Nov. 21 8 PM lecture o by Prof. Gabriel Barkey of Bar Ilan University, and Director of the Temple Mount Antiquities Operation. The latter is sifting thru dirt removed by the Waqf ( the Muslim Authority of the Temple Mount. ) First history: From 1948 to 1967 the occupying Jordanian army destroyed all synagogues in the Old City, didn't let one Jew visit the Western Hall, and attempted to destroy all visages of Jewish life in the Old City. In 1967 Israel captures the entire Jerusalem including the Temple Mount, the Muslim area 1/6 size of the Old City, and, what is the first thing General Moshe Dayan does, he gives the keys to the Temple Mount back to the Waqf. Holy Cow, what nice guys we are, give the enemy back what they just lost in order to make peace. Now the Muslims deny the existence of Jerusalem as important to Judaism say that the Temple was elsewhere, and have dug a cavern big enough to hold 4000 men praying by removing dirt under an area called Solomon's stables (not really there, but still on the southeastern corner of the Temple Mount) and throwing the dirt in a trash heap, thereby destroying archeologically valuable information. Well that's chutzpa to the max and the thanks Israel gets for doing the right thing!!

Anyway our Prof. is in charge of sifting thru every pound of dirt. Roberta and I did this last time for one afternoon and plan to do it again. They found taxation documents from King Hezekiah (8th C BCE), an inscription with Hebrew 'The King', 6000 coins from Persian period ( 500 BCE), to Maccabean period ( 165 BCE), 1st revolt coin (66-67 CE), Egyptian pendent with Pharaoh from 15th Century BCE (but could have been made hundreds years later and not dated yet). All this shows the site is very old and a lot of information has been lost because no layers are available to determine dates from the enormous piles of dirt taken by the Muslims trying to obliterate Jewish history here.

And lastly, the work at the City of David, just outside the Old City Dung gate (that's what the Muslims called the gate next to the Jewish quarter for what they brought out). The dig next to the main spring and why the city is located here at all started in earnest in 2005 before real proof David was here despite the name. However, work has now shown that the site was inhabited 6000 years ago; they found 11th C BCE Jebusite pottery (David conquered the city from the Jebusites) , found a very large 10th C BCE building on bed rock perhaps even King David's palace with 10C BCE pottery. Thus the timing is right but no clear evidence linking building to David as yet. Nearby was a cistern build by the Canaanite in 18th C BCE that was filled with fish bones from fish from Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, Red Sea, and even the Nile. These people loved fish. In the Book of Nehemiah , there is a discussion about fish and even trading fish on Shabbat. Hey the stuff doesn't last long after the long trip to Jerusalem.
Also of note is the oldest mention of Jerusalem is an Egyptian cuneiform document describing relations between the local King and the Pharaoh in 14th C BCE. Also many excavations have found many buildings from 1st temple period all around the Old City. Another large building with 5 rooms dated to about 600 BCE or before the !st Temple was destroyed in 586 BCE. And lastly, he discovered one of the most valuable finds of all, a tablet from the first temple period with the Priestly benediction that is exactly what said in all Jewish services from Reform to Orthodox to this day!. (May the Lord bless and keep you; May the lord let his face to shine upon you; and give you peace). We saw this in the Israel Museum a few days later.
Over and out and good night.


