BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

by Yoav Sivan I usually have no interest in trying to understand the political and spiritual leaders who excel in fanning the flames of hatred against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Their xenophobic language disgusts me and is not worthy of response, only of condemnation. Today, however, I would give a great deal to know what is going through the minds of, say, Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Eli Yishai and his colleagues in the Shas party leadership, who seem to compete with each other in raising the bar of homophobia and ignorance. Do they feel sorrow in their heart of hearts this week? Or is their denial so profound that they can completely ignore their role in fomenting an atmosphere of incitement toward the gay community? Have they learned the lesson? Apparently, at least in part. They vehemently condemned the criminal shooting Saturday night at the youth club of the Association of Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Transgenders in Israel (the ...

Jewish settler leaders on Tuesday shrugged off President Barack Obama's call for Israel to halt settlement building in the occupied West Bank, saying Palestinians needed to "halt terror first." Dani Dayan, chairman of the West Bank settlers' umbrella organization Yesha Council, said he felt assured that domestic political support would allow settlers to continue to live in the occupied West Bank. "The Israeli electorate set a clear line for this government ... we have strong support in the new Knesset (parliament) and the things we hear among politicians certainly encourage us that if Netanyahu (halts settlement building) the Knesset will stand at our side," Dayan told Reuters. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Obama for talks at the White House on Monday and the U.S. president afterwards reminded Israel of its commitment under a 2003 U.S.-backed peace "road map" to stop settlement building in the occupied West Bank. "Obama's w...

Katsav will not be the only one on trial Former president Moshe Katsav is to be indicted anew on rape charges. The trial date and venue - either the Tel Aviv or Jerusalem District Courts - have obviously not been determined. But whatever the outcome, the prosecution's shoddy handling of the entire sordid affair will probably taint the judgment's legitimacy. We say this without taking sides on the guilt or innocence of the accused. The facts of this case must be examined in open court, as they should have been to begin with. The flaw in this case is that the evidence was not brought to the court in a timely fashion; nor was meticulous attention paid to the legal rights of the accused. In other systems of jurisprudence, such mishandling would probably have served as grounds for dismissal of the charges. THE KATSAV affair began on July 5, 2006, when Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz met with the president, at Katsav's request, to hear him complain of a blackmail attempt (by ...

I apologize. I usually have an overload of empathy and compassion. But this sympathy ploy reminds me of so many abusers I help people get away from... and this one works for the Press so he abuses that outlet as well. Surprise... NOT. BLAME SHIFTING A common bully tactic. It goes right along with changing the subject and making accusations. It's not always your fault though. It could be his boss, the clerk at the grocery store, the bank teller, the guy who cut him off on the freeway, a lack of sleep, a worrying situation … anyone or anything at all as long as it's not him. Blame shifting is not always obvious because it is not always directly linked to the situation at hand. Either way he wins. If nobody in the situation is to blame, then there is no way to resolve the problem. If you are to blame, then you must fix it. As for him, he is just an innocent victim and utterly blameless, therefore unable to do anything at all to find a solution, but totally justified in being a ...

Islamic terrorists have taken a Chabad Center in India hostage, holding Jewish Americans and Israelis in danger. Please take a few seconds now, click this link, and call the State Department to encourage them to act powerfully to protect Jewish Americans as well as all hostages. Anyone in the USA and Canada can call. ** JOIN the Facebook group here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=48604349160 ** CALL NOW (free!): http://jewishhostages1.callsforjerusalem.org

My friend Chaim at Freedom's Cost shared this with me today. When I finally was able to sit down and read it through this evening - I was stunned! Please, if you have a heart condition - make sure you have taken your medication before you read on: To wit: a Hebrew University graduate student claimed in her thesis that the absence of any history of rapes of Arab women by Israeli soldiers proves that Jews are racists and oppressors, people who do not even regard Arab women as worthy of being sexually abused WHAT THE ****?! Being morally centered, self controlled and not abusing women, Arab women makes Jews RACIST? This from a Hebrew University Grad Student. Goodness, the Jews just can't win even when they DO THE RIGHT THING!!! And Professor Ben-Ari appears to be the ponerized academic & scholarly sociopath all mothers warn college-bound girls about! You have to read this whole article because it's a DOOZY! I will highlight the bits that left me speechless: Hebrew U...

MISSING THEM Missingthem.net is staging an art-inspired protest today at airports around the world calling attention to three missing Israeli soldiers - Ehud Goldwasser, Eldad Regev and Gilad Shalit - who were kidnapped from Israel’s northern border with Lebanon and southern border with Gaza in 2006. More information can be found on the site of advocacy group HaBanim (meaning, “the sons” in Hebrew) including how many days all three have been missing in action - which is at least 560 and counting - and how you can help (donating or signing their petition). As part of the demonstration, volunteers from around the world will wait at airport arrival halls with blank notices. You know how there are always people waiting with signs welcoming their loved ones, seeking clients or assembling groups? Well, although the signs will be symbolically blank, there are plenty of people waiting for these three young men to come home. The website is mostly in Hebrew but there is enough English here and ...

Giant Israeli flag breaks world record By REGAN E. DOHERTY The record for the world's largest flag now belongs to an Israeli banner produced by a Filipino evangelical Christian. The huge blue and white flag, measuring 2,165 feet long and 330 feet wide and weighing 5.7 tons, breaks the record for the world's largest, according to the Israeli Ministry of Tourism. The flag was unfurled Sunday beneath the ancient Jewish desert fortress of Masada. Representatives of the Guinness Book of Records measured the flag and later confirmed the record. Filipino entrepreneur Grace Galindez-Gupana said she decided two years ago to produce a giant Israeli flag as a testament to her love for Israel and the Jewish people and as a celebration of 50 years of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Israel. "God spoke to me in thunder and lightning," Galindez-Gupana said. "The Lord said, 'Make the flag of Israel, the standard of my people.'" "This is a tall o...

Towards Annapolis: Is U.S. Policy Changing on Israel's Rights in a Peace Settlement? I found this article very interesting and thought provoking, despite taking issue with certain aspects of the writer's opinion. While I believe that Bush "talks about of both sides of his mouth" (as does Olmert) when it comes to Israel, it was worth a read. Condi Rice has it wrong and I do believe that Bush, Olmert or Abbas can not be trusted with the fate of Israel. Hamas has already started sabre-rattling and it won't be long before other Arab factions start in as well. Annapolis, I feel, may be MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. We have been here before - at the OSLO ACCORDS... and it seems that politicians refuse to learn from history and continue to keep blinders on as they careen headlong towards disaster after disaster, with the fate of their countries & people smashing into it as well. One simply cannot negotiate with these people in good faith. Ever. by Dore Gold * After b...

BACTERIAL JEW INFECTION? Antisemitism - though any clear thinking, sentient person would see antisemitism for th idiocy it is... it continues to go on & on: Looking for a Scapegoat, World Again Turns to Jews Antisemitism never dies. By Victor Davis Hanson Who recently said: “These Jews started 19 Crusades. The 19th was World War (1). Why? Only to build Israel.” Some holdover Nazi? Hardly. It was former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan of Turkey, a NATO ally. He went on to claim that the Jews — whom he refers to as “bacteria” — controlled China, India, and Japan, and ran the United States. Who alleged: “The Arabs who were involved in 9/11 cooperated with the Zionists, actually. It was a cooperation. They gave them the perfect excuse to denounce all Arabs.” A conspiracy nut? Actually, it was former Democratic U.S. Sen. James Abourezk of South Dakota. He denounced Israel on a Hezbollah-owned television station, adding: “I marveled at the Hezbollah resistance to Israel. . . . It was ...