Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Friday, April 14, 2023

May one play soccer in a mosque under Islamic law?

We often see videos of Muslims playing soccer on the Temple Mount, like this one this morning:

Here is an imam in Lebanon teaching a student how to play soccer inside a mosque.

This generated some controversy at the time, with some Muslims being viscerally upset at the scene, while others defended it.

Is this allowed under Islam?

There are a variety of opinions. Some allow it outright outside of prayer times; some allow physical activity in a mosque only if it can be used to defeat Islam's enemies.

But other fatwa sites are very much against it. Islamquest says:

Is it permissible to conduct sports programs in the mosque, such as popular games, wrestling and...? Taking care of the sanctity of mosques and adhering to the time of prayer?

Doing these things is not appropriate for mosques. Yes, if the mosque includes a special base or a place separate from it and the title of the mosque does not apply to it, and the endower did not stipulate a special type of behavior and actions, then there is no objection to holding cultural and sports ceremonies in it while preserving its sanctity.

Attachments:

The answer of the great tradition references to the question posed is as follows: [1]

His Eminence, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei (may his high shadow extend):

The mosque is not a place for sports and physical exercises, so matters that violate the sanctity of the mosque or the condition and direction of the endowment must be avoided.

His Eminence, the Grand Ayatollah Al-Sayyid Al-Sistani (May Allah Extend His Shadow):

This is not appropriate for mosques.

His Eminence, the Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Makarem Al-Shirazi (May Allah Extend His Shadow):

It is true that sport is necessary for everyone, especially for the young segment of them, but it is not appropriate for mosques or hussainiyas. You must choose another place for it.

His Eminence, the Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Safi Gulbaykani (May Allah Extend His Shadow):

It is not permissible to do the things mentioned in mosques.

Similarly, the IslamQA fatwa site says:

With regard to making the mosques, outside of the times of the prescribed prayers, a place where children can play in an organised fashion and on a regular basis, that is not permissible; rather it is obviously wrong, because of what it involves of imposing time restrictions on worshippers at that time, and making the mosque unavailable for the purpose for which it was built, and because it also will lead to the mosques not being respected and being exposed to the risk of contamination with dirt and impurities on some occasions, and it will expose some items in the mosque to damage, and expose the Mushafs and Islamic books to harm at the hands of children, because young children usually, if given free rein, do not refrain from spoiling things and damaging them, and doing whatever they please the place in which they play.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

The mosque should be protected from things that will damage it [like fireworks,, perhaps?] and disturb the people worshipping in it, even children and raising their voices and making dirty the carpets and so on, especially if it is the time of prayer, because that is one of the gravest of ills.

For some reason, however, no one seems to be upset at those who play soccer in the courtyards of Al Aqsa, or those who stockpile fireworks and rocks inside the mosque itself.

In the case of Al Aqsa, the hypocrisy is even more stark: for those who say that playing soccer is considered OK, Jews respectfully strolling and praying is considered to be a desecration. Especially since Islamic law says Jews may enter mosques (outside of Mecca) as long as they do not do anything disrespectful.

It seems that there is one sharia law for Jews in Israel and another one for everyone and everywhere else.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

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Today is Quds Day, the last Friday of Ramadan, declared by the late Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran in 1979 specifically as an anti-Israel event.

The irony is that Jerusalem is not nearly as important to Shiite Muslims as the Iranians want the world to believe.

A summary of the Shiite attitude towards Jerusalem can be seen in English here, written by a controversial anti-Iranian Shiite cleric from Kuwait who now lives in the UK.

We cannot find in the narrations of our Imams (peace be upon them) that much of a special or exceptional significance regarding Jerusalem as much as we find in their narrations regarding the Grand Sacred Mosque, the Prophet’s Mosque, the Great Mosque of Kufa or the Holy Shrine of Imam Hussain (peace be upon him). We cannot even find a single narration about the significance of the mosque of Jerusalem reported by al-Sheikh al-Kulayni (with whom may Allah be pleased) in his book al-Kafi in the chapter that includes the most recommended mosques by our Imams’ (peace be upon them). We find, for example, in this chapter narrations that mention the significance of al-Quba Mosque, the Mosque of al-Ahzab, the Mosque of Fadhi’kh, al-Fath Mosque, al-Ghadeer Mosque, the Well of Umm Ibrahim, the Mosque of Sahlah in al-Kufa, the Sacred Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque. Still, there is not a single mention of the Mosque of Jerusalem.

Therefore, we do not acknowledge what the opponents of Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) narrate regarding the mosque of Jerusalem. We consider many of them to be Israeli narrations or transmitted through Ka’b al-Ahbar. One may easily realise this by looking at the narrations of Abu Huraira, as the exaggeration in it regarding the significance of Jerusalem is quite evident.

Many Shiites do not accept that the "Furthest Mosque" (Al Aqsa) that Mohammed flew to on his legendary Night Journey was in Jerusalem at all, but rather in the heavens.

While no one doubts that Jerusalem has a degree of sanctity for Shiite Muslims, because it was the first direction for Muslim prayer, the Shiite Muslim deep attachment to Jerusalem was a recent innovation. Traditionally, other mosques (like Kufa in Iraq) had a higher degree of sanctity.

