The Palestinian Authority has called on the public to boycott several large supermarket chains in the West Bank that carry Israeli products.

The decision targets upscale markets in Ramallah, in an attempt to pressure the stores to discontinue the sale of fruits and vegetables grown and processed in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

According to the Palestinian authorities, customers are not aware that some of the products are produced in one of over 200 Israeli settlements, built illegally on occupied Palestinian land deemed illegal under international law.

Palestinians consider these settlements the most crucial threat to their aspirations for statehood.

As a result, the Palestinian ministry of economy has announced it will aggressively pursue an already existing law that criminalises trading in settlement products, a move that is widely popular among Palestinians.

Israeli settlement products currently enjoy an estimated 15 per cent share of the Palestinian market, according to the minister of economy.

‘Good move’

Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Ramallah, says the move to ban settlement products from the shelves will take time and require awareness among Palestinian consumers.

Many products made in illegal settlements are on sale in Palestinian supermarkets!

“The government argues that it is through this boycott, that they are now striking back at the illegal settlements – product by product,” she said.

Jamal Juma, a Palestinian activist and coordinator of the Stop the Wall campaign, told Al Jazeera: “If the Palestinian Authority insists on implementing this decision, it means the authority will participate in boycotting one-third of the Israeli products that come to the West Bank.

“This is a very good step to support the Palestinian economy. It will provide the opportunity to improve Palestinians products and solve the unemployment problem.

“The decision will allow Palestinians to say: ‘No to the occupation, we are not going to pay for the bulldozers that destroy our houses and for the bullets that kill our people’.”

We woke up at 4:00 in the morning as to make the bus by 5:00. It is fortunate that the bus makes a stop in Har Nof across from the Yesh market as a farther location would have necessitated an even earlier wake up time.

Five of us wake up to make the trip, adrenaline and the morning cold warding off sleepiness. We are the first to arrive at the bus stop; a frail religious woman arrives soon after and asks that we include Asaf Ramon in our prayers. A middle-aged man comes and, upon hearing our conversation, asks that we not support the Egyptian tourist industry (he uses more assertive language than this). It is just the seven of us, and nobody else, awake at this hour.

And around the corner comes the bus we have been waiting for, complete with bullet-proof windows.

We are going to Hebron.

****

The parsha (torah portion) Chayei Sarah (Life of Sarah) begins, ironically, with the news of her death:

Sarah’s lifetime was one hundred years, and twenty ears, and seven years; the years of         Sarah’s life. Sarah died in Kiriath-arba which is Hebron in the land of Canaan

With this news, Abraham travels from Beer-Sheba to Hebron to “eulogize … and bewail” Sarah, and ultimately find the suitable burial spot for her.  Abraham goes to the leaders of the city (“The Children of Chet”) who refer him to Ephron. Abraham and Ephron engage in conversations over a particular plot of land with a very specific cave: The Cave of Machpeleh, which consisted of upper and lower floors and was the resting place of Adam and Eve.

The Torah goes into detail regarding the negotiations between Abraham and Ephron: Ephron offers (disingenuously) the field at no cost, Abraham insists on paying (N’Tati Kesef Ha-Shday “I have given the money of the field,” Koch Mi-Meni! “Take from me”). Ephron acquiesces, and then offers an exorbitant price for the fields (400 “large shekalim”). Abraham pays the asking price, and the caves go on to serve as the resting place for all of the Avos  (Patriarchs …  Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah. Rachel, who was also married to Jacob, is buried between Jerusalem and Bethlehem).

****

In accordance with the reading of Chayei Sarah many Jews travel to Hebron in this week to pray, or to even spend a Shabbat. Built on top of the original Cave of Machpelech is a very large mosque with a section designated as a shul for Jewish visitors. While there are buses that will go year round, such travel really is uncommon; Hebron is an (almost) entirely Arab city, and a violent one at that. To take a bus that drops you off right in front of the compound is easy enough, taking a stroll through the city is highly inadvisable.

Our bus makes a quick (and for me, unexpected) pit stop at Kevar Rachel (“Rachel’s Tomb”) which, as I mentioned, is near Bethlehem. We were given precisely 15 minutes to go inside, pay respects at the Kevar (which is not specifically a tomb, but rather a decorative monument (or Cenotaph) around which a sanctuary is arranged.  Around me, men are deeply entrenched in prayer or psalms, much more than I am capable of.

Kevar Rachel

Back on the bus we have another 30 minutes of driving before reaching Hebron. I fight my impulse to sleep in favor of watching the sun rise over the rocky horizon, mixing shades of orange to the mauve and blue rocky landscape.

We get off the bus to be greeted by a blue sky, a lawn of stark green grass (almost entirely lacking in Jerusalem) and this awesomely large structure. Whereas the city is a hodgepodge of dirty streets and mismatched buildings built into a very beautiful hilly land, the Mosque/Shul/”Enclosure of the Cave of the Patriarchs” is a grand Herodian building made with the same thick Jerusalem Stone that distinguishes the Old City and the Temple Mount.

