H

My Israeli Army Experience
by Yeshia Braverman
This really is an army like no other.

It's been a just over a year since I joined the Israeli army and I never thought I would enjoy anything as much as this. The thrills, and excitement, the ups and downs, everyday is nothing like the previous.

Throughout high school I wanted to join the American army. I was a patriot; the Star Spangled Banner always brought a tear to my eye. My parents were not too excited about the idea. After many talks, I had an epiphany. I'm a Jew and by joining the Israeli army, I'd be defending my people in our homeland. No matter what type of Jew you are, we are all part of the great Jewish nation. We are family, brothers in arms, and this is truly the land of the free and the home of the brave.

So I joined the IDF in March 2007, and I was completely unprepared. How could I be? All the movies and TV shows I've seen about what happens in the American army portray a very intense and abusive lifestyle, so that's what I was expecting. Luckily my experience was far from that.

Our commanders and officers sat us down on the first day and told us all that the only way we would succeed was to love and respect one another. With the support of your fellow soldier you could do a lot; hop the wall, crawl under barbed wire, and climb up and down roofs. But with the support of your commanders and officers you could do anything; bust smugglers, capture escapees, and arrest terrorists.

Training was hell. There was the obstacle course, the weeks spent in the field, learning how to shoot, where to hide, where the enemy hides, you get the drill. There were the 3AM wake-up calls, especially torturous after not being allowed to go to sleep until 1:30AM. There was the tear gas tent where you were forced to run half a kilometer, do 30 push ups while wearing a mask, then enter a tent filled with tear gas and remove the mask to see how long you could last, while being detained inside by the officer inside (who is wearing a mask).

We had many, many, many hikes. We covered many, many, many kilometers. But they weren't just simple hikes; we would walk 20 kilometers over mountainous terrain before pulling out three or four stretchers, loading the lucky few on top (somehow it was always the same people), hoisting a couple more upon our shoulders and continuing on. All the time getting yelled at by our commanders -- about how we were weak, and have to continue and no giving up.

But back to that support and love. Everyone was working as a team although every once in a while we had races and competitions to see who was better and where everyone was health wise. One of the races was to complete 86 sit ups followed by 75 pushups, after which you had to run two kilometers in under nine minutes. If you didn't pass, you were embarrassed and would have to take it again until you succeeded.

During one of the runs I witnessed one of the most beautiful, unselfish acts. We had just finished the first circle and were coming around for the second when I noticed a couple of people falling back, exhausted. I thought to myself, What a shame. They're going to have to do it again. Then I saw the lead runner and his best friend stop, turn around, and start running in the opposite direction. They had gone back for the laggers and started running alongside them, cheering them on and basically luring them back into the race. They didn't end up passing but they didn't mind -- they had achieved something else: they had showed everyone else what's truly important. That's when we started creating a loving friendship between all of us. And that's what got us through all the training.

The day before we were released for a short vacation for the High Holidays, one of our main officers called the entire company together for a talk. This was in middle of training and there is this sort of distance between you and your commander. You are not allowed to talk to him without his permission, and even then only with great respect, you have to always remember that you are just a private and he is a first or second lieutenant. He told us to have a good holiday and then he said something which no one could believe. On behalf of all the officers and commanders, he asked us for forgiveness. He told us that all the times they had yelled at us or talked down was just for our benefit and was never anything personal. If any of us had been insulted he just wanted to say sorry and to clarify that it came from the heart, for our own good. He made it clear that we were all in this together -- as Jews, as brothers, as part of Klal Yisrael, the Jewish people. And then he wished us "Good Yom Tov."

I was beginning to realize this really is an army like no other.

by Marnie Winston-Macauley

Outrageous, odd, fascinating Jewish facts and figures.

AND IS THE MOON CREAM CHEESE?

The King of Jewish food, the bagel, has become universal. But who knew how universal? While many scientists believe that the universe is expanding spherically, some are starting to wonder if the universe is bagel-shaped, according to Tony Rothman, professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, which he discusses in detail in his book, Doubt and Certainty. Oy. If it becomes a "certainty," the Talmudic debate over whether the universe is poppy seed or onion alone, will take another 3,000 years!

TEFILLIN WINS WORLD SERIES?
Can a brilliant Jewish athlete and a pair of tefillin affect the World Series? Just ask Rabbi Moshe Feller, director of the Upper Midwest Merkos-Lubavitch House. What Jew didn't kvell when, Sandy Koufax, the Dodger's ace pitcher, refused to play on Yom Kippur during the 1965 World Series. (The Dodgers lost that opening game to the Minnesota Twins.) Ah ... but there's more. Rabbi Feller, an avid baseball fan, met Koufax at his hotel, saying: "... Because of you, more Jews knew about when Yom Kippur was going to be this year than they do with a calendar. ..." And, he presented Koufax with a set of tefillin. The Dodgers won the series, and Koufax became the Most Valuable Player. Since then, Rabbi Feller started the first "tefillin mission," putting them on baseballers like Mike Epstein and Ken Holtzman. So for you future athletes: you better eat your Wheaties...and put on your tefillin.

