Jews Against Secular Jewish Nationalism

linked post Rabbi Yitzchok Yaakov Reines (1839-1915) was a leader of Chovevei Tzion and the founder of the Mizrachi movement. In 1902 he published a book called Ohr Chadash Al Tzion calling for settlement in Eretz Yisroel, but cautioning (p. 240) that it must not violate the oaths: What is the point of Chanukah? Seemingly, there is no lesson for us to learn from it for our generations, for then all the miracles took place only after they arose on their own and fought the war of Hashem, but if we try to imitate the actions of our forefathers of that time, coming out with a battle cry and defeating out enemies, these actions would obviously be forbidden to us, since the Holy One, blessed is He, severely foreswore us not to push for the end of exile by force. But we can learn from the story to work to better the situation of the Jewish people and settle it on its land, for this is its honor and the honor of its Torah. And this can take place even now, in acceptable and permissible ways. I...

from https://www.press.umich.edu/166167/defending_the_holy_land Defending the Holy Land is the most comprehensive analysis to date of Israel's national security and foreign policy, from the inception of the State of Israel to the present. Author Zeev Maoz's unique double perspective, as both an expert on the Israeli security establishment and esteemed scholar of Mideast politics, enables him to describe in harrowing detail the tragic recklessness and self-made traps that pervade the history of Israeli security operations and foreign policy. Most of the wars in which Israel was involved, Maoz shows, were entirely avoidable, the result of deliberate Israeli aggression, flawed decision-making, and misguided conflict management strategies. None, with the possible exception of the 1948 War of Independence, were what Israelis call "wars of necessity." They were all wars of choice—or, worse, folly. Demonstrating that Israel's national security policy rested on the shaky ...

On the night of Wednesday 10 Iyar and police forces raided Yitzhar and served four students of Yeshivat Od Yosef Chai, two of them minors, with administrative orders banning them from entering Yehuda and Shomron. The two minors were served with orders banning them from entering Yehuda and Shomron for six months. One of them is allowed to enter the community of his residence in Gush Etzion. The adults were served with orders banning them from entering Yehuda and Shomron for four and nine months. All four students are prohibited from making contact with approximately 20 specific individuals. The orders are signed by IDF Central District Commander Major-General Roni Numa and Home Front Commander Brigadier-General Dedi Simchi. The orders were issued without presenting evidence or a holding a trial and rely on ordinances for times of emergency dating from the British Mandate. Major-General Numa’s orders were issued after he was convinced that “[the order] is essential for the security of th...

464. "There were ten generations from Adam to Noach,"  and again "There were ten generations from Noach to Abraham":  the generations passed in review before the eyes of the Creator,  "until Abraham came and took the reward of all of them" (Avos   5: 2), meaning that the entire Universe is now solely for him:   i.e. he and his seed are the central figures. 465, Indeed, this concept needs time to penetrate our  minds. Even loyal and proud Jews are accustomed to thinking  that the most they can claim is an important place in the world.   Jews are humble and fair-minded, and this concept is almost   repugnant to many. But the open declarations of the Scriptures  cannot be disregarded. They speak clearly and declare that Israel   (not the State of Israel, which is the antithesis of the name Israel)  occupies the place; it occupies the world and the Universe.  R' Avigdor Miller, Awake My Glory, 464-5.

  The movement may have started on legitimate grounds. There were 1/2 million Arabs in Palestine in 1890 in a land that now easily holds 10 million. So there was room for immigrants. But the movement was taken over by militants who have steadily become more aggressive and out of control over the decades. They are abnormally aggressive in everything they do and in my opinion started most of the wars they complain about. And they are incredibly self-righteous and racist. Believe it or not, the most civilized and sane people in Israel are the ultra-Orthodox. The rest of the country is so obsessed with its military that it can't think straight. It's a kind of religion for them, but not a healthy one. The ultra-Orthodox have a real religion that channels their energies in a more civilized way. The Zionists want it both ways. They want to claim to be a modern democracy and yet they have a state that is based on religious identity and yet they are not religious. It's all incredibl...

Norman Finkelstein: Myths about Gaza Rockets and Tunnels

Crime & Punishment in the Gaza Strip

Eichler blasts police violence against helpless civilians "MK Yisrael Eichler (United Torah Judaism) had harsh criticism for the Israel Police on Monday at a discussion in the Knesset on police violence against Israelis during protests, searches of detainees and even while handing out traffic tickets. Eichler related specifically to police violence against the haredi community which, he claimed, routinely takes place and not only during demonstrations. He referred to the recent incident in Beit Shemesh, where a haredi yeshiva student was brutally beaten by a traffic policeman. “They were not involved in a violent demonstration. The student was talking on the phone while driving and was fined a thousand shekels,” said Eichler, who added, “The driver pleaded with the policeman and said he has no money. It seemed that the policeman enjoyed tormenting him. The citizen said one sentence: ‘G-d will pay [the fine].’ I do not know if it is prohibited by law [to say that]. But the policema...