Inside the scene is much like that from Kevar Rachel, albeit proportionately bigger, with several batei k’nesset (“sanctuaries”) organized around the multiple Kevarim of the respective patriarchs. Each Kevar is ornately colored, looking more like Mexican Dia de la Muerta-type designs than Jewish artifact. Specifically, we took part in Shacharis services outside of Abraham’s Kevar. Interestingly, every one of the Avos except for Isaac is accessible in the Shul; the Arabs, for lack of a better word, shotgunned Isaac for themselves. This makes sense if you think about it: whereas Abraham was a man of Chesed (kindness/giving), Isaac personified strict Din (justice) in his lifetime. While Judaism is rooted in the idea of a G-d who personifies equal parts Chesed and Din, Islam understands Allah as almost entirely Din (you see how Jews and Muslims may have fundamentally different outlooks on life).

Praying near Abraham

****

Those Jews who make the (sometimes annual) pilgrimages to Hebron in spite of the Arab threat do so because Hebron is arguably the second holiest site in all Judaism, a sight in which there exists a connection between the spiritual and physical worlds. This spiritual connectivity predates Abraham; he wanted to purchase a burial plot in Hebron because of this connectivity. It was not merely the fact that Adam and Eve are buried here that gives it this holiness; conversely, Adam and Eve wind up here precisely because, as the sages explain, there exists sort of a portal between the physical world and the Gan Eden (the Garden of Eden …  the World to Come).

While I’m all in favor of the spiritual element of all this, I wouldn’t say that was my primary attraction to visiting Hebron. On a surface level, I was probably more excited by the “when else can we ever go to Hebron” angle of it. There’s a thrill in going to Hebron knowing that it’s way too dangerous to go there on just any day.

But there is another element: the purchase of Shday Ephron (the Fields of Ephron) by Abraham plays a large role in the Talmud we have been studying this year. Our tractate of Gemara, Kedushin, covers the Kedushin stage of marriage (some context: under Jewish law, there are two stages of marriage: Kedushin/Arison and N’Suin. Kedushin describes the process by which the man “acquires” the woman into his rashoush, or domain).

In what ways can a man acquire a woman? Through Kesef ($), Shtar (contract), and Biya (relations). How do we know that Kesef works for Kedushin?

Shday Ephron.

During the negotiations, Abraham says “N’Tati Kesef Ha-Shday (I have given the money of the field) Koch Mi-Meni! (Take from me).” Koch Mi-Meni is repetitive; there is very specific meaning behind this seemingly redundant clause.

It turns out that the Gemara uses the above phrase Koch Mi-Meni (in which Koch refers to an acquisition using money) in conjunction with another phrase Key Ekoch Eish Eisha (when a man takes a woman; Ekoch referring to marrying a woman), and by cross-comparing the two usages of the same verb (a process called gevera sheva) to deduce that one of the means by which a man may make kinyon (officially marry) with a woman is by using money to facilitate her transition into his rashoush (domain).

Today, this idea is most commonly seen in the fact that a man presents a woman with a wedding ring, which, by having the value of money, acts as Kesef.  Gemara and Torah and real life coming together … it’s a beautiful thing.

****

We davened Shacharis at Hebron, took a long look around, and returned to the bus lest we be stranded in Hebron.  That we davened in the second holiest site in Judaism, that we stood in the very presence of the Patriarchs and the Matriarchs, none of this was lost on me. In my mind, I appreciated just how interesting this place was.

Did I, like some one of my fellow buchars on the trip, feel a heightened level of spirituality by being there? Did I feel as though I was “walking on air.” Regretfully, I was not able to feel anything of the nature. Desiring a spiritual element in everyday life is not sufficient to actually gaining spiritual fulfillment, and Hebron served as a bit of a reminder of just that. Nonetheless, I fell asleep a very content buchar on the busride back to Jerusalem.

Me (eyes closed) and Hebron

In the middle of last week – Wednesday Nov. 12 – the soldiers from the occupation civil administration appeared again in the two Umm al-Kheir clusters, next to the settlement of Carmel in south Mt. Hebron. In their old tradition of “civil service”, they distributed 11 orders of halting constructing work – the legalistic act which precedes house demolition.

As the people of those two clusters of Umm al-Kheir, don’t have much of construction work left – most of their constructed houses were demolished in the many rounds of house demolition that were inflicted on them by the civil administration (see also here the 2007 demolition, in which Ezra Nawi was charged while trying to stop it)– the current halt-construction orders were addressed mostly to tents (donation of the Red Cross form the last round of demolitions), tin shacks, an outhouse and a toilet hole, along with three built houses located in the farthest spot form the settlement.

This indiscriminate mode of operation reveals the real end of the civil administration acts – to make the life of the local residents (who had lived there for 30 years before the establishment of the Israeli settlement in the 1980’s) so unbearable, so they would leave there dwellings out of their “free will”.

