All of us have a tendency to adopt narratives we are comfortable with. Sometimes, truly horrific events like those of October 7, 2023, make us unsatisfied with the prevailing narrative and provoke us to express our terrible anguish and rage, as did Paddy Chayevsky's mentally-ill news reporter in this “I’m mad as Hell and I won’t take this anymore“ clip from his 1976 movie “Network”. While fortunately virtually no one continues along the path of madness experienced by this fictitious character, many choose to seek solace again in comforting narratives. This alert points out that most of the links here have been chosen to be enlightening and to open our eyes to what the Webmaster perceives to be reality, without regard to how comforting or discomforting that might be. Readers, consider yourselves forewarned.
Communities in Yehuda, Shomron, and Jordan
Valley - A list and vital statistics of virtually all the yishuvim in
Yehuda, Shomron, and Jordan Valley, with many links to homepages.
Aliyah - Just one part of Jacob Richman's informative web pages.
See Israel with Yossi - A wonderful tour-guide who will take you anywhere in Yesha and imbue you with his love for the Land and its people.
Jewish Virtual Library - A marvelously detailed and complete compendium for anything Jewish or having to do with Israel.
Amana - A quasi-governmental agency involved in providing housing in Yesha.
How Much Land for Peace? - An illuminating article by Dr. Colin Leci.
Geography of Israel-Palestine - Another interesting article about the amount of land Israel has.
A comprehensive plan for Peace in the Middle East - by Benny Elon - In Hebrew and English.
HaAretz - If you want to know all about Israel's problems, this is the English on-line newspaper for you. Rarely will you see such whining and self-hatred.
Jerusalem Diaries - by Judy Lash Balint. Her book, and other writings by this award-winning author, give a wonderfully evocative picture of life in all of Israel, including Yesha.
CAMERA - The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America is devoted to promoting accurate and balanced media coverage of Israel and the Middle East. They clearly haven't been able to solve the problem, but the bias against Israel in the media would be even worse without their important work.
Middle East Media Research Institute - This influential organization supports Israel by translating Arab reports and then telling Westerners what the Arabs really are saying. The information is widely used by pro-Israel lobbyists and Israel's supporters in the US Congress.
A Message from the Children of Gush Katif - A one-minute video presentation with an important message.
A Portrait of Gush Katif - Pesach 2005 - This enlightening 2-part article appeared in the Jewish Advocate May 2005.
Militant Islamism - This fascinating 3-part article, based upon a book by Tony Blankly, first appeared in the Washington Times Sep 12, 2005.
The 'occupation' is the problem - A convincing argument about using the word 'occupation' in reference to the Israel - Arab conflict.
Just Peace for Isreal - An organization dedicated to just that..
The Ariel Center for Policy Research - The ACPR has taken upon itself to help crystallize a strategic design for the State of Israel. Their website contains a number of illuminating articles, of which Talia Einhorn's is one of the best.
The Fatah Constitution - This document states the goals of the "moderate" "Palestinian" (sic) party that Israel and the United States have given hundreds of millions of dollars and weaponry to. Are we crazy, or are we crazy?
One on One: Back to the future - A brilliant interview by Ruthie Blum of Prof. Robert S. Wistrich discussing modern anti-semitism, which first appeared in the Jerusalem Post on March 2, 2007.
Jerusalem Summit - A proposal, from a previously unheard of organization, for a humanitarian resolution to the Israel-Arab conflict.
Fitna, the movie - A 15-minute film documenting Islamic militancy, anti-semitism and terror, and challenging the Dutch and perhaps others to respond to the threat of Islamofascism.
U.S. Senator Robert Menendez Championing Jewish Right to Israel - I don't know why it takes a non-Jewish American to say it so clearly.
On the rights of Jews to live in Yehuda and Shomron - This article
explains why Jews, sometimes derogatorily referred to as settlers,
have a legal right to live along the west bank of the Jordan River.
It deals only with their legal right under international law and not
their God-given right to do so.
On the rights of Jews to live in all of Eretz Israel - This article
deals both with God-given and legal rights under international law.
