Do you think Sharon saw Gush Katif in purely strategic terms, as a means to absorb and deflect terror attacks before they reached Israel proper? Clearly, he was not ideologically committed to the settlement enterprise, or he would not have ordered the evacuation at the end.
He was absolutely ideologically committed to the settlement enterprise, something he had proved repeatedly throughout his career. It seems that he ordered the evacuation to stay out of jail and/or to keep his sons out of jail, proving that family comes before nation, a very middle eastern concept.
The same Ariel Sharon who crossed the suez canal and trapped the Egyptian army in Sinai? They must have had the goods on him. Fortunately, Netanyahu was not cowed by the same threats.
True. But it is necessary to face the issue and seek a solution moving forward. And that solution cannot be the exclusion of the Divine. Faith ≠ naïveté. This much I know is true.
This is how I enframe the entire series, with the final post (due soon) to attempt to demonstrate a perceptible Divine Presence even during the worst of the attack, seen as a continuation of the most difficult and painful characteristic of the Jewish story.
Does anyone see a connection between lack of aggressive fighting spirit, and a commitment to feminism in the army, that women should be put into combat units, and also into many non-combat activities?
I suspect that the vast majority of those responsible for the poor policies described in this article are also committed to the advancement of women in the army, and a majority in the advancement of gay rights, and denial of any religious element to the Jewish claim to the land.
Can you point me to one single international Christian banking system that facilitates usury-free loans?
Why isn't there a international unity in Christianity conference annually to promote the unified One voice of Truth from the crucifixionists?
I like what the Mormons have done with your belief system, they've got ritual undergarments, wholesome youth from a rainbow coalition of Nations eagerly evangelicized and proselytized and somewhat colonized as Christians do. A Mormon massacre thus lending Credence to the traditions of Christianity with its inquisitions, burnings at the stake, pogroms against Jews or other crucifixionists, a beautiful Temple and best of all they consider other cross worshipers to be gentiles. 😉
The crucifix is a torture device and is affixed to many gentile homes to symbolize the good feels that a tortured Jew on a stick brings them, what else could it be?
Nothing says failed Messiah like needing to return a second time to accomplish what wasn't accomplished the first and many people say the reason it's called the crucifixion is if it was real it would be called the crucifact.
Many say that trinitarianism is more similar to Hinduism and the commonalities of theophagy with other faiths are rare and extremely unique, if not disturbing.
31,000 flavors of jezeusian delusional mythology illustrate the phenomenon called Christianity
What the heck is it? Talking in tongues handling snakes grifting off parishioners or banging boys in the butt for decades under the auspices of holy Rome, with intervals of persecuting Jews after running up debts with them so as to power grab their property and women and kids. So many aspects of krampus worship and Easter egg bunny consumption and the delicious awareness it takes to name the day that your field Messiah died Good Friday 🙄
Estimates of 100 million Jews thriving have been made if not for the depredations and degradations and horrors of Christian persecution of the Jews.
So many EX Christians proclaim their happiness once they've renounced the delusions of jezeusian mythology or even better convert to Judaism.
Rabbi tovia singer elicits praise and commendations from followers of all faith along with whiny nonsensical gibberish-oriented he is because we say so moanings about the failed Messiah but he truly eloquently illustrates the truth of the one true faith over and over.
Jews for Judaism is eloquent and terrific in refuting the inconsistencies incoherences misquotes misappropriations and general disorder of the so-called New testament which relies on the Torah and tanakh for its truth but denies them, nothing but continuing paradoxes conundrums and confusions thus reflected by you commenting parasitically with your agenda of the crucifix wielding goitard come to scold sneer scoff like only the denizens of goitardia can
"Can you point me to one single international Christian banking system that facilitates usury-free loans?"
No I can’t. Christianity does not condemn or forbid usury or interest the way the Tanakh does. Only Torah laws that are explicitly reaffirmed in the New Testament are obligatory for Christians.
I don’t believe that major banks and financial organizations in Israel are interest-free. Are you condemning Christians for not following aspects of Jewish law even Jews freely ignore?
"Why isn't there a international unity in Christianity conference annually to promote the unified One voice of Truth from the crucifixionists?"
