The World Loved Him, Why?

With the death of Shimon Peres, folks are coming out from from around the world to offer their heartfelt condolences. My question is: WHY?!!  What is it about Shimon Peres that the whole world adored? Including the greatest lover of Israel of them all: Barack Obama!

In Israel it makes sense; the stridently leftist media, academia, labor, government cartel has enormous power, and to question Shimon Peres’ “greatness” is to be a total pariah from proper Israeli society, on all levels. Sadly this heavily affects the Religious Zionist community as well. The Haredi Community is the only one immune from it, aside from Hareidi Knesset members, who are in essence the designated liars of the community to the secular world. They too must play along.

But why does the world love Shimon Peres so much and why are they so saddened by his death? The same countries that are constantly condemning Israel at the UN. The same countries and leaders that quietly and not so quietly question Israel’s very right to exist in our ancestral homeland.  Those that are looking for any and every opportunity to weaken the Jewish Presence.

Of course nobody wants to discuss this today. Everyone loves the attention that Israel is getting from around the world. Well its time to grow up. This is not a teenager’s birthday celebration to see who will show up and how popular we are. This is life and death.

The hard cold truth: The world loved Shimon Peres because they thought he was the best chance they had at getting rid of/weakening the Jewish Presence in Israel. And they are truly sad because that hope just died. 

Shana Tova,

Ben Packer

Old City, Jerusalem

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Break the BDS

Israel Needs to Conquer Quneitra NOW!

After many years, it appears that the brutal civil war in Syria is significantly shifting in Bashar Assad’s favor. The Syrian Armed Forces, with relentless assistance from Russia, Turkey and Hezbollah/Iran, are advancing in all areas of the country against the various rebel factions. The rebel factions including ISIS, the former Al-Qaeda affiliate, the somewhat secular/somewhat democratic rebels, and numerous other small Sunni militias, are all in retreat. 

Despite the savage barbarism seen throughout the conflict, including the use of chemical weapons, execution of civilians, torture, rape and sieges by all sides, the previous long-standing general stalemate seemingly has been in the strategic interest of the State of Israel. As long as no side could win in Syria, no side could afford to be overtly aggressive to the neighboring countries.

However, all indications are that this will now change. Along with ferocious fighting in Aleppo, the Syrian armed forces and their allies are reportedly massing near the Golan Heights area, planning to eradicate the eclectic rebel presence in the area, primarily around the symbolic and strategic city of Quneitra. Now is the time for the Israeli Government to threaten to conquer Quneitra, again!  (Quneitra was conquered by Israel during the “Six Day War” in 1967 and foolishly returned to Syria after the Yom Kippur War in 1973.)

Quneitra and the surrounding area
Quneitra and the surrounding area

By threatening to conquer Quneitra, again, Israel will be sending a clear and real message to Assad that a permanent Hezbollah/Iranian presence there is out of the question. While the current situation of various radical jihadist forces in Quneitra is also wholly unacceptable, until now, its has been manageable. Its possible that when the dust settles, Assad will emerge victorious and strengthened. And its possible he will turn to his historic allies, Alawites, the Druze and others to rebuild his country. And maybe there is a possibility that he will look to abandon Iran/Hezbollah and forge peace with his neighbors. But for now, that’s wishful thinking – Shimon Peres style. And we’ve unfortunately seen where that can lead.

An Israeli conquest of Quneitra may become a strategic necessity and it might happen pretty soon. In the meantime, Assad should clearly understand that Hezbollah will not be opening a new front against Israel in the Golan Heights. And if he can’t understand that, then the State of Israel needs grow in size a bit and registration should be opened for the new Jewish residents of Quneitra. 

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Break the BDS

Ain’t Dividing Jerusalem!

Seemingly in connection with the upcoming 49th anniversary of the liberation of Jerusalem in the Six Day War of 1967, Israeli Channel 10 has put out a program “investigating” the current possibility of redividing and abandoning Jerusalem. This is despite the fact that hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of Jews around the world view the reunification of Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty as a miraculous event. (However, not as “miraculous” as the fact that Channel 10 still exists regardless of the fact that no one watches it.)

