Orthodox group: Rabbi violated rules by joining National Prayer Service
By Jacob Berkman . January 21, 2009
NEW YORK (JTA) -- The main Modern Orthodox rabbinical association says a
prominent member violated its rules by participating in the National Prayer
Service.
A Rabbinical Council of America official told JTA that Rabbi Haskel Lookstein,
the religious leader of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in New York City, broke
the organization's rules by participating in the service Wednesday at the
National Cathedral on the morning after Barack Obama's inauguration.
"The long-standing policy of the Rabbinical Council of America, in accordance
with Jewish law, is that participation in a prayer service held in the
sanctuary of a church is prohibited," the RCA said in a statement. "Any member
of the RCA who attends such a service does so in contravention of this policy
and should not be perceived as representing the organization in any capacity."
The RCA said that Lookstein's participation was problematic both because the
service was held in the sanctuary of a church, which Orthodox Jews are
prohibited from entering, and because it was an interfaith prayer service,
which the RCA discourages for fear that such participation could allow
missionaries to legitimize their argument that Jews can indeed embrace Jesus.
"To go into a cathedral, in this case an Episcopalian cathedral in the main
sanctuary, is certainly by most accounts not appropriate," the executive
director of the RCA, Rabbi Basil Herring, told JTA. "If one wants to visit the
Sistine Chapel to view the art of Michelangelo it is problematic. There is no
political perspective here that says you should not do it because it is
politically sensitive. Of course it is a purely religious question."
Herring was adamant that the RCA was not taking a political stance, noting
that the organization sent a letter to President Obama congratulating him and
expressing confidence that "with the help of God, you will build on the
respect and good will that you have earned to lead a united country in a
successful confrontation with the daunting challenges that we face both within
and without."
The RCA has been in conversation with Lookstein, but at this point is not
seeking to sanction him, a source familiar with the situation said. But, the
source added, any RCA member can suggest that another member be brought before
a disciplinary board for violating rules. It is not clear if any member
intends to do so.
Lookstein joined six representatives of various religious communities,
including Rabbi Jerome Epstein, the executive vice president of the United
Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, in reciting portions of a nondenominational
responsive prayer. Most of the overall service was nondenominational, but
there were a few distinctily Christian reference.
Lookstein said he was satisfied with his decision to participate.
"After consultation with people who are absolutely committed to halacha, I had
originally decided to do it because I felt it was a civic duty to honor the
new president of the United States. That is why I originally agreed to do it,"
Lookstein said. "But the people who spoke to me about it indicated it was an
important contribution to the Orthodox community because it is only right for
the Orhtodox community to be supporting the president in a visible way when he
is being supported by representatives of the Conservative and Reform
movements."
Lookstein said he did not want a conflict with his colleagues in the RCA and
did not anticipate one.
"I would be very sad if that happened," he said.
Lookstein said he had two conversations with Herring about his participation.
In the first, Herring tried to dissuade Lookstein from participating. In the
second, he did not.
"Had I pulled out it would have been something of an insult from the Orthodox
community, which was at least the way I felt," Lookstein said.
He also said that he heavily weighed the halachic implications of his move,
and though he would not ordinarily participate in an interfaith prayer
service, especially one in a church, in this case he felt "there were other
concerns."
"If I reached a decision to do it, since I am very careful about shmirat
mitzvot, you should conclude that I felt halachically this was the right thing
to do," Lookstein said. "I am not going around and making a decision for the
world."
Lookstein, who read a religiously neutral statement scripted by National
Prayer Service organizers, called the experience very moving.
He also met Obama after the reading and recited to the new president the
blessing Jews say when they come into the presence of a king -- only after
Obama gave him permission.
"I thanked him for his support of Israel and I urged him to remember the
unforgettable statement he made in Sderot, where he said, 'If anybody would
shoot rockets into my house while my daughters were sleeping, I would do
anything in my power to make sure they wouldn't do it again,' " Lookstein
said. "He responded with a clear assent."
The other four religious representatives to read part of the prayer were
Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic Society of North America; the Rev.
Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners; Uma Mysorekar, president of the Hindu
Temple Society of North America; the Rev. Suzan Johnson-Cook, senior pastor of
the Bronx Christian Fellowship in New York City; the Rev. Carol Wade of the
Washington National Cathedral; and Kirbyjon Caldwell, senior pastor of the
Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Houston.
Earlier in the program Rabbi David Saperstein, the Reform movement's top
representative in Washington, was to recite Psalm
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Yes, it's anti-Semitism
Yes, it's anti-Semitism
By Jeff Jacoby
Let's say it for the thousand-and-first time: Every negative comment
about Israel is not an expression of bigotry. Israel is no more immune
to criticism than any other country. But it takes willful blindness not
to see that anti-Zionism today -- opposition to the existence of Israel,
rejection of the idea that the Jewish people are entitled to a state --
is merely the old wine of anti-Semitism in its newest bottle
http://jewishworldreview.com/jeff/jacoby010809.php3
By Jeff Jacoby
Let's say it for the thousand-and-first time: Every negative comment
about Israel is not an expression of bigotry. Israel is no more immune
to criticism than any other country. But it takes willful blindness not
to see that anti-Zionism today -- opposition to the existence of Israel,
rejection of the idea that the Jewish people are entitled to a state --
is merely the old wine of anti-Semitism in its newest bottle
http://jewishworldreview.com/jeff/jacoby010809.php3
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Hamas uses human shields
Hamas Using Gaza Civilians as Human ShieldsThe White House on Tuesday condemned Hamas for using Gaza civilians as human shields, hours before the Associated Press carried eyewitness reports of Hamas fighters firing at Israeli soldiers from a school run by the United Nations before Israeli troops returned fire. The incident came amidst reports that the terrorist group had been hiding in hospitals, storing weapons in mosques, schools and homes and forcing fleeing residents back into their homes at gunpoint to act as human shields. The Iranian-backed terrorist group has been documented firing rockets from other UN-run schools and heavily populated areas, and its fighters have hijacked ambulances for use as personnel carriers in the hopes of avoiding the Israeli military. "For the Palestinian people, death has become an industry," Hamas MP Fathi Hammad told Al-Aqsa TV last February. "This is why they have formed human shields of the women, the children, the elderly, and the mujahedeen, in order to challenge the Zionist bombing machine." Israel takes considerable steps to prevent civilian casualties—dropping flyers, calling residents and firing warning shots, among other measures—but it faces extreme difficulty in fighting an enemy that both targets innocent Israelis and hides behind its own civilians.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
President Bush and Sen Norm Coleman and me
As President Bush leaves office, and most liklely Sen Norm Coleman most likely losing his Minn reelection bid, we say goodbye to two of them most fervent supporters of Israel ever in US history. It was Sen Coleman who made it possibloe for my meeting with President Bush, detailed at this site with pictures
http://jonathanginsburg.net/bush_obama_etc
God bless them for this holy work-whatever else you think about their governance,
http://jonathanginsburg.net/bush_obama_etc
God bless them for this holy work-whatever else you think about their governance,
Death and Mourning
LAWS OF MOURNING
The Talmud in Tractate Berachot 17a states: “When Rabbi Yochanan finished the Book of Job, he used to say: ‘The end of man is to die, and the end of beast is to be slaughtered, and all are doomed to die. Happy is he who has been brought up in the Torah, and whose labor was in the Torah, and who has given pleasure to his Creator, and who grew up with a good name.’ ”
Rabbi Milton Steinberg, in his book “Basic Judaism,” p. 160, states: “Death cannot be and is not the end of life. Man transcends death in many naturalistic fashions. He may be immortal biologically through his children, in thought through survival of his memory, in influence by virtue of the continuance of his personality as a force among those who come after him, and ideally through his identification with the timeless things of the spirit. When Judaism speaks of immortality, it has all these in mind, but its primary meaning is that a person contains, independent of the flesh and surviving it, his consciousness and moral capacity, her essential personality – a soul.”
