehicles, and succeeded – for the fifth time in recent months – to destroy four buildings, including a synagogue. The structures were built by the residents with their own money and effort. Maoz Esther is located not far from a large illegal Palestinian Arab neighborhood that continues to stand. “Apparently, the IDF is afraid to deal with the Arabs,” MK Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) has said. “It’s much easier to go into Eli or other Jewish sites and destroy some structures.” A Border Guard force also arrived at Shvut Ami, near the veteran Shomron town of Kedumim, and destroyed the structures there as well. The Land of Israel Faithful movement, which is responsible for building many new outpost neighborhoods in Judea and Samaria, stated, “We will continue to build Shvut Ami, despite the repeated demolitions and evictions there.” Next on the list was Ramat Migron, outside the larger community of Migron, just north of Jerusalem and overlooking the Jerusalem-Samaria highway. Some six youths have lived in Ramat Migron in recent months, in tents and shacks, which the Border Guard forces destroyed. “The arm of destruction waved against the settlers of the Land of Israel will never succeed,” the Land of Israel Faithful stated. “We will continue to build everywhere and all the time in the Land of Israel.” Comment on this story  5. US Generals Flood Israel for Exercise against ‘Specific Threats' by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu  An unprecedented number of American generals, along with 1,400 U.S. army soldiers, are participating with top IDF brass in the high-level Juniper Cobra military exercise that one U.S. Navy commander said is aimed at “specific threats.” Public affairs officials interrupted the naval commander in order to divert the conversation from the scenario of Israel attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities and defending itself from a counter-attack. [weJe One senior IDF source told BBC magazine, “I've never seen so many American generals.” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, along with the commander of the U.S. force in Europe and U.S. ambassador to Israel James Cunningham attended the three-week exercise on Tuesday. It is one of the largest-ever joint training drills and is fueling speculation that the United States is preparing for the worst while hoping for the best concerning Iran’s nuclear program. Former IDF General Yitzchak Ben-Israel told BBC, “[O one thing we are serious: We will not let Iran have a nuclear bomb." He said that the joint drill, which is held annually, "is not a bluff’ but is aimed at pressuring Iran to back down from its refusal to cooperate with international authorities on its program to enrich uranium, a key element for a nuclear weapon."  "But if Iran will not be pressed, if Iran continues to insist that it has the right to go and enrich uranium as much as it wants, then someone will have to use force.” he added.“Overall, the goal is to ensure peace in the region, and maybe even farther from this region,” said Prime Minister Netanyahu. “I think the IDF and the U.S. Armed Forces are creating a new path, and the goal is to defend Israel. This exercise, unique and large in scale, is an expression of the meaningful relations between Israel and the United States" The exercise included a live-fire component and a multi-layered active defense system. As the joint drill was taking place, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the U.S. Congress, "Whoever threatens Israel also threatens us." Comment on this story 6. More Jews Enter ‘Illegal Settlement’ in Eastern Jerusalem by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu  Another Jewish family Tuesday ignored U.S. President Barack Obama’s declaration that Jewish neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem are “illegitimate settlements.” The family moved into their new home in the Shimon HaTzadik neighborhood, after the High Court ruled that land is owned by Jews. However, an Arab family remains in a part of the multi-unit building. President Obama has called on Israel to stop Jews from moving into eastern Jerusalem neighborhoods and to halt all construction for Jews. Official U.S. government policy considers eastern Jerusalem to be “occupied,” but officials have not commented about another 300,000 Jews who live in predominantly Jewish neighborhoods in the city that were restored to Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967. Twenty-eight properties in the Shimon HaTzadik neighborhood are registered in the name of the Sephardic Community Committee but fell into Arab hands during the War for Independence in 1948. United Nations, Jordanian government personnel and Arab families have been squatting in some of the homes since the war and have remained there after the Six-Day War. They claim to own the properties. The court determined more than 35 years ago that the Sephardic community is the legal owner of the land, but the judges allowed the Arabs to remain there as legal squatters. However, they have refused to pay rent, and long legal battles recently have concluded with their eviction. Police escorted the new family into their home on Tuesday even though one Arab family refuses to move out, despite the court approval for the Jewish family to take over the property. Police are at the scene to prevent a confrontation by protesting Arabs and pro-Arab groups and are trying to convince the Arab family to leave peacefully. Pro-Arab sympathizers last week packed up their protest tent, where they have been demonstrating for several weeks opposite the Jewish neighborhood. Comment on this story 7. A Week of Yahrtzeits by Hillel Fendel  This week and thereabouts – the middle of the Jewish month of Cheshvan, also known as Marcheshvan – has a preponderance of yahrtzeits (death anniversaries) of noted Jewish people, and the list has grown noticeably in recent years. The list includes (according to chronological order of death): Matriarch Rachel – Cheshvan 11. One of the Four Matriarchs, the wife of Patriach Jacob, and the mother of Joseph and Binyamin, she is buried in Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem. A passage in Jeremiah 31 depicts her as weeping over her children (as they pass by her grave into exile); the prophet then comforts her by promising that they shall yet return to their borders. Rabbi Meir Kahane – Cheshvan 18, 1990. Founder of the Jewish Defense League and the Kach party. A Torah scholar, he was a Knesset Member in the 11th Knesset, but was banned from running again – after polls predicted he would greatly increase his political power – when his party was outlawed. He fought against assimilation, and for Soviet Jewry, Aliyah to Israel, and the transfer of Arabs from Judea and Samaria. Nachshon Wachsman – 10 Cheshvan, 1994. An IDF soldier from Jerusalem who was kidnapped and held hostage by Palestinian terrorists, who murdered him during the course of a failed IDF military rescue operation. Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach – Cheshvan 16, 1994. Known as the Singing Rabbi, he composed dozens of songs that are widely sung today. His popularity as both a composer and teacher of Jewish thought continues to increase. See separate article here. Rabbi Shlomo Goren – Cheshvan 24, 1994. Served as Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973-1983, after serving as Chief Rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces and of Tel Aviv. He was credited with having instituted Jewish Law as the basis of much of routine life in the Israeli army. Yitzchak Rabin – 12 Cheshvan, 1995. Served twice as Prime Minister of Israel, from 1974-1977 and 1992 until he was murdered in 1995. He served in the Palmach and the IDF, reaching the position of Chief of Staff. Rabbi Eliezer Menachem Shach – Cheshvan 16, 2001. Dean of Ponovezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, and leader of much of hareidi-religious Jewry in Israel until his death. 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
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
http://www.web-view.net/Show/0XFA093E69AFC5FDE606CF84918B5380FD001E04F11E9434438186735DBD637488.htm
