At the beginning of the Oslo war (on Rosh HaShanna), a 'Palestinian' mob attacked Joseph's
tomb and destroyed it. An IDF soldier, Mahdat Yusuf, bled to death in
that attack. Ehud Barak was
the Prime Minister (and Defense Minister) then and refused to let the IDF go in to rescue the soldiers who were trapped there. Former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz was the Judea and Samaria commander at the time. The tomb was closed for nearly ten years after that incident, and was officially reopened in 2010.
Around 5:00 am on Friday, 'Palestinian' terrorists torched the tomb - now under 'Palestinian' control with access supposedly guaranteed to Jews - once again.
According to available details about the Joseph's Tomb
incident, at around 5 a.m. Friday some 100 Palestinians rioted outside
the compound and at some point began hurling firebombs onto the
premises, setting the main access to the tomb, its courtyard and part of
the building on fire.
Defense officials told Channel 2 News that Palestinian
security forces were able to extinguish the flames and disperse the riot
by the time Israeli forces had arrived.
A second, smaller riot, erupted when Israeli
security forces arrived at the holy site.
Rioters pelted the troops with
rocks and threw firebombs at their vehicles. The soldiers use crowd
control measures to disperse the riot.
Security forces have remained on the premises to prevent Palestinian rioters from vandalizing the site further.
Joseph's Tomb is under the Palestinian
security forces' control. Jewish prayer in the compound is allowed, but
worshippers are required to coordinate their visits with the military,
which escorts them in and out of the area.
Jewish access to the compound is often restricted for security reasons.
Following the incident, Lt. Col. Peter Lerner
of the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, tweeted, "IDF will bring perpetrators to
justice, restore the site & ensure that freedom of worship returns
to Joseph's Tomb."
Even UPI's headline said that the tomb had been set on fire by 'Palestinians.' But not CNN's. Their headline reads:Joseph's Tomb site catches fire in spate of Palestinian-Israeli violence. That's right, it just 'caught fire' (was it reaching up to catch it?) spontaneously. And it was in a spate of 'Palestinian'-Israeli violence - note that in the Yisrael HaYom account quoted above, there were no Israelis at the tomb when the 'Palestinians' set it on fire - the IDF arrived later.
Here's CNN's report, which is only slightly better.
Let's go to the videotape.
And the written report is not much better.
Fire broke out at the compound housing Joseph's Tomb overnight, a
religious site venerated by Jews, the Israel Defense Forces said.
Palestinian forces dispersed alleged Palestinian arsonists and put out
the fire.
Unless you get to the second sentence, you might think there was a gas leak or an electrical failure. The initial report is 'fire broke out.' I have to wonder whether the words 'dispersed illegal Palestinian arsonists' were added later because other people saw the report.
CNN lies.
UPDATE 3:49 PM
I meant to add this, which I received by email:
Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council: "As a Jew I must
voice my deep shock over this terrible act. I believe that there's
nobody from the free world who would not see this act as barbaric
and criminal. To set on fire one of the holiest sites of the Jewish
people - A historical asset to the whole world!
"This is the barbarity of the Palestinian Authority and the person
heading it. Another act that proves that we cannot rely on this
'partner'. I call on the Prime Minister to immediately bring back
IDF forces to Joseph's Tomb, because it's clear that if he doesn't,
there will be nobody to guard this inalienable asset for us. Again,
the responsibility belongs to Abu Mazen, the Holocaust denier, and
he has to answer for it.
"Leaders of the enlightened world: Where are your condemnations???
John Kerry, Ban Ki Moon, Mogrini - such a gang of hypocrites! What
would you have done if an important Islamic mosque were burned down?
You should be ashamed of yourselves!!!
"In the face of such Arab barbarity in Shechem and the political
hypocrisy overseas, I call on the Prime Minister to order IDF forces
to return Israeli control to Joseph's Tomb (something that is called
for even in the accursed Oslo accords).
The cat cannot guard the cream! He'll burn it!
Only the IDF can protect this holy site. We must put an end to this
disgrace. This is the only real and correct response - THIS VERY
MORNING is the time!
