Todah rabah!
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from Dave's Liveblogging the War at Israellycool:
9:42PM: Syrian Dorktator Bashar Assad:"The aggression, killing and destruction committed by the Israelis in Lebanon are part of an operation that was planned and organized by the large forces dominating the international community."Hmmm...I wonder who those "large forces dominating the international community" are. I am guessing they are, to quote our friend Mel Gibson, the "F****** Jews."
The security cabinet approved early Tuesday morning expanded ground operations in Lebanon, while the IDF, under the assumption that only a few days were left for the operations against Hizbullah, was already gearing up Monday night for a massive ground incursion into Lebanon on three different fronts, utilizing the Golani, Nahal and the Paratroopers infantry brigades.The plan, senior IDF sources said, was to utilize the last remaining days of the operation, which they estimated would be over by week's end, to push Hizbullah back as far north as the Litani River in central Lebanon....
According to intelligence assessments, the areas that would be invaded in eastern and western Lebanon were loaded with Katyusha rocket launchers, weapons warehouses and Hizbullah headquarters.
For a more intimate picture of Israel, see today's post by Atlas Shrugs, as Pamela too is in Jerusalem and will be traveling north with Rick Richman et al tomorrow morning, if the security situation allows.
B'sorot tovot ~ may we hear good news.
When asked by Moshe Rabbeinu (via the rabbi at LA's Temple Sinai), "Are your brothers to go to war while you sit here?" ... Rick didn't just sit there, he went. He's in Israel right now, on a trip as tumultuous as the reasons for it. Israel does not stand alone.
Read his first installment of Visiting Israel at War at Jewish Current Issues. And then do something to help. Stretch. Do more than you thought you could.
At least donate at one of the links provided by Elder of Ziyon.
Further, I urge all Jewish men (age 13 and older) .... no, I beg you... to lay on teffilin. Today I spoke with the rabbi of my heart, R. Yitzchok Hurwitz of Chabad in Temecula (CA). He quoted me a specific line of Torah which I had just quoted on this blog less than an hour earlier. But I hadn't known then its connection to teffilin.
Here's the line, and the commentary:
The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson .... called upon “Every Jew, wherever he may find himself, to love your neighbor as you love yourself.” On June 3, 1967, with the outbreak of war imminent, the Rebbe requested that Jewish men everywhere should put on Tefillin in order to help defend Israel.The Rebbe cited the verse in Deuteronomy (28:10) that states; “All the people of the world will see that the name of G-d is on you and they will fear you.” The Talmud (Berachos 6b) explicitly describes this “weapon” as Tefillin.
In response to the Rebbe’s call, tens of thousands of men donned Tefillin – many for the very first time.
And the victory was of truly miraculous proportions.
Just because you're not in the IDF doesn't mean you can't fight for Israel. You can buy your "weapons" at HaSOFER, guaranteed 100% kosher. Any Chabad or other reliable rabbi can help you learn to use them.
And if you are an eshet chayil, a woman of valor ("strength and honor are her clothing") ... I beg you to urge your brothers, your sons, your husbands, your uncles and your grandfathers to do the same.
We must win this war. We have no choice.
The Jewish People has no where else to go.
On July 30, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan—who ten days before had correctly identified Hezbollah’s “provocative attack” on Israel as the cause of the current crisis—urged the Security Council to “condemn” Israel’s response. He said nothing about the need to condemn Hezbollah, which cynically fires its missiles from residential or UN observer areas to maximize civilian casualties and indict Israel in world opinion. Send an email to Mr. Annan reminding him of the facts about Hezbollah, and urging him to condemn its terrorist tactics.
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Todah rabah to M. Scher, who writes:
http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART1/456/865.html [is] the site for Israeli newspaper Maariv. The content is in hebrew. The footage of the missile launching from Kafr Kana is a bit long distance, but distinguishable. Note that the *closeups* are from other missile launchings in other villages.The IDF spokesperson states clearly that he is using them because they are clear closeups and indicative of the prevailing method used by Hizbullah.
http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?ai=31&ar=mabat links to the Mabat news program. At 15:51 on the program begins the IDF presentation of the video. I think it's a better view than the Maariv link.
Check it out. Very impressive. And bound to be ignored by the world press...
IHC Comments by email:
On the one hand, Israel is accused of using ‘disproportionate’ force, mostly by outside third parties. On the other hand, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has claimed Israel has accomplished nothing so far and that his fighting force is completely intact.According to current estimates, Hizbullah has enough missiles to keep firing 100 every day for the next 3 ½ months, provided that Hizbullah does not receive new supplies. Now Nasrallah is directing his forces to use longer-range missiles to strike every target in the center of Israel....
Is Israel up against a small gang of lightly armed and disorganized outlaws or rather up against one of the most heavily armed and well-organized terrorist groups in the world with state-of-the-art weapons at its disposal?
The truth is - Ein bitachon/ein bitachon - without trust in HaShem there is no security. According to Lazer Beams the Torah gives us the formula for real deterrence:
"And all the nations of the world shall see that the name of Hashem is upon you, and they shall fear you!" (Deut.28:10)
Israeli soldiers walk together after cossing back into Israel from Lebanon Monday, July 31, 2006.... (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
JoeSettler is bitter, but I understand it. Do you?
