The Baron

A sunny day in December, as beautiful as a day can be. It is my first official day at my new job. I am leading a group of 36 of my Jewish peers from around the world, and we are exploring the vast and well kept Ramat HaNadiv Memorial Gardens National Park in Israel. Living 6 years in Israel, I have come across the name “Rothschild” more than once, as many streets and establishments bare the name. But it was not until today that I truly grasped the real vision and impact that the man behind the name had on this small country and the Jewish People for all of eternity.

Baron Edmond de Rothschild was raised and resided in France. He decided to invest his family’s vast fortune, accumulated through savvy banking over the previous century, in the forgotten province of the Ottoman Empire that over 2000 years ago had been known as the Kingdom of Israel. The pure scope of this man’s vision is hard to fathom given the circumstances in which he decided to make this great investment. In the words of Mark Twain upon his journey overland here in 1867:
“….. A desolate country whose soil is given over wholly to weeds… a silent mournful expanse…. a desolation…. we never saw a human being on the whole route…. hardly a tree or shrub anywhere. Even the olive tree and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country.” Clearly Baron Rothschild was up against much as he attempted to implement his vision of Jews returning to Zion, the Land of Israel. Statehood was still hardly on his mind. Rothschild was trying to build Jewish settlement.

Through massive land purchases he became known as “Father of the Yishuv,” the first Jewish settlements, Rishon Letzion, Zichron Yaakov, and Rosh Pina among them, which are now well established Israeli suburbs and towns. He brought agronomists, and other experts to aid and instruct the Jews escaping from Eastern Europe, who were mostly merchants, how to farm and how to develop the land. The Rothschilds left a legacy in Israel which included the reclamation of nearly 500,000 dunams of land and 30 settlements.

I stood stoically in front of the smoothed and shined black basalt rock headstone slab that marks the grave of Baron Edmond de Rothschild and his wife Adelaide. Located within the park, the tomb was cave like and a bit dark, but shining above the burial spot was a thick white limestone disk about the size of my head with a grand Magen David sculpted on the surface. This spectacular piece is actually an incredibly intact relic excavated in Jerusalem from the 2nd Temple Period. It was entombed with the Rothschilds as a dedication from the State of Israel to a man and a vision, and a symbol of the miraculous redemption of a nation after more than 2000 years of wandering.

Some Truth Still Shines Through the Clouds Regarding Climate Change

This Notable Quote and other editorials from the Wall Street Journal explain much about the sometimes misleading field of Climatology and findings regarding "Global Warming."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB40001424052748703939404574566124250205490.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704107104574572093483921568.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704342404574576073505546070.html

A Thanksgiving Feast for the Immigrants

Hi all and happy Thanksgiving.
We had close to 100 people at our Thanksgiving potluck feast / party last night and it was an amazing networking event for all. Introducing the new immigrants here to each other and especially the young people in the army goes a long way in helping those who need it. It is the network of support between us all that is so priceless in Israel. I cooked up two giant birds for the celebration as well. The most important thing is simply connecting everyone.

This brief article that was in The Jerusalem Post today gives a summary and quotes me about the event. In case you don't know, a "Lone Soldier" is some one who came from another country to join the army in Israel and has no immediate family (parents) in the country.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1259243016253&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

US Marines Gain Hard-Earned Experience in Afghanistan

This is an NPR clip telling the story of the hard fight the US Marines are currently waging for their country.

On the Watch for European Anti-Zionist Rhetoric

This is a good editorial from the Wall Street Journal with a rational perspective on the recent Zionist bashing "documentary" in the British media.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704204304574543671980025770.html#articleTabs%3Darticle

Getting the Most from the Space Shuttles

This is the closing of an era as the shuttles retire. Right now the rush is on to get as much equipment up into space as possible.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/16/science/space/16shuttle.html?_r=1&hp

A Great Angle On Unfortunate Times

Orthodox Jews Flock to SD, Support Leader on Trial

The New York Times
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 5:11 a.m. ET

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- In the musty conference room of a South Dakota hotel, Sholom Rubashkin helps a disheveled man in a hooded sweat shirt wrap black bands around his left arm and head. Attached to each is a black box containing inscriptions from the Torah.

''It's on your arm close to your heart, on your head close to your thoughts,'' Rubashkin, a leader in the Orthodox Jewish community, tells Robert Graham in a thick Brooklyn accent. Graham nods.