Ehud Krinis

The N.Y. Mets have stepped into it. (via Goldblog)

Please “Help” Isra-hell

UPDATES

• November 12 2009 – Glenn Greenwald has a good comparative analysis of Muslim, Christian and Jewish fundamentalist terror and Jim Sleeper blasts critics of the Ft. Hood massacre who choose to ignore Jewish fundamentalist terror.
• November 13, 2009 –  JJ Goldberg points out that you can’t tell all Rabbis by the company they keep, Richard Silverstein sees the connection between this publication and the Jewish terrorist Jack Teitel and MJ Rosenberg blasts Krauthammer for selectively attaching religion to terrorism.
• November 14, 2009 – Ori Nir provides a useful catalog of Jewish terrorist activity 1978. I would argue that the he should have included the many incidents over the past few years, some of which have resulted in loss of life, that settlers have used the “Price Tag” tactic — violent attacks on Palestinians aimed at to deterring the IDF. This is is terrorism in the narrow definition of the term.
• November 15, 2009 – Brig. Gen. Avichai Rontzki, IDF Chief Rabbi and a resident of the West Bank settlement of Itamar told settler soldiers last Thursday that ‘troops who show mercy to enemy will be damned.’ Lara Friedman provides a comprehensive backgrounder on Ronztki and his fundamentalist influence on the IDF.  Richard Silverstein draws parallels in religious motivation between recently apprehended settler terrorist Jack Teitel and Nidal Malik Hasan, the instigator of the Ft. Hood massacre.
• November 16, 2009 – Avrum Burg on how this kind of Judaism inspires murder: “”Just go to a synagogue on Sabbath eve.  Go in and pick up the weekly Parasha [Torah portion] commentary pages, read them and you will see that Teitel is not alone.  Teitel is just one of an entire plantation of bad weed.  Some of those pages are actually financed by the state, through the Ministry of Religious Affairs.  The racist lore, as taught by the rabbis of Hebron and Bet El, is everywhere.  In the end, someone gets up and does the deed.  We tend to ignore this, but horrible things happen there.  It is in the air.  I know those people.  Some of them are my relatives.  They do terrible things and we fail to notice.”
• November 19, 2009 — Haaretz’s Akiva Eldar, based on Yesh Din data, reveals that the Rabbi’s Yeshiva is funded by the Israeli government.

ORIGINAL POST

The ultra-fundamentalist Od Yosef Hai yeshiva in the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar is infamous for its involvement in settler violence against Palestinians. Memorably, one of the students fired a homemade “Kassam” rocket at the neighboring village of Burin in June 2008. This morning, Maariv reports that the Yeshiva’s dean has just published on the proscribed dos and don’ts (mainly the former) regarding the killing of gentiles. Here are some choice excerpts.

“In any situation in which a non-Jew’s presence endangers Jewish lives, the non-Jew may be killed even if he is a righteous Gentile and not at all guilty for the situation that has been created…When a non-Jew assists a murderer of Jews and causes the death of one, he may be killed, and in any case where a non-Jew’s presence causes danger to Jews, the non-Jew may be killed…The [Din Rodef] dispensation applies even when the pursuer is not threatening to kill directly, but only indirectly…Even a civilian who assists combat fighters is considered a pursuer and may be killed. Anyone who assists the army of the wicked in any way is strengthening murderers and is considered a pursuer. A civilian who encourages the war gives the king and his soldiers the strength to continue. Therefore, any citizen of the state that opposes us who encourages the combat soldiers or expresses satisfaction over their actions is considered a pursuer and may be killed. Also, anyone who weakens our own state by word or similar action is considered a pursuer…Hindrances—babies are found many times in this situation. They block the way to rescue by their presence and do so completely by force. Nevertheless, they may be killed because their presence aids murder. There is justification for killing babies if it is clear that they will grow up to harm us, and in such a situation they may be harmed deliberately, and not only during combat with adults.”…In a chapter entitled “Deliberate harm to innocents,” the book explains that war is directled mainly against the pursuers, but those who belong to the enemy nation are also considered the enemy because they are assisting murderers.

A full translation of the Maariv article can be read after the jump.

The complete guide to killing non-Jews

Roi Sharon, Maariv, November 9 2009 [page 2 with front page teaser]

When is it permissible to kill non-Jews? The book Torat ha-Melekh [The King’s Teaching], which was just published, was written by Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira, the dean of the Od Yosef Hai yeshiva in the community of Yitzhar near Nablus, together with another rabbi from the yeshiva, Yossi Elitzur. The book contains no fewer than 230 pages on the laws concerning the killing of non-Jews, a kind of guide for anyone who ponders the question of if and when it is permissible to take the life of a non-Jew.

Although the book is not being distributed by the leading book companies, it has already received warm recommendations from right-wing elements, including recommendations from important rabbis such as Yitzhak Ginsburg, Dov Lior and Yaakov Yosef, that were printed at the beginning of the book. The book is being distributed via the Internet and through the yeshiva, and at this stage the introductory price is NIS 30 per copy. At the memorial ceremony that was held over the weekend in Jerusalem for Rabbi Meir Kahane, who was killed nineteen years ago, copies of the book were sold.

Throughout the book, the authors deal with in-depth theoretical questions in Jewish religious law regarding the killing of non-Jews. The words “Arabs” and “Palestinians” are not mentioned even indirectly, and the authors are careful to avoid making explicit statements in favor of an individual taking the law into his own hands. The book includes hundreds of sources from the Bible and religious law. The book includes quotes from Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, one of the fathers of religious Zionism, and from Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli, one of the deans of the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva, the stronghold of national-religious Zionism that is located in Jerusalem.