For the same reason Orthodox, Reform, Liberal and secular Jews don’t all have a Kumbayah conference to promote the unified truth of Judaism. For the same reason secular leftist Jews don’t hold national unity conferences with conservative nationalists.
Your obviously limited understanding of Christianity seriously diminishes the significance of your comments about Mormons.
About such alleged traditions of Christianity as “inquisitions, burnings at the stake, pogroms against Jews or other crucifixionists,” you may know that such activities are more traditionally associated with Catholicism than with Protestantism – and I, like many others, consider the church of Rome to be a false church and repudiate it utterly.
The cross was a common Roman means of execution, but a cross with the image on Christ on it is not a device used to torture anyone, so your comment that it is a torture device is frankly ridiculous. And again, that is a Catholic device, not a Protestant one.
About the need for a second return indicating a failed Messiah, don’t even some aspects of Jewish tradition distinguish between the Messiah Ben David who rules victoriously, and the Messiah Ben Joseph who is afflicted?
Christ’s death on the cross and subsequent resurrection has some clear references in the Jewish scriptures, for example Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53, which many Christians study more carefully than you do I think.
Many say that Trinitarianism is similar to Hinduism? Many people deny the Torah as well. So? Now that I think of it, many people say that Israel is a racist, imperialist apartheid state currently practicing genocide. I don’t believe that, and have often defended the right of a Jews to their state, but “Many say . . . . ” However, truth is not decided by majority vote.
“31,000 flavors of jezeusian delusional mythology” don’t illustrate the phenomenon called Christianity any more than the many different varieties of Judaism among a much smaller number of people demonstrate the essential falsehood of Judaism.
“Talking in tongues”? Didn’t the prophet Daniel interpret something written on a wall in an unknown spiritual language? There are different approaches to that practice today.
Handling snakes? A violation of scripture. As Christ said when tempted to do something reckless to demonstrate his faith, “It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” That is practiced by a vanishingly small minority of people who have the name of Christians.
Sexual abuse of children is not a uniquely Christian sin, but insofar as it is protected by Rome, that has nothing at all to do with biblical Christianity, the Church of Rome being a false church. Same for the medieval practices of persecuting Jews after running up debts, not a common practice in the Protestant countries.
Krampus worship? Christmas is not a biblically mandated holiday, and easter eggs and bunnies have zero biblical basis. “Good Friday” is also not a biblical term.
“Estimates of 100 million Jews thriving have been made if not for the depredations and degradations and horrors of Christian persecution of the Jews.” Are you leaving God out of this equation? He has preserved the Jewish people in faithfulness to his promise to Abraham, maybe not to the degree or extent you would do if you were the sovereign master of the universe, but enough for his purposes. And how many Jews have been lost through unforced assimilation? Very many, especially if you include imaginary projections of their descendants.
I hope you are not going to try and include the 20th-century Holocaust of the Jews in such calculation. National Socialism was the direct result of a century and more of secular repudiation of biblical Christianity, and introduced many new ideas unheard of in previous centuries.
Ex Christians proclaiming their happiness? I have read testimonies of Jews who converted to Christianity. Human happiness can be very deceptive.
You may be aware that many people who dismiss Christianity as mythology do the same with Judaism.
"Rabbi tovia singer elicits praise and commendations from followers of all faith along with whiny nonsensical gibberish-oriented he is because we say so moanings about the failed Messiah" – that seems incoherent to me. As to him eloquently illustrating the truth of the one true faith over and over, I have read a couple of books arguing for the superiority of traditional Judaism over Christianity, and found them unconvincing.
All of these secrets will be revealed after the resurrection from the dead and the day of judgment.
Your mischaracterizations of Christianity are disappointing but not surprising. Scorn, hostility and contempt are not qualities that encourage fair and impartial analysis. The canonical Christian writings in what we call the New Testament reaffirm many truths of Torah and Tanakh, and many Christians, myself among them, believe that the historical books from Genesis to Kings and Chronicles are divinely inspired records of historical fact, that God appeared to Moses literally on Mt. Sinai and gave him the laws of written Torah (oral Torah being a mere fabrication, utterly void of substance), and that the Israelites were delivered from bondage in Egypt exactly in the manner described.
