Thursday, May 17, 2012 - 25 Iyar 5772
 
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U.S. Ambassador to Israel: We Are Ready to Attack Iran

U.S. Ambassador Dan Shapiro with the newly appointed commander of Israel's Air Force Major General Amir Eshel, May 14, 2012.
U.S. Ambassador Dan Shapiro with the newly appointed commander of Israel's Air Force Major General Amir Eshel, May 14, 2012.
Photo Credit: Yossi Zeliger/FLASh90

Washington prefers the diplomatic option and stated as much time and again – but it seems that beneath the surface, an attack is ready to roll on command. An unusual moment of candor on the part of U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro at a closed meeting in Tel Aviv, reveals the planning behind the scenes. “The military option is not only possible, it’s ready,” he says.

Noteworthy
Tobin-051812 Who’s Advising Obama On Israel?

We’ve been hearing a lot from Jewish Democrats and the administration itself that Barack Obama is the best friend Israel has ever had or, as in Joe Biden’s fractured fairy tale version of history, “has done more for Israel’s security than any president since Harry Truman” – a president who actually did nothing for Israel’s security.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad heads a cabinet meeting in Ramallah Khaled Abu Toameh: The Main Goal of the Palestinian Government

At a time when many Western governments, the World Bank, and various international organizations are continuing to heap praise on the Palestinian Authority for implementing reforms, the deputy speaker of the Palestinian parliament, Hasan Khreishah, announced that financial and administrative corruption was now more widespread than ever.

Thousands take part in Jerusalem Day celebrations Jewish Press Radio with Yishai Fleisher: Changing Diaspora Thinking

Changing Diaspora thinking The Jewish Press’ Yishai Fleisher is joined in a crowded square in the Old City of Jerusalem by alternative peace activist Yehuda HaKohen. They discuss the upcoming holiday of Yom Yerushalayim and how it, along with other holidays that have been added to the Jewish calendar since the founding of Israel in 1948, [...]

Military Intelligence Monitored ‘Google Street View’ Project in Israel
May 17, 2012 Preview ↲
Report: Ignoring UN Ban, Iran Continues Shipping Arms to Syria, Enriching Uranium
May 17, 2012 Preview ↲
Ron Paul Halts Campaign, Keeps Delegates
May 17, 2012 Preview ↲
US Tour Operators Assoc. Annual Meeting Set for Israel
May 16, 2012 Preview ↲
School Sued for Ignoring Anti-Semitic Taunts
May 16, 2012 Preview ↲
House Rejects Iran ‘Containment,’ Ignoring Peace Now Plea
May 16, 2012 Preview ↲
Israel Excluded from NATO Summit at Turkey’s Request; Pakistan Invited
May 16, 2012 Preview ↲
Is Netanyahu Ready to Demolish Ulpana Hill? The Settlers Don’t Think So
May 15, 2012 Preview ↲
EU Foreign Ministers Condemn Israeli Settlements for Threatening Two-State Solution
May 15, 2012 Preview ↲
Prisoners’ Hunger Strike Ended, Promising a Restrained ‘Nakba Day’ Tuesday
May 14, 2012 Preview ↲
Shop-A-Fada Counters Calls to Boycott Israeli Goods
May 14, 2012 Preview ↲
Bronx Girl Wins National Bible Contest, Passaic Boy Scores Perfect
May 14, 2012 Preview ↲
Minister: Blackouts from Cancelled Egyptian Gas Deal Should Hit Gaza, Not Israel
May 14, 2012 Preview ↲
Dead Sea Scrolls on Display in Philadelphia
May 14, 2012 Preview ↲
Henry Kissinger in Jerusalem. Kissinger Gets Felt Up by the TSA
May 16, 2012
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Surgery, Newark Beth Israel Hospital, early 20th century My Son the Pioneer Jewish Doctor
May 16, 2012
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Y-Love & Diwon Live on tour in Manchester. He’s Black, He’s Jewish, He’s Gay, Get Used to It, and It, and It
May 16, 2012
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Holocaust Days of Remembrance and Traditional Coconut Pyramids Holocaust Days of Remembrance and Traditional Coconut Pyramids
May 1, 2012
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Dr. Hatem al-Haj says circumcision is "an honor" for women. US Pediatric Doctor Favors Female Circumcision
April 30, 2012
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Bea Abrams Cohen believes in the power of mitzvahs. Video: Bea Abrams Cohen – California’s Oldest Female Veteran
April 30, 2012
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Drake's new clip is all about giving himself a better Bar Mitzvah. Drake: ‘I’m a Proud Young Jewish Boy’ and I Want My Re-Bar Mitzvah
April 18, 2012
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BBB on a break. Musical Putsch: Balkan Beat Box Gig in Munich on Holocaust Day
April 18, 2012
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Jake Gyllenhaal Did You Know ‘Brokeback Mountain’ Star Jake Gyllenhaal Was a Tzadik?
April 12, 2012
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UNT students playing video game in school library. Because we couldn't find pictures of the now cancelled Hebrew classes. No More Hebrew Classes in North Texas University, Registrar Glitch Blamed
April 10, 2012
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Miami 104°F/70°F clear

