THYME Magazine, Esther of the Year

Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor


Volume VII, Issue I 

Sgt. Mayan Yogev, Esther of the Year

"She (Sgt. Yogev) never hesitates. There were dire situations in which she had to give on-the-field care to a victim with a gun shot wound to the head or perform a tracheotomy on 12-year-old girl in critical condition." -- Yoav Zitun ht/Phillip Pasmanick [1.]

Just another day in the life of 20 year old Mayan Yogev. Don't be fooled by her youth and beauty, Sgt. Yogev is probably the busiest first responder in her Golan Heights patrol. Hundreds of Syrians in this troubled border area have been the recipients of Yogev's good care. Like a modern-day Florence Nightingale, she lights the lamp of compassionate care for her patients without regard for their citizenship.

"During the last months she has seen things that your average paramedic sees in a decade," says one of her commanders.Indeed the parallel to Nightingale's service during the Crimean War seems fitting. Here is a person who has tirelessly performed her duties with dedication and courage. Yoav Zitun [click to read] has much good to say about this remarkable woman!

Her brother Yitach says of her: "We weren't surprised, she has a strong character which allows her to deal not just with painful sights but also with difficult challenges without reservation or fear.

When she returns home she goes out and has a good time, she speaks of how much she believes in what she is doing, no questions asked. She tells us how she meets people in dire need of help, and does not embellish stories as heroic. Even as a high school student, she knew she wanted to have a meaningful period in the IDF, offering help and saving lives."

Her Father says of her: "it was always important for her to make a contribution and help other people. Her work over the last few months fills me with pride."

Her IDF colleagues have much to say in praise of her as well. Known for her courage and willingness to head into any forward area to render medical care, Yogev is a valued and respected member of their team. Those of us who pray for the Peace of Jerusalem look forward to the day when scores of Syrians and Israelis will simply remember her as their angel, their "lady with a lamp," in a difficult distant past.

Santa Filomena
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Whene'er a noble deed is wrought, 
Whene'er is spoken a noble thought, 
Our hearts, in glad surprise, 
To higher levels rise.

The tidal wave of deeper souls 
Into our inmost being rolls, 
And lifts us unawares 
Out of all meaner cares.

Honour to those whose words or deeds 
Thus help us in our daily needs, 
And by their overflow 
Raise us from what is low!

Thus thought I, as by night I read 
Of the great army of the dead, 
The trenches cold and damp, 
The starved and frozen camp, -

The wounded from the battle-plain, 
In dreary hospitals of pain, 
The cheerless corridors, 
The cold and stony floors.

Lo! in that house of misery 
A lady with a lamp I see 
Pass through the glimmering gloom, 
And flit from room to room.

And slow, as in a dream of bliss, 
The speechless sufferer turns to kiss 
Her shadow, as it falls 
Upon the darkening walls.

As if a door in heaven should be 
Opened and then closed suddenly, 
The vision came and went, 
The light shone and was spent.

On England's annals, through the long 
Hereafter of her speech and song, 
That light its rays shall cast 
From portals of the past.

A Lady with a Lamp shall stand 
In the great history of the land, 
A noble type of good, 
Heroic womanhood.

Nor even shall be wanting here 
The palm, the lily, and the spear, 
The symbols that of yore 
Saint Filomena bore.

THYME Magazine

Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor


Volume VI, Issue XII

It's Time to Pay Attention!

The 'other' weekly news magazine this week headlines: It's Time to Pay College Athletes [click to read] in their U. S. Edition. The International Editions [click to read], interestingly enough, feature Russian PM Vladimir Putin and his dreams of reincarnated empire. Yes, we think it is time to pay attention! As the President attempts to convince us that we need to attack Syria, he makes a weak case for a 'feel good' moment for his image as a world leader.

The Syrian moderates, who might have been in our interest to support are already defeated. The rebels we would be assisting are Al-Qaeda affiliates, no friends of the free world, nor advocates of peace. Sadly, the President seems to have twisted enough arms in the Senate and in Congress that he may just be able to commit the exact crime he so eagerly accused George W. Bush of committing in attacking Iraq.

The two wars are not the same. Iraq was in our nation's best interest, based on the best intelligence available at the time. Many in Congress who later ran a campaign against Bush's intervention agreed then that Iraq's likely possession of weapons of mass destruction was a serious problem. They voted for Bush's request for military action based on the dangers presented by weapons of mass destruction. Ironically, these weapons may have 'disappeared' to Syria in a prelude to the American attack. Initially the Iraq war kept Al-Qaeda elements busy defending their interests in Iraq, likely preventing them from following up on their September 11 attack on the United States. Assertion of subsequent mismanagement of the war in no way diminishes the validity of the initial operation.

The short critique here is that the President is proposing to engage us in a useless attack on Syria to 'send them a message.' He should instead just pick up the phone. This attack will accomplish nothing and only serve to incite a possible attack on Israel in retaliation. Israel, to their credit, will likely handle such an attack with a swift and appropriate response while taking pains to let it be known they are eager to build peace if it is possible. The problem is that the United States will have been the agent of destabilizing in the region. Regime change, though not the President's stated goal, might just happen. In that case, Syrian weapons could find their way into even more unstable hands than they are in now.

