Yonatan Hadassi

Reuters - Gil Cohen Magen


Reuters - Gil Cohen Magen


Reuters - Gil Cohen Magen


Reuters - Gil Cohen Magen


Reuters - Gil Cohen Magen


AP -David Guttenfelder

Yehuda Bassel

Reuters - Yannis Behrakis


Reuters - Yannis Behrakis


Reuters - Yannis Behrakis

Shai Atias

Reuters - Gil Cohen Magen


Reuters - Gil Cohen Magen


Reuters - Gil Cohen Magen

Wasim Salah Nazal

Reuters - Ammar Awad


Reuters - Ammar Awad


Reuters - Ammar Awad


Reuters - Ammar Awad

Nimrod Cohen

Reuters - Ronen Zvulun


Reuters - Ronen Zvulun


Reuters - Ronen Zvulun


Reuters - Ronen Zvulun


Reuters - Ronen Zvulun

Gadi Moiseyev

Reuters - Ammar Awad


Reuters - Ammar Awad


AFP - Boaz Oppenheim

Dov Stanshauss

Reuters - Yonathan Weitzman


Reuters - Yonathan Weitzman

Tal Amgar

Reuters - Amnon Gutman

Kobi Smileg

Reuters - Yonathan Weitzman


Reuters - Yonathan Weitzman


Reuters - Yonathan Weitzman

Chimon Gliklich

Reuters - Carlos Barria


Reuters - Carlos Barria

David Feldman

Reuters - Eliana Aponte


Reuters - Eliana Aponte

Benjamin Hillman

AP - Sebastian Scheiner

Shimeon Edga

Reuters - Gil Cohen Magen


Reuters - Gil Cohen Magen


Reuters - Gil Cohen Magen


Reuters - Gil Cohen Magen


Reuters - Gil Cohen Magen

Assaf Namer

Reuters - Eliana Aponte


Reuters - Yonathan Weitzman


Reuters - Yonathan Weitzman


Reuters - Eliana Aponte


Reuters - Yonathan Weitzman


Australian ambassador, Reuters - Eliana Aponte

Yotam Gilboa

Reuters - Gil Cohen Magen


AP - Oded Balilty


AP - Oded Balilty


AP - Oded Balilty


AP - Oded Balilty

Alex Schwartzman

Reuters - Carlos Barria


Reuters - Carlos Barria


Reuters - Carlos Barria

Yiftach Shrayer

Reuters - Eliana Aponte


Reuters - Eliana Aponte


Reuters - Eliana Aponte


Reuters - Eliana Aponte

dosim and the war

Does anyone feels amused or ashamed by the impotent reaction to the events by the frummie communities. Here in a neighboring town misnagdim yimach shmam came up with "learning on behalf of a soldier who can�t study now"! Why don�t they go to fight instead of the sefardim and falashim, which might actually improve the army. Let me tell you the litvakes turned Torah in the biggest avoida zora since the golden calf. Similarly Chabads�s tefillin/tehilim thingy is just tired, boring and stupid. The rest...

AP - Dima Gavrysh

350 years since excommunication of Spinoza

Wikipedia: Baruch Spinoza. (via AJHistory by Menachem Butler: Eeny Meeny Miney Mo: 350th Anniversary Since Spinoza)

Benny's Postcards

A site created by Steven Weiss dedicated to 435 postcards his grandfather Benny Swartzberg collected between 1906-1918: Benny's Postcards.

The World Map of Happiness

University of Leicester: World Happiness League Table.

Saying it like it is

Nafka Mina: The Limits of Power.

Why be surprised at the mismanagement of the war?

The wars are about mythic symbolism. In this war so far IAF fabricated every wrong symbol in the book: hit UN, destroyed a building full of children, polluted Lebanese cost with oil, they have done it all except defeated Hezbullah or its missile capabilities.

A surprise? Why should our expectation of Israel be different from our expectation for our own communities? Look at your own synagogue, federation, etc. Chances are you will find the joint run by a semiliterate career morons concerned exclusively about promotion of their own unarticulated vanity. Why should Israel be any different? Why should Israeli defence minister be different from the dim idiot you see blabbering uncontrollably in your local shule?

In the WWII Jewish religious leaders failed our people. But how can we even compare them to the current sad crop of wig fighters, dazed misty eyed girly man and delusional apparatchiks. And yes leadership and management matters. Start with your own! Start by deposing the moron in charge of your own community, if you succeed you can dream of Israel with imagination.

Hizbullah men await the Israelis

Guardian: As the shells fall around them, Hizbullah men await the Israelis.