Top Stories
Y-Love – Jewish, Orthodox, Black… and Gay
Y-Love Chaim Schvarcz

New York rapper Yitz “Y-Love” Jordan, famed black convert to Orthodox Judaism and celebrated artist, has announced that he is homosexual in an interview with Out magazine.

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Interior Minister: We Must Deport African Refugees
Sudanese immigrants in Tel Aviv

The day after police arrested four Eritrean and Sudanese men for robbing and raping a 19 year-old woman in south Tel Aviv’s Neve Sha’anan neighborhood, Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai said most African illegal immigrants should be rounded up and either deported or arrested.

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New Yoga Course Has Jewish Women Striking Kosher Pose
Kinneret Yoga

Women who seek the opportunity to do Asanas in an environment which is more Hoshannah than Ganesha – and teach other women to do the same – can now sign up for a special course designed especially for Jewish Yoga aficionadas who want to teach the healing art to others.

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House Rejects Iran ‘Containment,’ Ignoring Peace Now Plea
H. Res. 568, introduced by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla., seen here on her weekly radio show), chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, had 314 sponsors.

The House on Tuesday approved a non-binding resolution that “strongly supports United States policy to prevent the government of Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability,” and expresses “opposition to any policy that would rely on containment as an option in response to the Iranian nuclear threat.” Americans for Peace Now urged members of Congress to “vote NO or PRESENT.”

New Poll Shows Ultra-Orthodox Increasingly Interested in Integrating
US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro visits the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem (January 2012)

On the issue of ultra-Orthodox military service, 41% of those surveyed said they would be moderately or very interested in joining the Haredi IDF program, while 59% said they had either little or no interest. Still, the percentage of interest is substantially higher than the current annual rate of Haredi enlistment in the IDF.

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Is Netanyahu Ready to Demolish Ulpana Hill? The Settlers Don’t Think So
At a meeting last month in front of the Ulpana Hill homes, members of the Likud Committee assembled to voice their support for blocking the demolition efforts.

According to a Tuesday report, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not see a way to prevent the court-ordered demolition of the Ulpana Hill neighborhood in Beit El, in the Benjamin region of Judea and Samaria. The neighborhood’ spokesman thinks the PM must be helped out of the entanglement of his own doing.

Prisoners’ Hunger Strike Ended, Promising a Restrained ‘Nakba Day’ Tuesday
Last year Arab demonstrators marked the 63rd anniversary of Naka (catastrophe in Arabic), the term Arabs use to describe the 1948 creation of the state of Israel.

On Monday night, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners agreed to end their hunger strike after winning concessions from Israel to improve their conditions, both sides announced. Earlier in the week, concern had been rising about the effect the death of one of the strikers might have on Tuesday’s ‘Nakba Day’ protests.

Coalition Grumblings: Political Posturing or First Signs of Splintering?
Kadima chairman Shaul Mofaz and Kadima MK Yochanan Plesner attend a discussion about the Tal Law

The intensifying focus on legislating an alternative to the Tal Law has the ultra-Orthodox parties in the Likud-led coalition defensive yet intractable. Shas and UTJ – representing 15 seats in the government – have declared that they will not participate in the coalition committee on finding an alternative.