For you future athletes: you better eat your Wheaties...and put on your tefillin.

HITLER'S JEWISH PSYCHIC
During the 1930s, Germans -including Hitler -- were into the occult. Erik Jan Hanussen, the European Houdini, was a Jew, a fact Hitler didn't know when he made Hanussen his psychic advisor. In 1933, in despair over his political future, Hitler recalled Hanussen's prophecy that he would become Fuhrer within a year and the two had over a dozen meetings. More disturbingly, Hanussen loaned large sums to Nazi leaders. After the burning of the Reichstag in February, 1933, German communists were blamed, but speculation "leaked" of Hanussen's involvement. Top Nazis hated the Jew who held their IOU's, and knew ugly secrets about them - and Hitler. On March 1933, Hanussen was executed. His heinous role in Hitler's ascent has been largely unknown to this day.

HOLOCAUST AND HIP HOP
Can it be? It can, and is. Grammy award-winning Israeli violinist Miri Ben-Ari and Israeli rapper Kobi "Subliminal" Shimoni, co-produced a hip-hop music video that expresses their feelings about the Holocaust, titled "God Almighty When Will It End?" in English, and "Adon Olam Ad Matai?" in Hebrew. Oy? True, some rebbes and cantors feel "hipping" and "hopping" is a long way from the hora. But many others feel this "unorthodox" music by young Israelis, part of the Gedenk (Remember) Movement, are inspiring and informing youth about anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. Who knows? Maybe Madness is one method to teach ... madness.

LOIN OF GIRAFFE, KOSHER?
You bet. The long-necked animal chews its cud and has cloven hooves. So why aren't we buying happy meals from Giraffe King? Well for some reason, Giraffe burgers just never really caught on in Ancient Israel, which means we don't have a continuous tradition for eating giraffe, and you know how we Jews feel about tradition (see: Tevye). But even if Bubbies around the world somehow banded together to bring giraffe back, to produce a deli sandwich would cost over $100 a pound! Now that can't be kosher!

YIDDISHE "STRIPS"
As kids, American Joomers (Jewish Boomers) chuckled over the adventures of goyishe comic characters such as Little Lulu and Dagwood. Even if many of comic strip writers were Jewish, actual Jewish comics were underground or not specifically Jewish. Things have changed. In 1986, Art Spiegelman's adult comic-book history of the Holocaust, "Maus" was not only a best-seller but won a Pulitzer Prize. And, our kinder can now identify and root for comic Jewish superheroes, such as Sabra, Seraph, Rambam, and Ragman.

But for those of us who missed the boat on those new Jewish comics, we can take solace in the fact that many of the superheroes of yesteryear had Jewish roots. For example, if Superman were created today, his creators, tribesmen Joe Schuster and Jerry Siegel, might have given a Hebrew name on his home planet of Krypton - Kal-El ben Jor-El!

Interestingly, some goyim have been swept up by the Jewish-inspired toon craze. Witness: Kal-El Coppola Cage, born in 2005 to Nicolas Cage (Coppola) and wife, Kim who saddled their son with Superman's Kryptonian name. True, Cage had been up for the lead in a Superman flick. But to paraphrase another comic character, "Holy Chutzpah, Batman!"

TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE?
Everyone knows that Chanukah occurs but once a year, right? Wrong. Over a thousand years from now, in the year 3031 of the Gregorian calendar, there will be no Chanukah! Ah, but the following year, 3032, there will be two -- one in January, and the other in December. That's, count 'em 16 gifts per! (And don't forget the latkes.) Tip: Leave a time capsule to be opened in 3000, with instructions to your loved ones to start saving their shekels - and potatoes.

Author Biography:

Marnie is author of the advice column, "Ask Sadie." She has written over 20 books and calendars, including, "Yiddishe Mamas: The Truth About the Jewish Mother" and "A Little Joy, A Little Oy." She wrote for "As the World Turns," (Emmy and Writers Guild nomination). She starred in her own radio show and a Discovery pilot. Marnie is in "Who's Who in America," 2007.

Free Online Poll

Trump's Daughter Eyes Five-Star Hotels in Israel

By IsraelNationalNews.com

Ivanka Trump, 26, daughter of billionaire investor Donald Trump, is in Israel to investigate possible projects, including five-star hotels in Eilat, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. She said she has close ties with Israeli businessmen and has childhood friends in the country.

Her father visited last Israel last year to announce a huge building project in Netanya and said that he sees a strong future for real estate development in Israel. Ivanka Trump echoed similar statements, saying that Israel is a strong market that the Trump organization wants to develop.