The Dire Straits Havdolah

AFP - Menahem Kahana


AFP - Menahem Kahana


AFP - Menahem Kahana


IDF Photo in Maroun al-Ras


AFP - Menahem Kahana


Reuters - Kai Pfaffenbach

Wafa Sultan on Al Jazeera

The famous Wafa Sultan "million clicks" interview publicized by MEMRI. On February 21, 2006, she spoke from LA on Al Jazeera, where she argued with the host and Dr. Ibrahim Al-Khouli about the Samuel Huntington Clash of Civilizations theory:

The Dire Straits Illuminations

Beirut, AFP - Eric Feferberg


Kiryat Shemona, AFP - Menahem Kahana


Kiryat Shemona, AP - Baz Ratner


AFP - Gali Tibbon


AFP - Menahem Kahana

GBU-28

This US Air Force file image shows pilots checking the GBU-28 "Bunker Buster" a 5,000lb (2268kg), unpowered, laser-guided weapon, with a range of more than six miles (9.65km). US requests to send two more planes carrying bombs and missiles to Israel via Britain.

Rainbows of The Dire Straits War

Reuters - Oleg Popov


AP - Pier Paolo Cito


AP - Oded Balilty

Out of Step Jew is live blogging the Dire Straits war.

The hero Ro'i Klein

My Obiter Dicta: No Words:

"It's only the day after he was killed and a legend is already growing around the heroism of Major Ro'i Klein, the Golani commander who died in the ambush and fierce battle that took place in Bint Jbeil that took the lives of nine soldiers. Several members of his battalion confirm the story -- a grenade was lobbed in the midst of the unit under his command. Klein, who was 31 years old, married with two children, made a quick decision and jumped, throwing his body onto the grenade, losing his life, and saving the lives of all of his soldiers."

The war is named Bein HaMetzarim, The Dire Straits War in English

Yesterday I posted the IDF video featuring Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits: mentalblog.com: IDF brothers in arms. Synchronicity flows as Nafka Mina writes:

"In the press conference today, defence minister Amir Peretz suggested the war be called "Bein HaMetzarim War". As for the English name, although a strict translation would be "Between the Straits War", my suggestion would be to make it simpler and call it "The Dire Straits War". After all, the Dire Straits are my favourite band..."

Live ammunition

Reuters - Oleg Popov


Reuters - Kai Pfaffenbach


AFP - Yoav Lemmer


Reuters - Kai Pfaffenbach


Reuters - Oleg Popov


AFP - Yoav Lemmer


Reuters - Kai Pfaffenbach


Reuters - Oleg Popov


Reuters - Kai Pfaffenbach


AFP - David Furs

Outstretched

AP - David Guttenfelder


AP - Oded Balilty


AP - Oded Balilty


AP - Oded Balilty


Reuters - Carlos Barria


Reuters - Carlos Barria


AFP - Denis Sinyakov

IDF brothers in arms

UPDATE: mentalblog.com: The war is named Bein HaMetzarim, The Dire Straits War in English.

Bashar Assad's buzz

Few weeks ago after the abduction in Gaza Israeli jets buzzed Assad�s residence. This was juvenile. Imagine Assad knowing that he has thousands of elusive missiles pointed at Israel. Imagine him deciding to activate them after the Israeli prank?

Performance of the Israeli army is mediocre. The latest downing of the helicopter by friendly fire is symptomatic. We been told in the last ten years that ceding of strategic high ground is inconsequential because of the superior reach of the airforce, this argument have been deflated. Air force itself proved that the only thing they mastered is bombardment of the empty buildings. They are unable to locate or reach military targets.

Why and where?

AP - David Guttenfelder

Destruction of Israel and the violent advance of Islam worldwide, is it still a dominant Islamic agenda? Anyone who expresses an opinion on the Middle Eastern politics should take a position on this question.

Shelving for a moment messianic aspirations of Shiites and Jews, it all boils down to this. If one operates under assumption that Islam seeks total domination then every cease fire is a respite to rearm. Then every demographic redistricting in Europe is a strategic blunder, every land deal is a tactical mistake. Every battle, every terrorist act is an unfolding of World War III.

It seems that all peace initiatives are built on expectations that majority of Arabs want peace. This assumption have been put to test by the elections in Iraq, Lebanon, West Bank and Gaza, all brought to power fundamentalist majorities with the destruction of Israel as written or implied party platforms. So before you consider the next pundit ask where he or she stands on this question. Has Islam altered its millennial tradition of expansion though violence, if yes why and where?