For those who have been hiding in a cave all day, thus far unidentified assailants burned down a home in the Arab village of Duma next to Nablus (Shchem) during the night. A baby died and his parents and brother were injured. I am going to post the reactions I posted on Twitter this morning, and then an update.
TT @dandayan (frmr head of Yesha Council) Must tell truth: Almost happened in past in Huwara & in Bat Ayin taxi 1/2 https://t.co/yjCaTEnLuE
Hamas said Friday that every Israeli is now a legitimate target
following the deadly terror attack in the village of Duma in which a
Palestinian toddler was killed, Israel Radio reported. In an official
message to the public, Hamas also called for a "day of rage" to protest
the deadly terror attack and "in order to protect al-Aksa mosque."
Israeli and Palestinian security forces in Jerusalem and the West Bank were placed on high alert following the attack.
As noted above, the difference between Israel and the 'Palestinians' is that the condemnation of this attack is across the board. Of course, it could still turn out that the attack was not carried out by Jews. But it should be condemned in any case.
There have been terror incidents in Judea and Samaria all afternoon, culminating in an Israeli driver coming under fire - and responding - near Kochav HaShachar, which is just a few minutes from the Hizme crossing (the crossing between Jerusalem and Samaria).
A suspected Palestinian terrorist carried out a drive-by shooting attack
on an Israeli vehicle on Friday in the Binyamin region of the West Bank
near Kochav Hashahar. The Israeli driver in the vehicle told the army
he fired back at the gunman. There were no injuries in the incident. The
army found three bullet holes in the Israeli vehicle that came under
fire.
A couple of hours later, Palestinian rioters clashed with
IDF soldiers in Hebron. The incident occurred near the al-Rasoul Mosque,
when Palestinians on a march hurled rocks and burning tires at
security forces in the area.
Soldiers responded with riot
dispersal means, and fired Roger low intensity rounds at the legs of a
suspect, an army spokeswoman said. He sustained a light injury, the
spokeswoman added.
There's enough terrorism in this country without vigilantism. Whoever murdered that child should be sent to jail for a long, long time.
IDF takes apart another illegal 'Palestinian' outpost
It is no coincidence that these things consistently happen on the Sabbath. The IDF was called into action again on Saturday to remove an illegal 'Palestinian' outpost called al-Manatir near Shchem (Nablus).
Photos
posted on Twitter and Facebook showed security forces shooting tear
gas, and using pepper spray against the activists. The IDF said that
when soldiers arrived at the site, Palestinians attacked them with
stones.
The event was organized in part by the Popular Struggle Coordination
Committee, which had also tried to set up tents on an E1 hilltop, in an
unbuilt area of the Ma’aleh Adumim settlement. The tents are part of a
new movement by Palestinians to claim areas of the West Bank.
Saturday’s
eviction of the site outside Burin that the Palestinians called
Al-Manatir set forth a chain of events that lasted until it got dark and
involved the IDF, Border Police and settlers from Yitzhar and Har
Bracha.
There were also 'internationals' involved in the incident. It sounds like we need to do a better job of keeping them out of the area. If we can order 'violent settlers' to stay out of Judea and Samaria, why can't we keep the 'internationals' out as well?
A particularly heinous attack of vandalism against a religious site near Shchem (Nablus) is being ignored. If an attack like this one, which included the spreading of human and animal waste on the floor of a holy site, had been perpetrated against a mosque, you would have read about it in every mainstream publication, and it might have even been mentioned in the daily White House or State Department briefings. But this attack was perpetrated against a Jewish site, Joseph's tomb (the picture above is from a previous instance), and so the closest it gets to the mainstream media - let alone the White House or the State Department - is Arutz Sheva (Hat Tip: MFS - The Other News).
Visitors to the Tomb of Yosef in Shechem were shocked to discover
Wednesday night yet another instance of major Arab vandalism to the holy
site. Arabs trashed furniture, destroyed books, and defaced the site
with anti-Semitic graffiti, and there was evidence that they had tried
to burn the structure down. In addition, human and animal waste was
found all over the floor of the site.
Mesika joined with more than 2,500 other
people Wednesday night who visited the site. The visit was organized by
the Samaria Regional Council and the Shechem Echad organization, and the
visitors were accompanied by IDF soldiers and police. Accompanying
Mesika to the site was the Admor m'Rachlov.
