92 Years since the Balfour Declaration

Yesterday (2nd November) was the anniversary of the one of the major steps on the way to the recreation of the State of Israel.

On 2 November 1917, Britain's than Foreign Secretary of Britain, Arthur James Balfour declared that the British Cabinet

"viewed with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people,and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country".

Just thirty-one years later the Jewish people were able to declare their national home.

However, despite intense efforts the Palestinian leadership are still refusing to negotiate with Israel and to recognise Israel as the Jewish home.

This past week we also read the Torah portion of Lech-Lecha when Abraham was commanded to move to the Land of Israel. However, during the reading we also read of G-d's promise to Abraham that his descendents would receive the Land of Israel as his inheritance. This is the reason why Israel should be the Jewish homeland. However, it can also be seen as the source of the Israeli-Arab conflict.

This source, Chapter 17 of Bereshit (Genesis) sees a covenant between G-d and Abraham in which G-d makes the commandment of circumcision and in return promises the Land of Israel to Abraham's descendents. As Abraham only had one son at the time Ishmael (who I believe Muslems see as their patriarch), many people would have thought that this promise would be to him and his descendents. Indeed even Abraham at first thinks this as described in verse 18. However, G-d than makes clear in verse 19 that Abraham will have another son (Isaac) a patriach of the Jewish people, who will receive the covenant of the Land of Israel.

The Torah thus makes clear that Israel should be the Jewish homeland, which 92 years ago was supported by the Balfour Declaration. However, while a dispute continues to exist, maybe one day we will receive an answer like in Sam Bourne's novel 'The Last Testament'.

It's meant to get colder in October

When we made aliyah I knew I had to get used to the heat, but I did not expect it to rise to 100 degrees fareignheight in October. It should be getting colder, shouldn't it?

It's summed up well here http://aliyahbyaccident.blogspot.com/2009/10/im-moving.html

In the beginning

On Friday, the UN's Human Rights Council continued its long history of condeming Israel for defending its citizens from eight years of rockets and bombings from Hamas in the Gaza Strip. This continues a long history of the UN attacking the rights of Israel to be a Jewish State and defending itself against attacks from Arab states and terrorists.

However, this criticism of the rights of the Jewish People in regard to Israel is not new. Yesterday, we read the first sedra of the year, Bereshit, about the creation of the world. Writing approximately a thousand years ago, Rashi who is still today the most important of the commentators on the Torah and Talmud; asked why the Torah begins with Bereshit (Genesis) and does not start with Shemot (Exodus) with the start of the laws given to the Jewish people.

His answer is that throughout history, the Jewish people's right to Israel will be questioned. However, through the story of creation the Jewish people will be able to show to all people (or at least people that believe in G-d) that the world was created by G-d, and G-d chose that the land of Israel should be for the Jewish people, therefore we can point-out to our critics that the creator of the world supports the rights of the Jewish people to have a soverign State of Israel.

Lets hope, a thousand years after Rashi, wrote this idea, people that question the right of the State of Israel to exist will think again, allowing the Jews to live without fear, so that we no longer have to defend ourselves against our enemies.

Why is anti-semitism rising in Britain?

Since the Labour came to power in 1997, anti-semitism has been on the rise in Britain, which has markedly risen in the past couple of years, particularly in the Hendon Constituency where I used to live. This has not been helped by the lack of support that the Labour Government has shown for tackling anti-semitism and possibly even encouraged, such as during the 2005 General election with their anti semitic campaign posters.

However, last week the Labour Party led by the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband and the Director of Labour Friends of Israel, Luciana Berger, tried to accuse the Conservative Party of joining-up with anti-semitic parties in the European Parliament. This is obviously one of their last efforts to try and win the election in Hendon and Golders Green. However, the allies are not anti-semitic but are just trying to reduce the EU'S domination of national sovereignty, supported by the majority of the public in Britain.

Instead of trying to make false accusations of anti-semitism, maybe Luciana Berger should be supporting Israel by attacking the two Labour Cabinet Ministers who are anti-zionist and arguably anti-semitic.

Ben Bradshaw, Secretary of State for Culture, earlier this year was clearly anti-semitic when he accused Israel of having a "long reputation of bullying the BBC". While John Denham, Secretary of State for Communities, according to the Jewish Cronicle has a long history of being hostile to Israel and has often supported Islamic extremists such as the Muslim Council of Britain.

So Luciana, maybe instead of creating false accusations, you should start critising Cabinet Minsters in your own party who make anti-semitic comments because of their hatred of Israel.

A great reason to make aliyah from Britain

Two Prime Ministers gave major speeches this week, who would you sooner be your leader?