There are I believe many Jews who are hesitant about affirming that God literally appeared to Moses and spoke with him as described in Torah. Am I a better Jew than they are if I believe those things?
Your claim that the Christian Bible is nothing but paradoxes, conundrums and confusions shows that your understanding of the subject is very limited – and, of course you are aware of the many criticisms people today direct against the God of the Tanakh.
As to my “commenting parasitically,” the owner of the site is free to block me any time he likes – but that is one of the main purposes of the comment section, to allow for all sorts of input. And, my comment was not scolding, sneering or scoffing. Perhaps you didn’t read it objectively because you were too upset. I was commenting on the secular modernism which eats at Israel and the West like a cancer from within.
Joe, I have always been against females in combat units but note this: some of the fiercest fighting was done by women. This is a fact. The most famous instance was an all-female tank crew in the southern sector that blew the living crap out of any Gazan that dared cross them. Also, some female pilots in the attack on Iran. Must give credit where credit is due.
I recall a condoleezza Rice moment of GTFO to General Sharon though I recall a photo with her and Olmert finger pointing across a table.
His military accomplishments and brilliance are unsurpassed and I'm curious what pressures are known to have swayed him besides the corruption, Olmert did his time in prison.
Israeli rabbis/ influencers for governmentbucks planted themselves amongst the Gaza settlers and kept them quiet and supplicant as they were expelled.
It's not said often enough that this was the first ethnic cleansing of the 21st century and to give it the Jewish flavor of Jews on Jews
I've listened to Andrew Fox describe IDF military protocol as loose at best so the rigidity of management during crisis seems beyond off..
Do you think Sharon saw Gush Katif in purely strategic terms, as a means to absorb and deflect terror attacks before they reached Israel proper? Clearly, he was not ideologically committed to the settlement enterprise, or he would not have ordered the evacuation at the end.
He was absolutely ideologically committed to the settlement enterprise, something he had proved repeatedly throughout his career. It seems that he ordered the evacuation to stay out of jail and/or to keep his sons out of jail, proving that family comes before nation, a very middle eastern concept.
The same Ariel Sharon who crossed the suez canal and trapped the Egyptian army in Sinai? They must have had the goods on him. Fortunately, Netanyahu was not cowed by the same threats.
David, you have no idea how much respect I had for the pre-disengagement Sharon.
I still respect him as a military leader. But he didn't kick me out my house.
Excellent article. Indispensable reading if Israel is to move forward.
Thanks Stephen.
This is depressing to the bones.
True. But it is necessary to face the issue and seek a solution moving forward. And that solution cannot be the exclusion of the Divine. Faith ≠ naïveté. This much I know is true.
This is how I enframe the entire series, with the final post (due soon) to attempt to demonstrate a perceptible Divine Presence even during the worst of the attack, seen as a continuation of the most difficult and painful characteristic of the Jewish story.
Does anyone see a connection between lack of aggressive fighting spirit, and a commitment to feminism in the army, that women should be put into combat units, and also into many non-combat activities?
I suspect that the vast majority of those responsible for the poor policies described in this article are also committed to the advancement of women in the army, and a majority in the advancement of gay rights, and denial of any religious element to the Jewish claim to the land.
Can you point me to one single international Christian banking system that facilitates usury-free loans?
Why isn't there a international unity in Christianity conference annually to promote the unified One voice of Truth from the crucifixionists?
I like what the Mormons have done with your belief system, they've got ritual undergarments, wholesome youth from a rainbow coalition of Nations eagerly evangelicized and proselytized and somewhat colonized as Christians do. A Mormon massacre thus lending Credence to the traditions of Christianity with its inquisitions, burnings at the stake, pogroms against Jews or other crucifixionists, a beautiful Temple and best of all they consider other cross worshipers to be gentiles. 😉
The crucifix is a torture device and is affixed to many gentile homes to symbolize the good feels that a tortured Jew on a stick brings them, what else could it be?