Samaria Council Chairman Gershon Mesika
called IDF officials to express his shock at the damage. “Only
barbarians are capable of doing terrible things like this, destroying a
holy place,” said Mesika. The State of Israel must reclaim the Tomb of
Yosef, as described in the Oslo Accords. We must return with strength
and faith and reestablish our presence, and that yeshiva, at the Tomb,”
he said.
Deputy Council Director Yossi Dagan
pointed a finger of blame at the PA police who are supposed to be
guarding the site. “The Palestinian terrorist police are responsible for
the site when IDF soldiers are not present. They have proven a long
time ago that they have lost all semblance of humanity. These are the
terrorists in uniforms who murdered Yosef Ben Livnat h”yd, and now they
dump their waste and try to burn down the Tomb.”
The large crowd of Jews that had arrived
to worship were forced to wait outside for long minutes as soldiers and
police cleaned up the site.
Aren't you glad that Israel turned over control of Jewish holy sites to the kind, caring 'Palestinians'? Doesn't this encourage you to want to do it again?
Fayyad calls on Israeli companies to fire 'Palestinians'
Unelected 'Palestinian Prime Minister' Salam Fayyad has called on the 'international community' to follow South Africa's lead and prohibit labeling products from Judea and Samaria as coming from Israel. If Fayyad is successful, the result will be the loss of thousands of 'Palestinian' jobs.
The South African Ministry of Trade last month published a notice in the Government Gazette requiring traders |not to incorrectly label products that originate from the Occupied Palestinian Territory as products of Israel."
Fayyad met in Ramallah with the head of the South Africa Representative Office and thanked him for the decision.
Fayyad expressed hope that such boycotts would be endorsed by the entire international community.
He also hailed the "extraordinary historic relations between Palestine and South Africa."
But if Israeli factories in Judea and Samaria sell less, the first thing they will do is lay off all their 'Palestinian' workers.
The 'Palestinians' have also decided to ban all Israeli potatoes from Shchem (Nablus).
The decision was taken at the request of PA Minister of Agriculture Walid Assaf, said a spokesman for the Nablus governor. The ban, he explained, was designed to protect Palestinian farmers and allow them to market their produce in "reasonable prices."
Of course, the farmers won't make any more, and the consumers won't pay any less, but the pockets of the 'Palestinian Authority' bigwigs will become more deeply lined.
To prevent the hassidim form infiltrating the tomb, the Palestinian Authority has stationed cameras on the road leading up to the compound, as well as inside it.
A fence has been erected around the compound and bars have been installed on all windows.
So far, the measures have proven effective: "We had to turn back, we had no choice, we didn’t want to get caught," a Breslover told the newspaper.
In an attempt to reach a peaceful compromise, the Breslovers distributed Arabic and Hebrew flyers in the area, reading: "To the Palestinian security forces: In the name of God almighty, to whom we all pray, we come in peace to pray at the holy tomb of Joseph the righteous.
"We do not seek war and we do not seek to provoke you. We respect you and have nothing against you. We ask that you allow us to pray here in a safe and free manner."
For the record, under the 'Oslo Accords,' designated Jewish Holy sites, including Joseph's tomb, are supposed to remain under Israeli control. That has not been the case since defenseless defense minister Ehud Barak - who was Prime Minister at the time - ordered an IDF soldier to be abandoned to bleed to death rather than offend the 'Palestinians.' That incident took place on the Jewish New Year, Rosh HaShanna, 5761 (in the fall of 2000).
It's bad enough that we make one-sided deals in favor of these beasts, we could at least keep the few things in the deals that are in our favor.
For video of a large number of Jews at Joseph's tomb, go here.
'Palestinians' claim Jerusalem, Hebron and others had Arabic names
In yet another bid to deny the reality of Jewish history, the 'Palestinians' are telling their 'people' that Jerusalem, Hebron and several other cities originally had Arabic names.