Then there is the whole issue of Iran, moving ever closer to possessing nuclear weapons. The bigger picture here is that a weak and bumbling American policy only serves to encourage the ambitions of such regimes.

The Middle East is a dangerous place right now. Adult leadership is needed more than ever. Binyamin Netanyahu is a key player right now. We need to listen to him. Congress must act to overrule the President. Weekly news magazines need to forget trying to bolster their sales and force-feed the information to Americans that they must publish to be considered 'relevant' in the rest of the world.

Israel and Stuff [click to read]
Real News from Israel ht/Phil

What Israeli Leaders are Learning [click to read]
Why I Cannot Support the Resolution [click to read] 
(analysis from Joel Rosenberg)

Who Are We Helping in Syria [click to view]
from Glenn Beck (warning: Extreme Graphic Violence)

“Until Saturday, Obama’s Middle East policies were generally regarded by the Arab world as confused and incoherent, As of Saturday, he will be perceived as one of the weakest presidents in American history. That scent of weakness has emphatically reached Iran… Khamenei and his advisers recognize that the likelihood of this administration using military force against a country with Iran’s military capability are very low, if not nonexistent. And they’re not the only ones who realize this. The same conclusions are being drawn by Hezbollah and al-Qaeda. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet colleagues, who will doubtless have been watching the Rose Garden speech, will have internalized what they had long suspected: that Washington will not be the place from which good news will emanate about thwarting Iran’s nuclear drive.” -- The Times of Israel

PM Netanyahu's Greetings for Rosh Hashana 5774

Mr. Netanyahu's Greeting to the People of the World

Shana Tova! Happy New Year! 

"Israel Must Always Retain the Right to Defend"

"The Greastet Threat to Any Living Organism...
...any Country, is Not to Recognize Danger in Time."


Once again, Mr. Netanyahu proves to be the leader of the free world.

Thank you. Todah rabah.

Thank you very much.

Sara and I want to thank you for that wonderful reception. This applause that could be heard as far away as Jerusalem . Jerusalem – the eternal and united capital of Israel.

Thank you Howard, Rosy, Michael, and thank you all the leadership of AIPAC. Thank you for everything that you do.

I know that more than a half of the members of Congress are in attendance here tonight. I deeply appreciate your being here.

Michael, you said that when I spoke last May, in Congress, you – the members of congress – stood up to applaud the State of Israel.

Now I ask for another applause. Now I ask the 13,000 supporters of Israel who are here tonight to stand up and applaud you for standing up for Israel. Democrats and Republicans alike, I salute your unwavering support to the Jewish state

I want to send a special message to a great friend of Israel who is not here tonight: Senator Mark Kirk, the co-author of the Kirk-Menendez Iran Sanctions Act.

Senator Kirk, I know you're watching this tonight. Please get well soon. America needs you; Israel needs you.

I send you wishes for a speedy recovery. So get well and get back to work.

I also want to recognize Yossi Peled, who is here tonight. Yossi, would you please stand up.

Yossi was born in Belgium. His parents hid him with a Christian family during the Holocaust, World War II. His father and many other members of his family were murdered at Auschwitz.

His mother survived the Holocaust, returned to reclaim Yossi, and brought him to Israel. He became one of Israel's bravest and greatest generals. And today, he serves as a minister in my cabinet.

Yossi's life is the story of the Jewish people – the story of a powerless and stateless people who became a strong and proud nation, able to defend itself.

And ladies and gentlemen, Israel must always reserve the right to defend itself.

I want to recognize Israel's Ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren. Michael, you're doing an outstanding job. Thank you for all you do for our country. And thank you for everything you are doing for the friendship between Israel and the United States.

I also want to recognize Ambassador Dan Shapiro, the United States' Ambassador to Israel. President Obama is right, your Hebrew is improving, though it is not on par with Michael Oren's. Dan, we appreciate your efforts to strengthen the alliance between America and Israel.

Are there any students here tonight?

Is there anyone here from Florida?

from New York?

from Wisconsin? -- that's important. I'll tell you about it later

from California?

You're the future, and thank you all for ensuring the future of the great alliance between Israel and the United States.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Tonight, I'd like to talk to you about a subject that no one has been talking about recently…: Iran.

Every day, I open the newspapers and read about these redlines and these timelines. I read about what Israel has supposedly decided to do, or what Israel might do.

Well, I’m not going to talk to you about what Israel will do or will not do, I never talk about that. But I do want to talk to you about the dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran. I want to explain why Iran must never be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

President Obama has reiterated his commitment to prevent that from happening. He stated clearly that all options are on the table, and that American policy is not containment.

Well, Israel has exactly the same policy -- We are determined to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons; we leave all options on the table; and containment is definitely not an option.

The Jewish state will not allow those who seek our destruction to possess the means to achieve that goal.

A nuclear armed Iran must be stopped.

Amazingly, some people refuse to acknowledge that Iran’s goal is to develop nuclear weapons. You see, Iran claims to do everything it's doing, that it’s enriching uranium to develop medical isotopes.

Yeah, that's right.

A country that builds underground nuclear facilities, develops intercontinental ballistic missiles, manufactures thousands of centrifuges, and that absorbs crippling sanctions, is doing all that in order to advance…medical research.

