Shabbat Shalom Flowers

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Shabbat Shalom Flowers

Colorful Shabbat Shalom

Colorful Shabbat Shalom

Imagine Peace

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "Imagine Peace."

Foes are turned into friends.
Families grow rather than attend early funerals.
Communities bustle and prosper rather than lie as dying evacuated ghost towns.
We all become part of a community of nations working to solve life's biggest problems, instead of planning how to maim and kill each other with greater pinpoint accuracy and effect.

(AI generated image from MS Designer)

Imagine Peace

Israel, You're on the Right Track

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "Israel, You're on the Right Track."

The war of October 7 is truly one of light against darkness in the world. And not only against the evil terrorists but also their hateful, genocidal supporters around the globe who seek "intifada revolution," and our annihilation "by any means necessary." To defeat them, we need the ultimate faith in the Almighty and the determination to fight and win from Gaza to Iran.

Our strength is the combination of our dedication to serving Hashem and our mighty determination for our national and religious freedom in a world all too often of darkness, hate, and despair where rape is portrayed as resistance, where mutilation, murder, and hostage-taking are justified by those who reject peace and coexistence, and where their vile supporters chant their racism and hatred from city centers to cancer hospitals.

(AI generated image by Bing Copilot)

Israel, You're on the Right Track

Nobody Wanted War

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "Nobody Wanted War."

We know that Israel wants more than anything to live in peace and that they have tried virtually everything to make peace with their neighbors, including multiple offerings of a state for the Palestinians (and even giving in to practically their every demand, often to the Israelis own detriment), only to meet with one repeated rejection after another reiterating the Arab League's Khartoum Resolution: "no peace with Israel, no negotiation with Israel, and no recognition of Israel."

After October 7, the deadly abuse absolutely could not continue any longer.

There is a time to walk away and a time for necessary action.

(AI generated image via Craiyon)

Nobody Wanted War

Two Buddhas

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Two Buddhas

Night Sky Before WW3

(Credit Photo: Minna Blumenthal)

Night Sky Before WW3

Everyone Stand With Israel!

(Photo via Facebook)

Everyone Stand With Israel!

Not By Strength Alone

 
Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "Not By Strength Alone."

For Israelis and Jews around the world, success includes being powerful enough to defend ourselves from no longer being every demagogue and dictator's scapegoat, but much more than that, it means that we become a true "light unto nations." We want to be a democracy anchored in freedom and human rights. We also want to be a "Jewish State" (it's the only one in the world!) that is a haven for every Jew to come home to and that is culturally and religiously Jewish (but not a Jewish dictatorship). Israel will not survive by strength alone but rather by the spirit of Hashem (Zechariah 4:6). And so our values are to follow in G-d's path and do good in the world, fix what's broken, and make it a better place, and that includes, as the prophet Isaiah said, "beating their swords into plowshares." Moreover, we understand that G-d is not only the creator but also the perpetual master of the universe, and it is He who decides whether Israel behaves righteously and ultimately whether she will merit to stand for the duration this time and, hopefully, the final time.

(Photo: Alexi Rosenfeld, IDF/Creative Commons via https://israelradar.com/israels-3-new-tricks-for-gaza-war-with-hamas/)

Not By Strength Alone

Shabbat Shalom Flower

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Shabbat Shalom Flower

They Died So We May Speak

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "They Died So We May Speak."

Israelis are a people who are not afraid to speak their minds, and they are not afraid to stand up for what they believe in. Regardless of the outcome of the current controversies, I am proud to be a part of the Jewish people, and I am confident that the citizens of the Holy Land will continue to be a beacon of hope for the world.

(Photo adapted from Israel Defense Forces via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1997_Israeli_helicopter_disaster_funeral.jpg)

They Died So We May Speak

Lessons in Peace, Inclusion, and Humanity

Please see my new video and article in The Times of Israel called "Lessons in Peace,Inclusion, and Humanity."

In this video, there are three stories from my recent Caribbean vacation, which include a conversation with a waiter about peace between Israelis and Palestinians, feeling unwelcome in a synagogue, and connecting with a stranger from India.

