Chanukah Song~The Maccabeats

Not a bad little song--Enjoy!

Deputy Commander Ahuva Tomer Dies of Injuries

It is with great sadness that I write this--Deputy Commander Ahuva Tomer, the highest ranking woman officer in the Israel Police, died on Monday after succumbing to critical injuries sustained in the Carmel fire. She was driving to assist the bus carrying 40 Prison Service cadets that was trapped (and subsequently burned). She herself was trapped and suffered burns throughout her body. Deputy Commander Tomer was initially taken to Carmel Hospital in Haifa, where a team of 20 doctors worked to revive her--finally succeeding in restoring a pulse--"against all odds," in their words. She was then transferred to Rambam Hospital for continued treatment.

Deputy Commander Tomer was one of the best-known, highest-ranking officers in the northern region. She made history in 1997 when she was appointed Police Commander in Nahariya, and again in 2009 when she was appointed Commander of the lsraels largest  station in Haifa. Well respected by all, she had achieved what no other woman before her had. Commander Tomer did this by hard work and dedication, never using her gender to gain advantage.

The picture on the left shows the bus, with her white care (left of bus) as the flames engulf them.

This video shows Deputy Commander Tomer (2:56) in her car.before she drove into the flames in an attempt to help the trapped cadets on the bus. "Baruch dayan ha'emet"

Commander Ahuva Tomer Driving into the Blaze (0:30)

Smile of the Day !

So much of the news these days is depressing to say the least. But every once in a while somebody manages to find a way to bring a little fun into our lives! 

I have to give credit where credit is due! A Huge Thank You for my laugh of the week goes out to Bare Naked Islam for this little pic. Do read the full article by going to the site--just  click  on the link: "Obama Goes to Afghanistan. Surprise!"

Quoted from the article:  
Conflicting reports say he went there to thank the troops. (But he didn’t go on Thanksgiving. Maybe he couldn’t stomach the thought of actually serving turkey dinner to the troops as George Bush did).

While you are there browse through his excellent articles. One of the best reporting sites on the net.

A Prayer for the Soldiers of the IDF

This is a prayer that we say for our young people on the front lines defending us. I carry a copy in my wallet and pull it out every time I see helicopters flying a mission or hear of our troops being attacked and at night before saying the bedtime Shema.  

Shema Yisroel~A Legend and a Song

There are two rabbis that this legend is attributed to--Rov Yosef Kahaneman zt'l, the Ponevezhe Rov and Rabbi Eliezer Silver,  President, Union of Orthodox Rabbis USA / Canada.

It has been told countless times and it is quite possible that each of these great men used this tactic, knowing full well that the Shema would remain embedded in a Jewish child's mind long after other memories faded. The Shema is an affirmation of Judaism and a declaration of faith in one God. The obligation to recite the Shema is separate from the obligation to pray and a Jew is obligated to say Shema in the morning and at night and it is the last word to leave our lips before we die.

During World War II, countless Jewish parents gave their children to Christian neighbors, orphanages and convents in the hopes of saving them. The parents expected that they, or their relatives, would claim them if they survived the war, but when rabbis or relatives finally tracked down the children, the priests and nuns who had been their caretakers insisted that no children from Jewish homes were in their institutions. Thus, they were not only stripped of their entire families, they were also stripped of their souls. Many remain hidden to this day.

The legend tells us that after the Holocaust, Rov Yosef Kahaneman / Rabbi Eliezer Silver began searching for the Jewish children who had survived the war. (They) learned that many Jewish children had been placed in a monastery, so (they) approached the priest in charge, and asked that the Jewish children be released into their care. The priest responded, "You must have documentation". But the kind of documentation that the priest wanted was unobtainable at the end of the war. (They) then asked to see the list of names of children in the monastery and as they read the list, pointed to names that belonged to Jewish children. "I'm sorry," the priest said, "Miller is a German name, and Markovich is a Russian name, and Swersky is a Polish name. You can't prove that these are Jewish children and if you can't prove which children are Jewish, and do it very quickly, you will have to leave".