So you see, when that Iranian ICBM is flying through the air to a location near you, you’ve got nothing to worry about. It’s only carrying medical isotopes.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then what is it?

That’s right, it's a duck. But this duck is a nuclear duck. And it’s time the world started calling a duck a duck.

Fortunately, President Obama and most world leaders understand that the claim that Iran's goal is not to develop nuclear weapons is simply ridiculous.

Yet incredibly, some are prepared to accept an idea only slightly less preposterous: that we should accept a world in which the Ayatollahs have atomic bombs.

Sure, they say, Iran is cruel, but it's not crazy. It’s detestable but it’s deterrable.

My friends,

Responsible leaders should not bet the security of their countries on the belief that the world’s most dangerous regimes won’t use the world’s most dangerous weapons.

And I promise you that as Prime Minister, I will never gamble with the security of the State of Israel.

From the beginning, the Ayatollah regime has broken every international rule and flouted every norm. It has seized embassies, targeted diplomats. It sends its own children through mine fields; it hangs gays and stones women; it supports Assad's brutal slaughter of the Syrian people; it is the world's foremost sponsor of terrorism: it sponsors Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and terrorists throughout the Middle East, Africa, even South America.

Iran's proxies have dispatched hundreds of suicide bombers, planted thousands of roadside bombs, and they fired over twenty thousand missiles at civilians.

Through terror from the skies and terror on the ground, Iran is responsible for the murder of hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans.

In 1983, Iran's proxy Hezbollah blew up the Marine barracks in Lebanon, killing 240 US Marines. In the last decade, it's been responsible for murdering and maiming American soldiers in Afghanistan and in Iraq.

Just a few months ago, it tried to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador to the United States in a restaurant just a few blocks from here. The assassins didn’t care that several Senators and Congressmen would have been murdered in the process.

Now this is real chutzpa: Iran accuses the American government of orchestrating 9/11, and that's as brazen as denying the Holocaust, and they do…

Iran calls for Israel's destruction, and they work for its destruction – each day, every day, relentlessly.

I say all his to make one point clear -- This is how Iran behaves today, without nuclear weapons. Think of how they will behave tomorrow, with nuclear weapons. Iran will be even more reckless and a lot more dangerous.

There's been plenty of talk recently about the costs of stopping Iran. I think it's time we started talking about the costs of not stopping Iran.

A nuclear-armed Iran would dramatically increase terrorism by giving terrorists a nuclear umbrella. Let me try to explain what that means, a nuclear umbrella.

It means that Iran's terror proxies like Hezbollah, Hamas will be emboldened to attack the United States, Israel, and other countries because they will be backed by a power that has atomic bombs. So the terrorism could grow tenfold.

A nuclear-armed Iran could choke off the world’s oil supply and could make real its threat to close the Straits of Hormouz.

If you're worried about the price of oil today, imagine how high oil prices could get once a nuclear-armed Iran starts blackmailing the world.

If Iran gets nuclear weapons, it would set off a mad dash by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and others to acquire nuclear weapons of their own. The world's most volatile region would become a nuclear tinderbox waiting to go off. And here's the worst nightmare of all, with nuclear weapons, Iran could threaten all of us with nuclear terrorism.

It could put a nuclear device in a ship heading to any port or in a truck parked in any city, anywhere in the world.

I want you to think about what it would mean to have nuclear weapons in the hands of those who lead millions of radicals who chants of "Death to America" and "Death to Israel."

When you think about that m you'll reach a simple conclusion: for the sake of our prosperity, for the sake of our security, for the sake of our children, Iran must not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons!

Of course, the best outcome would be if Iran decided to abandon its nuclear weapons program peacefully. No one would be happier than me and the people of Israel if Iran dismantled its program.

But so far, that hasn't happened. For fifteen years, I've been warning that a nuclear-armed Iran is a grave danger to my country and to the peace and security of the entire world.

For the last decade, the international community has tried diplomacy. It hasn't worked.

For six years, the international community has applied sanctions. That hasn't worked either.

I appreciate President Obama's recent efforts to impose even tougher sanctions against Iran. These sanctions are hurting Iran's economy, but unfortunately, Iran's nuclear program continues to march forward.

Israel has waited patiently for the international community to resolve this issue. We've waited for diplomacy to work. We've waited for sanctions to work. None of us can afford to wait much longer.

As Prime Minister of Israel, I will never let my people live in the shadow of annihilation.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Some commentators would have you believe that stopping Iran from getting the bomb is more dangerous than letting Iran have the bomb. They say that a military confrontation with Iran would undermine the efforts already underway; that it would be ineffective; and that it would provoke an even more vindictive response by Iran.

I’ve heard these arguments before. In fact, I've read them before -- In my desk, I have copies of an exchange of letters between the World Jewish Congress and the United States War Department.

Here are the letters:

The year was 1944. The World Jewish Congress implored the American government to bomb Auschwitz. The reply came five days later. I want to read it to you.

"Such an operation could be executed only by diverting considerable air support essential to the success of our forces elsewhere…

and in any case, it would be of such doubtful efficacy that it would not warrant the use of our resources…"

And, my friends, here’s the most remarkable sentence of all, and I quote:

"Such an effort might provoke even more vindictive action by the Germans."