Israeli IVF Success Doubles in Decade
IVF Shaarei Zedek Hospital

A new Health Ministry reports shows that a whopping 25 percent of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)treatments resulted in pregnancies, with 20% of attempts resulting in live births. The number represents the doubling of success in the last decade, partly thanks to Israeli law supporting free IVF for two live babies.

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Attacks on Jewish Maale HaZeitim Continue, Jerusalem Fire Dept. Slow to Respond
Maale HaZeitim

Despite the arrest of a local Arab man for repeat Molotov cocktail attacks on the eastern Jerusalem Jewish neighborhood of Maale HaZeitim, assaults on the residential area just across from the Old City of Jerusalem continue, with two offenses occurring in the last 72 hours.

Minister: Blackouts from Cancelled Egyptian Gas Deal Should Hit Gaza, Not Israel
Minister of Environmental Protection Gilad Erdan wants to keep Israeli electric supply at home to avoid summer blackouts, rather than export the juice to Gaza.

The unintended consequence of the hostile cancellation of Egypt’s natural gas contract with Israel may result in increased blackouts in Gaza. Benjamin Netanyahu’s Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan says Israel should consider cutting its supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip this summer in face of predicted power shortages.

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Fear of War Crimes Indictment Could Spur Demolition
War criminals? The children of Ulpana Hill in front of their homes which are slated to be demolished by a court order.

AG Weinstein warned Netanyahu that expropriation of Palestinian land could lead to war crimes charges against senior Israeli officials. Harel Koren, representing the residents of the Ulpana Hill, urged the PM to disregard fear and save thousands of homes from demolition.

New Yoga Course Has Jewish Women Striking Kosher Pose
Kinneret Yoga

Women who seek the opportunity to do Asanas in an environment which is more Hoshannah than Ganesha – and teach other women to do the same – can now sign up for a special course designed especially for Jewish Yoga aficionadas who want to teach the healing art to others.

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New Gifts for New York Hospital-Cornell Bikur Cholim
NY Hospital Cornell Bikur Cholim receives books and toys donated by Moriah Yeshiva of Englewood, NJ. Stefanie (L) and Julia Leavitt (R)

Students of Moriah Yeshiva of Englewood, NJ put together a Chessed project for children visiting New York Hospital Cornell

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Israeli IVF Success Doubles in Decade
IVF Shaarei Zedek Hospital

A new Health Ministry reports shows that a whopping 25 percent of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)treatments resulted in pregnancies, with 20% of attempts resulting in live births. The number represents the doubling of success in the last decade, partly thanks to Israeli law supporting free IVF for two live babies.

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Shaare Zedek Celebrates 200th PGD-IVF Birth
Rabbi (r.) and Mrs. (l.) David Fuld with Professor Ephrat Levy Lahad (c.) in Shaarei Tzedek's PGD laboratory

“Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28) says God in his first command to humanity. Thanks to the vision and donations of Rabbi David and Anita Fuld, Shaarei Tzedek is the world leader in helping families who would otherwise never even dream of having healthy children.

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Chronicles Of Crises In Our Communities
Chronicles-logo

Boys will be boys… but what of the bullies?

Cultural Intersection: The Globetrotters in Jerusalem
Harlem Globetrotters

Despite a few uncomfortable moments, I came away from the game with a very thankful 13-year-old, with great father-son memories, and happy, knowing that, given the opportunity, the Globetrotters are still fully capable of being America’s ambassadors to the world.

Sharing Recipes
Recipe-logo

The first few post-Pesach days are filled with the hurried rush to consume as much “chometz” as possible – and then the weight concerns begin. For some, the gut reaction (pun intended) is to stop eating – never a good idea. We all know that the best way to lose those extra pounds is by focusing on eating healthy.

A Taste of The Middle East
Camille-logo

As an American of Sephardic heritage, I was raised on the mouth-watering delicious foods that define Middle Eastern fare. For as far back as I can remember the kitchen has been my comfort zone. Whipping up culinary creations to please the palates of an Ashkenazic husband, Sephardic kin, fussy kids, and guests who frequent our dinner table can be quite challenging, but at the same time tremendously satisfying.