(They) finally asked and were granted permission to enter the children's quarters to see them before their bedtime. That evening the rabbis entered the dormitory holding row upon row of little beds where the children--many of whom had been in the monastery since the start of the war in 1939--were going to sleep. (They) slowly walked through the aisles of beds, calling out, "Shema Yisrael--(Hear, Israel), the Lord is our God, the Lord is One!" One by one, children burst into tears and shrieked, "Mommy!" "Maman!" "Momma!" "Mamushka!" in each of their native tongues.

The priest had succeeded in teaching them about the Trinity, the New Testament, the Christian savior and how to say Mass, but the one thing he could not do was erase the children's memories of their Jewish Mothers--now murdered--putting them to bed every night with the Shema on their lips.

Singer Yaakov Shwekey has used the legend to create this beautiful song--Enjoy

Israel Fire Under Control~Now We Need Rain!

The Fire burning near Haifa is said to be under control, thanks to  the planes and fire fighters from  countries such as Bulgaria, Greece, Jordan, Russia, Turkey, USA and even the Palestinian Authority--officials believe they have things under control.  However Seven new hot spots were reported within the space of an hour, early Sunday evening. Police and firefighters believe this is a new wave of arson--it is not over yet! The weather is cooling and rain is expected--We are all praying for a downpour!

An online article in Yeshiva World shows the amazing pictures of what is believed to be the last minutes of the bus of young guards trapped by the fire. The online news source Haaretz posted the pictures complete with story. Do go to this link for Haaretz and read the entire story.The pictures were taken by tour guide and Carmel expert Dan Oren. According to the article,  as they were taking the pictures a wall of fire covered the entire area.

While this can't be confirmed it is possible that the car shown behind the bus belongs to Haifa Police Commander Ahuva Tomer, who went in after the bus and was also trapped.  She was taken to Carmel Hospital in Haifa, where a team of 20 doctors worked to revive her, finally succeeding in restoring a pulse--"against all odds," in their words. She was transferred to Rambam Medical Center for treatment and is now fighting for her life with burns over most of her body.  Please send her your prayers!

More on the Carmel Disaster

Back Window Shot of Bus Burning by R. Sofer

This first story is taken from Shearim. Follow this link is to an Israeli newscast that followed photographer Roni Sofer back to the location where he observed the burning bus and in fact saved three of the people from the burning wreck. He is an expert photographer and wanted to get pictures of the disaster. He describes the road as they drive down is saying that very quickly there were "walls of fire".  He soon realized he must make a quick escape and turned around to drive to safety. There were two other cars and the bus full of prison guards coming and he warned them to make a run for it. The two cars turned around (Note: the driver of one of the cars--from Tiberias--is still missing). The bus, unable to turn around was already on fire and Roni saw three people--a woman and two men--running towards him asking for help. The video shows the pictures he was able to snap of them running from the bus through his rear window. They escaped to safety, but the guards and Haifa police commander, Ahuva Tomer, who was in one of the cars did not. Ahuva Tomer is now in critical condition burned over 60% of her body and fighting for her life.

Evergreen 747 Supertanker

The American 'Evergreen 747 Super Tanker is now over Carmel joining fighters from many nations in the fight to control the massive fire that is still burning.

Meanwhile the crew of an air force plane fighting the fires spotted two men in a pickup truck trying to start a fire near one of the areas where a part of the blaze had recently been put out. The air force crew contacted police on the ground with the location of the truck and minutes later police arrived on the scene and arrested the suspects. In the last days arabs around the country have been starting fires to disrupt the efforts in Carmel. Hezbollah is celebrating the lost of life and forest in Northern Israel. “The great Carmel fire has embarrassed Israel's firefighting capabilities and proved its almost complete incompetence,” crowed the Hezbollah-linked Al-Manar TV news network. The arab press is  claiming that Ithis shows Israel is weak and no longer able to defend itself because we had to ask for help--and the dancing in the streets continues.