It is all political.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

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According to Arabic language media, a leader in the Iranian-backed Houthi group in Yemen called for the murder of members of the Jewish community in Yemen or their subjugation.

Abd al-Rahman al-Ahnoumi, the editor-in-chief of the official Al-Thawra newspaper, which is controlled by the Houthis, said: "The appropriate and legitimate dealings with the Jews of Yemen is that they either die by the sword or become dhimmis to the state."

He also referred to a Jew's criticism of him: "What you expect from them, are the most despicable creatures and the most cursed of people."

I couldn't find the original tweet, so it might have been deleted. But the antisemitism of the Shiite Houthis is undeniable - after all, their slogan includes "Curse the Jews."

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

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04/13 Links: Why Is Israel Judged Differently?; Brendan O'Neill: The shameful silence on the West Bank massacre; Israeli fans come under siege at basketball game in Greece

From Ian:

Why Is Israel Judged Differently?

As Israel celebrates its 75th anniversary, it remains the only state in the world that is constantly threatened with extinction by immediate and more remote neighbors. The Jewish state is often chastised when it responds in strength to acts of aggression, remaking the victim into an aggressor, while there is a tolerant international attitude to countless conflicts that involve far harsher and more indiscriminate use of force in response to far lesser threats.

Israel has never sought to conquer and destroy the surrounding Arab states even as they sought its destruction. Ironically, it was only after Israel relinquished control of 95% of the West Bank and Gaza's Palestinian population by 1997 that terrorism in these territories spiraled to unprecedented heights. In the two-and-a-half decades preceding the Oslo accords, some 400 Israelis were murdered; since the conclusion of these "peace" agreements, over 1,700 Israelis were murdered, and another 10,000 wounded.

Israel's enemies must be challenged to name a single state that has acted better in similar circumstances. They must also be asked to explain why the Jewish state alone is persistently subjected to such double standards while far more brutal states are given a free reign.

Israel, Split and United

People have forgotten that the Zionist project was beset by serious internal strife from the very start. Uganda vs. Palestine; Socialists vs. Revisionists vs. Agudat Yisrael; Ben-Gurion vs. Jabotinsky; the newly formed IDF attacking the Irgun's Altalena armaments ship; the German reparations riots; Mapai vs. Mapam; Western Ashkenazi elites vs. Eastern/North African Mizrahi immigrants.

The question isn't why Israel has had so much domestic discord, but rather how the country and society have managed to stay together with more than a semblance of unity. The answer: external enemies. There is nothing as useful to putting out flames in the kitchen as a forest fire outside threatening to engulf your entire home. This has been going on for over a hundred years, beginning with the 1921 and 1929 Arab pogrom attacks against Jews.

Circling the wagons when under attack, at least temporarily negating internal discord, is not something unique to Israel. This past week Finland joined NATO. This was close to unthinkable two years ago, until Russia invaded Ukraine. That palpable, external threat unified NATO's nations like it hasn't been since the Cold War.

This is the blind spot of most autocracies like Russia, Hamas, Hizbullah, and Iran. When they see disunion in their enemy, they take it for "the beginning of the end of the Zionist entity," not realizing that disunion does not entail civil war or domestic military dysfunction. Attacks from the outside, despite strife from within, ultimately achieve the opposite of what they seem to be doing at first: strengthening Israel's will to survive and flourish.

Israel Isn't Perfect, but It's an Example for the Mideast

While Israel debates policy and holds regular elections, much of the Middle East remains under authoritarian rule that quashes political discourse and silences dissent. As a Lebanese who has lived under the dictatorships of Hizbullah and Bashar al-Assad, I've witnessed how autocrats are freed from accountability for economic disarray, the erosion of human rights, and the destruction of infrastructure.

Any Middle Eastern observer would draw a distinction between the demonstrations in Israel and the protests elsewhere in the region - including in Iran, Iraq and Lebanon. In those countries, public dissent is often described by the authorities as treasonous, claims used to justify harsh repression in the form of lawless imprisonment and execution.

Few countries in the Middle East have a sterling record when dealing with ethnic or racial minorities. Ask the Kurds and Christians in Iraq, Syria, Iran and Turkey, or consider the hostilities between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.

Chag sameach! (part 2)

Wishing all who celebrate a chag sameach!

I will be offline until Thursday night.

Enjoy!

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

04/11 Links Pt2: Jordan Is Fomenting Violence on the Temple Mount; New documentary spreads false facts about US anti-BDS laws; CNN Producer Tamara Qiblawi Promotes Anti-Israel Conspiracy Theories

From Ian:

Prof. Phyllis Chesler: Cognitive War in Israel

It was not just the Israelis who thought that hasbara—propaganda—was unimportant. When I returned to the United States I tried hard to interest at least two Jewish American organizations to allow me to develop a curriculum for their staff, one that would teach them the language of oppression and liberation. I explained that this was precisely the language that would be used against Israel globally. I offered to do this pro bono. It was 1980-1981 and there was simply no interest.

In other words, more than 40 years ago, there was little interest in combatting the cognitive war against the Jews both in Israel and among Jewish American organizations.

This rapidly rising antisemitism was both old and new. As I (and others) pointed out in the early 21st century, anti-Zionism was now the reason for Jew-hatred.

