"The Street Was Covered with Blood and Bodies" Remembering The Sbarro Bombing August 9, 2001

Hat Tip to Yid With Lid


Twelve years ago Palestinians blew up a pizza place in the heart of Jerusalem. One month later, other Islamist terrorists blew up the World Trade Centers in NY, the Pentagon Building in Washington DC, and were foiled in their attempt to destroy the Capital building by the brave passengers of Flight 93.

It is important to remember these acts not simply to memorialize the innocent victims who's only crime was to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, but as a reminder that terrorism still suckles at the teat of political correctness and Western World appeasement.

Her eyes, I think, will stay with me forever. Imploring, beseeching, full of so much sadness. I think the shock of where and how she was, was sinking in. I can't begin to describe all that was in those eyes.

Yesterday; Thursday, August 9th the 20th of Av, on my way to work, I found myself walking down Yaffo street. Hungry, I decided to stop and grab a quick bite... at Sbarro's Pizza.

In the past 5 years I have frequented this establishment exactly twice. Walking into Sbarro's there is a larger area for sitting in the front, but the back looked a bit cooler and quieter, so I decided to grab a seat in the back. That decision saved my life.

Waiting on line, when they brought me the baked Zitti I asked for, it was cold. So I asked the woman behind the counter if she'd mind warming it up. "Ein Ba'ayah", no problem, she said with a smile. I will always wonder if that was her last smile on earth... A couple of moments later, a fellow from behind the counter came to the back with my baked Ziti. Then he started to speak to someone at one of the tables... That baked Ziti saved his life.

At about 2PM, I both felt & heard a tremendous explosion, and day turned into night. And then the screaming began. An awful, heartrending sound; the sound of people coming to terms with a whole new reality, of people not wanting to comprehend that life has changed forever. Those of us sitting in the back were spared, but I was afraid of panic, so I started yelling at everyone to quieten down; not to panic. The ceiling looked like it might cave in, but there is always the danger of a second explosion, detonated on purpose shortly after the first... But then I smelled smoke, and was suddenly afraid the restaurant mightbe on fire. So we started climbing our way through the wreckage to the front.

Would there be another explosion? Would the roof collapse? Were we making the wrong decision, climbing through? There are moments that last a lifetime... There are no words to describe what the front of Sbarro's Pizza looked like in the immediate aftermath of that explosion. A woman was lying near the steps to the back. Her eyes were staring straight at me, following me. So full of pain and longing, sadness and despair. I dropped down becide her trying to ellicit a response to see if she could speak. And then I watched the life just drain out of her. I tried to get a pulse, to no avail. She died there, on the steps in front of me. She was lying by the table I had decided not to sit at...

There were bodies everywhere, and those images are in my mind; they won't let go. A child's body under the wreckage; a baby-carriage; limbs and a torso; A woman holding a motor-cycle helmet and screaming next to a person on the floor who had obviously been someone she was with... And then the mad rush to help the ambulance and emergency crews get the wounded out. They were obviously afraid of a second bomb, so there was no medical effort inside beyond getting the wounded on to stretchers and out. A religious Jew missing at least two limbs in tears and shock; what do you say? "yehiyeh Be'Seder" it'll be all right? Will it?

I happened to sit a bit to the left as you walk towards the back, and so the wall behind me shielded me from the blast. Another fellow whom we went back in to get wasn't so lucky. Sitting only 5 or 6 feet to my left, he caught the full force of the blast and was thrown in the air. When we got him on the stretcher he was bleeding profusely and was missing a leg... There are no words to describe what that man's hand, clenched around my arm, felt like. He just kept looking from me to his leg and back again. I started saying Tehillim ...

So many mixed emotions fill my head today. I came home last night and gave each of my children a very long hug... But there are so many families today who are waking up to the reality that life will never be the same. 17 funerals with friends and families saying goodbye to those they loved so, whose only crime was a desire for a slice of Pizza on a beautiful Jerusalem afternoon... A Personal Account of the Bombing, by Rabbi Binny Freedman



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This horrible bombing was part of what has become known as the second intifada. Israel and the Palestinians had been close to a peace deal where Arafat would get almost everything he asked for, but neither the terrorist or his people were ready for peace so Arafat authorized a wave of horrible homicide bombings.