PA Firefighters Arrive to Help Israel Fight the Fire

On the positive side, twenty-one Palestinian Firefighters have entered Israel through the Salem crossing accompanied by Administration Personnel. According to Ayash, the Palestinian people viewed the disaster with a great deal of sorrow.  He said the cooperation has nothing to do with the relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. "We came here to help without addressing the issue of Jews and Arabs," Ayash added. "We will stay in the Carmel region until the fire is put out." Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had telephoned President Mahmoud Abbas to express his thanks at "neighbours helping neighbours".

This disaster is estimated to cost 3-4 billion dollars and take decades to recover from. Israelis have already started the long task. They begin by laying their dead to rest, taking in the displaced and starting to rebuild. During this week of Chanukah we know one thing, that miracles do happen and that is proven by the biggest miracle of all--we are still here and we are still standing together.

Video~Commander Ahuva Tomer Driving into the Blaze (0:30)

Overview of the Events and Firefighting Efforts

Disaster in Israel~May Gd Have Mercy...

Please pray for the dead, the injured and their families. We need a miracle to bring an end to this disaster, the largest and deadliest since Israel's founding in 1948. Please, Pray for Israel Today!

On Thursday, December 2nd a massive forest fire in Carmel killed 42 people. More than 15,000 people have been evacuated from towns and villages as the fires continue to blaze out of control.

Most of the dead are IPS cadets,  the majority of them young Druze in their 20's. They were in a bus returning after assisting in the evacuation of 500 prisoners (mainly arab) in Damon Prison. The fire reached a great speed--covering a mile in five minutes, according to a firefighter--catching the bus in the flames with no chance of escape. 

Police officers in a separate vehicle were also trapped by the flames. Two of them are missing, and the Commander of the Haifa Police, Lt-Col. Ahuva Tomer, is in serious condition after suffering burns all over her body. Doctors at Rambam Hospital in Haifa are fighting for her life.

Deputy Minister Ayoub Kara, a resident of Usfiyeh, spoke to a news Channel and said he has received information that the fire was a terror act. The fire  was  reported to have spread from three locations simultaneously--making arson likely. 

One observer said "It was amazing--within 30 minutes almost half the forest was in flames". Israeli firefighters said it was the biggest forest fire in the country’s history, with some 7,000 acres (2,800 hectares) of natural forest already destroyed.

So far this year numerous large fires, many set by arabs, have depleted Israel's reserves of fire-fighting chemicals, and the remaining supply will be exhausted by Friday morning.

Israeli planes are on the way to France for more supplies. In addition, Seven foreign aircraft are making their way to Israel: four from Greece, two from Azerbaijan and one from Cyprus. In addition, Four aircraft are expected from France, two or three from Russia, and two from Spain.

Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin  (Bibi) Netanyahu said: "I shall declare a national day of mourning but right now we haven't got the time to mourn and get into inquiries". 

Prime Minister Netanyahu flew over the scene in a helicopter and in a briefing, told reporters "People have showed tremendous strength of spirit, divine heroism, and sacrificed themselves to save others. I want to say to the families that are discovering their own personal disasters, we support you and love you. To our Druze brothers--I know you suffered a major blow. 

"These were astonishing people who displayed great courage."

And Now--Here Is A Real Kick in the Pants:

Radio Haifa reported that Arabs have been Dancing in the Streets of Furadis, just south of Haifa, in Celebration of the Deadly Fire ! While no other country in the middle east--to this very day--will give citizenship or any basic rights to "Palestinian Arabs", Israel has--these people vote, have access to education and medical care like every Israeli--and they dance in the streets when disaster strikes the country that feeds them.

Any wonder Israel does not believe we have a partner for peace?

Free Speech in Europe--Or Not!

Here is another goody from Pat Condell, and yes, he is anti-religion and uses strong language. But sometimes he is right on the mark. As the old saying goes, "Sometimes you have to call a spade a spade--and sometimes you have to call it a #&%^@)# shovel". Enjoy...

Who Assassinated Rafik Hariri? A CBC Investigation

On Valentines Day 2005, 1,800 kg of TNT tore apart the convoy of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. With the best security money can buy, how was this possible? Who could have done it? Hezbollah, who were at odds with Hariri and his policies claims Israel did it--as usual--but a young  Lebanese Officer with a brilliant mind, Captain Wassam Eid, found out the truth and paid for it with his life.
 