The book opens with a prohibition against killing non-Jews and justifies it, among other things, on the grounds of preventing hostility and any desecration of God’s name. But very quickly, the authors move from prohibition to permission, to the various dispensations for harming non-Jews, with the central reason being their obligation to uphold the seven Noahide laws, which every human being on earth must follow. Among these commandments are prohibitions on theft, bloodshed and idolatry. [The seven Noahide laws prohibit idolatry, murder, theft, illicit sexual relations, blasphemy and eating the flesh of a live animal, and require societies to institute just laws and law courts]

“When we approach a non-Jew who has violated the seven Noahide laws and kill him out of concern for upholding these seven laws, no prohibition has been violated,” states the book, which emphasizes that killing is forbidden unless it is done in obedience to a court ruling. But later on, the authors limit the prohibition, noting that it applies only to a “proper system that deals with non-Jews who violate the seven Noahide commandments.”

The book includes another conclusion that explains when a non-Jew may be killed even if he is not an enemy of the Jews. “In any situation in which a non-Jew’s presence endangers Jewish lives, the non-Jew may be killed even if he is a righteous Gentile and not at all guilty for the situation that has been created,” the authors state. “When a non-Jew assists a murderer of Jews and causes the death of one, he may be killed, and in any case where a non-Jew’s presence causes danger to Jews, the non-Jew may be killed.”

One of the dispensations for killing non-Jews, according to religious law, applies in a case of din rodef [the law of the “pursuer,” according to which one who is pursuing another with murderous intent may be killed extrajudicially] even when the pursuer is a civilian. “The dispensation applies even when the pursuer is not threatening to kill directly, but only indirectly,” the book states. “Even a civilian who assists combat fighters is considered a pursuer and may be killed. Anyone who assists the army of the wicked in any way is strengthening murderers and is considered a pursuer. A civilian who encourages the war gives the king and his soldiers the strength to continue. Therefore, any citizen of the state that opposes us who encourages the combat soldiers or expresses satisfaction over their actions is considered a pursuer and may be killed. Also, anyone who weakens our own state by word or similar action is considered a pursuer.”

Rabbis Shapira and Elitzur determine that children may also be harmed because they are “hindrances.” The rabbis write as follows: “Hindrances—babies are found many times in this situation. They block the way to rescue by their presence and do so completely by force. Nevertheless, they may be killed because their presence aids murder. There is justification for killing babies if it is clear that they will grow up to harm us, and in such a situation they may be harmed deliberately, and not only during combat with adults.”

In addition, the children of the leader may be harmed in order to apply pressure to him. If attacking the children of a wicked ruler will influence him not to behave wickedly, they may be harmed. “It is better to kill the pursuers than to kill others,” the authors state.

In a chapter entitled “Deliberate harm to innocents,” the book explains that war is directly mainly against the pursuers, but those who belong to the enemy nation are also considered the enemy because they are assisting murderers.

Retaliation also has a place and purpose in this book by Rabbis Shapira and Elitzur. “In order to defeat the enemy, we must behave toward them in a spirit of retaliation and measure for measure,” they state. “Retaliation is absolutely necessary in order to render such wickedness not worthwhile. Therefore, sometimes we do cruel deeds in order to create the proper balance of terror.”

In one of the footnotes, the two rabbis write in such a way that appears to permit individuals to act on their own, outside of any decision by the government or the army.

“A decision by the nation is not necessary to permit shedding the blood of the evil kingdom,” the rabbis write. “Even individuals from the nation being attacked may harm them.”

Unlike books of religious law that are published by yeshivas, this time the rabbis added a chapter containing the book’s conclusions. Each of the six chapters is summarized into main points of several lines, which state, among other things: “In religious law, we have found that non-Jews are generally suspected of shedding Jewish blood, and in war, this suspicion becomes a great deal stronger. One must consider killing even babies, who have not violated the seven Noahide laws, because of the future danger that will be caused if they are allowed to grow up to be as wicked as their parents.”

Even though the authors are careful, as stated, to use the term “non-Jews,” there are certainly those who could interpret the nationality of the “non-Jews” who are liable to endanger the Jewish people. This is strengthened by the leaflet “The Jewish Voice,” which is published on the Internet from Yitzhar, which comments on the book: “It is superfluous to note that nowhere in the book is it written that the statements are directly only to the ancient non-Jews.” The leaflet’s editors did not omit a stinging remark directed at the GSS, who will certainly take the trouble to get themselves a copy. “The editors suggest to the GSS that they award the prize for Israel’s security to the authors,” the leaflet states, “who gave the detectives the option of reading the summarized conclusions without any need for in-depth study of the entire book.”

