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Yehuda Lave is an author, journalist, psychologist, rabbi, spiritual teacher, and coach, with degrees in business, psychology and Jewish Law. He works with people from all walks of life and helps them in their search for greater happiness, meaning, business advice on saving money, and spiritual engagement. Now also a Blogger on the Times of Israel. Look for my column

Love Yehuda Lave

How to Be a 21st Century Patriot

You don’t have to be a millionaire to strike a blow for one nation under God. Here are a few things you can do as an individual. We all owe America a debt that we can never repay. But you can make a down payment.

1)Fly the flag – Every time a patriot sees the flag flying it lifts his or her spirit. Take a stand against the millionaire athletes who virtue-flash by kneeling during the National Anthem. We rally to the flag in times of trouble. (Remember all of the flags that flew after 9/11.) This is such a time.

2)Thank police officers and soldiers for their service – Don’t let the loudmouthed left prevail. Tell the men and women in uniform that you appreciate their service and sacrifice and know that they are our first line of defense against the jungle, both at home and abroad.

3) Read American history – To defend America, you have to understand America. Reading books like Paul Johnson’s History of the American People and David McCullough’s 1776, Mornings on Horseback, and Truman are good places to start. Put down the remote control and get turned on by your country’s history.

4)Study the history of 20th-century totalitarianism – Ultimately, this is where the left wants to take us. Antifa and Black Lives Matter are advance parties. Paul Johnson’s Modern Times: A History of the World from the 1920s to the 1980s helps puts it in perspective. There’s also Leftism Revisited: From de Sade and Marx to Hitler and Pol Pot by Erik von Kuehnelt-Ledhn. Hard to find, but worth the effort.

5)Visit historic sites – Like Concord, Gettysburg, Independence Hall, the National Archives Building (repository of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence), and Arlington National Center. When you go, do so with reverence, as if you were on a pilgrimage. In a way, you are. Being where American history was made gives you a special feeling for our nation. We can move into the future inspired by the past.

6)On the 4th of July, encourage public readings of the Declaration of Independence – Whether it’s at a backyard barbecue or on the beach, it’s important to get back to basics. The Declaration is America’s founding document. It remains one of the best cases ever made for self-government. The Constitution is the plan; the Declaration is the argument.

7)Learn about the United States Constitution – This includes reading commentaries. You can’t defend our system of government without understanding how it was designed to work. Don’t rely on the courts or politicians, who distort the Constitution in some truly grotesque ways to further their agenda. Find out for yourself.

8)On Memorial Day, decorate the graves of those who served – If you don’t have a family member who fought, find a military cemetery, and honor someone buried there. They deserve to be remembered.

9)Learn the origins of Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and the AOC Democrat Party and what they want. Tell others – Know your enemy. The suburban simpletons with Black Lives Matter yard signs haven’t even an inkling of what the group stands for – Marxism, racism and anti-Semitism.

10) Be alert to dangers abroad – We live in a world of predators who must be confronted. Communist China and international Islam aren’t benign entities but malignancies dedicated to our destruction. To ignore imminent danger is suicidal.

11) Vote – Elections have turned on a handful of ballots. Even if you think your vote has little value, don’t throw away a right Americans have fought and died for. You’ve probably heard, “Don’t vote; it only encourages the bastards.” Wrong. If you don’t vote, it gives the bastards a freehand. I can’t tell you how many people say it doesn’t make a difference. It does.

12)Oppose illegal immigration -- Support border security and oppose sanctuary cities. Learn what open borders are doing to America. Without borders, a country is just a piece of territory.

13)Understand that being an American is about heart and mind. Patriots come in all colors – America has never been based on race or religion. As Henry V says in Shakespeare’s play, “For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.”

14) Fight those who would destroy statues and other monuments – We need to defend them for the same reason those who hate America are driven to attack them: they are tangible reminders of our history and heritage. The enemy doesn’t want Americans to remember their glorious past. Columbus did more than sail the ocean blue. He was the beginning of our national adventure.