A dedicated group in which I participate have been covering the cognitive war against Israel for the last 22-23 years. By 2012, I began calling for an Iron Dome to combat the lethal lies against the Jewish state.

Nothing less will do.

Minister Distel-Atbaryan: You have OldChinaHands and committedcognitive warriors at your disposal. Students who are focused on internet hate. Professors who are focused on academic hate. Intellectual activists, including lawyers, who are focused on Lies in the Street, the media, the governing bodies of the world.

Please consider calling upon us to serve; but, like you, we also need resources that we do not yet have.

Gil Troy: Australia’s Jews show how to criticize Israel constructively, thoughtfully

‘What’s Bibi thinking?” Unfortunately, too many American Jews ask this question with a triumphalist I-told-you-so tone, oozing with what-do-you-expect-from-those-primitive-Israelis condescension.

Two weeks ago, many Australian Jews asked me the question, heartbrokenly, with surprise, concern and frustration. Most Kanga-Jews are staunch Zionists. Many have long supported Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They dislike criticizing Israel – but are shocked at how quickly and self-destructively Netanyahu has threatened so many of his economic and diplomatic accomplishments.

Australian Jews, like North American Jews, instinctively understand the need to separate executive, judicial, and legislative powers – while distributing power widely too. As a federation of six states, with two self-governing territories, Australia fragments power, avoiding the hyper-concentration in prime-ministerial hands so many Israelis justifiably fear.

A thoughtful statement
That insight shaped the Zionist Federation of Australia’s (ZFA) thoughtful recent statement defining the community as “deeply Zionist” – but worried. From this “position of unconditional love and connection,” the ZFA expressed “serious concern” that the coalition was pushing its judicial reforms “with undue haste and in the absence of broad-based public support.” The statement wisely supported President Isaac Herzog’s mediation efforts.

Despite this anxiety, looming like one of those perpetual clouds over the Melbourne sky, my week-long pre-Pesach visit to Melbourne and Sydney was inspiring. Australian Jewry is thriving in these two urban strongholds by the Indian Ocean. Even more impressive than their infrastructure – epitomized by their popular, high-quality, Jewish day schools on majestic campuses – is their unapologetically Zionist, deeply Jewish, worldview. So many conversations began with someone mentioning “my brother in Baka,” “my sister in Ra’anana,” “my son – or daughter – serving as a lone soldier.”

It’s a pleasure to visit a community that uses the Z-word comfortably and proudly, and was happy to talk about “Identity Zionism.” Often, when I speak in the US, after I describe how Zionism can inspire alienated young people with our sense of community, history, and destiny – the questions invariably go political – from the Palestinian issue to, now, the judicial reform.

In Australia, while asking about current challenges, many listeners, young and old, happily explored this deeper, more existential approach, which doesn’t just see Israel through today’s black-and-white lens of headlines and headaches. Instead, it invites us to see Israel through a blue-and-white prism of identity and possibility, of achievements and dreams, not just asking what we can do for Israel – but what Israel can do for us.

Bassam Tawil: Why Palestinians Cannot Resume Peace Talks with Israel

Once a Palestinian leader makes such a serious (and false) allegation against Jews [such as "violent storming of the al-Aqsa Mosque"], he is telling the Arabs and Muslims that the Jews... should therefore be fought against, not welcomed as peace partners.

If you tell your people (again, falsely) that the Israelis are perpetrating "war crimes," "desecrating mosques" and "stealing land," what will the Palestinians think of you when they see you sitting with an Israeli? They will denounce you as a "traitor" and call for your death.

By describing the Jews as "colonizers," [Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad] Shtayyeh is seeking to send a message that the Jews have no religious or historical connection to their homeland, Israel.

In the eyes of Shtayyeh and many Palestinians, all Jews living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea are "colonizers" and "settlers." These Palestinians see no difference between a Jew living in a Jewish community in the West Bank and a Jew living in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. For them, all Jews are foreigners who have no connection whatsoever to Israel and Jewish holy sites and no right ever to live there. Period.

Palestinian leaders such as Shtayyeh are straightforwardly saying that they see Israel as one big illegal settlement that must be eradicated... [and not] as a place for anyone other than Muslims.

[C]ontrary to the false claim made by Shtayyeh and other Palestinian leaders, the Jews who visit the holy site have never set foot inside the al-Aqsa Mosque.

One of those who have failed to call out the Palestinians for their antisemitism and lies is US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"Palestinians and Israelis alike are experiencing growing insecurity, growing fear in their homes, in their communities, in their places of worship," Blinken argued.

If the Palestinians are "experiencing growing insecurity," it is because they are enabling terrorists to operate freely against Israel within their own communities. If the Palestinians want to live in their homes in security and without fear, they could stop terrorists from planning and executing terror attacks against Israel. If the Palestinians want to feel safe in their worship places, they could stop attacking and harassing Jews....

MEMRI posted this clip from Palestinian TV, showing a musical number that glorifies killing Jews.