Life is sacred.
Its beginning and end are mysteries.
Both birth and death touch the fringe of the Divine and, therefore, have religious rites attached to them.
“The soul is yours, and the body works for you.” Hence our concern when the mortal body reaches its end.
1) On hearing of the death of a person, one should say: “Baruch dayan emet,” affirming an awareness that God’s governing of the universe includes death as well as life. Death does not negate Divine providence, but it is rather an illustration of God’s Being. Judaism has surrounded death with practices that include tender regard for the dying, deep concern for the family, and an affirmation of basic religious principles.
2) The principle of kavod ha-mayt is important in modern day situations such as autopsy, embalming, cremation, exhumation, transplantation of parts of the human body, and viewing the body prior to the funeral.
3) The period between death and burial is called aninut, and the person who is mourning is called an onen. The onen is exempt from all religious obligations such as tefillot and putting on tefillin, and is forbidden to indulge in luxuries like wine and meat.
Why? Haosek b’mitzva patur min hamitzva. Since the bereaved is involved in the commandment of taking care of the needs of the deceased, nothing should distract him, and it is a breach of kavod ha-mayt not to attend to the deceased.
Since today societies and funeral homes care for the needs of the deceased, such exemptions are not necessary, and the performance of religious precepts is to be encouraged.
4) Reverence of the body is shown by the purification of the body which is usually done by members of the Hevra Kadisha. The washing is done accompanied by the recitation of psalms, and warm water is used. All parts of the body are washed. This process is called tahara.
5) A person whose body has been mutilated should not be washed, but should be buried without tahara and in the blood-stained clothes he wears.
6) Dressing up the deceased in fine clothes is frowned upon, and plain shrouds, tachrichin, should be encouraged. According to the Talmud, this custom was established so that the poor not be embarrassed and so that no display of wealth be shown.
7) Burial in the ground is in conformity with the verse in Genesis 3:19: Ki affar ata, v’al affar tashuv. The prevailing custom is to employ an aron – coffin. Just as with the shrouds, the coffin is to be simple boards.
8) Tradition frowns upon viewing the body or leaving the coffin open. (Compare the Jewish tradition with other funeral practices, especially those of public officials.)
9) The general rule is that the burial should be done as soon as possible and not be delayed. Waiting for family – sons, daughters – is permitted and should be done, especially since the delay is minimal with rapid means of travel and communication.
10) In conformity with the ancient tradition, see Samuel II 1:10: “One should rip his garment on hearing of the death of a dear one.” Today this is limited to those relatives who are required to mourn.
11) Distinction is made between father and mother on one side and other relatives on the other. The rip in the garment for parents is on the left side, closest to the heart (Why??), while for others it is on the right side. (What difference does the rip make to the community?) This rip is called kriyah.
12) Today a custom is to cut into a necktie or a sweater, or a shirt pocket, or the neck area of a blouse. Often a ribbon is attached to the garment. (Do you think we should keep this approach or return to the former idea of ripping the garment itself? Why?)
13) The funeral service does not have a prescribed format.
14) A hesped, eulogy, is usually given, but the Talmud warns: “Just as the dead shall be called to account, so shall the eulogizers be called to account,” to prevent over praise as well as understatement for the deceased.
15) After the coffin is placed in the grave, members of the family should put shovelfuls of earth over the coffin. (What is the reason for the family’s participation in this facet of mourning? Think psychologically...)
16) On returning to one’s house, hands should be washed before entering.
17) Suicides are not to be mourned for in the traditional manner. (What questions does this bring up for the family’s needs and desires? What is the definition of a suicide? What should we do today? YOU be the rabbi.)
The Mourning Itself
Step by Step
Shiva-Shloshim – Shana First Year – Yom Hazikaron (Yahrzeit)
18) In Pirke Avot, the rabbis say that a bereaved cannot be reached because of the shock at the time of death. Only later, after the funeral and after a realization begins to set in, can the mourner be consoled, spoken to, and slowly brought back to the previous pattern of life. Pirke Avot 4:18.
19) A week-long period is dictated for consolation of the mourner – shiva.
20) Shiva is obligatory on father and mother, daughter and son, sister and brother, husband and wife.
21) Shiva begins immediately after burial for seven days. The Talmud in Moed Katan presents the principle that part of a day is not like a full day – miktzat hayom k’kulo. Therefore, the last day is not a full day. Usually only a short period after Shaharit is required.
22) Covering of all mirrors in the house has been a custom. (Why? Could you suggest – or guess – superstitious reasons for this? Should the custom be continued?)
23) A ner, candle, is lit and remains alit for the full shiva. The candle flame is a symbol of the soul. As a flame is attached to the wick, so is the soul attached to the body.
24) As a part of the return to normalcy, a meal is to be prepared for mourners. The Seudat Havra’a, meal of consolation, is for people who often have guilt feelings that they are still alive and the relative is dead. The feeling of loneliness must be countered by friendship and concern for the people around. Eggs, symbolic of the continual circle of life and death never-ending, are served as the basis of the meal.
25) The mourners should sit on low stools or seats or pillows as a sign, not only of their physical but especially of their emotional state.
26) The mourners should remain in the house during the entire seven days. Services and meals should all be in the house in which they sit. (What if there is not enough room in the house for all the people to sleep over?)
27) On Shabbat, the mourner goes to the synagogue, but cannot receive an aliya or act as the shaliach tzibbur (prayer leader) except if it is his/her profession.
28) There is no mourning on the Shabbat, except what is done in private, in one’s heart and mind. Shabbat counts as one of the seven days.
29) Mourners should make every effort not attend to their business or go to work for the entire seven days.
30) If the financial loss is irreparable, then after the third day it is permitted. Mourning should be observed as much as possible. (What conditions would bring a mourner to work?)
31) A doctor who is a mourner may visit patients if the confidence of the patient is to be maintained, although it is preferred that other doctors cover the responsibilities for the mourner.
32) Participation in festivities, weddings, listening to music is not permitted for mourners.
33) The mourner should wear non-leather shoes during the week. Leather shoes are both a symbol of wealth and come from a living animal which was killed to make the shoes.
34) Anointing (use of cosmetics, perfumes, lotions) is forbidden as a luxury and conscious concern for one’s own body.
35) Haircuts and beard shaving should not occur during the week. They serve as a public display of mourning.
36) Sexual intimacy, one of the physical pleasures, is to be avoided during the shiva.
