Since we last connected, I’ve decided to try something new. My written blog got away from me, so I’m pivoting into a video blog in the hopes that I’ll be able to post more frequently this way. If you want to follow me on YouTube, you can subscribe to my channel Glamour and Guts. It’s young and still coming together, but I’ll be talking about a greater range of subjects: headlines, eyelashes, love and everything in between. I hope you’ll enjoy this new incarnation.
Here’s some gutsiness to get us going. As I’ll explain, no matter what you see in the news, it’s actually a GREAT time to be a Zionist. xo
UPDATE: One of my favorite organizations, StandWithUs shared this little video and the response has been amazing. I’m so happy that all us good guys have found each other. Just goes to show Zionists rock and it IS a GREAT time to be a Zionist. Here’s a link to their post so you can see all the love and support we have out there.
It sounds obvious, but this distinction evades the Western press and people, and it’s a problem because Extremists exploit this failure of understanding to advance their own nefarious agendas.
What do I mean? Westerners believe all people are good at the core. We presume that all people deep down just want life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This presumption is wrong. As we are seeing in the Middle East, there are Islamic Extremists that do not revere these fair aspirations, but instead glorify death, subjugate and oppress, and silence individual pursuits, dreams and freedoms through violence, torture and murder.
That comment sounds severe to your Western sensibilities, doesn’t it? (I’m sure I’ll get some nasty-grams about it.) You can’t believe it, you won’t believe. And that’s how they get you.
Terrorists can continue apace so long as the West refuses to ignore the obvious, refuses to ignore their true nature, which they are shamelessly demonstrating over and over again. In the last few weeks alone we’ve seen: Christians persecuted and crucified, and thousands of civilians mass murdered in Iraq and Syria. We’ve seen thousands of rockets lobbed into Israel, discovered tunnels armed with tranquilizers and handcuffs, primed for mass massacre and the kidnapping of 200 civilians. Yet we still can’t concede that these people’s ideology fundamentally differs from our own. Ergo, we grant them the freedom to take away others’ freedoms because we believe in freedom. It’s twisted.
To better understand, let me recommend some summer reading. “The Haj,” a historical fiction based on over 1,000 interviews, delves deep into the tribal mentality of the Middle East and exposes, from the inside, the ideology the West is up against. It encapsulates, in detail, the early years of Jewish-and-Arab Palestine. Written from the Arab point of view, The reader sees the slippery slope of extremism. The action-packed book moves, rich with history, description, character, and some of the finest writing I’ve ever read. Uris too wrote, “The Exodus,” the famous novel and film that led us all to believe that Paul Newman was the greatest Zionist of all time. Though missed by many in my generation, I hope to bring it back to people’s attention. Understanding the Arab tribal mentality and Jihad is crucial right now.
Lest anyone try to dismiss this novel’s authenticity because Uris himself was a Jew, let me share an honest review I found on a book-review site:
“Being an Arab myself, I felt extremely sad about the misery of our race in the last century. Facing our brutal facts as Arabs is the only way to hope for a change and a better future…This book, and although it is very harsh to read, is a true representation of the story of what happened at that time. It also gives a great description of the Arab character. Although now its quite different, some villages and rural areas are still stuck in the stagnation of the past century.
It is highly recommended for all my Arab friends and for those who are interested in the historian and cultural knowledge of the middle east in the last century.”
We have entered an era where Israel again fights blood-libel allegations that it intentionally targets and kills women and children. Communities around the world chant “gas the Jews” at violent rallies that have ended in burning synagogues. Groups whose sole raison d’être is to destroy Israel and worldwide Jewry have bottomless funds, weapons, man-power, political legitimacy, and wide-spread support in the press. Hatred at such proportions terrifies Westerners because it is so foreign and antithetical to our basic belief system. But we must open our eyes. Our enemy is sophisticated and is relying on our naivete. Share This Post
Get ready for dancing! We need it, don’t we? What other people besides the Jews have the audacious spirit to sing and dance in the face of hate and terrorism? This instinct to unite in song and dance contrasts starkly with Israel’s enemies’ crude compulsions. In case you haven’t heard about them, here’s a handy-dandy Hate Fest Round-Up:
GERMANY: The anti-Semitic genie left the bottle as Islamists and neo-Nazis (because birds of feather, etc, etc) united in Berlin and Frankfurt to protest, hurl stones at police officers, and denounce Jews as sub-human animals. [Monday, June 14]
UNITED STATES: Anti-Israel protesters in Seattle screamed anti-Israel slogans and blood libels, claiming Jews kill and eat gentile babies and drink their blood. (More ironic because Kashrut laws forbid Jews to eat any animal blood.) Their unbridled, anti-Semitic spectacle climaxed with a call to destroy the Jewish state, and demonstrated again that anti-Zionism is indeed just anti-Semitism repackaged. So to be clear, they accused Israel of genocide, but in the same breath called for the extermination of the Jewish state. Clearly their continuity person was out to lunch. [Monday, June 14]
No, this isn’t in the Middle East. This is Paris, France.
