by Rabbi Avi Shafran
With the recent assault against the Jewish people and Jewish history, Tisha B'Av takes on a special poignancy this year.
Tisha B'Av, the Jewish fast that commemorates the destruction of the Holy Temples in Jerusalem as well as other tragedies of Jewish history, will take on a special poignancy this year. For not only has the Temple not been rebuilt and does the Messiah still tarry, but the Jewish People in the Jewish Land are under siege by enemies consumed with hatred and seemingly unfettered by any sense of the holiness of human life.
What is more, the assault is being mounted not only against Jews and the Jewish State but against Jewish history itself.
Consider the official Palestinian Ministry of Information's statement that "there is no tangible evidence of any Jewish traces/remains in the old city of Jerusalem and its immediate vicinity."
Or the declaration of Palestinian Authority Mufti 'Ikrima Sabri, in an interview with the Germany periodical Die Welt, that "there is not [even] the smallest indication of the existence of a Jewish temple on [the Temple Mount] in the past." (The Muslim cleric went on to speak of how "it is the art ...   more »

by Shraga Simmons and Pesach Benson
Ammunition for how you can defend Israel.


It happens every time. Israel is forced into a defensive war, and winds up defending itself against canards of aggression and excessive force. Around the water cooler and on talk radio, Israel's supporters are put on the spot: Why are so many Lebanese civilians being killed? Why the destruction of so much infrastructure? Can't Israel show some restraint?

At times like this, every Jew becomes an ambassador for Israel. Even if you don't agree with everything Israel does, we must defend Israel's right to self-defense.

So let's sort out fact from fiction -- for the sake of Israel, and for ourselves.

Myth: Israel is attacking and killing hundreds of Lebanese civilians.

Fact: The death of any innocent civilian is tragic and Israel regrets the loss of life.

Why are civilians dying? Because Hezbollah is hiding among civilians, using villages, mosques and even private homes to store and manufacture weapons caches that include 12,000 missiles.

This creates a conundrum for the Israeli military, where Hezbollah wins either way: If the IDF shies away from attacking because of the proximity of civilians, Hezbollah's terror infrastructure remains in place. And ...   more »

Palestinian media use racist terms including 'colored dark skin lady'
Aaron Klein, WND  
While US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been in the Middle East meeting regional alongside Israel's military campaign in Lebanon, media outlets controlled by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party the past few days have been using racist rhetoric  
in their reports, referring to the American representative as the "black woman," "raven," "colored dark skinned black lady" and "black spinster."  
The Palestinian media coverage follows an article last week in which WND reported senior Fatah members staged an anti-American protest outside the main government building in Ramallah while Abbas met with Rice. Most media coverage of last Wednesday's Ramallah protests claimed ralliers were affiliated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad.  
According to a translation by Palestinian Media Watch, the PA daily Al Hayat detailed Wednesday's Ramallah protests in which Rice was described as a "raven" who "brings only destruction."  
Al Hayat featured pictures of ralliers brandishing anti-Rice placards, some reading, "Murderer Rice go to Hell" and "Get out." One placard had Rice drinking the blood of dead babies and stating, "I need more blood."  
A cartoon last week in the ...   more »

By Reuven Koret  July 31, 2006  
It was to be a perfect Hollywood ending for Hezbollah. Just as the Israeli bombing of the village of Qana in 1996 brought a premature end to Israel's Operation "Grapes of Wrath," so too a sequel of Qana II could change, once and for all, the direction of Israel's current summer blockbuster, "Change of Direction." Ten years ago, world condemnation of an errant Israeli shell that hit a civilian compound forced then-PM Shimon Peres to curtail the offensive against terror bases.
The setting was also perfect: Kana was again being used as a primary site for launching rockets against Israeli cities. The IDF reported that more than 150 rockets had been launched from Qana and its vicinity at Israeli civilians, wreaking destruction in Kiryat Shmona, Maalot, Nahariya and Haifa. It was only a matter of time before the Israeli Air Force would come for a visit, using pinpoint targeting of the sites used to launch rockets, Hezbollah logistical centers and weapon storage facilities.
On the morning of July 30, according to the IDF, the air force came in three waves. In the first, between midnight and one in the morning, there was a ...   more »