37) The normal and natural greeting – Shalom, Hello, how are you? – is not to be used because the condition of the mourner does not warrant such a question when the answer is obviously not good.
38) Visiting the mourners is a mitzvah, consoling the mourners – nechum avaylim.
39) Upon completion of the shiva, the mourner is told to go out and walk around. This is the first coming- back into the world, the sun shining back into one’s life.
40) For the next 23 days, the mourner, while returning to work, observes some restrictions as a mourner in shiva. Festive occasions are avoided: weddings, dances, movies, theater. (Would a news or information show on TV be permitted to the mourner to view?) (What about a serious concert, opera? What if you play a musical instrument for a living?)
41) Shaving is to wait until the completion of the 30 days unless business responsibilities dictate a clean-shaven appearance.
42) Mourners may not marry within the 30 days.
43) A mourner for wife and husband must wait a period of the passing of the three pilgrimage festivals – Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot – before marrying. (Exception is made when little children are involved who require a mother’s love and a father’s fellowship. What does this exception have to say for Jewish Law’s rigidity, changeability, sensitivity?)
44) Mourning continues by children for their parents for a “full year.” The Kaddish is recited for 11 months. (Why is Kaddish recited for a month less than the mourning period?)
45) The Mishna teaches that the Shabbat counts as part of the shiva and does not cut off the observance of the shiva. The festivals (Pesah, Shavuot, Sukkot) cut off the mourning period and are not counted among the days of mourning. (Talmud Moed Katan 19a.)
· No observance of mourning on Shabbat – after Shabbat, mourning is resumed.
· If the mourning has begun before Yom Tov, the festival cuts off the remainder of the shiva, as if it had been accomplished.
· Shiva can never be observed without a Shabbat, while it can be with no festival interference. There can never be a full shiva if Shabbat cut off the mourning completely so only the festival is counted as being able to fully cut off the shiva observance.
· The term v’samachta b’hagecha, “and you shall rejoice in your holiday”, is used for festivals, and it is suggested that that is impossible if one must observe mourning. Whereas for Shabbat we are told to fulfill oneg, and you shall delight in the Shabbat, which can be done when private mourning is permitted.
46) The days of Yom Tov do count as part of the shloshim – 30 days. For example: If one begins shiva one day before Pesach, then at the onset of Pesach he would stop shiva (counts as seven even though), not observe mourning on Pesach (counts as eight more) and only have 15 days after Pesach.
47) The festival also cuts off the rest of the shloshim. For example: If one began shiva before Rosh Hashanah, then Rosh Hashanah cuts off the shiva and Yom Kippur cuts off the shloshim.
48) If the death occurs during the intermediate days -- Hol Hamoed – then the entire shiva and the shloshim are pushed off until after the entire holiday, and then a full 30 days are observed. The same applies if the death was on the Yom Tov itself, on the principle that no mourning occurs on the holiday and therefore nothing has been cut off, so all is observed. (A toughy for the rabbis to explain and the mourners to observe.)
49) If one is a far distance from the death and hears of the death after the shloshim, one is required to observe only one hour of mourning. If before the 30 days are completed, then a full shiva must be observed.
50) Each year on the anniversary of the death of the parent or relative, a solemn day of prayer, meditation and the recitation of the Kaddish at the Maariv, Shaharit and Mincha services take place. It is called Yahrzeit and a candle is once again lit.
May we each live full and productive lives. May we appreciate and observe the laws and traditions of Jewish mourning. May we find strength, comfort and consolation in the wisdom of Judaism.
Prepared and summarized by Rabbi Moshe Edelman
The Talmud in Tractate Berachot 17a states: “When Rabbi Yochanan finished the Book of Job, he used to say: ‘The end of man is to die, and the end of beast is to be slaughtered, and all are doomed to die. Happy is he who has been brought up in the Torah, and whose labor was in the Torah, and who has given pleasure to his Creator, and who grew up with a good name.’ ”
Rabbi Milton Steinberg, in his book “Basic Judaism,” p. 160, states: “Death cannot be and is not the end of life. Man transcends death in many naturalistic fashions. He may be immortal biologically through his children, in thought through survival of his memory, in influence by virtue of the continuance of his personality as a force among those who come after him, and ideally through his identification with the timeless things of the spirit. When Judaism speaks of immortality, it has all these in mind, but its primary meaning is that a person contains, independent of the flesh and surviving it, his consciousness and moral capacity, her essential personality – a soul.”
Life is sacred.
Its beginning and end are mysteries.
Both birth and death touch the fringe of the Divine and, therefore, have religious rites attached to them.
“The soul is yours, and the body works for you.” Hence our concern when the mortal body reaches its end.
1) On hearing of the death of a person, one should say: “Baruch dayan emet,” affirming an awareness that God’s governing of the universe includes death as well as life. Death does not negate Divine providence, but it is rather an illustration of God’s Being. Judaism has surrounded death with practices that include tender regard for the dying, deep concern for the family, and an affirmation of basic religious principles.
2) The principle of kavod ha-mayt is important in modern day situations such as autopsy, embalming, cremation, exhumation, transplantation of parts of the human body, and viewing the body prior to the funeral.
3) The period between death and burial is called aninut, and the person who is mourning is called an onen. The onen is exempt from all religious obligations such as tefillot and putting on tefillin, and is forbidden to indulge in luxuries like wine and meat.
Why? Haosek b’mitzva patur min hamitzva. Since the bereaved is involved in the commandment of taking care of the needs of the deceased, nothing should distract him, and it is a breach of kavod ha-mayt not to attend to the deceased.
Since today societies and funeral homes care for the needs of the deceased, such exemptions are not necessary, and the performance of religious precepts is to be encouraged.
4) Reverence of the body is shown by the purification of the body which is usually done by members of the Hevra Kadisha. The washing is done accompanied by the recitation of psalms, and warm water is used. All parts of the body are washed. This process is called tahara.
5) A person whose body has been mutilated should not be washed, but should be buried without tahara and in the blood-stained clothes he wears.
6) Dressing up the deceased in fine clothes is frowned upon, and plain shrouds, tachrichin, should be encouraged. According to the Talmud, this custom was established so that the poor not be embarrassed and so that no display of wealth be shown.
7) Burial in the ground is in conformity with the verse in Genesis 3:19: Ki affar ata, v’al affar tashuv. The prevailing custom is to employ an aron – coffin. Just as with the shrouds, the coffin is to be simple boards.
8) Tradition frowns upon viewing the body or leaving the coffin open. (Compare the Jewish tradition with other funeral practices, especially those of public officials.)
9) The general rule is that the burial should be done as soon as possible and not be delayed. Waiting for family – sons, daughters – is permitted and should be done, especially since the delay is minimal with rapid means of travel and communication.
10) In conformity with the ancient tradition, see Samuel II 1:10: “One should rip his garment on hearing of the death of a dear one.” Today this is limited to those relatives who are required to mourn.
11) Distinction is made between father and mother on one side and other relatives on the other. The rip in the garment for parents is on the left side, closest to the heart (Why??), while for others it is on the right side. (What difference does the rip make to the community?) This rip is called kriyah.