FRANCE: A peaceful protest inParis turned violent when anti-Israel mobs chanting anti-Semitic slogans cornered 200 Jews in a synagogue and hurled stones at them. At least 3 Jews wound up in the hospital as a result. [Sunday, June 13] This is one of a series of anti-Semitic attacks in France recently that include firebombings and stabbings.
UNITED STATES: Pro-Israel demonstrators in Boston were swarmed by anti-Israel protestors, told to “drop dead,” and called “Jesus killers.” Some were physically assaulted. [Sunday, June 13]
No, this isn’t the Middle East, it’s London, England.
ENGLAND: Hundreds of anti-Israel demonstrators brought London traffic to a halt by swarming the streets, scaling a double-decker bus, and chanting slanderous accusations against Israel. [Saturday, June 12]
MOROCCO: A popular rabbi in Casablanca, Rabbi Moshe Ohayonwas beaten on Shabbat on his way to Friday-night services. The Arab attacker said it was “revenge for Gaza” and committed the assault in broad daylight. Passersby did not heed the rabbi’s calls for help. The Rabbi’s nose and ribs were broken. [Friday, June 11]
AUSTRALIA: A former IDF soldier in Melbourne was attacked from behind, beaten and cut by a knife by several Arabs who called him a “Jewish dog.” [Thursday, June 10]
UNITED STATES: 300 anti-Israel protesters surrounded 30 peaceful, pro-Israel demonstrators in San Francisco, calling for another intifada and the destruction of the Jewish state. [Monday, June 7]
AND MORE: Thousands in Japan, Malaysia, India, Egypt, Pakistan, Norway and Indonesia marched in solidarity with Hamas, burning Israeli flags along the way. A popular hashtag trending in anti-Israel circles is #HitlerWasRight.
Think there’s a growing harassment of Jews? Have we entered a time when freedom lovers exercising their freedom of speech and religion risk assault? Will this improve as Islamic-supremacists continue to topple regimes, seize power and weapons, silence dissidents, and populate the West? You decide.
In the face of hatred, the Jewish people sing of Hashem, unity and miracles and let their song drown out the vicious chants of their depraved enemies.
This hatred is what Israel faces. And yet, her people choose to dance. They dance on the front line. They dance at the rallies. They sing of Hashem, unity and miracles and let their song drown out the vicious chants of their depraved enemies.
There’s a lot of darkness out there. But we are the dancers, the singers, the light. So, let’s get to it, ’cause that’s what we do!
My New Favorite Video – IDF soldiers & Breslov Chassids Dance, Face Their Mission in High Spirits with Emunah (Faith)! ♥
Our Brave IDF Soldiers Sing Their Way to the Kotel
Even During War, IDF Soldiers Sing of Faith & Miracles
Prayer is not enough. Please volunteer, speak up, and share facts.
But then, in your quiet, private moments, yes, pray for Israel. Use your own words or those below. With all your heart, pray for the safety of the Israel Defense Forces, every single Israeli, and the State of Israel. It makes a difference.
And yes, pray for victory. All out victory. Who cares about public opinion when our people are being targeted for death? Pray that Israel’s leaders are blessed with wisdom, our soldiers with bravery and skill, and that our people win, succeed and triumph over terror! Because when it comes to the Middle East, the bitter reality is that Israel can never afford to lose a war.