As part of this rewriting of history, a regular columnist on religious affairs in the official PA daily recently made the false claim that the Jews changed the original Arabic names of places in Israel into Hebrew names. Is'haq Feleifel cited six cities that he said originally had Arabic names, when in fact all of those names appear in the Hebrew Bible long before Arabic names were given:
Jerusalem, capital of the nation of Israel/Judea (1000 BCE - 70 CE), mentioned 670 times in the Hebrew Bible. First reference: Joshua 10:1; Hebron, first capital of the tribe of Judah, mentioned 73 times in the Hebrew Bible. First reference: Genesis 13:18; Atarot, mentioned four times in the Hebrew Bible. First reference: Numbers 32:3; Shechem, capital of Israel after the nation divided [922 BCE], mentioned 64 times in the Hebrew Bible (including a small number of references to two people of that name). First reference: Genesis 33:18; Ashkelon, a Philistine city, mentioned nine times in the Hebrew Bible. First reference: Judges 1:18
The sixth city he mentioned, Tel Aviv, is also mentioned in the Bible [Ezekiel 3:15] as a location in Babylon where Jews settled after being exiled from Judea in 586 BCE. That name is the source for today's Tel Aviv. All these Biblical names predate by many years the names the PA religion teacher claims are the original Arabic names.
The following is from the article by the official PA daily's columnist on religious affairs, Is'haq Feleifel:
"The great and exalted Allah commanded the angel Gabriel to place Muhammad upon the riding beast [named] Al-Buraq, which was a cross between horse and donkey. The night journey was both physical and spiritual... Once he [Muhammad] reached the Al-Aqsa Mosque, (PMW note: the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem was not yet built in the time of Muhammad. The "night journey" mentioned in the Quran is dated to 621 CE. The mosque was built on the Temple Mount by the son of Ummayad Caliph Abd Al-Malik 84 years later in 705 CE.) the angel Gabriel removed Muhammad from upon Al-Buraq's back, and then he tied the beast to the Al-Buraq rock, which was called the 'Al-Buraq Wall'. The Jews changed its name to the 'Wailing Wall', because the Jews are always trying to change Arabic names into Hebrew names, especially when it comes to prayer sites or names of towns and villages. For example, they call Al-Quds 'Jerusalem'; Al-Khalil [they call] 'Hebron'; Atara - 'Atarot, Nablus - 'Shechem', Tel Al-Rabi'a - 'Tel Aviv'(PMW note: 'Rabi'a' is the Arabic translation of the Hebrew word 'aviv', meaning 'spring'); Askelan - Ashkelon. There is not enough room to list all the names which have been replaced with false names. Even the 'Torah' falsified, changed and forged; this is the way of the Jews - they always try to change the real names to other, false names, in order to erase the [historical] facts."
It's amazing watching the Muslims accuse others of doing precisely what they do - attempt to steal other nations' heritage and claim it as their own (ask the Hindus in India, who suffer from the same Muslim behavior).
This morning 15 MKs from 5 different political parties came together in an historic visit to Joseph’s Tomb in Shechem. This cross-party visit was arranged by Gershon Mesika, the Governor of the Shomron Region and a long-time advocate of Jewish rights of worship at holy sites across Judea and Samaria, and in coordination with Israeli and PA security forces. This momentous occasion – the first such visit during daytime hours in many years (since 2000) – has only been made possible through Mr. Mesika’s tireless efforts to secure the right of worship for Jews at Joseph’s Tomb since taking office 3 years ago.
Yaakov David Ha'ivri - Director of the Shomron Liaison Office said: "Today’s visit is made all the more significant in that it comes merely a month and a half after the murder of Yoseph Livnat, a religious Jew who was killed by Palestinian Authority forces whilst making his way to the Tomb, unarmed, with the intent to peacefully worship at the site. Today’s event sends a clear message that the Jewish people clings fiercely to its Holy Sites and will continue to do so in spite of the violent and often murderous attempts of our enemies to break the bond between the people of Israel and their land."
Some 200 Jews 'infiltrated' the town of Shchem (Nablus) on Sunday night and went to pray at Joseph's tomb. 50 of them attempted to stay in the tomb and clashed with the IDF.
According to Army Radio, the infiltrators called for Israel to retake control over the area.
"This behavior risks lives and leads to the unnecessary risking of soldiers' lives who were forced to act even in daylight in the center of Nablus," the statement added.
Overnight Sunday, Palestinian filed complaints about property damage which will be looked into.