15) Protect faith from the secularist onslaught -- It’s G-d who makes America great. G-d gives us the strength to carry on in the darkest times. Ideologues like the ACLU don’t want to separate church and state (a deliberately distorted concept), but Judeo-Christian morality and our laws and institutions. Antonio Gramsci, the father of cultural Marxism, said religion and family were bulwarks against communism.

16) Know the connection between strong families and a strong America – Men don’t fight for abstractions but for their homes and families. The family is the incubator of civic virtue. Since the love of the country isn’t taught in the schools or mainstream media anymore, the family must fill the vacuum. What undermines the family undermines America.

17) Insist on English as our official language – The English language is the glue that holds us together as a people. From the Mayflower Compact to the latest law passed by Congress, our history has been written in English. In a nation, people who can’t talk to each other often end up fighting each other.

18) Stand with Israel – America and Israel are two nations inextricably bound. In the Bible, G-d says he will bless the people who bless Israel. Of all nations, the United States has been uniquely blessed. If we want the blessings to continue, we must be mindful of their source.

19)Oppose Urban Anarchy – If you listen closely, you can hear the sound of marching jackboots in mob action in our once-great cities. Urban Anarchy isn’t just an offense against life and property, but a threat to our national survival. The elites that subtly support it deserve more than scorn.

20) Acknowledge America’s debt to the President -- He’s appointed judges who abide by the Constitution and deployed agents to protect federal property (including monuments) from rioters. He’s working to defend the border. He has an America-first foreign policy. Unlike some of his predecessors, he understands that he was elected president of the United States and not the president of the world.

21)Do not stand for Anti-semitism. The Jewish people are part of America.

The next three months won’t decide just the outcome of an election, but the future of a republic.

.

Chabad of Rechavia Jerusalem

Presents

Bringing Jerusalem to the World!

THIS SUNDAY!!

September 6, 2020

Erev Chai Elul

Labor Day Weekend


To view the concert, click here:

http://BringingJerusalemToTheWorld.com

This year, many thousands of our regular guests from around the world will not be able to come to Jerusalem, for the Holidays.

In preparation for the month of Tishrei, we will bring the magical atmosphere of Jerusalem to the world!

Breaking: Rabbi Yehudah Glick sounds The Sound of Shofar on Zion Temple Mount

Watch: Rabbi Yehuda Glick finds a loophole in shofar ban on Temple Mount

Former MK and Temple Mount activist finds a loophole to 'sound' the shofar on the Temple Mount despite ban on religious Jewish objects.

Today we will be blowing the shofar in Jericho, with the army

Partner with our campaign
Let the Shofar blow on Temple Mount

Campaign of The Shalom Jerusalem Foundation
ShalomJerusalem.org/shofar
We call to be able to blow the shofar on Zion - The Temple Mount
After blowing the shofar opposite the Temple Mount on Mount of Olives
and at the gates of The Temple Mount and after the Head of the Jerusalem
Police denied us permission to blow the shofar on Zion - Temple Mount
we at least sounded the shofar on Temple Mount
Praying that The Lord will hear our prayers

Israel adds 9 countries that don’t require quarantine on return, including UAE

The decision comes hours before first Israeli commercial flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi; also on list: Australia, Uruguay, Ireland, Taiwan, Norway, Singapore, Portugal and Thailand




The Health Ministry exempted Israelis returning from nine additional countries with low COVID-19 rates from a mandatory 14-day quarantine from midnight Sunday, including from the United Arab Emirates.

The other eight countries are: Australia, Uruguay, Ireland, Taiwan, Norway, Singapore, Portugal and Thailand.

The inclusion of the UAE comes hours before a US-Israeli delegation set to take the first-ever Israeli commercial flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi to put the recently agreed Israeli-UAE normalization deal into practice.

The decision to include the UAE means that delegation members will not need to quarantine upon their return.

The US delegation will be headed by US President Donald Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner and National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien, as well as special envoy for international negotiations Avi Berkowitz.

The Israeli delegation would be led by National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat and will likely focus on civilian issues, possibly including visa regulations that will allow Israeli tourists to visit.

