by Rabbi Yehuda L. Oppenheimer
Longing for a better future.
Unless things change a whole lot in the next few weeks, we will one again be going through the days leading up to and including Tisha B'Av, the Ninth Day of the Month of Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. Year after year, we reflect on our condition in the Diaspora, and what this long, seemingly endless exile is supposed to teach us, while awaiting the long sought for Redemption.
There is an interesting anecdote recorded regarding a meeting between the prophet Jeremiah and the famous Greek philosopher, Plato. Jeremiah was mourning the destruction of Jerusalem, and Plato engaged him in conversation. Impressed with Jeremiah's great wisdom, Plato asked him, "I do not understand how a sage of your stature can weep so bitterly over something that is over and done with. Surely, what is past is finished with, and your concern now ought to be solely with the future, and how you can influence it. What possible use can there be in all of this weeping?"
Jeremiah answered, "I cannot give you a proper answer to your logical question, for you will not understand it."
Was Plato ...   more »

US President George W Bush has said he will name an envoy to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), a coalition of Muslim countries.
The role of the envoy will be to bolster relations between the Muslim world and the US.
The OIC represents some 57 Islamic states and promotes Muslim solidarity.
The news came as former British PM Tony Blair was named as the Quartet's envoy to the Middle East, to work on behalf of the US, Russia, the UN and the EU.
Mr Bush said the envoy to the OIC would "listen to and learn from representatives from Muslim states" and "share with them America's views and values".
It is the first time such an envoy has been appointed by a US president.
"This is an opportunity for Americans to demonstrate to Muslim communities our interest in respectful dialogue and continued friendship," Mr Bush said.
Is trying to improve America's image amongst Muslims a lost cause? What would it take to improve relations between the US and the Islamic world? Send us a comment.
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'Jerusalem not holy to Muslims'
Yaakov Lappin
Jerusalem is "not holy to Muslims at all," the president of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), Morton Klein, told a Quebec synagogue congregation, the Canadian Jewish News (CJN) reported on Friday.  
Klein said Jerusalem had never been important to Muslims, and that the Islamic claim on Jerusalem was designed "to take away our heart and our soul," the CJN said.  He added that Palestinians "have never been a real people because there was never an actual country called 'Palestine,'" the report added.  
"He even accused Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of being willing to sell out Israel for the chance at 'peace,' when 'peace' has never been on Palestinian leaders' minds," CJN quoted Klein as saying.  
Australian FM rejects Syria call
Meanwhile, in Ramallah, Australia's Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, has rejected calls by the Syrian ambassador for Australia to take a less pro-Israel stance, the Australian Jewish News (AJN) reported.  
"What some ambassador - the Syrian Ambassador I think it is - says in Canberra, well my only response to that is I would like Syria to play a truly constructive role in constraining extremism," Downer was quoted ...   more »

Syria is producing more long-range missiles and is equipping its armed forces with as much anti-tank and anti-aircraft weaponry as it can get its hands on, warned the head of Israeli Defense Ministry's political-military bureau on Saturday.
Speaking to Israel Radio, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Amos Gilad stressed that he does not believe Syria will initiative a conventional full-scale war with Israel in the near future, but noted that the leadership in Damascus does appear to have become “enamored with the violent option.”
Gilad said that Syria and Iran are working together to strengthen and support Lebanon's Hizballah and the more violent Palestinian terror groups, apparently hoping that Israel will respond by striking Syria and setting off a war that its northern neighbor has been feverishly preparing for.
Earlier this month, reports indicated that Syria had managed to procure Russia's top fighter-interceptor, the Mig-31, providing it with vastly increased air defenses.  
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