.... As more than 500,000 Jews are refugees from their homes, seeking sanctuary in bomb shelters, at friends, relatives, and even strangers; as businesses are destroyed, buildings destroyed, cars destroyed, Jews murdered and wounded – by Islamic Fundamentalist missiles, I haven’t heard the UN say anything about aiding Israel, I haven’t heard any of the world bodies say anything about providing aid to Israel.As Kassams fall on Sderot injuring and killing I don't hear the UN talk about aid to the victims.
In fact, it was only when Israel began to hit back did the world suddenly remember the word “cease-fire”.
The truth is, keep your aid, and keep your cease-fires.
In the end, we Jews are keeping the mitzvah of supporting our own and don’t want or need to share it with you. We are raising our own funds to support the victims of Islamic Fundamentalism and World Hypocrisy. We are providing shelter for our own in our own homes.
AISH.com - Here is a true story about a young man who got his prayers answered:
Many people who visit Jerusalem are tourists who come to get a sense of Jewish culture and history. One day, a young tourist named Jeff was brought in to meet me at Aish HaTorah."What are you doing?" I asked him.
"I'm working for my MBA at Harvard University. And I'm an atheist."
"Fantastic! A real atheist! Whoever was able to convince an atheist like you to speak to a rabbi like me deserves a medal."
"Nah," Jeff says, "he doesn't deserve anything. I'll tell you how I came..."
Jeff had been in Norway, visiting his Norwegian fiance. And he decided it was now or never: either he is going to come to Israel or he'll never make it.
So he headed for Jerusalem and the Western Wall. He figured he would stop by the Wall to see some old stones. Yet upon his arrival he was amazed. He felt something heavy. He was moved.
Jeff stood before the Wall, and made up an atheist's prayer. He looked at the stones and said:
"God, I don't believe in You. As far as I know, You don't exist. But I do feel something. So if I'm making a mistake, I want You to know, God, I have no quarrel against You. It's just that I don't know that You exist. But God, just in case You're really there and I'm making a mistake, get me an introduction."Jeff finished his prayer, and one of the Aish HaTorah students who happened to be at the Wall, saw Jeff and thought, "Perhaps he'd be interested in learning some Torah."He tapped Jeff on the shoulder, startling him so much that he jumped three feet in the air. Jeff whirled around and shouted, "What in the blankety-blank-dash-bang do you want?!"
"I'm sorry. I just want to know if you'd like to learn about God."
That question hit Jeff like a two-by-four right between the eyes. He had just finished asking God for an introduction, and immediately someone was offering to introduce him to God.
Jeff learned at Aish HaTorah for the next six weeks. He was a very serious student, and went back to the States with a commitment to continue learning. A year later, Jeff came back to Israel and told me the end of his story.
During that previous summer he had been meandering through the cobblestone alleyways of the Old City when he saw a pretty, sweet, religious girl walk by. He said to himself, "Look at the charm of this Jewish woman. May the Almighty help me meet someone like this."
One Shabbos morning during the next year, Jeff entered a synagogue in Boston for prayer services. Standing there was the same young woman he had seen in the Old City. He made his way over to her and said: "Excuse me, but I believe I saw you last summer in Jerusalem."
She answered, "You're right. I saw you, too."
They are now married and living in New Jersey.
Remember Jeff's prayer. If you know any atheists, you can teach it to them. Because when you are sincere with God, your prayers are answered.
The Almighty is near to all those who call unto Him in truth. (Psalms 145:18)
As air strikes came to a temporary halt overnight Sunday, ground operations continued in southern Lebanon, with a total of nine IDF soldiers wounded during operations in the villages of Ataybeh and Al-Adisa, north of Metulla.The IDF reported six soldiers wounded by Hizbullah fire in Ataybeh on Sunday night. The troops returned fire and killed three guerrillas.
One soldier was said to be moderately wounded, while the others were listed as lightly wounded. All six soldiers were taken to Israeli hospitals for treatment.
On Monday, three other IDF soldiers were lightly wounded when an IDF vehicle flipped over near the Kila village in southern Lebanon, west of Metullah.
While the three soldiers were being evacuated to Israel for medical treatment, anti-tank missiles were fired at the tank that came to remove them. There were no further injuries, but the tank was damaged. Both vehicles were transferred back to Israel.
Troops from the Nahal Brigade surrounded Ataybeh and Al-Adisa on Sunday, while tanks belonging to Brigade 401 were parked alongside Metulla's main road preparing to enter the heart of the villages in an effort to destroy the Hizbullah terror infrastructure there, the IDF said.
The army said that at least 10 guerrillas were killed during the clashes in these villages. Among those killed in the current fighting was Hizbullah's head of logistics in southern Lebanon, Jihad Adiya, who was involved in the kidnapping of three soldiers near Mt. Dov in 2000.
The army added that troops had discovered large weapons caches there, including a Katyusha rocket launcher, 14 rockets, 10 RPGs, an artillery cannon, and 18 shells. Explosives, IDF uniforms, and an instruction manual for anti-tank missiles were also discovered.
A high-ranking IDF officer told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday that Wednesday would be a decisive day for the IDF's campaign against Hizbullah, since that would be when tens of thousands of reservists would be ready for combat and could be sent to push Hizbullah north of the Litani River.
Tisha b'Av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av, begins Wednesday night. The tenth of Av is no picnic either.