12) Today a custom is to cut into a necktie or a sweater, or a shirt pocket, or the neck area of a blouse. Often a ribbon is attached to the garment. (Do you think we should keep this approach or return to the former idea of ripping the garment itself? Why?)
13) The funeral service does not have a prescribed format.
14) A hesped, eulogy, is usually given, but the Talmud warns: “Just as the dead shall be called to account, so shall the eulogizers be called to account,” to prevent over praise as well as understatement for the deceased.
15) After the coffin is placed in the grave, members of the family should put shovelfuls of earth over the coffin. (What is the reason for the family’s participation in this facet of mourning? Think psychologically...)
16) On returning to one’s house, hands should be washed before entering.
17) Suicides are not to be mourned for in the traditional manner. (What questions does this bring up for the family’s needs and desires? What is the definition of a suicide? What should we do today? YOU be the rabbi.)
The Mourning Itself
Step by Step
Shiva-Shloshim – Shana First Year – Yom Hazikaron (Yahrzeit)
18) In Pirke Avot, the rabbis say that a bereaved cannot be reached because of the shock at the time of death. Only later, after the funeral and after a realization begins to set in, can the mourner be consoled, spoken to, and slowly brought back to the previous pattern of life. Pirke Avot 4:18.
19) A week-long period is dictated for consolation of the mourner – shiva.
20) Shiva is obligatory on father and mother, daughter and son, sister and brother, husband and wife.
21) Shiva begins immediately after burial for seven days. The Talmud in Moed Katan presents the principle that part of a day is not like a full day – miktzat hayom k’kulo. Therefore, the last day is not a full day. Usually only a short period after Shaharit is required.
22) Covering of all mirrors in the house has been a custom. (Why? Could you suggest – or guess – superstitious reasons for this? Should the custom be continued?)
23) A ner, candle, is lit and remains alit for the full shiva. The candle flame is a symbol of the soul. As a flame is attached to the wick, so is the soul attached to the body.
24) As a part of the return to normalcy, a meal is to be prepared for mourners. The Seudat Havra’a, meal of consolation, is for people who often have guilt feelings that they are still alive and the relative is dead. The feeling of loneliness must be countered by friendship and concern for the people around. Eggs, symbolic of the continual circle of life and death never-ending, are served as the basis of the meal.
25) The mourners should sit on low stools or seats or pillows as a sign, not only of their physical but especially of their emotional state.
26) The mourners should remain in the house during the entire seven days. Services and meals should all be in the house in which they sit. (What if there is not enough room in the house for all the people to sleep over?)
27) On Shabbat, the mourner goes to the synagogue, but cannot receive an aliya or act as the shaliach tzibbur (prayer leader) except if it is his/her profession.
28) There is no mourning on the Shabbat, except what is done in private, in one’s heart and mind. Shabbat counts as one of the seven days.
29) Mourners should make every effort not attend to their business or go to work for the entire seven days.
30) If the financial loss is irreparable, then after the third day it is permitted. Mourning should be observed as much as possible. (What conditions would bring a mourner to work?)
31) A doctor who is a mourner may visit patients if the confidence of the patient is to be maintained, although it is preferred that other doctors cover the responsibilities for the mourner.
32) Participation in festivities, weddings, listening to music is not permitted for mourners.
33) The mourner should wear non-leather shoes during the week. Leather shoes are both a symbol of wealth and come from a living animal which was killed to make the shoes.
34) Anointing (use of cosmetics, perfumes, lotions) is forbidden as a luxury and conscious concern for one’s own body.
35) Haircuts and beard shaving should not occur during the week. They serve as a public display of mourning.
36) Sexual intimacy, one of the physical pleasures, is to be avoided during the shiva.
37) The normal and natural greeting – Shalom, Hello, how are you? – is not to be used because the condition of the mourner does not warrant such a question when the answer is obviously not good.
38) Visiting the mourners is a mitzvah, consoling the mourners – nechum avaylim.
39) Upon completion of the shiva, the mourner is told to go out and walk around. This is the first coming- back into the world, the sun shining back into one’s life.
40) For the next 23 days, the mourner, while returning to work, observes some restrictions as a mourner in shiva. Festive occasions are avoided: weddings, dances, movies, theater. (Would a news or information show on TV be permitted to the mourner to view?) (What about a serious concert, opera? What if you play a musical instrument for a living?)
41) Shaving is to wait until the completion of the 30 days unless business responsibilities dictate a clean-shaven appearance.
42) Mourners may not marry within the 30 days.
43) A mourner for wife and husband must wait a period of the passing of the three pilgrimage festivals – Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot – before marrying. (Exception is made when little children are involved who require a mother’s love and a father’s fellowship. What does this exception have to say for Jewish Law’s rigidity, changeability, sensitivity?)
44) Mourning continues by children for their parents for a “full year.” The Kaddish is recited for 11 months. (Why is Kaddish recited for a month less than the mourning period?)
45) The Mishna teaches that the Shabbat counts as part of the shiva and does not cut off the observance of the shiva. The festivals (Pesah, Shavuot, Sukkot) cut off the mourning period and are not counted among the days of mourning. (Talmud Moed Katan 19a.)
· No observance of mourning on Shabbat – after Shabbat, mourning is resumed.
· If the mourning has begun before Yom Tov, the festival cuts off the remainder of the shiva, as if it had been accomplished.
· Shiva can never be observed without a Shabbat, while it can be with no festival interference. There can never be a full shiva if Shabbat cut off the mourning completely so only the festival is counted as being able to fully cut off the shiva observance.
· The term v’samachta b’hagecha, “and you shall rejoice in your holiday”, is used for festivals, and it is suggested that that is impossible if one must observe mourning. Whereas for Shabbat we are told to fulfill oneg, and you shall delight in the Shabbat, which can be done when private mourning is permitted.
46) The days of Yom Tov do count as part of the shloshim – 30 days. For example: If one begins shiva one day before Pesach, then at the onset of Pesach he would stop shiva (counts as seven even though), not observe mourning on Pesach (counts as eight more) and only have 15 days after Pesach.
47) The festival also cuts off the rest of the shloshim. For example: If one began shiva before Rosh Hashanah, then Rosh Hashanah cuts off the shiva and Yom Kippur cuts off the shloshim.
48) If the death occurs during the intermediate days -- Hol Hamoed – then the entire shiva and the shloshim are pushed off until after the entire holiday, and then a full 30 days are observed. The same applies if the death was on the Yom Tov itself, on the principle that no mourning occurs on the holiday and therefore nothing has been cut off, so all is observed. (A toughy for the rabbis to explain and the mourners to observe.)
49) If one is a far distance from the death and hears of the death after the shloshim, one is required to observe only one hour of mourning. If before the 30 days are completed, then a full shiva must be observed.
50) Each year on the anniversary of the death of the parent or relative, a solemn day of prayer, meditation and the recitation of the Kaddish at the Maariv, Shaharit and Mincha services take place. It is called Yahrzeit and a candle is once again lit.
May we each live full and productive lives. May we appreciate and observe the laws and traditions of Jewish mourning. May we find strength, comfort and consolation in the wisdom of Judaism.