On March 27, 2023, Palestine TV (Palestinian Authority) aired a musical titled “The Journey of a Nation.” The musical was performed in Khan Yunis, Gaza and depicts the “struggle” of the Palestinians since the 1917 Balfour Declaration until the 2004 death of Yasser Arafat. In the musical, dancers dressed in military fatigues and carrying mock rifles sing about fighting the “enemy” with machine guns, RPGs, daggers, rifles, and bombs, everywhere between Gaza and Rosh HaNikra in northern Israel. The men sing: “The blood of the martyrs will light our way.” In another song, children dance, throw stones, and sing: “In Gaza and in the Balata refugee camp, in Jerusalem, and in Ramallah, we rose up in an Intifada.. Our lands will be regained […] only with blood and stones.” The performance was organized by the PLO’s Department of Refugee Affairs.

Performers: We have outlined our principles with the Degtyaryov machine gun and the RPG. We have outlined our principles with the Degtyaryov machine gun and the RPG. We tackled death with our bullets and we were not afraid. We executed the attack, and then we went home.

You encounter us everywhere between Rafah and Ras Al-Naqoura [Rosh HaNikra]. Our revolution is in every village and every city. You encounter us everywhere between Rafah and Ras Al-Naqoura [Rosh HaNikra]. Our revolution is in every village and every city. The unity between the rebels and the people is our unity. We fight with daggers and guns. All the people are fedayeen. We are accustomed to death and sacrifice. All the people are fedayeen. We are accustomed to death and sacrifice. We are accustomed to death and sacrifice. This is our path, we will never stray off it. For your sake, our revolution, our lives are insignificant.

We are the heroes that the enemy will encounter wherever it may be. Stamp your feet, oh our revolution! We are the heroes that the enemy will encounter wherever it may be. Stamp your feet, oh our revolution! Rise with our bullets and our bombs! Oh our revolution, pave the way of our return! The blood of the martyrs will light our way. We stay true to the oath, comrades. The blood of the martyrs will light our way. We stay true to the oath, comrades. The blood of the martyrs will light our way. We will traverse the long distance. The oath of the revolution is that we will not relinquish our weapons.

Hey, hey, hey, rise up, rise up, rise up! Hey, hey, hey! In Gaza and in the Balata refugee camp, in Jerusalem, and in Ramallah, we rose up in an Intifada, we shouted 'Allah Akbar!' in the name of Allah. In Gaza and in the Balata refugee camp, in Jerusalem, and in Ramallah, we rose up in an Intifada, we shouted 'Allah Akbar!' in the name of Allah. We are challenging [the enemy] with our free people and with stones. Our young people are rebelling. Our lands will be regained and our shame will be washed away only with blood and stones. Rise up, rise up, rise up, hey, hey hey!

But Arafat swore they ended armed resistance in 1993! I mean, he couldn't have been lying, could he?

And if all the people are fedayeen, then that means that they are all legitimate targets, right? That is their logic for targeting every Israeli civilian - does that work for Palestinians as well?

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

04/11 Links Pt1: Melanie Phillips: An unspeakable atrocity; Husband, father of three murdered Jewish women calls April 10 to be ‘Dees Day’; UN Rapporteur Plays the Victim Card

From Ian:

Melanie Phillips: An unspeakable atrocity

The dead were from a British family. You might have thought the British government would be outraged at the murder of three of its citizens. You might have thought that it would seek to hold the Palestinian Arabs to account for their incitement and complicity.

But of course, the British government is itself complicit in this and in all the other attacks on Israelis. That’s because it connives at the incitement to murder Israeli Jews by continuing to insist falsely that Israel is in “illegal occupation”; it continues to sanitise or ignore fanatical Palestinian Arab Islamic incitement to murder Israeli Jews and steal their land; it continues to refuse to exert any pressure on the Palestinian Arabs to cease their war of extermination against the State of Israel. Instead, it calls on both sides to “de-escalate” — an obscene moral equivalence between terrorists and terrorised, which means in practice telling Israel not to take the action that’s necessary to protect its people.

In similar vein, the UN Special Rapporteur Occupied Palestinian Territory (sic) Francesca Albanese tweeted:
The loss of life in the oPt & Israel is devastating, especially at a time that should be of peace for all, Christians, Jews, Muslims. Israel has a right to defend itself, but can't claim it when it comes to the people it oppresses/whose lands it colonises.

The Jews are the only people with any legal, historical or moral claim to this land. That’s why in 1922 the international community enshrined in treaty law the pledge to settle the Jews alone in the whole of mandate Palestine — the land that is now Israel, the “West Bank” and Gaza. The would-be colonisers are not the Jews. The would-be colonisers are, as they have been for decades, the Arabs.

These comments by Albanese and the UK government were sick. Alas, this is what passes for conventional wisdom among so many in the west and is unchallengeable dogma in liberal and left-wing circles.

After the death of Lucy Dee, and doubtless aware of the gathering outrage over the British government’s initial response, the Foreign Secretary James Cleverly tweeted:
Tragic news that Leah Dee has also died following the abhorrent attacks in the West Bank. There can be no justification for the murder of Leah and her two daughters, Maia and Rina. We will continue to work with the Israeli authorities to end this senseless violence.