Israel has already recognized 20 so called “green” counrtries: Canada, Austria, Estonia, Italy, Bulgaria, United Kingdom, Georgia, Germany, Denmark, Hong Kong, Hungary, Jordan, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Slovenia, Finland, Cyprus and Croatia.

The list will now be updated every two weeks, the ministry said, adding that Israel was also examining the possibility of reopening the border with Egypt.

Israelis will be required to complete a health declaration upon leaving and entering the Jewish state.

While the the list now includes some 29 nations, very few countries currently allow travelers from Israel to enter.

Greece, Croatia and Bulgaria are allowing Israelis to enter their territories without automatic isolation, but with some other restrictions.

Israelis need to present a negative coronavirus test from within the previous 72 hours upon arrival in Bulgaria and within 48 hours for Croatia. Neither country will require a test upon landing, nor any isolation.

Greece has stricter rules, with just 600 Israeli tourists allowed to visit per week, and only to four locations: Athens, Crete, Thessaloniki, and Corfu.


Jackie Masonis an American stand-up comedianand film and television actor. He is ranked #63 on Comedy Central's 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all-time.
His 1986 one-man show The World According to Mewon a Special Tony Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award, an Ace Award, an Emmy Award, and a Grammynomination. Later, his 1988 special Jackie Mason on Broadwaywon another Emmy Award (for outstanding writing) and another Ace Award, and his 1991 voice-overof Rabbi Hyman Krustofskiin The Simpsonsepisode " Like Father, Like Clown" won Mason a third Emmy Award. He has written and performed in six one-man shows on Broadway.
Known for his delivery and voice, as well as his use of innuendo and pun, Mason's often culturally grounded humor has been described as irreverent and sometimes politically incorrect. A critic for Timewrote that he spoke to audiences: "with the Yiddishlocutions of an immigrant who just completed a course in English. By mail."
Eighty percent of married men cheat in America. The rest cheat in Europe. Jackie Mason

It is more profitable for your congressman to support the tobacco industry than your life. Jackie Mason
Did you ever hear of a kid playing accountant - even if they wanted to be one? Jackie Mason
It's no longer a question of staying healthy. It's a question of finding a sickness you like. Jackie Mason
I have enough money to last me the rest of my life unless I buy something. Jackie Mason
I knew nothing about professional comedians when I became a comedian. I was a rabbi. So I had no professional comedians to learn from. Jackie Mason

Did you hear about the accountant who became am embezzler? He ran away with the accounts payable. Jackie Mason
I'm crazy about the fact that the Jewish people should survive because they have so much to contribute and so many values to contribute to the world. It would be a much better world, a much more peaceful and non-violent world if we lived by Jewish values. Jackie Mason

The Ma’agan Disaster

By Saul Jay Singer

Exhibited here is an invitation to the July 29, 1954 ceremony at Kibbutz Ma’agan commemorating the 10th anniversary of the parachuting of Hannah Senesh and other volunteers into occupied Europe and the unveiling of a monument honoring Peretz Goldstein, a young Palmach fighter who parachuted into occupied Yugoslavia, surrendered to the Nazis, and was murdered in a concentration camp.

Also shown here on kibbutz letterhead is a letter from Yitzchak Ayalon, executive secretary of the kibbutz, to D. Nemri at Ashdot Yaakov (a kibbutz south of the Sea of Galilee near the Jordanian border), which he sent along with an invitation to attend the ceremony and dedication. Ayalon, responsible for organizing the entire event, managed the commemoration down to the most minute detail and scheduled the ceremony down to the minute.

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The invitation reads:

We are honored to invite you to attend the memorial assembly with the unveiling of the monument in memory of our chaver,

the parachutist Peretz Goldstein, z”l

The assembly will take place at our kibbutz on Thursday, July 29, 1954 at 6:30 p.m.

Kibbutz Ma’agan, Jordan Valley

(this invitation is personal and for two people)

The rally will be accompanied by a military ceremony, including paratrooper units and the IDF orchestra. Attendees are invited to partake in light refreshments at the end of the program.

The military ceremony, however, was not completed, the orchestra did not play, and refreshments were not served because an airplane tragically flew into the crowd in the middle of the proceedings and killed 17 people and injured 25 others. The disaster, which devastated Israel, launched a frenzy of denials and cover-ups, and many issues remain unresolved to this day.

