Ed Miliband: "We oppose the Israeli incursion into Gaza"

David here,

If there is any doubt as to whether or not I would ever vote for Labour or its leader Miliband,at the next general election, it has been removed following Miliband's decision to oppose Israel's military intervention in Gaza . At least Prime Minister Cameron has been as supportive, very supportive as he can be given the notorious pro-Arab Foreign Office Britain has always had . Why Miliband does this is unclear : what is the point about boasting (albeit incorrectly) that he would be 'the fist Jewish Prime Minister', when he decides to sock Israel in the balls during this most testing of times, that is war?  What is the point of him praising Israel and gushing about it when he comes up with statements like this, which are clearly pandering to the Islamic vote in the UK? 

So OK Miliband, before  you go criticising Israel,  answer these questions.

Explosive warheads are raining down on Birmingham.

Do you :

A. Get the British army to shoot back at the enemy positions

B.Seek out and destroy all the launch sites and the factories and warehouses where these rockets are being made and stored.

C.  Mobilise the full force of the British defence forces against this terrorism

Or  :

D. Show up at Birmingham with a white shirt that you're waving around like a white flag ( the favourite colour of the left) and demand everyone to stop it, because you might get to be a Prime Minister

E. Have a group hug with your supporters and pray for peace.

F. Roll over and go back to sleep & join the UN in calling Britain, which is defending itself against terrorism as being guilty of war crimes.

Shabbat Thread

Hi All,

Yes, another week is over and another Shabbat dawns. There is much to pray for this week for the Jewish community  & without : 

• Diaspora Jews, especially our brothers and sisters in France, Germany, Morocco and Turkey. Dare I say Britain as well? 
• Our brothers and sisters in Israel 
• The brave young men and women of the IDF 
• The war in Gaza
• Those who have died on all sides
• The victims of flight MH17
• The many unknown tradegies that aflict this world, but are not reported in the news or go unreported. 
• The hopes, fears, personal stresses and worries that we all have, which may seem small to the world, but are important to us and also to Hashem.

As usual this is a time for people to put their own prayers, thoughts, discussions on Torah & whatever else they wish to share. 

May Hashem bless us all. 

Finally a song  (I've put a video in the comments thread) :

Ani ma'amin, 

Be'emuna shelema

Beviat hamashiach ani ma'amin

Beviat hamashiach, ma'amin

Beviat hamashiach ani ma'amin

Beviat hamashiach, ma'amin

Veaf al pi sheyitmahmeha

Im kol zeh, achake loh

Veaf al pi sheyitmahmeha

Im kol zeh, achake loh

Im kol zeh, im kol zeh, achake loh

Achake bechol yom sheyavoh

Im kol zeh, im kol zeh, achake loh

Achake bechol yom sheyavoh

(sof)

Ani ma'amin

English version 

I believe with complete faith
In the coming of the Messiah,

I believe

I believe in the coming of the Messiah
In the coming of the Messiah, I believe
Believe in the coming of the Messiah

And even though he may tarry
Nonetheless I will wait for him
And even though he may tarry
Nonetheless I will wait for him

Nonetheless, I will wait for him
I will wait every day for him to come
Nonetheless, I will wait for him
I will wait every day for him to come

(Ending)
I believe

On a lighter note ....

All

David here.  The past few weeks have been intense and we've covered a lot of deep topics. But every so often we need the G-d given gift of laughter and humour, which can be as therapeutic as any drug. To keep our spirits up,  below are a selection of well known Jewish jokes. I post these, not to be frivolous, but to celebrate and recognise that we Jews DO have a G-d given sense of humour. Which we all need to reach out to now and again.

The Million-Dollar Question for God

A poor man walking in the forest feels close enough to God to ask, "God, what is a million years to you?
God replies, "My son, a million years to you is like a second to me."
The man asks, "God, what is a million dollars to you?"
God replies, "My son, a million dollars to you is less than a penny to me. It means almost nothing to me."The man asks, "So God, can I have a million dollars?"
And God replies, "In a second."


Public Toilets
Bloomberg, on a business trip, found himself having a public toilet. He had just made himself comfortable when he noticed that the toilet paper roll was empty. He called out to the next booth, "Excuse me, friend, but do you have any toilet paper in there?"
"No, I'm afraid there doesn't seem to be any here, either."
Bloomberg paused for a moment. "Listen, he said, do you happen to have a newspaper or a magazine with you?"
"Sorry, I don't."
Bloomberg paused again, and then said, "How about two fives for a ten?"

The Priest And The Rabbi
A priest and a rabbi were sharing a compartment on a train. After a while, the priest put down his book and said to the Rabbi, "I know that in your religion you're not supposed to eat pork... but have you really never ever tasted it?"
The rabbi closed his newspaper and replied, "I must tell you the truth. Yes I have, on the odd occasion."
The rabbi then had his turn to interrogate. He asked, "I know that in your religion you're supposed to be celibate... but..."
The priest interrupted, "Yes, I know what you are going to ask, and yes, I have succumbed to temptation once or twice."
The two continued with their reading and there was silence for a while.
Then the rabbi peeked around his newspaper and said, "Better than pork, isn't it?

Adam and Eve
One day, God and Adam were walking in the Garden of Eden.
God told Adam that it was time to populate the world. "Adam", he said, "you can start by kissing Eve".
"What’s a kiss?", asked Adam.
God explained and then Adam took Eve behind a bush and kissed her.
Adam returned with a big smile on his face and said, "Lord, that was great! What’s next?".
"Now you must caress Eve".
"What’s caress?", asked Adam.
God explained and then Adam took Eve behind a bush and lovingly caressed her.
Adam returned with a bigger smile and said, "Lord, that was even better than a kiss! What’s next?".
"Here is what gets the deed done. Now I want you to make love to Eve".
"What is make love?", asked Adam. 