Quick Takes: News You May Have Missed
Klein-Aaron

Money For Occupy’s DC Office Coming From Union Linked To Obama A labor union with strong ties to President Obama is paying for Occupy’s Washington DC office space inside a think-tank that is also heavily tied to the White House. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU ) is forking over $4,000 per month for three [...]

An Unintended Conquest
IDF Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin "invites" Defense Minister Moshe Dayan to the Kotel, or Western Wall, which had just been liberated by Israeli troops during the 1967 Six-Day War. This Sunday is Yom Yerushalayim, the 45th anniversary of that milestone event in Jewish history.

Israel had no intention of capturing Jerusalem’s Old City when the Six-Day War began 45 years ago. Many of its government ministers, especially the religious ones, opposed the idea, warning that the world would never accept Jewish rule over Christianity’s holiest places.

Although the army had numerous contingency plans regarding targets in the region, a plan for taking the Old City was not among them.

Khaled Abu Toameh: The Main Goal of the Palestinian Government
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad heads a cabinet meeting in Ramallah

At a time when many Western governments, the World Bank, and various international organizations are continuing to heap praise on the Palestinian Authority for implementing reforms, the deputy speaker of the Palestinian parliament, Hasan Khreishah, announced that financial and administrative corruption was now more widespread than ever.

Jewish Press Radio with Yishai Fleisher: Changing Diaspora Thinking
Thousands take part in Jerusalem Day celebrations

Changing Diaspora thinking The Jewish Press’ Yishai Fleisher is joined in a crowded square in the Old City of Jerusalem by alternative peace activist Yehuda HaKohen. They discuss the upcoming holiday of Yom Yerushalayim and how it, along with other holidays that have been added to the Jewish calendar since the founding of Israel in 1948, [...]

J.E. Dyer: Academia – Pro-Palestinians behaving badly
Students at San Francisco State university gather at Malcolm X plaza in the center of campus to celebrate and protest Israel's Independence Day.

If a civic or political group, meeting publicly, is not willing to have its activities and statements recorded truthfully by critics, its purpose is suspect. There can be no good purpose for preventing third parties – i.e., the whole of society, whether friendly or critical – from seeing what is said and done at a public event sponsored by the Palestine Society.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach: What If Government Recognized Civil Unions, Left Marriage to Religion?
Participants in a gay pride parade in Jerusalem

What business does the government have entering a church, synagogue, or mosque to legitimize or define the spiritual nature of a person’s marriage? We are supposed to have separation of church and state in America. Far from harming religion, this change would encourage non-religious people to entertain the concept of how religion can enhance and enrich one’s life, and be an invitation to engage in further religious learning, traditions, communities, and beliefs.

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Dr. Mordechai Kedar: The Frustrated Intellectual – Tariq Hagi
Muslim women protesting

Egyptian intellectual Tariq Hagi speaks frankly and openly about the many deep flaws that exist in Arab cultures. His message is different from that of most Arab spokesmen, because most Arab spokesmen strive to cover up the flaws in their societies, to conceal them and repress them – mainly because of the shame and the feeling of inferiority that these flaws arouse in them.

Who Will Suffer As A Result of Euro Policies? The Jews.
Thousands of Greeks protest in Athens against new austerity reforms

The extreme-left Greek Syriza party became the second biggest party in the country on May 6, surpassing the socialist Pasok party. Syriza has a party platform which includes “disengagement from NATO” and “termination of the military cooperation with Israel.”

Parashat Emor: Learning Compassion
Miller-Rabbi-Avigdor

The Talmud tells us that compassion is one of the three traits that distinguish the nation of Israel (the others are shame and kindness). The Torah abounds with commandments that exercise this quality, and Rabbi Avigdor Miller, zt”l, explains that they are given for exactly that purpose.