Ma’agan, a kibbutz in northern Israel located on the southern shore of the Sea of Galilee, was founded in 1949 by immigrants from Transylvania on land that had belonged to the Arab village of Samakh, which was depopulated in 1948. Ma’agan was chosen for the ceremony because three of the Hungarian parachutists – Yona Rosen, Yoel Palgi, and the late Peretz Goldstein – had been members of the kibbutz.

There were also political motives: The event took place against the background of the furor in Israel over the “Kastner Trial,” and Prime Minister Moshe Sharett planned to deliver a message to the nation regarding perceived failures of his Mapai Party to rescue Jews during the Holocaust. He planned to give a speech characterizing the paratroopers’ mission as a heroic rescue operation initiated by the leaders of the Jewish Agency, but instead almost got himself decapitated.

Rudolf Israel Kastner (1906-57) was a Hungarian-Jewish journalist and lawyer who became famous – or infamous – for negotiating a deal with Adolf Eichmann in 1944 pursuant to which 1,684 Hungarian Jews designated for the gas chambers would be permitted to leave for Switzerland (on what became known as the “Kastner train”) in exchange for money.

Less known is that Kastner also played an important role in the fate of the parachutists, including Peretz Goldstein and Yoel Palgi, who parachuted into Yugoslavia and found their way to Budapest, where Palgi was arrested. Goldstein managed to elude arrest by hiding in the Budapest ghetto, but the Nazis halted the Kastner train (with Goldstein’s parents on board) and threatened to massacre all its passengers unless Goldstein was delivered to them.

After Goldstein turned himself in, in a deal mediated by Kastner, the train was permitted to continue safely to Switzerland. The Nazis subsequently murdered Goldstein, a great and largely forgotten Jewish hero, at the Oranienburg concentration camp.

Kastner moved to Israel after the war and, based primarily upon his dealings with Eichmann, was charged with being a Nazi collaborator (1953). After an 18-month trial in Israel, Judge Binyamin Halevy convicted Kastner, finding that in collaborating with the Nazis, he had sacrificed the masses of European Jews to save a chosen few. (Kastner was murdered by a group of Lehi veterans in March 1957 and, the following January, Israel’s Supreme Court overturned most of the judgment against him, finding in a split decision that the trial court had committed serious error.)

The original lower court verdict triggered the fall of the Israeli Cabinet. Sharett, the leader of the Mapai Party – who had led the political department of the Jewish Agency during the time of the Kastner debacle; had refused to testify at Kastner’s trial; and was blamed by many for the failure of the parachutists’ mission – planned to use the platform presented by the Ma’agan ceremony to defend his actions and those of the Zionist leadership. (As the invitation exhibited here notes, Sharett was scheduled to deliver an address about “Hungarian Jewry, the unification of the kibbutzim, and the organization of the friends of the Palmach and the parachutists.”)

In response to Ayalon’s solicitation for assistance in arranging the Ma’agan commemoration, the Sharett government assigned Moshe Shilo, a Defense Ministry official and director of the IDF, to provide support. Among other things, Shilo obtained a squad from the newly-created Paratroopers Unit to serve as an honor guard and secured the IDF orchestra to play at the event.

Shilo also tried to arrange for an air force flyby over the kibbutz from which parachutists would jump during the ceremony, but the IDF, citing Kibbutz Ma’agan’s proximity to the border, vetoed the request on the grounds that the parachutists might drift into Syria.

Ironically, at the precise time of the commencement of the Ma’agan tribute, a ceremony for laying the cornerstone at Yad Vashem was being held in Jerusalem, which was attended by President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, who otherwise would have been at Ma’agan. Most the leaders of Mapai, however, including Sharett, Shimon Peres, Teddy Kollek, Pinchas Sapir, and Yigal Allon, chose party loyalty and opted to go to Ma’agan.

