by Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis
Divine Providence or coincidence? The choice -- and challenge – is yours.
The Talmud relates that after the destruction of our Holy Temple, Rabbi Akiva and the Sages of Israel were walking on the streets of Jerusalem. As they came to the Temple Mount, they beheld a devastating sight. There, where the Sanctuary had once stood in majesty and splendor, where the Holy of Holies had been, were only ruins, and wild foxes were roaming about.The Sages broke down and wept."Woe is us," they wailed, "that we have seen this with our own eyes."But Rabbi Akiva did not weep. Instead, he smiled."How can you smile at such a time?" his colleagues asked, shocked."I smile," Rabbi Akiva answered, "because today I have seen the fulfillment of prophecy, for the same prophet who foretold the destruction also foretold that the Temple shall be rebuilt. The same prophet who prophesied our exile, also prophesied that we shall return to Jerusalem in joy. And so I smile, for now that the first part of our prophecy has come to pass, the second part will surely come to be.""Akiva," the Sages declared, "you have comforted us."That smile of Rabbi Akiva kept ...   more »

Iranian President Mahmoud Adhmadinejad and Syrian President Bashar Assad on Saturday vowed to form an alliance against what they called U.S. and Israeli conspiracies against the Islamic world.Iran's ISNA news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying that the Islamic world in general and Iran and Syria in particular should maintain their vigilance and neutralize conspiracies aimed at sowing discord among Muslims.Ahmadinejad said that what the U.S. really aims for under the pretext of development in the region "is just another effort to strengthen its own status and that of the Zionists." 
The Iranian president also praised the agreement by rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah to form a unity government. "Dispute among Muslim factions has always been harmful for regional nations and useful for Islam's enemies," he said. ISNA quoted Assad as saying that expansion of Tehran-Damascus ties would help resolve the problems of the Islamic world. He accused the U.S. of trying to attract public opinion within the Islamic world by undermining Iran-Syria relations."America's policies have failed in the region ... By creating divisions among Muslim nations, Washington wants to pursue its aims," IRNA quoted Assad as saying during his meeting with Ahmadinejad, who urged "Muslim countries to preserve unity."The ...   more »

Arabs know excavation works not damaging mosque Elyakim Haetzni Published:  There's nothing like the Mugrabi Gate affair to prove the futility of the dream of reconciliation with the Arabs. After all, it is clear to all, even to Leftist Jews, that the Arabs know the truth, but this doesn't change a thing. Sheikh Ra'ad Salah stood there at the excavation site – expressly outside the Temple Mount compound, far from the mosques – and shamelessly announced: "This is a crime. Israel is destroying part of the al-Aqsa Mosque." "There's no excuse for the excavation works that are undermining the sacredness of Islam." I would have understood had the head of the Islamic Movement's northern branch said this, but it's surprising to hear King Abdullah of Jordan, a sought-after and beloved partner who knew about the excavations in advance, saying so. How can he accuse us of something he knows isn't true, and that we know that he knows? And what does Olmert say to himself when Mahmoud Abbas, who received funds, arms and kisses from him, when Abbas attacked Israel "for changing the character of the place and making it Jewish" – when even he knows the truth. This false protest is consciously ...   more »

The US Congress last week put a hold on the transfer of $86 million in American taxpayers' money to the Palestinian Authority until it can be determined whether or not the latter is going to remain a terrorist entity.President George W. Bush originally ordered the transfer of funds in an effort to bolster the so-called "moderates" in PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement.But after Abbas brokered a power-sharing deal with the ruling Hamas terrorist organiztion last week, Congress correctly understood that "Palestinian" leader was making himself a fig leaf for Hamas' violent anti-Israel positions.

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Sheikh Raed Salah, the virulent and traitorous leader of Israel's Islamic Movement, called on local Muslims Friday to launch a new violent uprising, or "intifada," over Israel's minor renovation work at the Temple Mount.Israel is working to repair a collapsed earthen ramp leading to the Temple Mount's Mugrabi Gate, the sole access point to the holy site for Christians and Jews.Salah and other Muslim leaders throughout the region claim Israel is really trying to undermine the foundations of the mosques that currently occupy the biblical compound.Small groups of Muslim youth answered Salah's call following Friday prayers, attacking police officers throughout the Israeli capital. Some 15-20 youths were arrested.

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