Although Secretary of State Kerry has forced the Palestinians into talking, they still have no desire to make peace. Those "peace-loving, moderate" terrorists of Fatah, run by Palestinian Authority's (PA) President Abbas, claim to the world they are looking to make peace with their Israeli neighbors. The truth is the moderates do not run the PA, it is the radicals who still run Fatah, its ruling party.

Witness the fact that the PA almost nothing has been done to prepare the Palestinians for a compromise peace and two-state solution alongside Israel. In fact Jews and Israel are demonized and terrorists are honored. In schools, children are taught that the anti-Semitic Protocols of the Elders of Zion is true and there are TV programs glorifying those who participated in mass-murder.

Terrorist Ahlam Tamimi

Terrorist Ahlam Tamimi has been described as the person who drove drove the suicide bomber to the Sbarro pizza shop in Jerusalem in August 2001. But that is an understatement.

On the day of the massacre (9th August 2001), she personally transported the bomb (10 kg) from a West Bank town into Jerusalem, concealed inside a guitar case. Taxi cabs brought her and an accomplice by the name of Al Masri, a young, newly-religious fanatic, to an Israeli security checkpoint and from there into Jerusalem.

To reduce suspicion, they dressed as Israelis and the bomb was not detected. Tamimi, who inspired, planned and engineered the Sbarro attack, personally led her "weapon" - Al Masri - to the target she had carefully selected at Jerusalem's busiest intersection.

The target was the Sbarro pizza restaurant,because it was located in the heart of Jerusalem and on a hot summer vacation afternoon it would be teeming with women and children. Tamimi instructed Al Masri to wait fifteen minutes before detonating the explosives to give her sufficient time to flee the scene safely. He followed her orders. As to this being (as some journalists have implied) an act of momentary madness or lack of sound thinking, take into account that a short time prior to Sbarro attack.

Tamimi carried out a 'dry run', placing an explosive inside a downtown Jerusalem supermarket (Hamashbir Lazarchan) which exploded causing damage but resulting in no injuries.

Fifteen people were murdered in the attack, 7 of them children. Ahlam Tamimi was captured, jailed for the murders, but released as part of the Giliad Shalit deal despite the fact she showed no remorse for her mass-murder.

The names of the dead are:

• Giora Balash, 60, of Brazil
• Zvika Golombek, 26, of Carmiel
• Shoshana Yehudit Greenbaum, 31, of the U.S.
• Tehila Maoz, 18, of Jerusalem
• Frieda Mendelsohn, 62, of Jerusalem
• Michal Raziel, 16, of Jerusalem
• Malka Roth, 15, of Jerusalem
• Mordechai Schijveschuurder, 43, of Neria
• Tzira Schijveschuurder, 41, of Neria
• Ra'aya Schijveschuurder, 14, of Neria
• Avraham Yitzhak Schijveschuurder, 4, of Neria
• Hemda Schijveschuurder, 2, of Neria
• Lily Shimashvili, 33, of Jerusalem
• Tamara Shimashvili, 8, of Jerusalem
• Yocheved Shoshan, 10, of Jerusalem

When Yassir Arafat started on his murderous rampage in 1964 (three years before the 6 day war), he was treated like the animal he was. Then slowly through a combination of Arab Oil power and the world's continued hatred of Jews, the murderous rampage was treated with appeasement, and the Islamic world was taught that terrorism is a legitimate means of political expression.

And they learned well. That appeasement of Palestinian Terror directly lead to 9/11/11 and the War on Terror the Western World still fights today.

The Sbarro bombing was not the first of these horrible murders, or the most deadly. A little over a month later another terrorist attack, this time in the United States captured the world's attention, and the United States became actively involved in the war against terror.

After 9/11 for the first time in its history, the US treated a terror attack in Israel as n act of war against civil society in the entire world (at least until the Republicans lost congress in 2006 when things began to revert).

After election day 2008 under the leadership of new President Barack Obama the US seemed to revert back to the pre-9/11 mentality. This country stopped fighting the war against fanatical Islamists, at least the stopped fighting to win. Twelve years after Sbarros, and almost 12 years after 9/11/11 it seems the Islamists have the United States on the run.