For the 50-year-old Rubashkin, and the dozens of Orthodox Jewish men who arrive almost daily from across the country to support him, such spiritual guidance is partly why God led him to his federal trial in Sioux Falls.

The former manager of Iowa kosher slaughterhouse Agriprocessors Inc. is accused of defrauding a St. Louis bank and, if convicted, could spend the rest of his life in prison. But for now, he's spreading his spiritual message to people like Graham, a South Dakota Jewish man who was only remotely familiar with the broadest outlines of his religion's traditions.

That devotion and respect for the Rubashkin family is what draws the men to support a fellow member of their Hasidim, a branch of Judaism that translates to ''the pious.'' Its members are easily identifiable in long black coats, fedoras and beards. They know Rubashkin more as the former teacher at an Atlanta Jewish school explaining his faith to young pupils.

''They have a solemn faith it's going to go the way it should,'' said Graham, a bus driver from Sioux Falls. ''Even if it comes back guilty, they would say that's what God wanted.''

While they pray in the hotel conference room, a jury of seven women and five men discuss in a courthouse five blocks away whether Rubashkin is guilty of 91 counts including bank, wire and mail fraud. They carry a combined maximum prison sentence of more than 1,000 years.

Rubashkin also will face a second federal trial on 72 immigration charges.

Despite the uncertainty, the conference room is anything but somber. As it has been for weeks, the room is filled with men who have been arriving and departing in waves, about 10 at a time.

At one table sit two Orthodox Jewish men who joined four others in a Dodge Caravan on Saturday night in Brooklyn. They drove in shifts nearly nonstop to Sioux Falls, roughly 1,400 miles away from their New York City borough, stopping only for gas and to pray.

They're smiling and eager to talk about their faith and Rubashkin, a man they had only met once or twice. Although confident that he will be freed, they say any verdict would be God's will.

''We believe everything is by divine providence,'' said Zalman Levin, 23. ''Coming to see him, it's not a religious duty. It's something we should do. We consider the whole community a family. Even if we would have never met him before.''

Levin grew up in Palo Alto, Calif., but is studying at a Jewish school in Crown Heights, a Brooklyn neighborhood with a large Orthodox population. He and Rubashkin are Lubavitchers, a branch of the Hasidic movement in Orthodox Judaism. They met once in Brooklyn, when Levin was about 15.

Levin said that because they share a faith, he at least owes Rubashkin a visit. It's difficult, he said, for outsiders to understand why the men have been regularly rolling into this city of about 125,000.

To them, Rubashkin and his father Aaron are the ideal Lubavitchers, men who founded Agriprocessors Inc. in northeast Iowa, far from the lives they knew in New York, and supplied inexpensive kosher food to Jewish men and women who otherwise couldn't afford it.

To many, the Rubashkins' image in Crown Heights is of generous and devout people who donated money without a second thought and opened a restaurant that didn't charge those who couldn't pay, said Isaac Gurewitz, who traveled to Sioux Falls with Levin.

Rubashkins' trial began Oct. 12, moved to South Dakota in part because of pretrial publicity in Iowa. At least 60 Hasidim packed in an overflow room in the Sioux Falls federal courthouse. They came from Brooklyn, Minnesota, Chicago, corners of the country with small Orthodox populations and even Italy. They rocked back and forth while reading from the Torah, and flocked to Rubashkin when he stepped outside during court breaks for a cigarette.

Levin acknowledges that the Hasidim are oddities to the locals -- during jury selection, one South Dakota man confused them with the Amish.

''It's a bit of a strange sight,'' he said with a smile. ''You haven't seen many people like us.''

Former Agriprocessors employees have testified that Rubashkin personally directed them to create fake invoices. Days before an immigration raid in May 2008, former employees said Rubashkin scrambled to get new documents for his workers, at least 389 of whom were found to be illegal immigrants.

Rubashkin's defense attorney has argued that Rubashkin never read the loan agreement with St. Louis-based First Bank and tried to show Rubashkin as a bumbling businessman in over his head.

Rubashkin's son Getzel said his father has been a calming influence on his worried family. He said he's amazed by his father's perseverance, but shares his faith in a verdict of not guilty.

But the allegations weren't the focus of a recent morning in a hotel room packed with kosher food. The Lubavitcher men instead wanted to talk about a new believer.

Graham, the Sioux Falls man, said Rubashkin showed him last week how to apply the tefillin, the black arm bands attached to Torah scripture. To the Lubavitchers, it was Graham's initiation into Jewish society, and one of the reasons they believe God led them to Sioux Falls.