I have only one question--if Hezbollah is so innocent, then why are they threatening a civil war if charges are laid? Of course, with the corrupt UN doing the investigation one can hardly expect the truth. Meanwhile the thugs called Hezbollah, are a full blown army with a crap load of dangerous weapons. They murdered the the Prime Minister, they murdered the investigating officer--Here is the report in case you have not already seen it.

Getting Away With Murder~Part I

Getting Away With Murder~Part II

Why Are You Thankful?

Today is the day to reflect, not on the negative things in this world, but on all the many things we have to be thankful for. I will tell you mine at the end of this post!

Searching for the origins of Thanksgiving reveals many, many stories. My apologies if I missed something that you feel is vital. Officially, Thanksgiving is always on the fourth Thursday in the month of November. The first Thanksgiving Dinner can be traced back to the 16th century. According to the story, about 102 pilgrims crossed the Atlantic in the year 1620 on a ship named Mayflower. They traveled for nearly two months with extreme difficulty. Due to the terrible storms is is likely that they were kept in the cargo space of the sailing vessel and not allowed on deck.

On December 11, 1620 the pilgrims reached Plymouth Rock. This was not their original destination, but the storms had blown them off course. About 46 pilgrims died that winter due to the extreme  weather. In the spring of 1621, Squanto, a native Indian taught the pilgrims to grow corn, beans and pumpkin for survival. A day of fasting and prayer was called due to the severe drought that summer. Gd answered their prayers, and sent the rain to  save their crops.

In the autumn of 1621, they held a grand celebration to thank God and invited the Indians who had helped them. This communal dinner is popularly known as “The First Thanksgiving Feast”. According to the first hand account written by the leader of the colony, the food included, ducks, geese, venison, fish, berries etc. Some historians claim that because the pilgrims were so religious that most likely it would have been a day of fasting and prayer but most people say that it really was a feast.

Because of the diminished supply of flour that year, they did not have any kind of bread. Pumpkin pie, a staple on every dinner table, is unlikely to have been a part of the first thanksgiving feast, but they did have boiled pumpkin. The feast took place outside due to lack of large enough facilities and continued for three days. There was not another feast until 1623, when there was another severe drought. In the year 1676 Governor Bradford proclaimed another day of thanksgiving. In October of 1777 all of the 13 colonies joined in a communal celebration which also marked the victory over the British.

Events and changes occurred over the years. On May 24th 1830, a little known author, Sarah Josepha Hale, penned the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb". A little known author, Sarah spent 40 years writing to congressmen, lobbying five presidents, and writing countless editorials in her campaign to create an official day of thanks. Finally,  on October 3rd, President Lincoln made his famous Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1863 officially making the last Thursday in November the official Day of Thanksgiving. So, there are many reasons for taking a day to be thankful,

I am thankful for many things each and every day of my life, but as I write this article there is one prominent thing that I feel particularly thankful for.

I thank Gd for the brave men and women  serving in Armed Forces all over the world, who even today are putting their lives on the line so we can enjoy things like a Thanksgiving Dinner. Gd Bless you and Bring you safely home to your loved ones.

Happy Thanksgiving to You All!

Muslim Day on Madison Avenue

Why is there a need for a Muslim Day in New York City--the very place where 3,000 souls were murdered by Muslims? Has the world truly gone mad?? Has America lost its collective mind?
Foot baths, burqas, and bodies were sprawled out all over Madison Avenue in NYC. Read the entire article and see the photos and video clips at Bare Naked Islam's site. While you are there, take time to browse their entire site. You will be shocked at how far our society has traveled down the road to submission.

There is just so much wrong with this situation I don't know where to begin. This has been going on in Paris for some time now and has grown to the point that residents and shop owners cannot go near their premises while the "muslim community" conducts their prayers. The problem is, they are not residents of those areas. Rather, they bus people in from all over to have a show of force. Why do they do this? Easy--this is how they make their claim. Once they force locals out it becomes a No-Go area for all but muslims. They are having great success in Europe, now they are coming to America.