This President does all he can to force Israel to make one-sided concessions to "moderates" in Fatah who continue in their refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish State. Via his secretary of state Obama does all he can to force Israel to make one-sided concessions to a Fatah who still promotes mass-murderers like the one who blew up a Sbarros pizza place in Jerusalem as heroes.

Islamist hatred is fed with dollars and euros. They continue to close their eyes to the fact that the "Palestinian problem" is all about the Western World, funding a people who are being taught by their leaders that blowing up innocent men, women and children having a slice of pizza, is a heroic act.

Until the world recognizes the fruits of their appeasement, horrors like the Sbarro bombing will continue to happen in Israel, Europe, the US and elsewhere throughout the world.

Jerusalem!!

46 years ago today the City of David, Jerusalem was reunited after being cut into 2 by the Jordanians and the United Nation.  For 19 years no Jew, no Christian was allowed to worship at their holy places.  In fact, the tombstones on the Mount of Olives Cemetery (One of the oldest Jewish Cemeteries in the world.) were used by the Jordanians as paving stones, building stones, even to make latrines.  And the world said nothing.  Not a peep.

On an almost daily basis, snipers on the walls of the Old City would open fire on Israeli civilians.  And the world said nothing.  Not a peep.

To solve this issue and stop the gunfire, orders were given to liberate the Old City.  And the IDF came through with skill.  The City of David was unified.  All people were free to worship at their holy places.


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Today as Israel and Jews around the world celebrate 46 years of a unified Jerusalem, President Barack Hussein Obama is demanding that the city be split into 2 again.  And the world is cheering him on.

Forget about what happened the last time the city was divided to appease the Arabs.  Forget that for 46 years the city has been whole, united.  Forget that under the Arabs only Muslims could pray at in the city, Jews and Christians were forbidden.  That means nothing to those who have been appeasing the Arabs in the hope that they finish the job Hitler started.

But you can help:

Keep Jerusalem United - Sign the Declaration!


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Sign the Declaration!

I declare that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish People and strongly support all efforts to maintain and strengthen a united Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel.

Just click here.

 Land for peace with Palestinians doesn't work.  They have taught Israel that.  In 2005 Israel gave up Gaza in the hope of peace.  And was subjected to over 10,000 rockets.  And the horror that became the city of Sderot.

For 46 years Jerusalem has been united.  Let us work to keep it that way!


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Jerusalem United Forever!

I'm Taking The Ball And Going Home!

By Findalis

Today the Palestine Authority under the leadership of Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen is having a Temper Tantrum over last Friday's veto by the United States.  It seems that Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen believes he is the leader of a superpower instead of a want-a-be nation dependent on foreign aid from the United States and the European Union.

Organizations associated with the Palestinian Authority in east Jerusalem announced on Wednesday that they are boycotting the local U.S. consulate.

The reason for the boycott is to protest last Friday’s U.S. veto at the United Nations Security Council meeting that torpedoed an anti-Israeli resolution.

PA and Arab leaders had submitted a request to the Security Council to vote to condemn Israel for allowing Jews to build homes within Jewish cities in Judea and Samaria. President Barack Obama had attempted to prevent the PA from submitting the resolution to the Security Council in a phone call to PA head Mahmoud Abbas in which he reportedly offered a benefits package, but all the suggestions for a compromise were rejected. This lead to the U.S. placing a veto on the resolution, which would have otherwise passed as all the other 14 members voted in favor of it.

The resolution condemns construction for Judea and Samaria Jews as “illegal” and “a major obstacle to peace.” In addition, it would state that the UN is prepared to send envoys to the region “to examine the realities on the ground.”

Senior Fatah official Hatem Abdel Kader, who holds the Jerusalem portfolio for the PA, told AFP on Wednesday that the newly announced boycott against the U.S. would see the 28 Arab local councils in Jerusalem cutting ties with the consulate.

“The Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem have decided to boycott the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem in protest against the U.S. veto,” Kader told AFP. “We will cut our relationship with all American institutions, including with USAID and we will not take any help or money from them.”

According to AFP, approximately 28 local councils have agreed to join in the boycott, which would include political meetings and contact with U.S. officials.

Kader said that “The boycott will continue until the U.S. administration changes its stance on the Palestinian issue, especially towards the settlements [the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria – ed.].”