''This room is the biggest synagogue here,'' Levin said, laughing.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/11/11/business/AP-US-Kosher-Slaughterhouse-Rubashkin.html?scp=1&sq=rubashkin&st=cse

Magen David Adom, Tel Aviv

An exposure like no other.

As an active volunteer EMT with MDA Tel Aviv, Israel, I see the inner workings of the city from the streets to people's homes. As a new immigrant in this society, no other experience has so intimately introduced me to the city and the country as a whole. It provides me with a unique cultural exposure by entering peoples homes across all strata of society.















With much of the "clientele" being elderly, this has given me a great opportunity to learn their amazing stories. This is the generation who escaped the persecutions of Europe and elsewhere in the world and established this country.

For example, this last Sunday during my shift on the intensive care ambulance, we took an 87 year old woman to the hospital with chest pain and other irregularities. On the way, I was responsible for monitoring her status as closely as possible. One of the best ways I have learned to do that is just by talking conversationally.
Captivating my imagination, she told me of her journey through British displaced persons camps in Cyprus as a Holocaust refugee from Poland. Glaring at the wrinkled blue tattoo of still legible numbers in the center of her forearm, what she described to me was the long story short. She came through the flames and built this place from scratch.

This incredible generation is, sadly and inevitably, being taken to the hospital by day and night more than I'd like to admit. I am profoundly grateful for my exposure to their lives and stories, and realize that this is an opportunity that will not exist for my children.

The stories and experiences must live on through us.

More on this to be posted soon...

A Story Close to Home With Many Israelis

Israeli households are filled with many stories similar to those of these women featured here in the The New York Times. In this tribute story to American women combat veterans, heroic stories of service are told, and the issue of post traumatic stress disorder is addressed. Few countries find their servicewomen on front lines or in dangerous battlefields. Driven by necessity and extraordinary will, women serve vital roles in both the American and Israeli armed forces. Their exploits serve to inspire us all.

"In early October 2004, her convoy of about 30 vehicles set out from Kuwait for Mosul, one of Iraq’s most violent cities. On the way, she said, they were hit three times with roadside bombs. One exploded 200 feet from the unarmored Humvee in which Mrs. Pacquette spent day and night pointing her rifle out an open window. " Please take a look at the rest of the article to learn more about their stories.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/01/us/01trauma.html?pagewanted=1&ref=us

Liberal Movement Hijacked by Extremists

This editorial piece from the Wall Street Journal is written by prestigious Egyptians criticizing their country's own "liberal" movement. This criticism holds true for many of the liberal movements around the world. Many modern-day liberal movements have been hijacked by extremists, and the "if you are not with us you are against us" mentality prevails.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704335904574497143564035718.html

Inspiration In Arms

The narrow streets were dark and filled with sounds. Figures moved behind blackened windows on the overbearing buildings. My finger on the trigger, senses honed on my surroundings, I ensured my fellow Jews the right to a sacred prayer at the grave of one of our revered heroes. I was filled with a profound sense that this was the right thing to do. We stood as symbols of modernity: guardians of the Jewish State. This moment embodied the spirit of why I joined the IDF, and was one of the proudest of my life. While we were not welcomed, and our presence required military defense, our mission sought only peaceful access to a Jewish holy site and our ancestral roots.

During my recent IDF Reserve duty, my fellow soldiers and I rode into the heart of Nablus to Kever Yosef to pray Slichot before the coming holiday season. It was an experience I will never forget. After 5+ years of being an Israeli citizen I have had innumerable experiences to instill in me a faith and unwavering confidence in our nation. It was in this spirit that I felt fortunate to be a part of this unique excursion that, sadly, many do not have the chance to ever partake in.