I have no problem with any religion or nationality immigrating to my country--what I object to is when they impose their prehistoric ideas and try to rob me of the freedoms and rights that our ancestors fought and died for. We must stop this ridiculous "politically correct" mindset because our entire way of life is at stake! 

Michael Vick--NFL Monster

Please go to Woman Honor Thyself and read her article on NFL "super star" Michael Vick. On April 26th 2007, police raided his house where they found evidence of dog fighting. The officers took 66 dogs (numbers differ) from the property,  and  mounds of earth where dogs had been buried. At the time, Michael Vick was  the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons and one of the highest paid players in the NFL (10 years = $130 million). He didn't need the money, so one is forced to ask why he would engage in such cruelty.

He served 21 months in prison, followed by two months in home confinement for his  confessed involvement in dog fighting over a five year period. Redskins Clinton Portis was quoted as saying "I don't know if he was fighting dogs or not, but it was his property. It was his dogs. If that's what he wants to do, do it. What people do behind closed doors." Oh, yes Portis also said Vick was a "positive role model". Think about it--these guys are being paid millions of dollars to chase a ball around a field.

Many people will never get over Vick's own admissions of unthinkable cruelty to his own dogs--the strangling, the drowning, the electrocutions, the removal of all the teeth of females who would fight back during mating--and don't forget, dog fights go on for hours because it is "to the death".

These are only 2 of his victims. The one on the left is Gypsy, I could not find a name for the other.  Vick did say he was sorry--yeah--sorry that he got caught. The NFL took him back and all is forgiven--because, after all, they were only dogs and he is such a great quarterback. 

 For all of you who look up to Michael Vick as an amazing football player--Please read Angel's post and tell your kids the real truth about this sick  piece of garbage.

Israels "Neighbours"

The world loves to blame the Jews for everything that goes wrong in the world. We listen to the cries of  "if only the Jews would give the PA their own state there would be peace" on a daily basis. Really? As recently as 26 October 2010, while in Bethlehem, President Abbas was photographed with a stone model of the map of Palestine--that competely obliterates Israel! This is not a man who wants to make peace. What he says to the gullible English speaking world has no relevance at all to what he is saying in Arabic. Yet regardless how many pictures like  this,  or translations of his vile speeches are published, the world of the politically correct remains oblivious.

The clip below is of our neighbours in Gaza (Hamas) who are part of the "Palestine" that Israel is supposed to make peace with. The one thing I can say for Hamas is that they are at least honest and openly declare their desire to wipe Israel from the earth.

This film is circa 2008, but I can tell you that things have gotten substantially worse--all thanks to the useful idiots of the EU, the muslim-owned UN, and  even the good old US of A--who rush to give billions of dollars to  support a non-existent entity with no direction. There were no Palestinian People until Egyptian born terrorist Yasser Arafat came along and started spouting his lies. That he was given a Nobel Peace Prize while funding the murders of Jewish civilians is a travesty. A master of deceit he started the myth, and now, slowly, methodically history is being re-written to create an historic people--even though their own leaders have stated that: “The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, ‘Palestinians’, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct ‘Palestinian people’ to oppose Zionism.”

To this day the foundational charter of the Palestinian Liberation Organization--PLO, states that "the liberation of Palestine will destroy the Zionist and imperialist presence" and that "armed struggle is the only way to liberate Palestine and is therefore a strategy and not a tactic". Despite repeated Palestinian commitments from the late 1990s on to annul these sections of the covenant, it was never officially changed. It should be noted that All of Israel's neighbours carry similar statements in their Charters.

Watch and Think--if they get their way Israel will be destroyed Israel--and if Israel is no longer here, these people will move on to their next target--and eventually it will be your neighbourhood!.

A Travesty of Human Rights

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have both been appointed to the board of the new UN agency for the equality and empowerment of women world wide. This is so evil I am without words, however. Pat Condell knows just what to say. I don't agree with all of his opinions (he is an admitted aetheist), but he has a way with words and an ability to to "say it like it is". In this case I think he is spot-on. Enjoy--and Think About It!