Kader added that the PA also expects an apology by the Obama administration for using the veto.

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“We will cut our relationship with all American institutions, including with USAID and we will not take any help or money from them.”

Is this a promise?  Will they return the $1.2 BILLION that has already been sent?  Will they stop our arming their Police Force?  What do you think they would say or do if the US were to cut them off completely?

President Obama is many things but in the game of politics he is no fool. There are only 2.5 million Muslims in the US and 6 million Jews with large voting populations in key Electoral College states of New York, Florida, and California.  Not to mention the millions of Christians who are deep supporters of Israel.  Yes the veto in the Security Council last Friday had more to do with November 6th, 2012 than with any resolution of the problem with the Palestinians.  In fact it had a lot to do with trying to convince Jews to support him in his re-election bid than any thing else.

Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen really doesn't have anything to worry about.  Give Barack Hussein Obama a few weeks and will bow down before him the way he has done before:

Next to be done to Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen!

One City, Never Again To Be Divided!

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

In the 20th Century Judaism added 4 new holidays:  Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Memorial Day), Yom HaZikaron (Israel's Memorial Day), Yom Ha-Atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) and Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day).  The last one, Yom Yerushalayim celebrates the re-unification of Jerusalem. Yom Yerushalayim is celebrated on the 28th of the month of Iyar. The liberation of Jerusalem in 1967 marks the first time in thousands of years that the entire city of Jerusalem, the holiest city in Judaism, was under Jewish sovereignty. The destruction of Jerusalem was a watershed event in Jewish history that began thousands of years of mourning for Jerusalem, so, it follows, that the reunification of Jerusalem should be a joyous celebration that begins the process of reversing thousands of years of destruction and exile. Jerusalem is central to the Jewish tradition. Jews face in the direction of Jerusalem and all of the prayer services are filled with references to Jerusalem.

Now with that in mind, it is a wonder why Barack Hussein Obama, President of the United States, and supposed friend of Israel would try to force Israel to partition the city once more.

Recent days have seen conflicting reports on construction in Jerusalem. While Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu states that construction in Jerusalem will continue, reports indicate that in practice, Jews are barred from building in some parts of the capital city. Arutz Sheva's Hebrew news service spoke to Jerusalem Construction and Building Planning Committee member Yair Gabbai to clarify the situation.

According to Gabbai, there is definitely a distinction being made between “west” Jerusalem, meaning the territory that has been under Israeli sovereignty since 1948, and “east” Jerusalem, the lands that were under Jordanian control from 1948 until 1967. Recently, officials have begun making a distinction between Jews and Arabs, allowing Arabs to build in neighborhoods where Jews are turned down for construction permits, he said.

"The most recent meetings have taken on a certain apartheid-like quality,” he said. “Construction permits in eastern Jerusalem are given exclusively to Arabs, while in the western half of the city there's no discrimination.”

United States President Barack Obama is behind the de facto construction freeze, Gabbai believes. “[Obama] is the source of the pressure on the prime minister and the government to freeze construction in eastern Jerusalem, even though it's not good for Jerusalem,” he said.

Finish reading here.

When Jerusalem was cut in two, not one Jewish place of worship was allowed to stand erect under Jordanian rule.  Even the Kotel was turned into a latrine for the amusement of the degenerate Arabs.  And this was done even though the world assured Jews that their sacred places would be safe and Jews would have access to these places.

From Wikipedia:

The Hurva Synagogue, also known as Hurvat Rabbi Yehudah he-Hasid ("Ruin of Rabbi Judah the Pious"), is a historic synagogue located in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.

The synagogue was founded in the early 1700s by followers of Judah he-Hasid, but it was destroyed a few years later in 1721. The plot lay in ruins for over 140 years and became known as the Ruin, or Hurva. In 1864, the Perushim rebuilt the synagogue, and although officially named the Beis Yaakov Synagogue, it retained its name as the Hurva. It became Jerusalem's main Ashkenazic synagogue, until it too was reduced to rubble by the Arab Legion during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

After the site came under Israeli control in 1967, a number of plans were submitted for the design of a new building. After years of deliberation and indecision, a commemorative arch was erected instead at the site in 1977, itself becoming a prominent landmark of the Jewish Quarter. The plan to rebuild the synagogue in its 19th century style received approval by the Israeli Government in 2000 and the newly rebuilt synagogue was dedicated on March 15, 2010. The company involved with its reconstruction believes that restoring the synagogue to its former glory will once again allow it to serve as a center for World Jewry.