Prepared and summarized by Rabbi Moshe Edelman
Monday, January 5, 2009
Jan 5 alert
Prepared for the
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
View this page at www.dailyalert.org
Subscribe RSS-XML
DAILY ALERT Monday,
January 5, 2009
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Daily Alert Needs Your Support
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In-Depth Issues:
Israeli Intelligence Agencies: Hamas Feels Existential Threat - Roni Sofer (Ynet News)
Israel Security Agency Director Yuval Diskin told the political echelon on Sunday: "The Hamas leadership abroad is stressed, working to obtain a ceasefire and disappointed by the Arab countries failing to stand by its side. The situation of the leadership in Gaza is similar."
"A real threat exists today on the Hamas enterprise in Gaza. The leaderships in Gaza and abroad feel an existential threat."
Military Intelligence chief Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin said, "Hamas understands that violating the lull was a strategic mistake."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hamas Using PA Arms to Battle IDF - Khaled Abu Toameh (Jerusalem Post)
Hamas claimed Sunday that it was fighting against IDF troops in Gaza with weapons confiscated from the Palestinian Authority in the summer of 2007.
They said Hamas has all the weapons that Israel, the U.S. and other countries had given forces loyal to Mahmoud Abbas. This includes tens of thousands of rifles and pistols, heavy machine guns, night-vision goggles and bulletproof vests, as well as vast amounts of ammunition.
Hamas had also seized dozens of armored vehicles used by Abbas' forces.
Hamas also claimed that dozens of members of the rival Aksa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, had volunteered to fight alongside Hamas units.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IDF Soldier Escapes Kidnapping Attempt in Gaza (Jerusalem Post)
An IDF soldier managed to foil an attempt to kidnap him during night operations in Gaza Sunday, Israel Radio reported.
Soldiers entered a house which they knew was used as a Hamas command center, and discovered entrances to several tunnels.
One of the soldiers followed the gunmen into a tunnel and managed to contain several Hamas fighters in a firefight while underground, before teaming up with his comrades again.
The military assesses that the Palestinian terrorists were trying to lure the soldier to go after them alone into the tunnel in an effort to kidnap him.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Israel Is Doing the U.S. a Favor By Taking On Hamas - William Kristol (New York Times)
An Israeli success in Gaza would be a victory in the war on terror - and in the broader struggle for the future of the Middle East.
Hamas is only one manifestation of the rise of a terror-friendly and almost death-cult-like form of Islamic extremism.
Israel is doing the U.S. a favor by taking on Hamas now. If Israel were now to withdraw under pressure without accomplishing the objectives of severely weakening Hamas and preventing the reconstitution of a terror-exporting state in Gaza, it would be a triumph for Iran.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Jewish Leaders Taste Sderot Trauma - Haviv Rettig Gur (Jerusalem Post)
Leaders of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations on a solidarity visit to Sderot Sunday rushed into a fortified police building following the sounding of a "Color Red" siren as a Kassam rocket hit a few dozen meters from where they held meetings.
"We all live with a sense of suppressed rage," said Kenneth Bialkin, former chairman of the conference.
"You can't look at this and not wonder how the world can stand by and watch as Jews are attacked for being Jews, by people who want to destroy them."
"How do people not understand there is no justification for the course Hamas is taking?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Useful Reference:
Number of Wounded in Attacks from Gaza More Than Doubled in '08 - Matthew Wagner (Jerusalem Post)
Rocket and mortar attacks on Israel from Gaza wounded 947 in 2008, compared with 464 in 2007 and 227 in 2006, according to a report by Hatzalah.
A total of 1,683 Kassam rockets fell in Israel.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Search
Key Links
Media Contacts
Back Issues
Fair Use
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
Israeli Forces Push Farther into Gaza - Sudarsan Raghavan and Griff Witte
Israeli ground forces backed by air and naval power moved farther into Gaza Sunday, targeting areas from which Hamas fighters are launching rockets. One Israeli soldier was killed and another wounded during a battle near Jabalya. A senior Israeli military officer said, "Most of the resistance we faced is from mortars and other things but not from fierce Hamas fighting." Some of the "other things" were improvised explosive devices. "There are a lot of obstacles on the ground. Hamas is using methods that were imported from Iran and Hizbullah."
Mark Regev, spokesman for Prime Minister Olmert, said the operation would end "when Israel understands that the civilian population in the south of the country will no longer be on the receiving end of Hamas rockets." (Washington Post)
U.S. Remains Firmly Behind Israel - Ben Feller
From the White House to Capitol Hill, U.S. officials remained firmly behind Israel. Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday that Israel did not seek U.S. approval before a ground operation against Hamas in Gaza. "They have said, now, for a period of months...that they didn't want to have to act, where Gaza was concerned," Cheney said. "They had gotten out of there three years ago. But if the rocketing didn't stop, they felt they had no choice but to take action. And if they did, they would be very aggressive, in terms of trying to take down Hamas. And that's exactly what's happened."
Sens. Harry Reid and Dick Durbin - the top two Democrats - and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell all described Israel's actions as understandable. "I think what the Israelis are doing is very important," Reid said. "I think this terrorist organization, Hamas, has got to be put away." Said McConnell: "Hamas is a terrorist organization. Imagine in this country (the U.S.) if somebody from a neighboring country were lobbing shells at our population. We'd do exactly the same thing. I think the Israelis are doing the only thing they can possibly do to defend their population." (AP)
Israel Hinges End of Gaza Operation to Closing Tunnels - Adam Entous and Dan Williams
Israel has conditioned any halt to its Gaza offensive on international backing for new fortifications and monitoring on the Egyptian border to prevent Hamas from rebuilding tunnels and rearming, officials in Jerusalem said. Israel's assault in Gaza has included several air force sorties in which "bunker buster" bombs were dropped, designed to collapse the secret underground passages. The Israeli government has said it wants assurances that they will not be dug anew after any ceasefire. "The issue of rearming is fundamental. We want to prevent Hamas from being rearmed like Hizbullah was after the Lebanon war," a senior Israeli official said.