This was too little, too late, and still utterly vacuous. The attack on the Dee family wasn’t “senseless violence”. It was part of a century-old Arab strategy of extermination aimed at removing the Jewish presence from the entire land. Unless the UK government starts exerting pressure on the Palestinian Authority by reducing aid and diplomatic recognition until it stops its murderous incitement and rejectionism, all such protestations of sympathy for Israeli terrorist victims will remain merely nauseating hypocrisy.

And let’s not overlook as well the sly references by Lucy Winkett, Canon of St James Piccadilly, on BBC Today’s Thought for the Day slot on Good Friday (listen here on BBC Sounds at 1hr 50 minutes in) hours before the attack on the Dee family. Woven into rambling about being a good neighbour, Winkett — who has long-standing form as an Israel-basher — included lightly-coded trigger phrases about “an occupying army brutalised by its occupation” and the “killing of God”.

This was a veiled but unmistakable reference to the Crucifixion as a “deicide” — the lethal accusation against the Jews derived from medieval Christian supersessionsism, and which often provoked pogroms during Passover by precisely such sentiments voiced by the priests in inflammatory Good Friday sermons. Supersessionsism — aka replacement theology — was supposedly disowned by the church because of the thousands of Jews slaughtered across Europe as result by vengeful Christian mobs. It has, however, resurfaced in the Church of England and other “progressive” Christian denominations lightly disguised as support for the Palestinian Arab cause.

Husband, father of three murdered Jewish women calls April 10 to be ‘Dees Day’

In a video message, Rabbi Leo Dee—whose wife, Lucy, 48, and daughters, Maia, 20, and Rina, 15, were murdered in a terrorist attack—called for the observance of April 10 as “Dees Day.”

“Today, we differentiate between good and evil, right and wrong,” he said.

Dee described being unable to reach his wife and daughters, who were traveling in a different car, after hearing that there had been a terrorist attack. Then he saw a missed call from one of his daughters.

“The feeling that she called me during the attack, and I wasn’t able to speak to her, would come back and haunt me for a while,” he said.

After recognizing the family’s suitcases, with blood on them, and after authorities showed him an identification card for one of his girls, Dee learned that his two daughters were murdered and that his wife had been airlifted to a hospital with two bullets lodged in her body. Somehow, he managed to drive 90 minutes to be with her.

Rabbi Leo Dee and his remaining three children after two of his daughters, Maia and Rina, were killed on April 7 when their car was ambushed by terrorists in the Jordan Valley. The sisters were buried on April 9 at the Gush Etzion Regional Cemetery in Kfar Etzion, one day before their mother, Lucy Dee, succumbed to her wounds and died on April 10, 2023. Photo by Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90.

“I went numb. I didn’t cry yet. I was highly rational,” he said.

There was cause for hope, but that turned out to be short-lived. “Alas, our family of seven is now a family of four,” he said.

Noting that it was the first time in 30 years that the holidays of Passover, Easter and Ramadan coincided, Dee stated that all three have to do with making the world a better place. He said humanity has lost the ability to differentiate between good and evil in recent years, as a “small minority” has peddled moral relativism.

“If you feel that it was wrong to shoot dead, at close range, three beautiful, innocent young ladies in the prime of their lives, then please post a picture of you, or your spouse, or your children with an Israeli flag,” he said. “Or just post a picture of an Israeli flag and share it on Facebook, Instagram or whatever social-media app you use.”

Social-media users post Israeli flags for ‘Dees Day’

They started popping up on social media one after another on Monday afternoon. Israeli flags blowing in the wind. Israeli flags with pictures of families hugging each other. Israeli flags with the image of a mother and her two daughters smiling, with the words “Am Yisrael chai”—Hebrew for “The nation of Israel lives.”

On Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, the images were posted within hours of Rabbi Leo Dee’s plea to post photos of Israeli flags to honor the memory of his wife, Lucy, and daughters Maia and Rina. The 22-year-old and 15-year-old were shot and killed by a terrorist during a car attack on April 7 during the holiday of Passover.

“If you feel that it was wrong to shoot dead, at close range, three beautiful, innocent young ladies in the prime of their lives, then please post a picture of you, or your spouse, or your children with an Israeli flag,” he said in a press conference three days later, on April 10, the day his 48-year-old wife succumbed to her wounds. “Or just post a picture of an Israeli flag and share it on Facebook, Instagram or whatever social-media app you use.”

The Israel-education organization StandWithUs was among those heeding Dee’s call. “We are standing with the Dee family, who lost their beloved wife and mother, Lucy, and teenage daughters, Maia and Rina, to Palestinian terrorism,” the nonprofit, nonpartisan group tweeted. “We’re joining Rabbi Leo Dee’s call and asking our supporters—share and post an Israeli flag in their memory.”

The Twitter handle @Israel, which Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs maintains, also highlighted the campaign and asked followers to post photos of themselves with an Israeli flag. “We hope you join us and use #DeesDay,” it posted.

'I am paralyzed by the pain': Hundreds accompany funeral of Lucy Dee

Hundreds of people gathered for the funeral of Lucy (Leah) Dee in Kfar Etzion on Tuesday afternoon, just two days after Dee's daughters were buried at the cemetery.

Lucy and her daughters, Maia and Rina, were murdered in a shooting attack near Hamra in the Jordan Valley on Friday. After extensive efforts to save Lucy's life at Hadassah Medical Center, she succumbed to her wounds on Monday.