"The IDF sees the behavior of the infiltrators as severely irresponsible and it will be examined in cooperation with various security forces, who will also check the nature of the security over the entrance to Joseph's Tomb for the future," the IDF spokesperson said.
In related news, about 1600 worshippers entered Joseph's Tomb Sunday night under the approval of the IDF. Due to high demand to visit the Tomb, the number of buses to the destination were doubled.
But Arutz Sheva writes that the real story was the 1,600 Jews who entered with the IDF's permission.
The IDF approved the pilgrimage in honor of the special "Yesod she'byesod" day of the Omer counting, which is considered to be a special "Joseph" day. It was held five weeks after Palestinian Authority soldiers intentionally shot at Jewish worshipers at the holy site, killing Ben Yosef Livnat.
Let's go to the videotape.
For the record, under the 'Oslo Accords,' designated Jewish Holy sites, including Joseph's tomb, are supposed to remain under Israeli control. That has not been the case since defenseless defense minister Ehud Barak - who was Prime Minister at the time - ordered an IDF soldier to be abandoned to bleed to death rather than offend the 'Palestinians.' That incident took place on the Jewish New Year, Rosh HaShanna, 5761 (in the fall of 2000).
It's bad enough that we make one-sided deals in favor of these beasts, we could at least keep the few things in the deals that are in our favor.
Four days before Ben Yosef Livnat HY"D (May God avenge his blood) was murdered outside of Joseph's tomb in Shchem (Nablus), he led a group of 30 Breslov Hasidim to the tomb. Tagging along was YNet reporter Akiva Novick, who filed this report.
The fear kicked in a few moments after crossing Hawara checkpoint. The dogs barking behind you and the green lights of the mosques ahead indicated we were on our way to Nablus, the so-called "terror capital."
Everything in this city makes you feel unwelcomed. The graffiti on the walls, Shahid ("martyr") posters hanging in the streets. You are frightened even when driving with five other people in a small car, singing aloud.
...
Around 30 Breslov Hasidim met in a spring located south of Nablus, in the West Bank. This is their semi-secret meeting place where they gather to bathe before the journey begins.
It was nearly 2 am on Thursday. The group's last visit to Nablus before the fatal shooting incident which claimed Livnat's life – and I was along for the ride. We stood by the spring with our six vehicles. In the valley below us we spotted an IDF force at Hawara checkpoint, in charge of preventing worshipers from entering the holy city.
Our group leaders, including Livnat, huddled around and came up with a plan to mislead the soldiers. It was decided that one car would attempt to pass the checkpoint with its lights turned off, to see whether the IDF actually blocked off the entrance. It was now 2:55 am.
...
Livnat broke the law when he entered Joseph's Tomb without authorization, but that is not the reason he was killed. It is deeper than that. Joseph's Tomb is a sensitive subject in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Livnat was killed because he was part of the battle to control the holy site. Everybody wants to renovate it, preserve it – but those who try the hardest are the Breslov Hasidim, and Livnat was one of their most vigorous standouts.
On our way to Jerusalem we passed by the Palestinian town of Awarta, where the Fogel family killers came from. We entered. It turned out this is where Aaron's sons, Ithamar and Eleazar, are buried as well as the seventy Elders.
Let me remind you that I only have one day of holiday because I live in Israel.
Here's a background video which will tell you about Joseph's tomb and what is so significant about it. Perhaps this will explain why so many people want to visit the grave.
One of the Breslovers who was in the second car in the convoy and was lightly wounded told Ynet: "We arrived at the tomb like on many occasions in the past. Near the tomb we saw a spikes chain. One of the guys jumped out of the car and moved it aside.
"At this point a uniformed Palestinian police officer with a Kalashnikov in a jeep woke his colleagues up and they started firing into the air…I was in the front seat. We started driving fast in the direction of the tomb; we got out of the vehicles and kissed the tomb.
"When we got back to the vehicles the police shot at the vehicles, they were screaming 'Allahu Akbar'. It was crazy, they were shooting to kill. I screamed at the driver to drive out of there quickly. When we got to Har Bracha we attended to the wounded."
...
Meanwhile the brother of the 17 year-old injured in the incident told Ynet that his brother and his friends went into Nablus without first coordinating the visit and knew that what they were doing was dangerous.