Kever Yosef --Joseph’s Tomb – according to biblical tradition, is near the ancient Canaanite city of Shechem, in the heart of the modern-day Palestinian city of Nablus. Believed to be the site of Joseph’s burial, it has been a place of prayer, worship and preservation by Jews for millennia. With increased tensions in the area at the beginning of the Second Intifada, the IDF had soldiers stationed to protect the tomb for Jewish visitation, study, and prayer. This era of Jewish guardianship came to an abrupt end in October 2000. Early that month, an armed Palestinian mob converged on the site, killing one of the soldiers on guard and causing massive destruction to the tomb. Following this attack, the IDF withdrew its presence from the site; it was a strategic weak point surrounded by armed, densely populated Palestinian areas within the city. Since this incident, Jews have been unable to safely go to this holy place, and it has been continuously pillaged and defaced. Only those Jews willing to brave the serious risks associated with entering the city of Nablus in very limited, organized military convoys have made it to the Kever in recent years, and sadly, such groups have been few and far between. A small group of Jews were able to sneak onto the site in 2008 to perform some minor restoration work. But the tomb has been inaccessible to the Jewish public since 2000. Today, the Kever Yosef stands as a burnt, desecrated ruin, which I believe is a grave insult and dishonor to Jews the world over.

Based on requests coming in from many of his soldiers, my Battalion Commander decided it was worth the risk to visit the Kever Yosef. Early in the day, the Commander collected the names from each company of those willing to participate in this voluntary mission. The primary objective was to pray Slichot at the Kever Yosef that night. This traditional prayer for forgiveness is said during the week prior to Rosh Hashana. I eagerly placed my name on the list and was allocated to the cover team that was assigned to hold a defensive perimeter around the Kever. I was filled with pride to be part of a mission so noble in purpose. The plan was to reach the Kever Yosef in the cover of the deep night, while most people slept, so as to create as little disruption as possible to the inhabitants of the city and their Ramadan celebrations. Once on site we had up to thirty minutes to pray and extract by an alternate route.

Conditions upon our arrival were not to permit the inconspicuous, stealthy mission for which we had hoped. The City of Nablus turned out to be alive with Ramadan celebrants crowding the streets, deep into the early hours of morning. The greeting of our armored convoy in the city was less than hospitable. This was not to deter us, however, and we made a successful insertion into the neighborhood surrounding the tomb, where we quickly set up our defenses. Soldiers began their Slichot prayers as soon as we were able to secure the perimeter. When my turn came to enter the Kever I was filled with a sense of history, purpose, and pride for my Jewish Nation. I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with my comrades, dressed in full combat gear, reading from my prayer book by the wan light of the candles and flashlights. I prayed from my heart and with the deepest conviction for the forgiveness associated with the beginning of the new year. The tomb’s condition was just as I had expected: burnt, broken, and abandoned; a truly sad sight. I found just enough space to place my candle among the other candles on top of the burial site, a concrete slab, inside the tomb. I was profoundly moved to participate in this rare event, one of the few times in almost a decade when people came to this place with the purpose of reverence rather than desecration.

One of the key morals in the story of Joseph’s life, and his role in the development of the Nation of Israel, is the aspect of unity between brothers. After Joseph’s brothers turned on him and sent him off to an uncertain fate, it became their destiny to suffer and struggle. Only after the brothers reunited and saw the error of their ways did the Nation of Israel have a chance of surviving and even prospering. It is this strength in unity that we, the modern Nation of Israel, must always hold dear. If we do not stand together as a united people, then someday it may, once again, be the Kotel that is in the condition of the Kever Yosef.

David Matlin

Maccabi Gets Robbed At Staple Center?

Police: Thief nets $22K in goods, cash

Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- Police say $22,000 in cash and valuables were stolen from a visiting Israeli basketball team during an exhibition game with the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center.
Lt. Albert Gavin says somebody apparently got into the locker room Tuesday and stole watches, jewelry and $15,000 in cash from 10 members of Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv.
Gavin says the team noticed the theft during halftime of Maccabi's 108-96 loss.
Gavin says police weren't notified of the theft until after the game and weren't able to get statements from the victims.
Investigators hope to identify a suspect from the arena's security video.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4588259

World Media Creating Mistrust for Israel

The media posts another libel piece against Israel. Stories like this are so damaging as they lead people to believe that this guy was an Israeli spy (which he was not), and breed mistrust for Israel.
The article title and content was basically all about the caught Israeli spy. The reality of the story was only explained in one line in the middle of the article. If you read the whole article or just glance at the title (like most people do) it is very misleading.



Quoted one line from the middle of the article below, exonerating Israel:
(unfortunatley most people do not read this far in the article)


New York Times, Oct 21: "The Justice Department said on Monday that "the complaint does not allege that the government of Israel or anyone acting on its behalf committed any offense under U.S. laws in this case."


Link to article.


Wall Street Journal, Oct 21: "U.S. officials said the Nozette case doesn't include allegations that Israel or its agents were involved."


Link to article.