One student of the Od Yosef Hai yeshiva in Yitzhar explained, from his point of view, where Rabbis Shapira and Elitzur got the courage to speak so freely on a subject such as the killing of non-Jews. “The rabbis aren’t afraid of prosecution because in that case, Maimonides [Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, 1135–1204] and Nahmanides [Rabbi Moses ben Nahman, 1194–1270] would have to stand trial too, and anyway, this is research on religious law,” the yeshiva student said. “In a Jewish state, nobody sits in jail for studying Torah.”

After two books on the supernatural in succession, I had the taste for something more grounded, more real.  Ironically, Exile was in my list for the Fall To Reading Challenge.  It’s a novel that can’t be anything but so painfully present— a fictitious story but one wholly based on current world events, dealing  in particular with the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Author :  Richard North Patterson

Publication Date :  January 9, 2007  (Hardcover – 1st edition)

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

ISBN-10: 0805079475

ISBN-13: 978-0805079470

No. of pages :  576

The Story:

The hopes for a beginning toward peace between Israel and its Palestinian inhabitants are dashed when Jewish Prime Minister Amos Ben-Aron is assassinated by a Palestinian suicide bomber on American soil.

A brilliant Jewish lawyer and  promising politician,  David,  witnesses the horrifying murder of the man whom he admires and believes to be the catalyst for peace in the Middle East.  Suddenly he gets a call from a woman whom he had allowed himself to forget.  Hana Arif, the Palestinian law student he had been helplessly in love with  thirteen years ago,  suddenly calls and says she has been accused of being instrumental to the crime.   Would David help her?

Against the certainty of becoming a pariah in his Jewish community, of irredeemably breaking his engagement with his Jewish fiance,  and of wiping out the brilliant political career path he had been so ambitious of, David with his ideals and buried passion, takes up the cudgels of a seemingly impossible case to exonerate Hana.

The case impels him to take a closer look at his culture and at the long-standing enmity between Palestinians and Jews, by going through their histories and understanding both sides’ perspectives.  David follows a dangerous trail for information which takes him to Israel, the West Bank,  and Lebanon as he chases the elusive truth to save his client.

The Review :

I am writing this review just after I have turned the last page of this book.  I’ve been so riveted by it, turning page after page well into the night, as I came to understand much more about the volatile Palestinian-Israeli crisis.

Patterson has written a rare combination of a page-turner and an educational read which explains the present complex issues in the Middle East conflict.   Although couched in fiction, this book is a definite eye-opener  to those who do not understand or had been indifferent to the crisis that presently is, I believe, the greatest and most urgent threat to world peace.

Exile is the type of fiction novel that through its entertainment value, compels you to know more beyond it.  I am inspired to research more on the subject of the ongoing war between the Jews, Palestinians, and the Arab world at large.  It is scary in its magnitude of hatred and seemingly hopeless for its dearth of solution as each side believes so absolutely in the right of its cause.   Basically a war of land rights and sovereignty,  it draws its complexities from bringing  religion, racial history and culture, internal factions, and international politics into the fray, a tangle of elements that cannot be extricated singly to make solutions.

Patterson’s courtroom scenes are energetic,  intense, and a good read.  There is a lot going for this book as a suspense-crime-courtroom-thriller.  But the true merit of this book comes from the extensively researched issues backgounding this novel and the humane and impartial way the author represents the conflict for both sides that one cannot help but be emotionally moved at the plight of both Palestinians and Jews.

The novel never takes sides.  It simply presents the conflict from both perspectives and leaves it up to you to decide who is right.  Since it is impossible for one to make such an opinion with this book alone, Exile goads you to delve and learn more about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with an open  and unbiased  mind.  Current events will never seem so one-dimensional and so distant after this.

To Read Or Not To Read:

Indeed, an important read!  To those, like me, who have been partially oblivious to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, this book should constitute the top of your TBR pile.  This novel is a good starter to point our way toward informing ourselves of a current volatile dilemma facing the world today.   Muslim, Christian, Jew, atheist…whatever your leanings, we still cannot ignore that we are all inextricably connected and therefore will be involved, one way or another,  in this war.

It’s a thick novel but once you’re in it, you’d never feel its length.  In fact, you may end up wanting to know much more.

In A Nutshell:

Exile has successfully given an impartial yet emotional account of the Mid-East crisis.  It is not a finger-pointer ; no side is singled out to blame for starting this whole mess.  As it is, it is everyone and no one and but really the sordid side of human nature that has foisted this problem on us all.  As the author aptly writes:

“…The Promised Land, which many of each side believed was promised to them alone, might be consumed not merely by hatred and violence but also by the most banal of human faults—a failure to imagine the life of another.  The only common denominator of occupation was that it degraded everyone.” —- p. 401

“You know what amazes me, Zev?  it’s that so many Jews and Palestinians don’t give a damn about one another’s stories.  Too many Palestinians don’t grasp why three thousand years of death and persecution make Jews want their own homeland, or how suicide bombings alienate Jews and extend the occupation.   Too many Jews refuse to acknowledge their role in the misery of Palestinians since 1948, or that the daily toll of occupation helps fuel more hatred and violence.  So both become cliches:  Jews are victims and oppressors; Palestinians are victims and terrorists.  And the cycle of death rolls on… In three short weeks I’ve seen all kinds of suffering, from the families in Haifa to the misery of Hana’s parents.   But they live in different worlds…” — p.  407

Please pick up this book and be aware.  It’s a superb read, a must-read,  and will be well worth your time.