Separated at birth

Reuters - Gil Cohen Magen


AP - Mohammad Abu Ghosh


Reuters - Gil Cohen Magen


AFP - Yasser Al-Zayyat

boyhood out of existence

Out of Step Jew: Back for Awhile.


Reuters - Ronen Zvulun


AP - Jacob Silberberg


AP - Jacob Silberberg

Rishon Rishon

Rishon Rishon: Bob Rosenshein's View.: "The first point concerns some unwritten American values I grew up with:

* Problems are solvable.
* Good will is returned in kind.
* In general, favor the underdog over the top dog (unless you're the top dog).
* If two sides are fighting, they must both have some justification.
* Be reasonable; split the difference.

To my good friends in "Red" Haifa

Ben Chorin: I write to you as a brother and, as brothers are wont to do, I will speak directly and honestly.

Postcards

Near Kiryat Shmona, July 19, Reuters - Ronen Zvulun


Near Kiryat Shmona, Reuters - Ronen Zvulun


NYC, July 18, Reuters - Chip East


Kiev, July 19, Reuters - Gleb Garanich


Haifa, Reuters - Goran Tomasevic


Beirut, Reuters - Adnan Hajj


Teheran, Reuters - Caren Firouz

Lies, Lies and More Lies

Nafka Mina.

Israel's home front

Ben Chorin: We now face the need for a major ground battle that will be potentially costly in Israeli lives.

17 of Tammuz in Tzfat

Moshe & Yaffa write from Tzfat:

Seven missiles slammed into Tzfat this afternoon. Three came screeching over our house in quick succession. The first one's sound caught me by surprise and I didn't realize what it was until it slammed into a building across the valley from our neighborhood. Then . . . the second and then . . . the third. Moshe yelled, "We're being bombed. We have to leave now for the shelter." I grabbed Roxy and looked out the window to see brownish/reddish smoke rising in a billowing cloud near the Bank Discount building. I was shocked and just stood there while the smoke billowed and the sprinkler system on the roof of the building began shooting out a large stream of water. Moshe insisted we leave and we did, with two more billows of smoke drifting from around the corner of our building. The Ethiopian absorption center had been hit, or close by; between the center and the police station. Another hit on the main street in town, the Midrochov. There were no sirens, no warning, just slam after slam; a deadening blow to the soil reverberating through the mountainside.

The bomb shelter across from our house quickly filled with neighbors. Miriam, my friend above our house was missing. She arrived later with her own story about how she and her youngest were at the Rav Chessed Grocery store in town near the Regional College when the schrill whine of a rocket incoming instantly made her grab Meny and drop to the floor. The large glass window at the grocery store shuddered but held as a rocket fell about 100 feet from the store. Police yelled at people to move quickly into close by bomb shelters. She was herded with Meny to the main bus station's big bomb shelter. Later, Egged buses were organized and the people from the shelter were taken to their respective neighborhoods. The police wanted everyone off the street and back to their homes.

Moshe eventually went back to the house and got our emergency lantern, the emergency battery radio and my Tehillim plus our cell phone. Many ladies and some children started to read from their books. Another lady brought water and cups for everyone. Today, being the 17 of Tammuz, meant that many in the bomb shelters had been fasting all day. This event added extra impact to the meaning of the day.

Wide-eyed children quietly sat on a bench to my left. There was a lot of talking on cellphones; no panic. Just shock and bewilderment. Tzfat had been hit. Seven times. Never such damage since 1948. We could hear planes above and also the sound of a siren for a short time. We were in the shelter for about 1 to 2 hours. Frankly, we lost track of time. We were grateful the rockets didn't cause more injury or damage. If they had hit during Klezmer, it would have been horrible because the streets of the city were filled with cars, buses and people. Klezmer ended on Tuesday. The fire department immediately scrambled. You could hear the sirens shortly after the first thud of the rocket. Ambulance sirens quickly followed. Street traffic stopped. You could see people below running to wherever and then . . . nothing on the streets. The Mayor got on the TV eventually to assure everyone watching that Tzfat was under control, there had been some damage, he was OK and things were being handled as necessary.

This morning, before 7 AM, when doing my prayers, I heard thuds. They were explosions nearby and the mountain strata was carrying the waves. Eventually, I learned Rosh Pina had been hit as well as Meron. A fire broke out in Meron and I heard this afternoon they were without electricity or water. Half way through my morning prayers, I again heard thuds of explosions. This gave me extra strength in my prayers.