Residents of Efrat and Gush Etzion gathered with Israeli flags along the roads where the funeral procession passed.

Lucy's daughter, Karen, eulogized her mother, saying "yesterday, beside the grave of Maia and Rina, I closed my eyes and prayed that you would wake up, so that we wouldn't need to go through this pain twice. My heart is already so full of pain, I am paralyzed by all the pain. To lose your mother is like losing your life. I don't want to move on."

"Everyone will move on, and just us will remain behind with this hole that cannot be filled. Even in a thousand words, I cannot summarize you," added Karen.

"Who will accompany me to the wedding canopy? I cannot return to routine. I cannot accept that it is over. I do not know how to end the eulogy, because no matter how I end it I will never succeed in fitting in everything."

Lucy's husband, Rabbi Leo Dee, eulogized his wife, saying "We literally traveled the world together, we made aliyah together. We built a new life for ourselves in the promised land. You would frequently say that you couldn't imagine living anywhere else, nor could I, even now, especially now."

#HappeningNow: Hundreds of mourners have gathered in Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem, to pay their last respects to Leah (Lucy) Dee, one of three victims killed in the Jordan Valley terrorist shooting attack last Friday. pic.twitter.com/6fgFqkD3AS
— Israel National News - Arutz Sheva (@ArutzSheva_En) April 11, 2023

The Tunisian Jewish Historical Society (Paris) In collaboration with the French Center for Tunisian Judaism is sponsoring a conference in Paris next week, entitled "The Jews and the law in Tunisia From protectorate to independence (1881-1956) - Between historical progress and religious resilience."

Some Tunisian researchers will be attending - but they are trying to hide their identities from Tunisians who want to stop them.

The conference will also host some Israeli researchers, so Tunisians are in a tizzy.

Two Tunisians who are listed in the programme have already been subject to on-line abuse from Tunisian antisemites and political parties.

The Executive Office of the General University for Higher Education and Scientific Research in Tunisia stated that it was aware of this conference, so it felt compelled to state that it is still very pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel.

It also said that it would not publicize the names of the Tunisian attendees - presumably to protect them from threats as the two speakers are already getting.

The Executive Office is not saying that no Tunisians should attend, but it does warn that no Tunisian researcher should partner with any Israeli institution that might fall under the rubric of "normalization."

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

As my Twitter account gains followers (over 1500 in the past month), it is also attracting a new breed of antisemite - one that many other Zionist social media stars have seen for years.

It is not only that these people cannot stand any posts that are pro-Israel. But they also cannot stand posts that mourn dead Jews - they predictably respond with mentions of dead Arabs or other alleged Israeli atrocities, as a kind of justification for murdering Jews.

But there is another class of people who respond to pro-Israel posts. These are the ones who cite "experts."

They quote UN resolutions, or book authors, or articles that have footnotes, or NGOs, as proof positive that Israel is in the wrong, every time.

These are the people who say that international law allows Palestinians to murder Jews as "resistance."

They quote Shlomo Sand saying there is no such thing as a Jewish people. They quote Amnesty and Human Rights Watch saying Israel is guilty of "apartheid." They love Ilan Pappe's history of 1948. They claim that there was no Arab antisemitism before Zionism. They call Zionism "colonialism." They claim that Zionists tried to stop Jews from being saved in the Holocaust if they weren't going to Israel and they colluded with the Nazis. They toss off terms like "Jewish supremacy" the exact same way Germans used to but it is OK because "human rights" experts say it, too. They claim that Israel has scores of laws that discriminate against Arab citizens. They insist that Israel has "Jewish-only roads" in the territories.

All of these claims have one thing in common: they are easily debunked, as my links here show.

The mindset of the modern antisemite is that Israel and Zionist Jews are evil ab initio. But they don't want to be tarred as antisemites, because antisemitism is bad and something that only the far-Right is guilty of. Therefore, when they see articles that seem to have a sheen of validity that confirm their pre-existing hate, they are happy to accept them and spread them without any skepticism.

We have a small set of intellectual antisemites - many of them Jewish themselves - who craft opinions that carefully choose the facts that support their bigoted positions, and hide the much larger set of facts that shred their arguments. Then there is a much larger set of antisemites who enthusiastically accept this core of intellectual antisemitism as gospel, and shut their ears to any proof that they are fraudulent.

These new antisemites pretend that they are basing their hate on facts when the reality is that they choose their facts to justify their hate.

There is no greater proof than watching how they seethe so much at anyone condemning the murder of Jewish civilians in Israel that they feel they must bury any possible sympathy for the families of the victims with an avalanche of propaganda.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Terrorist Mothers (poster)

I saw that Islamic Jihad's news media had made a poster of the poor mothers who are in Israeli prisons, separated from their families.

So sad!

I looked up what these sweet mothers had done to be placed into prison, and modified the poster to show the truth.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

04/10 Links Pt2: The Real ‘Palestinian Territory’? New York Times-Land; 60 groups urge UN to avoid IHRA antisemitism definition; Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport records busiest-ever month

From Ian:

Invention of the Christian Jesus by Renaissance Art, Hollywood, and Historians Proved Lethal for Jews

In the film “Resistance,” the character who plays the French mime and Jewish resistance fighter Marcel Marceau gives his answer to the question of why people hate Jews: “Because for centuries, they were told we killed Jesus.”

