Tikkun Olam

I was still shaking from the horrific terrorist attack on the Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, murdered by a suicide bomber who set off bombs on the buses --when I awakened this morning to the double whammy of the news of the Century 16 theatre murders in Aurora, in which 71 people were shot, twelve of them fatally, in a theatre which my D. H. and I have been to many times.

I don't know where to begin, my feelings are all jumbled up and raging, but I will try.  I think Glenn Beck expressed it best, when he made this statement, in his morning show video,

"Let me be the first to say there’s a hole in the soul of America. What is it we’re filling that hole with?”
He nailed it.  There is a hole in America, and we are filling that hole with promoting, for all to see, horrible things that we fear--displaying disgusting human behavior. We have, for decades, been in a culture where violence, hatred, criminal activities and psychopathic behavior are big box-office tickets.
I'm not …

This was posted on The Muqata, and I am cross-posting it here. It is an account of exactly what the Israelis are doing at their field hospital to help the injured Haitians. Did you know that the Israeli contingent has an ethics committee to evaluate difficult medical procedures and their outcomes? As I've stated and documented in previous posts such as this one, the IDF has one of the highest ethical standards in the world.

(This following was translated by Jameel from the original Hebrew letter sent by the IDF soldier in Haiti to his parents.)

The Delegation to Haiti - Sent by an IDF soldier in Haiti to his parents.

In the lifesaving IDF Medical Corps Delegation to Haiti which is housed in tents, doctors prevent disabilities. They administer aid to the sick, provide warmth, love, and a human touch. They love the wounded.

In the IDF Medical Corps Delegation to Haiti which is housed in tents located in the middle of a hell, every complex medical case has an ethics review board.

In th…

I just read an article on Haaretz about the three militants murderers of Rabbi Meir Chai who were killed during their 'capture.' I am satisfied that the IDF did the right thing. And I am at pains here to explain why. The Haaretz report states that
An evaluation of the testimonies of family members and the IDF officers suggests that this was not an operation to assassinate. However, the three, Adnan Subuh, Raad Sarkaji and Ghassan Abu Shreikh, were killed by the soldiers, even though two of them were not armed, and it does not even appear that they were trying to escape - a fact that the IDF does not dispute.
Family members of the dead are alleging that the three were executed, and say that the Israeli claims that the three were involved in the killing of Rabbi Hai, 32 hours prior to the incident, are lies. The weapon that the security establishment in Israel says were used to kill the rabbi was found in the home of the third wanted man, Subuh. A ballistic examination proved …