Nothing says failed Messiah like needing to return a second time to accomplish what wasn't accomplished the first and many people say the reason it's called the crucifixion is if it was real it would be called the crucifact.
Many say that trinitarianism is more similar to Hinduism and the commonalities of theophagy with other faiths are rare and extremely unique, if not disturbing.
31,000 flavors of jezeusian delusional mythology illustrate the phenomenon called Christianity
What the heck is it? Talking in tongues handling snakes grifting off parishioners or banging boys in the butt for decades under the auspices of holy Rome, with intervals of persecuting Jews after running up debts with them so as to power grab their property and women and kids. So many aspects of krampus worship and Easter egg bunny consumption and the delicious awareness it takes to name the day that your field Messiah died Good Friday 🙄
Estimates of 100 million Jews thriving have been made if not for the depredations and degradations and horrors of Christian persecution of the Jews.
So many EX Christians proclaim their happiness once they've renounced the delusions of jezeusian mythology or even better convert to Judaism.
Rabbi tovia singer elicits praise and commendations from followers of all faith along with whiny nonsensical gibberish-oriented he is because we say so moanings about the failed Messiah but he truly eloquently illustrates the truth of the one true faith over and over.
Jews for Judaism is eloquent and terrific in refuting the inconsistencies incoherences misquotes misappropriations and general disorder of the so-called New testament which relies on the Torah and tanakh for its truth but denies them, nothing but continuing paradoxes conundrums and confusions thus reflected by you commenting parasitically with your agenda of the crucifix wielding goitard come to scold sneer scoff like only the denizens of goitardia can
🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱
"Can you point me to one single international Christian banking system that facilitates usury-free loans?"
No I can’t. Christianity does not condemn or forbid usury or interest the way the Tanakh does. Only Torah laws that are explicitly reaffirmed in the New Testament are obligatory for Christians.
I don’t believe that major banks and financial organizations in Israel are interest-free. Are you condemning Christians for not following aspects of Jewish law even Jews freely ignore?
"Why isn't there a international unity in Christianity conference annually to promote the unified One voice of Truth from the crucifixionists?"
For the same reason Orthodox, Reform, Liberal and secular Jews don’t all have a Kumbayah conference to promote the unified truth of Judaism. For the same reason secular leftist Jews don’t hold national unity conferences with conservative nationalists.
Your obviously limited understanding of Christianity seriously diminishes the significance of your comments about Mormons.
About such alleged traditions of Christianity as “inquisitions, burnings at the stake, pogroms against Jews or other crucifixionists,” you may know that such activities are more traditionally associated with Catholicism than with Protestantism – and I, like many others, consider the church of Rome to be a false church and repudiate it utterly.
The cross was a common Roman means of execution, but a cross with the image on Christ on it is not a device used to torture anyone, so your comment that it is a torture device is frankly ridiculous. And again, that is a Catholic device, not a Protestant one.
About the need for a second return indicating a failed Messiah, don’t even some aspects of Jewish tradition distinguish between the Messiah Ben David who rules victoriously, and the Messiah Ben Joseph who is afflicted?
Christ’s death on the cross and subsequent resurrection has some clear references in the Jewish scriptures, for example Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53, which many Christians study more carefully than you do I think.
Many say that Trinitarianism is similar to Hinduism? Many people deny the Torah as well. So? Now that I think of it, many people say that Israel is a racist, imperialist apartheid state currently practicing genocide. I don’t believe that, and have often defended the right of a Jews to their state, but “Many say . . . . ” However, truth is not decided by majority vote.
“31,000 flavors of jezeusian delusional mythology” don’t illustrate the phenomenon called Christianity any more than the many different varieties of Judaism among a much smaller number of people demonstrate the essential falsehood of Judaism.
“Talking in tongues”? Didn’t the prophet Daniel interpret something written on a wall in an unknown spiritual language? There are different approaches to that practice today.
Handling snakes? A violation of scripture. As Christ said when tempted to do something reckless to demonstrate his faith, “It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” That is practiced by a vanishingly small minority of people who have the name of Christians.
Sexual abuse of children is not a uniquely Christian sin, but insofar as it is protected by Rome, that has nothing at all to do with biblical Christianity, the Church of Rome being a false church. Same for the medieval practices of persecuting Jews after running up debts, not a common practice in the Protestant countries.