My Mark :  Excellent! +++

]]> http://rccstudents.wordpress.com/2009/10/27/deep-freeze-feb-12-14-2010/ Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:30:20 +0000 rccstudents http://rccstudents.wordpress.com/2009/10/27/deep-freeze-feb-12-14-2010/

Deep Freeze 2009 Group Photo

February 12-14, 2010 are the dates for what is going to be one of the best weekends of your life! We have had an excellent time the last couple years, and we know this year will not be any different.  The deadline to sign up is November 22, 2009, so act now! The following are 2 documents that should provide you with everything you will need.

• Deep Freeze 2010 Brochure – Click this link for the brochure for Deep Freeze (Feb. 12-14, 2010) in Hebron, NH (Camp Berea).  The brochure also includes the permission slip.
• Deep Freeze 2010 Forms – Click this link for the schedule and additional forms (registration form, medical form, and paintball information & liability release).

You can also RSVP on our Facebook Event Page by clicking here.

If you have ANY questions at all, feel free to contact us.  We are really looking forward to taking as many as possible to this year’s DEEP FREEZE retreat, so spread the word!

(source : Juif.org 24/10/09)

La police a mis en garde à vue samedi 8 militants d’extrême gauche israéliens et palestiniens, qui étaient venus aider des Palestiniens à travailler leurs terres près de l’avant-poste de Mitspeh Assaël, au sud d’Hébron. L’armée leur avait signifié au préalable que le secteur était une zone militaire interdite, mais ils sont restés sur place….

Nu ska jag sticka ut näsan och bli lite amatör-teolog-filosofisk. (Plötsligt ser jag vad ordet ”amatör” betyder…..det måste förstås komma från det latinska ordet ‘amare’ som betyder älska….) En av mina vänner berättar på Facebook om ett föredrag han lyssnat på. Han skriver så här: ”Har ikväll varit på universitetet och sett på en film om Hebron, med efterföljande pratstund !! Detta mänsklighetens gissel med “den starkes rätt”, maktutövning undercover. Intellektualisering används för att göra om invasion till bosättning. En hävd sen biblisk tid…blossar än…borde man göra om världshistorien kanske…”

Jag har många varmt kristna vänner som till min stora förundran tar stark ställning för Israel vad dom än gör. ”Guds egendomsfolk” kallar dom judarna. Samtidigt läser jag i min Bibel (inte så ofta men jag minns vad jag läst): ”Gå ut och gör alla folk till mina lärjungar”….”Här är icke jude eller grek, här är icke man eller kvinna, alla ären I (=är ni) ETT i Jesus Kristus…..”. Det är Paulus som skriver så i något av sina brev.

Jag fick stor hjälp att förstå… inte allt…., men lite mer av det drama som engagerar så många….när jag läste Jonas Gardells bok ”Om Gud”. Han hjälpte mig att förstå de olika gudsbilder som möter oss i Bibeln, alltifrån straffets och hämndens gud till kärlekens milda, förlåtande, självutgivande. Han lägger ett historiskt perspektiv och ett utvecklingsperspektiv på gud. Den hämnande, straffande guden förklarar han som en stamgud, en gud specifikt för det judiska folket. Andra stammar hade andra gudar förstås. Detta ”skimmer” som vilar över det judiska folket …och därmed i viss mån över Israel förklarade en av mina judinne-väninnor som så att ”vi är ett folk med en ovanligt väl dokumenterad historia”.

Men Israels stamgud kan väl inte vara hela världens gud bara för att man har en väl dokumenterad historia? Liksom inte heller Allah kan vara hela världens gud….   Jag ser just nu konflikten i Mellanöstern som två syskon som bråkar om vem som har mest rätt till sin mamma: ”det är min mamma”….”nej det är min”….och slår varandra i huvudet med olika tillhyggen…..

Om Paulus hade skrivit brev idag …eller om han helt enkelt inte varit grek utan palestinier….hade han kanske sagt: ”Här är icke palestinier eller israel, båda är ni ETT enligt kärlekens lag”

Besonders authentisch erfahrbar ist – glaubt man der grünen taz – die TRAUMGESELLSCHAFT der Ökopaxe, die ZIVILGESELLSCHAFT, in den Territorien, die unter der Kontrolle der mohammedanistischen Terroristen stehen.

Aus der taz vom 10./11. Oktober 2009:

“taz-Reisen in die ZIVILGESELLSCHAFT- Noch Plätze frei, wer will noch mit? Für Kurzentschlossene / Ramallah – Jericho – Jerusalem – Bethlehem – Hebron – ZIVILGESELLSCHAFT im AUSNAHMEZUSTAND – Diese Reise ermöglicht einen Einblick in das ALLTAGSLEBEN in den palästinensischen Autonomiegebieten. Sie besuchen z.B. ein Theaterprojekt in Jenin, Künstler und Schriftsteller in Ramallah, ein Kulturzentrum in Bethlehem. An die SPANNUNGEN im Land werden Sie an jedem CHECKPOINT erinnert, erleben Sie ABER AUCH die landschaftlichen Schönheiten dieses Landesstrichs.”