Hurva Synagogue restored - 2010

I wonder if this will be the last year Yom Yerushalayim will be celebrated in a unified city.  Under Obama's proposal orders the city will once again be divided (I wonder what Germans would do if Berlin was divided again?).  Will we then see signs like these:

43 years have passed since Jerusalem, City of David, City of Gold, was divided.  Will it remain whole in the next 43 years, or will it be divided forever?

Let us pray that the answer is NO!

One city forever united!

Next Year In Jerusalem!

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

Next Year In Jerusalem are the words that have ended each and every Passover sedar for the last 2000 years. It is in good times, a simple wish to have one sedar in ones life in the city of Jerusalem. In times of pogroms, and horror it was a prayer to The All Mighty, Blessed Be He, to redeem them to Israel, to Freedom as He did in the days of our bondage in Egypt.

To Barack Hussein Obama they are words that need to be changed:

March 23, 2010 By The Associated Press Shana Habbab (AP White House Correspondent)

(AP) — An unidentified Israeli official has confirmed that private discussions between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu included a strong request from the President that the upcoming Passover holiday not include the familiar refrain of “next year in Jerusalem”, citing the passage as provocative and unhelpful for future peace talks.

The Administration suggested replacing it with “next year in peace” or “next year in Israel”, but leaving the final wording up to both the Israelis and Palestinians.

Netanyahu is said to have balked at the request, indicating that the refrain dates back well before the UN Partition of 1947. The Prime Minister reportedly attempted to diffuse the situation by noting that the declaration lacks any political significance, adding that most people living outside of Israel just “say the words without having a real desire to live anywhere in Jerusalem.” He further explained that, “at most, they would like to come for the Passover holiday, but only staying at one of the hotels located in western part of the city.”

Last summer Pharaoh Obama President Obama demanded that Israel turn over the Old City to the Arabs as a goodwill gesture.  Benjamin Netanyahu sent a little gesture back.  There is no way, no how, no even understanding that will ever mean the purposeful destruction of Jewish homes, schools, synagogues, and even the Kotel.

ISRAEL WILL NEVER SURRENDER ANY PART OF JERUSALEM!

Yet Pharaoh will not listen.  He has harden his heart towards Israel, he has forgotten the words he spoke to the Children of Israel at the AIPAC Conference in 2008:

Let me be clear. Israel's security is sacrosanct. It is non-negotiable. The Palestinians need a state that is contiguous and cohesive, and that allows them to prosper — but any agreement with the Palestinian people must preserve Israel's identity as a Jewish state, with secure, recognized and defensible borders. Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided.

Oh how he lied!  He lied when he said that he would prevent Iran from developing nukes:

Former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton expressed concern Sunday that Washington was coming to terms with a nuclear Iran.

“I very much worry the Obama administration is willing to accept a nuclear Iran, that's why there's this extraordinary pressure on Israel not to attack in Iran,” Bolton told Army Radio.

The former envoy claimed that this pressure was the focus of last week's meetings in Washington between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyhau and US officials, including President Barack Obama.

Bolton said that the Obama administration had embraced the view, prevalent in Europe, that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was the key to the resolution of all other conflicts throughout the Middle East, including the Iranian conflict.

Ah yes, the old stand-by: BLAME THE JEWS FOR EVERY PROBLEM!  

Just the behavior one would expect from the disciple of Jeremiah Wright! And guess who was visiting recently:

Louis Farrakhan and family

I wonder what he asked Pharaoh for?  To run the Death Camps?

Look his old neighbor who was just another guy on the block (Strange neighborhood. Housing a known domestic terrorist couple.)  Yes Bill Ayers is back!

I thought he didn't know him very well.

And of course the Good Reverend is back:

Didn't Pharaoh break with Wright's church?  I guess not!

I wonder if he promised him the looting of Jewish property for his own gain.

Tonight when Obama and his kapos will make a mockery of the sacred meal while Pharaoh is planning how to destroy the Jews of Israel.