Nov 26 Saturday night Lecture by Rabbi Daniel Gordis , President of the Shalem Center ( political conservative think tank here in Jerusalem, where he now lives). He was previously Dean of the Conservative Seminary in LA, has written many books. At the Great Synagogues of Jerusalem. Topic was on ' Why American Jews are less Zionist and the peril for the future.' What got him started was a survey in America asking “ If Israel would be destroyed would you consider it a personal tragedy?” For those under 35 years old 50% said no and if over 65, 20% said no. It is unbelievable that Israel could be so unimportant. As one General here said, “if Israel is destroyed it would be the loss of the Third Temple.” Gordis felt while education about the conflict in Israel and the history of Israel is very weak among high school and even college graduates, that Israel has a very poor PR capability, and that antisemitism is gaining ground in Europe , these are not the fundamental reasons for the lack of love of Israel or at least the role it plays in securing Jewish liberties and safety in the world.
The best explanation, he senses is the loss of feelings of peoplehood among Jews. This concept of peoplehood was very strong for the last 200 years independent of location or condition. Now in the US, Jews are becoming like the Protestants who have no concept of peoplehood. Moreover intermarriage has increased now that it OK for Jews to marry Christians and even more important Christians can marry Jews. This is leading to to a loss in the dynamic of peoplehood identity and concern..Thirdly, is the loss of Hebrew language education and skills in the US. And quite unexpectedly, theology of Judaism is being stressed to the detrimental of Jewish peoplehood. One will care for Israel if he sees himself as part of the Jewish people not as part of some separate identity whose only unifying factor is religion. And lastly, is the rise of self -hating Jews who take on and promote the negative attitudes toward Jews in the culture they live in-- a phenomenon well known for thousands of years.


Nov. 27 Sunday we spent 7 hours at the Israel Museum newly reopened after a 3 year expansion. The archeology wing is enormous and has many spectacular things from all over Israel going back to ancient Egypt who continually attacked , controlled or dominated this area to the Roman period, and the Arab period. Some key items:
1. Mermeptah Steele from 1205 BCE from Egypt with earliest mention of Israel outside of the Bible.
2. 9th C BCE Steele from King Hazel of Aram that he killed a King of Judah of the House of David, the earliest mention of King David outside the Bible.
3. 6th C BCE clay tablet mentioning the Temple of Gd, the earliest mention of the First Temple in Jerusalem
4. Table from Cyrus the Great in 538 BCE where he allows people from Judah to return to Jerusalem after 54 years in exile Babylon after the destruction of the First Temple , it refers to 'Yehudim Nehemiah' or the first reference using word 'Jew'
5. The entire museum has only 2 copies and one is a enormous mural (30x20 ft) from the Asyrians ( in Damascus now.) showing the defeated Judeans at Lakish. It show the battle in 701 BCE where the Assyrians built a large ramp to attack the city, carry off the defeated to Assyria, how some were killed by impaling with large pointy logs, and the bounty and people being presented to the King. We visited Lakish in 2009 and one can still see the ramp and ruins of the city.
6. Many synagogues of the period 300 to 700 CE in Israel had mosaic tile floors of which many are in the museum. These have fascinating pictures of zodiacs, Temple items, and animals. They also have many lintels and other parts of the ancient synagogues. We studied many in our current course of Ancient Synagogues, with Dr Rosenberg, an archaeologist


Nov. 28 Monday 5 PM Concert Jerusalem Theater Piano Solo by Gilead Mishory playing Haydn, Debussy and Tarini 1692-1770, the latter for violin and piano but arranged for piano by the performer, and a premiere of a piece by him also. Both were dedicated to the memory of his father. Very good.

Nov. 28 8 PM ( yes same day) Lecture at Conservative Synagogue by David Keren, a Historian ( Stan took a course from him in 2008 on history of Jerusalem) and currently Director of Youth Programs of United Synagogue on “The 1947 UN Partition Plan for Palestine” He focused on the issue of Jerusalem through all the partition plans from 1917 Balfour Plan where Jews were to get the whole land and land east of the Jordan that was part of biblical Israel. Next this was modified soon to exclude land east of the Jordan as England and France divide up all of what is now Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Gaza, Sinai in 1921. This was followed by the British White Paper greatly limiting Jewish immigration as result of Arab riots of 1921, 1922, and the biggest one in 1929 where 69 Jews were killed in Hebron as well as some in Jerusalem. The British then forced all Jews out of the eastern side of Jerusalem in 1929.