Rejoicing Proud Jews: Reflections on Lag B’Omer
As thousands of Jews gather at Meron, fathers give their 3 year old sons a first haircut at the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai.  Jewish culture and tradition is flourishing and joyous on Lag B'Omer in Israel.  (Photo credit: Yishai Fleisher)

The victory of the Jewish idea is celebrated on Lag B’Omer. It fits neatly between Israeli Independence Day and Yom Yerushalayim. These three days are all driven by the same spirit: the liberation of Jewish peoplehood, the return to the land, and the reemergence of authentic Jewish culture.

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Counting The Previous Day’s Sefirah
Lag Ba'omer

One who forgets to count sefirah at night may count during the day without a berachah, and then continue counting the rest of the days with a berachah. If one forgets to count sefirah at night and does not remember to count by day, he may not count with a berachah thereafter.

Our Calling Card: ‘Baruch Hashem’
Jungreis-Rebbetzin-Esther

B’ezrat Hashem I will continue to share with you my challenging days spent at Scripps Memorial Hospital in San Diego. Whenever difficult days befell me, my revered father would always say “Hashem sends us tests so that we might know how to help others when they have to confront their trials.”

The Holiest Week Of The Omer
Shurin-Dov

My father had gone to the hospital to get a simple procedure to clear the arteries. The procedure failed and the doctor made a terrible mistake in what he did next. The botched effort caused my dad to have not one but two heart attacks.

Knesset Minister Rabbi Nissim Zeev: Time To See The Light And Heal
Shas MK Nissim Zeev

In our time we must always take advantage of the opportunity for a second chance to revive our identity as Jews in Eretz Yisrael, for without the identity of Israel as a Jewish state, we are truly at a spiritual and physical loss.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks: Holy People In The Holy Land
Sacks-Rabbi-Jonathan

It is simply not the same to put on tefillin or keep kashrut or observe Shabbat in the Diaspora as in Israel. The Torah is the constitution of a holy people in the holy land. Only in Israel is the fulfillment of the commands a society-building exercise, shaping the contours of a culture as a whole. Only in Israel does the calendar track the rhythms of the Jewish year.

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Yehareg V’al Ya’avor
A statue of Rambam in Cordova, Spain

The following is one unique halacha that is associated with arayos (forbidden relationships): Concerning most aveiros, if one is put in a predicament where he must choose between saving his life and fulfilling a mitzvah he must choose to live and transgress the mitzvah. The Gemara says that arayos are one of the three mitzvos that are yehareg v’al ya’avor (one must allow himself to be killed so as not to transgress the mitzvah), along with murder and avodah zarah.

Shemini – Strange Fire
Miller-Rabbi-Avigdor

The commentators discuss the meaning and implications of the “strange fire” brought as an offering by Nadav and Avihu. In his discussion of this perplexing passage, Rabbi Avigdor Miller, zt”l, discusses their early demise and observes that their death served a greater purpose (through the sadness that ensued) and that despite receiving a divine death penalty, the Torah regards them as great people.

From Structure To Continuity To Spontaneity
Sacks-Rabbi-Jonathan

Why was spontaneity wrong for Nadav and Avihu, yet right for Moshe Rabbeinu? The answer is that Nadav and Avihu were kohanim, priests. Moses was a navi, a prophet. These are two different forms of religious leadership. They involve different tasks and different sensibilities, indeed different approaches to time itself.

Tales of Rachel’s Tomb, a Strange Fire, the Golden Graft, the True Foundation
A Jewish woman prays beside Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem.

From rallying Rachel’s children to reclaim their identity and holy roots, to purchasing and delivering a Sefer Torah to the empty un-walled streets in front of Rachel’s Tomb, to petitioning to have regular scheduled trips of Egged buses eight times daily, Rachel’s Children Reclamation Foundation now finds itself in a dilemma: whether to be silent like Rachel or cry like Rachel.

Will Pig Eventually Be Kosher?
livestock pigs

In this week’s parshah the Torah teaches us which animals are kosher to eat and which are not. The Torah says that the pig, although it has split hooves, is not kosher since it does not chew its cud. The medrash on this pasuk says that the reason that the pig is called “chazir” is because in the future Hashem will return (lehachzir) the pig to Bnei Yisrael and permit it to be eaten.

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Printed from: http://www.jewishpress.com/sections/community/my-machberes/my-machberes-17/2012/05/16/

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