NEXT YEAR AND EVERY YEAR IN JERUSALEM!

Much Ado About Jerusalem!

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle


Or Pardon Me Can I Steal Your Capital?

The Dry Bones Blog

Israel decides to build 1600 new and Joe Biden goes ballistic, Hillary Clinton has a cow, and David Axelrod starts foaming at the mouth.

The White House is raising the stakes with Israel, calling it an "insult" and an "affront" that the Jewish nation would continue plans to build 1,600 new apartments during a construction freeze aimed at re-igniting peace talks with Palestinians.

Palestinians have not sought as part of their capital the area of northeast Jerusalem where the Jewish settlement of Ramat Shlomo resides, but the decision to announce construction plans just as Vice President Joe Biden was visiting the region led to strained meetings that continues past his return.

Biden expressed his displeasure by showing up late to a dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in order to issue a statement of condemnation.

On Sunday, President Obama's chief political adviser David Axelrod told ABC's "This Week" that the move undermines the fragile effort to bring peace to the troubled region and called the timing of the announcement "very destructive."

Axelrod would not say what has been discussed in diplomatic talks but suggested the decision by Israel was "calculated to undermine" peace talks with the Palestinians. He added that because Israel is a special ally to the United States "for just that very reason that was not the right way to behave."

But White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Netanyahu's apology on Sunday was a "good start" to rebuild trust, but more needs to be done.

"I think what would be an even better start is coming to the table with constructive ideas for constructive and trustful dialogue about moving the peace process forward," Gibbs said.

"There's no doubt that events like last week weaken the trust that's needed for both sides to come together and have honest discussions about peace in the Middle East. So there's no doubt that that was not a bright spot for the Israeli government."

The State Department on Friday outlined what was described as a stern 45-minute call by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to the prime minister. The unusually tough dressing down reportedly took Netanyahu by surprise. On Sunday he announced plans to set up a committee to review processes to ensure an embarrassment like the one with Biden doesn't happen again.

Though Netanyahu had not included East Jerusalem in an earlier decision to halt construction for 10 months, the Jerusalem District Planning and Building committee canceled two meetings scheduled for this week after Clinton's call, Haaretz newspaper reported Sunday.

Now can somebody, anybody tell me when Israel conceded any part, any neighborhood, any square millimeter of Jerusalem?  Do you know who conceded the city of Jerusalem to the Arabs?
Barack Hussein Obama!  In his speech in Cairo!  That is correct.  No Israeli leader will ever surrender the City of David, the Capital of Ancient and Modern Israel willingly and without a fight.

Not after the last time.

For the last year President Obama has been trying to force Israel to put Jerusalem under the control of the UN.  On one hand Obama cries he is a friend of Israel, while on the other hand he sends his lackeys to do his dirty work.  Just like the corrupt Chicago Politician he is.

Only G-d know what is going to happen when both Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meet at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) annual policy conference next week.

Yet the people of Jerusalem, in fact of Israel have voiced their desire to keep Jerusalem now and forever!

The Hurva Synagogue, also known as Hurvat Rabbi Yehudah he-Hasid ("Ruin of Rabbi Judah the Pious"), is a historic synagogue located in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.

Traditions for a synagogue in the area date from the 2nd century. In the early 1700s, followers of Judah he-Hasid founded a synagogue at the site, but it was destroyed a few years later, in 1721. The plot lay in ruins for over 140 years and became known as the Ruin, or Hurva. In 1864, the Perushim built a new synagogue on the site. Although officially named the Beis Yaakov Synagogue, it retained its name as the Hurva and became Jerusalem's main Ashkenazi synagogue until it too was reduced to rubble during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

After the site came under Israeli control in 1967, a number of plans were submitted for the design of a new building. After years of deliberation and indecision, a commemorative arch was erected instead at the site in 1977, itself becoming a prominent landmark of the Jewish Quarter. The plan to rebuild the synagogue in its 19th century style received approval by the Israeli Government in 2000 and the newly rebuilt synagogue is due to be dedicated on March 15, 2010. The company involved with its reconstruction believe that restoring the synagogue to its former glory will once again make it serve as a center for World Jewry.

Source: Wikipedia

The Jordanians destroyed it fully in 1948, tonight will be the dedication of the rebuilt synagogue 62 years after its destruction.