Think about that – "even more vindictive action" -- than the Holocaust.

My Friends,

2012 is not 1944. The American government today is different. You heard it in President Obama's speech yesterday.

But here's my point:

The Jewish people are also different. Today we have a state of our own. And the purpose of the Jewish state is to defend Jewish lives and to secure the Jewish future.

Never again will we not be masters of the fate of our very survival. Never again.

That is why Israel must always have the ability to defend itself, by itself, against any threat.

My Friends,

We deeply appreciate the great alliance between our two countries. But when it comes to Israel's survival, we must always remain the masters of our fate.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Israel's fate is to continue to be the forward position of freedom in the Middle East. The only place in the Middle East where minorities enjoy full civil rights; the only place in the Middle East where Arabs enjoy full civil rights; the only place in the Middle East where Christians are free to practice their faith; the only place in the Middle East where real judges protect the rule of law.

And as Prime Minister of Israel, I will always protect Israel's democracy – always. I will never allow anything to threaten Israel's democratic way of life. and most especially, I will never tolerate any discrimination against women.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This week, we will read how one woman changed Jewish history.

In Synagogues throughout the world, the Jewish people will celebrate the festival of Purim. We will read how some 2,500 years ago, a Persian anti-Semite tried to annihilate the Jewish people.

And we will read how that plot was foiled by one courageous woman – Esther.

In every generation, there are those who wish to destroy the Jewish people.

In this generation, we are blessed to live in an age when there is a Jewish state capable of defending the Jewish people.

And we are doubly blessed to have so many friends like you, Jews and non-Jews alike, who love the State of Israel and support its right to defend itself.

So as I leave you tonight I thank you for your friendship. Thank you for your courage. Thank you for standing up for the one and only Jewish state.

Thank you all and happy Purim.

The "Land for Pieces" Scheme Exposed

History Refutes the Effectivenes of 'Land-for-peace'


'Love' in Hebrew, by Robert Indiana. This sculpture is at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Photo by Talmoryair.

Israel willingly gave up Gaza in a good faith move designed to move the Middle East closer to peace. A visit to the Southern Israel city of Sderot is an eye-opening illustration of just how effective land-for-peace really can be.

The residents of Sderot are mostly Russian Jews. They are not rich and lack the resources to move away from Sderot. Why would they want to leave? Gaza is now the launching point for hundreds of rockets that rain death and destruction on the city on an almost daily basis.

School children playing outside in Sderot have thirty seconds to find cover when the rockets are detected. Playgrounds may include large concrete pipes for them to run into.

Israel turned Gaza over to its residents with a well established agricultural economy. Large greenhouses provided work for Jews and Arabs alike. Today the greenhouses are largely destroyed -- and rockets are fired freely across the border.

The Land-for-peace Hoax [click to read] is explored further by Caroline B. Glick in Jewish World Review.

The leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Yusuf Qaradawi, in 2009 "called for the Muslim world to complete Hitler's goal of eradicating the Jewish people." -- Caroline B. Glick. It would seem that those who would promise peace in international negotiations should carry the same message home with them.

If Israel Disappears...

Show Me the One Free Society in the Middle East


The United States should realize that Israel's friendshp is one of the few certainties we have in the Middle East. We should cherish it accordingly.

If Israel Disappears... [click to read] by Cal Thomas in Jewish World Review.

"If the Palestinians laid down their arms, there would be peace. If Israel laid down its arms tomorrow, there would be no Israel" -- credited to Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister

"Any solution for the Iraqi problem cannot be reached without Arabs and Arab participation." --Amr Moussa, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States

"How will decent people in the region ever believe in peace if Arab terrorists interpret every gesture of peace as a display of weakness and then act accordingly?" --Tom Lantos, US Congressman

ht/Phil for these quotes.

Phil has Some Background [click to read] on the situation in Israel as Mrs. Clinton throws Israel to the wolves. Thankfully Israel has Binyamin Netanyahu to guide her, a man who walks in the spirit of David and the wisdom of Solomon. I hope Mr. Netanyahu realizes how many of us are ashamed of the treatment he is being given by our 'official' representatives.

When Mr. Netanyahu addressed the United Nations and said "have you no shame?" he spoke for many of us. He spoke for me!

So Mr. Netanyahu, please realize how many of us see your leadership and appreciate it. We are working to restore balance in our own government that includes official recognition of the bond between our peoples.


When I think of Israel my mind cannot help wandering to flowers. This small nation, the size of New Jersey, exports many fine flowers and other agricultural products as well. Her produce is known throughout the world.

A Little History [click to read]. ht/Phil

A Two State Peace isn't the Arab Goal [click to read]. Here is some historical perspective from Jeff Jacoby in Jewish World Review.

The "whole world" wants a Palestinian state and near utopia in the Middle East. It won't happen. Here's why.