Israel wants any monitors to be heavily armed and equipped to search and destroy tunnels. "Theoretically, if those 9 miles are denied to Hamas as a resupply route, then Hamas is going to find it very, very difficult to govern, let alone smuggle in Grad and Katyusha rockets," said Matt Levitt, a former senior U.S. Treasury official. (Reuters)
Israeli President: No Ceasefire - George Stephanopoulos
In an interview, Israeli President Shimon Peres rejected international calls for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israeli forces. "The idea that Hamas will continue to fire and we will declare a ceasefire...does not make any sense." "They did things that are unreasonable," he said of Hamas. "They are shooting endlessly without reason or purpose." "We don't intend to occupy Gaza or crush Hamas but crush terror," Peres said. "Hamas needs a real and serious lesson. They are now getting it." ("This Week"-ABC News)
News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
Next Stage of Gaza Operation: "Root Canal" for Terror - Hanan Greenberg
Some 40 IDF soldiers were wounded in clashes, and over 50 Palestinian gunmen were killed in the first day of the ground operation in Gaza, according to the Israeli army. In Sunday's cabinet meeting, the ministers were informed that 73% of the 300 rockets fired on Israel in the last week were launched from areas that have now been seized by the army. (Ynet News)
See also The Target: Hamas' Army - Ron Ben-Yishai
Hamas sustained grave blows from the air, yet its leadership has not yet shown willingness to reach a long-term and stable ceasefire agreement on terms acceptable to Israel. The IDF will continue ground operations until a truce is secured. The IDF will focus on causing casualties among Hamas' Izz al-Din al-Qassam fighting force. Another target is the fortified defensive system built by Hamas both below and above ground. In order to raze these targets, the IDF needs to gather additional intelligence - mostly via human sources within the Palestinian population. (Ynet News)
See also Inside Gaza - Yaakov Katz
According to Palestinian sources, Israeli units in Gaza have taken up positions in Sajaya, Beit Lahiya, Jabalya and al-Atatra, which are being scoured for Hamas gunmen and infrastructure. Troops moving through fields and orchards are being led by dogs from the IDF's K-9 unit that are trained to sniff out booby-traps. There has been fierce resistance from well-entrenched gunmen, with anti-tank missiles, mortar barrages, heavy machine gun fire and roadside bombs. (Jerusalem Post)
50 Palestinian Rockets Hit Israel on Sunday, Wound Four - Yanir Yagna and Yuval Goren
Gaza militants shot 50 rockets into Israel on Sunday, including seven rockets that struck Sderot and a Grad rocket that struck Ashdod. Four people were wounded. (Ha'aretz)
U.S. Seeks to Formulate Ceasefire Agreement - Roni Sofer
The U.S. has launched an international effort, which includes Israel, Egypt and the Palestinians, to formulate a ceasefire agreement that would neutralize Hamas' influence in the region, diplomatic sources in Jerusalem reported Sunday. According to Israeli Prime Minister Olmert, Israel is interested in a ceasefire agreement that would include a stop to the rocket fire and the terror emanating from Gaza, as well as to Hamas' military buildup. The release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit will also be stipulated as one of Israel's terms for a halt to the fighting in any agreement.
A senior source in Jerusalem said Sunday, "Contrary to the empty moves initiated by various countries, including the humanitarian ceasefire initiative promoted by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, the American initiative is based on the agreement of the four elements that surround the only geographical territory in the world that is ruled by a terrorist entity - Gaza." The official said that Olmert has made it clear to the Americans and other world leaders that Israel's conditions were not negotiable, and that if they are not obtained through a diplomatic course, they would be secured through the military operation. (Ynet News)
See also Diplomacy to Buy IDF "a Few More Days" - Herb Keinon
The IDF has a "few more days" to carry on with its Gaza offensive and weaken Hamas before facing intense pressure from the international community for a cease-fire, senior diplomatic officials said Sunday. Israel wants time to seriously weaken Hamas militarily, and then put into place a mechanism on the Egyptian border - possibly some kind of agreement that would allow American engineers to help combat arms smuggling - that would keep Hamas from rearming. Israel is not currently interested in linking the Gaza operation to attempts to strengthen Mahmoud Abbas, bring Gaza back under PA control, or bring the PA back to the Gaza border crossings. (Jerusalem Post)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
Israel's Gaza Dilemma - Max Boot
Achieving total victory in Gaza would require Israel to wage war in the way that America fought Germany and Japan - all out until the enemy has no more capacity to resist. Then it would have to occupy the land and impose a peace at gunpoint to ensure that Gaza could never again be a launching point for attacks. None of this is beyond the Israelis' military capacity. Yet the odds are that they won't do it.
The Russians have inflicted World War II-level carnage in Chechnya since the mid-1990s, and they don't care what anybody else says. But Israel is not Russia - or Algeria or Burma or Syria or any other state that has taken a scorched-earth approach to counterinsurgency in recent decades. For all the accusations of brutality that are routinely flung at Israel's armed forces, their conduct has been exemplary by historical standards. They have shown far less propensity for indiscriminate killing than did European states in the 1950s when confronting insurgencies in such places as Kenya, Cyprus, Vietnam and Algeria.
The tragedy for Israel is that Hamas is the choice of the local people. The odds are that once Israeli troops leave, Hamas will rebuild its infrastructure, forcing the Israelis to go back in the future. The writer is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. (Wall Street Journal)
The Three-State Option - John R. Bolton
Given the current landscape, we should ask why we still advocate the "two-state solution," with Israel and "Palestine" living side by side in peace. Let's start by recognizing that any two-state solution based on the PA is stillborn. Instead, we should look to a "three-state" approach, where Gaza is returned to Egyptian control and the West Bank in some configuration reverts to Jordanian sovereignty. Having the two Arab states re-extend their prior political authority is an authentic way to extend the zone of peace and build on governments that are providing peace and stability in their own countries. "International observers" or the like cannot come close to what is necessary; we need real states with real security forces.
Without a larger Egyptian role, Gaza will not achieve the minimal stability. Objections to this idea will be manifold, and implementation difficult. But either we do better, conceptually and operationally, or Iran will be happy to fill the vacuum. The writer, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, was U.S. ambassador to the UN. (Washington Post)
Israel Is on Firmer Ground Against Hamas - Lawrence Freedman
The current operation in Gaza is a direct consequence of the 2006 war in southern Lebanon. As in 2006, Israel is responding to a cross-border provocation and is fighting in territories it once occupied but then abandoned in the hope of a quieter life. Hamas, long a follower of Hizbullah when it comes to strategy, believed that it too could mount a regular rocket barrage against Israel with impunity. Israel knows that if it fails again, it will have severely reduced any deterrent against future rocket attacks. So in addition to the immediate objectives, this war is about restoring deterrence - and especially the credibility of the IDF. Politically, Hamas has put itself into a position where a ceasefire will be seen as a defeat, because this will require accepting that it must stop firing rockets. The writer is professor of war studies at King's College London. (Financial Times-UK)
Observations:
Israel's Gaza Strategy - Martin Kramer (Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies-Shalem Center)
Unlike the Lebanon war of 2006, this war has been planned in advance, and every stage has been war-gamed. After the Hamas takeover in June 2007, Israel imposed a regime of economic sanctions on Gaza. The West Bank enjoyed an economic boomlet while Gaza languished under sanctions, with zero growth - reinforcing the message that "Islamic resistance" is a dead end.
The Israeli operation is meant to impress on Hamas that there is something far worse than the sanctions - that Israel is capable of hunting Hamas on air, sea, and land, at tremendous cost to Hamas and minimal cost to Israel, while much of the world stands by, and parts of it (including some Arabs) quietly applaud.
Hamas assumes (probably correctly) that its Palestinian opponents fed Israel with much of the intelligence it needed to wage precision warfare against Hamas. There is likely to be a vicious settling of scores as soon as a cease-fire is in place, if not before.
The temptation to "engage" Hamas has grown, which means skirting the Quartet's insistence that Hamas not be "engaged" until it accepts past PA-Israel agreements, recognizes Israel, and renounces armed struggle. Legitimation of Hamas could seal the fate of the "peace process," and give "resistance" the reputation of a truly winning strategy.