Hundreds of people took part in a ceremony bringing a new Torah scroll into the restored Hurva Synagogue in the Old City's Jewish Quarter on Sunday. The ceremony in east Jerusalem was held under heavy security after the Palestinian Authority joined the Islamic Movement in its calls for Muslims to flock to the al-Aqsa Mosque in response to extremist Jews' plans to lay a cornerstone at the Temple Mount.

Among the celebrators was Knesset Member Michael Ben-Ari (National Union), who criticized the prime minister, saying, "(Benjamin) Netanyahu, who crushed his own national backbone and is leading to the division of Jerusalem, should have come here to draw strength from Hurva's restoration and display power instead of compromising Jerusalem's unity."

Torah scroll brought to Hurva Synagogue (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

Extreme rightists Itamar Ben-Gvir and Baruch Marzel were also on hand for the ceremony, during which a Torah scroll was placed in the restored synagogue.

The synagogue's dedication took place amid harsh criticism leveled at Israel, mainly by the US, over its decision to approve the construction of 1,600 housing units in east Jerusalem prior to the launching of indirect talks with the Palestinians.

One of the Jewish celebrators told Ynet, "We are here to say to the world that all of Jerusalem will remain ours for eternity. If the dedication of a synagogue in the Jewish Quarter angers the Obama Administration, then Netanyahu should choose another partner."

Yes we will not willingly surrender Jerusalem.  Not this year,not ever.  To quote Eliezer ben Yisrael (Stanley Goldfoot) A Letter to the World from Jerusalem:

For the first time since the year 70 there is now complete religious freedom for all in Jerusalem. For the first time since the Romans put the torch to the Temple everyone has equal rights. (You preferred to have some more equal than others.) We loathe the sword – but it was you who forced us to take it up. We crave peace – but we are not going back to the peace of 1948 as you would like us to.

We are home. It has a lovely sound for a nation you have willed to wander over the face of the globe. We are not leaving. We have redeemed the pledge made to our forefathers: Jerusalem is being rebuilt. “Next year” – and the year after, and after, until the end of time – “in Jerusalem!”

Now and forever this promise, this vow will NOT be forgotten or ignored!

One City Forever!

Oh Jerusalem!

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

If I forget thee, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget her cunning.

If I do not remember thee,
let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth;
if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
Psalm 137: 5-6

Jersalem, City of Gold, City of David, City of G-d, Capital of both Ancient and Modern Israel is suppose to be handed over, both sides, Old and New City, the Palestinians Arabs before any further talks will be permitted.

The sixth Fatah General Assembly decreed on Saturday that the return of both east and west Jerusalem to Palestinian control was a "red line" which was non-negotiable, and would need to be fulfilled before any peace talks with Israel could renew, Israel Radio reported.

According to the report, a document adopted by the Fatah delegates of the assembly declared that Palestinians would "continue to be sacrificed until residents of Jerusalem are free of settlements and settlers." The document went on to state that all of Jerusalem, including the surrounding villages, belonged to the Palestinians, and lands conquered following the Six Day War shared the same status as those located within the Green Line.

Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz blasted the statement Saturday, saying that the declaration was a clear message to all those who maintained the "illusion that the Palestinians were prepared for compromise," Israel Radio reported.

Israel should take legal steps in response to the decree, Israel Radio quoted the minister as saying. According to the report, he urged the government to expand the municipal authority of Jerusalem to include Ma'aleh Adumim, Givat Ze'ev, Gush Etzion, and Beitar. In addition, Katz encouraged further construction in surrounding neighborhoods so as to increase Jewish presence in the city.

This is totally unacceptable to all of Israel. Even the most left-wing, person in Israel will not accept this.

But it seems Barack Hussein Obama has already accepted it and will try to impose it on Israel.

Take the example of the US Consulate in Jerusalem. It has already declaired Jerusalem, Old and New City, as the Capital of the nation of Palestine. It is written in English and Arabic, there is no news from the elected Mayor of the city, Nir Barkat, and children of US citizens born in Jerusalem, Israel are listed as Jerusalem, Jerusalem (soon to be changed to Palestine).

I guess this is the change that was talked about and we are suppose to accept. Only this change is not acceptable.