The flyover would never have happened but for action taken by the Aero Club of Israel (ACI) which, founded in 1933 with the support of the Jewish Agency and the Haganah, played a major role in the post-state development of Israel’s Air Force. In serious need of funding, and seeking some way to generate publicity, ACI came up with the idea of having two Piper J-3 Cubs fly over the Ma’agan site to drop a metal tube containing a message of greeting attached to a small parachute.

Shilo vetoed the proposal for two reasons: first, because the IDF had already rejected a similar idea and, second, because the proposal came too late for all the required authorizations to be obtained.

The senior leaders of ACI, however, many of whom were active Mapai members, brought tremendous pressure to bear on Shilo, who finally agreed to permit the flyover. There is substantive evidence, including testimony from members of Kibbutz Ma’agan, that permission was granted so that the pilot could parachute out a message from President Ben-Zvi, who could not personally attend because of his attendance at the Yad Vashem ceremony, but ACI later claimed that it was always understood that the only thing to be dropped from the plane was a message from the Aero Club.

(It is interesting to note that the program on our invitation exhibited here provides for a “President’s message,” which would be presented by his “personal representative,” who was Lieutenant Colonel Yossi Carmel.)

In any event, on a clear day with excellent visibility, two ACI Piper planes took off from Sde Dov in northern Tel Aviv, the first piloted by 27-year-old Uri Galin with Avshalom Strud, who was tasked with coordinating the flyover with the authorities on the ground, in the passenger seat behind him. The second plane was piloted by Gad Gutman, a graduate of one of the first Israeli air force flying courses.

Galin took off first and led the way up the coastline and eastward over Hadera toward Afula, maintaining an altitude of about 3,000 feet. Neither pilot had radios, maps, or a compass aboard, but both knew the route very well. When they approached Kibbutz Ma’agan after flying 90 minutes, the two pilots encountered a virtually empty ceremony site and understood that they had arrived too early.

Israeli stamp issued March 31, 1955 in memory of the heroes who parachuted into occupied Europe during the Holocaust. Of the 37 volunteers, 12 were captured, seven of whom were executed, including Hannah Senesh in Hungary; Chaviva Reik in Slovakia; and Enzo Sereni, captured in Italy, at Dachau.

Pursuant to a contingency plan developed by Strud, the two planes circled overhead and waited for a pre-arranged signal from the ground. When Galin spotted the signal sometime later, he prepared to drop the tube but, ironically, Galin – who was Israel’s long-time discus-throwing champion and had represented Israel at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics – muffed what should have been a simple toss; the parachute opened too soon, and its thin cords became snagged in the plane’s wheel.

When it became obvious on the ground that the planned release had failed, Carmel, Ben-Zvi’s designee, was invited to read the president’s address. Meanwhile, Galin put a protesting Strud, who had no flying experience whatsoever, in charge of the Piper’s control stick and proceeded to lean almost his entire body out of the aircraft to make several failed attempts to disengage the parachute from the wheel. Gutman screamed at Galin from his Piper to get back in the plane and resume control, but Galin either did not hear him or ignored him.

Galin finally freed the parachute after four or five attempts, but the plane at that point, in violation of the country’s civil aviation rules, was only about 100 feet above the ground and was being controlled by a non-pilot with no flying experience. According to Gutman, by the time Galin realized that the plane was mere feet from the ground, it was too late to take any action to avoid the ensuing crash. Galin, however, later testified before the Inquiry Commission that he had regained full control of the airplane, but the plane did not respond when he pulled the stick back to regain altitude.

The Ma’agan event, attended by about 2,700 people, ended as an elegy when the plane, crashed into the audience and continued into the stands, killing some spectators and slicing up others with its rotors. It only narrowly missing Sharett’s head and Senesh’s mother, killing 17 people in total, including four of the parachutists who had survived their original mission: Aryeh Orani, Shalom Finchi, Yehuda Ahishur, and Lieutenant Colonel Dov Harari, who was one of the founders of the Paratroops Corps.

Also among the dead were Daniel Sereni, the son of the parachutist Enzo Sereni, and Daniel’s pregnant wife, Ofra. Galin and Strud, whom Galin pulled unconscious from the plane as it began to burn, sustained non-lethal injuries and were released from the hospital the following morning.