God explained and then Adam took Eve behind the bush.
A few seconds later, Adam returned and asked, "Lord, what is a headache?".

Finally here is a clip from the British comedy duo 'Two Ronnies' about some one who wishes to insure himself against being Jewish : 

Enjoy and take these jokes in the spirit in which they are offered .

G-d bless you all. 

Father Gabriel Nadaf on the current conflict

David here,

Much to my interest and delight, one of the leaders of the Greek Orthodox Church in Israel, Father Gabriel Nadaf, penned the following on Monday, whose sentiments and views I can thoroughly concur with : 

"Edmond Burke, the 18th century Irish philosopher and political theorist, said, ‘The only thing necessary for evil to win is for good men to do nothing.’ Therefore, we are all brothers in the face of evil, with no regard to religion, race, and faith. The outcry about the atrocities we are crying out together. As the spiritual father of the Israeli Christians Forum, who encourages the recruitment of Israel Christians to the IDF and  full integration of Christians into the Israeli society, I would like to turn to you with a plea to support and back Israel, our Holy land, and its defense forces. The country is under fire and our soldiers are fighting against terrorist organizations, whose sole purpose and goal is to destroy the State of Israel. 

In the name of the Israeli Christians, I am crying out to the whole world: Wake up! Terrorism acts don’t allow any chance for peace. If Hamas doesn’t safeguard its own people, Israel cannot be held responsible for their safety. Hamas is supposed to be protecting its own people but unfortunately, like all the terrorist organizations, it does the opposite, takes advantage of the Civilian Gazan population, and sacrifices its people (women and children). Therefore, the death of the Palestinian civilians in Gaza is the sole responsibility of Hamas. 

They are the only ones to blame.Israel complied with Egypt’s offer of a cease fire, but Hamas refused. Israel cannot sit idle while the barrages of rockets are being fired on its civilians and it cannot allow the infiltration of terrorists into its space through tunnels whose sole purpose is killing Israeli civilians. The one big difference between Hamas and Israel is that the lives of Israeli civilians are very precious to the State and it will do everything in its power to protect them, regardless of religion. 

Since the takeover of Hamas of Gaza, it has done everything to force the Christians to disappear and flee from Gaza. They hate the Christians no less than they hate the Jews. Hamas is part of the Al-Qaida ideology and resolutions cannot be reached with them. Their refusal of the cease fire is a clear testimony to that. 

Instead of reinforcing the State of Israel and the security it provides for the Christians and all of its citizens, it’s being boycotted and there are continued attempts to weaken it, which will lead to us becoming an easy prey like all the countries around us. The State of Israel is at the forefront of the battle against the terrorism that is trying to swallow the whole world. The flame of terrorism is going to reach every corner of the world and no country will be immune from the terrorist attacks. What is happening in Syria, Iraq, and Gaza will be happening in your country if you continue to do nothing. 

Therefore, we all have to come together in unity and uproot terrorism. We should not be complacent and accept terrorism as a fact of life. We have to stop being indifferent about terrorists, who are exploiting our freedom and good spirit. I am calling on you, on behalf of the Israeli Christians, to support the IDF and the State of Israel in Operation ‘Protective Edge’ and to fight terrorism with us, in order to protect the Holy Land. For, if God forbid, our country falls in the hand of terrorists, a catastrophe will befall the entire world. May God bless you and bring justice and peace to the world. Amen!"

No distinction between converts and Jews by birth

Question: David why do Jews by birth not see Jews who convert as being fully Jewish? 

Answer : Any Jew by birth who sees a Jew who has converted to our people's faith as not being a Jew is speaking utter crap. Once a person has converted to Judaism, i.e. has the approval of a Beth Din, been immersed in a mikveh and if male circumcised (which can be done prior to conversion under General anesthetic by a professional medical practitioner) & is willing to accept the Jewish lifestyle then he or she is fully Jewish. There is no distinction between a Jew from birth and a Jew who has converted. Contrary to popular belief Jews are not a race, but a nation in a perpetual and unbreakable covenant between the Jewish people and God . The Torah is our Constitution and that is the responsibility that a potential convert is taking on. Here is what one of the Rabbinical Midrash says about converts and how loved they are by God : 

"Dearer to God than all of the Israelites who stood at Mount Sinai is the convert. Had the Israelites not witnessed the lightning, thunder, and quaking mountain, and had they not heard the sounds of the shofar, they would not have accepted the Torah. But the convert, who did not see or hear any of these things, surrendered to God and accepted the yoke of heaven. Can anyone be dearer to God than such a person".

Lech Lecha 6:32

Belated Happy Birthday !

Hi All, 

Hannah here .

All of us here are staunch Monarchists and we all love our royal family , especially our Queen[who is also Queen of 22 other countries as well!] and the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge. So on a slightly lighter note than other posts we'd all like to wish Prince George a very belated but  Happy Birthday ! 

New Dr Who post

Hi All,

Please bookmark the following link HERE or copy the link below, to go to my new Science fiction blog :

http://hannahskosherscifi.blogspot.co.uk/

I've got a post discussing the latest Dr Who show.

Hopefully thinking about otherworldly adventures, will provide a brief respite of the terrible horrors of this one .

H (: