Shabbat Shalom:
Parshat Terumah
6 Adar 5767 / February 23-24, 2007
Haftarah - Melachim I 5:26-6:13
Rabbi Yikhat Rozen, Merkaz Neria, Kiryat Malachi
A Lesson For the Children -
Shabbat had arrived in the city of Frankfurt. This was the year 5634 (1874). The palace of the well known wealthy man, Baron Rothschild, was filled with joy and excitement. The guest for this Shabbat was Rabbi Aryeh Mordechai of Porisov, a great and righteous Torah scholar, who was on his way to Eretz Yisrael. During the entire Shabbat the people of the house were in a good mood, many Torah insights were discussed, the singing was magnificent, and of course the Shabbat meals were fit for royalty. Everybody present enjoyed hearing Torah words from the great rabbi and talking to him about his plans for life in Eretz Yisrael. Soon after the end of Shabbat, when the Baron was talking to his guest, a servant appeared, holding a tray with several dozen letters that had arrived during Shabbat.
Rich men of the status of Baron Rothschild are involved in business with many Gentiles all around the world, and these men must therefore have up-to-date information available to them all the ...   more »

Desire to join EU won't materialize unless we renounce Jewish State's essence
Sharon Pardo
Seventy five percent of Israelis are interested in joining the European Union, according to a survey undertaken by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Israel. Quite a few leaders, including Benjamin Netanyahu, Silvan Shalom, Avigdor Lieberman and others, are also talking about Israel joining the EU in the future. Meanwhile, some in Europe itself, including Silvio Berlusconi in Italy and the Transnational Radial Party in the EU parliament, are engaged in a campaign for full-fledged Israeli membership.  
This is an amazing phenomenon, where citizens and senior policymakers in Israel are clinging to an idea that not only has no chance of materializing in the foreseeable future, but can also gravely undermine the essence of the country. 
The support for the notion of Israel joining the EU completely ignores the contradiction between Israel's essence as the Jewish State and the Jewish people's country, and the basic idea the EU is premised on – turning the continent into an open, united space, devoid of internal borders, where there is no significant difference between the citizens of member states. 
The fact that Israel is a democratic, liberal country where ...   more »

Acclaimed Middle East historian Sir Martin Gilbert revealed this week that Lt.-Col. Thomas Edward Lawrence - better known as "Lawrence of Arabia" - was actually a strong Zionist.
Citing recently opened British archives, Gilbert said that Lawrence, who played a key role in Arab nationalism during and after the first World War, firmly advocated a sovereign Jewish state from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.
Lawrence is most famous for having organized Arab irregular forces to combat the Ottoman Empire during the war. He is also renowned for having adopted Arab customs and for wearing Arab-style robes, even into battle.
But he didn't believe the Arabs had a chance of building anything worthwhile in the Middle East without the presence of a Jewish state, according to Gilbert.
Original Source
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By Ryan Jones
February 23, 2007
Israeli defense officials agree that Syria, with the backing of Iran, is apparently preparing for war with the Jewish state, but do not believe that conflict will erupt this year.
That according to a security assessment for the year 2007 prepared by the IDF, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and the Mossad for the government.
The Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, however, is a different story.
The terrorist arms build-up in Gaza, coupled with ongoing attacks from the area that are certain to one day result in a mass-casualty incident is a recipe for war.
Gaza-based terrorists are firing rockets into southern Israel on almost a daily basis. Many have come dangerously close to hitting strategic facilities in the coastal city of Ashkelon that if struck, could result in the deaths of hundreds or thousands of Israelis.
If that happens, and it almost has on several occassions, Israel would feel compelled to enter Gaza in force.
When the Israelis get there, they will find a Hamas-led force armed with advanced weapons thanks to months of successful smuggling via the Egyptian Sinai and employing Hizb'allah tactics put to good use against the IDF last summer.
That spells ...   more »

By Ze'ev Schiff, Amos Harel and Yoav Stern,
The United States demanded that Israel desist from even exploratory contacts with Syria, of the sort that would test whether Damascus is serious in its declared intentions to hold peace talks with Israel.
In meetings with Israeli officials recently, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was forceful in expressing Washington's view on the matter.
The American argument is that even "exploratory talks" would be considered a prize in Damascus, whose policy and actions continue to undermine Lebanon's sovereignty and the functioning of its government, while it also continues to stir unrest in Iraq, to the detriment of the U.S. presence there.   
It is also known that Syria, like Iran, continues to provide Hezbollah with arms and equipment.
According to senior Israeli officials, the American position vis-a-vis Syria, as it was expressed by the secretary of state, reflects a hardening of attitudes.
When Israeli officials asked Secretary Rice about the possibility of exploring the seriousness of Syria in its calls for peace talks, her response was unequivocal: Don't even think about it.
Israeli officials, including those in the intelligence community, are divided over the degree to which Syrian President Bashar Assad is serious ...   more »

Gallup poll places Israel as only country majority of Americans both view favorably and see as important. Iraq most unfavorable but most important while only 9 percent view Iran as favorable

Yitzhal Benhorin Published:  02.23.07, 01:24 / Israel News  




WASHINGTON - A Gallup poll surveying US opinion on geopolitics singles out Israel as only foreign nation Americans feel favorably toward and also say that what happens there is vitally important to the US.
Americans remain most favorable towards English-speaking countries – Canada (92 percent view it as mostly favorable), Australia (89 percent) and Great Britain (also 89 percent). Additional countries the majority of Americans view favorably are Japan (82), India (69), Israel (63), Mexico (60), Egypt (60), Russia (53) percent and Jordan (51).
The country viewed as least-favorable by Americans is Iran (9 percent), followed by North Korea (12), Iraq (15), Palestinian Authority (16), Syria (21), Afghanistan (23), Cuba (25), Pakistan (28), Saudi Arabia (35), Venezuela (41) and China (48).
Ratings of France are now at their highest level since the start of the Iraq war and now stand at 57 percent favorable, up three points from 2006. Prewar levels typically stood at 70 percent. Ratings of Germany have ...   more »