Here is a link to their program: http://10tv.nana10.co.il/Article/?ArticleID=1190486
I thought it would be helpful to go through some of the various inaccuracies and faults in the piece and then provide a more accurate (albeit brief) description of the current situation.
In the piece, 2 leftist reporters travel to a few mixed neighborhoods in Jerusalem – Maale Zeitim/Ras al-Amud, Kfar Teimanim/Ir Dovid/Silwan and the Old City. They speak with both Jews and Muslims along the way to understand the “real situation”.
Cost of Security:
One of the issues that seems to really bother the “reporters” is the cost of security for the Jews living in the mixed neighborhoods. First of all, I’m not sure we put a price limit on security – it’s pretty important. However, if one would want to, it’s not the simplest of sciences. For example, ,leftists complained about the supposed high cost of securing the Gaza Strip and its Jewish residents before the “disengagement”. However, this pales in comparison to the cost of having the airport for the entire country closed for days and for the Iron Dome batteries that are now necessary as a result of that disastrous policy.  Would these “security experts” prefer that the residents defended themselves? I think its safe to say that they would be at least slightly more aggressive and costly than the current system.
Legal Extortion Claim:
While in Ir Dovid, the “investigators” suggested that if Jews are unable to purchase specific houses from arabs, they seek legal action to have the arabs evicted. This is preposterous. Does anyone really believe that Jewish activists simply file frivolous legal cases against random Arabs in an attempt to steal their legally owned houses? It only gets more and more absurd!
Niso Shacham vs. Arieh King:
Next, after taking shots at all of the Jewish residents of the area, they decide to take aim at one particular resident – Arieh King. One doesn’t have to agree with all of King’s ideas, but he is a member of City Council, the head of a non-profit organization and not accused of any crimes. This is in stark contrast to the infamous and disgraced Niso Shacham, who is brought in to malign Mr. King. Shockingly (even to me), nothing is mentioned of Shacham’s dishonorable removal from the police force for a whole slew of crimes, such as sexual harassment, fraud and indecent acts. This guy is a pariah, not a source of credible information. This is beyond pathetic!
Arab “Testimony”:
Of course its only reasonable to hear from the arab residents. So we get to hear from Mr. Rajabi in Kfar Teimanim/Silwan. Its remarkable that Mr. Rajabi finds time to breathe in between all the lies and nonsense he is spouting. He owns everything and there is no terror. Wow. This is not even questioned by our seasoned reporters. They could have easily researched the number of attacks on Jews in Silwan – in the thousands – before speaking to this known liar and instigator. They even complain about the lack of cooperation they receive from the Jewish residents to provide proof of the attacks – while standing in front of a door covered in paint and ash from numerous attacks! Nobody is this stupid. The agenda is clear.
Borders:
When examining the previous, and what they hope is the future border dividing Jerusalem, there is no mention of previously Jewish neighborhoods, like Shimon HaTzadik/Nachalat Shimon and Nissan Bek, that existed and again exist on the “wrong side of the border”. So they bring in an “expert” – Danny Tirza – the famed planner of the “Separation Fence/Wall that is “protecting” us from terror. Of course he is unable to conclude that his life work is a total waste of time and inconsequential and therefore posits that Jerusalem can still be redivided, despite the efforts of those trying to prevent that. However, he does say one important thing: If Jews build in “Abu Dis”/ Kidmat Tzion, then the whole scheme will have been scuttled. I can’t think of a better pitch to be used by those trying to attain support for this project. G-d willing, success is right around the corner!
Conclusion:
The major failure of the program is the lack of focus on MOMENTUM. Where is the momentum? Clearly, the momentum is on the side of those strengthening the Jewish Presence in all of Jerusalem. The successes of Ateret Cohanim, Ir Dovid/ELAD, Arieh King and others in just the past few years is staggering. And there is no reason to believe that the pace will do anything but increase. As lawsuits conclude – in our favor! – and as more and more Arabs see the financial incentive to sell (like just a few weeks ago in the “Muslim Quarter”), the number of Jews living in these areas will increase dramatically. Another glaring example that will prove the point (but of course was was ignored in the leftist propaganda news report), is Kfar Teimanim. The number of Jewish residences has more than doubled in the last 2 years and will likely double again in the next year or so. Additionally, the historical Yemenite Great Synagogue has been reclaimed and is in the process of full renovation. The number of new Jewish residents in Ir Dovid in the past few years has also skyrocketed. The Shepherd Hotel Project, next to Shimon HaTzadik neighborhood, is nearing completion. Additional building projects are awaiting approval in Shimon HaTzadik, Beit Hanina, Silwan, the Old City, and of course, Kidmat Tzion.
The leftist dream of a divided Jerusalem is turning into a nightmare very quickly. They are just too asleep to realize. “Jerusalem, if I forget you…”
Yom Yerushalayim Sameach!
Ben Packer
Old City, Jerusalem