Krampus worship? Christmas is not a biblically mandated holiday, and easter eggs and bunnies have zero biblical basis. “Good Friday” is also not a biblical term.
“Estimates of 100 million Jews thriving have been made if not for the depredations and degradations and horrors of Christian persecution of the Jews.” Are you leaving God out of this equation? He has preserved the Jewish people in faithfulness to his promise to Abraham, maybe not to the degree or extent you would do if you were the sovereign master of the universe, but enough for his purposes. And how many Jews have been lost through unforced assimilation? Very many, especially if you include imaginary projections of their descendants.
I hope you are not going to try and include the 20th-century Holocaust of the Jews in such calculation. National Socialism was the direct result of a century and more of secular repudiation of biblical Christianity, and introduced many new ideas unheard of in previous centuries.
Ex Christians proclaiming their happiness? I have read testimonies of Jews who converted to Christianity. Human happiness can be very deceptive.
You may be aware that many people who dismiss Christianity as mythology do the same with Judaism.
"Rabbi tovia singer elicits praise and commendations from followers of all faith along with whiny nonsensical gibberish-oriented he is because we say so moanings about the failed Messiah" – that seems incoherent to me. As to him eloquently illustrating the truth of the one true faith over and over, I have read a couple of books arguing for the superiority of traditional Judaism over Christianity, and found them unconvincing.
All of these secrets will be revealed after the resurrection from the dead and the day of judgment.
Your mischaracterizations of Christianity are disappointing but not surprising. Scorn, hostility and contempt are not qualities that encourage fair and impartial analysis. The canonical Christian writings in what we call the New Testament reaffirm many truths of Torah and Tanakh, and many Christians, myself among them, believe that the historical books from Genesis to Kings and Chronicles are divinely inspired records of historical fact, that God appeared to Moses literally on Mt. Sinai and gave him the laws of written Torah (oral Torah being a mere fabrication, utterly void of substance), and that the Israelites were delivered from bondage in Egypt exactly in the manner described.
There are I believe many Jews who are hesitant about affirming that God literally appeared to Moses and spoke with him as described in Torah. Am I a better Jew than they are if I believe those things?
Your claim that the Christian Bible is nothing but paradoxes, conundrums and confusions shows that your understanding of the subject is very limited – and, of course you are aware of the many criticisms people today direct against the God of the Tanakh.
As to my “commenting parasitically,” the owner of the site is free to block me any time he likes – but that is one of the main purposes of the comment section, to allow for all sorts of input. And, my comment was not scolding, sneering or scoffing. Perhaps you didn’t read it objectively because you were too upset. I was commenting on the secular modernism which eats at Israel and the West like a cancer from within.
Typical deflectionist misdirections he's not a Christian he's not a Christian they're not a Christian but we're the Christians 🐖💨
Joe, I have always been against females in combat units but note this: some of the fiercest fighting was done by women. This is a fact. The most famous instance was an all-female tank crew in the southern sector that blew the living crap out of any Gazan that dared cross them. Also, some female pilots in the attack on Iran. Must give credit where credit is due.
I recall a condoleezza Rice moment of GTFO to General Sharon though I recall a photo with her and Olmert finger pointing across a table.
His military accomplishments and brilliance are unsurpassed and I'm curious what pressures are known to have swayed him besides the corruption, Olmert did his time in prison.
Israeli rabbis/ influencers for governmentbucks planted themselves amongst the Gaza settlers and kept them quiet and supplicant as they were expelled.
It's not said often enough that this was the first ethnic cleansing of the 21st century and to give it the Jewish flavor of Jews on Jews
I've listened to Andrew Fox describe IDF military protocol as loose at best so the rigidity of management during crisis seems beyond off..
"Toe the line", not "tow the line".
Very depressing. I remember this all too well.
Thanks Chana. I'll correct later.
This essay made me so sad because it ringed of truth. I had never heard of the Kutiel family and the horrifying events at their memorial.
Israel seems to suffer from the same political gulf as the United States.
Eerily similar.