I heard there were casualties in Tzfat and one woman was killed. I can't verify this at this time. This has been an eventful 17 of Tammuz. What lies ahead, only Hashem knows. When we returned from the bomb shelter we had 8 messages on our machine. One was a reporter from the Jerusalem Post. She interviewed me on the phone as to my reactions and observations regarding the Tzfat attack. She got my number from Penina of the AACI office in Haifa. She asked if we had thoughts of moving to the central part of the county. Answer: no. She asked if we would think of moving back to America. Answer: Not even if you offered us a fortune. Israel is our homeland, our people, our work and our reason. We have the right to survive. We have, we are and we will.

The war

AP - Ariel Schalit

Israpundit, ISRAEL�S NEXT WAR HAS BEGUN: Battle Plans by Yossi Klein Halevi, TNR Online.
the view from here: enough if they want war let us give.
Lebanese Blogger Forum: Coping With Bombing.
Mystical Paths: Breaking Update from Rabbi Brody.
Israel At Level Ground: Life & Times.


AP - Ariel Schalit

Pink Floyd's Barrett dies

BBC NEWS: Syd Barrett dies aged 60.

Deconstruction of Joshua Prince-Ramus

What you about to see is an architectural presentation at TED. I would like to ask you to post your impression about this presentation. I am interested in your reactions. I will post my take on this after I bounce this off you.



UPDATE: mentalblog.com: Joshua Prince Ramus at TED redux.

The new world order by Hans Rosling

Ted 2006 presentation by Hans Rosling the creator of Gapminder and an osmosis follower of the sacred graph of Edward Tufte.

The breakout dancer Sir Ken Robinson

I have been following Ted since dotcom days. Recently Ted released several presentations from the 2006 conference. Two of them are worthwhile. The following 20 min presentation by Sir Ken Robinson is important enough for me to interrupt my exile. Profound, it is all here:

THE END

"You are the only faithful student you have. All the others leave eventually.
Have you been making yourself shallow with making other eminent?
Just remember, when you're In Union, you don't have to fear that you'll be drained.

The command comes To Speak, and you feel the ocean moving through you. Then comes, Be Silent, as when the rain stops, and the trees in the orchard begin to draw moisture up into themselves".
Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi, Mathnawi V:3195-3219

Tzedek:

Tzemach, you are a mirror that reflects the generation. You are involved whether you like it or not. There is no easy entry and no easy exit. Your greatest success is in tapping into the reality that other people dare not speak about except through platitudes.

Sam Sapozhnik:

Tzemach, Hang in there, we love you! Let this serve as a virtual hug until we meet in person.

I sign off, thank you for all.

A drink of water

Schneur Zalman of NY commenting to mentalblog.com: the blog

Tzemach, perhaps its time for a leave of absence with Judaism. Many of my friends took a leave and when they came back they were better for it. I regret never doing it myself, but I am the martyr. They were more tolerant, less parochial and better people. You are a Jew because you are alive. Your blog is interesting, but like everything your personal happiness should come first. G-D will not mind if you leave for a while. Chassidus wants a man to wrestle with G-D. G-D does not need or desire YES men. These are not spiritual people, these are just "monkeys". So cut the dialogue put it on hold and get a drink of water.

Is Boston that bad?

Received via email from a "friend" (let's call him dude):

A DUDE: Do you perhaps have a girl for TA in your town?
THE GUY: He seems like a smart and kind guy, but I just read his 'boston-murder' post. He is not well; I can't set him up with some girl only to find out a few years later that he had completely cracked and either abuses her or worse!
A DUDE: He is not sick, he is eccentric. He has been eccentric as long as I know him and has not gone crazy so far. Why would you assume he will go crazy in the future? It doesn't make sense.
THE GUY: Please do not tell me about this... I have seen the devastating results of people ignoring signs of insanity and setting up shidduchim despite it all. I will not behave in such an irresponsible way.

the blog

I don't understand why I am still writing this blog. A better question, why am I still a Jew? I don�t find myself at home with my people. The internal dialogue with G-d is exhausted. The alienation is complete.

M. Schick Forty Years Later

Marvin Schick: Forty Years Later.

Today's Orthodoxy - call it the new new style of American Orthodoxy - craves access and acceptance and has a fawning relationship with those who are hostile to religious values and practices, as was evident at the Siyum Hashas when honor was accorded to Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League and others who have fought against religion and what Orthodox Jewry stands for.

Obituary of Rabbi Louis Jacobs

AJHistory: The Greatest Chief Rabbi We Never Had, by Paul Shaviv.