The Occupation Myth - As demonstrated by many of the links
referenced above, the right of Jews to live in all of Eretz Israel is
undeniable. This article by Howard Grief explains how errors by several
of Israel's legal professionals have hurt the State badly in exercising those
rights.
A beautiful video explaining the significance of what has occurred in Yehuda and Shomron since 1967.
Another wonderful video by Give Peace a Chance explaining the basis for Israel's legitimacy under modern law.
Israel IQ at UCLA Comedian Mark Schiff, of StandWithUs, suggests in the introduction to this video that I would be schocked. He was right. This is probably the most shocking and frightening video I have ever seen.
Excerpts from
Professor Hillel Weiss's speech before the European Parliament Conference on May
15, 2012. His approach contrasts interestingly, from that of Pofessor Ruth
Gavison, who assiduously attempts to avoid mention of Tanach in her defense of
Israel.
A 2017 article by Ariel Natan
Pasko, who offers a third approach to defending the right of the Jews to Eretz
Israel. I know nothing about this author, but found his approach refreshing and
interesting, especially in light of the failure for nearly a decade of the
seemingly cogent arguments of Professors Weiss and Gavison to make a dent in the
world's anti-Semitic thinking. Other clearly thought out contributions from
this author can be
found here.
The Ballad of Oslo's
Children - Often, in the struggle to go forward, we forget the past. This
video, from CarolynGlick.com, reminds us.
An inspiring video of comments by
Rabbi Shalom Gold on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the reunification
of Jerusalem.
Lecture
by Prof. Eugene Kontorovich of Northwestern University. This 1-hr
lecture demonstrates how faulty the assertion that Israel's
settlements are illegal really is. Although it is one hour long, it
is anything but dry, and worth every minute.
The San Remo Conference gave legitimacy to the Jewish right to settle all
of Israel, including Judea and Samaria, and also what is today called Jordan.
This is clearly explained in articles by
Shmuel Katz and
Howard Grief.
Article by Amb. Alan Baker, written approximately 100 years
after the Balfour Declaration, reviewing the historical evidence that Jews are
the indiginous people of the area defined by the Palestine Mandate.
Why is Terrorism a Precursor to Building?. Often after terror attacks
in Israel, the politicians scream that the answer to terrorism is to build.
Why does it seem always to take a non-politician to point out the obvious
to them?
Boomerang Fighting for israel. Check out Ezri Tubi's
videos on youtube. You will not be disappointed.
FLAME (Facts and Logic about the
Middle East) has a number of very insightful articles about Israel and
Middle East peace.
A exceptionally clear and
comprehensive video about the Arab-Israeli conflict by
an Israeli tourguide.
Israel's Unwritten Constitution. I never heard of
Yshai Amichai, but this is amazingly good. We need more bright
trans-generational young minds like his to carry on the work of those no longer
with us.
Getting off the fence. This article appeared in early
2022 and was very timely. It seems to me important for every individual
and nation-state to be clear about who they are, and this is what the article
deals with.
Facts most
Arabs and a hostile world don't want to admit. This article by Victor
Sharpe, which appeared at the end of 2022, summarizes, in a manner extremely
relevant to modern times, 4000 years of Jewish history as it relates to Eretz
Israel.
75 Years of Lies . When the United Nations in 2023
decided to recognize Nakba Day for the first time, Israel Hayom published this
video of Brooke Goldstein factually summarizing 75 years of history since
establishment of the modern State of Israel, thereby demonstrating the absolute
absurdity of the UN's action.
There should be only one goal to this war. After a
horrific unprovoked and barbaric attack on October 7, 2023, resulting in the
death of more than 1400 Israelis, Israel declared war on the Hamas terror
organization ruling Gaza.
Nazis, Muslims, and Jews. Don't act like the Jews of the
1920s. Don't tell your children you didn't know. Here it is, laid
out for you in clear easy to understand language by Mordechai Nisan. And
a
follow-up by Nadav Shragai.
Jewish Sovereignty; a Jewish Priority? Moshe Dann has published
a brilliantly insightful analysis of where Israel stands during the 2023-2024
war and what it should do as soon as possible. Sadly, the Webmaster
fears the Israeli reluctance to change the status quo will keep us
from pursuing his insightful suggestions.