Modern Day Nehemiah

Noam Bedein's Mission is Unique, But It's Not New

A "Milestone Monday" Feature

"But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. "What is this you are doing?" they asked. "Are you rebelling against the king?" -- (Nehemiah 2:19)


Noam Bedein, Founder of Sderot Media

I frankly expected someone much older. The website I discovered while trying to get perspective on the situation in Southern Israel Sderot Media [click to read] is the creation of Noam Bedein, a young man in his twenties. Just like Nehemiah of old, Bedein saw the perilous situation of his beloved city and became both advocate and activist to change things. In the face of opposition from the Western Media, Uninformed pressure from Western Leaders and downright hostility from Hamas, the young photojournalist found his mission to tell Sderot's story and work for the healing of her people. Bedein’s ultimate goal is: "to make people aware of the crisis and present the Israeli perspective that is not often portrayed accurately in the media."

Bedein has lived through about 7000 rockets raining down on the city, who's population consists largely of new immigrants [many from Russia] who are simply too poor to move elsewhere. Many of the citizens are dug in to stay, fearing their exodus would simply create a vacuum for terrorists to move in.

Through Sderot Media, he has also founded Sderot Community Treatment Theater. This theatre project helps young residents of Sderot suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome.

Palestine's Nakba Narrative

The Biggest Obstacle to Peace in the Middle East

In The Nakba Obsession [click to read] Sol Stern in City Journal presents a clear-headed analysis of the Palestinian problem and why it needs to be better understood.

"There is only one just compensation for the long history of suffering, say the Palestinians and their allies: turning the clock back to 1948. This would entail ending the “Zionist hegemony” and replacing it with a single, secular, democratic state shared by Arabs and Jews. All Palestinian refugees—not just those still alive of the hundreds of thousands who fled in 1948, but their millions of descendants as well—would be allowed to return to Jaffa, Haifa, the Galilee, and all the villages that Palestinian Arabs once occupied.

Such a step would mean suicide for Israel as a Jewish state, which is why Israel would never countenance it. At the very least, then, the Nakba narrative precludes Middle East peace. But it’s also, as it happens, a myth—a radical distortion of history." --Sol Stern

The problem today is that the origins of the problem are ignored in the discussion. The original attack on Israel and the subsequent refugee problem are succinctly stated in Stern's piece. Also noted is the fact that Israel's neighbors, who could have assimilated the refugees, have instead chosen to perpetuate their status. The Left today has run with the Nakba Narrative. Anti-Israel sentiment runs high, often bubbling over in Vitriol of the Worst Sort [click to read], but it was not always so.

The Left, in fact, once viewed Israel as a great triumph. Stern Chronicles journalist I. F. Stone's initial praise of the modern Jewish State and his subsequent conversion to Palestinian apologist. The progressives who once lauded Israel for its... progress... cutting edge agriculture and technology, modern cities and inclusive government later abandoned her as they took up the causes of victimology and redistribution.

The Left's own narrative that those who have achieved prosperity have obviously stolen it from the disadvantaged plays well here. Also ignored in this narrative is the fact that Israel groans under the burden of the many refugees it has brought in, such as the Russian Jews who populate places like Sderot and often bear the brunt of missle attacks from places like Gaza.

Perhaps a better narrative for this part of the world would be one that sees most everyone in the region... Jewish, Coptic or Palestinian as one who has suffered under or fled the forces of oppression.

Let's Hope the World is Right About 'Evil' Israel


Can we trust the world's compass if it is that broken?

Dennis Prager [click to read] in Jewish World Review.

"The reason mankind has to hope that the world, its leaders, its newspapers, its so-called human rights organizations and the United Nations are right about Israel is quite simple: If Israel is the decent party in its war with the Palestinian Authority and Hamas — and nearly all the world's countries, nearly all the world's media and the United Nations are morally wrong — what hope is there for humanity? If the world's moral compass is that broken, are we not sailing into a dark age?"

The Plain Truth about Israel [click to read] by Caroline B. Glick.

Pre-1967 Borders, BAD Idea!!!

The Survival of Israel is at Stake


Israel and New Jersey.

"It is good for an American president to have his hopes, but they will not be realized if they are founded on a basic misunderstanding of what is at stake in this conflict -- not just Jerusalem or the West Bank or the Golan Heights but Israel's existence. This conflict, it has slowly become clear -- even to those of us naifs who once thought peace was inevitable in the Middle East once direct negotiations began -- has never been about the creation of still another Arab state, but about the elimination of the Jewish one.

So long as an American president will not recognize that elemental, brutal, obdurate truth, and confront it openly, directly and honestly, then one futile presidential speech will follow another. That's the Middle East." -- Paul Greenberg

The Latest Futility [click to read]. Paul Greenberg in Jewish World Review.

Murder of Innocents in Israel

The World Ignores the Massacre of the Fogel Family


The victims of a knife wielding terrorist.

Dennis Prager [click to read] in Jewish World Review.

"The human being does not have to learn to hate. It seems to come pretty naturally. Nor does the human being have to learn to murder, steal or rape. These, too, seem to be in the natural human repertoire of evils.

But the human being does have to learn to hate children and babies, and to regard the torture and murder of them as morally desirable acts. It takes years of work to undo normal protective human attitudes toward children.

That is precisely what the Nazis did and what significant parts of the Muslim world have done to the word "Jew." To them, the Jew is not just sub-human; the Jew — and his or her children — is sub-animal." -- Dennis Prager

Caroline B. Glick [click to read] in Jewish World Review.