Benjamin Netenyahu

or

Gordon Brown

Yom Kippur - what to think about this year?

Ask anyone around the world that knows anything about Judaism, what the holiest day of the year for Jew is and you will almost always get the correct answer Yom Kippur, and in Israel we will really experience it.

In Britain and I presume much of the western world things slow down on Christmas Day, with virtually all shops shut and people spend time with their families. However, in Israel things go even further on Yom Kippur, not only does all public transport shutdown (as it does every Shabbat) but Ben Gurion International Airport also shuts down, and it is illegal to drive. While even more shocking today in the western world, the television companies stop broadcasting for a whole day.

This year it seemed to become fashionable for prominent people around the world to call for people to try and understand what it is like for Muslims during Ramadan. So I urge my non-Jewish readers and also Jewish readers, about the biggest issue that will affect not only the Jewish people but the whole world in the coming year. On Yom Kippur, the Jewish people pray not only for a healthy and successful year for themselves, but for all the Jewish people , and the entire world.

As Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu said this week at the UN, now is the time to think about the biggest issue facing the world. Are we going to confront Iran, whose leader not only denies the Holocaust, but is now developing nuclear weapons, which under the current leadeship would use it to attack Israel and other countries. Together with Mr Netenyahu I thank Britain and the other countries that walked out of the UN General Assembly this week when the Iranian leader began his anti-semitic speach. However, I urge all right minded individuals on Yom Kippur to consider the threat that Iran now poses to the world, and over the next year to show your support for confronting this threat.

6 months and the start of a New Year

I would like to wish a Shana Tova to all my readers and hope the new year is sweet and successful.

As we approach Rosh Hashana and another new year, now is a good time to look back on the 6 months since aliyah. It is hard to believe that yesterday it was 6 months since Sonia and I landed in Israel to begin a new stage in our life. These six months have not always been easy, and starting a new life in any country including Israel can be challenging but to anyone who is contemplating aliyah (or even not yet considering it) I would recommend it.

In order to absorb ourselves into Israeli life here in Modiin we have there have been a number of challenges but like the vast majority of olim we have overcome them.

We are starting to get a little better at speaking in Hebrew. I can now understand what most people ask me and get by in Hebrew. However, there is always more that can be done and so this week we began a new term of ulpan in Modiin, and it is nice to be in a class of brand-new olim and see their early excitement of life in Israel. It also helps to remind me why we came to Israel when life begins to become routine.

As I have mentioned in a previous post, I am also now working at the Jerusalem Post and am pleased to be working with nice people in a job which is helping to grow Israel's economy and spread Israel's message through the Jerusalem Post newspaper. After two months working in Israel, it also makes me feel that I have settled here and am able to learn from veteran olim and sabras about what life is like here in Israel. While the money is a lot less than I was earning in England, it is enough to ensure we are able to lead a nice life.

I have also been reading Daniel Gordis' latest book and in his words, the reason the Jewish People need Israel and should live in Israel is because, it allows the Jewish people to determine its own lives and laws and to lead freely and unthreatened, something which until 61 years ago was not possible for 2000 years. I am therefore be pleased to be entering my first full year in Israel and to be part of Israel's and the Jewish People's future. Life will not always be easy and we will face challenges both on an indiviual and national level, but we will overcome these and be able to have a successful future.

Happy new year

Lets hope Barnet can be Easy

Barnet Council has made the news today, with its plans for major changes the Conservative Administration is planning to the way it is planning to run the Council. To those not from Barnet, or even England, this news might not sound that exciting, but I hope they mark a real change in the way in which beaureaucratic public services are provided in Barnet and across England.

After the last local elections in I supported Mike Freer as the Leader of the Council, as he promised to make major changes to the way the Council was run in order to save it money and so help to cut Council Tax for the public. These aims have taken a long time to come about and still appear to be a while from being implemented but at last some exciting plans seem to be emerging which will help to ensure the Council will be trying to make radical savings.

For the past seven years since being elected the Council administration has been making cost savings (I prefer 'cuts') to the Council Services but the easy options have now run out, and in Barnet as across the whole public sector, the time has come to look for really radical ways in which the publics money can be saved. This is even more urgent now, with the extoadinaly huge debts the Labour Government have got itself into, so that over the next few years, major cuts will have to be made in the public sector.

I am therefore pleased that at last Mike Freer is bringing forward these proposals to help change the way public services are offered in Barnet. It has just become too expensive for the public sector to continue with the way it has been delivering public services in Britain. I hope when the plans are announced in late September/early October they really are radical. If they show that the costs to the Council are going to be cut and more importantly Council Tax can be reduced, I look forward to giving my support to these proposals.