Category: israel
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Its not easy to convert
Statistics show that it is difficult to convert!! The latest recommendation from the Imigration Ministry to the Israeli government is speed up the conversion process. Look at these facts: 300,000 non-Jews living in Israel:I thought it was twice that number – 1 million people made Aliya from the former Soviet Union, of whom 60% were… Read more
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To those who repent and those who don’t
We are about to begin the month of Elul, a time of introspection, repentance and regret. It seems that not only has the government begun the process a wee bit early, but that they are also playing G-d! Just as we ask G-d to forgive those who repent and those who don’t, Ehud Olmert and… Read more
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Gaza is Israel’s fault cartoons
I should really have titled this post ‘proud to be a New Zealander’, but some of you may have thought I was being serious. Let me re-phrase that. I am proud to be a New Zealander (or kiwi as we like to call ourselves) but when I see how anti-Semitic – oops! I mean anti-Israel… Read more
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Blame Israel for everything
It never takes long for the world to blame Israel for whatever is wrong in the world. This time, of course, it is Gaza. Clearly Israel is responsible for the situation (actually, bizarrely, the critics of the world are right, but not in the way they had intended. If Israel had not negotiated with the… Read more
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Mazel Tov Peres
Well, the impossible has happened! Shimon Peres has won an election (well, technically he didn’t win because the other candidates both pulled out, but he would have won). He is now the president elect of Israel in an honest and open election. In two months he will be 84 years old, and he has just… Read more
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Looking Bad(ly)
Last week we read the Torah portion of the spies. They were punished for bringing back a bad report about the land of Israel. As a result of this report and its acceptance by the people, the Israelites had to wander in the desert for 40 years (corresponding to the 40 days the spies were… Read more
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Aides say ‘give him a chance to learn’
Just to add to my previous post – the spin doctors have managed to turn the entire thing on its head. According to YNet: Meanwhile Olmert aides said the Winograd Commission hinted that the prime minister should be given a chance to learn from his mistake.“A culture that doesn’t allow those who err to keep… Read more
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Learning to Learn
I don’t normally like discussing, or blogging, about politics, but the release of the Winograd report and the prime minister’s immediate response are too good to pass up. Without wishing to discuss the findings and their implications I wanted to look at the learning process, and how that affects us.The report was clear. It states:… Read more