Israel is united in pursuing its war of demolition against Hamas. Its aim is not only to stop the rockets from falling in southern Israel, but to move a long stride forward toward a change of regime in Gaza
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
View this page at www.dailyalert.org
Subscribe RSS-XML
DAILY ALERT Monday,
January 5, 2009
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Daily Alert Needs Your Support
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In-Depth Issues:
Israeli Intelligence Agencies: Hamas Feels Existential Threat - Roni Sofer (Ynet News)
Israel Security Agency Director Yuval Diskin told the political echelon on Sunday: "The Hamas leadership abroad is stressed, working to obtain a ceasefire and disappointed by the Arab countries failing to stand by its side. The situation of the leadership in Gaza is similar."
"A real threat exists today on the Hamas enterprise in Gaza. The leaderships in Gaza and abroad feel an existential threat."
Military Intelligence chief Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin said, "Hamas understands that violating the lull was a strategic mistake."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hamas Using PA Arms to Battle IDF - Khaled Abu Toameh (Jerusalem Post)
Hamas claimed Sunday that it was fighting against IDF troops in Gaza with weapons confiscated from the Palestinian Authority in the summer of 2007.
They said Hamas has all the weapons that Israel, the U.S. and other countries had given forces loyal to Mahmoud Abbas. This includes tens of thousands of rifles and pistols, heavy machine guns, night-vision goggles and bulletproof vests, as well as vast amounts of ammunition.
Hamas had also seized dozens of armored vehicles used by Abbas' forces.
Hamas also claimed that dozens of members of the rival Aksa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, had volunteered to fight alongside Hamas units.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IDF Soldier Escapes Kidnapping Attempt in Gaza (Jerusalem Post)
An IDF soldier managed to foil an attempt to kidnap him during night operations in Gaza Sunday, Israel Radio reported.
Soldiers entered a house which they knew was used as a Hamas command center, and discovered entrances to several tunnels.
One of the soldiers followed the gunmen into a tunnel and managed to contain several Hamas fighters in a firefight while underground, before teaming up with his comrades again.
The military assesses that the Palestinian terrorists were trying to lure the soldier to go after them alone into the tunnel in an effort to kidnap him.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Israel Is Doing the U.S. a Favor By Taking On Hamas - William Kristol (New York Times)
An Israeli success in Gaza would be a victory in the war on terror - and in the broader struggle for the future of the Middle East.
Hamas is only one manifestation of the rise of a terror-friendly and almost death-cult-like form of Islamic extremism.
Israel is doing the U.S. a favor by taking on Hamas now. If Israel were now to withdraw under pressure without accomplishing the objectives of severely weakening Hamas and preventing the reconstitution of a terror-exporting state in Gaza, it would be a triumph for Iran.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Jewish Leaders Taste Sderot Trauma - Haviv Rettig Gur (Jerusalem Post)
Leaders of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations on a solidarity visit to Sderot Sunday rushed into a fortified police building following the sounding of a "Color Red" siren as a Kassam rocket hit a few dozen meters from where they held meetings.
"We all live with a sense of suppressed rage," said Kenneth Bialkin, former chairman of the conference.
"You can't look at this and not wonder how the world can stand by and watch as Jews are attacked for being Jews, by people who want to destroy them."
"How do people not understand there is no justification for the course Hamas is taking?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Useful Reference:
Number of Wounded in Attacks from Gaza More Than Doubled in '08 - Matthew Wagner (Jerusalem Post)
Rocket and mortar attacks on Israel from Gaza wounded 947 in 2008, compared with 464 in 2007 and 227 in 2006, according to a report by Hatzalah.
A total of 1,683 Kassam rockets fell in Israel.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Search
Key Links
Media Contacts
Back Issues
Fair Use
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
Israeli Forces Push Farther into Gaza - Sudarsan Raghavan and Griff Witte
Israeli ground forces backed by air and naval power moved farther into Gaza Sunday, targeting areas from which Hamas fighters are launching rockets. One Israeli soldier was killed and another wounded during a battle near Jabalya. A senior Israeli military officer said, "Most of the resistance we faced is from mortars and other things but not from fierce Hamas fighting." Some of the "other things" were improvised explosive devices. "There are a lot of obstacles on the ground. Hamas is using methods that were imported from Iran and Hizbullah."
Mark Regev, spokesman for Prime Minister Olmert, said the operation would end "when Israel understands that the civilian population in the south of the country will no longer be on the receiving end of Hamas rockets." (Washington Post)
U.S. Remains Firmly Behind Israel - Ben Feller
From the White House to Capitol Hill, U.S. officials remained firmly behind Israel. Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday that Israel did not seek U.S. approval before a ground operation against Hamas in Gaza. "They have said, now, for a period of months...that they didn't want to have to act, where Gaza was concerned," Cheney said. "They had gotten out of there three years ago. But if the rocketing didn't stop, they felt they had no choice but to take action. And if they did, they would be very aggressive, in terms of trying to take down Hamas. And that's exactly what's happened."
Sens. Harry Reid and Dick Durbin - the top two Democrats - and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell all described Israel's actions as understandable. "I think what the Israelis are doing is very important," Reid said. "I think this terrorist organization, Hamas, has got to be put away." Said McConnell: "Hamas is a terrorist organization. Imagine in this country (the U.S.) if somebody from a neighboring country were lobbing shells at our population. We'd do exactly the same thing. I think the Israelis are doing the only thing they can possibly do to defend their population." (AP)
Israel Hinges End of Gaza Operation to Closing Tunnels - Adam Entous and Dan Williams
Israel has conditioned any halt to its Gaza offensive on international backing for new fortifications and monitoring on the Egyptian border to prevent Hamas from rebuilding tunnels and rearming, officials in Jerusalem said. Israel's assault in Gaza has included several air force sorties in which "bunker buster" bombs were dropped, designed to collapse the secret underground passages. The Israeli government has said it wants assurances that they will not be dug anew after any ceasefire. "The issue of rearming is fundamental. We want to prevent Hamas from being rearmed like Hizbullah was after the Lebanon war," a senior Israeli official said.