After recovering from their initial shock, rescue forces at the site began to evacuate people and treat the injured, but there were insufficient paramedics available to handle the emergency. As an emergency convoy sped toward Tiberias, ambulances were summoned from all over the area, and the emergency rooms in Tiberias were filled to capacity. Without explaining the reason for the sudden great need, radio broadcasters urged volunteers to donate blood.

Sharett prohibited news of the disaster to be disseminated until the next morning, claiming that this delay would spare the families of Ma’agan attendees unnecessary worry, but the morning papers carried the full details, including the names of the victims. At the end of the shiva period following the disaster, Sharett eulogized the victims on Israel radio and read the speech he had been unable to deliver at Ma’agan. His fundamental theme was that the Yishuv had done everything possible to aid European Jewry during the Holocaust, culminating with the holy mission of the faithful parachutists.

On the day following the disaster, Sharett appointed a commission of inquiry under the chairmanship of Yizhar Harari to examine the events at Ma’agan, which ultimately determined that there had been serious violations of aviation procedure and found fault with the conduct of virtually everyone involved in the affair, most of all Galin and aviation officials. After indicting Galin for involuntary manslaughter, Attorney General Haim Cohn later decided to drop the charges against him for reasons never made clear.

The Israeli government made a one-time payment of 160,000 pounds to the families of those killed or injured, which the finance minister described as a “payment of mercy.” A few months after the disaster, work commenced at the site building a commemorative museum dedicated to the Jewish parachuting project in Europe during World War II.

The building, which is rarely visited, contains a modest memorial hall, a small archive, a few exhibits and photographs from the lives of the parachutists, and a commemorative wall with portraits of the kibbutz’s deceased members. A metal plaque commemorating those who died in the 1954 disaster lies hidden in a corner.

Time tunnel’ through four centuries uncovered in northern city of Safed

Archaeological remains spanning four centuries uncovered in the northern city of Safed. (Safed Municipality)

Remains of buildings spanning hundreds of years of history have been uncovered in the northern city of Safed, including a 16th century water hole and a more recent tunnel dug to attack to attack Jewish positions during the 1948 War of Independence, the Safed municipality said in a statement Tuesday.

The remains were discovered during excavation work to build a lookout point over Mount Meron that is being installed at the city’s Ashtam Square.

“This is a fascinating and exciting find that unfolds an extensive history of the city and a kind of time tunnel of different periods in the history” of the city, said Safed Mayor Shuki Ohana.

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Oren Zingboim of the Israel Antiquities Authority explained there are four layers to the finds at the site: a building from the 20th century constructed during the British Mandate of Palestine on top of a 19th century floor, beneath which are remains of a construction destroyed in the 1837 earthquake the leveled much of the city, plus the remnant of a wall from the 17th century.

“All of that is covering an opening to an amazing water hole and reservoir from the 16th century,” Zingboim said in the statement.

Archaeologists also found the remains of a tunnel dug during the War of Independence by Arabs from the Muslim Quarter, who were hoping to attack the Ashtam building, which was a key stronghold and weapons storage site for the Jewish fighters in the city.

According to the statement, the tunnel’s presence aligned with a report by Benjamin Geiger, the Haganah militia force commander in Safed during the 1948 War of Independence, who wrote about the fighting and noted that he had heard the sound of digging.

Archaeological remains spanning four centuries uncovered in the northern cit of Safed. (Safed Municipality)

Researchers assessed that the site was at the heart of the city during the 16th century, considered the golden age of the of the Ottoman Empire rule during which Safed saw rapid development and expansion.

At the time, Jews expelled from Spain were arriving in the city, which saw good relations between the Jewish and Muslim residents, the statement said. During that period, Safed was a central cultural hub with ties to cities across the Mediterranean.

The Safed municipality has initiated a project to preserve the site and begun a more detailed examination of the finds. Eventually the site will be developed as a tourist attraction, the statement said.


See you Sunday bli neder

Shabbat Shalom

We need Mosiach now

Love Yehuda Lave

Yehuda Lave, Spirtiual Advisor and Counselor

Jerusalem, Jerusalem
 Israel

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