The key in the late '30s was oil and still remains as the main driving force. England needed oil for the their fleet so the Arabs had to be placated. The British even banned the blowing of shofars at the Western Wall, then called the Wailing Wall, to appease the Arabs, which of course were allowed their call to prayer 5 times a day. Next came the first of official partition plans from the League of Nations, the Peel Plan of 1937. This split the land into 2 countries with Jews getting a very small amount only on the coast from south of Tel Aviv to Haifa and the coastal plain. This was refused by all the Arab countries and the locals whereas Jews accepted it. Next was the Woodward Plan of 1938 which re-sorted the land. This time both sides rejected it. In 1939, the 3rd White Paper limited Jewish immigration to 75, 000 over 10 years with additional limitation in Jews buying land restricted to just 5% of the land. Churchill and Samuels, the first Governor of Palestine, were against this but it went into effect. After the war, although England tried to enforce this, the Jews and Arabs both worked against it.

The United Nation took over the mandate laws from the League of Nations and sent a commission to investigate the land. The Jews took the commissioners all over the country and even to refugee camps in Europe, while the Arabs refused to meet the the Commission. In 1947 the Commission came out with a plan with Jews getting more land than the last plan but following populations more closely. However, greater Jerusalem stretching from Bethlehem to Shuvat in the north was to be run by a United Nations commission as an international city. Each country was to develop over 10 years with economic integration of both countries. The plan was accepted by the Jews , but rejected by all Arab countries and the local Arabs. The vote in the UN was 33 For with Russia included, 13 No and 10 Abstain ( Britain here.) The next day Israel declared independence and the next day was attacked by 5 countries, Jordan with Army headed by British Generals violating British law, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. The fighting ended with a cease fire between the first four but not Iraq which technically is still at war with Israel. Israel gained some territory in all areas but only part of Jerusalem and not any of the Old City and Holy sites. Israel lost 1% of population or 6000 killed, a tremendous loss.

Jordan annexed the West Bank land and Egypt took control of Gaza but not granting Arabs there any rights, Universities, or eradication of malaria. So the local Arabs did not gain any freedoms nor their own country. Jews were not allowed in the Old City of Jerusalem and even Christians had to bring their baptismal certificates to prove their religion before entering the Old City. All the synagogues in the old city were destroyed.
How sad and that is where we are today with no prospects for peace at all. This is because, in my opinion, the Arabs can not tolerate any Jewish presence in what they consider Muslim land as it was from 638 at the first Muslim conquest to the defeat of the Turks who ruled from 1550(?) to 1917. Jews could only be allowed if they were second class citizens, paid a high tax, were limited in professions; no synagogues could be built without special permission, special clothes had to be worn-all like the good old days from 638 to 1917. Christians had similar restrictions. Of course now the Palestinians don't want even one Jew in their new country. Nor are their any jews in Arab countries anymore.

Since the Arabs rejected the International agreement on Jerusalem and Jordan attacked Israel in 1967 at East Talpiot ( not far from where we study at Pardes), Israel views that agreement now void and justifies its annexing all parts of Jerusalem. My idea , which I was told by the speaker had already been proposed and failed, was to give the Palestinians land east of Jerusalem for construction of their capitol and they could call it whatever they wanted. Actual construction of a capitol building was started in some territory close by but then stopped as they changed their minds.

In 2000 with the Camp David accords under the last days of the Clinton administration, Jerusalem was again the stumbling block where an incredible arrangement was proposed in with each local community would be part of the its respective country independent of which side of any line it ended up in. Arafat rejected this since he valued his life more than a peace agreement. To this day any Arab leader who seeks peace with Israel and/or gives up control of Jerusalem will be assassinated by his own people.