Fire in Northern Israel Kills 40

12000 Flee as Haifa Fire Rages Out of Control


Firefighters tackle the inferno... JPT Photo.


...as fire consumes everything in its path.


Thousands have been evacuated. A man captures the intense fire on his phone camera. Flashtraffic Photo.

(Washington, D.C., December 2, 2010) -- As the Jewish holiday of Hanukah has begun this week, a serious national crisis is unfolding in northern Israel. "More than 12,000 northern Israel residens were being evacuated from their homes as a massive fire that claimed the lives of at least 40 people continued to rage Thursday night," reports Ynet News.

"Rescue forces have yet to contain the fire, which in addition to the northern town of Tirat Carmel also threatens the communities of Nir Etzion, Ein Hod, and Beit Oren, all evacuated by now. Meanwhile, the IDF is gearing up to evacuate its transport base in Tirat Carmel. The evacuation of Damon Prison ended in tragedy, after 40 cadets in a Prison Service officers course were burned to death in a flaming bus sent to help in the prison's evacuation. Apart from the 40 victims, several firemen and three police officers who drove a police car behind the bus were also injured."

Prime Minister Netanyahu is calling the massive fires a "disaster on an international scale." He added that, "We do not have what it takes to put out the fire, but help is on the way. As a result of calls I have made, there are currently ten aircraft on their way to Israel from Greece, France and Cyprus."

The Joshua Fund is alerting Christians all over the world to the gravity of the situation, and we are asking people to pray:

For the fires to be contained and put out quickly

For the Israelis who have been evacuated from their homes to be comforted and to have adequate housing and all the supplies they need

For no further evacuations to be necessary

For other countries to provide Israel needed assistance in firefighting

For believers in Israel to be able to love their neighbors in real and practical ways during this crisis

For The Joshua Fund to be able to assist in real and practical ways, as needed - we've been in touch in the past few hours with a number of our key allies in northern Israel to assess their needs, and we'll let you know more as we learn more. Thanks so much for praying for the people of Israel at this critical time.

What 'Wikileaks' Should Teach Us

Israel's Iran Policy Vindicated


US and Israel's flags together...

Guess What?, Israel's Neighbors are Concerned Too [click to read] by Joshua Mitnick in Jewish World Review.

"Wikileaks' release of the documents on Sunday has proved to be something of a public relations coup for Israel: on-the-record confirmation that its Arab neighbors are just as frightened as the Jewish state by a nuclear Iran. The cables confirmed previous anonymous reports that Israel has quiet partners in the region pushing the US to take bolder steps to stop what they consider an existential threat."

U.S. Iranian Policy Challenged

"When Obama decided on negotiating with Iran, he was doing exactly the opposite of what the American allies are thinking,'' says Shlomo Avineri, a political science professor at Hebrew University and a former director general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry. "Obama has made all of his friends nervous, and the Iranians are spitting in his face."

'Allahu Akbar and Pass the Ammunition'

Another Mysteriously Motivated Attack [click to read] by Mona Charen in Jewish World Review. [caution: truthful discussion of radical islam].

"If a Christian or a Jew suddenly becomes more devout, there is very little chance that he or she will become violent. Quite the contrary. By contrast, religious zeal among Muslims is often expressed with bombs and the blood of innocents. Thousands of imams worldwide preach violent jihad, Islamic schools instill contempt for other faiths, and terrorists actively recruit killers willing to commit massacres for Allah."


...as they should be.

THYME Magazine

Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor


Volume II, Issue XXXVI

Why Israelis Might Not Care About 'The Peace Process'

The 'other' Weekly News Magazine [click to read] is asserting that 'Israel Doesn't Care About Peace.' Israel already knows it can't secure peace by giving up land... no matter how much land it gives up! Even the 'moderate' Ground Zero Imam says Israel should not exist as a Jewish state. Can you really blame Israelis for ambivolence toward a 'peace process' that seems more like an attempt to render them impotent against very real foes?

Mike Evans writes: "In a savage and violent ambush, two Israeli couples were murdered Tuesday night as they drove down a street near Hebron in the West Bank. The car was first riddled with bullets; then the gunmen approached the car and shot all the passengers at close range, insuring there were no survivors. In fact, one of the female murder victims was pregnant. Relative to Gaza, the West Bank has been quiet, and this attack was a grim reminder that no Jew living in Israel is safe. Today two sets of children are orphans because Palestinian terrorists wanted to make a political impact."

When it comes to securing real peace, Binyamuin Netanyahu continues to look like the smartest man in the room... in any room he walks into. Strength in the face of evil is the only way the Middle East will know peace of any sort.

Heroes in this Dirty War: Magen David Adom

In 1930, nurse Karen Tenenbaum founded Israel's Emergency Response Team, Magen David Adom. It was started as a volunteer organization in Tel Aviv but became a nationwide organization five years later. The team provided emergency services not only to Jews, but to Arabs and Christians as well.

Today the organization handles emergency response, blood banks and has emergency physicians on staff. They still depend on volunteers too.


Magen David Adom [Red Star of David] ambulance crew in 1948.