Time am 16. Oktober 2009

Today’s Reading: Genesis 22 - 24

Gen. 22.  The Sacrifice.

Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” ~ Gen. 22:1-2

The name “Moriah” means “ordained by God”, but scholars speculate that the name may also suggest that the mountain was in the land of the Amorites.

So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” ~ Gen. 22:3-5

Abraham clearly believed in God’s power to raise Isaac from the dead. He confidently asserted, “WE WILL come back…”   Interesting that this took place on “the third day”, which we also associate with Jesus’ resurrection.  Worship is directly associated with sacrifice.  That’s probably a sermon all by itself…

So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!”
And he said, “Here I am, my son.”
Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together. ~ Gen. 22:6-8

With curiosity, Isaac asks the obvious: Where is the sacrifice? Take note of Abraham’s faith-filled words: “God will provide”. This passage is also a prophecy, which foretells of the time when God will, in fact, provide a sacrificial Lamb — God Himself in the flesh — to take away the sins of the world.

 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. ~ Gen. 22:9-10

This verse doesn’t tell us what Isaac’s reaction was to this situation; but as a parent, I hope that Abraham explained to Isaac about God’s faithfulness and provision, His mighty promises for them and their descendants, and God’s power to raise the dead, if necessary. I think he probably did, because Isaac evidently was obedient and did not rebel against his father’s will, or the will of God. So verse 10 leaves us hanging, with the deadly knife lifted and ready to strike the tender flesh — to slaughter — his dear child.   They say hindsight is “20-20″ — perfect vision — and so now, we can see that Isaac was a symbol of Jesus’ future sacrifice, and Abraham represented the steadfast faithfulness and over-arching love of our Heavenly Father.  By that I mean, an unconditional, deep-seated, tough but nurturing love.

But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
So he said, “Here I am.”
And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” ~ Gen. 22:11-12

To me the concept of “fearing God” is when you fully acknowledge God, you know He is real, and you take Him completely seriously, in full knowledge of His capabilities, and this knowledge compels you to worship and obey Him.

Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided.” ~ Gen. 22:13-14

Abraham believed and spoke the words “God will provide”, and now, we see how this came to pass. Some people think that our words can be like a magical incantation, so whatever we pray for, we should “speak into reality” by using those words to make it happen. But we are not the puppetmaster and the Lord our willing puppet! When Abraham spoke these words, they were evidence of his covenant relationship with God — he was stating a fact based on God’s own Word when he promised that through Isaac, Abraham’s offspring would be innumerable. Furthermore, Abraham did not try to tell God how He should provide the answer, but trusted God to handle the situation as He saw fit.

Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” ~ Gen. 22:15-18 

In Genesis 18, God indirectly referred to His intention to use Abraham and his offspring as vessels through whom all the nations would be blessed (referring of course, to His only Son, Jesus), but here He states it directly to Abraham, in response to Abraham’s unfaltering obedience.

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Gen. 23.  Sarah is “Gathered to Her People”. 

Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. ~ Gen. 23:1-2

Even in her old age, Sarah was cherished and honored by her husband.

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Gen. 24.  Isaac Gains a Wife.

Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. ~ Gen. 24:1

The Lord blesses us as believers all the time; it just isn’t always according to our plans!

So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” ~ Gen. 24:2-4

Abraham did not want his descendants influenced by the Canaanites, who worshiped false gods; therefore, he knew his son must not marry one of them, but rather, a woman who believed as he did in the one true God. Even then, it was not wise for believers to be yoked together with unbelievers (2 Cor. 6:14).

The LORD God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. ~ Gen. 24:7

Abraham explains that his actions are based on the truth of God’s promise, and his belief in that truth.

Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, for all his master’s goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water. Then he said, “O LORD God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.” ~ Gen. 24:10-14

Now we see that the servant was also a believer, because he prays earnestly to God, and asks that God show him the what His will is concerning the wife for Isaac, trusting that God will show him what to do.

And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. ~ Gen. 24:15

God already knew what was in the servant’s heart, and had Rebekah coming that direction ahead of time!

And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.

So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold, and said, “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father’s house for us to lodge?”

So she said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s son, whom she bore to Nahor.” Moreover she said to him, “We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge.”

Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the LORD. And he said, “Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren.” ~ Gen. 24:19-27

Rebekah does exactly what the servant had prayed the intended wife of Isaac would do, and then the servant discovers that she is part of Abraham’s extended family! When he realized this, he was humbled before God’s mighty power, and worshiped Him, demonstrating again by his thoughts, words, and actions that he was a believer.

Now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. And if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”
Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing comes from the LORD; we cannot speak to you either bad or good. Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be your master’s son’s wife, as the LORD has spoken.” ~ Gen. 24:49-51

Rebekah’s family acknowledge God’s sovereignty and allow her to leave their home, so that she can marry Isaac.