Nov. 29 &:30 PM Lecture by David S. Bedein, Bureau Chief, Israel Resource News Agency . Topic was his investigation of the UN RWA ( United Nations Relief & Works Agency).
This UN agency is sponsored only from voluntary contributions which go directly to the Agency bypassing the UN and is mostly supported from the US, European Union, Norway, and Sweden. This the only UN agency designed to keep refugees as refugees even 63 years! after the conflict! In all other cases of refugees, the goal is to get refugees settled somewhere within 3 years and self sufficient. The reason for this permanence of refugee status is the incredible idea that they will be able to go back to their home in Israel and move back in. The official policy of the Palestinians is that if the occupant doesn't want to move ,then killing the person/family is justified and will have international support. Stan says with this idea there will never be peace. How unfair to the Palestinians to give them this false hope. Of course if Iran sends nuclear bombs to Israel they will not get their homes, but they can have the land back. with the radioactive fallout. Also amazingly, the number on the official roles of refugees has grown from 700,000 in 1948 to 5 million now.

Bedein is trying to educate all contributing countries on exactly how their money is being spent and has made a film and published a book. UNRWA is mounting a fight against him and sent 20 paid staffers to the US to follow him and counter every word he says. His cameraman is an Arab hired from the West Bank since they filmed some of the refugee camps there. He told of going to his very capable camera man's house to hear his kids singing songs of killing Jews. He explained,” hey I am Jewish.” The camera man explained, “ oh not you.” REALLY?

The other main effort is to get Congress to pass legislation to withhold funds unless UNRWA shows that no member of UNWRA is a member of a terrorist group, distributes anti-Israel or anti-USA material, that its facilities are not being used by any terrorist group, and that it has an independent audit ( H.R. 2829 the UN Transparency , Accountability, and Reform Act). He commissioned a Christian Arab to interview 60 Muslim business all very successful doing business with Israelis. They were asked whether they would kill their Jewish business partners. All 60 said the Arabs will win and yes they will kill the Jews.

In the 1993 Oslo accords the Palestinians agreed to dismantle the refugee camps and absorb the people, but the PA soon ignored this provision completely. Likewise, they ignored another provision that they agreed to, namely to change their educational material to remove the teaching of hate, remove kill the Jews songs, that Jews and Israelis are monkeys etc. This I believe was one of Clinton's major failures and the Israelis' fault in not pushing and publicizing the total absence of progress on these two issues.

Interestingly the dozens of refugee relief projects of the UN are all done through another agency, the UN High Commission on Refugees. Why the Arabs are so special when in fact after wars the loser moves. After WW2 , 12 million Germans were kicked out of their homes all over Europe. They had to leave immediately, walk carrying whatever they could. About 20% (may need to double check this number) died in route back to Germany. After the India civil war in 1948, 30 million Hindus and Muslims changed sides into the 2 new countries. No one expects to get their old home back after losing a war. Only the Arabs have such a fantasy, but since their initial goal was to kill the Jews and that remains their goal, then there is hope they will get the homes back if they can kill all the Jews. See next lecture to continue this theme.
see : his web site www. IsraelBehindTheNews.com


Nov. 29 8:30 PM By Elihu Richter, MD, MPH, Former Head of Environment and Occupational Health at Hadassah Hospital, Jerusalem ( best Hospital in entire Middle East) for 30 years and now retired and now Head of the Jerusalem Center for the Prevention of Genocide. The prevention of genocide is now his all encompassing passion. He was an American who has been in Israel more than 30 years and is not religious. His whole career has been in helping people live healthy and genocide prevention is a logical progression of this interest.

First the Nazis and an American. Sigmund Freud's nephew Edward Bernays a psychologist too, was responsible for mass marketing of cigarettes in the US using the big lie technique, tell something often enough, people will start to believe it. His methods were studied by Goebbels, Head the Nazis Propaganda Ministry and a Ph.D. in Psychology!! He used Bernays methods perfectly to spread hate for the Jews. They also used these methods to stop smoking for the so-called master race since they knew the hazards of smoking. How one uses knowledge is the key!