'Peace' Talks... Doomed to Fail?

Carolyn B. Glick writes about a 'New Netanyahu' [click to read] but I suspect the fact that we've been down this road many times before allows Netanyahu the luxury of being gracious.

Mona Charen writes about The Cold Hard Facts [click to read] that the world community refuses to see. These are the realities Netanyahu lives with every day.

Who is Manee Singmueangphon?
...And Why You Need to Know

Every now and then I check in on Noam Bedein's site: Sderot Media [click to read] and pray for the safety of the residents of this city in Southern Israel. Manee Singmueangphon is a Thai greenhouse worker who was killed in a rocket atack recently. He worked alongside other Thais and Nepali guest workers in Israel's agriculture industry. He was 33 years old, a husband and father who's death left a grieving family back in Thailand.

Sderot Media Has More [click to read] on the tragic death of Mr. Singmueangphon and why the media needs to get an understanding of the type of terror attacks being made on Sderot by Hamas.

"As long as the world tolerates those Islamic jihadists who fire rockets against innocent Israeli civilians and accepts their legitimization for it, terrorism will continue to strike innocent civilians everywhere. The killing of Manee Singmueangphon by a Gaza rocket should serve as a constant reminder that people of all nationalities are indiscriminate victims of Iranian-sponsored Islamic terrorism."


A child's drawing from Sderot shows
the horror of war.


Sderot children have fifteen seconds to reach this pipe
when the missles start coming in.
Photo courtesy of www.sderotmedia.com

Noam Bedein's Mission is Unique, But It's Not New

"But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. "What is this you are doing?" they asked. "Are you rebelling against the king?" -- (Nehemiah 2:19)


Noam Bedein, Founder of Sderot Media

I frankly expected someone much older. The website I discovered while trying to get perspective on the situation in Southern Israel Sderot Media [click to read], is the creation of Noam Bedein, a young man in his twenties. Just like Nehemiah of old, Bedein saw the perilous situation of his beloved city and became both advocate and activist to change things. In the face of opposition from the Western Media, Uninformed pressure from Western Leaders and downright hostility from Hamas, the young photojournalist found his mission to tell Sderot's story and work for the healing of her people. Bedein’s ultimate goal is: "to make people aware of the crisis and present the Israeli perspective that is not often portrayed accurately in the media."

Bedein has lived through about 7000 rockets raining down on the city, who's population consists largely of new immigrants [many from Russia] who are simply too poor to move elsewhere. Many of the citizens are dug in to stay, fearing their exodus would simply create a vacuum for terrorists to move in.

Through Sderot Media, he has also founded Sderot Community Treatment Theater. This theatre project helps young residents of Sderot suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome.

Palestine's Nakba Narrative

The Biggest Obstacle to Peace in the Middle East [click to read].

Update: David Horowitz Weighs In

TIME Magazine's Latest Blood Libel About Israel [click to read]. ht/Isabel

The 'other' weekly news magazine really stepped in it this week. I guess I'm not alone in my opinion that it is propaganda masquerading as journalism. This week I've tried to capture some of the spirit of the Israeli people that TIME obviously does not care to bother with. You should take some time to learn about Israel on your own and skip the MSM's 'reporting.'

El Al Airline [click to read]. Book your flight to Israel or many other destinations.
Official Israel Tourism Website [click to read].

Palestine's Nakba Narrative

The Biggest Obstacle to Peace in the Middle East

In The Nakba Obsession [click to read] Sol Stern in City Journal presents a clear-headed analysis of the Palestinian problem and why it needs to be better understood.

"There is only one just compensation for the long history of suffering, say the Palestinians and their allies: turning the clock back to 1948. This would entail ending the “Zionist hegemony” and replacing it with a single, secular, democratic state shared by Arabs and Jews. All Palestinian refugees—not just those still alive of the hundreds of thousands who fled in 1948, but their millions of descendants as well—would be allowed to return to Jaffa, Haifa, the Galilee, and all the villages that Palestinian Arabs once occupied.

Such a step would mean suicide for Israel as a Jewish state, which is why Israel would never countenance it. At the very least, then, the Nakba narrative precludes Middle East peace. But it’s also, as it happens, a myth—a radical distortion of history." --Sol Stern

The problem today is that the origins of the problem are ignored in the discussion. The original attack on Israel and the subsequent refugee problem are succinctly stated in Stern's piece. Also noted is the fact that Israel's neighbors, who could have assimilated the refugees, have instead chosen to perpetuate their status. The Left today has run with the Nakba Narrative. Anti-Israel sentiment runs high, often bubbling over in Vitriol of the Worst Sort [click to read], but it was not always so.

The Left, in fact, once viewed Israel as a great triumph. Stern Chronicles journalist I. F. Stone's initial praise of the modern Jewish State and his subsequent conversion to Palestinian apologist. The progressives who once lauded Israel for its... progress... cutting edge agriculture and technology, modern cities and inclusive government later abandoned her as they took up the causes of victimology and redistribution.

The Left's own narrative that those who have achieved prosperity have obviously stolen it from the disadvantaged plays well here. Also ignored in this narrative is the fact that Israel groans under the burden of the many refugees it has brought in, such as the Russian Jews who populate places like Sderot and often bear the brunt of missle attacks from places like Gaza.