Lessons in Peace, Inclusion, and Humanity

This Is One of Those Days

Overstressed!

Need some calming Shabbat relief.  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

This Is One of Those Days

My Vote of Confidence in Bibi

 
Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "My Vote of Confidence in Bibi."

Prime Minister Netanyahu stands out not only for having been the longest serving Prime Minister of Israel (winning six times) and leading for over fifteen years, but for his undying vision and execution of peace through strength. Certainly, I could write of his heroism as an Israeli commando (and that of his dear older brother Yoni, who tragically perished in the Rescue at Entebbe), his miraculous rescue of Israel's finances and remake of the country into a genuine economic success story, and his unflinching determination to prevent a Palestinian terror state next to Israel and to thwart the existential Iranian nuclear threat.

However, I think there is no better expression of Bibi's core love for his people and Israel than that of his own words in his countless genius arguments and eloquent speeches at the United Nations, Congress, and with world leaders in defense of Israel's legitimacy and right to exist and defend itself.

(Photo Adapted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Netanyahu#/media/File:Benjamin_Netanyahu,_February_2023.jpg)

My Vote of Confidence in Bibi

How One “Peacenik” Became Practical

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "How One 'Peacenik' Became Practical.'"

Simplistically, you can say that the Right is right! After almost 2,000 years of Jewish diaspora, pogroms, persecution, and the Holocaust, Jews can no longer, in good conscience, tolerate any existential threats. While Jews initially accepted the UN partition for a two-state solution, Arabs vehemently rejected it and went to war against the then-fledgling State of Israel. Moreover, despite the Arab loss, they continued to mount martial campaigns, intifadas, terrorism, and war against Israel, only to be repeatedly defeated. Each and every chance that Israel gave the Palestinians for mediation, negotiation, compromise, and peace was rejected and met with more cries of Jihad!

In short, the Left is right when it comes to caring about others and the ultimate goal that we all seek, which is genuine and lasting peace and the ability to live side by side as brothers and sisters in peace and prosperity. However, the Left got it all wrong when it comes to the reality on the ground in terms of the radical Islamic groups who want no peace, no negotiation, and no recognition of Israel, period. This is where the hope of the Left met the reality of the Right, and the Left lost all credibility, at least for the time being. Perhaps, just perhaps, reality will change and radical hearts will soften and give peace a fighting chance, allowing the Left to be right as well.

(Source Photo: IDF Editorial Team; https://www.idf.il/en/mini-sites/palestinian-terrorism/a-soldier-s-letter-to-the-mothers-of-the-kidnapped-teens/)

How One “Peacenik” Became Practical

A Hanukkah Gnome

Judeo-Christian blending of some sort here. 

Nice in terms of peace, tolerance, brotherhood and all that. 

But something about this doesn't look exactly kosher.  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

A Hanukkah Gnome

Shabbat Shalom Everyone!

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Shabbat Shalom Everyone!

The Art of Friendship

Please see my article in The Times of Israel called "The Art of Friendship."

My hope and prayer is that this is just a small microcosm of friendship and peace that can spread in all communities, societies, nations, and lands, so that we are no longer black or white, Jew, Muslim, or Christian, or any other divisive label, but rather that we are all children of G-d, and plain and simple, friends.

(Credit Photos: Andy and Dossy Blumenthal)

The Art of Friendship

Israel, Warrior Nation

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "Israel, Warrior Nation."

Israel and the Jewish people must maintain absolute resolve to defend our people, to be sovereign in the land of Israel, and to safeguard our faith and worship of the one true G-d. In the end, we can be assured that all the terrorist attacks, intifadas, missiles, and Iranian nukes in the world will be no match what-so-ever for the IDF and the almighty hand of G-d.

(Source Photo: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flickr_-_Israel_Defense_Forces_-_Givati_Recon_Company_at_Training.jpg)

Israel, Warrior Nation

Saying It Straight

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Saying It Straight