Prayer for the State of Israel
Our Father in Heaven, Rock and Redeemer of Israel, bless the State of Israel, the first manifestation of the approach of our redemption. Shield it with Your loving kindness, envelop it in Your peace, and bestow Your light and truth upon its leaders, ministers, and advisers, and grace them with Your good counsel. Strengthen the hands of those who defend our holy land, grant them deliverance, and adorn them in a mantle of victory. Ordain peace in the land and grant its inhabitants eternal happiness.
Lead them, swiftly and upright, to Your city Zion and to Jerusalem, the abode of Your Name, as is written in the Torah of Your servant Moses: “Even if your outcasts are at the ends of the world, from there the Lord your God will gather you, from there He will fetch you. And the Lord your God will bring you to the land that your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will make you more prosperous and more numerous than your fathers.” Draw our hearts together to revere and venerate Your name and to observe all the precepts of Your Torah, and send us quickly the Messiah son of David, agent of Your vindication, to redeem those who await Your deliverance.
Manifest yourself in the splendor of Your boldness before the eyes of all inhabitants of Your world, and may everyone endowed with a soul affirm that the Lord, God of Israel, is king and his dominion is absolute. Amen forevermore.
Prayer for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)
He Who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — may He bless the fighters of the Israel Defense Forces, who stand guard over our land and the cities of our God, from the border of the Lebanon to the desert of Egypt, and from the Great Sea unto the approach of the Aravah, on the land, in the air, and on the sea.
May the Almighty cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down before them. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, preserve and rescue our fighters from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness, and may He send blessing and success in their every endeavor.
May He lead our enemies under our soldiers’ sway and may He grant them salvation and crown them with victory. And may there be fulfilled for them the verse: For it is the Lord your God, Who goes with you to battle your enemies for you to save you.
We cannot recognize light without dark.
We cannot recognize warmth without cold.
We cannot recognize good without evil.
Yesterday, we recognized them all.
Like so many others, my heart broke reading about the tragic deaths of Eyal Yifrah, Naftali Frankel and Gilad Shaer, the 3 Israeli teens murdered by terrorists simply because they were Jews. I mourned with their families and with Am Israel around the world. My Facebook feed filled and spilled with mourning, scrolling from trios of candles to trios of candles.
As the brave IDF soldiers searched day and night for the kidnapped boys, pictures began surfacing showing Palestinians celebrating the abduction. Average, everyday citizens passed out sweets in the streets and posed for photos holding three fingers in the air; representing the 3 hostages. The photos gloated and endorsed the terrorists’ actions. The most disturbing photos showed children making the 3-finger sign. The PA (Fatah) ordered shopkeepers to destroy their security surveillance videos, lest the IDF use them to find the kidnapped children.
The search lasted 18 days and ended when IDF soldiers found the 3 boys’ bodies abandoned in a West Bank ditch. They’d been shot to death shortly after their abduction. Palestinian mobs attacked the Israeli ambulances brought to transport their lifeless bodies.
Over those 18 days of waiting, Jews around the world united in solidarity. They formed vigils, created petitions, prayed, supported, raised awareness via social media, and maintained hope, using whatever resources they had to bring back our boys and hold the perpetrators accountable. And when the boys were found yesterday, all world Jewry mourned and grew resolute together.
Let no one say the conflict between Arabs and Jews revolves around a “land dispute.” The conflict arises from hate, from a culture of hate that breeds more hate, that indoctrinates its people to believe that terrorism pays personally and nationally, and only respects strength. In other words, the conflict comes from good, old-fashioned antisemitism, the kind that inspires ordinary people to embrace terrorism and become murderers. After all, the two Hamas members suspected of kidnapping the boys are likely just a few years older than the boys themselves. But hatred isn’t born, it’s taught. We know this: the mother of one of the suspects said she’d be proud if her son were responsible.
Many media outlets ignored the kidnapping, others denied it was a kidnapping at all. Speaking the only language her enemies understand, Israel will send the message this week that terror will not be tolerated. These same media outlets will report this news, critically.
We cannot recognize light without dark.
We cannot recognize warmth without cold.
We cannot recognize good without evil.
Yesterday, we recognized them all.
How strange to cry for people you’ve never met. Yet that’s what we did, because these boys were family, not strangers.
May their memories forever be blessing. May their families be comforted among the mourners of Zion. Baruch Dayan haEmet.
Here’s a link to their post so you can see all the love and support we have out there.