But to make the Christ killers charge justify violence and genocide, another falsification of Biblical history had to be added: Jesus had to be Christian.

Consider that the Sanhedrin, the ruling body over Jewish affairs, charged Jesus for committing blasphemies against Judaism. Christians later altered the fabricated indictment to “the Jews killed the Christian Jesus.” That “crime” then became the launching pad for rage, hatred, and unrestrained violence against Jews.

The invention of the Christian Jesus thus emerged as one of the most deadly lies in history. It weaponized the Christ killers charge.

While a consensus of Christian and Jewish Biblical scholars affirm that Jesus lived and died as a dedicated practicing Jew, Renaissance artworks invented a different narrative. In countless artworks spanning centuries, Jesus displays a cross, thus sending the false message that he is a Christian, despite the fact that Christianity did not exist even as a word or concept in Jesus’ lifetime.

Worse, the image of Jesus proudly displaying a cross is bizarre. If Jesus were to see these artworks, he would likely consider them mockery or extremely bad jokes. Particularly for Jews, the cross represented Roman torture, murder, and genocide.

The Real ‘Palestinian Territory’? New York Times-Land

Most egregious of all, though, is the phrase “siding with Israel on its claims over Palestinian territory in the West Bank.” That makes it sound like the Times itself is taking sides in the territorial dispute, asserting that the land actually is “Palestinian territory.”

The Israeli view was that it is Israeli territory. This is especially so because the land Israel was considering annexing wasn’t the entire West Bank, but only selected portions of it that were either strategically crucial or that were already heavily populated by Jewish residents. For the Times to describe those lands as “Palestinian territory” rather than as disputed territory is to adopt the Palestine Liberation Organization negotiating position as New York Times news department editorial policy. These are lands to which the Jewish people has extensive religious and historical connections, lands that were controlled most recently by the Ottoman and British empires, then by the Kingdom of Jordan, and then, after the Six Day War of 1967, by Israel.

A newspaper editor I knew once banned the term “news analysis,” mockingly suggesting that instead the rest of the newspaper’s columns be uniformly labeled as “analysis free.” At the Times, even the “news analysis” columns seem, sadly, to be bereft of the genuinely analytical and independent thinking necessary to distinguish reality from Palestinian propaganda. For turf more genuinely described as “Palestinian territory,” look not to the Jerusalem suburbs, but rather, to the columns and newsrooms of the New York Times itself.

60 groups urge UN to avoid IHRA antisemitism definition

Sixty groups that often oppose Israel urged the United Nations to reject the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.

The definition—adopted by 39 countries, including the United States and Israel—“has often been used to wrongly label criticism of Israel as antisemitic,” the groups stated.

Signatories include the U.S. Presbyterian Church, which has some 1.19 million members, and the global ministry arm of the United Methodist Church, which has a membership of more than 12 million, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union, B’Tselem, Human Rights Watch and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.

Three Israeli-designated terror organizations—Al-Haq, Addameer Prisoner Support, and Human Rights Association and Defense for Children International-Palestine—also signed the letter.

“Antisemitism is a pernicious ideology that poses real harm to Jewish communities around the world and requires meaningful action to combat it,” the groups wrote. But, they added, many scholars and other experts “have challenged the definition, arguing that it restricts legitimate criticism of Israel and harms the fight against antisemitism.”

The signatories claim that by the IHRA definition’s logic, “a person dedicated to defending the rights of Tibetans could be accused of anti-Chinese racism, or a group dedicated to promoting democracy and minority rights in Saudi Arabia could be accused of Islamophobia.”

“If the U.N. endorses the IHRA definition in any shape or form, U.N. officials working on issues related to Israel and Palestine may find themselves unjustly accused of antisemitism based on the IHRA definition,” added the groups.

Latest EoZ memes

Here are some of my latest memes:

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

In a highly unusual press release, the Palestinian foreign ministry warned that Israel was about to embark on a war against Gaza, and asked foreign countries to pressure Israel not to do it.

The statement, released Sunday, says:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates warns of the results and repercussions of any imminent Israeli military aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu believes that the military aggression on the Gaza Strip is his political savior, given that the opposition will stand with him in that military confrontation, which will weaken or even stop the opposition campaign against him.

The Ministry warns the international community of the danger of what Netanyahu will do after the end of the Jewish holidays, and calls for proactive international positions to prevent these crimes from being committed against the innocent Palestinian people, particularly in the Gaza Strip, including restoring the policy of assassinations against Palestinian leaders there.

The Ministry affirms that the Palestinian people will not accept, this time, the bias of some countries to the position of the occupying and apartheid state on this upcoming aggression in favor of the occupying state, and to give the occupying state unacceptable protection by claiming its right to self-defense despite it being a country of aggression, occupation, crime and siege.

Does the foreign minister have access to some information that Israeli media does not? Or is it trying to engage in psychological warfare?

Perhaps it is trying to take credit if no war takes place in the next month, telling the world that its pressure stymied Israeli plans.

Notice the threat that they will not accept any nation taking Israel's side and saying that Israel has a right to self-defense. What exactly does that mean? Are they threatening diplomatic action - or are they threatening terror attacks?