OK, back to the Middle East. Dr. Richter reviewed some incredible intersections between the Nazis and the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem ( 1896-1974), one of the persons most responsible for the impasse between Israel and the Arabs to this day. Eichman came to Jerusalem in 1936 to meet with the Grand Mufti in the hotel the latter had built, the Palace Hotel, which is still standing . As a side bar, the construction company was headed by a Jew and a member of the secret Hagana, the the Jewish force to protect the people. This contractor told the Mufti the land is on a Muslim cemetery, but the Mufti didn't care at all. Second, the Jewish contractor built into the hotel secret places where he stored arms, since would the British look in a Muslim hotel for Jewish munitions. Genius!

Eichman and the Mufti talked about what to do with the Jews and how to get rid of them. The Mufti was responsible for killing many fellow Muslims in the 1930s' who wanted to have a peace with the Jews and the eventual state. The British kicked him out of Palestine along with all those with German roots in 1938. He went to Italy, then Berlin where he stayed the entire war, except when he went to Bosnia to form a SS regiment of Muslims designed to kill Jews in that area and then be ready to come to Palestine after the war. He meet with Hitler in Nov. 28, 1941 ( hell that's 70 years ago yesterday!) to plan the destruction of the Jews in the Middle East. They even picked a site for a concentration camp near Ramla, 20 miles southwest of Tel Aviv. They also signed a Genocide Pact to accomplish their aim. Interesting one week after this meeting was the infamous Wansee conference where the details in exterminating all the Jews of Europe were formulated.

After the war the Mufti escapes to Cairo where he inserts this Genocide pact into the Arab League constitution. He said ,but I have not verified this, that this provision is still in the Arab League constitution though I pressed him on this point. The Mufti also meets a young Yassar Arafat and passes on the Genocide Pact to him, and this also is inserted into the PLO charter when formed in 1964.

Dr. Richter is on a US Congress Commission to investigate hate literature in Palestinian Authority schools. The Arabs have mastered and perfected Bernays methods in the big lie technique. Second, he feels that incitement to genocide is a crime of genocide itself since history proves hate literature & incitement to violence always lead to genocide. Recent example was Rwanda where this happened with predicted results, but no one paid any attention to the hate propaganda being produced there. He wants the World Court to indite Iran leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his constant threats to destroy Israel as a form of genocide. The hate literature coming out of all Arabs countries is legend and no one seems to notice or care, except the Israelis. The problem is that it has been effective in turning many countries and people against Israel. Demand for oil and hate literature are an effective combination mixed in with long standing antisemitism to make stew of evil.

Denial of genocide is a form of genocide he believes and Israel doesn't come out good in this regard. Israel tried to make nice with the Turks and had to essentially deny the Turkish genocide of the Armenians in 1915-17(?). This obviously didn't help in their current crisis with Turkey and puts them on the wrong side of history. He also felt Israel made a big mistake in not stressing to the world the hate being taught in the Palestinian schools and on TV and instead relied on the economic improvement of the Palestinians to cement an eventual peace outcome. Israel assumed a that a good economy and a nice house and car would push the Palestinians toward peace. However all the evidence, including survey cited above (and many other public ones) prove this assumption false.

Dr. Richter has many Palestinian colleagues that he has worked with over 30 years and some of them are speaking out against hate. Studies show that 10% of any population will reject the message of hate. He wants to expand that 10% until it can have some positive influence. History has shown examples when a certain behavior or condition is no longer acceptable, then drastic change in a society is possible. One example is after WW2 when Germany and Japan made total about face in their thinking. He feels that until such time when hate is no longer accepted as the main message of the Arabs, there will never be peace.

And lastly Abbas the PA President got his Ph.D. with dissertation on the Jews in WW2. His thesis was that the Holocaust was greatly exaggerated and that the Jews in Palestine helped the Nazis kill the European Jews. Hard to believe!! He now says he no longer believes this, but his dissertation in book form is in every school library on the West Bank. The Arab way is to say one thing to the west and another to his fellow Muslims.
All in all a very enlightening lecture with some small measure of hope in that a few people are fighting for a civilized world.