Perhaps a better narrative for this part of the world would be one that sees most everyone in the region... Jewish, Coptic or Palestinian as one who has suffered under or fled the forces of oppression.

Let's Hope the World is Right About 'Evil' Israel


Can we trust the world's compass if it is that broken?

Dennis Prager [click to read] in Jewish World Review.

"The reason mankind has to hope that the world, its leaders, its newspapers, its so-called human rights organizations and the United Nations are right about Israel is quite simple: If Israel is the decent party in its war with the Palestinian Authority and Hamas — and nearly all the world's countries, nearly all the world's media and the United Nations are morally wrong — what hope is there for humanity? If the world's moral compass is that broken, are we not sailing into a dark age?"

The Plain Truth about Israel [click to read] by Caroline B. Glick.

Broken Compass

Let's Hope the World is Right About 'Evil' Israel


Can we trust the world's compass if it is that broken?

Dennis Prager [click to read] in Jewish World Review.

"The reason mankind has to hope that the world, its leaders, its newspapers, its so-called human rights organizations and the United Nations are right about Israel is quite simple: If Israel is the decent party in its war with the Palestinian Authority and Hamas — and nearly all the world's countries, nearly all the world's media and the United Nations are morally wrong — what hope is there for humanity? If the world's moral compass is that broken, are we not sailing into a dark age?"

The Plain Truth about Israel [click to read] by Caroline B. Glick.

"Peace" Activists on the Boat to Gaza

"Artists, Intellectuals and Journalists"


Kind of reminds you of some 1960's 'peace' activists.

Remember Al Capp, the cartoonist who drew 'Lil Abner? Although he billed himself as a 'certified hillbilly cartoonist,' he lived in New England when the student protests erupted on campuses like Harvard. He created a charicature of the wild angry students he dubbed "Students Wildly Indignant about Nearly Everything," or S.W.I.N.E.

The artists, intellectuals and journalists in the Gaza boat seem remarkably similar to the angry students depicted by Capp.

"Peace" Activists Used Deadly Violence

Savage Attack on Israeli Naval Commandos

There is More to This Story [click to read] than you are seeing on the news.

"A state, in a time of conflict, can impose an embargo, and while it cannot carry out embargo activities in the territorial waters of a third party, it can carry out embargo activities in international waters.

Within this framework it is legal to detain a civilian vessel trying to break an embargo and if in the course of detaining the vessel, force is used against the forces carrying out the detention then that force has every right to act in self defense." -- Dr. Robbie Sabel, International Law Expert.

Our Indispensable Ally in the Middle East

Why a Good Relationship with Israel Matters


US and Israel's flags together...

The Strategic Foundations of the US-Israel Alliance [click to read] By Caroline B. Glick.

A MUST READ essay explaining why a strong Israel is essential for US national security. Its author is one of the foremost commentators on Middle East affairs.


...as they should be.

Middle East Reality Check

It's Important to Know Who Your Friends Are


THYME Covers featuring Israel.

Cal Thomas [click to read] in Jewish World Review makes a few clear observations:

"How about first making these demands of the Palestinian-Arab-Muslim side:

(1) A pledge of no more war with Israel, or terrorism; 2) a declaration by a powerful Islamic cleric that their God no longer requires them to kill people who don't believe as they do; and 3) no more teaching in Palestinian textbooks and in their media that Jews created AIDS and descend from monkeys and pigs?

After those three demands are met, the State Department can start making demands of Israel. Not before. Anything less puts America on the wrong side, along with Israel's (and America's) enemies. Or hasn't State noticed that we share the same enemies?"

Washington Throws a Tantrum [click to read].

I Am Ashamed of Our Policy Toward Israel

Show Me the One Free Society in the Middle East


The United States should realize that Israel's friendshp is one of the few certainties we have in the Middle East. We should cherish it accordingly.

"If the Palestinians laid down their arms, there would be peace. If Israel laid down its arms tomorrow, there would be no Israel" -- credited to Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister

"Any solution for the Iraqi problem cannot be reached without Arabs and Arab participation." --Amr Moussa, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States

"How will decent people in the region ever believe in peace if Arab terrorists interpret every gesture of peace as a display of weakness and then act accordingly?" --Tom Lantos, US Congressman

ht/Phil for these quotes.

Phil has Some Background [click to read] on the situation in Israel as Mrs. Clinton throws Israel to the wolves. Thankfully Israel has Binyamin Netanyahu to guide her, a man who walks in the spirit of David and the wisdom of Solomon. I hope Mr. Netanyahu realizes how many of us are ashamed of the treatment he is being given by our 'official' representatives.

When Mr. Netanyahu addressed the United Nations and said "have you no shame?" he spoke for many of us. He spoke for me!

So Mr. Netanyahu, please realize how many of us see your leadership and appreciate it. We are working to restore balance in our own government that includes official recognition of the bond between our peoples.


When I think of Israel my mind cannot help wandering to flowers. This small nation, the size of New Jersey, exports many fine flowers and other agricultural products as well. Her produce is known throughout the world.

A Little History [click to read]. ht/Phil