"When the entries are coordinated nothing happens, this time they entered without coordinating, it was criminal on their part," he explained. "To them this is all about the action and these are the consequences when you run wild."
Chairman of the 'Yesod Olam' association Haim Reicher who is responsible for arranging entries to holy gravesites in the West Bank also visited the injured in hospital. Reicher said that Sunday's foray into Joseph's Tomb was done without his coordination.
Reicher added that usually the visits are coordinated with Palestinian elements and then entry to the tomb is done without any difficulty, as with other holy sites in the West Bank.
"The problems start" Reicher notes, "once every month or two months we enter after first coordinating the visit with the IDF, they give us 10 buses, each one has up to 50 passengers but there are over 500,000 that want to pray at the tomb and the numbers approved by the IDF are insufficient. I can safely say that people go there to pray every night."
That certainly seems to back up the IDF claim that the visit was not coordinated.
But the 'Palestinian police' ought to be capable of doing something besides shooting to kill. The investigation is still pending, but there is no indication that these people were a threat to the 'Palestinian police' or that they were attempting to do anything other than pray at the grave. There is no indication that they were armed. Surely, there must be another method of police action aside from shooting to kill.
And the idea that they were shooting to kill and screaming Allahu Akhbar while doing so has to make every Israeli fear an encounter with the 'Palestinian police.' As if we didn't already.
UPDATE 4:42 PM
Haaretz claims to have results of the investigation. They claim that the Hasidim tried to run a roadblock.
A senior Israel Defense Forces termed the incident "a serious mishap caused by both sides." The army is refraining from referring to the shooting as a terror attack, but has called it an unjustified attack against civilians.
The Palestinian Authority opened its own investigation into the matter, and reported that that the officer on duty began shooting in the air in response to the Israelis' "suspicious movement".
Defense Minister Ehud Barak condemned the incident as "murder" and ordered the IDF to carry out an investigation of its own. He also demanded the Palestinians probe the incident quickly and take every step necessary to perpetrate those responsible.
"No problem of coordination can justify an incident like this and the shooting of innocent people," he said.
The officers on duty during the shooting were detained for questioning by the Palestinian Authority, but it is not yet clear whether they will be taken in for investigation by Israeli forces as well.
Livnat and the other three casualties were part of a group of some 15 worshipers who entered the site in three separate cars without military authorization. A Palestinian Authority representative said that the officer fired into the air because he believed that the group was acting suspiciously, but did not aim at the car.
Then how did they 'happen' to shoot the people in the car?
And even if they ran a roadblock and you were suspicious that they had committed a crime, you could shoot the tires out of the car, and demand they come out with their hands behind their heads. There's no need to shoot to kill.
UPDATE 4:47 PM
The police have arrested three of the victims (Hat Tip: Shy Guy).
UPDATE 4:53 PM
Joshuapundit reports that Joseph's tomb was desecrated again before Sunday morning's visit.
Here's a briefing by Brigadier General Nitzan Alon regarding Sunday morning's murder at Joseph's tomb.
Let's go to the videotape.
I've had emails claiming that the visit on Sunday morning was coordinated with the IDF. As you can see, the IDF denies that (you can also see that on their blog here).
My understanding is that the IDF will have no further comments about the incident until after their investigation is complete, which will not happen before the holiday starts at sundown.
Seven Israelis were arrested on Saturday night for trying to enter Nablus (Shchem) without permission from the IDF.
The right-wing activist and a Hilltop Youth leader Meir Bertler was arrested on Saturday along with six other activists who attempted to enter the city of Nablus with no approval from security forces.
Another right-wing activist Itamar Ben-Gvir talked about the arrest saying the blame should rest "with the government of Israel, who should have allowed free entrance to Nablus." He added: "One can't prevent the Israeli people from walking around the State of Israel."
The last Israeli to try to enter Shchem without an IDF uniform or an IDF escort was Hillel Lieberman HY"D (may God avenge his blood - pictured). That didn't work out too well. I'm all in favor of Jews being able to go anywhere anytime in Israel, but I'd be afraid to try something like what those seven did, and while I would hope that the IDF would be willing to escort them in, I would not suggest trying this on your own.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