Bush Begins Mideast Trip

By IsraelNationalNews.com, VOA News & YnetNews.com

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President Shimon Peres will welcome U.S. President George W. Bush at Ben Gurion airport at 11 a.m. Wednesday, after which Bush will fly by helicopter to Jerusalem, where he will meet with Peres and Olmert.

Bush and Olmert, along with their wives, will attend the Presidential Facing Tomorrow Conference at night. They will visit Masada Thursday morning, and Bush will address the Knesset in the early afternoon. The president and his wife will visit the Israel Museum at night before dining with his hosts.

They will leave Israel Friday morning after a visit to the Bible Lands Museum and a roundtable discussion with young Israelis, under the auspices of the U.S. embassy, which is located in Tel Aviv. During the visit, Aliza Olmert and Laura Bush will visit a Jewish-Arab school, an infant care clinic and will tour the Western Wall tunnels.

Meanwhile, Jerusalem residents are bracing for traffic jams and sealed off streets due to the tight security around Bush, while Olmert and senior ministers are preparing for their planned meetings with the visiting president.

However, local resident Yoel Komet told Ynet that he is happy to see Bush arrive and doesn't mind the hassle. "I love Bush, a man who supports us, and therefore I’m glad that he's arriving," he said.

But taxi drivers in the capital are expected to suffer the most as they cope with massive traffic jams around town. Cab driver Dudu Adika says he's expecting "chaos.”Everything was sterile, there was no getting through," he said, referring to Bush's previous visit. "Taxi drivers are suffering. The entire downtown area is a lost cause, a catastrophe. They're killing us with this visit."

After leaving Israel, Bush will visit Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Olmert spokeswoman Dana Perino said the Israelis and Palestinians have complex issues to resolve, adding that if agreements were easily reached, the situation would have been solved long ago. She said Bush cannot do the two parties' work for them, but noted that negotiations have yielded what she termed "halting" progress.

In an interview with CBS Radio, Bush said he does not expect to encounter "a perfect political environment", but said he hopes to see Israelis and Palestinians make progress on defining a Palestinian state.

"It is the vision that is going to make it clear for the Palestinians to see a way forward," said Bush. "I would not assume that, if this vision gets defined, that people in the Gaza will not say, 'We are sick of the life we have now.' And that is why it is going to be so important to convince the Palestinians and the Israelis to define that state."

Since Bush’s last visit to the region in January, skepticism has grown in both Israel and the Palestinian territories about whether the president can accomplish his goal.

It has been less than a year since Bush convened his Annapolis Mideast Peace Conference where he got pledges from both Israelis and Palestinians to reach a peace agreement by the end of this year. Since then the goals have been scaled back to what is being described as a framework agreement - perhaps dealing with the future borders of a Palestinian state - but even that objective seems distant.

Bush is coming to Israel to celebrate the country's 60th anniversary. He does not plan to travel to the Palestinian territories or even meet with Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas until Saturday, when he convenes a summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Meanwhile, Jerusalem residents are bracing for traffic jams and sealed off streets due to the tight security around Bush, while Prime Minister Olmert and senior ministers are preparing for their planned meetings with the visiting president.

Obama Adviser: Divide Jerusalem

By WorldNetDaily.com

Jerusalem must be included in any negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, stressed Sen. Barack Obama's Middle East adviser Daniel Kurtzer.

"It will be impossible to make progress on serious peace talks without putting the future of Jerusalem on the table," Kurtzer said at a conference organized by the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute.

Kurtzer, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, has long been recognized by Israeli leaders, including prime ministers, as biased against Israel and is notorious for urging extreme concessions from the Jewish state. He was appointed as a primary Obama adviser on the Middle East earlier this year.

During a discussion panel yesterday, Kurtzer reportedly went on to fault the Bush administration for not doing enough to pressure Israel into dividing Jerusalem. In reaction, JPPPI head Yechezkel Dror said Jerusalem must become the cultural center of the Jewish people.

Kurtzer said in response that "before we do that, we must first accept a number of facts and the political reality of Arabs who live in East Jerusalem who do not feel part of the city.

Israel recaptured eastern Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount – Judaism's holiest site – during the 1967 Six Day War. The Palestinians have claimed eastern Jerusalem as a future capital; the area has large Arab neighborhoods, a significant Jewish population and sites holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Tens of thousands of Arab complexes in eastern Jerusalem were constructed illegally on land purchased by the Jewish National Fund, a Jewish nonprofit that purportedly raises donor funds for the purpose of Jewish settlement, WND previously exposed.

Obama's appointment of Kurtzer raised eyebrows among the pro-Israel Jewish community. "We oppose the appointment of Kurtzer because of his long, documented record of hostility to and severe pressure upon Israel," said Zionist Organization of America National Chairman Morton Klein.