Perhaps the Israelis should do their own bit of change. Like changing one thing in the City of Jerusalem:

Now that's CHANGE I can believe in!

Obama to Netanyahu: Jerusalem Must Be Divided Again!

By Findalis


During the campaign, then candidate Obama said the following at an address of AIPAC:

Let me be clear. Israel's security is sacrosanct. It is non-negotiable. The Palestinians need a state that is contiguous and cohesive, and that allows them to prosper — but any agreement with the Palestinian people must preserve Israel's identity as a Jewish state, with secure, recognized and defensible borders. Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided.

It seems that is another lie from this Master of Lies. For now it is US Policy to hand over to the Palestinians all of East Jerusalem, including one of the most holiest sites in Judaism: The Western Wall.

The United States State Department made it clear Tuesday that Jewish neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem are “settlements,” which U.S. President Barack Obama has called “illegitimate."

U.S. officials previously have used the term “settlement” to describe the Har Homa neighborhood, opposite the neighborhood of Gilo on the southern end of Jerusalem. Like French Hill, Ramot and eastern Talpiot, it was restored to Israel in the Six Day War in 1967 and officially annexed to Jerusalem in 1980. Approximately 300,000 Jews live in these neighborhoods.

Reporters covering the daily State Department press briefing have recently asked tough-than-usual questions concerning what they see as the United States trying to determine the future borders of a Palestinian Authority state instead of allowing Israel and the PA to negotiate directly.

In Tuesday’s session, reporters peppered State Department assistant spokesman Robert Wood with questions on how the Obama administration can continue to insist on a halt to all building for Jews in eastern Jerusalem as well as Judea and Samaria in light of solid support from within Israel for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Netanyahu told the Cabinet this week that Israel has complete sovereignty over all of Jerusalem and decides issues such as building permits. Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon declared on Tuesday, “Israel will continue to operate in accordance with its vital national interests... Our right to rule and develop Jerusalem is irrefutable.”

Even Intelligence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor, one of the most dovish Likud Knesset Members, who previously has favored the idea of surrendering the strategic Golan Heights to Syria, took up the cause for Jerusalem Tuesday.

So now the sovereignty of Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, is to be placed in the hands of terrorists. No longer will Jews be allowed to worship or live in Jerusalem. No longer will Jewish homes, schools and synagogues be allowed to remain standing. And the Western Wall will once again be used as a urinal as it was under Jordanian rule.

It seems that Obama never learned history in those fancy schools that he attended. So here is a little history lesson for him:

Before 1865, the entire population of Jerusalem lived behind the Old City walls (what today would be considered part of the eastern part of the city) Later, the city began to expand beyond the walls because of population growth, and both Jews and Arabs began to build in new areas of the city.

By the time of partition, a thriving Jewish community was living in the eastern part of Jerusalem, an area that included the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. This area of the city also contains many sites of importance to the Jewish religion, including the city of David, the Temple Mount and the Western Wall. In addition, major institutions like Hebrew University and the original Hadassah hospital are on Mount Scopus, in eastern Jerusalem.

The only time that the eastern part of Jerusalem was exclusively Arab was between 1949-1967, and that was because Jordan occupied the area and forcibly expelled all the Jews. Jerusalem is one issue on which the views of Israelis are unanimous: The city must remain the undivided capital of Israel.

Israel will never give up one inch of Jerusalem. Not today, tomorrow, next week, next year, not ever.

As Eliezer ben Yisrael wrote:

For the first time since the year 70, there is now complete religious freedom for all in Jerusalem. For the first time since the Romans put a torch to the Temple, everyone has equal rights (You prefer to have some more equal than others.) We loathe the sword- but it was you who forced us to take it up. We crave peace, but we are not going back to the peace of 1948 as you would like us to.

We are home. It has a lovely sound for a nation you have willed to wander over the face of the globe. We are not leaving. We are redeeming the pledge made by our forefathers: Jerusalem is being rebuilt. "Next year" and the year after, and after, and after, until the end of time- "in Jerusalem"!

President Obama remember these words:

Jerusalem is being rebuilt. "Next year" and the year after, and after, and after, until the end of time-
"in Jerusalem"!

Yerushalaim Shel Zahav (Jerusalem of Gold)



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