Israel wants any monitors to be heavily armed and equipped to search and destroy tunnels. "Theoretically, if those 9 miles are denied to Hamas as a resupply route, then Hamas is going to find it very, very difficult to govern, let alone smuggle in Grad and Katyusha rockets," said Matt Levitt, a former senior U.S. Treasury official. (Reuters)
Israeli President: No Ceasefire - George Stephanopoulos
In an interview, Israeli President Shimon Peres rejected international calls for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israeli forces. "The idea that Hamas will continue to fire and we will declare a ceasefire...does not make any sense." "They did things that are unreasonable," he said of Hamas. "They are shooting endlessly without reason or purpose." "We don't intend to occupy Gaza or crush Hamas but crush terror," Peres said. "Hamas needs a real and serious lesson. They are now getting it." ("This Week"-ABC News)
News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
Next Stage of Gaza Operation: "Root Canal" for Terror - Hanan Greenberg
Some 40 IDF soldiers were wounded in clashes, and over 50 Palestinian gunmen were killed in the first day of the ground operation in Gaza, according to the Israeli army. In Sunday's cabinet meeting, the ministers were informed that 73% of the 300 rockets fired on Israel in the last week were launched from areas that have now been seized by the army. (Ynet News)
See also The Target: Hamas' Army - Ron Ben-Yishai
Hamas sustained grave blows from the air, yet its leadership has not yet shown willingness to reach a long-term and stable ceasefire agreement on terms acceptable to Israel. The IDF will continue ground operations until a truce is secured. The IDF will focus on causing casualties among Hamas' Izz al-Din al-Qassam fighting force. Another target is the fortified defensive system built by Hamas both below and above ground. In order to raze these targets, the IDF needs to gather additional intelligence - mostly via human sources within the Palestinian population. (Ynet News)
See also Inside Gaza - Yaakov Katz
According to Palestinian sources, Israeli units in Gaza have taken up positions in Sajaya, Beit Lahiya, Jabalya and al-Atatra, which are being scoured for Hamas gunmen and infrastructure. Troops moving through fields and orchards are being led by dogs from the IDF's K-9 unit that are trained to sniff out booby-traps. There has been fierce resistance from well-entrenched gunmen, with anti-tank missiles, mortar barrages, heavy machine gun fire and roadside bombs. (Jerusalem Post)
50 Palestinian Rockets Hit Israel on Sunday, Wound Four - Yanir Yagna and Yuval Goren
Gaza militants shot 50 rockets into Israel on Sunday, including seven rockets that struck Sderot and a Grad rocket that struck Ashdod. Four people were wounded. (Ha'aretz)
U.S. Seeks to Formulate Ceasefire Agreement - Roni Sofer
The U.S. has launched an international effort, which includes Israel, Egypt and the Palestinians, to formulate a ceasefire agreement that would neutralize Hamas' influence in the region, diplomatic sources in Jerusalem reported Sunday. According to Israeli Prime Minister Olmert, Israel is interested in a ceasefire agreement that would include a stop to the rocket fire and the terror emanating from Gaza, as well as to Hamas' military buildup. The release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit will also be stipulated as one of Israel's terms for a halt to the fighting in any agreement.
A senior source in Jerusalem said Sunday, "Contrary to the empty moves initiated by various countries, including the humanitarian ceasefire initiative promoted by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, the American initiative is based on the agreement of the four elements that surround the only geographical territory in the world that is ruled by a terrorist entity - Gaza." The official said that Olmert has made it clear to the Americans and other world leaders that Israel's conditions were not negotiable, and that if they are not obtained through a diplomatic course, they would be secured through the military operation. (Ynet News)
See also Diplomacy to Buy IDF "a Few More Days" - Herb Keinon
The IDF has a "few more days" to carry on with its Gaza offensive and weaken Hamas before facing intense pressure from the international community for a cease-fire, senior diplomatic officials said Sunday. Israel wants time to seriously weaken Hamas militarily, and then put into place a mechanism on the Egyptian border - possibly some kind of agreement that would allow American engineers to help combat arms smuggling - that would keep Hamas from rearming. Israel is not currently interested in linking the Gaza operation to attempts to strengthen Mahmoud Abbas, bring Gaza back under PA control, or bring the PA back to the Gaza border crossings. (Jerusalem Post)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
Israel's Gaza Dilemma - Max Boot
Achieving total victory in Gaza would require Israel to wage war in the way that America fought Germany and Japan - all out until the enemy has no more capacity to resist. Then it would have to occupy the land and impose a peace at gunpoint to ensure that Gaza could never again be a launching point for attacks. None of this is beyond the Israelis' military capacity. Yet the odds are that they won't do it.
The Russians have inflicted World War II-level carnage in Chechnya since the mid-1990s, and they don't care what anybody else says. But Israel is not Russia - or Algeria or Burma or Syria or any other state that has taken a scorched-earth approach to counterinsurgency in recent decades. For all the accusations of brutality that are routinely flung at Israel's armed forces, their conduct has been exemplary by historical standards. They have shown far less propensity for indiscriminate killing than did European states in the 1950s when confronting insurgencies in such places as Kenya, Cyprus, Vietnam and Algeria.
The tragedy for Israel is that Hamas is the choice of the local people. The odds are that once Israeli troops leave, Hamas will rebuild its infrastructure, forcing the Israelis to go back in the future. The writer is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. (Wall Street Journal)
The Three-State Option - John R. Bolton
Given the current landscape, we should ask why we still advocate the "two-state solution," with Israel and "Palestine" living side by side in peace. Let's start by recognizing that any two-state solution based on the PA is stillborn. Instead, we should look to a "three-state" approach, where Gaza is returned to Egyptian control and the West Bank in some configuration reverts to Jordanian sovereignty. Having the two Arab states re-extend their prior political authority is an authentic way to extend the zone of peace and build on governments that are providing peace and stability in their own countries. "International observers" or the like cannot come close to what is necessary; we need real states with real security forces.
Without a larger Egyptian role, Gaza will not achieve the minimal stability. Objections to this idea will be manifold, and implementation difficult. But either we do better, conceptually and operationally, or Iran will be happy to fill the vacuum. The writer, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, was U.S. ambassador to the UN. (Washington Post)
Israel Is on Firmer Ground Against Hamas - Lawrence Freedman
The current operation in Gaza is a direct consequence of the 2006 war in southern Lebanon. As in 2006, Israel is responding to a cross-border provocation and is fighting in territories it once occupied but then abandoned in the hope of a quieter life. Hamas, long a follower of Hizbullah when it comes to strategy, believed that it too could mount a regular rocket barrage against Israel with impunity. Israel knows that if it fails again, it will have severely reduced any deterrent against future rocket attacks. So in addition to the immediate objectives, this war is about restoring deterrence - and especially the credibility of the IDF. Politically, Hamas has put itself into a position where a ceasefire will be seen as a defeat, because this will require accepting that it must stop firing rockets. The writer is professor of war studies at King's College London. (Financial Times-UK)
Observations:
Israel's Gaza Strategy - Martin Kramer (Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies-Shalem Center)
Unlike the Lebanon war of 2006, this war has been planned in advance, and every stage has been war-gamed. After the Hamas takeover in June 2007, Israel imposed a regime of economic sanctions on Gaza. The West Bank enjoyed an economic boomlet while Gaza languished under sanctions, with zero growth - reinforcing the message that "Islamic resistance" is a dead end.
The Israeli operation is meant to impress on Hamas that there is something far worse than the sanctions - that Israel is capable of hunting Hamas on air, sea, and land, at tremendous cost to Hamas and minimal cost to Israel, while much of the world stands by, and parts of it (including some Arabs) quietly applaud.
Hamas assumes (probably correctly) that its Palestinian opponents fed Israel with much of the intelligence it needed to wage precision warfare against Hamas. There is likely to be a vicious settling of scores as soon as a cease-fire is in place, if not before.
The temptation to "engage" Hamas has grown, which means skirting the Quartet's insistence that Hamas not be "engaged" until it accepts past PA-Israel agreements, recognizes Israel, and renounces armed struggle. Legitimation of Hamas could seal the fate of the "peace process," and give "resistance" the reputation of a truly winning strategy.
Israel is united in pursuing its war of demolition against Hamas. Its aim is not only to stop the rockets from falling in southern Israel, but to move a long stride forward toward a change of regime in Gaza
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