Kurtzer has been blasted by mainstream Jewish organizations, including the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. He has angered Israeli leaders many times for pushing Israel into what they described as extreme concessions to the Palestinians.

"With Jews like Kurtzer, it is impossible to build a healthy relationship between Israel and the United States," Binyamin Netanyahu was quoted saying in 2001 by Ha’aretz.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir said Kurtzer "frequently pressured Israel to make one-sided concessions to the Arabs; he constantly blamed Israel for the absence of Mideast peace, and paid little or no attention to the fact that the Palestinians were carrying out terrorist attacks and openly calling for the destruction of Israel."

Morris Amitay, former executive director of the America-Israel Public Affairs Committee, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in 2001: "Kurtzer … will use his Jewishness as a protective cover for his anti-Israel views."

The ZOA points out Israel's leading daily, Yediot Ahronot, editorialized on Kurtzer's negative influence against Israel: "Possibly more than any other U.S. State Department official, Kurtzer has been instrumental in promoting the goals of the Palestinians and in raising their afflictions to the center of the U.S. policymakers' agenda," the paper stated.

Kurtzer first rose to prominence in 1988 when as a State Department adviser he counseled the Reagan administration to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization led by Yasir Arafat. The PLO had carried out scores of anti-Western attacks, but in the late '80s Arafat claimed to have renounced violence.

In 1988, Kurtzer was noted as the principal author of a major policy speech by then-Secretary of State George Shultz in which the U.S. government first recognized the "legitimate rights" of the Palestinians.

Ha’aretz reported in 2001 that Kurtzer had a "vocal conflict" with an Israeli government official in Philadelphia in the summer of 1990 after Kurtzer "attacked the Israeli government for refusing to include the PLO in the peace process [and] said that this constituted the main obstacle to peace"

In Kurtzer's latest book, "Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace: American Leadership in the Middle East," he largely blames Israel for the collapse of U.S.-brokered negotiations at Camp David. Contradicting accounts by President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Ehud Barak, both of whom squarely blamed Arafat for refusing to make peace, Kurtzer argues in his book Israel did not offer enough concessions to the Palestinians.

At Camp David, Israel offered Arafat a state in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and eastern Jerusalem. According to multiple reports, Barak also offered Arafat the upper sections of the Temple Mount.

Feds: Kosher Meat Plant had a Meth Lab

By Israel Faxx News Services

U.S. authorities charged that a methamphetamine laboratory was operating at the nation's largest kosher slaughterhouse and that employees carried weapons to work. The charges were among the most explosive details to emerge following the massive raid Monday at Agriprocessors in Postville, Iowa.

In a 60-page application for a search warrant, federal agents revealed details of their six-month probe of Agriprocessors. The investigation involved 12 federal agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the departments of labor and agriculture.

According to the application, a former plant supervisor told investigators that some 80 percent of the workforce was illegal. They included rabbis responsible for kosher supervision, who the source believed entered the United States from Canada without proper immigration documents. The source did not provide evidence for his suspicion about the rabbis.

The source also claimed to have confronted a human resources manager with Social Security cards from three employees that had the same number. The manager laughed when the matter was raised, the source said.

At least 300 people were arrested Monday during the raid, for which federal authorities had rented an expansive fairground nearby to serve as a processing center for detainees. The search warrant application said that 697 plant employees were believed to have violated federal laws.

Einstein Letter: Belief in God 'Childish,' Jews Not Chosen People

By AFP

Albert Einstein described belief in God as "childish superstition" and said Jews were not the chosen people, in a letter to be sold in London this week, an auctioneer said Tuesday.

The father of relativity, whose previously known views on religion have been more ambivalent and fueled much discussion, made the comments in response to a philosopher in 1954.

As a Jew himself, Einstein said he had a great affinity with Jewish people but said they "have no different quality for me than all other people. The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honorable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish.

"No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this," he wrote in the letter written on Jan. 3, 1954 to the philosopher Eric Gutkind, cited by The Guardian newspaper.

The German-language letter is being sold Thursday by Bloomsbury Auctions in Mayfair after being in a private collection for more than 50 years, said the auction house's managing director Rupert Powell.

In it, the renowned scientist, who declined an invitation to become Israel's second president, rejected the idea that the Jews are God's chosen people.

"For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions," he said.

"And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people,” adding "As far as my experience goes, they are no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything 'chosen' about them."

Previously the great scientist's comments on religion -- such as "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind" -- have been the subject of much debate, used notably to back up arguments in favor of faith.

Powell said the letter being sold this week gave a clear reflection of Einstein's real thoughts on the subject. "He's fairly unequivocal as to what he's saying. There's no beating about the bush," he told AFP.