Palestinian media and pundits are puzzled over this statement as well. But no one seriously thinks that the MOFA has inside information.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

04/10 Links Pt1: Lucy Dee, mother of Maia and Rina, passes away from terror attack injuries; The EU/UN Bureaucratic War Against Israeli Control of 'Area C'

From Ian:

Rabbi Leo Dee’s wife and daughters were murdered but his faith remains so deep

On Friday afternoon, following the second seder night, we heard the horrific news. The previous rebbetzin of our Radlett United Synagogue community, Rebbetzin Lucy Dee and her two daughters, Maia and Rina, had been shot by Palestinian gunmen while on their way to a family trip in Tiberias. Maia and Rina were killed immediately while tragically, the news came today that Lucy had also died in hospital.

Rabbi Leo and his wife Rebbetzin Lucy led Radlett United Synagogue from 2011 until 2014 when they immigrated to Israel and my husband and I took over their roles. Both were Oxbridge educated, quietly confident and accomplished by the time they took up their Rabbinic positions.

Having left their lives in finance behind them, they spent time travelling before studying in yeshivah in Israel and coming to the UK to share their inspiration, first in Hendon and then Radlett United Synagogues.

On Pesach, my husband read an excerpt of Rabbi Dee’s book on Judaism's impact on modernity to the community. His passion, shared by his wife, was to make Judaism relevant and accessible to the modern Jew.

The Radlett community got to know Rabbi Dee as kind, gentle and highly intelligent. Rebbetzin Lucy was creative, insightful and a real doer. Their strong friendship and mutual admiration as a couple shone through. Many from both Hendon and Radlett have remained in touch with the family, which is testament to their relatable personalities.

As has become clear over the past few days, the Dees were deeply and fiercely idealistic, people of strong faith, belief in the good of others and steadfast in their religious values.

Lucy Dee, mother of Maia and Rina, passes away from terror attack injuries

Lucy (Leah) Dee, who was critically wounded in the terror attack that claimed the lives of her two daughters, Maia and Rina Dee on Friday, has passed away from her injuries, Hadassah-University Medical Center reported on Monday afternoon.

"48-year-old Lucy Dee was evacuated by helicopter to Hadassah Ein Kerem in critical condition, where the teams fought for her life over the past few days, in the trauma unit, the operating room and the intensive care unit where she was treated," the hospital's announcement stated.

"Unfortunately, despite intensive and unceasing efforts, due to her fatal injury, the team had to determine her death today."

The hospital added that the Dee family has decided to donate Lucy's organs in order to save the lives of others.

"On behalf of all the citizens of Israel, I send my heartfelt condolences to the Dee family on the death of the mother, Lucy z"l," wrote Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement on Monday, "who was murdered in the attack last Friday, along with her two daughters Maia and Rina z"l."

"On behalf of the entire people of Israel," wrote Israel's President Isaac Herzog, "I send my deepest condolences to the Dee family and pray that they will know no more sorrow. May her memory be blessed."

Shlomo Ne'eman, head of the Gush Etzion Council, said:
"After a persistent fight for her life, Lucy (Leah) Dee joined her holy daughters, may God avenge their blood...We are left with the demand that the government restore security and punish those who committed this murderous and barbaric act of terrorism...Dee family, there are no words to comfort you after the difficult funeral yesterday. Bereavement is knocking on your door again. May you be comforted in the rebuilding of Jerusalem."

Thousands attend funeral of Israeli sisters killed in Jordan Valley terror attack

Thousands of mourners attended the funeral on Sunday of sisters Maia Dee, 20, and Rina Dee, 15, who were killed in a Palestinian terror attack last week in the Jordan Valley.

The attack, which also killed the sisters’ mother, Lucy, took place Friday on the Route 57 highway near the Hamra Junction.

According to a military probe, terrorists opened fire on the Dees’ passing vehicle, causing it to crash into the road’s shoulder. The terrorists then approached the car and riddled it with nearly two dozen bullets.

“How will I explain to Lucy what happened to her two precious gifts when she wakes up from her coma?” asked Rabbi Leo Dee while eulogising his daughters.

“The formula for faith is always to focus on what you do have and not what you do not have. I still have three wonderful children and a wonderful wife,” he said.

“Today, the Jewish people have proven that we are one. When a family in Efrat hurts, we all hurt. There is no clearer proof of our unity, Am Yisrael Chai [the people of Israel lives],” added Dee.

In tribute to his “beautiful and perfect” daughter Maya, who had wanted to sign up for another year of national service in the IDF, Dee called her “an angel, that will always be our guardian angel.”

Rina, the heartbroken father said, was always “such a great student. Such a great friend. You dreamed of travelling the world, now you are travelling to heaven.”

Several government officials paid their respects at the funeral, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Rabbi Leo Dee, husband of Lucy Dee, father of Maia and Rina Dee, who were murdered in a Palestinian shooting attack, shows such courage in the face of unimaginable tragedy. This brought me to tears.

Wishing this family only love and strength after this horrific tragedy pic.twitter.com/EJjzx6tXXd
— Emily Schrader - ????? ?????? ????? ????? (@emilykschrader) April 10, 2023