And they blessed Rebekah and said to her:
“Our sister, may you become
The mother of thousands of ten thousands;
And may your descendants possess
The gates of those who hate them.” ~ Gen. 24:60

This is not just a prayer of blessing, but also a prophecy; for Rebekah would become part of the line through whom Jesus would be born. I believe there is a lot of power in blessings, so I take them very seriously when I give them to my children and my grandchildren, and I always base them squarely on God’s promises for his people.

And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming. Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from her camel; for she had said to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?”
The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took a veil and covered herself.
And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. ~ Gen. 24:63-67

This is a charming story of the anticipation of young lovers, the modesty of the new bride-to-be, and the beginning of their new life together. The words “and she became his wife, and he loved her” are so simple, yet so beautiful. And Isaac’s mourning was turned into gladness.

Today’s Reading: Genesis 12-15

This military standard is from the ruins of the royal tombs at Ur of the Chaldees in ancient Mesopotamia. The standard is about 4500 years old and one of the earliest representations of an ancient Sumerian army. It has two sides, one depicting war and the other depicting peace. The ‘War’ panel shows chariots, each pulled by donkeys, which would trample enemies; infantry with cloaks carrying spears; enemy soldiers being killed with axes, while others are paraded naked and presented to the king who holds a spear. The ‘Peace’ panel depicts animals, fish and other goods brought in procession to a banquet. Seated figures, wearing woolen fleeces or fringed skirts, drink to the accompaniment of a musician playing a lyre.

Now the LORD had said to Abram:
“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
~ Gen. 12:1-3

God wanted Abram to demonstrate his faith and his obedience by leaving the polytheistic environment at Ur.  He reminded Abram of his intention to bless those who follow Him, and to empower those believers to be a blessing to others.

Abraham's Journey

And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.” Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the LORD. ~ Gen. 13:14-18

God’s promise is sure, but it’s a very futuristic promise. Abram won’t see this come true in his lifetime!

Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. ~ Gen. 14:14

Interesting how quickly we went from all people being descended from Noah’s sons to nations with different languages, and now we see master and servant relationships. Didn’t these people realize they were all distant cousins?  Hey — doesn’t this mean that WE are all distant cousins?  Hmmmm.

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said,

“ Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”
And he gave him a tithe of all. ~ Gen. 14:18-20

In the passage preceding this one we find that things have escalated to the point that the different kings are battling one another, so Abram goes out and whoops ‘em all. Afterward, he has a little celebration with Melchizedek, the king of Salem (now called Jerusalem) and priest of God Most High. Interesting titles — who was this guy, really?  I wonder if the bread and wine were significant?  Also, notice how Abram gave a tithe (tenth) of all he had to the Lord by giving that offering to his representative on Earth.  

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

But Abram said, “Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”

Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”

And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.”

Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. ~ Gen. 15:1-6

Abram was so confident in his fellowship with the Lord that when God told him, I am your “exceedingly great reward” (and what more could you ask for), Abram expressed his personal concerns!  He wanted to know where the child of promise was. Who would be the “appointed seed” in this generation? With God’s reassurance, Abram believed in what he could not see, and this gave him a righteous standing before God. Bible scholars call this “imputation” and it is found ONLY in Christianity. In no other religion is “grace… through faith” (Ephesians 2:8) the only way to attain righteousness before a holy God.

Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him.

Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates— the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.” ~ Gen. 15:12-16, 18-19

Abram had a dream that filled his spirit with “horror and great darkness”. How terrifying to learn that your descendants will become slaves for 400 years! 

But God has His reasons for this painful interval in Hebrew history — He intends for His people to know firsthand what it is like to be humble and rejected, so that they will have learn to have compassion on those who are oppressed and weak. Furthermore, He assures Abram that the story will end well, both for his descendants and for him personally, and he seals it with a covenant, giving the Hebrews possession of all the land from the the modern Wady el`Avish (60 miles south of Beersheba) to the Euphrates River!

I did some research to try to find out something I’ve never really understood — who the Palestinians are, and what is the basis for their claim on this area of land. Essentially, they claim to be descendants from the original Canaanites that inhabited the land before the Jews returned from slavery in Egypt.

Associated Press: Palestinian children from the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank pose for a photo after playing for Holocaust survivors in Holon, Israel, Wednesday, March 25, 2009.

The “promised land” has been conquered over the years by a wide range of peoples, including the Israelites, Philistines, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, the Greeks under Alexander the Great, Romans and Byzantines, Arabs, Ottoman Turks, and the British.

After WW2, Israel held out against Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, becoming a nation in 1948; however, the Gaza Strip was left under Egyptian control, and the west bank remained in Jordan’s possession.

Fighting continued between Egypt, refugee Arabs in the countries surrounding Israel, and the Jews until 1967 when Israel took hold of the Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, Arab East Jerusalem, West Bank, and Golan Heights.

The Palestinian Liberation Army had been established by refugee Arab Muslims in 1965, and following Israel’s victory, they continued to attack Jewish territory in attempts to “redeem Palestine”. In spite of a series of peace summits, unrest and violence continue in Israel to this day.

But according to God’s promise, all the land between the Nile and the Euphrates belongs to Israel.  And more important still, Jesus loves and died for the redemption of both the Israelites and the Palestinians.